Lemongrass and Chilli Prawn Salad

What a wet and wild weekend it was here in Sydney! Friday night had me conjuring up notions of comfort food like delicious casseroles and soups and pasta, though mind power won over and I settled on making a very healthy prawn salad, with lemongrass and loads of chilli to give it a warm boost for the cold evening ahead.

 My Lemongrass and Chilli Prawn Salad

How lucky are we in Australia and New Zealand to have an incredible supply of seafood? We've got Sydney Fresh Seafoods here in Potts Point and the guys there know their stuff, and are pretty "house proud" when it comes to their display too. It takes them around three hours every morning to build the ice display and they have to keep it topped up during the day. They have a great seasonal variety and everything is so fresh, and if you're hungry they'll cook you up your choice of fillet. Friday's is the busy day for fish and chips here - I wish everyone had access to this place!

And so to prawns ... there a number of varieties available here in Aus and I like banana prawns. I find that sometimes the tiger prawns especially can be a bit strong flavour for me, so when I make a solo prawn dish, I'll choose the banana prawn. Here's a great site that gives you more detail on Aussie prawns (well, Queensland specifically) - interesting to know that the "King Prawn" isn't named that for it's size!

Something worth mentioning is that the cost of this meal was around $10 per head. The prawns were $22kg, so I got around 600gms which is plenty for two people.

The key to this recipe is getting all your ingredients ready in advance because the cooking only takes a couple of minutes. That means have the table set in advance, and make sure everyone's finished their TV shows or phone conversations because when you start cooking it's ready to serve in a matter of minutes and the prawns are best served straight from the pan.

I made my spice paste from scratch, I prefer the flavour as I can control what I want to stand out in any particular dish - in this case lemongrass and chilli. But you can always purchase a paste if you're pressed for time, or can't find any fresh ingredients. But the world being the way it is now you can pretty much get any nation's products either at your local supermarket or green grocer - and Thai ingredients are really easy to come by. FYI, my husband's mum grows most of these ingredients and she says they grow like weeds in the NZ climate - especially the lemongrass. Apart from the green mango which I used in the salad itself, I haven't used too many hard to find ingredients, so I hope you can make this fresh.

Here's the blow-by-blow with pics ... Take your selected herbs (aromats), finely chop these and then and grind them into a paste. I used a pestle and mortar as my blender is packed away - it takes a bit of work but it smells great. You just have to take a break and a sip of wine to give your arm a rest ;-)

Mixing the Lemongrass and Chilli Paste

If you're using a pestle and mortar it can be quite useful to add a teaspoon of raw sugar to give a bit of friction at the start and make the paste come together easier. You don't want to add salt as you'll be adding fish sauce later and you'll end up with a dish that's just too salty. 

Finished Lemongrass and Chilli Paste

The finished paste should be smooth and should be well, a paste! You'll end up with about 1/4 cup or so of paste.

Once you've got your paste made you get on to shelling your prawns. Messy as it is, I enjoy this job! For this recipe you need to keep all the shells, heads and all, so don't throw them away. Peeling is easy, twist the head, peel off the legs and the main shell will come off. Then de-vein them, last thing you want is poo in your salad!

 Keep the prawn shells

Wash, dry and slice all your green vegetables and put these aside in a bowl ready to dress. After this, you can prepare your rice noodles, I used rice vermicelli. All you have to do is put the noodles in a bowl and cover with hot water and leave them - no cooking required at all.

Slide green mango, cucumber and spring onions

On to the fun part, cooking the prawns. Set a wok onto a high heat and add plenty of vegetable oil. Add the prawn shells and cook until the heads turn orange and the oil is fragrant. Tip the wok on it's side to drain the shells, and remove the shells leaving the prawn infused oil in the wok.

With this recipe if you're left with too much oil, drain this through a sieve lined with a paper towel and you have delicious prawn infused oil to add to other meals (not for cooking with though, just for adding to the final dish, like pan fried snapper or scallops).

Infuse the oil with the prawn shells

Here's what you're left with - a messy pan - yes and really rich and flavourful prawn oil, ready for you to add the lemongrass and chilli paste.

Prawn infused oil

Cooking the paste will splutter a bit, that's why a wok is great, it catches most of what you'd have to wipe up. Make sure you don't have the wok too high or the paste will burn, specifically the garlic which tends to cook quicker than the other ingredients. And if you've added any sugar to the paste when grinding it, this may also caramelise the paste too. It'll smell amazing at this point, so celebrate your great achievement and grab another glass of wine ;-)

You're now ready to cook your prawns to check that you have all of your other steps completed, that means sauce for the prawns, dressing for the salad, noodles ready, table set, serving platters out and people ready to eat.

Cooked lemongrass and chilli paste

Add the prawns to the paste and cook for a few minutes until just starting to cook through. Add the coriander root and stalks, and kaffir line and stir through along with the sauce ingredients.

 

Looking good!

Once you've added the sauce ingredients to the pan everything will come together quickly and the prawns will only take another minute to cook through. Taste the sauce and make sure it's got the right balance of sweet, salty and sour, adding any final touches. At this point you can add your rice noodles. I snipped mine with a pair of scissors into small pieces otherwise they tend to end up as one big clump in the pan. This is really an optional ingredient, but when you've got a hungry husband they really are the trick. This isn't a great pic, sorry, rushing a bit - or was it the wine?

Finished prawns

Mix all the salad greens together and pour over the dressing and serve up on a big platter or individual plates.

Thai style salad

Lemongrass and chilli prawns - finished!

Lemongrass and chilli prawns, and Thai style salad ready to eat

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Lemongrass and Chilli Prawn Salad

Prawns

600gms fresh (green) prawns, shells removed (retain shells)
80ml vegetable oil
1 stalk lemongrass, white root only, finely chopped
2-3 red chillies, long variety, finely chopped

2.5cm piece fresh ginger, finely chopped
2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/4 cup coriander root and stalks, finely chopped
4 kaffir lime leaves, very finely julienned
2-3 tsp fish sauce
juice of 1lime
1 tbsp palm sugar (or raw sugar)
1 cup cooked vermicelli rice noodles, drained (optional)

(If using vermicelli rice noodles, add to a bowl and pour boiling water over. Leave to sit for 5 minutes and then drain.)

Salad

1 green mango, peeled and flesh fine julienned
2 small Lebanese cucumbers, seeds removed and finely sliced
2-4 spring onions, finely sliced 
12 cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup Thai basil leaves, picked
1/2 cup coriander leaves, roughly chopped
2-3 tsp fish sauce
juice of 1lime
1 tbsp palm sugar (or raw sugar)
1/4 roasted salted peanuts, roughly chopped, to serve

Serves 2


Prawns: Mix lemongrass, chilli, ginger and garlic to a fine paste. Shell and de-vein the prawns, retaining the prawn shells and heads. Add oil to a wok and bring to a high heat adding prawn shells and heads and cooking for 3-5 minutes until oil is fragrant. Remove wok from the heat and remove prawn shells and heads, leaving remaining oil in the wok.

Add the paste and cook on a medium heat for 3-5 minutes until cooked through and fragrant. Add prawns to the wok with the paste and cook, stirring continuously for 1-2 minutes. Add coriander root and kaffir lime leaves and stir through. Add fish sauce, lime juice and sugar and stir through until prawns are almost cooked. Add vermicelli rice noodles and stir through until just heated, taking care not to over cook the prawns.

Salad: Add green mango, cucumber, spring onions, tomatoes, salad leaves, Thai basic and coriander leaves to a bowl. Mix together fish sauce, lime juice and sugar until sugar is dissolved. Pour over salad leaves and mix through.

To serve: Serve salad and prawns either on individual platters or add salad to a plate and top with hot prawns and sprinkle with peanuts. Serve with a chilled wine such as a Riesling or nice cold beer.


Bon Appetite!

Exploring Sydney, well, okay Fratelli Paradiso Pastries!

Sydney. Consistently voted one of the most beautiful cities in the world and it's so easy to see why. Even on a winter's day it's a pretty cool place, and for me, I think it's the harbour that gives it such vibrancy and life. And then there's the food ... apparently Melbourne is the food hub of Australia ... well it's got competition!

Since moving from Melbourne to Sydney a few months ago I've not got this exciting and ongoing adventure of finding all the interesting markets, cafes, restaurants and great foodie spots. I've tackled a few so far that have been recommended, and surprisingly a number of these are right on our door step. I'm not about restaurant reviews, I'm more about the cooking, but just had to share this on one of our local highlights.

The first day we arrived here we had dinner at Fratelli Paradiso in Challis St, Potts Point, then I think we ate there every night for the next week. We love that it is a simple, yet modern trattoria and has an uncomplicated menu that you can easily mix and match without waiters making a fuss. They're always happy for us to eat "family style" which you kind of want to do if you're eating there every night! The wine recommendations were great, and I have to say that the scampi linguini which was also a house recommendation is cooked to perfection and a winner in my eyes.

But that's Fratelli by night and I'm sure there's been a gazillion people reviewed it, raving or now, but by day it has the most amazing little bakery in house and is a damn fine place to go for an indulgent kind of brekkie.

Had our friend Maisie with us for the weekend so we had to pay a visit.

Fratelli Paradiso

The restaurant is split into two with the bakery being on the west side. Grab a seat inside, if you can, and sit close to the marble bench and you can be part of the baking action if that's what you're into.

What first hits you when you walk in is the tall pasty trolley, filled with freshly made delicacies some of which you'll recognise, others you won't but you must try. Palmiers, custard filled donuts, plain or almond croissants, tomato/basil/mozzarella brioche sandwiches, mozzarella/prosciutto or spinach/mozzarella pastry sandwiches ... all there for the eating!

The pastry cart

The pastry chef started at 3am and he's still working. We chat a little, he loves what he does and admits it's been over 20 years he's been doing this. It's great to see him in action, baking the dinner rolls for the restaurant, then popping a few pizzas in the oven ... zucchini/anchovy and tomato/mozarella/basil. It's all so tempting, and choices are difficult. So we just have to have breakfast there both Saturday and Sunday so we can indulge. They also have a breakfast menu if you don't want pastry and are happier with a couple of poached eggs or muesli.

Here's the donut ... wasn't me who had this, it was my friend Maisie. I opted for the tomato brioche sandwich and almond croissant which were shared between two. So good, and the coffee wasn't bad either.

Maisie's brekkie!

I'm excited that there are still places like this about, where we can see where our food comes from. And yes, it is slightly indulgent but that's just the joy of life, and it puts smiles on peoples faces and grimaces on them when they have to exercise it off again.

Went home and Maisie and I made a pear cake. This is one of my favourites. It didn't turn out quite as planned so I'm leaving that to my next post. Stay tuned!

Bon Appetite.

Winter Warmer Spiced Hana Porridge

It's hard to make porridge look sexy, no matter how good you are at photography it still looks like, well, um ... porridge!

Hana porridge

I'm a big fan of traditional rolled oats, cooked slowly with milk (or cream), sugar and a good pinch of salt and served piping hot with brown sugar and even more milk. I've never been one to mix raisins or sultanas or coconut into my less than vanilla flavoured porridge, I just like it straight up.

My brother-in-law produces a range of breakfast cereals here in Australia, it's Kapai Puku, which is taken from the Maori words which translate into "good stomach". His tag line when he started this business about 10 years ago was "The best shit" and the proof is in the eating.

Kapai Puku now has just introduced a new breakfast porridge "Hana" which dropped into my hands last weekend when we were in Melbourne. It has a quinoa base with other delicious seeds and nutritious ingredients. I made a quinoa porridge last year from a recipe I found in one of my favourite mags - it was good, but it didn't have me coming back for more, and it took over half an hour to make which is just too long to wait for brekkie. So, how was I going to cook this? It's so different to rolled oats.

Years ago I did a series of Ayurvedic cooking classes and we made a delicious semolina halva. For those not familiar with Ayurvedic cooking or Ayurvedic medicine I hope this helps ... "Ayurveda is an ancient healing tradition that views a person's physical and emotional well-being as being based on the proper balance of vital energies." It's a traditional form of Indian medicine, and without two much guessing, I'm attracted to the food side of it.

I decided to to take a crack at making my Hana porridge along the same lines at the semolina halva, and it's a winner. So much so, that my husband, who has never touched porridge since boarding school days, now asks for it for breakfast! And that's such a great feeling ... because left to his own devices his breakfast would consist solely of 2-3 cups of strong coffee.

My version of Hana porridge is packed with fresh ground and toasted spices and delicious medjool dates, so be prepared to have your taste buds lifted. The spices I've used are designed to promote circulation and general blood flow, perfect for the warm winter mornings. Ayurvedic cooking principles also stress that cooking should be done gently, with love and without haste; so for those who like a quick microwaved porridge, this takes not too much longer and is way better.

Apologies in advance if you're not in Australia which is where Kapai Puku Hana Porridge is sold, but you can buy online or drop me a note and I'll see if Graeme at Kapai Puku can send you a sample. Those folks in Aussie, try your local health food store or my favourite, David Jones food hall.

Here's the quick run down of making a nourishing, warm Hana porridge, and above, the not so delightful looking photo of the finished product ... it is porridge guys!

Toasting the spices

Get started by roughly grinding some cloves and green cardamom pods in a pestle and mortar. You can use pre-ground spices it's entirely up to you and what you have available. Dry roast these off in a pan with some cinnamon bark and then add mixed spice (just for a general rounding off). You can add freshly ground ginger later as an option, you just don't want to be dry roasting it. You can tell when the spices are roasted, they'll be really fragrant and the pan should just start to let off a bit of smoke.

Add the Hana Porridge

Add the Hana porridge and roast this for a few minutes until the colour changes slightly and you can hear all the seeds starting to pop. You'll soon be able to smell the change in the ingredients. Be careful not to give it too much colour though.

The porridge then comes together when you add milk and water, and chopped dates which add sweetness and even more flavour. The ratio of liquid to dry ingredients is about 1:4.

Stirring through the liquid

It will take around 5 minutes for the liquid to all be absorbed into the porridge, and you'll have more than double the amount in the pan than when you started. You'll be able to tell when the porridge is ready, it will come together easily and there won't be any liquid (of course, if the grains are still hard, add more liquid and keep stirring). Recipe below.

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Spiced Kapai Puku Hana Porridge with Medjool Dates

5-6 whole cloves
5-6 whole green cardamon pods
2-3 sticks cinnamon bark (or use cinnamon quills)
1/2 tsp mixed spice
1/2 cup Kapai Puku Hana Porridge
4 large medjool dates, chopped (or other good quality dates)
1 cup full cream milk
1 cup water

Serves 2

Grind the cloves and cardamon pods in a pestle and mortar discarding the husks from the cardamon pods. Add to a pan along with cinnamon bark and roast for 2-3 minutes on a medium heat until fragrant. Add mixed spice and Hana porridge and gently roast for 2-3 minutes until slightly brown and seeds start to pop.

Remove from the heat and add the milk and water along with the chopped dates and stir thoroughly until a smooth consistency. Add back to a medium heat and stir slowly for around 4-5 minutes until all liquid has been absorbed and porridge is cooked through.

Serve in warm bowls and eat as is or top with toasted almonds and more chopped dates.

Bon Appetite!

Lets Eat Spaghetti Bolognese

 

Perfection!

I've had a bit of a hiatus from blogging over the past couple of weeks - head down, bum up with work, and another rotten cold - though have still managed to whip up a few nice dishes, and we've also had a few small foodie adventures here in Sydney. More to come on that soon.

When I say "whip up" though, this post is the opposite of that. It's slow cooking. It's a meal that we shared as kids almost every winter Sunday and one that evokes special memories of my father as he was always the one to cook this meal. I'm talking about spaghetti bolognese, or just plain "spaghetti" as it was known in our house. To say we loved it was an understatement. Dad would start cooking his sauce immediately after breakfast on Sunday and the smell would fill the house, and it would bring us indoors from playing outside in the winter evenings.

I know pretty much everyone has a version of their own special spaghetti sauce, and I think I've pretty much perfected mine, and it's taken a few years to get the flavours right that we enjoy. My recipe has lots of ingredients and it takes time, but it pretty much gives me the same warm comfort as when my Dad made it. I hope you enjoy it too.

How long will it take to make? About 4-5 hours all up, so plan to make it on a day when you'll be home and able to pop your head into the kitchen to check on it.

Why so long? Because you want your sauce to have the best flavour and consistency. Rich and creamy, not watery and bland. A sauce that sticks to every piece of your pasta. A sauce that your family and friends will remember you for.

How much will it make? This makes about 3 litres (roughly). Enough to put 5-6 meals away into the freezer.

 

Gently cooking the mirepoix

Start by chopping all your vegetables and herbs and adding to a large sided pot. The vegetables for the mirepoix should all be chopped the same size. Key to this part of the process is adding plenty of olive oil (I use really lean meat hence the higher quantity of oil). I've used carrot, onions and celery which is a traditional French mirepoix. I don't use garlic at all, which is something my Father would vehemently object to, I don't think it needs it.


I cook the mirepoix over a medium heat and I put the lid on so they sweat and become really translucent. Add salt at this point as it will help prevent any burning. You don't want any colour or caramelisation on the vegetables at all. I also add all my hard herbs at this point; that's bay leaf, rosemary and thyme.
Once the mirepoix is cooked sufficiently add the meat in and brown this all over. Some recipes call for this to be done in batches, but I don't think it matters, so long as you ensure that you brown it all over before adding the next ingredients. I use a 50:50 ratio of beef and pork for a richer flavour. If you don't want to use pork, just substitute for all beef.

 

All ingredients in the pot

Taste it to ensure you've got the salty/sweet balance right, but bearing in mind that you're only getting an uncooked taste and that the flavours will continue to change as it cooks - so you'll need to keep on tasting it.

 

After 2 hours cooking

After a couple of hours of cooking (with the lid on) the flavours will really begin to come together and you'll see some separation of the olive oil. It should still have a lot of liquid.

 

After 3 hours cooking

At around three hours of cooking the sauce will really be starting to thicken up and the flavours will be really rich and a million miles away from when you first tasted it. You'll still have some liquid in the pot and you'll be seeing a lot more separation of the olive oil.


You might think it looks like too much oil however you need this as it creates a thick emulsion with the other liquids in the sauce and it's this that gives the sauce a rich consistency and makes it stick to your pasta. So don't panic!

 

Finished product!

After three or so hours it's time to take the lid off the sauce and let any liquid further reduce. Depending on how much liquid you have this can take up to an hour, and this depends pretty much on how slow your simmer was set to.

The finished sauce is glossy, thick and has an incredible rich flavour. Be tempted to try this slow cooked sauce. Then cook some fantastic pasta, make a huge crisp salad and get on the phone and ring family and friends to come and join you. Recipe below.

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Dotty's Bolognese Sauce

100mls olive oil

3 medium onions, finely chopped

3 medium carrots, finely chopped

3 medium celery sticks, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic sliced (optional)

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp fresh rosemary, finely chopped

2 tbsp fresh thyme, finely chopped

3 bayleaves

500g lean beef, minced

500g lean pork, minced

1 tsp chilli flakes (optional)

300ml red wine, full bodied such as Shiraz

200gm tomato paste

3 x 400gm cans diced tomatoes

200mls full cream milk

1 tbsp raw sugar

1 tsp ground black pepper

In a large, tall sided pot add the olive oil and finely chopped onions, carrots, celery, garlic, rosemary, thyme, bay leaves and salt. Cook (sweat) over a medium heat with the lid on until soft and translucent.

Raise the heat to high and add the beef and pork and cook until well browned, ensuring the meat is well separated and not clumping. Continue cooking on a high heat and add the chilli flakes stirring through for a few minutes.

Add the red wine and cook for 3-5 minutes to reduce the alcohol. Add the tomato paste, diced tomato, milk sugar and black pepper stirring until well mixed through.

Bring to a rolling simmer and cover with the lid for around one hour. Check and stir from time-to-time to ensure that it is not catching at the bottom of the pan. Continue to cook for the next two hours maintaining a consistent slow simmer with the lid on. Check the flavour and ensure there is the right balance of sugar and salt.

After approximately three hours the flavours in your sauce will have started to bind together and you can begin the process to reduce any excess liquid and concentrate these flavours. Remove the lid and continue to cook for up to one hour until thick. Take care when stirring the sauce as it can splash.

Serve with freshly cooked pasta of your choice, freshly grated Parmesan cheese and extra chilli flakes.

Bon Appetite!

Summer Meets Winter Not So Humble Crumble

We had friends staying with us over the weekend which is always a welcome treat, and as has become a custom for first timers to our area, we visited our new favourite local restaurant The Fish Shop. It's a bustling, fresh and fun place to eat - a welcome addition to our local dining scene. The Fish Shop has only been open about 8 weeks and is already a favourite amongst the locals, and is fast becoming the place to go.

As described in Gourmet Traveller last month "the Fish Shop is about seafood made fun and accessible via a mash-up of Aussie milk-bar and British chippy tropes, with a dash of Americana to season it".

Our waiter invited us to drink champagne which just happened to be at a bargain price for a licensed restaurant, almost the same as at the bottle-o, so we were compelled to partake (well why not) and it was the perfect accompaniment for our seafood delights. We shared the cuttlefish with garlic chilli and parsely - one of the simplest dishes on the menu but cooked so perfectly, and it's at your table in a matter of minutes of ordering it. Our mains were simple - two of us had the fish, bacon and chilli burgers and the other two fish and chips. Simple!

Champagne and fish & chips at The Fish Shop

I really can't do photos of fish and chips justice with my iphone, particularly in the dark and after a couple of glasses of bubbly, so do take a look at their website and the next time your in Sydney make a trip to The Fish Shop, you won't be disappointed. Gotta love the '60s champagne glasses too!

Sunday night we'd been invited for roast dinner at one of our neighbours so I said I'd make dessert (well, pudding!). I had it in my mind to make a crumble, I had some fresh grannies in the fridge that would be perfect. I'd also made some mandarin caramel on Saturday morning to have with our French toast, prosciutto and strawberries breakfast (another story, was very yum!) so thought I could figure this into the crumble somehow.

I ended up making an apple and mixed berry crumble with cinnamon, mandarin caramel glaze - and it was pretty amazing, and the perfect finish to the stunning meal of crown roast of lamb. So I thought I'd share this with those of us who love a good apple crumble - try a few little additions and turn it into something even more special.

I used Granny Smith apples, I prefer these because they hold their shape really well when cooked and have a sweet, tart flavour.

Granny Smith Apples peeled, cored and sliced

I used the mandarin caramel that I'd made earlier and just warmed this through with some cinnamon. Dry caramel is easy to make, you just add a thin layer of sugar to a fry pan and when it starts to melt and turn golden you add another layer, and you keep doing this until you've got the right amount of caramel and the colour you want.

Mandarin, Cinnamon Caramel (what was left of it)

I stirred this through the apples and popped the lot into my baking dish thinking that I was just going to put the crumble on top ... but then I thought maybe I didn't quite have enough fruit and that once the apples had cooked they'd be reduced by half and there wouldn't be enough dessert for everyone.

Apples with Cinnamon, Mandarin Caramel Glaze

So, I added some frozen mixed berries which I always have in the freezer. I had no idea whether this would work - I could only think I've got winter on the bottom and summer on top of that and then I'm going to top it off again with a winter crumble. Oh well, too late now!

Berries and Apple, don't they look great!

The crumble is just a made up version and I pretty much stick to the same ingredients all the time. I use rolled oats, almond meal, coconut, a little flour, sugar and butter. This time I added the zest from two large mandarins (phoenix variety) which added quite a different dimension to the flavour.

Mandarin and Coconut Crumble

The final dish was perfect, it took about an hour to bake at around 160 C (fan bake).

The finished Not So Humble Crumble

I love to make my own ice cream but there was no way I was going to get time to do that over the weekend, so popped up the shop and grabbed some vanilla bean ice cream.

Here's my final dish on the plate - it tasted really amazing - apple, citrus, berry and spice. To turn it from the humble crumble into something quite special didn't add any time at all - it's just a matter of thinking outside the square and seeing what's handy and what's in season. Recipe below.

My "Summer Meets Winter Not So Humble Crumble"

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Summer Meets Winter Not So Humble Crumble

Mandarin, Cinnamon Caramel

1/2 cup castor sugar
1/2 cup mandarin juice
40g unsalted butter

Fruit Base

6 large granny smith apples peeled, cored and sliced
1/2 cup mandarin and cinnamon caramel
1 packet frozen mixed berries

Crumble

1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup almond meal
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup plain or wholemeal flour
75g butter chopped into small cubes (more or less it's up to you)
zest of 3-4 mandarins
pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 160 deg C. (Using fan bake)

Caramel: Sprinkle a thin layer of sugar into a non-stick frying pan and cook over a medium heat until the sugar starts to melt and change colour. Agitate the pan to mix the sugar until all melted. Add another layer of sugar and repeat process until all sugar is used and has caramelised. Take off the pan and immediately add the juice and butter, stirring continuously and being careful as the caramel will splash and splutter with the addition of the cold juice.


Fruit Base: Add peeled, cored and sliced apples to a large bowl. Cover with warm, spiced caramel and mix together until well glazed. Pour apple mixture into a large baking dish and spread evenly. Add the frozen mixed berries over the top of the apples ensuring these are also evenly spread.

Crumble: Place all ingredients into a large mixing bowl. Rub butter into mixture until it resembles a crumb and there is no butter pieces visible. Taste to ensure that you have the right amount of sugar - you will need just enough to carry the tartness of the apples and not be over powering. Spread the crumble over the fruit base being sure to let this "settle" naturally on the fruit and not pressing it. Bake for 50-60 minutes in a moderate oven.

Bon Appetite!

Hot Chilli Chocolate

Ghastly weather outside right now. Well, it is winter after all and at least the temperature here in Sydney is relatively mild compared to some of my friends and family - we're sitting on 11 deg C.

So today's recipe is for you, my friends and family in places like:

• Melbourne - currently 8 deg
• Queenstown - currently -2 deg (fark!)
• Taupo - currently 5 deg
• Christchurch - currently 7 deg

This should warm you up a bit! Bit of a back story first though ...

Last weekend we were in the Blue Mountains and stopped in at a chocolate boutique. I'm sure you've been in one, or two. You know the ones that suck you in with their divine chocolate aromas and gorgeous shop displays. Yes well I was a pretty soft target on Sunday.

It wasn't so much all the delicious looking chocolate that interested me as much as the range of drinking chocolates. So I bought a lovely tin of Chilli Chocolate - $16.95 for 250gm. It's now what, Thursday evening, and two thirds of the tin has gone. Yip, it was that good. Not that I drank it alone, I did have help from the husband.

We like to drink our chocolate the Italian way, in a small cup and very strong, thick and creamy. That's why there's only a third left in the tin.

Anyway, got to thinking this is nice, but I'll soon need some more ... so read the ingredients and hey presto, I made some this evening. The flavour is pretty much identical, so pat myself on the back for getting the quantities pretty much spot on!

 Chocolate Chilli Powder

And, here it is ready to drink. I make it in a small espresso cup, heat the milk up in the microwave for about a minute until it's bubbling on top and just boiling. You could do this on the stove top but if you're only making it for yourself what's the point? I then add two tablespoons of my chilli chocolate powder (yes, I can hear you!) and give it a jolly good stir. Recipe below.

My cup of hot chilli chocolate

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Hot Chilli Chocolate

75g cocoa powder (I use Dutch 70%)
150g icing sugar (make sure it's pure icing sugar not the icing blend)
75g dark chocolate, roughly chopped (I use Lindt 70%)
1 tsp chilli powder (more or less, it's up to you)

Mix all ingredients thoroughly in a food processor until a fine powder. The solid chocolate won't mix to a powder though should still be nice fine pieces.

Add to hot milk and enjoy.

Bon Appetite!

Dangers of Home Made Mayonnaise

Mayonnaise... got to have it on a BLT, got to have it with fries, just got to have it! Don't be fooled though, there are many alternatives out in the market posing as "the real thing" but they really don't cut it for me. "Whole Egg Mayonnaise", "Soy Mayonnaise" and, in really tiny print "just like real mayonnaise". We're convinced into grabbing a jar off the shelf for our convenience and it's gracing our tables before we know it.

Not me though! I can't tell you the last time I bought the stuff off the shelf. I've been making my own for over 20 years now and my recipe has never failed me.

I am aware though that there are some "dangers" with mayonnaise due to the egg base, specifically to pregnant women, and possibly to the very young and elderly. It's to do with raw or unpastuerised eggs not being "safe".

Well yesterday, I found out that just making too much at once, by hand, isn't safe either and today I have a thumb that is so swollen and bruised you'd think I'd broken it.

I truly don't know what happened ... I don't have my stick blender anymore, it's in our lock-up since downsizing, so I've had to resort to making mayonnaise (and countless other things) by hand. So grabbed a large stainless bowl, and started whisking like crazy until I'd made the perfect mayonnaise - nicely balanced, tangy and sweet, good hit of mustard, and nice creamy texture.

As I was whisking away, I added a good splodge of oil - I guess around 100mls - and carried on whisking. The mayo split of course, but no panic, that's easily fixed. Added a little lemon juice, whisked away and it came right. 

Then, just after I'd scooped it all into my container I felt something "pop" in the inside crease of my thumb, then I couldn't move it anymore. It started to swell and go black and what looked like a varicose vein started popping up. Shit! Do I need to go to A&E? Do I have a DVT? What's going on? Then my thumb just grew and grew, and the pain started and it throbbed all night. I woke this morning to a less swollen but very black looking thumb. And, really the photo I took just doesn't do it justice!

Dangerous stuff mayonnaise!

According to Heston Blumenthal, who I think is barking mad and really, who "wants to cook like Heston" anyway, egg mayonnaise can take something like 400 times oil volume to one egg yolk! (I confess, I love Heston!)

I think that most people have a simple mayonnaise recipe or you can find one online easily, but today I've put this up because my friend Maisie has inspired me to. She told me last night she's doing a challenge to feed her and her husband for $80 a week (stay posted because she's going to be a guest contributor to my blog). So Maisie, this one's for you ... it's cheaper and tastier than many off-the-shelf varieties, and I'm sure during the week you can work it into a few recipes!

 Thumbs Up Mayonnaise

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Thumbs Up Mayonnaise

1 egg yolk at room temperature
1 tbsp dijon mustard
1 tbsp good honey (NZ clover honey if you can find it)
juice of 1 lemon
200mls or thereabouts of vegetable oil
1 tbsp boiling water
salt and pepper to season

Hand whisk version:  In a stainless or glass bowl add the egg yolk, mustard, honey, salt and pepper. Whilst until well combined. Add one teaspoon of oil and whisk well. Add another teaspoon of oil and whisk and continue doing this until you've added around 8 teaspoons of oil. Now you can add more oil in and whisk. What you're looking for is the initial emulsification of the oil and egg yolk, once you've got this you can add the oil in greater volume.

Once you have the right amount of oil that you need, you can add the lemon juice. Taste, and make sure you have the balance that you like between the lemon, mustard and the sugar. You shouldn't taste the oil and neither should you be able to taste the egg yolk.

When you've reached the right flavour and consistency, add the boiling water and whisk through. I understand that this will "stabilise" the mayonnaise however I'm not too sure what this really means! The mayonnaise should be a light and yet thick consistency.

Stick blender version: I use the tall container that comes with the stick blender but if you don't have this, any tall container that will fit the stick blender should do. Add all the ingredients except the boiling water and turn on the stick blender. This should emulsify all the ingredients in a matter of seconds. Put into a bowl and whisk through the boiling water. Taste and adjust flavours and seasonings. (The hand whisk version is less dense than this but it takes a little more time.)

Variations: Where to start ... well try adding some garlic (roasted is delicious) or some lime or lemon zest. Use a whole grain mustard instead of Dijon. Add a pinch of saffron and lime zest together for something a little more decadent.

Bon Appetite!