Amy's Kitchen

Amy's Kitchen has moved to http://amyscookbook.wordpress.com/


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a52weekchallengeayear asked: a new recipe every week!! ah! i finally found someone else doing this as well!! =) yeay!!! well i havent started yet, i'm still researching lol when did you start? do you you have a goal? or is this on going? sorry.. i'm just curious!

- 52weeksayearoffood.tumblr.com

Hi there, thanks for your message! I’ve decided to move my blog to Word Press because the functionality is heaps better and it’s easier for people to leave comments.  Here’s the URL - http://amyscookbook.wordpress.com/.  I’d love for you to keep following me!  As for goals, I guess it’s an ongoing thing… just digging out all my old cookbooks and putting them to good use! 


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Anonymous asked: can you please bake choc caramel slice like your mum used to?

Of course, anonymous. I’d gladly do anything for you. But may I ask, who you are?

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The Compton’s hot cross bun recipe Okay, so I know it’s not Easter at the moment, but I had to share this recipe with you right now ‘cos it’s just oh so good! My boyfriend is a great cook. He baked these delicious hot cross buns at Easter with a tried and tested family recipe that his lovely mum sent over all the way from England. The secret is allowing the dough to rise by sitting it in a warm place for a couple of hours. The only problem with these buns is they are highly addictive. I challenge you to stop at one. Impossible! Recipe:  350g plain flour Pinch of salt 1-1/12 teaspoon of mixed spice Packet of dried yeast or 15g fresh yeast 25-50g sugar About 200ml milk and water (I use half and half) 25g margarine or butter 100g mixed dried fruit (the recipe calls for 50g candied peel but I put an extra 50g dried fruit in). 25g sugar 1 tablespoon of water for glaze Sieve flour, salt and mixed spice together. I use dried yeast, but if you use fresh you will have to mix it with 1 tsp of the sugar and the milk/water which should be tepid and leave in a warm place for around 20 mins. Rub margarine into the flour and dried yeast, add the sugar and dried fruit. Add the tepid water/milk and knead thoroughly. Put in a warm place for about 1 hour until doubled in size. I cover with cling film to speed the process up. Form into buns. The cross should be marked before proving. Do this with the back of a knife or by cutting thin strips of shortcrust pastry and arranging on the top. Place on warm greased baking sheets and prove for 15 mins (I usually cover with a clean towel). Bake near the top of a hot oven 230c for 10mins. Dissolve the 25g of sugar in the tablespoon of water and glaze the buns.  Makes approximately 12 buns

The Compton’s hot cross bun recipe

Okay, so I know it’s not Easter at the moment, but I had to share this recipe with you right now ‘cos it’s just oh so good! My boyfriend is a great cook. He baked these delicious hot cross buns at Easter with a tried and tested family recipe that his lovely mum sent over all the way from England. The secret is allowing the dough to rise by sitting it in a warm place for a couple of hours. The only problem with these buns is they are highly addictive. I challenge you to stop at one. Impossible!

Recipe: 

  • 350g plain flour
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1-1/12 teaspoon of mixed spice
  • Packet of dried yeast or 15g fresh yeast
  • 25-50g sugar
  • About 200ml milk and water (I use half and half)
  • 25g margarine or butter
  • 100g mixed dried fruit (the recipe calls for 50g candied peel but I put an extra 50g dried fruit in).
  • 25g sugar
  • 1 tablespoon of water for glaze

Sieve flour, salt and mixed spice together. I use dried yeast, but if you use fresh you will have to mix it with 1 tsp of the sugar and the milk/water which should be tepid and leave in a warm place for around 20 mins.

Rub margarine into the flour and dried yeast, add the sugar and dried fruit. Add the tepid water/milk and knead thoroughly. Put in a warm place for about 1 hour until doubled in size. I cover with cling film to speed the process up.

Form into buns. The cross should be marked before proving. Do this with the back of a knife or by cutting thin strips of shortcrust pastry and arranging on the top. Place on warm greased baking sheets and prove for 15 mins (I usually cover with a clean towel). Bake near the top of a hot oven 230c for 10mins. Dissolve the 25g of sugar in the tablespoon of water and glaze the buns. 

Makes approximately 12 buns


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Chocolate banana bread

Another rippa from Women’s Weekly - choccie banana cake. That’s right, cake, not bread. There’s nothing bread-like about this recipe. I feel quite passionate about this topic. It’s amazing how many people eat banana cake for breakfast and kid themselves into believing it’s healthy by calling it “banana bread”. Marketing at its best!

In this recipe, I used hazelnuts instead of walnuts, and cooking chocolate instead of eating chocolate (only because it was raining outside and I couldn’t be bothered walking to the shops). You’re always better off using good quality eating chocolate when it comes to baking. I didn’t have wholemeal SRF in the pantry, so I just used plain flour instead and threw in some bi-carb and baking powder. It seemed to work!

For aesthetics, I dusted the top of the cake with icing sugar and served it with butter, but you can give that a miss if you’re watching your waistline.


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Lamb shanks with chickpeas

If you’re out to impress your next dinner guests, I have the recipe for you! Lamb shanks with chickpeas, hello sailor! This recipe is testament to the fact that good food isn’t necessarily complicated or over-worked.  I found this gold nugget in one of my favourite cookbooks, Home Food (Murdoch Books).  

The recipe says you can go for eight small shanks or four big ones… I went with four. The meat falls off the bone and the sauce has a delicious cinnamon taste with a spicy aftertaste from the harissa (a kitchen essential).

Recipe:

  • 1 tbs oil
  • 4 large or 8 small lamb shanks
  • 2 onions, finely chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1 tbs harissa (a North African paste made from dried red chillies; available from delis)
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes
  • 2 x 300g cans chickpeas, drained
  • 90g green olives
  • 1/2 tablespoon preserved lemon or lemon zest, finely chopped
  • 2 tbs mint, chopped

Heat the oil in a large casserole dish over a medium heat and fry the lamb shanks until they are well browned all over (this step is crucial as the browning adds to the flavour of the sauce). Add the onion and garlic and fry them for a couple of mins until the onion starts to soften.

Add the harissa, cinnamon and salt and pepper to the casserole, stir everything together, then add the chopped tomato and bring everything to the boil. If there doesn’t seem to be enough liquid (the shanks need to be pretty well covered), add a bit of water. Put the lid on and turn the heat down until the liquid is simmering, then cook for 50 mins.

Add the chickpeas, olives and lemon to the pan and stir them into the liquid. Season to taste and continue cooking with the lid off for another 20 to 30 mins. By this time, the lamb shold be very tender and almost falling off the bone. If it isn’t, just keep cooking, checking every  mins until it is. Using a big spoon, scoop any orange-coloured oil off the top, then stir in the mint. Serve with extra harissa if you like the heat! Serve with couscous.

Serves four.