I mentioned in an earlier post that I had recently been chosen as one of Annabel Langbein’s Free Range Foodie Panel.
What this entailed was having early access to her upcoming new Cookbook – then hosting an “event” where I would cook from the new book, and take some photos of the food and fun that resulted.
The book arrived on Wednesday and I was excited to see it. – Its format is a little different from some of her other books in that this is laid out more like a magazine, with articles throughout it and lots of hints and tips throughout.
What hasn’t changed from her other books is the great photography and the scrumptious recipes, all of which follow a pattern of delicious food that’s relatively stress free to prepare and easy to get great results from which was very fortuitous for me because yesterday turned into something of a frenetic day ( more about this next week – very exciting changes are about to occur in my life!)
I chose to cook 3 courses and of course I had to include a liquid refreshment too and Annabel catered well to me in her selection of liquid recipes as well .
As you know I’m a lover of New Zealand Lamb and often cook a butterflied leg so seeing the range of spice rubs in the book made the decision on a main course easy – I made up a batch of the Moroccan Rub ( which is now a new favourite and I will surely be making more of this.
The recipe for the rub makes quite a bit so I have it stored away in my pantry. It would make a great gift at Christmas packaged up in some little bags with some suggestions on uses.
In the early afternoon coated the Meat with Olive Oil.
(I used my current favourite oil Al Browns Olive and Chili infused oil which was a perfect match with the spices in the rub )
I then applied a generous amount of the rub to the cut side of my meat
I didn’t apply it to the fat side of the meat as I like to sear this in a pan before putting in the oven and I didn’t want the spices to burn .
I rubbed it well into the meat including into all the crevices and let it marinate for a few hours before cooking.
For vegetables I went with the Roast Summer Vegetables with Pesto Dressing. Red Peppers have been reallye expensive lately but I had got a bag on sale from Nosh so that was what tipped me in favour of this dish – that and its so easy and being able to prepare it all in advance makes for a stress free evening
Next task was to start on making the starter.
I chose the Avocado and Salmon Towers – which look quite impressive and tricky but turned out to be quite simple.
I didnt have a deep enough food ring to create the towers in so I cut both ends off a can of tomatoes and used that as my mould – I tamped down the layers with a glass as I went .
They are a lovely light entree and one I will definitely make again – I thought afterward I could have added a layer of tomatoes to make a 3 colour tower and may well do this in the future.
To accompany this I made the 2 minute green salad which consisted of Rocket and shaved parmesan – but I also added some crumbled blue cheese cause I love it .
Dessert I had made the night before – I went with the Chocolate Meringe Torte which is quite different to anything I’ve made before but very easy to prepare
It was almost time for the guests to arrive so I made up a jug of Annabel’s Waiheke Island Iced Tea. This tea certainly packs a punch and is most delicious – another new favourite recipe!
There is nothing better than sharing food and drink with friends and so no matter what I had served al good time would be guaranteed however I can say that the compliments abounded in regards to the food and drink last night and a great time was had by all concerned
At the last minute I decided to top the lamb with a tzatziki sauce recipe also in the book and it was a great decision as it really added a wonderful flavour to the meat
I served the Torte with thickened cream that I had grated chocolate and sprinkled cinnamon onto – it was the perfect accompaniment to a delicious and not too rich dessert.
All I can say now is Thanks to Annabel Langbein for providing the delicious ideas and recipes – I thoroughly recommend the Summer Annual and you are sure to see more results in this blog as I try out more of the recipes .
According to the back of the book it has an RRP of $19.95 which I think is a great price for a book you are sure to use frequently.
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