Mushroom & Tomato Frittata

Frittatas are great. They're easy to make and with your own imagination, can be packed full of most staples or leftovers in your pantry and fridge. You can substitute the ingredients in this recipe with whatever you have on hand, use garlic butter instead of butter, substitute parsley with baby spinach or other herbs, add parmesan instead of cheddar etc. Whatever suits you and your family!

Ingredients

30g unsalted butter
200g Swiss brown mushrooms, sliced
2-3 vine ripened tomatoes, cut into wedges
6 eggs
50g cheddar cheese, coarsely grated
½ cup flat-leaf parsley leaves

Method

1. Preheat the grill to high.  
2. Melt 20g of the butter in a non-stick frypan over medium heat. Add the sliced mushrooms and tomato wedges, and cook, stirring, for 3-4 minutes until tomato is just softened. 
3. Lightly beat eggs with 1½ tablespoon water in a large bowl. Stir in cheese and parsley. Season with salt and pepper. 
4. Melt remaining butter in the frypan over medium-low heat. Add the egg mixture, stir briefly, then cook for 5-6 minutes until golden underneath and nearly set. Place pan under hot grill for 3-4 minutes or until just set and top is golden. Slide onto a board, cut in half.

Notes & Tips

Serve frittata with salad leaves

Hazelnut & Espresso Macarons

I'm not a big fan of macarons. I'm not a big fan of meringues either but somehow I don't mind pavlova...
Feeling inspired after watching Adriano Zumbo make macarons on his TV show the other day, I decided to give it a go.

Not bad for a first attempt I must say! Would I ever make them again? Probably not. It was way too time consuming- probably took me a few hours to make and prepare and not even a minute to eat!

Recipe from The Dairy Kitchen Cookbook, page 19

Makes 16
Ingredients

1¼ cups pure icing sugar
125g hazelnut meal
3 egg whites, at room temperature
¼ cup caster sugar
½ cup thickened cream
1 teaspoon freshly ground coffee beans
1 teaspoon coffee essence (optional)
200g good quality white chocolate

Method

For the macarons, process icing sugar and nut meal in a food processor until very finely ground. Sift the mixture, discarding any leftovers.

Beat egg whites until soft peaks form, gradually add sugar, beating well between additions until sugar has dissolved and mixture is thick and glossy. Gently fold in nut mixture in batches. The mixture should run slowly down the sides of the bowl when tilted. If the mixture is too firm, add a little more runny egg white.

Using a piping bag with a small plain nozzle, pipe 4cm circles of the mixture onto baking paper lined trays. Stand trays at room temperature for at least 2 hours or until a dry glossy crust forms. Bake at 140°C for 15-17 minutes, until just firm but not coloured. Cool completely before using a metal spatula to carefully remove from trays.

For the ganache filling, heat the cream and coffee in a small saucepan until just simmering, remove from heat and stir in chocolate until smooth and glossy. Refrigerate for 2 hours or until thick. Sandwhich macaron shells together with piped ganache.

Notes & Tips

Assembled macarons will keep for 1-2 days in an airtight container.

For dark chocolate espresso macarons, substitute dark chocolate in the ganache and lightly dust ground coffee over macaron shells before baking.

Salmon with mango & chilli salsa

This low-fat and easy recipe is bursting with omega 3 fatty acids and fuses sweet fruit with fresh vegies - perfect for a warm summer day or evening.

I normally add coriander to the salsa but since my husband doesn't like it I left it out. I also left in the chilli seeds since we both like a bit of heat :)

 
Ingredients

1 tbs olive oil
4 (about 220g each) salmon fillets
2 ripe mangoes, cheeks removed, peeled, finely chopped
1 long fresh red chilli, halved, deseeded, thinly sliced
2 tbs chopped fresh coriander
1 avocado, peeled, finely chopped
1 tbs fresh lime juice
1-2 bunch asparagus, woody ends trimmed
Lime wedges, to serve
Salt and pepper, to taste


Method

1. Heat oil in a non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Season both sides of salmon fillet with salt and pepper.
2. Place the salmon, skin-side down in the pan. Cook until golden brown on 1 side, about 3-4 minutes. Turn the fish over with a spatula, and cook for another 3-4 minutes (for medium rare).
3. Meanwhile, combine the mango, chilli, coriander and lime juice in a bowl. Taste and season with salt and pepper.  
4. Cook the asparagus in a saucepan of boiling salted water for 2-3 minutes or until bright green and tender crisp. 
5. Divide the salmon among serving plates. Top with asparagus and salsa and serve with lime wedges.

Lamb Rissoles with Mashed Potato and Rosemary Gravy

 Recipe adapted from The Australian Women's Weekly Kid's Cooking book, page 50

Ingredients

500g lamb mince
1 large brown onion, grated coarsely
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 egg
½ cup breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon olive oil
500g potatoes
20g butter
1 tablespoon plain flour
1 cup (250ml) beef stock
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves
250g cherry tomatoes
Salt and pepper

Method

1. Using hands, combine lamb, onion, garlic, egg, breadcrumbs, salt and pepper in medium bowl. Shape lamb mixture into eight patties.
2. Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium heat; cook rissoles both sides, four at a time, about 15 minutes or until browned and cooked through. Drain on absorbent paper; cover with foil to keep warm. Reserve pan with rissole drippings.
3. Meanwhile, boil, steam or microwave potatoes until tender; drain. Mash potatoes in medium bowl with potato masher; stir in butter.
4. Cook flour in rissole pan, stirring, until mixture browns and bubbles. Gradually stir in stock; stir until gravy boils and thickens. Strain gravy; stir in rosemary.
5. Meanwhile, cook tomatoes, stirring, in heated small frying pan about 2 minutes or until split and just softened.
6. Divide potatoes among serving plates, top with rissoles then with rosemary gravy and tomatoes.

Notes & Tips

If you're feeling lazy and don't want to use a potato masher to mash up the potatoes, try using a hand mixer. A friend of mine provided me with this useful tip and to my surprise, the potatoes turned out really nice and fluffy. Start off with the low setting initially to break the potatoes up then increase the speed to combine the butter and potatoes together. Be careful to not mix them for too long or you might run the risk of turning your mashed potato into sticky, wallpaper paste!

Creme Caramel

There are few desserts I find more satisfying than a Crème Caramel. Smooth, sweet and creamy, it’s a taste sensation. Creme Caramel put simply is a baked custard sitting on a syrup sauce...... as opposed to creme brulee, which is custard with a hard caramel top.

Recipe from Woman's Day magazine, Issue 3: January 17 2011, page 55

Ingredients

1 ¼ cups caster sugar
¼ cup water
300ml carton cream
1 cup milk
3 eggs
3 egg yolks

Method

Preheat oven to moderately slow, 150°C

In a medium saucepan, combine 1 cup sugar and 1/4 cup cold water. Stir over low heat, without boiling, until sugar dissolves. Increase the heat to medium and bring to the boil. Cook, without stirring, brushing down sides of pan occasionally with a wet pastry brush, for 5-7 minutes or until the mixture is a deep golden caramel colour.

Pour caramel toffee mixture evenly between 8 x ½ cup ramekins, swirling each so that it comes about 2cm up the sides of the ramekins. Place in a baking dish. Set aside to cool completely.

In a medium saucepan, combine cream, milk and remaining sugar. Stir over low heat until the sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil, then remove from heat. Cool for 5 minutes.

In a medium bowl, whisk eggs and egg-yolks together.
(In this photo it looks like I have 8 egg yolks but 2 of the eggs that I used just so happened to have twin yolks!)

Whisk in milk mixture. Pour custard into ramekins and add enough hot water to baking dish to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. The hot water creates an even distribution of heat, which helps the custard to set gently and evenly.

Bake for 30 minutes until set. Remove from pan and cool completely. Chill overnight. Dip ramekins in boiling water for 30 seconds to loosen. Turn out onto a serving plate to serve.







Notes & Tips

Pour the custard through a strainer when adding it to the ramekins, to remove any sediment. This will make the custard silky smooth.


Variation

To make coconut crème caramel, substitute the milk with light coconut milk and add 1 teaspoon coconut essence. Garnish with toasted shredded coconut and lime rind

Whole Steamed Fish With Ginger And Shallots

Ingredients

500g silver perch or barramundi
3 shallots, finely shredded
4 whole shallots
1½ tablespoons light soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 large knob of ginger finely julienned
a few sprigs of coriander (optional)
3 tablespoons peanut oil

Method

1. Pat the fish dry with kitchen paper and put it onto a chopping board. With a sharp knife, make three diagonal slits into the meatiest part of the fish, then turn the fish and repeat the process on the other side.
2. Place the whole shallots  on the bottom of a heatproof plate that will fit into the steamer and take the fish comfortably. Add the sesame oil to the shallots. Place fish on top of the shallots. Pour the soy sauce over the fish then top with the ginger.
3. Put the plate in the steamer over rapidly boiling water and steam for 10-15 minutes (the time will vary, depending on the circulation of the steam and size of the fish).
4. The fish should be just setting on the bone, which will be exposed by the diagonal cuts.
5. Be careful not to overcook the fish, as it will cook a little more when it is covered with hot oil.
6. Remove the plate from the steamer and scatter the shredded shallots over the fish.
7. Heat the peanut oil in a small pan until it is smoking, then douse the fish with the oil – be careful, it will spit!
8. Serve immediately 

Chow Mein

Recipe adapted from The Australian Women's Weekly Kid's Cooking book, page46

Ingredients

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
500g lean beef mince
1 medium brown onion, chopped finely
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 cup frozen carrot, pea & corn mix
150g rehydrated shitake mushrooms
1 cup (250ml) chicken stock
⅓ cup (80ml) oyster sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
450g fresh thin egg noodles
½ small Chinese cabbage, shredded coarsely

Method

1. Heat oil in wok or large frying pan; stir fry mince, onion and garlic until mince is browned. Add curry powder; stir-fry about 1 minute or until fragrant. Add frozen carrot, pea & corn mix, mushrooms; stir fry until vegetables soften.
2. Add stock, sauces and noodles, stir-fry until combined; bring to a boil. Add cabbage, reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, tossing occasionally for about 5 minutes or until vegetables are just soft.

Fruity Nutty Chicken

The following is an adaptation of a recipe I saw from the T.V. show Poh's Kitchen. It's a Malaysian Chinese chicken stir fry dish with interestingly enough some fruits like honeydew added in. I like the bright colours of this dish as well as the different textures, flavours and the sweetness that comes from the fruits and sauce.

Ingredients

600g chicken breast, cubed
2 small capsicum (green/red/yellow), cubed
1 medium sized carrot, cubed
300g honeydew, cubed
150g toasted cashew nuts
225g tinned pineapple pieces, syrup juice drained
4 tbsp cooking oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed

Marinate (A)

2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp oyster sauce
2 tsp chicken stock powder
2 tsp light soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
¼ tsp pepper (powder)
½  tsp sugar

Seasoning (B)

6 tbsp tomato sauce
6 tbsp plum sauce
1 tbsp vinegar
2 ½  tbsp sugar
8 tbsp water
2 tsp cornflour
Salt (optional)

Method

1. Marinate the chicken meat with the baking soda for 20 minutes and then rinse the chicken thoroughly (make sure that the chicken is properly rinsed clean of the baking soda). Pat the chicken meat dry with paper towels and then marinate with the rest of the ingredients for 10 minutes.
2. Heat up the oil in a wok over medium heat and sauté garlic till fragrant.
3. Add chicken and stir fry till almost cooked through.
4. Add in carrots and capsicums.
5. Pour in (B) and bring to boil.
6. Add honeydew and pineapple pieces.
7. Lastly, mix in cashew nuts.
8. Dish up and serve hot with rice.

Mango Sago Dessert

This is a nice and refreshing dessert to have on a hot summer's day!

Ingredients

2 mangoes
400ml mango juice
mango essence (optional)
125ml evaporated milk
100g sago pearls (approx. 1/2 cup)
250ml water
6 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp tapioca flour 
1 tbsp cold water
extra 50ml water

Preparation of sago pearls

1. Soak sago pearls in cold water till they turn translucent (about an hour or two).
2. Boil the pearls in 3 cups water until it turns totally transparent, about 10 minutes.
3. Pour the cooked pearls into a sieve and wash it with cold tap water to remove the starch.

Method

1. In a small saucepan, boil 250ml water, add sugar and stir until sugar dissolves
2. Mix tapioca flour with 1 tbsp water and pour into the syrup and stir over low heat until mixture is smooth.
3. Take syrup and tapioca flour mixture off the heat and leave it to cool.
4. Meanwhile, cut the sides of the mango and cube them.
5. Scrape the remaining mango and put in a blender with 50ml water. Blend until pureed then put aside.
6. Add blended mango, cubed mango, mango juice and evaporated milk into the syrup solution then stir.
7. Add sago pearls and stir. If too thick, add a bit more mango juice.
8. Chill before serving.

Red Bean Glutinous Rice Ball/Lo Mai Chee

Tonight we had a prayer and praise night at our church and were asked to bring a dessert from our country to share with others afterwards. Since I'm of Chinese descent I decided to make red bean glutinous rice balls otherwise known as "lo mai chee" in Chinese. Their texture can be described as soft and chewy at the same time. Different fillings can be used like peanut butter, finely chopped peanuts and sugar, green bean paste, custard, pandan as well as fruit fillings like mango and strawberries.

For my mango glutinous rice ball recipe click here.

Makes approx. 21 pieces

Ingredients

200g glutinous rice flour
1 tbsp corn flour
1 tbsp Santan powder (coconut cream powder)
300ml hot water
½ cup - ¾ cup caster sugar
2 tbsp corn oil
red bean paste (pre-bought or homemade)
½ cup dessicated coconut, for coating
Patty cases

Method

1. Sieve glutinous rice flour, corn flour and Santan powder into a big mixing bowl.
2. Dissolve sugar in 300ml of hot water. Pour this into the flour mixture and mix till smooth and well blended.  Add the oil and mix until the mixture is free of lumps and smooth.
3. Strain batter into a greased tray/bowl and steam on high heat for 15 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, prepare the filling by rolling out the red bean paste into small balls- I use approx 1 tsp of red bean paste to make 1 ball.
5. Remove tray/bowl from steamer and stir the cooked dough with a flat plastic knife or a pair of chopsticks. Leave dough aside to cool. NB: the dough needs to still be warm in order for it be pliable, so don't cool it for too long, just long enough for it to be handled with your hands.
6. Wear a pair of plastic gloves and grease it with some oil. Take a 25g-30g piece of dough and flatten it into a round disc (approx the size of your palm), and wrap the red bean paste balls. Seal the edges tightly and shape it into a round ball. 
7. Coat/roll the shaped glutinous rice balls with desiccated coconut. Dust off the excess coconut and place inside a small patty case.
8. Serve glutinous rice balls chilled or at room temperature.

Notes & Tips

Add 2 tablespoons green tea powder and a few drops green food colouring to the batter to make green tea flavoured glutinous rice balls