Fresh Blackberry Tarts

Sweet summer berries are the star in these fresh blackberry tarts baked in puff pastry with a hint of balsamic, honey and sea salt. Treat yourself and serve them with thick pouring cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

The best thing about summer is all of the fresh produce that is suddenly available from either local sources or at least ones that don’t add airmiles to the price. I think we can all agree that anything picked nearby tastes more like it should since it’s allowed to ripen on the vine or bush instead of in the hold of a truck or airplane.

In the Channel Islands, there are blackberry bushes growing wild! Here they are called brambles and despite the vicious thorns, we wait eagerly for the berries to ripen so we can pick them. Nothing beats free fruit, am I right?

Fresh Blackberry Tarts

Pepperidge Farm frozen puff pastry sheets come in a box of two with a total weight of 1.1 lbs or 490g. I used only one sheet for these four tarts.

Ingredients for four individual tarts

1 sheet puff pastry, thawed but chilled (I used Pepperidge Farm, see note above)

12 oz or 340g fresh blackberries

2 tablespoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons honey

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

2 teaspoons butter

Optional to serve: thick pouring cream or vanilla ice cream.

Method

In a mixing bowl, toss the blackberries and the cornstarch together. 

Add in the honey, vinegar, sugar and salt. Stir gently to combine. Set aside to macerate for 10 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 400°F or 200°C and prepare a baking pan by lining it with baking parchment or a silicone liner. 

Gently unroll the puff pastry and cut it into four equal pieces. Place them in the prepared pan. Fold the sides up slightly, pinching them together to form an outside crust. If the sides don’t want to stick together, wet them with just a drop or two of water to help them adhere to each other.  

Give the blackberry bowl a good stir then divide the mixture between the four crusts. 

Top with 1/2 teaspoon butter each, cut into little bits.

Bake in your preheated oven for 18-20 minutes or until the crusts are puffed and browned.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool. As you can see, some of the juice ran out but the tarts were still juicy and the blackberries were soft.

Transfer to a wire rack to cool. 

Serve with fresh cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream. 

Enjoy! 

It’s Sunday FunDay and today we are sharing recipes with blackberries! Check out the links below. 

• Blackberry and Apple Slaw from Palatable Pastime
• Blackberry Cobbler from Mayuri's Jikoni
• Blackberry Ricotta Pizza from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Fresh Blackberry Margarita from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Fresh Blackberry Tarts from Food Lust People Love
• Jamun/Indian Blackberry Chia Jam from Sneha's Recipe
• Roasted Blackberry & Rosemary Goat Cheese from Amy’s Cooking Adventures
• Summer Berries Flaugnarde + Olallie Gin Fizz from Culinary Cam

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Sesame Cucumber Radish Salad

Fresh and spicy, this sesame cucumber radish salad is a great accompaniment to any pan-fried (or roasted) protein like chicken or fish. It’s light, flavorful and delicious. 

This summer the Channel Islands have been unseasonably cold and rainy so I’ve been looking for ways to add a little heat and freshness to our lives. This cucumber radish salad was the perfect side dish for pan-fried salmon with Asian flavors. A little soy, a little ginger and garlic. Perfection.

I can also attest that this salad is even tasty the next day. And still crunchy!  

Sesame Cucumber Radish Salad

Don’t get too caught up in the weight of the cucumber. A little more or less won’t matter. Same with the radishes. Want to add more, go for it! If you can’t find English/telegraph cucumbers, use regular ones but scoop the seeds out. This recipe is adapted from one on Budget Bytes.

Ingredients

1/4 cup or 60ml rice vinegar

1 small red chili pepper 

4 teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil 

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt 

1/2 English cucumber (about 7 oz or 200g)

4 radishes

2 green onions

Scant 1/4 cup or about 30g chopped peanuts

Method

Mince the chili pepper as finely as you can. Cut the roots off of the green onions and discard. Cut of the white parts and any harder, thick green parts and mince them. 

In a small bowl, combine the rice vinegar, chili pepper and the minced green onion parts. Set aside for five minutes. This tempers the pepper and onion while also infusing the vinegar with heat and flavor, making a more even distribution of the spice throughout the salad. 

Slice the cucumber and put it in a bowl.

Now whisk in the sugar, sesame oil, and salt into the vinegar. Set the dressing aside.

Slice the radishes thinly and add them to the cucumber bowl.

Slice the green parts of the onion snd set a small portion aside to garnish before serving. 

Pour the dressing over the sliced cucumbers and radishes. 

Add in the bigger pile of sliced green onions and stir to combine. 

Cover with cling film and refrigerate until ready to eat. Roughly chop the peanuts.

Give the salad a brief stir occasionally. The cucumber will release liquid. How much depends on how long your salad is refrigerated. If it’s a lot, I like to transfer the vegetables to a serving plate before adding the chopped peanuts.

Put the cucumbers and radishes on a serving plate. Spoon over the dressing, straining off most of the liquid but making sure to include the minced green onion and chili peppers. 

Top with the chopped peanuts and the sliced green onion parts. 

Enjoy! 

It’s Sunday FunDay and today we are sharing recipes with cucumbers. Many thanks to our host Sue of Palatable Pastime. Check out all the links below. 

• Cucumber and Avocado Salad from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Cucumber Raita from Cook with Renu
• Cucumber Rosettes from Amy’s Cooking Adventures
• Roasted Apricots, Cucumber, and Tomato Gazpacho with Alioli from Culinary Cam
• Semolina Cucumber Cake from Sneha's Recipe
• Sesame Cucumber Radish Salad from Food Lust People Love

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Spicy Orange Braised Short Ribs

Orange juice adds a lovely sweetness to these spicy orange braised short ribs. Slow cooking intensifies the flavors and the ribs melt in your mouth.

Despite their "golden riches" symbolism in Chinese culture, I didn’t think that oranges featured in many otherwise Chinese-inspired savory dishes. I certainly don’t remember any from the many years we lived in Malaysia and Singapore where Chinese restaurants abound.

But I was wrong! A simple search reveals, that as usual *deep sigh* everyone from Serious Eats to Kroger. com, for goodness’ sake, has an orange braised beef short rib recipe online. It’s hard to be original in this world. That said, I’m here to tell you, orange juice and zest are great additions and that’s probably why they are popular. 

Spicy Orange Braised Short Ribs

Short ribs are such a succulent cut but they do release a lot of fat when slow cooked till tender. If you want to discard most of the fat, cook this ahead of the day you’d like to serve it. You will have time to chill it overnight and remove most of the fat that rises to the top and hardens. My method below includes that step. 

Ingredients

3 lbs 5 oz or 1.5kg short ribs

1 tablespoon five-spice powder

Fine sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil

1/2 cup or 120ml soy sauce

2 cups or 480ml fresh orange juice

1 celery stick, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 thumbs fresh ginger, peeled and minced

2 red chili peppers, minced

2 tablespoons salted black beans, rinsed

1 orange

1 star anise

1 bay leaf

To serve: small handful cilantro, chopped plus more for garnish, if desired

Method

Using a sharp knife, cut off the zest of the orange in strips, as whole as possible, but thin, no white pith. Peel and chop the onion and garlic. Peel and slice the ginger. Remove the stems and cut the red chili peppers into two halves and chop the celery stick. 

Tuck the spare ribs in a Dutch oven that has a tightly fitting lid and sprinkle them with the five-spice powder, fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. 

Add in the sesame oil, soy sauce then orange juice. 

Tuck the chili peppers, ginger, garlic, salted black beans, star anise and bay leaf on and amongst the ribs. 

Top with the chopped onions and celery. 

Put the pot on the stovetop over medium heat and bring to a low boil. Cover with tightly fitting lid and lower the heat to simmer. Cook for about four hours., checking occasionally to make sure it isn’t drying out. 

My LeCreuset Dutch oven really seals well and I don’t have to add water, but I know that not all pots are that great.  Add a little water, if needed from time to time.

If you have planned ahead as I mentioned above, pour the cooking liquid into a heatproof bowl. Pick out all the bones that have separated from the meat in the pot and discard them. 

Add the meat into the cooking liquid and chill overnight. The next day, carefully remove the solidified fat and discard. 

Rewarm the short ribs and stir in the small handful of cilantro.

I recommend serving the ribs with mashed potatoes or rice because of all the lovely gravy. Garnish with extra cilantro, if desired.

Enjoy! 

Welcome to the 15th edition of the 2024 Alphabet Challenge, brought to you by the letter O. Many thanks to Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm for organizing and creating the challenge. Check out all the O recipes below:

• Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice: Firecracker Oatmeal Peanut Butter Blossoms
• Culinary Cam: How to Shuck Oysters and a Few Serving Ideas 
• Palatable Pastime: Olive Cream Cheese Bites
• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Orange Chili Pulled Pork 
• Jolene’s Recipe Journal: Oreo Mousse Cake
• Magical Ingredients: Oreo Paratha
• A Messy Kitchen: Ozark Pudding
• Karen’s Kitchen Stories: Roasted Onion and Asiago Miche
• Food Lust People Love: Spicy Orange Braised Short Ribs
• Mayuri’s Jikoni: Whole Orange Cake

Here are my posts for the alphabet challenge, thus far:
A: Anchovy Deviled Eggs
B: Spicy Braised Ginger Pork Belly
C: Cecilie's Favorite Coleslaw
D: Cajun Chicken Eggplant Dressing
E: Everything Pizza Tartin
F: Baked Chicken and Feta Meatballs
G: Grape Juice Jigglers
H: Crispy Bacon-wrapped Chicken Hearts
I: Raspberry Rhubarb Ice Cream
J: Java Dry Spice Mix Chops 

K. Korean Barbecue-style Meatballs 

L. Easy Lamb and Fresh Tomato Curry 

M. Fresh Mint Sauce 

N. Miso Butter Noodles 

O. Spicy Orange Braised Short Ribs - this post!

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Trini Fry Bakes #BreadBakers

Light and fluffy, Trini fry bakes are easy to make with just a few simple ingredients. They are one of my favorite snacks from my childhood years in Trinidad. Why they are called bakes when they are always deep fried, I cannot tell you. It remains a mystery to this day.

We moved to Trinidad when I was five years old and thanks to my mom’s adventurous spirit, I was introduced to so many new foods that have become part of our family menu, like curry, fried wontons, stuffed crab, tamarind balls and salt prunes.

My older sister and I were in enrolled in a small school not far from our new home and my mom got busy finding out where to shop and otherwise outfit said home. One of the first things she did was to hire a local lady to help her care for our five-month-old baby sister and to help clean and cook occasional meals. 

I’d get home from school, shuck my uniform and shoes in favor of shorts and bare feet, then run to the kitchen for a snack. On days when bake dough was in evidence, I could hardly wait to hear it hit the oil. I’d retire to the back garden to eat my hot puffy treasure in peace. Good times. 

In Trinidad, fry bakes are eaten with an assortment of other ingredients from plain butter and cheese to fried eggs, smoked herring or saltfish and tomatoes. Fry bakes are also one half of the classic shark and bake, essential to any beach day on the island. 

Trini Fry Bakes

I have adapted my recipe from several I’ve found on the internet, primarily Cooking with Ria and Triniinxisle. Some recipes use baking powder as the only rising agent and some either require yeast or list it as an optional ingredient. 

Ingredients

1/4 teaspoon instant yeast

3/4 cup or 180ml warm water

2 cups or 250g flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons butter, softened

2-3 cups or 480-720ml canola or other light oil for frying

Method

Put the yeast in a small bowl with a pinch of sugar. Add a couple of tablespoons of the warm water and set aside to proof. The yeast should start to bubble up if it is active. 

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, sugar and baking powder. Add the butter and use your fingertips or a pastry blender to work it into the flour mixture. 

While stirring with a wooden spoon or Danish whisk, slowly add water into the flour and mix until the dough starts to leave the bowl’s sides. You may not need quite all the water. 

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface to knead for a few minutes. Or use a stand mixer instead of hand kneading. Knead the dough in the mixer for several minutes or until it starts to pull away from the sides.

Form the dough into a large ball in a bowl and cover the bowl with cling film or a plastic shower cap. Let it rest for a minimum of about 30 minutes. You can refrigerate for several hours or overnight. This helps to create a fluffier result.

When you are ready to fry the bakes, divide the dough into 8 small "golf" ball sized pieces. My dough weighed 498g so each ball weighed 62g.

On a lightly-floured surface, using your clean hands and/or a rolling pin to flatten the balls out into disks about 4x6 in or 10x15cm.

Pour oil into a medium sized pot on medium heat. For the most accurate judge of oil temperature, use a thermometer. Deep fry temperature is 380°F or 193°C.

I like to use as small a pot as will fit my bakes comfortably, one at a time, to minimize the amount of oil I have to use. I add just enough oil to reach my thermometer so I know that the temperature reading is accurate. 

When your oil reaches the correct temperature, put the bake in the hot oil. When it floats and turns golden on the bottom, quickly turn it over to brown the other side. This takes about 30-45 seconds on each side. I have seen recipes that shallow fry the dough but then how do you know when they float? My childhood experience is that the bakes were always deep fried. 

Using tongs or a slotted spoon, transfer the fry bakes to a paper towel-lined plate. This helps absorb the excess oil. 

If you aren’t serving these hot as they come out of the oil, you can put the plate in a warm oven. 

Enjoy! 

It’s the second Tuesday of the month so that means it’s time for my Bread Baker friends to share their recipes, Many thanks to our host today, Sneha of Sneha's Recipe who challenged us to make fry breads. Check out the links below:

• Mixed Flour Instant Bhatura from Sneha's Recipe
• Trini Fry Bakes from Food Lust People Love
• Tangzhong Doughnuts from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Banh Tieu from Magical Ingredients

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

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