Pumpkin Crumble

The selected recipe for this week at Cook The Book Fridays is Butternut Squash Crumble. I have used pumpkin instead of butternut as pumpkin is more readily available in the area where I live. Cook The Book Fridays, a group of bloggers, are currently cooking through David Lebovitz's cookbook, My Paris Kitchen.

Pumpkin is peeled and cut to 1/2 inch pieces, then sauteed in a little oil and butter, with some fresh thymes, season with salt and pepper, stir occasionally until the pumpkin begin to brown on several sides. I did not brown the pumpkin, (too lazy to wait!!). I stir-fry for a few minutes. Add some sliced shallots, cook until softened, add some chicken stock and cook until the stock reduce a bit. Transfer to a well-buttered shallow baking tray. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes until the squash are tender.

The crumble topping is made by processing in a food processor, the bread crumbs, cornmeal, Parmesan, sage (I use dried oregano), sugar and salt together until crumbly. Add the chilled and cubed butter, and lastly the egg, pulse until mixture starts to clump together in bits. Remove the tray from the oven, and scatter the crumble topping all over. Return the tray to the oven with a slight reduction in the oven temperature. Bake for about 20 minutes until the topping is golden brown.

This savoury crumble is quite nice. Crispy topping with soft tender squash. But the Parmesan cheese is a little too strong for my taste. I think that it would work better for me if I have used Cheddar instead as I originally intended. I have always prefer Cheddar over Parmesan, just my personal preference. This would make a nice side dish, but I would go for small portions, as it is quite filling. 

Do stop by CtBF to view everyone's take on this savoury crumble. If you have the book or thought of getting one, please do, and join us! Full details here.

Garlicky Greens

I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC) is cooking with a new selected chef, Heidi Swanson starting this week, for the next six months. Heidi Swanson is a cookbook author, who focuses on whole, natural food using fresh produce that are seasonal and minimally processed. To know more about Heidi Swanson, you may visit her lovely website at 101 cookbooks and also to view her delicious vegetarian recipes. Come join us! More details here.

Welcome Heidi Swanson!

This week, we are free to cook any of Heidi Swanson's recipes, to welcome her to our kitchen. I have some homegrown kale that is right for harvest, and found just the right recipe from Heidi's blog, Garlicky Greens. 

Some of the harvests from my container garden. I'm sure Heidi would approve of these fresh kale from my garden pot! :)

Fresh from the garden, into the cooking wok half an hour later. The leaves are shred to bite-sized pieces.

This is a quick stir-fry dish. Best prepare just before serving. Heat some olive oil in a skillet (I've used a wok), add the salt and kale leaves, stir for 2 to 3 minutes, then add in lots of chopped garlic. Stir for 30 seconds or so, remove from heat, and stir in a big pinch of crushed red pepper flakes. There's an optional ingredient, Parmesan, which is to be stirred in at this point. But I have omitted the Parmesan, preferring to eat the Kale with its fresh flavours.

Simply and garlicky delicious! 

I had the Garlicky Greens with some leftover couscous, top with a fried egg, for a light and satisfying lunch. I'm really looking forward to cook with Heidi Swanson for the next six months!

Garlicky Greens
(adapted from 101 cookbooks, Heidi Swanson)
1 large bunch of kale, chard
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
fine grain sea salt
5 cloves of garlic, crushed and chopped
1/4 cup parmesan cheese (optional)
crushed red pepper flakes

To de-stem each leaf of chard/kale, grab the main stalk in one hand and strip the leaf from the stem all the way up with the other. I then tear the big leaves into bite-sized pieces, but you can use a knife for this task if you prefer. Wash the greens in a big bowl (or sink) full of clean water, rinsing and swishing to rinse away any stubborn grit and dirt. Drain, rinse again, and set aside.

Hold off cooking the greens until just before eating. Then, in a large skillet heat the olive oil. Add a couple of big pinches of salt and the greens. They should hiss and spit a bit when they hit the pan. Stir continuously until their colour gets bright green, and they just barely start to collapse - two, three, maybe four minutes, depending on how hot your pan is and how much structure your greens have. Then, just thirty seconds before you anticipate pulling the skillet off the heat, stir in the garlic. Saute a bit, remove the pan from the heat, stir in the Parmesan, and add a big pinch of crushed red pepper flakes. Taste, add a bit of salt if needed, and serve immediately if not sooner.

I'm linking this post with I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC), theme for this week,

Hello Heidi!

Spicy Chicken Pasta

It's time to say Goodbye Curtis! at I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC). We have cooked with Curtis for six months and it's time to change to another new selected chef. But we will definitely be visiting Curtis again in our Potluck Weeks. Our new selected chef for the next six months is Heidi Swanson, with vegetarian recipes. Please do join us, full details at IHCC, here.

To say Goodbye Curtis! I've made one of his many pasta recipes, Spicy Chicken Pasta. He made it with turkey and the dish is originally called Spicy Turkey Pasta. But minced turkey is not easily available here, so I have used chicken instead.

A simple and easy dish to cook. I have added about 1/4 cup of tomato puree which I wanted to use up. And have used more chilli flakes than the recipe calls for.


Spicy Chicken Pasta
(adapted from taste.com.au, Curtis Stone)
2 tablespoon olive oil
500gm turkey mince (I used chicken mince)
1 small brown onion, finely chopped
100gm semi-dried tomatoes, cut into thirds (from the deli)
1/2 cup water
1/4 teaspoon dried chilli flakes
80gm Mediterranean pitted olives, cut in half (from the deli)
400gm can whole peeled Italian tomatoes, finely chopped
350gm penne pasta
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/4 cup tomato puree (my addition)

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium to high heat. Brown turkey mince, breaking up any large chunks. Add onion and garlic and cook for 4 minutes, or until lightly browned.
Add semi-dried tomatoes, water, olives, dried chilli flakes and tomatoes. Season to taste. Simmer for 10 minutes, or until sauce has thickened.
Meanwhile, cook pasta according to packet directions.
To serve, toss pasta with sauce and divide evenly among 4 bowls.

I'm linking this post with I Heart Cooking Clubs, theme for this week

"Hoorio Curtis!" (Goodbye Curtis!)