We’ve Gone all Tarty – Potato & Balsamic Onion Wholemeal Tart, Caramel Apple Olive Oil Pastry Galette

Feeling a little tarty the other weekend I went to the pantry for inspiration….. and not what you may have been thinking that I was wearing some inappropriate attire for my age! In fact I have gone quite conservative lately with 60s vintage dresses that I am having so much fun buying, I just wish I could find the shoes to match. The back combed hair will not be making an appearance though, I only managed to grow it a couple of inches long before I went screaming to the hairdresser for a short crop again! Longer hair is so impractical if you want a quick surf before work and still turn up to the office looking half decent and on time.

The plan was to make a savoury and sweet tart out of the same pastry base but as I started on my tart mission I realized I did not have enough butter for two tarts but I was still determined to make two as remembered a recipe I had seen on one of my favourite food blogs by Natalie at Food Blog and the Dog. This is a ‘must go to site’ if you are vegetarian or need some non meat inspiration in your cooking. I often wish I could accompany Natalie on her walks through the Andalusian countryside.
I wasn’t sure if I was going to like the pastry for the sweet tart, after all I’m a die hard trained French pastry chef but I love this pastry so much I am going to make some of my Christmas baking with it this year. If you like a nice crisp crust you will love it too.

Potato & Balsamic Onion Tart with Wholemeal Rosemary Pastry

Pastry ingredients & method you can find HERE
Add a handful of fresh rosemary to the flour before whizzing into breadcrumbs

Ingredients – Filling

3 red onions, peeled & finely sliced

Olive oil

2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tsp brown sugar

1 large potato (200g), peeled & thinly sliced

100g feta cheese

1 free range egg

100ml milk

pinch of salt & ground black pepper

Method – Filling

Pre-heat oven to 180C and grease & flour a loose bottom tart tin.

In a large frying pan over a medium heat add a splash of olive oil and the sliced onions.

Braise onions until they are soft, approximately 8 minutes then add the balsamic vinegar & brown sugar and stir through onions.

Cook for a further 2 minutes and allow onions to cool before spreading them over the tart case.

Crumble the feta cheese over the onions then arrange the sliced potatoes over the top as in the picture.

Whisk together the egg and milk with the salt & pepper and gently pour over the potatoes.

Bake for 35 minutes or until the egg has set and the potatoes are golden.

Serve with salad.

Caramel Apple Tart with Spelt & Olive Oil Pastry

Ingredients

75g Spelt flour or wholemeal

75g plain flour or wholemeal

1 Tbsp brown sugar

60g olive oil

1 egg

1/4 cup cold water (approximately)

Method – Pastry

Place both flours into a food processor with the sugar.

Add the olive oil to the flour while whizzing the food processor until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.

Add the egg and whiz again briefly.

Remove the lid & blade from the processor and continue the next step by hand to prevent the pastry going tough.

Add the water gradually while kneading the dough lightly with one hand, add only enough water to bring the dough together. Once the dough comes together do not knead it any longer.

You can rest the pastry for 10 minutes if it is warm but I find with wholemeal & buckwheat the pastry is manageable straight away.

Roll pastry out to the size of a large dinner plate and move to a non stick baking sheets.

Ingredients – Filling

3 apples, cored and slice thinly

2 Tbsp castor sugar

2 Tbsp water

2 Tbsp butter

Method – Filling

Pre-heat oven to 180C.

Arrange apple slices around the pastry base leaving an inch bare around the edge to fold over.

Fold dough into the centre to cover the edge of the apples, pleating as you go, it doesn’t have to be perfect, galettes are rustic.

Place water, butter & sugar for the caramel in a pan on a low heat until the sugar has dissolved then turn up the heat. Once it starts to turn golden brown, turn off the heat and allow it to cool.

Once cool pour carefully over the apples in the pastry case.

Bake for 35 minutes on a low shelf in the oven to crisp the bottom.

Spelt & Rye Spiced Biscuits

The smell of baked mixed spice wafting through the house is what truly defines Christmas for me, it takes me back to the years I lived in Frankfurt , the shops where full of the best every Christmas confections, biscuits and cakes. If I could transport myself there for a few days over Christmas I would visit the Weihnachtsmarkt with my good friend Petra, drink Gluewein by the Christmas tree and subject her to English carols with my cat warbles. We would eat sausages & sauerkraut and fill our bags with Lebkucken and marzipan treats, well I would anyway, Petra wouldn’t need to as she can pop them in her shopping bag anytime. Viel spass meine liebe freundin und trink eins fuer mich auf dem Markt!

But it is another friend who inspired me to bake spiced cookies in November, I had been chatting to Arfi of Homemades on Twitter about baking ammonium (hirschhornsaltz) used in Swedish spiced biscuits and where to buy the ingredient which doesn’t seem to be available here. All the talk of Christmas biscuits and spices had me longing for some goodies all day so I rushed home and put these together. I have used a combination of Spelt and Rye Flour, the Rye leaves little kernels in the mouth after the biscuit is gone which I love, a bit nutty. If you don’t like that texture then stick to all Spelt flour.

If anyone knows where we can buy Ammonium Carbonate, Bakers Ammonia in NZ  please let me know.

This is also my entry to our monthly blogging event Sweet NZ which is being hosted this month by Lucy over at The Kitchenmaid. Do pop over to her blog and see what she is up to as well as our Kiwi round up of sweet treats at teh end of the month.

Ingredients

150g butter

100g brown sugar

200g spelt

100 rye

2 tsp ground ginger

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 ground cardamon

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

2 Tbsp water

slivered almonds to garnish

Method

Pre heat oven to 180C. You will need 3 baking trays.

Beat together the butter and brown with an electric mixer until creamy.

Add flour & spices to the butter mixture and mix until just combined (maybe a little crumbly).

To form the dough add the 2 tablespoons of water and knead dough together slightly

Flatten the dough and wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 15 minutes.

To roll the dough out lay the dough between two sheets of greeseproof paper and roll dough to approximately ‘cheese cracker’ thickness.

Refrigerate in sheet form for 10 minutes, it’s easier to cut chilled dough.

Cut out biscuits with your preferred cookie shape. I used mini circles which made about 45 and place the biscuit shapes onto a non stick baking tray.

Decorate with slivered almonds if you wish.

Bake biscuits for 10 minutes. The biscuits will be dark brown due to the spelt and rye flour.

Allow to cool.

The biscuits will keep for a week in an airtight container.

Malaysian Egg Curry & Return of The Gannets

Where have you gone my lovely sunshine? For one day you graced us with your presence and back into hiding you went, all you left behind was a glowing red line across the back of my neck, evidence that you truly had visited . Our beautiful Gannets were happy as the sun shone, they played on the blustery sea air, swooping and diving, showing off to their mates, they are home again for the season. When the wind blows onshore we can hear their calls from our deck, they know summer is on it’s way even if the sun doesn’t always play it’s part in the deal.

As the weather changed again the salads went to the back of the fridge and a quick spicy Malaysian curry made an appearance for lunch. The recipe is slightly adjusted from Alice Hart’s book, Vegetarian to suit the ingredients I had on hand, it’s one of my favourites because it is so quick to prepare and full of fragrant flavours.

Ingredients – 4 portions

Serve with Basmati or Jasmine rice

8 soft boiled eggs

1 Tbsp coconut oil

4 spring onions, thinly sliced

3 cloves garlic

2 inch fresh ginger, grated

1 tsp cumin seeds, ground

1 tsp coriander seeds, ground

1 tsp turmeric powder

1 chili, chopped

400ml chopped tinned tomatoes

2 Tbsp tamarind paste

100ml coconut milk

1 Tbsp brown sugar

salt to season

large handful fresh coriander, chopped

Method

In a large frying pan heat the coconut oil over a medium heat.

Add the spring onions, ginger and garlic and saute for 2 minutes.

Add the ground cumin, coriander, turmeric, chili & tomatoes to the pan and saute for 5 more minutes.

Stir in the tamarind paste, coconut milk and brown sugar, season with salt to your taste.

Simmer for 5 minutes until the sauce starts to thicken and then add the boiled eggs.

Cook for a few more minutes to warm the eggs through.

Scatter with fresh coriander and serve with rice

A Few Salads To Ease Us Into Summer – Mexican Slaw, Cauliflower & Capers, Easy Beans & Peas

I posted in September that I had written a few recipes for Nourish magazine and promised to post all of the recipes on my blog once the issue had been released, well here they are finally. It’s been a busy week of work, cooking classes organising a Blogger dinner event and bathroom renovations, any spare time has been spent with a hammer or paint brush in my hand.  I have to confess, I have many recipes and photos sitting on my Mac that never make it onto the blog, I always have time to cook and eat and love to photograph but finding the time to sit down and write them up is a little harder to find. It certainly comes in handy though for weeks like this.

Mexican seems to be all the craze at the moment and this Slaw the perfect way to spice up your summer burgers, whether fish, chicken or beef. If the weather is not quite warm enough at your ‘neck of the woods’ to get into leafy salads, try the warm cauliflower salad or the bean & pea salad.

Mexican Style Slaw
Ingredients
Serves 8 burgers easily
1/2 white cabbage (or 1/4 of each red and white), outer leaves and core removed
6-8 large radish
small bunch fresh coriander, finely chopped
3 spring onions, root removed
50ml sour cream
Juice and zest of 1 lime
1 medium hot chili
pinch salt
Method
Slice the cabbage and radish as thin as possible, almost paper thin! I use a mandolin. Place in a large bowl.
Finely slice the spring onions and chili, remove chili seeds if they are too hot (they are the hottest part of the chili). Add to the bowl with the cabbage and radish.
Add the chopped coriander to the bowl.
In a separate bowl place the sour cream, lime juice, zest and salt, mix together.
Add the sour cream dressing to the coleslaw just before serving so it doesn’t go too soft.

Vibrant Bean Salad with Cumin Seeds & herbs

Ingredients
300g frozen, garden peas
200g frozen broad beans
300g green beans, stalk removed
large handful of parsley and fresh coriander
1 tsp cumin seeds
Juice of 1 lemon
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 small clove garlic
Salt & Pepper
Method

Defrost both the garden peas and broad beans.

Remove the outer shell of the broad beans (they can be chewy).

Thoroughly drain the peas and podded broad beans then place them in a large bowl.

In a large pan of boiling water blanch the green beans for 2 minutes then drain and plunge into a bowl of ice cold water, this will stop further cooking and keep them bright green.

Drain the green beans and add to the rest of the beans & peas.

Blend together the olive oil, lemon juice, cumin seeds, coriander, parsley and garlic to a smooth salad dressing.

Mix the dressing through the beans and serve.

Optional: you could serve with some crumbled feta cheese.

Warm Cauliflower, Caper & Anchovy Salad

Ingredients

1 Cauliflower divided into florets

1 Tbsp capers

2 anchovy fillets

1 clove garlic

Large handful parsley

juice of 1 lemon

60ml olive oil

salt& pepper

Method

Steam cauliflower for 2-3 minutes, you want it still to have a little crunchiness to it.

Place all the other ingredients into a blender and whiz together to make the dressing and season to taste with black pepper & salt.

Place the cooked cauliflower onto a serving platter and drizzle with dressing.

Serve immediately.

Salted Caramel Doughnuts & Salted Caramel Apples on Stick – Happy Halloween!

I’m still on my salted caramel crusade, I think I probably just need to buy a box of the Bohemian chocolates that we sampled at the Chocolate Festival in Wellington and get over it. I mean a batch of doughnuts and caramel toffee apples in one weekend for a household of two is ridiculous and hubby doesn’t eat fruit and also decided he didn’t like salted caramel either… a little strange I know. I became the good neighbour, fobbing off my wares, sharing the love and the calories…cough..cough, that’s what friends are for right? I fried these doughnuts this time but I have been known to bake them in the past just like a bread roll and they are still rather good.

The toffee apples are for Halloween, it’s a funny treat isn’t it? An apple a day keeps the dentist away they say, I’m sure the dentist has a heart attack over these apples but no more so than when we get to pay our dentist bill. I went last week, just a routine check and teeth clean by the hygienist and it cost more than a whole orchard of apples and the toffee together, I should have taken him some toffee apples so we could all have broken out in a cold sweat together.

Ingredients – Doughnuts, makes 8

350g plain flour

70g brown sugar

1tsp instant yeast

165ml luke warm milk

1 free range eggs

70g butter, melted

vegetable oil for frying

Method

Combine the flour and sugar in a bowl.

Add the yeast to the milk and put aside for a few minutes until it starts to ferment. Then whisk the yeasty milk together with the eggs and melted butter. Add to the flour mix and combine into a dough ball.

Knead the dough for 8-10 minutes and press dough out on a floured working surface to approximately an inch thick.

Using a medium & very small cookie cutter, cut the doughnuts out with the large cutter and the cut the centres out of each doughnut with the small cutter. Place the doughnuts and the ‘whole’ separately on an oiled tray to prove, leaving enough space between them to double in size.

Oil the top if the doughnuts and cover the whole tray with a plastic bag, you’ll need to use 2 trays

Re-knead any dough left over and cut out further doughnuts.

Once dough is doubled in size they are ready to bake.

Heat approximately 300ml of vegetable oil to 190C in a heavy bottom pan, enough to be half the depth of the doughnuts. If you don’t have a themometre just do a test with a little piece of dough to check when it is hot enough. Its should slowly brown.

Add 2 to 3 to the pan and fry the doughnuts for approximately 1 minute then turn and fry for the same amount of time on second side.

Remove from saucepan with a slotted spoon and allow doughnuts to cool on kitchen paper.

Make the caramel at this stage and once it is ready the doughnuts will be cool enough to dip.

Ingredients – Caramel

1 cup brown sugar

100g butter

3 Tbsp water

1tsp salt

Method -Caramel

Combine the sugar, butter & water in a saucepan over low heat until the sugar has melted, stirring constantly.

Increase the heat and bring the caramel up to 146C (you will need a sugar thermometre)

Once it has reached temperature turn the heat off and lett it settle for a minute then dip both the doughnuts & apples into the caramel.

You can add an extra sprinkle of salt to the caramel if you wish.

The Asparagus Table – La Vignarola – Italian Spring Soup, Wholemeal Asparagus Tart and Egg Asparagus Soldiers

Some of the simplest things in life are best, how often have you heard that remark?  The long awaited asparagus season is here in New Zealand and keeping it simple with asparagus certainly highlights the veg at it’s best. My favourite way to eat asparagus is just lightly steamed served with eggs ‘anyway’ and lashings of butter,  try a fun quirky way of serving the spears with your soft boiled egg using them as ‘dunking soldiers’. As I was eating the asparagus and boiled eggs my mind had already wandered onto truffle oil drizzled into the shell…watch out shopping bill, truffle oil may well be in the next basket.

The Italian spring soup La Vignarola is perfect for show casing not only asparagus but also lovely spring vegetables of podded peas and broad beans. If you can’t find them freshly podded and don’t have them sprouting away in your garden, snap frozen are pretty convenient and taste great too. A simple tart of asparagus with sour cream and mustard is easy for anyone to whip up, I made a wholemeal pastry but you can always buy pre bought if you are short on time or don’t have ‘pastry fingers’.

La Vignarola – Spring Soup

Ingredients

4 spring onions, sliced

2 bunches asparagus

200g frozen peas, defrosted

200g broad beans, podded (you can use frozen)

200g jar marinated artichoke hearts

3 cloves garlic

2 cups vegetable stock

Large handful each of parsley & mint, finely chopped

Zest and juice 1 small lemon

100g shaved Pecorino to serve

Olive Oil

Salt & Pepper

Method

Cut the woody ends off the asparagus spears and discard, then cut spears into three.

Place a little olive oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat.

Add the spring onions and garlic and cook for 5 minutes.

Add the asparagus, podded broad beans and stock to the pan and cook for a further 5 minutes.

Add the peas, artichokes juice and zest of the lemon to the saucepan and season with salt & pepper.

You can add some of the artichoke marinade to the soup also if you wish, tasting as you do.

Add the parsley and mint.

Bring the soup to the boil then remove from the heat and serve immediately, you want the veg to be crisp and green.

Serve the soup with shaved pecorino and crust bread

Asparagus Tart – serves 6

Ingredients – pastry
110g butter

180g wholemeal flour
1 egg

2 Tbsp iced water

pinch of salt

Method – Pastry

Place flour, butter and salt in the bowl and whiz until it resembles breadcrumbs.

Add the egg and water and knead together briefly to form a dough.

Rest the pastry in the fridge for 20 minutes.

Roll pastry out to fit tart tin and press into place, trim edges off pastry.

Ingredients – Tart Filling

1 bunch spring asparagus

250g sour cream

2 large free range eggs

2 heaped tsp whole grain mustard

salt & pepper to season

ground black pepper

Method – Tart Filling

Pre-heat oven at 180C & grease & flour a 20cm loose bottom tart tin.

Remove the woody ends from the asparagus and cut spear in half.

Whisk together the sour cream, eggs and mustard and season with a little salt & pepper.

Pour mixture into the pastry base.

Lay the asparagus half spears on top of the mixture in pastry case, alternating tip and base as in picture.

Grind some black pepper over the top of asparagus.

Bake in oven on a lower shelf (to crisp pastry base) for 35-40 minutes until tart is set and golden.

Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before removing tart from mould.
Serve warm of chilled

Microwave Lemon Curd, Lemon Victoria Sandwich Cake, Lemon Shortbread Biscuits

My friend and neighbour asked her children to pop down into the garden to pick some lemons off their tree, keep them entertained while dinner was being prepared. I suppose the trick with young children is you need to be specify exactly how many lemons you want them to pick otherwise it turns into a game and they merrily pick away all the lemons within reach which is what happened and why I was the receiver of an armful of beautiful, thick skinned, very large juicy lemons. We use a lot of lemons and limes in a week but this was even a little too many for us in our every day cuisine so I decided to make lemon curd. When you lead a busy life and are permanently rushed for time, standing over a pot stirring and waiting for curd it to thicken could be hit and miss, if like me you are attempting to multitask at the same time.  I decided to give the microwave method a go and hoped I wouldn’t end up with lemony eggs as I wasn’t sold on the idea apart from the time factor. I was amazed how easy it was, with no scrambled egg in sight, as a result I will never toil over a stove again to make curd. The key is to cook the mixture in short bursts in the microwave and whisk in between every burst of cooking time. I normally treat my curd like gold and if you get a jar you are honored indeed when it takes so long to make I tend to hide it at the back of my cupboard but this method was so quick I gave all the jars of curd away with the same speed it was made, knowing I can whip up a batch any time.

Once you have a batch of lemon curd, the dessert table beckons you to bake, easy shortbread turns into delightfully special treats and the traditional Victoria Sandwich Cake becomes a little more royal.

This is also my submission for our monthly blogging event Sweet New Zealand which is being hosted by Sue over at Couscous and Consciousness

Microwave Lemon Curd

Ingredients -4 x 200ml jars

4 lemons, juice & zest

4 eggs

100g sugar

100g butter

Method

Sterilise your jars & lids by boiling in water for 10 minutes.

Whisk together the lemon juice, zest, sugar and eggs in a plastic bowl, I use plastic because it doesn’t heat as much as glass or ceramic (less likely to get scrambled egg).

Add the butter to the bowl.

Place bowl in microwave on high for 1 minute , remove and whisk. The butter will only be partially melted.

Heat again for 1 minute in microwave, remove and whisk. If the butter has already melted and the liquid is getting warm start heating for 30 seconds bursts only and remove from microwave in between each 30 seocnds and whisk before heating again.

Once the lemon curd has thickened it is done. Pour into sterilized jars and seal with lid.

Lemon Curd Shortbread Biscuits – makes 12 minis

Ingredients
50g sugar

100g butter

150g plain flour

1/4 tsp vanilla paste or seeds of 1/2 bean

Method
Pre-heat oven to 200C

Place sugar, flour, butter into a food processor and whiz them until they resemble breadcrumbs.

Then pulse slowly until the mixture comes to a dough, do not over mix at this stage.

Remove biscuit dough from the food processor and place between 2 sheets of greaseproof paper.

Roll the shortbread out to 1/2 inch thick and use a biscuit cutter to cut out circles. With half of the biscuits cut out a smaller whole in the centre, I used a large piping nozzle. Re-roll the scraps of dough and cut out further biscuits until all the dough is used.

Place on a non stick baking tray with a little space between biscuits and bake for 20 minutes until golden brown, remove from the oven and allow to cool.

To serve, add a dollop of lemon curd to the base biscuit and top with a ‘wholy’ biscuit. Biscuits can be stored in an airtight container for a week without their curd filling. I recommend adding the curd before you serve them.

Lemon Victoria Sandwich Cake

Ingredients
250g SR Flour

250g butter

200g sugar

4 free range eggs

1/4 tsp vanilla paste or seeds of 1/2 bean

Method
Preheat the oven to 180C

Butter and line with greaseproof paper the base and sides of 2 x 20cm cake tins

Place the butter, vanilla bean seeds or paste and sugar in a large bowl and beat or whisk together until pale and fluffy.

Add the eggs one at a time  beating well between each addition.

Fold in the flour with a large metal spoon, taking care not to knock out too much air.

Spoon the mixture into the tins and smooth the top.

Bake cakes in the centre of the oven for 30 minutes, do NOT be tempted to open the oven before this time is up as this sponge cake is sensitive and likely to sink if not fully cooked. Cake will be golden brown when cooked and spring back when touched.

Remove the cakes from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before removing from the tin and transferring to a cooling rack.
Allow to cool completely before filling with lemon curd and whipped cream.

Filling & Assembly
Whip 300ml of whipping cream to soft peak

Spread 200ml of lemon curd over the base sponge and top with whipped cream

Place second sponge on top of cream and dust top with icing sugar

Hola Mexico! Chipotle Chili Tamarind BBQ Sirloin & Grilled Salmon with Lime, Ginger & Coriander

It’s definitely time to get out the BBQ, it’s been five month since it saw light of day, the only problem is our summer doesn’t seem to be towing the line. Slammed by southerly wind, showers and the odd blink of sun this weekend my great plans of a Mexican BBQ turned into grilling indoors in the cast iron skillet instead. It’s a ritual this time every year, the New Zealand weather turns on a few warm days, we pack away our winter clothes knowing damn well the weather Gods haven’t finished toying with us and it all turns to custard again. Realistically the weather doesn’t truly settle till December , at that stage the jandels (flip flops) are on and no socks for 5 months. I’m just hoping the weather might give me a little reprieve next week when I am running the Mexican BBQ workshop, at least I have a back up plan and plenty cast iron frying pans if doesn’t behave itself.

Mexican Grilled Salmon with Lime, Ginger & Coriander

Ingredients – serves 2-4

• 2-4 salmon fillets (one per person)
• Juice of 2 limes
• 1 tsp tamarind
• 2 chili, finely chopped
• 1 inch fresh ginger, grated
• 1/2 small bunch Coriander, finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp brown sugar

Method

• Remove skin from the salmon and any pin bones.
• Place all the ingredients except for the salmon in a bowl and mix together.
• In a flat bottom dish place the salmon pieces and pour over the marinade. Marinate for 20 minutes, do not leave it much longer as the lime and tamarind will ‘cook’ the salmon.
• Heat the BBQ to medium high and flame grill the salmon for two minutes on each side or cooked right through if you prefer. Place the salmon pieces onto a serving dish.
• Put the remaining marinade into a small pan and bring to the boil. Pour over cooked salmon on serving dish and serve with corn tacos & tomato salsa.

Chipotle Chili Tamarind BBQ Skirt Steak

Ingredients – serves 4

• 800g Skirt Steaks (or sirloin if you prefer)
• 1tps black pepper corns, ground
• 1 tsp cumin seeds, ground
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar
• 1-2 chipotle (I use tinned-La Morena) chili, finely chopped
• Juice of 2 limes
• 1 tsp tamarind paste
• 2 Tbsp Japanese soy
• 2 Tbsp olive oil

Method

• Combine all the ingredients except for the skirt steak together in a bowl.
• Place the skirt steak into flat dish and pour over the marinade and covering both sides. Marinate the steak for a minimum of one hour (it can be left for several).
• Heat the BBQ to medium high and flame grill the steak on one side for 2 minutes and then turn over and marinate on the other side also for two minutes.
• Remove steak from the heat and wrap in tin foil and let the meat rest for ten minutes.
• Slice thinly and serve with corn tacos and tomato salsa
• Heat the remaining sauce in a pan and serve over sliced steak

Vanilla Roasted Strawberries with Cinnamon Meringues & Thumbprint Shortbread Biscuits

You know it is strawberry season in our house, not by the abundance of strawberries in the fridge or fruit bowl but by the morning wake up call. As the season approaches the wake up call on hubby’s IPhone changes and sings out ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’, by the Beatles. The strawberry fields are calling him back to work, spring is here and its time to sell these little ruby jewels into market. it’s also a little ironic that I am a Liverpudlian and he chooses a Beatles song. Do you have a favourite alarm call and does it change with your mood? When things have been a bit tough I have been known to have Lily Alan playing in the morning, her songs always make me laugh but also drive everyone bonkers all day singing them.

Continuing on with my roasted strawberry series from last week, here are two other recipes to use your roasted strawberries with. Serving them with cinnamon meringues and whipped cream is the perfect summer dessert or make a thumbprint biscuit a little more decadent, instead of using jam add a roasted strawberry to the biscuit after they are baked.

Cinnamon Meringues
Ingredients
3 Egg Whites
100g icing sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
Method
Pre-heat oven to 120C and line two baking trays with greaseproof paper.
Place egg whites in a clean large bowl with a pinch of salt.
Whisk egg whites to soft peak.
Sift in icing sugar gradually while whisking.
Once the meringue is whisked to stiff, sprinkle the cinnamon over it in the bowl.
Taking a dessert spoon, scoop out a spoonful of meringue covered in some cinnamon and drop onto the lined baking tray.
Each scoop will have varying amounts of cinnamon but this adds to character.
Bake in the oven for 50 minutes. They should be crisp on the outside and soft/chewy in the centre.
Allow to cool and serve with cream & strawberries.
Store meringues in an airtight container.

Thumbprint Biscuits
Ingredients
2oz or 60g sugar
4oz or 120g butter
4oz or 120g plain flour
2 oz or 60g ground almonds
1 egg
1/4 tsp vanilla paste or seeds of 1/2 bean
Method
Pre-heat oven to 200C
Place sugar, flour, butter, ground almonds into a food processor and whiz them until they resemble breadcrumbs.

Add the egg and pulse slowly until the mixture comes to a dough, do not over mix at this stage.

Remove biscuit dough from the food processor and divide 12 equal portions.

Roll each portion into a ball and place onto a nonstick baking tray and pres the centre down with your thumb, almost all the way through.

At this stage you would add a blob of jam for thumbprint biscuits but I have baked mine naked so I can top them with strawberries.

Bake for 20 minutes until golden brown, remove from the oven and allow to cool.

Top each one with a roasted strawberry and some of the strawberry syrup from roasting.

Eat immediately otherwise the strawberries will make the biscuit soft. Store biscuits separate to strawberries if not eating them all at once!

Roasted Strawberries in Vanilla Syrup with Scones

Roasting fruit is the perfect cooking method that allows the fruit to retain it’s colour, shape and flavour. I always roast my rhubarb and making the strawberry tarte tatin last week I was wishing for more baked fruit but not necessarily in a pastry case. Jamie’s method of cooking fish ‘en papilotte – in a parcel’ came to mind and I decided this should give the strawberries the same texture and flavour as the tarts. I just use vanilla syrup to sweeten the strawberries slightly, if you don’t have syrup, use seeds from a vanilla bean or half a teaspoon vanilla paste and a tablespoon of sugar. It’s a great alternative to jam for your cream teas, less sugar and still the full aroma of the fresh strawberry.

Ingredients

1 chip/punnet strawberries (approx 12 small)

2 Tbsp vanilla syrup (I used Equagold)

Method

Pre heat oven to 180C

Wash & hull the strawberries and place in a bowl with the vanilla syrup, toss the strawberries through the syrup.

Take enough greaseproof paper to make a parcel to hold your strawberries.

Place the strawberries on one half of the greaseproof paper with the vanilla syrup. Fold the other half over the strawberries and then fold the three open sides over twice to make a parcel. Click Here for a YouTube demo, it’s done a little differently and I make my parcel round the fruit but it gives you the idea.

Place strawberry filled parcel onto a baking tray and roast for 12 minutes. Strawberries should just start to soften but hold their shape still. Don’t over roast or you will end up with a ‘mush’.

Allow to cool and serve with scones and cream

Ingredients – scones

200g Self Raising Flour

50g butter

1 Tbsp icing sugar

150ml milk

Method for Scones
Preheat oven to 200C degrees centigrade.

Place flour, butter and sugar into a bowl.

Using your fingers, rub mixture together until it resembles fine bread crumbs. Or use a food processor.

Form a well in the centre of bread crumb mix and add the milk, kneed gently to form a soft dough.

Transfer scone dough onto a floured board and press the dough out with hands (rather than using a rolling pin) until it is about 2cm thick.

Use a round cookie cutter to cut out the scones or slice the scones, it should make 8

Place on a baking tray and bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown. If you tap the bottom of one they should sound hollow when cooked.