April 30, 2013 · 12:23 pm

Inspired by Maggie

I recently spent a lovely late Autumn weekend in the company of good friends and quite unintentionally found that everything I wanted to cook was inspired by Maggie Beer. I don’t know anyone interested in food who isn’t a complete fan of Maggie and her recipes are so reliable as well as tasty

In the midst of good conversation and wine, we started with Eggplant and Roasted Walnut Bruschetta with Soft Goats Cheese. This is an adaptation rather than a straight replica of Maggie’s recipe (The original recipe, which came from the MasterChef Live event held in Sydney in December 2010, had the walnuts in a rocket salad which was served with the Bruschetta).

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Eggplant and Roasted Walnut Bruschetta with Soft Goat’s Cheese

Ingredients
3 small to medium eggplants, sliced lengthways, salted
Verjuice
Soft Goat’s cheese
Walnuts, roasted and rubbed
Good quality ciabatta, sliced about 1cm thick
10 ml Vino cotto
1g salt
1g freshly ground black pepper
small parsley leaves for garnish (optional or could substitute herb of choice)

Directions
Place the sliced salted eggplant on to a tray and allow to sit for 2 minutes. After 20 minutes rinse the salt and pat dry, cut into strips.

Place the griddle pan over a high heat, once hot toast the slice of ciabatta, and set aside.

Meanwhile place a non stick pan over a high heat, add 20mls over olive oil. When hot add the eggplant in batches, fry off until cooked all the way through then add the verjuice and cook until all of the verjuice has evaporated, season with salt and pepper. Place the eggplant on top of the ciabatta.

Sprinkle chopped walnuts and goat’s cheese (in small pieces) over the eggplant then drizzle with Vino Cotto. Garnish with small parsley leaves and serve.

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The main course was Chicken Braised with Figs, Honey and Vinega. Rather than use jointed maryland pieces as in the original recipe, I asked the chicken man to debone the marylands and then at home I rolled them and tied them with string. The recipe below is Maggie’s with a couple of minor alterations. Maggie browns / caramelises the figs and adds them to the chicken for the whole cooking time. I didn’t do this because I still wanted discernible fig pieces, but I might try it that way next time to see which I prefer – I think you would end up with a stickier, slightly thicker sauce using Maggie’s method.

Chicken Braised with Figs, Honey and Vinegar

4 Chicken marylands, deboned, rolled and tied
Lemon peel from 1 lemon – peel and cut into thin strips
2 tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 red onions chopped
6-8 fresh figs halved lengthways
2 tbs Aged Red Wine Vinegar
2 tsp lemon thyme chopped
2 sprigs rosemary
½ stick cinnamon
¼ cup Verjuice
1 cup Chicken Stock
Sea salt to taste
2 tbs honey

Brown the chicken on all sides.

Preheat oven to 180C.

Place a medium non stick frying pan over a medium high heat, add one tablespoon of Extra Virgin Olive Oil and fry off the chicken until brown on all sides. Remove hickey from pan then add red onion and cook until translucent.

Lay the onions in an ovenproof dish. It is important to cook in a shallow tray so that the honeyed chicken is almost in line with the sides of the dish.

Add half the vinegar then place chicken pieces into the dish along with lemon thyme, 1 sprig rosemary, stripped, and lemon peel. Sprinkle over the rest of the vinegar and add half of a cinnamon quill.

Pour 1/4 cup of Verjuice and 1/2 cup of stock over the chicken. Season with sea salt.

Strip the second sprig of rosemary and distribute over the top and drizzle the honey all over the chicken.

Place into the preheated oven and roast for about 30 minutes at 170C, basting occasionally and adding the figs half way through.

Remove from oven and leave to rest for 10-15 minutes then cut into thick slices and arrange on a platter. Strain off the juices and reduce to a syrupy consistency and pour over the chicken before serving.

Dessert was a Pear Frangipane Tart. I’m holding off on the full recipe for this one because I think I can get it better. Next time I’ll poach the pears before putting on top of Frangipane mix. I used Maggie’s Frangipane recipe which is completely delicious and has the added benefit of making double the quantity required. It freezes perfectly, making it incredibly useful for future time constrained occasions.

Serves 4 – 6

Almond Frangipane

240g unsalted butter
300g caster sugar
4 eggs
1/4 cup
40g flour
400g almond meal

Place the butter and caster sugar in to a bowl and beat with an electric mixer until light and creamy – approximately 6 minutes. Then add the eggs, one at a time, then the brandy. Mix for a further 1 minute and then add the flour and the almond meal, mix until well combined. Put the almond frangipane into a container and set aside until ready to use.

Ideas for use: Blind bake your favourite pastry then line the pastry shell with the Frangipane. Top with fruit of choice and cook for 30 – 45 mins.

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April 11, 2013 · 6:18 pm

Slow-cooked Pork at Easter

Well this particular post hasn’t happened in as timely a way as I’d hoped but I’ll blame this on the competing needs of a very playful kitten.

My Easter was spent in beautiful Forster on the NSW Mid North Coast  -  it was a special family time. Mum and I decided to keep the food simple but interesting and delicious. For Sunday night’s dinner she found a newspaper clipping with some Karen Martini pork belly recipes which  seemed to tick all the boxes.

We started the meal with some Wallis Lake oysters shucked by Dad – it’s one of his special skills. Oysters, even in a town which is as well known for its oysters as it is for being a tourist destination, are always a treat to us. This time we chose to top them with salmon roe (brought up from Sydney) and some of Tetsuya’s Oyster Dressing. I know this doesn’t really qualify as cooking but we did enjoy them.

2013-03-31 oysters with salmon roe

The main course was Slow-roasted Pork Belly with Spiced Honey Glaze. Variations I would make next time include using ground coriander and asking the butcher to score the pork skin. I added a little water to the sauce as well – this was to help prevent burning. Karen Martini’s advice was to buy organic pork if possible but quite unsurprisingly I didn’t have a huge choice in Forster on Easter Sunday. I felt lucky that I could get pork belly at all! The dish was a real winner and the Cinnamon and Pepper Pumpkin we served with it was a really enjoyable accompaniment which I will definitely make again.

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Slow-roasted Pork Belly with Spiced Honey Glaze

1.5kg pork belly, from thick end, bones removed
2 tbs vegetable oil
3 tbs salt flakes
2-3 cups water
4 tbs fragrant honey
2 star anise
2 tbs coriander seeds, cracked
2 bay leaves
2 cloves garlic, slightly bruised

Pre-heat oven to fan forced 150C. Score the pork belly skin with a sharp knife then rub with salt and oil. Place pork over a roasting rack and pour in water. Place tray on middle rack of the oven and slow-roast for 2 1/2 hours, basting periodically. Remove from oven , cover loosely with foil and set aside. Reserve pan juices.

Place honey, star anise, coriander seeds, bay leaves and garlic in a medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer over a high heat to infuse (watch it doesn’t burn), then add pan juices and boil for 4 mins to thicken sauce.

Just before serving, remove foil from pork and place under a medium hot grill to crisp up the pork (if it needs it)

To serve, slice pork whilst hot and pour the strained sauced over

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Cinnamon and Pepper Pumpkin

1 kg Japanese pumpkin
70ml extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp black peppercorns, crushed
2 small lemons
3/4 cup plain yoghurt
1 tsp salt flakes
2 handfuls sage leaves, fried

Pre-heat oven to fan forced 180C.

Cut pumpkin into wedges, remove seeds and slice into 5mm – 1cm slices according to preference, leaving skin on.

Combine 20ml olive oil, cinnamon, allspice and peppercorns in a medium bowl. Add pumpkin and toss to coat Lay pumpkin slices on an oven tray lined with baking paper and roast for 30 minutes.

For dressing, juice 1 lemon and combine with remaining olive oil, yoghurt and salt in a small bowl.

Peel remaining lemon and chop into small pieces.

Place roasted pumpkin on a serving platter, drizzle dressing over and scatter with sage leaves and lemon pieces.

2013-03-31 cinnamon and pepper pumpkin

The other dish we served with the pork was a stir fried Choy Sum cooked by Michael. This was very simple – he just briefly stir-fried the Choy Sum, adding some soy sauce and sesame oil and then scattering some toasted sesame seeds over the top just before serving.

2013-03-31 choy sum with soy and sessame seeds

Dessert was the no fail favourite,Little Lemon Pots

THE NEXT DAY

Now another wonderful benefit of cooking the pork was that we had enough left overs for dinner the following evening so Michael and I turned it into Pork Belly Salad with Cucumber, Coriander and Sesame Dressing – another Karen Martini recipe (slightly adapted). I wouldn’t guarantee that if you were feeding hungry that these left overs would be available however it worked well for us. If you want to start from the beginning, just prepare the pork as above. This salad is another recipe I’ll definitely be doing again. The observant among you might notice that we utilised ingredients at hand – radishes became capsicum and spring onions became shallots. I thought I was going to have to do without the coriander but I think I managed to pick up the last bunch available in Forster at Easter!

Pork Belly Salad with Cucumber, Coriander and Sesame Dressing

750g slow-roasted pork belly
1/2 bunch spring onions
2 large cucumbers, peeled and thinly sliced into rounds
4 radishes sliced thinly into rounds
1/2 bunch coriander, leaves picked
1 tbs sesame seeds
1 lime, juiced
2 tbs honey
1 tsp salt flakes

For the Dressing
1/2 tsp mustard
1 tsp sugar
1 clove garlic crushed
2 tbsp peanut butter
1/2 tbsp tahini
2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
2 tsp hot chilli sauce
2 tbsp sour cream
1/2 tsp salt flakes
juice of 1 lemon
50ml water

Allow roasted pork to cool to room temperature, then slice and roughly shred.

Cut spring onions into 5cm batons, blanch in salted boiling water for 10 seconds, then refresh in iced water. Drain and set aside.

Arrange cucumber and radish slices, overlapping slightly on a serving platter, then top with pork. Scatter spring onion, I coriander and sesame seeds around the edges.

Mix lemon juice with honey and pour over salad. Sprinkle with salt according to taste.

For the dressing combine all ingredients and pour into a sauce boat to serve alongside the salad.

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Sacha, the mischievous kitten who takes my time away from blogging deserves a picture here too. He looks like butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth here :-)

Sacha

Sacha

 

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April 1, 2013 · 4:33 pm

Thai delights

Recently I was lucky enough to spend the afternoon being assistant cook to Michael, my chef son who has a lot of experience and expertise with modern Thai cooking.

Son-in-law eggs were on the menu as a special request from me. I could almost live on eggs – poached, boiled, baked, scrambled – they’re an ultimate comfort food . I had eaten Son-in-law eggs at Jimmy Liks and asked Michael to teach me how to make them.

The sauce that goes with the eggs is pretty special and I’m reliably told that it also goes really well with duck. I’ll have to try that another time. I think it might also be good with tofu (not to everyone’s taste I know) and some of my family thought it would be delicious with eggplant as well.

These eggs have a certain wow factor – the running yolk spilling out, the crunch outside, the softness inside. Fortunately I had busily made notes whilst he was cooking so I was able to supply the recipe afterwards.

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Son-in-law eggs with a yellow bean and ginger sauce

8 large eggs
Tapioca flour for coating eggs
Peanut oil for deep frying
4 coriander roots
1/2 roughly chopped Spanish onion
4 cloves garlic
150 mls yellow bean paste
170g palm sugar
3cm knob of ginger, peeled and shredded – some for sauce, some for garnish
1 long red chilli, finely shredded
3 shallots, green part finely shredded

Method

  1. Boil eggs for 4 1/2 mins (cold, from fridge).
  2. Refresh in iced water and peel skins off – this needs to be done gently as they break easily.
  3. Cover and put in fridge if not using straight away.
  4. Make sauce – see instructions below
  5. Heat oil to 180C.
  6. Remove eggs from fridge and coat in tapioca flour.
  7. Deep fry eggs for 3-4 mins until golden brown.
  8. Pour sauce over eggs on serving plate and garnish with finely shredded chilli, ginger, green shallots

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To make sauce

  1. Blend coriander roots, garlic and onion with stick blender or small food processor
  2. Fry at reasonably high heat for a few minutes, stirring constantly until golden.
  3. Add bean paste and a little water, fry for a couple of minutes.
  4. Add palm sugar and cook gently for a few more minutes than it takes the palm sugar to dissolve.
  5. Add some shredded ginger and cook a little longer.
  6. Add a little water if necessary to achieve right consistency.

Note:The eggs are often served halved in restaurants but we think it’s good to serve them whole and let people have the pleasure of cutting them open and letting the soft yolk ooze out.

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For main course we enjoyed Barramundi with a red curry sauce. Michael did of course make the sauce from scratch and the difference between a home made sauce and the store bought variety really is considerable – so if you have the time, it’s certainly worth the effort.

Barramundi with red curry, wrapped in banana leaves

6 Barramundi fillets
banana leaves
250ml coconut cream
200ml coconut milk
1 bunch Thai basil, leaves picked
1/2 bunch coriander, leaves picked
3 long red chillies, finely shredded

Curry Paste
1 lemongrass stalk, white part only, chopped into rough 2cm pieces
2cm piece of galangal,unpeeled, cut into 2mm slice
1 red onions roughly chopped
15g dried chillies, soaked in water for 15 mins then drained
30g peeled garlic cloves
2 coriander roots with stems
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
1/4 tsp white peppercorns
1 tsp shrimp paste
Generous grind of salt
30g palm sugar

Method

  1. Make curry paste according to instructions below – the paste will be a larger quantity than you need but it the leftover can be either refrigerated for a few days or frozen
  2. Add coconut cream to a wok and cook until it splits.
  3. Add 360g of the curry paste (see instructions below to make paste) and cook for several minutes.
  4. Add palm sugar and let it dissolve. Add coconut milk, adjusting quantity according to taste.
  5. Prepare garnishes of coriander leaves, Thai basil leaves, finely shredded / julienned long red chillies and finely shredded green shallots.
  6. Cut banana leaves into suitable sizes to wrap each Barramundi fillet. Place one fillet on each piece of banana leaf and spread with a generous quantity of curry sauce. Wrap fillets thoroughly, securing with toothpicks.
  7. Put on baking tray and cook in oven preheated to 180C for 10 – 12 minutes. This can vary depending on the size of the fillets.
  8. Serve with garnishes in bowls.

To make curry paste

  1. Preheat oven to 160C and roast galangal slices for 5 mins
  2. Roast white peppercorns and cumin and coriander seeds in dry frying pan until they release aroma.
  3. Wrap shrimp paste in alfoil and dry roast in pan for 1 1/2 to 2 mins each side.
  4. Blend all ingredients in food processor until a fine paste forms. Add a little water if necessary to achieve right consistency.
  5. Cook curry paste for a few minutes in a wok with a little vegetable oil until it no longer tastes raw. Remove and put in a bowl.

Marian completed the meal with a healthy version of Tiramisu (courtesy of Delicious). Only the chocolate was wicked. And expert medical opinion tells us that chocolate (particularly dark chocolate) is actually incredibly good for our mental well being!

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March 28, 2013 · 8:47 pm

Foodie heaven – Jellied tomato consommé and slow roasted beef

Dinner at Geoff and Marian’s recently set the bar even higher than usual.

We started with a beautiful and light jellied tomato consommé. It was light and refreshing with great flavours – and it looked very pretty.

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Jellied Tomato Consommé

850g very ripe tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1 bulb of baby fennel, coarsely chopped
½ small Spanish onion, coarsely chopped
4 cloves of garlic, bruised
3 sprigs each of basil and tarragon
30ml (1 ½ tbs) red wine vinegar
3 leaves of gelatine (titanium strength), soaked in cold water
120g cherry tomatoes, halved
120g yellow grape tomatoes, quartered
2 tbs small basil leaves
1 tbs extra virgin olive oil
Goat’s curd and sourdough crostini, to serve

  • Combine ripe tomatoes, fennel, onion, garlic, herb sprigs and 1.5 litres water in a large water in a large saucepan over medium-high heat, bring to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer very gently until reduced by half (about an hour).You may need to put the lid on.
  • Remove from the heat, then strain through a muslin-lined sieve to yield 750ml (3 cups), add 1 tbs vinegar and season to taste with sea salt.
  • Squeeze excess water from gelatine, add to warm consommé and stir until gelatine dissolves. Put into ¾ cup capacity glasses and refrigerate until just set (4-6 hours).
  • Combine cherry and grape tomatoes, basil, oil and remaining vinegar, season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and toss lightly to combine. Arrange on top of consommé, spoon a small quenelle of goat’s curd beside tomatoes and serve with sourdough crostini.

Serves 4 – 6 as an entrée

Note: Geoff’s advice was that it takes longer to set than the recipe indicates depending on the dishes that its being served in. He used the double insulated Bodum glasses which we’ve been finding useful for entrees, soup, desserts – and even coffee! The recipe can be largely made the day before and then the fresh tomato garnish added just before serving time.

24 hour beef

There is the slow cooking which we either grew up with or have become familiar with in the last few years with the renewed interest in lamb shanks, Moroccan tagines and the like. This type of cooking produces dishes like 8 hour Greek Lamb shoulder which just falls apart which a fork. Then there is the newer type of slow cooking which requires a modern oven that can operate at very low temperatures. Some of us were introduced to this type of slow cooking on Masterchef – it’s also been seen in modern French restaurants for some time.

Geoff chose to cook a scotch fillet of beef for 24 hours after reading a lot about the best way to do it – drawing heavily from Heston Blumenthal. I can’t provide an actual recipe – but I can explain how he achieved an amazing outcome.

Important note: A digital thermometer that has a control panel that remains outside the oven whilst the prong is in the meat for the duration of cooking is an important tool and Geoff thinks it would be very hard to cook this dish without one.

Method

  • Preheat your oven to 55° C
  • Sear the scotch fillet well on all sides (this removes chance of bacteria)
  • Insert digital thermometer into the thickest part of the meat and set according to instructions.
  • Place the meat in an oiled heavy roasting dish and leave to cook.
  • About midway through, Geoff raised the temperature to 60° C for a couple of hours. According to the gospel of Heston (and I’m sure others who know about such things), the meat must reach an internal temperature of 55° C to be safe for eating.
  • At the end of cooking time, remove from the meat from the oven and cover with foil to rest.

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The result? Extraordinary, and I’m not a huge meat eater and I eat beef rarely – so it’s quite something for me to say this was totally delicious and I can’t ever remember enjoying a slice of beef more. You can see from the picture below that the meat retains a lovely pinkness but cooking at such a low temperature makes it remarkably tender. For those worried about the safety of eating such rare meat, it is important that the internal temperature reaches 55 but the bacteria is predominantly on the outside of the meat. That is why when steak tartare is made the outside of the meat is usually removed (apologies to vegetarian and vegan friends)

Note: The whole scotch fillet ( a high quality piece of meat from a butcher Marian has recently discovered) was cut in two before cooking. One of the pieces was left to rest for longer under the foil before being carved and consequently continued to cook a little more. Some people at dinner (not me) preferred the second piece which was slightly more cooked.

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The beef was served with a delicious cauliflower puree – a great alternative for those not wanting carbs in their evening meal. This is a more interesting recipe than the average cauliflower puree and I really recommend it.

Cauliflower Purée

1 onion, chopped
1/4 cup butter
1 medium head cauliflower, cut into pieces
4 cloves garlic, peeled
3 cups milk
Salt and pepper to taste

  • In a large saucepan over medium heat, soften the onion in 2 tbs butter. Add the cauliflower, garlic and milk.
  • Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer gently up until the cauliflower is tender, about 15 minutes.
  • Drain well, setting aside the liquid for another use.
  • In a food processor, purée the cauliflower with the remaining 2 tbs butter and no more than a 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid. (This is where you can apparently substitute milk or cream).
  • Adjust the seasoning and then serve.

Serves 6

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Dessert was a luscious chocolate bread cake – a favourite which Marian has now perfected :-)

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March 25, 2013 · 10:31 pm

Cooking again….

It’s been a long time and certainly a year of change, but it’s now time to return to my blog. Better with Spice is back – and I’m cooking again in a brand new home with a fabulous new kitchen.

I’m really excited about being able to cook for family and friends again – and having a good excuse to try my new appliances. Technology has enabled huge advances in kitchen appliances since I last installed a new kitchen. This time I have ovens which have digital interfaces, can be easily programmed according to what is being cooked as well as very accurate temperature control (great for really long temperatures). One of them is a combi steamer oven which I’m really looking forward to experimenting with.

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They’re both Electrolux ovens and the picture below shows the Combi Steamer Oven.

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I’ve had to be really careful to choose what I really need for the kitchen – it’s an interesting challenge moving from a large house to a 2 bedroom apartment without storage. But I’ve fitted all the things I really need in – my kitchen equipment and my books.

Now to cooking talk. A recent issue of Delicious had a recipe for Tonka bean panna cottas with pomegranate jelly and broken baklava. This sounded and looked so tempting that I decided to have a go a making them recently.

I first tried Tonka Beans, one of the latest “it” foods at Stillwater in Launceston last year.   They can be used in either sweet or savoury dishes and at Stillwater they were used to flavour a duck dish. Their flavour is unlike anything I had ever tried before. I was thrilled to discover they are available at Herbie’s in Rozelle. For those of you not luckily enough to live close to Herbie’s Spices, they fortunately have an online shop.

Dried Tonka beans

The photo here unfortunately isn’t mine – this time we forgot to have our cameras ready but I can assure you it really does turn out like this picture!

Tonka bean panna cotta with pomegranate jelly

Tonka bean panna cottas with pomegranate jelly and broken baklava

300ml thickened cream
1/2 cup caster sugar
2 tonka beans, finely grated (see note)
5 gold-strength gelatine leaves (see note)
1 cup (280g) thick Greek-style yoghurt

Pomegranate Jelly
300ml pomegranate juice
1 cinnamon quill
1/4 cup caster sugar

Broken baklava
1 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped
100g unsalted butter, melted, cooled
3 sheets fresh filo pastry
1/4 cup (55g) caster sugar
1 cup (100g) walnuts, toasted, chopped

Place cream and 1/2 cup (110g) sugar in a saucepan over low heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Stir in tonka bean. Remove from heat and stand for 30 minutes to infuse.

Soak 3 gelatine leaves in cold water for 5 minutes until softened. Return cream mixture to low heat. Squeeze excess water from gelatine, then add gelatine to cream, stirring to dissolve. Strain and cool slightly. Fold in yoghurt. Divide among 6 glasses, cover and chill for 4 hours or until set.

Meanwhile, place pomegranate juice, cinnamon and sugar in a pan over low heat. Bring to a simmer, stirring to dissolve sugar then remove from heat and stand for 30 minutes to infuse.

Soak remaining 2 gelatine leaves in cold water for 5 minutes. Return pomegranate mixture to medium heat, then bring to a simmer and remove from heat. Squeeze excess water from gelatine, then add gelatine to pomegranate mixture, stirring to dissolve. Strain, then cool and pour over panna cottas. Chill for 2-3 hours until set.

Meanwhile, for the baklava, preheat the oven to 180°C and line a large baking tray with baking paper. Stir vanilla seeds through butter. Brush 1 filo sheet with vanilla butter and sprinkle with half of the sugar and nuts (keep remaining filo covered with a damp tea towel). Repeat layers, then top with remaining filo sheet and brush with vanilla butter. Place on the tray and bake for 10 minutes or until golden and crisp. Cool and break into shards. Serve with panna cottas.

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I’ve had some memorable meals recently so I’ll be backtracking in the near future with some that I really want to share. Stay tuned for a beautiful piece of scotch fillet cooked by Geoff at a very low temperature for 24 hours.

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April 17, 2012 · 2:04 pm

Weekend brunch

We opted for brunch this weekend instead of the usual Sunday night dinner and decided to keep it very simple. For years we’ve made Pancakes with Egg in the Middle with Fresh Tomato Sauce and we started with these, cooked by Keith on the barbecue. They’re always popular and being able to eat them outside on a beautiful Sydney Autumn day made them even better!

I also made muffins. Lemon Curd Muffins because Marian had given me some lemon curd which I’d managed to resist during the week. The muffins were very popular – moist and tasty. I would make sure next time though that I added the lemon curd and final spoonful of mixture just before cooking next time though to avoid the lemon mixture seeping into muffin mix. The ones where you bite into a muffin that has a liquid mouthful of lemon curd were the best!

Lemon Curd Muffins

Lemon Curd Muffins

225 g self raising flour
A pinch of sea salt
100 g caster sugar
1 medium egg
125 g plain yoghurt
125 ml whole milk
75 g unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
150 g lemon curd
2 tbs white sugar (approx)

Grease and flour a 12 hole muffin tray.

Put the flour, baking powder, salt and caster sugar in a large bowl and whisk lightly to aerate and combine.

Mix the egg, yoghurt, milk and melted butter together in a jug. Pour them into the dry ingredients and mix lightly, stopping as soon as everything is combined – it’s essential not to over-mix or you’ll get dense, cakey muffins.

Spoon some mixture into each muffin case and top with a teaspoonful of lemon curd. Add a final spoonful of muffin mixture to encase the lemon curd and three-quarters fill the cases.

Sprinkle each muffin with a little sugar then bake in an oven preheated to 180°C for about 25 minutes until golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool a little. Eat on the day you bake them, ideally while still slightly warm.

Adapted from The River Cottage

The muffins  I cooked for morning tea on Saturday were also popular and a good use for some left over ricotta.

Banana-Ricotta Muffins

Banana-Ricotta Muffins

2 large bananas, mashed
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/3 cup grapeseed oil
1/2 tbs vanilla
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 3/4 cups self raising flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
3-4 tbs raw sugar for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 170° C. Grease and flour muffin tins. (or use cupcake/muffin pan with liners)

In a large bowl mash the bananas. Add the milk, ricotta cheese, grapeseed oil, vanilla, and sugars. Combine using a hand mixer.

In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add to the banana mixture and combine until well mixed. Stir in walnuts.

Pour batter into the muffin pan/s. Sprinkle each muffin with raw sugar. Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before removing from the pan.

Makes about 14 muffins depending on the size of the tin.

Adapted from The Chubby Vegetarian 

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April 11, 2012 · 8:45 pm

It’s Easter Time and the food is Greek

Well a weekend away in Newcastle for a girlfriend’s birthday last week meant no blogging in the past little while, but Easter is definitely a time for family gatherings and delicious food. There were 11 of us for our Sunday night meal and Jill Dupleix was the inspiration for the menu. Her Easter recipes appeared in this week’s Good Living in the Sydney Morning Herald.

I particularly liked the look of the Crostini with Peas, Prosciutto and Quail Egg and the Greek Tomato-Baked Lamb with Orzo and decided to plan the menu around those dishes.

Unfortunately I didn’t quite do justice to the crostini because I couldn’t find quail eggs anywhere (mmm…check the photo). We don’t normally have any trouble getting these but at each shop I tried, I was met with “oh, we’ll have more in a few days”.  It wasn’t the answer I was after….

Despite this, people still enjoyed them (though a couple were unsure about the pumpernickel) and the left over pea mixture on toast made a tasty Easter Monday breakfast.

Crostini with Peas and Prosciutto

The lamb (centre of the photo below)  is one of those dishes that isn’t very photogenic, but it does taste really good and made for wonderful leftovers (yes there was so much food we did actually have some). The recipe below is an adaptation of Jill Dupleix’s original recipe. She doesn’t sear her meat and I would do this next time to lessen shrinkage. The lamb also didn’t take as long to cook as she said it would, so I’ve reduced the time a little. And of course, I’ve increased the garlic quantity – what a surprise! I also took the precaution of cooking the pasta separately and adding it to the lamb at the end, because the lamb cooked earlier than I expected and who wants to eat crunchy pasta?

Greek Tomato-Baked Lamb with Orzo

1 tbs tomato paste
5 garlic cloves, sliced
 finely
3 tbs olive oil
Sea salt and pepper
2.5 kg leg of lamb on bone, fat trimmed
2 tbs olive oil
2 onions, finely sliced
1 tbs tomato paste
400 g tinned tomatoes, chopped
2 cinnamon sticks
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp ground allspice
400 g orzo, risoni or kritharakia (rice-shaped pasta)
1 litre hot chicken stock or water
Coriander sprigs for serving

Heat oven to 160 C.

Sear the lamb and when cool enough to touch, rub with combined tomato paste, salt, pepper, olive oil and garlic slices.

Place in a lightly oiled roasting pan with two cups water and bake for 1 hour.

Cover pan tightly with foil and bake for 3 hours.

In a medium sized pan, heat the extra olive oil and gently fry onions for 15 minutes until softened.

Add remaining tomato paste, tomatoes, cinnamon sticks, cinnamon, cumin, allspice, sea salt and pepper, stirring, then add orzo, mixing well. Add hot stock, cover loosely and simmer gently until the pasta is almost cooked and most of the liquid has been absorbed.

Drain off most of the lamb juices and stir through the orzo mixture. Arrange the orzo around the meat and return to the oven for another 10 minutes, covered, adding extra water if you need to.

Remove lamb, thickly slice, and serve with orzo. Scatter with coriander and serve.

Serves 4 (or if you are serving other dishes as I did, this goes a lot further).

Michael made delicious Spanakopita. He found the recipe on the SBS website and it worked very well but next time I would reverse the quantities of feta and ricotta as I think it could have been a bit less salty. As always, that is a matter of personal taste.

Spanakopita

The other main (yes, I said there was a lot of food) was Vegetarian Moussaka. The recipe I made is adapted from a few I found on the Internet.

The Vegetarian Moussaka is at the forefront of the picture

This dinner has definitely provided a few new dishes that will be cooked again. Even non vegetable inclined people at our table (and I won’t mention any names) enjoyed the Spanakopita and Moussaka and that has to be a good thing!

Fudgy Chocolate Mousse with Orange and Grand Marnier Sauce

Fudgy Chocolate Mousse with Orange and Grand Marnier Sauce

Geoff kept up the Easter theme with a chocolate dessert that was completely delicious – smooth, silky, rich, decadent, indulgent – I probably don’t need to go on, but you’ll get the idea it was very good. He did say that the mousse was incredibly easy to make – but that the sauce, whilst not at all difficult, does take a little while. The results were worth it!

Fudgy Chocolate Mousse with Orange and Grand Marnier Sauce

From Stephanie Alexander – The Cook’s Companion

200 g bittersweet chocolate
4 eggs, separated
100 g softened unsalted butter
2 tsp caster sugar

Melt chocolate gently in a large bowl over hot water. Remove bowl from heat, then beat in egg yolks, one at a time. Add butter, beating well until mixture is glossy and smooth.

Whip egg whites until soft peaks form. Sprinkle sugar over and continue to whip until whites are satiny. Fold quickly but thoroughly into chocolate mixture. Pour mixture into individual bowls and chill.

Allow the mousse to come to room temperature before serving.

Pour a layer of Orange and Grand Marnier Sauce over the top of each mousse.

Note: This is very rich, so there is only a small portion per serve.

Orange and Grand Marnier Sauce

1 cup fresh orange juice, strained
2 tbs Grand Marnier or other liqueur
3 egg yolks
½ cup caster sugar

Have ready a bowl resting in another bowl half full of crushed ice.

Heat orange juice and Grand Marnier to near simmering point.

Whisk egg yolks and sugar until combined, then pour hot liquid onto egg mixture, mixing well.

Return to rinsed-out pan and cook over a gentle heat, stirring continuously, until thickened (around 78°C on a candy thermometer)

Strain quickly into prepared bowl to cool.

When needed, gently re-warm sauce. Do not boil or it will curdle.

Note: The sauce takes quite a long time to make, but at least it can be done in advance!

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