Posts tagged: durian

Produce glossary

By , March 9, 2010

Scomazzon's fruit stall image Catseye Productions

I thought it might be of interest to some readers to see the main items that will be covered in the Produce Glossary of Tropical Cuisine: Cooking in Clare’s Kitchen. As you may already know this cookbook is the first of what will be several volumes, and in each one a new set of produce will be featured. You may also know that in the produce glossary I am focusing on featuring produce which is available in markets and quality retailers, and/or grows easily at home, but with which many people are not so familiar. One aim of Tropical Cuisine: Cooking in Clare’s Kitchen is to provide information that assists people to experiment or make greater use of the fantastic array of produce we have available in tropical Australia. Continue reading 'Produce glossary'»

Perfect pastry for the tropics

By , January 23, 2010

Perfect pastry for the tropics © Clare Richards 2009 - 2010

Pastry can easily be a very ordinary thing. Too hard, too soft, too stodgy, too thick when cooked; the dough too sticky and wet when mixed, or too liable to melt on you when rolled out. Add to that the very different cooking conditions of tropical climates, with long periods of the year with consistent heat and humidity, and it becomes even more difficult.

So I’ve been trialling and researching, and have come up with a recipe that is dead easy to prepare, works consistently, works on a hot or humid day, and produces a pastry that can be rolled thin, that melts in your mouth, and yet holds firm when filled and when cut.

It’s so good that you’ll have to wait until my cookbook Tropical Cuisine: Cooking in Clare’s Kitchen comes out mid 2010 to get the recipe. For now, here’s a photo of a durian tart I made with the perfect pastry for the tropics.

© Clare Richards 2009 – 2010

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