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In My Kitchen, March 2012

March 1, 2012 by Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

In my kitchen…

…is a magnificent Fitz & Floyd Ricamo Rooster Jug, reduced from $137 to just $27 during the Peters of Kensington sale.  It sits on a high shelf, crowing over our busy workspace…

In my kitchen…

…are chestnut, leek and duck fat loaves, loosely inspired by a recipe from Dan Lepard’s The Handmade Loaf…

In my kitchen…

…is a lovely note from our neighbours Shaun and Michelle.  The new neighbour ware seems to be working; plates are being returned promptly…

In my kitchen…

…are new season President plums, our favourite!  We were so excited to find them at the markets last week that we bought two boxes…

Several kilos of plums and sugar are now macerating in vodka, brandy and Calvados.  Hopefully we’ll be drinking this year’s plum brandy by the end of May…

Pete made fourteen jars of soft-set jam…

…and I turned a few plums into a simple tart, using June’s sweet pastry dough, Pete’s jam and sliced fruit…

In my kitchen…

…is a new Exopat silicone baking mat, a gift from my friend David.  He bought it at Chefs’ Warehouse, then figured out it was too large for his oven, so he sent it to me.  I have very generous friends indeed…

In my kitchen…

…is a plate of toffee bars, a simple slice which made for perfect weekend eating…

. . . . .

Tell me, what’s happening in your kitchen this month?

If you’d like to do an In My Kitchen post on your own blog, please feel free  to use this format, and to leave a comment here linking back to your post.  We’d love to see what’s happening in your kitchen this month!

. . . . .

Here are this month’s posts…

Sorcha @ xo.sorcha.ox

Shelley @ All Litten Up

Christine @ Invisible Spice

Claire @ Claire K Creations

Rose @ Greening the Rose

Pam @ Grow, Bake, Run

Joanna @ Zeb Bakes

Jane @ The Shady Baker

Sue @ Sous Chef

Misk @ Misk Cooks

Glenda @ Passion Fruit Garden
(brand new blog!!)

Heidi @ Steps on the Journey

Mandy @ The Complete Cook Book

Lizzy @ Bizzy Lizzy’s Good Things

Tandy @ Lavender and Lime

Posted in In My Kitchen | Tagged , , , , , , | 86 Comments »

Beef Brisket

February 26, 2012 by Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

Unlike the US, beef brisket isn’t a common cut of meat here in Australia.

In fact, I don’t believe I’ve ever seen it for sale in a butcher’s meat display or supermarket fridge. There has been a strong move over the past decade towards leaner cuts of meat, and brisket certainly isn’t lean. Nor is it expensive, but it can be hard to find.

I’d eaten it often enough – it’s commonly used in Chinese dishes – but I’d never tried cooking it myself until last week.  I was after cheap meat for stock, and Dave the butcher suggested I use a combination of brisket with soup bones.  After I’d made the stock, I was astounded by the flavour and tenderness of the leftover meat.

So I decided to experiment.  I laid two kilos of the meat into my pressure cooker and covered it with a tin of tomato pulp, water, carrots, onion, a couple of bay leaves, fresh oregano, and seasoned with salt and pepper.  I brought the cooker to full pressure, kept it there for twenty minutes, then turned the heat off and let it sit for a couple of hours.

When I opened the pot, the brisket was literally falling off the bone.  I carefully removed all the fat and sinew, and shredded the meat.  The two kilos of raw product yielded about 600 grams of meltingly tender, incredibly flavourful cooked meat.

The cooking liquid was strained and refrigerated – once cold, I removed and discarded the hard layer of fat, then portioned the stock into containers for freezing.  It will make a wonderful base for future soups or paella.

The brisket meat offered a multitude of options – we considered turning it into a pasta sauce, or lasagne filling, or simply eating it pulled meat style in a sandwich.  In the end, we made a simple moussaka, recooking the meat with tomatoes, zucchini and oregano flowers and then layering it with sliced boiled potatoes, oven roasted eggplant, and topping with a white sauce…

I feel like I’ve discovered a new ingredient!  Next on the agenda – beef brisket meat pie!

Posted in Recipes | Tagged | 79 Comments »

Friday Sushi

February 24, 2012 by Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

I figured it was my turn to shout Big Boy lunch, so we headed out to Manmaruya in Ashfield to eat sushi.

We started with an old favourite, the Salmon Avocado Sushi Fusion.  The salmon roe and Japanese mayonnaise make this very moreish…

We then splurged on the gourmet sushi platter, with sea urchin, Ikura caviar, scampi, Wagyu beef, squid, roasted eel, salmon, tuna, kingfish and prawn…

The scampi (an Australian crustacean similar to a baby lobster) and the sea urchin are my favourites, so Big Boy very kindly let me have those…

It’s such a treat to go out with just Big Boy for lunch – he’s more adventurous in his eating than Pete or Small Man, so we always get to try the exotic and interesting!

Posted in Food & Friends | Tagged , | 45 Comments »

Johnny’s Offcuts and Jacques’ Potato Ragout

February 22, 2012 by Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

Folks, I’m going to let you in on one of the Inner West’s best kept foodie secrets…

My friend Johnny runs DeliVer, a thriving, passionate business supplying high-end deli produce to restaurants and providores all across Australia.  Apart from a huge range of cheese, oils and antipasto, he also supplies premium small goods – San Daniele Prosciutto, Spanish Jamon, Bresaolo and the like – all carefully hand sliced and vacuum packed for distribution and resale.

Johnny is very particular about what goes into each packet, and as a result there are often large quantities of leftovers and offcuts. These are sold at a discounted price through his retail cheese shop in Haberfield.  They’re seriously cheap – often up to 80% off their retail cost.

Let me give you a couple of examples – off the bone leg ham retails for $49.99/kg and Coppa, a traditional cured pork, for $39.99/kg – the offcuts of both are just $8.99/kg.  The bags of Coppa below cost me less than $3 each…

For $19.99/kg, I often pick up end pieces of San Daniele prosciutto (normally $79.99/kg) or Spanish Jamon ($89.99/kg)…

These are only available through the Haberfield shop and definitely worth looking out for if you get a chance to visit.

I normally use the meats in filled breads, pasta soups or as pizza topping, but I was delighted to come across this Jacques Pépin recipe which seemed a perfect foil for them.  It’s from his latest cookbook and television series…

The potato ragout is, according to Jacques, a simple dish from his childhood.  It’s easy to prepare, and originally made with strips of rinsed salt pork or pancetta.  Jacques wrote that it could also be made with leftover ham or sausage, so it was simple to extrapolate  to Johnny’s offcuts…

I used 300g of mixed meats, chopped into strips…

Potato Ragout
(based on a recipe from Jacques Pépin’s Essential Pépin)

  • 300g pancetta or assorted cured meats
  • 1 tablespoon peanut oil
  • 2 large onions, cut into 8 wedges
  • 2 tablespoons plain (AP) flour
  • 1 tablespoon crushed garlic
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 1 sprig fresh thyme
  • 2 – 3 cups water
  • 1 kilo waxy pototoes, peeled and cut up if large

1. Cut the meat into strips.  Heat the oil in  a large saucepan or dutch oven and fry the meat until well cooked and crisp, stirring occasionally.  Add the onions and cook for a few minutes more, until lightly browned.

2. Add the flour and stir well, cook briefly until brown, being careful not to burn it.  Add the garlic, bay leaves, thyme and water, stir and then bring to a boil.

3. Add the potatoes and bring back to a boil, then turn the heat down and simmer, covered, for about an hour, or until the potatoes are soft and well cooked.  Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary.

A comforting, easy to eat dish which, thanks to a healthy supply of Johnny’s offcuts in the fridge, I can now make at a moment’s notice!

Posted in Recipes | Tagged , , | 67 Comments »

Sour Cherry Crumb Cake

February 20, 2012 by Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

On Saturday mornings, while both our sons are at swimming, my friend Kathryn will often pop in for a cup of tea.

Yesterday, as we chatted, I assembled and baked this crumb cake, using frozen sour cherries that I’d excavated from the deep recesses of my freezer.  It was the weekend, I was debriefing with a beloved friend, and I was baking.  It was a restorative bubble of peace and camaraderie at the end of a chaotic week.

This easy Nick Malgieri recipe comes from The Modern Baker and was originally written for fresh blueberries.  It uses a large quantity of butter and flour, and the raw dough in the pan weighed a ton.  Despite that, the finished cake was light and gentle eating.

The original recipe can be found here.  In case it’s of use, here are my metric conversions of the ingredients list:

Crumb Topping:

  • 300g plain (AP) flour
  • 5g (1 teaspoon) baking powder
  • 75g sugar
  • 70g light brown sugar
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 180g unsalted butter, melted

Cake Batter:

  • 250g unsalted butter, softened
  • 330g sugar
  • 3 large (59g) eggs
  • 10gl (2 teaspoons) vanilla extract
  • 375g plain (AP) flour
  • 10g (2 teaspoons) baking powder
  • 3 egg yolks
  • 60g (¼ cup) milk (or ¼ cup buttermilk)
  • 450g (3 cups) of pitted sour cherries (defrosted first, if frozen)

The cake was baked in a 23 x 33cm parchment lined pan, and took a little longer than the recommended baking time of 40 minutes.

This is a very large recipe, so it’s worth ensuring you have lots of willing eaters before attempting it.  Our cake fed the neighbours, our dinner guests both last night and tonight, as well as Pete’s family at brunch this morning.  There are still several pieces left for afternoon tea tomorrow!

Posted in Recipes | Tagged , , , | 69 Comments »

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