STEAMED PORK BUNS AND SWEET PORK DUMPLINGS

I had a hankering for pork dumplings last night, as I was putting together my failsafe recipe tipping in my rice wine I noticed an interesting smell and on further inspection found that it was full of mould - can rice wine do this? I didn't think so! Lucky for those pregnancy hormones making my smell super sensitive otherwise I think it would have gone unnoticed (since I tipped it in soy sauce and couldn't see that it was black when it should be very light brown)!

So it was back to the drawing board and I created this beauty instead. I felt like dumplings but knew that they wouldn't filly hubby up. I remembered seeing a Jamie Oliver segment last week and he made pork buns, so I thought I would give them a go as well and they were delicious! I even had one for breakfast and am tempted to make them again for dinner tonight (that's a big statement!!)

PORK BUN DOUGH

4 cups plain flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tbs dried yeast
3 tbs sugar
1 tsp salt
1 C warm water

Combine most of the water, dried yeast and sugar in a bowl and allow to activate. You will know when this is happening when it starts to foam. Mix into the plain four, baking powder and salt adding more water as necessary until a smooth dough is reached, kneading for 5 minutes. Coat in oil and place in a bowl sitting in another bowl of warm water covered with a clean tea towel for 1 - 2 hours until doubled in size



WONTON WRAPPERS

2 C plain flour
1 tsp salt
1 egg
1/2 cup water

Beat the egg, water and salt together and mix into the flour until a smooth dough is reached, knead for 5 minutes until smooth and allow to rest for 30 minutes.

FILLING

500 grams lean pork mince
2 cups very finely chopped chinese cabbage
1/2 red onion very finely chopped
2 tbs vinegar
3 tbs sugar
1 tbs soy sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbs sesame oil
2 cm piece ginger grated

Combine all ingredients and mix well.

ASSEMBLY DUMPLINGS

Roll out wonton dough very thin, I used my pasta machine and got the dough down to setting 1. It is possible to do by hand but really who can be bothered? Cut into 4-5 cm strips and place a teaspoon of filling and fold into a dumpling shape. Steam for 15 minutes.

Rolled out dough

Place a teaspoon of mixture on strips of the wonton wrapper

Fold in half

Fold the top over

Bring the corners together

And again of the other side, to make an eye.

Waiting, ready to be steamed.

Delicious!

ASSEMBLY PORK BUNS

Punch dough down and divide into 8. Flatten the dough in your hand until the size of a teacup saucer. Place 2 tablespoons of filling in the center and fold into a circular shape. Place on a greased piece of greaseproof paper and allow to sit for 30 minutes. Place in a steamer and steam for 20 minutes.

Divide the dough into 8 portions and flatten to a tea cup saucer size.

Add a couple of tablespoons of pork mixture

Fold the top and the bottom together.

Pinch together the sides.

Bring each corner together of the diagonal to form a circle.

Place on an oiled piece of greaseproof paper. Allow to rest for 30 minutes.

Steam for 20 minutes.

So yummy!

MIDDLE EASTERN LAMB AND CITRUS SALAD

I think I have said it before, how much I love middle eastern food! This is no exception. The lovely soft braised meat covered in spices with bursts of sweetness and sourness, fluffy couscous and a zingy fresh salad.

INGREDIENTS

BRAISE
olive oil
6 lamb chops
2 onions sliced
8 cloves garlic crushed
1 tsp ground cumin
1 cinnamon stick
4 star anise
1 orange zest grated
2 tbs tomato paste
3 tbs pomegranate molasses
1 L chicken stock
handful Iranian/wild figs
1.5 C couscous prepared to package instructions just before lamb is finished.

SALAD
2 blood oranges segmented
1 tangelo segmented
1 ruby grapefruit segmented
1/2 red onion finely sliced
handful coriander leaves

Preheat oven to 160 degrees celsius. Heat oil in a pan and brown of lamb. Remove and set aside. Add onion, garlic, spices and orange zest and cook for 5 minutes until starting to colour. Add tomato paste, pomegranate molasses, stock and figs. Add lamb back and bring to a simmer. Cover pan and put in oven or transfer into an ovenproof dish and allow to cook for a couple of hours until lamb is lovely and tender.

Add all salad ingredients in a bowl and toss together.

Serve on top of couscous with the salad on the side.

CHILI & LIME BEEF AND NOODLE WARM SALAD

I love the combination of chili and lime. Citrus is one of my favourite flavours and partnered with the punch of chili is just divine and perfect for the warmer nights. Seeing as winter is lifting and gloriously sunny days and warmer evenings are starting to happen this was the perfect dinner dish!

INGREDIENTS

500 grams rump steak
MARINADE
4 cloves garlic chopped
2 limes zested and juiced
1 long red chili
1 stalk of lemongrass chopped
2 cm piece of ginger roughly chopped
5 coriander roots well washed
60 grams coconut sugar
60 mls vegetable oil
WARM NOODLE SALAD
200 grams rice noodles
vegetable oil
1 red onion cut into thin wedges
4 cloves of garlic roughly chopped
2 cm ginger julienned
2 tbs oyster sauce
2 long red chillies deseeded and sliced
200 grams green beans trimmed and sliced into 2cm battens
handful of coriander, leaves picked
handful of mint, leaves picked

Place all the marinade ingredients into a blender and blitz until smooth. Pour over beef leaving 1 tbs behind and allow to marinate for 30 minutes.

Pour boiling water over noodles and allow to sit while preparing the rest of the salad. Fry beef in a little oil to just under desired finish. Eg cook to rare if you like you meat medium rare. Remove from pan and allow to rest. Clean out pan and add a little more oil and add onion, garlic and ginger and cook stirring for 5 minutes until softened and starting to get some colour. Add oyster sauce, reserved marinade and beans and cook for a further 5 minutes, meanwhile slice up steak. Once beans are tender add drained noodles, steak and half of the herb and toss. Serve up and scatter remaining herbs over the top. Serves 2.

TURKISH BEEF AND SILVERBEET PIDES

There has been an exhaustion that has wrapped around me, and it's not just caused by pregnancy. Renovating and trying to keep up with a toddler is wearing me down as I have reached my third trimester. The passion and motivation to cook over the last few weeks has dwindled, as too has my energy. Dinners have become boring and mundane as I quickly slap a few things together in desperation to have something ready in time for dinner. Food is sustenance, and without it's quality present I have felt the impact.  So meal planning has come into play so there are no excuses for this dreary mumma come late afternoon. I know what is for dinner and I have all the ingredients on hand. I know a lot of people cook this way, but I have always been a cook on a whim sorta gal. I like to cook to the weather, and to what we feel like for dinner and not be confined to the constraints of a meal plan. But alas times are changing, as my energy is being redirected elsewhere, my thoughts less focused on food, and time being a precious commodity.

I love middle eastern food, it is one of my favourite cuisines, along with south east asian. The spices in middle eastern cooking, the soft braised meats, the meats that are barbequed over a wood fire, beautiful breads and all the fresh accompaniments encased by it's general simpleness YUM! This is my recipe for pides. There are two fillings here, a turkish beef and cheese and a silver beet and feta and this recipe makes 8 of each.

FOR THE BREAD:

500 mls milk
120 grams butter
3 tablespoons sugar
14 grams dried yeast
1350 grams plain flour
1 egg

Combine milk and butter in a small saucepan and bring to blood temperature and allow butter to melt. In 250 mls of warm water stir in sugar and and yeast and allow to activate over 5 or so minutes. You will know when activation occurs when the yeast starts to foam. Combine yeast and milk mixtures and add to flour and knead to combine. Leave in a warm spot for about an hour, until the dough has doubled in size.

BEEF AND CHEESE FILLING

30 mls olive oil
650 grams chuck steak in 1 cm cubes
1 large onion finely diced
4 cloves garlic minced
1 large red capsicum finely diced
1 heaped tablespoon tomato paste
2 tsp paprika
2 tablespoons fresh marjoram
1 dried chili seeds removed and crumbled
400 gram can of diced tomatoes
300 grams tasty cheese grated

Fry beef in oil until well browned, remove from pan. Add onion, garlic and capsicum and saute for 5 minutes until softened. Add tomato paste and paprika and toast for a couple of minutes. Add tomatoes and 100 mls of water, marjoram and chili and return beef to the pan. Simmer for 1 hour until beef is soft and tender and sauce has reduced and thickened. Season well and set aside.

SILVERBEET AND FETA FILLING

1200 grams of silverbeet
2 tbs olive oil
1 onion finely diced
4 garlic cloves minced
60 grams golden raisins (or regular sultanas if you do not have access to these)
200 grams danish feta (you could you the regular type, but I like how this almost melts into the silverbeet)

Trim and wash the silverbeet, leaving the steam in the leaf part and allowing a couple of centimeters of steam on each leaf. Finely shred the silverbeet. In a large pot, saute onions and garlic until soft and add raisins and cook for a couple of minutes. Add silverbeet and cover stirring occasionally, allow to cook for 10 minutes. Fold in the crumbled feta and leave to one side.

ASSEMBLY

Preheat oven to 200 degrees celsius. Divide dough into 16 pieces. With the egg make an egg wash by beating egg with a splash of water. Roll out on a lightly floured surface until approximately 15 x 25 centimeters.

FOR THE BEEF PIDE

Add a handful of grated cheese to the middle and bottom and then on top a couple of tablespoons of the beef filling, leaving a couple of centimeters of dough all around. Pleat the edges around the filling and transfer onto a greased tray. Brush the dough with egg wash and bake for around 20 minutes or until dark golden.

FOR THE SILVERBEET PIDE

Add a couple of tablespoons of silverbeet mixture to the middle of the dough, leaving a couple of centimeters of dough all around. Pleast the edges around the filling and transfer onto a greased tray. Brush the dough with egg wash and bake for around 20 minutes or until dark golden.

Serve immediately and these are perfect by themselves for a tasty lunch or dinner. The leftovers are going in my husbands lunch box Monday morning. They would pair up beautifully with some hummus or tzatziki, and a lovely salad of cucumber and carrot ribbons mixed with mint and coriander leaves and a zingy lemon dressing.

Silverbeet and Beef Pide

Silverbeet Pide

MEATBALLS IN A TOMATO ESSENCE

This is one of my husbands favorite way to eat our home grown tomatoes. It is a very easy and simple dish to prepare but does involve some cooking time.

INGREDIENTS
1 Kg Tomatoes preferable home grown
500 g mince beef preferable grass fed and premium
optional extras:
Tagliatelle
Sharpe cheese shaved

Dice the tomatoes and cook them very slowly over a very low heat with a little olive oil until juices run and evaporate. Preferably for an hour to an hour and a half. Roll mince beef into balls and fry off until sealed and colored  add to reduced tomatoes. Either serve as is with a salad and crusty bread or over tagliatelle and shaved cheese. The flavor from the tomatoes is insane!

slow cooking the tomatoes

Cooking the meatballs

Cooking the meatballs in the tomato essence

Dinner anyone?

HOMEMADE TACO SEASONING

I LOVE MEXICAN FOOD! My first job was in a Mexican restaurant, stemming after my stint in work experience i was nearly 15. My boss could see my passion for food and cooking, so she allowed me in the kitchen. I would cook fajitas, tacos, nachos (we had these awesome ones that stood up not lay flat, and we were only 1 of 3 restaurants in Victoria that serves them this way) burritos, enchiladas, quesidillas, toquitos, and many more Mexican goodies! I learnt a lot in my time working here, I thought  taco meat was made with mince, oh so wrong! I was also taught to use both hands in the kitchen, what a valuable lesson! So i have been searching for years and years to find out what meat she used in her tacos. I came across a recipe for pulled beef and I adapted it for my Mexican meat. You can use chuck/casserole beef, brisket or skirt steak to get the desired effect.

My Mexican Pulled Beef

TACO SEASONING - I use organic spices and herbs. You can usually get them from your local organic shop.

1 tbs chili powder (I like things HOT but if you family doesn't half this dose)
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder or flakes
1/1 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp oregano
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (i like things HOT but if your family doesn't please omit)

Mexican Seasoning

Mix together! I have been know to times this recipe by many so I have a stock pile on hand for a quick and easy dinner.

There are so many way's to use this powder, here are some of my suggestions

- Fry a couple of chicken breasts cut into strips, once coloured nicely add the spice mix, toast. Add a can of tomatoes and beans. Eat this as is or with rice. You can wrap in a burrito, enchilada, use it in a taco.

- Make frijoles (re-fried beans) by frying an onion and some garlic toast half the spices, add a can of red kidney beans and half a tin of tomatoes, roughly mash. Add a couple of tablespoons of roux (equal parts flour and butter cooked out) allow to thicken a couple of minutes serve as a side dish to your Mexican feast.

- Fry big chunks of chuck, brisket or skirt steak, add seasoning and toast. add 1 can of tomatoes and 200 mls of stock (chicken or beef). Cook for a couple of hours until meat falls apart. Remove meat from sauce and simmer rapidly until a very thick sauce is achieved add pulled beef and stir through sauce. You can use this meat in tacos, burritos, enchiladas, quesidialls, toquitos and under tacos.

Use it under Nachos

Nachos!