Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once

Karaka Blackberry and Peach Galette

2009-12-16T15:00:00.006+11:00

I do like trying new ingredients so when I first read about Karaka Blackberries they certainly got my attention.

Originating in New Zealand, they are a much longer and denser fruit when compared to a regular blackberry and are said to be much sweeter. I wasn't too impressed with the first punnet I bought, perhaps it was too early in the season and the sweetness hadn't developed yet. A month on, I've purchased another punnet and while they aren't as tart as the first lot, they aren't as sweet as I'd been lead to believe.

Fear not, they won't go to waste - they should provide a nice counter to these sweet and juicy donut peaches.

I've put these two ingredients together to form the filling of this rustic galette.

Blackberry and Peach Galette

½ portion sweet shortcrust pastry
200 grams karaka blackberries
1 kilogram donut peaches (approx), sliced thickly
almond meal
Demerara sugar or Raw sugar
milk

You can use whatever fruit you have available, it's not necessary to use these particular varieties.

Roll the pastry out to form a circle about 25cm in diameter and place on a sheet of baking paper - it doesn't need to be a perfect circle, the roughness adds to its charm. Leaving about a 5cm rim, sprinkle almond meal over the centre of your pastry - this will soak up the juices of the fruit as it cooks and keeps the base crisp.

Arrange the cut fruit and berries to a form a mound in the centre of your pastry.

Fold up the edges up over the form and press to form a circular shape. Brush the pastry with milk and then sprinkle over with demerara or raw sugar. Slide this onto a baking tray and bake in a preheated 170°C/320°F until golden and cooked through, about 35 -45 minutes, depending on the thickness of your dough.

Dust with icing sugar and then let it cool on the tray before serving.

I so adore the combination of rich buttery pastry and sweet fruit but you need to cut yourself a slice to get the full picture.

Word of warning - there will be no leftovers, you might want to bake two.

Weekend Herb Blogging #214 - Hosting

2009-12-14T11:59:00.001+11:00

It's the last Weekend Herb Blogging before Christmas and the last for this year and I'll be your host for this edition.

The rules are simple - post about any herb, fruit, vegetable, flower or plant. Your post can be informative, spotlight a particular ingredient and/or include a recipe where your chosen ingredient is one of the primary ingredients in the recipe.

Entries must be submitted by:

* 3pm Sunday - Utah Time
* 10pm Sunday - London Time
* 11pm Sunday - Rome Time
* 9am Monday - Melbourne (Aus) DS Time

Send your posts to whb AT cookalmostanything DOT com
with WHB#214 in the subject line and the following details:

Your name
Your Blog/URL
Your Post URL
Your Location
Attach a Photo: 300px wide

Fig Carpaccio

2009-12-11T16:33:00.004+11:00

Laurie from Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska is hosting this edition of Weekend Herb Blogging and this week I have some fresh figs to enjoy.

It's still early in the season for locally grown figs so there's quite a bit of a price premium on these fruit at the moment - fig intensive recipes will be put on hold until a more plentiful supply is on offer.

This doesn't mean that you can't indulge and this recipe is great way of making the figs go a lot further. It's a dish that I've enjoyed during the summer months at Church St Enoteca and it's just been put back on the menu.

The fig carpaccio is a starter - finely sliced figs are interspersed with dots of creamy Gorgonzola Dolce

Gorgonzola Dolce is a younger version of regular Gorgonzola - the flavour is milder, the texture creamier to the extent that it is spreadable. It adds a lovely salty earthiness to the dish.

The other ingredients are Prosciutto or Jamon, a good drizzle of honey and to finish, fresh micro herbs.

Fig Carpaccio

Fresh figs
finely sliced prosciutto or jamon, roughly torn
gorgonzola dolce
honey - I used Christmas Bush Honey
micro herbs - I used watercress and red mustard

This is a dish that you can make as large or as small as you like - serve it to share in a platter, or plate it individually, the choice is yours. It's also very quick to assemble, something to keep in mind during the holiday season.

Once you're ready to serve the dish, slice the figs evenly - not too thick, aim for less than ½ cm.

Arrange the slices on your serving plate, leaving a bit of space around the slices.

Take a spoon and dot small rounds of Gorgonzola Dolce randomly around the plate. Follow this with an even spread of torn shards of Jamon or Procioutto. Make sure the honey is soft, dip a spoon into it and then drizzle it over the plate, making sure it passes over all the ingredients but don't be too heavy handed with it.

Finally take your micro herbs and scatter them over the plate - it's now ready to serve.

Quick, simple and fresh and guaranteed to please.

Figgy things:

Fig Biscotti
Saganaki with Peppered Figs
Fig, Walnut and Date Bread

Christmas Bush Honey

2009-12-10T16:05:00.013+11:00

Bursaria Spinosa or the Christmas Bush doesn't get its name because it flowers at Christmas, rather the name is due to its white star shaped flowers - now you might be asking what this has to do with food, well, this post is about the honey that is made from the nectar of those flowers.

The white flowers form part of the decoration on this can of Christmas Bush Honey - it's produced in Tasmania by the Tasmanian Honey Company. It is hard to find since not much of this honey is made, so if you see it especially at this time of the year, you might just want to take the opportunity to grab it.

As the honey is heat sensitive it is packed in the tins, raw and unheated - they do warn you that you may find pieces of beeswax in the honey.

As you can see, it is a thick honey with caramel like colouring and consistency, it looks a bit like Dulce de leche. Taste-wise, it is very creamy and the flavour lingers in the mouth - with subtle marzipan notes it's not overpowering or harsh.

To soften, just place what you'd like to use in a heat proof vessel and let it sit in a hot water bath until it reaches the desired consistency.

Weekend Herb Blogging #213 Hosting

2009-12-07T22:39:00.005+11:00

There's a fabulous array of dishes in this weeks recap that you won't want to miss - thanks also go to Marillyn for hosting.

This week we welcome back Laurie from Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska as our host.

Send your posts to tasteslikehome AT hotmail DOT com
with WHB#213 in the subject line and the following details:

Your name
Your Blog/URL
Your Post URL
Your Location
Attach a Photo: 400px wide

Entries must be submitted by:

3pm Sunday - Utah Time
10pm Sunday - London Time
11pm Sunday - Rome Time
9am Monday - Melbourne (Aus) DS Time

If you're new to Weekend Herb Blogging or haven't joined in for a while, here's a quick recap of the rules.

You have the week to post about any herb, fruit, vegetable, flower or plant. Your post can be informative, spotlight a particular ingredient and/or include a recipe where your chosen ingredient is one of the primary ingredients in the recipe.