A long weekend lunch of caramelised garlic tart, pesto potato and green bean salad, ribboned asparagus salad, club sandwiches, and plum yoghurt cake for dessert.

Ottolenghi’s caramelised garlic tart, from Plenty. It’s a wee bit of work but very, very worth it. I subbed the hard goat’s cheese for some grated cheddar.

Ingredients

• 13 oz/375g all-butter puff pastry
• 3 medium heads of garlic, cloves separated and peeled
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 cup/220ml water
• ¾ tbsp fine/caster sugar
• 1 tsp chopped rosemary
• 1 tsp chopped thyme, plus a few whole sprigs to finish
• 4 ¼ oz/120g soft, creamy goat’s cheese
• 4 ¼ oz/120g hard, mature goat’s cheese
• 2 free-range eggs
• ½ cup/100ml heavy/double cream
• ½ cup/100ml crème fraîche
• salt and black pepper

Have ready a shallow, loose-bottomed, 28cm fluted tart tin. Roll out the puff pastry into a circle that will line the bottom and sides of the tin, plus a little extra. Line the tin with the pastry. Place a large circle of greaseproof paper on the bottom and fill up with baking beans. Leave to rest in the fridge for about 20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C/Gas Mark 4. Place the tart case in the oven and bake blind for 20 minutes. Remove the beans and paper, then bake for a further 5-10 minutes, or until the pastry is golden. Set aside. Leave the oven on.

While the tart case is baking, make the caramelized garlic. Put the cloves in a small saucepan and cover with plenty of water. Bring to a simmer and blanch for 3 minutes, then drain well.

Dry the saucepan, return the cloves to it and add the olive oil. Fry the garlic cloves on a high heat for 2 minutes. Add the balsamic vinegar and water and bring to the boil, then simmer gently for 10 minutes.

Add the sugar, rosemary, chopped thyme and ¼ teaspoon salt. Continue simmering on a medium flame for 10 minutes, or until most of the liquid has evaporated and the garlic cloves are coated in a dark caramel syrup. Set aside.

To assemble the tart, break both types of goat’s cheese into pieces and scatter in the pastry case. Spoon the garlic cloves and syrup evenly over the cheese.

In a jug whisk together the eggs, creams, ½ teaspoon salt and some black pepper. Pour this custard over the tart filling to fill the gaps, making sure that you can still see the garlic and cheese over the surface.

Reduce the oven temperature to 160°C/Gas Mark 3 and place the tart inside. Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until the tart filling has set and the top is golden brown. Remove from the oven and leave to cool a little.

Then take out of tin, trim the pastry edge if needed, lay a few sprigs of thyme on top and serve warm (it reheats well!) with a crisp salad.

Dinner tonight was Yotam Ottolenghi’s soba noodles with aubergine and mango, but with avocado instead of mango, and also with tofu (online here or here). It was unbelievably good. The recipe is from Ottolenghi’s book Plenty, graciously lent to me by Laura and Tim. Everything I’ve tried from it has been excellent, will be getting my own copy quick smart.

We had this fabulously garish cake for Kim‘s birthday celebration (as well as a million other great foods). I was about to say I made it, but actually no. First I declared to Kim that I would make her a birthday cake, then informed Jason than we would be doing so, and as usual, he just went ahead and made it while I was busy doing other things. Story of our lives, poor Jason! It was strawberry layer cake and other people seemed into it but I’d have liked it a lot better without the fake strawberry flavour, ick.

That weekend Jason made brioche french toast from his Bouchon cookbook and it was amazing buttery crispy melt-in-your-mouth goodness. We also went to high tea at Martha’s Pantry, which was perfect aside from forgetting my camera, and the hangover that caused me to forget it. After four weeks of mild detoxing, healthy food and no alcohol, it was all a bit much indulgence and I’m still not quite over it! More green things, please.

I’ve been drawing and playing about with making things more than I have in a long while. Maybe I’ll show you a few more things, and tell you why that is sometime soon.

Fish with lemon and butter, roast potatoes and strawberry, avocado & blue cheese salad.

Tomato and corn pie, the first thing I’ve ever baked from scratch.

Chicken with lemon, parsley and capers and more strawberry & blue cheese salad.

I’d only eaten quinoa before once or twice and had never cooked it myself, so I can’t be entirely sure of what the texture is supposed to be like, but the flavours in the salad are so good I don’t think you can go too terribly wrong.

And the best part is that this recipe is endlessly adaptable. Use feta instead of avocado, add capsicum, red onion or grated carrot, use tinned corn if it’s not in season, use any flavour of beans. Even use brown rice or couscous instead of quinoa if you like. If you want to be healthier or make it vegan you could swap out the butter for more oil, but I highly recommend keeping it in for the silky texture and extra depth that the butter adds.

Black bean and lime quinoa salad
adapted from epicurious

zest and juice of one lime (or most of a small lemon if you live in NZ and limes are $2 each and you bought one anyway but it was so dried up it produced not a drop of juice!)
2 Tbs butter, melted
1 Tbs olive oil
1 tsp sugar
1 cup quinoa
one ear of corn, microwaved for about two minutes
1/2 punnet of cherry tomatoes chopped in half or two medium tomatoes, chopped
1 avocado, diced
1 tin black beans, rinsed and drained
2 spring onions, chopped
2 Tbs fresh coriander, chopped
salt and pepper

Wash and drain quinoa, cook in rice cooker with two cups + 2 Tbs of water.

Whisk together citrus zest and juice, butter, oil, sugar and 1/8 tsp salt in a large bowl.

Add cooked quinoa to bowl and toss until dressing absorbed, add in the remaining ingredients and salt and pepper to taste.

Tastes great cold or warm, so you can either eat it right away or leave to sit so the flavours mingle all nicely.

Makes 4 side dishes or 2-3 main meals.

I’m excited that it’s finally all go! I had my first two sales over the last couple days, before I’d even told anyone about it! Here they are, ready to be posted:

So I hope you’ll check it out, and I’ll let you know when it’s restocked. Also, if you live in Wellington I can deliver in or around the CBD or Miramar free of charge. :)

I picked Terrence Malick’s ‘Days of Heaven‘, which I’d been meaning to see for ages, especially since one of Lover‘s dreamy recent collections ‘The Harvest’ was inspired by it.

I’d been waiting for corn to get cheap at the markets so I could make creamed corn, and this was the perfect opportunity. Combined with black beans, rice and corn bread (that Jason made in a cupcake maker we got for Christmas, lawl), I thought it made a pretty choice peasant meal. Then, of course, I watched the movie and realised they were working and frolicking in wheat fields, not corn. Duhh.

I used a black bean recipe from Homesick Texan, and for the corn I turned to one of my favourite’s, the Lee Brother’s Southern Cookbook.

Creamed Corn
Adapted (just barely) from the Lee Bros

8 ears fresh corn
6 tablespoons butter
just over a cup of milk (I used super trim & it was delicious but not very thick, you could use whole milk or even cream if you’re feeling extravagant)
salt and plenty of pepper to taste

Cut the kernels from the cob and scrape the cobs with the edge of a spoon to get as much from the cob as you can.
Melt the butter in a large skillet or pot. Add corn and stir constantly for one minute.
Pour in the milk, add salt and pepper. Simmer for about 12 minutes, until the liquid has thickened and yellow. Adjust seasoning if you need to.
Turn off the heat, cover and let steam for two minutes.
When you serve, be liberal with the sauce because it’s GOOD.

This recipe makes lots, so you could easily halve it if there’s less people (I served it as a side for five and there was leftovers) or you don’t want to chop the corn off of eight whole ears, which takes some time.

The film was stunning, filmed almost entirely in the ‘golden hour’, the first and last hours of sunlight in a day.

Set in the early 1900′s, it centres on Bill and Abby, poor lovers who pretend to be brother and sister to avoid gossip. While working on a farm in the Texas Panhandle, the young and sick farmer takes a shine to Abby and the temptation of a better life proves to be too much for Bill to resist.

The film focuses not just on plot points but on the day to day and seasonal routine of both the poor and the rich. The scenes of leisurely days at the river and croquet games in the golden light of the farm really does seem like the idea of what days of heaven might have been to these poor migrant workers.

I’m looking forward to getting a new roll and snapping a few photos in my new neighbourhood.

- Spring asparagus hash
- Cauliflower soup
- Chickpea salad with roasted red peppers

- White beans and rosemary with sautéed spinach
- Pumpkin, feta and lentils
- Cherry tomato and pea ragu

Next:

- Lemon risotto with asparagus (making this tonight, I’ve never made risotto before, eek!)
- More pea ragu, but with bacon and polenta
- Lentil soup
- Caramelised onion, potato and rosemary pizza
- Saag paneer (anyone know a good spinach curry recipe?)

I made this super easy pasta dish for my Mama last week and I’ve been dreaming of it ever since.

Ingredients:
Ricotta, about 100 grams
Olive oil, a glug
Asparagus, a bunch chopped into bite sized pieces
Zest of a lemon, and a tablespoon or two of lemon juice
Parmesan, grated
Baby spinach, a few handfuls
Cherry tomatoes, a handful or so chopped in half
Enough fresh pasta for two or three people
Salt, pepper, chili flakes would also be nice though I didn’t think to use them.
Plus you will need to reserve some pasta water, maybe half a cup or more.

Boil some water, once boiling bung (that’s a technical term) in your fresh pasta with a little salt and olive oil.

While that boils for 3 minutes, in a small bowl mix ricotta, lemon zest & juice, olive oil (optional, it’s probably still good without it), salt, pepper and a little parmesan.

After 3 minutes of the pasta boiling (unless it isn’t fresh, obvs), throw in the asparagus and cook for about two minutes.

Reserve your pasta water, drain pasta & asparagus, return to pot, mix in spinach leaves and keep the lid on.

Add small amounts of hot pasta water to your ricotta mix and stir until you get the consistency you want, which is probably just a little runny.

Add to pasta in pot, mix and add more lemon juice, ricotta or pasta water as desired.

Plate up, add chopped cherry tomatoes, extra parmesan and salt & pepper.  And enjoy with a nice glass of New Zealand white wine, of course.

A big thanks to my husband for making my blog look so pretty. I’m so happy with it! I’ve got a few things to add or fix up, so let me know if it’s looking a big buggy on your browser.

I’ve been in a ridiculously good mood for days. It feels so good to get things done I’ve been meaning to for ages! I also recommend exercise in winter for helping keep away the blues, as well as awesome friends to gym with.