Fig Tart with Pistachio Crumble

Gary Mehigan's Fig Tart with Pistachio Crumble

For the recipe visit Masterchef's website
My first attempt.....folks loved it....

Sweet Short Crust Pastry

Pistachio Crumble

Frangipane Filling

Fresh Figs

Spoon in the filling and place the figs

Fig Tart 

Fig Tart with Pistachio Crumble 

Shakshuka - North African B'fast/Brunch

Shakshuka - Eggholic's delight 


I love eggs and I get a high when I consume a egg dish. Got bored of eating the Indian egg curries, I decided to try something new. I was racking my brain in search of an egg-(de)serving recipe. I vaguely recalled watching a North African egg dish - Shakshuka. It was mouth watering I said to myself....and began searching my fridge for ingredients. Its a simple dish. All you need it few basic ingredients like fresh tomatoes, garlic, cumin powder, paprika or Harissa paste and of course 'Egg'.


I did not have Harissa paste nor do I know any shop in Chennai that sells this kind of stuff. So I read few notes online and decided to make something similar at home a la India style. 


Shakshuka is a dish of egg poached or cooked in a spicy tomato sauce. 


Ingredients
Fresh Tomatoes - 4 nos.
Onion - 1 no.
Cumin Powder - 2 tbsp
Garlic - 4 to 5 cloves
Green Chili - 1 (deseed the Chili)
Olive Oil - 1/4 cup
Harissa Paste - 2 tsp
Tomato Juice - 1/2 cup (You can buy the ready made tetra pack juice without sugar)
Eggs - 3 nos.
Salt 


For Harissa Paste
Dry Red Chilies - 4 to 5
Olive oil - 2 tbsp
Cumin Powder - 1 tsp
Coriander Powder - 1 tsp 
Salt - 1/2 tsp 
Garlic - 2 cloves

Directions:


1. Harissa Paste - Soak the red chilies in hot water for 15 minutes. Remove the stem and seeds. In a food processor first combine the red chillies, olive oil and salt. To this add the remaining spices and give it a nice pulse. Remove and store this in a container. 


2. Boil of pot of hot water. Once the water comes to a nice boil add the tomatoes and turn off the heat. Let the tomatoes remain in the hot water for 2 to 3 minutes. Now remove the tomatoes and peel the skin. Once the skin is peeled, we need to slice the tomatoes and remove the seeds.

3. In a pan heat some olive oil and saute onions until translucent. This should take 2 to 3 minutes. To this add chopped garlic and saute for another 1 minute. Once the garlic starts turning brown add the chopped green chili. Saute this on medium heat for 1 minute. Now add cumin powder, Harissa paste and cook for 2 minutes. To this add the deseeded tomatoes and cook for 4 minutes. Once the tomatoes begin to soften add 1/2 cup of tomato juice and let the mixture simmer on low heat. 

4. Cook the tomato mixture on low heat for 6 to 8 minutes. Now crack 3 eggs on top of this mixture and cover it with a lid. Cook this for about 3 minutes. 

5. Once the yolk starts to firm up, use a spoon to baste the eggs with the tomato sauce without disturbing the yolk. 

......And the Shakshuka is ready to eat. Traditionally it is eaten with pita bread or any freshly made bread loaf. Folks at home had this with multi-grain Roti.

Cherry Clafoutis with Orange Cream

Cherry Clafoutis with Orange Cream -  Inspired by Junior Master Chef Australia 

The other day I was watching Junior Master Chef mystery box challenge. Siena a 9 year old (the youngest contestant) chose cherry as her main ingredient and prepared Clafoutis....and the judges loved it. I was motivated by the little girl to try this at home.

I had a pound of cherries left after making my Panna Cotta. So decided to give this a shot. I did a bit of reading on the net and also looked up on Raymond Blanc's recipe. Though I did not have Kirsch to marinate the cherries mentioned in his recipe. I pitted the cherries and marinated it with 2 table spoons of sugar for about 15 to 20 mins. 


Cooking Time: 35 to 30 minutes
Prep Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

Clafoutis

Red Cherries (pitted) - 500 gms

Eggs - 3 nos.

Sugar - 1/2 cup

Powdered Sugar - 1 tbsp

Milk - 1/2 cup

Fresh Cream - 3/4 cup

Flour (Maida) - 1/2 cup

Salt - 1 tsp

Vanilla essence - 1 tsp

Orange Cream

Fresh Cream (whipping cream) - 150 ml

Orange rind - 2 tsp

Orange juice - 3 tbsp

Icing sugar - 2 tbsp

Directions

Preheat the oven to 175°C (350 °F) and place the rack in the middle. 

1. In a bowl combine the pitted cherries and 3 tbsp of sugar and set aside. 

2. In a mixing bowl whisk 3 eggs for 2 to 3 minutes until it is fluffy. To this add 1/2 cup sugar, vanilla essence & pinch of salt and whisk for 1 minute until the sugar is combined. Add 1/2 cup flour and whisk at a little higher speed for 3 minutes. Slowly add the milk and cream and whisk until the mixture looks smooth and well combined. This should take about 2 to 3 minutes. Let the mixture rest or tap the bowl until the air bubbles disappear. 

3. Coat the bottom of the baking dish with melted butter. Sprinkle powdered sugar and shake well to coat the bottom of the baking dish. Now line the bottom with the pitted cherries. This should be in a single layer. 

4. Now pour the Clafoutis mixture on the lined cherries. 

5. Now bake this for about 35 to 40 minutes. 

6. For the orange cream we need about 2 tsp of orange rind and 3 tbsp of fresh orange juice. To this add 2 tbsp of icing sugar and combine until the sugar is dissolved. To this add fresh cream and whisk until you get soft peaks and put it away in the fridge. 

7. Remove the Clafoutis from the oven and let it cool down before serving. 

8.  Serve a slice of Clafoutis dusted with icing sugar and fresh orange cream. You can garnish using fresh cherries and an orange petal. 

Its a beautiful French Dessert. I must admit the flavors of The French Land are very subtle. We need to train our taste buds.... :)

Panna Cotta Cravings.....

Panna Cotta 

I have been craving for Panna Cotta for 3 months now. There is this lovely Italian place near my house, which serves yummy thin crust pizzas and 'Panna Cotta'. Also this is my dear friend Christina's favoritestt dessert :) So decided to give it a shot. 


The other day I  was out picking up vegetables at my neighborhood super market, I saw a bunch of fresh red cherries on the rack. So made a secret memory note. My partner hates to stack fresh produce unnecessarily. He is of the view that - only if this fresh produce will be used in the next 12 hours we can buy it or else it stays on the rack. 


Panna Cotta - simply means cooked cream. I have a sweet tooth like once in a blue moon. I like my desserts simple and not too heavy. I love berries....I dream of being surrounded by baskets full of it some day when I wake up from my bed. But if your in Chennai, where the weather is hot and sunny year round its hard to get your hand on fresh berries or cherries :)


Lets cut to the chase...The Making of Panna Cotta


Total Time - 30 minutes
Prep Time - 15 minutes
Serves - 2


Ingredients
For Panna Cotta
Fresh Cream - 200 ml
Milk - 70 ml
Sugar - 50 ml
Vanilla essence - 3 to 4 drops
Powdered Gelatin - 1 tbsp

For Red Cherry - Cranberry Sauce
Fresh pitted red cherries - 10 to 12 cherries
Cranberry Juice - 180 ml
Sugar - 50gm
Fresh Rosemary Spring

Directions:

For Panna Cotta:

In a thick base cook pot combine cream (I usually use Amul cream even if other recipes mention double cream or full cream), milk, sugar and vanilla essence. On medium heat keep stirring and cooking the mixture until the sugar dissolves. We should never let this boil. All we need is to combine the mixture well and let the sugar dissolve. This should take 6 to 8 minutes. 

Now the most important part - Gelatin. In a small bowl place 2 to 3 tbsp of cold water. Sprinkle the gelatin over the water and let it sit there for 2 to 3 minutes until the gelatin becomes fluffy and gel like. Do not prepare this in advance. The gelatin my soak up too much water and loose its tendency to help the mixture set. You can prepare this just 5 minutes after putting the cream mixture on low medium heat. 

The cream mixture should take 6 to 8 minutes to cook. Turn off and remove from the heat. Squeeze out the fluffy gelatin from water and add it to the mixture while it is still warm. Keep stirring until all the gelatin dissolves and is fully incorporated in to the cooked cream mixture. Keep this aside and let it cool. We can see the mixture slowly starting to firm or set. At this juncture we need to pour them into ramekins or steel mould. We can use any steel cup or 'Katori' from our kitchen.

Steel mould is recommended as it easy for us to slid the Panna Cotta off once it sets. Tuck this away into the freezer. I turn my refrigirator to just up to maximum temperature (max. cool) and  let the Panna Cotta set. It takes about 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours to set. If you are making it for dinner, we can prepare this overnight and store in the freezer. 

For Cranberry - Cherry Sauce

In a small saucepan combine, cranberry juice, fresh pitted red cherries and sugar. Cook until the cherries are soft and the sauce turns deep red and shinny. If you like the sauce plain with out the cherries you can strain it and use the sauce. I usually like to have a nice bite of the fruit so I leave some behind to spoon around my Panna Cotta while I plate it up. 

Panna Cotta with Red Cherry - Cranberry Sauce

Remove the Panna Cotta from the freezer. Let is rest outside for 2 to 3 minutes before serving. For the panna cotta to slide out of the mould easily, I suggest dunk your knife in warm water and run it around the mould just to loosen it up a bit. Now turn over the steel mould over the serving plate and give a gentle tap on all sides.

Now spoon the cooled sauce over the Panna Cotta and around it. Garnish with fresh cherries and a spring of rosemary :)

Like i said i like to have a bite of the cooked cherries...:)

Well I skipped all mundane things to eat for dinner and had a generous helping of sauce and had this for my dinner :)

Hope to perfect it in my next batch.....

Tulsi of India = Basil of Italy :)

Tulsi of India = Basil of Italy J

My first post - The story goes like this. A weekend telephone conversation with a close friend led me to finally start my own food blog . Thanks Prathiba J

I was in a coffee shop meeting my colleague. The coffee shop was a stone’s throw away from a super market which sells exquisite hard to find ingredients in Chennai. All through the discussion I had ‘Basil’ popping in and out of my head. I could not resist any further; soon after my meeting,  I walked to the supermarket and up to the fresh herbs counter hoping to find a bunch of fresh basil leaves. You guessed it right - It was long gone…. But I was determined to get basil and cook up a pasta meal.  I got into an auto (auto rickshaw) to get home. I turned a corner to reach my place. I spotted two women who were selling flowers.  Just then, ‘Tulsi’ popped up in my head. Yes guys the ubiquitous Tulsi!

So lesson for the day - Tulsi of India = Basil of Italy J

I found my herb J

And what better way to start. Pasta it is. So here you go...

Recipe: 

Penne with Tomato Tulsi = Basil – Walnut Pesto

Total Time: 40 minutes

Prep time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

Tomato Puree – 250 ml

Fresh Basil (tulsi) – 1 cup

Walnuts (coarsely chopped) – ½ cup

Garlic Cloves – 5 to 6 finely chopped

Olive oil (for the pesto) – 5 tbsp

Pepper (freshly ground) – 1 tsp

Dry Italian Herb Mix – 1 tbsp

Dry Basil – 1 tsp

Chili Flakes – 1 tsp

Parmesan Cheese (grated) - 3 to 4 tbsp

Penne Pasta – 250 gm

Water

Salt 

Vegetables

I like to add some crunch to my pasta so I toss in some stir fried vegetables to my pasta.

Red & yellow bell peppers - 1 cup

Broccoli – 1 cup

Olive oil

Salt

Pepper

Method:

Sauce:

Pesto: In a food processor, combine fresh basil, walnut, pepper, salt, 1 garlic clove, and oil olive. Grind this to a nice grainy mixture or until the basil is evenly chopped. If you find the pesto dry or chunky you can add in more olive oil until all the ingredients are blended well.

In a pan heat some olive oil. To this add 4 finely chopped garlic cloves. Wait till the garlic starts to turn golden. To this add the tomato puree. On a medium heat, cook the tomato puree for 5 to 6 minutes and keep stirring occasionally. The tomato puree begins to slowly bubble; at this point we need add the blended pesto. Let it cook for 2 minutes.  Wait till the pesto is fully incorporated with the tomato puree. To this add 1 tbsp of salt, dry Italian herb mix, dry basil and chili flakes. Cook this on medium heat for 2-3 minutes. 

Dry basil is optional. I like to have a strong taste of basil so I add in a bit of the dried herb to build the palette.

Pasta:

Cook 250 gms of Penne pasta as per the cooking instructions on the bag.

I cook my pasta this way – Fill a large cooking pot with water and add salt & olive oil. Taste the water to see if there is enough salt.  Once the water comes to a boil, add the pasta of choice and cook for 10 minutes or until al dente (this means when you bite the pasta it should be a bit chewy & firm). Drain the past and keep it aside. You can save half a cup of the hot pasta water.

Stir fried Vegetables

Roughly chop the bell peppers. Clean the broccoli florets and cook them for 5 minutes in a pot of boiling water. Add a pinch of salt to the water. Drain and keep it aside.

In a pan heat some olive oil. To this add roughly chopped bell peppers. Cook this for 2 minutes. Once this is cooked add broccoli. Season it with pinch of salt and pepper. Cook the vegetables for 2 more minutes.

Penne with Tomato Basil – Walnut Pesto

To the drained pasta, add tomato basil-walnut pesto, 2 to 3 tbsp of the hot pasta water and 2 tbsp of olive oil and toss until the pasta is well coated with sauce.  At this stage toss in the stir fried vegetables. Add the grated Parmesan. 

Voila – Penne with Tomato Basil – Walnut Pesto is ready. 

Turquoise Wedges

Turquoise Wedges - I wear my turquoise glasses and my food journey begins....wish tiwsh !