Archive for » December 6th, 2007«
Up until now apart from my own recipes I have only posted those of recipezaar members, only because I am a member, and find it fun to try new recipes and to be able to write a review on their site.
I have been looking through the blog sphere, at other peoples blogs and thought it about time I tried some of their recipes to post on my site as well.I read this one the other day and thought it sounded yummy, so I decided to make it tonight. My son thought it was delicious and that is saying something for him. I did add 1 teaspoon of vegetable stock, this was only because since moving to Switzerland I have not found a good brand of fish stock, that I can buy at the supermarket, I find them very bland. I added the fish stock as well as the vegetable stock granules, so please taste because I am sure it would be fine if you had a good hearty brand of fish stock.
Very easy to make with a wonderful flavour, I did add a little more chili flakes, only personnel preference. I agree fennel is a wonderful vegetable that adds a really lovely flavour. If you enjoyed this recipe and would like to view this persons blog, with other great recipes I am looking forward to trying click here.
Ingredients
1 onion finely chopped
1 small fennel bulb finely chopped.feathery bits reserved
oil
2 garlic bulbs chopped (i crushed mine.)
2 thyme sprigs
pinch chili flakes (I added more.)
1litre /2 pints fish stock
350ml /12fl oz passata
65g/3oz small pasta shapes
15g/6oz crab meat
115g/4oz peeled cooked prawns
1large bottle grilled red pepper in oil,drained and chopped (I used a 270g jar of peppers in oil and herbs, still drained as stated.)
salt and black pepper
pinch of sugar (optional)
Method
1. Fry the onion and fennel in a little oil until soft and translucent,adding the garlic,thyme and chili flakes towards the end of cooking.
2. Pour in the stock and passata,bring to the boil then simmer for about 15 minutes.
3. Return the soup to the boil ,stir in the pasta and cook according to the packet instruction.
4. Lower the heat and add the crab,prawns and red pepper and heat through gently.Do not boil.
5. Season adding a pinch of sugar if necessary. Sprinkle over the reserved fennel tops.
To Serve: I topped mine with some grated Parmesan cheese and a few prawns to garnish, sprinkled a little parsley over and topped with one feathery bit of fennel for garnish. I also cut up a nice crunchy french baguette to soak up any extra soup. Scrummy
All photo’s taken by me unless otherwise stated.
Here is a recipe I have seen on a few sites, some have all the same ingredients, some vary. I have adapted the recipe for what Ingredients I can get in my part of the world and also for personal taste. It sounds like there are a lot of ingredients, with a lot to do to make it. It is not as a big as it sounds and the end result is gorgeous, with all the flavours really coming together to create a wonderful dish.
Ingredients
4 Ostrich steaks (200g each approx)
Seasoned Rub
1 1/2 Tablespoons Pumpkin seeds (mine were salted you may want to add a little salt to rub if yours are plain.)
1 Inch of cinnamon stick
1/4 Teaspoon black peppercorns
1/2 Teaspoon ground coriander
3 Cloves garlic, quartered
2 Teaspoons Sugar
2 Tablespoons Dark roasted coffee, freshly ground
Sauce
2 Tablespoons Butter, unsalted
2 Tablespoons Shallots, finely chopped
1 Clove garlic, crushed
200g Mushrooms, sliced
2 Cups water
2 Teaspoons Chicken stock granules
1 vanilla bean, split
1 Teaspoon cornflour
1/2 Cup cream
Wild Rice with Asparagus
250g Wild rice
2 Teaspoons vegetable stock granules
Water to boil rice
500g Asparagus
2 Tablespoon fresh parsley, finely chopped
2 Tablespoons grated Parmesan
Method
1. Place pumpkin seeds, cinnamon and peppercorns in a shallow baking pan and bake in a preheated 350-degree oven until the pumpkin seeds release their oils and turn light brown.
2. Remove and grind in a food processor or blender with remaining rub ingredients. Grind to a fine powder.
3. Rub the mixture onto steaks and refrigerate 2 to 4 hours.
4. Approximately thirty minutes before serving, melt butter in a pan. Add shallots, garlic and sliced mushrooms and stir over medium heat until shallots and mushrooms soften about 10 minutes. Add water, stock and vanilla bean and bring to a boil over high heat. Continue to boil the mixture until it has reduced slightly, about 1/2 – 3/4 of a cup. Mix a little water with cornflour add to sauce until it thickens, remove the vanilla bean. Split bean in half and scrape insides into the sauce.
5. While sauce is reducing, Heat grill or pan to medium high heat. Add steaks, Grill on both sides, I had very thick steaks so I cut them in half to make cooking time quick. I only cooked them a few Min’s per side. Ostrich meat is very low in fat and toughens quickly and is best cooked no longer than necessary.
6. Finally add cream to sauce and stir over heat until sauce is warm. Serve immediately over steaks.
Method for Wild Rice with Asparagus Tips
Asparagus is not the cheapest vegetable, and it is quite a waste to just use the tips. I do this for presentation if I am just cooking this for my family, I chop the usable part of the stems and use that as well as the tips. If you do this you will not need as many grams I would say 250-300g max. Also a tip if making for a dinner party or special occasion and you want to just use the tips so it looks nicer, I plan on making asparagus soup or quiche or any recipe that you can use asparagus in. So I use the stems the next day so as not to just waste them.
1. Fill saucepan with enough water to boil rice in, add chicken stock and bring to boil. Add rice and boil until tender, drain.
2. Boil, steam or microwave asparagus until just tender, stir asparagus and parsley into rice.
To Serve: Place steaks on plates pour sauce over the top, serve rice on the side sprinkle a little Parmesan cheese over rice.
All photo’s taken by me unless otherwise stated
