A crab in my tortilla basket!

This is a different salad, not just for its ingredients, but for it the presentation. I found it very original and tasty, and hey! You get to eat the salad bowl! It’s a colourful and healthy appetizer, and you can use any seafood you like, chopped cooked prawns, muscles, even fish. Its a fresh salad, full of flavour and texture, and the lemongrass gives it the exotic taste. When you heat a Mexican tortilla, it becomes malleable, and you can shape it or fill a muffin pan hole with it, so it turns into a edible salad bowl and a wonderful way of presenting a starter. You can prepare the salad ahead and keep it in the fridge, same with the tortillas, but wait till the last moment to fill and serve them, otherwise, the tortillas will get soggy.

Ingredients for the tortillas

12 corn tortillas

Method

Soften the tortillas in the microwave or according to the packet instructions. Gently press each one into a muffin hole to from a cup. Bake for 12 minutes or until they’ll get brown. Reserve.

Ingredients for the salad

250g crab meat

3 cherry tomatoes

3 spring onions

2 lettuce leaves

2 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander

1 stick of lemongrass

Salt and pepper

For the dressing

4 tablespoons mayonnaise

The lime of ½ lime

The zest of ½ lime

2 tablespoon milk

Salt and pepper

Method

Chop all the ingredients of the salad and mix them in a bowl. Mix the ingredients for the dressing and add to the salad. Keep in the fridge for at least an hour for the flavours to mix. Scoop the salad into the tortillas at the moment of serving and garnish with some fresh coriander.

Bloody Tarts!

Relax...it’s just a dessert.

Now that blood oranges are on season, we have to really enjoy this time of the year, and take advantage of this beautiful fruit, not only because of its flavour, but also its amazing and psychedelic colour. Today  was a “tart” day... because there times when one fancies a cake, or biscuits, or even a hot pudding, but today was a tart day, and since its sweet time in my blog, and I had some blood oranges, there is nothing better than an orange curd crowned by a lovely touch of meringue, not very sweet, just about..The recipe comes from AWW (Australian Women’s Weekly) now, you can tell I like these books, can’t you? This is an easy recipe, and the orange curd as filling is absolutely delicious. You can use lemons or limes instead, or simply normal oranges.  These tarts are a lovely and spectacular end of a dinner party. If you like the flavour of citrus fruits, this is for you.

Ingredients for the pastry

250 plain flour

150g softened butter

1 teaspoon salt

A pinch of sugar

1 egg

1 tablespoon cold milk

Method for the pastry

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Grease a 12 muffin tin or 12 tartalette individual cases. Mix all the ingredients but the milk, when all is combined add the milk and mix until you get a non sticky and uniform mixture, cover with cling film and refrigerate at least for half hour. Then it’s time to cut the pastry in rounds and pinch the surface with a fork, refrigerate again for half hour. After half and hour, cover with ovenproof paper and fill the tins with baking beans (or you can use any beans or ice instead). Bake only for ten minutes, and keep aside whilst you prepare the filling.

For the filling

½ cup sugar (110g)

2 tablespoon cornflour

2/3 cup blood orange juice

2 tablespoon water

2 teaspoons finely grated blood orange rind

75g unsalted butter, chopped

2 eggs, separated

½ cup sugar, extra

Method

Combine sugar and cornflour in a saucepan, gradually stir in juice and the water until smooth. Cook, stirring, until mixture boils and thickens. Reduce heat, simmer for one minute. Remove from the heat, stir in the zest, butter and egg yolks. Cool 10 minutes.

Divide filling among pastry cases. Refrigerate 1 hour.

For the Meringue

Increase temperature to 240 degrees.

Beat egg whites with electric mixer, until soft peaks form, gradually add extra sugar, beating until sugar dissolves. Using star nozzle, pipe meringue over filling. Bake about 3 minutes or until browned lightly.