London Broil

Recently I bought a 1-pound grass-fed London broil. I always thought this was a cut of “tough” meat but actually it is a method of cooking that tenderizes tough slices of meat. A London broil is really another name for flank steak or round steak. These pieces of meat are somewhat cheaper but can be just as tasty. The secret is marinating the meat for a long period, for at least 8 hours and up to 24. Another secret is to use a fork to poke holes on both sides of the steak to break up the tough tissues. Some chefs use a knife, but I prefer a fork. This allows the marinade, especially the acid of the vinegar, to penetrate the meat and make it tender. These steaks can be grilled or cooked in the oven for about 40 minutes on high heat. Do not overcook because the meat can become leathery and undesirable. This is best served with potatoes (which I roasted in the oven) and a green on the side. My London broil was delicious!

London broil

Ingredients for marinating (You can use some other spices you like; I would throw in some garlic, not just the powder.)

½ tsp. paprika

½ tsp. garlic powder

¼ tsp. onion powder

¼ tsp. cayenne pepper

1 pinch thyme

1 pinch dried oregano

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

1 ½ lbs. London broil or flank steak

¼ cup dry red wine

¼ cup red wine vinegar

2 tbsp. olive oil

2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

2 tbsp. soy sauce

2 tbsp. spicy whole-grain mustard

Mix paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, thyme, oregano, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Set aside.

Place your London broil or flank steak on the counter and carefully pierce the meat on both sides with the tines of a fork. Don’s stab yourself! Make sure you do a thorough job of this. Go over the thickest park several times.

Place your steak in a strong plastic bag. Mix the red wine, vinegar, olive oil, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, mustard and the already mixed spices in a measuring cup. Pour this mixture into the bag with the steak.

Seal the bag and refrigerate. Allow at least 8 hours and can be left for 24 hours.

Set your oven rack to six inches from the top broiler. Preheat the broiler.

Remove the meat from the marinade and pat dry. Place the meat in a baking dish and put in the oven.

Cook each side for the steak for six minutes. Check it continually so as not to overcook. Remove the steak, and cut it, against the meat grain, into thin slices. Serve.

I cooked my steak in a Dutch oven with the marinade under the steak and cooked for 40 minutes at 400°F. I drizzled the marinade over the sliced steak. It was cooked perfectly and was not tough.

In New Zealand all the beef is grass finished but here you have to ask for it. If more people request it then more will become available.

 

 

 

ANZAC

ANZAC is a national holiday in Australia and New Zealand and they take it seriously. The term ANZAC is protected by law. ANZAC is an acronym for Australian New Zealand Army Corp. ANZAC Day was originally begun to honor the Australian and New Zealand Army Corp who fought for the empire in Gallipoli in WW I. The campaign failed but a large number of soldiers died fighting and a large number of those were from Australia and New Zealand. The holiday now honors those who have fought in all the conflicts where New Zealand and Australia participated.

During WWI wives sent oat biscuits to their soldier husbands as they did not spoil during the long trip to the front. These sweet ‘cookies’ as we would call them are available for sale in New Zealand as ANZAC biscuits and their recipe is mandated by law if they are to be called ANZAC biscuits. The recipe was first noted in a cookbook, St. Andrew’s Cooking Book, from Dunedin, New Zealand, in 1915. It was a cake and was not exactly what was sent to the front. The name and the present recipe first appeared in a later edition of the cookbook in 1921.

We were treated to these with lunches and afternoon teas. The first time was at the lovely family farm home of the Kellicks, Tokorangi Farm. The house was built at the turn of the last century by an ancestor and lunch was served in their beautiful garden. The drive to the house was lined with huge and colorful hydrangeas and Agapanthus, both in full bloom. The Agapanthus, Lily of the Nile, is considered a weed in New Zealand and is found along the roadside all over the North Island. Of course, there was a discussion about the recipe for ANZAC biscuits. An Australian tour member thought she had a better recipe and her biscuits were thinner and crispier.

Many of our lunches were prepared by the farm hosts and served in their gardens. One roasted a ‘hoglette’ for us. Bet you don’t know what that is. It is not pork but a two year old sheep---not lamb but not mutton either.

 

Anzac Biscuits

‘Biscuits down under’ should be a hit.

Makes 2 dozen cookies

1 cup regular oats

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup packed brown sugar

½ cup shredded sweetened coconut

½ teaspoon baking soda

3 tablespoons water

¼ cup butter, melted

2 tablespoons golden cane syrup, or light-colored corn syrup

Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Combine first five ingredients in a large bowl. Add water, butter, and syrup; stir well. Drop by level tablespoons 2 inches apart onto baking sheets coated with cooking spray. Bake at 325° for 12 minutes or until almost set. Remove from oven; let stand 2-3 minutes or until firm. Remove from pans; cool completely on wire rack.

 

I, of course, looked for a cookbook while there but ended up buying a New Zealand cooking magazine and we are enjoying a simple dish appropriate for this time of year with spring greens from ‘Cuisine.’ Unfortunately, our lemon trees didn’t produce this year but they are in season too.

 

Rice with Spinach, Feta, Dill and Lemon from March 2014 ‘Cuisine’

This dish was so good that I made it two days in a row. Can be served with a poached egg, grilled chicken, or as they would do in New Zealand, a quickly cooked lamb cut. It was a single course lunch for us.

Serves 4

1 cup basmati rice

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1-12oz. bag fresh spinach

½ cup feta, crumbled

2 tablespoons finely chopped dill, chives, or flat-leafed parsley

Zest and juice of 1 lemon

Rinse the rice under cold water then put in a saucepan with 2 cups water and the salt. Bring to a boil then lower the heat, cover with a tightly fitting lid and simmer gently for 20 minutes. Turn off the heat and sit, with the lid on, for another 5 minutes to allow the rice to absorb any remaining water.

While you have left the rice to sit, heat the oil in a large pan, add the garlic and fry for 1 minute until it has softened but not colored. Add the spinach and cook until just wilted. Drain well then stir in the rice along with the feta, herbs, lemon zest and juice. Taste, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper then serve immediately.

Kiwis

We have just returned from a two week trip to New Zealand and it was a Red Devon Tour. Those of you who know your cows, know this as a heritage breed and one that we have been working with for the past four years.

I am not big on tours but this one turned out to be well organized and there were no great problems with people being late to get on the bus or to dinner. There were 28 of us and only seven were Americans. The rest were from Brazil and Australia plus our New Zealand hosts. All were fun travelers and we got along well.

New Zealand is known for its beauty and lots of sheep and cattle. In fact, there are more dairy cows than people.  We were not disappointed. The view from the mountains to the sea was gorgeous. The cattle were just so fat and seemed so well taken care of. Of course it was summer there, and the grass was very good. We toured only the north island from Auckland to Wellington. The south island will have to be done another time.

New Zealand is consistently rated as one of the best places to live and is one of the most active nations: Kiwis (as they are called) seem to be born with a love of the outdoors, and families tramp (hike to us), caravan, sail, and play rugby, cricket, and netball together. Most Kiwis are well educated, and they value travel highly. They are concerned with their future. The Department of Conservation now focuses on environmental issues, reflecting the national love of the outdoors and the importance of the landscape to the country’s burgeoning tourism industry. Although New Zealand is making great strides in sustainability, the country aims for a “100% Pure” lifestyle. They are having problems just like the rest of us with obesity and crime, just on a smaller scale.

We visited several Red Devon farms and found the breeders and their wives so very nice. They always had tea for us and lots of food: freshly baked scones, fruitcake, oaty cookies, corned beef sandwiches (made from the Red Devon cows), and fresh cream (also from the cows) for the scones. Because of the tour, we got to visit places other tourists would never see.

We not only visited farms, but museums, a boat tour of a glowworm cave, harbor tours, and a little time was given for shopping. New Zealand is known for their possum fur which combined with merino wool and some silk, make wonderful caps, scarves, and jackets. The possum was an invasive introduction until they decided to farm them and use the fur.

Most of us only think of the kiwi fruit or kiwi bird when we think of New Zealand. We did see groves of kiwi plants and they do make kiwi soap and jam. The kiwi birds are hard to find as they are nocturnal, but we did go to a museum and saw one kiwi bird. They are not very attractive, with a big grey body and a long beak. But there is an effort to protect the birds since only about 1 out of 9 eggs survive. Our hosts work with saving kiwis in their off time from the farm.

The story of the kiwi fruit is interesting. A missionary brought Chinese gooseberries to New Zealand. Another man developed a bigger better variety. They were popular with Americans during WWII and New Zealand tried to export them to the US but as they were berries they were considered growing on the ground and there would be higher duties. They changed the name to Kiwi melons but melons still grew on the ground and had high duties----so Kiwi fruit they became. Kiwis are New Zealanders, or the birds. The edible kiwi is a ‘kiwi fruit.’

I was very impressed with the food. When we asked our guide what you think of when you mention New Zealand food, she said “fresh”. I would tend to agree. We had wonderful grass-fed steak several nights, good seafood, excellent vegetables, and wonderful desserts. Every evening we had a three course meal! Sometimes I was so tired I thought I would not get through the meal but somehow I did! Another great thing about New Zealand is the wine! It is especially known for its sauvignon blancs. In the South Island, Marlborough is the country’s largest grape-growing area, producing more than 70% of New Zealand’s wine.

I could go on and on about the trip and will devote one more article next week about our visit. One thing of interest which I did not know was that the dessert, pavlova, is said to have come from New Zealand, even though Australia claims the creation of this dessert also. The story goes that in 1926 the prima ballerina Anna Pavlova came from Russia to perform in New Zealand and then in Australia in 1929. After this visit a dessert named pavlova was named for her. You will see this dessert on many menus, and most of us know of this as a very sweet meringue dessert served with some cream on top of the meringue with fruit on the cream. Of course they use kiwi in New Zealand. I made one of these and they are easy and very good. You could use strawberries with the kiwis also. It is considered the national dessert of New Zealand.

Pavlova

8-10 servings

Ingredients

½ cup egg whites, at room temperature (from about 4 eggs)

1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 cup granulated sugar

1 ½ teaspoons cornstarch

1 tablespoon raspberry vinegar or red wine vinegar

½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 ¼ cups heavy cream

2 tablespoons light brown sugar, packed

2 kiwi fruits, peeled and thinly sliced, or 1 cup another ripe fruit, such as peaches, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries or blackberries

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment (or use a hand mixer), whip the egg whites, cream of tartar and salt in a clean, dry bowl until foamy. Add the granulated sugar, cornstarch, vinegar, and vanilla and continue whipping until stiff, smooth and glossy, about 8 minutes more. On a sheet of parchment paper cut to it a sheet pan, use a pencil to draw or trace a circle 9-inches in diameter. Line the sheet pan with the parchment, pencil side down (you should still be able to see the circle). Spoon the egg whites into the circle, using the back of the spoon to smooth the top and sides of the disk. Bake in the center of the oven for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 300 degrees and bake until the meringue has puffed up and cracked on the top and the surface is slightly browned to the color of café au lait, about 45 minutes more. Turn off the oven, prop the oven door open, and let the pavlova cook in the oven at least 30 minutes, to room temperature.

Whip the cream and the brown sugar together until stiff. Spoon it in the center of the cooled pavola and spread out to within 1/2-inch of the edge. Arrange the slices of kiwi around the edge or whatever fruit you have chosen. To serve, slice into wedges with a serrated knife.