Real food made easy
Master the basics for countless meals with celebrated Irish chef’s cookbook
Who doesn’t know Colin Fassnidge? He’s the guy on My Kitchen Rules with the cute Irish accent and the very cheeky grin.
Fassnidge knows good food. As a celebrated chef he has built his reputation on delicious food and his distinctive no-nonsense advice for home cooks. When it comes to cooking at home Fassnidge believes it comes down to commonsense . . . thus the name of his latest cookbook The Commonsense Cook. Master the basics, he says — a simple omelette, a failsafe pizza base, a green sauce that goes with everything, the perfect roast — and you have the foundation for countless meals. Fassnidge’s book is real family food made easy. Following is one of his recipes:
CHOCOLATE-ORANGE MOUSSE with HOMEMADE HONEYCOMB
Everyone needs a good chocolate dessert in their repertoire and this is mine. Honeycomb is easy to make at home and I encourage you to give it a go; just keep any leftovers in the freezer to stop it going soft.
Ingredients
200g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), plus extra, grated, to serve
90 ml double cream
3 Tbsp caster sugar zest and juice of 2 oranges
4 egg whites
Honeycomb:
480g caster sugar
75g honey
185g glucose syrup
25g bicarbonate of soda
Method
Place the chocolate, double cream and sugar in a bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water. Stir until the chocolate has melted, then stir through orange zest and juice. Leave to infuse for 1 hour, then strain to remove the zest. Transfer the chocolate mixture to a bowl and set aside in the fridge.
Using electric beaters or a stand mixer with the whisk attached, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold through the chocolate mixture, then return to the fridge for 2 hours or until set.
Meanwhile, to make the honeycomb, line a large baking tray with baking paper.
Place the sugar, honey, glucose and 90 ml of water in a deep saucepan over high heat. Without stirring, heat the mixture to 145C on a kitchen thermometer, then sift in the bicarbonate of soda and whisk quickly and thoroughly to combine – the mixture will foam up and increase in size. Quickly pour the honeycomb mixture onto the prepared tray and lightly spread it out to a 5cm-thick even layer.
Set aside to cool.
Divide the chocolate-orange mousse among serving bowls. Break the cooled honeycomb into shards and use some of them to decorate the top of each mousse. Grate over a little extra chocolate and serve.
Any leftover honeycomb will keep in an airtight container in the freezer for up to a week.
— Serves 4