kitchen love

We've not done much house-hunting since we sold this house, mainly due to the shortage of houses on the market. Estate agents assure us this will change once spring arrives. Meanwhile I've started thinking about how much stuff I'm going to have to get rid of. When we extended the house14 years ago I designed the kitchen myself, and my intent was to make it not just functional but with as much storage space as possible. So I'm so spoiled for cupboards and drawers that some things are seldom used but kept just because I've got the space, or they're behind glass and just for show.

I have two big pantries...

plus these...

plus this...plus these...

Now I'm not sentimental about houses and am looking forward to moving and living in a new neighbourhood, but there's no doubt I'm going to miss my kitchen dreadfully.

Meanwhile for the next few months we're making the most of it while we can.

We had this for dinner the other night...snapper with spicy yogurt marinade...cooked by Georgie. It was one of Jeremy and Jane Strode's recipes from this week's Good Living. It took no time to prepare and tasted fantastic. The recipe is here.

fish in a bag

For dinner the other night I cooked Jamie Oliver's Steamed Fish in a Bag which was very quick and easy and tasted really good - definitely a keeper! I altered the method slightly as I went along. Jamie's recipe started by mashing up the lime leaves with a pestle and mortar. I tried that but only succeeded in tearing them slightly. So I just blitzed all the ingredients into a paste with the stick blender and poured it over the raw fish.

Jude's Jamie's Steamed fish in a bag (serves 2)

6 kaffir lime leaves, cut up roughly
1 clove garlic, sliced
1 large red chilli, seeds removed and roughly chopped
3 cm piece ginger, roughly sliced
handful coriander leaves plus extra for garnish
grated rind and juice of a lime
1 T soy sauce
2 T dry sherry
2 T olive oil
2 thick pieces of snapper

Preheat oven to 220C. Place a large oven tray on the centre rack. Tear off a metre of foil (I used the wide one), fold in half, then open out and turn up 5cm all round to create a shallow "tray". Spray or lightly smear with cooking oil. Place fish on one side.

With a stick blender, puree all the ingredients except the fish together to form a thickish sauce. Pour evenly over the fish. Fold over top half of foil and seal the 3 open sides securely with a double fold. Don't fold the foil right up to the edge of the fish - leave a 5cm or so space so that the steam can circulate.

Place the parcel carefully on the hot tray and bake for about 12 mins. until cooked through. Garnish with coriander and serve over steamed rice.

fabulous fish

This was dinner last night - Tandoori salmon with cucumber & coconut sambal. It was another recipe from my stash cut out of past issues of food mags (in this case delicious), and it's definitely a keeper. It was quick and easy and tasted fantastic. The recipe is here

I must admit I omitted the saffron from the rice - I thought I had some in the pantry but I didn't - so I added a little turmeric for colour.

good friday birthday dinner

Georgie cooked a fantastic dinner for the 6 of us last night for Jeff's birthday. First course was king prawns with chilli and oregano :

Main course was baked flathead with roast potatoes and oregano :

and for dessert, strawberry granita with double cream :

It was the usual restaurant-standard fare we are used to since G. came to stay. All the recipes were adapted from Karen Martini's new book Cooking at home.

King prawns with chilli and oregano

16 very large raw king prawns

sea salt and pepper

150ml extra virgin olive oil

1-2 small red chillies, chopped

1 clove garlic, sliced

1 bunch oregano, leaves only

1/2 bunch flat-leafed parsley, leaves only

2 t grated lemon zest

lemon wedges to serve

Preheat oven to 220C or the grill to high. Cut prawns in half lengthwise leaving heads and tails intact, and devein. Place on a baking tray, season with s. and p. and drizzle with a little olive oil. Combine chilli, garlic, oregano, parsley, lemon zest and remaining olive oil in a food processor, season well and process to a paste. Bake or grill prawns for 6-7 mins. or until just changed colour. Top with the herb paste and serve with lemon wedges.

Baked flathead with roast potatoes, lemon and oregano (serves 6)

18 kipfler potatoes, very thinly sliced

9 golden shallots, finely sliced

9 cloves garlic, finely sliced

salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper to taste

6 T olive oil

300ml white wine

juice of 2 lemons

6 flathead fillets

Oregano dressing :

finely grated zest of 3 lemons

bunch oregano, leaves picked

1/2 bunch flat-leafed parsley

6 small red chillies, finely chopped (or to taste)

100 ml olive oil

2 cloves garlic

pinch sea salt

lemon juice to taste

Preheat oven to 185C and line a large baking dish with baking paper. To make the oregano dressing, combine all the ingredients exept the lemon juice in a food processor until a smooth paste. Stir in lemon juice. Combine the potatoes, shallots, garlic, salt and pepper and 3 T olive oil and arrange in the baking dish. Pour over the wine and bake for 20 mins. Rub the lemon juice and remaining olive oil over the fish, then season with salt and pepper. Place fish on top of potatoes and bake for 20-30 mins or until fish is just cooked. Serve drzzled with oregano dressing.

Strawberry granita with double cream

130g caster sugar

1/2 vanilla bean, split

350 ml water

handful basil leaves

400g strawberries, hulled and sliced

1 lemon, juiced

125 ml double cream

6 large strawberries extra, hulled and sliced

Combine sugar, vanilla bean and water over heat in a small saucepan, stirring until sugar has dissolved, then boil for 5 mins. Add the basil leaves, remove from heat and pour into a bowl to cool. Strain, discarding the solids. Puree the strawberries and lemon juice in a blender then strain through a fine seive. Add to the cooled syrup, mix well and pour into a shallow wide metal tray. Freeze for 2 hours, remove from freezer and drag the frozen ice crystals from the edges with a fork. Return to freezer for about 1 1/2 hours until set. Remove and scrape/smash the crystals again. Divide the cream among serving dishes, then spoon in granita. Top with a layer of sliced strawberries to serve.

delicious fish

Georgie is staying with us temporarily and I am happy to step aside when she insists on cooking dinner. Last night she made a yummy fish recipe from an old delicious mag. Unlike me who has been stockpiling every issue ever published, she clips the recipes she likes the look of every month and then throws the cut-up mag away. I should do the same...wonder how long it would take to go through five (?) years of them. I'd have to have another lot of LSL. And I'd end up with a big messy pile of loose recipes. Any suggestions welcome.


Fried Fish with Tahini Sauce (serves 4)

3 bunches English spinach, stalks trimmed
1 Tab extra virgin olive oil
1 Tab lemon juice
2 Tabs plain flour
1 tspn dried mint
8 small skinless whiting fillets
2 eggs, beaten
2 Tabs vegetable oil
1 tspn butter
mild paprika to dust
lemon wedges to serve

tahini sauce
1 Tab tahini
1/3 cup low-fat yoghurt
1/2 tspn ground cumin

For the tahini sauce, mix the tahini with 2 Tbs water, then whisk in yoghurt and cumin until smooth.
Wash spinach and cook in a large pan over med heat for 1 -2 mins. until wilted. Drain well. Toss in olive oil and lemon juice and keep warm while cooking the fish. Season flour with mint, salt and pepper. Coat the fish with flour mixture, then in egg. Heat the vegetable oil and butter in a frypan and fry the fish in batches over medium heat for 1-2 mins. each side until golden and cooked through. Arrange spinach on plates, top with fish, drizzle with tahini sauce and dust with paprika. Serve with lemon wedges.