Prosciutto & Sun-Dried Tomato Risotto (Gluten Free)

This is my all time favourite risotto recipe. I have made many risottos in my time, and most of the recipes and flavour combinations I come up with are inspired by ingredients we have at home already. I know I have posted a risotto recipe before, and now I look back at it, the addition of quinoa must have been a temporary glitch in my risotto making system. I have no idea what I was thinking. 

I could happily eat this dish every night for dinner. Though I fear the daily use of prosciutto would drain my bank account rather quickly. Pancetta or (cooked) bacon would be great substitutes. Really, if you use the plain risotto recipe as a base, you can add just about anything. 

Ingredients: 

1 1/2 cups arborio rice 

1 cup white wine 

1 litre chicken stock 

garlic oil, for cooking 

30 g parmesan cheese, grated

150 g sun-dried tomatoes, drained of oil and roughly chopped

7-8 slices of prosciutto, roughly torn 

bunch of basil, washed, and leaves roughly chopped

parmesan cheese, grated, extra for serving 

Method: 

In a large heavy based pan on medium heat, heat the garlic oil (about 1 tbsp). Add the arborio rice and stir to coat the grains. Add the white wine. Stir occasionally, and allow the wine to be mostly absorbed by the rice. 

Once most of the wine has been absorbed, add the chicken stock. Turn the heat down a little, as you don’t want to stock to boil. Place the lid of the pan on loosely. Stir occasionally, ensuring that the stock does not boil. The rice should absorb most of the stock in about 30-40 minutes. You do want this process to be slow. 

Once most of the liquid has been absorbed by the rice, add the parmesan cheese, tomatoes, basil and prosciutto. Stir so all the ingredients are well distributed in the risotto. Turn the heat off and leave to sit for a couple of minutes. 

Serve with an extra sprinkling of parmesan cheese. 

Chocolate & Date Torte (Gluten Free + Passover Friendly)

Last month, one of my very good friends got married. It was very exciting! Especially as my friend very kindly asked me to help with the wedding favours and make a gluten-free dessert. I was quite surprised when she asked me. As much as I love baking, I sometimes don’t have the confidence that what I can do will be good enough, or will live up to what people want. My friend however, had complete confidence in me. This particular friend has been so very supportive of what I have been doing lately, and her support has meant so much to me. 

Working with my friend and her lovely mother on this order was lots of fun and really enjoyable. We tossed up a few ideas for the favours, and ended up landing on the rosewater and cardamom macaroons that I make. I liked this option as they are gluten and dairy free so all the wedding guests could enjoy them, and as almonds are a traditional bonbonniere gift I thought this was a nice link. My friend had a fantastic stamp made for her wedding, to use for the invitations and order of service, so we used this as the front of the label for the favours. I think the stamp was the best part of the favours! It looked fantastic and was a nice link to all the other elements of the wedding. 

Thanks so much again to my wonderful friend. I so appreciate your support and for giving me an opportunity to be part of your wedding. Congratulations to you and your husband! 

Congratulations!

Here is the recipe for the gluten free dessert I made for the wedding. It was a really nice torte to make and I am definitely looking forward to making it again soon. The original recipe used all dark chocolate. I changed it a little to include milk chocolate as well, as I often find dark chocolate too bitter. 

* this recipe needs to be started the day before serving.

Ingredients: 

250 g whole blanched almonds

150 g milk chocolate, broken into pieces 

100 g dark chocolate, broken into pieces

6 egg whites

115 g caster sugar

250 g pitted dates, finely chopped

To serve:

100 g milk chocolate

80 g dark chocolate 

250 ml whipped cream 

Method: 

Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Grease and line a 24 cm springform cake tin. 

Place the almonds and chocolate in a food processor and lightly blend. You still want small chunks of almonds and chocolate. 

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form. Gradually add the sugar, and whisk until the whites are thick and glossy. 

Gently fold the almonds, chocolate and the chopped dates into the egg white mixture. Pour mixture into prepared tin, smooth the top if necessary. Bake for 45 minutes. 

Once the torte is cooked leave in the oven, turn the oven off, and leave the oven door propped open. Leave torte in the oven until completely cool. 

Once the torte has cooled, remove from the tin and place on a large plate or platter. Refrigerate overnight. 

The next day, melt the remaining chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a small amount of simmering water (the water should not touch the bottom of the bowl). 

Allow the melted chocolate to cool a little, then drizzle over the cake. 

Serve with whipped cream. 

Original Recipe from ‘Monday Morning Cooking Club - The Feast Goes On’ by Lisa Goldberg, Merelyn Frank Chalmers, Natanya Eskin, Lauren Fink, Paula Horwitz and Jacqui Israel, p.187 (Harper Collins, 2014).

Originally Posted October 9, 2014. 

Coconut & Passionfruit Pancakes

Happy long weekend! 

It seems to me that here in Australia, we love nothing more than a good long weekend. So to celebrate, I am posting this recipe for coconut and passionfruit pancakes. Mostly because, if you can’t take some time making a leisurely breakfast on the long weekend, when can you? 

If you don’t like the thought of doing all the preparation and cooking in the morning, you can prepare the passionfruit syrup and the batter (up until the egg whites stage) the night before. Before whipping up the egg whites and adding them to the mixture, just make sure the batter has been out of the fridge for a little bit. 

This recipe comes from Bill Granger. I have consciously attempted to lessen the amount of his recipes that I make and blog about on here. At one stage, a few months ago, I had made so many of his recipes from various books, that it was going to look like I wasn’t capable of doing anything else. While I think that is a compliment to Bill, I thought that variety was also probably a good idea. 

I went about making these pancakes, firstly because I had frozen so much passionfruit pulp it would really be ridiculous not to use it, and I had been following the hype surrounding Bill’s new restaurant opening in Bondi. I figured if I couldn’t get to Bondi to eat at his restaurant, I would just have to make a recipe of his myself. 

Luckily for me, a week or so after making these pancakes, I got to visit bills in Bondi. I absolutely loved it. There were so many great options to chose from on the lunch and drinks menu, I had real difficulty making a decision. It is definitely a must visit if you are in Bondi or nearby. 

Ingredients: 

1 1/3 cups plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tbsp caster sugar

3/4 cup coconut, desiccated or shredded

pinch of salt

4 eggs, separated

1 cup milk 

1 cup coconut milk 

50 g butter, melted

butter, for cooking

banana slices, to serve

Ingredients for the Passionfruit Syrup:

1/2 cup caster sugar 

1/4 cup passionfruit pulp

Method: 

To make the passionfruit syrup, mix the sugar and pulp in a saucepan. Place on a medium heat and bring to the boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat and simmer for ten minutes. Remove from the heat, and set aside to cool until needed. 

To make the pancakes, combine the flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and coconut in a bowl. In another bowl, combine the egg yolks, coconut milk and milk. Whisk until combined. Add this mixture, and the butter, to the flour and mix lightly until just combined. 

In the bowl of a electric mixer, whisk the egg whites until they form stiff peaks. 

In two batches, gently fold the egg whites in to the batter. 

Using a large fry pan, heat some of the butter. To cook the pancakes, place heaped tablespoons of the batter, on to the pan and cook for about two minutes a side. The first side will be cooked when the surface of the top side of the pancake has formed small bubbles. Don’t overcrowd your pan with pancakes. If you can only do a couple at a time, turn the oven to a low heat and place cooked pancakes on a tray to keep warm. 

Serve pancakes with slices of banana and the passionfruit syrup. 

Original recipe from ‘Bills Open Kitchen’ by Bill Granger (2003, Murdoch Books), p. 23. 

bills in Bondi can be found at 79 Hall St Bondi Beach, NSW.

Originally Posted October 3, 2014.

All baking, styling and photography for this post by Kathryn Vincent of Kulinary Adventures of Kath.

Nice’s* Date Slice

This recipe is one of the most popular things I have ever made. And it only contains 5 ingredients. It is so easy to make, and comes from the original Monday Morning Cooking Club book. A book which is a favourite of mine among my ever growing cookbook collection. 

I have talked about the Monday Morning Cooking Club before, and my fascination with their story and their books just keeps growing. I have owned their first book for quite a while now, and every time I open it I see a recipe I hadn’t noticed before, or a story or photo I hadn’t looked at properly. My three favourite things from this book (so far anyway!) are this slice, the Custard Chiffon Cake I made a little while ago, and Talia’s Raspberry Tart (p.93). All are things I hadn’t made before, or in the case of a chiffon cake, had never heard of before. 

I have learnt a lot by reading and cooking out of the Monday Morning Cooking Club’s books. I’m sure I will continue to discover more dishes and foods I have never cooked before from their collections of recipes. 

Ingredients: 

125 g unsalted butter

250 g brown sugar 

1 egg

150 g self raising flour 

250 g pitted dates, chopped 

Method: 

Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius and line a lamington tin (approx. 25 x 18 cm). 

In a small saucepan, melt the butter and brown sugar together on medium heat. Stir constantly until the sugar has dissolved and the butter has melted. 

Remove from the heat, and transfer to a large bowl. Allow to cool a little. 

Once the butter mixture has cooled slightly, add the egg and mix until well combined. Then add the flour, then the dates. Ensure that everything is mixed well. 

Place mixture into the prepared tin, and spread to the edges of the tin and smooth the top. Bake for 15-20 minutes. 

Allow the slice to cool in the tin for a while, then transfer to a wire rack. Cut in to slices once completely cooled. 

*pronounced ‘Neecey’s’

Original Recipe from ‘The Monday Morning Cooking Club: The Food, The Stories, The Sisterhood’ by Merelyn Frank Chalmers, Natanya Eskin, Lauren Fink, Lisa Goldberg, Paula Horwitz and Jacqui Israel, (2011, Hardie Grant Publishing (now published by Harper Collins)), p. 55.

Originally Posted October 1, 2014.

All baking, styling and photography for this post by Kathryn Vincent of Kulinary Adventures of Kath.

Market Day & A Rhubarb Galette

A couple of Friday’s ago I drove over to the Beaches Markets. Held in Warriewood every Friday morning, they are brimming with fresh produce. I had wanted to go there for two reasons. First I had placed an order with Silvia at the Lost & Found Department, and opted to collect my order at the markets. This was mostly so I could look at all of Silvia’s wonderful wares in person! I also wanted to get some fresh rhubarb so I could re-create the rhubarb galettes made by Beth Kirby at the Slow Living Workshop the previous weekend. 

I came away from my morning at the markets with my order from the Lost & Found Department, plus some of Silvia’s famous muesli, some bagels from Brooklyn Boy Bagels, some fresh rhubarb and mixed baby tomatoes. 

On the way home I stopped off at the Antique and General Store in North Narrabeen. I have been visiting this shop (sometimes unwillingly) for a good twenty years now. My Mum loves antiques and this is a favourite shop of hers. I remember going there when I was little, and sometimes making out that I hated it, when actually I had begun to quite like looking at the old wares and antiques.

I re-created Beth’s rhubarb galette once I got home, using this recipe from her website. I soaked the rhubarb in sugar and a little rosewater. I added rosewater, as I like how it adds a sweetness to the otherwise earthy taste of the rhubarb. It is nice served soon after removing from the oven with some double cream.

Originally Posted September 23, 2014.

All baking, styling and photography for this post by Kathryn Vincent of Kulinary Adventures of Kath.

Slow Living - A Practical Workshop, September 6 & 7

This is my first non-recipe related post. Apologies if you were hoping for a new recipe. However, I attended this amazing and inspiring workshop on the weekend of the 6th and 7th of this month, and can’t possibly not write about it! Oh, and there are photos! 

The workshop was hosted by Luisa Brimble, an amazing Australian photographer, Beth Kirby of Local Milk Blog and Rebekka Seale of Camellia Fiber Company. The calibre and expertise of these three women meant that an opportunity to spend two days with them just couldn’t be missed. 

The workshop was held at Glenmore House. A perfect location for such an event, as everywhere we turned there was a moment or object waiting to be shot. The workshop also involved a handful of other women, all talented, creative and inspirational in their own right - Stacey Clark a witty and talented stylist from Perth, the generous Sneh Roy of Cook Republic, and the tasty and photogenic food for the weekend was provided by Hetty McKinnon of Arthur Street Kitchen, Anna Simamora of The Floury Baker and Claire Dickson-Smith.

The workshop focused on photography, blogging, natural dyeing, food and styling. On the first day Rebekka showed us how to dye linen and cotton with natural dyes and served as our in house model for shoots (thank you!). On both days we got to watch styling master Beth in action, as well as gain invaluable advice and experience from Luisa on photography. I got so much out of these two days, and I certainly don’t look at photography or styling in the same way as I did before the workshop. I feel just a little more confident in my abilities, especially in my ability to be creative. Being creative isn't something I would have attributed to myself in the past. However, being around like minded people has had this wonderful way of being an inspiration and catalyst for all the things brewing in the back of my mind.

As I had only bought my camera a couple of days before the workshop, I still had a lot to learn about it. On the first day I used my 14-42mm lens, and felt slightly frustrated about how my photos were turning out. I kept thinking, oh I can figure something out when I’m editing them. Then on the morning of the second day, I used up my first memory card and when I was swapping it over for another, I thought, why not change the lens as well? As soon as I started using my 40-150mm lens, I was suddenly getting some great shots. So now I am kinda kicking myself for persevering with the 14-42mm lens for so long, but everything is a learning process I guess. 

Thanks again to everyone who organised and ran the weekend, particularly Luisa, Beth and Rebekka. It was an honour to spend a couple of days with you all, and I hope another chance to spend time taking photos and learn from all of you comes my way again soon.

- day one - 

- day two - 

Originally Posted September 19, 2014.