Mayonnaise & Hollandaise

Mayonnaise & Hollandaise

Although you can easily buy ready-made mayonnaise, everyone should make their own at least once! The
delicious colour, creamy texture and rich flavour are beyond compare. Hollandaise is traditionally served on asparagus, or as the sauce for eggs Benedict. It is also the base for the classic béarnaise sauce (by adding fresh tarragon to the reduction and adding finely chopped tarragon to the finished sauce) which is traditionally served with beef fillet. Once you make your own you won’t look back!

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Silverbeet and Triple Cheese Rolls

Silverbeet and Triple Cheese Rolls

Silverbeet is one of the easiest plants to grow and harvest in your kitchen garden. When you cut the leaves they reappear just a few weeks later, time after time. It is the plant that just keeps on giving. This recipe is a great way to use up that abundance of silverbeet. Combined with three diverse, delicious cheeses, it makes a great vegetarian alternative to sausage rolls.

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Chicken and Vegetable Bone Broth

Chicken and Vegetable Bone Broth

This is a basic healing food – a chicken bone broth, with vegetables and the pickings of meat from the carcasses. It is a meal in a bowl I often cook for those who need healing, particularly when they don’t feel like eating. Bringing warmth, comfort and nutrition, it is an immune boosting meal that is easy on the digestive system.

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Making Chicken Stock and Vegetable Stock

CHICKEN STOCK
If you prefer a slightly deeper flavour, you can brown the bones and the vegetables in a 180°C (160°C fan forced) oven for 20 minutes first, or use a leftover roast chicken carcass. This stock makes a nutritious base for a healing chicken soup or broth, known by some as ‘Jewish Penicillin’ and prescribed by many to chase a head cold away.

makes 1 litre
GF
what you need

2 raw chicken carcasses
1 onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 celery stalk, roughly chopped
1 leek, washed and roughly chopped
2 bay leaves
6 stalks of fresh thyme
6 whole black peppercorns
¼ cup (60ml) white wine or 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

what you do
1. Place all the ingredients into a large stockpot (about 6 litre capacity) and cover with 4 litres of cold water. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat so the mixture simmers. Ladle off the scum that rises to the top, and discard. Simmer gently for 3-4 hours, until liquid reduces by half.

2. Strain the liquid through a fine sieve. If you like, return the stock to the pot and simmer again, which will reduce the quantity and intensify the flavour even more (this helps with storage space – strongly flavoured stock can then be diluted to taste).

3. Allow the stock to cool, then refrigerate. Any fat will solidify on the surface when the stock is cold, which can then be easily removed or kept as desired. Use as needed in any recipe requiring chicken stock.

 Storage: Chicken stock will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Divide your cooled stock into portion sizes you think you will use, and freeze to have on hand when you need it.


VEGETABLE STOCK
This is an all-purpose vegetarian stock, mild in flavour, useful as a vegetarian substitute whenever chicken stock is asked for.

makes about 1 litre
V GF
what you need

1 tbsp olive oil
2 onions, diced
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
4 carrots, diced
2 celery stalks, roughly chopped
1 leek, washed and roughly chopped
4 tomatoes, halved
2 bay leaves
6 stalks of fresh thyme
6 whole black peppercorns

what you do
1. Heat the oil in a large stockpot (about 6 litre capacity). Sauté the onion, garlic, carrot, celery and leek for 3-5 minutes over medium heat, until soft but not coloured.

2. Add the remaining ingredients and cover with 3 litres of cold water. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat so the mixture simmers. Ladle off the scum that rises to the top, and discard. Simmer gently for 2-3 hours, until liquid reduces by half.

3. Strain the liquid through a fine sieve. If you like, return the stock to the pot and simmer again, which will reduce the quantity and intensify the flavour even more (this helps with storage space – strongly flavoured stock can then be diluted to taste).

4. Allow the stock to cool, refrigerate. Use as needed in any recipe requiring stock.

 Storage: Vegetable stock will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Divide your cooled stock into portion sizes you think you will use, and freeze to have on hand when you need it.

©Jane Grover - Our Delicious Adventure – Recipes and Stories of Food and Travel

Caesar Salad Dressing and Lemon Thyme Dressing

Caesar Salad Dressing and Lemon Thyme Dressing

Traditional caesar salad dressing usually contains raw egg, which can sometimes cause bacterial issues for some people. This recipe is inspired by one I saw Jamie Oliver do many years back on his television show. His use of sour cream, rather than egg, as a base for the dressing is so simple it’s brilliant!
This lemon thyme salad dressing is a winner, even if I (the creator) do say so myself! It is great with any green leafy salad and counteracts well with salads that incorporate bitter leaves, such as rocket or radicchio.

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