Really Hungry

Pâte Brisée - shortcrust pastry

2011-12-01T22:33:00.002Z

Is there anything finer than a perfect shortcrust pastry? It is simplicity itself. Perfectly light and buttery, crisp and golden brown. The savoury taste lends itself equally well to a rich and creamy quiche or a sweet treacle tart. And if you want to perfect your pastry I really can't recommend Michel Roux's Pastry Savoury and Sweet highly enough. His recipes have never failed me. His explanations are clear, concise and enticing. You can use a processor to combine all the ingredients together but be careful to only use the pulse function as overworking the flour will toughen the pastry.

Wild mushroom and tarragon tart

I chose his Pâte Brisée for the wild mushroom and tarragon tart that I made for my recent supper club starter. I hope you enjoy it.

250g plain flour
150g butter, cut into small pieces and slightly softened
1sp salt
pinch of caster sugar
1 egg
1 tbsp cold milk

Heap the flour on the work surface and make a well in the middle. Put in the butter, salt, sugar and egg and slowly mix and cream the central ingredients together with your finger tips.
When the mixture is combined slowly draw in the flour by working gently and quickly with your finger tips. The mixture will be starting to clump but will not yet be wet enough to stick together
Add the milk slowly at this stage and once it starts to hold together, use the palm of your hand to push the dough away from you 4 or 5 times. Once fully incorporated into a dough, wrap with cling film and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

The most important meal of the day

2011-09-12T13:36:00.003+01:00

For some reason every time I eat breakfast I end up twice as hungry by lunchtime. I guess this is because it kick starts the metabolism and you end up using more energy but it always seems a little unfair when it happens. I've never really been one of those people who claim to love the first meal of the day above all others. As far as I am concerned any meal where it isn't acceptable to eat roast potatoes and slow roast pork is always going to finish in second place. But a friend asked me to think of some lovely healthy breakfast ideas and I was surprised how tantalising my list sounds. But sadly not that healthy:

eggs benedict

huevos rancheros

muffins

banana pancakes

hash browns

kedgeree

So I had to have another stab. It did occur to me that I know a fine recipe for muesli, some marvellous smoothies and also a couple of very nice, light muffin recipes that are freezable so you can cook up a batch that will last a fortnight. Not to mention the fantastically continental combo of fresh fruit, yoghurt and honey.

So first up I'm going to go with smoothie recipes. You can pre-chop all your fruit in advance and freeze it in batches so you only ever need to prep it all once. Once made they last in the fridge up to 2 days if stored in an airtight container. I've even used bought frozen berries in the past, as they tend to be cheaper. If you do use frozen fruit and have a solid blender (ideally with a glass jug) you can blend the fruit directly from frozen, giving your breakfast drink a lovely refreshing zing. 150ml of juice gives you a final serving size of approximately 250ml. I always use apple juice in my smoothies to provide a neutral base but you can use whatever juice you prefer. Just bung the lot into the blender, whizz it up and pour. If you are feeding little (fussy) people you can pass the smoothie through a sieve first to get rid of the bits. All quantities are for 4 glasses so you can either adjust for what you need.

Blueberry and fig smoothie with Earl Grey tea.

You will need a blender or liquidiser to produce these.

Charantais melon and strawberry

200g chopped charantais melon
200g hulled strawberry
600ml apple juice
1 slice orange, no skin

Watermelon and mint smoothie

200g chopped watermelon (without seeds)
1 handful fresh mint leaves
100g greek yoghurt
1 tblsp pouring honey
500ml apple juice

Blueberry and fig smoothie

200g blueberries
2 figs, chopped
100g greek yoghurt
500ml apple juice
Juice of half a lemon

Bramble smoothie

200g mixed berries (raspberries, blackberries, red currants, strawberries)
600ml apple juice

Cherry and mango smoothie

200g frozen, pitted cherries
100g chopped mango
100g greek yoghurt
500ml apple juice

The morns are meeker than they were

2011-09-09T09:00:00.000+01:00

I hate to say it folks but the weather has turned. It's over. Summer is gone. Adieu.

Back in April I commented blithely that we appeared to be having our summer 3 months early and now I am proved to be some kind of omniscient being, worshipped and adored by many. We've just experienced the coldest August in 17 years which was also 46% wetter than normal. I witness this every day at work in my lovely Surrey country estate. The leaves are turning, the nuts are starting to fall and the squirrels, rabbits and hares engage in a whirlwind of autumnal organisation. Not to mention the woodpeckers. I'm not 100% sure what it is woodpeckers do in Autumn but seeing the greater spotted woodpeckers and green woodpeckers going about their business everyday has improved my quality of life immeasurably. Not to mention the fact that I get to dig out my Autumn wardrobe, buy cords, scarves and wear those lovely little wrist warmer things that look like half a glove.

All of this has put me in the mood for comfort food. Something hearty and warming, ideally in vast quantities so that I can freeze up for those tired evenings that I just can't be bothered lifting another knife. This next recipe combines two of my favourite things after mushrooms, spinach and lamb. It's a simple enough process to make and uses cheap cuts of meat so you can keep your budgets down. I'm using lamb rump offcuts that are incredibly fatty so I rendered the stew down for far longer than stated here in order to skim off the excess. The resulting curry is not too spicy although it does warm right through to the fingertips with a soft fiery tingle. The sharp iron flavour of the spinach compliments the combined sweetness of the lamb and the coconut. Obviously this is a saag gosht but I make no claims as to authenticity, so I'll stick with a plain ol' spinach and lamb curry.

This recipe serves approximately 6, with rice or naan bread.

Spinach and lamb curry

800g lamb in 2cm chunks (shank, chump or neck are all perfect for this slow cooked dish)
2 tblsp vegetable oil
5 cloves
5 cardamom pods, crushed
2 pepper corns
2 tblsp ginger and garlic paste (I just throw peeled ginger and garlic into the processor and blitz - finely diced would work just as well)
2 white onions, finely chopped
2 tblsp tomato purée
1 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp salt
500ml water
500g chopped fresh spinach
handful chopped fresh coriander
5 tsp plain yoghurt
2 tblsp grated coconut (or dessicated)
pinch garam masala for decoration

Heat the oil and fry off the cloves, cardamom and pepper for a couple of minutes.
Add the onion and garlic and ginger paste and cook until soft and translucent before stirring in the meat, all the dried spices (except the garam masala) and the tomato puree. Cook for 5 mins until the lamb is browned and the puree has completely cooked out (until it no longer tastes sharply of tomato)
Stir in the water, lower the heat right down and leave to simmer for 1 hour, skimming off any fat as necessary.
Now add the yoghurt in thirds, fully incorporating one batch before the next is added. Add the spinach and the ground almonds and cover. Simmer for a further 30 minutes.
Remove the lid, stir the contents and simmer until any excess liquid has evaporated leaving you with a thick, spinachy sauce. Serve and sprinkle with a pinch of garam masala.

As the spinach cooks it will soften to form the sauce

Tortilla de patatas a la española

2011-09-08T09:00:00.001+01:00

Continuing my fairly tenuous theme of light lunches today I offer you the Spanish omelette. If you put a potato and an egg in a pan with a bit of salt you are almost guaranteed to get something delicious, right?

I first tried tortilla when I lived in Northern Spain in my early twenties. At the time I was vegetarian and struggling to find nourishment in a strange and foreign land. Back in the mid-nineties I was viewed with intense suspicion and most places that claimed to serve vegetarian food would offer pizza or omelette with sliced ham in it. This simple repast kept me alive for the 4 months before I finally decided to taste a little bit of chorizo and it was all ¡Hola cerdito! from there on in. Now I use it as a faithful option for a light summery lunch but it's also a fabulous side dish for a barbeque, a cold roast chicken or even sliced in a hunk of baguette. If bread, egg and potato in one meal is wrong then, hell I don't wanna be right! For a healthier option you can also use courgette and red pepper to create a delicious fritatta, maybe I'll do one of those soon.

I served this with a rocket, chorizo and red pepper salad and added some sweet sun-blush tomatoes for a little extra zing. Back when the sun was shining it was a lovely garden picnic.

Tortilla de patatas a la española

400ml sunflower oil
1kg starchy potatoes (Desiree, King Edward, Maris Piper), thinly sliced
8 eggs
2 tblsp olive oil
S&P to taste

Heat the sunflower oil in a large frying pan. Add the potatoes and cook until soft and golden brown, not too dark or crisp, remove from the pan and drain well.
Beat the eggs well and season to taste. Add the potato slices and combine with the egg.
Heat the olive oil in a large deep-sided frying pan and pour in the egg and potato mixture. Turn the heat down to the lowest setting to gently cook your tortilla without burning the bottom. Gently shake the pan occasionally to prevent sticking and check the setting consistency of the centre of the omelette.
Once the the lower half of the omelette is set you can either invert the omelette on to a plate and slide back into the pan to continue cooking or place the pan under a hot grill to cook the top. Once cooked and set, turn out onto a board for cutting and serving. You are aiming for a set consistency but not too dry, which would indicate that it has been over-cooked.

Spot the geek

It's got bite. Well...it is wild!

2011-09-07T11:29:00.000+01:00

Wild rice is something of a treat for me. It's got this hugely healthy reputation but what I always forget is that it is utterly delicious. Nutty, woody, fragrant and with a delicious bite that complements pretty much all textures and doesn't overpower the taste of anything you add to it. This salad is summery and light but manages to remain so filling. Serve by itself as a vegetarian dish or as a side dish to roast chicken if you prefer something a bit larger.

I've used peashoots for their sharp sweetness which is offset by the aniseed of the fennel and the lemony dressing. The brunoise of carrot and onion adds a crunch behind the natural chewiness of the rice. Honestly I could eat this every day of the week and never tire of it. A 250g box of wild rice produces about 6 portions of salad as a main dish. It freezes well though so I tend to boil up the whole packed and then I freeze portions in case I need a quick lunch for one later in the week.

Wild rice salad (serves 6)

250g wild rice
1 fennel thinly sliced
10 cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 red onion, very finely diced
1 handful peashoots (or watercress), lightly chopped
1 carrot, very finely diced

Lemon vinaigrette

1 part fresh lemon juice
3 parts olive oil (not extra virgin)
1 tsp dijon mustard
2 tsp liquid honey
S&P to taste

First boil the wild rice in a large pan for 25-30 mins. The Tilda packets say 40-50 mins but I've never needed that amount of time. It should be soft in the centre and starting to split to reveal the soft white centre. Once cooked, drain and plunge in cold water to stop it from cooking.
In a large salad bowl mix the diced carrot and onion, the peashoots, the fennel slices, tomato and the rice and then coat with dressing and stir together. I like a lot of vinaigrette but it's up to you. Less will obviously be healthier and more will be richer.

A note on the vinaigrette. This goes well with many dishes. I use it as a dressing for any salad as well as cous cous and it's delightful with chicken. You can adjust the sweetness depending on how much honey you use and it's also delicious with one small crushed garlic clove added. Although make sure your guests aren't garlic phobic before serving them this.

Smoked salmon roulade

2011-09-06T09:00:00.002+01:00

If you are anything like me you probably don't go to a huge amount of effort with presentation when you are making your evening meals. Personally I'm as happy with a hearty bowl of ragu as I am with an intricately designed trio of sea bass but sometimes it's nice to make an effort. I wanted something that could be a light snack as easily as it could be a smart starter at a dinner party. This is a dish that we use on our wedding functions at work, which I've tweaked slightly to my tastes. It looks so pretty when plated up like this but can be just as satisfying scooped up on a spoon and spread generously on a hunk of lovely fresh bread or toast.

This roulade uses smoked salmon and cream cheese, with a hint of lemon to bring out the sweetness. It's also possible to make it with double cream and gelatine but I wanted something quick and easy to whip up at home. It's slightly fussy to roll, but not so difficult that you'll want to give up. Sorry about the photo quality, I couldn't find my camera charger and had to resort to the Desire camera. Which despite HTC's fancy dan claims is just not all that. But don't tell my iph*ne totin' husband because he's smug enough as it is.

Smoked salmon roulade

200g smoked salmon slices
150g diced smoked salmon
rind of 1 lemon
S&P to taste
1 leaf gelatine
150g cream cheese

In a food processor blend the cream cheese, diced smoked salmon, S&P and lemon rind until you have a smooth creamy mixture.
On the salmon flat that came with the packaging lay a large rectangular sheet of clingfilm. On top of that lay each salmon slice flat, leaving a clingfilm border round the edge. Aim for a thin rectangular layer but don't leave any gaps.
Use a butter knife or a palate knife to smooth the cream cheese mix over the salmon layer. Make sure you cover right to the edges and make sure it's as even as possible.
Now grab the short side of the clingfilm border and fold the salmon away from you. Tuck the salmon layer tightly in and use the clingfilm to roll the tube shape, as if you were rolling a large cigar. Be careful not to roll the clingfim inside the salmon. When completely rolled twist the ends to hold the roll in shape and carefully lay on a flat shelf in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
Remove from the fridge, cut through the clingfilm to create sliuces approximately 1cm thick and carefully peel away the plastic from your slices before serving.

Tube o salmon

Served with watercress, red pepper and sunblush tomato with a lemon vinaigrette

Sun-blush tomatoes

2011-09-05T09:00:00.002+01:00

If you are currently reaping the benefits of your tomato crop you'll no doubt have a glut round about now. Not me, you understand. I live in a first floor flat and couldn't be arsed with anything more than a pot of herbs which I killed after 3 weeks. The farmer's markets are full of them though and British toms are cheap as chips in the supermarket. Nothing says summer like the fresh, sunny taste of a straight-from-the-vine plum tomato. But for a true taste sensation I reckon you'd have to go a long way to beat the home-grown cherry. Bursting with sweetness and crunchy as a kumquat I could eat them morning, noon and night, with plenty left over for snacks in between.

If however you do start to crave something else, here's an idea of a way to preserve your tomatoes for the coming weeks. Sun blush tomatoes are semi-dried in the oven and tend to be sweeter and prettier than their sun-dried cousins. At work we use them as a garnish for twice baked soufflé or salmon roulade. When I make them at home I store them in jars and cover them with extra virgin olive oil to prolong their life. Kept in the fridge they'll last for 3-4 weeks like this and they are lovely in salads, Spanish tortilla, as a filling for chicken or just straight out of the jar with a sexy wedge of Camembert. And what's more they couldn't be easier to make.

Sun-blush tomato

As many cherry tomatoes as you can fit on a tray, basically
A handful of fresh thyme
A healthy pinch of smoked sea salt
2 turns of freshly ground black pepper (depending on the volume of tomatoes)
2 tblsp extra version olive oil (for baking)
100ml olive oil (for jarring, if required)

Slice your tomatoes in half through the core. Sprinkle with the freshly picked thyme leaves, salt and pepper and olive oil.
Finally place any vines left over on the tray (for that lovely aroma to seep into the tomatoes) and place in the centre of a very low oven (110C) for 2-3 hours. When they are semi-dry, ie dry on the outside, but still juicy to the bite, they are ready.
If you want to jar them, wait until they are completely cold before transferring them to the jam jar and completely covering with the olive oil.

I have all this money and no-one will help me

2011-09-02T09:00:00.003+01:00

This post will contain no food. It will contain no pretty photos. It will contain nothing in fact. Nothing but me moaning on about why colleges cannot function like any other organisation.

When I applied for the NVQ2 course back in April 2010 it took 5 months of wrong information. Confusing details about why and how the NVQ was changing to the VRQ and how that would affect me as a mature and self-funding student before I eventually started the course. The administrator in charge of course admissions stood me up for five telephone calls and two face-to-face meetings before I finally embarked on a full time VRQ1 course on her fricking advice! Only to realise after one day that I would be with 16 year-old kids, with what I can only charitably refer to as *concentration issues*. So I swiftly changed onto the NVQ2 part-time course which I have just completed and passed (Yay). Every time I saw her I had to stop myself from shouting in her face about how bloody useless she was. The course itself had plenty of issues but I put my head down and finished ahead of time.

So now I'm looking for an NVQ3 in Professional Cookery. It will no longer be available at last year's college as the NVQs are being phased out in favour of the new VRQs. After much research I have located one about 25 miles away but they haven't yet decided whether or not they will run a part time course (ie 1 day-a-week day release) or whether I will have to do an apprenticeship, which involves learning on the job with regular visits from an assessor. But once again the world of academia baffles me into a rage. What is WRONG with today's educational establishments? If they had to go out and run as a business in a competitive environment they would go bust in a matter of hours.

I first contact this college in June. It took three phone messages and an email before anybody called me back but when they did they were tremendously helpful and somewhat apologetic that they weren't yet in a position to confirm exactly what course would be available in September. Something to do with the cost of running the course versus the demand for it. Which all seems fair enough. So I arranged to see them and during our brief meeting it was decided that an apprenticeship would be the best course of action for me and they would contact me within one week to confirm the cost. This was in early July. They never called back. I called every week for 3 weeks before being told that the person concerned was actually on holiday for the summer and would be back in September. Fucking A!

Have I mentioned that I'm self-funding? I feel like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman, with handfuls of cash spilling over the boutique floor: 'I have ALL this money and no-one will help me!' I've left another message today but still no response. The course starts in 2 weeks.

So if anyone wants to sponsor me to do a cordon bleu course at Tante Marie or Leith's just say the word. I'll be happy to wear a t-shirt with your name, hell even your face, on it and everything. I honestly never thought it would be this hard to try and educate myself. And if I'm struggling ( a former shit-hot business woman) can you even imagine how the 18 year-olds are coping?

Rant over.

Chicken breast stuffed with sun-dried tomato, basil and parmesan

2011-09-01T09:00:00.004+01:00

We've eaten a lot of salads this summer. Mr Hungry isn't anti-salad as such but I think it's fair to say he is highly suspicious of their lack of carbs and preponderance of greenery. I've therefore been trying out a number of ways to make the idea of salad more appealing. There's a fabulous wild rice and lemon version coming soon but I haven't got a photo of it yet so I'll start with this stuffed chicken.

The salad here is kos, tomato, cucumber,celery and chorizo dressed in a french vinaigrette but ultimately you can serve it with whatever you have to hand. The chicken is tender and complemented perfectly by the sundried tomato and basil inside and the chorizo is - well the chorizo is just because there isn't a salad on the planet that couldn't benefit from a bit of chorizo.

Stuffed chicken with sundried tomato, basil and parmesan

chicken breast with skin
1 jar sun-dried tomatoes, drained well
1 small handful basil leaves
100g grated parmesan
S&P to taste
1 tblsp olive oil

Preheat the oven to 200C.
Add the sun-dried tomato and parmesan to a food processor and blend until smooth. Alternatively chop the tomato finely with a knife before adding the parmesan. Chop the basil into thin ribbons and mix into the tomato and basil mixture.
Remove the fillet from the back of the chicken breast and keep to one side.
(See images below) With a sharp knife carefully score a vertical line from the top of the fillet to the bottom without going all the way through. Now slice sideways from the central cut in order to open the breast up into wings. Do the same on the opposite side so that you have one wing on the left and one on the right. You are aiming for a pouch that will hold the filling. Beware not to slice too deep. If you go through to the outside of the flesh the filling will seep out when cooking.
Now spoon the filling into the centre of the opened out breast in a line from the top of the breast to the bottom. It should be about 1cm in depth and 1cm in widthlace the discarded fillet on top of the filling and then carefully fold the wings over the fillet to close the pouch.
Place the breasts, skin-side-up on a non-stick oven tray, or on a parchment covered tray. Season and sprinkle lightly with oil and bake for 15 -20 mins on 200C until firm to touch or 75C at the core (if you have a digital probe).

Remove the fillet (it should just pull off so you don't need to cut it) and score a line down the centre of the breast from the top to the bottom. Do not cut all the way through.

Slice sideways from the central cut in order to open the breast up into wings, then repeat on the right hand side. This should give you a perfectly innocent looking pouch. It does not look rude. Honestly? You disgust me.

Spoon the filling into the centre of the opened out breast in a line from the top of the breast to the bottom. It should be about 1cm in depth and 1cm in widthlace the discarded fillet on top of the filling and then carefully fold the wings over the fillet to close the pouch.

When you slice the chicken you should get little elongated discs of filling in each slice. Serve with the salad of your choice. The chicken skin keeps the flesh beautifully moist as it bakes. It's also delicious on a bed of puy lentils.

Make room for the mushrooms!

2011-08-30T09:00:00.003+01:00

Three months since my last post. And I've officially missed my first blog birthday by one week. Oh the shame. My first recipe post was on the 18th September so I'll try to bake you (me) a cake for then.

Since I last posted here I've been working 6 day weeks at a busy country estate with all the weddings, parties and events that this entails. I have no other excuses. I've been knackered. On the other hand I've created and perfected tonnes of lovely meals over the summer that I just need to photograph and blog. So if you are interested in lots of healthy yet filling salads as well as the odd cream heavy pasta dish keep watching this space. Now we are almost in September I officially get my life back and hopefully over the next 2 weeks normal blog service will be resumed.

And speaking of cream heavy pasta dishes I want to share this lovely mushroom tagliatelle with you. It's rich and smooth and its taste belies the fact that it takes less than 30 mins to make. You all know by now that I'm a little mushroom obsessed but the beauty of this dish is that you don't need to use fancy wild mushrooms or truffles. I use large field mushrooms with a hint of nutmeg to bring out the sweetness so it's nice and cheap. I assume 80-100g tagliatelle per person, depending on who I'm feeding so this recipe feeds 4 with nice sturdy servings.

The flavour trick behind this (and any cream sauce) is reducing the wine to a syrup as much as you dare before it starts to burn. You'll know when this happens as you'll start choking and spluttering on the fumes;-) Then add the cream and boil hard to reduce and thicken. The result combines all the flavour of the wine and dairy in a delicious, unctuous sauce that coats the pasta and bursts with flavour.

Mushroom tagliatelle

350g tagliatelle
4 large field mushrooms, sliced
1 medium onion finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped or pasted
1 tblsp olive oil and 1 knob butter for sautéing
200ml double cream
1 glass white wine
S&P to taste
Shavings of parmesan for the garnish

Fill a large pan of water and bring to the boil.
While waiting for the water to boil sauté the finely chopped onion and garlic over a medium heat until soft and translucent. Stir continuously to avoid colouring and adjust the heat down if you see it starting to brown.
In a separate shallow pan fry the sliced field mushroom in a knob of butter and a dash of oil until golden brown and almost crisp round the edges. Season the mushrooms while sautéing.
To the onion and garlic now add the white wine and simmer hard until the liquid is almost gone. Then add the cream and bring to the boil. Once boiling, lower the heat and allow to simmer and reduce by a third. Season carefully as the more it reduces the saltier it will become. I half season during cooking and then add any remaining salt once the reduction is complete. Add the pinch of nutmeg at the end.
Once your pasta water is boiling add salt to taste and boil your tagliatelle until al-dente (approx 3 mins for fresh or 10 mins for dried). Always taste the pasta a couple of mins before the time is up just in case it cooks sooner. Drain and add to the cream sauce and stir in the golden mushrooms until completely incorporated. Decorate with a couple of shavings of parmesan.

Roast Vegetables

2011-05-24T19:06:00.001+01:00

Wow it's been a long time since my last blog. 10 hour days in a busy kitchen and one day off a week (at best) has worn me down. But I've decided to use National Vegetarian Week as a reason to come back and the truth is I've missed my avatar's cute and cheerful face.

A roasting dish of liquorish allsorts

Vegetarianism is something I occasionally think of committing to. I spent four years in my teens as an idealogical vegetarian but nowadays the truth is that I love the taste and texture of meat too much to turn my back on it forever. And the challenge of persuading a husband who doesn't believe in non-pig based food to convert to vegetarianism permanently is too much to take on. So this week he is my ~~willing~~ yeah whatever guinea pig. He's taking it well so far and has only sworn at me the once. I suspect he's going to be eating nothing but bacon and frankfurters for his lunch everyday to make up for it but the evening meal will be a meat-free zone.

It's also a good excuse to spend some time reading my new book as I try to find inspiration that will persuade Mr Hungry that vegetarianism is not all tofu and alfalfa sprouts.

My first meal is hardly a challenge but after a week of indulgence and a dinner party at my good friend Victoria Glass's incredibly rich and indulgent Alphabet Soup night my body is craving vitamins. It almost seems insulting to write a recipe for roast vegetables but the photos look so colourful and the self indulgence of a butter-filled jacket potato with a plate of roast veg seemed the perfect place to start the week. The quantities are completely up to you, just do equal amounts of each vegetable and cut them all the same size. This dish may take over an hour to cook but the prep time is minimal and once it's in the oven you can pretty much sit back and enjoy yourself.

Beautiful sweet roast vegetables with a hunk of jacket potato

Roast vegetables with slow roasted potato

1/2 red pepper
1 courgette
1/2 aubergine
1/4 celeriac
1/4 butternut squash
4 cloves garlic (in paper)
1 tblsp olive oil
s&p
1 large jacket potato

Preheat oven to 220C. Prick your potato to prevent massive oven explosions and pop on the top shelf for 1 hour 30 mins.
Chop all the vegetables except the garlic into even sized cubes (roughly 1.5 cm) and toss in a large bowl with the olive oil and the salt and pepper then transfer it to a large, shallow-sided roasting dish.
When the potato has been in for 50 mins move it to the middle shelf and put the veg on the top shelf. 20 mins before the end of roasting add the whole garlic cloves, still in their paper and mix amongst the vegetables making surethey are covered with the oil.
Serve the potato with tonnes of butter and a sprig of basil, with the veg either on the side or tumbling out of the top.

Warning: May contain nuts

2011-04-01T10:00:00.032+01:00

Whilst doing a quick wikipedia search for some basic facts about the pecan nut I learnt that it's a species of hickory native to North America. That the name pecan comes from an Algonquian word, and means a nut requiring a stone to crack. And I also learnt that every 100g of nuts has a fat content exceeding...actually I URGE you not to look that up. I doubt I'll ever be able to eat another pecan nut again. Oh who am I kidding, I just ate an entire bag of mini eggs to myself, at least the pecan nut has fibre! As a direct result of this knowledge it was therefore important to choose a recipe which perfectly balanced the health attributes with the bad. What better way to do this than to add it to sugar, syrup and pastry. Behold the Pecan Pie! King of all pies!

Yes, I took this picture just to show off the beautiful, thin, crisp pastry.

For the pastry I chose a traditional pâte sucrée as it is crisp and short and adds that extra (and entirely indulgent) bite of sweetness. The best tip for making sure your pastry remains crisp and doesn't shrink is to chill it well both before and after rolling. I roll it, line the tart tin and then pop it in the freezer until it is completely chilled but not frozen hard before blind baking. The resulting pastry has a bite like short bread and butter richness that you could almost eat like a biscuit.

Pecan Pie - this recipe made a 7" pie and 4 individual tarts.

1 portion of pâte sucrée
200g crushed pecan nuts (I use the food processor)
100g whole pecan nuts for decoration
2 eggs
115g muscovado sugar
90g golden syrup
pinch salt
30g unsalted butter (melted)
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
15g sifted flour (1 tblsp)

Preheat the oven to 200C and put a heavy baking sheet in to warm up. Thoroughly grease the tart tins making sure you don't miss any of the ridges or the tart will not come out of the tin easily.
Make a batch of pâte sucrée and place in fridge to chill for at least 30 mins. Once rested roll and line the tart tins. Don't worry if it breaks, you can patch it up in the tin by pressing an excess piece of pastry over the split and sealing by applying pressure. Once the pastry is pressed into the tin trim the excess by rolling your rolling pin across the top of the tin. Now place the tins in the freezer for 10 mins in order to completely chill the pastry.
Line the tart tins with a cartouche and baking beans or uncooked rice and bake blind for 10 mins, then remove the beans and bake for a further 10 mins. The pastry should be par-cooked but not dark. Once baked leave to cool in the tins, on a rack.
While the pastry case is baking make the filling by mixing the sugar, syrup, salt, sifted flour, melted butter, vanilla essence and nuts in a bowl with the whisked eggs. Stir well and make sure the flour and the sugar are completely mixed in.
Pour the filling into the cooled cases (2/3 full) and decorate the top with the unbroken pecan halves, then bake on 200C for 10 mins before reducing the heat to 170C and baking for a further 30mins for the large pie. The smaller tarts will only need 15 mins at this stage. You will know when it is completey cooked as the filling will be firm in the centre.

The four stages of pie.

Pâte sucrée

2011-03-31T13:52:00.000+01:00

This pastry is traditionally used for filled tarts. The sweet pastry base is pre-baked, filled with custard-rich crème pâtissière and decorated with glazed fruit. It's also fabulous when used for chocolate tarts, lemon tarts and bakewell tarts. The method I learnt involves forming a well of flour on the work surface (as for pasta) and then slowly mixing the other ingredients by using a palette knife and a smearing method that is called to fraiser the pastry. I've simplified this for ease and find the pastry is just as short and crisp. If any pastry chefs read this however and know of any reason why the fraiser method is necessary I'd be more than willing to be persuaded otherwise.

Pâte sucrée

170g plain flour
pinch salt
85g unsalted butter (soft)
3 egg yolks
85g caster sugar
1\2 tsp vanilla essence

Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl.
Cream the sugar and butter, then add lightly whisked egg yolk, vanilla essence and salt and mix.
Incorporate the mixture together with your hand until the paste is smooth but be careful not to over handle it. It will be quite wet but will firm up in the fridge when you rest it.
Then wrap the paste in clingfilm and chill in the fridge for at least 30 mins.
Once the pastry has rested roll it on a floured surface and line a well greased tart tin. Lift the pastry on a rolling pin to prevent splitting and make sure it is pushed into all the corners of the tin so it fits snugly. Don't worry if it breaks, you can patch it up in the tin by pressing an excess piece of pastry over the split and sealing by applying pressure.
Roll the pin over the top of the tart tin (as in the picture) to trim the excess and then place the tins in the freezer to completely chill (but not freeze).
Line the tart tins with a cartouche and baking beans or uncooked rice and bake blind for 10 mins, then remove the beans and bake for a further 15 mins.

If you are using the cases to make filled tarts you can carefully remove from the tin now, but if I wish to use them for pecan tarts, lemon tarts etc I cook then for 5 mins less and the leave them in the tin. They will be baked a second time once filled with the required mixture.

Warm lentil salad

2011-03-28T10:00:00.005+01:00

The daffodils and crocus are bobbing in the gardens and parks. The sun is paying us the occasional visit and yesterday the clocks went forward to usher us into British Summer Time. You may have noticed however that the temperature still has a way to go until we can officially crack open the strawberry and pimms so here is a recipe to make it feel like spring, at the same time as providing a little bit of winter comfort.

This dish is moderately healthy, warming and filling and perfect for lunch on a fresh spring day.

Warm Lentil Salad (serves 2)

400g cooked puy lentils (or 1 can)
1/2 small red onion, very finely diced
1 tblsp of red wine vinegar
1 tblsp of olive oil
3 small uncooked chorizo sausages, sliced
1 stick celery, peeled and finely diced
tblsp of chopped parsley
2 eggs, poached
dash vinegar for the egg water
s&p

Boil pan of water with dash of vinegar and pinch of salt ready for the poached eggs.
Fry chorizo (no need to use any oil, it's fatty enough) until slightly crisp, remove the chorizo and set aside until you need it. Deglaze the pan with the red wine vinegar to remove any cripsy bits of chorizo.
Put cooked and drained lentils into a pan with the onion, oil and deglazed red wine vinegar and chorizo bits with a sprinkling of salt, and stir over a low heat until warmed through but not piping hot and then set the pan aside.
Poach 2 eggs in the pan of simmering water and while they are cooking take the warm lentil mix, stir in the celery and capers and portion into little mounds on two plates.
Surround the lentils with chorizo slices and place the egg on top of each. Season with s&p and sprinkle chopped parsley on top.

Croissants and crumbs

2011-03-25T10:00:00.002Z

In the 15 months since I took redundancy from my old career I have had moments of trepidation, joy, excitement and absolutely gut wrenching fear. Just a glimpse at my bank statement is enough to send nervous giggles cascading through my body and give me sweaty palms. At times when I think back to my old income I think the only explanation for this madness is mid-life crisis. But then I remember how it felt to trudge to work for a job that no longer gave me any pleasure, in fact that actively made me feel nauseous. I recall crying on a Sunday night at the thought of having to face the misery again on Monday morning. And I remember that I am now free.

So now I spend my days baking, butchering and basting. I spend hours engrossed in technical cookery books or swearing at the ragged carcasses of chickens. I survive college surrounded by youngsters at the very beginning of their careers and I try not to be too jealous. But still I need experience. If I am ever going to be in a position to set up my dream company I must first develop my CV by working in good kitchens in order to stand out in a crowded industry.

My first work placement took me to Bluebird, Chelsea. The most important thing to note about Bluebird is the sheer size of the place. There is the restaurant and bar, which has been one of the most popular eateries on the King's Road for over a decade. I can well remember being taken there by an ex when I was a gauche newcomer to London. The unique quality of the skylit restaurant built on the site of the old Bluebird Garage still impresses me. As well as the restaurant, there is Bluebird Café & Forecourt, Bluebird Food Store, various function rooms and private dining facilities, a comprehensive wine cellar and a bakery that provides many of D&D London's other restaurants with fresh bread and pastries on a daily basis. The kitchens that serve this vast space are maze-like, efficient and for a first timer like me, daunting as hell.

Upon arrival I met the sous chef of Bluebird Café, Jasraj Singh, who had set up two days of fun starting with a full day in the bakery. My host was Marcin, who guided me through making vast quantities of laminated dough that we then gradually turned into croissants, pain au chocolat, pain au raisin and danish using industrial rollers and a bowl mixer the size of a smart car. Marcin was very sweet and while I suspect I slowed him down considerably he answered all my questions patiently, gave me really positive feedback and then said really nice things about me to the boss which I hope to turn into a lovely testimonial. The surprising thing about this experience is how much it resembled a production line rather than baking. The nature of producing such high volumes of pastry meant that the whole endeavour felt a little impersonal but I suspect that this is just another example of how naive I am. That said, I will never be afraid of laminated dough again and can happily churn out any number of early morning pain au chocolate without fear. Maybe not quite the same volume as I really don't think my little Kenwood (sorry Mum but did you really think you were getting Red Ken back?) or my wooden rolling pin would cope with more than a kilo at a time.

On the second day I was placed in the Bluebird Café kitchen for the lunch service before heading back down to the bakery. The service kitchen was very similar to other kitchens I have worked in: a surprisingly small area, two or three chefs covering the entire lunch service. If you happened to eat there on Wednesday it may have been me who made your seabass and risotto. Once again the chefs (Raffa and Sergio) couldn't have been more helpful and encouraging. Luckily it was a fairly quiet day and I was encouraged to involve myself in the service as much as I wanted to. I managed to make most of the dishes on the menu at least once. At 3pm as lunch ended I returned to the bakery where Marcin was getting on with the various different types of bread that would be sent out to his customers at various other restaurants. Again the sheer volume involved rendered the entire experience somewhat surreal but I can now form perfect baguette, focaccia and ficelles and have mastered the art of producing two perfect bread rolls (one in each hand) in under 10 seconds. And I'm determined to finally get on with developing a starter to turn my own bread making into a much more effective and personal experience.

Sadly I don't have many photos of the day as I was working pretty much flat out and as any good catering student knows, cameras are a contaminant and should not be wielded in a kitchen! But I certainly look forward to making some croissants and blogging them here in the near future.

Haddock and leek fish cakes

2011-03-21T10:11:00.001Z

One of the regular contracts I have is filling the freezer of a family with very busy lives and small children. The challenge is to provide nutritious healthy meals that can be easily defrosted and cooked in the microwave or oven with the minimum of fuss. An added complication for this particular job is to reduce the salt content yet still maintain maximum flavour. For this recipe I poach the fish in milk with bay leaf and onion to add a depth of flavour to the haddock. Then as I combine the ingredients together I add a dash of nutmeg. The sweetness works perfectly with the leek and the fish and the resulting taste is reminiscent of a lovely rich bechamel. If you aren't making a low salt version don't forget to boil the potato in salted water and then season to taste when you combine the fish, potato and leek together.

These little cakes are perfect made in large batches and frozen. All you have to do is defrost them thoroughly in the fridge overnight, place them on a baking tray and cook for 25 mins at 200C or until piping hot all the way through. I like to eat them with fries and a sharp green salad but they also go really well with risotto.

Haddock and leek fish cakes (makes 8)

700g potato
400g haddock
500ml milk
1 onion, peeled and halved
bay leaf
pinch nutmeg
2 leek, finely chopped
25g butter
1/2 tblspolive oil
2 eggs, whisked
2 tblsp plain flour
2 tblsp bread crumbs
pepper to taste
olive oil for frying

Peel and cube the potato and boil until soft. Once ready drain thoroughly and mash in a large mixing bowl.
Remove any skin and poach the haddock for 15 mins in a pan of milk, with the 2 onion halves, and the bay leaf. When cooked remove from the pan and flake the fish into the mashed potato
Fry the leek in the butter and oil until soft, sweet and golden brown, then remove from the pan and drain on kitchen roll before mixing in a bowl with the mashed potato, flaked fish, nutmeg and a turn of pepper if required. Carefully and evenly combine the mixture together with your hands. If the mix is too dry you can add a little of the poaching liquid, but you may not need it.
With your hands form little cakes, then leave on a plate or tray. Individually dip each cake into the flour, then the egg and then the bread crumbs. Place on a plate until required.
Now heat enough olive oil to shallow fry the cakes, when the oil is hot gently lower each cake into the pan.They will need approximately 4 mins per side to turn them golden brown. If they are colouring too fast turn the heat down.

If you are planning on freezing these don't forget to cool completely before sealing in an airtight bag or container and placing in the freezer.

A chef's life

2011-03-20T13:15:00.000Z

I've neglected my poor blog and I feel terrible about it. Not only do I have a backlog of recipes to write up, I've also got lots of exciting news to share. In my defence February was filled with a job at a local bistro, learning first hand how noisy a busy high street kitchen can be. I also had college to contend with, as well as the fact that our house is leaking and will involve multiple complicated insurance claims. Still, poor show. I vow to do better in the future.

College is progressing at great speed and I'll hopefully manage finish by summer instead of Christmas 2011. This means that with a bit of luck I'll be able to start the NVQ3 course in September when my husband and I will be returning to London after out brief stay in Surrey. The college experience has been an interesting one for me: Because the course is set up as day release to fit around a full-time job it's been useful to see the different levels of skill each of my fellow students have. Some work as full time chefs/cooks, others as KPs and then a couple (like me) haven't previously worked in a professional kitchen and have instead frantically tried to practise everything at home.

A chef. An actual chef!

The negative of this is obviously that you don't really understand the bustle and noise of a busy kitchen, which is why I took on the job in February. But on the other hand I have probably managed to practise more than any of my colleagues as I had the luxury of free time that I've filled with days of dough making, pasta forming and more recently pastry and butchery (hmm meat pie). But this glorious free time will soon be over once again as in mid-April I start working at a local stately home for the summer months. My role there will be to single-handedly run the tiny little restaurant in the house gardens, cooking all the food in the morning and then working the service kitchen as the hoards of Women's Institute visitors come to admire the gardens and astonishingly beautiful setting. I will also get experience working on some of the large weddings and events that will take place there over summer which is particularly important as it's this field I wish to work in one day. I'm really excited about the opportunity. The real fun of this job is that I get to choose what I want to put on the menu, which while limited will all be cooked, prepared and plated by my own fair hands.

Finally thanks to one of my previous lecturers I have managed to secure a series of two day placements in some of the capital's most well known restaurants, the first of which took place last week at Bluebird Restaurant & Café in Chelsea. I spent a full day making laminated dough and bread in the bakery that serves the group's many restaurants (including Skylon and Quaglino's) and then a day on service. A truly fantastic experience which I will be expanding on in a future post.

I also promise to write up the back log of recipes I have. Including an outstandingly good pecan pie that should probably only be eaten in very small amounts, but where the hell's the fun in that?

Tandoori murghi - tandoori-style chicken

2011-01-23T10:00:00.000Z

I like my gadgets, I confess. My cupboards are packed with blowtorches, blenders, juicers and all kinds of random crap I will probably use once a year. But not even I have a tandoori oven in my kitchen. Thankfully this recipe from Madhur Jaffrey takes this into consideration and she uses chicken pieces rather than the whole bird in a very hot domestic oven.

Apart form the appetisers this was probably the easiest of all the meals I made on NYE 2010. It needs to marinade so make sure you allow enough time for that but once the marinade is complete you simply pop the dish into an extremely hot oven for 25 minutes and then serve. The chicken was moist, fragrant and bursting with taste. Not to mention a visual delight, with it's deep red colouring and lovely charred pockets from the heat. I'll definitely make this again, possibly with a plate of home-made fries for an Asian take on the traditional chicken and chips combo.

Tandoori style chicken

1 kg chicken pieces (I bought a chicken and butchered it into breasts, thighs, drumsticks and wings)
1 tsp salt
Juice of a lemon
400ml natural yoghurt
1 small onion, quartered
1 clove garlic, peeled
2cm piece fresh ginger
1/2 hot green chili, sliced
2 tsp garam masala
3 tblsp yellow food colouring
1 tblsp red food colouring

Cut slits into the chicken deep enough to reach the bone. On the breast cut half way through the flesh then arrange the pieces on a large dish or platter.
Sprinkle with salt and 3/4 of the lemon juice and lightly rub all over the chicken pieces making sure to get inside the cuts and cover both sides. Set aside for 20 minutes.
In a processor or blender combine the yoghurt, onion, garlic, ginger, chili and garam masala and then strain through a fine sieve into a bowl or jug.
Mix the colouring in a much smaller bowl then brush over each of the chicken pieces until they are completely red. Mix any remaining lemon juice or colouring in with the chicken pieces and the marinade, making sure the chicken is completely covered by the sauce. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 6 hours. The longer the better (I gave mine 40 hours but 24 hours would be perfect)
When you are ready to bake the chicken preheat the oven to the highest temperature. Remove the chicken pieces shaking off as much of the marinade as possible and arrange in a large shallow baking dish. Bake for 20 -25 mins - test the chicken with a fork to make sure it is completely cooked. If not bake until ready.

So there we have it. A complete Indian feast to celebrate the end of 2010, a year in which I made the leap into changing my life forever. Writing the meal up makes me realise once again how much I took on, although I fear it may be a perfectly normal family gathering for most Indian households! I hope it reads well and inspires you to try it. Happy New Year everyone.

Rogan josh

2011-01-21T10:00:00.000Z

As all the dishes at my NYE Curry Night were being served together, Indian style, I wanted to make sure we had a nice choice of vegetable dishes and meat dishes. I spent quite a long time pondering the meat courses and finally settled on a lamb rogan josh and a dry tandoori style chicken (both from Indian Cookery: Madhur Jaffrey) in order to give varied texture. The other advantage of this is that I could prepare the rogan josh a day ahead of time and the chicken would marinade for approximately 40 hours before being baked just as my guests arrived.

Over the next three days as the recipes for this dinner are posted you will see that I chose a large menu for this dinner. For a smaller party or less festive affair I would be just as happy picking two or three of these dishes and giving myself much less work to do. The ingredient list for this curry looks intimidating but it's a doddle to make. Once you have the spices in stock they'll last a long time so you won't need to do a mental shopping list again. I happened to have the coriander and cumin as seeds which I ground myself. Replace with bought ground spices if you prefer.

Lamb rogan josh

2.5cm piece of fresh ginger, coarsly chopped
8 cloves garlic
250ml water
5 tblsp vegetable oil
900g lamb (bones shoulder is perfect for this) cut into pieces of 2.5cms
10 whole cardamom pods
6 whole cloves
10 whole peppercorns
2.5cm cinnamon stick
2 onions, finely diced
1 tsp ground coriander seeds
2 tsp ground cumin seeds
4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 1/4 tsp salt
6 tblsp natural yoghurt
1/4 tsp garam masala
Freshly ground black pepper

Blend together the ginger and garlic with enough water (1 or 2 tblsp) to make a paste
Brown the meat in the oil in a wide, heavy pan over a medium heat. Once the meat is brown remove it from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside.
Add the cardamom, cloves, peppercorns and cinnamon to the same pan and oil and stir over the heat until the cloves start to swell and the aroma of the spices is released. Add the diced onion and stir for 5 mins or until the onions start to colour, now add the ginger-garlic paste, stir once and add coriander, cumin, cayenne and salt. Stir and fry for up a to a minute.
Then add the meat and any of the released meat juices.Stir for a further minute or so before adding 1 tblsp yoghurt. Stir until this is blended in and then add the remaining yoghurt, 1 spoon at a time in the same way. Once all the yoghurt is incorporated stir over the medium heat for a further 3-4 minutes.
Add the water and bring the contents of the pot to the boil. Use a wooden spoon to scrape any of the browned spices or meat juices stuck to the bottom of the pan. Cover the pan and simmer for 1 hour or until the meat is tender. Every 10 mins stir the meat. Once the meat is tender remove the lid and simmer on a medium heat until the liquid has thickened to a thick reddish-brown sauce. Skim off any fat if required.

This curry can be made in advance and reheated when required. Just before serving stir in the garam masala, a sprinkly of freshly ground black pepper and shopped coriander leaves.

Masaledar basmati - spiced basmati rice

2011-01-19T10:00:00.002Z

As I was already making a vast array of meat and vegetable curries, a dal, appetisers and bread for my NYE Curry Feast I wanted to make sure the rice was as simple as possible. Not purely because I didn't think our palates needed any more stimulation but also because time-wise things were starting to get a wee bit fraught. Unlike many of the other dishes the rice really did need cooking fresh and this recipe is easy, simple and possibly the tastiest rice I've ever eaten. I first tasted it at my brother's house (with a phenomenal curry goat) as he's a Jaffrey devotee as well so I was delighted to find it in my trusty copy of Indian Cookery. Incidentally I inherited/nicked this 18 year old book off my mother-in-law and really must remember to tell her how useful it has been.

Top: Saag aloo. Bottom: Spiced basmati rice

Spiced Basmati

400g basmati rice
2 tblsp vegetable oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1/2 fresh hot green chili, finely sliced - with seeds
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1/2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp salt (depending on how salty the stock is)
500ml good chicken stock

Put the rice in a bowl and wash in several changes of water. Drain and then cover with 1.25l of fresh water and leave to soak for 1 hour. Then pour the rice over a sieve and leave to stand, draining for at least 20 minutes.
Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed pan over a medium heat. Fry the onion until they start to brown and then add the rice, chili, garlic, garam masala and salt. Stir gently for 3-4 minutes until all the rice grains are translucent with the oil then add the chicken stock and bring the rice to the boil.
Cover the pan with a heavy lid, line the top of the pan with tin foil to make sure the steam cannot escape if necessary (I sit a cast iron pestle over the lid handle for added weight), and turn the heat down to the lowest possible setting - use a heat diffuser if you have one. Cook for 20-25 mins. The rice is ready when the grains are soft. Don't worry if you have a thin layer of rice stuck to the bottom of the pan as it will wash off after soaking in hot water for 10 mins.

A nice garnish for this dish is chopped fresh coriander or thin slices of fried onions.

Saag aloo

2011-01-17T10:00:00.008Z

My husband loves food. He gets more excited over certain types of food than is really appropriate. But there are certain quite ordinary things that he doesn't like. Mainly to do with memories of appalling school dinners, I think. If it's called a stew, he'll wrinkle his nose, but will happily eat any and all ragu. And while he'd eat dim sum every day of his life he's non-committal about dumplings from any other region. He's not too keen on traditional British fare, but will eagerly tuck into satay snails. And he balks at lovely crumbly Cheshire cheese whilst snarfing up vast quantities of Vacherin Mont d'Or.

But all of the above pails into insignificance behind the fact that I ended up married to the only man in the western hemisphere who dislikes potatoes! He detests the humble spud. Mashed, baked, roasted, boiled, steamed and fried.The only potato he will happily eat is covered in cream and gruyere and baked in the oven.Which I suppose is fair enough as everyone knows that dauphinoise is the finest dish ever invented.

As a result I don't often get to indulge my potato cravings, so what better time than a NYE curry night to crack out the saag aloo? For the sake of copyright I give thanks once again to Madhur Jaffery.

Top: Saag aloo. Bottom: Spiced basmati rice

Saag aloo

500g frozen spinach
1/2 pint water
100g onions, peeled and sliced
Pinch asafoetida (optional)
2 tsp whole black mustard seeds
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
500g potatoes, peeled and cut into 2.5cm cubes
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp salt

Bring the water to the boil in a saucepan and add the frozen spinach. Cover the pan and cook until the spinach is cooked. Drain in a colander and rinse in cold water. Leave to drain.
Heat the oil in a heavy pan and add the asafoetida, then the mustard seeds. Once the seeds begin to pop stir in the thinly sliced onion and chopped garlic. Stir and fry for 2 minutes until translucent.
Now add the chopped potatoes and cayenne pepper, stir and continue to fry for a minute. Add the spinach, salt and 2 tblsp of water and bring to the boil. Cover the pan, turn to a very low heat and cook gently for 30-40 mins or until the potatoes are tender. Stir occasionally to make sure it doesn't stick and add a little more water if required.

This dish can be made in advance and reheated if required.

Chana dal

2011-01-15T10:00:00.007Z

No Indian feast is complete without a dal and as Mr Hungry has a special weakness for it I wanted to perfect the dish once and for all. In the past I confess to being a little flummoxed by Indian food. I was more than happy following a recipe (as with all these dishes) but not so hot on creating a dish from the contents of my fridge and my imagination. Dal caught me out every time by being deceptively easy. My attempts were always too bland, too spicy or just too meh to mention.

The consistency of dal (I am assured) is entirely down to personal preference, so this one I made the day before and left overnight to thicken and soak all the liquid into the yellow split peas. The result was perfectly to our tastes and there was a satisfying amount leftover for the first couple of days of the year when I avoided the stove. Once again the recipe is courtesy of Ms Jaffrey and this time I followed it to the letter, in order to either avoid previous mistakes or at least have someone else to blame.

Left: Spicy green beans. Right: Chana dal

Chana dal

225g chana dal or split peas
1.15 l water
1/2 tsp turmeric
2 thin slices of unpeeled ginger
3/4 -1 tsp salt
1/4 teaspoon garam masala
3 tblsp vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 tsp chili powder
Handful of chopped coriander leaves

In a heavy pan boil the dal/split peas with the water. Remove any surface scum with a large flat spoon. Add the turmeric and ginger, cover but leave the lid slighlty ajar, and simmer on a low heat for 1 1/2 hours or until the dal is tender. During the last 1/2 hour stir every 5 minutes or so to prevent sticking. Take of the heat, add the salt and the garam masala and mix in.
Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and fry the cumin seeds. After 10 seconds add the garlic and fry until golden brown. Add the chili powder to the pan, immediately move from the heat and stir into the dal.
Garnish with fresh coriander

This can be made the day before serving if required.

India India - appetisers

2011-01-14T10:00:00.018Z

New Year's Eve 2010 saw a small soirée at Casa Hungry so as ever I had to show off. Six or seven courses would be too much for our post-Christmas tummies so I thought the best way to shine would to be to create multiple Indian dishes and serve everything together. That way I get to frolic in the kitchen and no-one spends the evening immobile on the couch.

A photo depicting typical Indian bread. Not *necessarily* in this blog post.

The book I wanted more than any other this Christmas was INDIA Cookbook by Pushpesh Pant. It's received mixed reviews on Amazon but it looks so comprehensive and beautifully designed that I had to have it and judge for myself. I eagerly added it to my ever increasing Wish List and waited in anticipation. Then I had the genius idea of buying it for my brother and his wife. Sadly something on the dumb-ass Amazon system removed it from my Wish List and sent it to them instead. Obviously Mr Hungry had left his present buying until the very last minute and thought somebody had already bought me the book I'd been banging on about for a month, so he left it off my Christmas purchases. Faced with my sad face he then ordered it immediately for my birthday and this may be the first time I've ever been grateful that I arrived in the world a mere eight days after Christmas. Sadly of course this meant that I didn't use the book to plan my Curry Feast and instead put myself in the capable hands of Madhur Jaffrey. All the recipes for this meal (apart from the pakora) come from the very excellent Indian Cookery. I may have tweaked them here and there but Ms Jaffrey deserves all the credit. The woman is a genius.

I have seven recipes to write up in total. Rather than have you all fall asleep before you reach the end of the longest post in the world I will stagger them over four days. Everything was delicious and despite spending two days in the kitchen I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Sadly I appear to have been too frantic on the evening to take pictures of these appetisers so you'll have to be content with some naan bread and a photo of a rather festive chef instead.

Spicy cashews

500ml vegetable oil
300g raw cashew nuts
1/4 tsp finely ground salt
1/4 tsp allspice
freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil in a saucepan and when hot deep fry the nuts until they are golden brown
Remove from the oil and place in a sieve lined with kitchen roll to soak any excess fat
While still warm toss in a large bowl with the salt, spices and pepper and leave to cool.

Cucumber and Mint Raita

500ml natural yoghurt
15cm cucumber, grated
2 tblsp mint, finely chopped
1/2 tsp roasted, ground cumin seeds
1/2 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper

Dry fry the cumin seeds until they start to give off their aroma then grind in a pestle and mortar
Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl, cover and keep cool until ready to serve.

Pakora

280g chickpea flour, sifted
350g onion, finely chopped
2 tsp minced ginger
2 tsp minced green chill
1.2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 tsp asafetida (optional)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
200ml water (approx)
500ml vegetable oil for deep frying

In a large bowl mix all the non liquid ingredients together.
Gradually add the water until the mix combines to form a thick batter that falls from your fingers in clumps.
Heat the oil in a saucepan until medium hot (approx 180 degrees) and use a spoon to drop clumps of batter into the oil. Try to make the pakora roughly 3 cm in diameter.
Fry 5 or 6 at a time until golden brown. When you think they are ready remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towel. Cut one open to check it is cooked through. If not return to the fat until ready. This batter will make 15 -20 pakora.

Top Tip: Always make your quiff so tall that it can be seen above your crown.

Masaledar sem - spicy green beans

2011-01-14T10:00:00.017Z

For my NYE dinner I wanted to make sure that the dishes were varied enough to give a variety flavours, textures and levels of spiciness. This green bean recipe can be made the day before, thus reducing the stress on the day, but also has an interesting mild taste that would be as happy accompanying further curry dishes or a lovely western roast chicken. The tomatoes and lemon lend a sharp edge to the taste that is rounded off by the perfect combination of coriander, cumin and chili. Once again, the original recipe can be found in Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Cookery. I changed the quantities a little: I used slightly less lemon juice and more ginger. I also found her water volume produced a slightly wetter result than I was happy with. But the overall effect would be very similar to her original.

Left: Spicy green beans. Right: Chana Dal

Spicy green beans

700g french beans, trimmed and cut in half
5cm piece of ginger, peeled
10 cloves garlic, peeled
300ml water
2 tblsp vegetable oil
2 tsp whole cumin seeds
1 dried hot chili, lightly crushed in mortar
2 tsp ground coriander
225g tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1 tsp salt (or more to taste)
1 tsp ground, roast cumin seeds
Freshly ground black pepper

Blend the garlic and ginger and add 2 tblsp of the water 1 spoon at a time. Blend until you have a smooth and not to liquid paste. You don't need to use all the water if you reach this consistency with less.
Heat the oil over a medium heat in a wide, heavy pan. Add the cumin seeds and five seconds later add the crushed chili. Once this has started to darken add the ginger and garlic paste. Stir and cook for approximately 1 minute.
Add the ground coriander and stir in before adding the chopped tomato. Cook for a further 2 minutes while mashing the tomato with the back of your spoon. Add the beans, salt and remaining water and bring the pan to a simmer.
Lower the heat, cover the pan and cook for 10 minutes or until the beans are tender. Then add the lemon juice, roasted and ground cumin seeds and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Now turn the heat up and simmer down until the liquid is thick. Stir the beans occasionally.

Golden balls

2011-01-13T10:00:00.004Z

Leftovers are a special treat for me. Since I stopped earning money and had to spend more time being concerned about food bills I get an enormous boost from knowing that I'm not wasting anything. I can turn a chicken into four or five meals. I throw any drab looking veg into a blender to turn it into soup and my freezer is constantly full of random, half-filled, unmarked bags of ragu, chilli, risotto or dal. The best leftover of all is arancini, a Sicilian dish traditionally made with ragu and rice. The rice is a risotto base thus lending itself perfectly as a leftover prize. If my risotto dish is full of mushrooms or chicken I have been known to pick them out in order to make sure my leftovers are perfectly smooth for the next day's arancini treat.

An arancino (sing, masc). Every day's a school day.

Sadly I didn't manage to get a photo of the mushroom risotto I used for this recipe but I've listed the ingredients. You could just as easily use chicken, squash or plain cheese risotto for this. The simpler the better. The ragu was leftover from the beef and venison cannelloni in the previous post. Sometimes I add peas or leftover mozzarella chunks, although I confess that of all the things that accumulate unwanted in my fridge, mozzarella is not one of them. Alternatively make a vegetarian version by using a vegetable and tomato sauce, thickened with peas and mozzarella chunks. I always use a homemade chicken stock for this recipe but you can substitute a vegetarian stock or high quality bouillon if you prefer.

I hope you enjoy these as much as us. We tend to eat them as part of a platter with shredded chicken, cheese, taramasalata and fresh bread but they also work well with a leafy salad as a starter or main dish.

Mushroom Risotto

250g mixed mushrooms (I use a mix of field, chestnut and porcini if I can get them), chopped
Reserve a handful of mushrooms and finely slice them
1 healthy slug of brandy
70g butter
2 cloves garlic, finely diced
1 onion, finely diced
400g risotto rice (I prefer vialone nano but carnaroli and arborio are more widely available)
150ml dry white or sparkling wine
2l of good quality stock
1 sprig rosemary finely chopped
S&P to taste
1/4 tsp fresh ground nutmeg

Mantecatura

70g of butter chopped and placed in freezer for 1 hour
150g grated parmesan

In a small pan fry the sliced reserved mushrooms with a knob of butter. When soft add the brandy and flambé until the alcohol burns off. Reserve the mushrooms for later.
Heat your stock in a saucepan until simmering on a slow and steady heat. Make sure you have a ladle or scoop handy (you could just use a cup).
Over a low heat sauté the onions in the butter in a wide bottomed pan until translucent, add the chopped mushrooms and stir in for approximately 5 mins until the mushrooms have started to glisten and cook but haven't yet started to soften too much.
Add the garlic and the rice and stir to completey coat the contents with the butter. Keep stirring to prevent sticking until the rice takes on a translucent effect, then add the wine and stir the contents until the liquid has completely absorbed. Add S&P to taste
Now start to add the stock 1 ladle (or cup) at a time. Stir continuously until the rice has absorbed the liquid and when you feel the rice start to catch, add another ladle full of stock. Repeat this process until the rice is cooked al dente. Don't be tempted to add too much stock in one go or the rice may cook before the stock has absorbed and the risotto will be too sloppy.
Add the reserved brandy mushrooms, the frozen, diced butter, parmesan and nutmeg and beat vigorously with a wooden spoon. This mantecatura acts to bind all the ingredients together. The beating breaks the edges of the rice up and with the butter you get a lovely creamy texture to the end dish. Garnish with a small amount of rosemary - too much will be overbearing.

Make sure you reserve at least 1 full bowl for leftovers. This will then make approximately 6-8 arancini.

Arancini

1 portion of ragu
1 bowl leftover risotto
2 eggs, beaten
100g flour for coating
100g breadcrumbs
500ml vegetable oil

Form a small ball of cold risotto in your palm and make a well in the centre of it. The well needs to be deep enough to hold a tblsp of ragu but not so deep that the walls of the arancini break.
Place 1 tblsp of ragu in the well, add anything else you wish at this stage - cubes of mozzarella, cooked peas etc. Then close your hand up around the rice and seal the edges of the rice together. Roll the rice between your two palms to make a perfect ball.
Dip the ball into beaten egg, then coat with flour, then dip back in egg. Finally coat with bread crumbs and set aside until the rest are finished.
Heat the vegetable oil in a deep saucepan to 170 degrees. If the oil is too hot the balls will burn before the middle is cooked. If you don't have a thermometer you can check the temp by dropping a cube of stale bread in the oil. The oil should gentle bubble around the bread but take a while to colour. If it is too hot turn the heat down and do the test again before adding the arancini.
Don't fry too many at a time ( I normally do two), then when golden brown place on a paper towel to soak up the excess oil and serve.

Arancini!

Arancino!

Beef and venison cannelloni

2011-01-12T10:28:00.001Z

This recipe is one I tried at a dinner party we had before Christmas. The rich meaty ragu sauce compliments the thin-as-paper cannelloni and the sharpness is offset by a velvety mornay sauce. We were covering pasta at college so the party gave me the perfect opportunity to show off and practise at the same time. I'm not going to pretend it isn't a time consuming recipe, as the ragu takes 2 hours, but the processes really aren't complicated. If you get a free Sunday afternoon it's a glorious way to pass your time with the promise of a fine meal at the end of it. I served the cannelloni with caramelised carrots, cabbage and a nice full bodied red.

Beef and venison ragu

300g beef, finely diced
300g venison, finely diced
2 tblsp olive oil
1 carrot, very finely diced
1 stick celery, very finely diced
1 onion, very finely diced
a bouquet garni of rosemary, thyme and sage
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tblsp tomato paste
1\2 bottle red wine
300ml tomato passata
300ml water

Over a medium heat sauté the onion in the oil in heavy bottomed pan until it's translucent. Add the finely chopped celery, carrot and garlic to the pan, coat with the oil and tuck the bouquet garni in. Sauté the veg for a further 5 mins stirring to prevent it from sticking. The finer chopped the veg is, the more it will dissolve into the sauce as it cooks. You can use a grater if you prefer.
Now add the finely chopped meat (almost minced but with more bite), season it and reduce the heat. Allow the meat to seal and cook through (it will change colour) before stirring it as this will release the natural juices in the meat and thus star to broil rather than fry - this should take about 5 mins. Once all the meat has changed colour cook for a further 10 minutes stirring occasionally to prevent it from catching.
Mix in the tomato paste and add the wine, stir through the meat and veg and then simmer until the meat has absorbed all the liquid (approx 20 mins). Now add the passata and the water, cover the pan and simmer on a low heat for 1 hour 30 mins or until the ragu has the required consistency.

Mornay Sauce

50g unsalted butter
50g plain flour
500ml milk
S&P to taste
Nutmeg to taste
200g grated parmesan

Over a medium heat combine the flour and butter together in a saucepan. Once a paste has formed stir continuously until it starts to expand in volume and gradually stir in the milk. Keep stirring to prevent lumps form forming ... you can use a whisk if it is easier. Once all the milk is added keep stirring until the sauce begins to simmer then reduce the heat as low as it will go and stir for approximately 15-20 mins until you can taste that all the flour is cooked. Season with S&P to taste and add the nutmeg. The sauce will thicken until it coats the back of your spoon, then stir in 100g of the parmesan. Once cooked, cover with the lid and leave off the heat until required.

Basic Egg Pasta

200g 00 grade flour
2 eggs, lightly beaten
salt to taste

Sift the flour and a pinch of salt into a mound on the work surface or in a large bowl, make a well in the centre and add beaten egg mixture. Using fingers, gradually incorporate the flour. Knead for about 10 minutes pushing the dough down with the heel of your hand, folding the squashed dough back on itself and repeating the process. The dough will feel grainy at first but the more you knead it will lose the graininess becoming smooth and silky to touch. The kneading process will take approximately 10 minutes. Once the dough has the required texture, form a ball and place in a bowl and rest on the work top for at least 15 mins. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth to prevent the dough from drying out.

Making the cannelloni

1/4 tsp chopped rosemary
freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees
Butter a large shallow dish and pour a thin layer of the mornay sauce over the bottom of the dish
Either use a pasta machine or a rolling pin to roll the pasta sheets. Once the sheets are ready cut them into squares of approx 15cm x 15cm.
Now in a pan of boiling water blanche the pasta sheets one at a time for approximately 2 minutes or until the pasta has started to float. Now remove from the pan and place the sheets between appropriately sized pieces of baking parchment until you need them. This prevents the sheets from sticking together.
Spoon the ragu onto the sheet of pasta and roll like a sausage roll or cigar, sealing the pasta with a little water and trimming any excess. Place the pasta in the dish, with the seal on the bottom and repeat the process until you have 8 cannelloni in a row in the dish.
Pour the mornay sauce over the cannelloni in a thin layer. It doesn't need to be too thick but will keep the pasta moist as it bakes. Sprinkle the rest of the parmesan over the top along with freshly ground pepper and 1\4 tsp of finely chopped rosemary
Bake the cannelloni for 40 mins, if the sauce starts to brown too quickly cover with a little baking parchment.
Remove from the oven when ready and leave to stand for 5 mins before serving.

Family traditions - The parkin pig

2011-01-10T13:12:00.001Z

My Grandma used to make a parkin biscuit that we devoured as children. A cross between a butter biscuit and a ginger biscuit, perfect with coffee, warm and cold milk or a humble cup of tea. The dough contains no egg, so it lasts for an age in the fridge, which is useful since the recipe makes about 60 biscuits. If you live in a child-free house like us this quantity of biscuits can be quite challenging, even for the dedicated glutton. So I split the batch into thirds and make them as and when I want them. Handily beating the VAT increase as I do so - 20% tax on a food stuff as a essential as a biscuit? It's an outrage!

Parkin Pigs
As long as I can remember my Grandma only ever had a pig cutter. We'd travel the 35-40 mins between South Leeds and East Yorkshire and the first thing we'd have when we got there was a cup of tea and a parkin pig. Or seven. When I asked her for the recipe over Christmas I then failed to find a pig cutter anywhere and had to settle on a T-Rex - heralding the dawn of a new tradition: the parkin dinosaur! But low and behold on my birthday a small package arrived and nestled in between bits of cotton wool padding there was my very own pig cutter. Thanks Grandma.

My experience making these as an adult is very similar to tasting them as a child: no two batches ever taste the same. Sometimes you might add slightly more syrup (or in my case half treacle, half syrup) giving the biscuit a chewy, toffee crunch. More flour or sugar gives a harder crunch perfect for dunking. But ultimately it's the cooking time that's the key. Please don't rely on the timer. Stand there, in front of the oven and wait. Check after 4 or 5 minutes and then be ready with your oven gloves the moment they reach perfection. If the biscuits have been sat on the side for 10 mins waiting for the oven then the dough will be warmer and the cooking time will alter accordingly. Your first batch may be entirely different in consistency to your second batch even though they are cut from the same dough. I've halved the quantities for this recipe and depending on how thinly you roll the dough and the size of your cutter you should realistically get about 30 biscuits.

150g plain flour
100g caster sugar
50g butter or lard
1/2 tblsp golden syrup
1/2 tblsp treacle
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ginger powder
2 tblsp hot water
1/2 tsp bicarb of soda
pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.
In a large bowl (or bowl mixer with k-beater) combine the sifted flour, sugar, ginger, salt and baking powder together then add the butter or fat and mix into dry ingredients like crumble
Add the syrup and treacle and stir with a large spoon (or the dough hook of a bowl mixer). Place the treacle and syrup spoon in a cup with the hot water and bicarb of soda and leave for 2 mins until the water cleans the spoon. Then add the water to the bowl and continue to mix until a dough (similar in consistency to a bread or pasta dough) is formed. Add the water incrementally to make sure it doesn't get too wet. Wrap the dough in cling film and leave to rest in the fridge for at least an hour.
Roll dough onto a floured surface until it is approximately 5mm thick and use your cutter of choice to make the shapes. Place the shapes onto a greased oven sheet and bake for 5-6 mins, until golden brown. The biscuits will still feel soft but will harden almost instantly as you transfer them to a cooling rack.

Run little piggy, run for your life!

Parma ham, pine nut and parmesan pin wheels

2010-12-22T14:37:00.001Z

It seems like ages since my last blog post but December familial duties meant a trip to the North. I'm not sure what happened to the rest of the month but with 3 days to Christmas I thought I should pull my finger out.

I seem to have done a lot of bread in the past two months but as I created these for a dinner party and they were a roaring success I wanted to share them. They were appetisers so I made them as small as possible. Whoever first came up with the idea of bread or pastry as a pre-dinner snack was just plum greedy. Think of cheese straws, mini quiches, sausage rolls, or gougere and then imagine eating a 4 or 5 course meal after them? It's just not practical.

The recipe is based on Richard Bertinet's olive dough slices, although I haven't used semolina in my dough and the quantities of the added ingredients vary. The end result is a savoury chelsea bun and they were incredibly well recieved. I filled them with the taste of Italy by layering ham, pine nuts, parmesan and basil. As they bake the cheese melts and holds everything together. I already have plans to make a tonne of these babies over Christmas and really need all the snow to melt so I can get back to the running that enables my obsessive eating habit.

Parma ham, pine nut, parmesan and basil pin wheels

Olive dough

500g strong white flour
15g fresh yeast
10g salt
50g extra virgin olive oil
320g lukewarm water

Filling

150g grated parmesan
100g pan-roasted pine nuts
8 slices Parma ham
handful of chopped basil
2 tblsp olive oil

Weigh and sift the flour into a large bowl and rub the yeast into it, mix in the salt and olive oil before gradually adding the lukewarm water until the dough combines. Knead and stretch the dough on an un-floured surface for 5-10 minutes or until the dough is smooth. Cover and leave to rest in a warm place for 1 hour or until it has doubled in size
Preheat your oven to 240C.
Gently knock back the dough and flatten it into a rectangle with your fingers. Use a rolling pin if you find this easier. It should be approximately 20cm x 30cm. Brush with olive oil
Mix together the grated parmesan and pine nuts and sprinkle half the mixture evenly across the surface of the dough. Now layer the slices of ham over the top (like a pizza), sprinkle with basil and finally top off with the rest of the cheese and nuts. Make sure your filling goes to the edges of dough so that the filling runs all the way through.
Roll the dough up like a Swiss roll, tucking in as tightly as possible. Seal the edge of the dough by slightly pressing down with your fingers and position the roll so the seal is underneath.
First cut in half, then cut each piece in half again until you have 16 slices. They will be thin and delicate so if required use a flat blade or palette knife to lift the slices onto the pre-greased tray. Leave to prove for 45 minutes.
Bake for 12-15 mins until golden brown then turn onto a cooling rack. While still warm brush lightly with olive oil and leave to cool.

A penny for your thoughts

2010-12-07T11:30:00.003Z

This is a great soup to make when you have left over vegetables in your fridge as it really doesn't matter which root vegetables you use. The results are always rich and creamy as long as you don't use to much of one flavour. The thrifty nature of it makes a fantastic choice an end of the week meal in these <big voice> austere times.

I took the inspiration (and name) for this soup from The Soup Book edited by Sophie Grigson. It's a lovely collection of familiar and new recipes. Penny Soup derives it's name from the cheap produce that it utilises as well as the perfect little discs of vegetables that are used to garnish it. The ingredients in my version are slightly different from the book and I use all the trimmings to make my own stock, rather than using a shop bought one. This means I can not only control the seasoning levels exactly but it brings the cost per dish down even further.

Penny Soup - makes 4 servings

2 leek, cut into discs
3 medium potatoes
3 carrots
2 parsnip
2 jerusalem artichoke
15g butter
1l water
parsley to garnish
S&P to taste

Slice all the vegetables into discs approximately 5 mm thick apart from the potato which should be cubed. On a low heat simmer all the off-cuts (but not the potato skin) in a pan for 10 mins.
Sauté all the vegetables and butter except the potato in a large saucepan for 10 mins until soft and translucent. Remove a handful of each vegetable from the pan and put to one side. Add the potato and stock and simmer for 20 mins until the potato is cooked.
With a slotted spoon transfer the vegetables to the processor or blender and run until you have a smooth purée. Now add the stock incrementally until you reach your ideal consistency. Season to taste.
Pour the soup into bowls and garnish with the vegetable discs you have saved and some chopped parsley.

Creamy Mushroom Soup

2010-12-05T18:59:00.001Z

My quest for hearty winter meals continues, as does my search for the perfect soup. When I think back to the soups I loved as a child I think of classics like Heinz Tomato, eagerly scooped up with slices of thick, white toasted bread. Thinking back to my childhood brings fond memories of many different Baxters and Campbell's soups but the most comforting flavour of all is condensed cream of mushroom soup. My favourite childhood meal was my Grandma's chicken and mushroom casserole, made with chicken thighs, 2 cans of condensed mushroom soup and an onion or two. Nowadays I think the best way I could describe it would be a chicken supreme and I have very fond memories of lunch at my Grandma's table praying for seconds. I know I could make a proper supreme with actual mushrooms and cream but this one means much more to me. Nothing is quite as comforting to me on a cold evening in than Grandma's chicken and mushroom casserole over a jacket potato. Comfort food at it's very finest.

With this as my inspiration I wanted to create a smooth mushroom soup. Creamy in texture but deep and complex in flavour. It may not be courtesy of my Grandma but I hope she'd be proud of me. This recipe makes six portions and the volume of raw mushroom means you need a very large pan (at least 28cm). If you don't have a large enough pan, just halve the quantities.

Creamy Mushroom Soup

30g butter
300g mushroooms, roughly chopped
1 onion, roughly chopped
2 sticks celery, roughly chopped
1 stick carrot
1 garlic clove, chopped
300g potatoes, chopped into approx 2cm cubes
1 litre vegetable stock
2 tblsp crème fraiche
2 tblsp thyme

Garnish

50g mushrooms, finely sliced
25g butter
1 tbsp brandy
handful of thyme leaves
cubed bread
4 tblsp olive oil

In your largest pan melt the butter and sauté the onion, celery and carrot for 10 minutes or until softened. Then add the chopped garlic and cook for a further 2-3 mins.
Stir in the mushrooms carefully (you really do need a large pan for this) and sauté for 5-10 mins or until soft. Add the potato and the stock and bring to the boil, then immediately reduce the heat to a simmer for 30 mins.
While the soup is simmering sauté the sliced mushroom in the butter for 10 mins or until soft and golden brown, flambé in the brandy until flames have died down and then set the mushrooms to one side. Now heat the 4 tbsp of oil in the same pan and lightly fry handfuls of cubed bread until golden, then leave to drain on a paper towel.
When the soup has simmered, use a slotted spoon to transfer the vegetables and mushroom to a blender and process until smooth. It's entirely up to you how smooth you wish the final soup to be. Now gradually add the stock until you have the consistency you prefer. Season to taste.
Transfer the soup back to your pan and on a low heat stir through the crème fraiche until it has completely dissolved. Do not let it boil at this stage, you just want to heat it through.
Garnish with croutons, fried mushroom slices and thyme.

Tuscan Bean Soup

2010-12-02T18:56:00.003Z

Well this is a turn up for the books, isn't it? Snow in the first week of December. Imagine the faces of the little gambling elves at William Hill light up with glee at the thought of hopeful punters willing to take yet another punt on a white Christmas. Ordinarily I'd be locked in a warm kitchen, producing lasagne by the acre or meatballs by the tonne, ready for my winter hibernation. However this year as Christmas approaches I've noticed my waistline expanding, no doubt as a direct result of my career choices. Certainly three weeks of bread products can't have helped. But it's a challenge finding warming and hearty meals that don't also include a whole pat of butter or kilo of flour so I find myself turning to soups.

It can be the simplest of repasts or the most complex of deep and hearty stews and it's the latter I'm going to be focusing on for most of this week. Between now and my next college class I'll be producing a number of different dishes, not low fat as such, but certainly packed full of fresh vegetables, protein rich pulses and bone-seeping warmth. Considering the next topic on the college course is pasta I couldn't miss the opportunity to lose a couple of pounds. First up is a vegetarian Tuscan Bean Soup. There are hundreds of different recipes for this dish. Some contain meat stock, some have a mixture of beans or vegetables and others contain entire bones of ham so you really can be guided by the contents of your fridge. The one thing all versions agree on is that the soup should have a rich tomato base that thickens with the pulses, providing a comforting warmth. I've devised a vegetarian version as I've been making a lot of heavy meat and game dishes recently and fancied a change.

Tuscan Bean Soup - serves 4

2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for dribbling
900ml water
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, 1" batons
1/2 courgette, 1" batons
1 small red pepper, 1" batons
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 sprig rosemary
200g baby leaf spinach, shredded
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato paste
400g soaked borlotti beans (1 can)
200g soaked chickpeas (1/2 can)
S&P to taste
4 slices ciabatta, toasted
grated parmesan for sprinkling (if desired)

Chop all the vegetables and in a small saucepan simmer the trimmed offcuts, including the onion skin with the 900ml of water for10 mins.
While the stock is simmering, heat the olive oil in a large pan and sauté the vegetables, garlic and whole rosemary sprig for 10 mins until soft. Now add the tomato paste and stir through the vegetables before adding the can of tomatoes and the stock. Season to taste with S&P
Mash half the borlotti beans with a fork and add to the pan. Now simmer on a low heat for 30 mins. Taste again and season more if required. Add the remaining beans, chickpeas and spinach to the pan and simmer for a further 20 mins.
Once the soup is served place a slice of ciabatta toast on top, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with parmesan cheese (if desired). Garnish with basil leaves or a sprig of rosemary.

Stay warm

Brioche: the end of the dough journey

2010-12-01T17:28:00.001Z

I've baked my way through bread rolls, speciality breads and enriched doughs and I finally reach the end of the dough section in my course. Today I give you Brioche. Actually about three batches of brioche as the first two went ever so slightly wrong due to a basic lack of attention to detail on my part.

Brioche is a beautifully sweet, enriched dough and when made in the traditional manner can take hours to make as it proves in the fridge in order to retard the rising process and enrich the flavour. As with other enriched doughs it is made with egg and butter and it is the latter that can make it difficult to form. The high fat content resists smoothing and has a tendency to form folds when you shape into rolls or cottage loaves etc.

I found a very easy, quick recipe in Leith's Cookery Bible but I've made a small alteration to the method as I found too much liquid for the quantity of flour. For the first attempt I distracted myself by eating dinner and managed to burn the top. Schoolgirl error. The bread itself was perfect, with a lovely spring back when I compressed the dough between thumb and forefinger. It had a rich, 'not-too-sweet' taste that would be delicious with butter and jam. I used a 6-inch cake tin (like a Christmas cake tin), resulting in a round of brioche. Luckily I caught it just before the burnt taste had permeated into the bread but it certainly wouldn't win any points for presentation. The remains of attempt #1 now reside in the deep freeze and await transformation into something else.

Attempt #1

My second effort used the same ingredients and method but this time I used a loaf tin and set the oven temperature slightly lower. I also watched it like a hawk. The results were better, with the same delightful texture and spring back. Taste-wise it was much the same as the first effort, but this is to be expected from the same recipe. But the temperature must still have been too high as the sides cracked and expanded. On the whole a perfectly acceptable loaf with a cakey texture, but still a far cry from being aesthetically pleasing. It's keeping attempt #1 company in the freezer.

Attempt #2

With my third and final effort I had more success. With one slight hiccup. Again, the same recipe produced an identical texture and taste but this time I used some small tins and made miniature loaves with half the dough. With the other half I made cute little cottage loaves. The mini loaves satisfied my high standards but the cottage loaf shapes suffered from what can only be described as a lack of sufficient anchoring. The taste results were divine. Like a sweeter, spongier scone. And they are cute. The power of cute should never be underestimated.

Attempt #3
Research tells me that in future I need to push a pencil through
the cottage loaf from the top, to prevent slipping.

Brioche - makes 1 large or 12 small brioches

7g fresh yeast
5 tsp caster sugar
2 tbsp lukewarm water
225g plain white flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs, beaten
55g melted butter

For the glaze

1 egg, beaten with 1 tbsp water and 1 tsp caster sugar

Preheat the oven to 180C.
Butter and flour the mould or tray you plan to use.
Cream the yeast with the water and 1 tsp of the sugar until it has fully dissolved, then sift the flour, the salt and the remainder of the sugar into a large bowl.
Melt the butter and leave to cool to hand temperature.
Make a well in the centre of the flour and add the yeast, combining with one hand, then the beaten egg and then add the butter incrementally until you form a soft dough. Add a little more butter as the dough can be quite wet, but not so much that it loses form.
Turn onto an unfloured surface and knead for 10 mins until you have a smooth, elastic dough. If the dough sticks to your hands coat them in some of the remaining melted butter and work the dough with buttered hands. This prevents sticking and works more butter into the dough at the same time. Then place the dough in a clean, lightly oiled bowl and cover in clingfilm to prove in a warm place for 1 hour.
Remove the dough from the bowl and knock it back by gently kneading for 2 minutes before you form the shapes required. If making rolls divide the dough into 12 pieces or alternately place the dough in your pre-prepared loaf tin or brioche mould. Cover and leave to rise again in a warm place for 30 mins.
Brush the brioche lightly with the sweetened glaze and bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 mins for large loaves or 10-15 mins for rolls. Check 5 mins before the stated cooking time to check they aren't browning too quickly, if they are reduce the oven heat and cook for remaining time.

I'm currently looking for ideas of what to do with attempts #1 & 2. So far I have bread and brioche pudding. Any recipe suggestions would be appreciated!

In the bag

2010-11-30T16:24:00.001Z

Every day I try and catch up on my food blogs, one of which is the delightful A Slice of Cherry Pie, written by Julia Parsons. Julia's blog is friendly, inviting and full of great recipes. She's recently had a book published which I hope to try out very soon. (Note to husband: it's on my Wish List). But I digress, Julia's blog led me to Real Epicurean and there I learnt of 'In the Bag': a food blogging event that aims to follow seasonal ingredients, gather together a bunch of recipes and share them with the community. Julia and Scott from the Real Epicurean co-organise this event and he made it sound so much fun that I wanted to take part. You should check his blog out, not only for the cutest baby picture in the world, but also because he specialises in writing recipes that are tremendously easy to follow, a skill I'm still working on.

'In the Bag November 2010: A Food Blogging Event. This month's theme is game

I've chosen Rabbit Cacciatore for my entry as here in Surrey I can get a whole rabbit for just over £3 and as our boiler just carked it we are on an economy drive. The meat gives the tomato sauce a deep gamey richness, perfect for the weather we have been having recently. I got this recipe from The Silver Spoon and adapted it a little to my preferences, so I use rosemary as well as thyme. I also use a little sugar and vinegar to round the flavour of the tomato sauce out. You could add olives for a slightly sharper edge but I wanted a smooth, soft taste. The stew is ideal with either a heavy pasta or polenta. I managed to get some absolutely delicious linguini from the deli stall on Guildford market. It more than held it's own against the richness of the sauce. The total cost is approximately £3 per head.

Rabbit Cacciatore - serves 4

25g butter
1 onion, chopped
50g prosciutto, chopped
1 rabbit, jointed
175ml white wine
Bouquet garni of 1 fresh thyme sprig, 1 fresh rosemary sprig, 1 bay leaf
1 can chopped tomato
6 tomatoes chopped and seeded
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tbsp caster sugar
S&P to taste

Preheat the oven to 180C
Sauté the onion and prosciutto in the butter on a low heat until translucent and soft.
Add the rabbit pieces and raise the heat to medium, turning occasionally to get an even colour. Season with S&P, add the wine and bouquet garni and cook for a further 20 mins. If it starts to catch, turn the heat down and cover.
Add all the tomatoes, sugar and vinegar and cook in a low oven for 1 hour. The juices will thicken as it cooks. If they are too runny add a pinch of flour and stir in.
Serve with pasta or mashed polenta.

Alfred: the aubergine dude.

2010-11-27T13:30:00.000Z

Yesterday nature (Sainsburys) gave me a new friend. Is there a single person out there who can look at this picture and NOT see a little aubergine dude?

So I instantly demanded that my husband (an artiste, darling) help me to reveal his hidden soul. Who knew that aubergines are so naturally pensive? I am particularly fond of his Elvis quiff though. Everyone needs a good quiff!

I named him Alfred and gave him the prized title of Soux Chef and he's spent his time since keeping the kitchen in order, overseeing chopping proceedings and guarding the morning's brioche attempt.

Below: Poor Alfred struggles to come to terms with the realities of kitchen life

And now his time is done, but I've grown attached to the little fella (surprising nobody) and can't bring myself to slice him open. Can anyone recommend a fitting dish to give Alfie the send off he deserves?

And this little piggy went...

2010-11-27T12:04:00.000Z

I love my local butchers. I love the variety of produce that they carry, I love the quality of their meat and their willingness to help. They never let me down. They can advise on cooking methods and portion size and they are always interested in the success of my dish when I pay my next visit. So I have to thank them for the pig jowls I recently bought, not only one of the cheapest cuts on the market but by far the tastiest ragu I have ever created. On the butcher's advice I bought untrimmed jowls (even cheaper than smaller pig cheeks) and then I took the fatty skin off at home. I turned the fat into crisp, perfect pork scratchings while using the rest of the cheeks with uncooked chorizo sausages to create a deeply flavoured ragu. The sauce is intense, the smoky paprika of the chorizo cutting through the sweetness of the pork while the thyme polenta balances the flavour and stops it from being too cloying. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.

Pig cheek ragu with thyme polenta

Marinade of 1 tsp juniper berries, 1 tsp black peppercorns, 2 tsp fennel seeds and 500ml red wine
Bouquet garni of rosemary, thyme and bay leaf
30 ml red wine vinegar
1 tbsp soft brown sugar
2kg trimmed pig cheek
180g uncooked chorizo sausage (small ones or chopped into 5 cm lengths)
2 onions, finely chopped
1 stick celery, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tbsp tomato purée
1 can chopped tomato
zest of 1 lemon
2 tbsp olive oil
S&P to taste

Preheat the oven to 160 C.
In a large bowl mix the wine, juniper berries, fennel seeds and peppercorns. Place the cheeks and chorizo in the bowl making sure all the meat is covered with the liquid. Leave to marinade in the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours, ideally over night. When the marinade is done, remove the meat and pat dry with a clean towel, then strain the wine liquor into a jug for use later.
In a flame-proof casserole fry the pig cheeks in the olive oil until golden brown on each side and then remove from the pan.
Sauté the onion, garlic, carrot, celery, lemon zest and bouquet garni in the same casserole pan on a medium heat until softened but not coloured. Add more oil if required. Then add the tomato purée and cook for 5 more minutes, stirring constantly so it doesn't stick.
Add the strained wine liquor, using it to de-glaze the pan of any pork still stuck to the bottom. Simmer for 5 mins then add the tomato, vinegar and sugar. Place the chorizo and the pork in the pan making sure the meat is completely covered with the sauce. Cover the casserole and place in the oven for 4 hours stirring once an hour.
Then remove the lid and cook for a further 30mins before serving.

Polenta mash

60g polenta
600ml milk
2 sprigs thyme
40g grated parmersan
S&P to taste

Heat the milk and thyme over a medium heat until it starts to boil, then carefully remove the thyme sprigs.
Add the polenta in a steady stream whilst beating continuously with a spoon. Keep beating until all the polenta is incorporated. It will gradually thicken. Then turn the heat down to the lowest setting possible and leave to cook for approximately 20 mins stirring intermittently.
Beat in the cheese and season to taste. Mix in a few thyme leaves.

Serve with a full-bodied red wine.

Winter soups: Butternut squash, sweet potato and thyme

2010-11-22T12:04:00.001Z

I blinked and winter arrived. What the hell happened to autumn? Where did all the lovely golden leaves disappear to, apart from my windscreen? And how am I supposed to keep a flat with 80 year-old sash windows warm? Ripley the cat has the right idea and has spent the last 2 weeks lying on a radiator but I'm currently rattling round a draughty Victorian flat praying for spring.

On the other hand cooking in winter is one of the nicest things I can think of to do. And while a day making meatballs is fantastically luxurious sometimes even the simplest of recipes can be just as satisfying. Soup never seems to take much effort but the right combination of flavours with warm bread and butter can fill me up as much as any large pasta dish or Sunday roast. And when the ground is hard as ice and you can see your own breath, a soup for lunch will warm you through and prepare you for the rest of the day.

This velvety butternut squash soup has a hint of thyme and a chili kick and can be served as a starter or stand-alone meal. I chose to steam the vegetables rather than roasting them as I wanted an even colour and texture that would blend into a thick velouté. A crunchy texture was added with a toasted garlic and chili garnish. Ideal with warm bread: Dough!.

Butternut squash, sweet potato and thyme soup

800g butternut squash, peeled and cubed
400g sweet potato, peeled and cubed
2 shallots, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic
5 sprigs thyme
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper to season

Garnish

1 clove garlic, thinly sliced
1 bird's eye chili, halved lengthways with seeds
2 tbsp olive oil
Sprigs of thyme

Prepare the squash and sweet potato by peeling and chopping into cubes. The sweet potato takes less time so cut these a little larger.
In a large sauté pan fry off the garlic and shallots in the olive oil for 5 minutes or until soft, but don't let them colour. Add the squash and sweet potato and coat with the shallots and oil. Tuck the sprigs of thyme under the veg and add 2 tbsp of water. Cover the pan with a lid and allow to steam on a low heat for approximately 20 minutes or until the vegetables are soft enough to mash stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.
Once ready carefully remove all the sprigs of thyme and transfer the contents of the pan to a food processor or jug blender and blend for approximately 5 minutes. The longer you blend this mix, the smoother the velouté will be. Once you have a completely smooth purée add a little water until you have the consistency of custard or double cream. At this point season to taste.
Transfer the soup to a saucepan and simmer on a low heat until hot (but do not allow to boil) before transferring to serving bowls
Lightly fry the sliced garlic and chili in 2 tbsp olive oil and use to dribble attractively over the surface of the soup. Garnish with thyme if desired.

If you do not have a food processor or a jug blender you can use a hand-held blender, but it will take longer to achieve a smooth velouté. Alternatively pass the vegetables through a mouli or sieve.

Naan Bread

2010-11-20T16:13:00.001Z

No matter how much baking I do, there will always be things I've never attempted. In this week's course I had to produce a brioche and a naan bread, neither of which I have ever tried. In a training kitchen with one chef tutor between 15 of us this can be challenging, especially when you take into account the rush to get available equipment before somebody else snaffles it. I'm fairly sure they don't have these issues in Cordon Bleu schools but then again I don't have £32,000 per annum to spend on retraining either.

My fellow students all work in professional kitchens full time and use their newly acquired skills on a daily basis. I don't (yet), so I have to practise as much as I can at home and hope that I improve. So here we are on day five of an entire week of dough and it's curry night! My waist line hates me.

Having scoured my professional books for a recipe I liked I finally settled on one from Madhur Jaffery's book: Indian Cookery. Did you know that Madhur Jaffrey used to be an actress before becoming a food writer? And that she is credited with introducing James Ivory to Ismail Merchant (Wikipedia, I love you)? In fact her entire family appears to be famous in some way or other, but I digress. This dough is quick and easy to make. It rose to about 3 times its original size and the resulting taste and texture is perfect so she's won me over first time. The only change I made was to use fresh yeast as I don't feel confident using the dried product. Emulating the inside of a tandoor is a challenge but the trick is to pre-heat a heavy oven tray in a hot oven and also pre-heat your grill before use. At the risk of sounding like Delia, I can't recommend Mermaid hard anodised products highly enough as my baking sheet serves as a flat base for all the breads I bake and never buckles or sticks, despite daily use.

Naan Bread - makes 6 large breads

150ml lukewarm milk
2 tsp castor sugar
15g fresh yeast
450g plain flour
1/2 tsp salt
1tsp baking powder
2 tbsp vegetable oil
150ml plain yoghurt (lightly beaten)
1 large egg (lightly beaten)

Pre-heat the oven to 250 degrees.
Sift the flour into a large bowl and rub the yeast in (as for crumble), then mix in the salt, baking powder and sugar.
Make a well in the centre and add the egg, oil and yoghurt and start to mix with one hand. With your other hand gradually add the warm milk until you have enough liquid to form a ball of dough.
Knead the dough on the work surface for approx 10 minutes until it is smooth. Oil your mixing bowl with a 1/4 tsp of vegetable oil, coat the dough by turning it in the bowl then cover in cling film and leave to rise in a warm place for one hour or until it has doubled in size.
Knock back the dough by kneading gently then cut into six even-sized balls. Roll into a tear-drop shape approx 12cm x 25cm. Keep the balls you are not working on under a damp cloth so they don't dry out.
Remove the hot baking tray from the oven, slap the naan onto the tray and bake in the hottest part of the oven for 3-4 mins. You will see the base begin to brown and the dough will bubble up with trapped air. Then remove the tray and place it under the hot grill to colour the top for 2 mins.
Wrap the naan in a clean tea-towel and repeat process until they are all cooked (I managed 2 per tray).

Serve hot with any curry of your choice!

Soda Bread

2010-11-18T16:58:00.001Z

This week's dough theme continues with a quick and easy bread. While kneading and proving dough can be lots of fun and is hugely rewarding, sometimes you just don't have the time. So I thought it was time to take a look at bicarbonate of soda.

Soda bread is incredibly easy it is to make. It's just a case of mixing the ingredients together and baking for 40-50 mins. The raising agent here is the carbon dioxide bubbles that form when the bicarbonate of soda reacts with the lactic acid in the buttermilk or yoghurt. Heavy kneading is not required for this and the loaves traditionally have a rustic shape so you don't even need to make it look smooth and pretty. Soda bread has a cross down the centre that cuts almost to the base. Some believe this is to ward off evil or let the fairies out (dude, srsly!), but I prefer to believe that it is there to help the loaf bake evenly. The lines then form natural breaks for you to take hefty chunks to dip in your stew or soup.

The recipe below is for a brown soda, sometimes known as wheaten bread which I served for lunch with a light salmon mousse (just smoked salmon trimmings blended with half a tub of half fat creme fraiche, lemon juice and seasoning) and a carrot and French bean salad. Once you've grown to love this bread you can add plenty to it, from nuts and dried fruit to chocolate. I know somebody who uses hazelnut yoghurt instead of buttermilk and the results are delicious.

Soda Bread - makes 1 loaf

225g wholemeal flour
225g plain white flour
1.5 tsp salt
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
45g butter
1 tbsp caster sugar
approx 400ml buttermilk or natural yoghurt

Preheat the oven to 190 degrees and lightly flour an oven tray
Sift all the flour, the bicarbonate of soda and the salt together twice and then rub in the butter as you would for a crumble
Stir the sugar through the mixture and make a well in the centre. Add the buttermilk/yoghurt incrementally and mix with your hand until a rough soft dough forms
Now knead the dough very gently until it forms a round shape, place on the oven tray and cut a deep thick cross into the centre, nearly all the way to the baking sheet. A wooden spoon handle is good for this job
Bake for 40-50 mins until golden brown and the bottom is hollow to tap. If the cross still feels damp it needs a little longer
Cool on a wire rack

Pizza Night

2010-11-17T18:41:00.000Z

In keeping with this week's dough theme I made pizza last night for dinner. Far too much pizza to be honest, but at least it is nice cold and I run a lot! Over the past five years I have learnt how to make my own, developing my own taste for thin crisp crusts, rather than a thick stodgy deep pan along the way. And I've had fun with toppings: early lessons include the perils of adding too much sauce (the topping slides off), the evils of indecision and/or pure greed (too many toppings mean the pizza slice collapses) and an overwhelming desire to make the thinnest pizza base in the world (resulting in the pizza 'crisp'). But I kind of loved every single experience as there is something very satisfying about the entire production process. It feels artistic and yet homely at the same time. It teaches you how to combine ingredients at a very basic level. And just like with bread your kitchen needs to be nice and warm, making it a lovely place to be on a cold winter's day. Every imperfect pizza has taught me something about flavour combination or dough technique, or just the simple importance of remembering to get two bottles of Italian beer chilled and ready before you serve!

I have chosen 00 grade flour for this recipe as it gives the dough a really light texture.You can use strong flour with a higher gluten content if you prefer, which will result in a crunchier base. Either is delicious. The moisture in this dough comes from olive oil. As the pizza is cooked in a very hot oven the oil doesn't evaporate as water would, and so the base remains springy and elastic. Choose any topping you like for these. I've outlined last night's options below but just remember not to pile too many flavours or ingredients on there.

Pizza base - makes 3 pizzas (or 2 pizzas and a portion of dough balls)

500g 00 grade flour
10g fresh yeast
10g salt
50g olive oil
320g lukewarm water
Plain flour for dusting

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees and place a good heavy oven tray or pizza stone in the oven to preheat
Rub the yeast into the flour (like a crumble)
Add the salt and olive oil and stir in
Add the lukewarm water incrementally while mixing with your hands until a dough is formed
Stretch the dough on the work surface by taking hold of it in both hands and pulling the hands away from each other. Then fold the dough back onto itself, turn slightly and repeat the process until it is smooth and elastic (approx 10 mins)
Place the dough back in the bowl, cover with cling film and leave to rise for one hour (or until it has doubled in size)
Turn the dough out onto the surface and gently knead to knock it back
Cut the dough into three even sized balls and leave to rest on a floured surface for 10 mins.
Now take each ball and form the pizza base by placing the heel of your hand in the centre and gently push it away from yourself. Turn the dough slightly and repeat over until you have a disc approximately 20-25cm in diameter. Do this on a floured surface to prevent sticking. I think it's nice to keep a fairly rustic shape but the level of perfection you wish to achieve is entirely up to you
Place the bases onto lightly floured oven trays. I use the back of the tray so I can easily slide the pizza onto the preheated tray/stone in the oven
Cover the base with tomato sauce and toppings of your choice and slide the pizza off the tray onto the preheated oven tray/stone
Reduce the oven heat to 140 degrees and bake for approximately 10-12 mins. The pizza should be golden brown round the edges

Basic tomato sauce

1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1/2 tsp white wine vinegar
1 tsp caster sugar
S&P to taste

Lightly sauté the onions and garlic on a low heat for 10-15 mins. Stir to avoid colouring
Once the onion is soft, add the tomato and stir constantly on a low heat for 5 mins to reduce down by about a quarter
Season with the white wine vinegar, sugar and S&P to taste. The vinegar and sugar adds a rounder flavour to the passata.
Now blend the mixture with a processor, jug blender, stick blender or pass through a sieve until smooth
It is now ready to be spooned onto the pizza base. You need just enough to cover the base.

Suggested pizza toppings

Salami and jalapeño: salami slices, chorizo slices, chopped jalapeño, mozzarella, grated parmesan, small handful of torn basil leaves, 1 tbs olive oil for sprinkling over top.

Ham, capers and anchovies: slices of parma ham, anchovies, handful of caper berries, mozzarella, parmesan, small handful of torn basil leaves, 1 tbs olive oil for sprinkling over top.

As I've already said, use any toppings you like. Don't use too much and always add the cheese on last so it can turn golden brown in the heat and protect the other ingredients. I like to swirl a tablespoon of olive oil over the toppings before baking.

Chelsea Buns

2010-11-16T13:14:00.003Z

For the past two weeks at college we've been making dough based products. Bread rolls, granary loaves, enriched dough and speciality breads have all been on the menu. So this week my task is to make a different bread product every day and incorporate them into one of the day's meals. Pizza for dinner one day, curry and naan bread for lunch the next, brioche for breakfast at the weekend or soup and soda bread as a Sunday lunch starter.

In order to get me in the mood for this I started last week by making Chelsea Buns on Friday. These were a Saturday coffee morning treat after I had completed a 10km run in Greenwich Park to raise money for the charity Women for Congo Women. And in light of the herculean effort I put in I didn't feel at all guilty about devouring two of these sugary treats before heading out to lunch.

Chelsea Buns are made with an enriched dough, giving them a sweet, doughnutty taste. Traditionally the buns are then rolled with sugar, cinnamon and currants like a Swiss roll before baking and then glazing. I had plenty of fruit left over from my Christmas cakes (blog to follow) so I included cranberries and dates to the mix. I also upped the spice and sugar content as these buns were my own special treat after running and also because the taste of the filling should be stronger than the dough. Previous ones I'd made in class the week before hadn't packed a big enough punch.

Chelsea Buns

Makes 8 large or 12 small

Dough

225ml milk
15g fresh yeast
45g caster sugar
450g plain flour
pinch salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
45g soft butter
1 egg

Filling

70g caster sugar
70g soft butter
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
150g dried fruit - I used currants, sultanas, finely chopped dates and cranberries
1 egg (for egg wash)

Glaze

75g caster sugar
75g water
half a small sheet of gelatine (optional - omit for vegetarian version)

Heat milk and leave to cool until lukewarm before creaming 1tbsp of it with the yeast and 1tsp sugar
Sift flour and 1/2 tsp cinnamon into a mixing bowl and rub in butter like a crumble and then stir in the sugar and pinch of salt
Beat the egg and mix with the flour and yeast mixture
Mix in the lukewarm milk until a dough forms (add incrementally to avoid dough becoming too sticky)
Knead for 5-10 mins as you would for normal bread dough. Once elastic and smooth place in a lightly oiled bowl, covered with cling film and leave to rise for approximately an hour (or until dough has doubled in size)
Knock back the dough by kneading gently for a couple of minutes before rolling into a rectangle of approximately 40cm x 20cm. Try to ensure this is as even as possible so the resulting buns are a consistent size
Now take the soft (room temp) butter, spices and sugar from the mix ingredients and beat them together to make a paste
Spread (like butter) over the dough, right to the edges. Remember any part of the dough not covered will result in the full flavour not reaching every mouthful
Sprinkle the fruit over the dough, once again making sure that you don't neglect the edges
Now roll the dough up tight like a Swiss roll
Use a sharp knife (the sharper the better so as not to squash your roll) tp cut the dough down the middle to create 2 halves
With each half repeat the process by halving again giving you 4 pieces in total
Depending on whether you want large or small buns now either cut each quarter into 3 equal pieces (12 small in total) or 2 equal pieces (8 large in total)
Carefully place the buns flat on a greased oven tray (a large flat palette knife or a flat spatula may help here)
Leave buns to prove again in a warm place for 15 mins then brush with egg wash and bake at 200C for 20-25 mins. You need to bake the dough through so if it looks like they are browning too quickly just lower the temperature slightly or move to a lower shelf.
Leave to cool on a wire rack before separating and removing from the tray. When you move them support them underneath with the palette or spatula and remember that until they cool completely the fruit will easily fall out, so handle with care
Once they have cooled, boil up the sugar and water in a saucepan and heat until a syrup is formed. Gelatine will make the glaze set a little harder and if you decide to use it you need to soften the sheet in cold water for 10 minutes before squeezing out excess the water and stirring into your syrup until if has completely dissolved. Brush the glaze onto the buns swiftly (before the glaze in the pan cools down) and leave to set.

Serve with a cold frosty morning, a newspaper and a vat of coffee.

Strawberry Jam

2010-11-04T11:53:00.001Z

To avoid avoid the nightmare of Christmas shopping this year I will make mini Christmas hampers for everyone. Since the middle of summer I've been making the odd thing here and there so now the bottom shelf of my pantry (ikea cupboard) is full of jam, various infusing spirits and preserving paraphernalia. I've spent the last couple of months foraging for blackberries, battling with unset jellies and sterilising squillions of jam jars but I'm nearly there now and only have a handful of tomato sauces to make. Aargh and the Christmas cakes. My poor husband is starting to fear that I'm turning into Martha Stewart (without the prison sentence) and lives in fear of waking up to discover the flat covered in patchwork and tea cosies. Poor chap doesn't even like jam.

Most jam recipes state that jam should be consumed within 6 months so in order to maximise the shelf life of these Christmas gifts I wanted to make the jam as late as possible. To benefit from cheap fruit I bought fresh strawberries in July, weighed them into 1 kilo bags, froze them and made the jam this week.

I prefer a pure strawberry taste so the only additional flavour in this jam is lemon juice for the set. It's the fifth batch of jam I've made this year and so far shows all the signs of being the best yet. The strawberries collapsed comprehensively as a result of being frozen but the taste is perfectly sweet without being cloying and the lemon adds the perfect high note to balance out the sugar.

Prepare in advance by making sure you have the following things to hand:

- 6 medium size jam jars. Either save them up from your normal shopping purchases, beg and steal from friends and family or just buy direct from places like John Lewis or Lakeland. I can also recommend this fabulous little site: Jam Jar Shop.

- a maslin pan, or large flat-bottomed pan

- a sugar thermometer (although I will discuss how to check the setting point of the jam without this)

- a wide-necked jam funnel (not absolutely essential but it will cut down on an awful lot of mess).

Now you are ready. The process of making the jam is surprisingly easy yet amazes me every time. The truth is, the part of the process that takes the longest is cleaning and sterilising the jars, and that really couldn't be simpler.

Frozen Strawberry Jam

1kg strawberries, hulled and frozen
1kg preserving sugar
Juice of 1&1/2 lemons

First defrost the strawberries an hour before use
Wash all the jam jars and funnel with hot soapy water, rinse them well and place on an oven proof tray. Put the tray in the oven on a low heat (120degrees) for 30 mins. Place the jars neck up so you don't have to touch them before adding the jam
Put all the fruit, sugar and lemon juice together in the pan and bring to the boil on a low heat
Stir often to dissolve all the sugar
As the sugar starts to boil the temperature will slowly rise towards the setting point (105C). To test this dip your thermometer into the centre of the jam to take it's temperature. NB if you do not have a thermometer you can test this by placing a small plate in the freezer an hour before you start to make the jam. To test the set, drip some jam onto the plate and leave to cool for 3-5 seconds. When cool nudge the jam with your fingers. If the surface wrinkles you have reached setting point.
Once setting point has been reached turn the heat off and lightly skim the froth from the top of the jam. Remove the tray and sterilised jars from the oven with oven gloves. Try not to touch any of the necks or lids with your fingers or gloves. If you are using a jam funnel place this in the neck of the jar and ladle the jam in until the jar is full. Otherwise ladle straight into the jar. Immediately screw on the lid.
If you wish to use wax discs at this point they should be pushed onto the top of the hot jam before screwing on the lid. Personally I don't bother as I don't see the point of adding a non-sterile element to the jar when I've gone to so much effort to sterilise it.

Toast and jam, cream tea or Victoria sponge cake?

An unexpected side effect of preparing hampers in this way is that I am now completely excited about Christmas. It almost feels like it's time to put the decorations up and order the Baileys in. Does anyone else create these little hampers for friends? What are your favourite home-made gifts?

Spicy Thai Salad

2010-10-29T17:46:00.003+01:00

Four years ago I went on holiday to Ko Lanta in Thailand and it stole a little piece of my heart. It's one of the only places in the world I would seriously consider moving to. In stressful moments my husband and I fantasise about giving it all up and opening a little guest house over there. I'd be a dive instructor by day and feed my guests by night and he would make us rich beyond our wildest dreams by playing online poker. Actually, I appear to be getting a fairly poor deal there, but diving and cooking for a living would be fun!

On our second visit we indulged in some Thai cooking classes at Time For Lime, a fabulous cooking school run by Junie Kovacs, a Norwegian who has dedicated her life to Thai cooking. I had always liked Thai food but learning about the flavour combination of spicy, sour, salty and sweet through the medium of mien kaam, in a training kitchen on a beach, turned a mild interest into an obsession.

Here in the UK it's not always easy to get hold of ingredients, although more and more towns now have good Chinese, Thai or more generic Asian supermarkets. And of course online shopping sites are very useful. I'm lucky enough to have a fantastic shop just 10 minutes walk from my house but as this is not the case everywhere this is a derivation of som tam (green papaya salad) using more readily available ingredients. Som tam is traditionally made in individual portions in a mortar and pestle. Not everyone has one to hand though so I suggest using a large bowl with a rolling pin to bruise and mix all the ingredients together.

Vegetarians can replace the fish sauce with light soy and leave out the dried shrimp. Bird's eye chilis can be found in most supermarkets and a good rule to follow is: 1 chili for moderately spicy, 2 chilis for spicy and 3 chilis for very spicy. As a time saver I tend to pre-roast an entire bag of shelled peanuts and store them in a large jar. I also pre-grind the dried shrimp. As skinning peanuts is a thankless task I recommend you buy large bags of shelled and unsalted peanuts from a health food shop like Julian Graves.

Spicy Thai Salad (serves 2 as a side portion)

100g grated raw carrot
50g green beans, cut into 2.5cm pieces
50g cherry tomatoes, halved
1 shallot, finely sliced
1 garlic cloves crushed to a paste
1/2 tbs ground shrimp (this can be omitted if you can't get hold of it)
25g peanuts, unsalted
2 red bird's eye chilis
1 large (milder) red chili
25g bean sprouts

For the dressing

3 tbs lime juice and a small piece of rind
1 tbs fish sauce
1 tsp caster sugar

Roast your peanuts in a dry frying pan over a hot heat. This only takes about 2 mins in a hot pan so keep an eye on them and remove them from the pan the minute they are ready or will they will burn
If you have whole dried shrimp use a food processor to grind them into a coarse dust. Don't worry if there are larger chunks left in, it adds a nice chewy texture.
Combine the lime juice, rind, fish sauce and sugar in a small bowl and stir to dissolve the sugar. Taste is very important here, add more of any of these ingredients if you think the dressing is too sharp or salty etc.
Slice the bird's eye chili into thin rings
De-seed and slice the large chili length ways into long thins strips
Mix all the ingredients except the dressing in a large bowl and lightly pound with the end of rolling pin or back of a large spoon. (Don't pound too hard unless you are using a real pestle and mortar as the bowl will not withstand too much)
Now add the dressing to the salad and pound gently to thoroughly mix all the ingredients together. Add the dressing immediately before serving as the longer the chili sits in the dressing, the spicier it will become

Traditionally served with grilled or barbecue chicken and a bowl of sticky rice but it's also great with tod man pla (fish cakes) and sweet chili dressing (recipe posted soon).

Halloween Treats

2010-10-28T17:32:00.000+01:00

As already mentioned I make cakes once a week for my husband and his writing team over at the games design company. This week it's Halloween and I'd originally thought of a lovely pumpkin cake but since my husband doesn't believe vegetables belong in desserts (the freak) I had to have a rethink. I consider Halloween to be an American holiday and thought it would be a appropriate to make something that is the epitome of Americana - peanut butter cup cakes covered in chocolate. I've returned once again to the Primrose Bakery book and this time have not been disappointed.

The cakes themselves have a mild flavour which is important considering the 'stick to the roof of your mouth' texture of peanut butter. The chocolate icing sets hard so as you bite into it you get a satisfying thick layer of chocolate followed by soft peanutty sponge. The overall effect is one of a home-made (and much nicer) Reece's Cup.

Please feel free to admire the much improved (but still not perfect) photography.

Mini versions of these with less icing on top would be perfect for kid's parties.

Peanut Butter Cupcakes

75g butter, at room temperature
130g smooth peanut butter
190g dark soft brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
120g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
60 ml semi-skimmed milk (room temp)

Preheat your oven to 160 degrees
Line a bun tray with cases - this batter made 18 fairy cake sized buns
Cream the butter, peanut butter and sugar together in a large bowl. (My tool of choice was an electric hand whisk, but a large bowl mixer would be even more effective)
Add eggs, one at a time, blend after each addition
Blend in vanilla extract
In a separate bowl sift flour, salt and baking powder
Add a third of flour to the main bowl (I sifted it again for added lift) and blend
Add a third of the milk to the mix and blend. Repeat these steps until all flour and milk is added
Fill cases to approx 2 thirds full and bake for 20 mins or until a cake skewer comes out clean
Remove from oven and leave to cool for 10 mins before turning out onto a cooling rack
Let the cupcakes cool completely before icing

Milk Chocolate Icing

60ml double cream
30g unsalted butter, (room temp)
300g quality milk chocolate
1 tsp vanilla extract (Primrose recipe specifies 1/2 but I found a little extra brought the chocolate taste out a little more)

Heat the double cream and butter in a saucepan over a very low heat. Do not allow it to boil and stir continuously until all the butter has melted
Once the butter has melted remove from the heat and break in the chocolate
Stir continuously until all the chocolate has melted. You may need to place the pan back onto a low heat to melt all the chunks
Once the chocolate has melted add vanilla extract
In order to ice the cakes the mixture needs to be at room temperature. (NB It will thicken up as it cools but a quick whisk before use should loosen it enough to ice. If not, 1 min on a low heat will return it to a usable consistency)
Decorate while the icing is still soft with pieces of fudge, butterscotch, broken peanuts or even the little peanut butter drops you can get from specialist American delis

Happy Halloween

Lazy evenings and chicken wings

2010-10-27T11:52:00.008+01:00

The other evening I tweeted about having lazy chicken wings for dinner and a good friend requested the recipe. Get Lippie writes a popular beauty blog that regularly reviews hair and beauty product as well as providing a makeover and advice service. I was lucky enough to be one of her models just before my wedding and she taught me how to apply the make-up I wanted for my low-key day. I still use the eye make-up tips she showed me. So this is for her.

The original inspiration came from Nigel Slater Kitchen Diaries but I've added and experimented with many different ingredients over time. There is no marinade and it doesn't require hours in the fridge. Just 10 mins prep time and an hour 20 in the oven. The length of cooking time results in a lovely crisp skin and crunchy wing tips but you could easily cook them for 50 mins to an hour if you prefer them less crispy. Be aware that if the oven is too hot it can result in dry meat as the wings are so small.

It can be difficult to find organic/free-range chicken wings. Sainsburys are frustrating by only stocking wings in their basics range. I now get mine from a lovely local butcher where they are cheap and fat and full of flavour and I've seen organic wings in Tesco recently. The wings pictured above are lemon and garlic, which I'll outline in the first recipe before giving you three or four different flavour combos that we've tried and tested in at Casa Hungry.

Lemon and garlic chicken wings

12 chicken wings
1 head garlic broken into cloves
3 tblsp olive oil
2 lemons, cut into 4 lemon wedges each
coarse sea salt
pepper

Preheat oven to 180 degrees
In a large shallow roasting pan scatter all the ingredients except garlic and lemon and make sure the wings are evenly coated with oil and all ingredients
Squeeze each lemon quarter over the chicken and scatter in the pan with the rest, tucking lemon between and under the wings
Turn all wings skin down in the pan
Roast in preheated oven for 40 mins
Remove from oven and add garlic by tucking it under the wings. Shake pan to make sure garlic now fully coated by oil and lemony goodness.
Turn all wings skin side up and return to oven for final 40 mins

The results will be succulent chicken meat, crunchy wing tips and soft, pungent garlic eaten straight out the garlic paper. The lemon wedges will carbonise and can be removed before serving. Serve with anything from a light salad, to fries or eat them all by themselves. My personal favourite is skinny french fries, ketchup and an ice cold Peroni, with an episode of Doctor Who.

Anything too delicate will carbonise if left in the oven for the full hour 20 mins and should therefore be added at the half-way point when you turn the chicken. If I use herbs I will finely chop some to add with oil at the beginning but then tuck whole sprigs into the pan after the initial 40 mins.

Let me know your favourite flavour combinations to add to my list.

Ideas:

Chilli flakes and lemon
Honey and thyme
Mixed herb and lemon
Paprika and finely sliced chorizo

Italian Soirée: White Chocolate Pannacotta and Wine Jelly

2010-10-26T23:22:00.010+01:00

This beautiful and (compared to the main course) easy dessert is originally by Lizzie Kamenetztky in Delicious Magazine. It is easy to prepare and looks absolutely beautiful. Also it can be prepared the night before leaving you with more time to relax on the day of your big dinner (ha!). I amended the recipe according to availability of produce and substituted half the double cream with single to lighten the texture but very little of this superb dish is mine. The only thing I really must stress is that good vegetarians do not eat gelatine. Oh well. At least I had a coffee cupcake to hand so my poor guest didn't have to sit there with an empty plate while the rest of us wolfed down our dessert.

Rose Wine Jelly

7 fine gelatine leaves
1 tsp lemon juice
150g caster sugar
250ml rosé wine
250g berries, hulled (I used blackberries, raspberries and blueberries)

White Chocolate Pannacotta

250ml double cream
250ml single cream
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
75g white chocolate, broken up into chunks
3 fine gelatine leaves

Soak the 7 gelatine leaves in cold water for 5 minutes to soften. In a pan, bring 300ml water and the lemon juice to the boil. Add the sugar, stir until dissolved, then remove from the heat. Squeeze the water from the gelatine and add to the syrup. Stir until dissolved, then stir in the wine.
Leave jelly to cool to room temperature. Divide the berries between 6 x 300ml dariole moulds or bowls (or a 1.3 litre loaf tin), then pour over the cool jelly to half-fill the moulds/tin. Set in fridge for at least 2 hours.
Once jelly has set, make the pannacotta. Heat cream in a pan over a medium heat. As it starts to boil, reduce the heat, then stir in the vanilla bean paste and white chocolate. Stir until the chocolate has melted, then remove from the heat.
Soak gelatine leaves in cold water for 5 minutes to soften, squeezing out the excess water and place in a bowl with 4 tbsp boiling water, stirring to melt. Add to the cream and chocolate mixture and allow to cool a little. Pour the pannacotta mixture into the dariole moulds or loaf tin on top of the set jelly and berry layer. Leave to set overnight in the fridge. Turn out by standing moulds in hot water for 1 or 2 seconds, holding a plate on top and flipping over. Serve with berries. Also lovely with a sprig of mint.

Italian Soirée: Red Pepper and Ricotta Tortelloni

2010-10-26T22:51:00.009+01:00

I spent hours scouring the internet for inspiration on this one. I planned a red pepper filling for the pasta but wanted to compare a couple of recipes to adapt and recreate one of my own. Astoundingly I couldn't find any at all. Plenty of spinach and ricotta, plenty of pumpkin or squash and ricotta but no red pepper. So this is all mine.

Pasta is a very satisfying thing to make as it combines the relaxation of kneading with creativity and origami. There is something to be said for pootling in the kitchen with the heat from the oven and Radio 4 on in the background as you create all manner of delicious treats. Pasta needs to rest for 20 mins before using it so make the dough first, then move on to the filling and accoutrements. My pasta dough recipe is a basic egg pasta from The Silver Spoon. It's quick and easy to make and providing you roll it out thin enough the end result is always silky and light. It is much easier if you have a pasta machine but you can roll by hand if not. Pasta is very elastic and springs back stubbornly so factor enough time into your preparation if you need to do this.

I finished the pasta with a light tomate concassée with a parmesan crisp as I didn't want anything too complex to overpower the taste of the filling. The effect is delicious, although the lemon didn't come through the cooked tortelloni so I have added more to this recipe to address this.

I really must get something done about picture quality as well. The light in the kitchen is very yellow so any photo taken after dark has a tendency to look very dark and odd.

Basic Egg Pasta

200g 00 grade flour (available from all major supermarket chains or Italian delis)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
salt to taste

Sift the flour and a pinch of salt into a mound on the work surface or in a large bowl
Make a well in the centre and add beaten egg mixture
Using fingers, gradually incorporate the flour , then knead for about 10 minutes.
Extra flour or water can be added at this stage if the mix is too wet or dry.
Knead the dough by pushing down with the heel of your hand, folding the squashed dough back on itself and repeating the process. The dough will feel grainy at first but the more you knead it will lose the graininess becoming smooth and silky to touch. The kneading process will take approximately 10 minutes.
Once the dough has the required texture, form a ball and place in a bowl and rest on the work top for at least 15 mins. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth to prevent the dough from drying out.
At this stage you can make a start on the filling:

Red Pepper and Ricotta Filling

3 red peppers, quartered and de-seeded
100g of ricotta cheese
50g grated parmesan
6 basil leaves, shredded
rind of 1 lemon
salt and pepper to season

Place the quarters of pepper on a grill pan or griddle. Your aim is to scorch the skin so if you use a grill place them skin side up, or if you use a griddle place them skin side down. Grill/griddle for approximately 20 mins or until the skin has scorched and blistered away from the flesh of the pepper. The pepper will also start to soften, this is OK.
Once the pepper has blistered sufficiently enough to peel remove them from the heat and leave to cool down. They will carry on cooking from the residual heat. Once they are cool enough to handle peel off all the blackened skin and place in a processor, discarding the skin. If you don't have a processor you can finely chop the pepper and stir in all the ingredients until completely mixed.
Spoon ricotta, parmesan, lemon rind and finely shredded basil into processing unit and pulse until incorporated but not so much that it is a fine paste.
Season to taste.

Rolling the pasta

First divide the dough into two balls and leave one in the bowl covered with the damp cloth to prevent drying.
Roll the first ball out until it is approx 1cm thick and will go through the machine
Send the pasta through the machine on the widest setting, holding the pasta in one hand and turning the handle with the other. Then send the pasta through on the second setting and repeat 3-4 times taking the setting down each time.
Fold the strip of pasta back on itself and send it through the machine on the first setting again. Repeat 3-4 times taking setting down each time.
Now cut the strip in half and place one piece under a damp cloth to prevent drying. Fold the other length in three by bringing one side in and then layering the other side over the top of that.
Now send it through the machine on the first setting, this time width ways not lengthways. Do this 3 t0 4 times reducing the setting each time.
Now fold the pasta back on itself and put it through the machine on each setting, one after the next until you have a thin sheet of pasta (1.5mm) with a lovely sheen. It will be thin and fragile so handle with care and use each sheet as it is ready so it doesn't dry out and become brittle.
Note: any pasta that you do not use can be wrapped in cling film and frozen. Just make sure you defrost thoroughly and re-knead again before use.

Making the parcels

Now cut each strip into squares approximately 5cm x 5cm. I make a paper stencil to do this and then cut around it with a sharp knife
Place a teaspoon of your filling mixture in the centre
Fold the squares corner to corner to form a triangle and seal the edges with a dab of water
Wrap each triangle around your index finger, press points together and gently push the rest of the dough back to make the classic tortelloni shape.
Place on a large plate or tray sprinkled with flour to prevent sticking. Approximately 8 per person would be a generous serving.

Making the parmesan crisp

100g parmesan, grated

Lay out a sheet of backing parchment on an oven tray
Use a biscuit cutter to sprinkle grated parmesan in a round shape on the parchment. Repeat for as many crisps as you require
Grill under a hot grill until complete melted and golden brown
Remove from heat until they cool and then carefully lift off the parchment and place somewhere safe until required.

Making the sauce (a basic tomate concassée)

1 shallot diced
1 clove garlic crushed
3 large beef tomatoes peeled, seeded and finely diced
1 tblsp olive oil
salt to taste

Lightly sauté the onion and garlic in the oil on a low heat for approximately 10 mins or until soft but not discoloured
Add the finely diced tomato and stir over low heat until soft and breaking up into a sauce. I don't want this too smooth as I need the texture on the pasta.

To compile the dish

Cook the tortelloni in a pan of boiling water for 5 mins, or until they start to float in the pan, drain well and plate
Lightly cover pasta with tomato sauce
Position parmesan crisp and garnish with basil if you like.
Serve

Reading back now I realise why I nearly had a nervous breakdown while preparing this. In direct contrast to Jamie Oliver's latest show I suggest you give yourself at least 3 hours for this one. It's not fast food but it certainly is delicious. I do wish this final image was better as it really doesn't show it off at its best.

Italian Soirée: Pumpkin Souffle Tart

2010-10-20T18:54:00.002+01:00

Italian food seems like the perfect choice for a dinner party as the nights are cooling down and the sun sets earlier every day. Pasta is warming, fun to make and goes down a treat with a nice bottle of chianti so I raided my recipe collection for inspiration for last Friday's dinner with two good friends. I thought it would take about three hours to prepare the entire meal and luckily I gave myself the day as 7 hours later (7 hours and a minor panic about vacuuming) I was just finishing up as the first guest arrived. How on earth the Masterchef contestants make pasta dishes in 1 hours 30 is beyond me. To be fair they probably don't have access to Twitter or 6Music and don't take hourly coffee breaks just because they fancy it but in future I need a little more planning.

The menu was chosen to feel autumny and warming as the nights are drawing in, with chianti and pinot grigio ready to accompany the meal. The first course was a Sformato di Zucca (Pumpkin Mould) from the Silver Spoon - my favourite cookbook, to which I added sage which is perfect with pumpkin/squashes. The main course was a red pepper and ricotta tortollini devised entirely by me after an hour of googling failed to turn up a good recipe online. All followed by a dessert of white chocolate pannacotta and jelly adapted from a marvellous recipe in a summer issue of Delicious. I must stress however that if anyone else plans this dessert try to remember in advance that vegetarians don't eat gelatine. That way you look less of a moron. The first of three blogs will look at the pumpkin dish: I'd never made it before and was slightly concerned that the tart wouldn't turn out of the tin very well, but it was perfect. I'm a huge pumpkin fan anyway and the sage really brought out the sweet unctuousness of the squash flesh.

Pumpkin and sage souffle tart (I really cannot bring myself to use the term 'mould')

25g butter
1onion, sliced
500g pumpkin, peeled, seeded and diced
150ml water
6 stems of sage
1 quantity bechamel sauce
50g parmesan
2 egg yolks
40g toasted pine nuts
salt and pepper

Bechamel Sauce

25g butter
25g plain flour
500ml milk
pinch nutmeg
salt and pepper

Melt butter for bechamel in a saucepan over a medium heat
add sifted flour and stir until mixed with butter. NB you should have a paste consistency that appears to expand in the pan as the flour cooks through. It is essential to cook the flour before adding the milk.
Add milk incrementally whilst continuously stirring to prevent lumps. My tip here is to use a whisk as it will help alleviate lumpiness
Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg and continue to stir until the sauce starts to boil
Once bubbling turn the heat as low as it will go, cover the pan with a lid and leave to cook for 20 mins, stirring occasionally.
The sauce should be thick in consistency and smooth
Preheat oven to 160degrees
Grease and line an 18cm tart tin
Melt butter in saucepan on a medium heat and add onion, stirring occasionally on a low heat until softened
Add pumpkin, 4 whole sage stems and 150ml water and cook, stirring and mashing until pumpkin is very soft. Be careful not to damage the sage as it can then be lifted out and discarded before adding remaining ingredients.
Remove from the heat and stir in the bechamel sauce, parmesan, egg yolks and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Pour into the prepared tart tin and cook in preheated oven for 1 hour. If the top looks like it's starting to burn cover with a disc of baking parchment
After the first hour, increase the oven temperature to 180degrees and cook for a further 10 mins
Remove from oven and place tart tin on a cooling rack
Once the tin has cooled a little (about 15-20 mins) turn out on a plate
Fry 2 remaining sage stems and leaves in butter until crisp and drain on kitchen paper
Garnish tart with sage leaves and a few extra pine nuts and serve.

Serve hot or cold, also perfect as the accompaniment to a spinach salad.

Dough!

2010-10-14T18:00:00.004+01:00

Making bread is one of the most satisfying ways I can think of to relax. It took me a while to perfect it but I'm glad I persevered. I've tried many different ways of making dough: the magimix, bowl mixers, hand whisks with dough hook etc but the truth is the best dough is produced by hand. You can feel when it's ready, you get a sense of whether or not the dough is too tight or too dry and you can amend accordingly. You have to get the oven hot in advance which makes your kitchen cozy and warm and the entire procedure is calming and relaxing.

I can highly recommend Dough by Richard Bertinet. It is a clear guide to bread-making and includes pictures and a DVD so you can see how he forms the shapes. The white dough recipe he uses couldn't be simpler and it's almost impossible to mess up.

Richard Bertinet's White Dough

10g fresh yeast
500g strong flour
10g salt
350g water (or 350ml but weighing is more accurate)

Preheat the oven to 250C.
Use finger tips to rub yeast into flour in a large bowl. The same method as making crumble.
Add the salt and mix evenly. Never add the salt at same time as the yeast as direct contact will kill the yeast.
Add the water and mix in the bowl with your hand
Once dough has come together transfer to work surface.
At this stage do not be concerned if dough seems very wet. The more you work it, the more the air will firm the dough up. Adding too much flour at this stage will completely alter the consistency of the dough. By all means add a little flour to surface but not to the dough.
Work the dough by pulling front part of dough up and away from mass and then fold back on itself trapping air inside. Repeating this over and over again will dry the dough and firm it up.
Keep working the dough until it feels smooth and silky in your hands. It should take approximately 5 minutes.
At this stage place the dough back into the bowl for the resting stage. Cover with a damp cloth and leave in warm (but not too dry) place. I place mine next to the oven and if the dough looks like it is drying out I just spray water on the cloth covering it. Rest for 1 hour until the dough has doubled in size.
Take the rested dough out of bowl and place on work surface. Gently flatten it and fold the edges of the dough back into the centre. Turn and repeat the process a few times to knock it back.

At this stage I am going to refer to the techniques I learnt at college to shape the dough. The above information may seem like a lot of processes but I wanted to make it easy to follow. Bread is just 5 techniques and you can think of it as knead, rest, knock back, form and prove. Once you have the above method it's easy.

Before shaping divide the dough into 16 pieces by halving and then halving each mound in turn until you have 16
Lightly grease an oven tray.
Whisk one egg in a small bowl and add 1/2 teaspoon of salt. The salt will break down the protein in the egg so when you glaze the finished rolls it will be easier to apply and less streaky.
Now form the dough in any way you like, there are some ideas listed below
Glaze the rolls with the egg at this stage before it has risen again, otherwise it will squash and damage as the brush touches it.
Sprinkle with sesame seeds, cracked pepper, poppy seeds etc
Cover again with cloth and leave to prove and rise for 30 mins
Once risen cook in hot oven for 10 mins. The rolls should be golden and not too dark and if you turn them in your hand and tap the bottom should sound hollow.
Turn out on cooling rack and get your butter ready

Plain bread buns

Form a ball of dough in your cupped hands and they place the dough on the surface and roll it around in a circle with your 'clawed' hand on top of it.
As you move the dough round in a circle it will take on a perfect sphere and smooth all the joins and imperfections out. Remember and imperfection in the raw dough will translate to the baked version
Carefully place rolls onto oven tray.

Pinwheels

Form the perfect sphere as before.
Roll the sphere with the palm of your hand in order to form a rope.
Once rope of dough is approx 15-20com long fold in half and twist four times
Curl each end towards each other and tuck under the base of the bun on oven tray

Knots

Form the perfect sphere as before.
Roll the sphere with the palm of your hand in order to form a rope
Tie loose knot in dough being careful not to squash the air out.
Place carefully onto oven tray.

Next time I make these I will take some photos of the shaping methods to make those instructions easier to follow.

VRQ1, NVQ2 and a bunch of kids

2010-10-14T00:46:00.003+01:00

I'm three weeks into my course now and I'm delighted to inform that after a shaky start things are going really well. The first week was hell. I discovered on the first day that not only was the VRQ1 full time course far too basic, but that I would have to share it with a bunch of 16 year olds, straight out of school clutching their shiny Ds in GCSE maths and English. 24 hours of worry about my course fees later I discovered that I could change onto the part time NVQ2 and am now surrounded by lots of lovely catering professionals who are eager to progress and do well. It means I have to study for 18 months rather than one year but other than that it's perfect.

So far we have spent a lot of theory time studying bacteriology, health and safety and work flow in a professional kitchen. More interesting than it sounds to be honest. From a practical perspective we've made a number of different classic veg dishes. All individually easy but as we had to perfectly cut, cook and serve 6 dishes simultaneously it became a little fraught. And then this week we learnt how to fillet different types of fish. My fellow students are lively, funny and dedicated and at least half of them are just as competitive as me so we will no doubt have some fun vying with each other in the future.

Strawberry Cupcakes and White Chocolate Frosting

2010-10-10T20:45:00.004+01:00

I'm going to be honest, baking is not my favourite thing. At the moment I am doing more baking than anything else. I'd rather make pasta or a nice main course, but I need to practice. I'm using my husband's games design company as guinea pigs for my experiments and am learning about flavour combinations and consumer expectations as a result. For instance...the strong liquorice taste of black treacle in a heavy ginger cupcake doesn't necessarily go well with a light lime frosting. (I still think it does, but the writers have spoken). I've also discovered that the Primrose Bakery book is light on flavour. Sure they look pretty as a picture, but that's no comfort if they don't taste of strawberries.

On the plus side this recipe requires the use of a food processor so I get to use the magimix!

Strawberry and White Chocolate Cupcakes

225g caster sugar
210g self-raising flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
25g cornflour
125g crushed strawberries
225g unsalted butter (room temperature)
4 large eggs
3 tblsp strawberry jam

White chocolate buttercream

100g good quality white chocolate
3 tablespoons of double cream,
60g unsalted butter at room temp
60 ml semi-skimmed milk
250g icing sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Preheat oven to 160C
Line 12 hole muffin tray with bun large bun cases
Put sugar, flour, baking powder, cornflour and crushed and hulled strawberries into a food processor and pulse evenly for roughly 4 seconds.
Add butter and eggs and pulse in processor for approximately 10 seconds.NB if you don't have food processor you can blend with a hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together first and then beat in the eggs one by one. Once this is done add the rest of the ingredients and beat well.
Fill the bun cases 3/4 full and bake in preheated oven for 25 mins or until golden brown.
Place on cooling rack and once they are cold use a knife to make a small well in the centre of the bun.
Heat approx 3 tablespoons of strawberry jam for 30 secs in a microwave and then spoon into the holes
Now make the buttercream icing by using a hand whisk to butter, vanilla essence, semi-skimmed milk and (sifted) icing sugar in a large bowl (or the icing sugar goes everywhere)
Break the chocolate into pieces and heat in bowl in the microwave for 30 secs, remove and stir, then reheat for a further 30 secs. Keep an eye on the chocolate in case it burns.
Add the chocolate and the cream to the buttercream icing and keep whisking with the hand mixer until smooth.
Ice the cupcakes by adding a teaspoon of the icing and smoothing in a circular motion until the top of the cupcake is covered
Decorate with a half a strawberry

I made this icing a bit softer than book suggested by adding less icing sugar in order to give it a 'melted' texture to imitate melted white chocolate. As mentioned at the start, whilst the overall taste of these is sweet, this is purely down to the jam filling and frosting. I think a good test of a sponge is if you would happily eat the sponge by itself. Sadly this recipe fails on that score as the sponge is more like a muffin sponge and it's not sweet enough. Next time I plan on putting the white chocolate in the cake batter and the berries in the frosting. Let's see if I have more luck that way.

Painting, DIY and Cath Kidston

2010-10-06T19:12:00.000+01:00

In an attempt to pretty the kitchen up I have decided to decorate it. It should be noted that the previous decor had been here for approximately 20 years and the units are rather old, but I figured a spruce up and some new curtains couldn't hurt.

So first I had to rid the the room of some really quite dark gloss paint and then create more cupboard space in order to get rid of all the clutter:

To be fair, on this first photo I hadn't exactly tidied up but if you can start to imagine me as the kind of freak who straightens coffee table magazines with a set square then you may glean some insight into the state of my mind everytime I had to use this kitchen. As a result of the very old fixtures and units in the kitchen there were only 2 cupboards which basically meant that all the food was in these and all the pans and cooking implements were shoved anywhere and everywhere that they would fit. Thus rendering it impossible to find anything I needed and the kitchen constantly looked a mess. On a more practical note upon emptying the cupboards I discovered about 3l of white wine vinegar, 1.5l of red wine vinegar and about 178 different types of rice. It really doesn't pay to have cavernous cupboards.

On this second pic you can see the green and red gloss paint that I had to get rid of. It was also on the picture rail and wall between the rail and the ceiling. On the plus side I get to use this fabulous old 1950's cooker, which looks a dream when all the chrome is shiny although I can't modulate the temperature for shit so I have a fairly complicated set of oven thermometers in place.

And here you see the crockery (Denby Imperial Blue: wedding present) which sadly all got covered in dust and grime as a result of being in a kitchen without an effective (or indeed any) extractor fan. It's a pain having to wash glasses before using them, to be sure.

One whole week later and it's now finished (well apart from pictures or curtains) and it looks so much better. In order to gain more cupboard space I bought 2 Ikea wardrobes and then had some shelves cut (MDF board from B&Q). There is one entire cupboard for crockery, glassware and plastic containers and then an entire cupboard for larder food and this means that my shelves aren't over filled or precariously balanced.

These pictures don't really do it justice and I think I may decide to paint the cupboards blue in the future but here you go:

As you can see the clutter has been kept to a minimum thanks to the new cupboards and the walls are a lovely clean white, hopefully giving the illusion of more space. The 15 foot ceilings certainly don't hurt with that either.

My main concern is that the pale blue looks a bit Cath Kidston with all the pale blue, red towels, old fashioned mixing bowls and (coming soon) floaty chiffon curtains so I've sharpened it up a bit with these babies:

I still need to put up some colourful pictures, but at least now all my excuses are gone. Time to start blogging with a vengeance.

Lovely soft pretzels

2010-09-20T19:11:00.000+01:00

For ages now I have been promising my husband that I will figure out how to recreate the lovely, soft and buttery pretzels that we used to buy in Victoria Station from Auntie Anne's Pretzels. When fresh and warm they used to drip salty butter down your chin and were the perfect accompaniment to the AMT coffee. At the time I lived in Streatham Hill and Mr Hungry (not sure about that nickname, apt as it is) lived in Stanford Brook so London Victoria was the natural break in the journey as we changed from the overland to the district line. The taste of fresh soft pretzels reminds me of those first electric charged months when we fell in love and couldn't keep our hands off each other. Food should always remind you of something fantastic - take note beetroot...I have not forgiven you and probably never will.

Auntie Anne no longer lives in Victoria and the day we discovered that was a very sad one indeed. Our other major food influence in our early dating years involved dim sum and movie Sundays and I sincerely hope that China Town is safe from closure.

So I've scoured the web and found a lovely looking recipe on allrecipes.com. Obviously I've had to convert the measurements as it used those confounding cup thingumejigs that I have never managed to get my head around. How the hell do you stick a cup into the opening of a small packet of flour? Are you supposed to spoon the stuff in? Then why not use spoon measurements and save on the washing up?

The dough is actually rising as I type this so I'll fill out the recipe details and then report back later with the results. It's a risk, I grant you, but this is a learning process and if Nigel Slater's recipes are anything to go by he has as many misses as he has hits (be more precise man!). So if the pretzels work we will have some lovely shiny pictures of them to show off. And if they fail? Well I'll just redo them tomorrow until we have a photo-appropriate result, obv!

Ingredients

4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 teaspoon caster sugar
250ml warm water

670g plain flour
100g caster sugar
1 & 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoons sunflower oil

100g baking powder
1l hot water
2 tablespoon salt for sprinkling (rock salt)
1 egg yolk

Dissolve yeast and 1 teaspoon of sugar in 250ml hand warm water. Lightly whisk and leave to stand for 10-15mins or until a 3-4cm froth has formed on top.
In a large bowl mix flour, salt and sugar together so everything is evenly distributed
Make a well in centre and add oil and yeast mixture. Add yeast mix incrementally to avoid an overly soggy mixture.
Knead dough together for 10-15 mins by 'stretching' the dough mound. To do this you hold the dough down with one hand and then grab part of it and stretch it towards you. Then fold it back in on itself and repeat the process over and over again. The action will trap air in the dough which will lighten the end product at the same time drying it out. Theoretically a very wet dough will end up as a lovely perfect dough ball. I have to confess, that whilst this method has worked well for me in the past I did cheat here and added a little more flour.
Place dough in a greased bowl, cover with cling film and leave to rise for 1 hour (it should more or less double in size)
Preheat oven to HOT (230-250C)
When dough has risen turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and cut into 6 pieces. These will then each be rolled into a thin rope of approx 20cm and shaped into the pretzel shape.
Fill a large, shallow pan with a litre of hot water with the baking powder and simmer. Lower the pretzels (one by one) into the water for about 20-30 seconds. After a couple of false starts I settled on a splatter guard as a lifter as the dough became very sticky and difficult to manipulate when wet. I should point out at this point that pretzels are traditionally dipped in a lye bath which reacts with the pastry in order to give that slightly smooth 'skin' and also assists in the browning process.. This is just a method to replicate that. Place the dipped pretzels onto a greased baking sheet, brush whisked egg yolk and sprinkle with salt.
Bake for 8-10 mins or until golden brown.

Before & after

A very poor photo of me

Chilli pesto and spaghetti

2010-09-18T14:09:00.001+01:00

If somebody asked you to choose your favourite cuisine, could you do it? I regularly change my mind between Italian, Thai and Spanish and from one day to the next I wouldn't have the same answer. Then there's Dim Sum! Show my somebody who doesn't love Chinese dumplings and I'll show you somebody who is dead inside. Right now I'm on a bit of an Italian trip (I wish I really were) and am all about the pasta and fresh ingredients. Also Giorgio Locatelli. I'm developing what could only be referred to as obsession.

So I thought I'd kick off my first recipe with what I'm having for lunch today: Pesto.

Pesto isn't a difficult thing to master and there are many different recipes out there to try. The thing I love about it the most is how flexible you can be with the quantities and ingredients. The pesto I regularly make combines basil with rocket for a really strong iron taste but today I fancy something a little punchier and have recklessly thrown chilli in there as well. I think this works really nicely and it's perfect for a very quick, simple bowl of pasta and the only cooking you have to do is boil up a pan of water for your pasta.

Even the though the chilli adds a fair old kick I decided to round out the sharpness by adding half a teaspoon of cayenne pepper and this adds a deeper smoky flavour that balances the raw garlic and lemon nicely. Feel free to add more chilli if you prefer but I was wary of completely masking the flavour of the basil.

Yes, it's ridiculously easy, but this blogger is a girl who would happily eat a bowl of spaghetti coated with just chilli and garlic fried in olive oil and having just polished the lot off in about 10 mins I can honestly say that it is delicious.

60g toasted pine nuts
2 pots of basil
juice 1/2 a lemon
2 dry red chillis
50g grated parmesan
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 clove raw garlic
100ml extra virgin olive oil
salt to taste.

Place the basil, pine nuts, cheese, chilli and garlic in a food processor and pulse until a paste is formed.
Gradually add glugs of olive oil until a looser consistency forms, I found that 100ml was sufficient but this will depend on the quantity of leaves used, so go by look and taste.
Season with salt and cayenne pepper to taste
Add to cooked pasta and stir to coat pasta with the lovely bright green sauce.

Bright sparkling pesto: add to pasta or use as a sauce for meat and fish.

A new life.

2010-08-21T19:16:00.001+01:00

When you feel sick almost every minute of every day and the thought of Monday morning can turn your Sunday night into a panic filled nightmare you know that something has to change. I didn't always hate media sales. In fact once upon a time I even quite enjoyed it. I loved the magazines I worked on, the business lunches with glamorous clients and the buzz I used to get from closing sponsorship deals for 6 figure sums. Sales isn't hard! You don't need a degree or an understanding of human nature, contrary to popular myth. But you do need to want it. The moment you stop wanting it, you may as well close your appointment book for good.

With me it was quite simple. Slowly the joy of the sale diminished and lunch meetings became just another reason to have to brave the tube rather than an exciting negotiation over an expensive lunch. And at the moment you start to question the sanity of spending such huge amounts of money on something as silly as a logo at an awards dinner you realise your sales pitch may have lost some of it's sparkle.

So in October last year I made use of the recession by embracing redundancy and spent the year until now relaxing in a minimum wage shop job whilst recharging my batteries. And here I am...in 3 weeks time I start catering college. I will (by then) have my own whites, my own set of knives and a sadness for the impending loss of my 28 inch waist.

I may now earn less than I did in my first job out of university but I have never been happier. Creating dishes, learning new techniques and tasting new and exciting things is about as close to heaven as I can find. And the sheer joy I get when somebody else compliments my efforts is almost too difficult to describe. Basically I'm an applause junkie. If you love my food, you love me.

I hope to use this blog as a diary of sorts. I'll be discussing what it feels like to be a 35 year-old student surrounded by kids straight out of school, bemoaning the intricacies of puff pastry and quenelles as well as developing my own recipes along the way which I'll share with you and eagerly await your feedback.