Cooking

Pastry:
- Process 150g flour, sugar, pinch of salt and butter together until combined.
- Add 1 egg yoke and milk.
- Pulse until the mixture just comes together.
- Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead lightly.
- Press the dough into a disc shape, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 45 minutes.
- Remove the pastry from the fridge, and roll into a circle lerge enough to line a 22 cm fluted, loose based tart tin.
- Ease the pastry into the tin, trim the edge, and prick the base all over with a fork.
- Refrigerate for a further 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 180˚C.
- Line the pastry with foil and fill with uncooked rice, dried beans or pastry weights.
- Bake for 15 minutes.
- Carefully remove the foil and weights and return to the oven for a further 10 minutes, or until crisp and lightly golden.
- Allow to cool.

Filling:
- Best 3 eggs and caster sugar together with electric beaters until thick and creamy.
- Gradually add the lemon juice, then 1 ½ tablespoons flour, and mix until just combined.
- Pour the filling into the pastry shell and bake at 180˚C for 15 minutes (The top will be browned).
- Reduce the oven temperature to 150˚C and bake for a further 10 minutes or until the filling has set.
- Remove from the oven to cool.

Source: Niel Perry: Page 231

Simple parmesan omelette with ham and cheese: (Serves 4)

2009-01-07T01:35:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:

8 eggs
Extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced
35g freshly grated parmesan, plus extra to serve
100g sliced ham roughly chopped
75g grated gruyère
Sea salt
Freshly ground pepper

Process:

Gently beat the eggs together with 3 tablespoons water, until just starting to amalgamate.
Heat a large non-stick pan over medium heat.
Add a dash of oil, and the butter.
When the butter is bubbling and nut brown, add the eggs and stir from the outside inwards, allowing the egg to set around the edge of the pan.
With the pan on a slight incline and using a spatula, pull the egg back from the side of the pan, allowing it to set as you go.
While the egg is slightly runny, place the parmesan ham and gruyere across the centre of the omelette with a little salt and pepper.
Fold the first third of the omelette into the centre, then the last third over the top.
Allow to cook from an extra 20 seconds then turn the omelette onto a plate.
Sprinkle with parmesan and finish with a drizzle of oil and a dash of sea salt and freshly ground pepper.

Source: Niel Perry: Page 66

Vanilla Slice: (8 Slices)

2009-01-07T01:34:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:

375g ready-prepared puff pastry
Icing sugar for dusting
Vanilla cream
1 ½ cups milk
1 ½ cups cream (single or pouring)
60g butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
⅔ cup sugar
⅓ cup cornflour (cornstarch)
½ cup water
6 egg yokes

Process:

Preheat oven 180˚C.
Halve the pastry lengthwise and roll each piece out to a rectangle 2 – 3 mm thick.
Trim each piece to fit a 20cm * 30cm slice tin.
Place the pastry on baking trays lined with non-stick baking paper.
Top each piece with another baking tray as a weight and bake for 35 minutes or until puffed and golden.
Cool on racks.
(To make the filling) Place the milk, cream, butter, vanilla and sugar in a saucepan over medium-low heat and cook until hot but not boiling.
Mix the cornflour and water to a smooth paste and whisk into the hot milk mixture.
Add the egg yokes and stir allowing to simmer for 6 minutes or until mixture has thickened.
Remove from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
Place one of the pastry sheets in a 20 * 30 cm slice tin lined with non-stick baking paper.
Spread over the filling and top with the remaining pastry.
Refrigerate for 2 hours or until set.
Dust with icing sugar and slice.

Source: Donna Hay 2: Page 24

Chocolate Croissants: (Makes 12)

2009-01-07T01:33:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:

375g packet ready-rolled butter puff pastry
100g dark chocolate bar (minimum 70% cocoa solids)
1 egg beaten

Process:

Preheat oven to 220˚C.
Unfurl the sheet of pastry.
Cut it into six squares.
Cut each square diagonally to give 2 triangles (they will appear quite small).
Put the triangle with the wider part facing you, and the point away from you.
Break off small pieces of chocolate (approx 1cm).
Place chocolate about 2 cm up from the wide end nearest to you.
Carefully roll from that chocolate loaded end towards the point of the triangle.
Seal it slightly with your fingertips and curl it around into a crescent.
Place the 12 chocolate croissants on a lined but not buttered baking tray and paint with the beaten egg.
Bake for 15 minutes until they are golden and puffy.

Source: Nigella: Page 98

Seared Salmon with Singapore noodles: (Serves 4)

2009-01-07T01:32:00.002-08:00

Ingredients:

4 teaspoons medium madras curry powder
¼ teaspoon table salt
1 teaspoon sugar
4 salmon fillets (approx 200g each)
2 tablespoons garlic oil
250g vermicelli rice noodles
50g dried shrimp
125ml chinese cooking wine
100g finely sliced chinese leaf
125g baby corn, sliced into thin rounds
2 spring onions, finely sliced
1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger
2 tablespoons soy sauce
150g beansprouts
4 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander

Process:

Salmon:
- Mix 2 tablespoons curry powder, salt and sugar in a wide, shallow dish.
- Drench the salmon turning the pieces all over in the rub.
- Heat 1 tablespoon garlic oil in a heavy-based pan and cook the salmon fillets on a high heat for about 2-3 minutes a side, searing the sides of the fillets too if they are very thick.

Singapore noodles:
- Put the rice noodles into a bowl and cover with boiling water.
- Leave them to soak for 4 minutes and then let them drain.
- Soak the dried shrimp in the wine
- Heat 1 tablespoon garlic oil in a wok and fry the chinese leaf, baby corn and spring onions for a few minutes.
- Add 2 teaspoons of curry powder and finely chopped ginger to the wok and then the chicken stock and soy sauce.
- Pour in the shrimps, with their wine, and the drained soaked noodles.
- Toss and shake everything all together in the wok.
- Stir in the beansprouts and give a final toss, before turning out into a bowl and sprinkling with coriander.

Source: Nigella: Page 43

Chicken Schnitzel with bacon and white wine: (Serves 4)

2009-01-07T01:32:00.001-08:00

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon garlic oil
4 rashers straky bacon
4 chicken escalopes (approx 125g each)
100ml white wine

Process:

Put the oil in a frying pan and add the bacon
Fry till the bacon is crisp and pan is full of bacony juices.
Remove the bacon to a piece of foil, wrap it and set it aside for a moment.
Fry the chicken for about 2 minutes a side, until there is no pinkness when you cut into a piece. Make sure the pan’s hot so that the escalopes catch a little, turning beautifully bronze.
Remove the chicken to a serving plate
Crumble the bacon you’ve set aside into the pan.
Pour the wine, letting everything bubble up.
Pour over the chicken pieces.

Source: Nigella: Page 143

Chinese Barbecue pork: (Serves 4)

2009-01-07T01:31:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:

¼ cup hoisin sause
2 tablespoons soy sauce
¼ cup honey
1 ½ tablespoons chinese cooking wine or dry sherry
1 teaspoon chinese five-spice powder
1 kg pork neck cut into 5cm wide strips

Process:

Combine the hoisin sauce, soy sauce, honey, chinese cooking wine and chinese five-spice in a large non-metallic bowl. Add the pork pieces and mix to coat well.
Cover and refrigerate for a least 3 hours or overnight.
Preheat oven to 200˚C.
Drain the pork, reserving the marinade, and place on a rack in a baking disk.
Bake for 40 minutes or until cooked through, brushing with marinade frequently.
Slice and serve with steamed greens and rice or add to a soup or stir-fry.

Source: Donna Hay: Page 116

Roast pork loin: (Serves 6 – 8)

2009-01-07T01:29:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:

1.8 – 2.2 kg loin of pork
4 sliced onions
Oil
Butter
3 – 4 cups Breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon chopped either sage/thyme/oregano/rosemary
Sea Salt
10 baby apples
Kitchen string

Process:

Stuffing:
- Cook onions, 1 tablespoon oil, and 1 tablespoon butter over low heart for 10 minutes or until soft and golden.
- Mix with breadcrumbs and chosen herb.

Pork:
- Preheat oven to 220˚C
- With the point of a sharp knife, score the skin of the pork at 1.5 cm intervals.
- Lay loin out flat.
- Place the stuffing down the middle and roll up.
- Secure with kitchen string.
- Rub the skin with oil and salt.
- Place meat on a rack in a baking dish.
- Bake for 30 minutes.
- Reduce the heat to 200˚C and bake for a further 30 minutes.
- Make a cut around the circumference of the apples.
- Place with the pork on the baking rack and cook for a further 20 minutes or until the pork is cooked to your liking.

Source: Donna Hay: Page 99, 120

Fettuccine Carbonara: (Serves 4)

2009-01-07T01:28:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:

400g fettuccine or pappardelle
6 rashes of bacon or 300g smoked ham cut into thin strips
3 green onions (scallions), sliced
4 egg yokes
½ cup cream
½ cup finely grated parmesan cheese
Sea salt and cracked pepper
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves

Process:

Cook the pasta in a large saucepan of salted boiling water until al dente.
Drain and keep hot
Heat a frying pan over medium heat. Cook bacon and green onions for 3-4 minutes or until bacon is crisp and golden.
Place the egg yokes, cream, parmesan, salt and pepper in a bowl and whisk well to combine.
Toss egg mixture through the hat pasta, coating it well, and then toss with the bacon mixture and parsley and serve immediately.
It is important to keep the pasta hot after draining it because the heat of the pasta actually cooks the egg mixture which gradually thicken and coat the pasta.

Source: Donna Hay: Page 134

Cooking

Menu

Lemon Tart: (Serves 8)

Simple parmesan omelette with ham and cheese: (Serves 4)

Vanilla Slice: (8 Slices)

Chocolate Croissants: (Makes 12)

Seared Salmon with Singapore noodles: (Serves 4)

Chicken Schnitzel with bacon and white wine: (Serves 4)

Chinese Barbecue pork: (Serves 4)

Roast pork loin: (Serves 6 – 8)

Fettuccine Carbonara: (Serves 4)