On air on Byron Bay’s Bayfm 99.9 community radio on 13 August 2012
Today Anthea Amore from Organic Passion Catering , Sister Tess, and a cameo appearance by taro fiend Sister Carolyn to launch the 2012 subscriber drive – at least the belly bits – with lots of delicious local ingredients.
Do you have a favourite local ingredient? Something that gets you excited when it comes in season, something that you cook a million ways or you just chomp into before you even get it home. Something you grow maybe. Something you have grown up with or something you have discovered after moving here. Belly is celebrating local ingredients and the things our rainbow tribes do with them during the celebration of local community radio of the bayfm subscriber drive. If you call in to subscribe while belly is on air, tell our volunteers what it is (briefly please – lots of extra people come to help out but the lines get very busy). Or please leave a comment below, or email belly@belly.net.au and we will share your pick with the belly listeners. Mine are kale, macadamias always, pecans right now, dragonfruit, fabulous organic eggs from the market, the lemon myrtle, kaffir lime, bay tree (well, bush) & curry leaf plant in the garden that are always ready with flavoursome leaves no matter what I do to them. And betel leaves for glamorous Thai nibbles, I killed that a few times but now it is going strong. Well worth seeking out.
Anthea Amore (I am so jealous that Amore is her real family name) is a very clever, even sneaky vegan/vegetarian caterer and blogger. Please go to organicpassioncatering.blogspot.com.au
for lots more of her recipes, and details of upcoming events. She proudly sources all local ingredients, mostly from local markets and stores. One of the thinks that struck me about her food, especially the canapes, is how beautiful it is. Anthea keeps meat eaters in mind when putting menus together – the sneaky bit comes from just not telling people they are eating vegetarian, and often vegan, food until they start telling her how good it is, she says. I must admit she lost me a bit at the idea of vegan Parmesan though.
I also like the idea of cooking a basic dish that is vegan, and providing non-vegan condiments, like cubes of feta or other cheeses, on the side. And I look forwards to trying smoked tofu, lots of ideas on her site about using that.
Sister Carolyn, who was in the original hungry sisterhood that set up belly, has been having fun growing (she lives near Nimbin, so plenty of good wet soils) and cooking with taro. Try adding taro to your next lentil dhal, Carolyn says it makes it much more rich and fat in texture.
CURRIED PARSNIP SOUP RECIPE – by Anthea Amore
Anthea's curried parsnip soup
Makes = 4-6 bowls
I’m always on the look out for an interesting new dish. I’m just not satisfied with the same old flavour combinations year in, year out. This soup came about a few years ago while I was cooking for a local cafe. I had to cook a different soup every single day throughout the winter, quite a challenge, especially when using organic and seasonal produce. I’d start most days staring at the same produce and have to come up with a new soup recipe to interest our regular customers, some of whom ate our soups five days a week! This situation forced me to explore different combinations, produce-wise and herb and spice-wise. Some how this recipe unfolded one cool cosy winter lunchtime and it was a serious hit.
Parsnips whisper winter to me. I didn’t really discover them until I lived in England for a year. On those cold wintry English days and nights, parsnips brought comfort and warmth, like a log fire or thick woollen hat and gloves. One of my favourite parsnip dishes back then was to roast them in the oven, doused with vanilla paste, spicy tabasco sauce, olive oil and salt. I whisked those ingredients in a jar or mug and drizzled it over the diced or wildly cut julienne style lengths, leaving the parsnip tails to curl and crisp up. So good. The spiciness of the tabasco with the sweetness of the cooked parsnips and the woody perfume of the vanilla is such a perfect combination. Yum!
This soup has a depth of flavour and a different trio of flavours going on like the above roasted parsnip recipe. It has the earthy bitter flavours of the curry spices as well as the slight tanginess with the lemon and a neat little bite from the Tabasco. That gives you the trio of bitter, sour and spicy, three of the five main flavours. Parsnips themselves have quite a complex and unique flavour ; cooked parsnips taste sweet and aromatic, and slightly earthy as you would expect from a root vegetable. They have a fragrant flavour that reminds me of parsley or even eucalyptus. And they have a soft texture which is almost creamy when cooked to perfection. The colour of this soup is a bright yellow which is both happy and warming – a soup to cheer up a cold winter’s day. Serve it with warm toasted Turkish bread, with a drizzle of good olive oil.
500gm parsnip, roughly cut
200gm potato, diced
1 medium onion, diced
1 small clove garlic
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tbs madras curry powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 dsp good salt or season to your taste
1/2 tsp freshly cracked pepper
juice of a lemon (right at the end)
splash of tabasco *optional
400ml tin coconut milk or cream
1 1/4 litres filtered water
Put your parsnip and diced potato in to boiling water and allow it to cook for 10 minutes. Then add the onions, garlic, curry spices and seeds, and pepper and simmer. Cook until tender and soft. Then remove the soup from the heat, add the coconut milk and blend with a stick blender. You can add more water to thin the soup to your liking (I like my soups thin with a little body but not watery thin). You may need to add a pinch more salt if you do this. Taste, and you will know.
Serve with warm fresh bread or chunky pieces of Turkish or sour dough toast drizzled with olive oil. Yum.
Please note: if you don’t have a stick blender and think about using your normal blender. BE CAREFUL! Heat creates a pressure and can explode the lid off your blender covering you and your kitchen in HOT soup. Try hand mashing instead, much safer.
CUSTARD APPLE AND VANILLA MOUSSE WITH PASSIONFRUIT RECIPE – by Anthea Amore
Anthea's custard apple and vanilla mousse
Makes = 4-6 tumbler glasses
Looking for desserts in winter? They don’t all have to be cooked or warm, especially with some of these milder winter nights up here on the North Coast or even after a heavy cooked meal, something light and sweet can do the trick! This is a little beauty. Simple as, delicious, and uses a couple of the seasonal fruits.
Custard apples are a well-balanced food having protein, fibre, minerals, vitamins, energy and little fat. They are an excellent source of Vitamin C, a good source of dietary fibre, a useful source of Vitamin B6, magnesium and potassium, and with some B2 and complex carbohydrate.
1 cup of soaked cashews (preferably over night)
2 cups custard apple flesh (remove the seeds)
1 vanilla bean, scrape of it seeds
1/4 cup light agave
pinch good salt
1 1/4 cups filtered water
1/4 cup orange or mandarin juice
4-6 passionfruits (one per dessert)
2 tbs psyllium husks
Place the soaked cashews in a blender with the filtered water and blend until creamy. Add the remaining ingredients and whizz until soft and fluffy.
Please note: this dessert is best made just before you want to eat it or an hour before. The custard apple and cashews can tend to brown. But once topped with passionfruit you can’t really tell.
EVENT – ORGANIC LOVERS SOIREE
If you’d like to experience Anthea and Jonathon’s food & wine :
*Organic Passion Catering and The Organic Wine Merchants would like to invite you to a wonderful celebration of organic food and wine. *
*There will be a wonderful selection of gourmet vegetarian canapes and a selection of wine and beer to taste and experience.*
*Where& When? Friday 24th August at the Santos Mullumbimby Balcony (upstairs) *
*Starts: 6:30 – 9:30pm*
*How much? $55pp ~ **Booking essential* www.organicpassioncatering.com* *M: 0422 383 151*
The theme for the night is Vintage Glamour with Kelly Knight (trio) playing vintage jazz with the decor to match! Feel free to dress up and have a bit of fun. Jonathon will be talking about organic wine.
MUSIC
Julia Rose – Gina
The jukebox joy boys – Do you think I’m pretty
Rebecca Ireland – grandmother
Rebecca Ireland – apples
the lucky wonders – on a night
love & chocolate covered parsnips, sister T