Smoky Fried Chickpeas

2 large cans chickpeas
1 cup Olive Oil
1 tablespoon lemon zest, strips
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 coarse salt to taste
4 pieces garlic, sliced

Drain Chickpeas and set on paper towels over a colander to dry throughly (can be done 1 day in advance)
Heat oil in large pan (preferably cast iron) to 355 or until oil make bubbles around 1 chickpea.
add lemon zest, thyme sprig, chickpeas in batches so pan doesn’t crowd
fry about 5 minutes until crunchy & colour changes
remove from oil, drain well over colander/sieve, add garlic, fry till golden
Toss with smoked paprika & salt, add more if necessary..serve warm

Chef:  Aliwaks on Food 52

Dhal

Ingredients:
2 TBSP ghee (or vegetable oil)
1 TBSP cumin seeds
1/4 tsp turmeric
1 tsp mango powder
1/8 tsp garlic
1 cup split mung beans
salt
3 roma tomatoes
1 medium yellow onion
1 lime
1 bunch of cilantro
1 bag of chapati
Plain yogurt

Lightly fry the cumin seed and turmeric in the ghee. Use medium low or low heat, you don’t want to brown the cumin seeds. Just heat them enough until you smell them. Then add the garlic and the mango powder and stir, to get the flavors activated.

Next add 1 cup of mung beans and 2.5 cups of water. Add 1tsp salt and bring to a boil. Then lower heat to low, put a lid on it, and let it sit undisturbed for 20 minutes.

During that 20 minutes, roughly chop the onion and soften it in the ghee, careful not to brown or fry the onion. You just want to sweeten it. Once it is sweet and soft, turn up the heat to brown it slightly. Then set it aside. Chop up the tomatoes, sprinkle some salt on them, let them sit for a bit, then toss them in the fry pan with a little more ghee. Put a lid over the tomatoes so they cook down. While the tomatoes are going, chop up 1/3 of the cilantro bunch.

After 20 minutes, take the lid off the beans. Add a little water if it is too dry. Now add the onions, tomatoes and chopped cilantro. Stir, taste for salt, and add some if it needs it. Finally twist a quarter of a lime over the dhal to add the juice.

Let it simmer on low heat so the flavors meld. Now heat up a skillet with no butter or oil, and heat the chapattis. I usually make 4 for 2 people – but that’s because we eat big bowls with a little bread, instead of little bowls with lots of bread like they do in India. Oh, the land of big screen TVs and monster trucks.

Finally dish out the dhal into some bowls, add a dollup of plain yogurt and sprinkle on some cilantro. You’re all set!

Recipe:  Nathan Verrill

Spicy Zucchini Bread

Zucchini Bread

A time-saving tip: if you have a food processor with the grating attachment, use it to shred the zucchini. It will perfectly shred three zucchini in about five seconds. On the flour front, this recipe calls for whole wheat pastry flour, it lends a nice, tender crumb to the zucchini bread – feel free to swap in unbleached all-purpose flour if it is more convenient or happens to be your flour of choice. Also, this recipe calls for curry powder, I also did a delicious version with a Raz el Hanout spice blend from one of my favorite local spice blend producers, highly recommended! Just swap in 1 tablespoon of the Raz el Hanout in place of the curry powder.

1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts, plus a few to sprinkle on top
1/3 cup poppy seeds (optional)
zest of two lemons (optional)
1/2 cup crystallized ginger, finely chopped (optional)

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup fine grain natural cane sugar or brown sugar, lightly packed
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 cups grated zucchini (about 3 medium), skins on, squeeze some of the moisture out and then fluff it up again before using

3 cups whole wheat pastry flour (or all-purpose flour)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon curry powder (optional)

Special equipment: two 1 pound loaf pans (5 x 9 inches)

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Butter the two loaf pans, dust them with a bit of flour and set aside. Alternately, you can line the pans with a sheet of parchment. If you leave a couple inches hanging over the pan, it makes for easy removal after baking. Just grab the parchment “handles” and lift the zucchini bread right out.

In a small bowl combine the walnuts, poppy seeds, lemon zest, and ginger. Set aside.

In a mixer, beat the butter until fluffy. Add the sugars and beat again until mixture comes together and is no longer crumbly. Add the eggs one at a time mixing well and scraping down the sides of the bowl between each addition. Stir in the vanilla and then the zucchini (low speed if you are using a mixer).

In a separate bowl, combine the whole wheat pastry flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and curry powder. Add these dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in two batches, stirring between each addition.

By hand, fold in the walnut, poppy seed, lemon zest, and crystalized ginger mixture. Save a bit of this to sprinkle on the tops of the zucchini loaves before baking for a bit of texture. Avoid over mixing the batter, it should be thick and moist, not unlike a butter cream frosting.

Divide the batter equally between the two loaf pans. Make sure it is level in the pans, by running a spatula over the top of each loaf. Bake for about 40-45 minutes on a middle oven rack. I like to under bake my zucchini bread ever so slightly to ensure it stays moist. Keep in mind it will continue to cook even after it is removed from the oven as it is cooling. Remove from the oven and cool the zucchini bread in pan for about ten minutes. Turn out onto wire racks to finish cooling – if you leave them in their pans, they will get sweaty and moist (not in a good way) as they cool.

Makes 2 loaves.

Recipe:  Heidi Swanson

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