Tag: olive oil

• 

  PK’s NoRecipe Fried Shallots And Garlic

  This oft overlooked garnish is hard to beat for wow factor but boy does it take patience and a watchful eye to make. Even a small distraction can result in burnt onions but the good news is that you can make it ahead of time (even a day ahead).

  It has a desirable almost burnt flavour in isolation but it acts to bring that “missing something” when in combination with other ingredients in soups, burgers and salads.

  It will take about 15 minutes of regular, gentle moving of them on a very low heat. You won’t be trying to get them crispy in the pan as that will happen when you drain them into paper towel and they cool.

  Steps:

  1. You start by slicing a few shallots and a garlic clove if you are using one.
  2. Heat a really generous amount of olive oil in a sauce pan.
  3. Add the shallot and garlic slices and move them often to stop them burning (you want to cook them evenly as a batch and not have some burnt and some underdone.
  4. Keep cooking until the the shallots have absorbed a lot of the oil and they look a dark golden brown (see pictures below).
  5. Pop them into some paper towel and let them cool and crisp up.
  6. Take a sneaky “test” mouthful :).

   

  

  

  

   

  

   

  

  

  Serving suggestion:

  Enjoy,

  PK

  Written by

  PK

  ·

  July 22, 2017

• 

  Bish’s Basil Pesto Experiment 1

  I have two large planter boxes at the edge of our patio that are where I grow my herbs, along with a long thin veggie patch against a fence.  Luckily this space is enough for me to play around with some different herbs and veggies.

  Giving the long thin veggie patch a bit of a spruce:

   

  Lately we’ve had a surfeit of basil in one of the planter boxes (the other is full of mint) and after some prompting we decided we’d have a go at making pesto.

  

   

  After picking and washing a heap (and returning a few little spiders back to the patch) we decided we’d try to make a couple of varieties.

  The first one we started with basil in a stick blender attachment, and poured in olive oil.  It mulched the basil more than anything else, but as we added pine nuts it started to blend down a bit more.  Adding some spring onions as a test didn’t help with the mulch-like consistency, though. That wasn’t a great experiment, especially when I didn’t close the blender attachment properly and got it all over myself, the kitchen bench and floor…

  The second batch started with four cloves of garlic, and some olive oil.  This went into a nice creamy paste quickly, and we added some more pine nuts and then started to add in some basil.  This created a much creamier pesto, which went a vibrant light green pretty quickly.  Unfortunately, 4 cloves of garlic is a bit much… it’s more like a garlic sauce.

  On an earlier trip out that day I’d bought a couple of flip-top seal jars, and after they’d been washed and dried out I loaded up the basil into one each.

  

  I was pretty chuffed with this, but anywhere where there is air (you can see the bubbles) went brown within minutes .  I had poured some oil on top to help seal it away from the air but didn’t think about these little air pockets.

  A week later we’ve been using the pesto in various dishes (pasta, mainly) but each time we have to scoop out the unsightly brown bits.  It’s a bit of a pain, but it doesn’t take away from the taste.  The next trick we will try is to blanche the basil and dry it before we turn it into pesto – this should help as the heat will destroy the enzymes that react with oxygen to cause the brown discolouration.

  It’s not like we don’t have heaps more basil to test it on, anyway…

  Bish

  Related Links:

  • see more of Bish’s posts here

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  Written by

  PK

  ·

  April 10, 2017

• 

  DrippyStuff: Creamy Aioli

  Last night we had my Baked Mashed Potato, Bacon and Cheese Balls again and I wanted to have something to dip them in. I did a quick Google and settled on this recipe.

  The result was amazing and got ticks of approval from my wife who is something of an expert when it comes to this particular sauce.

  Notes:

  • I found the original recipe a bit runny so I reduced the amount of water
  • You will be whisking slowly for around 10 minutes in my experience
  • You can make it taste different every time by mixing up the seasoning
  • Contains raw egg

  You will be:

  1. Whisking and whisking some more.
  2. Seasoning the sauce.

  You will need:

  • Ingredients:
    • 1 egg yolk
    • 1 tsp water
    • 1/4 tsp table salt
    • 1 garlic clove (very finely diced)
    • 1/2 cup olive oil
    • lemon juice to taste
    • ground sea salt or table salt to tast
    • ground black peppercorns to taste
  •  Equipment:
    • a long sharp knife
    • a chopping board
    • a whisk
    • a small metal mixing bowl

  Whisking and whisking some more

  1. Pop the egg yolk into the metal mixing bowl.
  2. Add the:
     • 1/4 tsp table salt.
     • 1 garlic clove (very finely diced).
     • 1 tsp water.
     • a tiny amount of the oil.
  3. Start whisking slowly and don’t stop as you very very very slowly add the rest of the 1/2 cup olive oil.
  4. Keep whisking until you get a smooth creamy consistency.

  Starting off:

  

  A bit of effort but oh so worth it:

  

  Seasoning the sauce

  I just used my salt and pepper grinders and a splash of lemon juice until I got the taste I liked. Remember that you will get less of a garlic wallop when combining it with food vs testing it by itself so don’t panic. Unless you love a lot of garlic power and in this case add more next time.

  

  Enjoy,

  PK

  Written by

  PK

  ·

  March 19, 2017

• 

  Home-made Creamy Aioli

  Last night we had my Baked Mashed Potato, Bacon and Cheese Balls again and I wanted to have something to dip them in. I did a quick Google and settled on this recipe.

  The result was amazing and got ticks of approval from my wife who is something of a connoisseur when it comes to this particular sauce.

  Notes:

  • I found the original recipe a bit runny so I reduced the amount of water
  • You will be whisking slowly for around 10 minutes in my experience
  • You can make it taste different every time by mixing up the seasoning
  • Contains raw egg

  You will be:

  1. Whisking and whisking some more.
  2. Seasoning the sauce.

  You will need:

  • Ingredients:
    • 1 egg yolk
    • 1 tsp water
    • 1/4 tsp table salt
    • 1 garlic clove (very finely diced)
    • 1/2 cup olive oil
    • lemon juice to taste
    • ground sea salt or table salt to taste
    • ground black peppercorns to taste
  •  Equipment:
    • a long sharp knife
    • a chopping board
    • a whisk
    • a small metal mixing bowl

  Whisking and whisking some more

  1. Pop the egg yolk into the metal mixing bowl.
  2. Add the:
     • 1/4 tsp table salt
     • 1 garlic clove (very finely diced)
     • 1 tsp water
     • A tiny amount of the oil.
  3. Start whisking slowly and don’t stop as you very very very slowly add the rest of the 1/2 cup olive oil.
  4. Keep whisking until you get a smooth creamy consistency.

  Starting off:

  

  A bit of effort but oh so worth it:

  

  Seasoning the sauce

  I just used my salt and pepper grinders and a splash of lemon juice until I got the taste I liked. Remember that you will get less of a garlic wallop when combining it with food vs testing it by itself so don’t panic. Unless you love a lot of garlic. In that case, add more next time.

  

  Enjoy,

  PK

  Here are some more ingredients you might like: 

  Written by

  PK

  ·

  March 19, 2017

• 

  PK’s NoRecipe Greek Butterflied Chicken Roast

  This simple butterflied chicken marinaded with thyme, oregano, garlic, salt, pepper, lemon juice and olive oil smells amazing and will wow your family and friends.

  If you have time:

  • chuck several good slugs of the olive oil and lemon juice into a snap lock bag.
  • add the other ingredients (chopped).
  • close the bag, mix everything around.
  • add the chicken halves, close the bag and massage it for a bit to get the oil etc into every nook and cranny.
  • leave it overnight in the fridge or at least 2 hours.
  • preheat your oven to 160C and get the chicken out of the fridge.
  • cook the chicken in an non-stick oven tray for about 2 hours.

  If you don’t have time or forgot to marinade the chicken:

  • chuck several good slugs of garlic infused olive oil and lemon juice into a bowl.
  • add the other ingredients (chopped but leave out the garlic) and mix with a fork.
  • preheat your oven to 160C and get the chicken out of the fridge, season with salt and pepper.
  • cook the chicken in an oven tray for about 2 hours, turning and basting with the oil mixture every 15 minutes or so.

  Marinaded and already looking good:

  

  Two hours at 160C:

  

  A perfect summer’s day dinner, just add salad and friends:

  

  Enjoy,

  PK

  Written by

  PK

  ·

  February 23, 2017

• 

  A Simple Greek Chicken Roast

  This is a simple chicken roast, marinated in mix of thyme, oregano, garlic, salt, pepper, lemon juice and olive oil. It looks and smells amazing!

  Here I have halved a whole chicken by cutting right down the middle. You could also butterfly it using this method.

  

   

  If you have at least a 4.5 hours in advance:

  • chuck several good slugs of olive oil and lemon juice into a snap lock bag.
  • add into the bag a handful of chopped thyme and oregano and 1 -2 diced garlic cloves.
  • also add some salt and pepper.
  • close the bag and mix everything around.
  • add the chicken halves, close the bag again and massage it for a bit, getting the marinade into every nook and cranny.
  • leave it in the fridge for at least 2 hours (over night is better).
  • preheat your oven to 160C and get the chicken out of the fridge.
  • cook the chicken in an non-stick oven tray for about 2 hours.

  If you don’t have time, follow this shortcut:

  • chuck several good slugs of garlic infused olive oil and lemon juice into a bowl.
  • add the other ingredients as above and mix with a fork.
  • preheat your oven to 160C.
  • massage some of the marinade into the chicken.
  • cook the chicken in an oven tray for about 2 hours, turning and basting with the marinade every 30 minutes or so.

  Marinated and already looking good:

  

  Two hours at 160C:

  

  A perfect summer’s day meal, just add salad and friends:

  

  Enjoy,

  PK

  Here are some more chicken recipes and roasting posts: 

  Written by

  PK

  ·

  February 23, 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

• 

  FoodHacks: Karina’s ‘Quick Pickle’ Onion Salad

  My little family does a tasting plate meal night every week, they are so easy and quick to whip up. What is on offer varies but often involves cold meats, multiple salads, pate, cheese etc. I love watching my kids ‘build’ their own meal and there is lots of laughter round the table.

  I was telling my telling my good friend Karina about this recently and this was one of her suggestions for something new.

  You simply:

  • soak onion rings in vinegar (I used white wine vinegar) for about 15 minutes.
  • drain them.
  • top with sliced tomatoes, salt, garlic, pepper and olive oil.

  The result is amazing and I am never buying store bought pickled onions again 🙂

   

  Thanks Karina,

  PK

  Related Links:

  • see more salads here
  • see more NoRecipe goodness here

  Written by

  PK

  ·

  February 9, 2017

• 

  Karina’s ‘Quick Pickle’ Onion And Tomato Salad

  My little family does a tasting plate meal night every week, they are so easy and quick to whip up. What is on offer varies but often involves cold meats, multiple salads, pate, cheese etc. I love watching my kids ‘build’ their own meal and there is lots of laughter round the table.

  I was telling my telling my good friend Karina about this recently and this was one of her suggestions for something new.

  You simply:

  • soak onion rings in vinegar (I used white wine vinegar) for about 15 minutes.
  • drain them.
  • top with sliced tomatoes, salt, garlic, pepper and olive oil.

  The result is amazing and I am never buying store bought pickled onions again 🙂

   

   

  Thanks Karina,

  PK

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  PK

  ·

  February 9, 2017

• 

  PK’s Chicken Baste #1

  This is the second in my posts on dry rubs and basting sauces for use when roasting meat, it works great regardless of whether you are using a BBQ or an oven. I used it recently on an oven roast chicken along with this dry rub as inspired by http://noblepig.com/.

  Again, I take my hat off to the people over at Noble Pig and our own Growchow, you are indeed doing amazing work :).

  You will need:

  • Ingredients:
    • 1/2 tsp ground rock salt
    • 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
    • 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar (this stuff is amazing)
    • 1 Tbsp garlic infused olive oil
    • 1/4 tsp tumeric powder
    • 1/4 tsp beetroot powder (for colour, I make my own here)
    • 2 drops of liquid smoke (mostly because a second drop fell in accidently, yum)
  •  Equipment:
    • a small bowl for the sauce
    • a fork for mixing
    • a basting brush

  Steps:

  1. Bring all the ingredients together.
  2. Get distracted by how amazing it looks and smells.
  3. Mix everything together.
  4. Baste your chicken.

  

  Enjoy,

  PK

  Written by

  PK

  ·

  January 31, 2017