Asian Glazed Meatballs

 

I’m always looking for recipes I can adapt for the Steam Combi ovens and it seems they can be quite hard to find so I have been experimenting again at work and came up with these yummy morsels.

This recipe will work in a regular dry oven as well as the Steam Combi oven so dont be put off if you don’t yet own one.

The secret to this recipe is that you put them in the oven twice, once to nearly cook, then remove them and toss them in the glaze, then return them to the oven to set the glaze.

The meatballs themselves have plenty of flavour but I think we eat with our eyes as well and the glaze not only imparts added flavour but makes them even more tempting to eat with the glistening golden brown coating.

 

These are great to serve as fingerfood  alone or with a dipping sauce, or you can serve as a meal with rice  in which case I would double the glaze recipe and drizzle the remainder over the meatballs when serving.

 

ASIAN GLAZED MEATBALLS

INGREDIENTS

MEATBALLS
500gms minced pork
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 small onion, finely chopped
knob of ginger, grated
small bunch coriander, chopped finely
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs ( or use fresh )
1tspn green herb stock powder ( or use any other stock powder you desire- garlic,chicken or beef will work fine as well)
2 T Hoisin Sauce

GLAZE
2T Hoisin Sauce
4T Sweet Chilli Sauce
2 t Soy Sauce
1T Lime Juice
2T brown sugar

(To make glaze combine all ingredients in saucepan and heat until sugar is dissolved)

3 T  or more Sesame Seeds

METHOD

If using regular dry oven preheat to 180C ( 350F) In Steam Combi oven choose  Combination and preheat to 190C

Using your hands mix all the meatball ingredients together , and form small balls ( slightly smaller than a ping pong ball)

Place on greased baking dish and cook for 13 minutes.

Remove from oven and toss in glaze. Sprinkle or roll in Sesame Seeds.

Return to oven and cook for further 5 minutes or until golden brown.

Mini Strawberry Tarte Tatin ( Steam Combi or Conventional Oven)

 

 

Today at work I wanted to do some comparison cooking – to cook the same thing in a dry oven and also in a steam combi oven to see the differences in the results .

I wanted something easy and with available ingredients and I recalled a Mini Tarte Tatin recipe I had seen by Donna Hay in one of her cookbooks.

I normally make Tarte Tatin in a cast iron frypan but I had some mini cake tins and thought i would give these a go.

The resulting individual desserts were yummy , easy to make and delicious in both the dry oven and the steam combi – however the steam combi definitely resulted in  much lighter puffier pastry .

For a dessert in a hurry this is delicious dessert will leave lips smacking and wanting more.

STRAWBERRY MINI TARTE TATIN

INGREDIENTS: ( for 4 tarts)

12 Large or 16-20 small strawberries, sliced lengthwise
2 tablespoons  butter
4 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 tspn Vanilla paste
2 sheets pre rolled  butter puff pastry

4 small pie dishes or small cake tins
(If using loose bottom cake tins you will also need to cut baking paper to line the base and sides of each tin.

 

METHOD:

Line cake tins with baking paper if necessary ( no need to do this for tins that dont have loose bottoms)

Place sliced strawberries in the bottom of each dish, arrange the bottom layer nicely with the larger outer edges toward the outside and the points toward the middle ( this will be the top of the tart when it is cooked)  . There is no need to pay so much attention for anything except that bottom layer.

In a small saucepan melt butter, and stir in brown sugar and vanilla and stir until melted and caramelised, but be careful not to burn .

Pour caramel over strawberries .

Cut 2 circles of pastry the size of each tin and carefully cover the fruit and tuck down the edges to form a good “seal” .Cover with second disc of pastry .

Heat oven to 200 degrees celcius ( 390F)

( Use Steam Combination if you have a Steam Combi Oven)

Cook for 20 minutes till pastry is risen and golden .

Rest for a couple of minutes then invert onto plate.

Serve with Cream or Icecream .

( You can replace the strawberrries with many other different fruits – Blueberries, sliced apricots or peaches,sliced pineapple,plums, apples or even bananas.)

If you cant get butter puff pastry, regular puff pastry will work just as well – it just doesnt quite have the same rich yumminess)