Cheese Baked Mackerel 芝士烤鯖魚

不明白為何老公那麼喜歡吃鯖魚，我覺得魚肉較乾、易柴，還帶點腥...但米飯班主喜歡，食材又便宜，又含較高的 Omega 3，所以冷藏庫總會有幾包儲貨。

平日做鯖魚都是用 grill mode 烤，但易把魚皮烤成一個個大泡，還要是焦焦的，魚肉亦較乾，又試試其他做法。這食譜的做法簡單，成品「香口」又不會上火，魚肉更是比全程用 Grill 燒烤模式烹調多汁。又道可以偷懶的美味菜式！

食材

• 急凍鯖魚柳 兩件
• 海鹽 適量
• 黑胡椒 適量
• Mozzarella 適量
• Cheddar 適量

做法

1. 把鯖魚解凍後用廚紙印乾水份。
2. 把焗爐/水波爐 Convection 預熱至 220C。
3. 在烤盤上抹點油，放上鯖魚柳，撒上海鹽和黑胡椒碎，放入爐烤 12 至 13分鐘至熟。
4. 取出撒上芝士，再放入爐用 Grill 把芝士烤至金黃便可上菜。

如果不加芝士只需在原來的烹調時間加幾分鐘便可。

Tofu Aubergine Gratin 芝士白汁烤豆腐茄子

非常喜歡吃茄子，特別是紫色的長茄子，的顏色和較實在的口感，圓茄子口感較軟...還有花茄子，紫白相間，都美美的。做涼拌我更喜歡手指茄，比長茄子更有質感。

中西菜都常用茄子，葷素皆宜。其中一道我常做的西式配菜，就是 Aubergine Gratin (白汁烤茄子)。某日想吃這道菜，剛遇上 Green Monday，又要配足夠的蛋白質，所以又來一次 East Meets West，在原來的食譜加了豆腐，就成了 Aubergine Tofu Gratin。

食材

• 長茄子 2 條
• 韓國烹調用豆腐 1 盒
• 白汁 Bechamel 適量(可用超巿瓶裝的，又或 homemade)
• Mozzarella 適量
• Parmesan 適量
• 海鹽和鮮磨黑椒調味
• 油適量

做法

1. 預熱水波爐/焗爐 (Convection) 至150°C。
2. 長茄子洗淨抹乾，去頭尾切 1 厘米厚片。排在烤盤上。放入爐烤 15 分鐘。烤好取出待用。
   
3. 豆腐倒去水，切成 7 毫米厚薄，平放在廚紙上除去多餘水份。燒熱平底鑊，下點油，把豆腐兩邊煎至金黃，取出備用。
   
4. 預熱水波爐/焗爐 (Convection) 至180°C。
5. 在烤盤內抹油，薄薄塗一層白汁，排上茄子，灑適量的 salt and pepper，淋上一層白汁。
   
   
   
   
6. 排上煎豆腐，加 salt and pepper，淋上一層白汁。
   
7. 排上最後一層茄子，加 salt and pepper，淋上白汁，放入水波爐下層，或焗爐中層烤 15-20 分鐘，至看到白汁起泡滾起。
   
8. 取出烤盤，撒上 撒下 mozzarella 和 parmesan，用水波爐/焗爐的 Grill 功能，目測烤至芝士金黃色即可上菜。
   
9. 如果焗爐沒有 Grill 功能，可嘗試把爐溫升至最高，把烤盤放上層，目測烤至芝芝金黃色即可上菜。
   

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/ingredient-focus-aubergines

糖醋茄子

很喜歡吃茄子，烹調中西餐都會用上它。我覺得不同品種的茄子味道分別不大，但口感則有很大的差異。圓茄子肉較軟，水份較多，我多會直接用火燒，取肉作地中海式 vegetarian dish；最常見的長茄子多會用來做蒸、釀、炒等菜式；至於幼幼的手指茄，是我最喜歡的，因為較耐煮，不易煮至軟爛，口感較扎實，除了像長茄子一樣處理，我更喜歡用來做糖醋茄子。

翻一翻資料，原來這食譜材料的部份，己經寫好一年了，保留在 Pat's Cooking Journal 的草稿欄內。今天整理好，便可以和大家分享了。這道菜可以趁熱上菜，亦可以放涼，甚或提前做好放雪櫃，各式其色。

材料

• 手指茄 5條

醬汁材料

• 薑米 適量
• 醬油 20ml
• Balsamic 30ml
• 味醂 40ml
• 原糖 1tsp
• 麻油適量

做法

1. 預熱焗爐/水波爐至 Convection 150°C。
2. 把手指茄洗淨抹乾。開邊切成4cm段，排上烤盤中，放入焗爐/水波爐烤 15分鐘，取出備用。
3. 在平底鑊中加入醬汁材料（除了麻油）煮滾，加入茄子邊煮邊拌，至收汁，最後拌入麻油即可上碟。

我家喜歡大把大把撒上芫荽碎，加點烘芝麻，口感更清新。

Macerated Beetroot 陳醋漬紅菜頭

平日早餐都是煮養生粥或麥片，週末假日節奏變得很慢，一般都做一大盤沙律配上各色蔬果、烤南瓜、多士、雞蛋、沙甸魚等。最重要是一撮 Macerated Beetroot (陳醋漬紅菜頭)。喜歡它的酸甜爽脆，每次都會做一大盒放到雪櫃裏，作零食也不錯。

我最愛到超巿買澳洲紅菜頭，貪其乾淨又已處理掉 beet greens。其實 beet greens 亦很有益，可作菜，但每次量太多，易浪費。選紅菜頭時，要選皮光肉滑，beet greens 切口直徑細的會較嫩。

把紅菜頭洗擦乾淨，刨去外皮，用 mandoline 刨細絲，加點 salt and pepper 調味，淋上適量陳醋，加點點蜂蜜拌均。放入食物盒放雪櫃儲存，可保全幾天。我每次都從盒底取出紅菜頭，同時翻動一下盒入的紅菜頭，讓味道更加均勻。

 N年前我是用手切把紅菜頭切絲的，打算練刀功又有空，確是樂事。某日有朋友來我倆家吃晚餐，想讓他們也試試，結果「切到手殘」，換了 food processor 的 grating blade。的確省時，但口感不對，grating blade 其實不太鋒利，是靠摩打的力量把刀片撞入，切口不齊，成品軟軟的，少了脆爽。最後還是買了一個體積算細，刀片又極鋒利的 mandoline。這套有幾款刀片，其中刨絲的有兩款，我最近亦特意分別用它們做了兩次，發現紅菜頭絲較幼，醃漬很更透切，味道更佳，較軟又不失爽脆。供大家參考。

Honey and Fig Cake

I bought a small carton of figs a week ago and they needed to be utilized. I'm quite surprised the fruits are still fresh. I made a twist with my "Spiced Apple Cake" recipe and baked this "Honey and Fig Cake".

This is a very simple cake, good for a tea cake or an after-dinner dessert. It's has the richness and aroma of a butter cake, but not heavy when baked with figs. The baked fruit wedges contributes extra moisture to the crumbs. I have reduced the amount of sugar in the butter mixture as I replaced the maple syrup with honey, but I wanted to enrich the flavor of the cake and I decided to make a salted caramel sauce as a condiment.

I baked the cake with a two-piece round cake pan 8” in diameter.

Ingredients

(A) 4 big figs, cut into wedges

(B) Butter Mixture

• 113g unsalted butter at room temperature
• 50g raw caster sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla paste

(C) Dry Ingredients

• 120g cake flour
• 45g fine almond meal
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• Zest of 1 lemon

(D) Moist Ingredients

• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 2 tsp dark rum
• 60g honey
• 3 whole eggs

(E) Condiment and garnish - Optional

• Dust with icing sugar
• Salted caramel sauce

Method

1. Grease and line the two-piece round pan with parchment paper.
   
2. Preheat the convection oven to 170℃. 
3. Rinse and pat dry the figs with kitchen towel. Cut the figs into wedges. Set aside.
4. Beat the butter in the stand-mixer with paddle attachment on medium-low until smooth. Add sugar and beat on medium-high until pale, light and fluffy. Add the vanilla paste and beat until mixed.
5. Mix and sift the dry ingredients together. 
6. Add the dry ingredients into the butter mixture on low until moistened.
7. Add one egg with lemon juice and dark rum, beat on high for 20 seconds. 
8. Add the second egg with half the honey, beat on high for 20 seconds, repeat with the last egg and remaining honey. Scrape down whenever necessary.
9. Pour the batter into the lined pan, spread evenly. Place the figs onto the batter. 
   
10. Put the pan into the oven on the lower rack and bake for 40-45 minutes or until done. Check with your cake tester or skewer, if it comes out clean, the cake is done.
11. Take out the pan, remove the ring and allow the cake to cool on the base of the pan.
    
12. To garnish the cake, sprinkle icing sugar on the cake. Drizzle with salted caramel sauce to serve.

Spiced Apple Cake

Read a lot about German Apple Cakes on the internet. It's a simple recipe and good for a tea cake, but I'm not quite satisfied with the recipes I found and want to write my own recipe with a twist and baked this "Spiced Apple Cake".

There are a lot of different kinds of apples available in supermarkets, I used modi and granny smith from Australia.

You need a round spring-from pan 9" in diameter.

Ingredients
(A) Apples

• 2 small red apples (Can be gala, queen, envy or pink lady, I used modi)
• 2 small or 1 medium granny smith 
• 1.5 tsp lemon juice

(B) Butter Mixture

• 113g unsalted butter at room temperature
• 70g raw caster sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla paste

(C) Dry Ingredients

• 120g cake flour
• 45g fine almond meal
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• Zest of 1 lemon

(D) Moist Ingredients

• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 2 tsp dark rum
• 60g maple syrup
• 3 whole eggs

(E) Garnish - Optional

• Apricot gel 
• Icing sugar for dusting

Method

1. Grease and line the spring-form pan with parchment paper.
   
2. Preheat the convection oven to 170℃. 
3. Peel, quarter and core the apple. Make cuts verically on the outside without cutting through. Toss the apple wedges with lemon juice in a bowl to avoid rusting. Set aside.
4. Beat the butter in the stand-mixer with paddle attachment on medium-low until smooth. Add sugar and beat on medium-high until pale, light and fluffy. Add the vanilla paste and beat until mixed.
5. Mix and sift the dry ingredients together. Add the dry ingredients in 2 batches into the butter mixture on low until moistened.
6. Add one egg with lemon juice and dark rum, beat on high for 20 seconds. Add the second egg with half the maple syrup, beat on high for 20 seconds, repeat with the last egg and remaining maple syrup. Scrape down whenever necessary.
7. Pour the batter into the lined pan, spread evenly. Put the apple wedges core-side down, try to snug all apple wedges onto the batter, they shall shrink in size after baking.
   
8. Put the pan into the oven on the lower rack and bake for 40-45 minutes or until done. Check with your cake tester or skewer, if it comes out clean, the cake is done.
9. Take out the pan, remove the ring and allow the cake to cool on the base of the spring-form pan.
10. To garnish the cake, brush apricot gel on the apple wedges and sprinkle icing sugar for dusting on the cake. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream, a scoop of the finest vanilla ice-cream or just have it alone with a nice cup of coffee.

酒漬青梅燜豬腳

我去年開始學人家浸青梅酒，剛開始時用中國青梅和日本清酒浸，由於自己浸減了糖，比巿售的更合口味。今年 upgradef，全用日本青梅，浸了更多。每收一瓶酒就有一大堆清酒漬梅，我都不會浪費，我會把它們直接作涼果零食，做過涼拌沖繩涼瓜和燜豬腳。

談到燜豬腳，又想講一下「豬手」和「豬腳」的分別。如果買急凍貨，一般只有「豬手粒」，但如果到肉枱買新鮮的，我就喜歡買「豬腳」。肉枱所指的「豬腳」不帶多肉部份，而「豬手」則多帶一截肘子，所以肉多，有時燜起會較柴。我非常擅忘，有時「手腳不分」，就到相熟肉枱，告訴他們我「要多啲骨膠原，唔要肉」。

這批清酒黑糖酒漬梅是去年浸的，我想快快清掉存貨，又覺得秋天乾燥想滋潤一下，於是又做這道菜。

材料

• 豬腳一隻斬件
• 清酒梅10 -15粒
• 油適量
• 蒜 2粒
• 乾葱2粒
• 八角一粒
• 月桂葉2片
• 紹酒 2 湯匙
• 生抽 2 茶匙
• 老抽 2 茶匙
• 米醋 3 湯匙
• 冰糖適量
• 鹽適量
• 水適量

做法

1. 豬腳洗淨，氽水10-15分鐘，用清水洗淨血污，瀝水備用。
2. 把小鍋放明火用中小火燒熱，加少量油爆香蒜粒、乾葱和八角。加入豬腳爆香，灒酒拌炒，加入生抽、米醋、冰糖、鹽和水煮滾加蓋。
   
3. 把焗爐以「熱風對流」預熱至150℃。把鍋放入焗爐下層烤 30分鐘。
4. 取出拌均，再烤 30分鐘。完成後留在焗爐用餘溫烤焗。
5. 上菜前用明火翻滾即可。

小貼士

• 早一天做好更入味。