Autumn's come knocking but one surefire way to revel in some lingering warmth is recipes with a chilli kick. These fiery peppers are in abundance right now so add them to savoury or sweet and keep that heat firing.
Baked coconut and chilli sambal chicken
Serves 4
A super-easy dish, with a sauce that's tart, sweet and rich.
Ingredients
¾ cup coconut cream
3 Tbsp lime juice
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 Tbsp each sambal oelek and brown sugar
1 Tbsp vegetable oil and grated fresh ginger
1 tsp sea salt
6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
Coriander and lime wedges, to serve
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 180C fan bake.
2. Combine all the ingredients, except the chicken, in a bowl. Add the chicken and turn to coat well. Tip into a large shallow baking dish or ovenproof sauté pan and fold the thighs in half to make plump parcels.
3. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the chicken is fully cooked through and the sauce is reduced and golden.
4. To serve: Top with coriander and lime wedges.
- Recipe Claire Aldous
Spicy fish tacos
Serves 6
These spicy fish tacos hit the spot perfectly – they're easy to cook, guests can help themselves to 'extras' and they appeal to everyone from teens to grandparents.
Ingredients
1kg firm white fish, cut into 5cm pieces (I used Ling)
⅔ cup plain flour
2 tsp sweet smoked paprika
2 tsp ground cumin
¼ tsp salt
¼-½ tsp chilli powder
¼ cup rice bran oil
To serve
12 soft tortillas
2 avocados, sliced
1 cup picked coriander leaves
Chipotle hot sauce (optional)
Red cabbage slaw
1 lime and 1 orange, finely grated zest
2 Tbsp lime juice
2 Tbsp orange juice
2 tsp sugar
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 small red cabbage, finely shredded
½ red onion, finely sliced
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Lime and coriander crema
½ cup sour cream
¼ cup whole egg mayonnaise
2 limes, finely grated zest
¼ cup lime juice
1 small clove garlic, crushed
½ cup coriander leaves
Mango salsa
1 mango, peeled and flesh diced
½ small red chilli, finely chopped
1 Tbsp lime juice
¼ small red onion, finely sliced
Directions
1. Mix the flour and spices together in a container with a lid (I used an ice-cream container). Drop in a few fish pieces at a time, cover and shake so they are well coated in the spiced flour. Cover and chill up to 6 hours until ready to use.
2. For the red cabbage slaw: Whisk the zest, juices and sugar with the olive oil. Season to taste. Toss through the red cabbage and onion.
3. For the lime and coriander crema: Whiz all the ingredients together in a small food processor. Thin to the desired consistency with water and season to taste with salt and pepper.
4. Mango salsa: Mix all the ingredients together.
5.To cook: Working in batches so as not to overcrowd the pan, heat some of the rice bran oil in a sauté pan and cook the fish pieces for 2-3 minutes each side until cooked through. Repeat until all the fish is cooked.
6. To serve: Place the fish pieces into warmed tortillas with the avocado slices, coriander, red cabbage slaw, lime and coriander crema and some mango salsa.
- Recipe by Sarah Tuck
Caramel, dark chocolate and orange chilli swirl ice cream with cornmeal shortbread
Serves 6-7
The subtle added texture of polenta in the shortbread matches so well with the uber-decadent ice cream!
Ingredients
Ice cream
380g-tin caramel sweetened condensed milk
2 cups cream
Chocolate sauce
⅔ cup cream
130g 70 per cent dark chocolate, chopped into 1cm chunks
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp chilli powder
1 orange, finely grated zest
⅓ cup lightly toasted flaked almonds
Cornmeal shortbread
180g butter, at room temperature, chopped
⅓ cup icing sugar
1 cup plain flour, plus 2 tablespoons for flouring the bench
½ cup cornflour
½ cup instant polenta
1 orange, finely grated zest
Directions
1. For the ice cream: Pour the caramel condensed milk into a heatproof bowl and heat in the microwave on high for 30 seconds then whisk until it is almost smooth. In a separate bowl, whip the cream until it forms medium soft peaks, then beat in the caramel condensed milk until it is well combined. Transfer the mixture into a 2 litre-capacity container; freeze for 1½ hours.
2. For the chocolate sauce: Heat the cream in a microwave on high for 45 seconds then add the chocolate and allow it to sit for 1-2 minutes. The heat of the cream will melt the chocolate, and you can then whisk it until smooth. If necessary, heat it a little more in 20-second bursts. Add the cinnamon, chilli (to taste) and orange zest. Whisk again and allow to cool in the fridge.
3. Once the ice cream has chilled for 1½ hours, make pockets in it with a large tablespoon. Drop tablespoons of the chocolate sauce into the holes (use only half of the sauce, reserving the rest for serving) then swirl through. Sprinkle over the flaked almonds then freeze for a further 4 hours or overnight.
4. Place all the shortbread ingredients in a food processor and pulse until the mixture starts coming together. Lightly flour the benchtop, then tip the mixture out and pat it together to form a 15cm-long log. Wrap the biscuit dough in plastic wrap and roll on the benchtop to form a smooth sausage. Chill for 1 hour. Unwrap the chilled dough, slice into 1cm rounds and distribute evenly on the prepared tray. Bake for 10-12 minutes until very lightly golden. Cool completely on a wire rack before storing in an airtight container for up to a week.
5. To serve: Reheat the chocolate sauce in 20-second bursts in the microwave until smooth. Scoop out generous balls of ice cream to serve between rounds of shortbread.
- Recipe by Sarah Tuck
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