Spring Lunch

Balmy Spring days are perfect for alfresco dining. The taste of Spring is light and fresh … sweet peas, tender asparagus, silverbeet, parsley, new potatoes, Spring milk cheeses, golden eggs, new season’s olive oil and strawberries.

Freshly plucked greens, eggs and new season’s oil are my favourite Spring ingredients. Following a Winter of free-ranging on lush grass and juicy bugs, our chooks produce their richest yolks. To really appreciate golden yolks you’ll need freshly laid free range eggs cooked simply – maybe lightly poached and spilling onto toasted sour dough with a few flakes of salt.

The sensational pungency of early pressed extra virgin olive oil is Spring in a bottle - ready to pour onto and into just about everything. Swirl oil into spring vegetable soup, pour onto herb salads and pasta, drizzle over vegetables, add to bread and cakes, and use just a slick for pan frying fish.

To celebrate the start of Spring enjoy a lunch of garden greens frittata with lightly cooked asparagus, followed by goat’s curd topped with strawberries and new season’s honey.

Spring Green Frittata (this is seriously good)

Ingredients:
• 1 kilo of garden green leaves (silverbeet, spinach, or any seasonal greens)
• 1 cup of seasonal herbs (parsley) finely chopped
• ½ cup of fresh peas, podded & blanched
• 8 free range eggs
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled
• new season’s extra virgin olive oil
• 150g grated parmesan
• salt & freshly ground black pepper

Preheat your oven to 230C. Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil, add a good pinch of salt, the garlic and then the leaves, cook for 5 minutes, then drain well and squeeze out all the water. Chop finely and mix well, season with salt & pepper and half the parmesan.

Break the eggs into a large mixing bowl, season with salt & pepper, and beat. Mix in the greens mixture, add herbs and peas, stir to combine.

Coat the base of a heavy based frying pan with olive oil and bring to a medium heat, then pour in the egg & greens mixture, leaving to cook until only just set. Sprinkle over the remaining parmesan, drizzle with olive oil and place in the heated oven for a few minutes, or until the frittata is well browned on top.

Slice and serve straight from the pan or on a wooden board.

Spring Asparagus

• 20 almonds – skin on
• 20 freshly picked asparagus spears (adjust cooking time to thickness, you want them to retain some firmness)
• 2 tbspn new season’s extra virgin olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 2 tbspn tarragon leaves
• salt flakes & fresh ground black pepper

Put almonds into a heavy pan over medium heat for a few minutes, toast gently, remove from the heat and set aside. When the almonds are cool, slice them lengthways into slithers.

Fill a saucepan with plenty of cold water and bring to the boil. Trim the woody bases of the asparagus and drop the spears into the boiling water, blanch for 3 to 4 minutes, drain in a colander and run under lots of cold water until completely cool, then pat them dry on kitchen paper.

Put the spears into a bowl and mix with the other ingredients, toss well, taste and adjust the seasoning.

Good Bread

Really good bread takes time

‘It is a chemistry made of passion, patience, timing and skill. And to have that touch and understanding’ my friend and neighbour Andy Clappis (Artisan Breadmaker Willunga) shares what it takes to be a great breadmaker

Bread-making has deep cultural roots across the world. From the flat breads Chapati of India and Mexican Tortilla to the quintessential leavened French Baguette, Italian Ciabatta, or the Dark Rye Sourdough of Finland.

The bread lovers’ pilgrimage is to the boulangeries of France swooning over the fresh baked loaves lovingly displayed in every shape, size and golden hue. Mouth-watering long crusty baguettes, rustic pain de campagne, delicately patterned leaves, round boules, braids, some flavoured with seeds, others filled with cheese.

The desire for good bread in Australia has been rewarded by the emergence of artisan bakers making loaves with good ingredients, skill and passion. Andy Clappis, Artisan Bread-maker Willunga, says that it is this local support that continues to inspire him. Andy sells his Italian style bread at the Willunga Farmers Market along with numerous other bakers including the internationally renowned sour dough specialist John Downes. I admit I'm also addicted to Emily's sourdough and rye available from Blessed Cheese on the Main Street of McLaren Vale on Thursdays and Saturdays.

Making your own bread is a primitive pleasure from the deeply satisfying ritual of kneading to the comforting scent of freshly baked bread.

It is simple to make everyday fresh bread at home and yet we enthusiasts will spend a lifetime trying to master the technique for a perfect crust and crumb.

The ‘secret’ of good bread is using good ingredients. Start with good flour such as Lauke’s organic bread flour, or you could buy whole grains and grind your own fresh.

Then add good yeast - that wonderful organism that turns grape juice into wine and flour into bread. Fresh yeast offers the best flavour but readily available supermarket instant granules also do a decent job.

The best tip I’ve had from the finest bakers is ‘practice’, let your hands take over and learn to feel your way. Pile your ingredients on a surface, make a well in the centre, work in the liquid a bit at a time with your fingers. You want an elastic piece of dough. Recipes are only a guide, use your sense of touch to decide if the dough is too sticky then add more flour, when too dry try oiling or wetting your hands then work the dough again. Kneading is pure pleasure, the more you enjoy - the finer your texture!

When you have a smooth mass, cover your dough with a damp tea towel and allow it to rise until doubled in size. Shape into a loaf by gently pressing the air out of the risen dough then fold on itself to create a smooth loaf.

For a good crust, make sure the oven is very hot before baking, slip your loaf onto a hot tray and spray some water around.

When your kitchen is full of the heady aroma of freshly baked bread – your loaf is ready to share.

Pizza Bread

Popular Pizza is a versatile, quick and simple every day bread base perfect for any topping you like.

INGREDIENTS (Guide)

2 Cups Flour
¼ Tspn Salt
¼ Tspn Sugar
1 ¼ Tspn Dried Yeast Granules
½ Tblspn Olive Oil
1 Cup Warm Water


METHOD

1. Heat Oven to high, 250 degrees Celcius, place Oven Tray on shelf to heat up.

2. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl (or on surface) 2 Cups Flour and ¼ tspn Salt, ¼ tspn Sugar and 1 ¼ tspn Yeast

3. Mixing - Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and gradually add liquid (1 cup water at body temperature and ½ tablespoon of Olive Oil) mix in with your fingers in a circular motion, pulling the flour into the liquid and gradually mix to form dough.

4. Knead the dough - thoroughly for 10 minutes until it feels elastic.

5. Rise - Place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a tea-towel, leave in a warm spot allow to rest and prove for at least 15 minutes.

6. Knock Back - Tip dough onto surface, knock back and gently knead again for 5 minutes.

7. Shape Dough – Dust with flour and roll flat to approximately 3-5mm thickness.

8. Bake - Brush edges with oil and add topping (fresh ingredients from the garden – tomatoes, capsicum, chilli, basil) slide onto the hot baking tray in oven to bake for 10 to 15 minutes – crispy base, browned edges.

If you'd rather buy some 'home made' bases - Anna and Andy Clappis sell the best you'll find at Willunga Farmers Market every Saturday Morning....

Italian Inspiration

At the end of Summer preserve the last crop of juicy tomatoes and glut of zucchinis with some Italian inspiration.

We have many Italian neighbours and friends here in the Vale - a never ending resource for good food ideas. Italian style preserving uses simple methods and the best quality ingredients - extra virgin olive oil, vinegar and salt - to bring out the natural flavour of vegetables.

Dried tomatoes are perfect for salads, pizza, pasta and tarts. Pickled zucchini, eggplant, artichoke, peppers and fennel are great for picnics, and create the ideal appetiser … classic antipasti! Versatile bottled tomatoes make an excellent addition to the pantry as instant pasta topping, filling for ravioli or lasagne and for use in the countless recipes calling for tinned tomatoes. Homemade Passata is the best tomato base for soups, stews and sauces.

Oven Dried tomatoes
Scoop out the tomato seeds, place the halves cut side up on a baking tray lined with baking paper, sprinkle with salt, pepper and olive oil. Place the tray in a preheated oven 100 degrees Celcius for 12 hours, adjust the temperature depending on how quickly they are drying out.

When the tomatoes are dry and cooled pack into a sterilized jar, add some garlic slivers, cover with olive oil and seal. Store in a cool, dry, dark place for up to 3 months, refrigerate once the jar is opened.

Pickled Vegetables
A common Italian method for pickling vegetables such as eggplants, peppers, zucchinis, artichokes and fennel, is to salt the vegetables first. Salting draws out moisture, bitterness and helps the vegetable to take up the vinegar for better preservation. This can be done by sprinkling the vegetables with salt and leaving to absorb for a few hours, or lightly blanch the vegetables in boiling salted water, then cool. Place the prepared salted vegetables in sterilised jars and fully submerge in vinegar, then top with olive oil, seal, store in a cook dark place, refrigerate after opening.

• Preparing the vegetables for pickling: cut to your preferred size then cook until slightly soft, for example: you only need to lightly blanch fennel; boil eggplant for a few minutes; zucchinis are good when oven roasted for a deeper flavour; peppers are best skinned and deseeded; leave artichokes whole but peel off any tough outer leaves and trim the bottom then rub with lemon juice.

• Pickling vinegars are flavoured to taste. Some popular choices are peppercorns, lemon rind, sugar, chillies, bay leaves and herbs. Boil the vinegar with your chosen flavours, reduce, cool and pour over the vegetables.

Bottled tomatoes
With a sharp knife, make a cross at the base of each tomato, then plunge into boiling water for ten seconds, remove and peel, the skin will slip off easily.
Pack the peeled tomatoes into jars, put a tablespoon of brine in the bottom of the jar then top up with tomato juice. Make your own juice by blitzing a batch of tomatoes in a food processor, sieve and use the watery juice for covering your bottled tomatoes saving the pulp to start your Passata.

Preserving –
• If you have a preserving kit, follow the instructions. First placing sealing rings on preserving jars, add the tomatoes filling to the rim, press down firmly and fill with tomato juice, fasten the lids with clips and process.

• If you don’t have a kit, fill sterilised screw top jars and place in a large saucepan with a rack at the base, the jars shouldn’t touch each other, bring slowly to the boil for around an hour and keep boiling for around 25 minutes, let stand for an hour to cool in the water, then remove and sit on a wooden surface for 48 hours.
• Store in a cool dark spot for up to 2 years.

Passata
Passata is a tomato sauce made in a wide range of styles from the complex flavours of a slow cooked sauce to a light fresh uncooked pulp.

The version I make is simply blitzed fresh tomatoes that can be used right away or preserved. Store some in the fridge for a few weeks, freeze a batch and then bottle more for a year round supply.

Slit the base of the tomatoes and boil briefly to loosen the skins, then peel and process in a food processor. Or my preferred method is to soak the tomatoes in hot water to loosen the skin, then push through a hand food mill, this separates most of the skin and seeds from the pulp and makes a chunky sauce, you could run through a sieve if you prefer a smoother finish.

• Bottle Passata using the same method described for bottled tomatoes.