Author Archives: Fabric of Madness

Salmon & beetroot with horseradish mascarpone – Boxing Day treat

28 Sunday Dec 2014

Posted by in Fish

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Hope everyone has enjoyed a wonderful festive season, well, still enjoying.  Weather is glorious,  warm and sunny, a perfect time to have a break from work and travel.   Mr MWCED and i had a quiet Christmas Day, cooked some stuffed turkey and ham,  a long lunch over most of the afternoon, and gloried in just being the two of us.  Boxing Day we shared with my son and his girlfriend,  who had just spent Christmas with her family.   We decided to have another ‘Christmas’ feast, though this time it was dinner.  Their favourite foods are steak and salmon,  so it wasn’t difficult to figure out a menu.  A piece of fillet cooked to perfection by Mr MWCED was devoured,  and the Salmon was mighty delicious.  The idea for the dish came from a December 2010 Taste magazine (NZ), as did a couple of our recipes this year,  so it was definitely worth keeping.   The mix of salmon, fresh beetroot and a light horseradish sauce was wonderful.   Will have to do again, though need to choose the moment as Mr MWCED isn’t a salmon fan.

Salmon & beetroot

Salmon & beetroot

Salmon & beetroot with horseradish mascarpone – the easy way

2 tablespoons horseradish sauce
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons chopped chives
2 tablespoons chopped dill
150ml mascarpone
600 g baby beetroots, topped and tailed, and cooked in salted water until tender (about 25 minutes) refreshed, then peeled and halved. Oh Lordy, ours were straight out of the garden, and totally beetalishious
300g salmon – the original recipe uses hot smoked salmon; I used fresh salmon and cooked it just before serving, letting it cool to room temperature; up to you….
1 bunch micro watercress leaves or whatever tasty greens you have nearby

Mix horseradish with the lemon juice, vinegar, chives, dill and a pinch of salt and pepper, then fold into the mascarpone to combine. Chill.
Taste also did a couple of other steps that I missed out, as the ingredients were so fresh and tasty I didn’t think it needed anything else.   You can make a red pepper sauce (with a little chilli) and also you can lightly cook the beets in olive oil. You can also scatter spring onions and snow pea shoots.     As our salmon was still warm I served the horseradish mascarpone in a bowl, but you could dollop it in the centre of the plate if your salmon is colder.

Raspberry Vinegar – it’s getting close to Christmas

30 Sunday Nov 2014

Posted by in Fruit, Vinegar

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Every year around this time I try to make some fruit vinegar which will be used as gifts for friends and family. You have to be quick to get some little decorative bottles because probably a hundred thousand other people have the same idea. I usually make a couple of batches, so we have some for the year ahead as well.
This recipe comes from one of my most favourite cook books, “A Pickle and Chutney Cookbook” by Digby Law. It was published in 1986, and has been well used over the years. Sadly Digby Law isn’t with us anymore, which I have always thought very sad, he died too young and I’m sure could have continued to provide us with great cookbooks for many more years.

On the stove, just getting ready to boil before simmering.

On the stove, just getting ready to boil before simmering.

Raspberry Vinegar
500g Raspberries
2 cups white vinegar
2 cups sugar – sometimes I use a little less sugar, it’s just a personal preference
Place the raspberries in a bowl and add the vinegar. Cover and let stand for one week, stirring every day.
Strain the liquid, without pressure into a saucepan and add the sugar. Bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes.
Allow to cool, then pour into clean bottles and seal.
Makes about 1 litre

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I love the colour of this vinegar.  It is a rich red and just looks so delicious.   You can use frozen fruit instead of fresh.  I just put it into the bowl and add the vinegar, don’t worry about defrosting.   When you strain the vinegar from the bowl into the pot,  don’t be tempted to squish the fruit to get more juice.  It will make your vinegar too cloudy.  Believe me…..     Also,  when bottling, I always strain through a piece of muslin over a funnel.   It’s a bit fiddly, as you have to rinse the muslin quite often during the process, but I think the end result is definitely better, a much clearer vinegar.

If you hate sterilising bottles,  keep your used gin/vodka bottles (don’t rinse them), and then pour the vinegar directly into the gin/vodka bottle.  Probably frowned upon by the sterilising police,  but works for me.

Greek Tzatziki

30 Sunday Nov 2014

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Woeful, I didn’t take a photo, but it was delicious, and the leftover was used to marinate some chicken thighs the next day – that was very inspired thinking from Mr MWCED and worked amazingly!

Greek Tzatziki

1 small cucumber
2/3 cup thick Greek Yoghurt
1 large garlic clove, finely chopped or minced
1 tablespoon olive oil (use a good one)
2 teaspoons white vinegar
¼ teaspoon salt
finely chopped mint and parsley (or dill)
 
Grate cucumber (do not peel). Put in sieve over a bowl and place in fridge for as long as you can (a few hours is good – overnight is better).
Combine the yoghurt, garlic, olive oil, vinegar and salt in a bowl and place in fridge for a few hours (overnight would be better). The longer you leave it in the fridge the more mellow the fresh garlic will become.
When ready to serve combine the cucumber (you might need to press out some more moisture) and yoghurt mixture and stir in the herbs.
 

I served this tonight with pan fried tarakihi and Spanakorizo (Greek Rice). Even got a “it’s delicious’ from Mr MWCED.