Well it's Christmas again and time to get everything ready for the New Year/New Decade. It really doesn't seem that long ago that we were worried about the Y2K bug and now we are leaving the Noughties.
I have spent some time adding some of the blogs that have developed during the last year to our list.
There is so much activity at the Thermomix Forum that we have neglected this site.
There are more blogs starting up each month and so lots of new ideas.
Tenina continues to have the Monthly Mouthful competition at Thermomix Australia and we need your help to support her. To encourage people to vote we are giving away a copy of "Lotus: Asian Flavours" signed by the author, Teague Ezard.
All you have to do is check out the December Monthly Mouthful post and make a Comment - You DO NOT have to vote for any of the dishes, just make a comment.
After the competition has closed one of the comments will be chosen at random - not based on content - and the winner will receive the book.
The following recipe is one that was given to me last year to post here, but I hadn't taken a photo and Christmas came and went, so I forgot about it. There is another version on the Forum Thermomix site too by Ingrid in the UK - so it must be good.
Chocolate Truffle Torte
Ingredients:
75 g Amaretti biscuits
600 ml whipping cream
450 g cooking chocolate (70% cocoa), cut into chunks
5 tablespoons liquid glucose
125 g Grand Marnier, Rum, Whisky or Amaretto
Cocoa powder for dusting
Method:
Grease a 23cm springform cake tin with oil, and then place a circle of baking paper in the base.
Place biscuits in TM bowl and crush for 30 seconds on speed 9. Spread these over base of the tin.
Insert Butterfly over blades and place cream in TM bowl. Beat for 20 seconds on speed 4 or until it starts to thicken, it does not need to be firm. Remove to a large mixing bowl and set aside in the fridge. Remove Butterfly.
Without cleaning the TM bowl, place the chocolate into the TM bowl and chop for 10 seconds on speed 7. Scrape down the sides and top and add the liquid glucose and liqueur and then melt the chocolate for 3 minutes at 50°C on speed 1. Allow to cool for 5 minutes and then add some of the lightly whipped cream. Mix for 15 seconds on speed 3.
Allow to cool for 5 minutes and then add some of the lightly whipped cream. Mix for 15 seconds on speed 3. Carefully fold chocolate mixture into the remaining cream in the large bowl.
Once mixture is smoothly blended, spoon into prepared cake tin and tap gently to even the mixture out. Cover with plastic film and refrigerate overnight.
To serve, use a knife to loosen the edges of the torte and undo the springform sides. Place a serving plate on the torte and turn upside down, so that the amaretti biscuit crumbs are now on top. Dust with sifted cocoa powder.
It may be prepared a couple of days before serving and freezes well.
It is time to start up this blog - mainly to show that I am still alive, but also to encourage more Thermomix users to join the Forum Thermomix group.
It is a forum run by an Englishman living in Portugal, but if you check it out you will see that mainly Aussies have taken it over.
We are keen to have people with an interest in the Thermomix join us and post recipes or reviews of recipes.
To this end we have a book giveaway !!!!
Last month I met Antonio Carluccio at dinner at Grossi Florentino. He signed a copy of his book Passion for Pasta.
So, if you would like the opportunity to win this book, join the Forum Thermomix group and either post a Thermomix recipe, or review a recipe - from a Thermomix cookbook or website/forum.
More information can be found here.
The Christmas Thermomix Recipe Competition has been underway at Thermomix in Australia's blog. If you haven't voted then please look at the recipes and think about making them and voting.
I have recipes that had been sent in and didn't make it, but we can share them here with you. I will try them out and publish with pictures, hopefully. Christmas is only 1 week away though - Aaaaahhhhhhhhhh !!!!!
The first one is pretty simple and the intro goes like this:
In the Northern Hemisphere, egg nog is a very traditional drink at Christmas. This is a cool variation that is suitable for our climate.
Chilled Rum (or Sherry) Sabayon
Ingredients:
3 egg yolks
50 g caster sugar (made in Thermomix)
3 tablespoons orange juice
2 tablespoons rum or Pedro Ximenez sherry
Method:
Insert Butterfly over blades in Thermomix and add egg yolks and sugar. Cream yolks and sugar for 4 minutes on speed 4.
With the Butterfly still in place, set Thermomix for 7 minutes at 70°C on speed 4. Gradually add the orange juice and rum (or sherry) through the lid.
The mixture should be thick when cooked; you may need to increase the temperature to 80°C and cook slightly longer.
Place mixture into a bowl, cool, cover and chill in the fridge thoroughly before serving.
The sauce is best made on the day it is to be served as it tends to separate.
The second recipe is an extension of the sabayon or zabaglione above and the intro is:
Champagne and berries say it all at Christmas. This is a dessert that can be prepared in advance. The egg whites in the dish help stabilise the sabayon.
Christmas Berries in Champagne Sabayon
Ingredients:
400 g mixed berries, hulled and cleaned
2 tablespoons kirsch or Grand Marnier
2 teaspoons sugar
3 eggs, separated
Pinch of cream of tartar
100 g caster sugar (made in Thermomix)
250 ml champagne
Method:
Drizzle the berries with liqueur and sprinkle with sugar. Leave to marinate, overnight if you like.
Insert Butterfly over blades and place egg whites and cream of tartar in TM bowl. Beat for 3 minutes at 37°C on speed 4 with MC out of lid.
Set TM for 1 minute and 30 seconds at 37°C on speed 4 and slowly introduce 50g of the caster sugar. Remove resulting meringue to a bowl and place in fridge.
Clean bowl fairly well and insert Butterfly over blades. Place egg yolks and remaining 50 g of caster sugar in TM bowl and cream yolks and sugar for 4 minutes on speed 4.
While yolks and sugar are creaming, drain berries and strain juice through a fine sieve. Keep berries aside and measure the liquor. You will need about 1/2 a cup, if needed add some champagne to make up to 1/2 cup.
With the Butterfly still in place, set Thermomix for 8 minutes at 70°C on speed 3. Gradually add the liqueur/champagne mix through the lid.
The mixture should be thick when cooked; you may need to increase the temperature to 80°C and cook slightly longer.
Place mixture into a bowl and allow to cool. Once cool, gently fold into the meringue mixture.
To serve: Reserve a few berries for garnish, then place remaining berries into dessert glasses, cover with cold champagne and top with the sabayon. Decorate with reserved berries. Merry Christmas.
This recipe was sent to me by my consultant, Janine, and originally from Helen, a German consultant.
There have been a number of requests for grain loaves and hopefully this will make somebody happy.
Seed Loaf
Ingredients:
300gms spelt or wheat grain
200g Bread flour
1 medium cooked potato
40g natural yeast or 1 sachet dry yeast
2 teaspoons salt
Blob of honey
1 dessertspoon oil
260g luke warm water
Sunflower seeds
Method:
Mill Spelt or Wheat grain on speed 9 for 30 seconds (a bit less for Spelt)
Add bread flour, potato, yeast, salt, honey, oil and water and knead (ear of wheat symbol) for 2 minutes (do not mix first). If mixture is sticky add more flour in the first 30 seconds of kneading.
Add some sunflower seeds for the last 20 seconds of kneading.
Place mixture into a bread tin or a 12 mini loaf tin or free form on a tray
Bake for 10 minutes on 100°C, then 30 minutes on 180°C.
It was originally posted here on the Thermomix Forum.
( or a quick dip for guests who arrive early)
We had guests on Saturday and there was a communication breakdown as to when they were arriving, so I was behind schedule with the preparation. Thank goodness for the Thermomix sitting there waiting patiently on the bench.
This is a dip that has been made a few times with variations, but basically the same as the Asian pesto/dip. Really, the variations are limited by your imagination. Use walnuts, peanuts or almonds intead of cashews. Add some chili. Cook the garlic first for a milder taste. Use other oils such as grapeseed for a milder taste or splurge on some walnut oil.
Rocket and Cashew Pesto
Ingredients:
80 g parmesan or grana padano
1 clove garlic
100 g rocket, washed and shaken dry
150 g roasted, unsalted cashews
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
Method:
Place parmesan into TM bowl and grate for 10 seconds on speed 7. You don’t want it too fine – some little bits are OK. Remove and set aside.
Place garlic in TM bowl and chop for 10 seconds on speed 7. Scrape down sides of bowl and add rocket and cashews. Chop for 30 seconds on speed 6. It should still have some decent sized pieces of nuts, not mush. Blend longer if you think it needs it.
Add olive oil, lemon juice and parmesan and blend for 30 seconds on reverse + speed 4.
Add some extra olive oil or water through the hole in the lid if the mixture appears too thick and blend a little longer.
You should not need pepper or salt. The garlic and rocket will give it enough heat, while the parmesan should give enough salt. But taste it and check.
Posted here also with extra pic
I have been a bit neglectful, so am publishing a post here to keep our blog alive and active.
This recipe came about as a result of having Thai basil and coriander in the crisper after making a couple of dishes at the weekend. Often these herbs just find their way into a variety of creations to add some fresh flavours, but while looking for a particular recipe I found a couple of similar Asian pesto recipes and decided that these herbs should be used thus.
Two of the books that had Asian pestos were “Asian Greens” by Anita Loh-Yien Lau and “Travels with a Hot Wok” by Ken Hom. I am sure there are plenty of variations on the theme, so please don’t feel limited by the recipe.
Thermomix Asian Pesto :
Ingredients:
2 cloves garlic
2 cm piece fresh ginger
1 fresh red chilli, seeded
3 tablespoons Thai basil
2 tablespoons fresh coriander
2 tablespoons rau ram (Vietnamese Mint)
1 tablespoon fresh mint
250 g roasted, unsalted peanuts (optional)
1 tablespoon palm sugar
2 teaspoons fish sauce
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Method:
Place garlic, ginger and chilli in TM bowl and chop for 10 seconds on speed 7.
Scrape down sides of bowl and add basil, coriander and mints and chop for another 15 seconds on speed 7.
Add peanuts, if using, and palm sugar to TM bowl and chop for 20 seconds on speed 5.
Add remaining ingredients and blend for 30 seconds on speed 5. Add some boiling water through the hole in the lid if the mixture appears too thick when using the peanuts.
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