thai inspired chicken wings

Ingredients

Coriander, thai basil, lemongrass
garlic
lemon juice
honey
fish sauce
chilli (optional)

Method

Marinade

Use a blender to chop up lemongrass into almost a paste.  You can add garlic to this or chop up garlic finely.  Chop herbs.  Add lemon juice, honey, fish sauce and chilli.  Taste.

Add chicken wings and store in fridge for at least 1 hour.  Cook in high oven for 20-25 minutes.

wild mushroom rissotto

Ingredients

2 cups aborio rice (serves 4)
dried wild mushrooms
fresh shitake mushrooms
white wine
stock (chicken or vegetable)
garlic
onion
butter
olive oil
parmesan cheese
lemon zest

Method

Soak the dried wild mushrooms in warm water for at least 30 minutes.  Reserve some the liquid (take from the top only as the bottom will have dust and dirt).
Chop onions, garlic, mushrooms.
In a pot melt some butter in olive oil.  Add garlic and onions.  Divide some of this into a pan and fry the mushrooms.  Leave aside.
Meanwhile, heat the stock and reserve mushroom liquid.  In the pot, add the aborio rice and cook till colour changes slightly.  Then add some white wine (enough to cover rice).  Stir till absorbed, then add stock slowly stirring rice.  Every now and then add some of the mushrooms.  Add more stock and stir.  Just before risotto is ready to serve, mix in parmesan cheese, lemon zest, pepper and salt if needed.  Garnish with fresh herbs.

Roast pork with crackling

Ingredients

Pork belly
ground cinnamon
ground star anise
ground cloves
ground all spice
pepper
salt

Method
Score the skin on the pork belly, and rub spice mixture, salt and pepper all over the pork belly.  Leave uncovered in the fridge for 1-2 days.
Preheat the oven to 200-225 degrees C.
Rub skin with a bit of olive oil.  Put pork belly in the oven to cook for 30 minutes.  Turn heat down to 180 and cook for about an hour, depending on the size of the meat.

Roast chicken with rose and sage flower oil marinade

INGREDIENTS


Chicken
2 lemons
salt
Dried rose buds, or fresh rose petals
Sage flowers
fresh thyme
fresh oregano
2 cloves of garlic
Olive oil

(you can substitute the thyme and oregano for other herbs such as rosemary)


METHOD

Crush the herbs, sage flowers and garlic (and if your using fresh rose petals, crush them too).  Add them to a jar filled with olive oil, together with the  dried rose buds.  Leave to stand for a week or until flavours have infused.

Rub salt on the chicken together with some of the rose oil.  Leave to marinade for at least half an hour.  Meanwhile quarter one lemon.  Crush some fresh herbs and  add to the lemon together with a bit of the rose oil.  Before putting the chicken in a preheated oven, squeeze half a lemon onto it.  Check chicken every so often, adding more oil and lemon juice.

Orange and mango almond cake

INGREDIENTS

1 orange
1 mango, peeled
250 g almond meal
250 g castor sugar
4 to 5 eggs
1 tsp baking powder

METHOD

Preheat oven at 170 degree C.
Place the whole orange in a pot.  Cover with water, bring to a boil then simmer for an hour.  Let the orange cool down.  Cut into smaller pieces and remove the seeds (optional).  Puree the orange and mango.  In a bowl mix the castor sugar and eggs.  Then mix in the orange and mango puree, almond meal and baking powder.  Place into a greased cake dish.  Bake for about 50 minutes.

If you wish you can add a mango or orange syrup.  Add to the cake when still warm.  Poke holes into the cake with a knife then pour in syrup.

Orange syrup

INGREDIENTS

 2 tsp orange zest
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup castor sugar

METHOD

Bring all the ingredients to a boil for two minutes then simmer.

To make the mango syrup substitute the orange juice with mango juice.

Olive bread

INGREDIENTS

ham or sun-dried tomatoes
200-300 g olives
150 g swiss cheese or parmesan
250 g self-raising flour
4 eggs
150 ml olive oil
120 ml white wine
salt and pepper to taste
spring onions c/basil chopped

METHOD
Preheat oven 200 C.  Add the eggs to the flour.  Mix well.  Then mix in the oil, then the wine.  Add the olives, cheese, tomatoes, salt, pepper and spring onions.  Cook for 45 minutes.

Sticky fig and date pudding

This recipe is based on the fig and date sticky toffee pudding
http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/2065/fig+date+sticky+toffee+puddings


INGREDIENTS

•  butter, to grease ramikins
• 200g (3/4 cup) whole dried figs, coarsely chopped
• 135g (3/4 cup) pitted dates, coarsely chopped
• 310ml (1 1/4 cups) boiling water
• 4 earl grey tea bags
• 125g butter, at room temperature
• 100 g or less, brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• 225g (1 1/2 cups) self-raising flour
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• Thickened cream or ice-cream to serve (optional)
• 
  
  
  

  Butterscotch sauce

• 100 g or less, brown sugar
• 250ml (1 cup) thickened cream
• 50g butter, chopped

METHOD

 

Preheat oven 160°C.  Combine fig, dates with boiling water.  Add tea bags and soak for 15 minutes.  Remove tea bags.  Beat the butter and sugar until pale and creamy.  Add the eggs one at a time, making sure to beat well after each addition.  Add the bicarbonate of soda to the flour.  Alternatively fold the flour and soaked fig and dates into the egg mixture.  Spoon mixture into greased ramikins. Place on tray and put into oven. Cook for 30 minutes.

To make the sauce combine all the ingredients into a saucepan.  Stir over low heat until butter and sugar is dissolved.  Then bring to a boil on medium heat.  Simmer until the sauce thickens.  Pour over pudding and serve with double cream or ice-cream.