Kugelhopf....

I was watching Food Safari on SBS a few weeks, and it was a show on the Jewish community and food in Australia.. and I saw a beautiful poppy seed Kugelhopf cake and became pre-occupied for the next couple of weeks with the image of those wonderful moulded cakes with dark stripes of poppy seeds. It took me a while to locate my recipe, my very old kugelhopf tin which has only ever seen short bursts of attention over the last 20 + years... and finally, the poppy seeds which were nowhere to be found except at the supermarket.
I love yeast cakes.. they were some of the first cakes I learned to master, and I could never understand why there was any apprehension about cooking yeast cakes.. they are sooooo easy.
For this recipe, I kept the dough much moister than previously and I used my much loved kitchen aide. I used less poppy seeds than the recipe and added saffron for colour and a bit of flavour as I couldn't justify the 6 egg yolks in the original recipe.

Creme Brulee with Black Sticky Rice

My son, Jorge, asked me to make this at home after we had it at Hanuman Restaurant here in Alice Springs. I think I've got it right.. finally. A couple of tips... please don't use that horrid thickened cream. There is one brand of Pure Cream that is worth buying... apart from some incredibly expensive gourmet or organic brands.

Ingredients
1 cup black sticky rice
1/3 cup castor sugar
water

4 egg yolks
400 mls fresh pure cream
100ml full cream milk
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 vanilla bean or vanilla extract

Method
Soak rice overnight in cold water. Rinse, and cook for around 1 hour. 15 minutes before the rice is cooked, add the sugar. Allow to cool.

Ricotta Cheesecake

Over the past 18 months I like to think I have perfected this cheesecake. Last night I made if for the first time without a recipe and it was fab.
Try and use 'real ricotta' for this recipe. Here I refer to the slabs you buy by the kilogram at your deli or supermarket deli. The prepackaged ricotta will suffice, but the texture is quite different and it has a host of additional ingredients to make it last a lot longer. I used to buy hot ricotta directly from the factory in Melbourne, and it would only last a couple of days, in comparison the prepackaged ricotta have very long expiry dates.
You can adapt the ingredients in the filling: if you don't like sultanas, don't use them. Same for preserved orange. My sister adds a little bit of dark cooking chocolate, but I'm not such a fan. Also, taste the filling once you've made it and add sugar etc as required.

Ingredients:
1 quantity of shortcrust pastry made with 250gms flour, and 125 gms butter. (Refer previous recipe in blog.)
500gms fresh ricotta
2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
vanilla bean (or equivalent)
2 slices preserved orange, diced
2 tablespoons brandy or desert wine
grated rind of 1 orange
grated rind of 1 lemon
1/3 cup pine nuts
1 egg beaten with a tbs milk for top pastry.

Optional:
1/2 cup sultanas
small quantity of dark chocolate roughly chopped
1-2 tbs cream

Method

1. Butter a 22 cm spring form cake tin or square/rectangular quiche tin.
2. Roll out pastry and line cake tin. (Reserving around a quarter for the top). Prick pastry with fork.
3. Line pastry with baking paper and put baking beans in.
   
4. Cook in 170 degree oven for 15 minutes. Take out, remove baking paper and beans and cook for 5 more minutes. Take out and cool. (This is referred to as a 'blind bake'.)
   
5. Reserve any of the unused pastry for top of cheesecake.
6. Soak preserved orange and sultanas in alcohol for around 10 minutes.
7. Combine all the filling ingredients and lightly whisk.
8. Pour mixture into pie shell and sprinkle top with pinenuts.
9. Roll out remaining pastry and cut into strips.
10. Create a lattice effect with remaining pastry and brush with egg mixture.
11. Bake in 180 degree oven for 45 minutes. You may need to move the cake around in the oven, and watch the top for burning.
12. Allow to cool before serving.

Ragout

This is the first meal I learned to cook. I came home from school one day when I was 12 and my mother had left me a note on what to cook for dinner and how. (She would make regular trips to Townsville, that hub of north Queensland). I have never been sure why she chose me, rather than my three elder sisters (evidently my two younger sisters and brother were too young) .... but I like to think it's because she recognised my early prowess as a cook and my interest in food in general, but my mother has since passed away so one can only guess.. and of course my sisters don't always agree with my version of events in the ongoing battle about who is the best cook in the family.

Ingredients
1-2 onions, finely diced
2-3 cloves garlic
2-3 tbs virgin olive oil
500 gm beef or pork, diced into 1cm cubes
1/2 cup good red wine
1 tin tomatoes
1/2 cup milk
bay leaves
rosemary
salt & pepper to taste

Method
Heat 2 tbs olive oil in heavy cast iron enamel pot, or whatever you have. Add onions and garlic and saute until soft.
In a separate pan (frying pan), heal olive oil and add meat.
Brown meat, then add to onion mixture.
Pour red wine into frying pan and scrape out bits of brown clinging to surface, and add to onion mixture (which is still on a low heat.)
Add tomatoes and herbs.
Place lid on pot and cook for 2-3 hours.
After around two hours, add the milk and continue to cook. You may want to add water.
Add salt at end, to taste.

This sauce is much better if left for a day.

Serve with home made parpadelle or penne, and parmesan cheese from a block. (Under no circumstances use pre-grated packaged parmesan.)
.... and of course with a salad, after the meal in a clean plate.
.... and a glass of good pinot noir.

Enjoy!

Football Final Kangaroo Party Pies

You could approach the (second) football final through colours: lamingtons for Collingwood supporters and Black Forrest Cherry Cake for Saint Kilda Supporters. But let's face it, footy watching is not a tea party occasion. You need something simple, that doesn't require too much eye-hand co-ordination and that goes well with beer... and salty or savoury. The obvious food is Pies. I am going to put out a challenge to forgo the frozen party pies and create some special pies for footy watching tomorrow... In addition to the pies already listed here, how about a Kangaroo Party Pie?

Ingredients
2 sheets puff pastry
3 sheets shortcrust pastry or one quantity (made with 250 gms flour, 125gm butter etc)
200 - 250 gm kangaroo fillet, diced into 1cm squares
1 onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1-2 tbs olive oil
1/4 cup red wine
1 desertspoon favourite chutney
1 cup stock
salt
1 teaspoon tomato paste
1 tbs worcestershire sauce (optional)
1 tablespoon cornflour dissolved in a little cold water (optional)
salt and pepper
sesame seeds for garnish
1 egg, lightly beaten
butter for greasing pie shells or muffin tins

Method

1. Grease 12 small pie shells or a 12 hole muffin tin with butter.
2. Preheat over to 180 degrees celcius.
3. Heat olive in heavy pot, add onions and garlic and cook until soft.
4. Add diced kangaroo and brown on all sides.
5. Add: chutney, tomato paste, worcestershire sauce, stock, salt and pepper and bring to simmer.
6. Continue to cook until meat is tender.
7. You can leave the lid on or off, but there must be enough liquid when you are finished for the filling. I suggest you keep the lid on, and take it off 15 minutes before you think it will be finished.
8. Add cornflour mixture 5 minutes before you are finished cooking filling. Stir through while sauce thickens.
9. When the filling is cooked to your taste, take off the heat and cool.
10. Roll out out shortcrust pastry to 7cm rounds and line pie/muffin tins..
11. Brush edges with egg.
12. Add cooled mixture, making sure you don't fill the tins too much.
13. Cut out 6 cm rounds of puff pastry and lay over filling, lighting pressing edges.
14. Brush with egg, sprinkle with sesame seeds and make a few slits in pie for steam to escape.
15. Bake for between 20 and 30 minutes, keeping an eye on the puff pastry which may brown quickly. You may need to put a sheet of paper over the top.

Enjoy.

Emapandas

I adapt the original recipe I have for Empanadas de Horno and use a yeast dough rather than a shortcrust. Either will do.

Ingredients
Filling
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
250 gm lean tender beef cut into small cubes or mince
1 tbs sultanas
1 scant tsp dried chilli (optional)
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp ground cumin
salt
freshly ground black pepper

To prepare
1/2 kg shortcrust or plain yeast dough
2 hard boiled eggs
6 stoned green or black olives

Method
For Filling
Heat olive oil in frying pan, and gently fry onions until soft.
Add chilli, paprika and cummin and heat through for 2 minutes.
Add meat and brown.
Add sultanas, salt/pepper to taste and 3 tbs water.
Heat through until the water evaporates.
Set aside

Mushroom & Beef Pie (in Sour Cream Pastry)

I have been making this pie for many years. This recipe is adapted from the Scandanavian Timelife Cookbook, the book I have here is my mother's and is over 30 years old.. This recipe is from Finland.
Pastry Ingredients
300 gms plaint flour
pinch salt
185 gm unsalted butter, chilled, cut into 1cm pieces
1 egg
1/2 cup sour cream
butter for greasing tray

Filling Ingredients
Extra Virgin olive oil or butter for fying (around 2 tbs of )
125 gm (approx) finely chopped mushrooms
250gm-300gm lean minced beef
1 large onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup finely chopped flat leaf parsley
3/4 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/4 cup milk

1 egg combined with 2 tbs milk

Method
Sour Cream Pastry

1. Sift flour and salt together.
2. Rub in butter until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. (Alternatively you can use a food processor, but after this point, return the mixture to a large bowl.)
3. In a separate bowl, mix together egg and sour cream.
4. Make a well in centre of flour mixture and pour in egg & sour cream mixture.
5. Work dough gently and pull together into a pliable ball. (Do not over knead).
6. Cover in plastic wrap and place in refrigerator.

Filling

1. Melt butter or heat olive oil, and sautee onions for 5 minutes.
2. Add mushrooms and continue to saute for another 5 minutes.
3. Add meat and cook cook for around 6 to 8 minutes.
4. Put mixture into bowl.
5. When mixture is cool, add parsley cheese and milk.

Putting it together.

1. Divide pastry in half.
2. Roll out one piece into a rectangle, approximately 15 cm by 30-35 cm, and place on buttered jam roll tin (or line with baking paper).
3. Gather meat mixture into ball and place in centre of dough, to resemble a log. Brush water along edges.
4. Roll out the second piece of pastry so it is a big bigger than the first and lay over the mixture.
5. Brush pastry with egg and milk mixture. Trim.
6. Gather remaining pastry, roll out and cut into 1 cm strips.
7. Make a lattice trim on pastry.
8. Pinch edges together.
9. Prick the top of the loaf in several places.
10. Brush top again with egg and milk mixture.
11. Cook in oven, set at 180 degrees celsius for around 45 minutes.
12. Allow to cool a bit ans serve with sour cream.