Mushroom, White Wine and Basil Sauce

Mushroom, White Wine and Basil Sauce

This creation came when we were just about to cook our gnocchi. It is so simple and quick and it's also very tasty which helps!

This sauce would suit any pasta dish and some suggestions for variations include:

- Add Chilli for bite.

- Omit Oil for butter and add cream at the end for a creamy version.

-If you can'only find dried porcini mushrooms - prepare them by placing in a bowl and pouring t enough boiling water to cover for 20 minutes or until they've expanded. Drain them, then chop them.

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon of butter
350gram white button or swiss brown mushrooms, sliced
150grams fresh porcini mushrooms, sliced
2 teaspoons garlic, chopped finely
1 cup white wine, dry
1 chicken stock cube
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
1 pinch ground pepper
Flat leaf parsley, chopped
Prosciutto, fried to serve

In a large fry pan over high heat, heat oil until hot, then add butter stirring into oil until it melts.

Add white/swiss and porcini mushrooms and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, until mushroom liquid has nearly evaporated, about 6 minutes.

Crush stock cube over mushrooms then add wine; cook, stirring occasionally, until wine is slightly reduced and the stock cube dissolves, about 4 minutes.

Add basil, and pepper and bring to a boil, stirring constantly until well combined. About 1 minute.

Grab your gnocchi or pasta and stir through sauce until well coated.

Serve with fresh parsley sprinkled on top and some crispy prosciutto for added texture.

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Salmon Patties

Salmon Patties

Salmon patties are an old childhood favourite and Craig and I recently revisited them, the weekend just gone. They are great for a light Sunday dinner and are just as delicious the next day also on a sandwich! I like mine very oniony so if onion if not your thing – then you can easily omit the onion or shallots or both!

As with all recipes there are variations so here are a few ideas:
- make smaller sized ones as finger food at your next party
- leave out the breadcrumbs for gluten free meal
-use herb and garlic breadcrumbs, or for other varieties look under breadcrumbs in this blog for suggestions!

INGREDIENTS
500g potatoes, peeled,
30g butter/margarine¼ cup (60ml) milk
Salt & Pepper to taste1 Celery Stalk – diced finely
2 Shallots – sliced finely
1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
½ handful of flat leaf parsley – finely chopped (optional)
415g can red salmon, drained, with bones and skin removed

¼ cup (20g) grated parmesan (optional)

2 eggs
¼ cup (35g) plain flour

¾ cup (50g) dry breadcrumbs

2 tablespoons olive oil

salad, chips

lemon wedges, to serve

Cook potatoes in a saucepan of boiling water until tender., Remove from heat. Drain off water and mash lightly with a fork or potato ricer if you have one.

Add butter and milk, and salt & pepper to taste beating until very smooth. Set mashed potato aside to cool completely.Flake salmon into a medium mixing bowl. Add mashed potato, 1 egg (lightly beaten), celery, shallots, onion and parsley. Season to taste and mix well to combine.

Divide salmon mixture into patties (a bit bigger than the size of a golf ball).

In 3 separate containers, have the plain flour, the second egg (lightly beaten with fork) and the breadcrumbs ready.
Dust with flour, brush with beaten egg and coat with breadcrumbs

Place the crumbed patties on a plate, cover with cling wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

When ready to cook, heat oil in a large non-stick frying pan on medium heat. Cook patties for 3-5 minutes each side, until golden.

Drain excess oil on kitchen paper, drizzle with a squeeze of lemon and serve hot with salad and hot chips.

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Breadcrumbs

Breadcrumbs

This may seem like a no-brainer but last night I made some breadcrumbs from scratch as I was halfway through making our dinner when I realised that I was out of them and needed them to coat the Salmon Patties I was preparing.

And they couldn't be simpler!

As we had no sandwich bread in the house, I ended up using the left over Bruschetta bread from our Saturday night get-together, and they turned out perfect. In fact any type of bread (white, wheat, sourdough, rye, etc.) can be used.

I kept the crusts on but you can remove them if you want to.
For this recipe to work, the bread in question needs to be completely dry and crusty, otherwise it will not blend and crumb properly.

Ingredients
Bread of your choosing (not stale bread as this = stale breadcrumbs)
(For added flavour see below under ‘Tips’)

If your bread is too fresh/soft, just bake fresh bread slices in a single layer in the oven on a low-medium temperature (150-180°C) for approximately 15 to 20 minutes.

At the halfway mark, turn each slice over so they dry evenly. Each slice should be crunchy and hard on both sides. Be careful not to burn them.
Remove from oven and let cool.

Tear dried bread in half and place in your food processor.

Pulse the processor until you reach the desired coarseness.

You will end up with come larger pieces and some finer ones, so what I did to make the mixture more consistent was to sieve it through a colander to trap all the bigger bits, which I then discarded.

TIPS

• Instead of breadcrumbs, you can use other dried ingredients, such as rolled oats, cornflake crumbs, polenta (cornmeal) or cooked couscous.
• Add finely grated cheese, such as parmesan or cheddar to the breadcrumbs.
• Add dried herbs, such as parsley, rosemary, basil, thyme, oregano, sage and dill, to the breadcrumb mixture.
• Rub the meat in pesto before rubbing in the breadcrumbs.

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Potato Gnocchi

Ever since he saw it being done on Masterchef, Craig has been at me to make this recipe. I hunted down a Potato ricer on my travels in my lunch break the other day and so we set about making some homemade gnocchi from scratch. I have to admit that I am not the biggest fan of Gnocchi. I find it quite filling and gluggy and can never seem to get through a whole bowl full. Admittedly, I have only used the supermarket packet ones and maybe that is where I was going wrong, because this recipe produced very light little gnocchi's, a pure delight to eat! (Though I would still recommend small serves :)

Potato Gnocchi

Ingredients
750g desiree potatoes, unpeeled (very important to use this variety of potato)
1 1/3 cups (200g) plain flour, plus a little extra

Salt to taste

(serves 4)

Place the potatoes in a saucepan and cover with cold water then bring to the boil over high heat. Cook for 20-25 minutes or until just tender when tested with a skewer (don't test too much as potatoes will become waterlogged).

Drain the potatoes well and set aside until just cool enough to handle. While still hot, peel by hand and discard skins. The potato skins should have started to crack which will make this easier. (I used a vegetable peeler to remove stubborn bits of skin as it is very important to remove ALL skin so it doesn't end up in the silky gnocchi bites).

Using a potato ricer (think of a large garlic crusher) or mouli, press each potato into a bowl. The outcome should resemble grated cheese. Season to taste with salt. Cool slightly, but not completely.

Add flour to the warm potatoes then use your hands to knead briefly until a soft dough forms.

Note: If mixture is still sticky, add a little more flour (the amount of flour added is very important!)

Too much flour = heavy, tough gnocchi

Too little flour = dough falling apart during cooking

Place gnocchi dough on to a lightly floured surface.

Cut dough into 4 equal-sized pieces. Using your hands, gently roll each piece out to form a log about 2cm wide. Using a lightly floured knife, cut each log into 1.5cm-long pieces.

Roll each ball of gnocchi over the prongs of a lightly-floured fork, pressing gently with your index finger or thumb underneath as you go, to form a dent in the back of each one and fork marks on the other side (this creates a textured surface, helping sauces to cling to cooked gnocchi).

Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil. Add 1/4 of the gnocchi. As they cook, gnocchi will rise to the surface of the water. Continue cooking gnocchi at the surface for about 10 seconds then remove with a large slotted spoon and drain well. Repeat with remaining gnocchi.

Toss gnocchi through your favourite sauce and serve immediately.

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Prawn Saganaki

Prawn Saganaki

This is a Greek originated dish that is both delicious and healthy and packed with flavour. I find that the many recipes out on the internet vary greatly on their authenticity and ingredients which make’s this dish easily adaptable to any level cook as you can choose to be as complicated with the techniques/ingredients or as easy as you like.

I have tried variations on both extremes and some in the middle and I have finally created my own version that seems to work everytime.

Ingredients

12 - 16 green king prawns

2 cloves garlic, peeled, diced
1 long red chilli, thinly sliced

1/4 cup chopped basil leaves

Extra virgin olive oil

Sea salt
Cracked Pepper

10 small-medium red vine tomatoes
15 small grape or roma tomatoes
Parmesan (shaved) or Fetta (Crumbled) –for serving

Lemon Juice - to taste

1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley leaves

Preheat oven 250°C (fan-forced).

(Note: You can do this step now or whilst the prawns are marinating).Place the 10 small-medium red vine tomatoes on an oven tray and sprinkle with sea salt and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Place in heated oven for approx. 10 – 20mins until they begin to soften and blister. Remove from oven and set aside to cool on bench.

Begin preparing the prawns by cutting off the heads with a sharp knife. On the underside of the prawn (where legs are) use kitchen scissors to cut along from where head was removed to the beginning of the tail, then use a sharp knife along the same line you just used the scissors on, to further butterfly the prawns open. Leave prawn meat and shell intact.

Remove the digestive tract and wipe clean with paper towel. Place cut-side up onto a plate.

Press garlic and chilli over the prawn meat, drizzle with olive oil, a squeeze of lemon and season with a pinch of sea salt. Cover and marinate in the fridge for up to 1 hour.

Heat an oven-proof frying pan over high heat until hot. Add enough oil to cover the base then add prawns flesh side down.

Add the basil and cook for 2 minutes, gently pressing flat with a spatula until golden. Turn over and cook few more minutes.

Scatter both the fresh and the pre cooked tomatoes over the pan, season with salt and transfer to the oven.

Cook for 3 minutes until tomatoes just blistered.

Remove from the oven, crumble over the parmesan/feta, scatter over the parsley, drizzle with olive oil and a little lemon juice and sprinkle with salt and cracked pepper. Serve in the pan.

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You know you're addicted to MasterChef when....

1. You steal one of those luminous orange, plastic traffic cones from a roadworks site, so that you can practice making croquembouche.
2. As fishermen get distracted, you gobble some of their bait.
3. You awaken sweaty shouting "I can't be responsible for taking away someone elses dreams"
4. You sell the Commodore and buy a red scooter......because...well just because
5. Your colleague returns to the office after a lunch break and you greet them by running and leaping onto then and wrap your legs around them squealing.
6. You've taken to wearing colourful cravats when you eat, and you find that you carefully roll each mouthful around in your mouth (and roll your eyes along with it)
7. It's knock off time and you burst into tears saying "It's not my time to go"
8. When it’s your husbands turn to cook, you sit in the kitchen and take notes
9. You now are compelled to do every vegetable three different ways on the one dish.
10. You prepare 3 meals every night...cover them in black cloths........sit the family down on bar stools and make them guess which one is tonight’s dinner
11. You install a surveillance camera to keep an eye on the beef!
12. The supermarket bans you for trying to shop in 2 minutes.
13. You have a crazed urge to stand on a ladder above whoever is cooking in the kitchen and yell down encouragement and helpful suggestions.
14. The kids want fish and chips for tea, so you ring around boat hire companies
15. When the kids hold up score cards on the dinner you have just made
16. You have painstakingly trimmed all the hedges in your garden into the shape of the MasterChef logo
17. Your girlfriend says she wants to play 'hide the beef' & the 1st thing you think of is Tom
18. When you cut one of your trees down do bring in the trunk base to serve your cupcakes that you have just sat on
19. When you place an order at a restaurant and you find yourself yelling out to the chefs - "Cook as if your life depends on it - Yeah!!!"Make me proud - Yeah!!!"
20. You can't talk about food without throwing the word 'caramellisation' in there somewhere.
21. You refer to any sort of burning, browning, as "caramelising"
22. You tell your boyfriend you'll meet him in the Pantry and he'd better Make It Happen.
23. You rearrange your pantry ever week then cant find what you need as it is in a new spot.
24. You wrap a bandaid around every finger, just so you have 'the look'.
25. Before MasterChef, you had no idea what a silk cravat was.
26. You start rocking back & forth on your feet when you talk to people and go higher when you want to make a point
27. You finally know what 'reduction' means and keep using it in every sentence, even when it doesn't make sense such as…..Oh that coffee would be with be nice with milk reduction
28. You are going to have baked beans and you think 'how can i take this to another level'
29. You make cupcakes for the local school fete......and crumble them all into a pile

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Matt Moran - Warm Pear Tart

OK, so anyone who watched MasterChef last night would still probably be drooling from the challenge he put to Justine to make his Aria Restaurant dessert of Warm Pear tart.

It had Craig and I salivating at the bit and looked absolutely divine! Now Justine did an amazing job (she is such a cool customer under the hammer) scoring a very respectable 24 out of 30 against a multi time winning multiple chef's hat winner!

Had a look on the MC website this arvo and to my shock found the actual recipe that Justine followed...thought maybe he'd rope you into buying his latest book to obtain it ;)

I know I won't be able to match the quality and skill shown last night but I'm always up for a challenge and it sure does look like fun!

maybe the trick is in perfecting each separate process before combining them all together.....am I biting off more than I can chew......NEVER! well OK, maybe...

http://www.masterchef.com.au/media/MATT_MORAN_WARM_PEAR_TART.pdf

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Lost, but FOUND!!!

Yay! I finally found my Lemon Tart recipe and have posted it under desserts! phew.....

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Chocolate Churros

Chocolate Churros

(pictures to come)

Makes about 20

Ingredients
½ cup milk
½ cup water
90grams butter, chopped
1 cup plain flour, sifted
1 egg lightly beaten
50g dark block chocolate, grated
Vegetable oil for deep frying
½ cup caster sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon


Combine milk, water and butter in a medium saucepan. Heat on low until butter melts then bring to the boil.

Add flour to pan all at once and beat vigorously with a wooden spoon until mixture comes away from the sides of the pan. Set aside to cool slightly.

Add egg, beating until well combined. Beat in chocolate.

Heat oil in a deep fryer or large saucepan on high until a little dough sizzles immediately when it is added.

Spoon the dough into a piping bag fitted with a medium (1.5cm) star nozzle. Reduce heat to low.

Carefully pipe the dough, in 3cm strips, into the oil in batches – do not overcrowd the pan. Deep-fry for 2-3 minutes, turning, until golden brown and cooked through - oil must not be too hot. Drain on paper towel.

Combine the caster sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Toss hot churros the sugar mixture.

Serve with coffee or tea.

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On my to do list!

So as you know we went to Melbourne on the weekend, and it (unintentionally) ended up revolving pretty much entirely around food. We had worked out that by lunchtime on Monday we had travelled the culinary globe and had eaten (not at the one time! ;) foods influenced from the USA, Vietnam, Spain, Malaysia, Italy, Thai, France, Germany and Australia to name a few!

One of our favourite finds was when we went walking around Flinders Station and the Yarra. We found a little hole in the wall selling Churro's, which are apparently the original Spanish donut without a hole! Hot, Cold, Sweet Savoury - these proved to be delicious and hugely dangerous! A deep fried heart attack, though they claim to better for you (what? as opposed to normal deep fried donuts!!! lol) as they use 100% vegetable oil!

Any way after much debate - i settled on an original sweet one with icing sugar and white chocolate dipping sauce - soooo good even after they had turned cold! And Craig could not resist a Hot caramel filled one (he never can when it comes to anything with caramel! :) As you can see it looks delish, and it was!!!!

It's funny how something I had not thought about in years hits me twice in the space of about 3 days. Back in Sydney relaxing in the bath reading a magazine (a guilty pleasure) my mother recycled by handing on to me, what do I stumble upon??? ......but a recipe for - yes, you guessed it - a Churro!

Although I have not yet tried this recipe, I feel that Craig will be itching to make some so I'm pretty sure it will be tested out this weekend. Any hoo - I'll post the recipe for your info and will post my success or failure on Monday!

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Spiced Meatballs with Tomato Sauce

Nothing is more comforting that meatballs on a cold winters night! These are a good variation on the usual italian variety, and are great for people wanting to get their hands dirty! A hit with kids and adults alike - the herbs in these meatballs balance each other perfectly and when I cooked them last night, there were no leftovers in anyones bowl!

Spiced Meatballs with Tomato Sauce

Please note that if you do not have a tagine – a simple non-stick fry pan will do the trick, just don’t use a lid!

Ingredients

for the meatballs

5OOg minced beef (or lamb if preferred)

1 clove garlic, crushed

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 teaspoon ground ginger

2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoon soy sauce

small handful fresh coriander, finely chopped (optional)

small handful fresh parsley, finely chopped

Oil for frying

for the tomato sauce

3 tablespoon olive oil

1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 x 400gram tin chopped tomatoes

1 teaspoon dried mixed Italian herbs

2 teaspoon caster sugar

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Place beef (or lamb), garlic, onion, ginger, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, coriander and parsley into a bowl and mix well with your hands.

Using your hands roll the mixture into balls just slightly smaller than a ping-pong ball.

Heat some oil in the tagine and fry the meatballs until golden brown all over the outside.

Turn the heat down and place lid on tagine. Cook for a further 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the sauce.

Heat the oil in a separate fry pan over a gentle heat and sauté the onions and garlic until soft but not brown.

Add the chopped tomatoes, the dried herbs and the sugar. Give everything a good stir and season with some salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Let the mixture bubble for 10 minutes until it becomes thick, and has a lovely sticky, rich red colour.

Pour the sauce over the meatballs and simmer gently over a low heat for 15 minutes.

Serve with Cous Cous, Plain Rice or your choice of Pasta and a sprinkle of grated parmesan.

Note: Chilli can also be added to this dish for a spicier version!

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Good Food and Wine Show - Melbourne

Craig and I travelled to Melbourne on the long weekend just gone, and I was completely unaware that the GFWS was on. Needless to say that we ended up buying tickets and going along to join in all the fun and festivities on Sunday. We also purchased tix to see Gordon Ramsay and Matt Moran (ARIA, Sydney) up close. It was a fantastic afternoon, and truly nailed our visit to Melbourne as being a gastranomical delight!!!

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Lemon Tart

Lemon Tart

This represents my very first attempt at making a lemon tart. The decision to make it was made after my sister Lisa and I were delegated with making dessert for this year's mothers day. I have always wanted to cook one as I think they look lovely, and let's face it - they taste delicious and photograph great!

Ingredients

(serves 6)

185g Marie or Nice biscuits, processed to fine crumbs
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
90g butter, melted
pure icing sugar, to serve
Lemon curd
3 lemons
4 eggs
1 cup caster sugar
125g butter, chopped

Lightly grease a 2cm-deep, 24cm (base) loose-based round flan pan.

Combine biscuit crumbs, cinnamon, nutmeg and butter in a bowl. Press into base and sides of prepaed pan. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

How to make the lemon curd:

Finely grate rind of 1 lemon. Juice all lemons.

Whisk eggs and sugar together in a heatproof bowl until well combined.

Add lemon rind and 2/3 cup lemon juice, whisking constantly until well combined. Place bowl over a saucepan of simmering water (do not allow base to touch water).

Cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, for 20 to 25 minutes or until thick and custard-like. Do not allow to boil.

Remove from heat and whisk in butter.

Pour lemon curd into chilled tart case.

Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Dust with icing sugar and raspberries and serve.

Also for the same occasion my sister, Lisa did the unthinkable in our family and actually made delicious, scrumptious, and more importantly - successful scones! Since my 94 year old Nan who was THE best scone maker is now incapable of making them anymore, and my mother has refused to make them anymore due to the fact that hers always turn out like rock cakes, my sister took on the challenge and baked them for mothers day! We are all so very proud! he he

If you want her recipe let me know and I'll post it on here!

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Tagine of Chicken with Preserved Lemon & Olives

Tagine of Chicken with Preserved Lemon & Olives

Ingredients
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 onions, grated or very finely chopped

2 to 3 garlic cloves, crushed

1/2 teaspoon crushed saffron

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1 chicken, cut up in 6 or 8 pieces

salt and black pepper

2 tablespoons chopped coriander

2 tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsley

juice of 1/2 lemon

12 to 16 green olives

In a tagine (alternatively you can use a wide casserole or heavy-bottomed pan that can hold all the chicken in one layer), heat the oil and add the onions.

Saute, stirring over low heat, until they soften, then stir in the garlic, saffron and ginger.

Put in the chicken pieces and season with salt and pepper.

Pour in about 1 1/4 cups of water and simmer with lid on base, turning the pieces over every few minutes. (add a little more water if it becomes too dry)

Take the breasts out after 15minutes and place them to one side.

Continue to cook the remaining pieces for another 25minutes or so, after which time return the breasts to the pan.

Stir into the sauce lemon juice, the chopped coriander and parsley, the preserved lemon peel cut into quarters or strips, and the olives.

Simmer uncovered for 5 to 10 minutes, until the reduced sauce is thick and unctuous.

If there is too much liquid, set the chicken aside while you reduce the sauce further, then return the chicken to the pan and heat through.

Present chicken on a dish with the olives and lemon on top.

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Burnt Butter and Sage Sauce

Burnt Butter and Sage Sauce

Ingredients
200grams butter chopped
10 sage leaves
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Place the butter and the sage leaves into a pan and allow to melt under a gentle heat. (This will allow the sage leaves to crisp up by the time the butter starts to brown and it will have also infused its flavour into the sauce).

When the butter begins to foam and begin to turn brown add in the lemon juice and serve sauce immediately over pasta.

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Mushroom Pasta Filling

Mushroom Raviolli Filling

Ingredients

1 tablespoon Olive Oil

2 tablespoons butter

1 garlic clove, minced

8 portabella mushrooms, chopped finely

4 large flat mushrooms, chopped finely

8 Swiss brown mushrooms, chopped finely

Splash of white or red wine (white for lighter taste / red for heavier)3 Basil leaves chopped finely

Salt and pepper to taste

3 tablespoons Ricotta

Heat Olive oil then add to it the butter.

Once melted add the garlic and sauté, being careful not to burn the garlic pieces.

Add in the chopped mushrooms and sauté with garlic and butter until all mushrooms have adsorbed the liquid and reduced to nearly half the quantity in size.

Add a splash of red of white wine, reduce it down then add salt and pepper to taste.

Add in chopped basil leaves and stir for a further 2-3 minutes then remove the mixture from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.

Once mushroom mixture is cool, stir in the Ricotta to bind the filling together.

Your filling is now ready for your pasta!

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Fresh Pasta Dough

A few weekends ago Craig and I were inspired to buy a pasta machine after watching several cooking shows. There is something so homely and satisfying about making your own pasta. After a few attempts and several variations on recipes later, we finally nailed one that works everytime! By the way - we did try that whole "flour well on the bench, manual thing" and it was insanely difficult!

Pasta Dough

Ingredients

250grams "OO" Plain Flour

Pinch of Salt

1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 Whole Eggs (60gram Eggs)

3 Egg Yolks Place all ingredients into a food processor.

Once all the ingredients have combined and resemble a crumble texture, remove from food processor and knead on a floured board until the dough is firm, smooth and combined. (Approx. 1 minute)

Place dough in cling wrap and rest in fridge for 2 – 3 hours.

Once dough has been allowed to rest – knead again for approximately 2 mins then cut the dough into 4 pieces.

Using a rolling pin, roll out the first piece of dough quite flat to allow it to pass through the pasta machine easily. Repeat this for each piece of dough.

Using the widest setting on the pasta machine – run your first piece of dough through.

After the dough has been passed through once, reduce the opening setting by one each time until the dough is about 2mm thick (thinner than a puff pastry sheet).

Repeat this for the remaining pieces of dough.

Place rolled out sheets of dough onto lightly floured workbench or chopping board ready to make ravioli or your desired pasta shape.

You will find in the following blog a recipe for a delicious pasta filling and an easy sauce to serve with your homemade pasta, sure to impress all your friends! ;)

Tips:

Make sure eggs and flour are fresh!

Add a little more olive oil if mixture is too dry.

Add flour if dough is too sticky, it should not feel tacky to touch.

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Chocolate Souffle

I find that nothing beats a good soufflé and let’s face it even a crap one still tastes great! I have come to learn that history had put the fear of god into any home cooks who are contemplating attempting this French wonder, but having tried this recipe twice and with success on both (yes! BOTH) occasions I feel the need to share it…..go on give it a go, the rewards are definitely worth it! Just don’t stray too far from the oven once you pop the little buggers in!

Chocolate Soufflé

Ingredients

Unsalted Butter

1/3 Cup Caster Sugar

125 grams Chocolate (your choice – milk, dark or white) I like to do a half/half of milk choc and dark choc.
3 x Large (60gram eggs) egg yolks at room temperature

6 x Large egg whites

Dollop Cream or Icecream to serve

6 x Ceramic 1-cup Ramekins

Preheat oven to 180°C (Fan Forced).

Brush the insides of 4 - 6 (1-cup) ramekins with the soft butter in upward strokes, from the base to the rim.

Sprinkle sugar into each dish, tilting and rolling the dishes around to line them with an even layer of sugar – this stops the soufflés from sticking! Place in the fridge until needed.

Melt chocolate in a metal bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water, stirring occasionally until smooth.

Remove bowl from heat and stir in yolks (mixture will stiffen).

Beat whites with a pinch of salt in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until they just hold soft peaks.

Add 1/3 cup sugar, a little at a time, continuing to beat at medium speed, then beat at high speed until whites just hold stiff peaks.

Stir about 1 cup whites into chocolate mixture to lighten, then add mixture to remaining whites, folding gently but thoroughly.

Spoon into soufflé dish and run the end of your thumb around inside edge of soufflé dish (this will help soufflé rise evenly).

Bake in middle of oven until puffed and crusted on top but still jiggly in centre, 24 to 26 minutes.(but ovens vary so keep an eye on them!)

Serve immediately with either icing sugar sprinkled over, cream or icecream.

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