Cooking

Braised lamb and eggplant

Posted 2022-12-04 by Gary

Hello Reader,

Last night I made a pumpkin and feta salad with some lamb.

Tonight, I’m using the leftover lamb and extending it with some eggplant plus some older vegetables from my refrigerator. I will hopefully have enough food for dinners throughout the week.

Instead of a traditional slow braise, I’m using a pressure cooker. I like using my pressure cooker. As a kitchen appliance, it’s versatile and suits my needs.

Recipe

Equipment

Pressure cooker
Frying pan

Ingredients^[i]

Lamb (leftover rolled boneless shoulder meat)
Gravy (leftover and made from the cooking juices of the lamb with roux)
Hot chips (leftover from Friday night’s chicken and chips dinner^[ii])
Potato (diced)
Eggplant (diced with the skin left on)
Stock (leftover lamb cooking juices)
Red wine (to deglaze the fond from the frying pan)
Onion (old cut onion from the refrigerator)
Spring onion (cut roughly)
Celery (cut roughly)
Carrot (cut roughly)
Parsley (old and ready to be discarded)
Fennel (old and ready to be discarded)
Vegetable oil

Instructions

Add some vegetable oil to a hot frying pan and gently fry the meat to give it more colour. Remove the meat and add the “hot” chips, onion, spring onion, eggplant, celery, carrot, and fennel. Cook these vegetables until they caramelise, and leave some fond in the bottom of the frying pan.
Deglaze the pan with a small quantity of red wine, whisky, or cooking sherry. It doesn’t matter. Water would also work, but I have wine, whisky, and sherry, so I may as well use it.
Transfer the contents of the frying pan to the pressure cooker.
Add the meat, leftover gravy, and stock to the pressure cooker.
Don’t forget to toss in the old parsley.
Cook under pressure for 15 minutes^[iii].
After 15 minutes, turn off the heat and allow the pressure cooker to reach atmospheric pressure naturally. The natural equilibration allows the flavours of the foods to combine longer and make this meal an equivalent of a slow braise in terms of flavours.
Open the pressure cooker, and with a large spoon, aliquot the contents into separate containers for refrigeration.

Serving suggestions

During the week, I’ll take a large spoonful of lamb and eggplant and serve it with noodles or rice. One night I might also place it on top of some sourdough bread and heat it in the oven.
I can mix various things with the lamb and eggplant each night to keep the meals enjoyable. I’ll work that out each night.
This approach gives me meals that can be quickly prepared when I get home from work.
If I’m using noodles or rice, I’ll heat the lamb and eggplant with microwave radiation. I know some readers eschew the use of microwave radiation; I’ve read limited evidence that this form of cooking can cause damage or harm to humans[1]. In my personal and not my professional opinion, I remain happy using microwave radiation for personal use.
While I’d generally try to spend more time each night on a meal, I’m currently unable to, so this approach is what it is.
I hope you have a good week.

References

Michalak, J., et al., Effect of Microwave Heating on the Acrylamide Formation in Foods. Molecules, 2020. 25(18).

Photographs

Lamb rubbed with curry powder — Shoulder of lamb

Endnotes

^[i] Many of the ingredients were ready to be discarded. Rather than waste them, I cooked them. This is why I like my pressure cooker. A pressure cooker can be used like an autoclave. An autoclave is used to sterilise things, like surgical equipment or media for growing microorganisms and for food. I was recently involved in a food incident involving poor food handling by a commercial catering company. It was a reminder to think about food safety.

^[ii] Friday was a challenging day. I was mentally exhausted by the time evening came, so I decided to eat chicken and chips. Chicken from Coles. Chips from the fish shop. Gravy from a bottle. 😉

^[iii] Fifteen minutes is the standard duration for most autoclave cycles. The lamb has already been cooked, so it doesn’t need a longer cooking time. The eggplant only needs between 10 and 15 minutes. Fifteen minutes at standard pressure will kill bacteria, bacterial spores, fungi, and parasites. It will also render all viruses incompetent. I try not to use the term kill for viruses because viruses are not alive. Viruses are mobile genetic elements. Viruses are either competent or incompetent.

Roast pumpkin and feta salad

Posted 2022-12-03 by Gary

Hello Reader,

I hope you are well. Summer has arrived, and it’s good knowing the next few months will be warmer.

I hope you enjoy winter if you’re living in the northern hemisphere.

Christmas is nearly upon us. Department stores will play Christmas carols, and the shop displays will be full of images depicting the smiling faces of children and adults. As you prepare for Christmas, I hope you will also be smiling.

Recipe

Equipment

No specialised equipment is necessary for this recipe.

Ingredients

Pumpkin (see instructions on how to prepare this)
Feta (crumbled between the tips of your fingers and thumb)
Walnuts (crush with a heavy metal implement, I use a coffee tamper)
Speck (cut into small pieces and fried in a bit of oil in a hot frying pan)
Pear (slice thinly with a mandolin, wear a glove to avoid cutting off the tips of your fingers)
Black peppercorns
Iodised rock salt
Rocket leaves (in other countries, this might be known as arugula)
Lime (use the zest and the juice)
Olive oil
Honey
Red onion (chopped coarsely)
Parsley (chopped)

Instructions

Pumpkin

Cut a pumpkin into bite-sized chunks. I also leave the skin on for some extra fibre.
Rub each chunk with some olive oil.
Spread the pumpkin pieces across a baking sheet and then drizzle some honey and oil over each piece.
Place the pumpkin into an oven and cook until the edges and corners of the pumpkin begin to change colour.
Check the pumpkin is tender with the sharp end of a paring knife.
Remove the pumpkin from the oven and allow it to cool on a bench.

The salad

Once the pumpkin has cooled, it’s just a matter of adding it and everything else into a large mixing bowl and gently tossing the salad.
I’m happy dressing this with olive oil and maybe a little lime juice.
Transfer some to a plate with some form of meat.
Eat with a fork and gaze out the window.

Dinner plate

I enjoyed this salad with lamb shoulder I’d cooked earlier in the afternoon. I dressed the lamb with gravy made from the cooking juices.

Final thoughts

How do you feel about the elements in this salad? I know it may be a weird combination. Part of me was tempted to use gorgonzola instead of feta. I think blue cheese would be equally satisfying.
Are you a big fan of Christmas?
Would you eat this salad as a meal or have it with something else more substantial?

Photographs

This is a gallery of photographs

Kent pumpkin cut into small pieces and rubbed with oil — Pumpkin

Kent pumpkin cut into small pieces and rubbed with oil cooked in a hot oven — Pumpkin

Compound butter

Posted 2022-11-12 by Gary

Hello reader,

I thought I’d try making compound butter with my steak tonight. I’ve never made compound butter before, so I started with something simple. A butter made with spring onions and chives. Spring onions are called scallions and green onions in other parts of the world.

As a child, we called them shallots.

I am cooking the eye fillet steak underwater at 55 °C for 2 hours and 10 minutes.

Sous vide eye fillet steak with compound butter and fennel salad. Focus on six pomegranate arils for Persephone. — Sous vide eye fillet steak with compound butter and fennel salad. Six pomegranate arils for Persephone.

Recipe

Equipment

Water heater circulator
Water bath
Butane torch
Mandolin
Food processor
Mortar and Pestle^[i]

Ingredients

Eye fillet steak
Salt
Pepper
Butter
Spring onions
Chives
Whisky^[ii]
Fennel
Red onion
Radish
Parsley
Lemon juice
Olive oil

Instructions

Steak

Season the steak with some salt and pepper.
Place the steak into a plastic bag and vacuum seal the bag.
Cook the steak in a water bath for 2 hours at 55 °C.
Remove the bag and open it.
Remove the steak and pat it dry.
Heat a cast-iron pan and sear the steak.
Place a disc of the compound butter on top of the steak. Apply the flame from a butane torch to melt the butter and sear the surface of the steak.
Remove the steak from the cast-iron pan and allow it to rest.
Keep the melted butter in the pan for later.

Butter

Bring the butter to room temperature.
Finely slice the chives and spring onions.
Place the chives and spring onions in a jar and add about 10 mL of whisky.
Infuse the whisky into the herbs using a vacuum chamber and refrigerate the jar for a few hours.
Remove the herbs and put them onto absorbent paper to remove as much moisture as possible.
Put some whole peppercorns and rock salt into a mortar and pound with a pestle until the salt and pepper are coarse grinds.
Process the butter, chives, and springs with the salt and pepper.
Mould the butter in some plastic wrap and refrigerate the butter.
When it’s time to use the butter, cut a disc about 1 cm thick and use it for the steak.

Salad

With a mandolin, slice some fennel, red onion, and radish.
Chop some parsley.
With the back of a cook’s knife, beat the arils out of a pomegranate.
Be careful when you beat the arils out; the juice will spray and splatter, and it may stain your clothes and any bench tops.
Mix a little lime juice and olive oil for a salad dressing.
Toss the salad and season it with some salt to taste.

Pomegranate SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/8, 1/40sec, ISO 1600

Pomegranate arils for lunch — Pomegranate SONY ILCE-7S with E 35mm F1.8 OSS at 35mm and f/8, 1/40sec, ISO 1600

Plating up

Slice the eye fillet steak with a sharp knife and lay the slices onto a warmed dinner plate.
Spoon some salad next to the meat.
Spoon the butter from the pan over the meat and drizzle a little over the salad.
Give thanks to the Lord.
Eat with a fork; the meat will be tender enough to make a knife redundant.

Concluding thoughts

Today was the first spring day warm enough for shorts and a T-shirt. It was a lovely day outside.

This steak with salad was a fantastic meal for a warm night.

^[i] If you can’t remember the pestle and the mortar, remember you Pound with the Pestle.

^[ii] I used Johnnie Walker Black Label.

Sous vide eye fillet steak with compound butter and fennel salad

Sous vide eye fillet steak with compound butter and fennel salad. Focus on the salad. — Sous vide eye fillet steak with compound butter and fennel salad

Lamb shanks

Posted 2022-11-07 by Gary

I cooked this meal last month. It was the first large meal I cooked in a new pressure cooker whose cooking vessel had a larger diameter. Sometimes with the old pressure cooker, the bones from the lamb shanks would be longer than the diameter. A small-diameter bowl was not a problem for cooking but laying them flat made them look neater in the bowl.

Recipe

Equipment

Pressure cooker
Cast iron skillet
Stick blender

Ingredients

Lamb shanks
Flour
Oregano (dried herbs)
Rosemary (dried herbs)
Garlic powder
Salt
Pepper (ground, black)
Onion (chopped)
Carrot (diced)
Celery (diced)
Tomatoes (tinned)
Red wine
Stock
Butter
Flour
Packet potato mash

Instructions

Mix the flour, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and dried herbs to make a dry rub for the lamb shanks.
Brown the shanks in a skillet with some oil.
Remove the shanks and sauté the carrots, celery, and onion.
Deglaze the fond with the wine and stock, and then add in the tin of tomatoes.
Bring the liquid to a boil and turn off the heat.
Transfer the sauce to the pressure cooker and lay the shanks on top.
Cook under pressure for 45 minutes.
Make a roux with butter and flour and set it aside to thicken the cooking liquor.
Remove the shanks with care to avoid the meat falling from the bone.
Cook the packet of potato mash according to the instructions using microwave radiation.
Spoon the potato mash into a bowl.
Sieve the cooking liquor from the vegetables.
Discard the vegetable matter.
Thicken the cooking liquor to make gravy and spoon the sauce over the shanks and potato.
Give thanks to the Lord.
Eat with a fork.

Congee

Posted 2022-11-05 by Gary

Hello there,

I’ve cooked congee (jook) many times. Tonight, I’m sharing a couple of versions for readers to consider. The recipes are identical apart from the meat used.

I went with chicken for one version, and for the other, I went with pork.

Regular readers may notice that I’m doing something different with these recipes. I’m using more liquid to approach the texture and consistency of Mum’s jook. I usually cook my congee to a thicker consistency. Still, I know many people who like something a little less dense. I’m also using porcini mushrooms for a flavour burst to give greater umami. If I had easy access, I would substitute dried scallops for the mushrooms. The other ingredient I’d like to add is wood ear mushroom for the mouthfeel.

Recipe

Equipment

Pressure cooker

Ingredients

White long-grain rice (1 cup)
Chicken stock (8 cups [2 L]) (you could also use a vegan broth)
Porcini mushrooms
Mushroom water (1 cup [250 mL])
Chicken (3 maryland^[i] pieces) (you could omit this for a vegan version or exchange it with a slab of pork belly for a porcine version)
Salt
Spring onions
Chilli flakes

Instructions

Reconstitute the dried mushrooms with hot water and wait for 30 minutes
Wash the rice until the water runs clear
Add the rice, stock, and mushroom water to the pressure cooker
Cut the mushrooms into small pieces
Add mushroom pieces, chicken maryland pieces, or pork belly into the pressure cooker.
Cook under pressure for 30 minutes and allow 15 minutes for a natural release of pressure
Carefully remove the meat and transfer it to a bowl
Pull the flesh (from the bones of the chicken) using forks
Discard the bones if using chicken
Stir the rice gruel and keep heating to the desired thickness
Stir through the pulled meat
Salt to taste
Add and stir through chilli flakes to taste
Transfer everything to a large serving bowl
Transfer congee to individual bowls
Give thanks to the Lord
Serve with spring onions, shredded lettuce, and soy sauce

Thoughts on the recipe and meal

If I were cooking for more than just me, I’d use a whole chicken or more thigh pieces and perhaps add a carcass. Sometimes I see necks and giblets on sale, which would also be suitable for flavour.
If you like a nice bit of pork, I recommend butt, which is shoulder and not gluteal muscle.
This dish is vegan if you remove the meat and use a vegan stock.
When I was a child, we had shredded lettuce, ham, and soy sauce to add to our bowls.
Each recipe makes five large bowls of congee.

^[i] For non-Australian readers, the chicken maryland is a thigh and drumstick piece in Australia. I know chicken maryland is a dish in the USA, and Maryland is a state of the union.