The Ultimate | Crispy Roast Potatoes with Truffle Salt

This is my last post for the year and for the holidays, I'll be taking January off for some beach time with the family, yippee. Thanks for all your comments, suggestions and blog loving all year long.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all x

I thought I'd share this very special way of getting the ultimate crispy roast potatoes, just in time for Xmas. Prepare to drool..

Crispy Roast Potatoes with Truffle Salt

You'll need:

1 kg desiree or good roasting potatoes
2 tbs semolina
1 cup olive oil
truffle salt (available from gourmet food stores)

Pre heat oven to 200C.

Peel the potatoes, cut them in half and then half again. Place them in a large saucepan and cover with cold water.

Bring the potatoes to the boil and then drain them in a sieve. Add them back to the saucepan, sprinkle with semolina and bash them around the pot to rough up the edges a little (see below).

Pour the oil into a large heavy based roasting pan and allow the oil to heat up for 10 minutes or so. (NOTE: I know this seems like a lot of oil, but it is crucial - trust me) Carefully place the potatoes in the hot oil and roast for 23-30 minutes, turning them over half way through. Cook until golden brown. Drain the potatoes quickly on paper towel and sprinkle with truffle salt and serve.

Christmas Lunch | Roulade with honey cream, pistachios & berries

I was on dessert duty for a family pre-xmas gathering and for something different, whipped up this very festive meringue roulade with honeyed raspberry cream, fresh berries and crushed pistachios.

The meringue and the filling can be made the night before, so all you need to do is assemble on the day.



Feeds 8-10

You'll need:

300ml cream
1.5 tbs honey
2 punnets fresh raspberries
180g caster sugar (plus extra)
7 egg whites
pinch of salt
icing sugar to dust
1/2 cup shelled pistachios, roughly chopped
1 cup fresh mixed berries (strawberries, red currants and blackberries)

Pre heat the oven to 180C.

Whip the cream with beaters or using an electric mixer. When it is beginning to thicken, add the honey and continue whipping until the cream is stiff. Gently stir through the raspberries, place in an air tight container and refrigerate.

Oil spray or butter a lamington tray (33 x 23 cm) and line the base and sides with baking paper. Leave some paper hanging over the edges so that the meringue can easily be taken out from the tin. Spray more oil over the paper and dust with the extra caster sugar. Shake off the excess.

Put the caster sugar, egg whites and salt into a mixing bowl and beat with electric beaters for 5-6 minutes or until thick and glossy. Pour into the tray and using a palette knife, smooth out the meringue evenly in the tin. Bake for 10 minutes or until nice and golden.

Allow the meringue to cool completely in the tray. Carefully peel the edges of the baking paper away from the meringue. Spread the raspberry cream over the top. Lift out the meringue onto a large rectangle plate or board and roll the meringue up as tightly as possible, using the baking paper as a lever.

Dust the roulade with icing sugar and decorate with pistachios and berries and serve.

Gingerbread Muffins

It's that time of year again, and my days are full. So full, that I haven't had much time to cook, let alone blog recipes :-(

Starting to think about Christmas treats to give to visitors, I whipped up these muffins this morning. You'll most likely have all the ingredients on hand (except perhaps the optional gold leaf), so you can pop them in the oven just before guests arrive. There's nothing more festive than the sweet smell of gingerbread wafting through the house.



Recipe inspired by Nigella Lawson
Makes 6-8

You'll need:

250g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarb soda
1.5 tsp ground ginger
1tsp ground cinnamon
1 egg
100g raw organic sugar
150ml milk
1/4 tsp balsamic vinegar
6 tbs grapeseed oil
8 tbs treacle
edible gold leaf pictured below (optional & available from specialty food stores like The Essential Ingredient)



Pre heat oven to 200C. Line a 12 hole muffin tin with baking paper cut into squares.

Combine the flour, baking powder, bicarb, ginger and cinnamon in a large bowl.

Whisk the egg together with the sugar in a large jug. Add the milk, balsamic and grapeseed oil and treacle and mix well. Add this to the dry mixture and stir until just combined. The mixture will be quite wet and lumpy.

Pour the mixture into the prepared tin. I filled them quite high, as the muffins don't puff up as much as normal muffins. Bake for 20 minutes or until just cooked through. Brush over a little gold leaf while they are still warm for an extra festive touch.

TIP: Use the same spoon used to measure out the oil for the treacle, it will just glide of the spoon rather than stick.

Chicken, Apricot & Date Tagine

This is a great one pot wonder that everyone in the family will love. It freezes well too, so make a big batch and keep it on standby for weeknight dinners.

Serves 6

You'll need:

2 tbs olive oil
600g chicken thighs, diced
1 onion, finely sliced
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 small pinch saffron threads (optional)
400g pumpkin, peeled & diced
3/4 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup sliced dried apricots
1/4 cup sliced dates
1 cup baby spinach leaves
roasted slivered almonds (optional)
couscous to serve

Heat in the oil in a large pot with lid. Add the chicken and saute until a nice golden crust starts to appear on the chicken.

Add the onion and garlic and stir for 2 minutes, add the spices and stir again until fragrant.

Add the pumpkin and stock, bring to a simmer and place the lid on the pot. Cook on a gentle low heat for 20-25 minutes.

Add the dates, apricots and spinach leaves and cook for a further minute.

Serve with couscous and scatter with roasted slivered almonds, if desired.

Quinoa and Polenta Porridge

To gear up for a month of decadent eating and drinking, I thought a healthy breakfast post was in order. My breakfast routine (or sometimes, lack thereof) bores me, so it's nice to throw a few different options into the mix from time to time.

You'll need:

1/2 cup quinoa
1/2 cup polenta
500mls water
1/2 cinnamon stick
1 cardamon pod, bruised
fresh berries or poached rhubarb and natural yoghurt to serve
honey (optional)

Place the quinoa, polenta, water, cinnamon and cardamon in a bowl and over the water. Allow the mixture to soak for 10 minutes or so.

Transfer the mix to a medium non-stick saucepan and gently bring to the boil. Lower the heat and simmer or 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally and topping up with water, if necessary.

Spoon into a bowl and top with berries and drizzle with honey if desired.

Peanut Butter, White Chocolate & Sea Salt Cookies

This is an adapted Women's Weekly recipe, that I found in my mum's vintage collection. They have a delicious melt in your mouth texture and are impossible to resist.

You'll need:

125g butter, softened to room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup caster sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup crunchy peanut butter ( I used a natural, low salt and sugar variety)
1 + 1/4 cup plain flour
1 tsp bicarb soda
1/3 cup white chocolate chips
sea salt

Pre-heat oven to 180C.

Cream together butter, vanilla, brown sugar and caster sugar until soft and pale. Add the peanut butter and mix to combine.

Fold in the flour, bicarb and salt, until just combined, then stir through the white chocolate chips.

Roll into balls and press down to flatten and sprinkle with a little sea salt. Evenly space out the biccies as they will spread a little.

Bake for 10-15 minutes or until they turn a light tinge of golden.

Smoked Trout and Pea Tart

This is an awesome tart made with the delicious tea smoked trout that I made in a previous post. You can substitute the trout with smoked salmon or tinned tuna if you like. The best thing about this tart is that I made it with greek yoghurt and eggs (no cream) and it's much lighter as a result.

You'll need:

1 qty home made shortcrust pastry or 1 sheet ready-rolled shortcrust pastry

 1 tbs olive oil
1 brown onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
300g hot smoked trout, flaked
3/4 cup (120g) fresh (blanched) or frozen peas
3 eggs, lightly whisked
3/4 cup (185ml) greek yoghurt

Preheat oven to 200°C.

Line a 25cm (base measurement) x 5cm fluted tart tin with removable base with the pastry and trim any excess. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes to rest.

Cover pastry base with baking paper and fill with pastry weights. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove paper and weights and bake for a further 10 minutes or until golden. Reduce oven to 160°C.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a medium frying pan over low heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until onion is soft. Remove from heat.

Combine onion mixture, trout and peas in a bowl. Arrange the onion mixture in the base of the pastry case. Whisk the eggs, and yoghurt together in a bowl until well combined. Pour over the onion mixture. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until just set. Serve warm or at room temperature.