Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Quick Custard Squares

If you don't have the time or the pastry at the ready, this recipe will still produce amazing custard squares. We replace the pastry with cream crackers, which work surprisingly well.
Tip: Allow the custard and icing to set well in the fridge before attempting to cut it up.


Quick Custard squares

Equipment
·      Loaf tin
·      Sharp knife
·      Mixing bowls
·      Wooden spoon
·      Whisk
·      Pot
·      Measuring cups/spoons
Ingredients
6 plain square cream cracker biscuits eg (Huntley and Palmers)
1/4 cup custard powder
1 1/4 cups milk
1/4 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla essence

Icing
1/2 cup Icing sugar
1 knob of butter melted
2 tsp hot water
1 tablespoon passionfruit pulp
Method
Use 6 (3 bottom, 3 top) square crackers to line a loaf tin.
Cut crackers with the knife to fit if necessary.
Mix custard powder to a smooth paste with a little of the milk.
Separately heat the rest of the milk then add the sugar.
With a whisk, stir in the custard powder paste and continue to heat and stir until boiling and thickened. Remove from heat and add vanilla essence then pour custard over crackers.
Top with remaining crackers, leave until cool, then refrigerate until quite cold and set.

Icing
Combine icing sugar and butter with passionfruit pulp and mix until smooth.
Spread over cooled crackers after they set. Cut into squares when set.

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Lasagna.

A kiwi classic, full of fat and protein!
This a basic recipe, you could add lots of other stuff (olives, caps, parsley, mushrooms, bacon, chicken etc) to it.
I have used the small lasagna sheets which have to be cooked first.
Serve with a green salad.


Lasagna
Equipment
·      Pot and lid
·      Sieve
·      Sharp knife and chopping board
·      Small fry pan
·      Measuring cups/spoons
·      Oven dish
·      Mixing bowl
Ingredients
·      Lasagna pasta, 2 cup
·      Salt, a pinch
·      Beef mince, 1 ramekin
·      Onion, ½ sliced
·      Garlic, ¼-1/2 tsp
·      Tomato puree, 2 tsp in ½ cup water
·      Oil, a small squirt
·      Seasonings (salt/pepper)
·      Butter, 25g
·      Flour, 2 Tbsp
·      Milk. 1 cup
·      Cheese, 3 Tbsp
·      Herbs, pinch
·      Breadcrumbs, 1/3 cup
Method
1.    Preheat oven to 1750C.
2.    Bring a pot ¾ full of water to the boil. Lid on.
3.    Add a pinch of salt.
4.    Add the pasta, stir and bring back to the boil.
5.    Boil, uncovered for 15 minutes or until pasta “al dente”. Drain through sieve and leave in mixing bowl.
6.    Heat up the fry pan with a little oil (medium heat).
7.    Add the onion and fry until soft.
8.    Add the mince, garlic and seasonings and cook through (5-10 minutes). Add tomato puree with water. Leave to reduce on low heat.
9.    Place the butter in the pot and melt.
10.  Add the flour and cook for 2 minutes until frothy.
11. Take off the heat and add the milk, stirring all the time. Return to heat.
12. When the sauce is thick, add the cheese and herbs. Mix through and remove from the heat.
13. Layer the pasta, meat and sauce in the oven dish.
14. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the top and bake for 15 minutes.

Sunday, September 2, 2012

Lemon Coconut Slice

Ooooh, this is good.
The combination of the sweet lemon and coconut is a winner..
I have done this recipe in a round pie dish but you could double the recipe to fit in a bigger rectangular slice tin.
Just don't eat too much of this dish as it contains a lot of sugar and fat.
If you don't have a zester, you could use a grater to remove the rind/zest from the lemon.

Lemon Coconut Slice
Equipment
·      Slice tin with baking paper
·      Measuring cups/spoons
·      Mixing bowls
·      Wooden spoon
·      Sieve
·      Whisk
·      Cooling rack
·      Zester or grater
·      Juicer (1 per table)
Ingredients
·      Butter, 50g, melted
·      Castor sugar, ½ cup
·      Egg, 1, beaten
·      Lemon rind, 1 tsp (1/2 a lemon)
·      Flour, ½ cup
·      Baking powder, ½ tsp
·      Coconut, 1/3 cup
Lemon Glace Icing
·      Icing sugar, ½ cup
·      Lemon juice, 1 Tbsp
·      Coconut, 1 Tbsp
Method
1.    Preheat the oven to 2000C.
2.    Grease and line slice tin with baking paper.
3.    Mix together the melted butter and sugar, then the egg and lemon rind.
4.    Sieve in the flour and baking powder, then mix in the coconut.
5.    Spread the mix into the slice tin and pack down.
6.    Bake for 20 minutes. It should have risen, be spongy and light brown in colour. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on rack.
7.    Make the icing by sieving the icing sugar and pouring in the lemon juice and mixing well until spreadable. Add a little hot water if too dry.
8.    Carefully spread the icing on the cooled slice.
9.    Sprinkle the coconut over the icing.
10. Cut into squares/slices and serve.





Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Fish Pie.

This recipe is not a pastry pie but a potato top/base with a fish and egg sauce in the middle. We have used tinned smoked fish but real smoked fish would be better.
Remember to time the eggs when they start to boil, not when they are put in the pot. They need 8 minutes to be hard boiled.
You could even put some cheese in the sauce too.
This recipe is a lot better tasting than it sounds.


Fish Pie.
Equipment
·      Pie dish
·      Small pot and lid
·      Chopping board and sharp knife
·      Measuring cup/spoons
·      Wooden spoon
·      Sieve
·      Peeler
·      Potato masher
Ingredients
·      Butter, 25g
·      Potatoes, 1-2 (peeled. boiled and mashed)
·      Flour, 2 Tbsp
·      Milk, 1 cup
·      Smoked fish, 2 Tbsp
·      Parsley, 1 tsp chopped fine
·      Egg, 2, hard boiled, chopped
·      Seasoning (salt/pepper)
Method
1.    Wash, peel, wash the potato before cutting into chunks and boiling it until soft (about 15 minutes).
2.    Drain the potato through the sieve before leaving in the pot to dry out.
3.    Mash the potato in a mixing bowl, add a little butter and season.
4.    Boil the eggs for 8-10 minutes before running under cold water and peeling.
5.     Melt the butter in the pot before stirring in the flour. Cook until frothy.
6.    Take off the heat and add the milk.
7.    Place back on the heat and stir until the sauce thickens.
8.    Add the fish, parsley and boiled egg.
9.    Line the pie dish with half of the mashed potato.
10. Pour the fish mix into the pie dish.
11. Cover with the rest of the mashed potato.
12. Bake at 1900C for 20 minutes until golden brown.