TIGERNUT BANANA EGG, COVERED WITH 'CAROB-COLATE'

I made this recipe back in Easter so I shaped them into Easter eggs. You can shape the dough however you want, maybe baking it in loaf (requires a longer baking time, about 35-45 mins depending on size) and cover the entire loaf in the festive carob chocolate. Making it seems like you pay more efforts than you actually did OR bake it on a Sunday morning and enjoy hot-out-of-oven with you family!

What is Tigernuts?
Despite the common name everyone hears, it is actually a vegetables (What?!!). Being a starchy tuber, think of it as a root vegetables, it contains high amount of resistance starch which is an unsusal type of fibre. Making a great pre-biotic that benefits in feeding good bacterias in our digestive system. Who doesn't want a smooth and more efficient digestive tract? Tigernut is for people who need a cut down on sugar intake. It is packed with healthy fats -73%monosaturated fat and 18% saturated fat - Avocados and Olive oil are rich in monounsaturated fat as well. This fat ;owners your total low-density lipoprotein(LDL) cholesterol (bad for you!) but maintains your high-density lipoprotein(HDL) cholesertol level (goodies!).
Tigernuts is perfect for baking, it is nutty and tastes sweet like caramel but has an earthy undertone, similar to chestnut but more complex. 

Myself suffer all times with poor digestions (I believe most people does with modern diets). Tiger nuts is my current most obsessed 'nut flour'. One day I crave for its caramely taste so much that I simply steam a dough made out of tigernut flour, tahini and a dash of cinnamon !! 


Dry ingredients: 
2 Cups Tigernut flour

1/2 Cup Coconut flour 

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp ground Cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground Cloves

Few strokes of freshly grated Nutmeg

(Substitute with 1/4 tsp cardamom)

Wet ingredients:

1/3 Cup flaxmeal (ground 3 tbsps whole flaxseeds in coffins grinder)

180 ml water

3 large bananas

2 tbsps coconut oil 

Preheat oven at 160degree Celsius. 

1. Mix flaxmeal and water, give it a good whisk (as if you're beating eggs) to bring some airs in. Then set aside.
2. Add all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
3. In a separate bowl, mash bananas very well. Check on flaxmeal+water mix, looking for an egg white consistency (it should be a tiny bit more watery than gel.) Add the flaxmeal mixture and oil to mashed bananas, give it a good mix up until uniformed. 
4. Add banana mixture to the dry ingredients, and combine. 
5. The Dough should be quite crumbly but moist enough to hold together when shape. 
6. With two oval spoons, shape dough into an egg shape, voila! 
7. Bake in preheated oven at 160C for 18-20mins (thumb size eggs) or 40-45mins (Palm size !! eggs). 
8. COOL the banana 'eggs' while making the chocolate coating OR Enjoy HOT out of the oven if you're not coating with the festive Carob cocolate.

Festive Carobcolate:

120ml or 1/2cup cacao butter, melted

1 vanilla pod 

3 tbsp cacao/cocoa powder

3 tbsps carob powder (you can use all cacao or cocoa powder)
zest of 1 Yuzu (you can use Orange or Clementine as well) 

60ml or 1/4cup maple syrup

Pinch of pink salt

1. Melt cacao butter by placing a glass bowl over a pot of simmering water. Keep stirring. 
2. Slice open vanilla pod lengthwise, and scrape out the seeds using the back of the knife. Add to melted cacao butter and stir. 
3. Soft in cacao and carob powders. Add pinch of salt and maple syrup (you can adjust it to your taste). 

Now... Dipping time!

*make sure the chocolate is not too hot, the 'eggs' too!

1. When the 'eggs' are cooled, coat the 'eggs' with the chocolate mix. Place on a cooling rack to allow excess excess chocolate to drip down, to get an even and smooth coating. 
2. At this point you should still be able to barely see the uncoated surface of the 'egg'. Allow the first layer to set a little, just to dry it slightly. Then coat the 'eggs' again for the second time. Now you should have a evenly coating around the easter eggs. 
3. Sprinkle any toppings you fancy while the send layer of chocolate has not set. 

Spring Truffles Hunt ?!

The season is changing in Hong Kong. Few days ago I was awaken by the fresher, crisper Spring air. Every morning, at the moment when goof weather is on, I run to the North facing window to take a deep deep breath into my lungs. Spring air running down the lung feels incredible! 

The change of season reminds me back in November, my sister and I are lucky enough to be the last two to sign up for the truffle hunting in Tuscany within our short stay in Florence.

Choco, the truffle dog, did a great job. We found two unbroken pieces of White Truffle as well as a few more Winter Black Truffle. Despite Choco's hardwork, at the end he is not the one who enjoy the delicious truffles, poor boy...

A homecook lunch is served after the hunt. Every dishes reflect the simplicity of homie Italian cooking. We had three courses, first comes thick pumpkin soup with freshly sliced white truffle, followed by my favourite - a dish consist of Polenta, Lardo di Colonnata, a poached egg , Parmigiano Reggiano cheese,  fresh White Truffle. Lastly a truffle meal wouldn't be complete if there isn't pasta, mix of black truffle and butter is added to pasta when hot, then it's time to shave in some luxury White Truffle baby! 

Simple Italian cooking delivers the best flavours. I guarantee!

Spring is here and its time to get your hands on more fresh seasonal produces, Wohooo!!!
(recipes testing, hope to share a few savoury dishes recipes to you guys soon..)

鮨とかみ, Sushi Tokami, launched Hong Kong.

Sushi Tokami does not disappoint expectations. The meal was very enjoyable, high quality sushi of traditional End-mae style. 

Most outstanding to me are chu-toro, tuna neck hand roll and buri. As well as the texture and choice of Japanese rice that here uses leave an impression to me. The texture is different from the usual softness and stickiness, it is chewy and very 'distinct' individual grain without undercooking the rice (it would be horrible to eat 16 pieces of sushi with undercook rice). 
Despite the texture, its balance of sour : salt : sweet pairs really well with the Neta (Japanese of the toppings such as raw fish). 

Tako たこ

Ika (Squid) 烏賊

Saba (Mackerel) 鯖

Makuro (lean tuna)

Chu-toro (medium fatty tuna)

Chu-toro has not been marinated nor aged of any sort, pure as it is. The taste is '鮮' - balance of freshness and umami. 

O-toro (SUPER fatty tuna)

Tiger prawn 車海老

Umatsura 馬つら(剝皮魚)

Ikura (salmon roe) イクラ

Buri 鰤

Uni 雲丹

I recognise the seaweed used for sushi has a much stronger taste of the seaweed itself. It's also less crisp as other sushi places. My conclusion is with less toasting (gently), the flavour of the seaweed stays within itself more. Fresh and sweet!

Clam 蛤

Tuna hand roll made from flesh from the Tuna Neck

One of Tokami's signature is the tuna hand roll. Make use of the upper neck flesh (back of fish head), it gives lean but rich, long lasting flavour tuna meat that is phenomenal on a bed of vinegared rice, with a swap fermented shoyu, then wrapped with seaweed. Heavenly delicious in all senses!

Tamago 玉子

Soup made from back bone of the Tuna Neck

On Instagram I mentioned about the comparison between two leading sushi restaurant in HK - here (Sushi Tokami) and Sushi Shikon. There's no certain standard about which is better, both have their advantages. Such as, in my opinion, Sushi Shikon has better Tako, Anago sushi and Tamago is clear to myself; Sushi Tokami is better at the 'tuna selection' (including makuro, Chu-toro, o-toro, and the hand roll). So who's better? My answer is BOTH, furthermore taste is objective. 

Lupin-oclate Blanco Cheesecake

It all begins with the initiation to keep a promise of making a cheesecake for one of my best best friend. One day he told me to make a cheesecake that taste like the one he just had because it is exactly to his taste. However with attempts on making a more nutritious version, I found out cream cheese simply cannot be replaced in order to create similar taste. So it's not a dairy-free recipe BUT stick with me, okay?
After my two months life in Scandinavia, from working as a volunteer in an organic farm to travelling to one of the most extraordinary restaurant in the world, my taste bud and imaginary flavour diary in my mind have been expanded to another level, much more than being a foodie eating in 'the famous' restaurants. In my dinner at Faviken(read here!), I learnt more about lupin.

What are lupins? 

Lupins are flowers that belong to the family of legumes and form seeds within. The edible lupine seeds can be found in the white, yellow and blue lupins. They have a yellow color and a pleasant sweet and nutty flavour. Like nuts and pollens, lupins are rich in essential amino acids which promotes muscle growth and growth of new cells, fibre, acting as a prebiotic, which stimulate intestine digestion and essential vitamins, such as Vitamin A, Folic acid and Thiamine, that improve glucose metabolism and reduce glycemic load at the same time. A perfect natural remedy for obesity, hypertension and high cholesterol as it is able to lower blood pressure. But please be aware, only blue, yellow and white lupins are edible as the others contain a high amount of toxic alkaloids!! These powerful little seeds hidden in the blooming flowers can benefit human's health so much and it has a naturally sweet undertone(!), how can I resist not to love this little baby? 

After lots of testings and tials, finally I keep the cream cheese like other cheese cake does and create my own version of white chocolate cheesecake. In my homemade white chocolate I used lupin flour to 'thicken' it and also to give it a nutty sweet taste. Liquid stevia is ideal for people who wants to lower their sugar intake plus the benefits from lupin, this white chocolate is the perfect solution to all human being out there! By using wholesome ingredients this is truly a winner among all the cheesecake I have ever tasted!

For the biscuits, I always found it easier to cut out the desire shape before placing them in the fridge, before baking. I'm getting a little adventurous with taste, so I add some last touch of saltiness on the cheese cake. It turns out with a 50/50 opinions, some people like it like I do, some do not. Well it is your choice after all. Get creative and add your own toppings! 

Cheesecake
150 g Spelt 'Digestive' Biscuits  (recipe below)
75 g Ghee, melted

220 g Cream cheese  from pasture-raised cows

150 g Skyr  from pasture-raised cows

40 g Maple syrup
White chocolate  (recipe below)
Blueberries syrup or Fresh blueberries (optional)

Toppings: (optional)

Bee Pollen Flaky sea salt 

More fresh Blueberries

Lemon balm

Basil 

Powdered camu camu berry/ acai powder

Homemade White Chocolate (exact amount needed for the cheesecake)

100 g Caco butter
1/2 tsp Vanilla powder

30 g Grounded lupin flour

10 -12 drops Stevia

Directions:

1. First prepare the biscuit base. Add biscuits to food processor then blitz into sand. If you do not have a food processor, simply bash the biscuits in a ziplock bag. n
2. Add melted ghee to combine the crumbs of biscuits. In a 6-inch cake tin, with the back of a spoon press the mixture into the bottom tightly. You can prepare this ahead. 
3. Then make the white chocolate. Add cacao butter and vanilla powder to a saucepan, melt it over low heat gently, keep stirring. Once melted slowly sift in lupine flour. 
4. Remove from heat then add stevia drop by drop, keep tasting until it reaches desired sweetness. *DO NOT overdose stevia, it is a powerful stuff.
5. Continue with the Cheese cake. Beat cream cheese, skyr, maple syrup until fluffy and lighter, texture like heavy whipped cream. 
6. Add the 'liquified' White Chocolate to the mixture and mix until well combined.
7. Spread half of the mixture evenly on top of the biscuit base. Now it is your choice to add fresh blueberries or swirl in blueberries syrup (like I did, see photos). Spread the remaining mixture evenly on top.  Cover and place in the fridge for at least 4 hours. 
8. Top with a little flaky sea salt if desire. 

Spelt 'Digestive' Biscuits
Dry ingredients
150 g Whole spelt flour
150 g Oat flour  (grounded from rolled oats/ whole oats)
75 g Ghee, cold and solid
40 g Coconut sugar
1/2 tsp Baking soda
1/2 tsp Salt

75 g Ghee, cold and solid

Wet ingredients 
1-2 tbsp Milk of choice
1-2 tbsp Maple syrup

Directions:

1. Add all dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl, give it a good mix. Rub in cold ghee until it is crumbs-ilke. 
2. Add maple syrup and just enough milk to bind into a dough. Roll out the dough and cut into desire shape. Then place in the fridge, covered to rest for 30 minutes. 
3. Preheat oven 170C.
4. Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden brown. Let them cool on rack.

Enoteca Pinchiorri - Restaurant with Water Menu

Bread Sticks

Pumpkin, Sage

Amber Jack, Coffee, Roasted shallot, Pearl barley, Mussel 'marinara'

Marinating the amber jack in extra virgin olive oil and coffee gives smoky flavour and melt in mouth like Otoro. The bit of coffee gives nutty taste to the fish, making it tastes even more flavourful. The mussel is not significant to the whole dish for me. 

Lobster, Apple, Lemongrass turnips, Coral sauce

Perfectly cooked lobster, with bites and very tender! Love the combination of the coral sauce, an addition of umami ocean flavours, and cooked cubes of apples. Although the lemongrass is not as powerful as expected, this dish is very well delivered.

Poached egg, bread cream, anchovy, Jerusalem Artichokes

Spaghetti,alla chitarra, Seafood, Bottarga bread crumbs

My personal favourite dish of the night! The bortago is a bang, it's unique salted & cured properties add depth to flavours without overpowering. In this dish it is used as a flavour enhancer, giving the tender squid, chitarra (Italian egg pasta) a lift. At the same time the chitarra soaks up all the flavours very well when its warm.

Ravioli filled with Ricotta and Swiss chard, Veal tongue, Pickled Onion, Salted Peanuts

The "pasta skin" is beautifully thin, almost transparent, showing off the thee clean ricotta filling. Veal tongue is thinly sliced as well but still meltingly good not chewy. Everything is cooked well but not harmonised in terms of flavour.

Spiced Mora Romagnola Baby Pork, Salsify

Crispy skin of course! Unlike traditional Chinese "siu yuk", it is like tortilla chips the kind of crisp. Moist flesh, the distribution of fats is a perfect ratio to the leaner meat. The rich pork flavour is another winning element, on spot flavouring with spices! 

Lamb fillet, Foie Gras crust, Pumpkin croquettes, Quince

High expectation seems to always fail sometimes. This lamb fillet is, sadly, very tough even though it seems to be cooked to medium rare, definitely not what I was looking forward to. A rather disappointed dish.

'Caciocavallo' Cheese mousse, Honey pearls

Cheese course is fun to eat. The cheese mousse is airy and light to mouth. Lovely texture from crunchy honey pearl, the balsamic vinegar gives a lift and brightening effect.

Autumn Leaves - Caramel, milk chocolate, Williams Pears, Lemongrass

Light, no-so-sweet sorbet of pear is just what I like. The waffle crips are delicious with cold sorbet. Warming caramel complete the dessert with a slightly sweet note. 

Petites

Hazelnut Gelato

Some of the prettiest 'petite station'! Flavourwise- overall tastes great. My favourite would be the vodka filled in chocolate case, an explosion in your mouth. The marinated fruits with liquor as well, simple and clean petites. 

The Chocolate Cart

Another surprise to come which is the chocolate cart (never left my best buddy cacao behind!). From very original dark chocolate to innovative milk chocolate truffles to nutty white chocolate...You Name It ! 

Of course I'm dark choc freak, so naturally I take the 85%, 75%, and being a little advanturous(to my usual choice of only over 70%) I chose the banana infused milk choc truffle. Turn out they are all delicious! 85% dark choc is no doubt the top out of my choices, it is made from cacao grown locally in Tuscany, smooth with a little tangy touch at the end. 

Florence, My Second Stop in Italy

Florence is my favourite city among three that I have been in Italy. A city rich in culture and filled with youngster. Everything you can see is photogenic, the people, objects, views etc are eye catching paintings. I have had the best meal of my trip to Italy at Enoteca Pinchiorri. I'm also working on the review, so it will be up in a day or two!
Although photos aren't enough express Florence's tranquil energy, here are some of my favourite views and moments in this beautiful city.
(more photos here)

See more here !