Clevedon Valley Buffalo Ricotta and Lemon Tart
Here is a light and lemony tart that is easy to put together.
It is perfect refreshing dessert after a filling dinner.
Ingredients
2 lemons (zest and juice separated)
1 1/2 sheets of sweet shortcrust pastry.
250 grams Clevedon Valley Buffalo Ricotta
3/4 C caster sugar
3 eggs
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius.
Line a 23cm flan dish with sweet shortcrust pastry, lining the bottoms and sides. Put this in the fridge for 15 minutes.
Line the pastry with baking paper, top with baking weights and bake for 10 minutes. Remove the weights and baking paper and bake for another 5-7 minutes. Remove from the oven and let the case cool.
In a food processor process the ricotta and sugar together until combined. Add the eggs one at a time and mix to blend. Add the lemon zest. When combined mix through the lemon juice.
You should end up with a beautifully smooth liquid, similar in texture to a pouring yoghurt. Pour this into the cooled pastry case and bake in the oven for 30 – 35 minutes, or until just set.
Remove from the oven and let cool on a wire rack. Once cooled sift icing sugar on top.
Slice and enjoy!
Raspberry and Cassis Tiramisu
This recipe was made by one of Wellington’s baking queens, Sarah of Zuleika Foods for our Visa Wellington on a Plate event.
SourceURL:file://localhost/Users/erin/Downloads/WOP_UH_supplied.doc
Raspberry and Cassis Tiramisu
Serves 8
You will need an oval or rectangular dish approximately 35cm in diameter.
100ml white wine
80ml cassis
400g raspberries (you can use frozen raspberries if they are out of season)
1 packet sponge finger biscuits
500g Mascarpone
3 eggs
3T caster sugar
200ml cream
1. Mix the wine and the cassis. Dip the sponge biscuits into this mix and lay them snugly in a dish.
2. Pour over half of the remaining wine mixture.
3. Scatter half of the raspberries over the sponge.
4. Beat the mascarpone, egg yolks and sugar together with an electric whisk.
5. Beat the egg whites until they are stiff and hold in firm peaks, fold this into the mascarpone mix, carefully.
6. Spread this over the raspberries in the dish.
7. Whip the cream into soft folds and spread this ontop of the mascarpone mix in the dish.
8. Sprinkle the remainder of the raspberries over the cream.
9. Wrap tightly in cling film and refrigerate overnight.
The vegetables of the sea
Last night we were lucky enough to have the Louise from Pacific Harvest come and teach us all about the vegetables of the sea – Seaweeds.
Now I know, because I did it at first too that the word ‘Seaweed’ doesn’t quite conjure up any delicious inspired adjectives but after last night I want to put seaweed in EVERYTHING!
Seaweeds are vegetables from the sea and their variety far surpasses that of the land variety.
- Their concentration in usable nutrients is much higher (up to 20 times). They also contain trace elements that are no longer in the soils.
- On the culinary side they open up a whole world of taste, and it is just a matter of learning more about what they are best used for, just like land vegetables. You can mash a potato, but you know not to slice it up raw in a salad.
Louise showed us through her range and we tasted them in salad form, in the picture above which was sea spaghetti with kale, ginger and a light rice wine dressing. Sea Spaghetti is a Brown Algae. It is a great source of iodine, iron, calcium and magnesium. It is also rich in phosphorous which is said to help all intellectual abilities, memory, focus and agility.
The second sea vegetable dish on the menu was a Cream of Fennel Soup with a Karengo Garnish. Karengo is a Red Seaweed, that has a similar taste to the sushi wraps. It is harvested in the winter from the Kaikoura Coast. It has a high percentage of vegetarian protein and dietary fiber.
The recipe for this soup is below. The garnish would be a great topping on a piece of fresh fish, or even on top of a pasta.
Wakame is a brown seaweed. Most people will probably know it from Miso soup. Brown seaweeds have particular compounds that are important for the prevention and treatment of degenerative diseases.
Louise used Wakame in the second soup – a Wakame Soup with Orzo and Sundried Tomato and Olive Tapenade. The tapenade also had a few tablespoons of Karengo.
Cream of Fennel with Karengo Garnish
1T fennel seeds, lightly roasted
1 white onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
50g butter
2 sticks celery, chopped fine
1 leek, trimmed and chopped finely
1/2t Garlic Kelp
1.2litres light chicken or vegetable stock
150ml double cream
Garnish –
1T olive oil
1/3 C breadcrumbs
3T Karengo fronds, chopped fine
2T chopped italian parsley
1t lemon zest
For the garnish, heat oil in a small pan on a medium heat and toss in the remaining ingredients to combine well. Stir until crunchy. Set aside.
For the soup, gently toast the fennel seeds in a dry pan for a few minutes until fragrant. Crush.
In a heavy saucepan sweat the onions and garlic in the butter with the crushed seeds for 5 minutes and then add the celery, leek and fennel. Cover and cook for 10-15minutes on a low heat. Add the stock, bring to a boil and cook a further 10 minutes. Pour into a blender, or use a stick blender to puree until smooth.
Stir in the cream and season. Serve in individual bowls and sprinkle with the garnish.
Enjoy.
Head to Pacific Harvest’s new blog for more seaweed recipes and more information about the products. www.seaweedrecipes.co.nz
From the seaweed loving team at Urban Harvest.
Winter Cravings
My food cravings over the past few weeks have entirely changed. From craving a big bowl of fresh fruit or a salad with some crusty soft bread on the side to pastry, cheese, potoato, curry and oddly anything hot that has lots of onion and garlic.
Here are a few wintery recipes to get you inspired.
Fish Pie from What Katie Ate. From the photo above.
In this recipe Katie uses lots of fresh leek, herbs (dill, tarragon and parsley) and capers to give it that salty/olive type flavor.
Nigel Slater’s Spinach, broad bean and feta pie.
I’m pretty sure spinach and feta are in love with each other. So complementary. This is one of those dishes that you can whip up quickly for lots of people and have them all in awe of you even though it only took you 20 minutes. Serve it with a bit of Michael’s Beetroot and Grapefruit chutney.
This recipe is simple stevens. Just 5 ingredients and very easy to prepare.
Jamie Oliver’s English onion soup with sage.
This solves my onion craving – red onion, white onion, shallots and leeks. I love mine with a big slice of Simply Paris Baguette and toasted Gruyere on top.
If you have any recipes you are craving for we would love to see them. Either leave a comment or send them to info@urbanharvest.co.nz.
Happy eating.
x
Fire Dragon Chillies
Welcome to Clint and his hot and spicy baby, Fire Dragon Chillies to the Urban Harvest ranks.
Clint’s hot sauce love story starts with a trip overseas where he got addicted to very hot chilli sauces. Upon his return to NZ he could not find anything that satisfied his hot chilli thirst so the NZ ingenuity kicked in and he started creating some himself. He grows chillies using organic principles and turns them into hot sauce.
What started as a hobby has now turned into a business, Fire Dragon Chillies now produce the HOTTEST natural chilli sauce in New Zealand – R20 Dragons Fury.
Here is a video to show you just how hot Dragons Fury really is –
Hiccup.
We have the range available online. Five sauces with different ratings and different ideas for use.
Dragons Fury – Made from the hottest chillies in the world, the Trinidad Scorpian Butch T with Bhus and Nagas.
Deadly Chilli Sauce – Made from Bhut Jolokia, Bih Jolokia, Nagas and habaneros. Great in curries, Bloody Mary’s and marinades.
Gourmet Chilli Sauce – Central American style sauce. Goes great with anything that needs a bit of heat.
Xtra Hot Chilli Sauce – Made from the hottest yellow chillies. Great with fish, chicken or put a spot on your eggs in the morning.
Bhuty Black Taniwha – Made with Black Nagas, Chocolate Bhuts and some secret chillies. Great as part of a marinade and in asian style recipes.
Here are some interesting facts about chillies –
- The capsaicin in chillies is what is responsible for the heat. The hotter the chilli pepper the more capsaicin it contains.
- Milk is the quickest and easiest solution to cool the heat from too much chilli. Plain rice, yoghurt and ice cream also do a good job. Water can help but most of the time it just washes those capsaicinoids around your mouth so it will keep on burning.
- Chillies are excellent for your immune system because they are rich in Vitamin A and Vitamin C.
- They can help with the common cold by clearing congestion.
- Chillies are great for diabetics as meals containing chilli don’t require as much insulin to break the food down.
Learn more about chillies on the Fire Dragon Chilli website and be sure to jump online to Urban Harvest to get your chilli sauce fix.
x
Urban Harvest
Puddings puddings everywhere.
Ok, we have a confession. We are a little naughty.
On Tuesday at 11am we had some people over and we ate pudding for lunch. Not just one pudding but MANY puddings. We had Tiramisu, Rhubarb and Apple Cobbler, Lemon Posset with Wakelin House Almond and Hazelnut Biscotti (made by the lovely Jo of L’affaire au Chocolat), Lemon Tart, Carrello del Gelato, Piako frozen yoghurt, Sticky date Pudding from Zuleika, Apple Quarters Blackberry and Apple Cobbler and Earl Grey infused chocolate baby cupcakes made by Katie of KTea.
Can you imagine the guilt on my face while writing that list of many puddings?
The idea stemmed from Erin’s Pudding Club. Once a month Erin and her pudding friends get together, all make a pudding and then eat a little bit of every single one then rate who’s is the best. The winner gets the prized hand mixer trophy until the next pudding club. When Erin told the Urban Harvest team about her pudding club everyone was fair to say a little envious so the decision was made to celebrate puddings as a team and invite a few guests along.
Best idea ever!
Urging you all to hold your own pudding night or lunch some time soon.
Here are some of the recipes from the Urban Harvest ‘Pudding for lunch’ event.
Rhubarb and Apple Cobbler (the recipe was slightly modified from this Donna Hay recipe. Some of the Rhubarb was replaced with chunks of apple and was served with custard)
Made with Imago’s delicious organic rhubarb grown locally in Levin, and their organic Granny Smith apples.
Blackberry Clafouti with Piako lemon curd frozen yoghurt.
Lime and Lemon Posset: “Posset” refers to an old English drink made in a way that’s similar to this simple pudding. It is much like a clotted cream. We had the added special touch of a little of Jo’s chocolate grated over top.
Of course Carrello del Gelato. You must have a wee side of this next to your puddings. Gingernut flavor is our current fave but they are all tasty tasty.
Tink’s Tirimisu was also a hit! She is away at the moment but I will be sure to get that treats recipe to you all as soon as she gets back.
Have a happy weekend!
Love the team who will all be working off their puddings this weekend.
and shout outs to Erin’s pudding club for the inspiration.
Food Revolution Day – May 19th
Some of you may have heard of Food Revolution Day, but for those of you who have not here is a little run down.
A chance for people who love food to come together to share information, talents and resources; to pass on their knowledge and highlight the world’s food issues. All around the globe, people will work together to make a difference. Food Revolution Day is about connecting with your community through events at schools, restaurants, local businesses, dinner parties and farmers’ markets. We want to inspire change in people’s food habits and to promote the mission for better food and education for everyone.
We have noticed a facebook page that popped up a wee while ago to help Wellington get involved in this event and we think it is brilliant!
We will be holding a treasure hunt for kids at the Hill Street Farmers Market on Saturday 19th May and will be giving free apples to the children who come along. Come and collect your Food Revolution clues from the Urban Harvest stall. The market runs from 8.30am – 12.30am and is on Hill Street in Thorndon.
x
Dear Brunch
Brunch, according to Wikipedia: A meal is not usually considered brunch if it is started before 10:30 am; such meals would still be considered breakfast. Typically brunch is had between 10:30 am and 2 pm, close to lunch time but still before. Brunch is usually eaten in the late morning.
Dear Brunch,
The topic of Mother’s Day got us up at Urban Harvest talking about you. How wonderful you are, how you are a great treat for mum’s on Mother’s Day.
There are so many things we love about you.
To celebrate you we created a ‘Build a brunch’ category on the website because we agreed that if someone was wanting to get us a gift and were out of town, or even in town but really wanted to treat us – a chiller bag full of gorgeous local brunch fare (you) delivered to our doors would be phenomenal! I mean, who doesn’t like you!?
Would you rather be delivered flowers or brunch? I choose brunch with flowers.
You can choose the type of bacon you want – streaky or manuka smoked? Eggs – cage free or free range? Black Pudding? Croissants? Simply Paris Danish? Fresh Fruit? Award winning Te Horo Jam? Smokehouse Smoked Salmon? Fresh Daily Squeeze OJ? This list can go on and on, but you should go and have a geez, it will get your mouth watering and you may even start thinking that you can smell bacon cooking. Mmmm..bacon.
Here are some other love letters to you, Urban Harvest recipes that our friends might want to try out to celebrate you too.
Vegetarian Omelette – with Kingsmeade Mt Bruce Havarti
Crepes with bacon, mushroom, spinach and egg
I’m a Harrington’s Streaky bacon and poached eggs on Ciabatta girl myself. With a little fried sage and some sea salt on top. That’s a brunch sure to make me smile.
Thanks for existing, brunch.
Love Urban Harvest
Getting your seasonal green on –
Yes winter is just around the corner but there is no need to be sad. Winter is great! Skiing, snowboarding, fires, casseroles, puddings, rain on the roof putting you to sleep and winter greens! They are in season, here to make you happy and healthy over the winter months so you can be fit and strong for when spring comes along.
Here are some short bites about our new season greens.
Spinach: Popeye was on to it with his spinach. The following list of nutritional value would be bound to make your muscles bulge. Vitamin A (especially lutein which is good for your eyes, skin and disease prevention), C, E, K, magnesium, manganese, folate, betain, iron and many, many other things! It is pretty much the super hero of vegetables. Butter and cream are it’s best friends as said in the link to the recipe. I totally agree (aren’t they the best friends of EVERYTHING?).
Here is a recipe for Spanakopita – Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall style
Chard: superb source of calcium and potassium, vitamin C, vitamin A and beta-carotene, as well as two carotenoids (lutein and zeaxanthin). It is often used in Mediterranian cooking. The leaves are always green but depending on the variety the stalks could be red, yellow or green.
Soup! Chickpea and Swiss Chard Minestrone Soup. Great winter feed.
Cavolo nero: High in beta carotene, Vitamin K, C, lutein and zexanthin. Unlike other cabbages it grows up with no head! Oh my goodness. It grows much like a palm tree. Best cooked in water with a good helping of salt for 6 minutes at least. Great with strong flavors like garlic, anchovies, black olives or chilli. A lot recipes using Cavolo Nero are for soups, but also used for stirring through pasta. Other recommendations are for stir fry’s and as a substitute for cabbage in coleslaw.
I found this Nigel Slater snack Covolo Nero with sheeps milk cheese and lemon. 
I can imagine that as a power breakfast with a poached egg on top.
So don’t be afraid of winter. Green vegetables are here to tell us that they want to keep us fit and strong, just be sure to pop a few of those varieties in your Urban Harvest red chiller bag to let them do their thing.
x
Some School Lunch Inspiration
It’s that time again, back to school time. Through some discussions with the Urban Harvest mums I discovered that packing a school lunch can be quite daunting, especially trying to find ways to make it healthy but also delicious for the kidleewinks.
I asked a Urban Harvest friend, Kate Day author of Freddie’s Food Blog for a little advice on the topic. Kate writes about how to make children’s meals exciting, appealing and full of flavour while keeping them healthy with minimal salt and sugar. Perfect for this blog post!
Five top tips for making healthy lunch boxes your kids will love
If you are going to spend time and energy creating healthy lunch boxes for your kids, you want them to come home empty! Here are a few hints and tips that will get your kids gobbling down their lunches and make their lunch boxes the envy of the class.
1. Variety is the spice of life
Try and mix up the foods you give your kid over the week. Just like adults, kids find it boring eating pretty much the same thing every day. Try out different breads (bagels, wraps, pita bread) to make a change from their usual sandwich. For a change from bread based lunches you could swap them for fritters, muffins, sushi, pasties, mini home-made pizzas, Vietnamese rice paper rolls, mini quiches, frittatas or pasta salads.
2. Make it easy to get at
Not only is glad wrap really bad for the environment, little fingers find it really hard to unwrap. Most schools only have a maximum of 15 – 20 minutes of enforced eating time at school before the play bell goes and they rush off to an activity or race around. You want to maximise their eating time so opt for reusable containers or lunch boxes with compartments, that keep the food fresh but readily accessible.
3. Get your kids involved
Kids are much more likely to eat something they have made themselves. It is also a great way to give them some extra independence and help them develop some time management skills. Mornings are a hectic time in most families with everyone busy getting ready for the day ahead but it is definitely worth the time to get a family routine of making lunches together. Your kids will be more likely to eat their own delicious creations and research shows that kids who are involved in preparing healthy food are more likely to go on to be adults who make healthy choices.
4. Make it colourful
By having a range of colours in you kids lunch box you will know you have given them a great variety of vitamins and minerals. Colourful food is also more appealing to kids. Here are some colourful finger food ideas, ideal for morning tea or lunch, that require minimal preparation:
- carrot, cucumber or capsicum sticks with hummus or tzatziki
- grapes (natures lollies!)
- berries
- edamame
- cherry tomatoes
- sweetcorn fritters
- hard-boiled eggs
- fruit slices and yoghurt dip
5. Limit the sugar
All kids want a tasty treat in their lunch box. Just because it is a treat doesn’t mean it needs to be unhealthy. You want your children’s lunch boxes to fuel them for a full-on day of learning and activity at school and you definitely don’t want them having a sugar low mid-afternoon. These banana oat cookies are super tasty and healthy too as they are sugar-free and are also wholegrain. They will stay fresh for a few days in an airtight container or freeze well.
Sugar-free Banana and Oat Cookies
3 medium ripe bananas, mashed
150g softened butter
2 cups rolled oats (I use a mixture of Harraways traditional oats and Uncle Toby’s rolled oats)
3/4 cup wholemeal flour
3/4 cup plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla paste
1/2 cup desiccated coconut
1 cup chopped dates
Makes: approx. 30 cookies
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Preheat oven to 180⁰C
Combine the softened butter, mashed bananas and vanilla paste in a large mixing bowl.
Sift the flour, baking powder and cinnamon into the banana mixture.
Fold in the oats, chopped dates and coconut.
Line a baking tray with baking parchment and arrange the mixture in balls about a tablespoon in size on the tray. Gently flatten with a fork.
Bake at 180⁰C for 20 minutes or until golden brown. They are a moist cookie with a similar consistency to banana bread.
Thank you Freddie’s mum! Make sure you go and visit her at her blog Freddie’s Food – healthy, easy recipes and ideas for hungry tummies.
We will love to hear your tips for school lunches, either post in a comment below for everyone to enjoy or email us info@urbanharvest.co.nz
Happy short week!
x
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