#recipe

Guac-Off

During our last team meetup, we had a “guac-off”, where 2 of us made our own recipes of guacamole, and then everyone “blind taste tested” (aka devoured them, without knowing who made which one), and we voted. Mine won! In the end it was the texture (more chunky) that won it for me. Someone asked for the recipe, and this is the best I could give them:

  • Avocados (1-3 depending on size and how much you’re making, scoop out with a spoon, roughly dice, mash into bowl with a fork. Leave at least one half out, un-mashed, and add it in later to keep some more chunky texture)
  • Tomato (~1 whole, remove all the seeds/juicy bits, and dice the outside flesh)
  • Cilantro (handful, chopped up roughly)
  • Yellow Onion (~1/4, finely diced)
  • Lime Juice (usually 1 or less full limes’ worth; too much makes everything watery)
  • Jalapeño (~1, as much flesh as you want, and then include seeds to taste, that’s where the heat is)
  • Garlic (optional, I don’t remember if I had this during the meetup. Just a tiny bit (half a clove) either way, it really “comes to life” in guac)
  • Salt and Pepper (uses quite a bit of both, especially salt. Just keep adding and tasting until it’s good)

I start out by scooping, slicing and mashing up 1 avocado, and leaving one to the side. Then I’ll chop the onion, tomato, jalpeño and cilantro, and get that all in there. This is also when the garlic goes in (if you’re using it). While adding these, I’ll mix it and mash it a little bit, just to make sure it’s all mixed through. Now scoop, slice and throw in the other avocado, then add lime juice, salt and pepper. Mix it up (mashing a little more in the process) and keep adding salt/pepper until you get the taste you’re after. You can also tweak with more jalapeño or lime juice at this point, which is where a lot of the taste comes from.

For an interesting twist, throwing some chipotle powder in at the end can add a pretty good spice/smokey flavor.

Beau’s Amazing Stew

This is the recipe which I ended up inventing when I wanted to try out my great new pot, a ScanPan Dutch Oven. I wanted to cook some sort of soup/stew concoction, and this is what I ended up with;

Ingredients:

  • 400g Oyster Blade Steak
  • 400g Diced Steak
  • 1 Can Green Beans
  • 1 Can Baby/Julienne Carrots
  • 1 Can Peas and Corn
  • 250g Pasta Shells
  • 1 Large Brown Onion
  • 3 Rashers Bacon
  • 4 Corgettes
  • 4 Sticks Celery
  • 2 Medium Potatos
  • 1L Liquid Beef Stock
  • Cummin
  • Bouquet Garni
  • Tobasco Sauce
  • Soy Sauce

Preparation:

Boil water and cook Pasta Shells as normal, with some salt to hold in the flavour. Don’t throw out the water – it will go in the stew. It is a good idea to start the water heating, then start everything else, it should finish at about the right time like this.

Slice up the onion, dice the Oyster Blade Steak and combine both with the Diced Steak and some oil in the bottom of the pot. Cook on high heat until the meat is starting to brown, but not too much. Add the bacon, sliced into strips, and cook quickly. Once cooked, pour in the Liquid Beef Stock and add the potatos, cut into smallish cubes. Bring to the boil, then simmer for a few minutes.

Add Beans, Carrots, Peas and Corn, including their liquid to the pot, continue to cook. Add the pasta into the pot, including its water (if there is too much, drain a little off as required). Also add in sliced Corgettes and Celery. Add sauce and herbs to taste, then simmer for approximately 30 minutes.

That’s it! A lot has gone in, but you should now have the equivalent of about 8 meals worth of stew, and it tastes great!