Tuesday, April 25, 2017

it can be toasty in the sun, the nights are drawing in and there's a nip in the air!

 

Did someone say comfort food?
It's that kind of weather when something warming, rich and satisfying is welcome at dinner time. Both the Chili con Carne and Hot-smoked Salmon Gratin featured this week have stood me in good stead this past week or so – having them on hand to reheat on nights when I have worked  late with nothing more to do than whip up a salad or prep a green veg.

 I’ve also pulled up a gorgeous
Celeriac & Beetroot Salad using raw celeriac from the recipe archives and it makes a contrast to the gratin. Raw celeriac is nutty to taste but once cooked it becomes more like celery in taste. I often find celeriac doesn’t cook through properly in a gratin, so I have blanched it before layering it with hot-smoked salmon, onion and potato. It’s a fab dish, rich as anything, but delicious to indulge in every once in a while.

 Read all about
celeriac here. Just like pumpkin, this sort of vegetable is easy to prepare with a good knife. See the Furi knives below. These are the knives I use day in and day out, for everything, and I have done so for more than 15 years. They are a great price and I can ship them anywhere in New Zealand (they also come with a 25-year guarantee).

 You may notice I use the New Zealand spelling (same as in Australia and the UK) for chilli in recipes, but for
Chili con Carne, the name of a dish popular in the Americas, I use one l. Over to you what you do. I love this version here, and enjoy it with an avocado topping of some description, but grated tasty cheese or sour cream and herbs will do the trick.

 I’ve included a few notes about sugar this week. I add a touch of muscovado sugar to the chilli. You can read about its flavour, when to use demerara sugar, whether coconut sugar is better for you than white sugar and other things about sugar here.

 I’m enjoying these fabulous autumnal days on Waiheke. There were dozens of people swimming in Onetangi beach yesterday, on Anzac Day. They can’t all be mad surely?
Have a great week.
Julie

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