I can’t tell you how many times I read a fellow bloggers review on a Sydney (or elsewhere for that matter) restaurant and “mental noted it” on my to-go-to list. You know the one. The list that piles up in your head of must-visit restaurants. Mine was so big I had to buy a notepad to remember them. Just saying.

Now that I have my notepad, I can physically jot them down and then tick off once visited. Look at me being all organised

One of the restaurants extremely high on my list is Flying Fish. One look at Peter Kuruvita’s menu tells you that he is a man who has perfectly honed his craft. What interests me is the almost fusion style of his dishes. I can’t wait to go….hint, hint Stud

As soon as I had heard that he was doing a TV program My Sri Lanka with Peter Kuruvita, I immediately IQ’d it to make sure I didn’t miss an ep.

Well now, Peter has a new show.

In his new series, Island Feast with Peter Kuruvita, Peter explores the nooks and crannies of the world’s most fascinating island communities from the Philippines, down through Indonesia, across to Vanuatu and ending in the stunning Cook Islands.

In episode one, Peter cooks a gorgeous Spanner Crab Kinilaw, takes a look at local Filipino empanadas, and puts his own spin on it making Crispy Pork Belly and Longganisa Pangrattata, and makes a beautiful Filipino Salad with Tinawon Rice. Now if that doesn’t get your mouth watering, I don’t know what will!

Island Feast with Peter Kuruvita actually started last Thursday 17 May on SBS One, but don’t stress if you missed Episode 1, you can watch it here. Episode 2 airs tonight on SBS One at 8:00pm.

This post is sponsored by SBS.

I normally drink a bit of tea, I’d say around three cups a day on average, but as you may or may not know, I recently went through hip surgery. An arthroscopy and bumpectomy (yup, that’s its real name) to be exact, and spent the last two weeks couped up at home, shuffling around firstly on crutches, and then rocking a pimp cane (refusing to call it a walking stick. At least a cane makes me a bit gangsta), making myself umpteen cups of tea.

So it’s pretty appropriate that it’s this month’s Sweet Adventures Blog Hop theme. Ooh AND it’s also Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea on May 24^th (More on why that’s fab later). So head on over to our lovely host JJ’s blog, 84^th & 3^rd for more delicious recipes and more blog hop info.

I thought long and hard about this month’s recipe…..and then it all became clear when I visited my local Asian Supermarket. I love it when that happens. When the ingredients speak to you, calling from the shelves. Ok, maybe the medication got to me a little lol. Whatever, I had a recipe and I don’t care how I got it.

Said ingredient was black tapioca pearls.

Now I don’t know if any of you (probably all of you, at least once) have had bubble tea, but it’s marketed as a drink, you can chew. Tres fun!! So as a play on my regular EasyWay order, a Coconut milk Tea with Pearls, I created a Coconut bubble tea ice cream.

Armed with whatever I had in the cupboard, I created ice-cream. It’s funny what you can do in a pinch and still end up with a stellar result

So back to Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea (which I shall fondly refer to as ABMT for sanity purposes while typing). Throughout May and June, you can offer to host a Morning Tea with workmates, friends, your pets, to raise money for the unbelievably awesome work that the Cancer Council does to help vital research, prevention programs and support services.

Everyone knows someone who has been affected by Cancer, but it wasn’t until I looked at the ABMT website and saw that 1 in 2 Australians will be diagnosed with Cancer, that it really hits you. That’s massive! Every little bit helps, so check out what you can do, and get involved.

Thanks to the fab peeps at The Cancer Council and ABMT, we have a prize pack to give away, purely for you fab bloggers who link up to this month’s blog hop. The pack includes Australia’s Biggest Morning Tea apron, tea towel, mug and oven mitt, plus Gwyneth Paltrow’s cookbook, Notes from my Kitchen Table. Gwyneth, along with a number of Australian celebrities and chefs, is an ambassador for the event.

To enter, head over to 84^th & 3^rd, link up your SABH Tea post, and sit back and wait. It’s pretty easy we like easy. The winner will be chosen randomly on 29 May, 2012. Good luck hoppers!!

Coconut Bubble Tea Ice-Cream (Makes 2 litres)
Adapted from Stop…have a chat

Ingredients

1 can light and creamy evaporated milk
1 can creamy evaporated milk
1 can coconut evaporated milk
10 black tea bags
5 equal sachets
1 small bag tapioca pearls

Method

In a small saucepan, heat light and creamy evaporated milk until hot but not boiling. Add teabags and equal, tasting to your liking (It will need to be pretty sweet and pretty strong tea as it will get watered down with the rest of the milks later). Pour into a jug and cool in the fridge.

Combine all three milks and whisk on high in a stand mixer until doubled in size. Place in the fridge to chill.

If using an ice cream maker: Pour in to prepared ice cream maker and churn until ice-creamy (I did this in two batches). Place in the freezer overnight.

If making by hand: Pour in to container and freeze for around 2 hours or until just starting to set. Remove and place back in to stand mixer, mixing for around 5 minutes on low. Repeat this process three times, and then place in the freezer overnight.

Prepare tapioca as per packet instructions and cool tapioca before placing the bottom of a glass. Add tea ice-cream on top and serve

The fab people at Gourmet Garden sent me a little esky of tube herbs and said to create a simple, every day recipe. OK, I will!

Thai Veg and Noodle Stir-fry with Steamed Chicken

Ingredients

1 Large chicken breast (250g)
2 tsp Gourmet Garden THAI Seasoning
1 tsp Gourmet Garden Chunky Garlic paste

250g fresh thick rice noodles
1 red capsicum, sliced
1 green capsicum, sliced
1 king brown mushroom, sliced
3 shiitake mushrooms, sliced
Small bunch Japanese mushrooms, stems removed
1/2 cup light soy sauce
1 tsp Gourmet Garden Hot Chilli paste
1 tsp Gourmet Garden Chunky Garlic paste
1 tbs brown sugar

Method

Place chicken in a bowl with Gourmet Garden Thai seasoning and Garlic paste. Cover and place in the fridge for an hour or so to marinate.

In a medium bowl combine soy, Garlic paste, Chilli paste and sugar. Mix until sugar dissolves and then add noodles. Cover and marinate for about an hour.

Place chicken in a steamer and steam until cooked through.

Stir fry mushrooms until golden, add noodles and stir fry until warmed through. Add capsicum and cook until slightly tender – you still want it a little crisp.

Serve See!! Easy AS!!!

I pondered over this for a good couple of days. By this time, the custard apples had ripened to a slightly softer consistency. Kind of like a ripe avocado when pressed. Ok, I’m going to have to cut one of these babies open and see what I’m working with here.

Can I just say…..O.M.G! They’re delicious! Don’t let their ugly duckling exterior fool you. Their flesh is gorgeously fresh, yet with a beautiful custard flavour. It’s really hard to describe how they taste actually. In my head, that explanation cuts it, but you really need to try them out for yourself.

As I was scooping out the flesh with a spoon, and discarding the mega seeds (I love these seeds. They’re like seeds for people who are vision impaired – like me – because they’re huge and you really can’t miss them), I thought to myself that it kind of resembled banana flesh. Could I drain the juice and perhaps mix it with banana’s to make banana bread? I can try!

I started adding grains to my banana bread a little while back. I wanted to replicate Brasserie Bread’s Soy and Quinoa loaf but with a twist, so now with the addition of custard apples the traditional banana bread has not just been twisted, it’s pretty much been put through the ringer.

The custard apple works perfectly in this recipe, adding a great freshness to the bread but not adding any extra moisture to the bread. You jjust need to make sure that you strain any extra liquid out of the apples. Its perfect for a refreshing drink while you wait for the bread to cook

Oh also, I doubled this recipe to get a nice big café style bread so if it too much for oyu, just halve everything.

Soy and Quinoa Banana and Custard Apple Bread

Ingredients

2 large ripe bananas
1 large, ripe custard apples, peeled and deseeded
4 large eggs
2 2/3 cups plain flour
1 1/3 cups caster sugar
1 tsp bi carb soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2  tsp salt
1/2 cup dried soy beans
1/4 cup quinoa grains
1/4 cup linseed grains

Method

Soak soy, quinoa and linseed grains in water overnight. Drain.

Preheat oven to 170° and grease a loaf pan.

Mash the bananas and custard apple, add sugar and lightly beaten eggs. Fold through sifted dry ingredients and grains and bake for around 55 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

Cool on a wire rack and serve, slathered in butter

Thanks to the fab people at Custard Apples Australia and Impact PR for introducing me to these fab little babies.

Thankfully, a gorgeous little box of Chestnuts arrived at my door thanks to Chestnuts Australia. Well I was thankful, but honestly I was a little scared. Last time I had tried to cook chestnuts I ended up with scarred thumbs and pretty awful tasting nuggets. This time, cooking instructions followed the box and after chatting with a chestnut expert over at Impact, I was a lot more confident and ready to go.

I still ended up with pretty sore thumbs and some broken nails (sob ) but I had conquered the conkers (conkers is what Stud calls them – must be a Scottish thing) and was in search of a recipe.

Enter Mr Jamie Oliver…..he had a fab recipe for a risotto which I tweaked to make it a less stand-by-the-pan-and-destroy-my-arm and more set-and-forget. Gotta love that!

Now I know that our Christmas is in summer – prawns, air-con and Boxing Day on the beach. But one can’t help but get a little swayed by the northern hemispheres Christmas with its beautiful roasts and piping hot gravy, snowflake covered daggy jumpers and a nice hot toddy while opening presents. Its just so festive!

So as a tribute to my love for Christmas, and it starting to get might damn cold outside, I give you….Christmas in a bowl!

Chestnut, Pumpkin and Prosciutto Risotto
Adapted from Jamie’s Kitchen

Ingredients

½ butternut pumpkin
Salt and pepper for seasoning
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp chilli flakes
Olive oil
100g sliced prosciutto, sliced
100g roasted chestnuts, peeled and chopped roughly
1 tsp ground sage
250g Arborio rice
2 brown onions, grated
1 tsp ground garlic
750ml chicken stock

Method

Preheat oven to 200°c and line a baking tray with non-stick paper.

Peel and dice pumpkin, season with salt and pepper and coat lightly in olive oil. Place on prepared tray and in the oven for 15 minutes.

Combine chestnuts, prosciutto, coriander, chilli flakes and sage in a small bowl. Add around 1tb olive oil or enough to coat all lightly and mix thoroughly.

Remove pumpkin, add chestnut mixture and toss lightly. Place back in the oven for 10 minutes or until pumpkin is tender.

Turn the oven down to 180°c.

Place cast iron dish over a medium/high heat, add olive oil and fry onion until translucent. Add garlic and fry for around 1 minute, then add the rice, stirring to coat all the grains in the oil.

Add chicken stock and bring to the boil.

Add pumpkin mixture, stir lightly so as not to break up the pumpkin, and place in the oven for 20 minutes or until rice is cooked.

Serve and reminisce

I’m not quite sure at what point in my life it happened. I have always been really close with my parents (even through the odd tantrum for not letting me do something I probably shouldn’t be doing in the first place), but now, they are my best friends.

I speak to my mum every day, yet we never run out of things to say. Stud thinks we “could talk for Britain” and is still amazed that even though I’m dropping something off at mums place, and I have spoken to her that morning, and will probably see her that night, we still have things to chat about.

So today, on the one day a year that Mothers get to be pampered, and even though they deserve much more for the strife that they go through, I dedicate this post to her. I love my mum more than she will ever know.

Happy Mother’s Day mum!!

Berry & Cream Cheese Pound Cake with Lemon Glaze
Adapted from Elizabeth’s Edible Experience

Ingredients

350g butter, softened and cut in to cubes
250g package cream cheese, softened
3 cups caster sugar
6 eggs
3 cups plain flour
Pinch salt
1 tbs vanilla extract
450g Four Berry frozen fruit
2 cups icing sugar
¼ cup lemon juice
Zest of 1 lemon
1 tbs softened butter

Method

Preheat oven to 150°.

Beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed with electric mixer until pale and light, then gradually add caster sugar, beating well.

Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until well combined.

Sift flour and salt and slowly add to the mixture, beating on low until well combined. Add vanilla and mix until incorporated.

Ensure frozen fruit hasn’t clumped. If it has, bang it a couple of times on the counter to loosen (Like you do with frozen peas). Fold fruit through cake batter gently. You should get slight colour ripples through the batter.

Pour batter in to a 10inch bundt tin, smoothing the top to ensure its all flat.

Bake for 1 hour and 40 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. Make sure to test at the thickest point of the bundt, as they are uneven.

Remove from oven and cool in the tin for around 20 minutes. Then remove from tin and let cool completely on a wire rack.

In a large bowl, combine icing sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice and butter and place in microwave, bursting on high (in 15 second bursts) until you can whisk it to smooth.

Let sit to cool slightly and poor over cake. Its best to do a layer, let it set, and then repeat. You get a good thick drizzle this way.

Enjoy

Why am I ranting about tea? Well, the May Sweet Adventures blog hop theme has been announced. Yup, it’s tea! Duh!

Our lovely host for May is JJ from 84th &3rd so head on over to her blog for more details.

What fun and civilised theme. I’m so excited! I feel like Alice with my very own Cheshire Cat

It was a reasonably chilled weekend for me actually. I had my recipes planned and damn it, I was going to take my time doing them. I fear that I would be an awful contender on shows such as MKR or Masterchef as I’m a pretty chilled cook. The idea of a clock really quite frightens me. I’d be that idiot that cries every week, so it’s best I save Australia of the headache lol.

So in between episodes of Ice Loves Coco, Khloe and Lamar, and Pretty Little Liars (I know, I don’t even really like it, but they have me hooked with their storyline and I’m too far in now), I cooked a Middle Eastern two course meal with the ingredients that the fabulous people at Essential Cuisine sent me. Armed with my “mystery box” ingredients, my imagination and a whole weekend to myself, I was pretty proud of the results.

Essential Cuisine offers a range of stocks and jus in fab little pouches ready to go. Great for someone like me – although I love the taste of a delicious homemade stock, I just don’t have the time to make it. I’d also really recommend the jus. I have never made my own jus (I know, bad food blogger), but adore it in restaurants, and Stud, “the sauce king” was a happy man to have a dipping pouring sauce.

So from a weekends cooking and a house to myself, Stud came home hungover and hungry. Well my dear husband, I just so happen to have cooked this amazing picnic for the two of us. Needless to say, I was a pretty awesome wifey today

Essential Cuisine is hitting the stores this month and can be found in the chilled or meat section of selected Harris Farms, Thomas Dux and other specialty gourmet grocers. Go check it out!

Middle Eastern Scotch Eggs with a Cumin and Lamb Jus!
Method inspired by Heston Blumenthal

Ingredients

300g lamb mince
1 brown onion, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves
1 cup parsley leaves, roughly chopped
½ cup coriander leaves, roughly chopped
1 wedge preserved lemon, washed and roughly chopped
1 tsp ras el hanout
2 tbs cornflour
salt and pepper to taste
10 large eggs
100 g panko crumbs
Plain flour
1 tsp paprika
1 tbs milk
Vegetable oil, for deep frying
1 pouch Essential Cuisine lamb jus
½ tsp ground cumin

Method

Preheat oven to 190°.

Put 8 eggs in a saucepan (making sure they fit as one layer) and add enough cold water to cover by an inch. Cover with a lid and place on high until the water comes to a boil.

Once boiled, remove the pan from the heat immediately and allow to stand for 2 minutes.

Fill a bowl with ice and water and add eggs. Leave to cool for 10-15 minutes.

Add onion, garlic, parsley, coriander and lemon to a food processor and pulse until finely chopped but not pureed. Add lamb, cornflour, ras el hanout and season with salt and pepper. Mix on low until well combined

Divide in to eight balls and flatten each ball between two sheets of cling wrap. Place in the fridge

Peel shells from eggs, remove meat from the fridge and wrap each meat portion, around an egg. Place on a baking tray and put back in the fridge for 20 minutes.

Place flour in a medium sized bowl, adding paprika and seasoning with salt and pepper. In another bowl beat 2 eggs, adding milk. Place the panko crumbs in another bowl.

Heat oil in a heavy bottom saucepan, until the handle of a wooden spoon bubbles when inserted.

Remove balls form the fridge and one by one, coat in flour (dusting off excess), dip in egg mixture, and then coat in crumbs.

Place balls 2 at a time (depending on the size of your saucepan), turning to ensure an even golden brown colour. Remove once golden (around 4-5 minutes) and place on a plate lined with paper towels.

In a small saucepan, combine lamb jus and cumin powder and stir until warmed and slightly thickened. You can add some flour if this isn’t a thick as you’d like.

Serve warm, drizzled with the lamb and cumin jus.

Lamb and Fig pies with Roast Capsicum Hommos

Ingredients

1 ½ kg lamb shoulder roast
2 brown onions, diced
375g dried figs, roughly chopped
1 cup dry white wine
1 pouch Essential Cuisine lamb stock
1tbs ras el hanout
1 tsp saffron powder
1 tbs turmeric
3 tbs Canola oil
Shortcrust pastry
Puff pastry
Aluminium pie tins

Method

Heat oil in a heavy based pan on high until hot. Add the lamb, turning until all sides are caramelised. Remove from the pan and set aside.

Add onion and fry until cooked. Add figs, ras el hanout, saffron, and turmeric and cook off for around 3 minutes, stirring to ensure figs and onions are coated in the spices.

Add white wine and deglaze the pan.

Return the lamb and any juices to the pan and add the lamb stock. Add water to ensure the lamb is almost covered (I had mine about an inch or two above the water and it still worked fine), cover and bring to the boil.

Once boiled, reduce to simmer and let cook for around 2-3 hours, or until the meat is pull-apart tender.

Remove meat from saucepan and set aside. Turn heat to high and reduce sauce until gravy thick.

When the meat is cool enough to handle, pull apart and remove any bones or excess fat. Add reduced sauce and stir through thoroughly.

Preheat oven to 210°.

Roll out shortcrust pastry and line pie tins. Cut out a lid from the puff pastry.

Add meat mixture to each of the pie tins and top off with a puff pastry lid, brushing with a lightly beaten egg.

Place tine on a baking tray and in the oven for around 30 minutes or until the pastry has risen and is golden.

Serve hot with some Roast Capsicum Hommos.

Roast Capsicum Hommos

Ingredients

375g can chickpeas
250g roast capsicum (I used jarred as I had some lying around)
2 tbs tahini
2 tbs lemon juice
3 tbs oil
2 garlic cloves

Method

Add all ingredients to a food processor and blend until smooth. You can add less or more oil if you like thicker/thinner. I used the oil from the jarred capsicums for extra flavour.

Serve with…..everything!

Thanks to the wonderful people at Essential Cuisine for allowing me to try their new range.

Our reservation was at 7:30pm and a word to the wise who are travelling from a far (especially on a Friday night), go earlier to ensure you get parking. Even if you stop in somewhere for a drink beforehand, as it took us a little while to find a park and we very much relied on Stud’s previous “over the bridge” knowledge. To his credit, it was pretty close.

The restaurant was pretty packed already, always a good sign! We ordered a drink each (Stud ordered a beer and I grabbed an apple juice) to sip on while we pine over the menu.

Harry Hoang is the now owner of Bay Tinh, both the 27 year old Marrickville restaurant, and the spanking new Crows Nest venue, opened just last November. Harry is a very warm and welcoming host, getting his regulars and sitting down for a chat every now and then. It becomes quite apparent that he has got this far on word of mouth, and that these people come back for not only the good food, but the friendly service.

From what I understand (having never been to the Marrickville store), Marrickville is the quite traditional older brother to the young and hip Wine Bar-esque Crows Nest. Harry has incorporated a “Vapas” (Vietnamese tapas) menu to cover for the wine bar feel, and also a back room with couches, pillows and small bar tables. This is where we are seated for the night and although the lighting is dim and romantic (great for date night, bad for blog post photos), the couches are miiiighty comfy.

Ladies and gentlemen, now for the food…

Up first we had the Duck Salad – Goi Vit ($10) Harry’s signature duck salad. Twice cooked with aromatic spices; dressed with lime juice, kaffir lime and special Vietnamese ingredients, served with lightly pickle salad in lettuce leaves, accompanied by prawn crackers. These were actually served in a taco like feel, with the prawn cracker being the corn chip. A complete explosion of flavours Stud and I both agreed. If this was a sign of things to come, we were going to need our stretchy pants.

To accompany the salad, we were also brought Spring Rolls – Cha Gio ($7.9) Acclaimed, unique Bay Tinh creation, containing quality meat freshly minced, a special mix of black fungus and ingredients, encased in light, crispy pastry After first bite, I knew the flavour. I liked it, and I knew it. Don’t you hate that – when you can’t think of the actual flavour? I took smaller bites to savour it and also to ensure that by the time I was up to my last bite, I had cracked it. Dim Sims! The spring roll tasted exactly like a Dim Sim. Really delicious and packed with meat, it was different to any other spring roll I had ever eaten.

Up next were the Little Rice Cakes – Banh Khot ($10.50) This traditional Southern dish is rarely served in Australia. It required a skilful technique to create the velvety texture and creamy taste. A delicate savoury. I was excited to try these as I had heard from a few people that their fab. Expecting a rice cake, I was a little surprised to see the mini quiche arrive in front of me. Stud wasn’t a fan of this one. I thought it was actually a really beautiful flavour, just slightly soft. When I think of a rice cake, I picture a crunch. Be that Pan fried, deep fried, etc, just some kind of texture. I didn’t get that with these. I’ll say again though, that they tasted nice. They just needed texture.

The Crispy Quail – Cut Quay ($10) Marinated in herbs and spices, twice cooked to golden brown, served on shredded salad with classic salt, pepper and lemon juice was presented beautifully although both of us found that the meat was quite dry and definitely needed the dipping sauce.

One of the things that took my eye on the menu was the Stuffed Mussels – So Vung Tau (12) Large mussels stuffed with prawns in oyster sauce, or sweet & sour sauce with chili. So when they were brought to the table, I was a little excited. In saying that, I’m not sure about these ones. I thought that the flavour was nice but as Stud said, you don’t necessarily need to stuff a mussel with a prawn. The prawn kind of gets lost in the overall dish.

The one that caught Stud’s eye was the Tender Beef Cubes – Bo Luc Lac ($12.90) Selected yearling grain fed-beef, marinated with the Chef’s special recipe and flash seared in high flame to seal in the flavour and juices; served with classic pepper, salt and lemon juice, but funnily enough, it was me who was impressed by it. Beautifully cooked meat, so tender and juicy that I didn’t even think it needed the sauce. Stud thought it was pretty average and you definitely needed the sauce. He’s a sauce kind of guy though – he’s definitely the Manu of the relationship in that respect (p.s. if you don’t watch MKR, you won’t get that. I’m not explaining. Sorry).

Our last main dish was the Bonfire (ranging from $23 – $26 depending on your meat selection) Premium meat or seafood cooked at your table in a pot with caramelized onion, infused with the flavours of coriander and peanut, served with rice paper, lettuce, herbs, pickles and Harry’s special anchovy sauce. A little bit of theatre at the table is always fun so when our waiter brought over a mysterious little pot and then set it alight, we were in awe. He then walked away as quickly as he came, stating purely “I’ll be back in 10 minutes”. Wha? We have to smell this delicious pot for 10 minutes? Nawww, ok fine.

By then, there were quite a few extra patrons in the wine bar and Harry was floating around like a social butterfly, chatting to each like long lost pals. He really is a very charming man and a good host to boot.

Our waiter returns with our sides, and the rice paper, opens the lid of the pot and the aromas waft towards us.

Our first roll is done for us, to show us the correct placement of each of the elements and the taste is really great.

A mixture of beef, chicken, prawn and fish, it’s like a lucky dip of protein and we’re a winner ever time. I do want to note though, that Stud wasnt overly keen on this. He didnt dislike it, he just wasnt thrilled.

The one thing I did find difficult was the sauce form the hotpot. Its reeeeeally hot and kind of drips out once you bit in to it. I’m married so I wasn’t too fussed lol, but if you were on a first date, you’d need to be careful.

Dessert? Hmmmm we are both SO full. Um, yeah ok go on then. Maybe we can share one – and by share I mean, Stud can have a mouthful  

We initially wanted the Chocolate and Wasabi cake but alas, they were all out so we went for the Rum Parfait ($7.80) Homemade soft ice cream with strong coffee & Rum flavour. Garnished with caramel walnuts. First bite revealed a ridiculously strong coffee flavour. Second bit got a little milder. By the third, we were cooked and fighting for ample spoon space to get stuck in and devour the dessert. Ok, it’s not Vietnamese, but its DAMN GOOD! Well worth ordering. Trust me, you can fit it in.

Harry is a very gracious host, although sometimes a little too chatty, but if you are in the area, it’s worth trying. It’s a nice break from the norm in the area as Crows Nest is somewhat lacking in the Vietnamese department. I’m keen to try out the Marrickville restaurant for a more traditional menu. Def get the dessert

Dining with a Stud attended as guests of Bay Tinh and Wasamedia.

I would sit there and pick out all of the red ones, and when those were finished, slowly go through in order of colour palette, devouring the rest of them with Pa. Back then, there was no flavour, I just knew I liked certain colours, and that the black one was disgusting lol.

Pastilles are something that I had never even thought to attempt but I have to say, after looking in Heston’s Heston at Home book, they seemed a breeze! So, as the lovely people at the Passionfruit Industry of Australia had sent me some delicious passionfruits, and the challenge of creating a quick recipe to get Australians back in the kitchen, I thought that Passionfruit Pastilles would be a great place to start, and a great dedication to my Pa.

This recipe is really simple, you just need a sugar thermometer and the rest, you will more than likely have in your pantry. Ok, except maybe glucose and gelatin. Those you’ll need to go grab but they’re dirt cheap and can be found in any supermarket. But you can literally whip these babies up in about 10 minutes and then you just let them set for a few hours. It couldn’t be simpler, and then you can have the accomplishing feeling of knowing that you made them yourself.

According to Passionfruit Industry of Australia research, with over 2,600 Australians surveyed, 72% of respondents listed a home cooked meal as part of their ideal date. Ok, these are lollies and not a home cooked meal – but guys and gals, if you end your home cooked meal with a little bowl of pastilles, and homemade pastilles at that, imagine how impressed your date would be? Serving with a cheeky glass of dessert wine wouldn’t hurt either

Passionfruit pastilles
Adapted from Heston at Home by Heston Blumenthal

Ingredients

500g passionfruit pulp (Approx 15 passionfruit)
250g sugar
100g glucose
15g lemon juice
1/2 cup cold water
4 tbs gelatin powder

Method

Spray and line a baking tin with non-stick paper.

Place pulp in a saucepan and using a stick blender, blitz the pulp and seeds so the seeds break up and resemble poppy seeds.

Place cold water in a small bowl and sprinkle over gelatin.

Combine sugar, passionfruit, and glucose and heat on medium until sugar dissolves and mixture reaches 108°C.

Remove from the heat and stir in lemon juice and gelatin mixture, until gelatin has melted through.

Pour in to prepared tin and leave to set in the fridge. I just did this overnight

Once set, cut in to cubes and serve.

Just as a side note: I used Hestons recipe which called for pectin (I used Jam Setter instead) and it didn’t work. It may have been due to the pectin substitute but I ended up having to restart and use gelatin instead. If you try Heston’s recipe and it works for you, please let me know

A big thank you to Impact PR and Passionfruit Industry of Australia for sending me these wonderful little gems