shaved zucchini, mint, chilli & feta salad

Jamie Oliver is responsible for showing me that zucchini can be eaten raw. I can’t believe I never realised it before, but I was watching his one of his 30 minute meals episodes and he started shaving raw zucchini into a salad.

Genius!

How had I never figured this out before?

So I combined his raw zucchini idea with another salad he made with grilled zucchini, mint and chilli. Sheer brilliance. So simple and yet friggin’ fresh and delicious.

Jamie, you are amazing. Really.

Shaved Zucchini, Mint, Chilli & Feta Salad

Ingredients:

2 smallish zucchini
1 small red chilli, finely chopped
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh mint
100g feta, crumbled
Salt & pepper, to taste
Olive oil
Lemon juice
Small mint leaves for garnish

Method:

1.    Using a peeler or a mandolin, shave the zucchini into super thin slices.

2.    Add mint and chilli, then season with salt and pepper.

3.    Dress with lemon juice and olive oil then toss to coat well.

4.    Gently stir through half the feta.

5.    Pile onto serving plate then scatter with remaining feta and top with small mint leaves.

jamie oliver’s “new” mince pies

Merry Christmas!!!

Today Jonas was up early cooking a variety of Swedish delicacies for our Julbord (Christmas table):

• vörtbröd (wort or beer bread)
• smoked sausages
• smoked mackerel
• sillsallad (pickled herring with mayo, egg, herbs & potato)
• meatballs with lingon jam
• beetroot salad
• bourbon-maple-mustard glazed ham
• Janssons frestelse (potato & anchovy gratin)

My only contribution was these mince pies.

I know have slowed down my blogging lately, but I promise I have a really good excuse.

I’m not quite ready to share the reason just yet but suffice to say, if all goes according to plan, I will let you in on the secret in March. Until then, please be patient and I promise I won’t disappear completely.

I saw Jamie make these pies on a Christmas TV special and thought they looked a lot simpler and easier to make than traditional mince pies. I fancied mine up quite a bit with dried sour cherries, blueberries and dates, but you could use any dried fruits you have on hand.

They are quite sweet and intensely flavoured, so I recommend serving with sweetened crème fraîche, ice cream, custard or cream to balance it out a little.

Jamie Oliver’s “New” Mince Pies

My adaptation of Jamie Oliver's recipe. Makes 12.

Ingredients:
¼ cup dried cranberries
¼ cup dried sour cherries
¼ cup dried dates, chopped
2 tablespoons dried blueberries
½ cup brandy
400g jar high quality fruit mince
30g glace orange rind, finely chopped
100g peeled, roasted chestnuts
2 sheets puff pastry
6 sheets of filo pastry
50g butter, melted
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 egg, beaten
¼ cup flaked almonds
Icing sugar, to dust

Method:

1. The day before, combine the dried cranberries, sour cherries, dates, blueberries and brandy in a plastic container. Mix and seal overnight.

2. Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas 6. Butter a muffin tray (for 12 muffins).

3. Spread the mincemeat over the two puff pastry sheets. Sprinkle over dried fruit mixture, glace rind and then crumble over chestnuts.

4. Tightly roll up the pastry, lengthways, like a Swiss roll, place it on a floured tray, and pop in the fridge to firm up.

5. Combine the melted butter and cinnamon.

6. On a flat surface, butter one layer of filo pastry. Top with another sheet and butter. Fold them in half to create a long thin strip then place over four holes of the muffin tray. Repeat two more times, covering all the muffin holes. Brush all with butter.

7. Take the puff pastry rolls out of the fridge and, with a sharp knife, cut each into 6 slices. Place each slice into a filo-lined hole, flat-side down so the spiral of fruit is displayed.

8. Brush with the egg and sprinkle a few flaked almonds on top of each little pie, then pop both trays in the oven for about 25 minutes, until cooked and golden brown.

9. Leave to cool, then crack the individual pies out of the trays. Dust with a little icing sugar before serving.

Note: You can freeze the cooked, cooled mince pies in their trays (just wrap the lot in cling film). Just reheat them in a hot oven straight from the freezer.

pineapple carpaccio w mint sugar

Seven Days of Pineapple - Day 6

This was the dish that completely converted me to fresh mint.

Who would have thought that beautiful, verdant mint would colour sugar so perfectly.

All you have to do is smash the fresh mint with the sugar crystals and you’re left with this crumbly, vibrant topping that lasts for a few days.

I sprinkle it on anything I can, and I’m guessing you will too.

It's a perfect match to the pineapple, but now I'm wondering what other herb sugars would go equally well with slabs of juicy pineapple. Let me know if you test another out!

Pineapple Carpaccio w Mint Sugar

Recipe by Jamie Oliver. Serves 4.

Ingredients:
1 ripe pineapple
4 heaped tablespoons caster sugar
1 handful of fresh mint

Method:

1. Cut both ends off and peel the skin with a knife, removing any little black bits.

2. Then cut the pineapple into quarters and remove the slightly less tasty core (if you have a pineapple as juicy as mine the core is soft and delicious so I ate that too!).

3. Finely slice your quarters, lengthways, as thin as you can.

4. Lay out flat in one or two layers on a large plate. Don't refrigerate this – just put it to one side.

5. Pick the mint leaves and add them to the sugar in a mortar and pestle then bash the hell out of it. You'll see the sugar change colour and it will smell fantastic. It normally takes about a minute to do if you've got a good wrist action.

6. Sprinkle the mint sugar over the plate of pineapple – making sure you don't let anyone nick any pineapple before you sprinkle the sugar over.

Pineapples supplied by the team at King of Fruit

wild rabbit, green olive & marjoram pappardelle

Kung Hei Fat Choy / Gong Xi Far Tsai !

Today is the first day of Chinese New Year and therefore the first day of the Year of the Rabbit.

My city council has listed some of the important customs of the Chinese New Year:

• Greet people with "Kung Hei Fat Choy", or "Gong Xi Far Tsai" (Happy New Year) to bring good fortune and prosperity.
• Keeping an empty seat at the table to symbolise the presence of family members who can't be there.
• In the lead up, clean your house to sweep out the bad luck of the previous year but don't clean on New Years Day or you'll sweep away the good luck of the new year.
• Let the old year out by opening every door and window in the house on the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve.
• Pay off all debts and cast all grudges aside.
• Do not use knives or scissors on New Year's Day as this may cut off fortune.
• On New Year's Day wear new clothes and be on your best behaviour, as actions on this day set the tone for the year to follow.
• Ward off bad luck by draping red cloth on your doorway.
• The Kitchen God, the guardian of the family hearth, will be reporting to heaven on the behaviour of the family over the past year, so make sure you feed him with sweet foods and honey to ensure he says sweet things about you.

I love the idea that I have a Kitchen God!

There are twelve signs in the Chinese zodiac, but only six are edible (according to moi).

I demonstrated this with seven days of pork recipes to bring in the Year of the Pig back in 2007, but unfortunately I didn’t get my act together for the Year of the Ox back in 2009.

This year I won’t be caught out and am offering up this sumptuous rabbit pasta, care of Mr Jamie Oliver.

I’m still not sure whether cooking the animal of honour is sacrilegious or not, but since no one has told me otherwise I suppose I can look forward to greeting in 2012 and the Year of the.....Dragon!

The flavours of this dish are herbal and comforting.

It’s easy to make, but it does involve a lot of steps and waiting period for marinating and roasting and cooling and reducing and boiling.

But it’s worth it.

Pappardelle w Wild Rabbit, Green Olives & Marjoram

Ingredients:
1 wild rabbit, jointed
Olive oil
2 knobs butter
Few sprigs fresh thyme, picked over (reserve some for serving)
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
4 cloves garlic
3 wineglasses white wine
600g pappardelle pasta
Small handful green olives, stoned and roughly chopped
Bunch of fresh marjoram
Handful freshly grated Parmesan
Zest of ½ orange or lemon (optional)

Marinade
Small bunch of fresh thyme, picked over
6 cloves garlic, crushed
Glug of olive oil
Zest of 1 lemon

Method:

1. The night before, mix the marinade ingredients together and rub them all over the rabbit pieces. Leave them to marinate overnight in the fridge (can be left like this for up to 2 days for a stronger flavour).

2. Preheat oven to 180’C and in a large, heavy-bottomed ovenproof saucepan, heat some olive oil and a knob of butter.

3. Season rabbit with salt and pepper then add to the pan and brown for a couple of minutes on each side until golden.

4. Add thyme, rosemary and garlic cloves then stir and add wine to almost cover the meat.

5. Cover with lid then cook in the oven for 2 hours or until the meat pulls away from the bone easily. Cool meat in juices.

6. When cool, shred the meat with your hands into 2.5cm strips and discard bones.

7. Remove the rosemary, thyme and garlic and heat to reduce juices to slightly thickened liquor (add optional tomatoes here).

8. Turn heat to low and add marjoram, olives and shredded meat. Stir and season to taste.

9. Boil pasta and cook until al dente. Drain and reserve a little cooking water.

10. Turn up heat under meat sauce and toss through remaining knob of butter, orange/lemon zest (optional) and cooked pappardelle. You may need to add a little pasta cooking water to loosen the sauce.

11. Serve immediately with reserved thyme leaves.

Variation: in the photo in the cookbook, the juices are quite red which leads me to believe a tomato was added somewhere along the process. I added two chopped, skinned tomatoes when I reduced the juices and they broke down perfectly.

This is my contribution to Presto Pasta Nights founded and hosted by Ruth from Once Upon A Feast

~~~

This is a short shout out to Ms Correct, who loves a good bunny and adores pappardelle. Let's just hope her fiance 007 can tear himself away from bombing small villages and assassinating dictators to get his ass back to Oz sometime soon. You heard me B-Rad! Put down that Blackberry / MI5 receiver and get on a plane!!!

sage, apple & gorgonzola risotto

Ten years ago, in a room decorated with images of Winnie the Pooh (don’t ask!) my husband and I shared our very first kiss. Three years ago on this same day, we were married.

Love isn’t easy. There are a lot of things we have to suffer through.

He puts up with my insatiable curiosity, my requests for him to fetch me things and my tendency to tell complicated, exaggerated stories. Repeatedly.

I have to put up with his forgetfulness regarding domestic responsibilities, his fondness for all things XBOX and the fact that he’s a vegetarian. (Sorry veggo friends, but it’s tough to love a veggo).

But one thing we both share is a love of food and wine, and for Valentine’s Day we cooked this vegetarian risotto from a Jamie Oliver cookbook that my little sister, Stinky, gave us for our wedding gift.

Jonas has a bit of a man-crush on Jamie Oliver, and frankly I think he could do a lot worse.
In fact, for the record my Dad also has a man-crush on Jamie.

So when Stinky, who had spent some time waitressing at Fifteen when she lived in London, gave us this cookbook for our wedding gift, both Jonas and Dad were giddy as school girls when they opened it up and saw Jamie's own words scrawled across the pages.

It’s a nice full circle, to get a special little token from family, on a subject we both adore and from a chef we both admire for his imagination and yet simplicity.

So who was better placed to “cook” our Valentine’s Day dinner than Jamie?

As Jamie described in his book, this risotto is almost like a Waldorf Salad. The apple is fresh and sweet against the strong cheese and the walnuts provide perfect roasted crunchy texture. And while Jamie uses marjoram in his recipe, I switch to fragrant, sweet sage to combat the spiciness of the gorgonzola.

Sage, Apple & Gorgonzola Risotto

Anna’s adaptation of Jamie Oliver’s recipe. Serves 8.

Ingredients:
1 knob of butter, for frying
2 tablespoons olive oil, for frying
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
400g/14oz risotto rice
2 wineglasses of dry white wine
700ml/1¼ pints hot vegetable or chicken stock
100g/3½oz butter
1–2 small handfuls of freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus a block for grating
200g/7oz gorgonzola cheese, diced
2 crunchy eating apples, cored, halved, and finely chopped, tossed in lemon juice
a small bunch of fresh sage, leaves picked and chopped
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
a handful of walnuts
extra virgin olive oil

Method:
1. Heat the stock.

2. In a separate pan heat the olive oil and butter, add the onions and garlic, and fry very slowly for about 15 minutes without colouring.

3. When the onions have softened, add the rice and turn up the heat. The rice will now begin to lightly fry, so keep stirring it. After a minute it will look slightly translucent.

4. Add the wine and keep stirring — it will smell fantastic. Any harsh alcohol flavours will evaporate and leave the rice with a tasty essence.

5. Once the wine has cooked into the rice, add your first ladle of hot stock and a good pinch of salt.

6. Turn down the heat to a simmer so the rice doesn’t cook too quickly on the outside. Keep adding ladlefuls of stock, stirring and almost massaging the creamy starch out of the rice, allowing each ladleful to be absorbed before adding the next. This will take around 15 minutes.

7. Taste the rice — is it cooked? Carry on adding stock until the rice is soft but with a slight bite. Don’t forget to check the seasoning carefully. If you run out of stock before the rice is cooked, add some boiling water.

8. Turn off the heat, beat in your butter, Parmesan, gorgonzola, chopped apple and sage. Check the seasoning and add salt and pepper if needed.

9. Put a lid on the pan and leave the risotto to rest for a minute so the cheese can really ooze into it.

10. While you’re waiting, gently heat the walnuts in a pan. Then either take the risotto to the table and let everyone help themselves, or divide it between individual serving plates. Put a block of Parmesan on the table for grating over. Sprinkle with the walnuts and drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil before tucking in.

Note: Jamie used marjoram instead of sage.

scallops w lentils, pancetta & sage

I have been eyeing off this recipe ever since my sister gave us this cookbook in March 2007. It was the first dish I marked and one of those I coveted and craved after (hence another Food Challenge), and yet it wasn’t until April 2009 that I finally made it.

Why did it take me so long?

I suppose the recipe seemed complicated and fiddly. Too many ingredients not easily on hand. Too many steps.

But when you break it down it’s pretty easy. Boil in one pot. Fry in another. Done.

Don’t be like me. This recipe is worth the effort. Just make it.

The lentils provide a warm, earthy backdrop to the sweet scallops, crispy sage and salty pancetta. The asparagus brings some fresh flavour while the lemon crème fraîche is an delightful end to the composition. Sublime.

The lentils could easily be made and served without the other accompaniments, as a great vegetarian side dish. I kept some “uncontaminated” from the scallops and served them to Jonas, who has since requested a repeat performance.

One of the wonderful aspects of this dish is the crispy sage leaves. I just adore these leaves fried until brittle and crunchy then paired with anything soft and sweet like fish or pasta.

Scallops w Lentils, Pancetta & Sage

Recipe from Cook with Jamie by Jamie Oliver. Serves 4.

Ingredients:
300g Puy lentils
1 bay leaf
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1 potato, peeled
1 tomato
2 tablespoons flat leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
5 heaped tablespoons crème fraîche (or thick yoghurt)
Juice of 1 lemon
32 baby asparagus spears, woody bases trimmed (or 3-4 large ones)
12 slices pancetta (or smoked, streaky bacon)
12 large scallops (or 16 small scallops)
24 sage leaves
Salt and pepper, to taste
Olive oil, for frying

Method:

1. In a saucepan, combine lentils with garlic cloves, bay leaf, potato and tomato. Cover with water.

2. Bring to the boil and simmer for 20-25 minutes until lentils are tender but holding their shape (ie not mushy).

3. Drain off 90% of the water. Discard the bay leaf.

4. Peel the tomato skin and discard. Return tomato to pot.

5. Mash the tomato, garlic and potato into the lentils with a fork. The lentils actually seem to hold their shape while the mashed vegetables help to create a sauce around the lentils.

6. Add the parsley, red wine vinegar, extra virgin olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside and keep warmish.

7. Season the crème fraîche with salt and pepper to taste. Add just enough lemon juice to give it a twang. Set aside.

8. Heat a little olive oil in a large non-stick pan then fry pancetta.

9. Once golden and crisp, remove and set aside.

10. Season scallops.

11. In the same frying pan, add asparagus and scallops and cook until scallops are golden on each side and asparagus is tender but still crunchy.

12. Remove from pan and set aside.

13. Finally, add some more olive oil and fry sage leaves for 40 seconds on each side until crispy.

14. Divide lentils between four plates, top each with 8 baby asparagus spears, 3 pancetta slices, 3 large scallops and 6 crispy sage leaves. Serve with a dollop of lemon crème fraîche.

Salvia officinalis is a common herb that delivers an anything thing but common flavour to your cooking. Not only has it been a medicinal herb for millennia, but it also acts as an ornamental plant with its soft, dusty-green leaves.

In European cooking sage is often served with fatty meats (particularly pork), onions or cheese and can be included in sausages. The classic Italian sage and burnt butter pasta sauce has been popular for decades and in the Balkans sage is used to flavour spirits.

Once upon a time, sage was prescribed for every illness, hence it’s name “salvia” meaning “to heal”. It was used for everything from sprains, fertility, sore throats, swelling, bleeding, snakebites and even to ward away evil. For instance sage, along with thyme, rosemary and lavender was one of the main ingredients of the Four Thieves Vinegar, believed to protect people from the plague.

Modern sciences shows sage to have healing effects as an “anhidrotic, antibiotic, antifungal, astringent, antispasmodic, estrogenic, hypoglycemic, and tonic”.

This recipe is my contribution to Weekend Herb Blogging, this week hosted by Prof. Kitty from wonderfully named blog The Cabinet of Prof. Kitty. Be sure to visit this recap!

Other blogger recipes using sage:
Apricot, Sage & Cornmeal Cookies - Lottie + Doof
Baked White Beans w Tuna & Sage - Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska
Biscuits w Sausage & Sage Gravy - Pinch My Salt
Butternut Squash Cupcakes w Sage Frosting - Vanilla Garlic
Cauliflower w Sage Butter & Eggs - Nami Nami
Chicken Liver & Sage Salad - Dirty Sugar Cookies
Corn Crackers w Rosemary & Sage - Anne'Food
Crispy Sage & Brown Butter Pasta - 80 breakfasts
Fresh Fig & Sage Grilled Pizza - The Left Over Queen
Game Casserole w Cider & Sage - Food, Glorious Food

Guinness Stew w Sage & Ginger - The Hungry Mouse

Quail Saltimbocca - Cook (almost) Anything At Least Once

Pork Chops w Apple, Sage & Pancetta - Closet Cooking
Rabbit Lasagne w Mushrooms & Sage-Scented Bechamel - Food Stories
Roasted Root Vegetables w Maple Sage Glaze - Food Blogga
Sage & Caramelized Onion Risotto Cups - sugarlaws
Sage Focaccia - Baking Bites
Sage Ice Cream - pastry studio
Sage Lady (cocktail) - Yum Sugar
Sage Steamed Snap Beans - Lucullian Delights
Sage, Honey & Pecorino Heart Bread - Ms. Adventures in Italy
Sage-Pecan Pesto - Kalyn's Kitchen
Sage, Pine Nut & Pecorino Scones - Pro Bono Baker
Sage, Walnut & Dried Fig Stuffing - 101 Cookbooks
Savory Sage Corn Cakes - Gluten Free Cooking School
Soothing Chicken & Sage Dumpling Soup - canarygirl.com
Strawberry & Sage Ice Cream - Ice Cream Ireland
Vegetarian Apple-Cider Ginger Sage Gravy - A Veggie Venture
Walnut-Sage Potatoes Au Gratin - Gluten Free Bay
Watercress & Fresh Sage Soup - Chocolate & Zucchini
White Bean, Crème Fraîche & Sage Frittata - Cook Think
Yellow Fin Tuna, Sage Oil, Hibiscus Salt - Wrightfood
Zucchini, Sage & Scamorza Terrine - The Passionate Cook


References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_sage
http://www.taste.com.au/how+to/articles/1010/sage
http://www.nutrasanus.com/sage.html

venison w juniper, blueberries & thyme

After making so many sweet dishes for Blueberry Week, I thought it would be nice to make something savoury. I stumbled across this great venison dish on Jamie Oliver’s website.

Jamie brilliantly pairs hearty game meat with juniper and thyme and blueberries. It’s a great match with the sweetness of the blueberries cancelling out the slight bitterness of the juniper and both cutting through the iron richness of the venison.

Venison w Juniper, Blueberries & Thyme
Recipe by Jamie Oliver. Serves 4.
Ingredients:
800g venison loin, trimmed
1 small handful of fresh thyme, leaves picked
5 dried juniper berries
4 shallots, peeled and finely sliced
1 clove of garlic, peeled and finely sliced
1 glass of robust red wine
200g fresh blueberries
2 large knobs of butter
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Extra virgin olive oil

Method:

1. Bash up the thyme and juniper berries in a pestle and mortar with a really good pinch of salt and pepper. Loosen with 2 good lugs of olive oil.

2. Pat the venison dry with some kitchen paper and rub the thyme mixture all over it.

3. Sear the meat in a hot pan on all sides (roughly 6 minutes for medium rare, 7-8 minutes for medium: don’t cook it anymore than that and use your instincts not your clock!).

4. Remove it from the pan when it’s cooked to your liking and allow it to rest on a plate for 4 minutes, covered with tinfoil.

5. Reduce the heat under the pan and add a good lug of oil.

6. Add the shallots and the garlic and fry gently for around 3 minutes until translucent and tender.

7. Turn up the heat again, add the wine, and let it reduce by half.

8. Add the blueberries and simmer slowly for 4 minutes, then remove the pan from the heat.

9. Add the butter and jiggle and shake the pan around so the sauce goes slightly opaque and shiny. Season to taste.

10. Slice the venison into 2cm slices. Add the meat’s resting juices to the sauce and spoon over the venison. Serve with vegetables or salad passed separately.

Note: If you haven’t got a pestle and mortar, use the end of a rolling pin and a metal bowl.

I've already dealt with thyme, and surely no one wants me to talk about blueberries anymore, so let's focus on juniper berries.

Well they aren't real berries at all, but the female seed cone of various juniper trees, such as the Juniperus communis, which is the one most commonly used in cooking.

In fact juniper berries are the only spice that come from conifers. The mature, dark berries are used both fresh and dried in cooking, whereas immature green berries are what imparts the crucial flavours in gin.

In fact the English word “gin” is a direct derivation from the French genièvre and the Dutch jenever which described the juniper branches and berries used to flavour the spirit.

The outer part of berry is pretty flavourless so most recipes call for juniper berries to be crushed in order to bring out the essential oils. Apparently fresh mature berries are the strongest in flavour and lose their intensity during drying and storage.

Juniper has been used as far back as ancient Egypt, where berries have been found in tombs; Greece, where athletes believe juniper to increase their stamina for the ancient Olympic competitions; and Romans used juniper berries as a substitute for black pepper because it was too expensive.

Today the berries are used extensively in Scandinavian and other Northern European cuisines such as German, Austrian, Czech and Hungarian. Juniper pairs especially well with strong game meats, wild birds, pork and cabbage/sauerkraut.

This is my contribution to Weekend Herb Blogging, hosted this week by Pam from Sidewalk Shoes.

References & Photo Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juniper_berry
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juniper
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Jun_com_cones.jpg
http://www.global-garden.com.au/gardenherbs3.htm
http://www.culinarycafe.com/Spices_Herbs/Juniper_Berries.html
Tags: morsels and musings food blog food and drink australia recipes main course blueberries blueberry recipes berry recipes main course juniper venison juniper recipes meat recipes game meat recipes venison recipes weekend herb blogging whb

baked jerusalem artichokes

When I saw the pretty, vibrant Jerusalem artichokes in the grocery store, I just had to snap some up.

I had no idea what I was going to do with them, but I know they aren’t easy to come by so I had to buy them then and there and worry about finding a recipe later.

After much Googling and the discovery of some lovely looking recipes, I stumbled across this Jamie Oliver side dish that won me over completely and utterly.

I had cooked with Jerusalem artichokes twice before and both times were a horrible disasters. I was in my early twenties and had no idea what I was doing. The dishes I concocted were so awful Jonas and I couldn’t eat them and I think it turned us off the distinctive taste of Jerusalem artichokes for some time after that.

But thanks to Jamie all that has changed.

This recipe is simply divine. It’s not very healthy but my god it’s worth the calories. The flavour combinations are just wonderful and you could easily do the same dish with potatoes instead.

This recipe not only won me over to Jerusalem artichokes, but it also started my love affair with thyme. I have made two other thyme laden recipes since and I haven’t looked back!

Baked Jerusalem Artichokes w Bread Crumbs, Thyme & Lemon

Recipe from The Naked Chef 2 by Jamie Oliver. Serves 4-6.

Ingredients:
285ml double cream or créme fraîche
Juice of 1 lemon
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1 good handful of fresh thyme, leaves picked and chopped
3 handfuls of grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1kg Jerusalem artichokes, peeled and sliced as thick as a pencil
2 good handfuls of fresh breadcrumbs
Olive oil
Method:
1. Preheat your oven to 220°C/425°F/Gas7.
2. In a bowl mix your cream, lemon juice, garlic half the thyme and most of the Parmesan, and season well to taste.
3. Throw in the sliced Jerusalem artichokes. Mix well and place everything in an ovenproof baking dish.
4. Mix the breadcrumbs with the rest of the thyme and Parmesan and some salt and pepper.
5. Sprinkle all the flavoured breadcrumbs over the artichokes and drizzle with a little olive oil.
6. Bake in the oven for around 30 minutes until the artichokes are tender and the breadcrumbs golden.

It’s not from Jerusalem and it’s not even an artichoke. So goes the story of the Jerusalem artichoke.

Also known as sunroot, sunchoke and topinambur, its botanical name is Helianthus tuberosus and it is native to the north east of the USA (from North Dakota to Maine to northern Florida and Texas.

Europeans first took notice of the sunchoke in 1605 when a French explorer, Samuel de Champlain, found them at Cape Cod, but Native Americans had been cultivating them for some time prior to that.


The plant can grow up to 3 metres tall and the gnarly, uneven tubers are similar to ginger roots with a nutty, artichoke flavour.

So how did it get its name? They are a member of the Asteraceae family (think daisies) and related to the sunflower, producing large yellow flowers. It is said that Europeans named the plant Girasole, which is Italian for sunflower and that the pronunciation of Girasole sounds similar to Jerusalem and hence the name evolved. No one really knows if this is true, but it sounds good.

The plant yields good amounts of fructose, are high in potassium, fibre and phosphorus, and could turn out to be a good source of ethanol biofuel. Their iron content is said to be similar to red meat, weight to weight.


They contain large amounts of a carbohydrate inulin which can cause digestive problems for some people, including stomach aches and flatulence. This led to rumours that they were inedible, but actually the presence of inulin instead of starch makes them perfect for diabetics.

Fresh roots should be plump and firm because soft, wrinkled roots can have a bitter flavour. If boiled they can become very mushy so steaming and baking are the preferred methods of cooking, although they can be eaten raw. Many cooks recommend scrubbing rather than peeling the tubers.

This is my contribution to this week's Weekend Herb Blogging, hosted by Erin from The Skinny Gourmet. Head on over for the recap.


References
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusalem_artichoke
http://www.greenharvest.com.au/Plants/jerusalem_artichoke_info.html
http://www.abc.net.au/tv/cookandchef/txt/s1710648.htm
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/08/11/1092102504186.html?from=storyrhs
http://www.daleysfruit.com.au/Perennialveg/jerusalem.htm

Tags: morsels and musings food blog food and drink australia recipes weekend herb blogging whb entrée starter side dish jerusalem artichoke sunchoke thyme thyme recipes baked recipes vegetable recipes vegetarian recipes sunchoke recipes jerusalem artichoke recipes