Tag: Vegetarian

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G’day Australia!

Well, I’ve made it. 13 and a half hours in the air with Qatar Airways, crossing 8 time zones, but I’ve made it. All of that on top of 6 and a half hours in the air, crossing 3 time zones, on the initial leg from London to Doha. I suppose I shouldn’t be that surprised that I’m feeling a little groggy with jet lag just now.

First impressions of Melbourne are that it’s a very interesting city, with lots of culture, sport, street art and cafes that take serving good food and coffee very seriously. I took a tram to Fed Square and walked down by the Yarra River to take the photo above, looking across to the Central Business District.

Weather was about 21C – it is just coming into the main summer here. Weirdly, this means that, with the UK summer just gone, I will experience two summers this year. Not that I’m complaining, of course.

I’ve been out for an initial walk around the food shops and cafes of trendy Prahran, where we’re staying, and sampled some of the alternative beach culture at coastal St. Kilda. Lots to like, and I’m looking forward to exploring much more of the city and Victoria state over the next couple of months. Plenty more posts to come!

For an initial cafe treat, I couldn’t resist this plate of Australia’s very own delicacy, Vegemite, with butter on thick sourdough toast, served with a cappucino. It tastes like marmite but with the texture of smooth peanut butter. I could be developing a taste for this…

Musical choice is a track from a musician who hails from this city, and who I have admired for many years. This is Jubilee Street by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.

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Falafel and Tahini Flatbread

One of the foods I have wanted to try, while in the Middle East, is falafels. I’m a fan, and was keen to see how they are prepared and cooked in this part of the world.

A spot of local research suggested an Egyptian Restaurant, the Khan Farouk Tarab Cafe was the place to visit. A hop on Doha’s excellent, state of the art metro, took us there. Having a number of impressive reviews, it certainly lived up to its reputation.

The restaurant is situated in the Katara Cultural Village part of Doha, another modern development impressive in size and quality, and which has clearly been built with a generous budget. It is the only place I can recall visiting where the streets are air conditioned from grilles in the pavements.

The restaurant specialised in Egyptian food. It was busy and doing a good trade, appearing to be popular with the local North African community. One of the upsides of Qatar’s policy of strict control of alcohol is that more restaurants and bars are family friendly, and this was certainly the case here.

I immediately liked the fact that there was a member of staff permanently stationed by a traditional clay oven, baking fresh flatbread that was then served to the tables warm.

It was inside one of these that my meal was served. The sliced falafel had a crunchy and golden coating, with a soft, green and spicy centre. It was mixed with crisp green salad and tahini dressing. Served with pickles, the whole sandwich was delicious (see main photo). Prices were reasonable once again – my meal cost 26 QAR which works out at under £6.

It’s been one of the pleasures of our time in Doha that we have been able to sample some genuine cuisine from across Africa, Asia and the Middle East, prepared and cooked by experts.

Today’s musical choice continues the Middle Eastern theme – here is Thief of Baghdad by The Teardrop Explodes.

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Mains Recipes

Parmesan Kohlrabi Steaks

Kohlrabi is a great vegetable to cook with. It has a texture that’s been described as a cross between a turnip and a water chestnut, which sounds about right.

Quite often you will see it in recipes that treat it like the poor relation – consigned to the margins of a meal, as a side dish, or have it grated into a salad along with other ingredients.

I felt it deserved its place in the spotlight, so this dish sees it firmly centre stage (or should that be centre plate?) as the star attraction. The crisp, juicy and crunchy texture it retains when cooked makes it suitable as a main, especially for anyone on a vegetarian, vegan or plant-based diet. I hope you will find it lives up to its billing!

It is actually quite simple to make. Cut a large disc-shaped slice of the kohlrabi that is about 1 – 2cm in thickness from the widest point (the equator, if you know what I mean). Trim off the peel, then cut it into about 6 pieces. Go for irregular shapes – you want each steak to be individual and the whole dish not to look uniform. Also, work in a number of angles and corners – these will crisp and caramelise as they roast.

Briefly place the steaks in a shallow pan with a little oil. Fry each steak on both sides for about 2 – 3 mins, then transfer to a roasting dish and place in the oven, heated to 180C. Let them roast for 30 mins, flipping them over half-way through.

Remove the dish from the oven and grate 40g of parmesan cheese (or vegan alternative if desired) over the steaks. Place back in the oven for a further 10 mins and let the cheese melt. The steaks will be browning up nicely as the photo below shows (I couldn’t resist a sneak peek in the oven to see how they were doing).

When complete, remove and serve with your choice of accompaniment. In my main photo you can see that I served this with savoury rice and steamed carrots. I served 3 steaks in one serving, making this a meal for 2.

If you like, you can make more servings, or have it again on another occasion, as you will only have used a fraction of that beautiful kohlrabi.

This is an exciting weekend for me, as I am setting off on my travels, spending the next couple of months in Australia, with some time in the Middle-East en route. I’ll be blogging here and tweeting (@differentkitch) along the way, so do please follow me on my journey. I welcome any comments and suggestions on places to visit and eat, food and drink I should try. This lovely track about global travel – Ramblin’ Man from Lemon Jelly – seems particularly appropriate today!

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Mains Recipes

Root Veg Curry

Continuing the recent theme of cooking with autumn vegetables, this dish brings together a variety of seasonal root veg in a subtle yet spicy curry that is suitable for both vegetarians and vegans. My meal, shown in the photo, used celeriac, mooli (or white radish), kohl rabi, carrot and parsnip, though other veg are available!

Servings

This will make enough to serve four.

Timings

10 mins to peel and chop the root veg, and 30 mins to roast. The rest of the prep can be done while the veg is roasting. Allow 10 mins more to combine and finalise.

You Will Need

  • a baking tray full of root vegetables, peeled and chopped into chunks. I used celeriac, mooli (white radish), kohl rabi, carrot and parsnip
  • oil to drizzle
  • 1 medium onion
  • 1 garlic clove, crushed
  • 1 fresh chilli, or 1 tsp chilli powder
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tsp garam masala
  • 1 tsp nigella seeds
  • 500g passata
  • bunch of fresh coriander
  • 400ml can of coconut milk
  • rice to serve

Method

  1. Drizzle oil over the tray of chunked root veg and roast in the oven at 180C for 30 mins.
  2. While the veg is roasting, heat some oil in a saucepan and toss in the garlic and spices until sizzling. Then add in the onion.
  3. After a few minutes, add in the passata, Hold the bunch of coriander over the pan and, with scissors, cut in a generous amount.
  4. Let the passata and coriander cook for a few minutes.
  5. Add in the coconut milk and stir to combine. Cook for a further 5 – 10 mins. It will reduce slightly to give a thick, spicy sauce.
  6. When the root veg is roasted, scrape it into the saucepan and stir in.
  7. Serve with boiled rice.

Customise it!

Lots of scope to vary the veg. Butternut and other squash will work well in the roasting tray, also some chestnut mushrooms or peppers. Adjust the strength of the chilli and spices to suit your taste.

For musical choice, I have gone for a favourite track of mine, which also serves as an homage to the good people at our local community farm who harvest these lovely root vegetables from the soil – Can You Dig It by The Mock Turtles.

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Mains Recipes

Summer Greens Quiche with Stilton and Ricotta

Summer green vegetables are reaching their peak just now, and this quiche brings out the best in them. Fetch a crop from the garden or market stall, and mix with creamy ricotta and salty blue cheese in this fresh and vibrant quiche.

Servings

Makes 4 generous slices, or 6-8 average ones!

Timings

About 15 mins initially to prepare the pastry, and another 15 mins to prepare the filling including steaming the veg. Baking time is an initial 10 minutes for the case alone, then 45-50 mins for the filled quiche.

You Will Need

For the pastry

  • 115g plain flour
  • 115g wholemeal flour
  • 100g soft margarine
  • a pinch of seasalt
  • a pinch of paprika
  • a few drops of cold water

For the filling

  • Approx 180g fresh green veg (I used broccoli, french beans, runner beans and mange tout)
  • about 3 spring onions
  • 3 large eggs
  • 130g ricotta cheese
  • 50g stilton cheese
  • twist of black pepper

Method

  1. Grease a 20cm flan dish with some margarine or spread. I like to line the base with a circle of greaseproof paper in addition, as I find it helps to remove the quiche once baked.
  2. Make the pastry by sieving the two flours into a food processor fixed with blade, along with the margarine cut into cubes. Pulse until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add a few drops of water and pulse again until you have a ball of pastry whirling around the blade. Take it out, pat into a ball and wrap in clingfilm, placing it in the fridge to stay cool.
  3. Prepare the veg. Trim the ends off the beans and cut into 2-3cm lengths. Trim the ends of the mange tout, and cut any leaves and tough stalks off the broccoli.
  4. Put the veg into a steamer over boiling water for about 10 mins.
  5. While the veg is steaming, turn on the oven and set to 180C. Take the pastry from the fridge and roll out with a rolling pin to a size that will fit the flan dish. Carefully place it into the dish. Leave any pieces overhanging at the edges for the moment. Prick the base with a fork in 5 or 6 places. Place it back in the fridge while the oven is getting up to temperature.
  6. Remove the veg from the steamer and drain in a colander. Set on one side.
  7. With the oven up to temperature, remove the pastry dish from the fridge. Crumple a square of greaseproof paper with your hands and place it in the dish. Fill the paper with baking beans, spreading them out with your fingers so they cover the whole of the base and are gently pressed up to the sides. Place in the oven for 10 mins.
  8. While the pastry base is baking, top and tail the spring onions and cut into 2-3cm lengths. Chop the stilton roughly into cubes. It will crumble a bit as you do.
  9. Mix the eggs and ricotta in a jug, and give it a few twists of black pepper.
  10. Remove the pastry dish from the oven and carefully lift the paper and baking beans into a separate bowl to cool. Don’t worry too much about any pastry overhanging the edges – it will drop off as it bakes, either at this stage or the next one.
  11. Spread the steamed veg across the pastry base, and crumble the stilton over it. Carefully pour the egg and ricotta mix into the pastry base, making sure it gets into all the little cavities between the veg. Dot over the chopped spring onions, making sure they are lightly pushed into the mixture so they don’t burn.
  12. Bake in the oven, still at 180C, for about 45 – 50 minutes. The mixture should have risen and the top should be slightly browned. Remove and leave to cool in the dish.
  13. When cool, chop into slices and serve!

Customise it!

Main opportunity for going freestyle here is in the choice of veg. Sticking broadly to the theme of seasonal green/garden veg, you can use whatever you have to hand – perhaps introduce some greens, spinach, kale or chard. Herbs will also go well. Any combination should work, but keep it to a total of around 180g so as not to overfill.

You can also use any other crumbly blue cheese in place of stilton e.g. Dorset Blue Vinney. If you’re short of time, or don’t want to bother making the pastry, then you can use some ready made shortcrust pastry.