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01 DECEMBER 2019
Holiday season with tea and cooking...
As we are entering the holiday season, we would like to share with you some imaginative ways to use tea in festive recipes.
We are serving trout filets poached in an orange and spices Rooibos tea. We are complementing our cheese platter with an innovative mouth-watering jelly flavoured with Oolong tea, maple syrup and nuts. For afternoon tea entertaining, we are treating ourselves to a revisited classical German beer fruit cake where apple flavoured black tea The Tatin Demoiselles has replaced the beer… On our own, or with friends, we are savouring a winter bourbon cocktail with notes of smoked Lapsang Souchong tea. Last but not least, we are spending quality time with our children and loved ones, crafting fragrant homemade Christmas ornaments for the tree and home.
We are serving trout filets poached in an orange and spices Rooibos tea. We are complementing our cheese platter with an innovative mouth-watering jelly flavoured with Oolong tea, maple syrup and nuts. For afternoon tea entertaining, we are treating ourselves to a revisited classical German beer fruit cake where apple flavoured black tea The Tatin Demoiselles has replaced the beer… On our own, or with friends, we are savouring a winter bourbon cocktail with notes of smoked Lapsang Souchong tea. Last but not least, we are spending quality time with our children and loved ones, crafting fragrant homemade Christmas ornaments for the tree and home.
Festive salad with trout poached in Rooibos
Ingredients:
For the trout:
2 trout filets with skin, 400-600 gr
750 ml water
4 tsp. Rooibos Massai
2 tbsp. honey
1 tbsp. salt
Juice of 1 lemon
For the salad:
500 gr baby spinach leaves
1/3 bunch dill chopped
5 radishes thinly sliced
1 orange sliced
½ cucumber thinly sliced lengthwise
1 small red onion very thinly sliced
For the vinaigrette:
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp. flower honey
2 tbsp. vinegar
1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
Salt
Pink and black peppercorns
Method:
1. Bring the water to a boil. Add Rooibos Massai and let seep 8 min. Strain into a wide shallow saucepan.
2. Add remaining poaching ingredients -honey, lemon juice, salt- and bring to a simmer. Add trout filets with skin facing top. Continue to simmer until almost cooked and turn over filets to finish cooking.
3. Combine all salad ingredients in a serving bowl. Place filets on top.
4. Using a blender, combine all vinaigrette ingredients, except peppercorns. Pour over the salad, add freshly ground peppercorns and serve.
1 - 1,5 cup Yogi tea leaves
1. Preheat oven to 100°C fan setting. Line oven tray with a sheet of baking paper.
Christmas ornaments for your tree, and not only
Ingredients:
1 - 1,5 cup Yogi tea leaves
¾ - 1 cup applesauce
2 tbsp. craft glue
You will also need:
Cookie cutters
Baking paper
Rolling pin
Toothpick
Thin ribbon or twine
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 100°C fan setting. Line oven tray with a sheet of baking paper.
2. Place tea, applesauce and glue in a bowl. Mix well and shape into a ball. It should not be too sticky so, if necessary, add tea or applesauce as the case may be.
3. Roll out dough between 2 sheets of baking paper to shape it into an approximately 7 mm thick layer.
4. Cut into a variety of shapes with cookie cutters. Poke a hole on top with toothpick and place on oven tray.
5. Bake for 2 hours or until hard
6. Cool and thread ribbon or twine through holes. Hang on your tree or use your imagination to create a unique Christmas décor!
1. Preheat oven to 160°C
1 tsp. Evening Maple
1 tsp. honey
1 gelatin leaf
4 whole walnuts, finely chopped
Mould to shape the jelly
Heat water to 90°C. Add Evening Maple, let seep tea for 5-6 min and strain into a bain marie.
Add honey, dissolve well.
Break up gelatin into small pieces, add to tea.
Heat in bain marie, stirring well for 10 min.
Strain jelly to remove any gelatin pieces that might not have totally dissolved.
Add chopped walnut and pour into mould
Place in refrigerator for at least 6 hours
The Tatin Demoiselles fruit cake
Ingredients and Method:
1. Preheat oven to 160°C
2. Heat 1c water to 95°C, pour over 2 tsp. The Tatin Demoiselles tea leaves and let seep tea for 4-5 min
3. Using a small saucepan, boil together all below ingredients for 3 minutes and let cool:
The tea
1 c raisins
1 c chopped dates
½ c brown sugar
3 tbsp. sunflower oil
3 tbsp. tahini (sesame paste)
½ tsp each cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and salt
4. Sift together:
1 c flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. soda
5. Combine both mixtures, add ½ c chopped walnuts and one mashed ripe banana
6. Bake in a loaf tin for approximately 1h or until done
Walnut and honey jelly with Evening Maple, to accompany cheese
Basic recipe for 100 ml tea and one gelatin leaf
Ingredients:
1 tsp. Evening Maple
1 tsp. honey
1 gelatin leaf
4 whole walnuts, finely chopped
Mould to shape the jelly
Method:
Heat water to 90°C. Add Evening Maple, let seep tea for 5-6 min and strain into a bain marie.
Add honey, dissolve well.
Break up gelatin into small pieces, add to tea.
Heat in bain marie, stirring well for 10 min.
Strain jelly to remove any gelatin pieces that might not have totally dissolved.
Add chopped walnut and pour into mould
Place in refrigerator for at least 6 hours
Old Fashioned cocktail with Lapsang Souchong
Ingredients:
50 ml Bourbon
1 tsp. honey
1 tsp. Lapsang Souchong leaves
A couple of dashes of Angostura bitter
Ice
Orange peel for garnish
Method:
1. Place Lapsang Souchong in bourbon and stir to cover the leaves. Leave to seep at least 1 hour
2. Pour infused bourbon in a cocktail shaker. Add honey.
3. Stir well to allow honey and bourbon to combine.
4. Strain into a short glass over a block of ice.
5. Add a couple of dashes of Angostura bitters.
6. Garnish with a twist of orange peel, gently squeezing the peel to release the oils and rubbing around the rim of the glass.
