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.
Showing posts with label recipes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label recipes. Show all posts
Sunday, 5 February 2012
Thursday, 2 February 2012
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.
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.
Saturday, 14 January 2012
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.
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.
Monday, 26 December 2011
Stollen the Sheffield Way
I hope you all had a fabulous Christmas, I think this will be the last festive recipe and I'll offer a few savoury things soon as I realise that this blog is already getting sugar heavy!
Sheffield Stollen
Ingredients
1/2 tsp Fast acting yeast
250g Strong white flour
1 tbsp Sugar
25g Butter
1 tbsp Milk powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1 Medium egg
100 ml Water (warm water if making the dough by hand)
100g Mixed dried fruit (sultanas, raisins, mixed peel etc as you like)
150g Marzipan (a slice from a shop bought block is fine)
Icing sugar for rolling and dusting.
A little extra butter for glazing.
Method
Bread Machine Version
1. If you have a bread machine, put the yeast, flour, sugar, butter, milk powder, salt, egg and water into the bread machine pan and set the machine to the dough or fruit dough programme. If your machine has an automatic fruit dispenser, put the dried fruits in there.
2. Run the dough programme and add the dried fruit at the appropriate point in the cycle. Let the whole cycle run and then take the finished dough onto the rolling stage.
Hand Version
1. Melt the butter and then cool slightly. Warm the water, but make sure it's well below boiling point otherwise you'll kill the yeast.
2. Mix together the flour, salt, sugar, milk powder and yeast in a large bowl.
3. Add the warm water, melted butter, egg and fruit to the mixture. The mixture should come together as a not too sticky dough.
4. Kneed the dough on a floured surface for about 10 minutes until it becomes, smooth and elastic. Roll the dough into a ball.
5. Lightly butter a clean bowl and put in the dough ball. Cover the bowl with cling film and then place the bowl in a warm and draft free place to prove. This should take about an hour and a half. The dough should be puffed up and soft to the touch. Now you're ready for the rolling stage.
Rolling the Stollen
1. While the dough is proving, butter a 2lb loaf tin.
2. When the dough is ready, lightly flour a work surface and turn out the dough on to it. Pat the dough down and then using a rolling pin, roll the dough into a roughly 6 inch by 9 inch rectangle. Don't worry about getting this perfect, just make sure that the short sides are not longer than your loaf tin.
3. Now dust another portion of your work top with icing sugar. Take the marzipan and kneed it gently to make it malleable. Flatten out the marzipan with your hand into a thick rectangle. Now roll the marzipan until it makes a rectangle slightly smaller than the bread dough. Keep lifting the marzipan as you go and re-dusting the worktop with icing sugar. The marzipan gets very thin and if you don't do this it will stick to the worktop and rip when you try to lift it at the end of rolling.
4. Once you've finished rolling the marzipan, lift it and place it on top of the bread dough.
5. Roll the dough up from one of the short sides, just as if you were making a swiss roll. Squeeze together the open ends of the dough and tuck underneath the body of the roll.
6. Take the dough roll and place it seam-side down into the prepared loaf tin.
7. Cover the tin loosely with a lightly oiled piece of cling film and leave the dough to prove again in a warm place for between and hour and an hour and a half. The dough should again be nicely puffed up and filling the tin.
8. As the dough reaches the end of proving, get the oven pre-heated to 220 C / Gas 7.
9. Bake the Stollen for 15-20 minutes in the centre of the oven until it is golden brown.
10. Leave the Stollen in the tin for a few minutes and then turn out onto a wire rack. While still hot, turn the Stollen back over and brush the top with some melted butter and then dust well with icing sugar.
11. Let the Stollen cool completely and then enjoy!
 |
| A swirl of marzipan rolled into the Stollen. Nom! |
Friday, 23 December 2011
White Chocolate and Cranberry Cookies
This recipe makes about 20 cookies, depending on how generous you are when spooning out the mixture.
White Chocolate and Cranberry Cookies
Ingredients
4 oz Butter, softened.
3 oz Soft, light brown sugar.
2 tbsp Golden syrup.
6 oz Self raising flour.
1/2 tsp Ground ginger.
3 oz White chocolate chips (or dark or milk as you prefer)
1 oz Dried cranberries.
2 tbsp Milk.
Method
1. Heat oven to 180 C, Gas 4. Grease a couple of baking trays.
2. Cream together the butter and sugar in a large bowl until pale and fluffy.
3. Add in all the remaining ingredients and beat well until everything is well mixed.
4. Drop teaspoons of the mixture onto the prepared baking sheets. Allow space for the cookies to spread during cooking.
5. Bake for 10-12 or 18-20 minutes in the centre of the pre-heated oven, depending on how crisp you want the cookies.
6. Once baked, leave the cookies on the trays for a minute and then transfer to a wire cooling rack.
Saturday, 17 December 2011
Mincemeat Shortbread
We had our Christmas party at work last week and I did a little baking. As I had some of my homemade mincemeat left (see previous post) I decided to do something a little different to mince pies. This mincemeat shortbread is really easy to do, delicious and can be made just as well with shop bought mincemeat. I'll put up the recipe for my other bit of party baking - White Chocolate and Cranberry Cookies - next week :)
Mincemeat Shortbread
Ingredients:
4 oz Butter, softened
2 oz Golden Caster sugar
6 oz Plain flour
4 tbsp Mincemeat
Method:
1. Grease a 7" round sandwich tin with butter. Preheat the oven to 170 C or Gas 3.
2. Put the butter and sugar into a bowl and cream together.
3. Beat in the flour and mincemeat. The mixture should come together into a large, soft ball if you work it with your hands gently. If not, add a splash of milk or a little more mincemeat to moisten it.
4. Press the mixture into the prepared sandwich tin, flattening it out with your fingers.
5. Mark around the edge with a fork, score 8 - 10 slices into the surface and prick the dough all over with a fork (see picture).
6. Place in the oven for 35-40 minutes until nicely browned.
7. Take tin from the oven. The cooked biscuits will still be quite soft. Use this opportunity to cut along the scored slice lines with a sharp knife. Leave to cool in the tin for a few minutes longer and then turn the biscuits on to a wire rack to finish cooling completely.
Mincemeat Shortbread
Ingredients:
4 oz Butter, softened
2 oz Golden Caster sugar
6 oz Plain flour
4 tbsp Mincemeat
Method:
1. Grease a 7" round sandwich tin with butter. Preheat the oven to 170 C or Gas 3.
2. Put the butter and sugar into a bowl and cream together.
3. Beat in the flour and mincemeat. The mixture should come together into a large, soft ball if you work it with your hands gently. If not, add a splash of milk or a little more mincemeat to moisten it.
4. Press the mixture into the prepared sandwich tin, flattening it out with your fingers.
5. Mark around the edge with a fork, score 8 - 10 slices into the surface and prick the dough all over with a fork (see picture).
6. Place in the oven for 35-40 minutes until nicely browned.
7. Take tin from the oven. The cooked biscuits will still be quite soft. Use this opportunity to cut along the scored slice lines with a sharp knife. Leave to cool in the tin for a few minutes longer and then turn the biscuits on to a wire rack to finish cooling completely.
Monday, 12 December 2011
First Post - Last Minute Christmas Mincemeat
Well I do a lot of cooking and I've collected an awful lot of cook books and recipes. Over time I've adjusted, created, chopped and changed many of my recipes to suit me. However, I'm not so good at writting down what I've actually done, which is annoying when I want to repeat something and embarrasing when a friend asks for the recipe. Hence, I think sharing some recipes on here is a good way to try and solve both problems, I'll get ideas written down and I'll have somewhere to send friends to for downloading the recipes!
Since it's nearly Christmas, I'm going to start with a 'cheat' Christmas mincemeat. The cheat bit is that this version of mincemeat does not require weeks of maturing in jars before it's ready to use. This is really handy if, like me, you have a tiny place to live and don't happen to have room for 4 or 5 jars of mincemeat in your already precariously over-stuffed cupboards. This recipe is also a bit different in that it contains no extra fats and very little sugar. It's far less sweet and sticky than shop bought varieties, rather its very tangy and fruity tasting but still has enough mixed spices and brandy to have a rich, festive flavour! This recipe originally came from a WI cookbook but I've tweaked the original quite a bit so this is my adapted version.
Last Minute Christmas Mincemeat
Ingredients:
2 lb mixed dried fruit (currents, raisins, sultanas, mixed peel etc)
1 lb cooking apples (Bramleys work well), peeled and coarsely grated
2 1/2 tsp ground mixed spice
1 pt Medium sweet or dry cider (invest in a decent bottle - it's worth it)
Grated zest of 1 orange
Grated zest of 1 lemon
Juice of 1/2 orange
Juice of 1/2 lemon
2-3 oz of soft, dark brown sugar (you might need a bit more if the apple is especially tart)
3-4 tbsp of Brandy
Method:
1. Mix together all the ingredients EXCEPT the Brandy in a large pan.
2. Bring to the boil and then simmer gently, uncovered for 30 - 40 minutes. Stir occasionally. By this time most of the liquid will have either evaporated or have been absorbed into the fruit making it plump and juicy. The grated apple should have been reduced to a sticky pulp. During this process your house will also smell like it's been sprayed with essence of Christmas. Open your kitchen windows and let your neighbours get a whiff.
3. Remove the pan from the heat. Cover with a lid and leave to cool down for a couple of hours.
4. Clean and sterilise 4-6 glass jars (depending on size) or get a nice clean plastic tub ready.
5. Stir the brandy into the mincemeat and then decant the mixture into the prepared jars or tub. Seal tightly and then store in the fridge for 4-5 weeks (and give some away to nice friends if you have too much).
The mincemeat is ready to use once it's completely cooled down. Do be aware you can't keep this mincemeat for ages, 4-5 weeks is about the limit and it does need to stay in the fridge. Otherwise, use exactly as you would regular mincemeat.
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