A Life, Lived

Strawberry Rhubarb Galette

Recently the temperature dropped enough that I dared to turn on the oven. I had some strawberries and rhubarb that needed to be sued up. I decided that I'd make individual galettes for desert last night. These galettes are fairly simple to make, and the results are beautiful and delicious.

I didn't use the pastry recipe - I have balls of pastry in the freezer that I buy when I am in Mennonite country . . . good pastry made with lard and without additives. I am sure I could make my own and it would be equally yummy but why bother? LOL

This Strawberry Rhubarb galette is perfect for spring and summer, when rhubarb and strawberry are fresh and in season, but this pie will also work well if using frozen strawberry and rhubarb.

Strawberry Rhubarb Galette

Dough
2 cups all-purpose flour (9 oz, 255 grams)
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter (4 oz, 113 grams)
1/4 cup vegetable shortening (1.76 oz, 50 grams)
6-7 tablespoons ice cold water (or more as needed)
Filling
3 cups rhubarb sliced into 1/2” pieces
3 cups strawberries quartered
1/2 cup brown sugar (3.5 oz, 100 grams)
1/3 cup granulated sugar (2.33 oz, 66 grams)
2 tablespoons lemon juice about 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 yolk
1 teaspoon water

You can make the dough by hand, or using a food processor.

If making by hand, place the flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Mix to combine.

Use a fork, a pastry cutter, or your hands to incorporate the butter and shortening into the flour mixture.

If using the food processor, just pulse a few times.

Regardless of the method you use, make sure the butter/flour mixture has the consistency of coarse meal, no big lumps of fat in the dough.

By hand it will take a big longer, and the food processor will make the job easier to get done.

Now, slowly add 6 to 7 tablespoons of cold water to the dough. If using the food processor, you can add a couple of tablespoons and pulse one time. Add a couple more tablespoons and pulse again. Do this until you’ve added all the water.

If doing it by hand, simply mix the dough with a spatula.

Now, if the dough is clumping together, that’s a sign you don’t have to add anymore water.

If the dough is too crumbly and dry, add a bit more water, one tablespoon at a time.

The dough shouldn’t be too wet, but it also shouldn’t be crumbling apart.

Form the dough into a ball and wrap it in plastic. Place it in the refrigerator for 2-4 hours, until completely firm.

Filling

For the filling, simply mix all the ingredients together.

To assemble

After dough has chilled thoroughly, cut it into 4 pieces

Roll each piece out til about 1/4” thick.

Cut out a 8” circle out of the rolled out dough.

Gather the trimmings together, you can maybe even use it for a 5th smaller galette at the end.

Spread a bit of filling in the center of each circle, leaving about 1 1/2” border.

Start folding the border over. Crimp the edges where the dough overlaps itself, to help seal the dough, so it doesn't come open when you start baking.

Pre-heat the oven to 375ºF.

Whisk the egg yolk and water together.

Once the oven is pre-heated, brush the galettes with the egg wash.

Bake the galettes for 25-30 minutes, baking time will vary according to the place in the oven where you bake the galettes, and the size of the galettes. Start to check at the 15 minute mark, to see if you need to rotate the pans, in order to bake evenly.

The galettes are done baking when the crust is golden, and the filling is bubbly.

To serve, spoon some ice cream on top, if desired.

The galettes will keep in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Creamy Lemon Parmesan Chicken Piccata

So let me be 100 % clear - I HATE the title of this recipe. Piccata is a Italian specialty: nothing more than chicken breast cutlets, dredged in flour, browned, and served with a sauce of butter, lemon juice, capers, and either stock or white wine. To suggest that it is lemon chicken piccata is like saying cold ice cream. Then there is the use of the word parmesan.

Shoot me.

Nonetheless, I managed to get past this and determined to try the recipe out.

The results were wonderful. Proof that sometimes you need to get beyond simple annoyances and give things a shot.

We thought that this tasted a bit lighter than other versions we have had - likely because the amount of butter is cut back compared to what you might find in other recipes.

This would normally be served with pasta but you could also serve it with steamed or grilled vegetables for a lighter meal.

Creamy Lemon Parmesan Chicken Piccata

1 boneless skinless chicken breast
1/4 whole wheat flour
2 tsp olive oil
1 tsp butter
4 garlic cloves
1 tsp cornstarch
1 cup fat free chicken broth
1/2 cup reduced fat milk
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp capers
Salt and pepper to taste
Juice from 1 lemon

Slice chicken breasts into 4 thin fillets. Mix flour, salt, and pepper in a shallow bowl, and dredge each chicken filet in the four, making sure to evenly coat both sides. Shake off excess, and set aside.

Heat oil and butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Cook the chicken until golden brown and cooked through, about 2-4 minutes per side, depending how thick the chicken is. Remove chicken from pan, and set aside.

To make the sauce, add the garlic into the skillet, and cook for about 1 minute. Reduce heat to low-medium, add the broth and milk. Bring the sauce to a boil; season with salt and pepper.

Stir in parmesan cheese and capers and let simmer for about 2 minutes until it gets a little thicker. Then mix the cornstarch with 1 tbsp of water, and whisk it into the sauce.

Now stir in the lemon juice, then return the chicken to the pan. Let warm a minute, then serve.

Roasted Ratatouille Tart with Goat Cheese and Mint

 At this time of the year I generally have plenty of eggplant, zucchini, and tomatoes so ratatouille often crops up on the menu. I wanted to do something a bit different so I tried this tart from the folks at Fine Cooking.

All I can say is WOW.

Generally vegetable tarts end up with a soggy crust. I think because you roast the veggies for the filling this one stays crisp and delicious - it doesn’t turn out stewlike, just pleasantly moist. It’s super-easy to make but does need 45 minutes or so in the oven (think about that as the last hurrah of summer heat arrives!)

I cheated and used dough from the freezer. No, not Pillsbury - we buy dough made by the Mennonite ladies in St. Jacobs and toss the dough balls it the freezer for those days I am looking to roll out a crust. It made an easy recipe even easier.

Don't get offput by the long list of ingredients and steps - this really came together quite quickly.

Roasted Ratatouille Tart with Goat Cheese and Mint

For the dough
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, more for dusting
1/2 tsp. table salt
1 cup very cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/4 cup ice water

For the filling
6 oz. medium cherry tomatoes, halved (about a heaping one cup
4 oz. red or yellow bell pepper, cut into 3/4-inch dice (about 1 cup
4 oz. Italian (or other small) eggplant, skin scored and cut into 3/4-inch dice (about 1-1/2 cups)
4 oz. zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch dice (about 1 cup
4 oz. (about 1/2 medium) red onion, cut into 3/4-inch dice (about 1 cup
2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt

For the egg wash
1 egg yolk
2 tbsp. heavy cream

For the tart
1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 cup cold fresh goat cheese, crumbled while still chilled
1 Tbs. thinly sliced fresh mint

In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour and salt. Pulse briefly to combine. Add the butter. Pulse quickly about twenty times, or until the butter particles are quite small (like tiny pebbles). With the motor running, add the ice water in a steady stream. (This will take about 10 seconds.) Stop the motor. Then pulse quickly six or eight times, just until the mixture begins to leave the sides of the bowl and clump together. The mixture wlil still be somewhat loose and crumbly. That's okay; you will bring the dough together in the next step.

Turn the mixture out into a big mixing bowl and knead it briefly against the sides of the bowl to finish bringing it together as a dough. Once you have incorporated all the crumbs, knead once or twice to smooth it out just a bit. While you don't want to overhandle the dough, you also don't want to be afraid to handle it as much as you need to in order to bring all the bits of the dough together, as it will ultimately be easier to roll out.

Divide the dough in half. If you have a scale, you can weigh the dough pieces to make sure they're of equal or close-to-equal weight. They should each weigh about 9-1/2 oz.

Shape each piece into a disk about 1 inch thick (and about 4 inches across). Again, don't be afraid to handle the disk just enough to smooth out the cracks and make a tidy disk. Dust lightly with flour, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 2 days.

Remove one disk of dough from the fridge 45 minutes before  rolling it (see leftovers note below about storing the extra disk of dough). Make the filling while the dough comes to room  temperature.

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Position a rack in the center of  the oven. In a 13-by-9-inch heatproof glass baking dish (or  two smaller shallow baking dishes with a total volume of about 3  quarts), combine the cherry tomatoes, bell pepper, eggplant,  zucchini, red onion, olive oil, and 1/2 tsp. salt. Toss gently but  thoroughly and spread in a single layer. Roast until the veggies have  shrunk and caramelized but are still a bit moist, 45 to 55 minutes. Let  cool in the baking dish.

In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolk and heavy cream, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside.

Be sure that one oven rack is still positioned in the center of the oven. Line a large heavy-duty rimmed baking sheet with parchment. 

Sprinkle your work surface lightly with flour and spread it around with your hand. Put the disk of dough in front of you and lightly tap it with the rolling pin to start softening and spreading it. Gently roll it out, lifting and giving the disk a quarter-turn after each roll, until you have a roughly 12-inch round. Try not to roll your pin over the edges of the dough, as that will tend to make the edges thinner than the center. (If your edges get very ragged or torn, it’s okay to patch them back together or trim them.) If the dough is sticking, lift it up and toss a bit of flour underneath it and/or over it. Roll up or drape the dough over your rolling pin, and unroll or undrape it onto the prepared baking sheet.

Sprinkle 1 Tbs. of the Parmigiano over the dough, leaving a 2-inch border around the edge. Top the Parmigiano with half of the goat cheese, half of the mint, and half of the roasted filling, again leaving a 2-inch border. Sprinkle with 1 Tbs. of the Parmigiano, and repeat with the remaining goat cheese, mint, and filling. Top with 1 Tbs. of the Parmigiano.

Pleat and fold the edges of the dough up and over the outer edge of the filling all the way around the tart. (You will be folding in that 2-inch border.) You don’t have to go crazy making a lot of pleats; folding in a piece of dough about every 2 to 3 inches around the tart will get you the results you want. (You’ll have a total of eight to ten pleats.)

Brush the edges of the dough with some of the egg wash (you won’t use it all), and sprinkle the remaining 1 Tbs. Parmigiano over the edges as well as the rest of the tart.

Bake until nicely golden all over and crisp and brown on the bottom (check with spatula), 38 to 40 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes and use the parchment to slide the tart onto a cutting board. Let cool for another 5 to 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Wild Mushroom and Vegetable Gnocchi

With the arrival of fresh, local asparagus in the market we decided to pair some with the shitake mushrooms we receive with our CSA delivery to make this dish. We were both impressed with the results.

One of the things we love about gnocchi is how it can take to just about any kind of sauce absorbing the flavours and resulting in a comforting dish.

We're trying to include more vegetarian meals in our weekly menu rotation and this was a happy addition - heck, it is almost vegan (ditch the butter and cheese!)

 

Wild Mushroom and Vegetable Gnocchi

1/4 ounce  dried porcini mushrooms
1  tablespoon  unsalted butter
1  tablespoon  olive oil
2  cups  shiitake and cremini mushrooms, sliced (4 to 5 oz.)
asparagus, trimmed and sliced into 2-inch pieces
1/2  red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon  kosher salt
1  pound  refrigerated or frozen gnocchi
1  cup  frozen baby sweet peas, thawed
1/2 cup  toasted almonds, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup  finely shredded Parmesan or Asiago cheese

In a small bowl, combine porcini mushrooms with 1 cup very hot water. Cover and allow mushrooms to soften for 30 min, then strain and reserve soaking liquid. Finely chop mushrooms and set aside.

Prepare a large pot of lightly salted water to cook gnocchi; bring to a simmer but do not cook pasta yet. In a skillet over medium-high heat, combine butter and olive oil until melted. Add shiitake and cremini mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally until soft and just golden; transfer to a plate. Combine asparagus and onion in skillet, season with salt and cook until onions are just soft, about 3 min.

Meanwhile, cook gnocchi in simmering water according to package directions and drain.

Add chopped porcini, cooked mushrooms and the peas to skillet and heat through. Toss with gnocchi, almonds and cheese. Add 2/3 cup porcini liquid to create sauce and serve with extra cheese. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Winter Vegetable and Gorgonzola Galette

It seems odd to be posting a winter vegetable galette in March but such is life in Canada!

With all of the root veggies we have been receiving in our CSA I have taken to roasting a ginormous quantity of them on the weekend. This provides for ready made veggies for soup, salad, and dinner for the rest of the week.

I saw this on the happy yolks site and was immediately sold! I mean, what was not to love - pungent cheese and savoury root vegetables fill a beautiful, rustic galette.

I also was attracted to this one because a galette is an easy thing to make but for whatever reason it impresses the heck out of folks: Paul, for example, never fails to ohhh and ahhh appropriately.

I did this in two stages - roasted the root veggies on one day and then made the galette on another. The end result looked impressive but tasted even better!

Winter Vegetable + Gorgonzola Galette

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp sugar
Pinch of salt
12 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
1/2 cup ice water
2 fennel bulbs, quartered
5 small-ish beets, quartered
6-8 fancy carrots, halved
2 cups butternut squash, cubed
2 tbsp olive oil
2 shallots, minced
1 cup flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
4-6 oz crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
2 tsp Dijon mustard (or more, to your preference)
salt/pepper to taste

In a bowl, mix the flour with the sugar and salt. Using a pastry blender or your fingers, cut in half of the butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Cut in the remaining butter. Pour in water then begin to mix and knead the dough until a ball forms and the mixture is no longer shaggy looking. Flatten the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 F. Arrange rinsed and prepared vegetables on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and bake until the carrots are just starting to soften and are a little al dente in the thicker regions. Sprinkle with a hearty amount of sea salt, then aside and cool. In a mixing bowl, combine parsley, shallots, cooled vegetables, and a the Dijon. Stir to coat.

On a floured work surface, roll the dough out into a 12-inch round. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Begin with a spoonful of the veggie-mixture into the centre of the dough. Sprinkle with Gorgonzola. Repeat layering filling and cheese until you run out of ingredients and can top with more cheese. Fold the border over your veggie-cheese tower, pleating the edge to make it fit. Finish outside exposed dough with a milk or egg wash. Bake for 30-40 minutes in the 400′ oven. Cut into wedges and serve warm.   

Mixed Nut Tart

I don't make many desserts - I'd rather buy something interesting from a local bakery than fuss in the kitchen. From time-to-time I get the inspiration and go nuts though - sometimes with happy results.

I was going through my baking supplies and realized that I had all sorts of different nuts left over from my Christmas baking. I wanted to use them up before they went rancid so I decided to make a mixed nut tart. This one was from the folks at Canadian Living.

It sure was a worthy selection- hazelnuts, walnuts and pecans grace the top of this decadent indulgence. We served with some bourbon-spiked whipped cream.

Yum - I'm craving some now!

Mixed Nut Tart

1/3 cup (75 mL) hazelnuts
3 eggs
1 cup (250 mL) packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup (125 mL) corn syrup
1 tbsp (15 mL) cider vinegar
1 tbsp (15 mL) bourbon, or 1/2 tsp/2 mL vanilla
Pinch salt
1/3 cup (75 mL) walnut halves
1/3 cup (75 mL) pecan halves
1 cup (250 mL) all-purpose flour
2 tbsp (30 mL) granulated sugar
Pinch salt
1/3 cup (75 mL) cold unsalted butter, cubed
2 egg yolks
4 tsp (18 mL) whipping cream
1/2 tsp (2 mL) vanilla

On baking sheet, toast hazelnuts in 350°F (180°C) oven until golden and fragrant, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to towel and rub to remove most of the skins. Set aside.

Sweet Pastry: In food processor, pulse together flour, sugar and salt. Pulse in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir together egg yolks, cream and vanilla; pulse into flour mixture, adding up to 2 tsp (10 mL) more cream if necessary to make dough stick together when pressed. Remove from bowl. Shape into ball; flatten into disc. Wrap in plastic wrap; refrigerate for 1 hour. (Make-ahead: Refrigerate for up to 24 hours.)

Between floured waxed paper, roll out pastry to 11-inch (28 cm) circle; place in 9-inch (23 cm) round tart pan with removable bottom, pressing to edge of pan. Using rolling pin, roll across rim to trim off excess pastry.

With fork, prick bottom all over; refrigerate for 20 minutes. Line with foil; fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake in bottom third of 400°F (200°C) oven for 10 minutes. Remove weights and foil; bake for 3 minutes. Transfer to baking sheet.

In bowl, whisk together eggs, brown sugar, corn syrup, vinegar, bourbon and salt; pour into baked crust. Arrange hazelnuts, walnuts and pecans over top. Bake in centre of 375°F (190°C) oven until centre jiggles slightly and edge is browned, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool on rack.

Apple Crostata

If I am making a dessert during the winter my 'go to' is often a crostata - a free form fruit tart. In her cookbook Barefoot Contessa Parties, Ina Garten says of her Apple Crostata, "This is my absolute, all-time favorite dessert. I've made it so often that I'm sure my friends are saying behind my back, 'No, not the apple crostata again'..." Having made it I can see why she loves  to whip this up for company.

A) it is easy!

b) it tastes great.

Yes, it still requires making a pie crust and rolling it out. But the filling is not much more than a pile of fruit in the middle. And because you aren't transferring the dough to a pie plate, the rolling out is a very forgiving process. You make any amoeba shape that's somewhat circular and then just roughly fold and flop the edges over. You bake it on a sheet pan, so it's simple to cut and serve (no sacrificial first piece).

If you're looking for a easy, no fuss dessert you'll want to give this one a try.

Apple Crostata

1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons granulated or superfine sugar (I used granulated)
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 pound (1 stick) very cold unsalted butter, diced
2 tablespoons ice water
1 1/2 pounds McIntosh, Macoun, or Empire apples (3 large)
1/4 teaspoon grated orange zest
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup granulated or superfine sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (I used 1/2 tsp)
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, diced

For the pastry, place the flour, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Pulse a few times to combine. Add the butter and pulse 12 to 15 times, or until the butter is the size of peas. With the motor running, add the ice water all at once through the feed tube. Keep hitting the pulse button to combine, but stop the machine just before the dough becomes a solid mass. Turn the dough onto a well-floured board and form into a disk. Wrap with plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. (I chilled the dough for about 3 1/2 hours.)

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Flour a rolling pin and roll the pastry into an 11-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Transfer it to a baking sheet.

For the filling, peel, core, and cut the apples into 8ths. Cut each wedge into 3 chunks. Toss the chunks with the orange zest. Cover the tart dough with the apple chunks leaving a 1 1/2-inch border.

Combine the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and allspice in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture is crumbly. Pour into a bowl and rub it with your fingers until it starts holding together. Sprinkle evenly on the apples. Gently fold the border over the apples to enclose the dough, pleating it to make a circle.

Bake the crostata for 20 to 25 minutes (mine needed about 28-30 minutes), until the crust is golden and the apples are tender. Allow to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Apple Crumble Slab Pie

Some days just call for pie.

Last week I noticed that the apples we had picked last month were going soft and needed to be used up. It seemed as if pie was on order.

Then I saw a blog post on the Smitten Kitchen blog for something called a slab pie. She RAVED about slab pies. I did a quick google search and discovered legion of slab pie fans out there. Somehow I had never heard of them.

Clearly I was under a rock.

I decided to go with a simpler version - one with a pecan crumble topping rather than a second layer of pastry.

This pie is a little different from the norm for several reasons. It’s baked on a sheet pan instead of in a pie plate, it’s got a delicious crumble topping, featuring pecans, and it feeds a crowd without the work of making several pies at once. It’s like an apple pie, tart and crisp all in one.

If you’re not feeding a crowd you can always freeze the extras between parchment paper and just take out as many as you need at a time, to thaw. Ididn't bother with this - instead I brought the leftovers to work where they were snapped up in 5 minutes!

High praise, that.

Apple Slab Pie with Crumb Topping

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup cold butter, cut into small cubes
8 – 10 tablespoons cold water
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 1/2 pounds tart apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced (or 10 cups sliced)
1 cup quick-cooking oats
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cold butter, cut into cubes
1/2 cup pecans, roughly chopped

Combine flour and salt in a large bowl. Toss in the butter cubes and, using your fingers, quickly break up the clumps, rubbing together with flour, until the butter is in pea sized amounts and mixture resembles coarse crumbs (or cut in with a pastry blender). Sprinkle water over flour mixture 1 tablespoons at a time; gently toss with a fork, until all of the flour mixture is moistened. Gently knead the dough just until a ball forms.

Roll out the dough to approximately a 17×12 inch rectangle, on a large piece of lightly floured parchment paper. Transfer to a 15x10x1 inch baking pan. Patch any corners that don’t reach the edges of the pan, with any overhanging dough. Roll edges under and press down onto the rim of the baking sheet. Trim off excess parchment paper. Refrigerate while you make filling.

Toss together all ingredient, in a large bowl, until apples are evenly coated. Pour into dough-lined pan, spreading evenly. Refrigerate while you make the crumb topping.

Stir together oats, brown sugar, and flour until well combined. Using your fingers, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in chopped pecans. Sprinkle evenly over apple filling.

Bake at 375ºF for 45-60 minutes, until filling is bubbly near the centre and crust is browned. Allow to cool slightly before serving.

Once completely cool, cover and keep at room temperature for 24 hours or refrigerate for up to 3 days (bring up to room temperature to serve). Freeze for longer storage.

Spicy Sesame Noodles with Chopped Peanuts and Thai Basil

Yup. Still trying to use up that Thai basil!

We love sesame noodles but theydon't often end up on'menu rotation' for some reason. I was still a bit surprised at what a huge hit this kicked up version was.  There are a few more complex flavors in this recipe then in the ones we generally make, which we loved – especially the addition of chopped peanuts. 

These noodles are so quick and easy.  They don’t take much longer that the time it takes to cook the pasta. Which means they’re great for a quick lunch or a busy weeknight dinner. 

We found that the recipe made far too much for one meal - however, the leftovers made an amazing cold salad.

MMMMM

Spicy Sesame Noodles with Chopped Peanuts and Thai Basil

1 tablespoon peanut oil
2 tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons Asian sesame oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar (I used Asian black vinegar for a more authentic taste)
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon (or more) hot chili oil
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 pound fresh Chinese egg noodles or fresh angel hair pasta
12 green onions (white and pale green parts only), thinly sliced
1/2 cup coarsely chopped roasted peanuts
1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh Thai basil leaves

Heat peanut oil in small skillet over medium heat. Add ginger and garlic; sauté 1 minute. Transfer to large bowl. Add next 6 ingredients; whisk to blend.

Place noodles in sieve over sink. Separate noodles with fingers and shake to remove excess starch. Cook in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender, stirring occasionally. Drain and rinse under cold water until cool. Drain thoroughly and transfer to bowl with sauce. Add sliced green onions and toss to coat noodles. Let stand at room temperature until noodles have absorbed dressing, tossing occasionally, about 1 hour. Stir in peanuts and Thai basil; toss again. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve at room temperature.

Donna Hay - Pork Pasties

Oh my. The grade 7 school boy is chortling away as I type this post. I do not know what it is with the Brits and the unfortunate names they select for their foods (spotted dick, anyone?).

Paul didn't know what I was talking about so I sent him upstairs to google 'pasties'. He came downstairs as red as a beet, and that was that.:-)

The humble pasty (pronounced to rhyme with nasty) were originally what coal miners brought with them to lunch. They sure are delicious and they're really quite simple to make, being just pie crust and filling. They're like those hot pockets I see advertised from time to time , but not disgusting and full of salt and chemicals.

This version, by Donna Hay, is in her book Simple Dinners. Sure, the dinners may be simple to make but this one in particular was bloody brilliant. We loved the richness of the pork filling - cut perfectly with the fennel, honey, and sage.

Pork Pasties

2 teaspoons fennel seeds
400g pork mince (ground pork)
1 cup (70g) fresh breadcrumbsv1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon chopped sage leaves
Sea salt and cracked black pepper
4 x 200g sheets store-bought shortcrust pastry, thawed
1 egg, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 180 C / 350 F.

Place the fennel seeds in a mortar and pestle and crush lightly. Place the fennel,  pork, breadcrumbs, honey, sage, salt and pepper in a bowl and mix well to combine.

Cut 4 x 20cm circles from the pastry. Place a quarter of the pork mixture on one half of each of the circles. Brush the edges with the egg, fold over and press to seal, pressing the edges with a fork.

Place on baking trays lined with non-stick baking paper and brush with the egg.

Bake for 30 minutes or until pastry is golden.  Serve the pasties with a rocket and apple salad if desired.