Basics

My Addiction To Dani Valent Cooking

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It’s no surprise to me or anyone else that I love this video site that Dani Valent has put together Dani Valent Cooking. It is a subscription site for amazing Thermomix recipe videos, you get 1 free video a month for the free subscription or for $89 a year you get 1 Thermomix video (with printable) recipe a week & you start with 25 recipes when you join. It’s great value & features home cooking recipes by Dani & also amazing Chef’s recipes too. Here is one of the free videos with Jo Whitton from Quirky Cooking making Coconut Pancakes with Blueberry Syrup.

What’s not to love? Being inspired to try & taste new recipes, learning new skills & ideas for your Thermomix cooking plus I love seeing how chefs use the Thermomix for their dishes. I have made a lot of the recipes already & some of them I have made a few times because they are so delicious 🙂

Matcha Smoothie Bowl

 

Breakfast Curd with Toasted Grains recipe by Chef Jesse Gerner – It was really yummy!

 

Chai Porridge

 

Steamed Corn with Spicy Allioli another drool worthy recipe by Chef Jesse Gerner. Watch the free video here.

 

Shane Delia’s Warm Roasted Cauliflower Dip with Spiced Beef – You have to try this!! It could be the best dip ever!! I loved watching the video for this recipe too, it was a lot of fun!

 

Everything Salsa & then the same salsa used to make a cashew dip & a cream cheese dip- just 2 of the ideas for the salsa – so tasty & versatile!

 

Chicken Tart – This recipe by Dani has the most amazing lemon & mustard flavoured pastry – plus shredded chicken & buttery leeks in the filling!

 

Tasty “Emergency Lentil Soup” watch the video here.

 

Pumpkin Soup with Virtual Bacon Dust – recipe from George Calombaris – this recipe is from the In the Mix cookbook – I have made it so many times & it’s my all time favourite pumpkin soup!

 

Victor Liong’s Corn Custard with Chicken Congee – it’s seriously good!!

 

Cauliflower Rice – it’s a delicious vegan recipe 🙂

 

Shane Delia’s BBQ Prawn Kofte Salad is seriously good!!

 

Lamb Shank Barley Casserole – Yes the shanks are steamed in the Varoma for some of the recipe!

 

duck bao

Delicious Duck Bao – inspired by the Momofuku recipe by David Chang

 

Hainanese Chicken & Egg, seriously amazing recipe by Trissalicious This is also from In the Mix & includes my favourite way to cook eggs – at 60 degrees!!

 

Quirky Cooking Gluten Free & Dairy Free Chicken Pot Pie is so Yummy – we even took some for lunches too!.

 

Steamed Fish with Eggplant Miso – so healthy & fresh – a great recipe using the Varoma.

 

Chilli & Lime Crumb – I’ve made this recipe from In the Mix Cookbook before – I love how tasty & versatile it is. watch the free video here.

 

Marmitako (Basque Seafood Stew) recipe by Chef Ruben Trincado – A delicious video filmed in Spain.

 

White Garlic Soup with Seafood – recipe by Chef Jaun Carlos Caro, in the video (filmed in Spain) you see him using the TM 21 to make this dish.

 

Lamb Ribs

Thai Ribs with Coconut Rice & Coleslaw – this is the version I made with lamb instead of the beef – I made the beef version too & that was amazing, I will be making it again soon – for sure!!

 

Beef stew with Polenta

Barolo Braised Beef with Polenta Cremoso, recipe by Chef Joseph Vargetto – The best polenta I’ve ever tasted!!

 

Egg Fu Yong

Egg Fu Yong, recipe by Ben Shewry – yes there is creamy scrambled eggs under that shredded chicken 🙂

 

Native Pepper Berry Salt recipe by Jesse McTavish

Lamb Cutlets, Salsa Verde & Lovage Oil recipe by Jesse McTavish

 

Chocolate Mousse Brownies – Dani calls them little squares of joy & they are so WOW!!

 

Basque Cheesecake is so easy & delicious!! Watch the free video here.

 

Elaine’s Chocolate Cake – this is a super duper keeper recipe for sure – here are my other photos.

 

 

Watermelon Smash & Watermelon Rind Pickles

Watermelon Smash & Watermelon Rind & Ginger Pickles

 

Cucumber, Lime & Mint Dry Ice Sorbet – recipe by Chef Pierre Roelofs

I’ll keep updating this page as I go with photos of the recipes I have made from the site – as you can see there is a good range of family meals & exciting fun things to give a try to.

Arwen’s Roasted Cauliflower “Rice”

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I created this recipe for a healthy eating workshop last year & came up with lots of interesting variations. here I have shown the recipe in it’s simplest form, cauliflower, coconut oil & salt & pepper. However you can spice or jazz it up with any or all of the following ingredients: garlic, sweet potato, ground cumin, ground coriander, smoked chilli, black or white sesame seeds, coconut pulp leftover from making coconut milk or cream.

My other cauliflower “rice” recipe is steamed however I much prefer the roasted flavour.

Or eat it cold it makes for an awesome salad, add some almonds & fresh greens & other favourite salad ingredients.

Cauliflower

Start with a cauliflower & heat the oven to 200 degrees.

 

Cauliflower floretts

Break into florets keeping the inner stalk & the leaves.

 

Cauliflower leaves

You can cut the leaves & stalk on Speed 5 for 2 – 3 secs. (This is also when you could put in roughly chopped sweet potato & garlic (optional) too – if you are doing that variation) then place the chopped veggies on a baking tray.

 

Cauliflower rice

Place the florets into the bowl & chop on reverse for about 5 secs speed 4 – it will depend how big your florets are to start with.

 

Cauliflower rice on tray

Put some dollops of coconut oil onto the tray with all the cauliflower “rice” I also love sprinkling my favourite spices here as an option (a teaspoon or 2 each of ground cumin & coriander plus a tsp of smoked chilli) & some salt & pepper. Cook for about 20 mins stirring a couple of time to ensure even cooking.

 

Cauliflower rice in bowl

Then it’s ready to serve anywhere you would normally serve rice or couscous – or you can add some fresh salad ingredients to make it into a delicious salad for lunches.

 

Cauliflower rice & butter chicken

My favourite way to serve it is with butter chicken or another curry – YUM!!

 

Save Print
Arwens' Roasted Cauliflower "Rice"
Author: 
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 4 - 6 serves
 
you can make this simply as shown with just Cauliflower, coconut oil & salt & pepper or spice/jazz it up with any or all of the optional ingredients.
Ingredients
  • 1 cauliflower
  • Salt & peper to taste
  • 2-4 tbs coconut oil
  • 2 cloves garlic - optional
  • 1- 2 large sweet potatoes, roughly chopped, skin on - optional
  • 1-2 tbs your favourite spices to taste, I like, cumin, coriander, turmeric & a bit of smoked chilli,
  • Black sesame seeds, optional
  • 150g coconut pulp - optional, (leftovers from making coconut milk or cream)
Instructions
  1. Heat oven to 200 degrees.
  2. Place garlic (if using) into the TM bowl & chop for 3 secs speed 7. Add the cauliflower stalk & leaves & sweet potato (if using) & chop for 2 -3 secs on speed 5. Scrape this out of the bowl & place onto a large baking tray.
  3. Place cauliflower pieces into the TM bowl & chop on reverse for about 5 secs speed 4. Then add to the baking tray. Add coconut oil, salt & pepper & any or all of the other optional ingredients - spices, black sesame seeds & coconut pulp (if using) bake on 200 degrees 20 mins, stirring a few times.
  4. Serve with your favourite curry or anywhere you would normally serve rice or couscous.

 

 

 

Easy Peasy Cheesy – Making Fresh Cheeses with the Thermomix

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It’s so hard for me to choose my favourite foods but cheese is certainly up there as a favourite food – it just tastes so good & makes everything else taste so good too, so imagine how delicious your own homemade cheeses taste! It’s kind of dangerous but good. Here are my favourites & maybe some day I will get a chance to make some hard cheeses or even a brie!!

For my step by step guide to making Halloumi Cheese see my guest blog post on Quirky Cooking.

Labne B

This is my homemade Labna cheese in one piece, I start from scratch & make homemade yoghurt in the Thermomix (I use the automated recipe rounding up the cream & the starter yoghurt) & then it is simply left to strain over night so it becomes firm. There is also a recipe for this in the In the Mix (first book).

Labna

Labna 2

You can roll it into balls & marinate with your favourite herbs & spices & then cover it with oil & keep in the fridge. This cheese is so versatile you can eat it on toast with crackers or veggies sticks served in salads or sandwiches. Or simply on it’s own as a cheeky snack – So good!!

Next is the ricotta or paneer cheese – they are pretty much the same thing but used for different dishes – heat up milk (some recipes have cream too) & then add some vinegar to it, let it sit & then strain the liquid away & you are left with the soft fresh cheese to cook with. Try a ricotta gnocchi recipe or a spinach & ricotta pie.

ricotta_1 ricotta

Paneer Curry

Click on this link for the recipe for Paneer Curry 🙂 Which includes the recipe for making the paneer.

 

The other cheese you can easily make in the Thermomix is Mascarpone, I will be making this again soon & will take some photos to share with you. I hope I have inspired you to give cheese making a go? It’s so fun & rewarding and best of all it’s delicious 🙂

 

Dani Valent Cooking’s Chilli Lime Crumb

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I love this recipe it’s as easy as 1,2,3 🙂 It’s another great recipe from Dani Valent (via Chef Sam Massari) from her In the Mix Cookbook & Dani Valent Cooking. Watch the free video here.

Lime chilli Crumb

Place all the ingredients into the bowl & heat them up.

 

Lime chilli Crumb

Blitz them up to form the crumb.

 

Lime chilli Crumb

Serve with cubes of melon & I tried pineapple too.

It’s great with rice flour to make salt & pepper squid – as per the recipe in the In the Mix Cookbook, or use the crumb to make spicy nuts YUM!

Making Coconut Milk or Cream

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Have you made it yet? It is so easy & perfect if you have some Dried coconut & not coconut milk or cream & can’t be bothered going to the shop to buy some for a recipe. I very rarely buy it myself now & just make the coconut milk as I need it just before I start the recipe. You can also freeze any leftovers if you are not intending on using it soon. I first tried the recipe from the Thermomix Fast & Easy Indian Cooking book about 4 years ago. Now I use Jo Whitton’s recipe from her Quirky Cooking cookbook available here & please feel free to watch her video too. You will need a nut bag (yes if this is the first time you have heard of a nut bag you are permitted to laugh – like I did the first time I heard about them) You could use fine muslin but for around $10 – $20 investment you will get a lot of use out of it. You can purchase them online or at most health food shops.

As always it is best to start with the best quality ingredients you can afford so I start with organic shredded coconut 300g.

coconut

Mill for 20 secs on speed 9

milled coconut

Next add 800g water & chop for 1 min on speed 9. Strain using a nut bag. And I usually start the straining like this with my nut bag over the simmering basket to let the first lot of milk through & then I love to pick up the nut bag & squeeze the milk through – I imagine it’s sort of like milking a cow?!

Straining the coconut milk

Yes I made coconut milk!! And I know what’s in it too – I hope this post has inspired you to give it ago too!

COCONUT MILK

If you want to make this into coconut cream you then add melted coconut oil slowly to emulsify into the warmed coconut milk as per Jo’s recipe.

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