Chermoula pumpkin with quinoa and yogurt

This was hands down my favorite dish that we cooked during my class at the Agrarian Kitchen. A perfect mixture of spicy, savory and sweet, the flavors are rich and complement each other well.

Ingredients:

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 tbsp ground cumin

1 tbsp ground coriander

2 tsp chili flakes

2 tsp sweet paprika

1/3 cup finely chopped preserved lemon skin

280 ml extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to drizzle

½ medium sized pumpkin (note: if buying in America, go to an Asian market and look for the squat green-skinned pumpkin, not a standard orange American pumpkin.)

300 gm quinoa

100 gm sultanas (raisins)

40 gm fresh coriander, chopped plus extra to serve

20 gm fresh mint, chopped

60 gm flaked almonds, toasted

4 spring onions, chopped

60 ml (1/2) cup lemon juice.

240 gm Greek yogurt, plain

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.
2. In a bowl combine garlic, cumin, coriander, chili, paprika, preserved lemon, two-thirds of the olive oil and 1 tsp salt. This is the chermoula, set aside until required.
3. Cut the pumpkin into wedges or rounds, leaving the skin intact. Scoop out the seeds and discard.
4. Spoon the chermoula over each half, spreading it evenly, and place on a baking tray cut side up. Road pumpkin until very soft, about 40 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, cook the quinoa as described on the box, or in a manner similar to how you would cook rice. I prefer to cook with chicken stock added to the water for better flavor. Once cooked, fluff with fork and set aside.
6. Soak raisins in 100 ml warm water for 10 minutes, then drain and add to quinoa with remaining oil, herbs, almonds, spring onion, lemon juice and season to taste with sea salt.
7. Serve pumpkin warm or at room temperature topped with quinoa, spoonfuls of yogurt, scattered with coriander and a drizzle of the extra virgin olive oil.

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!

 

Pink eye potato latkes with bresaola, quail eggs and parsley apple salad from the Agrarian Kitchen!

Pink eye potato latkes with bresaola, quail eggs and parsley apple salad:

Ingredients (for 8):

2.4 kg potatoes

250 ml (1 cup) clarified butter or ghee

18 slices bresaola

16 quail eggs

2 tbsp white vinegar

1 apple (preferably tart)

2 handfuls parsley leaves, washed and drained

1 tbsp tiny salted capers, rinsed

Ingredients for dressing:

2 cloves garlic

1 tbsp dijon mustard

juice from 1 lemon

3 tsp white wine vinegar

300 ml extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

1. Peel potatoes and coarsely grate into a large bowl. Have another clean tea towel ready. Working quickly, take a  handful of potato and firmly squeeze to extract as much liquid as possible, then transfer into the second bowl. Repeat until all potato is dry, then season with salt and pepper, mixing well.

2. Heat 2 tbsp butter in small frying pan, add enough potato to cover bottom by about 1-2 cm and cook for 6-7 minutes each side over low-medium heat until crisp and golden brown. Transfer to a baking tray and keep warm in an oven. Repeat with remaining butter and potato.

3. Bring a saucepan of water to boil over high heat, add quail eggs and cook for one minute, then remove and immediately refresh in iced water, add vinegar and set aside for 1-2 minutes. Peel and set aside.

4. For vinaigrette, place garlic cloves in a mortar and using a pestle, finely crush. Add mustard, lemon juice and vinegar and whisk to combine, then whisk in olive oil.

5. To serve place a latke on each plate, top with cured meat and halved eggs. Toss together parsley, apple and capers with a little of the vinaigrette. Serve immediately.

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!