A moment of truth!

It was not until I saw the photos that Myles took of my pasta making day, that I realised quite how silly I look in my apron and shower cap :).

As a great shopper, I set out to rectify this situation, and returned from "Chef's hat" (South Melbourne) with a hat, tunic and 3/4 apron. I look forward to being photographed now, looking more the part. After all, when you look good, you feel good and when you feel good, you cook great!

Ravioli

Having been inspired by my Organic pasta class (see earlier post), I set out to make some ravioli using a traditional Maltese filling. Myles was heavily involved - he took the photos and was experimenting with his new lighting rig. Overall, it was an exhausting day for us both - but a great way to share an afternoon :)

Maltese Ravioli recipe

1 quantity of pasta dough

1.5 kg ricotta cheese (the fresher the better)

1/2 cup fresh parsley chopped

2 free range eggs

salt and pepper to taste

Mash all filling ingredients together. If the ricotta is more than a few days old, it will be a little dry and an extra egg or alternatively a dash of cold milk may be required. The correct consistency should see the potato masher make a "squelch" noise when lifted from the bowl of filling.

Roll pastry into sheets at size 5 on the pasta machine.

Place tbsp of filling approx 3 cm apart in middle of the sheet. Brush around each sheet with a little water.

Fold each sheet in half to cover filling. press down edge.

Using a scone cutter or tumbler glass, cut the ravioli into individual pieces. Place on a floured tray until ready for the pot.

Add prepared ravioli to boiling salted water. Ravioli will float when cooked (3-5 minutes usually).

serve with napolitana sauce.

Napolitana Sauce

1 onion

1 clove garlic crushed

140 g tomato paste

water

pinch sugar

Fry onion until translucent. Add garlic and cook 1 minute. Add tomato paste, water and sugar - stir until combined. Cook for 10 minutes and serve

Date scones

My partner Myles has a soft spot for date scones. They are the perfect snack for when he returns home on a Sunday after his 20 klm mountain bike ride.

Myles is a meticulous cook. He and I struggle to cook together because I rarely follow a recipe and he is looking for exact measurements! He also does not like a recipe written as prose - dot points in chronological order is his nirvana.

Scones are something that is simple, and the rewards are instant. By the time the espresso machine is warmed up, the coffees drawn, they are ready from the oven. Last weekend, Myles made the scones. (Even yummier when made for you !)

I discovered a twist to the traditional recipe when reading The Cook's Companion by Stephanie Alexander. Her recipe has 1/2 tsp of freshly ground nutmeg. This makes such a difference

Date Scone recipe (from Stephanie Alexander)

250 g self raising flour

1/2 tsp of freshly ground nutmeg

pinch salt

20g unsalted butter

2 tbsp sugar

150g dates pitted and chopped

1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup water

preheat oven to 210 degrees C

• grease baking tray
• sift together flour, salt and nutmeg
• rub in butter
• add sugar and dates
• combine milk and water and add to make a soft but firm dough
• Knead together quickly
• press out onto a floured surface and cut into squares.
• Bake for 7 minutes, then reduce heat to 180
• bake for further 8 minutes until golden

Marmalade

Those Jam jars are coming in handy! Thank you to Brenda who donated 2 kgs of oranges from her garden, which combined with lemons and limes from mine have created a fabulous marmalade.

Now I am not really a fan of marmalade, but my partner Myles is. He also is a fan of photography, and this exercise turned into something we could share - I cook, he takes the photo and of course eats!

Tips

Marmalade can be tricky. It is important to remove the scum from the top after you have added the sugar, otherwise this forms crystallines in your jar and are not attractive! Another tip, to ensure that your fruit does not float to the top, is to let the marmalade cool slightly before you pour into the jars. This keeps the fruit even - see above photo.

One other tip I have learned, jars with a pop lid, need to be inverted after filling for a few seconds this creates the heat seal. As the lid cools, you will hear a "pop" and the jar is well sealed.

My recipe is a combination of many with a strong influence from Stephanie Alexanders "Seville Marmalade."

Marmalade recipe

1 kg oranges

4 large lemons

2-4 limes (optional)

2 litres water

2 kgs white sugar

Remove zest from fruit with a vegetable peeler and cut into fine julienne. (There is no short cut here!). Juice fruit and reserve pips. Cut remaining pith into strips and put into a muslin bag with the pips. Tie firmly. Put all ingredients except sugar into a non reactive pot and bring to the boil. Simmer for 1 hour with the lid slightly ajar, until liquid is reduced by half. Cover pot and leave to cool overnight.

Next day, preheat over to 180 degrees. Squeeze muslin bags very firmly into reduced liquid. Discard muslin bag. Bring liquid back to the boil with pot resting on a simmer mat. Meanwhile, warm sugar in the oven. Add sugar to pot and stir until dissolved. Boil briskly for 5-10 minutes until it has reached setting stage. Bottle in hot sterilised jars (see note above)