:: Sunday Lunch: Salmon Patties, Leafy Panzanella & Guacamole

Jeepers it’s been rainy in Melbourne. We had planned to go camping this weekend, but the rain was stretching from Victoria through to NSW and sitting in a drippy tent, trying not to be blow away seemed like a silly idea. Instead, we stayed home, ate delicious things and watched Gilmore Girls.  We also put our Christmas tree up, I finished online shopping for the kids’ prezzies and we drank QUITE a lot of coffee.

Rin came over to hang out today, so we fixed a nice lunch and planned our Christmas Day menu as we ate it. We’ve decided to do a Malaysian menu this year, a bit of  a throwback to Christmasses when Rin was little. We’d always have Christmas with my then-in-laws, it’d be a bit of a pot luck type thing with friends and family all bringing a special curry or other Asian influenced dish. My mother-in-law Dur-e would cook heaps of rice, make a few extra special dishes for good luck and we’d all pile deliciousness on our plates and chatter the afternoon away.

We’re taking our cue from those long-ago lunches this year. Dry-fried chicken, fish curry, spicy green beans, potato curry… that kind of thing. For the sake of extreme nostalgia I am going to make a huge Elizabeth David flourless chocolate cake too. We used to have that for special occasions (and less special ones too), as Dur-e used to bring leftover slices home from Stephanie’s Restaurant (the place she owned with now-much-more-famous-then-back-then chef Stephanie Alexander) most days, or order a WHOLE cake when things were getting a bit fancier in the occasion department.

It’s always nice to plan this stuff as a gang, right? Especially nice when there’s a bit of nostalgia thrown in.  After that, Rin told me you could use CHUX cloths to make labne and we talked about the best way to combine raspberries and labne to later spread on raisin toast. Solving the problems of the world, we were.

Now, we’re all cosying down heading into these final weeks of the year. There is a leg of lamb in the oven and I think Cam is making cauliflower cheese. I’m going to have  a hot bath and a glass of wine and read some of this book. Speaking of which, did you hear about my reading challenge for next year? It’s a really good one. Are you in?!

x Pip

 

Recipes from today

Fluffy gluten-free salmon patties
1kg of potatoes, peeled, mashed and cooled
400g of tinned salmon
2 eggs
1 tbsp of dijon mustard
2 tbsp of mayonnaise
a slosh of tabasco
salt and pepper

Mix all ingredients together. With wet hands, form into patty shapes.
Fry in good quality olive oil over a medium heat until golden on both sides (around 3 minutes each side, roughly!)
I use a cast iron frying pan for this. They brown nicely and cook evenly.

Serves 6

Leafy panzanella
4 large tomatoes, peeled and chopped
2 handfuls of rocket or spinach or similar – washed and dried
3 slices of bread – we used gluten free
1 small cucumber, sliced
about 20 leaves of basil – whole leaves is fine, no need to chop.
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
200ml olive oil (no need to use extra virgin if you don’t want to)
1 clove of garlic
salt and pepper

Peel the tomatoes by cutting a little cross in their tops and plunging them into boiling water. The skins should come off easily then. Toast the bread and rub with garlic whilst still hot. Drizzle with olive oil. Tear into pieces and set aside.
Pop the olive oil and vinegar into a jar with some salt and pepper. Shake it up.
Mix remaining ingredients together except for the toast pieces.
Tip onto the salad. Add the toast pieces. Toss again. Serve with a flourish!

Serves 4

Guacamole to have on the side
Super basic – to use as a condiment

Mash one medium avocado with 1/2 garlic clove, juice of a lemon, half a sliced tomato, half a handful of chopped coriander, sea salt, crushed black pepper and a healthy slosh of Tabasco. (serves four as a condiment/sauce/side)