Truffled Celariac Soup

One of my personal joys in Winter is the availability of all the wonderfully seasonal Root Vegetables


Parsnips, turnips and swedes are all lovely, but one of my absolute favourites of all is the Celariac. A Celariac is a big, ugly, hairy ball that really doesn't look very appetising, but don't be put off by it's ugly exterior, this humble veggie is a surprise package indeed!

Sweet, mild, nutty and earthy- a delicate flavour, but one that stands up well next to strong dishes like roast beef, steak or even with blue cheese. Whether raw in a traditional French remoulade, or soaked and pureed as I've done today, this undistinguished little veggie should definitely not be underestimated

I often find that Celariac are sold per item not by weight, and as the price at the start of the season hovers around $8 each, I try and find the biggest one on the stand. I was picking through the display trying to find a nice one, when right on top I spied a beauty the size of an rockmelon! I'm only 5'1, and my arms don't reach too far, so I had a dilemma. Now, I admit, I'm not too proud to look silly in in pursuit of culinary joy- don't judge me- and I was determined that baby was going to be mine.

I tried standing on tiptoes- no good. I tried jumping- no good. I then tried strategically removing lower celariacs, hoping to cause an avalanche of sorts with my prize carried to me triumphantly on the crest of the wave- nope, just a few falling on the floor that I had to pick up. Finally I spotted a storeman who was luckily much taller than I and could pluck my celariac from the peak and into my arms- Yes!
Ignoring the stares of slightly bemused shoppers, I bore my behemoth 2 kilo celariac away while dreaming about what it would become in my kitchen....mmmmmm....

Now I do apologise Dear Readers, I seem to be missing some of my usual step-by-step photos somehow, but as this dish is really just so simple I don't think it will be a problem today


Truffled Celariac Soup

Celariac
lactose free Milk or Cream
Truffle- if lucky enough to have some on hand
Truffle Oil
Salt- preferably yummy truffle infused
Lemon


Cut your lemon in half and squeeze into a bowl of water

Peel your celariac quickly, and pop each piece as you go into the acidulated water to stop it oxidising and going a yucky brown colour

I always prefer to steam the celariac as I find that boiling really makes it soggy and dilutes the delicate flavour. As this is to be pureed, steam until it's very tender indeed so it will break down well

See how dry this is, not soggy at all

Blend the celariac with the milk or cream to a silky smooth puree

See how gorgeous- not a lump in sight!

At this stage the puree can be used in so many wonderful ways...
Folded through mashed potatoes for a nice change, perfect under seared scallops to match the sweetness, or even a bit of crumbled blue cheese folded through would make it a great side for roast beef

Winter time is Truffle time here in Canberra, and we are lucky enough to have fresh truffles available at the markets for a few weeks- sublime! As the season is rather short lived though, and for those unable to get such goodies, there are a lot of truffle products on the market so you can get your truffley fix. One of my favourites is Truffle Salt, the flavour really permeates through so when it dissolves into the food the flavour is carried subtly through as well

Another goodie is this Truffle Oil- rich and earthy, not artificial tasting like some on the market either

Heat the puree through gently without boiling, adding just enough milk/cream to bring it to your desired consistency. Season well with the truffled salt, then drizzle generously with the truffle oil- just because you can :)

A final flourish of truffle or truffle salt on top, and TaaDaa! I know truffles are pretty special, but who would have guessed that under the ugly exterior the Celariac hid such a tasty, luxurious interior?
This dish is a great starter to a dinner party, or just serve for your own weekday lunch as I did- just because you can :)

So Dear Readers, what are your favourite root veggies, and are you willing to make of a fool of yourself for Culinary Joy?





 

An Anatomy Lesson

How are you at map reading Dear Readers?







When I use a map I've got the kind of mind that needs to feel out the route- this involves turning the map around and around and swaying in the direction indicated as I try and get a feel for it.

This annoys BigJ, he can take one quick look at the map, turn himself around 20 times until he's dizzy, point directly to magnetic north and be at the destination in record time avoiding all tolls and speed cameras along the way. He finds my map dance embarrassing and never lets me drive with him in the car- Or give him directions.

Now, I'm a bit obsessed with shoulders at the moment.

Mine is having issues and although I've googled and read, been to Doctors and had it explained, I still needed to 'see' it for myself. Looking in the mirror and wriggling my good shoulder didn't really help that much, I needed to see where things were and what they do inside. Hmmm... OK off to the markets, result- one lamb shoulder ready to go!

Now my butchery techniques are very basic and my knife skills aren't at their best with a bung shoulder so bear with me guys as we explore the mysteries that lie within.....

My, what a lovely looking shoulder you have my dear

The shoulder uncovered

Underside of shoulder- i guess that's the inside really

Look how perfectly this supports and covers the shoulder blade, such a pity I ripped mine

Big tendons in the joint- I've got a tear in one of these :(

Tissue holding the joint together- The Dr thinks I've pulled some of that off the bone :(

Ball and socket joint, very shallow in the shoulder.This seems to be having issues too.Very clunky and sticks :(


I know that my anatomy varies slightly from that of a sheep (well I hope anyway!)but that helps me understand things a bit better. I couldn't see some of the other bits that I'm having trouble with as well, but that seems to have covered most of them. Ultrasounds, CT scans, Xrays, and MRIs are all very well for the Surgeon- and he has all mine to go off, but I'm a chef and I understand food so much better! BigJ thinks that I'm totally strange doing this experiment, and I seem to have embarrassed him yet again, but I think he should be grateful I found a way to satisfy my curiosity!


Well, now that I've had my fun, I really need to do something with the lamb. Because of all those connective tissues and stuff we saw the best way to cook it is long and low, braising will be the perfect solution.

Braising Mix

1 sachet/ 2 tablespoons Tomato Paste
1 bottle of Tomato Passata or tin of crushed tomatoes
Good glass of wine- I used white but red is good too
1 onion roughly chopped
1 tablespoon Brown Sugar
Herbs of choice- thyme, rosemary
Garlic
Salt and Pepper

Mix all these together and place in a pan big enough to fit the lamb, but small enough that they fit snugly.

Nestle in the pieces of meat, and make sure that they're mostly covered by the tomato mix. If you need some more liquid add in a bit more wine, or stock or even water.

Cover the dish closely with a lid or alfoil.

Bake in a 160* oven for about 3 hours. Turn them over about halfway through.



I enjoyed my meal of shoulder with some Fava Beans and a Nice Chianti... ;) and it was Delicious!

So Dear Readers, do you need to turn the map when you navigate and do a little map-dance like me?

Get Some Mork's On Your Fork

I love Thai food.

If I could only have one cuisine to live on for the rest of my life, I think I would choose Thai. It just has it all; warming curries, cool salads, all the taste ticklers-sweet salty sour and hot, rice not nasty gluten based. Really, what's not to love.

I have numerous books on the subject of Thai food, I have done my due diligence in researching the local take on Thai cuisine (with varying degrees of yumminess), I have attended the Thai Embassy and Thai Temple open days and food fairs, etc etc etc

But... If you are interested in something you may as well learn from the master. With this in mind, I have recently been attending some Thai cookery classes at icook culiary college, Mawson, led by Mork, from Morks restaurant in Florey.

Despite my love of Thai cusine, I wouldn't have been tempted to spend this amount of money on 4 classes if the teacher hadn't been Mork. He is a lovely, engaging young guy who really knows his stuff. His family has run their own restaurant for many years before opening Morks, which has a bit more of a contemporary twist and is more up scale than the usual neighbourhood place.

BigJ and I love the food at Morks. I even wrote a post with a review of their fantastic food, but somehow there were no photos to put with it! So when I saw these classes advertised in the Canberra Institute of Technology short courses, I knew I wanted to go.

The classes covered a wide variety of tastes and recipes including many I'd never experienced before. We did pastes and salads, tofu and meat, veggies and desserts- yumm! All ingredients were covered in the price, and we all sat down together for a communal meal at the end of each class and even shared a glass of wine or two!

This is a very simple recipe that was one of my favourites from the classes. It's not complex like the curries, or zingy fresh like the salads, but the smooth silkiness of the eggplant coupled with the chilli was delicious and I thought I'd share it with you.

Grilled Eggplant with a Chilli Paste Dressing

1 Tbsp Chilli paste with soybean oil
- we used the Pantainorasingh brand

3 Tbsp lemon or lime juice

3 Tbsp fish sauce

1 Eggplant sliced lengthways

1 Tablespoon of fried asian shallots

1 Bunch of corriander

Grill the eggplant in a little oil until soft and caramelised.

Combine lemon juice, fish sauce, and chilli paste until well mixed

Arrange eggplant on plate and dress with sauce.

Chop corriander aand sprinkle over dish.

Garnish with the fried shallots and serve.

This has been a hetic week for us here, hence the lateness of this post. BigJ amputated his top finger joint on the weekend, and after several days in hospital, surgery and many medications later, we are back home and everything is looking hopeful, thank God, because it could have been much worse. Lets just say that the next time he uses a power tool, the dog will be tied up securely out of the way. I can say that I have never driven so fast in my life, but thankfully no policemen were inbetween me and the hospital, because I really don't think I would have stopped for anything. littlej also heard many interesting words for the first time, and we can but hope they aren't seared in her memory forever!

So Readers, what would you risk a speeding ticket for?

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies

This is not really a recipe, it's more like alchemy.


Taking raw ingredients, combining them just so, and having them almost magically convert into something amazing! I'm not to sure how the magic works, every time I make them I'm sure I'm missing an important bit.. but they just work. Every time.

Beautiful Celia, from Fig Jam and Lime Cordial, sent me this recipe. She had posted a yummy 'normal' cookie recipe on her blog, then kindly sent me a gluten free alternative. What a sweetie to think of us InTolerants like that! Here is the link to her original post:
http://figjamandlimecordial.com/2009/03/23/gluten-free-chocolate-chip-cookies/

This has simply got to be the easiest recipe ever. Only a few ingredients that you have in your pantry anyway, only one bowl, not much mixing or stirring, and only 15minutes away from yummy deliciousness. Win win. In fact, these are so easy that littlej is now the designated PBcookie maker as they are almost an insult to cooking. Remember I told you they are not cooking, they're magic.

Here are the ingredients for 2 dozen decent sized cookies:

1 cup of peanut butter
1 cup of packed brown sugar
1 cup of chocolate chips - I use dark chocolate to be lactose free
1 egg
1 tsp of baking powder
1/2 tsp of vanilla essence

Now Celia recommends Sanitarium natural peanut butter, but this week Kraft was on special for only $2, so this is what we used.

Mix everything together, adding the chocolate last. That's it. Nothing else. Told you it was magic didn't I?

Place a heaped tablespoon of mixture in nice little balls on a baking paper covered cookie sheet. Allow a couple of centimetres between each for spreading.

Put in the oven at 175* for 10-12 minutes and wait for the magic to happen. The cookies will spread out and puff up. They will turn a lovely golden brown, but watch them carefully as they can burn easily. Once you pull these out of the oven they will still be really soft, almost squidgy- but they will harden up nicely when they cool down.

Are you sure these don't have any flour in them, even gfree flour? They look like they do, they taste like they do, no one will believe that they don't. See what I mean by magic?

They also magically disappear.

Now these are great still warm from the oven -after they've set, fantastic for a snack or with a cup of tea, but absolutely amazing for dessert as ice cream sandwiches! We put a big scoop of vanilla icecream between 2 cookies (I think chocolate icecream would be good too) and served them to guests. They had no idea that they were gluten free, or that this was the first time I'd ever made this recipe. They just knew that they were yummy, and kind of magic. The children were magically quiet for about 10 minutes, and smiles magically appeared on the grown ups faces, and everyone was happy. That's a magic moment worth repeating for sure.

Thanks Celia.

So Readers, do you have a magic recipe?

Felafel Salad

I have a big catering job coming up.

A group of ladies that come together to craft and talk and eat. I have been doing their lunches for the last few times and always like to make it interesting. I need a lunch box that is yummy, has gluten and dairy free options, yummy, healthy, easily eaten without mess, and of course, yummy. I happily adjust my menu to accommodate InTolerances and if people have special requests I always try my best. Some requests I've had are for 'squishy' food- lady has braces; no garlic- quite common actually; and 2 ladies have a chicken farm and cannot abide chicken!

This salad covers most of these, but I make a 50/50 split with another meal, so people can always swap if they want to. I'll write about the other salad shortly, but today is all about my Baked Pumpkin Chickpea and Felafel Salad.

Start off with a decent felafel mix. Yes, of course you can make your own, but I'm looking at A LOT of salads and need to save time somewhere- I still have morning and afternoon teas to make as well. These are a couple of great gluten free mixes, they are both yummy and taste fairly similar, but I actually like to blend them together and get the best of both worlds.

The Mix is so very simple. Just add water. That's it. Leave for a while to firm up, then mold into balls. I'm making mini ones so they can be stabbed easily with a fork and eaten in one little ladylike chomp. If you are using your hands, keeping them wet stops the mix sticking to you, but as I need uniformity I use a little scoop for shaping, don't compress it too much or it won't bi nice and fluffy inside. Set aside for a bit to rest and start preparing the pumpkin.

Pumpkin is such a yummy vegetable. It has a lovely sweetness and pretty colour that this dish really needs to give it a lift. You can use any sort of pumpkin, today I chose butternut simply because it was on special!

Peel and chop the pumpkin into little cubes. Again, mine are quite small, but make yours the size you want them.

Toss in some oil and a little salt and bake them on a lined tray until browned and softened. Be careful not to cook them until squishy as they will disintegrate in the salad as soon as you try to toss it.

Now, you have a couple of options. Traditionally, felafels are deep fried until crisp on the outside and piping hot on the inside. This of course, is the best way to have them. But... they can also be shallow fried, or even baked. Which ever method you choose, just be really careful not to overcook them, remember there is no meat or such to cook through, so they don't take long. If you leave them too long they will be horrible, hard lumps that can be used as weapons to throw at people you don't like. Today I'm shallow frying as I'm just doing the dry run for testing weights and quantities, but on the actual day I'll probably deep fry them for speed and convenience.

Let your little felafelly and pumpkiny treasures cool down while you get on with things.

Drain a good quality tin of chickpeas and rinse them well to get rid of any goopiness. If you have time feel free to soak and cook your own, but remember I need a bit of a hand preparing for crowds.

This salad needs a tasty dressing that will compliment the spiciness of the felafels while not overpowering the pumpkin. I like to use a yogurt base with a bit of tahini and a splash of lemon juice for sharpness, and throw in a clove of garlic. Blend it all together and thin it down with a bit of water if you need to.

Now the greens.... spinach is so tasty and good for you, think of Popeye! A good handful for each person is usually enough. Also chop up some nice flat leafed parsley, stems and all, and mix in. 3-4 cherry or grape tomatoes cut in half add that extra burst of sweet juiciness to finish the lot off.

Toss the felafels, pumpkin, chickpeas, greens and tomatoes together gently.

Drizzle lightly with the yoghurt dressing and pop into cute little containers like these noodle boxes. Or for more of a family meal serve the salad on it's own, with the felafels served hot on the side.

Along with the salad box, my ladies get: a small roll and butter, a cute little juice, some dainty fresh fruit and, most importantly, some chocolate. Doesn't that sound nice?

So Readers, what do you like to eat for lunch?

To Market, To Market...

I've just got back from a visit to my local markets.

I love the choice and variety of produce available to me there. Asian greens and herbs, European Delis,Organic Meats, and everything in between.

Would you like to know what's in my basket?

A rack of veal ribs for braising and then baking; A slab of pork belly with skin for roasting- it makes the best crackling!; duck marylands to probably turn into a red thai curry or maybe with bitter orange sauce; 1/2 kilo of home smoked bacon; chicken wings for steaming then frying; red wine washed hard goats cheese; veal liverwurst; anchovy stuffed olives; pear,apricot and raspberry essences; fresh sugarcane stems; gluten free turkish bread and various mixed fruit and veggies. Not bad for a couple of hours work don't you think?

Hmmm.....what to make for dinner.... We decided on the pork belly.


This is another one of those budget meat cuts that's become trendy as people rediscover it's potential. It's a thin cut of meat with some seams of fat running through it, that when cooked right renders out and leaves behind a luscious softness and juicy piece of meat. Pork belly makes the best crackling and the ratio of meat to crackling is fantastic- plenty to go round.

But tonight we're having Twice Cooked Pork. I love this and always struggle to look past it on a menu. It's rich, sticky, and melts in your mouth, a perfect dining combination!

First you need to braise the pork. You can create your own master stock, but I love the folks at Changs. They make a fantastic range of gluten free products and they're available at Coles and Woolies and won't break the budget at all.

I placed the pork and master stock in a pan and added water to cover. Simmer for at least an hour and a half, or until a skewer will easily pierce through the meat. Cool in the liquid.

Put meat in a container with a lid and place something heavy on top. This compresses the meat and gives it a nice density. Refrigerate overnight.

At this point, you could stirfry the meat in cubes or slices, I worked at one establishment that would cube it at this point and then deepfry it before glazing with a sauce. My favourite though is to marinate it and bake it to a nice stickiness. I marinated the meat for about an hour with a mixture of caramel, hoisin sauce, honey and black vinegar. Just check the labels, you don't want to find any stray gluten.

Place the pork on some baking paper -yes, you don't want to forget this step- and bake in a hot oven until burnished and sticky. Remember, the meat is already cooked and you just want to heat it through and activate the sugars.


The meat is incredibly tender and just pulls apart. I think of it as comfort food- yummy, sticky, with sweetness and fat. As this is a rich dish, I served it with a bowl of plain rice and a salad of shredded bits and pieces- carrot, zucchini, capsicum, spring onions, snap peas and whatever else could be scrounged from the bottom of the fridge! Just make sure it's nice and crispy fresh for contrast.


So Readers, what do you have trouble going past on a menu?