Fontina Asparagus Tart

Quick lunch? Late Breakfast? Lazy Sunday Brunch? This is a winner on all scores….so whip it up, and you may find you will be doing similar things again and again. (Deeply impressive to the eaters….as expressed to me this weekend!) I had it cooked, and on the table in less time than it takes to write a blog post! What is your favorite whipper upper that impresses??

NEED:

70g Fontina cheese, cubed

70g gruyere cheese, cubed

40g unsalted butter

30g corn flour

2 eggs plus 1 egg for egg wash

240g milk

Sea salt and cracked black pepper to taste

3 commercial butter puff pastry sheets, thawed (or use the very fantastic Careme roll…or if you have For Foods Sake, pre-make the Flaky Butter Pastry, page 54)

1-2 bunches asparagus, trimmed and cut to size as needed

DO:

Preheat oven to bread baking setting 220ºC and line 2 trays with baking paper.

Place cheeses into Thermomix bowl and chop 8 sec/speed 10. Remove from bowl and set aside.

Place all remaining ingredients except pastry and asparagus into Thermomix bowl and cook 6 min/100ºC/speed 4.

Add grated cheeses to the bowl and blend 10 sec/speed 6.

While the bechemel is cooking, prepare pastry bases by placing one sheet of pastry onto each lined tray. Form an edge to your tart by cutting the remaining sheet into strips and laying along all four edges of each square. Brush edges with egg wash.

Divide bechemel between the two tart bases and spread to the inside edges of pastry strips. Arrange asparagus spears over.

Bake 10-15 minutes until edges are golden and pastry base is well cooked. Serve hot with salad or steamed veggies of choice.

Jaffa Crio Bru Antioxidant Bites

Look there is no nice way to photograph little round brown things…so I apologise in advance…but you are going to love these. Quick and easy to make, full of antioxidants, sugar free and you will find the energy you never knew you had once you pop a couple of these. (Not recommended for 2 year olds…seriously!)

NEED:

130g salted cashew nuts

50g dates, pitted

50g dried cherries or craisins,

1 tsp Heilala vanilla bean paste

50g Vega Real Crio Bru grounds

1 tsp pure orange oil

DO:

Place cashews into Thermomix bowl and blend to a paste 30 sec/speed 8.

Add remaining ingredients and blend 10 sec/speed 8.

Roll into balls using damp hands and refrigerate until serving.

Remember Crio Bru is full of slow releasing energy so these should not be eaten at night….no really…not kidding.

Euro Union Subway Sandwich, with no hassle.

Before you go looking like crazy for some European recipe contest…please read the following. (Disclaimer; This is not a serious title!)

It was just that I realised that I had used Hungarian salami, which may or may not be your choice…Swiss Cheese and the bread dough was my French Baguette dough…so yes, European Union all over again. OF course the baguette recipe now features in For Food’s Sake available for sale on here. (Where have you been??)

Easy if you have a steam oven, or the fab-you-laaahs Kleenmaid Combi Steam oven…which as the lucky recipe developer I am, I now have installed in my kitchen in pride of place. If you are not that lucky, get lucky and tell them I sent you! There will be a discount involved as well! But you can duplicate (sort of) the steaming thing with a bain marie in the bottom or your oven which you then remove.

It is a great lunch box subway of sorts, ready filled for your convenience and with all the little and big kiddies back at school, how about you make smaller individual ones for lunches this week…or next…or the next for that matter. Book mark this one! However, my son did eat half of a large one as a snack the day that I made these, so be warned; they won’t last long if you have teenagers in the house.

NEED:

30g fresh yeast

330g warm water

2 tsp salt

650g bakers flour

6-8 thinly shaved slices Hungarian salami per loaf

6-8 thinly shaved slices Jarlsburg per loaf

DO:

Place yeast and water into Thermomix bowl and warm 2 min/37ºC/speed 1.

Mix 15 sec/speed 6-7.

Knead 3 min/Interval. Allow to ‘rest’ for 5-10 minutes.

Knead again 3 min/Interval.

Turn out into oiled bowl and cover completely with plastic wrap so the air will be trapped and allow to double. (This may take up to 3 hours, unless you have the Kleenmaid warming drawer in which case probably about 20 minutes rising time.)

The dough will be quite hard and dense and yet flexible.

When happy with the rise, punch down and roll into two rectangular shapes.

Lay salami and cheese across each rectangle, then fold in both long sides into towards each other. Tuck in the ends and seal all together by pinching the dough together.

Turn over so that the seam is down and you have a nice smooth top. Slash top of loaves with very sharp knife diagonally.

Place onto baking paper and allow to rise again. (Use warming drawer if you have it…and yes, I LOVE IT!!) Cover with a cloth.

Place into oven and steam 10 minutes/100ºC. Unload water tank as oven directs and change function to fan forced. Cook 15 minutes/225ºC or until golden. Loaf should sound hollow when tapped. Cool slightly before slicing.

If you want to make only one loaf, simply halve everything but the yeast. Use 20g fresh or 2 tsp granulated. I have written the filling per loaf.

Cold Chilli Noodles….with all the fixings!

Someone asked me for this…cannot remember who…are you out there? They were hoping to approximate those horrible noodles the kids eat I think, ‘Mee Goreng’ and I am not ashamed to say it, my 16 year old eats them like there is no tomorrow. It is a cheap filler for his hollow legs, and I have bowed to the pressure. We have great hoardes of them in our store room….(he is child number five and seriously hungry ALL the time!)

This is a lot healthier than Mee Goreng, and so much nicer. It could join the fake-away list I am compiling for those of you who prefer fresh healthy fast food! Enjoy!

NEED:

400g noodles of your choice (I used udon stick noodles)

1L water

Sauce;

2 eschalots

2 cloves garlic

2 tsp sweet paprika

1 tsp cayenne pepper

2 dried chillies, soaked in boiling water

55g miso paste

2 tbsp rice wine vinegar

1 tsp shrimp paste

2 tbsp tamari or soy sauce

2 tbsp honey

2 tbsp dark brown sugar (or Billingtons molasses sugar)

2 tbsp toasted sesame oil

2 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted

Sea salt to taste

Garnishes;

Lettuce

Red or green cabbage

Carrots

Cucumber

Sprouts of choice

Spring onions/shallots

Kimchi (optional)

Sesame leaves, shredded (Perilla leaves, optional)

2-3 eggs, hard boiled

DO:

Place noodles and water into Thermomix bowl and cook 10 min/100ºC/Reverse + speed 1.

Drain noodles and plunge into cold water. Keep in insulated serving bowl in cold water until ready to assemble.

Prepare sauce by placing all ingredients into Thermomix bowl and blending 6 sec/speed 6. Scrape down sides of bowl and saute 5 min/Varoma/speed 1. 

Meanwhile prep all the garnishes, boiling, shredding or julienned as needed.

Stir sauce through noodles and top with all prepped garnishes before serving.

Vice Cream with Crio Beans

I saw this idea over on one of my fave blogs to read when I have a little time to relax, Not Quite Nigella. I changed it up a little because it was so totally perfect for your fave kitchen appliance and mine! I even made it as a Thermomix demo at my book launch, which incidentally WENT OFF! I hope if you were lucky enough to join me for that, you are still buzzing AND enjoying the spoils in For Foods Sake! I had a ball….If you would like a piece of the action, please go and purchase the book at the STORE.

If you would like a little Vice in your life, best make it this Vice, as it is all good for you! You could add all sorts of crunchy elements, as opposed to the macadamias, but add a little salt if you don’t use salty nuts. The salt will just elevate the flavor a little. Try Choc coated Crio beans, other nuts, chocolate chips or cacao nibs…or add orange zest and enjoy Jaffa Vice Cream…oh the possibilities.

NEED:

400g bananas, peeled and sliced, frozen

1 avocado

90g maple syrup

2 tsp Heilala vanilla bean paste

40g Margaret River Chocolate cocoa powder (or other premium cocoa)

Handful roasted, salted macadamias

DO:

Place bananas into Thermomix bowl and chop 5 sec/speed 10.

Add remaining ingredients except nuts and blend 10-15 sec/speed 6. Scrape down sides of bowl and add nuts and blend a further 10 sec/speed 6.

Serve immediately.

Iced Lemon and Coconut Slice

I don’t want to admit it…but seriously…coming home from a holiday where you are waited on hand and foot has been hell! So when I walked past the Muffin Something or Other shop and saw the Lemon Coconut Slices in the glass cabinet, I was filled with a longing to just buy one and be done with the whole concept of making every blessed thing from scratch! But I am not sure if I have been thermomixing for a little too long…I couldn’t do it. I need therapy. I need to be tied down and force fed fast food or premade cakes…is there anyone out there up for the task?

What I DID do was buy a pack of Arrowroot biscuits (shock, horror) and whip this up. I am not sure if it was the weather today, but it needed to be kept in the freezer to hold its shape. It has been totally humid and hot today, so I am going with that. Otherwise, try a little less butter, but it wouldn’t come together until I added the amount that appears in this recipe. And no, I didn’t make the butter myself! (Not this time.)

NEED:

Base;

Zest 2 lemons, finely grated

150g butter

50g cashews, roasted

250g pkg Arnotts Milk Arrowroot biscuits

1 tsp Heilala vanilla bean paste

Icing;

400g icing sugar

Juice 1-2 lemons (around 50g)

70g butter, cubed

Enough shredded coconut to cover icing to taste

DO:

Place all base ingredients into Thermomix bowl and blend 20 sec/speed 8 or until well blended and coming together.

Line a square baking tin with paper and press the mixture into it. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

Make icing by placing all ingredients except coconut into Thermomix bowl and blending 20-30 sec/speed 6.

Spread on top of slice, top with coconut and place into freezer until ready to serve. Slice when frozen….and eat whenever you damn well feel like it!

Lentil Salad with Basil and Lemon

Its Australia Day, and what is more Australian than lentils….well lots of stuff actually…but as you may be aware, I have been home from a cruise for less than a week, and talk about struggle with being home and getting back into the swing of it all! Can’t even bring myself to go to the shops, and so this was one of those; Must blog, have stuff in the cupboard, fridge that will do, and actually turned out quite delicious. So it is accompanying us to our BBQ and swim in a little while.

I wanted to add quinoa, but fresh out…need to order some from Honest to Goodness, as they stock an Aussie grown variety, that is nutty and delicious and un radiated….

So if you have it, add it…and actually, this lends itself to adding or subtracting just about anything that takes your fancy…Happy Straya day!

NEED:

200g lentils (I used green and red)

1200g water

Zest 1 lemon, finely grated

Juice 1 lemon

60-70g Fini EVOO plus some more as needed

Good pinch Murray River salt

1/4 red onion, diced

3 spring onions/shallots, sliced on the angle

1/2 red capsicum, diced

2 stalks celery, sliced

Good handful basil leaves, shredded (any variety, I used Thai as I have a garden abundance at the moment, adding a nice anise flavour)

300g cabbage, red or green, shredded

Other salad greens of choice

pistachios, pepitas, sunflower seeds to taste

DO:

Place lentils into simmering basket and pour water over.

Cook 30 min/100ºC/speed 3. Remove lentils and place into insulated serving bowl with lemon zest, juice, EVOO and salt. Stir and cover to marinate whilst you prepare the rest of the salad.

Prep remaining ingredients as directed and place all in large bowl. Stir through lentils and add more oil or seasoning as needed. Serve warm or cold.

Raspberry and Lime Spongey Mess

After an easy dessert? Got a sponge cake in the cupboard? (That was a joke…but you can run down to the shops right?) Most of this recipe can be quickly made and kept in the fridge for a desparate occasion…or go ahead, make a plan and make it as though you meant to…but either way? Delicious…go on, tell me all about it.

NEED:

Lime Butter;
Zest/juice 4 limes
120g sugar
160g unsalted butter , cubed
4 eggs

Berry Lime Coulis;
300g red berries of choice, fresh or frozen
65g sugar
Finely grated zest 1 lime
Juice 1 lime

Passionfruit Cream;

600g cream
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp Heilala vanilla bean paste
Pulp 2 passionfruit (grenadilla)

Assembly;
450g sponge cake, cubed
Additional raspberries to garnish

DO:

Lime Butter;

Place lime zest and sugar into mixing bowl and mill 15 sec/speed 10.

Add butter and chop 5 sec/speed 7.

Insert Butterfly and add all remaining Lime butter ingredients. Cook 10 min/80ºC/speed 4. Remove from bowl and set aside. Cool.

Make Lime Berry Coulis.

Place all ingredients into Thermomix bowl and cook 8 min/90°C/speed 1.

Blend 1 min/speed 6.

Strain through fine mesh sieve and refrigerate until use.

Whip chilled cream with sugar and vanilla in clean dry Thermomix bowl, with inserted butterfly 10-20 sec/speed 4.

Add passionfruit pulp and incorporate gently 4 sec/speed 4.

 Assembly;

Place cubes of sponge cake into large glass serving bowl, or several individual glasses. Drizzle with a little Berry Lime coulis. Dollop with Lime Butter and Passionfruit Cream. Repeat layering until all ingredients are used ending with cream. Garnish with raspberries. Serve chilled.

Morroccan Lamb Braise

I don’t want you being put off by the long list of ingredients on this one…just suck it up, print off the list (note Printer friendly version button now on each post…thank you Luke!) and go for it…you won’t regret it, really. It makes a LOT, so feel free to cut meat, tomtoes, and garnishes as needed…but please don’t alter cooking times.

NEED:

Juice ½ orange
780-800g lamb fillet, cubed
Few sprigs coriander
Bunch mint leaves
1 onion peeled and halved
4 cloves garlic
1 small red chilli
110g red capsicum
20g olive oil
15g ground smoked paprika
1 tsp ground turmeric
½ tsp ground cinnamon
Generous pinch saffron threads
450g Roma tomatoes , quartered
3-4 anchovies, rinsed
6 fresh pitted dates
6 dried apricots , soaked in boiling water for 1 hour
400g tinned chickpeas (around 230 g after draining)
100g black or Kalamata olives
Crumbled fresh feta to garnish
Sliced red chilli to garnish
Sea salt and cracked black pepper to taste

DO:
Marinate lamb in orange juice in non reactive bowl for several hours.
Place coriander and mint into mixing bowl and chop 3 sec/speed 5. Remove from bowl and set aside.
Place onion, garlic, chilli, and capsicum into Thermomix bowl and chop 3 sec/speed 5. Add oil and sauté 5 min/Varoma/speed 1 with MC off.
Add spices, tomatoes, anchovies, dates and apricots and cook 10 min/100ºC/speed 2.
Blend 5 sec/speed 6.
Add lamb (with juice) and cook 10 min/100ºC/Reverse +  speed 1.
Add chickpeas and cook 3 min/100ºC/Reverse + speed 1.
Add chopped herbs and olives and stir through 3 sec/Reverse + speed 1.
Adjust seasoning to taste.
Garnish with crumbled feta, sliced red chilli and additional fresh herb leaves. Serve with steamed couscous or rice.

Inca Berry Cinnamon Scroll Loaf

I discovered Inca berries at my local whole food supplier…and I am LOVING them…they are a tart little version of a raisin, sour, filled with little seeds, quite palatable on their own…and I discovered quite good for you…well, very good for you actually! I have always loved Cape gooseberries (which is the fresh version of Inca berries) so now with a facelift and a brand new sexy name, we have yet another new superfood…move over Goji!

NEED:

30g fresh yeast

20g sugar

300g milk

Pinch sea salt

510g bakers flour

20g powdered malt

Filling;

70g sugar

1 vanilla bean

1 cinnamon stick

1/2 tsp cardamom seeds

50g brewed Crio Bru leftover grounds, still moist

70g butter

2 handfuls Inca berries, (dried Cape gooseberries)

2 handfuls dried cherries or craisins

Maple syrup to glaze

DO:

Place yeast, sugar and milk into Thermomix bowl and warm 2 min/37ºC/speed 2.

Add salt, flour and malt and blend 10 sec/speed 6.

Knead 3 min/Interval. Turn onto floured Silpat mat and knead by hand into a tight ball. Wrap and prove until doubled in your Kleenmaid warming drawer! (I know, I know, I AM spoilt!)

To make filling place sugar, vanilla bean, cinnamon stick and cardamom seeds into clean Thermomix bowl and blend 10 sec/speed 10. Add Crio Bru grounds and butter and blend 8 sec/speed 6.

When dough has doubled, divide into two portions.

Roll one piece of dough out into a large rectangle, slightly smaller than the size of your Silpat mat.

Spread 1/2 the filling mixture over, sprinkle with berries and roll up, long side. Tuck ends of dough in and transfer to a paper lined baking tray.

Repeat with remaining dough and mixture.

Prove again for at least 30 minutes until risen and fragrant.

Preheat oven to bread setting 200ºC.

Bake 15 minutes until golden. Brush with maple syrup whilst still hot.

Slice and serve with lashings of butter….try honey or maple butter for a real treat.

Freeze one loaf unbaked if desired without second proofing. Bring to room temperature before baking as usual. Will keep in the freezer up to a month.