gado gado

gado-gado

An Indonesian dish that is widely open to interpretation and adaptation, gado-gado is a winner dinner for our family. Nic had been requesting it, so it was about time we had it for dinner again. This version was vegetarian, making it a great meatless Monday meal. It can easily become a vegan meal too.

Loosely translated as 'mix-mix', gado-gado is a good way to use up vegetables that might be loitering in the crisper drawers and/or to get rid of leftovers. It could easily be described as a pantry meal, as it uses whatever foods might be at hand.

Quite simply, it is a spicy peanut sauce over... ingredients. Vegetables used in the dish can be raw, lightly blanched or steamed. Nic's preference is to have it over noodles, I prefer brown rice. It would also be great with quinoa for an added source of protein.  

a mixed plate of foods - to which peanut sauce is added

This particular meal included: egg noodles, shredded lettuce, boiled eggs, sliced cucumber, grated carrot, cherry tomatoes, snow peas, boiled potatoes, sliced green onions.

Traditional foods to serve in gado-gado also include: tofu, tempeh, mung bean sprouts, green beans, shredded green cabbage, lontong (rice cake), prawn/shrimp crackers (krupuk)... Other possible additions might include: baby corn or corn kernels, asparagus, snap peas, zucchini, spinach, grilled eggplant, broad beans, edamame, cauliflower, broccoli, red cabbage, spiralized beets, pumpkin, sliced mushrooms, radishes, red or green peppers, shredded chicken, fish, shrimp... The possibilities are vast and combinations endless.

This is a fantastic dish to introduce new foods to children. It is colorfully appealing, can incorporate a variety of tastes and textures, and portions of new foods need only be small. 

Allergic reactions to peanuts may be avoided by substituting almonds in the sauce, like the recipe found here. 

PEANUT SAUCE RECIPE

This recipe is for the spicy sauce to put atop whatever ingredients one wishes to use. 

Ingredients:

1 onion, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 tsp ginger root, grated

1 TB peanut oil (or substitute other vegetable oil)

5 TB peanut butter

⅓ cup coconut milk

½ tsp shrimp paste (or fish sauce)

1 tsp lime juice (or lemon juice)

1 ½ tsp palm sugar (or dark brown sugar)

1 TB soy sauce / Tamari

¼ tsp chili paste / Sambal Oelek

Method:

Heat oil in small saucepan over medium heat.

Fry onion, garlic, and ginger until onion is soft.

Stir in the peanut butter and coconut milk.

Add other ingredients to taste.

Blend ingredients with an immersion blender for a smooth sauce. 

Cook for a further 5 minutes for flavors to develop.

NOTES:

• This sauce is lovely served with satay or added to stir-fried vegetables.
• I like to make sufficient sauce to ensure we have left-overs. I typically scale-up the quantities of all ingredients so I can use a full can of coconut milk.
• Ingredients and ratios/quantities are easily altered depending on taste or availability (or even substituted or omitted). Traditional versions of the sauce include tamarind. The sauce can be made with unsalted peanuts instead of peanut butter. 
• Shrimp paste (Mam ruoc) is fermented shrimp. It is extremely strong in smell and taste, and cooking with it may offend young noses (I have always make sure to cook with it when the kids are not in the room!) It is easily substituted with fish sauce. 
• If I don't have time, I make a cheat version of this sauce by adding some Sambal Oelek to peanut butter and thinning it to sauce consistency with orange juice. 

Pink Dip / Beetroot Dip

To avoid any potential complaints about eating beets/beetroot, I name this dish Pink Dip or Pink Hummus... and the kids are ready to eat it without further questioning. Along with a Carrot Dip, I have made this dip to serve at Children's parties... simply because the color is SO intense and beautiful. It has a wonderful sweet yet earthy flavor and is simply delicious. My favorite accompaniment would be Turkish Bread - a kind of Ciabatta we were able to purchase easily in Australia - but I have yet to find a substitute here. Unfortunately, we only had corn chips available when I made this the other night. 

I have thinned the dip with a little extra yoghurt / lemon juice to make a sauce to serve with, what I thought were Lebanese fish balls (via an ancient recipe from Robert Carrier). I believe these were called Blehat Samak. I found a similar recipe at Mietta O'Donnell's site.

Anyway, I roasted several beetroot at once. I used one and a half to 'pickle' and serve on classic Aussie-style burgers, and reserved the remaining beets for when we had a pre-dinner snack emergency. 

PINK DIP
Ingredients: 
2 medium fresh beets

1 clove garlic, chopped

1 tblsp tahini

1 tblsp lemon juice

1/4 cup Greek Yoghurt (or as desired)

Method: 

Wash beets well and cut stems (leaving a couple of inches intact - to prevent all color escaping!)

Wrap beets in oiled foil and bake in oven for 1½ hours at 350℉ (or until skewer can be inserted easily into beets). 

Wash cooked beets under running cold water to remove skins and stem. Drain. Allow to cool. 

Blend beets with garlic, Tahini and Lemon Juice. Stir through Yoghurt if thinner / creamier consistency is required. Add salt to taste. 

Note: 

Use rubber gloves when skinning beets to avoid turning a vivid shade of red!
Sour Cream may be substituted for the Yoghurt... but we have become extremely fond of our homemade Greek Yoghurt. 

Summer Pizza

Lovely big bunches of fresh basil transform into jars of pesto that lie in wait in our refrigerator. The Pesto is mixed through pasta, spread on toast with goats cheese, becomes a sandwich filling with grilled summer vegetables... and even tops a pizza from time to time. I make it with a big bunch of washed and dried basil, couple of cloves of garlic, olive oil, pine nuts and freshly grated parmesan (or other hard Italian cheese). If I find myself out of pine nuts, then I sometimes use walnuts. This is one of those foods that the kids love to help with - whizzing the blender and having several 'taste tests' along the way. Quantities are totally optional and so no two pestos are ever the same. 

I often slow-roast cherry tomatoes in the oven - especially as it cools after cooking something else. Coated with some olive oil and a light grind of salt (and sometimes pepper), I roast the halved tomatoes at around 350℉ for 30 minutes, then at around 200℉ for another hour or so... depending upon how 'dry' I want them to be. These become sweet and are oh-so-good thrown through pasta (sometimes with pesto), a salad or included on hors d'oeuvres. 

With some pesto and roasted tomatoes on hand, I decided to make a pizza. I was always a little scared of making my own pizza dough... until we got a mixer. Since being somewhat upset after burning out a motor of a handheld mixer, our KitchenAid (with dough hook), makes light work if it! I use a dough recipe from A Cooks Companion. 

Basic Pizza Dough 
Ingredients: 
2 sachets dried yeast (8.75g each)
1 tsp Salt 
400g flour
20ml Olive Oil
250ml Water (lukewarm)  

Method: 
Mix yeast, salt and flour using an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook. Mix water and oil into dry ingredients and knead for about 8 minutes until smooth and elastic. (Knead for 10-15 minutes if doing by hand). 
Grease a large bowl with olive oil (1 to 2 tsp). Place dough in bowl and cover with plastic wrap or tea towel. Keep in a warm, draught-free place and allow to rise to double size (approx. 90 minutes). 
Knock back dough, gently fold in 4. Cover and allow to rise again for another 30 to 45 minutes. 

Notes: 
I like using a combination of flour - All Purpose / White Wheat / Wholegrain / Bread Flour - dependent upon whim and desired flavor. Paul prefers heavier use of white flour as he likes the 'bready' taste and rise of the dough. I usually compromise with a 50/50 mix of All-Purpose and Wholewheat. 

Pesto Pizza 
I flattened the dough onto a baking tray and spread with Pesto. I then covered the dough with slices of fresh mozzarella cheese and topped with the slow roasted tomatoes. A quick grind of black pepper, drizzled oil (leftover from the tomatoes) and into a very hot oven for 10 minutes. We have a pizza stone - so I transferred the pizza to this to bake for another 5 to 8 minutes. The size was a little too hard to manage - and I ended up cutting the pizza in two to place on pizza stone. 
I topped the finished pizza with some torn basil leaves, slices of fresh tomato from the garden and a very light drizzle of balsamic vinegar. 

Spaghetti for Summer

One of those evenings with absolutely no idea what to prepare for dinner. Spaghetti-loving son mentioned pasta, I'd just picked some basil from the garden, and we did have some fresh tomatoes... off to the The Silver Spoon for one of the easiest dishes ever. 

I gave Paul the Silver Spoon cookbook a zillion years ago. It is the ultimate Italian cookbook. We haven't used it to its full potential, but have had some brilliant pasta dishes from it. 

Here is the recipe as it (mostly) appears in the book... 

RAW TOMATO SPAGHETTI 
Ingredients: 
500g ripe vine tomatoes, peeled seeded and chopped
4 tbsp Olive Oil 
10 fresh Basil leaves, chopped
2 cloves Garlic, cut in half
350g / box of Spaghetti 

Method: 
Put tomatoes in a bowl with oil, basil and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Mix well and put aside for 30 minutes to allow flavors to develop. Discard garlic before adding tomatoes to pasta. 
Cook pasta until al dente. Drain spaghetti. Mix through tomato mix and serve at once. 

Notes: 

This dish is nicer using a white wheat spaghetti. The flavors are delicate and I don't feel are robust enough to suit wholemeal pasta. 

Summer Soba

While on my world-backpacking safari in my 20's, I spent several months in Japan teaching English. I lived in a small town named Ugata in Mie-ken - famous for its seafood, Kashikojima Island and a thriving pearl industry.

One of my students, 9yo Kiri, turned up on my doorstep one evening and presented me with a tray of delicious food. She told me it was Summer Soba before scooting away. This is a classic Japanese summer dish - very refreshing as the noodles and all condiments are served cold. 

Soba noodles are made from Buckwheat. These are fast to cook, but must be thoroughly rinsed before being served. I change the rinsing water several times until the water doesn't look so 'starchy'. I used a bottled ready-made dipping sauce. In future, I would like to make my own sauce as the only one I could find included MSG. A great introduction to Soba Noodles can be found at Just Hungry. 

This is a fun dish for the kids to eat with chopsticks - if somewhat messy as the noodles are dipped into a bowl of sauce before being eaten. This dish is comfort food for hot days, and is typically vegetarian. Traditional condiments include: fresh Wasabi, chopped green/spring onions, Toasted shredded Nori (the seaweed mostly known for wrapping sushi). I seem to remember that my original experience with this meal also included Shiso (also known as 'beefsteak plant' or Perilla) - a plant commonly found in Japanese home gardens. 

The meal I served my family included some sliced cooked chicken (left over from Goi Cuon meal) sliced red peppers, green onion and Nori strips. I was the only one willing to sprinkle on some Shichimi. 

Goi Cuon

My hometown of Melbourne has a very large Vietnamese population - and therefore access to some spectacular food. When living in Richmond, we used to frequent Victoria Street - home to many authentic/fusion/trendy Vietnamese eateries - where one could eat as much or as little offal as one could ever want! I became particularly partial to Goi Cuon - a cold and very 'fresh' tasting spring roll. The fresh taste is due to the abundant herbs included. It is a perfect Summer dish. 

I was about to have a rebellion on my hands as I served this dish twice... in one week! 
One night we all assembled our own, the other occasion, I made the rolls. I learned a very valuable lesson about the stickiness of rice paper.. with my 'stack' of rolls becoming somewhat 'fused'. 

An allergy to shrimp and no available pork, meant that my version included chicken. I baked several chicken breasts in the oven, basted with garlic, soy sauce, lemon and a little peanut oil. I reserved a little of this marinade (before coating the chicken), and dressed the cooked, shredded chicken with it before adding it to the rolls - as sometimes I find the rolls can be somewhat 'bland' or 'dry'. 

Our version included vermicelli noodles, bean sprouts, Thai basil, cilantro, mint, grated carrot, strips of green onion, baked chicken and thin slices of tomato (one evening) or red pepper (the other evening). This dish can easily become a vegetarian dish with marinated tofu used in place of pork and shrimp or chicken. 

I served the rolls with a sauce made from hoisin sauce, smooth peanut butter and rice vinegar, based upon a recipe I found here. 

Moroccan Vegetable Stew

I have a couple of recipes for this dish, called either Moroccan Stew or Marrakech Curry. I have no recollection of the origin of these. I found a number of variations for this type of dish when I went in search for my original recipe. This is the perfect dish for a pantry-meal: using longer lasting vegetables, pantry items, and beans and quinoa for protein.

For this particular meal, I added garbanzo beans and served it over couscous, sprinkled with chopped cilantro. 

I found the original spice quantities to be a little bland for adult tastes - these were enhanced with some hot sauce. Harissa would be the perfect addition - as would a few slices of Preserved Lemons.

MOROCCAN VEGETABLE STEW

Ingredients

¼ cup water / vegetable broth for sautéing

1 cup water / vegetable broth for stewing (possibly up to 2 cups)

2 onions, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

½ teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon turmeric

½ teaspoon paprika

½ teaspoon sea salt

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon cayenne

1 cup cubed sweet potato

1 cup cubed zucchini

1 cup cubed butternut squash

1 cup cubed carrot

1 can diced tomatoes

1 diced green pepper

1 (15oz) can garbanzo beans, drained

½ cup raisins
½ cup chopped cilantro (to garnish)

Method

Saute onions, garlic and spices in water / broth.

Add sweet potato, butternut squash and carrots.

Stew for around 10 minutes.

Add tomatoes and juice from can, zucchini, bell pepper and drained and rinsed garbanzo beans.

Stew For a further 15 minutes. Add raisins.

Cook until vegetables are soft and sauce has formed (about 30 minutes).

Season to taste.

Serve over quinoa (or more traditional couscous).

Notes / Variations

Using yellow zucchini and yellow peppers would really enhance the ‘yellowness’ of this dish.
Of course, if you plan ahead, use freshly soaked and prepared garbanzo beans and fresh tomatoes. 
Add water or broth sparingly, particularly if using juice from canned tomatoes. 
For this particular meal, I was all out of onions, so increased the amount of garlic. I used twice the quantity of carrot, butternut squash, sweet potato and zucchini, and doubled the quantities of spice (all except cayenne). 
The kids hadn't eaten this dish in some time - so were somewhat dubious when I served it to them. They ate it all without complaint when the word 'dessert' was mentioned! 

Vegetable Kebabs

Vegetable Kebabs or Kebobs are an excellent dish for a full-on veggie onslaught for our kids (and us too). These are a perfect summer dish when there are abundant vegetables and cooking on the grill/BBQ becomes the norm. Kebabs are easy enough to prepare - even by the kids - and this dish can be a constructed by several people at once. 

I make a simple marinade of light olive oil, crushed fresh garlic, ground pepper and fresh chopped herbs from the garden. Tonight's herbs were thyme, parsley and oregano. I soak wooden skewers for approximately 45 minutes, lightly salt a thickly-sliced eggplant (for around half an hour - to draw out any bitter juices) - then rinse and pat dry before cutting into chunks. I toss all vegetable chunks with the marinade, before threading onto skewers. 

Vegetables tonight included: red pepper, eggplant, zucchini, yellow zucchini, mushrooms and cherry tomatoes. Other vegetables can include onion slices, green pepper, slices of corn on the cob, chunks of thick asparagus (when available), summer squash, pineapple, etc. 

Tonight we included chunks of 'Bread Cheese'. The kids will eat any dish if it includes this yummy gooey 'hot cheese'. We became accustomed to this cheese at the Green City Markets in Chicago.  The cheese is similar to Halloumi but I find it to be less salty and more affordable in our part of the world. 

We sometimes include chunks of andouille or chorizo sausage or even chunks of chicken or marinated lamb. Take care to ensure all meats are cooked adequately. 

Tonights kebabs were cooked inside under our broiler as the weather was a little chilly outside. As we had a late lunch, the Kebabs were our whole meal - no sides. If we are hungrier, I might serve a side salad such as a green salad or a tabbouleh made with garbanzo beans instead of bulgar. 

Corn Cakes

Corn is becoming abundant at this time of year. Time to try out some more of Amanda's Corn Cakes. Today I added a small, diced red pepper after blending the ingredients. 

I served the corn cakes with fresh steamed asparagus and a version of pico de gallo made with some additional diced avocado. Paul had made some aioli and mixed this with some Tabasco sauce - a brilliant accompaniment!