LET ME ENTERTAIN YOU
Angela Casley whips up a mid-winter dinner party menu
OYSTER AND JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE SOUP
Serves 4
It's best to make this soup in a heavybased casserole dish. If time is short, use a good quality store-bought stock. Try serving the soup warm in shot glasses as a pre-dinner nibble, topped with a fresh oyster and a sprig of dill.
80g butter
1 onion, chopped finely
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 cup peeled and cubed Jerusalem artichokes ½ cup flour ½ cup white wine ½ cup water
2 cups fish stock
1 cup cream
1 dozen large oysters; reserve the juice
¼ cup chopped dill, reserving a little for garnish
Salt and pepper to taste
Crusty bread to serve
1. Melt the butter slowly in a heavy based pot. Add the onions, garlic and artichokes, cooking slowly for 10 minutes, without browning, until softened. Add the flour and cook for 4 minutes, stirring. Stir through the wine, water, then the stock, bringing it slowly to the boil until the soup has thickened. Cool slightly before blending until silky smooth.
2. Return the soup to a clean pot. 3. Before serving add the oyster juices, cream, dill and half the oysters, slightly chopped, reserving a few whole for the top. Season to taste. Serve with crusty bread on the side to wipe out every last bit.
HARISSA ROAST VEGETABLES WITH CHICKEN
Serves 4
This is the perfect opportunity to use up whatever vegetables you have to hand. When roasting, cut them into sizes that allow them all to finish cooking at approximately the same time. Spicy harissa paste gives a delightful flavour here; it is also great smothered over fish or lamb.
Chicken marinate
2 chicken breasts
¼ cup yoghurt
2 Tbsp harissa paste
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Vegetables
4-5 cups vegetables, eg aubergine, peppers, yams, red onion
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp harissa
¼ cup oregano leaves
1 lemon, halved
1. Preheat an oven to 180C. Line a baking tray with paper.
2. Flatten the chicken breasts between two pieces of baking paper until ½ cm thick. Place in a bowl and smother with the yoghurt, harissa, salt and pepper, mixing well. Marinate for at least 10 minutes.
3. Chop the vegetables roughly and place on the baking tray. Drizzle with olive oil, harissa and oregano, tossing to combine. Bake for 25 minutes. While they are cooking, pan-fry the chicken to give a little colour on each side, then add to the vegetables for the remaining 10 minutes or until cooked through.
4. Remove the tray from the oven and add a good squeeze of lemon juice. 5. Slice the chicken and serve on a platter with the remaining lemon. Pour over any chicken juices.
FROZEN BERRIES & CROISSANT PUDDING
Serves 4-6
Bring out a warm and cosy dessert as the finale. Using croissant in this pudding makes for a light texture. If the croissants are large you may only need three. No buttering is needed, as in the traditional, more frugal, bread and butter pudding, which evolved as a way of using up stale bread.
3-4 croissants, torn into four pieces 1 cup frozen berries
3 eggs, plus 1 yolk
½ cup caster sugar
1 cup cream
1 cup full fat milk
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp vanilla
Icing sugar to dust Mascarpone to serve
1. Preheat an oven to 170C. Lightly grease 4 x 12cm baking dishes or 1 large dish.
2. Arrange the torn croissants in the dishes. Sprinkle over the berries.
3. In a bowl whisk the eggs, yolk, caster sugar, cream, milk, zest and vanilla. Pour evenly over the croissants. Bake for 20 minutes (for small) or 45 minutes (for 1 large) until just set.
4. Dust with icing sugar, and enjoy warm with a dollop of mascarpone.