I haven't gotten much baking done this year, but I really wanted to try a few more feijoa recipes and I finally found a little time and energy to do so today. I haven't had a chance to try it yet, but it smells delicious!

Photo goes here.

Feijoa Slice with Coconut Crumble Topping

Slightly adapted from NZ Women's Weekly

Ingredients

• 220g salted butter, softened
• 200g sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 c. soft (plain/standard/cake) flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 c. dessicated (fine shredded) coconut¹
• 1/2 c. thread (coarse shredded) coconut
• 10 large feijoas², peeled and sliced
• 1/4 c. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Grease and line a 18x20cm baking tray and preheat oven to 180°C (350°F).
2. Cream butter with first measure of sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Beat in vanilla.
4. Sift in flour and baking powder and stir in with spatula.
5. Stir in dessicated (fine) coconut.
6. Separate out ~1/3 of the mixture into a separate bowl and set aside. (This was ~245g for me.)
7. Press the larger measure of dough into the prepared baking tray.
8. Bake at 180°C (350°F) for 10-12 minutes (until just starting to brown).
9. Meanwhile, mix the thread (coarse) coconut into the remaining dough and chill for 10 minutes.
10. Toss the feijoas with the remaining sugar and cinnamon.
11. Once the crust is par-baked, dump the macerated feijoas on top of it and spread into an even layer.
12. Crumble the coconut mixture on top.
13. Bake at 180°C (350°F) for 25 minutes.

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¹ I didn't have any of the fine dessicated coconut, so I just used "tread" coconut for both coconut portions. It didn't mix into the crust as well, but I think it'll still be fine. ^Back
2 My feijoas were very large indeed and I still found that I needed all 10 to make enough filling for my slice. If you have average-sized feijoas, I'd recommend using up to 20 for your filling. ^Back

Pyaaz Tamatar Gosht (Onion-Tomato Lamb Curry)

Reiver found discount lamb at the butcher's last week, so I turned it into a tasty curry! I haven't had a chance to do many lamb curries, so this was a treat. It was also very easy. Definitely going on the "favourites" list!

Pyzza Tamatar Gosht

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 2 tsp. coriander seeds, ground
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds, ground
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 tsp. sweet paprika
• 1/2 tsp. ground cayenne or Kashmiri chilies
• 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
• 4 tsp. ginger paste
• 4 tsp. garlic paste
• 450g stewing lamb
• 2 Tbsp. oil
• 4 cardamom pods (pref. black, but green is also okay)
• 2 bay leaves
• 250-400mL canned tomato (pasta) sauce¹
• 1/4 c. fried onions²
• 1/4 c. water
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Combine the coriander, cumin, salt, paprika, cayenne/Kashmiri chilies, turmeric, ginger paste, and garlic paste and toss with the lamb to coat. Let stand for 30 minutes.
2. Heat oil over medium to medium-high heat.
3. Add the cardamom pods and bay leaves and sizzle for 20-30 seconds.
4. Add the lamb and sear for 5-8 minutes.
5. Add the tomato sauce, fried onions, and water and bring to a boil.
6. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
7. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.

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¹ The original recipe only calls for 1 c. of tomato sauce. I used ~350mL and it was great and Reiver said that he wouldn't've minded it with even more sauce, so I think I'll just use the whole tin next time. Follow your heart! ^Back
2 Iyer calls for 1/4 c. of fried onion paste here. I didn't really want to make fried onion paste, so I just tossed in 1/4 c. of fried onions along with 1/4 c. of water. This seemed to work very well and I wouldn't hesitate to use this approach again. ^Back

Lasoon Urad chi Dal (Garlicky Black Lentil Dal)

This is a very simple, fairly quick-cooking dal of skinned split black lentils (mapte beans). Iyer advises that, in a pinch, moong dal (skinned split mung beans) will also work.

Since I wanted this to be a one-pot dinner, I added a bit of spinach to my dal, just to give us something green on the plate and round things out a bit. I think it worked quite well, but the spinach is, of course, both optional and not part of the original recipe.

Photo goes here.

Lasoon Urad chi Dal

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 1 c. skinned split black lentils (mapte beans/urad dal)
• 3 c. water
• 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
• 2 Tbsp. ghee
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds
• 1 onion, halved and sliced
• 4-5 cloves garlic, minced (or 1 1/2 Tbsp. garlic paste)
• 3-4 fresh green serrano or finger chilies, cut into 5mm slices
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• ~1 c. chopped frozen spinach (optional)
• juice of 1 lime
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Rinse the lentils thoroughly.
2. Place in a pot with the water and bring to a boil.
3. Skim off any foam that forms and stir in the turmeric.
4. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 20 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, melt the ghee over medium-high heat.
6. Add the cumin seeds and sizzle for 5-10 seconds.
7. Add the onion, reduce heat to medium and cook for ~5 minutes.
8. Add the garlic and chilies and cook for another minute or two. Set aside.
9. Once lentils are just tender, scrape the onion mixture into the pot and stir to combine. Swish out the pan with a little water¹ and stir that into the pot as well.
10. Stir in the salt and spinach (if using) and simmer, uncovered, for another 5-10 minutes.
11. Remove from heat and stir in the lime juice and cilantro.
12. Serve over rice. Preferably with a side of papads/papadums.

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¹ The original recipe called for using a full cup of additional water to rinse out the pan, but I wanted my dal to be fairly thick, so I just used a small amount of water for the pan since I felt like the cooked lentils were already at a good consistency. ^Back

Reiver found a soup recipe online the other day and we decided to give it a go. It's very simple, but did make a tasty soup. Although I'd be tempted to swap out the turmeric for ras el hanout next time.

While I tried to stick pretty close to the recipe for my first time making it, I did end up making a few small changes. I used whole (skin-on, bone-in) chicken thighs rather than skinless, boneless simply because that's what I had on hand. I used a much smaller quantity of dried herbs instead of the large quantity of fresh because, again, I was working with what was on hand. And I dumped in a bunch of frozen spinach toward the end of cooking, just to give it a vegetable and make it a little more nutritionally complete. I also left out most of the olive oil since I felt that there was sufficient fat from the chicken skin.

Red Lentil Soup with Chicken

Ingredients

• 600g chicken thighs
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 onions, halved and sliced
• 6 cloves garlic, sliced (or 2 Tbsp. garlic paste)
• 2L water
• 1 chicken bouillon cube (optional)
• 1 1/2 c. skinned split brown lentils (red lentils/Egyptian lentils/masoor dal)
• 1 tsp. ground turmeric (and/or ral el hanout for a more complex flavour)
• 1 c. fresh mixed herbs (parsley, dill, mint, etc.)
• 1 c. chopped frozen spinach (optional)
• 1 c. plain yogurt
• 2 Tbsp. lemon juice

Directions

1. Pat the chicken dry and season to taste with salt and pepper to taste. (I recommend ~1/2 tsp. of each.)
2. Heat the oil over medium to medium-high heat.
3. Add the chicken, skin-side down, and sear until skin is crisp.
4. Flip the thighs over and sear briefly on the other side.
5. Remove the chicken from the pot and set aside.
6. Add the onions, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook until soft and caramelized (~30 minutes).
7. Add the garlic and cook for a few minutes.
8. Return the chicken to the pot and add the water and bouillon cube (if using).
9. Increase heat and bring to a boil.
10. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until chicken is cooked through (~15 minutes).
11. Shred the chicken and return it to the pot, discarding the skin and bones.
12. Rinse the lentils and add them to the pot along with the turmeric (and/or ras el hanout, if using).
13. Simmer until the lentils are just tender (~10 minutes).
14. Stir in the herbs and spinach (if using), adjust seasoning to taste, simmer for a minute or two, then remove from heat.
15. Stir the lemon juice into the yogurt and set aside.
16. Serve the soup topped with the lemony yogurt.

I needed some Old Bay seasoning in a hurry, so I just grabbed the first recipe I could find off the Internet. I had to improvise slightly due to limited supplies on hand, but I'm actually fairly happy with how it came out. I think it was a bit more vibrant than the commercial Old Bay I bought a few years back.

Update: Now that I'm not in so much of a hurry, I've had a chance to look at some other Old Bay recipes and I found one from Daring Gourmet that looks quite interesting. It includes most of the same spices as the Kitchn recipe, but in different proportions. Although it does swap out the ground cayenne for red pepper flakes and uses sweet paprika instead of hot paprika. It also includes several spices that the Kitchn recipe omits. These include: ground ginger, mace, allspice, and cardamom. I think these sound like interesting additions and may experiment with adding some or all of them to my current mix.

I've left the first recipe I used here to reflect what I actually did. But I am going to post an alternate recipe below it that leans a little more on the Daring Gourmet approach.

Ersatz Old Bay

Slightly adapted from The Kitchn

Ingredients

• 2 dried bay leaves
• 2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 tsp. celery seeds
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns
• 1/2 tsp. white peppercorns²
• 1 Tbsp. hot paprika¹
• 1 Tbsp. smoked paprika
• 1/2 Tbsp. mustard powder
• 3/4 tsp. ground cayenne (optional)
• 1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp. ground cloves
• 1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg

Directions

1. If desired, lightly toast the bay leaves in a dry pan until they become brittle and fragrant. This will enhance the flavour slightly and, more importantly, should help them grind more readily.
2. Combine the salt, celery seeds, peppercorns, and bay leaves in a spice grinder and grind to a fine powder.
3. Add the paprikas, mustard, cayenne (if using), cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg and stir to combine.
4. Store in a cool, dry place, preferably in an airtight container.

Variations

Alternate Old Bay (milder, sweeter, more bay-forward)

Ingredients

• 5 dried bay leaves
• 2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 tsp. celery seeds
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns
• 1/2 tsp. white peppercorns
• 1/8 tsp. cardamom seeds (from green pods)
• 1 Tbsp. sweet paprika
• 1 Tbsp. smoked paprika
• 1 tsp. mustard powder
• 3/4 tsp. ground cayenne
• 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp. onion powder (optional)
• 1/4 tsp. garlic powder (optional)
• 1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp. ground cloves
• 1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp. ground mace
• 1/8 tsp. ground allspice

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¹ The original recipe calls for a bunch of hot paprika and a little ground cayenne. I didn't have any hot paprika, but I did have ground Kashmiri chilies. So I just replaced the hot paprika with Kashmiri chilies and omitted the cayenne. It still seemed to come out a good deal spicier than commercial Old Bay, but I quite liked it. That said, I would use a light hand when applying it to recipes. I think that, given the increased spice level, you may end up finding you don't need quite as much as you would the commercial stuff. ^Back
2 The bag of peppercorns I had were a mix of black, white, and pink and I didn't have any separate white peppercorns, so I just used a full tsp. of the blend. Since the mix was mostly black peppercorns, this meant that the balance was slightly off, but I figured it'd be close enough. ^Back

Aloo Gobhi (Potato and Cauliflower Curry)

I had originally planned to make a lamb curry to go with the leftover dal for dinner tonight. But the cauliflower that I'd gotten for the next night didn't really fit in the fridge and it was late enough that I didn't really want to try to start working on the lamb at that point anyway. So instead, I made aloo gobhi tonight and will try to take another crack at the lamb tomorrow.

This is a fairly uncomplicated version of the dish. Iyer also provides a "restaurant-style" version that incorporates a few more ingredients and is a little more complicated to put together. But I just wanted simple tonight, so I stuck with the basic potatoes, cauliflower, tomatoes, and spices rendition.

Photo goes here.

Aloo Gobhi

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. oil
• 1 Tbsp. ginger paste
• 5 tsp. garlic paste
• 450g potatoes, cut into 2cm cubes
• 2 tsp. bin bhuna hua garam masala
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/4 tsp. ground turmeric
• 450g cauliflower, cut into 3cm florets
• 1 small (~400mL) can diced tomatoes
• 1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Heat the oil over medium heat.
2. Add the ginger and garlic pastes and stir-fry for 30-60 seconds.
3. Add the potatoes, garam masala, salt, and turmeric and stir-fry for 2-4 minutes.
4. Add the cauliflower and tomatoes (with their juices)¹ and stir to combine.
5. Cover and reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 30 minutes.
6. Sprikle with cilantro and serve.

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¹ I like to swish the can out with a few Tbsp. of water just to make sure I get all the tomato out of the can. Not strictly necessary, but I figure the little bit of extra water doesn't change the consistentcy that much and I might as well not waste the extra little bits of tomato out of the can. ^Back

It's feijoa season again! So I'm taking the opportunity to try to tick off a few more recipes.

This sponge was very unusual. It starts with making an Italian meringue! You then beat the egg yolks into your marshmallow-y meringue, followed by the dry ingredients. It also contains a somewhat alarming amount of ginger. And uses mostly corn starch (cornflour), rather than regular white (wheat) flour, as the main component of the dry ingredients.

I've made a lot of cakes that incorporate beaten egg whites. And a few that incorporate a French (uncooked) meringue. And I've seen icing and pie recipes that call for cooked meringues (like Swiss or Italian). But I've never seen a cake that uses a cooked meringue before. It was unusual, but did seem to work quite well. The Italian meringe was very stable and took the egg yolks nicely without a noticeable loss of volume. And the resulting sponge was very very light. Reiver noted that it had a very slight graininess to it, but I'm not sure whether that was down to the meringue, the cornflour, the ginger, or something else entirely.

The original recipe calls for splitting the sponge and filling it with whipped cream and feijoas. And, while there's nothing wrong with this approach, it does mean that you need to eat the whole cake fairly promptly. So, as an alternative, Reiver suggested that we just cut and top individual wedges of sponge to make it easier to enjoy over the course of a few days.

Photo goes here.

Ginger Sponge with Feijoas and Cream

Slightly adapted from NZ Women's Weekly

Ingredients

• 4 eggs, separated
• 6 Tbsp. sugar
• 2 Tbsp. water
• 7 Tbsp. cornstarch (cornflour)
• 1 Tbsp. soft (plain/standard/cake) flour
• 5-6 tsp. ground ginger, divided
• 1/2 Tbsp. baking powder
• 300mL heavy (35%) cream
• 1-2 Tbsp. icing (powdered/confectioners') sugar
• 2 c. feijoa flesh, chopped

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F) and line the bottom of a 23cm (9") springform pan with baking paper. Do not grease the sides of the pan!
2. Beat the egg whites to soft peaks.
3. Beat in the egg yolks.
4. Sift in the cornstarch, flour, 4-5 tsp. of the ginger, and the baking powder and gently fold to combine.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
6. Bake at 180°C (350°F) for 25 minutes.
7. Remove from oven and drop onto counter or floor once or twice (to help prevent it from sinking in the middle, apparently).
8. Allow to cool in tin for 10 minutes.
9. Run a knife or spatula around the sides of the tin, then remove the sides.
10. Turn cake onto a cooling rack and carefully remove the bottom of the pan and peel off the baking paper. Allow to cool completely.
11. Add the icing sugar and the remaining ginger to the cream and beat until stiff.
12. Either split the cake and fill it with the cream and chopped feijoas, dusting the top with icing sugar as desired, or top individual slices with cream and fruit.