SAKG News N. 11 Weeks 5&7 - Term 3 1 st September 2014 It was all abut Gncchi in the kitchen this frtnight! We made ur ptat gncchi dugh frm scratch, using a ricer (which is just like a giant garlic crusher) t mash and peel the cked ptates all at the same time. We then treated ur dugh gently and with great care, and rlled it int beautiful little dumplings. One f ur vlunteers, Glenda, had brught in sme little wden gncchi paddles fr us t try. Rlling the little pieces f dugh nt these gave us nice ridges in the pasta s that ur sauce had smething t stick t. Cking it in lts f biling salted water didn t take lng. When we first put them in the pt they sank t the bttm, but after nly a few minutes they rse t the tp ready fr us t scp ut int a serving dish and cver with ur sauce. Our sauce this time was brccli, chilli and lemn...it was green and delicius! After fllwing the riginal recipe n the very first day, we fund that by cking the garlic, chilli and nin first, and adding sme chicken stck and cream, we gt a much nicer flavur. We are flexible chefs! During the first week f this rtatin brccli was $7.99kg, last week it drpped t $1.40kg, s nw that it is cheap, it is the perfect time t try this sauce at hme. Of curse yu can always make a big batch and freeze it t use later. T accmpany the gncchi we made a yummy rcket, pear and parmesan salad. This was tweaked after the first day as well, adding hney t the dressing t ffset the bitterness f the rcket leaves. Mst days we were als able t add assrted lettuce leaves that were harvested directly frm ur very wn garden. This was the mst exciting part and f curse they tasted s much better than anything yu culd buy! Many thanks t ur wnderful vlunteers wh came in t help ver this frtnight. We hpe yu enjyed yur kitchen experience and that yu will cntinue t vlunteer with us whenever yu can! This prgram really relies n yur help. If yu are able t help at any time please call Michele n 0422 579 065. Thanks als t Mark Lawsn, ne f ur dads wh wrks fr King Island cheese and wh very kindly dnated all the parmesan cheese we needed fr the tw weeks. It was much appreciated! The SAKG prgram gives each schl that jins a kitchen aid mixer and urs has just arrived. We are ging t enjy putting it t gd use in future classes. During week 8 level 3 will be at camp, but at the start f the week n Mnday and Tuesday, Mrs Plant s and Mr Anthny s grup 2 kids will be ding the class they missed ut n when we went t training, namely the beef and 7 vegetable pasties. They will als be tested fr their knife licence s they can catch up t the rest f their class. It is hard t believe we are cming up t ur last rtatin fr the term, it is true that times flies when yu are having fun, and we are certainly having a lt f fun in the kitchen! Cheers, Michele & Kelly
Page 2 Basic Gncchi (meaning small dumpling) The wrd gncchi may derive frm the Italian wrd ncchi, meaning a knt in wd, r frm ncca meaning knuckle (serves 6 at hme, r 30 tastes) Equipment: Metric measuring scales Large heavy based stck pt with water and lid Large bwl Ptat masher r ricer r Muli Chpping bard Kitchen knife Butter knife Frk Baking tray Large pt clander Ingredients: 1kg large Desiree ptates ( abut 5 r 6 ) Apprximately 350gm plain 00 flur 1egg Extra flur fr kneading 1 tablespn salt What t d: Wash the ptates and bil them in their skins fr 35 minutes until sft. Allw them t cl slightly befre peeling. ( Nte: if using a ricer yu will nt need t peel ) In a large bwl mash the ptates until smth. ( Yu can pass thrugh a ricer r Muli t achieve a mre even texture ) D nt ver mash r the ptat will becme t gluey and yur gncchi will nt be light. Pur the flur nt a clean surface and empty the mashed ptates ver the flur. Add the egg. Knead the mixture until a sft dugh frms. Yu may need a little extra flur t stp the mixture sticking t the surface. Cut the dugh int 4 even pieces, then rll each piece int 3cm wide lgs. Using a butter knife, cut the lgs at 3cm intervals t create gncchi, then press lightly with a frk t create ridges n the gncchi. Dust with a little mre flur t stp them frm sticking. Lay ut n a baking tray dusted with flur. T ck the gncchi, place a large pt f water n heat and bring t the bil. Add a tablespn f salt t the biling water, then carefully add the gncchi t the pt, making sure they d nt stick tgether. D nt crwd the pt, ck in tw batches if necessary. The gncchi are cked when they rise t the surface. Spn them ut with a sltted spn r metal sieve. Place directly int yur sauce r int a serving dish.
Page 3 Equipment: Rcket, Pear and Parmesan Salad with a Lemn Dressing, Salad spinner Large bwl Vegetable peeler Sharp knife Juicer Tablespn measure Mini tngs Ingredients: (Serves 4 at hme) OR x 4 t get 32 tastings 120gm wild rcket r nrmal rcket 480gm rcket leaves 1 pear 4 pears 80gm parmesan 320gm parmesan 1 lemn 4 lemns 3 tablespns Olive il 12 tablespns Salt and pepper t seasn What t d: Wash and drain the rcket leaves, spin t dry thrughly Divide between 4 serving bwls Cre and thinly slice pears, 1 per serving bwl Add the juice f 1 lemn t each bwl Add 3 tablespns live il t each bwl Seasn with salt and pepper Mix gently t cat all leaves Shave the parmesan with a vegetable peeler r grater, add 80gm t the tp f each bwl *Nte: we will supplement ur rcket with salad greens frm ur garden
Page 4 (Serves 6 at hme r 30 tastes) Equipment: Brccli, Chilli and Lemn Sauce Chpping bard Kitchen knife Large Saucepan with lid Juicer Zester r grater Mixing spn Ingredients: 6 heads brccli (bviusly depends n size). Use 4 if they are large. 6 garlic clves 1 brwn nin 1 lng red chilli 1 litre chicken stck ( we just used stck cubes disslved in water ) 1 lemn ¼ cup live il ½ cup grated parmesan cheese Handful f basil Salt and pepper 200ml cream What t d: Separate the brccli head frm the stem. Chp the head rughly int flrets. Peel the stem and chp rughly. Remve the seeds frm the chilli and chp alng with the garlic, nin Heat il in large pan and gently fry garlic, nin and chilli until transparent. Add chicken stck and the brccli. Put lid n and ck fr 5 minutes until just tender. Add basil leaves and using a stick mixer, blend until pureed, but nt s smth that it is watery, leave sme chunks fr texture. Zest and juice the lemn and add t pt. Salt and pepper t taste. Add cream and parmesan, stir t blend. Heat gently, then pur int serving dishes ver cked gncchi. Nte: 1/ diced cked bacn r pancetta added at the end gives nice flavur and texture 2/ cauliflwer culd be substituted fr brccli r mix bth tgether.
Page 5 Frm the Vlunteers Nah & Crissi Tania & Emily My mum Tania came t help with S.A.K.G this week. I really enjyed cking with her and making the fd. I ve learnt s much with my mum in the kitchen s nw we can ck the recipes at hme! It was s much fun t have an experience like this t share with her. I lve cking at SAKG and it made it better with her there. I really enjyed ur time tgether and I think she did t. Ben & Mnica
Page 6 In The Garden The last tw weeks have seen a very dramatic change in weather patterns frm freezing cld fggy mrnings t simply stunning sunny days - Spring is n the way! With Spring cmes the majr planting time fr ur garden. As a lead up we have been learning abut the imprtance f creating an envirnment t attract bees t ur garden t help pllinate ur fruits and vegetables as they becme established. We researched which herbs, flwers and native plants wuld be best suited t plant - bees like the clur blue r purple flwers ne student discvered. We watched a dcumentary n a yung bee keeper wh has his bee hives in the city area, and learnt that bees d a 'waggle dance' t tell the ther bees where t cllect nectar frm plants in the area. We researched if there are any Apiaries (registered bee hives) in ur area t help the bees prduce their hney. The best was a yummy hney taste testing sessin trying 4 different types f hney - rganic Australian gum tree hney, hney cmb, range blssm hney and natural pt set hney. A very big thank yu ges ut t Tim Fryer wh came and built us a wrm farm frm an ld bath that we fund n the side f the rad. We can begin ur cmpsting again cllecting frm each class, canteen, SAKG cking classes and the staff rm. Our next task is t build ur cmpsting bays - we are beginning t be sustainable. As fr the garden things are grwing wnderfully we have started t use sme lettuce and rcket in ur kitchen classes and the snw peas and brad beans have started flwering.
Mre frm the Garden.. Page 7