Beef Short Ribs

Beef Short Ribs

1kg beef short ribs
7,5ml salt
5ml pepper
30ml olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
50ml tomato paste
500ml red wine
500ml beef stock
4 sprigs of thyme
2 bay leaves

Preheat your oven to 160℃.
Dry the ribs and season it with the salt and pepper.
Pour the oil into a large saucepan set over high heat.
Brown the ribs in batches and set aside.
Turn the heat down to medium and add the garlic and onion. Stir-fry for 3-4 minutes.
Add the carrot and cook for another 7 minutes or so.
Add the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes while stirring every now and then.
Now pour in the wine and beef stock and add the thyme and bay leaf.
Place the beef back into the liquid, cover with a lid and place in the oven for 3 hours.
Remove the beef from the cooking liquid.
Strain the liquid through a sieve and return it to the saucepan.
Simmer the sauce until it has reduced and thickened. Season to your liking.
Arrange the short ribs on a serving platter and spoon over the sauce.

Citrus Braised Fennel

Citrus Braised Fennel

I used blood oranges in this recipe but regular oranges are just as good!

2 medium fennel bulbs
60ml butter
2,5ml salt
2,5ml sugar
60ml orange juice
180ml chicken/vegetable stock
finely grated zest of one orange
30ml chopped fennel fronds

Rinse and dry the fennel bulbs and cut off the fronds.
Slice each bulb in half, lengthwise through the core.
Halve each again so that you have quarters, keeping the core so that the wedge doesn’t fall apart.
Add the butter to a pan set over medium-high heat and wait for it to melt.
Place the wedges in the pan, sprinkle some sugar and salt over and fry until golden.
Flip the wedges and sprinkle the other side with sugar and salt (it helps the caramelisation).
Pour in the orange juice and stock.
Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer and cover the pan with a lid. Braise the fennel for 12 minutes.
Remove the lid and turn up the heat so that the liquid cooks down to a glaze.
Sprinkle over the orange zest and chopped fronds.
Serve the fennel with some fresh orange segments.


French Style Hot Chocolate

French Style Hot Chocolate

250ml + 60ml milk
125ml cream
15ml vanilla
30ml cocoa powder
7,5ml cornflour
a pinch of salt
150g chocolate, finely chopped

Add the milk and cream to a small saucepan and place it over medium heat until it is steaming hot.
Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Set aside.
Add the cocoa powder, cornflour and salt to a small bowl.
Now add a few spoonfuls of the warm milk to it and stir to form a runny paste.
Pour the paste back into the saucepan and stir to combine.
Add the chopped chocolate and place the saucepan back over a very low heat.
Stir until the chocolate has completely melted.
Pour the hot chocolate into serving cups and add a dollop of whipped cream to serve.

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Bea’s Guava Crumble

Bea’s Guava Crumble

3 x 410g tins of guava halves
100ml brown sugar
5ml ground cinnamon
125ml cream

Crumble:
250ml flour
125ml brown sugar
120g butter, cut into small cubes
125ml chopped nuts
80ml oats

Preheat your oven to 180℃ and lightly spray a 28cm x 24cm oven dish with cooking spray.
Drain the guava halves and arrange them in a single layer in the oven dish.
Drizzle the cream over.
Add the brown sugar and ground cinnamon to a small bowl and mix together.
Sprinkle over the guavas and set aside.
Add the flour, brown sugar, butter, chopped nuts and oats to a mixing bowl.
Rub the ingredients together with your fingertips until you have a lumpy mixture with the consistency of wet sand.
Scatter the crumble over the guavas and bake for 30 minutes until golden brown and crunchy.
Serve the guava crumble with custard.

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Green Cheesecake

Green Cheesecake

260g oreo biscuits
115g butter, melted
900g cream cheese, room temperature
83ml sour cream
15ml lemon juice
45ml matcha powder or protein shake
120g icing sugar, sieved
15ml vanilla
125ml whipping cream

Break up the Oreo biscuits and place them in the bowl of a food processor.
Process on the pulse setting until the biscuits are broken down to crumbs.
Drizzle in the butter while the engine is running.
Sprinkle the sugar over the crumb mixture and stir through.
Tip the mixture into a 22cm loose-bottom cake tin and press into the bottom and sides.
Freeze the crust while preparing the filling.
Add the cream cheese to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat until soft.
Add the sour cream, lemon juice, matcha powder, icing sugar and vanilla and beat on high speed for one minute.
Scrape down the bowl and beat for another 1-2 minutes. Set aside.
Pour the cream into a clean mixing bowl and whisk to stiff peaks.
Fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture.
Remove the crust from the freezer and spoon the filling into it. Smooth the top and cover the cake tin with plastic wrap.
Refrigerate for 6 hours.
Sprinkle/sift over the macha and slice to serve.

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Spanish French-Toast / Torrijas de Leche

Spanish French-Toast / Torrijas de Leche

1 litre milk
1 lemon, zest cut into strips
1 orange, zest cut into strips
60ml sugar
1 cinnamon quille/stick
1 baguette, cut into 2cm thick slices
5 eggs
125ml caster sugar
2,5ml ground cinnamon
sunflower oil

Pour the milk into a saucepan and add the lemon and orange peel, sugar and cinnamon quill.
Place the saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a simmer for 2-3 minutes.
Remove from the heat and allow to steep until cooled to room temperature.
Strain the milk over a large bowl and discard the zest and cinnamon.
Add the eggs to a second bowl and whisk together.
Mix the caster sugar and cinnamon together in a third bowl and set aside.
Place a frying pan over medium heat and pour in some vegetable oil.
Soak the bread in the milk, dunk it into the egg mixture and immediately into the not pan.
Cook the bread for about 3 minutes per side until golden.
Coat each slice with the cinnamon sugar and serve straight away.

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Potato-Chorizo Soup

Potato-Chorizo Soup

1 x 200g chorizo sausage, sliced
2 onions, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
800g potato, peeled and cubed
500ml chicken stock
500ml milk
5ml salt
a small handful of parsley

Place a large saucepan on medium heat and add a dash of olive oil and the sliced chorizo.
Cook the sausage for about 5 minutes and then add the onion.
Add the garlic once the onion is soft and stir-fry for 1 minute.
Now add the potato, stock, milk, salt and a few good grindings of black pepper.
Bring to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes, stirring a few times.
Remove the sauce pan from the heat and mash the potato by hand.
Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning.
Sprinkle some parsley on top.
Serve the soup piping hot with fresh bread.

Filled Focaccia

Filled Focaccia

500g flour
10g instant yeast
340ml lukewarm water
10ml sugar
10ml salt
20ml olive oil
Chaloner olive crisp
olives
olive oil
6-7 sprigs of fresh rosemary

Pour the lukewarm water into a jug and sprinkle the yeast over.
Add the sugar, salt and olive oil and stir the mixture for 30 seconds.
Add the flour to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook.
Turn the mixer on to a low speed and pour in the yeast mixture.
Once the mixture comes together as a dough, turn the mixer to medium speed and knead for 4 minutes. until you have a smooth, elastic dough.
Lightly oil a clean mixing bowl and place the dough in it. Cover with a damp cloth and leave to prove for an hour or until doubled in size.
Preheat your oven to 180℃.
Knock the dough back by kneading it by hand for 2 minutes.
Divide the dough into two equal pieces and roll each into a circle of more-or-less the same size.
Push the tips of your fingers into the circles so that it forms indents in the dough.
Drizzle some chilli crisp over the dough and dot it with olives.
Place one disc on top of the other and then place it on a baking sheet lined with baking paper.
Stick the rosemary sprigs into the focaccia and drizzle generously with olive oil.
Cover the bread loosely with a kitchen towel and set aside for 15 minutes.
Bake the focaccia in the oven for 25 minutes.

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