Christmas bites from the Markets

The festive season is here and Phil and I went to the Byron Farmers market to cook up festive nibbles. We whipped up 5 delicious bites in one hour using the majority of the ingredients sourced from the local producers. I was only going to do 2 recipes but there was so much to choose from I had to cook up a selection of Christmas nibbles. The dishes were devoured very quickly by the market shoppers so I didn’t get a chance to get a photo of them. Except one kind person took a stunning photo of Phil with the oyster dish. Enjoy.

Brunswick Heads Oysters with Virgin Bloody Mary Salsa

1 dozen freshly shucked oysters

2 tomatoes, seeds removed and finely diced

1 stick celery, finely diced

1 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Tabasco sauce to taste

Salt and pepper, to taste

Rock salt to serve

Place oysters onto a platter covered with rock salt. In a medium size bowl, combine remaining ingredients and spoon evenly on top of each oyster and serve.

Radish, Baba Ganoush, Lamb and Oregano Bites

Baba ganoush

1 large eggplant, about 500gms

4 tablespoons thick plain yoghurt

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/3 cup tahini

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 teaspoons salt

3 large radishes, trimmed and cut into thin slices

1 tablespoon lemon juice

3 teaspoons ground oregano

sea salt and ground black pepper

1 lamb fillet (100g)

2 teaspoons olive oil

Oregano leaves, to serve

For the baba ganoush: preheat the char-grill plate to a high heat. Cook the eggplant, turning frequently, for 15-20 minutes, or until the skin is black all over and the flesh is soft. Remove from the heat. When cool enough to handle, cut off the stem, peel off the skin and roughly chop the eggplant flesh. Blend or process the eggplant flesh with the remaining baba ganoush ingredients until smooth, set aside.

Combine the lemon juice, ground oregano, salt and pepper. Toss the lamb in the oregano mixture to coat. Heat a char-grill on high and cook the lamb for 3 minutes each side, allow the lamb rest for 5 minutes and thinly slice.

Top each radish slice with an oregano leaf, a teaspoonful of baba ganoush and a slice of lamb. Serve immediately with a wedge of lemon.

Vietnamese Sugar Cane Grilled Pork Skewers

Makes about 20

If you don’t have a local farmers market that sells sugarcane you can buy a can of sugarcane from any Asian supermarket or use a bamboo skewer.

1 kg mince pork

4 cloves garlic, crushed

4 green onions, finely sliced

4 tablespoons fish sauce

1 teaspoon white pepper

1/3 cup mint leaves, finely chopped

1/3 cup coriander leaves, finely chopped

vegetable or peanut oil

20 sugar cane sticks (soaked in water for 20 minutes)

Vietnamese dipping sauce, to serve (recipe follows)

In a large bowl combine the pork, garlic, green onions, fish sauce, white pepper, mint and coriander. Using your hands, knead the meat mixture until all the ingredients are combined.

Rub a very small amount of oil into the palm of your hands so that the meat does not stick to it. Form the sausage shape and put through the skewers. You can roll into balls if you like.

Heat up a grill or barbeque and lightly brush with oil. Cook the pork skewers on the oiled grill, turning the skewers over when they are golden brown. Serve with a Vietnamese dipping sauce.

Vietnamese dipping sauce
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons caster sugar
1 small red chilli, finely sliced
2 tablespoons lime juice

Combine all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and serve with the pork skewers.

BBQ Mushrooms filled with Nimbin Rice Salad

10 medium sized portobello mushrooms

olive oil

1 cup cooked and cooled Nimbin Rice (or brown rice)

2 tablespoons raspberry vinegar

1 tablespoon pecans, roasted and chopped

2 green onions, finely sliced

1/4 cup mint leaves, finely chopped

1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped

1 clove garlic, crushed

Preheat a barbecue plate over medium-high heat. Brush the mushrooms with oil and season with salt and pepper. Barbecue mushrooms for 2—3 minutes on each side until tender. Transfer to a plate.

In a large bowl combine the remaining ingredients and press the rice mixture in each mushroom cavity and serve.

Honey & Whey Bruschetta with Blue cheese and Berries

4 slices honey and whey loaf, thickly sliced (or any favourite loaf of your choice)

Blue Cheese

2 tablespoons honey

1/3 cup blueberries

1/3 cup strawberries, thinly sliced

squeeze lime juice

mint leaves

Heat a char-grill on a medium heat and lightly brush the bread slices with oil. Cook the bread on both sides until crisp and golden.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan heat the honey on a low heat, add the berries and coat with the honey. Squeeze over some lime juice.

To serve, spread the bread slices with blue cheese and top with the berries. And a sprig of  mint leaves.