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by browniegirl

Spiced Citrus Tarte Tatin with Butter Puff Pastry

January 23, 2012 in DESSERT

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Tarte Tatin……the word conjures up cold nights and comforting food eaten around the fireside with a delicious glass of sweetish wine to accompany it. Tarte Tatin also conjures up visions of firm crisp apples and caramel and delicious puff pastry. So easy and simple to prepare and yet so delicious and comforting. ClemenGold also conjures up wintry thoughts as it is a winter citrus and only available for that season….but I turned both into a wonderful summery delight this past week.

The new year has firmly entrenched itself and 3 weeks have just flown past in a blur. Here in the Western Cape where I live we have been overwhelmed by a heatwave of massive proportions. I have not been able to bear spending any time in my kitchen during the days. Nights are oppressive and everyone is battling to sleep. I think airconditioning companies have been benefiting from it all. In the bowels of my freezer I came across a bag of ClemenGolds this past week that I had popped in there towards the end of the 2011 season. As I was contemplating them the idea of using some for a tarte tatin  came to mind. Using my favourite spices of course for my ClemenGold goodness. It ticked all the right boxes for me….quick and easy to prepare and delicious with a big scoop of icy cold vanilla ice cream! I was sold on the idea and this is what I came up with…

Spicy citrus deliciousness with vanilla ice cream



SPICED CLEMENGOLD TARTE TATIN WITH RICH BUTTER PUFF PASTRY

Serves 4-6

Easy to prepare

Ingredients:

1 roll good quality Butter Puff Pastry – thawed but still cold

2 ClemenGolds (or other clementine/mandarin if you cannot get the ClemenGolds)

125 g butter

100 g Light Brown Sugar

½ Lemon – juice only

5ml NoMU Sweet Rub

1 Vanilla Pod – split and seeds removed with the tip of a sharp knife

2 star anise

1 Egg – lightly beaten for brushing the pastry

Method:

Wash and slice the ClemenGolds thinly (leaving the delicious peel on) and set aside. I am so in love with my new Lassar ceramic knife that is perfect for this job :)

Unroll the puff pastry and, using your skillet as a measure, cut out a circle  about an inch wider all round than the size of the skillet that you are using. Set aside in the fridge until needed

Place the skillet (it needs to have an oven proof handle) onto the hob over a low to moderate heat

Place the butter, sugar, sweet rub and lemon juice into the skillet and melt all together without stirring

Add the vanilla seeds and pod and star anise

Allow the mixture to caramelize and turn a medium golden colour giving it a bit of a shake every now and again.  Don’t allow it to go any darker than that as it can burn very easily

Remove the pan from the heat and place the ClemenGold slices in the caramel in circles, overlapping the slices slightly and placing the last one in the centre of the pan so the whole base is covered

Set aside to cool for 10 – 15 minutes

Preheat oven to 200C while the caramel is cooling

Remove puff pastry from the fridge and place it lightly over the top of the caramel in the skillet. Fold and tuck the extra bits down the sides carefully as the caramel might still be hot enough to burn your fingers

Brush lightly with the egg wash and bake on the middle shelf in the oven until the pastry is puffed up  and a deliciously medium golden brown colour

Remove from the oven then place a large flat serving plate over the top of the skillet

Using oven gloves or a couple of folded dish towels hold the plate and pan tightly together and in a quick motion flip them over and place plate down  on to the counter

Remove the pan – if any slices have remained behind gently lift with a spatula and place back into position

Allow to cool slightly then remove the star anise and vanilla pod and cut into wedges

Serve with whipped cream, crème frâiche or ice-cream (personally I prefer the iciness of ice cream with the still slightly hot tarte tatin!)

browniegirl tip: Wash the stickiness off the vanilla pod then let it dry thoroughly on your windowsill in the sunlight. Once dry pop it into a jar of sugar and cover tightly. In a week or two you will have delicious vanilla sugar for all your baking needs :)

To interact with Lassar ceramic knives visit their facebook page or take a peek at the Essentials page in the latest Crush online magazine edition to see how to slice and dice an onion…the Lassar way!

Enjoy,

browniegirl xx

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by browniegirl

Easy Boerewors Wasabi Mash and Gravy

November 16, 2011 in MAIN MEALS, MEAT

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Boerewors (literal translation farm sausage) is such a versatile ingredient to have on hand in the freezer. You can pop it onto the grid over hot coals, into the oven to bake, remove it from its casing and make meat balls to serve with pasta or in soup, or make hamburger patties or any other number of delicious things. Or you can cook it on the stove top like I did last night. This is the method that I enjoy the most. You can zwoosh it up in any number of ways by what you add to the pan…and the beauty of it all is that rich, delicious gravy that you have to pour over your hot mash

Now we all know that there is wors in the fridges at the stores…..if it is labelled just WORS it does not have a high percentage of ground meat in it and can have lots of cereal additives to bulk it up….then there is BOEREWORS….which has to contain 90% and upwards of meat product. That is the real McCoy!  Boerewors comes in a mulitude of flavour (herb and spices)combinations, some nicer than other but it all depends on your personal flavour choices. My family has always enjoy the thick Grabouw boerewors made with ground beef and pork and flavoured delicately with clove and nutmeg. We love it on the braai and always cook more than we need so that we can enjoy the ubiquitous boerie roll the next day for lunch – on a soft hot dog roll smothered in oozy delicious home made tomato and onion smoor. But I digress….back to the stove-top creation. . The surrounding mountains have been covered in a very late Spring dusting of snow, thunder, rain and hail accompanied by icy winds have been the order of the day around here….while the rest of the country has been melting in the midst of a heatwave. At this time of year I am usually complaining about the heat as I bake Christmas cake orders and so it has been very comfortable for me to bake while it is chilly outside! Sorry rest of the country! And we have enjoyed lovely comforting meals like this boerewors with wasabi mash, gravy and steamed green veggies.

BOEREWORS AND GRAVY WITH WASABI MASH AND STEAMED GREEN VEGETABLES

Serves 4

Ingredients:

700g Boerewors

20ml Olive Oil

2 Red Onions

1 Clove Garlic

Few sprigs of Fresh Thyme

100g Cherry or Baby Rosa Tomatoes – whole

Sweet Balsamic Glaze – I used the Verlaque Wild-Flower Honey Infused Balsamic Reduction

Splash of Verjuice to deglaze the pan

10ml NoMU Beef Fond

250ml Boiling Water

20mls Tomato Sauce/Ketchup

Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Ice cold cubes of butter – about 50g

Method:

Place the boerewors in a large saucepan or deep frying pan with a glug of olive oil and brown gently on both sides, remove and set aside

Peel and slice the onions (no need to chop),add to the pan with a bit more olive oil and the balsamic glaze and saute gently until limp and transparent

Add the  thyme (I add the whole sprigs and fish them out before serving) garlic and cherry tomatoes and saute a few minutes longer

Deglaze the pan with a splash of Verjuice (you could use red or white wine or even Sherry or Masala) then add the beef stock (mix the fond in the boiling water), tomato sauce, a good grinding of black pepper and the browned boerewors.

Bring to the boil, reduce heat and cover with a lid. Simmer for about 10-15 minutes until the tomatoes have broken down a bit and the sauce has reduced.

Turn off the heat and stir in the butter cubes  to give a thick glossy rich sauce/gravy

Serve with steaming hot Wasabi Mash and Steamed Vegetables

WASABI MASHED POTATOES

Serves 4 hungry souls

 

Ingredients:

 

800g Potatoes – peeled, cubed and boiled in slightly salted boiling water

Milk

Butter

10-15ml Wasabi Paste – I use Wasabi-O  putting the OOOOOH into Wasabi :)

Ground White Pepper (my secret ingredient in any mashed potato!)

Method:

Boil the potatoes in slightly salty water until just done – never overboil that they turn to mush!

Drain the boiled potatoes completely then add a generous splash of milk (sorry I never measure) and about 50g Butter and return to the heat just to warm the milk and start the butter melting

Remove from heat and mash all the ingredients together, sprinkling on some white pepper and a bit more salt if needed

Serve piping hot with boerewors and vegetables of your choice  – The wasabi just gives extra oomph to the boerewors…like hot english mustard or horsradish does to a rare roast beef sarmie :)

A simple meal, made real easy!

Enjoy!

browniegirl xx