Tex Mex Tacos

The next few entries are my favourite quick and easy meals for after work.

If you are a Tex Mex fan like me you will love these quick and easy ways to achieve the flavour without the complicated list of ingredients. In this recipe I have used spinach wraps rather than soft shell tacos.

Ingredients

4 prawns (per taco)

Garlic clove & knob of butter

Soft shell tacos or wraps

Herb slaw or coleslaw (red onion optional)

Jalapeños & brine

Avocado

Cherry tomatoes

Coriander

Aioli (see my recipe)

Smoked Paprika

Instructions

Pan fry your prawns (I leave the tails on) with butter and a crushed garlic clove. Brush your soft shell taco/wrap with water and heat in the microwave for 30 seconds. Sprinkle smoked paprika through your aioli with a little jalapeño brine and toss through your coleslaw/herb slaw. Put 2 Tbsp of coleslaw in the middle of the wrap top with the prawns, finely chopped jalapeños, cherry tomatoes, avocado and coriander.   

Mouth watering Tex Mex goodness without the drama!!

Baked lemon cheesecake with tamarrilo topping

To finish off the dinner party shenanigans we had this sumptuous baked lemon cheesecake with a zesty sour cream and tamarillo topping. 

Ingredients

150g malt biscuits

150g gingernut biscuits

150g melted butter

250g mascarpone

600g cream cheese

2 eggs & 2 egg yolks

Lemon zest x3 and the juice of 1

4 Tbsp flour

3/4 C sugar

Heat oven to 180 degrees celsius, line the bottom of a cake tin, preferably one with removable sides, with baking paper. Blend the biscuits and butter in a food processor till smooth and line the bottom of the tin then chill.

Whisk the remaining ingredients in a bowl and pour into tin. bake for 40 minutes or until the cheesecake has formed yet still wobbly. Another way to test is to have a slightly doughy knife when pricking the middle. Turn oven off and leave in to cool.

Topping

150ml sour cream

1/2 lemon juice

6 tamarillos 

Mix sour cream with lemon juice and spread on top of cheesecake. Remove centres of tamarillos into a bowl and top the cheesecake with it. Either place in the fridge to chill or eat straight away!

Dinner party shenanigans - Gnocchi & Cheesecake

Some might say I'm foolhardy, but I thought it might be fun to make gnocchi, from scratch, for a party of eight. I prefer ballsy, whilst not everyone got their meal at the same time it was delicious if I do say so myself! 

After only one previous attempt, there was some shrieks of 'Yussss! We've got a floater!!!!" when my plump bundles of gnocchi arose to the surface having run out of flour three times! Needless to say it was an entertaining and triumphant night!

Thankfully the cheesecake wasn't such high maintenance!

Ingredients 

(serves 8)

Gnocchi

6 potatoes (I used 14 probably why I ran into flour shortages)

2 eggs

4-6 cups of flour

Peel and boil potatoes until soft. Drain and cool, blend with an egg beater until completely smooth.

Combine potato with eggs and flour (start with the 4 cups and see how you go). Kneed in a bowl or on a floured surface until dough is no longer sticky and is ball like.

Flatten and cut into 4 strips (or inch thick), roll each strip into a 2cm width snake and then cut up into 1cm long bits. Bring a pot of salted water the boil and place gnocchi in (3-5mins), once risen to the surface remove with a sieve and plate up.

Sauce/topping

4 italian sausages

4 chorizo sticks

200g butter

40 small sage leaves

1/2 a bottle of red wine

12 button mushrooms

1 punnet of cherry tomatoes

1 pack of italian parsley

8 basil leaves

1 lemon juiced

Pepper & salt

Heat the butter in a deep frying pan until bubbling add the sage leaves and cook till crisp then pour into saucepan. Use the residue of the burnt butter sage sauce to stir fry the sausages in (whole to start). Once browned remove and cut into medium slices and return to pan. Add the finely chopped chorizo and mushrooms and cook till golden.

Start adding the red wine and simmer. Keep topping up and cooking through till the bottles finished.

On the side, combine in a bowl the cherry tomatoes, cut into 1/4s, the roughly torn italian parsley and finely chopped basil. Squeeze the juice of a lemon over top and season with pepper and salt.

To combine, plate the gnocchi, heat the burnt butter sage up in the sauce pan and drizzle over the gnocchi, make sure they all get sage leaves, spoon over the italian sausage combination and top with the fresh zesty tomato mix.

If you want everyone to eat at the same time - may I suggest getting another pair of hands!

Here comes pudding!

Click here to here about my baked lemon cheesecake with tamarillo topping

  

Bloody Mary's go Pacific

Not for the seafood fan, this variation on my Bloody Mary recipe is divine! 

The only real variation to this is to squeeze the lemon over the oyster and let the juice run into the Bloody Mary.

Also upgrade the Worcester sauce it makes a difference! I am using a smokey one at the moment which is knocking my socks off!

Speaking of - I have upgraded my tabasco to Kaitaia Fire Chilli Pepper Sauce, also knocking my socks off!

Enjoy!

Homemade Pizza

Artichoke Pizza

If you're like me, thin and soft pizza bases is your idea of moreish - don't let the dough get in the way of your toppings.

This month I have taken a trip down memory lane, when I used to make pizzas at The Sonic Restaraunt in Kaikoura - turns out I still love kneading dough!

Ingredients

Dough - 3 pizza bases

1 1/2 cups warm water

Pinch of caster sugar

4 cups plain flour

1 tsp salt

1/4 cup olive oil

Sauce - approx. 2 cups

1 can peeled tomatoes (crushed) 

1 white onion - finely diced and minced
  1 clove garlic - peeled and minced
  4 fresh basil leaves
  1 teaspoon dried oregano
  Pinch salt
  Pinch fresh ground black pepper
  Pinch sugar

  2 tablespoons olive oil to sauté.

Toppings - The world's your oyster 

Button mushrooms - finely sliced
Salami - finely sliced

Artichoke hearts - roughly torn 

Red Pepper - finely sliced 

Black olives - finely sliced 

Mozzarella - grated.

Instructions

preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius (bake)

Righto for the dough - Combine the water, yeast and sugar in a small bowl. Set aside for 5 minutes or until foamy. Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl and make a well in the centre. Add the yeast mixture and oil. Use a round-bladed knife in a cutting motion to mix until the mixture is combined. Use your hands to bring the dough together in the bowl.

Brush a bowl lightly with oil. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Place in the prepared bowl and turn to coat in oil. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm, draught-free place to rise for 30 minutes or until dough doubles in size.

Now for the sauce - Empty the contents of the tomato can in a mixing bowl. In a heavy bottom sauce-pot  add the olive oil, over a medium high flame and heat a little. Add the onions and saute until slightly translucent. Add the garlic and saute about a minute until golden. Quickly add the crushed tomatoes to the mix. Stir well and bring to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and add the fresh basil and oregano. You can add a touch of sugar if desired or if tomatoes are tart. Simmer on a low flame, stirring often for at least 15 minutes. If not using right away, cool down and store in airtight container in the refrigerator, up to 1 week.

Now it's party time!!! 
Roll out your bases on a lightly floured surface, place on an oven tray lined with baking paper, generously apply the sauce and mozzarella. Now top away! I always put a little mozzarella on top of the topping as well.
Bake until cheese is bubbling - if the topping needs more heat switch to grill at the end.

Juicey steak

  The trick to a tender piece of steak....

                           Age it.

If you keep your fillet in the fridge for a few days the beef will tenderise itself. When cooking rub the oil onto the meat don't put in the pan.

You should only turn the piece once otherwise it toughens it.

Bruschetta

This is my first time making bruschetta, and probably the most enjoyable kitchen experience I have had yet. A taste explosion, bruschetta provides a platform to get really creative and make some scrumptious beautiful food!

Ingredients (3 people)

6 Ciabatta rolls

200 grams Buffalo mozzarella

8 ripe vine tomatoes

1 handful of purple basil

4 garlic cloves

Chilli oil

Olive oil

dollop of white wine vinegar

1/2 lemon

1 avocado

1/2 a large red pepper

1/2 red onion

1/2 packet of salami

pepper & salt

Instructions

Cut the rolls in half and toast on a girdle pan or on a bbq, douse with chilli oil and rub some bruised garlic cloves over them. Place thick slices of buffalo mozzarella on each one and put in the oven for 1 -2 minutes to bake.

Meanwhile you would have prepared earlier (key is to keep produce at room temperature as it enhances the flavour) the topping. carefully remove the seeds and white parts of the tomatoes and red pepper, tear the tomatoes into small pieces and finely chop the red pepper. Add finely chopped red onion and chunks of avocado, then long strips of salami (a little like spaghetti). Pour over a decent amount of olive oil and the white wine vinegar, add pepper and salt and roughly ripped basil, then let it marinate for 30 minutes.

Once the ciabatta is out of the oven top with generous portions of the fresh mixture and squeeze lemon juice to finish.

Your mouth will water!