Chopped

Filled out a application for the lastest food network chef competition and got a call, interviewing on tuesday. Had to watch the show to see what i was i for if i get selected. Looks tough 30 mins to make a appetizer that includes ground beef, bannana, wonton wrappers and cream of mushroom soups! Just mean. Thankfully as i watched some more this seemed to be by far the hardest ingredient set. If selected my training program will be to invite people around and do a home version of it, kind of crossed with ready steady cook.

Too many tomatoes

The fruit of summer that kind of seems like it is a vegetable came a little late this year. Every one around me seemed to be growing them and I eagerly await the arrival of the early season northern hemisphere ones, a little too eager as it is months away.
The growers of tomatoes always end up with heaps all at once and the beauty of the simple tomato and basil salad gets lost on them.

A few instructions
Buy good balsamic, unfortunately this means expensive, trust me it is worth
Ok now you need good oil, nice salt and pepper mill.

Suggestions
No I haven’t finished telling you to support your local gourmet store yet….. Chorizo ok I am more than willing to admit I have a problem with this ingredient. It all started in Spain when I didn’t speak a word of Spanish, this paprika filled, fattier the better sweet smokey sausage broke through the language barrier and now remains one of my friends.
Now you know I have edible friends …… I will continue to sound like someone whose advice you think is worth paying attention too
All I am getting at is it makes a great salad.
Find top quality chorizo – this can be hard in NZ the Pyrenees has decent stuff
Slice thinly fry in a hot dry pan until releases oil turn and add halved cherry tomatoes, once they soften remove from heat and hit with a splash of balsamic. Pour over mixed greens, (I like baby spinach and rocket) with avocado, red onion and some potato croutons (just potato cut into cubes and cooked until crispy).

Next another warm dressing
Shallots dice and sweet with a little oil, add whole cherry tomatoes and throw in hot oven until skins burst. Remove and let cool, while still warm add some good oil and sherry vinegar. Salt and pepper. Great with grilled asparagus, a little goats cheese, crusty bread, shellfish, squid, nuts or pretty much anything else

Big ones
Try peeling them, real easy – pot of boiling water and bowl of ice water. Make little x at base of tomato and throw in boiling water for 20 seconds then ice, skin comes off easy.
Cut in half and deseed then stuff with a tuna aioli chive mix or feta olives and herbs.
Use seeds to make a sauce just cook with malt vinegar and brown sugar.
Tomato Bruschetta really benefits from skinned and seeded tomatoes

One more salad to finish
Heirloom tomatoes, these big ugly looking ones are super flavorful, these come ripe in reds, yellows and greens. Chop em up chunkey, combine with blanched green beans, quartered boiled eggs, add some or all; anchovies, capers, olices, tuna, herbs, and dress with a aioli.

A veggie bbq

I first did this veggie dish at a bbq in Chamonix, France. It was a perfect spring day and just like the warming sunshine after a cold winter it was a well received alternative to the meat overload and standard salads. On that day chorizo and cherve helped create a sticky gooey mess that left the party goers licking their fingers but as with most of my cooking it is always evolving depending on the ingredients available. The latest version included spiced up Kumura.

The success to this recipe lies in simplicity, minimal effort and mess as everything is cooked on the bbq in different stages. It keeps you outside by the food, more conducive to socializing and if you get it right very few trips back inside apart from delivering another round of drinks.

Equipment:
One bbq (preferably with char grill and hot plate), metal tongs, metal fish slice,, big bowl for tossing veggies in, platter for serving, knife for cutting, beer for drinking

Ingredients:
Any, all, or some of…… Eggplant, courgette, capsicum, asparagus, runner beans, mushrooms, kumura, goats cheese (feta, brie or any soft style cheese)

To season:
Spices (a mix of your favorite such as, smoked paprika, coriander seed, cumin, ginger, fennel, cayenne, turmeric, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, etc) salt and pepper, olive or avocado oil, rocket pesto works well with mushrooms, pine nuts or almonds if you like

Method:
Start with your kumura or potato, slice thin about 1/2cm and toss with oil and seasoning, I think of North African Mediterranean flavors. Cook slow on hot plate until golden and crisp on outside and soft, a bit of burnt is less of a problem than crunchy raw potato. If using capsicum (red pepper) toss in oil and salt and pepper and char grill whole until blistered and black. Roast peppers on the bbq and leave to cool and peel later. The eggplant will take the next longest, same deal toss in bowl with oil and seasoning and char grill and repeat with the rest of the vegetables. Cook mushrooms gill side down first and coat with pesto once turned, as everything cooks move it over to the hot plate to keep warm, add cheese and mix together.

Add to the serving platter: tomatoes, olives, rocket, flat leaf parsley,
• finish with a good hit of balsamic
• if you need some meat serve with grilled lamb, chicken or beef
• great with a light pinot (gris or noir), even better with a jug of sangria