The pressure was on when UTX met on Saturday evening to compete in UTX Masterchef 2015. Two teams worked hard to create winning dishes and the judges were presented with a curry and a citrus crunch pie to taste and consider. Jill Croft kindly came to lend her expertise to the judging and we were hugely impressed by the way in which the chefs worked together to create some beautifully presented and delicious food. It was a difficult task but the results of the UTX Masterchef 2015 were:

Best presented dish: citrus crunch pie by Rosie and Jess C
Best dish overall: chicken curry by Olivia and Connie

Here are the recipes in case you are inspired to give them a try!

Citrus Crunch Pie

Ingredients

Base:
150g digestives biscuits crushed into a fine crumb (a mixture of digestives and shortbread makes a nice light base)
100g melted butter
100g caster sugar

Filling:
2 eggs, separated
grated rind and juice of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon of gelatine
pinch of cream of tartar
4 tablespoons double cream
whipped cream and lemon slices to decorate

Mix melted butter, sugar and biscuit crumb together and press into a greased 20 cm (8inch) loose bottomed tin. Chill.
Place egg yolks and half the sugar, lemon rind and juice in a bowl.  Place over a saucepan of hot water and whisk until thick and creamy.
Dissolve the gelatine in 1 teaspoon of hot water then stir into egg mixture. Cool.
Place egg whites in a bowl and whisk with the cream of tartar until foamy.  Add the remaining sugar and whisk until stiff.  Whisk the cream until thick.  When the egg mixture begins to set, whisk lightly until smooth, then fold in the egg whites and cream.  Pour over base and chill. Decorate.

Chicken Curry

Ingredients

• 1 large onion
• 6 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• 50g ginger, roughly chopped
• 4 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp fennel seed
• 5cm cinnamon stick
• 1 tsp chilli flakes
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• 400g can chopped tomatoes
• 8 chicken thighs, skinned, boneless (about 800g)
• 250ml hot chicken stock
• 2 tbsp chopped coriander

1. Roughly chop the onion, transfer to a small food processor, and add 3 tablespoons of water – process to a slack paste. You could use a stick blender for this or coarsely grate the onion into a bowl – there’s no need to add any water if you are grating the onion. Tip into a small bowl and leave on one side.
2. Put the chopped garlic and ginger into the same food processor and add 4 tbsp water – process until smooth and spoon into another small bowl. Alternatively, crush the garlic to a paste with a knife or garlic press and finely grate the ginger.
3. Heat the oil in a wok or sturdy pan set over a medium heat. Combine the cumin and fennel seeds with the cinnamon and chilli flakes and add to the pan in one go. Swirl everything around for about 30 secs until the spices release a fragrant aroma.
4. Add the onion paste – it will splutter in the beginning. Fry until the water evaporates and the onions turn a lovely dark golden – this should take about 7-8 mins. Add the garlic and ginger paste and cook for another 2 mins – stirring all the time.
5. Stir in the garam masala, turmeric, and sugar and continue cooking for 20 secs before tipping in the tomatoes. Continue cooking on a medium heat for about 10 mins without a lid until the tomatoes reduce and darken.
6. Cut the chicken thighs into 3cm chunks and add to the pan once the tomatoes have thickened to a paste. Cook for 5 mins to coat the chicken in the masala and seal in the juices, and then pour over the hot chicken stock. Simmer for 8-10 mins without a lid until the chicken is tender and the masala lightly thickened – you might need to add an extra ladleful of stock or water if the curry needs it. Sprinkle with chopped coriander and serve with Indian flatbreads or fluffy basmati rice and a pot of yogurt on the side.