Cauliflower Marranca

Cauliflower can be controversial, apparently.  Who knew?  It seems that some people are (mistakenly - hehehe) opposed to the brassica family.  Mr P. and I on the other hand are big fans!  Give us a Brussels sprout or head of broccoli any day (though I do have a visceral dislike of the whole kale thing.  You know it's cow feed, don't you? :=))   

This recipe is from The Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen.  As I've mentioned in previous posts, I lived with a number of vegans and vegetarians in my younger days, and both myself and Mr P. were vegetarian for about ten years (separate to each other).  I also helped a vegan friend write a cookbook!  We did a lot of testing of recipes, with a lot of soy beans, etc.  Don't tell anyone, but I used to make them dinner some nights when they were out late at uni., and I used butter in the seaweed stew!!

I had never heard of this recipe till I flicked thru this book of Mollie's, and decided to give it a go.  She is one clever cook!  And recipe compiler, and illustrator and editor and hand-letterer ...  (But why this is called Marranca I have no idea!  Even Mr. Google doesn't seem to know!)  

  

even Bartie Bear approves!

 

Serves 6:

ingredients:

1-2 Tbs olive oil

1 Tbs butter

1 large onion (I chose Spanish), chopped

500g./18 oz mushrooms, sliced  (I chose white cup)

juice of 1 lemon

salt and black pepper, to taste

1 large head cauliflower, trimmed and cut into florets    see Notes

3-4 garlic cloves, chopped

1 Tbs dried herbs (I chose parsley and chives)

sea salt flakes (I chose smoked) and ground black pepper, to taste

a few splashes (half a teaspoon?) of soy sauce, and of Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp mushroom powder, optional

1 tsp fried shallots (optional)

500g.-600g./18 oz-21 oz cooked brown rice   see Notes

1 tsp sea salt flakes

1-2 Tbs butter

250g./9 oz vintage (tasty) cheese, grated

grab your grater!

Method:

Heat up the oil and butter in a large frying pan, and add the chopped onion

Stir it around for a few minutes, then add the sliced mushies with the lemon juice

Add some salt and pepper, stir it around and let it cook gently till the veggies are soft and tender

Tip them out onto a plate or bowl, while you add a wee bit more oil or butter, and add the cauliflower florets into the frypan

Stir in the chopped garlic, and add the herbs, salt and pepper, the sauces and the mushroom powder, and fried shallots

Let it cook away till tender, giving the occasional stir

Throw on the salt and butter to your cooked rice (or not, if you used seasoned rice in a pouch)

Now tip everything into a large mixing bowl, and give it a good stir

Don't forget the grated cheese!  And some extra herbs if you wish

Spoon into a baking tray (mine is about 30cm X 24cm), which you lined with baking paper

Bake for about 25 minutes at 180C/350F with alfoil on top, then take off the alfoil and bake for another 5 or 10 minutes till golden on top

Serve with salad or a meat dish!

a head of cauliflower

Notes:

Mollie gives cup measurements for everything, so she says to use 2.5 cups cheese (which is 100g. per cup = 250g. all up, Google tells me).  And cooked rice is about 200g./7 oz per cup, and Mollie says to use 3 cups ...  

So cook up your rice in your preferred method!  Or use pouches of seasoned rice as I did (yes I confess!)

cauliflower and cheese 

gather your ingredients (yep, I threw in some fried shallots too)

cook till tender

then cook your cauli till tender

tip everything into a large bowl

spread the mixture out in the baking dish, and throw on some more herbs

baked for about half an hour at 180C/350F

have with a salad or add some meat if you fancy

Run! ... says the little mushie to the other ...

soy sauce or Tamari

Mollie believes in minimal instructions, it seems :=)

Easy Zucchini and Mushroom Pie

Back in our vegetarian days, Mr P. and I (and our housemates) used to eat a lot of beans and cheese and vegetables, of course!  So Alison Holst's cookbooks were very often brought out.  She and her son Simon wrote lots of cookbooks, before she sadly was diagnosed with dementia.

This pie is similar to a baked frittata/crustless quiche kind of thing, which I often make for dinner.  You could add cooked bacon, or ham or maybe even fish to this one.  But we are having a vegetarian friend coming over for dinner tonight, so we will stick to a non-meaty version.  (Ms P., our poet friend from Tasmania said later that she loved this!)

(Edit: Forgot to say that the book is called Meals without Meat by Alison and Simon Holst.  Also forgot to say that our dear friend is Pam Schindler poet extraordinaire; her books include A Sky you could fall into, and Say, a river.  I think her poems are simply marvellous!)  

golden and smelling heavenly (I suggest lining the dish with baking paper)

Serves 6-8:

ingredients:

500g./18 oz zucchini, grated    see Notes

1 onion, grated

2 garlic cloves, chopped finely or thrown into the food processor with the onion

200g./7 oz mushrooms, chopped or sliced (fairly finely)

4 large eggs

180g./6.3 oz cheddar/vintage cheese, grated

1/2 tsp sea salt

95g./3.4 oz self-raising flour

freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1/2-1 tsp mushroom powder  (optional)

a dash of dried chilli flakes, if you please

herbs of your choice, chopped  (I used parsley and chives)

extra grated cheese for the top (optional)  (I used Parmesan)

tomato slices for the top (optional)   (but you know how I feel about tomatoes, so it's a no from me)

you guessed it!  Zucchini it is!

Method:

Place the grated zucchini, onion and garlic in a large mixing bowl, and add the chopped mushrooms

Add the eggs, cheese and salt to the bowl, and give it all a good mixing with a fork

In go the flour, black pepper, mushroom powder, chilli flakes and chopped herbs, which you stir in well

Grab a large baking dish or 2 x 23cm/9 inch cake or pie tins, and butter them well (or use an oil spray if you must) - you can add some baking paper to the bottom if you feel so inclined   see Notes

Pour this mixture into your tin or dish, and add tomato slices over the top if you fancy, and extra grated cheddar or parmesan cheese if you feel the need for even more cheese

Bake at 200C/400F for 25-40 minutes!  You want the top golden, and the centre feeling firm (says Alison)  (Mine took about 35 minutes)

Let it sit and think about its life choices for 5 minutes, before slicing and serving with a green salad

red onions

Notes:

I suggest using the grating blade on your food processor, and letting it do the work: place the onion and garlic into the bowl and give it a good whizzing, then add the zucchini and whizz away till grated

I used my enamel baking dish, which is 30cm/12 in x 25cm/10 in, but I figured with the extra ingredients like the mushrooms, I will need a bit more space than Alison says to use  (and yes, it fitted perfectly!)

I love me some chives!

gather your ingredients

Mr P. takes the helm of the food processor to grate the veg.

grated veg. courtesy of Mr P.!

tip the ingredients into your large mixing bowl, my friends!

grate some Parmesan for the top

golden and slightly springy to the touch

add a bit of salad to your plate 

and have some proper gelato with fruit for dessert

We bought this fabulous gelato from a local place - Miss Sophia's Gelateria, - which is dangerously close to us :=).  It is SO delicious; our Tassie mate said she had never had better, except in Italy.  And she should know, as she has very recently returned from her writing residency in Tuscany!

Ooh, I meant to tell you:  Mr P. and I gave a talk at our local Historical Society on an interesting place we lived in back in our younger days.  If you'd like to listen (it's only 14 minutes long), you can access it on my Facebook page - Sherry Mackay - dated 7th September.

Almond Pound Cake with Maple-Roasted Apricots

I remember years ago when I lived with other students in a share house that one of the lads would throw together a pound cake most weekends.  He wasn't really into measurements so would just chuck what he thought was the right amount into the bowl - and he was pretty good at it!  A pound cake is just equal amounts of butter, sugar, flour and eggs, so pretty easy to get right, I reckon.

This brilliant fella also taught me how to fillet fish, and make bread - and then he went off to England to get his PhD.  Told you he was clever!  Anyways, I made this cake for our cookbook club hosted by Amanda from Lambs Ears and Honey, using this recipe from Emelia Jackson's beaut book You Had Me at Cake.  "So many cakes, so little time" - to paraphrase that famous rockstar ...  

  

the texture is delightful, said Mr P., the smooth talker :)

Makes 1 x 20cm./8 inch cake:

ingredients for the cake:

190g./6.75 oz almond meal (or nut meal of your choice)

140g./5 oz plain flour

2.5 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp sea salt flakes

225g./8 oz butter, softened (at room temp. basically), cubed

225g./8 oz caster sugar

4 large eggs

1.5 tsp vanilla paste or extract

180 mL/6 oz milk or buttermilk  see Notes

Crème frâiche, or thick cream, to serve with big slices of cake :=)

Maple-roasted apricots (or fruit of your choice):

6-8 ripe apricots, halved and pitted   see Notes

2 Tbs maple syrup or honey

1 Tbs brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 Tbs butter  (Emelia says to melt it first, but why?  It's going into the oven!  So just dice it, I say)

apricots

Method:

Turn on your oven to 180C/350F to heat up, and line a 20cm/8 in cake tin with baking paper (or use an air fryer liner like I do!)

Grab a large mixing bowl, and whisk together the nut meal, the flour, the baking powder and salt with either your electric hand beaters or a stand mixer if you have one (I don't, so I use my hand beaters)

Then add the softened, cubed butter till you have a sandy mixture with no large lumps of butter - I didn't worry too much; I still had small lumps and it turned out just fine!

Now add the sugar, eggs, vanilla and (butter) milk, and mix till combined (but don't go crazy! - no gluten wanted here, my friends) 

Pour the batter into the tin (never mind if it's a wee bit lumpy), and bake for 45-50 minutes till golden and a skewer pushed into its almond-y heart comes out clean

And as for the apricots: about 15 minutes before the cake is due to come out of the oven, grab yourself a small-ish baking dish, chuck in the fruity ingredients, giving it a good mix together, and place in the oven till the cake finishes baking

Take the cake and fruit out of the oven when they're ready, let the cake cool in the tin for 10 minutes before turning it out onto a a wire rack to cool completely

Serve a big slice with some of the syrupy fruit (fruity syrup?) and a dollop of cream, crème frâiche or plain yoghurt

one guess :=)

Notes:

As per, I didn't have any buttermilk lurking around, so I squeezed a small lemon to get juice (prob. 2 Tbs), which I stirred into the milk, and left to get thick and curdled-looking

Nor did I have any fresh apricots, 'cos it's winter here!  So I grabbed a 700g. jar of Australian apricots in juice (which juice?  A mystery, my friends); also no nett weight on the jar - grrrrrr!  Anyways, I weighed out 270g./9.5 oz of the fruit, as Mr Google says the average weight of an apricot (with the pit) is 35g.-50g.  Hoping that this was a suitable conversion; and yep, it worked out okay, but you could go for extra apricots, I reckon

I'm gonna have to buy some more of this very soon!

ingredients gathered

sandy with a few wee lumpy bits :=) - no worries!

in go the wet ingredients

looking glorious as it goes into the air fryer paper-lined tin!

fruit etc going into my fave '60s enamel dish, with my cute new Japanese spoon)

cake done, syrup done!

looking so pretty

everyone loved this cake - great flavour and texture

Our neighbour came over for a piece after work.  She said it was a fabulous cake, and asked for the recipe.  Always a good sign :=)  And it still tastes great after 2 days!

texture still gorgeous after 2 days

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 ...