Crème Caramel with Amber Jelly

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I love reading recipe books and often borrow them from the public library.  If I get to the end and feel the need to photograph lots of recipes, then I go online and buy the book!

This delicious recipe is loosely based on one by Peter Gilmore who owns Quay restaurant in Sydney and which appears in his book Quay: Food Inspired by Nature.

I made it as my contribution to a gastronomic family dinner when we all had to make something from that book.  We weren’t supposed to adapt, change or cheat, but unfortunately I can’t help myself.  Whenever I’m making a recipe for the first time I’m always thinking “how can I do this more quickly?”  To be honest I did stick quite closely to the original recipe the first time I made it and even made the pear ice cream which went on top.  Since then I’ve managed to cut down considerably on the preparation time and used bought vanilla ice cream instead of home made pear ice cream. The result looks impressive and everyone agrees it tastes fantastic. Start making this the day before.

Amber Jelly
5 Tbs sugar
1½ Tbs water
1 cup white wine
1½ cups water
¼ cup sugar
1 vanilla pod, split and scraped or 1 tsp vanilla essence
4 tsp powdered gelatine + 2 Tbs water
Crème Caramel
Go to this link to make this component.
To serve:
150ml cream, whipped
Home-made or top quality bought vanilla ice cream

Crème Caramel: Make this in a shallow square or oblong lasagne-type dish. Chill overnight, covered.

Amber Jelly: place the 5 Tbs sugar and the 1½ Tbs water in a non-stick saucepan and cook, swirling the pan, until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture has turned a dark caramel colour. Add the wine, water, sugar, vanilla pod and the scraped seeds or vanilla essence and heat to dissolve the sugar and the caramel.

Place gelatine in a small bowl with 2 tablespoons cold water, then zap in microwave to dissolve. Add to pan and mix well then pour through a sieve (to remove the vanilla pod and seeds) into a shallow lasagne-type dish. Jelly should be one to two centimetres thick. Refrigerate overnight, covered.

To serve: this recipe is best served in martini glasses. Dice amber jelly in the dish by making parallel cuts about a centimetre apart in both directions. Place a heaped tablespoonful of jelly cubes in the bottom of 8 serving glasses. Place a heaped tablespoonful of whipped cream in each glass on top of the jelly. Then a large scoop or square of the Crème Caramel. Drizzle with some of the caramel from the bottom of the dish. Top with an egg-shaped scoop of vanilla ice cream and serve immediately.

Serves 8-10

 

Baked Quinces

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Yesterday I gave a cooking demonstration to ten members of a women’s group I belong to.  We take it in turns to host our monthly meeting which takes the form of a cooking demonstration, followed by lunch.  Conversation is all in Spanish.  In case you are wondering what on earth we were drinking it was cranberry juice with soda water!

As you can see from the photo, we started off with a Tomato, Mozarella and Pesto Tian, which was the first recipe to appear on this blog.  This was followed by Maggie Beer’s Baked Quinces served with Labneh – a delicious alternative to whipped cream to serve with desserts.  If preferred you can leave the skins on the quinces – just rub off the “fur” – but the texture will be slightly different.

Baked Quinces with Honey and Labneh

4-6 quinces, peeled, quartered and cored
4-6 Tbs honey
1/2 cup fruit juice (e.g. apple, orange)
1 cinnamon stick, broken in two
50g unsalted butter
To serve
Extra honey or golden syrup
Labneh
1 kg plain Greek-style yoghurt

Pre-heat oven to 150C.  Place quinces in a heavy iron casserole with a lid, such as Le Creuset.  Add remaining ingredients, then bake in the oven for 2-3 hours or until the quinces are tender, but still hold their shape and are the colour of burnished pumpkins.  Stir and turn the fruit once or twice during cooking time.  Serve warm (two quarters per person) with a dollop of labneh.  If liked drizzle with a little extra honey or golden syrup.

Labneh
Line a large sieve with a piece of muslin or a man’s handkerchief and place over a bowl, allowing space under the sieve for liquid to accumulate.  Tip the whole container of yoghurt into the sieve, then cover – I find a shower cap is ideal for this job.  Leave in the fridge overnight or longer.  Discard the liquid (although I have to say that our Golden Retriever loves it) and store the labneh in a covered container in the fridge.  Serve as an alternative to whipped or thick cream.  If liked you can sweeten the labneh with a little icing sugar and add some vanilla paste, but I like it plain.  Keeps in the fridge for a week or two.

Serves 8-12

Margarita Ice Cream

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The reason I’ve been a silent blogger for the past couple of weeks is the following. My family brought my dear friend Elaine in from Chile as a surprise for my birthday. As I was greeting the guests at the party she rang on my daughter’s mobile. And as I was speaking to her and saying how I wished she could have been there, in she walked. What a great birthday gift! Anyway I’ve spent the past fortnight doing touristy stuff in Canberra and Sydney with Elaine and having an absolute ball.

Elaine has now returned to Santiago and over the four day Easter break I will be doing some cooking. Am having fun using my new iPad to take photos of the dishes. This recipe for Margarita Ice Cream is another from Nigella Lawson and it’s delicious. As you can see it looks great served in Martini glasses with the rims dipped in a mixture of caster sugar and salt.  We had a full house for lunch today and the ice cream had started to melt by the time we got organised with a camera, so it’s not the best photo!

Margarita Ice Cream

500ml thick/double cream
1/2 cup fresh lime juice (125ml)
3 Tbs Cointreau or Grand Marnier
2 Tbs Tequila
150g icing sugar
To serve:
Lime zest
A Tbs each of salt and caster sugar, mixed

With electric beaters, whip cream until thick but not stiff, then gradually whip in the remaining ingredients. Pour into a plastic container and freeze for several hours or overnight. Due to the alcohol content it will not set rock hard, so there’s no need to remove it from the freezer 10 minutes before serving time, as you usually do with home-made ice cream.  Use an ice cream scoop dipped in hot water to make balls and serve in Martini glasses, the edges dampened with a little water, then dipped in a mixture of salt and caster sugar. That sounds like a lot of salt to go with ice cream, but you won’t use it all. Garnish with lime zest. Serve on its own or accompanied by fresh fruit.

Salmon and Asparagus with Preserved Lemon Mayonnaise

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This is an easy and delicious recipe from Donna Hay’s book No Time to Cook.  Ready to serve in no time at all, it’s perfect for a mid-week dinner.  The recipe calls for chervil but I substituted dill which is more readily available.

Salmon and Asparagus with Preserved Lemon Mayonnaise

2 x 180-200g salmon fillets, skin removed
1 bunch asparagus – 8-10 spears
1 Tbs olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Baby cos lettuce leaves, washed and dried
Mayonnaise:
½ cup mayonnaise (home-made or bought)
2 Tbs finely chopped preserved lemon (see note below)
1 Tbs finely chopped dill

Mix mayonnaise with remaining ingredients.  Place salmon and trimmed asparagus in a dish and add oil, salt and pepper and turn several times to coat thoroughly.  Preheat a char-grill pan or a non-stick frying pan to medium-high heat and cook salmon and asparagus for 2-3 minutes each side, or until cooked to liking.  Asparagus should be al dente.  The salmon will still be rare inside so if you like it well-done cook for longer.  Arrange some lettuce leaves on two serving plates, then the asparagus and salmon.  Serve with the mayonnaise.

Serves 2

Note: lemons preserved in salt are a Middle Eastern ingredient available from specialist shops.  Remove and discard the pulpy part and just use the lemon rind.

Twice-Baked Blue Cheese Soufflés

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Last year the American supermarket chain Costco opened stores in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra. It costs $60 for an annual membership, but it’s well worth it.  A good addition to the Canberra shopping scene. Some people are put off joining, because they think they’re going to have to buy huge quantities of everything, which is not the case.  You do however have to buy a kilo of most fresh things, such as meat and cheese.  You can buy almost anything in Costco, from diamond rings to car tyres.  However, someone told me there are two things they aren’t allowed to sell in Australia which they sell in the USA – coffins and guns.  I’m not sure if this is true, but it makes a good story!

About a month ago I wanted to make a pear, walnut and blue cheese quiche and remembered having seen a kilo of Italian Gorgonzola for under $16 at Costco, which is much cheaper than anywhere else.  Now a kilo of blue cheese is rather a lot for two people, but I reckoned at that price it wouldn’t be the end of the world if I ended up throwing some out.  However, to be honest my War Mentality, inherited from my mother, means I don’t throw food away unless I really have to.  We have a compost heap and I often wish I kept chickens, then I wouldn’t have to throw anything away.

Located near Canberra airport, it’s also a long way to go to buy a kilo of Gorgonzola, but of course I ended up buying a few more things.  My brother David who lives in Vancouver, and first introduced me to Costco over there, calls it the $100 shop, because it’s impossible to get out without spending at least $100.

The quiche was delicious and over the past month we’ve continued to eat our way through the Gorgonzola – with crackers, in a broccoli and blue cheese soup, in a dip mixed with cream cheese and chopped walnuts, but there was still about half a kilo left!

Last week my friend Marilyn took me for a delicious lunch at Flint in the Vines in Murrumbateman, just outside Canberra.  Inspired by their twice-baked goat’s cheese soufflé I came up with this dish.  It’s something you could make at the weekend (up to the first baking stage) and keep in the fridge to whip out and serve during the week as a light supper.

Twice-Baked Blue Cheese Soufflés

80g butter
1/2 cup plain flour
450ml (just under 2 cups) milk
shake of ground nutmeg
100g blue cheese (Gorgonzola, Stilton or whatever you have)
salt and pepper to taste
4 eggs
About 250ml cream
To serve:
Mixed leaf or rocket salad or some micro-herbs

Set oven to 180°C and oil 8 half cup or 4 one cup souffle dishes.  Place them in a baking tray or dish you can use as a bain marie.  In a non-stick pan heat butter and when melted add flour.  Stir for 2-3 minutes until the flour is cooked but not coloured, then gradually add the milk, mixing to incorporate before you add more.  When sauce is thick and smooth add nutmeg, cheese and season to taste.

Remove pan from heat and add the egg yolks one by one, placing the whites in a large mixing bowl.  Beat the whites until soft peaks form, using electric beaters.  Add some of the cheese sauce to the whites and mix well, then add the rest and mix thoroughly using a plastic spatula.  Divide mixture between the soufflé dishes and pour boiling water into the baking dish to come halfway up them.  Bake for about 15 minutes or until risen and light golden brown. The larger sized dishes will take about 20-25 mins. If liked serve the souffles immediately and skip stage two. But if you’re going to do the twice-baked method, remove souffles from the oven and leave to cool then refrigerate, covered till serving time – up to 2-3 days.

To serve set oven to 200°C. Line a biscuit/cookie tray with baking paper. Run a knife round each souffle to loosen, then tip them out and arrange them all, or as many as you want to serve, on the paper with a space between each.  Pour a little cream over each soufflé, then bake for 15 minutes, or until puffed and golden.  Big ones will taker longer than small ones. Remove with a fish slice to serving plates and garnish with the salad.

Serves 8 as a starter or 4 as a light lunch or dinner

Variations:

  • use goat’s cheese instead of blue cheese and in addition to the cream, sprinkle each soufflé with a little grated Parmesan cheese before final baking
  • use a can of drained salmon or tuna instead of blue cheese
  • add some finely chopped fresh herbs
  • A few pecan nuts, quickly caramelised in a frying pan with a drop of honey or maple syrup, are a nice addition to the rocket salad.

Prawn Pancakes with Green Shallot Dressing

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For Valentine’s Day we had a fantastic dinner at a new restaurant in Canberra called Soju Girl.  In fact it was so good that we’ve booked to go again with 3 other couples so we can have the banquet, which they only do for a minimum of eight.

Inspired by the presentation of one of their dishes I came up with this recipe which makes a delicious starter or canapé.

Prawn Pancakes with Green Shallot Dressing

Pancake batter:
2 eggs
4 heaped Tbs plain flour
2 Tbs vegetable oil
pinch of salt
1 cup milk
½ cup water
Filling:
500g peeled cooked prawns
½ cup mayonnaise (preferably home-made)
Juice and grated rind of 1 lime or half a lemon
Salt and pepper to taste
1 Tbs snipped chives
Green Shallot Dressing:
½ cup vegetable oil
2-3 green shallots (spring onions), green part only
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
pinch sugar
lemon juice or white vinegar to taste
To serve:
Extra chives
Some salmon roe (not shown in photo) would look nice too

Place all ingredients for pancakes in food processor and process until smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides.  Add a little more water if necessary to make a thin batter which coats the back of a spoon.  Heat a small non-stick omelette pan and use about 3 Tbs batter to make thin pancakes, stacking them in a pile as you make them.  You won’t need to oil the pan as the batter contains oil.  Pancakes should be light golden and will take only 30 seconds or so to cook on each side.

Place prawns in food processor and blitz until chunky.  Tip into a bowl and add remaining ingredients.  Lay pancakes out on the bench top and use about 3 heaped tablespoons of filling for each pancake.  Place the filling in a fat sausage shape along one side, then roll up tightly.  Place on a plate, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until serving time.  You may run out of filling and have pancakes left which can be used for something else.

Place dressing ingredients in food processor and blitz until chunky-smooth.  Place in a bottle with a squirty top if you have one.

To serve, cut the ragged ends off each pancake then slice evenly into three.  Arrange three little chimneys on each serving plate and surround with some of the dressing.  If liked, garnish with extra chives as shown in the photo.

To serve as finger food with drinks, cut the pancakes into thinner slices, arrange on a platter and serve the sauce in a separate dish so people can dunk them in.

Makes about 8 pancakes

Variations:

  • to bulk up the filling and make it go further you could add a diced firm avocado and perhaps a touch of finely chopped fresh red chilli.
  • use crab meat instead of prawns
  • add some Asian flavours to the prawn/mayo mix such as grated ginger, chilli, Fish Sauce

The River at Moruya

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Just spent a very pleasant weekend at Tuross Heads on the south coast with friends who own a house there.  Lots of walking, eating and relaxing.

Saturday evening we went to The River at the nearby coastal town of Moruya where we enjoyed an excellent meal.

Two of us had the Salmon Carpaccio with Red Capsicum Puree and Parmesan Wafers, followed by the fish of the day – Pan-fried Ling served on Pea Puree, garnished with some pickled ribbons of carrot and white radish and a deep fried, lightly-battered Zucchini Flower, which had been stuffed with a prawn mixture.  Both were delicious.  The salmon wasn’t thinly sliced as carpaccio usually is, but the slices melted in the mouth and the bright red puree made a perfect accompaniment.  The zucchini flower was to die for – I wish there had been two!  Crispy and light.  Back in Canberra I see we have some zucchini flowers on our plant in the garden, so I am planning to stuff some this week!

The third guest had Cauliflower Risotto followed by a pork dish and the fourth had half a dozen local oysters followed by a veal dish.  There were no complaints.

Baked Cheesecake with Sour Cherry Topping

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Nigella Lawson has a recipe for an unbaked cheesecake with a cherry topping and another recipe for a baked cheesecake with no topping.  I decided to combine the two for this recipe and use less sugar and a thinner biscuit crust.

Nigella’s system of baking the cheesecake in a water bath, using a piece of foil to stop the water from getting into the spring form pan, gives a very creamy result.  It’s not at all dry and cloying like some baked cheesecakes.  Nigella adds extra egg yolks to the filling, but I found that it set perfectly using 3 whole eggs.  I put a thicker sour cream layer on mine because I wanted the cheesecake to be nice and deep and come almost to the top of the pan when finished.

Baked Cheesecake with Sour Cherry Topping

Biscuit base:
100g digestive biscuits (or other plain sweet biscuits which need using up)
50g butter at room temperature
Cream Cheese filling:
500g cream cheese at room temperature
125g caster sugar
1½ Tbs vanilla essence
2 Tbs lemon juice
3 large eggs
Sour cream layer:
500-600g sour cream (two tubs/cartons)
1 Tbs vanilla essence
3 Tbs caster sugar
Sour cherry topping:
1 can or jar of sour cherries in juice (I used a 680g jar from Aldi)
1 Tbs sugar (optional)
4 Tbs arrowroot + 2-3 Tbs water

Turn the oven to 170°C and line the bottom of a 20cm spring form pan with baking paper.  In a food processor blitz the biscuits until they form crumbs, then add the butter and process until the mixture sticks together. Tip into the pan and press down over the bottom using your hand or the bottom of a glass.  Place in fridge while you make filling.

Wipe out the food processor to remove any crumbs, then process cream cheese until smooth.  Add the sugar, then lastly the vanilla, lemon juice and eggs.  When smooth pour into the pan.  Place the pan on a large piece of tough aluminium foil and bring it up the outsides of the pan, crunching it down around the outside edges.  Place pan in a deep baking tin or dish and pour boiling water to come halfway up the sides of the cheesecake.  Bake for 30-40 minutes or until cheesecake is firm in the middle – test with the palm of your hand.

Meanwhile in a small bowl mix sour cream with sugar and vanilla.  When cheesecake is set in the middle, spread sour cream mixture evenly over the top and return to the oven for 10 minutes.  Remove from the oven, lift out of the water bath and allow to cool, then refrigerate.

Tip cherries and their juice into a sauce pan and bring to the boil.  Add sugar if you think they need it.  Mix arrowroot with cold water till smooth then add to the pan and cook, stirring, until mixture thickens.  You can use cornflour instead of arrowroot, but arrowroot is better as it doesn’t make the mixture turn opaque.  Allow to cool for a while so it’s not too hot, then spoon onto cheesecake and spread evenly.

Chill cheesecake for several hours or overnight.  To serve, run a knife dipped in boiling water around the outside to loosen it from the pan, then carefully undo the spring and remove the sides.  Cut slices using a knife dipped in hot water.

Serves 12

Variations:

  1. Use fresh strawberries, blueberries or raspberries to cover top of cheesecake instead of the cherry topping.
  2. Passionfruit topping: mix half a cup of fresh passionfruit pulp with a cup of boiling water.  Mix well then tip through a sieve.  Return 2-3 tablespoons of the passionfruit seeds to the juice and discard the rest.  Add 1-2 tablespoons sugar, to taste and stir to dissolve.  Place 4 teaspoons powdered gelatine in a small dish with 2 tablespoons water.  Zap in microwave to dissolve, then add to the passionfruit juice and stir well.  Tip onto the cold cheesecake and refrigerate until jelly has set.

Chocolate Cappuccino Mousses

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Ever since our daughter Catherine decided that the plural of chocolate mousse should really be mice, the name has stuck.  In our family everyone loves chocolate mice.  I make them in small glasses and if they’re not for a special occasion I put them in the fridge in a flat dish with a shower cap over the top.  Over a few days they quietly disappear.

I usually make them with dark or white chocolate, but decided to create one with a cappuccino flavour.  Nigella Lawson makes a chocolate mousse using marshmallows instead of eggs, so I used her recipe to develop one with a coffee layer on top of a dark chocolate layer.  The 250g packet of marshmallows I bought had both pink and white, so I divided them in half.  There were uneven quantities, so I had to put a few pink ones in with the white ones.  I think using mainly white ones for the coffee layer you end up with a nicer colour.

Chocolate Layer:
125g pink or white marshmallows
½ cup boiling water
75g unsalted butter
250g dark chocolate, broken into squares
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 cup (250ml) cream, lightly whipped
Coffee Layer:
125g white marshmallows
½ cup boiling water
2 Tbs instant coffee powder
75g unsalted butter
250g white chocolate, broken into squares
1 cup (250ml) cream, lightly whipped
To serve: whipped cream and grated or piped chocolate

Place all ingredients for chocolate layer, except the cream, in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan and heat gently, stirring until melted.  You don’t want the mixture to get too hot, so once the mixture is hot but not boiling, turn the heat off and let everything continue to melt in the residual heat.  By the time the marshmallows and chocolate has all melted the mixture should be fairly cool and beginning to thicken.  If not, wait until it is then thoroughly fold the lightly whipped cream into the mixture and divide between about 10 half-cup glasses.  They should be about two thirds full.

Dissolve coffee in the boiling water, then place all ingredients for the coffee layer, except the cream, in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan and heat gently.  Again turn off the heat before the mixture boils and let the ingredients melt in the residual heat.  When mixture is fairly cool and thickening, thoroughly fold the lightly whipped cream into the mixture, then divide between the glasses.

Refrigerate several hours.  Serve decorated with some extra cream, whipped, or grated chocolate.  In the photo they are decorated with piped melted chocolate in the shape of a treble clef, as they were for a musical evening.

Serves about 10 or 12, depending on the size of the glass

Dukkah

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Dukkah is a quick and easy Middle Eastern snack to serve with drinks.  It’s basically a mix of roasted then ground nuts and seeds, served with fresh bread and olive oil.

You can use any mixture of nuts you have available.  Sesame seeds are essential and while I’ve seen recipes which use fennel seeds, I prefer coriander and cumin.

Dukkah
125g shelled nuts (pine nuts, skinned hazelnuts, almonds or a mixture)
2 Tbs sesame seeds
2 Tbs whole coriander seeds
2 Tbs whole cumin seeds
salt (preferably Maldon flakes or similar) and freshly ground black pepper
chilli powder (optional)
To serve: extra virgin olive oil and fresh bread

Place nuts and seeds in a heavy frying pan.  Stir over moderate heat for several minutes or until nuts start to brown and seeds start to pop.  Cool then blitz in a food processor until finely ground.  Don’t over-process or mixture will become oily and sticky.  Add salt and pepper to taste and a little chilli powder if using.  You will need to add between one and two teaspoons of salt.  Store in a sealed container in the fridge and serve with olive oil and fresh bread –  the idea is to dip the bread in the oil first, so the dukkah sticks.

Makes about 1 1/2 cups

In the photo you can also see balsamic vinegar and sundried tomato pesto, which also go well with the oil and dukkah.