Sticky Date Pudding

I'm sure we all have childhood memories of a favorite pudding our mothers made and this is one I used to enjoy especially when the cake was still warm.  Of course, as a little girl, it helped that this dessert was very sweet and thus a pleasure to consume.  There are some conflicting stories as to its origins but as near as I can see, sticky date pudding is either an English or Scottish invention (sticky toffee pudding).   Whatever the case, it's an easy dish to make and one that would appeal to any sweet tooth.  Dates are a great source of dietary fiber and have the highest concentration of polyphenols among dried fruits.  On their own, they are a perfect energy boosting snack.


Serves 6
recipe from Donna Hay magazine
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210g (1 1/2 cups) chopped pitted dates
250ml (1 cup) boiling water
1 teaspoon baking soda
100g butter, chopped
135g (3/4 cup) brown sugar
2 eggs
150g (1 cup) self-raising flour
double cream (whipping cream), to serve


Toffee Sauce:
150g butter, chopped
250ml (1 cup) single pouring cream
265g (1 1/2 cups) brown sugar


Preheat oven to 180c (355f).  Place the dates, water and baking soda in a bowl and allow to stand for 5 minutes.  Place the date mixture in the bowl of a food processor with the butter and sugar and process until well combined.  Pour into a lightly greased 26cm x 16cm tin lined with non-stick baking paper.  Bake 30-35 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer.  Cool in the tin for 10 minutes. 


To make the toffee sauce, place butter, cream and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat and stir until butter is melted.  Bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes or until thickened slightly.  Cut the pudding into squares and spoon over toffee sauce.  Top with whipped cream.

The Culinary Chase's Note:   This is not for the faint-hearted as it is loaded with calories but like my husband always says: "80/20" rule so go, recreate those memories, have fun and enjoy!

Maritime Martini

Wow!  This is what I call ceviche party style!  Not only does the lime juice marinate the scallops, the alcohol also adds another delicious flavor.  Digby, Nova Scotia is famous for its scallops and bills itself as the scallop capital of the world.  Scallops are Nova Scotia’s most valuable seafood catch and Digby is the home of the world’s largest inshore scallop fleet.  These scallops are huge! I saw this recipe in the Occasions Magazine which is a food and drink periodical produced by the liquor control boards of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island and Alberta.   The Nova Scotia issue highlights local restaurants and showcases their award winning recipes.  I love the fleshy texture and sweet flavor of scallops.   But these gems are not only delectable, they contain a variety of nutrients that can promote cardiovascular health, plus provide protection against colon cancer. Click here for more nutritional information.  If like this recipe, you might also want to try Marinated Seafood Salad, Scallops with Sauce Vierge, or Scallops with Tomato Crust on rich Shellfish Cream


Serves 10
recipe from Chef Shaun Zwarun, DesBarres Manor Inn
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30 large Digby scallops
1/2 cup red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup yellow bell pepper, chopped
3 green onions, chopped
10 sprigs of parsley
1/4 cup gin
1/4 cup vodka
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
3 tablespoons olive oil
salt to taste
freshly ground pepper, to taste


In a large bowl combine vodka, gin, lime juice, chillies, peppers and green onions.  Heat oil in a skillet over high heat, season scallops with salt and pepper, add to pan and sear 1 minute per side, remove from pan and let cool.  Mix scallops with vodka mixture and marinate 2 to 3 hours in the fridge.  To serve, place 3 scallops in a martini glass or on a small plate, spoon some the dressing over the top and garnish with a parsley sprig.


The Culinary Chase's Note:  Del.icio.us!  I'm not a big fan of gin so I omitted this and doubled the vodka amount.  There's a wow factor when serving this in a martini glass.  Cheers!

Amalfi Baked Lemons (limoni di amalfi cotti al forno)

What a beautiful, sunny looking antipasto to make when the day looks so dull and dreary!  Traditional fresh mozzarella is usually sold in containers of brine, shaped into delicate balls. Fresh mozzarella can be purchased in Italian specialty shops, cheese markets, and some natural foods and grocery stores. Originally made from the milk of water buffalo, and called mozzarella di bufala, mozzarella is now most often made from cows’ milk, and is referred to as fior di latte. However, once you've experienced buffalo mozzarella, there's a big difference in taste and personally I enjoy buffalo mozzarella over fior di latte.  Fresh mozzarella should have a sweet, creamy, milky taste and should have a soft, yielding, pull apart texture.

Serves 4
recipe from Jamie's Italy
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2 large unwaxed lemons
1 or 2 150g balls of buffalo mozzarella, thickly sliced
2 anchovy fillets
2 ripe cherry tomatoes, halved
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 dried red chili, crumbled (optional)

Preheat oven to 200c (400f).  Remove the ends of the lemons and discard them.  Cut the lemons in half crossways giving your four 2.5cm (1 inch) thick discs.  Use a small knife to remove the lemon flesh leaving you with 4 hollow circles of skin. 

The mozzarella is obviously going to melt and ooze out when baked.  In Italy, a lemon leaf is placed underneath each one to keep everything in place, but it's fine to use a square of greaseproof paper to do the same thing.  Lay a greaseproof paper square or lemon leaf on a baking tray and place one of the lemon skin wheels ontop.  Cut a piece of mozzarella to fit inside, then lay a basil leaf, half an anchovy fillet and half a cherry tomato on top with a small pinch of salt and pepper.  Add a little dried chili if you like.  Top off with another slice of mozzarella.  Do the same to the rest and cook in a preheated oven for 10-15 minutes until golden and bubbling.  Remove from oven and allow to cool for a few minutes.  Serve with a grilled hot crostini.  Simply scoop the mozzarella out, eat with the toast and mop up any juices.  Delicious!

The Culinary Chase's Note:  Because the only lemons I could find were relatively small, I opted to cut them in half, remove the pulp and squeezed out any juice.  I love the flavors oozing from lemon halves.  Next time I will try to find larger lemons and prepare the way Jamie did.  Enjoy!

Silk Handerkerchiefs with Pesto Sauce (fazzoletti di seta al pesto)

Homemade egg pasta rocks!  Two simple ingredients that make boring into amazing.  Making homemade pasta isn't as daunting as one might think and it's actually therapeutic.  Don't worry if you don't have a pasta machine as you can use a rolling pin.  Once you get the hang of making your own pasta, why not experiment with other flavors and colors such as spinach (green pasta), squid ink pasta (black pasta), purple pasta (beet), truffle etc.  Fresh pasta will last up to five days in the refrigerator or one month in the freezer.  Click here to view a video on how to make fresh pasta.

Serves 4
recipe from Jamie's Italy
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pesto recipe
455g (1 lb) fresh egg pasta dough recipe
flour for dusting
a handful of fresh basil leaves, torn up
100g freshly grated pecorino cheese

First make your pesto.  Then make the egg pasta dough and roll it out to 2mm on a pasta machine.  Lay all the long strips ona well-floured worktop.  Using a knife or a pasta wheel, cut the strips into rectangular pieces, roughly the size of beer mats.

Cook the pasta in a large pan of boiling salted wated for about 3 minutes, until just cooked, then drain, reserving a little of the cooking water.  Toss the cooked pasta with the pesto, the torn basil leaves and the pecorino.  Taste and season if necessary, and add a few spoonfuls of the cooking water if you need to loosen up the sauce a bit.  Serve sprinkled with more pecorino and serve immediately.


The Culinary Chase's Note:  Velvety smooth pasta with fresh ingredients make for a perfect meal.  Buon Appetito!

Pasta with Chickpeas (pasta e ceci)

It's been a while since I last did a posting on a Jamie Oliver recipe and this one seemed to jump off the page.  This dish is from Jamie's Italy and is a great book to have.  As in all of Jamie's cookbooks, this one is full of delicious recipes and with over 120 of them there's bound to be something for everyone's palate.  Chickpeas are a good source of cholesterol-lowering fiber, as are most other beans. A very versatile legume, they are in many Middle Eastern and Indian dishes such as hummus, falafels and curries. Chickpeas (also know as Garbanzo bean) high fiber content prevents blood sugar levels from rising too rapidly after a meal, making these beans an especially good choice for individuals with diabetes.

Serves 4
recipe from Jamie's Italy
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1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 stick of celery, trimmed and finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
extra virgin olive oil
a sprig of fresh rosemary, leaves picked and finely chopped
2 x 400g tins of chickpeas
500ml (18 oz.) chicken stock
100g ditalini (shaped like short little tubes) or other small Italian soup pasta
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
small handful of fresh basil or parsley, leaves picked and torn

Put the onion, celery and garlic into a saucepan with a little extra virgin olive oil and the rosemary.  Cook as gently as possible, with the lid on, for about 15-20 minutes until all the vegetables are soft, without any color.  Drain chickpeas well and rise them in cold water, then add to the pan and cover with the stock.  Cook gently for 30 minutes then, using a slotted spoon, remove half the chickpeas and put them to one side in a bowl.

Puree the soup in the pan using a hand held stick blender.  If you don't have one, you can whiz it up in a food processor instead, then pour it back into the pan.  Add the reserved whole chickpeas and the pasta, season soup with salt and pepper, and gently simmer until chickpeas are tender and pasta is cooked.  Serve drizzled with good-quality extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle with freshly torn basil.

The Culinary Chase's Note:  With just a few ingredients that won't break the bank, this soup is hearty and filling.  Jamie noted that if the soup is a little thick, pour in some boiling water to thin it down and add more salt and pepper if needed.   Enjoy!

Roast Ratatouille and Halloumi Salad

I enjoy roasting vegetables as this method tends to bring out the sweetness in the vegetable and is another easy alternative to steaming.  Halloumi, the squeaky cheese, does not melt when heated. Instead it develops a delicious crust that surrounds a slightly springy, mild interior that squeaks between your teeth! Halloumi is the traditional white cheese of Cyprus.  It originated in Middle Eastern Bedouin and was made from ewes' and goats' milk. The popularity of the cheese led to its production spreading throughout the Middle East, to Greece and Cyprus and throughout the world. It is a semi hard cheese and is delicious when grilled or fried.  Bell peppers are excellent sources of vitamin C and vitamin A. Red peppers are also an excellent source of the vitamins K and B6. Green peppers are a very good source of fiber and folate.  Choose vegetables to resemble colors of the rainbow as this will help to maximize the different antioxidants contained in each type, thus helping your body to fight cancer-causing free radicals.

Serves 6
recipe from Woman & Home magazine
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2 x 250g halloumi packages, thickly sliced
zest and juice of 1 lemon
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 eggplants, sliced
2 yellow bell peppers, thickly slicked
2 red bell peppers, thickly sliced
2 red onions, cut into thin wedges
12 to 16 cherry tomatoes
3 good handfuls rocket, to serve

Heat oven to 200c (400f).  Place halloumi in a bowl, drizzle with the lemon zest and juice, and 1 tablespoon of the oil.  Season well with black pepper.  Place the remaining ingredients, except the tomatoes, in a roasting pan.  Season with salt and pepper and combine well.  Roast for 30 minutes until vegetables are slightly charred - add the tomatoes towards the last 10 minutes of the cooking time.  Meanwhile, heat a griddle pan until almost smoking.  Sear the halloumi for 2 minutes each side.  Spread the vegetables over the rocket, top with the halloumi and any of the juice from the marinade and serve.


The Culinary Chase's Note:  I love this type of a salad.  So full of flavor and loaded with minerals and vitamins.  Substitute halloumi for goat cheese or feta if you're not a fan.  Cut cubes of goat cheese or feta and add to the vegetable mixture for the last 10 minutes of cooking time.   Enjoy!