The Crustless One - with Potato, Egg & Cheese

Do you like Persian (Iranian) or Italian food, my friends?  I love Persian food!  Here we have a recipe from Pomegranates & Artichokes, a fascinating collection of recipes by Saghar Setareh.  Her book encompasses recipes and her memories on her journey from Iran to Italy.  She moved to Italy at the age of 22, leaving her parents and family behind.  A brave move at that age, I think.  I moved interstate at 19, and to Brisbane on my own, so I have a vague idea of how that feels.   

 

I originally made this one waaaay back in September 2023! for cookbook club.  And then again this April.  We have Persian (Iranian) friends, so their food has become a fave of ours.  Though this one is actually an Italian one - her version of a torta rustica, a savoury pie.  So, no crust - just a hearty potatoey mash with eggs and cheese.  Delicious indeed!  And so comforting.  And you get protein!  

delicious!

Serves 4-6:

ingredients:

1 kg./2.2 lbs potatoes

100g./3.5 oz parmesan or pecorino cheese, grated

2 Tbs parsley, finely chopped

1/2 tsp sea salt flakes

some black pepper  (to your taste)

40g./1.4 oz butter, softened (at room temp. basically)

2 Tbs breadcrumbs (I use panko, but use whatever you prefer)

4 hard-boiled eggs, cut in half lengthwise  (peeled obvs.!)

100-150g./3.5-5.3 oz spicy salami, diced   see Notes!

100g./3.5 oz cheddar cheese, diced   see Notes

a handful of chopped parsley on top

yep, potatoes!

Method:

Add the unpeeled spuds (potatoes) to a large saucepan with cold water to cover them

Boil till tender, drain and leave to cool

Turn on your oven to 180C/350F to heat up, while you peel and mash the spuds

Add the cheese, salt and pepper, and mix in gently

Grease the bottom and sides of your (20-22cm/8-8.5 inch) pie dish with half the butter, and dust with half the breadcrumbs

Now half the mash gets spread over the bottom of the dish, then you make 8 divots in the mash so you have room for your eggs

Season the eggs with salt and pepper, and place cutside down in your wee holes

Scatter over the cheese and salami (or tuna, etc) and give the eggs a gentle push into the mash

On goes the rest of the mash, with a spoon or your hands :=)

Then the panko gets scattered over the whole shebang, and you put dabs of the remaining butter over it all

Add some chopped parsley if you fancy, then ... 

Bake for 20 minutes, then under the grill for 10, and let it cool in the dish for 30 minutes

Slice it up, and serve with a salad or steamed veg. - a bit of tomato relish goes down well with it too!

and parsley

Notes:

No salami eaten in this house (we don't eat pigs), so I used 95g. tin of tuna in oil, 2 Tbs baby capers and some roasted red capsicum

You can use provolone or fontina cheese instead of cheddar, says the author

Looking at my photo from this April, I seem to have thrown some parsley into the filling also, and perhaps even some pre-cooked mushroom or pumpkin?  Not sure!  But really, you can add what you like, or have in the fridge.

I love panko!

boil those eggs, and the potatoes

dust your pie tin with half the butter and half the breadcrumbs

spread the mash over the bottom of the pie dish

smoosh those eggs into the mash!

cheesy!

pop into the oven at 180C/350F

this is before the mash goes on top of course :)

and baked!

add a bit of salad to your plate

We haven't been to Iran, but we visited Italy years ago.  Only to Rome, so maybe one day we will get to the Uffizi in Florence, and the canals in Venice.  We were gobsmacked at the Vatican, and amazed by the history and architecture in Rome.  Oh yes, how about Tuscany?  One day ...

Lemon Amaretti Cream Pots

"And now for something completely different" - as they used to say on Monty Python.  I have been meaning to post this one for a bit.  And I thought we needed a sweet treat as a change-up to my recent posts.

This is a super simple recipe, and very delicious.  The wonderful Nigel Slater has this one in his book the kitchen diaries.  I love Nigel, and I really enjoy his TV cooking shows.  I made this recipe for Lambs' Ears Cookbook Club, as Nigel's book is our whole-year go-to this year.

getting ready to fold in all the delicious bits

Serves 6 (or less - hehehe):

ingredients:

300 mL/10 oz double/thickened cream

250g./9 oz Greek-style yoghurt (i.e. thick and plain)

280g./9.5 oz good quality lemon curd (homemade would be good)  see Notes

60g./2 oz mascarpone (optional)

100g./3.5 oz amaretti biscuits, bashed up till you have sandy bits and chunky bits and gravelly bits   see Notes

a handful of slivered almonds for serving (optional)

amaretti

Method:

Whip your cream till you have soft peaks, then fold in the yoghurt, lemon curd and mascarpone

Now take your bashed-up amaretti biscuit crumbs and chunks, and tip them into your cream mixture

Fold them gently in, and spoon into small dishes/ramekins

Into the fridge for a few hours, then serve with small biscuits (maybe more amaretti?)

And add the slivered almonds, if using

Notes:

I ended up using 350g. of lemon curd!  So sue me; I like it :=)  And 190g. of amaretti

ingredients gathered

looking good

yes quite delicious

and I threw in some mini nocciola (hazelnut) wafer rolls

and here's some yoghurt

(Oh, did I mention it's my birthday on the 23rd?  Today as this is posted.  Heading out to Bookclub tonight at our local bookshop The Quick Brown Fox; we are reading The Nocturnals by Frances Whiting, a local writer and journalist.  And she will be there!!)

Thai Chicken - Retro-style!

Oh my word, friends!  This is one heck of a retro recipe!  And I love it - such fun:=)  Here is a recipe from one of my fave authors Roald Dahl; he and his wife Felicity (Flick) put together a cookbook called Memories with Food At Gipsy House, published in 1991.  It clearly has a 1980s vibe though!  I remember making "coconut milk" this way, by soaking dessicated coconut in boiling water.  Crikey, this sounds like something from the Ark :=)  Well, it makes me sound like a deckhand from the Ark.

I may have mentioned my story before, about making several different types of curry, and lugging the big pots to a local park (back in our younger days).  We invited heaps of friends, and had "Curry in a Hurry" in the park's rotunda.  Luckily, the local police were understanding of our madness :=)  

Oh, I nearly forgot to mention a fave recipe from this book - Rose Petal Sorbet.  I used to "borrow" lots of rose petals from the old couple next door's garden, to make it!  Yep I was a naughty gal back then!  He was Dutch and had fought in the Second World War, and she was the daughter of the fellow who owned the local stables waaay back in the day (I'm thinking turn of the century).  We still had the old horse troughs buried in our yard (we shared a boundary line with them).  And mysteriously, our backyard was (very) full of ashes - perhaps the dead horses? :=)

        

throw on that coriander

Marinate this overnight, folks (or at least 8 hours)!

Serves 6:

ingredients:

Marinade:

6 Tbs dark soy sauce

2 Tbs ground cummin

3 Tbs hot Madras curry powder

1 Tbs turmeric

3 cloves garlic, crushed or chopped finely

4 Tbs sweet chilli sauce

3 sticks lemongrass (or use 3 tsp of lemongrass paste from a tube!)

150 mL/5 fl oz oil (I used olive oil, but use a neutral oil like grapeseed if you please)

1.6 kg/3.5 lb chicken breasts, chopped or (large) diced   see Notes

The Sauce:

5 Tbs crunchy peanut butter

85g./3 oz dessicated or shredded (unsweetened) coconut, soaked in 180 mL/6 fl oz boiling water

1 bunch fresh coriander leaves, chopped or torn (by hand)

Garnish:

230g./8 oz bean sprouts (who cares?  No need to measure these)

more coriander leaves, if you wish

guess?!

Method:

Grab a large non-reactive bowl (glass or ceramic), and throw in the marinade ingredients

Give it a good stir, and then add the chopped chicken pieces - and let it marinate overnight (I forgot and only gave it 9 hours the next day - in fact, I'd suggest if you buy the already-chopped chook, the shorter marination time is fine and dandy)

The next day, in a large and heavy-based frypan, saucepan or skillet, cook up the chicken pieces till they turn opaque, then add the peanut butter and the coconut and soaking water

Cover and simmer very slowly for 15-20 minutes till the chicken is tender, then add some of the coriander leaves

Serve with rice or rice noodles, and add plenty of the bean sprouts and more coriander leaves

add plenty!

Notes:

I wish they had given a weight for the chicken!  I looked it up, and Google says a chicken breast can be anything from 170g.-250g.  I just based it on 200g./7 oz per breast; the recipe says to use 8 breasts

I bought diced chicken breast that is already chopped into large chunks - saved so much time and mess :=)

My (and Mr P.'s) suggestion is to add less chicken, but bung in some eggplant and capsicum - it was a bit too meaty for us

Also I reckon a good big slurp of tinned coconut milk at the end would be a splendid thing!  And probably some chilli flakes (I only had a mild Madras curry powder, so extra chilli was needed)

lemongrass stalks

(most of the) ingredients gathered 

the marinade

chuck in the chook!

some more ingredients

9 hours later - I started cooking ...

and in go the peanut butter and coconut

and on goes the coriander

add the bean sprouts to your bowl

Mr P. bought me this one - mm yep just a few years ago :=)

(Joining in with Jo from BKD Cookbook Club for her monthly link-up!  This month we are focusing on an "oldie but a goodie" cookbook in our collections.)

Baked Fish with Lemon Cream Sauce

Mr P. and I don't eat much meat these days (a throwback to our youthful vego. days perhaps), but we do like a bit of fish.  In fact, we had salmon just the other night, but we don't let that stop us from having fish again :=)  So this time, we went for some good old Aussie barramundi (tho' thinking on it, it was possibly from Vietnam or Thailand).  Though you have to be careful, as some naughty restaurants and seafood mongers like to trick us with cheaper fish.

Oh yes, here we have another recipe from Nagi Maehashi's Dinner.  Good old Nagi!  She never lets us down, with her fabulous recipes.  Sadly her gorgeous pup Dozer died recently (at a ripe old age).  I wonder if she will get another beautiful boy soon?  I keep threatening to get another pup, but Mr P. is not keen.  Two of our pups are buried in the backyard (maybe a tad illegal? Nah, I've checked; go ahead!), just as several of our pets are buried at our previous house.  I wonder if the new owners ever dug them up by mistake? :=)  

lemony, fishy and creamy!

Serves 4:

ingredients:

4 x 180g./6.5 oz skinless white fish fillets (about 1.5 cm thick)

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1.5 Tbs very finely minced/chopped French shallots/eschalots

Lemon Cream Sauce:

50g./1.8 oz butter

60 mL (1/4 cup) thickened cream

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

1 Tbs mustard (Dijon or your fave - I love my homemade wholegrain)

1.5 Tbs lemon juice

1/4 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

To serve:

2 tsp parsley, chopped  (seems stingy; maybe you need more - hehehe)

some chives, finely chopped - 1 tsp? - or more if you please

lemon slices

Mashed potato, and some green leaves if you want to feel virtuous

ingredients gathered (ignore the coriander seeds jar)

yep a bit of mustard does the trick!

Method:

On goes your oven to 200C/400F to heat up

Now onto the lemon cream sauce:

Put all the saucy ingredients into a heatproof jug or bowl, so you can microwave for 2 x 30 second bursts (give it a stir after the first 30 seconds!) - you want it wonderfully smooth and combined

And now for the fish: which is going into a baking dish (Nagi says 30 x 20 cm/12 x 8 in)

Season both sides of the fish pieces, and place them in the baking dish, with a bit of space between them

Cast the French shallots over the fish, and pour the sauce over

Bake for 10-12 minutes, or till the flesh flakes easily

Place the fish fillets on serving plates, and give 'em a five minute rest

When the 5 minutes are up, spoon the sauce (that's still lurking in the baking dish) over the fish, sprinkle with the parsley and chives, and serve with lemon slices, mashed potato and some green leaves tossed with a bit of oil and lemon juice (or your fave dressing)

love me some chives :)

lemon cream sauce, heading for the microwave

Notes:

Nagi says to use thick, white fish fillets; I bet you could even use crocodile!  I do love a bit of gummy shark (flake) myself, though not so easy to get in sunny Queensland.  Happily, the GoodFish Sustainable Seafood Guide says they are not endangered which is a good thing (not sure about crocodiles tho!)

fish into the dish, then the shallots and sauce over

chop your parsley in a jug with scissors - so easy!

throw on your lemon slices

and now throw on the parsley!

is that Hagrid overlooking my dinner? :=)

Cauliflower and Cannellini Bean Soup

The weather is finally starting to cool down a bit here, after a very long and above-normal temperature Summer and Autumn.  I actually made this soup in Spring, in October, but here we are at last.  The recipe calls for pancetta, but as Mr P. and I do not eat pig, I decided to whack in some mushrooms instead.  Definitely not foraged!  Hehehe ... You will get this reference if you're an Aussie, and if not, check out 'The Mushroom Killer'! 

This recipe is from Slow Cooking:Wholefood Recipes, by Olivia Andrews.  I made it for Cookbook Club last year, while the weather was still a bit doubtful as to its primary function in Spring :=)  And then we got the continuous, endless Summer!  Anyways, Winter is kind of a-coming at long last ...  (22C today, and I have a T-shirt and over-shirt on, and long pants and socks!)

thick and warming

Serves 4:

ingredients:

For the mushroom garnish:

1 Tbs EV olive oil

1 Tbs butter

150g./5.5 oz white or brown cup mushrooms, chopped  (I used white cup)

1 Tbs tamari or soy sauce

1-2 tsp maple syrup

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

1-2 tsp dried herbs - oregano/chives/parsley etc - your choice

sea salt and black pepper, to taste

one guess? :=)

For the soup:

another Tbs of EV olive oil

2-3 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped

1 large brown or red onion, finely (or roughly!) chopped

1 small cauliflower, chopped up, stem too!    see Notes

1.25 litres (44 oz) chicken stock  (or vege. stock)

2 x 400g./14 oz tins of cannellini beans   see Notes

cannellini

cauliflower

Method:

Heat the oil and butter in a large saucepan, add the mushrooms, and stir for a few minutes over medium-low heat

Stir in the tamari, maple syrup, smoked paprika, herbs, salt and pepper

Once the mushies are tender, take them out of the pan, and put aside

Now for the soup:

Heat up the oil in the saucepan, add the garlic and onion, and stir for a few minutes

Now add the chopped cauliflower and stock, and simmer till the cauli is tender - 25-30 minutes maybe?  Add some water here if it's too thick for your liking

In go the cannellini beans to heat up; simmer for a few minutes

When everything is cooked and tender, turn off the soup, and let it cool down for a few minutes till you grab your stick blender, and whizz away till as smooth as you like it

Add more salt and pepper if you please, throw on the mushies and some chopped parsley or chives if you fancy

Serve with some thick, buttered bread

I love me some butter!

Notes:

If you like pancetta, you sauté 12 slices in 1 Tbs EV olive oil (with some sage leaves) for the garnish

(I added some left-over zucchini to the soup too)

My cauliflower was about 815g./29 oz, and once stripped of the outer leaves, it came down to 620g./22 oz

Olivia's recipe uses dried beans.  She uses 200g./7 oz dried beans, soaked overnight, drained and rinsed, which she then adds to the saucepan with the sautéed garlic and onion, and 750 mL/26 oz of water.  This is then cooked for 30 minutes before adding the cauliflower and stock, and cooked for another 1.5 hours!  Nope, no can do!

ingredients gathered

tender, fragrant mushrooms

in goes the cauli!

simmer away

I must have blitzed it already ...

there might be some chicken in here :=)

I scribbled down 110g./4 oz cooked chicken on the bottom of my notes, so maybe I added some chicken to this soup ...

very tasty