After what felt like a very (very) long winter (I blame this on the fact that I was lucky to skip last winter in favour of Europe’s summer), it’s finally spring in Melbourne! Strawberries and asparagus are arriving back in shops, mornings are getting lighter and evenings longer, and we’ve had our first day of t-shirt weather. It never fails to amaze me how much of a difference sunshine makes to mood at this time of year. Other than slogging though the last few weeks of medical school and work, I’ve been busy planning an upcoming trip (any tips for Japan and South Korea would be extremely welcome!), training for the Melbourne half marathon, and baking batches of banana bread (the Violet Bakery version with added dark chocolate is a current winner) and miso, walnut and dark chocolate blondies.

Freezer meals have been a saviour through the dreary months. I blame it on the fact that I get bored of eating the same meal but am also too lazy (or busy) to cook something new every night. I’m not a big meal prepper: yes, I’ll make a salad to last for a few days of lunches (and not any ordinary lettuce and tomato mix – something like this herby soba noodles or roast cauliflower with hummus), but the thought of having identical containers of dinner lined up for the week makes me want to cry. Instead, once a week or so I’ll make a big batch of something that freezes well and pop a few serves away – so after a few weeks, you have a couple of different frozen meal options to alternate with nights cooking. It lends itself best to wintery comfort food, but my summer version is quick zucchini frittata, corn fritters, tomato panzanella or peach and burrata salad. Apart from today’s turmeric coconut, chickpea & pumpkin curry, other favourites this winter have been:

• Ottolenghi’s curried lentil, tomato & coconut soup
• Hetty Mckinnon’s red curry pumpkin soup (I add sautéed tofu and greens)
• Izy Hossack’s vegetarian bolognese (just add pasta) and eggplant veggie chilli (I love to top it with sweet corn and avocado)
• Ottolenghi’s spicy baked beans

In saying that, this turmeric coconut, pumpkin and chickpea curry would also be perfect for a wintery dinner with friends, or a weeknight family meal. The base is a mesh of some of my favourite curry and dahl recipes – sliced red onion, garlic and ginger, loads of spices (but you’ll probably have most of them in your cupboard already), a couple of cans of chickpeas and coconut milk with grated tomato for sweetness and acidity. It’s versatile and colourful, and even if I cop a bit of flak for making dinner look fancy, toppings also give layers of texture and flavour – vibrant greens, caramelised roasted butternut pumpkin, crunchy toasted cashews, creamy yogurt and puffy flatbread make for a hugely satisfying DIY bowl. The flatbread are fool-proof – just mix all the ingredients together before you start cooking, leave to rise while you make the curry, then roll out and cook in a hot pan for a few minutes right at the end until bubbly and golden.

The post Golden coconut, chickpea & pumpkin curry appeared first on The Brick Kitchen.

Pork meatball banh mi – filled with a smear of pate, chili aioli, liberal handfuls of sweet-sour pickled carrots & herbs, and topped with caramelised meatballs Jump to Recipe 

So, I know I have done more than a few Vietnamese recipes on this blog so far, but these Pork Meatball Banh Mi were just too good to hold back.

In those former posts I talked about how much I love Vietnamese food – the freshness, healthiness and sharp flavours of lime, fish sauce, herbs, lemongrass, chilli, palm sugar & coconut, the contrasting heat, sweetness, saltiness and sour notes – there is nothing boring or stodgy about it. I won’t go on more, but see this Vietnamese Green Mango Salad, these Vietnamese Chicken Burgers and this post on Cha Ca, or Turmeric Fish if you haven’t already!

These banh mi are no exception. A light, crusty edged baguette is filled with a smear of pate, a drizzle of hot chili aioli, liberal handfuls of sweet-sour pickled carrots, coriander and mint, a few slices of fresh chilli, and topped with these caramelized, tender and herby spiced meatballs. All the components meld together into a hands-on feast of flavours and textures, the perfect make-your-own dinner for a crowd or just to finish a busy day on a high. They are no ordinary sandwiches.

Seriously, you need to try them.

However, I haven’t mentioned the other huge influence on Vietnamese cuisine vital to these banh mi  – the French. Vietnam’s history seems largely made up of successive colonisations and subsequent rebellions, from many Chinese expansions and invasions to French colonial rule starting in the 1800s, the rise of communism and the Indochina Wars following World War II – after which the US became involved in the 1960s and 70s under what we know as the Vietnam War (although, in Vietnam, they call it the American War). The seventy odd years that the French occupied Vietnam had a major influence on their food: baguettes (which the Vietnamese adapted to use rice flour), the introduction of vegetables like potatoes, carrots and onions, the use of butter, wine and beef in dishes like Vietnamese Beef Stew (Bo Kno), and even coffee. It means that finding small patisseries and bakeries around Vietnam selling chocolate-croissants is not unusual, and although the banh mi is a little different than the French baguette coupled with wine, cheese and cured meats, it is just as delicious (if not more, really) and far healthier!

Although traditional Vietnamese baguettes are a bit softer and airier, have a paper-thin crust and are made with rice flour, most of the recipes on the internet seem very complicated and are riddled with failed attempts (as most Vietnamese would just walk outside and buy baguettes, not muck around making their own!). One day I will master it…but that day is not today, unfortunately.

Instead, I have used a recipe for homemade baguettes by Peter Reinhart via Not Without Salt a number of times now with success – I do not feel quite competent or knowledgable about baguette making to include a recipe in this post, but here is a link to Not Without Salt, who has very easy to follow instructions and pictures if you would like to try making your own. If you have time, it is worth it. The crusty, warm bread you will produce is so much better than that from a store, not only in taste and texture but in the sense of achievement that you made your own bread! If you are short on time, as we all often are, just pick up some baguettes from your local bakery or supermarket and heat them just before serving in a fan oven at about 150° for around 5 minutes until hot and a little crunchy on the outside.

I used pate bought from a gourmet food store because the idea of making my own pate is a little freaky for now – though I am sure that one day it will happen (also time – not enough of it). The recipe makes enough for six hungry people or eight less hungry people – it does make a lot of meatballs, and as long as you buy enough baguettes to feed everyone with lots of fresh herbs, carrots and spreads on hand you should be fine! Or in the opposite scenario, feel free to halve the meatball recipe if there are only a few of you tucking in.

Now go forth and make banh mi. Really. Not optional.

PS. When making these for a crowd (which is pretty much all the time, with three hungry brothers in the house), I often make this green mango salad as well as a side to bulk everything up. Just an option.

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