thepassionatecook

Easy-peasy raspberry tarts with passion fruit curd

Preparing yummilicious food really IS child's play... you don't believe me? It's just about recognising where you stand in the list of skilled pastry chefs... no use working with a Pierre Herme recipe when really, your experience doesn't extend beyond smores and jell-o, believe me, I have learnt this the hard way. (I'll spare you the details, but I've seen everything from cakes exploding in the microwave to my cousin's plaits getting caught in the hand mixer...)

These tartlets are dressed to impress, but really easy to put together! A wonderful recipe for kids to get their hands dirty and feel like a proper pastry chef in the making! Bookmark it for them now for your Mother's Day treat. If you are not happy for them to use a food processor, you can put the biscuits in a plastic bag and crush them with a mallet... very soothing. If I had money to pay for a study, I'd like to see how this "therapy" performs compared to Ritalin ;-)

If you're willing to go the extra mile (like I did in this recipe), you can make some home-made passion fruit (or lemon) curd, but less experienced little chefs might just want to use the store-bought variety - the result will be equally scrumptious!

Of course, it's not just a recipe for the culinarily challenged, it is also an amazing choice when you don't have much time to slave in the kitchen or are preparing a multi-course dinner and the last thing you want to fret over is dessert... it's so quickly assembled, you definitely won't get your knickers in a twist!

Sweetcorn soup with bacon popcorn

Growing up in Austria, there were two vegetables that were grown all around me, but that nobody seemed to eat: pumpkin and sweetcorn. My grandparents owned and worked a small farm, which was more a labour of love with my granddad combining the functions of cobbler, designated medicine-man and mayor of the little town my parents grew up in. But grow vegetables they did - and for sweetcorn and pumpkin he just had one thing to say: pumpkin was for the pigs and sweetcorn for the chicken. We never ate any of it ourselves.

The only experiences of eating sweetcorn as a kid was going to a lake near my hometown in the summer and stealing baby sweetcorn from the field behind the parking lot. Eating it there and then, with an adequate portion of guilt gnawing on us while we were gnawing on the cob. And, well, there was popcorn on those long game nights our family used to cherish. Homemade, in the pot, with luscious amounts of butter, because my parents never owned a microwave. And because we love our butter. But that's a whole different story.

So I only came to appreciate fresh sweetcorn when living in London and enjoying BBQs in our own garden. We always had corn on the cob there, with generous amounts of chilli and herb butter. And if there were leftovers, I would make sweetcorn soup or salad the next day.

This recipe uses fresh sweetcorn, as we don't have a BBQ here - but feel free to substitute leftover grilled corn or even try canned if maize is not in season in your neck of the woods... just adjust the cooking time accordingly. And because no soup is complete without a topping, be it garlic croutons or a generous sprinkle of parmesan, I added some crunchy popcorn and crispy bacon... a match made in heaven. I made enough of the topping to be nibbling away on it for the rest of the evening - it's unbelievably moreish, don't say I didn't warn you!

Bacon-wrapped king prawns on rosemary skewer with lemon-olive oil dip

Super easy idea for a stylish and very tasty appetiser... it doesn't get better than this!
It's so simple, it doesn't really require a recipe as such... the success lies in choosing top quality ingredients. We're lucky here in Singapore, because seafood is easy to come by and especially the shellfish is incredibly fresh and tasty. Try to find a good fishmonger in your area and insist on buying king prawns that have never been frozen. You will be rewarded with prawns that are juicy and succulent and very, very tender.

Next, choose your bacon. This really only works with thinly cut (or, as they like to say here, "shaved"). I have always been an advocate of thinly cut cold meats - I will often be overheard at the deli counter saying that I "want to be able to read my newspaper through it" ;-)
The kind of bacon you want is a raw/dry-cured bacon from the belly which is generously seasoned (here in Singapore I get this at the Swiss butchers in Dempsey, in London I would buy Pancetta from Waitrose or Sainsbury's) - you want a nicely cured piece of raw bacon - don't even think about buying your average breakfast bacon... the slices are so thick that it become impossible to gauge if the prawns are propery cooked and they ooze too much water as well... I have no idea what they put in that and I don't think I want to find out!

Then you need an excellent-quality extra-virgin/cold pressed olive oil. I personally like French because it has the subtlest tast in my opinion, but I am also partial to some Portuguese. Take your own favourite, as long as you don't use a non-descript supermarket brand you should be fine. Mix with the same amount of lemon juice and shake well in an old jam jar to prepare the dip.

Avocado & goats cheese crostini with slow-roast balsamic tomatoes

I've always liked having friends over for dinner parties with tons of food... the stress involved beforehand, not so much. It takes years of practice to select just the right dishes that won't leave you frazzled when your guests are here - even more of an art than cooking itself, I should think.

This recipe is one of the amuse-bouches I made for last night's farewell & birthday party with the lovely Heidinger family... there aren't many people who appreciate food just as much as we do, but these people certainly do! Even better, they enjoy the preparations just as much and aren't shy to offer a hand, even if push DOESN'T come to shove. Those are the best dinner parties - where you can go at a leisurely pace, everybody chips in and there is just as much fun to be had with the preparations as the actual food itself.

The secret lies in selecting dishes which allow for advance preparation, leaving just a few bits and bobs required for assembly sur place and a la minute. These easy-peasy canapes are one example - the tomatoes are slow-roasted in the oven in the morning, the avocado & goat's cheese cream takes no time at all to put together and even the garlic-infused crostini-bases can be prepared well in advance. Less chance of panic, more time to chit-chat... party food par excellence!

Teriyaki veal fillet with asparagus and green tea noodles

I've always been a fan of Japanese food - it's so fuss-free and wholesome, yet incredibly tasty. What surprises me the most about it, is how seldom I make it at home! People often shy away from making Asian food simply because they lack the ingredients - and who wants to go to a specialist store and buy a vast array of food stuff of which you're only going to use a fraction, with the remainder using up valuable pantry space until you finally have the guts to throw it away ten years later...

This dish uses things I readily have at home all the time and I guess most cooks would have the ingredients at hand - the Teriyaki marinade is made from scratch and any of the more unusual condiments can be easily substituted. If you cannot find green tea noodles, I often use plain buckwheat soba noodles (which is even healthier, eliminating the wheat), the Noilly Prat I used for the marinade can be replaced by Fino sherry or sake, white wine vinegar can easily stand in for the rice vinegar. The hot chilli bean paste is optional, but if you don't have it and want to add some spice, try wasabi instead.

Huevos divorciados - divorced eggs

This, ladies and gentlemen, is one of my favourite breakfasts of all time. So called because they are surrounded by two different types of salsa like divorcees whose friends are taking the side of one or the other, huevos divorciados are a perfect start to the day.

I never made them very much, because the preparation of the salsas requires overnight pre-soaking of chiles that are hard to get in the first place, but over time, I have now come up with the necessary satisfactory short cuts to make this as easy a breakfast as any to put together. For the red salsa, I use chipotles out of a jar or tin (instead of the customary dried chile ancho and chile de arbol) as well as tinned tomatoes. And I use store-bought salsa verde as I can't buy tomatillos here in Asia... At least not without depositing one of my cute blond kids at a Chinese pawnshop until the next paycheque comes through!

After that, it's just a matter of spreading a good measure of frijoles on a wheat or corn tortilla, sprinkling it generously with grated cheese, then topping it with two eggs fried sunny-side up and the sauces spooned over. And on the subject of frijoles, I usually make my own, but you could easily use canned ones of a brand you trust.

So, doesn't that sound like a walk in the park? It is, trust me - and you will have a breakfast to impress your family or friends with in no time!

Stuffed marrowbone

Not usually into "weird" foods, I do realise marrow bones are not necessarily a staple item in modern-day kitchens. Although I'd easily run a mile to avoid anything with offal, I have always liked marrow bone on the rare occasions that presented themselves. I reality, I only know them as part of the traditional Viennese Tafelspitz where it is cooked for various hours together with the meat and the soup served as its starter, and the marrow is spread thinly on toasted rye-bread as a special treat in between courses. Or cut lengthways, simply put under the grill for a few minutes until it bubbles, and enjoyed with sourdough bread and a tangy herb sauce.

When I got Peter Gordon's "Fusion" to review a couple of years ago, I was immediately intrigued by his recipe. It is rich, but full of flavours, and definitely out of the ordinary. Depending on which bone or which part of the bone you happen to be buying, you might have more filling than you can fit in the bone... serve the surplus alongside in a little bowl, you will find there won't be any left-overs!
Keep the bones you have so pain-stakingly cleaned for the next time - you can even put them in the dishwasher, leave them to dry thoroughly and store in a dry place - just like scallop shells, you can use them for years to come!

Prawncakes on lemongrass skewers

These skewers full of wonderfully exotic flavours are a wonderful addition to any party spread... or an excellent entree at your next BBQ! They're a far cry from the ones served as pub grub, full of grease and served with the ubiquitous store-bought sweet chilli sauce. These here are fresh and healthy as they are grilled rather than deep-fried. Quickly put together, they benefit from a few hours in the fridge for the flavours to mingle - so you have time to get on with other stuff.

The picture above was taken at a catering I did a while ago - limited in space, I had to use my Foreman Grill, but they are even better grilled on a charcoal BBQ and eaten straight off it. Serve them with a dipping sauce consisting of brown sugar, soy sauce and lime juice, add chopped garlic, chilli and coriander to your liking.

Similar types of prawn cakes are available throughout Asia - on a recent trip to Vietnam, we saw them on almost every streetcorner. They call them Chao Tom there and they're actually moulded, lollipop style, onto pieces of sugar cane. While this is available at most supermarkets here, I realise that it is more difficult to get your hands on it elsewhere, which is why this version using lemongrass is a great alternative - the fringe benefit being the wonderful flavour it imparts!

Honey, ginger & soy glazed pork fillet with pak choi

Sometimes Asian recipes seem taunting to the home cook simply for the long list of ingredients used. Once you take a closer look, you realise that most of them are now readily available even in a local supermarket (I am not taking Singapore as standard, of course, but have recently noticed a large variety of Asian cooking stuff being available in grocery stores throughout Europe and the Americas - and not even limited to the big cities!)

This recipe used very basic ingredients, most kitchens I know will have at least soy sauce at hand, apart from that only rice wine (could be substituted with Fino sherry or Noilly Prat at a push) and yellow bean paste is needed - the latter is easy to find in larger supermerkets, as the ready-made sauces are always the first ingredients to be introduced.

When I cook Asian food, I like to use coconut oil - and I know that it's got a bad rep, but I believe that for most parts, this is a government agenda trying to promote US grown soy and canola over Asian produce. Coconut oil, if produced organically and sustainably, is actually a great option both for its health benefits (the lauric acid it contains is only found in coconut oil and human breast milk) as well as because it is one of the most heat-stable oild around. The one I use is a Virgin (ie cold-pressed) coconut oil from the Philippines, sold underthe Country Farm Organics label. I like to use ot in Asian cooking because it adds a nice, subtle coconut flavour, which I find to go well with almost all Asian recipes.

If you do not have access to coconut oil or (for some unimaginable reason) don't like the taste, feel free to use grapeseed or another oild suitable for cooking at high temperatures.

I love this recipe because despite the many steps involved, they slot very well together so it can all be done in about 30 to 45 minutes. What you get is a meal full of exotic flavours that will have you long for more!

Honey, ginger & soy glazed pork with spicy pak choy*
(serves 4)

2 pork tenderloins (pork fillet), total weight ca. 700g
8 cloves garlic (3 finely chopped, the rest crushed)
about 4 cm fresh ginger rhizome (peeled and finely grated)
4 tbsp yellow bean paste (from large supermarkets or an Asian shop)
4 tbsp honey
4 tbsp soy sauce
4 tbsp rice wine
1 tbsp soft brown sugar
5 tbsp coconut oil
1 large red chilli
400 g pak choi (cleaned and tough stem cut off)
salt

To serve:
Steamed jasmine or basmati rice

First, clean the pork, removing any fat and remaining tendons.
For the marinade, combine the 5 crushed cloves of garlic, the ginger, yellow bean paste, honey, soy sauce, rice wine, brown sugar and 3 tbsp coconut oil in a tupperware container large enough to hold both pork fillets. Immerse the pork in the marinade and leave to stand and allow to infuse for at least 30 minutes (you could do this the night before as well!).

Pre-heat oven to 200C.
Take a large cast-iron or stainless steel pan. Sear the pork (the marinade need to be kept aside for later) on all sides until nicely browning - I don't usually add any oil at that stage as the marinade contains quite a bit already. Transfer the meat to a casserole or other oven-proof dish and place in the pre-heated oven. Set the timer to 15 minutes.

(Now would be the best time to set your rice steaming if you haven't already done so)

Cut the chilli open lengthwise and remove all the membranes and seeds. Chop the chilli finely (and remember you did that when you're trying to remove your contact lenses later :-))

When the pork fillet is ready to come out of the oven, transfer onto a chopping board and leave to rest for 10 minutes. Retain the juices that will have gathered in the casserole.

Heat the coconut oil in a wok, when the oil starts to smoke, add the garlic and chilli and quickly fry off, stirring constantly to prevent charring. Add the pak choi and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes, adding some water or rice vinegar to create some steam.

Now reheat the pan you used to sear off the pork, add the remaining juices from the casserole as well as the left-over marinade. Gently warm through. Cut the pork into 2-3 cm medallions, then toss in the hot sauce.

Arrange the pak choi on a big serving plate with the pork fillet arranged on top, spoon over some more sauce.

Serve with the steamed rice on the side.

* adapted from "Ching's Chines Food in Minutes"

Chorizo, manchego & rocket omelette

 
Oh lazy, lazy Sundays... time to sleep in, but also endless time to linger over breakfast. This omelette is a newcomer in our brunch repertoire - but has earned itself a permanent place right on top there, mingling with the likes of my indulgent ham & shitake oeufs en cocotte, the ever-popular eggs florendict, salmon & rocket omelette layer cake...

With its ingredients so decidedly Spanish, you'd be tempted to call this a Spanish omelette - but that would be confusing, of course. Probably the most popular dish of Spain, the tortilla has always confused me, actually... having lived in Mexico, I consider a tortilla to be a flat round of cornmeal - a staple I would consume for breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as when I got the in-between munchies (ever tried to toast a corn tortilla on the open fire, spread it with mayo and cut some super ripe avocado in? A drizzle of lime and some chilli sauce and you have yourself the perfect snack indulgence... but I digress).

Even more confusing do I find the English "translation" of the Spanish tortilla: Spanish omelette. To me, an omelette is a couple of beaten eggs poured into a cast-iron pan, topped with whatever takes your fancy and cooked until just setting, then folded in half and served with crusty bread. A THIN layer of egg. Not a pan crowded with potatoes fried in olive oil with just enough egg to bind them together to form a sort of savoury cake.

So my recipe here is for a real omelette, but with Hispanic flavours - a few eggs topped with crispy chorizo, onion, leeks, chilli and some rocket. I like to keep my omelette slightly runny on top, just because I am an incorrigible mopper-upper of juices on my plate. A great weekend breakfast or brunch solution. Quick to put together and oh so satisfying...