Cheese and Chive Bouikos

Makes 12 small or 24 tiny cheesy buns. I like the tiny ones because you get more crispy crust. These come with a serious addiction warning. This recipe is easily doubled or even tripled.
Best straight from the oven.

50g cold butter, cut into small cubes a little larger than a pea

40g mature Cheddar cheese, grated

40g feta, crumbled

100g cake flour

Pinch of salt

2 tbs chopped chives or 2 spring onions chopped

100g sour cream

Milk to glaze (optional)

Method

Preheat the oven to 220C.

Combine all ingredients except sour cream. Don’t allow it to warm in your hands too much.

Add sour cream and mix gently with your hands until dough just comes together. Don’t overwork the dough or you will warm the butter and toughen the gluten.

Place the dough on a lightly floured surface and pat it down to a rough rectangle (ie one side longer than the other) about one centimetres thick (roughly the height of a fingernail). Cut the long side into 4, and the short side into 3 to give 12 squares. Cut these squares diagonally to give 24 triangles. Of course you can make any shape or size you like - squares or circles.

Brush the tops with milk if you want them to be shiny, but this isn’t necessary. Place onto baking tray and into the oven for 10 mins.

Turn front to back, reduce oven temp to 200C and bake another 6 mins or until golden.

Adapted from Honey & Co. 

Romesco

2 red onions

2 capsicums

4 tomatoes

4 tablespoons olive oil

40g ground almonds, (toasted optional)

2 cloves garlic

2 slices sandwich bread

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

Vegetables after roasting. Some of the tomatoes have been peeled.

2 teaspoons smoked paprika

Peel onions and cut in half.

Cut core out of tomato and cut in half.

Place onions, tomatoes and whole capsicums onto baking tray lined with baking  paper.

Put into oven at 250 C for 30 mins, or until cooked and charred.

Lift skins off tomatoes, remove cores from capsicum and peel.

Place all ingredients in food processor and process.

Check seasoning for salt and vinegar. Add more if necessary.

Serve as a sauce for meats, or as a dip.

Thai Spiced Nuts

Serves 8 to 12

• 2egg whites
• 1teaspoon water
• 1/3cup granulated sugar
• 1/3cup brown sugar
• 1/4cup cocoa (divided)
• 1tablespoon grated galangal (or ginger)
• 1teaspoon salt
• 1/4teaspoon cayenne
• Zest of 1 lime
• 4cups cashew halves
• 1teaspoon sriracha sauce (or more to taste)
• 1tablespoon lime juice
• 1/2cup diced candied ginger (optional)
• 1/2cup diced dried mangos (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 275 F.
2. Beat the egg white and water together until light and frothy.
3. In a separate bowl, combine all but 2 tablespoons of the cocoa, the sugars, galangal, salt, cayenne, and lime zest. Make sure it’s well combined.
4. Fold the nuts into the egg whites and then add the sugar and spice and sriracha. Combine well.
5. Spread the nuts on a baking sheet. A silpat will be helpful, but if you don’t have one, use a sheet of parchment paper. Bake for 30 minutes, stirring every ten minutes.
6. Remove from oven and add lime juice, then sprinkle with the rest of the cocoa powder. Return to oven just for a couple minutes to dry out a bit. Allow to cool completely (5 to 10 minutes) before serving. If using, toss in the ginger and mango at the end.

Black bean and corn salsa

2 x 400g cans black beans, drained and rinsed or 1/2 cup dried beans, prepared (see below)
1 ½ cups corn kernels, thawed
1 capsicum, finely diced
1 cup finely diced celery
¾ cup minced red onion, salted for 20 mins, then rinsed under boiling water
1 fresh chilli, seeded and minced
½ cup chopped coriander
I avocado, diced

Lime dressing
¼ cup fresh lime juice
2 tsp  grated lime zest
2 tbs brown sugar
1 tbs Dijon mustard
S + P to taste
¼ cup vegetable oil

1. In a large bowl, combine all salad ingredients, except avocado.

2. In a small bowl, combine all dressing ingredients, except the oil. Mix together, then gradually whisk in the oil.

3. Pour dressing over salad, and stand one hour before serving.

To prepare black beans cover with water, heat and simmer for 2 minutes. Allow to stand for 1 hour, then drain, cover with lots of water and simmer 20-30 minutes. Don't allow them to boil at this point or their skins will split. 

Smoked Tomato Sorbet on Toast

1kg tomatoes
350 mls glucose syrup, appx
3 tbspns olive oil
1 tbspn red wine vinegar
Salt to taste

Puree tomatoes with oil and vinegar, then strain.
Measure amount of tomato juice and add half the amount of corn syrup. This will taste too sweet, but when frozen the sweetness will diminish.
Add salt to taste, remembering that the flavour of the salt will diminish on freezing too.
Add extra red wine vinegar if desired. Tomatoes vary in flavour so the balance of  salty, sweet and tart varies with each batch.
Freeze for at least 4 hours.
Form into quenelles using 2 spoons. You can find instructions here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXcIZ4aRHBU
Place on toasted Italian bread, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with basil.

Dukkah

110g (2/3 cup) hazelnuts
80g (1/2 cup) sesame seeds
2 tbs coriander seeds
2 tbs cumin seeds
2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp flaked sea salt (like Maldon brand)
Method
Preheat oven to 180°C.
Spread the hazelnuts over a baking tray and cook in preheated oven for 3-4 minutes or until toasted. Rub the hazelnuts between a clean tea towel to remove as much skin as possible.
Place the toasted hazelnuts in the bowl of a food processor and process until coarsely chopped. Transfer to a large bowl.
Heat a medium frying pan over medium heat. Add the sesame seeds and cook, stirring, for 1-2 minutes or until golden. Add to the bowl with the hazelnuts.
Place coriander seeds and cumin seeds in frying pan over medium heat, and cook, stirring frequently, for 1-2 minutes or until aromatic and seeds begin to pop. Transfer seeds to a mortar and pestle. Pound until finely crushed (alternatively, use a coffee or spice grinder). Add the crushed spices, pepper and salt to the hazelnut mixture and mix well.
Serve dukkah with some extra virgin olive oil and crusty bread.

Spiced Nutrigrain

Heat together until fragrant, either in a saucepan or microwave

1/3c oil

2 tablespoons garam masala

4 shakes tabasco

2 ½ teaspoons salt

Combine with

300g Nutrigrain

Brown Sugar Glazed Bacon

Preheat oven to 150 degrees celcius.

Line an oven dish with baking paper

Combine

     ½ cup flour,

     1/3 cup brown sugar,

     1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper or dry English mustard

     1 teaspoon of cinnamon, optional

Coat each slice of bacon with the flour mixture
Arrange on baking tray

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes.

Topik, as a dip

This is based on an Armenian dish, Topik. It is supposed to be like a kofte with the chickpea mixture as a pastry case, and the onions as a filling, but I found that too fiddly. And this way you can get more ‘filling’!

2 tins chickpeas, rinsed well
2 potatoes, peeled and cooked
Puree in a food processor with salt and pepper until very smooth. You may need to add a little water or olive oil if it’s too dry.
Spread into a shallow serving dish

Prepare
4 onions – slice thinly and fry until brown.
Add
1⁄4 c tahini
2 tablespoons currants
2 tablespoons pine nuts
1 t Cinnamon
2 teaspoons pomegranate molasses
Adjust the seasonings to taste. Eg you may prefer more tahini, currants or cinnamon.
Sprinkle with chopped parsley.
Spread on top of the chickpea mixture and serve with crusty bread.

Toasted Coconut Sambal

Combine
1 teaspoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon brown sugar
2 teaspoon lemon juice
¼ – ½ chilli chopped fine
Add
3 Tablespoons toasted coconut flakes

Spiced Nutrigrain

Heat together until fragrant
1/3c oil
2 tablespoons garam masala
4 shakes tabasco
2 ½ teaspoons salt
Combine with
300g Nutrigrain

Black Olive and Raisin Dip

4 cloves garlic, peeled
1 cup kalamata olives, pitted
½ cup raisins
2 tablespoons fresh oregano
Juice 1 lemon
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper
Process all ingredients together except the salt and pepper. Add S&P to taste.