The Agrarian Kitchen’s Goat Curry

 

Goat Curry with Flaky Flat Bread (serves 8-10)

This curry was absolutely amazing, guys. The flavors are so savory and vibrant, but not overwhelming or overly spiced. The actual goat itself might be a little bit difficult to find, but some butchers may have it in your area, and if not you could always substitute it for another type of meat of a similar texture.This recipe is surprisingly simple, and probably won’t be too tough for those cooking along at home! Also, I apologize to my American readers for listing the measurements in metric terms, but thats how they’re written on my recipe and I think its most accurate to copy it verbatim from the sheet. Note: one tablespoon in this recipe (Australian) is slightly smaller than an American tablespoon, at 15 mls instead of 20.

Ingredients:

9 cloves garlic

2.2 kg goat leg or shoulder, cut into 3 cm pieces.

4 cups plain yogurt

1 tbsp cardamom pods

1 tbsp ground coriander

1 tbsp whole black peppercorns

2 tsp cumin seeds

2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp whole cloves

750 ml (c cups) sunflower oil

7 cm piece ginger, peeled and julienned

6 French shallots, peeled and thinly sliced

thick plain yogurt, to serve

coriander sprigs, to serve

Directions:

1. Place garlic cloves into a blender, add 60 ml water and blend until smooth. Pour garlic into a large, heavy-based pot, add venison, yogurt, spices, 160 ml sunflower oil, ginger, and 2 tsp salt.

2. Place pot over high heat and stir until mixture comes to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer mixture, stirring occasionally to scrape up browned bits from the bottom of the pot, and cook until meat is tender, about two hours.

3. Heat remaining oil in a large saucepan or deep fryer to 170 degrees celsius. Add shallots and deep fry until golden brown, about two minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and move to an absorbent paper-lined plate and let cool.

4. Place shallots into a mortar and coarsely grind with a pestle. Add shallots and two cups water to venison and cook over medium heat until sauce is reduced and thickened, about 45 mins.

5. To serve, spoon some goat into a bowl or onto a plate and top with a dollop of thick yogurt and coriander sprigs. Serve and enjoy!

 

Recipes from my cooking class at the Agrarian Kitchen in Lachlan, Tasmania!

Hey all!
I recently wrote a post for my travel blog about my experience cooking at the Agrarian Kitchen in Tasmania, and after my class I was allowed to keep my recipe book! So I thought it would be fun to combine my interest in travel and my interest in cooking by posting my recipes from the experience here, with a few photos that I took while doing the class. Unfortunately not all the recipes are going to have photos, but I’ll do my best to post as many as I can! I’m going to be posting one recipe at a time, but here’s a preview of the menu so that you all can see what I’ll be posting!

 

 

Super Cheesy Baked Macaroni and Cheese

As its starting to get colder (and rainer, grosser, etc) here in Kent and I’m finding myself stuck inside with tons of essays to do, I’ve started to crave some heavier comfort foods. Warning: this recipe is probably not very diet friendly! It is, however, absolutely delicious and perfectly dense and cheesy. It also should be fairly flexible, and would be great with some “fancy” elements, like bacon or caramelized onions (or both!). You could also add saffron, cayenne, or anything else to spice it up a bit. I found this recipe here, and clarified some of the steps (and removed some as well).

I keep my serving size small for this recipe because it is so dense and filling that I do not think you need to eat a lot of it to fill yourself up. And because everything is better in moderation!

Note: I apologize for the foggy quality of some of the photos. Our kitchen is terribly ventilated and the steam kept throwing the focus off in my photos.

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups elbow macaroni
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 cups milk (I used semi-skimmed)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 pound shredded Cheddar cheese (reserve some for topping)
• 1/4 pound Mozzarella cheese (reserve some for topping) (optional)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Put salted water on the stove and bring to a boil. Add the macaroni once boiling and cook until pasta is al dente.
3. While the pasta is cooking, melt the butter in a large saucepan. Once butter is melted, add the flour and stir until the flour and butter become pasty. 
4. Slowly add the milk, stirring constantly to prevent clumping. Add the cheese and heat until melted and the sauce begins to thicken. 
5. Once the pasta is done, strain it and return it to the pan. Add the cheese sauce once its thickened and stir. 
6. Put the pasta into a 9×13 baking pan. Top with extra cheese and put into the oven. Cook for approximately 45 mins, or until the top is well browned. 
7. Enjoy!

More from Mom’s Kitchen: Pork Chops with Onion Gravy

Another recipe right from mama Steinberg’s kitchen. This recipe goes great over egg noodles and paired with green beans. Total comfort food, super easy to prepare, and great any time of year!

Ingredients:

3 pork chops

flour, to coat pork chops plus one heaping tablespoon (from pork chops– can be reused)

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp butter

1 onion

2 tsp “Better than Bouillon” chicken base

salt and pepper

egg noodles

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Heat an empty skillet over low heat while you prepare your pork chops. Once prepared, turn heat up and add olive oil.
3. Prepare your pork chops. Salt and pepper one side, then put that side down on the flour to coat. Salt and pepper the other side and flip over. 
4. Transfer to heated and oiled pan. Set aside excess flour for the gravy. 
5. Once pork chops have browned (but not cooked through), transfer them to the smallest size dish that they can fit into. Set pan aside, but do not drain. 
6. Peel and cut the onion in half. Then cut along the front of the onion, so that you have long, thin half-circle pieces. 
7. In the meantime, combine 2 tsp of the Better than Bouillon chicken base with one cup of water. Heat in the microwave until boiling.
8. Add the butter to the skillet and return to heat. Once melted, add the onions and cook until golden brown.
9. Once browned and softened, add one heaping teaspoon of flour to the onions to coat. Stir until all grease is soaked up and onions are coated. 
10. Add the boiling chicken stock to the onions and stir. Heat until the liquid thickens into a gravy. 
11. Pour the gravy into the pan to cover the pork chops. Cover the dish with tin foil and put into the oven for 20 minutes. 
12. Remove foil and cook for another 20 minutes. At the same time, begin to boil the water for the egg noodles and chop green beans/other veggies.
13. Once water is boiling, add the noodles and begin to steam the green beans.
14. When pork is done cooking, remove from the oven and let sit. Then serve over the egg noodles, coating with gravy.

Serves 3. Does not include noodles or green beans.

Curried Chicken Stew

Hi everyone! I’ve finally arrived and gotten settled in at my university in England. I haven’t been cooking too much for the last few days for a number of reasons– I’ve been very busy with freshers week activities (and festivities), our kitchen needed equipment, and its quite the hike to get downtown to get food. I’ll write a more in-depth blog post on my time here on my travel blog later this week.

The idea for this recipe came from my lovely friend Alice in Vermont, and so I tried to make it here as well. I was a few items short, but it still came out very, very well. So tasty! The original recipe is here. 

Ingredients:

• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized chunks
• 2 medium yellow onions, chopped or sliced
• 2 medium peeled potatoes, cut in 1-inch chunks
• 1 cup thickly chopped carrots
• 1/4 (12 ounce) can diced tomatoes (optional)
• 1 cup canned coconut milk
• 1 cup fat-free, reduced-sodium chicken broth (I used the stock from my chicken noodle).
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 tsp coriander
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 2 stalks celery
• 1/2 can chickpeas (optional)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1-2 bird chiles
• Parsley for garnish

Directions:

1. Prepare vegetables and chiles (seed and then mince them). 
2. Cut chicken into slices and put into a large stock pot. 
3. Add all ingredients and heat on high until all ingredients are cooked fully through. Add parsley to the top of your serving and enjoy!

Serves 6-7.

Amazing Pasta alla Vodka Recipe!

Oh my gosh guys. This recipe was amazing. I got the original from the most fabulous Pioneer Woman website, and I can not get enough of it. I made a couple of modifications as well. This yields a large amount of pasta, and I know I’m looking forward to leftovers!

Ingredients: 

• 1 pound Pasta
• 1 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 2 Tablespoons Butter
• 1 whole Medium Onion, Chopped Finely
• 4 Cloves Garlic, Chopped
• 3/4 cups Vodka
• 1 can Tomato Puree or Sauce (I used sauce here)
• 1 cup Heavy Cream
• 1/4 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper, To Taste
• 1 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
• 1/4 cup basil
• 2 chicken breasts

Directions:

1. Prepare the vegetables. Chop the onions, mince the garlic, and sliver the basil. 
2. Heat olive oil and butter in a pan. Once hot, add the onions and garlic. Cook for about 3 minutes. 
3. Add the vodka and continue to cook for about two minutes. 
4. Fill up a large pot with salted water. Bring to a boil and add pasta.
5. At the same time, add 1 tbsp butter and 1/2 tbsp olive oil in another pan. Once hot, add chicken to pan. If you’re feeling fancy you can spice the breast with salt or garlic salt, pepper, onion powder, and/or garlic powder. You can also add cayenne pepper to match the spiciness of the sauce.  
6. Stir in the tomato puree and reduce heat. Add the cream and continue to heat. Do not let the sauce boil or overheat. 
7. While waiting for everything to cook, grate one cup of Parmesan cheese. 
8. Add salt, pepper, basil and red pepper flakes. Keep warm until pasta is done. 
9. Once chicken is cooked, cut or pull apart and add to the sauce.
10. When pasta is al dente, drain and add to the sauce. Toss. 
11. Add grated parmesan and toss again. Serve immediately.

Serves 8.

Taco Time!

Credit to Mission Foods Website

I’ve been really busy lately trying to see friends before they get to college, to go to the gym, to pack for my upcoming trips, and to try and find new recipes to cook for my blog. The other night I decided I would make tacos, because they’re easy, flavorful, and can be made to be healthy. Unfortunately for me, I have no idea how to actually wrap a taco (something I’ll try and learn later), and so I’ll be using a stock photo in lieu of my “finished product” photo to avoid looking like a total idiot on the internet.

For this recipe I made my own taco sauce using a recipe I found from Allrecipes.com. I had to modify it because I was lacking in chili powder, but I’ll retain the original recipe here. I made double the recipe, and added more of my homemade flavoring sauce when I felt that it wasn’t flavorful enough.

Note: After looking up images of “tacos” in the internet, I’ve kind of figured out that I’ve been trying to make burritos more than tacos and that they dont really need to be rolled. Oops.

Ingredients:

Taco Sauce:

• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• dash salt
• dash pepper

Meat:

• 1.5 lbs ground beef
• 1 onion

Topping Options:

• Tortillas or taco shells
• Shredded cheese
• Lettuce
• Tomato
• Cilantro
• Sour Cream
• Guacamole
• Black olives

Directions:

1. Combine all spices in a bowl.
2. Prepare your veggies. Seed and chop the tomatoes, chop onions, wash and chop lettuce, and chop cilantro and other veggies if you chose to add more. 
3. Brown the meat with the onions in a large skillet. Note: you do not need to add any oil to the pan as the meat will have enough. 
4. Once meat is nearly all browned, you can drain the meat slightly (don’t drain it all, though! The sauce will be gross and will not stick otherwise I’d suggest draining slightly less than half the fat). Add the taco seasoning and 1/3 cup of water.
5. Reduce heat slightly and continue to cook for another 3-5 minutes, or until the sauce seems to have thickened and congealed to the meat. The sauce should be and orange-brown color.
6. Prepare your tortilla/hard taco shell with preferred ingredients and enjoy!

Serves 4-6. Nutrition taken for 5 servings. Fat content will be reduced with draining. This is for meat, onions, and spice mix only– other ingredients will add calories.

Party Success!

Good news all: the around-the-world themed party was  HUGE success! Everyone loved it, and almost all of the food was devoured. Here’s some photos from the party, and some of these recipes will be up on the blog shortly. So tasty!

Argentinean Steak Bites with Chimichurri Sauce!

Mandarin Mousse with Belgian Orange Chocolate Crisps

Tonights Menu!

Tonight my family is hosting an around-the-world themed book club party, and we’ve decided to do a fun, culturally-oriented menu to go with the theme. Here’s what the menu is looking like for now, and there will be many pictures to come!

Asia:

Shu Mai

Vegetable Pakoras (India)

Pocky

Snap pea crisps (ok, not “authentic” Asian, but cute all the same.)

Mandarin Mousse

Latin/South America:

Chiptole Spiced Nuts

Guacamole

Pico De Gallo

Blue Corn Chips

Argentinian Steak Bites

Europe/Mediterranean:

Mezzi platter/Cured meat/olive/artichoke platter

Baba Ganoush

Pita Chips

Belgian Chocolate Crisps

Kinder (German) Happy Hippos

Australia:

Australian Green Apple Licorice

Africa:

Ethiopian Cheese Dip

USA

Caramel Corn

No-Cook Marinated Tomato Pasta Sauce with Linguine

This is a super simple recipe that takes almost no time to prepare. The most work-intensive part is peeling and seeding the tomatoes, which gets faster the more you do it. Perfect for a summer night, especially if you have some tomatoes to use up from the farmers market! Note: you’ll need 30 minutes to let the marinade sit beforehand.

Ingredients:

1 lb linguine

6-8 small tomatoes or 3 large ones

1 clove garlic, chopped

3-4 tbsp chopped basil

olive oil to cover

2-3 oz of goat cheese (or fresh mozzarella)

capers, 1-2 tsp

Directions:

1. Bring a small pot of water to boil and submerge the tomatoes for 30 seconds, then remove. Slit the skins with a knife and peel off.
2. Halve tomatoes and squeeze them gently to remove pulp and seeds. Chop tomato flesh. (For more help, see link in THIS post.) 
3. Chop the tomatoes and the basil. 
4. In a large serving bowl, add tomatoes, basil, garlic and olive oil. Salt and peper to taste. Add some sugar to cut the acidity of the tomatoes if you want to. Allow to marinate for 30 minutes or longer. 
   
5. Cook pasta until al dente in salty water. Drain, then add to tomato mixture.
6. Add cheese and toss. Serve immediately.