Preserved lemons
Made by carefully slicing a cross lengthways down the lemon, opening and heavily (I mean HEAVILY) sprinkling in salt. The lemons were then tightly packed into a jar, avoiding air gaps where possible. Another couple of lemons were then squeezed into the jar to ensure all the lemons were submerged. These were left to ferment for about a month before use. I think they are best used by slicing real fine and adding to: rice while it cooks, dips (mayo, herby salsa verde etc), in baking (used sparingly), in salad dressings.
Yellow split pea miso
I followed the directions of Noma's "Guide to fermentation" book to make this miso. I think my cooked legumes were perhaps a little overcooked and too wet as the fermenting paste released quite a lot of liquid. This liquid was poured off the ferment while I waited 6 months for the miso to mature (in my flats linen cupboard). This liquid is effectively a Shoyu (soy sauce – but this one isn't made from soy), and it was the most delicious fruity and floral umami rich sauce I have ever tasted. I sprinkled it over rice bowls, and it was awesome.
Side note: I also made a batch of miso from green split lentils/peas alongside this one. It was terrible… It had a green vegetal taste that did not pair well with the aged umami. It never got better, and I threw it out.
Sourdough bread
I usually go through a mid-winter sourdough obsession when the weather is bad and weekends are spent inside. Tartines country loaf is my usual go to, although sometimes I like to make the bread a little more brown. Miso loaves have been delicious using my split-pea miso and rolled in sesame seeds before baking. I played with focaccia as well, combining aspects I liked from a variety of recipes.
Lacto-fermented Chilli and mango hot sauce
I fermented chillis and fresh mango in a 2% salt brine and left to ferment for a couple of weeks before blending and adding sugar and vinegar to taste. The resulting sauce was great but didn't age well in the fridge (I believe it just oxidised, but I didn't take my chances).
Lacto-fermented Stone fruit
Growing up in Central Otago I love stone fruit season. I chose to ferment a few different fruits in a 2% salt brine. These were great to cook with, adding to marinades, sauces and dressings.
Masa de pimento hot sauce
My friend Sarah sent me a recipes for Portuguese masa de pimento, a beautiful sauce made from blitzed up slow roasted red peppers. I used this for inspiration to make a hot sauce, using a base of lots of bell peppers as well as the usual chillis, garlic and onion. This was then all blended and salted to taste, olive oil was emulsified into the sauce to give it a silky smooth thickened texture. Apple cider vinegar was added to drop the pH and aid longer term storage.
Kimchi
Combining recipes from all over the place, this is what I decided on, and I loved it. It is a bit of a mix of traditional recipies, but I also salt and massage this as I would sauerkraut.
The recipe follows:
Vegetables:
- 900g cabbage
- 200g daikon
- 115g spring onions
- 160g carrot
- 140g Chinese chives
- 70g salt (for brining vegetables)
Paste:
- 80g water
- 5.5g glutinous rice
- 5.5g sugar
- 28.5g ginger
- 35g garlic
- 60g gochugaru (Korean chili flakes)
- 30g soy sauce
A paste of the water and glutinous rice is cooked until thickened, the reste of the paste ingrediants are then added. The vegetables should be chopped as you please. The paste and salt (for brining) is then massaged into the vegetables until then release a lot of water. This is then all packed into jars and left to ferment for a few weeks.