Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Food Academy- Pears in Tutu's (poached pears in pastry with apricot glaze).


Pears in tutus

ingredients
2 lemons, juice and zest
½ tsp vanilla essence
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups water
4 pears, peeled and cored with bottoms trimmed
1 sheet butter puff pastry
2 tsp apricot or orange jam thinned with a little boiling water

Method

1 Poach the pears; this can be done a day or two ahead.
2 Place the lemon juice, vanilla, sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Do not stir. Simmer until the sugar has dissolved.
3 Peel the pears, neatly leaving the stalks intact. Slice the bottoms off so that they sit upright. I don't remove the core but if you prefer to that is fine.
4 Carefully add the pears to the lemon syrup, weight with an inverted saucer to keep submerged. Simmer for 20 minutes or until tender.
5  Store pears in poaching liquor. The poaching liquor is a lovely lemon and pear cordial, great as a soft drink or a cocktail mixer.
6 Cut 4 rounds of pastry and transfer to a lined baking tray. Mark a smaller circle about the size of the base of each pear into each round. Place a pear in the centre of each pastry circle and brush the pear and the pastry with the apricot jam.
7 Bake for 20-25 minutes until the pastry has puffed up. Serve with icecream and a little warmed lemon vanilla syrup.
I used the remaining syrup as a base for a cold drink. Just dilute with cold water.

Lamb Curry

A simple curry recipe.
If you can master this, you can move on to better curry recipes.
Don't burn your onions as they contain the flavour.
You could replace the lamb with most other meats (chicken, beef, pork, fish).
Use a good quality curry powder to get the best results. The Garam Masala (and chilli) is added when the curry is cooked.

Lamb Curry

Ingredients
·      Onions, sliced, 1/2
·      Garlic (optional), 1 clove
·      Oil for frying
·      Curry powder, 1-2 tsp
·      Lamb, trimmed off the bone and cut into small pieces
·      Apple cider vinegar, 1 tsp
·      Tomato (2 tsp puree in 1 cup water)
·      Garam Masala (finishing spice), 1 tsp
·      Seasoning (salt/pepper/chilli if required)
·      Rice, long grain, 1 cup, washed.

Method
1.   Fry the onions in a little oil until soft. Medium heat
2.   Add the curry powder (to your taste) and garlic (optional) to the onions and mix.
3.   Add the vinegar (1 tsp). This adds acidity and helps break down the muscle tissue. Mix in until it is absorbed into the onions. The onions are the flavour holder.
4.   Add the lamb pieces, mix into the onions and brown off.
5.   Add the tomato puree mixed in the water to cover the lamb.
6.   Bring to the boil and then simmer for half an hour at least.
7.   Wash the rice through a sieve.
8.   Add 2 cups of hot water to a pot with a good pinch of salt then add the rice.
9.   Bring to the boil and then simmer on low heat for about 10 minutes. Keep the lid on. When the rice is cooked, drain and serve.

10. When the curry is done, add the garam masala, season and serve.

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Sweet Pumpkin Pie

An American classic. Served for Thanksgiving and on Halloween.
Make sure that your filling is solid before you pull the pie out of the oven.

Sweet Pumpkin Pie

Equipment
·      Pie dish (flan ring)
·      Sharp knife and chopping board
·      Small pot and lid
·      Sieve
·      Whisk/ potato masher
·      Measuring cups/spoons
·      Cooling rack
·      Rolling pin

Ingredients
·      Sweet pastry, 1 sheet
·      Pumpkin, 300g (boiled and dried)
·      Eggs, 2, beaten
·      Condensed milk, 2 Tbspn
·      Castor sugar, ¼ cup
·      Cinnamon, ½ tsp
·      Ginger, ¼ tsp
·      Cloves, pinch

Method
1.    Cut out the base of the pie from the pastry, mold into shape in the pie dish and then use the excess pastry for the sides. Chill in the fridge.
2.    Peel the pumpkin with the knife, cut into cubes and boil in 1 cup of water until soft (about 10-15 minutes).
3.    Drain the pumpkin through the sieve until no steam is present then mash with potato masher in a mixing bowl. Allow to cool down a bit.
4.    Mix the egg, milk, sugar and spices into the pumpkin puree.
5.    Pour into the pastry base and bake at 1800C for 25-30 minutes. The filling should not be wobbly.
6.    Cool on wire rack before cutting into quarters.


Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Filo Parcels (cheesy mince and vege)

A simple but effective recipe.
You can use any type of filling as long as it is not too wet.
Be very careful with the filo pastry. It is very fragile to handle.
Make sure your work bench is completely dry as water dissolves the pastry.
You can cut it into different strips if you want to fold different shapes.

Filo Triangles (Mince and Vegetable)
Equipment
·      Oven tray
·      Small fry pan
·      Mixing bowl
·      Wooden spoon
·      Measuring cup
·      Chopping board and knife
·      Pastry brush
Ingredients
·      Filo pastry (4 sheets- 2 per person)
·      Butter, 25g, melted in ramekin
·      Cheese, 1 Tbspn
·      Mince, 1/4 cup
·      Frozen Mixed vegetables,1/2 cup
·      Onion, ½ sliced
·      Seasoning (small pinch of salt, pepper, herbs, curry powder)
·      Oil for frying
Method
1.    Slice the onion and fry in a little oil until soft.
2.    Add the mince first, brown then add the mixed vegetables into the fry pan and cook until soft.
3.    Mix this together with the cheese and seasonings in a mixing bowl. Allow to cool.
4.    Melt the butter in a measuring cup in the microwave.
5.    Lay out the filo pastry and brush each sheet lightly with butter, using the pastry brush.
6.    Lay the 2 sheets of pastry on top of each other and cut 4 strips (down the long side).
7.    Place a small amount of filling on the bottom of the pastry and fold triangles up the strip.
8.    Place folded side down onto a greased oven tray and bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes at 1900C.