Lemon tartlets

There’s something about the offsetting flavours of tangy lemons with sweet maple syrup and comforting cream and egg yolks that sends me into gastronomical bliss.

I also love that this recipe only calls for 4 ingredients and you can quite literally make it in 10 minutes flat and store the tray with the filled ramekins in the fridge all day and simply pop them in the oven when you sit down for dinner. Then 1 hour later a hot dessert awaits! And it never disappoints. Both kids and adults love this dessert.

I basically took my lemon tart recipe that I crafted 10 years ago and out of sheer desperation in the interest of time I ditched the gluten-free shell part and poured the filling directly into individual ramekins. If you prefer to make 1 large lemon tart instead you’ll need to first make a shell to line a round pie dish (recipes will be given for various gluten-free shells at my gluten-free tarts workshop) before pouring the filling in and bake for same length of time. 

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Ingredients

— 1 cup lemon juice (the juice from approximately 6 lemons. I like to use a juicer which is the only reason why I still own one)

— 200ml cream (or for a dairy free version use coconut milk or coconut cream)

— 4 egg yolks plus 3 whole eggs (the spare egg whites can be stored in the fridge for several days and added to omelettes or scrambled eggs)

— 1/2 cup (160g) pure maple syrup

Note — At Broth Bar & Larder we sell coconut milk (certified organic, guar gum free, BPA free), Carbeen pastured eggs (which have the lowest stocking density of any eggs in Australia) and Jakemans pure Canadian maple syrup. So all you really need is to buy half a dozen lemons and juice them!

Directions

1. Blend all ingredients together in a blender or a stick blender. 

2. Pour into ramekins on a baking tray. This quantity makes for 10x 100ml ramekins. 

3. Bake in oven at 120 degrees for 1 hour. 

4. If you want your tartlets to have a golden brown glow, scorch the top of the tartlets with a blow torch if you are brave enough or place the tray under a heated grill element in the oven for the same effect. 

Kitchen Tip: Soak the ramekins with hot soapy water as soon as possible after the tartlets have been devoured to make for easy washing up. If you do this it avoids having to grease the ramekins first. It’s all about those time saving hacks that us mums love ;-)

Zucchini fritters

This is one of my kids’ favourite ways of eating zucchinis. Big kids love them too!! 

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Ingredients

— 500g zucchini
— 1 onion
— 2 garlic cloves
— 2 eggs
— 2 carrots
— 1 teaspoon salt
— cracked pepper
— 1 teaspoon paprika
— handful of chopped fresh parsley (optional)
— 1 cup activated savoury buckwheat flour, ground up into a fine flour in nut/spice/coffee grinder or Thermomix. 
— coconut oil, beef tallow, butter (or other natural fat of choice for frying)

Directions

If you have a food processor: roughly chop zucchinis, onions and carrots with a knife and add to food processor. Add all other ingredients (other than fat of choice for frying and flour) to food processor and process ingredients until they are well mixed.  

If you don’t have a food processor: grate zucchini and carrots finely, dice onions and garlic finely. Chop parsley finely. Beat eggs. Add all ingredients (other than fat of choice for frying) to a large bowl and mix well together.

The mixture will be quite runny, so I place the mixture in the fridge for a couple of hours to firm it up somewhat. 

Heat a liberal amount of fat of choice in a stainless steel frying pan on medium heat (I have several frying pans on the go at the same time). Add small dollops of the mixture into the frying pan (leaving sufficient space between them) and fry on one side until golden brown. Fill the pan(s) with as many fritters as you can comfortably fit. Using a stainless steel spatula, turn the fritters over to brown the other side. When cooked, place on plates or cooling racks lined with paper towels to absorb excess fat. 

Serve with home-made aoili if desired.

Peaches in balsamic reduction

One of my favourite summer salads and a good way to use up an excess of peaches. I love the complex infusion of flavours in this recipe - fresh, sweet, salty, sticky and peppery all combine to create gastronomic heaven.

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Ingredients:

• 3 white or yellow ripe peaches, seeded and sliced in segments

• 2 tablespoons caramelised balsamic vinegar (else use balsamic vinegar if wanting to reduce sugar)

• Juice of ½ lime (approximately 1 tablespoon) 

• 1-2 drops of Young Living lime essential oil (optional) 

• pinch of vanilla salt (optional)

• a few torn leaves of fresh basil, mint and/or oregano 

• 4 handfuls of rocket 

• 80g of preservative-free prosciutto 

Directions:

Heat vinegar in a large frying pan or cast iron pot. Add sliced peaches and cook on low-medium heat uncovered until the liquid reduces somewhat and the peaches are cooked through (approximately 10 minutes). Stir occasionally to prevent the peaches from sticking to the pan and to coat the peaches well in the balsamic. 

Place rocket on a serving platter, and arrange the peaches and prosciutto on top of the rocket. Add the lime essential oil to the lime juice in a small bowl and drizzle over the salad. Season with a good pinch of vanilla salt and garnish with the fresh herbs.  

Serves 4 as a side.

Directions: If you prefer to serve the caramelised peaches as a luscious dessert, omit the rocket and prosciutto, and serve in bowls with a dollop of thick cream.