Angela Casley Recipes: Tomato & Blue Cheese Tarts, Southern Chicken Curry, and Berry Compote with White Chocolate Mousse
Put together a simple dinner party that requires little fuss. Gone are the days of slaving in the kitchen for days before entertaining a few guests.
Tomato and Blue Cheese Tarts
Serves 6
I love that these tarts can be prepared in advance and just need a quick blast in the oven before serving warm. They can be eaten with fingers, or a little garnish or a balsamic drizzle can be added to make them look a little fancy.
Ingredients
2 sheets of puff pastry
1 egg yolk mixed with 1 Tbsp water
6 medium tomatoes
1 Tbsp horseradish
100g cream cheese, room temperature
100g blue cheese
Thyme leaves
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Line a baking tray with paper.
2. Using a circular cutter, cut 8 circles, each 9-10 cm in diameter, and place them on the tray. With a sharp knife, score 1 cm from the edge around each disc. Brush with egg wash. Bake for 18-20 minutes until puffed and golden. Remove, then, when cool enough, push the centres of each circle in to create the tarts.
3. Turn the oven down to 160C. Slice the tomatoes and arrange them on a tray in groups of three. Season and bake for 15 minutes, or until softened. Remove.
4. Combine the cream cheese and horseradish. Spread a little over the base of each tart. Top with three slices of tomato. Dot over the blue cheese and thyme leaves.
5. When you are ready to serve, return to the oven for ten minutes.
6. Serve warm.
Slow-cooked Southern Chicken Curry
Serves 6
This is fragrant with yummy spices and full of warmth and flavour. Remove the curry leaves before serving.
Ingredients
2 Tbsp curry powder
6 chicken legs
¼ cup oil
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, crushed
2 Tbsp grated ginger
1 can coconut cream
4 tomatoes, diced
1 tsp salt and pepper
½ cup toasted shredded coconut
To serve,
¼ cup crispy shallot
Hot rice
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 170C.
2. Rub the curry powder over the chicken legs. Heat a frying pan to a medium heat. Add one tablespoon of oil. Brown the chicken leg on both sides and place in a large ovenproof baking dish.
3. Heat the remaining oil in the frying pan. Add the fennel and mustard seeds and toast for a couple of minutes. Add the onion, garlic and ginger and cook for 2 minutes. Stir through the coconut cream, diced tomatoes, and season, then bring to a simmer.
4. Pour the mixture over the chicken, cover and bake in the oven for 1 ½ hours. For the last 20 minutes, sprinkle the coconut over the chicken and remove the lid.
5. Serve the chicken with steaming hot rice, crispy shallots and a green vegetable.
Berry Compote with White Chocolate Mousse
Serves 6
This is just delicious. A fruit compote jazzes up anything, but piled on top of a chocolate mousse is next level.
Ingredients
200g white chocolate, broken
250ml cream
2 tsp orange zest
3 egg whites
Compote
2 cups frozen berries
1 tsp vanilla paste
2 tsp orange zest
¼ cup orange juice
2 tsp arrowroot mixed with 1 Tbsp water
To decorate:
Mint leaves, orange segments
Method
1. Place the chocolate in a bowl with 100ml of cream and melt in the microwave or in a small pot, stirring every 30 seconds, until smooth. Cool to room temperature.
2. Whip the remaining cream. Fold through the orange zest. Fold through the chocolate.
3. Beat the egg white until stiff. Gently fold in the chocolate mixture. Spoon into your glasses or bowl for serving. Cover and refrigerate for at least four hours or overnight.
4. For the compote, place the berries, vanilla paste, zest and juice in a medium-sized pot and warm gently. Bring to a simmer and cook for 3 or 4 minutes. Stir in the arrowroot until slightly thickened. Remove from the heat. Store in the fridge until needed.
5. To serve the mousse with a generous amount of compote, an orange segment and a mint sprig.
