Lemon Tart Recipe

Prepare 4 round 10cm tart moulds

Ingredients
Sweet crust:

• 125 gm plain flour
• 1 large egg yolk
• 100 gm cold unsalted butter
• 50 gm caster sugar
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1 to 2 Tbsp ice-cold water

Lemon curd filling:

• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 lemon rind
• 40 ml fresh lemon juice
• 2 egg yolks
• 60 gm caster sugar
• 1 tsp icing sugar
• 8 slices lemon, for garnish

Method

To prepare sweet crust:

1. Combine the flour, salt and sugar in a medium bowl.
2. Cut the butter into small chunks and add to the flour mixture. Use a pastry blender if you have, or just use knives in a criss-crossing motion, blend the butter into the flour mixture until it has the consistency of damp sand, with a few pea-sized pieces remaining. (Note: don’t use hands, the butter would melt quickly otherwise.)
3. Use a fork to beat the egg yolk with cold water. Slowly pour the egg mixture over the flour, stirring until the mixture becomes moistened. The dough should stick together and be able to hold the form of a ball.
4. Cover the ball with plastic wrap. Smooth the ball of dough with a rolling pin to form a flat disc that fills the corners of the plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. (Note: If it has been chilled for a long time, it may need to soften slightly at room temperature before use.)
5. Unwrap the disc and place on a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough from the center of the disc to the edge, until the crust is the desired thickness. If the dough is sticking to the rolling pin, try placing a sheet of plastic wrap over it and then rolling it out.
6. Use a cookie cutter to trim out 4 dough discs with around 0.5cm bigger than each tart mould in size. Place the dough into each tart mould. Carefully press the dough into the tart moulds. If any cracks appear during the transfer, use lightly floured fingers to push the seams back together. Trim the excess from the edges of the tart moulds. (Note: practice makes things perfect.)
7. Prick the surface with a fork and chill for 10 minutes in the freezer. Bake blind for 20 minutes.
8. Remove from the oven and brush the base of the tarts with lightly beaten egg. Return to the oven for 10 to 15 minutes, until the base of the crust is golden. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

To prepare lemon curd filling:

1. In a medium bowl, whisk the lemon juice, egg yolks and sugar until smooth. Transfer the mixture to a heavy-based saucepan and cook over medium heat until the mixture begins to thicken, about 10 minutes. Beware not to let the mixture boil.
2. When the curd is thick enough to coat a wooden spoon, reduce the heat to low and continue cooking for 10 more minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter, until melted. Strain the curd through a fine sieve into a medium bowl and stir in the lemon zest.

To decorate tarts:

1. Pour the lukewarm curd into the tart shells. For ease of slicing, chill for at least 1 hour in the refrigerator.
2. Dust with icing sugar and garnish with lemon slices. Refrigerate any remaining tarts for up to 3 days.

Read more: http://en.christinesrecipes.com/2009/06/lemon-tart-recipe.html#ixzz2ACb0uzxh

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Banana Pastry Dessert

Ingredients:

• 1/2 puff pastry
• 1 ripe banana, roughly chopped
• chocolate sauce, to taste
• vanilla ice-cream, to taste
• 1 egg, lightly beaten

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180C (356F). Roll out puff pastry on a clean surface.
2. Place banana in the center of pastry. Dampen pastry edges. Fold the pastry into a rectangle shape. Use a fork to press and seal edges. Prick the surface with a fork and brush some beaten egg.
3. Bake for 20 minutes until golden brown. Serve with chocolate sauce and vanilla ice-cream.

Read more: http://en.christinesrecipes.com/2009/07/banana-pastry-dessert.html#ixzz2ACahSLbu

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Mango & Tapioca Pearls Dessert

Ingredients:

• 1 large mango (about 510 gm)
• 50 gm tapioca pearls (sago)
• 3 Tbsp raw sugar
• 100 gm ice cubes
• milk, to taste (optional)

Method:

1. Soak tapioca pearls for at least 3 hours.
2. In a sauce pan, pour in some water. The amount of water should cover all tapioca pearls. Bring it to a boil. Add tapioca pearls to the boiling water on medium heat. Stir them constantly and make sure that they don’t stick together. After cooking for 15 to 20 minutes, remove from heat. Cover and let sit for another 30 minutes. The tapioca pearls should be translucent, without any white dots in the middle. They are done. If they are not ready, turn on the heat again and cook for a few minutes more. And then let sit for a while again. Drain tapioca pearls and rinse under cold water. All tapioca pearls should be cool to the touch.
3. Cut mango into cubes, about 1 1/2cm in size. Save 1/3 of them. Blend the rest of mango cubes, ice cubes and sugar in a food processor into thick juice, about 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer into a large bowl. Mix in tapioca pearls.
4. To serve, divide mango juice with tapioca pearls into 3 to 4 small ramekins, top with mango cubes. Serve cold.

(Pour in milk or coconut milk to add more flavours)

Read more: http://en.christinesrecipes.com/2010/01/mango-tapioca-pearls-dessert-happy.html#ixzz2ACaRYHmO

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Stir-fried Chicken with Mango and Roasted Almonds

Ingredients:

• 1 or 2 mango(es), ripe but not overly ripe (I used about 480 gm of flesh)
• 200 gm chicken breast
• 50 gm almonds

Marinade:

• 2 tsp light soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp cornflour
• 1/2 tsp Shaoxing wine
• 1 tsp water

Method:

1. Use a sharp knife to cut the mango lengthwise next to the seed into three parts (two halves and a middle part with the seed). Carefully cut parallel lines through the two halves of mango flesh down to the skin. Scoop out the flesh with a tablespoon. For the middle part, peel the skin and cut the flesh off from the seed. Then cut mango into strips, about 3.5 to 4cm in length. Or you might like to cut into cubes to your liking.
2. Rinse chicken and drain well. Remove fat. Julienne into 3cm strips. Mix with marinade for 20 minutes.
3. Place almonds in preheated oven at 180C (356F) about 10 to 12 minutes, or until fragrant. Make sure not to burn them. Let cool. Place in a plastic bag, pound into small pieces. Set aside.
4. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil over medium-high heat. Stir-fry chicken until done. Turn off the heat. Add mango, quickly combine all ingredients. Dish up and sprinkle roasted almonds. Enjoy!

Notes:

• You can cook this simple and delicious dish on the go. The key is to get really sweet and juicy mango. And the roasted almonds would bring this dish up to another level by adding very sweet fragrance, as well as crunchy texture.
• If you can’t get very sweet mango, you might like to sprinkle a small amount of sugar to adjust.
• My friend SK recommended slivered almonds initially. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any at home. Thus I roasted whole almonds and pound them into small pieces. If silvered almonds are used, just sprinkle over the dish after they are roasted.

Read more: http://en.christinesrecipes.com/2010/02/stir-fried-chicken-with-mango-and.html#ixzz2ACZu42V3

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Strawberry Yoghurt Ice Cream

Strawberry Yoghurt Ice Cream (Adapted from David Lebovitz’s Vegan Strawberry Ice Cream) 
(Printable recipe) 

Ingredients:

• 430 gm fresh strawberries
• 2/3 cup sugar, or to taste (depends on how sweet your strawberries are)
• 1 cup plain yoghurt (I used Greek yoghurt)
• 2 tbsp honey, or to taste
• 1 tsp fresh lemon juice (optional)

Method:

1. Slice the strawberries and toss them with the sugar, and let them macerate for one hour at room temperature.
2. Puree the berries and their liquid with a standard or immersion blender. You can puree it until completely smooth and strain out some or all of the seeds by pressing the mixture through a mesh sieve. Or you can leave it slightly chunky and omit straining it. 
3. After draining the berries, stir in the yoghurt and honey and combine well. Adjust the amount of honey to your personal liking.
4. Taste, and add lemon juice if desired.
5. Chill thoroughly, then freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Note:

• Greek yoghurt, compared to other kinds of yoghurt, is thicker, smoother and creamier. The end result of using Greek yoghurt was very satisfied. I highly recommend it when it comes to making yoghurt ice cream.

Read more: http://en.christinesrecipes.com/2010/09/strawberry-yoghurt-ice-cream.html#ixzz2ACZXXsEH

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Chocolate Pear Pudding

Ingredients

• 2 x 415g cans pear halves in juice
• 125g plain flour
• 25g cocoa powder
• 125g caster sugar
• 150g soft butter, plus extra for greasing
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/gas mark 6 and grease a 22cm square ovenproof dish with butter.
2. Drain the pears and arrange them on the base of the dish.
3. Put all the remaining ingredients in a food processor and blitz until you have a batter with a soft dropping consistency.
4. Spread the brown batter over the pears, and bake in the oven for 30 minutes.
5. Let stand out of the oven for 5 or 10 minutes and then cut into slabs - I cut 2 down and 2 across to make 9 slices - and serve with chocolate sauce.

Notes: 

• The original recipe calls for canned pears so that it can be made throughout the year whenever you crave for. 
• For making use of my stock of fresh pears, I cooked 2 pears with 2 tablespoons of sugar and 2 teaspoons of freshly grated lemon juice. The amount of sugar used depends on how sweet the pears you get and your preference.

Read more: http://en.christinesrecipes.com/2011/03/chocolate-pear-pudding-nigella-lawsons.html#ixzz2ACZ0iqb4

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Pomegranate Sorbet

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp water
• 1/4 tsp gelatine (or gelatin) powder
• 150 ml pomegranate juice, fresh or bottled
• 7 to 8 Tbsp caster sugar, or to taste
• a pinch salt
• 65 ml heavy cream

Method:

• Use a sauce pan, pour in water, sprinkle the gelatine powder over the top. Let sit for 8 to 10 mins. Turn on the heat and cook over low heat, for about 1 minute or two. Swirl the saucepan occasionally.
• When the gelatine looks not grainy, add pomegranate juice, sugar. Season with a pinch of salt. Stir well. Simmer until the sugar completely dissolved. Set aside.
• Transfer the pomegranate mixture into a bowl, chill in a fridge. Stir in the cream. Follow the manufacturer's instructions, blend the mixture in an ice-cream maker until soft and fluffy. Then freeze until firm. Done.

Note:

• If not using ice-cream maker, you might like to whisk the mixture with a blender, then freeze until firm. Yet, don’t blend too long, lest too much air incorporated inside.

Read more: http://en.christinesrecipes.com/2011/08/pomegranate-sorbet.html#ixzz2ACYSNxWZ

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