I divided the mixture up into two and made one pear tart and the other plum using 8" round tins instead of the larger one.
Ingredients
1/2 cup (1 stick) softened, unsalted butter, plus more for greasing pan
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 pound pears
Juice of ½ lemon, divided
½ teaspoon cinnamon
Instructions
Butter and line an 8-inch springform pan.
With an electric mixer, cream ½ cup butter and 1 cup sugar on medium until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in eggs one at a time, then baking powder, salt, vanilla, and nutmeg (if using).
Beat in flour on low until batter just comes together. Spread in pan. Place in refrigerator and chill for at least 20 minutes.
Heat oven to 375°F/ 190c
While crust is chilling, core and slice pears into 1/2-inch slices. Toss them with half the lemon juice, so they don’t turn brown. Set aside to wait for crust to finish chilling.
Remove crust from refrigerator, and arrange pears in tight concentric circles on top of dough. Squeeze remaining lemon juice evenly over pears.
In a bowl, mix 2 tablespoons sugar with cinnamon. Sprinkle over pears. Bake for 45-55 minutes (mine took 40 minutes)or until edges are golden and center is set. It will puff up quite a bit in the oven, but settle back down as it cools.
Cool tart in pan for 10 minutes. Run a sharp knife around edge. Remove sides of pan.
I've only made the yellow split peas so far but it was delicious and I can only imagine the lamb is even better. It was really simple, tasty and fast to make.
Coriander lamb
Serves 3
A mild and creamy lamb casserole given a heady green freshness with a coriander spice paste. Aromatic rather than hot.
onion 1, large garlic 3 or 4 cloves olive or groundnut oil lamb 500g, cubed coconut milk 500g
For the spice paste: cashews 80g coriander 50g basil 50g lime juice 5 tbsp (2 limes)
Peel and roughly chop the onion and garlic. Pour two tablespoons of oil into a deep, heavy-based pan, add the onions and garlic then let them cook over a moderate to high heat for 15 minutes or so, until soft and a pale honey tone.
While the onions are cooking, make the spice paste. Put the cashews in a dry, shallow pan and toast until golden. Tip them into the bowl of a food processor, add the coriander leaves and stalks, the basil and the lime juice and process to a rough paste, then set aside.
Remove the onions and garlic from the pan and set aside, return the pan to the heat, add a further tablespoon of oil, then add some of the meat, without crowding the pan, and brown lightly and evenly on all sides. Remove the pieces of lamb as they brown and add them to the onions. Continue with the remaining lamb.
When the last of the meat is browned, add the coconut milk and let it heat through, scraping at any tasty, crusty bits on the surface of the pan and stirring them in to the coconut milk. Return all the meat and onions to the pan, then leave to simmer for a good 10 minutes, seasoning with salt and pepper.
Stir in 3 heaped tablespoons of the spice mix and continue to simmer, gently, for a further 10 minutes. Serve with warm flatbread or rice as you wish.
Split peas with coriander
Mellow yellow: split peas with coriander. Photograph: Jonathan LovekiThe warmth of dal, but with the freshness of green herbs. A good one with rice, or as an accompaniment.
Serves 4, generously yellow split peas 250g onion 1, medium sized garlic 4 cloves groundnut or vegetable oil 2 tbsp turmeric 1 tsp paprika 1 tsp tomatoes 500g spice paste (see above)5 heaped tbsp coriander leaves a handful
Rinse the split peas then cook them in deep, unsalted boiling water for about 30 minutes until they are soft and tender.
While the split peas cook, peel and roughly chop the onion and peel and finely slice the garlic. Warm a couple of tablespoons of oil in a medium-sized saucepan then add the onion and garlic and cook over a moderate heat until deep gold and translucent.
Stir the ground turmeric and paprika into the onions, then roughly chop the tomatoes and stir them in. Let the mixture cook over a low to moderate heat for about 15 minutes then stir in the cooked split peas and 5 heaped tablespoons of the coriander spice paste (above).
whisk egg whites until very stiff, then gradually whisk in
icing sugar. Whisk egg yolks and coffee essence together and whisk gradually
into egg whites. Lightly whip cream and fold into coffee mixture.
.
To vary, fold in with the cream 2oz of finely chopped
walnuts.
If there’s one
thing Guatemalans can do better than anyone, it’s beans. Although Mexicans have
many winning dishes their beans, which are dark red in color are definitely
inferior to Guatemalan frijoles negros.
Cheap to buy, simple to cook and high in protein black beans should be a staple
for all extranjeros living in Xela.
This is an
adapted version of the traditional ‘sopa
de frijol’ taught to me by a compañera
in AMA (Asociacion de Mujeres del Altiplano) a women’s association who offer
traditional Mayan cooking classes to visitors in Xela. The original soup normally contains
bacon but I think that gives it quite an overpowering taste so for all you non-pork
eaters, here’s the vegetarian alternative with broccoli florets to give the
soup a bit more substance. This recipe uses tinned beans for people who have
neither the utensils nor the time to cook them from scratch making it an
excellent mid-week dinner.
Ingredients
Serves 2 people
One lata de frijoles enteros (canned whole
black beans)
One tbs of oil
One small onion,
finally chopped
One garlic clove,
crushed or finally chopped
2 chiltepe chilis (the tiny green chilies
found at the market) or half a jalapeño chili, finely chopped
¼ teaspoon of
cumin powder (cuminos en polvo)
250ml of stock – veggie or chicken
Four broccoli
florets chopped into smaller almost bite-sized pieces
One tablespoon
of cleaned and chopped cilantro
One ripe avocado,
one lime, tortillas and some queso fresco
or crema to serve.
Instructions
1.Heat the oil in
a medium sized pan over a low heat
2. Add 2/3 of
the chopped onion and cook for 2-3 minutes until soft.Add the garlic and chili and cooked for
another two minutes stirring occasionally then add the cumin and fry for about
another minute so the flavors infuse
3. Add the can
of beans with the liquid it comes in as well as the stock, stir, turn up the
heat to bring to the boil. Once it’s boiling turn the heat down, cover and cook
for about 10 minutes stirring occasionally
4.Take off the
heat, leave to cool for a few minutes then blend the mixture
5. Put the pan
of blended soup back on the heat, add the broccoli florets with the remaining
onion and gently simmer until the broccoli is cooked
6. Season with
salt and pepper to taste
7. Ladle the
soup into two bowls, if desired add a dollop of cream or crumbled queso fresco. Finishwith a sprinkle of the chopped cilantro and a good squeeze of lime
8. Serve the
avocado quartered with more pieces of lime and plenty of hot tortillas on a
separate plate for people to help take as they wish.
Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Grease and line the base of 2 x 20cm round, loose-bottomed cake tins. Put the butter and chocolate in a heatproof mixing bowl, set over a pan of barely simmering water and allow to melt slowly, stirring occasionally.
When the butter and chocolate have melted, remove from the heat and allow to cool for 1-2 mins, then beat in the eggs and sugar with an electric whisk. Fold in the flour and raspberries.
Gently pour the mixture into the tins and bake for 20-25 mins or until golden brown and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean (the raspberries may leave a residue on the skewer, so don’t be fooled by their juiciness). Remove the cakes from the oven and allow to cool in the tins for 10 mins before turning out onto a wire rack.
To make the ganache, put the chocolate in a heatproof bowl with 100ml of the cream, set over a pan of barely simmering water. Stir until the chocolate has melted into the cream and you are left with a smooth, glossy ganache. Leave the ganache to cool to room temperature, then beat in the rest of the cream.
When the cakes have cooled, sandwich them together with the chocolate ganache. Add a pile of rasberries and blueberries if you have them in the middle for decoration. Dust with icing sugar just before serving.
Surprisingly tasty, really simple but it's important to follow the steps and not improvise like I normally do which will alter the flavours.
Serves 4-6
onion 1, large groundnut or vegetable oil 5 tbsp carrots 400g vegetable stock 1.5 litres tomatoes 500g
feta cheese, 200g
Peel the onion, chop it roughly, then let it cook over a moderate heat in a large pan with half the oil. Roughly chop the carrots. When the onion is soft and translucent add the carrots. Let them colour very slightly, for about 10 minutes, stirring regularly.
Pour in the stock, bring to the boil, then lower the heat to a gentle simmer. Let the soup cook for about 30 minutes on a low to moderate heat, with the occasional stir.
Chop the tomatoes and put them in a shallow pan over a moderate heat with the remaining oil and let them cook down to a slushy consistency.
Blend the soup to a smooth texture in a blender or food processor. Stir in the cooked-down tomato and season with salt and black pepper.
Divide the soup between bowls, then crumble the feta cheese and add a small amount to each bowl. It’ll soften, but not melt. A pinch of sour saltiness with your sweet soup.
