Thursday, April 18, 2013

Sausage Rolls.

An oldie but a goodie.


Beef Sausage Rolls

Equipment

Sharp knife
Wooden chopping board
2 Bowls
Wooden spoon
Measuring cup
Whisk
Basting brush
Oven tray

Ingredients

Beef mince (or spinach if vegetarian), 1 ramekin
Onion, ½, diced finely
Breadcrumbs, 1/3 cup
Egg, 1, whisked up
Tomato paste/sauce, 1 tsp
Seasoning (salt, pepper, herbs etc)
Flakey puff pastry, 1 sheet
Parsley, 1 tsp, chopped finely
Flour for rolling

Method
Oven on to 2000C
1.    Combine beef mince, diced onion, breadcrumbs, tomato paste, chopped parsley and whisked egg into a bowl and mix well with wooden spoon.
2.    Season and mix again.
3.    Sprinkle some flour on to the clean bench, divide the mince into half and roll out mince mix into 2 long sausages.
4.    Set out the sheet of puff pastry and cut in half.
5.    Roll the mince onto the middle of each pastry sheet and roll up the pastry, sealing the edge by brushing with egg/water mixture.
6.    Brush more egg/water mix over the sausage roll.
7.    Cut the sausage rolls into 10cm lengths.
8.    Place on baking paper on the oven tray and bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden.
9.    Serve with a small amount of tomato sauce.

Self Assessment

Identifying hand equipment W.S

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Food Academy- Brandy Snaps

This is a delicate recipe. You need to cook the snap mix to the right colour (dark golden brown), pull it out of the oven, let it cool down and quickly wrap it around a round object or make a basket before it completely hardens.
Practice makes perfect.


Brandy Snaps

Ingredients
·      Butter, 40g
·      Golden Syrup, 2 Tbspn
·      Caster sugar, ¼ cup
·      Ground ginger, 1 tsp
·      Flour, 1/3 cup
·      Rum or Brandy essence, 1/2 tsp
·      Lemon rind, ¼ tsp, finely chopped

Method
1.    Melt butter and Golden syrup in a pot on a low heat.
2.    Remove from heat and add flour, sugar, ginger, rum essence and lemon rind. Mix together.
3.    Drop teaspoons of mix onto an oven tray covered with baking paper. Allow 5cm between each drop.
4.    Bake in a 2000C oven for 5-7 minutes. Pull them out when they are a dark golden brown.
5.    Place on the stove top and allow to cool for 30- 60 seconds. Gently lift with a knife and roll around a greased round handle (or over a small ramekin to make baskets).
6.    Let cool to hard and gently remove the snap from the handle.

Filling
·      Cream, ½ cup
·      Vaniila essence, 3 drops
·      Icing sugar, 1 Tbspn

Whip the cream with the other ingredients. Scoop into a piping bag with a nozzle and carefully pipe into the brandy snaps.
Arrange nicely on a plate.

Sunday, April 14, 2013

Banana & Chocolate chip muffins

Remember not to over mix your muffin batter, just a gentle folding through.
Otherwise you get RUBBER muffins!


Banana & Chocolate Chip Muffins

Equipment

Large bowl
Small bowl
Masher
Wooden spoon
Measuring cups/spoons
Sieve
Muffin tray (silicone)

Ingredients (makes 6 large muffins)

Butter, 25g, soft
Brown sugar, 1/2 cup
Egg, 1
Wholemeal flour, ½ cup
Plain flour, ½ cup
Baking powder, ½ tsp
Baking soda, 1/2 tsp
Salt, small pinch
Milk, 1/4 cup
Banana, mashed, 1 small
Chocolate chips, 1 ramekin

Method
Oven on to 1750C
1.    Cream the butter and sugar in a small bowl.
2.    Beat in the egg, then add the mashed banana.
3.    Sift the wholemeal flour, plain flour, baking powder and salt together in a large bowl. Add in the chocolate chips.
4.    Dissolve the baking soda in the milk in a measuring cup.
5.    Add the contents of all bowls and measuring cup together.
6.    Fold gently together. Do not over-mix!
7.    Spoon into large muffin tray (use 6).
8.    Bake for 15-20 minutes or until risen and soft, not mushy.
9.    Remove from oven and let cool down before removing from muffin tray.
10. Dust with cocoa and icing sugar to finish.




Saturday, April 13, 2013

Food Academy - Asian Curry


Asian Red/Green Curry (Laksa)

Equipment
·      Large frying pan
·      Pot
·      Sieve
·      Chopping board and sharp knife
·      Measuring cups/spoons

Ingredients
·      Red or green curry paste, 1-3 tsp (mild, medium, hot)
·      Coconut milk, 1 cup
·      Chicken (or pork or prawns), 1 breast, cut into chunks
·      Thai fish sauce, 1 tsp
·      Chicken stock, 1 cup, hot
·      Bean sprouts, half a handful
·      Palm sugar, ½ tablet, crushed
·      Chinese cabbage, ¼, shredded
·      Coriander leaves, chopped
·      Chilli flakes, light sprinkling
·      Rice noodles
·      Oil for frying

Method
1.    Place the curry paste into a large oiled frying pan on medium heat.
2.    Stir fry for 2 minutes.
3.    Add the chicken stock and bring to boil.
4.    Add coconut and bring to boil. Turn heat down and simmer.
5.    Add fish sauce and palm sugar.
6.    Add the chicken and Chinese cabbage to soup and simmer for 15 minutes. Season
7.    Boil a pot of water for the noodles, cook until soft then drain.
8.    Add the noodles and bean sprouts to bowls.
9.    Pour the soup over the noodles and garnish with fresh coriander and chilli flakes.