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Beetroot, Sage and Goat’s Cheese Ravioli

Ages ago, I took a stab at Chew Town’s beautiful ravioli recipe, without first stocking up on pasta flour. I was ready to make both batches of ravioli to freeze for later, but instead did my version of a “best of” rav with my 3 favorite ingredients from what I had prepared, and tried my best to find creative ways to eat pureed pumpkin for the next 2 days.

I still have a lot to learn making pasta; due to the lack of dough (and the last lot I tried making being way too doughy), I overcompensated and made them too thin. I also overfilled them since I had so much filling. But they froze well, and I’d do it again, provided I check that I have the right ingredients first.

Osso Bucco with Pea, Lemon, Mint and Goat’s Cheese Fettuccine, and Crispy Brussel Sprouts

This is inspired by the Maggie Beer beef cheeks recipe I made a few weeks ago, it worked pretty well with the osso bucco and I went lighter on some of the ingredients so the veal didn’t get overpowered.

Ingredients (osso bucco marinade):

4 pieces of thick cut osso bucco
4 roughly chopped garlic cloves
4 sprigs of rosemary
4 bay leaves
Rind of 1 orange
2 tbsp juniper berries
Salt, pepper, olive oil

Toss together the day before cooking.

Ingredients (osso bucco):

Osso Bucco, removed from marinade
1 chopped onion
2 chopped carrots
1 cup red wine
Juice of 1 orange
2 cups of beef stock

Sear the osso bucco in a hot pan with a bit of olive oil, then remove, cleaning the pan of most of the oil. Saute the carrot and onion until soft, seasoning with salt and pepper. Mix in the liquids and bring to a simmer before adding the osso bucco back in. Cover and cook on low for 2 hours. Before serving, remove the osso bucco and reduce the liquid so it forms a sauce.

Ingredients (brussel sprouts):

3 cups of brussel sprouts, sliced in half
Zest of half a lemon
Salt, pepper, olive oil

Mix and bake for about 30 minutes, turning halfway through, until crispy.

Ingredients (fettuccine):

2 cups of cooked fettuccine
1 cup of frozen peas, defrosted
1/2 cup crumbled goat’s cheese
Zest and juice of half a lemon
1/2 cup chopped mint leaves
Salt and pepper

Saute the peas in a bit of olive oil. Once warm, mix with the rest of the ingredients and season with salt and pepper.

Caramelized Fennel, Grape, Goat’s Cheese and Mint Pizza

I’m finally getting the hang of how to make an awesome pizza with a crispy crust. I’ve frozen some pizza dough as well to see if I can uncomplicate the process and be able to make a quick pizza on a weeknight.

I made this pizza dough recipe, and after it rose, I split it into balls and wrapped it in oiled cling film and popped it in the freezer. To thaw, remove the cling film from the dough and pop it in a bowl covered with a damp towel or cling film. Leave it on the counter (not the fridge) for the day to thaw and rise. For breakfast pizza, do this overnight. You can also make bread or rolls out of this dough, it’s a really nice recipe, just make sure to use the Type 00 flour.

Ingredients:

1 portion of pizza dough
1 fennel bulb, shaved
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp fennel seeds
1 cup of grapes, cut in half
1/4 cup crumbled goat’s cheese
1/2 cup mint leaves
Olive oil, salt and pepper

Turn on the oven as hot as it will go for at least 30 minutes to preheat. After 10 minutes, put your pizza stone in the oven to get it hot. This is very, very important to get crispy crust on the bottom.

In a warm pan with olive oil, saute the fennel until soft. Add the sugar, fennel seeds, and season with salt and pepper. Cook on medium low, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes to caramelize. It will turn a bit golden and get quite soft.

Flour a cutting board or the counter very well, and spread the pizza dough into a rough circle. Let rest for 10 minutes, and then spread it again to get a 15 inch pizza. Remove the pizza stone from the oven, and using a rolling pin or wine bottle, slip it under the dough (so it’s only touching the floured side) to help move it onto the stone. Layer on the fennel (depending on the size of your bulb, and your love of fennel, you may or may not use it all), a couple of the mint leaves, the grapes, and the goat’s cheese. Season with salt and pepper and bake for about 10 minutes until the crust is golden.

Sprinkle with mint leaves to finish, and here’s the other piece… leave it on the stone out of the oven for about 5 minutes before you go to cut or eat it. The stone will keep cooking the base, but you’re not burning the cheese by leaving it in the oven. Score.

Goat’s Cheese and Sage Stuffed Chicken with Caramelized Fennel, Roasted Mushrooms and Pomegranate

I’ve been making this style of chicken quite a lot, but am trying to mix up the stuffings. So what’s the #1 way to improve a recipe? Add cheese. It’s the American way.

Ingredients (chicken):

1 whole chicken, cut up the backbone and flattened
1/4 cup goats cheese
3 garlic cloves
1/2 bunch of sage, chopped
2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
Juice of half a lemon
Salt, pepper and olive oil

Mash the ingredients, starting with the garlic, and add a few tablespoons of oil. Season with salt and pepper, add the rest of the ingredients, and mix well. Stuff under the skin of a flattened whole chicken, and the brown skin side down in a skillet for 5 minutes. Flip and cook for 5 minutes more before putting in the oven for about 30 minutes at 220C / 400F.

This side, on it’s own, is a lovely vegetarian dish and would have been very sufficient as dinner. The caramelized fennel I got from the book Plenty I’ve been raving about, and served with oven roasted mushrooms and fresh pomegranate. Buy this book.

Dukkah Crusted Chicken Stuffed with Goat’s Cheese and Basil

Served with a side of green beans, you could also make this by tying the chicken or wrapping it with pancetta, but it works out fine the “lazy” way. Takes about 30 minutes total.

Ingredients (serves 4):

6 pieces of boneless chicken thighs
6 tbsp goat’s cheese
6 tablespoons of chopped fresh basil
4 tbsp dukkah
1/2 onion, sliced
4 tomatoes
Salt, pepper, olive oil

Get an ovenproof skillet warm on the stove and saute onions in a bit of olive oil. Mash up the goat’s cheese and basil and season the inside of the chicken with salt and pepper. Split the cheese mixture between the 6 pieces of chicken, and wrap it so it’s on the inside (it will probably come apart a bit while cooking). Place the chicken in the pan with the tomatoes and sprinkle the whole dish with dukkah, and season with salt and pepper. Bake for 20 minutes at 200C / 375F.

Beetroot, Goat’s Cheese and Mint Salad

Quarter washed, raw beetroot and roast, tossed in olive oil, salt and pepper, for 30 minutes. Refrigerate, and once cool, toss with 1/4 cup chopped mint. Top with goat’s cheese, and serve on witlof leaves.

Scrambled Eggs with Chili Prawns and Goat’s Cheese and Mint

Ingredients (serves 2):

4 eggs
1/2 cup skim milk
2 prawns, cooked or uncooked, sliced in half lengthwise
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
4 tbsp goat’s cheese
1 tomato, sliced
1 cup baby spinach
2 slices of bread
1/4 cup chopped Vietnamese mint
Salt, pepper and oil

Mix the eggs and milk, and set aside. Saute the prawns with the chili, and season with salt and pepper. In a pan on medium heat, pour in the eggs, whipping constantly, until they change in color and start to set. Once they’re quite thick, stop stirring and flip to finish cooking on the other side.

Layer spinach and tomato on the bread, top with eggs, season with salt and pepper, and add the cheese, prawns, and finish with mint.

Pear and Goat’s Cheese Bruschetta

I made this as a snack but probably just could have eaten it for dinner; pear and goat’s cheese is just such a good combination!

Ingredients:

2 slices of bread
1 pear, thinly sliced
1/4 cup crumbled goat’s cheese
Olive oil, salt and pepper

Top the bread with the pear and drizzle with olive oil. Bake for 10-15 minutes at 200C / 375F, until the pear has started to get brown. Add goat’s cheese and bake for another 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, and serve.

Pistachio and Basil Crusted Salmon with Roasted Beetroot, Goat’s Cheese and Spinach Salad

Really easy way to dress up some salmon, only takes a minute to put together and really delicious!

Ingredients:

2 pieces of salmon
1/2 cup of white wine
1/4 cup shelled pistachios
1/2 cup fresh basil
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves of garlic
Salt and pepper
4 beetroots, quartered
2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup fresh chopped herbs (sage is great, but basil or thyme will do)
Spinach, tomatoes, green onion, goat’s cheese.. whatever you want to put in the salad

Marinate the salmon in wine for an hour while you put the beetroots together. Melt the butter and toss with the sage and beetroots. Season with salt and pepper and bake, stirring occasionally, for about 45 minutes.

In a food processor, puree the pistachio, basil, olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper. Remove the salmon from the wine and put in a baking dish. Top with the pistachio mixture and put the remaining wine in the pan. Bake under the grill for 15-20 minutes and serve with the salad and beetroot.