“Popcorned” Snacks for The Super Bowl

The mere mention of snack foods has me recalling countless moments of culinary indulgences that have included a slew of sweet and savory offerings befitting the snack occasion. Movie time at the cinema is always a tub of hot buttered popcorn with a box of hard candy to keep my mouth occupied. I once took crackers, vine ripened tomatoes and homemade aioli into the cinema with me. All was going to “snack plan ” until i started grinding pepper on top of the tomato with my trusty Peugeot pepper grinder, to the horror of those seated around me. Despite its utter  deliciousness,  it was not a good snack option for the movies, so I tend to stick to the tried and true popcorn tubs and candy boxes  that seem to be the least offensive o fellow movie goers.

For the glorious snack occasion which is television watching on the couch at home, I like to treat myself to pieces of good quality dark chocolate with cups of peppermint tea. If the TV program is dramatic or requires a box of tissues, a bowl of ice cream with homemade butterscotch sauce is cordially  invited to join me on the couch. At the sports stadium, a hot dog and fries smothered in tomato sauce is the victor on the day, and if I’m heading out on a road trip, I like to have a bag of minty Oddfellows sweets to freshen my mood.

The snack occasion can also be broken down to the type of sports your watching where as I like to match potato chips with dips to tennis matches, as you shouldn’t be snacking on anything too time consuming when watching tennis as the blink of an eye can mean match point. The minute you take your eye off the game to focus on your snack, could mean you miss out on a vital point having to contend yourself with second-hand replays which are never as satisfying as seeing it as it happens.

I find myself enjoying a meat pie while watching the rugby – as the game is played in the cooler months of the year here in Australia and New Zealand, a warm tender meat stew wrapped in a crisp buttery hot pastry will always be the ticket. If I have the pleasure of watching  big wave surfing, a fish taco is calling my name given the obvious oceanic connections.

With the 2012 super bowl fast approaching, I began going through my internal recipe Filofax to fit the snack to the super bowl occasion. Having never before had the pleasure of hosting a super bowl party, I wanted to make sure the snacks fit the moment. The food would have to be flavorful and substantial to stand up to the many hours of beer consumption that accompanies this snack occasion. I would also need something that I can stagger the delivery of  as with the length of the game laying all your snack food down at once could have serious repercussions if your snacks run thin during the first quarter. It would also  need to be something of similar yet varied tastes so that I didn’t have to spend too long preparing the snacks during the game.

As a long time advocate of food that is popcorned or in other words, fried morsels of various food items that resemble popcorn once cooked, the obvious choice for my 2012 super bowl snack food table is a trio of popcorned centric foods with accompanying sauces.

Introducing popcorn chicken, popcorn calamari and popcorn tofu. Serve alongside the Super Bowl staples of potato chips, hoagies, pizza, salsa and dips for a memorable super bowl Sunday!

Popcorned Food Snacks for The Super Bowl

Best served after the first, second and third quarters of the game.

Dredging Flour for Popcorned food

This recipe can be used to dredge all the items you wish to fry. Once you have made this dredging flour recipe, divide it into 3 separate containers so that you can keep all three raw foods separate from each other.

4 cups of plain flour
4 tablespoons of cornstarch
2 teaspoons of salt
2 teaspoons of celery salt
2 tablespoons of garlic powder
2 teaspoons of finely round black pepper
2 tablespoons of onion powder

Mix all the ingredients together and cover until ready to use.

For Popcorn Chicken

1 raw chicken breast per person sliced into small cubes and soaked in butter milk for at least 2 hours before serving, preferably overnight.

For Popcorn Calamari

1 squid tube per person, cleaned and sliced into small pieces about the same size as the chicken. Soak the calamari in milk for at least 1 hour before serving, overnight if possible.

For Popcorn Tofu

1 piece of firm tofu sliced into small cubes and left to sit in its natural liquid until required.

Readying the Food for Frying

Drop the sliced food items a handful at a time into a bowl containing a third of the dredging flour and Shake the bowl well to ensure the food is well covered.

For the calamari and tofu it is ok to pass the food  once throw the dredging flour before frying but for the popcorn chicken, remove the dredged chicken pieces and place back into the buttermilk. Drain again from the buttermilk and dredge once more in the flour to ensure a thick coating.

When ready to fry, carefully place the pieces into the hot oil using tongs. Avoid dropping the pieces in as to avoid potentially dangerous splatters of hot  oil. Only fry a handful of food at a time as the temperature of the oil will drop too dramatically if you over crowd the pot or skillet.

In between batches of food, check the temperature of the oil, increasing or decreasing the heat where necessary to maintain as close as you can to 185 C / 365 F.  If the oil is to hot the food will burn,  the oil to cool and the food will become oil logged and soggy.

The food items will only take a minute or two to cook. Remove carefully with tongs or a slotted spoon and drain in a large bowl on paper towels to soak up any excess oil.

Serve each popcorned food with its accompanying sauce .

Butter chilli sauce for popcorn chicken

350mls ABC hot chilli sauce or it’s equivalent
200mls red wine vinegar
250g butter
150g caster sugar

Place all the ingredients into a pot and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to encourage the pot to come to a simmer and cook for a further 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to ensure the sugar has dissolved.

Cool the sauce and pour into a glass bottle or jar. Will keep for 2 months in the refrigerator.

Avocado and lime mayo for popcorned calamari

250 mls extra virgin avocado oil.
4 limes – zested and juiced
3 small fresh free range organic egg yolks
1 garlic clove, finely minced
Sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper

Place the egg yolks into a cake mixer bowl along with the juice and zest of half the limes. Using the whisk attachment on the cake mixer, Turn to low and whisk for a minute until the mixture is glossy.
Turn the cake mixer speed to medium and slowly dribble the avocado oil into the bowl, drip by drip to begin with before allowing the oil to come to a very slow gentle stream making sure the whisking is continuous threw out this step.
You are looking to make a smooth creamy thick emulsification of the egg yolks, acid and oil. Three ingredients that would not normally mix together in this fashion unless the oil is introduced slowly to the yolks and acid whilst continuously whisking to combine.

Once all the oil is incorporated and the Mayo is thick and creamy, add the minced garlic and season with sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper. Taste for flavor, adding more lime juice or seasoning where you deem fit.

This sauce will keep in the refrigerator for up to one week, depending on the freshness of the eggs used. The fresher the eggs the better the sauce!

Use the remaining lime zest to sprinkle over top of the popcorn calamari once cooked.

Soy and Mirin Dressing for Popcorned Tofu

Hotcakes, flapjacks, drop scones, pfannkuchen, griddle cakes,  crêpes, pikelets  or pancakes. It seems every nation on earth has their own version of sweet, savory, stuffed, thick or thin pancakes. Despite the numerous guises and flavor combinations that can be found on all four corners of the culinary planet, one thing remains constant across all borders, pancakes are comfort fodder for the masses.

Evidence of pancake creation can be linked back to prehistoric times, where a batter of milk, flour, egg and spice was prepared on searing hot stones  to resemble what we have come to expect the humble pancake to be today.   The great Roman gourmand and author Marcus Gavius Apicius wrote about a batter that incorporated pepper and honey, a version that would be worth giving a try some 2,000 years after he penned the recipe.

My history with this famed pan cooked batter does not stretch back as far as ancient Rome, but it does come after years of trial and error having   cooked and created hundreds of breakfast brunch stacks in many  professional  kitchens over the last 20+ years.

This pancake recipe is a cross between the New Zealand style pikelet and the North American pancake, a pikelet usually being smaller, thinner and sweeter than its star spangled cousin, the pancake.  This pancake recipe uses the addition of melted butter to give the edges a crisp quality and helps to make the texture short and flaky rather than stodgy.

Here are a few watch points to bear in mind when preparing and cooking your next stack:

Mix the dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately. This will help to achieve a uniform batter that is well incorporated and lump free.

Cool the melted butter before incorporating. Adding hot butter to the wet ingredients could scramble the egg yolks.

Allow the batter to rest for an hour before using, or better still make the batter  and rest overnight covered in the refrigerator. Resting will allow the gluten in the flour time to relax so the batter doesn’t become gluey when cooked. Take the Batter out of the fridge 30 minutes before you intend to use it.

Use butter to cook the pancakes, not oil. This will add to the overall flavor and will also help maintain the correct temperature in the pan whilst cooking the pancakes.  If the butter burns, the pan is too hot to add the mixture. Remove the pan from the heat and allow it to cool slightly before placing back on the heat and adding the batter. The best time to add the batter is when a bit of butter melts and sizzles without colour.  This will ensure the pancakes cook evenly with golden crisp edges.

My… Best Pancake Recipe

Ingredients

Makes 15 pancakes

100g butter – melted and cooled
1 3/4 cups of milk
1/4 cup of cream
2 egg yolks
2 cups of plain flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

Extra butter for frying

Method

Into a measuring jug  whisk together the milk, cream and eggs. Add the cooled butter and combine well.

Stir the dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl and make a well in the centre. Slowly pour in the liquid ingredients, whisking continuously until a smooth pourable batter has formed.

Heat a skillet on medium heat or induction setting 6 with 1/2 teaspoon of butter until it sizzles.

Add a small ladle approx 60mls or 3 tablespoons of batter to the pan and allow to cook for 1 minute or until bubbles begin to form in the cake. Flip carefully and cook on the other side for a further 45 seconds.

Repeat the last 2 steps until all the mixture is used up, stacking the pancakes as you go.

Serve warm with all The usual suspects like maple or golden syrup, grilled bacon and fresh banana, stewed fruit, fresh berries, or cream and jam. For something a little different try mango cheeks with  grated palm sugar and yogurt, lemon juice and vanilla sugar, or grilled pineapple rounds with grated ginger.

Double Chocolate Fudge Brownie

The Secrets to a GREAT Banoffee Pie!

Like a lovers first kiss, I fully remember the first time I succumbed to  Banoffee Pie. Its decadent toffee flavour seduced me at first bite and whispered sweet tropical nothings in my ear. What clever wizardry is this that four basic ingredients can taste so fantastic together?  The simplicity of this dish has always astounded me. How could something so simple as Banoffee Pie, taste so right? In a culinary world  where we are bombarded with multiple layers, exotic flavour combinations and gastronomic contortions, it’s so wonderfully comforting to know that simple still works deliciously.

Banoffee pie is a blend of words or portmanteau being  1 part banana to 2 parts toffee otherwise known as the “Banoffee” A biscuit base is processed and then pushed into a fluted tart mould, chilled and then covered in fabulous toffee, sliced banana and whipped sweetened cream. It couldn’t be easier and more effective. A dessert invented in the 1970’s in Sussex England, it has stood the test of time with its abilities to raise heart felt “ooohhhs and aahhhs” whenever it is served.

A fine example of Banoffee Pie can be found at the chic and ever so cool Cafe Sopra at Fratelli Fresh in Sydney, where I once indulged after a salad of white sardines and heirloom tomatoes with vincotto. As I was dining with 3 lunch companions we stupidly chose to share a banoffee pie between the four of us , something I vow to never do again!

When invited to attend the Electrolux Cooking School at  Fratelli Fresh for a  hands on cooking class  in Sydney’s Food destination of Danks Street, Waterloo,  I jumped at the chance and was enchanted to see that the three course menu we were to put together did in fact have the Fratelli Banoffee Pie as its sweet course. The chefs at Fratelli did all the hard work for us, which was the boiling and cooking of the cans of condensed milk which forms the toffee or dulce de leche, but I  have seen jars of pre- made toffee in delis for those wishing to short cut this process.

Chef Andy Bunn from Cafe Sopra at Fratelli gently guided us through the Banoffee Pie assembly process, to which we all got the opportunity to step back on to our individual cooking stations and whip up a treat with a chilled glass of Pinot Grigio’s firmly in hand!

The Banoffee Pie Secret

The secret to their Banoffee Pie success Andy said, was the use of ripe bananas so the flavour is sweet and starchy. You also need to assemble this dessert only moments before you intend to serve it as the bananas will go black if left to oxidize. I have to say that there was no fear of this dessert being left to go brown as we were happy to whip into it as soon as it was ceremoniously unmolded from its metal confines.

I did  get to take some home  in a little takeaway container for a late night snack in front of the refrigerator, along with a basket full of wonderful produce from Fratellis own warehouse style produce and deli market.  This was only possible thanks to the wonderful spread that was put on by Andy the team at Fratelli once our class was over.  A special thanks to Andy  for sharing his luscious Banoffee Pie recipe.

How to Make Banoffee Pie

Recipe by Andy Bunn, Cafe Sopra at Fratelli  Fresh

Serves 12

Ingredients

2 x 395g cans of sweetened condensed milk

180g unsalted butter, chopped

375g digestive biscuits, halved

60ml thickened cream

2 vanilla beans, seeds scraped out

75g icing sugar, sifted

4 bananas

30g dark chocolate, finely grated

Method

• Place cans of the condensed milk in a large saucepan of water and bring to the boil over a medium heat. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 2 hours adding water if necessary to ensure cans remain covered, remove cans and cool in the fridge for a couple of hours.
• Meanwhile melt butter in a small saucepan, and then cool slightly. Using a food processor crush biscuits into fine crumbs, add the butter and process briefly to combine. Pres crumb mixture over the base of a greased 28cm loose based tin, then refrigerate for 30 minutes to firm the base.
• Open cooled cans of condensed milk and spoon caramel evenly over the biscuit base and refrigerate overnight until firm.
• To assemble pie: Using electric mixer whisk cream, vanilla bean seeds and sugar to stiff peaks. Cut bananas into thin slices. Remove pie from the tin and loosen base and place on a plate. Spoon or pipe half the whipped cream over the caramel filling, then place bananas in an overlapping circle working from the outside in. Top with remaining cream and sprinkle with grated chocolate.
• Cut into slices with a hot dry knife and serve immediately.

Tips: To stop noise of the cans rattling in the saucepan, place a folded tea towel in the base before adding the water. Enjoy your Banoffee Pie!

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@iconic88 Takes a Leaf from Jane Hornby’s New Cookbook

“What to Cook and How to Cook It”

Bookings for Jane’s October 27th Hands on Cooking Class can be made by clicking on the SYDNEY Fish market or  by phoning +61 2 9004 111. Places are strictly limited, so to avoid disappointment, book now!

It must be tough living with a chef. All the eating and great food you have to endure. Time and time again, amazing meals are put in front of you and it’s up to you to eat. How @iconic88 does it, I’ll never know. He has made eating an art form and between the two of us and our house mate Bruno, we have munched our way through many a satisfying supper. So much so, that we very rarely eat out, opting to eat in so I have the chance to “experiment” on them.

With all that eating 88 has been doing, it hasn’t left him much opportunity to cook. He rates himself as a professional eater rather than a cook, and he’s a dab hand at the washing up too. But, there has been more than a few times when I haven’t been around to whip up  culinary delights which has left stomachs wanting and yearning. If only there was a step by step guide on what to cook and how to cook it!

Enter Jane Hornby, Former food editor of the  BBC Good Food Magazine, with her step by step cookbook with 100 recipes and over 800 photographs! Just what the doctor ordered for the novice hungry cook.

The cookbook is a  hard cover encyclopaedia sized manual with recipes ranging from breakfast standards like French toast  and Eggs Benedict, a section dedicated to simple suppers and light lunches as well as recipes for food sharing and weekend cooking. The sweet toothed amongst you are well catered for by Chocoalte pots, Key lime pie and Panna Cotta and there’s also a section on menu planning and basic preparations.  Jane says that “this is the food that everyone likes to eat”.

The book has been written with the novice in mind, and Jane likes to think of it as your best friend in your  kitchen. With step by step photography to keep the reader on track, it’s only down fall is its shear size and the books ability to stay open  on the bench top so that you can follow each recipe carefully.

The best way to review a cookbook in my humble opinion is to test out the recipes. How well do they work? Does the dish live up to the photography and does the recipe read easily and logically.  And what better person to do the testing than @iconic88 my proffessional eater and novice home cook.

88 chooses to cook one of his favourite dishes, a Prawn and Mushroom Laksa and we sit back and watch him do it!

@iconic88 Cooks Laksa!

1. Read your recipe thoroughly to make sure there’s no little surprises half way through the cooking process.

2. Check to make sure you have all your ingredients.

3. Pour boiling water over 100gms of rice noodles to cover and allow to soften. You can use the kettle which makes it safer to pour the water.  (great thinking 88!)

4. Slice 1 small bunch of shallots or spring onions

5. Slice 150gms of shitake mushrooms

6. Check the rice noodle and give them a little stir to separate ( chopsticks are optional ~ I think someones been watching the food channel again!)

7.  Heat a pot with a bit of oil and add the mushrooms

8. Add the spring onions and saute lightly for a couple of minutes

9. Pour the mushrooms and spring onions into a bowl and set aside

10. Using the same pan, place it back on the heat and add 2 Tablespoons of laksa paste. ( 88 added 4 more tablespoons as he likes it fiery!)

11. Cook the laksa paste for 3 minutes until fragrant. Stir frequently to avoid the paste stickin to the pot and burning

12. Pour in 1 can of coconut milk and stir to combine.

13. Pour in 400mls of chicken stock

14. 88 wants more heat in the Laksa so adds a teaspoon of hot and spicy sambal olek

15. Still not content with the heat factor, 88 uses the soup to wash out the laksa jar to extract as much flavor out of the jar as possible ( Hey, aren’t you supposed to be a novice? That’s an advanced maneuver! )

16. Add the raw prawn tails to the waiting broth

17. Season well with a couple of tablespoons of fish sauce, 1 tablespoon of sugar and the juice of 1 lime

18. Return the mushroom and spring onion back to the pot and stir briefly before turning off the heat

It’s time to plate!

19. Add some drained rice noodles to the bowl and top with a small handful of bean sprouts

20. Ladle over the hot soup making sure that all the bowls get a few prawns and mushrooms

21. Garnish with some wonderfully fragrant coriander leaves and

SERVE!

Well done to @iconic88! Great job, great sportsmenship and the Laksa was fabulous.  88 out of a possible 88 points in kitchen stadium! A little on the spicy side, but that… was a given : )

When asked what he thought of Jane’s cookbook, 88 was impressed with the easy to use recipes and clear and precise photographs. He liked the range of recipes contained in the book, and has decided that he just might give a few more a go. Would he recommend it to people? Absolutley! It works and it’s logical.

I picked up a couple of methods that could be improved on technically, which would improve the overall ‘finish’ of the dish. These methods were textural only and would not affect the overall flavor of the dish too dramatically. All and all, the recipe was solid and a great entry to the world of cooking for those less culinary wired.

Jane’s book retails for $59.99 but for those lucky enough to be in Australia for the 2010 Sydney International Food festival, Jane is visiting from the UK and will conduct a live cooking class on Wednesday 27th October.

The cooking class will be held at the Sydney Fish Market where you will get a hands on 3- hour cooking lesson with Jane herslef, a 3 course meal, wine tasting AND a copy of her cookbook all for only $120 AUD.

Bookings for Jane’s Class can be made by clicking on the SYDNEY Fish market or  by phoning +61 2 9004 111.  Places are strictly limited, so to avoid disappointment, book now!

Holy Goats Cheese on Toast Batman!

I’ve been playing around with a little canape dish for a few months now.

Testing, trialing and tasting ~ the trappings of a chef blogger. Constantly searching for improvement on look, feel and taste. Never one to settle for mediocrity, I was enjoying the journey I was on to achieve canape prefection.

The dish in question is a beautifully simple small bite of goats cheese and honey or “Cheese on toast” as I like to call it.

It sits classed as something between  a canape and  tapa’s dish and one that when I got right ~ the world rejoiced over.

I had been playing around with different goats cheese, searching for the perfect consistency and taste that would be bold enough to take on the fabulous Manuka honey I had paired it with, but gentle and creamy enough to sit unobstructed on the palate.

The first time I tried this dish with a soft goats curd from the Holy Goat family ~ I was simply taken. Breath taken.

And then when I read that Holy Goat had won the Presidents medal for outstanding food producer at the 2010 The Royal Agricultural Society of NSW (RAS), I was decidingly “kiddish’ and  extremly happy for their achievement!

The president of the the RAS Glen Dudley described Holy Goat’s ‘La Luna’ Cheese as “the best of the best” by awarding this 100% certified organic cheese the top honor at this years awards not only for the taste and structure of this delicious cheese, but also to recognize and reward them for their sustainable practices. The herds forage on native grasses, herbs and shrubs, resulting in happy goats that produce a high quality milk that is full of  depth and flavor.

To celebrate their incredible achievement I have posted below my Holy Goats Cheese on Toast (Batman) for your eating and cooking pleasure.

Cheese on Toast

Ingredients:

200g/7 oz  Soft Goats Cheese ( Holy Goat if you can get it ~ try Australia on a plate if you live outside of Victoria Australia)

5 crumpets ~ cut into  20 rounds with a 50cent size cookie cutter

2 Tbs of Manuka Honey ( or a rich dark honey blend of your choosing)

1 large free range egg ~ whisked lightly

50g/2 oz unbleached flour

1/2  cup of grapeseed oil

Methodology:

• With clean hands, portion the goats cheese into 20 large marble sized balls by  gently rolling the cheese between your palms. you don’t need to apply much pressure as the cheese is very soft, but rather use your palms to help develop the dainty balls.
• Once all the balls are evenly rolled, put them through the whisked egg  and then coat evenly with the flour.
• Place the balls into the fridge for a minimum of 30 minutes to firm up slightly as the natural heat from your hands would have softened them somewhat.
• Toast the crumpet rounds under the grill or broiler until lightly toasted and set aside and warm the honey in a small pot on the stove until runny.
• Heat the grapeseed in  a heavy bottomed medium sized frying pan until the temperature reaches 180C/350F or when a small piece of bread turns crispy when placed into the oil.
• Carefully lower the goats cheese balls into the hot oil ~ 5 at a time and fry until golden. This will only take 30-40 seconds. Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and place the balls directly on to the crumpet rounds.
• Drizzle the cheese with some of the warm runny honey and secure with a small bamboo fork.
• Serve immediatly, while the cheese is still hot and the moment is still fresh!

Makes enough for 6-8 as a canape

Photo credits : Myriam Conrié-Thibault of MyTinerary and Mercedes.. Life as I Pictured

Photo by Pink Sherbet Photography

Of all the culinary weapons in a 10min foodies arsenal, the humble egg is one of the most versatile and useful.

Once you have mastered the art of cooking an egg to its sublime perfection, its just a matter of adding a few delicious bells and whistles to take you to gourmet paradise.

In this episode of a 10min foodie I will share with you the secret to cooking perfect scrambled eggs that we will then take to new heights with the addition of  a few  flavorsome spices, which equals a delicious dinner in under 10 minutes.

photo by farm4

“To follow, without halt, one aim: There’s the secret of success.” Anna Pavlova (1881-1931)

It seems that  Australians and New Zealanders have taken this famous quote by Anna Pavlova the Russian ballerina to heart when placing claim on some popular Southern Hemisphere icons.  Debate has been raging over the national identity of horses, entertainers, actors and sporting identities for years, with one hot topic that has been top of the debating list-  the famous Pavlova dessert named in honor of the “petite le sauvage” dancer.

Even the New Zealand prime minister John Key has got in on the act, asking Australian’s to keep there hands off our Pavlova!

So what is a Pavlova, and what about it gets so many “Aussies and kiwi’s”  hot under the collar?

A Pavlova is a meringue like dessert consisting of egg whites and loads of sugar, whisked up until  very stiff and then baked in the oven on  a low heat to result in cake that has a crunchy shell with a moist interior.  Sounds simple and delicious? Well trust Trans Tasman rivalry to complicate the issue with ownership and bragging rights.

Anna Pavlova was a popular ballerina who toured the world extensively with the Russian ballet. At a time when touring dance companies were rare, the Russian ballet and more importantly Anna Pavlovas portrayal of “the Dying Swan” in Swan lake captured the hearts and minds of people the world over.

None more so than the reported account of one hotel Chef in 1929  in  Wellington, New Zealand  who was so inspired by the touring ballerina that he invented a dish with pillowy clouds of meringue to mimic her tutu and kiwifruit slices to copy the green roses that were interwoven into her costume. The pavlova is born…or is it?

Some six years later in 1935, a hotel chef in Perth Australia has staked claim to the famous sweet treat, hence creating the contrevorsy that lingers on to this day.

After some exhaustive research- (and this is before I have stepped into the kitchen to research the taste!) I have uncovered a few home truths that should set the record straight once and for all.

Pavlova, as well as Phar Lap ,  Crowded House and Russel Crowe all  have there roots firmly planted in New Zealand soil despite Australians ferocious claims that they are “true blue” waltzing Matilda’s.

Pavlovas recipes have been found in New Zealand cookbooks as early as 1929 with the most convincing being a recipe found published in 1933 in the “Rangiora Mothers cookery book” some 3 years prior to the Australian claim to fame.

So it seems the New Zealand prime minister John Keys was on to something when he so politely told the Aussies to “bugger off”  and the humble Pavlova, all chewy and white can rest assured in the arms of the loving kiwis. My being a New Zealander now living in Australia would have absolutely nothing to do with my approval of these facts… of course.

Now for the recipe, adapted from the most famous of New Zealand Cookbooks- the icon that is The Edmonds Cookbook. Out of respect for dear Edmonds, I have adapted it only because my copy of the Edmonds cookbook belonged to Grandmother Lynn which dates back to the 1950′s, and recipe innovation has moved on some since those glorious days.

This one’s for you Nana!

Pavlova- Kiwi Style.

Firstly you need to preheat your oven 120C. The oven needs to be low as the secret to making a damn good Pavlova lies in the fact that the egg whites in the pavlova dry out and set rather than bake.

Your best to use a kitchen mixer for preparing this dessert as there is a lot of whisking involved! So into the bowl of your kitchen mixer drop 6 egg whites and a pinch of salt and whisk until soft peaks form.

Continue with the whisking and gradually add in 270gms of caster sugar a tablespoon at a time which will allow enough energy for the sugar to dissolve.  The whisking will be complete when the mixture is glossy and shiny and no evidence of sugar is visible.

Remove the bowl from the mixing unit and carefully fold in 1 teaspoon of white vinegar, 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract or paste and 2 teaspoons of cornflour.

On to a baking paper lined oven tray, pile the luscious pavlova cloud in the shape of a cake,  either whipping up the peaks to create a dramatic effect or flattening into a round for a more traditonal pavlova look.

Bake in that nice slow oven for 1 to 1-1/2 hours. You will know when it’s done by  lightly tapping the top of the pavlova which should be hard. Turn the oven off and leaving the door slightly ajar leave the pavlova to cool completely.

Dress the pavlova with lashings of freshly whipped sweetened cream and slices of kiwifruit for the traditional fare or use any combination of fresh fruit such as strawberries, passion fruit, raspberries or banana.

An undressed pavlova will keep demurely in an airtight container for up to 3 days.