Posts by Jess

Bloody Mary Prawn Salad

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Bloody Mary Prawn Salad

One of the reasons I have a huge but justified love of Jamie Oliver is his casual, instinctive and rustic approach to cooking which is what inspired me at a young age to cook. This recipe is just those things, rustic and casual and can be instinctively thrown together with a few alterations in flavours or ingredients that you love. Using his basic concept, I tweaked a few bits to make it the perfect starter at a recent dinner party. If you’ve got guests who enjoy fish, nothing excites and pleases them more than being presented with a platter of succulent shellfish with a tangy dressing and lemon for all. This is light and perfect to kick start the meal although in greater quantities it was all agreed we could have eaten it for mains as well…..

(Serves 6-8 as a sharing starter)

  • 2 small cos lettuce
  • 2 red chicory
  • 1 punnet cress
  • 1 large handful chopped dill
  • Celery leaves from celery tops
  • 2 ripened avocados
  • 2 slices of stale bread, cubed into croutons size
  • 400g cooked, juicy prawns
  • 200g brown shrimp
  • Crevettes (enough for one each)
  • Green lip mussels (enough for one each)
  • 200ml ‘Big Tom’ spiced tomato juice
  • 2 heaped tbsp mayonnaise
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 3 heaped tsp creamed horseradish
  • Salt and pepper
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • Splash of vodka
  1. Clip the leaves off the lettuces so that you get ‘edible cups’ from the leaves to nestle your prawns and dressing. Scatter these over a couple of serving dishes.
  2. Scatter the prawns and brown shrimp over the top filling the cups.
  3. Make the dressing by placing the big tom juice, mayonnaise, lemon juice, horseradish, vodka, a good drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and some seasoning in a processor and blend to combine. Taste and add a touch of whatever it is lacking for your tastes like Tabasco. However, make sure it is a bit too punchy and a bit over the top as when it is combined with everything else it will be blunted slightly and hold its own.
  4. Get a griddle pan on a high heat and drizzle with olive oil. Cut the avocados into thick slices and char on the griddle, seasoning generously with salt and pepper, for a few minutes each side to warm through and soften. In another pan, heat some more oil and add your cubed bread with some seasoning and fry until golden and crisp. Drain on kitchen paper.
  5. Scatter the hot avocados and croutons over the salad and prawns. Drizzle with the Bloody Mary dressing and scatter with the chopped dill, cress and celery leaves. Place the crevettes and mussels boldly on top and serve with lemon wedges as a sharing platter for an indulgent starter or light lunch…..

Cinnamon Madeleines

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Cinnamon Madeleines

 

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Today I wish I was in France….on a sunny beach in Cannes, drinking French wine and tanning on the golden sands…..Damn I am in cold England revising for some pretty impossible approaching university finals with no current future job prospects lined up and ready….anyone looking for a keen foodie employee? I can make a good cuppa….???

That leads me onto these madeleines which are the perfect match to a comforting brew. The French atmosphere was easy to implicate by the simple addition of a batch of these light and sweetly spiced French madeleines (However you will need a madeleine tray mould experience France this way…). And to add another shine to my day, my mum’s return from the supermarket with a bulging bag of obese and bearded mussels and some skinny frites was enough to satisfy my French envie. After recently making some ’Carrot Cake Ice Cream’, I was inspired to make something to pair with its creamy flavour which resulted in these spiced madeleines coated in a crunchy cinnamon sugar. Ok so I’ve probably created an American ‘doughnut-style’ finish to what is essentially a classic French treat which I’m sure any Parisian would never admit to approving of. However, revision depression called for it…..icing sugar is your nest best thing….

Makes about 12

  • 100g unsalted butter, melted
  • 100g caster sugar
  • 100g plain flour
  • 1 level tsp baking powder
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp ground ginger
  • 1 tsp mixed spice
  • Grated zest 1 orange
  • 50-100g cinnamon sugar (made with a ratio of 1 large tbsp: 300g golden granulate sugar)
  1. Whisk the eggs and the caster sugar together until pale and creamy.
  2. Add the flour, baking powder, spices and orange zest and lightly whisk in with the melted butter to prevent overdeveloping the gluten.
  3. Set aside in the fridge for anywhere up to 3 hours. Apparently, the longer you leave the batter to chill the better as it chills and hydrates the flour. This helps to give you that bump on the back that is characteristic of a madeleine.
  4. When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 200°C. Grease your madeleine tray with a little melted butter and a dusting of flour if it is liable to sticking..
  5. Fill the moulds making sure you don’t overfill. The mixture will settle into place in the oven so don’t worry about smoothing them out.
  6. Bake for 8-12 minutes depending on how big you made them and how large your madeleine pan is.
  7. Once golden and cooked, remove from the oven and, while warm, coat in a generous blanket of cinnamon sugar and then leave to cool on a wire rack before eating.

In case anyone was wondering where the cake stands were from (from recent photos) I make them…..if anyone wants one, let me know and I can make them to order.

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Serve with a strong cuppa or with some carrot cake ice cream

Mocha Macaroons

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Mocha Macaroons

 

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After my frequent delicious sessions of ice cream making I always find myself making macaroons with the surplus of egg whites that sit patiently in the fridge, aging unnecessarily but making them (apparently) all the better for creating the perfect macaroon. I’d hate to see them be turned into a batch of brittle powdery meringues which are one of my foodie hates. So before they could be whisked up into a stiff peaked meringue hell I stole them for some macaroon experimenting. Results….a cheeky invented edible ‘mocha macaroon’ which was much more satisfying than an expedition to Costa! (I would just like to add that although I hate meringues, my mum’s version are great if there are ever to be any knocking around and would categorically NOT be powdery or brittle). Now with my back covered……..

  • 60g egg whites (about 2)
  • 40g caster sugar
  • 50g ground almonds
  • 110g icing sugar (minus 2 tbsp)
  • 12g Green & Blacks cocoa powder

Filling

  • 75g unsalted softened butter
  • 80g icing sugar
  • 1 tsp coffee dissolved in 1 tbsp boiling water, cooled
  1. Preheat the oven to 170°C and line a baking tray with parchment
  2. Blend the ground almonds, icing sugar and cocoa together in a food processor until fine and then sieve.
  3. In another bowl, whisk the egg whites until soft peaks form, then add the caster sugar a spoon at a time until glossy stiff peaks form.
  4. fold in 1/3 of the almond mixture to loosen it. Then fold in the rest, being gentle not to knock the air out.
  5. Spoon into a pipping bag with a round ended nozzle and pipe consistent circles of mixture evenly. Give the tray a sharp slap on the surface to level them and leave for 20 minutes, uncovered.
  6. Bake for about 12 minutes. They are ready when they come away easily from the tray. Leave to cool.image
  7. Make the buttercream filling by combining the ingredients in a processor and then spooning into a smaller piping bag.
  8. When cool, pipe small amounts onto macaroon halves and sandwich together!

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Gruyere and Onion tarts

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Gruyere and Onion tarts

This recipe (that is religiously made every year on Christmas eve in the Wardlaw house), is courtesy of Delia and has always been the most deliciously simple combination. For some reason we didn’t make it this Christmas eve, so feeling cheated I found myself whipping out a batch for a warming lunch in this Christmas provoking weather….

Filling

  • 2 eggs
  • 75ml single cream/creme fraiche
  • ½ tsp mustard powder
  • 75g Gruyere cheese, grated
  • 25g butter
  • 2 onions, finely chopped
  • Cayenne pepper

Pastry

  • 175g flour
  • 75g butter
  • 50g cheddar cheese, grated
  • ½ tsp mustard powder
  1. For the pastry, rub the butter and flour together and add the cheese, mustard and cayenne pepper. Add enough water to bring together to form a dough and then wrap and rest in the fridge for 20 minutes.
  2. Preheat the oven to 180°C and grease some small tart tins. Roll the pastry out thinly and line the tins. Bake the cases blind with baking beans and parchment for about 15-20 minutes until turning a pale brown. Remove the beans/parchment for the last 5 minutes to cook the base. Leave to cool in their tins while you do the filling.
  3. Melt the butter in a frying pan and sweat the onions until soft and beginning to turn a golden colour. Do this slowly to get a good flavour (about 20-30 minutes). Set aside.
  4. Mix the eggs, cream and mustard powder together in a jug adding a pinch of cayenne according to taste.
  5. Fill the tart cases with the onion and grated gruyere and fill with the egg mixture. Scatter over a pinch of cayenne pepper.
  6. Bake for about 15-20 minutes until set. Remove from the oven and leave to cool slightly before tucking in.

I made a tomato salsa to top mine by finely chopping a mixture of coloured cherry tomatoes, some bruised thyme leaves, salt and pepper and a good glug of extra virgin olive oil. Leave to infuse and serve at room temperature atop your tarts with a green salad.

Carrot Cake Ice Cream

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Carrot Cake Ice Cream

 

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What could be better than combining the forces of a good cake and its  slutty partner in crime ice cream? This recipe is adapted from the Babel Restaurant in South Africa, Babylonstoren, whose ‘cookbook-come-brochure’, is to die for. As a spicy ice cream, they suggest serving it with chilli grilled pineapple slices, but hey, whats wrong with serving it with a slice of carrot cake….?

  • 500ml double cream
  • 180ml milk
  • 180ml caster sugar
  • 5 egg yolks
  • 1 vanilla pod
  • 125g carrot, boiled and grated
  • 5ml ground cinnamon
  • 2ml ground nutmeg and ginger
  • 125g walnuts/pecans toasted and roughly chopped
  1. Start with the custard base. Heat the milk in a saucepan with 90ml of the sugar and the seeds from the vanilla pod until just coming to the boil.
  2. Whisk the egg yolks in a bowl (a wide shallow bowl helps) with the remaining 90ml of sugar until combined.
  3. When the cream is hot, tip a third of it in a slow stream into the egg yolks whisking continuously and vigorously to prevent it scrambling. Make sure it is all combined then add the rest and whisk together for a few minutes.
  4. Tip the mixture back into the saucepan and place over a low heat stirring with a wooden spoon continually until the mixture begins to thicken and it coats the back of the spoon and leaves a mark when you run your finger through it. keep the heat low and keep stirring to prevent getting scrambled eggs….
  5. Strain through a sieve into another wide shallow bowl. Whisk in the ground spices.
  6. Peel about 2-3 carrots (depending on their size) and boil whole in water for about 5 minutes, until soft. Cool under cold water and then grate into the custard base and mix to distribute. Leave to cool and then place in the fridge.
  7. Meanwhile, toast the nut in a dry frying pan for a few minutes or in a hot oven for 5 minutes and leave to cool.
  8. When the custard is cool, churn in an ice cream maker for about 15-20 minutes until thick and beginning to freeze. Once it begins to thicken during churning, tip in the toasted nuts. Place in a container and freeze.

Coffee Ice Cream

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Coffee Ice Cream

 

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A perfect Easter lunch dessert to keep everyone awake in front of the roaring fire………although this year the cold weather seems to be doing that for us brrrrrrr! If you’re a coffee fan then this ice cream is an instant (see what I did there) and satisfying winner!

(Serves 8)

  • 1 can condensed milk
  • 300ml single cream
  • 2 heaped tbsp instant coffee
  1. Warm the cream in a pan over a medium heat. When it looks like it is just beginning to simmer, remove from the heat and whisk in the coffee until it had dissolved.
  2. Pour the condensed milk into the cream and stir to combine
  3. Chill and then put into a container and freeze overnight…no churning needed! Although if you want an instant ice cream, churn for about 30 minutes and eat!

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I served mine with a mini version of my hazelnut frangipane tartlet (see here) drizzled with dark chocolate, half a lightly poached vanilla pear and some teeth shattering hazelnut praline. For the vanilla pear, lightly poach half a cored and peeled pear in sugared water for about 20 minutes with a splash of vanilla extract or a halved and de-seeded vanilla pod, until soft.

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Hazelnut Praline

  • 60g caster sugar
  • 40g hazelnuts
  1. Toast the hazelnut in a hot oven for about 6 minutes. Then remove, wrap in a towel and rub the skins off
  2. Lightly bash in a pestle and mortar or in a plastic bag with the back of a rolling pin to coarse crumbs. Sprinkle sparsely over a piece of greaseproof paper
  3. Heat the caster sugar in a dry frying pan over a high heat and leave to melt, stirring every so often until the sugar turns liquid and golden brown. Watch it as it will easily burn.
  4. As soon as it is a pale golden brown and the sugar has all dissolved, remove from the heat and quickly pour over the hazelnuts in a thin layer. It will set fast so work quickly (it will be EXTREMELY hot though so make sure you don’t touch it)
  5. Leave to cool in a cool place or place the caramel on a hard marble surface to speed it along. When cool, break in shards and mind your teeth.

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Green Risotto with Crispy Parma ham and Almonds

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Green Risotto with Crispy Parma ham and Almonds

Risotto is such a versatile and satisfying meal even when, like last night, I was simply using up loose ends from the cupboard because I’d run out of food for the week. It can be made fancy and gourmet by the easy addition of some little tasty toppings which are totally open to interpretation….a poached egg on top is always a favourite of mine! As a risotto lover (and sane person) I always have risotto rice, parmesan cheese and butter in the house and with white wine never more than a stones throw away these few ingredients can always be used to make an endless amount of different variation on a risotto with whatever ingredients are to hand.

I tend to make risottos by instinctive quantities. It really doesn’t matter how much rice or stock you have weighted out as long as you taste as you go along and make sure that the consistency resembles that of loose porridge when ready. I usually use a large handful of rice per person and a pinch more for luck as cold risotto is perfect for arancini (see here).

Serves 2 generously

  • 2 large handfuls of risotto rice
  • 40g butter
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 1 garlic clove, chopped finely
  • 2 sprigs thyme, leave picked
  • Small glass dry white wine
  • Hot chicken/vegetable stock
  • Handful of finely grated parmesan
  • 2 handfuls of frozen peas
  • Small bunch mint, chopped
  • Handful of rocket leaves
  • ½ lemon
  • 2 slices of parma ham
  • Small handful of flaked almonds
  • Creme friache
  1. Begin by boiling the peas for a good 5 minutes. (Keep a handful aside for garnish if you like) and blend the rest in a food processor with a splash of the stock until really smooth. Set aside.
  2. Continue by melting half the butter in a pan with a teaspoon of oil. Soften the onion gently until translucent. Add the garlic and thyme and cook for another 5 minutes or so.
  3. Turn the heat up a little and add rice and fry until really hot. Add the white wine to let the rice simmer to absorb the wine.
  4. Now add ladelfuls of the hot stock as each addition of liquid becomes absorbed by the rice, simmering gently over a low heat. The rice takes about 18 minutes to cook so keep adding as much stock as needed until the rice is just cooked and soft. Keep stirring all the time to make sure the starches are released and you get a really creamy texture.
  5. As soon as the rice almost appears to plump up and double in volume and it is just cooked and soft to taste, add the lemon juice and season.
  6. Now stir in the pea puree and mix evenly. If it thickens too much, add a splash of stock to keep it loose.
  7. Add the other half of the butter, cut into cubes, and the grated parmesan. Cover quickly with a lid and take off the heat to rest.
  8. While it rests for 5 minutes, fry the parma ham and flaked almonds in a little oil until crispy and golden and then drain on kitchen paper.
  9. Now stir the melted cheese and butter evenly through the rested risotto and add the rocket and mint and stir to wilt down in the residual heat. If it thickens, add a splash of stock again to get a loose oozing consistency.
  10. To serve, pour a generous portion into a warmed bowl. Top with a few whole peas, the crispy parma ham and toasted flaked almonds and a few teaspoons of creme fraiche if you like!

For tips on the perfect risotto or more definitive measurements, see here.

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Pulled Barbeque Pork with Spicy Slaw and Flatbread

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Pulled Barbeque Pork with Spicy Slaw and Flatbread

I never thought clearing out my university fridge and freezer before the end of term could be so delicious. With the ever amazing help of Jamie Oliver’s barbeque sauce (see here), this slow cooked pulled pork shoulder was a greasily delicious end to a tiring term and brought a stomachful of summer hope to a cold March that has well and truly outstayed its welcome. A crunchy homemade coleslaw is a great and simple side without the sickly addition of buckets of mayo you often find your ‘healthy’ cabbage swimming in in the supermarket. Wrapped protectively in a snug wholemeal flatbread…….if only my dissertation had been on food….

  • 500g pork shoulder
  • 1 quantity of marinade (recipe here)
  • 2 carrots
  • 1 parsnip
  • 3 small raw beetroot
  • 500g yoghurt
  • 1 lime
  • 5 spring onions, finely chopped
  • 1 heaped tsp of the following mix of ground spices (toast 1tsp of each fennel, cumin, coriander and fenugreek seed with 1 cinnamon stick, 3 cardamon pods and 1 star anise in a dry frying pan until hot, fragrant and beginning to pop, remove and grind in a pestle and mortar until fine).
  • Bunch mint, chopped
  • Bunch coriander, chopped
  • Punnet of cress
  • 250g wholemeal flour
  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  1. Begin with the pork. Cover the pork in the marinade in a large heavy based casserole dish and leave in the fridge overnight to infuse the flavours. The next day, preheat the oven to 170.
  2. Place a lid on the dish and slowly cook for 3 hours, basting in the sauce about 3 times.
  3. Meanwhile, make the coleslaw. This is easiest shredded in a food processor with the appropriate blade attachment or you can grate by hand.Grate the carrot, parsnip and beetroot into a large dish
  4. Add the chopped herbs.
  5. Combine the zest of the lime and the juice to the yoghurt with some seasoning and a tbsp of mayonnaise and the spice mix to make the dressing.
  6. Only before serving, dress the coleslaw in the dressing and scatter over the cress.
  7. For the flatbreads, mix the flour, cumin seeds, oil and 150ml warm water in a bowl and mix to form a ball of dough. Divide into about 6 pieces and roll thinly into discs. Before serving, fry each for a few minutes each side in a really hot  dry frying pan until beginning to char and puff up. Keep warm wrapped in a teatowel while you fry them all and finish the pork.
  8. After 3 hours, the pork should be nicely cooked and tender. Remove from the oven, spoon off the liquid fat that has melted from the pork and discard, leaving the remaining marinade.
  9. Leave to rest for about 20 minutes. Then, cut off any of the skin and fat and discard. Next shred using a couple of forks and mix int he remaining marinade left in the dish.
  10. Serve with the coleslaw and flatbreads and come extra yoghurt if you like!

For some light amusement, here is a picture of the first cut of pork from our first attempt at keeping pigs last year. Yes they were accidently overfed….yes that is 50% fat to 50% meat….and yes the butcher could not make sausages with those pigs because they were so obese. We have since refined our animal handling and will be dining on a model piece of pork this Easter, thankfully for our arteries (and theirs…RIP).

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Butternut Muffins

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Butternut Muffins

 

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These little muffins are courtesy of Jamie Oliver from his ‘Jamie at Home’ cookbook. The book is one of my favourites and will always be sentimental to me as it was the first cookbook I ever received on my journey to foodie obsessive. I am always making the delicious recipes from the squash chapter and hadn’t made these in a while. I’d forgotten how deliciously moist they are, just like a quirky take on a carrot cake. With a dad who hates the addition of butternut squash in ANYTHING, a little white lie that these were in fact carrot cake muffins didn’t even muster a thimble of doubt…..

Makes 12

  • 400g butternut squash, roughly chopped
  • 350g light brown soft sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • 300g plain flour
  • 2 heaped tbsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 handful walnuts
  • 175ml olive oil
  • 200g cream cheese
  • 2 tbsp icing sugar
  • ½ lemon, juice
  • 1 vanilla pod, seeds scraped
  • Lavender to garnish (optional)
  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
  2. Add the butternut squash to a food processor and roughly chop.
  3. Add the eggs and sugar and a pinch of salt and blitz
  4. Sieve in the flour, cinnamon and baking powder followed by the oil and process to combine
  5. Add the walnuts and pulse to mix to make sure the nuts are kept chunky
  6. Generously fill the muffin cases with the mixture and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until cooked. Leave to cool
  7. Meanwhile, mix the cream cheese, icing sugar, lemon juice, a pinch of cinnamon and the seeds from the vanilla pod. Fill a piping bag with the mixture and chill until needed.
  8. When the cakes are cool ice with the cream cheese topping and scatter with a few lavender flowers.

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Apricot and Vanilla Pannacotta with Rosemary Shortbread

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Apricot and Vanilla Pannacotta with Rosemary Shortbread

 
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There’s something about using herbs like thyme and rosemary in sweet desserts which I always think feels really sophisticated. Getting the right balance is essential as an overpowering flavour such as rosemary, while forgivable with lamb, will not be so delicious if overused in a dessert. It goes so well with the sweet, juicy plump apricots here and I created this recipe after being inspired by an apricot bar by a company called Baked. However, this recipe is more suitable for a after dinner dessert!

Serves about 5

Apricot Jam

  • 200g dried apricots
  • 350ml water
  • 100g caster sugar
  • 60g honey
  • ½ vanilla pod, seeds scraped
  1. Combine the ingredients in a pan including the vanilla pod once the seeds have been removed.
  2. Simmer gently for about 40-45 minutes until the apricots are plump and soft. Remove the vanilla pod and discard
  3. Puree in a processor until you form a thick sticky jam. Store in a jar int he fridge and use for the pannacotta recipe or one croissants and toast!

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Pannacotta

  • 250ml double cream
  • 250ml whole milk
  • ½ vanilla pod, seeds scraped
  • 50g caster sugar
  • Splash vanilla extract (optional)
  • 2 ½ gelatine leaves
  • Aprioct jam
  1. Combine the cream, milk, sugar and vanilla in a pan and gently heat to dissolve the sugar.
  2. Soak the gelatine leaves in cold water until soft.
  3. Get ready 5 ramekins, wine glasses, shot glasses or tumblers or whatever you want to serve your pannacotta in. Fill the base with a thin layer of apricot puree and smooth out evenly. There will be more jam than needed but add as much as you like.
  4. Just before the cream mix begins to bubble, remove from the heat, and remove the vanilla pod. Squeeze out any excess water from the gelatine leaves and whisk into the hot cream.
  5. Begin gentle, pour over a generous layer of the cream mixture onto your apricot puree. Leave to cool before leaving to set in the fridge for at least 3 hours.

Serve with the rosemary biscuits and topped with some cinnamon sugared almond flakes if you like!

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Rosemary Shortbread

  • 125g butter
  • 175g flour
  • 50g caster sugar
  • ½- 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
  2. Rub the flour butter and sugar together or combine in a food processor until you just begin to get a dough
  3. Add the rosemary and continue to mix to form a dough.
  4. Cut into biscuits shapes and bake on a lined baking tray for about 10 minutes (depending on size) until just turning the palest of gold and they are still soft. Watch them carefully as they cook quickly.
  5. Leave to cool before removing from the tray.

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