White Chocolate Lemon Truffle

Creamy white chocolate truffles with a zesty lemon flavour. This delicious no-bake treat can be coated in icing sugar or dipped into melted white chocolate. 

If you love lemon-or know someone who does, you MUST make these White Chocolate Lemon Truffles asap!!!. It sound intimidating and all but I assure you that they are easy to make! With the holiday season upon us, they are perfect for gift giving and really quick and easy to make. 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup white chocolate chips
• 60g butter
• zest of 1 lemon
• 3 tbsp double cream
• ½ tsp lemon extract
• 2-3 drop of yellow colouring, optional
• ¼ cup icing sugar

Method:

Place the white chocolate chips in a medium mixing bowl and set them aside.

In a small saucepan, melt the butter with the lemon zest. Stir in the double cream and scald (bring it to just before boiling) the mixture. Pour the cream mixture through a fine-mesh sieve over the white chocolate chips. Add the lemon extract and optional food colouring, then stir until the mixture is smooth.

Cover and refrigerate the chocolate chip mixture until the mixture is firm enough to handle, about 30 minutes.

Scoop heaping teaspoonfuls of the chocolate chip mixture and form into balls. Roll the balls in the icing sugar.

Refrigerate the truffles for at least 30 minutes before enjoying them.

Lemon, Gin & Ginger Marmalade

Want a breakfast with a twist? Then make yourself a batch of this lemon, gin & ginger marmalade, perfect for spreading on bread but also ideal for making desserts or pairing with cheese. This is also a great way to use up the fruit of a laden tree.

The scent is really incredible. One taste and you will be hooked!!

Ingredients:

• 1kg lemons
• 2 litre of water
• 1½ kg sugar
• 2 tbsp finely grated ginger
• 1/3 cup gin

Method:

Wash the lemons and remove any stalks and blemishes.

Halve the lemons and remove the pips. Roughly chop. Place the lemons in batches in a food processor adding ¾ of a cup of water each time. Process until evenly chopped. Repeat until all the fruit is chopped.

Pour all the water and fruit into a large saucepan. Bring to a boiling point and simmer for 1 hour. Scoop out any elusive pips when they rise to the top.

Remove from the heat and stir in the sugar, until well dissolved. Add the gin and ginger. Boil rapidly for 10 minutes or until the marmalade reaches setting point of 104ºC. Ensure it does not stick on the base by stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon.

Scoop off any foam from the top and place in a bowl to use on your toast the next day.

Remove the marmalade from the heat and pour into hot sterilised jars then seal. 

South Indian Sambar

Sambar is a South Indian stew made with lentils and vegetables. It is comforting, super flavourful and a staple in many home across India. It is best when paired with dosas, idlis, appams or tice, which are all the perfect vehicle to mop up this amazing stew.

The most common lentils used to make a sambar are split yellow peas (toor dal) and red lentils, but sometimes chana dal (chickpea) are also used.

Use any vegetables of your choice or what you have in your fridge but some traditional additions are, eggplants, carrots, beans, tomato, raddish, potatoes or even okra (lady fingers).

Ingredients:

• ½ cup toor dal (yellow split peas)
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp coriander
• ½ tsp cumin seeds
• ½ tsp asafoetida
• ½ tsp turmeric
• ¼ tsp red chili powder or paprika
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• ¼ tsp ground fenugreek
• 1 cup chopped carrot
• 1 cup chopped potatoes
• 1 cup green beans
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 cup chopped zucchini (or squash or pumpkin)
• ½ cup chopped tomato
• 3 cups water
• ¾ tsp salt, or to taste
• 1 tbsp tamarind paste, soaked in 1 cup warm water

For tempering:

• 1 tbsp oil
• ½ tsp mustard
• 10-15 curry leaves

Method:

Rinse toor dal well, then soak in warm water for 10 minutes. Drain then boil them in 2 cups water over medium heat for 30 minutes or until they are fully cooked. Use a spoon or spatula to mash the cooked peas and set aside.

In a large pot over medium-high heat, add the oil, then fry the coriander, cumin seeds, asafoetida, turmeric, chili powder, black pepper and fenugreek for 5-10 seconds before adding all of the chopped vegetables and 3 cups of water. Add the salt. Bring it to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to medium. Cook for 10 minutes.

In the meanwhile, soak the tamarind in 1 cup of warm water. After 5 minutes mash the tamarind water with a spoon or your fingers. Strain the tamarind juice into the pot slowly. Add the cooked, mashed toor dal to the vegetables and cook for another 5 minutes.

Make the "tempering" by heating the oil in a small saucepan then adding the mustard seeds. They will sizzle and may pop, so keep a lid handy. After a few seconds add the curry leaves. Immediately remove from heat and dump this seasoned oil, seeds and curry leaves into the sambar. Stir them in and taste the dish for seasoning, adjust and serve with rice. 

Sourdough Brownie

If you have a sourdough starter, then you are bound to end up with discard and don't want to throw it away. That's one of the reasons why we love to share sourdough discard recipes. This recipe for sourdough brownies will add a delicious tang, making this ultimate chocolate treat even more satisfying. In less than 1 hour, you will have delicious brownies!

This recipe for sourdough brownies is sure to make any chocolate lover very, very, very happy!!!

Ingredients:

• 113g butter
• 340g semi sweet chocolate chips
• 40g cocoa powder
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 1 egg yolk
• 200g granulated sugar
• 110g dark brown sugar
• 125g sourdough starter discard
• 120g plain flour

Method:

Preheat oven to 175ºC and line a 9"x9" baking pan with baking paper.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Add the chocolate chips, vanilla extract and the cocoa powder. Stir the ingredients until the chocolate chips have melted and the mixture is smooth. Remove the saucepan from the burner and set it aside to cool down.

In a large mixing bowel, beat the eggs, brown sugar and granulated sugar with an electric mixer for 7-10 minutes. Add the sourdough discard and chocolate mixture to the bowl beat on low until combined. Add the flour and stir with a spatula until just combined.

Pour the batter into the baking dish and smooth the top. Bake for 35-40 minutes.

Allow the brownies to cool completely in the pan after they come out of the oven. Remove the brownies from the pan by lifting them with the baking paper and cut into squares.

Wild Garlic & Cheddar Cheese Scones

For just a few months every year the instantly recognisable scent of wild garlic fills the air of forests, gardens and woodlands around UK. Wonderfully versatile and particularly pungent, these distinct flowering plants can cover woodland floors like a blanket for a few months each year. 

From pesto to pasta dough, served raw or cooked into dishes, wild garlic is an incredibly versatile ingredients and a great way of instantly adding flavour to your food. I love to use wild garlic in my savoury scones. It has a wonderful, subtle flavour. 

Ingredients:

• 500g self raising flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 125g cheddar cheese, grated
• 50g wild garlic leaves, finely chopped
• 1 tsp English mustard powder
• 250ml milk, plus extra for brushing
• 2 large eggs
• wild garlic flowers, to garnish, optional

Method:

Preheat oven to 220ºC/200ºC for fan assist oven, dust a large baking sheet with flour.

Combine the flour and baking powder in a large mixing bowl and using your fingertips, rub in the butter until the  mixture resembles rough breadcrumbs.

Add 100g of the cheese, wild garlic leaves and English mustard to the bowl and mix it through the crumbs.

In a measuring jug, whisk together the milk and egg until combined. Pour this into the crumb mixture (leaving about 1 tbsp of the mixing the jug) and mix through with a  butter knife until a rough dough forms. Use your hands to push the dough together, making sure to include any mixture that's stuck on the sides of the bowl.

Dust a clean work surface with a little flour, turn the dough out of the bowl and press into a round shape. With a rolling pin, roll the dough out to a thickness of 1 inch.

Using a 3 inches circular pastry cutter, cut out the scones and place on the baking sheet. Press the trimming together, roll out and repeat the process until you have used all the dough. Place the scones on the prepared baking sheet.

Brush each scones with the reserved egg and milk mix, sprinkle with 25g of cheese and press wild garlic flowers in the centre to garnish.

Place in the oven on the middle shelf and bake for 12-14 minutes until they have risen and turned a lovey golden brown colour on top. Transfer to a wire rack to cook slightly before serving warm with butter.