Don’t fret if you’ve run out of ideas for the kids’ mid-afternoon snack. Fill their tummies with these delicious treats.
Don’t fret if you’ve run out of ideas for the kids’ mid-afternoon snack. Fill their tummies with these delicious treats.
Grilled caprese skewers
Makes 16 skewers
Ingredients
4 tbsp basil pesto (from supermarkets)
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 ball of Galbani cow’s milk mozzarella
350g cherry tomatoes
1 Preheat the oven on grill mode or to its highest temperature setting.
2 In a small bowl, mix pesto and olive oil together.
3 Slice mozzarella into 3cm-thick cubes.
4 Prepare bamboo skewers by soaking them in water for at least 5 minutes. Slide mozzarella cubes and cherry tomatoes onto each skewer in an alternating order.
5 Place skewers on a baking tray and grill for 5 minutes, or until the mozzarella is melting yet golden brown on top. Drizzle pesto sauce over the skewers and serve.
Sarah Benjamin, cook and host at Asian Food Channel, contributed these recipes.
Spiced banana and peanut butter turnovers
Makes 12 pieces
Ingredients
1 packet (around 480g) frozen puff pastry sheets
4 bananas, sliced ½ tsp rempah kueh (spice mix, from supermarkets) or cinnamon
Zest of 1 orange
2 tbsp orange juice, freshly squeezed
1 tsp cornflour
6 tbsp peanut butter
1 egg, beaten
1 tbsp demerara sugar, for dusting
1 Preheat the oven to 200 deg C. Roll out each pastry sheet to 0.5cm thick and cut out 12 squares measuring 10cm each.
2 In a bowl, mix bananas, rempah kueh, orange zest, orange juice and cornflour.
3 Spread ½ tbsp of peanut butter over the centre of each pastry square, and top with 1 to 2 tablespoons of the banana mixture, making sure to leave the edges of the pastry clean.
4 Brush the edges lightly with egg wash and seal shut. Use a fork to crimp the edges.
5 Prick the top of each turnover lightly with a fork, and brush the top with egg wash. Sprinkle sugar on top for extra crunch. 6 Bake for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.
Curry chicken pops
Makes 24 to 30 pieces
Ingredients
1 litre vegetable oil
1 cup Seah’s Spices Singapore Chicken Curry Spices powder
2 tsp salt 1 cup cornflour
3 eggs
2 cups panko (breadcrumbs)
3 chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized chunks Chilli mayonnaise, for dipping (optional)
1 In a medium-sized saucepan, heat the oil to 180 deg C.
2 Set aside two bowls and a plate. In one bowl, combine the curry powder, salt and cornflour. In the other bowl, crack eggs and beat them. Add panko to the plate.
3 Dust chicken pieces with seasoned cornflour, dip them in egg wash, and finally coat well with breadcrumbs.
4 Deep-fry the chicken pops until golden brown. Serve with chilli mayonnaise.
Sate ayam with peanut butter dipping sauce
Makes 6 to 8 skewers
Ingredients
For the sate ayam
2 tbsp kecap manis (Indonesian sweetened soya sauce)
1 tsp oyster sauce
½ tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tbsp peanut or vegetable oil of your preference
2 chicken breasts, deboned, skinned and cubed
For the sauce
200g unsweetened peanut butter
2 tbsp kecap manis
½ tbsp light soya sauce Juice of 1 lime
1 tbsp peanut or vegetable oil of your preference
Water, to thin out the sauce
½ tsp chilli powder (optional)
1 Soak 6 to 8 bamboo skewers in water for at least 20 minutes.
2 In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients for the sate ayam, except the chicken. Marinate chicken in the mix. Set aside for at least 30 minutes.
3 In another bowl, add all the sauce ingredients and mix until smooth. If the sauce is too thick, add 1 tsp of water at a time to thin it out. The consistency should be slightly runnier than peanut butter. Include chilli powder if you want a little spice.
4 Thread 3 or 4 cubes of the marinated chicken onto each bamboo skewer.
5 In a frying pan, heat oil on medium-high heat. Cook chicken for 3 to 4 minutes on each side, or until they are lightly charred yet cooked through. Serve with sauce.
Strawberry vanilla mug cake
Polo Seah, executive chef of Humpback, contributed these recipes.
Cheesy orzo with pumpkin
Serves 1
Ingredients
500g squash pumpkin, cubed
1½ tbsp olive oil 60g unsalted butter, softened
2 tsp salt
Water
120g orzo pasta (from www.groxers.com )
50g shallots, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
10ml white wine
50g parmesan cheese
¼ cup Italian parsley, chopped
1 Mix the pumpkin with ½ tbsp olive oil, 50g butter and 1 tsp salt.
2 Wrap the pumpkin in aluminium foil and bake at 180 deg C for 1 hour or until soft.
3 Puree the pumpkin in a blender and set aside.
4 Set water to boil and add the remaining 1 tsp salt. Cook orzo for 3 min. When cooked, drain the water and set pasta aside on a plate.
5 In another pot, heat the remaining 1 tbsp olive oil, and sweat the shallots and garlic until translucent.
6 Add the orzo and stir well, then add white wine.
7 Fold in pumpkin puree and cook for 1½ minutes.
8 Remove from heat and fold in the cheese and remaining 10g of butter. Garnish with parsley and serve.
Pear and maple bacon bombs
Makes 8 pieces
Ingredients
50g streaky bacon, sliced
1 Packham pear, cut into small wedges
10ml maple syrup
1 tbsp olive oil
A pinch of flaked salt
1 Wrap a strip of bacon over each wedge of pear and brush with maple syrup.
2 Poke a toothpick through each bacon-pear bomb to secure it.
3 Heat oil in a frying pan, and fry bacon-pear bombs on medium heat for 2 minutes on each side. Sprinkle salt and serve.
Devilled eggs
Serves 2 to 3
Ingredients
2 tbsp salt
5 eggs
150g mayonnaise
50g smoked salmon
20ml lemon juice
50g shallots, finely chopped
1 tsp chives, finely chopped for garnishing
1 Bring water in a pot to the boil, add salt and cook eggs, fully submerged, for 7 minutes. Salted water gives the eggs flavour.
2 Prepare an ice water bath to transfer the eggs to, which stops the cooking process.
3 Once the eggs have cooled, peel and cut them in half. Remove the yolks.
4 In a bowl, add yolks and mayonnaise, smoked salmon, lemon juice and shallots. Mix until they form a paste.
5 Transfer the paste into a piping bag. Pipe it into the egg whites. Garnish with chives.
Tapioca balls
Chicken cordon bleu
Serves 2
Ingredients
300g chicken breast
10ml Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp Dijon mustard
A pinch of salt
A pinch of black pepper
60g shredded mozzarella cheese
50g plain flour
1 egg, beaten
120g breadcrumbs
1 Marinate chicken in Worcestershire sauce, mustard, salt and pepper. Set aside for 30 min.
2 Create a pocket in the chicken breast by slicing it without cutting all the way through. Stuff mozzarella inside the pocket, and seal with a toothpick.
3 Coat chicken in flour, dip in egg, then in breadcrumbs.
4 Pan-fry each side for 2½ minutes, or until golden brown.
