Sugar et al, Author at Sugar et al

Red Kidney Bean and Pumpkin Stew

24|09|2014

I think we all have heard the story. Cinderella, her step-sisters, her fairy Godmother and the pumpkin carriage. To be able to transform into the most glamorous carriage, I couldn’t love the pumpkin more! But I literally couldn’t love it more than that. My parents love pumpkin and so do my children (how?). I couldn’t get past the mushy texture. As a colour-driven individual I love the way it looks and so last year, I made a few genuine attempts to start cooking with it. I did not fall in love. Nope. I know my readers love it too, gauging by the responses to my posts in the past. And since I love my readers, I decided to lock my eyes with pumpkin again. This time around I thought I would add it to recipes that are big on flavours and pumpkin is an addition. Non-pumpkin loving souls (if you exist?) could benefit from removing them, enjoying the rest of the dish if they wanted to. As it turned out, I actually liked the dish, along with the pumpkin. I did not have to remove any.

The stew is inspired by an Indian dish from my childhood.,’Rajma Masala’. The red kidney bean is the star here. We moms have a natural tendency to add ‘things’ to the meals we feed our children, so the addition of pumpkin is a no-brainer. What is great however, is the way the ingredients work together! The contrast in textures and flavours, makes the stew really delicious. And filling. A quick and hearty weeknight meal. Whilst being equally healthy.

Feel free to increase the heat in the stew by adding either a teaspoon of cayenne pepper, powdered chilli or chopped green chillies.

Red Kidney Bean and Pumpkin Stew
Serves 4

1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 red onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic
1/2 inch ginger, finely chopped
11/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
3/4 cup canned, diced tomatoes
3/4 cup vegetable stock/chicken stock
1 can red kidney beans (400 g)
400 g butternut pumpkin, chopped into 3 cm cubes
salt, to season
fresh sprigs coriander, leaves picked, for garnish

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the cumin seeds and wait for 30 seconds. Cook the onion, stirring, for 2-3 mins or until softened. Add the garlic, ginger and spices. Cook, stirring, for 1 min or until fragrant.

Add the tomato and stock. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 10 mins. Add red kidney beans and simmer a further 10 mins or until pumpkin is just tender. Season with salt. Garnish with coriander. Serve warm

Orange Almond Self Saucing Pudding

22|09|2014

The whole of last week, I thought I was craving pie. A good Aussie meat pie with chunks of meat in a rich gravy encased in buttery flaky pastry. I saw it somewhere and then somewhere else and then I craved it. Several times during the week at dinner and even breakfast I told my husband ‘I wish I was having pie, instead’. Yet when I stood in the bakery facing the most fabulous choices of pies, my eyes travelled to the cakes, muffins and tarts on the shelves next to them. ‘Carrot cake’ I told the lady at the counter , much to my husband’s surprise. In my mind, I told myself ‘Carrot cake with cream cheese icing and toasted walnuts…YUM! Sometimes for me, the line between what I think I want to eat and what I really want to it can get a little blurry. Possibly the little side-effects that come with dealing with food all the time. Possibly I am eating too much with my eyes lately.

But there are some things that I know will never fail to satisfy my innermost cravings and those that I can eat with my eyes, mouth and heart wide open. Like the curries of my childhood (heady with the smell of ginger, garlic and Garam masala), heavily buttered toast, cupcakes over muffins (any day) loaded with sprinkles, chocolate chips (instead of pepitas or cranberries) on my oatmeal, at least half a cup of parmesan cheese on my pasta and gooey warm puddings that hide sauces underneath. Agreed that I have to shed of some of (okay, a lot of) the winter weight I have gained but it’s Spring, it’s still cold and puddings are very much on.

This pudding excites me over any other pudding I have ever made because it has almond milk in it. Regular milk will work just as fine but if you have almond milk at home or planning to get some, try this pudding. It is every bit citrus-y as much as it is nutty and livened with a gorgeous sauce beneath. I was already a big fan of the orange-almond combo and could have loved the cake alone. The thick sauce is an added bonus. Comfort food at it’s best!
It is quite an easy pudding to make. The only thing you need to take care of is to not to over-cook the pudding or you will not have enough sauce left. A tad bit undercooked is better than making a cake out of the pudding. The basic pudding recipe was adapted from here. When I made it the first time, I thought it could do with more sauce which is the true essence of a self-saucing pudding. So I made some adjustments to the recipe, experimented with almond milk and it turned out the way I wanted it to be. I baked the pudding in two baking dishes as I did not have a large one. In that case, you may need to reduce the baking time by 10 minutes.

Orange Almond Self-Saucing Pudding
Serves 6

Melted butter, to grease
1 cup self-raising flour
1/2 cup castor sugar
1/2 cup almond meal
1 tablespoon finely grated orange rind
3/4 cup almond milk
1 egg
50g butter, melted, cooled
1 tablespoon cornflour
1/2 cup castor sugar, extra
2 cups fresh orange juice
1 tbsp. Cointreau (or any other orange liqueur, optional)
Icing sugar, to dust

Preheat oven to 180 degree C (fan-forced 160 degrees C) Brush a 1.5L (6-cup) capacity oven-proof dish with melted butter. Place on a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper. Sift flour into a large bowl. Stir in the sugar, almond meal and orange rind.

Whisk the almond milk, egg and butter in a jug until combined. Add to the flour mixture and use a wooden spoon to stir until smooth and combined. Pour into the prepared dish. Use the back of a spoon to smooth the surface.

Combine cornflour and extra sugar in a bowl. Sprinkle over the pudding mixture. Place orange juice in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring just to the boil. Remove from heat and add the Cointreau (if using). Gradually pour over the back of a spoon onto the mixture.
Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a cake-like top forms and a skewer inserted halfway into the centre of the pudding comes out clean.

Set aside for 5 minutes to stand. Dust with icing sugar and serve hot with custard or vanilla ice cream.

Pavlova with Mascarpone, Pomegranate and Lemon Thyme

18|09|2014

Talk about inspiration! It peeks right through my window. It stares me in the face and then disappears on a whim. Dreamy clouds, cotton candy clouds, dark stormy clouds, invisible clouds, cloud babies (that one is a contribution from the boys) and wispy clouds. Clouds are a constant companion in my new high-rise home. I don’t know about you but I find them enchanting and magical. As a little girl, I was fond of a book called ‘The Faraway Tree’ by Enid Blyton. Most of you would have loved it as dearly as I did but in case you enjoy a bit of nostalgia, this was a story about a giant tree in the woods, inhabited by fairy-folk. The topmost branches of this tree lead up to the clouds beyond which exists magical lands. The story is about 3 children who come to live near the tree, the lands they explore and their magical adventures. I read this book over and over again, almost slept with it every night and re-read it as an adult deriving the same thrill and happiness that I felt as a child. Call me a child-at-heart. A romantic, maybe? I am fine with that.

As a person who eats, dreams and loves pastry, clouds remind me of meringue. You know I love meringue. If you share the love, type ‘meringue’ in the search tab on the right sidebar and you will find a host of meringue based treats. Just like the clouds in the sky, meringue is my mood-uplifter, my spring-in-the-step bringer, my pastry love. I can make meringue every day. And store away the egg yolks in different containers to be forgotten and only during a fridge clean to be reminded how many egg-whites I have cooked with in a month. A pavlova was long due on the blog after this one.

I went to pick up beautiful nectarines that are flooding the markets right now but came back with a pomegranate instead. On an impulse I decided to pair pomegranate, lemon thyme and mascarpone. It turned out to be a great combination of crunchy, marshmallow-y, creamy, tangy goodness. You can do so much with a Pavlova. Load it up as you like, shape it into the shapes of your dream without a cake pan for support and crack open its exterior to discover secrets inside.
If you don’t have mascarpone, you can use double the amount of whipped cream and of course, decorate it with any fruit of your choice. This is a great gluten-free alternative to a celebration cake.

Pavlova with Mascarpone, Pomegranate and Lemon Thyme
Serves 6-8

11/2 cups castor sugar
11/2 teaspoons corn flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
5 large egg whites (or 6 regular egg whites)
1/2 cup heavy cream, whipped to soft peaks
3/4 cup mascarpone cheese, softened
2 tbsp. icing sugar
1 pomegranate, seeds removed
a few sprigs, lemon thyme
Berry Sauce, 2 tbsp. (optional)

Preheat oven to 130 degree C. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Draw a 20cm (diameter) round on the paper and place the paper pencil side down on the tray.

Combine sugar, corn flour and cinnamon in a bowl.

Using electric beaters, whisk the egg whites in a clean, dry bowl until firm peaks form. Gradually add the sugar mixture, 1 tablespoonful at a time, until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is thick, glossy and holds stiff peaks. Spoon the meringue onto the prepared tray within the circle traced earlier. Shape the meringue with the back of the spoon, leaving a hollow in the centre for the filling. Bake for 1 hour, then leave to cool in switched-off oven for 1 hour. Remove from oven and cool completely.

Combine cream, mascarpone and icing sugar in a bowl. Stir gently to combine (do not over-mix, or mascarpone will curdle). Gently fold in half the pomegranate seeds and torn lemon thyme leaves. Spoon mixture onto the meringue shell. Sprinkle with rest of the pomegranates and lemon thyme leaves. Top with berry sauce if using. Serve.

Chocolate Treacle Tart

15|09|2014

Would it be so clichéd if I told you how much I love sugar? All forms of sugar. The spoon-able sprinkle-able kind is of course the one I use more often but the other forms intrigue me as well. On the topic of sugar sprinkling, I am crazy for that famous shot where sugar is being sprinkled from a height. It comes through controlling the shutter speed in your camera, something which I am trying to master and have messed up my kitchen table and the floor this weekend, much to the amusement of my baby boys. But we ended up having a lot of fun. The sugar formed a slate for us to write on. We scribbled names, drew faces and laughed while the camera was completely forgotten. It feels amazing to let go when you are with children and bask in the joy of the moment without having to worry about the world around you.

Back to the forms of sugar, I am equally smitten by the other forms of its existence. Golden syrup, honey, treacle, molasses, glucose syrup and so on. Some of these are not direct by-products but they are related in some way. They are gorgeously sticky, luscious and take your desserts to the next level. The intensity and depth of flavour that these impart cannot be achieved by regular sugar or for that matter even brown sugar. I love to work with them and you may find quite a few recipes in my archives that use them. So what is a treacle tart? Simply put, it is a mixture of breadcrumbs and golden syrup baked within a pastry shell. It is so simple yet so gorgeous in the way it looks and tastes. Something unique. With golden syrup, how can you go wrong! Technically the recipe should use treacle, but you will find most out there using golden syrup. I have experimented with both individually and a combination but I think the flavours are better with the former. Plus I believe it is easier to find golden syrup in certain places than treacle.

To make things more decadent, I have covered the treacle tart in bittersweet chocolate ganache. It works like magic to complement the rich sweetness of the golden syrup mixture. Once the tart bakes, you make a simple ganache with chocolate and cream and it gets poured onto the tart.
The treacle tart is great on its own. a beauty of simple ingredients. But it’s nice to have some variety and options, especially if it involves good old chocolate. If you love caramel, this is a must try. It is close to a bi-layered chocolate caramel tart but richer in texture. You will taste a crunchy caramel-like base and a soft luscious chocolate topping. So good!

Like I always say, if you find pastry intimidating, get a store-bought crust and try out the filling. You’ll be inspired to make your own.

Chocolate Treacle Tart

1 1/2 cups (225g) plain flour
1/3 cup (50g) icing sugar
125g unsalted butter, chilled, cut into small cubes
1 egg
400ml golden syrup
150g fresh white breadcrumb
grated zest of one orange/lemon

For the Dark Chocolate Ganache
200 g dark chocolate, roughly chopped
2/3 cup heavy/thickened cream

Place flour and icing sugar in a food processor, whiz to combine, then add butter and process until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add egg and process until pastry forms a smooth ball. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes

Preheat the oven to 170 degrees C. Roll out pastry on a lightly floured surface and use to line a greased, 23cm loose-bottomed tart pan. Keep in the fridge till you make the filling.
Place golden syrup in a pan over low heat to warm through, add the breadcrumbs and orange zest, then stir to combine. Remove from heat, cool slightly (about 5-7 minutes) Pour into tart shell and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour until set and pastry is slightly brown. Remove from oven and cool the tart to room temperature.

Make the ganache : Place the chocolate in a heat-proof bowl. Heat the cream over medium heat in a saucepan. When it just comes to a boil, remove immediately and pour over the chocolate. Stand for 5 minutes. Stir with a spoon until fully blended. Pour warm ganache over the tart. Set in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Remove from fridge at least 30 minutes before serving. Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream on the side.