Lemon Meringue Pudding

I made this one for guests on Friday night and it was a big hit. It uses a sponge base instead of the traditional pastry base.

Ingredients - pudding
200 g bought sponge cake
430ml cream
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 teaspoon of finely grated lemon rind
80ml lemon juice
6 eggs
165 g caster sugar
280g jar of lemon butter

Ingredients - meringue topping
3 egg whites
165g caster sugar

Method
1. Preheat oven to moderately low. Lightly grease a round 2 litre ovenproof dish.
2. Cut sponge cake into 3 cm pieces. Place pieces randomly in prepared dish. Combine cream, extract, rind and juice in a small saucepan overlow heat, stirring until hot.
3. Whisk eggs and sugar in a large bowl until combined. Whisking constantly, pour hot cream mixture into egg mixture and then pour into dish over sponge cake. Bake, uncovered, in a moderately low oven for 45 minutes. Remove pudding from the oven and increase the oven temperature to moderate.
4. Cool pudding for 10 minutes, then, using rubber spatula, carefully spread lemon butter over the surface.
5. Make meringue topping. Spoon topping over pudding to completely cover surface. Bake, uncovered, in a moderate oven for about 15 minutes or until browned lightly.

Method - meringue topping
Beat egg whites in a small bowl with electric mixer until soft peaks form, add sugar, a tablespoon at a time, beating until sugar disovles between additions.

Serve hot with cream or ice cream. Serves 8.

Pho Ga

This recipe is all the things I love - quick, easy, and tasty! "Pho Ga" is basically a Vietnamese soup with chicken and rice noodles.

Here's what you'll need:

• Chicken (100 - 200g per serve)
• Garlic (1/2 - 1 clove per serve)
• Ginger (about 1/2 as much as the garlic)
• Peanut oil
  
• Chili flakes (optional, but good for some spice)
• Chicken stock/broth (about 500ml per serve)
• Rice noodles
• Corriander (or "cilantro" for the Americans)
• Mung beans ("bean sprouts")
• Escallots (optional)

And here's what you do:

1. Throw some water on to boil - enough to cook your desired quantity of noodles.
2. While you're waiting, cut the chicken into thin slices, crush the garlic, and crush (or chop into tiny pieces) the ginger. Ideally, if you have a mortar and pestle, you could use it to mash the ginger, garlic, and chili flakes into some sort of paste.
3. By now the water should be boiling, so turn it off, and put the rice noodles in, then cover it up. Let them sit there until the end of the preparation.
4. Throw some peanut oil into a large wok. Cook the chicken, garlic, ginger, and chili flakes for about a minute - enough so the outside of the chicken looks fairly cooked, but not cooked right through.
5. Add the chicken stock, and bring to the boil. Once it's boiling, the chicken will take about 8-10 minutes to cook through.
6. While you're waiting on the chicken to cook, wash your mung beans, seperate the corriander leaves from the stalks (chuck the stalks out), and cut up the eschallots.
7. When the chicken is just about cooked, pour in a little bit of fish sauce for flavour. Drain and serve the noodles, then spoon the chicken soup over the noodles and then garnish with the corriander, eschallots, and mung beans.
8. Eat, and enjoy!

Note: Best served with lots of Tuong Ot Sriracha on top!

Lentil, broccoli and mushroom stew

Having noticed The Cookbook hadn’t been posted to for a little while, I thought I would get organised and finally post one I’ve been meaning to a for while now. And it looks like Meegs had the same idea!

Here’s a super-easy one that’s fairly nutritious and something a bit different.

25g butter
6 shallots, finely slices
1 clove garlic, chopped
100g mushrooms, sliced
125g green lentils
1 vegetable stock cube, made up with 600ml water
100ml white wine
1 red pepper, sliced
freshly ground black pepper
200g broccoli, small florets
2 tablespoons single cream

1. Melt the butter over a moderate heat and fry the shallots with the garlic. Add the mushrooms and cook for 2-3 minutes.

2. Add the lentils, vegetable stock and white wine. Season well.

3. Bring to the boil and boil for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat, add the pepper, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the broccoli and cook for a further 10-15 minutes. Stir occasionally, adding more water if necessary.

4. Adjust the seasoning to taste, and stir in the single cream before serving.

I served it with rice, but crusty bread would be just as good.

Scones

Here's a super easy and fail-safe scone recipe from Super Food Ideas that I've tried and tested a few times now.

Ingredients:
Plain flour for dusting
3 cups of self raising flour
80g butter, cubed
1 - 1 1/4 cups milk

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 200°C. Lightly dust a baking tray with flour, or line the tray with baking paper. Sift self raising flour into a large bowl.
2. Using your fingertips, rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
3. Make a well in the centre and add 1 cup of milk. Mix with a flat-bladed knife until the mixture forms a soft dough, you may need to add more milk to get to the right consistency. Turn on to a lightly floured surface and knead gently until smooth.
4. Pat the dough into a 2cm thick round. Using a 5cm round cutter, cut out aprrox 12 rounds. Press the dough back together and cut out remaining rounds. Place scones on to the baking tray, about 1 cm apart. Sprinkle the tops with a little plain flour.
5. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until golden and well risen.
6. Serve warm with jam and cream.

Tuna Mornay

You know those days when you have hardly anything in the pantry and don't really want to face grocery shopping or take away for dinner? This is one recipe that I call on frequently!
(Thanks Mum)

Ingredients
1 oz butter
1 1/2 ozs grated cheese
1 tblsp flour
1 cup milk
1 chopped onion
pinch of salt
1 medium size tin of tuna
4 potatoes (approx)


Method
Preheat the oven to 180°c.
Peel, finely slice and cook the potatoes until just tender, set aside for later.
Melt butter in a saucepan with the chopped onion.
Blend in the flour and salt.
Add the milk, stirring constantly until thick.
Add the tuna and most of the cheese. Leave enough to sprinkle over the top for baking.
Layer the potatoes in an oven proof dish.
Top with the tuna sauce and sprinkle the left over cheese on top.
Bake in the oven until golden brown.