Pork Potsticker Dumplings (Goyoza)
INGREDIENTS
FOR THE HOT WATER DOUGH
100g Plain flour + extra for dusting
90ml Very hot water
**CAUTION** it will be very hot
FOR THE FILLING
50g Minced pork
30g Spinach
2 Spring onions
½ tsp Ginger
1 tsp Rice wine (optional)
2 tsp Dark soy sauce
½ tsp Sesame oil
1 tsp Cold chicken stock
Pinch of Sugar, Salt and Pepper
TO COOK
1 tbsp vegetable, sunflower or groundnut oil
75ml cold water
DIPPING SAUCE
Soy sauce
Sesame oil
Finely sliced chilli (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS
- Place flour into a bowl and stir in the hot water gradually, mixing all the time with a fork.
- Tip the dough onto a clean surface and knead until smooth. Dust with flour if its sticking.
- **CAUTION** it will be very hot
- Put the dough back into the bowl and cover with a damp cloth. Leave to rest for 20 nuns.
- For the stuffing, combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix together. Set aside.
- Take the dough and knead for another 5 mins until smooth. Roll out until it is as flat as a pancake and cut out rounds. Arrange on a floured surface and cover with a damp cloth to prevent drying.
- Place about 1-2 tsp of filling in the centre, moisten the edges with water and pinch the edges. They should look like a small Cornish pasty
- Transfer to a tray and cover with a damp cloth
- **FREEZING: At this stage pop the tray into the freezer. Once frozen, transfer to a bag**
- To cook, heat a large lidded non-stick frying pan until very hot. Add the oil and place dumplings flat side down in the pan.
- Reduce the heat and cook until the bottoms are very slightly browned
- **DO NOT turn them over**
- Add the water, cover the pan tightly and simmer for about 12 mins or until most of the liquid has been absorbed. Check the water half way through and add more if necessary.
- Uncover the pan and continue to cook for a further 2 mins. Remove with a slotted spoon.
Moroccan Chicken with Green Olives and Preserved Lemons
INGREDIENTS
2-4 cloves of garlic crushed or grated
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
4-6 tbsp olive oil (for marinade and frying)
1-2 chickens (depending on size) cut into quarters (or thighs, leg, breast portions)
2 medium onions finely chopped
500ml of chicken stock
A handful of green olives
4-6 preserved lemons cut into quarters
SPICE MIX
1/4 tsp ground ginger
Pinch of saffron
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
A couple of pitches of cinnamon or a cinnamon stick
INSTRUCTIONS
- Divide your chicken/chickens into 4 pieces (I like to remove the skin and keep all the bits and bobs to make stock).
- Mix garlic, black pepper and olive oil in a bowl. Add the chicken to the bowl and rub over the oil mix. Cover and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight.
- Heat the oil in a large pan, fry the chicken until golden brown. Remove and set aside. Fry the onions and all the spices for a few minutes. Add the chicken back into the pan and add the chicken stock. Bring to boil then reduce the heat. Leave a crack for the steam to escape and simmer on a low heat for 30 minutes.
- Add the green olives and preserved lemons and continue to simmer until the sauce has thickened. Check seasoning and add more salt and pepper if needed. I like to do this at the end once the sauce has reduced.
Serve with couscous and flatbread.
Vegan Chocolate & Almond Cookies
INGREDIENTS
¾ cup flour
¼ cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
1/3 cup of chopped toasted almonds
½ cup of chocolate chips
¼ tsp salt
¼ cup of sugar
1/3 cup of maple syrup
1tsp vanilla
¼ cup of canola or sunflower oil
INSTRUCTIONS
- Pre-heat over to 180°c.
- Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and baking powder. Mix in almonds, chocolate chips and salt.
- In another bowl, combine the wet ingredients and sugar. Whisk until well blended.
- The batter will be like a thick dough. Roll out dough into little balls and flatten onto parchment paper. To help minimize the dough from sticking, moisten hands with a small amount of water.
- Bake for 11 mins at 180°c.
Macquoise (Macaron Flour Dacquoise)
There are times when I question why I bother making macarons. Particularly on the days when the mac gods are totally against me. I question why I don’t make my life a little easier and make cupcakes instead LOL.
A while ago, I had a large order for pink macarons. I did everything as normal. All looked good. They were “ok” when they came out of the oven, but a few were a bit wrinkly. Within a few minutes, they all started to crinkle and get horrible blotchy patches. Thinking I’d done something daft (always a possibility), I made another batch. Same problem leaving me with a very, very large maca-wrong mountain.
Next day, with a new bag of ground almonds they were perfect. The macaron maestro was back in the house/cottage!!
There are so many reasons macarons fail (far too many to list here) but I’m guessing I had a bad batch of ground almonds which were a bit oily. There’s a superb troubleshooting guide on the Indulge With Mimi website https://www.indulgewithmimi.com/macaron-troubleshooting-guide/which any macaron maker should check out.
Now the big question was what to do with the vast quantity of rubbish macs???? I’m so careful about how much waste I generate from the bakery, throwing them away just wasn’t an option.
There are some fab ideas and recipes but I really love Pies And Tacos Macaron Flour Brownies https://www.piesandtacos.com/macaron-flour-brownies/and the Macaron Flour Cookies https://www.piesandtacos.com/macaron-flour-cookies/#wprm-recipe-container-15627. However, both recipes only use a small quantity, and you can only make so many brownies and cookies (apparently). Maca-wrongs are also rather good crushed over ice cream or in an Eton Mess. But I needed something more substantial. Thankfully, I had enough almond flour to test out a few different recipes.
So, here’s my recipe…all hail the Macquoise.
A Dacquoise is a meringue mixed with nuts and filled with cream, crème patisserie, buttercream or even ice cream. What I adore about my recipe is that, depending on the colour of your macarons, you can vary the flavours. It’s effectively a macaron without all the faff. I made some with buttercream flavoured with blackberry and another with Crème Diplomat, which is a crème patisserie lightened with whipping cream, flavoured with praline paste. Both were delish!
Macaron Flour
To start, make your macaron flour.
If your macarons are a little sticky, place them in a low temperature oven to dry out and crisp up.
Put them in a food processor and blitz into a powder.
If you have a lot (like me) you can store whatever is left in the freezer.
Macquoise
This will make 3 x 8 inch discs and serves 10.
300g Macaron Flour
25g Cornflour
100g Egg Whites (or use Two Chicks liquid egg whites or egg white powder)
80g Caster Sugar
A Pinch of Salt
Preheat the oven to 150°c.
Line two trays with baking paper or a silicone mat and draw three 8-inch circles and set aside.
Mix your macaron flour and cornflour in a bowl and set aside.
Whisk your egg white with a pinch of salt to stiff peaks. Gradually add in the caster sugar until you have a stiff meringue.
Mix a third of your meringue mixture into the flour mix to form a stiff paste. Gently fold in another third of your meringue into the flour mix. Finally, gently fold in the remaining third.
Fill a piping bag fitted with a plain nozzle. I used a 10mm/1cm nozzle.
Pipe 3 spirals onto your mat.
Bake for 1 hour and then leave to cool in the oven with the door slightly open. I prop mine open with a wooden spoon. If you’re baking on two shelves in the oven, switch the trays halfway through baking.
Once cooled, store in an airtight container.
Ganache
150g Dark Chocolate
110g Double Cream
Put the chocolate and cream in a microwaveable bowl.
Heat the mixture on high in short, 15 second bursts until the chocolate starts to melt.
Mix the cream and chocolate together until you have a smooth, silky ganache.
Leave to cool, then store in the fridge until it thickens.
Crème Diplomat
500ml Full Fat Milk
3 Egg Yolks
100g Caster Sugar
50g Cornflour
300ml Whipping Cream
Toasted almonds
Whisk the egg yolks, sugar and cornflour together to form a smooth paste. Add a little milk if necessary.
Put the milk into a pan on a medium heat and bring to the boil.
Pour the hot milk slowly onto the egg mixture, whisking continuously.
Pour the mixture back into the pan and cook the mixture over a gentle heat, stirring continuously, until the mixture thickens.
Remove from the heat and pass the mixture through a sieve into a clean bowl.
Cover the surface with cling film to prevent a skin forming and leave to cool.
Once the crème patisserie has cooled, whisk it to break it up.
Whip your whipping cream.
Gently fold half of your whipped cream into the crème patisserie, then add the other half of the cream and gently fold again.
At this point, you can add in any flavour you like. I used praline paste (about a tablespoon) but you could use lemon curd, strawberry coulis, blackberry sauce, etc. Just be a little careful you’re not adding too much liquid to the crème.
Assembly
Put one meringue disc on a serving plate or cake board and spread just under a third of the crème diplomat over the top.
Place the second meringue on top and repeat as above.
Place the third meringue on top and cover the top and sides with the remaining crème diplomat.
Coat the sides of the Macquoise with the toasted almonds.
Pipe the chocolate ganache around the edge and….
Enjoy!!
💙 💙 💙
Top Tip
Not enough macaron flour, no problem. Replace the rest with 50% finely chopped nuts such as hazelnuts or pistachios or ground almonds and 50% caster sugar (e.g. 100g macaron flour, 100g chopped hazelnuts and 100g caster sugar).
I also used @TwoChicks liquid egg whites (saving the proper egg whites for more macarons) but also tested it with powdered egg white. Results were good with both.