Sweet & Sour Cucumber Dipping Sauce for Thai Fishcakes (Thermomix)

Sweet & Sour Cucumber Dipping Sauce for Thai Fishcakes

This is quite a sweet sauce, but the combination with the vinegar and chilli is wonderful for dipping thai fishcakes or spring rolls or even chipolatas. You could reduce the amount of sugar at a pinch. I served it the with fishcakes and coleslaw. I will put up the fishcake recipe when I am happy with it!

• 50 g  cucumber 
• 25 g  carrot 
• 25 g  onion or spring onion
• 1 red chilli, deseeded (two if you're brave)

• 50 ml  white wine vinegar (I haven't weighed this yet)
• 100 g  caster sugar
• 1 1/2 tables water (ditto)
• 2 tsp Thai fish sauce (nom pia)

Place the first four ingredients in the bowl and chop very finely: speed 6 for about 5 seconds, scraping down if necessary. Remove to another small bowl.

Now place the next three ingredients in the bowl and cook 4 minutes, 100deg, spoon speed.

The sugar should be dissolved and the liquid should have a slightly syrupy consistency. If not give it another minute.

Add the liquid to the chopped vegetables and stir in the fish sauce.

Turbot with Pernod Velouté Sauce

Ok  I forgot to take a picture! I was going to make Felicity Cloak's Nicoise salad today with some slices of salmon fillet quickly pan-fried but when I got to the fishmongers there was some gorgeous turbot and before I knew it I had inadvertently invested £35 in four portions of beautiful fish. Now the pressure was on and I had to make something worthy of my investment. I found this recipe own greatbritishchefs.com. It is for a lovely Pernod velouté, which you need some good fish stock for, and I happened to have some in the freezer... You will need:

• 150ml of dry white wine
• 1 banana shallot
• 1/2 bulb of fennel
• 1 knob of butter
• oil
• 1 dash of Pernod
• 400ml of fish stock
• 200ml of double cream
• 4 turbot steaks or fillets (mine was on the bone)
• oil
• flour

Sweat the shallot and fennel in a pan with a little oil and butter until soft.  Add the white wine as well as a splash of Pernod - taste the sauce to establish the right amount - there should be a subtle aniseed flavour but it will intensify as the sauce reduces so be careful.  Bring to the boil and reduce till most of it is gone.  Add the fish stock and reduce by half before finally adding the cream. Bring back to the boil and reduce until thickened slightly. Strain and adjust the seasoning if necessary. A sauce fit for a regal piece of turbot.

To cook the fish, preheat the oven to 200°C/Gas mark 6. Dust the turbot in seasoned flour shaking off any excess, fry in a little olive oil on the dark skin until starting to crisp, turn over and transfer to the oven to roast for 5-7 minutes or until slightly springy to touch. Serve with the sauce and some green vegetables and maybe a little mashed potato.

• 
  

Lamb Meatballs with Bulghur Wheat and Feta (Thermomix)

80g bulghur wheat (I use coarse wholemeal, but couscous works too)

500g minced lamb

1/2 onion

15g parsley

1T dried mint

1 1/2 t ground cumin

3/4 t ground cinnamon

1 clove garlic

1/2 t salt

pepper

100 g feta

To serve, any of

Yoghurt or sesame seeds

Lemon juice

or Chilli Sauce

Boil the bulghur in a small pan till nearly tender, drain and leave to dry.

Turn the Thermomix to speed 9 with lid on and drop the parsley and garlic through the lid. Chop for 4 seconds.

Add the peeled and roughly chopped onion to the Thermomix and chop at speed 5 for 3-4 seconds

Add to the Thermomix the mince and bulghur and all the spices in layers (some mince followed by some spices and some bulghur and then repeat).

Mix reverse blade at speed 2 until well mixed

With wet hands, form into 16 balls and put a nugget of feta inside each one.

Refrigerate for an hour or two to firm up.

Ideally cook on a hot barbq. Or cook in a 200 degree oven or in a sauce pan.

Squeeze over some lemon, sprinkle over some sesame seeds and serve with yoghurt, chilli sauce or as they come.

Rye bread (Thermomix)

This was made using the one minute bread recipe I posted a link to a few days ago. This time I used 30% rye flour and added a teaspoon of freshly toasted caraway seeds at the kneading stage. I also had access to some fresh yeast, which gives a much better rise than dried I think.

The photo tells the story. Instead of having three perfect slices by the side of the loaf, they are, well...not there.

This is the perfect bread to have with smoked salmon or mackerel pate.