Delicious Tomato Sauce

Simple, yet flavoursome. The key is to extract the flavours by careful frying to caramelize the ingredients.

Tomato Sauce
1 kg fresh tomatoes, peeled, chopped
or
1 x 425 g tinned tomatoes in juice
1 onion, finely chopped
1-2 garlic, finely chopped
3 T olive oil
1/2 t basil
1/4 t thyme
salt, pepper to taste



1. Using 1 T olive oil, fry the onion on gentle heat until light golden brown. Add more oil as needed. Allow around 30 minutes. Add garlic towards the end so as not to burn.

2. Remove the onion and garlic. Add remaining oil. Pour in the tomatoes and fry at high temperature until reduced. Lower temperature and fry until orange oil starts to separate and the mixture is thick. Return the onion and garlic.

3. Season with salt and pepper. Add herbs. Remove from heat.

Use the tomato sauce as a base for pasta sauce like marinara, and with chilli mussels.

Fettuccine Marinara
For 2 serves
300 g seafood (fish, prawn, mussel, squid)
2 t olive oil
1-2 c stock or water
1 batch tomato sauce as above
200 g fettuccine (dried)

1. Heat the olive oil in pan until smoking. Toss in the seafood and cook for 2 minutes until the flesh starts turning white. Remove.
2. Deglaze pan with stock or water.
3. Add tomato sauce. Cook until thickened.
4. In a separate pot boil the fettuccine for 10 minutes until cooked. Drain.
5. Add the seafood to the tomato sauce. Remove from heat and serve immediately over the fettuccine.

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Spaetzle

There are many ways of making Geman spaetzle noodles. The only way to make edible spaetzle according to John is by using his method which entails beating a batter to develop the gluten. The resultant noodles have a bite similar to al dente pasta. Here is a never blogged before method of making spaetzle which requires no special kitchen gadget.

1/3 c flour (approximately), for batter
1/4 c water
1/4 c flour, for dusting



Beat 1/3 c flour and 1/4 c water until the batter becomes stringy. Allow 5-10 minutes beating with a wooden spoon. When ready, the batter easily pulls into ribbons as pictured. Rest 30 minutes.



Place the remaining flour on a chopping board. Pour the batter over the flour.



Using a spatula, lift and slightly roll the batter lengthwise while patting in the flour.



Continue working with the spatula until all the flour is incorporated. The finished dough is soft and stretchy.



Dust a knife with flour. Cut the dough crosswise into 1 cm thick strips.



Immediately after cutting, throw the noodle strips into rapidly boiling water. Cook for 5 minutes. Drain. Serve with sausage and sauerkraut.

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Eggs

Australian eggs come in the following sizes:

		Jumbo 67 g	XLarge 61 g	Large 50 g	Medium 43 g
Shell	10.5%	7.0	6.4	5.3	4.5
Yolk	31.0%	20.8	18.9	15.5	13.3
White	58.5%	39.2	35.7	29.3	25.2
Edible	89.5%	60.0	54.6	44.8	38.5

Most recipes work well with "Large" eggs. However, for recipes calling for egg white foam, such as meringues, French macarons and chiffon sponges, assume Jumbo size unless otherwise stated.

The following table is the number of eggs required for 1 cup (250 mL):

	Jumbo 67 g	XLarge 61 g	Large 50 g	Medium 43 g	Small <43 g
Yolk	11	12	14	16	18
White	5	6	7	8	9
Whole	4	4	5	5	6

Swiss Meringue
150 g egg white
300 g castor sugar

1. Warm to 38 degrees Celsius in a water bath and remove.
2. Whisk until thick and continue until cool.
3. Bake at 100 degrees Celsius for 100 minutes.

French Meringue
150 g egg white
150 g castor sugar
150 g icing sugar

1. Whisk egg white to soft peak. Add castor sugar gradually while beating. Whisk for 10 minutes until thick and glossy.
2. Fold in icing sugar.
3. Bake at 100 degrees Celsius for 100 minutes.

Italian Meringue
150 g egg white
65 mL water
25 g glucose
300 g castor sugar

1. Boil water, glucose and castor sugar for 10-15 minutes until the temperature is 110 degrees Celsius. Sugar temperature at "thread" stage.
2. Start whisking egg white as syrup boils to 115 degrees Celsius. Add the syrup while whisking. Continue to whisk for 15 minutes until cool.
3. Bake at 100 degrees Celsius for 100 minutes.

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Char-grilled Aussie Beef Burger

Read the related post on "What is Australian Cuisine?"

How to char-grill or barbecue burger patties:

For Australian burgers, patties must be charred to perfection else they aren't dinkum. How to char-grill with cast iron griddle:

1. Preheat the griddle to hot. For cast iron grill pan, hot is around low-medium on an electric stove. When hot enough, water droplets sizzle and evaporate immediately to steam.
2. Rub oil from a paper towel.
3. Oil the burger patties with extra virgin olive oil. Do not pour oil on the griddle.
4. Cook the patties until moisture appears on the top before turning.
5. When cooked, the patties firm up. Remove and rest for 5 minutes in a warm oven.

For full instructions, check out this link. Instructions on using open coals are found here.

To make 2 Aussie beef burgers:

2 premium beef mince patties, recipe below, barbecued to Australian standards, ie charred
Italian inspired salad, with gherkins that kids hate, given below
Char-grilled seasonal vegetables, given below
2 fresh bread buns, best home made using recipe below

The ingredients are typical of flavours borrowed from Italian dishes, with a slight slant from Australian bush tucker ingredients, and Asian vegetables in place of lettuce.

To assemble the Aussie beef burger:
Slice bread buns in half and butter. Place until griller at 250 degrees Celsius for 5 minutes until crisp and golden. On the bottom bun half, place the char-grilled beef patties and vegetables. Carefully top with the salad vegetables and cover with the top bun half.

To serve the Aussie beef burger:
Skewer the burger to hold in place. Place on a plate. Serve with side sauces like Dijon mustard, chutney and tomato sauce.

How to eat an Aussie beef burger:
To eat the burger the Australian way as part of a BBQ, use both hands and chomp your way through. Make sure the TV or radio is turned on to a sports program. To eat the cultured way in a restaurant, remove the skewer, then carefully remove the salad half of the burger from the char-grilled half using the table knife. Eat with fork and knife, or carefully cut burger to bite size with the table knife in the right hand, and use left hand fingers to pick up the cut pieces. This gentile way of eating is a reflection of British heritage.



Aussie Burger Patties
250 g beef steak, minced
1 shallot, finely diced
1 garlic, smashed
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh herbs (home ground oregano, thyme, parsley)
1 egg, beaten
1 bread slice
1/4 t paprika or chilli flakes
1/4 t black peppercorn, freshly ground
pinch salt, pepper
pinch akudjura (bush tomato)
pinch mountain pepperleaf
1 t extra virgin olive oil, for oiling the patties

Mix all ingredients together after softening the bread with egg. Do not over mix: the burger should taste like steak with a meaty texture, not sausage mince. It is best to make the burgers fresh to avoid the marinated texture. This is the difference between the great gourmet char-grilled Aussie beef burger and the fast food burger. Just before cooking, oil the patties. On hot summer days, keep the patties in the fridge until ready to cook.

Salad
1 beetroot
1 t balsamic vinegar
1/2 t extra virgin olive oil
1/2 salad onion (red or white), slivered
1 T continental parsley leaves (home grown)
1 vein ripened tomato, sliced
2 pickled dill gherkins, sliced
2 slices quality cheddar

Boil the beetroot for 30 minutes until cooked. Cool, peel and slice. Dress with balsamic and extra virgin olive oil. Carefully stack the beetroot, onion, parsley, tomato and dill pickle over the slices of cheddar.

Char-grilled Vegetables
1 handful Asian greens (choy sum or bok choy)
1 capsicum, sliced into rings (slip in some chilli here)
1 onion, sliced into rings
salt, pepper

Wilt the Asian greens on the griddle. Char-grill the capsicum and onion rings. Remove from griddle. Season with salt and pepper.

Bread Buns
To make 4 x 100 g buns:
250 g (2 c) atta flour (wholewheat flour from Indian grocer)
1/2 t (2 g) salt
1 t (4 g) active dried yeast
2 t (10 g) sugar
170 mL warm water
1 t (4 g) Lecimax improver, optional for better rise and crust
1/2 t (1 g) lecithin granules, optional for longer shelf life
1/2 t vinegar, for faster yeast activity
1 t olive oil

Mix and knead dough as for bread making using the double proof method. Ensure the yeast is alive by activating with the warm water and sugar before mixing the dough. Divide into 4 buns. Sprinkle with sesame or poppy seeds. Let rise for about 1 hour until double. Bake at 220 degrees Celsius for 15 minutes.

Variations for Italian Bread

Add the following to the bread dough before shaping:
Flavour 1: 1 T chopped semi-dried tomato, 1 T slivered olives
Flavour 2: 1 T chopped dates, 1 t freshly chopped rosemary

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Confit Turkey

3 kg turkey legs (about 8)
15 g salt/kg or for longer storage, 50 g salt/kg

Confit Oil
1 tablespoon peppercorn
1 tablespoon juniper berries
1 bunch rosemary
1 bunch thyme
1 garlic bulb
12 pickling onion
10-12 bay leaves
2 L sunflower oil

Rub salt into the turkey legs. Let marinade for 30 minutes to 2 hours for eating within a week. For longer shelf life, cure for 36 hours to 3 days at 4 degrees Celsius in the fridge.

Rinse and pat dry with tea towel.

Confit 12-15 hours at 60 degrees Celsius in a 5L crocotte with lid.

Cool. Transfer to a seal container and store in the fridge.

To use, remove legs from the oil and roast at 220 degrees Celsius until the skin crisp.

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Confit Chicken

500 g very fresh organic chicken breast (2 pieces)
2 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
500 mL olive oil
1/2 cup chopped scallions

1. Marinade chicken in sugar and salt for 15 minutes.
2. Rinse off marinate and pat dry with paper towels.
3. Heat oil and scallions to 100 degrees Celsius. Watch for bubbles.
4. Pour over the chicken in a ceramic dish. Cover.
5. Cook in an oven preheated at 60 degrees Celsius for 2-2.5 hours.

Can store in the fridge for 1-2 weeks.

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Fermented Rice Crepe

Fermented rice crepe, also known as dosai, dosa, dhosa or even dosay, originates from India. It is often served fillled with masala or tumeric spiced potatoes. The addition of lentil or chickpea flours imparts crispness to the rice crepe.

Successful rice crepes rely on aeration by overnight fermentation, or a shortcut using bicarbonate soda and yoghurt. When fermented, the batter looks spongy and smells slightly acrid. The technique to cook rice crepe requires that the crepe batter be sprinkled or drizzled with oil or water when half cooked to aid the release from the cooking surface. Without this step, the crepe will stick and hardens with disastrous results. A non-stick or oiled cast iron skillet works best.

To make lacey crepe, scrape off half cooked batter before sprinkling with oil or water.




Recipe

150 g long grain rice
500 mL hot water
50 g white urid (lentil) or chickpea flour
1/2 teaspoon fenegreek, ground
1/2 teaspoon salt

Soak rice in hot water for 30 minutes.

Blend in an electric blender until the rice looks like granulated sugar.

Add the remaining ingredients and blend to porridge consistency.

Cover and ferment at 30 degrees Celsius. Try using a car parked in the sun, or an oven overnight after preheating to 180 degrees Celsius and turning off. Allow 6-8 hours for fermentation until the batter doubles in bulk.

Grease a cast iron skillet. Heat on 30% power (low to medium). When hot enough, water droplets will bounce.

Pour in some batter. With the base of a ladle, quickly distribute outwards using a circular motion.

When bubbles appear and start setting, sprinkle oil or water to aid release of the crepe.

To make paper thin crepe, scrape off the soft half cooked batter.

Cook until the edge starts to brown, around 1/2 to 1 minutes.

Add fillings like potato masala at this point.

Release the crepe by sliding a non-stick spatula underneath. Fold to desired shape. Unfilled crepe can be flipped over and brown.

Serve immediately with coconut cream and tomato salsa.


Potato Masala

2 potatoes, diced
1 carrot, diced
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon oil
2 onions, diced
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
2 spring curry leaves, optional
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder or 3 dried chillies, crushed
1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
1 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 peas
2 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt

Cook the potatoes and carrots with 2 tablespoons water in the microwave for 5 minutes.

Saute the onions. Add the spices and cook until aromatic. Add the rest of the ingredients and saute.

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Abalone

Export quality green lip abalone from Australia sells for $175 per kilogram. Most oriental dishes with abalone require braising or boiling for several hours to achieve the tender melt in the mouth texture. Canned abalone is often recommended in recipes.

Fresh abalone needs scrubbing to remove the green and/or black coating. When cleaned, the abalone looks creamy white. Before cooking, tenderizing with a mallet is recommended.

Thin slices of fresh abalone needs only a few seconds in a hot pan to cook. Should the abalone turn rubbery on over cooking, convert the dish into a soup or continue with braising.

Abalone is easy to confit in a flavoured oil. Chef Neil Perry's recipe cooks at 60 degrees Celsius for 2 to 2.5 hours, while Chef Stephanie Alexander's "Cooks Companion" indicates 125 degrees Celsius for 3-4 hours. The abalone texture at the end should be "soft as butter".

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