Cauliflower & Broccoli Tempura with Pickled salad and Sweet Chilli Sauce

Cauliflower & Broccoli Tempura with Pickled Salad & Sweet Chilli Sauce


Here's a great little lunch or starter for 4 people.  You shouldn't ever think that deep fried food is unhealthy. If cooked at the correct temperature the minimum amount of oil is absorbed leaving a fabulously crispy tempura with a slight crunch to the cauliflower & broccoli...  a pure delight.  Of course you can adapt this recipe for most vegetables of your choice.

Try making the salad first and leaving it to 'pickle' for an hour or so if possible. The vegetables then soak up the marinade making a crisp, yet flavoursome dish in itself.

You will need either a deep fat fryer with temperature control or a wok/ deep frying pan and a thermometer. I used Sunflower oil to fry but just use what you have to hand. 


The Salad

1 tsbp soy sauce
1 tbsp Rice Vinegar (or red wine vinegar or sherry vinegar)  
1 tbsp Mirin 
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 tsp wasabi powder or paste
pinch of chilli flakes
1" piece of fresh ginger finely chopped
1 tsp black onion seeds (optional)
1 tsp palm or brown sugar

mix all the above ingredients together

6 radishes thinly sliced
6" piece of cucumber sliced thinly
1   red pepper                "        "
1 red onion                    "        "

place everything in a bowl, toss together with the marinade and refrigerate until needed 


You will need 

1 small Cauliflower broken into florets
1 head of Broccoli     "          "         "
Steam over boiling water for 3 minutes. I recommend that you don't boil the vegetables as you want them to be as dry a possible before frying.   


For the Tempura Batter ( do not make until you're absolutely ready with everything else)  

3 oz/85 gms self raising flour
2 tbsps Cornflour
½ tsp salt
1 tsp Wasabi powder or Colmans Mustard powder
1 tsp baking powder
enough fizzy water to produce a double cream consistency ( should cover the back of a spoon without immediately running off it ) 

Sieve together the dry ingredients 
Very quickly combine everything together... do not over mix ...it doesn't matter if there's still a few lumps in it


Now heat up the oven to around 120c/250f  and place a tray lined with paper towel in it .. just to keep the batches of tempura warm whilst the rest is cooking...leave the door slightly ajar so the tempura doesn't go soggy


To Fry

Heat the oil  to 190c/375f

NB ...Fry in small batches...do not overload the pan ... and make sure the oil gets back to temp before adding more tempura

Quickly dip small batches of the vegetables in the batter and fry until beautifully crisp & light brown in colour
remove with a slotted spoon to the lined oven tray to keep warm whilst you cook the rest.



Serve while it's still hot along with the pickled salad and some shop bought sweet chilli sauce and a sprinking of chopped chives or coriander (cilantro) 
  

Quinoa & Mackerel Salad with Broccoli, Pineapple & Red Peppers

Quinoa is a welcome change from rice, pasta or other grains.  There's been quite a lot of research into it's health benefits...I'm not too sure I believe the claims that it's a super food..but it contains beneficial amino acids ...it is also slightly more calorific than rice but benefits from having more protein...great for vegetarians especially.

Here's a little article from the BBC's Jo Lewin who writes for the Good Food Magazine

An introduction to quinoa

Quinoa, pronounced ‘keen-wa’ is a great wheat-free alternative to starchy grains. There are two types: red and creamy white. Both types are slightly bitter when cooked and open up to release little white curls (like a tail) as they soften.

Grown in South America (Peru, Chile and Bolivia) for thousands of years, quinoa formed the staple diet of the Incas and their descendants. In recent years, foodies in the UK and the US have heralded it as a superior alternative to bulgur wheat, couscous and rice. Though it often occupies a similar role to these grains in dishes, quinoa is actually in the same family as beets, chard and spinach.

Nutritional highlights...

The UN named 2013 ‘International Quinoa Year’ in recognition of the crop’s high nutrient content. With twice the protein content of rice or barley, quinoa is also a very good source of calcium, magnesium and manganese. It also possesses good levels of several B vitamins, vitamin E and dietary fibre.

Cooked quinoa seeds become fluffy and creamy, yet maintains a slight crunch. It has a delicate and subtly nutty flavor, versatile for breakfast (as a cereal), lunch (as a salad) or dinner (as a side).

My recipe uses Smoked Mackerel but you could use, salmon, tuna or chicken or if you're a vegetarian leave these out ...you could substitute with some toasted cashew nuts...they would be just perfect.

The recipe:- to serve 4 portions

4 small smoked Mackerel Fillets ( mine were peppered)  skin removed & flaked

120 gms/ 4 oz Quinoa cooked as per packet instructions 

1 small head of broccoli, cut into small florettes and blanched

1 red onion finely chopped

1 red pepper diced

16 radishes sliced

½ small pineapple cut into chunks

4 spring onions sliced...including the green part

small bunch of parsley chopped

the zest & juice of 1 lemon

2 tsps toasted sesame oil

1 tbsp light Olive Oil

2 tsps Horseradish sauce or 1 tsp prepared Wasabi paste

Salt & pepper to taste 

Method

In a jug mix together the sesame oil, zest & juice of the lemon, the olive oil and  Horseradish sauce 

Check for seasoning, add salt & lots of pepper to taste

Place everything else in a large bowl, pour over the dressing, carefully bring everything together

Serve   

   

 

Sweet potato & red pepper pakoras with mango chutney dip

 

 I would love to hear your comments. It can be quite lonely writing a blog when you get lots of views but very few comments. 

 

I love to have canapés with drinks before a special meal. These little pakoras are just the perfect thing. They are simple to prepare and can be made in advance & reheated in the oven. They also freeze perfectly if stored in a zip bag. They can be served with minted yoghurt, sweet chilli sauce or as I have here with a mango chutney dip. You could make larger ones if you prefer and serve them as a delicious starter.

Now these are my own take on a Pakora and not a traditional recipe by any means. The end result I promise you is delicious.

The recipe below will make approximately 40 mini pakoras

1 large sweet potato peeled & grated
1 medium baking potato   peeled & grated
1 medium red pepper finely diced
1 large red onion finely chopped and sauteed in a little oil until soft
1 red or green chilli, seeds removed and finely diced
2 tsp of grated fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves finely chopped
2 tsp Garam Masala
2 tsp Madras Curry Powder
2 tsp Black onion seeds
1 tsp Turmeric
2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
3 egg whites
around 4 tbsp Gram/Chickpea Flour
a frying pan and enough oil around 1" for shallow frying
Mango Chutney to serve

So simple,

Whisk the egg whites in a large bowl until frothy.
Simple add everything into the bowl and mix well together.
You should have a thick mixture with a good dropping consistency
If the mixture is a little thin add a little more gram flour  too thick then a little sparkling water will loosen it up.

Heat the oil gently on a medium flame.
Just test a little of the mixture, it should cook quite quickly, flip it over, drain and check to see if the seasoning is correct before continuing.
I used roughly a level dessert spoonful for each pakora
Fry these in batches of around 6 at a time, each side should only take a minute or so turn them over and when golden brown drain onto some kitchen towel.
Repeat until you've used all the batter.
Keep warm if you are using them straight away or cool and either refrigerate or freeze.

For the Mango Chutney Dip

Place around 2 or 3 tbsp of Mango Chutney into a little food processor
Add around 3 tbsp of boiling water and whizz until smooth
You could pass the chutney through a sieve if you don't want to process it.

Place the pakoras onto a serving dish along with a bowl of the mango chutney for dipping and serve.