Marinated Tamarillo salad

Marinated Tamarillo salad 
Always learning is my favourite saying when it comes to cooking and it’s funny where that inspiration can come from.
This idea came from a little old lady at the farmers market. A good chef buddy Lance was randomly asking people what they where intending to do with there fresh tamarillo. The little old lady in reply said she likes to peel them, slice thinly and cover in her favourite vinaigrette. So here’s my marinated tamarillo recipe, which I turned into a salad but would do really well as a side dish to cold meats poultry or pork. If you aren’t a fan of the fruit, this dish might change your mind and it’s a nice change if you have only had them as a sweet.

Tamarillo
4                      tamarillo
.5                     red onion
1.5 Tlb             brown sugar
1                      bay leaf
2 Tlb                balsamic vinegar
Salad
Rocket
Goats cheese
Crispy bacon
Roasted almond
Roasted capsicum
Olive oil
S and P
Method
Peel and slice the tamarillo, thinly slice the red onion. Combine sugar, balsamic and bay with the onion and tamarillo. Marinate for 1 hr minimum, 2hrs max.
I served them through the above salad. They go really well with the goats cheese, bacon and crunchy nuts. Once again, feel free to mix it up with what you have on hand.

Baked stuffed Apples

Baked stuffed Apples

I saw a picture of a similar dish the other day that in turn got me inspired to create my own.
The late season apples are still lovely. In this recipe I used pacific rose as they where on hand but would prefer a slightly more tart apple i.e. granny smith. Any apple will do the job so just use what you have.
I have used a sweet pastry but a short pastry would also work.
Filling
4                      granny smith apples
6 Tlb                desiccated coconut
4 Tlb                currants or raisins
4 Tlb                softened Manuka honey
1 Tlb                softened butter
1-2 shots            Rum or brandy                       
1 tsp                cinnamon
.5 tsp               nutmeg
Pastry
250g                butter
200g               Icing sugar
1                      pinch salt
500g                flour
1                      lemon zest
1                      tsp pure vanilla essence
4                      egg yolks
2 – 4 Tlb          cold water

Method
Pastry: 
Cream the butter, sugar, salt, vanilla & zest. Add egg yolks. Gently mix in the flour until the mix comes together, add the coldwater and mix to form dough. Use as little movement as possible to form the Dough. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 1 hr. Remove from the fridge and let warm slightly (room temp). Roll the pastry out to about 3 – 5 mm on a well-floured surface, cut it into quarters (four pieces roughly round in shape). Place an apple in the centre of each peace off pastry. Cut the pastry into a cross shape i.e. X. Each strip of the pastry crosses needs to be about 6cm wide with a small round in the centre that the apple is sitting on. Fold each strip over the apple press the pastry together on top of the apple, sealing the sides together like a seem. You should have four seems in total. Remove any excess pastry. Chill again for 30 min (freeze for 15 if hurried)
Egg wash with 1 egg and a little milk mixed.




Filling:
Combined all ingredients to form a paste.
Assembly:
Core the apples and leave a generous cavity to fill. Press the filling in to completely fill the cavity.
Cooking:
Place on an oven tray and bake at 180c for 30-40 min or until the apple is tender when a skewer or small knife is inserted.
Serve with custard or ice cream etc.

Stuffed Baked Peppers

Stuffed Baked Peppers
Three nights ago we had a lamb leg roast with all the trimmings.
Since then the left overs have turned into a healthy tasty rice salad with a mix of cooked and raw vegetables. That left over salad was today stuffed into some fresh peppers that where a gift from the boys at East coast heat, chilli growers.
There is no recipe for this dish it’s a free style sort of thing but I’ll list what I used to give you an idea. I think a rice base is best but lentils or beans will work really well and add extra protein is your go down a vegetarian route.
 
Cooked Rice                                 
Cubed cooked pumpkin
Chopped lamb (left over roast)
Ginger
Garlic
Cumin seeds
Cinnamon
Preserved lemons chopped
Bay leaves
Raw broccoli chopped
Raw carrots chopped
Raw Peppers chopped
Watercress chopped
Herbs
Salt & pepper
Balsamic dressing
 
Cut the tops of your peppers and scrape most of the seeds out. Fill with your filling of choice then place the top back on. Splash with olive oil and bake at 180 for 15-20 min.

 
 

Jerusalem artichokes

Jerusalem artichokes                                         
Not something you see ever day around NZ but a great root veg that I personally love.
I’ve used them a lot over seas but not so much back home. I was stoked to see freshly dough organic Jerusalem artichokes at the little veg market I go to.
They look a little like root ginger but slightly greyer in colour. The flavour and texture is like a cross between parsnips and potato.
On seeing such fantastic specimens, I questioned the owner on her supplier etc. So the story goes; her father was growing them as a stock feed 20 years ago. They then spread out to the side of the road and continued to grow there until now. She has since replanted them back into the farm and begun selling them in her shop. Funny that something so good was grown for the pigs. Here's a basic no fuss way to prepare them.
Jerusalem artichokes
Sea salt
Cracked black pepper
Olive oil
Rosemary
Simple wash a and scrub the artichokes. Cut into similar size pieces, coat in oil and seasons. Roast at 200c for 15 Min's add some rosemary leaves and continue cooking until tender. Serve them as a starch with any dish or put them through a salad.