Cinnamon Caramelised Fig with Salted Pistachios

'Tis the season for figs! They are becoming more accessible and used in everyday dishes at home, but they have been cultivated for thousands of years, dating back to the ancient Middle East.

I’ve had a lot of amazing fig salads over summer and I wanted to match the savoury with a sweet dessert that exploded and enhanced the richness of figs.

I actually found out quite recently that figs are the product of pollination by a special fig wasp. Figs have grown and evolved with these wasps and start out as a flower, pollinated and turned into a fruit that bares a beautiful rich fruit.

I have paired a sweet cinnamon caramelised fig with salted pistachio, served with a bourbon, macadamia, honey and vanilla bean ice cream. The dessert is simple, delicious and takes less than ten minutes to prepare.

Ingredients

Serves 2

3 figs

4 tbsp white sugar

¼ tsp cinnamon, ground

1 small handful of salted and shelled pistachios

4 – 6 tbsp Ice cream

Directions

Slice figs in half, length ways and set aside. Place sugar and cinnamon in a non stick pan on medium heat and spread through the middle. Turn heat to medium and after 30 seconds place figs over sugar.

The figs should start to brown and bubble in the sugar turned caramel. Cook the figs face down for no longer than 2 minutes, then turn over and cook for 30 seconds, coating in caramel.

Take figs out of pan and let sit for a few minutes. Lay figs on plate, top with crushed pistachios and serve with ice cream. 

Caramelised Pork Belly Sliders

Beautiful bite sized buns made with Kylie Kwong’s Braised Pork Belly.

Quite a few years ago when I went travelling with some friends to Singapore and Japan I found a pair of thick framed glasses (when they were all the rage) that I wore for the hell of it. I was, without any hesitation nicknamed Kylie Kwong; partially in part because of sexual preference but mostly because in some strange way, I LOOKED LIKE HER. Raging, thick framed beauty cooking up a storm in the tiny kitchen of a hostel in Tokyo. So following in tradition, many years later I’ve taken one of Kwong’s best family recipes and used them to make the ultimate pork belly bun.

This two pronged recipe is quite lengthy, so I will break up the Ingredients into two parts; Kwong’s caramelised pork belly and my slider put together, which takes NO time at all.

Some of these ingredients may be hard to find, but between an Asian grocer and a more metropolitan supermarket you will find all the ingredients. ALWAYS ask the butcher for female pork belly. Male pork tends to have a pungent smell that is quite distinct and over powering at times.

Ingredients

Serves six

Kwong’s Caramelised Pork Belly

600gm female pork belly cut into 2.5cm cubes

1 cup brown sugar

3 limes, juice only

2 tbsp fish sauce

Red braising stock

2½ cups Shaoxing wine

1½ cups organic tamari

1 cup brown sugar

6garlic cloves, coarsely crushed

90 gm(18cm piece) ginger, thinly sliced

4spring onions, trimmed and halved lengthways

5star anise

2cinnamon quills

3pieces of orange rind, removed with a peeler

1 tsp sesame oil

Pork Belly Sliders

6 plain white buns

1 cucumber

1 bunch coriander/cilantro

Sliced pork belly

Directions

Start by boiling your pork belly to remove all impurities, then running under cold water. This only requires a 5 – 10 minute boil. Next, combine red braising stock and bring to the boil, then let sit and infuse for 30 minutes. When infused, add pork belly and simmer for 1 to 1.5 hours until tender. To make caramel, combine brown sugar and 250 ml water and simmer for 20 minutes until caramel forms. Soon after add lime juice and fish sauce. Slice pork belly and drizzle with caramel.

Steam buns as directed on packet. While buns are steaming, slice cucumber length ways. Place a slice of pork belly on the bun with cucumber and coriander and finish with a drizzle of caramel 

Banana Tarte Tatin

A little left of field with a little bastardisation, this banana tarte tatin is amazing. I have adapted this recipe from the traditional French classic, Apple Tatin. Made with a lot of love, butter and sugar you’re in for an easy treat. I used store bought individual fillo pastry sheets, coating with butter between layers too. Serve hot with ice cream and topped with cinnamon.

Ingredients

Serves five to six

3 large bananas

5 tbsp salted butter

2/3 cup caster sugar

1 tsp orange zest

½ tsp cinnamon

2 – 3 sheets individual fillo pastry sheets

Butter for coating

Directions

Start by melting butter, adding orange zest and cinnamon. Follow quickly with sugar and cook until a beautiful caramel forms. Halve bananas length ways then again, sideways. Place flat side up in a pie dish, then pour caramel over bananas. Add layer by layer of the fillo pastry, coating with melted butter between every layer. Be sure not to confuse regular fillo pastry sheets, which may be thicker and contain many micro layers. The regular is fine too.

Cook in preheated oven at 200 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes. Let cool outside of oven for 5 minutes, then using a knife separate edges of the tarte tatin from the pie dish. Placing a flat plate over the top, turn the bowl over and let sit until it falls nicely onto the fillo pastry.  

Chilli and Garlic Caramel Crab

 Lime, chilli and garlic caramel swimmer crab with sage butter potato medallions and a radish salad with ginger vinegar

I really enjoy food that heightens the senses with acute tastes, sharp on the palette contrasted against texture. I decided to experiment today and shift my focus to seafood and Asian fusion. I wanted to use beautiful soft crab meat to pair against bitter and sweet flavours, as well as adding soft and crisp elements with salad and vegetable. The meal has three elements and is a lot easier to finish quickly if you do all of your preparation first. Start with crab element, then potato than radish – quick fast execution gives you a beautiful meal that looks and tastes equally amazing.

Ingredients

Serves two

For the Crab

1 medium swimmer crab

2 tbsp butter

1 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine

½ tsp fish sauce

½ lime

1 clove garlic

1 small bullet chilli

For the Potatoes

2 medium washed potatoes

3 tbsp butter

3 – 4 sage leaves

Salt and pepper to taste

For the Radish and Ginger Vinegar

3 medium radishes

¼ cup vinegar

¼ cup caster sugar

¼ water

1 tsp finely chopped ginger

Sprouts for plating.

Directions

Start by preparing the crab; boil in a pot for 5 - 7 minutes. While boiling, dice chilli and garlic. When done, open the torso, clean and carefully remove the meat – this can be timely, but have patience. In a pan, heat butter and add remaining ingredients. Softly stir through the crab and remove from heat shortly after to avoid over cooking the crab meat. Set aside.

Slice two potatoes length ways, and using a scalloping instrument, make medallions and set aside. I was savvy and used a metal medicine measuring cup. In a pan, heat butter and add potato. Fry evenly on each side for 3 -5 minutes until brown, adding sage and salt. Set aside.

In a pan, combine ginger, vinegar, water and sugar and bring to the boil. Cook and reduce for 7 – 10 minutes. Slice radish and when vinegar has cooled, toss radish and plate.

Plating is your creative freedom, I used snowpea sprouts to lay under the delicate crab meat, and the heads to colour the dish. You can also serve crab legs in a bowl on the side, a chance to get sticky and messy after the delicate dish; it’s all about contrast, right.