AUTUMN LEMON CURD

Life gave me lemons so I made lemon curd...

If your planting a lemon tree or you have a friend who has a Meyer lemon tree, thank your lucky stars! These soft skinned and surprisingly juicy lemons are perfect for lemon curd.

"When eating a fruit, Think of the person who planted the tree" - Vietnamese Proverb

Ingredients:

Juice & zest of 3 or 4 lemons 
3/4 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of butter
4 egg yolks


Step 1 - Whisk the egg yolks and sugar in a saucepan on low to medium heat. Add the butter and heat slowly until the butter melts.

Step 2 - Juice and zest the lemons to make 1 cup of lemon juice. Wait until the butter has melted to add the lemon juice and zest. Stir -  It takes about 10 minutes for it to thicken up and stirring is good. Let it cool & thicken and serve.

Hint#  serve generous dollop of curd onto a mirangue and drizzle with passionfruit pulp.

THANK YOU

Thank you to everyone who has taken a moment to view my personal food blog "Spill the Beans".

CALAMARI PROJECT

CRUNCHY CALAMARI RINGS

"Never trust a skinny cook" Unknown 

Ingredients:

Squid tubes thawed & cut into rings (1 tube per person)

1 egg beaten

Panko bread crumbs (supermarket)

Oil for frying

Step 1. Cut tubes into rings 

Step 2. Dip rings in egg and then generously in Panko breadcrumbs

Step 3. Shallow fry in 2-3tbsp of oil in a frying pan until golden and crunchy.

Hint# Allow enough space between rings and don't overcook. Serve with seafood sauce.

Homemade Seafood Sauce

In a bowl mix 1/2 cup of whole egg mayonnaise, 1tsp of worcestershire sauce (or soy sauce), 1tbsp of tomato sauce and cracked pepper.

Enjoy

EGGPLANT CHIPS

CRUNCH & MUNCH 

on these

BEER BATTERED EGGPLANT FRIES

Ingredients:
2 Eggplants
Mayonnaise
Finely chopped coriander

Vegetable oil for frying

Basic beer batter recipe

1 1/2 cups of self-raising flour
1 egg
375ml of beer
* In a bowl stir all ingredients together until relatively smooth.

Step 1. Heat enough oil in small saucepan to just cover the fries
Step 2. Cut eggplant into strips.  Not too thin
Step 3. Dip strips into beer batter and fry for a few mins on medium heat. Turn them once or twice. The eggplant strips should be golden and crunchy on the outside and caramelised on the inside

Hint#  Fry 3 strips at a time if your using a small saucepan
Serve with good quality mayonnaise and finely chopped coriander.


Enjoy

WHAT A CATCH!

BBQ WHOLE BABY SNAPPER

"If music be the food for love, play on" -William Shakespeare 

Whole baby snapper (cleaned & prepared for the BBQ)

Fresh herbs (eg. coriander, parsley, basil, mint, vietnames mint)

Red chilli

Red onion 

White wine

1/2 tsp chopped Garlic 

1 tsp of grated Ginger

Butter

Step 1. Place snapper on foil and insert lemon wedges in opening of fish & top with finely chopped mixed herbs (about 1/3 cup of whatever herbs you have on hand), chilli, grated ginger and red onion

Step 2. Add decent splash of white wine, knob of butter and season with salt & pepper

Step 3. Wrap fish up in foil just like a parcel and place in BBQ (hood closed) on medium-high heat for approx 10-12 mins.

Hint # Fillets of fish would work just as well if you don't want the bones. Serve with roast potatoes & green salad.

Enjoy

STUFF IT AGAIN

LOVE THY NEIGHBOUR

Thank you to my green thumb neighbour who delivered fresh organic produce to my door...

"We all eat, and it would be a sad waste of opportunity to eat badly" - Anna Thomas

Stuffed eggplant with lamb mince

Ingredients:

Eggplant sliced in half

700 grams of lamb mince

1tbsp of tomato paste

1 brown onion

1-2tsp of crushed garlic

1 chilli finely chopped

Parmesan

Step 1. Slice eggplant in half longways. Score with knife and drizzle with oil and cook in oven on 

180C for about 40 mins til soft

Step 2. In a pan with oil fry off garlic, onion, chilli, lamb mince & then add tomato paste

Step 3. When eggplant cooked and soft in the centre spoon out the flesh and add to mince mix

Step 4. Spoon generous amount of mince mix into eggplant shell, and sprinkle with cheese. Place under grill for few mins till cheese melted. Garnish with basil. Season with salt & pepper.

Enjoy

BE GRATEFUL FOR THE GRATIN

"One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating" -Luciano Pavarotti

CAULIFLOWER GRATIN

   250g Pancetta, cut into 1cm cubes
1 large head of cauliflower, washed and cut up into bite size pieces1 can of drained butter beans2 handfuls of fresh breadcrumbs1tsp minced garlicFew sprigs of thyme  1  1/2 cups grated parmesan cheese1  1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese

 

Bechamel sauce
30g butter
1/4 cup plain flour
1 1/2 cups of milk
Pinch of nutmeg

• Step 1. Boil cauliflower pieces for 5 mins or until just cooked throughStep 2. In a bowl mix the breadcrumbs, cheeses, thyme & garlicStep 3. On a low heat, melt butter in saucepan and add some of the milk, then add flour and continue adding the milk little by little. Stir until no lumps. Bring to boil then take off heat & stir in nutmeg and season with salt & pepper. Step 4. In a baking dish arrange cauliflower pieces, drained butter beans & pancetta. Pour Bechamel sauce on top and finish with cheese & breadcrumbs mix. Cook for about 30 mins on 180C making sure the top is lovely & golden.
  Hint: # serve with eye fillet