Virginia Hellier Consulting

Virginia Hellier Consulting

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Virginias Recipes
Virginia Hellier appears regularly on radio to talk about restaurant dining, cooking, food ideas and the latest industry news. This is a sample of recent recipes she has discussed on air.

WARM DESSERT OF BANANA IN COCONUT MILK

From Ratipan Bunthanorm of Patee Thai - ONE POT MEALS recipe for the Queen Victoria Market Cooking School

1 560ml can coconut milk
1 cup water
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 teasp salt
3-4 sugar bananas (ripe but still firm)
1-2 teaspoon roasted sesame seeds (optional)

Method
1. Boil or steam whole banana with skin on until cooked, take it out of water and leave to cool.
Cut it lengthwise and remove the skin, then cut it in half or thirds.

2. Mix coconut milk ,water, sugar and salt in the saucepan , bring to gentle boil add sliced banana, allow to cook for 2 minutes until it returns to the boil.
Remove from heat and sprinkle with roasted sesame seeds.

RICK STEIN'S GOLDEN BEER AND YEAST BATTER

Rick Steiin From Rick's book 'Taste of the sea'

15 gm fresh yeast
300ml beer ( or Guinness for a darker brown colour)
225gm flour
1 teaspoon salt

Dissolve the yeast with a little of the beer to make a paste.
Gradually add the rest of the beer, stirring continuously.
Sieve the flour and salt into a bowl and make a well in the centre.
Pour in the beer and dissolved yeast and whisk into a batter.
Leave covered for 1 hour before using at room temperature.

BABA GANOUJI

For use as a Dip or a chunkier version beside kebabs or fish. Serves 4 Eggplants
3 Medium Eggplants ( not too large)
3 Medium Cloves of Garlic
2 teaspoons of salt
1 cup of tahini (pref Lebanese brand , one with only very little (if any) oil separated on top,)
½ cup lemon juice
NO PEPPER AT ALL

Method for Eggplant

THE SECRET to a good baba ganouj is the barbecue flavour
Remove the leaves from around the stalk, but leave the stalk in place.
Cook directly over the flame of the stove or a barbecue.
When it starts to shrink a lot and collapse in on itself remove it from flame.
Cool for 5 minutes and cut off the stalk and peel well scooping out any loose meat.

Method for Garlic
Crush the garlic very thoroughly with ½ of the lemon juice and ½ of the salt, in a mortar and pestle.
In a large bowl, place the prepared eggplant and the prepared garlic and crush all together.
Add the tahini and fold it through the eggplant mixture.
Once combined adjust taste with the extra lemon juice and salt.
And if needed a teaspoon of water.

Good Middle Eastern shops are found around Melbourne:

Shops recomendations from The Foodies Guide to Melbourne by Allan Campion & Michele Curtis $24.95

PRESERVED LEMON - A North African dish

Fresh lemons Cut lemons into quarters but don't cut them completely through.
Pack each lemon with salt, into the centre of each lemon.
Fill the jar with plenty of salt and the lemons, tightly packed.
Top up jar with extra lemon juice, add a bay leaf and a couple of cloves.
Place lid on jar ( not metal ).
Turn the jar over every day for 2 weeks. Then leave to rest for at least a month.
When ready to use in dishes, use only the skin of the lemon ( finely chopped ).

Excellent with chicken or fish or on a salad, but use sparingly as the flavour is very strong.

Preserved Lemons SUMMER SALAD WITH PRESERVED LEMON

Dressing
1 clove of garlic - crushed
1 Teaspoon finely chopped preserved lemon
Juice of 1 lime
Olive oil

Mix these ingredients together to make the dressing.

Cos lettuce leaves - washed and dried well
3 soft boiled eggs - peeled halved
6 anchovy fillets - best quality
Cos lettuce 8 anchovy stuffed olives
8 medium sized prawns
finely chopped chives

Place baby cos flat onto a green or white shallow dish, then carefully top with other ingredients, sprinkle with chives.
Gently add dressing just before serving.
Lovely on a hot Summer day.

RISOTTO (BASE ONLY)
Simply add your choice of main ingredient after making the base and in the last 5 minutes of cooking. i.e. prawns, chicken, bacon, mussels, asparagus, capsicum, etc.etc.

125 gm butter
3 tabs light extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic - crushed
1 onion- peeled and sliced
approx 1 litre warm stock, fish, vegetable, chicken or beef, (depending on what your main ingredient is)
1 cup high quality arborio rice
3 tabs white wine
butter to finish
½ cup parmiggiano reggiano
pepper - cracked to taste

Melt butter with oil in a large heavy based saucepan.
Add onion and garlic and saute to clear.
If using uncooked meat, bacon or chicken, add them at this point and cook for a couple of minutes.
Push these ingredients to the side of the pan and start to cook the raw rice in a little of the oil that remains.
Stir rice constantly so that it becomes covered in oil and slowly becomes clear.
After about 5 minutes add wine and then combine all together and begin to add the stock a little at a time, stir in well and repeat this about 16 minutes until all is taken up by the rice, leaving a very moist porridge like consistency.
If using an already cooked meat such as left over chicken add this close to the end of cooking time, just to warm through…should not be dry or gluggy.
If necessary add more stock or even a little water, when ready add a large dob of butter and parmesan (Parmiggiano Reggiano) add pepper to taste and serve immediately

MUSHROOMS STUFFED WITH SCRAMBLED EGGS

6 medium- large Mushrooms washed
olive oil for brushing
3 eggs whisked
2 desserts spoons cream
1 desserts spoon brandy
1 slice finely chopped ham off bone
butter to finish
10 chives - finely sliced

Remove stalks from mushrooms, and place on a baking dish and brush with a little good quality oil and heat in a medium oven for 5 minutes.
Separately combine whisked eggs with cream and brandy and whisk again.
Cook in scrambled egg style in a little butter, then whisk through the ham, and fill mushroom caps with this mixture.
Finish with a tiny dob of butter on top of each egg pile and sprinkle with chives.
Place under grill just before serving until butter has melted.

CAVIAR TART

Yarra Valley Salmon caviar 6 hard boiled eggs shelled
250gm warm melted butter
1 teaspoon (only) of finely grated white onion
½ small tub sour cream
medium jar Yarra Valley Salmon Caviar
tiny picked sprigs of washed parsley
tiny lemon segments

Grease a small 15 cm wide flat pie dish with a light oil spray.
Finely mash the hard boiled eggs in a blender with the butter and place this into the base of the pie dish and refrigerate for about 4 hours.
When firm spread a fine layer of the sour cream onto the egg base with a spatula and then sprinkle over the onion.
Take a small jar of Yarra Valley Salmon Caviar and spread this over the sour cream and onion layer quite generously.
Refrigerate again and leave to set for about 1 hour.
Decorate with alternate pieces of parsley and tiny lemon segments.
And serve in wedges as a lovely summer evening entree.

SUMMER SALAD OF SMOKED TROUT, CHERRY TOMATOES, CUCUMBER, DILL VERJUICE VINAGARETTE
Recipe from The Sebel Reef House restaurant, Palm Cove

Recipe per person:
Cherry tomatoes 100gm smoke trout fillet (de-boned)
30gm Mesculin (Baby mixed lettuce leaves)
4 Cherry Tomatoes - cut in half
½ Lebanese Cucumber cut in ½ lengthways, then sliced
Verjuice vinaigrette
Hummus
1 flour tortillas (6 inch)

Brush tortillas with olive oil and toast in a pressure toaster - remove and place in a small bowl, and press down with another bowl, so that when the tortillas cool down it remains the shape of the bowl.
In a stainless steel bowl, flake the smoked trout fillet.
Cold mesculin, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, a couple of turns of the pepper mill and a pinch of Maldon flakes/sea salt.
Drizzle with a little Verjuice Vinaigrette.
On a white plate smear out a good dessert spoon of hummus - to about a 4 inch diameter.
Place the crisp tortillas basket on top
Place all the smoked trout and salad in the tortillas basket with a few sprigs of dill
Serve with a lime wedge.

VIRGINIA'S MANGO AND MACADAMIA SALAD WITH LIME MAYONNAISE

Mangoes Dressing
1 egg yolk
¾ cup light flavoured olive oil
1 tabs lime juice
Zest of 1 lime
1 teas french mustard (pref green herb mustard)
½ pinch nutmeg
Salt & cracked black pepper

To make dressing whisk yolks and lime juice and mustard.
Slowly add oil drip by drip until it begins to emulsify.
Then add other ingredients and combine well.

Salad ingredients
Butter lettuce leaves - well washed
Fresh mango - sliced into large ears
Avocado - sliced
Macadamia nut pieces
Chives - finely cut

To make salad
In a flat bowl or curved sided plate, place butter lettuce leaves and mango, top with avocado and then the mayonnaise, top them with the nuts and finally the chives.

TURKEY (OR CHICKEN) AND HAM IN WHITE WINE AND CREAM SAUCE

To fill crepes, vol au vents, or serve with rice pilaf
1 Spanish onion - finely diced
3 tabs pl flour
100 gm butter
1 cup milk
2 cups stock ( chicken)
¼ cup white wine
1 dess spoon French mustard
Left over turkey (or chicken) - chopped roughly
Left over ham - chopped roughly into half inch cubes
½ cup cream
1 cup mushrooms finely sliced
parsley ( washed and finely chopped )

in a large saucepan with a heavy base, saute the onion in the butter till transparent.
Add mushrooms and saute, add flour and combine well, cook for 5 minutes stirring constantly as roux thickens.
Add mustard, then slowly begin to add stock, then add milk and stir well.
Cook this for approx 20 minutes ( to reduce flour taste) and then add meats and cream.
Heat through and season to taste with cracked pepper.
Finish with finely chopped parsley.

COLD PARSLEYED HAM BY MARGARET FULTON
1 kg Ham
1 1/4 cups stock (chicken)
½ cup dry white wine
Pepper
Nutmeg
1 cup chopped parsley
2 tabs gelatine
1 tab tarragon vinegar

Cut Ham into 2 cm squares and simmer in stock and wine and pepper and nutmeg, for 5 minutes.
Drain and reserve liquid.
Place ham in a bowl that has been dampened with water and peppered with chopped parsley so it sticks to the edges.
Soften gelatine in a little water and stir it into the hot liquid.
When dissolved add remaining parsley and tarragon vinegar.
Allow to cool and when syrupy pour this over the diced ham.
Place in fridge for 4 hours and unmold to serve.