Weekends in the Wairarapa

When we first moved to New Zealand, Andy and I put all our worldly goods on a ship and set off with our backpacks to get here overland.  We arrived in Auckland, miraculously within a couple of weeks of our furniture getting here - through luck rather than good judgement, believe me - hired a car and mooched our way down the country slowly, heading for Wellington, our final destination.  We spent some time on the Coromandel, in Hawke's Bay, through Rotorua and Taupo, getting further and further south, until we were within one day's drive of the city.  Talking to people on the way down, their comments started to change from general "oh lovely, it's a great city" observations to "the journey's not so bad, once you get over the hill", and "just the hill to cope with now!" We'd laugh and nod along, then when alone, turn to each other, confused, and wonder, "what hill?"

What hill indeed.  For those of you that don't know New Zealand, Wellington is cut off from a large part of the North Island by a hill range (or, as we call them in NW England, mountains) named The Rimutakas.  We have since learned that they get better with experience but that first time, to two newbies from the UK, they were horrible.  Hugging the wall of the hill to one side, with sheer drops on the other and nothing to separate you from plunging down a ravine but a rickety fence (oh, and actual driving skills of course), they will never be a favourite way to spend an afternoon but two things make it marginally better: 1) Wilson, our van, refuses to go uphill at speed (or anywhere at speed) so we take it fairly easy, pulling over frequently to let people past and feeling like the most popular people on the hill at all the thank you beeps and waves for doing this, and 2) the Wairarapa, on the other side of the hill, is just lovely.  

We went over to the Wairarapa for two weekends in a row - the first, we camped at Martinborough, home of wine in this neck of the woods, while we went on a day trip to watch a rugby match at the Tui Brewery - fully recommended as a day out, it was relaxed and sunny and fun and a bit of an eye opener so perfect all round really.  Combined with a lunch at our favourite vineyard, Vynfields, on the Sunday, it was pretty fantastic.

The main house at Vynfields was originally located about 10 houses away from where we currently live, which gives me a mild thrill.  Moving house here can sometimes be meant quite literally.

The second weekend was to the small village of Featherston, to celebrate the wedding of two good friends.  They're a very fun and stylish couple, and this was reflected in their fun and stylish wedding - such generous hosts, the emphasis was very much on the party - after all the dancing I would willingly have paid someone to remove my feet if it meant removing my VERY high heels with them.  Similarly my head the next day after all that lovely wine.

Two busy weekends in a row meant that by the Sunday night I was craving beef.  And broccoli.  My withered head couldn't make sense of that at that moment in time; when I processed it a day or so later it was obvious I was feeling somewhat low on iron.  And so Monday, coinciding with Chinese New Year, found me making Chinese Beef & Broccoli with Special Fried Rice.  Good job I left it a day really; on Sunday I was lying on my sofa pitifully whimpering "beeeeeeef", and I definitely could not have coped with all the last-minute togetherness that these two dishes require.  Really good though.

Chinese Beef & Broccoli with Special Fried Rice
Adapted from the brilliant blog, Steamy Kitchen

The rice you need to start much earlier than you want to eat - it's a good use for leftover plain boiled or steamed rice, provided you cool it down quickly and keep it in the fridge.  I wasn't this organised, so cooked some in the rice cooker earlier on in the day then fridged it.

Beef

1 decent sized sirloin steak, thinly sliced (if you find it difficult to slice, put it in the freezer for 10 minutes and it will be a bit easier)

1 head of broccoli

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 cloves garlic, crushed (or do as I do and finely grate it on the Microplane)

1 teaspoon cornflour, dissolved in 1 tablespoon water

1 teaspoon soy sauce plus 1 tablespoon

1 teaspoon plus another teaspoon Chinese rice wine

0.5 teaspoon cornflour

Freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons oyster sauce

0.25 cup chicken stock

Start off by marinating the beef in the teaspoon of soy sauce, teaspoon of rice wine, 0.5 teaspoon cornflour and plenty of black pepper.  Leave for at least 10 minutes.

While this is marinating, cook the brocolli for about a minute until still crunchy.  Drain and give a quick dunk under the cold tap to stop the cooking process.

Put the oyster sauce, chicken stock, teaspoon of rice wine and tablespoon of soy sauce in a small bowl, and stir well - this is the sauce.

Heat a wok or large frying pan over a high heat, and when hot, add the cooking oil.  Add the beef and leave it, no stirring, for about a minute.  Turn the slices over, keeping them in one layer as much as you can, then add the garlic.  After about 30 seconds - this is really quick work - pour in the sauce, add the broccoli and bring to a boil.  Pour in the cornflour in the water and stir until thickened - about 30 seconds.

Rice

10 large prawns (I used frozen ones that I'd left to defrost while the rice was cooling)

salt and freshly ground pepper

0.5 teaspoons cornflour

1 tablespoon plus 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

2 eggs, beaten

2 spring onions, finely sliced

Cooked and cooled rice - from 1 cup of uncooked rice

1 tablespoon soy sauce

Handful of frozen peas, thawed

1 teaspoon sesame oil

Marinade the prawns in the salt, pepper, and cornflour.  Leave it for 10 minutes.  This is the same length of time as the beef marinades for which is either kismet or coincidence.

Heat another large pan over high heat.  When it is hot, add one tablespoon of vegetable oil, fry the prawns without moving them for 30 seconds, then turn them, and cook for another 30 seconds.  Try to make sure they are in a single layer.  Using a slotted spoon, remove them to a plate, leaving as much oil in the pan as you can.

Turn the heat down to medium.  Pour in the eggs and scramble them then, when they are nearly cooked, tip them out to the same plate as the prawns.  Wipe out the pan with kitchen roll.  Heat back up to high.

Add the remaining tablespoon of oil, add the spring onions, stirring them for about 15 seconds, then add the cold rice, mixing well with the onions and to coat with the oil.  Spread it out over the surface of the pan and leave it, no touching, for about a minute or so - listen to it and you will hear it start to crackle and pop - that's when you flip it, and spread it out again.  

Pour the soy sauce over the top, then the peas, the prawns, eggs and sesame oil.  Heat it all back up again 'till it's super scorching hot.  Taste it, adding some more soy sauce if you think it needs it.

Enchiladas Suizas with Green Rice

One of my good friends here in Wellington is a lovely lady from Texas, Elaine.  Once when all of us were gathered at my house, over a cocktail or seven and copious amounts of cake, we got to reminiscing about school food and canteen food.  Us Brits fondly remembered Fish & Chip Friday, whereas Elaine got instant exotic status by telling us about Tex Mex Friday at her school.  This seemed so other-worldly to us raised in the cold climes of North-West Europe.  Tex-Mex is generally a cuisine I'm not altogether familiar with, apart from suffering through a few badly-cooked fajitas - in my limited experience it seems an easy food for restaurants to do badly, although I'm sure travelling to Texas would cure me of that perception.

So I was delighted, if not a tad apprehensive, when I got a Tex Mex recipe for this month's Random Recipe Challenge, hosted by Dom over at Belleau Kitchen.  The theme for February is 'the choice is yours'.  My choice was already somewhat limited; ahead of our impending move, I've already made a start on packing up all but my most-used cookbooks.  I did have a newcomer to the fold though - a Christmas present from Andy, as yet unused, and so an obvious contender for this challenge.  My Year In Meals by Rachael Ray takes the successful format used by, amongst others, Nigel Slater, and tracks a year's worth of food eaten.  I know that Rachael Ray isn't the most popular figure in the food world, but I stand unashamed of my admiration for her - anyone who can write recipes for balanced 30 minute meals and encourage more people to head into the kitchen is A Good Thing in my book, which this sort of is.  I've found her food tasty and I've never had a duff recipe, so was delighted to get this present.

The recipe I picked, eyes-closed-no-peeking, was Enchiladas Suizas with Green Rice.  I assume the name comes from the Swiss Cheese used, though would be happy to be corrected on this one.  I had some difficulty tracking down a couple of ingredients (I guess Tex Mex has reached NZ to about the same point as the UK) - fresh large poblano chillis were a no-go, so I subbed with a couple of regular capsicums.  I thought tomatillos would also be impossible, but was pleasantly surprised to find a tinned version at Moore Wilson's.  I'm delighted I did, as I could really taste them in the finished dish.  Texture-wise similar to a tomato, but with a much tangier taste, they resulted in a sauce that tasted almost a Tex Mex sweet and sour.

Both of us absolutely loved this dish.  Filling, super-tasty, comfort food with a slight kick: the richness of the Enchiladas was counter-balanced by the fresh, punchy flavours of the green rice - which I would do again in a heartbeat, but possibly stick some garlic in there too, just because, and leave the butter out, as I couldn't see that it added anything to the finished dish.  The green rice would go fantastically well with Asian dishes, too.  Also, I know nothing about feeding children, but it occurred to me that the bright, luminous green colour might appeal to them.

Final point - don't do what I did and use Low-Fat Sour Cream.  It curdled, and I'm pretty sure it's because of the low fat-ness.  I generally don't get on board with Low-Fat ingredients - I'd rather just eat less of the real deal - but as I'm trying to follow a Healthy Eating Plan *sob* right now, I was a bit shocked that one portion of this dish would take out a massive chunk of my entire day's calories, so tried to bring that down anywhere I could.  Not a smart move, as it turns out.

Thanks for hosting another great Random Recipe Challenge, Dom, and congratulations on making it to number 25!

Enchiladas Suizas with Green Rice
From Rachael Ray, My Year In Meals

Enchiladas
2 capsicums/peppers
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 green chilli, seeded and chopped
1 can tomatillos
Handful of coriander
Juice of 1 lime
2 teaspoons honey
Salt and pepper
8 (6 inch) flour tortillas
1 cup creme fraiche, Mexican crema, or sour cream
1 cup grated Emmental
1 cup grated Cheddar
Red onion, sliced, and coriander, for garnish

Put the capsicums under a hot grill, turning them every few minutes, until blackened - this will take about 10 minutes.  When charred all over, put them in a bowl and cover tightly with cling film.  Leave to one side.

Switch the oven to 190c/375f.

Place the chicken in a pan and add enough water to just come up to the top of the meat.  Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer and cook for about 12 minutes, until they're cooked through.

While the chicken is poaching, heat the oil in a frying pan, add the olive oil and fry the onion, garlic and chilli over a medium-high heat until soft.

Put this mixture in a food processor along with the tomatillos, coriander, and lime juice.  Peel and seed the capsicums and roughly chop them.  Add these to the processor.  Blitz until pretty much smooth.  Pour this sauce back into the frying pan, stir in the honey, salt and pepper, and simmer for about 10 minutes.

Shred the cooked, poached chicken with 2 forks.  Warm the tortillas (RR suggests in a dry skillet; I followed the manufacturers instructions and zapped them in the microwave for 30 seconds).

Place a little sauce in the bottom of a baking dish.  Fill the tortillas with chicken, roll them up, and arrange them side by side in the baking dish - they should fit snugly.  Top with the remaining sauce, them the sour cream and the two cheeses.  Bake for about 25 minutes, until browned and bubbling.

Garnish with red onion and coriander.  Serve with Green Rice.

Green Rice
1.75 cups chicken stock*
1 bunch spinach leaves
Handful coriander leaves
1 green chilli, seeded and chopped
4 spring onions, chopped
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup long grain rice

In a food processor, blitz 0.25 cup of the stock, the spinach, coriander, chilli and spring onions until it is a thick paste and everything is very finely chopped.

In a pan, bring the remaining stock and the butter to the boil.  Stir in the rice, reduce to simmer, cover and cook for about 15 minutes, until tender.  Stir in the spinach mixture, cook for a further 2 minutes, turn off the heat and leave for about 5 minutes.

*I used the reserved water from poaching the chicken with a stock cube dissolved in it - can't get the liquid stock concentrate here and I didn't want to defrost some chicken stock and end up wasting the poaching water

Serves 4