Food Feed Blog

POSTCARD FROM MELBOURNE

SHOKU IKU is a new raw food cafe in High Street Northcote run and owned by Yoko Inoue. The food is fresh, organic, generous and delicious and the smoothies are amazing, not to mention the desserts. Yoko really knows her stuff when it comes to super foods and what is good for the mind and body. The food is vegan and she has really nailed it with great tasting food.

Postcard from Kyneton

If your looking for a place to stay in Kyneton, Mollisons is a good choice for a boutique hotel. Reasonable rates, very tastefully decorated and all the furniture in the rooms is for sale (except the bed which is exceptionally comfortable).

Postcard from Kyneton

Piper Street has many cafes and restaurants but the Inner Biscuit is a patisserie and cafe serving delicious organic food for breakfast and lunch. Well worth a drop in if your in Kyneton. 

Zucchini & Prawn Risotto
Recipe by Tim Keenan, photography by Adrian Lander and styling by Adair 

Ingredients
400gm Vialone Nano rice or similar
4-6 prawns per person depending on size, peeled
1 – 1.5 liters Fish or vegetable stock
20 butter
2  Garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 Blond zucchini or green if you can’t find them, diced very finely
2 small Shallots or 1 red onion, peeled & finely chopped
200ml Good dry white wine
2 tbs Flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
Sea salt, pepper
Method
Sautee prawns in a little olive oil, set aside. Heat the oil in a large heavy bottomed pan then add the shallots.  Fry, stirring over low heat until soft then add the garlic and cook briefly.  Add the rice and stir to coat in the oil, toast for a minute or so.

Pour in the wine and cook until absorbed by the rice. Then start to add the hot stock, ladle by ladle, stirring occasionally. As the stock is absorbed add more.

The cooking will take around 15 – 20 minutes.

When the rice is tender and the mixture creamy but not sticky, add the finely diced raw zucchini & sautéed prawns. Stir gently, turn off the heat, add a knob of butter, stir again and put a lid on the pan for a couple of minutes.

Add parsley, salt and pepper, stir again and serve immediately.

Parmesan crusted chicken with polenta
Recipe by Tim Keenan, photography by Adrian Lander and styling by Adair
 

Ingredients
1 x free-range chicken or 4 Maryland’s cut into two
1 x 400 g whole peeled tomatoes
200ml white wine
200ml water or chicken stock
¼ bunch sage leaves, chopped
Sea salt & pepper
100 grams Parmesan, finely grated

Cut the chicken into 8 pieces, keeping the skin in tact & reserving the frame & wingtips for stock.Add the sage, tomatoes, water & white wine to a roasting pan. Season the chicken with salt & pepper. Place the chicken in the roasting pan skin side up. Sprinkle with Parmesan. Bake in a moderately hot oven, uncovered for 35-45 minutes.

Tip: Aim to have the liquid in the pan around ½ way up the chicken.
Polenta
Ingredients
1 ½ Cups Fine polenta
5 Cups Chicken Stock
90 grams Butter
50 ml Lemon infused olive oil
90 grams Pecorino cheese (grated)
Sea salt & pepper

Method
Add the stock, butter and a pinch each of salt & pepper to a pot and bring to the boil. In a steady stream, sprinkle in the polenta. Continue stirring until all the polenta is added to the stock and the stock returns to the boil.

Place pot over a very low heat, cover and continue to cook for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the lemon oil, butter and the grated pecorino & season to taste with salt & pepper.

Bruschetta of Sicilian eggplant caponata
Recipe by Tim Keenan, photography by Adrian Lander and styling by Adair 

Ingredients
1 onion, diced
1 garlic clove, sliced
1 celery stick, diced
1 red capsicum, diced
1 eggplant, diced
Olive oil
100ml red wine vinegar
50 grams black olives, pitted & chopped
50 grams pine nuts, toasted
50 grams currants
20 grams sugar
½ cup parsley, chopped
Salt and pepper

Italian bread
Garlic clove
Olive oil
Sea salt crystals

Method
Deep fry the eggplant and drain on paper towel.

In a large, wide based pot with some olive oil, sauté the rest of the vegetables on a medium heat until tender, around 10 – 15 minutes. When the vegetables are just cooked add the eggplant followed by the remainder of ingredients, except the parsley. Cook for two minutes longer. Season to taste with salt & pepper. Cool to room temperature then add parsley to serve.

Slice some good Italian bread. In a heated frying pan, add a splash of olive oil. Pan-fry the bread on both sides until golden. Rub with a little garlic and sprinkle with a little sea salt.

Serve with caponata.

Coconut Pannacotta with mango granita
Recipe by Alison Thompson, photography by Adrian Lander and styling by Adair 

Serves 8
Ingredients 
750ml cream
270ml milk
160g caster sugar
80g desiccated coconut, toasted
6 gold gelatine leaves

 
500g fresh mango flesh (2-3 mangoes)
200g caster sugar
250ml water
2 mangoes, extra for garnishing

Method
In a large saucepan combine the cream, milk, sugar and coconut.  Heat until hot but do not simmer or boil.  Remove from the heat. 
Soak the gelatine leaves in a bowl of cold water until softened (2-3 minutes).  Squeeze out the excess water and stir the gelatine into the hot cream mixture.
Strain the mixture through a fine sieve into a large jug and pour into 8 moulds or dishes.
Chill the pannacottas for at least 6 hours until set then cover with cling film until required.
Granita: Combine the mango, sugar and water and puree until smooth.  Stain the mixture through a sieve then pour into a dish or tray that will fit in the freezer.  Freeze the mixture stirring every hour with a fork to break up the ice crystals, after approx 4 hours the granita will be ready.  Cover the granita and store in the freezer until required.
To serve dip the pannacottas in hot water to remove from the moulds and turn out onto a serving plate, garnish with thin slices of mango.  Use a fork to break up the granita then place it on the plate around the pannacotta.  Serve immediately. 

Fruit mince ice cream
Recipe by Alison Thompson, photography by Adrian Lander and styling by Adair 

Serves 10
Ingredients 
400ml milk
400ml cream
1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
8 egg yolks
160g caster sugar
400g fruit mince
Crisp almonds
Extra fruit mince for garnishing (optional)

Method
Line a loaf tin or terrine mould with baking paper and set aside.
Put the milk, cream, vanilla bean and seeds into a saucepan and heat until simmering. Meanwhile in a mixing bowl combine the egg yolks and caster sugar, whisk well for 2 minutes until pale and creamy.  While whisking continuously add the hot milk to the egg yolks then pour the mixture back into the saucepan. 
Over a low heat cook the mixture stirring continuously with a wooden spoon or spatula until the mixture reaches 79 C (174 F) and coats the back of the spoon.   Pour the mixture immediately through a sieve and into a clean bowl, chill in the refrigerator or over ice stirring regularly until cold.
Churn the mixture in an ice cream machine according to manufacturer’s instructions then stir in the fruit mince and spread into the prepared loaf tin.   Freeze the ice cream for at least 6 hours or overnight, serve slices of the ice cream topped with a little extra fruit mince and some crisp almonds.

Crispy almonds
Recipe by Alison Thompson, photography by Adrian Lander and styling by Adair 

Ingredients 
50g caster sugar
50ml water
200g flaked almonds
40g caster sugar, extra

Method
In a small saucepan bring the caster sugar and water to a boil then set aside to cool slightly.
Pre heat the oven to 160C and line a baking tray with baking paper.

In a bowl combine the flaked almonds and sugar syrup, mix well then add the extra caster sugar and stir to combine.
Spread the almonds out onto the prepared baking tray and bake for 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes until golden.  Allow to cool completely then store in an airtight container until required.

Fruit mince tea cake
Recipe by Alison Thompson, photography by Adrian Lander and styling by Adair 

Serves 8
Ingredients 
300g plain flour
150g caster sugar
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
2 eggs
70g unsalted butter, melted
40ml orange juice
Finely grated zest of 1 orange
2 tsp vanilla extract
500g fruit mince
200g fondant icing
Cornflour for dusting
20g apricot jam, warmed
Edible sugar pearls (optional)

Method
Pre heat the oven to 160C and line a loaf tin with baking paper.
Sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl then add the eggs, butter, orange juice, zest and vanilla.  Stir the mixture until just combined then add the fruit mince and stir again.
Pour the batter into the prepared loaf tin and bake for 1-1hr 15min or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.  Cool the loaf in the tin.
Dust your bench with a little cornflour and knead the fondant until smooth, use a rolling pin to roll out until 2-3mm thick.  Using a star cutter (or any other shape) cut out pieces of icing then glue them to the top of the cake using the warmed jam.  For extra decoration the sugar pearls can also be attached to the cake using a little jam.

Store the cake in an airtight container for up to 3 days.