Alphonso Mango and Curried Chickpea Salad

Description

A fullsome, delecatable salad which can be served warm or cold, created by Yotam Ottolenghi.  Refer to his book  "Plenty More" - page 105

Recipe Notes

Allow 45 minutes for cooking dried chickpeas

Ingredients

• 150 g dried chickpeas - soaked overnight in plenty of water and 2 tsp bicarb. (or canned chickpeas if you are short of time)
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 tsp coriander seeds
• 1 tsp black mustard seeds
• ½ tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp curry powder
• ½ tsp ground turmeric
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• ½ tsp salt
• 80 ml sunflower oil
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• 1 small cauliflower, split into very small florets
• 2 Alphonso mangoes (or 1 big regular mango)
• 1 medium hot green chilli, chopped
• 20 g chopped fresh coriander
• 3 tbsp lime juice
• 50 g baby spinach leaves

 Method

Put the chickpeas in a bowl, cover with three times their volume of water, add the bicarb and soak overnight. Drain, put in a pan, cover with water and simmer until soft. Dry-roast the coriander, mustard and cumin seeds in a skillet, then crush to a powder. Mix in the curry powder, turmeric, sugar and salt. In the same pan, heat half the oil and, on high heat, cook the onion for five minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the spice mix, cook on medium heat for five minutes, until the onion is soft, then transfer to a large bowl. Blanch the cauliflower for a minute, then drain. Once it is dry, heat the remaining oil in the same pan you cooked the onion in, add the cauliflower and fry on high heat for two minutes, to give it colour. Add the cauliflower and hot chickpeas to the onions (the chickpeas absorb more flavour when hot), stir and leave to cool to room temperature. Peel the mangoes, cut into 1cm dice and add to the bowl. Stir in the chilli, fresh coriander, lime juice and spinach, taste, and add salt and lime juice as needed. Serve at once, or chill and serve within 24 hours.

 

Baked Asian-Style Snapper

This fish has some Thai/Asian inspired flavours but is typically Modern Australian.  It is so versatile that you can vary your ingredients depending on what you have in the fridge and pantry.

Ingredients – Fish

Fresh Snapper, approx 1 – 1.5kgs
Seasonings/Marinade
1/2 lime cut into thin slices
Piece of ginger, approx 1 cm, peeled & cut into thin slices
1 large clove of thinly sliced garlic
1/4 Spanish/red onion thinly sliced
Citrus Siam Salt – see Tridosha
(optional — otherwise, use a mix of salt, pepper and lime juice, and lemongrass if you have it handy)

Method

Make sure the fish is well scaled and washed.  Dry with paper towel and remove any remaining scales.  Trim fins if you have a good pair of kitchen shears. This is optional.
Lay the fish on a flat board and cut 3 or 4 deep slits on both sides from the widest part to the narrowest part of the fish – see image.
Rub with a little peanut oil.
Fill each slit with a slice of lime, a few pieces of garlic, ginger and red onion.  If you have lemon grass or kaffir lime leaves, add a few of these too.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper (Citrus Siam if you have it).
Stand the fish in a large baking dish.  The fish is easily supported by placing one small ramekin inside the body of the fish.  If you don’t have a ramekin, you can stuff your fish with tin foil.
Bake in moderate to hot oven (approx 180-200 degrees Celsius – ovens vary) for about 20 minutes.  Fish will be ready as slits start to open and meat is white and flaky.
Do not overcook as fish can dry out.
Transfer fish to a warm platter and drizzle with Sauce and scatter with fresh Coriander before serving with stir fried vegetables or an Asian Style Salad.
Cheats Sauce – Ingredients
1 tablespoon  Peanut Oil
1/2 teaspoon Sesame Oil
2 tablespoons  Sweet Chilli Sauce
1/2  lime juiced
Splash of Asian Dipping Sauce – contains water, sugar, fish sauce, vinegar, shredded carrot, chilli, garlic, salt

Method

Heat Peanut Oil and Sesame Oil in small saucepan.  Add all other ingredients.  Test for taste.  Sauce only needs to be heated long enough for it to become hot.  Turn it off and reheat just before pouring over the fish.