Recipes
ROASTED GRAPE AND OLIVE OIL CAKE WITH HONEYED RICOTTA CREAM
A cake to celebrate the autumn season.
Recipe
A cake to celebrate the autumn season. Roasting the grapes helps concentrate the fruit sugars for a pop of sweet juicy delight in each mouthful. The olive oil creates a moist cake that keeps well for a few days. Serve with a dollop of honeyed ricotta, a coffee and time to enjoy.
Serves 8-10
Line a baking tray with baking paper. Spread grapes over the lined tray and place in the oven, then turn temperature setting to 180°C (160°C fan-forced). Roast the grapes for 15 minutes, remove from the oven and set aside to cool for 10 minutes. Leave the oven on.
Grease and line the base of a 24cm spring form cake tin.
In an electric mixer beat the eggs, sugar, oil and zest for 2 minutes on medium-high speed. Mix in the milk. Sift the dry ingredients over the wet mixture, then stir in to mix well. Stir in half the grapes to combine well.
Pour the batter into the prepared tin. Scatter over the remaining grapes. Bake for an hour or until a skewer comes out clean. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes, before removing the sides. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
To make the honeyed ricotta, place ricotta, cream and honey in a small food processor and blend until smooth, scraping down the sides of bowl occasionally. Refrigerate until needed.
Dust the cake with icing sugar. Cut into wedges and serve with a spoonful of honeyed ricotta.
Ingredients
2 cups (300g) red or black grapes
2 eggs
140g (2/3 cup) caster sugar
125ml (1/2 cup) extra virgin olive oil
Finely grated zest of an orange
125ml (1/2 cup) milk
150g (1 cup) plain flour
120g (1 cup) almond meal
1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
Pinch sea salt flakes
Honeyed ricotta:
300g fresh ricotta
150ml thickened cream
2 tablespoons warmed honey
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WARM PEAR, DATE & WALNUT CAKE
Here’s a play on sticky date pudding with some autumn goodies, pear and walnuts.
Recipe
Here’s a play on sticky date pudding with some autumn goodies, pear and walnuts. Made with olive oil, the cake is perfect for dairy free friends. Like all heartwarming puddings it’s best served warm with pouring cream or ice-cream. Wrap in baking paper and store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days, or it’s suitable for freezing too. Reheat in a microwave, or foil covered in a 140°C oven.
Serves 8-10
Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan-forced). Grease a 22cm-23cm round cake tin with extra oil and line the base and sides with baking paper. Boil a kettle of water.
Place the dates and bi-carbonate of soda in a medium bowl. Pour over 250ml (1 cup) of boiling water. Leave to soak for 20 minutes.
Peel two pears, cut in half lengthways, then cut each half into four wedges, removing the core. Set aside. Coarsely grate the remaining pear into the date mixture, discarding the core.
Meanwhile, using electric beaters mix the oil, sugar and vanilla extract until creamy and the sugar has dissolved, about 2-3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time beating well after each addition. Gently stir in the date mixture and walnuts, if using, to combine. Sift the flour, baking powder and spices over the oil mixture, then gently stir in to combine well.
Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin. Arrange the pear wedges in a circle over the surface. Bake for 45 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean when inserted. Leave for 10 minutes, before removing from the tin.
Cut the warm cake into wedges. Serve with cream or a scoop of ice cream.
Ingredients
60ml (1/4 cup) extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for greasing
150g fresh medjool dates, pitted and roughly chopped (7-9 dates depending on size)
1 teaspoon bi-carbonate of soda
3 firm ripe Beurre Bosc pears
150g (3/4 cup) brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
35g (1/3 cup) coarsely chopped walnuts (optional)
225g (1 ½ cups) plain flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon mixed spice
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RUSTIC NECTARINE TART
Here’s a free-form tart that is perfectly-imperfect. It has that rustic appeal.
Recipe
Here’s a free-form tart that is perfectly imperfect. It has that rustic appeal. Use summer’s best stone fruit offerings – the nectarines can be replaced with plums, apricots or peaches. Mixing ground almonds with some fruit helps absorb some excess juices and forms a creamy layer between the lemony crust and the fruit on top. It’s delicious eaten warm or at room temperature.
Serves 8 - 10
To make the pastry, place the flour, sugar, lemon rind and butter in the bowl of a food processor. Blend until mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Add the yolk and lemon juice and pulse until the mixture just comes together (it’s a crumbly mixture, to test, press between fingers and it should form a dough). Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface and push it together to form a 2cm thick disc. Place in a container in the fridge to rest for an hour.
Set aside 200g nectarines. Stir the zest and sugar in a medium sized bowl until the sugar is dissolved. Cut the remaining nectarines each in half and add to the bowl, tossing to coat in the mixture. Leave for 10 minutes.
Preheat oven to 190°C (170°C fan-forced).
Place the ground almonds, cinnamon, rosemary and reserved 200g of nectarines in the food processor and blend until smooth.
Roll out the pastry on a sheet of baking paper to form a 32cm round. Transfer the paper with pastry onto a baking tray. Spread the almond-fruit mixture over the centre of the pastry, leaving a 5cm border around the edge. Spread the nectarine pieces, cut side up, in single layer, reserving any juices collected in base of the bowl. Fold and pleat the pastry border over the fruit, leaving the centre exposed.
Bake for 35 minutes, or until the pastry is golden. Brush the reserved juices over the fruit. Serve warm or at room temperature with thick cream or ice-cream.
Ingredients
1kg nectarines, halved and pits removed
finely grated zest of ½ an orange or lemon
11/2 tablespoons brown sugar
50g (1/2 cup) ground almonds
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon fresh rosemary leaves, finely chopped (or thyme leaves)
Pastry:
300g plain flour
2 tablespoons caster sugar
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon rind
180g chilled butter, cubed
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons lemon juice
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Christmas Spiced Marmalade Glazed Ham
Serve this ham warm or cold for a delicious and special Christmas lunch.
Serve this ham warm or cold for a delicious and special Christmas lunch.
Recipe by Accredited Practising Dietitian Georgia Houston from GH Nutrition.
Ingredients
1 cup orange marmalade
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 orange, juiced
1 star anise
1 tsp ground cinnamon
6kg ham leg, skin removed
Whole cloves, for studding
Equipment
SMALL saucepan
Large Baking Dish
Recipe
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Place the marmalade, maple syrup, orange juice, star anise and cinnamon in a small saucepan over high heat and whisk to combine. Bring to the boil and let simmer for 5 minutes, or until thickened slightly. Set aside to cool.
While the glaze is simmering, score the ham fat in a diamond pattern. Insert a clove into each diamond. Wrap the ham hock with foil (this prevents it from burning). Place ham on a greased rack in a large baking dish lined with baking paper. Brush the ham with half of the glaze and bake in the oven for 1 hour, brushing with the remaining glaze every 15 minutes, until the ham is golden and caramelised. When finished, remove from the oven and slice.
Beetroot Cured Salmon with Apple, Dill and Cucumber Salad
Beetroot is a great source of vitamin C, dietary fibre, iron, folate and magnesium.
Beetroot is a great source of vitamin C, dietary fibre, iron, folate and magnesium. Their intense red colour is due to an antioxidant called betacyanin, which is important for a healthy heart.
Look for beetroot that has smooth skin, without splits around the top. Select those that have fresh stems and leaves that are not wilted.
Purchase your fresh, quality seafood from either Ocean Fresh Seafoods or Sea Harvest at the Markets.
Recipe by Accredited Practising Dietitian Georgia Houston from GH Nutrition
Ingredients
250g cooked and peeled beetroot
140g sea salt
1⁄2 cup caster sugar
3 tsp caraway seeds
2 tsp black peppercorns
1kg salmon fillet, skin on
2 green apples, cut into batons
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
1 cucumber, thinly sliced
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup dill, finely chopped
1/2 lemon, juiced
Dill and micro herbs, to serve
Equipment
2 x Chopping Boards
Cling Wrap
Recipe
To make the curing mixture, combine the beetroot, salt, sugar, caraway seeds and pepper in a food processor and whiz until smooth.
Stretch 2 large sheets of cling wrap over a flat surface and spoon over half the cure. Lay salmon on top, skin side down. Pour over remaining cure and spread evenly over salmon.
Cover salmon tightly with the wrap.
Place wrapped salmon on a chopping board and rest another chopping board on top. Weigh down with something heavy and place in the fridge for 2 days to cure. The longer you leave the curing process, the stronger the taste.
For the salad, prepare just prior to serving. Add all ingredients to a bowl and toss to combine.
When ready to serve, remove salmon from wrap and rinse under cold water. Pat dry with paper towel.
Thinly slice the salmon on an angle and serve with salad, dill and micro herbs.
Salmon will last up to one week in the fridge and can be used just like smoked salmon.