Banoffee Pie

Banoffee pie (also spelled banoffi, or banoffy) is an English pastry based dessert made from bananas, cream, toffee and boiled condensed milk (or dulce de leche), either on a pastry base or one made from crumbled biscuits and butter. The name is a construct from the words "banana" and "toffee". It was apparently created by Ian Dowding and Nigel Mackenzie at The Hungry Monk restaurant in Jevington, East Sussex back in 1972. They called the dish "Banoffi" and it was an immediate success, proving so popular with their customers that that they "couldn't take it off" the menu. The word "Banoffee" has entered the English language and is used to describe any food or product that tastes or smells of banana and toffee.

Since I'm in the UK, might as well make a few English recipes.Give this a go, you will be pleasantly surprised! I also made mine in individual serves, using 10cm fluted pie tins. If lazy, just buy ready made shortcrust pastry. But taste nothing like home-made using real butter.

Banoffee Pie Recipe (serves 4-6)

2 bananas
1 can condensed milk
300ml whipping cream
1 1/2 tbsp caster sugar
milk chocolate, grated for garnishing

Pastry

115g plain flour
1 tbsp icing sugar
1 egg yolk
65g butter
1 tbsp cold water

To make the toffee, submerge the whole can of condensed milk (do not open the tin) in hot water and simmer for 3 hrs. Make sure you constantly top it up with hot water. Once done, remove can from water and leave to cool before opening the can.

For the pasry, mix flour, sugar and butter with your finger tips until you get a breadcrumb-like consistency. Then add the yolk and water. Knead until smooth. Wrap with cling foil and let rest in the fridge for 1/2 hr.
Roll pastry to 3 mm thick and line pastry tins. Prick the bases with a fork. Blind bake in a preheated oven (180 degrees)  for 12 mins or until golden. Leave to cool.

Whip the cream with sugar. Slice bananas thinly.

To assemble, fill pies with toffee. Place sliced bananas on the toffee. Top with cream and then sprinkle some grated chocolate on top of the pies.

Creme Brulee

Creme Brulee is a classic French dish that has fairly simple-looking instructions in the recipe but a few things can go wrong. The creme brulee may turn out grainy, or too watery, or both. I was told that Masterchef Australia recently did a masterclass on making Creme Brulee. Unfortunately, I am unable to watch the series here online in the UK but I did manage to get this recipe off the website. Below the recipe are my tips on making the perfect brulee.

Creme Brulee Recipe (serves 4)

600ml thickened cream
1 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped
6 egg yolks
¼ cup caster sugar
120g demerara sugar



Preheat oven to 120°C.
Place the cream, vanilla bean and seeds in a saucepan over medium heat and bring to scalding point, then remove from heat. Remove vanilla bean and discard.
Whisk together egg yolks and caster sugar in a bowl for 2-3 minutes or until pale.
Pour hot cream over egg yolk mixture, continuing to whisk until well combined. Strain mixture into a jug, evenly divide between 4 x 200ml ramekins.
Carefully place ramekins in a deep roasting pan lined with a folded tea towel. Pour boiling water into pan to come halfway up the sides of ramekins. Cover pan loosely with foil.
Bake in the oven for 40 minutes or until the custard has just set. Remove ramekins from the water bath, and set aside to cool.
Sprinkle demerara sugar evenly over the surface of the baked custards. Run a kitchen blowtorch over the custards, or place under a preheated grill until the sugar bubbles and caramelises. Serve.

Hints:
1.If your oven is not fan forced- set the temp at 140 degrees.
2.When bringing the cream to scalding point (not boiling point), I check this with my finger for the right temperature. If I can place the tip of my finger in the cream and it feels hot to the point that it might scald my finger (ie remove your finger quickly), then it is done. Whatever you do, DO NOT BOIL THE CREAM. If is too hot when added to the yolk mixture, the cream will cook the egg yolks instantly and that makes the mixture grainy. If you think you have overheated your cream, leave aside to cool a little bit.
3. After the custards are baked, leave aside to cool to room temp. Then, sprinkle with sugar and I would suggest refrigerating the custards for a few hours.

4. If you do not have a blowtorch, used a preheated grill (make sure your oven is set on top grill ONLY). I then place my custard in a tray filled with cold water. This helps the sugar caramelise without melting the custard.

Panzanella Salad

Panzanella salad, an Italian salad, is made of tomatoes and bread. In this recipe, I used dried basil instead of fresh leaves because I forgot to get them...Definitely better with fresh basil. I used heirloom tomatoes here, but really, any good juicy tomatoes would do.

Panzanella Salad Recipe

large punnet of tomatoes
1 red onion thinly sliced
1 large cucumber, chopped to pieces
handful fresh basil leaves, torn to pieces
2 cloves garlic, crushed
couple of slices of rustic bread, torn to pieces and toasted
(in a pan/oven)
generous amount of olive oil
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Toss everything in a big bowl. How easy and fresh! :)

Yorkshire Puddings

Yorkshire pudding is a dish that originated in Yorkshire, England. It is made from batter and usually served with roast beef and gravy.Traditionally, Yorkshire pudding is cooked in a large tin, in front of an open fire beneath a roasting joint of meat in order to catch the dripping fat and then cut appropriately. Yorkshire pudding may also be made in the same pan as the meat, after the meat has been cooked and moved to a serving platter, which also takes advantage of the meat fat that is left behind. (Thanks again, Wikipedia)

I purchased a Donna Hay magazine at Melbourne Airport on the day that I left, and interestingly enough, it had a recipe for Yorkshire puddings. So I made it to accompany our steak dinner, which I guess is appropriate, being in England and all. I can see why the Poms would like it. The spongy pud is good to soak up gravy.

As for the steak, I pan fried each steak in a hot pan for a few minutes on each side and left to rest. The asparagus was lightly blanched in hot water and seasoned with salt and pepper (you can also toss it in a little butter). The sauce was a simple red wine reduction cooked in the same pan after the steaks were removed. (For sauce recipe, see Herbed Crusted Lamb Racks Recipe). For 5 quids, I did not thinks the asparagus was that great.

Yorkshire Puddings (serves 4)
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1/3 cup water
1/2 cup flour
a pinch of salt
4 tsp veg oil

Whisk together the egg,milk, water, flour and salt. Leave aside for 30 mins.
Preheat oven to 220 degrees. Grease 4x1 cup ramekin with the vegetable oil (1 tsp per ramekin). Place ramekins on an oven tray and put it in the oven for 5 mins. Remove from oven and pour batter into each rameking. Return to oven for 25-30 mins or until puffed and golden. Serve immediately.

Borough Market

Summer has finally arrived. This week, the weather has been sitting around the high teens to low 20s. But on Saturday, it was a beautiful 25 degrees, and best of all, Bern and I survived this crazy week and a half, and we get the weekend all to ourselves to relax. He was oncall the previous whole weekend, meaning he was working 12 days straight. Some days, he wouldn't get home till ten or 11 at night.

So we headed to the famous market, which is only 10 mins walk from our place. The hussle and bussle of the place really lifted our mood, and the produce that were sold (mainly food, wine and sweets) were truly amazing. If you are a lover of food (like I am), then this is a place not to miss when in London. My only advice would be to come mid morning as the crowd becomes quite unbearable by noon. Plus, you might have to queue for 15-30 mins to get food! But be warned, things are not cheap here.

So the tour of the market started with the Spanish store. Beautiful jamon being sliced off the bone, chillies and garlic everywhere, and the smell of chorizo sausages cooked on the barbie was so tantalising that we quickly purchased a chorizo burger. The burger was made of good sourdough patties and in it was a chorizo sausage cut in half, roasted Piquillo pepper and rocket. Simple, but quite yummy.

Not quite satiated after the burger, we found a Swiss store selling Raclette and Cheesy Toasted Sandwich. This sandwich was so cheesy and greasy, it made me a little bit sick. For 5 quids, better to stick with the chorizo burger.

For dessert, I would have loved to get a pastry/cake from one of the many pattiseries at the market, but that cheesy sandwich really ruined my appetite! I'll just have to come back another time. So instead, we bought two punnets of the juiciest English strawberries....

In this pic are the things we bought from the market. English asparagus is suppose to be the best in the world, and Bern has been going on and on about it, saying we really need to try it. That bunch of asparagus was 5 quids! (almost 10 Aussie dollars...which I thought was ridiculous). I also purchased some heirloom tomatoes, and that big ugly, knobbly-looking one was 2 quid on its own. The really tough thing about this market is that they do not label the prices well, so you do not really know how much it is until you get to the counter. I used the tomatoes to make a panzenella salad, which I will post the recipe shortly. The little package in the middle contains 50g of foie gras and black truffle pate, the best buy of the day. Truly indulgent, but so delicious.

The market also sells a variety of wild mushrooms. I was already thinking of a mushroom risotto when I took this pic, so watch out guys, there will definitely be a post on mushroom risotto soon. We both really enjoyed the market and would definitely go again.

The rest of afternoon was spent browsing at the British Museum which will be in another post. But the thing that caught my eye most was the English tea served at the museum cafe! Haha... I am so sad. Have a lovely weekend everyone!

Prosciutto Wrapped Pork with Sage and Caramelised Apples

The prosciutto here is really good. This dish was inspired by my leftover ingredients in the fridge-a couple of slices of prosciutto and green apples. I guuess I took the idea from a Saltimbocca ,((Italian: jumps in the mouth) which is a dish  made of thin slices of veal lined or topped with prosciutto and sage). I had purchased two pork cutlets instead, but  I'm sure chicken would work well here too.

So I guess this is my version of pork and apples. A match made in heaven.

Jo's Pork and Apple Recipe (serves 2)
2 slices prosciutto
2 pork cutlets
4 fresh sage leaves/ dried sage leaves
1 granny smith, peeled, cored and cut into quarters
1 tsp sugar
1/2 cup white wine
salt and pepper to taste

Place two sage leaves on each pork cutlet. Then wrap a slice of prosciutto around each piece of meat.
In a hot pan add a little olive oil. Pan fry the cutlets for about 3 mins on each side (depends how thick your meat is) or until golden. Remove from pan and let rest.
Add the apples to the same pan and cook until apples are caramelised. Add the sugar and continue cooking. Remove from pan and set aside. Then deglaze the pan with white wine and add a little salt and pepper.
To serve, place a cutlet on a plate. Top with some caramelized apples and juices from the pan.

Addit: to make it really indulgent, when white wine is added to deglaze the pan, remove from heat. Add a few small knobs of cold butter. It will thicken the sauce.

Apple Crumble

Two weeks here and I'm already making comfort food! One of our friends were saying that most people put on weight when they come to London. It is called the 'Heathrow Injection'. I think in our case, it will be self- inflicted most of the time. But I also realise that I'm walking everywhere, so at least I am getting some exercise. Oh well, life is too short to not indulge once in awhile.
Feel free to double or triple the recipe.... Easiest dessert ever!

Apple Crumble Recipe (serves 2)

2 large granny smith, peeled and chopped into pieces
1 tbsp sugar
25g butter
squeeze of lemon juice

Crumble:
2 tbsp flour
1 tbsp caster sugar
15g butter

In a pan, melt butter and add sugar. Stir until a caramel forms. Add apple and cook until soft. At the end, add a squeeze of lemon juice. Divide into two ramekins.
For the crumble, mix flour and sugar in a bowl. Add the butter and work it with your fingers until it becomes breadcrumb-like. Divide it between the ramekins.
Preheat oven to 200. Bake until crumble turns golden (I didn't check the time. Probably 10-15 mins??) Remove from oven, place on a plate. Serve with a dollop of vanilla ice-cream and don't forget to warn your guest that the ramekin is HOT!

Ahhh.... comfort food at its best. Ugly looking but yummy!

Pork belly Confit in Master Stock

I love a succulent piece of pork, and the belly is a great meat as it has those beautiful layers of fat that keeps the meat juicy. Here, I decided to make a Siew Youk with a twist. Master Stock is basically a stock that chefs would poach meat in and keep reusing. You can store it in the freezer and use it again and again. Just have to top it up with water. But I only made a small portion and I reduced it to make a lovely sauce to accompany my pork.

Pork belly Confit in Master Stock

500g pork belly, rind scored

1 1/2 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tbsp light soy

1 tbsp sugar

1 cinnamon stick

2 star anise

1-2 dried orange peel

1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine

couple slices ginger

1 chili finely chopped

Prepare the pork as you would for Siew Youk (see related Siew Youk recipe). Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celcius(I use the fan force and grill together).Wipe the salt off and place the meat in a baking dish. In a pot, bring to boil 2 cups of water and add all the above ingredients (except the pork of course). Taste the broth and add a bit of sugar/soy to get the right balance.

Pour the broth into the baking dish, try avoiding getting the rind wet, until it reaches just below the rind. Place the baking dish in the oven for 15 mins or until rind crackles. Then turn the oven down to 170 degrees (also switch to fan force only or the grill will burn the skin). Bake for a further 1 hr.

Remove pork from baking dish. Pour juices from baking dish into a saucepan. Bring to boil and simmer until you get a slightly thickened syrup.

Slice the pork and serve with the reduced stock.

Duck and Lychee Curry

There are many Thai places in the UK, and since we have been here, we have had Thai twice. So I was inspired to make a duck and lychee curry, with the juicy Gressingham duck of course. I could not find coriander... otherwise I would have topped it with some.  The vegies that you add could almost be anything ie eggplant, red peppers etc

Duck and Lychee Curry Recipe

2 duck breast, skin scored
(alternatively, use chines roast duck, slice the meat and remove bones)
handful snow peas
handful baby corn
1 can bamboo shoots
1 can lychees, reserve the liquid
1/2 cup coconut cream
3 tbsp Thai red curry paste
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 chili sliced
handful chopped basil leaves, preferably Thai Basil

Pan fry the duck breast skin side down until golden. Turn over and cook for a few more minutes. Leave to cool, then thinly slice.
In a hot pot, add the curry paste and fry until frgrant. Add the coconut milk, stir until combined. Add the lychee syrup and bring to boil. Then add all the vegies and lychee followed by the fish sauce and basil. Season with salt to taste. Simmer for few minutes until vegies cook and the sauce thickens. Add the duck slices to the pot.
Place in serving dish and top with sliced chilies (and coriander).

Weekend In Bath, Somerset

Bern and I had our first holiday and weekend getaway. Bath, Somerset is a beautiful city that is about 1 1/2 hr train from London. It is named Bath for its historical landmark, the natural spring Bath which was built by the Romans. Bath is the only natural hot springs in the UK.The Romans felt that the springs must be from God and they buit a temple to worship the goddess Minerva. The Bath house was built near the temple, and there is a dedicated spring/bath for the goddess Minerva, and no one was allowed to use it.

However, the Celts were already using the springs prior to the Roman invasion and they were worshipping the Goddess Saulis. Hence, the Bath is also known as Aqua Saulis. A very beatiful and quaint place, with many of the buldings made of limestone.

                                                                         The Abbey

                                                                  The gardens in Bath

Bath is also known for, of all things, buns. The Bath buns according to Wikipedia is "possibly descended from the 18th century 'Bath cake'. References to Bath buns date from 1763, and they are still produced in the Bath area of England. The original 18th century recipe used a brioche or rich egg and butter dough which was then covered with caraway seeds coated in several layers of sugar similar to French dragée. It is said to have been devised by Dr. William Oliver who was a doctor treating visitors who came to Bath for the spa waters. He later invented the Bath Oliver biscuit, when Bath buns proved to be too fattening for his patients with rheumatism." Hilarious!

The Sally Lunn Buns, however, is said to have originated in Bath with the arrival in 1680 of a Huguenot immigrant called Solange (Sollie) Luyon who brought her native skill and worked at a Bath bakery - this bakery is now known as Sally Lunn's House and the original recipe buns are available for sale or consumption in the dining rooms. Sally Lunn is a corruption of her name and the bun became a very popular delicacy in Georgian England as its taste and lightness allowed it to be enjoyed as a sweet or savoury dish. This is all according to Wikipedia....

Bern and I had a taste of the Sally Lunn buns. Mine was topped with a cinnamon butter, while Bern had a savoury one, topped with stew. To be honest, it was just a soft bun, nothing that special, if not for its historical value. The dining room we were in was called the Jane Austen Room. She apparently lived in Bath for a few years of her life.

We had dinner at a little French Bistro called La Barrique. The restaurant served dishes in a Petit Plats form (small dishes to share). As usual, we ordered too much, but finished it anyway! The highlight of the meal for me was the Chicken and Foie Gras Ballotine with a caramelised red onion jam and toasted brioche. Sublime!

Bern also really enjoyed the Vino Cano Cabernet Franc. His first drink for awhile.

Bath is definitely a city to visit, if you are ever in the UK. I loved it!

Goat Cheese, Tomato, Basil and Prosciutto Salad

This is what I call Italy on a plate. All the colours of an Italian flag, and probably the flavours of Italy all rolled into one dish. The only exception was that I used goat cheese, and this one was a Welsh cheese. I still prefer the Meredith's goat cheese from Daylesford. 

 B and I are heading to Bath tonight. Really excited to spend a weekend away... will let you know all about it!

Goat Cheese, Tomato, Basil and Prosciutto Salad

One punnet cherry tomatoes (the ones I had were actually from Italy- plump and juicy!)

handful basil, torned

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced

100g goat cheese, crumbled

2 slices prosciutto, pan fried till crisp

2 tbsp balsamic reduction/balsamic dressing

2 tbsp olive oil

Toss everything in a large bowl. Voila! Your salad is ready to be served.

Herb and Lemon Roasted Chicken

Another one-pot easy meal. Chicken is versatile, it will absorb most spices and seasoning. I used rosemary in this, but you can use whatever fresh herbs, or dried herbs that you have in the pantry. Adding sliced potatoes to the pan means you get your carbs as well, all in one pan.I served this with a tomato and goat cheese salad (which I will post shortly). The produce here in the UK is great! Everything is sweet, fresh and juicy.

Herb and Lemon Roasted Chicken

4 chicken maryland, cut at the joints to get 8 pieces
1 lemon, cut into quarters
dried or fresh rosemary
5 cloves garlic, crushed with skin on
6 -8 baby potatoes, sliced about 1/2 cm thick(skin on is fine)
1-2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Heat oil in a large pan. cook the chicken for 2-3  minutes on each side or until nicely golden. Place chicken on oven tray. Squeeze juice of lemon over chicken and add the lemon to the tray. Scatter the potatoes and garlic cloves around chicken. Season with rosemary, salt and pepper. Pour 1/2 cup water/white wine into the tray. Drizzle with a bit of olive oil. Bake for 20 mins.

London in Spring

I've decided to post photos of places that we have visited. Yes, food is important, but so is travel. Without all the different places, cultures and people, there wouldn't be that many cuisines.

 Above is a pic of Tower Bridge in London, taken on my first night here. It is right next to our flat. I am bloody lucky, and considering that we rented the place without first viewing it (only saw pics online), we are soooo lucky the place is not a dump.We have heard some horror stories from some of our friends. The flat is in fact, quite nice and cosy.

The Monday that just past was a Bank Holiday, so Bern and I did the touristy things. London is so beautiful especially when the sun is out. So I'll let the photos do the talking...

British National Gallery- opposite Trafalgar Square

Buckingham Palace

Big Ben

The London Eye

The Buckingham Palace Gardens

British wildlife- squirrels, they are everywhere!

Pan-Fried Salmon with Crushed Potatoes and Asparagus

I wanted to make mashed potatoes with this recipe actually. But guess what, there is no masher in this flat! I am going to have to be more adaptable than I expected. But this challenge will be fun... I should end up being more creative with my cooking right?

Anyway, this one is for my friend Sue Lyn who claims that cooking is too much of an effort and takes too long. Excuse me, but I do not think that 7 wicked wings from KFC is a suitable substitute for dinner! This took about 15 mins to cook (including prep time), not to mention that it is slightly healthier.

Pan-Fried Salmon with Crushed Potatoes and Asparagus
(serves 2)

2x 250g salmon fillets, skin on
5-6 baby potatoes, peeled and halved
1-2 bunches asparagus, trimmed and ends removed
2 tbsp mayonaise
chopped parsley/dried parsley flakes
salt and pepper
1 lemon, halved

Place potatoes in a pot of cold water, bring to boil and simmer until potatoes are cooked (about 10 mins). Drain away the water and place in a bowl. Crush potatoes lightly with a fork. Add mayo, parsley, salt and pepper with a squeeze of lemon. Stir to combine.

Heat a little oil in a pan. Add fish, skin side down and cook for 1-2 mins. Once skin is crisp, turn over and cook for another 2 mins. In the meantime, blanch asparagus in salted boiling water for 2-3 mins.

To plate, place crushed potatoes in the middle of the plate. Top with asparagus and fish. Season with salt and pepper and serve with halved lemon.

Kunyit

Some of my girlfriends that I have known since primary school and I went out for dinner on my last night in Melbourne. Kunyit (means turmeric in the Malay language) is a Malaysian/Thai restaurant on Doncaster Road. This a great suburban place for a midweek dinner. They make the best duck and lychee curry, my favourite! The Yum Nuer (Thai Style Grilled Beef Salad) was bursting with loads of flavour too.

Duck and Lychee Curry

Fried Prawns in Yolks

Roast (Gresingham) Duck

A friend recently told me that I had to try the Gressingham duck while I was in the UK. Apparently world famous (My ignorant self have never heard about it. How can I claim to be a foodie? But happy to bel learning something new everyday) So I was excited as anything to find one at Sainsbury (a local supermarket chain similar to Coles and Woolworths).

I decided to roast the whole duck and served it with some rice and stir fry beans. Our first home cooked meal in London (if you don't count the bacan and eggs we cooked in the morning). This duck was indeed delicous despite me not having some ingredients (ie honey). Also, trying out a different oven was a bit of a trial and error. Hence, the slightly charred skin.The flesh was alot more tender compared to the ones we have back home.

I butterflied the duck, and removed any excess fatty skin. Pour hot boiling water over the duck, and watch the skin tighten. Wipe dry with paper towel. Combine some oyster sauce with sugar and five spice powder. Rub mixture on the underside of the duck (not the skin). Prick the skin with a fork. Instead of honey, I made a thick sugar syrup by mixing one part sugar and one part water in a saucepan and simmer until a caramel forms. Brush it all over the skin.

Turn oven to fan forced at 220 degrees. Roast for 10 mins and turn oven down to 180 degrees (Watch carefully as to not burn the skin) Roast for 20mins for every 500g. Carve or chop into pieces and serve with whatever sides you like.

Cooking in London is going to be interesting. I feel like I'm missing a few limbs without all the kitchen tools that I take for granted. The Ikea knives are nothing like the Mundials I have at home...