Panettone French Toast

Happy New Year! I've got a feeling in my bones that 2013 is going to be epic. For so many friends and family 2012 was a tough year. But with a new year comes new hope and perspective. Do you know that most businesses work on a five year plan. So shouldn't we take the time to plot a road map for our own lives at least once a year? 

I like making a few New Years resolutions. I know, by February they will all be forgotten or fizzled out, but it's a good time to take stock. I am in two minds whether to post mine here, because my faithful readers will hold me to it. (yes Mom, I'm referring to you) The usual resolutions are come to mind...lose weight, go to gym more, drink less wine, spend more time as a family, save more money, count to 10 when my toddler breaks something like my iphone, be kinder to my in-laws three Maltese yapping poodles etc. I have a few others too but let's stick to these for now.

So on the first resolution to 'lose weight', I kicked off the New Year with Panettone French toast. I got it for Christmas and it would have been a sin to leave it in the cupboard, besides I have the rest of the year to stick to my resolutions. Enjoy it! It is truly delicious!

Ingredients

4 eggs
1 cup milk
Zest of 1 orange
1/4 tsp cinnamon
Pinch of salt

Method

Preheat oven to 180C.
Cut the panettone in half and then cut slices from it.
Beat the eggs, then stir in the milk, orange zest, cinnamon and salt.
Dip the slices of panettone briefly in the egg wash, until well coated on each side.
Melt some butter or oil in a frying pan to coat the pan.
Over medium heat, fry the slices of panettone until golden brown on both sides.
Place the slices in the oven for about 5 minutes to ensure the egg is cooked right through.
Serve with syrup, fresh berries or even mascarpone and grilled peaches.

 Makes about 8-10 slices.

Chocolate covered Strawberries

My head is spinning as I adjust to a Southern Hemisphere Christmas. I have become accustomed to mulled wine, autumn's harvest of nuts, winter vegetables and steamed puddings. Not the bountiful summer fruits which I am faced with. In 35 degree heat, a hot Christmas pudding hardly seems appropriate. (don't worry I still forced myself to eat it)

So to freshen up our Christmas dessert, these chocolate covered strawberries graced our table along with the Christmas pudding, peppermint crisp tart, banoffee pie and ice cream.

*Note: It is very important to dry the strawberries well. The chocolate will not coat the strawberries if they are not well dried before you start dipping. Water repels chocolate and will cause the chocolate to seize, becoming a grainy, clumpy mess in the bowl. 

Ingredients

160g milk chocolate, chopped
60g white chocolate, chopped
450g strawberries with stems (about 20), washed and dried very well

Method

Put the milk chocolate and white chocolate into two separate heatproof medium bowls.

Fill two medium saucepans with a couple inches of water and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Turn off the heat; set the bowls of chocolate over the water to melt. Stir until smooth.

 

Once the chocolates are melted and smooth, remove from the heat. Line a sheet pan with parchment or waxed paper. Holding the strawberry by the stem, dip the fruit into the milk chocolate, lift and twist slightly, letting any excess chocolate fall back into the bowl. Set the strawberry on the parchment paper. Repeat with the rest of the strawberries.

Dip a fork in the white chocolate and drizzle the white chocolate over the dipped strawberries.

Best eaten within 24 hrs. (not really a challenge)

 

Borough Market

It's funny how you when you leave a place, you realise how much you enjoyed it.
Despite all it's shortcomings: the dodgy District Line which always had delays, packed public transport, miserable weather, carrying your brollie in your handbag all the time, escalator etiquette, please stand on the right! etc. But there are lots of good things, no great things like Borough Market. Oh my beloved Borough Market, how I miss thee.

 

I wanted to share a little of this wonderful place with you. It's difficult to decide where to start because this is the ultimate foodie destination in London. If you are a food loving tourist, you owe yourself a visit to this market while you are in London.

First things first, go with an empty stomach and wear comfortable shoes.

 

I arrive as early as possible, the first stop is Monmouth Coffee which opens at 7:30am. By arriving early, you are right there when the market opens at 9am. Then you can get great photographs without the crowd in the way and you can take your time sampling all the delicious food at it's freshest! I caffeine myself up and map out who and what I want to check out, using Borough market's very useful and printable interactive map online.

Now the food, I won't go on endlessly about the array of stalls of fine and unusual foods. There is almost everything you can think of. Cheese lovers you are in trouble, the cheeses! I could go into a cheese coma. Baked items are too many to try, spices, fish, oysters, beer, drinks, mushrooms, fruits and vegetables. There is so, so much choice. Price wise I'd say it's above average but its definitely worth it. Take cash, it will be much easier.

On Saturdays the market gets packed, literally shoulder to shoulder. As I grow older my ability to cope with large crowds seems to be diminishing exponentially, so I try to be done just before the lunch time rush. Have an early lunch and take a stroll down the South Bank.
 

Yes, it gets crowded and touristy, but it's still amazing. Londoners enjoy this Aladdin's cave of wonders, and we tourists will have the privilege of plundering it occasionally. 

Jam Crumble Biscuits

It's been a while. A lot has happened since my last post. (which was 3 months ago, eek!)
It's not that I haven't been cooking. Boy, have I been cooking! I've recently completed the Essential Certificate, a professional cookery course at Leith's School of Food and Wine in West London, which I massively enjoyed. Will definitely post some of the recipes soon.

Then I moved countries. Bye bye London, England...Hello Durban, South Africa.
Packing up ones entire life, OK 9 years of it, it was still a daunting task. Boxes packed, car taken to the docks to be shipped, accounts closed, farewells said, last stroll along the South Bank and last Borough market visit (sob!) So you get why I haven't been blogging?
I knew you would.

A new chapter, a new city. Durban. My husband's family is from here. It's humid and hot, and don't even get me started on the rain! Seriously, we have had more rain in Durban in the last 6 weeks than I have had in an English summer. The thing about London is that we are organised for this kind of weather, Durban on the other hand, is not. South Africa is all about the great outdoors, so there are no indoor play centres. Spur? Wimpy? You can only eat so many R20 fry ups. What to do with a 2 and a half year old?

Bake!

To set us off on rediscovering great South African classics here is a recipe so easy, my daughter and I whipped these up on one of the many rainy afternoons. We pretended to 'tickle' the butter and flour which is a good way of explaining the rubbing-in method to a little person. You can also use any type of jam, but apricot jam is the die hard South African favourite.

Ingredients

375g flour
225g butter, cubed
145g granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 large egg
1/2 a tin/bottle apricot jam
*optional 1/2 tsp lemon zest

Method

Pre-heat oven to 180°C.
Rub the chilled cubed butter into the flour until well mixed and resembling breadcrumbs. Or alternately pulse it a few times in a food processor. *Add the lemon zest here if you decide to use it.

In a separate bowl, beat together the egg and sugar, add the vanilla essence.

Then mix together the liquid and dry ingredients, using a knife to begin with, so that you handle the mixture as little as possible. The heat from your hands can melt the butter making the dough greasy, which will affect your end product.

Take roughly one-third of the mixture and set it aside. Roll out the remainder and place in a baking tin. Then smear the jam evenly across this surface, leaving about 1cm around the edges. Next, take the final third of the mixture and grate it through the coarsest setting over the jam, ensuring a relatively even distribution over the top. Make certain the jam near the sides are covered.

Bake for about 30 - 45mins or until golden brown on top.

Makes about 24 squares.

Ottolenghi's Granola

I could eat this granola for breakfast, lunch and supper. But to avoid becoming a contestant on Britain's Biggest Losers weight-loss TV show, I will restrain myself. I have put down the Ottolenghi Granola here exactly how is it in their cookbook, but poetic licence maybe used; add whatever you fancy. I am very partial to dried cherries, so I substituted the cranberries for cherries and added poppy seeds and sesame seeds. You add what ever you like. I warn you this is not diet granola, but it is to die for!

Ingredients

60g whole unskinned almonds
40g brazil nuts
40g cashew nuts
300g whole rolled oats
60g pumpkin seeds
60g sunflower seeds
100g dried apricots, roughly chopped
60g dried cranberries
60g dried blueberries

Syrup

¼ tsp salt
3 tbsp rapeseed oil
2 tbsp sunflower oil
120ml maple syrup
120ml honey

Method

Preheat the oven to 140 degrees. Roughly chop all the nuts and put them in a large mixing bowl. Add the oats and seeds and set aside.

Mix together all the syrup ingredients in a small saucepan. Place over a low heat and stir while you warm the syrup gently. Once it is warm, pour it over the seeds, nuts and oats and stir well with a wooden spoon.

Line a large baking tray baking parchment and spread the granola over it evenly. It should form a layer no more than 1cm thick. If it is too thick, consider two trays. Bake for 40 mins, turning and mixing the granola 2 or 3 times. When ready, it will have taken on a dark, honey-like colour. Don’t worry if it is soft; once it is cool it will turn crunchy. Remove from the oven. While the granola is still warm, but not hot, stir in the fruit.
Leave to cool on the tray and then transfer to a sealed container.

It will keep for 2 weeks.

If you don't have the time, just pop into one of Ottolenghi's shops breakfast.

Cherry Cheesecake

I love cheesecake, but I am of the school of thought that a baked cheesecake is far superior to any other form of cheesecake. Oh, but the effort of achieving the perfect, non-cracked cheesecake...'bake for x amount of time, then open the door a little, then a little more, then leave overnight in the oven etc, etc.' Sigh.

So when I was paging through my Nigella Express cookbook and came across this recipe, which Nigella claims to be converted on and it's a fridge cheesecake without gelatine, I HAD to try it. I was not dissappointed. I've added lemon zest and a vanilla pod which definitely elavates the flavours into cheesecake euphoria.

Bye bye tons of effort, hello tons of flavour!

Ingredients

125g digestive biscuits
75g butter
300g cream cheese
60g icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 vanilla pod scraped
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp lemon zest
250ml double cream
1 x jar of Black cherry conserve

Method

Place the biscuits in a food processor and blitz until beginning to turn to crumbs, then add butter and whiz again to make mixture clump.

Press this mixture into a 20cm springform tin; press a little up the sides to form a slight ridge.
 
Beat together the cream cheese, icing sugar, vanilla extract, vanilla pod seeds, lemon zest and lemon juice in a bowl until smooth.

Lightly whip the double cream to soft peaks, and then fold it into the cream cheese mixture.
Spoon the cheesecake filling on top of the biscuit base and smooth with a spatula. Put it in the fridge for 3 hours or overnight.

When you are ready to serve the cheesecake, unmould it and spread the black cherry conserve over the top.

Serves 10.

Thai Noodle Soup

I adore Thai Green Curry, but occasionally you fancy all the flavour without the heavy richness of a curry. This calls for easy Thai Noodle Soup.

When I make this soup I haul out all the vegetables in the fridge drawer that are almost past their best and toss them in the pot. Use the recipe below as a rough guide, and throw in whatever you have/fancy. I had a half a cup of corn skulking in the fridge as my toddler would only eat corn and now won't touch it...no matter how many aeroplane or train noises I make!

I like this soup with coconut milk in, but leave it out if you'd prefer a clear soup.


Ingredients
2 tsp vegetable oil
1 tsp fresh chopped ginger
1 tsp finely chopped garlic
600ml chicken or vegetable stock
2 tsp fish sauce (or soy sauce)
1 tsp of dark brown sugar
2/3 nests of noodles
1/2 red pepper
1/2 cup of corn
1/2 cup of coconut milk
2 handfuls shredded cabbage or 2 bok choy
2 carrots, cut into strips


Method
In a large saucepan heat 2 tsp of vegetable oil over high heat, cook the ginger and garlic for 30 seconds, do not let it brown.

Add the stock and bring to the boil. Add fish sauce, sugar, noodles, vegetables and coconut milk. Boil for 5 minutes and serve.

Serves 2.