Scotch Eggs in the Air Fryer

A hard boiled egg, wrapped in sausage meat, coated in breadcrumbs and deep fried becomes a Scotch egg.

There are various explanations regarding the origin of the name of these traditional British snacks. They were first mentioned in Britain in publications from the early 1800s, so they have been around for quite some time.

The advent of the air fryer makes cooking them so much easier and healthier. Instead of deep frying, just give them a quick spray with a can of oil before they go into the air fryer.

Served at room temperature they make a perfect addition to lunch boxes, summer buffets and picnics.

Serve with Spicy Tomato Sauce (recipe below) for dipping.

6 large eggs, hardboiled and peeled
600g pork sausages
1 very small onion, grated (optional)
1 tsp mixed dried herbs
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup (or maybe a bit more) panko breadcrumbs (or ordinary breadcrumbs)
Fresh herbs or thinly sliced spring onion to garnish
Spicy Tomato Dipping Sauce:
½ cup tomato ketchup
1 Tbs Worcestershire Sauce
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 Tbs vinegar
1 small onion, grated
1½ Tbs honey
½ tsp hot English mustard
2 tsp grated fresh ginger

While the eggs are boiling, remove the casings from the sausages and discard them. Mix the sausage meat with the onion, herbs, salt and pepper. Divide the mixture into six and flatten each portion into a circle about four inches (10cm) in diameter. Place an egg on each, wrap the sausage meat around the egg and pinch to close any holes an make a nice oval ball. Roll each one in beaten egg then breadcrumbs, patting them in to cover evenly. Can be made ahead to this point and kept refrigerated for up to several hours. My eggs were not very big so I hardboiled 7 rather than 6.

Place the Scotch eggs in an air fryer in one layer and preferably not quite touching. Spray lightly with oil then cook at 200°C for about 20 minutes. After 10 minutes turn them over and spray again.

Remove from air fryer when cooked and leave to cool. Serve cut in half, garnished with herbs or spring onion and with the sauce for dipping.

Makes 12 egg halves

Sauce: heat ingredients together in a saucepan, then cool. Use as a dipping sauce for Scotch eggs, sausage rolls and empanadas.

Salmon Poke Bowl

According to Google, poke bowls (pronounced pokee) originated in Hawaii but are now deeply-rooted in Japanese cuisine. Poke means “cut into pieces” and refers to the slices or cubes of raw fish that are served in a bowl, along with rice, vegetables, dressing and seasoning.

A poke bowl is usually an individual serving, with the various ingredients arranged in groups. In this version, which I created as part of a buffet lunch where I had been asked to bring a plate, I made one large poke bowl, with the ingredients evenly layered in the serving dish.

I have always made my own salad dressings but this roasted sesame dressing is an exception. I buy it from Woolworths and we always have a bottle in the fridge. If you have never tried it I should warn you that it’s addictive. Guaranteed to perk up any salad!

1 cup sushi rice
2 Tbs rice wine vinegar
1 tsp sugar, or to taste
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
300g fresh salmon
1 Tbs olive oil
2 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 finely chopped birds-eye chilli (optional)
1 Lebanese cucumber, half  the peel removed, sliced
1 carrot, peeled and shredded into fine julienne
1 avocado, sliced
3 eggs, hardboiled and quartered
½ red onion, thinly sliced (or spring onions)
Coriander leaves
Black sesame seeds
1 Tbs pink peppercorns (optional)
Kewpie Japanese roasted sesame dressing (see note below)

Cook the rice in boiling salted water then rinse, drain thoroughly and mix in the rice wine, sugar and seasoning to taste, while it’s still warm. Spread over the base of a large serving dish. Remove skin and trim any stringy bits from the salmon, then cut it into 1cm cubes. Mix it with the olive oil, grated ginger and chilli if using.

Arrange the ingredients evenly over the rice, in the order they are listed. Finish with a sprinkle of black sesame seeds and some pink peppercorns if you have them. Lastly drizzle with the dressing and serve immediately.

If preferred serve the ingredients in 3 or 4 individual bowls.

Serves 6-10 as a side dish

Note: Kewpie Japanese roasted sesame dressing is available in Australia in the Asian aisle of most supermarkets. Here is a photo of the bottle so you know what it looks like and a recipe to make your own if you can’t buy it where you live.

Variations: add baby tomatoes, halved. Use raw tuna instead of salmon.

Mediterranean Baked Fish with Feta

When we were posted to Israel we had a cleaning lady who was also called Linda. My Hebrew was pretty basic, but she spoke Italian and I speak Spanish so we communicated in a weird combination of all three. A certain amount was lost in translation, but we managed.

When Linda’s son had his Bar Mitzvah she invited us to the celebration. We got terribly lost on the way and as we pulled up at the address we had been given – a huge building in the centre of town – we were feeling somewhat frazzled. The sound of a big party was wafting down the stairs so we ran up to find a room packed with over 200 guests seated at tables for 10. Linda was nowhere to be seen, so not wanting to make a point of having arrived late we spotted a couple of empty seats in the far corner and sat down. We were onto our second glass of wine and having a jolly time when suddenly the band started to play, everyone stood up and in walked the bride and groom. “Holy Dooley” said Matthew, “wrong party.”

It was impossible to leave without shaking hands with the happy couple as they were blocking the only exit. We left them looking somewhat bemused and no doubt thinking, “Who invited them?”  We eventually found our party at the other end of the building.

Linda gave me this easy recipe for a Mediterranean all-in-one fish dish. If you have more mouths to feed, the onions and potatoes “pad it out”, as my mother used to say, but I often leave one or both of them out. If preferred, serve potatoes, rice or Israeli couscous as a side dish.

This recipe makes a quick midweek family dinner and is easy to halve or double. More people to feed? Bigger dish. It’s also great for casual entertaining and looks very colourful when you bring it to the table. I don’t usually measure the ingredients, just do it by eye.

1.5 kg firm white fish fillets
3-4 cloves garlic, crushed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
200-300g feta cheese
200-300g olives, stoned (black or green)
12-15 baby onions or 1 large onion cut into 8.
12-15 peeled baby potatoes (optional)
200-250g cherry tomatoes, or sun-dried tomatoes, thickly sliced
½ cup olive oil
½ cup white wine or dry sherry
To serve:
3-4 Tbs chopped parsley, preferably flat-leafed
Extra Virgin Olive Oil (optional)

Preheat oven to 200°C . Cut fish into 2-3 cm chunks, mix with salt, pepper and crushed garlic and spread over a greased shallow baking dish. If using, cook baby onions and potatoes separately in boiling water for about 10 minutes, or until almost cooked then drain. If using a whole onion cut into 8, fry it for a few minutes in a little olive oil, or until softened.

Cut feta into cubes and evenly distribute, tucking them in between the fish to make a pretty picture. Add the olives, tomatoes, onions and, if using, the potatoes. Drizzle with the wine or sherry and then the oil. Recipe can be made ahead to this stage and kept refrigerated for up to a few hours.

Bake for 30 minutes or until fish is cooked. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and drizzle with a little more oil (optional). Serve with a crusty baguette to mop up the juices and a big green salad or some steamed green beans.

Serves 6-8

Cumquat and Almond Cake

When a dessert comes into fashion you see it everywhere – in food magazines, on restaurant menus and served up by friends who entertain. A few years ago chocolate fondants – those tricky little puddings which are all about timing – were very much in vogue. A pool of delectable melted chocolate pours out when you stick your spoon into the middle – well that’s the theory. If you’ve managed to over-cook them, as I’ve done on more than one occasion, they’re still delicious. One of my all-time favourite desserts.

Turn the clock back even further to the 1970s and 80s and everyone was making Orange and Almond cake, where you boil two whole oranges until soft, whizz them to a purée, then add them to the cake mixture. I believe this cake made its debut in Australia in Claudia Roden’s Book of Middle Eastern Food, but recipes were soon popping up everywhere. Some versions don’t use any flour, making them good for celiacs.

Once again we have a huge crop of cumquats, so I decided to make this cake using cumquats instead of oranges and it was a great success. If preferred use two oranges or even mandarins.

Cumquat and Almond Cake

Cake:
About 300g cumquats (or 2 oranges)
2 cups ground almonds (or grind your own from whole or slivered blanched almonds)
125g butter at room temperature
1 cup caster sugar
5 eggs
½ cup self-raising flour, sifted
2 tsp baking powder
Syrup:
2 Tbs cumquat juice (or orange juice)
½ cup caster sugar
½ cup water
2 Tbs whisky (optional)
To serve:
Icing sugar

Preheat oven to 180ºC and line the base of a 22cm cake pan with baking paper and grease the sides. Place cumquats in a pan and cover with water. Simmer for 10 mins or until soft then cool. If using oranges they will take 20-30 mins. Cut in half and remove seeds.

If you need to grind the almonds, do them first in the food processor, then add remaining ingredients for cake, including the cooked cumquats, skin and all. Mix until smooth, stopping once to scrape down mixture from the sides. Tip mixture into cake pan and bake for an hour or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Ovens vary so start checking after 45 mins.

Meanwhile make the syrup – place all ingredients in a small pan and simmer for 5 mins. Make holes over the top of the cake with a metal skewer and spoon the warm syrup over as soon as it comes out of the oven. The syrup will be absorbed.

Serve dusted with icing sugar, either warm or at room temperature, with a dollop of thick cream.

Serves 8-10

Variations: use macadamia nuts or pine nuts instead of almonds

Note: to make a flourless version suitable for anyone who is gluten intolerant, replace the flour with an extra half cup of ground almonds

Delicious Desserts for New Year’s Eve

I would like to wish all my readers a wonderful holiday season and a safe, happy and healthy New Year. In the old days it was common to wish everyone a prosperous New Year, but since Covid-19 most people have come to the conclusion that there are more important things in life than money.

Whether you’re experiencing freezing cold winter weather in the northern hemisphere or hot, summer days in the southern hemisphere, a New Year gathering calls for some special desserts. Here are a few of my favourites.

If berries are not in season you can make most of these desserts with frozen ones. When using frozen berries to decorate (rather than inside a jelly or trifle) remove them from the freezer and spread them out on a plate about half an hour before serving. This way they will have just thawed when you use them and won’t have had time to go mushy.

See you next year!

Eton Mess.

Layered Fruit Jelly.

Mango and Passionfruit Ice Cream Cake.

Chocolate Fudge Cake with Tim Tams.

Chocolate Fudge Cake with Tim Tams

Raspberry Trifle.

Pavlova.

Labneh with Summer Berries.

Colette’s French Apricot Tart

My friend Colette brought this delicious fruit tart to one of our monthly Potluck lunches where we all speak French for two hours. It’s called Tarte Bourdaloue, but I call it Colette’s Tart, because she gave me the recipe.

If you’ve ever looked at the pastries in the window of a French patisserie you will notice that they tend to almost overcook them, resulting in a few charred edges. This is what gives French pastries their authentic flavour, so when you make this tart, don’t undercook it. The original Tarte Bourdaloue used pears, but apricots, plums, apples or pears, either canned, fresh or frozen, all work well. You can even throw in a few berries.

Pastry:
250g butter, chilled
250g cream cheese, room temperature
¾ cup brown sugar, firmly packed
2½ cups plain flour
Filling:
2 eggs
180g almond meal
150g sugar
3 Tbs rum (optional)
Topping:
2 x 400g can apricots, pears or plums, drained (or use fresh or frozen fruit)
2 Tbs apricot jam, heated and sieved
Flaked almonds, lightly toasted
Process butter, sugar and flour until fine crumbs form, then add the cream cheese, cut into chunks and process just until pastry forms a ball. This is enough to make three tarts approximately 25-30cm in diameter. Tip out and cut the pastry into three, use one ball to make this tart and freeze the other two, wrapped in plastic wrap, to use another time.

Chill the pastry ball you’re going to use for half an hour or so. Roll it out using some extra flour and use it to line the tart tin. Mine is 30cm in diameter and has a removable bottom. If you don’t have a metal tin a ceramic one will do. If you find it hard to lift the pastry once it has been rolled out into a big circle, cut it into four and move it in sections. You can easily rejoin the seams by pressing them together with your fingers. Trim off the top edges with a knife. Chill the tart shell while the oven heats up.

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Bake the pastry shell blind (without filling) for 8-10 minutes, or until light golden. Mix filling and spread over the pastry base. Place the fruit on top, pushing it in a bit. From two tins of apricot halves I had a few left over. I probably could have used them all if I had arranged them closer together. If using pears slice them, then put them back together in the shape of halved pears, which looks nice – have a look at photos on Google.

Bake 30-35 mins at 200°C. Brush the heated apricot jam all over the tart, then sprinkle with almonds.

Serves 8 (with pastry left to make 2 more tarts)

Quick Pasties Using Roti Paratha

I bought a packed of 8 frozen roti paratha from an Indian grocery store and used them to make these meat pasties. They were amazing. The best meat pies I’ve ever made.

If you can’t find Indian roti paratha, buy puff pastry and cut out big circles about 15cm or 6 inches in diameter. I thawed the roti, filled them, pinched together the sides at the top, brushed them with beaten egg, then baked them at 200°C for just over half an hour.

As for the filling, you can use your imagination. I used some leftover roast lamb from a slow roasted shoulder, mixed with leftover gravy and leftover roast pumpkin, all cut into 2cm cubes. I served the pasties with hot English mustard and a mix of peas and asparagus.

You could look for a Cornish pasty filling online and use that, or use this beef casserole recipe, or this recipe which uses oxtails – just take all the meat off the bones.

For a seafood pasty use this recipe for Seafood Mornay, without the breadcrumb topping. It’s one of the most popular recipes on this blog.

Spinach and Feta Pastries

These little savoury pastries are a great addition to lunch boxes, picnics and buffet lunches. They are also great to serve with drinks. Most kids love them and it’s a good way to get them to eat some green veggies.

Once cooked and cooled, if not serving immediately, you can keep them in the fridge for a few days or freeze them. They will just need a few minutes in a hot oven or an air fryer to heat up.

1-2 sheets bought puff pastry
Filling:
About 225g frozen chopped spinach, thawed (I used half a 450g pkt of spinach nuggets)
100g feta cheese, crumbled
¾ cup thinly sliced spring onions
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 egg
1 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs chopped fresh parsley
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Extra:
1 beaten egg to brush

Preheat oven to 200°C. Squeeze any liquid from the spinach then mix it with remaining filling ingredients. Cut out 12 squares of puff pastry, approximately 8cm or 3 inches square. I got nine from one sheet of ready-rolled puff pastry.

Lightly but thoroughly (mine got a bit stuck) oil a 12 hole muffin pan and place a pastry square in each. Place a rounded tablespoonful of filling in each, then go back and use the rest to top them up. If you have too much you could use another muffin pan and make a couple more but I found the mixture made exactly 12.

Pull the four pastry points over the top of the filling and pinch lightly together. Brush with beaten egg, then bake for 20 minutes or until golden. Serve warm or at room temperature. Can be kept in the fridge for 2-3 days and reheated for a few minutes in a hot oven or frozen.

Makes 12

Eton Mess

Looking for a quick and easy dessert to serve over the Canberra Day long weekend? Eton Mess, a traditional English dessert which makes the most of the summer berries is quick, easy and delicious.

A mixture of meringue, berries and whipped cream, this dish was first mentioned in print in 1893 and is thought to have originated at Eton College in England, where it’s served at the annual cricket match against Harrow School.

In the 6th episode of the TV series The Gilded Age, which I’m currently watching, the French chef is asked to prepare a British meal. For dessert he makes Eton Mess, which he describes disparagingly as a mess made by a bunch of schoolboys.

The traditional recipe for this sumptuous dessert uses broken up meringues, either home-made or shop bought. I prefer to use a pavlova base, because the meringue is crunchy on the outside, but soft and marshmallowy on the inside. In Australia pavlova bases are sold in most big supermarkets.  I’m not sure if they are available in other countries, except perhaps New Zealand, but you can always make your own or use broken up hard meringues, which are more readily available around the world.

I like to use half fresh cream and half sour cream or crème fraîche, but if preferred you can use all fresh cream.

1 pavlova base to serve 12 (or about 12 large individual meringues)
250 ml whipping cream
250 ml sour cream or crème fraîche
1 Tbs icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
500g strawberries
2-3 tsp caster sugar
150-200g raspberries (or blueberries, blackberries, blackcurrants etc)
Chocolate sprinkles (optional)

Wash strawberries, cut in half or slice if large and place in a bowl with the caster sugar. Mix and leave aside for an hour or two, so the juices start to run.

I used about three-quarters of a large pavlova base for this dish. Break off chunks and arrange about half of them in a large glass serving dish, or break up the hard meringues. If preferred, make individual servings using large whisky tumblers.

Scatter half the strawberries and half the raspberries or other berries over the meringue. Place the cream, sour cream, icing sugar and vanilla in a bowl and whip using electric beaters until soft peaks form. Place blobs of the whipped cream over the meringue and fruit, then the rest of the pavlova/meringue pieces, the juices from the strawberries, the remaining cream and lastly the rest of the strawberries and raspberries. They are not shown in the photo, but if liked decorate the top with some chocolate sprinkles, which always look nice with berries and cream. Refrigerate until serving time and serve within a couple of hours.

Serves 6-8

Note: if liked, add a tablespoonful of a liqueur such as Kirsch, Grand Marnier, Cointreau or Curaçao to the strawberries and sugar.

 

 

Strawberry No Bake Cheesecake

This recipe is adapted from one called Narrabri Cheesecake which Matthew used to make before we met. Part of his bachelor repertoire, guaranteed to impress the girls. It’s quite rich and you will get at least twelve servings, enough to serve a crowd.

Crust:
150g plain sweet biscuits e.g. Digestives, Nice, Marie
100g butter, melted
Filling:
300ml whipping cream
750g cream cheese, at room temperature
1 can condensed milk
1/3 cup lemon juice
Grated rind of one large lemon or two smaller ones
Topping:
250g strawberries, halved
Strawberry Sauce:
250g strawberries, diced
1-2 Tbs sugar, to taste
1 Tbs lemon juice

Butter a 22-24 cm (9-10 inch) springform cake pan and line the bottom with a circle of baking paper. Whizz the biscuits in a food processor until you have fine crumbs. Mix with the melted butter, then press evenly over the base of the cake pan. Refrigerate while you make the filling.

Using a stand mixer (my preference with this recipe) or hand beaters, whip the cream until soft peaks form. Scrape out into another bowl. No need to wash the first bowl – just add the cream cheese and mix until smooth. Add the condensed milk and lastly the lemon juice and rind. Use a spatula to scrape down the mixture stuck to the sides of the bowl, then mix a bit more. Fold through the whipped cream, scrape into the cake pan and smooth the top. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Clean and sort the strawberries, keeping the best ones to decorate and the rest for the sauce.

Strawberry Sauce: place all ingredients in a saucepan. Simmer for about 5-10 minutes then push through a sieve, discarding what won’t go through. Keep refrigerated.

Arrange halved strawberries over the top of the cheesecake. Run a knife with a thin blade around the sides of the cheesecake, undo the clip and remove. If you like, run a knife under the base of the cheesecake, under the paper, so you can remove the base. If preferred, just leave the base on. Slice cheesecake using a large knife dipped in hot water. Serve sauce (not shown in photo) separately in a small jug.

Serves  12-16

Variations: use other berries.