my dinner, let me show you it

Sunday night, I volunteered to make a pasta dish for dinner (an old favourite I had up on the previous blog). But after binging on recipes on the internet that afternoon, I ended up making three courses. It was fun, but I think I overdid it and I've had a sore back since then.

Yes, I am a useless weakling. But a well-fed useless weakling.

Roasted garlic and pumpkin soup


recipe adapted from soup, soup glorious soup

1 kg butternut or Jap pumpkin, seeded and roughly chopped
2 garlic gloves, peeled, whole
1 large brown onion, peeled and quartered
4 cups vegetable stock or chicken stock
1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
1/2 cup cream
Salt and pepper
Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 200°C. Put pumpkin, garlic and onion in a roasting tray, drizzle with oil and roast 50 minutes to an hour, or until pumpkin is golden and cooked through.
2. Scoop pumpkin from skins. Add hot stock, 1 cup at a time, and blend until smooth.
3. Transfer to saucepan over medium heat. Add remaining stock, cream and nutmeg and cook until soup is heated through.
4. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with bread (I sprinkled parmesan on mine and put it under the grill until it melted).

Smoked Salmon pasta


recipe

Lime soufflés


recipe adapted from Taste for Adventure

3 large limes
2 large egg, yolk and white separated
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celcius. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Trim the tip off each lime so the fruit sits flat. (I accidentally cut too deep, but I had so much trouble with the innards - see below - that this turned out not to be a problem.)
3. Slice off the top of each lime, making cut parallel with the bottom, for a little lid.
4. Place a fine sieve over a bowl. Using whatever implements you can make work (I struggled with a paring knife and a tea spoon - not recommended!), try to get as much of the pulp and juice out of the lime and into sieve, the reserve the juice in the bowl.

Aside: This part will likely drive you nuts and make your fingers all wrinkly - you're soaking them in acid for ages after all! At this point, I was seriously hoping this freaking dessert would be worth all the trouble.

5. Place hollowed-out lime shells on prepared baking sheet.
6. In a heat-proof bowl, whisk egg yolk, half the sugar, 1/4 cup lime juice and flour until pale yellow.
7. Place bowl over a pot of simmering water, whisking mixture constantly until thick and curd-like, about 7-8 minutes.

Second aside: Use a bowl that can sit in the pot without touching the water, and so steam doesn't rise up and burn your hand. Just a tip.

8. Remove from heat and whisk until cooled, scraping down sides of bowl. Set aside.
9. In a clean bowl, combine egg white and remaining sugar in bowl. Place the bowl over the pot of simmering water and stir quickly until sugar is dissolved and mixture is warm to the touch. Remove from heat and whisk until frothy. Gradually increase speed until mixture holds soft peaks. Be careful not to over-beat.
10. Whisk 1/3 of the egg-white mixture into the lime batter. Carefully and slowly fold in remaining mix, then carefully fill each lime cup with the mixture to just below the rim. I had enough to fill two 3/4 cup ramekins too, so I guess this recipe serves up to 6.
11. Bake lime cups for 12-15 minutes, until meringue is lightly golden and has risen about an inch above the rim. Remove from oven.
12. Take photos - I mean, serve immediately. (But seriously, I threw those babies onto the table and started snapping away madly because I needed to capture the success of making my first ever soufflé!)