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Western News: December 07, 2023

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14<br />

Thursday <strong>December</strong> 7 <strong>2023</strong><br />

Just a little bit naughty<br />

Banana and chocolate<br />

chip mug cakes<br />

Serves 2<br />

Ingredients<br />

2 very ripe bananas, peeled<br />

2 eggs<br />

1 tsp vanilla extract<br />

25g butter, melted<br />

½ cup flour<br />

1 tsp baking soda<br />

1 tsp cinnamon<br />

pinch of salt<br />

½ cup milk chocolate chips<br />

walnuts, roughly chopped, to<br />

serve<br />

Cream cheese icing<br />

50g butter, melted<br />

100g cream cheese, at room temperature<br />

2 heaped Tbsp icing sugar<br />

Method<br />

• For the cream cheese icing,<br />

The creator of the sweet chilli jam, ham and cream<br />

cheese scrolls that went viral during lockdown, Kitty<br />

Williams, is sharing more of her “naughty, indulgent’’<br />

recipes in her first cookbook, Kitty’s Kitchen: Just a<br />

Little Bit Naughty.<br />

The city centre resident started out with a<br />

sandwich making business, then a food truck,<br />

followed by a small catering business before she<br />

discovered the power of Instagram. It enabled her to<br />

fully indulge in her passion for “naughty ingredients”.<br />

As she says, “butter is good for the soul”. – ODT<br />

PHOTOS: CHRIS SHARPE<br />

put the butter in a small bowl.<br />

Heat in the microwave on high<br />

for 30 seconds or so, until melted.<br />

Add the cream cheese and icing<br />

sugar. Whisk until smooth then<br />

set aside.<br />

• Mash the bananas in a large<br />

bowl until smooth. Add eggs,<br />

vanilla essence and melted butter<br />

and stir until well combined.<br />

• Sift in the flour, baking soda,<br />

cinnamon and salt. Stir until well<br />

combined but take care not to<br />

over-stir. Fold in chocolate chips.<br />

• Divide the mixture between<br />

two mugs. One at a time, cook<br />

the mug cakes in the microwave<br />

for 2 minutes on high. (Every<br />

microwave is different so test after<br />

1 minute and go from there.) It’s<br />

better to be undercooked than<br />

overcooked – when you press<br />

the cake it should feel light and<br />

springy.<br />

• The cakes will be quite hot so<br />

it’s best to leave them for a couple<br />

of minutes to cool down slightly<br />

before icing. Pop the cream<br />

cheese icing into a snap-lock bag,<br />

or use a piping bag. You want<br />

to fill the corner. Twist the bag<br />

around until it feels tight, then<br />

snip the corner off using scissors.<br />

Do whatever design you desire,<br />

then top with the walnuts.<br />

Spicy prawn spaghetti<br />

with whipped parmesan<br />

ricotta<br />

Serves 4<br />

Ingredients<br />

500g tomatoes, halved (I used<br />

vine tomatoes)<br />

1 red onion, roughly chopped<br />

4 garlic cloves<br />

2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar<br />

2 Tbsp olive oil<br />

500g ricotta<br />

150g Parmesan, grated<br />

juice of ½ lemon<br />

200g spaghetti<br />

2½ cups thawed frozen prawns,<br />

peeled and deveined<br />

1 tsp chilli flakes<br />

butter for cooking<br />

handful of parsley, roughly<br />

chopped<br />

handful of basil, roughly<br />

chopped<br />

handful of coriander, roughly<br />

chopped<br />

Method<br />

• Preheat the oven to 180°C.<br />

• Put the tomatoes, red onion,<br />

garlic, balsamic vinegar and a<br />

drizzle of olive oil in an ovenproof<br />

dish and season with<br />

salt and pepper. Give it a good<br />

toss then chuck in the oven for<br />

35-40 minutes. The tomatoes<br />

should collapse into a sauce by<br />

this point and the house should<br />

smell divine!<br />

• Put the ricotta, Parmesan,<br />

lemon juice, a pinch of salt and<br />

a glug of olive oil into a blender<br />

and blitz until smooth.<br />

• Bring a pot of water to the<br />

boil and add the spaghetti.<br />

Cook until al dente.<br />

• Drain, reserving a cup of the<br />

starchy cooking water.<br />

• Drain off any excess liquid<br />

from the prawns, then pat them<br />

dry with a paper towel.<br />

• Coat the prawns in chilli<br />

flakes then pop them into a<br />

hot pan with a knob of butter.<br />

Once the prawns are almost<br />

cooked (they should still be just<br />

a touch translucent), add the<br />

tomato sauce to the prawns, stir<br />

through, then add the spaghetti<br />

and the reserved starchy water.<br />

Turn off the heat and add all of<br />

the fresh herbs, then stir again.<br />

• Grab a large serving dish.<br />

Put the whipped Parmesan<br />

ricotta on first, then top with<br />

the prawn spaghetti.<br />

Charitable Trust<br />

DRIVER EDUCATION<br />

Buy the gift of<br />

fun and health!<br />

Why not inspire a loved one or<br />

friend for Christmas!<br />

Give them a healthy challenge<br />

and a fun day out, with an entry<br />

to the 2024 City2Surf.<br />

TO FIND OUT WAYS YOU CAN SUPPORT YOUR COMMUNITY GO TO<br />

www.proactivedrive.org.nz<br />

Supporting<br />

charity<br />

6km and 12km options<br />

17 th March 2024<br />

Buy your gift here<br />

www.city2surf.co.nz

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