Mock Crayfish

Ingredients:

2 pounds very firm-fleshed white fish - Examples of white fish are the popular Cod, Haddock, Seabass, Halibut, Dover Sole, Flat Head and Turbot, to name but a few. They all come from the sea and are characterised by white firm flesh

2 lemons, quartered
1 bay leaf
Pinch of peppercorns
Sauce (see recipe)

For sauce:
½ cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon ketchup
½ teaspoon horseradish
2 to 3 teaspoons pickle relish (sweet or dill)
Pinch of salt
Pinch of pepper

Preparation:
Put fish, lemon quarters, bay leaf and peppercorns in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook until fish is just done, 10 minutes or less. (Fish must be firm to hold sauce.) Remove fish from liquid to a shallow bowl or platter. Let fish cool completely.
Meanwhile, make sauce. Pour over completely cooled fish and gently fold in to keep fish in large chunks.

Sauce:In bowl, whisk all ingredients together and pour over cooked, cooled fish.

Aunty Fay's Cheesecake

Pastry:
1 cup plain flour
2 cups SR flour
1.5 cups sugar
1 egg, beaten
200g softened butter
1 tsp Vanilla extract

(This recipe makes a large quantity of pastry and any left over can be frozen or used to make cookies.)

To make the pastry, sift all the dry ingredients into a large bowl. Add the beaten egg, vanilla and butter. Work in by hand until the dough can form a ball. If the dough is too dry, add a little warm water. Roll out thinly and line a well buttered large springform tin or deep rectangular baking dish.
Reserve left-over pastry for later.

Filling
750g farmer's cheese (similar to ricotta cheese)
3 eggs
1.5 cups sugar
1 tsp Vanilla extract
2 tablespoons SR flour
1 cup sour cream
To make the fillling, combine all ingredients and mix thoroughly but do not over-beat. Pour into the pastry-lined cake tin.
Cut strips from the left-over pastry and make a lattice pattern on the top. Glaze with some beaten egg.
Bake at 180 degrees C for 60-90 mins.

Pound Cake

Ingredients
1/2 pound (225 grams) butter
3 cups sugar
1 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3 cups all-purpose flour
6 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together. Add the sour cream and mix until incorporated. Sift the baking soda and flour together. Add to the creamed mixture alternating with eggs, beating each egg 1 at a time. Add the vanilla and pour the mixture into a greased and floured 10-inch tube pan. Bake for 1 hour 20 minutes.

Fettucini Bolognese

I didn't particularly enjoy all those carrots, but the boys [Jacob and James] loved it and had second helpings....


2 tbsp olive oil,
1 brown onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 medium carrots, finely chopped
250 g mushrooms, sliced
500 g beef mince
400 g canned chopped tomatoes
some red wine
350 g fettuccine pasta
salt and pepper



Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large frying pan. Add the beef mince, season with salt and pepper and stir to break up the lumps. Cook for 5-7 mins over high heat until browned. Add the onion and cook for 2 mins then add the garlic, carrots and mushrooms, cook for 2 mins until just softened. Add the tomatoes and simmer for 30 mins, add some red wine if the mixture dries out.



Cook the fettuccine according to packet directions. Toss fettuccine with sauce in fettuccine cooking pan.

Coconut Macaroons

2 large egg whites

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

pinch of salt

140g caster sugar

100g shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 325F/165C/Gas 3. Grease a baking sheet or line with parchment and set aside.

Put the egg whites, vanilla and salt in a smallish bowl and beat to the soft peak stage.

Gradually add the sugar, beating constantly, until the whites reach the stiff peak stage. Gently fold in the coconut.

Drop a tablespoon for each macaroon on the prepared baking sheet. [They don't spread much, but become quite puffily large.] Bake one sheet at a time for 15 to 25 minutes until nicely colored and puffed.They will be very fragile right out of the oven, so let them cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring gently to a cooling rack. Store in an airtight container.

Optional: dip in melted chocolate when cool.

Hamentashen

1 1/2 cups butter or margarine, softened
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
6 tablespoons orange juice
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons baking powder
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

Filling of your choice (see below)

Directions
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the orange juice and vanilla. Mix in the baking powder, then gradually stir in the flour until the dough forms a ball. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease baking trays.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into 3 inch circles using a cookie cutter or drinking glass. Place circles on the prepared baking sheets. Spoon 1 good teaspoon of filling onto the center of each circle. (Any more and it will ooze out) Pinch the sides of each circle to form a triangle, covering as much of the filling as possible. The hamentashen may be frozen on the trays if desired to help retain their shape while cooking.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until light golden brown. These are best undercooked slightly. Cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely.

Poppy Seed Filling
1 c. (150 g) poppy seeds
3/4 c. (175 ml) milk
2 tbsp.honey
4 tbsp. sugar
Grated zest of 1 lemon
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 1/2 tbsp. butter

Put the poppy seeds in a pan with the milk and simmer for about 15 minutes or until thick. Add the honey, sugar, raisins, and butter and cook 5 minutes more. Add the lemon zest and juice and the butter and mix well. Let it cool.

Prune Filling 3/4 cup chopped prunes
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons caster sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 lemon, zest, finely grated

Combine ingredients in small saucepan. Cook over low heat until prunes are very soft. Puree with stick blender.

Date filling
1/4 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
2 cups pitted dates
A teaspoon of cinnamon (optional)
Some grated lemon rind (optional)

Combine ingredients and process together until finely minced.
Date spread is also available in shops and an easy option.

Jam Option: Just use a good thick jam as the filling.

Apricot: Soak 1 pound of dried apricots in water for 15 minutes before pureeing them in processor with ½ cup sugar and 1 teaspoon almond extract. Note: For nut allergies, you can substitute a splash of cranberry juice for the almond extract

Potato Gratin

1 kilo potatoes peeled and thinly sliced
30 g unsalted butter melted
sea salt
freshly ground white pepper
250ml Cream

Take a small baking dish, copper pan or ceramic casserole, just large enough to contain the sliced potatoes.
Brush the dish with melted butter.

Slice potatoes very thinly, lengthways.

Layer the sliced potatoes, slightly overlapping, in a circular motion.
After one layer, season with sea salt and pepper and pour a small amount of cream over the top.
Continue in this way until the potato reaches just below the top of the dish.
The cream should just cover the potatoes.

Drizzle with some melted butter.
Add a touch more pepper.

Bake at 140 C for about 1.5 hours. until it has turned golden brown.

Creamy Spinach Soup

I'm going to make this with frozen packet spinach instead:

Ingredients (serves 4)

1 tbs olive oil
1 brown onion, halved, coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tsp ground cumin (optional)
1L (4 cups) vegetable stock
4 (about 1kg) sebago (brushed) potatoes, peeled, coarsely chopped
2 bunches English spinach, stems trimmed, washed
Salt & freshly ground black pepper
65g (1/4 cup) sour cream
Crusty bread, to serve

Method
Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until soft. Add the garlic and cumin and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds or until aromatic.

Increase heat to high. Add the stock and bring to the boil. Add potato and reduce heat to medium. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes or until potato is tender. Add spinach and cook for 2-3 minutes or until the spinach wilts. Set aside for 10 minutes to cool slightly.

Place half the spinach mixture in the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth. Transfer to a clean saucepan. Repeat with remaining spinach mixture. Place over low heat and cook, stirring, for 4-5 minutes or until heated through. Remove from heat. Taste and sea son with salt and pepper.

Ladle soup among serving bowls. Top with a dollop of sour cream and season with pepper. Serve with crusty bread.

Blueberry Apple Cake

This recipe is Parev: contains no dairy products. And it's delicious!

4 Granny Smith apples OR 2x 410g canned apple PIECES

1 punnet blueberries

tablespoon caster sugar
flaked almonds
*********
1.5 cups raw sugar
4 eggs
1.5 cups SR flour
half cup lite olive oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Method:
Line cake tin with baking paper.
Peel and thinly slice apples.
Put into a bowl with the blueberries and a tablespoon of sugar.

In a separate bowl, beat eggs, oil, sugar and vanilla. Add flour and mix well. Fold in apple and blueberry mixture.  If using canned apple pieces, drain first. Top with flaked almonds.  Bake in moderate oven 180 degrees for approx 75 mins or until skewer tests clean.

Salmon

Bookmarking this site: Great Salmon Recipes

Zucchini Soup

3 large onions, sliced

2 tablespoons olive oil

6–8 medium zucchini, sliced

1 medium potato, cubed,

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1 rounded tablespoon pareve chicken soup mix or 2 chicken cubes

7–8 cups water, to cover

salt and pepper, to taste

In a large soup pot, sauté onions in oil until tender. Add zucchini, potato, garlic, soup mix/cubes, and water. Bring to a boil. Cover and lower heat. Simmer gently for 30 minutes. Add salt and pepper 5 minutes before finished cooking. Remove from heat. With a hand blender, purée vegetables until smooth. Serve hot as is or with croutons.

Serves 10–12.

Broccoli variation: substitute broccoli (fresh or frozen) for the zucchini.

Summer Salad w/ Poppy Seed Dressing

Ingredients
Romaine lettuce, shredded
½ red onion, sliced into rings
2 avocado, cubed
Strawberries, sliced

Dressing
1/2 cup mayonnaise

2 tbsp. vinegar

1/3 c.up sugar

1/4 cup soy milk

2 tbsp. poppy seeds

Place ingredients in a jar. Cover and shake until blended. Dressing keeps several days in refrigerator.