Food in New Zealand
If you are thinking about moving to New Zealand, consider trying some well loved New Zealand recipes. Jo Seagar, a well known New Zealand chef, has kindly supplied her recipe. The trick is to add the sugar very slowly.
There is an ongoing battle between New Zealand and Australia on the origins of the Pavlova, but the most recent research pinpoints New Zealand as the rightful home place of this simple dessert.
If you would like more information about Jo and her New Zealand cook school, you can visit her website: www.joseagar.co.nz
New Zealand Pavlova.
Serves: 4 – 6
This recipe easily doubles for a big party size pavlova to feed 10- 12 people
3 egg whites, at room temperature
1 cup caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 teaspoon malt or white vinegar
2 teaspoons cornflour
whipped cream or yoghurt to serve
Preheat oven to 120°C. Line an oven tray with baking paper.
In a large metal, china or glass bowl (not plastic as the egg whites don't beat up as well). Beat the egg whites until thick and stiff. A hand held electric mixer is ideal for this job. Gradually, just a teaspoon at a time, add the caster sugar beating in well after each addition. The mixture slowly gets glossy, thick and shiny. Don't rush the sugar adding as this part of pav making is very important. The whole sugar adding process should take about 8 – 10 minutes. Beat in the vanilla, vinegar and cornflour.
Spoon the mixture onto the baking paper covered tray and spread out in a circle the size of a small plate (approximately 18 cm diameter). Bake for 1 ½ hours until the pavlova is crisp and dry and easily lifts off the paper. Don't be tempted to turn up the heat as you want a nice dry pale pav, not a brown burnt one. Cool completely on a wire rack before covering with cream or yoghurt and fresh fruit.
This recipe can be used for meringues. Follow the same instructions up to the spreading out on the tray. For meringues, spoon out 10 – 25 small blobs of mixture with plenty of space in between them. Bake at the same 120°C for approximately 30 – 35 minutes until crisp and dry and you can lift them easily from the paper.