Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Thermomix Beetroot Salad
Beetroot is one of my favourite vegetables, but not the canned, vinegared variety.
Slow cooked beetroot, roasted whole or cut into chunks and drizzled with sour cream, made into warming soups or a dip with yoghurt.
So many deliicious ways with beetroot, but the Thermomix makes it easy to put together a fast, simple salad.
The basic idea is there for you to now adapt using your own flavour combinations.
Thermomix Beetroot Salad
Ingredients:
1 large orange, peeled and roughly chopped, seeds removed
100g onions, peeled and quartered
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
500g beetroot, peeled and cut into eighths
100g sugar
1 MC (100ml) water
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt
50ml rice wine vinegar
Method:
Place orange segments into TM bowl and chop for 20 seconds on speed 6. Remove and set aside.
Place onions into TM bowl and chop for 10 seconds on speed 5. Add oil and sauté for 5 minutes at 100°C on Speed 1.
Add beetroot to TM bowl and grate for 20 - 30 seconds on Speed 6. The pieces should be similar in size to lentils. Add sugar, water, spices, salt and reserved orange puree and cook for 30 - 40 minutes at 90°C on Speed 1 with the MC in place. The beetroot should be cooked, but not soft and mushy.
Add vinegar and blend for 10 seconds on Speed 3.
Varoma Asparagus Custards
These have been adapted from Stephanie Alexander’s “The Cook’s Companion”. I first recall having a dish similar to this at Paul Bocuse restaurant in the 1990's and then at a dinner hosted by Tony Tan years later.
The Thermomix is great for preparing the custards and then steaming them. You can cook them in a bain marie in the oven.
Asparagus Custards
Ingredients:
200g asparagus spears (weight after they have been
peeled and woody ends removed),
1 clove garlic
400 ml cream
4 eggs
1 teaspoon anise-flavoured liqueur
(Pernod, Ouzo, Anice), optional
Salt and white pepper
Method:
Peel the asparagus stalks (starting from just below the tip and going towards the base) and break off the hard part from the base of the stalks. Place 200g of prepared asparagus in Varoma tray and leave aside.
Place garlic clove in TMX bowl and grate for 20 seconds on speed 7. Add cream and cook for 15 minutes at Varoma temperature on speed 3, with TM basket over lid. During the last 5 minutes place Varoma in position and steam asparagus.
Once cooked cut asparagus into 5 cm pieces and add to TM bowl with eggs and liqueur. Blend for 45 seconds on speed 9. Season with salt and pepper.
Place into 6 greased dariole moulds or soufflé dishes and place these into Varoma.
Place 600 ml water into TM bowl and position Varoma on top. Steam for 30 minutes at Varoma temperature on speed 2. Carefully remove custards and allow to stand for 5 minutes before unmoulding.
