Spanish Style Sweet and Sour Eggplant with Saffron Bulgur

We love experimenting in the Bistro kitchen, and we’ve always found regional cuisine to be an excellent source of inspiration whenever we want to try something new. There’s indeed no reason not to try new things nowadays, with the endless array of TV shows, magazines and cookbooks teaching us new culinary techniques and innovative flavour combinations, but we’ve always found that anonymous country cooks will often surprise us by their unsurpassed creativity. They “just know” how to combine the most ordinary and often easily overlooked ingredients into amazing food that’s deeply satisfying and full of interesting flavour. Whether that is done through sheer genius or a solid understanding of seasonal produce and regional tastes is currently a matter for open debate in many circles. Chef Gerald and Mummy simply admire it for what it is and aspire to learn some of these enviable skills as we go.

Whenever we want to find a new source of inspiration for a dish or even an ingredient, Mummy turns to our regional cookbook collection – and she quickly finds something interesting, usually well before Chef Gerald starts nibbling at her hands signalling that he is now bored and it is time to get into the kitchen and do some real cooking instead of just reading about it. Mummy has learned by now that a leisurely browse through a cherished cookbook is mostly incompatible with your parrot’s attention span – you have a maximum of 2 minutes before your hands get bitten or the edges of your book start getting shredded…….

Kamut Spelt and Whole Wheat Soda Bread

We’ll have to start by making a very humble admission: until just a few days ago, we had never made soda bread….

It’s not that we lack an interest in this topic. We’ve had several attempts at making different types of yeast bread, and achieved various levels of success with those. And we’re all huge fans of good bread in this household, with Chef Gerald displaying this amazing ability of instantly turning from a sweet cuddly baby birdie into a ferocious creature perfectly capable of shredding any obstacles – inanimate or otherwise, human fingers included – that stand between him and a slice of bread.

Breakfast Millet and Berries

I am very pleased to report that my Mummy and Daddy have finally understood the benefits of eating…. birdie food! When I woke up this morning, I was very happy to find Mummy cooking millet. Now before you rush into any conclusions, please rest assured that this wasn’t because our pantry was so bare that Mummy had to raid the container of parrot food, this was all part of our attempt to introduce more wholegrains into our menu and experiment with the ones we had never used before.

Despite the fact that millet had never been cooked in the Bistro kitchen before, we were rather surprised to find out that it is one of the oldest grains to be cultivated for human consumption. Even today, it is a staple meal ingredient for people living in various parts of the world from China to Egypt, most likely due to its high nutritional content, as well as the fact that it can grow in harsh climate and soil conditions which are unsuitable for growing other types of grains.

Blueberry Galette

After a long wait, blueberry season is finally here! The three of us are totally smitten with these little purple gems – most frequently, we simply enjoy them in their natural state with our morning muesli. Like all berries though, they are extremely versatile and perform equally well in fancy desserts or in rustic tarts or jams.

Persuading people to eat blueberries shouldn’t take too much hard work. If you’re like us though and need some scientific evidence to justify your passion for your blueberries addiction, you will be pleased to find out that an ever growing body of research shows that they are high in antioxidants, vitamins and other beneficial nutrients.

At the Gasworks Farmers’ Market last weekend, the folks at Moondarra Blueberries had an abundance of these little beauties on offer and, yes you guessed it, Mummy got a little carried away and we ended up with much more than our breakfast appetite could accommodate.

This time, we opted for a rustic galette, which is very easy to make and doesn’t require too many ingredients, so it was the perfect dessert vehicle for the freshness and flavour of the blueberries. Most of us are probably familiar with the term, as nowadays they seem to be common in most bakeries. It was rather interesting though to see that the world wide web holds little information regarding the true origins of this dish, let alone the original recipe. All we have been able to find so far is that “Galette” is a French term that refers to a freeform rustic tart, which can be either sweet or savoury, depending on the filling. According to this article, galettes are traditionally served at Epiphany, on the 6th of January. To add to the mystery, galette can also refer to a buckwheat crepe with various fillings….

Following our recent experiment with the savoury spelt pastry, we wanted to see if a similar recipe would work in a sweet recipe and were pleased with the result. Apart from the nutritional benefits of spelt flour, we find it very easy to work with in shortcrust pastry, as it makes it very easy to roll without breaking. It also has a very pleasant flavour which is very complimentary to either sweet or savoury fillings, though it might take a little while to get used to it if your taste buds were previously attuned only to white flour pastry.

Blueberry Galette

Pastry (you can make this one day in advance):

280 g white or wholemeal spelt flour

5 tbsp coconut oil (preferably organic, expeller pressed)

2 tbsp raw sugar 1 raw egg yolk, + 1 more egg, lightly beaten, for brushing

4 – 6 tbsp icy cold water

Place a small bowl of water in the freezer for a few minutes. As moisture content can vary greatly in different batches of spelt flour, it’s best to ensure you have sufficient cold water available when you’re making the pastry.

In the mean time, sift flour then place in a food processor together with the coconut oil, sugar and egg yolk. Pulse briefly for a few moments, until the mixture starts to resemble breadcrumbs. With the food processor still running, start adding the cold water, one tablespoon at a time, until the dough comes together in a ball.

Tip onto a lightly floured surface, then shape the pastry into a flat disc. Cover tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 ½ hours.

Blueberry Filling :

400g blueberries, rinsed

2 – 3 tbsp raw sugar

1 ½ tbsp cornflour

Grated zest and juice of one lemon

½ tsp cinnamon

20g cold butter, diced

Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix lightly to ensure the blueberries are coated.

Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.

To assemble the galette, place the pastry between two sheets of lightly floured baking paper, then roll into a 5cm thick disc.

Remove the top layer of baking paper, spoon the blueberry mixture in the centre of the pastry, allowing for a 4 – 5 cm edge. Dot the blueberry mixture with the diced butter.

Lift the pastry edges and fold them towards the centre, pleating the pastry as you go. When finished, lift the galette, together with the sheet of baking paper underneath and place it on a large baking sheet.

Brush the pastry with the beaten egg and sprinkle with a little raw sugar.

Bake at 200 degrees Celsius for about 25 – 30 minutes, until the edges are golden brown and the blueberry filling has started bubbling.

Remove from the oven, then let it rest for a few minutes before carefully transferring to a wire rack to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature, best accompanied by some whipped cream or vanilla icecream.

This was a huge success with both Daddy and Jerry, and it all disappeared before Mummy got a chance to take photos of either of them enjoying it.

Zucchini and Lemon Risotto

When Chef Gerald and his Mummy decided about two months ago to start a balcony garden, little did they know that their project would involve encountering various life forms that were never supposed to be part of our social circle.

It all started innocently enough with a few planters of herbs for Mummy and a few strawberry and chilli plants for Chef Gerald. Everybody assured us that they would be very easy to grow, so we embarked on this new initiative full of hope and confidence. Then, the new planter arrived – and it turned out to be a lot bigger than we thought. This, of course, meant that we suddenly had more room to plant things, so Mummy got a little carried away at the nursery and we ended up with several plants that weren’t part of the initial plan. And this is when the first problems started to arise.

First, there were the aphids. Lots and lots of small, round, plump critters, avidly feeding on the young and tender zucchini plants. Aphids are very easy to control, cheerfully announced our most trusted organic gardening website. Just give the affected plants a vigorous drench with your hose. Let the aphids fall to the ground, where the worms and the wild birds will get a nice meal out of them, before they get a chance to recolonize your plant. A garden hose? Wild birds? Worms? It all sounded fascinating, but the only problem was that no such things exist on our balcony. Squirting them individually with a spray bottle was much more fun though…..

Then came the mildew. You’re watering at the wrong time of the day, proclaimed the garden gurus. All of a sudden, knowing precisely what time the sun rises and sets each day took on a whole new meaning for us and watching the weather forecast became an important part of our evening routine.

Then came a short spell of hot summer weather. Around the same time, delicate cobwebs started dangling from the edges of the zucchini leaves, punctuated by tiny red dots. Red spider mites thrive in hot and dry conditions, read the verdict this time around…..

Having gained a whole new level of respect and appreciation for all those farmers who actually manage to grow beautiful organic produce, Mummy felt a huge sense of accomplishment when she managed to harvest our first two golden zucchini the other night. They weren’t exactly pretty (one had a rather log and narrow body and a disproportionately round head, while the other one had a rather huge pot belly) but, knowing how many pests and bugs they had to outwit to get to this stage, it was still amazing that they even managed to reach this stage.

Today’s recipe is a very basic risotto, aimed at making the most of the fresh zucchini flavour.

Zucchini and Lemon Risotto

2 cups arborio rice
3 – 5 cups good quality (preferably organic) vegetable or chicken stock (use the smaller quantity of stock if cooking this in a pressure cooker. For the standard cooking method, the final quantity of stock will vary depending on the type of rice used, just make sure you have enough hot stock handy during the cooking process)
4 medium sized zucchini (we used a mixture of gold and green zucchini), finely diced
2 leeks, white and pale green part only, washed, thinly sliced
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
zest and juice of one lemon
2 tbsp fresh dill and parsley, finely chopped
50 g Parmesan, finely grated

Pour the stock in a sauce pan and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover and keep simmering until required.

Pressure cooker method
Heat the oil in the pressure cooker on medium heat, then add the leek and cook, stirring, for about 8-10 minutes, until soft and golden.

Rinse the rice under cold water, drain well, then add to the leek and stir vigorously for about one minute or so, ensuring that the rice is coated in oil. Add about 1/2 cup of hot stock to the mixture and stir well to deglaze the pressure cooker.

Add the remainder of the hot stock, lock the lid in place, bring to pressure, then reduce the heat to low and cook for 6 minutes. Remove from heat, then let it rest for about 10 minutes before depressurising and unlocking the lid.

If using the standard cooking method, cook the leek as described above, add the rice and cook for 1 minute, then start incorporating 1/2 cup of hot stock at a time, waiting until most of the liquid has been absorbed before the next addition. Stir frequently and cook until the rice is soft but not mushy. This should take approximately 25-30 minutes.

For either cooking method – return the cooked rice to very low heat, add all remaining ingredients (reserve some of the Parmesan to sprinkle at the table) and stir well to incorporate everything. Remove from heat, cover and let it rest for another 5-10 minutes so the zucchini are just slightly softened by the heat. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper. Serves 4.

I think that zucchini dice is not fine enough, Mummy

Black Kale and Goat Cheese Salad

The ideal summer evening should be warm and bright, with the sweet and salty ocean smell wafting through the open windows on a light breeze, The ideal summer dinner? One that comes together in a flash, to allow you to relax and make the most of a beautiful evening? The first idea that comes to my mind when I think of all this would have to be a vibrant and colourful crisp salad, bursting with fresh flavours and interesting textures.

So far this summer, most evenings have fallen well short of the ideal standard described above. In fact, humid, rainy and bleak weather has been the norm rather than the exception lately. However, Chef Gerald and his Mummy can see no reason why less-than-perfect summer weather should stand in the way of perfect summer food.

The star performance this time comes from one of our all time favourite green leafy vegetable. Our entire household is in love with the velvety leaves, the incredible shade of dark green and the wonderful flavour. As a truly respectable star, this one likes to maintain a certain level of mystery surrounding its true origin and age, and consequently has many stage names, such as black/Tuscan kale, Tuscan cabbage, cavolo nero, or even dinosaur kale. Being a member of the brassica family, black kale comes from a long line of illustrious relatives, which includes broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts and kale. They all pride themselves in their antioxidant properties and their high nutritional value, which can only mean that we should invite them to be part of our daily menu more often.

We have previously experimented with black kale in many soups, stews and pasta dishes, but a major breakthrough came the other week thanks to the most recent addition to the Bistro cookbook collection: The Food Matters Cookbook by Mark Bittman. Chef Gerald and his Mummy are long time fans of Bittman’s simple approach to cooking, with its emphasis on flavours and good ingredients. This book is even closer to our heart though, as it’s teaming with brilliant ideas for including even more vegetables and wholegrains into our daily menu.

One such marvellous idea is Bittman’s Black Kale and Olive Salad, a basic combination of black kale, olives and Parmesan, which makes a perfectly satisfying light lunch. This was the first recipe we tried from this book and along with it came the realisation that it’s perfectly OK to enjoy black kale without cooking it at all. The beautiful fresh flavour and crunchy texture are maintained in their entirety, and the wonderful nutritional benefits are probably better preserved as well.

This time, the addition of different vegetables introduces more colours and textures into the salad, while the goat cheese and pine nuts make it more substantial and better suited as a light dinner option. Needless to say, very fresh, good quality black kale is a must here.

Black Kale and Goat Cheese Salad 

1 large bunch black kale, tough stems removed, well rinsed and thoroughly dried (we wrapped the leaves in a tea towel to achieve this)

1 small red capsicum

1 punnet cherry tomatoes

1/2 continental cucumber

3-4 radishes

50 g lightly toasted pine nuts

100 g goat cheese, preferably feta

12 black olives, pitted and chopped

3 tbsp good quality extra virgin olive oil

2 tbsp white balsamic condiment

Shred the kale leaves as finely as you can.

Slice or chop or dice all other ingredients according to your preference.

Mix everything in a bowl, together with the olive oil and white balsamic. If using goat feta, crumble this slightly and add to the salad bowl before tossing. If using regular soft goat cheese, crumble this as well, but only add to the salad after tossing so it doesn’t clump together.

Toss well and adjust the seasoning according to your preference. Serves two as a main course, accompanied by some fresh crusty bread if you prefer.

Chef Gerald, having mastered the art of forward planning, was busy preparing breakfast

Peach and Raspberry Tart

I have only recently found out what Mummy and Daddy are up to when they sneak out at dinner time on Saturday nights. They go to these places, often called restaurants or other similar names, to… have dinner. And, while this poor baby birdie stays home to feast on birdie food and raw broccoli and green beans, his Mummy and Daddy go to this fancy place where they get to choose from various dishes on the menu and can even have several courses if they want to! I’m also told there are other other people in the restaurant having dinner at the same time, which makes for a mind boggling array of dishes out on different tables at the same time. Now you humans probably don’t get this, as you don’t get to fly around much, but can you even imagine how much fun it would be for me to fly from one table to the next, taking one bite from each plate, and then returning to the ones that I really like??? That’s what I would call a real feast!!! Unfortunately though, Mummy and Daddy tell me that they don’t allow baby birdies in restaurants nowadays and, until I can verify this information from an independent source, I will just have to take their word for it, I’m afraid

Last week they even went out on Friday night, and stayed out a lot longer than usual, but they tell me it was for a special occasion called New Year’s Eve. I wasn’t happy about it but, being such a kind, generous and loving birdie, I soon forgave them. It also helped that Mummy had made us this yummy sweet treat for New Year’s Day, which (nearly) made up for the fact that I hadn’t been invited out for dinner the night before…..

This tart is a lightened up and easier to make cheesescake variation and, if you choose the traditional base of crushed biscuits you don’t need to bake at all. We were quite intrigued to discover an almond and buckwheat dessert base on the shelves of our favourite grocery store, so we decided to try that instead. This is simply made from puffed cereal (buckwheat, white and brown rice and sorghum), almonds and sunflower kernels, coarsely crushed and meant to be mixed with some fat/liquid and then pressed into the tin as the base for a tart. As the mixture is very coarse, it requires about 5 minutes of baking so it can crisp up and hold together before you can add the filling.

As far as the verdict is concerned, we can say it definitely added an interesting crunchy texture to the tart and it had a lovely flavour, so it’s definitely worth trying if you’re on a gluten free diet or simply want a break from the crushed biscuit base. It should also be easy enough to make at home and customize with your own favourite cereal and nuts – just roughly crush everything in a food processor.

Peach and Raspberry Tart (adapted from the Australian GoodFood magazine)
For the Tart Case
250 g homemade or bought cereal and nuts dessert base
5 tbsp coconut oil, melted
or
250 g biscuits
100g melted butter

Tart Filling
250 g cream cheese, at room temperature
300 g quark, at room temperature
100 icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
Zest and juice from one lime

To Decorate
100 g fresh whole raspberries
2 – 3 large peaches (we used both yellow and white peaches), thinly sliced

Lightly oil a 22 cm loose base tart tin and line the base with baking paper. If using a cereal and nut base, pre heat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Place cereal and nut mixture or biscuits in a food processor and pulse until they attain a coarse sandy texture. Place the mixture in a bowl, add the melted butter or coconut oil and mix with a spoon to incorporate. Press this into the base and sides of the prepared tin. If using the cereal base, bake for 5 minutes, until set and slightly golden. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.

In the mean time, place all filling ingredients in a bowl and mix until smooth.

Spoon filling into the prepared tart case, level with a spatula and refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours or overnight.

The tart is best decorated just before serving. Decorate with the peach slices and raspberries according to your own preference. Slice and serve.