Chow Down to Eurovision 2014 - Romania

Buna seara, you have made it to the end of the Semi Finals in Chow Down to Eurovision 2014....and this is Romania calling.

Today is all about balls, well quenelles if you please.

These fish quenelles were originally made with trout, but after I filleted and pin boned one trout I was well and truly over it, all that work for balls! What was really exiting me about these balls was the parsnip, I love the flavour, so I've kept the parsnip and threw back the trout.

As Romania is last in Semi Final 2 I thought we would have a look at their first attempt to enter the Eurovision Song Contest.

In 1993 Dida Drăgan performed an extremely interpretive and dramatic version of Nu pleca in the pre qualifying round (before they had semi finals) but failed to qualify.

Romania did make the final of Chow Down to Eurovision 2013 though!

 

 

Romanian Fish Balls
Ingredients

• 1 parsnip core removed
• 2-3 chat potatoes
• 1 medium carrot
• 1 medium onion
• 1/2 bunch of parsley
• 2 eggs
• Salt good pinch
• 400g white fish (boneless skinless I like Basa)
• Oil for frying

Method

• Add vegetables to a food processor and chop for about 20 seconds
• Add eggs, salt and fish and process for another 20 seconds till all combines but not a paste
• Heat oil in a saucepan on high heat
• Quenelle (shape with a spoon...how ever it comes out will be fine) about 1 tbsp. of mixture into the oil
• Fry for about 2-3 mins till brown and cooked through
• There should be enough mix for about 20 balls
• I serve with yogurt that has gherkins and capers chopped through it

This year Paula Seling and OVI are back to perform a Miracle for Romania. 

In 2010 when they were Playing With Fire they placed 3rd in the final, will they go 2 places better this year?

noroc!

Chow Down to Eurovision 2014 - Moldova

Buna Seara this is Moldova calling and this year is the 10th year of Moldova participating in Eurovision.

So far they have qualified for the final every year bar one and if you ask me an 8:1 success rate is something to be proud of. 

Moldova's highest placing was in their first year of participation but that was with Grandma Bunica so she is a tough act to follow.

As Grandma Bunica featured in last year's Chow Down to Eurovision, we are going to hear from Sunstroke Project and Olia Tira with Run Away, they could have done with adding a Grandma.

 They placed 22nd

 

There is one performer in this act that lasts a lot longer than the official 3 minutes,  
Epic Sax Man which thanks to someone's hard work looping and YouTube you can enjoy for 10 HOURS!! 

That's almost longer than the voting.
 

I'm not sure if he has a nasal spray or blue pill but that's what I call longer lasting SAX!

This recipe was inspired by a Moldovan fish baked in a vegetable sauce, now I'm all for togetherness but I thought it might be nice to have the vegetables as a cold salad instead....yep, I never win friends:( 

 

Moldovan Fish with Roast Vegetable and Feta Salad
Ingredients

• 500g white fish (I went for a chunky rockling)
• 1 lemon
• 1/2 bunch chives, finely chopped
• 5 small Roma tomatoes, quartered
• 5 brown mushrooms, quartered
• 1 large leek, sliced 1 cm thick
• 1 red capsicum, cut into rough chunks
• 50g feta crumbled

Method

• Preheat oven to 180°C
• Place tomato, mushrooms, leeks, and capsicum on a baking paper lined tray(s)
• Lightly splash with olive oil and salt and pepper
• Roast for 30 minutes then allow to cool
• Marinate the fish for about 10 minutes in, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper and 1/2 the chopped chives
• Heat an oven proof frypan on high heat
• Lightly pat dry the fish and fry for about 3 minutes on each side
• Put the frypan in the oven to finish the fish for about 10-15 minutes (internal temp of 63°C for those playing My Kitchen Rules along at home)
• The cooking really depends on how think you fish is so go with your gut (and thermometer)
• Combine all vegetables in a bowl and add feta and any remaining chives
• If required add another splash of olive oil
• The feta should take care of the salt component, but you better have a taste just to be sure.
• Slice the fish or serve whole on a plater to be shared
• The next time I make this I want to add rocket to the salad, it needs more green

 

Wild Soul (appropriate for a fish dish) will be performed by Cristina Scarlat for Moldova on the 6th of May (7th Australian time)

 

Will she continue the great final strike rate this year?

 

Noroc and happy 10th anniversary Moldova!

Beer battered SOS

As I was checking Facebook I saw a cry for help after an incident with a pre mixed packet batter "EPIC FAIL"

With a quick adjustment from inside to outside undies it was Super Kitchen Boy to the rescue, fighting evil dodgy packet mixes where ever they may be!

You're still back at the underpants on the outside visual, aren't you? So I'll leave you with it and just head to the recipes.


Beer Batter
Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cup self raising flour
• 330ml of icy cold beer (I used Peroni* but any light flavoured beer would work)

Method

• Add flour to a mixing bowl
• Whisk in the beer to combine
• Don't stress about lumps!
• It shouldn't be too thick as the batter will take over rather than being the coating for the dish
• Let rest covered in the fridge for about 15-20 minutes prior to use
• If it gets too thick add a little more beer

I did thin the batter after this picture with about 30ml more beer



This was my mixed fried seafood but use any boneless fish, calamari, soft shell crab etc. that you can get your hands on.

Quasi Fritto Misto
Ingredients for about 4 peeps

• 400g rockling fillet
• 400g blue grenadier fillet
• 8 green prawns, deveined with tails on
• 8 scallops roe on or off depending on your preference
• 11/2 cups seasoned flour (salt and pepper)
• 1 quantity of beer batter
• sunflower or canola oil for frying

Method

• Cut the fish into portions just bigger than bite size (depending on your mouth)
• Lightly coat the fish, prawns and scallops in the seasoned flour
• Heat the oil in a deep pan or wok over high heat
• Dip fish portions into batter and then let the excess drip off
• Gently plunge the fish into the hot oil and cook for about 1 minute on each side depending the size of your fish
• As soon as the batter has browned remove from the oil and drain
• If you don't have a draining attachment a metal colander over a bowl keeps the batter crispy rather than draining on paper towel
• Repeat with the remaining seafood, taking care not to over cook it.
• The scallops take about 30secs depending on their size and the prawns just over 1 minute
• Sprinkle with a little sea salt and serve with rocket, lemon wedges, ciabatta and capsicum mayo

Weird lighting but I'm inspired to do a saffron batter now....

This was inspired by a rouille that would normally accompany a bouillabaisse

Capsicum mayo
Ingredients

• 2  red capsicums
• 2  cloves of garlic
• 1/4 cup of mayonnaise (I didn't make it...oops)
• About 50-60g of ciabatta or stale bread
• Salt and pepper

Method

• Put the whole capsicums and garlic cloves in a small baking dish with a splash of olive oil
• Cover with foil and bake in a 150°C oven for about 1 hour.
• Turn the oven off and either take them out or leave till you are ready to use them
• Peel the skin from the capsicum, de-stork and remove any seeds
• Peel the garlic
• Blend all ingredients together and season to taste
• Serve chilled

 
*not a paid endorsement of Peroni but happy to receive a case anytime!!

Chow Down to Eurovision 2013 - Malta

Yes hello, this is Valetta calling, we are in beautiful Malta. If Eurovision does nothing for you it should at least help you learn European capital cities. You may remember the little tiny fish that feasted my feet in Amsterdam, well as they say revenge is a dish that is best served fried. This dish was really tough to make because let us be honest here, how can anything fried be bad. I hope that the frying advantage can give Malta a winning chance as they usually send such good entries to Eurovision but are always pipped at the post.

 

Chiara or as she is known in this house "Miss Malta" is the queen of the Maltese "nothing but quality" ballad and placed 3rd in 1998 to Dana International of Israel in 1st and Imaani of the United Kingdom in 2nd place.
Miss Malta came 2nd in 2005 behind the gyrating bare chested Greeks, so being someone that likes patterns (not to a medically alarming level) I advise Malta to send her again so that they can score their first win.

 

This recipe is really addictively moreish but make sure you don't eat the whole 1kg of whitebait between AB and yourself for dinner as you could end up feeling a little poorly, I would imagine, OK, OK so I did it!

Makku - Whitebait
Ingredients

• 1kg whitebait
• 4 eggs
• 4-5 tbsp. plain flour
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley
• salt and pepper
• 1 minced garlic clove (optional)
• Oil for frying
• 1-2 lemons

Method

• Rinse whitebait in a colander under running cold water
• Leave the whitebait whole, head and guts intact, yum!
• In a mixing bowl add the eggs, flour and beat to a lump free batter but not too runny
• Season with salt and pepper
• Add the garlic and parsley to the batter (or leave out garlic and sprinkle parsley over at the end as pictured)
• In a large pot heat the oil on high
• In batches dip the whitebait in the batter and then fry till golden brown
• Reduce the heat of the oil if the whitebait are browning too quickly
• Drain in a metal colander over a bowl to maintain the crispness
• Place on a serving plate and season
• Sprinkle with parsley and add some lemon.

 

 

 

 

 

Will Gianluca be able to do one better than Chiara and secures Malta's first win with Tomorrow?

Xorti tajba!

 

I hate snakes, will all year and forever

There is nothing I hate more in this world than snakes. I'm a tad odd, as I can watch a snake in an open area without a hint of Whitney Houston pitched screaming. But put me in a dark enclosed reptile house and I am running for the hills. The strangest part of my "condition" is that is it a million times worse if it is just an image on TV or in a magazine. I would often have to drive past a furniture store called the Cane Cobra and their sign with a badly drawn not remotely realistic image would freak me out. AB has been nothing but a rock when it comes to this phobia, especially when he had to show me every plastic snake in Toys R Us, there wasn't chasing more just running away. So great is my hatred that AB had a dream about there being a snake in our backyard but didn't tell me for weeks in fear that I would put the house on the market that morning.
I am sounding like a total wimp but I have touched a snake, on my 25th birthday at a reptile park. Yep I was taken (the man who hates snakes) to a reptile park for my birthday, this was only topped by my cake which was topped with more plastic snakes than the set of Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark.
So you can imagine my despair about this Chinese New Year starting the year of the snake, I am concerned it will impact on my Yum Cha experience if I have to be constantly on the look out for snakes. With snakes at the end of the hate spectrum, Yum Cha is worlds apart on the absolutely love immensely end...ahhh my poor brain!

The first thing I always get at Yum Cha is the chickens feet, it's like a code to the staff to not just send the spring rolls to this table. It proves you're hardcore and can handle the tendons, jellyfish and tripe, oh then tendons.
In Eurovision terms it means you're not just after ABBA and Lulu, but bring on the Bulgarian stilt walkers.
My other must have item is sui mai, those steamed morsels of pork and prawn goodness. I'm not proud of it but there is probably nothing I wouldn't do for a sui mai......I mean nothing.
I'm late for Chinese New Year but I have been making a couple of inspired dishes, more a homage than truly authentic, and sometimes the eating has gotten in the way of the photography.

Enjoy the year of the Snake, just keep em far away from me.

Seafood Roll
Ingredients

• 250grams green prawn meat
• 200grams boneless fish fillet (I used Basa)
• 2 chopped spring onions
• 1 teaspoon schezwan pepper
• 1/2 thumb ginger grated
• Salt to taste
• Sesame Oil
• 1 packet rice paper
• extra cornflour

Method

• In a food processor add prawn, fish, spring onions, schezwan pepper, ginger, salt and a couple of drops of sesame oil.
• Pulse to mince the prawns and fish, but not into a puree. Some rough bits add texture.
• Wrap a small amount of the mixture (however big or small your like) in the rice paper.
• Coat the wrapped rolls in a little corn flour
• Fry in hot oil for about 5 mins or until firm and slightly golden. You will know when they are cooked by the colour, so you may need to make a few extras to try just to make sure it is right, bonus!
• A tip I learnt for the rice paper is to not over water them, 2 seconds max in the water and then onto a barely damp tea towel.
• The 2 dipping sauces in the picture are quick and tasty, not really cooking more combining.  To 3 parts kewpie mayonnaise add either 1 part sweet chili sauce or kepis manis.
• Bamboo shoots can also be added for extra texture, either chopped separately or towards the end of the pulsing.
• If you would like me to add some pics of how to roll the rice paper, let me know and I'll make it happen