Roasted Hazelnut and Cranberry Dark Chocolate Bark

 Tempering chocolate is probably one of those things I would never have attempted....anything that involves getting chocolate to a certain temperature sounds tricky. I watched contestants on reality food shows attempt it plenty of times, sometimes with stunning success and sometimes with disastrous results. I know that chocolate once tempered has to be thin, glossy and that you should hear a "snap" when breaking it.

This is the closest I have come to tempering chocolate - using my Thermomix! I've had both "good" and "better" results and in this process I've learned that the most important aspect of tempering chocolate (apart from the temperature), is the need to work quickly!

This recipe is for the hazelnut and cranberry version but I've also made it with dried apricots and a mix of other nuts. I've also made a kid friendly version as can be seen in pictures below. You can basically use anything that takes your fancy - be as creative as you like!

If you don't have a Thermomix, you can still certainly try this recipe - either by using a thermometer and getting the chocolate to required temperatures or by creating a thicker, non-tempered version.

Roasted Hazelnut and Cranberry Dark Chocolate Bark 

125g hazelnut kernels

80g dried cranberries

200g dark baking chocolate

1. Line a baking tray with baking paper or foil and set aside.

2. Chop hazelnuts for 5 seconds/speed 5. Set aside and clean bowl.

3. Dry roast hazelnut pieces in a fry pan on stove top for a couple of minutes, then set aside ready to use.

4. Roughly chop cranberries to desired size. I did this by hand.

5. Place 150g of the chocolate in broken up pieces into the Thermomix. Chop for 5 seconds/speed 9. Scrape down sides of bowl if necessary.

6. Melt chocolate for 4 minutes/50 degrees/speed 2. Scrape down sides if required.

7. Immediately add remaining 50g of chocolate in broken up pieces and melt for 1 minute/speed 2. Do not select a temperature. It will have come down to the required temperature on its own.

8. This is where you need to work really quickly before the chocolate cools and sets. Pour it onto your pre-lined baking tray and using a knife or spatula, spread it out thinly. Then sprinkle with the hazelnuts and cranberries.

9. Place tray in fridge for 30 minutes or until set. Once set, you can break it up ready for serving. 

A kid-friendly version topped with Hundreds and Thousands as well as broken up M&Ms.

A mixture of the two above once broken up. You can see how thin the chocolate is!

The first one I ever made: dried apricots, cranberries & mixed nuts.

Yet another version with slivered almonds and cranberries.

Carrot & Walnut Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Sometimes all you need are cupcakes...and when they are as delicious as these carrot and walnut ones, you'll find it hard to stop at just one.

I have included both Thermomix and traditional recipe details for this one because it's just too good not to share with everyone. They just melt in your mouth. Hope you enjoy!

Carrot & Walnut Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Makes 12

Cupcakes

50g (or 1/2 cup) walnuts

210g (or 3-4 whole) baby carrots*

130g (or 1 cup) plain flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon bicarbonate soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

130g (or 2/3 cup) light olive oil

120g (or 2/3 cup) caster sugar

2 eggs

* Once grated, you should have 1 1/2 cups if using traditional recipe.

Frosting

60g cream cheese (I use Philadelphia)

30g butter, softened

1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence

50g (or 3/4 cup pure icing sugar)

1. Chop walnuts. If using a Thermomix, chop for 4 seconds/speed 4. Set aside.

2. Peel and grate carrots. If using a Thermomix, peel and roughly chop into thirds. Then grate/chop for 10 seconds/speed 9. Set aside.

3. Sift flour, baking powder, bicarbonate soda, cinnamon and salt into bowl. If using a Thermomix, simply measure into bowl and mill for 10 seconds/speed 9.

4. For those working without a Thermomix, combine oil, sugar and eggs in a separate bowl and then mix the two lots together until well combined. Thermomix owners, add oil, sugar and eggs directly to bowl with other ingredients and mix for 20 seconds/speed 5.

5. Add previously set aside walnuts and carrot to the mixture and blend well. Thermomix users, mix for 20 seconds/speed 5.

6. Spoon mixture into individual cupcake cases and bake in 180 degree Celsius fan forced oven for approximately 20 minutes or until cooked through.

7. For the frosting, place cream cheese, butter and vanilla in a bowl and beat until pale. Thermomix users, place cream cheese, butter and vanilla in bowl and whip for 20 seconds/speed 3.5.

8. Gradually add icing sugar until combined. Thermomix users, add icing sugar and beat for 10 seconds/speed 4. Scrape down sides and repeat.

9. Once cupcakes have cooled, pipe a dollop of the frosting onto the centre of each one. If you want the tops of cupcakes completely covered, you will need to double the frosting recipe.

Mini Mexican Empanadas

These mini empanadas are great as part of a Mexican feast, and make for great party food no matter the theme. I've had the recipe for many years and am not sure of its origins.

You can cut the pastry into larger pieces and hence make fewer but larger empanadas if you wish.

The empanadas in the foreground, pictured with Old El Paso's Stand 'n' Stuff Tortillas.

Mini Mexican Empanadas

Makes approx 36

Olive oil

250g beef mince

1 small onion, chopped finely

1 clove garlic, crushed

1/2 teaspoon chilli powder

1 small green capsicum, diced finely

200g tinned tomatoes (or 200g homemade Italian tomato sauce)

1/4 cup water

1 beef stock cube (or 1/2 teaspoon Thermomix vegetable stock)

150g tinned red kidney beans

Salt and pepper to taste

4 sheets of puff pastry (I use Pampas)

Egg for glazing

1. Brown the beef mince in a saucepan, using a little olive oil, ensuring that all lumps are broken up.

2. Add onion and cook until tender. 

3. Add garlic and chilli powder and cook for a further minute, stirring all ingredients together. You can add more chilli powder if you like your empanadas hot.

4. Add capsicum and tomatoes/tomato sauce and mix well.

5. Dissolve stock cube or vegetable stock in the water and then add to saucepan, along with salt and pepper to taste. Bring mixture to the boil and then reduce heat, letting it simmer gently for about 30 minutes with the lid on.

6. Remove lid and let mixture continue to simmer gently for a further 15 minutes. Then set aside to cool.

7. Once mixture is cooled, add your kidney beans and mix them in.

8. Cut each pastry sheet into 9 small squares.

9. Take one square at a time, add approximately a teaspoon of the mixture to the centre, glaze edges of pastry with beaten egg, then fold in half so that you have a triangular shape. I then use the back of a fork to press the edges together.

10. Place triangles on a lined baking tray and bake in a 180 degree Celsius fan forced oven for about 20 minutes or until puffed up and golden brown. Alternatively, you can deep fry the empanadas but I prefer oven baked for this recipe.

Crispy Chicken Tortillas

These easy Crispy Chicken Tortillas are great for a mid-week dinner or a school/work lunch. There aren't many lunch ideas that get the thumbs up from my boys, but this one is a winner. I'll make these for dinner and then use the leftovers for their lunch the following day.

I usually add tomato, and even avocado sometimes, but I didn't have any on hand the day I made these ones. You can vary the sauce as well (my boys prefer tomato sauce).

The tortillas are store bought because during the week you want quick and easy options!

The Thermomix recipe for the flour and spice coating on the chicken can be found here. If you feel the mix is too spicy, simply adjust quantities or add more flour. I added more flour, but even without the addition, the recipe makes enough for a few dinners. Therefore, once mixed, set some aside in an airtight container or zip-lock bag so that it can be used at a later time. I can't stress this enough! You don't want to waste any.

This flour and spice coating can also be used for popcorn chicken. I would only recommend the popcorn chicken version if making a small amount as it is quite fiddly. It is nice to shallow-fry for the popcorn chicken, replicating the famous fast food version, however I usually oven bake the larger pieces of chicken.

Crispy Chicken Tortillas

Serves 4-6

2 eggs, beaten
4 skinless, boneless chicken thighs*
Oil
Tortillas (I use Old El Paso brand)
Lettuce, shredded
Cucumber, diced
Tomato (optional)
Avocado (optional)
Tasty cheese, shredded
Sauce of choice eg mayonnaise

* I use chicken thighs because they are so tender, however you can use any cut of chicken you like. I've used tenderloins with success and the original recipe uses breast. With chicken thighs, I usually clean them of excess fat and then cut them into about 3 pieces each.

Coating**
2 tablespoons salt
1 1/2 tablespoons of black peppercorns
1 1/2 tablespoons dried onion flakes
1 tablespoon dried garlic
1 tablespoon dried rosemary
1/2 tablespoon dried basil
1/2 tablespoon paprika
1/2 tablespoon dried oregano
1/2 tablespoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried tarragon
350g plain flour

** All the spices can be found in the spice section of major supermarkets.

1. Grind all herbs and spices either by hand or using a spice grinder until you have a fine powder.

2. Add flour and mix well. You may like to complete this step using a food processor, thereby replicating the consistency gained by blitzing in a Thermomix. Once you've done this, taste your flour mix and add more flour if you wish to lessen the spiciness. It will be slightly less spicy once cooked so if you wish to be super accurate, you can fry off a small coated piece of chicken to test whether it is to your taste.

3. Pour some of the flour into a plate, remembering to reserve some for another time. It's better to put less in the plate and add to it if needed than to waste your coating. You can't reserve leftover coating in the actual plate as it will be contaminated by the egg and chicken.

4. In terms of the chicken, this is the important part - double coating! It's the double coating that gives the chicken crispiness and makes it a good replica of the take away version. So, dip your chicken pieces into your beaten egg, then coat with the coating mixture and then repeat.

5. Once all your chicken has been double coated, you can either shallow fry on a medium heat on your stove top or place in a 180 degree Celsius oven until cooked (the time will depend on the size and thickness of your chicken pieces - just keep an eye on it and remember to turn chicken over half way through).

6. All that's then left to do is assemble your tortillas with your choice of fillings and sauce.

Rustic Mini Apple Pies

I love apple desserts and this one came about a little by accident. The pastry is from the Thermomix Everyday Cookbook and the filling is my own. It seems really sweet when you look at the ingredients and even tastes a little sweet when you mix it all together, however, once baked, it is great! I actually started off making something else but ended up with these wonderful little apple pies. They can be eaten warm with ice-cream but I think they taste great cold as well.

I did mix the dough and cook the apples using my Thermomix, however these can still be made without one. Of course, if you want to cheat, you can just use store bought shortcrust pastry and apples from a tin!

Rustic Mini Apple Pies

Makes 12

Pastry

110g raw sugar (if making without Thermomix, just use caster sugar)

120g butter, softened*

1 teaspoon vanilla paste

2 egg yolks

300g plain flour

3 tablespoons iced water

* If you forget to take butter out beforehand, you can soften it using microwave or just slice thinly as you add to TM.

Filling

6 apples, peeled, cored & roughly chopped**

40g butter,melted

1 tablespoon custard powder

1/4 cup caster sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

** I used Granny Smith apples but you can try other varieties as well. I understand that Golden Delicious work great too.

Assembly

Cooking oil spray

1-2 tablespoons milk

1 tablespoon caster sugar

1 teaspoon of cinnamon

Pastry

1. Place raw sugar into Thermomix bowl and mill for 10 seconds at speed 9. A friend gave me a handy tip for eliminating the dust cloud that is normally evident when milling - just place a paper towel between the lid and measuring cup as shown in the picture below.

2. Add your butter, along with the vanilla and the egg yolks and mix for 3 minutes speed 4. Scrape down sides of bowl if necessary at the end.

3. Add the flour and water and mix for 2 seconds speed 7 and then knead your dough for 1 minute (closed lid and wheat symbol).

4. Finally, remove the dough from the bowl and wrap it in some cling wrap. Place in fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Filling

1. Fill Thermomix bowl with about 500g water. Place roughly chopped apple into Varoma tray and place Varoma into position. Steam apples for 10-15 minutes on Varoma  Speed 2, or until apples are tender. Then set aside to cool. I chopped them up a bit more and placed them in a bowl that was slightly submerged in cold water in order to help speed up the cooling process.

2. Once cooled, add melted butter, custard powder, caster sugar, brown sugar and cinnamon and mix together until well combined.

Assembly

1. Once you are ready to work with your dough, you need to do so quickly before it softens too much. Roll the dough out between two pieces of baking paper until it is approximately 3mm in thickness - you can separate it and roll it out in two or 3 lots if you wish. Don't worry too much about the thickness - basically you just want it rolled thinly but not too thinly that it can't be picked up or filled without breaking.

2. Once rolled out, cut out circles about 8.5cm in diameter. I just used a glass for this. 

3. Spray a cupcake/muffin tin with cooking oil spray, ensuring sides and bases are all coated. Then press each circular piece of dough into one of the cupcake holes. Take care not to tear the pastry around the lower edges. However, the top edges can be a bit rustic. Mine didn't come all the way up to the top.

4. Place spoonfuls of apple mixture into each mould until full.

5. Roll out leftover dough and cut small strips out, using these to decorate top. This recipe is rustic and quick so I just used two strips crossing each other. If you want to make your pies look prettier, you can weave some strips or even use a cookie cutter and make a nice shape to sit on top.

6. Finally, just brush strips with milk and sprinkle with combined caster sugar and cinnamon.

7. Bake in pre-heated oven for approximately 20 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius fan forced. Allow to cool for about 5-10 minutes then carefully remove and either serve with cream or ice-cream or place on a cooling rack to finish cooling. Enjoy - they're yummy!

Smashed Peas & Zucchini

This is a quick and easy side dish that I served with "bangers and mash" last week. As always, if you don't have a Thermomix, you can still make this dish - just steam the peas and zucchini and then proceed to "smash and dress".

Pea and Zucchini Smash

300g fresh or frozen baby peas

1 zucchini chopped into quarters

2-3 slices prosciutto

1/2 lemon

Salt & pepper

1. Place peas and zucchini in Thermomix bowl and cook for 10 minutes using the Varoma function, making sure that both the reverse function and the wooden spoon stirring function are selected.

2. Whilst the peas and zucchini are cooking, chop prosciutto up finely and dry roast in a frying pan for a few minutes so that it crisps up.

3. When Varoma has finished, mix for 5 seconds on speed 4. This will create the smashed effect you are after.

4. Finally, just spoon into a dish, season with salt and pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice to your taste. Then garnish with the prosciutto.

Served with barbequed pork sausages and mash potato

Slow Roasted Pork Belly with Braised Red Cabbage and Cauliflower Puree

I was set another challenge by a reader of this blog, to find a great pork belly recipe. They really didn't need to ask twice. I adore pork and I have ordered pork belly from menus cross Sydney and interstate. The best pork belly I have ever eaten was at a French restaurant in Melbourne. Thus, I had that dish firmly in mind when I started my research. Thanks to the Good Food site and some experimentation, I can assure you this recipe is delicious!!

If you are not sure about the fennel seed taste, just use less or replace with another herb, perhaps rosemary.

I chose to serve it with braised red cabbage as recommended by the Good Food site, but also added a cauliflower puree as that was part of my Melbourne memory. The result was fantastic, with all flavours blending really well together. I urge you to give it a try with these side dishes, however it can also be served with other roasted vegetables, other mashes or even a fresh salad. The star of the dish is definitely the pork though!

Note that this recipe is for a 1 1/2 to 2kg piece of pork belly, so you may need to adjust cooking times if your piece of meat is a different size. I used a piece that was about 1.2kg and cut about 10 minutes off each of the crackling cooking times (beginning and end) and about half an hour off the middle cooking time. If you are unsure, just keep an eye on your roast and test it. I have a meat thermometer which is like my best friend when roasting meat. It takes the guess work out and I would highly recommend buying one. Don't think mine was very expensive, and it has all the information you need on it so you don't have to remember different temperatures. I'll post a picture of it at the bottom of this post.

Thermomix owners: You can make your paste for the pork in your TM after roasting the fennel seeds and peppercorns. You can also make your cauliflower puree in the TM - just follow the mash potato recipe, substituting cauliflower in place of the potatoes.

Slow Roasted Pork Belly with Braised Red Cabbage and Cauliflower Puree

Serves 4-6

Pork Belly
1 tablespoon fennel seeds
1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
1/2 small bunch thyme (leaves only)*
2 garlic cloves
Sea salt
olive oil
1 1/2-2kg pork belly
Water
2 lemons

* I couldn't find fresh thyme the day I made this, so I used some of the paste from the Gourmet Fresh brand.

Braised Red Cabbage
2 small-medium sized onions
Olive oil
2 apples, peeled and diced
Small red cabbage, shredded
Water
50g brown sugar
50ml red wine vinegar

Cauliflower Puree
Small cauliflower
1-2 cups milk
50g butter
Salt & pepper to taste

Pork Belly

1. Roast fennel seeds and peppercorns in a dry frying pan for a couple of minutes.

2. Place the fennel and peppercorns in a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder along with sea salt, thyme and garlic and grind until you have a paste. Then mix in about a tablespoon of oil and rub it all over the pork belly. Make sure the pork belly has been scored (that is, has small slits cut into the skin - most places sell it already scored). Place the pork belly in a dish or on a plate, cover it with cling wrap and refrigerate it for at least 3 hours.

3. Once ready to cook, rub the skin of the pork with plenty of salt and and a little oil. This will help the crackling to form. Place it in an oven proof dish on a wire rack so it's raised and not sitting in the actual pan. I also like to add about 2-3 cups of water to the pan which helps the meat to cook tenderly. However, this isn't necessary. Your pork will still be great without the steam from the water.

4. Roast the pork belly in a preheated oven at 180 degrees Celsius fan forced for 30 minutes - don't forget to adjust the time if your pork belly is smaller than that used in this recipe.

5. Then squeeze lemon juice over the skin of your pork and turn the oven down to 160 degrees Celsius fan forced so that it can cook slowly and beautifully. Cook it at this temperature for 2 hours, unless you have a different size piece of meat.

6. Finally, crank the heat up to 200 degrees Celsius fan forced for a final 30 minutes to finish off the crackling, which should come out nice and crunchy.

7. Allow your pork belly to rest for about 10-15 minutes before carving it. I usually just leave it in the pan and cover lightly with some foil.

Braised Red Cabbage

1. Slice onions into quarters and separate layers. Saute them in a couple of tablespoons of oil until they are soft.

2. Add the apples and cabbage, along with about 1 cup of water and turn the heat down. Place lid on saucepan and let it stew for about 1 hour or until tender. Just keep an eye on it, stirring occasionally and adding more water if you feel it's necessary.

3. Remove lid and stir in the brown sugar and vinegar and cook for a further 10 minutes until the liquid has pretty much evaporated. Season with salt and pepper if you wish.

Cauliflower Puree

1. Clean and finely cut up cauliflower, place into a saucepan and cover the florets with milk. They don't have to be totally submerged. Alternatively, boil them in water and then drain and add the milk afterwards.

2. Bring to the boil and cook until tender. If boiling in water, drain and then add milk, butter, salt and pepper and mash. If boiling in milk, there is no need to drain - just add the butter, salt and pepper and proceed to mash. For a really fine blend you will need to use a sieve, however this is not necessary.

Meat Thermometer

Hope you love this recipe as much as I do!