Cashew Honey Squares

Today’s recipe is adapted from one in one of my newer cookbooks: The Baking Collection from The Australian Women’s Weekly.  Like so many Women’s Weekly cookbooks this one is a winner – sweet treats of every description from simple cakes and cookies to decadent pastries and fancy holiday delights.  An excellent collection of old fashioned Aussie favourites with some modern interpretations. These squares are soft and moist – more like mini cakes than a slice.  The honey works so beautifully with the cashews.  To top it all off they are SO easy.

Recipe

• 1 c (150g) SR wholemeal flour
• 1 c (220g) caster sugar
• 1 c (90g) rolled oats
• 1 c (80g) desiccated coconut
• 2/3 c (70g) cashews, coarsely chopped
• 2 eggs
• 125 g butter melted, cooled slightly
• 1 T honey
• ½ c chopped cashews, extra

Honey Icing

• 1 ½   c (160g) pure icing sugar, sifted
• 60 g butter, melted
• 1 T honey
• 1 T hot water, approximately

Preheat oven to 160C. Line 23cm x 32cm (9” x 13”) swiss roll pan with baking paper. Combine dry ingredients and mix. Add eggs, butter and honey and mix well. Press firmly into pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool slice in pan. Meanwhile, make honey icing. Mix sugar, butter and honey well. Add enough water to make runny enough to pour. Spread over the slice, and top with remaining cashews. Adapted from Honey Walnut and Oat Squares, in The Baking Collection / The Australian Womens’ Weekly, 2013.

Mexican Red Chicken

Autumn has begun wet and chilly. Lots of rain and cold winds – and muddy sports grounds!  Days like these you crave big warm flavours and a cosy room to savour them in.  And the kids come home from training damp, dirty and ravenous so they need something hearty and filling.

This dish is the current house favourite. I don’t know if this really is a Mexican recipe, but it is rich and full of flavour, and very easy to whip up.      

Recipe

• 4 red capsicums
• Olive oil
• 8 generous chicken thigh fillets
• 3 T plain flour
• Salt and pepper to season
• 1 t chilli flakes (adjust for your hotness preference!)
• 1 t ground cumin
• 2 t sweet paprika
• 2 t dried oregano
• 2 T tomato paste
• 400 g can diced tomatoes
• 2 fresh tomatoes, diced
• 2 c chicken stock
• 3 T flat parsley, chopped

Preheat oven to 200C.

Lightly oil oven tray.  Roast capsicums for about 35 minutes or until starting to blacken. Transfer to a bowl and cover, and set aside to cool. Remove skin and seeds, then slice flesh.

Dust chicken in the flour and season with salt and pepper. Heat a large lightly oiled frying pan over a medium heat. Once hot, add chicken in batches, cooking each batch for about 3-4 minutes or until sealed. Transfer to a casserole dish.

Add spices, oregano, tomatoes and tomato paste and bake for 20 minutes. Reduce oven to low, and cook for a further 20 minutes or until sauce thickens. Fold in capsicum and parsley. Serve on rice with steamed green vegetables.

Serves 6

Adapted from “Pollo rojo”, in Better Homes and Gardens, May 2010, p109.