Beetroot & White Wine-cured Ocean Trout Tartare

July 13, 2017July 13, 2017 amcarmen1 Comment

Hello Everyone! Finally I am (sort of) back on track with things on here and I apologise for falling behind. Things have been starting to build up at work and my quieter days are starting to become a little hectic, but still not full on crazy at least. That’s bound to happen somewhere in October and I am so not looking forward to late nights in the office and puffing up the eye bags then.

So! As always when I say this (but never happens), I’m going to keep tonight’s post short because it’s late and I need sleep. The theme for the month of July on Amcarmen’s Kitchen is BEETROOT! If you remember from my post earlier this year in January, beetroot is one of the 20 foods I listed out that can help lower your blood pressure. People with High Blood Pressure saw significant improvements from drinking beetroot juice. The nitrates found in the juice brought down one’s high blood pressure within just 24 hours. If you’re not too keen on drinking beetroot juice, you can easily roast or steam the whole root and add it to a green-packed salad, stir-fry, or stews.

If I’m being honest, I never really took a liking to the taste of beetroot. For me it always had this aftertaste of eating soil – probably because of it’s earthy flavour to begin with. Anyway, even if I’m not too fond of it, who know, maybe by the end of the month beetroot might be my new favourite vegetable. Tonight’s recipe is a classic with a modern twist to it:

For the beetroot & white wine cure

For the tartare

PREP TIME 20 MINS* | COOKING TIME — | SERVES 2-3

*Please allow 24-36 hours for the curing of the ocean trout before proceeding with the tartare recipe.

INGREDIENTS

For the beetroot & white wine cure

800g smoked ocean trout fillet (skin removed)
100ml white wine
100g salt
100g sugar
1 large beetroot, grated
Juice of 1 lemon

For the tartare

800g smoked ocean trout fillet, cured in beetroot and white wine
1 medium-sized free range egg, yolk only
1 small shallot, minced
2 tsp baby capers
1 & 1/2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp salmon roe (optional)
Cooked beetroot cubes
Juice of 1/2 a lemon
Zest of 1 lemon
Sweet marjoram leaves
Ground sea salt and black pepper, to taste

Thin wafer, to serve

METHOD

In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the white wine, salt, sugar, lemon juice, and grated beetroot.
If needed, cut your smoked ocean trout fillet into two pieces to fit into a zip lock bag. The bigger the piece, the longer that the flavours will take to infuse into the trout.
Place the trout inside the ziplock bag and pour the beetroot cure mixture into the bag with the trout. Ensure that all edges of the trout are well coated. Seal the bags and place in the fridge. Turn every 12 hours, and then remove from the fridge after 24-36 hours.
Remove from bag, rinsing off cure mixture, and pat dry with paper towel.
Dice finely and place into a medium-sized bowl together with the minced shallots, olive oil, ground sea salt and black pepper, lemon juice, lemon zest, and sweet marjoram leaves. Toss to combine.
Plate up accordingly, and top the tartare with baby capers, beetroot cubes, sweet marjoram leaves, egg yolk, and salmon roe (optional). Serve with a thin wafer, in my case we served with a spicy wafer for an added kick to the dish. Enjoy!

BON APPÉTIT

– Ally xx

Red Wine & Rosemary Braised Lamb Shanks

October 26, 2016 amcarmenLeave a comment

Hello Everyone! I know, I say this every time we come to an end of a blog series – but sometimes it actually does come to quite a bit of a shock when the realisation hits you that another month has passed by and we are that much closer to Christmas and the New Year! It really does at times make me wonder, where did the year go? How was it that it felt like only a few months ago that I was complaining about it being a long way to go before the end of the year, and suddenly in the blink of an eye it will be November soon. I also have that same feeling when it comes to the day after my birthday – where I think about how I have to wait another 364 days until I have a reason to celebrate another year of life – and now look! I’ll be 25 in exactly two weeks!

Anyway, tangent aside, tonight’s recipe has been one that I have been wanting to make for a very long time. I can’t stress enough how much it saddens me when I have such high expectations for a lamb shank dish whenever I order it off a menu. Don’t get me wrong, flavours were nice, and definitely fall-off-the-bone tender, but, my expectations dissipate when a tiny piece of lamb shank hits the table, knowing that it’s definitely not worth the price. So how do I fix this? Well, why not I buy a worthy enough size of a lamb shank that will only cost me $8.00 max. and cook it myself? Not to mention, I can throw in a whole bottle of red wine too to really bring out the flavour *cheeky grin* For my readers who aren’t from Brunei, or aren’t Muslim, you can’t find lamb shanks that have been braised in red wine here in Brunei as if not all, but most Western Restaurants here are Halal. Actually – don’t pour in the whole bottle of wine for your shanks, reserve some for a glass or two to drink while devouring the lamb!

Before I move on to the recipe, please check out the original over on Taste Australia.

PREP TIME 10 MINS | COOKING TIME 1 HOUR 30 MINS | SERVES 3

INGREDIENTS

4 cups chicken stock
2 cups red wine
2 x 400g cans Italian diced tomatoes
3 lamb shanks, french trimmed
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
3-4 rosemary sprigs
2 brown onions, roughly chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
Ground salt and black pepper, to taste.

METHOD

Preheat oven to 170C (325F or gas mark 3). Heat the olive oil in a large flame-proof casserole dish over medium-high. Season your shanks with salt and pepper. Depending on how big your casserole dish is, cook your lamb shanks if batches if needed, for 5 minutes or until browned all over. Transfer to a plate and repeat with the remaining shanks. Set aside.
Add the garlic and sauté until golden and fragrant, about 30 seconds, and then add in the onions. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until the onions soften. Return the lamb shanks to the dish and pour over the red wine, deglazing the brown residue at the bottom of the pan for extra flavour. Bring to a boil, cooking for 4-5 minutes, or until wine reduces by half.
Remove from heat and add the canned tomatoes and rosemary sprigs to the dish, seasoning with salt and pepper. Transfer to the oven and bake, covered, for 1 & 1/2 hours or until lamb is almost falling off the bone.
Serve the lamb shanks on a generous bed of rosemary & roasted garlic chunky mashed potatoes and some pan-fried baby asparagus. Enjoy!

BON APPÉTIT

– Ally xx

Bœuf Bourguignon with Potato Gnocchi

October 12, 2016 amcarmenLeave a comment

Hello Everyone! It’s week 2 of Cooking with Alcohol month and today I will be cooking with one of my favourite bevvys to have when I’m out with friends or just socialising with – well, this was back when I was in Australia and I don’t do it now; only if a friend throws a party and there’s red wine being served *cheeky grin*. Of course, using red wine in your cooking is just as good as having a glass or two (whispers: or more) on the weekends.

“Secondary cuts of meat are my favourite and I love to use them in this dish. Remember, you’ll need to start this the day before so the beef has time to marinate overnight in that gorgeous red wine. You really do need to use a bold red wine for this recipe, it makes all the difference — just make sure you buy an extra bottle to drink with the meal!” — Manu Feildel

Okay, so a little bit of a tangent before I move on to the recipe, this morning at work, my colleague asked me a question after she had seen the ingredients shot that I uploaded just minutes before she asked me this: “I have one question… Whenever you cook, do you always buy new ingredients?” At first I was confused, because obviously I buy meat and veggies when I need them so it’s always fresh, and then she pointed out that my block of butter was new as seen in the photograph below, and went on to point out a new tube of maple syrup in another photo, and a new jar of something which I can’t remember. Well, to answer your question, especially to the particular photograph that she pointed out this morning, yes, most of the stuff were new there because I didn’t have those ingredients in my pantry at that time. Then she saw another photograph that had the same tube of maple syrup that looked new. I then told her that I gently move it around so that the maple syrup sticks to the sides of the tube to make it look full. Also, in terms of butter, I always, and I repeat ALWAYS have a new block of untouched butter in the fridge for my photos, especially if it’s less than half a block already. I eventually use it anyway within the next couple of weeks – it’s not like it sits in the fridge for months/years.

Anyway, one last thing, but not a tangent – before I head on to the recipe, please visit Manu Feildel for the original recipe! I once made Manu’s recipe for Bœuf Bourguignon, while I was still studying in Australia. I made this dish during my second year of studies, and when I come to think of it, that was 4 years ago! I can’t believe how long ago that was! Well, I decided to whip it up again for this theme since I really enjoyed this dish the first time I cooked it. So don’t forget, as the man Manu said: you need to start the recipe a day before so that your beef cuts have enough time to soak in the marinade overnight. And of course, make sure you leave some wine behind, or buy an extra bottle to have with your Bœuf Bourguignon!

PREP TIME min. 24 HOURS* | COOKING TIME 2 HOURS | SERVES 6-8

*If you didn’t read above, the beef needs to marinate overnight to soak up all the yummy flavours before cooking.

INGREDIENTS

2kg beef chuck

For the marinade

1L red wine (Burgundy or Shiraz)*
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 sprigs rosemary**
2 bay leaves
1 brown onion, roughly chopped
1 carrot, roughly chopped
1 stick celery, roughly chopped

*I used Jacob’s Creek Shiraz Cabernet.

**Manu’s recipe used thyme, but at that moment I couldn’t find fresh thyme in the stores and I really didn’t want to use the dried kind – however, I had some sprigs of rosemary in the fridge leftover from another recipe I whipped up before this, so I used that instead.

For the stew

250g brown mushrooms
200g bacon, cut into bits
20g unsalted butter
3 brown onions, quartered
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp plain flour
Ground sea salt and black pepper, to taste

To serve

Fresh parsley
Pasta, mashed potato, gnocchi, or crusty French bread***

***I first paired my Bœuf Bourguignon with soft pillows of potato gnocchi, and any leftovers we had, we paired them with fettuccine pasta.

METHOD

Place the chopped carrots, celery, and onions in a large bowl (or deep pyrex dish like I have) together with the minced garlic, rosemary sprigs, and bay leaves. Cut beef into large 4cm/1.5″ cubes and add to the dish with the aromatics. Pour over the red wine to submerge the meat and vegetables, then cover with some cling wrap and refrigerate overnight.
Remove beef from marinate and season well with salt and pepper. Strain out the marinade herbs and vegetables and discard, but reserve the liquid as this will be your sauce!
Heat the butter and half of the olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. When the butter starts to foam, add in the meat and sear on all sides for a minute or two. Do this in batches if needed, and once done, set the meat and any pan juices aside.
Heat the remaining olive oil in the same pot, and add onions, carrots, and mushrooms, cooking until golden and caramelised on the edges, about 2-3 minutes. Add in the bacon bits and cook for a further 3 minutes.
Return seared beef and juices to the pan and sprinkle over the plain flour. Stir well, and then add in the red wine liquid to the pan.
Cover the surface of the liquid with a cartouche (baking paper lid), and bring to the boil. Once boiling, reduce it to a simmer and cook for 1.5 to 2 hours until the beef is tender enough to pull apart with your fingers.
Once tender, spoon the Bœuf Bourguignon into a dish, sprinkle with freshly chopped parsley and serve with fresh pasta, mashed potato, potato gnocchi, or even a big wedge of crusty French bread. Enjoy!