Recipe: Grilled Salmon with Braised Borlotti Beans

Mr R. and I made this last night and it kinda rocked. We got some fresh borlotti beans (a rarity in Australia) and I googled my go-to man in italian cooking - Stefano Manfredi - and away we went! The original recipe is for skate - but given my local fishmonger didn't know what cuttlefish was, I wasn't going to even try and source it.
It is completely gluten and lactose free, and something I'm sure my dietician won't get angry at me for eating :P
This recipe can be found in the original here


Grilled Salmon with Braised Borlotti Beans

• 4 salmon portions, small & skinless
• 2 cups fresh borlotti beans, shelled (or 2 x 400g tins)
• 6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 4 eschalots, finely diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 250 g roma tomatoes, diced
• 2 tsp fresh thyme
• 1 tsp fresh oregano, chopped
• 4 tbsp parsley, finely chopped
• Salt and pepper
• Lemon wedges, to serve

1. If using fresh borlotti beans, place in pot with plenty of cold water. Bring to boil, cover with lid and lower heat to simmer 25-30 minutes until tender. Allow to cool in liquid.
2. In a pan, heat 4 tbsp of olive oil. Lightly fry eschalots and garlic until soft. Add chopped tomatoes, thyme and oregano. Add 2-3 pinches of salt, mix well and simmer gently for 15 minutes. 
3. If using canned borlotti beans, drain and wash well. Otherwise, drain cooked beans. Add to simmering tomato mix. Mix well. Add parsley and simmer for 10 minutes. Check for salt. Add freshly ground pepper. 
4. Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil on a barbecue plate or large pan When hot, grill salmon for a few minutes each side, depending on thickness. Serve with braised borlotti beans and lemon wedges.

Recipe: Chargrilled Cuttlefish Salad with Beans, Tomato and Pesto

Sometimes Delicious Magazine publishes recipes that are easy to prepare, with ingredients that are easy to find, and not expensive. This is one - and Superman made it!
It was chosen for tonight's dinner as it is low carb and of course gluten and lactose friendly. I'm getting weighed in later in the week by my dietician Susie and I gotsta be svelte!
We used calamari - our local fishmonger looked at Superman blankly when he asked for cuttlefish. We also used Roma tomatoes that we roasted - fresh from one of my customer's farm : D
To learn how to clean squid, google it or look here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fdPl777Ji0&feature=related

Recipe: Grilled Cuttlefish with Beans, Tomato and Pesto
Serves 4

• 400 g cuttlefish tubes, cleaned
• 1/4 cup (60 mL) EVOO
• 200 g green beans, trimmed
• 400 g can cannellini beans, rinsed & drained
• 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
• 250 g cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• 2 tbs lemon juice
• 1/4 cup (65 g) good quality basil pesto
• small basil leaves to serve

1. Cut cuttlefish tubes along one side and open out
2. Using sharp knife, lightly score the inside surface in fine criss-cross pattern
3. Place cuttlefish in a bowl; season and drizzle with 1 tbs of oil
4. Blanch green beans in boiling, salted water for 2 mins or until tender, then drain and refresh
5. Place in a bowl with the cannellini beans, onion and cherry tomatoes and then season
6. Char-grill the cuttlefish for 1 min either side until lightly charred and just cooked through
7. Halve, then place in a bowl and toss with pesto
8. To serve, arrange the bean salad on plates then top with cuttlefish and basil leaves

Recipe: Nigella's Quick Chilli

This Chilli con Carne recipe rocks! I have made this so many times the page in the Nigella Express is badly stained. Nigella suggests serving this with coriander, sour cream and grated cheese. I serve it also with roasted tortilla chips.
NB: If you are making this as/for a gluten freester, the things you need to check the gf status of are the chorizo, pasta sauce and sweet chilli sauce.

http://ironchefshellie.com/2011/05/07/quick-chilli/

Oh, and believe Nigella when she says use a heavy based pan/pot, I winged it last time and ended up scrubbing the pot for about half an hour :S
This photo is from the blogger Iron Chef Shellie :)


Quick Chilli

• 150 g chorizo sausage (not the salami sort), halved lengthways and cut into 5mm half moons
• 500 g beef, minced
• ½ tsp ground cumin
• ½ tsp ground coriander
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• 3 cardamon pods, bruised
• 1 x 500g jar good quality tomato and chunky vegetable pasta sauce
• 1 x 390 g can mixed beans
• 60 mL sweet chilli sauce
• ¼ - ½ tsp chilli flakes

1. Put the sliced chorizo into a hot, heavy based pan and cook over a medium heat until the sausage crisps and gives up its orange-red oil
2. Add the mince and cook for ~ 5 mins, breaking it up with a wooden spoon to help it brown
3. Stir in the spices and then add the tomato-vegetable pasta sauce, beans, chilli sauce and flakes.
4. Bring to the boil and then turn down the heat and simmer for 20 minutes
5. Eat with rice or just as it is - I add sour cream, coriander, grated cheese and tortilla chips.

Recipe: Lasagne al Forno

I cooked this last night - it was kinda awesome! I have, however, altered the original recipe if only because the pedant pharmacist (and italophile) in me doesn't agree with some of the mise-en-place. At the bottom of the recipe, I have written how I made the recipe more lactose free. It is gluten free if you use gf pasta sheets.
The original can be found here: http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/beef-recipes/simple-baked-lasagne

Lasagne al forno

• 100 g pancetta or speck, sliced/diced (depending on how you buy it)  
• a pinch of cinnamon
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 carrot, cubed
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 handfuls of fresh herbs (sage, oregano, rosemary, thyme) - chopped roughly
• olive oil
• 400g veal mince
• 200g pork mince
• 2 x 400g tins of diced italian tomatoes
• 400 mL (1/2 a bottle) red wine
• 2 bay leaves
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 400g fresh lasagne sheets (or gf ones if required)
• 400g mozzarella, torn up 

for the white sauce
• 1 x 500ml tub of crème fraîche
• 3 anchovies, finely chopped
• 2 handfuls of freshly grated Parmesan cheese
optional: a little milk


for lactose free white sauce option

• 1 x 250g tub of soy sour cream
• 1 cup lactose free thickened cream
• 3 anchovies, finely chopped
• 2 handfuls of parmesan, grated

Method

1. In a large pot or pan slowly fry the pancetta and cinnamon until golden, then add the onion, carrot, garlic and herbs and about 4 tablespoons of olive oil. 
2. Add the veal and pork mince. Cook for about 5 minutes, then add the tinned tomatoes and the wine or water. 
3. Add the bay leaves and bring to the boil. Then get some greaseproof paper, wet it and place it on top of the pan with a lid placed on top. Simmer on a low heat for ~1.5 hrs. 
4. When the sauce is sufficiently reduced, season to taste and put aside. 
5. Mix together your crème fraîche, anchovies, and a handful of Parmesan, and season with salt and pepper. You may need to loosen the mixture with a little milk. 
6. Turn the oven to 200ºC. To assemble the lasagne, rub an earthenware lasagne dish with olive oil, lay some sheets of lasagne over the bottom and drape them up the sides of the dish.
7. Add a layer of meat, a little white sauce and a sprinkling of Parmesan. Repeat the layers, finishing with a layer of pasta covered in white sauce. Tear the mozzarella and sprinkle with some extra Parmesan. Cook in the preheated oven for 30–35 minutes until golden.

Recipe: Meatballs & Zucchini Pasta

This recipe is a favourite of mine from Teresa Cutter (aka The Healthy Chef). I like it because 1. Superman will eat it 2. it's gf and low carb 3. it's tasty and filling. For once I don't have to feel guilty about eating pasta!

The original can be found on Teresa's website here. She also has instructions for making the tomato sauce, and making it vegetarian. Well worth a look!

Meatballs and Zucchini Pasta

Serves 6 (I freeze the meatballs, they reheat well)

• 500 g beef mince (organic, lean, grass fed)
• 125 g ricotta (deli-style, firm, drained)
• 200 g baby spinach (Teresa suggests cooking it quickly beforehand, I dont bother)
• ½ cup parsley, chopped
• 1 egg (organic, free range)
• pinch of nutmeg
• salt and pepper to taste
• 4 cups passata w/basil or simple pasta sauce such as Barilla Napoletana
• parsley and parmesan to top

1. Combine beef, ricotta, spinach, ½ cup parsley, egg, nutmeg, salt and pepper.
2. Shape into large balls and coat in a little olive oil then place in a deep tray lined with greaseproof paper.
3. Bake meatballs for 10 minutes, then add napolitana half way up the pan. bake for a further 20  minutes until sauce is bubbling.
4. Serve sprinkled with fresh chopped parsley a little grated parmesan and zucchini spaghetti.

zucchini spaghetti:

• ½ to 1 leek - sliced thinly
• 1 ½ to 2 zucchini per person, cut into spaghetti on a mandolin or similar
• black pepper
• freshly squeezed lemon juice
  
  1. Cook the leek in a pan over medium heat with some olive oil
  2. add the zucchini and toss through for a few seconds until warm
  3. season with lemon juice and black pepper
  4. divide between bowls and top with the meatballs

Recipe: Mirin Glazed Salmon

While we are on the subject of things Superman and I cooked when we had just moved out of home, here is another Nigella dish that we cooked when we had important company (read parents) and would splash out and buy salmon. It is from Nigella Express, and can also be found online here:

http://www.nigella.com/recipes/view/mirin-glazed-salmon-21 

Mirin Glazed Salmon

serves 4 as a main

• 60 mL mirin (Japanese sweet rice wine)
• 50g light brown sugar
• 60 mL soy sauce
• 4 x 125g pieces salmon, cut from the thick part of the fillet so that they are narrow but tall rather than wide and flat
• 2 x 15ml tbs rice vinegar
• 1-2 spring onions, halved and shredded into fine strips

Method

1. Mix the mirin, brown sugar and soy sauce in a shallow dish; marinate the salmon in mixture for 3 minutes on the first side and 2 minutes on the second. Meanwhile heat a large non-stick frying pan.
2. Cook the salmon in the hot, dry pan for 2 minutes and then turn the salmon over, add the marinade and cook for another 2 minutes.
3. Remove the salmon, add the rice vinegar to the hot pan, and warm through.
4. Pour the dark, sweet, salty glaze over the salmon and top with the spring onion strips.
5. Serve with rice.

We often served this with stir fried bean sprouts and bok choy with soy sauce and rice vinegar - I'm sure you can be more creative than the novice cooks that we were!

Phoodie Pharmacist xx

Recipe: Lamb Tagine with chickpeas and sultanas

I saw Jeff Campbell cook this on Ready Steady Cook back in my Arts degree days when I watched a lot of daytime TV, still lived at home, and couldn't cook to save my life :P

This was one of the first dishes I mastered when I moved out of home, because most of the ingredients could be found in the pantry. 

This for Greta, who always requested I cook it for her when we lived in the same apartment block back in the day :)

NB: If you can't find ground fennel, I use a mortar and pestle to grind the seeds - it is messy though.

Lamb Tagine with chickpeas and sultanas
 

• 1 tsp each of ground fennel, coriander and cumin
• 1 lamb backstrap, cubed ~ 1.5cm
• Olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
• 1 tsp finely grated ginger
• ½ cup canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• ¼ cup sultanas
• ½ cup chicken stock (Massel's is gf)
• 1 cup tomato passata
• ¼ cup coriander leaves
• Greek style yoghurt, to serve

1. Combine fennel, coriander and cumin in a bowl, add lamb and toss to coat. Shake off excess.
2. Heat oil in a frying pan over medium heat, cook garlic, ginger and lamb for 2-3
   minutes or until lamb is sealed. 
3. Add chickpeas, sultanas, stock and passata and cook for a further 10 minutes or until lamb is tender. 
4. Add coriander and remove from heat
5. Serve Tagine topped with yoghurt. 

Pre-gluten free, low carb days, I served this also with toasted, oiled bread such as focaccia to mop up the sauce. Traditionally, I supposed cous cous should be the accompaniment - gluten freebies could use quinoa.