Okonomiyaki Japanese Savoury Pancakes

Our local Japanese restaurant has okonomiyaki or Japanese pancakes on the menu. We have been curious about them but can never quite go past the sushi and order one so I looked up how to make them at home. They were delicious and my husband told me to add them to the favourites list which is the ultimate compliment in our house!

 

 

I thought the kids might like them too as long as I let them choose their own vegetable combinations, and it turned out they were a hit! I chopped all the ingredients and layed them out in plastic bowls on the bench where everyone could choose their own. I then poured the batter over each individual bowl of vegetables and cooked up each pancake in a frypan (I had a few frypans on the go to speed things up). One of my daughters picked her ingredients and just wanted to eat them not in a pancake so I just fried up a bit of the pork for her.

 

You can buy okonomi sauce at Asian supermarkets. There a lots of recipes on the web trying to imitate it, apparently none of them quite match it, but I enjoyed the version I made although it was a bit runny. My version had quite a few Japanese ingredients that I generally have in the cupboard. If you don't, just google a simpler version based on ketchup, soy and worcestershire.

 

I looked at lots of recipes but based mine on this SBS recipe, I didn't bother with the crispy noodle cakes this time but did include the instructions below. There are several websites devoted entirely to Okonomiyaki recipes, such as this one.

 

Okonomiyaki (Japanese Pancakes)

serves 4

Okonomi literally means "what you like" so feel free to add whatever fillings and toppings you like.

 

vegetable oil                                                                    

225 g (1 1/2 C) plain flour

3 eggs

2 tsp instant dashi powder

225 ml water                                                                    

220 g cabbage, finely sliced

8 spring onions, finely sliced, plus extra to serve

1 carrot, coarsely grated or sliced julienne

2 tbsp red pickled ginger

½ cup tempura batter bits (tenkasu) (optional)

8 peeled green prawns

150 g pork belly, thinly sliced (it is much easier to slice if you half freeze it)

Variations: cooked octopus, chinese sausage

Sauce

60 ml tomato sauce/ketchup

2 1/2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp cooking sake

1 tbsp mirin

1 1/2 tbsp caster sugar or honey 

2 tbsp Japanese rice vinegar

2 1/2 tbsp worcestershire sauce                                                                        

1/2 tsp grated ginger (optional)

Toppings

Japanese (Kewpie) mayo

Bonito flakes (katsuobushi)

Nori (seaweed), finely chopped

Spring onions, finely chopped

Pickled ginger

Noodle cake (optional)

200 g cooked yaki soba noodles (thin, yellow egg noodles) 

 

In a large bowl combine the flour, eggs, dashi powder and water and whisk just until smooth. The batter should be thin but not watery.

 

Combine the cabbage, spring onions, carrot and pickled ginger. Season to taste, add the batter and mix until well combined. If you are making these for picky eaters you can make up individual bowls of vegetables to each persons taste and divide the batter between them.

 

Heat two large non-stick frying pans over medium-high heat, add a small amount of oil. Add a quarter of the cabbage mixture to each frying pans. Shape into rounds then, using a spatula, flatten each round, pushing any escaping mixture back against the edges. Cook for 4 minutes. Put two prawns on each pancakes and push gently into batter. Cover the prawns with the pork belly. Carefully flip the pancakes over and cook for 3 minutes. Flip the pancake again, reduce the heat to medium and cook for a further 3–4 minutes until cooked through to the centre.

 

Cover generously with okonomiyaki sauce and Japanese mayonaisse. Top with noodle cake if using, then nori, extra spring onions and pickled ginger.

 

Mix all the ingredients for the sauce with 2 tbsp of water and bring to a boil, let it simmer for about 10 mins or until it thickens. Set aside

 

Noodle cake

Heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil in a wok over high heat. Add a quarter of the noodles, toss to coat in the oil then shape the noodles into a round the same size as the pancake. Allow to cook, undisturbed, for 1½–2 minutes until the underside is crisp. Carefully flip the noodle cake over and cook the other side for 1½–2 minutes until golden and crisp. Remove from the wok and drain on paper towel. Repeat with the remaining noodles.

 

 

Pasta Dinner for 1

Tonight I had the pleasure of cooking dinner just for myself. The kids ate early and my husband went out. So I cooked up pasta with anchovies, garlic, herbs and chilli and topped with crispy breadcrumbs, it was delicious! Unfortunately the kids got out of bed and joined me on the couch and complained that I had made something they didn't like!

Pasta for 1

1 serve spaghetti, cooked to packet directions
1 tbsp olive oil
2-3 anchovies
1 small clove garlic, finely chopped
sprinkle chilli flakes or fresh chilli, chopped
2 tsp capers
1 small handful basil leaves, chopped
1 small handful parley leaves, chopped (or any herbs you like really)
drizzle good olive oil


Add olive oil and anchovies to a frypan and cook over medium heat, breaking up the anchovies. Add the garlic, chilli and capers and cook briefly to cook the garlic but not brown. Add the herbs and pasta, toss to coat and drizzle with extra olive oil to taste. 


Serve and hope you get to eat it in peace and quiet!

Quiche

Tonight we had quiche, I haven't made it in ages. I prefer to make my own pastry but I was home this afternoon with just a sleeping baby Willa for company so watching a movie in bed seemed like a better use of my time than making pastry :) I have given the recipe I use for shortcrust pastry in the food processor below, if you haven't tried making your own pastry try this - it works every time! I will have to make it next time as even my 5 year old complained about the pastry tonight!

Oops, this was all that was left by the time I got the camera out!

I made the quiche half bacon and half smoked salmon - two of my favourite things!


Quiche
makes enough for a 22cm dish
serves 3-4
shortcrust pastry case
3 eggs
3/4 C cream
3/4 C milk
1 tsp flour
1/2 tsp salt
Bacon version (Quiche Lorraine)
6 rashers bacon, sliced; or
2 handfuls grated cheese
Smoked Salmon version
6 slices smoked salmon, sliced into strips and a 
2 tbsp chives or dill, finely chopped


Preheat the oven to 200C.
Fry bacon pieces until beginning to crisp, drain.
Combine eggs, cream, milk, flour and salt in a bowl and gently beat. Overbeating will cause bubbles to form on the quiche.
Sprinkle bacon and cheese, or smoked salmon and chives in the pastry case. Pour the egg mixture over.
Bake at 200C for 10 minutes then lower the temperature to 180C for 20 - 25 minutes or until just set.
Variations
To the quiche you could add fried mushroom slices, slices of boiled potato, ribbons of zucchini, peas, or any other vegetables you care for really.


Shortcrust Pastry in the Food Processor
This makes sufficient dough to line two 20cm pie plates or make a top and bottom for a pie. This recipe is foolproof pastry – I learnt to make pastry from my Mum using this recipe by Margaret Fulton and never understood why pastry was hard till I tried other recipes. I use this whenever I need shortcrust, even if whatever I am making has its own recipe, as it always works. It freezes well but doesn’t keep well in the fridge, so is best used the day it is made.

2 C flour

125g frozen butter (cold butter from the fridge works too but frozen is better)

pinch salt

2 eggs

1 tbsp cold water

squeeze lemon juice

Place flour, butter and salt in a food processor with steel blade in place. Process turning on and off rapidly, until butter is cut into flour and mixture looks like coarse breadcrumbs. Mix eggs with water and lemon juice. With motor running pour liquid quickly through feed tube. Do not use it all unless necessary (I usually do) – stop pouring as soon as a ball of dough starts to form around the blade or if this doesn’t happen just pour the mix into a freezer bag or onto a big bit of gladwrap and squidge together. Flatten into a disc and chill in the fridge for 1 hour before using.

Variation: for sweet pastry add 1/3 C caster sugar to the processor with the flour.

Lentil, Tomato and Bacon Salad

Last night we had another interesting salad for dinner - Lentil, Tomato and Bacon Salad. I got the recipe from the latest Delicious magazine (December issue). My husband, who isn't usually a fan of lentils, had seconds and requested the leftovers for lunch, maybe it was the bacon. Unfortunately the kids weren't so keen:(

I served this with pork cutlets, marinated in fennel seeds, chilli, lemon zest and salt, cooked on the bbq. And made another salad with zucchini, beans and radishes (from the vegie patch!).

Lentil, Tomato and Pancetta Salad
3/4 C puy or French style lentils, rinsed
1 punnet cherry tomatoes
6 slices ciabatta or other firm bread, crusts removed
6 tsp olive oil
4 rashers bacon or pancetta, sliced into strips
1 small onion, diced
2 anchovies, chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
2 handfuls of cos lettuce
1/2 lemon, juiced
Preheat the oven to 200C.
Place lentils in a saucepan and cover with plenty of water, bring to the boil then simmer for 25 minutes until al dente, drain and rinse.
Brush ciabatta with 2 tsp olive oil and tear into pieces. Place on a tray with the tomatoes, drizzle tomatoes with 1 tsp olive oil. Bake for 20 minutes or until bread crisps and tomatoes blister.
Heat remaining 3 tsp oil in a large frypan over medium high heat. Cook bacon for 2 minuts. Add onion and cook for 4 minutes. Add the anchovy and garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Stir in the cooked lentils and mix well.
To serve place lettuce, bread and tomatoes on a platter and spoon over the lentil mixture. Squeeze over lemon juice and season.

Squid, Chorizo and Chickpea Salad

Last night for dinner we had a delicious salad. I am not very good at salads and always prefer to follow a recipe or they seem to come out so boring. I found this recipe in the free Coles magazine from December. It is written by Chris Badenoch from Masterchef (the beer guy in the second season) for Primo Smallgoods. I added extra vegetables to turn it into a stand alone meal.

On New Years Eve, we caught up with friends and spend the night talking and eating. We had four courses and couldn't fit dessert in until 11:30pm. For entree our friends cooked a chickpea salad and the chickpeas were delicious - they claimed the trick is to cook the tinned chickpeas. So I tried this tonight and it definetely adds flavour and improves the texture. I will have to post about the amazing Cranberry Brie Wheel that has become a bit of a New Years tradition.. but if you can't wait, check out the recipe here.

Warm Chorizo, Squid and Chickpea Salad
serves 2
2 squid, cleaned and scored
olive oil
1/4 tsp paprika
salt and pepper
juice of 1 lemon
4 slices ciabatta or other crunchy loaf
1/2 red capsicum
2 tomatoes, quartered
400g can chickpeas, drained
3 golden shallots, thinly sliced
1 bunch rocket, washed
1 chorizo, sliced diagonally
2 tsp sherry or red wine vinegar
2 tsp dijon mustard


Marinate the squid in paprika, salt, pepper, half the lemon juice and a splash of olive oil for atleast 20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 200C. Cut the crust off the bread, brush with olive oil and tear into bite size pieces, put on an oven tray. Place the tomatoes on an oven tray and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Place in the oven with the capsicum. After 10 minutes also place the bread in the oven and bake until crisp and golden. Remove the tomatoes when softened and the capsicum when the skin is looking burnt. Set the bread and tomatoes aside. Place the capsicum in a bowl and cover for 10 minutes. Then remove the skin and seeds and finely slice.

Place the chickpeas in a frying pan over medium heat and cook, tossing continuously until dry and slightly golden. Set aside in a large bowl.

Fry the chorizo in a little oil until crispy. Pour over the chickpeas oil and all. Fry the squid for 1-2 minutes each side (you could also do this in a char grill pan but I didn't want to create more dishes). Slice into strips and add to the chickpeas. Add capsicum, rocket and shallots.

Combine dressing ingredients in a jar and shake to combine. Pour over the salad and toss. Add the bread pieces and rocket and toss gently. Serve with the roasted tomatoes.

Vietnamese Smoked Trout and Vermicelli Salad

Lots of lovely people have been cooking us meals since Willa was born. My sister is visiting this weekend to meet her new niece. She made this delicious salad for lunch, I had to record the recipe because I will definitely be making it again. And she and her fiance are currently preparing dinner - Thanks!

Vietnamese Smoked Trout and Vermicelli Salad
You could substitute the smoked trout for cooked prawns or poached chicken.
serves 4

1/2 packet rice vermicelli noodles, cooked according to packet directions
1 whole smoked trout, flesh removed from bones and broken into pieces
1 telegraph cucumber,  cut into batons
1 punnet cherry tomatoes, halved
handful mushrooms, sliced
1 bunch asparagus, cut into thirds and blanched
4 spring onions
handful mint leaves
handful coriander leaves
handful peanuts, chopped
handful fried onions/shallots
Dressing
3 tbsp fish sauce
3 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 C hot water
2 tbsp lime juice
1 garlic clove, minced
1 small chilli, finely chopped

Place cooked  noodles on a large platter or flat bowl. Top with vegetables, then fish then herbs and peanuts.

Dress the salad or offer dressing at the table.

Dressing
In a small jar, combine fish sauce, vinegar, sugar and hot water. Put the lid on and shake to dissolve sugar. Add remaining ingredients.

Mexican Vegetarian Lasagna

I made Pea and Three Pod's Mexican Lasagna for dinner last night. My husband devoured his first serving and declared I can "add it to the list" which surprised me greatly given it was vegetarian and full of kidney beans! This delicious dish is flavoured with fresh coriander and ground coriander and cumin, and topped with sour cream, avocado and jalapenos is really tasty! The kids ate it but were annoyed the wraps were already in the "pie" and they didnt get to make their own burritos.

It was quick and easy to whip up and made from pastry staples. I will be making this again. If you want a meaty version, I have also made this Enchilada Pie.

Camera cord is still missing despite extensive nesting induced tidying ... Might need to buy a new one with the baby due soon!

Mexican Lasagne
serves 4
Salsa
olive oil
2 cl garlic, chopped
1 onion, diced
1 red capsicum, diced
1 chilli, chopped with seeds (optional - I left it out)
½ tsp sea salt flakes
bunch fresh coriander
400g tin chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato ketchup
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander

Filling
400g can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
400g tin refried beans
sweetcorn kernels from 2 cobbs or 1 tin
tasty grated cheese
4-6 soft tortillas

To serve
Avocado, sourcream, spring onion, fresh coriander, lime, jalapenos

Spray a round ovenproof dish, about the same size as your tortillas, with olive oil spray and preheat the oven to 200 C.

To make the salsa, heat the oil in a frypan and add the onion, capsicum and chilli cook till softened, then add the salt, cumin, coriander and garlic and cook for another couple of minutes before adding in the tin of tomatoes, ketchup and half a cup of water, simmer for 15 minutes, then turn off the heat and stir thru most of the chopped coriander.

To make the filling just combine the beans and corn. Now you can assemble it like a traditional lasagne starting with some salsa then a tortilla, bean mix, salsa, handful of cheese, tortilla... finish with salsa and a nice big handful of cheese. I managed four layers, the original recipe had 6 but I found I didn't have enough filling.

Bake for 30 minutes till is golden and bubbling. Let it sit for ten minutes before you slice into wedges and serve with some diced avocado, jalapenos, spring onions, coriander, squeeze of lime juice and don't forget the sour cream.

Butternut Macaroni Cheese with Rosemary, Bacon and Parmesan

This yummy recipe comes from a Delicious magazine back in 2005. I have been making it since then and the kids now like it too! I have found normal macaroni and cheese too rich so this has the advantage of being moist from the pumpkin and still cheesy, but the best bit is the crunchy bread crumb and bacon topping!

Butternut Macaroni Cheese with Rosemary, Bacon and Parmesan

serves 4-6
Olive oil
3 garlic cloves, sliced
1 dried chilli, crushed or 1 large pinch dried chilli flakes (optional)
½ cinnamon stick
1 large butternut pumpkin, peeled, flesh chopped into 2 cm cubes
400g macaroni
300ml milk
1 cup thickened cream
150g parmesan, grated
8 slices pancetta or streaky bacon
1 sprig fresh rosemary, leaves picked (dried works well here too)
3-4 slices day-old bread, crusts removed, torn into chunks (150g)

Heat a splash of olive oil over medium heat and gently fry garlic till golden. Add chilli, cinnamon, pumpkin and small glass of water. Cover with a lid and cook on medium heat for about 20 minutes till pumpkin is soft. Uncover and boil the liquid around the pumpkin until reduced to almost nothing. Remove from heat and remove cinnamon. Mash the pumpkin and season.

Cook macaroni until al dente, then drain well. Quickly toss in a bowl with the pumpkin, milk and cream. Add three quarters of the parmesan and season, then place in large baking dish (2L).

Preheat oven to 200 C.

Cook pancetta or bacon in a large frypan over mediom heat till light brown. Add rosemary and bread, fry gently for 1-2 mins, then pulse in a food processor till chopped. Sprinkle remaining parmesan over pasta, then with bacon and rosemary. Bake for 30mins till crisp and bubbly on top.

Whats-in-the-fridge Spanish Eggs

I didn't have much inspiration or energy for dinner tonight. I hadn't defrosted anything and there was only eggs and bacon in the fridge. We had carbonara last night so I felt scrambled eggs was a bit similar...

I scraped together left overs for the kids then I thought of something - those baked pots of spicy tomato sauce eggs. I found out these are called Spanish Eggs amongst other things and usually contain chorizo and are served for breakfast.

Here is my version, with bacon and mushrooms, flavoured with chilli, paprika and cumin. My Gran and I enjoyed it with freshly baked bread.

Whats-in-the-fridge Spanish Eggs
serves 2
This would be great with the addition of fresh parsley or oregano, but it was a bit cold to go outside...

olive oil
1 C mushrooms, chopped
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 rasher bacon, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
sprinkle smoked paprika
sprinkle dried chilli
sprinkle ground cumin
1/4 C frozen spinach
1 tbsp grilled capsicum pieces (optional, I had a jar)
400g tin tomatoes
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 200C.

In a frypan, fry the mushrooms in a little oil until browned, set aside.

Add a dash more oil and fry the onion and bacon. When the onion is softened add the garlic and spices and cook stirring for another minute. Add the spinach, capsicum and tomatoes and simmer to thicken. Season to taste.

Put sauce into individual ramekins, wider rather than deeper are better. Crack an egg into the centre of each. Bake for 10 - 15 minutes until the white is set and yolk still runny.

Serve with bread to mop up the yummy sauce.

Green Eggs and Ham Pasta (Carbonara with zucchini)

Green Eggs and Ham Pasta is what we decided this version of spaghetti carbonara should be called, after the kids discovered they had just eaten and liked zucchini hidden in the sauce.

As part of my continuing effort to include vegies I have tried grating zucchini into the sauce before but the kids can see the pieces. This time I cooked then pureed the zucchini and mixed it back through the sauce. It tasted good and the kids loved the green sauce. I also included peas in the sauce so they knew they were eating some vegies - can't rely entirely on subterfuge or they will never learn!

Spaghetti Carbonara with Zucchini and Peas
serves 2 adults + 2 small kids
A delicious and nutritious version of carbonara, for the more traditional version (with cream, I know this isn't traditional but I like it that way) leave out the peas and zucchini.

250g spaghetti or other pasta shape of your choice
1/2 C frozen peas
olive oil
2 zucchini, grated
5 bacon rashers, diced
1/2 C cream
3 eggs, beaten
100g parmesan, grated

Cook the spaghetti in lots of boiling water until al dente, add peas for the last few minutes. Drain.

Meanwhile, heat a frying pan over medium heat and fry zucchini in a little olive oil until softened. Remove from pan and puree (I used my bamix).

In the same pan cook the bacon until lightly browned. Add pureed zucchini and cream and heat until almost boiling. Remove from heat.

Beat eggs in a bowl then stir in parmesan.

As soon as the spaghetti is cooked add it to the bacon and cream mix. Stir through. Then add the eggs and parmesan. Quickly mix and serve (you don't want to scramble the eggs, just warm through).

Rice with Egg and Japanese Seasoning - Quick and Easy Dinner

This is a favourite standby meal in this house. The kids love theirs with a soft boiled egg, I prefer mine fried with a runny yolk and crispy bits. I love the yolk running over the rice mixed with soy sauce and the salty and sweet seasoning.

I serve the kids with frozen peas or corn or vegie sticks.

Japanese Rice Seasoning are available at asian supermarkets - I buy the simple one with sesame seeds, seaweed, salt and sugar, but there are lots of other more exotic versions. I also like the Japanese chilli seasoning.

Rice with Egg and Japanese Seasoning

More a list of ingredients than a recipe

Medium grain rice, cooked (I use this for all my Japanese recipes)

Eggs - soft boiled for 3-4 minutes or fried sunny side up

Japanese Rice Seasoning (or make up a mixture of sesame seeds, crushed sushi seaweed/nori, salt and sugar)

Soy Sauce

 

Pork and Capsicum Hotpot in the Slow Cooker

I have been trawling the internet looking for new slow cooker recipes to try now winter has well and truly hit! I printed off a whole lot. The first one I tried was this yummy recipe, Pork and Capsicum Hotpot from the great blog Cate Can Cook , So Can You!

The recipe recommends pork scotch fillet, I used pork shoulder which I diced into chunky pieces, it was tender and falling apart. Besides that I just followed the recipe with great success.

Next on the list is Chicken with Almonds...

Pasta and Beans with Pork Ragu

This dish is suprisingly delicious despite the fact that the name really doesn't sound that appealing. My husband saw the recipe book open to the page with Spaghetti Carbonara opposite this one and asked hopefully, which one are we having? But then all of us gobbled up a big bowl!

This recipe is from The Thrifty Kitchen by Suzanne and Kate Gibbs. I keep pork mince in the freezer so had everything on hand to make this for dinner tonight without any planning.

Pasta and Beans with Pork Ragu
serves 4 (made enough for 4 adult serves plus 4 mini-kid serves)
250g pasta shells or other small shape
1/4 C olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, diced
1 zucchini, diced (optional - my personal addition to add more vegies)
1 bunch flat-leaf parsley, stems finely chopped, leaves chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp dried oregano or handful fresh oregano, chopped
500g pork mince
400g tin chopped tomatoes
400g can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1/3C black olives, stones removed and chopped
1/2 C chicken stock (optional)
salt and pepper
parmesan grated to serve
dried chilli to serve (optional)

Cook the pasta until just under done (2 minutes less than cooking time), as it will keep cooking when you add it to the sauce.

Heat the oil in a large frypan over medium heat and fry onion, carrot, zucchini, parsley stems, garlic and oregano for about 10 minutes, until the onion is soft. Increas the heat to high, add pork mince and fry for about 5 minutes, stirring to break up any lumps. Add the tomatoes, beans, olives (or add these to individual bowls if you have any olive haters) and chicken stock (if it looks a bit dry), stir and simmer for 5 -1 0 minutes until the sauce is thick and fragrant, then season to taste with salt and pepper.

Add the drained pasta and the parsley leaves to the pan and toss for another minute, over medium heat, then serve immediately with plenty of grated parmesan. We also served with a sprinkle of dried chilli for the adults.

Chicken, lentil and vegetable lasagna

Suprisingly this might be one of the best lasagnas I have ever eaten, and the men and the kids happily ate it too (well the 4yr picked out the spinach). It sounds a bit healthy but all the white sauce and cheese makes up for that and it is very filling and full of vegies. This is based on a lentil lasagna recipe from the back of an Edgell's tin that my friend Jenny (also the source of the fantastic brownie recipe) gave me. I have made the original version which was good but it was even better with chicken. I am still off red meat so this satisfied my lasagna craving without having to cook beef mince. I prepared the lasagna last night, then tonight I just had to put it in the oven, so easy.

Chicken, lentil and vegetable lasagna
serves 6+
This makes a large dish of lasagna (mine is 20x30cm), if you don't need that much then halve the recipe or cook two smaller lasagnas and freeze one, or freeze half the sauce for next time you want lasagna. You will need a very large frying pan with high sides to cook the sauce, if yours isn't then fry each step in a frypan then transfer to a larger pot.You could use any meat in place of the chicken or leave it out, and add whatever vegies you like or have.

olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, grated
1/3 sweet potato, grated
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 zucchini, finely diced
1/2 eggplant, finely diced
alternate vegetable options: mushrooms, pumpkin...
500g chicken mince
400g tin of brown lentils, undrained
800g tin tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato paste
handful basil, chopped
2 packets lasagna sheets (enough for 3 layers in your dish)
handful grated mozzarella
White Sauce (if including spinach ricotta layer you will only need 2 C worth)
90g butter
5 tbsp flour
3 C milk
3 handfuls grated cheese (tasty or mozzarella)
Spinach and Ricotta layer (optional)
200g ricotta
3 C baby spinach, stems removed

Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil and fry onion, carrot and sweet potato over low heat until softened. Add garlic and cook for another minute. Scrape onion mix into a bowl (or larger pan if your frypan is too small).

Heat a bit more oil in the frypan and fry zucchini and eggplant over medium heat until browning and softened. Add to onion mix.

Fry chicken mince, breaking it up as it cooks. When nearly cooked through add vegetables back in. Add lentils, tomatoes and paste, simmer for 15 minutes.

To make bechamel, melt butter in a saucepan. Add flour and stir with a whisk for a couple of minutes. Gradually add milk and continuing whisking to form a smooth paste. Continue stirring over low heat until thickened.

Microwave the spinach to wilt (about 30 seconds). Then pat dry on a teatowel and chop. Stir through the ricotta.

To assemble, spread a little lentil sauce over the base of a 20 x 30 cm lasagne dish. Cover with a layer of lasagne sheets, a 1/3 of the lentil sauce and a 1/3 of the white sauce. Repeat layering, replacing the white sauce in this layer with spinach and ricotta mix if using (it is easier to layer this first then lentil sauce). Finish layers with lentil sauce, white sauce and a sprinkling of cheese.

You can make it in advance up to this point and refridgerate, I prepared it the night before.

Bake in a preheated oven at 190 C (375 F) for 25 to 30 minutes, longer if it has been refridgerated.

Enjoy!

Yum cha feast - dumplings, prawn toasts and wontons

I am finally feeling better and actually feel like cooking. So on Friday I gave up my opportunity to sleep, in order to prepare a feast of yum cha goodies. I have been craving dumplings for some time and given there is nowhere to get good ones where I live I had to make my own. The menu included prawn wontons, crispy prawn wontons, pork potsticker dumplings and sesame prawn toasts.

The prawn wontons and sesame prawn toasts were the picks of the night. They really don't take that long to make (when you don't make four things at once with two different sauces) so I will definitely be making them again soon.

We ate them one course at a time and  they were so tempting once cooked I didn't remember to take a photo of everything, need to work on this blogging thing!

Prawn wontons with spring onion, ginger and vinegar dressing
makes 16 small wontons, beware this may not be enough! The dressing is really delicious and makes the dish. I forgot to photograph these twice, on the night and when we ate the leftovers!

300 g (~9) uncooked prawns, peeled, deveined and diced (~150g prawn meat)
1 tbsp roughly chopped coriander leaf
1 tbsp finely sliced spring onion scallions
1½ tsp finely diced Ginger
1 tsp shaohsing wine or dry sherry
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp Oyster sauce
¼ tsp white sugar
¼ tsp Sesame Oil
16 fresh wonton wrappers about 7cm square ( I used shanghai wonton wrappers)
Dressing
2½ tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp coriander roots and stems, finely sliced
2 tbsp ginger, finely diced
2 tbsp spring onions, finely sliced
2 tbsp kecap manis
2 tbsp malt or rice vinegar
¼ tsp chilli Oil or chopped chilli
1/2 tsp sesame Oil

Combine soy sauce, coriander, ginger, spring onions, kecap manis, vinegar and both oils in a bowl and set aside.

Combine prawn meat and remaining ingredients, except wonton wrappers, in a bowl, cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Next fill and shape the wontons. You can just brush the edges with water and fold in half to form a triangle, or try some of these shapes:
Gold ingots
8 wonton shapes 

Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil. Drop wontons, in batches, into the water and cook for 2 minutes or until wontons are just cooked through. To test the wontons you will need to remove one using a slotted spoon and cut it through with a sharp knife to see if the prawns are just cooked through.

Remove wontons with a slotted spoon and drain. Repeat process with remaining wontons.

Arrange wontons on a platter or in individual bowls and serve immediately drizzled with dressing.

Recipe by Kylie Kwong on Lifestyle Food

 
Crispy Prawn Wontons with Sweet Chilli Vinegar Sauce
These are the same wonton recipe as above, only deep fried with a different sauce. I used egg wonton wrappers which deep fry really well.

Sauce
1 C rice wine vinegar
3/4 C white sugar
5 tbsp fish sauce
2 large red chilli's finely sliced on the diagonal
vegetable oil for deep frying

Place vinegar and sugar in a medium-sized heavy-based saucepan and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for about 15 minutes or until liquid is reduced by almost half and slightly syrupy. Remove from stove, stir in fish sauce and chillies and set aside.
 
Prepare wontons.

Heat oil in a hot wok until surface seems to shimmer slightly (you don't want it too hot as they will brown quickly but not cook through). Add wontons in batches and deep-fry for about 2 minutes or until just cooked through and lightly browned. To test the wontons you will need to remove one using a slotted spoon and cut it through with a sharp knife to see if the prawns are just cooked through.

Remove wontons with a slotted spoon and drain well on kitchen paper. Repeat process with remaining wontons.

Serve immediately with a bowl of sweet chilli dipping sauce.

Recipe by Kylie Kwong on Lifestyle Food

Pork Potsticker Dumplings
makes about 20. These are those dumplings with a crispy base and soft steamed topped, the Japanese version are known as gyoza.

3 dried chinese mushrooms
250g pork mince (you can substitute some of this for prawns)
1/4 C coriander leaves, chopped
2 tbsp spring onions, chopped
1 tbsp ginger, minced or grated
1 garlic clove, minced or grated

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp sesame oil

3 water chestnuts, finely chopped

1 pkt gyoza, gow gee or wonton wrappers

Soak the mushroom in warm water for 20 minues, then squeeze out water. Remove stem and finely chop.

Combine remaining ingredients (except wrappers).

Lay out a wrapper and brush the edges with water. Place a teaspoon of filling in the centre. Fold up the edges and pinch together to seal, gathering one side as you go.

Heat a dash of oil in a non-stick frypan (for which you have a lid) and add dumplings, cook on medium high heat until the bottoms are golden brown, about a minute or two. Pour in 1/2 C of water and quickly cover, the steam with cook the dumplings through for 2 minutes. Remove the lid and cook until liquid is evaporated and bottoms are crisp. You don't want to over cook as this will make them tough.

Serve with a sauce of soy sauce with a dash of chinese black vinegar, or with the ginger, spring onion and vinegar dressing above.

Sesame Prawn Toast
makes 12. I served these with the sweet vinegar chilli sauce above. This is a photo of them before they are fried. Once fried we ate them too quickly to photograph, sorry!

6 slices white bread, stale or lightly toasted, crust removed halved into rectangles or triangles
500g prawns, peeled and deveined (~250g prawn meat)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tbsp ginger, finely chopped
2 spring onions, sliced
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg white
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 egg, beaten
sesame seeds
oil for deep frying

Set aside 6 prawns, halfing them down the middle.

Place remaining prawns, garlic, ginger, spring onions, sugar, salt, egg white and sesame oil into a food processor or blender and process until smooth. You can do this in advance.

Spread a tablespoon of paste on each piece of bread and spread to the edges with a mound in the middle. Lay one reserved prawn half on top. Brush with beaten egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Heat oil in a wok or saucepan over medium heat. Fry pieces a few at a time, about 1 minute each side until crisp and golden. Drain on paper towels.

Serve hot with dipping sauce.

Bacon, broccoli, cauliflower and spinach pasta

I watched SBS Italian Food Safari a couple of weeks ago and Guy Grossi made a yummy looking pasta with broccoli, rapa and pancetta. Of course his was on hand made orrechiete! There you go, I just found it on the website, it was called Orecchiette con cime di rapa.

We always have bacon in the fridge (it makes a good meal at any time of day!), and mostly broccoli so I made my own version, also with cauliflower, silverbeet from the garden and rashers of bacon. One of my daughters likes broccoli and the other cauliflower, so this way I can split it between them and everyone is happy. Neither like spinach so I just pick that out of theirs, or scoop out their sauce before I add it.

Pasta with Bacon, Broccoli, Cauliflower and Spinach
serves 2-3 adults or a family of 2 adults and small children that don't eat very much!
1/2 packet of pasta
olive oil
4 rashers bacon, chopped into strips
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 red chilli, finely chopped (optional)
1/2 head broccoli
1/4 head cauliflower
large handful of spinach, silverbeet or baby spinach leaves
handful parsley leaves, chopped
parmesan, grated

Cut the broccoli and cauliflower in quite small florets and then finely chop the stalks.

Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil and add the pasta and cauliflower florets. Add the broccoli florets halfway through the cooking time, they need atleast 5 minutes.

Meanwhile in a large frying pan heat olive oil and fry bacon for a couple of minutes. Turn the heat down and add garlic, chilli and finely chopped stalks. You want to cook this slowly to cook the stalks through, if the garlic starts to burn add a little water. Add spinach and cook to wilt.

When the pasta is cooked, drain but retain some of the cooking water (just put a bowl under the colander). Add to the frying pan and turn to coat, add enough of the cooking water to keep moist and maybe a slurp of cook olive oil. Add parlsey and a handful of parmesan, season to taste and mix.

Serve with more grated parmesan. If you haven't added chilli because you are sharing with little people you might like to add a sprinkle of dried or fresh chilli now.

Morrocan Chicken

There hasn't been a lot of cooking in this house this year, more on that soon. Tonight my wonderful husband cooked up Morrocan chicken, an old favourite. It was so delicious, makes we wonder why we haven't had it in ages. We ate it with cous cous and steamed vegetables.

Morrocan Chicken
serves 4

500g chicken fillet ( I use breast), cut into strips
3 tbs flour, seasoned with salt and pepper
¼ C olive oil
2 onions, sliced
2 tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground cloves
2 tsp sumac*
¼ C sultanas
1 C chicken stock
50g toasted pine nuts
¼ C chopped fresh coriander
Juice of 1 lemon, plus wedges to serve
To serve
Couscous, Greek yoghurt, Lebanese bread and salad or vegetables

Toss chicken in the flour. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large frypan over high heat until hot, then cook chicken in batches until golden and set aside.

Heat remaining oil in pan. Add onions, reduce heat to medium and cook for 10 minutes, stirring, until golden and softened. Return chicken to pan with spices, sultanas and stock. Reduce heat to low and cook for 5 minutes until heated through and thickened slightly. Stir in pine nuts, coriander and lemon juice. Serve with couscous, yoghurt, bread and lemon.

Notes & tips: * Sumac is a purple, lemony spice used in North African and Middle Eastern cooking, it is fairly widely available.

Recipe from delicious June 2004 by Valli Little

Meatballs with Pancetta and Parmesan in the Slow Cooker or on the Stove

This is one of our favourite and most regular family meals. The meatball recipe comes from a Rick Stein recipe in Delicious 2008 - the pancetta and parmesan in the balls give them a great texture and taste. My good friend Georgia originally made this for us when my daughter Ava was born, and we have never made meatballs any other way since.

This is a work night dinner in our house. I make up a huge batch of meatballs and freeze them uncooked, then defrost them in the fridge the night before I need them. I lightly fry them up before work, or at lunch time (I only work up the road) and leave them to cook in the slow cooker. I usually cheat for the sauce and just use a jar of passata poured straight into the slow cooker. I want to try not frying them first, just cooking in the sauce, but am sure they won't be as good so have never tried it - maybe next week!

My addition to the recipe has been to include vegetables in the sauce - I try and sneak them in everywhere, as my kids don't eat salad and I don't want to make one after work anyway.

No photo for this one, we forgot and ate it all!

Meatballs with Parmesan and Pancetta in Tomato Sauce
serves 4

¼ C olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
100g sliced pancetta, finely choppd
750 g pork and veal or beef mince
½ lemon, zested
1C (80g) parmesan, grated
2/3 C (50g) fresh white breadcrumbs
2 tbsp flat leaf parsley, chopped
1 tbsp oregano, chopped
1 egg, beaten
Tomato Sauce
1 tbsp olive oil
20g butter
1 onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
400g can chopped tomatoes
150g tomato passata
Cheat's Tomato Vegetable Sauce

zucchini, eggplant, sweet potato (or whatever you have), diced
1 jar tomato passata
To Serve
½ C basil, shredded
pasta or polenta
parmesan, grated

Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a small frypan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, cook stirring for 5 minutes until softened but not coloured. Set aside to cool.

Place pancetta, mince, zest, parmesan, breadcrumbs, parsley, oregano and onion mixture in a large bowl. Use your hands to combine well. Add egg, ½ tsp salt and pepper to taste, mix through.

With damp hands, shape mixture into walnut sized balls. Chill for 30 minutes to firm up. At this point you can refridgerate for a day or two, or freeze for a couple of months.

Heat the remaining oil in a non-stick frypan. In batches, lightly brown the meatballs on all sides but don’t cook through. Set meatballs aside while you make the sauce. If cooking in a slow cooker, put the meatballs in the slow cooker now.

Tomato Sauce
In the same frypan, add the oil and butter and cook the onion and garlic, stirring, for 5 minutes. For the slow cooker, transfer the onions to the slow cooker and continue to cook in there. Add tomatoes, passata, salt and pepper, bring to the boil. Return the meatballs to the pan, then partially cover and simmer over medium-low for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens and meatballs are cooked through. Or cook in the slow cooker on low for 2 – 4 hours, you can leave it all day but the meatballs will be tougher.
Cheat's Tomato and Vegetable Sauce
After removing the meatballs from the frypan, add a bit more oil and fry the diced zucchini and eggplant (sweet potato doesn't need it). Put vegetables in the slow cooker with the meatballs and pour the passata over. Cook in the slow cooker on low for 2 – 4 hours, you can leave it all day but the meatballs will be tougher.

Before you eat, gently take the meatballs out of the sauce and use a stick blender to puree the sauce so it is smooth with no vegetable lumps.

Serve on pasta or polenta with parmesan and basil, sprinkled over.

Chicken Donburi (Japanese Chicken with Egg) and Udon Noodle Soup

We are having a bit of a Japanese week. Tonight I cooked another great Japanese recipe from my Mum. It has similar ingredients to the Teriyaki Chicken but is quite a different dish. The chicken is cooked in a broth and beaten egg is poured over the top to top and allowed to set, it is served with rice. The egg takes on the flavour of the sauce and is my favourite bit. My kids love this meal too.

Earlier this week we had this Udon Noodle Soup with Crumbed Prawn Cutlets from cuisine.com.au. Molly, my 4 year old, loved this so much we had it for lunch for the next 3 days (without the prawns). The recipe for the quick lunch version is below. I have been including whatever vegies I have and they gobble it up in the yummy broth.

For this recipe you will need dashi stock powder which is Japanese powdered bonito fish stock. I always get this at an asian supermarket (I do a big stock up a couple of times a year - they tend to have Chinese and Japanese ingredients). You can probably get it from your local health food shop.

My friend Skye just lent me the recipe book Thrifty Kitchen by Suzanne and Kate Gibbs. It also has a recipe for chicken donburi, the first I have seen elsewhere. Their broth is based on dashi stock with soy, rice wine and vinegar which is different to my recipe. I will have to try it and compare.

For notes on substitutions on mirin and sake, see the Teriyaki Chicken recipe.

Chicken Donburi
serves 4-6 (Tonight I halved this recipe for our family)
1 tsp vegetable oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 - 2 carrots, thinly sliced
800g chicken thigh fillets, in bite size pieces (or breasts if you prefer but thighs will be much more moist)
1 C mirin
1/2 C soy sauce
1/4 C sake
6 shiitake mushrooms, fresh or dried (soak in hot water for 10 min)
5 eggs, beaten
medium grain rice to serve

In a small frypan, the right size to hold the chicken in one packed layer, heat the oil and gently fry the onion to soften. Add the chicken and stir around to just brown. Add the sauce ingredients and mushrooms and simmer for 5 minutes. Turn the heat down to low and pour the egg over, cover and cook until just set.

Serve with rice and vegetables

Vegetables side dishes to serve with Japanese
Here are some suggestions on what to serve along side Japanese meals. If I am just cooking for the family we often have plain steamed vegies but if I am entertaining it is nice to have something a bit more interesting.

• Tomato and cucumber salad with a dressing of soy, mirin and sesame oil
• Carrots julienne stir fried with sesame seeds
• Broccoli (or any greens), steamed, topped with soy sauce and katsuobushi flakes (katsuobushi are dried bonito fish flakes, a yummy salty flavouring for vegies)
• Beans, blanched, with peanut sauce (peanut butter, soy sauce, dashi powder, water)

Quick Udon Noodle Soup
This recipe is a base recipe, you could really add anything. For the kids this week I have been chopping up broccoli or adding frozen peas and corn (again). For me I add baby spinach leaves, chopped beans, spring onions... One of my girls likes silken tofu, the other doesn't so give it a go.

dried udon noodles (hakubaku brand from supermarkets is good)
500ml water
10g dashi powder (1 tsp)
1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp mirin
vegetables
100g silken tofu

Cook noodles according to packet directions.

Bring the water to the boil in a saucepan. Add dashi, soy and mirin, stir to dissolve. Add vegetables and cook as desired. Add tofu and heat through.

Place noodles in bowls and pour soup over.

Chicken Korma - curry my children will eat!

I cooked Jamie Oliver's Chicken Korma tonight, from his Food Revolution book, amazingly it was a hit with the whole family - 2 and 4 year olds included! And it was on the table in 30 minutes from start to end.

I use a Patak's Korma Paste which is very mild and I skipped the chilli, although you could remove your kids portion at the end and add it then. It was still very flavoursome.

I added sweet potato, mushrooms and zucchini to the curry so I didn't have to do vegies on the side. The kids had frozen peas and corn added to theirs (their staple vegetables - I hope they contain every vitamin children need!).

Chicken Korma
This is the full Jamie Oliver recipe, paraphrased. To simplify, you could easily leave out the ginger, almonds, coconut... But I recommend trying the full version once, as the flavour and texture are great! Also add whatever vegies you have on hand, or serve steamed alongside.

800g chicken thigh fillets (or breasts, but I prefer thighs), chopped
2 medium onions, finely chopped
1 green chilli (optional), finely chopped
4cm ginger, grated
small bunch of fresh coriander, leaves picked and stems finely chopped
400g tin chick peas, drained
vegetable oil
20g butter
1/2 c. Korma curry paste (Patak's is good)
400ml can of coconut milk
small handful of sliced/flaked almonds
2 tbsp desicatted coconut
To Serverice
natural yogurt
lemon

Heat a frypan or casserole pan on a high heat and add a lug of oil. Fry the chicken till just golden. Set aside. If using breast, skip this stage.

Add the onions, chilli, ginger, and cilantro stalks with the butter. Cook for around 5 minutes. Add the curry paste and fry for 2 more minutes until aromatic. Add coconut milk, half your sliced almonds, the drained chick peas, coconut, the chicken and half a tin of water.

Simmer, covered, for 15-30 minutes with the lid on. If too dry add more water. If too runny, remove the lid and boil to thicken.

To serve
Serve with rice. add a few spoonfuls of natural yogurt dolloped on top, and sprinkle over the rest of the sliced almonds. finish by scattering over the coriander leaves, and serve with lemon wedges for squeezing over.

Slow Cooker Variation
You could easily follow the recipe up till after the korma paste is fried, then throw the lot in a slow cooker for a couple of hours, not too long though as is doesn't need much cooking.