In my classes, I often tell people to rub their hands on their dry stainless sink to remove odours. This works for garlic, fish and onions as these products contain sulphur which is attracted to and binds with one of the components of stainless steel. Why buy a fancy cookware 'stainless steel soap' when you have a stainless steel sink? But do not use the blades of your stainless steel knives (that is a cutting remark!)
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Ginger is the rhizome (not the root) of the Zingiber plant and originated in Asia. It is now grown throughout Southeast Asia, India, West Africa and the Carribbean. Australian ginger is generally grown in the Sunshine Coast, Queensland and harvested in summer. When buying fresh ginger, it should be aromatic and plump with smooth skin. I find the best way to store it is in a slightly damp paper towel in the fridge. This will avoid it from drying out, however if not used within 1-2 weeks, it will develop mould. To keep it longer, peel it when fresh and store in a jar of sherry.
Verjuice is the juice of pressed unripe grapes. White balsamic vinegar is made from the 'must' of ripe white Trebbiano grapes in the same fashion as the standard dark balsamic vinegar except that it is not cooked/boiled as long and therefore is ready early while still pale. It will not age as long as the dark balsamic vinegars.
Yes, there are two types of fennel. The male bulb is slightly elongated and the female bulb is rounder and slightly sweeter thus making it better for raw salads. Roasting both male and female fennels, you will not notice the difference as fennel becomes milder when cooked. In summer, you will find that fennel is much smaller than the winter version.
Here is a recipe that we used in a Christmas class back in 2004. It is a great way of using up left over ham and delicious served with a dill pickle relish.
Ham Confit – Makes 1 cup 200g good quality ham, minced in a food processor (buy a thick slice or chunks) 2 eschallots, finely diced 50g butter 2 tblspns white wine 2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh sage leaves Freshly ground pepper 50g extra butter, melted and cooled slightly Melt 50g of butter in a small saucepan on low heat and add onion. Cook gently for a few minutes until clear yet lightly golden around the edges, stirring regularly. Add wine, turn up heat and cook until the wine is reduced by half. Add the ham, parsley and sage, season with lots of pepper and stir until it is all hot. Then cook gently on the lowest heat, stirring, for 10 minutes. Spoon the mixture into a ramekin or bowl and press down until dense and level. Pour melted butter over the top, ensuring that the entire surface is sealed. This will help it keep in the fridge up to a week. Before serving, remove the butter layer and serve the confit slightly warm to bring back texture and flavour. • This mixture can be converted to a sausage roll filling by replacing the butter with a beaten egg. e.g. Place minced ham in a bowl, add gently fried onion, one egg, parsley and pepper and prepare the rolls as per the standard puff pastry sausage rolls. • For extra festivity, either serve with star shaped toasts or fill cooked pastry cases with the warm ham confit and top with a little relish. Dill Pickle Relish – Makes 2/3rd cup This is a quick version of a relish: ¼ cup water ¼ cup white wine vinegar 1/3 cup sugar 1 bay leaf 1 clove 1 tblspn finely diced red capsicum (omit the soft centre bits) ¼ cup finely diced dill pickle cucumbers (approx 2 dill pickles) 1 tblspn finely diced pickled onion Freshly ground pepper and a pinch of sea salt 1 generous teaspoon cornflour 2 teaspoons cold water Boil together the water, vinegar, sugar, bay leaf and clove, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Add the capsicum, bring back to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the gherkins, onion, pepper and salt. Bring back to the boil and simmer for 2 minutes. Mix together the cornflour and water and add to the relish. Again, bring back to the boil and simmer for 2 minutes, stirring regularly. Remove the bay leaf and clove and allow to cool in a bowl. Don’t worry if it seems too thin as it will continue to thicken in the fridge. Keeps up to a week in the fridge or 1-2 months in a sterilized jar. • This relish is delicious with pork, silverside or cheddar cheese and is a jazzy lift to left-over roasts and barbecues. • A great sandwich relish. Bread Rounds Cut your favourite shapes out of sliced bread, brush them with melted butter and bake in a 180deg oven for approx 10 minutes, or until golden, turning halfway. When cool, keep in an airtight container for a day or two. Alternatively, freeze them and reheat lightly in the oven to crisp up again. • I love these bread rounds with pate and other spreads too. They are a great base for hors d’oevres for entertaining. A group of us attended a tour of the Flemington Markets. So many people are up and buzzing while we are usually still in bed! We sampled fresh produce such as pomegranate, wing beans, fennel, rockmelon and fresh peas. But one box of produce had us all stumped - even the distributor! They are Chinese red dates, known as jujube and are widely used in China and India. The dates that we were puzzling about were most likely grown in Western Australia.
Here is the recipe for a cake served at my Knife Sharpening Day which many people enjoyed with their coffee:
Ricotta and Cardamon Cake 1/2 cup sultanas 90g butter 3/4 cup caster sugar 250g ricotta cheese 2 eggs 1.5 cups S R Flour 1 tspn ground cardamon 1/2 cup milk Grease a 23cm cake pan and line with paper. Heat oven to 180 deg. Cover sultanas with boiling water and stand 15 mins. Drain and dry on paper towel. Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy and mix in ricotta cheese. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well between each addition. Stir in the sifted flour and cardamon alternately with the milk. Stir in the sultanas. Pour into the cake pan and bake for 40-45 mins or until cooked when tested. Stand cake in pan for 5 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack. Allow to cool and dust with icing sugar. We used both golden and black sesame seeds in the Hors d'oeuvres class for a deep fried prawn dish, I have received many queries as to where these curious little seeds come from. Sesame seeds come from the seed pod of the Sesame plant which has either yellowish or bluish flowers and grows to the height of 50-100cms. Because the pods open up noisily spitting out the seeds, it is said that this is the origin of the saying "Open Sesame". Black and golden sesame seeds are from different sesame plants and are unhulled while the white sesame seeds are golden seeds that have been hulled. The plants grow in the Middle East, India and East Asia and contain carbohydrate, protein and fat. Great energy food!
Gelatine is derived from the collagen (connective tissue) within skin, hooves and bones of mainly pigs but also cattle. It is common to use pork trotters in a stock as a natural setting agent when the stock is cool. (An alternative for strict vegetarians would be to use agar agar which is derived from seaweed.) Gelatine is low in protein, has no fat, no colour, no taste, no smell, low cholesterol, no vitamins and no carbohydrates or fibre. So there is no nutritional value. However, because it is low in fat, it is guilt free to use as a setting agent for desserts such as jellies and desserts.
Gelatine leaves are much easier to cook with than gelatine powder. Soak them in cold water for a couple of minutes until pliable. Squeeze out the excess water and stir into heated liquid. One leaf of gold class gelatine is equal to half a teaspoon of powder. For vegans, substitute gelatin powder with an equal amount of agar agar. This is a ground seaweed which sets at room temperature. Celery seeds come from a biennial plant called Smallage which is a wild celery with white flowers grown in mainly Europe across to Egypt . Smallage is bitter and needs cooking, however there are milder versions cultivated such as the common celery and celeriac.
To collect the seeds, the stems are cut before flowering and when dried, the seeds are removed. Celery seeds and leaves from smallage have medicinal values and as such are used for arthritis, inflammations, blood circulation and detoxification, gout, indigestion and allergies. |
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