recipes

Makes 2 loaves

Ingredients:

500g Eureka White Bread flour
500g Eureka Wholewheat or Brown bread flour
800-850g luke warm water
180g levain (100% hydration sourdough starter)
22g fine sea salt

Formula:

Mix the levain in the morning to be ready for baking by late afternoon/early evening.

Late afternoon mix flour and water together to autolyse. Leave for 3C min — 1 hour before adding the levain and the salt.

Imcorporate all the ingredients very well and start to build gluten in the dough either mixing by hand (10-15 min) or gently with a bread mixer (3 min).

Th e dough needs 3-4 turns before you leave it in a cool spot in the kitchen (21 degrees) overnight. Be very careful of temperature! If is too hot the dough will ferment too quickly and be ruined by the morning.

Thee next morning the dough should be bubbly and well rounded on top. Turn it out gently with wet hands onto a slightly wet surface. Using your dough scraper cut the dough mass into two equal halves. Gently turn and shape into 2 rounds using minimal force, just your dough scraper. Leave to rest on the bench for 15- 20 minutes.

Prepare your loaf tins with oil or non-stick spray. Line with baking paper.

Gently shape and roll your loaves into tubes about the same length as your tins. Roll in a mixture of semolina and mixed seeds. Place in tins and cover with a dishcloth. Leave to proof in a cool area of the kitchen for 2-3 hours (depending on temperature) or proof in the fridge until ready to bake. The bread should double in volume during the final proof.

Heat the oven to 240 degrees. Turn down to 220-200 degrees when the bread goes in. Bake for about 1 hour until a skewer comes out clean.

DATE BALLS Tuis magazine
400 g butter
250 ml sugar
10 ml vanilla
500 g dates chopped
2 egg yolks
salt
2 packet marie biscuits crushed
fine coconut
butter, sugar vanilla and dates in a saucepan
low heat, untill melted
bring up to the boil for 10 – 15 min
add salt and yolks
take off the heat add the biscuits
let it cool roll into balls
let rolled balls sit on paper for a short while for butter to drain
roll in coconut
keep in fridge or freezer or in airtight container

Spiced cookies with white chocolate
300g flour
2ml ginger
2ml ground allspice
5ml ground cinnamon
180g butter
150g light brown sugar
1 egg
Sift flour and spices together
Beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy
Add the egg and beat well
Mix in your flower mixture by hand (I dont)
Wrap dough and leave in fridge for hour
Roll into balls or cut shapes (fish shape for Liam)
Bake for 12-15 minutes at 180
Decorate with melted white chocolate

Spice cookies (inspired by Danish cooking) XMAS BAKING

250g butter softened
250g castor sugar
2 eggs
5ml each ground cardomom and cinnamon
2ml each cinnamon and nutmeg
pinch of ground cloves, white pepper and salt
4 x 250ml flour and a little extra for dusting
Preheat oven to 180 line 3 baking trays
Beat butter and sugar together till light
Beat in the eggs one at a time until well combined
Add flour and spices to egg mixture, a cup at the time
Roll dough into walnut size balls or roll out and make star shapes
Bake for 10+12 min until light brown
A light dusting of powdered sugar is a delicious extra

800g chicken fillet, beef fillet, prawn, pork or fish
1heaped tbsp green curry paste
1 can coconut milk
½ can milk
2 green peppers cut into chunks
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tsp dark soy sauce
½ tsp white sugar
1 tsp palm sugar
3 tbsp oil
1 tsp corn flour
Salt
½ tsp crushed kaffir lime fruit (if available)
1 tbsp crushed kaffir lime leaves
½ cup  roughly chopped fresh basil

If using chicken, beef or pork  – slice across the grain into ½ cm slices. If fish, cut into 2 cm square chunks; or , if using prawns, shell, leaving the tail on.

To make marinade, put the light and dark soy sauces, the white sugar, a pinch of the salt and one tbsp of the oil into a bowl and add the meat or fish. Mix to coat. Leave for at least 30 mins.

Heat the rest of the oil in the wok. Add the green curry paste and  kaffir lime fruit then the marinaded meat or fish. Stir. When nearly cooked (about 3 – 5 mins) add the coconut milk and the milk. Bring to boil, stir, add kaffir lime leaves, palm sugar and salt to taste.

Simmer for about 5 mins. Add the green peppers and cook for a further 2 mins. Add the sweet basil, turn off the heat and serve immediately with rice.

800g beef fillet, chicken breast or 400g each of squid and shelled prawns
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tsp dark soy sauce
1 tsp palm sugar
½ tsp sugar
4 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp oyster sauce
3 fresh chillies (for mild – 5 for hot)
3 tbsp crushed kaffir lime leaves
1 cup chopped fresh basil (or 1 tbsp dry basil)
½ cup blanched bamboo shoots
1 cup frozen (or fresh) peas
6 large cloves garlic
1 tbsp chopped fresh ginger
Salt
1 cup water

Finely slice the beef (chicken or squid) diagonally across the grain. Make a mixture of the two soy sauces, the sugar, one tablespoon of the oil and a pinch of salt and marinade the beef, chicken or squid.

Put the garlic, chillies and ginger in a mortar and pestle and mash together.

Put the remaining oil in a hot wok and add the contents of the mortar. Fry for about one or two minutes till the garlic begins to go golden.

Add the beef, chicken or squid/prawns into the wok and stir for about five minutes.

Add the blanched  bamboo shoots and the peas to the wok and stir for one minute.

Add the oyster sauce and water – when boiling add the kaffir lime leaves and stir.

Add salt to taste.

Add the chopped basil, stir and switch off the gas.

Serve with rice.

1 large or 2 small chicken breasts sliced finely and marinaded for about 20 mins in:
1 tsp cornflour
2 tbsp light soy sauce
½ tsp dark soy sauce
1 tsp oil
½ tsp sugar
2 pinches salt
4 large lettuce leaves sliced finely
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1tbsp light soy sauce
½ dark soy sauce
1 tbsp palm sugar
½ cup mint leaves
40 strands rice noodles boiled about 7 mins until al dente
6 large cloves garlic
4 tablespoons  vegetable oil
8 round sheets rice paper wraps soaked for 1 minute
salt

and
1 tablespoon ginger
3 sticks fresh lemon grass (or ½ cup dried lemon grass soaked in water for about ½ hour)
6 large cloves garlic
all ground together in a mortar and pestle

Finely chop the six cloves of garlic and fry in 2 tbsp of the oil  till golden. Pour over the noodles. (Keep a tiny bit of the oil for rubbing on the finished spring rolls).

Using the rest of the oil fry the mashed together ginger, lemon grass and garlic for about two minutes or until slightly golden. Add marinaded chicken and stir for about two minutes then add about 4 tbsp of  water to the wok. Add the palm sugar, 3 pinches of salt,  the oyster sauce,  and the light and dark soy sauce. Carry on cooking for about 5 mins. Remove from pan into a bowl and leave to cool.

Carefully lay out a rice noodle wrap and put in lettuce, 5 strands of noodles, chicken mix and mint. Roll into a large sausage and rub with a little of the oil.

Filling
Minced pork 200g
Carrots (tiny cubed) 4 tbsp.
Peas 4 tbsp.
Chopped fresh coriander 1 tbsp.
Whole cloves garlic x 2
Black peppercorns crushed ½ tsp.
Cornflour 1 tsp.
Soy Sauce 1 tsp.
Salt x 1 big pinch
Sugar x ½ tsp
Sesame Oil 1 tbsp.
Oyster Sauce 1 tbsp.

Parcels
Spring Roll Pastry 4 sheets cut in to quarters
Sunflower Oil for deep frying

Prepare a stack of spring roll pastry sheets by cutting whole sheets into quarters and stacking them loosely under a clean moist cloth.

In a mortar and pestle, grind the garlic cloves and the peppercorns into a paste.  Put the paste and all of the filling ingredients together into a large bowl and mix thoroughly.

Take out a quarter sheet of spring roll pastry and place a  teaspoon of the filling in the middle of the sheet.

Gather the corners of the sheet together above the lump of filling and crimp the parcel closed above the filling.  The pastry will bond shut over the filling and the excess should be left fanned out loosely.

Make up as many parcels as pastry and mix allows, the heat Sunflower oil to medium temp.  Drop the parcels in a few at a time and cook until golden brown.

Serve with Sweet and Sour Sauce.

600g beef fillet
1 tsp. ground chilli
1 whole onion chopped into thin half moon shaped slices
4 tbsp. spring onion
1 cup of roughly chopped fresh mint
4 cloves of thinly sliced fresh garlic

Sauce
10 tbsp. lemon juice
10 tbsp. light soy sauce
1 tbsp. sugar
½ tsp. salt

Slice beef thinly across the grain and lay loosely in a baking pan.  Place under the grill and gently cook until all meat is tender and light pink, still rare.

Mix all of the sauce ingredients together in a jug to make a marinade.

Pour marinade over the meat and toss together.

Add raw onions and garlic and stir into the marinated beef.  Sprinkle chilli over the ingredients.  Add fresh mint and spring onion and toss all of the ingredients together Serve straight away on a bed of boiled rice.

2 large green peppers cut into quarters.
200g minced pork
½ teaspoon black pepper
3 large cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon light soy sauce
3 drops dark soy sauce
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 teaspoon cornflour
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoon oyster sauce
1 teaspoon chopped coriander
Big pinch salt

Crush the garlic and black pepper together in a mortar and pestle. Mix all the ingredients except the green peppers together in a bowl.

Fill each green pepper quarter with the pork mince mixture and fry in a little oil pork side down first, then turn.  About three minutes each side.

Serve with dark soy and oil sauce (see below) and lemon wedges.

Dark Soy and Oil Sauce:
4 tablespoons dark soy sauce
4 tablespoons oil (any cooking oil)
1 tablespoon sugar

Mix the sugar with the dark soy sauce. Heat the oil until very hot and pour into the soy and sugar mixture. Put in a sealed jar or container and shake until creamy.