Prawn and Avocado salad with Lime Aioli

10 x 5mm-thick slices crusty bread
1 tbs olive oil
2 baby cos lettuces, leaves separated
2 avocados, halved, stones removed, peeled, thinly sliced
2kg cooked prawns, peeled leaving tails intact, deveined

Lime aioli:
2 egg yolks
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tsp Dijon mustard
250ml (1 cup) olive oil
2 tsp finely grated lime rind
2 tbs fresh lime juice

Method:

1. To make the lime aioli, place the egg yolks, garlic and mustard in the bowl of a food processor and process until combined. With the motor running, gradually add the oil in a thin, steady stream until the mixture is thick and pale. Add the lime rind and lime juice and process until well combined. Season with salt and pepper.
   
2. Preheat grill on high. Place the bread, in a single layer, on a baking tray. Drizzle over the oil. Cook under grill for 2 minutes each side or until lightly toasted. Transfer to a plate.
   
3. Divide the bread and lettuce among serving plates. Top avocado and prawns. Top with the lime aioli and season with pepper to serve.

Note: I didn't have cos lettuce at home so used rocket instead and it tasted fabulous. u can also ad toasted bits of ham or bacon. 

Christmas Cake

350g prunes, scissored or chopped
250g raisins
175g currants
175g soft butter
175g dark muscovado sugar
225g (175ml) honey
125ml Tia Maria or other coffee liqueur (i used 100 ml dark rum and 25 ml strong coffee instead)
juice and finely grated zest of 2 oranges
1 teaspoon mixed spice
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
3 eggs, beaten
150g plain flour
75g ground almonds
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1 Preheat the oven to 150°C/gas mark 2 and prepare a 20cm x 9cm deep, round, loose-bottomed cake tin by lining the bottom and sides with a double layer of baking parchment, as for the Traditional Christmas Cake on p.172 (though I find that if you use one layer of that tough, reusable silicone baking parchment, my beloved Bake-O-Glide, it does the job well enough, and as the cake is so dark, you don't see if it catches a little).

2 Put the fruits, butter, sugar, honey, Tia Maria, orange juice and zests, spice and cocoa powder into a large, wide saucepan and gently bring to the boil, stirring as the butter melts.

3 Simmer the mixture for 10 minutes, then take off the heat and leave to stand for 30 minutes.

4 When the 30 minutes are up -- it will have cooled a little, but you can leave it for longer if you want -- add the beaten eggs, flour, ground almonds, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda, and stir with a wooden spoon or spatula to combine.

5 Pour the fruit cake mixture into the prepared cake tin. Place in the oven and bake for 13/4--2 hours, by which time the top of the cake should be firm but will have a shiny, sticky look. If you insert a cake tester or skewer into it, the cake will still be a little gooey in the middle.

6 Put the cake, still in its tin, on a wire cooling rack -- it will hold its heat and take a while to cool; once cool, take it out of the tin and, if you don't want to eat it immediately (like any fruit cake it has a long life), wrap it in baking parchment or greaseproof paper then in foil and store in a cake or other airtight tin.

7 You can also poke holes in the cake with a toothpick and feed the cake some brandy/rum, till its ready to be iced.

Makes at least 10 generous slices

To decorate:

500g marzipan
750 gms ready to roll icing
2 tbsp apricot jam or marmalade or honey diluted with 1 tsp of hot water

1 Unwrap your cake from the paper and foil you've been storing it in and set it on your worksurface.

2 See whether it is level, if it isn't, you'll need to level it with a knife. use a large serrated knife for this.

3 Prepare your cake board/plate and position your cake on it so that the cut side is downwards.

4 Check that you're happy with your levelling and adjust if necessary.

5 Using a pastry brush paint the outside of the cake with a thin layer of jam/marmalade/honey (avoiding any bits!).  So now the cake is nice and sticky and will be ready to glue on the marzipan layer.

6 500g is enough marzipan to coat an 8" cake.  If you love the taste of marzipan you can make this layer thicker but you will need more to do so.  Knead gently on your worksurface to 'warm' the marzipan which will make it easier to work with.

7 Take half of the marzipan and shape into a rough sausage shape.

8 Dust your worksurface with icing sugar and roll out the sausage into a long strip to reach around the outside of the cake.  Measure with string to help you know how long it needs to be.

9 Again with the string measure how tall your collar of marzipan needs to be and cut to the right height.  It should be 5mm above the top of the cake.


10 Position around the outside of the cake and trim neatly where the two edges meet.

11 Gather together the trimmings and the remaining half of marzipan and roll out to about 5mm thick on your worksurface.

12 Using the tin you baked the cake in as a template cut out a circle for the top of the cake.

13 Place the circle on the top of the cake, gently sealing together the edges where it meets the marzipan collar.

14 Use your hands to smooth the seanms of the marzipan.  Smooth the top and the sides working out any major lumps and bumps.

15 Now you need to leave it to one side to dry a little - 24 to 48 hours.

16 Once the marzipan has set, you can work with the ready roll icing.

17 Dust the worksurface liberally with icing sugar.  Knead the sugarpaste to warm it up making it much more pliable.

18 Measure across the cake with a piece of string from the board, over the top and back onto the board again and cut the string to the right size.  Dampen the marzipan with a pastry brush dipped in a little bit of water.

19 Begin to roll out the sugarpaste making sure you have plenty plenty of icing sugar on the worksurface, once it sticks it's gameover and you have to start again.

20 You can turn the sugarpaste when rolling but don't flip it over.

21 Measuring with your piece of string keep rolling out, into a rough circle until the sugarpaste is just over the right size.

22 Polish the top of the sugarpaste with the flat of your hand to smooth it out.  Take any rings or watches off first as they always catch and rip up your hard work.  You will feel what I mean as you polish - the sugarpaste takes on a shine and will be super smooth.

23 Place the rolling pin in the middle of the rolled out icing and flip it over.   Use the rolling pin to lift into position on the cake. Flip over the sugar paste and remove the rolling pin.

24 Starting on the top, ignore the sides for now, polish the top of the cake with the flat of your hand again.  When you are happy with the top start working the way down the cake with your hands, smoothing the sugarpaste into position.  Go slowly and work from the top of the cake down towards the board.  If the sugarpaste starts to crease lift it away from the cake and smooth from the top down again.
If the sugarpaste begins to crack you can 'polish' out the start of any cracks with the palm of your hand.

25 Eventually you will have worked all the way down to the board. With a sharp knife trim off the excess sugarpaste at the base of the cake.  Wrap up the excess in clingfilm and save it for now.

26 Set your cake to one side and leave overnight to firm up.  Again this is important before we start adding the decoration as the icing is soft it is really easy to nick and mark it with your hands.

27 Once the icing has set, you decorate it any way you like. I put some red colour in a bit of the left over icing, rolled it out and cut out red stars. I also rolled out some plain icing to get white stars. these I fixed on the cake by wetting the base of the stars with some water.

28 I also set some silver cachous on the cake and drew a snow flake design on the white stars with some chocolate fudge icing.Finally, I wrapped some ribbon around the cake and held it in place by brushing on some water where the edges of the ribbon would sit on the cake.

Recipe adapted from Nigella Lawson's "Christmas". 

Strawberry Pavlova

A pavlova is basically a meringue. Its origin is'still argued as both Aussies and Kiwis believe it to be theirs. either way, its delicious and very easy to make!

150ml eggwhite (approximately 4 eggs)
1 cup (220g) caster (superfine) sugar
2 tbsp cornflour (cornstarch), sifted
2 tsp white vinegar
400 gms mascarpone cream
100 gms soft cream cheese
250g strawberries, hulled and quartered
5 extra strawberries chopped for the puree
4 tbsp extra sugar
a couple of splashes of water

1. Preheat oven to 150°C (300°F). Place the eggwhite in the bowl of an electric mixer and whisk until stiff peaks form. Gradually add the sugar, whisking well, until the mixture is stiff and glossy.
   
2. Add the cornflour and vinegar and whisk until just combined.
   
3. Shape the mixture into an 18cm round on a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper. Reduce oven to 120°C (250°F) and bake for 1 hour 20 minutes.
   
4. Turn the oven off and allow the pavlova to cool completely in the oven.
   
5. Whisk the mascarpone and cream cheese together with 2 tbsps of sugar. Spread over the pavlova, top with strawberries.
   
6. Place the chopped strawberries in a saucepan with the remaining 2 sugar and a small splash of water. Bring to a boil and then simmer for a few minutes stirring constantly.
   
7. Once the strawberries have broken down, sieve the mixture. pour the syrup over the strawberries and cream on the pavlova and serve immediately.
   

Serves 8 - 10

Notes:

* You’ll know when the meringue is stiff and glossy because the mixture will have tripled in volume and stands up when the beaters are lifted.

* The low heat puffs up the meringue while the long cooking time dries it out to give you a lovely crisp shell.

* Store your pavlova, undressed, in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Stir-Fried Eggplant with Homemade Chilli Sauce

Ingredients:

2 medium eggplants, trimmed, halved
5 tbs peanut oil
½ bunch coriander leaves, stems and roots, finely sliced
3 spring onions, finely sliced
1 tsp Sichuan pepper and salt

For the homemade chilli sauce
½ cup peanut oil
6 long red chillies, roughly chopped
10 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
7cm piece ginger, roughly chopped
1 tbs tamari soy sauce

For the Sichuan pepper and salt
1 tbs Sichuan peppercorns
3 tbs sea salt flakes

Method:

1. Cut eggplant into 5cm irregular and same-sized pieces, then sprinkle well with sea salt and spread onto a tray in one layer. Set aside for at least 30 minutes. Rinse well, then drain and pat dry with paper towel.

2. To make the chilli sauce, heat the oil in a wok until the surface seems to shimmer slightly. Add chillies, garlic and ginger and stir constantly over medium heat for 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low and cook, still stirring, for a further 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, then stir through the tamari.

3. Dry-roast peppercorns and salt in small heavy-based frying pan until the peppercorns are fragrant and begin to ‘pop’. Remove from the heat. Allow to cool, then grind to a powder in a mortar and pestle or spice grinder. (You can store the mixture in an airtight container).

4. Heat the peanut oil in a wok until the surface seems to shimmer slightly. Add eggplant and stir-fry over high heat for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium and stir-fry for a further 5-7 minutes or until eggplant is tender.

5. Add the chilli sauce to the eggplant and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the coriander and spring onions, tossing to combine.

6. Transfer to a large serving plate and season with Sichuan pepper and salt. Serve immediately.

Serves 4-6 as part of shared meal. Serve with rice, bread or roti.

Source: www.masterchef.co.au - Kylie Kwong

Chicken and Leek Lasagne

Ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil
1 leek, trimmed, washed, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
500g chicken mince
150g fresh ricotta (or feta)
salt and pepper, to season
40g butter
2 tbsp plain flour
1¼ cups skim milk
700g bottle Italian tomato sauce
400g fresh lasagne sheets
2 tbsp finely grated parmesan

Method:

1 Preheat oven to 180C. Heat oil in a large, heavy-based pan over medium heat. 
Add leek and cook for 4 minutes or until soft. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. 
Add chicken, stirring with a wooden spoon to break up mince, and cook until brown. Remove from heat and stir in ricotta. Season with salt and pepper. Cool.

2 To make white sauce, heat butter in a saucepan over medium heat. When melted add flour and stir until well combined. Cook for 1 minute or until bubbles form. Remove from heat and slowly add milk, stirring constantly, until well combined. Return to heat and bring to the boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and simmer for 1 minute. Remove from heat.

3 Pour ¾ cup of the tomato sauce into 
a lasagne dish and spread evenly. Cover with a layer of pasta. Top with a third of the meat mixture and then a third of remaining tomato sauce. Cover with pasta. Continue to layer with meat mixture, tomato sauce and pasta, ending with a layer of pasta and tomato sauce. Spread white sauce over top and sprinkle with parmesan. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown on top. Stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Recipe: www.mindfood.co.nz

Blueberry Muffins

Ingredients

3/4 cup blueberries

2 cups self - raising flour

2 tsp baking powder

3 tbsp brown sugar (caster will do fine too)

1/4 tsp salt

1 egg

50 gms butter melted

3/4 cup milk

Method

1.Heat oven at 200 degrees. Grease a 12 hole muffin pan.

2.  Put the blueberries in a bowl and stir in the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar.

3. Beat milk egg and butter and pour into the flour mixture. Stir to just moisten the flour. Do not over mix.

4. Spoon the mix into the muffin tin and bake for 20 minutes or till golden.

Blueberries can be substituted with chocolate chips, cranberries, nuts etc. for other varieties of muffins

Savoury cheese muffins

Ingredients
1/2 cup red/green peppers chopped fine
1/2 cup celery chopped fine
1/2 cup cheddar grated
2 cups self - raising flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 large pinch cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
50 gms butter melted
3/4 cup milk

Method
1.Heat oven at 200 degrees. Grease a 12 hole muffin pan.

2.  Put the veg and cheese in a bowl. stir in the flour, baking powder, salt and cayenne pepper.

3. Beat milk egg and butter and pour into the flour mixture. Stir to just moisten the flour. Do not over mix.

4. Spoon the mix into the muffin tin and bake for 20 minutes or till golden.

You can add pieces of ham or some relish to the mix if you want to try different flavours.

Cottage Pie with Guinness

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil
900g lean minced beef
Sea salt and black pepper
3 medium onions, peeled and finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
A few thyme sprigs, leaves only
2 plum tomatoes, chopped
2 tbsp tomato puree
330ml bottle of Guinness
5 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
300ml chicken stock
1kg floury potatoes, peeled and roughly cubed
50g butter
2 tbsp finely grated parmesan or cheddar cheese, plus extra for grating
1 large egg yolk

Method
1. Place a large frying pan over a high heat and add a thin layer of olive oil. Season the mince with salt and pepper and fry, stirring, in two or three batches, until nicely browned. Once cooked, tip the mince into a sieve or colander to drain off the fat.

2. Place another large pan over a medium-high heat and add a little olive oil. When hot, fry the onions, with the garlic and thyme, for 8-10 minutes until soft and golden. Add the browned mince, tomatoes and tomato puree. Stir constantly for 4-5 minutes.

3. Add the Guinness and Worcestershire sauce and boil until the liquid has reduced by half. Pour in the stock and return to the boil.

4. Turn the heat down and simmer for 20-25 minutes, by which time the mixture should be thick and glossy.

5. Continue to simmer for another 5-10 minutes if it doesn’t seem quite thick enough. Remove from the heat.

6. Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas 4. Meanwhile, add the potatoes to a pan of salted water, bring to the boil and cook until tender. Drain and return to the hot pan for 15 seconds or so, to dry out, then take off the heat. Pass the potatoes through a potato ricer back into the pan or mash smoothly. Mix through the butter, cheese and egg yolk. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

7. Spoon the mince mixture into the bottom of a 2 litre pie dish. Spoon the mashed potato on top and rough up the surface with a fork. Grate over some extra cheese and bake in the oven for about 30 minutes until bubbling and golden brown.

Recipe: Gordon Ramsay

Chocolate Guinness Cake

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE CAKE
250ml Guinness
250g unsalted butter
75g cocoa
400g caster sugar
1 x 142ml pot sour cream
2 eggs
1 tablespoon real vanilla extract
275g plain flour
2 1/2teaspoons bicarbonate of soda

FOR THE TOPPING
300g Philadelphia cream cheese
150g icing sugar
125ml double or whipping cream

METHOD
1. Preheat the oven to gas mark 4/180°C, and butter and line a 23cm springform tin.
2. Pour the Guinness into a large wide saucepan, add the butter – in spoons or slices – and heat until the butter’s melted, at which time you should whisk in the cocoa and sugar. Beat the sour cream with the eggs and vanilla and then pour into the brown, buttery, beery pan and finally whisk in the flour and bicarb.
3. Pour the cake batter into the greased and lined tin and bake for 45 minutes to an hour. Leave to cool completely in the tin on a cooling rack, as it is quite a damp cake.
4. When the cake’s cold, sit it on a flat platter or cake stand and get on with the icing. Lightly whip the cream cheese until smooth, sieve over the icing sugar and then beat them both together. Or do this in a processor, putting the unsieved icing sugar in first and blitz to remove lumps before adding the cheese.
5. Add the cream and beat again until it makes a spreadable consistency. Ice the top of the black cake so that it resembles the frothy top of the famous pint.

Recipe from www.Nigella.com.

Little lemon raspberry swirl cheesecakes

Ingredients:
40g butter, elted
½ cup frozen raspberries, thawed
2 Tbsp icing sugar, sifted
375g traditional cream cheese
1 cup caster sugar
3 eggs (size 6)
finely grated rind 1 lemon
1 cup finely ground gingernut biscuits (about 11) use any other hard biscuit if you wish
1 tsp vanilla essence

Method
Preheat oven to 160°C. Line a 12-muffin pan with paper or foil cases. Mix the finely ground gingernuts and butter in a bowl. Divide mixture among the paper cases, pressing down firmly. Bake for 5 minutes, then remove from oven and cool. Turn down oven heat to 125°C.

To make the raspberry purée, mash the raspberries to a pulp with the back of a fork then strain through a sieve into a bowl, pressing down well with the back of a spoon to get as much juice as possible. Discard seeds. Stir icing sugar into purée.

Place the cream cheese and caster sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat just until the mixture is smooth, light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating until combined after each addition – you may prefer to do this with a hand whisk, to avoid overbeating. Finally, add lemon rind and vanilla essence.

Pour the cheese mixture over the biscuit bases, filling right up to the top of the cases. Place small drops (about ½ tsp) of the raspberry purée on top of the cakes and, using a wooden skewer, carefully swirl it through the cheese mixture. Bake for 40-50 minutes, until just set and no longer wobbly. Open oven door and allow the cakes to cool completely in the switched-off oven. They do shrink as they cool, but that is perfectly normal.

~ Recipe from Taste Magazine.

Garlic prawn couscous

Serves 2

1 cup couscous
1 cup water
1 1/2 tbsps oil
salt to taste

3 cloves garlic finely chopped
1 medium - large onion finely chopped
1 small bowl frozen peas and sweet corn
8-10 small of 6 large prawns

1. In a bowl pour the water, 1/2 tbsp oil and some salt to taste and bring to boil.
2. Stir in the couscous and keep aside covered for about 15 mins or till all the water is absorbed.
3. In a pan, heat the rest of the oil and fry the onions and garlic.
4. The onion needs to be translucent. add the prawns and saute.
5. Add the peas and corn and cook.
6. Season to taste with salt and pepper and maybe a little chilli powder if you want.
7. With a fork, fluff out the couscous.
8. Once the veg and prawns are cooked, add the couscous to the pan and mix throughly.
9. Garnish with chopped coriander.

Serve hot & Enjoy!