CHICKEN WITH REFRIED BEANS & TOMATO SALSA

Simple Mexican. I really do miss the chicken flavour of the chicken in Mexico. Sad that it has become so bland here in Australia. At least it helps to buy chicken on the bone and with skin, so at least it has a fighting chance. A fresh tomato salsa with serrano chilli from the garden. Refried pinto beans with crumbled fetta (because it is about as close to the cheese that would be used in Mexico). Served with a salad of watercress and avocado with a macadamia oil & white balsamic vinegar dressing.

CHICKEN WITH REFRIED BEANS & TOMATO SALSA

SPAGHETTI WITH SALMON

Leftovers. Some tea-smoked salmon from yesterday has been reincarnated in this simple pasta dish. Slow roasted cherry tomatoes, fried capers, orange capsicum and a spoon of crema before plating. On the subject of crema, you see great dollops of sour cream on top of plates of Tex-Mex food. In Mexico proper, if they serve anything like sour cream (and they do not use it nearly as much as in Tex-Mex cooking), it will be crema. Crema is a very mild soured cream. It is dead simple to make at home - a tub of good thick cream mixed with a couple of tablespoons of buttermilk or plain yoghurt. Leave it somewhere warm for 12-24 hours (depends on the warmth of your room) for the cultures in the buttermilk or yoghurt to work their magic on the cream. Once it has thickened and has a gentle sourness, it can be refrigerated. If it is still not ready, leave it for several more hours.

SPAGHETTI WITH SALMON

SALAD OF TEA SMOKED SALMON, KUMERA & CAPERBERRIES WITH CARAMELISED GARLIC VINAIGRETTE

Have I mentioned I love smoky flavours? For smoking things like legs of lamb, whole chickens etc I use a large smoker. For small jobs I use a wok. Here is a simple way to smoke salmon fillets, roe (for making taramasalata), chicken breast fillets etc)

TEA-SMOKED SALMON

SALMON FILLETS
1 CUP RICE GRAINS
1/2 CUP TEA LEAVES
2 TABLESPOONS SUGAR

WOK
TWO SHEETS ALUMINIUM FOIL
BAMBOO STEAMER
ONE PIECE OF BAKING PAPER
TWO CLEAN TEA TOWELS

Line the wok with foil (take the 2 pieces of foil, place one on top of the other and fold along one long side several times to create a join). Place rice, tea leaves and sugar on top of the foil. Cut a circle of baking paper to line the base of the steamer. Place salmon in steamer, place this on the wok and fill the gap between the steamer and the wok with wet tea towels. Place over medium/high flame until the rice mixture starts smoking, turn down slightly (to about 1/3 heat) and smoke for about 15 minutes. That is it.

SALAD OF TEA SMOKED SALMON, KUMERA & CAPERBERRIES WITH CARAMELISED GARLIC VINAIGRETTE

SALAD OF SMOKED DUCK, KUMERA, BROAD BEANS & PECANS WITH POMEGRANATE VINAIGRETTE

I love smoky flavours in food. Smoked lamb, smoked chillies, smoked eel, smoked pork, smoked salmon, smoked duck, smoked smoke. With a side dish of smoke. Smoked duck works really well with sweet flavours. Like kumera - sweet potato. Like beetroot. Like pomegranate molasses. No beetroot in this dish, but the other ingredients are here, along with local pecans and broad beans from the garden. A dressing of pomegranate molasses, olive oil, soy sauce, sesame oil and vin cotto.

SALAD OF SMOKED DUCK, KUMERA, BROAD BEANS & PECANS WITH POMEGRANATE VINAIGRETTE

PORK RISSOLES ON ROASTED CORN SALSA WITH CAPSICUM JAM

Been in Brisbane all day - which does not leave a lot of time for food prep. Never mind. These rissoles were simple and tasty. Pork, fennel seeds, garlic, smoked paprika, finely diced zucchini, egg, salt & pepper. Dusted with polenta and pan fried in ghee. Corn and capsicum pan roasted with a little corn oil, then maple syrup to finish. Red capsicum marmalade. Home cooking 101.

PORK RISSOLES ON ROASTED CORN SALSA WITH CAPSICUM JAM

UDON NOODLE SOUP WITH BEEF & ENOKI MUSHROOMS

On the 1 to 10 Slurp Scale, Udon noodles rate a 10. There is something about the fat fleshiness, the pliability and the soft rice texture that does things in the mouth. In this case they lie in a dashi & miso broth with enoki, wafer-thin beef, choy sum and Japanese sesame sauce.

UDON NOODLE SOUP WITH BEEF & ENOKI MUSHROOMS

PORK & FENNEL SAUSAGES, CABBAGE SALAD, MASH & TOMATO KASAUNDI

Italy meets England meets India meets Argentina. My minimalist midweek multicultural meal. Italian bangers on a potato & parsnip mash with a cabbage salad and a dollop of the tomato kasaundi I made on the weekend. I might post a recipe for this. A very useful condiment.

PORK & FENNEL SAUSAGES, CABBAGE SALAD, MASH & TOMATO KASAUNDI

WAGYU RIB FILLET, ROASTED VEGETABLES AND TAPENADE

A simple meal of quality beef, roasted pumpkin, baby carrots and eggplants and a dollop of tapenade (recipe below).

TAPENADE

250 GMS PITTED KALAMATA OLIVES
1 TABLESPOON OF FINELY DICED ONION
3 CHOPPED ANCHOVY FILLETS
2 TEASPOONS OF CHOPPED GARLIC
1 TABLESPOON OF RINSED CAPERS
LEAVES FROM 2-3 THYME STEMS
PINCH OF CHILLI POWDER
50 MLS EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL
SQUEEZE OF LEMON JUICE

Pulse the olives, onion, anchovies, garlic, capers, thyme and chilli in a food processor - just once or twice to produce a rough mixture. With the motor now running constantly, drizzle in the olive oil. You might need to stop and scrape down the sides once or twice. Some people like to blend until very smooth. I prefer a little texture. Add a very small amount of lemon juice - less than half a teaspoon and stir through. This will keep for several weeks in the fridge.

WAGYU RIB FILLET, ROASTED VEGETABLES AND TAPENADE

YELLOWFIN TUNA WITH TOMATO MASALA SAUCE

A bit of rain around today, which made it a perfect day for reading, working, listening to music and cooking - tapenade, tomato kasaundi, green masala paste, naan and this meal (using some of the tomato kasaundi and green masala paste in the sauce). The naan had the right flavour, but the wrong texture. A bit crumbly. Bread is a bugger to get right. Sourdough is probably the hardest of all. A sourdough starter is a demanding child requiring constant attention. Odd that it is called the mother. The tuna was flash seared so it was still raw but warm inside.

YELLOWFIN TUNA WITH TOMATO MASALA SAUCE

PRAWN TAMALES WITH SALSA RANCHERA

Tamales. Ever tried them? Until we moved to Mexico, I had only read about them. Their origin can be traced back to around 5,000 BC. There are hundreds of different recipes from around Mexico. In many parts the tamales are wrapped in corn husks. In Oaxaca, they are more commonly wrapped in banana leaves. The recipe for these comes from a book by Mark Miller, Stephen Pyles and John Sedlar. The addition of chillies and coriander in the dough is a modern touch. The salsa is pure tradition. In the cook book, the recipe uses olive oil. I stuck with tradition again and used lard, which is what they would use in Mexico. There is only one kind of music to listen to whilst eating these - musica ranchera. 

PRAWN TAMALES WITH SALSA RANCHERA

RICE VERMICELLI WITH SCALLOPS, WOOD FUNGUS & XO SAUCE

The fishmonger got some scallops from Tasmania. No big deal, I hear you say. Or think. Usually they have scallops from China or Chile. I have nothing against either country - but their scallops are not great. Well they are no doubt great when fresh back home, but not once they have been frozen, shipped across the ocean, trucked from the port to the fish markets and then trucked again to the retailer. These guys still had to travel from Tassie, but they flew. And they did not get frozen, which meant that they did not bleed water when cooked. So they could be pan-fried without poaching in their own liquid. The XO sauce was made using dried scallops, so it seemed like a natural partner. Ditto the shiitake mushrooms and black wood fungus.

RICE VERMICELLI WITH SCALLOPS, WOOD FUNGUS & XO SAUCE

HUNGZHOU KAU YUK, SESAME CHOY SUM AND PINEAPPLE & STAR ANISE CHUTNEY

Some famous Chinese dishes have wonderfully evocative names. Ants climbing a tree, black dragon spits out pearl, buddha jumps over the wall are a few of my favourites. Kau yuk is not one of these romantic names. It is a very pedestrian description of a cooking technique. It translates as long-cooked meat. There are versions of long-cooked meat all over China. No, make that all over the world. This version from Hungzhou is quite simple - pork spare ribs marinated then braised in a mix of dark brown sugar, shaoxing wine, ginger, dark soy sauce and water. It is simmered for 3 or 3 1/2 hours in a shallow pan with a lid cracked open to allow a little evaporation. By the end of the cooking time, the pork is soft and the sauce has thickened and caramelised. Simple steamed choy sum drizzled with sesame oil after plating up. The pineapple & star anise chutney works a treat, being loaded not only with pineapple and star anise but also a lot of ginger, which gives it a spicy tang to counterbalance the richness of the meat.

HUNGZHOU KAU YUK, SESAME CHOY SUM AND PINEAPPLE & STAR ANISE CHUTNEY