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| 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.
