Decorative plates

Empanadas

Recipe

Yield : Makes 6 servings

Prep Time : 45 mins, plus chilling

Cooking Time : 40–50 mins

Ingredients

3¼ cups all purpose flour

½ tsp salt

6 tbsp cold butter, diced

3 large eggs, beaten

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

1/3 cup canned chopped tomatoes, drained

2 tsp tomato paste

One 6 oz (168g) can tuna, drained

2 tbsp finely chopped parsley

Special Equipment:

3½ in (9 cm) round cookie cutter

Directions

1. To make the pastry, sift the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl. Rub in the butter with your fingertips until it resembles fine bread crumbs. Beat 2 of the eggs with 2 tbsp water, add to the bowl, and stir until the dough holds together. Make a thick disk, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Cook the onion, stirring often, for about 5 minutes, or until translucent. Add the tomatoes and tomato paste, and simmer, stirring often, about 10 minutes, until thick. Remove from the heat and stir in the tuna and parsley. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Roll out the dough to a thickness of 1/16 in (2mm). Cut out 24 rounds with a 3½ in (9cm) round cookie cutter. Fill each with a spoonful of the filling. Brush the edges with water, fold over, and press the edges closed with a fork.

4. Place the empanadas on an oiled baking sheet and brush with the remaining egg. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until golden. Serve warm.

Variation

Experiment with other fillings: replace the tuna with chopped cooked chicken or chorizo, or with diced cooked potato.

Instant Ice Cream Rolls By Street Vendor In Phuket Thailand

Decorate the ice cream & ice

Tamago-Yaki, it’s Sunshine on a Plate!

Ingredients (makes 2 rolls, serves 4)

6 Large eggs

3 tbsp finely chopped chives

60g finely chopped smoked ham

1 tspn instant dashi powder

1 tbsp mirin

2 tspn caster sugar

1 tspn soy sauce

pinch salt

veg oil for cooking

Garnish – grated daikon, shiso leaves, few drops of soy

Method

Mix all the ingredients for the omelette in a large bowl or jug and stir well.

Heat the Tamago Pan over a medium heat and brush a little vegetable oil on the base and sides of the pan, coating evenly.

Pour about 10% of the egg mixture into the pan and tilt the pan to coat the base evenly. When the egg starts to set, lift up the edge on one side and roll upwards using chopsticks or a spatula – make sure you roll while the surface of the egg is still wet so the layers stick together. I found it helped to keep the heat very low on my first few attempts, buying more time to roll before the egg sets as it can be a bit fiddly the first couple of times.

Grease the empty part of the pan again, keeping the rolled omelette at the side of the pan furthest from you.  Then quickly pour another 10% of the mixture, tilting to cover the empty side of the pan, and lifting the roll up to allow the egg to run underneath. When it looks half set, roll the omelette backwards until you get to the other side.

And keep going – until you have used up about half the mixture.  Once it’s rolled, I let the outside colour just a little, then remove from the pan and leave to rest for 5 minutes.  Make the second omelette with the remaining egg mix.

Once the omelette has rested for 5 minutes, slice into 2.5cm thick slices (or thinner if using as a sushi topping), and serve with the grated daikon and chopped shiso leaves, and a few drops of soy.