Weekend Herb Blogging - Mandarin Orange Muffins with walnuts

Been a busy week in the kitchen as I am taking a sabbatical from work. So back to Weekend Herb Blogging to share some of my adventures... from the cooking pit. Susan from The Well-Seasoned Cook is hosting this edition of Weekend Herb Blogging. Here's a quick summary of the rules, if you are interested in this weekly activity.

One of the must-have for the Lunar New Year (Chinese New Year) is mandarin oranges. It stands for prosperity and luck and we have to bring a pair when we go visiting during the festive period.  It didn't help when the oranges are sold in cartons of 12, 18 or 24 depending on their sizes.  Papa being his usual generous self bought us the carton that had 24 of the fruit. Needless to say, at the end of the festive period (14days) we still have about 20 of the mandarin oranges lying around.


Mandarin oranges belong to the citrus group and contains the usual goodness from that family. High in vitamin C and the skins full of flavour.  These fruits are gorgeous, their thin skins make them easy to peel, and the juice taste great if you decide to pass it through the juicer.


Well, something had to be done to use up the oranges and they came in the form of muffins!

You will need (make 1 dozen)
(recipe modified  from Martha Stewart's)


115g unsalted butter
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 & 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 mandarin oranges, peeled, segments cut into bite-size
1 cup walnuts, roughly chopped.
3/4 cups sugar (more if desired, I like it less sweet)
2 eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg


1.  Preheat oven to 190 deg cel. Mix flour, baking powder and salt. 


2. Coat thinly cut segments of mandarin orange with flour. (Prevents them from sinking to bottom during baking)


3. Beat butter and sugar till fluffy. Add in eggs, one at a time until combined. Add in vanilla.


4. Set mixer to low speed and add in flour mixture (from step 1). Add in milk, beating until just combined. Do not over mix.


5. Fold in mandarin orange segments and walnuts.


6. Scoop batter into a standard 12-cup muffin pan. Sprinkle mixture of sugar and nutmeg on top of the muffin batter.


7. Bake, rotating the pan halfway through until muffins are golden brown and a cake tester inserted in the center of the muffin comes out clean. (It takes 20-30mins).


8. Transfer pan to cool for about 10 minutes. Turn muffins on their sides in the muffin cup and let cool. Best served warm.

Crispy Asparagus and Potato Tart

Asparagus and Potato Tart

Recipe is modified from that of Jamie Oliver's Recipe available on his website.

Serves 4 as main course or 8 as starter.

You will need:

• 750g potatoes, peeled. 2-3inches diameter.
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 250g asparagus spears, cut to fit pan
• 200g filo pastry (I used frozen ones)
• 100g butter, melted
• 100g freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 100g freshly grated Cheddar cheese
• 3 large eggs
• 1 x 200ml cream

Let's rock

Defrost your packet of filo. You will need at least 1hour for this.

Separate the packet (it comes in 375g) into two portions, taking care not to contaminate them. Refrigerate half of it and use it within the next couple of days.

Put the potatoes whole into a pan of salted boiling water and cook for 15-20 minutes. Turn off heat and allow potatoes to continue to cook.

Blanch your asparagus in a separate pan of salted boiling water for 2 minutes, and drain.

Do not overcook. The spears will shrivel after baking.

Preheat the oven to 190°C. Get an ovenproof dish, you can use any different shapes and sizes. Layer the sheets of filo pastry in the dish, brushing melted butter on them as you add each layer. Leave about 2.5cm hang over the edge. Depending on how thick is your filo pastry, you would like to get at least 8-10 layers below. Put a clean, damp tea towel over the top.

Remove the potatoes from the water and mash them with the cheeses. In a separate bowl, mix well the eggs and cream and add them into your mashed potato. Season well with pepper and mix together.

Spread the resulting potato mixture over the filo pastry. Fold up and scrunch the sides together to form a rim. Take your blanched asparagus and line them up across the filling, alternating the direction of which the tips are pointing.

Brush all over with the remaining melted butter and pop into the preheated oven for around 20 minutes, or until golden and crisp. Allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Taste test

A tad bit too buttery for Mr and Mrs Pancakes. Too creamy for Mr Pancakes II. You may want to go easy on the butter when layering the pastry sheets.

Too starchy! The original recipe calls for 500g potatoes.

Asparagus spears shrivelled after baking. Fine bigger spears if you can. White asparagus will add another dimension to the dish.

Substitute half of the amount of cream with milk for a healthier meal.