Not Another Food Blog

Dear, friends and readers!

I am on holidays as of tomorrow, travelling and collecting some exciting new material along the way. That means there will be less posts in the next couple of months but many more to come after that.

Wish you all well!

Irena

Everything happens for a reason and an unfortunate event will often lead to an unexpected positive result or discovery. I was travelling through Spain in 2004 and found myself in rather unpleasant circumstances. The day of leaving Barcelona was the day that resulted in a stolen passport, lost plane tickets, police reports, and two hamsters in hand, one with a missing foot.



It's a long story but let's just say we ended up taking a detour to Madrid where we got stuck for a few days. What looked like a nightmare at the start turned into one of the best travel experiences and a real gourmet treat. Who would have known that in the country of cured meats it was a humble vegetarian soup that blew my socks off. 

Next time you go through your pantry and find a lonely can of baby beets don't look away. You only need few more ingredients and you're on the way to make one of the easiest and tastiest salads ever.



Roasted beets, lamb and goats cheese salad
Serves 3 hungry mouths

1 can baby beets, whole or quartered if possible
400gm lean lamb loin/fillet
1 large salad bowl of baby spinach
1 cup loosely crumbled goats cheese
½ Spanish onion, thinly sliced
1 1/2 cloves garlic, crushed
fresh thyme, about 1 tsp of leaves
olive oil
salt, pepper

Dressing
3 tbsp good quality balsamic, aged, or reduced on slow heat
4 tbsp olive oil
½ teaspoon sea salt
pinch of cracked pepper
½ clove garlic, crushed

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200C. Cut beets in halves, toss in a bowl with a dash of balsamic, pinch of sea salt and some olive oil and roast in the oven for about 20-30 mins, toss half way through. Just use any roasting pan or tray.
2. While the beets are in the oven, rub the lamb loin with salt, pepper, paprika if you have it, crushed garlic and olive oil. Set aside until the beets are 10 mins away.
3. Mix the dressing ingredients in a bowl with a fork and toss it through the spinach and Spanish onions.
4. Heat up some oil in a frying pan until very hot and place the lamb to fry on each side for 3-4 minutes, reduce the heat a little. Rest the lamb after cooking for a few minutes and then slice to add to salad. It should still be pink on the side.
5. Add roasted beets, lamb slices, thyme and goats cheese to the salad and mix through. You can add some walnuts if you like.

Enjoy with a glass of Pinot Noir!

One of the readers left a comment on my blog and told me about this. Not Another Food Blog was featured as one of the Finest Foodie BlogRoll Blogs on August 29. I've joined the Foodie BlogRoll community in July and I am pretty excited my blog is getting some notice. There is a huge community of foodies online and it's great to see us supporting each other.

 

Saturday morning. The weekend is here and after one two many sparkling wines at last night drinks I am hungover. Equipped with Panadol and a liter of H2O I manage to drag myself out of bed to get some morning after nutrients.

Choice #1 Bloody Marry - fridge status is zero
Choice #2 Slice of beautiful country white bread with an inch thick layer of butter and Vegemite goodness - no bread
Choice #3 Leftover pizza - that's gone too
Choice #4 Eggs & bacon - no bacon and need the bread to soak up the egg yolks anyway
Choice #5 Get a ham and cheese croissant - requires getting dressed and walking somewhere

With no options left I decide to bite the bullet and cook. In the back of my fridge I find a packet of Matijas herring. Not the obvious choice for many with a hangover but there is a sense of comfort and nostalgia that comes with herring and I remember what mum and I would often make for a lazy meal.

I peel and cook some potatoes, which I then mash with some butter and leftover thyme. I thinly slice white onion, herring and mix it with white wine vinegar, dijon mustard and olive oil. Chop some tomatoes for more vitamin C and there I have it: herring salad and mash. The taste of childhood. My security blanket. Mum?

I plunge my sleepy bottom on the couch and scoff my northern European delights while checking emails. I feel my body regenerating and my headache slowly going away. Now I feel sleepy again and decide to give sleep another go. Choice #6.  

One of best things about travelling is trying out all the different foods and local dining scenes. I often just go for a long wonder around the place I am visiting as I am always bound to stumble upon some quirky wine bar, authentic food market or an interesting street food cart selling the smelliest, dodgiest yet allegedly edible looking funk. If you like details like me you will often find yourself giggling at funny restaurant signs and food names in foreign countries.


Where I will be in October/November.

A lot of the times the best food and places are recommended by other travellers, and can I say that often their advice saved me from potentially disappointing experiences, including severe physical side effects. Since I am planning a bit of a trip in October this year I wanted to get some tips and ideas about the places and foods I should absolutely try or avoid at all costs. Maybe it's something you've heard or read, in which case I am interested in giving it a test run and reporting my experience to the wide world of web.

I think we are very fortunate in Sydney to be able to try so many of the international cuisines but I am really looking forward to tasting the genuine articles. I know, after visiting Thailand for example, that Thai food in Sydney totally kicks ass and is often better than the 'authentic' dishes I've tried while travelling. Having said that I really don't think I gave it a real go. This trip I will go up a notch on my adventurous eating scale. So, spill the beans on all the best, worst, weirdest, and most original eating experiences you've had in any of the countries I am visiting. Well, any country in general for that matter.

For shits and giggles:


Funny Chinese menu items
The five worst asian restaurant names
The best worst restaurant names ever

Cabbage & Condom Restaurant
Sukhumvit, Soi 12, Bangkok
Main/Specialty: Thai.

Note at the bottom of the menu of a German restaurant:
" After the main course we suggest that you sample the tart of the house"

This is one of my favourite curries. I have only made it once during a cooking class in Thailand but decided to finally give it a go at home on a cold Sunday night. Although this curry takes about an hour to cook the preparation time is close to nothing. And no, I didn't making it from scratch.



Ingredients
Serves 2-3 people

300gm beef, such as rump steak, cut into chunks
250gm potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes
1 medium carrot, peeled and sliced
1 medium onion, peeled and sliced
½ roasted peanuts, I just used salted peanuts
5 tbsp Massaman curry paste (I used Valcom brand which is very mild)
400ml coconut milk
2 tsp sugar, use brown if possible
2 tsp fish sauce or half tsp salt

1. Heat up 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a saucepan. Add beef and curry paste and fry on high for 3-4 minutes, stirring.
2. Reduce the heat to low and slowly pour in coconut milk, bring to boil and reduce the heat. Add sugar. Cook covered for 25 minutes on medium/low heat.
   
3. Add peanuts and potatoes, bring to boil and cook for 10 minutes on medium heat until potatoes are tender. Add fish sauce or salt.
4. Add onion and carrots, bring up the heat to medium/high. Keep uncovered and stirring frequently cook for further 10-15 minutes, reducing the coconut milk. The curry will turn thick and more brown in colour. Taste for salt and if needed add more to taste.
5. Serve with rice and some fresh coriander.
   

Note: I prefer Massaman with beef but it's also very nice with chicken. Just reduce the cooking time in step two to 5-10 minutes as chicken takes less time to cook.

I got some cauliflower to use in the curry I was making on the weekend and of course I forgot to add it. Tonight I was looking at my very lonely looking cabbage in the fridge. What am I going to do with you?



I remember the way my mum used to make cauliflower. The kitchen door would always be closed if she was boiling it because the smell drove my father insane. Not sure why, it's quite pleasant. Once it was cooked, however, he was the first in the kitchen.

Ingredients

half of cauliflower head, broken into smallish florets
2 eggs
¼ cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
½ cup breadcrumbs
¼ cup plain flour
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cracked pepper
1 tsp sea salt
garlic aioli
lemon wedge
oil for frying

1. Cook the cauliflower florets in boiling water for 3 minutes. They should be tender but not overcooked or falling apart. Cool under running water.
2. Whisk eggs in a bowl and stir in the cheese.
3. Mix breadcrumbs, flour, pepper, salt and paprika in a deep plate.
4. Heat up about 4 tablespoons of oil in a large frying pan. You want a thin layer of oil for shallow frying.
5. While it's heating up, start dipping the cauliflower florets in the egg mixture. Let the mixture drip off a little before coating individual florets in crumbs.
6. Add crumbed cauliflower florets to the frying pan. Keep the heat on medium and fry on different sides until golden brown and crispy. Add more oil if needed. Once cooked, place on paper towel before serving.
7. While the cauliflower is frying, make some aioli by mixing 3-4 tablespoons of mayonnaise with one finely chopped garlic clove and some cracked pepper.
8. Serve cauliflower with garlic aioli and lemon juice squeezed over the top. It's great on its own or as a side dish with meat or fish.

Traditionally a paella is cooked by men on a Sunday when the females of the house are taking a break from the kitchen. I cooked this on a Saturday so I think I am covered. This may seem like a long and complicated recipe but it's really fun and is well worth it in the end. Your friends will be very impressed.



A few things before we get into it. You will need a proper paella pan. Alternatively you can use a large frying pan with flat bottom and deep sides, the idea is to distribute the heat evenly. You can get Spanish sweet/smoky paprika and paella rice from a Spanish deli. If you live in Sydney there is one on Liverpool street in the Spanish Quarter. You only stir the paella once when cooking, right at the beginning when you're mixing the rice with other ingredients. The rice will absorb all the goodness and form a thin crust on the bottom of the pan. Reduce the ingredients if cooking for less.

Serves 6-8 hungry people

Sofrito is a rich combination of slow cooked onion, capsicum and tomatoes. It is traditionally used in a paella dish. The mixture coats the paella rice with flavour and keeps it moist and is therefore cooked in lots of oil and spices. You can make this in advance.



Makes 1-2 cups

1 large red capsicum, seeded and chopped
3 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
2 medium white onions, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
6 bay leaves
1 tbsp smoky or sweet paprika
1 tsp sugar
1 ½ tsp sea salt
1 tsp cracked pepper
150 ml olive oil

1. Heat up the oil in a frying pan and add the onions, half the salt, half garlic, sugar, paprika, pepper and bay leaves. Stir through and turn the heat down to medium low. Sauté for 10 minutes until the onion is soft and translucent.
2. Add capsicum and cook on low heat for 20 minutes, stirring through every 5 minutes.
3. Add tomatoes and the rest of salt and garlic. Turn up the heat to medium and stir through for 2-3 minutes. Turn the heat back to low and cook the mix for 40 minutes, stirring every 5-10 minutes. Taste to make sure there is enough salt.
4. Sofrito should be largely reduced by the time it's cooked. It should look caramelised, darker in colour and have lots of flavour.