Just dropping in to let you know that over on MediterrAsian.com we’ve published a sushi hand roll recipe, and we’ve included step-by-step photos to make the rolling process easier. Sushi hand rolls are healthy and very flavorsome, so if you’ve never made them before you’ve got to give it a try.
Here’s the link.
It’s painful and debilitating when it strikes, and it’s a condition that afflicts millions each year. Yes, I’m talking about RSI, or Risotto Strain Injury.
The constant stirring required when making a traditional risotto can wreak havoc on wrists and hands — and with the growing popularity of home-made risotto I’m afraid it will only be a matter of time before emergency rooms all over the country will become clogged-up with RSI victims.
That’s why Ric and I haven’t stood idly by. We know there’s a crisis brewing, so we’ve spent endless hours in the labs at MediterrAsian Central working on a cure for what some say is an incurable condition.
If you’ve tried one of the risotto recipes on our website, you’ll already know that we’ve cracked the code and developed an RSI-free risotto recipe. How is that possible, you ask? Quite simply, our risotto recipe requires no stirring. None whatsoever. (For those of you who have been bed-ridden in the past with RSI, I know you’re breathing a big sigh of relief right now.)
Instead of adding stock bit by bit while stirring, we add all the stock and other ingredients to the pot at the beginning of the cooking process. Then we reduce the heat to low, and put a lid on the pot. This combination of steaming and boiling releases the creamy starch from the arborio rice in much the same way as laboriously stirring.
And while the risotto sits and cooks by itself, you can put your wrist to better use by pouring out a pre-dinner drink.
Here’s the latest variation of our no-stir risotto recipe, and it includes wonderfully healthy (and convenient) canned red salmon, as well as green peas, zucchini, and a hint of dill and lemon.
I hope you and your wrists enjoy this recipe, and I also hope you have a very happy and healthy 2009!
Serves 2
HEAT 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat and cook the onion for 5 minutes. ADD the garlic, lemon zest and zucchini and cook for another 3 minutes. ADD the rice and cook for a minute, stirring to coat the rice grains with oil. POUR in the wine and stock, add the dill, salt and pepper and bring to the boil. COVER with a lid, reduce the heat to low and cook for 18 minutes. ADD the peas and salmon on top and cook, covered, for another 2 minutes. STIR in the reserved tablespoon of olive oil, the lemon juice and cheese and mix until well combined.
It’s the beginning of spring here in New Zealand, and I thought that the worst of the weather was behind us until I woke up the other morning and there was a layer of frost on our deck, which also carpeted the lawn like snow. Thankfully the weekend weather was far less gloomy, so we decided to make the most of the sunny weather and dust off the barbecue for a bit of grilling.
When I was growing up in Australia barbecues were very meat-centric. In fact our family barbecues were practically a meat lovefest! To accompany all this meat we’d typically have heavily buttered bread rolls and a basic salad. Not exactly the most balanced of meals, that’s for sure.
The sort of barbecue food Ric and I typically enjoy these days is still steak — except it’s tuna and salmon steaks instead of beef steaks, and shrimp and scallops instead of sausages. This isn’t simply a health decision though, we actually enjoy the taste and texture of these foods much more than meat.
Vegetables also play a much more prominent role compared to the barbecues of my childhood. We always save plenty of room on the grill for vegetables like bell peppers, onion, eggplant, mushrooms and zucchini. And salads aren’t an afterthought, they’re an integral part of the barbecue for us. In fact we always make up at least two salads to go a long with the grilled foods.
Our barbecues generally have a cultural theme as well. We’ll either base the grilled foods and salads on a particular Mediterranean or Asian cuisine (such as Italian, Greek, Spanish, Japanese or Chinese), or have a combination of Mediterranean and Asian grilled foods and salads.
Over the weekend we decided to have a pan-Asian theme for our barbecue. The centerpiece was delicately-spiced Thai shrimp and vegetable skewers, which we accompanied with a Chinese-style noodle salad (made with transparent bean thread noodles) and a simple Vietnamese-style coleslaw. We washed this down with ice cold Tiger beer from Singapore. So our taste buds certainly got to enjoy a trip around Asia.
Here’s the recipe for the skewers, and I’ll post the salad recipes in the near future. Also I quickly wanted to let you know that I was interviewed by Lovelyn from The Art of Balanced Living blog recently, and if you want to check it out here’s the link.
Shrimp, red bell pepper and zucchini skewers marinated in a Thai green curry sauce and grilled until tender and succulent.
IN a small bowl dissolve the curry paste with 1 tablespoon of boiling water. ADD the coconut milk, fish sauce, brown sugar, garlic, lemon juice, salt and cilantro, and mix to combine. THREAD alternating shrimp and vegetables onto the skewers, then marinate them in the mixture, covered, in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. COOK the skewers on a hot grill for 10 minutes, turning and brushing regularly with the marinade. SERVE with lemon or lime wedges for squeezing.
Whenever we cook rice we usually cook up double the amount we need, and freeze the rest. We use this rice in a few different ways. Usually it’s to make some sort of fried rice dish, because cooked and cooled rice really is the only type of rice to use if you want to make a decent fried rice. (It retains its texture and doesn’t go mushy like freshly cooked rice.) Cooked and cooled rice is also ideal for making hearty rice salads like this Asian-style rice salad.
We actually invented this rice salad just a couple of days ago. We both felt like a quick and satisfying lunch with Asian flavors, and we happened to have some leftover rice just sitting in the fridge. We couldn’t be bothered cooking, so we scoured our fridge and pantry for suitable ingredients to make an Asian-inspired rice salad.
One thing we didn’t have to worry about was seasonings (we’re always stocked up with Asian seasonings). But we hadn’t done a grocery shop for a few days, so we weren’t sure if we’d have a good range of fresh ingredients on hand.
Luckily we did have some ideal produce for Asian cooking: celery, red pepper, carrot, scallions, and a big knob of ginger root. All we needed was some sort of protein to balance out the flavors and improve the nutritional content. We chose one of our pantry staples — canned tuna — to fill that gap (cold shrimp, cold shredded chicken, or cashew nuts would have also worked well).
It only took us about five minutes to prepare the ingredients, which simply involved dicing the red pepper and celery, slicing the scallions and grating the carrot and ginger. Then we mixed those ingredients with the rice and tuna, and added a combination of seasonings we know work really well together — soy sauce, oyster sauce and toasted sesame oil.
The finished salad tasted surprisingly good, and really satisfied our craving for Asian flavors. Hopefully you’ll enjoy it too!
Asian-style Rice Salad
Serves 2 as a main, 4 as a side dish
2 1/2 tablespoons Chinese soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
3 cups cooked cold long-grain rice (leftover rice is ideal)
1 carrot — grated
1/2 stick celery — finely chopped
1/2 red pepper — deseeded and diced
1 scallion — finely sliced on the diagonal
6 oz (180g) canned tuna in oil — drained and flaked
MIX together the soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, ginger and pepper in a small bowl. MIX together the rice, carrot, celery, red pepper, scallion and tuna in another bowl. TOSS the dressing with the rice mixture until well combined.
Well, spring has definitely been coming “in like a lion” this year— there are still a few raw and rainy days ahead as we wait for the nicer weather to arrive. And on days like these, there is nothing better than a bowl of soup.
I especially love a refreshing lime flavored soup to clear the head and warm the body during this transitional period. This tangy, Southeast Asian inspired lime soup makes a great light meal, is quick to prepare, and reminds us of warmer days ahead. Enjoy!
Zesty Lime and Salmon Soup
Serves 4-6
Ingredients:
Directions:
In a large stockpot or saucepan, heat the oil and add in the garlic, mushrooms, onion, and pepper. Sauté for about 5 minutes. Add the chicken stock, lime juice, and fish pieces. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 5-7 minutes until fish is cooked through (Skim foam from the surface of the soup as it appears). Stir in the cilantro and season to taste with sea salt. Ladle into bowls and serve with lime wedges on the side.
(Note: You can also substitute chicken or a different fish of your choice, or add a handful of rice noodles to each bowl before serving if you prefer a more filling soup.)
I like to spend a couple of hours on the weekend preparing a few food basics that, once made, take the hard work out of cooking meals for the week ahead — a strategy I refer to as ‘weekend cooking for weekday eating’. In addition to curries and soups I invariably make some kind of tomato-based Mediterranean sauce for its sheer versatility.
Apart from a classic bolognese sauce or a piquant puttanesca sauce, one of our favorites is this rich sauce made with a medley of vibrant red ingredients including tomatoes, roasted red peppers, red onions, red wine, and red chili. I really enjoy the process of making up batches of this sauce, it brings out the Italian mama in me, especially when I put on Italian opera while I’m cooking.
Producing my own homemade sauce rather than buying the store-bought stuff in jars gives me a feeling of self-sufficiency, and it’s healthier and cheaper as well. Just knowing that I’ve got a supply of this delicious and nutritious sauce on hand fills me with a real sense of satisfaction. Over the past week we’ve had this sauce drizzled over grilled fish on a simple couscous salad, and then a couple of nights later tossed with rigatoni, broccoli and canned tuna as a quick pasta meal.
The sauce can be stored in the fridge, covered for up to 3 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Robust red sauce
Serves 4 (or enough to make the following 2 meals, each serving 2 people)
HEAT the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat and cook the onions for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring regularly. ADD the tomatoes, wine, rosemary, chili flakes, salt, pepper and sugar and bring to the boil. COVER, reduce the heat to medium and cook for 20 minutes. WHILE the sauce simmers, place the peppers (skin side up) under a hot broiler (griller) until the skin blackens all over, about 10 minutes. REMOVE and cover the charred peppers with a clean dishcloth or plastic wrap for 5 minutes to allow the steam to loosen the skins from the pepper flesh. PEEL off the blackened skin from the peppers and roughly cut the flesh into pieces then add to the sauce. PLACE the sauce into a food processor or blender and process until smooth.
Grilled fish with robust red sauce and couscous salad
Serves 2
MIX together the lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic in a bowl. POUR half the lemon/oil mixture over the fish fillets and marinate, covered, in the fridge for 1 hour. COMBINE the couscous and zucchini in a bowl, pour over the boiling stock, cover and allow to steam for 5 minutes. FLUFF the couscous with a fork and toss with the scallion, parsley and mint. DRIZZLE over the remaining lemon/oil mixture and the crumbled feta and toss well to combine. SET the couscous salad aside while the fish continues to marinate. HEAT a cast iron grill pan over a high heat until very hot. COOK the fish fillets in the pan for around 3 minutes each side until just cooked. SERVE each fillet on a bed of the couscous salad and spoon the heated robust red sauce over the top.
Variations: Grill chicken breast fillets instead of fish. Serve any leftover couscous salad tossed with strips of smoked salmon and cubed avocado (drizzled with lemon juice to prevent browning).
Rigatoni with robust red sauce, tuna and broccoli
Serves 2
COOK the pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water, adding the broccoli to the pot for the final 5 minutes of cooking. DRAIN the cooked pasta and broccoli, put the sauce in the bottom of the pot and top with the hot pasta, broccoli and tuna chunks. TOSS together gently to combine well and heat through. SERVE the pasta with a little shaved or grated Parmesan on top.
