Daring Cooks' Challenge - Nut butters

The July 2010 Daring Cooks’ Challenge was hosted by Margie of More Please and Natashya of Living in the Kitchen with Puppies. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make their own nut butter from scratch, and use the nut butter in a recipe. Their sources include Better with Nut Butter by Cooking Light Magazine, Asian Noodles by Nina Simonds, and Food Network online.

This was my first Daring Cooks challenge and I'm quite happy with it. I would have liked to experiment more with different nut butters but illness has consumed many a weekend over the last month for me!

Feeling under the weather had me craving spicy food. With this in mind, I set out to make peanut butter and a spicy satay sauce.

Satay sauce

Peanut butter

200 gr unsalted peanuts

Satay sauce

5 shallots, roughly chopped

3 birds eye chillies, roughly chopped 

4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

1 stalk lemongrass (dry outer layers removed, use pale part only)

3 tsp tamarind paste

5 tbsp plus 2 tsp brown sugar

1 tsp salt

100 ml vegetable oil

500 ml water

1 tbsp walter

200 gr peanut butter

50 gr roasted unsalted peanuts, crushed

Step 1: Make the peanut butter

Pour the nuts into the bowl of a food processor. Grind the nuts in the processor until they form a paste or butter. 

The nuts first turn into powdery or grainy bits, then start to clump and pull away from the side of the bowl, and finally form a paste or butter. The total time required depends on the fat and moisture content of the nuts; grinding time will vary from roughly 1 to 4 minutes. Set aside until needed.

Step 2: Make the spice paste

Roughly chop the lemongrass, chillies and garlic. Place in a mortar and pestle and pound for a few minutes to break down the fibres in the lemongrass.

Place the shallots and the lemongrass mixture into a food processor and blitz to form a fine paste.

Note: If the paste doesn't seem to be moving add half a tablespoon water but no more as this will water the sauce down too much and spit excessively when poured into the oil to cook. You do need a decent mini food processor for this (not a blender as this requires additional liquid to make the mixture move) job as a large one.

Step 3: Cook the spice paste

Heat oil in a heavy based saucepan or wok till medium heat and pour paste in. Stir fry, continuing to make sure bottom isn't catching till there is very little steam rising from the sauce and you can definitely see it
caramelising and smell it getting fragrant.

Step 4: Making the satay
Add peanut butter, crushed peanuts, tamarind, lime, sugar, only one teaspoon of salt (add to taste after adding saltedpeanuts). Stir to combine.

Add the water and bring to boil. Remove from heat and set aside till required. 

You can make this a couple days ahead of time and keep in a glass jar in the fridge and then reheat to serve.

Serving suggetions

This recipe is delicious but, be warned, it makes an absolute truckload of sauce! We have used it for chicken skewers and a satay and rice noodle stir fry.

For the skewers

Step 1: Marinate the meat
Marinate 500 gr of diced chicken thigh meat in some of the satay sauce overnight or for at least an hour. Unfortunately, I didn't measure how much I used. A good rule of thumb is add as much as it takes to coat all of the meat in the sauce.

Step 2: Thread and cook the skewers
If you are using bamboo skewers, soak them in water for at least half an hour. This will prevent them from burning. Thread the meat onto the skewers and cook on a low to medium heated BBQ for about 20 minutes, turning once.

Note: we have a Webber. When cooking the chicken skewers, we heat it to 150 degrees and cooked them with the lid closed.

Step 3: Serving
Reheat some of the extra satay sauce to serve over the skewers. When you skewers are cooked through, smother with satay sauce and enjoy!

For the rice noodle stirfry

Serves 6

Once again I didnt measure how much sauce I used! At a guess it would have been about 375 gr of sauce and about 100gr coconut cream.

Ingredients
1 packet of your favourite rice noodles (I used Bamboo Pot), softened according to packet directions
300 gr chicken, sliced
2 cloves garlic, finely diced
1.5 cm ginger, grated
600 gr vegetables (I used brocolli, capsicum, carrot, zucchini, water chestnuts and bamboo shoots)
Satay sauce
Coconut cream

Place the noodles in a large heatproof bowl. Cover with boiling water. Set aside for 5 minutes or until tender. Drain.

Heat a small amount of oil in a wok over medium-high heat. Add the chicken, garlic and ginger and stir-fry for 2 minutes or until brown. Transfer to a bowl.

Heat another small amount of oil in the wok over medium-high heat. Add the vegetables and stir-fry for 4 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked to your liking. Add the satay sauce and coconut cream. Cook for a further minute. Transfer to a bowl.

Add the softened noodles to the wok. Cook for two minutes tossing to ensure they do not burn. Return the meat and vegetables to the wok. Toss until well combined and heated through. If your dish is a little dry or the flavour is not strong enough add more satay sauce or coconut milk.

Potato gnocchi with spicy tomato and chorizo sugo

Mild chorizo, spicy chilies, sweet basil and tangy tomatoes. That's my kind of gnocchi sauce. While I do appreciate a good sage butter or decadent creamy sauce, I find it hard to go past the tomato based sauces when combining with beautiful pillowy soft potato parcels of gnocchi.

Spicy tomato and chorizo sugo

(Recipe by Stef @ Essential ingredients)

Serves 4

1 brown onion, finely diced
1 - 2 spanish chorizo
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 long red chillies, finely diced
1/2 cup red wine (something with a bit of guts like a Shiraz works well for this dish)
825 gr tin of finely chopped tomatoes
1 red capsicum, diced
12 basil leaves, shredded

Method

Cut the chorizo in half lengthways and dice into bite sized pieces. Place a saucepan over a medium heat and add a dash of olive oil. Add the finely diced garlic and chorizo to the pan. Cook over a medium heat for a few minutes, just until the chorizo releases some of its fat into the pan. Add the chill and onion to the pan and cook, stirring, until the onion is translucent.

When the onions are cooked, add the tinned tomatoes and red wine. Reduce the heat and let the sauce simmer for around 45 minutes or until reduced by 1/3.

When the sauce has been reduced, add the diced capsicum and cook for a further three minutes. Stir in the shredded basil just before serving. Add salt and cracked black pepper to taste.

Served with gnocchi or pasta.

Basic potato gnocchi

Basic potato gnocchi

(Recipe by Stef @ Essential ingredients)

Serves 4

600 gr potatoes
3 egg yolks
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
½ tsp salt
½ c grated parmesan cheese
1 c GF plain flour, plus extra

Step 1: Cooking the potatoes
Spread a layer of rock salt on a baking tray and arrange the potatoes on top. Bake until a bit overcooked, about 45 minutes. Let sit until cool enough to handle.

Step 2: Making the gnocchi dough
Peel off the potato skins. Grate the potatoes on the large holes of a box grater. Place the mound of potatoes on a clean surface and make a well in the middle. Add the egg yolks, parmesan, nutmeg and salt. Mix in the potatoes and mix well with hands.

Sprinkle 1/2 cup of the flour over the potatoes and, using your knuckles, press it into the potatoes. Fold the mass over on itself and press down again. Sprinkle on more flour, little by little, folding and pressing the dough until it just holds together. If the mixture is too dry, add another egg yolk or a little water. If it is too wet, add more flour.

The dough should give under slight pressure. It will feel firm but yielding. To test if the dough is the correct consistency, take a piece and roll it with your hands on a well-floured board into a rope 1.5cm in diameter. If the dough holds together, it is ready. If not, add more flour, fold and press the dough several more times, and test again.

Step 3: Cutting and shaping the gnocchi
Keeping your work surface and the dough lightly floured, cut the dough into 4 pieces. Roll each piece into a rope about 1.5 cm in diameter. Cut into 1.5 cm long pieces. Lightly flour the gnocchi as you cut them.

As you shape the gnocchi, dust them lightly with flour and scatter them on baking sheets lined with parchment paper or waxed paper.

Step 4: Cooking the gnocchi
When ready to cook, bring a large pot of water to a boil and add salt. Drop in the gnocchi and cook for about 120 seconds from the time they rise to the surface. Remove the cooked gnocchi with a skimmer, shake off the excess water, and serve as desired.
Note: To freeze shaped gnocchi, line baking sheets with waxed paper and dust with flour. Spread the gnocchi on the prepared sheets and freeze until hard. Store in the freezer for up to 1 month. To cook, drop the frozen gnocchi into boiling salted water. Cook for about 2 minutes after they rise to the surface.

Chicken pistachio korma

This picture really doesn't do this curry justice. Not only is this easy to make, it tastes great too.

The thought of making a curry from scratch has always been fairly daunting for me. I always thought they'd be really complicated and taste nothing like the curries I've come to love from some of the local digs in Canberra. For those of you in Canberra I highly recommend Blu Ginger (in Civic) and Taj Agra (in Dickson).

So one day during my lunch break I ventured out into the cold to buy a mortar and pestle. What better way to christen it than to make a curry... from scratch!?

Chicken pistachio korma

(Adapted from Poh's Kitchen)

Serves 5

4 onions, roughly chopped
¾ cup pistachio kernels
3 green chillies, roughly chopped
30ml oil
3 tsp ginger paste
3 tsp garlic paste
1 tbs coriander powder
1 tsp white pepper powder
700 gr diced chicken thigh fillets (skin and fat removed)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
3/4 cup yogurt
1/2 cup cream
3/4 tsp garam masala powder (made from ground equal quantities (2 gr of each) of roasted cumin seeds, cinnamon sticks, cloves, green cardamom and black peppercorn)

Step 1: Prepare the sauce
Boil onions in a pot of water for 10 minutes, drain, cool and puree in a food processor.

Meanwhile put the cumin seeds in a fry pan and roast for a few minutes, be careful not to burn them. Using a mortar and pessel, grind all of the spices so that you have a fine powder. Set aside.

Puree pistachios and green chilli.

Step 2: Cook the sauce
Heat the oil and add the onions and saute for four minutes, do not brown. Add ginger and garlic pastes. Fry for one minute and stir in coriander and pepper powders. Add pistachio and green chilli paste and cook for about a minute.

Step 3: Cook the curry
Put in the chicken with the salt and sugar and mix well. Add a little water (1/4 cup) and simmer over a medium heat until the chicken is cooked. Stir in the yogurt and cook for a further two minutes.

Add cream and garam masala and stir through.

Serve with boiled basmati rice and green beans.

Fajitas and tortillas

Despite the vast improvement in gluten/ wheat free products over the years, there's one thing I find to be consistently gross, hard and near unpalatable -- tortillas! For those of you that are gluten free you'll know exactly what I mean. If you are after store bought GF tortillas that roll without snapping, good luck finding one. After seeing a post by a blogger that I quite like (Anita at Leave Room for Dessert -- http://leaveroomfordessert.com/) with a recipe for tortillas and fajitas, I decided it was time to give gluten free tortillas a go.

Gluten free tortillas

(Recipe adapted from Anita at Leave Room for Dessert)

Makes 5

2 c gf plain flour

1/16 tsp baking powder

55 gr butter, soften slightly

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp gluten substitute (e.g. Organ Gluten Substitute)

1/2 c plus 1 to 2 tbsp warm water

Fajitas

500 gr rump steak, thinly slice

1 red capsicum, thinly sliced

1 tbsp oil

Sour cream

Lettuce

Salsa

Grated cheese

Fajita marinade

1 c water

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp white pepper

1 tsp salt

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp ground chilli powder (more if you like things spicy!)

pinch ground cloves (I ground up 4 cloves in the mortar and pestle and used those)

3 tsp minced garlic

1/4 c red wine vinegar

1/4 cup oil

1 orange, zest pared into strips and juiced

1 lemon, zest pared into strips and juiced

Caramelised onions

1 onion, peeled and thinly sliced

1/2 tbsp oil

1 tbsp brown sugar

Step 1: Making the tortilla dough

Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and gluten substitute into a bowl. Add the butter, rubbing it and the flour between your fingers until you get a mixture that resembles breadcrumbs. Make a well in the centre of the flour and pour in 1/2 c warm water. Mix to form a dough. If your mixture is dry add a little extra water, 1 tbsp at a time, working the mixture into a dough after each addition. Bring the mixture together to form a ball, kneading together for a few minutes. Return the dough to the bowl, cover and rest for 20 minutes.

Step 2: Prepare the marinade

Place the water, red wine vinegar and juices into a bowl. Add all of the spices and 2 ribbons of zest from both the orange and the lemon. Slowly whisk in the olive oil and set aside for 15 minutes.

Marinate the meat for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Step 3: Caramelising the onions

Place the sliced onions and oil in a small sauce pan over a medium heat. Cook the onions until soft and translucent, about 10 minutes. Reduce the heat a little and add the brown sugar. Continue to cook the onions for around 20 minutes, stirring as needed so they don't stick to the saucepan.

Note: if you find the mixture is getting too dry, add a little more oil.

Step 4: Rolling out and cooking the tortillas

While the onions are cooking, you can roll out and cook your tortillas.

Break the dough into 5 equal portions, rolling each portion into a small ball. Preheat a fry pan or crepe pan to a medium/high heat. Roll out one of balls, on a silicone mat or lightly floured board, until a thin tortilla round is formed.

Place the tortilla on the preheated pan and cook for 1 minute on each side, or until lightly browned. Place the cooked tortilla on a plate and cover with a clean tea towel to keep warm. Repeat with remaining dough.

Note: little air bubbles will form in the tortilla dough when you are cooking it. This is normal.

Step 5: Cooking the meat and capsicums

Heat a fry pan to medium/ high heat. Add the oil, a few tablespoons of the marinade and the capsicums. Cook the capsicums for a few minutes until tender and remove from the pan.

Add the meat to the fry pan in a few small batches and cook until just browned. Keep the cooked batches covered while you finish cooking the meat.

Step 6: Assembling the tortilla

Place the tortilla on a plate. Spread a line of sour cream and salsa (I prefer mine without salsa) down the middle of the tortilla. Add the lettuce, meat, vegetables and grated cheese in a line down the centre of the tortilla, leaving room at one edge to fold up. Once the bottom is folded up, fold in the sides and enjoy!

Pumpkin, feta and sage risotto

Risotto on a cold Canberra evening always goes down a treat. This is one of the few risottos I make that doesn't change. I've made it so many times that it's pretty much part of my DNA. My boyfriend and I love this risotto. I hope you enjoy it too. If you don't want it to be a purely vegetarian affair, add 100 gr of prosciutto as well.

Pumpkin and feta risotto (Recipe by Stef @ Essential ingredients)

Serves 4 - 6

1 litre chicken stock

1 tbsp olive oil

30 gr butter

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 onion, finely diced

1 ½ c aborio rice

½ c dry white wine

1/3 cup grated parmesan

500 gr kent pumpkin, cubed

100 gr spinach

125 gr Danish feta, cubed

¼ c pinenuts, toasted

12 sage leaves

salt to taste

Step 1: Prepare the stock

Place the stock and water in a medium saucepan. Bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and let simmer.

Step 2: Prepare the risotto base

Place the oil in a large heavy based saucepan over a medium heat. Add the garlic and onions to the pan. Cook the onion until translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the rice to the pot and stir to coat with the oil. Cook the, stirring, for a few minutes until the rice is opaque.

Step 3: Cooking the rice

Pour the wine in the sides of the pan, stirring until absorbed. Add 8 finely chopped sage leaves and stir to combine.

Add the stock to the rice, ½ cup at a time, stirring until absorbed. Continue to add the stock to the rice in ½ cup batches until the liquid is absorbed. Total cooking time should be about 35 minutes, or until the rice is just tender.

Step 4: Prepare the pinenuts and pumpkin (Note: be sure to keep an eye on your risotto stirring as needed if you’re going to do this step while the rice is cooking)

Preheat an oven to 180 C (160 C fan forced). Place the pinenuts on a tray and cook for 3 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and set aside.

Meanwhile, take the skin off the pumpkin and cut into cubes. Place the pumpkin in a pot of boiling salted water and cook for 5 minutes, or until tender. Drain the pumpkin and refresh in a bowl of iced water. Mash 300 gr of the pumpkin and set aside.

In a separate saucepan heat 30 gr of butter with a little oil and 4 of the sage leaves. Place the remaining 200 gr of the cubed pumpkin in the saucepan and cook for a few minutes, until browned, on one side the turn and repeat. When the pumpkin is nicely browned, place it on a piece of absorbent kitchen paper and set aside.

Step 5: Finishing the risotto

Add the parmesan to the risotto and stir through. Then add the spinach and cook for a few minutes until wilted. Stir through the pumpkin puree, toasted pinenuts and cubed feta. Take the risotto off the heat and add the browned pumpkin. Gently stir to distribute the pumpkin through the risotto. Taste and season with salt and pepper as necessary.

Smoked chicken risotto

Risotto is one of those great meals that is versatile and yummy. I have a few risottos that I make that actually call for a set list of ingredients. However, most of my risottos are developed out of what ever is left in the fridge. That's how this risotto was born.

Risotto is also great for those among us that are gluten intolerant. It can also be as healthy or as naughty as you like. I'm sure to post many more risotto recipes.

Bon appetit!

Smoked chicken risotto (Recipe by Stef @ Essential ingredients)

Serves 4 - 6

1 litre chicken stock

½ c water

1 tbsp olive oil

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 onion, finely diced

1 ½ c aborio rice

½ c dry white wine

3 rashers of bacon

1/3 cup grated parmesan

250 gr smoked chicken, sliced

200 gr mushrooms, sliced

½ c peas

¼ broccoli floret buds

100 gr spinach

2 tbsp whole grain mustard

2 tbsp sour cream

2 tbsp parsley, chopped

salt to taste

Step 1: Prepare the stock

Place the stock and water in a medium saucepan. Bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and let simmer.

Step 2: Prepare the risotto base

Place the oil in a large heavy based saucepan over a medium heat. Add the garlic, chopped bacon and onions to the pan. Cook the onion until translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the rice to the pot and stir to coat with the oil. Cook the, stirring, for a few minutes until the rice is opaque.

Step 3: Cook the rice

Pour the wine in the sides of the pan, stirring until absorbed. Add the stock to the rice, ½ cup at a time, stirring until absorbed. Continue to add the stock to the rice in ½ cup batches until the liquid is absorbed. Total cooking time should be about 35 minutes, or until the rice is just tender.

Once all the liquid has been absorbed, add the parmesan and mustard to the rice mixture, stir to combine.

Step 4: Finish the risotto

Add the sliced mushrooms, peas, broccoli, spinach and chicken to the risotto in separate batches, stirring after each addition. Take the risotto off the heat and stir in the sour cream and chopped parsley. Taste and season with salt and pepper as necessary.

Lemon chicken

This dish has been a favourite in our house for a while. I developed it as a way of using some of the lemons my boyfriend's mum would bring us in the summer. It's a taste sensation of sweet and sour. The chicken is crispy and juicy and oh-so-delicious.

There's a lot of sauce in this dish.. mainly because I increased my original quantities by half... we love the sauce that much!

Lemon Chicken (Recipe by Stef @ Essential ingredients)

Serves 4

Serve with boiled rice and steamed greens.

Ingredients

Vegetable oil

600 gr chicken thigh meat

3 egg whites

1 ½ tbsp cornflour

½ tsp salt

8 spring onions

Lemon sauce

1 ½ tbsp cornflour

150 ml chicken stock

¾ c lemon juice (3­–4 lemons)

3 tbsp honey

2 ½ tbsp white sugar

Step 1: Prepare the lemon sauce

Mix the cornflour and 3 tbsp of the chicken stock in a small saucepan over a medium heat. Add the remaining chicken stock, lemon juice, honey and white sugar. Stir to combine. Increase the heat to a medium-high heat and bring the sauce to the boil. When the sauce reaches boiling point, decrease the heat and simmer the sauce for a further 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside until needed.

Step 2: Preparing the chicken

Pour the oil into a wok or saucepan until one-third full. Heat over medium-high heat until hot.

Slice the chicken into cubes. Whisk the cornflour, salt and egg whites together. Add the chicken to the egg white mixture and coat.

Step 3: Cook the chicken

Fry the chicken in the hot oil in small batches. Once the chicken is cooked, set aside on a paper towel to drain.

Step 4: Combine chicken and sauce

Drain the oil from the wok. Return all the chicken to the wok and heat through for 3 minutes. Add the lemon sauce and the sliced shallots to the chicken and toss to coat the chicken. Cook until the sauce becomes “sticky”, about 3 minutes.