Mini cardamom pavlovas

If you are looking for a good pavlova recipe, look no further.

It was easy,DELICIOUS and gorgeous to look at. You get just a hint of rose water in the fruits and a bite of the meringue reveals another surprise - cardamoms. The different layers of aroma and flavours are perfect.

The meringues are best made a day earlier and left in the oven to dry. Do not make it when it is humid, it could get a little soggy and turn soft. This recipe is adapted from Nigella Lawson. I have changed the amount of ingredients. It made 9 meringues. I also added a twist to it and it was fantastic – I added crushed cardamoms to the meringues and rose water in the fruit filling.

Peel the husk of the cardamom pod and crush the seeds finely before adding it to the meringue mixture. The husks can be saved for a later use, it will still add a little flavour, especially for making some wonderfully fragrant chai.

Rose water is made from distilled rose petals. It used in many cuisines especially in Middle Eastern, South Asian and West Asian. It is a popular ingredient in a sweet and milky drink called Air Bandung in Malaysia. It is also used in religious ceremonies in some cultures.

I have used strawberries and blackberries here. Feel free to substitute the fruits. I made the filling ahead of time.

Mini cardamom pavlova

4 large egg whites

pinch of salt

¾ cup sugar

2 tsp cornstarch

1 tsp white wine vinegar

½ tsp crushed cardamom seeds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk egg whites and salt until mixture holds soft peaks. Add sugar tablespoon by tablespoon while the machine is still running. (I used Kitchen Aid). Add crushed cardamom seeds. Mix till the meringue turns pale and snowy white. Sprinkle cornstarch and vinegar and gently fold to combine. Do not overmix.

Spoon meringues to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper – 4 to 5 inches sized circles. Spread the mixture and use the back of a spoon to make a slight indentation in the centre for the filling later.

Turn down the temperature to 300 degrees as soon as the tray goes in. Bake for 30 mins. Turn the oven off and leave the tray in the oven for another 30 minutes. Remove tray from the oven and cool on a wire rack.

At this point you could use the meringues or leave the tray in a COOLED oven overnight to dry. Do not fill until serving time – the pavlovas will get soggy.

Filling

2 cups of heavy cream

1 pint each of blackberries and strawberries

1 tsp rose water

½ tbl sugar.

Whip cream till stiff peaks form. Cut up fruits and add rose water and sugar. I also added 1 teaspoon of homemade candied oranges. Optional, of course.

To assemble

Heap a generous amount of whipped cream onto the meringues. Adorn with fruits. Serve this sensual delight immediately.

Cactus pear

Cactus pear (Opuntia ficus-indica) is believed to have originated from Mexico. It is also widely cultivated in Italy, Mediterranean, South Africa and Chile. It can be used in making jams, candies, alcoholic and non- alcoholic drinks. The oil is extracted from the seeds. It is also known as prickly pear or Indian fig.

This beautiful fruit has thick purple skin that is surprisingly easy to cut through. The soft flesh is a beautiful fuchsia, dotted with edible seeds. It is mild tasting and the texture of the fruit reminded me of guava. It is also a powerful antioxidant and has been used as vegetable and medicine by the Native Americans - //www.nutritionj.com/

I made grilled prawns with prickly pear salsa. It was the first day of spring, a good time to use the bbq. The skewered prawns took six minutes to cook and were wonderfully spicy against the creamy and flavourful salsa. The bamboo skewers should be soaked in water at least 2 hours prior to skewering the prawns. This is to prevent the skewers from being scorched.

Chilli prawns with cactus pear salsa

Prawns

1 dozen cleaned and deveined large prawns

3 tbls olive oil

1 tbls chili powder

1 clove garlic – minced

salt and freshly ground black pepper

bamboo skewers

Mix all ingredients and marinate for 2 hours in the refrigerator.

Preheat grill to 350 degrees. Skewer prawns and cook for 3 minutes on each side.

Serve with salsa.

Salsa

1 cactus pear – peeled and diced

1 avacodo – diced

2 tbls cilantro – chopped fine

½ red onion – chopped fine

2 tbls olive oil

Juice of 1 lemon

2 green onions, sliced fine

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Mix all ingredients for salsa.

Baguettes and beyond

We went on our annual road trip to Montreal. We visited some friends and went our favourite haunts. The food here is fantastic. I have been here a few times and yet to have a bad meal.

JJ and Annie drove us around and took us to one of their favourite restaurant. It is a rustic Italian place with a nonna supervising the kitchen. It does not get better than that. It was a very dimly lit restaurant and the pictures did not turn out well. But the food was very good. B had the roasted rabbit with pasta. I had grilled lamb chops. The chops were grilled to perfection and it was tender and juicy. The minestrone soup was aromatic and flavourful. We had espresso and a plate of Italian cookies for dessert.

We went to Chinatown the next day for some delicious dim sum. The origins of Chinatown in Montreal can be traced back as far as the 1860s. Chinese immigrants settled mainly on de la Gauhetiere and lower St.Laurent Blvd. Restaurant Ruby Rouge did not let us down. The food was fabulous as always. We braved the gentle drizzle later that afternoon and went to explore Marche Atwater.

Marche Atwater has various vendors selling cheeses, meat, flowers and confectionary.We bought some wonderful cheese and handmade chocolates. It was late in afternoon and I had a hankering for something sweet. This is the right place for that.

We made a beeline to the boulangerie. B had the chocolate noir mousse cake and I had the poached pear mousse and chocolate tart. The tart was full of velvety goodness and B was swooning after he took the first bite of his dessert. Need I say more?

Dinner was at Frite Alors. I heard about this place at Chowhound’s blog. It was to be an equestrian experience. Yes, that is right. Best cheval steak around. Part of the menu is Belgian specialties and horse steak is one of them. They used to serve all their frite fried in horse fat but not anymore. I had the lamb sausage and B had the Bavatte de Cheval.

Both came on a bed of tossed salad. The sausage was pleasantly spicy with hints of fennel. B’s steak was lean and did not have the gamey taste. The steak was topped with fried onions and bacon. I had a bite, it was not too bad. We finished of with what else, crème brulee. No regrets there. We will be back next year.

Frite Alors!

3497 St. Laurent

Montreal, QC , Canada

840-9000

www.fritealors.com

Restaurant Ruby Rouge

1008 Clark

Montreal, QC, Canada

514-390-8828

Il Piazzo Della Nonna

5171, St.Laurent

Montreal, QC, Canada

514-843-6069

Soba noodle salad

Soba is the Japanese word for buckwheat. Soba noodles are made of buckwheat flour and wheat flour. It is served chilled in the summer months with a soy based dipping sauce or in a hot broth during the winter months. It is loaded with thiamine, iron, protein and is a powerful antioxidant. The noodles can bought either fresh or dried. The dried noodles are usually sold three bundles to a package.

I made this fabulous soba noodle salad for dinner last tonight. Definately a keeper. What not to like - it was quick, fresh, delicious and full of wholesome goodness. Don’t be alarmed by the amount of ginger and chilli flakes in the dressing, it gives the dressing a gentle heat. Feel free to substitute or add other vegetables. The freshness of the ingredients are important in this recipe. Some of soba noodles recipes out there recommended sugar but I used rice vinegar instead. I felt that the addition of sugar would make this dish too sweet. The sautéed tofu makes this dish a complete meal. It could also be a side dish. This salad will serve 3 ( healthy servings).

Soba noodle salad

¾ chopped English cucumber

½ chopped fresh sweet red pepper

1 bunch of chopped scallions

1 cake of tofu, cubed and sautéed in a bit of peanut oil (lightly salted if you wish)

2 bundles of dried soba noodles

2 tbl toasted white sesame seeds

Bring water to boil. Use a large pot as it will threaten to boil over once the noodles are added. Boil soba noodles for 5 minutes. Drain noodles and run cold water through. Drain again. Pour dressing over noodles, add chopped vegetables and tofu. Mix gently. This is a cold dish. I served it at room temperature.

Dressing

3 / 4 tbl of fresh lemon juice

6 tbl soy sauce

1 ½ tbl fresh grated ginger

2 tbl rice vinegar

1 tbl chili flakes

1 bunch of chopped scallions

1 tbls pure sesame oil

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Set aside.

Wine and cheese

Sometimes I just don't feel like turning on the stove. I was in the mood for a bit of this and a bit of that. I put on KD Lang’s cd, Hymms of 49^th Parallel for some good vibes. This is what I had for dinner.

A glass of Italian red.

Some wonderful English Cheddar with sage.

Spicy Turkish olives …with the right amount of heat. It went wonderfully with the wine.

Crusty chunk of fresh baguette.

Some dark chocolate for a perfect ending.

Balthazar

We went to the Empire State building on Sunday. Thank goodness the line was not long but it was sure windy up there. The view was simply amazing.

We went to Balthazar for brunch. This is a wonderful well known french bistro in the city. There was a long line up when we got there and we did not have a reservation. I learnt a good trick that day, just ask if there are seats available at the bar. B and I did not mind if we sat at the counter. They also had little tables at the bar area. The wait only 10 minutes.

I ordered the Eggs Bella Donna: two poached eggs on a bed of spinach and chunky tomatoes sauce, two slices of crisp pancetta and rosemary polenta medallions. It was quite good. B had the hazelnut waffles with berries.

The coffee was the way I like it – strong. The only thing missing was the bread. It came separately and was a huge portion, it would have been too much for us. Maybe next time. We shared an upside down pineapple coconut cake with ice cream.

This was a waste of calories. It was more like a cookie than cake. I have had better pineapple cake. There is also a fabulous bakery attached to the café. They have desserts, bread and coffee to go.

Balthazar

80 Spring Street

New York, NY 10012

212-9651414

www.balthazarny.com

Blood oranges

I spotted a bag of blood oranges when I was shopping at Trader Joe’s the other day. I have always been curious of these beauties and was happy to take a bag home.

Blood orange is a variety of orange with crimson hued flesh. Its distinctive colour comes from pigment called anthocyanin, commonly found in red fruits and flowers. It is milder than the regular orange with a hint of raspberry. There are three varieties of these oranges: the Torocco (Italian), the Sanguinello (Spanish), and the Moro (California). Blood oranges are in season in the winter months – December to March in Texas and November to May in California.

I made seared scallops with fennel with blood orange salsa and semolina cake with candied blood oranges. I sprinkled some salt, black pepper and smoked Hungarian paprika on the scallops (not too much as it will overpower the delicate flavour of the scallops). Use the best smoked paprika you can find. I seared the scallops for 2 minutes ( longer if you like it fully cooked) on each side. Thinly slice fennel and scallions. Add segmented blood oranges. Mix with freshly ground black pepper and a drizzle of olive oil. I sprinkled some black salt on the scallops. This dish was light and fresh.

Candied blood orange

2 blood orange

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

Slice oranges thinly with a sharp knife or a mandolin. Boil a pot of water. Add the sliced oranges into the pot of boiling water and blanch for 1 minute. This removes the bitterness of the pith. Strain.

Cook the drained oranges with sugar and water for 15 minutes. The pith will be translucent. Remove slices of oranges from the syrup and lay it on a tray. I covered the tray with parchment paper first. Cover the tray to prevent slices from drying out. Save syrup.

Semolina cake

This syrup soaked cake is wonderful the next day. Blood oranges can be substituted with regular oranges. This is not a very big cake - it serves 6.

½ cup unsalted butter

¾ cup sugar

3 eggs

grated zest of one blood orange

1 cup ground almonds

1 cup fine semolina

¼ cup blood orange juice

a pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and line the bottom of an 8 inch cake pan with parchment paper. Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time. Beat well after each addition. Add orange zest.

Combine ground almonds and semolina. Add the orange juice and semolina mixture alternately till well combined.

Bake for 40 minutes or till cake tester comes clean.

When the cake is baked, cool for 10 minutes and pour half a cup of syrup leftover from the candied oranges on the cake while still in pan.

Arrange candied slices on top of cake. I served it with fresh whipped cream mixed with two tablespoon of leftover syrup. You could use orange liqueur instead of syrup.