Pumpkin Blachinda
24 June 2011

Serves: 24

Preparation time: 65 minutes

Ingredients

Pastry:

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 Tablespoons sugar
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 8 Tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, chilled, cut into small pieces
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons cider vinegar
  • 1/4 cup cold water
  • 1 large egg
Pumpkin Filling:
  • 1 cup pureed pumpkin
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 Tablespoon sugar, or to taste
.Finishing and Serving:
  • 1 egg mixed with 1 Tablespoon cool water (egg wash)
  • 2 Tablespoons mild honey, or to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg, or to taste

Instructions

 

Make the pastry: Place the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor, and process just to mix. Add the butter and process, using short pulses, until the mixture ranges in size from peas to coarse cornmeal. 
 
In a small bowl, combine the vinegar, the water and the egg. Whisk thoroughly, and add to the flour mixture, using short pulses to incorporate it. Process just unti lthe mixture begins to hold together but is still in pieces. The dough should hold together when you press it between your fingers, but it should not feel damp. Press the dough lightly to form a flattened disc, wrap it in waxed paper, and chill it for at least 1 hour. 
 
Make the pumpkin filling: Mix pumpkin, salt, cinnamon, vanilla, and lemon juice in a small bowl. Season to taste with the sugar. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. 
 
Roll the pastry out on a lightly floured surface so it is very thin, about 1/8 inch thick. Cut out twenty-four 3-inch rounds. Work with six at a time, and place the others in the refrigerator so they don't soften. 
 
Brush the edge of one pastry round with some egg wash, and then place 1 teaspoon of the filling on the bottom third of the round. Fold the top half over the filling and gently press the edges together. Using the tines of a fork, press the edges together again, more firmly, to seal them thoroughly and to make a design on the edge. Brush the pastry lightly with egg wash, and poke several holes in it to allow steam to escape. Refrigerate it while you repeat with the remaining round of dough. (You can prepare the blatschindas to this point and then freeze them, well wrapped, for up to 2 months. Let them thaw slightly, then proceed with the recipe.) 
 
Arrange the blachindas about 1/2 inch apart on a baking sheet, and bake until they are golden and the pastry is baked through, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer them to a wire rack to cool for about 5 minutes, then arrange them on a warmed serving platter. Drizzle them with the honey, sprinkle with the nutmeg, and serve immediately. 

 

 

 

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Rhubarb Pie
24 June 2011

Serves:10

Preparation time: 1 hr

Ingredients

  • 2 whole Pie Crusts, Your Favorite Recipe For A 2 Crust Pie, Or Store Bought If You Must
  • 6 cups Sliced Rhubarb, Approximately 1/2-inch Thick
  • ¾ cups Light Brown Sugar
  • ¾ cups White Sugar
  • 6 Tablespoons All-purpose Flour
  • 1 whole Zest Of One Orange
  • 1 pinch Salt
  • 2 Tablespoons Cointreau, Optional
  • ¾ teaspoons Freshly Grated Nutmeg (reduce To 1/2 Teaspoons If Using Ground)
  • 3 whole Eggs, Slightly Beaten
  • ¼ cups Heavy Cream
  • ¼ cups Butter, Cut Into Cubes
  • 2 Tablespoons Cream, For Brushing Top Pastry
  • 2 Tablespoons Raw Sugar, For Sprinkling Top PastryPreheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Instructions

If you’re making your own crust, prepare the dough according to directions. Divide dough into two sections and refrigerate for at least one hour (this allows the gluten to relax and will reduce the amount of crust shrinkage so don’t skip this step). If you’re using a store-bought crust, skip to next step.
 
Place rhubarb, both sugars, flour, orange zest, salt, Cointreau (if using) and nutmeg in a bowl; toss to coat.
 
In a separate bowl, add eggs and cream; blend well and add to rhubarb mixture; stir to combine. Set the filling mixture aside in the refrigerator until you’re ready to fill the pie.
 
Take out one section of pie crust dough and on a slightly floured surface, roll out to a 13-by-16 inch rectangle; place in the bottom of a sheet pan. NOTE: you want to make sure the crust goes up the side of the pan. Refrigerate bottom crust for 5 minutes.
 
Remove crust and rhubarb filling from refrigerator and spread rhubarb filling evenly over bottom crust. Dot with butter pieces. Refrigerate while you get top crust rolled and ready to place.
 
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the remaining piece of dough into a 12-by-15-inch rectangle. Drape this over the filling. Bring bottom pastry up and over top pastry. Pinch edges to seal.
 
Using a fork, prick top crust all over, or if you’re fancy, cut a design in the top. Brush with heavy cream and sprinkle with raw sugar. Refrigerate the entire pie for 5 minutes before baking – you want your crust to be cold when you place it in the oven – this helps create a nice, flaky crust.
 
To prevent over-browning, loosely cover the pie with foil and bake at 375 degrees F for 30 minutes; remove foil and bake for another 30 minutes or until crust is golden and filling is bubbling – mine actually took about an hour and 10 minutes to fully bake.

You can always loosely place foil over pie if it is browning too much.
Transfer to a wire rack until just warm to the touch, about 45 minutes.

 

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Pork belly with ruby navels and star anise
17 June 2011

Serves: 4 or 2 very indulgent individuals....

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 4 hrs

Ingredients

  • Pork belly on the bone 4-5 ribs still in if you can. Free range please.
  • 2 star anise
  • 2 cloves garlic crushed
  • 1 tbsp honey or brown sugar
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 3/4 litre chicken stock (you may need more depending on your dish.
  • 1 tbsp tomato paste
  • Juice of 1 ruby blood navel orange 
  • Zest of 1/2 the Blood orange.
  • Sea salt & cracked black pepper to taste

Instructions


Preheat the oven to 220.

Dissolve the tomato paste into the stock and add all other ingredients to the pan except the pork. stir well to combine.

Score the pork belly in diagonals to allow for easy division of crackling later.

Rub the pork with oil and salt and place into the dish. You want the liquid to just cover the flesh but not the top layer of fat. You will always get a higher part if you are 'on the bone' so just cover up to it's lowest point. Top up with more stock if you need to.

Place in the oven and leave for about 20 minutes to crackle up. Once it has reached a good crisp turn the ovene doen to 160 and leave. Check after 2 hrs it may need foil to stop any burning leave for at least one hour, you are looking for the flesh to start to fall away very easily and the liquid to be reduced to a jus, If you need to go out just add more liquid and cover and it will be fine.

Serve with rice and Asian vegetables.

 

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Seared wagyu sirloin on truffled jerusalem artichoke puree
16 June 2011

Serves: 4 as a starter

Preparation time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

For the chrain

  • 1 beetroot
  • 4 tbsp freshly grated horseradish if available
  • 2 tbsp cider vinegar
     

For the truffled Jerusalem artichoke puree

  • 500 g jerusalem artichokes, peeled and sliced 1cm thick
  • 250 ml double cream
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 tsp truffle oil

For the crispy curry leaves

  • vegetable oil, for deep-frying
  • 1 handfuls curry leaves, from the stem

For the beef

  • 250-300g  Wagyu beef sirloin, trimmed of excess fat, at room temperature
  • 1 tbsp grapeseed oil

Instructions

 

For the chrain: preheat the oven to 180C/gas 4. Wrap the beetroot in foil and bake until cooked through - you will be able to insert a skewer through it. Remove from the foil and place in a bowl of iced water, then peel the skin off. Roughly chop it, then puree it in a food processor together with the horseradish and vinegar. Season with salt. 
 
For the truffled Jerusalem artichoke puree: place the artichokes in a pan with the cream and bay leaf, add a little salt and cover with water by 2cm. Bring to the boil, then cook over a moderate heat until the artichokes are cooked and the liquid has gone below the level of them. Remove the bay leaf, strain the liquid into a bowl, then purée them in a small food processor, adding some of the cooking liquid to thin it out. Mix in the truffle oil and season well. Keep warm. 
 
For the crispy curry leaves: heat the vegetable oil in a deep-fat fryer or pan to 180C. Deep-fry the curry leaves until crisp, then drain on kitchen paper. 
 
For the beef: depending on the beef, you may prefer to cook it in one piece and then slice it, or you may prefer to cook individual portions. Heat a heavy-based pan. Rub the oil all over the beef and season generously with sea salt. Cook the beef in the pan for 1 minute over quite a high heat. Turn the beef over and brown on all sides, cooking it to medium rare at the most. Leave to rest in a warm place for 5 minutes. 
 
To serve, dollop the artichoke puree onto four warmed plates. Slice the beef and lay on top, place a little chrain to the side, then scatter with the curry leaves.

 

 

 

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Jerusalem artichoke potato cakes with red onion jam
10 June 2011

Serves: 4

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

Potato cakes
  • ½ kilo mashed potatoes
  • 8-10 small Jerusalem artichokes
  • 1 medium onion diced, fried without colour
  • 1 tbspn chopped fresh thyme
  • 3-4 tbspn hazelnut oil
  • 1 tbspn Dijon mustard
  • Fresh breadcrumbs
  • Fine polenta meal
  • Seasoning to taste
 
Chilli jam
  • 1 large red onion, sliced
  • Olive oil
  • 1 cup sweet chilli sauce
 
Rocket salad
  • 4 handfuls wild rocket
  • 1 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 4 tbspn pear concentrate (available in health food stores & worth investing in) If not, peel and mince 1/4 pear and use instead.

Instructions

Potato cakes
Combine all ingredients except polenta. Slowly work breadcrumbs into mixture to form about 8 cakes.
 
Roll cakes in polenta. Gently pan fry or deep fry till crisp.
 
Chilli jam
Slowly fry onion in oil until caramelised, about 10 minutes. Add chilli sauce. Place on a chopping board and roughly chop the mix to create a slightly chunky jam.
 
Rocket salad
Place balsamic in saucepan and simmer till reduced by half. Stir in pear concentrate (minced pear).
Toss through rocket leaves.
 
To serve
Place the rocket on the plate and top with the artichoke and potato cakes. Drizzle with the chilli jam.

 

 

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