Thai Style Pomelo Salad

One thing that drives me absolutely insane with supermarkets and markets in Melbourne (and maybe it is everywhere else too!) is the unreliability that when you go there, the food you want will be there! And it's not just with the seasonal exotic produce either. Sometimes, you want scallops in the half shell and they're not there, or coriander, and it's not there. What's wrong with you people!!

Pomelo is one such case, though granted, i doubt it sells much in Melbourne. Before i went to thailand I'd never eaten it before, but now i keep my eye out in south east asia for it whenever i'm there. For the uninitiated, pomelo tastes much like a less intense version of a grapefruit. But it's not about the flavour so much as the texture, to me. Beneath the giant fruit's skin (they're like bowling ball size!) is a grapefruit sized mass of segments, each segment containing little balls of juice!It's truly a delight to eat.

Cauliflower Steaks with Baked Fennel & Red Pepper Sauce

My vegetarian recipe for the week! This recipe is a combination and tweaking of a couple of recipes i saw on Bon Appetit. I happen to love cauliflower, red peppers and fennel! So this 'salad' of sorts in a combination of a few of my favorite veges. I guess in the end it's not really a summer salad, but it was still delicious on a crisp Melbourne summer eve.

On a side note I'm totally jealous of the skills of an awesome person i recently met named Kai who is taunting me with photos of batches of macarons he is making seemingly with incredible ease! Whilst these delicious treats are something i still haven't quite mastered, his macarons are shop-worthy perfections, and tonight he sent me images of... salted caramel macarons!

It's not fair. I'm going to see if i can coax a guest post out of him so he can share a few of his secrets.

Grilled Chilli Chicken on Mango Salad and Coconut Rice

Happy holidays everyone! Christmas is only three days away, which means i have to get my fill of non-christmassy foods on my own before I'm drowning in pork, turkey and that general sense of lethargy that a full tummy brings! So here i present: Grilled chilli chicken on mango salad and coconut rice! A winning combination of sweetness, creaminess and spice.

Grilled Vegetable and Haloumi Salad

Summertime, and i can feel a theme coming on! With long work hours, late sunlight, and back to cooking for one, salads are becoming an imperative this summer season! To me, a good salad is about fresh ingredients, with one highlight yummy addition. That addition might be cheese, it might be bread, it might be meat. It doesn't matter, but it's the drawcard of the dish to me! In this instance it's haloumi.

For the first few times i tried to make grilled haloumi i was so disappointed. Gone was the melty, salty goodness i'd experienced at Greek restaurants, and in it's place was a squeaky (yes squeaky!!) rubbery mass. The key is in long cooking; really cook your haloumi until it's starting to lose it's shape. If it's still a nice brick, she ain't ready yet!

Grilled Duck Salad with Goats Cheese & Cranberries

I'm back! I've finally gotten used to my new kitchen (namely: not burning things) and now it's time for summer fun! First up is a salad that is sure to impress. Duck works so well in a salad as the slightly fatty meat contrasts so well with the tartness of a dressing, the pepperiness of greens, and the rich saltiness of the goats cheese. Don't be phased by cooking duck; by following some simple rules it's very easy to cook. The name of the game is to render out the fat without making the meat tough: your best weapon here is a stove and oven.

Green Mango Salad with Chargrilled Chicken

 Finally! Just over 12 months ago today i arrived back in Melbourne from my first trip to Thailand. I arrived rested, exciting, and... craving! My trip to Thailand consisted of binge consumption of four things: Red pork curry (made...tick!), pad thai (made...tick!), mango and sticky rice (made...tick!), cocktails (made....tick!) and papaya salad (not yet made!). It's soooo hard to find green papayas here in Australia, but this week as i was walking through Coles i noticed green mangos! With no hesitation i piled three into my basket and trundled for the cashier, eager to race home and make this salad.

 If you have not had green mango or green papaya before you might feel put off by the thought, but don't. There is no strong sourness or bitterness imparted by the unripe fruit. Instead, it's more about the texture. Crisp and fresh like cucumber but firmer and less watery. With the combination of the refreshing mango sticks and the salty/sour/spicy dressing, this dish is a killer summer salad which i will continue to make so long as i can get my hands on green mangoes and papayas. 

Green Masala Lamb Chops on a Fennel, Tomato and White Balsamic Salad

This recipe is a twisted variation on one that i found from Neil Perry. This is the first time i've used Neil Perry as an influence for a dish because although i've not been to one of his restaurants, his dishes come across to me as very finnicky (this is not a negative reflection - i just dont have the patience to cook them myself, marvelous though they may be).

There are two things that make this dish so good: Firstly, the green masala marinade brings the lamb to life with fresh herbs and tangy spices, and the fennel seed matches so well with the crisp fennel salad. Secondly, the white balsamic makes the salad stand out. Sure, you could use red wine vinegar, or even regular balsamic. But i encourage you to seek out white balsamic for its slightly tarter but more sublte and simpler flavour to traditional balsamic. 

Bun Thit Nuong - Grilled Pork Neck & Noodle Salad

I think if i went to Vietnam it would be hard to bring me back. The country looks so beautiful, the people are always nice, and the food is one of the most beautiful i've had. And yet, i rarely go to Vietnamese restaurants! In fact, i think i've only been to three or so Vietnamese restaurants in my life. And yet when i cook Vietnamese food, my family obsesses over it.

This dish is very similar to a beef salad i've done in past, with tweaks to the sauce and obviously the meat. I'm definitely in a pork neck craze at the moment; i can't believe i haven't used this cut of meat before! So tender and succulent yet full of pork flavour. It seems to work well for both a quick sear and a long stewing too.

Smokey Red Pepper & Chickpea Salad

Salad time! Another leftover ingredient-user from my cupboard, this one gobbled up my supply of chick peas and my frozen chorizo!! This is a very rich salad and easily served as a meal for my family. Alternatively it would make a delicious side in a spanish banquet.

Garlic Chilli Prawns on a Fennel & Orange Salad

Finally, the hot weather has come to Melbourne and it's the perfect season for prawns on the barbeque!The warmth and slight charred flavour of these prawns pairs well with the slightly aniseed freshness of the orange and fennel salad. It seems to have been a match made in heaven, orange and fennel, as when i was researching fennel salads the vast majority included a citrus fruit. And it does work well!

A note on fennel: i prefer raw fennel to be sliced incredibly finely, so you could use a peeler or a very good quality mandolin to get the best from your fennel. Bewarned though, it oxidizes quite quickly, so if you won't be serving the fennel very shortly after slicing it, dunk it into a bowl of water with a squeeze of lemon juice before setting it aside.

Beef Dopiaza & Spiced Carrot Salad

So my dad's been getting all this neat new curry stuff, but he hasn't used any of it yet! Amongst the great gear he recieved for Christmas and his birthday were the above metal bowls, a chest full of spices including whole dried tumeric which i've never seen before, and a spice grinder from yours truly (actually that was for fathers day). And this dish puts it all to good use!

Panzanella Salad

Second salad for the Spring season and i've gone for one similar to my very favorite salad- caprese! The Panzanella salad is of Italian origin and is primarily composed of bread and tomatoes. The bread soaks up the olive oil and balsamic and adds a delicious crunch and carbohydrate satiety to the dish.

A note on tomatoes: as we get into the hotter months, the time for the best tomatoes (late summer) draws nearer and nearer! Gone are the the hard, tasteless round globes that we must satisfy ourselves with in Autumn and Winter, and in come the delicious, intensely flavored real deal! If you're a supermarket shopper there is a great tomato available at coles now in a package called 'Intense'. They're marketed as being low in the moist innards of your standard tomato and thus as being ideal for sandwiched. But they're also grown in DIRT (a rarity now) and are strongly flavored, ideal for this salad!

Pork Fillet with Proscuitto, Kipfler Potatoes & Rocket

Spring is well and truly here (ok maybe the weather does not agree) but i'm for one of the first times truly excited about eating wonderful fresh spring food, particularly salads! This one is definitely a 'transitional salad' substantial enough to have in a bit of cold weather. I'm a lover of kipfler potatoes because of their earthy richness, but you could always replace with waxy chat potatoes instead should you wish.

Vietnamese Lemongrass Beef on Vermicelli Salad

I looooove Vietnamese food! It's such a shame that if you live in a Whitewashed suburb, procuring all of the herbs required for a Vietnamese feast can be a difficult, not to mention expensive, proposition. Thankfully, we have a nice herb garden at my parents house, rife with mint, coriander and my favorite, Vietnamese mint! Vietnamese food is fresh, healthy and light- but once you start on it, you will crave it forever. This is another recipe from the Nguyen family of Red Lantern fame, and once again, it is impeccable. 

Kangaroo, Beetroot, Bocconcini & Grilled Shallots on Carrot Noir

Whilst at a work function the other week, i was flicking through the television in my hotel room when onto the screen came a blast from my culinary past: Gabriel Gate. Alongside Geoff Jansz, Gabriel Gate is probably the first 'celebrity chef' that i can remember seeing, from the good old days of midday television when i was a child. Funnily, i'd never seen anyone actually make their dishes. Well, Gabriel Gate was taking the viewer through, in 3 minutes no less, a beautiful French salad of beetroot and fresh herbs on this intriguing black puree, all of this somehow connected to the Tour De France.

Well a bit of research showed me that the black puree was made from burnt carrots, which i've decided to fancy up a bit and call carrot noir. The sweetness of the carrots is tempered by the smokiness that the burning imparts, but it was much less overpowering than i imagined. I tried to match the flavors in the 'salad' as best as i could, to turn it into a main attraction kind of affair. I think i succeeded!

If you're not in Australia, i would recommend replacing the kangaroo with spring lamb.

Bo Luc Lac (Vietnamese shaking beef)

Every now and again (namely after a work conference laden with rich company-paid meals and constant snacking) one feels like a salad. Alas, in the middle of winter, the green grocers tend to ignore the great herbs that makes a great Thai larb, or even most Vietnamese salad.

That said, on the hunt for a light dinner that wouldn't hurt the waistline, i came across recipes for Vietnamese Bo Luc Lac or shaking beef. Most of the recipes seemed to offer either a dressing or a dipping sauce; for me, i combined the two. Apparently the translated name, shaking beef, refers to the shaking of the wok as you sear all sides of the meat. So don't go expecting any plate theatrics here kiddos.

For a little extra indulgence i went and purchased King Island eye fillets; they were definitely worth it! For meat that is only briefly cooked you really do need to buy a tender cut of meat. These morsels just melted in your mouth as you devoured the plate of them.

Nutmeg Pumpkin Salad with Almonds and Camembert

With the coming of winter and the fading of the sun, we don't need to leave salads behind. In fact, using winter produce, salads can become hearty, rich affairs. A staple, for me, of the winter salad is pumpkin. Cheap, readily available, filling, and delicious when roasted, it's hard to go past.

My mum was the first to get me hooked on roast vegetable salads. With a balsamic dressing, bowls laden with spinach, feta, pumpkin, tomatoes, onions and capsicum would regularly adorn our table a few years ago. I've altered the recipe for a less Mediterranean taste.

Twice-Cooked Goats Cheese Souffle with Proscuitto, Peach and Pomegranate Salad

Pomegranates are one of the prettiest fruits i've seen. I've only eaten them a couple of times, but their juicy seeds, reminiscent of jewels of ruby, provide a delicious burst of sweetness which picks up any salad. Unlike a lot of other exotic fruits, pomegranate seeds are very palatable even for the fussiest eater. They almost taste like confectionery. 

This fresh, summery dish is fairly light, and good eats on a warm night. Don't be scared by souffles, they're really not that difficult!! I promise.

Kangaroo, Kipfler & Apple Salad with Pistachio Aioli

I've been meaning to cook something with kipflet potatoes for ages! They are definitely the best potatoes i've ever eaten, full of flavour and not needing the addition of cheese, butter or salt to be tasty. Unfortunately you do pay more for them, so make sure that when you cook with them, you make them a star of the dish where you can actually taste them. For scalloped potatoes, pass on the kipflers.

I really just put this salad together with what i had lying around from other recent recipes. All i knew was that i wanted kangaroo and kipflers. Everything worked out delicious though!

Salade Aux Lardons

My mission for tonight was to eat something healthy, considering the recent spate of fatty foods i cooked (and an attempt today to bake a cake containing 20 egg yolks... did not work so well!). When one says healthy, one's mind immediately gravitates towards salad. Unfortunately, mine gravitated towards salade aux lardons.

Mission failed.

Lardons are slices of smoked pork belly, but you can use a good bacon like it did.