Roast Chicken with Lemon and Rosemary

There is something very homely and welcoming with the aroma of a roast chicken. Accompanied with mash potatoes and gravy , it is one of the best comfort food. The left overs make for great sandwiches and the soups.

INGREDIENTS :

1 Whole chicken cleaned, washed and pat dry
3 gloves of garlic crushed
Salt and Pepper to taste
1/2 cup of unsalted butter melted
Bunch of Rosemary
2 lemons
1 big onions sliced thickly

METHOD :

Season chicken with salt and pepper inside out really well
Rub with crushed garlic inside and all over chicken
Fill cavity with Rosemary and 1 lemon cut in half
Tie with a piece of kitchen thread wings down
Arrange onions on Baking tray
Place chicken on top of onions (This will bring excellent flavor to the chicken and also prevent it from steaming as chicken will not tough base of tray )
Brush chicken all over with melted butter
Place other vegetables of choice (Mini potatoes, carrots ) in tray
Roast in oven for 1 hour 15 mins
Remove and allow to rest for another 5-10 mins
Serve with vegetables and gravy

Napolitaines de l'ile Maurice

No National celebrations would be complete in Mauritius without Napolitaines ! The famous buttery, melt in your mouth cookies sealed with strawberry jam and the traditional pink icing on top is the national sweet treat of the island. Not sure of the origin of those delightful cookies but they certainly  bring back lots of childhood memories. Here is the recipe:

INGREDIENTS FOR THE COOKIES :

4 Cups all purpose flour
2 cups of butter softened
1/2 tsp salt
Red fruit jam (Strawberry or Raspberry)

FOR THE ICING :

4 Cups of icing sugar
Couple fo tbs of cold water
1 pinch of pink food coloring

METHOD :

Heat oven to 375 degrees C
Mix flour , salt and butter
Work dough so that it comes together into one big ball (DO NOT OVERWORK DOUGH) - This step can be done in a food processor as well
Chill slightly in the fridge (5-10 mins)
Roll dough out (approximately 1/2 inch in thickness) and use a cookie cutter to cut into shapes of choice - Traditionally small circles preferred
Bake in oven for around 15 mins - cookies should not turn brown
Remove from oven and place tray on rack and allow to cool completely

IMPORTANT - Do not move cookies while still hot as they will break into pieces- It is critical to allow them to cool completely

Once cookies are completely cool, sandwich 2 cookies with jam (take one cookie , flat surface down and put some jam on top , now take another cookie and place flat surface downward on the jam )

ICING :

Add water and coloring to icing sugar
Mix well
Put icing on each cookie

ENJOY !

Mixed Berries Pavlova

There is a big debate as to whether the origin of Pavlova is Australian , Russian or from New Zealand. No matter what, this is a beautiful dessert that you can easily impress your guests with. It might look intricate but a very easy one to tackle as long as you use the proper technique of beating the egg whites and adjust your oven to the recommended heat. You can serve it with other fruits of your choice. The original recipe I had, called for 1 cup of sugar, I cut it to 3/4 and thought it was sweet enough. There are other recipes with cream of tartar . This one without the cream of tartar has worked well for me (second time I made it) that's why I stick to this recipe.

INGREDIENTS :
4 egg whites at room temperature
3/4 cup of sugar
a pinch of salt
1 tsp of cornstarch
2 tsp of white vinegar
1 tsp of vanilla extract

TOPPING:
2 cups of whipping cream
2 tbs sugar
Fruits of your choice - In this case mixed berries

IMPORTANT MEASURES:
Heat oven at 300 degrees C- Once Pavlova is in, reduce to 250 degrees C
Place a grease proof paper on a baking tray


METHOD :
Beat egg whites and salt with an electric mixer until soft peaks form
Add the sugar slowly (a tablespoon at a time ) and continue to beat until thick and glossy (for 2-3 mins)
Add cornstarch, vinegar and vanilla extract and fold into the egg mixture
Now with a spatula , spoon mixture into a circle on your greaseproof paper(make it around 8 inches or so)
Place tray in the oven and immediately reduce heat to 250 degrees
Bake for 1 hour
Turn off heat
Allow to cool in the oven with the door slightly ajar

Once completely cool :
Whip cream with 2 tbs of sugar until thick
Spread gently on Pavlova cake
Decorate with fruits
and VOILA !

 

Salted Caramel Chocolate Cake

I recently developed a taste for salted caramel desserts. I had the best salted caramel ice cream and salted caramel milkshake on my trip to England late last year . I instantly fell in love with the incredible combination of sweet caramel and salt . When I had the opportunity a couple of weeks ago to make a birthday cake for a teenager turning 18 , I thought a salted caramel chocolate cake would be just perfect . I made the cake in 3 steps- I started with the caramel sauce 3 days prior and kept it in the fridge. I made the cake the day before (which I strongly recommend as it makes it a lot easier to spread the caramel on) and on the day of , I made the frosting and finished with the decoration.
It is extremely important to wear kitchen gloves while making the caramel sauce as it will bubble and become very foamy when the cream is added. Do not panic ! Just add the cream very slowly , a little at a time while stirring continuously.
Use Maldon , Fleur de Sel or Himalayan Pink salt only. DO NOT USE table salt as it will be too harsh and salty for this recipe.

There will be leftover caramel sauce- Refrigerate - warm to loosen a bit and use on vanilla ice cream !

It is a time consuming cake to make but oh so worth it !



INGREDIENTS FOR CHOCOLATE CAKE :
2 Sticks unsalted butter softened
2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
Pinch of salt
4 eggs
1/3 cup semisweet chocolate , melted over pot of boiling water and cooled
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups buttermilk

METHOD

• Put a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F
• Butter 2 x 9 inch non stick round cake pans and line each pan with parchment paper
• Sift flour , cocoa powder, baking soda and salt together
• With and electric mixer on medium-high speed , cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy
• Add eggs one at a time mixing until completely incorporated before adding each additional egg
• Mix in the chocolate and vanilla making sure to combine really well
• Turn the mixer on low and slowly add the dry ingredients alternating with the buttermilk in 3 batches starting and ending with the flour mixture. Make sure to mix really well without over beating
• Pour half the batter in each pan and spread it evenly
• Bake until a toothpick comes out clean around 25-30 mins
• Remove the pans from the racks and allow to cool for 10 mins
• Loose edges of the cakes from the pan with a knife and then turn them onto racks
• Remove the paper and let the cakes to cool completely

INGREDIENTS FOR THE CARAMEL SAUCE (Can be made up to 3 days ahead of time)

4 Cups of granulated sugar
1/4 cup of corn syrup
1/4 cup of water
2 cups of cream
2 sticks of cold unsalted butter cut into pieces
1 teaspoon of salt (Maldon, fleur de sel or Himalayan pink salt)

METHOD

• Combine sugar, corn syrup and water into a saucepan over high heat
• Cook until mixture is dark amber in color (Approximately 15 mins)
• Remove from heat and carefully pour in cream very slowly (mixture will start to foam and may splatter - Be very cautious during this step and use protective kitchen gloves - Add cream very slowly - Do not rush)
• Continue to add cream until everything is well incorporated
• Return to heat and cook for about 2-3 mins
• Pour into bowl and add salt and mix well
• Let cool slightly and add butter 1 piece at a time
• Allow to cool completely

INGREDIENTS FOR CHOCOLATE FROSTING
500 Grms good quality semi-sweet chocolate melted
2 sticks of unsalted butter room temperature
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup icing sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder

METHOD

• Whisk together cocoa powder with 2 tbs of warm water and set aside
• Beat sugar and butter with a pinch of salt until light and fluffy
• Gradually add melted chocolate and cocoa powder and mix until well combined
• Let stand at least 30 mins before using

FINAL STEP :

Slice cakes horizontally so that you get 4 round slabs
Spread the caramel sauce on top of each layer and on top of final layer
Decorate with chocolate frosting as per your liking
Sprinkle some salt sparsely on top of cake
Refrigerate

Japanese Cheesecake

Ever since I saw Japanese cheesecake in the bakery section at the Chinese store, I was fascinated by the texture. I wondered how it would taste like, as from the look, it did not resemble a traditional cheesecake at all but more of a sponge cake. I finally found a recipe and tried it out. The result was light, airy and fluffy cake. Not overly sweet , best served with fruits .



INGREDIENTS :

250 grms cream cheese
6 eggs separated
1/2 cup cream or full cream milk
3 tbs butter
1/2 cup flour
2 tbs corn flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp  tartar powder
2 tsp vanilla extract

METHOD

• Melt butter with milk in a double boiler
• Add cream cheese (left at room temperature )
• Mix everything well and there should be no lumps
• Allow to cool
• Add egg yolks one at a time
• Slowly add flour and corn flour and mix well
• Add vanilla extract
• Mixture should now be smooth . Set aside
• Whisk egg whites on high speed
• Add tartar powder and keep beating the eggs
• Add sugar slowly
• Egg whites would have doubled in volume and very thick at this stage
• Gently fold into the cream cheese egg yolk mixture
• Pour into mold that was lined with parchment paper
• Bake au Bain Marie at 300F for 1 1/2 hours

Allow to cool and serve with fruits



Clam Thin crust pizza

As I was watching "You gotta eat here" show on Food TV, I was drooling just looking at the host biting into a thin crust clam pizza that looked divine. I tried making my own version from what I saw that day and the result I have to say was fantastic ! There is nothing like home made pizza dough. However, if you find it too time consuming you may use bakery bought ones. This recipe yields 2 thin crust pizza dough .

 

 

 

 

INGREDIENTS

 

THIN CRUST PIZZA DOUGH :

3 Cups all purpose flour plus extra for dusting

1/4 cup of whole wheat flour

1 package quick rise yeast (2 1/2 tsp)

1 tbs sugar

1 tbs salt

1 1/4 cups warm water

2 tbs olive oil

2 tbs cornmeal

 

TOPPING :

2 tbs olive oil

1 tbs chopped garlic

1 can baby clams drained

2 tbs lemon juice

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup chopped fresh flat leaves parsley

2 cups good quality Buffalo mozzarella cheese grated

1/2 cup Romano cheese grated

 

METHOD :

• In a food processor pulse flour , yeast, salt and sugar
• With motor running, add water and olive oil in a steady stream and then pulse until dough comes together in a rough mass
• If the dough does not come together, add 1-2 tbs of water and pulse again
• Let rest for 5-10 mins and pulse again for 25-30 secs
• The dough should not be sticky , transfer to a lightly floured surface and form into a smooth ball
• Place dough in a large oiled bowl , turn to coat with oil and cover with plastic wrap
• Let the dough rise and double in size for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours
• Turn onto a lightly floured work surface punch it down and divide into 2 equal pieces
• Allow to rest for another 10 mins before proceeding with toppings

NEXT STEP :

• Drain clams and add chopped parsley leaves, lemon juice , olive oil salt and pepper set aside
• Heat oven to 500 degrees F
• Spread Pizza dough on tray . For an extra thin crust , prick with fork all around (skip this step if you like it thicker)
• Brush with the olive oil
• Sprinkle the edge with cornmeal for an extra crispy edge
• Add chopped garlic
• Add 1 cup of cheese Followed by the clams
• Add the rest of the cheese including the Romano cheese on top
• Bake until edge is golden brown and cheese is bubbly (Around 10 mins )
• Allow to rest for at least 2 mins before slicing

 

 

 





Gujrati style yoghurt - Shrikhand

Yoghurt is strained overnight and once all the water has been removed , you are left with a thick , creamy product . This is whipped with sugar and from there just use your imagination to flavor this popular Indian dessert. From mango pulp to saffron , from pistachio to cardamom , you can make it as simple or as elaborate as you want. Best served cold as a counterpoint to hot and spicy dishes I have used pomegranate and home made pomegranate coulis that complemented exquisitely with the sweetness and richness of the thick yoghurt .

INGREDIENTS

1 tub of good quality organic full cream yoghurt (Liberty or organic meadows are quite good)
2/3 cups of sugar
1/2 tsp of cardamom powder
Pomegranate seeds
2tbs lemon juice
1 tsp of cornstarch


METHOD

• Use a cheese cloth and hang yoghurt over bowl to drain overnight
• Discard whey and take thick yoghurt left in cheese cloth and put in a bowl
• Add sugar and whip thoroughly
• Add cardamom powder and mix well
• Take a cup of pomegranate seeds and press in a sieve to get around 1/2 cup of juice
• Add 2 tbs of lemon juice and cook on low heat
• Add cornstarch until just thick enough , remove from heat and sieve to remove skim on top
• Pour whipped yoghurt in glass, add pomegranate coulis and more yoghurt on top
• Finish with pomegranate seeds



NOTES
Make a mango coulis instead of pomegranate and serve with fresh mango pieces when in season.
Use saffron instead of cardamom for a bright yellow color