Spinach and Lentils with Pomegranate Sauce ( ghalieh esfanaj )

"This simple dish from the Caspian coastline of Northern Iran is tangy and delicious. Serve it with a rice pilau and yoghurt." - Arto der Haroutunian. 'Vegetarian Dishes from Across the Middle East'

l cup of dried whole lentils, washed

700g (1 1/2 lb) fresh spinach or 450g (1 lb) frozen leaf spinach

2 Tablespoons of olive oil or vegan butter

1 onion, thinly sliced

1 teaspoon of salt

3 Tablespoons of pomegranate juice

Bring a large saucepan half-filled with lightly salted water to the boil, add the lentils and simmer until tender, about 30-40 minutes. Drain the lentils and set aside.

If using fresh spinach, wash it thoroughly; if using frozen, let it thaw. Squeeze excess moisture out of the spinach and chop it coarsely.

heat the oil in a frying pan and add the onion, stirring frequently until it is golden brown. Add the chopped spinach, stir well and cover the pan. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

Stir in the lentils, salt and pomegranate juice, then cover the pan and simmer for a further 20 minutes.

Transfer to a serving dish and serve immediately.

Hot Cross Buns

Homemade Hot Cross Buns are just the best. Even so, I used to buy them at the supermarket or bakery as I was usually busy around Easter time and buying them meant I could eat more of them! Cut in half and toasted then spread with a little butter - a delicious breakfast or afternoon tea.

Here in France they are not Easter fare though. Easter fare also excludes cream-eggs, marshmellow eggs, caramel eggs and just a whole season of chocolate indulgence - the French, at least people I know, seem better at just celebrating with Easter food on Easter weekend and even then, it's more the roast lamb they look forward to than sweet treats (except the kids who do get an Easter Egg hunt). As a vegetarian, I was much more looking forward to the sweet offerings and started looking for my beloved-once-a-year hot cross buns which were nowhere to be found. So, unable to accept cultural difference in this instance, turned to a Kiwi chef whose home cooking, enjoyed by adults and children alike,  my generation thrived on. Thank you Alison Holst for letting me share a Kiwi (originally English?) favourite with my French friends.

I took them to a pot-luck afternoon tea with international and French friends and we ate them still hot from the oven with salted French butter. Superb. The ones I made were not huge - I was running out of time to let them rise again once made into buns - but the texture was still great, not heavy little rocks like my previous attempts (before I found Alison Holst's recipe). Makes 30

Ingredients

2 tablespoons active dry yeast, e.g. Surebake active yeast mixture
2 cups flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1 cup milk, cold
1 cup boiling water
50 g butter, melted
1 egg
1 cup mixed fruit (I prefer just raisins usually but for these used dried mulberries too)
1 tablespoon mixed spice
1 tablespoon cinnamon
3 -4 cups flour

Crosses

1/2 cup flour
2 tablespoons oil
water, to taste

Glaze

2 tablespoons water
1/4 cup sugar

Directions

1. Measure the yeast mixture, flour, brown sugar and salt into a large bowl. Stir to mix and then add the cold milk followed by the boiling water. Stir thoroughly to mix.
2. Leave to stand for 3 minutes. Melt the butter and assemble the rest of the ingredients.
3. Once the 3 minutes is up, stir in the rest of the ingredients except for the flour. 
4. Now add as much flour as need to make a dough just firm enough to turn out on a board and knead. [The original recipe suggests 3 cups. I needed 4.]. 
5. Knead the dough for 5-10 minutes until smooth and satiny and it springs back when you press it with a finger.
6. Oil a large bowl and turn the dough ball in this until it is all coated. Cover the mixture with plastic wrap and leave to stand until it doubles its original bulk.
7. Turn out on a floured board, knead lightly and cut into 30 evenly sized pieces.
8. Form each piece into a ball and arrange the buns in rows in a dish or pan with at least 1 cm between them. A roasting dish works well and takes about 15 buns.
9. Preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F and when ready turn the heat down to 200°C/400°F.
10. Put crosses on the buns.Make a paste of the flour and oil and then add enough water to make a dough that can be forced out of an icing bag. Pipe the crosses on the buns.
11. Put the buns in the oven and bake for about 15 minutes until they brown slightly and feel firm. Remove from oven and glaze with a hot syrup made by heating sugar and water.
12. Cool buns on a rack. Store in airtight containers when cold.

If you want to make a smaller quantity, halve the ingredients except for the egg. You may need more flour.

Pasta with Turnips and Turnip Tops

Turnips, turnips, turnips!
Trying to eat local organic produce throughout the winter has been a challenge. It's been a lot of root vegetables - potatoes, turnips, parsnips, rutabagas, celeriac/jerusalem artichokes, black radishes, and a few I didn't know. Apart from potatoes, not my favourite vegetable selection but I've tried to make the most of it, making root vegetable korma, aligot (French cheesy-garlicky potato puree), roast vegetable salads, soups, and using them as a base of chillies and curries.
Growing up in NZ I never really ate turnips though - we mainly ate potatoes, carrots, kumara/sweet potato and beetroot and I tried to avoid parsnips and yams. My main association with turnips were the children's books 'The Great Big Enormous Turnip' and 'The Hobyahs'.

The Hobyahs storybook video

Not being so keen on building a house out of turnips and quickly running out of ideas for using turnips in meals,  I searched my recipe books for ideas. In 'The Top One Hundred Pasta Sauces' by Diane Seed, I found a recipe from Puglia that used the turnip tops: Orecchiette con Cime di Rape (Orecchiette with Turnip Tops). Vegetables at the market are often sold in bunches with their tops still attached so we can appreciate their freshness and it seems a waste not to use the leaves if there's something yummy we can make with them.  So I've made this nice recipe a few times but also added the turnip roots to use the whole bunch at once. Thanks to some restaurants here in France, I've learned turnips are very nice caramelised, which can be done either by slicing thinly and cooking, stirring, in a pan till they naturally caramelise, or, if using larger chunks like here, adding a bit of olive oil or butter and a little sugar or honey to help things along (sometimes water or vegetable stock is also used).

So here's my combination of the two ideas:

Pasta with Caramelised Turnips and Turnip Tops.

Serves 4 as a main or six as an entree.

Ingredients

500g / 1 lb orecchiette or other short pasta
1 bunch of small fresh turnips with green tops attached
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp liquid honey or 1-2 tsp sugar (optional)
salt

4 Tbsp / olive oil (second measure)
5 cloves of garlic
1 or 2 small chilli peppers or 2 tsp / 10ml dried chilli flakes

Method

Cut the tops off the turnips and set the greens aside. Brush the turnips clean in water. Cut into bite-sized chunks. In a frying pan, saute the turnip roots, turning often (8-10 minutes) or steam above the boiling water till becoming tender. Then, in frying pan, add sugar or honey and oil to turnips and cook, stirring now and then, till caramelised - they will be nicely browned in places. Set aside till ready to use.

Now wash the turnip tops and cut into long thin strips. Heat a large pot of salted water (this will be used for cooking first the greens and later, pasta). When water is boiling, plunge in the greens and blanch, making sure not to overcook - they should remain vivid green. Remove greens with a slotted spoon (or you can cook greens in a colander to make removal easier). Keep the water and boil the pasta in it. You may need to add some more water if there was not enough. Cook pasta till al dente.

In another frying pan (or remove turnips to a bowl and clean first pan) heat the second measure of olive oil. Add chopped garlic and chilli pepper, stirring until garlic is golden brown but not burnt.

When pasta is nearly ready, add the greens back into the pan and cook together another couple of minutes. Drain carefully, shaking colander to remove any water trapped in the pasta. Pour the pasta and turnip greens into a large warmed serving dish. Add the caramelised turnips, mix gently then pour over the garlic/chilli oil and stir well. Serve at once.

Pardon my blurry photo and lack of orecchiette pasta

Mushroom Stroganoff

Vegan Mushroom Stroganoff with Cashew Cream

Ingredients

500g sliced mushrooms
1 large brown onion sliced thinly
3 cloves garlic minced
800mls veggie stock
2tsps Dijon mustard
60mls lemon juice
20mls ACV (apple cider vinegar)
2tsps smoked paprika
1tsp thyme
1tsp oregano
40mls olive oil
Pepper to taste
250g dried short pasta like penne or spirals

Cashew Cream

100g raw cashews soaked
100mls water
3tbs nooch

Method
1. Heat oil in a pan to medium high heat then add the onion and garlic and sauté until soft. Add mushrooms and cook for about 3 mins, stirring regularly.
2. Add veggie stock, mustard, lemon juice, ACV, paprika, thyme, oregano and pepper. Bring to the boil.
3. Add pasta and cover, cooking until aldente then allow to cool a little with the lid off. After about 5 mins, add the *cashew cream and serve.

Cashew Cream
*Add all ingredients to a container and I use a stick blender to blend until smooth.

Gratin of Silverbeet Stems with Blue Cheese

Don't throw those silverbeet stems away! Use them in a delicious gratin like the French do! In fact, here in France, my new family was surprised that we use the leaves at all - they throw them away and use the stems only; the opposite of what we do in NZ!
I've been making lots of pureed silverbeet leaves for my baby was instantly taken with them (hurrah!) and when I tasted it (I force myself to try babyfood - some commercial stuff is virtually inedible!) I found it was SO delicious! Thank you organic farmers at our market! Big win on the greens' front! What to do with those stems? They are so crisp and fullsome that I had to try a recipe I'd read in Stephanie Alexander's splendid cooking encyclopedia 'The Cook's Companion'.
It was a great success and my French husband went on to boast at how it's really a French tradition to eat silverbeet like that. To be honest, he adores anything in gratin-form though.

12 stems of silver beet (optional with leaves of from 4)
1 cup cream
100 g soft blue cheese*
freshly grated nutmeg (go easy unless you're a huge fan as it can be overpowering)
salt
freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons softened butter
1/2 cup fresh white breadcrumbs (I like to blitz yesterday's baguette remains in the food processor)


*I used bleu d'Auvegne as that's what I had on hand and it was great. Stephanie, who presents recipes for a mainly Australian audience, recommends Aussies try Milawa Blue (inspired by Gorgonzola Dolce) or Gippsland Blue, both cow's milk cheeses, or Meredith Blue,  a sheep's milk cheese.


Preheat oven to 180˚C.

Cut silverbeet leaves away from stems and reserve for another dish. Cut stems into 8cm lengths that are 1cm wide.

Blanch stems for 10 minutes in a large saucepan of boiling, salted water. Drain, then quickly run under cold water to stop cooking. Drain again on kitchen paper towels.

Bring cream to a boil in wiped-out saucepan, then drop in cheese and lower heat. Stir gently until the cheese has melted, then season with nutmeg, salt and pepper. Drop in stems and some leaves if using (see below). Stir to mix well.

Grease a gratin dish or dishes with butter (ceramic, stoneware, glass or cast iron dishes would all work well) and spoon in stems and sauce. Smooth top and scatter the breadcrumbs over.

Bake until bubbling and golden - individual dishes will need 15 minutes, a large one 25 minutes.

LEAVES - Wash 1-2 per person, then roll them up and slice them. Blanch for 2 minutes then drain. I leave it at that but Stephanie goes on to stew them in 1 teaspoon of butter for a minute and drains them again. Add them along with the stems to the finished sauce before sprinkling with breadcrumbs.

Banana Cake (Edmonds recipe)

It isn't hard to make a good banana cake so it always amazes me that cafes can have such rubbish ones. The main problems seem to be using oil instead of butter, esp using too much oil, and not using enough bananas to give the delicious flavour and wonderful moistness. This recipe is from the NZ classic cookbook of basic recipes, The Edmonds Cookery book. The main meals in that book are pretty dated, plain and bleugh, but the baking recipes are winners - no surprise as Edmonds is a baking powder company so baking is their business. And this banana cake means business, with about 4 ripe (brown or black bananas). If you don't have enough really ripe bananas, you can either make a mediocre cake or just PEEL, chop and freeze the bananas you have to use with more at a later date. 

125g butter, softened

¾ c sugar

2 eggs

2 c mashed ripe bananas (about 4 largish bananas)

1 tsp baking soda

2 Tbsp hot milk

2 c plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

chocolate or lemon icing or dust with icing sugar

Cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add mashed banana and mix thoroughly. 

Stir baking soda into hot milk and add to creamed mixture.

Sift flour and baking powder. Fold into mixture.

Turn into a greased and lined 20cm round tin (or a ring tin or loaf pans of about same volume).

Bake at 180˚ for 50 min or until cake springs back when lightly touched. Leave in tin for 10 min before turning out onto a wire rack. When cold, ice or dust with icing sugar sifted over.

Can also be made as two cakes baked in 20cm round sandwich tins at 180˚ for 25 min. The two cakes can be sandwiched together with whipped cream and fresh banana slices.

Zucchini and Nut Fritters

I think my French in-laws are convinced that fritters are New Zealand's national dish as they're what I usually whip up as a vegetarian dish to share as part of Sunday lunches. Well fritters are pretty versatile aren't they? Just chop and chuck in whatever's in season. Below I'll add a few other suggestions for substitutions/additions to this zucchini recipe. This one is from Rowan Bishop's 'Good Health Adventure Cookbook'

Zucchini and Nut Fritters

Serves 4-6 (photos show less than half the mixture)

4 cups grated zucchini (about 4 zucchini) - I used both green and yellow varieties

3-4 cloves garlic, crushed

1 Tbsp fresh basil or oregano, finely chopped, or 1 tsp dried

2 Tbsp finely chopped chives

1 cup plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 cup chopped, roasted peanuts

4 free-range eggs (yes, 4, it helps the flavour and consistency)

½ cup cottage cheese

1 Tbsp lemon juice

⅓ cup sour cream

salt and pepper to taste

-pinenuts instead of peanuts (though more expensive and less wonderfully crunchy)

-mint as well as or instead of other herbs

- feta or ricotta instead of cottage cheese and sour cream

- roasted pepper strips, chopped

Grate zucchini and place in a large bowl with the garlic, herbs, flour and baking powder. Roughly chop roasted peasants in a food processor and add to other ingredients in the bowl. 

Break eggs into another bowl with the remaining ingredients and whisk vigorously. Add to the zucchini mixture and mix thoroughly until well-combined. 

Heat 3-4 Tbsp oil in heavy-based frying pan (or less oil if using a non-stick frying pan) at medium heat then drop spoonfuls of the fritter mixture into the hot oil. Cook 3-4 minutes on each side until golden brown. Take care that the heat is not too high, to ensure the centre of the fritters cook, not just the outside. You will probably have to cook the mixture in two or three batches. As each batch cooks, drain on absorbent paper, add more oil to the pan as required and keep the cooked fritters warm until ready to serve (eg in oven on low heat). They are best eaten as soon as they are cooked but may also be frozen (stored in container between sheets of greaseproof paper) and reheated in oven.

Serve with tomato caper sauce and salad or lightly steamed veg etc. 

Tomato Caper Sauce

1 Tbsp oil 

1 onion, chopped finely

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

1 small capsicum, seed and chopped

1 440g tin tomato puree (or better yet, use fresh - un-hydroponic - tomatoes)

1 tsp capers, chopped

½ tsp salt (or skip this and use a few more capers - yum)

freshly ground black pepper

Heat oil in a small heavy-based saucepan. Saute the onion, garlic and capsicum over a low heat until the onion softens. Add the tomato puree, capers and seasonings and simmer for 10 minutes.

Serve in a jug or bowl to accompany the fritters.