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

Baba's Chicken Soup

Last week my daughter, The Truffle, rang from work saying she was feeling poorly with a stubborn cold that had nagged her for most of the week.  With a little encouragement from her mother, the naturopath, she agreed it would be best to stay home the next day to give it a chance to clear over the weekend.  I decided I would lend a hand by preparing some soup for the next day for her lunch and make enough for leftovers for dinner for her and her hubby Long_mach.

One of nature’s best food remedies for anyone unwell with cold and flu symptoms is; Jewish Penicillin commonly known as chicken soup. Ideally, the chicken stock is not made from processed stock powder but made the way the grandma would have made it – with love and using fresh preferably organic or at least free range chicken, with selected vegetables. For my magic master stock, I employ a two part process: firstly lightly simmering the whole chicken and vegetables, followed by straining the stock and letting it set overnight in the fridge allowing any fat to set on top – to be removed before adding to the fresh soup ingredients.

Master Stock Ingredients

1 Whole organic or free range chicken

2 Carrots

4/5 Celery stalks with some leaves left on

2/3 Sprigs parsley

2 Brown onions

2 Long red chilies

4 cm Piece ginger

2 Cloves garlic

2 Bay leaves

1 tsp Sea salt and several pepper corns

Wash the whole chicken and place it in a large stockpot with all the remaining ingredients. Fill the stockpot with water to just cover the chicken and vegetables. Bring the stock to the boil and turn down the heat to a gentle simmer. Simmer for 1 to 1 ½ hours. Remove the chicken and set aside to cool. Strain the stock through a clean tea towel or muslin. Discard all the vegetables. Once chicken and stock is cooled store them separately in the fridge overnight.  Next day remove any fat from the top of the stock. Remove the skin from the chicken and shred the meat from the bones to be added to the soup. I usually save the legs for sandwiches or add into a fried rice dish. The white meat is finely shredded or diced for the soup.

Soup Ingredients

2 cups Onions diced

2 cups Carrots diced

2 cups Celery diced

1/1 ½ Litres chicken stock

1 cup rice or risoni

2 cups chicken diced or shredded

½ cup finely chopped parsley

1tsp Extra virgin olive oil

Sea salt and ground pepper season to taste

Gently sauté the trinity of onions, carrots and celery for approximately 4-5 minutes. Add about 1 – 1 ½ litres of chicken stock. Bring to the boil and simmer for 30 minutes. Add the rice or risoni and ¼ cup of parsley simmer for 15 minutes. Then add the diced chicken for several minutes to heat through. Season to taste and serve garnished with the remaining parsley.

Apple Tart – Tarte aux Pommes

Apple Tart – Tarte aux  Pommes  (25cm Tart)

New seasons Granny Smith apples were the inspiration to try this dessert recipe for our Sunday family gathering last week.  The tart is made from short pastry, with a frangipane filling and new season Donnybrook Granny Smith apples. This was my first attempt at making this recipe and while it seems fiddly and is a bit time consuming the effort was well worth it.

Short crust Pastry - Pâte Brisée Ingredients

11/3  cups plain flour

¼ tsp salt

½ cup soften butter

1 egg yolk

2-3 tbs cold water

Frangipane Ingredients

½ cup  softened butter

½ cup caster sugar

1 egg beaten and 1 egg yolk

150 gms ground almonds

1 tbs brandy

2 tbs plain flour

Topping

4 medium Granny Smith or Golden Delicious apples  - peeled, cored and sliced about 12 slices per apple (Squeeze some lemon juice over the cut apples to prevent them browning)

1 tsp caster sugar to caramalise top

2 tbs Apricot Jam for glazing the tart

Make your short crust pastry using a food processor. I prefer to do it manually with a pastry cutter. In a large bowl add the flour and butter using the pastry cutter and cut in the butter and flour until it resembles medium crumbs. Add the beaten egg and water and using your hands bring the pastry together to form a flattened ball. (Do not over work the pastry)  Wrap in cling wrap and refrigerate the pastry for at least half an hour.

While the pastry is resting make the frangipane. Cream the butter and sugar ensuring the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is creamy - gradually add the egg mixture continuing to whisk the mixture. Stir in the brandy and flour using a spatula.

Roll out the pastry between 2 sheets of baking paper to a 30cm circle. Spray the tart tin with oil and place the pastry into the tart dish pressing into the fluted sides of the dish. The pastry base and sides need to be pricked evenly with a fork all over to prevent the pastry rising while baking. Refrigerate the pastry until firm about 3o minutes.

Preheat oven to 200C fan forced and also your baking sheet. (Preheating the baking sheet will assist the tart base baking evenly).

Remove pastry from refrigerator and spoon the frangipane evenly over the tart base. Arrange the apples in a spiral pattern so they overlap each other around the tart also pressing them into the frangipane mixture.  

Place the tart on the preheated baking sheet and bake at 200 C or 20 minutes until the tart starts to brown. Then remove the tart and gently sprinkle 1tsp caster sugar evenly over the apples and return to the oven at 170C for another 10-15 minutes until the apples caramalise.

Remove the tart from oven and cool on a rack. Prior to serving dissolve the apricot jam in a tablespoon of water and brush over the apple tart. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream.