Fluffy Easter Pancakes

Some of the fluffiest, nicest pancakes I've ever eaten are made with buttermilk. Buttermilk is the liquid that is left from churning butter or cream, and although you can buy buttermilk reasonably easily, it is not something that most people would have as a staple in the fridge. This means that if you decide to make buttermilk pancakes one morning, it is likely to involve a special trip to the shops to get it.

Today I'm sharing a recipe I use for pancakes that give the same result as the buttermilk kind, but is much less hassle to make -  with a technique for lightly souring the milk to create a perfect substitute for the buttermilk. These pancakes are deliciously light and fluffy and not overly sweet. You can of course top them with anything you like, but today I have topped mine with mixed berries and maple syrup.

These pancakes make a perfect Easter brunch, or even a simple dessert served with yoghurt, ice cream or any manner of toppings that you can dream up. I have also made small pikelets from this mixture and topped them with jam and cream to make a sort of Devonshire Tea style treat.

However you adapt them to your taste, this recipe is a keeper, with great results every time. Maybe give it a try this Easter long weekend?

Fluffy Buttermilk Style Pancakes

With Berries and Maple Syrup

You will need: 1 cup milk, 2 teaspoons white vinegar, 3 eggs, 2 cups Self Raising Flour, 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder, 2 cups mixed frozen berries, 2 tablespoons caster sugar, maple syrup to serve.

Method: Add the 2 teaspoons of vinegar to the milk, stir through and allow it to stand for a couple of minutes. This will lightly sour the milk.

Combine the berries and the sugar, microwave them for 1 minute and stir well. You could also do the berries in a small pan on the stove, but I find the microwave is quick and easy - and less cleaning up.

Whisk together the milk and the eggs. Add half of the flour and all of the baking powder to the mixture and whisk until smooth. Now add the remaining flour and whisk through, ensuring there are no lumps. If the mixture feels too thick, add a little extra plain milk. If it is too thin, add extra flour.

Allow the pancake batter to rest in the fridge for 10-15 minutes.

Cook the pancakes in a lightly greased or non stick pan. When bubbles appear on the surface, they are ready to turn over. The pan should be moderately hot - watch the temperature, as if the pan is too hot, the pancakes will be overcooked and dark on the outside and not cooked in the middle.

Serve the pancakes with the berries and maple syrup - or anything you fancy.

Makes 4 large or 8 medium sized pancakes.

*******

Sweetness and Light

Pancakes are about as old school as you can get - archaeologists have found evidence that they were the earliest and most widely consumed cereal based food eaten in prehistoric societies. You will find them in some form in cuisines all over the world and everyone seems to have a different version of them. Depending on where they are from, you will find preferences for sweet, savoury, thin or thick, soft or crispy. Yep, pancakes have been a favourite amongst human beings for a long time.

Occasionally I whip up a batch of pancakes as a treat on a Sunday morning - they are a big favourite in our household, particularly a version I make with ricotta cheese and lemon. I thought I would share the recipe, as they are quite delicious and the perfect accompaniment for all of the lovely Summer fruit that is in season at the moment.

These pancakes are light and lovely, and would be great as a dessert as well as a special breakfast treat. The key to good pancakes is to not go crazy with the whisk and over mix the batter. If you do, you will likely end up with tough, rubbery pancakes instead of light, airy ones. I know some recipes get you to beat the egg whites separately, but as long as you aren't heavy handed with the mixture I don't think this is really necessary. Keep it simple, don't over beat the mixture and ensure that you allow the mixture to rest and all will be well. I use a non stick pan to cook my pancakes, but if you don't have one, just grease a normal pan lightly and you are good to go.

Because I serve these pancakes with sweet fruit and maple syrup, I don't put sugar in the pancake batter - I think this would make them too sickly. The lemon rind and the ricotta give the dish a lovely freshness and I don't want to drown that all out with a major sugar overload. These pancakes are best made close to serving time, but you can easily make the batter a couple of hours ahead if required and just keep the mixture in the fridge until you are ready to cook them.

As for toppings, these ricotta pancakes are delicious with fresh natural yoghurt and pureed fruit as a sauce instead of maple syrup. They are also great with yoghurt, almonds and fresh honeycomb if you can get it. Yummy. Today, I chose nectarines, mango, blueberries and fresh figs - a perfect way to celebrate the fruits of Summer.

As if this dish wasn't nice enough to look at already, I increased the pretty factor by serving the pancakes on my lovely green vintage china plates that I found in a flea market whilst on my honeymoon in Paris. Something about them is very happy making to me - lovely memories. And anyway, who needs an excuse to eat off the nice china? Keeping it in the cupboard and not using it is utterly pointless.

So, channel your prehistoric ancestors and whip up a batch of pancakes - but maybe mix it up a bit by eating them off the good china? Hell, why not?!

Lemon and Ricotta Pancakes

with Summer Fruits and Maple Syrup

You will need: 1 cup milk, 2 eggs, finely grated rind of half a lemon, 1 1/3 cups self raising flour, two pinches salt, 3 heaped tablespoons ricotta cheese. To serve - maple syrup, fresh fruit .

Method: Whisk together the milk, salt, eggs and lemon rind. Add the flour gradually, continuing to whisk until smooth. Put in the fridge to rest for at least 30 minutes.

Fold through the ricotta cheese - it does not have to be smooth - leave some lumps in it. A bit of texture is pleasant and you will get delicious pockets of ricotta as you eat the pancakes.

Heat a non stick fry pan to a medium/high heat and cook the pancakes in batches until golden. Serve the pancakes right away stacked with fresh fruit and drizzled with maple syrup.

Makes 6-8 pancakes.

******

Baking Bliss

This week has been rather exciting in the Gourmet Goddess kitchen, as we took delivery of a new fan forced oven to replace the evil, contankerous old beast that I have been cooking with since we moved into our house almost two years ago. I have to admit I was pretty happy to see the demise of the old one, which had a penchant for cremating the bottom of whatever you put in it, whilst leaving the top of everything unpalatably raw. I don't really bake much at the best of times, but the crappy oven really didn't make me want to change that situation!

Well, I am very happy to report that the new oven is a whole other world - one where things cook as they are meant to and your pastry ends up golden and puffed (and cooked evenly!) just like it should. Hell, I may even be tempted to bake a cake - or Goddess forbid - a meringue! Watch this space.

So, my first oven baking experiment was a couple of simple apple, almond and nashi pear tarts. The golden tarts are given a lovely sweetness and glossy finish by an easy maple syrup glaze.

You could actually use any kind of fruit for these - apricots, peaches or nectarines when in season would be gorgeous - cherries, berries or quinces would work a treat too. I used apples and nashi pears because they happened to be in the fruit bowl at the time. Whatever fruit you decide to use,  the result is a delicious, easy to make tart that looks lovely too. This style of tart reminded me a lot of the apple galettes that you would always see in the patisseries around Paris. I confess I enjoyed a slice of mine with a nice big milky Cafe au Lait, and a generous serve of nostaligia -  imagining I was back, sitting in a cafe in St Germain on my honeymoon watching the world go by. Food is always so evocative of past memories and this one really did that for me.

Maple Glazed Apple and Nashi Pear Tarts

You will need: 2 sheets ready rolled puff pastry, 2-3 apples or nashi pears (I used some of both), 1 1/2 cups almond meal, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, 2 tablespoons warm water, 30g melted salted butter, 1/3 cup maple syrup, 1 beaten egg.

Method: Preheat the oven to 200C.

Peel and core the apples/nashi pears, cut them in half and slice them thinly. In a bowl, combine the almond meal, vanilla, brown sugar, melted butter and warm water. Mix well to make an easily spreadable paste. Add a little more warm water if the mixture is a little too firm.

Take the two sheets of pastry and cut them in half, lengthways. You should now have four lengths of pastry of equal size. Take two of the pastry sheets and cut a border into them, about 2 cm wide, removing the pastry in the middle. You will be left with two "frames"made of pastry.

Brush the other two peices of whole pastry with a little of the egg. Carefully lay one of the "frames" onto each of the pastry peices. Press the edges down gently. Now evenly spread half of the almond mixture onto each of the tarts, smoothing it up to the edge of the border you have created.

Take the sliced apple/nashi pears and carefully arrange the slices, so that they slightly overlap, until you have covered the tarts. Brush the edges of the pastry with a little bit of the egg wash.

Bake the tarts for 15-20 minutes until they are lightly golden. Remove them from the oven and using half of the mixture, brush the top of the tarts with the maple syrup. Return to the oven for another 5-10 minutes until they turn a deeper golden colour.

Remove the tarts from the oven, and while they are still warm, brush the remaining maple syrup over them.

Serve warm or cold. Makes two medium sized tarts.

******

Good things...Small packages

Out grabbing a few pre weekend groceries on Friday, I noticed a tray of gorgeous red figs at the greengrocer and thought it would be nice to use them in a dish this week. When I bought them I wasn't 100% sure what I was going to do with them, but then I was unpacking the shopping and I noticed I had some boned quail breasts in the freezer that I should probably think about using. Figs go beautifully with game, so it seemed logical to pair them up in a dish.

Quail is a game bird renowned for the delicacy of its taste. It may be very small, but it has delicious flavour in abundance. It is a particularly versatile game meat, suiting a wide variety of cuisines. It is simple to cook, which is great if you like the idea of game, but are daunted by cooking a duck or a turkey. There are many different breeds of quail - the variety I have used in this recipe was sourced from Game Farm, who breeds and supplies Japanese Quail grown the lush pastures of the Upper Hunter Valley in northern NSW. I've always been happy with the quality of their products (I have used their duck and turkey on many occasions) and they are quite easy to find these days. The Game Farm website will tell you where your nearest stockist can be found if you have no luck finding their quail.

If you are a bit squeamish about the idea of preparing quail, today's recipe is great, as it uses quail breast that is already off the bone. The flavour is not too strong and it is easy to eat - no small fiddly bones to deal with. This would be a good dish to try if you have never eaten quail before. All very managable. I actually love quail cooked in the Asian style - on the bone and super crispy, so you can actually eat the caramelised crunchy smaller bones - but I know that isn't everyone's cup of tea. I promise today's recipe is a much more straightforward affair. It would make a beautiful dinner party entree or a light lunch or dinner. If you absolutely can't face the idea of quail, you could perhaps substitute the quail for sliced chicken thigh. Sure, it isn't exactly the same dish, but the flavours would still work.

I have used beautiful fresh sorrel from my garden as one of the salad components of this dish. Sorrel is used commonly in French cuisine - particularly in sauces and soups - but it is delicious as a salad green. It has a fresh, almost grassy character that works beautifully with the sweetness of the figs. Sorrel is very easy to grow and a great addition to your herb garden. Always use the very young leaves if you are eating it as salad, as the mature leaves are strong and more suited to soups or other dishes.

Aromatic quail breast salad

with sorrel and figs

You will need: 350g quail breasts (skin on, off the bone),10 juniper berries, 1 teaspoon fennel seed, 1 mignonette lettuce, 1 cup sorrel leaves, 4 fresh ripe figs (each one sliced into 6 peices), 1/2 red onion sliced very finely, 1 lebanese cucumber deseeded and sliced.

For the dressing: 1 clove minced garlic,2 tablespoons walnut or hazelnut oil, 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar, 2 tablespoons maple syrup, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, pinch of cayenne pepper, 2 teaspoons warm water, salt and pepper.

Method: Crush the juniper berries and fennel seed (or chop them roughly) and place in a bowl with the olive oil and the quail breasts. Season generously with salt and pepper and combine well. Cover and put in the fridge to infuse for at least an hour - overnight is even better if you have time.

To make the dressing, whisk together the garlic, sherry vinegar, maple syrup, lemon juice, cayenne and warm water. Season with salt and pepper to taste - adjust amounts to your taste if required. You may want more lemon, or a touch more maple syrup. Just taste and adjust as you go.

Assemble the salad ingredients on your serving plates/platter.

Wipe the quail breasts with a paper towel to remove any large peices of juniper of fennel. Heat an oiled grill or frypan and cook the quail skin side down until crisp and browned. Turn over and allow to cook for another minute. The quail will cook quickly, so watch that you do not overcook it - don't forget that it will continue to cook when you are resting it.

Remove the quail from the pan and allow to rest for 5 minutes.

Arrange the quail over your slad ingredients and drizzle over some of the dressing. Serve right away. Serves 4.

******

Magnificent Mango

Nothing says Summer like mangoes and today's recipe uses this gorgeous fruit,  that is in season right now. Mangoes aren't only delicious as a sweet treat or dessert - they are also great in salads, served with white meat or seafood and in salsas or sauces. Enjoy them in as many different ways as you can while they are cheap and plentiful.

Mangoes are native to India and account for approximately half of all tropical fruits produced worldwide. In India, the tree and it's fruit plays a sacred role. It is a traditionally a symbol of love and some believe that the Mango tree has the power to grant wishes. The trees can also live a very long time, with some specimens still bearing fruit after 300 years. Pretty damned impressive !


In Hinduism, the perfectly ripe mango is often held by the elephant god, Lord Ganesha (remover of obstacles and patron of prosperity) as a symbol of attainment and potential perfection. Mango blossoms are also used in the worship of the Goddess Saraswati who rules knowledge, music, arts, science and technology. All this, and they taste superb too!

Today's recipe is very easy and is the ideal Summer after work dinner. You can throw it together really fast and the result is a healthy, summery and delicious meal. Feel free to play around with the salad ingredients and use whatever you have around. Throwing in some toasted almonds or sunflower seeds would add a lovely nutty crunch to the salad if you fancy it.

Chicken and Mango Salad

You will need: 6 chicken tenderloins, 1 ripe sliced mango (I prefer them a touch under-ripe, but choose whatever suits you), ½ red onion finely sliced, 1 baby Cos lettuce (or assorted salad leaves of your choice) , ½ Lebanese cucumber - deseeded and sliced, ½ cup finely julienned red pepper/capsicum. Olive oil for greasing the pan or grill.



For the marinade: 4 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 tablespoon maple syrup, 1 teaspoon olive oil, 1 teaspoon minced or finely chopped chilli (more if you like it fiery!), 1 clove minced garlic, Rind of 1 lime.


For the dressing: Juice of 1 lime, 2 teaspoons fish sauce, 1 clove minced garlic, 1 tablespoon maple syrup, salt and pepper to taste


Method: Whisk together the marinade ingredients and combine well with the chicken. Marinate for at least an hour (overnight is great if you have time)


Whisk together the dressing ingredients and set aside.


Cook the chicken in a hot, greased pan/grill until cooked through. Brush with any remaining marinade as you go. Doing this on the BBQ would also work really well. When the chicken is cooked, allow it to rest for about 10 minutes.


While the chicken is resting, assemble all of your salad ingredients on individual plates or a large platter. Slice the chicken into smaller pieces and add to the salad. Drizzle over some of the dressing just before serving.


Serves 2-4, depending on how hungry you are!

******



GG's outdoor odyssey

Now that I have an outdoor space and a garden to enjoy, I have started thinking about outdoor cooking. Having access to both a standard BBQ and a Weber gives a lot of options and I plan on doing quite a bit of entertaining as the weather warms up, centered around BBQ and grill style food. There is nothing more delicious than a freshly BBQ'd sausage on a roll as far as I'm concerned, but I'm looking forward to experimenting with taking things a bit further and going beyond your basic chops and sausages.

I am a huge fan of seafood cooked over coals and I think my up and coming food experiments will centre around different seafood dishes (watch this space) but last night I thought I would start my outdoor cooking odyssey with American style pork ribs. The ribs go through two cooking processes - first poached in a liquid flavoured with herbs and spices and then cooked over coals and basted with a delicious sticky BBQ glaze.

The glaze is flavoured primarily with by smoky paprika, garlic, chilli, fresh thyme and maple syrup. It is absolutely delicious and enhances the flavour of the pork beautifully. The pork ribs are great served with corn on the cob and jacket potatoes with sour cream and chives. The recipe below serves 2-4 people depending on how much you want to indulge. If you don't have a BBQ, I have included an alternative cooking method below. The glaze would also work well on chicken wings or skewered prawns, if you aren't a pork fan or if you want a meal that is a bit lighter.

So, here is last night's dinner - and my first attempt at cooking in the GGG (Gourmet Goddess garden) Hope you are inspired to give them a try.

 Twice Cooked Pork Ribs

With smoky chilli maple glaze

You will need: 1kg pork ribs

For the poaching liquid: 2 Bay leaves, 1 teaspoon whole white peppercorns, 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns, 1 teaspoon fennel seeds, 1 small peeled roughly chopped onion, 1 teaspoon salt, 2 cloves garlic, water.

For the glaze: 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup BBQ sauce, 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon smoky paprika, 2 tablespoons maple syrup, 1/3 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1/2 teaspoon dry chilli flakes, 2 teaspoons thyme leaves (I used fresh), a few dashes of Tabasco sauce (ok, I used a bit more than a few dashes because I like my chilli!), 2 tablespoons reserved liquid from the poaching process.

Method: First, place all of the ingredients for the poaching liquid in a large saucepan. Add the pork ribs and cover with water, Bring to the boil and allow to simmer for about 15 minutes. Reserve a couple of tablespoons of the liquid (you will need this for the glaze).

Remove the pork ribs and allow them to drain and cool.

Combine all of the glaze ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly.

Preheat your BBQ. Place the ribs on the rack/grill section of your BBQ (I used the Weber for this - cooking over coals really adds to the flavour) Cook the ribs for 5 minutes each side without applying any of the glaze.

Now baste the ribs with the glaze and cook for about another 15 minutes, turning and basting often. Watch that the ribs don't burn - move them to a slightly cooler spot on the BBQ if they seem to be darkening too quickly.

Let the ribs rest for 5 minutes before serving. Drizzle any remaining glaze over the ribs.

*Alternative cooking method: If you don't want to do the BBQ thing, the ribs will work well in the oven. After the initial poaching process, you can bake the ribs in a moderate to hot oven for 25 minutes, basting and turning regularly.

******

A lovely fig tart for Autumn....

You will remember that I purchased half a dozen lovely organic red figs at the Addison Road market on the weekend, so I decided to use those as the centerpiece for a quick and easy tart. I had to bake something for a work morning tea and I wanted something I could throw together easily - This tart fits the bill perfectly.

I am also in the process of trying to use up various bits and pieces in the freezer and pantry - something I do each season. It is always good to have a good pantry clear out at  least a few times a year and it is a good excuse to create ways to use up bits and pieces that you might have leftover from other culinary ventures.

I discovered I had some almond meal (just a handful), some hazelnuts and some walnuts so I ground them all together and used those on the base of the tart. Other random leftover ingredients were a couple of sheets of puff pastry in the freezer and some maple syrup in the cupboard. These also helped to create this dish. This tart is of the rustic, freeform variety - I didn't fuss around with it or attempt to make it particulary perfect or pretty. You can if you want to. You could also do individual ones. This tart can be served warm or cold and would be nice with a little double cream as a dessert. This is a great way to enjoy the beautiful new season's figs that have started to appear in the greengrocer, welcoming in Autumn.

Walnut, almond & hazelnut tart with organic red figs.

You will need: 1 sheet pre packaged puff pastry, 6 figs sliced, 1 cup maple syrup, 3 tablespoons butter, 1/2 cup each of ground hazelnuts and walnuts, 2 tablespoons almond meal, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 2 Tablespoons caster sugar, 1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg, 1 egg lightly beaten.

Method: Preheat the oven to about 220C.

Melt the butter and combine well with the nuts, vanilla, sugar and nutmeg.

Lay the pastry sheet on a baking tray (I use baking paper on the tray - no washing up!) and spread the nut mixture over the pastry, leaving about 2cm free around the edges of the pastry.

Lay the sliced figs over the nut mixture. Fold up the edges of the pastry and pinch around the edges so that it sticks together and stays put. Bake the tart until golden.

When you remove it from the oven, brush with the maple syrup when it is still warm.

*****

Summer Sensation

I'm heading off to a BBQ this afternoon and when I asked my friend, the always delightful Jan-Jan (no, that's not her real name!) what I could bring, her request was this salad. It is probably the most popular salad I make and it always makes me think of Christmas, as I usually end up making it in December when the nectarines are in season. I have also served this dish as a beautiful summer entree and in a miniature form as a degustation course. It is very simple to put together and as well as tasting delicious, it looks lovely too.

This dish depends entirely on having good fresh ingredients - don't even consider making this dish if the nectarines are not great. This is a dish I only ever do at the height of the necatrine season when I know the flavour will be perfect. You can also substitute peaches if you like, and if watercress is tricky for you to buy where you live, then rocket is a good substitute. You want something a bit peppery to contrast with the sweetness of the nectarines and the saltiness of the proscuitto. Other forms of lettuces or greens with a milder flavour won't really do the dish justice, so it is really worth using either watercress or rocket.

This salad would be a really great addition to your Christmas table if you want something a bit out of the ordinary. It is fantastic served with chicken, turkey and all kinds of seafood.

You will need: For the salad 1 bunch watercress, 4 ripe nectarines sliced , 8 thin slices Prosciutto, 1/2 red (Spanish) onion sliced thinly, 1 lebanese cucumber (cut it lengthwise, scoop out the seeds and then slice to form half moon shapes), 2 Bocconcini (or a handful of baby bocconcini)

For the dressing 3 tablespoons each of extra virgin olive oil and maple syrup. Juice of half a lime, 2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar (if you can't find this you can substitute white wine vinegar but only use 1 1/2 tablespoons of it), generous dash of tabasco sauce, generous pinch of salt, plenty of freshly ground pepper, 1 clove crushed garlic.

Method: Combine all of the dressing ingredients and whisk together until it thickens (a fuss free way to make this is to throw it all into a jar and give it a good shake)
Arrange the watercress, then onion, cucumber, nectarine and bocconcini on a large, fairly flat serving platter. Tear up the prosciutto and arrange over the top of the salad. Just before serving, drzzle with the dressing.

Serves about 8 people.

*