Stuff & Spice Test

Figolli

Desserts Recipes

Monday, 25 March 2013

Traditional Maltese Figolli made for Easter :) They are made with shortcrust pastry filled with an almond mixture, then decorated with chocolate or royal icing. It is important to use the filling immediately or the mixture might harden. It is important to leave the figolli to cool well after taking them out of the oven, or it might break.

Ingredients:
Makes about 5 small (hand sized)

Sweet Shortcrust Pastry
300g ground almonds
200g caster sugar (or granulated sugar)
3 egg whites
1 lemon zest
5 half easter eggs
Soft Flooding icing
Royal icing

Directions:
Mix the almonds, sugar, egg whites and zest together.

Roll out the pastry to about 4 mm thickness. Put the shape of your figolla cutter and press lightly on the pastry. Fill the shape with the filling mixture, then go around the border with a finger dipped in water to help seal the edges. Cover with another pastry layer. Press around the mixture lightly to put out any air bubbles and then cut with the figolla cutter.

Bake in a 180 degree C pre-heated oven for 35 minutes until golden. Cool throughly then cover with the flooding icing. Once dry, decorate with the royal icing by piping designs over the figolla. Stick half an easter egg on each figolla.

Happy Easter!

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Soft Flooding Icing

Desserts Recipes

Monday, 25 March 2013

Icing which dries hard enough to the touch, but does not crack your teeth when eating. It also tastes good! Great to flood cookies.

Ingredients:
Makes about 2 cups

3 cups icing sugar
3 tbsp milk
1 1/2 tbsp + 1 1/2 tsp golden syrup
1/2 tsp almond extract
food coloring

Directions:
In a small bowl, stir together the powdered sugar and milk until smooth. Beat in golden syrup and almond extract until icing is smooth and glossy. If icing is too thick, add more milk, very little at a time. Stir in food coloring to desired intensity. Paint, spread, or dip cookies with icing, and allow to set.

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Royal Icing

Desserts Recipes

Monday, 25 March 2013

Icing which dries hard; great to decorate and pipe thinly.

Ingredients:
Makes about 1 1/2 cups

1 medium egg white
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 cups icing sugar, sifted

Directions:
In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the egg white with the lemon juice until combined. Add the sifted powdered sugar and beat on low speed until combined and smooth. The right consistency is when you lift the beater, the ribbon of icing that falls back into the bowl remains on the surface and does not disappear.

The icing needs to be used immediately or transferred to an airtight container as royal icing hardens when exposed to air. Cover with plastic wrap when not in use.

Adapted from Original Recipe

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Sweet Shortcrust Pastry

Desserts Pastry Recipes

Sunday, 24 March 2013

When making shortcrust pastry it is important that you remember these tips:

All ingredients and utensils should be as cool as possible. This keeps the margarine hard. If it becomes at all warm it will start to make the fingers oily and then it becomes difficult to wrap it into the flour. When that happens the mixture becomes very heavy instead of light and airy.
If you will be using egg yolks to bind the pastry there will be no need for you to add water. If you use too much liquid the pastry becomes tough.

Ingredients:

480g plain flour
300g margarine
120g sugar
1 egg yolk
grated rind of 1 lemon
1/2 tsp vanilla essence

Directions:
Sieve the flour into a large bowl, holding the sieve as high as possible, so that the flour gets a really good airing.

Add the margarine, cut into smallish lumps, then begin to rub it into the flour using your fingertips only and being as light as possible. As you gently rub the fat into the flour, lift it up high and let it fall back into the bowl, which again means that all the time air is being incorporated, but do this just long enough to make the mixture crumbly with a few odd lumps here and there.

In a separate bowl mix together the sugar, egg yolk, vanilla essence and lemon rind. Mix well. Add this mixture to the flour mixture. Work into a dough. The pastry should leave the bowl fairly clean. Do not overwork the pastry because the end result will be a tough pastry. The pastry must be of a rollable consistency.

Place the pastry in a polythene bag and leave it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to rest. You can prepare it overnight and leave it in the fridge.

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Tagliatelle with Artichokes

Mains Pasta Recipes Vegetarian

Thursday, 21 March 2013

Walnuts complement the artichokes in the sauce perfectly in this recipe.

Ingredients:
Serves 4

6 large canned or frozen artichoke hearts
5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 shallots, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 tbsp dry white wine
salt and pepper
leaves from 1 small bunch of parsley, chopped
45g walnut halves, roughly chopped
30g grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:
Thickly slice the artichoke hearts. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan. Add the shallots and garlic and sauté gently for about 1 minute until soft but not brown. Add the artichokes and white wine and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Season to taste. Stir only very gently, to avoid breaking up the artichokes.

Drain and add the tagliatelle to the pan of artichoke mixture and toss over moderate heat until the pasta is hot and evenly coated with olive oil. Pile the pasta on to a warmed serving dish and sprinkle evenly with the parsley and walnuts. Finish by sprinkling with most of the Parmesan cheese.

Original Recipe from 'Cook step by step'.

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Honey Sesame Chicken

Chicken Mains Recipes

Thursday, 21 March 2013

Spicy asian-style chicken. If you prefer less spicy dishes halve the amount of chilli as this dish has quite a kick. Serve with noodles.

Ingredients:
Serves 4

4 chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized cubes
2 tsp cornflour
Peanut/vegetable oil for stir-frying (about 2 tbsp)
1/2 tsp red chilli flakes
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp honey
2 tbsp white sesame seeds

Ingredients:

1 tbsp white wine
1 1/2 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tsp red chili flakes
3 tbsp honey
2 tsp oyster sauce
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp cracked black pepper

Directions:
Marinate the chicken cubes with the wine, soy sauce, chilli flakes, honey, oyster sauce, sea salt, and pepper for about 2 hours. Then discard some of the marinade liquid and mix in the corn flour. Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a large wok or cast iron pan until hot. Add chicken cubes and stir briefly.

When the chicken is sizzling and fragrant, add the chili flakes, dark soy sauce, honey, sesame seeds and stir vigorously, switch off the heat, and serve immediately.

Original Recipe

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Quick and Easy Pizza Crust

Mains Pastry Pizza Recipes

Sunday, 17 March 2013

By far, the BEST pizza dough in my opinion! Soft, yet with a crunchy outside. What's more? It is made in less than 30 minutes! If you can't find bread flour, all purpose flour will do just fine.

Ingredients:
Makes 1 large base

2 1/2 cups bread flour
1 cup warm water
2 tbsp olive oil
7g active dry yeast
1 tsp white sugar
1 tsp salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 230 degrees C. In a medium bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.

Stir in flour, salt and oil. Beat until smooth, then let rest for 5 minutes. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pat or roll into a round. Transfer crust to a lightly greased pizza pan. Spread with desired toppings and bake in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Let baked pizza cool for 5 minutes before serving.