Pastry
150g frozen Nuttelex
100g pure icing sugar (not icing mixture)
250 Gluten Free Self Raising Flour
100g pure icing sugar (not icing mixture)
250 Gluten Free Self Raising Flour
1/4 tsp Xanthan Gum
1/4 tsp cooking salt
1 egg beaten lightly
40gm almond or hazelnut meal
1/4 tsp cooking salt
1 egg beaten lightly
40gm almond or hazelnut meal
Lemon Filling
1 cup caster sugar
120gm frozen Nuttelex chopped
8 free range egg yolks
Juice of 3 lemons grown in a Nana's backyard
120gm frozen Nuttelex chopped
8 free range egg yolks
Juice of 3 lemons grown in a Nana's backyard
1 T finely chopped lemon zest (from the lemons from the Nana)
For the pastry...
Sift the gluten free flour, icing sugar, salt, almond meal and Xanthan Gum, cover airtight and chill.
With the finger tips rub the butter into the floury mix until just combined, it is OK if it is not fully mixed. Make a well and add the egg. Mix until it starts to clumo together then just pack it all together into a ball, shove it in a glad bag and put it in the fridge for a few hours.
When you are ready pull it out again and prepare your tins. For individual tins you will need to cut the ball into eight. Roll out the pastry between two sheets of happy wrap. Cut a circle for the base then a strip for the edges, it will probably fall apart, that's OK just push it gently against the sides of the tin. Do not poke it too much. It does not have to look perfect on the inside. Place back in the fridge for 20 minutes then cook in an oven at 180°C for 10-15 mins.
for the Lemon Filling...
You are making a lemon curd here so melt the Nuttelex and the sugar in a metal bowl over a pot of simmering water. When it is fully mixed remove it and let it cool to warm.
Add the yolks all in one go and whisk quickly until thoroughly mixed. Add the lemon juice and whisk over the hot water for about 8 minutes. You need to whisk all the time so the egg does not cook . If you are a real Nana that will be fine but if you are a wimpy man or a fairweather cook you will need an electric mixer on very low. You need to whisk it and cook it until it reaches Sabayon stage - when you raise the whisk and make a figure 8 you should still see the beginning of the first 8 when you finish the second one. If you have failed you can now pass it through a sieve then add the lemon zest, otherwise just add the lemon zest. Pour the mix into the 8 mini flan tins. Place in the oven at 180°C for around 10-12 minutes. they will rise about 1/2 cm then fall when they cool. When they are showing just the slightest colour, remove them and cool.
Eat them for breakfast with strong black coffee.
This recipe adapted from BestRecipes.com
Ingredients
1 Pork Belly (bone left in and must be fresh not frozen)
2 T Olive Oil
2 T Sea Salt
10 star anise
2 Onions chopped
1 Clove garlic rough chopped
1 Tsp Fennel seeds
Zest of one lemon
Sauce
1 Cup Chicken Stock
1/2 Cup Orange Juice
1/3 C Red wine vinegar
10 Peppercorns
1 T Honey
Garnish
1 Bunch Parsley
3 or 4 cubes of cold butter
Method
Rub olive oil into the pork skin. If it is not already scored you need to use a scalpel or very sharp knife. Cut in one inch diamonds. Rub sea salt into the skin and in between the layers. Place in the fridge for 30 mins.
Mix remaining ingredients together and place in the bottom of a roasting pan. Place on stove top and saute for about 3 mins. I used an upside down stainless steamer tray to keep the ingredients in one place and to stop the onion form burning.
Place pork on top with skin side up. Add 2 cups water.
Place in oven at 250°C and cook for 30 mins then drop temp to 150°C keep an eye on the water level, ensure there is always 1/2 cm water in the bottom of the tray. After 2 hours remove and cool reserving the pan juices and other ingredients. Chill over night.
When ready to serve place in oven at 160°C (I took the pork out of the fridge and sat it on the bench for an hour to take the chill out of it first ). Place sauce ingredients in a pot with the reserved pan contents and bring to the boil. Simmer for 10 minutes and strain.
Finish sauce with 2 or 3 cubes of butter and chopped parsley.
Makes 10
Ingredients
190g Nuttelex (melted for 30 secs in microwave)
60g Gluten free self raising flour
1/4 tsp Xanthan Gum
1 1/3 cups (200g) pure icing sugar (not icing mixture)
120g almond meal
5 egg whites
finely chopped zest of 1 lemon
Preparation
Prepare friand pan by spraying olive oil then dusting with sifted gluten free flour. Tap out
excess well.
Heat oven to 180C
190g Nuttelex (melted for 30 secs in microwave)
60g Gluten free self raising flour
1/4 tsp Xanthan Gum
1 1/3 cups (200g) pure icing sugar (not icing mixture)
120g almond meal
5 egg whites
finely chopped zest of 1 lemon
Preparation
Prepare friand pan by spraying olive oil then dusting with sifted gluten free flour. Tap out
excess well.
Heat oven to 180C
Method
Place egg whites in a small bowl and whisk them for one minute with a fork. Add to dry ingredients with melted Nuttelex and zest, stirring until completely combined.
Fill each friand two-thirds full. Bake for 25-35 minutes until golden and a skewer comes out clean. Remove from the oven, leave in the pan for 5 minutes, then run a knife around them and turn out onto a wire rack.
Dust with icing sugar when serving.
One rainy Saturday afternoon I decided that duck was a requirement for dinner that evening.
I bought a fresh duck from the mad chefs at Market Gourmet and went to see the cook (whose name may be Tee) at Tee's Trading. I asked what I could do with the duck so it could be eaten tonight. He kind of laughed but was a bit cranky with me and shook his head. I quickly added "or tomorrow night?" He gave me his secret recipe for the BBQ Duck he cooks at home.
Ingredients for stuffing:
- 1 fresh duck - washed and cloaka fat removed
- 1 small bunch shallots - cut in 10 cm pieces (just use the first 20cm)
- 5 Star Anise ( crushed roughly in a mortar and pestle then toasted in a dry pan)
- matchbook size piece of fresh ginger (smashed)
- large tablespoon of sugar
- small tablespoon of salt
- 3 tablespoons of blended bean paste (available instore)
- 10 coriander seeds (my addition - crushed roughly in a mortar and pestle then toasted in a dry pan)
I was told to put all these ingredients into the cavity of the duck then tie up the hole.
The next step was to bl
anch it in boiling water and I had images of stuffing dribbling out into the poaching liquid so I made a makeshift needle out of a bamboo skewer and after rubbing the wet parts of the stuffing into the cavity I pushed the shallots in and sewed the duck up. And here's a picture boys and girls.
The next stage is to place the duck in a pot of boiling salted water for 5 or 10 minutes. Sadly
I was house sitting and did not have a
pot big enough so I used a thin roasting pan and half filled it with boiling water. I carefully placed the duck in and poked it around a bit to stop it sticking. after 4 minutes I turned it over using a spatula and tongs, being careful not to pierce the cooked skin.
Everything was going well until I turned it over and the duck got a bit stuck on the bottom. Definitely not something you would serve in a restaurant but for sunday dinner with some duck pancakes this was going to be just fine.
Once both sides were cooked I took it out of the pan/pot and let it cool down. I noticed as it was cooling down that clear pure duck fat was sweating out of the pores of the duck. Yum! I patted it dry several times then let it completely cool and patted it dry again with paper towels. There was a lot of ducky fatty sweaty stuff under the armpits so I spent a lot of time getting that cleaned up.
Next it needed to refrigerate overnight to get all of the flavour of star anise and ginger into the flesh.
Skin basting sauce:
- 1/4 cup Chinese BBQ Sauce
- 1/4 cup Plum Sauce
OK so I am making up the quantity/ratio for this marinade as Tee was unclear but we will see how it goes.
Preheat oven to 180° C, baste the duck with the sauce and place in the oven in a baking tray breast down. Drop the temperature to 100°C and roast for 45 minutes. Flip the duck and baste again then cook for a further 45 minutes.
Drop the temperature to 80°C, baste and cook for a further 30 mins then flip over, baste and cook for a further 30 mins. Check for doneness by slicing into skin. Cook for longer if required.
I have no idea if this will be a crispy skin duck or not but will update this post tomorrow...
Well it turned out pretty tasty but some modifications are needed to make this better.
First the stuffing needs more Star Anise, probably double the amount
Secondly the marinade could probably go on the night before especially as this did not create a crsipy skin duck.
Finally the cooking process could include a lid at the first stages to get more of a wet cooking to really get the duck tender.
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