with a sun dried tomato dressing, spaghetti Carbonara with roast tomatoes, strawberry tarts with a vanilla custard cream

Prosciutto wrapped asparagus

Serves 4

28 spears of fresh asparagus, trimmed
10 thin slices of prosciutt

Carefully wrap approximately ⅓ strips of prosciutto around each spear of asparagus trying to wrap as tightly as possible and trying to get as much of the asparagus wrapped with the prosciutto as possible. Set aside.

6 pieces of oil packed sun dried tomato cut into thin strips
1 tsp sun dried oil
1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar
½ tsp sugar
¼ tsp salt
Fresh ground pepper to taste

Whisk the above together well and set aside.

To serve, grill the asparagus just until the asparagus is tender crisp and the prosciutto has browned.

Place 7 spears each on dinner plates. Drizzle the prepared dressing over the grilled asparagus and serve immediately.

Spaghetti Carbonara

8 strips of bacon

Place the bacon in a frying pan over medium high heat. Cook until the bacon is fully cooked. Remove from the heat and reserve the bacon and the fat. Chop the bacon into ¼” strips and set aside.

16 oz spaghetti
Salted water as required

In a large pot bring the salted water to the boil. Once the water has boiled, add the spaghetti and cook just until the desired degree of doneness has been reached. Drain the pasta well.

2 large eggs
½ cup cream
½ cup freshly shaved parmesan cheese
Fresh ground pepper to taste

Add the eggs, cream and parmesan cheese in a large bowl. Whisk together well. Add the bacon strips and most of the fat to the bowl. As soon as the spaghetti is cooked through, drain well reserving a small amount of the cooking liquid. Immediately toss the hot spaghetti with the egg mixture. If there is not enough sauce, add some of the reserved cooking liquid to the pasta. Serve immediately with more fresh shaved parmesan cheese. Serve the roasted cherry tomatoes on the same plate tucked into the side of the plate.

Roast cherry tomatoes

20 cherry tomatoes – if you can get the vine on, remove the tomatoes from the vine keeping the calyx intact.
Olive oil as required
Salt and pepper as required

Toss the tomatoes in the olive oil and season well with the salt and pepper. Place the tomatoes in a small oven proof pan just large enough to hold them in a single layer. Place in a preheated 450°F oven and roast just until the tomatoes are tender, approximately 6 – 7 minutes. Do not over roast or the tomatoes will lose their shape.

Individual Strawberry tarts

This is a great recipe to serve for company as all of the parts can be made in advance and then the dessert assembled at the last minute. Very stress free and looks impressive.

Make and bake off individual tart shells using either your favourite pastry recipe or buy some of the frozen sweet short pastry from your local grocery store.

Vanilla custard cream filling

4 egg yolks
⅓ cup sugar
2 tablespoons + 2 tsp plain flour, sifted
1½ cups milk

Place the eggs, sugar and flour in a small bowl and whisk together just until the eggs are lighter in colour. Meanwhile heat the milk in a small pan over medium low heat just until the milk is hot. Do not let it boil.

While whisking, slowly add the hot milk to the egg mixture. Be sure to add the hot milk slowly as this will temper the eggs and prevent them from scrambling. Once half the milk has been added to the egg mixture, whisk the egg mixture back into the remaining milk.

Clean the bowl that had the egg mixture and then place a small sieve over the bowl. Return the pan with the milk mixture to the stove and place over medium high heat. Stirring with a heat resistant spatula heat the mixture just until it has thickened and just come to the boil. Immediately pour the mixture into the sieve to stop the cooking and to ensure you have a smooth custard sauce. Press plastic wrap into the top of the custard and refrigerate until ready for use. The sauce will keep refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Strawberry Glaze

1 cup strawberries, washed and hulled and cut into a small dice before measuring
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup water
Juice and zest of ½ lemon

Place all of the above in a small saucepan over medium high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and let the mixture simmer just until all of the berries have broken down, approximately 5 minutes. Strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer just to remove the skins.

Cool well. The glaze will thicken up nicely as it cools.

To assemble:

½ cup cream
1 tablespoon sugar
½ tsp vanilla

Whip the cream just until it starts to thicken then add the sugar and vanilla bean paste. Continue to whip until it has reached a soft peak stage.

Fold half of the cream mixture into the custard reserving enough to garnish the top of the tarts. Half fill the bottom of the tarts with the custard.

Mix the glaze with 2 cups of freshly washed drained and sliced strawberries. Spread a layer of glaze and berries over the custard. Garnish with a rosette of whipped cream and serve immediately.

This is a quick and easy meal to get on the table.

• The dressing can be made in advance and the asparagus prepped early in the day.
• All of the components of the dessert can be ahead of time and then just assembled before serving.
• Have your tomatoes prepped and ready to go in the oven and roast them just as you add your pasta to the boiling water.

Cathie Hamilton
Certified Culinary Scientist
E-mail Cathie Hamilton

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