Showing posts with label chilli. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chilli. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 9, 2015

You Only Get One...Slice - Mexican Hot Chocolate Snickerdoodle Chocolate Tart



You Only Get One...Slice - MHCS Chocolate Tart

This is another recipe I created with my brother for his work’s Cake Club. It is a fairly simple baked chocolate custard, baked into a Mexican Hot Chocolate Snickerdoodle base. We made two tarts that day, but I’ve scaled it down to make just one tart for this recipe. To make the most of this tart, I’d suggest using the best quality cocoa you can get your hands on, as well as the best milk and eggs. I’ve swapped out some of the sugar from the original recipe with coconut blossom sugar. It was actually on a whim after Mike bought some ‘to try’, but the flavour profile was so fabulous and I thought it would enhance the chocolatey-ness. I’ve then put it through some mascarpone cheese to continue the flavours. If you haven’t tried it, it has slightly floral tones, but it’s also a touch savoury and almost yeasty. I don’t think I’m describing it very well, but I don’t know how else to do it. It is fabulous in black coffee, if that helps!
 
The recipe for the baked custard is based on this recipe, but I found that their cooking time was off for me. Like, way off. I’d checked my tart a bit before the halfway mark and my tarts were already overcooked, so I’ve adjusted the times accordingly below. I’m assuming it’s because theirs made a much taller slice, rather than a pie. The texture goes rubbery if you over cook it. It’s not inedible that way, just not as good as it could’ve been. So make sure you keep an eye on the time. 

Mexican Hot Chocolate Snickerdoodle Chocolate Tart

Makes 1x 23cm tarts

MHCS Base

1/4 batch Mexican Hot Chocolate Snickerdoodles (other chocolate cookies can be used, it just won’t be as delicious! – seriously though, just bake the whole batch and eat the rest)
50g Butter, melted

Chocolate Custard

50g butter
1 ¼ cups whole milk
½ cup plain flour
¼ cup cocoa powder
2 large eggs, separated
Pinch cream of tartar
½ cup icing sugar
½ cup coconut blossom sugar
1 tbsp strong brewed coffee
1 tbsp dark rum
To serve
Cocoa powder for dusting
Crushed cacao nibs
Flakey sea salt
200g mascarpone whipped with 3 tbsp coconut flower sugar
 
You Only Get One...Slice - MHCS Chocolate Tart


You Only Get One...Slice - MHCS Chocolate Tart


You Only Get One...Slice - MHCS Chocolate Tart
You Only Get One...Slice - MHCS Chocolate Tart


Cook the Mexican Hot Chocolate Snickerdoodles and set aside to cool. Grease a pie plate. Taste one snickerdoodle to make sure they’re still good. Place the snickerdoodles in a food processor and pulse to crush to a chunky crumb. Add the melted butter and pulse to combine. Pour into the pie dish and press firmly into the base to create a solid foundation. Make sure there are no holes. Refrigerate until ready. Beat together mascarpone with 3 tbsp coconut flour sugar until light and fluffy. Refrigerate until ready to serve. 


Preheat the oven to 160C (or turn down to 160C if you’ve just made snickerdoodles).


Melt the butter and set aside. Warm the milk to blood temperature and stir in the coffee and rum. 


Blend together the flour and cocoa powder in a bowl. In a new, clean and dry bowl, beat the egg whites until foamy. When foamy, add the cream of tartar and continue whipping until stiff peaks form.


 In a third bowl, beat the egg yolks and two sugars until light and fluffy with a balloon whisk. Add the butter and whisk to combine. Then whisk in the flour mix. Finally, whisk in the milk mixture, stirring gently first to encourage it to blend in, then whisking to make it smooth. 


Fold the egg whites in 1/3 at a time, this will have a curdled look, rather than incorporate fully. Gently pour the mixture over the snickerdoodle base and even more gently, place it in the oven.






You Only Get One...Slice - MHCS Chocolate Tart


You Only Get One...Slice - MHCS Chocolate Tart


You Only Get One...Slice - MHCS Chocolate Tart


You Only Get One...Slice - MHCS Chocolate Tart


You Only Get One...Slice - MHCS Chocolate Tart


You Only Get One...Slice - MHCS Chocolate Tart







Sunday, October 11, 2015

Plantain Love - Garlic and Kale Mofongo

Plantain Love - Garlic and Kale Mofongo

I don’t know a great deal about the various South American cuisines, other than I enjoy eating most of the flavours. So, with an ignorance of the provenance of mofongo and therefore what is and isn’t actually “mofongo” I am calling this a Kale Mofongo. From what I have read, mofongo is fried plantains roughly mashed together with broth, chicharrones (or bacon), with various pepper and onions as the flavouring ingredients. This has the peppers in the form of chile flakes, and instead of salty bacon, it uses salty anchovies. The kale just makes it much more vege based.


This recipe is barely adapted from a recipe for pasta from the New York Times website. The only two real main differences are the substitution of noodles for plantain and the substitution of rum and broth for water. I figure, why wilt with water when you can wilt with more flavour?? Plus, I seem to have a fairly strong habit of cooking with booze. My love affair with plantains is well and truly continuing. Definitely hunt some down if you can find them!
Plantain Love - Garlic and Kale Mofongo
Plantain Love - Garlic and Kale Mofongo
Plantain Love - Garlic and Kale Mofongo
Plantain Love - Garlic and Kale Mofongo
Plantain Love - Garlic and Kale Mofongo

Garlic and Kale Mofongo

2 green plantains, cut into 5cm discs, peeled.
3 tbsp olive oil
4 anchovy filets
½ teaspoon crushed red chili flakes
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons capers, drained and stored on paper towel until ready to use
1 bunch kale, ribs removed, chopped
1 shots (30mL) dark rum, such as Angostura
¼ cup chicken or vegetable stock
Half a lime


Heat the olive oil in a large frypan (preferably one with deepish sides for when you’re tossing everything together) to medium heat. In batches if necessary, fry the plantain pieces until golden on each side, and soft – around 3-5 minutes per side. Transfer to a paper-towel lined plate and set aside.


To the same pan, add a little more oil if the plantains soaked up a lot. You want the bottom of the frypan to be well-coated. Add the anchovies, chili flakes and a fat pinch of salt. Fry, stirring, until the anchovies have dissolved and the chili flakes are toasted, around 3 minutes.

Add the garlic and the capers, cook for 5 minutes. Add kale and rum and cook until kale goes bright green and wilts and about half of the liquid has evaporated. Add the plantains and stir through, mashing as you go with your wooden spoon into the oily, garlicky kale. Everything should be coated with the flavoured oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper, then squeeze some lime juice over the top just before serving.

Plantain Love - Garlic and Kale Mofongo
Plantain Love - Garlic and Kale Mofongo
Plantain Love - Garlic and Kale Mofongo
Plantain Love - Garlic and Kale Mofongo
Plantain Love - Garlic and Kale Mofongo

Monday, September 28, 2015

Plantains in Perth - Beef Ragu with Mashed Plantains (Slow Cooker Love)

Plantains in Perth - Beef Ragu with Mashed Plantains (Slow Cooker Love)
Plantains in Perth - Beef Ragu with Mashed Plantains (Slow Cooker Love)

Last time I travelled to New York, I fell in love with plantains. Head over heels. In every guise that I ate them. I have spent the two years since mourning their absence in my life. Hopefully checking out tales of plantain sightings in Perth from the definite to the more vague. None were fruitful (ha!) Then one day a few weeks ago, I walked into The Nanna Shop, and there they were in all their (at the time) green glory. I bought some without thinking. Without concern that I’d never pay $7.99 a kilo for bananas or potatoes – but here I was paying that for plantains. I finally could relive some of the dishes I had loved whilst travelling. I started with simple tostones – twice fried plantain chips. Just as crispy and salty and delicious as I remembered! Then I did a bit of a search for more plantain recipes both online and in my Cuban and Peruvian cookbooks. I came across a Dominican recipe for plantain gnocchi with a beef short rib ragu on the Saveur website. Not much one for the price of beef ribs, I decided to use that recipe as a flavour guideline and mix it up a little to make my life much easier by switching to a slow cooked blade roast. So no removal of bones, no straining the vegetables out of the sauce, everything just cooked and eaten together. It also meant changing the plantain gnocchi with yuca flour to mashed plantains with white rice – skewing things a bit further to the Cuban style of serving. I’d love to experiment with a plantain gnocchi one day (although yuca flour is probably well out of the equation!)

The flavours here an big and punchy. The meat has a decent heat kick – feel free to add more or less cayenne depending on how hot you like things. There’s a subtle acidity from the vinegar and tomato paste, but it’s well tempered by the big beefy flavour and the creamy crème fraiche added just at the end. The plantains should be yellow, this means a slightly sweeter mash that has an almost limey brightness to it. The rice and tomato salsa are fairly standard additions, adding bulk, texture and freshness. I loved this meal. So much. The beef here then lasted for a subsequent 4 meals, including a hungover quesadilla morning for four.

And I was delighted to learn that they still had plantains on offer this weekend just gone, so I am restocked again. This time I bought enough that I might even be able to hold off until a few go black and try them that way!
Plantains in Perth - Beef Ragu with Mashed Plantains (Slow Cooker Love)
Plantains in Perth - Beef Ragu with Mashed Plantains (Slow Cooker Love)
Plantains in Perth - Beef Ragu with Mashed Plantains (Slow Cooker Love)
Plantains in Perth - Beef Ragu with Mashed Plantains (Slow Cooker Love)
Plantains in Perth - Beef Ragu with Mashed Plantains (Slow Cooker Love)
Plantains in Perth - Beef Ragu with Mashed Plantains (Slow Cooker Love)
Plantains in Perth - Beef Ragu with Mashed Plantains (Slow Cooker Love)

Beef Ragu with Mashed Plantains

(barely adapted from Saveur)
2kg beef blade roast, fat layer removed and discarded
2 tbsp. rice bran oil
2 brown onions, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 carrots, diced
3 sweet paprika, diced (sub 1 red capsicum)
2 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. smoked paprika
1 tsp. black pepper
2 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp. cayenne
3 tbsp. tomato paste
½ cup balsamic vinegar
2 cups beef stock
200mL crème fraiche
2 yellow plantains
White rice for serving
Tomato salsa (2 fresh tomatoes, 2 spring onions, handful of coriander and flat leaf parsley finely diced and tossed together)

Heat the base of your slow cooker to medium high and add a slick of oil. When the oil is hot, brown the blade roast on all sides, around 3 minutes per side. Remove to a plate. Turn the heat down to medium and add the onions, stirring here and there until translucent, around 5 minutes. Add the garlic, carrots, paprika and salt, and cook a further 10 minutes, or until the vegetables soften. Stir through the smoked paprika, pepper, basil, thyme, cayenne and tomato paste. Add the vinegar and beef stock, stirring to pick up any bits stuck to the bottom.

Bring the liquid to a boil, then place the beef back in gently. Place inside the slow-cooker, cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or until the meat is falling apart.

When the meat is ready, prepare the plantains. Without peeling, cut the plantains into cylinders around 4cm long. Place in a shallow glass bowl, add ¼ cup water cover with plastic wrap and microwave for 5 minutes, or until the plantains are soft. Remove the peel, then mash the plantains with the water remaining in the bowl. Season with a little salt.

Shred the beef with two forks, then gently stir through the crème fraiche. Serve with plain white rice, tomato salsa and mashed plantains

Plantains in Perth - Beef Ragu with Mashed Plantains (Slow Cooker Love)
Plantains in Perth - Beef Ragu with Mashed Plantains (Slow Cooker Love)
Plantains in Perth - Beef Ragu with Mashed Plantains (Slow Cooker Love)
Plantains in Perth - Beef Ragu with Mashed Plantains (Slow Cooker Love)

Thursday, February 26, 2015

Chicken and Corn Gnocchi with Rum and Green Mango Sauce




Chicken and Corn Gnocchi with Rum and Green Mango Sauce
Chicken and Corn Gnocchi with Rum and Green Mango Sauce

Our mango tree that was so incredibly prolific last year, hasn’t been as fruitful this year. There are probably less than a quarter of them than last year, and we lost quite a few of those before they got anywhere near size. So when 4 green but still fairly mature mangoes fell, I decided to use them. I want my mango fix! I haven’t had a great deal of green mango dishes. Here and there there’s been green mango salads accompanying spicy Asian dishes but that’s about it. These salads are usually wonderfully tart and salty. The green mango very sour in comparison to the crazy sweetness of a ripe mango. And the salt tames the sour and brings out more of the fruit flavour.

With that idea in mind, I created this pasta. I was in the mood for gnocchi, not sure why, but I was. And I had half a roast chicken leftover from the night before’s dinner. Summer corn is plentiful and cheap at the moment, so that was going to be added. I thought I’d then round it out with a combination of ginger and coriander as a tip of the hat to the Asian green mango dishes and dark rum as a tip of the hat to the tropical feel of mango. And it worked so well! Salty chicken, sour green mango, sweet corn all working together with the rum to coat the soft pillows of gnocchi.

I only used two of our green mangoes, but I think I’ll use the other two to just repeat this dish!

Chicken and Corn Gnocchi with Rum and Green Mango Sauce
Chicken and Corn Gnocchi with Rum and Green Mango Sauce
Chicken and Corn Gnocchi with Rum and Green Mango Sauce


Chicken and Corn Gnocchi with Rum and Green Mango Sauce

(serves 3-4)
2 tbsp coconut oil
1 brown onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, mince
Thumb size piece of ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
2 green mangoes, flesh cubed
50mL dark rum
100mL water
1 tsp salt
Kernels from 3 corn cobs
½ cooked chicken, meat shredded
½ red capsicum, sliced
1 packet pre-cooked gnocchi
Handful coriander leaves, chopped
Green chilli, sliced into rings


Heat the coconut oil to medium heat in a frypan. Add the onion slices and half the salt. Leave to cook, stirring here and there so they don’t stick for around 10 minutes, or until lightly browned and caramelly. Add the garlic and ginger and cook until the garlic is translucent, around 2 minutes. Add the rum and simmer until reduced by about half and slightly sticky. Add the mango and corn and stir well to coat everything. Simmer until the corn is tender and the rum has reduced to the point where the corn is sticking to the pan in parts.

Add the water and remaining salt and stir to pick up any brown bits stuck to the pan and create a more cohesive sauce. Add in the chicken, capsicum and gnocchi, stirring well to coat in the sticky sauce and veges. Cook 5 minutes until the chicken and gnocchi are warmed through. Just before serving, stir through the coriander leaves and garnish with chilli slices.

Chicken and Corn Gnocchi with Rum and Green Mango Sauce
Chicken and Corn Gnocchi with Rum and Green Mango Sauce
Chicken and Corn Gnocchi with Rum and Green Mango Sauce
Chicken and Corn Gnocchi with Rum and Green Mango Sauce

Monday, February 16, 2015

Summer Sensations - Chipotle Crab Pasta


Summer Sensations - Chipotle Crab Pasta
Summer Sensations - Chipotle Crab Pasta


So, I did mention that our new car was amongst other activities, chosen for crabbing trips. However our first crabbing trip this year coincided with the day we picked up the Zoolander. Now, I’m not precious about a clean car – but I did want the car to be clean for at least one full day. So we took my sister-in-law’s car. It wasn’t our most successful trip, but we managed to catch enough for a feed for the 4 of us that went. I’m hoping we can go back later in the season so that all of the undersize ones have had a chance to grow into monsters!


After crabbing, cleaning off the gear and boiling up the crabs in plenty of water with a splash of vinegar and hot English mustard, we showered and finally got to bed around 5am. Then as has been tradition, Lance and I set up a shelling station in front of a tv. Then with a movie playing, we sit and peel all of the crabs. This year it took us 1 and a half movies. This equated to about 400g of crab flesh. I divided it into 2, then froze half for a later dish.


That night I cooked this very simple chili crab pasta. This pasta took it’s form from two of the things growing prolifically in our garden this summer – grape tomatoes and oregano. The grape tomato that Lance planted and lovingly waters every day has rewarded us with buckets of fruit. Some days we pick over 2 dozen! Then the flavours of the rest of the dish are Mexican, in a wonderfully fusion-food kind of way. It became like my riff on a Sopa Seca – or “dry soup”. A Mexican noodle dish flavoured with chipotles in adobo and served with sour cream and a smokey salsa. It was the perfect thing on a tired Sunday night with a lovely anejo tequila on the side.
Summer Sensations - Chipotle Crab Pasta
 Summer Sensations - Chipotle Crab Pasta

Summer Sensations - Chipotle Crab Pasta

Summer Sensations - Chipotle Crab Pasta


Chipotle Crab Pasta

(serves 4)
200g crab flesh, picked through for cartilage
One brown onion, diced
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 chipotles in adobo sauce, plus 1 tbsp adobo sauce
20 grape tomatoes, roughly diced
2 tbsp chopped fresh oregano
Big knob of unsalted butter (around 100g)
50mL reposado tequila
Zest and juice of one lime
Sea Salt
500g angel hair pasta
To serve
Greek yoghurt
Jalapeno slices


Bring a pot of water with a decent pinch of salt to the boil.


Heat a splash of olive oil in a large sauté pan or wok. Add the onion and cook for 10 minutes or so until soft and golden. Add the garlic and cook a further 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes to the pan and cook until soft and breaking down.


At this point, the pasta water is probably boiling. Add the pasta.


Add the tequila and lime juice and zest and stir through, scraping up bits that might have stuck to the bottom of the pan. Reduce the liquid by half, then add the butter and whisk through to melt and emulsify into a thick, glossy sauce. Stir through the chipotles, adobo sauce, oregano and crab. Cook for 5 minutes, or until the crab is heated through.


Drain the pasta, then stir through well to evenly coat with the sauce.


Serve with a dollop of Greek Yoghurt and sliced jalapenos. And maybe a lovely glass of tequila on the side!

Summer Sensations - Chipotle Crab Pasta

Summer Sensations - Chipotle Crab Pasta
 Summer Sensations - Chipotle Crab Pasta
Summer Sensations - Chipotle Crab Pasta