Makes approximately 1 cup

5 cloves of garlic, peeled

2 long red chillies, roughly chopped (seeds removed for less heat)

4cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped

4 coriander roots and stems, thoroughly rinsed and roughly chopped

2 lemon grass stalks, white part only, finely sliced

4 Asian eschalots, peeled and roughly chopped

1 tbs of ground turmeric

1/4 cup of peanut oil

Place all of the ingredients in a food processor or blender and blitz until you have a fine paste. Perfect for a Curry or Laksa the paste will keep for up to one week in the fridge and months in the freezer.

The post Malaysian Curry Paste appeared first on Em's Food For Friends.

Prep time:  15 Minutes               Makes:  1.5 cups (enough for 2 large curries)

20 dried red chillies, halved and seeds discarded, soaked in boiling water for 15 minutes

4 tsp of coriander seeds

2 stalks of lemon grass, white part only and roughly chopped

4 garlic cloves

4cm piece of ginger, peeled and roughly chopped (I can never get galangal, which is the norm)

2 tsp of coriander seeds

1 tsp of black peppercorns

6 Kaffir lime leaves, spine removed and discarded

3 french shallots, peeled and roughly chopped

2 long red chillies, seeds removed for less heat

1 bunch of coriander stems and roots, washed thoroughly

1 cube or 1.5 tsp of shrimp paste, crumbled

Juice of 1/2 a lime

2 tsp of brown sugar

1 tbs of fish sauce

1 tbs of water (if needed)

Place all ingredients in a food processor and blitz until you have a fine paste.  If it is having trouble getting around the processor then just add a little water.  Paste is suitable to freeze for up to 3 months and can be kept in the fridge for 1 week.

The post Thai Red Curry Paste appeared first on Em's Food For Friends.

Prep time:  10  Minutes               $$  Medium Budget

Makes approximately 1 cup

2 lemon grass stalks, white part only and finely chopped

4 Asian eschalots, peeled and roughly chopped (you could use a red onion if unavailable)

4cm piece of ginger, peeled and roughly chopped

4 cloves of garlic, peeled and roughly chopped

6 long red chillies, seeds removed from 3 and roughly chopped

5 coriander roots, washed thoroughly to remove any grit

6 kaffir lime leaves, rolled and sliced

Juice of 1 lime

1 tsp of ground turmeric

1 block of shrimp paste, crumbled (11/2 tsp if you have it in a jar and if you can’t stand the smell, peg your nose)

2 tbs of peanut oil

Place all of the ingredients in a food processor and blitz until you have a fine paste.  Paste will keep covered in the fridge for up to 5 days and in the freezer for 3 months.

The post Thai Yellow Curry Paste appeared first on Em's Food For Friends.

Prep time:  10  Minutes                   $  Low Budget

Makes 3 meal portions

2 tsp of cumin seeds

3 tsp of coriander seeds

4 long green chillies (seeds removed for less heat)

3 cloves of garlic

6 cm piece of ginger, peeled and chopped roughly

8 kaffir lime leaves

2 stalks of lemongrass, white part only and thinly sliced

1 bunch of coriander, roots, stems and leaves very thoroughly washed as a lot of grit can be caught in the stems

3 tbs of peanut oil (veg oil will do)

1 tsp of shrimp paste, crumbled

11/2 tbs of brown sugar

4 green onions, roughly chopped

Toast the cumin and coriander seeds in a dry pan until fragrant, approximately 2-3 minutes, but keep an eye on them as they can burn quite quickly.

Place them in a food processor and blitz until finely ground.  Add the rest of the ingredients and process until you have a nice fine paste, like a pesto, scraping down the sides to ensure that everything is evenly chopped.

Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week in the fridge or portion into zip lock bags and freeze.  I use approximately 2-3 tablespoons for a curry.

The post Homemade Green Curry Paste appeared first on Em's Food For Friends.

Prep time:  10  Minutes              Cooking time:  10-12 Minutes               $  Low Budget

Makes approximately 3/4 of a cup

5 long red chillies, roughly chopped  (you can remove the seeds if you like)

1 french eschalot or 1/2 a small red onion, roughly chopped

3 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped

1 tbs of ginger, roughly chopped

2 tbs of peanut oil (rice bran or canola if you have an allergy to peanuts)

2 tsp of sesame oil

1/4 cup of rice wine vinegar

2 tbs of fish sauce

2/3 cup of brown sugar

Place the chilli, garlic, ginger and eschalot in a small food processor and process until finely chopped (like a paste).

Heat the peanut oil and sesame oil in a large non stick fry pan to a medium heat and add the chilli mixture.  Cook and stir for approximately 6-8 minutes or until just starting to caramelise.

Add the vinegar, fish sauce and brown sugar, stir to combine and allow to bubble away for 3-4 minutes or until slightly thickened.  The chilli jam will thicken on cooling.

Allow to cool before transferring to a jar or an airtight container.  The chilli jam will last up to 3 weeks in the fridge.

Thanks Donna Hay!

The post Donna Hay’s Asian Chilli Jam appeared first on Em's Food For Friends.

Prep time:  10 Minutes             Cooking time:  2  Minutes               $  Low Budget

Makes 1 cup (approximately)

11/2 tsp of cumin seeds

1 tsp of coriander seeds

1 brown onion, coarsely chopped

1/4 cup of lemon juice

1/2 cup of chopped, fresh coriander

1/2 cup of chopped, fresh continental parsley

2 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped

2 tsp of grated ginger

1 tbs of paprika

2 tsp of ground turmeric

1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper

Sea salt and cracked pepper

1-2 tbs of water

Place the cumin and coriander seeds in a dry pan and heat until fragrant and the seeds start to pop slightly.

Place the coriander, parsley, seeds, lemon juice, onion, garlic, ginger, paprika, turmeric and cayenne pepper in a small food processor, season with salt and pepper and pulse until you have a fine paste adding a little water if needed.  Store in a jar in the fridge for up to two weeks or freeze in a zip lock back for up to 3 months.

The post Chermoula Paste appeared first on Em's Food For Friends.

Unfortunately for this recipe I only have a before it went in the oven photo.  The reason for this is that everyone hoed in before I could get a photo after it was cooked.  Yep, it is that good!

Prep time:  25  Minutes             Cooking time:   1 Hour                $  Low Budget

Serves 6

1 whole medium sized cauliflower, with the leaves still on for presentation purposes and to help hold in all that cheese sauce

50gm of unsalted butter

1 tbs of plain flour

1 bunch of chives, finely chopped

11/2 cups of milk

1/4 cup of cream

1 cup of grated parmesan cheese

A pinch of nutmeg

Sea salt and cracked black pepper

A sprinkle of paprika for garnish

Preheat the oven to 180°C

Place the cauliflower in a large steamer (you could use a bamboo one over a wok) with about 2cm of water in the bottom.  Bring to a simmer and place a lid on and steam the cauliflower for approximately 20 minutes or until just tender.

Melt the butter in a saucepan and season with the nutmeg, salt and pepper.  Add the flour and stir for a minute or so before adding the milk and whisking, bit by bit until the sauce starts to thicken and you have no lumps.  Add the cream and half of the parmesan and stir to combine, constantly, to prevent the sauce sticking on the bottom of the pan.  Allow to come up to a very low simmer before removing from the heat and stirring in half of the chives.

Remove the cauliflower from the steamer (I used a couple of tea towels as it was a bit awkward) and place it in a baking dish.  Pour the sauce over the cauliflower, holding back the leaves a little so that the sauce runs down the inside.  Sprinkle over the remaining cheese and chives and dust with a light sprinkling of paprika.

Place it in the oven for approximately 30 minutes or until golden and bubbling.  Remove from the oven and serve in the centre of the table with a large knife and serving spoon.

The post Whole Cauliflower Au Gratin appeared first on Em's Food For Friends.

Prep time:  20  Minutes            $  Low Budget

Makes approximately 2 cups of paste (suitable for freezing)

20 dried red chillies, soaked in boiling water for 15 minutes

1/2 cup of roasted peanuts

6 Kaffir lime leaves, shredded

2 lemon grass stalks, roughly chopped (white part only)

5cm piece of galangal or ginger, peeled and roughly chopped

5 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

6 french eschallots, peeled and roughly chopped

6 coriander roots and stems, thoroughly rinsed and chopped

11/2 tbs of ground cumin

1 tbs of ground coriander

4 tbs of fish sauce

1/4 cup of peanut oil (vegetable or canola if allergic)

Remove the chillies from the boiling water and wearing a pair of gloves (or do not rub your eyes for a while afterwards!), cut off the tops and remove most of the seeds.  Place all of the ingredients in a food processor and blitz until you have a nice fine paste adding a little more oil if the mixture becomes a little stiff.  Use a spatula to scrape down the sides so that you are left with a nice, consistently even paste.  Store in the fridge for up to 1 week or freeze in zip lock bags for later use.  This amount of paste will make 2-3 curries depending on how spicy you like it!

The post Penang Curry Paste appeared first on Em's Food For Friends.

Prep time:  5 Minutes              $  Low Budget

Makes 1 cup

1/2 cup of olive oil

1/4 cup of light soy sauce

Juice of 1/2 a lime

1 tbs of caster sugar

1/3 cup of rice wine vinegar

Place the ingredients in a jar or bowl and shake or whisk until the sugar has dissolved.  It will keep in the fridge for months.

The post Asian Style Dressing appeared first on Em's Food For Friends.

Prep time:  10  minutes              Cooking time:  30  Minutes                 $  Low Budget

Makes a double batch which feeds multitudes!

2 whole heads of garlic

2 x 400gm tins of chickpeas

2 tbs of tahini

1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil

Juice of 1 lemon

1/2 cup of water

Sea salt and cracked pepper

Toasted sesame seeds and sweet paprika for garnish (optional)

Extra virgin olive oil for drizzling

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Tear off two largish pieces of tin foil and place the garlic bulbs in the centre of each, drizzle with a little olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Wrap the tin foil loosely around the garlic (this helps it to steam) but make sure the edges are wrapped nice and firmly  so no steam can escape.  Bake the garlic in the oven for approximately 30 minutes or until the garlic is nice and mushy.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly until you can squeeze the garlic out of its skin with your hands.  Use a fork to mash it to a fine paste.

Drain the chickpeas and place them in a food processor with the garlic, tahini, olive oil and lemon juice and season generously with salt and pepper.  Blend until you have a nice smooth paste.  If the mixture is too thick add some water, a tablespoon at a time until you have the desired consistency.  You don’t want to add all the water in one go in case it turns out runny.  It should be nice and creamy……

I like to garnish mine with toasted sesame seeds, a sprinkle of paprika and a drizzle of olive oil when serving it to guests.

The post Roasted Garlic Hommus appeared first on Em's Food For Friends.

Prep time:  5  Minutes                $  Low budget

2 tbs of sweet paprika

1 tbs of ground cumin

1 tbs of ground chillies  (less if you prefer it less spicy)

1 tbs of garlic powder

1 tbs of onion powder

1 tbs of dried oregano

1 tsp of ground black pepper

1 tsp of sea salt

1/2 tsp of ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp of ground cloves

Place all the spices in a screw top jar and give a really good shake until combined.  It really is that simple amigos!

The post Mexican Spice Blend appeared first on Em's Food For Friends.

Prep time:  10  Minutes           $   Low Budget

Makes approximately 11/2 cups

1 bunch of fresh basil, leaves removed

2 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped

2 tbs of toasted pinenuts (optional)*

1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese

1/2 cup of good extra virgin olive oil

A squeeze of lemon juice

Sea salt and cracked pepper

Place all the ingredients in a food processor and pulse until you have a paste-like consistency.  Place the pesto in a container, drizzle over a little more olive oil and cover with a tight fitting lid.

Variations:  Rocket & Walnut, Mint & Cashew, Coriander & Roasted Peanut

*If you can’t buy toasted pinenuts, place them in a hot, dry pan for 2-3 minutes, swirling occasionally so they don’t burn.

Recipes you may like:

http://emsfoodforfriends.com.au/roast-pumpkin-bacon-rocket-linguine-with-pesto/

http://emsfoodforfriends.com.au/chargrilled-veggie-stacks-with-haloumi-and-pesto/

http://emsfoodforfriends.com.au/pappardelle-with-chorizo-pumpkin-rocket-roast-almond-pesto/

The post Basil Pesto appeared first on Em's Food For Friends.

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

2 tsp ground allspice

2 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp ground ginger

2 tsp ground turmeric

2 tsp ground black pepper

2 tsp ground cardamom

3 tsp ground cinnamon

3 tsp ground coriander

2 freshly grated nutmegs or 6 tsp ground nutmeg

Throw all the spices in a jar, give a good shake and Mohammeds your uncle!

Here are some recipes you might like to try:

http://emsfoodforfriends.com.au/lamb-chickpea-and-prune-tagine-with-preserved-lemon-cous-cous/

http://emsfoodforfriends.com.au/chicken-tagine-with-preserved-lemon-olives/

http://emsfoodforfriends.com.au/harissa-steak-burger-with-preserved-lemon-yoghurt/

http://emsfoodforfriends.com.au/chicken-with-prunes-olives-and-preserved-lemon-cous-cous/ 

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