Mauritian Banana Tart with Hazelnut Topping

This is for those moments when you notice you have 3 or four bananas in the fruit bowl going way past their best. Bananas are one of those fruits that I just cannot eat when over ripe, but when you cook with them they taste fantastic as the flavour deepens as they ripen.

These gorgeous little Mauritian Banana Tarts were topped with a little hazelnut crumb on top for texture and added flavour. Quick, easy and delicious!

Ingredients:

3 over ripe bananas
2 tbsp. brown sugar
pack of shortcrust pastry
1 egg
12 hazelnuts
1 tsp. brown sugar
little butter for greasing

Method:

Mash the bananas and the 2 tbsp. brown sugar in a small sauce pan. Pop on the heat and cook for 15 minutes, stirring often, until thickened. Leave to cool.

Use the butter to grease 2 x 12cm fluted, loose bottom tart tins. Cut 2 circles in the pastry a little larger than the tins and press the pastry in. Use a rolling pin rolled over the top to cut off the excess. Fill the pastry with the cooled banana mix and use the rest of the pastry to make a lattice top.

Use a small food processor to chopped the hazelnuts (or chop by hand) and mix with the 1 tsp. brown sugar. Sprinkle over the tarts and put on a baking sheet. Put in a 190 C oven for 15 minutes until golden on top.

Serve with ice cream - either hot or warm. Delicious! 

Horseradish & Garlic Barnsley Lamb with Salsify

These have to be one of my favourite chops. I actually personally don't like pork chops at all and some lamb chops you get are tiny! Barnsley lamb chops (also called saddle chops) are a decent size and you can really play with the flavours.

I have decided that horseradish is too good for just beef, so I have marinated the lamb in garlic and horseradish to really play with those funky flavours. I have included salsify, which I have to admit is the first time I have ever bought, cooked or eaten it. Its an odd vegetable that was popular back in Victorian times, but you can find it occasionally - so I thought I'd cook it too. Wanting to know what it tasted like exactly, I decided to simply pan fry it with a little butter, so I know its exact taste, before mixing it with anything else.

Served with simple vegetables and a very easy balsamic and honey sauce.. it looks delectable and tastes divine.

Ingredients:

2 Barnsley lamb chops, trimmed of excess fat
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp. horseradish (from a jar)
1 tbsp. olive oil
salt & pepper

Simply mix all of the marinade ingredients together and press all over the lamb chops. Refrigerate for an hour to let the flavours develop.

Set the oven to 200 C. Put the lamb on a baking tray and cook for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and cover with foil to let rest for 5 minutes.

For the sauce:

Use a hand blender (or small food processor) to blend 1/4 cup balsamic, 1 tbsp. runny honey and 2 cloves garlic. Add 2 tbsp. olive oil and 3 tsp. horseradish (from a jar). Season with salt & pepper and blend again until smooth. To heat, pop in the microwave for 1 minute (or in a small pan).

For the salsify:

Prepare a small bowl of water and lemon juice. Peel one or two sticks of salsify and cut into one inch pieces and put into the lemon water (it discolours quickly if you don't). To cook, heat 1 tbsp. oil in a small pan and fry the salsify for a good 8  minutes, until browned all over. Add a knob of butter and melt, while tossing in the pan. Now its ready to serve.

For the veg:

Choose some new potatoes and asparagus and steam until cooked.

To plate up: Place the lamb on the plate with the vegetables. Spoon the sauce around the food so it can be 'dipped in' rather than covering the food. Serve and enjoy!


Note: The chop looks a little less pretty than it could, because I trimmed the fat off - you may want to leave it on to crisp up. Tastes amazing - but not so good for your health!!