GADO GADO

Prepare the Sauce:

To do enough for a meal for two:

In a small saucepan heat just enough oil to fry half a chopped onion and one crushed clove of garlic.  Don’t overcook it – you need to stay with the pan for the whole process.

Add chilli powder to taste (half a teaspoon say) and juice of good half lemon.  Smash an anchovy up and add to the mix.  Then stir in crunchy peanut butter (about half a small jar) and a few teaspoons of brown sugar.  Stir well and cook on slow heat for a little while.  Taste it.  When you are ready to have the Gado Gado for dinner, add a very small can of coconut milk to the sauce and mix well.  I prefer to serve the sauce warm up.

Gado Gado mix (the food to go with the sauce)

Hard boiled eggs (quartered), lightly blanched beans, raw cucumber pieces, cabbage (cut chunky) and carrots sticks.   I think bean curd (tofu) would probably go well with this so add some cubes if you like tofu.  I do believe you can use whatever vegetables you prefer including potato and perhaps the stalks of broccoli.  Arrange decoratively on an oval plate.

You can either dunk the vegetables in the sauce or pour it over.  I prefer dunking.  (Dedicated to Gerard)

PEANUT SAUCE FOR SATAYS

Version one:  same as for Gado Gado but add 2 tablespoons of tamarind and some sambal badjiak and a couple of splashes of water.

This is to go with beef or pork satay which is marinated in dark sugar, crushed garlic, salt, soy sauce and a little cummin and a little oil.  Cooked over charcoal.

Version two: Roast 200g of unsalted raw peanuts for a few minutes, cool a bit and rub off the skins.  Blend peanuts in blender and add 3 red chillies, 3 garlic cloves, salt, one chopped onion and a little oil.  Mix to a paste and then add enough water to make a workable consistency.  Heat mixture in a saucepan, adding a little more water for right consistency.  Taste and if desired add more soy sauce and lemon juice, or salt.  Serve hot with chicken satay.

Comment re Satay dishes:   my favourite one is Malay  which I do with lamb and I don’t serve it with any peanut sauce at all as it just doesn’t need it.  I’ll give you the recipe another time.

LAMB WITH EGGPLANT AND CAPSICUM

For the vegetables

• One large eggplant cut crosswise into slices 1 cm thick.
• 75 mls olive oil
• 2 large red capsicums halved lengthwise.
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh oregano
• 1 fresh red chillli, seeded and chopped  (or use chilli powder)
• salt and pepper – grounded – to taste.

For the Lamb and sauce

• Splosh or two of virgin olive oil
• Cut lamb rump from the leg into four or so thick slices looking like backstraps
• ground salt and pepper
• 80mls of dry red wine
• 4 – 8 teaspoons of cranberry jelly
• half cup of chicken stock.

To cook vegs – brush eggplant with little oil and grill both sides.  Cool and cut into long strips.  Do the same with capsicums but remove skin and then cut into long strips.

In a heavy frying pan heat a little oil and add vegies and herbs and chilli and stir until well mixed and almost falling apart, then season to taste and  keep warm on a separate plate.  Add a little more oil and sear the lamb, season and cook to your liking for a few minutes.  Remove to a plate and keep warm.  (Handy if your oven has a warming tray.)

With the remaining juices in the pan, heat and stir and get all bits nicely mixed and add wine and jelly, stirring until melted, then add stock and reduce till saucy consistency.  Taste and adjust seasoning.  I often add more jelly.

To serve, cut lamb at an angle and arrange on serving plate.  Add vegies and sauce and serve at once.

SMOKED TROUT SERVED WITH PICKLED WATERMELON RIND

To Make the ‘Pickled’ Watermelon Rind

You need watermelon with a thick white rind.  Slice off the green skin and make sure that no red melon is left on the rind.  Slice it up into pieces about 1cm by 3cm.  Simmer the pieces in pot of water until just a little soft.  Drain.  Prepare a ‘pickling syrup’ of a little white vinegar (a good dash), cup of hot water, about 3 teaspoons of sugar, 6 slivers of lemon skin and about 4 cloves.

This is cheap to make as you get to eat the watermelon and have a byproduct.  I store in a large well cleaned empty vegemite jar.  One cup of syrup will do about two jars worth.  Put syrup in jar and add the pieces of rind.   Okay to eat the next day but better after a few days.   The rind should taste a bit sweet.

I first had this with smoked trout 30 years ago at a wine and food group’s outing beside a river up the mountains.   It was totally glorious.

The Smoked Trout

First catch your trout ……  ha ha.   Seriously though – where I live you can catch and smoke your own and right now the fishing in Lake Hume and the rivers is so good.  But, better still is the fact we have the best smoked trout available at Butts Smokehouse – you can buy it whole or skinned and filleted.  Arrange trout on a platter with little bowls of the watermelon rind and those little crunchy bread squares or water biscuits.    This is a great starter to a casual lunch party picnic and goes so well with a crisp white wine.