[hobmates]

Lemon Meringue Pie

It’s lemon season in our backyard, lemon tree is going crazy! I made amazing use of home lemons and it was heaven! Have to mention, it is so difficult to capture that last moment when the pie just comes out of the oven- ready to eat, but because no one can wait for these photographs to be taken, usually attacked and gone. Hope you can enjoy the making of it though!!

Ingredients Base 2 ½ cups Self raising flour 2 Tbsp. of salt 2 Tbsp. Sugar 150g soft butter ¼ cup cold vodka ¼ cup cold water Filling  ½ cup cornflour 1 cup caster sugar ½ cup fresh lemon juice 1 ¼ cup water 2 teaspoon grated lemon rind 60g unsalted butter

Meringue 3 egg whites ½ cup caster sugar Method

Sift flour together with salt and sugar, rub in butter. Add vodka and water to make ingredients cling together. Press dough into ball; knead gently on floured surface until smooth. Cover, refrigerate for 30min.

Roll dough on floured surface until large enough to line prepared tin. Lift pastry into tin ease into side & trim edges.  Line pastry with paper, fill with dried beans. Bake in 180 degree oven 10min. Remove paper and beans; bake further 10min until lightly brown. Let it cool. Spread filling into pastry case, top with meringue. Bake moderate oven 5 min until meringue is lightly browned. Filling: Combine cornflour and sugar in pan, gradually stir in juice and water, stir until smooth. Stir over heat until mixture boils and thickens. Reduce heat, simmer, stirring for 30 seconds. Remove from heat, quickly stir in rind, yolk and butter, stir quickly until butter is melted. Cool to room temperature. Meringue: beat egg whites in small bowl until soft peaks form; gradually add sugar beating until dissolved after additions.

[hobmates]

Chicken zucchini fritters with baked sweet potatoes & beetroot

Ingredient

Chicken zucchini fritters 500g Free range Chicken mince 2 Zucchini 1 Cup of Cheese ½ cup bread crumb 1 egg pinch of salt Pinch of pepper Herbs -- Mandarin ( to add) Pumpkin seeds  ( to add) -- Greek yogurt –to serve Salad with soy dressing Spinach ½ cup pumpkin seed – roasted 1 cucumber 1 mandarin Roasted beetroot & sweet potato

Dressing: 1 lemon 1 garlic Drizzle of olive oil 3 tbsp. Soy Sauce - Usukuchi (light) Method Grind the zucchini by hand and combine all the ingredients together in a bowl. Mix well with your hands. After all is mixed create medium sized fritters. Preheat pan with olive oil. Begin to gently place the fritters on the hot pan. Let it grill and turn golden brown on each side for at least 5-8min. Once it is semi golden place peeled mandarin on top of the fritters together with a handful of pumpkin seeds. Let the seeds roast and mandarin grill until golden brown. Meanwhile slice the beetroot and sweet potato to desired shape. Season the sweet potatoes and beetroot with salt, pepper, herbs and drizzle of olive oil. Mix gently with hands and place into pre-heat oven at 220 degrees for 20 min. For the potatoes and beetroot to get crispy set the oven to grill for no more than 5 min (or it depends on your oven). Quickly prep your salad, slice cucumber mix together with spinach, pilled fresh mandarin, roasted pumpkin seeds and baked beetroot. (I left the sweet potatoes to eat on its own). In a separate bowl squeeze 1 lemon, diced garlic, drizzle a few tablespoons of olive oil and add ‘Usukuchi’ soy sauce. Mix well. Add the dressing into the salad and once again mix well until all is combined. Finally, serve the chicken fritters hot with Greek yogurt on the side. Simply have the baked sweet potato on the side with soy dressing beetroot salad. Yum!

[hobmates]

Poppy Seed Strudel

Same dough method as in previous bread bun post. For the filling blend all the ingredients together and set aside. Roll out the dough, keeping its thickness to at least 2-3 cm. Spread the dry poppy seed mixture onto the rolled out dough surface. Begin to gently rolling it, pinching the dough on either sides for the filling not to spill out. Pinch the dough to close all the openings. Transfer it on to the flat tray. Bake at 180 degrees for 20 min or until golden brown. 

Poppy seed filling 1 cup poppy seed 1/2 cup caster sugar 1/2 cup walnuts

[hobmates]

HOB mate’s blog, we like to think it is our diverse journal of dishes from all over the place. The hot bread buns are traditionally made during Easter celebrations. Best recommended is to start preparing your dough early in the morning, allowing it to rest and rise for at least 4 hours.  By the afternoon you can truly be enjoying hot buns out of the oven with butter and hot tea or coffee. Warming it up in the oven for breakfast is just as good..!

Buns ingredient

1 packet or 1 tbsp. granulated yeast 100gr caster sugar 1 egg 500 ml warm milk 6 cups plain flour 150ml vegetable oil 1 packet vanilla 1 tsp baking powder pinch of salt

Homemade fruit filling 100gm dry apples 50gm dry apricots 50gm sultanas 50gm Pitted plums – no seed 1 cup brown sugar

Method Combine yeast, sugar and warm milk in a small bowl. Mix until yeast has dissolved.  Sift flour, together with salt, baking soda, vanilla, oil and egg into the yeast mixture. Mix all the ingredients to soft sticky dough. Cover; stand in warm place for 2hrs until dough has doubled in size. Mix it gently with wooden spoon and let it stand for another 2 hrs until it has grown again. Prepare your fillings mean while waiting for the dough. Place all the dry fruits into a pot. Fill with water to cover and add sugar. Let it simmer over heat for 40 min. Drain the syrup out into a separate jug ( it is delicious to drink). Place the drained boiled fruit into a blender, blend into poure.  

Once the dough is ready, turn a small portion onto floured surface, divide dough into portions and make approx. 10 buns with one of each filling. In this post there is 2 variations of buns with fruit jam and plain buns with sultanas. Create any shape buns you desire. Bake at 180 degrees for 20 min o until golden brown.

[hobmates]

April feels like the hottest month in Singapore, love to cook but looking for something easy to deal with? Bruschetta is probably one of the dish that doesn’t require any cooking and is entirely dependent on the quality of your ingredients. Find some good ripe tomatoes, a decent baguette and you’re in business.

Summer Bruschetta 6 cups sliced cherry tomatoes (family size) 3 cloves garlics, minced 1 clove garlic, for rub on toasted bread 1 onion diced Approx. 10 pcs sweet basil leaves 2/3 extra virgin olive oil White wine vinegar and Bragg liquid aminos, desired Salt & pepper, desired 1 baguette, cut into half inch, disc at an angle

Method: Toss tomatoes, garlics, sweet basil, onion, extra virgin olive oil, white wine vinegar, liquid aminos and salt & pepper. Cover the bowl and keep it in the refrigerator for a day to allow the flavors to meld. (If you’re short on time, you can skip the waiting period.) Pre-heat the pan, lightly oil baguette slices and grill on each side for a few minutes, until brown and toasted, rub one side of the toasted bread with the garlic clove. Spoon tomato mixture onto toast slices. If desired, drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

[hobmates]

Hello Chilean Empanadas. One relaxed Saturday afternoon in the kitchen with friends, laughs and amazingly delicious traditional cuisine from Chile. 

Oven Empanadas

“Pino” (mincemeat filling) ½ kg beef mincemeat 2 cups of onion in small squares 2 cloves of garlic 2 tea spoons of oil           ½ cups of beef stock ¼ tsp paprika mild ½ tsp paprika ½ tsp of oregano ¾ tsp of salt Pepper to taste

Olives (hopefully without the nut) 3 boiled eggs (fully boiled) 1 mixed egg (this is for the end to put on top before the oven)

In a big pan fry the mincemeat in oil. Add the onions and garlic, then cook the onions until they are slightly transparent, mixing frequently. Add the meat stock, cumin, oregano, salt, pepper and paprika. Cook for 3 min. Put it away and let it cool down so it keeps its juices, this way it is easier to fill in the empanadas.With a rolling pin stretch each portion of the dough, at approximately 3mm thick and cut in rounded shapes of 20 cm approx. cut the boiled eggs in slices. Start filling in the rounded dough shapes (empandas) by placing 1 tea spoon of mincemeat 1 slice of boiled egg, 1 olive. Wet 1 half of the edge of the dough, fold it and close them by folding the edges. Paint them with the mixed egg and stub the empanada in 2 or 3 places to avoid openings.Preheat the oven at 200 C for 20 min approx.

The Dough

3 Cups of plain flour 1 tsp  of salt 1 tsp of baking powder 1/3 cup of melted lard ¾ warm cup of milk ¼ warm cup of water

Mix the flour with the salt and the baking powder. Add the melted lard, the milk and water. Mix well, knead it so everything merges into a non-sticky dough. Let it rest for ½ hr and then divide the portions to easily stretch it. 

[hobmates]

This is totally cheeky and yummy for autumn season, here in AUS.

Roasted Beetroot and sweet potato dip

Ingredients

2 beetroots 3 purple sweet potatoes 2 tsp ground cumin 400g can chickpeas, drained 1 fresh lemon squeezed 1 garlic clove, crushed 2 tbs olive oil 100g feta cheese Mint leaves

Method

Preheat oven to 180C. Wrap each beetroot and sweet potato in foil. Place on baking tray. Bake for 40min-1 hr until tender. Set aside, let it cool. You can peel the beetroot and potatoes if desired, however it isn't necessary. Transfer to a food processor with the beetroot, chickpeas, lemon juice, mint and garlic. Process until smooth, season with salt and pepper. If necessary add a little bit of water to help it process it all together. Spoon the dip into a serving bowl. Sprinkle with feta and mint leaves. Serve it with bread if desired!!

[hobmates]

Quinoa Tabouli

Ingredients 1 cup quinoa 1 ¼ cups of water 5 small fresh radish 2 tomatoes ¼ cup of fresh lemon 3 tbsp. apply vinegar cider 1 cup of fresh mint 1 cup of parsley Method Rinse 1 cup of quinoa and drain. Soak quinoa in water, bring it to boil, cover and simmer for about 15 mins, or until the water is absorbed. Remove from heat; let it stand for 10 min. Meanwhile cut the radish, tomatoes and fresh herbs. Place it in a large bowl, season it with salt, pepper, fresh lemon juice and 3 tbsp. of apple vinegar cider. Mix the quinoa together with all ingredients. Season the salad with extra lemon or salt if need be. Enjoy!

[hobmates]

Chocolate Almond Meringue cake with berries

Ingredients

6 large egg whites ¼ tsp cream of tartar 275 gm of caster sugar ½ tsp almond essence 50g  flaked almonds

Chocolate cream 150gm of chocolate 300ml thickened cream

Method

Whisk the egg whites and cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in the sugar, 2 tbsp. at a time, beating well until the whites are stiff and glossy. Beat in the almond essence, then using a metal spoon gently fold in the ground almonds. Divide the mixture evenly between 3 circles of baking paper, spreading neatly into the rounds. Preheat the oven to 140 degrees, bake for about 1 ¼ hours or until crisp. Turn off the oven, allow for it to cool for about 30min, then remove and cool completely. In a heat proof bowl over gently simmering water melt the chocolate. Once melted, remove it from heat, allow for it to slightly cool. Pour in the thickening cream. Beat the chocolate mixture with a mixer until soft peaks form. Begin to dress the cake, apply the cream and top it off with berries on each of the three layers. Once all is constructed, serve it right away.

[hobmates]

Chocolate Brownie with hazelnut

We know, we know, brownies …  who hasn’t made them before! But we hope you can still take something away from this post!  We are quite sure everyone has their own favourite recipes and we do to. On one marvellous Sunday afternoon this happened, brownies, fresh watermelon, berry fruit tea and hazelnut. It was simply beautiful to look at not even mentioning the taste of it.

Ingredients

150gm of your best loved chocolate (roughly chopped) 2 tbsp. of soft unsalted butter ¾ cup brown raw sugar 2 eggs 2/3 cups self-rising flour Small pinch of flaky salt

Method

In a heat proof bowl over gently simmering water melt the chocolate together with butter. Remove from the heat, whisking until all is small pieces have melted. Add in raw sugar, salt and one egg at a time. Stir in sifted flour with a flexible spatula. Add in roughly chopped hazelnut or any other nuts desired. Prepare a small tray, pour in the mixture. Bake for 20-25 min at 180 degree. Let it cool, sift over with powdered sugar and enjoy it with berry tea as we did!

[hobmates]

Another dish made in Aussie land and apart from the secondHOB mate. I won’t say this was quick because in fact everything was made from scratch. Home-made pita bread (still hunting for the recipe) and setting up the charcoal on a BBQ grill. This is very much central to HOB, lovingly preparing delicious ingredients and the preparation. When it’s served and ready to attack the flavour, the aromas are ridiculously amazing.

Lamb Kofta

Ingredients

500g of lamb mince 2 onions blended or chopped finely half bunch of fresh parsley half bunch  of fresh dill Pinch of salt Pinch of black pepper Tzatziki dressing 200g of Greek  yogurt 2 cloves of garlic 1 fresh cucumber Pinch of fresh parsley Pinch of  Salt  2-3 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Pita bread – homemade

Method In a large bowl combine mince, onions, herbs, salt and pepper. Gently mix the mince with your hands, once all is combined begin to form the lamb mince into koftas ( oval shaped meatballs) on to skewers or place on sheet of foil. The lamb was prepared on charcoal on a BBQ grill so the mincemeat will hold on the skewers and won’t fall off with the support of the grill.  Once the bbq is ready, place the skewers onto the grill and cook for 10-15 minutes until its golden brown. Serve it right away with toasted pita bread and tzatziki sauce.

[hobmates]

We made this salad together with the prawns (previous post). What can we say about this salad...its full of flavour and it fills you up!  Pistachio salad

Half of lettuce head 100g of feta cheese 1 pomegranate 1 handful of pilled pistachios 1 small bunch of fresh mint 1 small bunch of fresh basil 1 small Bunch of fresh coriander or parsley Roasted sweet potatoes

Dressing: 3 cloves of garlic (minced/crushed) 1 tablespoon vinegar or balsamic vinegar 3 tablespoon olive oil ½ fresh lemon (squeezed) Method:

Roughly cut up the lettuce, and all the fresh herbs. Deconstruct the pomegranate and cut up the feta cheese into cubes. Combine all ingredients in one bowl together with the roasted sweet potatoes ( can be separate). Combine all the ingredients for the dressing in a separate bowl. Serve the salad with the dressing separate or all mixed in with the salad.

[hobmates]

Grilled prawns Ingredients Fresh prawns 1 small bunch fresh basil pinch of salt 1 small chilli 2 gloves of garlic (minced) ½ freshly squeezed lemon to serve Method

Place prawn in a bowl, add salt, basil leaves, diced chilli, minced garlic. Gently mix all with your hands to combine. Preheat pan with a drizzle of olive oil, once the pan is hot, lay the prawns on the pan. Grill for 1-2 min on each side. It is a very quick process, serve once hot or cold.

[hobmates]

The balls of happiness!! 

Ingredients:

100g goji berries 100g pitted dates (or handful) 100g figs ( or handful) 150g walnuts or almond (blended finely) 3 tbsp. chia seeds 1 tsp. Spirulina powder 50g almond meal or linseed meal ( to add later to adjust consistency) Method: Soak goji berries, dates and figs in a measuring jug with ½ cup of water (compress them tightly). Let the dry fruits get a little soggy, approx. 5 min let them absorb a little bit of water. They have to be soft and easy to squash with your fingers. Take your blender out, start tacking out goji, dates and figs out of the water, straight into the blender (leave the water from the fruits on the side). Put all the other ingredients in the blender - walnuts, chia and spirulina powder. Blend, blend, and blend! It will most likely be a little too dry and sticky (difficult to blend), you can now add in that left over water. Keep blending, you want to achieve soft mixture but still able to make shape out of it with your hands! After it’s blended, it will most likely be terribly sticky, add in the almond or linseed meal. Add until it’s manageable to start making any shape you desired. Refrigerate for 30min or you can eat it right away!

[hobmates]

There is always an occasion to cook something ridiculously delicious,this time it was one of HOB’s personnel Birthday! Having the chance to cookoutdoors in your own backyard with home-made equipment and on fire who would say no! The large cast iron pot was brought from Kazakhstan a very traditional piece of cookware called ‘Kazan’ originated from Kyrgyzstan. They commonly use this cookware to cook rice on fire called ‘Plov’ (this dish can hopefully be feature on HOB soon). We though braised lamb shanks can be cooked using this method also and it definitely didn’t disappoint. The tender, smoked rich flavour of lamb is honestly breathtaking!!

Braised Lamb Shanks

Ingredients

6-8 Lamb Shanks (1 per person) 6 Onions peeled 2 Garlic heads 2 ½ cups red Wine 1 Cup crushed tomatoes 6 Cups chicken Stock (veg) 4 Lemons peeled and cut quartered Rosemary Lemon Thyme Topping 1 Bunch mint leaves Apple vinegar Olive oil Half of lemon

Method In a large herb mixer, mix half of the mint bunch into puree add in oil and lemon for flavour. Mix until all combined. Just before the lamb is ready roughly chop up the remaining mint leaves, toss it around with olive oil and apple vinegar. Leave it aside; sprinkle all over the lamb once it all has been displayed on a platter.

Method

In a large cast-ion pot , heat a good glug of olive oil over medium heat. Place a batch of the onions, lemons, garlic cloves (cut in half) together with lemon thyme and sage leaves, sear without turning them until golden brown. Fry it in two portions if need be. Transfer browned onions and a lemon to a platter after all has been cooked. Season the lamb shanks with pepper and salt, add more olive oil and begin to brown the shanks on all sides (10-15 min). Transfer to another platter. Pour in the wine into the same pot, bring to a boil, stir in the tomatoes. Then begin to add the shanks back to the pot gently, followed by grilled onions, lemons, herbs and any juices from the platter back into the pot. Nesting all the ingredients around the shanks. Slowly pour in the stock, season with salt and pepper (taste to suite your preference). Cover the pot and let the mixture braise until the shanks are tender, about 2.5-3 hrs. This dish was cooked in a cast iron pot on natural fire, using the oven will no doubt be a delicious dish also! Uncover the pot to see the shanks; the meat has to been tender and nearly falling off the bones. Serve it with mash potatoes on a large platter (even sweet potatoes if desired). Top it off with marinated mint leaves and mint puree scattered all over the lamb shanks.

[hobmates]

Homemade ricotta There is nothing better than homemade ricotta.The tricky part is getting the temperature of the milk, if you have that under control then awesome! I hope it works out and I hope you can enjoy it as much as we do!

Ingredients  300 ml Buttermilk 3L Fresh full cream milk

Method In a large sauce pan, warm up the milk to 30 degrees, once it has reached the temperature remove from the heat. Pour in the buttermilk and mix it well. Cover the pot slightly with a lid and leave it to brew in a room temperature for about 12 hours. The milk mixture will need to have ‘Greek yogurt’ (like) consistency. This next part is very important – Do not over boil the milk mixture!! Place the saucepan on to slow heat; let it reach 50 degrees until curds have formed (the separation between water and ricotta). Line a fine strainer and set it over a bowl. Gently pour the mass of curds into the lined strainer, let it drain itself, gently squeezing any left over water. You will have approximately 600 grams of ricotta. Transfer the ricotta into a bowl and enjoy it while it’s fresh. Keep it refrigerated it can last up to 5 days.

[hobmates]

Sour Cherry Dumplings (Vareniki) We are so happy to share this delicious dish on HOB. This is one of my personal favourite dishes since childhood, very traditional Russian homemade cherry dumplings (vareniki).This isn't a complicated dish to cook but still every family has their own way of making it. This recipe is my grandmother’s, now my mother masters it.  This is usually a summer plate because of the accessible fresh sour cherries that we have from fruit farms. So here it is, firstly hand-picked, de-seeded and finally preparing it for breakfast or even an afternoon snack that I love to have!

Dough 1 egg 1 pinch of salt 1 glass of water 2 cups Plain flour - (until you are able to knead it)

Filling 1kg Sour Cherry (fresh recommended) – De-seed White or brown caster sugar (1 tsp per dumpling) Method:  Firstly prepare the dough; simply mix all the ingredients together keep adding flour until you are able to knead the dough on a flat surface. The dough doesn’t require to rest, you can get into it right away. Prepare the filling, deseed the sour cherry if it is available to you, if not, pitted cherries are also possible (it has to be sour). Roll the dough into ‘sausage’ shape, cut it into small pieces and flatten into 10 cm diameter circles and thickness of 2 cm (not to thick). Once the casings are prepared, spoon 1 full tbsp. of cherry with 1 tsp of sugar sprinkled on top. Fold the casings in half, creating half-moon shape, pinch the dough together making sure the juice will not sip out. Once the desired number has been made, fill the saucepan with approximate 2L of water to boil,  add in 1 tbsp. sugar and pinch of salt (make sure the water is semi-sweet). Once the water is boiled, throw in the dumplings one by one, leaving it to boil for 3-4 min.  Take them out and lay flat on a platter so it doesn't stick together. Serve hot or even better when it’s cold.