Lemon Butter

Now that spring is here our hens are laying like there is no tomorrow. Meanwhile all the lemon trees in the area are weighing heavily under the burden of their fruit. So it is now the time of year when I make all my lemon butter that will be given away as presents come Christmas time.

*This recipe has been adapted from one that can be found in the P.W.M.U Cookbook*

Ingredients

125g Unsalted butter
2 cups Sugar
4 Standard-sized eggs (or 6 bantam eggs), lightly beaten
Juice of 4 big lemons
Grated zest of 2 lemons

Method

1. Grate the rind of two lemons and then juice all four
2. Put the butter and sugar into a pan onto the LOWEST heat possible. Stir until the butter is melted and well combined with the sugar
3. Mix through the lemon juice and zest. Stir through until the sugar has dissolved
4. Now take the pan off the heat and add the eggs. Whisk immediately to prevent lemon flavoured scrambled eggs. If you are worried that the mixture is too hot then let it cool slightly before adding the eggs
5. Place the pan back onto the stove top (still on the LOWEST heat) and whisk constantly until the mixture has thickened
6. Pour into sterilised jars, allow to cool and seal. Then add preserving wax to the lids

**Sterilizing Jars**

1. I save all glass jars that have the pop button on top. The only exception to this rule is Heinz baby food jars. They rarely reseal properly.
2. Preheat the oven to 100 degrees
3. Scrub the jars thoroughly in very hot soapy water. I allow them to drain a little and then pour boiling water over them to rinse them.
4. Now pop them into the oven on trays at 100 degrees to dry them. They need stay in the oven until I fill them.
5. Then I remove them using the trays (do not touch them or they will no longer be sterile). When the jars are filled, pop the lids on (try not to touch the inside of the lid) and allow the jars too cool. Once the buttons pop down they are sealed.
6. They can be stored like this, but as an extra precaution, they can be either dipped into preserving wax or paint the wax around the lid.

Austrian Chocolate Cake

This is probably the most decadent way that I know of to use excess eggs. I have adapted this recipe from one printed in 'Step by Step Desserts and Confections' published by DK (ISBN 1-875566-21-X)

Ingredients

200g dark chocolate, broken into pieces
135g unsalted butter or margarine
5 eggs, separated
180g white sugar
45g plain flour
5g baking powder
Whipped cream, for serving

Method

1. Preheat oven to 170 C
2. Melt chocolate and butter in a pan over a very low heat. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly
3. Beat egg whites until soft peaks form, gradually add 60g of the sugar. Continue beating until stiff peaks form
4. In another bowl, beat egg yolks and remaining sugar together until very thick and pale yellow in colour. Now add the melted chocolate mixture and beat until completely mixed. Now add the flour
5. With a whisk or spatula, gently fold in the egg whites
7. Spoon the mixture into a 23cm round cake tin. Bake for 30-35 minutes
8. The cake will rise and crack while cooking, forming a merengue-like topping. The cake is cooked when a skewer inserted comes out moist, but with no cake sticking to it
9. Cool cake in the tin, the top will collapse in on itself creating a crusted top and incredibly moist base.
10. Serve cold with whipped cream

Celery with Egg and Lemon

This recipe is for my mate Jen - she's after new recipes for her celery glut. This is an old greek recipe that combines the wonderful flavour of celery with the traditional flavours of whipped egg and tangy lemon. Anyone who has tried the greek take on chicken soup or their famous meatballs will recognise this wonderful combination.

Ingredients

6 lamb chops or shanks (be aware that cooking times will differ between the two cuts)
A bunch of celery
4 eggs
Juice of 2 lemons
Salt and pepper (to taste)

Method

1. Boil your meat until tender. For chops this will take about 1 hour, shanks will take at least 2 hours of cooking
2. Whilst the meat is cooking, destring the celery and chop it into 3 inch pieces
3. Once the meat is tender and the water it has cooked in has reduced, add the celery and simmer for half an hour. It is important to reduce the water content before adding the celery as there is a high water content in this vegetable that will be released back into the cooking pot as it simmers. Once the celery is cooked, turn the heat off
4. Seperate your eggs and beat the egg whites with electric beaters on a HIGH speed until soft peaks form. Now turn the speed down to MEDIUM and add the yolks. Once they have combined, turn the beaters down lower still and add the lemon juice at a SLOW speed. It is important to maintain the correct speeds when mixing these 3 ingredients or they will curdle when the lemon is added
5. Now, still at a SLOW speed, add approximately 500ml - 1lt of the hot liquid from the meat and celery to the egg and lemon mix. You will need to add this as slowly as possible so as not to cook the eggs. This results in scrambled eggs and is nowhere near as appetising as it should be - although it still tastes the same. Once some of the hot liquid has been added to the egg mix, you can safely pour this entire mixture back in with the meat and celery. Mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon
6. Serve this immediately with some good, homemade crusty bread

Springtime Fritata

This is an ovenbaked fritata that can be changed to suit what ever is currently growing in your garden. At the moment it is Springtime in Australia and I desperately needed a way to use all the eggs and going-to-seed silver beet.

Ingredients

6-8 eggs (this depends on the size of your hens and the eggs that they lay)
A little milk
A handful of silverbeet (use the smaller leaves that are going to seed at the top of the plant)
3 small leeks (or one large)
1 bacon rasher, thinly sliced
A small wedge of ricotta
1 small handful of grated peccorino cheese
Grated tasty cheese
Salt and pepper (to taste)

Method

1. Wash the silverbeet thoroughly and strip the leaves from the middle vein. Discard the veins. Wash and chop the leeks
2. Mix the eggs and thin it with a little milk. Add the crumbled riccota and grated peccorino. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Grease an oven save dish and pop in the silverbeet, leeks and bacon.
4. Pour over the egg mixture.
5. Grate enough tasty cheese to thinly cover the top.
6. Pop the lot into the over and cook at a moderate heat until it puffs up and is golden on top.
7. Allow to cool a little and serve. Fritatas actually taste better at a warm temperate.

Pasta Cabonara with Peas

I invented this recipe the other night for dinner after picking a big pile of sugarsnaps, early masseys and snowpeas.

Ingredients

Homemade pasta
250ml cream
Peas (I used 3 different varieties, but it is okay to use what ever you have on hand)
1 medium onion
3 small leeks (or one large)
Peccorino cheese (or substitute with parmesan)
Salt and Pepper (to taste)

Method

1. Fill a large pot with water and pop it onto the stovetop to heat up. This is to cook the pasta in later on.
2. Blend the eggs and flour for the pasta in a food processor and set aside.
3. Over a gentle heat, saute the chopped onion and leeks until soft. Now add the snowpeas and allow these to soften also.
4. Add the cream and simmer until it has reduced and thickened.
5. While the cream is reducing, roll out and cut your pasta. Add to boiling water to cook.
6. Add your shelled peas now and a small handful of grated peccorino cheese. Allow it to melt and mix through and then season with salt and pepper.
7. Drain the pasta and rinse under water. Add it back to the pan and pour over the sauce. Stir through to combine and serve immediately.