Source: This article was taken from the June 2011 issue of Food & Home Magazine
Crispy fennel and carrot salad
Serves 4 – EASY 10 mins
DRESSING
- 30ml (2 tbsp) sherry vinegar
- 80ml (1/3 cup) olive/avocado oil
- 5ml (1 tsp) Dijon mustard
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
SALAD
- 125ml (V2 cup) fresh breadcrumbs
- 1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced
- 2 carrots, thinly sliced
- 2 butter lettuces, torn
- 50g flaked almonds, toasted
- To make the dressing, whisk all the ingredients together and set aside.
- For the salad, lightly toast the breadcrumbs in a hot, non-stick pan until golden and crisp.
- Combine the fennel, carrots and lettuce in a bowl and toss through the dressing. Serve sprinkled with the breadcrumbs and almonds.
Mini mushroom lasagne
Makes 2 – EASY 1 hour
TO DRINK: A good wine would be Elgin Valley Viognier, with lovely light peach, honey and spice notes to complement the fennel as well as the mushrooms, and enough acidity to cut through the cheese.
- 45ml (3 tbsp) butter
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 300g mixed wild mushrooms, roughly chopped
- salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 60ml (1/4 cup) cake flour
- 1 litre fresh milk
- 60ml (1/4cup) Parmesan, freshly grated
- 10ml (2 tsp) ground nutmeg
- 16 sheets ready-made lasagne
- 300g baby spinach, lightly blanched and chopped
- 80g Parma ham, finely sliced
- 45ml (3 tbsp) butter, cubed
- Melt 20ml (4 tsp) of the butter in a pot and saute the onion until soft. Add the mushrooms and cook covered over low heat for about 20 minutes. Season, add the flour and gradually pour in the milk, stirring continuously. Cook for a further 5 minutes.
- Mix in half the Parmesan and the nutmeg. Remove from the heat and set aside
- Cook the lasagne sheets in plenty of salted boiling water for 1 minute. Drain well.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C and grease 2 lasagne dishes.
- Line the dishes with a sheet of lasagne, top with some of the mushroom mixture, then a layer of spinach, a few slices of ham and a sprinkle of the remaining Parmesan. Repeat this process until each dish has three layers and you have used all the ingredients.
- Top with the butter and bake for about 20 minutes.
- Serve hot, in the baking dishes.
Bigne (Italian profiteroles)
Life is sweet with these traditional Italian desserts. These custard-filled pastries are traditionally eaten on St Joseph’s Day in Italy.
Text by Cristina Villanella of Modo Mio. Styling by Anna Montali. Photography by Vanessa Lewis.
Makes about 12 – A Little effort – 2 hours
PASTRY
- 500ml (2 cups) water
- 100g butter
- 30ml (2 tbsp) sugar
- 240g (2 cups) cake flour
- 6 large eggs
- zest of 1 lemon
FILLING
- 4 large egg yolks
- 80ml (1/3 cup) sugar
- 80ml (1/3 cup) cake flour
- 800ml milk
- zest of 1 lemon peel
TOPPING
- 200g dark chocolate, chopped
- 125ml (1/2 cup) fresh cream
- Preheat the oven to 200°C.
- For the pastry, combine the water, butter and sugar in a pot and bring almost to the boil, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and add the flour, stirring continuously until the dough combines and begins to come away from the sides of the pot.
- Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Mix in the zest.
- Spoon the dough into a piping bag with a smooth nozzle and pipe small mounds onto 2 greased baking trays, about 3cm apart.
- Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.
- For the filling, gently heat the egg yolks in a saucepan, adding alternate small amounts of sugar, flour and milk and mixing continuously. Once all the sugar and flour has been added, mix to a smooth consistency, then pour in the rest of the milk and stir to combine. Add the zest and simmer over a medium heat, stirring continuously, until the custard is thick and creamy. Remove from the heat and pour into a glass bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to cool completely before refrigerating until chilled, about 20 minutes.
- For the topping, heat the chocolate and cream in a saucepan until melted and well combined. Allow to cool slightly.
- To assemble the bigne, make a slit in each pastry and place a spoonful of filling inside. Pour over the topping and serve.
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