Black Bean Chilaquile

I don't know about you, but I've never been a fan of the baked tortilla chips (corn chips) that you can buy in the supermarket. Crisp cardboard, in my opinion. So for this recipe, I decided to make my own. Much more delicious -- in fact, they were in danger of being all snavelled before I got to crushing them for the casserole.

Black Bean Chilaquile (serves 4 to 6)
6 six inch (15cm) corn tortillas
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chopped onions
1 cup chopped tomatoes (I like to blanch them and remove the skins first)
1-1/2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels
1-1/2 cups cooked black beans (1 can, drained)
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cups rinsed, stemmed and chopped Swiss chard (from my garden! Yeah!) or spinach
8 ounces grated sharp Cheddar
2 cups red salsa (I used medium heat, and while it was fine for me, it was too hot for Josh. So if you are serving to sensitive palates, you might want to use half salsa and half chopped tomatoes)

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Brush both sides of the tortillas with 1 tbs of the oil. Stack the tortillas and cut the pile into sixths to make chips. Spread the chips out in a single layer on two large baking sheets. Bake until golden brown and crisp, rotating the baking sheets once, about 12 to 15 minutes. Cool for a few minutes, then crush with your hands.

Meanwhile, sauté the onions in the remaining oil for about 8 minutes, until translucent. Stir in the tomatoes, corn, black beans, lime juice, salt and pepper and continue to sauté for another 5 to 10 minutes, until just heated through.

In another saucepan, blanch the greens in boiling water to cover for 1 to 3 minutes, until just wilted but still bright green. Drain immediately and set aside.

Prepare an 8x8 inch (20x20cm) casserole dish or baking pan with a light coating of oil. Spread half of the crushed tortilla chips on the bottom. Spoon the sautéed vegetables over the tortilla chips and sprinkle on about two-thirds of the grated Cheddar. Arrange the greens evenly over the cheese and spoon on half of the salsa. Finish with the rest of the tortilla chips and top with the remaining salsa and Cheddar. Bake for about 35 to 40 minutes until the cheese is bubbling and beginning to brown.

Curried lentil, carrot and cashew soup

One word - yum!

Ingredients
1.5 l vegetable stock
750g carrots, chopped
3/4 cups red lentils, rinsed and drained
1 tbs olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 cup unsalted cashews
1 tbs curry paste
1/2 cup fresh coriander, chopped
1/2 cup Greek style yoghurt

Method
Bring stock to the boil in a large pan. Add carrots and lentils, bring to the boil then simmer over low heat for 8 mins or until carrots and lentils are soft.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a pan and add onion and cashews. Cook over med heat for a couple of minutes. Add curry paste and coriander and cook until fragrant. Stir paste in to carrot and lentil mixture.

Transfer to blender or food processor and blend in batches until smooth. Return to pan and reheat. Season with salt and pepper, serve with a dollop of yoghurt and a sprinkling of coriander leaves.

Mushroom and Butternut Squash Empañadas

Sister One and I made these the night before our Arizona trip. They were a huge hit (Josh declared they were the best thing I'd ever cooked) so the next day all the Meltzers were outraged when we packed the leftovers to take with us.

Café Azul's Pastry Dough
yield: Makes about 3 lb (enough for 24 empañadas)

This recipe makes much more dough than is needed for the Mushroom and Butternut Squash Empañadas, but it freezes beautifully, wrapped well in plastic wrap and sealed in a plastic freezer bag. (Defrost the dough in the refrigerator for 6 to 8 hours before using.) At Café Azul, Archibald also uses this pastry for pies and tarts.

600g plain flour
1 tablespoon salt
450g cold unsalted butter, cut into 1cm cubes (yes, this is a ton of butter. It's what makes the pastry so fabulously yummy)
1 large egg
1 tablespoon Champagne vinegar
About 3/4 cup ice water

Sift flour with salt into a large bowl and blend in butter with your fingertips or a pastry blender (or a food processor) until most of mixture resembles coarse meal with small (roughly pea-size) butter lumps.

Beat egg with vinegar in a 1-cup measure using a fork, then add enough ice water to measure 1 cup total. Add to flour mixture, stirring with fork until incorporated.

Turn out mixture onto a lightly floured surface and knead gently with heel of your hand just enough to bring dough together. Roll out or pat into a 39- by 22-cm rectangle. Arrange dough with short side nearest you, then fold into thirds like a letter to form a roughly 13- by 22-cm rectangle. Chill dough, wrapped in plastic wrap, at least 1 hour and up to 6 (do not chill longer or dough will discolor).


Mushroom and Butternut Squash Empañadas
Makes 8

For empañada filling:
1 cup diced (1/4-inch) butternut squash
1/2 cup finely chopped white onion
6 small garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup olive oil
2 (2- to 3-inch) fresh jalapeño chiles, seeds and ribs discarded and chiles finely chopped
1 pound fresh exotic mushrooms such as chanterelles, porcini, or hedgehogs (all one kind, not a mixture), trimmed and coarsely chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup chicken broth

For empañada crust:
1/3 Café Azul's pastry dough (1 pound)
1 large egg, lightly beaten with 1 tablespoon water
2 teaspoons coarse sea salt

Cook squash in a small saucepan of boiling salted water until just tender, about 2 minutes, then drain in a sieve.

Cook onion and garlic in oil in a large heavy skillet over moderately low heat, stirring, until onion is softened, about 3 minutes. Add jalapeños and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Stir in mushrooms, salt, and broth and simmer, covered, until mushrooms are tender, 5 to 8 minutes. Simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until liquid is evaporated, about 3 minutes, then stir in squash and salt to taste. Cool filling completely.

Preheat oven to 200°C.

Divide dough into 8 equal pieces (2 ounces each) and form each into a disk. Roll out 1 piece on a lightly floured surface into a 6- to 7-inch round (1/8 inch thick). Spoon about 1/3 cup filling onto center and brush edge of pastry lightly with egg wash. Fold dough in half to form a half-moon, enclosing filling, and press edges together to seal. Crimp edge decoratively and transfer empañada with a spatula to a large baking sheet. Make 7 more empañadas in same manner.

Lightly brush empañadas all over with some of remaining egg wash and sprinkle each with 1/4 teaspoon sea salt. Bake in middle of oven until golden, 25 to 30 minutes.

Lentil and spinach roll

(based on recipe in delicious. March 2009)

• 1 Tbs olive oil
• 100g mushrooms, sliced
• 3 cups baby spinach
• 2 cups cooked lentils
• 2 tsp mild curry powder
• 2 Tbs chutney (Sister One's homemade chutney is particularly good)
• 2 sheets frozen puff pastry
• 1/2 cup cheese of choice, finely grated
• 1 egg, beaten

Saute mushrooms in oil for a minute, then add spinach, lentils, curry powder and chutney. The original recipe called for roasted capsicum strips, which would have been a great addition, but alas I had none. Season and cook for a few minutes until spinach is wilted. Leave aside until completely cool.

My pastry sheets were just as they came out of the package, and I used 2 of them. Spoon some lentil mix down the middle of each, add a layer of cheese, then top with remaining lentil mix. Wet the pastry edges with water, fold over, and seal edges. Sit on baking paper on baking tray, seam side down. Brush with egg. Bake at 180C for 30 minutes.

Serve with yoghurt, salad and some more chutney.

This presents really well, especially while still crispy out of the oven, and I'll be doing it again for a family dinner or a take a plate.

Almond-Citrus Tuiles

This was my first attempt at baking tuiles. They were wonderful, until I put them in a plastic container with some linzer cookies, and they lost their crispness. But they were super-easy, so I'll try them again. Here's the recipe:

Almond-Citrus Tuiles
3/4 cup sliced almonds
1/3 cup confectioners' (icing) sugar
3 tablespoons superfine sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1-1/2 tsp grated lime zest
1 tbs all-purpose flour

1. Place the oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat the oven to 375°F (175°C). Generously spray 2 large baking sheets with nonstick spray.

2. Put 1/3 cup of the almonds and the confectioners' sugar in a food processor; process until the almonds are very finely ground. Stir together the superfine sugar, egg, and vanilla in a small bowl until well blended. Stir in the almond mixture, the remaining almonds, and the lime zest. Sprinkle with the flour and stir to combine.

3. Drop 5 mounds of the batter on each baking sheet, using 2 level teaspoonfuls for each mound, spacing them about 4" (10cm) apart. Using a fork dipped in cold water, spread each mound to make a 2-1/4" (6cm) round, being sure to evenly distribute the almonds. Bake until the edges are browned but the centers are still pale, 6-7 minutes.

4. Push a thin metal spatula under a cookie to life it, then drape the cookie over a rolling pin, gently pressing so it curves. Repeat with the remaining cookies. If the cookies harden before you can shape them, return them to the oven for about 30 seconds. Cool, wash, dry and spray the baking sheets before making the remaining 8 cookies.

From Best-Ever Desserts by Weight Watchers.

Tomato, corn and ricotta tart

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 1 corncob
• 175g ricotta
• 1 tbs finely chopped basil
• 1 green onion, thinly sliced
• 1 egg yolk
• Couple of sheets of puff pastry
  
• Fresh toms from my veggie patch!
  
• 1 egg, lightly beaten

Method

1. Preheat oven to 210ºC. Cook corn in a saucepan of boiling water for 5 minutes or until tender. Drain and cool under running water. Place kernels in a bowl together with ricotta, basil, onion and egg yolk. Season to taste with salt and pepper then stir well to combine.
2. Lay pastry in a square baking dish so that
3. Spread the ricotta mixture in to the dish. Fold in border on two opposite sides, then repeat, folding in remaining opposite sides. Top with tomato halves and season to taste. Brush tarts with beaten egg, then bake for 15-20 minutes or until pastry is golden. Serve immediately or at room temperature, with some salad greens.

Garlic

For such a long time, the Canberra sisters' access to garlic has been limited to cheap, bitter garlic from China. It was enough to put me off garlic for many months. Well, there is an alternative: certified biodynamic garlic grown in the Hunter Valley and purchased online.

Yum. Roasted garlic with dinner tonight.