tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-210508092024-03-13T23:25:13.881+00:00feast with bronSharing the love of eating magnificently every day, sometimes in my lovely kitchen and sometimes finding the great things London offers. Mostly savoury - I'm no cakey pig!Unknownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16614478490602424628noreply@blogger.comBlogger685125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21050809.post-83473639264765053952017-03-10T11:25:00.000+00:002017-03-10T11:25:24.800+00:00Seville Orange Marmalade<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #2d2f32;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Bitterness
is viewed harshly in this overly sweet world. To be bitter is to be consumed
with an intense animosity, lashed by the rawness of winter winds, suffering the
distress of a galling shame. Yet bitter enemies, bitter rancor, bitter hatred
create all the finest elements of great art, surely?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #2d2f32;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The man
chooses bitter in winter, the bitter that is an English dark brown beer. Served
at room temperature, which is a surprise to some like the young Spanish woman I
saw at an airport bar who wanted to return the pint she’d just bought because
it was warm and flat. The barman’s refusal made her bitter<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(his explanation that is the way it is meant
to be drunk left her confused).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #2d2f32;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In
Brindisa the other day I asked whether their oranges were waxed or not, Spanish
citrus being a particular highlight late into winter. <i>Not these ones</i>, the guy
said, <i>try this</i> as he handed me a chunk of fresh bread with a generous dollop of
marmalade. Amazing – bitter fruit, proper thick shreds of peel, intense jam –
quite a mouthful. Being so good on bread not toast was such a surprise I told
the man about it that night. He makes weekend breakfast that is always toast -
marmalade for him and vegemite for me and coffee for us both. I went back to
Brindisa and asked to buy a jar of their very fine marmalade. <i>Ah no madam</i> the
nice man said, <i>we sell the oranges and give you this </i>and handed me a small slip
of paper, which is how this week I came to make something I’d never done
before.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #2d2f32;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Here is
the recipe.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Seville Orange Marmalade</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: #2d2f32; font-family: inherit;">Marmalade can be made with all kinds of citrus and was, indeed, initially made in Portugal using quince but Seville oranges are particularly suited because of the high pectin levels in the pith and pips and, of course, their wonderful bitterness </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: #2d2f32; font-family: inherit;"><b>Makes about 5 kgs - you need a lot of jars</b></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: #2d2f32; font-family: inherit;">1.5kg Seville oranges - buy big ones, as it will cut the work down a bit</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: #2d2f32; font-family: inherit;">3 litres water</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: #2d2f32; font-family: inherit;">Juice of 2 lemons</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: #2d2f32; font-family: inherit;">3kg granulated sugar - the weight of sugar is always double that of the fruit</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: #2d2f32;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I found it easiest to set up a kind of work station before I started to reduce the amount of sticky mess I was guaranteed to make. You need a BIG preserving pan, mine is 25cm deep with a diameter of 30cm which holds vast amounts. Put the pan on the bench to your left. Next to it put your chopping board, knife and citrus juicer. On the right hand side put a large piece of muslim - at least 30 cm square - on top of a large flat plate. You put all the pips - and there's a LOT of them in Seville oranges - as well as the membrane from the juiced oranges into the muslin, then bring the corners together and tie up the bundle with string before you add it to the jam pan. It is the magic bag </span></span></span><span style="color: #2d2f32; font-family: inherit;">that means the marmalade will set when it's done.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: #2d2f32;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Scrub all the fruit with warm water and a clean scourer, then cut each orange in half and squeeze out the juice, piling up the juiced orange halves as you go. Juice the two lemons and discard the shells - use them to soften your elbows first! </span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: #2d2f32;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Tip all the juice into the pan. Pull any remaining membrane out of the oranges and add it to the muslin, along with all the pips. Bring the edges of the muslin together and tie it tightly with kitchen string so nothing can escape into the pot. </span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="color: #2d2f32;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Slice the orange peel thinly to the size you like, making sure it's fairly </span></span></span><span style="color: #2d2f32;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">consistent. Don't be tempted to remove the pith, it contains a lot of pectin to help the </span></span><span style="color: #2d2f32; font-family: inherit;">marmalade set.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #2d2f32;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Add the orange slices to the pan with the juice, the muslin bag containing all the pips and membrane, and the 3 litres of water. Put the pan onto a medium heat and bring it to the boil, then reduce the heat so it simmers gently. Let it bubble away for a couple of hours until the peel is soft and the liquid has reduced by about a third.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2d2f32;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Take the pan off the heat and use some tongs to take the muslin bag out. Put it on a plate to cool a bit, then squeeze the bag back over the pan of liquid, catching all the surprisingly </span></span><span style="color: #2d2f32; font-family: inherit;">thick juice. Discard the sad sack.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #2d2f32; font-family: inherit;">Add the sugar to the pan and, still off the heat, stir it until it is all dissolved.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #2d2f32;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Return the pan to the heat and bring it back to the boil over a fairly high heat. Boil the jam rapidly for about 15-20 minutes, until the setting point is reached. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2d2f32;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2d2f32; font-family: inherit;">Setting point is what it sounds like, and the best way to test is with a sugar thermometer - when the temperature reaches 105C/220F you're good to go. You can also put a plate into the fridge and, when the mixture has boiled for 15 minutes, spoon a little onto the cold plate and put it back into the fridge for a minute or two. If the jam then sets enough to wrinkle when you push it with your finger, you're good to go.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #2d2f32; font-family: inherit;">Take the pan off the heat, skim off any scum, and then all the marmalade to cool for about 15 minutes so that the peel floats rather than sinks.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #2d2f32;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Whilst it's cooling wash your jars and lids in warm soapy water then dry them on a tray in the oven at about 160C for five minutes. Leave them on the tray to fill them, you'll have way less mess!</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #2d2f32;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Fill the still warm jars with hot marmalade and put the lids on tightly immediately. Allow to cool before you label them. Eat </span></span><span style="color: #2d2f32; font-family: inherit;">with pleasure.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #2d2f32;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Lots of lovely advice <a href="https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/top-10-tips-making-marmalade" target="_blank">here </a>about how to enjoy the whole marmalade making process.</span></span></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">&alt=rss</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21050809.post-43075858563073563922017-02-27T17:04:00.000+00:002017-02-27T17:04:01.321+00:00Rocket Salad, Poached Egg, Toasted Pearled Barley, Grilled Seville Orange and Bacon<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
So<br />
<br />
I saw a recipe online for <a href="http://luckypeach.com/recipes/spinach-salad-feta-toasted-farro-grilled-onions-calabrian-chilies/" target="_blank">spinach salad, feta, toasted farro, grilled onions and calabrian chillies</a> and I wanted it. Even with a title as long and ridiculous as that, I thought it sounded seriously edible and properly substantial even for a wet night in February. I think it was the idea of toasting the farro presumably to make it rich in flavour and to give some overall warmth to balance the slightly bitter metallic flavour of the spinach. And, you know I don't use feta enough and I am totally thoroughly in love with blackened onions, hot or cold but best of all just below warm.<br />
<br />
But<br />
<br />
I didn't have any farro, and the lovely posh Italian shop at Mercato Metropolitano only had it as a mix for soup. Didn't have feta either or, for that matter, any spinach. The salad bowl was looking potentially bleak.<br />
<br />
However<br />
<br />
I did have some pearled barley, and half a bag of wild rocket that needed using, eggs because I always have eggs and an airtight tub of toasted pumpkin seeds. Plus there were a couple of pointy peppers that might add a sweet note and a fab flash of colour. To counterbalance the peppers I decided to grill slices of seville orange for a bitter caramel note. And I thought of bacon - because everything tastes better with bacon.<br />
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<br />
And<br />
<br />
Of course I had no onions but the shop round the corner had bright bunches of spring onions. It was far too cold/dark/bleak/generallyFebruary to cook outside so I dragged the ridged cast iron pan from the bottom of the drawer and thereby set about making an entirely different dinner.<br />
<br />
<span style="color: orange; font-size: large;">Barley, Rocket and Grilled Orange Salad</span><br />
<br />
Serves 2 for dinner with enough over for lunches next day<br />
<br />
<i>250g <a href="http://www.greatbritishchefs.com/how-to-cook/how-to-cook-pearl-barley" target="_blank">pearled barley</a></i><br />
<i>1 bay leaf</i><br />
<i>2 pointy red peppers</i><br />
<i>1 Seville orange</i><br />
<i>6 spring onions</i><br />
<i>3 rashers of bacon</i><br />
<i>A couple of generous handfuls of rocket</i><br />
<i>A tablespoon of toasted pumpkin seeds</i><br />
<i>6 tablespoons olive oil</i><br />
<i>1 tablespoon sherry vinegar</i><br />
<i>2 eggs</i><br />
<br />
<i>Spread the barley out across a flat oven tray and toast in the oven at 180C/350F/Gas 4 for about ten minutes till the grain colours lightly and smells a bit toasty. I have to say I'm not convinced it had any noticeable contribution to the flavour of the barley so feel free to skip this step if it seems like a faff.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Tip the (toasted or not) barley into a saucepan, add water to cover by a couple of inches, drop in the bayleaf and cook over a medium heat until it comes to the boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook the barely until fairly tender but still with a bit of resistance. This will take about 30 minutes - add a generous teaspoon of salt halfway through. Drain and set aside.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>While the barley cooks, roast the peppers whole in the oven at 200C/400F/Gas 5 for 20 minutes or so, turning occasionally, until the skins are blackened and blistered. Put them into a small bowl and cover tightly with clingfilm. The steam will loosen the skins further making them easy to peel. When they are cool enough to handle, strip the skin away and discard it along with the seeds. Cut the flesh into finger sized strips and tip into a large salad bowl.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
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<i><br /></i>
<i>Heat the grill pan over a high flame. Cut slices across the orange, about the thickness of a thick pound coin, including the skin saving as much of the juice as you can in a small bowl. Discard the many seeds. Brush each slice with olive oil and lay them out in the hot pan to sear, turning them after a couple of minutes to caramelise the other side. Put the cooked slices into the salad bowl till they're cool enough to handle, then cut them into 1 centimetre squares and return to the bowl with the peppers.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
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<i><br /></i>
<i>Cut the base and scraggy tops off the spring onions and cut each one in half from top to bottom, brush the cut sides with olive oil and put them into the hot pan. Griddle till they start to blacken, turn </i><br />
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<i>them over and cook the other side. Drop them into the bowl with the peppers and orange.</i><br />
<br />
<i>Next cook the bacon rashers in the hot griddle pan till they crisp as much as you like. Leave them to cool in the salad bowl, then cut into 1 centimetre strips and return to the bowl.</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Add the cooked, drained barley and the rocket to the salad bowl. Whisk the olive oil and sherry vinegar into the orange juice you saved earlier (you did remember that, didn't you 😌) and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Toss the salad with the dressing - taste and adjust the </i><br />
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<i>seasoning if necessary.</i><br />
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<i><br /></i>
<i><br /></i>
<i>Poach the eggs till the whites are just set and the yolk remains runny. Serve the salad into 2 bowls and top each with a poached egg and a sprinkle of toasted pumpkin seeds.</i><br />
<br />
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<br />
Dinner is done.<br />
<br />
If you go for leftovers for lunch next day - and I would recommend it - it's very good topped with a sliced boiled egg.<br />
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">&alt=rss</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21050809.post-9020642188260716362017-02-14T16:19:00.000+00:002017-02-14T16:19:39.759+00:00Chocolate Cardamom Pie<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Valentine's Day today and though - yes! - I subscribe to the notion that every day should be a special day for you and your love, it's nice occasionally to add a little extra sparkle just because you can. The v best sparkle I produced this week was definitely this lightly spiced chocolate pie. It is elegantly simple and simply elegant - and thus, perfect.<br />
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<br />
Cardamom is an intriguing spice, relative to ginger and distantly also the banana, it is popular in a variety of cuisines. It has delicate flavours of citrus and smoke with sweet notes of eucalyptus in there as well. The Scandis love it in baking, indeed I was surprised to find it is the mystery delight in the fikka cinnamon buns, the Dutch add it generously to spekulaas biscuits and it adds richness to Turkish coffee. It's a key ingredient in Indian cooking, used in everything from curries to sweetmeats and chai.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YI2RRVxpNnE/WKMrJHYhmmI/AAAAAAAAEYA/KSOusWh9Wd8oEqaCulEUmaVqlSE7umPqwCEw/s1600/split%2Bcardamom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="198" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YI2RRVxpNnE/WKMrJHYhmmI/AAAAAAAAEYA/KSOusWh9Wd8oEqaCulEUmaVqlSE7umPqwCEw/s320/split%2Bcardamom.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Split green cardamom pod</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
It has a long history too as an aid to erotica. Mentioned in Tales of Arabian Nights as a popular ingredient of love potions, allegedly boosting sexual desire in both men and women, inducing a good mood all round. <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=cITFVpz2ri8C&pg=PA221&lpg=PA221&dq=enticing+herbs+and+seductive+spices&source=bl&ots=ROcfVpsajb&sig=gqBveqXp961Pqn1n5b4T6864wSk&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiWvKmx9o_SAhXiDMAKHYnHCeAQ6AEIHzAA#v=onepage&q=enticing%20herbs%20and%20seductive%20spices&f=false" target="_blank">Enticing Herbs and Seductive Spices</a> suggests <i>Arabs add cardamom to beverages and drink the mixture as an
aphrodisiac, They also sprinkle powdered cardamom, ginger and cinnamon over
boiled onions and green peas to promote erotic vigour. In India, powdered
cardamom boiled with milk is consumed with honey at night to prevent impotence
and premature ejaculation. </i>Also known as a cure for bad breath, kissing too is made more pleasurable...<br />
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<br />
So use it with abandon to spice this luscious pie and serve with a generous dollop of creme fraiche to the one(s) you love. You need to make this a few hours ahead as it needs time to set - something I see as a definite positive as there's no last minute panic. A couple of lessons learned I should share - when you've poured the chocolate into the cooked pie case put it into the fridge without covering it. I decided to cover it with cling film which promptly dropped into the dark liquid and messed the perfectly smooth finish. Also use a fine mesh strainer for the cocoa but get the lumps out before you hold it over the pie if you want a reasonable approximation of a light and even dusting.<br />
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<br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;">Chocolate Cardamom Pie</span><br />
<br />
25cm sweet pastry tart case, cooked - I used <a href="http://paulhollywood.com/recipes/sweet-pastry/" target="_blank">Paul Hollywood's recipe</a>, highly recommend<br />
10 green cardamom pods or 1 teaspoon ground cardamom<br />
350ml double cream<br />
200g dark chocolate, 80% cocoa solids or thereabouts, broken into smallish chunks<br />
30g unsalted butter<br />
Cocoa powder for dusting the finished tart<br />
<br />
If using whole cardamom pods, split them open and drop the little black seeds into a pestle and mortar. Grind them to a fine powder.<br />
<br />
Pour the cream into a heavy based pan, add the ground cardamom and bring to just below boiling point over a gentle heat. Take the cream off the heat and add the broken chocolate and the butter. Stir until everything is melted together and leave it to cool for about five minutes. Pour the chocolate cream into the pie case, put into the fridge and leave to set for a couple of hours.<br />
<br />
Before serving lightly dust the top with some cocoa powder then serve with creme fraiche and perhaps a strong coffee.<br />
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<br />
This recipe is an adaptation of one from <a href="http://www.flavourthesaurus.com/" target="_blank">The flavour Thesaurus</a>, a book I am currently reading with great pleasure.<div class="blogger-post-footer">&alt=rss</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21050809.post-13012988350883075352017-02-09T14:21:00.002+00:002017-02-14T15:07:35.000+00:00Taboon - one kind of flat bread<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
Have just been in Oz visiting family with the bonus of basking in a little sunshine in the midst of this bleak winter. My parents live in relaxed beachside suburbia on the coast south of Sydney close enough to the surf to hear the waves pounding sand and high enough up to whale watch from the kitchen window whenever the pods migrate. To add to the idyl they are both keen and experienced gardeners and despite (because of?) the salt air they have a beautiful collection of many hued roses at the front and a most magnificent herb garden in a raised bed at the back. As someone who can kill rosemary just by looking at it, I am seriously jealous.<br />
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My mother recently planted out half a dozen aubergine seedlings - needless to say they all grow strong and healthy and within a few weeks have set dozens of flowers and the first beautiful glossy fruit is ready. Realising she is about to have a potential glut of what she calls eggplants she requested a sharing of all interesting recipes, whatever the source. Serendipity perhaps but the weekend of my return The Guardian Joudie Kalla's Cook Residency was the story of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/feb/02/rummaniyeh-pomegranate-lentil-stew-recipe-palestinian-food-joudie-kalla-cook-residency" target="_blank">rummaniyeh</a>,* a Palestinian dish for aubergine and pomegranate. It earned me double brownie points when I passed it on, having convinced my mother to buy some pomegranate molasses without offering a lot of ideas to use it.<br />
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I loved the idea of silky peeled cubes of aubergine melting into the lentil stew, spiked with the visual beauty and sour surprise of pomegranate. The dish tasted as good as it read. I was intrigued to try taboon, too, as the ubiquity of flat breads in the Middle East convinced me they would bring something to the overall dish. I searched about for a recipe and came up with <a href="http://amiraspantry.com/palestinian-taboon-bread/" target="_blank">this</a>. I will be honest - I was absolutely seduced by the idea of making my own teeny tiny taboon - the stone ovens traditionally used to cook this bread - I have a garden covered in pebbles.<br />
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<span style="color: #783f04; font-size: large;">Taboon - a Palestinian flat bread</span><br />
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<i>1 teaspoon sugar</i><br />
<i>150ml warm water</i><br />
<i>15g dried active yeast</i><br />
<i>250g strong plain white flour</i><br />
<i>75g strong plain wholemeal wheat flour</i><br />
<i>Big pinch salt</i><br />
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<i>Dissolve the sugar in the warm water then add the yeast, stir briefly and leave for about five minutes till it starts to foam.</i><br />
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<i>Mix the flours and salt in a large bowl, make a well in the centre and add the yeast liquid. Stir to bring it together, adding a little more warm water if needed to make a pliable dough. Knead the dough on a lightly floured bench for about ten minutes till it is smooth and elastic.</i><br />
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<i>Put the dough into a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a clean cloth and leave somewhere warm for about an hour till the dough has doubled in size. Punch it down, split the dough into four and knead each piece for another minute.</i><br />
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<i>If you want to go the taboon route, heat your oven to its hottest setting. Cover a flat baking tray with pebbles - I washed mine in boiling water first to rid them of their 'gardenness' - and put them into the oven while it heats.</i><br />
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<i>Just with your fingers pull each ball of dough out into a vague approximation of a circle, fairly thin but not too much, you want to end up with nice chewy bread rather than pita style puffs. Put 2 circles of dough straight onto the tray of stones and return to the very hot oven. </i><br />
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<i>They will cook in a couple of minutes, puffing slightly, picking up a bit of colour. Take the cooked breads out and add the next two. Repeat the process. </i><br />
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Voila! Done.<br />
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The bread was great - the little bit of wholemeal flour added a lovely texture and chewiness. We ate a couple with dinner with the rest in the freezer. They will be perfect with big bowls of soup in the not too distant future.<br />
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* A note about the lentil and aubergine recipe - the quantities for the pomegranate molasses are seriously out - there's far too much. I added less than half the 150ml and it made the lentils decidedly sour. A quick <a href="https://chefindisguise.com/2014/11/02/romanieh-lentils-and-eggplants-cooked-in-pomegranate-sauce/" target="_blank">google </a>reveals that the 150ml should be <b>pomegranate juice</b> or substitute 2 tablespoons of molasses and the juice of 2 lemons, which I think will make a much better dish.<div class="blogger-post-footer">&alt=rss</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21050809.post-36485788328278585872016-06-02T16:03:00.001+00:002016-06-02T16:03:11.575+00:006 places to eat in Glasgow, one to avoid and one lovely food shop<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Bank holiday weekend - why is there a holiday on the last Monday in May? - and the man and I decide on a little trip to Glasgow. By train. Specifically by sleeper. Which given how physically dinky this country is, what that means is a train that leaves just before midnight that - I think it goes round and round the perimeter of these sceptred isles till just after 6am then chugs into Glasgow Central. It's fun.<br />
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Early arrival needs proper breakfast so, after a little googling, I'd found the famous Cafe Gandolfi, close to the station, open from 8, and serving a full Scottish. Gorgeous high ceilinged room, friendly staff and a menu that suggested it takes 30 minutes for a fry up as it was all to be done properly. Looking good. Unfortunately what was eventually served was decidedly underwhelming - a sausage that was warm but a bit cold at one end, bacon so dry it was difficult to chew, a potato scone that was so hard it wasn't possible to cut with the knife, a small sad fried egg and a slice of utterly magnificent Stornaway black pudding. The man had cleverly ordered the black pudding with poached eggs so he ate much better than me!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Met a man in the bar on the train, he recommended the Mussel Inn</td></tr>
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After our unimpressive breakfast we had a 2 hour walk around the city, guided by students from the School of Art, looking at a lot of extraordinary architecture loosely connected by Rennie Macintosh and his wife Mary. Really hungry by the time it was finishing, by chance we walked past the Mussel Inn, still serving lunch. Made a mental note of the location and scampered back for brilliant huge bowls of steaming mussels - one with shallots, garlic and cream and one with chilli and coriander, both fabulous. Only mistake was to order a single bowl of chips - the bowl was not large and the chips were amazing. Should have been two...<br />
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Dinner was booked a little way out into the burbs to <a href="http://111bynico.co.uk/#menuPage" target="_blank">111 by Nico</a>, a small bistro nestled into an unassuming row of shops with a Spar and laundrette for company. They served wild mushroom soup in an espresso cup as an amuse - like a deep rich hit of the forest, it set the standard high for the meal to come.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">loved the ham hough, crisp toastie wrapped shreds of ham served with shreds and small balls of fresh apple and shreds of fennel and just pleasure in every mouthful</span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">the man had smoked mackerel, the oiliness complemented with crisp asparagus and new potatoes, all brought together with an egg in the magic way that eggs have</span></span></td></tr>
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Mains were only slightly less successful - I had the duck, which came as a few little nuggets of pan fried bits, like yesterdays leftovers, but well served with a trio of green veg all perfectly rendered and sauced. The man was seduced by pork belly, which was a lovely slice of meat but came, oddly, with the listed ricotta and some slices of salami, not sure why. Though the peas and wild garlic were great it didn't quite come together as a dish.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The man, as always, had dessert - coffee creme brûlée with instant coffee. Meh.</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">A very enjoyable dinner, a definite recommend.</span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">To <a href="http://www.thefinniestonbar.com/" target="_blank">Finnieston</a> next day for lunch, more pub than restaurant really, and by 2pm the punters were largely settled with gin and happy chat. The menu is mostly fishy and despite coming across both sides of an A3 sheet the waiter also recites a list of the specific specials, the market fish and soup of the day. Add some complicated additions of </span>sauces and sides for some but not all of the dishes we needed the excellent negroni and scientific gin cocktail to get our heads round it all. I wasn't feeling entirely confident at this point about lunch.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">3 with crispy bacon and haggis crumb with whisky mist thinking they'd be local specials but the crumb was more sand and the mist simply evaporates - holiday tragedy. </span></span></td></tr>
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They do serve oysters so I ordered 3 plain - which were extremely fine, salty and fresh. The man's scallops with curried parsnip and salty fingers was a definite hit - there's a theme of adding curry notes to a lot of dishes we see round town, and sometimes it works.<br />
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Salmon fillet with sides of zatar beetroot and just perfect buttered greens had the man grinning with delight. My cod flaked to perfect petals the better to dunk into black olive paste which worked so well with the fennel salad and more chips. Great lunch. Dessert was a luxury version of rice pudding for the man - nothing in the world would convince me to eat it, but hey, he loved it but was defeated by the size. Another recommend, feel like I'm on a roll.<br />
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Quick mention for the nearby store, <a href="http://www.rootsfruitsandflowers.com/" target="_blank">Roots Fruits & Flowers</a>, that sells great food and smells for all the world like an old fashioned health food store. I was expecting something modern and shiny and was delighted with the simplicity we found. Bought lots of treats - bread, smoked salmon, some minute steaks and other bits and pieces to feed us at home for the rest of the weekend, with an enormous Stornaway black pudding to take home as my holiday memento.<br />
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Sunday lunch was at <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/oct/17/ox-and-finch-glasgow-restaurant-review-marina-oloughlin" target="_blank">Ox & Finch</a>, a newish gastro pub style restaurant that sees itself as world class but which is really just fine. I don't mind the sharing plates and food delivered whenevs to suit the kitchen - it's the dull explanations that come with it that does my head in. You have been to this kind of place. Started with the seafood cocktail and it was, by any definition, totally amazeballs. Shiny fresh sweet crab and crayfish spiked through with chilli and lime and dotted about with avocado cream it disappeared in a moment. There was griddled asparagus, slightly underdone and a sour back note of old fat, but served with good chunks of tasty sausage and another day another egg. Roasted carrots come with a generous dusting of spice and a scatter of feta chunks. Like it. Slow cooked hogget pulls to easy shreds and comes with bouncy balls of Israeli couscous and middle eastern spicing,<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">dishes with a debt to Ottolenghi</td></tr>
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The final dish is hangar steak, perfectly tender rosy middle with expertly charred edges the meat is rounded out with a very good blue cheese and, a current favourite of more than just mine, char grilled baby gem lettuce. Oddly on arrival we were told we could have the table till 3,15, giving us an hour and a quarter. Our allowed time up we didn't stay for dessert or coffee or digestif. When we left there was plenty of available tables for the non existent late diners...<br />
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Monday was our last day, left our stuff at the station and headed to <a href="http://www.hutchesonsglasgow.com/" target="_blank">Hutchesons</a> for another shot at a good fry up, this time in an elegant room. Wow - such a contrast to the first. I was delighted with properly charred rump steak done medium rare with egg and grilled tomatoes, the fairly ordinary toast is forgivable. The man LOVED the full Scottish - pudding, sausage, bacon, egg, tomato, home made beans and home fries - which are golden sauté - all of it fresh. With toast. Same price as Gandolfi and a thousand times better.<br />
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Enough to get us through a lovely day at the Burrell Collection and a long wander in Pollok Gardens in the spring sunshine and keep us going till the last meal of the trip, fab local Italian at <a href="http://eusebideli.com/" target="_blank">Eusebi Deli</a>. Recognisable to me as the kind of place I ate at as a kid in Wollongong where post war immigrants set up little cafes and community centres serving great pasta and pizza in basically cheerful environments. Loved it. We shared silky slices of beef carpaccio with a fine dice of tomato and a mighty lump of burrata with a gorgeous aubergine paste with fingers of fresh foccacia - so good the people at the next table needed to know what it was so they could order it next time.<br />
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Then we had pizza of course, with sausage and wild broccoli and malfatti - little ricotta and spinach dumplings, light as air and a treat to eat. The man went for gelato, two scoops of chocolate, enough to finish us off. Serious recommend.<br />
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">&alt=rss</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21050809.post-36453055685285691632016-05-10T16:52:00.000+00:002016-05-10T16:52:53.176+00:00Confit Garlic<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Garlic is one of the things that makes my life complete. I eat it practically daily in one form or another, crushed raw into salads and small plate type things, cooked gently into the base of braises and stews, tossed with abandon into roasting trays with meat and all kinds of vegetables, beaten to a paste with salt to stir into fresh mayonnaise, slivers crisped to golden for an unexpected crunch in salads, flipped through noodles and stir fries, mashed into butter and cream cheese for garlic bread. You get the idea - the list goes on....<br />
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It is used in most cuisines around the world with the exception of subgroups like Jains who don't do garlic or onion, carrot or potato either - which would leave me thoroughly discombobulated. It is surprisingly complex in flavour depending on the cooking methods, just adding to its brilliant versatility.<br />
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I thought I'd tried pretty much every permutation until I came across the idea of garlic confit. Mostly I tend to associate confit with duck and leave it at that but it is a much broader and well loved method of preserving that can also be used with fruit and vegetables and, though I've not tried this at home, is apparently just a fabulous way to cook any kind of animal tongue, larks included presumably.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Rcst36pTr1Q/VzIIip2MMeI/AAAAAAAAERk/NBr48zB8TJQHcdZYsGNm14CAC2foviX3wCKgB/s1600/IMG_1942.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="french duck" border="0" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Rcst36pTr1Q/VzIIip2MMeI/AAAAAAAAERk/NBr48zB8TJQHcdZYsGNm14CAC2foviX3wCKgB/s640/IMG_1942.JPG" title="Confit duck on roasting tray" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Confit duck warmed in the oven to serve</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
This makes sense because to confit you submerge the ingredient in oil - or sugar syrup for fruits - and slow cook it making for a very tender result with no appreciable loss of moisture or flavour. It is a really seductive way to prep your duck legs for the winter as the longer they sit untouched on the pantry shelf the more tender the flesh becomes till it really does just melt in your mouth.<br />
<br />
The same is true of garlic, I'm pleased to say. I bought a LOT of garlic and cooked it down and have spent the last few weeks adding garlic oil to everything, mashing confit cloves into salad dressings and, undoubtedly my absolute favourite, toasting ciabatta and topping it with confit and salt crystals for the most decadently fabulous garlic bread ever invented. Melt a little cheese on top for variation. Try it - you'll thank me!<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RraXUrda7hQ/VzIIUo_rizI/AAAAAAAAERo/EZX3m5gZ1cwMYoQFi0TRVqhl0vuS7X-2ACKgB/s1600/IMG_0341.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="476" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RraXUrda7hQ/VzIIUo_rizI/AAAAAAAAERo/EZX3m5gZ1cwMYoQFi0TRVqhl0vuS7X-2ACKgB/s640/IMG_0341.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<br />
<span style="color: #d9d2e9; font-size: large;">Confit Garlic</span><br />
<br />
3 or 4 juicy heads of garlic<br />
Olive oil to cover<br />
<br />
Break the garlic into individual cloves, peel them and drop them into a small saucepan. This looks like a pretty daunting task before you start but is remarkably quick once you begin.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RyUN7PFY0lk/VzIIUozJKCI/AAAAAAAAERo/9Y5qbgUCUnk4MUhcYJUoS4muEXzkCBZAgCKgB/s1600/IMG_0340.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="298" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RyUN7PFY0lk/VzIIUozJKCI/AAAAAAAAERo/9Y5qbgUCUnk4MUhcYJUoS4muEXzkCBZAgCKgB/s400/IMG_0340.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A bit of a mess!</td></tr>
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Pour over just enough olive oil to cover the cloves and put the pan over a low heat. Bring to a simmer, turn the heat as low as it will go, and cook for 45 minutes.<br />
<br />
Take the pan off the heat and, using a slotted spoon transfer the softened garlic cloves to a clean jar then pour over the oil. When the contents are cool, seal the jar and keep it in the fridge.<br />
<br />
Use it with everything from a sauce for steamed vegetables to a base layer for pizza and slathered onto warm naan bread as a snack - it's definitely all good.<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ywFxzubluIs/VzIP0dWYHXI/AAAAAAAAESE/wws89FHbONg7ln5MJbrkms--sS7nBwPIwCKgB/s1600/garlic%2Bnaan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="420" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ywFxzubluIs/VzIP0dWYHXI/AAAAAAAAESE/wws89FHbONg7ln5MJbrkms--sS7nBwPIwCKgB/s640/garlic%2Bnaan.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">&alt=rss</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21050809.post-78171884092787871662016-04-21T15:48:00.002+00:002016-04-25T10:12:08.277+00:00Six Recipes for Parsnips! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5JopmnpYups/Vxjw-SLIgdI/AAAAAAAAERM/FHcJXRsBShEElLaOBe244N1iHp5pskUoQCKgB/s1600/parsnips%2Bin%2Ba%2Bbunch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5JopmnpYups/Vxjw-SLIgdI/AAAAAAAAERM/FHcJXRsBShEElLaOBe244N1iHp5pskUoQCKgB/s640/parsnips%2Bin%2Ba%2Bbunch.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Star vegetable of the week is creamy sweet parsnips, the
pale and interesting cousin of the carrot family with a delicate nutty flavour
and a lovely smell as they cook. Though Spring is definitely on the way, the market is not yet bursting with new season produce, and it's the brilliance of the last of the winter veg that will see us happily through the 'hungry gap'. I could happily eat asparagus and baby broad beans on a daily basis after the long winter of hearty dishes but so early in the season it would quickly send me broke. Time to look to the stalwarts for just a little bit more.</div>
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Parsnips have been around since at least the time of
the Romans, a ubiquitous staple long before potatoes and still a
firm favourite tucked in alongside a Sunday roast. <o:p></o:p>The name was borrowed into Middle English from the
French word pasnaie, which was derived from the Latin pastinaca and pastinaca goes back to pastinum, which means a small
gardening tool for making holes in the ground for planting (possibly
parsnips!).</div>
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There is a fabulous, if slightly gnomic saying - <i>fine words will butter no parsnips</i>. Obviously - but um, really? Before potatoes were one of the two veg to go with meat there were lots of root vegetables, often mashed and always improved if they were 'buttered up' with lashings of the the golden stuff - flattery, innit! But fine words count for nothing if there's no action to back them up and, speaking as someone who enjoys a little toast to go with her butter, mash without butter is just plain wrong. <a href="http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/fine-words-butter-no-parsnips.html" target="_blank">This source</a> offers an interesting snippet - the English were known for their habit of layering on butter to all manner of foods, much to the disgust of the Japanese who referred to Europeans in general and the English in particular as 'butter-stinkers'. A new term of abuse...</div>
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The incredible versatility of the parsnip is a bonus as Spring
tentatively replaces the winter. These winter roots are a very unfussy vegetable to use, requiring neither precision timing nor complex prep. Late in the season, as we are now, they are usually fairly big with a woody core that can be cut away if it is too substantial as the rest of the flesh is tender.</div>
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When the day dawns gloriously sunny simply peel
and grate and eat them raw or try this delightful Lebanese <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2004/oct/16/foodanddrink.shopping1">salad
with dates and yoghurt</a>. For cooler nights try the more substantial <a href="http://practicallydaily.blogspot.co.uk/2006/04/parsnip-salad.html">Curried
Parsnip and Lentil Salad</a> - parsnips seriously love spice.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--StartFragment-->
<span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Parsnips are a thing of joy when steamed and <a href="http://practicallydaily.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/parsnip-turnip-puree.html">pureed
with cream</a>, or gussied up a little
with spring onion and cooked as <a href="http://practicallydaily.blogspot.co.uk/2008/11/carrot-and-parsnip-mousses.html">individual
ramekins</a> and </span>a surprisingly delicate ingredient in <a href="http://www.greenkitchenstories.com/spiced-parsnip-cake/">cakes</a> - a
brilliant way to your five a day.<br />
<br />
One last idea, from the brilliant Heston Blumenthal, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2001/dec/22/spicesrecipes.vegetablesrecipes" target="_blank">parsnip cereal with parsnip milk</a>. I was lucky to go to <a href="http://practicallydaily.blogspot.co.uk/2009/03/dinner-at-fat-duck.html" target="_blank">dinner at the Fat Duck</a> a few years ago and one of the many magical things we ate was this cereal.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KT4Ps9_zW-U/VxjxAF_fiSI/AAAAAAAAERM/TdIyrT9LFsE8Z8XcTtfIWxLV7pKMVg6AgCKgB/s1600/Roasted%2BRoot%2BVeg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="273" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KT4Ps9_zW-U/VxjxAF_fiSI/AAAAAAAAERM/TdIyrT9LFsE8Z8XcTtfIWxLV7pKMVg6AgCKgB/s400/Roasted%2BRoot%2BVeg.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
So ppppick up a parsnip today!<br />
<br />
<i>A version of this post first appeared in the <a href="http://www.localgreens.org.uk/" target="_blank">Local Greens</a> newsletter</i><br />
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<!--EndFragment--><div class="blogger-post-footer">&alt=rss</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21050809.post-57260010626500207452016-03-22T17:38:00.000+00:002016-03-22T17:38:12.676+00:00Roasted Blood Orange, Fennel and Shallot Salad<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The weather is slowly meandering towards spring, some days at least, but the new season produce is sadly still quite some way behind. I am definitely hankering for brighter, sharper, lighter than slow cooked casseroles ladled onto clouds of mash, rich soups thickened with cream or pasta swimming contentedly in pools of cheesy sauce - and like as not a glistening tranche of garlic bread on the side. Apart from anything else I seem to be growing an arse the size of the world. I'm calling it my end of season look.<br />
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The trick to sliding gracefully into spring in early March is to look for new and better salad combinations using the last of the winter veg and supplementing it with some of the tasty produce of nearby sunnier climes. Citrus, particularly Italian, is a lovely thing at this time of year and much of the best of it comes from Sicily which has the optimum winter temperature range of around 13-29 C, perfect for growing blood oranges. Now blood oranges are a strange fruit, not one I knew at all as a kid and a complete surprise the first time I came across one. They are much the same size as a usual orange, with the same lightly pitted skin. Although it is orange in colour is also has a delicate reddish tinge, like raw sunburn on fair skin. But this is still indisputably an orange. Then when you cut it open, particularly late in the season, the flesh is red - anything from a few traces running through the segments to fully deeply carmine as though the heart of the fruit has suffered unbelievable trauma and bled all the way out to the skin. They are a thing of extraordinary beauty with a sweet taste with a faintly bitter edge and, apparently, <a href="http://whfoods.org/genpage.php?tname=dailytip&dbid=253" target="_blank">three times as much vitamin C</a> as ordinary oranges, at least if you believe what I read on the internet.<br />
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This has become my current favourite salad for lots of reasons - it is easy, it is quick, it smells lovely, it tastes amazing, is pretty as a picture, it's not expensive, it's great warm or cold and is a treat in lunch boxes for a day or two. It has contrasting flavours and textures which makes every mouthful different. The first time I made it I served it with a <a href="http://practicallydaily.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/kuku-ye-sabzi.html" target="_blank">Persian herbed omelette</a> and another salad of <a href="http://practicallydaily.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/aubergine-salad-with-walnut-yoghurt.html" target="_blank">aubergine, yoghurt and walnuts</a> and the next time with crisp skinned rare fleshed duck breast and soy and citrus dressed noodles. Both meals were definite highlights of the week.<br />
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<span style="color: #f6b26b; font-size: large;">Roasted Blood Orange, Fennel and Shallot Salad</span><br />
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<i>Serves 4 as a side dish</i><br />
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1 large, nicely rounded fennel bulb or 2 smaller ones<br />
6 banana shallots<br />
2 blood oranges - or ordinary navel oranges if you can't find any<br />
2 tablespoons olive oil<br />
<br />
Line a heavy baking sheet with parchment. Cut the base and the 'fingers' away from the fennel then cut the bulb in half from top to bottom. Cut out the core, then cut each half in two again from top to bottom. Turn the pieces onto their side and slice thinly into pieces about half a centimetre thick. Scatter on the tray.<br />
<br />
Peel the banana shallots and cut them into half centimetre rings and add to the baking tray.<br />
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Cut the oranges in half, reserving one half for later, then cut a very thin slice off the bottom of the three remaining halves. Put one half flesh side down onto the chopping board and cut into quarters then cut each quarter, flesh and skin, into half centimetre slices and add to the baking tray. Repeat with the remaining two halves.<br />
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Drizzle with olive oil, season lightly with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and toss everything together. Put into the oven at 200C/400F and roast for about 40-50 minutes, stirring the mixture every 15 minutes or so, until the edges are nicely caramelised.<br />
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Remove the tray from the oven and squeeze over about half the juice from the reserved orange. Tip it all into a pretty bowl, mix gently and taste. Add more orange juice, salt and pepper till you have your perfect balance. Serve while still warm or at room temperature.<br />
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">&alt=rss</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21050809.post-8584814601525907422016-03-15T16:00:00.000+00:002016-03-15T16:02:24.182+00:00Cocktail Delight<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Come Thursday it's St Patrick's Day and the whole world celebrates all things Irish, raising a glass in honour of the country's rich cultural heritage. A wonderful notion and not actually one that needs to be played out with Guinness, as I discovered to my delight this week. <a href="http://www.bordbia.ie/Pages/Default.aspx" target="_blank">Bord Bia </a>- the Irish agency that so brilliantly promotes the fine food and drink of Ireland held <i>Spirit of Sharing</i> at the beautiful Irish Embassy in London. As guests of the Ambassador of Ireland, Daniel Mulhall and his wife Greta we were greeted by around twenty drinks producers offering the chance to sample some of the high end spirits and craft beers being produced with a great deal of skill and passion across the country - he really was spoiling us!<br />
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The world is full of Irish pubs, even in Vietnam we came across Finnegan's and Paddy's and The Dublin Gate, and as Ambassador Mulhall pointed out in his welcome they spread a cheerful warmth, making people feel they know the Irish as a delightfully charming and sociable race. As cultural stereotypes go it's a positive winner. The world of Irish drinks extends far beyond Guinness and Baileys, evidenced that night by the fascinating range of craft beers, whiskey - spelt like Irish way - and premium gin. Award winning writer and whiskey aficionado Dominic Roskrow spoke with admiration for the drinks on offer, identifying the skill with which the Irish producers are positioning their wares as a high quality mid market offering, cleverly slotting into the gap between mass market blends for general consumption and high end single malts that can reach into a pricing stratosphere beloved of collectors and show offs. They specialise in classic whiskeys like that produced by <a href="http://irishwhiskey.com/hyde-irish-whiskey-review/" target="_blank">Hyde</a>, a single malt named after the 1st President of Ireland, Douglas Hyde, which has a rich peppery finish after sweet honey and caramel notes upfront.<br />
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The range of craft beers available was fascinating, a myriad of styles expertly produced and all with a story attached. <a href="http://www.boynebrewhouse.ie/" target="_blank">Boyne Brewhouse</a> make the bitter and fruity Born in a Day, an APA using Australian hops brought over by Aine O'Hara, Head Distiller and Brewer. Aine, a Galway native, honed her craft for seven years as Brewer with Matilda Bay, Australia's most awarded craft brewery - her first beer for Boyne is a nod to her time in Oz. The <a href="https://www.blogger.com/"><span id="goog_101703393"></span>White Hag Brewing Company<span id="goog_101703394"></span></a> use local heather and peat from the bogs along with Irish oatmeal to create their range of beers, named for the mythical creature that is perhaps mother nature herself. Chameleon or spirit of Ireland she's well honoured with their delicate IPA and their toasty award winning Oatmeal Stout. One of my favourites on the night was O'Hara's Irish stout, a rich, complex beer that would be a brilliant match for smoked salmon or a dozen spanking fresh oysters.<br />
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Most surprising for me was the number of gins being made, all of them premium quality. The first one I tried was an apple based gin, Kilkenny Crystal Gin made at <a href="http://highbankorchards.com/" target="_blank">Highbank Orchards</a> using the organic apples and botanicals grown on their own estate, which produces a smooth and delicate gin that is so fine it can be drunk without necessarily the addition of tonic. They also produce a superbly flavoured rich apple syrup that is like the very taste of autumn, and would no doubt be lovely over ice-cream or drizzled onto warm slices of pie.<br />
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Cocktail maestro <a href="http://www.allaboutthecocktail.com/consultancy.html" target="_blank">Charlie McCarthy</a> and his brilliant assistant were on hand to whip a few specials using this great range of drinks as their starting point. Intrigued by the gins on offer, it had to be the starting point. The gin used is Bertha's Revenge, a milk based gin - yea, really, milk! It uses whey alcohol as its base from Irish dairy farms, natural spring water and foraged botanicals and is a lovely soft fragrant thing with a little spice in the middle. Its makers, Ballyvolane, are championing grass-to-glass - something we should all get behind if it is as good as this.<br />
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;">Irish Gin Cocktail</span><br />
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Not sure what it's called but do try this at home<br />
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Put 25ml of sugar syrup, 50ml of the brilliantly named Bertha's Revenge, 10ml of Pedro Ximenez sherry and a couple of drops of Jameson's Sloe Gin into a cocktail shaker and shake, shake, shake. Pour out over ice and decorate with a black cherry and a curl of orange rind.<br />
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However you celebrate, have a happy St Patrick's Day<br />
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">&alt=rss</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21050809.post-31707823035785649752016-03-08T14:46:00.000+00:002016-03-08T14:46:44.049+00:00Salmon and Fennel Salade ComposéOnly just March but a blog about salad? Seriously not madness.<br />
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I've been away for a few weeks, in part to celebrate my delightful nieces' 21st birthday in Australia, and have loved the sunshine and abundance of light in the other hemisphere. February days of 28 degrees and blue skies is the definition of bliss after a January of 10 degrees and drizzle. The man was busy busy at work and unable to join me, so I left the freezer full of lovely things in handy tubs and flew out late one Saturday night. I came back this week to a much depleted freezer and a man offering salad as the number one suggestion for what he'd most like to eat. So happy to oblige.<br />
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In every cafe and every brasserie in every village and every town in France the menu includes a -usually a list of - salade composé. Best known is probably salade nicoise, the lovely laying out of crisp lettuce leaves to be topped with a spoonful of tuna in the centre surrounded by tomato slices, a tangle of limpid green beans, delicate slices of hard boiled egg and a scattering of salty black olives, all of it generously drizzled with vinaigrette. Add a chunk of crusty bread and you have a really fine meal, a fabulous array of colours, flavours and textures that are a thing of beauty. The sum greater than its individual parts - a really satisfying dinner any time of year, simple, healthy and filling (but not fattening). I am a fan.<br />
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There are many variations of this lovely dish, to some extent limited only by imagination and available ingredients. The defining characteristic is that the salad is composed - assembled from a variety of mini salads for the diners delectation rather than all tossed together making every bite uniform. With salade composé every bite is different as the various tasty elements come together in each mouthful making it a joy to eat. Try bitter chicory with sharp and creamy blue cheese and sweet slices of pear or oak leaf topped with beetroot and rare slices of pigeon breast and a scattering of toasted walnuts. One of my French café favourites is salade chèvre chaud - light greens topped with oozing warm goat's cheese, raisins and a light honey dressing. Add a hunk of crusty bread to achieve perfection.<br />
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My salad of choice this week was ready in ten minutes. After minimal peeling and chopping, no cooking at all and just the one tin to open, I presented a delightful assembly of baby gem topped with crisp fennel, cucumber and mixed sprouts, a burst of colour from crunchy slices of red pepper finished with a generous portion of tinned salmon and a drizzle of classic vinaigrette - seasoned olive oil and lemon juice mixed 3:1. Don't forget the bread!<br />
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">&alt=rss</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21050809.post-21565951681087078132015-12-02T14:56:00.000+00:002015-12-02T14:56:57.229+00:00Salted Pumpkin Seed Chocolates<span style="font-size: x-large;">Boo! </span><br />
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It has been quite some time in the wilderness but I'm thinking it's time to resurrect Feast with Bron. I miss having a place to write about food adventures and keep track of new favourites and the occasional disaster. The plan is to blog from a broader base than just Borough and market days but still go with the pleasures of eating. My heart and soul is firmly rooted in the buying, making and eating of great food. I'm a greedy cow at heart - but always that's happy to share.<br />
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Ages ago I bought the <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2012/jun/17/italian-recipes-polpo-russell-norman" target="_blank">Polpo cookbook</a> and an early favourite was roasted butternut, served just warm, draped with torn proscuitto then sprinkled with a grating of salted ricotta and a handful of toasted pumpkin seeds. All the elements were individually good, together making a lovely plate of food but easily the most amazing element was the lightly toasted seeds. They taste amazing - rich and smooth and deeply savoury like a quick crunch of luxury scattered across the plate.<br />
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And so easy! Small dry pan, gentle heat, add seeds and toss occasionally for a couple of minutes till they go from green to brown and the first one or two pop and you're done.<br />
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I started adding them to other salads for a hint of richness and crunch, then as a textured finish to creamy soups and a slightly decadent tasting addition to soft pasta sauces. They were so good in every incarnation - like a little miracle flavour bomb every time. Always savoury though, their place was firmly rooted in salads and mains, pretty much where I use pumpkin flesh.<br />
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Around Halloween I came across the idea of using them in <a href="http://www.somunchlove.com/pumpkin-seed-buttercups/" target="_blank">butter chocolates</a> and I was intrigued. Very easy to see how the rich smoothness of the seeds would be enhanced to eleven blended with butter and wrapped in chocolate. I played with the recipe a bit and have found my perfect version.<br />
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<span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: large;">Salted Pumpkin Seed Chocolates</span><br />
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<i>These are a little bit fiddly but very easy and will make a fabulous addition to Christmas excess or pretty gifting to those you really do love</i><br />
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Makes 24</div>
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100g pumpkin seeds<o:p></o:p></div>
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40g unsalted butter<o:p></o:p></div>
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40g icing sugar<o:p></o:p></div>
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½ - 1 teaspoon sea salt crystals<o:p></o:p></div>
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350g dark chocolate<o:p></o:p></div>
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In a small frying pan dry fry the seeds over a medium heat
until they are golden and smell rich and toasty. Allow to cool, then set aside a
tablespoon of seeds for later.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Tip the rest of the seeds into a bowl with the butter and sugar and grind with a stick blender till you have a smooth paste. Stir through the salt crystals.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Set 24 small paper cases onto a baking tray.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water,
making sure the base of the bowl stays clear of the water. Spoon 2 teaspoons of
the liquid chocolate into the base of each paper case then refrigerate for 15
minutes or so until the chocolate sets. </div>
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Leave the remaining chocolate in the
bowl over the pan of hot water so it stays liquid,<o:p></o:p></div>
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Once the chocolate has set put a spoonful of the pumpkin
seed paste on top and smooth it to almost the edge of the set chocolate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Spoon another 2 teaspoons of chocolate over
the top and add a couple of the reserved seeds to decorate. Put the tray of
finished chocolate cups back into the fridge to set.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Share cautiously, eat with gusto!</div>
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">&alt=rss</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21050809.post-35837984331767488082015-02-26T16:25:00.001+00:002015-03-11T09:02:11.184+00:00Rhubarb & Ginger Cake<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The vegetable that everyone loves to use as a fruit, rhubarb is simply wonderful. Special whenever it's about it's a real treasure now during this bleak end of February. Deep into the 'hungry gap' - named for the lack of fresh new produce yet to mature whilst the last of the winter crops and storage of root veg and brassica's is running out - the prospect of another week of turnip mash or leek soup, boiled carrots and roasted beetroots to finish the month is less than delightful. I love these veg - along with parsnips and swede, celeriac and cabbage, mushrooms and kale - but it's been the backbone of the veg bag for months. Into the midst of the gloom early forced rhubarb appears at the market, the slender pink stalks a harbinger of spring and the very definition of joy.<br />
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Rhubarb grew first in Asia, the cold climes of Mongolia and Siberia were ideal. It was traded along the Silk Road into China and was taken into Italy sometime around the 16th century, from where it arrived in England in the early 1600's. Initially it was mostly medicinal - some strains are useful in the treatment of lung and liver ailments but it seems the wrong strain was introduced to England so cultivation as a source of drugs failed to thrive. Then in 1817 there happened one of those freak accidents that changed the fortunes of rhubarb completely. A gardener at Chelsea Physic Garden unwittingly covered the rhubarb in soil during the winter and later, when the dirt was cleared, rather than finding all the plants to be dead there were tender shoots that were far superior in flavour to the outdoor variety. So the idea of 'forcing' was born. Commercial growers in London began deliberately covering the plants with soil or manure in order to produce the blanched stems, some going further by lifting the roots and moving them inside heated sheds to simulate the arrival of spring.<br />
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In the 1870's forced rhubarb began to be grown in Yorkshire - the area now so famous for it that in 2010 it was awarded the Protected Designation of Origin by the European Commission. In perhaps the second lucky accident for forcing, the frost pocket holding Leeds, Wakefield and Morley combined with local conditions proved to be ideal. Sheds were specially constructed for the first time, the local heavy clay soil was particularly well suited, cheap coal from the local mines made heating the forcing sheds viable, there was plenty of horse manure and 'shoddy' - a by product of the local wool industry - was a perfect mulch for the young crowns. Warmth and moisture tricked the young plants into thinking it's spring, and so it grew its lovely bright pink stems; apparently you can hear the rhubarb crackle as it grows, something I would love to witness. Picking was done by hand in candlelight, pretty much the method still used today.<br />
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So much rhubarb was produced each day and sent to market that the Great Northern Railway Company ran a special train - the Rhubarb Special! It ran nightly from just before Christmas till Easter to transport the crop to London Spitalfields and Covent Garden Markets, at its peak taking 200 tonnes of rhubarb a day. Imagine that.<br />
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It's a much smaller industry now but the forced rhubarb grown in Yorkshire is still very special indeed, its elegant sourness a lovely match for the delicate pink of the stalks. The care that goes into its production is well rewarded by showcasing the stalks. Rather than simply stewing them down to make crumble - my favourite way of using the later outdoor varieties - I really wanted to make cake. This recipe comes slightly adapted from <a href="https://bandofbakers.wordpress.com/2014/08/26/recipe-monday-charlies-rhubarb-and-ginger-cake/" target="_blank">Band of Bakers</a>. The rhubarb is a perfect match with stem ginger, for both its sweetness and the tiny prickle of heat.<br />
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<b><span style="color: magenta; font-size: large;">Rhubarb and Ginger Cake</span></b><br />
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You really need to use forced rhubarb for this cake, as the outdoor grown stuff would be too bitter<br />
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140g unsalted butter<br />
200g soft light brown sugar<br />
200g wholegrain spelt flour<br />
2 teaspoons baking powder<br />
2 eggs, whisked in a small bowl<br />
5 pieces stem ginger in syrup, chopped fine, plus 2 tablespoons of syrup from the jar<br />
Rhubarb stems, bright as you like, cut into 19cm lengths to fit the cake tin<br />
Caster sugar for dredging<br />
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Preheat the oven to 180 C/350 F/gas 4. Grease and line a 20cm square cake tin, I used a loose bottomed one for ease of turning out.<br />
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Melt the butter in a large saucepan over a medium heat, then stir in the brown sugar till fully combined, this takes a few minutes until the sugar melts properly into the hot butter. Leave to cool for a few minutes.<br />
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Sift the flour and baking powder together and stir into the butter and sugar mixture, along with the eggs and chopped ginger, until well combined. Scrape the batter into the prepared cake tin and level it off with the edge of spatula.<br />
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Lay the rhubarb stems onto the top of the cake - try to squeeze in as many as possible as they shrink a bit during baking. Bake in the centre of the oven for around 45 minutes until the cake has risen and a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.<br />
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As soon as the cake comes out of the oven brush the top with generous amounts of ginger syrup from the stem ginger jar and dredge with caster sugar. Leave the cake to cool in the tin for about 20 minutes then turn it out onto a wire rack, rhubarb side up.<br />
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Serve warm with thick cream or ice cream as a dessert or else cold, sliced generously for afternoon tea.<br />
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Guaranteed to brighten your week.<br />
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">&alt=rss</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21050809.post-70321670842915062252015-02-18T19:22:00.000+00:002015-02-18T19:31:12.004+00:00Ha Noi Food Tales<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's the mopeds that are the surprise. Before we got to Hanoi in December I'd read a couple of bits on they net about how to cross the road and smirked. I can already do that! Then you're confronted with a seeming unstoppable river of thousands of mopeds and what you want is on the other side of the road. No lights or if there is no one pays them much heed. One way streets have bikes coming at you both ways as do the pavements. The essence of the instruction is walk out confidently and consistently into the road and you will get to the other side. I was jet lagged, hadn't slept for 30 hours or more so I wasn't entirely convinced.. But made it over had some bun with grilled pork made it back and had a little sleep. Out later that night we walked and crossed vastly busier roads and it struck me that we were all sharing the road - if you move at a considered pace and do nothing unexpected the moped riders factor that in and swerve around you as well as each other and everyone keeps moving.</div>
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After the flight there is the humidity and the scratchy eye tiredness. I booked a table at <a href="http://www.caugorestaurant.com/" target="_blank">Cau Go</a> so we could eat well without too much challenge. The room is lovely, five flights up above the lake and the manic river of traffic, gently lit and delightfully cool. Busy but not full with a fairly even split of locals and tourists. The proffered menu is long and broken into sections and it's so hard to make choices. In the end we start with deep fried tofu with ginger and lemongrass and fresh beef rolls topped with shrimp and a slightly too sweet dipping sauce.<br />
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We moved on to a slightly sour salad of morning glory and marinated beef, prawns sautéed with garlic and chilli, BBQ pork on sticks - meat on sticks is always a winner for me and a bowl of steamed rice with a separate bowl of ground toasted sesame seeds and peanut which is sensational, and will be emulated chez nous upon our return. Looking around it was clear that what the tables of tourists were ordering was different to the tables of locals who all had hotspots and soups, noodles and salads. But I have to say our inaugural dinner was very enjoyable, service was warm and helpful and the food was very good. Slept the sleep of the undead till dawn and woke to a cooler day.</div>
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Was excited for day 2 - we had a <a href="http://streetfoodtourshanoi.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">street food tour</a> booked for a couple of hours in the middle of the day and I was hoping for great things - not just to eat well but also to understand how to eat here. Our fabulous guide Tu picked us up at the hotel around midday and we set off along a street of love hotels - inter generational families coexisting makes for little privacy, specially for couples wanting to be loved up. Rent by the hour, happiness all round. We jumped into a taxi and headed to 105 Quan Than for bun ca - fish noodle soup. I admit to being less than overjoyed at the idea, not a big fan of strong fish but I was nonetheless very curious to try. First we were taught how to sit on the tiny little red stools that are used everywhere at street places in Vietnam. You must crouch low then sit directly onto the stool to stop it collapsing. Don't wriggle about or the legs will break - this is not the furniture of my fat white western arse! The caff was busyish, just a concrete shell with the tiny table and chairs combo that I last sat on in infant school scattered about topped with plates of lime quarters, little bowls of fiery chilli paste and mugs of wooden chopsticks.<br />
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Tu grabbed a lime and rubbed the ends of the chopsticks hard, this is the way to be sure they're clean. He was trying to reassure us I think but Hanoi seems fairly clean generally and these little food stalls everywhere equally so. Mix <i>everything everything everything</i> says Tu, handing out bowls full of flat rice noodles, steamed fish and deep fried fish, lots of green herbs and sprouts, chilli and garlic and an astonishingly intense flavoured broth, then grabbing them back to demonstrate with chopsticks, <i>mix mix mix</i> like this. Knees up under our chin we slurped away till, two thirds of the way through Tu called <i>enough</i>! Onto the next or you'll never make it to the end.</div>
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We crossed a few roads, walking with conviction and no sudden movements, and up a few backstreets to a local market, quiet for lunch so most of the traders were stretched out behind their stalls having a little siesta while the fish swam in buckets and the great mountains of fresh greens sent out their gentle smell. Here you use herbs in great generous handfuls like the equivalent of spinach or cabbage not in the mimsy little snippets for garnish that we are much more used to in the west.<br />
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Tu explained what some of the unfamiliar ones were, breaking off sprigs and rubbing hard with his finger and thumb to release their different smells, all variations called mint, though some are redolent of fish or aniseed and not something I'd ever know as mint. We emerged out the other side of the market, past the fresh meat which you buy in just the quantity you need for the meal you are making, the stall holders prepping everything before you pay so you have only to cook when you are home.<br />
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Next stop was Pho Cuon Vinh Phong at 40 Ngu Xa Street for not cold beer to go with Pho Cuon - fresh rice wraps which I liked and Pho Chien Phong Xao Bo - puffed rice cakes with greens and marinated beef which was glorious - a brilliant mix of flavours and just fabulous textures of chewy crisp edged rice puffs, silky greens, juicy meat - highlight of the day for me.</div>
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We snaked along a few small streets, mopeds coming from all directions, beeping horns till we made it to Yen Phu Cafe,43a Pho Yen Phu, a coffee (Ca Phe) and yoghurt place. Fresh cows milk is not much in evidence in Vietnam but the family that own this place use it make some seriously great yoghurt - we tried both the passion fruit, best I've ever had, and one topped with fermented rice which I thought may well be disgusting but was in fact a great match of flavour with the sourness of the yoghurt and the moment before becoming alcohol intensity of the rice. We climbed a narrow staircase at the back then walked hunched over to the window under strings of party lights to sit again on tiny stools and had local coffee - thick and rich, topped with sweetened condensed milk over ice for a great pick me up. Recommend it for a coffee fix.<br />
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Next stop was a little place selling a local speciality - sounded unlikely when Tu suggested it, and one I won't be repeating at home. Called egg coffee and egg beer it's basically egg white whipped with sugar, and the used to top hot coffee - not a good idea - or poured into the bottom of a glass and topped with beer - a truly awful idea. Anyone makes you the offer - just say no.</div>
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We wandered through the enormous wholesale market - lots of pound shop style tat in bright colours in tiny shops tucked up under the railway line. Everything is packed away in the eaves every night using ladders then brought down and displayed again next morning. The alley ways are narrow and mostly the mopeds are slower, and every few metres someone is burning one of the solid blocks of fuel and cooking noodles or meat on sticks or simmering soup. Our final stop was for Pho Tiu - another bowl of noodles, thicker this time and topped with pork and chilli and more garlic. Tu explained that garlic too is used as a vegetable, and I know that for the first few days at least I woke every day feeling like my entire head was made from garlic so much did I eat.</div>
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Was a great tour, saw many streets I'd never have been down otherwise and got a list of recommendations for other places to try as an added bonus. We tried the first one that night, not really hungry it has to be said - we took a taxi to the Sofitel Plaza up to the summit bar for cocktails and the most stunning view. </div>
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Even that high the traffic looks busy and the horns keep beeping but the mood is relaxed and the service charming. It's not far from Quan Kien Restaurant, 143 Nhgi Tam Street, which Tu said is his current favourite place in Hanoi. Take your shoes off and go up a couple of stairs to an expanse of polished wood dotted with low tables and a scatter of cushions. There's not much English spoken but there is a good translation of the menu so we sat on the ground, giggled a little at the Insect Menu but didn't order from it, choosing instead rice sticks deep fried with chicken skin, grilled pork on skewers and the lovely young waiter who was pushed forward by the others whenever we needed help - I'm guessing he was the only one with any English, checked we liked spicy before he added tofu to our order and then pointed at some greens when I asked which were best so we added them too.<br />
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Soon we got lots of great food, and a couple of beers, the greens were like a cross between bok choy and broccoli and came lightly steamed with shreds of ginger - perfect. The chewy bits of pork were smoky and moreish, the rice, surprisingly, came as big fat logs, hotter than hell to start with but crackly textured and a little bit dry to eat. Liked the tofu, it all seems to be made in house wherever you end up in Hanoi, but was less keen on the sauce, but together it made for a great meal and a really enjoyable evening. Just a wonderful day all together.</div>
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Next day the last of the jet lag caught up with a sleepless night and acclimatising to the local conditions meant I felt a bit queasy but well enough later to see the water puppets.<br />
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What a delight! Puppeteers stand behind screens in water three feet deep and, with puppets manipulated on the end of long poles, tell all manner of magical tales across the water while a small group at the side of the stage above accompany the with music, singing and a brilliant collection of sound effects. </div>
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A good nights' sleep heals many things so I started the day with pho bo, which I slurped down with gusto, much to the consternation of the man. Seems he really does believe soup should never be eaten earlier than lunchtime - but he's wrong. Had an interesting morning at the Fine Arts Museum, fascinating collection and the building was entirely empty except for us and another man with his young son, bliss indeed. After a tour of one of the many temples we had a fairly abysmal lunch at Au Lac, set up by Imagine Asia, our equally abysmal tour organiser. Waste of a good food opportunity. Spent a total tourist afternoon, wandering by the lake and into occasional shops before cocktails at <a href="http://verticale-hanoi.com/madame-hien.html" target="_blank">Madame Hien</a> in their lovely garden. The menu looked interesting so we returned there later for dinner. We ordered far too much, the food came in very generous plates, but it was interesting collection of food from the different areas of the country. North, central and south Vietnam are quite distinct culturally and food wise - the north being most savoury and quite straightforward, the centre is more complex and spicy and the south has the strongest tendency to sweetness in all things.<br />
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We started with rolls but unlike the ones we'd had so far these were very thin, cooked rice crepes stuffed with greens and prawns, so an interesting mix of cooked and raw, with the crepe particularly making it a more substantial dish than the fresh rolls we had the first night. I thought it was an Indian influence but in fact turmeric is used in Central Viet cooking and it was this that made the juice that went with tofu wrapped in banana leaf and deep fried. We were presented with a small package to unwrap to release the great smell of turmeric and all of it atop a raft of steamed greens, a lovely and very substantial dish. We had another version of grilled pork - yes I am addicted and this is proving a delightful country to get my fix which too was a generous serving so the final dish of morning glory with garlic was simply too much, a shame as it tasted great.<br />
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And that's it, Hanoi done apart from eggs sunny side up for breakfast before the four hour drive to Ha Long Bay.<br />
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">&alt=rss</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21050809.post-29876009930356976582014-09-04T10:41:00.000+00:002014-09-04T10:44:01.739+00:00Blackened Corn Salad<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Picture this - a day in September, sunshine, blue skies, balmy breeze - where are you? I have all that and I'm still in London - and definitely surprised. Have decided to send it off with a bang, this glorious summer, in the hope it will come again to spread delight. The forecast is for summer at least till the end of the week so I am having barbecue daily - and that's not something you hear said much in Blighty. Tonight there will be an experiment - a vegetarian version of the usual meat fest. I'm planning skewers of halloumi, cherry tomatoes, half moons of courgette and a chunk of red onion. To go with there will be home grown cucumber with yoghurt and my new favourite blackened corn salad.<br />
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Have eaten the corn salad a few times over the summer. For the longest time I only ever ate corn on the cob boiled till tender then slathered in butter. Loved it. But all other corn requirements were met by tins or bags from the freezer. I had always assumed that to get the niblets off the core required some sort of special skill and that doing it myself would definitely result in disaster, or mush. No idea where that came from. Then recently I had some corn in my weekly veg bag and, as bbq was on the agenda, had a sudden urge to see what would happen if I cooked them first then cut the corn off. OMG it was so easy and so fabulous and I have been kicking myself - hard - for not trying it years ago. Better late than never, I guess.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Blackened Corn Salad</span><br />
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Serves 4 as a side dish<br />
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2 or 3 cobs of corn, fresh as you like<br />
2 tablespoons olive oil<br />
Juice of a lime<br />
1 finely chopped chilli, deseeded first if you don't want it too spicy<br />
2 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves<br />
Salt and pepper to taste<br />
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While your bbq heats shuck the corn, discarding the leaves and all the silky threads then brush the bare cobs with a little bit of olive oil. Put the corn over the flames and let them blacken a bit then turn to blacken the next bit till it's cooked all around. This only takes a few minutes.<br />
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Take the corn back inside and stand the pointy bit into a salad bowl while holding the stalk end - you'll probably need an oven glove - and use a sharp knife to cut all the niblets off. While the corn is still warm add the rest of the olive oil, the lime juice, chilli and coriander and mix well. Taste and add seasoning if it needs it.<br />
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Gorgeous with zesty chicken and barbecued pork chops too.<br />
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Tomorrow it's Friday so there will be steak, medium rare, with sides of roasted onion & green bean salad and beetroot with walnuts and radish tops. Saturday always seems a better day to do a little faffing, so I'm planning to simmer some belly pork strips with ginger and garlic then skewer cubes of the meat to cook again over fire to serve Viet style with bun noodles, salad, crushed peanuts and that favourite sauce of a sauce loving people, nuoc cham.<div class="blogger-post-footer">&alt=rss</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21050809.post-53987391284198686862014-08-14T13:55:00.000+00:002014-08-19T10:20:16.320+00:00Tomato Jam<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Yes really, jam! They are a fruit, really, though most often used in a savoury fashion that it's easy to forget they may have other possibilities. I love them raw and cooked at this time of year, and the lovely summer we're (still?) having has produced a juicy well flavoured crop, piled in abundance in all the shops and street markets round me. I had a few too many last week so made a big pot of this lovely jam, originally from a recipe by <a href="http://www.josepizarro.com/" target="_blank">Jose Pizarro.</a> I made and bottled a couple of kilos but you can make a small quantity for a single jar - which I did last year - and it still tastes just great. It's a bit like a marmalade rather than a very sweet jam.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Tomato Jam</span></b><br />
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Makes approximately 300ml<br />
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1kg ripe, well flavoured tomatoes<br />
125g caster sugar<br />
125g demerara sugar<br />
1 small cinnamon stick<br />
peel of 1/2 lemon<br />
peel of 1/2 orange - tie the two lots of peel together with string to make it easy to remove<br />
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Use a sharp knife to make a cross in the skin on the base of each tomato.<br />
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Bring a saucepan of water to the boil, add the tomatoes and simmer for 3 minutes.<br />
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Use a slotted spoon to remove the tomatoes from the pan and plunge them into iced water. Remove the stems and the skins - they will slip off really easily. Chop the tomatoes into 4 or 5 rough slices, making sure to catch the juice as you do.<br />
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Place the tomatoes and juice in a saucepan and leave to reduce over a low heat for 20 - 30 minutes till most of the water has evaporated. Now add the sugars, cinnamon and peels and give everything a good stir. Don't break up the cinnamon.<br />
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Slowly cook the tomatoes for at about an hour - longer if you're making a bigger batch - stirring regularly. The end result should be a sticky, firm jam that is a shiny brown red colour.<br />
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When cooked remove the cinnamon stick and the citrus peel and pour into a warm sterilised jar.<br />
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Keeps well in the fridge.<br />
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This is gorgeous slathered on hot toast for breakfast, as a side with cheeses or cold roast pork or ham. And on twitter Joanne from <a href="http://t.co/cNNYEaYKbs">joanne-eatswellwithothers.com</a> suggested having with grilled cheese on toast - definitely on my list of weekend treats to try.<br />
<a href="http://t.co/cNNYEaYKbs"><br /></a><div class="blogger-post-footer">&alt=rss</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21050809.post-15288995100613281102014-08-07T12:23:00.001+00:002014-08-07T12:23:47.036+00:00My weekly veg bag<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Have been getting <a href="http://www.localgreens.org.uk/" target="_blank">a veg bag</a> each week for a couple of months now and have settled well into using it as the starting point for the week. This week I got a lovely shiny black aubergine, some courgettes, broad beans - the man loves broad beans, a mix of little tomatoes, a big bag of chard and a bag of really tasty mixed salad leaves. The weather continues to be balmy - I am loving that - and we have cleaned up our baby Weber to make bbq treats.<br />
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Tonight, Thursday, we are out. Going to the Cinema Museum to see <a href="http://www.cinemamuseum.org.uk/2014/fuel-presents-sound-and-furys-charlie-ward/" target="_blank">Charlie Ward</a> then on for dinner at <a href="http://pizarrorestaurant.com/" target="_blank">Pizarro</a>.<br />
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I have some really special smoked salmon in the fridge so Friday night treat will be that with a big green salad, some sourdough bread on the side and grapes and cheese after. Simple but brilliant and next to no cleaning up. Actually it was forecast to rain Saturday so we decided to <span style="font-size: large;">bbq <b>Friday </b>night instead - made up the lamb skewers and some gorgeous salads, </span>plenty of mess and plenty of pleasure.<br />
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Saturday I think lamb skewers on the barbie to go with <a href="http://practicallydaily.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/aubergine-salad-with-walnut-yoghurt.html" target="_blank">aubergine and walnuts</a>, courgette and broad beans with basil oil and a roasted sweet potato salad with pumpkin seeds - all easy to prep in advance and plenty to have leftovers Sunday night. So then of course <span style="font-size: large;">it didn't rain <b>Saturday</b> - and we had plenty of salads leftover and sausages in the freezer - had to be bbq</span> again!<br />
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We had a delightful walk up the river Sunday morning after underestimating just how busy the boats to Greenwich would be with tourists and finished up near Blackfriars and this incredibly brilliant recreation of a<a href="http://www.1418now.org.uk/whats-on/dazzle-ships/" target="_blank"> dazzle ship</a>.<br />
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The <span style="font-size: large;"><i>smoked salmon on toast with salad and a fried egg was a thoroughly brilliant <b>Sunday</b> supper </i></span>after a fine lunch with lots of garlic and chillies and dumplings and noodles at the Baozoi Inn.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Monday</span></b> I'd like <a href="http://practicallydaily.blogspot.co.uk/2009/11/chilli-salt-crusted-tofu-with-wilted.html" target="_blank">chilli salt crusted tofu with wilted greens</a> We're starting on the 5:2 diet this week as we're both getting fat and need to do something about it. Breakfast will be vegetable juice and black coffee and lunch will be a mug of miso soup. The second day will be Thursday. <span style="font-size: large;">Made kuku</span> instead to use up the dill and the spinach with the last of the sweet potatoes and some cucumber.<br />
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I made a <a href="http://www.aww.com.au/food/recipes/2005/4/passionfruit-buttermilk-syrup-cake/" target="_blank">passionfruit buttermilk cake</a> that I have been hankering after for a while but had been unable to get passionfruit. Was as gorgeous as I'd hoped.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Tuesday</span></b> I'm thinking <a href="http://practicallydaily.blogspot.co.uk/2009/07/roasted-red-onion-and-green-bean-salad.html" target="_blank">roasted red onion and green beans</a> - have onions in the fruit bowl and beans growing in the garden - to go with barbecued sausages and potato salad - proper old school summer dinner! Was the <span style="font-size: large;">broccoli soup with some homemade soda bread after crackers with rillette.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;">Wednesday </span></b>I am out to lunch with friends so the simplest kind of dinner is to defrost a tub a <a href="http://www.vogue.co.uk/beauty/2012/11/14/hemsley-and-hemsley-broccoli-ginger-and-white-bean-soup" target="_blank">broccoli, ginger and white bean soup</a> from the freezer and serve with some nice bread with cheese and olives before, perhaps. The man had a whinge on, wanting steak on the barbecue so rump it is with the red onion salad and a green salad from the garden with cucumber and radish leaves - for some reason I fail miserably growing radish but the tops thrive...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The man was, of course, right!</td></tr>
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">&alt=rss</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21050809.post-20765063593015369712014-08-05T10:41:00.001+00:002014-08-05T10:41:21.040+00:00Kuku -ye Sabzi<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Kuku -ye Sabzi is a Persian dish I've been making on and off for a while. You start with leafy greens, fresh herbs and eggs. The first time I made it I was expecting a variation on a frittata or herby omelette. I was astounded to discover just how wrong I was!<br />
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The dish does require the use of 4 or 5 eggs but are there simply as a binding agent - they do a lovely job of holding everything together. The predominate flavour and texture comes from the use of large quantities of fresh herbs finely chopped with spinach or chard, and generous amounts of spring onion. It has an incredibly bold flavour, the antithesis of the gentle egginess of an omelette.<br />
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It has much in its favour - quick, easy, cheap, healthy, good hot or cold, great next day for lunch or as a central dish for a picnic. The only downside is that it's not hugely attractive to look at... but you will seduced at the first mouthful!<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Kuku -ye Sabzi</span></b><br />
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This is how I made it from memory of a piece I read in the Guardian years ago - and can no longer find - but vary it to suit - you can add turmeric or walnuts or even a little flour if you want it to set more<br />
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1 bunch spinach or other leafy green<br />
1 large bunch dill<br />
1 bunch coriander or parsley<br />
1 bunch spring onions<br />
4 -5 eggs<br />
Salt and pepper<br />
Olive oil to cook<br />
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Wash the spinach, discard any thick stalks then shred the leaves and put them into a large bowl.. Finely chop the dill and coriander, discarding the stalks and add it to the spinach. Slice the spring onions into thin rings, green and white parts, and add to the bowl. In a small bowl beat the eggs till lightly frothy and pour them over the chopped greens, season well and mix everything together well.<br />
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Heat about a tablespoon of olive oil in a small frying pan over a lowish heat then carefully tip the mixture into the pan. Even it out with a spatula then cover with a lid. Leave to cook for 6 or 7 minutes, then gently lift the edges to check that the base is set.<br />
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To cook the top I like to tip the kuku out onto a plate by holding a plate over the pan and quickly flipping it upside down then slide the kuku back into the pan, uncooked side down, and cook for a further 3 or 4 minutes. It works well so long as the base is set. But if that seems an adventure too far simply finish it off under the grill.<br />
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Onc cooked, slide it onto a plate and leave to cool a bit or entirely.<br />
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This was the first day for the 2 element of 5:2 so I served it with some roasted sweet potato salad and sliced cucumber for a richly flavoured - but lightweight - supper. A dollop of yoghurt would not go astray if you like a creamy element.<br />
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">&alt=rss</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21050809.post-22658392521102113472014-07-07T17:25:00.002+00:002014-07-07T17:25:27.650+00:00Fish Fingers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I have loved fish fingers ever since I was a kid, my mum always had a packet or five in the freezer for a quick and easy tea - fish fingers, mountain of mash and lots of peas (also from the freezer). Squish the lot onto a fork for a seriously great mouthful. Sometimes mum would add lemon juice to the mash - a great trick for accompaniments to fishy dishes - but that was pretty much the only fussing about that happened. Then about the time I was around ten or eleven there was a few weeks until we moved from the way out west town of Bourke back to the balmy seaside of Wollongong and so there was a mission to empty the freezer and pantry and eat the lot before leaving. I have no recollection of anything else we ate in those few weeks but I swear we ate fish fingers daily for a month. Sometimes for lunch, more often for dinner it was fish fingers, mash and peas. Fish fingers, lemon mash and peas once or twice then back to the original. The freezer had turned into the black hole of the kitchen and it was somehow filled with one hundred times its actual volume with fish fingers and peas - and we were not leaving till every single finger and every single pea had been consumed. Somehow we made it through, boarded our flights out and left that house behind along with Cliffy our lovely galah, over which many tears were shed. My dad followed us a week later, driving the car back across the 500 miles and, softy that he can be, brought Cliffy along for company. Jubilation!<br />
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It was a very long time till I ate another fish finger, about the time I left home and had to fend for myself while a student. I soon revisited the comforting charms of fish fingers, mash and peas - great food ready in no time. It soon became apparent that fish fingers alone was even quicker, or else stuffed into a sandwich the melted butter adding extra delight, and far less washing up overall.<br />
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The last packet I bought, a few years ago, weren't great. More crumb than fish, and fish that had an awful lot of reforming inflicted upon it. I gave them up for a while then recently wanted them again. Went to Borough Friday and told Paul, who runs Sussex Fish, that I was planning to make fish fingers for dinner. <i>Good on you madam</i>, he said, <i>had some a couple of weeks ago myself and it was brilliant</i>. He picked up a lovely piece of cod fillet <i>I'll give you that thick section there, be easy to cut that into nice fat fingers.</i> And so it was.<br />
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<span style="color: #bf9000; font-size: large;">Fish Fingers</span><br />
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400g piece of cod fillet, check there's no bones at all<br />
2 tablespoons plain flour, seasoned with a bit of salt<br />
1 egg, beaten<br />
About 50g breadcrumbs, Panko work well<br />
Oil for shallow frying<br />
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Cut the fish into 4 even pieces -these are your fingers. Dip each one first into the flour, coat it well and shake off any excess. Next dip the finger into the beaten egg and coat well. Finally dredge the fish through the breadcrumbs so that it's covered on all sides. Put each completed fish finger onto a clean plate, and when they're all done cover with cling film and refrigerate for 20 minutes or so.<br />
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Heat the oil in a heavy based pan over a medium flame, when it's hot add the fish fingers and fry for a few minutes till the underside is golden. Flip them over carefully and fry the other side till they are crisp all over.<br />
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You can serve with mash and peas but, making the most of it being summer I tossed a green salad and added a spritz of fresh lemon. Big hunk of bread in case sandwiches were needed...<br />
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Even better than I remember!<div class="blogger-post-footer">&alt=rss</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21050809.post-53528679851058222602014-07-02T13:56:00.000+00:002014-07-02T17:15:52.876+00:00Chard Bacon & Mushroom Salad<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Have developed a real passion for chard but I must admit I don't actually know how to pronounce the word. Is it chard like a splinter of glass or chard like a bit burnt round the edges? What's even weirder is which ever way I say it it sounds wrong, so I try the other version and - same problem.<br />
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What I am certain of is that it is a great veg shredded and cooked down with lashings of butter for a side dish, stirred into lentils and stews for lots of added minerals and the fibre that gives it its wonderful texture, stirred into noodle soups and stir fries or eaten raw in salads like this one. The lovely <a href="http://nymag.com/thecut/2013/05/i-tried-gwyneths-diet-and-got-a-rash-on-my-face.html" target="_blank">Gwynnie and the clean eating brigade like it juiced </a>- and I concur, it's a great addiction in small quantities.<br />
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Chard is also <a href="http://www.chard.gov.uk/" target="_blank">a town in Somerset</a> with its own <a href="http://www.chardmuseum.co.uk/" target="_blank">museum</a>, but remains unrelated to the leafy vegetable.<br />
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I had a bag of it from my <a href="http://www.localgreens.org.uk/" target="_blank">veg delivery</a> last week - another thing in its favour is it lives happily in the fridge for a week without turning to slime - and knew salad was the way to go as joy oh joy the sun was shining. Proper balmy days. I had some mushrooms too, as well as radish I bought mostly to add a kick to my morning juice. No beetroot but this is a template, you really can use what you have so long as there's something that can be sliced and cooked and added hot to wilt the leaves a little. The hot stuff I went at with enthusiasm, because bacon is great with mushrooms and with eggs and a poached egg makes it a more substantial meal. Add crusty bread and that's dinner.<br />
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<span style="color: #93c47d; font-size: large;">Chard Mushroom & Bacon Salad</span><br />
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This is such an easy recipe to adapt, use chorizo instead of bacon or leave out the bacon altogether and cook the mushrooms in oil, use different nuts and salad vegetables, turn the bread into garlic croutons, it all works.<br />
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For 2<br />
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200g chard leaves<br />
1 tablespoon <a href="http://practicallydaily.blogspot.co.uk/2008/12/basil-oil.html" target="_blank">basil oil </a>or olive oil<br />
100g smoked bacon, cut into small cubes<br />
150g mushrooms, wiped clean and sliced<br />
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar<br />
Handful of radish, washed and quartered<br />
Handful of walnuts, roughly broken into largish pieces<br />
2 eggs<br />
Bread and butter to serve<br />
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Tear the soft leaves from the thick stems of chard and wash thoroughly. Shred the leaves and put them into a large salad bowl then add the oil and a large pinch of salt and massage that into the leaves. Leave it for 20 minutes or so and the leaves will soften slightly.<br />
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In a dry pan fry the bacon over a gentle heat till the fat rends and turns crisply gold. Add the sliced mushrooms and stir to coat in the bacon fat then cover with a lid and cook for 5 minutes or so until the mushrooms have softened and given up some of their juice. Tip the hot bacon and mushrooms into the chard, keeping back as much of the liquid as possible and put the pan back on the heat. Deglaze with the balsamic vinegar and tip the hot mixture over the salad. Toss well then add the raw radish and walnuts and toss again.<br />
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Heat a small pan of water and poach the eggs till the whites are set and the yolk still runny.<br />
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Divide the salad between two bowls, top each with a poached egg and have crusty bread on the side.<br />
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">&alt=rss</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21050809.post-2376188570572898812014-06-18T21:26:00.003+00:002014-06-18T21:26:42.745+00:00A Veg Bag Week<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I've had a good food week this week, in part because the spring veg has arrived for the bags from Local Greens. One of my reasons for signing up with this scheme is wanting to eat more vegetables generally, and also have them as the starting point for more meals and the random collection each week is quite inspiring and occasionally overwhelming. There was a seductive selection this week - and as I now volunteer with them occasionally to help pack the hundreds of bags they send out each week I am gifted the bonus of some extras from the leftovers. Thursday was mountain of veg day, and also night out at the theatre day so nothing got used except lettuce and tomatoes for crusty rolls.<br />
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Friday was better - I've been wanting fish for a week or two so bought a couple of decent cod steaks from Paul on the Sussex Fish stall and simply fried them in olive oil, then finished them with thin slivers of new season garlic and chopped parsley in the last of the hot oil. For the accompaniment I roasted a couple of pointy peppers till blackened, peeled them and added them to cooked farro, and dressed it all with sliced red onions caramelised in basil oil. Perfect summer food.<br />
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Saturday we were out all day, gorgeous lunch at A Wong and a (de)light(ful) supper at Terroirs so the only food at home was made by the man strawberry and banana smoothies with coffee and toast first thing.<br />
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Sunday breakfast was more of the same and decadent as it seems we had lunch out again, roast at The Canton, which was uncharacteristically quiet for a Sunday which is lovely for us as punters but worrying for the owners if their numbers are dwindling. I had been dreaming of clove and honey glazed ham with creamy potato salad for days as I love the new potatoes served this way so that was Sunday supper with the rest of the barley salad from Friday and lots of lovely leftovers for a few lunches. There was one small disaster too - I had a pretty little purple kohlrabi and I fancied it as a slaw just grated with carrot and dressed with vinaigrette. For some reason I decided to make the dressing with eau de vie from a bottle I bought from one of the Armagnac producers in France. Tasted like you think it would - and no, it really does not work with coleslaw. Live and learn.<br />
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Monday I still had mushrooms and kale and I fancied a big robust salad, with walnuts and things. There was a hunk of sourdough left from the weekend that I could see as cheesy crouton, and still plenty of onions and garlic to fry off for flavour. Though it is a bit of a surprise to eat raw kale - it is quite metallic in flavour and a long way from delicate in texture - I have grown to like it very much. The trick I think is to discard the hard stems and then *massage* the torn leaves with olive oil and a little salt and leave to soften for an hour or so before adding the rest of the elements. I cooked lots of sliced onions and garlic in olive oil, then added sliced chestnut mushrooms to cook down and tipped the lot while hot into the bowl of *relaxed* kale. Tossed in a handful of walnuts, some sliced tomato then deglazed the pan with a splash of balsamic and mixed to combine everything before dividing between two big bowls.<br />
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The man poached a couple of eggs till just perfectly runny and added them to the top with a crunch of crouton. Seriously great dinner. More mess than I was anticipating but a total pleasure to eat.<br />
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Far simpler and much less mess was dinner Tuesday night - just the soothing stirring of rice and stock for mushroom risotto made rich with butter and Parmesan and finished with celery leaves and parsley. For reasons I don't understand I always sleep well after a big bowl of risotto. Plenty left for lunches for a day or two.<br />
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Wednesday was time to use up the last bits from the bag - there was still a few new potatoes, a couple of onions and half a head of new season garlic, a paper bag full of broad beans. For a sunny day a warm potato and allium frittata with a side of broad beans doused in basil oil and a crunch of salt was a delight, and easier than pie.<br />
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I bought very little extra fruit and veg - apples, celery and more peppers for morning juice, strawberries and bananas for weekend smoothies and that was all. I used everything I had - the last of the kale and a couple of tomatoes went into the juicer mid week for extra healthy start mid week.<br />
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Don't know if the change to more emphasis on vegetables is significant or just that it's easier in summer to go for the delight of light when the sun shines, but I guess time will tell. Either way, it's a pleasurable way to eat.</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">&alt=rss</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21050809.post-66135603680414730452014-05-20T17:02:00.000+00:002014-05-20T17:02:51.401+00:00Here Comes Summer! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Possibly a tad keen on my part but it was such a gloriously sunny weekend after all the rain, can't hurt - much - to hope. Planning days out and dinners dominated by, if not delicacy, then certainly a lightness of touch seems marginally less ridiculous than usual. This positivity was enforced by an email from <a href="http://www.sopexa-uk.com/" target="_blank">Sopexa</a> enquiring whether I'd care to sample a couple of bottles of Chablis - <i>bien sur</i>!<br />
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Chablis is the steely white wine produced in the Burgundy region of France. It has a slightly austere quality that is very refreshing on a warm day and means it pairs well with seafood and simple poultry dishes. Salad had pole position on the menu plan for the weekend - the verdant flavours of fresh leaves and cucumbers and, especially, asparagus have been seducing me these last few weeks. It is very definitely spring when the fat bundles of asparagus are piled up early at the market.<br />
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Loved the idea of warm roast chicken for Saturday night special, even more so with a bottle of Domaine Vocoret & Fils Premier Cru chilling in the fridge. Aiming for elegance and simplicity I planned no more than a beautiful green salad on the side, dressed with a tarragon cream sauce. I associate tarragon mostly with Italy, where it is known as dragoncello, a name that conjures for me all manner of excitements and fire. I love the mix of aniseed and light vanilla notes that judicious use confers on all manner of dishes and try and grow it in the summer, sometimes successfully.<br />
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<span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><b>Dragoncello Dressing</b></span><br />
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This makes enough for a generous bowl of your favourite mix of salad leaves spiked with thin slices of cucumber and chopped chives<br />
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1 medium egg, hard boiled and cooled<br />
A pinch of smoked paprika<br />
70ml double cream<br />
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar<br />
1 teaspoon chopped tarragon leaves<br />
Salt and pepper<br />
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When the boiled egg is cold, peel and cut in half then scoop the yolk out into a small bowl. You can discard the white or, like me, add a twist of salt and claim it as cook's treat. Mash the yolk very thoroughly with a fork and season with a little paprika. Add a teaspoon of cold water and mix well then add the cream, vinegar and tarragon. Taste and season then add to your salad and toss gently to combine and serve immediately.<br />
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This makes such a great dressing I couldn't resist making another batch Sunday to dress still warm new potatoes for a fine dinner of cold roast chicken with basil dressed asparagus and peas for green. A cool glass of Jean-Marc Brocard Chablis 2012 rounded out the first weekend of *summer* delightfully.<br />
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Thanks to the <a href="http://www.bourgogne-wines.com/" target="_blank">Bureau Interprofessionnel des Vins de Bourgogne</a> (BIVB) for supplying the wine!<div class="blogger-post-footer">&alt=rss</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21050809.post-50041478795058244892014-05-13T15:29:00.000+00:002014-05-13T15:29:11.170+00:00Little Carrot Pots<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The thing about getting a weekly veg bag that is preselected by someone else is that it becomes an ever evolving challenge. To use it all in the allotted time, to make great food - new and interesting dishes with the contents as your starting point and defining guide - avoid disasters, don't let it spoil or go to waste, eat less meat all seem to be considerations. A weekly Ready Steady Cook challenge at home. It's harder than it should be!<br />
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This week I had carrots and no plan for most of them. Love carrots - all alone they can brighten your day - they taste great, have a brilliant crunch, are lovely raw, grated, juiced, steamed, mashed, useful in all kinds of stews and salads the whole year long. If they don't come from the supermarket they have the potential to be comedy shapes or the starting point of many a joke. Good for you - the <a href="http://www.carrotmuseum.co.uk/index.html" target="_blank">World Carrot Museum </a>summarises neatly - <span style="color: red; font-size: medium;"> </span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-size: medium;"> </span><br />
Let us start with a brief history of Medicine and Nutrition - </div>
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<b>Patient "I am sick".</b> </span>
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<b>Physicians responses: <br />
3500 years ago - "Here eat this root" <br />
2500 year ago - "That root is heathen - say this prayer" <br />
150 years ago - "That is superstition - drink this potion" <br />
50 years ago - "That potion is snake oil - take this pill" <br />
15 years ago - "That pill is no good, take this antibiotic" <br />
Today - "that is not natures way - here eat this root" </b></div>
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The recipe I settled on this week had piqued my curiosity in the weekend Guardian. It was for a dessert, a concoction of carrot and cream, gorgeously scented with vanilla and orange then served with more cream in little pots. The man loves little pots! It comes from <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/apr/18/quiche-tofu-carrot-recipes-thomasina-miers-pig-idea" target="_blank">Thomasina Miers</a><b><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/apr/18/quiche-tofu-carrot-recipes-thomasina-miers-pig-idea" target="_blank">'</a> </b>article about pigs - and her pig idea project. </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #b45f06;">Carrot and Vanilla Pots</span></b></span></div>
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Makes 4</div>
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Use the best flavoured carrots you can get your hands on - I find if they smell sweetly carroty they taste pretty good </div>
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<strong>200g carrots, peeled and finely sliced</strong><br /><strong>15g butter</strong><br /><strong>40g golden caster sugar</strong><br /><strong>Juice and zest of an orange (a blood orange, ideally)</strong><br /><strong>1 tsp vanilla extract</strong><br /><strong>1 vanilla pod</strong><br /><strong>175ml double cream</strong><br /><strong>1 large egg</strong><br /><strong>1 large egg yolk</strong><br />
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Heat
the oven to 150C/300F/gas mark 2. Put the carrots in a saucepan with
the butter, a tablespoon of sugar and the orange zest, and add water to
cover. Cover and cook on a low heat for 15 minutes. Remove the lid,
raise the heat and cook until all liquid boils off – the carrots should
be tender and glazed. Add the orange juice and vanilla extract, and
whizz to a fine purée with a stick blender.<br />
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Cut the vanilla pod in
half and scrape out the seeds into a clean pan. Add the cream, scraped
pod and remaining sugar, bring to just below a boil, remove from the
heat and set aside to cool slightly, retrieve the vanilla pod then pour the warm cream into the
carrot purée. Add the whole egg and egg yolk, and whizz with the
blender.<br />
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Fill four ramekins with the mix. Place the ramekins in a
baking tray and pour in enough boiling water to come halfway up the
sides of the ramekins. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until just set. Remove,
set aside to cool and serve at room temperature with cold pouring cream.<br />
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They worked a treat, very simple to do, and I'm thinking they'd be
fabulous with a blow torched sugar crust - though that might be because I
am hankering for a kitchen blow torch.<div class="blogger-post-footer">&alt=rss</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21050809.post-62702232985561472002014-05-06T16:01:00.000+00:002014-05-06T16:01:57.328+00:00Wild Garlic Pesto<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lamb and barley soup with wild garlic pesto</td></tr>
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Wild garlic is a fine harbinger of spring and definitely an unmistakable find if you're wandering happy and aimless in the woods in celebration - or relief - that winter is gone for another year. It loves damp shade - so an ideal plant - and pushes through ground cover and creates a sort of cloud of garlic perfume. Quite a surprise on a first encounter! The leaves grow to a foot or more and the flowers are quintessential spring - pretty bright white stars shine amidst the dark, they are a great garnish on a salad.<br />
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I got a big bunch in the veg bag last week and I really fancied trying my hand at pesto. I have a friend who is very enthusiastic about food, loves eating great stuff though it must be said is not the world's finest cook. The one thing she does make better than anyone else I know is pesto - she finds a perfect balance of basil, nuts and cheese and serves it generously on hot pasta. Love it. Her mastery means I have never actually made pesto in any form - it's so great, why would I? But she left London a while ago and I've not eaten pesto since. A vague hankering was beginning to niggle.<br />
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I had a few pine nuts and a few more walnuts and a fine hunk of Parmesan and that seemed as good a start as any. I lightly toasted the nuts but I think you could use all walnuts and skip that step entirely. It is a very easy thing to make - chuck it all in the blender and whizzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Add oil. This makes quite a decent quantity, too much for us to eat in one sitting, but it keeps very well in the fridge for a couple of weeks so long as the top is covered with a thin layer of oil.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: lime;">Wild Garlic Pesto</span></span><br />
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If you don't have the time/inclination to forage wild garlic is sold at lots of farmers markets and the occasional fruit and vegetable shop at this time of year <br />
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Large bunch wild garlic<br />
20g pine nuts, lightly toasted<br />
30g walnuts, lightly crushed and toasted<br />
50g finely grated Parmesan<br />
100ml olive oil<br />
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Wash the wild garlic and rip the leaves into smaller pieces and put into a blender jug. Whizz to make a paste. Add the nuts and cheese and whizz again to combine. Season with salt and pepper, add about half the olive oil and whizz once more. Keep adding the oil and whizzing till you have the consistency you want. Tip the finished pesto into an airtight jar or tub, cover with a thin film of olive oil and refrigerate.<br />
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I loved having this in the fridge for a week - I used it first to dollop into a rich lamb and barley broth, then a few days later into a less successful vegetable soup. I loved it best however on Sunday night mixed into hot spaghetti with extra Parmesan grated on top. Brilliant supper ready in ten.<br />
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">&alt=rss</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21050809.post-55891759595292520802014-04-30T12:19:00.000+00:002014-04-30T12:19:56.043+00:00A Veg Bag A Week<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I have very recently signed up for a weekly bag of vegetables from <a href="http://www.localgreens.org.uk/" target="_blank">Local Greens</a>, a south London group who work with organic farmers to provide a selection of good quality vegetables to as many people as want it around Brixton, Herne Hill, Dulwich and Camberwell. A list of what will be in each bag goes up on the site on Monday and the veg is dropped off at numerous locations around the borough on Thursday afternoons to be collected by late Friday. It is a simple, and simply great, enterprise run largely by volunteers that benefits both the consumer with good tasty vegetables at a reasonable price and the farmers who get a guaranteed market for their produce at a reasonable price. Win Win.<br />
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I was a bit over enthusiastic with my choice of bag - I opted for the standard bag with potatoes thinking it would keep us in food for the whole week so long as I made a reasonable plan. What surprised me is that it's the potatoes I find most challenging - we don't tend to eat potatoes every week, indeed I am usually fairly specific about what potatoes I might want and now there's more than plenty to be eaten each week. Last week I roasted them all with some chicken, shallots and garlic - ate some of that hot and put the rest in the fridge for the next day. I'll change to the small bag without potatoes next month but in the meantime using the whole bag in interesting ways each week is my ambition.<br />
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This week the bag contatined over a kilo of Valor potatoes, 2 large beetroot, a swede, 3 large carrots, some pak choy, a good sized bunch of wild garlic, a butterhead lettuce, a couple of leeks and a bunch of spring onions. Good value! I hadn't been home an hour and I'd put the beetroot on to steam for salad and I'd turned the wild garlic into pesto with the addition of some toasted pine nuts, walnuts, Parmesan and oil.<br />
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Thursday night I roughly chopped yesterday's cooked potatoes and put them into a small frying pan, added beaten eggs and cooked a frittata that was a delightfully chickeny flavour-wise and a proper dinner with a side of steamed beetroots dressed with fig vinegar and a grated carrot salad.<br />
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Friday I made a veg heavy lamb and barley soup with stock from the freezer and <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/features/mark-hix-recipes-our-chef-adds-wild-garlic-to-his-homemade-pures-pickles-and-broths-9217470.html" target="_blank">a sort of recipe</a> from Mark Hix as a starting point. I served it topped with a serious dollop of the wild garlic pesto and lots of crusty bread, a glass of red and a nibble of cheese it was a good dinner.<br />
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Saturday I wanted to use the bok choy and the spring onions - those ingredients say STIRFRY most immediately and I didn't want to venture further. I had some thick slices of belly pork in the freezer with no plan attached. Checked through some Fuchsia Dunlop recipes and settled on <a href="http://singlishswenglish.blogspot.co.uk/2010/01/qing-qings-back-in-pot-pork-hui-guo-rou.html" target="_blank">Qing Qing's Back-in-the-Pot Pork </a>- yes it was the great title. The pork is twice cooked - first it's simmered in water until tender then later stir fried with lots of aromatics - ginger, loads of garlic, the salty tang of black beans, chilli of course and, in my case, chopped pak choy then finished with a couple of the spring onions and sesame oil. I'd done the first cooking in the morning so come Saturday night it was quick and easy to stir fry everything and serve the deeply fragrant result over mountains of steamed basmati rice.<br />
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Sunday I had a plan. My friend Catherine told me once that she occasionally makes mashed potato pie for supper. I was nonplussed - I have never come across the idea let alone tasted one and I couldn't imagine what the texture would be like - weirdly smooth with lumps of stuff, perhaps, or crunchy shell with a claggy middle? It also seemed possible that it would be the kind of deeply rich comfort dish that the man would love on first bite and remain smitten forever. I thought no more about it until I came across Anna del Conte's recipe for tortino di puré di patate - translates as baked potato purée with salame and mozzarella - surely nothing if not an Italian mashed potato pie? Given the surfeit of potato for the month and a mozzarella that needed using I could not resist. And so it came about that I served up a smooth rich, surprisingly dense potato purée studded with chunks of toscano salami and a top crisp with golden breadcrumbs alongside a very good salad of basil dressed asparagus and peas, finished with another of the spring onions, very finely chopped.<br />
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Monday I defrosted a litre of chicken stock - yes I am still on my Sisyphusian mission to clear the freezer! - to make a vaguely minestrone style soup with lots of vegetables and a handful of tiny pasta, topped with some of the wild garlic pesto. In my mind it was a hearty dish, so thick with vegetables it was practically stew and all of it richly rounded up with the pesto. What it ended up as was an oddly sweetish dish - I think from the combination of swede and carrot and the addition of a tin of tomatoes. The pesto helped but it was a disappointing meal, the more so as I had planned to finish it Tuesday for dinner but it wasn't good enough to do twice so it landed in the compost. I hated wasting those lovely vegetables.<br />
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Tuesday then had to be better! I still had lots of beetroot salad, plenty of carrots and the lettuce so I went with something I know well and make in almost never ending iterations - stuffed pita (had some in the freezer). I bought some lamb mince and made little balls with garlic, bhaharat spice mix and the last spring onion finely chopped. I turned a tin of chickpeas into cumin scented hummous, grated a carrot and mixed it with chopped dill and a splash of oil, and shredded the lettuce added a handful of sprouts and dressed it with a spoonful of yoghurt lightened with a dash of olive oil. Fried the balls, warmed the pita and consumed it all with the kind of intense delight you get from great food that was so much better than the last meal.<br />
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Wednesday used the last of the beetroot, carrots, lettuce and hummous with warm falafel and the last couple of slices of pita. At the end of the week we the vegetable bag is empty, I've been loving the wild garlic pesto as a new thing, been converted to mash potato pie and generally eaten very well.<br />
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Next week the bag contains the first of the salad potatoes which I'm delighted about. Also carrots, spring onions, celeriac, mixed salad, spring greens, a cucumber and white mushrooms - a challenge to use it all and use it well and find something new to make too.<br />
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">&alt=rss</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21050809.post-27196954667993146302014-04-22T11:54:00.000+00:002014-04-22T11:54:52.103+00:00Torta Pasqualina <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Easter Egg Pie</td></tr>
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Easter is all about celebrating spring and new life and the return of light and colour to the world after the bleakness and chill of a long dark winter. With four days off it's celebrated in a proper way, with time to make plans and do stuff and eat well. And eggs, of course. Easter is definitely about the eggs.<br />
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I had been vaguely thinking of roasting some lamb for the weekend, gently spiced perhaps with lots of roasted veg with plenty of meat leftover to add to<a href="http://www.practicallydaily.blogspot.co.uk/2007/06/butter-bean-mash.html" target="_blank"> butter bean mash</a> and roasted peppers all the better to stuff wraps for easy eating. Not very eggy, tis true but definitely spring like. Then I read about this Italian Easter Pie and it stirred a vague memory of wanting to try it once and never getting round to it. I am a big fan of eggs whichever way you serve them and I was really taken with the idea of the richish leafy cheese base studded with whole eggs before baking. I have signed up for a weekly veg box and this week there was spinach and spring onions amongst the treasure as well as radish and carrots for a crunchy salad. Perhaps the time had come.<br />
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In its original form it is a slightly complex construction with a lot of recipes assuming you will make the filo pastry. Seriously! They sell it ready made - rolled, boxed, frozen - in all good supermarkets and specialist food shops. For the true afficionado there should be 33 sheets of it, one for each year of Christ's life, plus a dozen eggs inserted, one for each of the apostles. I decided to simplify that bit of it too, but I definitely kept to the spirit of the pie and I'm glad to say it turned out beautifully.<br />
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In Italy it is made and served at the Easter Monday picnic - love the assumption that <i>of course</i> you will picnic on your day off. With all the eggs and greens and herby freshness this is a good dish for the whole of spring, I think, not just an Easter treat.<br />
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<span style="color: lime;"><span style="font-size: large;">Torta Pasqualina</span></span><br />
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I used tarragon in the mix because I had some that needed using and it worked a treat though most recipes suggest marjoram and/or parsley, <br />
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25g dried mushrooms<br />
1kg fresh spinach, big stalks discarded<br />
50 butter<br />
1 bunch spring onions, green and white parts chopped into small rings<br />
1 tablespoon chopped tarragon - or marjoram or parsley<br />
250g fresh ricotta<br />
100g Parmesan, finely grated<br />
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated<br />
8 eggs<br />
Generous quantities of salt and pepper<br />
250g packet filo pastry<br />
2 tablespoons olive oil<br />
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Soak the dried mushrooms in boiling water for 20 minutes or so until they have softened. Drain and discard the soaking water.<br />
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Wash the spinach in plenty of cold water numerous times until all the dirt is gone. Melt half the butter in a large pan and add the still wet spinach, cover with a lid and turn the heat down. After a couple of minutes give it a stir to help it wilt and collapse then drain in a colander and allow to cool. Working with one small handful at a time, squeeze the excess liquid from the spinach then chop roughly. Put all the chopped spinach into a big bowl.<br />
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Melt the rest of the butter in the pan and add the mushrooms, frying for a few minutes till they take on the richness of the butter. Allow to cool a bit then chop the mushrooms finely and add them to the chopped spinach along with the spring onions, tarragon, ricotta, two thirds of the grated Parmesan, the nutmeg and 2 eggs and mix the lot into a rich green creamy slurry. Season generously.<br />
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Grease a 30cm spring form cake tin with a little olive oil then start to layer with a couple of sheets of filo, brushing each sheet with olive oil as you go. After 4 layers of pastry spoon in the spinach mixture then make six deep indentations with the back of a spoon. Carefully crack an egg and drop it into the first hole without breaking the yolk then do it five more times with the rest of the eggs till all the indentations are filled. Sprinkle the rest of the Parmesan over the yolks.<br />
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Gently cover the pie with the next sheet of filo, brush it with oil and continue till all the pastry is used, brushing the top with a good quantity of oil so that the pie will crisp up while it cooks.<br />
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Heat the oven to 180C and cook the pie for about an hour, till the filling is richly fragrant and the pastry is golden. Take it out of the oven and put it onto a wire rack, then carefully undo the catch on the spring form and take the outer circle off. Let the pie cool a bit - or completely - and serve with salad.<br />
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">&alt=rss</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0