Cheesy mushroom dip

My best friend gave me this recipe years back and oh.my.god. The healthiest thing in there is the fresh garlic (even the mushrooms are canned) but holy crap it’s the most addictive dip in the history of mankind. Trust me. Anyway this was the first year I used the Thermomix to make it, and hollowed out a cob loaf to serve it in. You can just pop it into a dish and serve it with crackers too if you can’t be bothered with the bread.

Ingredients
1 cob loaf, hollowed out, optional
Olive oil for drizzling
2-3 cloves of garlic, peeled
1 can of champignon mushrooms (I’ve tried using fresh mushrooms but it’s not as good)
1 regular sized jar of mayonnaise, mine was 235g (none of that low-fat crap. If you’re making this dip your diet is screwed anyway, so go for the real stuff)
Parmesan cheese, the same amount as your mayonnaise
Paprika for sprinkling (optional)

Method
– Preheat your oven to 180 degrees celcius
– Tear the bread from the middle of your cob loaf into chunks, throw in a bowl, and drizzle with some olive oil. I had some spare rosemary so I threw that in too. Set aside.
– Throw your garlic into the TMX bowl and chop for 3 secs/speed 5.
– Add mushrooms and press Turbo a couple of times to chop them up into bite-sized pieces.

– Add the mayo and parmesan cheese, and hit Turbo another few times until well-mixed.

– Scoop the mushroom mix into the cob loaf, sprinkle with paprika if you want, and whack into the oven for 45 minutes. When you have 15 minutes left, throw the bread chunks into the oven (spread evenly on a tray) to toast.
– Et voila. Try not to finish it all by yourself.

Apple cider sauce

This year I decided to make a roast pork with crackling for the first time. I saw a stovetop recipe for apple cider sauce somewhere and decided to give it a crack in the TMX. Boy am I glad I did, it was so yummy and is definitely one of my staple sauces going forward! This recipe yields enough gravy for 4-6 people, just double the quantity if you’ve got a big group to feed.

Ingredients
1/2 an onion
1 apple, peeled, cored and cut into chunks
30g butter or dripping from your roast pork
125ml apple cider
125ml chicken/veggie stock
1 heaped teaspoon honey mustard or Dijon mustard (I used the latter)
1 heaped teaspoon flour (I used wholemeal flour)
90ml thickened cream

Method
– Pop your onion and apple into the TMX bowl and hit Turbo once or twice until you achieve your desired chunkiness (twice was enough for me)
– Add butter/dripping and sauté for 4 mins/100 degrees/speed 1.
– Pour in the apple cider, and boil for 8 mins/100 degrees/speed 1.
– Add stock, mustard, flour and cream, and cook for another 6 mins/100 degrees/speed 1.
– Done!

Bacon jam

Oh, I can’t tell you how good it was to break out the Thermomix after more than three months! I know it’s meant to simplify cooking at home but with bub around, meals have certainly taken a backseat and the poor machine has been languishing on a shelf since March.

Anyway, I finally gathered the strength to have some friends over for lunch this long weekend. I didn’t want to over-extend myself so I decided on some nice bread, cheeses, greens and roast beef so everyone could make their own sandwiches. I bought the usual suspects – horseradish and mustard – as condiments but decided to make something extra since the husband was around to take care of bubs.

I came across this post and let’s be honest, there ain’t no condiment that’s better than one with bacon. And as soon as I saw the second version (COFFEE! CHOCOLATE! WITH BACON?!!!) I knew that this was the right post-hiatus recipe to try! Might as well go all out, right?

It’s all about cutting corners for me nowadays, so instead of cutting up the bacon as per the original recipe, I just fried up the strips and whizzed it up in the Thermomix. Quite proud of that little shortcut, I gotta say 🙂 I also added another tablespoon of worcestershire sauce after the 60-minute mark as I felt it needed a bit of an extra kick. Finally the amount of chilli used barely registers on the heat scale but I thought I’d play it safe. If you’re after a spicy relish, double or triple the amount of chilli.

Ingredients

500g bacon
200g red onion, peeled and quartered
30g garlic cloves, peeled
230g brewed coffee (I used instant coffee)
30g balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp worcestershire sauce
60g brown sugar
1 tbsp cocoa powder
1/3 tsp chili flakes

Method

– Fry the bacon until crispy. Drain on a paper towel.

– Chop the onion and garlic for 3 secs/speed 5.
– Add your bacon into the TMX bowl and chop for 2 secs/speed 5.

– Sauté the mixture for 12 mins/90 degrees/reverse/speed soft, with the measuring cap off.
– Add all other ingredients and cook for 60 mins/100 degrees/reverse/speed soft, with the measuring cap off so that the mixture can thicken.
– Scrape the sides of the bowl down, and cook for another 30 mins/100 degrees/reverse/speed soft.
– Pop into a jar or two, allow to cool then refrigerate the jam. The flavours will develop overnight and the mix will solidify so it will be perfect for lunch the next day and beyond.

I made an easy minestrone too and will post that up soon! It’s much better than my EDC cookbook attempt back in 2012. Plus it won’t be long before my Thermomix becomes a baby food-making machine so I’m excited about the great recipes I get to try!

Dill, onion and mint yoghurt dip

After a day of food truck hunting, we stopped by the South Melbourne Markets for some seafood and meat to barbecue. I wanted to try a new condiment to accompany my lamb cutlets and calamari, so I had did a quick Google search and decided to whip up a combination of different recipes and the mint I had from my garden.

Ingredients
Handful of mint leaves
Handful of dill (I didn’t use the stalks)
Half a small red onion
A small tub of Greek yoghurt
Juice from half a lemon
Salt to taste

Method
– Throw all of the ingredients in your TMX bowl, and whizz for 5 seconds/speed 6.
– Pop in your fridge for at least half an hour before serving to let the flavours develop.
– Finish it off!

We had some corn chips lying around which tasted great with the dip too. Win!

Corn, sour cream and lime dip

(Original recipe here)

I promise I will deviate from dips after this! For a while at least. It’s just that any dip to come out of the Thermomix never takes longer than five minutes but looks and tastes so damn good.

I must admit that when I saw this recipe, I couldn’t really get my head around the sour cream and lime combination. In my head I saw the dip splitting and just looking unappetising. Don’t knock it til you’ve tried it though, right? And boy, tell you what, it was worth it! We had a barbecue that day and found that this dip goes incredibly well with some grilled fish/prawns/squid too.

Ingredients

1 bunch coriander leaves
3 spring onions/shallots roughly chopped
1 juice and rind of one lime
250 g sour cream
420g can corn kernels, drained
1 pinch cayenne powder (I didnt’t use this but you might want to for a bit of a kick up the pants)
Corn Chips to serve (I used Red Rock jalapeno and cheddar but use whatever you like)

Method

– Pop the coriander, spring onions/shallots and lime rind in your TMX bowl and chop for 2-3 seconds/speed 6.

– Scrape down the bowl.
– Add the lime juice, sour cream and corn, and mix for 4-5 secs/speed 3.
– Pour into a bowl, cover with cling wrap and pop in the fridge for at least an hour to let the flavours develop.
– Try not to eat too much.

Tuscan almond pesto

Recipe from (this blogpost)

Another day, another condiment. I love serving this alongside a creamy dip to balance out the flavours. I also think that almonds are a great alternative to macadamias if you don’t want to spend as much money.

Ingedients

65g semi sundried tomatoes
4 cloves garlic
75g kalamata olives, pitted
60g whole almonds
2-3 sprigs rosemary, foliage only
A few dried chilli flakes, to taste
2 tsp sugar
15g balsamic vinegar
80g EVOO

Method

Turbo it up 3-4 times and you’re done!

Bechamel sauce

(Recipe adapted from the one in this post)

I have never made a bechamel sauce before so I don’t know exactly how hard it is to achieve a good texture without using the Thermomix. But I gotta say, the end product I got was pretty much perfect, and all I had to do was press a couple of buttons! I had actually read somewhere that upping the quantity of butter in the original EDC recipe gets rid of the floury taste, and I’m always game for more butter in anything so I was only too happy to use that tip.

Ingredients

1lt milk
100g flour
100g butter
Pinch of salt

Method

– Place butter in TMX bowl and melt for 1 min/90 degrees/speed 1.
– Add flour, milk and salt, and cook for 12 mins/90 degrees/speed 4. Done!

I made a bolognese sauce in the TMX earlier in the day and made a lasagna later in the week. Bliss.

Rocket, parmesan and almond dip

(Recipe based on the one in this post)

The Thermomix is truly a godsend when it comes to entertaining. I love throwing things in the TMX bowl, pressing Turbo a couple of times and voila, dip done.

I’ve tried to make a different dip each time we have friends over, so if any of you reading have any suggestions please send them through!

This dip definitely needs a bit of salt or lemon to counteract the bitterness of the rocket. Good learning for me next time!

Ingredients
60g rocket
200g almonds
2 garlic cloves (I put an extra one in but I love garlic, it might be too strong for some of you)
50g parmesan
80g olive oil
Salt and/or lemon juice to taste

Method
Whack all the ingredients into your TMX bowl and press the Turbo button 3-4 times until you’ve got the consistency you want. Done!

Mint sauce

(Recipe from this post)

The mint in my garden is growing rampant so I thought I’d give homemade mint sauce a go to accompany the lamb cutlets I made for Christmas lunch. I was thrilled with the result, it resembles that amazing mint sauce you get with tandoori chicken at a good Indian restaurant. Definitely giving this recipe another go. The only downside is that one recipe only yields a tiny amount of sauce, so if you like drowning your dish in condiments like I do, or you have a large of mouths to feed, I recommend doubling or even tripling the quantities. If you were buying a bunch of mint from the supermarket you’d probably get triple the mint needed for this recipe anyway.

Ingredients

5 sprigs of mint, stems removed
1 small shallot
1 small clove of garlic
2 tbs cider vinegar
2 tbs olive oil
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt

Method

– Bung all your ingredients in the TMX bowl and whizz for 7 secs/speed 10.

– Scrape down the sides, then whizz it again to make sure you’ve gotten it as smooth as possible.

– Done-zo!

Salsa verde

(Recipe from this blogpost)

We’re in the process of moving house, hence the lack of posts lately. Don’t worry, I’ll be back and blogging in time for all of the Christmas food shenanigans!

I had four anchovies and a third of a bottle of capers languishing in my pantry and I’ve been on a mission to use up as much items as I can before we move. So this recipe was absolutely perfect!

Ingredients

4 anchovies
2 tsps capers
2 cups mixed fresh herbs (I used marjoram, thyme and oregano)
2 tsps dijon mustard
2 cloves garlic
Juice of 1 lemon
30g olive oil

Method

Pop all of your ingredients into the TMX bowl and blend for 6 secs/speed 4. Scrape down the sides and blend a bit more until you have an evenly chopped mixture.

Scrape down the sides again, and turn your TMX on to speed 4. Through the hole in the lid, add the olive oil in a slow, steady stream until the mixture is combined.

Serve with fresh or cooked seafood, or stir through some pasta and serve as a side dish. How easy was that!