Foodsnaps

       

Ingredients (makes about 30)

• 140g ground almonds
• 250g icing sugar
• 2 egg whites
• a pinch of salt

 For the filling 

• 100g low-fat soft cheese
• 25g 70% cocoa dark chocolate

How to

1. Heat the oven to 160C/fan 140/gas 3.
2. Whizz the almonds and 25g of the icing sugar in a food processor until fine. Mix with 175g more icing sugar in a large bowl. Whisk the egg whites until stiff, add the remaining 50g icing sugar and whisk again until thick and glossy. Fold into the nut mix. Spoon into a piping bag with a 1cm nozzle and pipe out 10p-coin-size blobs of mixture, well spaced. Poke any pointy tops down with a wet finger. If you don't have a piping bag, just snip the end off a sandwich bag and use that instead.
3. Leave to dry for 30 mins, then bake for 12- 15 mins until risen. Cool on the paper. Beat the cream cheese with the chocolate and use to sandwich the macarons together. Will keep for 1 day filled, or up to 3 days unfilled, stored in an airtight container.

Chewy chocolate macarons

Mix 140g ground almonds with 175g icing sugar and 25g cocoa powder. Whisk the egg whites. Once stiff, add 50g icing sugar, then whisk again. For a coffee filling, mix the soft cheese with ½ tsp instant coffee dissolved in a few drops boiling water.

Delicate vanilla macarons

Mix 140g ground almonds with 200g icing sugar and rub in seeds from 1 vanilla pod. Whisk the egg whites. Once stiff, add 50g icing sugar, then whisk again. Sandwich together with a little dulce de leche.

Recipe adapted from BBC Good Food

Here is a video on how to make French Macaroons:

Sucre - Macaroon from Sucre - Founder - Joel Dondis on Vimeo.

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Ingredients (serves 4)

For the sauce vierge 

• 1 tbsp coriander seeds
• 1 garlic clove
• sea salt
• 2-3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 large ripe tomato
• handful fresh tarragon
• handful fresh basil
• handful fresh coriander (you can substitute mint if you like)
• ½ lemon, juice only

For the scallops

• 8 large diver-caught scallops, roe attached
• olive oil, for drizzling
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
  

To serve

• lemon quarters

How to:

1. For the sauce vierge, dry-fry the coriander seeds in a hot frying pan until they release their aroma. Place them in a pestle and mortar and crush.
2. Peel the garlic clove and mash to a paste with the tip of a knife and some sea salt. Add the garlic paste to the pestle and mortar.
3.  Add 2-3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil to the garlic and coriander and stir.
4. Remove the core and seeds of the tomato. Chop the flesh roughly and add to the pestle and mortar.
5. Roughly chop the herbs and add them to the pestle and mortar. Crush all the ingredients together well to form a sauce. Allow the flavours to infuse while you prepare the scallops.
6. Trim off any tough, sinewy flesh and remove any black veins from the scallops, but keep the roes intact.
7.  Heat a frying pan or griddle pan until hot. Drizzle some olive oil over the scallops and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
8. Place the scallops on the hot pan or griddle and cook until they're just cooked through, about 2-3 minutes on each side, depending on size. They'll feel firm to the touch when cooked. (If the scallops are very large, you can finish them in a preheated oven for a few minutes.)
9. Finish the sauce vierge by adding the lemon juice (don't do this until just before serving or the herbs will turn black). Adjust seasoning and stir well.
10. To serve, spoon the sauce vierge over the scallops and garnish with the quartered lemons.

Recipe via the BBC

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Ingredients (serves 2)

• 2 x 150g/5oz tuna steaks
• pinch sea salt
• drizzle extra virgin olive oil
  

For the salsa verde 

• 1 heaped tsp Dijon mustard
• 150-250ml/5-9fl oz fruity, extra virgin olive oil
• 4 anchovy fillets
• handful flatleaf parsley
• handful mint
• handful basil
• handful tarragon
• 1-2 tbsp capers
• 1 garlic clove
• pinch sea salt
• 1 lemon, juice only

To serve

• lemon wedges
• 2 sprigs flatleaf parsley
  

How to:

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
2. For the tuna, season the tuna steaks with the sea salt and drizzle with the olive oil. Rub the salt and oil into the steaks.
3. Heat a heavy-based frying pan until hot. Add a tuna steak to the hot pan and sear until lightly browned. Carefully turn over and sear the other side (this will take about 30 seconds on each side, longer if the tuna is thickly cut). Remove and keep to one side. Repeat with the other tuna steak.
4. Place the tuna steaks in a roasting tray and place in the hot oven for another minute or two (they should still be slightly pink on the inside). Remove and keep warm.
5. For the salsa verde, place the mustard and a few tablespoons of the olive oil in a bowl and whisk to emulsify. Chop the anchovies finely and add to the bowl.
6. Pick the leaves from the herbs (except the basil - you can include the stems in the sauce). Pile the picked herbs onto a chopping board. Sprinkle the capers over the top.
7. Chop the herbs and capers finely with a sharp knife. When finely chopped, add to the bowl with the mustard and oil mixture.
8. Peel the garlic clove. Place it on the chopping board and sprinkle over the sea salt. Crush to a fine paste with a knife blade and add the paste to the bowl and mix.
9.  Add some of the remaining olive oil to the bowl. The sauce should have a spooning consistency, so add just enough oil - you may have some left over. Mix thoroughly.
10. Just before serving, add the lemon juice to the sauce (the lemon will cause the herbs to go brown if you add it too early).
11. To serve, place the tuna steaks onto plates. Squeeze over some lemon juice and serve with a wedge of lemon, a dollop of salsa verde and a sprig of parsley each.

Recipe via BBC

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Well... I wish I knew the recipe but it's a secret!!!

My friend Rachel brought us these lovely cupcakes today. They were divine!

Rachel they've all gone!! Pls bring more!!

You can order online: www.sayitwithacupcake.co.uk

Email: rachel@sayitwithacupcake.co.uk

Tel: 07810616809

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Ingredients (serves 4)

• 4 swordfish steaks, each weighing about 175g/6oz
• olive oil for brushing
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the Salsa:

• 1 green chilli, seeded and finely chopped
• 1 avocado, cut into 5mm/¼in dice
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 3 spring onions, thinly sliced
• ½ cucumber, cut into 5mm/¼in dice
• 1 tbsp fresh coriander, roughly chopped

For the Sauce:

• 4 green olives
• 4 heaped tbsp olive oil mayonnaise
• 50ml/2fl oz double cream
• 120ml/4fl oz water

 How to:

1. Keep all the prepared salsa ingredients cold, and separate until just before serving, then quickly mix them together in a bowl and divide between 4 plates.
2. Cut the olive flesh from the stone in strips then cut these strips into thin pine needle sized shards. In a small pan, mix the mayonnaise, cream and warm water with the olive shards then warm through - the sauce should be served warm not hot.
3. Light the barbecue or heat a ribbed grill pan. Season the swordfish steaks with salt and pepper and brush with olive oil. Grill for about 3 minutes on each side.
4. Serve with a portion of salsa and some of the sauce spread over the steaks and around the plates.

Recipe via the BBC

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Ingredients (serves 2)

For the sauce

• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 2 tablespoons thai fish sauce (nam pla)
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 1 small red chilli, de-seeded and chopped finely
• 1 tablespoon white wine vineger or rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon caster sugar

For the kebabs

• 500gr lean minced lamb
• 1 small onion
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 teaspoon coriander seeds, crushed
• 2 tablespoons fresh coriander
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

How to:

1. Soak 10 bamboo skewers in a bowl of water for at least 10 min to prevent them from burning under the grill
2. Meanwhile, to make the sauce, combine the sauce ingredients in a small screw top jar, add a tablespoon of water and shake well.
3. To make the kebabs, put the kebab ingredients in a food processor, season well and combine until it comes together into a ball.
4. Divide the mixture into 10 and use your hands to shape the meat into "sausages". Put the skewers through the middle of the sausage shapes.
5. Preaheat the grill to high. Grill for 10 min turning occasionally until browned all over and cooked through. Serve with the dipping sauce and salad.

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Ingredients (Makes 12)

• 350gr high quality mincemeat, preferably homemade
• 200gr plain flour, sifted
• 40gr golden caster sugar
• 75gr ground almonds
• 125gr unsalted butter, diced
• 1 large free-range egg, beaten
• milk, to glaze

 How to:

1. Lightly butter a 12-hole pie or patty tin. Tip the mincemeat into a bowl and stir so that the liquid is evenly distributed.
2. Place the flour, sugar, almonds and butter in a food processor and process briefly until resembling breadcrumbs, then slowly add the egg through the feeder tube. (Or rub the butter into the dry ingredients by hand and stir in the egg.)
3. Bring the mixture together with your hands, wrap in clingfilm and chill for an hour or so. Thinly roll out the pastry on a floured surface. Cut out 12 circles with a fluted pastry cutter, large enough to fill the base of the prepared tin. Press gently into each hole, then fill with the mincemeat.
4. Cut out another 12 slightly smaller discs (or stars) and use to cover the mincemeat. Press the edges together to seal. Make a small slit in the top of each, then brush lightly with milk. Chill for about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6. 5. Bake the pies for 20 minutes until golden brown. Remove to a wire rack and dust them with icing sugar.

Recipe slightly modified from the BBC

*If you prefer to make your own mince meat there is a fantastic recipe on Delia online.

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Ingredients (serves 6)

• 200 gr chorizo, sliced
• 3 tsp Harissa paste
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• juice and grated zest of 1 lemon
• zest of 1 orange
• 4 tbs olive oil
• 450gr bay potatoes
• 1 red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 tbs coriander, finely choped
•  Mint leaves, to garnish
• Salt and freshly ground pepper

How to:

1. Fry the chorizo in 1 tbsp oil until crisp. Drain, reserving the oil.
2. Mix together the Harissa paste, juice and grated zest of lemon, grated zest of an orange and 4 tbsp of olive oil.
3. Cook 450gr baby potatoes until tenter. Drain and mix with the dressing, the reserved chorizo oil and the sliced red onion. When cool stir in the chorizo slices, coriander leaves, mint leaves and serve.

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Ingredients (serves 2)

• 4 spring onions, trimmed
• 2-3 small hot red chillies, de-seeded
• 500gr pork mince
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled
• 5cm fresh ginger, peeled and cut into thin slices
• 4 stems lemongrass, chopped roughly
• 2 tablespoons coriander leaes
• 1.7 litres  chicken stock
• 6 Kaffir lime leaves or zest of 1 lime
• 2 tablespoons thai fish sauce
• olive oil
• 200gr pak choi
• 1 red pepper, de-seeded and sliced
• 4 teaspoons fresh lime juice
• 150gr egg noodles, cooked
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

How to:

1. Put the spring onions, chillies pork, garlic and some salt into a food processor with half of the ginger and lemongrass. Add most of the coriander, keeping just a few leaves back as garnish. Whizz it all together for a minute or so until it is all well combined.
2. Put the chicken stock in a large saucepa an add the lime leaves or zest, fish sauce and the remaining ginger and lemongrass. Simmer for 15 minutes and then remove the ginger, lime leaves and lemongrass with a spoon.
3. To make the meatballs use your hands to form 30 balls from the pork mixture. Heat a large non stick frying pan to a medium temperature and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Cook the meatballs in 2 batches, turning them frequently as they cook.
4. Once all the meatballs are fried, stir fry the pak choi and red pepper in the pan.
5. To serve divide the cooked noodles between warmed soup bowls, add the stir fried vegetables, and then pour the soup and meatballs over.

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Kourabiedes (Greek: κουραμπιέδες) is a Greek butter cookie that can be made with or without almonds. The cookie is sometimes made with brandy, usually Metaxa, and confectioner's sugar. Additional confectioner's sugar is then added on top of the cookie. It is eaten on special occasions, such as Christmas or christenings. They come in varied shapes, like circles. (source: Wikipedia)

You can find the recipe on kalofagas.ca

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