Peppermint Gum minty overtones are excellent in tea, desserts, cakes & savoury dishes. As well as into sauces, pie crusts & stuffings for meat dishes. Start with a small amount, and add more according to taste.
Dried ground Peppermint Gum powder and flakes can be purchased at Taste Australia Bush Food Shop>>
Peppermint Gum & Lemon Aspen Sponge with stewed Quandong.
Ingredients:
3 eggs separated
3/4 cup sugar
1 tspn lemon aspen flakes
1 cup self raising flour
1 tspn Peppermint Gum
2 Tbspns Hot Water
Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form
Gradually add sugar and beat until dissolved.
Add yolks, lemon aspen and beat until combined.
Then gently fold through the sifted flour and peppermint gum followed by the water.
Spoon mix into greased cake tin. Bake 180C 20-25 mins. Cool.
Cut in half and fill with vanilla custard. Spread custard over the top. Refrigerate. Serve with stewed quandong.
Peppermint Chocolate Truffles
Ingredients:
50gm butter
3/4 cup icing sugar
180gm chocolate
1 desertspoon Peppermint Gum
150gm Macadamia Nuts
2 Tablespoons Cream
Place first 5 ingredients into a bowl and melt over a saucepan of hot water. Then add the nuts and cream. Mix well. Drop spoonfuls into paper patty pans. Refrigerate to set.
Peppermint Peas – a refreshing change
Add 1 tspn Peppermint Gum to 2 tbspn melted butter and mix into cooked peas.
Peppermint Pickle
Ingredients
300ml vinegar
250gm sugar
2 level tspn mustard powder
2 level tspn salt
1 cinnamon stick
1 level tspn Whole Pepperberry
750gm cooking apples (peeled and sliced)
250gm onions (skinned and sliced)
12gm dried Peppermint Gum
Pour vinegar into saucepan and add sugar, seasoning and spices.
Simmer 30 minutes, then strain.
Add apple and onion and continue to cook gently for 10 mins.
Remove from heat and stir in the Peppermint Gum. Cool.
When cold, pack apple and onions into jars and cover with the spiced vinegar.
Seal the jar and leave for a month before use.
Delicious with cold lamb.
Peppermint Chocolate Terrine with Wattleseed Cream and Strawberries(serves 6)
Terrine ingredients
7 egg yolks
3/4 cup (165g) caster sugar
200g good-quality dark chocolate, roughly chopped
250g unsalted butter, chopped, softened
65g good-quality cocoa powder, sifted
600ml thickened cream
2 tspns dried peppermint gum
Wattleseed Cream Ingredients
1 tspn ground wattleseed
whipping cream
dspn hot water
Garnish ingredients
Halved strawberries
chocolate mint for garnish
Terrine
Lightly grease an 8cm x 22cm (1-litre capacity) terrine. Line with plastic wrap, leaving the excess to hang over the sides.
Beat yolks and sugar in a heatproof bowl for 5 minutes or until thick and pale. Place bowl over a pan of simmering water (make sure bowl doesn’t touch the water).
Add chocolate and whisk for 5-6 minutes until melted. Add butter one piece at a time, whisking between each addition until melted. Remove from heat and fold in cocoa and peppermint gum.
Beat cream until soft peaks form. Fold a little cream into chocolate mixture. Fold in remainder until combined.
Pour into terrine, fold over plastic wrap to cover, then refrigerate overnight.
Place wattleseed in a cup with the hot water and set aside to cool.
Wattleseed Cream
Whip cream with soaked wattleseed until soft peaks form.
To serve
Turn out terrine, cut into slices and top with strawberries and wattleseed cream and garnish with a couple chocolate mint leaves.
Tofu & Vegetable Balls with Peppermint Chilli Sauce
Ingredients
250gm firm tofu
185gm grated pumpkin
100gm grated zucchini
1 onion diced
4 cloves garlic minced
4 shallots chopped
1 tablespoon Outback Pride Tanami Fire
1/4 cup chopped continental parsley
1 cup flour
1/2 cup grated Australian parmesan
Blend the tofu until smooth and then add shallot, parsley, tanami fire, half the flour, parmesan and tofu plus a tablespoon of salt.
Heat a tablespoon of oil in a pan. Add pumpkin, zucchini, onion, garlic. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes. Cool.
Then combine the vegetables and tofu well.
Take a tablespoon of mixture and roll it in your hands to form small balls, then roll in flour.
Deep fry in a heavy based saucepan one third full of oil heated to 180C (or until a cube of bread browns in 15 seconds)
Cook in small batches for 2 – 3 minutes. Drain on paper towels.
Serve with Peppermint Gum Chilli Sauce (see below).
Note: although we have specified pumpkin and zucchini always work with seasonal vegetables.
Peppermint Gum Chilli Sauce –
Blend 3 large peeled garlic cloves,4 tspn dried chilli flakes, 1/2 cup sugar, 3/4 cup water, 1/4 cup white vinegar & 1/2 tbspn salt.
Transfer to a pot and bring to the boil. Simmer for 3 mins.
Then add thickener (1 tbspn cornflour, 2 tbspns water & 1 dspn ground peppermint gum).
Stir well until it thickens a little. Cool and bottle. Refrigerate. Makes half a cup.
Peppermint Gum Tea
Makes 2 cups
1. Heat 3 cups of good quality water to boiling.
2. 1 rounded teaspoon of Peppermint Gum into the infuser or strainer.
3. Pour about 2 cups of boiling water over the infuser and into the pot. Let the Peppermint filled infuser steep for 2-3 minutes. Close your eyes and inhale the delicious aroma . . . by the time your tea is ready, you’ll feel relaxed and energized, even before you drink it!
Variation: Pour it over ice in a tall glass, and sip slowly. Iced Peppermint tea is a great summer beverage.
Strawberry Salsa
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups chopped strawberries
1/2 cup chopped peeled kiwi fruit
1/2 cup chopped cucumber
1/2 cup chopped red onion
2 tablespoons chopped seeded jalapeno peppers
1/2 tablespoon Peppermint Gum
1 teaspoon grated lime rind
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon orange juice
1 tablespoon honey
1/4 teaspoon salt
Combine all the ingredients in a medium bowl.
Cover and chill.
Serve the salsa with a slotted spoon.
Store in the fridge for up to 2 days.
Eggplant With Tomato-Mint Sauce and Goat Cheese
Ingredients
1kg eggplant, trimmed, cut into 1cm thick crosswise rounds
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 can Italian-style tomatoes
1 1/2 tablespoons Peppermint Gum
1 teaspoon Native Basil
1/2 cup crumbled soft fresh goat cheese
Mountain Pepper
Preheat oven to 250C, lightly grease 2 large baking sheets. Arrange eggplant rounds on prepared sheets; brush lightly with 1 tablespoon oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Bake 10 minutes. Turn rounds over and bake until tender and golden, about 10 minutes longer. Remove from oven. Reduce oven temperature to 180C
Meanwhile, heat remaining 1/2 tablespoon oil in a pan over medium heat. Add onion; sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and stir 1 minute. Add tomatoes with their juices, peppermint gum and native basil and simmer until sauce thickens and is reduced to 1 3/4 cups, breaking up tomatoes with back of spoon, about 20 minutes. Season with salt and mountain pepper.
Spoon half of tomato sauce into shallow baking dish. Arrange eggplant rounds atop sauce, overlapping slightly. Spoon remaining sauce over. Sprinkle cheese over. Bake until heated through, about 20 minutes.