Fish in Coconut milk ..

This past Sunday we had a great afternoon with some friends, the kids had a great time playing and swimming ... don't you just love summer :) .. We cooked the usual sausages for the kids and some yummy teriyaki marinade steaks, but this time I thought we would have some fish. Not on the BBQ, something easy I could do mostly before people arrived .. This recipe was a hit .. and I will definitely be cooking it again as a weekly meal. Enjoy ... This recipe was from the Good Taste Magazine Christmas 09 issue ...


Fish poached in Coconut milk with pineapple & crispy noodles


2 x 270ml cans coconut milk
60ml (1/4 cup) fish sauce
1 tbs mild red curry paste
4 fresh kaffir lime leaves
2 x 1cm-thick slices fresh ginger
1 stem lemon grass, halved lengthways, bruised
650g white fish fillets, cut into pieces
200g (1 cup) chopped fresh pineapple
1 cup of fresh mint leaves
1 cup fresh coriander leaves
50g (1/2 cup) Changs Original Fried Noodles
2 shallots, trimmed and thinly sliced
1 long fresh chilli halved, seeded, thinly slices

1. Combine coconut milk, fish sauce, curry paste, lime leaves, ginger and lemon grass in a wok over high heat. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium. Simmer for 5 minutes or until liquid thickens slightly.

2. Reduce heat to low. Add the fish and simmer, covered, for 3-4 minutes or until just cooked through. Stir in the pineapple.

3. Use a slotted spoon to divide fish and pineapple amoung serving dishes. Spoon over some poaching liquid. Top with the mint, coriander, noodles, shallot and chilli.


DOWNLOAD RECIPE HERE

A Lunch with Friends ....

Last weekend I had lunch with some old friends and some new friends :) .. of course a love of photography had bought us together, and team that together with food we had a fabulous lunch with many camera's documenting the day... It always seems to take me the longest to get any photo up on the sites, so, finally, here are my shots for the day. My offering for the lunch was the Strawberry and Blueberry Tart. I got this recipe from Masterchef Australia. It was cooked in one of the masterclasses, but as a Rasberry Tart. Since raspberries are expensive at the moment I improvised :) The Tart was so easy to make yet it makes quite an impact .. the recipe is below ..












Strawberry and Blueberry Tart

450ml thickened cream (I have used the light version but I think thats why it turns out a bit too runny)
1 and 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla bean paste (believe me it makes a difference)
1/4 cup of icing sugar, plus extra to serve
3-4 punnets of strawberries and blueberries (or raspberries as the original recipe asks for)

Pastry

2 1/4 cups plain flour
1/4 cup icing sugar
125g butter, softened
2 x 59g eggs

1. For sweet crust pastry, combine flour and icing sugar in food processor, process to combine. Add butter and process to fine crumbly texture. Add eggs and process until pastry comes together. Knead lightly on floured surface until base is smooth, pat the top to flatten slightly then wrap in baking paper and refrigerate for 20 mintues or until firm enough to roll out.

2. Preheat oven to 200 c (180 c fan forced)

3. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface, use pastry to line base and side of 3cm deep, 24cm loose based tart tin. Trim off any excess pastry, prick the base all over with a fork, then refrigerate for 10 mintues.

4. Place sheet of baking paper over the pastry and three quarters fill with raw rice or beans. Bake blind for 15 mintues or until edges are light golden. Remove paper and rice and bake further 10 minutes or until base is dry and pastry golden. Set aside to cool in tin. Transfer pastry case to serving plate.

5. Whip the cream, vanilla and icing sugar together until thick. Spoon whipped cream into pastry case then spread evenly. Scatter with your chosen fruit and sprinkle with icing sugar.

If you are pushed for time, sweet shortcrust pastry shells can be bought from the supermarket, they just tend to be a bit thick, but it saves heaps of time.


DOWNLOAD RECIPE HERE