Seafood marinara stew

Winter is creeping up on us like an unwanted guest. It's the middle of July and of course it is cold.   I have always written many many times in the past that we dread winter. Well I do. Sans the layering of clothing and comfortable matching scarves and beanies, and beautiful leather boots, I could do well without winter.  Really.  But I’m embracing our life here in AU and part of assimilating into the Australian way of life is well, embracing winter and all the other seasons that come and go.  But you have to know that winter... is my least favourite. 

When it comes to winter cooking and food, I love simple recipes.  My favourites are dishes that shout fresh, easy to reach ingredients, simple cooking methods with delicious results.  While I do admire chefs who are into fusion and gastronomy, I’m not the type who would attempt pesto jelly, or strawberry foams.  I like simple cooking.  Time spent in the kitchen is precious, and any effort made to prepare, whether it took 10 minutes or 6 hours always spells love. 

This one, no matter what angle shouts L-O-V-E.  Ingredients are simple, easy to make and wow! It's my easy version of the French seafood boullabaisse, minus all the other ingredients.  The seafood mix is anything you get from the fish markets. 

You dive into this with some toasted sour dough or any fresh bread, and you’ll come back up feeling the love.  You’ll get lots of warm hugs from this for sure. 

 

 Ingredients:

1kg mixed seafood (marinara mix in shells)

1 jar 350 ml passata sauce (tomato sauce)

3-4 fresh tomatoes, quartered

1 onion, sliced

2-3 cloves garlic, chopped finely

½ cup fresh parsley, roughly chopped

½ teaspoon course/ground oregano

Salt and pepper to taste

Olive oil

Tablespoon of butter (optional)

 Method:

In a heavy based pan or skillet, heat about 2 tablespoons of olive oil.

Add the garlic and onions and cook until soft.

Add the tomatoes and cook until soft.

Add the passata sauce, bring to boil then turn down heat to simmer.

Season with salt and pepper, and sprinkle the oregano.

Add the seafood, place lid/cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until all seafood pieces are cooked through.

Add the butter and let it melt into the sauce.  

Top with the chopped parsley.

Tips and tricks:

* I add the butter in the latter part of the cooking just to add that gloss in the sauce.  You don't have to add butter if you don't want to, but that its a secret ingredient in most restaurants - the chefs add that for the shine and gloss.

* You can also add fresh or dried thyme for extra flavour.  They add a rich depth to the stew.

Hot apple tarts (Tartes fine aux pommes)

 

Time flies when you're having fun!  Do you believe that saying?  Is there truth in it? Absolutely.  I realised a month ago my blog is already on its 5th year.  Hooray!  What started out as a personal journal to keep and remember recipes has evolved into something more. 

Through this blog, I've met the most wonderful people who share the same interest and passion that I have in food, both personally and virtually. 

Through this blog, I developed a keen interest in cooking and baking that I've decided to take Commercial Cookery and I'm onto my last semester.

Through this blog I have learned more about photography and food styling and op shop/prop shopping!

Through this blog I've created a happy place for myself - for those times when parenting, domesticity, work and all other things become frustrating.  Yes.  This has become an outlet of some sort.  Therapeutic as cooking and baking can be, writing brings a different sense of calmness.  Through this blog, I become a story teller.  And as it has been my initial intention, through this blog, my kids will read about their own stories and learn to cook along the way.

Now rewind five years ago, my first blog post was all about a trip to the Blue Mountains with some friends and we went apple picking.   I remember we had so many apples that after getting tired of juicing them and making apple crumble, I went on to make my first ever cake from scratch.  It was one Easter long weekend.  

On a recent trip to the Blue Mountains with the inlaws (hashtag #inlawsarehere) we did the same thing.  Despite the heat and the long drive (actually 2 hours is not that long, except when you have kids perpetually asking - are we there yet? ), we had great fun.  This time though we managed to control our pickings and harvested only what we can consume responsibly.

Bilpin Springs Orchard is 1.5-2 hours drive towards Western Sydney via Richmond. They orchard is open to the public for fruit picking most weekends with a variety of fruits to pick on offer.  It's a different kind of experience for our overseas guests especially apples, plums and pears are not locally grown fruits in the Philippines.  And while we were there, of course we showcased the famous Three Sisters at Echo Point in Katoomba and walked around the local shops.

So.  Five years of adobo down under in the blogosphere sounds like a celebration to me.  Not bad at all.  And to celebrate five years of food blogging, musings and story telling, let me share a simple recipe that embraces the coming of autumn. It is a simple, easy sweet dish that's a crowd pleaser any time of the day.  Its easy because you can use store-bought puff pastry.  Its simple because you only need a few basic ingredients.  But the result is something that looks really fancy.  And then you can say you made tartes fine aux pommes.   This recipe is inspired by Margaret Fulton's Encyclopedia of Food and Cookery.

To make these simple but fancy looking Tartes fine aux pommes:

Ingredients:

2 sheets puff pastry

4 apples (with enough to munch on while making)

50g butter (25g for brushing and 25g cubes to put on top)

1/4 cup raw sugar

cinnamon to sprinkle (optional)

I used a small 3-4cm cake pan to cut out the shapes from the puff pastry.  If you have pastry round cutters you can use that.  Or otherwise, do other shapes.

The layers.  Puff pastry, apples, brushed with a little bit of butter, raw sugar and a tiny knob of butter on top.

Golden crispy pastries with soft cinnamon scented apples.  Divine!

Method:

Sprinkle some flour on your bench top or table.

Using a rolling pin, roll the store bought puff pastry to slightly thin them.

Cut the pastry out to size - rounds or squares or triangles. Whatever you fancy.

Place the cut out pastry onto a lined baking sheet and place in the refrigerator to chill for 20-30 minutes.

Wash, peel and core the apples.

Using a mandoline or sharp knife, cut the apple into thin slices.

Once the pastry has chilled, layer the apples slices onto the pastry.

Brush some of the melted butter on the top of the apples. 

Using your fingers, sprinkle some raw sugar on the apple slices then place a tiny cube of butter on the top.

Sprinkle some ground cinnamon on the tops.

Bake in a preheated 180*C oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden.

Place on a wire rack to cool.

Tips:

* We've made these as squares and triangles and it works just the same.  

* When brushing the butter on the top of the apples, don't use to much.  You only want to wet the apples so the sugar will stick to the slices.

*The tarts are best eaten still warm and crispy a few minutes after baked.  

Happy 5th year adobo down under!  Even though there's no cake in this party, there is a big space to say Maraming Salamat. Gracias. Merci.  For being a part of this celebration.  Cheers! 

Ratatouille in filo parcels

What I say is true.  Anyone can cook, but only the fearless can be great. – Chef Gusteau, Ratatouille the movie

Ratatouille in filo parcels - Lesson 2 - Vegetables, Fruits, Eggs and Farinaceous Dishes

Spring is here!  And as the temperature gets warmer, it has been busy in the home front for weeks now, with my sis in law in town. Weekends have been full on and its just buzzing every single day at home.  Besides the usual routine of school-work-activities, we have not had the chance try anything new in the kitchen.  I've had so much bookmarks saved from Pinterest, from the coming school holiday (end of September to mid October) all the way up to Halloween! Exciting DIY projects and baking and cooking and art projects!  I've been thinking of re-painting the kitchen and living room walls, despite the fact that we are renting.  Its an extra process to ask permission just so we can make some changes but that's fine.  Spring is the time to do all these!  I just hope to keep all these projects going!


In Kitchen 10, we’ve moved on from salads and appetizers, to vegetables, eggs and farinaceous dishes.  I’m pretty stoked with my grades for the previous unit and so still happily floating and learning new things.   A week ago we made ratatouille.  A very simple provincial dish originating from Occitan Provenca in France.  It is vegetarian all the way.  It’s a simple dish packed full of nutrients.  A great side dish to any mains, or as we did, as a savoury filling.

We made this dish with:

1 zucchini, diced

Half of a large aubergine (or 1 medium sized), diced

Half red capsicum, diced

Half green capsicum, diced

2 whole tomato concasse, diced

1 onion, diced

2 garlic, diced

2-3 bay leaves

Dry thyme

Olive oil

sheets of filo pastry

melted butter 

1 egg, lightly whisked

sesame seeds

Sauté the garlic, bay leaves, thyme in olive oil until the aromatics are released, being careful not to burn the garlic.  Add the onions and sauté until soft.

Add the capsicums and stir.

Add the zucchini and aubergine (eggplants) and stir.  Add the white wine and simmer for 5-8 minutes, just until the vegetables are  just right, not too soft.  Turn off heat and add the tomatoes on top.  Set aside to cool – about 20-30 minutes.

Prepare filo pastry by brushing some melted butter in between the sheets.  Use about 3-4 sheets.  Add a spoonful of the ratatouille on one side of the pastry, and fold the opposite  end in a triangle. Continue folding creating a triangle shape.  

Place on baking trays lined with baking paper.  After finishing your pastries, brush with egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds.  Bake in a preheated (200 degree C) oven for 20 minutes or until the top is golden.

Ratatouille - Lesson 2 - Vegetables, Fruits, Eggs and Farinaceous Dishes, Kitchen 10

I love the colours of the ratatouille here.  The shiny stainless bowl reflects the beautiful and colourful mix of the vegetables.  

We're off to the coast for a few days, so I hope you're all enjoying your week and making something new and exciting things when you can.