Monday, 16 December 2013

Citrus Coconut Almond Biscotti

I do love biscotti and so does my family.  When a friend shared a recipe she had for something with citrus and coconut, I just had to play around with it.  This is what I came up with.  Delicious on their own or with a cup of your favourite warm beverage.

Citrus Coconut Almond Biscotti

Ingredients

1 cup caster sugar
2 eggs
2/3 cup plain flour
2/3 cup ground almonds
1/3 cup self-raising flour
1 cup desiccated coconut
Finely grated rind of 1 each x orange, lemon & lime (you could use just oranges if you prefer)


Preheat oven to 180 degrees C and grease oven tray.

Whisk sugar and eggs until combined.  Stir in flours and ground almonds, then coconut and rinds.

Knead dough on floured surface until smooth (doesn't take long).  Divide dough in half, roll each portion into an approx 30cm log.  Place logs on tray.  Bake for around 30 minutes.  Cool on tray for 10 minutes.

Reduce oven temperature to 150 degrees.

Using a serrated knife, cut logs diagonally into approx 5mm slices.  Place slices in a single layer on ungreased oven trays.  Bake for 30 minutes until dry and crisp turning halfway through baking.

Cool on wire racks.

These should keep in an airtight container for at least a month, but I've never been able to test this theory as they are well gone by then!

Enjoy!

Caryl ♥



Monday, 9 December 2013

Stewed Squid with Pasta

Years ago, I used to love eating stewed squid from one of my favourite little Greek Restaurants in London.  Unfortunately, the restaurant has been long gone, so when I came across some lovely fresh squid a little while ago, I just had to try and recreate this lovely dish.

Stewed Squid with Pasta
Stewed Squid with Pasta

Ingredients

Pasta of choice
Olive oil
1 red onion - finely sliced
4 garlic cloves - finely sliced, or crushed
1-2 small chillies - seeds removed, finely diced
Handful of fresh parsley - leaves and stalks trimmed separately
1 red pepper - finely sliced
Paprika
Red wine
400g tin chopped tomatoes
500g squid - tubes sliced into rings and tentacles cut into pieces


Boil a large pan of water and cook pasta to directions on packet.

Meanwhile, heat a spoonful of oil in a large saucepan.  Gently stir-fry the onion, garlic, chilli and parsley stalks until soft.

Add the peppers and a shake of paprika and fry together for another minute or so.

Add a good splash of red wine and the tomatoes. Stir and bring to the boil, then simmer for 10 minutes.

Bring back to the boil and stir in the squid pieces. Cover and simmer very gently for 4 minutes.  (You don't want to overcook the squid, or it will become rubbery!)

Sprinkle the parsley leaves over and serve with pasta.

Enjoy!

Caryl ♥