Sometimes, clean fresh flavours are what inspires me the most. Don’t get me wrong; there is always a place for technique, but there is something delightful about pure ingredients. This quick slap together lunch is a classic example.
[ Serves: 2 | Time: 15 Minutes | Cost: $3 ]
[ Brittanys Rating: 4.5 / 5 | My Rating: 4.5 / 5 ]
Ingredients
1 bunch bok choy
1 bunch pak choy
1 bunch baby broccoli
1 zucchini, sliced thick
1 handful green beans
chilli flakes to taste
Sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon teriyaki sauce
¼ teaspoon stevia or 1 teaspoon sugar
Method
- Steam the vegetables in stages so they are cooked but still fresh and crisp on the plate.
- Mix all the sauce ingredients together and toss the vegetables in a bowl with the sauce. Ensure the vegetables are coated well with the sauce.
- Serve hot in a bowl with or without noodles. Sprinkle with chilli to taste.
Observations
- Yum. Enough said!
- Diabetic Note: No drama at all with this plate. If you are insulin dependent, add some noodles for carbs.
- Ethical Note: Raw or near raw, fresh, and local. So awesome.
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Tags: Chinese cabbage, diabetic friendly, Environmental, Ethical, no meat monday, Olive oil, Sauce, sustainability, Teriyaki, Vegetable, vegetables, vegetarian
I can’t lay claim to having created this dish, as the original came from the Women’s Day fame.
Chicken, Chickpea and Pumpkin Curry
[ Serves: 4 | Time: 60 Minutes | Cost: $8 ]
[ Brittanys Rating: 4.5 / 5 | My Rating: 4.5 / 5 ]
Ingredients
1 small chicken, broken down into pieces (about 1kg worth)
3 cups pumpkin, peeled, seeded and cut into cubes
1 onion, diced
1 can tomatoes
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 cloves garlic
1½ teaspoons cumin
½ teaspoon ginger
½ teaspoon cinnamon
drizzle of olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
toasted almond slivers for garnish
Spices
Method
- In a large saute pan, fry the onions in a little oil until translucent. Add the spices and garlic and cook until fragrant – about 30 seconds or so.
- Add the tomatoes to the pan and mix well. Add the chicken and chick peas and ensure they are coated in the mixture. Cook over a moderate heat with the lid on until the chicken is tender; about 15 minutes.
Submerge the chicken in the sauce.
- Add the pumpkin and stir to mix everything well. Cook with the lid on until the pumpkin and chicken are cooked through. This may take another 20 or so minutes.
Adding the pumpkin
- Garnish with toasted almonds and serve hot, with or without rice.
Observations
- I adored the bold flavours of this dish. I am so used to Asian style curries that every now and then I will try a middle eastern curry and be blown away. The pumpkin is a winner in this dish and I think it won over Brittany too!
- Brittany and I both adored the crunch of the nuts in the garnish. So much so that we ended up including a lot more than is strictly required for a garnish.
- The sauce thickened up too much for me on a few occasions and I added a splash of water to it to keep it at the right consistency.
when the sauce has reduced too much, add some water.
- I used a whole size 10 chicken in this recipe. I broke it down into pieces and removed the skin from the larger pieces. This reduces the fat content and makes it a healthier meal without losing on taste.
- Diabetic Note: There are about 15 grams of carbohydrates in the pumpkin but the rice, as always is a killer. There are around 45 grams of carbohydrates per 150 grams (about half a cup) of cooked rice. Watch your serving sizes to stay out of trouble.
- Ethical Note: I won this chicken in a raffle and instead of roasting it, I broke it down to use it in this meal. I reserved the bones to make my own chicken stock. Sustainability sometimes requires thinking outside the box.
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Tags: Chicken, curry, diabetic friendly, Environmental, Ethical, Free Range, Olive oil, sustainability
I love beans of all variety, and broad beans are no exception. When I was a little girl, I grew up on them as a staple. Lately I’ve been craving them in my diet and when I stumbled across this gem of a recipe by Yummly, I knew I had to give it a try – with my own changes, of course! =)
Broad Bean Risotto
[ Serves: 2 | Time: 24hrs + 15 Minutes | Cost: $3 ]
[ Joes Rating: 5 / 5 | My Rating: 4.5 / 5 ]
Ingredients
100 grams dried broad beans
1 large onion
1 cup arborio rice
3 cups vegetable stock
½ cup white wine
½ cup Pecorino cheese
¼ cup low-fat cream ¹
2 cloves garlic
½ tablespoon sage
drizzle olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Method
- Soak the dried beans in water over night with a pinch of bicarbonate soda. After a good soak, slightly twist each bean or squeeze from the sides to remove the hard skins. Discard the skins. After a rinse under cold running water, the beans are ready to be used.
- Put the stock in a pot and bring to a light simmer.
- In a larger pot, add a drizzle of olive oil and sauté the onions and garlic until translucent. Don’t allow to brown.
- Stir the dry rice into the mixture and give it a stir to coat it well with the oil, onions and garlic.
- De-glaze with the wine and cook over a warm – moderate heat until the wine has been absorbed.
- Add ½ – 1 cup of hot stock to the mixture and stir frequently while the rice absorbs the fluid.
- Continue slowly adding stock until the rice is cooked. This will take about 25 – 35 minutes. Stir frequently to ensure the mixture doesn’t stick.
- When the rice is tender, add the cream, cheese, sage and beans to the pot and stir it gently to combine it well.
- Season to taste and serve immediately with some grated cheese to garnish.
A well made risotto should still show the individual rice grains and not be a gluggy mess. The black masses in the photo are peppercorns form the cheese.
Observations
- Note 1: I recently discovered this wonderful Kraft’s product range Philadelphia Cream Cheese called Cream for Cooking. This is the first time I have used it and found it produced a really good flavour without all the carbohydrates. It boasts 60% less fat than regular cream, so look out for it.
- I have to admit, I was pretty impressed with this risotto. It was creamy, filling, flavourful and the taste just lingered all night on my palate.
- Diabetic Note: 100 grams of cooked arborio rice is about 35g carbohydrates. There are roughly 10 grams of carbs between the cream and beans. This meal will sneak in to the tightest carbohydrate budget as long as you observe strict serving sizes.
- Ethical Note: Dried legumes allows you to use seasonal crops all year round. The ability to dry legumes for later use reduces wastage. Learn to love legumes and once you have mastered No Meat Monday, try Legumes Thursday!
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Tags: Bean, diabetic friendly, Environmental, Ethical, no meat monday, Olive oil, risotto, sustainability, vegetables, vegetarian
No, I didn’t make a mistake with the title. The dish really is a Broccoli Pasta Sauce. A rather amazing and totally delicious sauce at that. This is definitely a “don’t judge a book by its cover” type deal and is inspired by Tea and Cookies. Enjoy!
Broccoli Pasta Sauce – Don’t judge a book by its cover.
[ Serves: 4 | Time: 15 Minutes | Cost: $4 ]
[ Joes Rating: 4 / 5 | My Rating: 4 / 5 | Brittanys rating: 4 / 5 ]
Ingredients
5 cups broccoli
1 onion, diced
5 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 lemon, juiced
3 tablespoons water
Salt and pepper to taste
Pecorino Cheese to taste
Method
- Wash the broccoli and cut it into bite size chunks, including the stems. Steam or boil the broccoli until it is tender – about 10 minutes.
- In a large frying pan, bring a drizzle of oil to temperature and fry of the onion and garlic until transparent. Add the drained broccoli and saute for a few minutes until tender and coated in the oil and onion mixture.
- Pour the broccoli and onion mixture into a blender. Add the oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper and blend until smooth. If the mixture is too thick, add a little water.
- Mix through hot pasta and serve with grated cheese.
Season it well and serve with grated pecorino cheese
Observations
- Reserve the water from the boiling / steaming process to use to thin out the sauce during the blending stage. Also, reserving vegetable water is perfect for feeding sourdough starter!
- I was honestly so surprised at the taste of this dish. I was even more surprised at how Brittany loved it. Seriously, the child lapped it all up and was looking for more! Definitely a winner.
- Diabetic Note: Ok, so pasta is naughty. And I struggle really hard when I do eat it. Be wary of your serving size and opt for more sauce than pasta and you *might* be ok. (Remember, pasta is ~70% carbohydrates.)
- Ethical Note: Oh how awesome is this recipe. You use the stems too. Far too often broccoli stems are discarded as waste even though they are delicious and totally edible.
- Did you get all the way to the bottom and are still trying to work out why I haven’t gotten duck recipe #2 published yet? Tomorrow guys, I promise!
This is my portion. I try to make it small and keep to 1 cup cooked pasta.
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Tags: Broccoli, diabetic friendly, Environmental, Ethical, no meat monday, Olive oil, Onion, pasta, sustainability, vegetables, vegetarian
I’ve been craving a smooth tomato sauce with some bite for a while now. I have been tossing around some ideas until this one just sort of formed one afternoon for no particular reason. Its so easy that I’m embarrassed to post it, but nevertheless, here it is because it deserves to be shared!
Tomato and Capsicum Sauce
[ SERVES: 4 | TIME: 60 MINUTES | COST: $2-3 ]
[ JOES RATING: 4 / 5 | MY RATING: 5 / 5 | BRITTANYS RATING: 4 / 5 ]
Ingredients
1 can tomatoes, crushed or diced
1 capsicum, quartered and de-seeded
1 onion, diced
1 tablespoon chili flakes, to taste
1 teaspoon garlic, minced
splash of olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
Method
- In a saucepan, fry off the onion in a little olive oil until caramelised. Add the garlic and stir until cooked.
- Add the capsicum and tomatoes and allow to stew over a medium heat for several minutes. Add chilli, salt and pepper to taste.
- Continue to stew until the sauce has reduced and the capsicum has started to break down ¹.
- Remove from heat and allow to cool before puréeing in a blender.
- May be served immediately hot or stored in the fridge for several days.
Observations
- Note 1: If you stew it long enough over a low enough heat the capsicum will break down and release more flavour. It will also give the chilli time to incorporate well into the dish.
- Note 2: For a silky sauce, push the sauce through a drum strainer. Although I blended it for several minutes, it was still quite textured.
- I loved this very simple sauce. It was absolutely delicious without being over bearing. Id happily eat this forever as my new pasta sauce base. I can just imagine it drizzled over steamed vegetables…
- Diabetic Note: I didn’t use much oil in this dish at all so its a perfect sauce for all diabetics. Almost no carbohydrates or fats in this dish means you can have a little more pasta, right?
- Ethical Note: YAY! I have found the perfect sauce! This means I am no longer dependant on beef replacement products for certain pasta sauces. Healthier for me and the environment. I also have to admit that the capsicum I used was well past its peak so reduced landfill to boot!
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Tags: diabetic friendly, Environmental, Ethical, Free Range, no meat monday, Olive oil, pasta sauce, sustainability, Tomato sauce, vegetable sauce, vegetables, vegetarian
While I was in Sydney at the Good Food and Wine Festival, I got to attend The Flavour Workshop that featured Oxford Landing Estate wines with Maggie Beer inspired foods. Of the tasting, two tastes really struck a chord with me. The first was a Prosciutto with Mustard Apricots which was just brilliant. I should mention that the apricots are not available yet, but once I get my hands on a jar later this month, you can expect a full review.
The second was a Chicken Breast with a Tarragon Butter. Generally, this is not the sort of flavours Id work with, but I was really inspired by this subtle combination that I decided to have a play with the flavours and textures. I am not sure what to call the results really. To Tarragon, With Love? Cannellini Beans with Tarragon Butter? Tarragon Flavoured Beans? Bean Stew with Tarragon? I don’t know. How about, Yes Please!?
[ SERVES: 3 PER TART | TIME: 4.5 MINUTES | COST: $3 PER TART ]
[ JOES RATING: 3.5 /5 | MY RATING: 4 /5 | BRITTANYS RATING: 3.5 /5 ]
Ingredients
1 can Cannellini beans, rinsed
1 cup celery, chopped
1 cup leeks, quartered and sliced
1 cup zucchini, quartered and chopped
1 cup peas, frozen is fine
½ litre veggie stock
½ cup carrots, diced
1 – 2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon tarragon, chopped
1 teaspoon thyme
drizzle olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Method
- Melt the butter in a frying pan with a little oil ¹. Sauté the leeks and garlic until they are transparent and fragrant.
- Add the carrots and celery and cook until tender.
- Add the stock, zucchini, beans, peas and herbs ² and cook covered until tender.
- Season and serve hot.
Observations
- Note 1: When you are cooking with butter, add a splash of oil to stop the butter from burning.
- Note 2: While I was in Sydney, one of the TV celebrity chefs mentioned that he only ever puts soft herbs in at the end of the dish to keep them fresh. More recently, I heard someone on Masterchef say they put woody herbs in early and soft herbs in late. I’ve started doing this since I came back from Sydney and I have noticed the difference. The herb flavour is a lot stronger using this method!
- I really adored this dish. The tarragon gave such an amazing flavour to it. Joe also enjoyed it, but Brittany wasn’t such a fan. She would have preferred for it to be served with some form of carbohydrates (surprise, surprise!) such as rice, pasta or couscous.
- Diabetic Note: There are no real carbohydrates in this dish, perhaps 1 exchange (15 grams carbohydrates) per serve. There are some fats, though, so be aware and adjust accordingly. The beans full of fibre, low GI and high in protein leaving you full for longer. All in all, this is a wonderful choice for diabetics.
- Ethical Note: It’s the day before shop day and the fridge was kinda bear. I am always a happy camper when I can invent something tasty with limited ingredients. Instead of throwing away wilted fruit and veggies, attempt to be creative. If it fails, you’ve lost nothing as you were throwing them out anyway. If you succeed, you’ve learned something while reducing landfill.
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Tags: cannellini beans, diabetic friendly, Environmental, Ethical, Free Range, legume, no meat monday, Olive oil, sustainability, vegetables, vegetarian
Oh happy day!
I never shop at large supermarket chains so I often don’t see new products. It just so happens, though, that the kitty litter we buy (which is sawdust which would be thrown away from a sawmill) is only available from Coles. So once every six months, we go buy a couple dozen bags and sometimes I get to check out some new products. Well, this time I discovered that Coles is now stocking free ranged pork. YES! Free Range Pork!
Of course, I just had to sample some so I bought a piece of rolled pork roast to sample. Its been so long since we have had a pork roast (possibly two or more years!) that I was beside myself with ideas. Eventually I decided to stuff the roast, roll it and roast it. The results were rather delicious, even if I do say so myself…
[ SERVES: 5 | TIME: 90 MINUTES | COST: $20 ]
[ JOES RATING: 5 / 5 | MY RATING: 5 / 5 | BRITTANYS RATING: 5 / 5 ]
Ingredients
Pork
1 rolled free ranged pork roast
splash of olive oil
rock salt
Stuffing
1 cup breadcrumbs
1 onion, chopped finely
½ cup macadamia nuts, chopped
1 egg
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
1 tablespoon sage, diced
splash of olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Method
- Caramelise the onion in a frying pan with a little olive oil. Add the garlic, sage and macadamia nuts. Cook off until well incorporated and cooked through. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
- In a bowl, combine the onion mixture with the breadcrumbs and egg. If it is too dry, add a little water 1 tablespoon at a time ¹.
- Lay your pork skin side down on a flat surface and use a sharp knife to cut into the flesh. Do not cut all the way through. If possible, cut Y shapes into the flesh. Use your fingers to force the mixture down into the slits, packing it as tight as possible.
- Once the stuffing mixture is packed on the meat, roll the roast as tightly as possible. Use butchers string to tie the roast into a roll.
- For a crispy crackling, score the skin but take care not to cut right through the fat layer. Rub oil into the skin before applying a good quantity of salt, ensuring it gets right into the score lines.
- To cook the roast, preheat the oven to 220°C and bake for 30 minutes. Reduce the heat to 180ºC and cook for 45 minutes per kilo of meat. Baste ever 30 minutes.
- Remove the roast from the oven, cover with aluminium foil and allow to stand for 10 – 15 minutes. This resting allows the juices to settle, the muscle tissues to relax and finishes off the cooking process.
- Carve and serve hot.
Observations
- Note 1: When I made the stuffing, I felt it was a little dry so I added some water to the mix. Unfortunately I didn’t take much note of how much water I used, but Id hazard a guess and say around ¼ cup. The amount of water you will need to make a moist (but not wet!) stuffing will vary according to how much oil you have used, how big your onion was and how dry your crumbs are. Just add a little water at time until you have the right consistency. Use the pictures above as a guide.
- The meat was so juicy and tender, but that stuffing was amazing! Joe (who is quite partial to stuffing) went as far as to say that it was the best stuffing he had ever tasted. Why, thank you my love!
- Today, I partnered the pork up with some traditional roast vegetables and some asparagus, broccoli, zucchini and purple carrots. I opted not to use apple sauce or gravy today because I didn’t want to lose the flavour of the stuffing (which was the feature to compliment the pork).
- I haven’t tried purple carrots before, and just happened to notice them on my way out of the store. I decided to grab some to try them. They had a definite earthy flavour and were not as sweet as a dutch carrot. I quite enjoyed the flavour and it worked well with this dish.
- Diabetic Note: Balance, dear diabetic friends. This dish has balance! The baked veggies were only baked in a little oil and if you avoid eating the pork skin, you avoid a lot of fat. The boiled vegetables give you nourishment with no carbohydrate content. The carbs in this meal are in the stuffing but I would hazard a guess and say it is possible 2 exchange points (30g) carbohydrates at most. This is diabetic meal planning at its best!
- Ethical Note: We have avoided eating pork for so long because of the ethical issues involved with pork farming. I had forgotten how much I missed it. I can’t say it will grace our plate often, but once a month should be enough to keep everyone’s taste buds happy while having no adverse effects on the planet.
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Tags: diabetic friendly, Environmental, Ethical, Free Range, macadamia nuts, Olive oil, pork, sage, stuffing, sustainability, vegetables
I have had a craving for French Lentils for a while. I missed quality vegetarian foods while I was in Sydney and found myself craving simple tastes such as raw vegetables, beans and lentils.
And the time has come for me to rectify that and give in to the cravings.
[ SERVES: 3 | TIME: 60 MINUTES | COST: $4 ]
[ JOES RATING: 4 / 5 | MY RATING: 5 / 5 | BRITTANYS RATING: 4 / 5 ]
Ingredients
2 – 3 potatoes
3 largish slices of pumpkin
2 – 3 small – medium sweet potato
2 – 3 carrots
1 leek
1 cup French lentils
3 cups vegetable stock
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
1 tablespoon fresh parsley
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon minced garlic
drizzle olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Method
- Rinse the vegetables and peel where necessary. Cut into largish bite size pieces.
- In a bowl, toss the vegetables in some olive oil. Add the herbs and season. Ensure that the herbs are distributed evenly through the vegetables.
- Place the veggies into a baking tray and bake at 200°C for about 45 minutes. Check the vegetables and turn them after about 20 minutes, basting as needed.
- While the vegetables are cooking, rinse the lentils well, removing any material that floats.
- In a pot, add the lentils and stock. Cook over a medium heat until the water is absorbed. They should cook in about 25 minutes but if they are still firm, add a little more water and cook for longer as needed.
- Serve the vegetables on a bed of cooked lentils. Season and enjoy hot.
Observations
- The French Lentils have a habit of turning the water / stock a dark tea to sometimes blackish colour. Dont worry about this. It is normal.
- I love the French lentils for their earthy slightly nutty flavour but Brittany didn’t enjoy them at all. She said she would have preferred couscous or rice. As I was avoiding the carbohydrates, she dips out! I am not sure if kids would generally enjoy lentils or not, but its worth a try!
- These lentils are quite filling too, so one cup raw between three people is quite generous. They are also rich in fibre and protein so tend to keep you full for quite a while.
- I used purple carrots again tonight to see how they would go baked. They were sweet and had a very earthy flavour to them. Joe found one piece was quite bitter. These new variety of carrots are quite interesting and are worth further investigations!
- Diabetic Note: Nothing to see here… Move quite along. No, seriously… My blood sugars didn’t react to this meal at all. YAY, extra potatoes for me now, right?
- Ethical Note: People generally remove the skins of vegetables. I think most people consider them to be dirty because they have been handled and have often been in the dirt. A lot of nutrients are lost when the skins are discarded. Give them a good wash and enjoy the veggies with the skin on. This reduces waste and is a much healthier option.
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Tags: Bake, diabetic friendly, Environmental, Ethical, no meat monday, Olive oil, sustainability, vegetables, vegetarian
I guess the trip home last week for the competition instilled a lot of cultural pride in me. Certainly, its made me yearn for Maltese food! Today’s dish is a classic example of a simple but common meal in my family when I was growing up. I hope you will enjoy it.
[ SERVES: 3 per tart | TIME: 4.5 MINUTES | COST: $3 per tart ]
[ JOES RATING: 4.5 /5 | MY RATING: 4.5 /5 | Brittanys RATING: 4.5 /5 ]
Ingredients
4 sheets frozen puff pastry
1 wheel of ricotta – usually 1 – 2 kg
2 – 3 free ranged eggs
½ cup parsley
olive oil spray
salt and pepper to taste
Methods
- In a large bowl, mash the ricotta and two eggs with a potato masher. When smooth and soft, discard the masher and use a spoon to mix through the parsley.
- If the mixture is too dry to mix easily, add one more egg ¹. Do not make the mixture too moist – it should hold a peak. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Spray a pie dish lightly with olive oil before carefully lining the bottom of the dish with the pastry.
- Spoon mixture into the pie dish until it is full. Use the back of the spoon to flatten the mixture out and remove any bubbles.
- Lay a sheet of pastry over the top of the tart. Using a fork, seal the tart edges by pressing the top and bottom pastry layers together. Use a fork to prick the top pastry a few times before giving it a milk wash.
- Bake at 200°C for 30 – 45 minutes ², checking regularly.
I press the top and bottom pastry layers together with a fork to seal the tart and then milk wash it before baking.
Observations
- Note ¹ It is really important not to make the cheese mixture too moist. It should still hold its peaks and shape once mixed through. The consistency after two eggs can alter significantly due to the starting consistency of the cheese, so add the eggs slowly.
- Note ² The cooking time varies significantly based on the moisture levels of the tart filling. If the cheese filling starts out too moist, it will require more cooking time and will not be as light and flakey at the end. If the cheese is not firm when you start to slice into it, put it back into the oven for a while longer. It must be firm as it is in the top photo.
- Love Spinach? No problems! Add one packet of frozen shredded spinach to the ingredients list. To use, defrost the spinach in a sink before squeezing all the moisture out of the spinach. Press into a colander with the back of a spoon or literally squeeze with your hands until there is no moisture left before adding to the cheese mixture.
- Sun dried tomatoes or roasted capsicum also make delicious additions, but ensure they are void of as much moisture as possible before adding them to the cheese.
- As you can see, I didn’t fill this pie up as much as I could have. That is because I ran out of mixture. I tend to make several tarts at a time and freeze them until I am ready for them. They make a wonderful slap together lunch or part of a delicious meal. They are also super when guests unexpectedly stop over.
- When you buy your ricotta, don’t make the common mistake of buying the little tubs of ricotta in the dairy case. They are often too moist, and are not the right taste or consistency for this dish. Go to a deli and ask for a wheel or basket of ricotta such as the photo below. When purchased in cheese baskets (pictured) the cheese has had a chance to drain. The results are a firmer and drier consistency to the cheese making it ideal for things such as this dish, making pasta such as ravioli and stuffing cannelloni.
This cheese basket is full of ricotta and is left to drain leaving it firmer and drier in texture. Source: Australia on a Plate
- Diabetic Note: Again, another comfort dish that I must be careful with. The pastry is rich in butter and oil making it not a so great choice for the diet concious. The cheese is heavy in saturated fats which are not wise choices for people with heart issues. Diabetics need to be aware that your blood glucose levels will respond poorly to the pastry and ensure the serving sizes stay on the lower end of the scale. To make it more attractive to people watching their weight, have a quarter of a tart and pair it with a side salad.
- Ethical Note: Before my father died, he was making his own ricotta cheese. He would purchase 10 litres of milk straight from the dairy and make it up into ricotta to feed the family with. These old traditions are being lost in an age of commercialisation and convenience. In an attempt to reconnect with some of these old practices (which are better for the environment) I am going to be doing a cheese making course later this year. I cant wait to make my own cheese and forgo the commercial alternatives.
It could just be just me, but do you see Winnie the Pooh in my cheese tart crust?
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Tags: diabetic friendly, Environmental, Ethical, Free Range, no meat monday, Olive oil, ricotta cheese, sustainability, vegetables, vegetarian
You may remember a few weeks ago I was talking about making dishes of food for a grieving family? Well today’s dish is along the same chain of thought – comfort food. This dish, commonly refereed to as Macaroni by Maltese people, is a family favourite. It is carb heavy, delicious and just what the doctor ordered when morale is low. There is nothing that brings warmth, comfort and nourishment like Macaroni. Nothing!
There is, however, one important draw back of this dish. It uses tinned corned beef which is a staple meat product in Maltese cuisine. As my regular readers would know, I don’t cook with beef because of the environmental issues associated with beef production. (Read this article for more information). There really is no substitute for it and I have tried to make a vegetarian option of this dish that was a total failure.
So I bring you my ethical dilemma - Maltese Macaroni.
Maltese Macaroni – to me this is made of winning, and tastes of all things good.
[ SERVES: 6 | TIME: 90 MINUTES | COST: $10 ]
[ JOES RATING: 5 / 5 | MY RATING: 5 / 5 | Brittanys RATING: 5 / 5 ]
Ingredients
1 packet macaroni pasta ¹
1 tin hamper corned beef
1 tin tomatoes, chopped
1 small tin tomato paste
1 onion, diced finely
1 cup Pecorino cheese, grated
¼ cup continental parsley, chopped
4 – 6 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon basil, fresh (or 1 teaspoon dried)
1 tablespoon oregano, fresh (or 1 teaspoon dried)
1 teaspoon curry powder
4 bay leaves
2 free ranged / organic eggs
salt and pepper to taste
dash of olive oil
Method
- Bring a large pot to the boil with about 6 – 8 litres of water. Add a good pinch of salt to the water before adding the pasta. Cook the pasta until half-cooked – it should still be quite firm and undercooked ². Drain, rinse and set aside.
- In a large frying pan at moderate heat, sauté the onion and garlic in a dash of oil until caramelised. Add the corned beef and stir well until the well incorporated and melted to a liquid like consistency. Add the tinned tomatoes, bay leaves, parsley, basil, oregano and a little seasoning. Stir and let simmer for 15 – 30 minutes until slightly thickened and rich in flavour.
This last photo is of the sauce sauteing. It has not yet been thickened but I don’t thicken it very much at all past this point. It needs to still be quite thin. See note ² in observations below.
- After the sauce has simmered and reduced slightly, taste for seasoning. If the sauce tastes sweet, add the curry powder ³. Thicken with tomato paste ². Remove bay leaves.
- Preheat oven to 200°C.
- In a very large baking tray, add the pasta and sauce, mixing well to incorporate evenly throughout the tray.
- Add the cheese evenly throughout and mix lightly.
- Lightly beat the egg and drizzle throughout the tray. Move the egg lightly throughout the dish with a fork – do not over mix at this point.
- Cover the baking tray with aluminium foil and bake in a moderate oven for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and cook until the top layer of pasta is crunchy and well cooked.
This is time-lapse photos of the pasta cooking.
Observations
- Note ¹ The type of pasta we use for this dish can be difficult to obtain out of large cities. It is very long tubes of pasta that are quite thick and hold their form without collapsing when cooked. By using this sort of pasta, the egg, sauce and cheese can run into the pasta tubes and each bite is mouth-watering delicious.
This is the pasta that I use. Note how thick and long the pieces are in this 20 litre boiling pot?
- Note ² If you hit al dente during the boiling portion of the cooking, you have over cooked the pasta. You want it to be about half-cooked so when you bite it, it still is really very firm and raw towards the middle but not hard and uncooked. The cooking process will be finished off during the baking phase. This is why it is very important not to over thicken the sauce – the liquid is going to be absorbed by the pasta to finish off the cooking process during the baking phase.
- Note ³ Sometimes, I find the fresh herbs bring a unique sweetness to the dish that is not always desirable. Traditionally, curry powder is incorporated to bring a balance to the dish. Let your taste buds guide you on this.
- The flavour of this dish is excellent. Sometimes, though, I add an extra egg if the sauce looks too dry. Be warned, though - don’t make it too eggy!
- I only use good quality grated Romano Pecorino for this dish. If I am making it for the uneducated, I may use tasty cheese just because its cheaper. At the end of the day, though, the Pecorino adds something special to the dish so if possible, opt for quality. If you like things a bit on the cheesy side of life, then go ahead and add more cheese to the dish.
- Diabetic Note: I eat this dish and ask, “Why are the gods so cruel?”. There is NOTHING like this dish. I absolutely adore it. It is all things good and homely to me. Of course, it is also carbohydrate heavy which is the diabetics nightmare. The pasta is about 70% carbohydrates and while there is little to no carbs in the rest of the ingredients, a good diabetic should limit their portion size on this meal. Luckily for me, I’m a bad diabetic…
Ok, so this portion might feed two diabetics. (Or one bad diabetic…)
- Ethical Note: As I said above, this is a family favourite. When we stopped eating beef two years ago, this is one dish I truly missed. Although I have tried to make vegetarian versions of this dish, they fail miserably. This is the first time I’ve cooked it in two years, and it was a real ethical dilemma for me. Joe and I recently discussed minor transgressions with beef to balance diet ect, and we both agreed on one thing. If everyone reduced their beef intake to perhaps one meal a week, our environment would be so much healthier. Being conscious of the impacts of your meal is the first step to a healthier environment.
I found this excellent photo of Maltese Macaroni on Wikipedia. See how the sauce ends up thick cause the pasta absorbs the liquid. Note how it holds its form? All hallmark signs of a good macaroni! (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
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Tags: Bay leaf, comfort food, Cook, diabetic friendly, Free Range, Home, Maltese Macaroni, Olive oil, pasta, Pecorino, Tomato paste
