Pohutukawa Flower Syrup and Spice

This December we set out to spend time with the magnificence of the Pohutukawa trees in flower throughout Hawke's Bay. Along the way we discovered that the stamens of the blooms can be used to make a delightful cordial. There is very little reference to the flower being used by Maori, however, there are two contemporary foragers that have been sharing about their use of these special blossoms on social media so I went ahead to see just what all the fuss was about.  

Once you start taking notice it is amazing just how many variations of the colour red Pohutukawas bloom in. We found these trees out at Waipatiki beach in the week before Christmas.

I adore that these tenacious native trees are known as the New Zealand Christmas tree.

There's a bit of an art to gathering the stamens as they don't just nicely fall in to your hand, unless they are ready to drop. Picking the whole flower head isn't much use as they are still quite difficult to remove even when dry. So, like many foraging practises the best idea is to slow down, be patient & grateful & take your time.

The stamens dry very quickly & have a lovely berry fruity fragrance.

Pohutukawa stamens with Kawakawa fruit

To make Pohutukawa cordial simply bring a cup of water & a cup of sugar to the boil & then stir to dissolve the sugar. Add 1 tsp citric acid & 1 1/2 cups of the stamens. Make sure that you've removed any of the hard green bits first. Cover & leave to infuse all day or overnight. Strain & bottle. 

This is the best post I have found so far about making this cordial over at Kailash Herbs.

You can reduce the sugar content of the cordial but it won't keep as well & the balance will be different. Same with the citric acid- it helps to acidify what would otherwise be a very sweet syrup. Lemon would swamp the delicate flavour of the Pohutukawa flowers.

Increase quantities according to what you have & how much cordial you'd like to make. The above amounts make just enough for a 500ml bottle. White cane sugar or raw sugar both work fine.

We think that the cordial tastes much like strawberry jam. It is lovely mixed in to fizzy water.

The dried stamens can also be ground in a spice grinder until very fine & then put through a fine sieve to produce a deep red delicious "spice". The desert below is a mixture of whipped cream, thick natural yogurt, honey & a large teaspoon of Pohutukawa spice. The strawberries are marinated in a little maple syrup and the green stuff is finely ground pistachio nuts.

The same mix can also be frozen to make a very nice semifreddo. Just remove from the freezer and allow to sit for 10 minutes before serving.

I learnt about making Pohutukawa spice from this post here at Finders Eaters Foraging.

The sauce in the above desert I made by simmering a few wild cherries for 20 minutes in a little water, (Prunus padus var padus) that we discovered out at Sacred Hill, & then adding a little honey.

Such a rich delicious flavour.

For Christmas I made a Spanish Cream using this recipe & adding a large teaspoon of Pohutukawa spice. I would leave out the vanilla next time as it overwhelmed the fruity flavour of the flowers. 

Charming served in pretty teacups.

Delicious served with roasted strawberries. When the strawberries are cooked but still have a little liquid left I mixed in a little honey & some Pohutukawa spice. The wafer was some Speculaas that Dutch friends gave us- perfect combination!

Katie x

Fruit and Vegetable Bran Muffins or Loaf

After having an inspired conversation with Viv at Cornucopia, our local organics shop, a while back- about how her grandkids were happily eating loaf stuffed full of veggies, I decided I would have a go at making bran muffins with loads of both fruit & veggies in them to see if they really were that yummy. Well it turns out that they really are both filling & delicious & can be made in to either muffins or a loaf. 

The mix is brilliantly free-form so just use whatever is to hand. So far I have incorporated, grated carrots, parsnip, courgette, choko, apple, pear & banana. Almost any kind of dried fruit would be useful too & nuts like walnuts if you have them. 

In a large bowl add:

1/2 cup bran

1/2 brown sugar (demarara, coconut or other)

100 grams of chopped butter

A pinch of salt. A tsp each of cinnamon & ginger to taste.

A tsp vanilla essence

2 cups of dried fruit- dates (definitely) raisins, sultanas,  dried apricots, prunes etc

Pour over a cup full of boiling water stir & leave to sit until just warm & well soaked together.

Add an egg & a large tbsp of plain yoghurt 

Add 1/2- 1 cup of nuts- walnuts etc

2 cups of grated fruits & vegetables such as apple, pear, carrot, parsnip, beetroot, choko or courgette.

Add a mashed ripe banana

Stir altogether & then sift in 1- 1/2 cups of wholemeal flour & 2 tsps baking powder. Just see how the mix is looking. You may not need all the flour.

Gently fold the flour through the mix.

Spoon in to large muffin tins or a greased/lined loaf tin.

Bake for 20-30 mins at 180 degrees C until firm & a nice colour.

I guarantee no one will ever guess there's all those veggies in there!

Katie x

Strawberry Coconut Shortcake

When I lived i Wellington 42 years ago, I fell in love with this strawberry shortcake from a little organic cafe I found upstairs in Cuba street. I eventually figured out how to make it and all this time later I am still reinventing it. I don't generally do dessert, for pudding's sake, but I sometimes work it in to being part of a meal. This take on the classic strawberry shortcake is made with a base of wholemeal, coconut and almond flours, the topping a mix fresh strawberries, coconut & brown sugar. 

This is the most brilliant recipe because it can be made with almost any fruit. Apricot and coconut are delicious together too. A great way to use up fruit that might otherwise be wasted.

Base: cream 100 gms of softened butter with 1/3 cup of brown sugar

Add an egg and beat again

Fold in 2 cups (total) of an even mix of coconut flour, spelt flour and ground almonds

And a tsp of baking powder 

Press mix in to a greased baking paper lined tin

Pop in to the fridge while you're preparing the topping.

Topping: slice up a large punnet (which I guess is a kilo) of washed strawberries in to a large bowl

Add 1 cup of fine coconut & 1 cup of shredded coconut (or whatever you have on hand)

And 1/2 cup of brown sugar

Lastly a splash of rosewater.

Mix together 

Spoon the strawberry coconut mix over the base and smooth out

Bake for 40 minutes in a moderate oven until firm

Keeps really well in the fridge 

In the last photo the shortcake is topped with coconut chia pudding made with coconut cream chia seeds, rosewater and honey, red and gold raspberries, white alpine strawberries and pansies from the garden.

So good!

The next version I made was apricot.

 With juicy fruit it's a good idea to turn down the heat and cook for another 5 or 10 minutes until the fruit topping has firmed well and set.

I am thinking that Black Boy peach would be amazing and also pineapple and passionfruit.

Katie X

Strawberry Yoghurt Cheesecake

Sometimes it's nice to follow a recipe & go out & buy the ingredients especially & other times, it's fine just to use what you have & make it up as you go along. This, around Christmas time "cheesecake" was one of those make it up jobs & it was so delicious.

I have decided that the only base worth making for an uncooked cheesecake is this one. It is so good.

 1/3 cup each of broken cashews, walnut pieces (toast these first if you like) and coconut, 

add 4 or 5 soft dates (remove the stones first) 

Add a tbsp of melted coconut oil and briefly combine in a food processor until mixed to a fine crumb. Press in to a greased springform tin. 

The middle part is super easy- I had a kilo of strawberry Greek yoghurt in the fridge that I bought from Reduced to Clear for $2.50!

In a small saucepan soak a large rounded dsp of gelatine in a little juice, or water.

Let stand for 5 minutes & then stir over low heat until the gelatine is dissolved. 

Stir in a large dsp of honey.

Once cooled, stir in 1/2 cup or so of the yoghurt & stir again.

Now pour the gelatine in to the yoghurt & stir through thoroughly.

Pour over the base. Pop in to the fridge.

The topping is so flavoursome & a great way to make use of an abundance of gorgeous strawberries at this time of the year. I had a large punnet of juicy fat strawberries (seconds are brilliant for this) in the fridge that I washed & sliced & spread out in a roasting pan. Sprinkle a dsp of raw sugar over the fruit (actually I did this part the night before). Cook at around 130o until well roasted & syrupy, but not dry.

The process is the same again- 1 large rounded tsp of powdered gelatine soaked in the liquid of the roasted strawberries, once bloomed, gentle heat to dissolve. Stir through the strawberries add a splash of rose water & once the yoghurt part has started to set, gently pour over the cheesecake. 

Cover & refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight.

Back in the day, when no one even knew what they were, my grandmother Edna would serve bowls of whole strawberries & tinned lychees for dessert. These Japanese wineberries are ready in our garden over summertime & are equally as good with lychees & especially this strawberry cheesecake.

A cheesecake that is light & still nourishing yet feels like a celebration food. It also lasts well in the fridge.

Katie X