Roasting friends (and frozen strawberry margarita pie)

Every now and then – not nearly often enough – I catch up with my lovely former colleagues from Woman’s Day.

The latest gathering was a belated thank you to Glen for dog sitting Charlie while I was on a cruise in January. Bless him. (Check out some very funny Facebook posts from Glen during his stay by clicking here.)

It was sooooo freaking hot yesterday, but I know our dear friend Beryl loves a roast, so I popped some chicken and pumpkin in the oven. Then we sat in my lounge room, drenched in perspiration, pretending it was completely fine that I didn’t have air conditioning or an adequate fan.

Fortunately, lots of laughter and reminiscing still filled the stifling room.

And I’m sure Bilbo’s superior toe-licking skills helped keep everyone’s cool.

I promised Glen I’d blog the recipes, so here they are …

Recipe: tomato and pesto tarts

3 sheets puff pastry

3 roma tomatoes, sliced

Lots of homemade pesto (basil leaves, parmesan, olive oil, garlic, pine nuts, you know the drill …)

METHOD: Defrost puff pastry and use an egg ring to cut each sheet into 9 cirlces. Spread each one with pesto, leaving 1/2cm around the edge. Arrange tomato slices on top, sprinkle with a dash of caster sugar. Bake at 200C until golden.

Recipe: Roast chicken with pumpkin and goat’s cheese

8 chicken marylands

400g pumpkin, cut into chunks

2 red onions, cut into wedges

1/4 cup of olive oil

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tablespoon sea salt

2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage

2 lemons, cut into wedges

3 zucchinis, cut into chunks

2 x 400g cans butter beans, drained

20 olives

4 chunks of Meredith marinated goat’s cheese

METHOD: Preheat oven to 200C. Put chicken, pumpkin, lemon and onion into a roasting pan. Mix olive oil, salt, sage and garlic. Drizzle over roasting pan and toss to coat. Roast until 40 minutes. Add zucchini, olives and butter beans and gently toss with other ingredients. Roast until chicken golden and zucchini cooked. Top with goat’s cheese. Serve.

Recipe: Frozen strawberry margarita pie

Crust:

3/4 packet Marie biscuits

2 tablespoons sugar

150g melted unsalted butter

Filling:

3 1/2 cups strawberries

1 tablespoon grated lime zest

1/4 cup lime juice

1 can sweetened condensed milk

2 tablespoons tequila

2 tablespoons triple sec

METHOD: To make crust … preheat oven to 200C. Add all ingredients to a blender until crushed and combined (add more butter if mixture is too dry). Press into a pie dish, making sure the corners aren’t too thick. Bake in oven for 10 minutes. Cool.

To make filling … puree strawberries, zest, lime juice, condensed milk, tequila and triple sec in blender. Pour into cooled pie crust. Freeze overnight. Remove from freezer and put in fridge 40 minutes before serving to thaw slightly, serve with fresh berries.

Was it a scorcher around your way? How’d you handle the heat? 

Song of the day: Pointer Sisters “Fire”