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By clare, September 20, 2009

A new batch of figs this afternoon from the same tree, which may be the last as there are few left on the branches.  There are now more fruit on the ground than on the tree; a mottled purple and brown carpet of decaying bounty.  Across the grass is another tree with fruit coming on, so I will be supplied for a while longer.

This week I had a wonderful afternoon gathering green mangos with a friend.  Mango trees are everywhere in Cairns.  Some were planted originally by cane farmers or households long gone, some by public authorities, others feral survivors that have sprung up from the fruits dropped by fruit bats, or tumbled down seasonal creeks by the rush of wet season waters to sprout life away from their parent.

Because we have such a wet Wet season, Cairns is criss-crossed by wide drains, permanent creeks and seasonal flow channels.   It is most often in these places that the mango trees grow, providing seasonally abundant crops to the public.  To me, the scent of masses of overripe and rotting mangos is one of the signature aromas of the wet season, drifting in amongst the smell of rain and wet foilage as I walk streets and green spaces.  Word is that we may have an early and big wet season this year, so the rain may be here soon.

© Clare Richards 2009

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By clare, September 14, 2009

I love papaya for breakfast, but it is not very sustaining on its own.  Sweet potato is amazing in its capacity to keep you going for hours and hours, but can be a bit on the heavy side to eat on its own for breakfast.  This recipe combines them along with lime juice and passionfruit, and makes for a great breakfast.  Soaking the sweet potato in lime juice and cubing them small into 1cm pieces makes it creamy and light, a great mix with the succulence of ripe papaya.

This recipe will be published in my cookbook Tropical Cuisine: Cooking in Clare’s Kitchen.

Sweet potato, papaya, lime and passionfruit salad

For two serves allow:

1 medium purple-veined white sweet potato

1/2 medium ripe red papaya (I like the Papua New Guinea and Hawaiian varieties best)

2 limes

4 passionfruit

yoghurt to serve if you wish

The night before while making dinner, peel and cube the sweet potato into 1cm pieces.  The white flesh will oxidise and brown quickly so if you want to avoid this, rub the slices with a cut lime as you go.  Place the cubes into a steamer over already boiling water and steam for about 15 minutes until the cubes are cooked through.

Take off heat and place sweet potato into a container and squeeze the lime juice over and toss through well.  Leave to marinate for about 1/2 hour, tossing occaisionally if you can.  After that, pour off any excess lime juice and place sweet potato in the fridge.  This mix will keep happily for several days, so you can increase the amount you cook at one time and have enough prepared for several days breakfasts.

At breakfast, for each person place the cubes of 1/2 a sweet potato into a bowl and cube a 1/4 of a papaya over them, then the pulp of 2 passionfruit.  Serve with yoghurt if you like, but I love the clean flavours of this salad on their own.

© Clare Richards 2009



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By clare, September 4, 2009

Our first photography session is done, so soon there will be shots loaded here at Clare’s Kitchen.  We ended up working with three dishes; black sapote rich chocolate mousse; papaya soup; and tropical rock lobster with triple citrus sauce.

Since then I’ve been busy trialling some other recipes, including a mamey sapote cake.  But for now, here’s the black sapote rich chocolate mousse, so make the most of the season’s fruit with this decadent dessert.  This recipe will be in my cookbook Tropical Cuisine: Cooking in Clare’s Kitchen.

Black sapote rich chocolate mousse

250g 55% cocoa dark chocolate

60g unsalted butter

3 tbsp strong coffee, or coffee liqueur

1 1/2 cups blended and strained black sapote pulp

3 egg yolks

(It is important not to over cook chocolate, so only heat it until the chocolate is just melted.  When heating the chocolate custard mixture, stop the heating if the mixture shows signs of splitting or too much darkening of the mixture.)

Melt the chocolate and butter together in a double boiler over hot water, or in the microwave on 80% power for 2 minutes checking and stirring every 30 seconds.  Mix egg yolks and black sapote pulp together well with a spoon, then mix in with melted chocolate.  You can then give it a blend with a stick blender to ensure it is fully incorporated.  Place mixture either back into the double boiler over hot water, or back into the microwave on high for 2 minutes, checking and stirring very well at each 30 second mark.  Pour even amounts into 6 small ramekins, allow to cool completely, then cover with wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours before serving.  Can be made a day or two prior to use, and can also be placed into the freezer 8 hours prior to serving if you want to present it as a super rich shot of chocolate ice cream.  Great as is, but also lovely served with a pool of passionfruit on top of the mousse, and accompanied with a glass of coffee liqueur.

© Clare Richards 2009

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By clare, August 28, 2009

I developed this gluten and dairy free pancake after experimenting with a pancake recipe that was based on tapioca flour from Rodah Lester’s African cookbook which can be purchased from www.lulu.com .  I’ve also added coconut flour, which can be purchased on the internet and in good health stores, reduced the sugar and replaced the milk with 60% content organic coconut cream.

Why do I mention the 60%, I hear you ask?  Labelling is confusing, and pure coconut extract (ie. 100% coconut cream) is labelled as Coconut Cream, as are other products, as I’m using here, which have far less pure coconut cream in them.  If you cook regularly with coconut milks and creams, it’s worth getting your head around such things, as otherwise recipes may turn out runnier or thicker than intended.

These are thin, light pancakes with beautiful texture and a golden crunch along their edges, and go well with both fruit and savoury fillings.  This recipe will be in my cookbook Tropical Cuisine: Cooking in Clare’s Kitchen. Try them out:

Coconut and tapioca flour pancakes

Makes about 9 pancakes

Ingredients

4 eggs

400ml organic coconut cream (60% content) plus 100ml water (ie. 500ml/2 cups total)

2 tbsp organic coconut oil

1 tsp sugar

large pinch salt

1 1/3 cups tapioca starch

2/3 cup organic coconut flour

2 tsp gluten free baking powder

Method

Mix water into coconut cream, then mix in coconut oil until it is well incorporated.

Combine well with eggs, then add sugar and salt.

Sieve flours and baking powder together then add to wet ingredients and blend with stick blender until smooth.

Heat frypan to a medium heat and add about ½ tbsp coconut oil then a ladle of mixture and swirl pan to distribute mix across pan.

Cook until brown spots form on underside (about 2 mintues), then flip and cook other side to similar state (about 1 1/2 minutes).

Pile cooked pancakes on a plate under a tea towel to keep warm.

Serve with sliced tropical fruits, some yoghurt or sour cream and if desired a drizzle of honey and lime or passionfruit.  Alternatively, use pancakes for savoury fillings, or serve as a bread with curries.

Tip: as your are preparing pancakes, place a square of nonstick baking paper between each pancake so they don’t get stuck to each other.  This is particularly handy if you don’t finish them all and want to keep them in the fridge to reheat the next day.

© Clare Richards 2009