Little morsels of awesomeness

Hi everyone

Today I felt like making pie.  I made a couple. One was a Chicken, Leek and Mushroom pie.  The other was a Caramelized onion, bacon and silver beet tart. I have been asked for the recipe for the tart so here it is :)

Ingredients

Puff pastry for a six deep dish muffin tin (5 sheets of puff pastry)
1 tablespoon olive oil
500 grams of silver beet or spinach
2 red onions diced
250 gms bacon chopped
2 cloves of garlic chopped
1/2 tablespoon thyme leaves picked
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup creme fraiche or sour cream
2 eggs beaten
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 200C.

Grease the muffin tin. Cut the pastry to fit the muffin shapes.  You can just have squares if you like edges out or cut to shape in circles so its neat and tidy. You can blind bake the pastry if you like for 15mins. If you do once you take the casings out of the oven turn it down to 180C

Im lazy and don't tend to blind bake with this recipe. What I do is put a tray in the oven to heat up so when you place the completed muffin tin in the one the bottom of the tarts have an immediate heat source which helps to cook the bottoms and reduce risk of soggy pastry.

In terms of the filling cut the leaves away from the stalks of the silver beet and roughly chop the leaves. Discard the stalks.  Heat the oil to medium in a pan and add the onion, bacon,thyme and garlic. Cook for 10 mins stirring occasionally until the onions are tender. Add the balsamic and sugar and cook for a minute.  Add the silver beet a handful at a time and toss until wilted. Take off the heat.

Mix the cheese, eggs, creme fraiche (or sour cream if using). I tend to use a combo of both. Add the onion mixture and fold together. Season.  

Divide the mixture between the tart cases. Pile the mixture up as it will reduce as it cooks. 

Bake for 25 minutes until filling is fir and golden.

Serve with a yummy chutney

Enjoy

Farewell to Summer

Hey everyone its been a while. Life takes over and suddenly its March 2014. I have to admit Im pining for summer. The weather is all over the place and I miss bbqs and salads.  I thought for my first blog Id crate something simple that I do in summer when the sun is shining and we feel like something sweet.   Grilled Figs or Peaches or Nectarines are yummy. Combine them with honey and cheese and well what could be better?

Basically I wash and half 12 ripe figs. If using peaches or nectarines do the same thing but take the seeds out of the centers.  Preheat a bbq until really hot.

I use either goats cheese or feta (Hubby prefers feta) and I place a small piece in the centre where the seed would be (with the figs you smear it across with a knife yumm).

Place cheese side up on the bbq and cook for 10 mins until they go slightly soft and the cheese is melted.

For a dressing put 1/4 cup of good quality olive oil, 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar and 1 tablespoon of runny honey in a jar and screw on the top and shake to mix.

Pull out a platter and put some rocket (arugula) on the bottom. Place the figs on and put more rocket between them. Spoon the dressing over the figs and leaves. Season and enjoy :)

Salt and Pepper

Hi everyone

I love salt and pepper squid. This is my favourite recipe and it has a touch of garlic too. Up to you if your not a fan of garlic leave it out. 

Ingredients

1 kg squid tubes cleaned and cut into thin rings
juice of 3 lemons
1 cup of cornflour
2 tablespoons of salt 
1 1/2 tablespoon of white pepper
1 clove of garlic crushed
2 teaspoons caster sugar
4 egg whites lightly beaten
oil for deep frying

Put the rings in a non metalic dish and pour lemon juice and garlic overtop. Cover and refrigerate for 15 mins. Drain and pat dry.

Preheat the oil to 180'C (350'F). Combine the cornflour, salt, white pepper and sugar in a bowl. Dip the squid rings in the egg whites and dust with the salt and pepper mixture, shaking off the excess.

Add the squid to the oil in batches and fry for 1-2 mins until golden. Drain on tissue. Serve with aioli I like flavors like lemon or cayenne or even rocket..yumm

Enjoy xx

Little treasures

Hi everyone

I love sunny days with friends and thinking of an upcoming birthday in summer I thought Id write about some of the little morsels Ive made over the years. Having pulled a few notes together I realise that there are quite a few examples from a chicken satay skewer to salt and pepper squid. So bare with as they say in Miranda. Ill add recipes over time.

Chicken Satay Skewers - got this from a great summer cookbook. Fantastic recipe

Ingredients

12 chicken tenderloins halved lengthwise
1 garlic clove crushed
3 teaspoons fish sauce
2 teaspoons grated ginger
lime quarters to serve

Satay
2 teaspoons peanut oil
1 shallot finely chopped
2 garlic cloves crushed
25 gms or 2 teaspoons of ginger grated
2 red chillies seeded and chopped
200 mls coconut milk
125 gms peanut butter - crunchy of course
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 kaffir lime leaf

Soak 24 wooden skewers in water for an hour. Combine the chicken, garlic, fish sauce and ginger and refrigerate for an hour to let the flavours marinate the chicken.

Make the sauce by heating the oil over medium heat. Add the shallots, garlic, ginger and chill and cook for 5 mins or until golden. Add the rest of the ingredients and reduce the heat. Simmer for 10 mins or until thick.

Thread the chicken strips onto the skewers. Cook on a hot bbq for 3 to 4 mins turning while cooking. 

Serve with sauce and lemon wedges.


Falafels with hummus and pita morsels

Now Ive put recipes up on my blog for falafels and hummus. You can use the good store stuff if in a hurry.

Ingredients

Enough falafel mix for 24 small round falafel patties
Hummus 
1 piece of pita
Oil for deep frying
A handful of cress
cayenne pepper to serve

Heat the oil in a deep frying pan to 180'C (350 "F). Roll the falafel mix into the small balls and flatten so they are about 4 cms in diameter. Put on a tray and chill for half an hour.

Tear up the pita and deep fry for 2 mins or until crisp. Remove and drain on towel. Once cool slightly break into small pieces.

Reheat the oil and cook the falafels in batches for 3 mins. Turn and they should be dark gold in color. Remove and drain. 

To assemble top each falafel with hummus a small piece of pita and a little cress. Sprinkle with cayenne and enjoy :)

xx

Honey and walnut icecream

Hi everyone

Scott brought me an ice cream maker. So Im testing recipes. A favourite so far is Honey and Walnut ice cream. I thought Id share the recipe and you know Ill share others as I get them right.

Ingredients

500gm Clover Honey - the best you can buy
1/2 cup of water
6 egg whites
1 pinch of salt
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 cups of cream lightly whipped
1/2 cup walnuts roughly chopped

Put the honey and water in a pot and stir until melted then boil until darker in color - 3-5 minutes.

Beat egg whites, salt and cream of tartar until peaks form. Slowly pour in hot syrup. Beat until stiff. Chill.

Fold in cream and walnuts and place in ice cream machine and follow instructions to churn and then freeze. Alternatively if you dont have an icecream machine just freeze the mixture. 

Yummy enjoy xx

A different kind of coleslaw

Hi everyone

I love coleslaws although I dont like the ones you buy in supermarkets...boring, boring.. I thought Id add one that has a real zing in it. Awesome on a warm day with bbq steak. I add whatever fresh ingredients we have in the fridge. 

Ingredients

1/2 red cabbage, finely sliced
2 green apples cored and diced
1 onion finely diced 

Dressing
1/4 cup salad oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon of sugar
3 tablespoons orange juice
grated zest of one orange
200 mls sour cream

Its as simple as putting all the salad ingredients in a bowl. Mix the dressing in a blender and pour over the salad and toss. Season and serve.

Enjoy xx

Sticky rice and chicken

Hi everyone

I love going to yum cha (dim sim overseas). Instant gratification with food arriving at the table before you have even had the chance to take your coat off..love it. One of my favourites is the sticky rice wrapped in leaf. This is my version of it that I cook at home. Everyone loves it and so I make large helpings of it so feel free to cut the recipe by half if feeding a smaller group (or not wanting leftovers for lunch the next day).

Ingredients

Marinade
6 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons peanut oil
2 tablespoons sweet chilli sauce
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon sherry
3 cloves of garlic crushed
10 gms grated fresh ginger

6 boneless and skinless chicken thighs 
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
handful of coriander chopped

2-3 cups rice - the best is glutinous rice from asian supermarkets. But Ive used arborio and standard white rice, whatever is available.

Preheat the oven to 200 ' C. 

Mix the marinade together. Place the chicken in a roasting dish that fits them nice and snuggly. Pour the marinade over the top and turn the chicken over to ensure all the meat is covered in the marinade. Put to the side and let it the marinade do its stuff for 30 mins.

Place foil over the chicken and cook for 20 minutes. Then take the foil off and cook for a further 10 mins. Turn the chicken and cook for a further 5 minutes. Take out of the oven and let it sit for 5 minutes. The shred the chicken and place back in the cooking juice.

Cook the rice. I use a rice cooker and the setting that allows for more water so that the rice is still quite moist and glutinous in texture. 

Mix the chicken and the juice into the rice, folding to combine. Add the soy sauce, sesame oil and the coriander and fold again gently. World wont end if you dont have the oil and Ive been known to add 1/4 teaspoon of coriander powder when fresh coriander is out of season.

Enjoy with some asian mayonnaise. Yum xx