Honeyed Fruits with Blue Cheese

Serves 2

While looking for a simple starter for a supper party I started to develop a hankering for baked fruit with cheese.  Don’t ask me why I guess it’s just one of those strange food occurrences which cannot be explained but stay with you until you have satisfied the itch (or rather stomach grumbling).  Fortunately I happened to have a lovely chunk of smelly Gorgonzola cheese in the fridge (which was threatening to leave the fridge on its own account if I did not eat it soon) that would be perfect – strange how these things work out isn’t it? 

It sounds strange but baked peaches served with a ripe blue cheese are a marriage made in heaven.  This dish combines the sweetness of a dessert with the tangy flavours of a cheeseboard.  It also makes for a wonderful light lunch.

The French are well known for eating blue cheese with a drizzle of honey.  This dish takes it one step further and with peaches in season this month it’s the perfect dish to make when you are fed up with just eating them straight out of the fruit bowl.

4 ripe Peaches or Pears
4 tablespoon of Runny Honey
50g Butter (unsalted)
3 small stems fresh Thyme
50g Walnut pieces
4 slices of ripe Gorgonzola Cheese (or other Blue varieties) – quantity to suit you

Cut the peaches in half and remove the stones.  Place in an oven proof dish and drizzle with knobs of butter and 2 tablespoons of the honey.  Place 2 of the thyme stems on the dish and bake in the oven at 180 degrees for 15-20 minutes until cooked through but still holding their shape.  They should have slightly caramelised.  Remove from the oven and the dish and set aside.

In a saucepan heat the remaining honey and thyme together until just coming to the boil.  Take off the heat and set aside to infuse.

For each serving, place a slice of gorgonzola on a plate with the two peach halves, drizzle over a little of the honey/thyme infusion on the peaches and gorgonzola.  Sprinkle with a few of the walnut pieces and serve.

For best results this dish is served at room temperature.

Aubergine, Mozzarella and Tomato Stack with Basil and Mint Pesto

Serves 4

Today I am feeling particularly lazy in the kitchen department.  The weather is wonderful, the garden (after several hours slave labour last weekend) is looking pretty good and I have a number of newly hatched ducklings on the pond (“ahhhh”, I hear you say... yes it is quite cute).  So for lunch today I can think of nothing more appropriate than this dish.  With its gorgeous colours and simple fresh flavours it is perfect for a relaxed garden lunch.  It can be prepared in advance and finished off last minute making it the perfect starter for a dinner party or barbeque or light lunch.  You can cheat by buying the pesto if you want to but it is so easy to make and tastes better fresh.  Also it does look more aesthetically pleasing if you can cut the aubergine, tomatoes and mozzarella pieces around the same size.

For the stacks

1 Aubergine cut into 12 equal rounds

3 large or beef Tomatoes cut into 12 equal slices

12 slices of Buffalo Mozzarella

16 Basil Leaves

For the Pesto

Handful each of fresh Basil and Mint

1 clove of Garlic

50g Pine Nuts

50ml Olive Oil

25g Parmesan

Salt and Pepper

For the finishing touches...

A few Parmesan Cheese shavings

Drizzle of Olive Oil

A few Black Olives

Brush the aubergines with olive oil and chargrill them on each side for a few minutes until scorched and cooked through.  Drizzle with more olive oil and set aside.

To make the pesto, place the pine nuts, garlic and herbs in a blender and blitz until it forms a paste.  Add the olive oil and mix until you have the required consistency.  Add the parmesan followed by the seasoning to taste.

Assemble the stacks starting off with the aubergine followed by a slice of tomato, then mozzarella and the pesto.  You can make the stacks as high or low was you want – I normally have two layers finishing off with another round of aubergine.

Place the stacks on a serving platter; scatter a few olives around the platter along with more pesto.  Finish with another drizzle of olive oil and the parmesan shavings.

Lazy Sundays deserve Sumptuous Breakfasts...

In our home, Sunday morning usually starts in a lazy fashion complete with a lie-in, a cup of tea and a recap of whatever sport was on the TV when the eye-lids drooped to the point where you missed the pivotal goal or sending off.  When all that is over it is followed by Sunday morning Breakfast or Brunch depending on just how lazy we have been.

This morning I went into baking mode meaning breakfast to be nothing short of scrumptious. Home made Brioche rolls with Red Cherry Jam (the fried Duck Eggs on Toast are optional)... not too shabby!

This Brioche recipe comes from Paul Hollywood's 100 Great Breads (well worth a read).  It needs to be started the night before but only takes a few minutes to prepare.  The Cherry Jam is a quick jam but seriously delicious.  This means it will have a short shelf (or fridge) life.  It's based on 'bucket science' but worked perfectly and will last a week in the fridge should the family not eat it all up in one sitting.  Be open minded about what to do with any you don't think you will eat, it's very versatile... I added it to a Port Wine sauce and served it as a Cherry and Port Sauce with some Venison.

For the Brioche

375g Strong White Flour

40g Caster Sugar

1 pack dried Yeast (or 15g Fresh Yeast)

1 tsp Salt

75ml Milk

3 medium Eggs plus 1 for eggwash

185g Butter softened

8 Brioche moulds or muffin cases

Start the night before by combining the flour, sugar, yeast, salt, milk and eggs in a food processor and processing it for 5 minutes to a smooth dough.  Add the butter and mix for a further 5 minutes.  Empty the dough into a bowl, cover with cling film and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, cut the dough into 8 equal pieces, roll into balls and place each piece into the moulds or muffin cases.  Leave to rise for 1 hour in a warm place.

Brush the tops of the brioche with the eggwash and cook in the oven for 15 minutes at 200 degrees.

For the Red Cherry Jam

16oz Red Cherries (this will make around 1 jar of jam)

1 Cup Caster Sugar

1 Lemon (juice and zest)

Stone the cherries and place them (whole or chopped) in a saucepan with the lemon zest and juice.  Bring to the boil and cook so the cherries start to break up and create a juice along with the fruit.  At this point you need to estimate how much in volume you have of the cherry mixture and add three quarters of that amount in sugar (so for 1 cup of cherries including juice you need to add 3/4 cup of sugar).  Continue to cook for around 20 minutes until thickened, you can do a jam setting test if you are not sure its done.  

Pour into a sterilized jam jar and leave to cool (if you can resist it).  If you can't wait watch out you don't burn your tongue!

To do a jam test...

Put a plate or saucer in the freezer until really cold. Place a little of the jam on the cold saucer and leave for a couple of seconds.  Run your finger through the jam and if it floods back together you need to cook it for a bit longer.  The jam is thick enough and will set when the two sides do not join back together.

Tuna Nicoise

Serves 4

After a week in beautiful Provencal, it seems only right to start this next blog with a take on French cuisine. In addition to that after a week of rich food and a verre or two of wine my internal organs are suggesting I indulge my body in some healthier food and lots of water.

Not the traditional version I grant you but this is my take on the Tuna Nicoise Salad and for me is the perfect mid week supper or party platter (although I am not sure you can call it cooking as it's so simple). Most of it can be prepared in advance and thrown together at the last minute (giving you the air of domestic goddess). Don't worry too much about quantities because with food like this you bulk them up or down based on what you like to eat more (or less). It is good for you and is gorgeous to eat. What more could you ask for?

4 Tuna Fillets
50g Sesame Seeds
2 tbsp Sesame Oil
Free Range Eggs or Quails Eggs (soft boiled, peeled and halved or quartered)
Samphire (if in season – it is right now) or Fine Beans
New Potatoes (cooked and cooled)
Pitted Black Olives
Slow Roasted Cherry Tomatoes (to slow roast your own sprinkle cherry tomatoes with salt and thyme, drizzle olive oil and place in a baking tray in 100 degree oven or Aga simmering oven for 5-6 hours)
2 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
2 tbsp Clear Honey

Vinaigrette
1 tbsp Olive Oil
3 tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
1 clove of Garlic
1 tbsp Capers
Salt and Pepper

Heat the sesame oil in a frying pan. Coat the top and bottom of the tuna fillets in the sesame seeds and sear in the pan on both sides until golden brown and cooked to your liking (check the sides to see how well it is cooked remembering it will continue to cook while resting).

Heat the balsamic and honey in a sauté pan and add the potatoes. Cook for 5-6 minutes until caramelising and warmed though. Remove from the heat and cover to keep warm.

Steam the samphire for 3-4 minutes, drain and add a knob of butter. Season, cover the pan and keep warm while you assemble the rest of the dish.

Dress the lettuce in the vinaigrette, season.

Thinly slice the tuna fillets and arrange on a large platter along with all of the other ingredients. Open a good bottle of white wine and invite a few friends round for a simple supper.

Olive and Sundried Tomato Bread – Italian Style

It would be fair to say I am not the greatest at making ordinary bread, although I do love the whole experience even if it sometimes turns into a complete disaster.  The exception to this is Italian style breads - they do work for me.  Perhaps it’s because I have more interest in bread filled with fat juicy olives and sundried tomatoes and this is without doubt my favourite. 

It has been adapted from a Foccacia recipe but through the art of experimentation (and not reading the recipe correctly) I have found it to be so accommodating you can pretty much do what you like with it in terms of shape and adding different flavours. 

There are a couple of tricks I should mention.  1) Mix the salt into the flour before adding the yeast (salt kills the yeast when put directly on top of it) and 2) knead the dough thoroughly to develop the gluten, it should bounce back when you push your finger in.

450g Strong White Bread Flour

1 ½ tsp Salt

7g Dried Yeast (one sachet)

350ml Warm Water

50ml Extra Virgin Olive Oil

100g Black and Green Olives (more or less as you would prefer)

30g Sundried Tomatoes (roughly chopped)

Sea Salt for sprinkling

Sprig of Rosemary (stalks removed and roughly chopped)

Extra Virgin Olive Oil for Drizzling

You can do this in a mixer with a dough hook or by hand. 

Combine the flour and salt thoroughly before adding the yeast to the flour by sprinkling it over the top.  Add the warm water and olive oil and mix to a pliable dough.  If you do this in a mixer you may find you need extra flour to prevent it being too soft.  Dust your hands with flour (you will need to keep doing this) and knead for 10-15 minutes by hand or 7-8 minutes by machine and then finish by hand.  After this stage the dough should be smooth and bouncy.  Place in a glass bowl and cover with cling film.  Leave to prove somewhere warm and draught free for about 1 hour until doubled in size.

After the hour, remove from the bowl and knock it back on a lightly floured surface.   Stretch the dough into a large flat shape and place the whole olives and the tomatoes onto the top.  Roll up the dough pinching the sides together so it is a closed parcel and mould into the shape you want and tin you plan to bake it in.  Cover with cling film again and leave to prove for 30 minutes.

When doubled in size drizzle with olive oil and sea salt and bake in a 220 degree oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

Indulge your senses by spouting Italian and dipping this wonderful bread into extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Delizioso!

Caramel Shortbread

With a couple of night's away coming up, I made this to provide sustenance for those I leave at home. I know its rather large (I made double quantity) but it is very more-ish.  Anyway it is safe to say that with this lurking in the pantry I will not be missed half as much!  This recipe belongs to the one and only Domestic Goddess... Nigella Lawson. I have added white chocolate to the topping purely because that is my way and I like the swirl effect. Leave it out if you don't like it or are a purist, I won't be offended. 

Shortbread
175g Butter
225g Plain Flour
175g Caster Sugar


Caramel
200g Melted Butter
379g Condensed Milk
4 tbsp Golden Syrup


Chocolate
200g Milk Chocolate Drops
100g White Chocolate Drops


To make the shortbread, combine all the ingredients in a food processor and blitz until it looks like fine breadcrumbs. Empty into a baking tin and press down with your hands. 

Place in the oven for 5 minutes at 170 degrees. Turn the oven down to 150 degrees after the 5 minutes and prick the shortbread all over with a fork. Bake for a further 30 minutes. Remove and leave to cool while you make the caramel.

Place the melted butter in a large bowl with the condensed milk and golden syrup. Nigella suggests you microwave this for 6-7 minutes stirring after each minute. It is ready when thickened and pale golden. Unfortunately this did not work for me and after 5 minutes of microwaving I gave up and heated it in a pan. Try it as suggested though – it may just have been me and a lack of patience. If it does not work just transfer to a pan and heat on the hob stirring continuously until thick and golden.  Pour over the shortbread and leave to cool completely by which time it should also have set.

For the final splash of gorgeousness melt the milk chocolate (I do it in the microwave for 2 minutes and stir) and pour over the set caramel using a knife or spatula to spread evenly over the entire top. Melt the white chocolate (this will probably take 2.5 minutes) and drizzle over the top of the milk chocolate. Use a fork to gently zigzag over the milk chocolate creating a swirl effect.

Leave for about 10 minutes until just beginning to set. Take a sharp knife and cut into pieces leaving it in the tin. If you cut when the chocolate is completely set, it will break and leave you with raggedy edges and messy pieces of caramel shortbread. Leave to set completely and then indulge until your heart (or stomach) is content.

Prawn and Scallop Pasta with Pea Foam and Pancetta

For some of us, the moments in our lives when we suddenly come over all ‘Nigella’ and take on the personification of a real life domestic goddess complete with cute aprons and a drawer dedicated to paper doilies are both strange and infrequent.

For me the ‘goddess moment’ this month was the temptation of therapy via kneading... more specifically kneading pasta.  I am not exactly sure what happened to create this phenomenon but for whatever reason, I suddenly found myself wrist deep in flour and egg yolk spouting Italian.  

This pursuit is not for those in a rush but is quite simply a labour of love and worth the effort.

(Serves 6 as a starter or 2 for a main course)

Prawn and Scallop Mousse

6 Scallops (white meat only)

4 Tiger King Prawns (raw if possible)

1 tbsp Whipping Cream

Seasoning

1 tbsp Fresh Basil

Ravioli

250g ‘00’ Flour

4 large Egg Yolks

3 tbsp Olive Oil

3 tbsp Cold Water

Pea Foam

155g Peas

100ml Chicken Stock

20g Butter

100ml Double Cream

100ml Semi Skimmed Milk

2 tbsp Fresh Dill

Seasoning

First make the pasta.  On a bench pile the flour in a mound and make a well in the centre.  Combine the egg yolks, olive oil and water and pour into the well.  Using a fork mix the eggs together and start to combine the flour into the egg until all of the flour is combined.  Bring the pasta dough together and knead for 10 minutes pushing your weight into the kneading process.  At the end of the 10 minutes the dough should have changed consistency (as the gluten has developed) and colour.  When it feels elastic and smooth, roll into a ball and cover with a glass bowl to rest for 30 minutes.

While the dough rests prepare the seafood mousse.  In a food processor, combine all the ingredients together and blend until finely chopped.  Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate until ready to use.

Cook the peas in the double cream and chicken stock.  Leave to cool for a few minutes. 

Put the peas and liquid into a blender with the chilled butter and dill and blend until smooth, season to taste.

Roll out the pasta dough using either a rolling pin or, if you have one, a pasta roller.  The pasta needs to be as thin as you can get it so starting at the thickest, work the pasta through the machine until you reach the thinnest setting.  Lay on a lightly floured surface and cut out squares approximately 2½“ in size. 

Place a heaped teaspoonful of the mousse into the middle of the square and pull two opposite corners together creating a triangle.  Pinch the edges together.  At this time you can either leave them as they are or bring the corners of the longest side together and twist slightly together to create the shape of a tortellini.  Place a tea towel on a baking sheet and dust lightly with flour.  Lay the pasta parcels on the towel and cover with another until you are ready to use.

Cook the pasta in a saucepan of boiling water for 8-10 minutes until cooked. 

While the pasta is cooking, pass the sauce through a chinoise or sieve to ensure it is completely smooth (this is optional). You want to end up with a smooth thick and frothy sauce.

Put the pea foam into warmed serving bowls so it just covers the bottom.  Top with Prawn and Scallop Pasta and a drizzle of olive oil. 

Decorate with a slice of crispy pancetta.

Frittelle di Ricotta

This recipe came from 'Light of Lucia' by Luciana Sampogna. They look like doughnuts but are much lighter in texture and are just a bit too more-ish.  I have adapted the recipe slightly (only very slightly) by replacing orange liqueur for the juice of fresh oranges, adding honey and adding more grated zest. The only other difference is tossing them in sugar. They also work equally well served warm without the sugar and drizzled with warmed honey and toasted walnuts as a dessert.

Either way they are seriously good and I bet once you start eating them you don't want to stop!

330g Ricotta (drain in a sieve over a bowl for 1 hour before using to remove the liquid content)
3 large Eggs
75g Caster Sugar
1dsp Runny Honey
45ml Orange Juice (freshly squeezed)
Grated zest of 1 Orange
150g Plain Flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
Corn Oil (for deep frying)

Whisk the eggs, sugar, zest and orange juice together until thick and frothy.  Fold in the ricotta cheese.  Add the flour and baking powder and whisk until well combined and smooth. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.


To cook the fritters, heat the oil in a deep fat fryer to 170 degrees in temperature. Gently drop the batter (about a tablespoonful) into the oil leaving room for them to expand as they cook.   Cook for around 5 minutes until they are browned in colour and have puffed up.


Drain on paper towels after removing from the oil and then quickly toss in caster sugar. Leave to cool on a cooling rack. 

Sweet Chilli Chicken

This is one of those recipes that happened by accident.  It started off as a Thai red curry and then just grew.  What it resulted in is almost Cantonese style - spicy, sticky and slightly sweet.  

The marinade works well for a BBQ, slow roasting a rack of ribs or ‘zizzing’ up some tiger king prawns and vegetables.  The trick is allowing the sauce to reduce to the right consistency and caramelise.  After that the options are limited only by your imagination.

2 tbsp Thai Red Curry Paste (you can buy it ready made or see below for making it yourself - its much better!)

1 tbsp Light Soy Sauce

Zest and juice of 1 Lime

Small pinch of Caster Sugar

1 tin Coconut Cream

8 Spring Onions (½” pieces)

1 Red Pepper (sliced)

1 Orange/Yellow Pepper (sliced)

½ Cucumber (cut into thick batons)

100g Cashew Nuts

Handful Fresh Coriander

6 Chicken Thighs (boneless and skinless)

Drizzle of Olive Oil

Combine the red curry paste, soy, zest and lime juice, caster sugar, coconut cream in the pan and heat through.  Add the chicken and leave to marinade for at least 2 hours.

When ready to cook the curry, remove the chicken thighs from the marinade and brown lightly in the olive oil on both sides, set aside.

Sauté the peppers and spring onions 3 minutes and add to the chicken.

Place the marinade in an oven and hob proof pan and heat through.  Add the chicken, chicken stock, peppers and spring onions and heat through.

Place in an oven at 180 degrees for 1 hour.  Remove from the oven and check the thighs are cooked through.  The sauce will probably still be quite runny at this stage so place the pan on the hob and bring to the boil.  The sauce will reduce to a dark syrupy consistency which is a little sticky.

Add the toasted cashew nuts and fresh coriander and serve with rice.

Thai Red Curry Paste

You will probably have some of this paste left over.  Just add to coconut milk or cream and meat, fish or vegetables for an authentic Thai curry.

4 Red Chilli’s (medium strength)

2 tsp Coriander Seeds

2 tsp Cumin Seeds

2 tsp chopped Lemon Grass

2 tsp grated Fresh Ginger

1 large Onion

5 cloves Garlic

Juice of 1 Lime

4 dessertspoons Sweet
Paprika

Combine all of  the ingredients together in a food processor or blender and blitz to a paste. This paste will keep in an airtight jar refrigerated for up to 2 months.

Almond, Macadamia and Chocolate... Macaroons?

Well almost... 

Perhaps not macaroons in the traditional sense but delicious all the same.  You see the problem was I ran out of almonds (always a challenge when preparing macaroons) so after rummaging around the kitchen I ground up some macadamia nuts and then continued adding from there.

The result?  The look and taste of macaroons with a slightly chewier centre – no bad thing - and great with that afternoon cup of coffee.

270g Macadamia Nuts (ground in a food processor)

250g Ground Almonds

115g Egg Whites

500g Caster Sugar

5-6 tbsp of Plain Flour

1 cup of Milk Chocolate Chips (white chocolate would be good too)

1 tsp Almond Extract

Whisk the egg whites until very stiff.  Add the almond extract, sugar and ground nuts.  Add the flour 1 tbsp at a time and stir until a firm mixture is achieved, you can do this is a mixer.  The consistency needs to be firm enough that you can take a heaped teaspoonful of the mixture and roll it easily into a ball in your hands.

Place the balls on baking paper with space between them as they will spread and bake in the oven for 15 minutes at 150 degrees until just going a very pale golden brown colour and the top is slightly cracked.  Leave to cool on the sheet for a few minutes before peeling them off the paper and placing on a cooling rack.

Dust with icing sugar and serve up with coffee and a chat.