Brodetto - a seafood feast for Christmas

I took one of Silvia Colloca's recipes and adapted it to our family, so thank you to Silvia.  She is a wonderful Italian cook who lives in Australia.  This dish looks and tastes spectacular, and you can adapt it for more people. This is for 4 people.

 

What I love about the dish is that it is lighter than similar dishes like paella, and it is very relaxing to chat over mussels at Christmas and the cook does not get stressed.

 

You can make this over one day - but who wants all that work at Christmas!  Instead most of the work is done a day ahead and by the fishmonger, all I had to do on the day was heat up some sauce, chop some parsley, add a few bits and cook the mussels - all in all it took about 10 minutes.  Use a large flat bottom pot to cook the sauce in, one that goes to the table. 

 

Buy pot ready seafood and its a breeze, by that I mean mussels and pippies that have been prepared, with no bits hanging off them, and pre filleted snapper as well as prawns that have been peeled and deveined. You can vary the seafood, buy what is good and fresh and what you enjoy (calamari would be good).  I also think some saffron would be a nice addition if you are so inclined.  Do not overcook the seafood, a few minutes is all they need.

 

Quick Pickled Vegetables

OK, I admit it, I am obsessed.  I love quick pickles as a way of adding to a summer salad and jazzing up vegetables.

This is the basic pickled vegetable recipe, and can be adapted to any vegetable.  The trick is to combine herbs and spices that you enjoy.  Use the pickles in salads, on sandwiches or as side dishes, they are great for summer.  They make great Christmas presents too.

It is a very forgiving recipe, and I have often chopped the herbs in the blender with the water before adding them all to the pot.

You can keep these for up to 5 days in the fridge, or use them after about 1 hour.

Great cake for a dinner party

This cake is one I saw on a great cooking show,  Good Chef, Bad Chef , I recommend using both almond extract and amaretto (Yum).  I think another good combination would be rose water and vanilla. 

 

You must check the cake with a skewer and make sure it comes out clean, mine takes a little longer than the recipe says.  I also put the juice of a half a lime over the cake when it came out of the oven - make it taste even better.  I also used almond slivers instead of flakes as they are a bit crunchier, seem to match the pistachios better.

 

Its an easy, gluten free cake that tastes wonderful!

 

 

Thanks Ben for the perfect dessert

I do not often take a recipe and not change it, but this one I saw on TV from Bens Menu is a definite winner.  Perfect for Christmas time, and serves a few more than 4 I would say!  I really like Ben's show as it is showcases Australian food, and has recipes that any family would enjoy.

 

I also think this is the perfect recipe for when you are stuck, as all it takes is some eggs, you could top it with any cream and seasonal fruit, or try lemon or lime curd.  Thanks Ben, I hope you don't mind me reproducing (ie copying) it here, it was originally his grandmothers recipe.

 

 

 

Ingredients

(SERVES 4)

6 egg whites

9 ounces or 255 g sugar

2 tsp malt vinegar

1 tsp vanilla essence

150 g whipped cream, to serve

1 punnet strawberries

Mint, to garnish

Icing sugar, to dust

 

Method

1. Pre-­heat the oven to 150 degrees celsius. Remove egg yolks from the eggs being careful not to get any yolk in the whites.
2. Put all the ingredients into a mixing bowl and beat on high for around 12-14 minutes or until stiff peaks.
3. Shape onto a large pavlova shape on round tray.  
4. Bake for approximately 1 and a 1/2 hours. The pavlova will rise up but collapse again as it cools. To serve top with whipped cream and strawberries. Garnish with mint and a light dusting of icing sugar

Pickled Yellow Pepper Rings

We went on a cruise across the south Pacific, and my husband had these in salads.  He loves them so I have been looking for a recipe, and found one at the National Centre for Home Food Preservation.  Its easy to do and works a treat.  You do need to preserve these, so you will need the right equipment.

Here is how they turned out:

Vietnamese fish cakes

I have several recipes for these fishcakes, and they all involve fish and red curry paste.  Then the fish cakes turn out too strong for me, with no taste of the fish.  When I saw a Bill's recipe with no curry paste, I tried it out, found it a little too simple and modified it as below.  These cakes taste more of fish than curry and so they do not assault the senses!

 

If you cannot get snake beans, just use normal beans. If you like the fish cakes a lot more spicy, add a chopped chilli to the fish mix.  Serve with a simple Vietnamese salad of lettuce, mint, coriander, sliced mango, bean sprouts and a dressing of lime, olive oil seasoned with a dash of soy, fish sauce and sugar.  As for the fish - I use the cheapest white fish fillets at the market, the only thing to avoid is very oily fish.  You can make really little fish cakes and serve them as starters for a party with the dipping sauce.

 

I made a batch of these and froze them, then vacuum  sealed them and froze them - turned out great, just defrost and fry.

 

The recipe makes enough for 4, with a few left over for lunch the next day.

 

Zeppole or mini ricotta donuts

This is an old italian recipe and a great way to use up left over ricotta. You will find lots of recipes on the web, but this one works every time.   Be warned!  they are addictive, and they attract hoards of people, particularly children.

Two ways to serve these, firstly dusted in lots of icing sugar, or secondly make a honey drizzle of 1/4 cup honey, fresh thyme (about a teaspoon) and finely grated zest of a small lemon.  Simmer the honey etc until it is fragrant and you have a thin sauce to pour over the Zeppole.

When making these, do not over mix them.  Easy does it. You can add lemon or orange zest to the recipe if you so desire, or cinnamon to the icing sugar, see how the mood takes you.