Preserved Lemons - so simple to make at home.

I have a few cookbooks, many on different cuisines as you take a gastronomic trip around the world.
Going through different cooking phases, Preserved Lemons crop up in many Middle Eastern recipes.

How pretty is this on your pantry shelf!

The first time I was given a jar of preserved lemons, no one told me to discard the flesh.

They were really bitter.

These are funny looking specimens.

However, the preserved lemon rind is delicious.

Finely chopped and added to a mozzarella, tomato and olive salad with a lemony dressing,

or slow cooked in a delicious sauce with roasted lamb.

Preserved Lemons

Ideally use organic, unwaxed lemons.

8 lemons, washed and dried

1 1/2 cup fine sea salt

1 cinnamon stick

3 dried bay leaves

1 tablespoon black pepper corns

1 extra lemon, juiced

2 cups boiling water, approximately.

Large glass jar with a tight fitting lid, sterilised.

Cut lemons vertically into quarters but not the whole way through, just so that they open outwards.

Pack the lemons with salt and place into the bottom of the jar, pushing them together so they fit snugly and with no gaps.   Pour some salt on top of the bottom layer, add half of the spices, then lay the remaining lemons on top.  Cover with salt, add the remaining spices and cinnamon stick. 

Squeeze over the juice of one lemon and cover the lot with boiling water.  You do not want the lemon protruding above the liquid.

Seal, label, then place into a dark corner of the pantry for one month.

When using, remove the lemon, taking out how much you require and rinse in fresh water.

Discard the flesh and any pith then finely chop the rind to use in many recipes.

Bon appetito, enjoy Merryn

Lemon Myrtle Biscuits - my unique creation

There is a lovely retired man who walks his terrier late every afternoon past my home.
We have had many pleasant conversations and I know his dog's name is Tubby.
I asked my husband what the man's name was and MOH (my other half) replied "I can't remember if it is Bill or Ted as when he told me I remembered Bill and Ted for name association ".
I therefore assumed it had to be Bill.
Yesterday we were having a very long discussion on the footpath and I invited Bill to look at our tiled floor as he was considering re tiling his floors.  His wife, who ambled along later came to introduce herself, then MOH joined us as well.

I bravely referred to Bill by name during this conversation, only to find his wife slapped him on the shoulder and said, loudly, Ted here ...

See the little lemon myrtle specks in these cookies.

Outside of my kitchen window is a beautiful Lemon Myrtle Tree which has a gorgeous and strong fragrance.  The leaves are divine in both tea, cookies, yoghurt and cakes.  The flowers are delightful.

Soft, light mixture.

Roll the balls into walnut sized pieces.

Lightly golden, firm and slightly crispy.

(P.S.  Next time I see Ted I will explain why I called him Bill by accident.)

Lemon Myrtle Cookies

1 lemon, grated zest and juice

3/4 teaspoon dried lemon myrtle leaves

(I dry 2 leaves in the microwave for this then crumble them in the coffee grinder)

1 cup castor sugar

pinch of salt

120g unsalted butter, softened but not melted

1 1/2  tablespoons  olive oil

2 eggs

1 egg yolk

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 cups plain flour

1 cup fine semolina

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon bicarb soda             

1/2 cup extra castor sugar for dipping

Whisk together in an electric mixer; the lemon zest, lemon myrtle, sugar and salt, beat for 1 minute to help the flavours permeate the sugar.  

Add the butter, olive oil and lemon juice then beat until white and fluffy.

Add the eggs one at a time, then the egg yolk, beating until well combined.  Scrape down the bowl with a spatula and whisk again until it looks shiny.  Add the vanilla extract and mix through.

Remove from mixer, add the flour, semolina, baking powder and bicarb of soda then mix with a wooden spoon lightly, until just combined.

Cover tightly with glad wrap and refrigerate for one hour.

Preheat oven to 170 Celsius (340 Fahreneit) and cover two trays with silicon or baking paper.

Roll pices of dough into balls roughly the size of walnuts, dip into the extra castor sugar and place slightly apart on the baking trays.

Bake in the preheated oven for 12 minutes until lightly golden.

Leave on trays for 2 minutes then remove to a wire rack to cool.

Bon appetito, enjoy Merryn

Super Simple Strawberry Jam

Last weekend I made a last minute emergency dash to pick up our apprentice from Newcastle.
I knew it was possible that I would have to collect him, despite having arrangements in place.
So in lieu of being invited to (a) a friend's tupperware party and (b) champagne later with my neighbour, I collected my Mother for company and headed off to Newcastle.
It would have been nice to have had more notice so we could have spent the day shopping in Newcastle;  but nevertheless at 3pm on arrival in Newcastle it was not worth the rush to spend one hour speed shopping at Charlestown or Greenhills.

Leaving Newcastle, with Sam in tow we noticed a wonderful road side stall near Morpeth sporting big, fresh, lovely strawberries.  We did some other fresh vegetable and fruit shopping too so we felt like the trip was worthwhile after all (no offence to Sam).

Strawberries have just come into season and they have been beautiful.

It was definitely time to make Strawberry Jam.

Firstly I weighed 1.3 kilos of strawberries, rinsed, hulled and roughly sliced them into a big bowl.

I weighed them again to find it had reduced to 1 kilo of lovely fresh strawberries.

Squeeze over the juice of two organic lemons, removing the seeds.

Let rest for 30 minutes.

Then weigh 1 kilo of white sugar and add to the strawberry/lemon mixture.

Pour into a big non reactive saucepan (I used a non stick pan)

and bring to a boil, stirring constantly until the sugar is dissolved.

Place on lid and let cook away, on a high simmer for about 30 minutes.

Pour into sterilised jars, seal while hot and label with name and date.

This Strawberry Jam will keep for 12 months.

You can store it in your pantry, but once open it must be stored in the fridge.

Make sure you give some jam to friends, to share the strawberry joy!

To test if your jam is cooked enough, place a ceramic saucer in the freezer.

After 30 minutes put a small spoonful onto the saucer, place back in freezer

then take out and push with your finger.  If little wrinkles occur then the jam is ready.

If not, cook for another 5 minutes and test again.

N.B.  Sterilise jars by placing clean glass ones into your oven and turn to 150C.

Then turn off and leave jars inside while the jam is cooking.

I place the lids in a bowl and pour over boiling water, leaving for 10 minutes.

Bon Appetitio, Enjoy, Merryn.

Merryn's Peking Duck

Merryn's Peking Duck

My simple and delicious version

I am very lucky to have relatives on a dairy farm.  

Cattle, horses, chickens, pigs, lambs, dogs and ducks abound.

I love to walk in the green pastures, and hear the gentle moo of cows and neighs of horses.
It is relaxing and refreshing to meander on country time.

 The other day my Uncle kindly gave me a duck.  He has recently purchased a 'feather pluckier' to make his life easier.  You put the fresh duck that has been humanely killed into boiling water for one minute, place it into the feather pluckier and in quick time, the duck comes out featherless on one side while all feathers come out of the other side.
My Uncle is over 70 so you imagine how many hours he has spent plucking feathers from birds his entire life.
More astonishingly it never ceases to amaze me how many people have not yet tried Peking Duck.  


This could be put down to the expensive price restaurants command for this dish but it is relatively simple to cook at home.  Here is my easy recipe and after you try it, you will find it is delicious.

Firstly wash the duck then place in the sink and pour a jugful of boiling water over the top.

Place duck onto a plate and brush with a mixture of;
1/4 cup molasses with 2 Tblspns honey and 2 Tblspns boiling water mixed together.

After 5 minutes brush with the remaining mixture that has dripped onto the plate.

Wrap foil around the wings and legs to protect them from burning in the oven.



Pull the excess fat away from the cavity entrance, this is pure fat and can be burned down in a small saucepan. The pieces of fat will almost entirely dissolve and can then be strained to store in a jar in the refrigerator to roast tasty potatoes with later.

Stuff the cavity of the duck with three lemon slices, a cinnamon stick and two star anise.

Spray a roasting rack with olive oil to stop the duck sticking, place duck on top and put in a roasting tray filled with 1 cup water .

Bake at 180 degrees celsius for approximately        1 1/4 hours for 2.2kg duck. It will be browned and crispy all over after this time, but moist on the inside.

While the duck is roasting, make the pancakes.  Place flour, cornflour, eggs, butter, water and milk into a food processor and blend until combined.  Cover and stand for 20 minutes before using.



Heat a non stick shallow frying pan, a crepe pan if you have one, add 2 Tblspns butter and 1 Tblspn batter, swirling to cover pan, cook 1-2  minutes then turn and cook the other side for 1 minute until lightly brown.
Remove and store on a plate, repeat with batter, storing on top of each other, until they are all cooked.

(N.B.  If you are lucky enough to live near an Asian supermarket, you can buy frozen peking duck pancake wrappers and defrost before using or heat for 1 minute in the microwave in the opened plastic bag.)

We swapped the convenience of great shopping for a greener lifestyle and stock up on supplies and herbs from Asian supermarkets when in the city.  Our peking duck wrappers usually run out between city visits so I often make my own.

While the duck is still happily roasting away, you could turn it after 50 minutes if your oven is not fan forced to brown the underside.

Take 2 cucumbers; peel them, cut in half lengthwise and remove the seeds.  Then slice into 4cm long matchsticks, place in a serving bowl.

Wash and chop 8 green shallots into similar lengths and place in another serving bowl.

Place 1/2 cup hoisin sauce in a small serving bowl, mix with 1/2 tspn five spice powder and 2 Tbs soy sauce.

Place the duck onto a wooden serving board and rest for 10 minutes.

Slice the duck, placing the skin to one side so it can be finely chopped.  Shred the remaining duck meat.
You can also buy an excellent inexpensive Peking duck knife/cleaver from an Asian supermarket, designed specifically to slice the duck finely.  As you can see, Peking duck is a serious tradition :D

                    

                       Take 1 pancake, 

                      spread a spoonful 

                  of hoisin sauce over top,            

              2 cucumbers and1 shallot slice, 

               then some duck meat and skin.  

                Roll up to enclose and enjoy!

Peking Duck Recipe

1 x 2.2kg muscovy or pekin duck

Basting Mix

1/4 cup molasses

2 Tblspns honey

2 Tblspns boiling water

Mix together and baste over top of duck until it is dry.  You can use a hair dryer to speed up the process.

Cavity Flavourings

3 slices lemon

1 cinnamon stick

2 star anise

Peking Duck Pancakes

1 cup plain flour

4 Tablespoons cornflour

1/2 cup tepid water

1/2 cup milk

4 eggs

2 Tablespoons butter, melted

Blend together in a food processor.  Cover and stand 20 minutes then cook 1 Tblspn batter as for crepes.

Extras

2 green cucumbers, sliced into 4 -5 cm lengths

6 - 8 green shallots, sliced into 4 - 5cm lengths

1/2 cup hoisin sauce

(Optional, you can add 1/2 teaspoon five spice powder and 2 Tablespoons soy sauce to hoisin sauce)

This recipe will serve 5 people, a 2.5kg duck will serve 6.
Please, if you like my recipe, try it and let me know if you found it easy and divinely delicious.

Very Berry Good Cupcakes

Berry Good Cupcakes

Monday mornings are usually my morning for baking.  The children are at school, MOH (my other half) is out working and the house is peacefully quiet.  I had bought a punnet of blueberries on Saturday and was planning to pop them into moist cupcakes.  Gathering together the essential ingredients, I noticed the blueberries had disappeared, most likely on top of the pavlova offered on Sunday.  Luckily there was a packet of frozen mixed berries in the freezer, for exactly these moments.

 
Today when I was creating these berry cupcakes, I was reminded of our neighbour when we were still in infants school.  She was an amazing baker of sweet goodies, going on to train as a home economics and craft teacher for high school children.  Back then though, she was simply 'Barbara' Mum's friend who would occasionally baby sit my brother and I after school at her home when my mother had to work.

What I particularly remember is that when she mixed delightfully yummy sweet treats in a bowl, she would never let us get a spoonful of uncooked mixture.  Thereafter I always played in the back yard looking forward to when her sweet delights were cooked and we were invited in for afternoon tea.

 Wash a home grown lemon, or at least an unwaxed one and grate the zest into a large bowl.
 Mix the zest with 1 1/4 cups of caster sugar, rubbing the mixture with your fingers to agitate the zest and envelope the sugar with the amazing aroma of lemon zest.

 Add plain flour, sifted baking powder and salt along with ground almonds.

Mix all together with spoon and place the frozen berries on top.

In another, smaller bowl,   place the eggs, yoghurt, vanilla and almond essences.  Lightly mix together.

In another small bowl, melt 4 tablespoons of butter and add rice bran oil.

Lightly stir the berries into the flour bowl to coat them with the dry powder.
Pour the egg mixture and butter mixtures into the combined flour with berry bowl.
Lightly fold until the mixtures are just combined.

Preheat oven to 175 degrees celcious.
Grease and line cup cake pans with paper wrappers.
Fill to the top of the paper with mixture as these do not rise very much.

Bake in middle of oven for about 20 minutes, rotating half way through to help evenly brown them.
When cupcakes are gently risen and light brown on top, remove and place them to rest for 2 minutes before turning them onto a wire rack to cool.

This quantity makes 16 berry delicious cupcakes.

Berry Good Cupcakes

1 lemon, zest finely grated
1 1/2 cups fine caster sugar
1 slightly raised cup of plain flour
1/2 cup ground almonds
2 teaspoons baking powder
pinch of salt
1 1/4 cups mixed berries, fresh or frozen
3 eggs
1/2 cup natural yoghurt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/3 cup rice bran oil (or similar flavourless vegetable oil)
4 tablespoons melted butter

Bake at 175 degrees celcius for about 20 minutes.
Makes 16.
Enjoy!