Christmas Leftovers - Over Catered Lunch Keeps On Giving

After an Excellent Christmas Day Feast
We had Leftover Salmon and Peas

I have people coming over tonight.
Let's make Fish Pie

This is not so much a recipe, just assembling really
I defrosted some Prawns to bulk up the Salmon
and quickly roasted them

Saute some Leeks in Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Season with Sea salt and freshly Ground Black Pepper
for about 4-5 minutes
Toss in a good slurp of white wine
Let the wine bubble away
Remove from heat
Throw them into a good Bechamel sauce
Flavour that with some lemon zest
I also added leftover Tartare Sauce

Mix well together

Top Salmon and Peas with the Prawns
Mix in the White Sauce and top with fluffy mashed potatoes

Here ya Go...ready for the oven set at 180C

Pop it in for about 30 minutes till all bubbly and golden

Dinner is served!

A Twist on The Best Cheese Scones Ever - Perfect for Lunch

I have just made, the tastiest scones, using the recipe that I have posted before.

Thanks once again, to my friend Elpie, for giving me this recipe
It is worth a re-post
So so easy and quick. Perfect for lunch.
I added red capsicum and spring onions both finely chopped for some extra flavour

This recipe makes 4 scones. I like to make the dough fairly wet.
Like bread scones really don't their dough being too dry.

Heat oven to 220C

While the oven is heating up
Sift together into a bowl
1 cup plain flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
Good pinch salt
Add 1/2 tablespoon sugar
1 cup grated cheese, I used Mozzarella this time
1/2 red capsicum finely chopped
1 spring onion finely chopped
Grind black pepper

1/2 cup milk

With your fingers mix all of the dry ingredients together
Add milk

Mix with a knife till just blended
If the mixture is too dry add a little more milk
This should be the right amount (depends on the weather, flour etc)

Turn out onto a board and knead two or three times,
just to make sure they are well blended

Pat with floured hands onto a baking sheet lined with baking paper
Cut into 4 pieces

Bake in pre-heated oven for 8 minutes
turn the tray around and bake for about 3 more minutes

We had them with Egg Mayonnaise, topped with some fresh tomato

Perfect For the Christmas Buffet - Red, Green and White, Colours of Christmas

It's beginning to look a lot Like Christmas in our house, as we get closer to the Magical Day.
Friends from Wellington were up and what a excellent reason for a feast.
I thought I would go the Salad way.
It's summer don't you know and what better

So we started with the old favourite Caprese
Then a Roasted Prawn and Orzo Salad
Accompanied by a delicious Aubergine dressed with Mint and Chili
Topped off with Eton Mess

I got a bit carried away with the Quantities with The Prawn Salad so there is leftovers which I will deal with in my next blog

Caprese of course is very simple

I just take
1 large Tomato per person
1 small Boccacino  (small balls of fresh mozzarella) per person
Loads of basil
Sea salt, freshly ground black pepper
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Cut the tomatoes into wedges
Throw onto a nice platter

Break up the mozzarella
Sprinkle around
Season well with Salt and pepper

Tear the basil and cover the the Tomato and Cheese
Liberally drizzle the Extra Virgin Olive Oil over the top and
Voila
Best to leave for about an hour to get those flavours melded

I have to thank Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa for this Roasted Prawn and Orzo Salad
It is perfect for your Buffet Table

Ina's recipe feeds 6
I doubled it and actually there would have been enough for 16
The flavours are delightful
The good thing is that you can make this earlier in the day
But make sure that you get it out of the Fridge at least an hour before you eat
Then the flavours will be perfect
Don't be put off by the amount of salt It needs it.
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    Kosher salt

    Good olive oil

    3/4 pound orzo pasta (rice-shaped pasta)

    1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (3 lemons)

    Freshly ground black pepper

    2 pounds (16 to 18 count) prawn, peeled and deveined

    Zest and juice of 1 more lemon for the prawn

    1 cup minced scallions, white and green parts

    1 cup chopped fresh dill

    1 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

    1 hothouse cucumber, unpeeled, seeded, and medium-diced

    1/2 cup small-diced red onion

    3/4 pound good feta cheese, large diced

Directions

Preheat the oven to 210C/400 degrees F.

Fill a large pot with water, 

add 1 tablespoon of salt and 

a splash of oil, and bring the water to a boil. 

Add the orzo and simmer for 9 to 11 minutes, 

stirring occasionally, until it's cooked al dente. 

Drain and pour into a large bowl. 

Whisk together the lemon juice, 

1/2 cup olive oil, 

2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper. 

Pour over the hot pasta and stir well.

Meanwhile, place the prawns on a sheet pan, 

drizzle with olive oil, and 

sprinkle with salt and pepper

and grate the lemon zest over the top

Toss to combine and spread out in a single layer. 

Roast for 5 to 6 minutes, until the shrimp are cooked through. 

Don't overcook!

Add the prawns to the orzo and then 

add the scallions, dill, parsley, cucumber, onion, 

2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. 

Toss well. 

Add the feta and stir carefully. 

Set aside at room temperature for 1 hour to allow the flavors to blend, or refrigerate overnight. 

If refrigerated, taste again for seasonings and 

bring back to room temperature before serving.

Theo Randall made this salad in the TV programme "Perfect"

How special for Christmas.

Plus it was superb

As usual I made some changes

Particularly with the cooking of the Aubergine

I like to roast it, it doesn't take so much oil and it is easier

Just lay the aubergine on a baking sheet and pop into the oven for about 10 minutes 

Taste the dressing before you use it, you may want a little more sugar or vinegar

Use your taste buds

Minted Aubergine with Ricotta Salad

    Olive oil,     

    2 large, aubergines, cut into 1cm circular slices
    1 garlic clove
    1 tsp red chilli, seeds removed and finely chopped
    2 tbs red wine vinegar

    1/2 tsp sugar
    1 tbsp mint leaves, finely chopped
    150 g ricotta cheese
    squeeze lemon juice

Method
Oil a baking sheet

Lay the aubergine slices on the tray and then either brush with oil 

or in this case I use the Olive Oil spray can

Season with Sea salt and pepper

Cool then lay out on a platter

Using the back of a knife, mince the garlic with some salt to make a paste 

then place it in a small bowl.

Add the chopped chilli, red wine vinegar, fresh mint and a splash of olive oil.

Place the cheese in a bowl and add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, a pinch of salt and black pepper, and a dash of olive oil.
Scatter over the ricotta cheese in lumps and 

then sprinkle over the garlic, chilli and mint topping.

And finally Eton Mess 

This is so simple

You can use bought meringues but I did make the Chocolate Meringues that I pinched from
the Foodlovers Blog go here to have a look at her blog click Here
Helen has some great ideas


3 size 7 egg whites 
3/4 cup caster sugar 
1 teaspoon cornflour 
1 teaspoon cocoa 
1/2 teaspoon white vinegar 
2 teaspoons boiling water 
50g quality dark chocolate, chopped

Method

Preheat oven to 120 C.
Whisk the egg whites until foamy
and with the motor running pour in the combined sugar, cocoa, cornflour 
and then vinegar and boiling water.  
Beat for 10 minutes until meringue is thick and glossy.
Using a metal spoon fold through the chocolate taking care not to over mix.
Place spoonfuls of mixture on a baking paper lined tray
and bake for 1 hour or longer, until meringues feel firm and almost hollow when tapped.
Place a wooden spoon in the oven door and turn the oven off.
Leave the meringues in the oven for 30 minutes or longer before removing.
These meringues should be chewy on the inside and crisp on the outside.
I was inspired by Marco Pierre White for this version of Eton Mess
There was a lot of  puree and I didn't use it all
Use your discretion


   2 punnets raspberries
   2 punnets strawberries
   Icing sugar, to taste
   Kirsch liqueur or Rasberry Liqueur
   200g double cream
   20g icing sugar
   6 crushed meringues
   6 balls vanilla ice-cream
   Six sprigs of mint, to garnish

METHODCrush together the raspberries and the strawberries
so that the fruit becomes a pulp.
Season with the icing sugar and Liqueur

Whip the cream and icing sugar together.

To serve,
Place a ball of vanilla ice-cream into the bottom of each of six chilled sundae glasses.
Cover the ice-cream with a small amount of pulp 
Finally, fold the crushed meringue 
with the more pulp into the cream to form a rippled effect.

Spoon this mixture into the glasses. 
Top with extra puree
Devour
The end of the day,
Cup of tea before departure
A great night

 

Fresh Fish-The Best Way to Cook It

People are always worried about how to cook fish. I don't know why
It is so so simple
This is a fail safe way.
I bought some beautiful Terakihi from Faro Fresh
The filets are not too thick so the timing here is just perfect
Using the method that Ina Garten uses for Roasted Prawns, this is quick and beautiful
Amounts don't matter, you can do this for as many people as you like

Filets fish I like to have between 150-200 gms per person
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Zest and juice of 1 lemon per 2 people
1 medium tomato per person cut into chunks
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Heat the oven to 210C


Oil a baking sheet with some Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Season your filets of fish both sides with Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Lay on the baking sheet
Cover with tomatoes, lemon zest and drizzle more olive oil over the top

Pop into preheated oven
Bake for 6 minutes
Remove and drizzle over the lemon juice

I served with New Potatoes and Peas
Throw some butter and mint into the cooked vege

Yum

White Chocolate and Craisin Cookies

I thought I would re-post this recipe, as Christmas is coming and these are great for this time of the year
I have been baking these for a cake stall today. I ran out of Ground Almonds
So I made the third batch will Ground Cashews
Works very well
You can also substitute craisins, for sultanas and dark choc for white choc
But the best is the original

I got the recipe from Rachel Allen, off her TV programme on Chocolate treats...
Here is one of them
Nice for Christmas Presents
White Chocolate and Craisin Cookies

Heat oven to 180c
Assemble all of the ingredients
This is a very quick method

First melt 150 gms butter and cool a bit

Then into a bowl
150 gms plain flour sifted

1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda

Pinch salt

50 gms ground almonds
50 gms rolled oats
60 gms Craisins
100 gms light brown sugar
100 gms white Chocolate chips


1 large egg yolk

When butter has cooled slightly...this is to stop it melting the choc chips
Add the egg
Whisk and add to all the dry ingredients
Mix



Place directly on top a baking sheet, you don't need to grease it
Make balls about the size of a ping pong ball as per the 2 on the right
Squash down 2-3 times to flatten with a fork dipped in flour
Just like the 2 on the left

Bake 10-12 minutes
They spread a little

Leave to cool for about 5 minutes on the tray
If you try to move them too soon they will break
and onto a wire rack.
Excellent

Gluten Free Lunch- and Very tasty It Was Too

We had our first lunch at our new Abode yesterday.
My menu needed to be Gluten Free
I thought about a lovely, tasty, filling Salad
But even though it is warming up, it's not really Summer yet
Looked at the Bookcase
Staring me in the face was Nigella Lawson's book "Kitchen"
Flipped through the pages looking for ideas and came across her Venetian  Lasagne.

Instead of Pasta, the layers were made of Polenta
What a great idea.
No gluten there.

So, for the first course. I did do a salad.
Caprese in fact
Normally for presentation, the Tomatoes and Mozzarella are layered with basil leaves, but this time I decided to tear the Mozzarella and Basil and cut the Tomatoes into wedges.

So doing that, I arranged them on the plate,
Seasoned well with Sea Salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Made a quick dressing of Extra Virgin Olive Oil, with Balsamic Vinegar
Drizzled that over the top
Fabulous colours

I made the Lasagne the day before and I highly recommend doing this, particuraly if you are serving for lunch it does take a minute or two
Plus gives the flavours a good chance to meld

Next time and there will be a next time, I will make the polenta in 2 batches.
Much easier to spread, I think it was a bit thick.
Like Nigella I used the Instant variety.
Could call it cheating but it's very easy
Another shortcut, (also suggested by Nigella), I used grated Parmesan.
It's not like the smelly sawdust, you used to get and certainly saves time

First the Polenta
500 gms Polenta
2 litres of Chicken stock
1 tablespoon butter
200 gms Parmesan Cheese grated
2 baking trays
A baking dish suitable for lasagne

Wet the trays with cold water to stop the polenta sticking
Make it in 2 batches for ease of spreading

Method
Bring the stock to the boil
Slowly rain in the Polenta
Stirring all of the time with a wooden spoon

I actually took a whisk to it,
made it a bit easier to get out the lumps
When it starts to thicken
add the butter and 100 grams of Parmesan
Beat well
Over a low heat keep cooking and stirring, for about 3 minutes
It will start to come away from the side of the pan

Pour into the trays and spread out as thin as you can

Put aside to set
When ready to use, turn it out onto a board
It pops out easily.
Cut to fit your baking dish
You will have enough for 3 layers
Might look a bit like a jigsaw but that's OK

You can use any Meat sauce that you like
This is loosely based on Nigellas, basically, its what I do anyway
I like to brown the mince, before I cook the vegetables, one gets a better flavour from the beef.
Also I cooked the Mushrooms separately, same reason. Flavour.

2 tablespoons oil oil
500 gms mince
1 large onion finely chopped
1 carrot finely chopped
1 stick celery finely chopped
2 cloves garlic peeled and finely chopped
Sea Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons Tomato Paste
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 can Water
1 bay leaf

2 tablespoons olive oil
250 gms mushrooms finely chopped
Few sprigs fresh thyme
Dash white wine
Sea Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat a large frypan add 1 tablespoon oil and crumble in the mince
Don't overcrowd the pan you may need to do it in 2 batches
When the mince is brown remove and set aside
Add another tablespoon of oil and throw in your onions
Season with S&P
Soften then add carrots, celery and garlic
Once again, cook to soften
Add your mince, tomatoes, Bay leaf and Tomato paste
Fill the tomato can with water and add

Meanwhile in a separate pan, cook the Mushrooms
Add oil to hot pan
Throw in the mushrooms 
Toss
Season with S&P and add thyme
Toss again
Then add wine and let it reduce till mushrooms are dry
This will get maximum flavour

Add to mince mixture
Simmer about an hour
Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary

To assemble

Grease the baking dish
Add a layer of polenta
Half of the meat mixture
Another layer Polenta
Rest of meat
Top with final layer

Sprinkle over the top, with the rest of the Parmesan
Place some slices of Mozzarella on top

Bake at 200C for about 45 -to 60 minutes
Cheese should be Golden and meat sauce bubbling
 You can make this to this stage the day before

Just cover with cling wrap and stick in the fridge
Here's the cross section

Voted by the Guests 10 out of 10

In keeping with the Gluten Free Theme, I made some Chewy Chocolate Meringues
They are delicious, bite in and get a mouthful of Meringue with Chocolate Chips
Yummo!
This from a blog I follow foodlovers.co.nz
Click here to get the recipe
I served them with Marinated Berries and Fresh Cream

Pretty Yes?

All in all not bad for the first lunch
Next!

Rarotonga Punanga Nui Market-Put it on your Wish List

This is my last post from The Island, today sadly we go home.

I thought I should post some images of the Punanga Nui Market

Every Tourist should put a visit to The Market on their wish list

It opens around 8am every Saturday

It is so colourful

It’s where we go to get the fresh produce, buy gifts and bits of Raro to take home

Great Smoothies, all that fresh Tropical Fruit

This weekend there was the official opening of the new Stage for the Market.

As with most things on the Island, it took a while to build but finally there it is, in all its glory.

There was an official opening, then several Dance groups performed for us

My friend Trish, who just loves the Island, joined her sewing circle, who sewed while the dignitaries spoke.

Meanwhile our friends Vira and Barbara held court at Vira’s Massage Hut

When in Rarotonga you must visit Vira he is such a good masseuse

We walked out of his hut feeling like a million dollars

First we went to Café Salsa for breakfast.

This is a must for everyone. Highly recommended.

Dale had poached eggs on smoked Marlin Hash with Hollandaise

I had Eggs Benedict

Both were excellent

Meanwhile, here are some images of the people, we found fascinating