Tarator with Radish & Tiger Prawns

This dish comes from the wonderful Gourmet Traveller, filled with fancy delights and delicacies. I rarely cook from the Gourmet Traveller because the writers have little eye for expense, and recipes often include rare and costly ingredients, or laborious times in the kitchen. This fresh and decidedly summery recipe, thankfully, is so easy to make you could have it ready to serve within 15 minutes, if the ingredients are chilled. Tarator is a cold soup of Middle Eastern origins. My family turns their nose up at the idea of cold soup, but i think this one won them over. I mean, it's almost tzatziki!

On a side note, i'm loving dill at the moment!

'Traditional' Tzatziki.... sorry George!

I've poached another recipe from George Calombaris, however i've changed it up a bit to suit my tastes! Tzatziki is equally my favorite dip, along with French Onion, and 'New Zealand Dip' which my friend Darryl introduced me to (ill see if i can nick the recipe sometime). 

George called this 'Traditional Tzatziki' and it certainly tastes markedly different from the stuff that i am used to. I actually prefer regular tzatziki, however this one is worth a try for something different. I was hoping that this would be the rich, creamy tzatziki that is served at Hellenic Republic. But i'm still on the hunt.

Ingredients

500gm greek natural yoghurt

1 cucumber

1/3 cup olive oil

1tbs white vinegar (though i prefer the zing of lemon)

1tbs maluka honey (George says double the amount, but it was too sweet for me)

1tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp salt

Method (kinda basic!)

Split the cucumber in half and scoop out the seeds with a spoon. Then dice into 1/2cm cubes. 

Add all other ingredients and mix

Refridgerate until very cold. 

The dip will improve overnight.

Serve with bread, crackers, or sticks of carrot and celery!

Spicy Sichuan Cucumber Salad

Finally getting around to posting my Sichuan meals from a couple of weeks ago. I adore Sichuan food. Even though i'm not great at handling ultra spicy food, there's something incomparable about Sichuan cusine, with the heavy lashings of pepper, spice, garlic, and salt that makes me salivate just thinking about it. The one thing that irks me though, is that at places like Dainty Sichuan, i can't find anything other than boiled rice as a palate cleanser! My mouth is searing from the moment i walk in, with no salvation until i literally run to the gelato shop after dining. This dish is a little bit toned down, and the cucumbers has a nice cooling effect on the palate.

Ingredients:

• 2 medium cucumbers
• 1 tsp dried, crushed chilli
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sichuan peppercorns
• Sesame oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1tbs red wine vinegar
• 1tbs brown sugar
• Cooking oil
• 1tps chilli paste
  

Method:

Peel the cucumbers, then cut in half lengthwise, and then each strip again in half to give four strips. Using a knife, remove the seeds and pith. Cut the remaining strips into large bite sized chunks. 

Toss the cucumber and the salt together in a bowl and set aside for 10 minutes to draw out moisture.

Heat a small pan on medium heat.

Add the oil, then garlic and sichuan pepper. 

Cook until fragrant then remove from pan and set aside to cool. 

Drain the cucumbers in a sieve.

Mix the vinegar, sesame oil, sugar and chilli paste in a bowl. 

Pour all mixtures over the cucumbers in a bowl, and toss.

Redfridgerate until cold.

This dish works will as an accompaniment salad for other sichuan foods. It's a little less extreme than most Sichuan dishes, and the cucumber has a cooling, cleansing effect on the palate. I, however, don't mind scoffing this salad alone as a quick lunch in summer with a nice Sauvignon Blanc.