Category Extras

Cornbread

January 8, 2013 Comments Off read Extras

I love this American derived cornbread as it has a really deep rich flavour. Our family loves a good bowl of spicy chilli and rice when the colder months hit but sometimes rice gets a bit dull and this makes a really hearty change. Cornbread is a traditional Southern American staple which I love! I’ve added popular ingredients like cheese, chilli and sweetcorn but the usual cornbread is actually fairly plain, made with polenta (cornmeal) and baking powder which makes it rise.

140g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tbsp caster sugar
1 tsp salt
125g polenta/cornmeal
1/2tsp chilli flakes
75g mature cheddar, grated
4 spring onions, chopped including the green tops
25g melted butter
2 eggs
150ml whole milk
150ml buttermilk
150g sweetcorn

Preheat the oven to 220°C.
Traditionally made in a skillet, I made mine in a flat square brownie tin (23cm x 23cm and 4cm deep) but also feel free to use a loaf tin. Grease and line with baking parchment.
Combine the first 9, dry, ingredients in a large bowl.
Whisk the eggs and milk together in a jug.
Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and, working quickly as the bicarbonate will begin to react with the buttermilk for the rising effect, whisk in the melted butter followed by the egg and milk. Stir in the sweetcorn, and transfer quickly to the prepared tin.
Bake in the centre of the oven for about 20 minutes until golden and cooked.
This is best served warm with salty butter and a bowl of steaming chilli, soured cream and guacamole smothered all over the top like there’s no tomorrow.

Palmiers

January 3, 2013 Comments Off read Extras

almiers. Crispy, buttery, puff pastry filled with delicious filling and a perfect savoury nibble to follow a glass of Champagne at New Year or for a dinner party! I made these with a collection of leftover ingredients that were cluttering up the fridge but as usual whenever I assume ingredients a write-off, they turn into something much more sophisticated than anticipated. You can put anything inside these, sweet with sugar and cinnamon or savoury cheeses, meats or spreads. For these two variations I made a red pesto, basil and Parma ham version and a black olive, feta and rosemary alternative!

(Makes about 40)

2 x ready rolled puff pastry sheets (or buy a block and roll it out into a long rectangle about 35cm about 1 pound coin thickness)
1 pack Parma ham slices
2 tbsp red pesto
Handful basil leaves
Handful of crumbled feta cheese
1 sprig of rosemary, leaves picked, chopped finely
2 tbsp black olive spread
1 egg, beaten

Roll the first pastry sheet out onto a floured surface with the short edge of the rectangle facing you.
Spread with the red pesto evenly over the entire sheet
Sprinkle with the torn basil leaves
Now line up the Parma ham slices down the rectangle
Brush some beaten egg down the two outermost long edges and then starting on one side, tightly roll into the centre. Do the same on the other side, keeping the pastry tight until it meets in the centre with the other side.
Brush a little beaten egg between the touching rolls, wrap tightly in cling film and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Repeat this process with the feta, olive spread and rosemary following the same principle or with whatever ingredients you like
Preheat the oven to 200°C
Once both ‘log’ have rested for 30 minutes, remove from the fridge and line a baking tray with parchment. Cut the puff pastry logs into about 1.5cm slices with a sharp knife (or thicker if you like) and line on the baking tray
Bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes until golden, crispy and cooked through
Leave to cool a little and serve warm with some bubbly!

Red pesto, basil and Parma ham palmiers

Feta, black olive and rosemary palters.

WINE: Of should I say something sparkling? Try with a crisp dry Champagne, English sparkling wine or a Prosecco. Try Biancavigna, Prosecco Spumante available at Armit Wines.

Green Chutney

December 17, 2012 Comments Off read Extras

This green chutney is undoubtedly packed full of herby flavour and is the PERFECT addition to the Indian marinated lamb (or chicken) we scoffed…

About 35g coriander, stalks included (or a big bunch)
35g mint leaves
1 garlic clove
2.5cm ginger, grated or chopped
½ small onion
1 green chilli, seeds removed
15-20 pistachio nuts
2 tbsp lemon juice, grated zest of half a lemon
salt
3 tbsp water
1-2 tbsp yoghurt

Place all the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor.
Process until thoroughly chopped. I added a couple of heaped tablespoon of natural yoghurt just to make it more ‘spoonable’ but feel free to add lots more if you’re after a more cooling chutney! Toasted coconut is also a nice addition!

Cornbread Fritters with Soured Cream and Guacamole

October 26, 2012 Comments Off read Extras, Vegetables and Salads

These little cornbread inspired fritters/pancakes were made with the leftover pulp from the sweetcorn soup I made. I hate waste and this way, the delicious wholesome leftovers were put to good use. You could alternatively use tinned corn which you can blend, the texture may be slightly different so just add more flour/milk to adjust for a drier/wetter batter. The polenta adds a crispy texture, the cheese melts everywhere and the chilli provides that familiar cornbread kick.

300g leftover pureed corn from your Creamy Sweetcorn Soup– see recipe (or tinned sweetcorn, pureed)
3 spring onions, finely chopped including green tops
½ large red chilli, finely chopped
40g grated mature cheddar cheese
40g plain flour
40g polenta/cornmeal
½ tsp baking powder
2 large eggs, beaten

In a large bowl, combine the pureed corn, spring onions, chilli, cheese and season.
Whisk in the eggs and then stir in the flour, baking powder and polenta until you have a thick batter. If the batter is too runny add a little more flour. It should be fairly thick but will set once cooked.
Heat a thin layer of sunflower oil in a frying pan over a medium-high heat. Fry spoonfuls of the mixture for 1-2 minutes each side or until golden and crusty from the polenta. The mixture can be a little wet but adding too much flour I’ve found makes them taste a bit ‘floury’ whereas here they will taste solely of sweetcorn.
Drain on kitchen paper and leave to cool slightly before serving warm with soured cream and guacamole!

Mixed Seed Pesto

October 14, 2012 Comments Off read Extras, Vegetables and Salads

One thing I love about being a student is the necessity to be resourceful with whatever food is to hand. With a need to budget, being economical with your weekly shop is an art, and I am forever searching for ways to make my food go further without EVER skimping on flavour or going hungry. So, today I knocked up a satisfying, tasty and fresh salad which my taste buds were certainly thankful for, after noting the anorexic looking shelves of my dying fridge. I seem to be using pumpkin seeds a lot at the moment in this Autumnal weather, so I decided to use a handful of mixed seeds to create a pesto dressing for the last of my sweet, ripe tomatoes and pessimistic salad leaves. Homemade pesto is always more wholesome and scrumptious than the jarred equivalent in the shops and this one certainly didn’t let me down……

2 tbsp of mixed seeds (I used pumpkin, sesame and sunflower)
Small bunch of coriander and flat leaf parsley
Small handful of grated parmesan
1 small garlic glove
½ small lemon
Salt and pepper
Extra virgin olive oil

Start by grinding the garlic to a paste with some coarse salt in a pestle and mortar.
Toast the seeds in a dry frying pan until they release their flavour and begin to crackle.
Add to the pestle and mortar and grind to a chunky paste with the garlic. You can grind it as much as you like. I like to keep the seeds a bit chunky to add a bit of texture
Now add the herbs and parmesan and grind to a green paste.
Add a splash of oil and a squeeze of lemon juice to make a thick pesto or to your desired consistency.
Taste and adjust using salt and pepper and more lemon if you like.

I added a large tablespoon of my pesto to a mix of bitter cos lettuce, sweet tomatoes and some cress for a lovely salad. This would be delicious topped with some salty, fried halloumi cheese…..but, sadly my fridge didn’t deliver on that one.

Pumpkin Butter (Jam)

October 7, 2012 Comments Off read Extras, Sweet Treats

I’ve been seasonally experimenting with pumpkins recently. They’re versatility and texture mean they are great in sweet recipes and desserts. This recipe is titled ‘butter’ but it doesn’t actually contain any……its more of a sweet, spicy, rich, deep jam that is great with pancakes, my pumpkin muffins, smeared on a toasted bagel or in a compote with yoghurt and granola for breakfast.

1 can pumpkin puree [or you can roast and use the flesh from a pumpkin but this recipe called for the packed canned type….]
Approx 90ml apple juice
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp mixed spice
½ tbsp cinnamon
Grating of nutmeg
140g dark brown sugar

Combine all the ingredients in a heavy based pan and heat. You may need to add a little more apple juice to make it thinner in order to heat it. Bring to the boil and simmer gently for 30 minutes until thick.
Store in an airtight container in the fridge until needed.

For the breakfast pots, I layered some pumpkin puree on the bottom, some Greek yoghurt mixed with a splash of vanilla extract and topped with blueberries and my granola!

I saw the recipe called for pumpkin puree in a can and have always wanted to try this…..I slightly felt like I was cheating but it was good!

Pumpkin Seed Anti Anxiety Butter

September 28, 2012 Comments Off read Extras, Sweet Treats

As a perpetual worrier and a passionate nutrition enthusiast, I love pumpkin seeds for their fabulous anti-anxiety properties. This bountiful jar of bottle-green ‘butter’ is like my own personal and bespoke prescription without the price tag. However, also unlike your prescription (unless you’re 10 years old and drinking the dreamy sugary Calpol) this one has a vanilla-like, sweet and indescribable aroma and taste.

After my endless and compulsory regurgitation of the principle amino acids for my university biochemistry modules, I know that they are vital and guess what? Pumpkin seeds are a good source! They have a heap of both tryptophan and glutamate, two important amino acids in the body. While tryptophan is converted to serotonin to help sleep, glutamate is converted to GABA neurotransmitter in the brain that can allow us to deal with stress and anxiety. Therefore, my nights of endless worried sleep are over. If anxiety kicks in….take a large dreamy spoonful and be on your merry way. In addition, these pictures would without doubt be much more appreciated on my revision wall than the chemical structures currently residing….

200g pumpkin seeds
½ tsp salt
½ tsp thick set honey
1 tsp sunflower oil

Begin by heating a dry frying pan until hot and toast the seeds until they begin to pop and crackle (you will hear it) and the skins start to split. This helps release flavour and smell. The popping happens quickly so just get them going and then remove from the heat to prevent burning.
Add to the bowl of a food processor and blitz. Keep the motor running continuously, stopping now and again to scrape the build up from around the sides. The whole process (I carelessly forgot to time it…) takes about 10 minutes so don’t worry if it doesn’t look very ‘buttery’ to start, just continue to process for about 10minutes until the mixture begins to release though lovely oils and it becomes like thick paste.
As this happens, add the rest of the ingredients and continue until you have a texture you like. I like it thick so it can be spread on toast or oat cakes nice and smoothly.
Jar and keep in the fridge, ready for those moments of anxiety, or for a wholesome boost!

Rouille

September 19, 2012 Comments Off read Extras

Rouille is simply a saffron, chilli and garlic infused mayonnaise. I always make my own mayo at special occasions or when it is a central ingredient or accompaniment for a meal as it is so easy to make if you have a food processor and a steady hand. Once you’ve had the real homemade stuff you’ll be left wondering how on earth a jar of Hellman’s suddenly tastes so vile after years or worshipping the contents? The only hold back usually, is its creamy indulgence so don’t throw away your jars yet……..Classic French rouille is a traditional garnish to a punchy Provencal fish soup or a deep rich bouillabaisse. A celebratory freshly homemade bouillabaisse was the call for this batch which I knocked up to lather a bakeryful of giant sourdough croutons!

1 tsp dried crushed chillies
Pinch of flaky salt
3 large garlic cloves
Pinch of saffron
2 free range egg yolks, at room temperature
120ml olive oil
1 tsp lemon juice
Pinch cayenne pepper

Grind the chillies, garlic cloves, and saffron with the salt in a pestle and mortar.
Add the egg yolks and mix thoroughly
Add to a food processor and, with the motor running, pour the oil through the funnel drop by drop and then in a EXTREMELY steady, gentle stream with the motor running at all times. If you add to fast it won’t emulsify with the yolks, however as you see it begin to thicken, you know you’re on safe ground and you can begin to pour more quickly but still in a steady stream. Sometimes it won’t take and the mixture will split and be runny like cream- sometimes it just happens *
When you have added about 2/3 of the oil and it is thickening, add the lemon juice and a pinch of cayenne pepper and then finish adding the oil. If you want it a little thinner, add a little more oil.
Once finished, pot and pop it in the fridge where it will keep for about 4-5 days.

This recipe, untraditionally doesn’t contain soaked breadcrumbs which it should but I rather like it without and thought this recipe was great anyway!

* To prevent your mayonnaise splitting in the first place, use fresh eggs at room temperature in a really clean food processor bowl. If it does split, don’t chuck you’re mixture. Remove it to a jug, clean the bowl well and add another egg yolk to the processor and blend. Then instead of adding oil, add the mixture!

Homemade Puff Pastry

September 15, 2012 Comments Off read Extras, Uncategorized

Today I attempted my first ever homemade puff pastry. It was totally unnecessary and received eye rolling, sighing and characteristic head shaking from my ‘non-foodie’ father who, ironically, would be reaping the benefits later that evening, in the form of Salmon en croute. I’ve always looked upon puff pastry as a superfluous endeavour when the supermarkets provide such satisfactory pre-made effort, however, I had some time today, I love cooking and, hey, I thought I’d add it to my repertoire.

Findings. So either I had put the tricky task of making this on a golden plated throne of difficulty or it is actually much easier than people make out, but I must admit, it took much less time than I’d thought, it was simple to create and produced puffed, laminated layers of buttery pastry! So for anyone who has never made it and wants to sample the proper stuff, then give this one a go……it was the first recipe I used, and appeared to work well! Hopefully it wasn’t beginners luck…..(Makes about 600g block)

245g plain flour
40g chilled cubed butter
Pinch salt
215g unsalted butter block
1 tsp lemon juice
130ml cold water

Begin by mixing the flour, salt and 40g of cubed butter in a large bowl. Using your fingers, rub the butter into the flour until you form a breadcrumb-like mixture.
Make a well in the centre and add the water and lemon juice and mix with a fork until you have a ball of dough. Using your hands, knead lightly until you form a smooth dough. For into a ball and then using a knife, score a deep cross in the top to allow the dough to stretch and relax as it rests. Place in a bowl, cover with cling film and rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, place you 215g block of butter between a folded sheet of parchment. Using a rolling pin, bash heavily to flatten the block and soften it, whilst maintaining it in a cold state, to about 1 cm thick, in a square. Return to the fridge.
After 30 minutes, remove the dough from the fridge. Take the corner of each of the crosses you scored and pull them out and roll them using a rolling pin, outwards so they flatten leaving a thicker mound of dough in the middle to accommodate the bulk of the butter that will be added.
Making sure it is slightly smaller than your flat dough, place the chilled sheet of butter in the centre and fold in the corners of the dough to cover it completely.
Flour the work surface well to prevent it sticking and roll the dough, totally encased in butter, into a long rectangle, about 40cm long and 18cm wide. You are now ready for your first folding.
With the short side facing you, bring the top 3rd of pastry down about 2/3rds of the way and the bottom 3rd up to cover it like a book [as seen above]. Then rotate clockwise 90°.
Repeat this rolling to 40cm and folding again. Then wrap in cling film and quickly chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Bring the dough out and place it in front of you as if it has just been folded. Rotate 90 and repeat steps 7 and 8 so that it has been rolled and folded twice more. Wrap and chill again for 30 minutes.
Finally, repeat this process once more, so that in total it is rolled and folded 6 times. At this stage the dough can be shaped as desired and chilled again for 30 minutes before baking. Or it can be left until needed/frozen.
It is usually baked, brush with beaten egg, (direct from its chilled state to prevent the butter melting) at about 200-220°C for 20 minutes as a rough approximation depending what you are doing with it!

Champagne and Canapes

September 14, 2012 Comments Off read Extras

Ok so it was sparkling wine but it was my clear favourite in a blind tasting and its from Kent [Chapel Down- Tenterden]! Despite being my top tipple, it still hasn’t triggered any increase in its purchase in the weekly shop shockingly (I tried) However, this Kent variety is worth buying for a special occasion, which this was……

Yesterday, we proudly and inspiringly celebrated the dedicated 35 years my dad has spent working for an engineering company he joined after University. So we indulged him in some bubbly and fancy canapes. I knocked up some pillowey blinis topped with creme fraiche, salmon caviar and chives.

Blinis

175ml milk
40g butter
2 eggs, separated
125g plain flour
50g wholemeal flour
1 ½ tsp dried yeast
1 tsp caster sugar
½ tsp salt
2 tbsp chopped chives,plus extra to serve
Oil to fry
Creme fraiche
Salmon caviar

Heat the milk and butter until melted.
Sift the flours, yeast, sugar and salt into a food processor or bowl.
With the processor running, add the warmed milk and butter mixture, followed by the egg yolks (or whisk into the bowl if not using a processor)
Pour into a bowl, cover with cling film and leave in a warm place for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until risen and airy.
Whisk the egg whites until stiff but not dry and fold into the yeast batter with the chopped chives.
Heat a little oil in a hot frying pan and drop small spoonfuls of batter into the pan and cook for about 40 seconds per side or until golden.
Reserve to a plate and leave to cool a little before topping with creme fraiche, caviar and chives. Alternatively, these blinis can be topped with anything else like salmon, goats cheese mousse etc!