Chocolate & Sour Cherry Cake

Ingredients

250g butter
6 eggs, separated
150g dark chocolate, chopped (60%+ cocoa solids)
1o0g dark chocolate, chopped (60%+ cocoa solids) , extra
2 tbspn cocoa
100g brown sugar
100g caster sugar
50g hazelnut meal
3 tbspn plain flour
200g sour cherries*, plus extra for garnish
hazelnuts to garnish
thick cream, to serve

Try good delis & continental food stores for sour cherries in a jar; or frozen from your supermarket (chop roughly before use)

Method

Preheat the oven to 175 degrees c.
Line a springform cake tin.
Melt 150g chocolate with the butter and cocoa over a double-boiler.
Stir well.  Once melted, set aside.

Whisk egg yolks and sugars till light and fluffy.
Fold yolk mix into chocolate mix.
Fold hazelnut meal and flour into chocolate mix.

Whisk egg whites to a soft peak.
Add 1/3 of whites to chocolate mix and fold gently.
Add remaining whites and fold till just combined.
Add 100g chocolate.
Pour into the tin.
Drain cherries and pat dry on paper towel.
Sprinkle over the cake.
Bake for 40-45 minutes.
Rest before cutting.
Dust with cocoa, garnish with cherries and hazelnuts.
Serve with thick cream.

Serves 10-12.

Mussel, Potato & Saffron Tortilla

When I heard the name of the dish I was dubious but then I saw it and immediately it conjured up a sweet fragrant flavour & smell.  And it was a very simple dish to prepare.

Ingredients

5 large eggs
3 large waxy spuds – peeled and sliced thinly using a mandolin
1 small onion sliced
1 tablespoon chopped lemon thyme
1/2 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 kg fresh raw mussels quickly blanched to allow you to easily remove from the shell but being careful not to cook them at this stage, removed from the shell ** this is a 1 kg bag of raw mussels in the shell so would probably be about 200g mussel meat.

A pinch saffron (optional)
Olive oil for frying

Method

Heat the olive oil in a wide saucepan (the oil should be about 4 cm deep). Add a layer of thinly sliced potatoes sprinkled with sea salt, then some sliced onion and finally a little more potato and salt, cook over a medium heat **(adding the potato in single layers, prevents them sticking together). The potato should not deep fry, but rather gently poach. Turn the slices over and once tender, remove and drain on kitchen paper. Continue to fry the potatoes and onion in this way until they have all been cooked.

Beat the eggs together with a little sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, add the thyme, saffron, lemon zest and potato slices and leave to marinate for 20 minutes or so – this is a good time to remove the mussels from the shell – a rather time consuming task, but one which is made more bearable with a glass of something delicious!

Heat a little more olive oil in a large wide frying pan, add the mussels to the egg mixture and the parsley and gently mix through until they’re evenly distributed. Pour the egg mixture into the pan and gently press the potato slices down, cooking at a sizzle at first as you move the egg mixture from the base of the pan gently with a spatula (a bit like making an omelette). Then turn the heat down a little as you don’t want to over cook the mussels and once the base has formed a golden crust, loosen the side of the tortilla from the pan, place a large dinner plate over the top and invert in one quick movement, so that the tortilla is now on the plate, slide the uncooked side back into the frying pan and continue to cook until golden. You can repeat this process a couple of times in order to give you a more golden crispy crust. The whole procedure probably takes no more than 5 minutes.

The tortilla is best served immediately.

Chef:  Maggie Beer

Serves 4 as a light lunch or more as a tapas

Iced honey mascarpone and almond cake with fig salad

Ingredients 12 figs, quartered 125 gm raspberries 1 tbsp amaretto To serve: honey Almond dacquoise 200 gm unblanched almonds 6 eggwhites 110 gm (½ cup) caster sugar 60 gm icing sugar, plus extra for sprinkling 50 gm plain flour Honey mascarpone 3 egg yolks 110 gm honey 750 gm mascarpone 60 ml (¼ cup) amaretto

For dacquoise

preheat oven to 150C.
Process almonds in a food processor until finely ground.

Whisk eggwhites in an electric mixer until soft peaks form, add caster sugar and whisk until thick and glossy.
Fold in icing sugar, then almonds and flour and spoon into a piping bag.
Trace three 18cm circles onto baking paper-lined oven trays.
Pipe dacquoise within template into circles, bake for 15 minutes or until just golden, cool on trays for 5 minutes, then turn onto baking paper sprinkled with icing sugar and cool completely.

For mascarpone

combine egg yolks and honey in a heat-proof bowl and whisk over simmering water for 7-8 minutes or until pale and thick.
Transfer to an electric mixer and whisk until cold.
In a bowl, gently mix amaretto and mascarpone, then fold in egg yolk mixture.

To assemble

place a dacquoise circle, trimming edges to fit, into a baking paper-lined 20cm springform pan, spread with one third of mascarpone all the way to the edges and down the sides, then top with another circle.
Repeat with remaining mascarpone and dacquoise, finishing with a layer of mascarpone and freeze overnight.

Fifteen minutes before serving,

remove cake from freezer and place in refrigerator.
Combine figs and raspberries in a bowl, drizzle with amaretto and stand for 10 minutes.
To serve, remove cake from pan, arrange fig salad on top and drizzle with honey.

Drink Suggestion Sherbety, grapey Moscato.

Serves 8

RECIPE EMMA KNOWLES AND RODNEY DUNN

Poppy Seed Pappardelle

Ingredients
Dough for Papardelle
300g 00 flour
150-200ml water
salt
15ml Extra virgin olive oil
50g semolina

Poppy sauce
150g butter
30g sugar
80g poppy seeds
60g parmesan
Squeeze of lemon
Salt

Method
To the flour in a bowl add semolina, then make a well in the centre and add olive oil, salt and enough water to just bring it together. It should still be dry and crumbly. Turn out on to the bench and knead for 5 to 10 minutes to make a firm dough, only adding more water if it’s still crumbly. Rest.

Roll into sheets on pasta machine, rest 20 minutes on slippery surface (bakewell or floured bench to help the dough spring back).

Cut into 30 cm by 2 cm strips.
Cook 2 minutes in HEAVILY salted water, drain & toss into sauce (below)

Poppy sauce
Fizz up butter in a pan, add sugar & poppy seeds, then toss into hot pasta and finish with parmesan, a squeeze of lemon and a little salt.

chef: simon bryant
inspired by Silvana Palmira
Serves 6 small ones

Crispy Chilli Quail

2 quail, back bone and rib cage removed (so they lie flat).
The way to do this is to insert the knife into the bird and cut down one side of the back bone, then cut down the other side. Then remove the innards and the rib cage.

1 tablespoon oyster sauce
2 tablespoons dark soy (ketchup manis)
3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
2 teaspoons chilli, ground to a paste ( could do more for a kick)
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon ginger, grated
1/2 teaspoon 5 spice powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 cup cornflour or rice flour
1/2 teaspoon of 5 spice powder (extra)
salt
oil for deep frying
lemons or limes

Method
Mix together the garlic, chilli, ginger, sauces and spices and marinate the quail for a few hours (or overnight).
Mix the flour, extra 5 spice powder and salt together.
Drain quail, pull them to ’spread’ them out and roll in the flour mix. Deep fry until crispy, aprox 3 – 5 minutes. The oil is the right temp if a drop of flour ‘sizzles’ when it hits the oil. (If the oil is too hot they will burn, so take care to fry carefully. If they do start to burn on the outside, take them out and pop them in the oven to finish the cooking rather than continuing in the oil.)

Serve with a good squeeze of lemon or lime all over the quail, some corinader and mint, and a finger bowl with hot water.

Serves 1

Chef: Simon Bryant

Rhubarb Tart

Semolina Cream:

1 1/2 cups milk
1 cinnamon stick
55 grams caster sugar
45 grams semolina
3 egg yolks

Topping:

Rhubarb stems
55 grams caster sugar

Make the Semolina Cream:

Place the milk, cinnamon stick, sugar and semolina into a saucepan over a low heat and stir while the mixture starts to thicken and boil, then stir constantly for another 2 minutes or until the mixture becomes very thick.

Remove from the heat and whisk in the egg-yolks, one at a time until well combined. Place the filling into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap – make sure the plastic wrap actually rests against the cream as you don’t want a skin to form. Let this cool to room temperature.

Assemble the tart:

Pour the semolina cream evenly into the tart, smoothing out the top. Lay the rhubarb evenly over the cream then sprinkle over with half of the sugar.

Cover this loosely with foil and place in a preheated 180°C oven – cook for 20 minutes before removing foil. Continue to cook for another 15-20 minutes or until the cream is set and the rhubarb is tender.

Sprinkle over with the remaining sugar and using a blow-torch, caramelise the sugar (you could do this under a grill).”

The combination of slightly grainy semolina cream with soft, tart, full flavoured rhubarb was incredible. It was well worth the effort and is a tart I’m going make every Spring. I’ve now got a rectangular pastry case so I can make my tart look extra smart. As an evolution of this tart, it would be fantastic with ginger and mint ice cream.

Ricotta Hotcakes with Honeycomb Butter

For the hotcakes
225g (8oz) ricotta
170ml (6fl oz) milk
4 eggs, separated
140z (5oz ) plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
a pinch salt
50g (1½oz) butter

For the honeycomb butter
250g (8¾oz) unsalted butter, softened
100g (3½oz) sugar honeycomb, crushed with a rolling pin (you can use a Crunchie bar for this)
2 tablespoon honey

To serve
banana
icing sugar for dusting

Method

Make the honeycomb butter first. Place all the ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. Shape into a log on clingwrap, roll, seal and chill in a refrigerator for two hours.
Place ricotta, milk and egg yolks in a mixing bowl and mix to combine. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Add to the ricotta mixture and mix until just combined.
Place egg whites in a clean dry bowl and beat until stiff peaks form. Fold egg whites through batter in two batches, with a large metal spoon.
Lightly grease a large pan with a small portion of the butter and drop two tablespoons of batter per hotcake into the pan (don’t cook more than three per batch).
Cook over low to medium heat for two minutes, or until hotcakes have golden undersides. Turn hotcakes and cook on the other side until golden and cooked through.
Transfer to a plate and quickly assemble with other ingredients.
Slice one banana length ways onto a plate, stack three hotcakes on top with a slice of honeycomb butter. Dust with icing sugar.

chef: bill granger

Chicken Congee or Jook the chinese breakfast

Ingredients

1 cup short grain rice
2.5Ltr (10 cups) chicken stock
salt
peanut oil
315g pork or beef rump or topside mixed with
1 cup spring onions finely chopped
1 cup water chestnuts finely chopped
1 tsp salt
1 tsp light soy sauce

Condiments

bowl of chopped spring onions
small bowl of sweet cucumbers (char gwar)
small bowl of Sichuan preserved vegetables (optional)
small bowl finely shredded ginger
1 cup roasted peanuts (optional)
dark soy sauce with a few drops of sesame oil

Method

Wash the rice in a small pot, drain off water, then work in with your fingers a little salt and peanut oil.

Let stand one hour.

Bring the stock to boil, add the rice, stirrring until it comes back to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer 2-3 hours.

In that time the rice completely breaks down and the congee has become thick and creamy.

Beat in the minced pork or beef mixture.

Cook a further 5 minutes

Adjust salt to taste, ladle into individual bowls.

Each person adds his/her own favourite condiments.

serves 4-8
chef: elizabeth chong

Grown up Ice-blocks

Ice-blocks:
Strawberry & Rhubarb
Rhubarb & Elderflower
Strawberry & Buttermilk

Shave Ice:
Rhubarb (and Licorice?!?!)
Lemon Mint

From: http://www.peoplespops.blogspot.com/

Onion Bhaji

Ingredients
4 onions sliced
75g gram flour (besan or chickpea flour)
150ml plain yoghurt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon ground cumin toasted
Pinch chilli powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/2 teaspoon ajawain seeds
Salt to taste
1/2 bunch chopped coriander leaf
1 green chilli chopped
Vegetable oil for deep frying
Method
Put gram flour in a large bowl and add yoghurt and stir until a smooth runny batter. Add spices and salt and leave in a warm place for a few hours. Add onion, lemon juice, chilli and coriander.
Heat oil in a wok/large pan
Slip spoonfuls of mix into 170 degree oil and cook turning until golden. Drain.

Chef: Simon Bryant