Gluten free Almond and Chocolate Fingers

For these I used 200 g of almonds and 5 apricot kernels (enough to give the almonds a more distinctive flavour). If you like to know more about apricot kernels click here. I blanched everything in boiling water for a couple of minutes and then I removed the skins.

I placed the blanched almonds (and the blanched apricot kernels) in the food processor with 100 g of icing sugar. I processed the nuts but not into a 'flour', more like into a coarse mixture, like a crumble mixture. I stirred in one egg white (not need to beat it first, these are not amaretti biscuits), and then I shaped the 'fingers' with wet hands. More than baking, these biscuits need to 'dry', so I placed them in the fan oven at 180°C for 5 minutes, then I turned the oven off and let them dry until they were cold.

To finished I melted some dark chocolate (72%) and dipped one side of the biscuits into it. Once the chocolate had set the 'fingers' were ready. Perfect for tea and coffee, and very high in protein! 

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

I am 'recycling' and entering this recipe for Sweet New Zealand, for the month of February 2012, hosted by Shirleen of Sugar and Spice

Vegan Huhu Grubs

Sometimes I am really happy to be a vegetarian: it means that I don't have to try wild specialties like huhu grubs. Not that many New Zealaders would either, you can't buy them in shops (I think) and you have to forage for them in the bush (they eat rotten wood) or go to special wild food festivals like the Hokitika Wild Food Festival. But I found a better, and vegetable alternative, with New Zealand yams.

Yam are much bigger than huhu grubs, and I got the red and the apricot colour varieties, I thought that they looked really pretty. After boiling them the colours had faded, a lot, and the look was... well, like in the photo above. I left them on the kitchen bench and went to get the kids from school. As soon as they arrived home the went" "Huhu grubs????". No, they have never eaten them, but they saw them and know what they look like. They giggled a lot, they said that yams really looked like gigantic huhu grubs.

Just boiled they didn't appeal to me, so I roasted them with olive oil, smoked garlic, smoked salt, coriander seeds and a few chili flakes. Then I served them with some wasabi mayonnaise (just mayo mixed with a dash of wasabi) and they went down a treat. In this household my husband is the only one that has ever eaten huhu grubs, I asked him if the flavour was similar to these yams, he said: "No, these taste much better!"

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Bloggers be aware of plagiarism in New Zealand

It is sad to have to write posts like this one instead of a recipe, or posting images of lovely landscapes, but I feel that it needs to be done.


Today I would like to invite you, especially if you are a New Zealand food blogger, to visit Johanna from Wild Picnic and read her post Puha and plagiarism?
I heard a few stories about plagiarism among bloggers overseas, but this beats them all: what Johanna and others have experienced here is having their recipes taken without being credited or even asked about it, used to make a popular New Zealand TV show (often claiming that they were the creations of the TV show presenters) and then put on the show website.


Now I know that recipe copyright is a feeble issue, you just need to change a few ingredients or dosages or methods, and you are ok (although bloggers' etiquette requires that you cite the original source of inspiration), and many researchers do just that. Not here, here some entire texts have been cut and pasted from one site to another, whoever did it didn't even bother to change a word or two. What were they thinking??


I can only say these two things to the TV show recipe researchers:


We may not be able to claim copyrights on a recipe idea, but we can on text,


and


Remember that if you copy from the net the truth is only one click or two away.


I heard of similar things happening overseas, at one stage some Italian bloggers were talking about it so much that it has created a network of solidarity: now as soon as a recipe/text is copied they all contact each others, write posts and talk about it, and the word spreads, fast. Our best defense is solidarity and collaboration, there are quite a few bloggers in NZ now, networking already, and if we are all aware of what is going on we can keep a check on this and make sure that it doesn't happen again.

I would really love to know your opinion about this, and also invite you to show your support to Johanna and any other blogger that has his/her words stolen away. And to the producers: it is so easy to put a link, cite a source, and say thank you for the recipe. After all a show that it is liked by bloggers always gets more followers and free publicity!

Update: wrote this in the comments, but just in case you missed it: the recipes have been removed from the website in question. I am sure that this is a positive start, and I would like to thank again Johanna for her courage and generosity in sharing the information. Thank you also to all that replied, and left a comment on Johanna's blog too. :-)

How to Make Hazelnut Turkish Delights, and Pistachio, and Lavender, and Orange Blossom, and...

Yesterday I wrote about making Rose Turkish Delight (Lokum) at home, it is pretty and pink, but I must confess that my favourite Lokum of all is hazelnut, so today I will show you this variations, and a few more. To start follow the recipe here.

Rose Turkish Delight

While the cornflour and sugar syrup are cooking shell and toast a couple of handfuls of hazelnuts. It is better to use fresh hazelnuts and toast them just before making Lokum, for a full hazelnut flavour. Years ago I also had a hazelnut essence which was great, but I cannot find it here, I think that one of the best places to buy it would be in Piedmont, in Italy. Anyway, even without hazelnut essence you can get the best out of hazelnuts if you toast them and use them within a few days. When they are still hot from the oven put them in a clean tea towel and shake and rub them well so as to discard the peel. If some peel stays on don't worry, it is edible, just not as nice. Crush the nuts roughly (I have a nut crusher that my Mother-in-law gave me as a present, very handy for these jobs), and when the Turkish Delight mixture is ready, instead of adding rose water and berries, add the chopped nuts. Mix well and then follow the same steps as for the basic recipe.

A few variations:

Pistachio: same as hazelnuts, but it is also possible to blanch the nuts to remove the skin (for greener pistachio). Almonds could go too!

Orange Blossom: Same as Rose, but add Orange Blossom Water instead or Rose Water, and no need to add berries to colour these: they should be clear.

Lavender: when you make the syrup add a few lavender leaves (yes leaves) and then remove them before pouring the syrup into the cornflour mixture. Your Turkish Delights will smell and taste like lavender. For colours add a few blueberries, they will melt in the hot mixture and give you a light lavender colour.

Lemon and other citruses: Easy, add lots of lemon juice and/or zest (or the juice of your favourite citrus fruit) when you make the sugar syrup (there is also lemon essence, if you like).

And then... endless, there is mint (but I am not keen on that one) and so many more, let me know if you make a special one.

Hazelnut Turkish Delight

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Home Made Rose Turkish Delights (Lokum)

Before I start I would like to say that I don't have a sugar thermometer, essential if you are really into confectionery, and that I didn't use much sugar for these Turkish delights. Many recipes use much more sugar, and it is not that I wanted to make a low sugar treat here (it is still pretty sweet), it is just that making it at home really makes me realize how much sugar there is already in my diet, and if I can have something with a little less... well, why not!

This method is 'home friendly' i.e. these can be made at home with very little effort and equipment, and the recipe comes from my book Sweet As... where I also have the recipe for lavender and orange blossom Turkish Delights.

Ingredients

1 l water

300 g sugar

2 tbsp lemon juice

100 g cornflour (corn starch)

1 tbsp frozen raspberries

1 tbsp rose water

icing sugar (very little) and cornflour (lots) to dust.

In a pot put half of the water (500 ml) with the sugar and lemon juice and bring to the boil. Boil it down until you get a light syrup (here those with the sugar thermometer will go to about 240 degrees, I just waited for the mixture to thicken a little). In another pot mix the remaining water with the cornflour, then bring to the boil and simmer, stirring, until the mixture thickens. Add the hot sugar syrup and stir well.

Now let the pot simmer, without stirring, for at least 30 minutes. More would be good, if you are patient, 45 minutes to one hour is more like the shops do it, but in a home kitchen looking at a bubbling mixture is a little worrying. Still, the more you cook it the harder your Turkish Delights. At the end add a tbsp of rose water, and to colour it, since I try not to use artificial colouring, a few raspberries. The berries will 'melt' in the hot mixture and the little seeds are quite pretty, I think. If you don't like the seeds, just pass the berries through a sieve, and adde the juice only. Pour the hot mixture into a square or rectangular tupperware or similar plastic container (easy to detach the solid block after it sets) and let it cool down and set overnight.

The day after tip out your 'candy' block and cut into pieces. I now understand why when you buy lokum it is full of white powder: it takes lots of cornflour to keep it! To dust it I use a mixture of cornflour and very little icing sugar: if you use too much icing sugar the sweet may 'sweat' and become all sticky! Another problem is humidity: it is very humid here in the Auckland bush, if your sweets seems too 'wet' after cutting them, place them on a oven tray and bake them at 50 on fan for a little to dry. Store them in layers divided with paper, and dust regularly with a mixture of cornflour and icing sugar to keep them dry. Eat within a few days. Turkish Delights are Vegan and Gluten Free. Next post will be about hazelnut Turkish delights :-).

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

The Arataki Visitor Centre in the Waitakere Ranges.

Views from the Arataki Visitor Centre, a geko and the wooden path among the native trees

A little note from New Zealand today: 15 minutes drive from my house there is the beautiful Arataki Visitor Centre. We come here often when we have guests and wwoofers, to enjoy the beautiful views of the Waitakere Ranges.

11m high pou (guardian post) o Te Kawerau a Maki and more Maori carvings inside the Visitor Centre

The Centre is open to all and has beautiful carvings, artifacts, a kids' area and displays about the history and nature of the Waitakere Ranges. There is also a tourist information desk and a shop.

Bush walks around the Arataki Visitor Centre, brush and spray your boots before entering the forest to protect the Kauri trees from disease. 

From the centre there are some easy trials in the forest, including a plant identification loop. Come and visit me and I will probably take you to this place :-).

Photos by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Funghi!

I like mushrooms but I find than champignons have very little taste. I guess that I grew up with wild mushrooms (and lots of porcini) so maybe I am a bit of a snob... still, champignons are easy to find and I tend to use them as a 'base', adding other dried mushrooms for extra flavour.

I had a handful of dried porcini and another of dried Chinese black mushrooms, and I soak them in water for 30 minutes. In the meantime I cleaned and chopped 400 g of champignons (I tend to discard the stalks of the champignons, not sure why, but I learned to do it ages ago in Italy and I keep doing it).

I heated some olive oil with a few cloves of garlic, then I added the champignons and some salt. I cooked the mushrooms until all their water was gone (abut 20 minutes) then I added the dried mushrooms and their soaking water. 

After 5 minutes I added the content of a can of finely chopped Italian tomatoes, and some more water from rinsing the can (another 400 ml).

I let the mushrooms simmer, covered, for about one hour (yes that long) until almost all the liquid was gone. It may seem like a long cooking time, but it is winter after all, and it is nice to have a pot simmering on the stove :-).

At the end I added some fresh parsley chopped with a clove of garlic, (about one tbsp in all). I served it with crescentine (as one of the fillings, usually I always have one hot filling for them), but it works well on polenta or pasta, or as a side dish, or as a pie filler.

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Small Sweet Vegan Treats

Mango Agar Agar Flowers

Mango pudding is a staple at home, and the kids like to take it to school for lunch. For the lunch boxes I usually cut it into squares, but just for fun this time I used some little flower cutters. Agar agar is easier to shape and cut than jelly, and it is healthier too. The basic recipe for mango agar agar pudding is here.

Hazelnut Gold Chocolates

Toast some hazelnuts and remove the skins, then drop into some melted dairy free chocolate, the darker the better. Collect 3 hazelnuts at the time and let them set together (I also spoon just a little more chocolate on top to make it more like a proper chocolate). I had a very little edible gold paper left from an old job, so I sprinkled some on the chocolates. It didn't give it any particular flavour, I must say (maybe I had too little?), but it looked pretty and sophisticated :-). Unfortunately is was dark by then and the photo is not too clear, the flash also made the chocolate look less dark that it actually was. Still, everything got eaten pretty happily!

The last image is more chocolate, but I don't think that I will be cooking with this one!!! My husband brought it back from Latin America this morning, single origin special dark form Ecuador, I tasted a bit... uuhh! Intense chocolate heaven! Form Republica del Cacao.

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Smoked Paprika Chickpea Snack

I am used to Italian cats eating almost anything, but New Zealand cats seem to be fussier, so I was very surprised when Marameo jumped on the bench to grab the cooked chickpeas that I was rinsing. I had to give her some, she could not wait, and ate them all. I gave them seconds and then she stopped bothering me. Strange cat! 

With my remaining chickpeas, I wanted to make a spicy snack for this event,

 promoted by blogger Araba Felice in Cucina.

I had to chose among one of her wonderful recipes, and make it at home (variations allowed), and I have been thinking of trying this one for a while now.

Smoked Paprika Chickpea Snack

The original recipe calls for:
400 g can of chickpeas,
1 tbsp flour
1 tsp sweet paprika, or your favourite spice (in my variation I used smoked paprika instead)
1 tsp salt, about
2-3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
I also added a few cumin seeds.

Rinse and pat dry the chickpeas, and mix with the other dried ingredients until the chickpeas are nicely coated. At this point I left the chickpeas in the bowl for about 30 minutes so that the flour and spices could really get 'caked' around each chickpea.

Pour the olive oil on a baking tray (no baking paper), add the chickpeas and roll them around so that they are not one on top of the other. Bake at 200°C, rolling them on the tray again from time to time to make sure that they get crispy all over. The original recipe says 30 minutes, but my canned chickpeas were quite small, I though, so 20 minutes were sufficient. Serve as a snack, warm or even cold (I think that they will go well with beer so I will make them again when my husband is back!)

But this time I just put them on the table for dinner (we didn't have time for a pre-dinner drinks, I rarely do during the week anyway, and without the husband organizing the drinks) so the chickpeas became 'part' of the meal, which was Indian: basmati rice with silver beet panir and flat bread, and mango lassi to drink. We ate the warm chickpeas with our fingers, but we also put them on our rice with the curry, and they were great! Thank you Araba Felice :-)

Photos by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Tiramisù ai Frutti di Bosco e Nuvole, Cloud-berry (or Berrycloud) Tiramisù

I saw the name Cloudberry in the New Yorker, it wasn't a recipe, just an article with someone ordering Cloudberry Gelato in Aspen. I like the name, it reminded me of a Tibetan restaurant in London years and years ago where all the dishes had something to do with clouds, dragons or heaven. Astrofiammante just told me that the cloudberry is yellow, this one? Incredible! I planted it in my garden years ago, made lots of leaves and not a single berry! No yellow berries for me, so I changed the name of this dessert to Cloud-berry Tiramisù, or maybe it would be better to call it Berrycloud Tiramisù... and as I had some friends over for crescentine, I decided to also test my new dessert, and its name, on them :-).

A little edit, I added an Italian name to the dessert, the translation sounded really romantic.

Tiramisù ai Frutti di Bosco e Nuvole

Cloud-berry (or Berrycloud) Tiramisù

Ingredients:

1 heap cup of mixed frozen berries (use the real cloudberries if you have them!)

2 tbsp whisky (a good one)

1 tsp sugar + 3 tbsp sugar

1 packet of savoiardi biscuits

3 large free range eggs

300 ml cream

Cocoa to dust

Friends for sharing, including one who can clean the bowl in the end.

Place the frozen berries in a bowl with the whisky and 1 tsp of sugar. Let the berries defrost at room temperature, they will make lots of juice. Strain and collect the juice to soak the savoiardi. Use only half of the savoiardi, making your first layer in a 20 x 20 cm square and at least 5 cm high (or similar size rectangular) serving dish. Place all the berries over the biscuits, but leave some berry juice aside for the second layer of biscuits.
Please note: it is important not to over-soak the biscuits or the base will be too soft. Just dip them quickly on one side only (the sugary side is better), and place them in the serving dish with the soaked part facing up: this way the juices will slowly go through the biscuits.
In the meantime separately whip the egg whites, then the egg yolks with 3 tbsp of sugar, then the cream.

Whip everything well, the egg whites should be really stiff, the egg yolks really pale, and the cream like a cloud. Finally mix all three together and give them a final whip (not a fold, but a good whip!). Pour half of the cream mixture over the red savoiardi biscuits, then make a second layer of savoiardi dipped in berry juice (always dipping one side only, and placing them on the cream red facing up). Cover with the remaining cream mixture and place in the fridge for a few hours. Before serving dust the 'cloud' with cocoa. I would say that it serves 12, but we were 7 and most had seconds, so it all went.

The name was approved but be warned, these are the side effects:

Photos and recipes by Alessandra Zecchini © except the last 2 which they managed to take themselves with Photo Booth

Rice Paper Salad Rolls

Bored with the same side salad? Can’t get the kids to eat it? Maybe you need to roll it up! I did this because I had a few sheet of rice paper to use, just about a dozen, not enough to make a meal, but enough for some fun side veggies.

Ingredients:

Cooked green beans

Cooked carrot sticks

Mesclun salad

Rice paper

Sweet chili sauce to serve

Follow the instructions on how to soften, fill and roll the rice papers here.

These were a hit with the kids, they like salad, but they had more fun eating it this way

:-), so I will add this recipe to Eleonora’s collection at “Chi mi aiuta a raccogliere l’insalata?”

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Some Gluten Free Variations

Rice croquettes and ramen soup are some of my favourite quick meals, these versions are gluten free.

Gluten free rice croquettes

I always make croquettes with leftover risotto or other cooked rice, and I thought that they would be a lovely vegetarian gluten free dish if I didn't use breadcrumbs. So I started to coat the croquettes with instant polenta flour instead, for a golden and crispy 'crust'.

Ingredients: Leftover risotto (any type) or cooked rice with vegetables, 1 egg to bind everything together, some instant polenta flour to roll the croquettes in, vegetable oil for frying (I use rice bran oil).

Mix the rice with the egg and then shape into small croquettes (this is easier to do if you wet your hands with water first). Roll the croquettes in the polenta flour and fry. I served these coquettes hot with mashed potatoes, but they are also good cold and can be put in the lunch box.

Miso Ramen with Rice Vermicelli

I collected the last bok choy from the garden, they were just baby bock choy, but the snails weren't going to wait for them to grow up! Baby bok choy is perfect for ramen soup.

Ingredients for 4 bowls of ramen: 8 dried shitake mushrooms, 1 small carrot, 4 baby bok choy, 1 pinch salt, 1 pack rice vermicelli, miso paste, 4 eggs.

I cooked the shitake mushrooms first in 1 litre of water with a small pinch of salt, when they were soft I added the carrot, sliced, and the bok choy. I simmered everything for 5 more minuted and then I collected the vegetables and kept the stock in the pot. I added the miso to the stock and kept it hot but not boiling.
In the meantime I cooked the rice vermicelli in hot water (they just take a couple of minutes) drained them and divided them between 4 bowls. I arranged the vegetables on top and then I added a raw egg for each bowl. I poured the hot miso over and served immediately. The egg white will cook with the hot stock, but the yolk will remain soft. If you prefer not to eat raw egg just add a boiled egg (halved) instead, or for a Vegan variation substitute soft tofu for the eggs.

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©