Make Your Own... Potato Rösti

Made from grated potato that is formed into rounds and fried, potato röstis are the Swiss version of the hash brown. Traditionally eaten for breakfast, today they are popular both in Switzerland and the world during any meal.

Golden and crunchy on the outside with starchy soft potato on the inside, they are perfect served with smoked salmon, crème fraiche and a little horseradish (as pictured) for a fashionable brunch. Otherwise spice up an average dinner by serving them instead of your typical potato.

Röstis taste great warm or cold making them a perfect left over lunch treat and a easy to make.

Ingredients
4 large potatoes such as sebago, washed and peeled
1 small white onion, peeled
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt
Pepper

Method

Place the potatoes in a medium saucepan. Cover with cold water and bring to the boil over high heat and boil, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Drain. Allow to cool completely.
Grate the potatoes and onion in a large bowl and season with plenty of salt and pepper. Toss well to combine.
Divide the mixture into 6 balls. Using slightly wet hands form into a firm flat disc around 3 cm thick.
In a large non stick frying pan heat half of the butter and oil over a medium heat. Add 3 of your potato discs and cook for 10 minutes or until golden brown on one side. Carefully turn each over and press lightly with the back of a spatula. Cook for a further 10 minutes or until the base is golden brown.
Transfer to a plate and keep warm.
Add the remaining butter and oil to the frying pan and cook the remaining rosti.
Serve warm of cold.
Makes 6 röstis.

This Week's Recipe: New Coleslaw

Why Coleslaw?
When you hear coleslaw what comes to mind? For me it is left over bowls of raw shredded cabbage and carrots and sad looking raisins all smothered in a creamy dressing, or tiny containers from a 'certain fried chicken fast food chain' that looks like food, however are soggy, watery and far too sugary.

Although my memories do not speak highly of this iconic salad, coleslaw back in the day was a very popular (and tasty) salad. Often seen at picnics, parties and barbecues, its name originated from a loose translation of a classic Dutch cabbage salad (koolsalade), made with raw shredded cabbage and a light mayonnaise dressing.

There is nothing about the foundation of coleslaw that I do not love – crunchy raw sweet cabbage, creamy mayonnaise, sweet plump raisins and a little vinegar for bite. What I think I missed however was the right execution.

Today with so many variants in the salad world it is time for a new version of this classic; that brings both familiarity, excitement and delicious flavour.

Ingredients
60g raisins
¼ cup (60ml) verjuice
¼ savoy cabbage (600g), thinly sliced
2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar (or white wine vinegar)
2/3 cup (100g) pine nuts, freshly toasted

For the salad cream
½ cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar (or white wine vinegar)
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon hot water
Salt
Pepper

Method
Place raisins in a bowl and cover with verjuice. Allow to soak for 20 minutes.
In a large bowl combine the cabbage and 2 tablespoons of white balsamic vinegar.
In the meantime whisk together mayonnaise, mustard, vinegar and olive oil. Slowly add the hot water whisking to combine. Season to taste.
Drain the raisins and add to the cabbage along with the pine nuts. Add the salad cream and toss.
Serves 6

Top Three Ingredients for February

1.Peaches:With velvety blushed skin and yellow juicy flesh what is there not to love about Summer peaches. A member of the rose family, peaches are sweet and deliciously fragrant. Available from September – March buy them during January – March when they are at their best.

There are over a hundred different varieties of peaches, including nectarines, which are classified as a fuzz less, smaller version. Simply, peaches are classified into clingstone, freestone and semi free stone all dependant on how easily the flesh comes away from the stone.

Within in these categories are white peaches. Compared to regular yellow fleshed peaches, white peaches are champaign in colour deepining to a pinkish hue towards the centre. White peaches also have a milder floral sweet taste making them a great to addition to salads and with cheese plates.
Donut peaches are noted for their unusual flat shape and while becoming increasing popular they have in fact been around for centuries. Donut peaches are generally white and are sweet, floral and juicy with subtle vanilla tones.

Pick peaches that are pink in hues and have a firm (not wrinkly) flesh. Store them in a dry cool place as too much heat makes them dry out and wrinkle faster.

Peaches are great added to any breakfast, or with salads.

Make a tasty salsa to go with fish or corn chips with diced yellow peaches, avocado, finely chopped mint and coriander, a little chilli and plenty of lime juice.

2.Garlic: There is nothing that smells better than garlic cooking. A relative to the onion family, garlic is a cousin of eshalots, leeks, spring onions and chives.

Garlic has been an important part of both cuisine and medicine for thousands of years. Raw, it is pungent, spicy and adds dynamic layers of flavour. These characteristics mellow however when cooked, into a sweeter, slightly caramel and earthy clove.

Unfortunately a lot of garlic sold in Australia comes from Mexico or China. Besides being bad for Australian farming, these bulbs taste dull from travel compared to ones grown in our own home soil.

Look out for Australian grown garlic at farmers markets and your local grocer. The best way to buy garlic is in a plat of 15 or so bulbs. Besides being fresh, they look great and last up to 2 months.

Add a whole crushed garlic clove to a simple lemon and oil dressing and leave to infuse for 30 minutes for extra flavour.
Crush 2 cloves of garlic and mix into 150g softened butter season with salt and pepper, roll in cling film and refrigerate. Add this butter to any meats or fish whilst cooking or even on top of freshly steamed vegetables. It will keep in the refrigerator for 2 weeks.

For beautiful garlic infused oil and sweet caramelised cloves follow my recipe for confit garlic.

Chocolate: It is the most popular food and flavour in the world. With a long history of use in both sweet confection and savoury cuisine, chocolate with out a doubt lures anyones heart.

Chocolate comes in 3 main forms white, milk and dark. Each one is classified by the percentage of cocoa solids with sugar, cocoa butter and milk solids.

Dark chocolate is the most bitter out of the three with a rich earthy quality, containing 60% or more cocoa solids. Milk chocolate is a creamier sweeter version most popular for confectionary, containing 35% or more cocoa solids. White chocolate technically is not chocolate as it does not contain any cocoa solids, but rather milk solids, cocoa butter and sugar. It is the sweetest of the three and is delicious in desserts and with tropical fruits.

With Valentines Day around the corner seduce your loved one with some of these fantastic and easy chocolate desserts!

Double Chocolate Cake
Chocolate Fudge
Valentines Day Cookies
Chocolate Mousse

Make Your Own... Praline

Praline is a sweet made from caramelised sugar mixed with nuts. Traditionally praline in Europe is made with almonds or hazelnuts and is used crushed to sweeten ice cream and creams or left in large shards to decorate the top of elaborate cakes.

Praline today is made and eaten as a simple sweet. In America it is quite often made with the addition of cream creating a butterscotch type sweet.

I like to make my praline with a large mixture of nuts and a little added chocolate. If adding chocolate add it after you have poured your praline onto your baking tray otherwise it will melt.

Serve praline as a sophisticated alternative to a dessert at your next dinner party with either a coffee or dessert wine. Or crushed and sprinkled on top of ice cream.


Ingredient
80g caster sugar
75g mixed unsalted nuts
1 tablespoon dark chocolate buttons (optional)

Method
Line a flat baking tray with baking paper.

In a dry and clean saucepan add the sugar. Place over a medium heat and allow to leave to caramelise. Make sure not to stir the sugar while it is caramelising otherwise it may crystallise. You can however swirl the saucepan carefully to help dissolve all the sugar.

When the sugar is a deep golden colour add the nuts.

Pur onto a lined tray and tilt to spread. Scatter a few chocolate buttons on if using.

Allow to cool completely before breaking and serving.

Note: Sugar gets extremely hot when cooking Please take cautionary steps when making.

Store praline in a dry cool place for up to 3 days. Praline however can start to melt if the weather is humid.

Serves 4 as a sweet treat.

What is your favourite sweet treat?

This Week's Recipe: Mushroom Salad

Why Mushroom Salad?

As I child I could not stand mushrooms. Raw they tasted like dirt, and cooked they were slimy and a horrible greyish brown colour.

My brother on the other hand has always LOVED them. As a kid he used to be particularly fond of eating mushrooms raw and dipping them into balsamic vinegar. Being the typical younger sister I adamantly ate them the same way in an aim to be just like him.

Many years later I have become accustomed to this strange vegetable – starting off eating them in salads (dressed with plenty of balsamic vinegar of course), on pizzas to eventually falling so hard that I found myself craving mushroom risotto.

Today we have a unique relationship – I know that I like them and appreciate them for all that they are worth, however I am still picky about how they are served.

This recipe is a classic from Robert Carrier. Although a little retro in its approach, it tastes fantastic. Made simply of raw sliced mushrooms, chives, plenty of lemon juice and a little olive oil, it reminds me of my mission to enjoy this unique vegetable like my brother.

This salad is perfect for picnics and barbecues, or even served with seafood. The lemon juice soaks into the mushrooms making them moorish and piquant, while the chives and olive oil add the perfect balance to the earthiness of mushrooms.

Ingredients
350g button mushrooms, sliced
1 lemon, juiced
3 tablespoons chives, finely chopped
8 tablespoons olive oil
Salt
Pepper

Method
In a large bowl toss together the mushrooms, lemon juice, olive oil and chives.

Cover and refrigerate for 15-30 minutes.

Season with plenty of salt and pepper before serving.

Serves 4 as a side

Make Your Own... Chocolate Covered Pretzels

This might sound like a strange combination of flavours – however it is not as weird as you may think and better yet tastes great.

A little foodie science:
There are five basic tastes - bitterness, saltiness, sweetness, sourness and my favourite umami (savouriness).

This last one is what really counts. Although referred to as savouriness, I like to refer to it as umami because I don't think an english word gives any justice. When we eat different we pick up flavours on different parts of our tongue. Think about something sour, like a lemon, and both sides towards the back of your tongue may tingle or even salivate. This is the receptor on your tongue that pick up sourness instantly working.

Unlike the other four, umami is a taste that we experience all at once. It can be a combination of sweet, sour and saltiness or bitter, salt and sourness that is tasted as one experience. Commonly attributed with msg (monsodium glutamate) a man-made flavour enhancer, umami is a taste experience that can be made naturally by anyone.

What I love about these chocolate coated pretzels is that they excite my taste buds. The dark chocolate hits your taste buds first and it is a comfort, however before you can relish in the sweetness you are hit with a little salt crystal creating different taste sensations all together- the result excitement and taste stimulation in your mouth – umami.

Ingredients
Pretzels
Good quality dark chocolate

Method
I have not given amounts in the ingredients list because it is really up to you to choose how many you want to make.

I usually melt 50 g chocolate and start dipping until there is no chocolate left (this makes 20 or so).

Melt chocolate and allow to cool slightly (by letting the chocolate cool a little, the salt crystals will not melt when they are dipped).

Line a baking tray with baking paper. Dip one end of your pretzel in the chocolate and tap any excess off. Lay the pretzels on the paper and allow to set.

Bon Appetite

This Week's Recipe: Indian Milk Dumplings in Rose Water Syrup (Gulab Jamun)

Why Indian Milk Dumplings?

If you have had time to read about my splendid dining time at Arjuna an Indian restaurant in the Blue Mountains, you will know that I confessed to not being a fan of Indian desserts.

I was, however tempted to try Arjuna's desserts as my meal was so great. I tried their Gulab Jamun and fell in love.

Made from milk powder, flour and cream these cakes are slightly heavier than a donut and alone are not sweet, making them the perfect vehicle to soak up a decadent syrup. The syrup is made from sugar and water and flavoured with cardamon, rose water and sometimes saffron.

Traditionally served at ceremonies or weddings, it is easy to see why they are special. Besides tasting beautiful, there is a balance of delicateness and sweetness with floral rose water and earthy cardamon that send you into a Indian fairytale world of exotic wealths and beauty.

I can confess that I am now a fan of Indian desserts, particularly Gulab Jamun!

Ingredients
3 cups caster sugar
3 cups water
6 green cardamon pods, bruised
2 tablespoons rose water
1 ½ cups (180g) full cream milk powder
¾ cup (115g) plain flour
2/3 cup (160ml) pure cream
vegetable oil

Method

To make the syrup place the sugar and water in a large saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until the sugar dissolves. Add the cardamon and rose water and leave to steep while you make the cakes.

To make the cakes combine the milk powder and flour in a bowl. Add the cream and stir until combined. This dough is quite dense and will take some time to form together.

Divide the dough into 20 portions and roll into balls.

Heat the vegetable oil n a large saucepan to 160°C (or until a cube of bread turns golden in 15 seconds). Deep fry cakes in batches of 6 for 3-6 minutes of until deep golden and cooked in the middle.

Transfer to a plate lined with paper towel to drain.

Place the cakes in the warm syrup and leave to soak for 30 minutes.

To serve heat for a few minutes and serve with a good spoonful or two of syrup.