Recipe: Coconut chatini

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Delicious coconut chatini, perfect for serving with fish.

Coconut palm

Coconut palm

Serves 4
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 10  minutes

  • 500g fresh coconut flesh, brown skin scraped off
  • 5 fresh corinader sprigs
  • 2 fresh green chillies
  • 80g tamarind pulp
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • juice 1/2 lemon
  • salt

1. Finely dice the coconut flesh and bake it at 180ºC for 10 minutes to dry it a little.
2. In a blender or food processor, place the coconut, mint leaves, coriander leaves, tamarind pulp and oil. Blend to a paste, add lemon juice and some salt, mix well. Correct seasoning.

The chatini will keep for 5 days in the fridge.

Next week, we’ll post a fabulous fish recipe incorporating this coconut chatini.

 

 

 

Brand new website for Constance Hotels Experience

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We’ve just relaunched our Constance Hotels Experience website. Packed with great information, stunning photos and links to our online concierge and gift service – it’s one to add to your favourites’ list.

Senior Water Villa at Constance Moofushi Resort, Maldives

Senior Water Villa at Constance Moofushi Resort, Maldives

The new website is beautifully designed to reflect the elegance of our Indian Ocean resorts.

You’ll find lots of detail to give you a real feel for each resort, and to help you decide which of our fabulous 7 resorts is perfect for your next holiday.

We give you the lowdown on: 

  • choice of accommodation
  • wedding and honeymoon packages
  • restaurants and bars including opening times
  • spa treatments
  • golf
  • children’s clubs
  • water sports
  • business facilities and lots more.

Take a look at the Constance Hotels Experience website, and don’t miss us on Facebook and Twitter @constancehotels too.

PCB Creation – the secret friend of pastry chefs

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Bruno Le Gac, Corporate Executive Chef at Constance Hotels Experience, reveals an insider’s tip for decorating desserts and pastries.

PCB Creation pastry and dessert decoration

PCB Creation pastry and dessert decoration

The world of pastry has been completely revolutionised these last years. One aspect is the evolution of small operating equipment, moulds and so on.

Design kicked in long ago in this job, and the creativity of pastry chefs has never been so intense. Basically everything is possible nowadays and the combinations of shapes, design, colours and finish are amazing.

One brand I love is PCB Creation. Each time we receive their catalogue, it feels like we are children looking through the latest Playmobil Christmas catalogue.

Below are a few examples of some of the crazier designs they propose. The creativity of the PCB Creations designers has no limit.

It’s fantastic for us to be able to count on this kind of thing to help our pastry chefs enhance the decoration of their desserts.

PCB Creation designs

Angel design by PCB Creation

 

PCB Creation design for desserts

Amazing creations from PCB

 

Constance Lemuria – baby turtles released into ocean

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The beaches at Constance Lémuria on Praslin Island, Seychelles are important nesting sites for the endangered hawksbill and green turtles. These majestic creatures return to the same beaches year after year to lay their eggs.

Baby turtles at Constance Lemuria

Baby turtles enter the ocean for the first time

On 22 February 2012, 168 baby turtles were released to make their way to the ocean at Petite Anse Kerlan, next to the resort’s Beach Bar & Grill.

See more photos in our baby turtle album on Constance Facebook page.

Our turtle programme

Thanks to our turtle programme, we’re seeing an increase in the number of nests each year. For the turtles to continue coming, we maintain the beaches in their natural condition.

The success of the programme hinges on the hard work of our Turtle Manager, our work with the Marine Conservation Society Seychelles, and the support of the local community and hotel guests.

And find out more about preserving turtle habitats at Constance Lemuria.

Recipe: Pineapple-coriander macaroons

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Macaroons became a huge hit last year, and they’re proving as popular as ever in 2012. For all macaroon fans, here’s a tropical recipe from the kitchens of Constance Le Prince Maurice.

Macaroons from Constance Hotels Experience

Macaroons at Constance

Serves 4
Preparation time: 1 hour
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Resting time: 30 minutes
Refrigeration: 2 hours

  • 310g icing sugar
  • 190g powdered almonds
  • 5 egg whites
  • 25g caster sugar

For the ganache

  • 250g milk chocolate
  • 1/2 small pineapple
  • 2 sprigs fresh coriander
  • 150g whipping cream
  • 50g caster sugar

 1. Make the macaroons: sift the icing sugar with the powdered almonds. Whip the egg whites, adding the caster sugar, then add the sifted icing sugar and almonds and mix carefully with a spatula. Pour this batter into a piping bag fitted with a 5mm plain tip and drop regular-shaped disks, 5cm wide, on a biscuit sheet lined with parchment paper. Let them rest for 30 minutes at room temperature.
2. Preheat oven to 140ºC. Bake the macaroons for 20 minutes. Take them out of the overn and let them cool on the paper.
3. Make the ganache: peel the pineapple and dice the flesh finely. Finely chop the coriander. Mix pineapple and coriander, and refrigerate.
4. In a large bowl, break the milk chocolate into small pieces. Bring the cream to simmering point with the sugar, mixing well, then pour it over the chocolate. Mix until smooth. Add the pineapple and coriander, mix well and keep refrigerated for 2 hours.
5. Assemble the macaroons: lift them from the parchment paper and paste them two by two by spreading 1 small teaspoon of ganache between them.

And for inspiration, take a look at these delightful looking macaroons from Constance Belle Mare Plage on our Constance Facebook page.

Sea creatures at Constance Halaveli Resort

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Continuing our series this week on underwater creatures in the Maldives, here’s a peek at the watery world of Constance Halaveli.

Turtle at Constance Halaveli Resort, Maldives

Turtle at Halaveli

Dive locations close to Halaveli have been included in lists of the World’s Best Dive Sites.

Diving here is superb for both beginners and advanced divers.

At Halaveli, it’s all about choice:  diving 12 months of the year, easy access to dive sites, amazing visibility and an abundance of sealife.

Enjoy these beautiful photos from our dive masters at Halaveli. 

And if you have any underwater photos, we’d love to see them. You can post them to our Constance Facebook page or tweet them @constancehotels.

 

 

Maldivian clown fish

Maldivian clown fish

 

Black cheek moray eel

Black cheek moray eel