broad bean dip

Really more an idea than a recipe. I made this with the last of our home grown broad beans. Big and tough beans they were and I think the floury texture of fully grown broad beans is what made this dip really nice. Quantities are sort of feel as you go. I also usde thyme and mint because that's what we had and they worked really well.



You will need

• broadbeans
• yoghurt
• lemon juice
• olive oil
• garlic 
• thyme
• mint
• salt and pepper

Pod the broad beans and cook in boiling water until tender. Cool enough to remove the tough outer skin of the broadbeans (this is essential and won't take as long as you think). Blend broadbeans, garlic, a good squeeze of lemon juice, a couple of spoons of yoghurt, some olive oil and the herbs. It should take on a smooth texture. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Eat. Yum.

apricot jam

 
I've always had problems with apricot jam, but from now on, this is my method. I'm so absurdly pleased with how this turned out. The big change to how I've made apricot jam in the past is to soften the fruit first in a few cups of water. Stirring well. This reduces the risk of the sugar catching or burning before the fruit has pulped. For some of my thoughts on jam making in general, see here. Especially the bit about having someone else looking after small children. And the big pot.

Ingredients

• 2-3 kilo of apricots including some that are on the green side
• white sugar, the same weight as the prepared fruit
• juice of two lemons (optional, but perhaps at the end)
• jars and cellophane covers

To make

• Wash fruit being diligent to remove all insects and bird shit.
• Wash jars in hot soapy water and rinse in vinegar water (or better yet run them through the dishwasher).
• Place jars on a tray in warmed oven and turn the heat off.
• Stone fruit and cut out any blemishes or bird damage.
• Weigh fruit and make a written note of the weight of prepared fruit.
• Place fruit in big pot with several cups of water, bring to boil and stir and watch to make sure none of the fruit catches or burns and that just a little liquid remains.
• Once the fruit has softened and become pulpy, turn off the heat and allow it to cool slightly.
• Add equal weight of sugar (from your note) to fruit and bring back up to the boil.
• Stir occasionally, making sure fruit is not sticking.
• It should take about twenty minutes or so but this will depend on how much water needs to be boiled off.
• When the jam is nearly ready the bubbles become thicker and when you stir into the corners there are little explosions of heat.
• Remove jam from heat and test for set by putting a little on a plate, allowing to cool and pushing your finger along the plate through the jam. The jam will set if it wrinkles when you do this.
• Taste for sweet sour balance. I added the juice of two lemons to a six kilo mix and it made the flavours sparkle. I imagine some fruit would need this and some wouldn't, so doing this step at the end makes sense to me.
• Allow to cool slightly before skimming, pouring into prepared jam jars and sealing with cellophane.
• Clean up and maybe shower away all the sugar and sweat, have a long cold drink and give yourself a big pat on the back.

Beetroot Risotto

I'm starting to get the hang of growing beetroot and this how most of it is used. It's not really what I'd call a proper risotto, made with stock and constant stirring, rather it's the sort of dish you can knock up the night before shopping day and fold some washing (or go on the internet) while it's cooking*. And it will be good.

It contains a small amount of chilli, not so much that it tastes hot, just enough to lift the flavour a little. I also tend to use cooking sherry (Mildara Chestnut Teal) rather than red wine**, because that's normally what I have on hand and it seems to work pretty well. Red wine gives a better colour, but I think the sherry gives a better flavour. If you were cooking this for children, you could leave out the alcohol(which cooks out anyway) and the chilli but it wouldn't taste nearly as good. If I'm light handed with the chilli, Grace likes this dish and there's an amusing photo of her somewhere covered in it.

You will need
a large onion
several cloves of garlic
about half a small chilli (depending on strength, we're going for buzz not fire here)
a big handful of aborio rice per person ( I use 3 handfuls for the two of us and a Grace meal the next day)
a 400g tin of crushed tomatoes
2 medium sized beetroot (the leaves too, if nice and fresh) peeled and cubed into chunky bite sized peces
a good slosh of cooking sherry or red wine
olive oil and butter
a good handful of mint leaves
paremesan cheese for serving

To make
Dice the onion, garlic and chilli and saute gently for two minutes in a tablespoon of olive oil and about the same of butter. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt. When the onions are translucent, add the rice and cook for a minute or two, stirring constantly. The rice should take up all the oil and look pearly. Add the slosh of sherry or wine and let it all bubble up. Stir well.

Add the beetroot cubes and stir. Add the tinned tomatoes and stir. Add about a tomato can and a half of water and stir well. Cover and adjust the heat so that it just simmers. Return in fifteen minutes, remove the lid, have a stir. The rice should be nearly cooked and the beetroot done. Cook a little longer if necessary. Stir to remove any excess liquid. Add the beetroot leaves if using, and the chopped mint.

Serve with shaved parmesan.

*I cook this dish in my heavy Le Creuset frypan that I've had for more than twenty years, that I cook nearly everything in. It's a very forgiving pan and it occurs to me that the cookware might have something to do with being able to leave it simmering.
**Once I made this with Port and thinking that I was using red wine, used quite a bit. The resulting rissotto was delicious and i think the extra sweetness in the port made up for the woody end of summer beetroot.

Rice paper salad rolls

This is a favourite spring lunch of ours. Most of the ingredients are from the garden and it's really just a fancy way of eating salad. I haven't given exact quanties, I basically make a big bowl of salad, make it into rolls and what we don't eat at lunch is a pre dinner nibble.  I serve this with lots of bottled sauces; soy sauce, ponzu, hoisin, chilli sauce.. whatever you have. Everyone mixes up their own combination of sauces.

You will need

Rice paper (Banh trang)
Cos or iceberg lettuce
Carrot
Big handful of unsalted cashews or peanuts
Coriander
Mint
Hot mint (if you have it)
Onion

To make

Firstly prepare the filling. Grate the carrot, chop several slices of onion finely. Destalk and chop the herbs. Wash and deslug the lettuce. Dry and cut into shreds. Finely chop the nuts. Mix all the salad ingredients together and set aside.

Lay a clean tea towell on your work area. Fill a bowl or tray with warm water. Slip several rice paper sheets into the water until they are softish. Pull one out and lay on teatowell. Place a roll sized amount of salad at the end nearest you. Roll away from you once. Fold in the sides. Continue rolling until you have a rice paper roll. If you wish to impress, a single leaf such as hot mint or coriander looks very nice rolled into the last layer. You can see it through the rice paper. Very flash. Continue until you run out of salad or rice paper. Serve with sauces.

Herb pesto

This pesto uses easily grown herbs from the garden and nuts such as almond and/or walnuts. We think it is just as nice as basil pesto with pinenuts. And you don't have to wait until summer. I use a bamix hand held blender in a two litre honey bucket to make this and usually have a lot left over for lunches. It keeps better than basil pesto too. Proportion is the key. The bulk of the herbage should be a mild herb such as parsley with accents of stronger herbs such as sage and rosemary. If you don't eat cheese, leave it out, it will still be nice.

I serve it on pasta with sauted mushroom and diced fresh tomato or capsicum. It is quite rich so a little goes a long way.

You will need

three cups of parsley
some or all of these herbs; thyme, sage, rosemary, marjoram, oregano
two small cloves of garlic
about 60g grated parmesan
about quarter of a cup olive oil
about half a cup of almonds and/or walnuts
salt

To make

Wash and de-stalk herbs. Place in bucket with chopped garlic and other ingredients. Process with bamix or food processor until it is a coarse paste. Taste and adjust salt.

Serve about a tablespoon per person over pasta. Add other bits like diced tomato or sauted mushrooms, if you like. Also nice with gnocci or on toast