New Beginnings

March. Our new favourite month in our wonderful new house. Did I say house? I meant home. It is already a home to all three of us. Only four boxes sit untouched in the study waiting to be unpacked. M has taken to the new house like a duck to water, which is just as well really, considering we are only a few minutes walk from the duckpond, her new favourite haunt.


Curtains are up, books are on their shelves and pictures hang proudly on the walls.
You know I'm not kidding when I confess that the kitchen was the first room to be unpacked. I've at last got an eye level oven with glass doors. But if anything I've been watching the contents of the oven more than ever. M likes to pull a chair through from the dining room and clamber up to watch me cook.


L is enjoying building fires on our new multifuel burner and sitting with his book in his chair. The cat has already found some spots warmed by sunbeams to spend her lazy afternoons.


We are all happy here.

Plenty of friends have appeared on our new front door, eager to see the house that almost got away from us. We are more than happy to show them around and this weekend, for anyone who popped over, a cup of tea and a slice of some Irish Tea Bread were included as post-tour refreshments.

Irish Tea Bread (adapted from Delia Smith's How to Cook Book One)

Ingredients
250g raisins
225g currants
225g sultanas
150g demerara sugar
100g soft light brown sugar
275g hot Lady Grey Tea made using two teabags
100g pecan nuts
1 large egg at room temperature, beaten with 2tbsp water
400g self raising flour
50g wholegrain spelt flour

Method
Begin this the evening before by placing all the fruits, including the candied peel, in a bowl, then dissolve the sugar in the hot tea, pour this over the fruits, cover the bowl and leave it overnight so the fruits become plump and juicy.
The next day, pre-heat the oven to gas mark 3, 325°F (170°C), then place the nuts on a baking sheet and pop them into the oven for 5 minutes (use a timer, as they burn easily). Then, when they're cool, roughly chop them.
Line two 1lb loaf tins with greaseproof paper.
Next, add the beaten egg mixture to the bowl containing the fruits.
Then sift in the flours, add the toasted nuts and give everything a really good mixing.
Now divide the mixture between the prepared loaf tins and bake them in the centre of the oven for 1¼-1½ hours, until they feel springy in the centre.
Then straight away, loosen them with a palette knife and turn them out on to a wire rack to cool. Then have patience – it won't be long before you can taste some.
This tea bread lasted four days and was brilliant spread with lots of unsalted butter.

The News We Have Waited Six Months For

Last Friday we found ourselves smiling, shouting and almost jumping for joy when our solicitor called and said "We've exchanged, you'll be moving next Monday!"

Overjoyed is not the word. This house sale has been six irritating months in the making and we have pestered those acting on our behalf, considered trashing the house for the next owners and almost cried ourselves to sleep when we discovered that yet another moving date was postponed because the other parties involved were not acting as fast as we would have liked.

We have entertained, lived and loved among these walls as much as we could.

We are moving from a Victorian terrace to a Victorian semi detatched cottage with the extra space we craved and a beautifully established garden. We are looking forward to a glut of eight types of summer and autumn fruits and long summer evenings spent amongst the fragrant herbs already established. We are so eager to get into the house that we have already done a lot of packing and are picturing where all the furniture will go. Little diagrams illustrating where all the kitchen equipment might go litter the dining table. We have chatted about paint to go on the walls and the possibility of a few changes to the house.

It has a new kitchen that is only slightly bigger than our current one but has a huge window and seems so light and airy. L has already started planning a house warming for once the boxes are unpacked.

There are some very busy and exciting times ahead for the three of us. We know it's going to be stressful and a bit mad for a couple of weeks, and so this will be my last post for a fortnight or so.

I'm busy trying to empty the freezer and found some puff pastry lurking at the back. All three of us seem to be tomato mad at the moment, so plenty of ripe ones had to match it somehow. A few days before I threw the words 'tarte tatin' into a conversation with L at the dinner table who confessed he'd never tried one. Okay, okay. I know this is not a traditional one with apples and a beautiful sticky caramel sauce oozing around them, but it's a start and L and M both loved it.

Tomato Tarte Tatin

Ingredients

500g ready-made puff pastry
40 cherry tomatoes

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

pinch sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

2 tsp runny honey

plain flour, for dusting

1 free-range egg, lightly beaten

small bunch fresh basil

2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

Method

Preheat the oven to gas mark 5.

Pack the tomatoes tightly into a 20cm/8in ovenproof frying pan or cake tin with the olive oil, salt and pepper and drizzle over the honey.

On a well-floured work surface, roll out a circle of puff pastry the same size as the top of the frying pan. Place the puff pastry over the tomatoes, tucking it around them so the tomatoes are encased.

Brush the top of the pastry with the lightly beaten egg.

Bake in the oven for 35 - 40 minutes, until the puff pastry is well puffed and golden brown. Remove from the oven and leave to sit for a few minutes, then carefully tip away the excess liquid and put a large plate upside down on top of the frying pan. Using oven gloves, press the plate down hard and then quickly flip the whole thing so the frying pan is upside down and the plate is on the bottom.

Remove the frying pan. Once the tart is cold, rip up some basil leaves and drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil. Add salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Bread for Life

Bread making seems to have become an unintentionally fulfilled new years resolution. I have made a variety at least once a week since 2011 began.

It's one of those things I always promise to make more but never seem to commit to properly. We eat so much bread, probably too much, but having it by the side of your plate at most meals to mop up sauces or salad dressings seems to be an integral part of the Italian side of the family.

Lately, we have had pizza (or course), three seed and oat soda bread, basic loafs and rolls. I ran out of yeast and flour within a few weeks and so enjoyed a little trip to the wholefoods shop to restock the cupboard with umpteen different varieties of flour and have my eye on a few more.
I am particularly itching to try Kamut flour, a wholegrain bread flour grown by the pharoahs of ancient Egypt, that is also great for making your own pasta. Being a bit of an ancient Egypt fanatic, to me there's something very magical in indulging in the same basic grain the great Kings once wore their teeth down on. I'd love to hear if anyone has used it before.
Kamut is a little pricey, so it will have to wait for another time. Wholegrain spelt flour however, seems to be very in vogue at the moment and is quite a bit cheaper too. I've used it with great success in sweet and savoury crumbles, pastry and cakes. For me though, bread is where it really seems to shine. It adds a nutty taste, even when, as below, a recipe doesn't use it as the main ingredient.

While I try to wean Leo on to brown bread, I use a 1:1 ratio of white bread flour to wholegrain spelt flour. He can tell by the doughs colour that I've been messing around with a recipe again (somehow a stray fennel, parsnip, jerusalem artichoke or swede often ends up in his meal, much to his disgust but he eats it anyway to set a good example for M and to make me happy), but this is one variation he seems to enjoy - especially with a good lump of creamy salted butter to pour all over it.
We ate these with a hot batch of homemade lemony chickpea burgers and all the trimmings. Delish!

Seeded Wholegrain Spelt Bread Rolls (makes 8)

Ingredients
1 7g sachet dried active yeast
300ml lukewarm water
1tbsp olive oil
250g strong white bread flour
250g wholegrain spelt flour
1tsp salt
100g mixed seeds

Method
Stir the packet of yeast into the warm water and leave for 10 minutes until the yeast is visibly foaming and creamy.
Measure out the flours and seeds and salt into a large mixing bowl and give it all a quick stir. 
When the yeast mixture is ready, pour it and the oil into the flours and stir to form a dough. 
When the dough has come together, gently knead by hand for 8 minutes, or for 4 minutes using the dough hook in a freestanding mixer. It is ready when it is silky smooth, elastic and bounces back when you push a finger into the dough.
Place in a large bowl, loosely cover with a teatowel and leave in a warm place for an hour or until doubled in size.
When risen, knock the air out of the dough and place on a well floured surface. Knead for another 2 minutes before dividing into 8 equal pieces.
Shape into balls and place on an oiled baking tray, closely together and leave for another half an hour to rise by the oven which you should at this point preheat to gas mark 5.
Place the slightly risen rolls in the oven for 25 - 30 minutes until they are browned, crispy and sound hollow when you tap the bottom of them.
As with all homemade bread, this is best served warm.

World Nutella Day 2011

A bowl of defrosting raspberries has been sitting in the fridge for two days now. L took them out by accident and I forgot to put them away again.

They look so beautiful sitting in all their crimson juices that I almost don't want to use them. Defrosted raspberries have the unfortunate luck of immediately losing all physical structure when you try to use them. No matter how gentle you are, they turn to mush.

It's been a funny little week to - we are tired even though we don't seem to have done anything and a busy night ahead means I know I want to eat them with minimal preparation involved.

In case you hadn't noticed, it's world Nutella day today. L is overjoyed that such a celebration exists and has been telling customers about it all week.

'Make sure to eat lots of Nutella on Saturday!', he has called after people leaving the restaurant. 

What better than stealing a bowl or two of the restaurants Nutella ice cream supply to devour the raspberries with? The mere thought of eating a pudding for once (it's been a few weeks since we ate more then fruit after a meal) restored my energy and I made a little framboise syrup and some oatbran florentines to accompany.

I love finding that all the ingredients I need are already in the cupboard. Do try the Florentines on their own one day too. I like mine slightly undercooked so they are chewy but L prefers them crispier and with a snap as you break them with your teeth.

Florentine Cookies (adapted from the Nestle website)

Ingredients
75g unsalted butter
80g oatbran
115g granulated sugar
40g plain flour
30ml agave nectar
30ml golden syrup
30ml whole milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt


Method
Preheat oven to gas mark 5. Prepare your baking sheet with silpat or parchment paper
Melt butter in a medium saucepan, then remove from the heat.

To the melted butter add oats, sugar, flour, agave nectar, golden syrup, milk, vanilla and salt. Mix well.
Drop a tablespoon full, three inches (75 mm) apart, onto your prepared baking sheet. Flatten slightly with the back of your tablespoon, or use a spatula. They mixture spreads a lot during cooking.

Bake in preheated oven for 6-8 minutes, until cookies are golden brown. Cool completely on the baking sheets. If you wish to neaten yours up like I did, after five minutes, press a cookie cutter firmly down into the florentines to neaten up the edges.

 

Framboise Raspberries

Ingredients
250g defrosted raspberries
1 tbsp sugar still in their storage bag
1 tbsp Framboise liqueur

Method
Carefully sieve the raspberries over a small saucepan so none of the juices are wasted. Don't try to squeeze them so they stay as intact as possible.
Remove the raspberries to a bowl.
Add the sugar and Framboise to the raspberry juice and bring to a rapid boil.
Simmer for about 4 minutes, stirring often, until reduced and syrupy. Set aside to cool.

Serve Nutella ice cream drizzled with the syrup and the raspberries, using the florentine as a spoon as and when necessary.

 

A Most Daunting Task

The January 2011 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Astheroshe of the blog accro. She chose to challenge everyone to make a Biscuit Joconde Imprime to wrap around an Entremets dessert.

After a lot of umming and ahhing, I finally decided that I would do this months challenge.

On paper, or screen I suppose, this was the most daunting of all the challenges I've been involved in.

A sponge with a pattern inside? How? What could I do? I settled for a simple pink diagonal line in the end. Not out of laziness (I know that other DBs have done some very intricate patterns.), but more so as to not detract from the eventual beauty of the completed dessert.

There was a lot of room for creativity with this task, both with flavours and design, so I decided on something I've been hankering after for weeks now - Isaphan - Pierre Herme's legendary combination of raspberry, rosewater and lychee.

I filled my joconde imprime with a raspberry-rosewater mousse topped with a lychee mousse.

I had been debating glazing the top too, when the decision was made for me by M.

'Mmmmmmmm.' she exclaimed as ''miss-perpetually-interested-in-the-contents-of-the-fridge'' stuck a finger into the Lychee layer. Although my attempts to re-smooth the layer were successful, the surface lost its shine and I was forced to attempt a Framboise gelee.

It worked.

It improved it.

Hurrah!

Thank you M; I will let you help me with the baking more often in future!

Isaphan Biscuit Joconde Imprime

Joconde Sponge

Ingredients
85g ground almonds

75g confectioners' (icing) sugar
 25g self raising flour
3 large eggs
3 large egg whites
10g white caster sugar
30g unsalted butter, melted

Method
In a clean mixing bowl whip the egg whites and white granulated sugar to firm, glossy peeks. Reserve in a separate clean bowl to use later.
Sift almond flour, confectioner’s sugar, cake flour. (This can be done into your dirty egg white bowl)
On medium speed, add the eggs a little at a time. Mix well after each addition. Mix until smooth and light. (If using a stand mixer use blade attachment. If hand held a whisk attachment is fine, or by hand. )
Fold in one third reserved whipped egg whites to almond mixture to lighten the batter. Fold in remaining whipped egg whites. Do not over mix.
Fold in melted butter.
Reserve batter to be used later.

Patterned Joconde-Décor Paste

Ingredients
50g unsalted butter, softened
50g icing sugar
50g egg whites
55g self raising flour
Christmas red food colouring gel
Method
Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy (use stand mixer with blade, hand held mixer, or by hand)
Gradually add egg whites. Beat continuously.
Fold in sifted flour.
Tint batter with coloring to desired color.


Preparing the Joconde - How to make the pattern:
Spread a thin even layer of décor paste approximately 1/4 inch (5 millimeter) thick onto silicone baking mat with a spatula, or flat knife. Place mat on an upside down baking sheet. The upside down sheet makes spreading easier with no lip from the pan.
Pattern the décor paste – Here is where you can be creative. Make horizontal /vertical lines (you can use a knife, spatula, cake/pastry comb). Squiggles with your fingers, zig zags, wood grains. Be creative whatever you have at home to make a design can be used.
OR use a piping bag. Pipe letters, or polka dots, or a piped design. If you do not have a piping bag. Fill a ziplock bag and snip off corner for a homemade version of one.
Slide the baking sheet with paste into the freezer. Freeze hard. Approx 15 minutes.
Remove from freezer. Quickly pour the Joconde batter over the design. Spread evenly to completely cover the pattern of the Décor paste.
Bake at gas mark 7 until the joconde bounces back when slightly pressed, approx. 10 minutes. You can bake it as is on the upside down pan. Yes, it is a very quick bake, so watch carefully.



Cool. Do not leave too long, or you will have difficulty removing it from mat.

Flip cooled cake on to a powdered sugared parchment paper. Remove silpat. Cake should be right side up, and pattern showing! (The powdered sugar helps the cake from sticking when cutting.)

Preparing the MOULD for entremets:
Start with a large piece of parchment paper laid on a very flat baking sheet. Then a large piece of cling wrap over the parchment paper. Place a spring form pan ring, with the base removed, over the cling wrap and pull the cling wrap tightly up on the outside of the mold. Line the inside of the ring with a curled piece of parchment paper overlapping top edge by ½ inch. CUT the parchment paper to the TOP OF THE MOLD. It will be easier to smooth the top of the cake.

Preparing the Joconde for Molding:
This is a very good demo of the joconde and filling the entremets:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ca4eLDok-4Q

Trim the cake of any dark crispy edges. Decide how thick you want your “Joconde wrapper”. Traditionally, it is ½ the height of your mold. This is done so more layers of the plated dessert can be shown. However, you can make it the full height.


Once your height is measured, then you can cut the cake into equal strips, of height and length. (Use a very sharp paring knife and ruler.)

Make sure your strips are cut cleanly and ends are cut perfectly straight. Press the cake strips inside of the mold, decorative side facing out. Once wrapped inside the mold, overlap your ends slightly. You want your Joconde to fit very tightly pressed up to the sides of the mold. Then gently push and press the ends to meet together to make a seamless cake. The cake is very flexible so you can push it into place. You can use more than one piece to “wrap “your mold, if one cut piece is not long enough.

The mould is done, and ready to fill.

Raspberry-Rosewater Mousse

Ingredients
200g raspberry puree
200ml double cream
2 1/2 gelatine sheets
50g granulated sugar
2tbsp rosewater

Method

Soak gelatin sheets in cold water until they are soft.
Put the fruit puree, granulated sugar and rosewater into the pan. Cook until it boils and set aside.
Add the gelatin sheets into the pan, mix well and transfer to another bowl. Leave to cool for 10 minutes.
Whip the cream until soft peaks form.
Gently fold in the fruit puree mixture until well combined.
Pour into the mould so it comes halfway up and put it in the fridge at least for 3 hours to set.
Lychee Mousse
Ingredients
150g fresh lychees, peeled and stoned
200ml fresh cream
50g granulated sugar
2 1/2 gelatine sheets

Method
Soak gelatin sheets in cold water until they are soft.
Put the fruit puree and granulated sugar into the pan. Cook until it boils and set aside.
Add the gelatin sheets into the pan, mix well and transfer to another bowl. Leave to cool for 10 minutes.
Whip the cream until soft peaks form.
Gently fold in the fruit puree mixture until well combined.
Pour into the mould so it comes halfway up and put it in the fridge at least for 3 hours to set.
Framboise Gelee

Ingredients
1tbsp framboise liqueur
1tbsp water
1tbsp caster sugar
1tbsp glucose syrup
1/2 sheet leaf gelatine


Method
Place the sheet of gelatine in a bowl of cold water for five minutes to soften.
Place all of the above ingredients into a small saucepan and heat gently to dissolve the sugar. Add a little red food colouring if you're bot happy with the colour of the gelee.
Remove from the heat and stir in the gelatine leaf to dissolve it.
Leave to cool for ten minutes without settling and finally pour onto the top of the mousse. Return the dessert to the fridge for two hours until the gelee has set.

 

New Series : Italian Classics

I'm sure it's been done before, but there's no harm in my posting a mini series about the Italian classics. It is after all my forte, my work and after all these years still the most fascinating cuisine for me.

Time and time again, you can find me in the restaurant kitchen at the end of the night with my Italian food dictionary out. I scribble away as ideas leap out of the pages and images of Italy are evoked by the sensory descriptions of what each region does with their ingredients. I long for the different foods to be in season and in front of me at that very moment so that I might recreate some of my visions.

This week I've been thinking about what to grow in the restaurant courtyard garden and in a few months time, maybe I'll have some of these lovely ingredients to play around with at last.

It seems fitting that the for the first installment, I present a Saltimbocca recipe. It is the only recipe in Italy that is made the same up and down the country. In 1962, deep in the heart of Venice, it became the only main course recipe in Italian cuisine whose recipe has been officially approved and laid down. So no changes okay!

Saltimbocca alla Romana is traditionally made with veal escalopes. For want of a good rose veal supplier in Hereford, we use chicken and it works very well indeed. So if like us, you decide to make your Saltimbocca with a different meat, I'll understand and won't rush to report you to the Italian food police!

Saltimbocca (serves 1)

Ingredients

1 thick slice of Parma ham, cut in half

1 free range chicken breast

4 fresh sage leaves

1tbsp vegetable oil

50g butter

100ml white wine

lightly seasoned flour for dusting the meat

Method

On a clean board use a large knife to cut the chicken breast in half horizontally.

Place the fresh sage leaves on top of the two halves, followed by the Parma ham.

Use a cocktail stick to fasten the ham to the chicken.

Dust in the seasoned flour.

Heat the oil in a frying pan and cook both sides of the chicken over a medium heat until golden and the Parma ham has begun to crisp.

Pour the wine over, being careful of a stray flame leaping up if you're cooking on gas, and simmer the chicken for a few minutes each side to cook through.

 Check that the chicken has cooked before turning the heat up to high and letting the sauce reduce and thicken.

Serve immediately with your choice of vegetables and potatoes or even polenta to help mop up the rich, flavoursome sauce.

Happy New Year!

How late am I at saying that? I really hope you all enjoyed a very happy Christmas and New Year.

We certainly did. A family filled Christmas and a whole six days off in the new year. I feel very rested and ready to get stuck back into juggling family life, work and of course this little blog.

I've not stopped cooking of course; there are still hungry mouths in the house, but things have toned down after the excesses of the season.

Simple soups, fresh bread, crisp winter salads and lots of bean based recipes have graced our table lately. And pasta of course. Not a week goes by where we don't have pasta at least once.

Amongst the wonderful gifts I received over the holidays was a recipe book by the people at 'Seeds of Italy'. My habit of turning down pages long over, I have been furiously ripping up scraps of paper and putting them inbetween the pages of recipes I'd like to try. Of course, this prompted M to rip up some paper of her own and leave it all over the floor for us to pick up.

This is not the first time we have found her immitating a paper shredder - indeed, we have lost three pages to some of her favourite and most worn books; and while we wait for her to lose interest in her new hobby, those books and our most prized works, sit as high out of reach as possible, only coming down during naptime or to be used in the kitchen, like this recipe below:

Torta di Spinach

Ingredients

500g puff pastry

3 or 4 handfuls fresh spinach, washed

2 tbsp olive oil

1 large onion

3 cloves garlic

25g parmesan

3 large eggs

salt and pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to gas mark 4 and grease a loose-bottomed flan tin with a little oil.

In a small pan, gently wilt the spinch with a little water.

When cooked, strain and push as much of the water out of the spinach before setting aside.

In a frying pan, heat the oil over a medium heat. Roughly chop the onion and cook for 4 minutes until they begin to become see through. Crush the garlic over the pan and fry for another minute. Turn off the heat and stir in the spinach, parmesan and season to taste.

Push the spinach mixture into the pastry case and gently pull the sides up around to seal the filling in.

Beat the eggs in a medium sized bowl with a little salt and pepper and pour them over the spinach.

Use a pastry brush to drag some of the beaten egg over the pastry to glaze.

Bake for 40minutes until the egg is cooked and golden and the pastry flaking.

Serve hot or cold with a crisp green salad and a lemony dressing.

Roll out the puff pastry on a floured surface to 4mm thick.

Carefully transfer to the flan tin using the rolling pin and push in.

Trim the pastry so 3cm are over hanging the edge of the tin.