spork me

Rib Eye Steak with Anchovy Butter, Pea Fritters and Salsa

I think I’ve finally perfected this steak, and managed to find a steak butter recipe that I really like. I went a bit heavier on the herbs, but I made the butter according to this recipe and still have some in my freezer for next time.

The bone-in rib eye steak was 600g, and I seasoned it with salt and pepper then seared in a hot pan with 2 tablespoons of butter for 3 minutes on each side, until there was a dark crust on the outside. When the pan starts to smoke, add a touch of olive oil.

Pop that into the oven at 175C/325F for 15 minutes until the internal temperature comes up to 48C. Take it out of the oven and let rest on a plate until the temperature is 52C (medium rare).

I served this with a recipe from Jamie Oliver’s app. I’ve made pea fritters before but usually not with this sort of batter. It was much nicer actually, but I kicked his up with a bit of hot sauce and lemon zest in the batter.

Orange Chili Duck with Cabbage Pasta and Anchovy Breadcrumbs

The pasta is based slightly off this recipe, the best bit being the delicious albeit weird sounding anchovy breadcrumbs. They’re amazing and would work in quite a lot of dishes to add a bit of crunch and salt, and only take 5 minutes to make.

My version of the pasta used a different type of cabbage and likely wasn’t nearly as nice as that recipe, so I suggest you just make that. The breadcrumbs recipe though, I will copy over, as you can put them on anything.

Ingredients (duck):

1 orange, zest and whole orange in half
Sea salt
1 red chili, chopped
2kg whole duck

In a mortar and pestle, mash the zest, salt, and chili. Spread and massage this into the skin of the duck. Put the orange halves in the duck cavity, and tie the legs shut with some butchers twine. Cook at 180C / 350F for about an hour, until the skin is crispy. If it’s not crispy yet, crank the oven and cook for 10 minutes more.

Ingredients (anchovy breadcrumbs, from the New York Times):

1/2 cup breadcrumbs
4 anchovies
2 garlic cloves, diced
2 tbsp butter

Melt the butter and add the anchovies. Cook and mash until you had a paste, then add the garlic and cook for another minute or so. Add in the breadcrumbs and coat with the butter. Cook until golden brown, stirring occasionally. Serve with absolutely anything.

Lamb Rump Roast with Lentils

After a few weeks getting food at the pub while the oven’s been broken, and a terribly inconvenient case of bronchitis over New Years, I’ve gotten back into cooking. The lentils, we won’t talk about. They didn’t go so well. But, in general, lentils of some sort would be great with this roast.

Last time I made this, I had two smaller rumps, and it worked out great. This was a bit larger, enough for 2, but I still marinated for 24 hours prior and that really makes a big difference. The recipe is only altered slightly, and it’s served with greek yogurt that’s been blended with some mint and jalepeno for a bit of kick.

Ingredients (lamb):

1 lamb rump roast (enough for 2 people)
1/2 cup thyme
1/2 cup oregano
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
2 garlic cloves, diced
3-4 tablespoons of olive oil
Salt and pepper

Mix the ingredients and toss into a tupperware to marinade overnight. Remove lamb from marinade, and set the herbs aside. Get an oven-proof pan smoking hot, add a bit of olive oil, and sear the fatty side of the lamb for about 5 minutes, until it’s starting to get really brown and burned. Flip it over, toss the marinade into the pan around the lamb, and bake for 30 minutes at 175C / 350F. Remove when the internal temperature is 50C, let rest for 5 minutes or until the temperature comes to 55C. Slice and serve on lentils.

2012 Recipe Roundup

That’s it for me this year. Here are my favorites from 2012:

Best way to spend a RAINY DAY:
Pulled Pork with Cannellini Beans, Butternut Squash and Tomato

Best HANGOVER cure: Arepas with Black Beans, Haloumi and Avocado

Best way to make your COWORKERS jealous: Curried Chicken Salad with Grapes, Almonds, Cilantro and Red Pepper

Best INVENTION: Grape, Prosciutto, Parmesan and Egg Pizza

Best CELEBRITY CHEF recipe: Neil Perry’s Chicken Stuffed with Garlic and Coriander

Best dinner for ONE: Pan Roasted Chicken with Pesto

Best LEFTOVERS: Balsamic and Pomegranate Short Ribs with Bacon, Mushroom and Sun-Dried Tomato Trofil

Best way to make your friends HATE you: Smoked Salmon Dip in Cucumber Cups

Best BRUNCH at home: Sage Toad in the Hole with Tomato and Avocado

Best dish made with a WEIRD cut of meat: Master Stock Beef Cheeks with Spicy Rhubarb Sauce, Orange Salt, and Braised Fennel

Best SIDE dish: Saffron Sweet Potato Fries with Cilantro Lime Dipping Sauce

What have I missed?

Seared Salmon with Cabbage and Carrot Slaw

The slaw was a really nice, simple recipe from Chow, that makes a heap of food. I used a whole onion, doubled the lime juice, added 1/4 cup of apple cider vinegar, and used mint instead of cilantro. I probably used 2 or 3 times more salt and pepper as well, but it made double what you see in the photo on the Chow site (maybe 10 times as much as you see in my photo. Be warned, you’ll be seeing a lot of this for the next week).

The salmon I seasoned with salt and pepper, and started in a cold pan, flesh side down, with a bit of olive oil. Turn the heat to medium high and cook for about 7 minutes, flip, and cook for 7 more minutes, depending on how “done” you like your salmon.

Crispy Duck Breast with Red Wine Mushrooms, Crispy Brussel Sprouts, and Warm Mozzerella with Broad Beans, Lemon and Cilantro

I made some extra sides so I had something for lunch the next day, but couldn’t resist trying a bit of everything. The brussel sprouts I’ve made before, there’s a quick kale salad, and the mushrooms were sauteed with rosemary and red wine, but the broad bean salad was a great side and not anything I’d tried before.

Ingredients (duck):

2 duck breasts
2 tsp chinese 5 spice powder
Salt and pepper

Dry the duck skin, leaving uncovered in the fridge, salted, over the day. Pat dry again and season with salt and pepper. On the flesh side, rub with 5 spice, salt and pepper.

Get a pan very hot (no oil needed), and place the duck skin side down for 7-10 minutes until very brown and the fat has rendered. Cook for 5-7 minutes on the other side until medium.

Ingredients (broad beans):

1 cup of broad beans, having been removed from the shell
Zest of 1 lemon
1/4 cup cilantro leaves
1/2 cup fresh mozzerella balls
Olive oil, salt and pepper

Boil the beans for a few minutes, drain, and then saute in a bit of olive oil for 7-10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, and then mix with the remaining ingredients. Serve immediately.

Cabbage and Mushroom “Lasagna”

Every now and then I’ll Google ingredients I have around the house to find a recipe. I had potato, cabbage, and mushroom, which is fairly unusual for me to have around, but this recipe from the NY Times came up and I didn’t have much hope for it. I don’t really “love” cabbage. But, desperate times, or something. So here I was, making this dish.

It was amazing. I added pancetta, didn’t assemble it properly, and didn’t cook it enough (I was starving), but it was amazing. I’d make it again any time.

Neil Perry’s Chicken Stuffed with Garlic and Coriander

Make this dish. I don’t know what else to say. I did it it once poaching the garlic, and once not (I prefer not), but it’s just incredible. Use real saffron if you can, it makes a big difference. Also, I hate to say it (no I don’t), but sorry Neil, mine looks better :)

Chorizo, Chicken and Prawn Paella

Sometimes it’s a few weeks before I post a recipe, and I’m really wishing I had posted this sooner, since I’m not 110% on what I did anymore. That’s most of the reason I started this blog; I make a lot of different stuff, and I can never remember the recipe. This came out incredibly, serves 6.

Ingredients:

4 boneless chicken thighs
about a dozen shell-less prawns (mine were frozen, I thawed them before use)
2 chorizo sausages, sliced
2 capsicum (in 2 colors), cut in 1x1 inch cubes
1/8 cup sliced blanched almonds
1 tsp imitation saffron, or a pinch of saffron threads
400g bomba rice
1 liter chicken stock
10-ish juniper berries
1 cup roughly chopped oregano and rosemary
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cinnamon
3-4 garlic cloves
1 dried mulato chili
Olive oil, pepper and salt

Soak the chili in a bit of hot water for 5 minutes. Remove the seeds and chop.

In a mortar and pestle, smash up the garlic, salt, juniper berries, saffron, paprika, cinnamon, and chili with some olive oil. Set aside.

Season the chicken with salt and pepper, brown the chicken in a skillet and set aside. Next saute the prawns and set aside, then the chorizo. Once the chorizo is brown, add the rosemary, oregano, capsicum, almonds, and mashed up spice mixture. Add the chicken and prawns back ones the capsicums start to soften, sprinkle the rice over and add the stock. Bring to a simmer, and let simmer on low, untouched, for about 30 minutes, until the liquid has all absorbed and it’s formed a crust on the bottom.

Lamb Rump Roast with Herb Roasted Potatoes and Spinach Salad

Hands down, this is the best lamb I’ve ever eaten. As part of the endless amount of meat I picked up from the market, I grabbed 2 lamb rumps and marinated them for 24 hours before cooking them. It was quite easy to do, since I just put it together Sunday night, and then could throw it in the oven on Monday after work. The salad was simple, and the potatoes I cooked with some of the reserved duck fat from the weekend. You can buy it in the shop, but I just skimmed it from the bottom of the pan and put it in a container.

Ingredients (lamb):

2 lamb rumps (think fairly large single serves… with leftovers)
1/2 cup thyme, roughly chopped
1/2 cup rosemary, roughly chopped
Juice of half a lemon
3 garlic cloves, diced
3-4 tablespoons of olive oil
Salt and pepper

Toss everything together and marinade for at least a few hours to overnight. It could probably even go 2 days. Remove lamb from marinade, getting off the herbs, and set aside. Get an oven-proof pan nice and hot, and sear the fatty side of the lamb for about 5 minutes, until it’s starting to get really brown and burned. This is going to get the lamb all sorts of juicy while it’s cooking. Flip it over, drizzle with a bit of olive oil (I also added some carrots, but I don’t think it did anything for the lamb, they were just going off and needed eating), and bake for 30 minutes at 200C / 375F. Remove, let rest for 5 minutes, and slice to serve. If you want it to look really pretty, you can remove that fatty top bit, it’s done its job.

Ingredients (potatoes):

5-6 fingerling potatoes, skins scored with a fork, and chopped in half / thirds depending on size
1/2 cup chopped sage and rosemary
Salt and pepper
Heaping tablespoon of duck fat

Combine the ingredients and bake for 40 minutes at 200C / 375F, flipping halfway through.