Spiced Chicken Pilaf

Preparation 20 Minutes

Cook 30 Minutes

Serves 4

Method

  1. Toss chicken with spices and a small drizzle of the oil. Heat half the remaining oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add chicken and cook for 3-4 minutes each side until golden and just cooked through. Allow to cool slightly, then break into pieces. Set aside.
  2. Add remaining oil to pan and cook onion and garlic for several minutes until tender. Stir in rice with stock and bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 15 minutes, partially covered.
  3.  Add chicken pieces, zucchini and currants to pan, cooking a further 3-4 minutes. Serve sprinkled with almonds and coriander. Accompany with yoghurt and lemon wedges.

Ingredients

2 chicken breasts, halved horizontally

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tbsp olive oil

½ onion, finely diced

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 ½ cups basmati rice, rinsed

2 ½ cups chicken stock

2 small zucchini, cut into rounds

2 tbsp SUNBEAM Currants

¼ cup SUNBEAM Slivered Almonds, toasted

Coriander, yoghurt and lemon, for serving

Recipe Collection

White Chocolate & Almond Tarte with Sherry Soaked Currants

  1. Pre-heat oven to 180ºC (160°C fan-forced). Lightly grease a 34 x 12cm rectangular flan tin and place onto a flat baking tray.

  2. Combine currants, sherry and orange rind. Set aside.

  3. For the crust, combine almond meal, sugar and cinnamon in a mixing bowl. Add melted butter and mix until well combined. Press firmly into prepared tin and bake for 18-20 minutes until just golden. Set aside to cool.

  4. For the white chocolate cream, combine chocolate and ¼ cup of the cream in a heat-proof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Mixing until chocolate is melted and smooth. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

  5. Beat cream cheese, remaining cream and sugar until smooth. Add the cooled chocolate mixture, mixing until smooth.
  6. Remove crust from tin and place onto a serving platter. Sprinkle currants over the almond crust and spread with the cream cheese mixture. Sprinkle with almonds, pomegranate and mint. Serve immediately or chill for later use.

Reindeer Raisin Bites

  1. Add dark and milk chocolate, raisins, and almonds (excluding reserved almonds) to a food processor and blitz until very finely chopped.
  2. Transfer chocolate to a bowl, pour over the hot thickened cream, add butter and salt and stir to combine. Refrigerate for 3-4 hours until firm but still able to be scooped with a spoon.
  3. To make truffles, scoop 2 heaped tbsp of the mixture and use clean hands to roll into a ball.  Repeat with the remaining mixture.
  4. Roll balls in the chocolate sprinkles to coat.
  5. Cut pretzels in half and insert 2 into each ball for antlers.
  6. Just below the antlers, insert slivered almond to form reindeer’s ears.
  7. Use white icing to stick an Ovalteenie to each ball to form a snout.
  8. Use white icing to create two eyeballs just above the mouth. And a dot to each eye with the black gel.
  9. Use the white icing to attach a red mini M&M to the top of each Ovalteenie to give your reindeers noses.
  10. Refrigerate for a further hour to set the icing. Serve cold.

Christmas Cake Friands (GF)

  1. Pre-heat oven to 180°C (160°C fan-forced). Lightly grease 12 x ⅓ cup capacity muffin pans.
  2. Place fruit and brandy in a microwave proof dish and cook on medium heat for 30 seconds. Set aside to cool.
  3. Sift icing sugar into a large mixing bowl and stir in the almond meal and flour.
  4. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until frothy. Mix in the butter and add to the icing sugar mixture. Stirring until well combined.
  5. Pour mixture between prepared moulds and bake for 20-25 minutes. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans and cool completely on a cooling rack.
  6. For icing, combine icing sugar and water mixing until smooth. Allow to sit until desired consistency is achieved. Spoon over each cake and finish with lemon rind and raspberries.

IceCream Torte & Caramel Fig Sauce

Line a 12cm x 26cm x 8cm terrine tin with plastic wrap, leaving enough to be able to cover the top completely.

Pulse dried fruit in a food processor to roughly chop. Combine in a bowl with the port. Set aside for 2 hours.

In a food processor blitz cookies to fine crumbs. Add melted butter and pulse to combine.

Whisk 2 cups (500ml) cream to soft peaks. In a separate bowl, lightly beat condensed milk and lemon juice together. Fold whipped cream into condensed milk mixture, then fold in drained fruit mixture and nuts. Spread a third of the cream mixture over the base of the lined terrine, then top with half the biscuit mixture, then repeat again with cream mixture & biscuits. Enclose with plastic wrap, then freeze overnight.

Place figs in a bowl, cover with boiling water, then set aside for 30 minutes.

Combine sugar and remaining 200ml cream in a pan over low heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Drain figs (discard liquid), add to cream mixture and simmer for 1 minute. Cool.

To serve, invert terrine onto a serving plate and spoon over caramel figs with their syrup.

Pumpkin Fruit Cake

Preheat oven to 160⁰C. Grease and line a 20cm round cake tin.

  1. Bring to the boil mixed fruit, sugar, syrup, butter and apricot nectar, stirring all the time and simmer gently for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and add bicarbonate of soda. Allow mixture to cool.
  2. Add eggs and pumpkin. Beat till smooth. Then add flours and mix well to combine.
  3. Place in tin and bake for 90 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.

Last Minute Christmas Cake

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add the sugar and stir over the heat for 3-4 mins until combined.

Add dried fruit, bicarbonate of soda, rum, cognac and 125ml water and stir well to combine.  Increase heat to high and continue to stir until the sugar dissolves.  Reduce heat to medium then cook for a further 4 mins without stirring.  Remove from heat, cover and allow mixture to cool overnight.

Preheat oven to 150ºC (130ºC fan).  Grease and line a 23cm square baking tin. 

Add eggs to the cooled mixture and stir.  Add flour and spices and stir well to combine.  Allow the mixture to sit for 10 mins before spooning into the prepared tin and smoothing the surface.

Decorate the top of the cake with blanched almonds then bake for 2 to 2 ½ hours or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.  Check your cake every hour to ensure it is not browning too quickly on top.  If it is, cover with foil for the remainder of the cooking time.

Allow the cake to cool completely in the tin before inverting to remove.  To serve, brush with a little apricot jam that has been warmed in the microwave.

This cake can be stored for up to 3 months in the fridge – cover the cooled cake in 2 layers of plastic wrap and foil.

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