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.