Spicy cheesy pork scone balls

Makes about 25-30 balls

320g minced pork

1/2 teaspoon Lawry's salt free 17 seasoning

1/4 teaspoon Chili powder (or more depending on how spicy you like it)

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

A few pinches of salt

Dash of finely ground white pepper

1/4 cup finely sliced spring onions

1.5 cups grated cheddar cheese

1 cup self rising flour

2 tablespoons milk (plus more if your mixture is too dry)

1. Mix the Lawry's seasoning, chili powder, garlic and onion powder, salt and pepper with the mince pork. 

2. Add the spring onions, cheese, flour and milk. If your mixture is too dry and there's still flour left, add a bit more milk till it comes together. 

3. Chill in the fridge for about an hour. 

4. Preheat oven to 230 degrees Celsius.

5. Roll the pork mixture into 1.5 - 2 inch balls. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until it turns brown. 

6. Serve with garlic mayonnaise. 

This recipe was adapted from foodwishes.com

Sweet and salty chocolate peanut butter pie

Serves 6-8

For the crust:

125g digestive biscuits, finely ground
5 tablespoons caster sugar
85g salted butter, melted

For the filling:

1 cup chunky peanut butter (I use a good quality one with no other ingredients except for a bit of salt)
85g Philadelphia cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-3 tablespoons icing sugar *
* Add as much as you like to your own taste. As I used a good quality peanut butter, I had to use about 2-3 tablespoons to sweeten - if you're using brands like Skippy, you may not need that much as it's pretty sweet already

For the topping:

230g (8 ounces) good quality semisweet chocolate, chopped or broken into pieces
1 cup/300ml heavy cream
1/4 cup salted roasted peanuts, roughly chopped

For the crust:

1) Preheat the oven to 190C.

2) In a food processor, blitz the biscuit, sugar and butter. (You can crush the biscuits by hand too)

3) Press it out onto a greased 9 inch tart pan with removable base, and bake for 7 minutes. Leave to cool. (You can also leave it in the fridge or freezer to chill, but I prefer to bake).

For the filling:

4) Mix all the ingredients for the filling. I used the food processor but you can do it by hand too. Spread it on the cooled crust. Mine was a bit doughy so it was easy to press out with my fingers.

For the topping:

5) Heat the heavy cream in a saucepan till it's simmering, and pour it over the chocolate. ( I sweetened my chocolate with a bit of icing sugar but if yours is sweet enough then there's no need) Mix till it's combined.

6) Pour the chocolate over the filling and sprinkle the chopped peanuts on the top.

7) Chill in the fridge, uncovered for at least 3 hours. Then remove the rim and base of the tart pan carefully with a palette knife.

8) Serve chilled.

Quick & easy bacon and broccoli quiche

Serves 4 - 6

For the filling:

4 rashers bacon

1 cup broccoli

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

3/4 cup milk

1/2 cup heavy cream

pinch of salt

freshly ground black pepper

pinch of ground nutmeg

pinch of cayenne pepper

For the crust:

1 cup plain flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 ice water

1) Cut the broccoli into florets and steam or boil them for about 5 minutes till it's tender but not fully cooked.

2) While it's steaming, fry the bacon till it's just cooked but not crispy.

3) In a bowl, combine the bacon, broccoli, cheese, milk, cream, salt, pepper, nutmeg and cayenne pepper.

4) Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.

5) In a separate bowl, measure one cup of flour and mix in 1/2 teaspoon of salt with a fork.

6) Pour 1/4 cup of olive oil in a measuring cup and another 1/4 cup of ice water into the same measuring cup. Beat with a whisk till it's thick. 

7) Pour in the oil and water mixture into the flour and mix till it forms a dough.

8) Press it out onto a 9 inch pie pan and pour in the filling.

9) Bake for 30 - 35 minutes or until the egg mixture is cooked (skewer or knife should come out clean)

10) Serve hot or cold. 

Home made paneer

Makes about 450g of paneer

3 litres of full fat milk
300ml of cooking cream
120ml white vinegar (plus a bit more, depending on the acidity of your vinegar)
ice cubes
salt and water (for storage)

Equipment:
kitchen thermometer
Cheese or muslin cloth
A colander with a flat base
Some weights

1. Combine the milk and cream in a big pot and boil, stirring occasionally till the temperature reaches 85 - 87 degrees celsius.

2. Get ready the ice cubes next to you.

3. Line another pot with a wet cheesecloth.

4. Once the milk and cream reach the right temperature, slowly pour in the vinegar, stirring slowly. If you can't see the yellow/green liquid (the whey), you probably need a bit more vinegar.

5. Quickly add in the ice cubes to bring the temperature down.

6. Pour the curdled milk into the pot lined with the cheesecloth.

7. It's hot, but try to squeeze as much liquid out as you can, and twist the cloth into a ball.

8. Keep the cloth twisted and place in the colander with a bowl underneath to catch any remaining water. Place about 2kg weight on top of the cheese. You can use a pot or a plate to make the top flat so as to distribute the weight evenly. (I used pebbles from my garden in a pot)

9. After 2 hours, your paneer is ready! Slice and or cube as you like.

10. You must store it in water, completely submerged. This will last you about a week. I added salt in my water so the paneer tastes slightly salty. I believe you can add the salt at the beginning when the milk is boiling too.

This recipe is from Chef Harpal Singh. Check out the video here!

Home made ricotta cheese

Makes 1 cup

3 1/2 cups milk (the full fat kind)
1/2 cup heavy cream/ thickened cream (35-36% fat)
1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice


1. Pour the milk, cream and salt into a 3 litre nonreactive saucepan (stainless steel, glass) Attach a candy or deep-fry thermometer. Heat the milk to 87 degrees Celsius. Stir it occasionally to keep it from scorching on the bottom.

2. Remove from heat and add the lemon juice, then stir it once or twice, gently and slowly. Let the pot sit undisturbed for 5 minutes.

3. Line a colander or sieve with a few layers of cheesecloth or paper towels or other non-terrycloth kitchen towels and place it over a large bowl to catch the whey.

4. Pour the curds and whey into the colander and let the curds strain for an hour. If your ricotta looks a little dry for your tastes, stir back in some of the whey.

5. Discard the remainder whey. Eat straight  right away or transfer it to an airtight container and refrigerate until ready to use.

* I got this recipe from Dishing the Divine. For the photo above I experimented a little and pressed the cheese with some cans in the fridge . I'm not professional and don't own any pro equipment and I'm guessing you don't either. So, just MacGyver it! Then I cut it into pieces like paneer. It won't form clean slices but it's still good anyway! 

Is it cheaper than buying a tub of ricotta from the supermarket? No. Not in Singapore anyway where dairy is expensive and carton of milk costs $3+, and a small tub of cream is about that price too. 

Is it fun to make? Definitely yes! 

Crispy Ricotta Romano gnudi

Serves 4

250g fresh ricotta (1 tub). If using fresh, drain the liquid
200g Italian pecorino romano cheese, grated
1 large egg, lightly beaten
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
pepper
1 cup plain flour, plus extra for dusting

1. Mix ricotta, romano cheese, egg, nutmeg and ½ cup of the flour. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Using your hand, mix ingredients together to form dough like consistency. Add remaining flour and mix to form a stiff dough.

2. Transfer dough to a floured surface and roll into cylinders. Wrap each cylinder in cling film and leave in fridge to rest.

3. Remove from fridge and cut into 1 inch dumplings and scatter over floured plate.

4. Place pasta into a large pot of boiling salted water. As it rises to the top, remove and place in a colander to drain. Transfer to a plate to air dry.

5. In a pan or skillet, add some olive oil and butter and fry the dumplings till crisp brown.

Best served with homemade tomato sauce, basil and extra grated pecorino romano cheese.

* You can freeze the uncooked dough and drop them in boiling water straight from the  freezer.