Archive for June, 2007

One of my favourite fruits – blueberries not only look and taste great but contain antioxidants known as anthocyanidins, some of the strongest antidotes to oxidative stress.

Wholemeal Blueberry Cake

Ingredients:

- 1 cup caster sugar
- ¼ cup butter
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons lemon rind
- 2 large eggs
- ¾ cup plain flour
- ¾ cup wholemeal flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- ¼ cup of ground almonds
- 1½ cups fresh blueberries or bilberries

Sauce:
- 1 small punnet of blueberries
- 50 grams golden caster sugar
- 50 ml water

Preheat the oven to 180° Celsius
Lightly grease and line a Vienna ring mould

Method:

Place the sugar, oil, lemon juice and rind into a mixing bowl, beat until thoroughly combined, add the eggs and mix in. Sift the dry ingredients and add to mixture. Thoroughly mix all the ingredients together. Pour half the batter into a lined 8” ring tin, mix the ground almonds and blueberries together and scatter over the mixture in the tin, spread the remainder of the batter on top.

Bake until the cake is light golden brown and the top of the cake springs back when lightly pressed – approximately 1 hour.

Leave in the cake tin to cool a little.

Make the syrup by placing the fruit, sugar and water into a small saucepan, bring to boil ensuring sugar has completely dissolved, then simmer for about 5 minutes until a light syrup has formed. Drizzle over the cake and leave to cool.

Serve with clotted cream or vanilla ice cream.

I believe that Pie’s are something the British do extremely well, and I love Game and Rabbit Pie in particular. One of my favourites is by a chef known as Rick Stein. A chef I admire not only for his culinary expertise in general, but because of his passion for British food at its best. It seems every nationality loves to jump on British food, believing we eat nothing but fried breakfasts and roast beef. Its nice to see a commercial chef champion this cause, and tackle it head on!

Here is his recipe for Rabbit Pie, slightly adapted.

Ingredients:

1 whole rabbit, jointed
1½ plain flour seasoned with sea salt and pepper
2 oz unsalted butter and 1 tbsp olive oil
6 oz streaky bacon, cut across into strips
4 shallots – diced
6 oz carrots, diced
Zest of a lemon – finely grated
2 sprigs of thyme
½ pint Newcastle Brown Ale [or any will do...]
½ pint of vegetable or chicken stock
12 oz puff pastry
1 egg, lightly beaten
Sea salt and black pepper

Forcemeat Balls:

5 oz fresh white breadcrumbs
2½ oz vegetable suet
1 tbsp finely chopped parsley
1 tsp finely chopped lemon thyme
Zest of a small lemon – finely grated
2½ oz streaky bacon, finely chopped
1 large organic egg, lightly beaten

Method:

Coat the pieces of rabbit in the seasoned flour and then pat off the excess. Heat the butter and olive oil in a large frying pan, add the rabbit and brown lightly on both sides, transfer onto a plate and put to one side.

Add the bacon to the pan and when it is lightly coloured, add the shallots and carrots – fry gently for 3 minutes.

Mix the remaining seasoned flour with a little butter and add to the vegetables, along with the lemon zest, thyme, ale and vegetable stock. Return the rabbit to the pan, cover and simmer for an hour, or until the rabbit is tender.

Mix the breadcrumbs, suet, parsley, chopped lemon thyme leaves, zest and bacon together, stir in seasoning to taste and sufficient egg to bring the mixture together, then shape into ‘large’ marble’ size balls.

When the rabbit has cooled, remove from the pan and take out all the bones. Place into a shallow pie dish with the sauce, cover and put to one side leave to cool.

Place the forcemeat balls on top of the rabbit.

Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured work surface until it is a little larger than the dish. Cut off a narrow strip of pastry and place around the edge of the pie dish, brush with a little water and press onto the rim of the dish. Put the pastry on top of the dish and – using a fork – crimp the edge. Cut a slit in the centre of the pastry to allow the steam to escape.

Put into the fridge to chill for about an hour.

Preheat the oven to 210 degrees Celsius or Gas Mark 6.

Brush the top of the pie with the beaten egg yolk and water, and bake in the centre of a preheated oven for about 35 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown.

Ingredients:

1 wine glass of pudding rice
Pinch salt
1 litre milk
1 stick cinnamon
1 strip lemon peel
9 tbsp caster sugar
3 eggs
Ground cinnamon

Method:

Put the unwashed rice in a saucepan, cover with water, add a pinch of salt and bring to the boil, continue boiling for 5 minutes or until the water has been absorbed.

Cover the rice with milk and add the cinnamon stick and lemon peel, stir well with a wooden spoon until the mixture becomes creamy.

Turn the heat down to very low and gradually add the remainder of the milk while continuing to stir. Add the sugar, stirring again until dissolved.

Cover and simmer gently for about 1 to 1¼ hours.

Separate the eggs, and in a large bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff. Beat the yolks and mix gently into the whites.

Remove the lemon peel and cinnamon stick from the cooked rice, and stir in the egg mixture. Pour into a deep serving bowl and sprinkle with ground cinnamon.

There is nothing more summery than a lovely salad, and this lovely citrus salad really adds a zing to any luncheon. I made this very one yesterday, but unfortunately with no digital camera to speak of I am unable to photograph the results! Maybe when my adsense earnings build up I’ll be able to afford one – and then I can photograph all these lovely recipes I have provided you with! But I digress…

Ingredients – salad:

90 grams of rocket (or mixed salad leaves)
40 grams of crumbled feta cheese
½ blood orange – peeled and pith remove
½ pink grapefruit – peeled and pith removed
25 grams toasted pine nuts

Ingredients – dressing:

1½ tablespoons light olive oil
1½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 large tablespoons fresh mint – finely chopped
Sea salt and black pepper

Method:

Wash the rocket leaves and place in a salad bowl, add the feta cheese and fruit.

Cut the grapefruit and blood orange into segments and add to the salad bowl.

Toast the pine nuts for a few minutes in the oven being careful they do not burn, transfer to a bowl and allow the pine nuts to cool.

Whisk oil and lemon juice together, then stir in the chopped fresh mint, sea salt and black pepper.

Pour over salad and toss to coat.

* as a change, substitute the lemon juice for lime and try out other herbs – to taste.

Ingredients – Syllabub

5 fl oz white wine
¾ cup of caster sugar
1 tablespoons Cognac or Brandy
1 tablespoon Pale Cream Sherry
1 carton of Double Cream
Juice and zest of 1 unwaxed lemon

Ingredients for the rhubarb mixture:

500 grams “forced” rhubarb – pink skin – cut into 2cm pieces
150 grams caster sugar
50 ml water

Method:

Pour the wine into the bowl of an electric mixer (or a mixing bowl if you are going to make it by hand), add the Sherry and Brandy and grate into it the zest of the lemon. Squeeze the lemon juice and add to the mixture. Put into the refrigerator overnight.

Preheat the oven to 170C or gas mark 3. Place the rhubarb in an ovenproof dish and cover with the sugar and water, bake until the rhubarb is tender, 25 to 30 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Remove the mixture for the syllabub from the refrigerator and strain through a sieve lined with muslin, add the sugar and beat gently until dissolved. Add the cream and continue beating until the mixture starts to thicken – you should stop when the mixture will only just keep its shape. This stage is crucial as it should not be too thick.

To assemble the dish, spoon half of the rhubarb mixture into sundae glasses, add half of the Syllabub, then add the remainder of the rhubarb finishing with the rest of the Syllabub.

Refrigerate until cold, serve with very thin Black Gingers.

I love Lasagna. Its something Garfield and I have in common. I love Eggplant too. Check out the recipe for Eggplant Lasagna over at Chef Tom Cooks.

Update 14/06/2007 – Made this recipe today. Absolutely wonderful! This is one recipe I would use again. I used my homemade tomato frito recipe for the tomato sauce, and had to replace the mozzarella with just plain manchego – but it was fabulous.

Flour Рthis can be used in three ways to make a roux, a beurre mani̩ or simply mixed with water or milk.

• Roux – this is made by melting the butter and mixing in the flour then cooking over a medium heat for 5 minutes. The “classic” recipes tend to call for equal quantities of fat to flour but many prefer more fat than flour which not only gives a richer flavour but also allows the roux to be combined with the liquid far easier. I prefer a lighter sauce and on average use 37 grams of butter to 30 grams of flour per half litre of liquid.
• Beurre manié – basically as above but normally used to add to sauces already made that may need extra thickening. This is a French term ie Beurre – butter, manié – handled – so named as it is normally made by mixing the flour and cold butter together to form a paste.
• Water/milk – flour and liquid combined – water is mainly used to thicken gravies for roast meats, milk to for a quick and easy way to thicken milk based sauces, ie for a simple cheese sauce where you do not have sufficient time to make it using the traditional classic white sauce.

Cornflour – mixed with water or other liquid, this may be used for thickening most sauces, but normally reserved for reduction sauces ie sauces where the liquid (stock, wine etc) is simmered until reduced. Once the liquid is ready and has boiled, removed from heat then add the mixture slowly, while whisking quickly; it will thicken almost instantly so take care not to add too much.

Arrowroot – this is used in the same way as cornflour with the added advantage that it will add a nice “sheen” to the sauce and will not dilute the sauce’s colour. Arrowroot does tend to “clarify” liquid into which it is introduced. This is especially good for fruit sauces but may not be so effective for a sauce of gravy that is meat-based. Many also think It gives the sauce an artificial appearance.

It is extremely difficult to thin down sauces thickened with either arrowroot or cornflour, so it is wise to take care.

In addition to the above, many who do not like sauces thickened with flour resort to using dried potato flakes. When the sauce is nearly read, potato flakes are sprinkled onto the cooking liquid and whisked or stirred in. The sauce must not be left on the heat after it has begun to thicken as apparently it ceases to work and the sauce will become thin again.

Meatballs in Saffron-Almond Sauce

Ingredients
· 7 oz ground beef
· 7 oz ground pork
· 1 oz stale bread, without crusts (2 slices)
· 1 small clove garlic, minced
· 1½ tbsp minced onion
· 1 tbsp chopped parsley
· ¼ tsp salt
· Freshly grated nutmeg
· 1 small egg, beaten
· Flour
· 1¾ fl oz olive oil
· 20 almonds, blanched and skinned
· ½ oz bread
· 1½ tbsp olive oil
· 5 peppercorns
· ¼ tsp saffron
· 1 clove
· ¼ tsp salt
· 2 ½ oz white wine
· 9 fl oz stock
· Lemon juice
· Chopped parsley
· Slivered fried almonds

Instructions

Combine the ground meats in a bowl.

Soak the sliced bread in sufficient milk to cover until soft. Squeeze out the milk and add the bread to the meat with the garlic, onion, parsley, salt, nutmeg and egg.

Knead well to make a smooth mixture and form into small balls, roll them in flour and fry very slowly in hot oil until browned on all sides. Remove and drain on kitchen towel. The oil can be strained and used for the sauce.

Fry the almonds, bread and garlic in the oil until golden, transfer to a bowl. Crush the peppercorns, saffron, clove and salt, add the toasted almonds, bread and garlic (or place in a processor) with the wine to make a smooth paste.

Combine this mixture in the pan with remaining oil and the stock over a medium heat, bring to a boil, then add the meatballs, simmer for about 20 minutes in the sauce, adding a little additional liquid if required.

Squeeze a little lemon juice over the meatballs and sprinkle with chopped parsley and fried almonds. Yield – 18 meatballs.

Ingredients
1½ lb bilberries
8oz puff pastry
4 cooking apples
1 bundle herbs
8oz sugar
2 tablespoons thick cream
1 egg, beaten

Method
Bake the apples and scrape out the pulp. Mix it with the bilberries and sugar. Line a pie plate with pastry, fill with fruit and sugar, and cover with pastry. Do not seal. Brush the top with beaten egg white, sprinkle with sugar and bake in a hot oven until golden brown. Gently lift the lid and pour in very thick cream.

Making your own pastry at home is relatively simple provided you follow a few key rules

• Keep the pastry cool
• Handle the pastry lightly
• Bake the pastry at the correct oven temperature

Cool hands – a cool pastry board or worktop and water as cold as possible help to produce the best results. Use the fingertips, as they are the coolest part of the hands.

Lift the flour well out of the bowl to incorporate as much air as possible when rubbing in the fat. Always mix with a round bladed knife.

Add water gradually, a little at a time, to achieve the correct consistency for each type of pastry.

Avoid adding more flour after the water. In making pastry try to incorporate as much cold air as possible so that in baking this air expands and produces light pastry.

In Shortcrust this is done by rubbing in and light handling, and in Rough Puff and Flaky Pastry, the air is incorporated into the pastry by folding and rolling out.

Dust rolling pin with flour and work lightly to prevent sticking. Roll out quickly, always rolling away from you and not from side to side. Turn the pastry, not the rolling pin.
Avoid stretching the pastry as this causes shrinkage in baking. Roll evenly and do not roll over the ends of the pastry.

Pies, tarts, pastries and turnovers should be brushed over with a suitable glaze before baking.

Always bake in a hot oven and for rich pastry a very hot oven.

Different Types of Pastry

The three basic rules and foregoing hints apply for the following types of pastry:

• Shortcrust Pastry
• Suet Pastry
• Rough Puff Pastry
• Flaky Pastry

The following pastries are made by completely different methods:

• Hot Water Crust Pastry
• Choux Pastry

Type of flour:

Suet – use Be-Ro Self Raising Flour.

Shortcrust/Rough Puff/Flaky/Hot Water Crust/Choux – use plain flour. While this is generally recommended, good results may be obtained using self-raising flour – the pastry will be more crumbly and softer texture.