The other day I came back from the shops with a load of really good, fresh veggies. I had a fair few ideas of what I was going to do with them too.
And then I thought, "Hangabout mate! P'haps some of me tweeterers may wanna give it a go?" So I put the list up on twitter and also mentioned a well stocked pantry plus herb garden, and asked what folks would make!
Unfortunately, I don't have many foodies following my tweets, so only 2 people gave it a go. One was braise some of the veggies then through it all into a quiche. Ummmmmm, not exactly what I had in mind. The other was stuffing the bell peppers with the chilli, put them and the rest of the veggies in a casserole dish, cover with cheese and bake. Not bad. But again, not exactly what I had in mind.
Remember, it's hard to get the meaning through in only 140 characters via twitter!
So how's about we try it here!
You may assume a very very very well stocked pantry and good garden goodies. This means things like garlic greens, wild onions, fresh herbs, potatoes, spuds etc can be used. Pretty much any kind of dried spice, dried herb, or herb mix you can think of can also be used. As far as cheese goes, just make sure you use ones that I've heard of as I usually have 7 to 10 different kinds of cheeses on hand at any one time.
And lastly, let's keep this meat free. Just cuz I feel like it.
And try not to go overboard on the pantry items. Fettuccine with a creamy cheese sauce and a few of the fronds from the fennel bulb sprinkled over the top ain't gonna make the cut! The idea is to see what you would make from this list that features the ingredients, not the accessories.
And here is the list of goodies you get to work with:
Brussel sprouts, red n green n yellow bell peppers, green beans, large fennel bulb w/stalks and fronds, button mushrooms, fresh juicy just-off-the-vine tomatoes, fresh thai chillis, 3 bok choys.
I came up with a dozen dishes I'd make off the top of my head, and then pared it down to 6 simple, tasty ones.
If you feel the need to help your knowledge a bit (cheat) by using cookbooks or the internets then you may, but you'll have to live with your guilty conscience. (I'm just joking of course!)
Obviously, there's no need to go out and get all this stuff, I'm just curious to see what other folks would make. Use the comments, it'd be nice to get into double digit comments so spread the url for this post around!
Showing posts with label fennel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fennel. Show all posts
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Grilled Fennel
Yeah! So simple. So good! So TASTY!
Caramalized fennel slabs. Gotta like it.
No "real" recipe as this is pretty darned simple.
Slice your large fennel bulb into 1/2 inch thick slabs.
Rub some olive oil or some bacon fat into the slabs. Grill them (or pan fry) till they are caramelized. Note: If grilling you'll want to move them off the direct heat occasionally so they don't burn.
When they are done, they are done!
I served last night's grilled fennel as a side dish to a sausage burger. The burger was topped with cheese, avocado, bacon, and lettuce. Needless to say, it was devoured quite quickly.
Try getting your mouth around this:
See the grilled fennel slab next to the burger? Yeah, darned good tucka!
Caramalized fennel slabs. Gotta like it.
No "real" recipe as this is pretty darned simple.
Slice your large fennel bulb into 1/2 inch thick slabs.
Rub some olive oil or some bacon fat into the slabs. Grill them (or pan fry) till they are caramelized. Note: If grilling you'll want to move them off the direct heat occasionally so they don't burn.
When they are done, they are done!
I served last night's grilled fennel as a side dish to a sausage burger. The burger was topped with cheese, avocado, bacon, and lettuce. Needless to say, it was devoured quite quickly.
Try getting your mouth around this:
See the grilled fennel slab next to the burger? Yeah, darned good tucka!
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Ratatouille with Fennel and Okra
And I served it with feta crumbled over the top and some grilled venison sausages w/okra on the side.
Plates were emptied! Quickly! Very very tasty.
Full disclosure: I've never made ratatouille until I made this. My first try I knocked out of the park!
I got the idea for making ratatouille from a great post at a wonderful food blog. She's a professional chef and teaches cooking classes full-time. Friendly and she answers comments and questions. You can find Helen at:
Beyond Salmon
and her ratatouille is here:
Beyond Salmon's Ratatouille
Go have a quick look and you'll see where I got the inspiration for my Ratatouille. I know that fennel isn't a common ingredient in Ratatouille but it's in season down here in South Oz and very inexpensive. Okra is in season here too, and it IS a staple veggie in Cajun cooking commonly used in gumbos.
And I do apologize for using canned corn. Fresh corn cobs are very pricey down here due to the 10 year ongoing drought. When you use canned corn make sure the ingredients are corn, water, salt. Nothing else. No chemical crap!
A quick word about fresh okra. When you are selecting okra to buy, you want to buy smaller rather than larger. The larger ones can have a "woody" texture. You also want to test a tip or two. If the tip snaps off then they are fresh. If it bends completely over, then that bin of okra is not very fresh. Here's what I mean:
Give the tip a little bend like this:
And the tip should snap off thusly if it is fresh:
Anyways, on with the recipe:
Fennel and Okra Ratatouille with Venison & Okra on the side
What you need:
One large fennel bulb
12 to 16 small, fresh okras
1 large onion, rough chopped
One 12 ounce can of corn kernels
2 or 3 cloves crushed garlic
1 large zucchini
1 can crushed tomatoes
1/2 tbsp dried rosemary
1/2 tbsp dried oregano
sea salt
olive oil
a bit of crumbled feta
4 mini venison sausages (2 per person)
12 to 16 small, fresh okras --in addition to the ones going into the ratatouille
olive oil
sea salt
small handful fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves
What you do:
First, peel and slice the zucchini. Try to aim for 1/2 inch thick slices. Sprinkle the slices with sea salt, toss to coat, and let them set on paper towels for 15 minutes or so --this is to draw moisture out of the zucchini. I do this with eggplant, but it was the first time I'd done it with zucchini. Worked like a charm.
See? Have a look:
Prepare the okra: cut the tips and stems off, then cut each okra into 3 pieces. Don't worry about the sticky stuff as that is normal. Fry them up with a bit of olive oil for a minute or two so they are just browned. Set aside to drain and cool. This is what they look like before lightly frying:
Slice your fennel bulb into 1/4 inch thick slices. If you need to halve or even quarter it to facilitate the slicing then be all means go ahead and do that, no worries.
Now give your onion a rough chopping. Don't make the pieces small otherwise they'll be lost in the ratatouille.
By now the zucchini slices should have lost enough moisture. Give them a quick pat with paper towels and fry them in a bit of olive oil till the just start to brown. A minute or two each side should do the trick. Set them aside to drain.
In the same pot you'll be cooking the ratatouille (I recommend an enameled dutch oven) put the sliced fennel and chopped onion. A bit of olive oil and fry em up. You want the fennel and onion to just caramelize. Once they've caramelized then add the garlic, basil and rosemary; continue to fry for another 30 seconds.
Now you get to de-glaze the pot. Add the liquid from the can of corn to the pot and stir it around so the fennel and onion aren't stuck at all. Put the lid on and simmer on low for 5 minutes.
Add the can of tomatoes and the corn. Simmer for another ten minutes. Now add the zucchini and okra. Put the lid on and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Turn the heat off and let it sit in the dutch oven while you get the sausages and the rest of the okra cooked.
If you want this dish totally vegetarian, then just don't use sausages at this point, no worries.
Hopefully your dutch oven should now look something similar to this:
Cut the rest of the okra into thirds, as you did for the ratatouille. Put the cut okra and the venison sausages into a wok with a bit of olive oil, sprinkle a bit of sea salt, and toss in the coriander leaves:
Fry it up till the sausages are done. Toss/stir regularly so nothing sticks. Once they are done you can plate it up!
Spoon the ratatouille onto a plate, sprinkle with crumbled feta, and put two sausages plus some fried okra onto the plate:
It's easier to make than it sounds and OH SO TASTY!
Again, a big thanks to Beyond Salmon for posting her wonderful ratatouille recipe and guidelines for making it! Thanks Helen!
Plates were emptied! Quickly! Very very tasty.
Full disclosure: I've never made ratatouille until I made this. My first try I knocked out of the park!
I got the idea for making ratatouille from a great post at a wonderful food blog. She's a professional chef and teaches cooking classes full-time. Friendly and she answers comments and questions. You can find Helen at:
Beyond Salmon
and her ratatouille is here:
Beyond Salmon's Ratatouille
Go have a quick look and you'll see where I got the inspiration for my Ratatouille. I know that fennel isn't a common ingredient in Ratatouille but it's in season down here in South Oz and very inexpensive. Okra is in season here too, and it IS a staple veggie in Cajun cooking commonly used in gumbos.
And I do apologize for using canned corn. Fresh corn cobs are very pricey down here due to the 10 year ongoing drought. When you use canned corn make sure the ingredients are corn, water, salt. Nothing else. No chemical crap!
A quick word about fresh okra. When you are selecting okra to buy, you want to buy smaller rather than larger. The larger ones can have a "woody" texture. You also want to test a tip or two. If the tip snaps off then they are fresh. If it bends completely over, then that bin of okra is not very fresh. Here's what I mean:
Give the tip a little bend like this:
And the tip should snap off thusly if it is fresh:
Anyways, on with the recipe:
Fennel and Okra Ratatouille with Venison & Okra on the side
What you need:
One large fennel bulb
12 to 16 small, fresh okras
1 large onion, rough chopped
One 12 ounce can of corn kernels
2 or 3 cloves crushed garlic
1 large zucchini
1 can crushed tomatoes
1/2 tbsp dried rosemary
1/2 tbsp dried oregano
sea salt
olive oil
a bit of crumbled feta
4 mini venison sausages (2 per person)
12 to 16 small, fresh okras --in addition to the ones going into the ratatouille
olive oil
sea salt
small handful fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves
What you do:
First, peel and slice the zucchini. Try to aim for 1/2 inch thick slices. Sprinkle the slices with sea salt, toss to coat, and let them set on paper towels for 15 minutes or so --this is to draw moisture out of the zucchini. I do this with eggplant, but it was the first time I'd done it with zucchini. Worked like a charm.
See? Have a look:
Prepare the okra: cut the tips and stems off, then cut each okra into 3 pieces. Don't worry about the sticky stuff as that is normal. Fry them up with a bit of olive oil for a minute or two so they are just browned. Set aside to drain and cool. This is what they look like before lightly frying:
Slice your fennel bulb into 1/4 inch thick slices. If you need to halve or even quarter it to facilitate the slicing then be all means go ahead and do that, no worries.
Now give your onion a rough chopping. Don't make the pieces small otherwise they'll be lost in the ratatouille.
By now the zucchini slices should have lost enough moisture. Give them a quick pat with paper towels and fry them in a bit of olive oil till the just start to brown. A minute or two each side should do the trick. Set them aside to drain.
In the same pot you'll be cooking the ratatouille (I recommend an enameled dutch oven) put the sliced fennel and chopped onion. A bit of olive oil and fry em up. You want the fennel and onion to just caramelize. Once they've caramelized then add the garlic, basil and rosemary; continue to fry for another 30 seconds.
Now you get to de-glaze the pot. Add the liquid from the can of corn to the pot and stir it around so the fennel and onion aren't stuck at all. Put the lid on and simmer on low for 5 minutes.
Add the can of tomatoes and the corn. Simmer for another ten minutes. Now add the zucchini and okra. Put the lid on and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. Turn the heat off and let it sit in the dutch oven while you get the sausages and the rest of the okra cooked.
If you want this dish totally vegetarian, then just don't use sausages at this point, no worries.
Hopefully your dutch oven should now look something similar to this:
Cut the rest of the okra into thirds, as you did for the ratatouille. Put the cut okra and the venison sausages into a wok with a bit of olive oil, sprinkle a bit of sea salt, and toss in the coriander leaves:
Fry it up till the sausages are done. Toss/stir regularly so nothing sticks. Once they are done you can plate it up!
Spoon the ratatouille onto a plate, sprinkle with crumbled feta, and put two sausages plus some fried okra onto the plate:
It's easier to make than it sounds and OH SO TASTY!
Again, a big thanks to Beyond Salmon for posting her wonderful ratatouille recipe and guidelines for making it! Thanks Helen!
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Fennel and Prawn Risotto with Prosciutto
A risotto is actually a very easy dish to make so if you've never made one cus you think it's hard; it is not! Just go for it! And don't be snobbish about using ONLY arborio rice. You don't need to do that.
Yes, I know I've just offended millions of untold readers who are risotto aficionados. Tough. Tough, I say. I've made it with arborio, jasmine, basmati, long-grain, short-grain, medium grain, and probably a few others. Heck I even did one with half basmati and half long-grain brown rice.
You know what? They all tasted great. The key (for me at least) is to dry fry the rice a bit first so it goes from translucent to opaque, THEN start on the liquid it'll be cooking in.
I used prosciutto in this because I got a large, unsliced slab of it half off at the shops and after I finished thin slicing it I had a small piece leftover that just wouldn't go through my meat slicer.
Well, it probably would have but I doubt I'dve had any fingertips left for typing.
Obviously, a piece of ham or bacon can be substituted for the prosciutto, no worries.
You'll also notice that this risotto is not heavily seasoned as I really wanted the fennel flavour to stand up and be noticed. It was.
What you need:
1 hunk of prosciutto --about the weight of a full sized bacon rasher
1/2 of a large fennel bulb
1 cup of rice --any kind, uncooked
1 or 2 tbsp olive oil
sprinkle of sea salt
2 litres (1/2 gallon) of MY fennel stock
handful of dried red capsicums, minced
fronds from the fennel bulb
250 grams (about 1/2 pound), peeled, cooked, deveined small prawns
What you do:
First, prepare the fennel. Remember what a fennel bulb looks like?
Trim the stalks off.
Hey look! A pile of fennel stalks with fronds!
Trim the fronds off the fennel, you'll use the fronds for flavouring the risotto.
Then chop up all the fronds. I don't need to show you a picture of that, do I? Thought not.
Next, cut your fennel bulb in half.
Notice that thick core? Some people cut that away. I don't. Especially since it'll be so soft and succulent in this dish.
Slice one of the fennel halves (or both, your choice). Try to make them about 5 mm or 1/4 of an inch thick.
Then, for this dish, I cut the slices in half. You don't need a picture of that, right?
Take your hunk of prosciutto and trim the fat off. Keep the fat! Chop the fat up finely and put it in the large fry pan you'll be using for the risotto. Cook it till the fat is liquid and the little bits left over are browned.
Now add you sliced, cut, fennel bulb and cook it till it looks about like this.
Slightly caramelized, but not soggy. Stir whilst frying, of course.
Next, add the rice, the olive oil, and the sea salt. Fry it (whilst stirring) till the rice turns opaque. This'll only take a minute or two.
Now add 1 litre of the fennel stock, the minced fennel fronds, and the dried red capsicums (bell pepper). Give it all a good stir, turn the heat down to medium low. Cover it.
Check it in 5 minutes. Stir it. If the liquid isn't cooking down and being absorbed into the rice the turn the heat up a bit higher. Stir it every few minutes. Add more fennel stock as need until the rice is done and there's almost no liquid left.
The above paragraph should take around 18 minutes.
Turn the heat off and add the prawns, give it a mix. Put the lid on and let it stand for a few more minutes. Now's a good time to finely mince the rest of the prosciutto. Add the minced prosciutto, mix well.
Serve it up!
Obviously, you can modify and add ingredients to your heart's content. With this one though, I really wanted to get the fresh fennel flavour.
Yes, I know I've just offended millions of untold readers who are risotto aficionados. Tough. Tough, I say. I've made it with arborio, jasmine, basmati, long-grain, short-grain, medium grain, and probably a few others. Heck I even did one with half basmati and half long-grain brown rice.
You know what? They all tasted great. The key (for me at least) is to dry fry the rice a bit first so it goes from translucent to opaque, THEN start on the liquid it'll be cooking in.
I used prosciutto in this because I got a large, unsliced slab of it half off at the shops and after I finished thin slicing it I had a small piece leftover that just wouldn't go through my meat slicer.
Well, it probably would have but I doubt I'dve had any fingertips left for typing.
Obviously, a piece of ham or bacon can be substituted for the prosciutto, no worries.
You'll also notice that this risotto is not heavily seasoned as I really wanted the fennel flavour to stand up and be noticed. It was.
What you need:
1 hunk of prosciutto --about the weight of a full sized bacon rasher
1/2 of a large fennel bulb
1 cup of rice --any kind, uncooked
1 or 2 tbsp olive oil
sprinkle of sea salt
2 litres (1/2 gallon) of MY fennel stock
handful of dried red capsicums, minced
fronds from the fennel bulb
250 grams (about 1/2 pound), peeled, cooked, deveined small prawns
What you do:
First, prepare the fennel. Remember what a fennel bulb looks like?
Trim the stalks off.
Hey look! A pile of fennel stalks with fronds!
Trim the fronds off the fennel, you'll use the fronds for flavouring the risotto.
Then chop up all the fronds. I don't need to show you a picture of that, do I? Thought not.
Next, cut your fennel bulb in half.
Notice that thick core? Some people cut that away. I don't. Especially since it'll be so soft and succulent in this dish.
Slice one of the fennel halves (or both, your choice). Try to make them about 5 mm or 1/4 of an inch thick.
Then, for this dish, I cut the slices in half. You don't need a picture of that, right?
Take your hunk of prosciutto and trim the fat off. Keep the fat! Chop the fat up finely and put it in the large fry pan you'll be using for the risotto. Cook it till the fat is liquid and the little bits left over are browned.
Now add you sliced, cut, fennel bulb and cook it till it looks about like this.
Slightly caramelized, but not soggy. Stir whilst frying, of course.
Next, add the rice, the olive oil, and the sea salt. Fry it (whilst stirring) till the rice turns opaque. This'll only take a minute or two.
Now add 1 litre of the fennel stock, the minced fennel fronds, and the dried red capsicums (bell pepper). Give it all a good stir, turn the heat down to medium low. Cover it.
Check it in 5 minutes. Stir it. If the liquid isn't cooking down and being absorbed into the rice the turn the heat up a bit higher. Stir it every few minutes. Add more fennel stock as need until the rice is done and there's almost no liquid left.
The above paragraph should take around 18 minutes.
Turn the heat off and add the prawns, give it a mix. Put the lid on and let it stand for a few more minutes. Now's a good time to finely mince the rest of the prosciutto. Add the minced prosciutto, mix well.
Serve it up!
Obviously, you can modify and add ingredients to your heart's content. With this one though, I really wanted to get the fresh fennel flavour.
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