Fish & chips

Ingredients (serves 3 to 4):
1 packet sutchi fillet from FairPrice, thawed
Half a packet FairPrice French Fries
2 litres vegetable oil
1 1/4 cups plain flour
1 cup beer or soda water
2 egg whites
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp salt
Malted vinegar
Tartar sauce

Method:
1. Pour the oil into a deep wok or a deep fryer and heat to 190 deg C.
2. In a clean dry bowl, whisk the egg whites to soft peaks.
3. Combine 1 cup flour, the beer or soda water, and a pinch of salt in another bowl, to form a smooth batter.
4. Fold in the egg whites gently and set aside.
5. Mix the remaining 1/4 cup flour, salt and paprika and place on a plate.
6. One by one, dip both sides of the fish fillets in this flour mixture to coat evenly, then shake off any excess flour.
7. Again, one by one, dip the floured fish fillets into the batter and then place them in the hot oil.
8. Fry for a minute or two on each side until golden brown, then drain on kitchen paper.
9. When all your fish are fried, ensure that the oil is hot enough again and then fry the French fries.
10. Drain on kitchen paper and set aside.
11. Portion the fish and chips onto individual plates and serve sprinkled with malted vinegar and tartar sauce on the side.

Tips:
Recipe uses Sutchi fillet and FairPrice French Fries ($2.75 each) available at all FairPrice supermarkets.

When it comes to ensuring crisp batter and fries that aren’t overly greasy, it is important to use good, clean oil, heated to about 190 deg C. You can test if the oil is hot enough by dropping a small piece of bread or a drop of batter into it. If the bread or batter creates bubbles and rises to the surface, the oil is hot enough.

When the battered fish is put into well-heated oil, the batter will quickly form a shield, preventing the oil from penetrating the cool fish inside. The fish will then cook by indirect heating, rendering its batter crisp and the meat inside cooked but not greasy.

If the oil is not hot enough, it will seep through the food before the batter has formed a protective layer. That’s when you get greasy fish that’s unpleasant to eat. This applies to all deep-fried foods.

Also, you’ll want to fry foods made of vegetables — such as the fries — while they are frozen, to limit the fat absorption. And don’t overcrowd your deep-fryer or wok as too much food will lower the oil’s temperature.

Recipe source: Today newspaper (17 Apr 2008)

Strawberry lemon sorbet tart

Ingredients (serves 4):
Filo Pastry Cups:
12 square sheets of filo pastry
2 tbsp butter, melted
2 tsp raw cane sugar

Lemon Sorbet:
1 cup freshly-squeezed lemon juice
150g castor sugar
1 egg white
1 1/4 cup water

Method:
Filo Pastry Cups:
1. Preheat oven to 200 deg C.
2. Make the pastry 'cup' by layering 3 sheets of pastry in one compartment of muffin tin (use the 6-pan type). Repeat with the remainder of the pastry.
3. Brush butter and sprinkle raw cane sugar over the top layer of each 'cup'.
4. Place in the oven for 20 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven and let the pastry cool.

Lemon Sorbet:
1. Place the sugar and water into a saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring occasionally until the sugar dissolves.
2. Add the lemon juice and stir the mixture evenly, then place the syrup into a freezer-proof container and freeze it for 4 hours until mushy.
3. Scoop the sorbet into the food processor and process until smooth. Whisk the egg white until frothy and add into the sorbet mixing it evenly.
4. Place in the freezer for another 4 hours.

To serve:
Place a scoop of the sorbet mixture into the filo cup and top it up with half a strawberry. Serve immediately.

Recipe source: Family magazine (Feb 2007)

Christmas snowman cookies

Ingredients:
3 1/2 cups plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon powder
1/2 tsp nutmeg powder
1/2 tsp clove powder
1/2 tsp fine salt
1 1/2 cups fine sugar
1 cup softened margarine or butter (250g)
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla essence
red, white and green Royal Icing

Home Made Royal icing:
2 egg whites
12 tbsp icing sugar, sifted

Method:
1. Mix dry ingredients together except for the sugar.
2. Cream the softened butter or margarine with the sugar in a large bowl for about 1 to 2 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla essence and beat well. Mix in the dry ingredients, knead well and put into a bowl. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and leave in the fridge for up to 4 hours.
3. Preheat the oven to 200 deg C. Line 2 baking trays with greaseproof paper and lightly grease the paper.
4. On a floured surface, roll out the dough to 1/4cm thickness. With a cookie cutter, cut into star and snowman shapes. If you do not have a cookie cutter, just cut into round shapes.
5. Bake for 15 minutes till lightly coloured and cooked. Remove to wire rack and cool before decorating with Royal Icing.

Royal icing:
1. Put the egg whites in a bowl and pour the icing sugar over, stirring well to form a homogenous mixture, not too runny and not too dry. It should be like a soft and slightly runny dough. Add more egg whites or sugar, according to the texture of the mixture.
2. Divide into 3 and colour 1 portion red, 1 portion green and leave 1 portion white. Use a thin piping nozzle and pipe patterns on to the cookies.

Recipe source: Today newspaper

Blueberry-buttermilk pancakes with orange sauce

Ingredients (makes 4 to 5 servings, 2 pancakes and 2 tbsp of sauce per serving):
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 slightly beaten egg white
1 cup buttermilk
2 tsp cooking oil
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
Orange wedges and/or fresh blueberries (optional)

Method:
Pancakes:
1. In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
2. In another mixing bowl, stir together the egg white, buttermilk, cooking oil and vanilla. Add all at once to the flour mixture. Stir just until combined but still slightly lumpy. Gently add the blueberries.
3. For each pancake, pour about 1/4 cup of the batter onto a non-stick griddle or pan. Cook over medium heat for about 2 minutes on each side or until pancakes are golden brown, turning to cook second sides when pancakes have bubbly surfaces and slightly dry edges.
4. Serve with orange sauce. If desired, garnish with orange wedges and/or additional blueberries. Cover and chill any remaining orange sauce.

Orange sauce:
In a small saucepan, stir together 1/4 cup orange juice concentrate, 1 tbsp sugar and 1 tbsp cornstarch. Add 1 cup water. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir sauce for 2 minutes more. Serve warm.

Recipe source: Health magazine