How to Cook Sweet Potato

This is a simple but beautiful way to cook sweet potato.

Use a large non stick frying pan with a lid.  Wash one or two large sweet potatoes, and leave them unpeeled. Slice each sweet potato into thick pieces. Use only a little olive oil or vegetable oil, about one or two tablespoons.  Heat the oil on a medium high heat, then place the pieces of potato into the pan.  After about a minute, turn each piece over.  Place the lid on and cook the potato pieces, on a medium low heat, until they are soft, about 30 to 40 minutes.  Turn the pieces over every 20 minutes.  Turn out onto a platter.

Indonesian Sour Fish

A very simple and easy dish, with grand results.
For a FODMAPS friendly recipe, infuse the garlic in the oil and remove before cooking.





2 large fish fillets, (eg. Spanish mackerel, barramundi, snapper)
tamarind water made from 1 tbsp tamarind puree and 1 cup water
2 tbsp oil for frying
1 large clove garlic, finely sliced
2 large mild red chillies, finely sliced with seeds removed
1 stalk lemon grass, bruised and cut into 3 cm pieces (optional)
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp sugar (optional)
salt
pepper

Wash the fish and cut into 6 x 3 cm pieces, discarding any bones.
Lightly stir fry the garlic, chillies and lemon grass.
Add the fish and tamarind water, turmeric, sugar, salt and pepper to taste and simmer gently until the fish is cooked.
Tip out onto a dish, remove the lemon grass and serve.

This recipe has been adapted from a recipe by Rosemary Brissenden in her book, South East Asian Food.

Tomato Oil Chilli Pickle

Another FODMAPS friendly recipe. 


1 1/2 tablespoons black mustard seeds (or a combination of yellow and black)
1 1/2 cups malt vinegar
3/4 fresh ginger, chopped
4 garlic cloves
1 1/4 olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons turmeric
4 tbsp cumin
1 teaspoon chilli powder
20 fresh red chillies (big mild ones)
2 kg tomatoes, chopped
1 cup sugar

For the FODMAPS diet, put the peeled garlic cloves in the olive oil and leave to infuse for at least one hour.  Discard the garlic before using the oil in the cooking.

Soak mustard seeds overnight in vinegar.  Remove mustard seeds from vinegar, and grind in mortar and pestle.  Add fresh ginger (and garlic if you are not following FODMAPS) to the mustard puree.

Heat oil and fry turmeric, cumin and chilli powder.  Add chillies, tomatoes, sugar and mustard puree.  Bring to the boil.  Reduce heat and cook gently until it forms a pulp (oil should float on top after about one hour).

Allow to cool and transfer into clean and sterilized jars.

Lemon Jelly

1 kg lemons
4.5 cups water
3 cups sugar

Take 1 kg of the freshest lemons you can find, not overripe or stale. The younger the fruit, the more pectin in it.  Slice off the stem end of the lemons, but leave the blossom end intact, as that's the end with more pectin in it.  Using a food processor, slice the lemons as thinly as possible and put them into a large pot with 4.5 cups water.

Bring the lemon water to a boil, then reduce the heat and gently boil for 30 minutes.  Remove from the heat and let the mixture sit for 30 minutes.  You can leave it for longer, even overnight.  Strain the mixture to remove the seeds and pulp from the liquid.  This should give you about 3 cups liquid.

Put a small plate or saucer into the freezer.  Add 3 cups sugar and 1 cup lemon juice to the mixture, and bring to a boil.  Boil the mixture fairly hard ( but not so hard that it overflows or goes foamy), stirring frequently, for 10 minutes.  It should appear ever so slightly thicker on the back of your spoon.  Take your frozen plate out of the freezer, set a teaspoon of liquid on the plate and see if it sets up:  run your finger through the liquid, and if the two sections do not run back together, it is set and the jelly is ready.  Just make sure that you do not boil it for too long, as that will make the mixture bitter.

Be warned: it may look runny and watery, but it really takes only about 10 minutes to see a slight change in the consistency of the liquid.  When the 10 minutes have passed, immediately pull the pot off the stove and ladle the jelly into three or four waiting jars that have been properly cleaned and sterilized.

Golden Syrup Steamed Pudding

 

 

 

My grandmother used to cook golden syrup pudding using suet.  It was wonderful, but this recipe with butter is just as good.

1/2 cup golden syrup
125g (4 oz) butter, softened
1/2 cup caster sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups self raising flour
2/3 cup milk
extra golden syrup, to serve
vanilla custard, to serve if desired

Grease a 4 cup pudding basin.  Pour the golden syrup in the base of the pudding basin.
Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar until pale and creamy.  Add eggs one at a time, beating well between each addition.  Stir in flour and milk in alternating batches.  Spoon the mixture into the pudding basin and smooth the surface.
Cover the pudding basin with foil and secure with string.
Place the basin in a large saucepan and pour in enough boiling water to reach halfway up the sides of the basin.  Place over medium heat and cook, covered, for 2 hours or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.  Remove from heat and remove the basin from the saucepan.  Set aside for five minutes before turning out onto a plate.
Serve with extra golden syrup and vanilla custard or cream, if desired.

Guava Pie

This would work well with fresh figs.


3 tbsp plain flour
2/3 cup sugar
1/8 tsp salt
pastry for a 22 cm (9 inch) crust
4 cups guava, peeled, seeded and diced
1 tbsp plus 1 tsp lemon juice
3 tbsp buttter, cut in small pieces


Mix together the flour, sugar and salt.  Set aside.  Line a 22 cm (9 inch) pie plate with pastry.  Fill with sliced guava, slightly mounding in the centre.  Sprinkle the flour and sugar mixture evenly over the guavas.  Sprinkle with lemon juice and dot with butter.  Cover the top pastry and flute the edge.  Cut several vents into top crust to allow steam to escape.  Bake in a preheated 230 C (450 F) oven for 10 minutes, then reduce to 175 C (230 F) and bake for another 30 to 40 minutes.

Steamed Lemon Pudding

Serve this light lemon pudding with cream or custard.  Lemon curd could be added as well.

150g (5 oz) butter, softened
3/4 cup caster sugar
2 large lemons, rind finely grated
1/3 cup lemon juice
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups self raising flour
cream or custard to serve

Grease a 6 cup capacity pudding basin (I use canola oil spray).
Using an electric mixer, beat butter, sugar and lemon rind until light and creamy. 
Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Sift flour over the mixture.  Add the lemon juice.  Fold until just combined.
Spoon batter into basin, smooth the surface.  Cover the basin with foil, and secure with string.
Place the pudding into a large saucepan.  Pour boiling water into the saucepan so it comes halfway up the side of basin.  Cover saucepan and simmer pudding over medium heat for 1 1/2 hours, adding more boiling water if needed.
Lift pudding out of saucepan.  Remove foil and string.  Turn pudding onto a warm plate.  Cut into wedges and serve with cream or custard.

Sticky Date Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Cream Topping

180g (6 oz) dates, pitted and chopped
1 tsp vanilla essence
180g (6 oz) self raising flour
1 tsp bicarb soda
80g (3 oz) unsalted butter
150g sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten

Salted Caramel Cream
125g caster sugar
80ml (3 fl oz)double cream
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla essence
       
Preheat oven to 180 C fan forced ( 350 F).
Pour 180ml boiling water over the dates in a heatproof bowl and leave to soak for 20 mins.  Use a fork to break up the dates.  Stir in the vanilla essence.
Sift the flour and bicarb soda into a bowl and set aside.
Cream together the butter and sugar for 5 mins until very light and creamy.  Add eggs gradually, beating between each addition, and adding 1 tbsp flour about halfway through to prevent curdling.
Lastly, fold in the remaining flour and then the date mixture.
Place paper cases into a 12 hole muffin pan.
Spoon the mixture into the cupcake cases and bake for 20 to 30 mins.  The tops should spring back when pressed with a finger.  Remove and leave to cool.

Salted Caramel Topping
Dissolve the sugar and 60 ml water in small solid saucepan over a gentle heat, then increase the heat to a boil.  Wait a few minutes, leaving the pan undisturbed but watching it carefully.  As soon as it changes to a wonderful caramel colour (like strong tea) and is thicker, remove immediately from the heat, stand well back, and add the cream.  It may splatter a little.  Keep stirring, and add the salt and vanilla.  Leave until cold.

Sticky Date Pudding

 250g (8oz) pitted dates, chopped
1 tsp bicarb soda
1 1/2 cups boiling water
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
2 eggs
1 3/4 cups self raising flour, sifted

Caramel sauce
1 cup brown sugar
300 ml (10 fl oz) double cream
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
60g (4 1/2 oz) butter

Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F).  Grease and line the base of a 22 cm (9 inch) cake tin.
Place dates and bicarb soda into a bowl, and pour over the boiling water.  Allow to stand for 20 minutes.
Beat butter, sugar and vanilla until pale and creamy.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after
each addition.  Using a metal spoon, fold through date mixture until well combined.
Spoon mixture into the prepared cake tin.  Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the
centre comes out clean.  Turn onto a plate.
Make the sauce.  Combine all ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat.  Cook, stirring frequently, until the sauce comes to the boil.  Reduce heat to medium low, and simmer for 2 minutes.
Pierce pudding all over with a skewer.  Pour 1/2 cup of warm sauce over the warm pudding.  Stand for 10
minutes.  Serve in wedges with the remaining sauce.

Deep Fried Pork Balls

 

I use a stand alone deep fryer with a lid and temperature control.  I have it ready with a base heat, and when I am ready to cook the dish, I raise the heat to the required level and away I go.   Be careful to have the temperature at the right level.  Too high and the meat balls cook a little too much. They should be a lighter colour than in the above photo, it was a little too high.  They were gobbled up but I knew they weren't quite perfect!

Makes approximately 24

500g (1 pound) minced pork

2 water chestnuts

1 onion

1 clove garlic

1 slice fresh ginger

1 egg

2 tablespoons cornflour

2 teaspoons salt

1 tablespoon light soy sauce

oil for deep frying

Chop the water chestnuts properly.  Chop and mince the onion, garlic and ginger.  Beat the egg lightly.  Mix them with the minced pork, cornflour, salt and soy sauce until well blended.  Form into balls about the size of walnuts.

Heat oil in a deep fryer.  Fry the meat balls about 6 at a time.  Deep fry each lot for about 3 minutes at a time, and put aside.  Finally, put all the meat balls together and give them a final deep fry for 1 1/2 minutes.  Drain thoroughly and serve.  Serve them plain or dip them into the following Salt and Pepper Mix.

Salt and Pepper Mix

2 tablespoons salt

2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

Heat the salt and pepper in a small, dry frying pan over a low heat for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring constantly until there is a strong smell of pepper.  This is best prepared fresh.