Real Berry Jellies and Weak- at- the -Knees Lamingtons

What do you do when you can't eat anything at all because everything tastes like metal and your mouth's ulcerated and you can't keep anything down anyway? My husband's been really very ill for the last 5 months, and completely lost his appetite at times. Finding things to tempt him has been a real mission; but just when I was out of ideas he phoned me one day (from hospital) and asked for - of all things- a pink lamington, complete with whipped cream!! I guess when you're ill you elevate memories of old comforts - especially true when it comes to food, I think.

In any case, I went searching but could only find them filled with truly awful  'mock cream'. As it turned out he couldn't eat it in the end in any case - it was a feed tube for him, unfortunately.
This whole episode got me thinking, though, about how I might be able to make really good lamingtons with real fruit, so out came the pinny. ..
I'd invented some lovely raspberry jelly moulds for a Xmas feature a couple of years ago, so I revisited that recipe and simply used the jelly base to dip squares of bought sponge in - and they turned out to be such a triumph I decided to include them in my new book (for which I just sent the manuscript away last week - Yay!!!). A friend, who's been making them ever since, says her husband literally goes weak at the knees over them, hence the name.

Real Berry Jellies and Weak- at- the -Knees Lamingtons

A photo like this will be in the new book, but as you can see this one is hardly a professional image!, just snapped over Carolyn (Robertson's) shoulder as she was setting up the shot.

                                 Real Berry Jellies and Weak- at- the- Knees Lamingtons

It must be the child in all of us; jellies never go out of favour, especially when served with fresh berries and boutique ice cream. Or, dip squares of sponge in the jelly before it sets and roll in coconut for some frivolous real fruit lamingtons.

Makes 16-18 lamingtons

500g fresh or frozen raspberries (thawed)

½ cup sugar

2½ cups cranberry, pomegranate or blackcurrant juice

2 Tbsp gelatine

Jelly moulds

Place the fresh or thawed raspberries with their juice, the sugar and 2 cups of the cranberry juice in a large saucepan. Soak the gelatine in the remaining ½ cup of cranberry juice.

Heat the raspberry mixture over a medium heat and simmer 1-2 minutes. Remove from the heat and immediately strain through a sieve into a bowl. Discard the seeds.

Whisk in the soaked gelatine and stir until the gelatine is completely dissolved. Pour into six ½ cup moulds.

Cover and chill for 3-4 hours until set.

Unmould the jellies onto serving plates and garnish with fresh raspberries or berries of choice and crème fraiche or homemade ice cream. 

Real Fruit Lamingtons

Grown men have been known to go weak at the knees when these are produced - honestly!

Berry jelly, as for berry jelly moulds

300g plain sponge, bought or home made

2-3 cups desiccated coconut

200ml softly whipped cream

Make the berry jelly as outlined above, and set aside to cool. Refrigerate to hasten the process once it has cooled sufficiently, but don’t allow  to set; try to catch it just as the setting process begins.

Cut the sponge into approximately 5cm squares, and dip all sides into the cold jelly.

Roll in the coconut, then either slash the top or halve through the equator of each lamington.

Fill with the softly whipped cream and serve with or without fresh berries.

Whole Fruit & Nut Christmas Cake

This style of specialty festive cake has become very popular with good reason.  It looks special, tastes great and although the ingredients are relatively expensive the cakes are surprisingly economical because they can be sliced quite thinly to serve. 

It is quick to make and can be frozen. 

2 1/2 cups Brazil nuts

2 1/2 cups blanched almonds

1 cup crystallised pineapple pieces

1 cup crystallised ginger pieces

2 cups raisins

1 1/2 cups mixed peel

3 cups dried apricots

1 cup red glace cherries, plus 1/2 cup extra, reserved

1 cup dried figs, chopped roughly

1 1/2 cups plain flour

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1 tsp cardamom seeds, crushed **

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp almond essence

4 eggs

1/3 cup orange juice

3/4 cup marmalade

Preheat oven to 160 deg Celsius. 

Place nuts, fruits and dry ingredients into a large bowl.

Beat the eggs lightly with the essence, juice and the marmalade. Add the liquid ingredients to the mixture and mix together thoroughly.

Lightly spray the baking tins of your choice* and line the bottoms with baking paper.

Press the mixture firmly into the tins using the reserved glace cherries to decorate the tops of the cakes.

The cooking time will vary according to the size of your tins. Two 20 cm ring tins will take 1 1/2 - 2 hours to cook.  Three loaf tins will cook in 1 - 1 1/2 hours.  If you have smaller loaf or round tins they can also be used to produce attractive shapes.

* Adjust approximate cooking times accordingly.

** Cardamom seeds, not whole pods - these seeds are strongly aromatic and enhance the flavour of the dried fruits and nuts. 

Eggplant, Zucchini & Mint salad

This is a great tasting salad that looks good, too. I made it especially for our daughter's visit recently as I wanted something fresh, with some substance but not too filling - Yum!

                                  

This attractive, fresh tasting salad is a feast for the eyes as much as the palate, and makes a delicious accompaniment for polenta dishes or almost anything else you can think of.

Serves 4-6.

1 eggplant (450-500g)

450-500g zucchini

Oil

Salt and pepper to taste

1x 400g tin cannellini beans

½ packed cup roughly torn or chopped mint leaves

Zest and juice of 1 large lemon

¼ cup roughly chopped flat leaf parsley leaves

Pre heat oven to 190 C.

Slice the eggplant into 1cm rounds. Brush both sides with neutral oil or dip into a bowl of oil and wipe off any excess on the lip of the bowl. Place the slices on an oven tray in a single layer. Bake at 190 for about 25 minutes, until golden brown on both sides. Turn once during cooking. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper, and slice the rounds in half.

Slice the zucchini with a potato peeler into long ribbons.  Toss in neutral oil to coat lightly and season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Spread onto a baking tray and bake at 190 C for 5- 7 minutes or until just cooked through, tossing once or twice.  Remove from the hot tray to prevent further cooking and preserve colour.

Place the rinsed and drained beans in a large bowl and toss with the mint, lemon zest and juice.

Gently combine the beans with the roasted eggplant and zucchini, season to taste, and add a little more lemon and mint if wished. Transfer to a serving platter and garnish with the parsley.

Life's Too Short Marmalade

There are no better gifts than those you make yourself, and I absolutely love giving preserves I make to friends and family; the only exception being this marmalade.
I'm so conflicted about this, but it doesn't give a high yield, (there's no water added, relatively low sugar content) and it's all about real, intense fruit flavour. So I have this overwhelmingly selfish impulse to keep it and not give it away. Very conflicting. 

It's a challenge to cut down sugar content in preserves, but it is perfectly possible to achieve this to let real flavours shine. Most of our commercial producers are missing the point, I believe, and therefore consumers are missing out. It's so easy to make your own pickles, chutneys, relishes, jams and jellies, just choose seasonal to minimise cost, maximise flavour and say no to preservatives and colourings! (You won;t be sorry).

Life’s Too Short Marmalade

This marmalade is for those who like the best in life, a little more time - consuming in terms of yield, but absolutely worth it. The secret is in the method; flavor is maximized by keeping sugar to a minimum, and no water is added – it’s just fruit flesh, zest, and a minimum of sugar to preserve and enhance the flavours. You simply can’t buy marmalade as good as this unless expense doesn’t matter.

The flavours here are bold and intensely orange, but balanced by the lime to create a particularly delicious spread.

Use all oranges for this marmalade if you prefer, or experiment with other citrus.

Makes 2 x 350g jars.

1 kg thin skinned oranges

250g limes (3-4, depending on size)

500g sugar

2 Tbsp peeled and finely chopped fresh ginger (optional)

Using a zester,* preferably, or a floating blade peeler, remove the zest from all the fruit, ensuring that none of the pith is attached. Roughly chop the long strips of zest if a zester has been used. or finely slice the peeled zest into fine julienne lengths, and chop roughly. Transfer to a large saucepan.

With a sharp knife, pare the pith from all the fruit and discard.

Dice the fruits small, about 5mm (¼ inch), discarding any core or obvious membrane. Try not to lose any juice.

Transfer the diced fruit and juice to the saucepan with the zest, stir in the sugar and bring to simmer point.

Simmer, uncovered, for 25 - 30 minutes, stirring regularly. 

 Test by placing ½ teaspoon of the marmalade on a saucer to cool then nudging with a finger. If the surface ripples, it is ready to pour into hot sterilized jars and cover with sterilized metal screw on lids.

*A zester has a truncated ‘blade’ with 6 small holes.

Sophisticated Organics and Sustainability

Although I moan about the growth in suburb sprawl at the expense of how uncomplicated life used to be in Wanaka, one positive is that the population is growing ever more diverse; representing every facet of the social strata and bringing new skills and experience into the district. Which brings me to the point of this post; on my last visit I had the luck to be introduced to a couple who are well into a fascinating and ambitious lifestyle project, making their lives as ecologically sustainable as possible - and part of this is to grow as much food as they can themselves, organically. Their determination and the sophistication of this endeavour is not only impressive, it's nothing short of inspirational. The focus is uncompromisingly on recycling resources and sustainability, wasting as little as possible and eating as healthily as possible

Randolf and Marty in front of their asparagus bed

We've unwittingly walked past their property many times and commented on what looked like a 'serious' garden from the street - but as it turns out, we didn't know the half of it.

Randolf and his 'tunnel houses'

This is what we'd glimpsed from the street; long, carefully nurtured, boxed vege gardens. In fact, each of these long rows are partitioned into 1.5 metre square plots, which Randolf has graphed on his computer so that he and Marty know exactly what is grown in a particular plot each year, how much yield is realised and what beds need crop rotation. Not only that, but beneath these beds run water filled copper pipes capturing residual warmth from the soil and conveying it to their home's heating system so it doesn't have to operate from zero temperatures (of course solar power is accessed also).

Some of the beds grow herbs and vegetables solely to feed the rabbits farmed to supplement this couple's meat sources; next year they intend to set up a snail farm to further supplement and add variety (if you can't imagine this, have a look at my August 2011 post, 'The Upper Nivernais Canal - by boat'. I've posted photos of a snail farm we visited in Burgundy -we plan a return visit in about a month).

There's simply too much to comprehend about this 3/4 acre garden - 85 fruit and nut trees, many espaliered around the periphery; pears, apples, plums, nectarines, cherries, fig and citrus, 55 of which are apples, cider apples and crab apples. An underground 'root cellar' keeps pumpkins and home pressed apple cider (12% alcohol) at a controlled temperature and the green house's temperature is controlled by - yes - a geothermal field. Lemons, chillies, herbs and the more tender vegetables thrive here, oblivious to any temperature extremes outside.
In the house, one large room is devoted to weighing, drying and preserving what the garden provides.

. 

Hens not only provide eggs but have access to large compost bins, which they happily pick through, depositing manure as they go; this is in turn distributed to the gardens, as is the rabbit manure.
Oh - and let's not forget the two beehives that produce about 50 litres!! of honey per annum.

Randolf and Marty's passion, vision and philosophy are the drivers of this carefully conceived operation, but they also intend to involve and benefit others from it. Their plan is to invite those who don't or can't grow their own to help with maintenance and harvesting, in return for a share of the produce - a fabulous idea, and I'm already scheming in the hope I can get invited to the apple cider pressing next year!

We return to Wanaka each year to recharge and catch up with cousins and friends; I've been visiting all my life and husband Russ was born just around the corner (well sort of) in Kingston. Despite Wanaka's growth we still love it and the whole area - we tramp, fish, bike, walk, swim and do lots of socialising. I even rode on a cavalcade not so long ago and had, literally, one of the best weeks of my life. 

Of Lemons and Snow

Blogging hasn't been on my mind over the last 6 weeks; that's what a family crisis will do to you, on top of which I'm at the other end of the country and away from home, work and routines - just saying. . .
Before I left home, however, I picked lemons and preserved them as I find them so useful for so many dishes - soups, finely chopped into dips, sauces, lots of different rice dishes, couscous, lentils, pizza seafood toppings, tagines etc. They're also really good sliced, with or without the preserved flesh, on fresh ciabatta with baby watercress, drizzled with extra virgin olive oil.

I make three different kinds of preserved lemons and limes, and use them all as and when the mood takes me - traditional pickled lemons which are very salty, but of course when finely chopped and cooked, the salt and lemon flavours just infuse into the dish. I especially enjoyed adding finely chopped lemon ( rind and flesh) to a tomato sauce with fish recently. Sometimes I just use the rind and discard the flesh, other times I use both, depending on the dish. At the beginning of the season I use a quick method because I'm an impatient type and I've either given my stock away or used them all - then I make a slower maturing method to enjoy and keep for the year (we can live in hope).

Traditional (salty) preserved lemons

The latter two methods I find slightly more useful  - sugar gives them more versatility, especially for adding to dips, for example, or just for dipping into for a nibble.

                                                         Preserved Limes (or Lemons)

Sealing the jars is not strictly necessary, as these preserves keep well, for at least a year.

Makes 1 x litre jar, or 2 x 500g jars.

10-12 limes, depending on size

5 Tbsp rock salt (not fine)

6cm ginger, peeled and sliced

6-8 dried red chillies (optional)

1½ cups sugar

1 cup white vinegar

Wash the limes and slice each into six, lengthways. Cover the bottoms of two sterilized 500g jars or one 1 x litre jar. The jars don’t need to be hot but should be warm, as hot syrup will be poured into them when packed.

Sprinkle over 1 tsp of the rock salt and repeat the layer of lime slices and salt, distributing the chillies and ginger between the layers.

Heat the white vinegar and the sugar in a saucepan and simmer 3-5 minutes, uncovered. Stir regularly.

Pour the syrup over the limes and screw on a hot sterilised lid (s) or clip-lid jars.

Leave at room temperature for 4 weeks, then store in a cool dark place  - in this way they will keep for at least a year and should not need refrigerating. Basically, operate on the assumption that the longer they are kept, the better they will be. 

While I'm at it, it's quite uplifting to be thinking of lemons while there's snow outside . . .exciting!

Early morning Lake Hawea, June 20th, 2013

Harvest chutneys - Eggplants and Feijoas

When I had four young children and was working from home, I found myself spending at least 3-4 months a year making chutneys, pickles and relishes. This became something of an institution in our house, as I realised I could transform anything, from tasty cheddar on biscuits to a sausage (our three boys like vegetarian meals but also enjoy meat) by adding a great chutney, pickle or relish without costing much at all. School lunches were coveted by other kids and I didn't have to spend my life baking to have something to offer visitors - crackers and cheese with a home -made chutney was appreciated so much more. Best of all, even the humblest meal in our house was never boring, despite the financial constraints; there was always a jar of something to add interest, texture and flavour. I enjoyed the creative challenge of pushing boundaries, adding new flavours or testing new products, and I still do.

Eggplants are so versatile, and I make lots of different dishes with them; risotto, fritters, lasagne, moussaka, pies, pasta and dips, to mention just a few. I also make a very authentic Indian pickle that is not as sweet as the brinjal below, just as delicious though completely different.

About ten years ago, after lots of trials, I developed a brinjal (eggplant) chutney, and this became my most universally popular chutney ever. Everyone loves it ; I even have a friend who numbers every jar because her husband and son are so proud they sneak jars to give to their friends behind her back! Certainly it's top of the request list from my friends and family, and although time is running out I bought a big bag of eggplants for $4.00 at our local Farmer's market last Sunday, to make another double batch.

                                             Brinjal                     

     

This eggplant chutney literally took years to perfect, but is universally popular. Sweet but piquant, it complements curries, cheeses, pastries and just about anything.

Makes about 2 ½ litres.

Use processed garlic and ginger to save time.

2 large eggplant, about 500g each

4 tsp salt

¼ cup tamarind concentrate*

1 cup oil

¼ cup mustard seed (I use yellow)

100g crushed garlic

100g minced ginger

2 Tbsp fenugreek seed

2 Tbsp coriander seed

2 Tbsp cumin seed

1 Tbsp chilli powder

3 x 410g tins peeled tomatoes in juice, chopped

1 cup malt vinegar

1 kg sugar

Slice the unpeeled eggplant into small (¼ inch –5mm) dice. Place in a colander, sprinkled evenly or tossed with the salt. Set aside over a sink or bowl to drain for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the remaining ingredients.

Heat the oil in a large, heavy based pot or jam pan, over a medium high heat. Add the mustard seeds and heat until they start to pop. Remove from the heat and stir in the fenugreek, coriander and cumin seeds followed by the garlic, ginger and chilli powder. Return to a lowered heat and cook, stirring, for about 4 minutes. Stir in the salted and drained eggplant without rinsing or patting dry – just shake the colander before adding the eggplant, then sauté for 3-4 minutes.

Stir in the chopped tomatoes with juice, ¼ cup of tamarind pulp, vinegar and the sugar.

Simmer the mixture, uncovered, for about 1½ hours, stirring occasionally. Oil should rise to the surface after about an hour, and further cooking produces a medium-thick chutney, reduced to almost half the original volume.

Bottle in hot, sterilized jars with hot, sterilized screw on lids. 

*Take 125g from a block of tamarind pulp, available from any Asian food store. Break it up and soak in one cup of hot water for 15 minutes, breaking it up further as it soaks. Push it through a sieve and discard leftover fibre and seeds. Measure out the amount required and freeze the excess for future use.

An acceptable substitute to making your own concentrate is tamarind paste, available from Asian outlets (especially the Pantai norasingh brand).  

And this week, the feijoas started falling

And I do mean by the trailor load! However, another favourite chutney is . .

Smoke & Lime Feijoa Chutney

Both recipes will be in my new cookbook, 'Rowan Bishop- with Relish ' due for release early October.
After the feijoas come figs and persimmons, and in between are limes and lemons to preserve. . .