Autumn Pudding

This was a bit of a random creation I made because I happened to have a Bramley apple going spare. It turned out rather well and is very easy to make. I ate it with custard but I think it would have been improved by some fresh blackberries on the side to add even more to the autumnal flavours.

Autumn pudding

2 oz light soft brown sugar
2 oz soft margarine
2 oz self raising flour
1 egg
1/4 tsp baking powder
2 oz mixed nuts (I used a mixture of brazils, pecans, almonds and walnuts)
1 medium sized Bramley apple

Method
1. Grease and line a deep 7 inch round cake tin.

2. Heat the oven to 180 C.

3. Grind the nuts finely in a food processor.

4. Peel and then finely dice the apple.

5. Place the flour, sugar, marg, egg and baking powder in a bowl. Using an electric whisk beat these ingredients together until they are light and pale.

6. Mix the ground nuts and apple into the cake batter.

7. Spread the pudding mix evenly into the prepared tin.

8. Bake the pudding for about 25 minutes until it is just firm when pressed with a finger.

9. When cooked, turn the pudding out of the tin and eat warm or cold.

Just add custard...

Gammon slow cooked in cider

Well it's been months since my last post, but I'm still here. I wanted to put up a recipe that I cooked for a dinner party over the bank holiday weekend. The idea for using a slow-cooker to cook the gammon was given to me by a friend on a visit home to see my parents. I decided to give it a go using cider and honey to enhance the flavour of the gammon. You will need a slow-cooker to do this recipe and be warned that it does take 9-10 hours to cook so you might need to make an early start if you want this for dinner!

I have various bad memories of eating tough, overly salty, steaks of gammon topped off with tinned pineapple (why?) so it's a meat I rarely eat now. However, this method of cooking gives a well flavoured, juicy and tender result. And no pineapple.

Gammon Slow Cooked in Cider

1 1/2 lb Gammon joint - smoked or un-smoked as you prefer

1/2 pt Dry cider

1 tbsp clear honey

3-4 whole cloves

2-3 small dried bay leaves

1 apple, cut into 8 wedges

1 onion, cut into 8 wedges

Black pepper

Method

1. If the gammon has had a traditional cure (most don't now) it may require soaking in a large pan of water overnight to remove excess salt. In the morning pour away the water and give the gammon a rinse.

2. Place the gammon in the slow-cooker and surround it with the wedges of onion and apple. If your slow cooker is small, leave out a few of the fruit and vegetable wedges rather than over-packing the pot.

3. Place the cider, cloves, bay leaves and honey with a little ground black pepper into a pan. Heat until the honey has dissolved and cider is just below boiling point.

4. Pour the liquid over the gammon in the slow-cooker.

5. Immediately put the lid on the slow-cooker and switch it on. All slow cookers are a bit different, some have low, high and/or automatic settings and some have automatic timers. Mine has a single automatic setting, but basically you need to cook the gammon for around 9 - 10 hours to make sure it is thoroughly cooked. Check your own slow-cooker manual for help if you're not sure about cooking times. 

6. Once the gammon is cooked, gently lift it out of the slow cooker. Discard the apples and onions. 

7. Carve the gammon, which will be very tender, into thick slices on a serving dish. Spoon over a little of the still hot cooking liquid just before serving.

Serves 4 (with maybe just a bit left over for sandwiches :)) 

Honey Spice Biscuits

I had an idea to come up with a new recipe for biscuits using honey and cardamom. I left it late to start cooking and started scrabbling around my kitchen shelves for cardamom pods. After I'd emptied the whole cupboard of every bottle of spice and herbs I realised I didn't have any. I still wanted to do some baking so had a quick re-think and decided to try sticking to the spice theme but with a different mix of flavours. The experiment turned out very nicely. These biscuits actually turned out to be very morish - you have been warned! :)

Thanks to my friend Sarah I also had a new set of animal cookie cutters to try out! I'm just a bit worried that the makers of these cutters (branded by the Natural History Museum, London no less) seem to think that lions are bigger than elephants... :)

Honey Spice Biscuits

Ingredients:

Dough goes in...

5 oz Self raising flour.

1 tsp Ground ginger

1/2 tsp Ground cinnamon

Pinch Ground cloves

Pinch Salt

1 oz Butter

1 tbsp Golden syrup

1 tbsp Honey

2 oz Golden caster sugar

Milk

Method:

1. Grease a couple of baking trays and preheat the oven to 180 C.

2. Place the sugar, syrup, honey, butter and spices into a small pan. Warm these ingredients together gently over a low heat, stirring occasionally until the ingredients are melted together. Remove from the heat and leave to cool for a few minutes.

...biscuits come out.

3. Mix the flour and salt together in a large bowl.

4. Pour the cooled syrup mixture into the flour and mix together.

5. Add sufficient milk to get a pliable but not sticky dough.

6, Roll the dough out until it's quite thin on a floured work surface. 

7. Cut out any shapes you like from the sheet of dough and move the biscuits onto the prepared baking trays.

8. Bake for around 15 minutes until golden brown. Move the cooked biscuits to a cooling rack and allow to cool and become crisp.

Tea with Lemon Cake

I had a go at coming up with a new cake at the weekend that would combine a tea bread with a type of lemon drizzle cake. As it turned out it worked quite well, the cake is a bit crumbly but that means it's just best to have it in thick slices. :) Earl Grey tea seems to work well here with it's slightly perfumed, lemon flavour. However, if you really don't like Earl Grey you could substitute a regular blend.

Tea with Lemon Cake

225g Mixed dried fruit (sultanas, raisins, mixed peel etc)

1 Lemon

150ml Hot Earl Grey Tea

225g Self-raising flour

100g Soft, dark brown sugar

50g Soft margarine 

1 Egg

2 1/2 tbsp Icing sugar

Pinch salt

Method:

1. Make up some strong Earl Grey tea. While the tea is still hot mix it into the dried fruit in a small bowl. Grate in the zest of the lemon. Cover the bowl and leave over night to allow the fruit to absorb the tea.

2. The following day, preheat the oven to 180 C. Grease and line a 1lb loaf tin.

3. Cream together the margarine and sugar in a large bowl.

4. Add the mixed fruit (along with any remaining tea in the bowl), flour, salt and egg. Mix everything together well. You should end up with a mixture with a soft, dropping consistency.

5. Pour the mixture into the prepared loaf tin and level the surface with the back of a metal spoon.

6. Bake the cake for about an hour until browned, well risen and when a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. 

7. While the cake cooks, juice the lemon into a small jug or bowl and mix in the icing sugar. This makes the lemon glaze for the top of the cake.

8. As soon as the cake comes out of the oven pour over the prepared glaze. Return to the oven for a couple of minutes and then bring the cake out of the oven to cool, still in the tin, on a wire rack.

9. When the cake is completely cold run a knife around the edge of the tin and then turn out the cake onto a plate.

New name, new things!

Yep the name of the blog has changed. All the recipes are still here though! I've decided to start adding some reviews of my favourite cook books and books about food in between the recipes. I decided that the blog needed a new name that better reflected the change in content, it also hints some what more at my day job and my rather large cookery book collection (which I'm still very slowly adding to LibraryThing). I'm looking forward to sharing some of my favourite books soon. Watch this space.

Flapjack Fest

I did some baking last week when I was short of time so I settled on some easy flapjacks. I decided to add a bit of apple and spice to this batch. The result is a soft texture and a fruity taste. If you don't fancy the apple variation, I've included my usual recipe which gives a much crisper result and which is plain but delicious!

Apple, Sultana and Cinnamon Flapjack

4 oz Butter

1 oz Demerara sugar

1 oz Soft, dark brown sugar

2 tbsp Golden syrup

5 oz Porridge oats

1 oz Plain flour

1 Small apple, peeled, cored and diced.

2 oz Sultanas

1/2 tsp Ground cinnamon 

Pinch of salt

Method:

1. Grease and line a square 7-8" tin. Preheat the oven to 180 C.

2. Melt together the butter, sugars and golden syrup in a small pan over a low heat.

3. In a bowl, mix together all of the remaining ingredients.

4. Pour the melted butter mixture into the bowl and stir well.

5. Press the mixture firmly into the tin using the back of a metal spoon.

6. Bake for 25 - 35 minutes until nicely browned.

7. While the flapjacks are still soft when they come out of the oven, take a sharp knife and cut the flapjack into slices. Once completely cooled, turn out of the tin.

Best Flapjacks

4 oz Butter

2 oz Demerara sugar

2 tbsp Golden syrup

5 oz Porridge oats

1 oz Plain flour 

Pinch of salt

Method:

1. Grease and line a square 7-8" tin. Preheat the oven to 180 C.

2. Melt together the butter, sugar and golden syrup in a small pan over a low heat.

3. In a bowl, mix together all of the remaining ingredients.

4. Pour the melted butter mixture into the bowl and stir well.

5. Press the mixture firmly into the tin using the back of a metal spoon.

6. Bake for 25 - 35 minutes until nicely browned.

7. While the flapjacks are still soft when they come out of the oven, take a sharp knife and cut the flapjack into slices. Once completely cooled, turn out of the tin.

Banana Pecan Bread

I bought far to many bananas. The stage at which bananas reach a squishy sweetness makes them less good for eating but perfect for this banana pecan bread. The recipe has been changed over the years, originally it included walnuts and was made with all caster sugar. The pecans and soft brown sugar I think give an improved flavour. The vanilla is another addition not in the original recipe. This is a cake which can stand a lot of variation, different nuts, chocolate chips (although chocolate and banana is not usually one of my favourite flavour combinations) and spices such as cinnamon instead of the vanilla.

Banana Pecan Bread


Ingredients:
2 large, very ripe bananas
2 oz chopped Pecans
2 oz golden caster sugar
4 oz soft, light brown sugar
3 oz butter, softened
8 oz Self raising flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
1/2 tsp Vanilla essence
1-2 tbsp milk

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 180 C. Grease a 1 1/2 lb loaf tin.
2. Cream together the butter and sugars in a large bowl until light and pale.
3. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs together with the vanilla essence.
4. Gradually beat the eggs into the creamed mixture. Don't worry if it curdles a bit.
5. Sift in the flour and baking powder and beat gently into the mixture.
6. Using a fork, mash up the bananas to a paste in a separate bowl.
7. Beat the banana paste and the pecans into the main mixture. Add enough milk to get the mixture to a dropping consistency.
8. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and smooth the top.
9. Bake the cake for 50 - 60 minutes until the top of the cake springs bake to the touch and a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
10. Leave to cool in the tin and then turn out. Serve in thick slices spread with butter.

One of your 5-a-day (almost!) fresh out of the oven! :)

Cheese, Onion and Potato Pie

Here's one I made today! A very satisfying pie.

This is a recipe that my Gran gave me shortly before I went to University. It's a very filling dish and friendly to a student budget! This pie is best served with baked beans, bacon and plenty of brown sauce. :) The mustard and nutmeg are not part of the original recipe, but do make nice additions if you want to try them. It's worth getting a really strong cheddar for this pie, it makes a big difference.

The baking powder in the pastry is a little unusual. It doesn't cause the pastry to become cake like, rather it seems to just lighten it a little.

The glaze is also not part of the original recipe but the appearance of the finished pie is much improved by it. Without the glaze the top will be far paler, but the pie will taste just as good.

Cheese, Onion and Potato Pie

For the pastry:

6 oz Plain Flour

1/2 tsp Baking Powder

Pinch salt

2 oz Butter

1 oz Lard

Cold water

For the Filling:

10 oz Cooked, mashed potato

5 oz strong, mature Cheddar, grated

1 small Onion, finely chopped

Salt and pepper

Pinch grated Nutmeg (optional)

1 - 2 tsp Mustard (optional)

Glaze:

1 egg yolk and 1 tbsp of milk beaten gently together.

Method:

1. Prepare the mash, use only a little butter and milk. Don't make the mash too soft.

2. Mix the cheese, onion, mustard and nutmeg into the mash while it is still hot. Season well with salt and pepper. Leave to cool a little while you make the pastry.

3. To make the pastry, mix the dry ingredients and then rub in the fat until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add some water and mix using a butter knife until the mixture comes together as a soft but not sticky dough. Divide the dough ball in half.

4. Roll one half of the pastry on a floured surface into a disk and use this to line a shallow, 7-8" pie dish. Spoon the filling into the lined  dish.

5. Roll out the remaining pastry to a disk to cover the filling. Lightly moisten the rim of the pastry in the dish, place the remaining pastry disc over the top of the pie and press together the edges. Slice off any excess pastry and crimp around the edge with a fork. Cut two slits in the centre of the pie. If you like, you can use any pastry off-cuts to make leaves or other decorations for the top of the pie.

6. Glaze the pie with the egg and milk mix, keeping some back. Bake the pie for 15 minutes. Briefly remove the pie and apply more glaze.

7. Bake for another 15 - 20 minutes or until the pie is golden brown on the top.

Serves 4. 

The Puy Lentil Salad Detective Story

OK, a bit of a long story this one, but I promise it does end with a very tasty recipe.

At Christmas 2010 I made a return visit to Paris. Always a city I very much look forward to spending time in. A friend and I went to eat at the 'Restaurant Chartier' near the Place de l'Opera (http://www.restaurant-chartier.com/www/visit/filsdesans.php) on his recommendation. I was not disappointed. It's not fancy cuisine, but it's homely, well done and delicious without fuss. The waiters also possess the crisp efficiency that only French waiters have. Go and try the place if you're ever in Paris, but go very early in the evening. The restaurant is extremely popular and there was a long queue outside by the time we left.

For my starter that evening I had the Puy lentil salad. Never had one before and I like trying new things. It arrived, very simply presented on the plate, chilled with the minimum of garnish. It was incredibly tasty. Very well seasoned with some sort of creamy, slightly sweet dressing. I've been pondering how to reproduce this salad at home for the last year. The closest recipe I could find that seemed to describe what I'd eaten was in the 'Ripailles' cookbook, the 'Salade de lentilles aux herbes fraiches'. However, this contained things which had definitely not been in the dish I sampled at Chartier. Nevertheless, it did give the clue as to a potential 'secret' ingredient. This is Savora Mustard (https://www.frenchclick.co.uk/p-823-amora-savora-385g.aspx). A special mustard blend containing several additional spices and, importantly, honey which I thought I had detected in the original salad. I couldn't get the mustard in the UK (at least a search of local delis and supermarkets was fruitless) so I eventually got some imported via www.frenchclick.co.uk. The jar duly arrived this week.

I had my first go at preparing the salad this weekend, trying to match the flavour to my memory. It came off rather well. Exactly the same? No not quite, but close! Give this salad a go...if you can get the Savora mustard!!

Chilled Puy Lentil Salad


Ingredients:
70g Puy Lentils
1/4 Onion, finely chopped.
1/2 Stick of celery, finely chopped.
2 - 2 1/2 tsp Savora mustard.
1 1/2 tsp Mayonnaise
Squirt of fresh lemon juice.
Salt and pepper

Method:
1. Cook the lentils by bringing them to the boil and then simmering for 20 - 25 minutes in plenty of water. They should still have a bit of bite to them. Drain and rinse the lentils and place them in a bowl to cool.

2. Once cooled, mix in all of the remaining ingredients. Pay particular attention to seasoning the salad well.

3. Chill for at least an hour and then serve on small plates garnished with a little coarse sea salt and some freshly ground black pepper.


Note: This will serve two people as a starter.

Roast Pepper Soup

Well the temperature in Oxford has taken a nose dive. This has made me long for some comforting food. I've been making this roast pepper soup for over 10 years now. I suspect it has deviated somewhat from the original recipe and I've included suggestions for variations at the foot of the recipe. The soup is bright and cheerful in winter and light and fresh enough for summer too. Good for eating informally or at the start of a dinner party. I'm a bit vague on the quantities on this one as the amount of liquid added depends on how thick you like the texture of the soup. I also think that chicken stock is nicer in this recipe than vegetable stock but you may want to keep it completely veggie.

Roast Pepper Soup

Ingredients:
4 Red peppers, de-seeded and sliced in half.
1 Yellow pepper, de-seeded and sliced in half.
1 Onion, chopped.
1 Clove garlic, chopped finely.
1 pt Chicken or Vegetable stock (possibly more if you like the soup thinner, make final adjustments at the end of cooking).
1 tbsp Plain flour
Olive oil
Salt and Pepper

Method:
1. Turn your grill on to high. While it's warming up, line a grill pan with foil. Place the pepper halves, skin side up, into the grill pan, press them down to flatten them out a bit. You may have to do the grilling in two batches. Don't crowd the peppers because if you do they won't roast properly and you'll have a hell of a time peeling them later (plus they won't develop the sweet, smokey taste that makes this soup delicious).

2. Roast the peppers under the grill until the skins are black and blistered. Once roasted, scoop them out of the grill pan and put them into a smallish bowl (a 2 pt pudding basin is the perfect size) or a plastic box which has a lid. Cover the bowl with a plate or saucer (or put the lid on the box). Leave to cool for 30 minutes. The steam released by the peppers at this point helps to finish the process of loosening the skins.

3. Now the messy bit! Peel the skin from the peppers and discard. The skin should come off quite easily. If you haven't roasted the peppers enough this can be difficult though! Don't worry about getting every tiniest scrap of skin off, but do try and remove all of the blackened pieces. Once all the peppers are skinned, roughly chop them. Don't worry if the flesh underneath is a little brown or blackened. That's how it should be!

4. Heat 1-2 tbsp of olive oil up in a large pan over a moderate to low heat. Add the chopped onions and saute gently for a few minutes. Don't allow them to brown. Add the garlic and cook a minute more. Finally, sprinkle over the flour and stir continuously. After another minute add the peppers. Gradually add the stock.

5. Turn up the heat and bring to the boil. Now reduce the heat to a gentle simmer for 15 minutes.

6. Remove the soup from the heat and allow to cool slightly.

7. Using a food processor, blender or hand-held blender, process the soup until it's smooth and without any lumps of pepper or onion left. Check the texture of the soup. If it's too thick for you, add more stock.

8. Re-warm the soup but don't allow it to boil again. Check the seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste. This soup looks lovely served in wide, shallow bowls garnished with a little swirl of yogurt and thin strips of yellow pepper. It goes well served with Italian breads like Ciabatta or Focaccia.

Serves 2-3 as a main and 4 as a starter.

Variations:
Chili and lime - Substitute one or two finely chopped fresh red chilies for the garlic. When the stock is added, add the grated zest of a lime, the juice of half a lime and a pinch of sugar. Add more lime juice when you do the final seasoning if wished.

Smoked paprika - Try adding some sweet or hot smoked paprika. Do this just before adding the peppers and allow the spice to cook for a few seconds.

Plum Tomato and Dolcelatte Tartlets

This is one of my favourite recipes, created some years ago by accident because I wanted a new starter and I happened to have some Dolcelatte cheese. Dolcelatte cheese is a very creamy blue Italian cheese. It has a much milder flavour compared to other blue cheeses like Gorgonzola or Roquefort. Even people who claim not to like blue cheeses really enjoy this recipe. It's very easy to find Dolcelatte in supermarkets or on cheese stalls.

There are two variations of this recipe depending on (A) if you can get fresh plum tomatoes and (B) if you can be bothered doing the extra work of roasting and peeling the fresh tomatoes. If neither (A) or (B) apply, good whole tinned  Italian tomatoes make a perfectly satisfactory substitute for the fresh ones.

I have tried making this as one large tart before rather than tartlets but I have to say it wasn't a great success. This makes a wonderful starter served warm with a salad of rocket leaves. Also a nice basis for a vegetarian main course.

Plum Tomato and Dolcelatte Tartlets (makes 4)

Ingredients:


8 Fresh plum tomatoes OR 2x 400g tins of Plum Tomatoes, well drained and roughly chopped.
1 pkt (150g) Dolcelatte Cheese
Large bunch of fresh Basil.
Olive Oil
Salt and black pepper.
150g of shortcrust pastry, either shop bought or home made.

Method:

If using fresh tomatoes: Cut the tomatoes in half length ways. Lay cut side down in a roasting tin that has been lined with foil.  Drizzle the tomatoes with olive oil and roast for about 15 minutes in an oven at 240 C. Let the tomatoes cool and then pull off the skins, which should now be very loose, and discard them.

1. Take the flesh of either the tinned tomatoes or freshly roasted ones and place in a sieve over a bowl. Press lightly to remove excess liquid. Leave to drain completely while you prepare the remaining ingredients.

2. Roughly cube the cheese and chop the basil and place in a bowl. Add the drained tomato flesh and a tbsp of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and then mix everything together well. That's your tartlet filling made.

3. Heat the oven to 200 C. Lightly grease four, 4"-5" tartlet tins.

4. Divide the pastry into four lumps and then roll out each one on a lightly floured surface and use to line the tartlet cases. If you have time, chill the cases for 15 minutes in the fridge.

5. Divide the tomato and cheese filling between the prepared cases and then slide the tartlets into the oven (this is easiest if you put them on top of a baking tray first).

6. Bake the tarts for 25-30 minutes until they are getting some nice little brown spots over the surface.

7. Leave the tartlets to cool for a few minutes and then remove from the tins and serve.

Note: You can make the filling a few hours in advance and leave it covered in the fridge.