Passionfruit

Whilst I was at the markets recently I picked up a whole box of passionfruit. The colours and aromas were so intense I had to just get it. So after spooning it on my breakfast cereal every morning, I still had half a box left. "What will I do with the rest?" I thought. So a good deal of "research" later i.e. scanning cook books and magazines, I saw this great recipe for passionfruit curd. Mmmmm...my mind went into overdrive. I'm not aware of how familiar people are with sweet curds. They're basically similar to jams or jellies (as the Americans call them) and they are used on cakes or as a spread on bread. Lemon curd is a very popular spread in the UK often finding its way in traditional high teas. The passionfruit curd I made is similar to the lemon one. I'll follow it up over the next few days about how I used it. Its sweet, silky and very sexy. Trust me, you'll be happy you made this.


Juicy Passionfruit

PASSIONFRUIT CURD
This recipe has been adapted from Australia's own Bill Granger.

6 ripe passionfruit...scooping out the whole inner flesh...seeds and all
2 organic eggs
80 g of caster sugar
60 g of butter

Place the passionfruit pulp, eggs and sugar in a heatproof bowl and place that bowl over a saucepan with simmering water (aka the double boiler method). Whisk continuously until the mixture begins to thicken. This whisking will probably take up to about ten minutes at the most. Just be patient. Once the mixture has thickened take it off the heat and whisk in the cold butter. Let the curd cool and store it in a sterilised jar. It will keep up to about one week in the fridge.

Tags:recipes recipes baking Sweet Treats Summer quick fruit

Fried prawn cakes...on a bed of watercress. Served with a glass of cold beer.

Before this turns out to be a blog about the weather, let me just clarify about the kind of weather we have here in Sydney during the summer months. Whilst we can have traditional "hot" days, with blazing sunshine and high temperatures we also experience sub tropical weather. Think sticky, humid and thunderstorms. Its quite unique and something I still cant bear. I find myself showering three times a day during the humid months. But I digress... I wanted to showcase some more summer recipes. Primarily, food that you can enjoy with a glass of cold beer. Admittedly you will be frying these lovely morsels but I promise it won't be too long.

I found a recipe for fried prawn cakes made by the domestic goddess herself. They're very easy, very simple and you won't be able to stop at just one. They have a bit of a Spanish influence with the addition of sherry but you could easily "Thai" them up! (We'll get to that in a second). I have to admit to two things here. Firstly, I'm not a big fan of Nigella but these looked too good to pass up. And the recipe turned out quite nicely. Secondly, I'm not a big fan of deep frying. I have no patience waiting for the oil to get to the perfect frying temperature. But I am learning as I go along. I wait for the oil to heat up on a medium temperature and that way it ensures everything is cooked evenly and not too quickly. Once they're cooked enjoy them with a glass of your favourite cold brew. Perfect tropical eating...



FRIED PRAWN CAKES RECIPE (Adapted from Nigella Lawson's "How to eat")
500 g of shelled, cleaned and deveined prawns finely chopped (thats shrimp to our North American cousins)
2 garlic cloves finely minced
4 spring onions finely chopped
1 tsp of dried chili flakes
salt and pepper to taste
50 ml of sherry
120g of plain flour
sunflower oil for frying

Mix all the ingredients together with enough water to make a batter. Look to make a "thickish" batter. Let it stand for a few hours covered with plastic wrap. Once your oil has come to a nice cooking temperature, drop teaspoonfuls of the batter into the oil and fry evenly. Drain the cakes on a paper towel. Serve sprinkled with sea salt and lemon wedges. Aioli would also work well as a dipping sauce for the prawn cakes.

You may also want to make a Thai version of these as well. I thought about his after I had made them. Perhaps substituting the sherry for fish sauce and adding some coriander, lime juice and a small portion of palm sugar. Its fun to play around with food ideas isn't it? Now where's that beer?..

Tags:Canapes party foods Seafood Summer recipes

A selection of goodies

Happy 2008 everyone! The new year saw us sweltering here in Sydney. With temperatures in the mid to high 30's I was at a loss at what to cook. Nobody wants to be stuck in a hot kitchen sweating away. This is where the famous Italian antipasto or Greek "meze" come into play. It's very simple to throw a few things together and nibble at a little bit of everything. Plump, marinated Kalamata and green olives. Freshly sliced cucumbers. Quick roasted tomatoes. Cold meats, tzatziki and toasted olive ciabatta. Let your taste buds have fun. Throw in a good bottle of wine and before you know it, lunch is served.

For now I'll make this a visual feast. I'll follow with recipes and ingenious ways to use them over the next few days. Now get ready to drool...


Get creative with ingredients lying around


Lay out a spread...let everyone help themselves





Succulent cold meats...Hot Salami, Mortadella and Sopressa


Lots of olives...

Tags:quick recipes Summer antipasto