Friday 13 September 2013

Hazelnut Oil Chocolate Mousse

 

Here is my recipe for a delicious soft setting chocolate mousse flavoured with Hazelnut  Oil and Drambuie: my choice for a celebratory occasion.



Ingredients:



200 grams of dark chocolate
125 ml of water
3 eggs
3 tablespoons of castor sugar.
2 tablespoons of Uncle Joe's Cold Pressed Hazelnut oil
1 tablespoon of Drambuie



Method:



Break the chocolate into squares
Put in a saucepan with 125 ml of water and bring to the boil gently
Let it simmer for 1-2 minutes until the mixture has slightly thickened.
Move the saucepan away from the heat .
Let it stand for a minute or so. Then beat in the egg yolks one at a time..
Beat in the hazelnut oil and Drambuie.
In a separate bowl beat the egg whites until they are stiff. Then gradually beat in 3 tablespoons of castor sugar, a little at a time , until the mixture is glossy.
Fold the egg whites into the warm chocolate mixture.
Spoon into six small ramekins or bowls.
Leave to set in the fridge for several hours before serving.

It could be very nice made with Frangelico instead of Drambuie  too but there was none in our house. This Italian liqueur is a blend of hazelnuts, cocoa and vanilla. In that case I might have poured a small shot glass of it to accompany the mousse as well.






 

Thursday 12 September 2013

Hazelnut Oil Hummous

 

 
This week I am using a bottle of Uncle Joe's Cold Pressed Hazelnut oil which is made from hazelnuts grown in Marlborough . It has a delicate nutty flavour, and as it is especially high in healthy monounsaturated fats it is a healthy oil.

Uncle Joe's is having a lot of successes right now. They recently entered the Gourmet Oil section in the Auckland Easter Show competition and discovered today that the Hazelnut oil took out the gold award and their Pumpkin seed, Mustard seed and Walnut oil were each awarded a bronze medal.
 
Some might think that you should not play around with a classic recipe like hummous but I couldn't resist using their hazelnut oil instead of the usual olive oil.
 
Over the top of the hummous went plenty of toasted pinenuts. And to bring out the nutty flavour  I drizzled it with more hazelnut oil just before serving. It tasted especially good over triangles of hot wholemeal toast.
Next time I might try sprinkling it with toasted and chopped hazelnuts instead of the pine nuts.
 
Ingredients:
 
1 400 gram can of chickpeas (drained)
3 tablespoons of tahini
2-3 tablespoons of hazelnut oil (I used Uncle Joe's)
The juice of 1/2 lemon
1 teaspoon of salt or to taste
1 clove of garlic (smashed)

Method
 
Whizz together until smooth.
Adjust the seasoning and the amount of lemon juice to your taste
Before serving sprinkle with toasted pine nuts and drizzle more hazelnut oil.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


Wednesday 11 September 2013

Kimchi: Don't Just Say it, Make it!

 
 
 
 
When Koreans have their picture taken they don't say Cheese , they sat Kimchi. It's such an iconic part of their culture. They eat it every day.
 
I learnt how to make Kimchi last week from Jo Nolan at an excellent seminar at IE Produce. Jo explained how cultured foods like kimchi and sauerkraut have been an integral part of traditional diets for thousands of years and are essential to a long and vibrant life
 
" These probiotic superfoods are teaming with live organisms and essential enzymes that aid digestion and repopulate the digestive tract with beneficial bacteria and are loaded with vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals. "
 
I thought it would be really difficult to make but the recipe which Joe demonstrated was really easy, although it does take a week or so before it's ready to eat.
 
At that stage it won't be too pungent, which is how newbies to kimchi like myself will probably like it best. The longer you let it mature the stronger it will taste.
 
And start with small helpings at first she suggest, a tablespoon will do for a start, until you get used to it and will want to each more.
 
I'm onto day 4 with my batch and feel really excited. I can't wait to see how it turns out.It's sitting on the barbecue outside weighed down in a pot (away from the rain) to prevent the pungent odour from permeating my kitchen .
 
I'm about to add a little fish sauce which is also an idea from Jo.
 
She makes kimchi commercially  as well as sauerkraut. To find out more about Jo and what's on offer go to her website at
http://benourished.co.nz

I can buy them locally at IE Produce  in Takapuna
http://www.ieproduce.com/

 

 
 
 

Kimchi Recipe from Jo - Be Nourished. Thanks Jo for sharing 
 
Kimchi

There are probably as many different recipes for Kimchi, but nothing on earth tastes as good or is as good for you.

2 chinese cabbages
1 daikon radish
1-2 carrots
1 onion
30 g ginger
4 cloves garlic
4 tbsp red pepper powder or chilli flakes or 3-4 red chillies
Sea Salt, Celtic or Himalayan

Mix a brine of about cups of water. Use roughly 2 Tbsp of salt per 4 cups of water. It should taste quite salty.

Chop 1st three vegetables and soak weighed down in brine for at least 4 hours or overnight.

Peel ginger, garlic and onions and chop finely or blend in food processor. Mix the red pepper into this mixture to make a paste.

Drain brine off the vegetables. You want threm salty but not unpleasantly so. If they are too salty rinse them.

Mix vegetables with the paste and weigh down in a crock, jar etc.

Cover and let sit for roughly one week then move to the fridge.

Enjoy!

 
 
 

 


 

Rachel's Gluten Free Corn, Spinach and Feta Muffins

This recipe was created by my daughter Rachel Goodchild who is gluten free. She vouches for its deliciousness !

Ingredients:

1cup gluten free flour
1cup cornmeal
4tsp baking powder

2tbsp sugar
1cup drained canned corn
2cups chopped raw baby spinach
100gm crumbled feta
Mix then add:

1.5 cups milk
100gm melted butter
1 egg

Method:

Mix
Pop into tins.
Cook until done at 200 degrees C

Sooo good!




 

Banana and Walnut Oil Loaf

I'd read that walnut oil will keep baking moist and give it a mild nutty flavour so I created this easy banana and walnut oil loaf to see if it would work for me.

Normally I'd add walnuts to a banana bread but that could have overwhelmed the walnut oil flavour which I wanted to taste so I left them out.

I made the loaf in the morning. It improved on standing. I think it would have been a good keeper but it was all gone by the end of the day.

The result was met with mixed feelings. My partner said it lacked flavour and was too stodgy. My friend Joan liked it buttered with avocado olivani. She said she could detect a slightly nutty flavour

I felt that the walnut oil should have been the dominant flavour, but it didn't really stand out clearly against the vanilla and rum essence.

Still this loaf was good with a cup of tea . Once it had been left to cool for a few hours it sliced beautifully .

Would I use it again in baking? It is healthier than butter as it is high in antioxidants and comparatively low in saturated fats. And it does keep baking moist so that's also in its favour.

But I think the nutty flavour is rather mild and as it is much more expensive then butter or other vegetable oils like sunflower oil I'd only use it very occasionally in baking. I have heard it is good in a carrot or apple cake.

Walnut oil  has a low smoking point so if you use it in loaves, muffins or cakes bake them at a moderate temperature.

Banana Loaf 
 
Ingredients:
  • 3 ripe All Good Fair Trade bananas, smashed
  • 1/3 cup walnut oil
  • 3/4 cup of brown sugar
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 teaspoon of rum essence
  • 1 cup of self raising flour
  • 1/2 cup of plain flour
  • pinch of salt
Method
 
Mash the bananas with a fork or wooden spoon.
Mix in the oil, brown sugar and essences
Beat the egg with a fork and stir in
Sift the two flours and add.
Pour the  mixture into a greased loaf pan
Bake at 175 degrees C for about 50 minutes .
Cool on a rack before slicing.