Veggie Stock

I like rules, as long as i make them, and i have made A LOT of them. For my self, mind you, i'm not a closet dictator. One of my rules is to always have some home made veggie stock in the freezer. I haven't touched the store bought stuff in years, i don't care if it has 'all natural' on the label. It's full of salt, for starters. And making your own is so easy, you just need to be hanging around home while it simmers away on the stove. Each batch makes about 2 litres, which i freeze in 500ml batches. You can reduce it longer, for a more concentrated flavour, and then when you wish to use it dilute it with some water. Use for risottos, soups, stews, anything. It is important to start with cold water and bring it to the boil, this extracts the best flavour. If you're a bit time poor, chop the veggie's smaller, use a little less water and simmer for a shorter period. Use whatever veggies are in season and cheap. Save your parmesan rinds and chuck them in, it adds great flavour. I first started making stock according to Jamie's recipe in The Naked Chef, it changes pretty much every time i make it. 

Vegetable Stock:

Ingredients: 

2 tblsp olive oil 

3 carrots

3 onions

2 leeks

half an organic celery* or the stems from a bunch of silverbeet

4 cloves garlic

4 litres COLD water 

1-2 hot chillies

handful fresh herbs, rosemary, thyme, parsley

10 peppercorns

2 tsp salt

chunk of parmesan rind, if you have it 

Method: 

Roughly chop the carrots, onions, leeks and celery/silverbeet stems. Lightly crush the garlic with the back of a knife and peel. Heat the oil over a medium heat in a large saucepan (enough to comfortable hold 4 litres). Add the veggies and saute for 5-7 minutes, until they have softened up a bit. Put the lid on the saucepan between stirs. Add 4 litres of COLD water. Turn up the heat and bring to the boil. Add the salt, peppercorns, chilli, herbs and rind. Stir and reduce to a simmer. Simmer uncovered for 2 - 2 1/2 hours, skimming the surface of any scum every once and a while. Allow to cool. Line a strainer with a piece of muslin set over a large bowl. Strain the stock. In batches, if need be, collect the veggies in the muslin and squeeze as much liquid as a you can from the veggies. This is where all the flavour is. Distribute the stock between freezer safe containers or use it immediately. 

* Apparently, if you only buy one organic vegetable, it should be celery. Maybe because they suck up so much water, like when you do the blue dye experiment in high school.

Date Scones

Over about a year or so i have been working to create the perfect date scone. Perfect for me, that is. It won't be to everyones taste. I have tried to strike a balance between a 'health conscious' but still totally drool inducing scone. I don't believe that the worse something is for you the better it will taste. But, at the same time, i'm not going to put tofu in it. I use fresh organic medjool dates. Organic mainly because they come from California (although there is a dude growing dates up in Alice Springs that i want to try) and i want to avoid weird sprays. I'm also a little but terrified of American grown food since Michael Pollen's "In Defence of Food" and all those horror story documentaries, but I'm told their run a really tight ship in terms of organic date production and It's California anyway. It's really important to use fresh, not dried dates. they are so much nicer; soft and sweet. The dried ones are way too intensely sweet, so if they are all you can get you will need to reduce the quantity by about half.

I have used a variety of different organic flours; stoneground wholemeal, barely and recently rye. They all work well so experiment a little (if you use white flour you will need less milk as the flour won't absorb as much liquid). At the moment i'm using hand churned unsalted butter from The Butter Factory in Myrtleford, Victoria, which is awesome. It is actually really hard to find decent unsalted butter in Sydney. I don't want to use Lurpak because it comes all the way from Denmark (i think) and quite a lot of the small producers only offer salted (no good for baking)*. I do spread the salted Myrtleford butter on my hot, split scone. yum. I like a fair amount of freshly grated nutmeg, but adjust to your taste. Scones are best eaten on the day you bake them, but they freeze superbly. When you want one just whack it in the microwave. I love mine with a coffee, made with my Italian stove top coffee thang (thanks Dani), but if you're traditional i guess you'll go for tea. So this is my ultimate scone, but keep in mind they are not super light nor do they rise as high as ordinary scones. They evolved from a recipe in Stephanie Alexander's, 'The Cook's Companion' with a few tips drawn from my Aunty's recipe and Delia Smith and then just experimentation and gradual alteration.

Makes about 7, often I'll double the recipe as they freeze so well.

*It makes the crumb tough    

Ingredients: 

225g organic flour i.e. wholemeal, rye, barley

freshly ground nutmeg to taste (i use about a third of a whole nutmeg)

A pinch of salt
4 tsp baking powder (not if you are using self-raising flour)

25g chilled (have it out of the fridge about 10 minutes before you use it) unsalted butter chopped into smallish pieces 

225g Organic fresh, Medjool dates, pitted and diced (into little fingernail sized pieces)

40g unrefined cane sugar

1 organic egg yolk (freeze the white)

1/2 cup of milk plus 2 tblsp (you may need a little more or a little less)

Method: 

Preheat the Oven to 190 degrees Celcius. Line baking tray with baking.parchment paper. Place the flour in a large bowl, stir in baking powder, nutmeg and salt. Add the butter and rub it into the flour mixture with the tips of your fingers until its resembles bread crumbs. Stir in the sugar and then the dates. Make a well and add the egg yolk, start adding the milk and stir. You may not need all the milk or you may need a little more. You want the mixture to come together to form a dough, but not a wet one. gather together and tip onto a lightly floured surface. Knead for a second to form a ball. flatten into a disc about 2.5 cm high with a rolling pin. Cut into wedges with a knife or rounds with a cookie cutter. Gather together any offcuts, flatten and cut out more scones. Place onto the baking tray, if you wish, brush a little milk over the tops of the scones. Place in the oven and bake until lovely and golden, about 15 minutes, but oven vary so keep an eye on them. I like mine with slightly brown edges. Place on a cake rack to cool slightly but scones are best served warm.  

Home Made Pasta

I like to make fresh pasta about once a week, there is just so much about the process that I like. It is really therapeutic. Once you've done it a few times and don't have to think too hard about the method you settle into a rhythm, which I find really calming. There's also the satisfaction that comes with transforming flour and eggs into something silky, light and delicious. This creative element of cooking is one of the main reasons why I love doing it. I often feel like just a consumer with no control and entirely dependent on other people (or machines). Making something from scratch restores, even just a little, some confidence in yourself as a creative being.

Having said all that, if you haven't already got one i really recommend buying a pasta machine. You could go all the way and roll it out like a legit Italian mama but I just don't think i have the upper body strength. They are only like $120 or so. They will last for ages. I have a Maracato and the plastic bit of the clamp just cracked. My dad emailed the Australian importers and they mailed us a new clamp, free of charge. When you finish using it wipe it down with a dry tea towel, you're not meant to get them wet. I can't remember why, something about the material they are made out of.

Because pasta is made of only two ingredients you have to use the best quality you can afford. Super fresh organic eggs and ideally an organic flour or mix of flours. I usually use half unbleached white organic flour and a stoneground organic wholemeal flour. I don't think its necessary to use the tipo '00' Italian flour. It is just a more finely ground flour, but if you're using wholemeal there isn't much point. 

If you're just starting out, the most important thing is not to give up. The more you make it the better you will get. It can be quite a frustrating process when you first begin. Some days it will work and others it just won't. The weather is a huge factor. I live in Sydney and on days when it's 98% humidity i am just not going to make pasta. Generally, if it's humid you'll need a little more flour. 

There are a lot of different ways to make pasta, and everyone will tell you that theirs is the right way. I find that you develop your own method once you have an understanding of the basic process. 

Ingredients:

4 large organic eggs (70g)

200g white, unbleached organic flour

200g organic, stoneground wholemeal flour

extra flour or semolina for dusting

Method:

If you are using a mix master, place the flours in the bowl, briefly stir to combine, then add the eggs and mix on speed four (low to medium) until the dough comes together in one lump. Tip it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5 or so minutes, until the dough is smooth and silky, it should not be sticky but have a 'tacky' feel to it when you poke it. 

If you are doing it by hand, put the flours into a large bowl, stir to combine and make a well, break the eggs into the well and whisk with a fork to break them up, continue whisking gradually incorporating the flour from the outer edges of the well into the egg mixture. Switch to using your hand when the fork can't handle it anymore. When the dough forms a lump, tip it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5-7 minutes, until it is smooth and silky, it should not be sticky but have a 'tacky' feel to it when you poke it. 

Wrap the dough in cling film and place in the fridge, or under a bowl if you live somewhere cold, for half an hour or so.

Remove the dough from the fridge and tear off a chunk about the size of an orange. keep the remaining dough covered. Set the pasta machine to the lowest setting, flatten the dough into a disc and feed through the machine, increase the setting to two, and feed through. Fold the dough so that the two ends meet, and then fold in half. Set the machine to one again and feed through lengthways. Repeat this step 3 times or so. This 'kneading', makes the pasta nice and soft, some people think too soft, but see how you like it.

When you have done this and reached setting two, keep feeding the dough through, without folding, until you reaching setting 6 or 7. As you go, dust the pasta if need be, to prevent it sticking together, which is a nightmare. Cut the pasta sheets into three or four sections, place on a tea towel, or hang on a coat hanger to dry a little. Repeat with remaining dough.

When you have finished it is good to let the pasta dry for half an hour or so, this makes it easier to cut into linguini or taglitelle. But if you are making ravioli or tortellini it shouldn't be left hanging around but cut and filled immediately. If you have the taglitelle/linguini attachment with your machine run the sheets through, dusting with a little flour. Otherwise, just use a sharp knife to cut strips however thick you want. 

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling water for 5-6 minuets. It takes a little longer with the wholemeal flour, if you are just using plain flour cook for maybe 3-4 minutes. Just keep testing it, if you are mixing it with a hot sauce, drain it just before it is ready, as it will keep cooking. Drain it, and toss with a nice light sauce so the taste of the pasta isn't masked. I like it with pesto or a tomato sauce with a little steamed and pureed spinach added and topped with some reggiano.

YUM!