Recipes for mom's day

Roasted Figs with Roquefort cheese
Prep time: 30 mins
Serves: 6

Ingredients
6 figs
12pcs chicken ham
50gm roquefort cheese
30ml balsamic vinegar glaze
Fresh basil, for garnish
6 pieces crusty bread,
Method
Heat the oven to 200°C. Cut the figs into quarters, slicing most of the way through but keeping the base intact. Squeeze the base of each fig to open it up, and then wrap each one in chicken ham leaving the top open.
Dot with roquefort cheese and place in a baking dish. Drizzle balsamic vinegar glaze and bake for 20-25 minutes until it starts oozing. Sprinkle fresh basil and serve with crusty bread.
 
Braised Beef Cheek with Polenta
Prep Time: 4 hrs
Serves: 4

Ingredients
700gm beef cheek   
100gm seasoned flour
150gm carrot, chopped
150gm onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tsp celery chopped
1 bouquet garni (classic herb mix)
1tsp orange rind
½ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp allspice
50ml vegetable oil
Salt and pepper
to taste
1 cup polenta
Method
Add a dash of oil to a large casserole dish and place over medium high heat. Dust beef cheeks with seasoned flour, place in the casserole and brown both sides. Transfer to a plate. Lower the heat and add another dash of oil. Add the celery, carrot and onion and cook until soft. Add the garlic, orange rind, ground cumin and allspice and cook for one minute. Return browned beef cheeks to the casserole, add water and bring to boil. Cover with baking paper and a tight-fitting lid. Place in the oven along with the bouquet garni and cook for 3½ hours or until the beef cheeks are almost falling apart. Stir beef cheeks halfway through cooking and check seasoning as required. Serve with polenta.
Creamy Mascarpone Berry Tart
Prep Time: 50 mins + 1hr
Serves: 4

Tart crust:
200gm all-purpose flour
50gm powdered sugar
? tsp salt
140gm unsalted butter
1 egg, lightly beaten
¼ tsp vanilla extract

Filling:
1 cup mascarpone cheese
60ml cold heavy cream
43gm powdered sugar
1 tsp orange zest
½ tsp vanilla extract
85gm raspberries
225gm blueberries
225gm strawberries
60ml apricot jelly
2 tbsp water
1 tsp lemon juice

Method
For tart dough: In a food processor, add the flour, powdered sugar, and salt. Pulse a couple of times to combine. Add the cubed cold butter and pulse several more times until the largest piece of butter is the size of a pea. Add the egg and vanilla extract. Pulse a few more times until the dough begins to form clumps and pulls away from the side of the food processor.
Lightly grease the inside of a tart pan with butter. Place the clumpy dough into the tart pan and spread out evenly with your fingers along the bottom and up the sides of the tart shell. You don't have to press too hard, if the dough is still a little crumbly, that's good.
Put the tart pan in the freezer for one hour.
Preheat oven to 375°F. Line the frozen tart crust with aluminum foil, with enough extra foil on the sides for lifting.
Fill with pie weights (dry beans) and bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and remove the pie weights and foil. Poke the crust with a fork and return the tart pan to the oven for 15 more minutes. Bake until golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool completely.
For filling: Beat the mascarpone, cream, powdered sugar, zest and  vanilla and spread into tart crust. Arrange the berries on top of the mascarpone mixture.
Mix apricot jelly as per instructions on the cover. Add lemon juice and heat on medium heat until bubbly and the jelly has dissolved. Using a pastry brush, brush the jelly mixture over the berries for a glossy sheen.