Roasted Rhubarb

Rhubarb is easy to grow and there are so many different ways to use it such as in pies, crumbles and fools.But  freshly picked out of garden this is what I most often do with it. I serve it with yoghurt or muesli for breakfast.

It is a simple recipe but baking the rhubarb intensifies the flavour, the brown sugar adds a caramel taste, and the orange juice and ginger add some zing and spice.

Ingredients:

450 gm rhubarb stalks cut
1/4 cup of brown sugar
1 tablespoon or less of grated ginger
juice of one orange

Method:

Bake for 15-20 minutes until rhubarb is softish in a moderate oven (180 degrees C)

Matariki Feasting

Its Matariki time again, the Maori New Year Festival, A great opportunity for all New Zealanders to join in and celebrate. And what better way to do so then by gathering up the whanau for some special kai?
This weekend, as winter chills set in, we’re planning a relaxed family evening meal around the fire. We’ll be sure to include some foods which were traditionally grown in tribal gardens.
Some months ago some little purple potatoes caught my eye at our local Sunday market. I was told they were called taewa and have been cultivated by Maori for at least 200 years. They may have been a pre European crop, but we know for sure that some varieties of taewa arrived with early explorers, sealers and whalers during the 18th century. They not only became a staple crop for Maori but were widely traded by them.
Traditionally they would have been cooked in a hangi, but lacking the necessary manpower to dig a large hole, and a substantial quantity of large stones, it seemed easier to just steam them on the stove. When cooked their insides were yellow and their taste was sweet and nutty, Definitely worth cooking again, but as they are at the height of their season in late summer, they may be more difficult to come by at this time of year.
There will be no such supply problem with kumara. The supermarkets always have several varieties of them on sale. This ancient crop was brought here by the early Maori settlers over one thousand years ago from the Pacific.
We’ll start the meal with a creamy seafood dip. The kids can help to cut out stars from Edmond’s savoury short crust pastry to use as dippers.
The main will be large bowls of kumara and orange soup, laced with coconut cream, coriander and grated orange rind. They will be served with freshly baked crusty bread. Alongside a light salad of mesclun and watercress leaves and sliced oranges dressed with Eta aged balsamic vinaigrette containing the peppery Maori herb horopito.
For afters, a festive raspberry tamarillo jelly laced with a little tawny port. It’s easily made the night before. The adults will appreciate a large dollop of mascarpone cheese with it, and the kids – vanilla ice cream.
Its dark early now and they’ll still be up when the stars come out, Who knows, we might catch a glimpse of Mother Matariki and her six daughters in the sky! And in the spirit of Matariki we’ll reminisce about times past and look forward to good harvests in the years to come.

Kumara and Orange Soup

This recipe was kindly donated by Kris Malcolm

I can vouch for its deliciousness! The saltiness of the pancetta complements the sweet flavour of the roasted kumara perfectly.

Ingredients:

2 onions, diced
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped.
1 heaped teaspoon of coriander seeds.
750 g of red kumara (peeled and diced)
250 g of potatoes (peeled and diced)
750 ml chicken or vegetable stock
250 grams of coconut cream
The rind of one orange, finely grated
Salt and pepper to taste.
A few slices of pancetta.

Method:

Roast the kumara and potato in a moderate oven until they are just starting to colour
(about 15-20 minutes)
Take them out of the oven and briefly roast some slices of pancetta until they are crisp.
Toast the coriander seeds in a frying pan and then grind them in a spice grinder or with a pestle and mortar.
Fry the onions and garlic gently in a frying pan until they are soft. Do not let them brown. Add the coriander and continue to fry briefly.
Next add the roasted kumara, potatoes and stock.
Bring the mixture to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes. By this stage the kumara and potato pieces should be tender.
Blend the soup with a stick mixer until it is smooth.
Stir in the coconut cream and orange rind. Reheat the soup, but do not let it boil as the mixture may separate.
Season to taste and serve garnished with roasted pancetta and some crusty bread alongside.

Tamarillo Jelly

Ingredients:

15 tamarillos
2 heaped tablespoons of brown sugar
2 tablespoons of tawny port
2 cinnamon sticks.
1 raspberry jelly

Method:

Immerse the tamarillos briefly in boiling water. The skins can easily be peeled off after this.
Cut the tamarillos into quarters and place in a bowl with the brown sugar, cinnamon sticks and tawny port.
Leave them to marinade in this mixture for about 1 hour.
Remove the cinnamon sticks.
Make up the jelly with 1 cup of water.
Pour this over the tamarillos.
Either ladle into individual bowls, or leave it in one large serving dish. Glass will show off their rich red colour.
Leave to set.

Serve with a dollop of mascarpone cream and/or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Lemon and Passionfruit Desserts

Three Lemon and Passionfruit Desserts

I’ve been playing with Barker's Lemon and Passionfruit Patisserie Filling all week. A new product like this can easily set your creative juices flowing. It comes in a diamond shaped piping bag. It will keep for months in the pantry, and for a couple of weeks in the fridge once opened. This makes it a really useful standby if you want to create some easy desserts.

Individual Lemon and Passionfruit Crustless Cheesecakes

This is an adaptation of a Barker's recipe. In the original recipe crumbled meringues were also added to the cheesecakes and more of the patisserie filling was swirled over the top . If you did want to add some crumbled meringues to these little cheesecakes use the leftover egg whites from the semifreddo to make them. Serves 6-8

Ingredients: 250g of firm cream cheese
1 cup of unsweetened yoghurt
400g pack of Barker's Lemon and Passionfruit Patisserie filling

Method:
Beat the cream cheese and yoghurt until smooth
Fold one cup of Barker's Lemon and Passionfruit Patisserie Filling through the cream cheese mixture
Spoon into 8 tiny ramekins or glasses.
Serve with a tropical fruit platter (slices of mango, oranges and bananas) .

Lemon and Passionfruit Semifreddo

The recipe I created for a lemon and passionfruit semifreddo is light and luscious. Although it tastes rich and creamy it is comparatively low in calories as it contains more yoghurt than cream.

A semifreddo is made with egg yolks and is a soft setting ice-cream for which you don't need an ice-cream maker. Simply spoon it into small ramekins or bowls and put them in the freezer for about five hours before serving.

Be careful to ensure that the water is kept at simmering point rather than a rolling boil and that the bottom of the basin rests above the water level in the saucepan as you beat the egg yolks and sugar. Otherwise the mixture can seize up. For this part of the recipe I like to use a hand held balloon whisk.

Serves 4-5

Ingredients:
3 egg yolks
3/4 cup of thick Greek yoghurt
3/4 cup of cream
1/3 cup of sugar
1 heaped tablespoon of honey
1/2 cup of Barker's Lemon and Passionfruit Patisserie filling
A few drops of pure vanilla essence.

Method:
Part fill a saucepan of water and bring the water to the boil.
In a heat proof bowl mix the egg yolks and sugar.
Keep the water simmering while resting the bowl over the saucepan.
Whisk the egg yolks and sugar constantly for about 5 minutes (or until the mixture has thickened and is pale yellow)
Add the honey and continue to beat for a further minute.
Take of the heat and leave until lukewarm.
Stir in the Lemon and Passionfruit Patisserie filling
Fold in the yoghurt and vanilla essence.
Beat the cream until it forms stiff peaks.
Lightly mix a few tablespoons of the whipped cream into the mixture to lighten it.
Then fold in the remainder of the cream.
Spoon into small bowls or ramekins.
Put in the freezer for about 5 hours until it has frozen.
It is best served on the day it is made but will still taste good the following day.

Easy Lemon and Passionfruit tarts:
This Barker's recipe makes an almost instant dessert if you buy packets of sweet pastry shells rather than rolling your own. Great when you have to feed a crowd of people and are short of time. The mixture will fill 24 small sweet pastry shells.

To make the filling for the tarts simply squeeze the contents of a sachet of Barker's Lemon and Patisserie filling into a bowl. Or to make a creamier filling combine equal parts of this filling with whipped cream or yoghurt. Fill the pastry shells with this mixture and smooth with a spatula.

.

.

Frozen Pea Soup

The soup of my childhood was a genuine Dutch Pea soup. It was so thick that you could stand a spoon up in it. It was very fillign and nourishing . Perfect after ice skating.
.The main ingredients were a bacon hock and split peas and it had to simmer for hours. After that you  had to pick all the meat from the bones. A messy and tedious job.

This soup is much  lighter and the pea green colour is inviting.It takes only 15 minutes to cook and uses ingredients which you probably already have in your kitchen.

It only takes two cups of frozen peas to create three bowls of a delcious piping hot pea green soup.
The recipe can easily be doubled for more.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon of olive oil.
2 cups of frozen peas
1 onion
1 clove of garlic
1 small potato ( chopped into cubes)
500 ml of vegetable or chicken stock
salt to taste.
mint sprigs

Method:

Fry the onion gently ( without browning ) until it is soft ( About 4-5 minutes)
Add the garlic and chopped potato.
Fry for another 2 minutes.
Put this mixture and the peas into a pot with the stock.
Bring to the boil and simmer for about 15 minutes until the potato is tender.
Season to taste
Use a stick mixer to puree the soup in the pot.
Just before serving add a few sprigs of mint to each bowl and stir

Optional: For added flavour and crunch add some  grilled chopped bacon or croutons.

You could also experiment with adding some other herbs such as thyme or rosemary as a garnish instead of the mint.

Cheese and Autumn Harvest Chutney Dip

 Cheese and Autumn Harvest Chutney Dip

This cheese and chutney dip makes a healthy school holiday snack served in a bowl surrounded by carrot and celery sticks and rice crackers.

Kids need to eat more veggies.If they won't eat them at dinner time, and many won't, they will need no persuading to dig into this dip inbetween meals,

The lemon rind and juice add a fresh sharp taste which compliments the sweetness of the chutney. Any leftovers will keep well in the fridge for a few days.

The Anathoth Autumn Harvest Chutney used in this recipe was recently launched by Barker's from Geraldine to mark their 25th birthday. It was chosen by their staff after a taste testing competition.

It's a combination of New Zealand rhubarb and New Zealand apples with dates, raisins, red wine vinegar and spices. I think it's delicious.

Ingredients:

250 gm of reduced fat cream cheese
125 gm feta cheese
1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
Grated zest of 1 lemon
1/2 cup of Anathoth Autumn Harvest Chutney
Pepper and salt to taste

Method:

Beat the cream cheese with a beater till light .
Add the crumbled feta cheese and beat again until smooth.
Stir the other ingredients through.
Add pepper and salt to taste.
Scrape into a bowl.
Keep in the fridge until ready to serve.

.

Boysenberry Ripple Chocolate Brownies

Who doesn't love chocolate brownies? This recipe rippled with boysenberries and with a fruity sauce makes a delicious treat for dessert. On a cold winter's night it is best served freshly baked and warm.

On the weekend we had a dairy free guest so I adapted this recipe from Barker's by substituting the butter with olivani. It was light light and moist. So useful to have a recipe that everyone can enjoy, and doesn't make dairy free guests excluded

The recipe says serves 12, but 6 hungry people, who like second helpings, can easily demolish it at one sitting.

Boysenberry Ripple Chocolate Brownies

Ingredients

150g butter ( or for dairy free use Olivani)

3/4 cup of cocoa powder

3 eggs

3/4 cup of caster sugar

1 teaspoon of vanilla essence

1/2 cup of selfraising flour , sifted

400g pack Barker's Boysenberry Patisserie Filling

1 tablespoon of lemon juice

1 tablespoon of hot water

Method

Preheat oven to 170 degrees C. Line a 22cm  square cake tin with bakign paper.

Maelt the butter and cocoa powder over a low heat, stir and set aside to cool.

Beat the eggs, sugar and vanilla until thick and creamy then fold in the cocoa mixture and sifted flour

Pour into cake tin. Set aside 1/4 cup Barker's Boysenberry Patisserie Filling to make a sauce. Pipe the remaining Boysenberry Patisserie Filling from the bag in a swirling pattern over the brownie mixture.

Bake for 30-40 minutes or until brownie springs back when touched.

To make the boysenberry sauce mix the remaining Boysenberry patisserie filling with the lemon juice and hot water and stir well.

Cut brownie into squares and serve with whipped cream, yoghurt or ice cream and drizzle with boysenberry sauce. ( for the dairy free omit the cream/yoghurt/icecream)



A cup of Chai

A Cup of Chai

Rajesh's Masala Chai

Masala chai (usually called chai for short) is a delicious spicy and aromatic Indian tea. It makes a healthy change from coffee.

The health giving properties of chai have been known for thousands of years and were mentioned in ancient Ayurvedic medicinal texts. Black tea is full of antioxidants and each of the spices used has its own health giving properties.

A cup of chai tea does need sweetening to bring out the flavour of the spices. For this I prefer to use honey rather than white sugar. Chai is usually made with full cream milk but Trim milk is healthier.

There is no fixed recipe. In India where it may be served at any time of the day each family will create their own mixture of spices.

I like this combination of spices which was given to me by Rajnesh. Use it as a starting point and then start to experiment with other spices to make your own brew. Choose from cloves, cinnamon, star anise, peppercorns, ginger and fennel. But always include cardamom as this gives masala chai its distinctive flavour.

Rajesh's Masala Chai:
The amounts of spices and the ratio of water to milk are flexible but I started with the following quantities. This makes a not too spicy chai.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup of water
3/4 cup of trim milk
6 green cardamom pods
3 Cloves
1/2 teaspoon of fennel seeds
4 thin slices of ginger
Sugar or Honey to Taste

Method:

1. Lightly crush the cardamom pods with the back of a knife or a metal spoon to release the seeds.

2. Bring the water to the boil in a saucepan.

3. Add 2-3 teaspoons of black tea leaves (or if you don't have loose tea add a couple of tea bags).

4. Bring to the boil and simmer for 4 minutes

5. Add the milk and bring to the boil again

6. Strain the chai into a large mug and sweeten to taste with sugar or honey.

7. Stir with a cinnamon stick while you drink it.














.

Sushi: Food or Art?

Spotted at the Food Hall in Royal Oak. Almost too cute to eat.

Baked Cherry Tomatoes with Green Beans

 

Baked Cherry Tomatoes with Green Beans

Last week I was down in Invercargill and had the opportunity to visit one of the Blue River Dairy Farms. While most kiwi farmers grow sheep only for their woolly coats and meat here they have embraced the ancient Mediterranean farming practice of sheep milking.

But this is not about shepherds tending small flocks and hand milking them. The Blue River Dairy team have embraced modern technologies.

I watched as large flock of sheep was efficiently herded into their state of the art milking shed, Above each sheep a small LED screen showed and recorded exactly how much milk it produced.

The sheep milk is made into various cheeses : Tussock Creek and Vintage style Feta, Monowai Halloumi, Curio Bay Pecorino, and Blackmount Aged Cheddar.

I took home some of their Curio Bay Pecorino, a hard cheese which was a 2010 Silver Medal winner in Cheesefest.Once made this cheese is left to mature for 5-7 months. Underneath its natural rind it is the colour of yellow straw and has a very distinctive taste.

Back home there was a plentiful supply of cherry tomatoes waiting to be picked and our neighbours kindly dropped off some of their surplus greenbeans . With the addition of a splash of olive oil, some sprigs of fresh thyme and some grated Curio Bay Pecorino cheese these were soon transformed into a colourful and tasty vegetable dish.

Baked Cherry tomatoes with green beans

Ingredients:
200 gm. of cherry tomatoes
2-3 tablespoons of olive oil
400 gm. of green beans
1 clove of garlic, peeled and finely sliced
3 sprigs of fresh thyme
3 tablespoons of Curio Bay Pecorino Cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

1. Heat the oven to 180C.

2. Toss the cherry tomatoes and sliced garlic in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil.

3. Place the tomatoes in a greased ovenproof dish in a single layer

4. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

5. Scatter some sprigs of thyme over the top.

6. Roast in the oven for 20 minutes.

7. In the meantime bring salted water to the boil.

8. Top and tail the beans.

9. Boil the green beans for 6 minutes.

10. Stir them through the cherry tomatoes.

11. Sprinkle with 3 tablespoons of grated Curio Bay Pecorino cheese.

12. Bake for another 10 minutes until the cheese is crusty and golden.

Carrot , Yam and Kumara Soup

The worst of the winter appears to be over but in the evenings especially it's still soup weather so I set to and created this recipe. It is comforting and nourishing and makes good use of vegetables which are in season.
Its vivid orange colour will brighten up any winter's day. Although it is a thick soup it is low in calories.
I recently discovered the little apricot delight orange coloured yams in our supermarket. They are grown in Feilding by Halford's and add a pleasant earthy flavour. If unavailable just leave them out for a slightly thinner soup.
Serve  with a swirl of cream  or yoghurt if you wish, and garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Ingredients:

1 tb of butter
1 tb olive oil
1 onion finely chopped
2 garlic cloves finely chopped
1 tb of freshly grated ginger.
500 g of carrots (peeled and finely chopped.)
500 gm of Apricot Delight Yams
1 orange kumara (peeled and finely diced)
1 bay leaf
1 tspn cumin (freshly roasted and ground)
zest of one orange.
1/4 cup of fresh orange juice.

1 litre of vegetable or chicken stock. ( I used 250 ml sachet of Cuisine Essentials chicken stock and 750 ml of water)
salt and pepper to taste.

Method:

Heat the oil and butter in a large frying pan.
Fry the onion and garlic gently for about 6 minutes until the onion is golden.
Add the carrots, kumara, orange rind, ginger and cumin and give it a good stir. Keep frying for about  2 minutes.
Add the stock and the bayleaf.
Bring to the boil.
Then simmer for about 20 minutes until the carrots and kumara are tender.
Use a stick blender to puree the soup.
Pour in the orange juice and season to taste.
Reheat the soup to boiling point if you want to serve it piping hot.
Serve in bowls garnished with chopped parsley or coriander.