Spanish Churros

Spanish Churros take me back to so places and all the memories of those times. France with my family, Belfast Christmas markets 2013 with my friends and San Francisco 2014 with my best friend Aidan. They are amazing street food and I absolutely love them with chocolate. I always wished there would be a place in Cork that would do them but unfortunately it hasn't happened yet. I made my own and trialed this recipe numerous of times to make it easy for you at home.

Ingredients:
-85g  butter ( cut into small pieces)
-225ml water
-6 Tbsp caster sugar
-150g plain flour
-3 eggs, beaten lightly
-sunflower oil for deep frying

Step 1. Place the butter, water and 2 Tbsp of the sugar into a saucepan and heat lightly until butter melts. Increase heat and bring to the boil, then remove from the heat and add the flour all in one go. Beat with a wooden spoon until mixture forms a ball . Leave to cool slightly, then gradually beat in the eggs until the mix is smooth and glossy.
Step 2. Spoon the mixture into a piping bag with a large star nozzle. Put in the fridge for 10-15 minutes.
Step 3. Get a big pot and add the sunflower oil to it. Don't add too much just enough to cook the Churros in. Heat up the oil and test with a piece of the mixture. Don't let it get too hot as the Churros will just burn.
Be very careful working with hot oil.
Step 4.  Pipe the desired size strip out of the piping bag close to the oil and use a clean knife/scissors to cut the dough. When the churro falls into the oil it may curl so I usually straighten it up. Cook for 4-5 minutes until golden brown.
Step 5. Roll in sugar and serve

Note: 

-Cinnamon can be added to the sugar to give extra flavour when on the Churros

-melt some chocolate and drizzle over finished Churros

-Dip the churros into Nutella

Here is a picture of me enjoying cinnamon Churros at Fishermans Wharf, San Francisco 2014

:-)

Caprese Salad

I was first introduced to this salad when I was 12 years old at one of my parents dinner parties. It is an Italian dish and is pretty cool as it has the colours of the Italian flag!I continued to have it through secondary school for my lunch and would often share it with the girls. It's very colourful and is quite cheap to make. I've made this as part of my lunch for college to keep me going for awhile. I love it because there is no hassle of preparing lettuce and is easier for me to make when I am in a rush. 

Ingredients:

-Basil leaves

-Tomatoe

-Mozzarella 

-Rock sea salt

-Olive oil

Step 1. Cut the tomatoe and mozzarella thinly. Line up neatly

Step 2. Sprinkle with rock salt and drizzle olive oil on top. Dress with Basil leaves. Serve up. 

Note: Balsamic vinegar can also be drizzled on top for extra flavour. 

Enjoy :-)

Poached Pears

I used to always think poached pears looked very difficult to do until I actually tried it myself. They are simple to make and can be made as a healthy dessert as well. I made these with chocolate and kids love them too.

Ingredients:

- 4 pears

- 3 tsp mixed spice 

- 2 cinnamon sticks or 3 tsp ground cinnamon

-3 pieces of cut ginger

-Tsp of cloves

- 3 drops of vanilla essence
-2 big bars of chocolate

- the zest of a lemon

- 1/4 of a lemon 

- juice off the rest of the lemon

- 225g of sugar 

- whipped cream

Step 1. Put a pot of water on and bring to the boil. Add sugar, mixed spice, cinnamon, lemon,cloves, lemon zest, ginger and vanilla essence. Leave this simmer for awhile to allow the water to be infused.

Step 2. In the mean time, peel the pears while leaving the stalks on. ( keep the pears in water with lemon juice to stop them from going brown if you need to) 

Step 3. Add the pears to the boiling spice  infused water and leave simmer for 20 minutes. Remove when a fork can go easily through them. 

Step 4. Whip the cream and add vanilla essence and sugar for more flavour

Melt chocolate and have ready to serve with the pears. 

Step 5. Remove the pears and cut the end off to allow it to stand . 

-Remove lemon zest from water and use as a garnish .

-I also added almonds on top of the cream.   

Serve warm and enjoy :-)

Spicy garlic prawns

Saturday is always a big day of the week in my house for dinner, as is every other day but on Saturdays, everyone is around! So I was on starters tonight and felt like getting some prawns. I called into K O' Connells in the market with my sister and we got really nice big ones . They take about 5 mins to cook altogether. Very easy and simple to make but they taste great too! 

Ingredients:

-Chilli or Cayenne powder

-Garlic cloves

-Prawns 

Step 1. Peel the garlic cloves and crush

Step 2. Add the garlic cloves to hot oil. 

Step 3. When the oil is hot add the prawns, I usually leave them thirty seconds on each side until they turn a slightly crisp colour.

If you don't like spicy food you could always leave out the chilli and add ginger or you could just have plain garlic.

Bon Appetite! 

Berry Pavlova

Berry Pavlova is a super easy recipe and can be made by anyone. It can be served as a light dessert or simply something fruity and sweet for tea time. It  taste great and looks great ( if you want to show off at dinner parties :-))  It has the full works of a pavlova plus a little custard for those who are extra sweet tooths!

Ingredients:

-4 egg whites ( at room temperature) 

-Pinch of salt

-2 tsp of corn flour

-225g of icing sugar

-1 tsp of white wine vinegar

-1 tsp of vanilla essence (optional)

- Mixed Berries ( strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries)

-Bird's custard
(  I know you may this may be considered cheating and I should be making my own creme anglaise but It's always been Bird's custard I use with this recipe!) 
-Cream

Step 1. Preheat the oven to 150 / gas 2

Step 2. Line two baking trays with parchment paper and draw a 9 inch circle  in the middle of each one.

Step 3. Mix egg whites and salt until stiff peeks form. Add the icing sugar gradually while continuing to whisk. Lastly, add the cornflour, vanilla and white wine vinegar.
(Your mixture should look glossy and stiffened)

Step 4. Using a spatula, pour the mixture in carefully into the circles drawn onto the parchment paper.
Step 5. Put into the oven and bake for 1 hour ( could be a small bit more or less depending on the oven)
When it is done it should appear to be an off cream colour and a bit soft on the inside.
Step 6. In the meantime, cut the green tip off the strawberries and half them while the smaller size ones can be left whole. Whip the cream ( I like to add a bit of sugar and vanilla to my cream to make it tastier!)
Step 7. Peel off the parchment paper gently and leave the meringue cool on a rack

Place the first layer of pavlova onto your serving dish. Spread the desired amount of custard on it followed by half the whipped cream. Add a few berries. Repeat this step but use most the berries on the top layer. It will make the cake look the part. 

Bon Appetite! :-)

Aroi | Cork Asian Street Food

Red Duck Curry (peas aubergine, baby corn, long beans, lime leaves, 

cherry tomatoes)

Last night my friend Aisling and I decided to visit Cork's latest Asian Street Food restaurant Aroi which is  found in the heart of Careys Lane.We arrived hopeful and determined to find tasty Malaysian food and Aroi we did! We were seated straight away and took in the decor surrounding us. The open kitchen was subtle but gave it a real Malaysian feel and added excitement to the experience. First of all, the menu was very simple offering noodle dishes, salads, stir fry's and curry dishes. We were spoilt for choice, trying to decide what to get!

 I got the Red Duck curry (picture above).I ate every last bit and savoured each bite. This dish was bursting with flavour and is perfect if you like spicy food.  The presentation was appealing to the eye with the vegetables snug at the bottom of the dish ( which were perfectly cooked!)

Aisling got the Fer Pho Bo Kar noodle soup. The presentation was amazing here  also with loads of fresh greens on top. Usually, I am not a big fan of Asian noodle soups as I think they are tasteless but to my surprise, this was not like any other I tasted in Cork. This was a huge stepping stone for me because they have always been something I'd avoid on a menu. Most importantly, the noodle dishes are made from rice noodles, which are gluten free accommodating those with different dietary needs.

Fer Pho Bo Kar (stirfry beef strips, Asia vegetables, rice noodles, in spicy beef broth)

We shared a side of duck spring rolls served on a banana leaf that were accompanied by a sweet chilli sauce. They were absolutely delicious, costing only €5.00. The banana leaf used in the presentation of Aroi's Asian street food gave it very authentic touch.

Porpia Bpet Tod (duck rolls, sweet chilli, pickled chilli and cucumber)

The staff here were relaxed and friendly. Former Michelin star Head Chef Eddie Ong Chok Fong is the brainchild behind Aroi's success. We were glad to meet him last night while he was making sure the customers were enjoying themselves . I noticed there was good communication between all the staff with loads of smiles being exchanged. The positive energy of the staff  compliments the depth and vibrant food they have to offer.  I will definitely be coming back here soon. Check out Aroi's Facebook page or Website for more information.

“It is not just the authentic Asian food, made with fresh herbs from his native Malaysia and Thailand, but the terrific value that customers can enjoy. With no dish above the €10 mark, groups can indulge in mains with as many side dishes that their appetite can manage, rounded off with delicious home-made gelato and coffees. Noodles dishes are created using rice noodles which are naturally gluten free, and everything is made with an abundance of fresh vegetables and are low in fat yet full of good things. With Asian beers and wines to match your feast, Aroi is sure to excite the discerning palates of Cork food lovers.”