Sardines on Toast with Marinated Onions

Bev and I have this weird habit of cooking at the wee hours of the morning. Granted, it does affect our waking up the next morning, but something still drives us to do it regardless.

Tonight, we were shuffling for space again in our "compact" kitchen. Bev was baking her chocolate cake (again, for the 4th time in 2 weeks!), and I was just trying to make a snack for myself as I was suffering a late night attack of the munchies.



Sardines-on-toast and I go way back. My dad used to bring me to the golf club every weekend when I was 7. There he'd slip me his membership card so I could order any food or drink to keep myself busy the entire afternoon while he'd muck around with his mates. Somehow, I'd always end up ordering either grilled cheese sandwiches or sardines on toast, the clubhouse's specialties back in the day, and then wolf them down with a tall chocolate milkshake alongside. Ah, those innocent days.

Tonight, I decided to revisit those moments by making myself something similar using some leftover baguette I had from my previous post (parsnip soup with mushroom toasts), and a can of sardines in oil from the pantry.

I topped the toasts with raw onions, just like they did at the clubhouse, but me being me, I just HAD to be meddlesome and mess with it a bit more. So, I cut one white onion into nice, thin rings and marinated them with 1 tsp of finely grated lemon rind (I rely heavily on my trusty old Microplane grater), 1/2 tsp of grated raw garlic, 3 tbsps of extra virgin olive oil, 2 tbsps of lemon juice, and salt and pepper. I also added some sliced red chilies for an extra 'bite'. The lemon adds acidity and zestiness while the onion adds some pungency and crunch, and the chilles add the much appreciated heat.

Mmm, the taste of my childhood.

Technorati tags: food and drink, food, brisbane, food blogs, slow food, kitchen expeditions, sardine, sardines, toast,

Parsnip Soup with Mushroom Toast

Now's mid-April, and the weather here is starting to get a tad cooler than it was in the last 3 months. Moreover, winter's coming up again in a short while, and that only means one thing for me: lots of hearty winter foods!

Admittedly, I am highly enthusisatic to begin writing about my favourite topic.. comfort foods. I know it's still a little early in the season to be talking about pasta soups, game casseroles and baked fruit, so just to ease us into the upcoming winter, here's a simple recipe that I reckon suits the current climate here in Brisbane.



Parsnip Soup with Mushroom Toasts
for 2 hearty portions:

3 small parsnips
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 small white onion, chopped
3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1/2 cup thick cream
salt and white pepper

2 slices of baguette, toasted
1 clove of garlic, cut in half
1 tsp of pinenuts (optional)
3 medium sized mushrooms, diced (I used field mushrooms)
1 clove of garlic, chopped
A fruity extra virgin oilive oil
Salt and coarse black pepper

Peel parsnips and cut into quarters. Remove tough inner core and discard. Dice parsnips. In a saucepan, heat enough oil to cover the base. Add garlic and onion and sweat for 2 minutes till translucent. Add parsnips to pan and saute for another 2 minutes. Now, pour in the stock and the cream and simmer for 5-10 minutes till the vegetables are very tender. Transfer to a blender and liquidise. Pour back into saucepan and season to taste. Here, you may want to strain the soup for a more refined texture, but as for me, I'd rather not do this. I find that small residual chunks of vegetables in the soup add to the rustic charm of the final dish.

Rub the warm toasts with the exposed sides of the cut garlic clove, then drizzle generously with olive oil. In a small frypan, heat just enough olive oil to coat base, and then add chopped garlic and pinenuts and fry gently till just garlic is just golden. Turn up the heat and add in the diced mushrooms. Season with a little salt and pepper and saute till mushrooms soften slightly. Spoon onto toasts.

Pour soup into bowls and top with a slice of mushroom toast. Drizzle more olive oil over the soup to make it taste more luscious.

Most people tend to overlook the quality of the olive oils they purchase. May I suggest that it is important to use olive oil of a good quality, as such simple dishes taste only as good as the ingredients that go into them. Here, I used a Cobram Estate Extra Virgin Olive Oil, which is relatively lighter in flavour and does not overpower the parsnips, and is easily available in most supermarkets.

Technorati tags: food and drink, food, brisbane, food blogs, slow food, kitchen expeditions, winter food, winter recipes, parsnip soup, garlic mushrooms, mushroom toast, soup, comfort food, simple recipes, olive oil

Cooking with Cola

Yes, you read it right- chicken wings with cola.

We all love cola in so many ways: in its traditional form as a beverage, in juicy gummies and lollies, as a 7-11 slurpee flavour, and so on. However, most of us aren't quite familiar with the less-than-obvious hidden culinary utilities that the humble cola beholds.

In 2005, I visited the sunny Philippines. It was then that I was first exposed to a savoury application of this fizzy, sweet, black stuff- in a local dish of squid stewed in cola and other aromatics. It was strangely delicious. Henceforth, that single experience triggered the opening of my mind to the wide world of culinary secrets that lay within those aluminium cans.

Today, there numerous websites, such as this one, that educate us on the multitude of ways that we can incorporate cola into our everyday recipes. Very interesting indeed.

Tonight, inspired by my trip to the Philippines, I cooked up a dish of chicken wings stewed in cola and vinegar. I served it with jasmine rice mixed with annatto oil, another great ingredient that I stumbled upon in the Philippines. There, they often serve this fragrant rice with savoury, grilled meats like chicken inasal.

The method of making this dish of cola stewed chicken wings is dead simple. There are seven basic ingredients that are used to flavour the chicken, and you can adjust the quantities of these to suit your liking. Also, in the Philippines, they'd normally cook with a tangy coconut vinegar. This can be a little tricky to obtain here in Brisbane, although most larger Asian grocers do stock it. But for the sake of those who don't want to go through the trouble of searching for it, you can easily substitute it with another crisp, fruity vinegar such as apple cider vinegar.

Chicken wings with cola and vinegar

8 large chicken wings
2 tbsps Maggi/Knorr seasoning (available in supermarkets)
1 cup light soya sauce
1 cup coconut vinegar, or apple cider vinegar
2 cups cola
1 whole head of garlic
6 bay leaves
12 whole white peppercorns

Heat oil in a large saucepan or casserole and fry chicken pieces till slightly brown. Add entire head of garlic, bay leaves and peppercorns and fry for another 2 mins. Then, add in all the liquids and let simmer for 30 mins till chicken is tender.

Remove chicken wings from saucepan/casserole, leaving behind cooking liquids. Set chicken wings aside in a separate bowl. Bring liquids to boil and let reduce by half to three quarters till you acheive a sticky and rich consistency. Add chicken wings back to liquids and toss to coat. Serve hot with rice.

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Confit of Berkshire Pork Belly with Fennel and Apple

Pork and apples and fennel.. how wrong can one get? Not very I suppose. Ye old trusted combination, reworked time and again by cooks all over. Indeed, there is good reason why the term "classic pairings" exists.

The pork was marinated with rosemary, bay leaves, pepper and lots of salt and sugar overnight. The next day, it was drained and rinsed twice. Then, the meat was submerged in oil (or lard) and baked in a 120 degree celsius oven for 3 hours. When done, it was left to cool in the fat, and stored for a week in the fridge to allow the tasty flavours to fully develop, just as with all other confits. Pan fry the pork when needed, simply to warm through and crispen the skin.

I dished it up with shaved fennel and apples dressed with a mustard vinaigrette (mustard goes well with pork too!). I also added caramelised apple and chorizo sausage slices to make it a meal fit for a hungry man like myself.

Technorati tags: food and drink, food, brisbane, food blogs, slow food, kitchen expeditions, pork confit, confit, pork , pork belly, apples, fennel