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Salmon and Pesto Toasties

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All sorrows are less with bread.

– Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

Happy New Year, everyone!

I’m so sorry that this post is late! I had wanted to get it out in time for New Year’s Eve but I’ve been exhausted since Sunday and all I’ve done is work and sleep. Even on New Year’s Eve, I managed to only stay up until 11:15 before passing out. All the festivities combined with STILL being sick (5 weeks and counting!), my body gave in and cried for sleep.

However, it IS a New Year! Wow, 2014 was great and weird and wonderful. 2015 seems to promise as many adventures as 2014 did: the end of somethings as well as a lot of new beginnings. For one, come June I’ll have access to a proper kitchen again! Thanks, Mam! I haven’t quite decided all my resolutions, I’ve been too tired and too busy but I’ll sit down next week and write them out. How about you? Did you make any resolutions yet? Regardless of what your resolutions are, I wish you all a lovely 2015 and thank you from the bottom of my heart for reading and following this blog in 2014. A special thank you to all my friends and family who have been subjected to my cooking and/or who have made some of the recipes. Thank you so much for your support and encouragement!

Anyway, this recipe is really easy. It’s incredibly simple and incredibly flavourful. You just need six ingredients all of which are fairly easy to come by—even here in Korea. Even better, you don’t really need any actual quantities. Add as much or as little of each ingredient as you want.

This recipe was inspired by two dishes from home. Traditionally, at celebrations like Christenings and First Holy Communions, people will serve smoked salmon on brown bread or soda bread. This was the first inspiration. The second inspiration came from one of the appetisers served at my sister’s wedding—a pesto toastie topped with black pudding. I combined elements from these two appetisers and added my own twist. This is the result. I served this on my birthday when I had a small dinner with some friends and it was big hit with them.  Next time I have a group of friends over, I am definitely making this!

Salmon and Pesto Toasties

Ingredients

  • baguette (or two or three), sliced into rounds (minus the ends)
  • olive oil, for drizzling
  • green pesto
  • cheddar cheese, grated
  • apple, quartered and sliced thinly
  • smoked salmon, cut into thin slices, around the same width as the apple slices. (I used around 80g of smoked salmon between two baguettes)

Method

  • Preheat oven to 175°C.
  • Put the baguette rounds on a baking sheet and drizzle olive oil over the top of each round. Place in the oven for few minutes until very lightly toasted and the oil has melted into the baguette.
  • Remove from the oven and spread some pesto (around half a teaspoon) on the top of each round and then sprinkle some cheese on top of the pesto.
  • Put back into the oven for around 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
  • Remove from oven and top with a slice of apple on each round and top the apple with the salmon.
  • Serve immediately.

Tips

Vegetarian: Leave off the salmon. One of the friends I served it to was vegetarian and she said it was still good without the salmon.

 

 

 

 

 

Maggie’s Fried Onion Bits

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Banish (the onion) from the kitchen and the pleasure flies with it. Its presence lends color and enchantment to the most modest dish; its absence reduces the rarest delicacy to hopeless insipidity, and dinner to despair.

– Elizabeth Robbins Pennell

Onions are one of my favourite foods and, so, I completely agree with the above sentiment. It’s rare for me to make anything savoury without onions, and fried onions are a particular favourite. One of my favourite holiday dishes is Green Bean Casserole. I love the taste of the beans combined with the tang of the fried, salty, onions. I was only introduced to this dish when I moved to America in 2001. I couldn’t believe how good it was and when I would come home from college I would insist we make it. However, as mentioned previously, I have sisters who hate mushrooms which meant instead of using cream of mushroom soup, my mom made Cheesy Green Bean Casserole—which is even more tasty.

When I came to Korea, I wanted to make my mom’s recipe, as I much prefer it to the traditional one. However, I didn’t know where to find a jar of fried onions, so I set out to make my own. Luckily, I stumbled across this recipe, and the rest was history. I made this recipe two or three times before making some adjustments for my personal taste. These onions are fantastic, and you will have to prevent yourself from eating them all up. For the latest batch I made, I’m not quite sure if the amount I’ve said it produces is correct as I kept “taste-testing” even though I knew they were perfectly fine.

More than likely you will have all the ingredients to hand already and it is quite quick to cook up. Even if you don’t make them for Christmas 2014, there is always the Sunday dinner and next year’s festivities.

Nollaig shona daoibh go leir (A very Happy Christmas to you all).

Fried Onions

(Adapted from Food.com)

Makes around 4 cups (I ate quite a bit though BEFORE I measured it so more like 4.5 cups!)

Ingredients

  • oil for frying
  • 5 medium onions, thinly sliced into rings
  • 2 cups of milk in a bowl
  • 2 cups of wheat flour
  • up to 1 tbsp paprika spice*
  • 1-2 tsp dried parsley
  • pepper
  • salt

*Adjust as per your tastes; I prefer the whole tbsp.

Method

  1. Over medium-high heat, heat a deep frying pan. Once hot, add enough oil to just cover the onions (around ¼ cup).
  2. Meanwhile, stir together the flour, paprika, parsley, some salt and pepper. Set aside.
  3. Put a handful of onion into the milk and soak for 5 minutes.
  4. Once soaked, run the onions through the flour mix and then transfer to the hot oil, cooking until browned. Turn the onions over occasionally to make sure they are browned all the way. I like mine fairly browned, but you don’t need to go that dark.
  5. Once browned, transfer to a plate* covered with a double layer of paper towel. Dry the onions in a single layer on the paper towel and sprinkle with some more salt.
  6. Repeat steps 3-5, adding oil as needed. When you add the oil give it about 30 seconds before you add the next batch of onions.
  7. Once the onions are cooled pack into an airtight container. They should last about a week.

*You may need more than one plate as you don’t want the onions to drain oil onto the ones below. If you use two plates, by the time your third batch is done, the first batch should have cooled enough for you to pack into a jar. However, put a fresh paper towel down before adding the new batch of onions.

For anyone who doesn’t have a Green Bean Casserole recipe, click here.

TIPS:

For Best Results: I prefer to add a little oil at a time as I found when I add too much oil the pan the coating falls off the onion. The coating is still good and you can munch on that instead of the onions.

Soggy Onions: For any onions that are a bit soggy, keep them, but stir them into your Green Bean Casserole and top the non-soggy ones on top for the last 5 or so minutes.  If you aren’t using for Green Bean Casserole but still want to use the soggy onions, put on a baking sheet in the oven at around 175° and bake for 5 minutes to crisp up before using.

Leftovers: Add to your Christmas leftover sandwiches with turkey, ham and stuffing. It makes for quite a treat.

Other uses:  Besides Green Bean Casserole, you can add to onions to burgers, as a topping for Koshary, or just eat them on their own.

Christmas Roundup

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Hi all,

Happy Christmas and a fantastic 2015 to you all. Here are my recipes for this season. There will be some more added for New Year’s Day but in the meantime checkout the below recipes.

I will be making the mushrooms, fried onions and the refrigerator cake for Christmas. Although not technically a Christmas recipe, my refrigerator cake will be served on request from my friends. I hope you enjoy it as much as they do!

Tomato, Lentil and Orange Soup

Apple and Bacon Stuffed Mushrooms

Maggie’s Fried Onions Bits 

Decadently Delicious Refrigerator Cake

Apple and Bacon/Rasher Stuffed Mushrooms

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Fat gives things flavor

 – Julia Child

Not long now! I can’t believe how close Christmas and my birthday are!

I will keep this short this week as I know Christmas is coming and everyone (myself included) is busy finishing year-end projects and goals as well as trying to get everything ready for the festivities.

This recipe came to me in a moment of inspiration the week of Thanksgiving. I was really sick, but trying to think of things I wanted to bring to our Thanksgiving dinner when this popped into my head. I ended up not having time to make it then, but I’ve been working on them since and I’m quite pleased with the result.

These are easy to put together, and are based on the flavours and scents of this time of year—much like the Tomato, Orange and Lentil Soup from last week. I love the combination of rasher and apple mixed with nuts Every bite makes me reminisce of Christmas at my Mom’s with her mouthwatering stuffing. The apple, in it’s turn, evokes memories of Waldorf Salad, which we traditionally eat at this time of year as well. So, go on, try them! I hope you like them, too!

Apple and Bacon/Rasher Stuffed Mushrooms

Serves around 10

Ingredients

  • Around 30  button mushrooms
  • 5 slices of rasher/bacon, chopped
  • ¼ tsp parsley, dried
  • ¼ tsp sage,  dried
  • ¼ tsp rosemary, dried
  • ¼ tsp thyme, dried
  • 1 onion, finely diced
  • 1 stick celery, finely diced
  • 1 cup apple, finely diced (I used red apple)
  • ½  cup walnuts, finely chopped
  • around 2⁄3 cup dried breadcrumbs (I used the Ottogi brand), optional
  • around ½  cup grated sharp cheddar
  • Olive oil

Method

  1. Preheat your oven to 175°C.
  2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  3. Meanwhile, remove the stems from the mushrooms and discard.* Wipe each cap down with a paper towel, and then, using a pastry brush, cover the outside gently in oil. Set aside on the baking sheet.
  4. Heat a pan between medium and medium-high heat. Once hot, add the rasher and let it cook for around 3 minutes until the fat has melted. Stir occasionally.
  5. Add the herbs, onion, and celery. Cook for a further 3-5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  6. Add the apple and walnuts and then cook, stirring occasionally until the mixture is thoroughly cooked and the meat is lightly browned.
  7. Once cooked, remove from the heat, place in a separate bowl and let it cool completely.**
  8. Once cooled, stir in the breadcrumbs, if using.
  9. Place the mushrooms on a baking sheet, fill each cap with some of the mixture, and bake for approximately 10 minutes. Don’t let the bacon burn!
  10. Remove from heat and sprinkle the cheddar on top.
  11. Place back in the oven and cook for a further 5 minutes.
  12. Serve hot.

*I discard the mushroom stems  because most of the mushroom stems here are pretty mank/bad. However, if you want, you can choose to add them to the mixture.

**At this point you can then put the mixture in the fridge to use the next day. I have done this twice when making these and they turned out great. I will also do this for Christmas.

TIPS

For Best Results: I would suggest, as much as possible, to put the rasher pieces nearer the bottom of the mushroom cap. This will help to prevent them from burning.

Leftover mixture: If you have any leftover mixture, like I did, I would suggest eating it on toast with a side of baked beans. You could also leave out the breadcrumbs and use it to make a grilled cheese sandwich.

Make it your own: I used walnuts but you could substitute pecans or do a mix of both. I used pecans the first time I made them but then I ran out. It was a delightful combination. Don’t like cheddar? Substitute another hard cheese.

Gluten-Free:  Leave out the breadcrumbs for a gluten-free option.

Tomato, Orange and Lentil Soup

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Soup is the song of the hearth…and the home.

-Louis P. De Gouy

Christmas is here! I am so excited! After all, December is one of my favourite months—Christmas and my birthday rolled into one glorious wintry month! So, in honour of both those great events I have dedicated this month to Christmas inspired food.

First up, things have been insane lately: before Thanksgiving even hit Korea, I had been sick almost a week. Now, it’s over two weeks later and this cold is hanging on with its icy toes. It doesn’t help that the weather has completely changed over the last week or so. Before Thanksgiving, the weather was a bit cold, but mostly decent and you could do things like go for an 8k walk. Since the 1st December, though, snow has hit on average 5 days out of 7. It’s much colder and this hasn’t helped me to recover at all—despite mostly staying inside, wrapped in a blanket, with the ondol (floor heating) and space heater on full blast. To top it all off, on Tuesday evening last week when I went to wash the dishes the gas wouldn’t turn on. Luckily it was just a loose cable and was quickly fixed. However, it gave me a pause: how lucky are we to have hot, running water at our beck and call? Seriously, I press a button and 2 minutes later I can jump into a hot shower. It’s fantastic. I’m nearly recovered from my cold now, and I owe it in part to one awful soup and one perfect soup. Obviously the awful soup, although packed with nutrients, is not share worthy, so onward to the perfect soup!

This soup was inspired by the Avoca Cafe Cookbook which one of my sisters got as a wedding gift. Avoca is an Irish family-run business with several cafes around Ireland. The cafe on Suffolk Street is a favourite place of mine to meet friends and family for lunch on the weekend. When I moved to Korea, I knew I’d probably only have a one-ring stove, so I asked my family for appropriate recipes. This was the one my sister shared with me, and I’ve made it a few times since. The first time I didn’t own a blender, and a blender definitely makes a world of difference!

While the soup below isn’t a Christmas soup per se, it reminds me of the season with the scent of oranges wafting through the air. It makes a nice meal for 2-3 with a nice hunk of buttered toast. I would suggest for Christmas that you serve it as a small starter.
Lastly, before the recipe a little story to make you smile: when I was in Homeplus with my friend, Stacy, to buy the ingredients for this soup, I was getting the oranges. I was looking at one upside down (see below picture) and I thought to myself “It’s completely dumb to name an orange after Flo Rida (a rapper)!” I am a little ashamed of how long it took me to realise it said Florida!
flo rida

Tomato, Orange and Lentil Soup

 (adapted from Avoca Cafe Cookbook)
Serves 2-3

Ingredients

  • 3½ tbsp butter/2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 onion peeled and finely chopped.
  • 1 garlic clove, peeled and minced
  • 3-5 whole cloves
  • 1 orange, grated for zest, peeled and chopped. Remove pith.
  • ½ cup red lentils, washed
  • 1 400g/14oz tin tomatoes
  • 2 cups stock (chicken or vegetable)
  • salt and pepper, to season
  • mint, to serve (optional)
  • orange zest, to serve (optional)

Method

  1.  Melt the butter in a large saucepan on medium heat.
  2. Once melted, add the onion and sweat for around 7 minutes.
  3. Add the garlic and cloves and sweat a further 5 minutes.
  4. Stir in the lentils so that they are covered in butter.
  5. Stir in the zest and chopped oranges.
  6. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil.
  7. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes or until the lentils are cooked*.
  8. Blend well, season gently with salt and pepper, and reheat.
  9. Serve with toasted bread, and, if you want fresh mint** and orange zest.

*If you want, at this point remove the cloves.

**If, like me, you don’t have any fresh mint on hand, sprinkle a little dried mint on top.

 TIPS:

Easier Prep: I would suggest before starting step 1, you prepare the onions, garlic, cloves and lentils. While the onions are cooking, prepare the stock, open the tomatoes and zest and chop the orange. Reserve some of the zest for the topping, if using.
Make for a larger crowd:  This recipe is easily doubled. Serve with lots of warm buttery toast to make it go even further.