Friday, December 31, 2010

Stuffed Tomatoes


Ingredients
12 Vine Ripened Tomatoes (allow for 3 tomatoes per person)
1 Brown Onion
1 Tspn Cumin
1/2 Tspn All Spice
1/2 Tspn Nutmeg
1/2 Tspn Cinnamon
3 Cloves of Garlic
500g Lamb Mince
1 Beef Stock Cube
1/2 Bunch of Parsley finely chopped
1/2 Bunch of Dill finely chopped
Juice of 1 Lime
Salt & Pepper
Olive Oil

Method
Carefully slice off the lids of each of the tomatoes and hollow out each of the tomatoes, reserving the lids as well as the tomato insides. Set aside. Dice 1 brown onion and place in fry pan with a little oil. Sautee the onions. Add 1/2 teaspoon of cumin, 1/4 teaspoon of all spice, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon to the onions. Mince 3 cloves of garlic and add to pan.


Add lamb mince and try to break up the clumps of meat. Continuously mix the ingredients in the pan. Once the mince is slightly brown, add the reserved insides of the tomatoes and stir. Meanwhile, pre-heat a fan forced oven to 180 Degrees Celcius.


Next, add 1 beef stock cube. Simmer the mixture for 30 minutes or until the liquid has disappeared. Repeat the spice mix above: 1/2  teaspoon of cumin, 1/4 teaspoon of all spice, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon. Now add in 1/2 a bunch of finely chopped parsley and 1/2 a bunch of finely chopped dill. Also add the juice of half a lime. Stir mixture. Add salt, pepper and more spices to taste. Remove from heat.


Spoon the mixture into the hollow tomatoes and place the tomato lids in place. Next, place the tomatoes on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Lightly drizzle olive oil and the remaining 1/2 lime juice over the tomatoes. Place in oven and cook for around 20 minutes.

Serving Suggestions
Serve with roasted vegetables such as zucchini and squash. These can be added to the baking tray along with the tomatoes with a drizzle of olive oil, lime juice and balsamic vinegar.

Thursday, December 30, 2010

About Us

The 2 Little Piggies are a husband and wife team in search of food perfection. Residing in Sydney and from different cultural backgrounds, come and join us as we hunt for Sydney's best restaurants, food stores and recipes.

Why not join in the fun and suggest a restaurant or food store for us to visit? Send us an email: the2littlepiggies@live.com.au



Fig & Macadamia Nut Jam


Ingredients
300ml Sweet Red wine
2L Sugar Syrup (4 cups of sugar & 4 cups of water brought to the boil)
3 Cinnamon Quills
1 Star Anise
1.5Kgs Dried Figs cut in half, with the hard ends removed
400g Natural Macadamia Nuts
1 Zest and Juice of an Orange

Method
Add the wine, sugar syrup, cinnamon quills, star anise and orange zest to a large pot and reduce by one litre or until it reaches a thick consistency. Next, add the figs and bring the mixture to the boil for 5 minutes. Then, add the nuts. Bring the mixture to the boil for around another 5 minutes. Add the juice of one orange. Stir mixture and turn off heat.


Leave mixture to cool before placing into sterile air-tight jars. Serve with an array of high quality cheeses.


Alternatives
Replace macadamias with walnuts or pecans.

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Chocolate Coated Strawberries

Ingredients
200g 70% Dark Chocolate
220g Nutella or equivalent chocolate hazelnut spread
2 punnets of fresh strawberries


Method
Rinse the strawberries and pat dry with a dry cloth or tea towel. Set aside.
Break the chocolate into pieces and place in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Do not let the bowl touch the water. Stir chocolate until melted. Remove from the heat and stir in the Nutella spread until combined.

Dip each strawberry into the chocolate mixture and place them on a baking paper lined tray. Chill for around half an hour or until set, then serve.


Alternatives
Try other types of fruits such as figs.
Add nuts to the recipe. After dipping the strawberries into the chocolate mixture, coat them with nuts such as chopped toasted hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, almonds etc.