Every now and again a simple sauce can blow your mind with its insane burst of flavour.  I have teamed this sauce up with duck or crispy skinned chicken either on their own or accompanied with a simple Asian salad of carrot, chili, spring onions, bean shoots, coriander, and orange segments.

You will need

4 chicken breasts with skin on and bone attached or 4 duck breasts with skin on

Salad ingredients

1 carrot julienned

1 chili – finely chopped

4 spring onions finely chopped

2 handfuls of bean shoots

1 bunch coriander – roughly torn

1 orange – cut into segments

Sauce Ingredients

20g butter

3 teaspoons grated orange rind

3cm piece ginger, grated

3 cardamom pods, bruised

3/4 teaspoon caraway seeds

1/4 cup orange juice – freshly squeezed is best

Pinch of cloves (ground)

¼ cup honey

1/2 cup chicken stock

1/2 red chili – finely chopped

3 teaspoons fresh coriander – finely chopped

Method

For the poultry

In a hot, oiled pan fry the chicken or duck skin side down until crisp. Remove from pan and put into a roasting tray skin side up and cook in a moderate oven aprox 25-30min (if using duck don’t let it cook for too long).

For the sauce

Melt the butter in a frying pan and cook the orange rind, ginger, clove, chili, cardamom and the caraway seeds. Stir until fragrant.

Stir in the orange juice, honey and chicken stock, bring the sauce to boil and then reduce the heat. Simmer for about 2 minutes or until the mixture thickens slightly – add more stock and orange juice if it thickens too quickly. Stir in the coriander. Remove the cardamom pods before serving.

To serve

Get all the chopped salad ingredients and add to individual bowls. Take out the duck or chicken from the oven and rest on top of the salad. Drizzle over the sauce and serve.

This pasta dish is very simple and easy to knock together as long as you have set aside time to soak the porcini mushrooms. It is the perfect creamy pasta for a cold winter night.

Pasta with Porcini Mushroom and Marsala

Serves 4 as an entree

Ingredients:

x4 or 5 Swiss brown mushrooms, sliced

1 handful of porcini mushrooms

1 brown onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

x3 bacon rashers (omit if making for vegetarians) cut into small squares

1 tbls parsley, chopped

1 tsp sage, chopped

1/4 cup dry white wine

3/4 to 1 cup thickened cream (I always add a little more if I think the sauce has evaporated)

1 tbls Marsala (or more to taste)

Salt & Pepper

Olive Oil

Pasta shells or fusilli

Method

Grab the handful of porcini mushrooms and put in a bowl with boiling water (about 800ml) and allow to soak for about 2 hours. Rinse the mushrooms but keep the liquid!

Heat olive oil in a pan and add the chopped onion, garlic and bacon. Let fry until the garlic and onion is cooked and the bacon is starting to get crisp. Add the Swiss brown and porcini mushrooms, stir and season with salt and pepper.

Add the chopped herbs and then add some of the porcini mushroom liquid. Add the wine and then simmer for approximately 25 minutes. Keep adding the porcini mushroom liquid as/if the sauce drys up. Add the cream and Marsala and simmer for a further couple of minutes.

Add the sauce to cooked pasta and serve with chopped parsley and parmesan cheese.

Lamb Yiros

Start this recipe a day ahead

Serves 4 to 5
Marinade

700g lamb – cut into small strips

1/2 juice of lemon

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

70ml white wine vinegar

1 tablespoon sea salt flakes

2 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 teaspoon white pepper – ground

3 1/2 teaspoons sweet paprika

2 tablespoons dried oregano

2 brown onions – sliced

Garlic Sauce

300g Greek Yoghurt

3 cloves of garlic crushed

1/2 juice of lemon

To Serve

Ice berg lettuce – shredded

Pita bread x4 or 5 – store bought or recipe here

Method

In a bowl, combine the lamb with the sea salt, garlic powder, pepper, paprika, oregano. Add the sliced onions and then add the olive oil, lemon juice and white wine vinegar. Massage the marinade in with your hands, cover with cling wrap and leave to marinade overnight in the fridge or at least 5 hours before serving.

To make the garlic sauce – combine the yoghurt, lemon juice and garlic in a bowl and combine. Again – leave overnight if possible for the flavours to develop.

30 minutes before serving, remove the Lamb from the fridge. Cook the meat on a barbecue or fry pan until the onion is browned and lamb is cooked – do not overcook or the lamb won’t be tender anymore!

At the same time, thinly brush one side of the pita bread with olive oil and place on the barbecue or in a fry pan to get some heat. Only leave on the heat for about 1 minute so you don’t get hard pita bread.

When the lamb and pita is cooked – add the lettuce to the pita bread, top with lamb and then drizzle with the garlic sauce. Wrap up and serve.

When I was little, one day I decided I did not like most foods and stopped eating them seemingly overnight. Meat was removed from my diet unless it was cooked on a barbeque and it was a chop or a sausage and I decided I had issues with all forms of sauce except tomato.  Because of this, I missed out on eating what was reported to be the best Yiros Adelaide had – The National Fish Cafe Yiros. The National Fish Cafe is unfortunately no more but used to be situated near the Grand Hotel on Jetty Rd Glenelg.

My brother would always get the lamb Yiros and he would sit across the kitchen table from me, ready to demolish it, whilst I would start my pleading to please have a little corner of the luscious, moist pita bread that was slightly oily but was clear of any “scary” lamb filling. And that was my fish and chip shop ritual – I would always beg for a few scraps of melt in the mouth pita bread before I was told I could have no more and to this day I have still not tried a pita bread as moist and insanely delicious as that. I came to realise only recently on one of my Yiros bread rants that I can’t believe my parents never just asked the owners for a piece of the bread to satisfy my very basic needs??!!! My mum did bump into one of the owners years later and redeeming herself (it’s not at all my fault that I was a picky little shit ) she asked about the brand of bread they used. She did find out…. but forgot again…. “You can still buy it though”, she reported to me. Good to know.

So on Friday night whilst assessing the money I had left until pay day, I decided walking to Coles to get some bland, card board pita out of my measly amount of money was a waste of time. I realised I could just make the pita myself and maybe I can once more experience soft, moist, unforgettable pita.  I was pretty happy with what I made - but it wasn’t quite the same as the one I remember from when I was little.  Still, I don’t think I will buy it anymore – it’s so easy to make yourself.

Pita Bread

Makes 8 large pitas

3 cups plain flour

1 (7)gm packet yeast

1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt flakes

1 tablespoon sugar

1 1/4 ( I used a tad more) water at room temperature

2 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Method

Mix the yeast in with the flour, salt, and sugar. Add the olive oil and 1 1/4 cup of water and stir together with a spoon. Stir until all the ingredients form a ball. If some of the dough is not sticking then gradually add a bit more water – I needed about 1/4 cup more.

Once all of the ingredients form a ball, place the dough on your work surface and knead the dough for approximately 10 minutes.

When you have finished kneading the dough, form a ball and place it in a bowl that has been lightly coated with olive oil – making sure you coat the entire ball of dough in the oil.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside to rise until it has doubled in size or  approximately 1 hour 20 minutes.

When it has doubled in size, punch the dough down with your fist and divide it into 8 pieces – or if you want smaller pita breads divide them again. Roll each piece into a ball,  place on a tray or on baking paper and cover the balls with a damp kitchen towel. Let the dough rest for 20 minutes.
When you have got your balls resting preheat the oven to 200 degrees. I used a pizza stone to put the pita bread on – if you don’t have then a thin roasting pan would be fine.
Spread a small amount of flour on your work surface and place one of the balls of dough there. Sprinkle a bit more  flour on top of the dough and use a rolling pin to flatten the dough. Roll it out extremely thin –  to about  1/4 inch thick.

Place the Pita’s on the hot stone or tray – I could only fit one at a time. They will get puffy and be cooked at around 3 minutes. I found that 2 minutes was perfect as I like my pita soft and easy to roll up but 3 minutes is ok and they have a bit more colour to them. Try and test for yourself.

Serving Suggestion: Serve warm straight away or lightly brush one side with olive oil and put oil side down on a grill plate or fry pan to get the pita nice and warm and soft – don’t leave for too long or the bread will become crisp.
Serve with – Croatian Cevapcici with Sour Cream and Ajvar or Greek Yiros

These plum jam biscuits are fairly plain but that is not entirely surprising as most Croatian biscuits seems to be very plain and basic – perfect for dipping in a strong cup of coffee. When I was younger – I was extremely strange and decided I did not like the jam in the middle of the biscuit and so would hunt for the plain one’s that Baba may have thrown in. Because of this, I thought it was about time I made them myself and finally eat jam in a biscuit like a normal person.

The original dough recipe is an almost cake like pastry, sort of unusual and unexpected – the biscuit is soft and not crisp like a normal biscuit.  Mine were huge and not the tight little rolled up perfect bundles I recall from when I was young however, the taste was what I remembered even if mine were a massive, sloppy version.

Wanting to try the dough another way – my second batch were more biscuit like and although nice the taste was totally different and not the soft cake like consistency that I am used to.

I really couldn’t decide which dough recipe to share with you – they are very different so I’ve included both – you can try both and see for yourself.

Ingredients

Filling (Use for both versions)- These are all approximates – it’s really to taste so add a bit and keep tasting till you are happy.

Plum jam – about 1 cup

Almonds, lightly roasted and crushed aprox 1/2 cup or more so the jam isn’t too runny

2 tsp sweet sherry

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Dough Version 1 (Cake like recipe)

Makes about 4 trays

2 eggs

125gm caster sugar

125g unsalted butter

185ml of milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

Enough self raising flour to make a soft dough – about 800-900g – just keep adding until you can form a dough.

+ caster for dusting (if you want more sweetness)

Method

Beat eggs and sugar until fluffy. Melt butter gently and add to the eggs and sugar. Add the vanilla extract and then add the sifted self raising flour slowly until a soft dough forms.

Knead for 5 minutes and then roll out dough so it’s about 1/4 inch thick  and cut into triangles.

Add a blob of jam in the middle of the bottom of the triangle and roll up like a croissant, bending the two ends downwards.

Bake in a moderate oven 200C until light brown.

*To add some extra sweetness if you wish roll the biscuits lightly in caster sugar whilst still warm.

Dough Version 2  (more biscuit like)

Makes about 2 trays

125g unsalted butter

150ml thickened cream

1tbs caster sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

200g plain flour

3/4 tsp baking powder

+ Caster sugar for dusting

Method

Melt the butter in the microwave and then add to a bowl along with the 1tbs sugar, vanilla extract, cream and baking powder. Slowly add the flour until you have formed a soft dough. Knead for about 5 minutes. Roll the dough out thinly and cut into triangles.

Add the jam mixture in the middle at the bottom of the triangle and rollup like a croissant bending the two ends down.

Bake in the oven at 200C until brown.

*To add some extra sweetness if you wish roll the biscuits lightly in caster sugar whilst still warm.

Cevapcici are a skinless, Eastern European sausage that can differ in size and ingredients depending on what region you are from. Coming from a Croatian background I love my Cevapcici but unfortunately wasn’t a meat eater when I was growing up so only in later years have I fully embraced them. Most Cevapcici are made from pork and beef however, according to my parents my Baba made the best Cevapcici which were made with minced veal and a bit of pork – and most probably with the inclusion of Vegeta - the Croatian stock powder that should be added to basically anything as it boosts the flavour of most dishes.

I spent most of this weekend making and eating Cevapcici’s and after trying both pork and beef and pork and veal varieties – the veal version is definitely my favourite but it’s up to you which way you go.

You can eat Cevapcici plain with some tomato sauce which most Australians do at a BBQ  or you can use ajvar which is another product of the Balkan region that seems to differ depending on where you are from. Ajvar is a roasted eggplant and capsicum relish that can be served with any grilled meat.  You can find the recipe here.

Rather than eating the Cevapcici on their own I added, ajvar, sour cream with sweet paprika, Spanish onion and parsley wrapped in warmed pita bread – it was delicious – a Croatian Kebab you could say.

Cevapcici with ajvar, sour cream and spanish onion wrapped in pita

• Makes about 3 oven trays
• Start recipe a day before

Ingredients

700g veal mince – substitute for beef if you wish

300g pork mince

1 medium brown onion – grated

3 garlic cloves – crushed

1 tsp Vegeta

1 tsp Bi Carb Soda

1 tsp cayenne pepper – or as much as you like if you want your Cevapcici hotter

2 tsp sweet paprika

100ml sparkling water – or just enough so you have a soft paste

1 egg – lightly beaten

1 tsp of each salt and pepper

To Serve

Ajvar – see recipe

sour cream to serve plus a sprinkle of sweet paprika mixed in

1 Spanish onion – sliced thinly

1 tbs chopped parsley

large pita bread

Method

1. Place the veal, pork, onion, garlic, Vegeta, paprika, cayenne, salt and pepper plus Bi Carb Soda in a large stainless steel bowl and using your hands knead the mixture until it is well combined.

2. Slowly knead in a small amount of the sparkling water and egg so the mixture is paste like – be careful with the water as you may not need it all so add slowly!!

3. Using your hands, shape the mixture into approximately 10cm long by 2-3cm wide sausages and put on a lined oven tray. Once on the tray – run your thumb and index finger along both sides of the sausage making them a nice shape and not blob like. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge overnight so they can set.

4. About 10 minutes before cooking – remove the tray from the fridge. Heat a fry pan or BBQ and using olive oil cook the Cevapcici in batches over medium heat for approximately 10 minutes – turning often to ensure all sides are cooked.
To Serve: Warm pita bread quickly (1 minute) so it is still soft on a fry pan or grill plate.
Spread half the pita with ajvar then place the Cevapcici on top – you can fit about 4 or 5 on the bread. Top with sour cream that has had a sprinkle of sweet paprika folded through it then add thinly sliced Spanish onion and some parsley. Fold the pita up and enjoy!

Ajvar is a Croatian Roasted Capsicum and Eggplant relish that can be added to grilled meats and works great with Cevapcici wrapped in pita bread.

Ajvar

NOTE: Makes lots depending on the size of your capsicums and
eggplant. My recipe made about 4 cups. Keep in the fridge in an airtight
container for no longer than a week.

2 large red capsicums

1 medium to large eggplant

2 small baby carrots – carrots are not usually added to Ajvar
but it works quite well and adds an earthiness if you add a small amount.

2 garlic cloves – crushed

1 small lemon – juiced

1 1/2 tsp Vegeta

1/4 cup olive oil

2 red chilli’s – chopped

3 tbs parsley – chopped
1. Preheat oven to 220C. Place capsicums and eggplant on
a lined oven tray and roast for 40 minutes or until slightly blackened and soft.
On a separate tray or if you have room on the same one – lightly oil two peeled
carrots and roast until soft.

2. Once cooked, transfer the capsicum and eggplant to a
bowl and cover in plastic wrap and allow to cool.

3. Once cooled, remove the skins from the capsicum and
eggplant and remove seeds. Roughly chop the flesh and put in a food
processor.  Cut the carrot roughly also and add to the food processor along with the garlic and chilli.

Slowly add the olive oil and lemon juice until the mixture has thickened slightly and is
creamy and not chunky (unless you want it chunky and in that case do not
process for as long).

4. Transfer to a bowl and add the Vegeta – a bit at a time – checking the flavour.

Add salt and pepper to taste and then stir in the parsley – leaving 1 tbs to add as a garnish.

Quite a few times over the last few months I have contemplated ending this blog.  This blog was made so I could share my food experiences however, in the last few months, when I thought money couldn’t get much tighter, it has. Posting a blog every now and again when I finally can go out for dinner is not what this blog should be about. It was meant to be about sharing new places and promoting food products I find, constantly and consistently, and if I’m unable to do this then I think it’s time for a change.

I can’t leave my little blog – I love having something to work on that’s fun and involves a passion that I would like in some way to turn into a career. So instead 2012 is about saving money and using what I have and getting what I want in the long term.  My cook book collection is getting out of control, my food collection in my fridge is getting smaller and eating out is nearly nonexistent. Because of this, I’ve decided to focus more on my own cooking, focus on sharing with you what cookbooks or foodie items I do have and not the ones I’m going to buy. My new rule to myself this year is NO MORE COOK BOOKS.

 
I’d like to think the future of this blog will be more of a reflection of me and my shitty little kitchen. The public relations future may take a back burner whilst I focus on what’s in my house and not what’s outside my door. Don’t get me wrong – if I eat out – you will know about it but I think it’s time to focus on one thing and not try and be and do everything when Struggle Street
keeps weighing me down.

 
Being an Aquarian I am fickle as anything so who knows what I will change next but the decision to change this blog will help keep my cash flow going whilst helping me to focus on the one thing which is something I struggle to do in all parts of my life. This dreamer needs a plan for the future and I’m now on a mission x

I’m posting this rather heavy ragu recipe just before it gets way too hot to be eating heavy, meaty pasta meals. I had been eyeing this recipe off for some time in the Jamie Oliver Recipe Yearbook for 2009/10 – as a slow cooked lamb shoulder pasta sounded mighty fine for a cold winters night. In typical form, I managed to leave it until October to make it which wasn’t very smart – but it still was delicious and definitely worth it if you have a lazy Sunday spare.

The recipe has been adapted from Jamie Oliver’s Recipe Yearbook 2009/10

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

400g Orecchiette

2kg shoulder of lamb

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Small bunch of rosemary, plus two sprigs extra

1 large brown onion, finely chopped

2 large carrots, finely chopped

1 leek, finely chopped (I used two as I like my leek and the leeks are small this time of year)

2 celery stalks, finely chopped

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 fresh bay leaf

2 sprigs thyme

300ml lamb stock  (I used beef, plus a bit extra for when it got a bit dry)

1/2 bottle of red wine  (I used Shiraz and added a little more than half)

2 X 400g tins tomatoes

Fresh oregano leaves and fresh Parmesan to serve

Method

1. Turn the oven up to full. Scatter half of the rosemary in your roasting pan. Slash the fat side of the lamb and then rub the lamb with olive oil, salt and pepper.

Put the lamb in the tray and add more rosemary on top of the lamb. Tightly cover the pan with foil and put in the oven. Turn the oven down to 170C and cook for four hours. After four hours the lamb should pull apart easily with a fork.

2. Take the lamb out of the oven and rest it on a chopping board with a clean tea towel - allowing to rest until cool. Using two forks – shred the lamb and pile it up into a large bowl (try not eat it all as you go).

3. Add olive oil to a large saucepan and add garlic and onion stirring until soft.  Add the carrot, leek, celery and also the bay leaf,
thyme and the additional rosemary. Cook until the vegetables are soft.

4. Add the half bottle of red wine and cook until most has evaporated (this can take a little while). Add the stock and tomatoes and cook on a low simmer for 1 hour with the lid on. Check your seasoning adding what you need.

5. When adding the lamb – add it in bits and continue stirring as I found for mine that I did not need the full amount of lamb. This, of course, is purely personal taste – if you like a sauce thick with meat then add the full amount of lamb but if you want it more saucy I’d probably stop around the half way mark and use the rest of the lamb for pulled lamb sandwiches!  Simmer for another hour and add extra stock if you think it looks to dry. Season to taste – adding more herbs also if you need.

6. Cook the orecchiette as per packet instructions and then drain and stir through the lamb ragu. Serve the pasta with a drizzle of good quality extra virgin olive oil, freshly grated Parmesan and some oregano leaves to garnish.

This recipe has been a lifesaver for me on countless occasions. My partner and I have been cooking this regularly for a few years and it is one of our many favourites in Madhur Jaffrey’s Curry Bible.  It is the perfect mid week meal that requires minimum fuss or dishes plus it is a great dish to serve to friends for an impromptu dinner. I love Madhur Jaffrey’s Curry Bible Cook Book and I don’t doubt it is the source of many curry lover’s inspiration. The book is available to buy here 

Green Coriander Chicken

Ingredients

7 1/2 cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped

5 garlic cloves, peeled, and coarsely chopped

salt

2 tsp lemon juice

500g chicken thigh or chicken breast (thigh is tastier but I always seem to only have chicken breast)

1 medium tomato, chopped

1 bunch of coriander leaves and the stems

2-3 green chillies, coarsely chopped

1 tsp tomato puree

3 tablespoons olive or corn oil

250ml natural yoghurt

Method

Put the ginger, garlic, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, 2 tablespoons of water  and the lemon juice in a blender. Blend until smooth. Place the chicken in a stainless steel bowl. Pour the ginger mixture over the top and rub in. Cover the bowl with cling film and allow to marinate for 30 min – but up to 24 hours is fine.

Put the tomato, coriander, chillies, tomato puree, 3/4 tsp salt and 2 tablespoons of water in the blender. Blend until smooth.

Pour oil in a non stick fry pan and when hot add the chicken together with the marinade and fry, stirring until the chicken is lightly browned (about 10 minutes). Add the tomato mixture and continue to cook and stir (about 10 minutes) until the sauce thickens and clings to the chicken. The oil will appear to separate.  Add the yoghurt, stir and cook until the yogurt disappears and leaves a thick sauce edged with oil (aprox 4-5 minutes). Cover with the lid and reduce the heat to as low as possible, and cook for 5-10 minutes until the chicken is tender.

Serve with rice and roti!