Naan & Butter Pudding with Rhubarb & Ginger Compote

I've never really liked traditional bread and butter pudding... to be honest the concept has never really appealed to me. I have always felt it is one of those stodgy puddings that has gone out of vogue for a reason. I could be wrong, but that was my impression until I came across this bread and butter pudding with an Indian twist. Here the bread is replaced with naan. I picked up an extra plain naan from our favourite Indian restaurant a couple of days ago, and it waited patiently in the fridge to be transformed into a cosy, comforting dessert.

I came across this recipe while watching an episode of Poh's Kitchen last month. You remember Poh, don't you? She was the runner up on Season 1 of the Australian Masterchef series, the girl with the infectious laugh and big smile :) At any rate, in each episode, she is joined by a guest chef. On this occasion, it was Ragini Dey from South Australian restaurant 'Dhaba'.

I have adjusted this recipe for the use of a medium size naan (about the size of a normal dinner plate). This makes 2 generous size puddings using 1 cup (250ml) capacity ramekins.

Naan & Butter Pudding
1 medium Plain Naan

3 free range eggs
1½ cups milk
½ cup sugar
½ vanilla bean (or ½ tsp vanilla bean paste)
50g butter
Icing sugar for dusting

Rhubarb & Ginger Compote
2 cups cleaned diced rhubarb
½ cup sugar
1 tsp finely chopped ginger
¼ cup water

Heat the milk with the vanilla bean (open out and scrape seeds - use both the bean and the seeds). Separately beat the eggs with sugar till well mixed. Add the butter to the hot milk and let it melt. Cut the Naan into four pieces and place in individual dishes. Strain the milk gradually into the eggs beating vigorously. Top the Naan with milk and egg mixture and let it stand for about 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, start on the compote. Add all ingredients together and cook gently until the rhubarb is soft and a thick syrupy chutney is obtained. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Bake the puddings in a moderate oven (180°C) till set and golden brown on top (mine took about 30 minutes). Dust with icing sugar and serve with Rhubarb and Ginger compote. Leftover compote can be stored in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

With Spring now upon us in the southern hemisphere, the warming, comforting foods of colder weather are slowly on their way out, soon to be replaced with fresh, summery food. Although I love the flavours and foods associated with warmer weather, I think I'm going to miss dishes like this one. Oh well, there's still a bit of time to squeeze a few more soups, casseroles, bakes and puddings out of the cool weather!

What about you? Are you going to miss wintery food?

Ladybird x

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Easy Lemon Tart

 

I often think that, if I were to be friends with a fruit, ("She's a fruitloop!" I hear you say...) it would have to be the humble lemon. Why? Because they are such a reliable little friend, and I think you'll agree with me when I say reliability is an important virtue in a friend... right? A reliable friend is always there to lend a hand when you need them. Lemon is versatile ingredient in sweet and savoury cooking and best of all, the relationship comes easily... A squeeze or a touch of zest here and there makes the world of difference to a dish, all without any fuss.

I've called this dish 'Easy Lemon Tart' because I really do mean it's easy... It's quick, it's delicious, there is absolutely no baking involved. It also uses 4 whole eggs, so you're not left with egg yolks/whites in the fridge, feeling guilty about the prospect of wasting them! The easiest aspect is that because the base is biscuit based, you are saved the trouble of making dough, resting it, blind baking it, and so on.. The curd is the more 'labour intensive' component of the recipe, but it is well worth the oh so minimal effort! I find this curd recipe makes for a really well balanced flavoured filling which is also free of the excessive egginess you often come across in lemon curds. Obviously though, the acidity of lemons varies, so I'd recommend to taste and add additional sugar if required.

Easy Lemon Tart

recipe adapted from Super Food Ideas, February 2007

Base
165g plain sweet biscuits (such as Marie or Nice biscuits) processed to fine crumbs
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
100g unsalted butter, melted
puring icing sugar, to serve

Lemon Curd
3 lemons
4 eggs
1c caster sugar
125g unsalted butter, chopped

1. Lightly grease a 2 cm deep, 24 cm loose-based round tart tin. Combine the biscuit crumbs, cinnamon, nutmeg and butter in a food processor until the mixture starts to come together. Press into base and sides of prepared tin. Note - you may not need all of the biscuit mixture to cover the base and sides of your tin. Refrigerate for one hour.

2. Meanwhile, start on the lemon curd. Finely zest 1 lemon and juice all lemons. Whisk eggs and sugar together in a heatproof bowl until well combined. Add lemon zest and 2/3 c lemon juice, whisking constantly until well combined.

3. Place bowl over a saucepan of simmering water (do not allow base of bowl to touch water). Cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, for 20 to 25 minutes or until thick and custard like. Do not allow to boil. Remove from heat and whisk in butter.

4. Allow curd to cool to room temperature before pouring into the chilled tart case. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Tell me oh lovely readers, what is your favourite way to use our little lemon friend in the kitchen?


Ladybird x

How to make gelatine free panna cotta

A short while ago, I wrote about agar agar as an alternative to gelatine and I promised you I would road test the ingredient in the kitchen. True to my word, I did. Panna cotta is a beautiful dessert that can be found on menus everywhere, but I wanted to see if it could be made using agar agar in place of gelatine.

The real test was to replicate the texture of panna cotta, famously decribed by Nigella Lawson when she said that it should have "the quiver of a 17th century courtesan's inner thigh". What a way to describe it! But really... how does she come up with these analogies?!

At any rate, I set about my task. It was a bit frustrating to begin with.. I found that agar agara is a far stronger setting agent than gelatine, so getting the amount right required lots of trial and error. However, 3 attempts later, I bring you successful gelatine-free panna cotta. It has the wonderful wobbliness and silkiness you'd expect of panna cotta, and is beautifully speckled with vanilla seeds.

I served this with strawberries in a simple balsamic syrup made by macerating the berries in balsamic vinegar and caster sugar to taste for about an hour (whilst the panna cotta was setting). Really though, there are so many ways to serve panna cotta. You could serve it with fresh fruit - whatever is in season and whatever takes your fancy :)


Vanilla Panna Cotta (egg, gluten and gelatine free)

an original Diary of a Ladybird recipe

(Serves 4)

300 ml pure (pouring) cream

1 vanilla bean

75g caster sugar

exact 1/2 tsp agar agar powder

sunflower (or other flavour-neutral) oil, to brush

1. In a small saucepan combine the cream and agar agar powder and set aside for 15 minutes.

2. Add the sugar and split, scraped vanilla bean along with its seeds. Place over medium heat and gently bring to a boil. Simmer for about 2 minutes, stirring regularly to stop the agar agar sticking to the bottom of the saucepan.

3. Remove from the heat and set aside. Meanwhile, lightly brush 1/2 cup capacity moulds with a little oil.

4. Remove and discard the vanilla bean pod, and straining the mixture through a sieve before pouring into the greased moulds. Allow to cool to room temperature before refrigerating for 1-2 hours minimum.

5. When read to serve, simply tip out onto the plate and add your chosen accompaniment.

So.. the verdict?

I was very happy with agar agar's results in this dish. It is an excellent gelatine substitute and is flavourless. Not only is it cheaper than gelatine, but it also sets in about an hour (not 4-5 like gelatine)! It requires a bit of trial and error to get the amount just right in a recipe, but when you do the texture and flavour is perfectly on par.

To read more about agar agar, check out my recent agar agar post here.

Ladybird x