Recipes

Garlic, Lime & Chilli Marinated Steak

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Lime & Chilli Steak

Another recipe I’ve had hanging around for a couple of years and only just got around to trying. This is one of Wine Spectator’s Dining Tips: weekly recipes that are featured along with a wine.

Somewhat unimaginatively this dish is paired with Malbec (well, I guess the Argentinians do eat a lot of steak …) but I suggest you be careful what you choose – especially if you’re a fan of heavy handed chilli.

The marinade is a little bit of work but well worth it.

For the two of us, I took about ¼ cup of good quality extra virgin olive oil. Put it over a very low heat. Take some garlic (to taste – I used a couple of generously side cloves and a smattering of smaller ones – use more than you think!) and just crush it with the back of a knife. No need to chop or mince. Put the garlic in the oil and allow it to heat through very gently. Don’t allow the oil to heat up too much – you certainly don’t want any sizzle or any burnt garlic.

Cook over a very low heat for at least 5 minutes. Add chilli flakes (again, to taste) and cook for a further minute before removing from the heat. Allow to cool for a couple of minutes and then add the juice of two limes. Return to the heat, bring to a simmer and then remove from the heat.

You are now finished with the whole on/off the heat business!

When the lime and oil mix has cooled, stir in a scant tsp of ground cumin and 2 tsp of ground coriander.

Your marinade is now done! There’s no reason why this won’t keep (in the fridge) for a day or two.

Marinate your meat for at least half an hour before cooking. When you come to cook the meat (griddle pan, frying pan, BBQ – whatever suits you), make sure you leave the crushed garlic cloves in the bowl – if you try cooking them they’ll only burn and things will taste bitter. However, you can (and, indeed, should) use the leftover oil to baste the meat in the pan.

Serve with accompaniments of your choice. This tasted absolutely fantastic – a lovely balance of chilli heat and sourness from the limes. Definitely a marinade we’ll be revisiting often when BBQ weather comes around again.

Smoked Salmon Tart

- Alex 2 Comments

Hot Smoked Salmon Tart

This is a super easy tart recipe that can be on the table in about half an hour or so. It also makes use of hot smoked salmon – the type that you buy in a large chunk, not the fine slices. You could use any smoked fish, really. If you’re in the northern hemisphere smoked mackerel would work really well, particularly with the horseradish.

The original recipe comes from Woman and Home. It’s an English magazine (and one I confess I never read while I lived there) and the recipes usually look really good but are relatively little work.

When I made this tart I cheated and used some leftover (bought!) pastry that we had hanging around the fridge – you can probably tell from the photo that it was a combination of shortcrust and puff! Of course, you can make your own shortcrust, or perhaps even buy a ready made tart case. How much work you want to put in is your choice!

Remove the skin from the fish (if it’s still on) and flake the fish into the tart case. You want reasonably even sized pieces but don’t get too hung up about that. You definitely want an even covering of fish though!

For the filling, I used 1 egg yolk and 4 eggs, 1 generous tsp of horseradish and about 2 generous tbsp of cream. Whisk this all together and season with pepper (remember – no salt! Don’t add salt to uncooked eggs!). Gently pour over the fish and place the tart in an oven preheated to 170°C (fan, 190°C normal). Bake for about 30 minutes or until the filling is puffed, golden and firm to touch.

In summer, you could serve this tart at room temperature with a salad. However, as it’s decidedly not summer here, it was served on hot plates with steamed veggies.

Either way – perfect quick supper food!

Sausage Casserole Recipe

- Alex 4 Comments

Hairy Bikers' Sausage and bean casserole

Another hearty dinner for you – one that’s perfect to make on the weekend and have stored up for a mid week dinner.

This recipe comes from the Hairy Bikers’ Mums Still Know Best – a book that’s choc full of very tasty looking, very British recipes.

This is a great recipe because you don’t need to worry too much about quantities. You’ll know if you love beans – and if you don’t, well then you should leave them out and, if you can be bothered, substitute with something else.

Begin by heating some oil in your favourite casserole dish. Chop the sausages into large chunks and fry until browned. Remove from the pan, and fry up some chopped bacon. When that begins to crisp up, remove that and set aside with the sausages.

In the pan (which by now should have a lovely fatty, meaty bottom), fry some finely sliced onion. As the onion softens, add garlic to taste and fry for a couple of minutes more. Now add in chilli powder (or smoked paprika) and cook for a few seconds longer to cook out the spice.

Now add in a tin of crushed tomatoes (note – try to buy Australian!), some chicken stock, tomato purée, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar and some dried oregano or thyme. If you’re cooking for two people, let’s say you’re using 6 sausages (you want to have leftovers, trust me), so use 300mL chicken stock, 2 tbsp tomato purée, 1 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce and sugar to taste (I always use far less than specified in recipes so let’s say 1 tsp).

Bring this mix to a simmer and add the sausages and bacon back into the pan. Add enough water (or a 50-50 water/white wine mix) to cover everything.

Partially cover the pan and simmer for at least 20 minutes. When you’re ready to eat, drain and rinse a can of butter beans or cannellini beans and add the beans to the stew. Cook for a further 10 minutes (minimum) and serve with plenty of piping hot, buttery mash.

The picture of this casserole in the book shows a very dry looking dish. Personally, I’m a big fan of plenty of sauce – if things are looking too dry for your tastes you can add passata or stock or more wine. However, if you want less sauce, then hold back on adding all the stock and only add as much liquid as you feel necessary.

This is one of those dishes that keeps and reheats well – there’ll be no problem making it on a Sunday and having it for Tuesday supper (not to mention left overs for lunch the next day).

As a bonus, it’s almost a one pot dish and it’s super easy. Well done, Dave and Si!