Gremolata

"This is a classic Italian garnish for Osso Buco. It is equally good on any sticky braised veal dish, baked fish or braised artichokes or witlof."

2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup freshly chopped parsley
grated zest of 2 lemons

Lightly mix all ingredients and scatter over dish before serving.

Aromatic Chicken Pilau with Cinnamon, Tomato & Nutmeg

This is one of the easiest meals to prepare, and always a crowd pleaser. I'm always a fan of bunking something in the oven and having some drink with friends before dinner is ready.

I have tried this with whole drumsticks and wings, and it's taken more time in the oven, so bear this in mind if you do find yourself with a bulk buy pack from the freezer you want to use up.

Serves 6-8

750g mixed chicken breast and thigh fillets, cut into 3cm pieces
75g ghee or 2 tbs oil
2 x 5cm cinnamon quills or 10 pieces cassia bark
10 cloves
10 green cardamom pods
2 bay leaves
6 garlic, finely chopped
10cm piece ginger, finely grated
2 large onions, halved thinly sliced
1 tbs coriander seeds, roasted, ground
2 tsp cumin seeds, roasted, ground
1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp kashmiri or regular chilli powder
400g fresh or canned chopped tomatoes
1 tsp ground turmeric
2 cups (400g) basmati rice
12 curry leaves
Chopped coriander leaves, to garnish

Preheat the oven to 180 deg C.

Season chicken lightly with salt and pepper. Melt ghee in a large, flameproof casserole over medium-high heat. Add the cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and bay leaves and sizzle for a few seconds until aromatic. Reduce heat to medium-low, add garlic and ginger and cook gently for 2-3 minutes. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes or until very soft and lightly golden. Add ground coriander and cumin, nutmeg and chilli and fry for a further 2 minutes.

Stir in chicken and cook for 5 minutes or until lightly coloured all over.Add tomato, turmeric, 2 cups (500ml) water, 2 tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper and bring to a gentle simmer. Stir in rice and curry leaves. Bring back to a vigorous boil, stir once, then cover with a tight-fitting lid. Transfer to the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until rice is tender and chicken is cooked through. (You could do this on the stove if you can maintain a constant low heat).

Remove pilau from the oven and stand for 5 minutes, then fluff it up with a fork. Serve sprinkled with chopped coriander.

Eggs Poached on Tomato (Tamatar kothmir per eeda)

This is a recipe I originally posted in April 2006, but I am sharing this again after I cooked this for brunch this morning. I'd invited our friends Karen and Michelle over for brunch without much notice, and I was trying to think of a vegetarian dish I could put together quite easily. A quick drop-in at the supermarket before bedtime, and an early-ish start to make bread rolls from the Basic Bread Recipe, and brunch was ready by the time they arrived!

Ingredients:

1/3 cup (3fl oz/90ml) vegetable oil and melted unsalted butter combined
3 yellow (brown) onions, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh ginger
6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
2 lb (1 kg) tomatoes, (about 7 medium), unpeeled, finely chopped
3 fresh green chili peppers, finely chopped
2/3 cup (1 oz/30 g) chopped fresh cilanto (fresh coriander)
8 eggs

In a large, wide, heavy frying pan, heat oil and butter mixture over medium-low heat. Add onions and salt, and cook uncovered, stirring often, until onions are golden brown, 10-15 minutes.

Add ginger and garlic, and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add turmeric and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Stir in tomatoes and chili pepper, and cook uncovered. stirring often, until tomatoes are soft, about 5 minutes. Add cilantro and mix well.

Spread tomato mixture evenly in pan and use a spoon to make eight evenly spaced indentations in mixture. Break an egg into each indentation, cover pan and cook over low heat until eggs are just set, about 10 minutes. Serve hot.

Serves 8 as part of an Indian meal.

Note: This dish is excellent for breakfast or brunch, served with toast or bread rolls.

Soy-Braised Pork Belly

I couldn't believe I found pork belly at the supermarket over the weekend. One whole slab of it, just waiting to cooked nice and slow, so it melts in your mouth. Lucky I found a recipe quickly enough, then took the plunge and adapted it for the slow cooker. I found some time while waiting for our Simplest Beef Stew dinner, to marinate the meat for next night's dinner. I also learned from someone at work to prep ingredients in the crock pot, and skip pre-heating the slow cooker, allowing it to heat up then cook through the day in its own time. Here I've included the original method, then what I have done for the slow cooker.

750 g (1 lb 8 oz) pork belly, cut into 1 cm (1/2 in) cubes
4 tablespoons peanut oil
5 cm (2 in) piece ginger, finely sliced
1/2 cup shao hsing wine
3 tablespoons light soy sauce
2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
1 cup brown sugar
5 cups water
2 tablespoons brown rice vinegar

To remove any impurities from meat, place pork belly in a large pan or stockpot, cover with cold water and bring to the boil. Simmer for 5 minutes, then drain, discarding water. Rinse pork thoroughly under cold running water and drain well.

Heat oil in a hot wok until surface seems to shimmer slightly. Add pork and stir-fry for 3 minutes. Add all other ingredients except vinegar and simmer gently, covered, for 50 minutes or until pork is tender. Stir in vinegar and serve immediately.

Serves 4-6 as part of shared meal.


SLOW COOKER ADAPTATION

Prepare your meal the day before. I doubled all portions, and excluded the peanut oil and 5 cups of water, they are not required for the slow cooker.

Place the pork belly pieces in the crock pot of your slow cooker. Place all other ingredients, except peanut oil, water and vinegar, in a separate bowl and mix well. Pour mixture over pork, mix well, then cover crock pot with cling wrap and refrigerate overnight.

The next morning, remove cling wrap from crockpot, and cook covered in your slow cooker on low for about 10 hours. Stir in vinegar just before serving.