Filling the Tins

My in-laws came to stay in the weekend and like any good daughter-in-law who loves to bake, I filled the tins. One of the things I bakes was these polenta cookies. They look like plain little cookies but the polenta gives a lovely subtle crunch. They are topped with a nugget of crystallised apple but you could also try crystallised ginger or dried apricots. You could also add spices (cardamom or vanilla would be good). They were also really easy to make, as there was no rolling or cutting involved – simply roll into balls, stud with your topping and let the oven do the rest!

Last night when I went to buy fish for dinner, salmon was on special. Salmon is one of my favourite foods and now it is often cheaper than terakihi or gurnard which are my week day choices for fish. It was delicious too – inspired by a Julie Le Clerc recipe I coated the salmon in a mix of equal amounts of ground coriander, ground cumin and paprika with a pinch of dried oregano and chilli powder, salt and pepper and oven roasted it. I served it with brown rice which I infused with a couple of kaffir lime leaves and broccoli and baby spinach stir fried with garlic, ginger and a dash each of Chinese cooking wine and soy sauce. It was a very clean and healthy tasting meal!

Polenta Cookies

125g butter
½ c icing sugar
¼ c polenta
1 egg yolk
1 c flour
crystallised fruit of choice

· Cream butter and icing sugar
· Beat in polenta and egg yolk
· Mix in flour to make a firm dough
· Roll into balls and place on tray. Press a cube of crystallised ginger into each cookie
· Bake at 180c for 10 minutes or until lightly golden