My FAVOURITE Root Vegetable Soup

Tags

AIP, Autpimmune Protocol, Cheap Eats, Cooking, Family, frugal, Graham Kerr, Paleo, Recipe, Soup, Vegetable Soup, vegetarian

(Image by TSL)

I’m currently on the Autoimmune Protocol, a nutrient-rich elimination diet that removes foods that irritate the gut, cause gut imbalance and activate the immune system. You can read more about the protocol and why I’m doing this here.

What keeps me motivated is not the food itself but all the bonds and memories the food represents. (Michael Chiarello)

I have such fond memories of sitting down to a big bowl of my Mum’s soup on rainy winter afternoons when I was a girl. Mum had this thing about us all sitting down together as a family at meal times (which I now appreciate!). We would have lovely steaming bowls of soup served with toasted Vogel’s bread and butter. Dad’s favourite soup was a beef shin consommé. And mine was Mum’s root vegetable soup. I LOVED it. Turns out I still do.

Mum’s root vegetable soup was based on a Graham Kerr (aka the Galloping Gourmet) number. It’s a super thick and hearty vegetable soup. Chock full of goodness.

Even now, the memory of that soup takes me back to the round table at our old family home in Auckland…

Isn’t it lovely how certain foods can evoke such strong memories?

After I posted about bone broth the other day, a girlfriend asked for some ideas on how to incorporate more of this wonder-food into her family’s diet. One thing led to another. The synapses started firing in ways I don’t begin to understand, and I somehow arrived at my childhood root vegetable soup… A perfect way to use lots of yummy chicken bone broth. And, with the added bonus of including a seriously hefty amount of vegetables. Gotta’ be happy with that combo!

The beautiful thing about this soup is that, thanks to all those lovely root veggies, it is wonderfully sweet. Kids will love it!

And of course, this version is autoimmune protocol-friendly, too.

(Image by TSL)

Soup is a lot like a family. Each ingredient enhances the others; each batch has its own characteristics; and it needs time to simmer to reach full flavor. Marge Kennedy

So, here’s my take on Graham Kerr’s soup. I reckon it comes pretty close to his in flavour – and, I’ve added some turmeric because its such a potent anti-inflammatory.

I’m pretty chuffed with how my soup turned out. I’ll definitely be making it again, and I’d love to hear from you if you give it a go, too…

The BEST Root Vegetable Soup

• Servings: 5-6
• Time: 1 hour
• Difficulty: easy-peasy
• Print

(Image by TSL)

Ingredients

1 x Tablespoon fat (I used coconut oil)
2 x large onions, chopped
2 x cloves garlic
750g kumara or sweet potato (2 large ones)
750g carrots (about 5 large ones)
1 x teaspoon dried sage
1 x teaspoon dried oregano
1 x teaspoon dried basil
1 x teaspoon turmeric
2 1/2 cups chicken bone broth/stock (substitute with vegetable stock for a vegetarian option)
1 x cup coconut milk
Parsley, chopped (for garnish)

Method

1. Throw your fat into a large pot. Melt over a medium heat.

2. Add chopped onion and sweat for ten minutes (I use a timer) While the onions are working their magic, peel and chop the kumara and carrots. Peel and crush the garlic.

3. Add the garlic to the pot. Stir for a minute or two. Add the kumara, carrots, herbs and turmeric. Season generously with salt. Sweat the mixture for a further ten minutes. Give it a good stir every now and then.

4. Add the vegetable stock. Bring to the boil. Pop on the lid and lower the heat to a simmer. Cook for thirty minutes.

5. Carefully purée your mixture (in batches) in your blender. Add the coconut milk as you blend.

6. Taste for seasoning and serve with freshly chopped parsley as a garnish.

E N J O Y !

Shared on the Phoenix Helix AIP Recipe Round Table

SERIOUSLY GOOD (not to mention SERIOUSLY EASY) Chocolate Pudding

Tags

Callebaut, Chocolate, Chocolate custard, Chocolate Pudding Recipe, Dairy Free, dessert, Easy Chocolate Pudding, Gluten Free, Paleo, Pudding, Recipe

TSL’s Easy-Peasey Dairy Free Chocolate Pudding
(Image by TSL)

Your face makes my soul want to eat chocolate pudding! (Andy Milonakis)

I know! Two recipes in one week. WHAT is the world coming to?

Well, it’s exam time for the teenager. Serious, final-year-of-school-ever exams. The big ones. And, I feel for him. It’s been (quite) a while, but I remember that exam feeling. Still makes me shiver on the inside a wee bit.

And, that means a little extra pampering is in order for the duration. A few sweet treats to keep energy levels up. Yesterday was chocolate-chip biscuit day. Today, it’s chocolate pudding.

Chocolate pudding is a favourite at Casa TSL, not least because it was one of the first dairy-free desserts I mastered when we discovered LM’s dairy allergy.

And, this one’s a corker. I know the ingredients by heart, and can’t even remember where I first came across this particular recipe.

Bella next to my ENORMOUS 2.5kg bag of Callebaut buttons
See – the bag doesn’t look nearly as big next to a poodle…
(Image by TSL)

Ever since I’ve had to be extra vigilant about the milk content of the chocolate I use in the kitchen, and since I discovered LM’s love for my wee Chocolate Macadamia Butter-Cups, Callebaut buttons* seem to have a developed permanent place in my pantry. I know, I know – a tad excessive to have a 2.5kg bag of chocolate. But, such very, very good chocolate. (I get mine from the lovely people at Paragon Foods. They deliver!)

So, back to the chocolate pudding. This recipe is an absolute doddle to make. Almost idiot-proof, even. And takes next to no time. I make it for 4 serves, but it is quite rich, so you could possibly stretch it to 6 if you aren’t feeding teenage boys or partners with a seriously sweet tooth…

TSL’s Easy-Peasey Dairy Free Chocolate Pudding
(Image by TSL)

Ingredients:

1 x 400ml tin of coconut milk
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tablespoon arrowroot powder
1/3 cup cocoa powder
2 tablespoons boiling water
2 large egg yolks
1 – 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
85 g dark chocolate buttons (or break up dark chocolate into pieces)

Method:

1. Gently heat the coconut milk in a small pot.
2. While the milk is doing its thing, over a medium heat, whisk the maple syrup, arrowroot powder, cocoa powder, and boiling water.
3. Whisk in the egg yolks – one at a time.
4. Add the heated coconut milk and whisk. Continue for 5 minutes (I set my timer) or until the mixture thickens.
5. Turn off the heat and add the chocolate buttons and vanilla extract. Whisk until the chocolate has fully melted into the custard.
6. Pour into your serving vessel of choice (mine cost me about $1.50 from Ikea!) and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Enjoy!

* if you have a dairy allergy, Callebaut dark chocolate is not guaranteed 100% dairy free, but LM has no problems eating it.

TSL’s BEST EVER Ragu Bolognese…

Tags

Alexx Stuart, Best Bolognaise Recipe, Best Bolognese Recipe, Best Lasagne Recipe, Best Pasta Sauce, Best Ragu Recipe, Cook, Dairy Free, Delia, Delia Smith, Dolly Parton, food, Gluten Free, Grain Free, Main Course, Paleo, Ragout Recipe, Real Food, Recipe, Sea Vegetable

Ragu Bolognese TSL-Style
inspired by Delia
(Image by TSL)

My weaknesses have always been food and men – in that order. (Dolly Parton)

I like to cook. Which is rather fortunate, because I also like to eat. And, as I get older I find myself becoming more particular about what I will eat, and where my food comes from.

There are times, though, when even the most passionate of cooks can’t face the kitchen. I have friends back in New Zealand who have lovely wee lamb cutlets as their ‘go to’ meal when they can’t be bothered thinking about cooking at the end of a particularly long work day. I think they may even have a super-special crumb recipe in which they coat their wee cutlets. They buy the little chops in bulk, do their magic ‘crumb-thingy’, and then freeze them in portion-size packages. Yum.

My go-to ‘can’t be bothered thinking about cooking‘ answer has long been to have portion-sized containers of Delia Smith’s Authentic Ragu Bolognese in my freezer. It’s so good and has a secret ingredient to make it seriously smooth and rich. Chicken livers. Yep. That’s right – chicken livers.

Wanna’ know why we should eat more chicken liver? Among other things, it is:

• high in protein and a rich store of folate
• loaded with iron (for energy and immune system health)
• a treasure trove of certain B vitamins, most notably B12 (guards your body against anemia, good for tissue repair).
• one of the top sources of vitamin A (which promotes good eyesight)

And, even if the idea of liver has you running for the hills, you won’t even know it’s in this recipe. True!

I used to make the ragu as part of Delia’s Lasagne al Forno. That’s no longer an option in the gluten-free, dairy-free world I now cook in at Casa TSL.* So, now I just make the ragu and have it on hand for whenever I can’t face the kitchen…

Ragu Bolognese TSL-Style
inspired by Delia
(Image by TSL)

Lately, I’ve had a wee bit of a girl-crush on Alexx Stuart of Real Food. Low Tox Living. She is a great proponent of eating real food, which just makes a lot of sense to me (and I like her pragmatic, unpretentious style). I saw her in action at the MINDD Foundation ‘Food is Medicine’ seminar. Now I like her even more!

And, as a result of Alexx’s presentation, I received a metaphorical kick-in-the-bum regarding making my own stocks from grass-fed bones again. So, this past week, I picked up some lovely bones from G.R.U.B. and made a massive batch of beef bone broth. So much, in fact, that I couldn’t fit it all in the freezer.

With all this excess broth and a need to replenish my emergency supplies of ragu, I have adapted Delia’s recipe to suit my needs. And, you know what? It works AND it’s more kiddie-friendly because there’s no wine in it. Delia’s recipe makes 8 225g portions, each serving 2 people. Mine makes more…

Ragu Bolognese TSL-Style
inspired by Delia
(Image by TSL)

Ragu Bolognese TSL-Style
(adapted from Delia Smith’s recipe)

Ingredients:
About 500g grass-fed Beef mince
About 500g pork mince (from happy pigs)
Coconut oil (or fat of choice)
About 225g chicken livers
2 x medium onions (chopped)
4 x large cloves of garlic (minced)
About 150g speck (or pancetta), chopped
2 x 400g tins of chopped tomatoes
4 x heaped tablespoons tomato paste
500ml beef bone broth (preferably home-made!)
Fresh herb of choice (basil, parsley or whatever you have to hand)
Salt & Pepper
Sea Vegetables (Optional, but soooooo good for you! I use this one)
grated nutmeg (preferably fresh)

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 140°C (275°F)
2. Heat your largest frying pan over a medium heat. Add a generous dollop of coconut oil. Gently fry the onion and garlic until softened – about ten minutes. Give it a stir every now and then.
3. Add the chopped speck to the pan and cook for another 5 minutes. Transfer to a large casserole (my beloved le Creuset holds just over 4 litres).
4. Add some more coconut oil to the pan and turn the heat up to high. Add the minced beef in batches to brown. I use a wooden fork to break it up in the pan. Add the cooked mince to the casserole. Repeat until all your beef is browned.
5. Do the same with the pork mince. While the pork mince is cooking, rinse the chicken livers and dry them with a paper towel. Trim off any sinew and chop them into teeny-tiny pieces.
6. Once the pork is browned and transferred to the casserole, heat a little more coconut oil and briefly brown the chicken livers. Add these to the casserole.
7. Place the casserole over a direct medium heat and give everything a good stir. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, bone broth and a generous seasoning of good salt and freshly ground pepper. Add the nutmeg (and the sea vegetables, if you are going to. Go on – dare you!). Stir again and allow to come to a simmer.
8. Add the chopped leaves of about half a bunch of basil or parsley
9. place the casserole in the oven (without a lid) for four hours. I give it a stir every hour or so. You should end up with a thick, unctuous meaty sauce with only a teeny bit of liquid.
10. Check for seasoning and add the remaining half bunch of your herbs.
11. When the sauce has cooled, divide it up. Delia reckons 225g feeds two people, so that’s the measure I go with. I use my scales.

Some suggestions for your ragu:

• the obvious one – over pasta, gnocchi or noodled squash or zucchini
• as a pizza topping
• as a stuffing for potato, kumara (sweet potato), eggplant, peppers or mushrooms
• as a sauce over steamed or roasted vegetable (my preferred option is over roasted broccoli)
• in shakshuka (baked eggs)
• As a super fancy-schmancy mince-on-toast

Bolognese-stuffed Eggplant
(Image from Taste)

If you really want to make a friend, go to someone’s house and eat with him… the people who give you their food give you their heart. (Cesar Chavez)

*But, if you don’t have these limitations and you feel like showing your family and/or friends just how much you love them, Delia’s lasagne recipe is an absolute corker. SERIOUSLY GOOD.

Blog Stalking Teresa Cutter – THE Healthy Chef

Tags

Bread, Cook, Dairy Free, food, Gluten Free, Gluten Free Bread Recipe, Grain Free, Health, Healthy Chef, Mindd Foundation, Paleo, Pumpkin Bread Recipe, Recipe, Spike Milligan, Teresa Cutter

Teresa Cutter at MINDD Foundation ‘Food is Medicine’
(Image by TSL)

So, as I mentioned last week, Saturday was the MINDD Foundation’s ‘Food is Medicine’ seminar. I tootled off to attend (and dragged LM along for the ride. Bless him!)

I have the body of an eighteen year old. I keep it in the fridge. (Spike Milligan)

One of my favourite presenters was Teresa Cutter, of the Healthy Chef fame. I’ve been a fan of hers for quite some time, but seeing her in action was great. She made whipping up a fresh pesto in no time look insanely easy, and her presentation style was wonderfully warm and engaging.

Teresa Cutter at MINDD Foundation ‘Food is Medicine’
(Image by TSL)

And, while the title of this post is a wee bit of a misnomer (to the best of my knowledge, Teresa doesn’t actually blog, but she does have a regular newsletter), there are oodles of fab’ and healthy recipes to check out on her website (here).

After seeing the talented Teresa in action, I was motivated to get into the kitchen today. As a result, as I write this, I’ve got an awful lot of nuts currently activating away in preparation for nut milk and a batch of the BEST grain free granola ever (a.k.a. Nutola) AND, I’ve made a loaf of Teresa’s pumpkin bread.

The Healthy Chef Pumpkin Bread à la TSL
(Image by TSL)

Now, I’m not going to tell you that this pumpkin bread recipe beats a fresh sourdough from Iggy’s… BUT, if (like me) you’re unable to eat gluten or you’re grain-free, this pumpkin-y tasting loaf ain’t half bad – especially if you are missing your bread.

It received LM’s tick of approval, too.

If you’d like the recipe to the Healthy Chef pumpkin bred, you can find it at Teresa Cutter’s website (here). Teresa also demonstrated her raw chocolate cake, which she made from her chocolate cupcake base. It looked divine but I don’t need another excuse to eat chocolate, so I’m saving that one for a special occasion…

Pete Evans and His SERIOUSLY GOOD Bliss Balls…

Tags

Activated Almonds, Alexx Stuart, Australia, Bliss Ball, Bliss Balls Recipe, Cook, Dairy Free, food, Food is Medicine, Gluten Free, Health, Healthy Snack Recipe, Manu Feildel, Mindd Foundation, Pete Evans, Real Food, Recipe, Teresa Cutter

Pete Evans – Famous for eating activated almonds
(Image from here)

Pete Evans gets A LOT of air time here in Australia.

Unsurprising, really. He’s published seven cookbooks, and apparently there’s another on the way. He’s both a chef and restaurateur. He and his good mate Manu Feildel front the popular ‘My Kitchen Rules’ show on the telly. He is an ambassador for healthy foodie brand Sumo Salad. Apparently, he has just launched a home fermentation and culturing kit to make real sauerkraut, kimchi and kefir (which I will have to check out).

AND, of course, this year he famously made headlines after his ‘My Day on a Plate’ contribution to ‘Sunday Life’ magazine went viral when he listed activated almonds as part of his über-healthy diet.

The thing is, while I might not be the kind of girl who watches ‘My Kitchen Rules’ or frequents the food halls where I imagine Sumo Salad sets up shop, I do like the healthy food message that Pete Evans espouses – activated almonds* and all.

And, on top of all of it – he looks so damned healthy! Admit it – the man has a permanent glow on…

Pete Evans for Food is Medicine through the Mindd Foundation
(Image from here)

Logical then, that the Mindd Foundation chose Pete to front the banner for their upcoming seminar on Food is Medicine.

If you’re interested in health, nutrition and food as medicine (and you’re in Sydney on Saturday!), then I reckon you should check this out. Clearly, Pete will be there doing some health food demos. But, so will Teresa Cutter (of the Healthy Chef) talking about meals that support digestion; Alexx Stuart (of Real Food and Low Tox Living) explaining the many uses of bone broth; and, many more from the local real food movement.

In an effort to get in the mood for Saturday, when I saw a recipe Pete posted AND also that I had all the ingredients to hand**, I headed straight to the kitchen to whip up some Buzz (Bliss) Balls.

I’m taking Pete at his word, and sharing his Bliss Ball recipe. They tick all the boxes – they’re healthy, easy-peasey to make, and they taste great.

Cook with balls, love and laughter. (Pete Evans)

Pete Evans’ Buzz Balls
(Image by TSL)

Pete Evans’ Buzz Balls (aka Bliss Balls)

1/4 cup of unhulled Tahini
2 tablespoons of Pure Organic Maple Syrup (Pete called for 3, but that was just too much for me!)
1/4 cup of buckinis (activated buckwheat)
1/2 cup of macadamias
1/2 cup of almonds
1/2 cup of dried organic apricots, finely chopped
1/4 cup of desiccated coconut
3 tablespoons of extra virgin coconut oil
filtered water to get the consistency right if it’s too dry to roll
extra desiccated coconut for rolling

Bung all the ingredients into your food processor and pulse until you reach your desired consistency. If the mixture is too dry to roll add a little filtered water, or if it’s too wet add extra desiccated coconut. Shape into balls and roll in coconut. I used a table-spoon and got 15 balls.

Allow the balls to set in the fridge for 30 minutes before you munch on them.

If you’d like to learn more about the Mindd Foundation Food is Medicine Seminar on this Saturday, check out their website here.

*If you’re wondering, activated nuts are soaked in water to force germination. The theory goes that the sprouted nut activates its digestive enzymes, making it easier to digest and better for you.

**do not ask me why I had activated buckwheat in my pantry – I might end up trending on twitter…

You say ketchup, I say tomato sauce…

Tags

Condiment, Dairy Free, food, Gluten Free, Homemade, Homemade Ketchup, Homemade Tomato Sauce, Ketchup, Recipe, Sugar free, Tomato Sauce

TSL’s Tomato Sauce
(Image by TSL)

The teenager came home from school yesterday and announced he is on a health kick. I’m not 100% sure what prompted this interest in getting healthy (although, it has to be said I have some ideas), but I’m certainly not knocking it. When pushed, he suggested that this really meant he would limit his consumption of fizzy drinks to one per week… And, then he completed a fairly lengthy ‘man work-out’, so he’s starting well!

As you no doubt know, here at Casa TSL we try to limit our sugar consumption. The teenager is sort of forced to comply with this by default. Poor sausage. But, since he is now on a health kick, I thought I should give him a wee boost by whipping up some easy-peasey home-made tomato sauce (aka ketchup).

Blood may be thicker than water, but it’s certainly not as thick as ketchup. Nor does it go as well with french fries. (Jarod Kintz)

This is the tomato sauce you whip up when you want a fast, reasonably un-processed solution.

Let me be clear – this is not the prepared-from-scratch number you make on a lazy Sunday afternoon of bottling. Rather, it is a good compromise between that and the approximately 30% sugar-laden commercial tomato sauces.

And the best bit? – The teenager has given it his tick of approval!

TSL’s Tomato Sauce
(Image by TSL)

Ingredients:

170g tomato paste
60ml apple cider vinegar
2 tsp honey
1 tsp molasses
60ml water
½ tsp salt
1 x small garlic clove
1 Tbsp finely chopped onion
A pinch garam marsala (or all spice, as an alternative)

Method:
(Note how complex this recipe is!)

Combine all ingredients in a blender at medium-high speed until very smooth. And, you’re done!

Boo-ya!

Reece’s Peanut Butter Cups (TSL Style!)

Tags

Chocolate, Dairy Free, food, Gluten Free, Paleo, Pana Chocolate, Peanut butter, Peanut butter cup, Recipe, Reece's Peanut Butter Cups, Sugar

TSL’s Chocolate Macadamia Butter Pieces
(Image by TSL)

Make a list of important things to do today. At the top of your list, put ‘eat chocolate.’ Now, you’ll get at least one thing done today.(Gina Hayes)

I remember the first time I ever tried a Reece’s Peanut Butter Cup. It was well over twenty years ago, now. I was on a working-holiday in Lake Louise at the time. My very good buddy, Michelle, introduced me to this sublime wee number of super-sweet confectionary and we both lamented the fact that we could not find them in New Zealand back then…

Reece’s Peanut Butter Cup
(Image from here)

How times have changed! Reece’s are now readily available down under. But, here’s the thing, I try pretty hard to reduce the amount of sugar I have in my diet. And, let’s face it, because I do most of the cooking at Casa TSL, that means LM and the teenager also suffer from major sugar withdrawal. We have cut down our sugar consumption significantly. And, I just don’t eat such preservative-and-sugar-laden-yet-so-still-good stuff like Reece’s pieces anymore. 

Regular readers will know that LM has a seriously sweet tooth*. That hasn’t changed. We still indulge in our after dinner chocolate treats from Pana Chocolate. And sometimes, I get the urge to experiment a little…

And, yesterday was one of those days…

My good blogging buddy over at Clean Eating With a Dirty Mind posted about her version of Reece’s Peanut Butter Cups back in April. And, then I saw another version at Lexi’s Clean Kitchen recently. Clearly, it was time for me to take action!

I took a pinch of CEWADM’s recipe and combined it with a dash of Lexi’s. Then I added my wee Australian-influenced spin (macadamia nuts!). The end result was these seriously fab’ little morsels which have received the LM seal of chocolate approval.

TSL’s Chocolate Macadamia Butter Pieces
(Image by TSL)

They are surprisingly easy to make AND they only have five ingredients. Michelle, if you’re reading this, I’ll make you some next time you’re in town!

All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt. (Charles M. Shulz)

Chocolate Macadamia Butter Cups (TSL Style)

You’ll need:

1 cup dark chocolate (72% or higher). I used 120g.
1/3 cup macadamia butter. I used my favourite Hand ‘n’ Hoe roasted macadamia butter but choose your favourite nut or seed butter)
1/2 Tbsp raw organic honey. Not an exact measurement. Sweeten to your taste.
1/2 tsp organic vanilla extract
Pink Himalayan sea salt flakes for sprinkling

You will also need about 12 mini muffin liners

Directions:

In a small bowl mix your macadamia butter, honey, and vanilla extract. Place bowl in freezer to firm up.

Break your chocolate into small pieces and melt by placing into a heat-resistant bowl over a pot of barely simmering water and stirring until smooth.

Drop about 1/2 a tablespoon of chocolate into the base each of your muffin liners. Swirl to coat thoroughly. Place into fridge.

Remove your butter mixture from the freezer and roll into small balls.

Take your muffin cases out of the fridge. Place a butter ball into the center of your chocolate and slightly flatten.

Top with the remaining chocolate and sprinkle with sea salt. Place in the fridge until set.

ENJOY!

Store any remaining butter cups in the fridge.

Makes about 1 dozen

TSL’s Chocolate Macadamia Butter Pieces
(Images by TSL)

*On our first date, when I asked if there was anything I needed to know about him, he said (and I quote), “I don’t share desserts”.

Luke Mangan’s SERIOUSLY GOOD Osso Bucco

Tags

Anthony Bourdain, Cook, Jamie Oliver, Luke Mangan, Marsala, Osso Bucco, Ossobuco, Recipe, Slow Cooked Lamb Shanks, Slow Cooking, Slow Food, Winter Recipe, Winter warmers

Osso Bucco
(Image from here)

My most popular post ever, by a considerable margin, is the one about Jamie Oliver and his best ever pukka spiced slow-cooked lamb shanks. Thousands of people have clicked on this one. Lovely-jubbly Jamie. His recipes work. I can’t recall ever having had a dud.

But, a girl can only eat so many spiced shanks. And, we can’t turn to Jamie every night of the week, can we?  So today, I bring you another recipe that works. Every time.

Luke Mangan is the Michael Corleone of Sydney. A colossus. Don’t go drinking with him. Last time I hung out with him, I crawled home like a whipped dog. (Anthony Bourdain)

Luke Mangan is a Sydney-based chef, and up there as one of Australia’s best known celeb’ chefs. I know him best as the man behind Glass Brasserie at the Sydney Hilton, but he has his fingers in lots of pies around the Asia-Pacific region and is currently working on cookbook number 5.

Luke Mangan
(Image from here)

This recipe for Luke Mangan’s Osso Bucco is so good, it’s even LM’s current go-to number for the nights that he’s cooking. He always doubles the recipe. And, if it’s good enough for LM…

Osso Bucco with Sweet Potato Mash & Broccolini

Serves 4

Ingredients

1kg veal Osso Bucco
½ cup flour
seasoning
3 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp butter
1 onion chopped
½ cup celery, chopped
½ cup carrot, chopped
4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
2 bay leaves
3 tbsp parsley, finely chopped
1 cup dry Marsala
2 cup veal stock
2 tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
8 pieces broccolini
Extra virgin olive oil
Extra seasoning to taste 

Mashed Sweet Potato
3 large sweet potatoes
¾ cup cream
½ cup butter
¾ cup maple syrup

Gremolata
1 lemon, zested
1 orange, zested
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp parsley, chopped

For the gremolata

For gremolata, combine all ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside.

 
Method

Season flour and coat the veal shanks in the flour mixture; tap off any excess.

In a large heavy pan, heat the oil and butter and sear the osso bucco pieces on all sides, turn bones on sides to hold in marrow and add more oil and butter if needed.

Remove the browned osso bucco and set aside.

Add onion, celery, carrots, garlic, bay leaves and parsley to the pan and cook until softened, season to taste.

Turn heat up to high and add the dry Marsala to deglaze the pan.

Return the osso bucco to the pan adding the stock and tomatoes.

Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook for about 1 ½ hours or until the meat is tender, basting the meat a few times during cooking. (LM cooks it longer – until the meat is falling apart)

While the osso bucco is cooking, wash the sweet potato and pat dry.

Place sweet potato in individual tin foil pieces, adding a drizzle of olive oil and seasoning.

Place in a pre-heated oven on 180 degrees and cook for 45-50 minutes. (sweet potato will be cooked if a knife can go straight through each piece)

Remove sweet potato from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes.

When the osso bucco is cooked remove from stovetop and allow to rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Scoop out the flesh of the sweet potato and place it into a sauce pan adding the cream, butter and maple syrup.

Place saucepan back on the stove to re-heat and season to taste.

In a pot of simmering water add 1tsp salt. Place the broccolini in pot and cook for 2-3 minutes, remove with tongs and place on absorbent paper. Drizzle broccolini with extra virgin olive oil and season to taste.

To serve

Place a large spoon of sweet potato on each plate, followed by the osso bucco and sprinkle with gremolata. Arrange broccolini next to the osso bucco and serve.

Bon appetite!

Blog Stalking Clean Eating With a Dirty Mind

Tags

Clean Eating with a Dirty Mind, Cooking, Dairy Free, dessert, Food Porn, Paleo, Primal, Real Food, Recipe, San Diego, Sea World, Trifle, United States, Wordpress

Clean Eating With a Dirty Mind Header
(Image from CEWADM)

I want to tell you about a fabulous woman. We have never met in the flesh, but I follow her gorgeous blog. It’s called Clean Eating With a Dirty Mind (CEWADM).  I can’t even remember how I found her. Probably through one of my random WordPress searches.

She lives in San Diego. At least, I think she does. She’s irreverent and funny and she conducts amazing experiments with paleo-oriented recipes which she tests on her non-paleo partner and various friends. If they make the grade, she posts them on her blog. I kind of wish I lived in San Diego so she could use me as one of her foodie guinea pigs. San Diego has Sea World, too…

(Image from Comic JK)

Sidebar: For those of you who aren’t aware, LM and I sort of, kind of, follow a paleo-ish diet. With LM’s dairy and shellfish allergies, and my problems with gluten AND a real interest in eating less sugar and less processed food, a sort of paleo/primal/Weston A. Price/’real and traditional food’ hybrid is slowly evolving at Casa TSL.

Paleo Chocolate Pecan and Praline Cookies by CEWADM
(Image and recipe from here)

That being said, a lot of the recipes in CEWADM fall under the category of ‘sweets’. And, as mentioned, I try not to eat too much sugar. So, for a while, I looked but didn’t touch. The blog was a source of food porn, but I hadn’t tried any of the recipes. All that changed with the Paleo Chocolate Pecan and Praline Cookies. Seriously good. Seriously. Even for non-paleo peeps.

And then, I might just have mentioned that LM’s favourite dessert of all time was trifle. Just in passing, you understand…

Guess what happened? THIS happened…

The oh-so-fabulous Vanessa at CEWADM created a paleo (read: dairy free) trifle recipe for LM. More specifically, she created two trifle recipes for him – a peach crunch number and a raspberry chocolate hazelnut version. HOW COOL IS SHE???

Check it out…

Paleo Trifles by CEWADM
(Image and recipe from here)

Go and check out Vanessa and her fab’ blog, including the special trifle recipe, (here) before she gets her cookbook deal. Trust me – you don’t have to be paleo to appreciate it!

Australia v. New Zealand: the Great Pavlova Debate

Tags

Anna Pavlova, Anzac biscuit, ANZAC Day, Australasia, Australia, Bill Granger, dessert, food, Gallipoli, New Zealand, Pavlova, Pavlova Recipe, Recipe

ANZAC Cove, Gallipoli
(Image from here)

Tomorrow Australia and New Zealand recognise ANZAC Day; arguably one of the most important days in the year for most of us Australasians. It’s a day for us to reflect and remember.

I wrote about the significance of ANZAC Day for Aussies and Kiwis this time last year. (You can check it out here if you’d like a refresher! There’s even a pretty good ANZAC biscuit recipe!)

So, given tomorrow’s auspicious date, and the fact that I have already written of the importance of ANZAC Day, I kind of feel it would be almost un-Australasian not to give you some sort of post that relates to the mate-ship and sibling-like rivalry that exists between Australia and New Zealand. If I were a cricket fan, I could talk about the famous underarm bowling incident of the One Day International in 1981. But I’m not. If I felt more passionately about it, I could argue that because Neil Finn hails from Te Awamutu, Crowded House is obviously a Kiwi band.  But I’m happy to share (in this matter). So that brings me, still near the top of the pile, to the great Pavlova debate. Namely, in which country did the first giant, cream and fruit filled meringue concoction originate?

To follow, without halt, one aim: that’s the secret of success. (Anna Pavlova)

Suddenly, I’m salivating…
(Image from here)

One thing is clear – the dessert was created to commemorate the great Russian prima ballerina, Anna Pavlova when she toured both New Zealand and Australia in 1926. There is, however, considerable debate around whether it was New Zealand or Australia that first created the dessert in question.

Now, I wasn’t around in 1926, so I shall have to rely on that site of all things true and accurate – Wikipedia. Apparently, ‘Keith Money, a biographer of Anna Pavlova, wrote that a hotel chef in Wellington, New Zealand, created the dish when Pavlova visited there in 1926 on her world tour‘. I have heard that this chef may have originated from Australia. This could be pure supposition.

‘Professor Helen Leach, a culinary anthropologist at the University of Otago in New Zealand, has compiled a library of cookbooks containing 667 Pavlova recipes from more than 300 sources. Her book, The Pavlova Story: A Slice of New Zealand’s Culinary History, states that the first Australian Pavlova recipe was created in 1935 while an earlier version was penned in 1929 in a rural magazine.’

I quite like former food critic, Matthew Evans‘ take on the whole issue….

People have been doing meringue with cream for a long time, I don’t think Australia or New Zealand were the first to think of doing that. (Matthew Evans)

In the spirit of the mate-ship of ANZAC Day, I propose that we share bragging rights to the creation of the pav’. What do you think?

Now, traditionally, a Pavlova is a meringue dessert with a crisp crust and soft, light inside. It is made by beating egg whites to a very stiff consistency before folding in caster sugar, white vinegar, cornflour, and sometimes vanilla essence, and slow-baking the mixture. Amazingly similar to meringue, really!

Just to be a wee bit different, today I share with you the lovely Bill Granger‘s recipe for brown sugar pav’. Trust me when I say it’s a winner. LM and I fought over it the last time we had it at Bill’s (and we don’t fight over food). It’s served with a yoghurt cream mix which makes the whole thing a fabulously caramel-ly offering with some oh-so slightly tart scrummy stuff on top. Bill serves his with strawberries. I prefer mine with rhubarb…

Bill’s Brown Sugar Pavlova
(Image from here)

Pavlova with brown sugar and strawberries
(serves 8-10)

Bill likes his meringues to be old-fashioned and gooey in the middle, rather than bright white and explosive. Pavlova is traditionally a summery dessert, but this one, with its warmer colouring, also works beautifully in winter, with Bill suggesting torn figs instead of strawberries.

Ingredients

6 egg whites
¼ tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp vanilla extract
230g caster sugar
80g soft brown sugar
1 tbsp cornflour
2 tbsp arrowroot
2 tsp white vinegar

To serve 
300ml whipping cream
150g Greek yoghurt
500g strawberries, hulled and halved
1–2 tablespoons honey

Method

1 Preheat the oven to 200°C/Gas 6. Draw a 20cm circle on a sheet of baking paper and place the paper on a large baking tray.

2 Beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar and vanilla until stiff peaks have formed. Add the caster sugar and brown sugar, a tablespoon at a time, beating until all the sugar is incorporated and dissolved and the mixture is thick and glossy. Stir in the cornflour, arrowroot and vinegar.

3 Pile the mixture into the circle on the paper and spread gently into shape with a spatula. Put in the oven and reduce the temperature immediately to 130°C/Gas ½. Bake for 1hr 20min, then turn off the oven, prop the door ajar and leave the Pavlova inside until completely cooled.

4 To serve, lightly whip the cream and yoghurt together and spread over the Pavlova. Toss the strawberries in the honey and then arrange over the top. Serve immediately.

Yum!