Parsley, Brussels Sprouts & Feta Pesto with Broccolini Pasta

Warning: Photo taken by iPhone.

In the true spirit of this blog I give you Parsley, Brussels Sprouts & Feta Pesto with Broccolini Pasta . Why? Because I fucked up. I didn't intend to make this dish. Who would think of something so ridiculous?

I fully intended to add the brussels sprouts to the pasta water for the last three minutes of the pasta cooking process but I changed my mind. As I was cooking half of the pine nuts in some olive oil, I thought, 'why not chuck the brussels in there?' caramalise them a little? So I did just that. But THEN I realised that I hadn't washed the sprouts. And me being me... I wasn't entirely happy with that so I pulled them out and quickly rinsed them and threw them into the pasta water anyway for four minutes. But THEN they looked so waterlogged and pathetic I threw them back into the pine nuts pan to get rid of the excess liquid. I added some feta to make it a little creamy and added some white wine too. The sprouts still looked pale and limp so I added some to the parsley pesto I had already prepared. It tasted good so I added more. It tasted better so I added the rest. Oh My God. Some kind of alchemical magic took place... voila - a delicious pesto. With no bitterness. I don't have that brussels loathing gene that some others seem to have... the pesto tastes light, frothy and damned fine. So this happy accident had to go onto the blog. And with it, the resurrection of this blog.

INGREDIENTS:
1 bunch of parsley (italian flat leaf), chop it
feta cheese (about half a cup), break it
1/2 cup pine nuts, toast em, add half, keep half whole for later
1/2 cup of olive oil
1 big clove of garlic, chop it
a little pasta water
12 brussels sprouts (or so?), quartered, boiled for 3 mins, then pan fried
1/2 a cup of white wine
zest of one lemon


INSTRUCTIONS:
Blend.

Add some other veggies to the pasta water during the last three minutes. Anything green - broccoli, peas or broad beans. I added broccolini.

This recipe is very forgiving. My amounts are very vague. Seriously vague. Don't be so uptight about the amounts... it's just pesto... pesto doesn't care, neither should you.

Greek beans - baked OR Baked Beans - Greek Style

This is for you Miria.
I tried to tell Miria how to make the Greek baked beans over the phone but somehow my instructions didn't translate and her beans didn't work out. So I took some pictures with my iPhone which has a great knack of making my food look cold, bland and seventies. Come on Apple get a decent camera on that phone of yours!

Ingredients
lima beans
olive oil
1 onion, finely diced
2 cans of crushed or peeled tomatoes (I use La Gina brand - the best)
1 tbs tomato paste
1 small carrot, thinly sliced
parsley or dill or both (fresh of course!)
2 bay leaves

Instructions
1. Boil the beans until they're nearly cooked. I just taste them. Unfortunately some beans cook faster than others - they don't behave like pasta. Some might turn into mush while others are not cooked yet. When some of them start to get mushy - stop cooking!

2. Drain the beans.

3. If the skins have separated from some of the beans, remove them. They don't taste so good! Sometimes the skins don't separate from the beans and sometimes they do and sometimes only half do. I dunno why.

4. Add some fresh olive oil (about 2 tablespoons) and some salt. Gently stir the beans. If you add some herbs and a little cheese (like goats or fetta) and maybe some freshly grated tomato - you already have a meal. But I will continue on with my baked beans recipe.

5. To make your napoli (tomato sauce) throw the onions and garlic into hot olive oil.
6. When cooked, add the carrots, beans, tomatoes, tomato paste and as much of the parsley or dill that you think will taste nice. (For me, that would be 1 to 5 tablespoons depending on my mood). Cook for about 20 minutes or until you think the napoli is edible.



7. Mix the beans with the napoli and place in an oven dish.
8. Bake until a lot of the liquid is absorbed. (30 minutes to 1 hour?) and the beans start to get crunchy/slightly burnt (see first picture).

The burnt/crunchy bits taste great. The beans are freeze-able but don't cook till crunchy if you plan on freezing them.

To serve add some crumbled fetta cheese. I didn't have any so I'm eating them straight. Very filling and tasty! No need to buy baked beans in a can, hey?

Ilana's Pie in Pictures sans ingredients

I really have to learn to fulfill promises sooner... I promised this over a year ago.

Here are the pics from Ilana's version of a greek pie. The ladies in Oakleigh showed her the best pastry to buy, how to roll it, what tin to bake it in. Me, they told me to sprinkle water on top to make the pastry crunchy. Who would have thought water would make it crisp? I'm sure there's some spooky quantum physics going on there - it just doesn't make sense!



















I think the pictures say it all really...

Vego Ceasar Salad

It's vegie and it's yummy.

This picture doesn't do it justice - it's my leftovers-try-to-poach-an-egg-at-work-and-fail version. Yes. The interweb told me to prick the yolk and wait until I hear a popping sound. Some popping sound - I think they meant "explosive sound". Naughty interweb! When you become self aware I have some serious reprimanding to do.

Ingredients:

1 x slice of bread

1 x egg

garlic clove

lettuce (lots o cos)

fakin bacon or tempeh bacon

mung bean sprouts (who knew they were baby bean shoots? Not me!)

olive Oil

Dressing:

yoghurt

mustard - dijonnaise

lime juice

Directions:

1. Rub the bread with a piece of garlic sliced in half.

2. Cut the bread and bacon into small pieces and throw into a pan with a little olive oil. Cut up the garlic and throw that in too. Meanwhile...

3. Wash and dry your lettuce. Asemble on a plate.

4. To make the dressing, mix about a tablespoon of yoghurt, a teaspoon of mustard and some lime juice together.

5. When the bread and bacon are almost crunchy, throw in the mung beans. How many? As many as you like. What a delicious accident the mung beans were. They start to go a little transparent, and they really add to the dish.

6. Throw your crispy bits onto your crunchy bits.

7. Poach an egg. Place that as the centrepiece on your salad arrangement.

8. Dollop the dressing all over.

Eat and be merry.

A Pie in Pictures

Ilana finally sent me some pictures of her latest pie and she's included How-to pics! Yippee. Ilana taught me how to make the snail-style pie over the phone. Looking at her pictures I've noticed that I did everything the opposite to what she did. I started on the outside and went in, she started on the inside and went out. She spread innards all round. I bunched it at the end of the pastry. (Her idea makes more sense. This pastry is not hardy) It reminds me of the time we both sat our Logic exam many years ago. I answered every even question and thought it was hard. She answered every odd question and thought it was easy... and we both got the same final result. [Ok, so I'm a glass half empty kinda gal but in my glass the bottom half is empty]. We were both into soups then... and now we're both into pies.

More pictures to come...

Ilana's Cauliflower Pie

So my friend Ilana makes amazing pies. This one sounds great. Ilana! I'm waiting for a picture. I'm hoping public humiliation will prompt a quick response from her. She did send me the recipe though. Warning: She is more Aries that I am so her directions are brief.

Ingredients and Directions:

I roast the cauliflower with cumin and olive oil until all caramelised and delicious.
Mash it with fork.
Mix with cheese of choice.
I used marinated goats cheese but have used ricotta and feta before.
Put in pie.
Scatter with fresh mint.
Bake.
Eat.
Repeat.

[Follow the pastry directions for the lamb pie - It's Ilana's method anyway]

The picture below is my friend Sue's version of Ilana's pie. She used puff pastry, tasty cheese, ricotta cheese and vietnamese mint (coz that's what they had in their garden). Apparently it was a wave-your-arms-in-the-air triumph. I'm awaiting a picture of it's innards.

Poor Person's Gigantic Beans - Gigantes

So the reason I'm posting this recipe is coz my friends asked me how to cook beans. The beans above are about an inch or so in length.

They taste very much like a healthy baked potato - good for people who like potatoes but have an aversion to beans.

Ingredients:

1. Lima beans - cooked until they are firm. (In boiling water) They look white in the middle when they are not cooked. They tend to darken in colour as they cook and absorb water. Don't over cook! Cooking time depends on the freshness of the beans.
2. Olive oil (The darker the colour, the better)
3. Salt and pepper
4. Dill

Mix gently as you would a salad. Add some crumbled feta if you have some. Unfortunately I didn't have any. Some people (like my mum) add vinegar. I don't. You could also add garlic and freshly grated tomato. I ate like a pig last night, so I was going for the pauper version.

[Re quantities: I just add whatever amount tastes good. I will post amounts when it's crucial to the recipe (ie a cake). Also, as all of my recipes are accidents, I'd only be guessing the amounts I used anyway.]

THEA POPPY'S GREEK BAKED BEANS
You many as well learn some greek as we go. "Thea" means aunt. Everyone who is a generation older than you is referrred to as aunt or uncle, I guess it's meant to show respect or something. Thea Poppy is a family friend and great cook. Everything she makes is delicious. This is my version of Thea Poppy's baked beans.

[I was about to make the following recipe, but when I made the beans and then tasted them to see if they were ready be napolied... I found that they were so delicious I couldn't bear to sauce them. The beans must have been really fresh... which doesn't surprise me as they only took about 15 minutes to cook. I'll keep the remaining beans in the fridge, if I'm inspired to make my greek baked beans recipe - I'll post it later.]

1. Cook lima beans (or gigantes if you can find them)... actually it works with any bean.
2. While they are cooking, make your favourite napoli sauce.
3. When the beans are almost cooked (say 80% cooked) drain them. I like to do this so that they absorb the napoli as they cook further in the oven.
4. Add the beans to your napoli sauce and bake them in the oven until they get a little crisp and brown on top and are ready to be eaten. (20-30 minutes?) Yum.
5. To make them more authentically Greek, add dill instead of basil as your main herb.

NOTE: My background is greek, so you'll find a greek influence in my cooking. Gigantes is the greek word for the bigger lima-type beans. My direct translation would be "gigantics". If you can find them - fantastic! In Melbourne I can only find largish lima beans (in Oakleigh) or medium sized lima beans in supermarkets - they're not genuine gigantes but I don't think you can get them here. I've never tried the real thing. Have you?