Caramelised onion and sweet potato tart

You know when you have to 'bring a plate' to your last antenatal class and you forgot about it until that day and you have spent your weekly budget, and you're not sure what to do? But then you discover that you have an onion, and a sweet potato, and a little bit of left over mozzarella and parmesan from the weekend's lasagne. And there's some puff pastry in the freezer. And it's the depths of winter and you're supposed to be writing your thesis and you can think of nothing better than having an excuse to put the oven on?

Well, I'm sure we've all been there. Or at least somewhere entirely dissimilar to there. Fortunately, this tart is the solution to all manner of crises. It's pauper ingredients gussied up as fancy French business. It's pretty easy. And it's really scrummy. It would work with all different kinds of cheese, and using this template I'm pretty sure you could do good work with potatoes, mushrooms, and all manner of other seasonal veg.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 a large sweet potato
• 1 brown onion
• 1 clove garlic
• 50 grams butter
• splash of sherry vinegar 
• 2 teaspoons brown sugar
• 1 big handful of grated mozzarella
• 1 tablespoon grated parmesan
• 2 sheets frozen puff pastry
• salt and pepper to season

Finely slice your onions, the thinner the better. Heat the butter in a large frying pan on a medium heat, and add the onions. Soften then for about 10 minutes until they are golden and then add the splash of vinegar and brown sugar and continue to sweat the onions for another 5 minutes.

While the onions are cooking, finely slice your sweet potato, then add it to the pan. Sautee the potato for about five minutes until it starts to soften. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Grate the cheese and toss half of it through the mixture, reserving half for the top.

Take your two sheets of puff pastry which should be properly thawed by now. Because this is Australia puff pastry only seems to come in squares, which is the wrong shape and thickness for this tart. So scrunch them into a ball, and roll them out again into a vaguely circular shape about 2 millimeters thick. Don't worry about it being neat, you can pass any wonkiness of as 'rustic'.

Tip the onions and sweet potato mixture into the centre, leaving a 2 cm border. Fold the pastry border in and sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top. Brush the pastry edges with a little milk and cook in a hot oven (220 C) for about 18 minutes.

When you remove the tart from the oven it will have puffed up into a glorious golden pouffie thing. Let it cool for a few minutes before slicing it. Da na!

Spinach dip in a cobb loaf

I don't know whether this has anything to do with my own creeping state of motherhood, but lately I've been fantasising about some of the kitsch, 80s dinner party fare that meant in my childhood that shit was getting fancy.  I'm talking about little tuna and cheese pastry parcels (we called them tuna savouries), chocolate-peppermint cheesecake, and anything that could be prepared in a microwave.

So when I was invited to a pot luck dinner tonight, where considerations like wanting to cater to vegetarians in case there were any, and wanting to bring something that was easy to prepare and easy to share, I knew instantly that I would make spinach dip in a cobb loaf.

As a child, I thought that this was the poshest thing that could possibly be done with food.  The bread is the bowl, you guys! In seeking out recipes, I've also realised that ingredients-wise, this is true to form retro Australian cuisine.  I didn't want to vary the original intent of the dish too greatly, but I did make a couple of tweaks, particularly in the form of nutmeg, which frankly should be paired with spinach whenever and wherever possible.  It also takes about 10 minutes to make.  I am keenly anticipate a mixture of delight and mirth when I rock up with this tonight.

Here it is in all its glory.

Ingredients:

• 1 cobb loaf 
• 1 packet frozen spinach
• handful of spring onions
• 1 tub of sour cream (approx 250ml)
• 1 tub of cream cheese (approx 250ml) 
• 2 heaped tablespoons of mayo
• 1 packet spring vegetable soup (or some other innocuous flavour)
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• cracked pepper

Okay, so you can make this dip in four simple steps:

1. Chop the spring onions
2.Thaw the spinach and squeeze all the water out of it

3. Put everything in a big bowl

4. Mix

Once you've got your dip prepared, prepare your bread bowl.  First slice the top of the loaf, about one third down.  Then hollow out the centre.

Fill the emptied belly of the cobb with the dip. Then replace the lid.  'Whala', as A Wild Young Under Whimsy would say.  You have dip in a bread bowl! To an unsuspecting person, it just looks like bread. Ingenious, huh.

Warm the whole lot in a slow oven (approx 150 degrees C) for about 30 minutes.  Finally, break the extra bits of bread for the centre and place them around the loaf to serve.

Mmmmm.  Tastes just like 1983.

Zucchini flowers with goats curd

We've been getting to the Farmer's Market a more frequently.  I'm not sure whether it's nesting, budgeting, or just better organisation, but it's been brilliant to have an abundance of gorgeous fruit in the house.  And last week we came home with zucchini flowers! Delicate, baby zucchini flowers.

And here's the thing.  When you're pregnant there's this endless list of stuff you're not supposed to eat.  Like soft cheeses.  SOFT CHEESE I TELLS YA! Unless, that is, they're cooked.  So being a resourceful woman, one starts concocting all kinds of reasons for heating up cheese.  Reasons like zucchini flowers...

We got ourselves some Meredith goat's curd (and can I just say: Holy Crapballs is THAT stuff good!).  And we already have a supply of black truffle salt.  Yeah, you heard. And then we fried.

I'd never cooked these before so had no idea really what I was doing, and it didn't matter because it turns out that it was pretty simple.  The baby zucchinis are sweet and succulent, and all the batter fried cheese is goes 'pouffe' in your mouth in a way that is so seriously good that you'll wolf them all before you know what's happened.

So next time you need to impress guests or pregnant ladies, look no further than this recipe. For real.

Ingredients:

• 4 Baby zucchini flowers
• 4 teaspoons goat's curd
• Truffle salt (or regular salt, for the prols)
• Canola or vegetable oil for frying

 For the batter:

• 3/4 cup of flour
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup water

Start by preparing your batter.  Whisk together the ingredients to form a loose paste, adding more flour or water as needed.

Gently rinse and pat dry the zucchini flowers, and split open the tops to about two thirds of the way down.  Then it all gets a bit Sapphic, as you need to pinch the stamen inside and gently twist to remove it, without disturbing the surrounding petals.  Rest the flowers on a tea towel.

Mix a pinch of truffle salt into the goats curd and spoon a small amount into each zucchini flower, using your finger to push it down inside.  Then pinch together the petals to seal the flower.  Heat your oil.

Dip the flowers in batter and fry until golden brown, then drain on paper towel.

If you have left over goats curd that you simply HAVE to cook, then roll it into balls, roll in bread crumbs and then dunk in the batter and fry in the oil until they form crunchy, cheesy nobbins of amazingness.  Drain these along side your zucchini flowers and drizzle with Tobasco or some other spicy sauce.

Eat the lot with a fresh, tangy heirloom tomato and basil salad.

Orange and Beetroot Quinoa Salad

It's been one of those stifling Melbourne weekends where all I seem to be able to manage is lying in a puddle on the floor when I should really be writing a thesis and going for runs and other things of that nature.  At least this weekend I managed to eat well.  


This salad works hot or cold, but if it's been 38 degrees then I'd go with cold.  It's refreshing, tangy with little crunchy almond surprises scattered throughout.  I have also been telling myself it's full of nutritional value, which makes that potato cake I had before seem all okay.


Ingredients:

• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 oranges
• 1 beetroot plus leaves
• 1 cup almonds
•  teaspoon cinnamon
• good olive oil 
• salt and pepper for seasoning

Cook the quinoa in 1.5 cups liquid made up of the juice of one orange and the rest boiling water.*  While it's cooking prepare you're other ingredients.

Strip the beetroot of its leaves and reserve them.  Peel the beetroot and grate.  Rinse the leaves and finely shred.  Halve the remaining orange, remove the pith and peel from one half and chop into small pieces.  Juice the other half of the orange and reserve for the dressing.

Roughly hew the almonds and toast in a dry pan until beginning to brown.

Once the quinoa is done add the orange, beetroot, leaves and almonds and toss through.  Dress the salad with the remaining orange juice, a drizzle of olive oil, the cinnamon and a little salt and pepper.  Delicious.

*If you've never cooked quinoa, a basic method involves placing it in 1.5 times the quantity of boiling water, cover and simmer for 15 minutes, then with the lid still on take off the heat and rest for another five minutes.

Potato, tomato and onion pie

 How do you define a pie?  Because frankly, this dish is very possibly not one.  But look, shut up okay, it's full of potato and what more do you want? So it's kind of a casserole, layered like a lasagne, but in a pie dish, and crunchy on top.  It's classic peasant/student fare, and given the December Austerity Measures this should free up enough coin to subsidise the high quality cooking chocolate I need for all my Christmassy treats and not at all for gnawing on after dinner.


Ingredients:

• 2 potatoes
• 3 tomatoes
• 1 onion
• 1 teaspoon wholeseed mustard
• slice of butter
• olive oil 
• salt and pepper  

Brush a pie dish with olive oil and turn the oven on to 180 C. Melt the butter with the mustard and add salt and pepper.  Then finely slice everything.

Line the pie dish first with a layer of potatoes, then onion, then tomato.  Add half the mustardy butter mixture.  Repeat. 

Top with potato and brush the top with olive oil.  Sprinkle with salt if you know what's good for you.

Cover with foil and put in the oven.  After 30 minutes remove the foil and turn the oven up to 190.  Remove after another 30 minutes.


Consume.