Outdoors

Topic 5

I am just a little bit late on my completing and uploading my Cookbook Challenges.  I do plan to catch up because I thoroughly enjoy the process of interpreting the theme and producing something I would not have otherwise cooked.

The theme for fortnight number 5 was outdoors.  We do a lot of cooking outdoors so I wanted to do something a little different. I had been thinking of making the garlic prawns from the “Cooking With Company” Tapas course I took a few months ago but I hadn’t quite got around to it. 

This weekend proved to be the perfect opportunity to give the recipe a try.  We were going camping with some friends and I decided it was time to purchase a “camp oven.” A camp oven is basically a cast iron pot which can be placed (pretty much) straight on the campfire.  In the tapas class we used small individual serve cast iron pots to produce delicious garlic prawns but since I was cooking for 8 adults I decided it would be far easier to use one larger pot.

Ingredients:

1 kilo green prawns

¼ cup olive oil

50gm butter

1 red chilli chopped

6 cloves garlic chopped

1 sprig rosemary

5 sprigs thyme

salt

cracked pepper 

Method:

Shell the prawns but leave the tail attached. Make a slit in the back and remove the grit line.

Place the oil, butter and garlic in a pan and sauté for a few minutes.

Transfer the garlic and oil to the cast iron pot and add all the remaining ingredients, finishing with the prawns. Place the lid on the pot and put it over the campfire.

Allow it to cook for ten minutes and then check if the prawns are cooked. If not, stir and leave for a further five minutes.

Serve with hot crusty bread. The oil is delicious to dip the bread into. Once we had finished the prawns we added large mushrooms cut in quarter to the oil and placed it back on the fire. Delicious!

It was a gourmet camping experience!

Happy Birthday Harley xx

In previous story I highlight an interesting food find at the Harbourside Farmers Market in Coffs Harbour.  It was a brand of condiments, sauces, spices and seasonings which uses Australian Native Produce to create a unique taste of Australia.  The range is called Bakarindi and all the ingredients are grown in the Coffs Harbour area. I purchased a few products on that day, one of which was the Lemon Myrtle Seasoning. 

I love the smell of Lemon Myrtle, it has a strong lemony aroma with a hint of Eucalypt. I have these trees growing in my garden and I will often put a dried leaf (folded) in my tea for an extra flavour. I had never really considered the seasoning value of the leaves beyond my tea enhancement until I came across the Bakarindi range.

The ingredients in the Lemon Myrtle Seasoning are salt, lemon myrtle, chilli and garlic, all of which are dried and ground into a fine powder. The most obvious recipient of such a spice is seafood so I decided to try a Lemon Myrtle Seafood Salad.  I am also told it is a great seasoning for chicken.  I would be tempted to add a little cream to the pan after cooking the chicken to make a lemon myrtle sauce with the residual spice.

Keep and eye out for Lemon Myrtle Seasoning or lemon myrtle leaves for cooking it adds a very “Australia Summer” flavour to food.

Ingredients:

200gm Ling Fillets Cubed

200gm green prawn

1 T/s garlic infused Olive Oil

Cos Lettuce

1 bunch coriander chopped

1 cucumber (sliced finely)

½ small red onion (sliced finely)

½ avocado

½ lemon sliced

10gm Lemon Myrtle seasoning

Caesar Salad dressing to taste

Method:

Place seafood in a plastic bag with seasoning and toss to coat. 

Lay salad greens on a platter.

Cook seafood in oil briefly until just cooked. Lay seafood over the greens. Add sliced avocado to the salad and garnish with lemon wedges. Serve with a Caesar salad dressing and a squeeze of lemon.

This was a delicious light meal full of flavour. We had some toasted ciabatta bread and melted gorgonzola with the salad for a lovely decadent meal which was on the table in no time at all.