Monday, February 20, 2017

Herb Prawn Pasty

I brought these delicious appetizers to a cocktail party last night and they were a real hit..  very very delicious!

Herb Prawn Pasty

Filling
3 tbsp. olive oil
2 gloves garlic
300-400g prawns - cooked

1 cup shallots - diced small
1/2 cup cream cheese
1 tbsp. dill  (cilantro works well too if fresh dill is not available)

salt and pepper
1/2 cup white wine to deglaze if cooking prawns


If using raw prawns, rinse prawns well under cold water, drain and put into a food processor. If already cooked simply add the cooked prawns to the food processor.
Pulse until the prawns are chopped up into even chunks. 
Miriam's Time Saving Tip♥ If a food processor is not available the prawns can be diced using a sharp knife. This takes a little longer but it works fine for this recipe
Dice shallots until small diced (brunoise) and sauté until just tender. 
Add prawns. Continue to cook until the prawns turn pink if using fresh prawns.
Deglaze with white wine and allow to reduce by half.
Add salt & pepper, dill and cream. Stir well until the cream cheese melts and it is incorporated.

Place in a container with a lid, refrigerate until needed. 




Miriam's Time Saving TipIt is easier to fill a pasty with a cold filling. If the filling is hot it is hard to handle and it will melt the pastry.



Preheat oven to 375°.
Roll out pastry (see pastry recipe below) until very thin keeping your board well floured.
Cut out 3-4 inch rounds.
Mix together 1 egg and milk and beat well with a fork. This is your egg wash for the top and to seal the edges.
Brush the edges of the round with the egg wash.
Take one round pastry cutout at a time and place 1 tbsp. mixture into the center. 
Fold pastry round in half and carefully seal the edges by pinching the pastry together.
Place on a parchment lined baking sheet.
Egg wash each pasty before going into the oven.
Bake until pastry is golden brown approximately 20 minutes.

Serve hot with a Yogurt Dill Dip (please go to http://cookinguncovered.blogspot.ca/2017/02/dill-yogurt-dip.html for a complete recipe)

Half Recipe:
Ingredients:
1/2 lb. cold shortening (butter or lard can substitute for vegetable shortening)
2 1/2 cups of flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

1 small egg
2 tbsp. vinegar (I use apple cider vinegar but any vinegar will do)
1/2 cup + of ice cold water 
Add all the liquids together to get 1 cup of liquid.  You may not use the entire cup but depending on your flour & shortening you might.


   
1.    Cut up shortening into smaller cubes. 
2.  Add dry  ingredients and shortening to a large mixing bowl.
3.  Cut shortening up into the flour mixture until the shortening has been almost completely incorporated and the shortening is pea size.
3.    Combine vinegar and egg in a liquid measure cup. Beat with a fork. Add required amount of cold water to vinegar/egg mixture.  Whisk well to blend.

4. Add 3/4 of the egg liquid to the flour/shortening and combine with a fork or a mixer.  Careful not to over mix at this stage or your pastry will become tough. Gently form into a ball with your hands. If you find it too dry, add a little more of the egg liquid until the pastry comes together and can be formed into a ball.  
5.     Gently press the dough into a flat disc and wrap in parchment paper and store in the fridge to cool until needed.

Full Recipe
1 Lb. vegetable shortening - cold
5 Cups all- purpose Flour
2 Tsp. Salt
3 Tbsp. Vinegar  (apple cider or white wine vinegars work well) 
1 Egg 
Cold water (approx. 3/4 cup)

You will need a total of 1 1/4 cups of fluid so here is how we make up the fluid. Add one egg to a 2 cup measure. Beat with a fork. Add vinegar and whisk again. Then add the cold water  and bring the combined fluid up to 1 1/4 cups.  You may not need all this liquid, but sometimes you do depending on the moisture content of the flour and shortening.

Prep: 
Mix together flour, salt. Whisk together to remove the lumps.
Add shortening to the flour mixture and cut up shortening into the flour with a pastry cutter (see photo to the right).

Miriam's Time Saving Tip♥ I now realize after making pastry for so many years that the flakiness of your pastry is directly correlated with how well your shortening is cut into the flour mixture. Using a pastry cutter helps with this process. The shortening should disappear into small chunks while keeping the flour powdery.

Prepare liquid and add 90% of the liquid to the flour mixture. Combine the liquid until it is incorporated and the pastry starts to come together into a ball. Do not over mix at this stage or your pastry will be tough. Continue to mix with your clean hands and if it is too dry add the rest of the liquid.
Roll dough up into a disc and wrap in parchment paper and then in a clean plastic bag and store in cooler until needed.








Dill Yogurt Dip






dill prawn pasties
Dill Yogurt Dip for Veggie Sticks
Recipe By: Miriam Borys Busby 
Yield:  1 cup of dipping sauce
Ingredients:
1/2 cup yogurt
1/2 cup mayonnaise 
1 tbsp. fresh dill - chopped
1/2 tsp dijon mustard 
1 tbsp. shallots - diced brunoise 
salt & pepper

Directions:
Dice shallots.
In a bowl add all the above ingredients together.
Stir well and serve as a dip for vegetable sticks or my herb prawns pasties

Miriam's Time Saving Tip♥ This dip is easy to make and stores very well in the fridge.






‘Cooking Uncovered’ © all rights reserved

Chef Miriam Borys Busby, B.Ed., MA.
'Cooking Uncovered'
http://www.youtube.com/user/mlborys?feature=mhee
blog: www.cookinguncovered.blogspot.com


Friday, February 17, 2017

Aioli in 2 minutes....I'm not kidding!

2 minute aioli - please click here to go to my YouTube video of this recipe...so easy you won't need the video!

yield:  1/2 cup of garlic aioli

1 egg yolk
1 small clove of garlic
1/2 cup of good olive oil
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp. dijon mustard
salt & pepper

Mince garlic glove as seen in my video (click here to go directly to it) 
Separate egg and place the yolk in a tall, narrow beaker.
Add oil, lemon juice, mustard and salt.
Using your immersion blender, start blending at the bottom.
Stop and add garlic.
Blend for 3 more seconds and you have the tastiest aioli around.


Miriam's Time Saving Tip♥ 
I usually have 2 types of olive oil in my kitchen. One I use only for salads, aioli, salad dressings and the second one for cooking. I love this Fonte Di Foiano olive oil. It has a lovely olive taste but it isn't too strong. Perfect for aioli. If you have questions about this recipe or any other recipe please email me at mlborys@telus.net.



Tuesday, February 7, 2017

Creamy Fresh Horseradish Sauce with a kick!


Recipe By: Miriam Borys Busby    


yield: 1 1/4 cups of Horseradish

Ingredients:
1 horseradish (HR) root (I found fresh mine at Fresh St. in West Vancouver)
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
My horseradish is in the mason jar and look at the peeled horseradish root in the bowl
1 tbsp. grainy dijon mustard
1/4 cup creme fraiche
1/8 cup mayonnaise 
1/4 cup oil (EVOO)
1/2 tsp. salt
vegetable stock - use enough to take the horseradish sauce to the consistency you desire - if you want to thin it down a bit add vegetable stock

Directions:
Wash and scrub the dirt off the fresh HR root as it will probably be very dirty.
With a sharp knife trim off the ugly parts and peel the outer skin off the HR root.
Cut up into small chunks and put into a food processor. Grind up until small pieces. 
Miriam's Time Saving Tip♥ at this point be very careful when you take the lid off the food processor. Fresh HR is very pungent and strong and one whiff can completely clear your sinuses in a painful hurry.
Add the remaining ingredients and grind up until the HR sauce is the consistency you want.
Store in a mason jar with a tight lid in the fridge. The apple cider vinegar helps to extend the shelf life of the horse radish.



Miriam's Time Saving Tip♥  Make ahead so the you always have your fresh horseradish available for a roast beef dinner
Miriam's Time Saving Tip♥ buying horseradish (HR) can be tricky and you don’t want to buy limp or old HR. At the grocery store pick up the HR root and if it is soft and limp don’t buy it. The HR root should be firm and heavy and yes…dirty.



‘Cooking Uncovered’ © all rights reserved


Chef Miriam Borys Busby, B.Ed., MA.
YouTube Cooking Channel 'Cooking Uncovered'
http://www.youtube.com/user/mlborys?feature=mhee
blog: www.cookinguncovered.blogspot.com

Sunday, February 5, 2017

Beef Barley Soup in 15 Minutes

Recipe By: Miriam Borys Busby  
Yield:  6 servings

Ingredients:
2tbsp. olive oil 
200g ground beef  (you can use more if you want a more meatier soup)
1 large onion (diced medium)
2 carrots - diced medium
2 tbsp. tomato paste
1/4 cup  red wine
1 cup barley



5 cups beef stock 
2 bay leafs
salt & pepper to taste

Directions:
Add oil to your soup pot and heat up pan first.
Saute beef first and then onions and carrots until the onions are transparent.
Add tomato paste, bay leafs and seasonings 
Deglaze with red wine if available.
Add beef stock & barley and allow to come up to the boil.
Once boiled reduce heat and simmer on medium for 10 minutes. The barley will not be fully cooked yet but 
Serve hot.


Miriam's FOODSAFE Tips: always store leftover soup in the fridge as soon as it has cooled down enough. Never leave leftovers cooling out of the fridge for more than 2 hours as this will encourage those pathogenic microbes to grow and could cause food borne illness.



‘Cooking Uncovered’ © all rights reserved

Chef Miriam Borys Busby, B.Ed., MA.
'Cooking Uncovered'
http://www.youtube.com/user/mlborys?feature=mhee
blog: www.cookinguncovered.blogspot.com
Website: www.miriamborys.com



Saturday, February 4, 2017

Papaya, pineapple & blueberry smoothie in La Quinta


Recipe by: Miriam Borys Busby
Yield: 3 - 4 smoothies 






fresh squeezed orange juice picked from Linda's tree in her back yard



1/4  of a large fresh papaya (about 3 cups)
1 cup blueberries
2/3 cup of fresh pineapple
1 tbsp. Miriam’s  'keep it regular' mixture (please see recipe below)
1/2 - 1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (fresh is better but bought orange juice will work)
1 cup water
1/4 cup yogurt

Prepare all fresh fruit and cut up into large chunks.
Add all ingredients above into a blender and puree.

Pour into glasses and serve fresh.


'Keep it Regular'  Mixture     Chia seeds, hemp seeds, and flaxseeds (ground) together provide alot of nutrition including omega-3 fatty acids (click here to read more on these seeds) but help keep the bowels regular. Mix an equal portion of each of the 3 seeds in a air tight container. Close the lid and shake to evenly distribute. Add 1 tbsp. (or more) to your smoothie in the morning.