'Dio' brownie

This brownie is from my school cafeteria. The famous 'dio' brownie, as my school is Diocesan School, is a favourite throughout Auckland. Many other students for other schools ask for the recipe or for us to buy them a piece from the caf, that is, until a couple of years ago when the recipe was made public by our school releasing a cookbook which had the long awaited recipe hidden inside.

When cooked right it is crunchy on the outside and especially chewy on the inside.

ingredients:

• 300g butter
• 3/4 cup cocoa
• 1 tsp vanilla extract (or essence)
• 2 1/2 cups brown sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups plain flour
• 1 cup chocolate chips (preferably dark but can be milk)

~Preheat the oven to 150c (fanbake).  Grease and line a 21cm x 30cm tin. 

~Melt the butter and cocoa and add the vanilla and brown sugar.

~Beat in the eggs one at a time.

~Mix in the flour and add the chocolate chips.

~Pour the mixture into the tin and bake for (it says 25mins) but it may take anywhere between 20-45.  Keep an eye on it, it should be firm to the touch on the edges and still soft in the middle.

~When cool, cut into whatever size you like.  Dust with  icing sugar or  cocoa  powder.

Seafood Paella

Whilst in Nerja on the Costa del Sol in the Málaga province in the autonomous community of Andalusia in southern Spain, I went to a cooking class. There they taught us, on mass, an easy Paella. Unfortunately I couldn't get the recipe so from memory I have adapted this to suit what I believe went in. Instead of the usual rice found in a Paella I distinctly remember small pieces of macaroni pasta being put in. I remember this as I was always taught that it was rice that was in a Paella, however I guess in Nerja, things are different.

This is an adapted version of Jamie Oliver's Seafood Paella.

·      6 boneless chicken breasts or thighs, quartered

·      sea salt

·      freshly ground black pepper

·      flour, for dusting

·      olive oil

·      1 onion, finely chopped

·      4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

·      2 litres organic chicken stock, hot

·      2 large pinches saffron

·      1 heaped teaspoon smoked paprika

·      500 g paella rice or small macaroni

·      1 small bunch flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked and chopped, stalks chopped

·      2 handfuls fresh or frozen peas

·      10 king prawns

·      500 g mussels

·      2 green capsicum, diced

·      1 large cucumber, diced with skin off

·      4 tomatoes halved, then quartered

Preheat the oven to 190ºC. Season the chicken pieces and dust with flour. Heat a little olive oil in a large deep pan and fry the chicken until golden brown on both sides. Place the pieces on a baking tray and into the oven for 30 minutes.

Put the pan back on the heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until soft. Meanwhile infuse half the hot chicken stock with the saffron. Add the smoked paprika, rice and infused stock and leave to cook on a medium heat, stirring from time to time. In a push fold motion instead of the usual circular motion as you want to infuse the flavours into the food.

After 20 minutes the rice should be nearly cooked. At this point, pour in the rest of the stock along with the peas, prawns, mussels. Place a lid on the pan and cook for 10 minutes more. In the last 2 minutes add the cucumber tomatoes and capsicum. 

Finally, add the cooked chicken and serve sprinkled with chopped parsley and a wedge of lemon.