Date Archives January 2016

Cranachan Ice Cream

January 25, 2016 Comments Off read Sweet Treats

o we all know I’m partial to ice cream. However I am not a desserts kind of girl in general. That being said I honestly feel like most desserts can be bettered in ice cream version!? Take my apple crumble ice cream or my carrot cake inventions for example. So with a Burn’s night supper party on the horizon I figured it was time to plan a traditional menu. But with the thought of the a creamy glass of cranachan to polish off a tasty haggis I was having none of it. Ice cream it was.

Serve topped with your honey ‘granola’ and a neat shot of whiskey to warm the cooling ice cream.

Serves about 6

1 can condensed milk
300ml single cream
1 vanilla pod, seeds scrapped
Splash whiskey (optional)
250g frozen or fresh strawberries/raspberries (or a mixture)
1 1/2 tbsp caster sugar
150g oats
50g flaked almonds
4 tbsp runny honey
Knob butter
Whiskey and extra honey to serve

If using fresh strawberries, cut into quarters. Place the fruit in bowl and sprinkle with the caster sugar and set aside for 5 minutes.
Whisk the condensed milk, cream, whiskey and vanilla seeds in a jug and pour into a tupperware container.
Fold in the fruit, place a lid on the box and freeze.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180.
Mix the almonds and oats in a bowl.
Melt the honey and butter and pour over the oats and combine well until thoroughly covered.
Spread out on a lined baking tray in a thin layer and toast in the oven for 15minutes, turning twice duinrg cooking.
Leave to cool completely and crisp up.
To serve, spoon generous helpings of ice cream into a bowl, scatter with the toasted oats and drizzle over and extra honey. Serve with a neat shot of whiskey!

Baked Hummus

January 24, 2016 Comments Off read Extras, Vegetables and Salads

ealthy’ food could not be more in our face at the moment with celebrity chefs in the media, tortuous instagram or yet another cookbook launch. While some are giving out a positive message on the whole I can’t help but feel that those that are taking it to the extreme are frankly just quite annoying? What ever happened to a balanced diet I don’t know. Some fads I have kindly embraced – avocado toast for example with lashings of lemon and maldon salt, but at this time of year the thought of a raw pizza (whatever that is…a cracker I think!?) washed down with a kale and spinach juice sends icy and fun-killing shivers down my spine. What with January being plagued with this health theme and matched with the chilly winter weather we’ve been experiencing lately I am craving warmth from soups, stews and slow baked dishes which by all means can be healthy too.

Take the humble, versatile and much loved hummus. Warm and familiar when deep fried as falafel, there is nothing stopping it being baked and devoured ‘fondue style’? And yes, you are more than welcome to imagine you are enjoying a fondue….just with far less milk, fat and cheese hangovers. Eat as you would fondue or enjoy smothered on your favourite toasted bread.

A delicious, healthy adaptation for the winter weather.

Serves about 4

1 can drained chickpeas (250g approx)
1 heaped teaspoon cumin seeds (dry toasted and then ground)
1 teaspoon spice mix (see here – optional)
2 tbsp olive oil
Juice 1 lemon
1 tbsp tahini
3 tbsp thick yoghurt
Seasoning
Handful pine nuts
1 tbsp butter

Preheat the oven to 200°C.
Place all the ingredients (except the pine nuts and butter) into a food processor and blend until thoroughly smooth. You may need to scrape down the sites a few times.
Add more yoghurt or oil to vary the constancy to your liking.
Spoon the hummus into a small ovenproof serving dish or bowl
Heat a large frying pan and dry toast the pine nuts until golden. Add the butter and remove from the what while it browns and melts.
Top the hummus with the buttery nuts and place in the oven for 25-30 minutes.
The mixture will warm and turn golden. If you use a thin consistency it may even rise a little.
Serve with crudités, warm toasted pitta breads, rye bread etc.

This is lovely served warm as a shared starter with crudités or warm pittas. Alternatively as a light lunch I had mine smothered on lemony avocado on toasted rye bread and sprinkled with flaky salt…..

Bakewell Tart

January 13, 2016 Comments Off read Sweet Treats

love a traditionally made bakewell tart but its seems that those who don’t agree seem to have a tainted opinion founded into their childhood from thier experiences of Mr Kipling’s overly sweet and synthetic offerings. Found overdosed with grainy icing in your packed lunch that should ideally inspire and energise!? That said, on baking this tart over the weekend for my family his holy name was referenced three times without provoking! But I assure you that a homemade bake well is a good way to convince those haunted by Mr.K’s recipe and being such a traditional recipe I felt it needed a proud place on my blog archive.

I do already have a Rhubarb bake well tart recipe but this arguably this is not ‘traditional’ as is my style. And in fact this one is in my style also using some leftover homemade blackcurrant jam from the summer. But feel free to use a jam of choice here, traditional raspberry or strawberry, apricot or even marmalade!

Makes 1 tart

1 pastry case (see here)
100g unsalted butter
100g caster sugar
75g ground almonds
50g plain flour
2 eggs
Splash almond extract (optional)
100g jam (raspberry, blackcurrant, strawberry etc)
Handful of flaked almonds
6 tbsp icing sugar
Juice 1/2 lemon

Make the pastry case – instructions here
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Cream the butter and sugar together
Then gradually beat in the eggs and the almond extract until the mixture is combined
Gently fold in the ground almonds and flour until well combined.
Spoon the jam evenly over the base of the pastry case.
Cover with the almond frangipani mixture and use a palate knife or spatula to smooth out the surface until even and the jam is completely covered.
Scatter over the flaked almonds
Bake for 30 minutes until golden and the middle is set. Leave to cool completely.
Sieve the icing sugar into a bowl. Add the lemon juice drop by drop being careful you don’t add to much to fast. You’re aiming for a really thick paste consistency that you can pipe.
Spoon into a piping bag and snip a small end off. Pipe the icing in your desired pattern over the top.
Serve with creme fraiche!

Crispy Asian Beef

January 7, 2016 Comments Off read Meat

f you’re intending on sticking to or continuing to stick to a healthy diet this month after the indulgences of Christmas then I recommend Asian food as a good go to. It packs a reliant punch on flavour without compromising on health and nutrition. Not to mention that this is a really quick recipe and can be served out in about 20 minutes.

As a passionate cook and appreciator of food I have always been the type to savour my meals either for flavour or appreciation for the time and effort spent creating it – either by myself or more importantly a fellow cook. However, I can’t help but notice that many of us eat too fast. Not only does this encourage us to be unappreciative of the food, time and effort that has gone into making it but you cannot appreciate and savour the flavours. Sticking to the topic of nutrition and health this month, on a nutritional side the faster you eat the more chance you have of overeating. Eating slowly allows your stomach to register satiety at the right time. It also helps improve your digestion. Hand in hand with this I also recommend chewing your mouthfuls more to aid speed and digestion. Just putting down your fork (or chopsticks) after eat mouthful to enjoy, talk to your dinner friends and take your time is such a great habit to get into.

That said, a great way to get into this habit if using chopsticks! Not only is it fun and authentic but if you’re anything like me and still learning you can’t help but eat slowly…if at all. So obviously have a fork ready to hand to prevent starvation.

NOTE: Quite without meaning to I’ve created a gluten free meal using my stash of ‘Clearspring Gluten Free Brown Rice Noodles’. Asain food is a great go-to is your are gluten free. As I say, it packs a punch on flavour without compromising nutritional requirements.

Serves 2

250g beef mince
1 thumb size knob ginger, finely shredded
1 large garlic clove, crushed
1/2 red chilli (hotter the better here)
1 star anise
1 tbsp sunflower oil
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1tsp fish sauce
Bunch coriander, chopped
Bunch basil, chopped
4 spring onions, chopped
100g ‘Clear Spring’ ‘Gluten free brown rice noodles’
1 tsp sesame oil
Juice 1 lime
Serve: I recommend a nice lime juice covered fresh crispy salad e.g. Cos lettuce, grated carrot, bean sprouts, cucumber etc

Submerge and soak the noodles in boiling water for at least 10 minutes. Set aside kept warm until ready to serve.
Heat the sunflower oil in a frying pan or wok on a high heat. Add the beef mince and use a spatula to break up the pieces into chunks. then add the star anise. Fry on a high heat for about 5 minutes until the mixture begins to brown well and crisp up. Keep an eye on it moving the mince around continuously.
After about 5 minutes when well browned add in the ginger, garlic and red chilli and continue to fry on a high heat until the meat is really browned and crispy as below.
After about 5-10 minutes add the soy sauce, sesame oil and fish sauce and stir to combine. Cook until really dark and crispy to your liking.
Remove from the heat and stir in the chopped spring onions, coriander and basil
Drain the noodles and squeeze over the lime juice and add the sesame oil
Serve the noodles in warm bowls and top with your crispy beef piece and a lovely crunchy fresh salad.

Squid Ink Risotto with Chargrilled Octopus and Gremolata

January 3, 2016 Comments Off read Seafood

ne of my ambitions and I guess you could say ‘New Years resolutions’ this year is to experiment more with my recipes and ingredients. We all get into a rut of cooking the same comforting dishes to hit the spot after a long day at work but there is such a vast array of choice out there so make the most of it. Even the most obscure ingredients can be sourced somewhere these days. So I think this blog post does my resolution justice!? I promise this dish is not as scary as it looks – for cooking or eating!

After a visit to a lovely Venetian restaurant last year where a friend and I devoured a collection of tapas style dishes, I enjoyed my first proper experience of squid ink. A dish of Acini di Pepe (a peppercorn-like pasta) speckled with succulent clams and tender pieces of octopus resting in a warm velvety squid ink sauce was devine. A subtle fishy taste and beautiful texture inspired this risotto recipe. Traditionally in Venetian cooking, squid ink can be found in risottos and black rice. However I went a little off-piste in Italy over in Spain with the cooking of the octopus. Chargrilled chunks of tender octopus rolled warm and delicately in a lovely fresh lemony gremolata.

However, this recipe would also be delicious kept authentic and Venetian topped with grilled squid, crab or prawns. You can find squid ink from many fishmongers. I stumbled across mine in a local Spanish deli near by office.

Serves 2-3

Risotto

200g aborio rice
50 g butter
1 onion, diced
1 large garlic glove, crushed
1 small glass white wine
1 litre hot fresh fish stock
2-3 tbsp grated parmesan
1 sachet squid ink (the one I used was 4g)
Juice 1/2 lemon
Octopus, squid, crab or prawns of choice (I used pre cooked Octopus which I simply chargrilled. However you can buy fresh and cook from scratch)
Olive oil

Gremolata

Handful chopped flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
1 small garlic clove, finely chopped
Zest 1 lemon

Make the gremolata by combining the ingredients together and seasoning. Set aside until needed.
Now start making the risotto. Have a pan of the hot stock on the hob on a low heat ready to use.
Heat half the butter and a splash of oil in a saucepan over a medium low heat. Add the chopped onion and garlic and sauté for 10 minutes until very soft but not golden.
Once soft, turn up the heat and add the rice. Toast for 2-3 minutes stirring it around in the buttery onions.
Now add the wine and allow it to bubble and simmer. Once half absorbed add the squid ink and stir in thoroughly to combine. Season
Now begin adding the hot fish stock a ladle at a time adding another only after each has been absorbed, stirring the grains continuously. Do not let the rice get dry however.
Continue in this way for abut 18-20 minutes until the rice is just cooked with a very slight bite when tasted. You may need all the stock but use as much as needed.
When the rice is cooked and ready and the consistency is loose and fairly runny (risotto should not be stodgy but it should be served in a bowl and have an ‘oozing’ consistency) season to taste. Add the rest of the butter cut into knobs, the cheese and the lemon juice and do not stir. Just remove from the heat and put a lid on the pan to allow it to rest.
Meanwhile heat a griddle pan (or use the grill on a high setting). Add a splash of oil and season the octopus. Chargrill the octopus on both sides to heat through and char. Once hot and ready quickly roll the octopus in the gremolata.
Return your attention to your risotto. Remove the lid and stir to combine the butter and cheese thoroughly. Add a splash of boiling water if the consistency is not as intended of ‘oozing’ enough.
Serve the risotto in warmed deep bowls topped with you grilled octopus. Drizzle with a little oil if wanted.

NOTE: I like to serve this with another Italian staple, Pangrattato or ‘toasted breadcrumbs’. Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a hot pan. Add a crushed garlic clove and then about 50g of breadcrumbs. Toast until golden. Then use to scatter on risotto, salads or pasta.

Affogato

January 1, 2016 Comments Off read Sweet Treats

ts a brand New Year. Without sounding cynical and old before my time I’ve always hated the pressure that comes with this shiny promising New Year and the new ‘you’ that will suddenly look and feel better and hopefully get a pay rise? Whilst its a great starting point for change and ambition January 1st is just another day and sadly your problems will follow you here and continue to exist in 2016 so its time to tackle and importantly embrace these!

But it is the perfect time to write down those ambitions, resolutions, plans or even bad habits with a permeant pen and a piece of real paper. I stress this because for me 2015 was filled with Macs, iPhones, technology, contactless payment, more technology, digital memories and even more technology. However with such reliance on this new digital age to hold our memories what happened to the good old paper ones that will no doubt last a lifetime, don’t need an expensive external hard drive for back up, cannot be deleted at the click of a button (I’m talking about you resolutions) and are more personal than ‘Times New Roman’. So one of my resolutions this year is to get back to using the pen and paper for recipe ideas, food styling, menus, ideas and thoughts.

Being a New Year, many use this time to kick start their diets. Whatever the diet purpose i’m sure we’ve all learnt from 2015 that the diet will probably involve less refined sugar? Which can only be a good thing? I personally don’t have a sweet tooth so you’ll rarely catch me gorging on a cake however this hasn’t always been the case. When younger I could devour bowl upon bowl of cereal, manufactured cheesecake or sweet sugary chocolate. It wasn’t until overdosing on chocolate one Christmas that I kicked off Easter lent without it. And in an unprecedented turns of events I didn’t touch the stuff for 7 years (rest assured I do now). But the point I’m getting at is that even 40 days with no sugary chocolate and very little sugar, my body began to crave it less and less to a point where I no longer needed or wanted it at all. Sugar addicts out there are probably rolling their eyes at this well used cliche but you only have to persevere to realise the truth here.

However, this be said, if you are a sugar addict and have planned on changing your diet you may not want to cut sugar out completely if you are that way inclined. Try reducing your intake bit by bit until you no longer feel the need to take sugary tea or to go back for that double helping of dessert. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all about moderation within a diet. They should include sweet special delights and rewards but special they should be and for that you need an element of rarity. So in an attempt to help inspire, this little recipe will satisfy any post-dinner sugar cravings. Bitter, warm, earthy black espresso coffee poured lovingly over ice cold velvetly cinnamon ice cream. It is a perfect cleansing low sugar finish to a filling meal providing a satisfying hot and cold feel and to hit the sweet spot kindly and the stomach gently.

‘ll admit this hardly calls for a recipe and is more an assembly but use it here for inspiration. Ice cream flavour is obviously open to taste. I have used my left over Christmas Cinnamon Ice Cream (found here). You’ll be pleased to know a sweeter ice cream works well here to balance the bitterness of the coffee.

With an ambition for 2016 to buy those ingredients I’ve ‘always wanted to try’ or try that new technique I aim to make my own match latte (authentic green tea for those unaware). Being partial to a matcha latte takeaway treat I am salivating now just thinking of the perfect combination of warm velvety, bitter and creamy green tea poured lovingly over some sweet white chocolate ice cream!

Ice cream of choice (I have a modest list of homemade (cheat and non-cheat) ice cream recipes in the archive
Hot dark coffee (espresso is traditional)

Ball the ice cream into deep bowls
Pour over a shot of your hot dark freshly brewed coffee