Licorice Parfait with lime syrup

This is one of my favourite desserts at the moment.  I stumbled across it one day when I had a craving for a licorice dessert.  I had never made one before.  I hit google and found this one by Luke Mangan.  It has since become my signature dessert.  It's great for guests because it's quite easy to make, you make it in advance and they are wowed every time.

Ingredients

Lime syrup

250g sugar

250ml water

juice and rind of 1 lime

lime segments, pith and pips removed

Licorice Parfait

200ml cream

50g licorice

2 free range eggs

1 egg yolk

2 tsp glucose

60g sugar

2 tbs pernod (licorice liqueur)

Preparation

For the lime syrup, bring the sugar and water to the boil, stirring to ensure the sugar is dissolved.  Remove from heat and add the lime juice and the rind to taste.  Stir well and refrigerate.

For the licorice parfait, in a small saucepan combine the cream and licorice and heat gently, without boiling, until the licorice is very soft.  Blend the mixture in a food processor until well combined and pour through a fine sieve to strain out the tine pieces of licorice.  Set aside to cool.

In a stainless steel bowl over a large saucepan of gently simmering water, make a sabayon by whisking together the eggs, yolk, glucose, sugar and pernod until the mixture turns pale and fluffy.  Have a bowl of ice at the ready and once mixture turns pale and fluffy, remove from heat and place the bowl on the ice.  Continue to whisk until it cools a little (this will stop the mix from scrambling).  Fold half of the sabayon into the licorice mixture.  Once combined, fold in the remaining sabayon until well combined.  Pour into individual moulds, or a log shaped tin and freeze.

To serve, lower the moulds into hot water for only a few seconds before turning out the parfait.  You can either pour over the lime syrup, or serve it on the table in a jug.  Garnish with lime segments.

Roasted Green Chicken Curry (Donna Hay)

My mum, sister and I have decided that we will make a recipe out of the current Donna Hay magazine each week.  We take turns to choose what we are all going to cook.  Last week was the first round and my sister chose Roasted Green Chicken Curry.  I hadn't heard of roasting a curry before but I gave it a go and I was really impressed.  The chicken was cooked beautifully - so juicy and tender and the flavours were all there.  The only thing I would do differently in future would be to add a bit more chilli - just needed a bit more of a kick for me.  

Next time I make it I think I'll make a double batch of the curry paste so that it is ready and on hand for if I ever want to make the curry.  Making the paste was probably the most time consuming part of this dish so to have some stored in the fridge, would mean an easy but beautiful week day dinner.

• Roasted Green Chicken Curry

1 x 400ml can coconut milk
2 tbs fish sauce
1 tbs finely chopped palm sugar
4 Kaffir lime leaves
1 stalk lemongrass, bruised
8 x 220g bone in chicken thighs, skin on and trimmed
Sea Salt flakes
2 tbs lime juice
sliced baby cucumbers and baby herbs, to serve


Green Curry Paste
2 tbs coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 tsp white peppercorns
3 long green chillies, roughly chopped
2 eschalots (french shallots), roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
2cm piece (10g) fresh turmeric, peeled and roughly chopped
2 tbs coriander root, chopped
6cm piece (30g) fresh galangal, peeled and roughly chopped
4 kaffir lime leaves, shredded
1 stalk lemongrass, white part only, sliced
1/2 tsp shrimp paste
2 tbs peanut oil

Method

To make the green curry paste, heat a small frying pan over medium heat. Add the coriander seeds, cumin seeds and peppercorns and toast, shaking the pan frequently, for 2–3 minutes or until fragrant and light golden. Place in a small food processor and process until ground. Add the chilli, eschalot, garlic, turmeric, coriander root, galangal, lime leaves, lemongrass, shrimp paste and oil and process, scraping down the sides of the bowl, until smooth. Makes 1 cup (250ml). 

Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F). Place the curry paste, coconut milk, fish sauce, sugar, lime leaves and lemongrass in a deep-sided medium baking tray and mix to combine. Rub the chicken with salt and place, skin-side up, in the baking tray. Cover with aluminium foil and roast for 1 hour. Increase the temperature to 200°C (400°), remove the foil and roast for a further 35–40 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the skin is crispy. Use a metal spoon to skim any fat from the surface of the sauce and stir through the lime juice. Top with the cucumber and baby herbs to serve. Serves 4