Date Archives December 2013

Chocolate-torte-mousse-fudge-stlye-brownie-cake

December 29, 2013 Comments Off read Sweet Treats

This is an original Green & Blacks recipe with original G&B chocolate from my thumbed and chocolate covered copy of their first recipe book. I cannot take the credit for this decadent creation so I hail the writer of the book and the creator of the recipe….if I ever meet you, you deserve a big kiss….assuming you’re male, tall, dark and handsome that is….

In the original recipe, this ‘cake’ has been royally dusted in a shimmering sheen of gold dust. I didn’t get hold of any in time but to make it as glamorous and irresistible as the famous bond girl then go for it. I also chose to flavour mine with 1/3 ‘Maya Gold’ chocolate as suggested- an orange and spice flavoured bar. However, an orange, lemon or even salted bar (I’m dying to try that as I write) would be amazing too. Served with my marmalade and cocoa nib ice cream, the festive orange was a soothing addition.

Serves about 12

200g dark chocolate, broken into chunks
100g Maya Gold chocolate (or orange, lemon, salt, etc…)
275g caster sugar
165g unsalted butter, cubed
5 eggs
1 tbsp ground almonds
Icing sugar to dust

Grease and line a springform cake tin (20-23cm wide). Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Place the butter, sugar and chocolate with a pinch of salt in a heatproof bowl and place it over a pan of barely simmering water and heat gently until all melted and combined. Set aside to cool a little.
Whisk the eggs with the almonds. When the chocolate has cooled slightly, fold the eggs in and mix well to combine. It will look like it won’t combine at first but pursue it until smooth and creamy.
Pour the mixture into the tin and level off. Bake for 35-45 minutes until set but with a small amount of give when touched in the middle.
Leave to cool completely in the tin before removing and serving at room temperature. Scatter with a generous snowy blanket of icing sugar or a bond-girl-style sheen of gold dust and serve voraciously with cream or ice cream.

Marmalade and Cocoa Nib Ice cream (and a new ice cream scoop)

December 28, 2013 Comments Off read Sweet Treats

Boxing day- a day to relax with the pressure and expectations of Christmas faded comfortably into the crevices of your cosy sofa. Or in my case, a free kitchen to russell up more delicious and decadent creations. A gloriously sunny and biblically beautiful walk in the crisp Wiltshire morning air to begin the day. Overlooking my precious village covered in a blanket of drifting cloud, it was all I could do not to take off into this pillow-like sea. Back home to the warmth of the kitchen I spent the afternoon in my own sheer bliss. Blogging contently in the sunshine which cast lovely welcome rays over the days creations.

This ice cream goes beautifully with Christmas pudding with its citrusy festive flavours. However, for Christmas 2013 dessert it was paired loyally with a dense, rich slice of chocolatey heaven which can only be described as a chocolate-torte-mousse-fudge-style-brownie-cake (see here for the full recipe). Decadently delicious!

This recipe has been adapted from a Nigel Slater version I have in a recent book. As an extreme dark chocolate fan (90%+ I am religiously found munching at about 9pm most evenings) I love the bitter and pure taste that it offers. Enter cocoa nibs, chocolate’s purest and most wholesome form. On a recent quest to find my similarly dark chocolate appreciating Pa a tasty Christmas treat, I stumbled upon the Rabot 1745 estate collection , a cocoa plantation in Saint Lucia and a branch of Hotel Chocolat. While Hotel Chocolat congers up thoughts of sugary praline and liquer filled chocolates, this range is pure bliss and original. Chocolate shopping by region- from Vietnam to Venezuela I lost blissful hours perusing the shelves only to be helped knowledgably by an enthusiastic assistant who allowed me to try the raw form of the bean used in the shop cafe.

The beans,in their shelled form, are ground like coffee beans in a conching machine until silky, fine and smooth. Little is added for the super dark stuff especially no sugar like your standard Cadbury’s bar which couldn’t taste further from the real thing. I cheekily asked for a couple of bags of the raw beans which I was kindly granted with. One for dad and one for my own personal experiments….

Marmalade and Cocoa Nib Ice Cream

500ml single cream
4 eggs yolks
2 large tbsp caster sugar
300-400g marmalade (depending on how strong it is. I used half thick cut peel and half thin….this is optional)
A handful or cocoa beans/cocoa nibs – available from Hotel Chocolat or some super dark chocolate chopped.

Heat the cream in a saucepan until just below the boil and remove from the heat.
Whisk the sugar and egg yolks together in a shallow bowl and sit it on a tea towel to stop it slipping. Whisking constantly, pour the hot cream over the yolks in a steady stream and whisk until smooth.
Return to the pan and continue to whisk or stir on a low heat to allow it to thicken a little. It will thicken a little, enough to coat the back of a spoon.
Chill thoroughly before stirring in the marmalade.
Churn in an ice cream maker for about 30 minutes until thick and beginning to set. Before decanting into a box, rumble in your cocoa beans/nibs or your chopped dark chocolate.
Alternatively, freeze in a container and whisk every hour or so until set to break up the ice crystals. Once nearly set, stir in the chocolate.

Served with my ‘chocolate-torte-mousse-fudge-style-brownie-cake’ it went down a treat!

Sprouts with a Makeover

December 26, 2013 Comments Off read Vegetables and Salads

Sprouts are such a controversial topic. Whether you truly hate the unique taste or you have simply had their unfairly stereotyped reputation brainwashed into you as an impressionable child. Sprouts are very bitter by nature and this is accentuated with the cooking time. This I painfully discovered after using a few of the festive leftovers in a gratin last year along with some freshly boiled ones. The unlucky guests to get the odd effectively double cooked sprout soon knew…..excruciatingly bitter and metalic and unworthy of my delicious and creamy gratin.

So, this year I cooked them differently. Risky -my dad being a traditional man grew this years batch on his precious allotment and harvested within the day of eating. But safe to say I heard no objections as soon as the word bacon was batted around. As a member of the cabbage family I decided to cook them like cabbage or savoy cabbage to be precise. Shredded and sauteed lightly in garlic butter with some salty gems of bacon lardons. Chestnuts, had we had some, would have also been delicious here. By keeping them as raw and crunchy as possible to reduce the cooking time but enough to soften them, they were a welcome change to the Christmas lunch which will be continued from here on….plus, much less risk of choking for the health and safety conscious among us!

(I’ve left out quantities here depending on the number of guests you’re obligingly cooking for)

Sprouts, shredded
Smoked bacon/pancetta/bacon lardons
Butter
Garlic
Optional- cooked chestnuts
Salt and pepper

Start with making your garlic butter. Crush 1-2 peeled garlic cloves into a chunky paste with some coarse salt and the back of a knife and mix with a generous knob of butte (about 25g for 1 large garlic clove if you need a rough measure)
Heat a large frying pan and add the garlic butter and heat until it begins to foam. Cook slowly so the garlic doesn’t burn.
Fry the bacon in a separate pan until crisp. (You can do all this in the same pan but the bacon will soften and you loose that crunchy texture. If you’re not fussed then add the bacon to the foaming butter and cook here)
Add the shredded sprouts to the garlic butter and turn to coat. Add a splash of water to help steam things along a little and cook for a few minutes until as softened as you like them.
Add the crispy bacon and its oil and chestnuts if using. Coat in the delicious juices and serve immediately!

Chewy Date Slice

December 22, 2013 Comments Off read Sweet Treats

However delicious, I was unsatisfied with churning out another generic batch of star-topped, icing-dusted mince pies this weekend. Before you bar-humbug me (as those who know me know I a Christmas LOVER) these have the festive touch of chewy sweet dates, punchy orange zest and warming cinnamon that make a welcome alternative to the mince pie. Especially if, like my glamorous Gran, you are raisin hater. Devour after a cold walk with some warm mulled wine to warn off the teasing sniffles of a brewing cold that threatens to sabotage your Christmas day..

Makes about 12 slices

175g plain flour
125g cold unsalted butter, cubed
50g caster sugar
250g dates
1 orange
75g butter
150ml water (maybe a bit more)
1 tsp cinnamon
100g flaked almond
30g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Start with the shortbread base. In a food processor, combine the flour, sugar and the cold cubed butter until a dough forms. Alternatively, rub the butter into the dry ingredients until you form a dough.
Line a tin (about 25cm x 16cm) with parchment and mold the dough into the tin pressing it down with the back of a spoon. Chill for 15 minutes in the fridge.
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Bake the shortbread for about 15-20 minutes until golden but it doesn’t matter if not completely cooked as you will cook it again with the topping. Leave to cool while you make the topping.
Put the dates, cinnamon, 25g of butter, water and the zest of the orange in a saucepan. Bring to the boil and then remove from the heat. Leave to cool and puree in a food processor. Add a splash more water if too thick.
Combine the flaked almonds, vanilla, sugar and remaining 50g of butter in a saucepan and heat until the butter melts. Coat the almonds in the melted butter and leave to cool a little.
Spoon the date puree over the shortbread base and spread out evenly. Scatter over the buttery almonds and bake for about 25-35 minutes until golden.
Leave to cool in the tin before cutting into slices and dusting with icing sugar.

Herby Halloumi Wrap

December 21, 2013 Comments Off read Vegetables and Salads

These are an enticing, comforting and friendly hug inside a warm pitta on a rainy December afternoon with the prospect of a Christmas feast approaching. A perfect semi-healthy lunch in the lead up to Christmas. I’m back home in the country air with a day of present wrapping, card writing and general festivity on the agenda. With the house and, more importantly, the kitchen blissfully to myself I welcomed the peace and solidarity and devoured these for a welcome lunch break mid Christmas chores. Alone I’ll admit but I don’t regret a thing…..a thing.

Serves 2

4-6 slices of halloumi (cut thickly)
2 pitta breads (For my homemade pittas see here) or warm wraps
Small bunch parsley/coriander
Small bunch basil/mint
Small bunch dill
4 tbsp thick yoghurt
½ lemon juice and zest
1 tbsp runny honey

If making your own the pitta breads start with these (see here) and keep warm while you deal with the halloumi. If not, lightly toast the pitta breads or warm the wraps.
Chop your chosen herbs finely and add the lemon zest. Mix the yoghurt with the lemon juice and some seasoning and set both aside.
Heat a frying pan until hot and add a drizzle of olive oil. Fry the halloumi slices for a few minutes each side on a high heat until golden. Add the honey and remove from the heat and coat the slices in the syrup.
Now assemble your pittas. Cut each open and spoon in a some yoghurt and a handful of herbs. Add your warm sweet halloumi slices and stuff with some more of the herbs and yoghurt.
Devour while warm!

Wrapped appropriately in a festive napkin….and eaten appropriately with a festive appetite!

Roasted Duck, Carrot and Orange Puree, Red Wine Sauce

December 17, 2013 Comments Off read Poultry

This week I christened the kitchen of my new London flat. I bagged myself a feathery topped bunch of bargain carrots from Portobello Road market in my fleeting lunch break; a seasonal orange for companionship and festivity; a couple of fatty winter warming duck legs and some obliging red wine (of which I am not short of these days…). Flat hunting had evoked far too many saddened hours separated from my apron and camera so a free evening midweek was the perfect time to be reunited. Whilst it tasted delicious, I’m still to work on the lighting in my new environment….

Serves 2

2 duck legs
Bunch carrots (About 4 large carrots), peeled and chopped
25g butter
1 orange
250ml red wine
250ml beef stock
½ onion, diced finely
1 small carrot, diced finely
2 garlic cloves
Bunch of thyme
1 knob butter
1tbsp flour
Handful of greens to serve

Preheat the oven to 200°C. Season the duck legs generously on the skin side and roast for about 45 minutes to 1 hour until crisp and tender. Turn the heat down to 190°C after about 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a saucepan, fry the diced onion and carrot in a little oil until soft. Add one of the garlic cloves finely chopped and the thyme leaves and fry for a further few minutes.
Turn up the heat and add the red wine and simmer for a few minutes. Add the stock and simmer briskly for about 20 minutes until the sauce has reduced by half.
Once reduced by half, sieve and discard the vegetables and return to sauce to the clean pan. Season to taste and simmer very gently while you do the puree.
Heat half the butter in another saucepan and add the chopped carrots. Add a whole clove of garlic (in skin) and 2 big strips of orange peel. Add enough water to just cover the carrots and simmer for about 10-15 minutes until really soft and almost all the liquid has been reduced.
Puree the drained carrots in a food processor with the remaining knob of butter and some seasoning. Add a splash of the reserved liquid if you like to thin it out and then keep warm.
Return to the red wine sauce. Mix together the knob of butter and the flour to form a paste in a small bowl. Whisk this, bit by bit (as you may not need all of it) into your simmering sauce which will thicken and turn glossy. Simmer until thick enough and ready to serve,
Serve the puree topped with the roasted duck legs and a liberal drizzle of your red wine sauce. Serve with some cooked greens.

Parsnip Puree, Honeyed Parnips, Seasbass, Hazelnuts

December 14, 2013 Comments Off read Seafood

A welcome and precious escape home to the wonderful freshness of my Wiltshire countryside home for the weekend. After a day embracing the beginning of December and with scarfs wrapped tightly around our chilly necks, my sister, mum and I headed home to a blushing fire and dinner as darkness landed.

However….not without entertainment. As realisation hit that we’d forgotten to pick the allotment parsnips for supper, a comical scene unfolded. My sister (with iphone torch) mum (dressed unsuitably in fur and boots) and myself with makeshift garden fork attempted to scavenge the stubborn homegrown parsnips from the depths of their cosy blankets in the tightly packed allotment soil like thieves. Covered suitably in mud and with freezing hands, the kitchen beckoned and dinner tasted even the more delicious as a consequence….

Serves 3

3-4 large parsnips, peeled
1 tbsp runny honey
1-2 tbsp olive oil
Milk
1 bay leaf
2-3 black peppercorns
1 sprig of rosemary
2 large knobs of butter
Squeeze of lemon juice
Grating of nutmeg
Handful skinned hazelnuts
3 seabass fillets
Green vegetable of choice- green beans, curly kale, wilted spinach..

Preheat the oven to 190°C. Cut at least one of your parsnips into long chunks for roasting. Drizzle with oil, season and roast in the oven for 30 minutes tossing half way through. After this time, drizzle with honey and return to the oven for 10 minutes or so until crisp.
Meanwhile, for the puree, chop the remaining parsnips into chunks. Place them into a saucepan and cover with ¾ milk and ¼ water- just enough to cover. Add 2-3 black peppercorns, bay leaf and the whole sprig of rosemary. Bring to the simmer (being careful the milk doesn’t bubble over) and simmer gently for about 20 minutes or until really tender when pierced with a knife.
Once tender, drain reserving the cooking liquor and puree in a processor with plenty of seasoning, a knob of butter and add a splash of cooking milk to loosen until your liking. Add a grating of nutmeg and keep warm while you fry the seabass.
Heat a frying pan until hot and toast the hazelnuts for a few minutes. Add a splash of oil and fry for a further few minutes until fragrant. Remove from the heat and lightly crush or chop the hazelnuts. Set aside with the hazelnut oil.
Add a splash more oil to the pan. Score the skin side of your seabass fillets to prevent them curling up and season well. Fry in the hot pan for about 3 minutes on the skin side until crisp and then turn for the final minute.
Add a knob of butter to the pan and a squeeze of lemon and baste the fish. Let the butter brown a little as it turns nutty and delicious- beurre noisette.
To serve, divide each plate with a spoonful of puree and top with some green beans, kale or spinach. Place the fish on top with a spoonful of the beurre noisette and add a handful of the roasted parsnips. Finally, scatter over the hazelnuts and a drizzle of their oil and enjoy!