Fresh Lemon Sorbet

Honestly, what do you serve after Chinese? Had the in-laws over this weekend for a massive Chinese take-out with the works; whole duck with pancakes, sweet and sour this and that and obviously the crunchy or rather sugary dried beef, loved by all especially the clogged arteries!

I wanted to make a dessert which didn’t have too many steps in, not a lot of baking, done my fair share for this week and with ingredients handy at hand. So I decided to make lemon sorbet.

I had lots of lemons at home and was quite fed up of stocking up on more lemon curd so this recipe was exactly what I needed. I did not include any egg whites in this recipe, so it would be suitable for both children as well as pregnant women.

750ml of water
400g sugar
300ml of fresh lemon juice

You will need to start by placing 750ml of water in a pot with 400g of sugar. Place the pot over a medium heat until the sugar dissolves. In the meantime, wash your lemons and squeeze them. You will need 300ml of juice which is roughly 8 to 10 lemons.

Try keeping the lemons after you squeeze the juice out, they can be used to serve your sorbet in, otherwise you can zest the lemons before squeezing and keeping the zest for later.

Once the sugar has dissolved, add the lemon juice and stir. At this point you can churn the sorbet in an ice-cream machine or else you can place it in a shallow container and place it in the freezer.

Churning should take you around 30 minutes. If you are freezing the sorbet, set your timer for 1 hour. Once your timer rings, whiz the sorbet in an electric blender then place it in the same container and re-freeze. Repeat this process for another 3 times until the sorbet is soft and flaky on the last check.

If you kept the lemon halves, peel the pith out and slice the ends to make your cups stand straight. Make sure that you do not pierce the cups or else the sorbet will run out once it starts to melt.

 

It's Back.....

Finally, my Kenwood is back, so my cakes are available once again! I did enjoy my break, but my oven was crying for something to bake :(

Click Here for my full list of cakes

Watch out for my recipes published everyweek on this page! and, as always, if you need any specific recipe do not hesitate to contact me on concita@demicoli.com

Quick Strawberry Ice-cream

I’m still not sure whether the Strawberry festival we had earlier this month was a good idea!

Prices seem to have risen after this strawberry rampage! So, even though at this time of year you could see me make strawberry jam with the cheaper and not-so-attractive strawberries, this year I am still using them to whole and still shying away from blending and mashing!

If we manage to get some cheaper ones this week, here is a fab and very quick dessert you can make for your friends and family. You could also serve this as dessert with some fresh strawberries on top of each plate to decorate.

Here is what you need:

425g strawberries hulled and washed;

400 ml tinned milk;

some fresh mint leaves.

Chill the tinned milk for a couple of hours preferably overnight before preparing this ice-cream.

Place the strawberries in a blender and blend to a pulp. If you prefer a smooth ice-cream then pass the mixture through a sieve and discard the seeds.

With an electric whisk, beat the milk until it has doubled in volume. With the mixer still on, but lowered to the minimum speed, pour in the strawberry pulp. At this point it is best to try your mixture. Should your strawberries be a little sour add some sugar to taste.

Place the mixture in a freezing container and freeze until the mixture starts to solidify. Now, remove it from the freezer and whip it again. Repeat this procedure another 3 times. Once the ice-cream is completely set, it is ready to serve.

You can prepare this ice-cream in an ice-cream machine. Prepare the whipped milk and add the strawberries as above then churn in your ice-cream machine as per your instruction manual.

You can also substitute the strawberries with any other berries of your choice. Should fresh fruit not be available, I suggest you use the frozen berries and not the tinned ones.

This recipe has been previously published in the Best Buy Supplement, out monthly with The Times.
Should you like to contact me, please do so on concita@demicoli.com

Forced leave!

Oh no, my Kenwood is out of order :( Cannot bake without my baby, so sorry, no orders this week! I guess it's forced leave in a way.....

Not that I am complaining as I need a little break after the Mother's Day orders! I hope that all of you who ordered cakes this weekend enjoyed them.

So, hopefully cakes will be in the oven end of next week, in the meantime, I'm off to Myoka for a much needed massage!!

Warm Mixed Grilled salad

This salad is very easy to prepare and is a welcome change to the standard lettuce and tomato salad! Warm vegetables are ideal to prepare when you are entertaining since they can be prepared in advance and served hot or cold.

You can also serve a small plated quantity of this salad as a vegetarian starter. The vegetables chosen will give you a summer Mediterranean feel and this is what we are longing for during this time of year!

Here is what you will need to serve 4 as a side dish.
2 long aubergines sliced lengthwise
4 long zucchini sliced lengthwise
2 green peppers sliced lengthwise
4 or 5 mushrooms sliced
4 garlic cloves – slit in half
Olive Oil
Salt & pepper
some basil leaves – torn NOT chopped

Start off by slicing the aubergines and sprinkling them with salt. This will get rid of the excess water within the vegetables. They should be left to stand for at least 2 hrs.

Next heat a griddle pan until smoking hot and place the vegetables for a couple of seconds until the slices have been charred on both sides.

Now place the vegetables together in a bowl and stir them together with a very generous helping of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and allow the salad to rest for a couple of minutes before serving. You can also chop some fresh red chili if you wish to make this dish a little spicier!

This recipe has been previously published in the Best Buy Magazine, out monthly with The Times.

Should you like to contact me, please do so on concita@demicoli.com

May Newsletter

May is still the month of strawberries and with Mother’s Day celebrated on the 11th May I am introducing a new cake. My Hazelnut Meringue filled with strawberries and cream and topped with chocolate coated strawberries measures 26cm and is sold at €16.00. Watch out for the photo of this cake on my blog over the next week, I hope I’ll manage to take a photo before it’s all eaten next time I’ll make it!

Don’t forget to visit Kelina’s Jam stand this weekend 3rd & 4th May, at the San Anton Garden’s Spring fair. For more info on the jams email kelinafenech@hotmail.com

Have a look at the full list of cakes on my blogspot. You can now also find weekly recipes on the blog. Leave your comments or start a discussion about any particular dish that you would like to cook or need some tips on preparing!

Watch out for some recipe you can prepare with your children, out tomorrow in the E&D magazine distributed with The Times on Saturday 3rd May.Also, look out for some super quick entertaining ideas in the Best Buy Supplement out with The Times on Wednesday 14th May

Did you know? – Popcorn

• Popcorn 'pops' because, upon heating, the starch in certain maize kernels expands and bursts through the outer skin.
• Archaeologists discovered corncobs and kernels in New Mexico which had been popped over 2000 years ago; although, as yet, no evidence of early cinemas has been found.Recipes
  
  
  
  Feeling adventurous this week, why not try making some Banana Ice-cream or a quick Noodle Stir-fry. For more recipes view my blog or www.di-ve.com
  
  Should you like to contact me, please do so on concita@demicoli.com