My Strawberry and Raspberry Meringue ! ©
Happy May Day !
Everyone LOVES this!
Oven 150.C
Time : 1 hour
INGREDIENTS
3 egg whites
175g caster sugar
1 tsp vinegar
1 tsp corn flour
For Coulis
125g Raspberries
125g Strawberries
1tbs icing sugar or more.
FOR DECORATION
125g Raspberries
125g Strawberries
or other similar fruit
250ml Fresh cream whipped stiffly
METHOD
Turn on oven 150 C.
Cooking time 1 hr
1. Line baking tray with gpp.( grease proof paper).
2. Draw outline of a bowl that will fit on serving dish, leaving a small margin.
3. Measure out ingredients and have ready in bowls.
4. Place egg whites in large bowl and whisk until stiff peaks.
5. Add half sugar and beat until very shiny, 4 mins.
6. Mix remaining sugar with corn flour and vinegar. Using a large table spoon, fold in lightly and quickly by hand.
7. Spoon into piping bag, disposable or otherwise.( Use plain nozzle, or star shaped) fill half full only…..or it all comes out the top, twist and push down. ( It is helpful to stand piping bag in a measuring jug, while filling, see photo. )
8. Pipe out, following pencil line and so inwards. It does not need to be perfect, one of the delights of meringue is that even if you do it all with a spoon, it still looks great!!!
9. On top of your base, pipe around edge mini whirls. ( See picture )
10. With any left over meringue mixture, make mini “Drops”, delicious to nibble on afterwards….. Push and pull up sharply.
11. Place in preheated oven.
12. After ten mins, cover lightly with gpp. so that the meringue does not brown.
13. When time is up, turn oven off and leave to cool in oven, remove gpp first.
14. Remove from oven, detach carefully from gpp. with the help of a pallet knife.
15. Place little ones in a bowl.
16. Fill case with stiffly whipped cream on day of serving. Save a little cream to decorate with cream stars.
17. Decorate with soft fruit of your choice, raspberries, strawberries, kiwi etc.
18. Decorate with piped stars of whipped cream and at the last minute, using a small sieve dust with icing sugar…….
19. For the Coulis, wash and hull fruit, blend in blender, together with a little icing sugar. Pour into a very fine sieve, over a bowl and with a wooden spoon, stir until all the fruit has gone through, leaving only the seeds. It takes a little time, but is well worth it.
20. Serve in jug or sauce boat next to the Meringue.
COULIS : Is a thin vegetable or fruit puree, coming from the French word ‘Couler’ to flow.
N.B You can make the meringue and Coulis the day before. Assemble 2 hours before.
Once you have made it once, you will realize it is easy and every one likes Meringue, cream and strawberries !
On grease proof paper, draw a circle using a bowl which will fit into your final serving dish.
This will act as a guide to pipe your meringue base onto.
Place paper on baking tray.
Place star or plain nozzle in piping bag and stand in measuring jug.
Like so……
Place egg whites in clean bowl. ( Any grease, or yolk will prevent the meringue from becoming stiff. )
Divide sugar between two bowls. Add to one the corn flour and vinegar.
Beat with an electric beater or by hand with a balloon whisk, the egg whites, until “stiff peaks.”
As you will observe in the photograph, the egg whites need more beating, because the peak in the bowl does
not stand up right, but bends over……
Once the meringue is “Stiff Peaks” fold lightly and quickly, the remaining sugar, corn flour and vinegar.
Fold by cutting through middle of meringue with spatula, giving a half turn anti-clockwise to your bowl and
lifting meringue up and over.
Fill piping bag half full with meringue. Lift out bag and twist top of bag to close.
Holding twisted top with your right hand and guiding the bag with your left and holding the nozzle close to
the paper start piping out your meringue, using the pencil line as a guide and gradually coming inwards.
Easy.
Oven Temp. 240. C (See Oven Conversion Tables Index)
Cooking Time: 1/2 an hour
4-6 persones
Ingredients
1 Half fillet of salmon 700g apron, boned
1 Large Onion thinly sliced
1 Lemon thinly cut, remove pips
50-60g unsalted butter cut into small pieces
8 sprigs parsley
salt, freshly ground pepper
Grease proof paper, or tin foil, for “Papillote”
“Parsley Sauce”
20g Unsalted butter
20g plain flour
300ml milk
2-3 tbs chopped fresh parsley
1/2 -1 tsp salt, opt freshly ground pepper
Parsley sprigs for decoration
Accompaniments
Mange-Tous
Mini Butterfly Pasta
Method
1. Pre-heat oven 1/4 hr before cooking.
2. Prepare oven proof dish, by lining generously with a good overlap, using tin foil or grease proof paper, cut similar size piece to close over fish.
3. Wash fillet of salmon under running water, pat dry with kitchen paper.
4. Lay on tin foil half the quantity of sliced onion, lemon, butter,parsley,salt pepper.
5. Lay on top salmon, skin side downwards.
6. Lay on top of salmon, the other half quantity of onion, lemon etc.
7. Place on top of fish, second layer tin foil and tuck inwards both layers of tin foil together, to form a tightly closed parcel……”Papillote”
8. Place in pre-heated oven and cook for half an hour, 250. C.
9. Open Papillote carefully. be careful of the steam that comes out. Check fish is cooked through, by making a small incision at thickest part. When cooked flesh should be opaque.
10. Serve in oven-proof dish or lift out fish carefully with two large flat spoons and serve on warm serving dish. Spoon over juices, or serve in sauce boat. You can also add a little to the parsley sauce for extra flavor.
11. Decorate with fresh parsley sprigs.
Parsley Sauce
20g Plain flour
20g Butter
300ml Milk
2-3 tbs Finely chopped parsley
1/2-1 tsp salt
Method
1. Melt butter in sauce pan, med heat, add flour, cook whisking continuously, especially around edges, until “frothy”-don’t brown- 1-2 mins,( the minute you stop stirring it will froth ) then add COLD milk, (If by some misfortune, it has gone brown, for those who are starting out, throw away and begin again, no stress! )
2. Stir CONTINUOUSLY with your WHISK,( spoon not nearly so effective,) so that it does not go LUMPY!
3. Leave to boil 1 minute to cook flour, season and TASTE, should not taste STARCHY, cook more if it does, 2 mins, stirring continuously. The end result must be a pouring/coating sauce. Add a little milk if too thick.
4. Chop parsley finely and add just before serving, so that it retains its bright green color.
N.B. This can all be done before hand, place a piece of greaseproof paper, touching the top of the sauce, so that it doesn’t form a skin.
When ready to serve, remove paper carefully, add a little extra milk, whisk and re-heat, add finely chopped parsley.
(The end result is a “POURING” sauce, which should coat the back of the spoon.)
Good old fashioned “Parsley Sauce” there is nothing like it……Sorry for all the detail…..but for my new cooks, every extra tip helps!
________________
Example of a”Time-Plan.”
1. First prepare fish, put aside or in fridge until ready to cook,PRE-HEAT OVEN, remove from fridge, always 15 mins before putting in oven.
2. Prepare parsley sauce.
3. Put pasta water and Mange-Tous water on to boil. 10 mins before fish is cooked, throw into boiling water, MINI pasta.
4. Five mins before fish is ready, reheat parsley sauce……add parsley last minute.
5. At the same time, add Mange-Tous to boiling salted water, they only need 5-8 mins, they should be crunchy!Turn out into colander and immediately rinse very briefly under cold water to stop cooking process and show up chlorophyl to its best.
Serve all on heated serving dishes!
This is NOT difficult, but EXCELLENT ! The pictures should help. Have fun!
Pre-heat oven. 240.C.
Line your oven-proof dish generously with tin foil, leaving a good overlap.
Place on the tin foil half the sliced onions, lemon parsley and butter, salt and pepper.
Place salmon on top of onions, skin side downwards.
Cover salmon with the rest of the ingredients, salt and pepper.
Cover with second layer of tin foil. Turn in edges of tin foil tightly to form a closed package, Papillote.
At this point the salmon can be reserved in the fridge for a few hours. Remove from fridge 1/2 before cooking,
to come to room temperature, ready for cooking. This is important, or it will take much longer to cook.
Place in pre-heated oven, 240.C for half an hour. ( See side bar for conversion table.)
Remove tin foil cover. Make small incision at thickest part. Fish should be opaque all the way through.
If not, cover again and cook for another five minutes.
Once cooked, serve as it is, or transfer carefully, using two large spatulas, onto warm serving dish. Spoon
over butter and fish juices. You can also add some of the juices to the parsley sauce.
Decorate with parsley.
Parsley Sauce.
This is a rather old fashioned English sauce, always excellent!
Serve with mini pasta shells and melted butter.
Uova all’arciduca ©
It’s Asparagus Season !!!!
Easy
Oven temperature:
200.C oven on, top and bottom
Oven shelf near top
Special equipment: Oven proof ramekins
http://www.epicurious.com/tools/fooddictionary/entry?id=4179
Ingredients
2 eggs per person as fresh as possible!
5 asparagus per person
Enough cream to cover each dish
Parmesan to generously sprinkle on top
Butter for buttering dishes
salt and freshly ground pepper
Parsley sprigs for decoration
Method
Turn Oven on 200.C.Place shelf near top of oven.
1. Butter oven proof individual ramekin dishes.
2. Wash and trim asparagus to size of ramekin.
3. Plunge asparagus into boiling salted water and simmer, with out lid, until just tender, 5-8 mins. Do not over cook! Test with sharp knife.
4. Butter ramekin dishes.
5. Lift out carefully with large cooking tweezers onto large plate covered with kitchen paper. Leave to drain one minute. Divide between ramekins, which you have previously buttered.
6. Break two eggs, over asparagus,in each ramekin, taking care not to let any egg shell fall in!
7. Salt and pepper and place in oven, until the whites just begin to go opaque.
8. Remove, cover with cream and finely grated parmesan cheese.
9. Switch oven to grill and grill until just going brown. Don’t over cook, as one aims to cook the eggs, but keep the yolks runny. This takes a few times to get just right.
10. Remove from oven and serve immediately, so that eggs don’t over cook.
11. Decorate with a sprig of parsley.
This is one of my favorite recipes, the eggs really compliment the Asparagus and it makes a delicious light dinner.
Another favorite with my children!
Place asparagus in salted boiling water. ( No lid, or they will discolor. )
Butter ramekin dishes.
Place asparagus in buttered ramekin.
Break two eggs carefully over asparagus, taking care not to break the yolks. really fresh eggs are ideal!
Place in pre-heated oven and cook until egg whites are just going opaque. Remove from oven.
Grate parmesan finely.
Sprinkle over parmesan cheese, turn grill on and place in oven.
Cook under grill, watching carefully to brown just enough. In this picture they need a little more….
Final result ! Decorate with parsley. Serve on a second plate, warn guests ‘take care very hot !’
Just delicious !
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