Banana pancakes

Ingredients:
200g plain or SR flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking soda  (or if SR flour 1 tsp baking soda)
50 g sunflower oil
2 medium eggs
300g milk plus a little more
2-3 ripe bananas (depending on how banana-y desired)

1.  Put all the ingredients in the TM bowl.  Mix 20 seconds / Speed 6.  The mixture should be the consistency of double cream.  If it's too thick, add a little more milk and mix again.

2. Heat pan to right heat at low-medium flame.  Add a little oil - use kitchen towel to wipe over whole of pan, and mop up excess.  Pour to make pancakes of desired size.  Turn when bubbles have just stopped forming.

Tip:  Serve with strawberries, blueberries, maple syrup, nectarines, oranges etc - whatever fruits are in season.  Also works with savoury toppings - e.g. goats cheese, salami..

Easy Peasy Waffles

From this link

Ingredients

15 g sugar
60 g butter (90g butter if using semi-skimmed milk)
400 g milk
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla or maple syrup
1 pinch salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
250 g SR flour

Preparation

1.

Mill sugar on speed 9 for 3 seconds
Add butter to TMX bowl and melt for 1 minute at 90° on soft speed
Add milk, vanilla/syrup and eggs to TMX bowl and beat for 10 seconds on speed 4.
Add remaining ingredients and mix for 10 seconds on speed 6
Cook as per your waffle maker instructions. Enjoy!

Adriana's Amaretti Biscuits

Adriana's Amaretti Biscuits

Ingredients:
2 egg whites
2 tsp honey
1 pinch sea salt
180 g ground almonds
150 g caster sugar/fine sugar
100 g dried fruits e.g. apricots, cherries, prunes (not dates) snipped into quarters
100 g nuts e.g. pistachios, almonds, hazelnuts
icing sugar for dipping

Method:
Insert clean Butterfly Whisk into clean grease-free TM bowl.
Whisk egg whites, honey and salt 2 minutes/Speed 3½/Measuring Cup OFF.  
Remove the Butterfly Whisk and add the remaining ingredients.
Stir Speed 2/Reverse Blade Direction until mixed, about 20 seconds.

Using wet hands, shape into small rough dough balls and dip half the ball into the icing sugar. Place on a lightly greased baking tray, icing sugar side up and bake at 190°C with fan/375°F/gas 5 for 12 minutes or until just golden. Aga ovens: Bake on the rack set on the floor of the Roasting Oven for 9 to 12 minutes.

Alternative:  At step 2 add 50 g of dark or white chocolate chips.

Suggested combinations: Cranberry and pistachio Apricot and almond Cherry and almond Fig and walnut Prune, apricot and pistachio Prune and walnut Cherry and dark chocolate chip (omit nuts) Pistachio and white chocolate chip (omit fruit) Hazelnut and white chocolate chip (omit fruit)

My Tiramisu

At long last I've decided to share my secret tiramisu recipe, (mainly because I keep on forgetting it if I don't make it for a long time) but also because it's nice to share.

Ingredients (serves 6)* EGGS, 4, with yolks and whites separated
* SUGAR, a pinch
* MASCARPONE, 500g
* Sponge finger biscuits, 10-15
* AMARETTI biscuits, a standard small bag
* Espresso or Strong Coffee, 1 cup
* Cognac or Brandy, to taste (I'm quite liberal)
* COCOA, 1/8 cup
* Vanilla extract, 1 tsp or a pod of real vanilla

Directions

1. Separate egg whites and yolk.
2. Whisk egg whites with a pinch of sugar in TM, with butterfly whisk, speed 4 keeping an eye on it until firm (mixture should form soft peaks when touched with a spoon and spoon lifted off).  Pour out and put to one side.
3. Put the egg yolks and a tablespoon of brandy into the TM bowl and heat 5 mins/ 80 C / Speed 4 (if you don't have a TM, then just mix the egg yolks and brandy without heating)
4. Add mascarpone, vanilla and mix 20 seconds / speed 4. Empty the mixture into a large bowl.
5. Gently fold in the egg white into the mixture.
6. Mix the brandy into the coffee to taste
7. Arrange the lady fingers and amaretti biscuits into an appropriate medium rectangular flat dish (about equal amounts of each, you can vary the ratio to your preference), and soak with the coffee and brandy mixture
8. Spoon the mascarpone mixture on top.
9. Sprinkle with the cocoa
10. Chill at least 3 hours or overnight

Breadsticks

At this link

Ingredients


For the dough
- 500 g Manitoba Flour
- 80 g Vegetable Oil (peanut oil in this recipe)
- 1 Brewer's Yeast Cube
- 1 Full Tsp Salt
- 1 Tsp Sugar
- 260 g Water

For the surface
- Coarse Salt to taste
- Sesame Seeds or Poppy Seeds or Rosemary or Chilli Pepper


How to prepare the Bread Sticks with Thermomix

Put water, oil, yeast and sugar in the bowl. 10 Sec. Speed 3.

Add flour and salt. 2 Min. Speed Dough Mode.

Roll this dough out in a 1/2 cm thick sheet.

Using a pastry wheel cut into stripes 1-2 cm large.

Spread with oil and let leaven for 12 Min.

Sprinkle with some coarse salt and sesame seeds (or poppy seeds or rosemary or chilli pepper according to your taste) and bake at 250°C for 12 Min.

Pumpkin Soup

Translated from this link:

Ingredients:
400g Hokaido - Pumpkin
2 tablespoons pumpkin seed oil
2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds (shelled)
1 onion
800 ml vegetable broth
2 cup cream
Salt, pepper

Thus, the first at the annoying thing, once the pumpkin is halved and then quartered ausgehölt and peeled. The peeling is really difficult if one of you has a tip - always so forth. After the pumpkin is cut into pieces.
1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon of pumpkin seeds in the TM and 3 minutes to 100 ° level 2 roast. Coarsely chop onion and admit it. 3 min 100 ° Stage 2 stew. Pumpkin admit everything to level 6 just a little crush, and then 5 minutes to 100 ° Level 2 stew. Broth and pour a cup of cream. 30 min 90 - 100 ° at level 2 simmer. Then durchpürieren. Level 8-9!
Gradually with salt, pepper, who likes can still add a little ginger.

Now serving, which is really important!
The remaining cream semi-solid beat. Pumpkin seed kernels in a little toast. Fill in soup plates, a EL whipped cream on top set, with some pumpkin seeds and a few drops of oil on top / over them. And tataaaaa - is ready for all the world's best pumpkin soup which is also "I - like - no - pumpkin people" really tasty!

Paul Granger's Chicken Pie

Recipe from here.

The chicken pie is nice, it's a recipe from Bill Granger originally, but now I just sort of do it without reading the recipe. Here goes:

Make some rough puff pastry with the thermomix. I usually just make enough for a pie top, but you can make an enclosed pie if you prefer.

Shake some chicken cut into chunks with flour spiced with cayenne, S&P
Fry quickly on both sides until just brown (raw in centre still) and remove
Fry some sliced leeks in the oil
Add white wine, deglaze
Add some chicken stock or water and 2 tsp dried tarragon
Add some frozen peas
Add about 1/2 cup cream or sour cream until you get the right thickness of sauce
Add the chicken back and cook for a couple of minutes
Put pastry on while filling is still hot, wash with beaten egg and cook for 45 mins at 190 C

Thoughts

I haven't given exact amounts because you can make it any size you want. Every time it turns out slightly differently, so don't get hung up on exact measures. Last night's effort was really good, the TMX made the best pastry I have ever cooked. Ever!

Unsalted butter is best for the pastry, Australian unsalted butter is no good, the wrong consistency or something. Lurpak, the Danish butter, seems the best bet. The rare times I have seen French unsalted butter in Cairns it is rancid when bought - yuk.

I use dried tarragon because the stuff they sell in supermarkets is fake. It's either Russian tarragon, which is easier to grow, but tasteless; or 'Mexican' tarragon with bright yellow flowers, which has an appallingly overwhelming aniseed taste. So dried seems best. Chicken and tarragon is a match made in heaven. The fakeness of tarragon is a pet hate of mine, so don't get me started...

Frozen peas are nicer then fresh peas, unless you grow them yourself and cook as soon as you have picked them. Otherwise they're mealy and horrible. I don't buy frozen veges as a rule, peas are the exception.

I don't think we make enough pies these days. They have a proud heritage, and they are so nice when done with good ingredients.

I have to confess I also made mashed potato to go with it, in the TMX, and I'm eyeing off the leftovers today.

Mushroom Risotto

From this link.

Fresh Mushroom risotto (Demonstration Recipe Guide):

Ingredients:
50g Olive Oil
1/2 Medium Onion
200g fresh Mushrooms, sliced
2 vegetable stock cubes
100g white wine
1100g water
500g Arborio Rice (don't use sun rise)
50g Parmesan Cheese (or to taste), cubed

Method:
Place the parmesan cheese into TM bowl. Pulverise for 10 seconds on speed 9

Transfer to a separate bowl and set aside.

Add onion into TM bowl and chop for 5 seconds on speed 7.

Add oil and sauté for 2 min at 100C on speed 1.

Attach butterfly. Add rice and wine, sauté for 2 min on Reverse + speed soft.

Add stock cubes, mushrooms and water and cook for 16 min at 100C on reverse + speed soft.

Pour the risotto into a dish and stir through the Parmesan Cheese.

Geranial Tips:

Ensure the MC is placed in the lid when cooking.

Once cooking has ceased pour the risotto into a serving bowl. The mixture may appear watery, but the liquid will absorb with standing.

For best result use ITALIAN Arborio rice. This can be purchased at Italian Shops, Continental Deli's and large supermarkets.

For a flavoured Risotto add soaked dry mushrooms (ie Porcini) asparagus or fresh or frozen peas.

Another popular version is to add bacon and fresh spinach. Bacon is added in strips or cubes during the sauté process, while spinach is added towards the end of cooking time.

Variations:
1. You can also use sundried tomatoes and spinach.
Use the homemade stock concentrate as it helps to consolidate the healthy/no addative angle. It always impresses!

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2. A really yummy variation on the recipe above is to change the following:

Before chopping the onion, grind a small amount of dried porchini mushrooms on speed 9 for 10 seconds.

Reduce fresh mushrooms to 100-150g
Add a tbs of porchini mushrooms (already chopped up and soaked in about 50ml of water for a couple of hours or overnight).

In the Thermoserver, add baby spinach and chopped up asparagus.

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3. Allergic to mushrooms ? Have you tried the Apricot Chicken Risotto style, amazing! For vegetarians, leave out the chicken and add some diced marinated tofu in the last 7 minutes, and some finely sliced snow peas for colour.