MM: Cherry Banana Muffins

Some recipes demand I run out to the shops for ingredients. Others come to me because I am inspired by what I already have at home. As I was doing laps at the pool on Sunday and thinking about baking, I was cursing silently that I didn’t have any dried cherries to make AOF’s muffins. Then with great joy I remembering I had fresh cherries at home. I was thankful that ‘tis the season of summer and stone fruit. Another excuse to use my cherry pitter!

We don’t routinely have bananas in the house but I had a need for them because I bought fresh white fluffy bread which makes me think of childhood sandwiches of bananas and sugar on white bread. So I headed home with some bananas and set about devising a recipe for what I had at hand to make the muffins. Lately I have endeavoured to find ways to use up surplus cream and milk. Now suddenly it seemed there was no dairy in the house so the muffins were dairy-free by chance.

The muffins were intended for work snacks. As I had made a few indulgent baked treats lately, I wanted something wholesome and healthy. The results were delicious. Slightly spicy and barely sweet. The cherries are juicy and the bananas give a little extra sweetness and softness. If I make them again, I might add another tablespoon of sweetner but I enjoy them with minimal sweetness.

Dee at the Daily Tiffin is hosting this Monthly Mingle with low-sugar sweet treats at the theme. I have only just seen she has asked for posts by today so I am posting it quickly because these muffins seem so perfect for the event.

Cherry Banana Muffins
Makes 24 mini muffins

1 cup self raising flour
½ cup oatmeal
½ tsp baking powder
2 medium bananas, mashed
1 cup fresh cherries, pitted and chopped
3/8 cup canola oil
1 egg
1 tbsp golden syrup (or other sweetner)
Zest of half a lime
½ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp finely grated nutmeg
Pinch of salt

Place dry ingredients in mixing bowl and mix. Mix all wet ingredients in a small bowl or large jug. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and lightly fold in till just combined. Spoon mixture into mini muffin pans. Bake in moderate oven (180 C) for about 20 minutes or til a skewer comes out clean. Cool on wire rack.

On the stereo:
The Corn Years: Death in June

Festive Shortbread

E had requested haggis for our St Andrew’s Day dinner. I decided I would make some shortbread for sweets as it is something I had been intending to make for a while. It seemed a good Scottish treat.

I have written before about a job I had in Edinburgh where I had too much time on my hands and too much shortbread (intended for meetings) in the office cupboard. Let me tell you that boredom and shortbread don’t mix. I was never that keen on the stuff but since that job, I have been entirely disdainful of it. Unlike E who loves it like mother’s milk.

Spurred on my E’s enthusiasm for shortbread, I set out to find a version to inspire me. There was an array of tempting ideas which included wattleseed, black sesame seeds, earl grey tea and matcha (green tea) plus the occasional cheesy savoury recipe. The flavours that really spoke to me was cranberry and white chocolate which Rachel found on the Joy of Baking. I asked E what sort of chocolate he would like and he wanted dark. Finally I decided to use Maya Gold because I love the added depth of the orange and spice flavours.

But once I made this decision it took me a while to make it. St Andrew’s Day was the perfect excuse because it is one of the first foods to come to mind when thinking about Scottish cooking. I looked around for a recipe which had the right ingredients. Quite a few recipes I found had cornflour or cornmeal but in my head I thought that rice flour was traditional. Besides I have a packet in the cupboard that needs using. There is a very helpful post at Baking for Britain about Scottish shortbread.

The recipe I eventually chose was from the Australian Women’s Weekly Old Fashioned Favourites cookbook. I followed their lead and made it in the shape of petticoat tails – even making some indents with my fingers to represent the lacy frill on the petticoat. I was pleased upon reading Baking for Britain which advised not to roll it but to press it out with your fingers, because I had done just that. Any excuse to avoid my rolling pin! I also pricked it over with a fork which apparently is to stop any air bubbles forming, and is also good fun! I did find that it cooked slightly more on the edges than in the middle but not worryingly so.

Shortbread is predominately butter, flour and sugar. The name according to Wikipedia is due to its crumbly texture which is an old meaning of the word ‘short’. It is not a combination which enthuses me. But I did find that with some new flavours and eaten fresh it was a delight. The texture still reminds me a little of a mouthful of sand but the copious amounts of butter make it melt in the mouth. Although crumbly when hot, it stayed together once cooled. The chocolate and cranberries added a speckled look to the shortbread and a subtle flavour. Even E was impressed at how good it tastes fresh compared to his boxes from the supermarket.

We ate it over a week. I sent a few pieces to my parents but my dad has decided he doesn’t like choc chips or chunks in cakes or biscuits so refused to try it. My mum, however, found it pleasing. I found it quite a nice snack at work and we enjoyed it after dinner. E was most displeased when I ate the last piece in the batch. But I have been pleasantly surprised at how easy it is to make and I have promised I will make it again for him.

Susan at Food Blogga is holding her Eat Christmas Cookies Season 2 event. As it is the time of year when Walkers Shortbread is all over the stores, and given that cranberry and chocolate is a festive flavour combination, I am sending Susan these shortbreads. If you want some great ideas for Christmas baking, Susan is adding to the Season 2 round-up page as cookies are sent to her. You can also check out all the wonderful ideas in the Season 1 round-up page.

Chocolate and Cranberry Shortbread
(adapted from the Australian Women’s Weekly)
Makes 24

250g butter, softened
⅓ cup caster sugar
½ cup cranberries, chopped
100g Maya gold dark chocolate, finely chopped
1 tbsp water
2 cups plain flour, sifted
½ cup rice flour, sifted

Preheat oven to 160 C.

Cream the butter and sugar. Stir in cranberries and chocolate. Add water and flour in two batches and gently fold in to butter mixture.

Lightly knead to a soft smooth dough on a lightly floured surface. Divide into two pieces. (I found I didn’t need much flour on the surface and it was easier to knead once I had divided into two.) Place each on a baking tray lined with baking paper (I used my pizza trays) and use your hands to press into a circle of about 20cm diameter. (I think about 1cm thick). Use your fingers to pinch a fluted pattern around the edge. Use a knife to mark twelve wedges on each circle. The recipe suggests sprinkling with a little white sugar but I didn’t do that. Prick all over with a fork.

Bake for about 40 minutes. The shortbread should be ever so slightly golden coloured. Stand about 5 minutes (or more) and then cut each circle into twelve wedges. Cool and store in an airtight container up to 1 week.

On the stereo:
Strawberry Switchblade: Strawberry Switchblade

Memories, BBQs, and Bangers & Mash

My family packed up and left the bustling city of Melbourne when I was three years old and moved to small country town 75 minutes drive down the Princes Highway past Geelong. On the sign coming in to town it said Population: 1000 (except when some wag painted over it so it read Population: Drunk). People found our large family of 7 kids unusual. I didn’t know other families at school with as many kids as ours. Nor were there other big families among my cousins. One of my uncles called us the rent-a-crowd. Once we arrived anywhere it did feel quite crowded.

But my parents had left behind a number of friends in Melbourne with large families. Every now and again we met up with them. Their children were a lot older than in my family and visiting a crowd of older kids was always overwhelming. But also fascinating. While, as second oldest of the family, I had a hoard of brothers and sisters who were mere babies to be coddled and cuddled, these families were full of teenagers with their own lives – they had jobs, cars, records, and more independent relationships with their parents. The very idea of giving your parents advice on driving and cooking seemed so grown-up to me. I was still merely driving a make-believe car beside the cubby hut and baking mud pies.

It was during one of these visits to my parents’ Melbourne friends, that I remember one grown child telling us about how to crumb sausages. I think he was a chef or maybe a waiter or maybe he just cooked at home. Not sure now. As a child, I was easily impressed. I thought my dad the most important person at the council where he worked. I thought the theme song to the soap opera (Rush) that we had at the end of each school assembly was a world famous anthem. And I believed that Prime Minister was the grandfather of the kids who lived up the highway because they had the same surname as him.

Perhaps I remember the crumbed sausages discussion because I don’t remember learning much about cooking from anyone by my mum and magazines. At the time it seemed an important thing to know (alongside the same family’s advice to keep the electric beaters in the chocolate butter cake mix for 3 minutes to make it light and airy). I probably also remember it because I loved sausages.

When I think about sausages, I can’t help but think back to my childhood. We ate sausages at barbeques frequently (the only pic I could find of BBQs is a knitted one from an exhibition which doesn't look at all like the usual BBQs I see, but it amused me anyway). Whether it was at school camp, hospital fetes, or family trips to Angahook Forest Park. My dad even made his own barbeque in the backyard from bricks and a metal sheet in the days before fancy barbeques were sold for 4 digit figures in hardware stores. A greasy sausage was wrapped in a square slice of white bread with a red strip of tomato sauce along the sausage. No plates or cutlery was involved. Sometimes there was a garden salad and potato salad. My mum also regularly made sausage curry which we all loved.

It was a time of innocence when I thought the nearby beaches along the Great Ocean Road were the best in the world and one of my favourite sites was the sparkling lights of Melbourne spread out beneath us as we drove across the newly opened Westgate Bridge at night. I even naively thought it looked cool to stand around at tram stops as I drove through the city with my family – long before I learnt the hard way how annoying it is to have to wait for trams. And of course sausages seemed some of the best food in the world. We tasted them raw sometimes even though people said that gave you worms. This was before posh sausages with fancy ingredients and good meat.

Since becoming a vegetarian I haven’t yearned to eat those sausages of my childhood. Now they seem like a horrid mixture of sawdust and offal off the butchers’ floors. But I have missed the culture of sausages. I missed being part of barbeques and enjoying the smoky charcoal flavour. At first my family respectfully cooked my food inside while they relaxed in the sunshine but now we have worked out about how omnivores and vegetarians can share a barbeque. I still miss out when I see sausage sizzles and fundraisers in the local mall, outside the large hardware stores and at farmers markets, but at family barbeques my vegetarian sausages sit alongside the meat ones, albeit separated by some foil. It makes me easier being a vegetarian.

These days vegetarian sausages are easily found in most suburban supermarkets. I know which ones stay together on a barbeque and which are better kept for cooking under the grill. But I have long dreamed of making my own. I have tried a few recipes that had the right shape but lacked the sausage taste and texture. There is one particular recipe for vegetarian sausages with gluten flour that seemed fascinating but a bit intimidating. Then this week I tried a new recipe for vegetarian sausages and have decided it the best ever.

The recipe is from Joanna Farrow’s 30 Minute Vegetarian. It took me quite a bit longer than 30 minutes, especially once I prepared side dishes. But worth every minute. These sausages held together so well which is probably due to the combination of the couscous, chestnut puree, egg yolk and breadcrumbs. But also very tasty. And because there was an egg white leftover after using the egg yolk, I decided I would do them as crumbed sausages, just as I had learnt as a child on my family visits.

The sausages had great flavour from herbs, chilli and mushrooms. I think they could probably be made vegan quite easily because I don’t think the egg was essential. They don’t need to be crumbed but I suspect it helped them hold together, because the couple which I didn’t have enough egg white to crumb, didn’t seem quite as good. If you can get your hands on a tin of chestnut puree, I highly recommend you try these. Actually the recipe calls for finely chopped chestnuts but I think the puree helped them hold together.

They can be served with roast vegetables, a salad or a mash. The first night I served them, E was poorly and just wanted pasta so I served them with pasta and salad. The second night I served them with mashed potato and gravy which was much much better. They tasted like gourmet pub grub. The best sort of comfort food.

If you wanted to expand your horizons, I have found a few tempting suggestions for mash variations which I have listed below and would also recommend checking out my nut roasts for my other ideas on accompaniments.

My mum’s Mashed vegetables and promite
Holler’s Bean sweetcorn and potato mash -
Ricki’s Cauliflower, parsnip and bean mash
Heidi’s Kale and olive oil mashed potatoes
Vegetation’s Creamy polenta with milk

Given that this post is quite a self-indulgent nostalgic one, I will leave the final word to someone who would appreciate these sausages: Penfold - sidekick of cartoon superhero, Danger Mouse - who was forever saying, ‘Crumbs, Chief!’

Mushroom Chestnut and Couscous Sausages
(adapted from Joanna Farrow)
Serves 4

75g couscous
75ml boiling water
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
250g mushrooms, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tsp chilli paste
Small handful mixed herbs such as parsley, rosemary and thyme, finely chopped
200g chestnut puree (or finely chopped cooked chestnuts)
75g breadcrumbs
1 egg, divided
Oil for shallow frying
Salt and pepper
Extra breadcrumbs

Place couscous in medium bowl and pour boiling water over it. Cover (with a plate or lid) and set aside for 5 minutes.

Heat oil in a frying pan and fry onion and mushrooms for about 5 minutes until onion is soft and any moisture has evaporated.

Use a fork to fluff up the couscous and add onion, mushrooms, garlic, chilli, herbs, chestnut puree, breadcrumbs and egg yolk. Mix well.

Divide the mixture into 10-12 pieces and roll into sausages. (Mine were quite thick and stubby. I wanted to make sure they were short enough to roll in the bowl with the egg white.) Lightly whisk the egg white in a little bowl. Place about a cup or so of breadcrumbs in another small bowl. Dip each sausage in the breadcrumbs, then in the egg white, then in the breadcrumbs again.

When you have finished crumbing, heat about 1-2 cm of oil in a frypan over a low to medium heat Place sausages in frypan and turn occasionally til golden brown all over (I am no expert on doing this evenly, but maybe working out how to shape the sausages more evenly might help.).

Serve hot with mash and gravy or other accompaniments. When we had the leftovers the following night, I just put the sausages on a tray in a moderate oven while I made the mash and gravy.

On the stereo:
I am Black Ship – Current 93

St Andrew’s Day Haggis

It was St Andrews Day last weekend. That’s right – St Andrew the apostle and patron saint of Scotland. You might recognise his saltire which is on the Scottish cross (see my photo). If you haven’t seen the flag itself then you probably will recognise it as part of the Union Jack. St Andrew was said to have been martyred on just such a cross. I confess I don’t know much about him nor does E. But it was just the excuse he needed to put in a request for some haggis.

For me, it was an excuse to gently suggest we listen to something other than Current 93 which is E’s latest fad on the stereo. He did try and justify it because apparently the band has spent some time in Glasgow. Then we listened to the Twin Peaks soundtrack which he justified on the grounds that the series was shown on the telly in Scotland. Finally we got into the swing of some proper Scottish bands like Belle and Sebastian, Franz Ferdinand and Scottish supergroup The Reindeer Selection. E couldn’t resist some Strawberry Switchblade who he has rediscovered because it includes Rose McDowall who hails from Glasgow and sometimes guests with Current 93. Once he is fixated on a band, it is hard to escape!

But he did get his haggis and we played some more traditional pipe bands while we ate. The recipe I used is different from the vegetarian haggis I have been making the last few New Year’s Eves. Unlike my regular recipe, it does not use nuts nor is it baked. E swooned when he ate it. I was happy with it but prefer my nutty recipe.

I’ve never had meat haggis but it always looks a little like mince meat to me. This recipe was still a very flavoursome and interestingly dish as any mince I have ever had. It had a spoonful of garam masala but I think I would try it with half that much should I try it again. It does take a bit of organisation with all the soaking and chopping. The recipe comes from Henderson’s restaurants in Hanover Street, which is one of Edinburgh’s fine vegetarian institutions.

The traditional way to serve haggis is with neeps and tatties. This recipe suggested serving with clapshot which is mashed potato and turnips. At this time of year turnips (neeps) are not in season and the orange ones which the Scots refer to (a.k.a. Swedes or rutabaga in other part of the world) were not to be found so I had to make do with a white turnip. I had to have some sort of green veg. E spurned suggestions that brussels sprouts would be traditional and we ended up with peas. But he did stick with the time honoured pub ritual of drowning his meal in tomato sauce from a bottle.

We had a fine Scottish meal followed by shortbread. As he ate his last mouthful of haggis, E said he hoped he wouldn’t have to wait for St Andrews day next year to have haggis again. His hint has been duly noted.

Henderson’s Vegetarian Haggis
(adapted from Henderson’s Wholefood Cookbook)
Serves 4

50g kidney beans, soaked overnight, cooked, chopped
75g brown lentils, soaked for about 3 hours
50g pinhead oatmeal, soaked for 1 hour
1 tbsp vegetable oil
150g onions (1-2 medium), finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
150g carrots (1-2 medium), grated
75g mushrooms, finely chopped
⅓ cup water or stock
25g margarine
1 tbsp soy sauce
½ - 1 tsp garam masala
Seasoning

Once your ingredients are soaked and finely chopped (which takes some time and organisation), heat some oil in a frypan. Fry the onions, carrots and garlic til soft (5-10 minutes).

Add lentils, garam masala, soy sauce and water (or stock). Simmer for about 20 minutes or til lentils are soft and water has been absorbed. Add mushrooms and cook a few minutes til soft. Add kidney beans and margarine and cook another minute. Finally add oatmeal and cook til heated through. The oatmeal should retain its texture.

Serve hot with neeps and tatties and sauce.

On the stereo:
Scotch Mist: Various Artists

Corn pancakes and salsa

On the weekend we went to the Vegie Bar in Brunswick Street and I had a huge burrito for lunch so I only needed a light dinner. Corn pancakes and salsa seemed just the thing! But I was planning a St Andrews Day meal the next night so I didn’t really want leftovers. That was when I realised leftovers would be perfect to go with tattie scones for St Andrews Day brunch.

I knew just where I would find the recipe. Unfortunately I had to hunt for the cookbook among my piles. It is called Pancakes A to Z by Marie Simmons. I was randomly selected to be sent it by Susan of the Well Seasoned Cook when I participated in her Pancakes on Parade event back in July.

You can imagine that this is a book to open your eyes to the variety of pancakes just as Susan’s event did. I have spent some time drooling over the great ideas which is why it was caught up with reading matter rather than tucked away on the shelves. The recipes are nicely presented with chatty introductions and tempting pictures.

I quite fancy the idea of making savoury pancakes for meals and am inspired by quite a few recipes such as Ginger Sesame and Carrot pancakes, Indian Spiced Red Lentil Cakes with Coconut Raita, Little Crunchy Rice pancakes, and Zucchini Ginger pancakes with Thai Dipping Sauce. Of course I want to try lots of the sweet ideas too – Apple Cottage Cheese pancakes, Cocoa pancakes with Susan’s Fudge Sauce and/or Rich Raspberry Sour Cream pancakes all sound so good. And I am eager for the opportunity to make raspberry maple syrup. So much good food and so little time! Thanks Susan!

There were two recipes I was drawn to on the weekend – Corn Pancakes with Sour Cream and Caviar and Fresh Corn Cakes with Tomato Salsa. I combined the Corn Pancakes with the Tomato Salsa. In the book the pancakes were a lot plumper than mine but ours tasted delicious – light and fluffy with a buttery crust (due to me misreading the recipe when it came to melting the butter so I had plenty left for frying).

I had a bit of pesto leftover so I added a spoonful to the pancake mixture. This gave the pancakes some green specks but not much extra flavour so I wouldn't bother next time. I took quite a few liberties with the tomato salsa and served it on capsicum and corn which I enjoyed. If I had remembered to buy yoghurt I would have spooned a dollop on the salsa but it was still great without it. A nice light evening meal.

The next morning I warmed up some leftover corn pancakes on the frypan and popped them in the oven to stay warm. Then I fried up the remaining salsa with some mushrooms. I believe that the salsa tasted better warm with the pancakes than cold so next time I think I will serve it that way. This was a nice easy accompaniment for the tattie scones and a very filling breakfast!

All in all, a very pleasing first plunge into the book. Like many things in my life, it has taken some time but I am sure it is the first of many great meals from it. I am looking forward to eating the leftover pancakes which are in the freezer.

Corn Pancakes with Tomato Salsa
(adapted from Marie Simmons)
Serves 4 to 6 - makes about 24 small pancakes

½ cup yellow cornmeal
½ cup plain white flour
¾ tsp baking soda (bicarb soda)
½ tsp salt
Kernels of 1 corn cob (or ½ cup corn)
¼ red onion, finely chopped
1 cup buttermilk (or 1 cup milk plus 1 tbsp lemon juice)
2 tbsp butter (60g), melted
2 large eggs, separated
Extra oil or melted butter for frying
Plain yoghurt or sour cream to serve (optional)

Salsa:
3 tomatoes, finely chopped
¼ red onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 red chilli, finely chopped
Juice of 1 lime
1 dessertspoon olive oil
Seasoning

To make the salsa, mix all ingredients in a medium bowl and set aside at room temperature so the flavours can mingle while you make the corn pancakes.

In a medium bowl, mix the cornmeal, flour, soda, salt, corn and onion. In a small bowl or measuring jug, lightly whisk together the buttermilk, melted butter and egg yolks. In another small bowl, use an electric beater to beat the egg whites to soft peaks. Combine buttermilk mixture and flour mixture. Fold in egg whites till just combined.

Heat a little butter or oil in a non stick frypan over medium heat. Drop dessertspoonfuls of mixture into frypan and fry 2-4 minutes until air bubbles appear in mixture. Flip over and fry another 1-2 minutes. Keep frying batches. Place the cooked pancakes on a plate covered in paper towel and keep warm in the oven on medium low heat.

If desired, heat salsa in a frypan before serving with corn pancakes, or serve salsa as an accmpaniment at room temperature.

On the stereo:
Angel of Ashes: a tribute to Scott Walker – Various Artists

PPN Genovese-style pappardelle for feminists

I was looking for plain old green beans when I spied my heart’s desire – plump royal purple asparagus. I’d never heard of such thing till recently. But once I knew it was possible and hard to find, it seemed like the holy grail that I could spend my life seeking fruitlessly (vegetabelessly). And here it was in the local supermarket. The gods were smiling down on me. Is this a new trend to bring joy to those such as myself who love their coloured vegetables? Please tell me yes!

I arrived home with a bunch of fat purple asparagus and a bunch of thin green asparagus. How exciting! There just aren’t enough opportunities to cook in the feminist colours of purple and green. When breathlessly told E of my wonderful discovery he said it was probably just dyed. The cynic!

Immediately upon seeing the purple my dinner plans were amended. The recipe I had planned was a Genovese Style Tagliatelle from a Jamie Oliver column in Delicious Magazine from September 2005. I had borrowed the magazine from the library recently (and discovered their new photocopying system does not seem to work). According to Wikipedia, classic basil pesto originated in Genoa, which I assume is where this dish gets its name.

This tagliatelle was to be served with pesto, thinly sliced potatoes and green beans. Mine was served with purple and green asparagus in place of the beans. I also had some cherry tomatoes that needed to be used which I chopped and scattered on the pasta. As with many pasta meals, it would have benefited from less pasta and more vegetables or salad. But it was a quick meal after work which can be put together relatively easily.

It was a good recipe but by no means perfect. It was a little heavier than it needed to be. The packet of pappardelle that I bought was 375g and said it served 2. In future I would be more inclined towards Jamie’s quantities of 500g of fresh pasta for 4 people. The pesto I made was quite heavy on the nuts and cheese. I assume this was due to my bunch of basil being smaller than Jamie’s. Which begs the perennial question, how big is a big bunch of basil? But despite these quibbles, it was a good comforting dish that I would make again. Especially if I find purple asparagus again, even though it was not so distinctive in the dish.

I am sending this dish to Ruth of Once Upon a Feast who is hosting this week’s Presto Pasta Nights.

Genovese style pappardelle
(adapted from Jamie Oliver in Delicious magazine)
Serves 2 (with leftover pesto)

- 40g pinenuts
- 1 small garlic clove, chopped
- 1 big bunch basil
- Juice of half a medium lemon (or more to taste)
- Extra virgin olive oil – I used 2 slurps
- 75g parmesan cheese, finely grated
- 100g baby potatoes
- 250g fresh papperdelle
- 2 bunches (about 400-500g) asparagus (preferably purple and green combination)
- cherry tomatoes and extra basil leaves to serve (optional)

Blend pinenuts, garlic, lemon juice, basil and half parmesan cheese in food processor. Add enough olive oil to make a paste. Set aside.

Peel potatoes and discard peel. Then use potato peeler to produce fine sliced (or peeled) strips of potato. Chop asparagus into 1-2 inch pieces. If asparagus is thick, slice it lengthwise.

Bring large saucepan of salted water to the boil and add potato, asparagus and pasta to the pot. Cook about 3 minutes til pasta is al dente and potato is soft. Drain and keep some of the pasta water. Return pasta mixture to the saucepan and mix with enough pesto to lightly coat (I used about two thirds of the pesto mixture). Add a little pasta water if too thick. Taste and season.

Serve with parmesan cheese, cherry tomatoes and basil leaves scattered over the pasta.

On the Stereo:
Imperium: Current 93

Leftover Cream and Paprikash

I felt like the cat that got the cream. Literally. I had bought a tub of cream which was not used for cakes as I had intended. Instead it sat in the fridge for weeks until I looked at the best by date and found I only had a few days to use it.

I almost dislike using cream as much as I hate throwing out food. It just seems all fat and no taste to me. A little on a rich cake is understandable but a tub of it just overwhelms me. It’s not that I don’t like dairy but I prefer it with a bit of culture – cheese, yoghurt, sour cream all seem far more interesting.

But needs must and I was determined to find a use for the cream. After all, it is not as though I never cook with cream. It can be used in a pasta sauce, a soup, a curry or toffee sauce, but I fancied trying something else. I am sure I have seen those intense potatoes baked in a cream sauce dishes but couldn’t think of where. Finally I found a recipe in Rose Elliot’s Vegetarian Dishes from Around the World for Potato and Mushroom Stew with Sour Cream. I checked on the web and worked out that if I put about 2 tsp of lemon juice in half a cup of cream, it would be an approximate substitute for sour cream.

Rose says that this is a Hungarian dish usually called a Paprikash. I thought it looked quite like a mushroom stroganoff. Then I saw Lysy making a pumpkin goulash which looked quite similar to this recipe (except mine didn’t have pumpkin in it). I also remembered another stew with sauerkraut called Szekely Gulyas which I had made last year which was also similar. So I turned to Wikipedia which described a goulash as a soup thickened by stewing meat and potatoes. The paprikash seems to be a variation on this with a thick and creamy paprika sauce.

Checking the internet there are a few other tasty looking paprikashes. Many used more paprika than me. Where’s the Beef’s deeply coloured mushroom paprikash, which Cindy and Michael serve with potato pancakes still makes my mouth water. I also liked the look of Ommnomnom’s Cauliflower and Chickpea Paprikash, Fat Free Vegan’s Eggplant Paprikash with an interesting vegan sour cream, and centrepullball’s Paprikash with Dumplings.

I’d like to try some other paprikash recipes but was happy with the one I made. It was was very tasty. I used a mixture of mild paprika, smoked paprika and cayenne pepper which worked well. I put in some tofu because it was in the fridge. In future I would be tempted to have more tofu and less potato. It was terribly rich with the cream and I would prefer a lighter yoghurt in it. We also added grated cheese which added to the intensity of the dairy ingredients.

Anyone who reads this blog regularly will know that I delight in colourful food and understand my disappointment at the lack of colour. The first night I served it with some steamed broccoli and pasta. E told me that pasta, potato and tofu is an odd combination. When I served the leftover stew the second night I served it with rice and a salad – the latter made up of vegetables in the fridge which needed usng: corn, cucumber, tomato, spring onion and some lemon juice. Both of us much preferred it this way, though I am sure it is not at all traditional.

Potato, Mushroom and Tofu Paprikash
(adapted from Rose Elliot)
Serves 4

2 tbsp oil
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
850g potatoes, diced*
150g tofu, diced*
2 tsp mild paprika
½ tsp smoked paprika
½ tsp cayenne pepper
Pinch salt (or to taste)
4 tbsp plain flour
500ml (2 cups) vegetable stock
200g button mushrooms, quartered
½ cup sour cream or yoghurt (or cream plus 2 tsp lemon juice)
Black pepper
Few handfuls of grated tasty cheese (optional)

(* Or you could use more tofu and less potatoes)

Heat oil in a large saucepan and fry onions for 5 minutes or til soft and golden (I think it took me a bit longer than this on a lowish heat).

Stir in garlic, potatoes, tofu and spices til well combined. Then add flour and stir a minute. Add stock and mix well. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for about 20 minutes or til potatoes are just cooked. The liquid will thicken and you need to stir the stew frequently to stop it sticking to the bottom of the pan. Add mushrooms and cook another 3-4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Mix a spoonful or two of the sauce into the sour cream or yoghurt. Add creamy mixture to the stew gradually. Heat gently if it need it (mine didn’t). Serve hot with a handful of cheese, a dusting of paprika, plus rice or pasta and side vegetables.

On the stereo:
Loony Runes: Current 93