Poppy Seed Buns with Blueberry Craquelin
Tuesday, May 23, 2023Sweet fluffy yeasted buns filled with an irresistible poppyseed filling and a delicious blueberry flavoured cracked topping made with butter, sugar, and flour. They make the best afternoon tea snack with a strong cup of tea, or on the go breakfast or anytime you feel like indulge a bit. Craquelin, literally means cracker, is a cookie topping that is added to a choux pastry bun to give it a distinct sweet and crunchy texture. Traditionally, it is made of 3 simple ingredients: flour, butter, and sugar. I added a bit of egg here to make it pipable and some dried blueberry powder to flavour the mixture, but any other superfood powder would work great too. Here is another one I made with blackberry powder.
Scallop, Frisée, and Kumquat Salad with Mango Dressing
Sunday, March 26, 2023A delightful option for a light and wholesome meal, these ghee seared scallops are served with a frisée, red onion, and kumquat salad drizzled with a aromatic fruity mango dressing. Scallops are the filet mignon of the sea and you don't want to overcook them. Sear them in a cast iron skillet for 2 minutes, flip and cook one more minute. Make sure to thoroughly dry your scallops before seasoning and searing. They should be springy, not mushy (undercooked) or firm (overcooked) if properly cooked.
Maritozzi Buns with Marmalade and Pistachios
Sunday, February 26, 2023Maritozzi are classic dessert buns from Rome made with an enriched dough and filled generously with cream. Unlike the traditional one, I filled these buns not only with cream, but also with a homemade marmalade (lemon curd would be excellent too) and some chopped pistachios. Enjoy them as a breakfast or an afternoon pick-me-up with a pot of freshly brewed coffee. The whipped cream can be garnished with chocolate or other nuts too. Maritozzi are best served on the day but the buns can be made a day in advance if needed. If 8 is too many, freeze half of the unfilled buns, and use them later as burger buns, or to make more maritozzi.
Gluten Free Honey Tahini Cookies
Friday, February 10, 2023These delicious honey tahini cookies are both chewy and crisp and so easy to make. The rich tahini gives these cookies a addictively nutty, almost fudgy texture and earthy flavour while sesame seeds coating for extra crunch. They are grain-free, gluten-free, refined-sugar-free, egg-free and dairy-free. Will keep in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Pomegranate Molasses and Honey glazed Meatballs
Tuesday, December 27, 2022These meatballs are soft, tender and so flavourful, but what really brings them to life and sets them apart from other meatball recipes is the use of pomegranate molasses. Pomegranate molasses is a syrup of boiled pomegranate juice, and has a fruity sweetness that's countered by a lovely, sharp tart flavour. It's most commonly used in Middle Eastern cuisine and often used to enhance savoury dishes, esp. red meat and game, with fruity flavours.
Country Crust Bread
Thursday, October 06, 2022Thin crispy crust and a tender, moist interior - that's exactly how this delicious and aromatic country crust bread turned out to be and perfect for tearing, dipping or slathering with butter. I have baked this bread directly on a baking stone with steam, but you certainly can use a baking tray instead or a Dutch-Oven. Divide the dough into two at the end of bulk fermentation if desired and shape each into different forms (batards and boules). The baking temperature can be left as it is, but the baking time must be adjusted depending on the size of the loaves.
Stuffed Eggplants with Lamb and Apricot Chutney
Tuesday, October 04, 2022An easy stuffed eggplant recipe - delicious, comforting and loaded with flavour! The medium-sized eggplants are first roasted until tender, then filled with ground lamb and apricot chutney, returned to the oven for a further 15 minutes until very soft and tender. Whether you're looking for a simple weeknight meal or something to show off at your next dinner party, these delicious stuffed eggplants are sure to be a crowd-pleaser! Feel free to make the recipe with your favorite stuffing (red lentil, chickpea, haloumi, etc). If you belongs to those people with OR6A2 gene who are sensitive to the aldehyde component (the soapy smell) found in cilantro and dislike the taste of cilantro, use flat parsley instead.
Harissa Honey Chicken Lollipops
Friday, May 06, 2022This particular chicken lollipop recipe is a Indo-Chinese favourite appetizer where frenched chicken wings are marinated, baked (or fried) until crisp and tossed with a sticky sweet and hot sauce (harrissa honey sauce). Simply put, chicken lollipops are the fried chicken wings but with a more distinct look and spicy flavour.
The name “chicken lollipop” is referring to how the chicken wings look after trimming. To achieve the lollipop appearance, the meat on the chicken wing is cut loose from the bone end and pushed down, a culinary technique known as “frenching.”
The recipe is actually very simple. The hardest part of the recipe is to form the chicken lollipops from chicken wings. If you plan to make a huge batch for a crowd, fry the chicken lollipops and make the sauce in advance. Then you can re-crisp the wings at a high temperature for a couple of minutes, re-heat the sauce, and toss to coat just before serving.
Here is a video on how to cut lollipops from the wings that I found on youtube.
Harissa Sauce | |
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- Divide the chicken wing into 3 parts (drumette, winglet and wingtip) by slicing through the joints. Save the wingtip for other uses.
- French the drumette. Holding the drumette (which looks like a chicken drumstick) by the meaty end, use a small, sharp knife to cut around the thin end of the drummette so the meat and skin are released from the bone. Push the meat down towards the fat end to create a lollipop.
- French the winglet / flat. For the winglet, which contains two bones, cut the joint where the bones meet. Trim a small section of the meat from the circumference of that area to expose the bones. Remove one of the bones and push the meat to the end of the remaining bone to form a lollipop.
- Transfer the prepared wings to a medium bowl. Add in ground cumin, coriander, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper. Rub the spice mixture into the wing pieces until there is no powder left in the bottom of your bowl. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, up to overnight.
- Preheat your oven to 200C/400F and brush a baking tray with some olive oil. Arrange the chicken wings on the tray and bake in the middle of the oven for 35 minutes or until the chicken is nicely browned and slightly charred, and completely cooked through.
- Bring sauce ingredients slowly to a simmer in a saucepan on the stovetop while your wings are baking. When the sauce starts to bubble, turn off the heat and set aside for 5 minutes. The sauce will thickens up after cooling a bit. Toss the wings in the sauce until thoroughly coated. Serve on a bed of fresh herbs and garnished with pomegranate seeds and chopped spring onions if desired.
100% Rye Banana Bread
Wednesday, April 27, 2022Spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, and aromatic cardamom and sweetened with coconut sugar and honey, this deep-dark quick rye bread with a super moist and tender texture and lots of banana flavour is a hearty and healthy take on a regular banana bread recipe. It's filled with 100% nutritious, earthy rye flour and is free from refined sugar. With a combination of over-ripe banans, aromatic warming spices, good quality honey and earthy rye flour, this bread guarantees great taste experiences. Be sure to use really ripe bananas - the more dark brown spots on the skin, the better.
Rye is a close relative of both wheat and barley. It has a deep, rich taste and is packed with vitamins, minerals and soluble fiber. Rye has been linked to a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, colon cancer, breast cancer and diabetes.
100% Rye Banana Bread
adapted from Kingarthurbaking
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- Preheat the oven to 160C/325F. Lightly grease or line a 9-10" x 5" / 24-26 cm x 12cm loaf pan with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, beat the butter, coconut sugar, vanilla paste, spices, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until smooth.
- Add the mashed banana, honey, and eggs. Mix until combined. Add the flours, stirring just until combined and smooth.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top. Cut a whole banana in half lengthwise and lay the two halves, cut side up, atop the loaf.
- Bake the bread for 60 to 70 minutes, or until a long toothpick or skewer inserted into the center comes out clean, or with a few wet crumbs clinging to it.
- Remove the bread from the oven and allow it to cool for 10 minutes in the pan. Turn the bread out of the pan, and cool completely on a rack.