Fingers of fish and other ideas...

It's been a while between blogs, lots of life going on between town and farm!

FINGERS OF FISH in HERB CRUST with SWEET POTATO FRIES

Use a bought pesto to make the herb crust, and this rather stunning finger food dish is quick and easy to prepare. Alternatively make you own fresh herb paste, which takes more time but, as always, fresh tastes best!

Use fillets of a lower-end-of-the-budget fish, with the skin on. The skin cooks to a crispy base and holds the cooked flesh together. (In the photos – ocean mullet, an oily, strong-flavoured fish that will take a strong-flavoured Asian-style herb crust).

Use four fillets of fish, lightly dusted on both sides with flour or cornflour.

Ingredients for the fish and herb paste:
4 fillets fish, skin on
2 tbs pesto
2 level tsps flour (or 1 teaspoon cornflour)
2 tbs olive oil

1. Combine pesto with flour. Press this mix to the flesh side of whole fillets. Then slice fish into serving size portions. Fry in hot pan in a little oil, skin side down for 3 minutes with the lid on to partly steam the paste.

2. Carefully turn the fish and flatten slightly. Cook further 2 -3 minutes until paste has browned to a light crust. Lift out and arrange on serving plate with sweet potato fingers and dipping sauce.

For the dipping sauce:

1. Combine equal parts light soy sauce with lime or lemon juice. Add chopped hot chilli or chopped shallot tops.

For the sweet potato fingers:

1. Peel and cut yellow sweet potato into 2cm fingers.
2. Lightly pan fry in a smear of olive oil until golden, turning once ( ≈ 5 minutes total cooking time).

 

CHICKEN PIECES in HERB CRUST with SWEET POTATO FINGERS

Try the same herb crust idea on trimmed chicken drumsticks or wing drumettes.

1. Dust chicken with flour. Coat well with herb paste.

2. Cook on medium heat in frying pan for 10 minutes with lid on. Turn carefully, cook for 10 – 15 minutes more with lid off. Rest 10 minutes in pan to finish cooking in retained heat before serving.

Next: another fishy idea...

Lamb on the barbecue (lunch with lizards)

It is a great privilege to live calmly and quietly close to nature. This evening, as I write, it is raining softly and the only sound is the trickle of water running in the roof gutters and into the tanks that feed the house and garden. It is the beginning of winter. Mild as winters are in our part of the world, the habits of the wildlife are still subject to seasonal cycles - so there is no cacophony of frogs and toads as there would have been with night-time rain a month ago. The little creatures have gone to bed; hibernating in leaf litter and hollow logs. Most of the snakes have gone to sleep as well, except for the Yellow-faced Whip Snake, which likes to stay out and about later than his friends if he can find a warm spot under an iron roof or among the rocks near the fish pond.

Yellow-faced Whip Snake

And, in the house, where it is warm, a few geckos are still poking around, hunting for moths. We do not (yet) have the introduced Asian House Geckos in residence here in the bush - this pale pink intruder tends to be the gecko most commonly seen in town. Ours are much more interesting, and rather distinctly Australian-looking. Most are Velvet Geckoes - Spotted Velvets, Clouded Velvet and the Robust Velvet Gecko. In my house, they are quietly territorial - silent, unlike the noisy Asian House Gecko - each with its own night-time hunting patch and daytime sleeping spot.

Asian House Gecko

I have a favourite, Gregory Gecko. He has been here for several years, camping behind the bathroom mirror where he sometimes leaves his delicate pure white shed skin, like a perfect little present for us. We named him when he was barely 2 cm long, and he is now a monster of 10 cm - or he was until I accidentally shut his tail in the window. Alas, I thought I’d killed poor Greg. He skulked away looking very unwell, leaving his tail wriggling on the sill, and wasn’t seen again for 2 weeks. Then, one night, Gregory came back to his spot, sporting a rather odd new appendage. 

Australian Velvet Gecko (with new tail)

Because living calmly and quietly with nature is such a privilege, I want to share the experiences with friends and farm-stay visitors. Unfortunately, though, when two or more humans gather together, they make a lot of noise. So, no Whip Snake. No Gregory. Instead, we had to settle for lamb chops with barbecue stir-fry and the sound of ourselves! (Helped along by some serious glasses of Aussie red wine.)
 

COUSCOUS and YOGHURT-CRUSTED LAMB CHOPS or LEG STEAK
Very easy
Time: half an hour
Serves 4 - 6.

The meat is best prepared several hours ahead, and refrigerated until 30 minutes before barbecuing or pan frying. The recipe will coat 4 - 6 lamb loin or BBQ chump chops.

Ingredients: 
½ cup dry couscous
¼ cup water
½ cup plain yoghurt
1 tbs shredded fresh mint (or coriander or rosemary)
1 small lemon, juiced, and 1 tsp grated rind
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
¼ tsp salt

1. Combine all ingredients in small bowl and let stand for 15 minutes until couscous has softened.
2. Coat lamb on either side, patting crust in place. Refrigerate several hours to allow crust to firm and flavours to infuse.
3. Cook on medium-hot, on well-oiled barbecue for 7 - 10 minutes on each side. Or pan fry. Or oven-bake on wire rack for around 30 minutes at 200° C.
4. Serve with salad or barbecue stir-fry.

STIR-FRY ON THE BARBIE
Very easy
Time: 10 minutes
Serves 4 - 6.

Ingredients: 1 large onion, peeled, halved, then sliced lengthwise into straws
2 carrots, unpeeled, cut into straws
double handful of green beans, topped and tailed (or use any other seasonal vegetables)
slurp of cooking oil

1. When the lamb chops have been turned, toss oil and vegetables onto the hottest part of the barbecue plate.
2. Stir-fry, turning a few times with long-handled barbecue spatula or tongs.
3. Serve hot from the barbecue or add to a platter with the lamb to take to the table. 
 

Sand Goanna

The day was warm and sunny, almost sultry. T-shirt weather. After lunch we were lucky to spot another lizard. At more than 1 metre in length, ever-so-slightly larger than Gregory and friends, this goanna was literally ambling up a gumtree where he settled down for a snooze, well camouflaged on a branch. I expect he also had been indulging in a heavy lunch - raiding the hen house for a few fresh eggs, perhaps his last feed before he too finds a hollow log for the winter.


Next: Town Frog and family will be bringing an exchange student to the country for Sunday Dunch. Like brunch, DUNCH is a hybrid meal. It is eaten in the mid-afternoon and borrows the best bits from lunch and dinner. Afterward, around sunset, we will go walking in the bush. The Town Froglets, frequent visitors, know to talk in whispers as they pass lightly across the landscape.

Compiled and written by two frogs.

A walk around the garden... to look at mint

Not spearmint, or chocolate mint, or anything else with a fancy name - just old-fashioned garden mint.

Unlike rosemary, mint loves to get its feet into a bit of water now and then. Like rosemary, though, it is tough once established and will go on and on - and all through the garden, if not contained. So, for this gardener’s peace of mind and the mint’s good health, I keep it a pot. Big pot, sitting in a deep bowl that can be partly filled with water if the gardener is going away for a few days. Recently I forgot to do that, and the mint looked rather sad when I came home (ie dead). But I gave it a haircut and a dose of ¼-strength seaweed emulsion, and within a week it was shooting away again.

Mint and rosemary, both strong and aromatic, can be used interchangeably in recipes for sweets and meats, but with quite a different end effect on flavour. Think roast lamb; yoghurt marinated lamb chops; fruit salad; garden salad - each with a touch of mint or hint of rosemary. Both work. I love mint because the smell reminds me of my grandmother. One of my earliest memories is of watching her make mint sauce, rocking the knife back and forth across the mint which she had covered with sugar so the leaves would bruise and crush, releasing maximum flavour.

MINT SAUCE

Strip leaves from several sprigs of garden mint and place on a chopping board. Add 1- 2 teaspoons sugar, and chop the mint through the sugar until finely shredded and bruised. Put this sticky, minty mix into a small jug with ¼ teaspoon salt, and cover with 20 ml boiling water. Stir until sugar has dissolved and top up with ¼ -½ cup brown or malt vinegar. Taste. Add more salt if needed. Will keep indefinitely in fridge, but mint sauce takes only a minute to do and tastes best when freshly made.

MINT and YOGHURT MARINADE

This is a quick-and-easy idea for adding zest to a pair of BBQ stalwarts - the good ol’ Aussie lamb chop and fillet of chicken breast, both of which can easily become a tad dry when done on the barbecue. Plan ahead and marinate overnight if possible, or for a few hours on the morning of feasting. When barbecued (grilled or pan-fried), the marinade forms a crispy crust. Also excellent for oven-baking, and makes enough for 6 portions.

To 1 cup plain yoghurt add 2 teaspoons grated lemon peel, 1 or 2 cloves crushed garlic, 1 teaspoon fresh black pepper, 2 teaspoons plain flour and as much roughly chopped garden mint as you wish. Mix well. Spread generously over both sides of lamb or chicken. Place in single layer and refrigerate until 30 minutes before cooking.

MINT and YOGHURT DIP

Very easy. As above, without the flour (and minus the meat, of course). Great to take on a picnic with a crusty loaf.

Next: We'll be down on the farm for breakfast with birds 

Written and compiled by two frogs.

Lamb shanks... with an Aussie twist

The are as many recipes for lamb shanks as there are sheep in a paddock. But when two frogs talked we decided we wanted a taste that was Australian, not Irish or Italian or Turkish, lovely though these are with Guinness or olives and rosemary. So, no rosemary in this one; no foamy dark stout either. Just fresh local fruit and veggies, and a pinch of Australian history.

Lamb shanks with onion and sweet potato

Once upon a time every country kitchen had a wood-fired stove, which burned from dawn until bedtime, and a big iron cooking pot would have been used to slow-simmer stews made of beef shin and from shank or hock - the rich gelatinous cuts from between the hoof and knee of mutton or pork. Now that our stoves do not burn all day, and the cook works outside the home, we rarely eat mutton and instead use the more tender meat from lamb for the old-style shank stew. 


AUSSIE LAMB SHANKS
Serves 4 hearty eaters, but when calculating amounts, allow at least 1 shank per person - they look large, but there is little meat on the skinny end, and it would be sad to disappoint anyone who wanted a second helping.
When buying the meat, if the shank bone is not cut through halfway along, ask the butcher to do so. Flavour is all about the marrow, and a cut bone gives you twice as much.
Easy, but fiddly. If making sauce or gravy the fat needs to be lifted from the cooked pan juices. There are easier ways to prepare this dish, but at the risk of not developing the deep flavour you expect from slow-cooked meat.
 

You will need: Large deep stovetop pan with lid; cutting boards, grater, juicer.


Ingredients:
5 - 6 bone-cut lamb shanks
1 mango, to yield 1 cup of diced pulp (or crushed pineapple, fresh or canned)
4 - 6 tomatoes, to give 2 cups pulp (or 400gm can good quality crushed tomato)
2 medium onions
4cm piece young fresh root ginger (use less older ginger as it is hotter)
1 lime (or ½ lemon), juice and rind
1 small red chilli
1 teaspoon fresh cracker pepper
¼ - ½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon 5-spice or cinnamon
Optional: 2 lemon myrtle leaves (or lime or curry leaves)
½ cup plain flour to thicken sauce.
Vegetables (as shown in top photo): 4 medium onions to caramelise; 4 medium washed potatoes, 4 thick slices golden sweet potato



Easy Method 1: (without caramelised onion). Place lamb, 2 chopped onions and chopped tomato in large oven dish. Puree all other ingredients and tip over lamb. Cook with lid on in oven at 180 C for 1 hour then place prepared potatoes and thick cut sweet potato in the dish on top of the lamb. Turn oven back to 150 and continue to cook 30 - 45 minutes. Test for tenderness.

Easy Method 2: For slow cooker (without caramelised onion). As for Easy Method 1, but cook in bench-top slow cooker (per instruction book). Place potatoes in with lamb and pour sauce over.

Easy Method 3: For pressure cooker (without caramelised onion). Cook lamb and sauce 40 min. Allow to cool to reduce pressure then add vegetables; cook further 10 minutes.

FROGBLOG TIP: Add 40 ml light soy or 60 ml tomato sauce to compensate for the lesser flavour generated by these cooking methods.

Best Method: As with anything, the more love you give, the better the outcome. By taking a little extra time, lamb shanks finished with caramelised onion are sure to impress family and friends.

1. To serve the lamb dressed with caramelised onion, start by quartering 4 unpeeled medium onions leaving part of the baseplate on each quarter so onion won’t fall apart. Then pull the skin down and tear off at the base. Place flat side down in the heated pan with a little oil; put the lid on and cook until well browned on the down side - about 5 minutes. One side is enough as they will have steam-cooked all the way through. Remove and set aside on a plate.

2. While onion cooks, trim obvious fat from lamb. Place shanks in hot onion pan to brown (one side is enough for flavour, but brown both sides if you wish).

3. Meanwhile, roughly chop 2 onions; add to pan and fry in the releasing fat. 

4. Roughly dice tomato and put on top of lamb and onion.

4. Place chopped mango, lime, ginger and other ingredients except lime/curry leaves in blender and puree. Pour into the pan and give the pot a bit of a shake around. Place the leaves on top, poking them into the juice. Put the lid on; simmer slowly 2 hours or until meat lifts easily from the bone.

5. Lift cooked lamb into a serving dish.

 

To skim off unwanted fat: Scoop fat from the pan juices by pushing a soup ladle carefully down into the stock and letting the surface liquid and fat run in. Or drop 6 ice cubes into the pot and fat will immediately solidify onto the ice. Remove quickly before the ice melts. 

To cook potatoes, dress the dish and serve: Cut washed potatoes into smallish pieces and place into the meat juice with sweet potato. Simmer until soft but still firm, and arrange around the lamb with the quartered caramelised onion. Use the hot unthickened pan juices to pour over the meat, or make a gravy with ½ cup plain flour mixed to a sloppy paste with cold water. Stir into juices and continue to stir while pot comes to the boil again. Pour hot sauce over the meat and vegetables, and take to the table.

Prepare ahead: Cook everything the day before (or two days ahead). Re-heat in moderate oven under foil, or microwave. Add a side dish of flash-fried greens such as bok choy or long beans.

Next: More meat, as we continue to track down traditional Australian food. Apologies to the vegetarians out there. We recommend you slip back to posts on chickpeas and curry.

Written and compiled by two frogs.