Sunday, November 30, 2008

Weekend Herb Blogging #161 Hosting



Ivy from Kopiaste is our host this week.

To participate:

Post about any herb, plant, fruit, vegetable or flower - I encourage participants to read the rules to ensure that your post does qualify. Please include a link to your host and to this announcement post.

Send an email to ivyliac AT gmail DOT com with WHB#161 in the subject line and the following details:
  • Your Name
  • Your Blog Name/URL
  • Your Post URL
  • Your Location
  • Attach a photo: 300px wide
Emails must be received by:
  • 3pm Sunday - Utah Time
  • 9pm Sunday - London Time
  • 8am Monday - Melbourne (Aus) Time
You can also check out who's hosting for the rest of the year at this post and find information about hosting WHB.

Caramelised Vidalia Onions

Scott from The Real Epicurean is hosting this edition of Weekend Herb Blogging and celebrating some rather special news while this week I'm celebrating the arrival of the new season of Vidalia onions

Vidalia onions© by Haalo


When I spotted these beauties at Mow's at Prahran Market it was the cause of great happiness. It's probably been a good 10 months since they were last available here and I was an immediate fan from the first taste.

Vidalia Onions hail from Vidalia, Georgia and are named after the town. They are a sweet tasting onion first discovered in the 1930's. It's said that you can eat them like an apple, though I must admit, I haven't actually tried that.

The onions I have are grown in Queensland so I can't really judge whether or not they are exactly the same as those that are grown in Georgia.

When it came to finding something to do with these onions, one thing immediately came to mind. It's a sweet onion why not highlight that sweetness through low slow cooking - a naturally sweet form of caramelised onions.

Caramelised Vadalia Onions© by Haalo


Caramelised Vadalia Onions

1 kg Vadalia Onions, sliced finely
knob of butter
olive oil

There are a lot of recipe out there that incorporate sugar in the process of making caramelised onions. This is something that I'd never encountered. As most of cooking evolved from what my mother taught me, I base this treatment on her recipe and her recipe is simple - all you need is time and caramelisation occurs naturally, whatever onion you use.

Over a low heat, place a good glug of olive oil and a knob of butter into a heavy based pan. Once the butter has melted, add the onions. Stir well to coat and let the onions slowly cook. It's important to keep stirring to ensure that they don't stick to the bottom of the pan or that they colour too quickly. You want them to slowly sweat and release their natural juices.

You'll start off with a huge pot but as time passes they will reduce in volume but the cooking juices will greatly increase.

These onions took a little over an hour to reach this stage - an even colouring, soft and sticky and bathed in that beautifully intense but sweet juice.

When they are cooked, store them in the fridge in a sealed container.

With these caramelised onions I made a variation of the French dish, Pissaladière (it's an onion and anchovy tart). I've used my pizza dough as the base, rolled ultra thin and shaped in a shallow rectangular baking tray.

pizza with caramelised onions© by Haalo

This isn't anywhere near as dense as a true Pissaladière - the onions only sparsely cover the base, intermingled with a little shredded Provolone. Rather than forming diamond patterns with the anchovies, I've laid them out on the diagonal in one direction only and filled the gaps between these rows with wafer thin slice of par-boiled potato. With a final sprinkle of Provolone, it's baked in the oven until golden.

pizza with caramelised onion, potato and anchovy© by Haalo


There's just enough anchovy to give you that flavour hit but not overwhelm - it's then tempered with those sweet caramelised onions and the neutral flavour of potato.

Serve it straight from the oven or if you can resist, serve it at room temperature.



Weekend Herb Blogging is now housed from this site and for further information on this event, please check out the following posts:

General Information
The Rules
Who's Hosting
Year Four Archives

Saturday, November 29, 2008

Pizza

It's actually quite surprising and rather remiss of me but I've never written about pizza dough. I suppose like many things, we all have our own special recipe.

This recipe is one that has changed over time - there's been experiments using different flour types and over the latter period, the addition of fine semolina into the dough. I've found that the type of flour wasn't the main factor in the quality of the dough but it was in fact, the semolina.

I'm not sure what it is but semolina just gives it a bit more character and a bit more elasticity. I've tried variations from 50% to nothing and I've finally settled on this proportion of 70% flour and 30% semolina.

When it comes to making the actual pizza, the thinner the base the better. There's no stuffed double crust monstrosities to be found. They are not pizza, they are tarts.

When it comes to toppings, less is more. If you can't fold your pizza, it's either too thick or you have too many toppings. If you look at a classic pizza - the Margherita, tomato, basil and mozzarella, it works because it follows the less is more principle. The ingredients are fresh and taste fresh, they co-exist and compliment and they don't overwhelm your palate. That pizza they advertise with 8 kinds of meat has 7 kinds of meat too many!

pizza with caramelised onion, potato and anchovy© by Haalo


Pizza Dough
[Makes 4 Pizzas]

350 grams plain flour
150 grams fine semolina
7 grams dry yeast
½ teaspoon sugar
sea salt
water

Place the dry yeast and sugar into a small bowl and add just enough warm water to form a runny paste. Let this stand for 10 minutes to activate. I like to do this to make sure that my yeast is still alive - nothing worse than making dough and then finding that the yeast was dead.

Sift the flour, semolina and pinch of salt together into a large bowl.

Add the yeast mixture and stir - continue stirring as you add enough water to form a soft, pliable dough.

Knead this on a lightly floured surface for a few minutes until smooth. Form into a ball and place in a oiled lined bowl to rise.

When the dough has risen you can go ahead and use it or you can cover it and place it in the fridge overnight or even for 2 days. Once it has risen it will pretty much keep that lift in the fridge.

When it comes to using this dough, just pull it out of the fridge 15 minutes or so before you want to use it.

Divide the dough roughly into four - take one section at a time and knead it gently into a ball and then roll out to form your pizza base.

I very rarely make round pizza, I tend to make them a bit more rustic looking and opt for a slipper or oblong shape.

pizza with cherry tomatoes, spinach, prosciutto©by Haalo

This pizza has a touch too many tomatoes on it but I love these cherry tomatoes especially when they've just been warmed through during the cooking time - baby spinach and prosciutto are the other ingredients

51DSC_4064.jpg

One of my favourites - a pizza bianco with potato, onion and gorgonzola.

Friday, November 28, 2008

Roasted Red Pepper and Carrot Dip

This is a dish that came together quite by chance - an excess of roasted vegetables and a need to do something with them.

I love the flavour of roasted red pepper (bell peppers to those in the northern hemisphere) and sometimes I can go a bit overboard and roast too many. They are also way to easy to eat and I was looking at a way of extending that pleasure.

Enter this idea to make a dip from them. To add some body I found a sympathetic vegetable in the form of carrot - after steaming them to take the edge off, they are tossed in to roast with the peppers. Roasting brings out the sweetness of the carrot and the vibrancy of colour.

To make the dip, these roasted vegetables, are blended with your choice of dairy product, feta, sour cream or in this case, ricotta. The dairy helps to extend and enrich the flavour and gives it an excellent mouth feel.


Roasted Red Pepper and Carrot Dip© by Haalo


Roasted Red Pepper and Carrot Dip

1 red capsicum/bell pepper
2 carrots, peeled, cut into chunks
2 garlic cloves
ricotta (or sour cream, or feta)


Cut the capsicum in half, remove the seeds and stem and place in a bowl along with two garlic cloves. Drizzle over with a little olive oil and a grinding of sea salt. Toss well to coat and place on a baking tray.

Cook in a 180°C/350°F oven until softened and the skin has started to blister.

During the last half hour of roasted, add the prepared carrots - steam them first for about 5 minutes to soften them.

When the carrots and capsicum are cooked, remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.

Peel the skin from the capsicum and garlic cloves and place in a food processor along with the carrot and process until almost smooth. Add in ricotta (or sour cream or feta) to taste and continue processing until amalgamated.

Place in a bowl and seal and store in the fridge until ready to serve.

Roasted Red Pepper and Carrot Dip© by Haalo


If your guests are like mine, they will be gobbling this up like there's no tomorrow and combined with those flat bread crackers, it's a sure fire hit.

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Gozleme

While meandering through the Australian Women's Weekly website I came across an interesting recipe for Gözleme. I should actually rephrase that, what was interesting was the recipe for the dough.

Usually you find the recipes involve yeast and seem to be more closer to pizza dough but this was totally different - only three ingredients, self-raising flour, salt and yoghurt!

Having all three ingredients on hand, I immediately tried it out.

Gözleme© by Haalo


Gozleme
Makes 4

200 grams plain yoghurt (I used Greek Yoghurt)
salt
250 grams self-raising flour, sifted (approximate)


Make the dough:

Place the yoghurt in a large bowl and sprinkle over with a pinch of salt. Stir the salt in well until the mixture is smooth.

Start adding the flour, stirring as you go - add enough flour to form a soft but not sticky dough. I ended up needing to add a bit more flour to get to the right consistency.

Knead the dough briefly on a floured board - form into a disc, wrap in plastic and store in the fridge for an hour.

Make the Gozleme:

Cut the dough into four.

Take a quarter, roll into a ball.

Gözleme© by Haalo

Roll the ball out on a lightly floured surface to form a circle - about 26cm/10 inch in diameter. You'll find the dough is very pliable and it shouldn't be that difficult to roll - it will be a very thin circle.

Gözleme© by Haalo

Fill half of the circle with your choice of fillings. In my case I used a mix of baby spinach leaves, provolone slices and paprika spiced sautéed minced beef with caramelised onions.

If you like to go more traditional then it's hard to go past spinach and fetta.

Gözleme© by Haalo

Fold the pastry over the filling and then seal the edge. It's important to have a good seal so the filling doesn't leak out.

Usually Gözleme are cooking on hot plates but I decided to try cooking them using my sandwich press.

Brush the surface very lightly with a little olive oil and place it, oiled side down on your hot plate. Give the other facing side a light brush of olive oil and then close the press.

They will cook in a matter of minutes and I find when using the sandwich press, the underside cooks quicker than the top. So once the underside is nicely browned, I flip to Gözleme over and cook until both sides have an even colour.

Gözleme© by Haalo

I know it's not the traditional way of cooking them but I do quite like those ridge-marks I get. Best of all they taste fantastic!

I'm thinking for those celebrating Thanksgiving and further on Christmas, these will be a great way of serving up those leftovers. Quick, easy and tasty - I don't know what more you can ask for. Don't just sit there, go make some.

Monday, November 24, 2008

Weekend Herb Blogging #160 Hosting



The recap for WHB #159 is now up and as usual there's a fascinating array of dishes - many thanks to Siri for hosting.


This week's host is Scott from The Real Epicurean

To participate:

Post about any herb, plant, fruit, vegetable or flower - I encourage participants to read the rules to ensure that your post does qualify. Please include a link to your host and to this announcement post.

Send an email to whb AT realepicurean DOT com with WHB#160 in the subject line and the following details:
  • Your Name
  • Your Blog Name/URL
  • Your Post URL
  • Your Location
  • Attach a photo: maximum 500px wide (no more than 75kb)
Emails must be received by:
  • 3pm Sunday - Utah Time
  • 9pm Sunday - London Time
  • 8am Monday - Melbourne (Aus) Time
You can also check out who's hosting for the rest of the year at this post and find information about hosting WHB.

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Blood Orange and Black Radish Salad

Siri from Siri's Corner is hosting Weekend Herb Blogging and this week I've found some rather unusual radish

Spanish Black Radish© by Haalo

This is a Spanish Black Radish - they come in either round or these elongated forms. Though the skin is dark, the flesh is pure white. You don't peel them, just wash them well to remove any dirt and they will be fine.

If you use a rough brush to wash them you'll get a streaky look as the skin is very thin. They are a winter crop - even though in a week it will be the start of summer here, judging on the current weather outside, you'd think it was winter at the moment.

There's a pleasant amount of heat in their raw state. I have read that they can be bitter but I didn't find that in any of the radish I tried.

Nutritionally you'll find Vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, C and Folate as well as Calcium, Copper, Iron, Magnesium, Manganese, Phosphorous, Potassium, Selenium, Sodium and Zinc.

When considering how to tackle these radish, I decided to take inspiration in part of their name and seek some guidance in the book 1080 Recipes by Simone and Inés Ortega. It's a book that is described as a "Spanish cooking bible" and true enough, I did find an appropriate radish recipe.

The original recipe calls for regular radish and orange but I've swapped that with the Spanish Black and Blood Oranges and I've eliminated the oil preferring to keep it fresh and rely on the juice of the oranges to form my dressing.

Blood Orange and Black Radish Salad© by Haalo


Blood Orange and Black Radish Salad

2 Spanish Black Radish
2 Blood Oranges
fresh walnuts, finely chopped
freshly ground salt
freshly ground white pepper


Prepare the Oranges:
You need to segment the oranges. First you cut a slice from the top and bottom of the orange and then sit it on your board. Take a flexible knife and cut away the skin and pith from the orange - following the curve of the orange will help you make a clean cut. When each orange is free of pit, take a small knife and cut out the segments - you need to leave the membrane behind, all you want is the pure flesh.

Do the segmenting over a bowl so to collect the juice as you cut and when all the segments are free, squeeze the remnants in you hand to extract any other juice.

Prepare the Radish:
Wash the radish well to remove any dirt and then grate the radish.

Assemble the salad:
Add the grated radish to the orange segments and juice - season with a little salt and pepper and gently toss to combine. Let this sit in the fridge for a few hours before serving.

When ready to serve, sprinkle over with a little finely diced walnuts, you could also add some freshly shredded mint if you like.

Blood Orange and Black Radish Salad© by Haalo


You'd be surprised just how refreshing this salad is - even when it's hailing outside! There's that lovely mix of sweet and sharp, nutty and warm, all up it's rather cleansing.


weekend herb blogging


Weekend Herb Blogging is now organised from this site and for further information on this event, please check out the following posts:

General Information
The Rules
Who's Hosting
Year Four Archives

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Cherry Chocolate Sponge Cake

It was a case of déjà vu when I spotted the latest edition of Australian Good Food Magazine.

magazines© by Haalo

Seeing these magazines side by side at the newsagent certainly elicited a slight chuckle. Is this an example of industrial espionage? It's going to be interesting to see what will be on the respective covers next month!

Besides a laugh they did remind me of my own Cherry Chocolate Sponge Cake and so I decided that I might as well join in on the act.

cherry chocolate sponge cake© by Haalo

The first of the cherries hit the market last week so there's no better time to indulge in this cake.

There's a couple of changes from the original, regular chicken eggs have replaced the duck eggs and I've topped the cake with a dark chocolate ganache - made by melting ½ cup dark chocolate with ¼ cup cream.

cherry chocolate sponge cake© by Haalo

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Meander Valley Clotted Cream

I have waxed lyrical about Meander Valley Double Cream in the past but what caught my eye this morning made my heart skip a beat. Were my eyes deceiving me or was that really clotted cream?

Oh my...it is clotted cream!

meander valley clotted cream© by Haalo


Clotted cream is a thick, rich cream that is covered by a distinctive yellow crust.

meander valley clotted cream© by Haalo

The crust is perfectly edible and it forms during the process of making clotted cream. The traditional method involves very slowly heating milk, without boiling, for about an hour. As it heats this crust forms. When the mixture cools the clotted cream forms underneath this crust.

meander valley clotted cream© by Haalo

This is certainly a cream to savour and is undoubtedly an indulgence but we all deserve a bit of spoiling sometimes. This isn't the type of cream you use to smother things, this is a type of cream that needs to be enjoyed for what it is. It's thick and luscious with a touch of sweetness.

I think a proper English tea, with jam and scones and this clotted cream is certainly in order.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Weekend Herb Blogging #159 Hosting



Many thanks to Heather for hosting WHB#158 - the delicious recap is up, so head on over to check it out.

This week's host is Siri from Siri's Corner

To participate:

Post about any herb, plant, fruit, vegetable or flower - if you are unfamiliar with the event or need to be reminded, do check out the rules. Please include a link to your host and to this announcement post.

Send an email to info.siri AT gmail DOT com with WHB#159 in the subject line and the following details:
  • Your Name
  • Your Blog Name/URL
  • Your Post URL
  • Your Location
  • Attach a photo: 300px x 300px
Emails must be received by:
  • 3pm Sunday - Utah Time
  • 9pm Sunday - London Time
  • 8am Monday - Melbourne (Aus) Time
You can also check out who's hosting for the rest of the year at this post and find information about hosting WHB.

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Avocado and Scallop Salsa

Heather from Diary of A Fanatic Foodie is hosting this edition of Weekend Herb Blogging and this week I'm looking at Avocado

Hass Avocado© by Haalo

To be precise, this is a Hass Avocado. Originating in the US this is the most commonly grow variety. What is rather amazing is that all Hass Trees can be traced back to one "mother tree" which unfortunately died of root rot at the age of 76 in 2002.

Hass Avocado© by Haalo

Hass Avocados are easy to recognise with their bumpy skin. They start out firm and green and as they ripen the skin turns a purple-black colour - when they are ready to eat there should only be a slight softness to the touch.

The key to any recipe involving Avocado is timing. It has to quick or else the avocado will discolour. This dish combines avocado with the sweet clean taste of scallop which is cured in a mix of lime juice and fresh chilli. The recipe comes from Shared Plates by Sydney Chef, Jared Ingersoll and it finds a perfect match in those flat bread crackers.


Avocado and Scallop Salsa© by Haalo

Avocado and Scallop Salsa

150 grams fresh scallops, roe removed
1 Avocado, diced finely
1 small red chilli, to taste
1 lime, juiced
1 teaspoon sesame oil
olive oil
freshly ground sea salt


This recipe is best made just before you want to serve it.

Prepare the chilli:
I used a bird's eye chilli. As I don't want too much heat I've left out the seeds and diced it very finely. Be careful in how much chilli you use as you don't want it to overpower the other ingredients, especially the delicate scallop.

Prepare the scallops:
The scallops I've used are these:

West Australian Scallop© by Haalo

Western Australian scallops that are sold without the roe. They are softer and thinner than say, a Canadian Scallop but they have that beautiful intense white flesh.

Dice the scallops into small cubes and place into a cold bowl along with the chopped chilli. Add the lime juice, sesame oil, a splash of olive oil and a grinding of sea salt and then give the mixture a stir.

At this stage you can now cut the avocado into a small dice - cut them to the same size as you did the scallop.

Give it a final gentle stir through and tumble into a bowl to serve immediately.


Avocado and Scallop Salsa© by Haalo

It's a dish that is well balanced - creamy avocado meets zingy chilli and acidic lime, the scallops have slightly firmed adding a textural element and the sesame oil brings another nutty note into play. Every mouthful is a little different.


weekend herb blogging


Weekend Herb Blogging is now organised from this site and for further information on this event, please check out the following posts:

General Information
The Rules
Who's Hosting
Year Four Archives

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Flat Bread Crackers

When looking through the pages of Jared Ingersoll's Sharing Plates I came across a rather interesting recipe for flat bread crackers. The dough is almost unbelievably simple and the finished product, these thin, crisp, odd-shaped fingers makes me wonder why you'd even buy those mass produced versions.

flat bread crackers© by Haalo


Flat Bread Crackers
[Makes a lot]

250 grams plain flour
pinch of sugar
pinch of salt
25 grams soft butter
¾ cup warm water


Make the dough:

Sift the flour, sugar and salt into a large bowl.

Place the warm water into a jug and add in the soft butter - stir until the butter has melted.

Pour the liquid into the dry ingredients - stir until it is all absorbed. Turn the dough out into a lightly floured board and knead until smooth.

Roll the dough into a ball, wrap in plastic and place in the fridge to rest for at least an hour.

Form the crackers:

Form a cylinder from the rested dough about 12 inches long - then cut in half. Proceed to cut each half in halves until you have cut about 30 pieces.

Shape each piece of dough to form a small finger sized cylinder and then roll it to form a thin, flat finger.


flat bread crackers© by Haalo

I find the thinner the dough, the more crisp the final result. Lay the rolled fingers onto a baking paper lined tray, brush with a little water and then sprinkle over with your desired flavouring.

I used poppy seeds, sesame seeds, white poppy seeds and black salt - you can use whatever you fancy like herbs and spices.

flat bread crackers© by Haalo

Bake in a pre-heated 180°C/350°F oven for about 8 - 12 minutes or until crisp and golden. Place then on a wire rack to cool.

It's important that they are crisp - if they feel soft they just won't keep very long. You can put any soft ones back in the oven to dry out.

flat bread crackers© by Haalo

They can be kept in an air-tight container for a few weeks but they seem to disappear that quickly that storage isn't necessary.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Capra Serenade

capra serenade©  by Haalo

It could be said that I love cheese but this next cheese loves you back - how can you resist the delightful heart-shaped Serenade from Capra Cheese?

capra serenade©  by Haalo

Cheese Maker: Capra
Cheese Name: Serenade
Location: 125 Tices Road, Mt Lookout


This has a double layer of ash - one surrounding the heart and the other straight through the center.

capra serenade©  by Haalo

All cheese made by Capra uses organic goats' milk from their own free-range herd.

capra serenade©  by Haalo

Much like their Velvet this has that same creamy, clean taste with the ash giving it another dimension. The flavour is quite distinct, I know my sister likened it to a blue cheese but I put it more towards a bitey vintage cheddar.

This cheese is now available at The Cheese Shop Deli at Prahran Market as well as the other places listed in my earlier post.

Monday, November 10, 2008

Weekend Herb Blogging #158 Hosting



Thanks go out to Wiffy for hosting WHB#157 - be sure to check out all the goodies on show in her recap here.

This week's host is Heather from Diary of a Fanatic Foodie

To participate:

Post about any herb, plant, fruit, vegetable or flower - the rules can be found here. Please include a link to your host and to this announcement post.

Send an email to heather.rascona AT gmail DOT com with WHB#158 in the subject line and the following details:
  • Your Name
  • Your Blog Name/URL
  • Your Post URL
  • Your Location
  • Attach a photo: 250px x 250px
Emails must be received by:
  • 3pm Sunday - Utah Time
  • 9pm Sunday - London Time
  • 8am Monday - Melbourne (Aus) Time
You can also check out who's hosting for the rest of the year at this post and find information about hosting WHB.

Saturday, November 08, 2008

Pickled Cabbage

Wiffy from Noob Cook is hosting Weekend Herb Blogging and after the excitement of last week, I've decided to keep things rather simple. I found exactly what I'd been looking for in the form of this lovely baby Cabbage

baby cabbage© by Haalo

Cabbage probably isn't the most loved vegetable in the word for some obvious aromatic reasons but I'm sure even the most hardened cabbageophobes wouldn't be able to resist its baby form.

These little cabbages range in size between an orange and a grapefruit and being young, the leaves are sweeter and more tender than their adult form. The best part is that buying it whole rather than buying a quarter of a regular cabbage you maintain all its nutrients. Once cabbage is cut it starts to lose Vitamin C.

Nutrionally, Cabbage contains Vitamins A, B1, B2, B3, B6, C, E and K as well as Folate and Panthothenic Acid. You'll also find Calcium, Copper, Iron, Magnesium, Manganese, Phosphorus, Potassium, Selenium, Sodium and Zinc.

As a cruciferous vegetable, it has been linked as aiding cardiovascular health and for women, there are possible benefits in lowering the risk of breast cancers.

The dish I'm making today is a favourite on the meze platter at The Press Club. The recipe comes from owner/chef George Calombaris and if you are looking for a cookbook that brings new life to classic Greek dishes then you should hunt out The Press Club cookbook.

A dish of pickled cabbage doesn't sound too interesting but believe me it is. The cabbage is marinated overnight in a mix of honey (use Attiki Greek honey for a more authentic result), vinegar and olive oil and served in its brine with a little garnish of chopped coriander.

pickled cabbage© by Haalo

Pickled Cabbage

1 baby cabbage (or ½ regular cabbage)
¼ cup honey
¾ cup vinegar
¼ cup olive oil
coriander leaves, chopped

Rip the leaves into odd sized pieces and steam until just tender. Let the leaves cool completely before proceeding.

Place the honey, vinegar and olive oil into a bowl and whisk until combined.

Place the cold leaves into a non-reactive container and pour over the brine - make sure the cabbage is completely covered. Seal and place in the fridge to marinate overnight.

When ready to serve, stir through a generous amount of chopped coriander leaves and spoon out into a serving bowl - make sure you include the brine.

pickled cabbage© by Haalo


It's quite a refreshing mix - the hint of sweetness from the honey combines with the tart vinegar, perfect for the warmer weather.




Weekend Herb Blogging is now housed from this site and for further information on this event, please check out the following posts:

General Information
The Rules
Who's Hosting
Year Four Archives

Thursday, November 06, 2008

Spanner Crab Croquettes

The fillies are all dressed in their finest in readiness for Oaks Day - a day when racing plays second fiddle to fashion. Just because you're dolled up in your designer gear, you still must eat something and that is where these little Spanner Crab Croquettes come in.

Self contained in a small cylinder, a combination of fluffy potato and freshly picked Spanner crab meat, with a hint of smoked paprika - these are very easy to eat. No mess, no fuss and they leave one hand free for your champagne!

Spanner Crab Croquettes© by Haalo

Spanner Crab Croquettes
[Makes about 30]

3 potatoes, boiled in the skin until soft
250 grams spanner crab meat
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
freshly ground sea salt
freshly ground white pepper
2 eggs
breadcrumbs

Make the croquettes:
Peel the potatoes and push them through a potato ricer - allow them to cool before moving onto the next step.
Sprinkle the cooled potatoes with paprika, salt and pepper, mixing it well - it is best to do this with your hands.
Add in the crab meat, carefully folding it through the potatoes.
Take spoonfuls of the mixture and roll into cylinders.

Crumb the croquettes:
Take the eggs and whisk them lightly with a fork. Fill a bowl with breadcrumbs.

Roll the cylinder gently around the egg, drain well and then place in the breadcrumbs. Gently roll the cylinder around the breadcrumbs until coated and place to one side. Repeat the process until all the cylinders are crumbed.

For extra crunch I double crumb the croquettes.

Spanner Crab Croquettes© by Haalo

Store these on kitchen paper lined containers in the fridge until ready to cook.

Either shallow or deep fry until golden. I like to shallow fry using a small sauce pan and I only cook about 3 at a time. This gives me much better control over the temperature of the oil and the speed at which the croquettes cook.

Once golden, drain on paper towels and serve while hot.

Spanner Crab Croquettes© by Haalo

A contrast of texture, crisp shell, fluffy interior couching that sweet crab meat. For something extra, consider serving these with a good aioli.

Spanner Crab Croquettes© by Haalo
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