Bent On Food | Recipes

Recipes

Some of these recipes are supplied by our many wonderful producers who like to give us great ideas on how to use their products, others are ones that we have put together for the café, with some adapted from our customer’s favourite recipes.When I was a young girl my grandmother taught me to cook, I still have her recipe book that is hand written by her, her right hand had been crushed in a car accident so sometimes it was a bit touch and go with the quantities. What I really loved about her recipe book was the way she used to write who she got the recipe from, many of hers were from Mrs Davis, a neighbour. It always made me think about how food should be shared and I also like to use recipes that are given to me from friends, relatives and customers. Somehow it makes them more special to prepare and to eat.

About once a month, normally on a Thursday night, I am live on air with Robbie Buck on ABC 702 where she shares a recipe or two. for more information on Robbie's fabulous show go to Evenings with Robbie Buck

Cheers Donna

1. MANDARIN, ALMOND, & CHOCOLATE (flourless) CAKE

8 Mandarins
500 gm almond meal
12 eggs
500 gm castor sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 cup chopped dark couverture (cooking) chocolate

Method

Place mandarins in a heavy based saucepan, cover well with water and bring to the boil. Boil for about 2 hours, drain and set aside to cool.Grease and line 28 cm cake tin.

Set oven to 180

Chop and seed mandarins and place in food processor. Transfer to another large bowl and add eggs, sugar and baking powder

Fold in almond meal and chocolate

Bake for approx 1 hour or until firm to touch.

Serving suggestions

Serve with double cream and candied peel. Bring to boil 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water. Boil for 5 minutes and add ½ cup chopped mandarin or orange peel. Boil for a further 20 minutes. Pour over warm cake.

This recipe was given to me by a customer of mine, Tricia Duncombe.
It is a favourite of many customers and so easy to make.

 

2. MY SPICY CAJUN PUMPKIN SOUP

Ingredients

½ medium size Jap pumpkin
25 grams Cajun Spice Mix
1 onion
Salt and Pepper to taste
Around 1 litre Chicken Stock (or vegetable stock if you wish to make a vegetarian soup)
150 ml fresh cream

Method

Cut pumpkin into small pieces, place in oiled baking tray and coat with Cajun spice. Place in hot oven and cook until slightly crisp on the outside and cooked on the inside.

Whilst pumpkin is cooking sauté onion in large saucepan.

Add cooked pumpkin to saucepan with enough stock to cover vegetables, then add salt and pepper and cook slowly for ½ an hour.

Blend and add cream to serve.

Cajun Spice Mix is available at Bent on Food

 

3. MY SMOKED SWEET PAPRIKA CHICKEN WITH GRAPES AND KIPFLER POTATOES

Ingredients

Organic garlic x 16 cloves
Kipfler potatoes x 6
Green grapes x 2 bunch
Spanish onion x 1 cut in quarters
1/4 cup Brookfarm Lemon myrtle macadamia oil available from Bent on Food
Chicken x 4 breasts or thighs
Smoked Sweet Paprika - enough to coat chicken - Herbies available from Bent on Food
Verjuice x 1/8 cup

Method

Rub smoked sweet paprika into chicken and set aside for at least ½ an hour

Whilst chicken is aside, roast garlic cloves in oven

Slice kipfler potatoes

Heat lemon myrtle oil in pan, add chicken and brown each side, then add onions and potatoes, and then grapes.

Transfer all to a non stick baking pan with garlic and add a touch of verjuice and salt and pepper.

Cook on high until potatoes are crisp and chicken is fully cooked. (about 20 minutes)

Serve with broccolini recipe below

 

4. BROCCOLINI WITH AVOCADO AND LENTILS

Ingredients

Broccolini
Verjuice
Lime juice
Lentils
Avocado

Method

Use sauté pan with some lemon myrtle oil still in and toss broccolini, add verjuice, a touch of lime or lemon juice and lentils, add avocado before serving.

To serve, place broccolini and avocado on to plates and stack with chicken and potatoes.

 

5. MOROCCAN LAMB SHANKS

Ingredients

8 Lamb Shanks, Frenched
2 Tbsp olive oil
½ cup plain flour seasoned with salt and pepper
2 Cinnamon Sticks
1 cup chopped dates
2 cups tomatoes cooked and peeled
1 cup red wine
2 onions chopped
Chopped pumpkin (around 2 cups)
Chicken stock (enough to cover)
2 teaspoons Herbies Garam Masala (fennel, cinnamon, cloves, caraway) available from Bent on Food
4 cloves garlic chopped

Method

Preheat oven to 150*c. Heat olive oil in heavy based pan over medium heat.

Coat lamb shanks with seasoned flour and shake off excess.

Place lamb in pan and cook, turning often until browned

Add onion and garlic and saute until softened.

Place lamb and onion mix in oven with all other ingredients apart from pumpkin.

Cook for 4 hours until meat beginning to become tender.

Add chopped pumpkin and cook for 1 hour or until pumpkin is soft and lamb is falling away from bone.

Skim off any fat from top of pan

Serve with mashed potato.

Can also be removed from the bone and placed in ramekins, topped with puff pastry and cooked under grill for a great Moroccan style pie.

 

6. BENT ON FOOD ROASTED ROOT VEGETABLE SALAD

Ingredients

6 baby carrots, can be peeled if preferred but better not to.
1 parsnip
200 gr sweet potato
200 gr butternut pumpkin
2 to 3 dessertspoons Bent on Food Beetroot Relish
8 cloves garlic
2 to 3 handfuls salad greens, use baby beet leaves, rocket, baby spinach,
4 slices haloumi
Splash EVOO
Splash of The Other Chef Balsamic Essence or Pukara Caramelised Balsamic
Salt and pepper
Brookfarm Lemon Macadamia oil or Gwydir Grove blood orange infused oil

Method

Cut pumpkin, parsnip and sweet potato into thick strips about the width of a finger and place into a large bowl, add carrot, garlic cloves.

Add a splash of EVOO and balsamic, salt and pepper and toss through.

Spread on to a large baking tray and cook in hot oven for around 40 minutes.

Just before vegetables are cooked, fry haloumi in pan with a splash of EVOO

To assemble salad, place salad greens in individual bowls, neatly stack veges on top, followed by haloumi and beetroot relish

Drizzle of balsamic and infused oil over salad.

 

7. Bent on Food Flourless Chocolate Cake - gluten free

Ingredients

440g Dark Couvetre Chocolate
2 Tabs Rum
2 Tabs expresso coffee
300gm castor sugar
300gm butter
200gm Ground almonds or almond meal
10 free range eggs separated

Method

Heat oven to 180 c

Grease and line spring form tim

Melt all ingredients except eggs and almond meal in bain marie style. Remove from heat and stir thoroughly

Separate eggs and add yolks one by one along with almond meal to the melted ingredients

Beat whites into peaks and fold gently through chocolate mixture

Bake 40 to 50 min

Serve with berry coulis and cream

 

Donna's Mango Cheesecake

Ingredients

Crust

1 cup plain sweet biscuits - Nice or similar - crushed
1 cut chopped Hand n Hoe Macadamia nuts
75 g butter, melted

Filling

250g Marrook Farm Quark
½ cup sugar
3 medium mangoes chopped
300g cream
6 gelatine leaves (or 3 teaspoons powdered gelatin) - gelatin leaves give a smoother texture
1/4 cup hot water (for soaking gelatin) - do not have the water boiling

Method

Crust 

Combine crushed biscuits, nuts and butter in bowl and mix well. Press evenly over 20cm springform tin and refrigerate for 30 minutes or more.

Filling

In a food processor, process quark, sugar and 2/3 of the mango until smooth, then add the cream and process until the mixture is smooth. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl.

Dissolve gelatin in water and cool slightly before adding to mango mixture. Add the rest of the chopped mango and stir gently.

Pour mixture over base and set

Spicy Oriental Beef Salad - Serves 4 - 3rd Feb 2011

Ingredients

Marinade

1 clove crushed garlic 30 ml fresh lime juice 1 tsp grated ginger 40 ml fish sauce 30 ml soy sauce 1 finely chopped chilli 30 ml sweet chilli sauce 1 tsp palm sugar 10 ml sesame oil 1 finely chopped spring onion

Salad

600 gms Scotch Fillet (150gm each)
1 cucumber cut length ways, deseeded and thinly sliced
1 punnet cherry tomatoes cut into quarters
1 bunch mint, torn
1 bunch Thai basil, leaves torn
1 bunch coriander 250 gm
bean sprouts, blanched and refreshed
1 Spanish onion thinly sliced
1 red capsicum
julienne ¼ cup
chopped peanuts roasted (we also use local macadamias from Hand n Hoe Macadamia Farm - available at Bent on Food and in our online cart)

Method

1. Whisk together all marinade ingredients and place steak in plastic bag, with half of the marinade - leave at least ½ an hour

2. Chop all vegetables and half the herbs and place in bowl - refrigerate

3. Pre heat your char grill or barbeque to high heat

4. Char grill or barbeque steaks for around 2 to 3 minutes each side - best rare to med-rare. Rest for 10 minutes and thinly slice.

5. Place all salad ingredients (except steak and nuts) in individual bowls and toss.

6. Lay strips of beef on each salad, drizzle with dressing and toss gently.

7. Sprinkle chopped nuts and the rest of the herbs on top for garnish.

 

LEMON SALMON PASTA 21 April, 2011

Ingredients

400 gm spaghetti or linguine
3 tblsp olive oil
3 tbls salted capers, rinsed
2 cloves sliced garlic
2 small red chillies seeded and chopped
3 salmon fillets
3 tblsp lemon juice
1 cup basil leaves
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Method

Take salmon out of fridge 1/2 an hour before cooking

For pasta, place large pot water on stove to boil - when boiling place pasta in pot, read instructions on pasta packet for length of cooking time - the fresher the pasta the less time it takes to cook

Heat frypan, add a touch of oil and cook salmon skin side down for 5 minutes, turn over and cook for 1 minute. Take out of pan and rest

Wipe pan with paper towel and heat oil, add capers, garlic and chillies for 1 minute, flake salmon and add to pan with lemon zest until heated through

Drain pasta and add to pan with lemon juice and basil, salt and pepper, toss in parmesan and serve

WASABI AND CHILLI MARINATED TUNA WITH SMOKED EGGPLANT April 21, 2011

Ingredients for tuna

20 gm sea salt
1 tblsp wasabi powder
1 tblsp sugar
2 red chillis, chopped and deseeded
2 tblsp ketchup manis
4 tuna fillets
heat oven and bbq plate

Method for tuna

Marinate tuna in all above ingredients for at least 2 hours

Ingredients for eggplant

2 large eggplant
1 tsp chopped garlic
1 tsp Dijon Mustard
250ml olive oil
salt and pepper

Method for eggplant

Wash and pierce skins with a fork, scorch whole eggplant over open flame, then bake in hot oven 190'c for until flesh is tender.

Peel eggplants and puree flesh with garlic and mustard in food processor, slowly add oil with processor running until all oil is incorporated, season with s and p.

To cook tuna

Drain tuna and chargrill until just cooked, brush with remaining marinade whiles cooking to prevent drying out

Serve tuna on a bed of smoked eggplant puree with other vegetables if you desire.

This recipe is a very old one that has been spotted in some of the old fashioned recipe books, I learnt to make it at school but still love the sweet flavours.

Ingredients

2 onions finely chopped
2 apples peeled and chopped (royal gala are in season)
2 large tomatoes peeled and chopped
1 tablespoon of good quality curry powder (Herbies Curry mix)
1 kg gravy beef or chuck steak cut in small dice
2 tablespoons good quality mango chutney
2 tablespoons good quality plum jam
2 tablespoons sultanas
2 bananas
4 tablespoons shredded coconut
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Salt and pepper to season
Vegetable oil (some people like to add a tablespoon of sugar for a sweeter version)

Method

Place oil in heavy based saucepan and add onions sautéing until clear, add chopped apple and tomato along with curry powder and cook on low heat until soft.

Add meat to saucepan with chutney, jam, sultanas, sliced banana, salt and pepper and coconut.

Simmer very gently for an hour and a half or so until meat is very tender, add lemon juice and simmer an extra half an hour. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking. If the mixture starts to dry too much add a touch of water.

Spanish infused Winter Warmer - 9 June 2011 - This is a fabulous recipe from my friend Dyana Brown.

Ingredients

1 ltr chicken stock
1 ham hock - we use a local German butcher for ours
4 carrots chopped
2 onions chopped
4 Chorizo sausages cut into chunks
1 kg skinless chicken thighs chopped
2 pinch's saffron threads
2 heaped teaspoons
sweet smoked paprika Zest and
juice of 1 orange
6 cloves chopped garlic

Method

In the slow cooker pour chicken stock and add ham hock Cook 3 hours

Remove ham hock and place to one side

Into the chicken stock place the carrots, onions, chorizo, chicken and cook for 4 hours.

Add saffron, paprika, garlic and orange juice/zest

Turn off slow cooker, let cool and place in fridge overnight covered in glad bake

Next morning take slow cooker from fridge, skim fat off top and discard fat

Take ham off bone, discard fat and bones and put meat into the slow cooker.

Return to heat and serve hot with rice, mashed potato or polenta.

Osso Buco Milanese style, with a Bent on Food twist - We used locally based Linga Longa Hereford Beef - www.buymeat.com.au -

This is the recipe that we made on Tuesday 21st June when we broadcasted Robbie Bucks evening show live across NSW and ACT from the cafe.

Ingredients

3 sticks of diced celery
1 onion diced
1 leek diced
8 cloves garlic diced small
6 sprigs thyme
3 tbls continental parsley
1 cup white wine
1 ltr chicken/beef stock
1/3 cup lemon juice
4 pieces Osso Buco
A little oil

Method

Heat heavy based deep pan, add a little oil and seal both sides of the Osso Buco.-

you can flour meat first if you like

Set aside meat Saute celery, onion, leek, thyme until soft, add meat back in.

Add wine and cook off alcohol on high heat

Add stock, and simmer for up to 4 hours

Add garlic, parsley and lemon juice

Serve with Risotto, polenta or mash potato

If preferred you can make a gremolata with zest of one lemon, parsley and garlic as above, delete the lemon juice form the ingredients, mix garlic, zest and parsley together and sprinkle over meat before serving, this is the more traditional way

Thai green curry - Barry's recipe

Ingredients for paste

2 teaspoons coriander seeds
1.5 teaspoons shrimp paste
4 spring onions chopped
4 large mild green chilies, deseeded and chopped
6 small hot green chilies, deseeded and chopped
2 stalks lemongrass, chopped
½ cup fresh coriander leaves
Grated zest of 1 lime
3 cloves garlic, chopped
3 cm piece fresh ginger, chopped
1 ½ teaspoon salt
Vegetable oil

Method.

Roast the coriander seeds first and then shrimp paste in a dry pan for one minute, then transfer to a mortar or spice grinder and grind to a paste.

Transfer to a blender or processor with a metal blade. Add remaining ingredients { except oil ) and grind /blend everything together until very smooth, continue to grind, adding enough vegetable oil to make a smooth thick paste. Pass through a sieve if necessary to remove large bits.

The paste may be used at once or can be kept for up to 1 week in an airtight container in the fridge. To keep the paste for a few weeks, cook/fry in a nonstick pan with 1-2 tablespoons extra oil for three to four minutes, cool and store in an airtight glass container with a layer of oil on top to keep out air.

This recipe is enough for 3-4 curries.

Thai green chicken curry.

Ingredients.

½ cup of coconut cream
2 ½ teaspoons of your own fresh green curry paste
½ stalk of lemongrass, slit lengthways
300g of chicken meat breast/thigh, very thinly sliced
1 roma tomato (cut in half, scoop out the seeds and the flesh and cut into strips).
2 kaffir lime leaves
1 spring onion, chopped
½ tablespoon fish sauce
½ tablespoon fresh lime juice
Salt Palm Sugar
A few sprigs of fresh basil (for garnish)

Method.

In a saucepan or wok activate the green curry paste over medium heat, by cooking along with the lemongrass until it looks slightly oily. Add the coconut cream, stirring constantly, until very fragrant. Add ¾ cup of water and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

Add chicken and cook for 2 to 3 minutes before adding spring onion, tomato strips and lime leaves, then add fish sauce and lime juice to taste, allowing the curry to simmer for a few minutes until chicken is fully cooked, adjust with palm sugar and salt and take out strips of lemongrass.

Serve in a bowl garnished with fresh basil sprigs and steamed jasmine rice.