Choc Drizzled Nutella Meringues

Meringue and what you can do with it is consistently underrated. Plain, vanilla, chocolate, fruit laden – the list is long, large and in my mind exciting. Meringues are the food that most of us would like to eat. No scratch that. Meringues are a food that most of us would love to eat. And I’m guessing daily if they were put in front of us. Better than that they are super easy, are a great way to use up left over eggwhites and they keep pretty well in an airtight container for whenever the “cup of tea and something” urge comes calling. They are a morning, afternoon, late evening superfood and this version with nutella, well its perfection in chocolate loving form.

Makes 10

Ingredients

6 large eggwhites, room temperature

1 tsp lemon juice

280g caster sugar

2-3 tbsp Nutella, softened in the microwave

150g good quality couveture dark chocolate, melted for drizzling

Method

For meringues, preheat oven to 120C. Whisk eggwhite and a pinch of salt in an electric mixer until soft peaks form, then, whisking continuously, gradually add caster sugar and whisk until glossy. Add lemon juice and whisk again until sugar has dissolved.

Use a piping bag or spoon and place dollops of the beaten eggwhites onto a prepared baking tray. Gently swirl nutella through the top of each meringue.

Place in the oven and bake for 1 hour or until set. Turn off the oven and leave the meringues inside to dry for another hour.

Before serving, drizzle with melted chocolate.

Cardomom breakfast scrolls with rosewater glaze

Cardamom breakfast scrolls with rosewater glaze

These breakfast scrolls are a bit of a hybrid, the texture lying between a brioche and a sweet bun, making them both rich and featherlight. They are a tender mid-morning pick-me-up and make the perfect brunch fodder.  Unlike other breads, it is hard to go wrong with these, it doesn’t require 10 years experience working in a bakery before making a decent sour dough – these are pretty foolproof – the key being in the resting time, the rest is clockwork. The cardamom and rosewater add exotic sweetness and hint of spice, and best of all you can start these the day before, letting them rise slowly overnight in the fridge. You can even make them and freeze them for later consumption, although I do tend to fall into the camp that nothing tastes quite as good as warm and fresh from the oven.

Ingredients

Sticky bun dough

¾ cup warm milk

½ cup melted butter

1/3 cup brown sugar

7g sachet of active dried yeast

pinch of salt

3 tsp freshly ground cardamom

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 ½ cups plain flour

Filling

2 tbsp butter, softened

½ cup Panela sugar*

Pinch ground cardamom, or more to taste

Pinch mixed spice, or more to taste

Rosewater glaze

2 tbsp rosewater

Icing sugar

Method

Combine the milk, butter, sugar and yeast in a bowl, stir to combine and set aside for 5-10 minutes or until it foams and bubbles on the surface. Add the salt, cardamom, vanilla and beaten egg. Gradually add the flour, adding as much as needed. The amount can vary depending on weather and the yeast you use. What you want to achieve as you are mixing is a dough that feels sticky to touch but doesn’t completely stick to your fingers. Knead for about 5 minutes in a mixer or if kneading by hand, about 10-12 minutes until it takes on a smooth appearance.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside somewhere warm to rise until doubled in size, about 2 hours.

After the dough has risen, take it out of the bowl and on a lightly floured surface roll it into a large rectangle about 1/4-inch thick. Spread the dough rectangle with the soft butter, then sprinkle it evenly with the sugar and spices.

Roll the rectangle up lengthwise into a long jellyroll. Slice it with a sharp knife, about 5cm thick slices, and arrange them in a 30cm baking dish or baking pan. Make sure there is some space around the buns as the dough will rise and grow. Cover and set aside in a warm place to rise, until doubled in size, about an hour. If you want these bright and early in the morning you can do this the night before, cover and place in the fridge to rise slowly overnight. If you do this make sure you let them come to room temperature before baking.

Preheat the oven to 180C. Bake the rolls until golden, between 20 – 30 minutes. While the rolls are baking, make the glaze by adding the rosewater to a bowl. Add the icing sugar slowly, whisking with a fork, until a glaze consistency is achieved.  Allow the rolls to cool slightly before drizzling over the rosewater glaze. Serve warm.

• Panela sugar is an organic cane sugar available from specialist grocers or health food stores. If unavailable substitute with brown sugar.

Zuchinni Flowers, just the way Stefano Manfredi likes it....

I am a little bit in love with Stefano's new book Italian Food - it is a bible of his recipes and one dish that I had to cook immediately was this - deep fried cheesy filled zuchinni flowers. Piping hot and crisp, they really are the best way to eat zuchinni. If you haven’t eaten his food, you’ve heard of him. Stefano Manfredi is a chef whose reputation is often whispered about with an air of mystical awe. A stalwart on the Australian cooking scene and formidable culinary force in educating palates on all (edible) things Italian. His latest cookbook Italian Food is a worthy investment for your kitchen real estate. Stefano includes more than 500 recipes from across Italy’s 20 regions. While its difficult to decide what to cook, I couldn’t go past the cheese stuffed zuchinni flowers. If you ever wondered the difference in zuchinni flowers – the female flowers are the sturdier version – they come with the baby zuchinni attached while the male flowers have just a delicate stem. Either are great with this recipe although that zuchinni stem does make a nifty handle if you were serving as more of a finger food. I served these as part of a spread with some slow cooked lamb shoulder and fresh bity salads. They were heavenly, and what’s not to love about cheese wrapped in flowers like an edible present.

Serves 8-10

Ingredients

1 1/3 cups plain flour

2/3 cup ice cold waer

150g ricotta cheese

200g provola cheese, grated

150g mozzarella cheese, cubed

100g Grana Padano, grated

2 tbsp anchovy fillets, finely chopped

24 zuchinni flowers, stamen removed

1 cup extra virgin olive oil

Method

To make the batter, use a fork to mix the flour and water to form a rough, lumpy, fairly runny mixture. Rest this while you are preparing the rest of the dish. Make the filing by combining the cheeses and the anchovies. Season. If you are using femaile flowers with baby zuchinni attached, trim the ends of the zuchinni. If you are using male flowers, trim the stems. Carefully open the flowers and spoon in a little of the filling. Gently close the flowers by lightly pressing the petals together. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan until it is about to smoke, then dip the filled zuchinni flowers in the batter and allow any excess to run off. Fry the flowers in the oil until golden. Remove from the pan and dry on paper towels, then season and serve.

By the by, it certainly helps that you can eat his food somewhere as beautiful as his restaurant and garden at Bells Killcare. One day, one day I am going to stay there for a week, eat, sunbake, walk on the beach and then attend one of Stefano's cooking classes - sounds like a dream doesn't it?

Grilled Chicken & Bresaola Salad

I was sent some chicken. Lilydale chicken to be exact. Somehow they knew exactly how bare my cupboard, fridge and kitchen in general was, and perhaps just how hungry I felt. The few edible things I had in my fridge included a few olives, some bresaola, butter lettuce and a sad half of avocado. So I thankfully accepted the chicken, grilled it and practically inhaled this salad. Yes Lilydale sent me chicken but NO this is not a sponsored post or one of those things. I'm posting because of a delicious salad and also because I believe quite strongly in their approach to doing as much as they can to ensure a "happy chicken"and how they are prepared to put their entire product and brand behind it - that means they believe it, and most importantly that they practice what they preach.  You may have read recently that egg producers have been under fire for claiming organic and free range, charging us more for it and basically not telling the truth to consumers for their financial gain - really horrid, underhand behaviour that has an impact on of course on the welfare of chickens and the quality of life provided for them, and us as consumers placing trust in what we purchase from supermarket shelves. Anyway back to this salad. It took five minutes to put together, and the chicken and bresaola with tangy feta and bright cherry toms really was delightful. I added a few additions to the recipe suggestion that came with the chicken - basically the use of bresaola, butter lettuce, avocado, some finely sliced red onion and a quick vibrant squeeze of lemon juice.

Ingredients
2 chicken breasts
2 tbsp olive oil
20g butter
400g cherry tomatoes or mixed small tomatoes
Marinated feta crumbled
Half an avocado, sliced
Small butter lettuce, rinsed, leaves coarsely torn
Quarter red onion, finely sliced
Salt and pepper to season

Dressing
Squeeze of fresh lemon juice

2 tsp brown sugar

2 tsp balsamic vinegar

Method
Brush the chicken breasts with a little of the oil, season with salt and pepper. Heat the remaining oil in a large frying pan over medium heat and add the butter; cook the chicken breasts for 4-5 minutes each side or until cooked through. Set aside.

Add the remaining ingredients to a large bowl and toss to combine. Slice the chicken and scatter pieces over the top of the salad. Just before serving, combine the dressing ingredients then pour over the salad.

Chocolate Candy Cane Melting Moments

I become pathetically happy at Christmas time; the decorating, eating and drinking frenzy is what I live for. It is actually difficult to explain the sensation of joy I feel by being reunited with the likes of fruit mince, copious amounts of ham, brandy butter, prawns and even sickly sweet candy canes. For a grown up version, I’ve combined the peppermint zing of canes with the perennial favourite – melting moments with a chocolate truffle style filling. I make mine the size of golf balls on steroids, utterly supersized, meaning that after just one you feel quite content. These are surprisingly easy to make, and they'll keep for a couple of weeks without refrigeration, although given the Christmas heat that can often strike, I’d store them covered in the cool just to be safe.

Ingredients

Biscuits

250g butter, softened

75g icing sugar

200g plain flour, sifted

50g cocoa powder, sifted

50g potato flour, sifted*

Filling

180g white chocolate, finely chopped

160ml pouring cream

50g candy canes, crushed (plus extra to serve)

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C. Beat the butter, icing sugar and cocoa powder with electric beaters until creamy and thick. Use a wooden spoon to stir in the flours until combined. Knead the mixture gently on a lightly floured work surface until smooth, then cover in plastic wrap and rest for 30 minutes in the fridge. Slice 26 pieces of mixture and roll into balls, flattening the balls with the back of a fork. Place on a baking tray lined with baking paper and bake for 12 – 15 minutes or until crisp. Stand for 5 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack.

For the peppermint filling, place chocolate in a bowl and set aside. Bring cream to the simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat. Pour over chocolate, set aside to melt chocolate (5 minutes), then stir until smooth. Add peppermint extract, set aside to cool to spreading consistency, then stir in crushed peppermint. Spoon a little of the peppermint filling onto half the biscuits, sandwich with remaining biscuits, set aside to set (15 minutes) before gently rolling in the additional crushed candy cane.

• Available from health food stores and some supermarkets or alternatively you can use tapioca flour.

Apple cider and fennel roasted pork shoulder

I’m wondering what we did with our pork before it was cooked at a snails pace – long and luxuriously before being pulled into a great big tasty shredded mess of slow cooked goodness. The great thing about this recipe is you can’t get it wrong, just the sort of sentiments we need heading into Christmas and the requirements of putting food on the table. You do need time on your side though as it requires a solid 6 hours in the oven and a few hours before this to dry out (although you can skip this step). You could even put it on the night before and cook it overnight at about 140C if you are the sort who loves a solid bit of pre planning.

My only tip is to ensure you use an apple cider with a good balance of sweetness and acidity. You want it to add to the flavours at play rather than take all the attention like a bully in a schoolyard.

Ingredients

2.5kg pork shoulder, bone in

2 tbsp fennel seeds

2 tsp coriander seeds

2 tsp mustard seeds

2 tbsp brown sugar

Pinch sea salt flakes

600ml cheeky rascal apple cider

600ml chicken stock

4 apples, halved, cored

6 garlic cloves, unpeeled, bruised

Apple slaw

2 green apples, slices on a mandolin

Bunch mint leaves, coarsely torn

2 Fennel bulbs, sliced on a mandolin

1 red onion, sliced on a mandolin

Juice of 1 lemon

Method

Dry-roast the fennel, coriander and mustard seeds in a frying pan over medium heat until fragrant. Crush in a mortar and pestle. Combine with the brown sugar and salt and massage into the pork skin. Refrigerate, uncovered, for the flavours to develop – at least 4 hours or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 200C. Place pork on a rack over a roasting pan, add half the  apple cider and half the stock in base and roast until pork starts to colour (30 minutes). Reduce heat to 150C and roast until tender, adding extra cider and stock as required (up to 6 hours). Add the apples and garlic, carefully stir to combine and continue to roast for 30 minutes or until meat is very tender. Set the pork aside to rest, reserve the apples and strain the juices into a saucepan. Place saucepan over medium heat and reduce for 20 minutes or until a thick sauce consistency. To make the apple slaw, combine all ingredients in a large bowl and toss gently to combine. Prepare just before serving for maximum freshness. Slice/shred/pull the pork and serve with pan juices and roasted apples.