CHERRY TOMATO & BALSAMIC BRUSCHETTA

Oh my dear blog, how I have missed you! A week away was far too long, I feel like a balloon about to burst with all the writing I feel compelled to do.

I was very blessed to have 4 days away in the magical Yarra Valley in wine country Victoria this past week. I had an enlightening experience, which will be blogged about shortly. But back to the food. As I was eating and drinking some of the most delectable food and wine in Australia, I couldn’t help becoming inspired about creating my very own twist on Eggplant & Chickpea Tagine, Fennel & Rocket Salad, Summer Sorbet, Middle Eastern Rice and many other remarkable dishes.

The bruschetta above is gluten & dairy-free. The sharp but sweet flavour of the goat’s cheese compliments the sourness of the cherry tomatoes and tangy fresh garlic.  One of my own creations, it reminded me of the Yarra Valley on a windy Brisbane night.

INGREDIENTS

• 4 slices gluten-free multigrain or wholemeal bread, cut into quarters and toasted in a fan-forced oven of 200 degrees celsius for 10 minutes
• 1 large garlic clove, halved 
• 100g cherry tomatoes
• 1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
• 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 40g goats cheese 
• 1 tablespoon fresh chives, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon coconut oil 

COOKING 

1. Rub garlic halves over the toasted bread pieces. With the remaining garlic finely chop and marinate with the cherry tomatoes, red onion and vinegar in a small bowl for 10 minutes. 

2. Heat coconut oil in a small frying pan over medium heat. Swirl to coat pan, then add red onion & tomato marinade. Cook, stirring frequently, for 2-3 minutes or until cherry tomatoes start to collapse and red onion is soft. Remove from heat. 

3. Spread goats cheese on all bread pieces. Top with cooked red onion & cherry tomatoes and drizzle extra balsamic vinegar if desired. Sprinkle with fresh chives. 

Serves / 4 as an entree or side

Total Preparation time / 25 minutes (including toasting the bread & marinading time)

Total Cooking time / 5 minutes 

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HOMEMADE SUSHI

I have wanted to write a blog post on homemade sushi for several months. Whilst I was living in Washington D.C in 2009, my cousin Juanita shared her sushi recipe with me and I became hooked. Even though I worked long and crazy hours as a concierge in a hotel, I never made sushi any less than twice a week. Since returning to Brisbane in late 2009, I ceased my sushi making experiences, perhaps because it is so readily available here and not so much in D.C (although you could find an abundance of Burger Kings & Chipotles on every street corner). I decided to make sushi again last night, with surprising success, as I have been out of the game for so long. Whilst the recipe does look incredibly long and tiresome, its actually not! Filling and rolling the sushi is heaps of fun and I guarantee you that making lasagna or a shepherd’s pie would take longer. Sushi also seems to come with a sharing aspect to it, which I love.


INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups sushi rice (available at all major supermarkets)
• 4 tablespoons rice wine vinegar 
• 10 + large nori sheets 
• Green wasabi 
• Rice wine vinegar
• Optional- the fillings- you can use 1 avocado (peeled & cut into thin strips), chicken (around 500g), cucumber and/or carrots, peeled & cut into thin strips, sesame seeds. 
• Optional- Tamari sauce (Gluten-free alternative to soy sauce)

COOKING 


1. Using a heavy bottomed pan, add 2 cups rice and 3 1/3 cups water and bring to the boil. Once boiled, lower the heat to a simmer and let cook for around 15-20 minutes or until rice is tender and water is absorbed, keeping the lid of the saucepan on. 


2. Meanwhile, prepare the vegetables (see above). If using chicken, cut into thin strips and place in a frying pan with 1 teaspoon sesame oil. Cook, stirring constantly, until chicken is light brown and no pink flesh remains. 


3. Once rice is cooked, let cool for around 10 minutes. During this time finish preparing the vegetables & chicken, as well as adding a little water to the pinch of green wasabi. You will use the wasabi to dab onto the rice before you add the fillings. Mix well in a small bowl so that the wasabi becomes a cloudy green colour. Prepare a small bowl with just rice wine vinegar in it; this is to wet your fingers to seal the nori edges when you roll the sushi rolls, as well as to clean your knife when you cut the sushi rolls into small pieces. 


4. Return to the cooked rice and fluff it with a fork, taking care to fluff the top, bottom and sides of the pan. Place the rice in a medium to large glass or porcelain dish (no metal) and add the 4-5 tablespoons of rice wine vinegar, which is used to make the rice taste sweet as well as make it glisten. (The rice does not need to be overly sweet, so 4-5 tablespoons will be plenty (I use 4). (I will often divide the cooked rice into 2 bowls and add 2 tablespoons of rice wine vinegar to each). 


5. If you do not have a proper bamboo sushi mat, a large square of a cereal box wrapped in glad wrap will do just fine to roll your sushi. Place a nori sheet down and place rice on about 2/3 of the seaweed. Spread this rice evenly over the seaweed but take care not to place rice on the edges of the nori as you will lose this during the cutting process at the end. 


6. Now for the fun part! Add your fillings! Carrot, cucumber and chicken go well today as do chicken & avocado. Sesame seeds are great to place on top of the fillings and a scant amount of wasabi dabbed onto the rice before adding the fillings increases the flavour. If you want vegetarian rolls, you can add fried egg or just use vegetables. When the fillings have been added, wet your fingers in the rice wine vinegar solution or use a brush to wet the top and bottom of the seaweed edges. Begin to roll away from you, taking care to crimp the ingredients together as you roll.  After you have rolled each sushi roll, place on a large plate in the fridge to cool whilst you roll the rest. 


7. When all the sushi has been rolled, remove the chilled sushi from the fridge. Taking 1-3 long rolls together at a time, wet a paper towel with the leftover vinegar and run this towel over the blade of a large knife. Start cutting the sushi rolls into even coins or little rolls, removing the edges. Rewipe the blade with vinegar every few cuts. 


8. Serve the sushi for lunch or dinner. This recipe makes a fair amount of sushi, enough to feed around 8 people! 


Serves / 8

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