A Boozy Taste of Latin America (Battlemouth)

Anyone who follows me on Twitter knows that I’m fond of the occasional mojito. This traditional Cuban cocktail is a nice light-flavoured drink and is very refreshing on a hot summer’s day. Also popular in our house is the Brazilian caipirinha, which has some similarities to the mojito, and is also very tasty. [...]

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Gluten-Free Snickerdoodles

This is a truly fantastic biscuit, which I have become quite addicted to.  

This recipe was originally for normal (i.e. not gluten-free) ingredients, but we have adapted it for our own purposes. The amounts have not been altered so if you want to make a "normal" batch, substitute the gluten-free ingredients with standard ingredients.

The baking time has been adjusted for the gluten-free ingredients - normal ingredients will need a couple less minutes.

Also, I used a food processor for Steps 1, 2, and 4.  This worked perfectly, but there's no reason why you can't do the whole thing manually if preferred.

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup butter (about 115 grams)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1 & 1/2 cups gluten-free flour (we use the Plain Flour from Orgran)
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• cinnamon sugar for rolling

1. Cream the sugar, butter, and vanilla extract together.
2. Add the egg to the mixture, and whip it until light and fluffy.
3. Whisk the dry ingredients together.
4. Add about 2/3 of the dry ingredients to the whipped mixture, and whip until combined.
5. Add the remaining dry ingredients and mix by hand.
6. Cover the dough with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 1 hour.  The dough will likely be tacky, but the cooling period will resolve this.
7. Preheat the oven to 190C/375F.
8. Line a baking sheet with baking or parchment paper.
9. Using a scoop, make balls of dough (each comprised of roughly 2 tablespoons).
10. Roll each ball in the cinnamon sugar, and place on the baking sheet.
11. Using a fork, squish the dough out into biscuit shapes.  These biscuits flatten and spread out, so account for this with your placement on the sheet.
12. Bake for 12-13 minutes for chewy biscuits; a couple of minutes longer for crunchy.
13. Remove from the oven and let sit for a minute. Note that they'll be very soft when they come out of the oven - that's fine.
14. Gently remove the biscuits from the baking sheet, and let cool for a few minutes on a wire rack before serving.

Abernethy Biscuits

These traditional Scottish biscuits (or cookies to our American cousins) don't get their name from the town in Perthshire, but from a Doctor Abernethy who suggested the addition of caraway seeds and sugar to plain biscuits.

Ingredients

• 2 cups plain flour
• 75g caster sugar (although granulated sugar will do)
• 75g butter
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1 standard egg

1. Sift the flour and baking powder, then rub in the butter until thoroughly mixed .
2. Mix in the sugar and caraway seed, then add the milk and egg to make a stiff dough.
3. Roll the mixture on a floured surface until it is an appropriate thickness for a biscuit.
4. Cut out the biscuits with a three-inch plain cutter, rolling the trimmings to make more as required.
5. Prick the top of the biscuits with a fork, and place on greased baking trays.
6. Bake in a preheated oven at 190C/375F for ten minutes until golden brown.
7. Cool and store in an airtight container (although they are yummy fresh from the oven).

Chilled Cucumber Salad

This is taken from Kylie Kwong's recipe in her book "Simple Chinese Cooking".

Main

• 5 small cucumbers, peeled
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• pinch ground black pepper

Dressing

• 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
• 2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
• 1 tablespoon finely diced ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

1. Cut cucumber in half lengthways and scoop out the seeds using a spoon.
2. Place cut side down on a chopping board and cut on the diagonal into 3/4 inch pieces.
3. Place cucumber in a bowl, sprinkle with sugar and salt, then mix well.
4. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
5. Combine the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and stir to combine..
6. Drain the cucumbers and, using your hands, gently squeeze away any excess liquid.
7. Combine the cucumber in a serving bowl with the dressing.
8. Sprinkle with pepper and serve immediately.

Gluten-Free Takaka Ginger Crunch

I'm not sure what the original source is for this fabulous biscuit slice so unfortunately cannot give credit.

This recipe was originally for normal (i.e. not gluten-free) ingredients, but we have adapted it for our own purposes. The amounts have not been altered soif you want to make a "normal" batch, substitute the gluten-free ingredients with standard ingredients.

The baking time is also for the original ingredients - the gluten-free ingredients may need a few more minutes.

Base

• 150g butter
• 2 tablespoons golden syrup
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup coconut
• 1 & 1/2 cup rolled oats (not the instant kind)
• 3/4 cup gluten-free flour (we use the Plain Flour from Orgran)
• 1 & 1/2 cup gluten-free baking powder (ours has maize flour as the base)
• 1 & 1/2 cup ground ginger
• Pinch of salt

1. Place the coconut, oats, flour, baking powder, ginger, and salt in a bowl.
2. Melt the butter, sugar, and golden syrup together.
3. Pour the melted mix of ingredients into the bowl, and mix until combined.
4. Press into a greased slice tin, and bake at 190°C for 15-20 minutes (longer means crunchier).
5. Ice when cool.

Icing

• 75g butter
• 3/4 cup icing sugar (be careful here as some icing sugars contain gluten)
• 2 tablespoons golden syrup
• 3 tablespoons ground ginger
• 3 tablespoons glace ginger, finely chopped (optional)

1. Over a very low heat, put all the ingredients in a pot (except the glace ginger).
2. Stir until smooth and lump-free.
3. Stir in the glace ginger.

Vietnamese-Style Lemongrass Chicken

This is adapted from Donna Hay's recipe from her magazine.

We did this on the barbeque, and found it a fantastic flavour - note that some charring is acceptable.  I've listed how we serve this chicken, but this chicken can be used in a variety of recipes.

Main

• 2 stalks of lemongrass, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1/4 cup dark soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons fish sauce
• 8x 120g chicken thigh fillets, trimmed

1. Place the lemongrass and garlic in a small food processor, and process until finely chopped.
2. Place in a bowl with the soy, sugar, fish sauce, and chicken.
3. Toss well to coat, then cover and leave to marinate in the refrigerator for an hour.
4. Heat a char grill or barbeque over high heat, and cook the chicken for 2-3 minutes each side (basting with the marinade) or until cooked through.
5. Slice and serve with the dipping sauce, a green salad, and steamed rice.

Dipping Sauce

• 1/2 cup hoisin sauce
• 1/3 cup rice vinegar
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 2 small chillies, sliced
• 1/3 cup peanuts, roasted and chopped

1. Place the ingredients in a non-metallic bowl, and stir to combine.

Note: We spoon this sauce over the chicken, but can be used for dipping or as a condiment for other dishes.

Plum and Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

We were recently given an ice cream maker and a couple of kilos of plums. Immediately, I saw the possibilites and did some experimenting. Here are the results...

• 800g plums, halved and stoned
• 200g white sugar
• 500ml cream
• 200ml full-cream milk
• 2 vanilla pods
• 6 egg yolks

1. Place the plums and 50g of the sugar into a saucepan.
2. Cover and simmer over medium heat for 10-15 minutes.
3. Allow the mixture to cool.
4. Blend the mixture until smooth, strain into a bowl, and store in the fridge.
5. In a bowl, whisk the remaining sugar and egg yolks.
6. Split open the vanilla pods and scrape out the seeds. Keep both the pods and seed.
7. In a medium saucepan, heat the cream and milk together with the vanilla pods, and bring it to the boil.
8. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla seeds. Remove the vanilla pods.
9. Slowly add this hot liquid to the egg/sugar mix and whisk until combined.
10. Pour this mixture into a clean saucepan and gently cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly until it is thick enough to coat a wooden spoon (this will be before its boiling point).
11. Once the custard is ready, transfer to a clean bowl and place in the fridge until thoroughly chilled.
12. Combine the chilled custard and fruit puree, then churn in an ice-cream maker for 30 minutes or until thick.

Note: If the custard curdles or separates, it is likely due to the custard being heated too quickly. If it has not curdled too far, it can be saved by taking the custard off the heat and putting it in a blender. This reconstitutes the custard and you can then return it to the heat in a clean saucepan.

Stir-Fried Hokkien Noodles with Chicken, Chilli, and Bean Sprouts

This is adapted from Kylie Kwong's recipe in her book "Simple Chinese Cooking".

There is a marinating time of 30 minutes for the chicken, but we've found that's how it takes to do the rest of the preparations so works out quite well.

Marinade

• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon mirin (we've found shao hsing wine or Bacardi are acceptable alternatives)
• 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

Main

• 400g chicken thigh fillets, cut into 2cm slices
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 small white onion, cut into half and then into thick wedges
• 12 thin slices of root ginger
• 1 clove of garlic, crushed
• 1 red capsicum, sliced
• 1 head of broccoli, chopped
• 450g fresh Hokkien noodles
• 2 tablespoons mirin (see the above note)
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
• 1 tablespoon malt vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 cup fresh bean sprouts
• 1/s cup spring onion, julienne
• 2 large red chillies, fine sliced diagonally

1. Combine and marinade ingredients in a bowl.
2. Cover and leave to marinate in the refrigerator.
3. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a hot wok until the surface seems to shimmer slightly.
4. Add the chicken and stir-fry for 1 minute.
5. Remove from the wok and set aside.
6. Add the remaining oil to the hot wok with the onion, garlic, and ginger. Stir-fry for 1 minute or until the onion is slightly browned.
7. Toss in the noodles, capsicum, broccoli, chicken, mirin, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, and sesame oil. Stir-fry for 1 1/2 minutes.
8. Add the bean sprouts, spring onion, and half the chilli. Stir-fry for a further 30 seconds or until chicken is just cooked through and noodles are hot.
9. Arrange the noodles in bowls, top with the remaining chilli, and serve immediately.

Devilled Chicken Wings

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2 smoked paprika
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• finely grated zest of 1 lemon
• 1kg chicken wings, halved
• lime wedges for serving

1. In a shallow dish, mix the oil, paprika, cumin, lemon zest, and a good grinding of black pepper.
2. Add the chicken wings and turn to coat in the dressing.
3. Cover and marinate for at least an hour refrigerated, but up to 24 hours is best.
4. Gently turn the chicken wings in the dressing, adding 1/2 tsp salt.
5. Cook over a low to medium heat on an oiled barbeque hot plate for about 45 minutes or until cooked through and well-coloured.
6. Baste with the marinade juices from time to time.
7. Transfer the chicken wings to the grill rack for the last few minutes.
8. Transfer the chicken wings to a platter, sprinkle with salt, and squeeze over lime wedges.

Note: As we have a gas barbeque, I like to use a smoker box to add a bit of smoky flavour. If you don’t have one of these, add a stalk of rosemary to the heat source and let the wings absorb the smoke.

Serving: We eat this with a fresh garden salad and a warmed Turkish bread. Good with a beer too.

Ginger Crunch

This is something I’m a little addicted to.

Base

• 125g butter, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 cups plain baking flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger

1. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
2. Sift flour, baking powder, and ginger together. Mix into creamed mixture.
3. Turn out onto a lightly floured board, and knead well. Note: sometimes the mixture comes out a bit dry and crumbly; it does bind when pressed into the tin.
4. Press dough into a greased 20 x 30cm sponge roll tin.
5. Bake at 190°C for 20-25 minutes or until light brown.
6. Ice with hot ginger icing (see below). For a bit more zest, press crumbled pieces of crystallised ginger into the icing.
7. Cut into squares when cool.

Icing

• 100g butter
• 1 cup icing sugar
• 2 tablespoons golden syrup
• 4 teaspoons ground ginger

1. In a small saucepan, combine all ingredients.
2. Heat until butter is melted, stirring constantly.

Southern-Style Sausage Jambalaya

Adapted from Ainsley Harriot’s recipe in his book “Ainsley’s Friends and Family Cookbook”.

• 2 tablespoons sunflower oil
• 100g (4oz) chorizo sausage, thickly sliced
• 225g (8oz) smoked pork sausage, thickly sliced
• 225g (8oz) chicken thighs, thickly sliced
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 red pepper, seeded and cut into chunky strips
• 1 green pepper, seeded and cut into chunky strips
• 2 celery sticks, sliced
• 1 teaspoon chilli powder
• 1 teaspoon smoky paprika
• 225g (8oz) long-grain rice
• leaves from 2 sprigs of fresh thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 400ml (14 fl oz) passata
• 300ml (10 fl oz) chicken stock
• leaves from 20g (3/4oz) packet parsley, chopped
• 4 spring onions, trimmed and thinly sliced
• salt and cayenne pepper

1. Heat the oil in a large, deep frying pan. Fry the chicken slices until browned. Lift out and set aside.
2. Fry the chorizo and smoked pork sausage slices on both sides until golden. Lift out and set aside.
3. Add the garlic, onion, red pepper, green pepper, and celery then fry for 5 minutes until they are all lightly browned.
4. Add the chilli powder and paprika then cook for 1 minute.
5. Stir in the browned chicken, sausages, rice, thyme, bay leaves, passata, chicken stock, 1 teaspoon salt, and some cayenne pepper.
6. Bring to the boil, cover, and simmer gently for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
7. Uncover and fork the chopped parsley into the rice. Scatter over the spring onions and serve.