Dad's Meatloaf

I just love my dad's meatloaf recipe. It is moist, savoury, with a rich deep sauce.  It is one of the tastes of my childhood, a comforting reminder of days past. Add to that the fact that it is easy to make, lasts well in the fridge, and makes terrific leftovers for reheating or for sandwiches and, well, how can you go wrong?

Ingredients

250g sausage mince
250g minced steak
1/2 cup of fresh breadcrumbs


1 onion
1 teaspoon of curry powder
1/2 tablespoon of fresh chopped parsley
1 egg
1/4 cup milk

sauce

1/4 cup strong espresso coffee or 1/4 cup water and 1 or 2 teaspoons coffee powder
1/4 cup of tomato sauce
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon vinegar
1/8 cup of brown sugar
15g butter
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Method

Meatloaf

• soak the breadcrumbs in the milk for 5 minutes. Combine with the meat, finely chopped onion, curry powder, parsely, and beaten egg in a bowl. Mix until well combined.
• Place in a greased loaf or bar tin and bake for 25-30mins at 200c.

Sauce

• combine all sauce ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to boil and then simmer for 5 mins.
• Remove loaf from the oven, pour off fat and turn loaf over in the pan. Spoon some of the sauce over, place back in the oven for 10 mins until the top is browned.
• Serve with the remainder of the sauce and your choice of seasonal vegetables.

Cauliflower Purée

Cauliflower Purée is a great substitute for mashed potatoes. It is low in carbohydrates and high in nutrients, and while the taste of cauliflower is there it is a little milder than when eaten whole. Even my young niece who doesn't particularly enjoy cauliflower said it was "OK" to eat, so it can't be that bad!
 
It is possible to use water instead of milk, but I love the creaminess the milk adds to the dish and it doesn't seem to matter if you use low-fat or not! Milk also adds a bit of extra protein to this dish, which is a bonus.

I'm not giving you exact quantaties here, as this really is a cooking method that can be easily adapted. Obviously the more cauliflower you use, the more milk you will need.

I've paired the cauliflower purée here with a lovely steak and my favourite red cabbage and caraway, but it goes well almost anywhere you would serve mashed potatoes. 

Ingredients

fresh cauliflower
milk

method

Place the cauliflower in a pan and just cover with milk.

Bring to a high heat and cook until the caulflower is soft but not overcooked.

pour off the milk mixture into jug - and keep it, you may need it later.

Blitz the cauliflower in the pot, or place it in a blender, and blend it until it is smooth and creamy. You may need to add extra milk from your reserve jug if it is not blending smoothly or if it is too thick.

Season with salt and pepper and enjoy!

Crispy skin duck breast with honey & orange glazed carrots

This is a rich indulgent dish, perfect for a cool autumn evening. There is a reason why orange is often paired with duck - it provides a sweetness and fruitiness that pairs well with the strong flavour of the duck meat.

The secret to crispy skin is to render out all of that duck fat under the breast, and making sure you pour off the excess fat so that you do not end up with soggy or chewy skin.

The honey and orange glazed carrots are one of my dad's recipes, which I have loved since a child.

Ingredients

2 duck breasts

2 large carrots

1 tbs butter
2 tbs honey
1/4 cup of orange juice
zest from an orange
pinch of nutmeg

salt and pepper

Method - the duck breast

1. Pat the skin of the duck breast and score the through the skin, This helps the fat to render and run out.
2. Season with salt and ground pepper.
3. Place skin side down in a cold non stick pan on a medium heat without oil for 6-8 minutes or until golden brown. Pour off the fat regularly and seal the other side for 30 seconds.
4. Place the skin side up on a rack in a roasting tin in the middle of the oven. The following guidelines give you approximate times for roasting the breast, but as with all meats the size of the breasts will affect how long the cooking will need to be.

Rare - 10 minutes
Medium - 15 minutes
Well Done - 18 minutes

When the duck is cooked rest in a warm place for 10 minutes.

Method - the honey and orange glazed carrots

1. Slice the carrots finely (peel if you prefer, I find I don't need to).
2. Cook in boiling water until soft but not mushy.
3. Drain the carrots in a colander.
4. In the same pot melt the butter and honey, then add the orange juice, zest, and a pinch of nutmeg. Add the carrots and stir until the sauce has coated the carrots and is reduced to your liking. 
5. Season to taste.

Serve with your duck breast, and any other accompaniments you may desire. As you can see I added some baby spinach and mashed potato to mine!

Enjoy!

Rose-petal custard

This is a continuation of my scandalous love affair with custard. This custard uses the same basic recipes as the lemon verbena custard, but uses rose petals to flavour it. The red and deep pink rose petals I used imparted a lovely soft colour to the custard, and a fragrant sweet turkish-delight flavour. This is one I shall definitely make again and again when the roses are in bloom!

Ingredients

1/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons cornflour

2 egg yolks

1 1/2 cup milk

Petals of 3-4 fragrant roses. The more fragrant the roses, the more fragrant and flavourful your custard will be.

Method

Place the milk and rose petals in a pot. Bring just up to the boil, then take immediately off the heat and leave to cool. Strain the milk to remove all the petals.

Mix the sugar, cornflour, egg yolk, vanilla and milk in a saucepan and stir with a whisk to remove lumps. Taste to make sure you are happy with the sweetness etc and adjust as necessary. Place over a low-medium heat and stir with a whisk until it thickens. 

Enjoy!

Lemon verbena custard

 I can remember my mum making custard when I was younger, and trying to teach me - but I was always too impatient with it and cooked it too quickly so it curdled. Now that I am older, I am much more patient and am reaping the rewards.  After all is there anything better than soft, silky smooth, warm custard on a cool night? This custard is all that with a lovely lemony flavour.

Ingredients

1/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons cornflour

2 egg yolks

1 1/2 cup milk

Sprig of lemon verbena leaves.

Method

Place the milk and lemon verbena in a pot. Bring just up to the boil, then take immediately off the heat and leave to cool. Remove the lemon verbena leaves and strain if necessary.

Mix the sugar, cornflour, egg yolk, vanilla and milk in a saucepan and stir with a whisk to remove lumps. Taste to make sure you are happy with the sweetness etc and adjust as necessary. Place over a low-medium heat and stir with a whisk until it thickens. 

Enjoy!

Strawberry custard cake

This is a cake that has it all - vanilla cake, custard, fresh strawberries, and the taste of strawberry jelly. It is gorgeous! I have not tried it with other berries, but they'd be worthwhile trying!

Cake 

1 tablespoon butter

6 tablespoons milk

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 cup flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 180 celcius.  Place butter in a spring form ring pan and place in oven just until butter melts. Remove from oven and use a brush to evenly spread butter around the bottom and sides of the pan. 
Place the eggs and sugar in a mixing bowl and beat till light yellow and fluffy. Add in the milk and vanilla  and beat to combine.
Combine the flour and baking powder and sift into the egg and sugar mixture.  Stir gently to combine along with the vanilla.
Pour into your greased flan or cake tin and place in centre of oven.
Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown a skewer comes out clean when inserted into the centre.

Cool, then turn out onto a serving platter. 

Custard Layer

1/3 cup sugar

2 tablespoons cornflour

2 egg yolks

1 1/2 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoons butter

Mix the sugar, cornflour, egg yolk, vanilla and milk in a saucepan and stir with a whisk to remove lumps.  Place over a low-medium and stir with a whisk until it thickens. It should be quite thick.

Add in the butter and stir to blend.

Cool until it is room temperature and then spread over top of the vanilla cake layer.

Topping

3 punnets of strawberries
1 tsp rosewater (you can omit if you don't have this)

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon cornflour

1/3 cup water

Arrange 1 punnet of strawberries on top of the custard. If they are large strawberries you can cut them in half.

Put the remaining 2 punnets of berries in a food processor and process until they are crushed but still have texture (you don't need a fine puree)

Put the sugar, cornflour, rosewater, water and pureed berries into a saucepan and bring to a boil. 

Cool and then pour over the fresh berries on top of the custard. 

Note: you can sieve the berry glaze to remove seeds and to make it finer. I usually don't because I quite like the texture. It's up to you though!

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Zupa Czosnkowa (Garlic Soup)

Well, after a long and difficult winter I am back! It wasn't a very cold winter here, even by Australian standards, in fact it was surprisingly mild. That didn't stop me from getting a couple of colds/flu's and random viruses. The worst was bronchitis which left me very ill for three weeks, and then has taken another few weeks for me to feel like I am getting back to normal.

This Polish soup is one that ticks all my boxes when I am ill, It is easy to make, it is delicious, it is good for you (if you ignore the sour cream lol). It warms you up and makes you feel all cosy and loved. OK, maybe that's just me!

Though this may sound like a strange soup, with way too much garlic, give it a try. Cooking the garlic for such a long time takes away any heat and astringency and leaves a very sweet flavour. The egg and cream mixture further rounds out the flavour.

Ingredients

8 cups beef stock (use vegetable stock to make this vegetarian)

1 bay leaf
15 peeled garlic cloves
2 carrots, diced VERY finely
2 tablespoons oil
2 onions,diced finely
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 sprig fresh marjoram
Salt and pepper to taste
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup sour cream

Method

Cut 5 garlic cloves in half. Dice the remainder finely or put through a garlic sieve.

Saute onions in oil until translucent.Add the diced garlic and cook till softened. Add in remaining garlic, stock, carrots, and herbs.

Let simmer on a low heat for 1 hour. Season to taste. Leave to cool slightly (ie don't let it be near boiling or you may split the cream).

Mix egg yolks and sour cream together in a bowl, then slowly add a few tablespoons of hot stock to it to temper it (so it doesn't curdle when you add it to the soup). Whisk it into the soup.

Enjoy with hot bread, croutons, or shards of crispy bacon. (OK, so there goes the healthy part!!)