Saturday 27 September 2014

Another apple chutney

Boring apple chutney photo
A couple of Saturdays ago I spent a delightful afternoon having lunch in the garden with friends.

Although a small child fell in the pond an unexpected bonus was that one of the guests brought me a box of apples from her garden.

Kathy, I doubt you'll ever make your own chutney, but if you do, here's your recipe.

Kathy's apples chutney ingredients


  • 1kg apples, peeled, cored and roughly chopped
  • 2 medium to large onions, peeled and roughly chopped
  • 500g sultanas
  • 350g light muscovado sugar
  • 500ml cider vinegar
  • 1 star anise
  • 1 tbsp coriander seeds, crushed
  • 1 cinnamon stick, broken in half
  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

How to make apple chutney

  1. Put everything in a preserving pan, bring to the boil and then reduce to a simmer. 
  2. Continue to cook until thick, stirring occasionally with a long wooden spoon.
  3. Turn off the heat and leave to cool down a little.
  4. Pot into warm sterilized jars.
  5. Label and date the jars.


Monday 8 September 2014

Plum and chocolate brownies

plum brownie
This recipe is based on Nigel Slater's chocolate damson cake, but mine was more of a brownie than an actual cake. This is probably because I mixed it in a food processor instead of a food mixer, so it didn't really go 'light and fluffy'. It still tasted great though.

I used the preserved plums I'd made from some of this year's plum harvest instead of damsons. This meant I missed out the step of cooking them in sugar, since I'd already done this to preserve them. I had a slightly smaller quantity than the recipe stated.

I also used different types of sugar than Nigel, as I didn't have any light muscovado.

Plum and chocolate brownie ingredients

  • 250g dark chocolate
  • 250g butter
  • 125g caster sugar
  • 25g dark muscovado sugar
  • 100g light brown sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 60g self-raising flour
  • 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
  • 320g preserved plums, drained

How to make plum and chocolate brownies

  1. Line a 22cm square cake tin with baking parchment.
  2. Heat the oven to 180 degrees C.
  3. Break up the chocolate and place in a bowl over a pan of simmering water, making sure the bowl doesn't touch the water.
  4. Turn off the heat as soon as the chocolate starts to melt, but leave the bowl over the water.
  5. Cut the butter into small dice and add to the chocolate.
  6.  Stir gently till the butter melts.
  7. Separate the eggs. 
  8. Put the yolks in a food processor (or mixer if you have one) with the sugars and beat till combined (or 'light and fluffy' if you're using a food mixer).
  9. Add the sugar and egg mixture to the chocolate and butter, and stir to combine.
  10. Add the flour and cocoa; stir to combine.
  11. Whisk the eggs in a clean bowl till they form soft peaks.
  12. Fold this into the cake mix with a large metal spoon. 
  13. Put the cake mix into the baking tin.
  14. Pour the plums over the cake mix and gently swirl through with a spoon.
  15. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes.








Sunday 7 September 2014

Plum chutneys


Plums, before
Plums, after


Our plum tree is getting too big for us to be able to harvest all the fruit. We picked what we could reach, and there's still about 3/4 left. This year tried a couple of different things as well as the usual chutney.

Spicy plum chutney ingredients

  • 1.5kg stoned weight plums
  • 150 ml rice vinegar
  • 350ml red wine vinegar
  • 4 tablespoons nam pla
  • 800g granulated sugar
  • 200g muscovado sugar 
  • 5 teaspoons crushed dried chilli flakes
  • 1 large cinnamon stick
  • 6 crushed garlic cloves
  • 100g ginger, grated
  • 2 teaspoons salt

How to make spicy plum chutney

  1. Put everything in a very large pan - preferably a preserving pan
  2. Bring to the boil then simmer for about 3 hours, till the chutney is thick
  3. Turn off the heat and allow the chutney to cool slightly
  4. Pot into sterilized jars while still warm

Not so spicy plum chutney ingredients


1kg plums, stoned weight
500g onions, roughly chopped
350g light brown sugar
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 teaspoons grated ginger
2 teaspoons ground cloves
2 teaspoons salt
pinch cayenne pepper
500ml cider vinegar

Cook as for spicy plum chutney above.

I also made 3x70cl plum gin, which will be ready for Christmas, a tangy plum sauce which I had in crispy duck pancakes, and some preserved plums, which I used in plum and chocolate brownies.






Tuesday 26 August 2014

Smoked mackerel sandwich

If you're lucky enough to get free bread at work, you can always make yourself a sandwich for lunch - just bring in the filling ingredients.

While I was on a secondment we got free bread, so one day I made this filling:

1 smoked mackerel fillet, broken up a little
A few cornichon, finely chopped
A parsley sprig, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon capers, finely chopped
A squeeze lemon juice
A squeeze salad cream

Mix all the ingredients together. I know people (ie Ollie) think salad cream is tacky, but I think it's lovely. It contains less fat than mayonnaise, and has more flavour.

When you're ready for lunch, toast 2 slices wholemeal or granary bread and spread one side with the filling. Top with a handful of rocket or watercress then with the other slice of toast.

You don't need a photo of a sandwich. 

Monday 25 August 2014

This year's apple chutney #1

Everything is happening a month early. The plums were harvested 3 weeks ago, and the apples are falling on the ground. It's not even half way through August.

Happily for me this means I can make lots of chutney, which will be perfect for Christmas presents.

This is a variation on apple #2 from last year, which I think was the tastiest of last year's chutneys - I suspect because of the cider vinegar. I used malt vinegar in this recipe because I didn't have cider vinegar and was too lazy to go to Sains for some. The other changes were also based on what was to hand. The apples came from Lisa's apple tree and are eaters, so the chutney will be on the sweet side. I ran out of apples but found one that had fallen from a tree lying on the ground round the corner.

Apple chutney ingredients

  • 1.5 kg eating apples
  • 250g cooking apples
  • 400g raisins
  • 150g dates
  • 1kg soft dark brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon crushed died chillies
  • 1 tablespoon mustard seeds
  • 1 double thumb-sized piece root ginger, grated
  • 1 teaspoon peppercorns
  • 1 cinnamon stick, broken in half
  • 1 teaspoon cloves
  • 1 tablespoon allspice berries
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • Juice 1/2 lemon

 How to make apple chutney

  1. Put everything in a preserving pan, bring to the boil and then reduce to a simmer. 
  2. Continue to cook until thick - count on this taking between 2 and 4 hours
  3. Turn off the heat and leave to cool down a little.
  4. Pot into warm sterilized jars.
  5. Label and date.
Since every jar of chutney looks pretty much the same as the next, I haven't bothered with a photo.

For my own reference, this was made on 16 August 2014.

Wednesday 23 July 2014

Green beans with feta and walnuts

Green bean salad with feta and walnuts
A lovely little salad that I had the other day with pumpkin and sausage salad. 

Green bean and feta salad ingredients

  • 200g green beans, trimmed
  • Small handful mint, finely chopped
  • Juice half a lemon
  • Handful walnut pieces, lightly toasted
  • Small handful feta, crumbled
  • Extra virgin olive oil

How to make green bean and feta salad

  1. Blanch the green beans in boiling water for 2-3 minutes. The beans should still be very crunchy.
  2. Drain the beans and toss with the oil and lemon juice immediately. You could use walnut oil instead of olive oil, to give even more of a nutty taste.
  3. Lie the beans in a shallow serving dish.
  4. Scatter over the mint, crumbled feta and walnut pieces.  
 


Tuesday 24 June 2014

Ruskin Garden salad

I made this salad using the produce from the Ruskin Park Community Garden. It goes brilliantly with smoked ham. The recipe was inspired by one by Nigel Slater in his book Tender.

Ruskin Garden salad

Ruskin Garden salad ingredients

  • A handful freshly podded broad beans
  • A handful freshly podded peas
  • 2 handfuls lettuce
  • A few radishes
  • A sprig of mint, finely chopped
  • 4 small pieces ciabatta
  • A few shavings Swaledale or other chalky cheese

Dressing

  • 4 tablespoons light olive oil
  • Juice 1 lemon
  • 1 teaspoon Balsamic vinegar
  • Salt & pepper

 How to make Ruskin Garden salad

  1. Start by making the dressing. Combine all the ingredients in a screw-top jar and give it a good shake. 
  2. Toast the ciabatta lightly on both sides.
  3. Boil the broad beans for a few minutes in a pan of boiling water for about 5 minutes.
  4. Add the peas to the pan for the last 30 seconds.
  5. Drain the peas and beans, then tip into a bowl with the salad leaves and chopped mint.
  6. Pour over some of the dressing and toss to coat.
  7. Slice the radishes and sprinkle over the salad.
  8. Add some shavings of the cheese and serve while still warm.



Thursday 22 May 2014

Soy chicken thighs and egg fried rice


Soy chicken and egg fried rice
Another recipe based on one from Nigel Slater, again from his book Eat.

I've yet to find the recipe online but when I do I'll include a link. In the meantime, here is my version.

Soy chicken thigh ingredients


  • About 150ml oyster sauce
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1/2 teaspoon crushed dried chillies
  • 1 tablespoon palm sugar
  • 4 chicken thighs

 

How to make soy chicken thighs

  1. Heat the oven to 200 degrees C
  2. Mix all the ingredients except the chicken together in a shallow, ovenproof dish.
  3. Add the chicken thighs and toss to coat.
  4. Put in the oven for about 40 minutes, basting every 10 minutes or so. 

In the meantime, make the egg fried rice.
You need to use rice that has already been cooked and then cooled for egg fried rice, otherwise it will be soggy. I normally make double the quantity of rice for dinner the day before, then immediately cool the rice I don't use by running under a cold tap and leaving to drain, before storing in a tupperware container in the fridge till the next day.

As a rule, measure out dry rice by volume, not weight - about 75g per person will give you a greedy person's amount. 

Egg fried rice ingredients (enough for 2)


  • 2 portions long-grain or Basmati rice
  • 2 eggs, lightly beaten in a jug.
  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped
  • 2 rashers smoked back bacon, or 3 rashers smoked streaky bacon, cut into small pieces
  • A large handful frozen peas
  • 3 spring onions, finely chopped
  • Soy sauce, to colour and taste

How to make egg fried rice

  1. Heat some groundnut or other flavourless oil in a wok.
  2. When it is very hot, add the chopped onion and cook till it starts to brown.
  3. Add the chopped bacon and cook, tossing it around the wok.
  4. Add the cooked rice and toss to coat with the oil and mix with the onion and bacon.
  5. Once the rice has heated through, add the eggs to the pan with the spring onions.
  6. Leave unstirred for about 10 seconds, then stir the eggs around with the other ingredients in the wok to coat.
  7. Once the egg has cooked, remove from the heat.
  8. Add a splash of soy sauce and stir again, so that all the rice turns brown.*

*For this recipe I didn't add any soy sauce as there was plenty of cooking sauce from the chicken which I used insterad.







Saturday 10 May 2014

Experimental baking


Bread, Yorkshire pudding, lemon and poppy seed cake
 Using some plain flour in bread doesn't stop it rising but using some self-raising flour in Yorkshire puddings does stop them rising - go figure.

I've successfully made sourdough bread from my own started a couple of times, but my last few attempts failed. I've no idea how old the rye flour was that I'd used but decided to get a fresh lot for my next attempt. 
Hence I had a little rye flour taking up space in the cupboard. I used it to make up the full amount of flour needed for the recipe below, but didn't have quite have enough, so had to add plain flour as well.


Sour cream bread ingredients

  • 150ml sour cream*
  • 250ml warm water
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 2 teaspoons caster sugar
  • 1 teaspoon fast action yeast
  • 425g strong bread flour
  • 75g rye flour
  • 50g plain flour
  • Groundnut oil for kneading

*I didn't actually measure the sour cream, but it was about half of a 300ml pot.

How to make sour cream bread

  1. Mix the sour cream into the water with the salt, sugar and yeast.
  2. Mix together into a soggy ball.
  3. Cover with cling film and leave somewhere warm for 10 minutes (I put it in the bathroom).
  4. Lightly oil a work surface and your hands.
  5. Tip the dough out and knead gently for 30 seconds,
  6. Return the dough to the bowl, cover, and leave for another 10 minutes.
  7. Repeat the kneading, leave for another 10 minutes, then knead again.
  8. Leave covered in the bowl for an hour.
  9. Grease a loaf tin and line the base with silicone paper if you have it, or greaseproof paper if you don't.
  10. Pat the dough out so it's about 2cm thick, then roll it up.
  11. Squash the dough into the tin seam side down, pushing it so that it reaches the corners.
  12. Leave to rise for 90 minutes to 2 hours.
  13. Heat the oven to 200 degrees C and bake for 45 minutes.
  14. Leave to cool in the tin for half an hour before tipping out and leaving to cool on a wire rack till cold.

I hate making a roast beef dinner - it's too stressful trying to get everything ready and keep it hot at the same time. I made it last Sunday - the day I also made the sour cream bread and a lemon and poppy seed cake. What was I thinking?


Since I'd used plain flour in the bread, I didn't have enough for the Yorkshire puds, so substituted about half with self-raising flour, thinking this would make them even bigger. I was wrong. 

Jamie Oliver says don't open the oven door while your Yorkshire puds are in. I fail to see how this is possible while cooking all the other bits and pieces that go with a full-on roast beef dinner such as roast parsnips and potatoes. Luckily, the roast beef sandwiches with homemade horseradish cream we had for lunch the next day were a lot better than the actual lukewam dinner. 

To assemble a roast beef sandwich

 

Roast beef sandwich

 

  1. Cut 2 pieces of sour cream bread into thickinsh slices and butter liberally.
  2. Spread one piece of bread with homemade creamed horseradish (below).
  3. Cut thick slices of cold beef from the joint and place on top of the horseradish cream.
  4. Scatter a little coarse salt over the beef. 
  5. Slice 2 cornichon lengthways and lay on top of the beef.
  6. Add some peppery leaves such as watercress or rocket, then top with the second slice of bread.

Ingredients for creamed horseradish 

  • 65g fresh horseradish root, peeled and thinly sliced
  • 100 ml creme fraiche
  • 2 teaspoons sherry vinegar (or other if you don't have sherry)
  • 1 teaspoon English mustard
  • Pinch caster sugar

How to make creamed horseradish 

  1. Mix mustard into the vinegar then add the grated horseradish.
  2. Mix together then leave to stand for 10 minutes.
  3. Mix in the creme fraiche and season to taste.




Friday 9 May 2014

Pea and ham soup

Pea and ham soup in a green bowl
I thought soup weather was over but I was wrong - yesterday was rainy, windy and cold. Good thing I bought a ham hock at the weekend to make soup.

Ham hock sounds a lot posher than pork knuckle, but it's the same thing. In Poland it's called 'golonka', which is what we used to call my (half Polish) nephew when he was a baby.

I searched for soup recipes online and found ones that cooked vegetables with the ham hock for an hour, then pulled the meat off the hock to serve. Yuk! Vegetables that have been cooked for an hour!

Instead, I made a stock by cooking the veg and the ham then strained it. Amazingly, I got exactly 2 litres, so for once I can be accurate about the recipe quantities. However I forget to weigh the split peas before I soaked them, but it doesn't really matter how much you use -- it will just affect how thick you soup is. If it turns out too runny, add some red lentils to thicken, as they don't need to be pre-soaked, and only take about 15 minutes to cook. (The grated carrot will also thicken the soup slightly)

Ham hock stock 


  • 1 ham hock/pork knuckle
  • 2 small or 1 large carro
  • 2 medium onions
  • 2 sticks celery
  • 8 peppercorns
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 large sprig thyme (optional)

  1. Chop the vegetables roughly and add to a stock pot or large pan with the ham hock.
  2. Cover with cold water.
  3. Bring to the boil and simmer for about an hour.
  4. Leave everything in the pan till cool, then remove the ham hock and set to one side.
  5. Strain the liquor into a jug, and discard the soggy, overcooked vegetables.

Pea and ham soup ingredients


  • 2 medium onions
  • 2 sticks celery
  • 1 small carrot
  • Rapeseed or olive oil for frying
  • 2 litres ham hock stock
  • Meat pulled off 1 ham hock
  • 300g yellow split peas
  • 150g frozen peas

 How to make pea and ham soup

  1. Soak the split peas in a large bowl of cold water overnight.
  2. The next day, rinse well with cold water and leave to drain in a sieve over the bowl. 
  3. Heat a little rapeseed oil in a large pan.
  4. Finely chop 2 medium onions and 2 sticks celery.
  5. Fry onions and celery in the oil until soft.
  6. Grate the carrot and add to the pan.
  7. Pour in the stock.
  8. Add the split peas.
  9. Season with pepper and bring to the boil.
  10. Reduce to a simmer and continue cooking until the split peas are mushy.*
  11. Check the seasoning.
  12. Turn off the heat.
  13. Add the frozen peas - they will cook in the residual heat from the soup.
  14. Leave the soup to cool a little.
  15. Liquidise in batches.
  16. To serve, heat up only as much soup as you need, adding some of the ham pulled from the hock to warm through.
*The time taken for the split peas to become mushy will depend on how old they are -- if they have been sitting in the back of your cupboard for ages they could take a long time to go soft. 


Wednesday 2 April 2014

Toasting seeds

Linseeds, it turns out, toast quicker than other seeds. Or, as some would have it, burn.

Thursday 13 February 2014

A ploomin disaster Sunday lunch for friends

Plum harvest 2012, preserved with WD40

A Sunday lunch menu for friends


Moules mariniere with homemade bread
Beef and oxtail casserole
No plum crumble


Here's a post which has been 99% written for about a year and a half - I have no idea why I didn't finish and publish it sooner. Coincidentally I just wrote a beef and Guinness pie post last weekend. 

Last year (2013) I had a complete plum harvest failure, and had to beg, borrow and steal apples to make chutney

In 2012 I had a bumper plum harvest. 

I froze a hefty amount (almost 1.4kg) to make plum crumble for when I had friends round for Sunday lunch. 

I even made the crumble topping by combining flour, butter, demerara sugar and hazelnuts in the food processor, and froze that too. I hoped the sugar and hazelnuts would give a lovely crunch to the crumble. They may well do but I've yet to try it - it ended up festering in my freezer for a few months before being chucked out.

Plums, it turns out, do not freeze well. They turn to a pulpy mush that is 95% juice. 

We ended up skipping the crumble and moving straight onto the cheese. And another fail: I forgot to serve this with my plum chutney. D'oh.

Moules mariniere ingredients

  • 2 banana shallots 
  • A wineglass of dry white wine
  • A large knob butter
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 3 or 4 tablespoons flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
  • Splash of double cream  
  • Mussels. A lot. I asked my fishmonger for enough museels for 6 as a starter, then asked him to add more. The whole massive lot came to under a tenner. Wow! In a restaurant these would probably cost the same amount per portion. We had so many we couldn't even eat them all. 

How to make moules mariniere

Scrub the mussels clean in plenty of cold running water, discarding any that don't close when tapped sharply with the back of a knife. I guess this means they are still alive, but I'd rather not think too much about that. Remove the beards from any mussels that still have them by pulling them to the corner of the mussel then yanking vigorously.

You will need a very large pan to cook the mussels in - I use a stock pot. 


  1. Boil the wine rapidly for about 30 seconds to get rid of any harsh flavour, then remove from the pan. 
  2. Chop a couple of banana shallots very finely.
  3. Melt the butter in the pan then add the shallots and bay leaves.
  4. Stir to coat in the butter then add the wine and bring to the boil.
  5. Add the mussels then cover with a lid.
  6. Cook for a few minutes, shaking the pan vigorously about every minute, until the mussels open. 
  7. Add the cream and parsley and stir.
    Serve in a large bowl in the middle of the table, with another bowl for the discarded shells, and crusty bread.
  8. Do not eat any mussels that have not opened. 


Home-made white bread, perfect with mussels

White bread


I can't tell you how I made the bread in case I am asked to remove the recipe. I chose it because it was quick to make, and since it turned out very well its a shame I can't share it with you. 

Beef and oxtail casserole ingredients

  • Onions - 4 medium/large
  • Carrots - 4 large
  • Swede - 1 small
  • Celery - 2 sticks
  • Guniness - 2 bottles
  • Thyme - about 10 sprigs
  • Flour - about 3 tablespoons
  • Stewing steak - about 1.5kg, cut into chunks
  • Oxtail  - 8 pieces
  • Parsley, to serve*


*Personaly, I hate parsley. But some recipes, such as this one,  do taste better with a little sprinkling of the chopped herb. And for some recipes, such as moules mariniere (above), it is absolutely integral. Hence I had some to add to the casserole. 

Don't be tempted to put tinned tomatoes or tomato puree in this - I think it distracts from the flavour of the beef, whereas the Guinness enhances it. 

How to make beef and oxtail in Guinness

  1. Heat the oven to the Magic Cooking Number, 190 degrees C fan. 
  2. Heat a little rapeseed oil in a large casserole pan.
  3. Add the onions and fry gently for about 10 minutes, till they become translucent and very soft.  If you don't overdo it, this will give the onions a lovely caramelised taste. If you overdo  it will taste burnt. 
  4. Add the carrots, celery and swede.
  5. Fry for about 5 minutes, till the vegetables become slightly softened.
  6. Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir to coat.
  7. Cook for about 3-5 minutes, stirring pretty much constantly.
  8. Turn up the heat and add the pieces of steak. 
  9. Brown the steak then add the oxtail pieces and brown too.
  10. Add the Guinness and bring to the boil.
  11. Cover with a lid and put in the oven for 2 hours.
 
I know this is going to cause controversy, but I served Yorkshire puddings with this casserole. Normally, my Yorkies rise well and are huge; for some reason this time they were a little flat. So another fail. 

Monday 10 February 2014

Beef, Guiness and Stilton pie



My take on Jamie Oliver's no nonsense beef, Guinness and cheese pie. Substituting the cheddar for Stilton turns this pie into real man-food.


Beef, Guinness and Stilton pie ingredients



  • 800g stewing beef, cut into chunks
  • 500ml Guinness
  • 3 small onions
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 4 sprigs rosemary
  • 2 medium carrots
  • 3 sticks celery
  • About 75g Stilton
  • 1 tablespoon plain flour
  • 4 portabello mushrooms
  • Homemade spelt rough puff pastry
  • A little egg


How to make beef, Guinness and Stilton pie



  1. Heat a tablespoon  of rapeseed oil in your largest Le Creuset casserole dish. If you don't have a selection of Le Creuset dishes, buy a large one to start with then ask for varying sized ones for birthdays and Christmas. The initial outlay may be expensive, but the rest of this recipe is pretty economical. 
  2. Heat the oven to the Magic Cooking Number 190 degrees C.
  3. Chop the onions roughly and fry gently for about 10 minutes.
  4. Chop the garlic finely.
  5. Roughly cut the celery and 1 of the carrots into large pieces. Grate the other carrot. 
  6. Pull the needles off the rosemary and chop finely. 
  7. If you're lucky enough to get your beef from an over-priced butcher with its own branded waxed paper, spread the beef out on the paper and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon plain flour then season generously with salt and black pepper. Pull up the 4 corners of the paper and give the whole lot a good shake to coat the beef with the seasoned flour. 
  8. If your beef comes from a normal butcher or (heaven forbid!) a supermarket, just put the meat, four, salt and pepper in a large bowl and toss together. 
  9. Add the garlic, carrots and celery then turn up the heat and add the floured beef and the rosemary.
  10. Fry for about 5 minutes till most of the meat is browned.
  11. Add the Guinness - if this doesn't completely cover the contents of the pan add some water so it does.
  12. Cover with the lid and bring to the boil.
  13. Put in the pre-heated oven for an hour and a half.

    My mum marinades the beef overnight in the Guinness when she makes this pie, but Jamie doesn't. As a compromise I got to this stage on Saturday evening and then switched the oven off, leaving the cooked beef in the Guinness overnight.
              
  14. The next day I cooked the beef for a further hour with the lid off to thicken the sauce, again at 190C.

    This actually reduced a little too much, but luckily I had a small pot of beef stock in the freezer which I added, ending up with the right amount of liquid.
  15. Remove from the oven and leave to cool while you make the pastry. You can of course use bough puff pastry if you prefer.
  16. Tip the beef into a pie dish and crumble the cheese into it.
  17. Roll out enough pastry to cover the top.

    I normally only cover the top of the pie with pastry, much to the disgust of Ollie, who says this is not a real pie. Today, because I'd made double quantity pastry, I did a top and bottom pastry pie, or, essentially, a giant pasty. However, I was right in my assumption that this would result in a soggy bottom - next time it will be top only.
  18. Drape the pastry over the pie dish and press down firmly around the lip of the dish. 
  19. Score the pastry with a knife in a criss-cross pattern. 
  20. Brush the pastry with a little beaten egg.
  21. Cook at 190C for about 45 minutes. 
Steak for pie
For some reason I forgot to take a picture of the actual pie, although I took one of the steak, raw and cooked:




Steak and Stilton before the pie bit was added












I do, however, appear to have a collection of photos of pies, so here's what it could have looked like: 

 
A pie (slightly blurred)

Monday 3 February 2014

Pasta with mushrooms

This was a really tasty pasta dish. Since I'd already made the mushroom ragu it was ready in the time it took the pasta to cook (just under 10 minutes). 




Pasta with mushrooms and walnuts

Pasta with mushrooms ingredients


  • 2 rashers streaky bacon, chopped
  • 1 portion leftover mushroom ragu (which contains Stilton)
  • A v small handful walnuts
  • Sploosh red wine
  • a slice feta, crumbled
  • About 50ml cream, or as much as you have left over from something else
  • 4 cherry tomatoes
  • 50 ml milk if needed
  • Enough pasta for 2 people (I used conchiglie)

How to make pasta with mushrooms

  1. Boil the kettle then fill a large pan with boiling water.
  2. Add a large pinch of salt to the water, then add the pasta. 
  3. Heat a large frying pan on a high heat
  4. Add the chopped streaky bacon and fry until the fat begins to render and the bacon is crisp.
  5. Add the walnuts and fry for about a minute.
  6. Add the red wine and cook till most of the liquid has evaporated.
  7. Reduce the heat and add the mushroom ragu and tomatoes.
  8. Cook till the ragu has warmed through, the tomatoes have burst and the pasta is ready.
  9. Drain the pasta, reserving a small amount of the water, and blanch with freshly boiled water. 
  10. Add the cream and the reserved cooking water to the sauce. If it is still a little too tick, add the milk.
  11. Tip the pasta back into the pan and pour in the sauce.
  12. Add the crumbled feta and toss to coat the pasta with the sauce.
  13. Serve in warm bowls.

Friday 31 January 2014

Keith Floyd's garlic chicken

My sister-in-law showed me this recipe when I last saw her on New Year's Eve. I have to admit I didn't pay that much attention to it at the time (I was watching Julie and Julia), so when O suggested I make it, it took a bit of online searching to find it. Eventually I came across it on this cycling forum:

http://www.cyclechat.net/threads/pot-roast-chicken-with-100-cloves-of-garlic.86254/

It is an incredibly blokey recipe, I admit. I could not Cope with the amount of Capital Letters used in the Recipe and had to Correct them in my version below, which also includes little more detail than the bike shop boys give. The cycling forum version also suggests that wind (or, as they call it, Wind) might be a consequence of eating this recipe. I don't think you are actually supposed to eat all the garlic that you cook - in fact I think we stopped at 1 or 2 cloves. 

The cycling forum also suggests the chicken is served with tagliatelle and a balsamic-dressed salad. I served this with rice, and forgot to take a photo. Unfortunately, I don't think there will be a next time. 


Ingredients for Keith Floyd's garlic chicken


  • 1 large chicken
  • 12 bulbs* garlic
  • 250 ml red wine vinegar
  • I bunch fresh thyme

*Yes, bulbs.

How to make Keith Floyd's garlic chicken


Heat the oven to 180 degrees C
Break up the garlic bulbs into unpeeled cloves, keeping 2 bulb's worth of cloves separate from the rest.
Place these 2 bulb's worth of garlic inside the cavity of the chicken along with the thyme.
Season the chicken with salt and pepper, then rub all over with olive oil.
Place the remaining garlic in a large casserole dish for which you have a lid.
Put the chicken on top of the garlic.

Pour in the red wine vinegar.
Cover the pot with the lid and place in the oven for 60-75 mins.

Take the lid off and cook for another 30 to 40 mins - if it looks like it is drying out, add a little water.
 

Tuesday 28 January 2014

Soda bread

To go with the easiest soup in the world, here's the easiest bread in the world. It contains no yeast and so doesn't require proving and there's no kneading. Instead, bicarbonate of soda is used as the leavening agent, hence the name 'soda bread'.

I based my soda bread on the Delia Smith recipe which can be found in Delia's How to Cook Book 1. I haven't been able to find her recipe online so have outlined the differences between mine and Delia's versions here. My variations were based entirely on what ingredients I had in the kitchen. The resulting loaf made a pretty amazing accompaniment to leek and potato soup.


Soda bread* ingredients


*Delia calls hers Irish soda bread. 

  • 175g wholemeal flour (not wholemeal bread flour) plus extra for dusting
  • 50g plain flour
  • 50g medium oatmeal (Delia uses pinhead oatmeal)
  • 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
  • 1.5 teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 275ml buttermilk or yoghurt - Delia specifies buttermilk since but I only had about 50ml I topped it up to the full amount with yoghurt.

Delia includes 25g wheatgerm in her recipe. I don't. Apparently it's very good for you. 


How to make soda bread

  1. Butter a 450g loaf tin.
  2. Heat the oven to the Magic Cooking Number, 190C.
  3. Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
  4. Add the egg to the buttermilk/yoghurt and beat together.
  5. Pour the liquid into the dry ingredients and mix together to form a stiff dough.
  6. Put the dough into the prepared tin and smooth the top.
  7. Sprinkle with a little additional flour.
  8. Bake for 50-60 minutes. 

Alternative soda bread recipe


Alternative soda bread

Following on from last weekend's experimental baking, I decided to have a go at another soda bread recipe. Again, the ingredients and quantities used were mainly based on what was in the cupboard, so I think a degree of flexibility is perfectly acceptable. 

Alternative soda bread ingredients

  • 50g medium oatmeal
  • 125ml water
  • 75g Greek yoghurt
  • 75ml milk
  • 1 teaspoon soft brown sugar
  • 175g wholemeal flour
  • 1 teaspoon fine salt
  • 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
  • 15g butter

How to make alternative soda bread 

  1. Add the oatmeal to a large pan and cover with the water.
  2. Bring to the boil then turn off the heat.
  3. Cover with a lid and leave for 50 minutes.
  4. Beat the yoghurt, milk and sugar together and keep in the fridge till needed.
  5. After 50 minutes, add the butter to the oatmeal and beat until it disappears.
  6. Heat the oven to 190 degrees C (the Magic Cooking Number)
  7. Add the yoghurt mixture to the oatmeal and beat until smooth.
  8. Add the flour, bicarb and salt to the mixture and beat together to form a sticky dough.
  9. Butter and line a loaf tin.
  10. Tip the dough into the tin and cover the top, either with silicome paper if using, or tin foil.
  11. Bake for 15 minutes.
  12. Remove the foil/silicone and bake for another 30 minutes.



Monday 27 January 2014

Leek and potato soup

This has to be the easiest soup in the world to make, and surely one of the most satisfying to eat - it feels like putting on a big fluffy pair of slippers.

Goes perfectly with homemade soda bread. 
 

Leek and potato soup with homemade soda bread


My brother told me how to make this soup after having made it when he was in primary school. He is 33 now so does that mean I can call it 'an old family recipe'?


Leek and potato soup ingredients


  • Rapeseed oil*
  • 1 large onion
  • 2 large leeks
  • 2 medium floury potatoes
  • 1 litre vegetable stock
  • Plenty salt and pepper
  • A little grated Cheddar, to serve

*I doubt my brother recommended using rapeseed oil so feel free to substitute for olive or butter. 


How to make leek and potato soup


  1. Heat a little rapeseed oil in a large pan.
  2. Chop the onion finely and add to the pan.
  3. Put the lid on the pan and sweat the onions over a low heat while you prepare the leeks.
  4. Remove the outer leaves from the leeks, then chop into long batons. Slice each baton lengthways, then run under the cold tap to remove any soil.
  5. Slice the cleaned leeks into smaller pieces.
  6. Add to the onions and sweat until both are soft (about 10 minutes)
  7. Peel the potatoes and cut into even sized pieces.
  8. Add the vegetable stock to the pan.
  9. Add the potatoes and season with plenty salt and pepper.
  10. Put the lid back on the pan and bring everything to the boil.
  11. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are tender.
  12. Leave the soup to cool slightly, then either liquidise in a food processor or mash with a potato masher.
  13. Check the seasoning. 
  14. Sprinkle over a little grated Cheddar to serve.

Sunday 26 January 2014

Carrot and lentil soup

It's been raining for what seems like a year so I need to stock up my freezer with a selection of soups for lunch at work. While the best soups always contain cheese (cauliflower/broccoli and blue cheese, leek and potato with cheddar), lentils can turn an essentially dull vegetable soup into a satisfying meal, while still being healthy.

I was feeling lazy when I made this soup, and couldn't be bothered to dry roast and crush any fresh spices so I used pre-ground spices instead. The result was disappointing, until I upped the quantity used considerably. 

 

Carrot and lentil soup ingredients

  • 3 large carrots, peeled and grated
  • 2 sticks celery, finely chopped
  • 1/2 swede or a turnip
  • 1 medium onion, finely diced
  • 3 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 2 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric 
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon asafoetida
  • 1 teaspoon sambal oelek or other chilli sauce
  • 2 JOTs fresh root ginger, peeled and grated
  • I teaspooon fresh ginger paste
  • 150g red lentils, rinsed
  • 2 teaspoons Swiss bouillon stock powder
  • Rind of 1 orange
  • Plenty salt and black pepper
  • About 1 litre water 

 

How to make carrot and lentil soup


  1. Heat a little rapeseed oil in a large pan till hot.
  2. Add the chopped onion and celery and fry till soft and golden.
  3. Add the grated carrot and ginger, and cook for about 5 minutes over a low heat.
  4. Add the spices, approx 1 litre cold water and the lentils.
  5. Bring to the boil then reduce to a simmer.
  6. Add some boiling water to the Swiss bouillon stock powder and mix till dissolved and you have a watery liquid then pour this in the pan. 
  7. Add the grated orange zest and ginger paste. 
  8. Turn off the heat and allow the soup to cool slightly before tasting and adding seasoning. 



Thursday 23 January 2014

Really complicated dahl soup

I made a really complicated dahl recipe by from the Guardian by Urvesh Parvais (me neither) when some friends came round for lunch on New Year's Day. As usual, I had tons left over, and as usual I turned the leftover dahl into soup.

Really complicated dahl soup
As I said, this dahl was really complicated. To give you an idea how complicated, here's the list of ingredients:


Complicated dahl ingredients

  • red lentils 250g
  • sunflower oil 3 tbsp 
  • dry chilli 1 
  • cumin seeds 1 heaped tsp 
  • asafoetida ¼ tsp 
  • garlic ½ small bulb, sliced 1mm 
  • onion ½, finely sliced
  • turmeric ½ level tsp 
  • salt 2 level tsp (then add to taste) 
  • ginger finely chopped 1½ heaped tbsp 
  • green chilli 2, finely chopped (adjust to your taste) 
  • dhana jeru (2 parts coriander seed, 1 part cumin seed) 3 heaped tsp 
  • fresh coriander ½ bunch (reserve a little for garnish), roughly chopped 
  • tomatoes 100g, roughly chopped 
  • jaggery (or sugar) 1½ level tsp (add less to begin with then adjust to taste) 
  • garam masalo ½ level tsp

I could go on to explain the extremely complicated method for making this dahl, but my guess is you're not going to bother making it, so I'm not going to bother writing it. If you fancy giving it a shot, go to the Guardian website.  

My friends did say that it was lovely dahl, though it was a little too thick for my liking. However, when I turned it into soup and had some at work it was way too garlicky. When I first read the recipe I wasn't sure if it really meant 1/2 bulb garlic, or if this was a typo and was meant to read 1/2 clove garlic. Deciding a clove was too little and a bulb too much, I think I settled on about 4 cloves. The garlic is sliced, not crushed, and half of it is added in the last 5-10 minutes' cooking time. It was these slices that I picked out of my soup, though admittedly they were slightly larger than the recommended 1mm thickness. Guiltily, I threw away the remaining portion of soup.

Polenta with tomato sauce


This recipe comes from the River Cottage Veg Book, my favourite (only) vegetarian cookery book. You can find the original recipe here.

However I used my own Magic Number tomato sauce recipe rather than the one in the book. As a rule, I never add even a pinch of sugar to tomato sauce.


Polenta. Meh
I hate any recipe that requires frying (other than onions etc) - I can't stand oil spluttering all over the place, hate things getting stuck to the pan and seem to have real problems flipping food over. So maybe this wasn't the best choice of recipe for me, but I wanted to give it a go.

As I anticipated I found the whole frying thing pretty stressful. I had to use way more oil than I'd like and the polenta slices still broke up. I found the results a bit 'meh', but was surprised that Ollie really liked it.

Having bought a pack of quick cook polenta especially to make this recipe, I now have an almost full packet left. So expect some more culinary polenta adventures soon.