Double chocolate and condensed milk cookies
I flat out stole the base of this cookie recipe from my friend Terry Blake who use to bake these for the kiddies that came into bistro we worked in. And I’m pretty sure he stole the recipe from his mother who in turn stole it from her mother… and thats how ya know that their good!! I’ve add 400 gm of chocolate but you can add 400 gm of nuts, dried fruit, mini M&M’s or a crazy combo of all?? Love a bit of white choc and cranberry or smashed hazelnut with chopped chewy toffee!!
This recipe makes approximately 50 cookies (about 45 gm each) so I make a batch and freeze the rest of the dough in 3 logs wrapped in plastic wrap. You could be a smarty pants and roll them into balls, press with a fork, place them on a lined baking tray, freeze, then bag them up so they are ready to rock n roll when ya need them!!
500g salted butter, softened but not melted
1 1/4 caster sugar
1 tin of condensed milk
200g Cadburys 70% dark chocolate, roughly cut into chunks
200g Cadburys picnic chocolate, roughly cut into chunks
5 cups self raising flour
Preheat the oven 170 C
In a free standing mixer cream butter and sugar together on a medium speed and beat until fluffy, scrapping down the sides as you go. Add condensed milk and continue to mix for a minute or two. On a low speed fold in chocolate, then flour until it forms a dough. Line a baking tray with parchment paper and roll into 45g balls or about a golf ball size. Press with a fork and bake for 5 minutes, turn the tray and bake for a further 5 minutes or until golden brown.
Corn fritters with coriander, sweet chilli and lime served with Tzatziki
These jacked up corn fritters leave nanas tasting pretty bland!! They’re a yummy fluffy belly filler to smash ya munchies!! This recipe is more of a guide line than set in stone and can be made ahead of time and store in the fridge until ya ready to fry!!
– Corn fitters
2.5 C corn kernels, defrosted
1/2 – 3/4 C bubbly water
1/4 C sweet chilli sauce
1.5 C self raising flour
2 eggs
Big handful coriander, chopped
3 spring onion, sliced
Zest of Lime
2 tsp lime juice, fresh
Flaky sea salt and pepper
Vegetable oil for frying
– Tzatziki
1 C Greek yoghurt
1 small cucumber, peeled, seeds removed and finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed or finely grated
1 Tbs olive oil
2 tsp lime, fresh
1 Tbs mint leaves, chopped
1 Tbs coriander leaves, chopped
Flaky sea salt and pepper
– Tzatziki
Strain yoghurt through a fine sieve thats lined with a piece of muslin cloth leave to sit in the fridge for at least 1 hr. Once the excess liquid has drained mix in other ingredients, chill until required.
– Corn fritters
Whisk eggs, flour, sweet chilli and 1/2 C bubbly water together until smooth fold in remaining ingredients. Cover and chill until your ready to cook or leave batter to sit at room temp for approximately 20 minutes so the flavours can get to know each other before they party in ya mouth!!
Note: Add remaining bubbly water if ya want thinner fritters.
Creamy roast garlic, potato and fennel soup with crispy chorizo crumb
This soup looks like a bit of a plain Jane but its beautiful!! It can be finished with smoked salmon, chorizo crumb or enjoyed as is. Like most soups it tastes even better the next day
– Soup
1 kg agria potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 leek, white part only
2 bulb of garlic
1 small onion
100 ml cream
1.25 ltr Chicken stock,
15 gm butter
Olive oil
Flaky sea salt, to taste
– Wrapped in muslin
1 Tbs toast fennel seeds
2 bay leaves
Handful of thyme
10 black peppercorns
– Chorizo crumb
100 sliced chorizo
– Preheat the oven 180 C
Remove the tops of the garlic, season with salt and a splash of olive oil then wrap in tin foil and roast till soft, approximately 25 minutes
Meanwhile sweat leek and onion in a splash of olive oil and butter. Add potatoes, herbs and spices wrapped in muslin and chicken stock to cover. Cook until potatoes are soft.
Thinly slice chorizo and bake on baking paper until crispy. Allow to cool, and then blend in the food processer until it’s a fine crumb. Place back in the oven if it isn’t crispy enough. Set aside till serving.
Remove muslin. Squeeze out roasted garlic into soup.
Blend soup with a stick blender until smooth; add cream and season to taste.
Pass through a fine metal strainer before serving. Ladle soup into bowls and top with crispy chorizo crumb!!
Note: Add a little more chicken stock to thin out the soup if you feel its too thick!!
Westcoast whitebait baby – the best in the world!!
Low tide on the Waitoto river, West Coast NZ
Cleaning and storing our mid morning catch…… Oh happy days!!
And of course eating this delicacy!!!
My all time favourite thing to do is whitebaiting on the West Coast of NZ. Seasonal and early starts to cool crisps morning that are full of excitement and hope… will today be the day we catch my than we can carry??? Unfortunately this has yet to happy but a girl can dream!!! This is a simple and quick recipe which excites the hell out of my friends and family and rightly so!!! Serve as nibbles or an amazing lunch for 2 hungry peeps!!
300gm West Coast Whitebait
2 C plain flour
70ml vegetable oil
Flaky sea salt
Baguette, fresh
– Garnish
Lemon wedges
Butter
Wild rocket
Lemon mayo, optional
Drain the whitebait in a sieve to remove any liquid, pat sieve dry. Meanwhile heat a large frying pan on a high heat.
Cooking in batches, quickly toss whitebait in flour and return whitebait to the sieve, shake quickly to remove excess flour. Add a good swig vegetable oil to the hot pan and scatter in the whitebait, use tongs to quickly move the whitebait round the pan. Make sure its not piled up onto of each other or it will glue together and not be crispy. Cook for approximately 1 minute, then drain onto paper towels and season with sea salt while hot. Serve immediately with garnishes and baguette.
Baked Prawn, pea and basil risotto with thyme panko crumbs
Oh hot creamy goodness with buttery crispy crumb!!! Love the fact I don’t have to babysit this beauty on the gas top, just throw her in the oven for 40 minutes!! I reserve 250 mls of stock to add at the end as I prefer a wet risotto.
I’ve used prawn cutlets and peas, but you can use any flavours you like… Chorizo and rocket, chicken and artichoke, beetroot and goats curd… Whatever Trevor.
This serves 4 people normally or 2 and a baby if ya greedy suckers like my Whanau.
– Risotto base
1 onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, finely sliced
4 thyme sprigs, leaves only
1 Tbs oil
1 Tbs butter
1.5 C risotto rice, carnaroli
1200mls chicken stock
50gm butter
1 C grana padano Parmesan, grated
Flaky sea salt, to taste
Lemon juice, just a wee squeeze
250gm raw shelled prawn cutlets, chopped
3/4 cup of peas, blanched and refreshed
– Thyme panko crumb
1 Tbs olive oil
20gm butter
4 thyme sprigs, leaves only
1 C panko breadcrumbs
1 tsp Lemon zest, finely grated
Flaky sea salt
– Garnish
Small basil leaves
Preheat oven 180 C
– For the risotto base
Sweat onion, garlic and thyme in the olive oil and 1 T butter until cooked. Add rice and lightly toast, pour in 1 ltr of chicken stock, reserving 200 mls. Tightly cover with aluminium foil and bake for approximately 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and check the consistently of rice adding a little of the reserved stock if required, throw in chopped prawns, cover and bake for a further 8 – 10 minutes.
– Thyme panko crumb
In a small pan on a medium heat add oil and butter, cook until butter has melted. Add thyme leaves and allow to sweat for a minute or so before adding the breadcrumbs. Toast till golden brown, string often. Remove from the heat and add lemon zest and season with sea salt. This makes more than required for this risotto but store in a air tight container and use it on top of gratins, pastas or to add crunch to salads.
– To serve
Remove risotto from the oven add peas, the heat of the rice will warm the peas. With a wooden spoon beat in the 50 gm butter and a 3/4 of the parmesan add more stock to loosen the risotto if needed, (warm first so the stock doesn’t cool the risotto). Add a squeeze of lemon and check the seasoning and serve in individual bowls finishing them with panko crumbs, remaining parmesan and basil leaves
Paleo chocolate bites
I cut these into bite size delights and freeze them. Defrost for a couple of minutes before smashing that choc craving.
50 grams of coconut flour
½ cup Valrhona cocoa powder
140 g coconut oil, melted
3 eggs, at room temperature
155 ml 100% maple syrup or honey
2 Tbs coconut, finely shredded (optional)
½ vanilla pod, scrapped
Preheat the oven to 150 C and line ya baking dish (20cm by 20 cm)
Mix together all ingredients
Pour into the baking dish and bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool for 30 minutes before removing from the pan and cutting.
Note: you can use 140g melted butter instead of coconut oil.
Salted caramel glazed cinnamon scrolls
I thought I would never enjoy cinnamon again after being dared to eat a heaped tsp of ground cinnamon death by former work colleagues 8 years ago… Oh how they laughed, bastards. But I totally caved in once I made these puppies. I was in addict mode, one just wasn’t enough…. 6 wasn’t enough. I was hiding away in the spare room nibbling them while my child pawed at the door for me to let him in. I can’t be trusted with a batch of these!
– Dough
3/4 C Milk, full fat and slightly warmed – not hot or you’ll kill the yeast
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp dry yeast
1/3 C caster sugar
60 gm butter, melted and cooled
3 C high grade flour
1/2 vanilla pod, scrapped
1/2 tsp flaky sea salt
– Filling
3/4 Tbs ground cinnamon
1/2 C caster sugar
90 gm Butter, softened – not melted
– Glaze
Ma Jones salted caramel, 3-4 Tbs or as much as your scrolls can handle
Icing sugar, to dust
– For the dough
Add yeast to the warmed milk and stir, allow to stand for a few minutes. Meanwhile place flour and salt into a freestanding mixer with dough attachment or place in a medium sized bowl to mix by hand. Once yeast has activated add sugar, butter, vanilla then eggs and whisk. Add to the flour and mix until a smooth dough has formed. Put dough into a lightly greased bowl, cover and place in a warm area for approximately 1 1/2 hours or until risen.
Line a 30 cm round tin with baking paper or a similar sized baking dish
Mix caster sugar and cinnamon together, set aside.
Place dough onto a lightly floured bench and roll until the surface is approximately 55 by 30cm. Brush the dough with softened butter and sprinkle with all the caster sugar/cinnamon mix.
Tightly roll the dough up from the longest edge and cut into 20 even sized rounds. Place in lined tin or dish.
Cover and prove for 1 hr, back in the warm spot she goes.
Preheat oven on fan bake 210 C
Bake scrolls for 10 – 12 minutes or until they are golden brown and cooked through. Turn 1/2 way through cooking if you oven, like mine colours quicker on one side.
Once removed brush scrolls with slightly warmed Salted caramel. Place a small amount of icing sugar into a sieve and dust to make even prettier. Allow to cool, don’t burn ya gob.
Cashew nut, blueberry and dark chocolate bites
These little paleo treats are highly addictive. I’m not sure if its cos I have to wait a couple of minutes before scoffing them or the fact that this diet actually lets you consume chocolate!! Ok it’s small amounts but its still chocolate!!! Leave them any longer than the recommended defrosting time and you could find yourself with a gooey mess!! But whatever they still taste great!! Your skinny friends will also enjoy these with their trim flat white… so share or not!!!
Cashew nut, blueberry and Dark chocolate bites
Make 12, approximately
– Cashew butter
250 gm raw unsalted cashews
2 Tbs coconut oil, melted
½ cup coconut, finely shredded
½ vanilla bean pod, scrapped
1 Tbs 100% maple syrup
– Berry puree
¾ cup frozen blueberries, or any other berry
3 dates, pitted
– Topping
60 gm 85% Dark chocolate
Place dates in a small amount of water and boil till soft and plump, discard any remaining liquid. Add blueberries and dates to a food processer and blend till almost smooth. Remove and place in the freezer until required, 20 minutes.
Meanwhile put cashews in a food process and blend to a fine paste – approximately 15 minutes, scrapping down the sides as you go. Add coconut oil, shredded coconut, maple syrup and vanilla bean.
Break up chocolate and put into a small bowl, place over a pot of simmering water and melt. Make sure water doesn’t touch the bowl or the chocolate will split.
Line a mini muffin tin with small cup cake papers. Place cashew butter one third of the way up the liners and top with 1 teaspoon of blueberry puree. Place in the freezer to set, 10 minutes.
Finish with melted chocolate, place back in the freezer to set. Remove a 3 – 5 minutes before serving.
Butternut pumpkin soup with coconut and chilli oil
I’m always keen to try a get “skinny quick diet”, so you’ll find a few paleo/primal recipes here and there. Needless to say I’m fantastic at starting with a hiss and a roar, but thats about it. I guess I can’t go against the grain… literary! This soup has been a favourite of mine for many winters now so don’t let the fact its paleo get in the way of a good slurp!
– Butternut pumpkin soup
1 large onion, sliced
1 bulb of garlic
1 ltr chicken stock, enough to cover
½ tin of coconut cream. reserve some of the thickened cream for garnish
Flaky salt and pepper
1 Tbs Coconut oil
– Wrap in muslin cloth – Saves picking it out later
Handful of thyme
2 bay leaves
2 kaffa lime leaves
– To garnish
Chilli oil, see note
Coconut cream
Small Coriander leaves
Preheat oven 180 C
In a medium size pot sweat onion in coconut oil, add pumpkin, herbs wrapped in muslin, then cover with chicken stock. Simmer till pumpkin is soft.
Meanwhile wrap garlic in foil with a splash of olive oil and salt. I always do 3-5 bulbs at a time so I have extra in the fridge to rub on steaks or make aioli. Bake for 15 – 20 minutes until soft to squeeze.
Remove herbs.
Squeeze garlic from the skin and add to the soup with coconut cream, season with salt and pepper and blend with a stick blender or in a food processor until smooth.
Ladle soup into bowls. Garnish with small amount of chilli oil, dollop with coconut cream and finish with coriander leaves
Note- Chilli oil
100ml grape seed oil
3 Dried red chillies
½ Tbs cumin, toasted and ground
¼ tsp turmeric
¼ tsp paprika
Heat oil until warm – approximately 70 C. Remove from the heat add chillies, cumin, turmeric and paprika. Allow to cool, then store in a jar. Will keep for ages!!