2 0 1 4

Happy New Year from the whole useless team at Feasting & Frank. 

So another year bites the dust... and with its demise comes a  cringe worthy resolution to continue with collecting, recording and sharing the creations from my kitchen. 

This is a process that has been a little unsettling, sharing something that is so personal. 

An intimate glance at what I truly love and putting it out into the scary void of the inter web. 

But what the hell.

    

I have no more introspective reflections of the year gone by.

It was a good one, I feel truly blessed.

With certainty Feasting & Frank shall move forth into 2014 with  renewed vigour.

Thanks All.

x

Abbey  

Peanuts and Pawpaw

Spicy Vietnamese 

'Noodle' salad

We ate versions of this hugely popular street snack all over both Thailand and Vietnam. Vendors can be found plonked at almost every corner where the produce is chopped and tossed in front of your eyes. 

The unripe pawpaws green flesh is shredded to give the look and texture of noodles, crunchy salty peanuts and loads of soft aromatic coriander make for textural perfection.  While the sweet, sour and explosively fresh dressing is absolutely addictive. 

There was a little victory dance today at the supermarket when unripe paw paw was squeezed. 

Hurrah for astronomic work fuck ups and a day in the kitchen instead. 

Recipe:

1 Unripe Pawpaw shredded

2 red shallots finely sliced 

1 carrot shredded 

handful of coriander chopped

2 tbsp deep fried shallots 

2 tbsp chopped roasted peanuts 

Dressing. 

juice of 2 limes

2 tsp of palm sugar

3 tbsp fish sauce 

1 sliced red chilli

Toss all of the salad ingredients. 

Stir all of the dressing ingredients together and throw over the salad. Shmack you lips.  

  

xx

Abbey

The Mandatory Kale Krisps

Every Food Bloggers got one. 

Im actually more then a little embarrassed to even post this.

Yes, I've seen them everywhere, the kale krisp revolution.

From the over saturation in the vast labyrinth of food blogs... 

Clean eaters 4 lyf having one leaf a week, as an extra special reward for the 160 hours of exercise and their otherwise restricted diet consisting of nothing but oats, chickpeas and water...

 In organic stores, the kitsch packaging, at three million dollars for a meagre fist full...

 I have literally pointed at all of these things and laughed at how annoying people can be. 
Numerous times.

Then a series of unconnected events conspired to unwilling convert me.

Firstly an amazing dehydrator at the hospice shop for $15, 

then lovely lady at the organic store having several bags of slightly worse for wear kale that she kindly gifted for my use. 

Finally the inability to throw away green vegetables. 

I must confess in the most sheepish manner possible

 (picture Muttley) 

They are so fucking good. 

BLA BLA BLA they are a million times healthier

BLA BLA BLA benefits of raw food. 

"I love kale chips more then regular chips"- Oh please' I once would have sniggered, but it really isn't far from the truth.

Soooo.. here it is. 

Two ways even.

May my dignity rest in peace. 

Recipe:

1. 

1 large bunch of kale roughly shredded 

1 tbsp olive oil 

1/2 tsp sweet smoked paprika 

1/8 tsp hot paprika

1/2 tsp pink himalayan salt

1 tsp nutritional yeast 

2. 

1 large bunch of kale roughly shredded

1 tbsp sesame seeds

1 tbsp + 1 tsp sesame oil 

2 tbsp tamari 

The process for either recipe is the same. Mix everything in a bowl with your hand ensuring the kale is evenly coated with all the tasty shit. 

Place in a dehydrator on high for 2 hours or in an oven at 60 degrees for the same amount of time.

Warning: they do not last long. 

Warning: Talking about how good they are may make you look like a real pompous asshole.  

x

Abbey

Sticky Lemon Berry Pie

My mum isn't much of a baker, but her speciality has always been sticky lemon slice and its been my favourite nostalgia laced treat ever since. 

Its the inspiration behind this sticky sweet yet zesty pie topping, it goes down a treat paired with berries and apples. 

We had ours with steaming hot mulled wine on a cold winters eve.. don't get carried away by this or you may forget about he pie in the oven. Like me. 

Eh, no biggie. 

Recipe:

Filling. 

3 red apples

1 cup mixed berries

2 tbsp maple syrup 

1/2 tsp dried ginger 

1 cm chopped fresh ginger 

1/4 tsp mixed spice

1 vanilla pod

1 pear 

splash of Marsala 

Topping.

2 eggs

1/2 cup caster sugar

juice and zest of two lemons

1/4 cup spelt flour

Preheat oven to 150 degrees. 

Chop apples and pears and throw into a saucepan with all of the filling ingredients and a splash of water. Simmer with a lid until everything has softened and starting to look jam-ish. 

Remove from the heat. 

For the topping beat eggs and sugar until thick and pale. Gently stir in the lemons and spelt until just combined. 

Place berrie mix in the bottom of a pie dish and drizzle over topping batter. Place in the oven until the top is just cooked and spongey to touch (about 15 minutes). 

Serve with some good quality vanilla ice cream. 

x

Abbey

A Celebration of Pork pt.2

Green Chilli & Double Rehash 

An bit of a unique chilli, its quite a bit lighter then the red chilli's seasoned at the end with apple cider vinegar and lime for a light zesty finish. 

All the left overs were thrown into one pot to make two days worth of delicious brunch. Firstly topped with bacon, coriander with a feta quesadilla then again with greek yoghurt, poached eggs, spinach and fried chorizo. Fuck yeah. 

Recipe: 

800g pork mince

2 white onions

4 large garlic cloves

2 green capsicums 

2 poblano peppers

4 jalapeño peppers

1 tin cherry tomatoes

1/2 tsp crush fennel seeds

1 tsp dried oregeno 

juice of 1 lime 

splash of apple cider vinegar

s&p

handful or mint and coriander to serve. 

Sweat chopped onions and garlic until translucent in a little oil, then add remaining vegetable, herbs and spices and cook for a further five minutes. Add pork to  the pot with the tomatoes and splash of water. Cover and leave to simmer for at least twenty minutes on a low heat. Season well and add vinegar to taste. 

x

Abbey 

Spanish Bean Breakfast

Feasting & Friends 

A warm wintery breakfast, fresh hot coffee, a sunny nook and delightful company all make for a splendid start to the day.

What you see is what you get. 

Beans and bread? 

Yes please. 

Recipe:

1 white onion 

1 stalk of celery 

1/4 red capsicum 

1 tsp smoked sweet paprika 

1/2 tsp hot paprika 

1 tsp cumin seeds crushed 

1 tsp fennel seeds crushed 

2x tins of cannellini beans

1 tin of  tomatoes 

1 egg per person

splash of caramelised balsamic vinegar  

bunch of coriander

handful of feta 

s&p

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. 

Sweat all of the vegetables, dry spices and coriander stems until soft. 

Drain and rinse the beans and add to the vegetable mix along with fresh herbs and tomatoes. Bring to a boil and leave simmering for at least 15 minutes. Season to taste with balsamic. 

Crack eggs on top of the beans, scatter with crumbed feta, coriander leaves and plenty of black pepper. Throw straight into the oven for another ten minutes or so. 

Serve straight from the pan with a crusty loaf of bread. 

x

Abbey   

      

A celebration of Pork pt.1

I recently purchased a copy of Jamie Oliver's "America" cook book and its fantastic. Its the inspiration behind this pork feast, a rustic mop it all up with a tortilla fare which was a perfect meal to celebrate my dads freak fortune in the face of cancer. 

It isn't fancy. Its not particularly pretty. 

 It is is filled with layers of subtle earthy flavours and just enough heat to keep you on your toes.

Also this will feed a hoard of humans: 6 adults at dinner 

 + 2 days of left overs in rehashed meals for 2. 

Thrifty.   

Recipe:

Smoked Bacon Bone Beans. 

1 free range smoked bacon hock 

1.5 cup of dried pinto beans

4 celery stalks 

2 white onions 

whole head of garlic halved 

4 fresh bay leaves 

8 sprigs of thyme 

tbsp of dried oregano

tbsp sweet paprika 

1/2 tsp of cayenne 

1  dried Guajillo chilli

2 tins of organic tomatoes

black pepper 

Soak Pinto beans for at least 12 hours before use.

Preheat oven to 165 degrees. 

Gently sweat the onions, celery with the fresh herbs until starting to turn translucent in a heavy based baking dish with oil. Drain beans from their soaking water and rinse a few times. Add beans with all remaining ingredients + 4 cups of water cover with lid and place in the oven for at least 4 hours. 

Remove the garlic and bacon hock from the dish. Discard the rubbery skin from the hock and strip all the meat off the bone. Push the soft flesh from the garlic cases and mash. Add meat and garlic mash back to the pot, recover and continue to cook for another hour or so. The meat should melt in your mouth and the beans should be plump and soft all the way through (Not mushy). 

Pt.2 to follow.

At some stage. 

x 

Abbey  

Sweet Spiced Kumara Pie

The New Zealand version of the American Pumpkin Pie. 

 I ran out of baking paper so the pastry couldn't be blind baked. So it spent way to long in the oven to avoid a soggy bottom, hence the black edges so annoying. 
Despite being cooked to shit the texture of the filling was stunning. So much so I'm not even sure the pastry is necessary. The vanilla cream is however, not optional. 

Recipe: 

Pie.

3 large orange kumara 

1/2 cup maple syrup

1/2 cup white spelt flour

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tbsp cinnamon 

1 tsp allspice

1 tsp orange peel powder

2 eggs 

sweet pastry 

Cream.

1/2 cup cream

seeds of 1/2 vanilla pod

tbsp of icing sugar

Preheat oven to 180 degrees. 

Bake kumara in their skins until collapsing, when cool enough to handle scoop out the flesh and mix with remaining filling ingredients.  

Blind bake pastry in a pie dish, until golden. 

Remove from the oven and fill with the kumara mix and place back into the oven until it is firm and golden on top. 
Put aside while you make your cream.

Add cream to a clean bowl and whisk until soft peaks form, then add remaining ingredients and continue to whip until stiff peaks form. 

Put it all together on the plate. 

Drizzle with maple syrup if you wanna. 

You wanna. 

x

Abbey

  

Sumac & Almond Chicken w. Flat Bread

A Midweek Miracle. 

This was the result of a uninspired kitchen moment, a staring at the contents of the fridge for almost an hour blankly type of deal. 

Grabbing everything at once, throwing them in a pan/bowl/skillet serving some bread on the side and calling it a meal that miraculously turns out fucking awesomely. 

Oh praise thee kitchen gods. 

Recipe:

Almond and Sumac Chicken.

1 tsp of each

corriander seeds

fennel seeds

ras el hanout 

black sesame seeds

1/2 tsp harissa 

1 tbsp all spice 

2 tbsp flaked almonds 

juice of 1/2 lime and 1/2 orange 

1 chicken breast in strips 

s&p

In a hot heavy base frying pan dry fry the spices and almonds for a minute or two (until fragrant)  then add a glug of olive and the chicken. Cook for about 12 minutes or until cooked though then squeeze in the citrus juice, season and remove from heat and leave to rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Sprouty Everything Salad.

1 handful of roughly chopped

cres 

brocoli 

cabbage

spinach

sugar snap peas

mixture of sprouts 

2 chopped spring onions

tbsp corriander 

Dressing. 

1/2 fresh spanish chorizo 

3 tbsp olive oil

1/2 lime 

1/2 cup pumpkin seeds 

2 tbsp balsamic 

1 large garlic clove

s&p

Combine all of the greens and toss. 

For the dressing gently heat oil, chorizo and garlic so all of the flavours infuse into the oil for about 10 minutes. Crank up the heat toast the pumpkin seeds until popping, remove from heat.

Add remaining ingredients and pour over the greens.

Stuff everything into a hot toasted pita bread, top creamy yohgurt and crunchy hallumi 

Pulled Pork and Pineapple Tostadas

Dont be intimidated by the long list of ingredients, you just have to throw everything into the slow cooker. 

You wont regret it. 

This tastes so good you may find your self mumbling and humming incoherently in-between mouthfuls. 

They aint pretty but anything that tastes this good doesn't have to be. The pork is smokey rich and literally melts in your mouth, which is all set of by the sweet and tangy pineapple salsa. 

This is making me salivate. 

More please. 

Recipe:

Pulled Pork 

1 small tin of chipotle in adobo sauce

2 dried guajillo chillies

1 white onion 

1/2 tsp of dried ginger 

2 tsp dried garlic

1/2 tsp allspice 

1 tsp oregano

1 bay leaf 

2 tbsp of dark brown sugar 

juice of 3 oranges 

juice of 1 lime 

3/4 cup of water 

500g grams of pork shoulder in 2cm pieces 

Pineapple Salsa

1/2 very ripe pineapple 

1 avocado 

1 red jalapeño

1/4 red onion 

1 clove of garlic 

1/2 cup of coriander 

juice of one lime 

To Serve

 fried corn tortillas 

Danish Feta

Shredded purple cabbage 

For the pork dry fry the onions in a heavey based frying pan with the dried chillies and spices until beginning to brown. Add onions and all of the other ingredients into a slow cooker on high for at 5 hours. 

THATS IT. 

For the salsa chop everything up finely and toss. 

THATS IT.  

Pile up your tortilla. 

Eat it. 

Mumble away. 

THATS IT. 

x 

Abbey