Hot Giardiniera Two Ways

--------

This recipe makes one batch of chilli oil giardiniera and one batch of chilli vinegar giardiniera. If you want to make just one or the other, halve the vegetables and brine and omit the extra ingredients.

3 carrots, sliced into rounds
1 each red, green & yellow capsicums, diced
6 stalks celery, sliced
1 medium cauliflower, broken into small florets
6 cloves garlic, peeled and slightly crushed
1/2 cup table salt, divided
2 sterilised jars/containers

For chilli vinegar giardiniera:
6 long green chillies sliced into rounds, seeds disgarded if desired
6 long red chillies sliced into rounds, seeds disgarded if desired
1 tsp peppercorns
2 cups apple cider vinegar

For chilli oil giardiniera:
1/2 cup chilli flakes
2 cups canola oil

****
Day 1: 
To make chilli oil: In a medium saucepan, heat canola oil over medium heat until it's just smoking. Turn off the heat and allow the oil to cool for 7 minutes.
Add the chilli flakes carefully (they will sizzle and foam quite a bit- be brave).
Leave to cool for an hour. Pour into a bowl, cover and set aside. You can refrigerate if you like but it's not necessary.

Day 2:
Take all vegetables, except garlic, and divide between two non-reactive bowls, placing a little over 1/3 in one and the rest in the other.
Add the sliced chillies to the bowl with 1/3 vegetables and mix them together.
Add 1/4 cup salt to each bowl and stir through the vegetables. Fill each bowl with water to cover the vegetables.
Cover the bowls and refrigerate overnight (about 12 hours).

Day 3:
Drain each batch of vegetables and rinse.
Place back in their bowls. Add peppercorns to the batch with chillies. Add three cloves garlic to each batch.
For the chilli oil giardiniera (the batch without chillies in it): Pack the vegetables into their container, layering them with some of the chilli flakes from the oil as you go.
Pour chilli oil over the vegetables to cover. Put lid on container and refrigerate for a day or two.

For the chilli vinegar giardiniera (the batch with the chillies in it): Pack the vegetable into their container.
Heat the vinegar in the microwave or on the stove until hot (it doesn't need to be boiling) and pour over the vegetables to cover. Put lid on container and refrigerate for a day or two.

Eat! Use both within 3 weeks.


You'll probably have some chilli oil leftover. Store for later use in salads, stir fry, dumplings etc.

Thanks for stopping by The Cookbook Resolution. Come back soon for a very special sandwich.

Parmesan & Walnut Waffles With Creamy Basil Sauce

Adapted from Waffles: From Morning To Midnight by Dorie Greenspan

1 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup grated Parmesan (pro tip: don't do what I did and grate the cheese over the cup measure at the last minute)
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup EVOO
300ml sour cream
bunch of basil, leaves picked off the stalks
100g baby spinach
2 cloves garlic
 ----------

1. Preheat your waffle iron as per its instructions. Preheat oven to 100°C (200°F) if you want to serve all the waffles at once.

2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the milk and eggs and stir to combine. Fold in the Parmesan, walnuts and then, lastly, the oil.

3. Cook waffles according to the iron's instructions (mine yielded 8 square waffles), stashing them in the oven as the cook if that's how you're rolling.

4. MEANWHILE make the sauce. Finely chop (by hand or by food processor) the basil, spinach and garlic together. In a bowl, combine the basil stuff and the sour cream and season with S&P to taste.

5. Serve waffles with the sauce and an awesome salad. YUUUUUM!! (I also made a side of those beans from last week's blog to go with.) 

Curry Roast Chicken

 

Adapted from Feed Me Now by Bill Granger (raita-tzatziki-yogurt stuff by me)

4 chicken marylands

2 tbs red Thai curry paste

210ml coconut milk

2 tbs fish sauce

1 tbs brown sugar

400g tin chopped tomatoes

500ml plain natural yogurt

2 lebanese cucumbers or 1 English cucumber, seeds scooped out and grated

1 tsp ground cumin

2 cloves garlic, finely grated or chopped

small handful of mint, chopped

salt to taste

Note: the original recipe for the chicken doesn't call for salt or pepper and I've made the recipe several times and it's never needed it but feel free to use salt if you so desire...I mean obviously. It's not like I'm going to break into your house and make sure you're ahering to my recipes.

1. In a baking dish big enough to fit all the chicken in one layer combine the curry paste, coconut milk, fish sauce and brown sugar and mix together. Marinate chicken in the mixture for at least an hour.

2. Preheat oven to 190°C (375°F). Add chopped tomatoes to the dish with the chicken and marinade and stir through.  Roast the chicken for an hour or until the chicken is cooked.

3. Meanwhile, to make the raita combine all the remaining ingredients and set aside while chicken cooks so the flavours can develop.

Serve chicken with raita, rice, naan and some sort of vegetable (I made minted peas).

Beetroot, Balsamic and Chilli Relish

 

Beetroot, chilli & balsamic relish (Adapted from Well Seasoned)

1kg tomatoes, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated (I used my Microplane) 
2-4 tsp sambal oelek, to heat preference (I also used one fresh bird's eye chilli from my garden)
2 dried bay leaves
2 sprigs each fresh rosemary and thyme
2 tbs sherry
1kg fresh beetroot
1 large red onion, finely chopped
50g brown sugar
100g caster suger
100ml balsamic vinegar
50ml red wine vinegar

1. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F), scrub any dirt off beetroots, trim roots and tops off and wrap each in foil. Bake from 40 minutes to an hour until they're soft (mine took 55 minutes).

2. In a large frying pan or saucepan, heat a little oil and sauté the garlic. When it's golden add the tomatoes, sambal, herbs, and sherry. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and cook until the tomatoes have broken down (about 20 minutes). Turn of the heat, pull out the herb stalks and bay leaves and set aside.

3. When the beetroot are cooked and cooled slightly, put on some gloves (highly recommended) unwrap and peel the beetroot. Put the beetroot into the food processer and process until all grated up into bits (alternatively, grate it by hand). If you'd like a smoother relish, then add the tomato sauce to the processor and combine it with the beetroot (again, not necessary if you haven't got a food processor).

4. Heat another large frying pan with a little oil and sauté the onion until soft. Add vinegars and sugars and bring to a boil. Add the tomatoes and beetroot. Bring to the boil again, reduce heat and cook until it's thickened and the liquid has evaporated. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

5. Pour into sterilised jars. Try not to eat with a spoon.
DG7673CFAWZP