Recipes
4 December 2011
- 3 punnets strawberries
- 3 tbsps sugar
- ½ cup water
- 1 block sponge cake cut into thin fingers
- 3 tbsps Grand Marnier
- 300mls cream
- 6 egg yolks
- 160g sugar
- 600 mls milk
- 1 vanilla bean
Pick over the berries, keeping about 12 for the top. Place the rest in a saucepan with 3 tablespoons sugar and the water. Slowly bring these strawberries to a gentle simmer and cook for about two minutes.
Place the pieces of sponge in the bottom of a clear glass dessert bowl. Add the Grand Marnier, soaking it into the sponge. Ladle in the strawberries and all their juices.
To make the custard, beat together the egg yolks and sugar until light and thick. Heat the milk with the vanilla bean in a heavy-based saucepan until it almost comes to the boil. Tip the hot milk on to the egg mixture in a bowl and stir well to combine. Rinse the pan that the milk was heated in, return it to the heat and strain the egg, sugar and milk mixture into the pan. Carefully reheat the custard, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens coats the spoon. It’s important not to let this boil as the mixture will curdle. If it even starts to curdle around the edges, remove it immediately from the heat and whisk vigorously until it is smooth again.
When the custard is cool, tip this over the strawberries to form a custard layer.
Finally, whip the cream lightly and cover the top of the custard. Place halved strawberries on top to decorate. Chill before serving.
Serves 8-10
Wine match; demi-sec Champagne
Recipe Lauraine Jacobs Pic by Elizabeth Clarkson
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4 December 2011
Crayfish Burger
To make the mayonnaise:
* 1 whole organic egg
* Zest and juice of ½ lemon
* 1 tsp Dijon mustard
* 1 cup lighter style olive oil
For the rolls;
* 4 soft white bread rolls
* 4 tbsps lemon mayonnaise
* 250g crayfish tail, cooked and shelled
* ¼ iceberg lettuce, sliced
* 2 tbsps chopped parsley
* Salt, pepper and lemon juice to taste
To make the mayonnaise, place the egg, lemon juice and mustard in a food processor. Blend well together and then drizzle the oil in with the motor running. Once the oil in all incorporated the mayonnaise should be thick and unctuous. Season to taste and keep refrigerated. Keeps 2-3 days, well covered.
Spread some mayonnaise over the split bread rolls. Slice the crayfish tail and divide it into four portions.
Toss the parsley through the lettuce, place a portion in each roll, and top with the crayfish slices and a sprinkling of salt, pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice. Serve at once.
Wine match: pinot gris
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4 December 2011
- 2 fresh organic eggs
- 200g whitebait
- Sea salt flakes
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 2 tablespoons fresh butter
- Lemon wedges to serve
Beat the eggs in a bowl until they are light and frothy. Add the whitebait with a generous pinch of salt and plenty of fresh pepper. Mix well.
Take a large heavy frying pan, and heat the oil and butter together over medium heat. When the butter starts to bubble and spit, add the egg and whitebait mixture in even tablespoonfuls, (about 5-6 at a time) and cook for about one or two minutes, then flip each fritter over and cook the other side. Immediately remove to a warmed plate. Continue cooking in batches of about 5 fritters until the mixture is finished. Serve at once with fresh lemon wedges, as finger food or for an entrée for 4 people.
Makes about 15.
Wine match: sauvignon blanc
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4 December 2011
- 100g sago
- 600mls water
- 1 large ripe mango
- 200mls coconut milk
- 200g milk
- 100g brown sugar or palm sugar
- Crushed ice (optional)
Put the sago in a saucepan with the water and bring to a gentle simmer. Simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent it sticking on the bottom of the pan. Remove from the heat, and strain. It may seem to have disappeared as it is quite transparent but it will be there in the sieve! Tip the cooked sago into a clean bowl and add cold water so it does not stick together. When it is completely cold strain again into a second bowl.
Meanwhile prepare the mango. Peel carefully and cut half the flesh into tiny dice. Puree the other half.
Add the coconut milk, milk, mango puree and the sugar, stirring in gently. Finally add the diced mango and chill well.
(In Vietnam this is served with crushed ice stirred through, as street food, for there is no refrigeration in the open.)
Serves 6 in small bowls for dessert.
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4 December 2011
- 800 grams squid tubes
- 3 tbsp oil
- 1 small leek, finely julienned
- 3 medium fresh Roma tomatoes, roughly chopped
- 1 brown onion, half moon sliced
- 3 spring onions, finely julienned
- 1 large thumb of ginger, peeled and julienned
- 3 tbsps fish sauce
- 3 tbsps chopped fresh dill
To prepare the squid, place the defrosted tubes on a board in front of you with the broad end towards you and the tapered end away. Insert a knife into the tube and cut open along the right hand side. Open up the tube and score on at 45 degree angle, making cuts 1-2 cm apart in a criss-cross pattern. Then cut each tube into 8 rectangular pieces. Heat the oil in large frypan or wok until very hot. Add squid and sauté for 30 seconds. Add leek, tomato, onion, spring onion and ginger. Stir fry, tossing well for 2 minutes over high heat. You may need to add a few tablespoons of water to keep the dish moist. Stir in fish sauce, garnish with dill and serve immediately. Serves 4.
Wine match: chardonnay
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4 December 2011
- 2 whole flounder
- 2 cups water
- 1 kaffir lime leaf, finely sliced
- 1 small knob ginger, peeled and finely sliced
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 2 tbsps soy sauce
- 2 tbsps Asian fish sauce
- 1 carrot, cut into thin julienne strips
- 2 spring onions, cut into thin strips
- 200g oyster mushrooms
- 1 lime cut into wedges
- ½ cup fresh coriander leaves
Pre-heat the oven to 180ºC.
Wipe the flounder carefully and set aside.
Take a medium baking dish and tip in the water with the lime leaf, ginger, garlic, soy sauce and fish sauce. Mix well together.
Add the fish, and top each with the carrot, spring onion and the oyster mushrooms. Baste with the liquid, and cover the pan with foil.
Place in the oven and cook for about 12 minutes or until the fish is just cooked right through.
Serve immediately with the onion, carrot and mushrooms on top, spooning a little of the liquid over and lime wedges and fresh coriander leaves.
Serves 2.
Wine Match: gewurztraminer
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4 December 2011
- 2 baby snapper, scaled and gutted
- 2 tbsps olive oil
- ½ tsp fennel seeds
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- Sea salt and fresh black pepper
- 2 tbsps olives, pitted
- 12 ripe cherry tomatoes, halved
- 2 lemons
- A handful of parsley leaves
Pre-heat the oven to 180ºC. Cut two large 45 cm pieces of baking paper.
Trim the fins from the fish and make shallow slashes in the skin on either side. Stuff the cavity with parsley. Rub the sides with the olive oil, and sprinkle the fennel seeds, garlic, salt and pepper. Slice one of the lemons thinly, and place a couple of slices in each on the paper sheets. Scatter some of the olives and half of the tomatoes on each and then top with the fish. Add the remaining olives and tomatoes on top and finish with the remaining lemon slices and a few parsley leaves. Seal the paper parcel by folding and pleating the edges together.
Place the parcels on a baking tray and bake in the oven for about 15 minutes until the fish is just cooked through.
To serve, open the parcels and serve the fish with wedges of lemon and a little chopped parsley scattered over.
Serves 2.
Wine match: chilled rosé
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4 December 2011
I first cooked this recipe as a student in the Cordon Bleu School in London in the seventies, and it has been a firm favourite of mine ever since. It makes a splendid vegetarian dish for entertaining.
- 600g fresh spinach, stalks removed
- 100g ricotta cheese
- 4 eggs
- ½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 250g Swiss brown mushrooms
- 1 tbsp flour
- 1 cup vegetable stock
- 2 tbsps freshly chopped parsley
First, make a paper case by lining a small flat oven dish or Swiss roll tin, 30 x 25 cm, carefully folding the edges of the baking paper up to make a 6cm side all round.
Carefully wash the spinach, plunge into boiling water and cook briefly so that it collapses. Drain well, pressing all the water out, and chop finely.
Place in a bowl and stir in the cheese. Separate the eggs and add the yolks to the mixture with the nutmeg and a little salt and pepper to taste.
Beat the egg whites in a clean bowl until stiff and add to the spinach mixture by gently folding in. Spread this mixture evenly into the paper case and cook at 200˚C for about 20 minutes or until the mixture sets and starts to come away from the edges of the paper case.
Meanwhile, make the filling. Wipe the mushrooms and slice neatly. Put the butter in a small frying pan and, when it melts, add the onion and allow this to gently brown. Add the mushrooms. Cook briefly for about 2 minutes, and add the flour. Stir well and allow the flour to be absorbed. Tip in the stock and the parsley. Stir continuously until the mixture thickens and comes to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper.
To assemble, turn the warm spinach roll out onto another sheet of baking paper. Spread the mushroom mixture over the cooked spinach and roll up while still warm. Place on a serving platter at once, then cut into 6-8 slices and serve while still hot. Can be served at room temperature or, if reheating, make extra mushroom sauce to pour over and moisten the roll.
Serves 6.
Wine match: Millton or Esk Valley chenin blanc
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4 December 2011
- 300g spinach
- 125g feta
- 100g ricotta
- 30g parmesan freshly grated
- 2 tbsps freshly chopped thyme
- 2 tsps caraway seeds
- 12 sheets filo pastry
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 tbsp butter
- freshly ground black pepper
Prepare the spinach by steaming or blanching until wilted. Drain well and press to release all excess moisture. Chop finely and place in a large mixing bowl. Crumble the feta and add to the spinach with the ricotta, parmesan, thyme and caraway seeds.
Melt the butter in the oil and keep this warm for easy spreading.
Place two sheets of filo on a clean workbench, brush lightly with the oil mixture, and top each with a second sheet of filo. Cut these sheets into three lengthwise and brush again lightly with the oil and butter. Spoon a small tablespoon of the mixture on the corner at the base of each of the six strips.
Fold the bottom edge of the pastry up to form a triangle over this cheese. Continue to flip the triangle over and over, working up the pastry strip until it is all used up, forming a triangular parcel. Place on a baking sheet, brush with more oil and butter and sprinkle with pepper.
Repeat this process twice more to make 18 parcels. (If you have any filing left over, it is a lovely addition to scrambled eggs.) Bake in a hot (200˚C) oven until crisp and golden. This should take about 15 minutes. Serve warm.
Makes 18 snack sized filo parcels.
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4 December 2011
- 1 medium onion
- 4 cloves garlic
- 250g chicken livers
- 750g pork mince
- 4 tablespoons freshly chopped herbs (thyme, parsley)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons brandy
- 8 slices bacon, rind removed
- 400g pork fillet
- 3 fresh bay leaves
Peel and chop the onion and garlic, and put into a food processor. Chop the livers, and add to the onion and garlic and process until well mixed.
Place the mince in a large bowl and mix in the onion and liver mixture with the herbs, salt, pepper and brandy until well blended.
Cut the rind from the bacon, and arrange the slices into the base and up and over the sides of the terrine or loaf dish (10cm x 22cm x 7cm). Place one third of the mixture into the terrine. Slice the pork fillet into thin strips and place half of the strips on top of the mixture. Cover with the second third of the mixture and lay the rest of the pork strips on top of this. Finally, add the rest of the mixture and pack down well, bringing the bacon over the top to seal in the mixture. Decorate the top with fresh bay leaves and cover the terrine tightly with foil.
Place in a dish of hot water that comes halfway up the side of the terrine and bake in an 180˚C oven for 1½ hours. To test the terrine is cooked through pierce with a skewer. If it is cooked the juices should run clear. Remove from the oven and press the terrine down well while cooling by placing some heavy tin cans on top. Refrigerate when cool and leave for a day or two for flavours to develop.
To serve, slice and present with a fruity chutney and plenty of crusty bread.
Serves 10-12.
Wine match: A fragrant cabernet sauvignon
Recipe by Lauraine Jacobs, pic by Elizabeth Clarkson
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