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.

Puka Henry's Lime Curd

Ingredients:
4 large eggs
2 egg yolks
150 g sugar
150 g margarine or butter.
150 mL Darwin Limes ( 6 large limes).  Grate the zest of 4 limes.
Zest of 2 lemons

Method:
Put water into a saucepan and heat until simmering.   Beat the eggs and yolks in a jug and pour into a glass bowl.   Add margarine, sugar, lime juice and the lime and lemon zest.   Put the bowl onto the saucepan and stir until sugar dissolves and margarine melts.    Cook stirring from time to time; no need to stir continously as the curd thickens.   The curd is ready when it is thick enough to be able to draw a line through it on the back of the wooden spoon.   Pour into sterilized jars and cover with lids.    When cool place in the fridge.

Puka Henry's Chicken in Sherry Sauce

Ingredients:
9 Chicken leg fillets
1 onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, crushed and finely chopped
2 tablespoons extra light olive oil
3 tablespoons medium dry sherry
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Method:
Remove fat from chicken pieces.   Place chicken in an oblong glass dish.   Sprinkle garlic, onion and pepper over the chicken.   Add oil and sherry  and mix the chicken pieces in the marinade.  Leave over night in the fridge.   Remove chicken and place in a large glass dish.  Cover with foil and bake in the oven until cooked.   Remove foil 10 – 15 minutes before the end of cooking to brown chicken pieces.   Serve with rice and vegetables.

Puka Henry's Pork Meatballs

Ingredients:
650 g pork, minced
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
3 tablespoons of Ketjap Manis
3 tablespoons cornfour
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon Moroccan seasoning
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Method:
Add all the ingredients to the pork mince.   Mixed by hand and marinade overnight.   Make the balls.    Heat some olive oil in a rectangular non-stick baking tray.    Place the meatballs onto the tray and bake in a fan forced oven at 170ºC for 30 minutes or until cooked.   Turn over the meatball half way through cooking.    Serve as snacks for 7 people before dinner.

Crostata Squares

This recipe is one of my sons favourites, it is an adaptation of a recipe from the publication "Cooking Naturally with Australian Dairy Foods"

Pastry
1½ cups self-raisin flour
3 tablespoons margarine or butter
1 tablespoon sugar, optional
3 tablespoons lemon juice (and zest of 2 large lemons grated finely for the filling)
3 large Granny Smith apples, peeled and sliced
2/3 cup raisins
1 egg

Filling
1 x 500 g  smooth cottage or ricotta cheese
2 large eggs
1-1½ teaspoons cinnamon
2 tablespoons flour
½ cup castor sugar
½ cup milk

Method
1. Rub fat into flour.   Add sugar and mix to a stiff dough with lemon juice.
2. Knead lightly in a mixing bowl, cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3. Peel and slice apples.    Place in a microwave container and cook for 4 minutes on High.    Make sure not to over cook them.
4. Roll out pastry to approximately 1 cm thickness and line a 21 x 21 x 5 cm square glass dish.    Reserve left-over pastry for the top.    Place slices of apple on the pastry base.    Sprinkle with cinnamon, and most of the raisins.
5. Place cheese, sugar, flour, lemon zest, eggs and a little milk in a bowl and beat lightly.    Add the rest of the milk and stir through.   Mixture should be thick and not too runny.    In humid weather use less milk.
6. Pour this filling over the apples.    Roll out the remaining pastry and cut into 1 cm strips.   Arrange these in a lattice pattern over the filling.    Place the rest of the raisins in between the pastry strips on top the mixture.    Brush with beaten egg.    Bake in fan-forced oven for 1 hour at 170ºC, or until the mixture is set.

Makes 16 square helpings as a desert; can be served with cream or ice cream.

Lorna McIntyre's Chess Pie

Ingredients:
1 cup brown sugar
150 g walnuts, chopped.
½ cup sugar
1 tablespoon flour 
½ cup melted butter
2 eggs
2 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla essence.

Method:
Line a tin with short pastry. Beat in eggs, milk and vanilla essence. Fold in chopped walnuts.  Pour into a pastry case.  Bake in a fan forced over at 170ºC until the cake is cooked.
NB:   Use 200 g short pastry to line a rectangle tin.

Carrot and Parsnip Soup (thick)

Ingredients:
10 parsnips, peeled and chopped
6 small carrots peeled & chopped
2 potatoes, peeled & chopped
2 large onions peeled & chopped
6 cups water
milk
sour cream
chives, finely chopped
Iodised salt
Freshly ground black pepper
butter

Method:
Heat some butter in saucepan and fry the onions, add the vegetable, and mix in.   Add hot water and cool until the vegetables are cooked.   Puree with Bamix .    Add milk to thin soup.    Serve, garnish with a teaspoon of sour cream, swirl in the middle of the soup and sprinkle with chopped chives.

Bhut Jolokia Chilli Paste

Ingredients:
1 ripe Bhut Jolokia ripe chilli (remove seeds and membrane)
5 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 lemon, chopped up after removing pips
1 onion, chopped
50 mL cold pressed virgin olive oil


Method:
Place all the ingredients in a food processor and blend.   Heat a small amount of light olive oil in a stainless saucepan and heat.   Pour the chilli mixture and cook for 5 minutes.   Pour the chilli paste into the sterile jar and cool.   Store in a dry cool place.   Store in the fridge after opening.

Beef Paprika

Ingredients:
800 g blade steak, cut into small cubes.
2 teaspoons smoked paprika powder
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped
4 ripe tomatoes, chopped (1 tin of whole tomatoes if preferred)
1 cup water
Olive, or vegetable oil
3 tablespoons concentrated tomato paste
Pepper to taste.

Method:
Place a small amount of oil in the saucepan.  When the oil is hot add the onions and garlic and fry, stir with a wooden spoon until onion and garlic are soft.   Take care not to burn the garlic.    Add the meat and stir in.    Add the tomatoes, paprika and tomato paste.    Add water and stir.    Simmer gently for an hour or until the meat is tender.

NB: The above recipe can be used for lamb chops, pork or chicken dishes.
Leave the rest of the tomato paste in the fridge when required.

Beef Curry

My family loves spicy food, and this beef curry can easily be made hotter for those who are the same by adding more chillies!

Ingredients
1.2 kg rump steak, cut into cubes
1 large onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic
1 cm fresh ginger, chopped
1 cm fresh galangal, chopped
7 large dried red chillies, socked in boiling water
1 large lemon, cut in half lengthwise, remove seeds and hard stringy centre (chopped)
1 Darwin lime, remove hard centre and seeds (sliced thinly)
15 g whole coriander seeds, dry roasted in a frying pan (use only 2 tablespoons powder) in cooking.
½ teaspoon whole fennel seeds, dry roasted
1 teaspoon cinnamon powder (add to meat before serving)
1 teaspoon coriander powder (add to meat before serving)
1 teaspoon turmeric
2 teaspoons cumin powder (1 teaspoon to use at the last minute before serving)
3 cinnamon sticks
Fresh coriander (for garnish)
Palm sugar (41 g)
Light olive oil

Method:
Place coriander seeds in a motor and pestle and grind to powder.   Place in a small glass.   Grind fennel seeds.   In a tall glass jug, place, chillies, some of the water, onion, ginger, galangal, and lemon turn into paste with the Bamix.   Heat some oil in a stainless saucepan and cooked the paste.   Add cinnamon sticks, turmeric, coriander and fennel powder, cumin, and palm sugar.   Cook for a few minutes.   Add the meat and mix in.   Add slices of lime and some water to cover the meat and simmer for an hour or until the beef is tender.   Add cinnamon, coriander, and cumin powder to the meat before serving.   Serve garnish with fresh coriander leaves.   Serve accompany with yellow Basmati rice, lentils and baby spinach, and poppadums.

Lemon Curd

Here's my take on an old family favourite, great for accompanying many different types of desserts.

Ingredients

• 2 large eggs
• 1 egg yolk
• 75g butter
• 75g sugar
• Grated rind and juice of 2 lemons (strain lemon juice)

Method
To make the curd, beat the eggs and egg yolk together and put them into a heatproof bowl.  Add the sugar, butter, lemon rind and juice.  Place the bowl over a suacepan of simmering water and stir until the sugar dissolves and the butter melts.  Cook stirring from time to time (no need to stir continuously) as the curd thickens.
The curd is thick enough when you can draw a line with your finger down the curd coating the back of the wooden spoon.  Allow to cool, then chill.

Lorna McIntyre's Lemon Cake

This one is an amended version of a family recipe all the way from Scotland, it is rich and tangy.  If you like things a little less tart then substitute limes for lemons and add more sugar.

Ingredients

• 2 pkts Lyons trifle Savoiardi sponge fingers
• 175 g butter
• Rind & juice of 4 lemons
• Juice of 1 Darwin lime (my own addition)
• 300 g caster sugar
• 3 extra large eggs
• 300 mL double cream to cover (use reduced cream)

Method
Grate lemons into butter – add sugar and beat well. Whisk eggs and add. Beat in lemon and lime juices. Cut sponges longwise and line a suitable container. Spread on mixture in layers ending up with sponge on top. Press down and freeze for an hour then remove and place in the fridge. Invert onto a plate. Decorate with cream.