The Blind Gourmand.

I know it may seem that I have been lazy lately in the cyber world of food blogging. The truth is I can barely focus on words in a book, let alone those on a computer screen. My vision has become blurry in the past few weeks and as a result I have an appointment later this week to have my eyesight assessed.
By no means has this hindrance dampened my love of preparing delicious foods. Here are a few examples of the fine foods I have cooked in the past week. I am sorry I cannot give you recipes and instructions, but rest assured I will resume writing as soon as my vision is corrected. I hope you find these pictures tantalising. They certainly were divine to eat.

Chargrilled Scallops marinated in Chili and Garlic, with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes, and Balsamic Vinegar.

Radicchio, Pancetta and Red Wine Risotto.

Barramundi Roasted with Greek Oregano, Lemon zest and Cherry Tomatoes.

Wild Hare Braised with Red Wine, Thyme, Cinnamon and Juniper served with Filei Calabresi.

Swordfish Steaks marinated with Anchovy, Capers, Lemon zest and Rosemary.

Desiree Potatoes baked with Fennel and White Wine.

Banana with Lime, Passionfruit and Vanilla Syrup.

5 Things about me....

Steven from madchilli, tagged The Gourmand and wanted to know 5 things you didn’t know about him. But Paul asked me, Mike, the person who knows him best, to write about him. So here we go:

1. Paul was born in Sydney, Australia, to an Argentine father & Uruguayan mother of Portuguese descent, & now lives very happily with his husband (me) in the food capital of Australia, Melbourne.


2. He was educated at an all boys private school & was persecuted and terrorised for being unique, ie gay. It was his idol, Madonna, who gave him the strength to remain true to himself. He still admires the “queen of pop” and is inspired by her mind-set.


3. He was a professional makeup artist who has worked in photography, runway & film. The anorexic, drug addicted models throwing up while he was attempting to create “the look” became exhausting and he gave up that profession to concentrate on his favourite pastime, me!


4. He was offered a movie role in Hollywood, but US immigration wouldn’t approve his visa due to “no compelling reason to return to Australia”. I mean aren’t I, his partner, reason enough to return from that place?? And who would want to live in the USA when Australia is so much better!!!


5. And finally…The Gourmand had an alter ego - Diana Paradise. Diana created a storm in her appearance in the Miss Gay Universe 2006 pageant in Sydney’s Gay Mardi Gras festival where she was a top 10 finalist & was crowned Miss Photogenic.

Its ok dad, she has now been retired to a box in storage.

So i'm now tagging:

Melli from Tummy Rumbles

Lao Cha - JHL from Smell & Taste are my memory

Ilva from Lucullian Delights

Cindy &/or Michael from Where's The Beef?

and Adski from The Ezard Challenge

Absent Gourmand

You may have noticed that my posts have dwindled. I've found an empty escargot shell and I'm trapped!
I guess I'll have to live the life of a terrestrial gastropod mollusc, and contemplate French gastronomy (or "the meaning of life as a snail"?) & dream up some new ideas and recipes.....

Back as soon as i can escape the garlic butter!

Roast Snapper with Duxelles and Potato

The inspiration for this dish came from The River Café in London. I have also seen Jamie Oliver do a similar dish, which is not surprising, as he worked at The River Café at some point during his illustrious career. However this recipe truly is my own version. I don’t copy the work of other chefs and I would not dream of reprinting recipes which have already been published elsewhere. I just don’t see ay merit in doing so.
This particular dish I am fond of because it goes straight from the oven to the table. I don’t think it requires anything else to go with it apart from bread, wine and a dinning partner of course!
Duxelles is chefs jargon for onion and mushrooms sautéed in butter, used to flavour dishes. I have used imported porcini mushrooms because Australia does not have native mushrooms that are of outstanding taste. I know porcini are an extravagant ingredient. If your budget doesn’t allow for such an indulgence, substitute with slices of fresh fennel instead.
If you are fussy about fish like I am, choose a whole fish at your fishmonger. Then have them fillet the fish for you. You are then certain of two equal sized fillets, of the freshest choice fish, along with the bonus of the bones and head for making stock.

Ingredients
500g waxy potato, unpeeled and thinly sliced
A ladle fish stock, or water
30g dried porcini, soaked, drained and rinsed of all grit
1 red onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 tsp fresh thyme, finely chopped
1 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped, plus extra
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (peppery), plus extra
100ml white wine
30g cultured butter
2 snapper fillets, about 400g
Sea salt
Fresh black pepper

Method
Preheat the oven to 200c.
Oil a baking pan. The size of the dish is important. It should be able to accommodate the potato slices along the base in one layer. Mine is 30cm by 35cm.
Layout the potato then drizzle some more oil over the potato slices and season with salt and pepper. Ladle in some fish stock-just enough to moisten the base of the pan.
Bake the potatoes for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.
Turn up the oven to 230c.
Prepare the duxelles- in a wide pan and over a low heat, sauté the porcini, onion, garlic, thyme and parsley with the butter and olive oil for 20 minutes.
When the mixture is quite dry add the white wine and allow to reduce for 2 minutes or so. Season with salt and pepper.
Spoon the duxelles over the potato slices.
Place the snapper fillets on top of the potato slices and duxelles. Drizzle over with more extra virgin olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Roast for about 15 minutes or until the fish is just cooked.
Sprinkle over parsley and serve straight from the baking dish. Serves 2.

Chargrilled Pork with Herbs and Lemon

Have you ever cooked pork steaks on the grill and ended up with pieces of pork that tasted of cardboard? I most definitely have and I was determined to find a solution to this frustrating problem. I presented the dilemma to my butcher, and she had a solution. I had been cooking with the wrong cut of pork. Her recommendation was to use pork neck. She promised me it was the juiciest and tastiest cut. And she was absolutely right. Pork neck certainly surpasses all other cuts of pork for succulence and flavour and is perfect for grilling. I like to marinate my pork with fresh rosemary and lemon zest and serve it with a very simple sauce made with fresh herbs from my garden and a peppery extra virgin olive oil. Clean, fresh and simple flavours.

Ingredients
500g pork neck, cut into 4 steaks
1-2 sprigs rosemary
The zest of 1 lemon, julienned
Fresh black pepper
Extra virgin olive oil (peppery)
Sea salt
Lemon wedges, to serve

For the herb sauce
Spring onion (or scallion), very finely chopped
Fresh rosemary, finely chopped
Fresh sage, finely chopped
Fresh thyme, finely chopped
Sea salt
Fresh black pepper

Method
Lightly bash the pork steaks with a rolling pin.
Rub them with the lemon zest, rosemary needles, pepper and extra virgin olive oil. Do not add salt at this stage.
Allow them to marinate overnight, covered in the fridge.
Preheat a grill pan to very hot.
Remove the lemon zest and rosemary needles from the pork steaks.
Season with salt and grill them until cooked to your liking. I like my pork pink in the center- well done pork is vile.
Allow the steaks to rest, while you prepare the sauce.
Combine all the herbs for the sauce, with the spring onion, salt, pepper and olive oil to taste.
Drizzle over the pork steaks, and serve with lemon wedges.
These steaks are fabulous with a salad of radicchio and borlotti beans tossed with a mustard and red wine vinegar vinaigrette. Serves 2.

Paskha

The following post is probably a week too late. But, as they say it is better late than never, and I guess this way you will be well prepared for next Easter. Well actually the reason why I am late with this story is because I wanted to wait and try the genuine thing before I devised my own version and wrote of it. And for this thing I had to wait until Easter Sunday.
What exactly is this “thing”?
It is Paskha. For those who don’t know what Paskha is, allow me the pleasure of introducing you.


Paskha is Russian for a very rich dessert made from fresh cream cheese, sweetened with sugar and enriched with egg yolk, butter and cream. It is flavoured with citrus zest, spices or vanilla and may also contain dried or glace fruits and nuts. This divinely rich cheese is pressed into a mould and is allowed to drain over night. It is served on Easter Sunday to accompany the traditional yeast raised bread, known as Kulich. The whole thing comes together like a deconstructed cheesecake and is just heavenly. It is possibly the richest dessert imaginable to human kind, and I am so in love with it. Much the same way that I am with my boyfriend.
Even though I had heard of Paskha, Easter Sunday lunch was my first taste. I had the privilege to celebrate Russian Easter with my partners extended family. I also was allowed the recipe and secrets of making Paskha, from the host of the lunch, Christine. Other family members had their own versions of making Paskha, which were communicated to me, along with a few vodka shots. From this family gathering, and through my own independent research during the past week, I devised my own formula. Why? Simply because I like to work on culinary ideas, and to interpret them to my way of thinking, making them my own, if not better than the original.
You will notice I haven’t provided a recipe for the Easter bread. Kulich requires a bit more skill to master than Paskha. I will work on that during the next 12 months. The one you see in the photo, I bought from the local Russian bakery.
In the meantime I hope you enjoy this sweet treat as much as I do. One Russian food writer I came across said, “this dish is so rich that all but the most hardy (or gluttonous) are able to eat more than a few spoonfuls”. I don’t think I need to tell you which one of those two descriptions I am!

Ingredients
500g European style cream cheese (full fat)
115g cultured unsalted butter
220g caster sugar
3 free range egg yolks
160ml sour cream (full fat)
½ tsp very finely chopped lemon zest
½ tsp very finely chopped orange zest
1 very fresh and plump vanilla bean

Method
Have all the ingredients at room temperature. Using a wooden spoon, beat together the butter and caster sugar, until creamy and fluffy. This part does require effort and there is no substitute for this step, in my view. A food processor will not give you a better result.
Beat in the egg yolks, one by one.
Mix in the sour cream.
Scrape out the seeds from the vanilla bean and add to the mix, along with the citrus zests. Taste and add more if you think it needs it. I have stipulated the above amounts as a starting point. I added more as I wanted my Paskha to be very perfumed. I also added cinnamon and nutmeg. You can add cardamom, as well. It is important to not overwork the mixture, as heat will allow the butter to melt and split.
Pass the cheese through the finest disc of the mouli, and incorporate the cheese into the butter/ egg yolk/ cream mixture.
Now, you will need a mould. Traditional Paskha moulds are available from Russian churches. You can fashion one out of any dome or pymarid shaped receptacle by punching a few holes in the base to facilitate drainage. My kind husband (husband is gay talk for long term boyfriend) made one for me, from a plastic milk shake container.
Line your chosen mould with a damp cheesecloth or muslin and spoon in your Paskha mixture. Place a weight on top and refrigerate for 24 hours.
When ready to eat, turn upside down. And remove the mould and cloth.
Serve with Kulich or another dense and enriched yeast dough.
Enough for 6 gluttons.

Ossobuco braised with Tomatoes and White Wine

Traditionally, ossobuco is braised without tomatoes. If one is cooking ossobuco with tomatoes then it is incorrect to call it “Ossobuco alla Milanese” So for this reason I have refrained from naming today’s recipe as such.
This is the first time I have actually cooked my ossobuco with tomato. I usually do mine “in bianco” , that is, without tomato. I wanted to try it because it seems to be the most popular way to do it here in Australia. I did enjoy it this way, but I do prefer the traditional Milanese way - braised simply with dry white wine and finished with gremolata. It’s a more elegant approach to a delicate meat like veal. Tomato seems to mask its delicate flavour.
I also did as most Aussie restaurants do and served my tomato braised ossobuco with Risotto alla Milanese (saffron risotto). I think that was a mistake to do so. The two simply clashed! Tomatoes are just too assertive a flavour to complement the perfumed fragrance of saffron. Pureed potato or soft polenta would have been a better match. Oh well, live and learn!

Ingredients
1 kg veal ossobuco
½ tsp mustard powder
1 tbsp flour
2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra
1 red onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tbsp finely chopped parsley
1 tsp finely chopped thyme
1 tsp finely chopped rosemary
250ml white wine
400g tin Italian tomatoes, chopped
Zest from 1 lemon, in large strips
A few pinches of freshly grated nutmeg
Sea salt
Fresh black pepper

For the gremolata
Finely chopped lemon zest, garlic and parsley

Method
In a small bowl, mix together the mustard and flour. Use this flour to lightly coat the pieces of ossobuco. You may need more or less flour, depending on the size of the meat.
In a wide and deep saucepan, sauté the onion, garlic, parsley, thyme and rosemary for 15 minutes or until the onion has softened. Remove the onion to a small plate.
Add a touch more oil to the pan and turn the heat to high. Add the ossobuco to the pan in a single layer and cook for 1 minute each side, just enough to seal and lightly colour the meat. Remove the meat to a plate.
Throw the wine into the pan and deglaze, stirring and scraping to dissolve any caramelization on the base of the pan. Add the strips of lemon zest and the chopped tomatoes.
Return the meat and onion to the saucepan.
Add water (or stock), to barely cover the meat. Bring the stew to a simmer and cover the pan with a lid. Allow to simmer for 1 to 2 hours or until the meat is very tender. If you can be bothered, remove the strips of lemon zest. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
For the gremolata: Chop the lemon zest, garlic and parsley to a very fine powder. I use more parsley than lemon, and garlic the least. But compose your gremolata to suit youself. It should be prepared just before using, as parsley loses its fragrance within minutes.
Sprinkle over the ossobuco.
Enough for 2 or 3 serves.

Pumpkins and Soup

The cute and little pumpkins pictured here go by the name of Dumplings. I bought these, because I was seduced by their prettiness and small size (like me). They have a sweet nutty flavour and a texture which is more like a sweet potato than a pumpkin. The flesh of these pumpkins are a little too mild for soup, but they are divine when roasted with extra virgin olive oil, sea salt and black pepper.

I didn’t plan to write of pumpkin soup but this one was so lovely that I had to share the recipe. The caramelized onion, tomatoes and bacon make this soup special. Of course, if you are vegetarian you can leave out the bacon, but I think it does complete the dish.

The Laughing Cow cheese is there for a nostalgic fun, my mother would often add a spoonful of cream cheese to soups and stews when I was a little boy :)

Pumpkin and Tomato Soup

Ingredients
20g butter
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra
1 large red onion, thinly sliced
1 tsp sticky brown sugar
1 rosemary sprig
1.5 kilo cubed pumpkin (cleaned weight)
400g tin Italian tomatoes, chopped
Beef stock, to cover (cubes are fine)
Sea salt
Fresh black pepper
100g bacon, finely diced
Freshly grated Parmesan or Grana, to taste
Single portions of “Laughing Cow”, to serve

Method
Place the onion, rosemary, butter and olive oil into a soup pot. Turn the heat to the lowest setting and cook very gently for 30 minutes or until the onions are soft and caramelized. Discard the rosemary sprig.
Add the brown sugar and cook for 1 minute, watching the sugar does not burn.
Tumble in the pumpkin cubes and the tomatoes.
Add enough stock to barely cover and simmer for 30 minutes until the pumpkin is tender.
In the meantime, place the bacon with a few drops of olive oil into a small saucepan and over a low heat cook the bacon until brown and crispy. Drain the bacon on paper towels and discard the rendered fat in the saucepan.
Puree the soup using whatever gadget you possess. I like mine to have a bit of texture. Adjust the consistency with extra stock (if too thick).
When you are ready to eat, reheat the soup. Once the soup has boiled again, remove from the heat and season with the parmesan or grana, salt and pepper.
Serve the soup in deep bowls with a ½ cube of laughing cow cheese per serve and a sprinkling of crispy bacon.
You should get about 8 generous serves.

Chargrilled Lamb with Lime and Mint

Happy religious greetings! Whether that’s Easter or Passover or just an excuse for chocolate...

I am fortunate that I have access to fresh herbs growing in the communal garden of our apartment. Amongst the flowers and vegetables, there is mint in many varieties- peppermint, spearmint, regular mint and Vietnamese mint (rua ram), which is not really a mint. My original idea was Salsa Verde, but the different types of mints on hand allowed me to produce something new. The result was a mix of English Mint Sauce, Italian Salsa Verde and a South East Asian combo of Lime and Vietnamese Mint. A fabulous threesome.

It will make life easier if you ask your butcher to bone and butterfly the leg of lamb. Of course, if you have those skills then you may prefer to do this task yourself.
Quantities for this dish will be dependant on the size of the lambs leg and the amount of people you are feeding.

Ingedients
1 leg of lamb, boned and butterflied

For the marinade
Garlic, finely chopped
Lime zest, julienned
Parsley, chopped
Mint, chopped
Sea salt
Fresh black pepper
Extra virgin olive oil.

For the sauce
Spinach
Spring onion (or scallion, if you are American)
Mint
Parsley
Extra virgin olive oil
Freshly squeezed lime juice
Pinch of sugar
Sea salt

Method
Remove the fat and sinew from the boned leg of lamb. Cut the lamb into 3, 4 or 5 equal pieces, depending on the size of the leg. Use a rolling pin to bash the lamb pieces into uniform thickness, to allow similar cooking times.
Combine all the marinade ingredients to taste and rub all over the lamb pieces. Cover and leave to marinate for as long as you wish.
Preheat the chargrill to very hot.
Scrape off most of the marinade from the lamb.
Grill the lamb, turning them once, until cooked to your liking.
Whilst the lamb is cooking, prepare the mint sauce. Wilt a handful of spinach in saucepan with a few drops of water, over a high heat. Allow to drain in a sieve. When cool, chop finely. The spinach is used to soften the flavour of the mint- allow your tastebuds to guide you. Combine all the marinade ingredients to taste and set aside.
You can prepare the sauce ahead of time, if that suits. I like to make it at the last minute to preserve the fresh flavours of the lime and mint.
When the lamb is cooked and ready, remove to a wooden board and allow it to rest for a few minutes. Cut the lamb into slices 1cm thick.
Serve with the lamb with the Lime and Mint Sauce and a platter of roasted veggies -Beetroot, carrot, fennel, pumpkin and potatoes in Autumn.
If you are reading this and it is Spring in your part of the world, a dish of Vignarola would go perfectly alongside.

Oxtail braised with Sherry and Grapes

As the days get shorter and the temperature gets cooler, I await with anticipation for winter, my favorite season. The foods that I enjoy cooking and eating the most are those cooked very, very slowly and for a long time. Like braised oxtail, which is so tasty, nourishing and simply perfect for this time of year. I get more satisfaction in preparing these types of stews than say a dish, which is quickly cooked and ready in minutes, like porterhouse steak. Don’t get me wrong, I love steak (especially if its waygu), but the texture of slowly braised meat and its dark and sticky braising liquid is unbeatable. And much cheaper than waygu steak.
Braised oxtail does require planning if you intend to make it. You may need to give your butcher notice to order it for you and it may only be available frozen. So keep in mind it will require another day to defrost in the fridge. Oxtail takes a long time to cook. That’s just the nature of the beast. The oxtail I prepared for this recipe took 12 hours to become tender! However that is unusual, and in all the years I have braised oxtail, the meat has become tender in less than 5 hours. Oxtail does throw a large amount of fat during the cooking process, so it is a good idea to refrigerate the dish after cooking to allow the fat to rise and set, so you can remove the fat easily. It is a lengthy process but an easy one and I think the result is well worth it.

Ingredients
1 red onion, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Fresh thyme
350ml dry sherry (or other fortified wine)
750ml stock (fake is fine)
1 kilo oxtail, chopped into pieces (ask the butcher)
1 tsp sherry vinegar
1-2 tsp brown sugar (to taste)
Fresh chopped parsley
20 red grapes
Sea salt
Fresh black pepper

Method
In a large saucepan, gently sauté the onion, celery, garlic and thyme with the olive oil for 30minutes or until caramelized.
Add the sherry and stock. Bring to a simmer.
Add the oxtails and adjust the heat to the lowest setting.
Cook very gently for anywhere between 4 to 12 hours. Do not allow to boil. Maintain the temperature below a simmer, so the liquid barely trembles.
During the braising process maintain the liquid level so the pieces of oxtail are submerged.
When the meat is falling from the bones, remove the pieces to a plate and keep warm.
In the meantime peel the grapes. This is done the same way as you do with tomatoes. Cut a small incision in the top of the grape. Place the grapes into a small bowl and pour over boiling water. Leave for about 1-2 minutes. The skins should peel away easily.
Add the vinegar and sugar to the braising liquid and reduce at a higher heat, until thickened to your liking.
Return the oxtail pieces with the grapes to the sauce and reheat gently for a minute. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with freshly chopped parsley. Serve with potato puree. Enough for two.

Lime Curd

A while ago, I attempted making jam, and I failed dismally (see blackberry and caramel jus). So for now, I am happy making citrus curd instead. Even though the shelf life is shorter than that of other preserves (about 3 weeks in the fridge), they are definitely easier and far less messy to produce. Don’t be afraid to boil this recipe, I promise you wont end up with scrambled eggs. Apparently the combination of acid and sugar prevents the mixture from curdling. Too easy and too delicious.

Ingredients
4 limes
75g cultured butter
100g honey
100g caster sugar
3 free range eggs
5ml coconut essence

Method
Using a citrus zester, remove the zest of all 4 limes. Make sure to use only the green zest and not the white bitter pith.
Finely chop the julienned zest into a fine powder.
Squeeze the juice.
Place the zest, juice, butter, honey, and eggs into a saucepan. Heat gently until thickened.
Add the coconut essence, off the heat and stir to combine. Depending on how sour the limes are, you may like to add a touch more sugar.
Store in a covered container in the fridge. Makes about 200g.