Kale and White Bean Ragout

Kale is in abundance in the garden at the moment. We largely treat it the same as silverbeet and have a great recipe for a bacon and kale pasta (bacon, the great flavour enhancer).

This is based on a recipe from a book by an American chef called Emeril Lagasse. It's very hearty and a great use of the earthy flavoured kale. Tastes even better the next day too.




Kale and White Bean Ragout:

1 bay leaf
2 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
1 small red onion
1 bunch kale
1 tin cannellini beans
1 400g tin of tomatoes
1/2 cup chicken stock
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper

Heat 2 tbs of olive oil in a large saucepan. Fry the garlic, red onion and add the bay leaf. Cook until the garlic and onion start to change colour, then add the kale and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add the tined beans and tomatoes, together with the stock.
Cover and cook until the kale is wilted and cooked through (about 15 minutes). 
Season with salt and pepper.
Drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil and serve immediately.

Gingerbread biscuits

These are extremely simple and like all Bill Granger recipes we have tried they are delicious. Bill calls them Iced Jumbles, but we'll just call them Gingerbread Biscuits. We followed Bill's recipe but also added 1/4 teaspoon of freshly ground cloves and extra ground ginger- genius!

Cooking with a 2 year old takes a lot of patience and a fair amount of acceptance that things are going to get damn messy. And that things might not turn out quite like Bill's perfect looking little biscuits.

We made these for a picnic a few weeks ago- they were a real hit!



Gingerbread Biscuits:

60g unsalted butter
160mL golden syrup
2 cups plain flour
1 tsp bicarb soda
1 tsp mixed spice
1/4 tsp ground cloves
2 tsp ground ginger

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius and line two baking trays with baking paper. In a saucepan heat the butter and golden syrup over medium heat until the butter is melted, then bring to the boil and remove from the heat. Leave to cool for 15 minutes.

Sift the flour with the bicarb soda and spices. Stir in the butter mixture.

Divide the dough into 4 pieces and roll into logs that are approx 2cm thick. Cut into 5cm pieces and place on the baking tray. Cook in the oven for 10 minutes or until light golden. Ice when cooled.

Royal Icing:
1 egg white, lightly beaten
2 cups icing sugar
2 tsp lemon juice
Few drops food colouring

Stir together the egg white and icing sugar until smooth. Add the lemon juice (you might not need the full 2 tsp- adjust to runniness of the mixture). Add a few drops of food colouring.

We also made an eggless version of the royal icing. It sets hard and is a good substitute.

Egg-free Royal Icing:
2 cups icing sugar
2 tsp light corn syrup
1 tsp lemon juice
Food colouring
Mix all ingredients together!

Mustard Cabbage Pickles

We have some very sweet and delicious white cabbages in the garden right now. After 3 weeks straight of eating coleslaw, we looked for more creative ways to utilise this resource. We went to our old faithful, Maggie Beer, and found a recipe for pickled cabbages. It's nice to get back into preserving- we haven't had much to pickle over winter!

This tastes very much like the corn relish we made last summer (they seem to have most of the same ingredients except for corn and cabbage!)  It can be served with cold meats, on sandwiches or on a cheese platter!

Mustard Cabbage Pickles:

 


1 small cabbage (about 1kg)
3 onions, sliced
2 red and 2 green capsicums, chopped
1/4 cup salt
2 cups white wine vinegar
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups white sugar
1 TBS mustard powder
1 tsp ground tumeric
1 tsp ground ginger
3 TBS cornflour
1 TBS celery seeds
1 TBS yellow mustard seeds

Shred the cabbage and combine in a large bowl with the onions and capsicums. Add the salt and mix through. Cover and leave overnight to draw out the moisture.

The next day, rinse in a colander and wash out all the salt. Meanwhile, add the vinegar, brown and wihte sugar in a large saucepan. Stir until the sugar dissolves , then bring to the boil and add the vegetables.
Reduce heat and simmer for 5-10 minutes until the cabbage is soft.

Mix the mustard, tumeric, ginger and flour with 125mL water to make a smooth paste. Stir into the vegetable mixture and stir until the mixture thickens. Add the celery and mustard seeds then pour into sterilised jars. Boil jars in a large pot of water for 5 minutes to seal then remove and cool.