Thai Style sea bass with coconut rice

Ingredients:

2 large bunches fresh coriander , leaves picked and stalks reserved
2 thumb-sized pieces fresh ginger , peeled
3 cloves garlic , peeled
2 fresh red chillies , halved and deseeded
1 tablespoon of fishsauce
2 teaspoons sesame oil
6 tablespoons soy sauce
2 limes , juice and zest of

Use a pestle and mortar to reduce the above to a fragrant paste and set aside.

For the fish:

Score the sea bass on both sides at 2cm intervals, cutting roughly 1cm deep, Sprinkle the inside and both sides of the fish lightly with sea salt.then place into a tray or pan with little water and cover with tin foil.

For the rice:

1 can of coconut mill

1 can full of basmati or long grain rice

1 cup of water. 

Christmas Gammon joint

Place the gammon joint into a large lidded saucepan, cover with cold water and bring to the boil over a high heat. Drain the water from the saucepan, add fresh cold water, add the onions, carrots, celery, bay leaves and peppercorns and bring to the boil once more. Reduce the heat, cover with a lid and simmer the gammon and vegetables gently for twenty minutes per 500g/1lb 2oz. (If your pan is not quite large enough to cover the joint completely, turn the gammon over halfway through the cooking time.)

1. Remove the gammon from the water and set aside to cool for fifteen minutes. (The cooking liquid can be strained and reserved for making soup for another time.)
2. Pre-heat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6 and line a large roasting tin with aluminium foil.
3. Use a small knife to remove the rind from the gammon joint, leaving as much of the fat intact as possible. Score the fat in a diamond pattern, and push a clove into the centre of each 'X'.
4. Place the gammon into the foil-lined roasting tray, ensuring that the sides of the foil come half way up the joint to contain any roasting juices.
5. For the glaze, mix the honey and mustard together and brush half of it evenly over the gammon, including one side of the joint. Roast in the centre of the oven for ten minutes, then take the joint out and brush the top and remaining side with the rest of the glaze. Return the gammon to the oven for a further 10-15 minutes, rotating the roasting tin so that the opposite side of the gammon faces the back of the oven.
6. The gammon is ready when the fat on top is glossy and golden brown. Cover loosely with foil if the top begins to look too brown. Remove the gammon from the oven and set aside to rest for 15 minutes before carving.
7. Pour any juices that have collected in the aluminium foil into a small pan, and warm through gently.
8. Carve the gammon, serve on a large platter and spoon over the warmed juices .

Baked Camembert with honey and rosemary

A yummilicious, oozy gastro-pub favourite for those who are not afraid to pile up on calories!
Best served on a wooden board of nicely arranged charcuterie, crusty artisan bread (poppy seed, sourdough etc), figs chutney, grapes and pickled gherkins.
All I needed was:

1 whole Camembert (about 350gr)
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
1 pinch of chili flakes

1 clove of garlic
Honey or Extravirgin olive oil to drizzle
Sea salt flakes and black pepper, to taste

I Scored a deep cross on the top rind of the cheese and inserted the 2 sprigs of rosemary and the garlic clove, thinly sliced.
Sprinkled with chili flakes, seasoned with salt and pepper to taste and drizzled olive oil.
Had the Camembert sit nicely in its small ceramic baking pot.
Baked in a preheated oven to 180C/360F (oven fan 160C) for 15-20 mins.
Removed from the oven, and poured a drizzle of Manuka honey on top, just before serving.

Banana Bread

I still have to come across a better banana bread than the one sampled in Tamarama beach cafe', Sydney. Tried all variants of it, including what they call Banana Cake here in the Uk, which is nice-ish but nowhere near the real deal. I believe this is due to the fact that in Oz they don't sneak in the occasional raisin or extra sugar.
I usually play around with the banana-sugar ratio as I prefer my recipe to be more banana-y and less sugary.


Recipe makes 1 loaf:
200g plain flour
100g caster sugar
50g butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 egg
4 very ripe bananas
100 g pistacchios (optional)
honey (optional)

Preheat oven to 180 C / Gas 4. Grease and flour a 13x23cm loaf tin.
Mix Wet Ingredients with a blender stick: Mashed bananas, vanilla, egg, butter
In a separate bowl Mix Dry Ingredients: flour,sugar, baking powder, bicarbonate soda, crushed pistacchios and mix well. (Reserve some pistacchios for the garnish)
Join the dry mix into the wet mix.  Pour into loaf tin and push some banana's thin slices right through the mix but not too deep.
Bake at 180 C / Gas 4 for 50 to 60 minutes or until skewer inserted into centre of cake comes out clean.
Let the cake cool in a rack (no-ones like soggy bottoms!) - At the same time, spread some honey on the top of the cake and add a handful of crushed pistacchios.