Cane Sugar free for Fourth of July

Photos by Steve Shanahan

First published Canberra Times 2 July 2014. 

As a nod to the good ol’ stars and stripes Fourth of July celebrations, it seems fitting to celebrate the day with a yanky doodle nosh up. In the States, backyard barbies and shared food with family and friends accompanied by the patriotic glitter of red, white and blue flags and fireworks is the traditional thing to do on the day. But for us Aussies, deep in winter’s grip, it’s an indoor event with an Aussie twist - family and friends gettin’ down in our onesies and ugg boots.  

While I’ve stuck with the basic elements of a typical Independence Day menu, I’ve removed the “traditional” from these All-American pork, pumpkin and slaw recipes by deleting the cane sugar content and replacing it with Rice Malt Syrup. Rice Malt Syrup is a fructose and (mostly) glucose free sugar alternative. This conversion is not without its controversy, and may be considered as unpatriotic, given the Americans love of all things sweet. However, at the risk of water-boarding for my un-American activities, I plough on.

On a recent and gradual campaign to better health, I have actively reduced our family’s sugar intake. For a few years now, I have found that halving the quantity of sugar in recipes rarely makes any difference to the result and allows other flavours to shine through. In recipes where cane sugar is completely deleted, it is replaced with a healthier alternative such as natural Rice Malt Syrup or stevia powder. There’s enough hype and publicity floating around about our ever-expanding waistlines, so I won’t bang on about the merits of fructose and glucose free food. If you still prefer to use the white stuff, the quantities are included in the following recipes.

To obtain the equivalent sweetness in foods, the approximate ratio of Rice Malt Syrup to sugar is about half, and look for brands that contain no added sugars. Alert: stevia is a few hundred times sweeter than sugar, so use it sparingly.

Rice Malt Syrup and stevia powder are available from supermarkets and health food stores.

The pumpkin puree needed for the Pumpkin Pie Slice can be made ahead of time by placing a whole pumpkin on a tray in a 180C oven for one and half hours or until a knife can be inserted easily through the skin. When done remove the pumpkin from the oven and allow to cool a little before slicing and discarding the mushy core and seeds. Scrape out the cooked pumpkin flesh and place into a food processor bowl or use a stick blender and puree until smooth. Pumpkin puree can be frozen for a month or so in useable quantities sealed in ziplock bags.

Almond butter can be made at home by processing whole almonds to a paste in a food processor or Thermomix. Alternatively, you can buy it ready made from the supermarket or health food store, but it can be a little expensive.

Caramel Pork Ribs

2 kg pork ribs, cut into 3 rib portions

1 onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, chopped

½ cup rice malt syrup (or 1 cup sugar)

1 cup dark beer

¼ cup bourbon (substitute with whiskey)

3 tbsp apple cider vinegar

2 tbsp tomato paste

1 tomato, diced

2 tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and grated

2 tbsp tamari or soy sauce

2 tsp Tabasco sauce

1 heaped tbsp smoked paprika

1 tsp Dijon mustard

½ tsp ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 180C. Pour the rice malt syrup into a large lidded stovetop and oven-proof casserole or dutch oven. Cook on the stovetop over a medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the syrup is bubbling and toffee like. This will take about five minutes.

Take off the heat and stir the beer in slowly. The mixture will bubble up, so do this at the sink.

Allowing the mixture to cool down a little stir in all the remaining ingredients, adding the ribs in last.

Return to the heat until the sauce starts to bubble.  Turn the ribs over a couple of times in the sauce to coat.

Place the lid on and bake in the oven for one and half hours, until the ribs are falling-off-the-bone tender. Stir a couple of times during baking to ensure that the sauce is not burning. If there is a lot of liquid remaining, and you prefer a drier consistency, remove the lid from the pot and bake for another fifteen to twenty minutes or so to reduce the liquid. Skim any visible fat from the surface and serve with crunchy cabbage slaw.

Crunchy cabbage slaw with peanuts

2 cups savoy cabbage, chopped

1 cup red cabbage, chopped

1 carrot, grated

1 cup snow peas, chopped

¼ cup basil leaves, chopped

¼ cup coriander, chopped

¼ cup mint leaves, chopped

1 avocado, diced

¼ cup roasted peanuts, chopped

2 tbsp black sesame seeds

Dressing

2 tbsp smooth peanut butter

2 tbsp rice wine vinegar

1 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp soy sauce

1 tsp rice malt syrup (or 1 tbsp sugar)

¼ tsp chilli powder

1 clove garlic

1 tsp grated ginger

2 tbsp water

Combine the cabbages, carrots, avocado, snow peas and half of the herbs in a large bowl.

Whisk together all the ingredients for the dressing in a small jug, adding more water to thin if needed.

Toss the cabbage mixture with the peanut sauce and top with the reserved herbs, the peanuts and sesame seeds.

Spiced pumpkin pie slice with cream cheese frosting

Slice

200g almond butter

200g pumpkin puree

4 eggs

160g rice malt syrup (or ¾ cup sugar)

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

½ tsp ground cloves

½ tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp vanilla extract

½ tsp salt flakes

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease and line a slice tin approximately 30cm by 20cm. Place all slice ingredients in an electric mixer, beat on medium speed until combined, approximately two to three minutes. Pour into prepared tin and bake for twenty minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. When cool top with cream cheese frosting, and slice with a wet knife.

Frosting

250g cream cheese

¼ cup unsalted butter

¼ cup rice malt syrup (or ½ cup sugar)

grated zest of 1 lemon

In a food processor or stick blender, blend the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add the remaining ingredients and blend. The frosting will set a little harder in the fridge if needed.

Kidney Beans - Curry and Chocolate

Photos by Steve Shanahan

 First published Canberra Times 8 August 2013 and goodfood.com.au

My memory of the 70s is crammed with images of noisy, shared houses, furnished from Vinnies, with the compulsory turntable, massive speakers and walls lined by a million LPs in scavenged milk crates. Fashion crimes were abundant and often involved Indian toe thongs and wrap around maxi skirts. In the background of this joyous chaos was the usual large pot of red kidney beans and vegetables simmering atop the faded green Early Kooka.

If you have something a little more exotic in mind for that tin of kidney beans lurking in the back of the pantry cupboard, then try these genius recipes.

With kidney beans touted as a miracle food that claims to lower cholesterol, reduces the risk of heart attack, is high in iron, fibre and vitamins, I decide to increase our intake of these super legumes and reduce the amount of meat in our diet.

The comforting Red Bean Curry is an authentic North Indian dish that is a snack to prepare and contains basic ingredients from the cupboard. Unlike many curries, you can make this in less than an hour. Just make sure you have plenty of fresh ginger on hand. I spike the curry with extra chilli and serve it with Bombay Potatoes as a side dish.  

The recipe for Magic Bean Cake hails from a Thermomix recipe converted to a conventional method and requires the use of a food processor. You can make this cake using a blender and an electric mixer if you don’t have a food processor. Although this dense, silky cake is far from conventional, it is equally at home as a kids birthday cake or a dinner party dessert.  Best served with creme fraiche.  The added benefits of this cake is that it is low in sugar and is gluten free.

Serves 4

Red bean curry

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

3 tbsp chopped fresh ginger

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 tomato, diced

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

½ tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp brown mustard seeds

½ tsp ground turmeric

¼ tsp cayenne

240g tin chopped tomatoes

850g of canned red kidney beans, undrained.

½ cup chopped parsley and coriander

1 large green chilli, deseeded and chopped

Heat the oil in a deep sauce pan over a medium heat for one minute. Add the ginger, garlic, onion, green chilli and mustard seeds and let sizzle for about one minute. Add the crushed tomato, salt and remaining spices and cook for an additional five minutes, stirring frequently. Add the undrained kidney beans plus one cup of water. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to medium and cook uncovered for ten minutes. Remove from heat and serve with Bombay Potatoes, boiled rice and naan. Top with a dollop of yoghurt and chopped herbs.

Bombay potatoes

4 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp butter

¼ tsp brown mustard seeds

pinch of chilli powder

¼ tsp ground turmeric

350g potatoes, boiled till soft, quartered and well drained

salt to taste

Heat the oil in a frying pan on medium heat. Add the mustard seeds, chilli powder, turmeric and salt, stirring for thirty seconds.

Add the chopped potatoes and fry for about four minutes, until the potatoes are smothered in seeds and have crispy edges. Reduce the heat and cover the pan, cooking for a further five minutes. Serve with the curry as an accompaniment.

Magic bean cake

420g can of kidney beans, drained

1 tbsp vanilla paste

1 tbsp black coffee

70g dutch cocoa powder

1 tsp gluten free baking powder

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

¼ tsp salt

125g softened butter

5 eggs at room temperature

160g sugar

Preheat the oven to 180C.

In a food processor, puree the kidney beans, coffee, one egg and vanilla until smooth. Set aside.

Using the same bowl of the food processor, combine butter and sugar, processing until pale.

Add the remaining eggs one at a time, processing until mixed after each addition. Add the bean mixture, then the sifted cocoa powder, salt, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda to the mixture, processing until mixed through and smooth.

Pour the batter into a twenty-two centimetre greased round cake tin or a silicone loaf tin, baking for approximately thirty-five minutes. Leave the cake to cool in the tin before turning out. To serve, dust with icing sugar and a dollop of creme fraiche or yoghurt or topped with a cream cheese icing.