To be or not to be … a vegetarian

... or somewhere in between!

Anything goes these days. I've been a vegetarian for many years, in excess of 30. Back in the day it was not easy. Believe it or not I've known people who said they didn't eat meat but always indulged in a bacon buttie at the weekend – I jest not.

I now realise that I've disliked meat since I was a kid – in the 50s and 60s you didn't say no – meat has always been expensive – look at the famous protected recipes like a Cornish Pasty, or Mexican food - there is a very small meat content simply because nobody had money for expensive ingredients.

I've been at dinner parties and so embarrassed because I had to announce that I didn't eat meat – even though the host had been to my home and had apparently forgotten – then after the excruciating time of cobbling what she thought was “vegetarian” - then ladled gravy made with meat and bacon over my vegetables – hmm.

I am happy to report that we've moved on a pace since then and now we've swung the other way - there are so many versions of the classic “vegetarian” it's difficult to keep up. You can be a flexitarian – semi-vegetarian, those who eat mostly veggie but occasionally eat meat. A Pescatarian – abstain from eating animal flesh with the exception of fish. A stepping stone may be to a veggie.

In my world, 35 plus years ago a vegetarian was pure and simple – I didn't eat beef, pork, poultry, fish, shellfish or animal flesh of any kind but did eat eggs and dairy products – in other words a lacto-ovo-veggie. Lacto – milk – ovo - egg ergo a Lacto-ovo veggie.

Are you confused yet?

Coming up we'll do some veggie stuff, to suit every style of vegetarian!

Matt's mayonnaise

Here it is :

Stick blender mayonnaise

1 egg

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

pinch of salt

juice of half a lemon – 2 tbsp

350ml of grapeseed oil

Break an egg into the stick blender jug. It's important that the yolk doesn't break. Add the mustard, salt and lemon.

Add the grapeseed oil, again being careful not to break the yolk. Insert the stick blender, be sure that the blades completely cover the yolk.

Blend – after a couple of seconds you'll see white ribbons rising through the oil. Slowly pull the blender up through the oil so it amalgamates and push down again to incorporate all the oil.

Serve!

Variations on a theme :

For a French mayonnaise swap the lemon juice

for white wine vinegar, keep the remaining ingredients

Smoked mayo – stir in a few drops of smoke flavouring

to the mayo – substitute 1 tbsp of cider vinegar for the

white wine vinegar. Add a few drops of maple syrup

on each dollop of mayo. Fab on fries!

There's Japanese, Salsa verde and Thai -

check out Matt Preston's essential tips for

making mayo at home.

It does exactly what it says on the tin, here's a photo :

Hold the front page – next year will be completely different for MasterChef Australia since there'll be a new line-up of Judges – watch this space!

My guilty pleasure!

Speaking of hollandaise sauce and it being, if you will, the warm version of mayonnaise reminds me of exactly that. My route to a fast home-made mayonnaise is circuitous but one that I hope you'll find interesting.

I'm not a fan of cookery shows generally but I've watched MasterChef Australia since it began in 2009. It knocks other series of “MasterChef” into a cocked hat. Although based on the original British format it is without doubt an annual breath of fresh air for those who are interested in all things food related.

Each year it re-invents itself whilst keeping the original concept. It has a Mystery Box, an Invention Test, Off-Site and Team Challenges and then the Immunity Challenge followed by a Pressure Test and an Elimination as the competition progresses. As each week goes by you get to know each home cook, their strengths and weaknesses and then watch as they tackle all the challenges and discover talents they didn't know they possessed. They have guest chefs and a MasterClass at the end of each week.

The main judges since the beginning are chefs Gary Mehigan and George Calombaris and food critic Matt Preston.

The competition begins in Australia in April and then shown in the UK in August.

One of my favourite pieces has been watching Matt Preston during the MasterClass segment – each of the judges cooks in some way, usually picking up elements or dishes that the contestants have struggled with in the previous week. Matt is different since, as a food critic, you wouldn't necessarily expect that he'd be able to cook – just eat! His speciality is easy and straight forward, with a short cut or two along the way.

Stand by for one of his best!

The best tip and a couple of photos

The best tip though, is to tell you that Hollandaise can be made ahead and kept in a food flask - it will keep all day then ladle as required. A food flask is an invaluable, inexpensive – and best of all small – piece of kitchen kit that you might like to add to your on-line shopping list.

The flask will keep food hot or cold – contents should not be left for any longer than 24 hours maximum. I'm stating the obvious – this is a food flask and not to be used for carbonated/gaseous drinks. The instructions are straight forward. Pour in hot/cold tap water cover with the lid and let it stand for 5/10 minutes to preheat/precool the flask, empty the water, fill with your contents and secure the lid. If you decide to invest there are comprehensive instructions with the flask.

There's a bonus - a fold-up spoon which sits inside the lid – a good strong one I might add. A perfect piece of kit for your hollandaise sauce – made in the morning, ready for your brunch/supper – how to show off!

Back to the benedict … it might seem picky - the Hive Beach benedict was served on toasted ciabatta – as I've said it is traditionally served on a toasted muffin – I have to say my vote goes to the muffin!

Have a look at my efforts :

Round of applause please!

I shouldn't say I know but it tasted as good as it looks.

The Hollandaise Sauce

First up the technical stuff – hollandaise is a butter sauce and it has a delicate rich flavour composed of butter and eggs adding lemon juice or vinegar. Hollandaise is not thickened with flour but with the emulsion of the butter and the liquid. Flavours are infused in the vinegar and reduced.

Slowly, slowly when you're adding the butter. If it should split or curdle take the mixture off the heat and add a fresh egg yolk to bring it back.

The Hollandaise

5 fl oz of white wine vinegar

6 peppercorns

1 bay leaf

1 blade of mace – optional

4oz unsalted butter

3 egg yolks

salt and black pepper

Put the vinegar and seasonings into a pan and reduce it to 1 tablespoon, then strain. Using a stick blender process the yolks with the reduction. Clarify the butter (in other words melt the butter in a small saucepan, a milk pan is ideal as it has a pourer). Normally you'd use clarified butter but it's not essential, you can use the whey. If you tip the pan gently when the butter has melted you'll see the golden butter and the whey which has separated. Pour the butter slowly onto the yolks, blending as you go. Season well.

A hollandaise should be served warm, not hot.

Needless to say this sauce takes time but it's well worth the trouble – a perfect weekend breakfast or brunch. Traditionally the benedict was served with ham but these days it is just as popular served with smoked salmon.

Coming next … the best tip and a photo or two.

Eggs Benedict – the history bit

The jury is out as to when eggs benedict first appeared either on a menu or in a restaurant. One thing is for sure it was definitely in New York, USA. It could be as early as 1860. There are lots of stories but the one I like the best is from 1894 when “Lemuel Benedict wanted a hangover cure and ordered buttered toast, poached eggs, crispy bacon and a hooker of hollandaise”. It was Oscar Tschirky, the maître d'hôtel who subsequently put it on the breakfast and lunch menus but changed the bacon for ham and the toast for a toasted English muffin.

A “Hooker” of hollandaise? – “hollandaise” means “from Holland” and probably the Hook of Holland - a town in the south west, hence the hooker, may be?

The sauce was originally Sauce Isigny – not surprisingly French and from the Normandy region in particular. It's thought that it morphed into hollandaise when butter was imported from Holland during World War I. These days Isigny sur mer is famous for its cream, butter and cheese. Its high quality butter is still produced the old fashioned way – churning.

There are heaps of alternatives to the “Benedict”.

Here are three :

Blanchard substitutes Béchamel sauce for Hollandaise

Florentine substitutes spinach for the ham or adds it underneath.

Mornay substitutes a cheese sauce for Hollandaise

I couldn't leave out “Irish Benedict” - replaces the ham with corned beef or Irish bacon.

Hats off to Oscar Tschirky who had the idea of serving the benedict on a toasted muffin - genius – a perfectly neat shape just right for a poached egg.

You never know where this history stuff is going to take you – I hope I haven't bored you – you know what they say, “you learn something new every day”!

Now for the recipe …

The poached egg photo guide

The egg submerged in the pan

The kitchen roll and the slotted spoon

Toast your muffin and butter generously!

Your egg draining on the kitchen roll

Ta dah – your egg on the muffin, seasoned

and oozing – yum

Now for the Benedict bit!