Lemonicious: 40kg of Lemons and a Moroccan Obsession
Hi everyone, and welcome to our July newsletter. Have you noticed lemon season? It’s been awesome and lemonicious.
Recently the gorgeous Silvia came to one of our classes. We discussed life topics, and we may have solved some of the world’s biggest problems along the way. Silvia told me her lemon tree was packed with lemons, so what was I to do? I visited her, and well, we solved her lemon problem.
Preserved lemons are my passion. I make them myself and have done for years. A hint of preserved lemon lifts a tagine, finishes a ragout or a braised dish perfectly, and intensifies a chickpea salad and all your dressings. If you want to learn the method properly, we cover it in our Preserving Class.
Back in the day, not so long ago, we catered for the Grampians Grape Escape. For eight years we served our famous lamb, date and honey tagine with harissa, using our own Moroccan spice mix, hand blended to my secret recipe, and my preserved lemons. We had a loyal crowd returning every year for the flavours we had become famous for. That same tagine is the dish we cook in the Moroccan Cooking Class.
So what do I do with 40kg of organic lemons from Silvia? It’s obvious. I preserved them. Lemonicious.
Our Moroccan Spice and Preserved Lemons are available now, and our harissa is coming soon. Order by calling Paul on 0451 969 878, by email, or through the Yes Chef Store.
Thank you for being part of our growing community. We look forward to meeting and working with you this year, and to sharing our new site in North Melbourne. Let’s get cooking and say Yes Chef.
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July feature recipe: Chicken Kofta
Serves 8
Ingredients
- 1 kg minced chicken
- 20 g Yes Chef Moroccan spice
- 2 onions, finely diced or grated
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup panko breadcrumbs
- ½ tsp saffron powder
- 1 bunch coriander, finely picked
- Cous cous, made and used as a crumb
- Salt to taste
Method
- Gently fry the onion, Moroccan spice and oil for 20 minutes, then cool.
- Add the onion mixture and all other ingredients to the minced chicken in a large bowl. Mix, then cook a little to adjust the seasoning.
- Make the cous cous. Once cool, use it as a crumb to coat the chicken balls. Panko works too, or skip the crumb altogether.
- Place on a skewer and grill, or roll into little balls.
- Keep in the freezer for later, or deep fry until golden brown and ready to eat.
Serve with sumac yoghurt, fresh mint leaves and cantaloupe.
This dish comes from our Moroccan Cooking Class. More in the Recipe Archive.
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We now have nine classes, plus the ability to build classes as we go, so you can make and experience the dishes you want. Our new venue in North Melbourne is also great for product launches and events at a very reasonable cost.
From basic to advanced skills, with the ability to customise group classes and specialise in one-on-one classes, we are set to bring your culinary adventure to life.
Yes Chef kitchen hacks
Essential tips for saving ingredients, time and money, and for adding flavour.
- Batch chop your herbs. Freeze chopped herbs in ice cube trays with a little olive oil or water. Pop out a cube when you need fresh herbs.
- Tomatoes gone soft? Wash them and put them in a sealed bag in the freezer. Next time there is a bolognese or a tomato dish, defrost and use them.
- No time? Put all the ingredients for a slow cooker meal in a bag and freeze it. Pull it out the night before, or on the day, and set the slow cooker to auto start at 2pm. Dinner is served at 6.
- No time to make stock? Put it all in a bag with a tablespoon of peppercorns and two bay leaves, seal it, and freeze it until you have the time and the bones.
- Quick vegetable stock in minutes. Sauté onion, carrot and celery, cover with water and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes for a light stock.
- Lemon season is here and gone in no time. Batch the juice and the rind into sandwich bags separately, in recipe amounts if you can, so you are never without fresh juice and rind.
More of these in Tips and Tricks.
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With restaurants getting more expensive by the week, we offer an alternative that delivers value with three-hat quality menus and service.
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Yes Chef Cooking School
1/66 Curzon Street, North Melbourne, Victoria
Call Paul on 0451 969 878 · info@yeschefcookingschool.com.au