VEGETABLE KORMA

My biggest strength - and biggest weakness - when cooking is my tendency to freestyle wildly. I can't follow a recipe to save my life, and this vegetable korma was no exception. I borrowed a blueprint from the 'Indian Bible' cookbook and went to town. 

Instead of winter vegetables (potato, cauliflowers, beans and carrots) my incarnation of VK featured capsicum and zucchini.  Some ingredients were pretty non-specific, so before long I found myself facing a dilemma. It called for unsalted cashews, which you can buy roasted or natural. It needed cream, but I wasn't sure whether thin or thick would work better (and this, dear readers, is why the blog is called 'gastronomically challenged'). I went with natural and thin... next time I'd go with the opposite.

Serves four

150g unsalted cashews (save a couple for garnish)
1 onion
1 red capsicum, diced
1 zucchini, cut into 1cm rounds
1 red and 1 green chilli, finely chopped
2 teaspoons crushed ginger
2 teaspoons of ground coriander
1 teaspoon of ground turmeric
1 cinnamon quill
375 ml vegetable stock
2 tablespoons (40ml) of cream

Soak the cashews in hot water for 10 minutes, then drain and blend to a smooth paste in a food processor. Heat oil in a heavy based saucepan and cook the onion, ginger and chillies over a medium heat for about 5 minutes, until the onion is soft. Add the zucchini, capsicum, then the coriander and turmeric.
Add the stock and stir thoroughly. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer (oh and throw in the cinnamon quill here) until the zucchini is almost cooked. Stir through the cashew paste and simmer for a few more minutes. Stir in the cream and serve with rice.

Verdict: quite edible, considering that it's a) the first curry I've ever made from scratch; and b) I probably made a faux pas with the nuts and cream. Still, you live and learn!

PESTO

Buying and measuring ingredients for quantities of one can be tricky, but it's a necessary evil as I'm not really partial to eating the same meal for days on end. Luckily I managed to get it right and nailed this pesto. It was a nice change from the usual tomato-based pastas plus the new food processor got a work out!
If you're cooking for 2, 4 or more, just double the quantities as you go - just exercise caution with the canola so you don't end up with a oil slick.

Makes one serve

Fresh basil leaves
A couple of tablespoons of canola oil
40g parmesan
A handful of pine nuts
1 teaspoon of crushed garlic
Lemon juice
Sea salt and black pepper

Toast the pine nuts for a couple of minutes in the frying pan. Take care and use moderate heat so they brown evenly and don't burn - mine did a little :s

Process all ingredients in the food processor.

The pesto should stick to an upside-side down spoon - again, only add more oil if needed, one spoonful at a time so you don't end up with an oily puree.

Stir through cooked pasta and serve!

THAI CORN FRITTERS

So I’m going to say this upfront. Just as McDonald’s new ‘Beijing chicken burger’ has basically no semblance of anything even vaguely relevant to China (save a dollop of sweet chilli sauce) what really makes these fritters Thai – apart from being a little spicy - demands a stretch of the imagination. But as the saying goes, a corn fritter by any other name will taste just as good. The original recipe used coriander (which I’m loathe to admit, but I can’t stand.. maybe it’s an acquired palate) So feel free to include half a cup of coriander leaves if you wish.

4 fresh corn cobs

1 red capsicum, diced to the same size as corn kernels

½ cup chopped spring onions

1 small red chilli, sliced

1 brown onion, diced

2 teaspoons of crushed garlic

1 tablespoon of Thai red curry paste

2 tablespoons of fish sauce

2 eggs, lightly whisked

Half to three quarters of a cup of flour – enough to form decent sized fritters that won’t fall apart in the pan

Start by slicing the kernels off the corn cobs. The best way to do this without losing a phalange is with a very sharp knife using a sawing motion. Place in a large bowl with the diced capsicum and chilli. Next, heat some vegetable oil in a pan and fry the brown onion, garlic and curry paste until the onion is just soft. Add the contents of the pan to the bowl. Now add the fish sauce, spring onions, eggs, flour and mix it all together.

Heat a frying pan to a moderate heat and add a shallow layer of oil. Place spoonfuls of the mixture in the pan and cook until golden brown on both sides.

Tip: to prevent under-cooked fritters, try to make them flat as possible in the pan (and not too large) so you get maximal surface area cookage.

CHARGRILLED VEGETABLES AND PASTA

So I went and purchased a new grill pan on the weekend (the kind with the ridged edges). A very wise decision it turned out to be, as I had these delicious grilled vegetables for dinner AND lunch for the following day.

1 zucchini, 1 red capsicum, 1 yellow capsicum, 2 sweet onions

Extra virgin olive oil

Masterfoods herb and garlic salt

Pasta of your choice

Jar of pesto sauce

To serve: cheese – you can use parmesan although I prefer feta

(Equal to two main servings)

Cut ends of zucchini off. Slice lengthwise into long strips. Cut out the core of the capsicums, removing seeds and white bits. Cut into 3cm wide, flat strips. Brush the vegetables with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.  

Cook the pasta in a large saucepan of salted boiling water for 15 minutes.

Heat grill to a high heat. The vegetables will cook at different rates so take them off as necessary, put on a platter and cover with foil until the rest are done. 

Capsicum takes about 15 minutes to soften completely, zucchini 7-10 minutes and the onion only 5 minutes. 

Drain pasta and stir through the pesto sauce, add vegetables and finish with cubes of feta. 

Next goal: to make own pesto...

LATASHA'S KITCHEN

On Friday night I tried out a cooking class at Latasha’s Kitchen in Leederville. Many restaurants now run cookery schools as a sideline to their operations. The most popular are usually demonstration classes led by the executive chef (as opposed to ‘hands on’ classes), after which everyone gets to sit down and enjoy the meal.

It’s great if you’re crazy for authentic Asian (or whichever cuisine the restaurant specialises in) but lack the know-how (or are simply too sh*t scared) to fly solo and execute a first class tom yum or vindaloo on your own. I tried a class earlier this year at the Coriander Leaf in Singapore, and it certainly didn’t disappoint! So I was eager to find a place back home to learn more..

I was excited to finally arrive at Latasha’s – I say finally as I’d been booked to do a Malaysian class two weeks earlier. As one of my exams had to be rescheduled I decided to switch to the Thai class (Latasha was lovely when I spoke to her on the phone about it and very accommodating)

Since I was a bit early, I decided to go for a wander around Leederville to pass the time..

newcastle street

 

you never know what you'll find in leedy..

i even found the colonel

 

the cake display in greens and co...so tempting!

After a quick tea at Greens and Co I headed back to find a few participants milling around in the gorgeous cafe/shopfront Latasha has setup. 

Latasha welcomed us warmly and explained that our class only had 8 people now, so for the evening we’d be stationed in the kitchen at the back (rather than closing the restaurant, which is the norm for classes over 12).  

'Thai Table' Menu

Tom yum soup with prawns

Beef and aubergine salad

Spicy fish cakes

Pandan chicken

Vegetable green curry

Latasha also demonstrated the pastes which are the base of the mains – red paste for the fish cakes, yellow paste for the pandan chicken and green paste for the vegetable curry. She commercially produces and sells her own brand of pastes and bases in-store, which is why meals at LK carry a distinct home-style character. Latasha informed us that most restaurants nowadays use generic bases rather than producing their own, which means their dishes take on a more homogeneous flavour. 

Latasha is an amazing lady - a 100% self- taught cook with a genuine dedication to what she does. It was nothing short of spectacular to watch her power through five complex dishes in 3 hours, while explaining the ingredients/processes involved and entertaining us with her stories!

fresh ingredients

toastin' seeds...coriander i think?

birdseye chillis

curry paste ready to be blended...

..and after!

fish cakes

yellow curry paste, mixed with chicken

my attempt at wrapping chicken in a pandan leaf

waiting to be deep-fried

flank steak for beef and aubergine salad

tom yum

vegetable green curry

latasha carving up steak like a boss

The evening concluded with our Thai feast. The only downside I can really add is that there was no place to sit in the kitchen, so after 3 hours of standing and smelling these wonderful dishes cooking away I could NOT wait to sit down and start eating!

tom yum soup

thai fish cake with chilli sauce; beef and aubergine salad in the bigger bowl

pandan chicken curry

me and latasha..she is such a sweetheart she didn't even mind my relentless photo-taking :)

CHILLI BEAN MIX

Vegetarian cuisine has garnered – rather unfairly- the reputation of being crap and boring. Sadly, this has been exacerbated by the meat-free 'options' I've encountered in many a cafe and restaurant (garden salads, burgers without the pattie...I’m not kidding. A pub in Freo recently had a ‘vegetarian Wagyu burger’ on the menu). GC is here to bring the good news – not only is vego food simple to whip up, it’s easy on your waistline AND your wallet. chilli bean mix precipitated my love affair with vego cuisine and what’s more, it requires almost zero effort. depending on your tastes, you can tweak the recipe to anything from mildly peppery to cast-iron stomach fiery.

1 brown onion
400g can of 4 bean mix
1 tin of roma tomatoes
1 stalk of celery, chopped
1 red capsicum, diced
4 minced garlic cloves (or 2 teaspoons of the pre-crushed stuff)
 2 red chillies, sliced

Chop up the onion and lightly fry with the garlic. After 2-3 minutes add the chilli. Grab a large saucepan and transfer the mix, adding in capsicum, celery, 4 bean mix and roma tomatoes (including the juice). Bring to a boil then simmer for 30 minutes – the tomatoes should start to break down and the mix will reduce. Serve it on grilled Turkish bread!

GC difficulty rating: 4/10

HALOUMI, BEETROOT AND ORANGE SALAD

I freestyled this one night after an intense craving for the hero of the salad. haloumi is a salty, white middle eastern cheese famous for its high melting point and indestructible properties. in layman's speak, it's almost impossible to f*ck up. dice the block into 3x4 cm cubes and throw into a hot frying pan with a bit of oil. 3 to 5 minutes on each side is plenty - you'll know when its ready as the cheese will turn a deep golden brown. result: salty haloumi love offset by beetroot and citrus acidity with walnuts for crunch = *drool*
hooray for haloumi!

150g packet of mixed lettuce

½ red onion, thinly sliced

250g haloumi cheese

1 orange, segmented

450g can of baby beetroot, drained and chopped

¼ cup walnuts

Dressing: 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper

GC difficulty rating: 3/10

Sans haloumi

The finished product