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Strawberry Cheesecake
Food / Wine

2009 July recipes by Natoora.

By Natoora Natoora

Strawberry Cheesecake

Serves 8

- 180g digestive or spelt and hazelnut biscuits
- 80g Butter (and a little extra for greasing the tin)
- 600g mascapone
- 60g icing sugar
- 650g fresh strawberries, cut in half or quarters.
- Red berry coulis (optional)

Get all your agression out by bashing up the digestive biscuits (with a mallet or in a blender if you prefer). Melt the butter and mix with the crushed biscuits, then place in a greased 9" cake tin. Press down lightly with the back of spoon and leave in the fridge for one hour.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the mascapone with the icing sugar. Mix some of the strawberries into this mixture, leaving enough to layer on top. Spoon the mixture into the cake tin, making sure the base has set properly. Chill for about 30 minutes. When you're ready to serve, decorate the top with the rest of the strawberries and spoon over some coulis. Then pour yourself a glass of champagne and pop the tennis on!


Plum Compote

Serves 2

-500g plums, stones removed
 -150g caster sugar
 -300ml water
 -2 cinnamon quills
 -3 star anise

Bring the water to the boil in a large saucepan and add the caster sugar.  Let the mixture bubble away for about half a minute. Add those yummy plums, the star anise and cinnamon  sticks and then leave to simmer for 10 minutes.

Take out the plums but leave the sauce simmering on the hob. Stir it with care until it thickens, then simply pour the sauce over the plums and you're ready to go! Leave to cool slightly before serving.

This is perfect on its own but you could also try it with french toast for breakfast, or poured over a moist chocolate cake for a gorgeous dessert.
Plum Compote
Plum compote

Veal Escalopes Pizzaiola

Serves 4

    * 4 veal escalopes
    * 8 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
    * 1 tbsp capers
    * 25 olives
    * 5 cloves of thinly sliced garlic
    * black pepper
    * splash of white wine
    * 10 anchovies
    * 2 tbsp oregano
    * 2 tsp chilli, finely chopped
    * 800g tinned chopped tomatoes
    * 200ml beef or vegetable stock

Season the escalopes with a dash of salt and a twist of freshly ground pepper. Fry them with a splash of white wine if to your taste. Once cooked, remove the veal from the heat but keep it warm while you make the delicious pizzaiola sauce.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan and add the capers, anchovies, olives, garlic, chilli and oregano. Sizzle on high heat for about 2 minutes then add the stock and tomatoes. Bring to the boil and then add the veal escalopes.On a low heat, cover the mix and cook for 40-50 minutes.

This dish is perfect served with some lovely fresh salad.
Veal Escalopes Pizzaiola
Veal Escalopes Pizzaiola

Salmon en croûte


    * 500g salmon fillets
    * 500g shortcrust pastry (see ingredients below if making from scratch)
    * 150g mascapone
    * 4 tbsp wholegrain mustard
    * 3 tbsp chives
    * 5 tbsp dill
    * 1 egg

For the Pastry:

    * 370g plain flour
    * 160g butter
    * 6-8 tbsp cold water
    * Pinch of salt

For the Pastry:

In a bowl, add the flour and salt. Cube the butter and add. Using your fingertips, rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. There shouldn't be any large lumps of butter left. Then, using a knife, stir in enough cold water to bind the dough together. Wrap the dough in clingfilm and hcill for 30 minutes before using.
For the Salmon:

Preheat the oven to gas mark 6 (200C). Mix the mascapone with the mustard, chives, and dill. You can do this in a food processor if you prefer. Season well with freshly ground pepper and salt.

Then roll out the pastry so that it will wrap the salmon completely and lay it on an oiled baking sheet. Place that gorgeous salmon fillet in the middle and spoon over about half the mascapone mixture.

Now fold over the pastry to make a neat parcel. Trim the edges neatly making sure there are no big lumps of pastry which won't cook properly. Make 3 cuts in the pastry for the steam to escape. If you're feeling artistic, use the cuttings to decorate. Brush with the beaten egg.

Bake in the oven for 30 minutes until the pastry is browned and crisp. Serve with the rest of the mascarpone.
Salmon en croûte
Salmon en croûte

Stuffed Courgette Flowers

Ingredients for 4 people:

    * 12 Courgette Flowers
    * 250g Ricotta
    * 2 tbsp Mint Leaves
    * 1 Lemon
    * Pepper
    * 30g Parmesan

For the Batter:

    * 100g Plain Flour (plus a little extra for dusting)
    * 120ml Sparkling Water
    * Vegetable Oil (for frying)

For the Salad:

    * 4 tbsp Black Olives (halved)
    * 1 punnet Datterini Vine Tomatoes (halved)
    * Rocket
    * 2 Long Shallots
    * 2 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
    * 1 tbsp Olive oil
    * Squeeze of Lemon

The Salad:

First make the salad so that it absorbs all the lovely flavours. Halve the black olives and datterini tomatoes and place in a bowl with the finely chopped shallots. Add the balsamic and olive oil with a good squeeze of lemon and leave to sit in the juices.
The Courgette Flowers:

Mix together the ricotta, shredded mint leaves and lemon. Add the parmesan with a good amount of pepper.
Carefully open those lovely courgette flowers. Using a teaspoon, fill them with the mixture and twist the flower shut leaving no gaps for the ricotta to escape from.
To make the batter, pour the fizzy water in a bowl and gradually add the flour through a sieve. Whisk as you do this to add air and leave no lumps. The batter should have a consistency of pouring cream.

Heat enough oil in a high-sided frying pan to come to about 3 cm. Make sure the oil is hot but not smoking.
Roll each flower in flour. Quickly dip in the batter, swirl them around so they are completely covered, and then pop in the pan (carefully!). Deep fry for around 1 or 2 minutes until the batter has crispened and is golden. Remove with tongs and drain on a paper towel.

Serve with a side salad of rocket and the marinated olives and tomatoes.

Stuffed Courgette Flowers
Stuffed Courgette Flowers



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