Massaman Curry with Chicken

Massaman is one of my favorite curries.  It is a Thai dish with Muslim origins.  It is commonly made with beef but you can also use chicken, lamb, pork or tofu.  The name Massaman is thought to be derived from the word Musulman which is a linguistic variation of the word Muslim.  Thai Massaman curry has an abundance of warm spices such as cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg.

Serves 2
recipe from Blue Elephant Cooking School
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Paste:
1 stem coriander root
2 cloves garlic
15g shallot

Curry:
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons Massaman paste
1 cup coconut milk
2 tablespoons water (optional)
150g chicken breast, cut into bit-size pieces
100g sweet potato, boiled and diced
1 tablespoon ginger, sliced
1cm cinnamon stick
2 pieces of cardamon
2 bay leaves (optional)


Seasoning:
1 1/2 tablespoon tamarind (use rice wine vinegar or apple vinegar if you can't find tamarind)
1/2 tablespoon fish sauce (use salt if you don't like fish sauce)
1 1/2 tablespoon palm sugar (use brown sugar and double the amount if palm is not available)

For the paste:  in a mortar, finely pound the paste ingredients.  To make the curry, heat a saucepan on medium heat and add oil.  Add the paste from the mortar and mix with the oil until an aroma develops.  Add the Massaman paste and stir until combined.  Add the coconut milk a bit at a time allowing the oil from the milk to rise above the curry, then add more milk and continue this process until all milk is used.  Add potato, cinnamon stick, bay leaves, cardamon and ginger.  Let the curry reduce a bit then season with palm sugar, tamarind and fish sauce.  Add the chicken and simmer until the curry has thickened and the chicken is cooked.  Transfer to a serving dish, garnish with coconut cream, cashew nuts and coriander leaves.


The Culinary Chase's Note:  If you've never had Massaman curry, you are in for a treat.  Unlike Indian or Malaysain curries, this one is not as spicy.  If you find the coconut milk is too thick, you can add the water to thin it.  If you can find palm sugar, make sure to dissolve it in the sauce first before adding it as this helps to dissolve the sugar.  If you don't want or don't have time to make the Massaman paste, a store bought version will suffice.  Enjoy this with a side of fragrant jasmine rice.

Honey Ginger Chicken with Chickpeas

This is a warming and hearty dish.  Garbanzo beans (also known as chickpeas) have a delicious nut like taste and buttery texture. Chickpeas are an excellent source of protein, dietary fiber, folate and are one of the earliest cultivated vegetables.  While many people think of chickpeas as being beige in color, there are varieties that feature black, green, red and brown beans.   Chickpeas make a delicious dip known as hummus.  For other chickpea recipes, click here.

Serves 4
recipe from Woman & Home magazine
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4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 tablespoon oil

For the marinade:
50g ginger, grated
2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, chopped
3 tablespoons runny honey
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 onion, sliced
1 yellow and 1 red pepper, sliced
2 teaspoon chili powder
400g tin chopped tomatoes
410g tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed
175ml (6oz.) vegetable or chicken stock

Score the chicken and put in a dish.  Mix the marinade ingredients together and pour over the chicken.  Cover and chill for 4 hours.  Heat the oven to 180c (350f).  Heat the oil in a flameproof casserole dish over a medium heat.  Remove chicken from the marinade and fry for 5 minutes until golden.  Remove from dish and set aside.  Add the onion and peppers to the dish and cook for 5 minutes, until soft.  Add the chili powder and cook for 2 minutes.  Then add the leftover marinade and cook for 1 minute.  Add the tomatoes, chickpeas and stock.  Bring to a boil.  Put the chicken on top, cover and cook in the oven for 20 minutes.  Divide the chicken and chickpeas between 4 bowls and serve with garnished rosemary sprigs.

The Culinary Chase's Note:  I think 3 tablespoons of honey was too sweet so next time I will adjust and only add 2 tablespoons.  Also, if the chicken breast is small, check timing as the chicken may dry out if you cook for the full 20 minutes.  Beautiful flavors and textures.

Mini Lamingtons

I first tried these delicious mini cakes when I lived in Hong Kong and it seemed that a lot of the coffee shops there sold them.  They are very addictive and it's been a couple of years since I last had one.  Lamingtons are named after Charles Cochrane-Baille, 2nd Baron Lamington, who served as Governor of Queensland from 1896 to 1901.  It was the Lamington's chef, Armand Gallad, who was called upon at short notice to provide something to feed unexpected guests. According to the Melbourne Age newspaper, Gallad cut up some left over French vanilla sponge cake baked the day before, dipped the slices in chocolate and set them in coconut (an ingredient not widely used in European cooking at that time). Lady Lamington's guests then asked for the recipe.  Ironically, Lord Lamington was believed to have hated the dessert that had been named in his honor, referring to them as "those bloody poofy woolly biscuits".  He obviously didn't have a sweet tooth!

Makes 16
recipe from Australian Good Taste
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300g (2 cups) plain flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
125g butter, at room temperature
155g (3/4 cup) caster sugar
2 eggs
125ml (1/2 cup) milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
170g (2 cups) moist coconut flakes

Chocolate Icing:
230g (1 1/2 cups) icing sugar, sifted
35g (1/3 cup) cocoa powder, sifted
10g butter
60-80ml (1/4 - 1/3 cup) boiling water

Preheat oven to 180c (350f).  Brush a square 20cm (8") cake pan with melted butter and line with non-stick baking paper.  Sift together the flour and baking powder.  Use an electric beater to beat the butter and sugar in a bowl until pale and creamy.   Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add the flour mixture and milk to the egg mixture, in alternate batches, and fold to combine.  Fold in the vanilla.

Spoon into the prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.  Set aside to cool.  Cut into pieces.  To make the chocolate icing, in a medium bowl combine the icing sugar, cocoa powder, butter and enough water to make a runny consistency.  Dip the cake in the chocolate icing making sure to coat all sides and then dip in the coconut.  Set aside until set.

The Culinary Chase's Note:  A bit messy when dipping into the chocolate and then coconut but worth every bit of sticky effort.  Delectable!

Halifax Coffee Culture

For the love of coffee!!  Coffee is alluring, intoxicating and is the drink of choice for millions. It's one of the largest traded commodities in the world and plays a role in the lives of millions of people every day. There are two main species of coffee: coffea robusta and the Arabica bean. The robusta is low growing, fast producing, inexpensive and not very flavorful (used in canned or instant coffees). Arabica is grown at higher altitudes (1600m) or more. Cool evening temperatures slow the growth of the plant which allows complex sugars to develop. The Arabica bean is a hard, expensive bean and is prized by the specialty coffee industry. The coffee tree (an evergreen shrub) must grow for 5 years before it can produce on a yearly basis. This truly is a labor of love for the farmers.

The coffee scene in Halifax is amazing to say the least.  The population in the HRM is over 370,000 and is the largest city east of Québec and north of Boston.  There are 8 Starbucks, 9 Second Cups, and 30 Tim Hortons.  With these numbers in mind, one would think the market is saturated.  Think again!  Haligonians love a good cup of java and they love to support local coffee shops. And what's unique about these coffee shops is that they all roast their own beans.  After searching for a few placess to enjoy this tawny drink,  here's my list:

Coburg Coffee House (6085 Coburg Rd.) - cappuccino was good but the wait left a bad taste in my mouth.

Cabin Coffee (1544 Hollis St.) - cappuccino was a bit too hot but nice flavor, and plenty of food to choose from.

The Coastal Cafe (2731 Robie St.) - cappuccino had an almost choclately flavor, had a decent amount of foam and the crispy chicken, bacon, avocado, Havarti, and Ranch Wrap was delish!

Alterego's Coffee House (2193 Gottigen St.) - the organic cappuccino was good but too hot, soups and sandwiches are home made .

Just Us! Coffee (5896 Spring Garden Rd. plus 4 other locations) -  this coffee shop is one of my favorites!  The cappuccino is silky smooth and the ambience in this Victorian home is very welcoming.

Steve O Reno's (1536 Brunswick St. plus at the Farmer's Market and Robie St.) - another favorite of mine!  The shop is small but the atmosphere is fun, food is good and the cappuccino's are heavenly! They were voted Best espresso 2009 by The Coast and were written up in Frommer's.

Smiling Goat (1551 South Park St.) - a good cappuccino can certainly be found at this espresso bar.

Wired Monk (5147 Morris plus numerous other locations) - cool atmosphere in this lovely heritage building, cappuccino was very good, and food was scrumptious.

Two If By The Sea Cafe (66 Ochterloney St.) - there was a bit of a buzz surrounding the opening of this cafe which opened today.  My own curiosity brought me to the cafe and I had the most delectable, velvety cappuccino since Sant 'Eustachio in Rome!  I met Zane Kelsall, Master Barista and Tara MacDonald, Baker extraordinaire.  Today was just a taste of what is to come from this cafe.


The Culinary Chase's Note:  ‘Cappuccino’ is derived from the Italian word ‘Capuchin’. The Catholic Capuchin monks wear headdress that bear a likeness to the frothy layer of cappuccino.  I gauge a good coffee shop by how well the barista makes a cappuccino and you shouldn't have to wait a long time for one either!  That's just absurd considering it takes less than 20 seconds for a single espresso shot to come out of the machine.  A cappuccino should never be piping hot and it should have a smooth layer of frothed milk (not a mile high).  The crema (a light-colored top layer from the espresso shot) should be visible around the edge of the cup.

Bacon, Zucchini and Asparagus Pasta

Food in a flash was the title that caught my eye in the October issue of Australian Good Taste magazine.  I'm a fan of simple, wholesome food prepared with minimal time in the kitchen and this dish is ready in 15 minutes!  And, look at all the vegetables in one dish.  Did you know that asparagus has strong cleansing effects on the kidneys and bladder? Asparagus flushes out acid wastes so fast that you can smell the ammonia in your urine shortly after eating it. Perhaps that's why it's called, "The Stinky Vegetable"!  Zucchini is an excellent source of manganese and vitamin C and a very good source of magnesium, vitamin A, fiber, potassium, folate, copper, riboflavin, and phosphorus.  Parsley is sometimes regarded as just a lonely table garnish but it packs a ton of healing properties.  Check this site out for more details.


Serves 4
recipe from Australian Good Taste
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300g dried angel hair pasta
1 tablespoon olive oil
125g bacon, thinly sliced
3 anchovy fillets, drained and chopped
2 zucchini, thinly sliced
1 bunch asparagus, woody ends trimmed, cut into 1cm lengths
3 garlic cloves, crushed
3 ripe tomatoes, finely chopped
75g (1/4 cup) cream cheese
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup fresh parsley leaves (roughly chopped if you like)

Cook pasta in a large saucepan of salted boiling water until al dente.  Drain.  Meanwhile, heat oil in a large non-stick frying pan over high heat.  Cook bacon, stirring, for 1 minute.  Add anchovy and cook for 1 minute or until it dissolves.  Add the zucchini, asparagus and garlic.  Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes or until the vegetables start to soften.  Add the tomato, cream cheese and lemon juice.  Simmer 1-2 minutes or until heated through.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add the pasta and parsley and toss to combine.

The Culinary Chase's Note:  As Jamie Oliver would say:  "Easy Peasy"!!  The salt from the anchovies and smokey flavor from the bacon are flavors that seem mingle well with the other ingredients.

Molasses and Maple Crème Brûlée

Crème brûlée (French for "burnt cream") is also known as crema catalana (Spanish) or Trinity cream (English).  It is a rich dessert with a custard base and a hard caramel top which is created by caramelizing sugar under the broiler or using a blowtorch. The custard base is normally flavored with just vanilla, but it can be enhanced with other flavors such as lemon, cardamom, orange, cinnamon, coffee, rum, Amaretto etc.  This recipe is from Opera Bistro and is another wonderful recipe from the book, Molasses Inspirations.

Serves 6
recipe from Opera Bistro
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500ml (2 cups) whipping cream
6 egg yokes
15ml (1 tablespoon sugar)
30ml (2 tablespoons) maple syrup
30ml (2 tablespoons) molasses
125ml (1/4 cup) sugar to sprinkle on individual ramekins

Preheat oven to 150c (300f).  Boil whipping cream.  Combine egg yokes, sugar, maple syrup and molasses.  Pour hot cream over egg mixture and stir to combine.  Fill a pan with hot water (bain marie).  Divide custard into 6 ramekins and place in pan.  Bake for 45 minutes.  Let cool.  Sprinkle sugar between the 6 ramekins and then caramelize the sugar with a blowtorch or place under the grill until the sugars melt into a golden brown color.

The Culinary Chase's Note:  The flavors of maple and molasses help to make this an irresistible dessert.  Make sure there are no bubbles when the cream is mixed into the egg mixture.  If you do get bubbles, strain and then divide between ramekins.  So little effort is involved to make a sensational dish!