Recipe to follow shortly…

My new winter breakfast.

Simmer pear pieces in brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and water for 10 minutes or so.

Toast the semolina in a saucepan over a medium-high heat for a few minutes, stirring constantly, until it darkens slightly in colour.

Add milk and stir over a high heat until the semolina is cooked and the milk has been absorbed.

Put the semolina in a bowl, pour over the syrup and pears,  add some toasted nuts and serve.

Oh my! Boy this was good. And damn simple.

Carrot Salad with Harissa, Feta and Mint

via Smitten Kitchen

350g carrots, peeled, trimmed and coarsely grated

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 crushed clove of garlic

A handful of pistachios, toasted

1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds, ground

3/4 teaspoon cumin seeds, ground

1/2 teaspoon paprika

3/4 teaspoon harissa (or some form of chili paste)

1/2 teaspoon sugar

3 tablespoons lemon juice

A small handful of flat leaf parsley, finely chopped

A small handful of fresh mint, finely chopped

100g+ feta, crumbled

Fry the garlic, caraway, cumin, paprika, harissa and sugar in the oil until fragrant, about one to two minutes.

Remove from heat and add the lemon juice and a pinch of salt.

Pour over the carrots and mix.

Add the herbs and mix.

Leave to infuse for an hour and add the feta before eating.

You may need to make a little extra syrup  to drizzle over the top as the cake will suck up most of it when cooking. Also, use a spatula dipped in water  to smooth the batter over the pears.

Chocolate Pear Cake

Pears

80g butter

2/3 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons water

2 small small pears, peeled, halved and cored

Cake

185g butter

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

3 eggs

2 cups self-raising flour

1/3 cup cocoa powder

Preheat the oven to 180ºc.

Place the butter, sugar and water in a frying pan over medium heat and stir until the butter has melted.

Add the pears to the pan, cut-side down, and cook for 2 minutes.

Place the pears, cut-side down, in a 23cm round cake tin that has been side and base-lined with non-stick backing paper.

Pour over the syrup and set aside.

Place the butter and brown sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until light and fluffy.

Add the eggs one at a time and beat well.

Sift the flour and cocoa over the mixture and stir through.

Spoon the mixture over the pears in the tin.

Bake for 50-60 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer.

Cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then invert onto a serving plate.

Eat warm with ice-cream.

I think I might make them with feta next time. Also maybe use spring onions instead or at least cook the red onion a little first, the taste was too harsh.

Pumpkin, Sage & Blue Cheese Fritters

Makes 12

2 cups grated pumpkin

1 small red onion, sliced

100g+ blue cheese, crumbled

1/4 cup rice flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 egg white

1/4 cup sage leaves, chopped

Salt & pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

12 sage leaves, extra

Lemon wedges, to serve

Place pumpkin, onion, cheese, flour, baking powder, egg white,  sage, salt and pepper in a bowl and mix well to combine.

Heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan over medium heat.

Shape tablespoonsful of the mixture into patties and top with extra sage leaves.

Fry for 2-3 minutes on each side or until golden and cooked through.

Serve with lemon.

Chewy Oat & Choc Cookies

125g butter, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup desiccated coconut

1 cup rolled oats

1 cup choc bits

1 cup self-raising flour

Preheat the oven to 180ºC.

Combine butter, vanilla and sugar in a bowl.

Add coconut, oats, chocolate and sifted flour, mix until well combined.

Roll level tablespoons of mixture into balls.

Place onto a greased oven tray about 5 cm apart. Flatten slightly with a fork.

Bake for about 8 minues or until golden brown.

Caramel Slice

1 cup self raising flour

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup desiccated coconut

150g butter melted

395g can sweetened Condensed milk

2 tablespoons butter, extra

1 cup milk or dark chocolate melts, melted

Preheat oven to 180ºc and line an 18cm x 28cm tin with baking paper.

Mix the flour, sugar, coconut and butter together in a bowl.

Press into the prepared pan and bake for 10 minutes.

Combine the condensed milk, golden syrup and extra butter in a saucepan. Stir constantly over medium heat until almost boiling.

Reduce to a low heat and cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.

Pour caramel over base and bake a further 10 minutes. Allow to cool.

Spead the Caramel Slice with the melted chocolate, refrigerate until set.

Serve cut into pieces.

Recipe from Maggie’s Table

Fig & Walnut Meringue

180 g walnuts

330 g dried figs

6 free-range egg whites

250 g soft dark-brown sugar

Mascarpone

Slices of candied or fresh lime (optional)

Preheat the oven to 220C.

Roast the walnuts on a baking tray for about 5 minutes, shaking the trays to prevent the nuts from burning. If they are not fresh season’s, rub the walnuts in a clean tea towel to remove the bitter skins, then sieve away the skins. Allow to cool.

Reduce the oven temperature to 180C.

Line and grease a 24 cm springform cake tin.

Remove the hard stem from each fig, then chop the figs into small pieces (this should give you 1and 1?2 cups).

Toss the walnuts and fig pieces together.

Whisk the egg whites to soft peaks in a bowl with an electric mixer.

Slowly add the soft dark-brown sugar in heaped tablespoons until incorporated and the resultant meringue is thick and stiff. Mix a spoonful of the meringue through the figs and walnuts. Tip this back into the meringue and fold it through.

Spoon the meringue mixture into the prepared cake tin and bake for 45–50 minutes; until the tart pulls away from the sides and feels ‘set’ on top.

Allow to cool and serve with a good dollop of mascarpone. Candied or even fresh lime is a wonderful accompaniment to this tart – decorate the edge of the tart with a ring of fine, fine slices of the lime. The tart is meant to be sticky and soft and will be rustic in appearance, so don’t fret if it falls apart as you serve it.

BURNT! I think we put the grill on…

Dumplings and Rice Cakes in Chili Sauce (my favourite)

Fried Chicken with Corn & Chili, Mushroom Hot Pot, and Noodles with Black Bean

So many condiments!

13a Victoria St

Melbourne

9639 1747

Risotto with Chicken & Brussel Sprout

Serves 4-6

1.1L stock (chicken or vegetable)

2 tablespoons olive oil

A knob of butter

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

400g risotto rice

500ml dry white wine

1/2 half a cup of peas (frozen or fresh)

salt and pepper

70g butter

115g grated parmezan cheese

2 large? handfuls of brussel sprouts, shredded

1 tablespoon butter

2 pieces of chicken breast

Heat the stock and keep it simmering hot on the stove.

Put the olive oil and butter into a separate pan, add the onion and garlic, and cook very slowly for about 15 minute without colouring.

Add the rice and turn up the heat. The rice will begin to lightly fry, so continue to stir it. After a minute it will look slightly translucent.

Add the wine and keep stirring.

Once the wine has cooked into the rice, add your first ladle of hot stock.

Turn the heat down to a simmer so the rice doesn’t cook to quickly on the outside.

Continue adding ladlefuls of stock, stirring the creamy starch out of the rice, allowing each ladleful to be absorbed before adding the next. This will take around 20 minutes but always varies so taste the rice to check if its cooked. If not, continue adding the stock until the rice is soft but still has a slight bite. Don’t forget to check the seasoning carefully and if you run out of stock just add some boiling water.

When the rice is almost cooked, put a fry pan over medium heat with a splash of olive oil and fry the chicken. In another fry pan place the butter and fry the brussel sprouts.

Remove the risotto from the heat when cooked and add the butter, parmezan and the (frozen) peas. Stir well.

Place a lid on the pan and allow to sit for 2 minutes.

Add the sliced chicken and brussel sprouts.

Divide between plates and eat as soon as possible.