Sticky Date Pudding

                                           STICKY DATE PUDDING (Puka's version)

Ingredients

205 g stoned dates, chopped

250 mL (1cup) water

40 g butter (2 tablespoons)

2 extra large eggs

145 g brown sugar

185 g self-raisin flour

1 level teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

½  cup walnuts/pecans (optional), chopped

      Sauce

150 g brown sugar

150 mL cream

110 g butter

½ teaspoon vanilla essence

Method

Preheat Fan-Forced oven to 170ºC.

To make the pudding, cook the dates in water until they reach a jammy consistency, stirring frequently to break them up.   Put into a large mixing bowl and mix in the sugar and butter.   Leave aside to cool.

Grease and line the bottom of a square tin 21 cm x 21 cm x 7 cm with Glad Bake.  Lightly whisk the eggs into the date mixture and add the vanilla essence.  Sprinkle the bicarbonate of soda over the flour and fold  into the date mixture with a metal spoon.   If nuts are used they should be stirred into the date mixture before folding in the flour.

 Pour into the prepared tin and bake on the centre shelf at 170ºC  for 50 minutes or until the pudding is cooked.   Turn out onto a wire rack and cool for 20 minutes, while preparing the sauce.

To make the sauce, place all the ingredients in a medium size saucepan, mix together and bring to the boil.  Turn the heat down and stir all the time until the butter melts and sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes.

Invert the pudding onto a serving dish, prick all over with a thin skewer and pour some of the sauce over it to soak in.

To serve, pour the remaining sauce over the pudding and serve with whipped cream.

Chive Mayonnaise

CHIVE MAYONNAISE

Ingredients

2 extra large eggs, separate yolks from whites

1 teaspoon, hot English mustard

2 teaspoons white vinegar

250 mL oil (185 mL grapeseed oil, 65 mL blended olive oil)

½ garlic (3 g), crushed

2 ½ tablespoons chopped chives

Iodised salt (good size pinch of salt)

Method:

Place the yolks in a glass bowl. Add mustard, vinegar, garlic and salt to the yolks. Using a hand held electric beater whisk the yolk mixture. Keep the beater running and trickle in the oil slowly until it is all used up. Mayonnaise should be thick and glossy. Turn off the beater and fold in the chives with a spatula. Scrape mayonnaise into a container, cover with a lid and leave in the fridge until needed.

                    

Hummus Dip & Tomato Relish Dip

Hummus dip served with flat breads

HUMMUS
Ingredients

• 2 cups dried chickpeas 
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 3 tablespoons sesame paste
• 3 tablespoons lime juice
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• iodised salt

Method
Soak the chickpeas overnight. Rinse and place in a large saucepan, cover with water and bring to the boil. Remove any scum that floats to the top. Turn heat down, cover with the lid and simmer for an hour or until the chickpeas are tender. Remove saucepan and drain the liquid into another bowl. Measure out 400 g of the chickpeas and place in a blender; the remainder can be kept for some other use. Place the rest of the ingredients, including 2 – 3 tablespoons of the liquid in which the chickpeas were cooked in the blender, and process.
Optional: drizzle with olive oil before serving.

SESAME PASTE
½ cup sesame seeds

Place sesame seeds in a non-stick frypan and dry roast, shaking the pan to distribute the seeds evenly until they are golden brown. Pour onto a plate to cool. Grind in a spice grinder or use a pestle and mortar.

TOMATO RELISH

1 jar (250 g) tomato relish
2 – 3 tablespoons sour cream

Empty the tomato relish into a bowl. Fold in the sour cream and place in the fridge until needed.

Mango Pavlova Roll

MANGO PAVLOVA ROLL

Ingredients.

3 medium size Kensington Pride mangoes, cubed (270 g reserved for the mango butter)

4 extra large eggs, (65 g) separate the egg whites

¾ cup caster sugar

½ cup desiccated coconut, plus 4 tablespoons more (dry toasted)

2 teaspoons white vinegar

1 teaspoon cornflour

2 tablespoons caster sugar

3 tablespoons mango butter

3 tablespoons whipped cream

Method.

Preheat fan-forced oven to 170°C.

Grease a non-stick Swiss roll tin 37 x 26 x 2 cm with oil or melted butter and line the base and sides with baking paper.  Dust with cornflour, shake off excess.  Beat egg whites in a dry clean glass bowl until forming firm peaks.  Gradually add sugar and beat until thick and glossy. Sprinkle with coconut, vinegar and cornflour, and gently fold in.   Place into the tin and level with a spatula.  Cook at 170ºC for about 15 minutes or until set.  While the Pavlova is cooking place another piece of baking paper on a large tea towel and sprinkle with the caster sugar and toasted coconut.  Turn the meringue onto the prepared paper and peel off the original backing paper. Roll up the meringue in the paper from a narrow end, to make it supple, then unroll it again.  Allow a few minutes to cool before spreading with mango butter and cream.  Reroll without the paper and leave in the fridge until needed.   Slice into portions and serve with home made mango ice cream, the mango butter, whipped cream and the rest of the mangos.  Serves 6 – 8 people.

MANGO Butter

270 g Kensington Pride mangoes (cubed)

70 g butter (cubed)

2 extra large egg yolks

1 Darwin lime, juiced

2 tablespoons caster sugar

600 mL cream (whipped)

Puree the mango flesh with lime juice and strain through a fine strainer into a medium size saucepan.  Add the egg yolks and sugar and beat with a wooden spoon.   Cook over medium heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved.   Add the butter stirring constantly until the mixture thickens.  Pour into a small glass bowl and place this bowl into a larger one containing cold water and ice cubes to cool the butter down.   When cold, place in the fridge until needed.

Bushman's Peppered Chicken

                                              BUSHMAN'S PEPPERED CHICKEN

Ingredients

• 12 Chicken thigh cutlets (with skin on)
• 5 tablespoons Bushman’s Pepperpot (Aussie seasoning

Sauce

• 1 medium size red capsicum, chopped
• 2 red bell peppers, chopped (seeds removed)
• 2 yellow skinned chillies, chopped (seeds removed)
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 3 cm long fresh turmeric, chopped
• 3 cm galangal (Thai ginger)
• 5 Kaffir lime leaves (remove the centre vein)
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 Darwin lime (remove pips and hard white fibrous core) chopped
• 60 mL water (3 tablespoons)
• Extra olive oil
• Iodised salt

Method:

Preheat Fan-Forced oven to 170°C

Cut the underside of the chicken pieces with a sharp knife taking care not to cut through the skin. Put the pepper in a bowl and coat the skin side only. Spray a grill fry pan with oil, then brown the skin side of the chicken pieces first before turning them over. Remove chicken pieces as they are done onto a large plate.

Sauce.

Place the ingredient for the sauce in a tall blender, season with salt and puree. Pour into a large rectangular glass dish 40 cm L x 24 cm W x 6 cm H or a baking tin. Place in the oven for 10 minutes. Place the chicken pieces with flesh side down; sauce should not cover the skin.  Cook for 45–60 minutes.

Chocolate Ice Cream with Strawberry Coulis and Orange

Home made chocolate ice cream with fresh strawberry coulis
and powdered orange peel.

This dessert has a delightful array of suprisingly complimentary flavours based around a rich, silky chocolate ice cream sauced with a fruity strawberry coulis sauce and topped by a zesty orange powder.

This would be ideal as a cool summer dessert as it is extremely refreshing.






Ingredients:

Chocolate Ice Cream
100 g Lindt 70% dessert chocolate
600 mL thickened cream
1tablespoon espresso style instant coffee
1tablespoon hot water
2 tablespoons rum
1teaspoon pure vanilla essence
¾ cup raw sugar
1cup Trim milk

Dissolve coffee with hot water and keep aside to cool.
Place chocolate with a small amount of cream and sugar in a bowl over simmering water, stir
with a wooden spoon until the chocolate melts and sugar dissolves. Do not let the bottom of
the bowl touch the water. Add the rest of the ingredients to the chocolate mixture. Chill before
churning.

Orange Powder
2 medium size oranges (use only the zest – remove all pith, and Julienne)
1teaspoon sugar

Preheat fan-forced oven to 130ºC. Place Julienned zest in a non-stick baking sheet and
sprinkle with sugar. Place in the oven, turn the heat down to 100ºC and cook for 8 minutes.
Turn off oven and leave for 20 minutes. Make sure that zest is dried out thoroughly. Keep in
an airtight container until needed.
To make orange powder, process zest in a food grinder.

Strawberry Coulis
500 g strawberries (2 punnets)
100 mL water (5 tablespoons water)
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 Darwin lime, juiced (strained through a fine sieve)

Prepare the strawberries and cut in half. Place them into a medium size saucepan with water
and sugar and bring to the boil. Turn the heat down and stir until sugar is dissolved. Simmer
for 5–8 minutes, until the strawberries are soft. Puree the mixture with a food wand. Pour
through a fine sieve into a tall jug, add the lime juice and stir through. Cool and place in the
fridge.

Serve Ice cream with a generous pouring of the strawberry coulis and finish with a sprinkle of orange powder.

Puka Henry's Sherry Trifle

My own take on a classic, and another one of my son Auki's all time favourites.

Ingredients:
4 extra large eggs
800 mL trim milk
250 mL medium dry sherry
6 tablespoons sugar
Almond essence
Strawberry or raspberry jam
Sponge cake
Flaked almonds (dry roasted in the oven until golden brown)
Glacé red cherries.
Amaretti biscuits
Cream (whipped cream to spread on the trifle)

Method:
Slice the cake in half horizontally, spread with strawberry jam, and sandwich the two halves.  Slice longwise approximately 2 cm wide and then across at apprximately 4 cm. Place the cake pieces in a large glass bowl and pour sherry all over.   Make the custard and pour over the cake pieces.  Insert a fork a few times around the cake so that the custard is distributed evenly.  Cool completely before placing in the fridge.  Spread cream over the trifle.  Decorate with almonds and cherries,   Make the trifle the day before eating.