My current favourite loaf recipe right now is from Thermomix. This recipe has a hefty hydration level of 76%. You can make this manually or, as I prefer to these days, let Thermomix take the strain, allow a consistent temperature prove and keeps your hands clean.
My Favourite Loaf Right Now - from Thermomix
Source
550g water
720g strong bread flour, plus extra for dusting
1 sachet 7g instant yeast or 10g fresh yeast
10g salt
Action
Combine flour and water together in a bowl into a rough dough. Cover and leave to autolyse 20-60 minutes, depending on your schedule.
Add salt and yeast and knead to combine, until dough is smooth and stretchy. If kneading manually, use a wet hand to avoid getting sticky. If using a stand mixer, allow for up to six minutes on medium speed. And if using your Thermomix, this is the one.
Return the dough to the bowl, cover with a clean tea towel and allow to bulk prove for up to two hours, until the dough has doubled in size.
Towards the end of this time, preheat your oven and lidded pot to 250c
When the dough is ready and your oven is hot, flour your work surface and tip out the dough. Gently coax it into a boule, and transfer it into your hot, lidded pot. Clamp on the lid and bake for up to 45-50 minutes.
Allow to cool.
]]>This Membrillo takes 2-4 weeks to mature.
Source
1 kg apples
1 kg caster sugar
Juice 2 lemons
15cm dish to set the Membrillo, lined with baking parchment
Action
Peel, core and slice the apples and place in a large, heavy pot with 100g water over a medium heat. Allow to cook down for 30 minutes until soft. Keep an eye on the pot to make sure the apples don’t catch with a low heat and stirring now and again.
Mash the apples through and weigh them. Add the same amount of sugar back into the pot, along with the apples and lemon juice.
Simmer super low for another 60 minutes – the mix will thicken, darken and reduce and keep an eye once again to make sure the paste doesn’t’ catch.
To check is the Membrillo is ready, run a wooden spoon through the mixture. If the paste is ready, the wooden spoon will leave a trail.
Line a small dish with baking paper, allowing for plenty of overlap up the sides. Pour in the paste and wrap tightly with a tea towel. Leave to set in a cool dark place and allow to mature for 2-4 weeks. The Membrillo will keep for up to 12 months.
]]>Source
Half a red or white cabbage
4 carrots, grated
2 tbsp raisins
2 spring onions, finely chopped
Fresh dill, leaves picked – or any other leaf herb of choice
A handful of walnuts or pecans
A handful of radish, finely sliced
Action
Combine prepared ingredients all together in a large metal bowl and store in refrigerator for up to three days. Dress in portions as required.
]]>Source
300g mixed seeds, (linseed, sunflower & sesame are the most economical right now)
150g dried fruit, (snipped with kitchen scissors into same size chunks – so if you use apricots or dried cherries, be sure to snip them into roughly raisin size for ease of mixing)
1 tbsp ground ginger
300g oats
50g cocoa nibs
40g honey
150g light brown sugar
150g butter
Pinch of salt
Action
Set your oven to 180c and grease & line a baking tray, 26cm x 39cm
In a large pan, melt the butter, sugar and honey together over a low heat.
Meanwhile, toast the seeds over a medium heat in a large frying pan until they begin to brown – this brings out the best of their flavour, and set to one side
Combine the remaining dry ingredients into a large bowl and add the toasted seeds.
Once the butter, sugar and honey has melted, pour over the dry ingredients and combine well until every last oat flake is covered.
Tip into your prepared tray and smooth over to equally distribute.
Bake for 30 minutes, turning the tray once, half way through.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool. After ten minutes or so, score into portions – this is so much easier to do whilst the bake is still soft. Allow to cool completely before decanting from the tray.
]]>I took a breath.
It's super exciting times for business and kindness, not least as championed by Mary Portas, whose work I first fell in love with thru her publication of Work Like A Woman. The kindness economy is definitely a value at the forefront of Bird and I'm inspired to both run a good business and put good out into the world.
Makes four small tortes
Source
Base
125g nuts
½ tsp salt
100g dates, pitted
Filling
1 avocado
38g coconut oil, melted
1 vanilla pod
50 cocoa
Pinch of salt
75g Agave syrup
Action
Line large muffin tins with 4 cases
Ensure your dates are pitted, snip with scissors
Whizz dates, salt and nuts together, add a drop of water to make a soft ‘dough’
Press half of the quantity into the four liners as bases for the torte and place in the fridge to set.
Use remainder to make energy balls and place in mini paper cases. (Alternatively make double quantity of the filling and line an additional four muffin cases. This torte freezes well.)
Filling: Peel avocado
Weigh the oil and the Agave syrup together
Cut and deseed vanilla pod x1
Weigh cocoa and add a pinch of salt
Place all the ingredients together into a food processor and blitz until smooth
Retrieve bases from fridge
Pipe filling into your chilled cases and return to the fridge for an hour to set.
]]>
How would you describe your work in food?
That’s a great question as I am currently in the process of addressing my professional identity.
I feel that I am still bound by an outdated notion that you have to be just one thing in your professional life but I am definitely not that, and am very much drawn to the idea of a modern Renaissance woman that’s been on the surge for a while now especially in the food world.
While my background is in film history and also cultural events production, four years ago I decided to change my career. So now I run a supper club, called KinoVino. I also offer catering and event planning services, and am a food writer and author of a cookbook called Salt and Time: Recipes from a Russian Kitchen.
Why do you love to cook?
Oh so many reasons.
Cooking is my therapy: it makes me feel present and relaxed, as well as creative and in control of what I am doing. It’s also a wonderful feeling being able to satisfy your own culinary desires as well as those of others.
And of course, there is also the joy of sharing a meal together with others.
What are your top tips for running a supper club?
Have a look at what’s out there and be very clear on how your offering is different and why you want to do it.
Decide if you are in it for long term or not - there are so many lovely supper clubs that spring up but only last a few months as perhaps they don’t have a clear enough identity.
Find a great venue and an even better team whom you can trust.
Find an element of your event that’s always changing - the way KinoVino has a new theme each time while the format remains the same. This way people can (technically) come to all of them and still get a new experience.
What do you love about your Robyn apron?
It’s so light and elegant. It blends in well with what I wear, and has great pockets!
Heck yeah.
And this one's made with chocolate & cherry
Source
200g butter, (I use NutriBlock cos I'm dairy free)
275g golden syrup
450g oats, jumbo are more toothsome
150g dried cherries, (not glace..)
100g dark chocolate, cut into rough chunks
30g cocoa
1/2 tsp aniseeds
pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla paste
Action
Grab your Bird apron and preheat your oven to 170c. Line a standard size brownie tin with parchment paper.
Over a medium heat, melt the butter, vanilla paste, salt, aniseed & syrup together in a large pan.
Combine the remaining dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Snip the cherries if you wish.
Add the dry ingredients to the butter mix and stir really well to combine - ensure every last oat flake is coated.
Tip the dough into your prepared tin and smooth into the edges. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes until firm - I like to cover the tin with a sheet of bako-glide, (or foil or parchment) to prevent the surface dried fruit from scorching.
Allow to cool in the tin before digging in.
]]>I first met Claire in a drafty Dorset country house, at which I’d arrived late for a weekend conference. Seeing no means of easily breaching the heavily fastened front door, I stuck my head through an open window into the ground floor kitchen. There at the hob and looking at me curiously stood Claire, stirring the pots as she catered for her household of food writers. “Can I help you?” she asked. As I explained my predicament, she ushered me into the lounge. “Everyone wants to visit the kitchen,” sighed Claire and I thought, isn’t that just so true in life? The kitchen is where the action happens – bustling, creative and full of life, much like Claire herself.
Claire has managed to combine her love of cooking with both writing and parenthood and at one point with a young family of three all under the age of eight years.
Born in Africa, Claire arrived in London as a young child. She describes how she began cooking for her family when she was just nine years old and has never really stopped. With a background in food spanning two continents, it is easy to see where her eclectic love of food comes from.
Claire’s keen to rewrite our cookery books. Think spaghetti bolognaise but made with a lamb ragu, green lentils and nduja sausage. “I want to offer this generation a new arsenal of recipes that they can call their own,” says Claire, “I take an interesting ingredient such as miso paste and use it as a star turn in a simple recipe.”
When we catch up, Claire is at a cafe in London, celebrating the launch of her latest cookery book with her pencil primed for a day ahead of book signing. Marking her fourth publication, clearly her ambitions are well in their stride.
‘If you want to cook well, read well.’
Like many women in food, Claire came to her trade later in life, initially graduating with a degree in journalism. A trip to Australia during her early twenties ignited a desire to cook for a living, “I caught the cooking bug in Sydney,” says Claire, “And when I returned home, I spent most of my twenties cooking in restaurants.” Claire’s career at the stove face culminated in co-founding Flinty Red, a restaurant in Bristol which she ran with her husband for seven years. Unfazed by the demands of the job, Claire says, “I loved the machismo of working long hours and I thrived on having double shifts in a row.” Claire drew inspiration from her time working for Barny Haughton in Bristol at Quartier Vert, “I remember Barny saying to me, ‘if you want to cook well, you must read well,’ so I immersed myself in reading the greats, like Jane Grigson, Elizabeth David and Simon Hopkinson.”
Claire’s launch into writing cookery books came with the onset of parenthood and the daily routine of cooking for her young family. “I began tweeting each day at 5pm to describe what I was cooking for my family and became known as The Five O’ Clock Apron,” says Claire. Championing the importance of families eating together, Claire showcased tasty, nutritious food enjoyed by both children and adults alike, “I like to cook with affection and an eye for sustenance” says Claire. From the tweet came a blog which eventually led to a book deal. “My first book was written in cafes,” laughs Claire, “I’d be breastfeeding whilst typing one-handed.”
Summing up her ethos, Claire says, “I write realistic recipes for family food so that people are encouraged to get back to basics and up their culinary game. The term ‘foodie’ has such negative connotations here in the UK. I feel we fetishize food too much and need to be more practical about it.” Not long back from a trip to Africa, Claire describes the experience of cooking for 160 children at a small school in Kenya, “The children all lined up, ate the same food and washed their dishes afterwards. In so many ways, we’re spoilt for choice here at home and are creating fussy kids.”
“Work hard and you’ll be unstoppable”
For those keen to get on board and embark on a career in food, Claire says, “Get involved on the front line of food and find a job in a restaurant. Cookery school isn’t an essential, instead learn from other chefs and be around creative and hardworking people. There is a restaurant crisis in the UK at the moment and employers are crying out for good people who want to learn. Be that person. Work hard and you’ll be unstoppable.”
Shop Claire’s Home Cookery Year cook book here and the Robyn apron here
]]>Vegan, gluten free and delicious.
Source
35g gram flour
25g ground flax seeds
150g mixed seeds (I used pumpkin, linseed & sunflower)
20g poppy seeds
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
Salt to taste
30g olive oil
150g hot water
Sheet of nori seas weed, finely shredded
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp cumin
½ tsp chipotle chilli flakes - tasty but optional
Action
Set your oven to 160c
Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl, using a hand held whisk to remove any clumps from the gram flour.
Add the hot water and olive oil and stir well to combine. Allow to stand for ten minutes or so, for the mix to cool and the linseed cohere.
Take two sheets of parchment, (or bako-glide), brush with oil. Dump half the dough into the centre of one of the sheets and place the other piece of parchment on top. See Bird IGTV for video steer. This technique makes it much easier to roll a sticky dough. Roll as flat as you can with a rolling pin and transfer to a baking sheet, removing the top parchment piece.
Repeat with fresh parchment and remaining dough.
Bake for 20 minutes or so, until crispy.
Cut to portion whilst still warm from the oven and allow to cool on a grid rack
]]>Makes a double layer 20cm cake.
Source
200g butter
150g sugar
4 eggs
100g gluten free self-raising flour
2 tbsp strong coffee
1 tsp baking powder, (most brands are gluten free as made with rice flour)
140g walnuts, toasted & ground
140g ground almonds
Action
Preheat the oven to 170c and line two 20cm round cake tins with baking parchment.
Using a stand mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until light and aerated – take your time with this and give it a good five minutes to really blend together.
Add the eggs one by one, alternating with a spoon of flour and beating in between.
Tip in the remaining flour, baking powder, walnuts and almonds and slowing combine. With the motor still running on slow, pour in the coffee and combine well.
Transfer equally between the two tins and bake for 20 minutes until centre feels springy to touch.
Allow to cool on a wire grid completely before frosting.
My daughter frosted our cake with a mix of 200g butter to 400g icing sugar. Add the icing sugar in two goes and beat really well – up to five minutes to really aerate – then drizzle in a tbsp or two of strong black coffee. Inspiration hit with the addition of raspberries between the sandwich and strawberries on top.
]]>Just over 2 years ago I had to move house with my 10 year old son. My landlord needed to sell our old house and I could only move what i could lift. I couldn't afford to hire a van so big things like my washing machine and wardrobes were left behind. With a new rental deposit, we were struggling. It ended up in me having to use the foodbank where I cried like a baby. A real low point.
I had given up my career in aerospace as an analytical chemist 9 years ago, never knowing my life would bring me to such a low point, I knew I had to do something to get us out of that situation, so I designed my first Scrubbie. Not only to get out of poverty, but also to create something that had an environmental impact while being affordable - two luxuries often denied to people in financial hardship.
When I left my aerospace job, I bought my first sewing machine and spent the next few years making patchwork blankets, pencil cases and purses. Nothing very innovative, just enough to pay the bills and allow us to spend our days outdoors, exploring nature. Anything beyond straight lines tests my sewing skills!
3. Who helps you make Scrubbies?
At the moment, just my mum. I couldn't have got this far without her. She cuts fabric for me and helps with sewing. I watched my mum work so hard all her life for little reward and I think helping me achieve some success helps her too.
It can be hard to quantify any level of success. For some, it's a big car and a nice house but when you've struggled your whole life, just overcoming the smallest of barriers represents success. I know, in my heart, that I have created a product that has a big impact on the environment. If a Scrubbie only lasts 3 months (and some of my have lasted over 12 months) then that's 6 plastic sponges not being used for every one.
For me, it's not just about our environment, it's about our communities too. I have helped create a community food cupboard, open to all, I work with the prison to help create more opportunities than I can write in a small space, my fabric designs are created by independent designers and I keep my prices as low as possible to support wholesale to other businesses. I will never be rich, that only makes an impact on my life......empowering others is the secret to making a sustainable impact.
So, I had to calculate this a few months back and it was at 60,000. I have no automated system to tell me. I write every wholesale order in a book. Let's go with 60,000 Scrubbies (30,000 sets). I am very tired!
Well, it's one thing to buy fabric and create Scrubbies but my most favourite fabric is Bird Kitchen Clothing offcuts. I can literally see where other garments have been cut out and realise why those offcuts are too small for production. I relish every Scrubbie I cut from that waste fabric because i know it's being used to not only create a plastic-free product, but also using up waste.
Next to my sink I have bulk washing up liquid, a solid dish-bar soap and a constant rotation of Scrubbies. No hiding here, I only use Scrubbies and haven't bought a plastic sponge since creating my first one (my first protoypes are actually still in circulation in my house....2 years on). My over-riding advice is : just leave it until morning!
Not exactly repeat, but if I ask my son what he wants he will always say pasta, bacon and cheese. I may not do many things right in life, but I do make a mean cheese sauce from scratch. Flour and butter, slow addition of milk then enough cheese to feed a rugby team!
I chose to plant a tree with every purchase. Those trees cost £1 each, mainly because they are in developing countries (Madagascar, Haiti and Kenya), where the cost of producing seedlings is much lower. But they are on the front line of climate change, which is why it's important to me to support them.
Once I clawed my way out of poverty and found a safe place, I realised that I'd created something bigger than myself. This realisation came from conversations with other business owners who saw their own goals in what i was doing. The biggest, for me, has been the collaboration with Bird Kitchen Clothing and Vicky who runs it. Two businesses coming from different start points yet colliding in the online world through a need to impact the planet and everyone who lives here. Customers see an end product but behind the scenes we have big ethical and environmental magnets drawing us together, And that's what's happened here. A small, ethical company bumped into another and great things emerged. Bring it on BKC, you are amazing :)
]]>
Dressing the cookies with sesame seeds is practical as well as pretty – if folk have a seed allergy, they’ll see sesame straight away and will know to give it a steer.
Delicious, super easy, just get to it.
Note! The dough needs a good few hours to chill before baking.
Source
180g tahini
165g unsalted butter
170g soft brown sugar
½ tsp vanilla bean paste
270g gluten free flour, (I used self raising for a lighter crumb)
75g cornflour
Scant ½ tsp very finely chopped rosemary
100g dark chocolate, chopped chunky
A little salt to season
Sesame seeds to dress
Action
Blitz the ingredients – bar the chopped chocolate chunks – in a food fixer. Tip into a bowl and work the chocolate through briefly to evenly distribute.
Transfer the dough into a large plastic bag and shape into a cylinder. Roll gently on your table top to get an even finish and uniform log. Go long for smaller cookies, go squat for larger.
Transfer dough, still in the bag, into your fridge to chill for at least a few hours.
When you’re ready to bake, set the oven to 180c and line a cookie tray with parchment.
Scatter sesame seeds onto a small tray. Remove the cookie dough from the plastic bag and gently roll over the seeds to coat.
Cut slices of dough, roughly coin thickness and bake for 12-15 minutes, depending on the size of your cookies, until crisp.
When baked, allow to set for five minutes on the baking sheet. Then, transfer onto to a cooling grid. The cookies will firm up as they cool and become much easier to handle.
]]>And walking home, ideas came thick and fast for my wealth of berries that needed eating up.
Resulting in this.
A good meringue has long eluded me. Always, they weep. Could this be the day? I’d recently seen a recipe that cut the caster sugar with powdered – this made sense to me as a good meringue is all about the timely absorption of sugar. Too often, I rush.
So once in the house, I dumped my basket and pulled out the mixer.
Here is the result. And the lemon curd? A thrifty use of egg yolks and ginger to double zing.
Source
4 large egg whites
115g caster sugar
115g icing sugar
Pinch of salt
*
Juice of two lemons
100g caster sugar
50g butter
4 large egg yolks
A thumb of fresh ginger, grated super fine
*
Double cream & a ton of strawberries to serve
Oven 100c fan, 1-2 lined baking trays.
Action
First, the meringue. Using a stand mixer, beat the egg whites with a small pinch of salt to help the proteins break down. Beat until standing in stiff peaks and then slowly – slowly – add the caster sugar, 1 tbsp at a time, beating a few turns in between to ensure absorbed in.
Add the icing sugar in thirds, through a sieve and gently fold in to combine.
Your mix will be looking thick, smooth and glossy. Drop scoop into portions on a lined tray and bake for up to 1 ½ hours, until crisp.
Whilst the meringues are baking and once you’ve had a cup of tea, make the curd.
Simply place the lemon juice, sugar and butter in a small pan over a low heat. Once the butter has melted, add the yolks and ginger and stir well to break the yolks.
Gently cook over a low to medium heat for up to ten minutes, (too hot - the eggs will scramble, too low – the curd won’t cook) and stir, stir, stir. Once the curd has thickened up, remove from the heat and pour into a clean jar.
When the meringues are cooled, serve with the curd, as many fresh strawberries as you can muster and softly whipped double cream.
]]>Enter the chia. I’ve only just discovered this outstanding seed but now that I have, it’s a firm morning staple.
Key is soaking time – 20 minutes at a push, overnight if you’re organised.
Here’s how I had mine this week:
Source
1 eating apple, grated
A generous chunk of fresh ginger, grated
A handful of toasted pumpkin seeds
2 tbsp chia seeds
Several slices of fresh melon, cubed
Juice of a lime
A few cashew nuts or pecan
Action
Combine and leave to soak. Eat with relish and focus on your day.
]]>Action
Reduce the onion over a medium heat in a large, lidded pot.
To boot, this is a vegan formula which, in these heady dairy-free days of mine, suits me just fine. The original recipe came via Meera Sodha, whose food writing never fails to inspire and inform. I’ve tinkered just a little and thoroughly recommend this, if only as a technique to nail your vegan pastry.
The tartlets are made in stages – pastry, rest, blind bake and complete – so maybe one to build around an afternoon in the kitchen.
Raspberry & Rhubarb Tartlets
Makes 7 x 10cm tartlets
Source
For the pastry:
250g plain four
105g rapeseed oil
40g caster sugar
45g iced water
Pinch of salt
For the filling:
105g rapeseed oil
125g caster sugar
50g cornflour
240g ground almonds
60g plant milk
1 tsp almond essence
1 tsp baking powder
Raspberries to scatter
Action
Simply combine the pastry ingredients in a large bowl and knead for a minute or two until smooth. This is a rich pastry and doesn’t bind in the same way a regular pastry does. Bear with and check out my video here for roll out technique. Chill for half an hour to rest the pastry.
Meanwhile, ‘butter’ (I use Vegan Bloc) & flour your tartlet cases. Set your oven to 200c.
When rested, divide the pastry into equal portions and press into the tartlet cases to line. Bake for 20 minutes or so, until crisp and golden.
Meanwhile, combine the filling ingredients into a stiff paste, holding back the raspberries and rhubarb compote.
Once the tart cases are baked, allow to cool for ten minutes.
Spread the rhubarb compote generously over each base, top with filling paste and finally, finish with a good show of fresh raspberries.
Bake for 30 minutes or so, until golden. Allow to cool completely before tucking in.
]]>
This aubergine jar fits the bill. I discovered it years ago whilst on a baking workshop with Richard Bertinet in Bath. We had a wealth of salads for lunch with, of course, the best bread and this aubergine jar was a dip I just couldn’t get enough of. I seem to remember a second jar being cracked open, it was that good..
Source
3 aubergines
3 cloves of garlic
Fresh thyme leaves
Olive oil
1 shallot, finely chopped
2 tbsp pine nuts
Juice of ½ a lemon, to taste
Extra Virgin olive oil
Sea salt to season
Action
Heat your oven to 220c and line a large baking tray.
Slice the aubergines length wise and make crosshatch cuts across the surface area.
Slice the garlic cloves in half and rub over the prepared aubergines, to impart flavour. As the clove breaks in your fingers, stuff it into the crosshatches, so that it will roast and melt in as the aubergine cooks.
Dress with a good amount of olive oil, season with salt and fleck with thyme leaves to taste. Roast the aubergines for 40-50 minutes until soft and charred. Set aside to cool.
As the aubergines are cooling, gently sauté the pine nuts and shallot for a few minutes until the shallots are soft. Remove from heat and scrape the flesh of the aubergine, garlic and all, into the pan. Give it a good mix and return to a medium heat for a few minutes to bring everything together, stirring all the while.
Remove from heat, taste and season with salt and lemon juice. Add a little olive oil to loosen the mix and flavour but do keep a light hand as olive oil can be super rich with aubergine.
When cool, pot in a lidded glass jar and cover surface with a slosh of olive oil to seal. Store chilled for up to five days.
]]>I came across these crackers six years ago on a visit to Ottolenghis’ Soho store. They were wrapped in clear cello, tied with a ribbon and I’d never seen anything like them before. They reminded me of Millionaires Shortbread – you know, those fudgy chocolate shortbread bars – but somehow seemed more elegant and less trashy. I brought a pack home and tried my best to make them last as I figured out the base. Not being a matzoh eater, my closest reference was a cream cracker and that didn’t seem right.
And then, just last month, the mystery was solved. Baker & cook book author, Helen Goh posted her version of these on the Gram and referenced the original recipe, ‘Marcy Goldman’s Caramel Matzoh Crunch.’
I was on a roll.
“Is this like the Ottolenghi one?” I asked Helen, aware that Helen had written Sweet with Ottolenghi, “I could never divine the base.” Helen’s replied, “Ah yes! The base for the Ottolenghi version is a house-made cracker whereas this is matzoh from a box. But the method is the same”
So I cranked up my Kitchen Aid and in true Ottonlenghi style, made the base from scratch, (see previous Birdfeed recipe for Matzoh Crackers.). And with fond memories still of that original Soho trip, I added candied hazelnuts to Marcy’s recipe, to simply gild the lily.
Note. I used Vegan Block in lieu of butter and it worked just fine, so if you choose your chocolate with care as well, these crackers can also be suitable for vegans.
Source
4-6 matzoh crackers
230g butter
215g soft brown sugar
Pinch of salt
200g dark chocolate, finely chopped
For the hazelnut brittle,
100g caster sugar
100g hazelnuts, toasted & split
Action
First, make your hazelnut brittle. Simply heat the caster sugar in a non-stick pan until it becomes a dark, caramel syrup. Add a pinch of salt and quickly tip in the nuts, swirling around the pan to fully cover. Rapidly but with care, pour the mix onto a silicon lined baking sheet to set. When cold, chop into nutty chunks.
Lay the crackers onto several lined baking sheets.
Over a medium heat and in a heavy bottomed pan, bring the brown sugar and butter to the boil and allow to boil for three minutes, stirring all the while. Carefully, as the mixture is super hot, pour over the matzoh crackers to cover completely.
Allow the caramel to set and firm up.
Melt the chocolate and cover the caramel dressed crackers.
Dress with the chopped or blitzed nut brittle.
Allow to cool completely, ideally in the fridge.
]]>I plumped for this dish as the starting point for my odyssey as I cook my way through the full 150 recipes. Why FFB? Well, it’the popular choice when Cook, Eat, Repeat comes up in conversation. “I’ve been cooking the fish finger recipe on repeat,” says my Cardigan pal, Clare. Daniel, a friend from my food writing circle, also gave the dish a heads up. And it looks such a pretty dish.
What could possibly go wrong?
Well, there is a golden rule in cooking and this dish serves as a timely reminder. Your plate will only ever be as good as your ingredients. And truth is, I don’t actually like fish fingers. They’re way too processed for my taste. Unless I’ve crumbed the thing myself - and I’m not averse to Panko - breaded ingredients have no place in my kitchen. A sentiment echoed by my pal, Zoe, “I’m currently building up to buying frozen fish fingers, “ she says, “Nigella even specifies it must be the bright orange coated, thin ones, not Tesco’s Finest.”
Regardless, I got stuck in. Such a pretty dish.
Let's look to the positives. It’s a quick dish to table – my kids were fed in less than half an hour. I learnt about Bhorta and I’m always encouraged by a recipe that embraces chilli, garlic and ginger.
I prepared the red onions first thing in the morning. As I steeped them in red vinegar, I felt wholly proud of myself to have a supper in hand before even my morning coffee. I was cheered to see the inclusion of green veg. Always a good sign, I thought.
When we sat down to eat - my first forkful – surprised me. It tasted good. It was a new set of flavours on me and not something I was expecting. Tentatively, I moved on to the fish fingers. Okay, I thought, not so bad. But once the fish fingers lost their heat, it was like the clock striking midnight and the coach & horses reverting to pumpkin and mice. Because in truth, you simply can't disguise junk food. Whilst it can behold a momentary glamour, all too soon the illusion passes. And one is filled with only regret and a heavy tum.
So – all in – I loved the bhorta side of things and would happily sub those darn fish fingers for prawns or maybe chickpeas. I’ve had the pleasure of Nigella’s writing, of imagining her concocting this dish and tucking in – with possibly more gusto than I - a companionable thought nonetheless.
I had a brief moment, as my daughter pushed those cold breaded cuboids sadly around her plate, when I felt despair – what have I signed up for? But that soon passed as I flipped reassuringly through the recipes. This is a journey to push me out of my comfort zone and to eat at Nigella’s table. Who could turn down such an offer? And did I mention how pretty it is?
]]>Living rurally, a trip to the shops to source specific crackers isn’t always the quick option. So imagine my joy to discover the simplicity of ingredients and yet another use for my pasta roller.
Not only are these crackers a tasty accompaniment for lunch, they will also make a great centre piece to place upon your table.
You’ll need a pasta roller & bake stone - although a lined baking sheet will do just fine.
Makes approx 16 large crackers
Source
270g plain flour
1 tsp of salt
15g olive oil
120g warm water
Action
Combine the flour, salt and oil with 90g of the water in a large bowl. Using your hand like a ‘claw’ roughly bring the dough together. It will be very dry. Add the remaining water and work into a smooth dough. Avoid the temptation to add additional water as you don’t want the dough to be sticky.
Cover the bowl and leave the dough to rest for at least 20 minutes.
When you’re ready to roll, divide the dough into four equal sized pieces. Keeping the remaining three pieces covered, pass the dough through a pasta roller to get it as thin as you can. I’ve made a video on IGTV to show a good technique for this.
Work in batches, roll & bake a piece of dough at a time.
To bake, place your bake stone in the oven before you switch on the heat. Bring up to 180c temperature and bake the crackers directly on the stone. They take just a couple of minutes each side. Alternatively, a lined bake sheet will do just fine.
Allow to cool and store in an airtight container.
]]>Truth is, I was discouraged by the thought of artfully sliced apples, placed with precision in a perfect seashell whorl. And caramel – that’s hot sugar, right? Just the idea makes me jumpy.
But the truth is, tarte tatin couldn’t be easier.
The right tin makes a difference. Ideally use a tarte tatin dish, otherwise, something like this from Netherton Foundry would do the trick.
Note the filo pastry. Steered by my compass set on dairy free eats, I’ve baulked from tradition and switched up the pastry. These lighter layers work a treat. Filo pastry brings texture and form and is neutral enough in flavour to let the caramel sing.
(For the dairy-free eaters among us, try Vegan Block in lieu of butter, the most natural alternative to butter I’ve found yet. And to dress your dessert, this is my favourite dairy free vanilla ice cream.)
And this recipe happens to be vegan too.
Source
8 sheets filo pastry
6 eating apples
100g caster sugar
60g butter, diced small
Olive oil to brush
Ice cream to dress
Action
Heat your oven to 180c.
Core and finely peel the apples – skin on or off, it’s up to you. I’m a cook in a hurry with a family to feed and count the extra fibre from the peel as a blessing and a hack. Set to one side in a large bowl.
Heat the sugar over a medium heat/high heat in the tarte tatin pan. Cook for around six minutes until the sugar begins to bubble into a liquid and starts to turn a dark amber – this is where the flavour lies, be bold but don’t burn. Remove from the heat and beat in the butter with a wooden spoon until smooth and evenly distributed across the pan base.
Tip or arrange the apple slices over the caramel. You may arrange carefully in a whorl or tip in as you wish. Over the fruit, layer the filo pastry, brushing each sheet with olive oil and tucking the sides into the edges of the pan, as you go. Brush with one final coat of olive oil and bake for 35-40 minutes. The tart will be ready when it begins to puff up high rise and is golden on the top.
Allow to set and cool for an hour or so before serving. Enjoy with a dollop of ice cream.
]]>Nail this and it’ll become a regular star in your cookery constellation.
Source
Large bunch of basil and of flat leaf parsley
A good handful of fresh tarragon
2 tbsp capers
2 tbsp cornichons
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
8 tbsp of knock-your-socks-off extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp maple syrup
2 cloves of garlic
1-2 ready to eat avocados, stoned and cut into (roughly) 1cm chunks
Action
Prepare yourself for some serious chopping – on this occasion, the food processor just won’t cut it. This salsa is all about rustic texture.
Smash and peel your garlic. Transfer to a chopping board, scatter with salt and using the flat edge of your knife, work it into a fine paste. This lends a mellower flavour and is better amalgamated into the salsa – a really good technique when preparing garlic for eating raw. Transfer into a large bowl, along with the vinegar, mustard, syrup and oil. Whisk together and set aside.
Pick the leaves from the herbs, finely chop and slide into the bowl.
Roughly chop the capers and cornichons and add to the mix. Give a good stir.
Season with black pepper, possibly a tot of salt – go easy because of the cornichons – plus a little more vinegar if the taste needs to brighten.
Just before serving, roughly chop the avocados – the chunkier, the better – and combine.
]]>Three tiers of gluten free cake joy, right here. This is the original formula from my Newport cafe days.
You’ll need three 20cm round cake tins, lined with greaseproof paper, and your oven set to 180c, (170c for Fan). Plus a stand mixer, to take the strain.
Source
9 large eggs, separated
375g sugar
400g ground almonds
130g walnuts, medium chopped
2 tsp baking powder, (check if gluten free, if needs)
3 tsp instant coffee mixed with 3 tbsp just-boiled water
Pinch of salt
For the frosting
200g butter (I use Vegan Block as I’m dairy-free and can’t bear margarine)
400g icing sugar
4-8 tbsp strong coffee
Action
Heat your oven to 180c.
Whisk the egg whites on a medium speed, with a pinch of salt, until firm and fluffy. Transfer to a very large mixing bowl. This could take up to five minutes – I line my tins at this stage and make coffee.
Whisk the sugar and the egg yolks until increased in volume and pale in colour. This could also take up to five minutes – now’s a good time to chop those walnuts and weigh out the almonds.
Gently fold the yolk mix into the egg whites, taking care to lose as little air from the batter as possible. Carefully add the chopped nuts, baking powder and coffee and carefully fold until clumps of egg white are no longer visible.
Place a baking tin on your scales, bring it to zero and weigh out 450g of batter. Do this for all three tins.
Bake for twenty to twenty five minutes, checking after fifteen, in case the sponges catch. If the sponges look like they are catching, loosely cover with a foil hood.
Look for an even surface – these nut based cakes are not high risers – and feeling springy to the flat of your palm.
Allow to cool completely before frosting.
To prepare the frosting:
Cut the butter into small chunks and beat with the paddle in your stand mixer with half the quantity of icing sugar. It pays to cover the mixer with a tea cloth at this point, to avoid being consumed by a haze of powdered sugar.
Don’t worry about sieving the sugar, there really is no need. Beat for three minutes or so, until well combined and then tip in the remaining portion. Beat well for five minutes.
Add the coffee, beating slowly until you achieve a creamy consistency. Take care not to add too much liquid as the frosting needs to firm yet malleable. If you do add to much coffee, simply even up with extra icing sugar.
Double frost with a crumb coat first.
You know the drill, and if not, here's a great video.
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