Mother’s Day is yet another celebration New Zealand will be spending in lockdown this year. Fresh has asked a few of the country’s top cooks what the day means to them in this time of Covid-19.
Photo: Lottie Hedley
Allyson Gofton’s carrot and pistachio nut cake
I try to keep traditions alive on Mother’s Day. Like most, our family will be camped at home this year, so a real family bubble day.
This year there’s a sadness, too, as my gorgeous mother-in-law died on Mother’s Day last year.
I’ll cook the meal my mum always prepared for my trips home, her Irish stew complete with swedes, parsnips and Worcestershire sauce, and indulge in a golden syrup steamed pud for dessert. Hopefully, the teenagers will avoid a fighting match, but being teenagers, playing games where both ‘‘have to win’’, I suspect not; ahh, the joys of motherhood on Mother’s Day.
Makes 22-24cm cake
Prep time 20 minutes
Cook time 25-30 minutes
4 eggs
2 cups grated carrot
2 cups caster sugar
½ cup raisins
½ cup chopped pistachio nuts, plus
extra to garnish
½ cup chopped canned peaches or
well-drained crushed canned pineapple
¾ cup canola or other flavourless oil
1 tsp vanilla, lemon or orange essence
1 cup flour
2 tsp mixed spice
1½ tsp baking soda
1½ tsp baking powder
1½ cups wholemeal flour
icing suggestions
cream cheese icing (see below)
pistachio nuts, chopped
Cream cheese icing
Makes 1½ cups
250g traditional cream cheese, softened
¼ cup icing sugar, sifted
dash vanilla essence or extract, or
grated rind of 1 lemon
Method
Heat the oven to 180degC (160degC fan bake). Set two racks either side of the centre of the oven. Grease the base and sides of two 22–24cm round cake tins and line the bases with baking paper.
Put the eggs, carrot, sugar, raisins, pistachio nuts, peaches or pineapple, oil and essence in a large bowl. Mix well.
Sift the flour, mixed spice, baking soda and baking powder together twice. Add the sifted dry ingredients and wholemeal flour to the carrot mixture, stirring only until well mixed. Divide the mixture evenly between the two prepared tins.
Bake the cakes for 25–30 minutes or until the cakes have shrunk from the sides of the tin, have a golden-brown crust and are springy to the touch. Test the cakes by inserting a skewer into the centres — if it comes out clean, the cakes are cooked. If still wet, continue to cook a little longer.
Stand in the tins for 10 minutes before turning out on to a cake rack to cool completely. The two cakes can be sandwiched together and finished with cream cheese icing or butter icing. Garnish with chopped pistachio nuts, if wished.
Cream cheese icing
A not-too-sweet basic cream cheese icing. Use only traditional spreadable cream cheese.
Beat the cream cheese until smooth. Gradually beat in the icing sugar and flavour with vanilla essence or extract, or lemon rind. Keep refrigerated in an airtight container.
Tip: Sifting the dry ingredients is essential to distribute the baking soda through the dry ingredients. Baking soda is responsible for turning walnuts a blue shade and carrots a green shade in carrot cakes. It’s a chemical reaction that occurs when there was either inadequate distribution of the baking soda or too much baking soda used.
Serves 4
One-pot meals are always a hit and this simple method never fails! I like to serve this with simple autumnal greens.
2 Tbsp oil
50g butter
1½kg (approx) good-quality chicken
salt and freshly ground pepper
1 fresh bay leaf
6 garlic cloves, peeled
4 shallots, peeled
2 large or 8 small carrots
1kg waxy potatoes, peeled and cut into
large chunks
5 sprigs fresh thyme, tarragon or
sage leaves
2-3 Tbsp white wine, verjuice or water
300ml chicken stock
Method
Heat the oven to 150degC.
Before you begin, you need to find a heavy-duty oven dish, preferably with a tight-fitting lid and big enough to comfortably fit the chicken and vegetables.
Season the chicken with salt and pepper on the outside and inside the cavity. Set aside.
Place the dish on the stove top and heat gently, adding the oil and butter. When the butter has melted and gone frothy, add the seasoned chicken, breast side down.
Try not to move the chicken too much at this stage as you don’t want the skin to rip. You also want a lovely golden-brown colour on the skin and this will take about 5 minutes. When this has occurred, turn the chicken over and brown the other side.
Carefully remove the chicken, place the bay leaf in the cavity and set aside.
Add the shallots and garlic and cook for a couple of minutes to get the flavours mingling. Now add the potatoes, carrots and herbs and coat well in the juices, then add the wine, verjuice or water and allow this to bubble a little.
Using a wooden spoon, scrape the base of the dish to mix through the sediment (this will give depth and colour to the stock). Place the chicken (breast side up) on top of the vegetables and pour over the stock.
Put the lid on and bake for 1½ hours.
To ensure the chicken is cooked, pierce the inner thigh of the chicken and check the juices run clear.
I like to serve this dish as natural as possible and quite often I place the whole dish on the table, as the aromas that seep from the dish are intoxicating.
Enjoy!
Joan Bishop’s aromatic beef and coconut braise
This is low-effort, high-reward cooking. It does not involve any fiddly preparation and what little work there is can be done well in advance - making it perfect for a Mother’s Day feast.
This, of course, may be eaten straight from the oven, but left to steep for a day or so it develops a wonderful depth of flavour, infusing the braise with a rich and creamy spiciness. Ground almonds are added 10 minutes or so before serving and thicken the sauce.
The cashew and chilli sprinkle adds a deliciously spicy crunch.
Serves 6-7
1.6kg chuck or blade steak
2 tsp each of turmeric, paprika and
ground coriander
2 Tbsp grated or crushed root ginger
1 Tbsp crushed garlic
¾ tsp prepared chilli from a jar
1 Tbsp brown sugar
¼ cup tomato paste
400g can tomatoes in juice
270ml can coconut milk (I use light)
2 whole star anise
1 cinnamon stick salt and pepper to taste
¼ cup ground almonds, to thicken
chopped fresh mint or parsley to garnish
Cashew and chilli sprinkle
Serves 5-6
2 tsp neutral oil, such as rice bran
1 cup raw cashew nuts or raw
skinned peanuts
¼ cup finely chopped red onion
¼ tsp each ground cumin, salt, and
mild chilli powder
3 Tbsp chopped fresh mint
Method
Heat the oven to 150degC. Trim the meat of any excess fat and cut into 4cm pieces. Set aside.
In a large casserole dish (approximately 12-cup capacity) place the turmeric, paprika, coriander, ginger, garlic, chilli, brown sugar and tomato paste. Stir together until smooth.
Add the tomatoes, coconut milk, star anise and cinnamon stick and mix well. Then add the beef, stirring to coat.
Cover with lid and cook for three to three and a-half hours until the meat is tender and pulls apart easily with a fork.
If planning to serve immediately, remove the lid and, using paper towels, blot the surface to absorb any fat. Taste and add the salt and pepper if needed. Remove the star anise and cinnamon stick. Stir in the ground almonds and return to the oven for 10 minutes to heat through. Otherwise, remove the casserole from the oven, remove spices, allow to cool and refrigerate for a day or two. Skim any fat from the surface,allow the casserole to come to room temperature, stir in the ground almonds and place the casserole dish, uncovered, in an oven preheated to 180degC for about 50 minutes or until heated through.
Garnish with mint or parsley.
Serve the braise with rice or warmed naan bread and a scattering of cashew and chilli sprinkle.
Cashew and chilli sprinkle
Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the cashew nuts or peanuts and stir frequently for five or six minutes until the nuts are lightly golden. Add the onion and stir-fry briefly for a couple of minutes. Stir in the cumin, salt, chilli and the mint and saute for a minute more. Cool and spoon into a serving bowl. Pass separately at the table, each diner sprinkling the nutty mixture over the braise.
