Category Archives: Dinner

Spiced Kangaroo with Coconut Cauliflower

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Many years ago I tried kangaroo for the first time. I loved it. Very similar to steak with a slight gamey taste. But, until recently, I had never tried cooking it myself. In Australia, kangaroo meat is now quite widely available in the supermarket in a variety of cuts. It’s low in fat and high in protein. Tonight I used kangaroo filets to make an all round thumbs up dinner.

Curry Spiced Kangaroo with Savory Coconut Cauliflower Spiked with Lime
based on recipe from MacroMeats
1 1/2 – 2 pounds of kangaroo loin or filet
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons curry powder
3 tablespoons olive oil or coconut oil
1 onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 cup unsweetened, shredded coconut (you can run coconut flakes in the food processor to shred it)
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 head of cauliflower, grated or finely chopped
Juice of one lime
4 green onions, thinly sliced
Sea salt to taste

Mix together 3 tablespoons of olive oil plus salt and curry powder. Rub all over the outside of the kangaroo loins.

Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add kangaroo loin and cook until browned on all sides, about 6 minutes.

Let meat rest 5-10 minutes then slice (I left mine whole) and sprinkle sea salt on top.

To make cauliflower, warm 3 tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat. Saute the onion and garlic for 1-2 minutes, then add the shredded coconut. Continue to sauté until the coconut is nicely browned.

I highly recommend this recipe.

Friday Night Indian Curry

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On Friday night I love takeaway, or something that seems a little like it. Home made pizza, a green chicken curry or Indian.

Tonight I was leaning towards Indian and ironically I found the most amazing recipe on the Sitar website. For those who don’t live in Brisbane, Sitar is where you would go to buy your Indian takeaway. I still can’t quite work out why they would be posting recipes but I’m very pleased that they did. The curry was spectacular!

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Best Madras Beef Curry
from sitar.com.au
2 tablespoons olive oil
1kg chuck steak, cut into 2.5cm cubes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup beef stock
steamed basmati rice, to serve

For the Madras Curry Paste :
2 tablespoons ground coriander
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon chilli powder (optional)
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 teaspoons grated ginger
2 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice

Combined the Curry Paste ingredients together in a bowl and set aside to add to the browned beef.
I skipped this step and used a good quality, ready made version.

Directions

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large saucepan over high heat. Add half the beef. Cook, stirring, for 2 to 3 minutes, or until browned. Transfer to a bowl.
Repeat with remaining oil and beef. Reduce heat to medium. Add spice paste. Cook for 1 minute. Return beef to saucepan. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute, or until meat is coated with paste.
Add tomato paste and stock. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low.
Cover and cook for 1 hour 15 minutes, or until beef is tender.
Cook, uncovered, for a further 15 minutes, or until sauce has reduced and thickened slightly.
Serve with rice.

The result was the most tender and delicious curry. Better than takeaway…that’s for sure!!!

Heart Warming Roasted Cauliflower Soup

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If you’re looking for a warming soup for dinner tonight I can highly recommend this Roasted Cauliflower soup. Just delicious!!!

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First step is to roast a medium sized head of cauliflower broken into pieces with 200g of potato, one whole onion sliced, and 5 cloves of garlic, unpeeled. Drizzle the vegetables with olive oil and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of cumin seeds then pop in a 200 degree Celsius preheated oven for 25 minutes or until cooked tender.

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At the same time add six middle bacon rashes to the oven and cook until crisp.

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Place bacon aside for garnishing.

Reserve one cup of roasted cauliflower and then blitz the rest of the roasted vegetables in a food processor or blender, removing the skin from the garlic first.

Add the purée to a saucepan with half a cup of milk and two cups of low salt chicken stock. Bring to the boil. Turn off the heat and stir through a cup of grated parmesan.

Serve soup divided between four bowls topped with reserved roasted cauliflower and crumbled bacon.

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A Winter Warmer

It’s been more than a little chilly in Brisbane over the last few days! A tummy warming soup was in order so I knocked up a pot of Minestrone.

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It was so delicious….better than I remember Minestrone tasting. The best part was there were left overs so I get to enjoy it again tomorrow!

Minestrone
based on recipe from taste.com.au
3 bacon rashers, rind removed, roughly chopped
3 carrots, peeled, chopped
20 green beans, chopped
1 desiree potato, peeled, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1L (4 cups) chicken stock
1 300g can butter beans, rinsed, drained
2 x 425g cans chopped tomatoes
1 cup pasta
Salt & freshly ground black pepper
Parmesan cheese, to serve

Place the bacon, carrots, potato and garlic in a large saucepan and stir to combine. Cook over high heat, uncovered, stirring often, for 5 minutes.
Add the chicken stock, butter beans, green beans and tomatoes to the pan, cover and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.
Increase heat to high. Add pasta and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 8 minutes or until pasta is al dente. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle into serving bowls. Add finely sliced parmesan cheese (I used a peeler to create fine curls). Serve immediately.

Moroccan Lamb and Feta Salad

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Tonight’s dinner…

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Moroccan Lamb and Feta Salad
from taste.com.au

2 tbs olive oil
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground cumin
Salt & freshly ground black pepper
2 (about 500g) lamb eye of loin (backstrap)
125g (1/2 cup) S&W Whole Egg Mayonnaise
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 tbs chopped fresh continental parsley
2 tbs fresh lime juice
1-2 small red birdseye chillies, deseeded, finely chopped
120g mixed salad leaves
150g feta, crumbled
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
55g (1/3 cup) pitted black olives, quartered
Fresh mint leaves, to serve

Combine the oil, coriander and cumin in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Place the lamb in a shallow glass or ceramic dish and pour over the coriander mixture. Turn the lamb to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 2 hours to develop the flavours.
Meanwhile, combine the mayonnaise, garlic, parsley, lime juice and chilli in a small bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge until ready to serve.

Preheat a barbecue or chargrill pan on high. Pat the lamb gently with paper towel to remove any excess oil. Cook on preheated grill for 4 minutes each side for medium-rare or until cooked to your liking. Transfer to a warm plate, cover with foil and set aside for 10 minutes to rest.
Place the salad leaves in a serving bowl. Add the feta, onion and olives, and gently toss until just combined. Thinly slice the lamb across the grain and arrange on the salad. Top with a dollop of the mayonnaise and sprinkle with mint leaves to serve.

Ham and Pea Quiche

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Quiche is always a popular meal in our house. I normally use whatever I have on hand tuna and corn, bacon and caramelised onion, spinach and feta….and tonight ham and pea.

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Ham and Pea Quiche
based on recipe from taste.com.au

2 sheets frozen puff pastry
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 brown onion, finely chopped
200g ham, finely chopped
1 cup frozen peas
Half cup of grated tasty cheese
3 eggs
1 teaspoon plain flour
300ml cream
1/2 cup milk

Preheat oven to 180°C. Lightly grease a fluted 3cm deep, 23cm (base), loose-base flan pan.
Line base and sides of flan with pastry. Trim excess. Prick the base of the pastry.

Heat oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add onion and ham. Cook for 3 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Cool. Sprinkle over pastry. Top with cheese and peas.

Whisk remaining ingredients and salt and pepper in a jug. Pour over ham. Place onto tray. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until set. Stand for 5 minutes. Serve.

Chinese New Year Pork Spring Rolls

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Tonight we celebrated Chinese New Year with lots of yummy Chinese treats. I was particularly proud of my pork spring rolls made with left over roast pork from last night. If you follow my blog regularly you’ll know that I’m always looking for something creative to do with leftovers.

Pork roast last night…

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…Spring Rolls tonight, albeit not the most perfectly folded…you might say somewhat rustic looking.

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I used the recipe for chicken and vegetable spring rolls on taste.com.au replacing the chicken thighs with my roast pork meat. I also baked the spring rolls rather than deep frying then…watching the fat intake at the moment!

We also had pot sticker dumplings, another absolute favourite.

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From Lamb Roast to Country Lamb Pie

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I’m on a mission to reduce food wastage in our house this year. Do you find your self throwing out lots of food each week? I can’t continue doing this!!! I’m not exactly sure how I’m going to reduce the waste but I’m off to a good start this week. I always love to follow up a lamb roast with a second dinner using the left overs, without it feeling like ‘left overs for dinner’.

This time I created a country lamb pie loosely based on this recipe.

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Very yummy.

I diced the lamb and added it to a frypan with three chopped French eschallots. I then added some diced potatoes with a cup of red wine and a little vegetable stock. I brought this to the boil and let it simmer for 10 minutes. I then added a little more vegetable stock with a teaspoon of corn flour mixed in, stirring while it simmered and thickened. I stirred through some finely chopped broccoli and then spooned this into a FILO pastry lined oven proof dish.

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I closed the pastry over the top and brushed it with melted butter before popping it in a 180 degree Celsius pre-heated oven for 30 minutes.

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Did I mention this is yummy???

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Meals from the Freezer

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I’ve just headed away on a work trip so the weekend was filled with lots of cooking to fill the freezer with food. 

I made Thai chicken balls…

The recipe for these is available here. They are delicious and freeze really well.

Next I made lasagne…

I added lots of vegetables (blended up first in the food processor) to the mince before frying it in the pan with fresh herbs, tinned tomatoes and garlic. I then made a white sauce to go between the layers of mince and lasagne sheets.

Finally, I made some spaghetti bolognese sauce. My absolute favourite recipe is the one on the back of the Heinz Big Red can. Here it is.

Spaghetti Bolognese
from Heinz.com.au

1 tbsp oil
1 onion, chopped
2 rashers bacon, roughly chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
500g lean beef mince
420g can HEINZ BIG RED Condensed Tomato Soup
1 cup beef stock
½ cup red wine
2 tbsp HEINZ Tomato Ketchup or tomato paste
2 tsp dried oregano
400g spaghetti, cooked and drained
chopped fresh parsley, to serve

Heat oil in a large frying pan. Add onion, bacon and garlic. Cook for 3-4 minutes. 
Add mince and cook for a further 5 minutes, or until well browned. 
Add the HEINZ soup, stock, wine, HEINZ ketchup and oregano. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve over spaghetti and garnish with parsley. Accompany with a salad and crusty bread.

Hopefully the frozen meals will come in handy!  Saves the kids eating canned spaghetti for the next 10 days!

Balinese Chicken

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I’ve just found the most delicious recipe for Balinese Chicken.

Balinese Chicken
from lifestylefood.com.au

6 to 8 chicken thighs, skinless and boneless

Marinade

1 dessertspoon fresh turmeric (15gms)
1 dessertspoon ginger
1 dessertspoon garlic
1 dessertspoon grated galangal
1 red chilli
2 lemongrass sticks, rough outer leaves removed, roughly chopped
3 dessertspoon peanut oil
2 dessertspoon sweet Indonesian soy (kecap manis)
2 roots of coriander, roots and leaves chopped
½ teaspoon shrimp paste

Aromatic rice
Dash sesame oil
1 spoonful of marinade
6 shallots finely sliced
2 cups basmati
2 kaffir lime leaves
1 star anise
Squeeze of light soy
Squeeze of kecap manis
Squeeze of tomato sauce
4 cups boiling water
Bunch of Snake beans

Blitz all ingredients. Massage the marinade into the thighs (reserve 1 spoon of marinade for rice)

Grill chicken on rack under hot grill in oven for approximately 15 minutes each side until browned and cooked through.

For the rice, sauté shallots in sesame oil with paste. Add rice and coat with spices. Add lime leaves, star anise, soy, water and simmer on low with lid on for a total of 15 minutes. When rice is halfway cooked (7 minutes in) add whole beans on top of the rice and cover again with lid and cook to complete 15 minutes cooking time.