Every time I see pictures of Jam Doughnuts I promise myself I will make them but rarely do I keep my resolve. My memories go back in time when as a young girl my father would take me to Victoria Market and indulge me in a bag of jam doughnuts from the Doughnut Van.  This doughnut van is still parked outside the market selling doughnuts and still as delicious as ever

This recipe was taken from Bill Grangers book and I have to say was as close as I could get to the doughnuts from the market

Ingredients:

1 cup warm water

2 x 7gm sachets dried yeast

3 1/2 tblspns castor sugar

220gm butter

5 eggs

1 tspn salt

450gm plain flour

Vegetable oil for frying

1 cup castor sugar

2 tspns ground cinnamon

Raspberry jam

Method:

Place water, 1 tspn of the sugar and yeast in a bowl and mix to combine. Leave in a warm place for 10mins or until foaming.

Beat remaining unsugar and butter till creamy. Add eggs one at a time beating well after each addition

Add the yeast mixture flour salt and beat well with a wooden spoon until smooth

Cover with plastic wrap and leave in warm place for  11/2-2 hrs  until doubled in volume

Punch the dough down, remove from the bowl, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 3 hours or preferably overnight

Turn out half the dough onto floured board and pat out to 3cm thickness. Use a 5cm cutter and cut out rounds of dough then roll these into balls. Repeat with remaining dough

Pour oil into fryer until 6cm deep, heat oil to 175C or until a little bit of dough dropped in oil floats to surface. Fry in batches. Remove with slotted spoon – be careful not to overcrowd the pan

Drain on wire rack

Mix sugar and cinnamon and roll doughnuts to coat. Use piping bag to pipe jam in centre of donuts

Serve immediately

Makes 16

I have fallen in love with broad beans – my mother had planted some and whilst she was waiting for them to grow she was using the lovely tender leaves in salads and I thought – my goodness this is good – so of course  I then graduated to the actual bean itself – also Chris’s dips have brought out a broadbean and hummus dip – something like that – and I had tasted it and liked it very much – so when I saw this recipe I had to give it a go

The recipe came from Delicious Magazine

Ingredients

300gm soft goat’s cheese (I used feta – 150gm)
1 avocado
1 long green chilli, seeded and roughly chopped (I used ½ tspn dried chilli flakes)
2 cups fresh podded broad beans or 1 cup frozen broad beans, skins removed and blanched (I put frozen in microwave for 1 minute and then took off jackets)
1cup fresh peasfreshly podded blanched and drained (I used frozen – microwave for 2 mins)
zest 1 lemon, juice of ½ lemon
¼ cup each fresh parsley and mint leaves

TO SERVE

slices sourdough bread toasted
wedges of lemon

Place all ingredient in food processor and process till smooth – season & transfer to servisg dish. Chill for 3-4 hours or overnight – the longer it s chilled the better the consistency will be

Serve pâté with bread and wedges of lemon

this recipe was in the Delicious Magazine August 2012 edition – I love lemon curd and always on the look out for recipes I can use it in – thought this recipe was worth giving a go

I always make my own lemon curd but Ben says you can easily use store bought – I have never tried that though

BEN O’DONOGHUE’S SHORTCUT LEMON SLICE

1 2/3 cups (250g) plain flour
1/2 cup (75g) icing sugar, plus extra to dust
180g chilled unsalted butter, chopped
1 egg yolk
2 tbs cold milk
500g lemon curd*

Crumble
1/3 cup (50g) plain flour
1/2 cup (60g) almond meal
2 tbs caster sugar
50g chilled unsalted butter, chopped
1 egg yolk, lightly beaten

1. Sift the flour and icing sugar into a food processor and whiz to combine. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Add yolk and milk, then pulse until mixture comes together in a ball. Turn out and knead briefly, then shape into a disc, cover and chill for 30 minutes.
2. For the crumble, place flour, almond meal, sugar and butter in a bowl, then rub together with your fingertips until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir through yolk and chill until required.
3. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease and line a 28cm x 18cm lamington pan with baking paper, allowing plenty to overhang the sides. Coarsely grate the pastry into the pan, then press evenly into the base to cover. Prick all over with a fork, then chill for a further 15 minutes.
4. Bake pastry for 30-35 minutes until golden and dry. Cool to room temperature.
5. Spread lemon curd over the cooled pastry, then scatter over crumble mixture. Bake for a further 25-30 minutes until golden. Cool completely in the pan. Dust slice with icing sugar, then remove from the pan, slice and serve.

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