WHB#268 Balsamic Strawberries Crumble

Astrid from Paulchens Foodblog is hosting this edition of Weekend Herb Blogging  and we have a nice and simple dessert for you!


Chinese New Year is just round the corner for us in Singapore and time to serve out these little treasures in the reunion dinners! And again Chef Clement strikes again with a simple yet delightful treat!

You will need:

Plain flour

Cold butter

Pinch of salt

Caster sugar

Strawberries, quartered

Here is a video for the cooking steps, followed by the text. Enjoy.

Steps:

Rub butter into plain flour till crumble bits are formed. Slowly add in extra flour if texture is not consistent.

Add a little salt to taste.

Toss balsamic, a little sugar with the cut strawberries.

Cover with crumble bits. DO NOT pack crumble bits. Leave loose.

Bake in 200 deg C for 5 mins.

Serve hot.

WHB#267: Chick Pea Hummus

Min from Honest Vanilla is hosting Weekend Herb Blogging for the first time! Let's welcome her!

This week, Clement and I present.... Chick Pea Hummus!

You will need:
Chickpeas (soaked overnight) or 1 can of chickpeas
chilli flakes
pinch of parsley
lemon juice
olive oil
salt & pepper

Method:

Steam the chickpeas till tender.

Put steamed chickpeas in a blender and blend till smooth. Add a little hot water (or chicken stock) if paste is too dense.

Add chilli flakes, lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. (Parsely is optional, but adds another dimension to the taste)

Spoon on top of pita bread, toast and serve!

Yet another simple and nutritious recipe brought to you by our resident chef.

The hummus can be used as a substitute for whipped/mashed potatoes. It taste really great with roasted chicken.

WHB #266: Tomato, Onion, Pesto Toast

This entry is written for Weekend Herb Blogging #266. This week's version is hosted by Cinzia from Cindystar.

This week we are back again with Chef Clement and a simple, straight-forward and definitely healthy recipe for a quick bite.

You will need:

(for pesto)
Fresh basil (use sweet basil) 200g
Pine nuts 50g
dash of salt and pepper
olive oil
grated parmesan 50 g

(the rest)
fresh onion rings
sliced fresh tomatoes
light cream cheese
toasted multi-grain bread
slice of cheese (if desired)

Blend basil, pine nuts and enough olive oil to just cover the herb and nuts.
Add grated parmesan cheese. Top up olive oil if desired.
Add salt and pepper to taste.

Lightly toast sliced multi-grain bread.
Spread pesto on top. For a hearty flavour, mix cream cheese with pesto before spreading it on the bread.
Layer with sliced onion rings and tomato slices.
Garnish with whole sweet basil leaves.

Enjoy this as a light meal. This combination will probably go well with cheddar cheese slice, bacon, ham or even a sunny-side up!

WHB#265: Poached Pear & Apricot in Red Wine

This post is written for Weekend Herb Blogging #265, hosted by Haalo who had been driving this marvellous concept. And 2011 is the 5th year of WHB! I missed out the last post of 2010 on 20 Dec, but nevertheless, here we go.


But before we start, let me introduce to you a good friend of mine. Someone whom I met through my journey of food. Kinda surreal but we 'knew' each other way back, when I was still in college and taking baby steps in my culinary adventures. At that time I was intrigued by his style of cooking, never did I expect to meet the man in person when I was invited for a tasting at his restaurant and so there we go our friendship blossomed. :)

Executive Chef Clement Ronald Ng

We will be combining our effort to share our passion in food and WHB is our first step. You can read more about Clement here.

Poached Pear & Apricot in Red Wine

This is a special recipe from Chef Clement. And I have to tell you, it is AWESOME.


You will need:
Packham Pear (Peakham Pear)
Honey
Sugar
Red Wine (Shiraz/ Cabernet Sauvignon)
cloves
cinnamon
orange zest
dried apricots


Method:


1.  Skin pears, core the pear from the bottom, leaving the stem. The idea is so that the red wine can be absorbed both ways, from the outside and the inside. Put them into a heavy bottom saucepan.


2.  Add red wine, enough of it to cover the pears. Pick a strong wine like a shiraz and cab sav.


3. Add honey and sugar. Add enough to make it sweeter than you intend it to be. The sweetness will drop as the pear soaks in the liquid.


4.  Boil the pears in the wine, sugar and honey mixture. Add cloves, cinnamon, orange zest and dried apricots. This should take about 20 mins. A good test is to use a cake tester, stick it into the pear. A nicely cooked pear should stick to the cake tester and be easily taken out of the pan. It should slowly slide off the cake tester. And that's your perfectly cooked pear.


5.  Let the mixture cool. Put the pears and apricots into a container and leave it sealed for at least a month.


You can re-use the red wine mixture if you are doing the pears in batches. The explosion of flavours for the pears and apricots will literally blow you (and your guests, if you are generous enough to share) away. Serve with vanilla ice-cream.


Enjoy.