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Roast vegetable medley

Roast vege medley

Although we are swiftly moving into anti-roast season, for those who love their roast vegetables these are great in a salad. I can't take credit for this recipe however, my friend is a genius with salads and I have been a die hard fan of this method for a while.

New potatoes from the Wellington Vege market

Ingredients

Potatoes

Kumara

Pumpkin

Garlic bulbs

Yams

Sweet Thai Chilli

Olive Oil

Pepper & Salt

or that smoked garlic salt you get from the gourmet section in the supermarket

Instructions

So simple. All you need to do is cut the veges into wedge type size pieces, chuck them in a roast dish with the garlic bulbs, toss them with olive oil, sweet chilli and pepper and salt then pop in the oven and bake at 180 degrees celsius for approximately half an hour.

And boom! You are done. Put in a garden salad with some BBQ chicken or prawns (could be anything) and you are set for a scrumptious lunch.

Aioli

Aioli

The must have in every fridge. With BBQ season on its way this aioli goes with everything and is incredibly easy to make. You can be adventurous with adding herbs and as you may have guessed by the picture lemon juice and lemon rind.

Ingredient

2 eggs

1 litre of grape seed oil 

(same consistency/quality as olive oil without the flavour)

4 garlic cloves

1-2 Tbsp of whole grain mustard

1 c of white wine vinegar

pepper & salt

1-2 lemons

Instructions 

You will need a food whizz/blender of some sort. Crack the eggs into the blender, crush and peel the garlic and add to the eggs then whizz for 10 or so seconds. Add the white wine vinegar, 1 tsp of lemon rind and turn the blender on low - as this is blending you want to start drizzling the oil in slowly until you have reached the right consistency - it should be reasonably thick.

Add the the whole grain mustard, pepper & salt, and lemon juice and whizz again, you can stir if it's too thick. This recipe should make you a substantial supply, however it is so good people whip through it rather quickly. If you like mint - this goes well blended in at the beginning. 

Beef Wellington

So this is a little more fiddly than I am used to, but so much fun to make and incredibly delicious!

Cut in half to serve two.

Ingredients

500 gram piece of beef fillet

1Tbsp rock salt

1 shallot (large)

6 button mushrooms 

1 clove of garlic

1tsp thyme

2Tbsp of red wine

3 Tbsp french mustard

Puff pastry

100grams butter

1Tbsp olive oil

Enough strips of prosciutto to wrap the beef in

Instructions

Firstly run the beef in olive oil and salt and turn oven onto bake at 250 degrees celsius. Once the pan is searing hot put the beef on and turn the heat down slightly; sear all 6 sides till golden. Remove beef from pan and rest.

Finely chop the shallot, mushrooms and garlic. Heat 50grams of butter in pan add shallot and garlic and simmer till transparent then add mushrooms and thyme. Cook for 15 mins adding a pinch of pepper and salt and a dash of red wine.

Cover the beef in mustard, roll the pastry out so its wide enough to wrap the beef in. Place the prosciutto on top of the pastry then spread the mushroom mix on top - place the beef at one end and then roll the pastry over the beef tightly. cut the excess pastry ends off and then fold/tuck the pastry ends in.

Melt the remaining butter and baste the pastry with it. Put the beef wellington in the oven and bake for 15 or so minutes - until pastry is golden.

Coat with the previous red wine jus recipe and wala! 

Dotty about food: Traditional farm chops

Dotty about food: Traditional farm chops: I am a big fan of traditional farm dinners. Hearty and rustic, they make you feel like you are home. Fortunately I have access to many dif...

Traditional farm chops

I am a big fan of traditional farm dinners. Hearty and rustic, they make you feel like you are home. Fortunately I have access to many different cuts and types of meat, thanks to my olds.

The trick is to let chops rest in the fridge over night and use simple flavours.

Mutton chops from my parents farm in North Canterbury

Ingredients

Mutton chops

Rosemary sprigs

Rock salt

Olive oil

So I like to rub the chops with olive oil and rock salt before pan searing them. Rub the rosemary leaves in the palm of your hand till the fragrance pierces your nose. Rub the herb on the chops and place in the hot pan. Once golden, put the chops in the oven and bake for 5-10 minutes.

You want the meat to be slightly pink in the centre. 

Red wine jus

Red wine reduction/jus

(Quick and simple)

This sauce is simply delicious with red meat and roast vegetables. Very easy to make too!

Ingredients 

(for two servings)

1 cup Red wine 

2 bay leaves

1 shallot - large

2 cloves of garlic 

1 tsp thyme

50 grams butter 

Instructions

Melt the butter and simmer the finally chopped shallot and garlic for 5 minutes. Add the red wine, bay leaves and thyme and simmer until the shallots have soaked up two thirds of the moisture and wala!