Friday, June 25, 2010

Sticky Date Pudding



Sticky Date Pudding (8 serves)
1 ½ cups pitted dried dates chopped
1 ¼ cups water
1 tsp bicarb soda
¼ cup butter
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 ½ cups self raising flour
2/3 cup brown sugar

Caramel sauce
¾ cup brown sugar
300ml cream
2 tbs Golden syrup
30g butter

In a small saucepan add the dates and water and bring to the boil. Turn off the heat and add the butter and bicarb soda stirring the mixture. Set this aside until cool.

Preheat a fan forced oven to 160˚C.

Prepare a 20 cm round spring form cake tin with baking paper on the base and spray the sides with oil or grease with butter.

Pour the cooled date mixture into a food processor; add the eggs and vanilla and pulse for a few seconds.

In a large bowl sift the self raising flour and brown sugar to remove any lumps.
Add the date mixture and using a wooden spoon or large spatula fold the wet and dry ingredients together until evenly mixed. Try not to over mix the ingredients.

Pour the mixture into the cake tin and bake for 50 to 60 minutes. After 40 minutes check to see the top of the pudding is not getting to brown - cover the top with baking paper if necessary.

Test the pudding with a wooden skewer – the pudding is cooked when no batter appears on the skewer.

At this stage make your caramel sauce in a small saucepan adding all the ingredients and simmering for about five minutes.

Remove the pudding from the cake tin and allow the pudding to cool on a wire rack. As the pudding cools use the wooden skewer to pierce the pudding making about 10 holes in the pudding. Pour about ½ a cup of the caramel sauce over the top of the pudding. Adding a little bit more will result with a stickier pudding.

Serve hot or cold. I prefer to reheat the pudding and sauce and serve with a dollop of fresh cream or vanilla ice cream.






Braised Lamb Shanks



With the cold of winter setting in I have been hanging out for some good old fashioned comfort food. One of my favourite comfort meals is lamb shanks which are braised slowly in a cast iron baking tray or casserole. For this recipe I used Frenched lamb shanks. (Shanks which have been trimmed to remove excess fat and tendon) Not only do they look nicer on the plate but are a healthier option with reduced fat. Braising meat is an excellent slow cooking method for tougher cuts of meat as it keeps the meat moist. Braising involves dusting the meat in seasoned flour then browning it in a pan in oil and finishing the cooking process by slow cooking with liquid such as stock, in a casserole. This final process can be done in an oven, stovetop or electric slow cooker.

Braised Lamb Shanks
3 tbs olive oil
2 brown onions diced
4 garlic cloves crushed
2 carrots diced
4 celery stalks diced
1 cup flour seasoned with salt and pepper
8 lamb shanks
1 can diced tomato
1-2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
2 bay leaves
Sea salt and pepper

Preheat your oven to 180 C.

Toss the lamb shanks into a large bowl containing the seasoned flour ensuring the shanks are evenly coated.

Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and brown the lamb shanks in small batches and transfer the shanks into a heavy based baking dish or casserole.

Lightly sauté the vegetables in the frying pan adding additional oil if necessary. And add 2 tbs of the seasoned flour to the mixture coating the sautéed vegetables.

Add the diced tomato to the frying pan and heat through then transfer the contents into the baking dish coating the lamb shanks.

Deglaze the frying pan with the stock and bay leaves and pour the stock over the lamb shanks to just cover them. Adjust the stock to suit the size of your casserole and quantity of ingredients.

Cover the baking dish with foil and place it into the preheated oven to bake for 1 hour at 180°C then reduce the heat to 160°C for another 1½ to 2 hours or until the meat begins to fall off the bone.

Serve with potato mash, steamed green vegetables and remaining sauce from the braised lamb shanks.

Wine: Penfolds Bin 407 Cabernet Sauvignon 1998 and Parker Terra Rossa Cabernet Sauvignon 2005