Tag: mushrooms

• 

  PK’s Coq Au Vin

  I have been sitting on this post for about 9 months now because I wasn’t sure it looked appealing. I was worried that you wouldn’t be inspired enough to try it.

  Sometimes though we need to be reminded that we are our own worst critic and a good friend of mine just did that. She said its picture looked ‘tasty and who cares what it looks like anyway’ and this made me remember that this blog is all about food connection and the way food makes you feel.

  So here it is :).

  Coq au vin is a “peasant” French dish of braised chicken (cockerel traditionally) in red wine with a generous heap of bacon, onion, carrots and celery. I should have served with more sauce than shown in the photos below but rest assured the chicken was lovely and tender :).

  You will be:

  1. Preparing your ingredients
  2. Browning the chicken
  3. Making the sauce
  4. Slow cook everything
  5. Reducing the sauce
  6. Serving.

  You will need:

  • Ingredients:
    • a whole chicken, skin off, cut into quarters (mine was about 1.3kg)
    • 1 celery stick, chopped
    • 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
    • 140g bacon, chopped (I used ‘short cut’ rashers)
    • 1 large brown onion, sliced
    • black peppercorns to taste, cracked
    • 1 cup plain flour to dust the chicken pieces
    • a good slug of olive oil
    • 2 cups red wine
    • 1/2 cup homemade chicken stock
    • A handful of small or chopped mushrooms
  •  Equipment:
    • a long sharp knife
    • a chopping board
    • an oven proof dish
    • tongs
    • a wooden spoon
    • a dish to keep chicken warm

  Preparing your ingredients

  1. Chop the 1 large brown onion into quarters or slices depending on your preference (you could even use a few whole shallots instead).
  2. Chop the 2 carrots and the celery stick the way you want too (sometime I prefer larger pieces of vegetables in this dish).
  3. Quarter the whole chicken (I recommend this knife), remove the skin and dust in flour and black pepper.
  4. Chop the 140g of bacon.

  

  

  Browning the chicken

  1. Chuck a good slug of olive oil in the oven proof dish and put it on the hob (medium heat).
  2. Brown chicken on all sides.
  3. Take the chicken pieces out, put them on a plate and chuck them in an oven on very low heat to keep them warm.

  

  

  Making the sauce

  1. Put a good slug of red wine to moisten the oven proof dish and then add the:
     • 1 celery stick, chopped
     • 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
     • 140g bacon, chopped
     • 1 large brown onion, sliced
  2. Throw in the handful of chopped mushrooms.
  3. Add the remainder of the 2 cups red wine and bring to the boil to cook off the alcohol.
  4. Replace the chicken, cover and put the hob on low heat.

   

  

  Slow cook everything

  Cook for about an hour, turning the chicken every now and again.

  Reducing the sauce

  Remove the chicken again and put it back into the oven to keep it warm while you reduce the rest of the sauce.

  

  

  Serving

  Mashed or boiled potatoes will go a treat and I also recommend adding some steamed snow peas pods and a nice crusty baguette :).

  

  Enjoy,

  PK

  Related Links:

  • See more chicken recipe posts here

   

  Written by

  PK

  ·

  August 31, 2017

• 

  PK’s Easy Pho Ga

  When someone mentions Vietnamese cuisine I immediately think of the famous Vietnamese noodle dish called Pho.

  Pho (pronounced like ‘fur’ but without the hard r) is a modern take on more traditional dishes. The Vietnamese people rapidly took to this healthy “fast food” and then spread it around the globe.

  I imagine everyone has their own favourite style of Pho. Mine is a sweet and sour broth with some lightly poached chicken, lots of vegetables and tons of rice noodles. Simply multiply the ingredients below for each person you are serving.

  I go light on the chili factor (even none at all for my family) and then I use Sriracha hot sauce in my bowl to add some heat.

  Tip: Make the fried shallots ahead of time using my method here. They are an optional garnish but I feel they really “make” this dish.

  You will be:

  1. Building the broth
  2. Poaching the chicken
  3. Serving.

  You will need:

  • Ingredients:
    • Broth for one:
      • 3 cups homemade chicken stock
      • a splash of fresh lime juice
      • 1.5 Tbsp fish sauce
      • a small chunk galangal (galanga)
      • a small chunk ginger
      • 1/2 cinnamon stick
      • 1 star anise
      • 1 tsp raw sugar
      • black peppercorns to taste, ground
      • 1 coriander root
    • Bowl for one:
      • 250g chicken tenderloins, sliced
      • 250g rice noodles, pre-softened in boiling water
      • a handful of torn coriander leaves
      • a handful of mung bean sprouts
      • a few sprigs of vietnamese coriander
      • 2 spring onions, white parts, sliced on an angle
      • jalepenos , sliced, to taste
      • 1/2 a lime (for people to adjust the fish sauce/lime juice balance)
      • fried shallots and garlic slices
      • A handful of chopped mushrooms like shitake or enoki
  •  Equipment:
    • a long sharp knife
    • a chopping board
    • a grater
    • a large saucepan
    • a serving bowl

  Building the broth

  I use my home-made chicken stock because it starts you off with a broth that has been built up with chicken bones, vegetables and garlic.

  Making a starter broth this way allows you to subsequently build dish specific flavours on top of it and this is what we will do now.

  1. Add the 3 cups of chicken stock to the saucepan.
  2. Peel a chunk of galangal and a chunk of ginger and throw them into the pan whole.
  3. Add the:
     • splash of fresh lime juice
     • 1.5 Tbsp fish sauce
     • 1/2 cinnamon stick
     • 1 star anise
     • 1 tsp raw sugar
     • ground black peppercorns
     • 1 coriander root
  4. Let everything sit for 5 minutes, to infuse, if you have time.
  5. Put the saucepan on low heat and then gently simmer for about 10 minutes.

  Poaching the chicken

  1.  Add the 250g of sliced chicken tenderloins to the gently simmering pan of broth.
  2. Allow the chicken to cook for 5 minutes and then remove the pan from the heat (by this stage everything is cooked and you don’t want the chicken to overcook as it will go leathery).

  

  Serving

  Serve the broth over the rice noodles and vegetables. Garnish with slices of chili, fried shallots and even omelette and peanuts.

  Have in easy reach extra fish sauce, lime wedges and of course Sriracha sauce so you and your guests can adjust the taste to suit.

  

  

  Enjoy,

  PK

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  Written by

  PK

  ·

  July 25, 2017

• 

  PK’s Lazy Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff

  This slow cooked dish isn’t going to win me points for authenticity but it is tasty, easy to make and kid friendly :).

  My youngsters insist on having the sour cream (that you would normally mix through) on the side and they are not mushroom fans. I feel however, that you need mushrooms for a richer flavour. My solution is to use whole ‘cup’ or button mushrooms and that seems to avoid turning dinner into a picking out bits of chopped mushroom exercise :).

  You will be:

  1. Preparing your ingredients.
  2. Browning the beef and softening the vegetables.
  3. Cooking low and slow.
  4. Serving.

  You will need:

  • Ingredients:
    • 1kg of beef (I used rump steak), cubed
    • A few slugs of olive oil
    • 1 large brown onion, sliced
    • 2 -3 garlic cloves, finely diced
    • 2 large carrots, peeled and chopped
    • 1 Tbsp paprika, ground
    • 3 medium mushrooms (I used ‘cup’), whole or chopped
    • 2 Tbsp plain flour
    • Table salt to taste
    • Black peppercorns to taste, ground
    • 2 cups home-made stock (I only had chicken to hand)
    • A good slug of tomato paste
    • A good slug of Worcestershire sauce
    • A handful of small or chopped mushrooms (optional)
  •  Equipment:
    • 1 long sharp knife
    • 1 chopping board
    • 1 fry pan
    • 1 slow cooker
    • 1 mixing jug
    • 1 whisk or fork

  Prepare your ingredients

  1. Turn your slow cooker onto medium and add a slug of oil, lid on.
  2. Cube the 1kg of beef and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.
  3. Slice the 1 brown onion.
  4. Peel and finely dice the 2 -3 garlic cloves.
  5. Peel and chop the 2 carrots.
  6. Rinse the 3 ‘cup’ mushrooms and rough chop them if you prefer.

  

  Browning the beef and softening the vegetables

  1. Heat a slug of olive oil in a fry pan over medium heat.
  2. Brown the beef and then add it to the slow cooker along with the whole or chopped mushrooms.
  3. Add a bit more oil to the fry pan if you need it (I didn’t).
  4. Throw into the fry pan the
     • onions
     • garlic
     • carrots
     • tomato paste
     • stock
     • 2 Tbsp plain flour
     • 1 Tbsp ground cumin
     • a good slug of Worcestershire sauce
  5. Give everything a gentle but thorough mix, cooking on medium heat until the onions have softened.
  6. Pour the contents of the fry pan into the slow cooker.

  

  

  

  Cooking low and slow

  1. Cover and cook on medium for 4  to 5 hours and the sauce is somewhat reduced.

  

  Serving

  My kids prefer that I take the mushrooms out before I serve the dish on a bed of rice and steamed greens. I then give everyone a very healthy dollop of sour cream.

  

  Enjoy,

  PK

  Written by

  PK

  ·

  June 25, 2017

• 

  The Easiest Steak Diane Sauce

  My family sure does like its beef :).

  We are very lucky in Australia to have a great beef industry and also the climate to barbecue it year round. That mean lots of opportunity to experiment in the kitchen.

  Most days I look up recipes that make use of the plants I have in my kitchen garden and work backwards. So I am pleased to say that if like me you have never made Steak Diane before because it sounded complicated, we couldn’t have been more wrong.

  

  Notes:

  • adapted from http://www.cooks.com/recipe/qr0lk5fe/steak-diane.html
  • no mushrooms in this version but I might try using Enoki next time
  • I use porterhouse steaks a lot because that cut is very forgiving on the barbecue.

  You will be:

  1. Preparing the ingredients.
  2. Serving directly.

  You will need:

  • Ingredients:
    •  2 small shallots, thinly sliced
    • 1 tsp chives, finely diced
    • 2 tsp parsley, finely diced
    • 2 Tbsp salted butter
    • 1/8 cup dry sherry
    • 1/4 tsp table salt
    • 1/4 tsp garlic powder
    • 1/2 tsp lemon juice
    • 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
    • Ground black peppercorns to taste
    • A handful of delicate mushrooms like Enoki
  •  Equipment:
    • a long sharp knife
    • a chopping board
    • a whisk
    • a small fry pan

  Preparing the ingredients

  1. Slice the 2 small shallots.
  2. Finely dice the 2 tsp of parsley and 1 tsp of chives.
  3. Gently melt the 2 Tbsp of butter in the saucepan.
  4. Add the shallots, parsley and chives and gently stir until the shallots soften.
  5. Add and mix the:
     • 1/4 tsp table salt
     • 1/4 tsp garlic powder
     • 1/2 tsp lemon juice
     • 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
     • ground black peppercorns to taste
  6. Stir in the 1/8 cup dry sherry.

  

  Serving directly

  Cook your steak anyway you like it while you keep the sauce warm (I put some foil on the saucepan after taking it off the heat).

  Drizzle, chomp and then sigh :).

  Enjoy,

  PK

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  Written by

  PK

  ·

  April 27, 2017

• 

  PK Makes River Cottage’s Citrus Braised Lamb Shanks

  Everyone has a dish that they feel slightly guilty about. Guilty because somehow it turns out exceptionally good every single time.  This is mine and it has magical powers :).

  It is originally from the hit Channel 4 series and books, ‘River Cottage’ and I merely adapted it to work in a slow cooker. I like dishes that are a bit different and I prefer this lighter white wine and citrus version over traditional red wine based lamb shank recipes.

  River Cottage’s Hugh Fearnly-Whittingstool can’t have known its romantic power when he added this dish to his cookbook though, surely not. It was the first meal I cooked for my wife to be and she fell madly in love with me. That’s the magical bit and might contradict her version of events :).

  You will be:

  1. Sweating the vegetables in the slow cooker.
  2. Browning the lamb shanks and deglazing the frypan.
  3. Cooking it slow.
  4. Serving.

  You will need:

  • Ingredients:
    • 4 lamb shanks
    • 2 carrots
    • 1 large brown onion
    • 2 celery sticks
    • 2 bay leaves
    • 2 garlic cloves, peeled
    • a few sprigs of fresh thyme or lemon thyme
    • a small handful of parsley or celery leaves, chopped
    • 1 large orange
    • 1 large lemon
    • half a bottle of white wine (I used a Sauvignon blanc)
    • 1 cup of home made stock (I used chicken stock as that was all I had) or 1 cup water
    • several slugs of olive oil
    • a good slug of tomato paste
    • ground rock salt to taste
    • cracked black peppercorns to taste
    • 0.5 Tbsp whole black peppercorns (optional)
    • A handful of small or chopped mushrooms (optional)
  •  Equipment:
    • a chopping board
    • a long sharp knife
    • kitchen tongs
    • a wooden spoon
    • a citrus zester
    • a citrus juicer
    • a large frypan
    • a slow cooker

  Steps:

  Sweating the vegetables in the slow cooker

  1. Put a slug of olive oil into your slow cooker and turn it on high, lid on.
  2. Rough chop the:
     • 2 carrots.
     • 2 celery sticks.
     • handful of parsley or celery leaves.
  3. Finely slice the 1 large brown onion.
  4. Finely chop the 2 garlic cloves.
  5. Add the above to your slow cooker to start them softening up, lid on (mix everything around occasionally).
  6. Once the onions have started to soften, throw in the 2 bay leaves and the sprigs of thyme.
  7. If you like a bit of peppery kick, chuck 0.5 Tbsp of black peppercorns in too.
  8. Juice and then zest the lemon and the orange and add to the slow cooker (retain some of the mixed juice and zest for serving time).
  9. Add the 1 cup of stock or 1 cup of water and mix gently.
  10. Add a good slug of tomato paste.
  11. Add a handful of small mushrooms now if you are using them.

  I love seeing ingredients together like this:

  

  Nice and soft:

  

   

  Browning the lamb shanks and deglazing the frypan

  1. Season the 4 lamb shanks with salt and pepper.
  2. Chuck another slug of olive oil into the pan and bring to medium heat.
  3. Slightly brown every surface of the shanks. Yep, even the ends with a bit of creative meat stacking :).
  4. Then add them to the slow cooker.
  5. I now deglaze the frypan with half a bottle of white wine. When boiling I then add it to the slow cooker.
  6. If the slow cooker looks a bit full don’t panic. Everything will shrink down as it cooks :).

  

  Cooking it slow

  1. Turn your slow cooker to medium and cook for at least 2 hours using kitchen tongs to periodically move the shanks around.
  2. Now you can keep the slow cooker on medium for speed or turn it down to low for a slower cook (my preference).
  3. When the meat is literally falling of the bone, when you are giving it a gentle mix with the kitchen tongs, it is ready.

   Serving

  I generally serve the shanks on a bed of mashed potato with some steamed green vegetables alongside. This time though I cooked my PK’s NoRecipe Oven Baked Potatoes and served the shanks on the bone with some greens.

  Remember how we set aside some mixed zest and juice? Sprinkle a bit of the zest and then drizzle some juice over each serve to freshen the citrus flavours and aromas.

  On or off the bone this dish is visually appealing:

  

  

  Make this dish for someone you love,

  PK

  Written by

  PK

  ·

  February 17, 2017

• 

  Lorelle B’s Stuffed Mushrooms

  This reader submitted mushroom recipe is so good. Lorelle recommends changing the stuffing each time to keep it exciting. I love it and your guests will too. 🙂 – PK

  Ingredients:

  • 4 large portabello mushrooms
  • 8 slices of stale bread
  • 2 Tbsp of plain flour
  • 2 Tbsp of garlic chives
  • 1/2 cup of grated parmesan
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 cup grated cheese
  • 1/2 tsp minced garlic
  • pinch of onion salt
  • squirt of lemon juice
  • oil for frying
  • 2 Tbsp of butter
  • milk for the rue

  Steps:

  1. Clean mushroom cups with damp paper towels,  remove stalks, set aside.
  2. Blitz bread crumbs with chives and Parmesan, put in bowl.
  3. Whisk egg with garlic and lemon juice.
  4. Dip mushrooms in egg mix then crumbs.
  5. Deep fry till golden, set aside.
  6. Melt butter in saucepan, then add flour, whisk until a rue has formed.
  7. Add some milk and continue to whisk till desired thickness, add cheese, let cool.
  8. Then fill mushrooms with sauce, add whatever ingredient you want to sauce, eg: prawns or chicken, place mushrooms on baking tray and grill till golden
  9. Serve hot with a crunchy salad or fries, yum.

  Thanks,

  Lorelle B.

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  Written by

  PK

  ·

  July 7, 2016

• 

  Jon Anderson’s Swan River Prawn and Mushroom Linguine

  Sending out a massive congratulations to Jonathan Anderson for winning Grow It, Catch It,  Cook It’s first ever competition. The amazing fellas at Life Cykel will be sending him out one of their Home Grown Mushroom Boxes so he can get cracking growing his own Oyster mushrooms.

  ‘Welchy’ chose this recipe entry as the winner because it completely captures everything that I am writing about on the blog. Fresh home grown ingredients harvested just before use, fresh seafood caught personally and locally with little to no transport footprint and supporting a small local operation’s passion. I hadn’t heard of Magpie Ridge Organics before but their Toodyay farm and products sound amazing. There is even a fishing tip buried in there too :).

  Jon writes:

  Ingredients:

  • 20 king prawns freshly caught from the Swan River
  • 3 large button mushrooms
  • 1 spring onion from the garden
  • 2 garlic cloves from the garden
  • 50-100 ml olive oil (highly recommend our mates fresh made – Magpie Ridge brand)
  • 15 g butter
  • 500 g linguine pasta (even better if home made – ask Davina how)
  • 4 leaves basil from the garden

  Method:

  1. Start boiling a large pot of water for the linguine.  While you wait chop up the garlic, spring onion and mushrooms.
  2. Remove the heads from the prawns but leave the shell on the tails (If you like to fish, keep the prawn heads for your berley mixture).
  3. Once the water has boiled add the linguine and than heat a frying pan on high for the prawn mixture.
  4. Once the frying pan is hot add the olive oil and let it heat up for 1-2 minutes.  Add the mushrooms, garlic and spring onion and reduce for about 3 minutes.
  5. Add the prawns and butter and cook for 3-4 minutes.
  6. Turn the heat off the frying pan and remove from hot area.
  7. Drain linguine and mix into the frying prawn sauce mixture.
  8. Add the chopped up fresh basil along with salt and pepper to your liking.  Freshly graded Parmesan is optional.

  Serving:

  Although unorthodox, my wife and I really enjoy Black Chook Shiraz bubbles to make it a bit of a celebration!

  

  Thanks from Life Cykel, ‘Welchy’ and I Jon,

  PK

  Written by

  PK

  ·

  June 23, 2016

• 

  Jon’s Swan River Prawn and Mushroom Linguine

  Sending out a massive congratulations to Jonathan Anderson for winning Grow It, Catch It,  Cook It’s first ever competition. The amazing fellas at Life Cykel will be sending him out one of their Home Grown Mushroom Boxes so he can get cracking growing his own Oyster mushrooms.

  ‘Welchy’ chose this recipe entry as the winner because it completely captures everything that I am writing about on the blog. Fresh home grown ingredients harvested just before use, fresh seafood caught personally and locally with little to no transport footprint and supporting a small local operation’s passion. I hadn’t heard of Magpie Ridge Organics before but their Toodyay farm and products sound amazing. There is even a fishing tip buried in there too :).

  Jon writes:

  Ingredients:

  • 20 king prawns freshly caught from the Swan River
  • 3 large button mushrooms
  • 1 spring onion from the garden
  • 2 garlic cloves from the garden
  • 50-100 ml olive oil (highly recommend, our mates fresh made – Magpie Ridge brand)
  • 15 g butter
  • 500 g linguine pasta (even better if home made – ask Davina how)
  • 4 leaves basil from the garden

  Method:

  1. Start boiling a large pot of water for the linguine.  While you wait chop up the garlic, spring onion and mushrooms.
  2. Remove the heads from the prawns but leave the shell on the tails (If you like to fish, keep the prawn heads for your berley mixture).
  3. Once the water has boiled add the linguine and than heat a frying pan on high for the prawn mixture.
  4. Once the frying pan is hot add the olive oil and let it heat up for 1-2 minutes.  Add the mushrooms, garlic and spring onion and reduce for about 3 minutes.
  5. Add the prawns and butter and cook for 3-4 minutes.
  6. Turn the heat off the frying pan and remove from hot area.
  7. Drain linguine and mix into the frying prawn sauce mixture.
  8. Add the chopped up fresh basil along with salt and pepper to your liking.  Freshly graded Parmesan is optional.

  Serving:

  Although unorthodox, my wife and I really enjoy Black Chook Shiraz bubbles to make it a bit of a celebration!

  

  Thanks from Life Cykel, ‘Welchy’ and I Jon,

  PK

  Written by

  PK

  ·

  June 23, 2016

• 

  Day 7 Life Cykel Home Grown Mushroom Box Side 2

  

  This product truly is rewarding. This is what greeted me this morning.

  You might recall that last week I harvested my first mushrooms from the starting side of my Life Cykel Home Grown Mushroom Box (Day 12 Life Cykel Home Grown Mushroom Box Side 1.

  Since then I have:

  • taken the bag out and cut it on the other side
  • soaked it over night
  • put it back in the box with the unharvested side visible in the window
  • placed it back in kitchen (out of direct sunlight) and
  • waited as patiently as I could :).

  I can’t wait for my second crop.

  Don’t forget about our competition to win one of these boxes (thanks to those who have already entered and to the generosity of the guys at Life Cykel) and see my other mushroom posts here.

  Cheers,

   

  PK

  Written by

  PK

  ·

  June 14, 2016

• 

  Day 12 Life Cykel Home Grown Mushroom Box Side 1

  Yesterday my patience paid off when I got to harvest my first batch of mushrooms. I got almost 250 g (edit: I got almost 500g in the end of batch 1) and could have harvested a few more. I am leaving them to get bigger and I can already see new ones emerging. When they stop coming I can take the bag out, cut it on the other side, soak it over night and off we go again. See my post Life Cykel Home Grown Mushroom Box Unboxing for more information.

  Post harvest pic:

  

   

  I gave a large paper bag full of them to my mum in exchange for some baby sitting 🙂 and I also had enough left over to add to the green salad we had with some beef steaks for dinner. I just salt and peppered them and sliced them raw. They have an amazingly subtle nutty flavour and really complimented the steaks. Best of all, they had been harvested moments before. There is nothing better! Today I am going to use one of the big ones as a plate for a runny fried egg at lunch.

  I thoroughly recommend this product. Check out my other Life Cykel posts here.

  Here is a slideshow of the mushrooms’ amazing growth over the past 12 days:

   

  Thanks again to the guys at Life Cykel for this amazing product,

   

  PK

   

   

   

   

  Written by

  PK

  ·

  May 29, 2016