Sunday 30 May 2010

Eton Mess


There are so many versions of this recipe, and it is really up to the cook to decide how they want it. For me, there needs to be the right balance betweeen creaminess and fruitiness - sometimes, there is just too much cream. I slice strawberries (these ones from Rectory Farm just north of Oxford) and mix them with more strawberries, pureed, and lightly sweetened. Then I mix softly whipped cream with some Greek Yoghurt to cut the richness and crumble in store-bought meringues - absolutely fine for this, as they stay nice and crisp. Then I layer the fruit and cream mixture in a glass, rather than mixing it all together - that way, you can taste each of the constituent parts, and it is less of a 'mess' - but each to their own, if you like to whack it all in a bowl and mix it together, then don't let me stop you!

Roast Butternut Squash Puree with Ginger


Based on an idea from Riverford Organics, from whom we got the squash, this was an intensely flavoured accompaniment to the the chicken, almost like a relish. A skinned and cubed squash is roasted with lots of chopped garlic and fresh ginger, and olive oil, then mashed with butter, a little creme fraiche and I added some red chilli too, along with chopped coriander. This produced a large quantity, so the remains will be used to make little empanada for work on Tuesday. Very nice recipe.

Roast Spiced Chicken


I wanted something along the lines of tandoori chicken as a change from just a simple roast chicken. I knocked up a paste of lemon juice, fresh ginger, garlic, onion, garam masala, paprika and turmeric. A free-range chicken was skinned and slashed, then the paste was rubbed in and all was left for several hours to flavour and tenderise the meat. A slow-roasting with a little oil and water to stop sticking and burning, and we were presented with a gorgeous, juicy, spicy bird - no jokes, please. Served with Roast Butternut Squash with Ginger (see next entry) this made a great alternative Sunday dinner.

Asparagus and Pesto Bruschetta


I know. More asparagus, but we can't stop eating it at this time of year. This was a great starter - crisp little slices of ciabatta, topped with a little home-made pesto, pieces of chargrilled asparagus and fresh Parmesan. These were a wonderful accompaniment to our Vin d'Orange which was served over ice and topped up with a little tonic.

Thursday 27 May 2010

Paprika Steak Kebabs


Yum! A rare treat of red meat - we are eating much less these days, but when we do, it is a treat indeed. These were cubes of 21-day aged beef rump, marinated in paprika, garlic, lemon juice and olive oil, then threaded onto wooden skewers with cherry toms and sizzled on a chargrill. Served with fat oven-baked chips and some local asparagus, it was very nice and a quick supper.

Sunday 23 May 2010

Cynar and Soda


Our love affair with Italian bitter apertitivi continues. Of course, Campari still has the number one slot, but we are also fond of Aperol and a new-found vermouth, 'Anitca Formula'. However, a pretender for the crown, snapping at the heels of Campari, is a delicious drink called 'Cynar'. Improbably, it is made from globe artichokes, which is perhaps where it gets its bitterness from. Anyway, it made the most refreshing pre-dinner drink this evening, poured over lots of ice and topped up with soda. I could just drink another one now..........

Vanilla Pannacotta with Rhubarb Compote


More lovely rhubarb in the Riverford veg box this week, which was baked with sugar and a little rosewater to make a lovely counterpoint to a creamy, delicate pannacotta. Deliciously cool after the lamb navarin. I made the pannacotta with half milk and half cream, so it isn't quite so sinful, and set it with as little gelatine leaf as I could get away with - makes turning out a wee bit of a gamble but worth it!

Navarin of Lamb [#248]


Phew, what a scorcher! 25C outside today, so I am glad we hadn't planned a roast that would have made the kitchen hellish. Instead, we had a delicate and light spring lamb stew, chock full of baby carrots, Jersey Royals, kohlrabi, baby onions and peas. I used a Knorr lamb stock cube - if it's good enough for Marco Pierre White, it's good enough for me. We have leftovers for tomorrow so it should taste even better after a day in the fridge. This was based on a Judith Wills' recipe and is very low fat, using extremely lean cubes of leg of lamb.

Saturday 22 May 2010

Tomatoes baked with Thyme, Cream and Parmesan [#247]

I have lots of versions of this, but based this one on a Rachel Allan recipe - pure comfort food, as she says, and delicious served with a bowl of tiny steamed Jersey Royals, and some wonderful red oak leaf lollo rosso and cucumber salad to mop up the copious juices. Simply slice ripe tomatoes in half, around their equator. Place in a baking dish and top each half with a teaspoon of creme fraiche, a pinch of chopped thyme and a good sprinkle of grated Parmesan. Bake in a moderately hot oven for 20 minutes until the tomatoes are soft and the cream and cheese has formed a scrumptious golden, bubbling topping. These are also yummy stirred through pasta, or simply on top of some hot toast.

Watercress Soup with Kohlrabi and Wild Garlic


Based on a Simon Hopkinson recipe that uses turnip, but as I got kohlrabi in the veg box this week, I substituted that instead. The wild garlic also arrived in the veg box and was so pungent that I had to put it outside, as it made the whole flat smell! This is just a classic watercress soup recipe with some additions: a couple of leeks, whites only (or onions if you don't have leeks) sweated in some butter, along with the whites of the wild garlic - about two stems. Add a good 250g of peeled chopped kohlrabi or turnip and allow to sweat until all is soft. Add a pint of light stock and bring to the boil, then simmer until everything is really tender, about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, wash a bunch of watercress and chop the toughest stems off. Chop them finely and add to the simmering soup. Save the leaves of the cress and garlic until last. When all is cooked, throw in the watercress leaves and finer stalks and the reserved wild garlic green leaves, bring to the boil and then immediately blend until smooth. 'Let' the soup down a little with some milk or cream, but not too much. Eat as soon as possible before that wonderful vibrant green goes.

Thursday 20 May 2010

Vin d'Orange Part 2


Back at the end of January, I blogged about making Vin d'Orange, which has been sitting quietly in the fridge, waiting to be bottled. We probably should have done this a while ago, but forgot, frankly! Anyway, we got 3 x 75cl bottles out of the batch today, all safely stashed in sterilised bottles. It is pretty potent stuff. You can smell the vanilla and cinnamon, and it is the most glorious dark rosy colour. We shall crack open a bottle this weekend, will take another one on holiday in June and save the third for later in the summer for a comparative tasting. Hic!

Crespelle con Asperagi [#246]


Or, asparagus pancakes to you and me. An adaptation of a Marcella Hazan recipe - hers was veggie, but I added a slice of Parma ham to each pancake before spreading it with cooked, diced asparagus in a rich Parmesan and nutmeg white sauce, rolling up, and baking with a little more of the sauce poured over. This is such a scrumptious recipe, and one that I have cooked every year, probably for the last 15 years or so. Sometimes, I use Gruyere cheese, sometimes Cheddar, but the Parmesan is a must, as is the nutmeg.

Sunday 16 May 2010

Swiss Chard two ways


Inspiration here from Simon Hopkinson and his wonderful book 'The Vegetarian Option'. He suggests making a gratin with the chard stems, which are steamed and then gratineed with a light parmesan sauce. Then, the dark green leaves are braised with olive oil, garlic and a little chilli. Wonderful served with Jersey Royals and a crisp, slow-roast duck. Sadly, I have a heavy cold and couldn't taste a thing, but Hubby tells me it was all yummy. We are greedy pigs!

White Chocolate Vanilla Cheesecake [#245]

Based on Bill Granger's now famous (and much copied) recipe, this is a lovely foil for seasonal fruit. Today, I pureed an exceptionally ripe mango, and over subsequent days we'll finish it off with strawberries and blueberries to accompany it. Lovely creamy cheesecake, using Green and Black's vanilla white chocolate and mascarpone. The base is shortbread crumbs - the more usual digestives would overwhelm and be too 'dark' for this light filling.

Saturday 15 May 2010

Chicken and Asparagus Salad with Garlic and Parsley Dressing


Another great way of using asparagus - chargrilled this time, and then tossed with chunks of roast chicken in a dressing made from loads of finely chopped parsley, some grated garlic, lemon juice and olive oil. Served on a bed of fantastic lettuce from our Riverford veg box, with some Jersey Royals and roast tomatoes. I must say, the veg box is really inspiring me - just the most fantastic seasonal veg which included, this week, some Swiss chard (making a gratin of that for Sunday to accompany roast duck), the lettuce we used here, the freshest and most pungent spring onions I have ever seen, more asparagus, vigorous leeks, mushrooms - it is very exciting. Next week promises kohlrabi, which I've never used before, so watch this space for a recipe!

Asparagus Carbonara


We can't get enough of asparagus when it is in season, and I am constantly trawling books and the web for new ideas. Lots of recipes in the blogosphere for this dish, and it was yum. The usual carbonara - good pancetta, fried crisp, a couple of beaten eggs (NO cream, please, it isn't authentic!), parmesan or Grana Padano, and some asparagus, cut on the diagonal to match the penne. The trick is to hold back a cup of the pasta cooking water, and combine everything off the heat so the eggs don't scramble, but instead, coat the pasta with a silky sauce. Just heavenly. Anu, if you are reading this, you can leave out the pancetta, it makes a great veggie dish.

Friday 14 May 2010

Chicken, Rosemary and Pancetta Patties - revisited


Revisited this marvellous recipe from early in the Nigel Slater Challenge - it is such a good recipe, one that I know I will make over and over - check it out at his Guardian page. We had these with the first Jersey Royals (very late this year) and some wonderful, vibrant Spring cabbage from the Riverford organic box - another one arriving tomorrow - yippee!

Sunday 9 May 2010

Rhubarb and Cinnamon Cobbler [#244]


I HAD planned to make a rhubarb cinnamon cake, but couldn't be bothered. You know how it is? So, instead I made Rachel's cobbler, with a few tweaks. A cobbler is basically a scone topping, made light and fluffy with buttermilk or yoghurt (which I used) and quite a wet mix that spreads out, to resemble cobbled streets. I had some wonderful outdoor rhubarb in the veg box, so instead of the usual ginger or orange, I mixed a little cinnamon into the light brown sugar that sweetened the fruit, and was rewarded with a deep, dark fruit layer to accompany the sweet scone topping. Yum! So, the blog is back on! Thanks for sticking with me

Saturday 8 May 2010

Asparagus and Ricotta Tart [off challenge]


Well, the challenge and the blogging was put on hold for a while after our lives were turned upside down at Easter. It isn't that I haven't been cooking, I just didn't have the energy or the enthusiasm for trawling through the books or doing much blogging. I shall try to remedy this now that life has got back to normal. So, tonight - still not a 'challenge' recipe, but one I wanted to share. A simple quiche, but one that showed that the quality of the ingredient is everything. My lovely friend Deb gave me some beautiful eggs from her chooks, so I wanted to do them justice. We forget that eggs are a seasonal ingredient, and properly raised chickens produce wonderful eggs at this time of the year, with the increased daylight. These were huge, with rich yellow yolks, and as fresh as can be. Mixed with ricotta, grated Grana Padano (or Parmesan), a touch of cream and some cooked asparagus, then baked in a pre-cooked shortcrust pastry case, we ended up with a delicate, savoury treat. Served with the best-ever lettuce from our Riverford Organics box scheme and some roasted tomatoes, it was a veggie delight. Thanks Debs, and thanks, too, to your ladies!