It was Saturday night and my Mum and her husband were coming over for dinner. I had a 1.4kg piece of beef topside roast, a new pressure cooker and it was freezing cold. Dinner was on the table with just over an hours work on my part. The highlight, however, was the gravy. It’s a bit of extra time and effort, but once you remove the beef and vegetables, crank up the heat and reduce the sauce down by about half until it’s thick, rich and delicious.
Ingredients
- 1.4kg Beef topside roast
- 1 tablespoon Olive oil
- 2 medium Onions, peeled and quartered
- 315 grams Carrots, whole or halved
- 500 grams Potatoes (small, scrubbed)
- 40 grams Butter
- 2 tablespoons Plain flour
- 1.5 cups Beef stock
- 1/3 cup Dry red wine
- 1 tablespoon Tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Directions
- Heat oil in the bottom of your pressure cooker pan.
- Using tongs, brown the beef topside on all sides until brown. Remove from the cooker.
- Cook onions, carrots and potatoes in cooker, stirring, until browned lightly. Remove from the cooker.
- Melt the butter in the cooker, add the flour and cook stirring until browned lightly.
- Gradually stir in the stock and wine. Cook, stirring frequently, until the sauce boils and thickens.
- Stir in the tomato paste and worcestershire sauce.
- Return the beef to the cooker and secure the lid.
- Bring the cooker to high pressure, then reduce heat to stabilise the pressure. Cook on the "low" setting for 20 minutes.
- Release the pressure using the quick release button. Once the pressure has dissipated remove the lid.
- Add the vegetables to the cooker and secure the lid.
- Bring the pressure back up to high, then reduce the heat to stabilise the pressure. Cook on the "low" setting for 7 minutes.
- Release the pressure using the quick release button. Once the pressure has dissipated remove the lid.
- Remove the beef and vegetables. Cover and stand for 10 minutes, then slice the beef.
- While standing, reduce the sauce that remains in the pressure cooker over a high heat until thick and reduced by about half.
- Pour the sauce/gravy into a jug and then serve with the beef and vegetables.
For our recent wedding, my Dad and his wife gave us a stove-top pressure cooker. I have fond memories of corned beef cooked in one by my Mum and Nana when I was growing up. The gift also came with the modern Women’s Weekly cookbook “Pressure Cooking” and I soon discovered that a pressure cooker has many more applications than I ever knew! It’s also perfect for preparing dishes that normally require a longer cooking time when you are under weeknight time pressures. So, over the next few weeks I thought I’d do a bit of a series on dishes I cook in my latest gadget – originally titled “Under pressure”!
First up is osso buco in a tomato sauce. I am aware that traditional osso buco is just done in a white wine sauce (blanc) but this was the recipe in the cookbook. I was surprised by how easy this was – I must confess a bit of apprehension at my first trial with the pressure cooker. In just half an hour, I had meltingly tender osso buco on the bone, and one happy husband!
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Olive oil
- 6 Pieces osso buco
- 1 large Brown onion, chopped finely
- 2 cloves Garlic, crushed
- 6 Drained anchovy fillets, chopped finely
- 1/4 cup Coarsely chopped fresh basil
- 1 Tin crushed tomatoes
- 1/2 cup Dry red wine
- 1/2 cup Coarsely chopped seeded black olives
- 1/3 cup Loosely packed fresh small basil leaves
Directions
- Heat oil in the base of the pressure cooker.
- Cook the pieces of osso buco in batches until browned. Remove from cooker.
- Cook the onion, garlic, anchovy and chopped basil in the cooker, stirring, until the onion softens.
- Return the osso buco to the cooker together with the tin off tomatoes and the wine.
- Secure the lid and bring the cooker to high pressure.
- Reduce the heat on your stove to stabilise the pressure and cook on the "high" setting for 30 minutes.
- Release the pressure using the quick release button. Once the pressure has dissipated removed the lid.
- Stir in the olives and season to taste.
I’ve heard them called fondants, most people have a method they swear by and they are completely overused by restaurants as a dessert option. Sadly, they are often sub-par in restaurants, which is even worse!
Still, there is something irresistable about a molten chocolate pudding – that element of surprise and delight when it works out perfectly, the contrast in texture, the sheer decadence of it all. Who better to guide me on this culinary adventure than the wonderful Stephanie Alexander? The Cook’s Companion was a wedding gift and this was my first adventure with it.
It should come as no surprise that this worked perfectly. She is the first lady of Australia food for a reason!
Ingredients
- 160 grams Unsalted butter (plus more for greasing)
- 1/3 cup Plain flour (plus extra for greasing)
- 160 grams Dark chocolate, chopped
- 3 Eggs
- 3 Egg yolks
- 1/3 cup Castor sugar
Directions
- Butter 6 ramekins well and dust with flour.
- Melt chocolate and 160g on butter on low in the microwave or over a double boiler.
- Remove from heat and set aside to cool a little.
- Preheat over to 160*.
- Beat egg yolks, whole eggs, and sugar with an electric mixer on a high speed for about 10 minutes - you will know it's been long enough as they turn quite pale and very thick.
- Sift in 1/3 cup flour. Mix with the electric mixer on low.
- Add the chocolate mixture then continue to beat on a medium speed.
- The mixture should go become thick and glossy.
- Divide the batter among prepared moulds. Stephanie says you can refrigerate at this point, but should bring them back to room temperature before baking and they will need an extra 3 minutes baking time.
- Bake for about 12 minutes - keep a close eye - they should be set around the edges but the centre should still move slightly when you gently shake the moulds.
- Remove from the oven and cool slightly.
- Run a knife around the edge of the ramekins and turn out onto plates.
- I served with a simple raspberry coulis and vanilla icecream.
By way of disclaimer, I was introduced to this new restaurant at Paddington by a friend who has a distant connection to the chef. However, these opinions are entirely my own and I paid for my own meal!
I must confess, I was spoilt by seafood in Tasmania, and as a result the stuff in Brisbane just doesn’t seem quite as good. However, I really enjoyed the seafood platter (shared amongst 4) and was impressed by the variety of seafood (not to mention the sheer volume of food!). The scallops (on skewers) were particularly good, and the seafood was all of a high quality. The chips were fantastic – better by far than the chips I recently had at Aria (what a thing to say!). The Greek salad was beautiful and again a generous portion.
Andrikos is very new, and was very quiet (although we did go on a Tuesday night). The seafood is good quality and the staff were friendly. It’s also a great spot on MacGregor Terrace. The prices are a little on the high end, but we did order the most expensive item on the menu (the seafood platter for 4). However, I do think you get value for money.
Andrikos Seafood
Shop 1, 65-69 MacGregor Terrace
Paddington QLD
Ph: (07) 3367 1900
Web: http://www.andrikosseafood.com.au/
Stillwater is located at the Old Mill in Launceston, with a beautiful view out over the water. Unfortunately it was night when we went, so we didn’t get to see too much!
It was day 2 of the honeymoon, and we used this is an excuse to spend up big and enjoy 3 full courses! Stillwater is definitely a high-end restaurant and the prices are reflective of this fact. I particularly liked the emphasis on local and sustainable produce – something I would love to see more of in Brisbane. My only criticism of the night was that I was quite cold in our corner – although that could just been my sensitive Queensland skin!
First up was the blue cheese souffle – I think this was a double baked souffle but it retained a lot of air and was quite light. I believe that was an pear sauce which paired with the dish perfectly. But the highlight is hidden behind the souffle – the most amazing dwarf fig, cooked in a sweet reduction of some kind. We later tracked down these tiny figs and brought some home with us.
This is Julian’s pine nut caramelised onion tart – covered in a Pyengana sauce. He rated it highly and was particularly fond of the crisp little green apple/celery salad served with it.
I had the blue trevella and Julian enjoyed the trout (first pic). Seafood in Tasmania is something special. The sauce with my blue eye trevella is called a white balsamic beurre blanc on the menu and it was exceptional. I loved this dish.
My only complaint about the meals was that the sides were definitely on the small side (particularly given the price) – but they were delicious (we had the mushrooms).
We were so full at this point, but couldn’t pass up dessert – so we shared the white chocolate and tonka bean marquise – it was beautiful, light and creamy, definitely a cut above your average restaurant dessert.
Stillwater
Ritchie’s Mill
Launceston, TAS
Ph: 03 6331 4153
Web: http://www.stillwater.net.au
If there was any doubt, this picture makes it clear that J is the talented photographer in the family! J probably takes about half the photos on the blog with his fancy SLR and it puts my poor little point and shoot to shame!
Making toasted muesli is ridiculously easy, and far cheaper than buying from the shop! You can put just about anything you desire in it, and I like to buy my ingrediants from the bulk store Simply Good at Alderley. It is a little bit time consuming, and you need to keep an eye on it in the oven as it goes from toasted to burnt quite quickly. Overall it’s a great, thrifty way to spend a bit of time on the weekend and the end result is worth it.
This is one of my best versions (if I do say so myself) but use whatever your heart desires. Just a note with the dried fruit – don’t add that until after you’ve toasted the mixture.
Ingredients
- 3 cups Rolled oats
- 3 cups Puffed wheat
- 1.5 cups Coconut
- 1/2 cup Quinoa
- 1 cup Roasted hazelnuts, chopped roughly
- 2 tablespoons Butter, melted
- 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla essence
- 1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
- 1/4 cup Maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon Brown sugar (optional)
- 1/2 cup Dried pears, chopped roughly
- 3/4 cup Dried blueberries
Directions
- Preheat oven to 150*. Line trays with baking paper.
- Combine melted butter, vanilla, cinnamon, maple syrup and brown sugar. Taste and adjust quantities as desired.
- In a large bowl combine the rolled oats, puffed wheat, coconut, quinoa and hazelnuts.
- Combine the melted butter mixture with the dried ingredients using a wooden spoon or your fingers. Make sure the butter is evenly distributed - it should be slightly moist but not wet.
- Spread the mixture on the baking trays. Make sure not to put too much mixture on each tray or it won't toast and get crispy. You will need to do several batches.
- Cook for about 5-7 minutes, until toasted as desired.
- Store in an airtight container for several weeks.
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