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Posts Tagged ‘honey’

  1. Honey Roasted Figs

    February 27, 2013 by Tali

    Don’t you just love it when seriously delicious and fairly rare fruits appear on the shelves of your stores?

    I couldn’t say no to these beautiful figs – even if they do come all the way from South Africa. I’m not usually a big fan of buying foods with lots of air-miles… but they are from my homeland and it would therefore only be rude not to buy them!

    I was never a big fan of figs when I was younger. They often found their way into the kitchen in dried form – and therefore fresh figs where always a little bit of a mystery!

    There was also the story of my dad’s childhood experience. Having just picked figs off the tree in his back garden – He took a healthy bite into one fresh off the tree only to look down and discover that the inside was crawling with ants… some may argue he was getting a healthy dose of protein with those carbs, but that’s enough to put someone off figs for life!

    I always cut open and check my figs before eating!

    Who could possibly resist the bold pink tones of the flesh of these sweet juicy nuggets of fruity pleasure?

    To me, the best way to prepare a fig (if you’re not gonna eat it fresh) is oven roasting it…

    …with a drizzle of honey.

    This recipe could not be more simple, or more delicious.

    Honey Roasted Figs

    Makes: as many as you wish (although I would suggest 1.5-2 figs per person)   Takes: 20 mins

    Ingredients:
    Figs
    Honey
    Walnut Halves

    • Pre-heat your oven to 180C/350F
    • Line a baking sheet with foil or baking parchment
    • Slice the figs in half and lay (cut side up) out onto the baking sheet
    • Place a walnut half on top of each fig
    • Drizzle with Honey – don’t over do it. You want the honey to bring out the sweetness of the figs, not over-power it!
    • Place the sheet in the centre of the oven and let them roast for about 15 mins – be sure to check them around 10 mins as all ovens tend to be different. They may need up to 20-25mins.
    • Once done, transfer onto a serving dish (or plate up each individual serving – oooo how posh!) and devour whilst warm!

    Feel free to add a dollop of whipped cream/coconut cream, mascapone or vanilla ice cream next to these bad boys for a truly decadent dessert.

    YUM!

     

     


  2. Primal Lemon Curd

    May 4, 2012 by Tali

    Lemon curd, its fruity sweetness and citrus tang make for a seriously delicious taste sensation.

    I had never tasted lemon curd until I was the age of about 10. I remember thinking it was one of the most delicious yet unusual breakfast spreads I’d ever tasted. I was more familiar with spreads such as peanut butter, jam, honey, maybe even the occasional treat of chocolate spread. I never acquired a taste for marmalade, and the bitterness that comes with it. So tasting this unusual citrus spread, which was both sweet & sour culminating in a smooth and creamy mess was a totally new experience.

    Little did I know that the versatility of lemon curd could stretch so far! I later discovered it works amazingly as a filling for cakes, or used within pie crusts or tart shells. Not just (generously) spread over toast.

    You’re probably wondering how I could possibly have lived such a sheltered life, having never tasted a lemon meringue pie until I was at least 12 – I too wonder the same!

    This may have had something to do with me making a bee-line for chocolate related desserts, but as my palette matured and developed, I began to appreciate the greater things in the culinary world.

    The other day, my dad had some friends over to play cards, and the evening is often rounded off with teas and coffees along with some cake and savory snacks. I’m often roped into making something for this – which I find is always a great opportunity to try out a new recipe or improve on a old favourite.

    This particular occasion, I decided that I wanted to make something that allowed me to explore some primal recipes, but make it user friendly towards the (non-primal) clientelle.

    I don’t know what made me think of Lemon Meringue Pies – possible just a personal craving of mine, but I thought it would be great to make the filling primal – surely there is a recipe out there for primal friendly lemon curd!?

    I did some research and discovered this great recipe which uses honey as the sweetener.

    I followed the recipe and produced a delicious, smooth and silky lemon curd. As the linked recipe suggests, this is a Lemon Honey curd, and you really can taste the honey.

    I’m very keen to attempt this recipe another time using less honey and if I can get hold of them, some Meyer lemons. They are a sweeter lemon (the taste of a lemon and tangerine combined) which I hope would help to round out the flavour of this curd with a reduced honey content. Unfortunately Meyer lemons are out of season… and from what I understand impossible to get hold of here in the UK anyway – therefore I’ll have to wait for the season and hit up every gourmet food market I can!

    In the mean-time, I might consider investing in a plant… although I’ve not got a great track record with plants… but we shall see!

    I doubled the recipe from Friday Delights – because I wanted to use the curd for both a batch of mini lemon meringue pies, and to have some left over.

    Primal Lemon Curd

    Makes: 3 cups Takes: 15 mins

    Ingredients:
    10 large Egg Yolks
    2 large Eggs
    1 1/3 cups freshly squeezed Lemon Juice (about 6-8 lemons)
    2 teaspoons grated Lemon Zest
    3/4 cup Honey
    8 tablespoons Butter (unsalted) cubed

    • start by zesting your lemons
    • then warm up and roll the lemons between your hands to encourage the juices. Using a hand held or electric juicer, extract as much lemon juice outta them fruits as possible. You can always save any left overs for another recipe
    • place ingredients except the butter into a bowl and combine, then place the bowl over a pot of simmering water – making sure the water doesn’t touch the bowl, and stir
    • continue stirring for 10-12 mins while the mixture thickens. It will be slow at first, but will suddenly thicken at the 9-10 min mark. You’ll want to keep it moving and thickening for a little while longer. This will produce a sturdier product
    • once you have reached your desired consistency, remove the bowl from the heat
    • add the cubed butter and keep stirring to fully incorporate and cool the mixture
    • once the butter has been well incorporated, transfer into a shallow dish and cover the surface with clingfilm to avoid a crust forming
    • let the lemon curd cool down a bit before placing in the fridge until you’re ready to use it

    For my dad’s card evening, I made some (non-primal) miniature lemon meringue pies. I made a simple pate sucre, which I rolled to 2-3mm thick and then cut into circles, which I placed into a muffin pan making small tart shells.

    Pate Sucre

    Makes: 20 mini tart shells   Takes: 5 mins + 30mins chilling time

    Ingredients:
    250g Soft Flour
    1 pinch Salt
    125g Butter (unsalted)
    65g Caster Sugar
    1 Medium-Large Egg
    1-2 drops Vanilla Extract

    • begin by sifting your flour and salt together, set aside
    • cream together your butter and sugar
    • gently beat your egg to break it up, then add bit-by-bit to your butter and sugar mixing well between each addition
    • once well combined, add vanilla extract
    • mix in sifted flour and salt, until the mixture  JUST comes together, bring into a ball and flatten
    • cover in cling film and leave it to rest in the fridge for 30mins or more (the longer the better)

    I then placed a cupcake liner on top of each pastry disc and filled with baking beans; after blind baking for 10mins I removed the beans and liners, and then baked them for a further 5-6mins until they were a nice golden brown.

    I left these to cool.

    Once I was ready to assemble the tarts, I filled the mini tart shells with 1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons of lemon curd, and then topped them off with an Italian meringue which I browned with a blow torch.

    Italian meringue

    Ingredients:
    60g egg whites
    120g caster sugar
    water

    • place the egg whites in a stand mixer, or bowl if using a hang whisk
    • with the sugar in a small saucepan, JUST cover the surface with water and place on the stove at medium heat
    • once the sugar has dissolved turn the heat up and begin to whisk your egg whites
    • once the sugar syrup reaches around 120C/248F remove from the heat
    • reduce the speed of your mixer and slowly and steadily, pour your sugar syrup into you egg whites along the side of the bowl. Be careful that stuff is HOT
    • once all the sugar has been added, turn up the speed of your mixer to max, and continue to mix until your meringue drops in temperature. you should have a sturdy and glossy Italian meringue

    Transfer this to a piping bag, with a round or star-tipped nozzle. Pipe meringue onto your tartlets and finish by using a blow torch to burn the top or place under the grill/broiler for a few minutes.

    (unfortunately I wasn’t able to photograph the ones I made with the fresh Italian meringue, but I saved a few shells, baked off the surplus meringue, filled the tarts with left-over curd and then topped them with crushed baked meringue)

    Even though these were a quick fix solution because I couldn’t be bothered didn’t have time to make a small batch of Italian meringue – I feel they are still appealing, and add something in the texture department. The buttery crisp bite of the tart shell, with the sweet but tangy lemon curd topped with sweet crunchy meringue. YUM – E!


  3. Paleo Granola

    January 26, 2012 by Tali

    This is my recipe for Paleo/Primal/Gluten-free/wheat-free/dairy-free… trying to think of more…can’t…..Tasty Granola!

    I have started trying to eat a more primal diet. Staying away from processed foods as well as wheat, grains, pulses, and trying to limit my intake of high sugar foods.

    Primal diets largely consist of meat, poultry, fish, vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds. It is these nuts and seeds play a big part in this post! Just think what caveman would have available to him, add in some modern cooking methods and some imagination – and that is what we’re looking at!

    Breakfast on a primal diet can sometimes be tricky, especially when you need something fast and easy. ‘Regular’ people would grab a bowl of cereal pour on some milk, and off they go! But this isn’t so easy. Cereals contain grains, and are more often then not HIGHLY processed. completely ridding all of the ‘nutrition’ from the food product… cereal companies tend to add vitamins and nutrients back into the product artificially. Not sound so good to me!

    But… give up cereal!? Now you’re thinking ‘So, I’m going to have to change my entire morning schedule because I shouldn’t eat cereal!?’ Well… not necessarily!

    You can make your own!

    I tend to make a batch once a week or once every two weeks. It depends how much people nibble on it throughout the day, and how often I eat it for breakfast!

    Its pretty easy – you can use wherever nuts and seeds you would like. If you don’t like certain nuts, are allergic to them or can’t get hold of any leave them out! Use something else!

    I apologise in advance that this isn’t a ‘real’ recipe. It takes a little guess work and is subject to personal taste.

    This time I used:

    Paleo Granola

    150g shelled pistachio nuts
    200g slivered almonds
    150g cashew nuts
    100g sesame seeds
    50g sunflower seeds
    50g pumpkin seeds
    50g pine kernals/nuts
    100g unsweetened dessicated coconut
    25g pecan nuts (these were just lying around so I threw them in)

    1 1/2 Tblsp coconut oil
    honey/agave nectar

    Heat oven to 140-150 C.

    • Place all of your nuts and seeds into a big bowl. Warm your coconut oil and about 45g honey/agave nectar until it is runny. Pour coconut oil and honey/agave over the nuts and seeds, mix well.
    • Once it is all coated, pour mixture onto two lined baking trays. Spread out into even layers. Place in the oven.
    • After 10-15mins, check and gently move the parts that are starting to colour around the edges. Place back in the oven, swapping the trays for another 10-15mins. You will want to keep checking it from this point, it may need a little longer.
    • When the trays are a nice golden colours, take them out the oven, and leave on cooling racks to cool down.
    • Once cool break the pieces up and store in an airtight container.

     

    Before baking...

    ... after baking!

    Serve with yogurt (if your diet allows) & fruit. Maybe in a  bowl with milk?

    Great as a snack as it is! – My mom likes to do this… its the main reason I find myself wondering what happened to all that granola I just made!?

    But its fine, its healthy! So indulge!

    This is quite filling because of all the nuts and seeds, so bear that in mind when considering portion sizes!