Biscuits

I'm saving hard at the moment for an overseas adventure scheduled for next year, which means everyone's getting home-made presents this Christmas. People generally appreciate the effort this entails and forget that you're being a bit cheap. This year I made a few different batches of biscuits/cookies for my work mates and some sweet-toothed family members. The selection included some short bread, these fig and date scrolls from Lottie and Doof and chocolate chunk biscuits. I did also make jam thumbprints (Gwyneth Paltrow's recipe) but i over cooked them a little, they are very tasty, however, and a healthier alternative. Packed in a jar or chinese takeaway box and tied with a festive ribbon they make a sweet and pretty Christmas gift. Happy holiday!!

Chocolate chunk biscuits:

Ingredients: 

1 tblsp instant coffee granules

2 tblsp boiling water

200 g plain flour

1/4 tsp bi-carb (baking) soda

185 g unsalted butter

175 g caster sugar

115 g firmly packed soft brown sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp natural vanilla extract

250 g roughly chopped dark chocolate

185 g chopped unsalted nuts (walnuts, almonds, pecans)

Method:

Line two baking trays with baking paper. 

Dissolve the coffee granules in the boiling water. Allow to cool. 

Sift the flour and bi-carb soda together.

Using an electric mixer, cream the butter an sugar together until pale and fluffy. Beat in the dissolved coffee, the egg and vanilla. 

Add the flour and stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture is well blended. Add the chopped chocolate and nuts, mixing thoroughly. 

Cover the mixture and chill for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 170*C.

Roll about 1 tblsp of dough at a time into a ball the size of a walnut and place on the prepared trays, allowing room for the biscuits to spread. Bake for 12-14=5 minutes, or until golden brown. 

Allow to firm on the trays for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool. 

  

Makes 30-35.

From "Crave: A Passion for Chocolate", Maureen McKeon

Fig and date scrolls 

Pumpkin and Goats Cheese Pasta

I haven't had a dud pumpkin this whole year. A while back, I had to stop buying them because every second one was watery and tasteless. This was the time I got heavily into purple sweet potatoes and would use them to make this dish. It is really better suited to pumpkin, however, as it is a less carby accompaniment to the pasta. This is a simple meal to prepare and quite attractive with its contrasting colours. The combination of flavours and textures, sweet pumpkin, salty olives and creamy goats cheese and crunchy almonds make it exceptionally tasty. 

Ingredients:

1/2 (600g) pumpkin (i used jap)

extra virgin olive oil

20 black olives, pitted

fresh thyme

2 handfuls greens, baby spinach, beetroot leaves, warrigal greens 

half cup of slivered almonds 

120g goats curd or chevre  

350g good quality dried papperdelle

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200*C.  Dry roast the almonds in a hot pan until golden, set aside. Chop the pumpkin into 2cm by 2cm chunks, rum with olive oil and bake for 30-40 minutes, until tender and caramelised. Half way through the cooking time, add the olives and picked time. Wash greens thoroughly and dry. Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil for the pasta, add a teaspoon or so of sea salt and cook the pasta until al dente. Drain, and return the pasta to the pot. Add a dash of olive oil and the greens, stir to wilt. Add half the pumpkin and olives to the pasta and combine. Distribute pasta among four serving plates. Top with the remaining pumpkin, a dollop of goats cheese and scatter with slivered almonds. Serve immediately.    

Serves Four. 

Recipe adapted from Maggie Beer on the Cook and the Chef. 

Poached Rhubarb

With the amount of rhubarb I go through each week I am so regretful that I didn't plant any in my veggie patch. We are still in peak season in Sydney, so it is plentiful and fairly cheap. For my sister's brunch a couple of weeks back I poached some rhubarb to go with the granola and yogurt. It was very easy and looked great on the table. There was a fair amount left over, however, and I became slightly addicted to it. I ate so much that my teeth got that gritty feeling which is caused by the small amount of the toxin present in the stalks, mainly found in the leaves (why you shouldn't eat them). It was especially delicious with a blob of homemade yogurt, and I suspect would be equally so with some vanilla ice cream. 

Poached Rhubarb:

Ingredients: 

Two bunches rhubarb - 750g, chopped into two cm lengths 

150 unrefined cane sugar

2 tblsp water, if necessary

Method:

Place the rhubarb and sugar in a thick bottomed saucepan and stir to combine. Leave for an hour for the sugar to extract the moisture in the rhubarb. Cook on a very low heat, stirring every so often, for 30-45 minutes, until the rhubarb is soft and disintegrating. Add the water if the rhubarb is too dry. Allow to cool. 

Store in an airtight container in the fridge. 

Recipe adapted from Gourmet Traveller, June.