A ‘rude’ cake!!

Posted on February 14, 2013 by lardersaga

Caramel and almond cake 3

‘Mummy’, you’re driving rudely! Umm – that’s a new one on me. ‘Badly’ I can handle, ‘fast’, well that’s debatable, but ‘rudely’ I am not sure if to be flattered or disturbed. One of the numerous funny things about children is their ability to lap up words and phrases and then put them into practice. I’ve always adored the story of one gorgeous stepson turning up aged 4, to ‘Bunnie’s’ house (an Aunt I believe) only to sit in the car refusing to move, quite rightly saying ‘where’s the rabbit’, as ‘Bunnie’ happily pranced out of the house hugging and kissing all and sundry. Of course the vocab library though entertaining can be equally damming and no where does it manifest itself more boldly than when it comes to food. ‘It’s deeeesgusting’, ‘deeeeelicious’, ‘more’, ‘yummy’, ‘good job’, we’ve had it all and every facial expression to go with it.

Caramel and almond cake 2

Small wonder that meal times can become a battleground and degenerate fast into all out anarchy. There are many rules that come and go in my house, more so in my kitchen, yet  the one I really try to stick to is; eat your main course and then there just may be a surprise. Luckily for me I emphasise the ‘may be’ and the ‘surprise’, as that frankly can be anything, and I mean anything! Fruit, raisins, yogurt, biscuits, meringues and if you are extremely lucky, a cake! Clearly the last option is usually a complete hit but just occasionally I make something that the ‘little people’, rather rudely I hasten to add, turn their noses up at. Alas, and sadly for them, they have been cake-less this week, while I have been tucking into the leftovers of a rather interesting number that I cooked on monday.

Caramel and almond cake 6

The ‘Caramel and Almond’ Cake is not something I would normally have loitering around my kitchen. I hosted a small dinner for an inspiring group of ladies, the deal was I would happily cook and provide some vino (well Mr.P did that) once the food and drink were covered, everything else went to ‘Action Against Hunger’. Happily I have just put a cheque in the post for £200, a cracking result for a monday night, unhappily I have been hoovering up the left over cake that served as a pudding. The ‘Little People’ thinner for it, but mummy somewhat fatter! Hey ho! I think the photos speak volumes. Clearly it is a cake but on both outings I have used it as a pudding, served with some roasted apricots and creme fraiche or just plain raspberries it certainly hits the mark, though curiously not for the ‘pink’ and ‘blue’, their loss!

Toscakaka ‘Caramel and Almond Cake’ Recipe from Scandilicious Baking by Signe Johansen (inspired by ‘Poires et Chocolate’ who blogged the recipe a few weeks ago)

For the cake:
70ml milk
1 tsp lemon juice
75g unsalted butter
3 eggs
150g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
150g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp fine sea salt

For the topping:
150g flaked almonds
125g butter
125g light brown sugar
50ml milk
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp espresso powder

Turn on the oven to 160C. Prepare a round tin, I used a 10″ one with a loose bottom that I covered in greaseproof paper.

Squeeze the lemon juice into the milk and give it a stir. Now place the almonds in the oven,  do watch them carefully they need to be golden but not dark caramel in color, 7- 10 minutes.

Melt the butter in a saucepan and then pull off the heat and allow to cool.

Place the eggs, sugar,vanilla in an electric mixer and beat hard for 5- 8 minutes so that the mix doubles/ triples in size and becomes light, creamy and very thick. Weigh out the flour, baking powder and salt and sieve together. Now fold in a 1/3 of the flour mixture and then repeat with the next 1/3 and a drizzle of the milk, followed by the last 1/3 and the remaining milk. Now fold in the butter in 2 stages, taking great care to cut and fold. DOn’t over mix but do be thorough. When you are happy everything has been incorporated  gently pour it into your tin.

Bake for 20 -30 minutes depending on the speed of your oven. I have now made it twice, once in an Aga and once in a fan oven -with a variation of 10 minutes between when each cake was cooked. The cake should be set with a light golden color on top.

While the cake is in the oven make the topping (ideally about 10 minutes before it is baked – but that is real precision). Place the butter, sugar and milk, salt, espresso powder in a saucepan and stir while the butter melts. Keep it on the heat for 4 -5 minutes and then pull off.  Now turn the oven up to 200C, instantly remove the cake and pour the almond caramel mix over the top. Make sure it is evenly spread and then pop back in the oven on a baking tray for 8-10 minutes until the topping is golden, caramel brown and bubbling. Place in the top of the oven and bake for 8-10 minutes until the glaze is deep brown and bubbling. Remove and allow to cool.

Serve with creme fraiche, mascapone or Greek yogurt.

(Makes about 12- 15 slices)

Caramel and almond cake 4

Posted in Delectable delights | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Ballet boys

Posted on February 8, 2013 by lardersaga

Salmon, fennel and parsley with coconut milk 039

Imagine my surprise when I happily traipsed the ‘pink’ one off for her trial ballet session, (blue one tagging reluctantly behind) only to discover that the ‘blue’ one is the dance fanatic and the one mustard keen to point his toes! It was only slightly embarrassing, he only mildly outstayed his welcome with the teachers. I totally failed to extract him after the first trial as he insisted on staying for the next lesson as well. Who would have thought my testosterone charged toddler would happily endure, actually, actively participate in 90 minutes of ballet. I suppose you can’t blame him, only chap in the class, surrounded by lots of charming, pretty ballerinas, decked out in full regalia, tutus et all! So no guess’ what I am up to this afternoon, off to the ballet shop to get the kit!

Salmon, fennel and parsley with coconut milk 011

The culinary world is full of surprises and I was reminded of this only last week when I recalled cooking a rather interesting so-called ‘soup’, inspired by a brilliant blog I have followed for years, called ‘Cannelle et Vanille’. The blog is a gem, beautiful photos, fabulous recipes, wonderfully inspiring. If you have a gluten intolerance, this is the blog for you, as most of the baking recipes use every weird and wonderful alternative to conventional flour; teff flour, hazel meal, rice flour, and many, many others. All of the recipes I have tried are exceptional, particularly the savoury ones. I made this ‘soup’ when it was originally posted  a few years back and suddenly remembered it last week. I wanted something to follow some rice paper rolls and this proved to be a good choice. It worked just as I had hoped. Everything kind of ‘danced’ together, an ideal kitchen supper, different, clean, healthy, but not ‘knock your socks off’ spicy.

Salmon, fennel and parsley with coconut milk 023

The original recipe is archived as a soup but I would argue it really is a meal in itself. It is an unusual marriage, who would think of putting, parsnip, fennel and leek with coconut milk? But it works. It does need good seasoning, a healthy pinch of Maldon salt and some good ground black pepper, I also added a couple of tablespoons of Thai fish sauce and a few pea shoots on top. Arguably you could add some fresh ginger, and chilli which would lead you down the curry route, personally I think its appeal is in its simplicity and unique delicate flavors. It’s other major selling point is how quickly you can rustle it up, and I mean that in the context of not redecorating your kitchen in the process. Rarely can you knock something really good up in 15 minutes, but this surprisingly fits into that category. Clearly you can keep it as a soup, and how wonderful to be served this for lunch, or you can bulk it out, as I did, alongside some spicy soba noodles, da da, a main course!

I think this recipe is quite a find, perfect for this time of year, making good use of seasonal produce, but refreshingly different with the use of coconut milk, hinting of Asia and warmer climes. Do try it, it is rather addictive and a cracker to have in your repertoire particularly if you are short on time. Lastly, if none of the above appeals, do look at ‘Cannelle et Vanille’, it is a feast for the eyes, really beautiful photos and fabulous recipes.

Salmon, fennel and parsley with coconut milk 031

Salmon, Fennel, Parsnip and Coconut Soup – Originally inspired by ‘Cannelle et Vanille’

Serves 2

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 leek, washed and sliced finely
1 clove garlic crushed
1/2 fennel bulb, diced
2 parsnips peeled and diced
1 cup vegetable stock
1 cup coconut milk
A good pinch of Maldon salt
A really good grind of black pepper
8 oz salmon, cut into bitesize pieces
2 tablespoons of Thai Fish sauce

Fresh Pea Shoots (optional) to serve on top and pink peppercorns to garnish

1. Heat the olive oil in a medium size pan that will be able to hold all of the ingredients. Add the leek, garlic, fennel and cook until  just tender, about 8 minutes. Do not brown the vegetables. Now add the parsnip, stock and coconut milk and cook the parsnip for about 15 minutes till just tender.

2. You can prepare all the above in advance and then just leave the saucepan covered (off the heat) until you are ready to eat. 10 minutes before you want to eat, reheat the sauce pan so the liquid is just about to boil, turn the temperature down, add the salmon and cook until it turns light pink, about 3/4 minutes. Add the thai fish sauce, salt and pepper and serve immediately in warm bowls either as a soup or on top of some soba noodles. Decorate with a few crushed pink peppercorns.

And finally if I have persuaded you to cook this, take note, the salmon needs very little time to cook. It will carry on cooking once you serve up so do go easy on it.

Posted in Fish fantastic, One Pot Wonders | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

‘B’ is for Birthday = CAKE

Posted on February 1, 2013 by lardersaga

40th Birthday Party 008

‘B’ is for birthday, ‘C’ is for cake. And the eternal question, what kind of cake? and when exactly am I going to make it? Decorating after all takes about 4 times longer than you ever bargain for, all those grand ideas about tiers, shapes and different shades of icing,  sadly stay as just that, ideas. But a birthday is a birthday, and in spite of being time poor I was feeling creatively rich, so all I had to do was marry the two! I’ll be honest I defaulted on this occasion to use a recipe that is a tried and tested favorite. An ‘Ottolenghi’ number but with an interesting and consequently novel twist, the very clever addition of hazelnuts. The only slight issue, it was a cupcake recipe, and I had dreamt of building something more glamorous.

40th Birthday Party 006

I tend to shy away from cupcakes as every shop in London and indeed the country sells them, they are everywhere, and what’s more everyone, including the ‘blue’ ones nursery, makes them. What is more, I had intended to make that really ‘special’ cake, but good intentions in my life often do not turn into reality. To be fair I only had the green light to get ready for said ‘celebration lunch’ the day before. This ultimately left me little scope for a mass creation, unquestionably a relief for our kitchen, Mr.P, the ‘little people’ and indeed my sanity, and hence the default option ‘Hazelnut Cupcakes’. That was all fine until 6am dawned Thursday morning (yes, sadly that is when the ‘blue’ one starts his day and mine) and I was happily about to bake off  the cupcakes only to discover -alas no cases! Aaahh –  homemade it would have to be, really homemade in all aspects!

40th Birthday Party 023

Back to those hazelnuts. The reason said cupcakes are different is they are made with roasted, ground hazelnuts. Roasting, intensifies their flavour by a magnitude of 10 or more, and subsequently makes the cake nutty and as light as a feather. The combination of this wickedly good nut flavor and feather like sponge, topped with a rich cream cheese butter icing is a heavenly marriage and believe me, smitten you will be. A few drops of the all important pink to make the cupcakes look like roses, a bit of raffia and ribbon and quite surprisingly the default option looked pretty presentable. Not bad given my lack of tools at 6am. Do give them a try, they really are very yummy and an unexpected change.

Hazelnut Cupcakes – from ‘Ottolenghi’ The Cookbook (slightly altered by myself)

Make 8-12

45g peeled hazelnuts

150g of caster sugar

180g of plain flour

1 1/4 tsp of baking powder

1/3 tsp salt

150g of softened butter

2 free range eggs

150ml of soured cream (or use normal cream with 4 -6 drops of lemon juice)

Icing

Cream cheese, softened butter and icing sugar

1. Pre-heat the oven to 150c and put the hazelnuts on an oven tray and roast for 15 minutes. Remove and let cool. Now turn the oven up to 170c.

2. Whizz the nuts in a food processor with half of the sugar until completely fine. Now cream the rest of the sugar, butter and nuts together till light and airy.

3. Mix in the beaten eggs and now fold in the dry ingredients, followed by the sour cream.

4. Spoon 2 healthy teaspoons of the mix into your cupcake cases (shop bought or homemade), and bake in the oven for 20 -25 minutes.

5. Remove from the muffin tin when cooked and allow to cool before icing.

6. My icing recipe is very vague as I tend to make it up each time. Broadly speaking I beat equal quantities of butter and cream cheese together until completely smooth and then add in the icing sugar till I have a consistency that I am completely happy with! Not very helpful but it seems to work for me.

Posted in Delectable delights, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Pat-a-cake-pancake

Posted on January 30, 2013 by lardersaga

Pancake eaters 009

Where’s Daddy? “he’s hiding” (the pink one), “he’s on the boat” (the blue one). Oh so charming! This conversation took place after I had tried to explain, evidently not well, that ‘Daddy’ was at work! The ‘blue’ one has a point, Daddy does take the river taxi to work most mornings, but the fact that he thinks Daddy stays on it all day doesn’t bare thinking about. As for the ‘pink’ one, frankly everything is ‘hiding’ at the moment, ‘ugly doll’, ‘rabbit’, ‘Toffee’, even ‘Granny’. ‘Hiding’ is just such a useful word and is curiously linked to this post by the very fact that the all important ‘pancakes’ were ‘hiding’ yesterday, strangely inside the ‘little people’s’ tummies.

Pancake eaters 014

With Shrove Tuesday fast  approaching (Tuesday 12th February), I wanted to share a quick word on pancakes. Firstly, pancakes of any variety should never be condemned to just one day a year, and secondly, little people love them; fat, thin, fruity or syrupy,  they are so, and I mean, SO easy to make, and hence the reason for this post. Don’t get me wrong I am not into pancakes at breakfast but as a pudding, that’s a different matter, having eaten all the trees (that’s brocolli in our house) then pudding, or pancakes in this case get the green light.

I was brought up in a home where packets of biscuits simply did not exist. My mother was, and still is a great baker, and as children we were treated to endless cakes and biscuits made by her fair hand, but only once the ‘meat and 2 veg’ had been devoured. Granny’s scones are unrivalled and her ‘Scotch pancakes’ or ‘drop-scones’ are pretty awesome. In a hark back to what I was bought up on, I started making the ‘little people’ the latter about a year ago, and have never looked back. From my experience they are hilariously easy to knock up and are virtually inhaled on sight. What is more they can help (or hinder) the making process, which most little people rather like doing. The ‘blue’ one cracks the egg, it gives him a sense of empowerment, the ‘pink’ one helps spoon in  the flour, and everyone gives it a stir, I do the cooking and flipping!

Pancake eaters 006

I tend to make them plain but occasionally I add blueberries and banana into the batter which adds a little fruity jazz into what is ultimately a very plain pudding. The ‘little people’ like a little butter on the finished product, but that’s it, they are after all, their fathers children (he loves butter)! We have not really ventured into golden syrup territory, which is a relief for their teeth, and keeps the whole pudding chapter on the straight and narrow in terms of not injecting them with unnecessary sugar. Chances are, you have all of these ingredients in your store larder now, which makes this toddler pudding a complete no brainer. The batter can be made in advance (but not too far), but the pancakes have to be cooked and eaten instantly, no hanging around or they lose their magic. Happy pat-a-cake-pancake making.

‘Little People’ Pancakes

1 Egg

3 tablespoons of self-raising flour

1 teaspoon of sugar

3 tablespoons of milk

A knob of butter

Makes about 10 – 15 small pancakes the size of a hob nob biscuit.

1. Spoon the flour and sugar into a bowl, crack the egg and add in the milk. Stir with a wooden spoon or use a whisk to bring everything together so it is well incorporated in to a smooth batter.

2. Using a non stick frying pan, melt a knob of butter pushing it all around the pan. Now scrape the remaining melted butter in the pancake batter, give it a good stir. Start spooning large teaspoons of batter into the pan. When the batter starts to bubble flip the pancakes over. Once cooked, leave to cool slightly before letting the ‘little people’ polish them up.

Pancake eaters 029

How many can get in my mouth?

Posted in Toddlers and tinies | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Wild things and oranges

Posted on January 23, 2013 by lardersaga

Blood orange bonanza 003

Africa, Attenborough, wild food. How are they all connected? I am not sure I can answer that, but Mr. P is rightfully concerned, first rabbit, then pigeon, what’s next on the vermin menu? And after all, it was the weekend, surely a time for treats, and ideally fat slabs of pulsing red meat. Actually, he’ll be relieved to know he is off the hook, at least for the next few days. Also, lets face it, the classification is broad, vermin to one, is a rich and rare luxury to another, at least that is my excuse.

The risk of living with someone like myself is I have never been content cooking within one repertoire. What with those crazy new year ideas, I have been scouring my cookbooks. Shreds of paper are littered throughout as useful reminders as to what is on my hit list. Hence, ‘Pigeon Ragu’ materialised from Boca. Very earthy, rustic, wild and just very January. A sublime not so wild, ‘Lemon crumb cake’, packed with citrus punch from ‘Food from Plenty’, and a few of my own creations. ‘Rabbit lasagna’ made with wild rabbit and homemade pasta sheets was very naughty, as was my own take on an ‘Italian veal casserole’ with sautéed Savoy cabbage with a smattering of chilli. This brings me happily onto why I love January. Not only is it the blatantly obvious ‘new beginning’ month,  not only is ‘Attenborough’ on TV every Wednesday in the magical ‘Africa’ documentary,   but critically, it is the month that heralds the advent of blood oranges. Hoorah, huge excitement in the fruit bowl as it begins to groan with Sicilian, or possibly Spanish, hot-blooded fruit.

Blood orange bonanza 016

The name says it all. These oranges come in varying shades, some a wicked crimson purple, some just dappled with ruby-red. Whatever shade they reveal themselves to be, and there is no telling from their coats, there is something wantonly lustful, sexy and passionate about them. Total wild cards in looks they are consistently sweet and juicy and just so much more versatile than your standard orange. Deep in the English winter they are just a thrill to use in the kitchen. Treasured at home by the ‘little’ and ‘big’ people alike, the ‘pink one’ has taken to gnawing her way through the peel, such is the urgency to sink her few teeth into such heavenly succulence. But beware, the season is short, 3 months on average, starting at the beginning of this month and rarely exceeding beyond March. I have heard that California has started producing these little gems, yet I am none the wiser as to their season. The bottom line is, don’t miss out. They are a ray of light on dark, cold, snowy January days. Obviously they are healthy, packed full of Vitamin C, and are happily at home in salads married with Italian hams and cheeses such as Pecorino, Manchego, Burratta and the like.

Blood orange bonanza 006

Let me digress and give a few pointers as to how to use them! In the days before the ‘little people’ arrived to wreak havoc across our weekends at the same time as spreading great joy and frustration in equal measure, I used to squeeze juice!! I can’t even believe it myself but breakfast with Mr.P always started with a fabulous glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. Sometimes it was pink grapefruit but in January it was, (no points for guessing this one), ‘blood orange juice’. This is properly pretty and if you have the time and let’s face it, that is a relative thing, do try this. It is the best orange juice, ever.

Blood oranges 005

Next up is the salad option. Now this really could not be more simple. Frankly, just don’t complicate these lush oranges. You really can throw together 3 or 4 ingredients and have a stunning salad. So first out of the block and one of my favorites is ‘Blood orange with Sardinian ham, toasted hazelnuts and rocket’, next up, ‘Blood orange with Pecorino, walnuts and lambs lettuce’, any marriage with burratta, mozzarella and goats cheese all work in equally good measure. As a nod to the health police, blood oranges tossed with Puy lentils, toasted nuts, spring onions and handful of fresh herbs is also a nutritious number one.

And now for something sweet. Pavlova with blood oranges and pomegranate has a good seasonal wow factor, alternatively with some lightly roasted pink rhubarb (which is about to come into season) and raspberries makes a very ‘pretty’n’pink’ pudding. Sky Gyngell has a couple of stunning recipes, a blood orange jelly and blood oranges with honey and rosemary. And last but not least there is always the marmalade option.

One last word on this blood orange bonanza, my recipe for today, ‘Blood oranges with rocket, pumpkin seeds, toasted hazelnuts and shaved Pecorino’, a quirky salad that takes under 5 minutes to put together, no cooking or skill required – so simple, yet aesthetically so decadent.

Blood oranges 008

Blood oranges with rocket, pumpkin seeds, toasted hazelnuts and shaved Pecorino

Serves 2

2 handfuls of washed rocket leaves

2 blood oranges, segmented with white pith removed ( I use a little serrated pairing knife)

1 handful of pumpkin seeds

10 hazelnuts, roasted and crushed

Pecorino (or Parmesan, or Manchego) a good handful of shavings, use a vegetable peeler

Olive oil – the best you can afford

Ground black pepper

This salad hardly needs a step by step guide, but here are a few pointers. It needs to be eaten immediately so don’t make it in advance and then leave it 3 hours to stand all lonely. If you want to get ahead, the oranges can be prepared and left covered, and the same can be said for the Pecorino, likewise the hazelnuts can be roasted. Dress at the very last-minute with some really good olive oil and a good grind of black pepper and a pinch of Maldon salt. If you want to bulk this salad out a bit and cater for a carnivore, a few slices of Parma ham would go down a treat. The magic is really keeping it fuss free and relishing the  oranges which not only taste but also smell divine. Eat and enjoy.

Posted in Seasonal salads | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Sweet for my sweet….another chilli sauce

Posted on January 15, 2013 by lardersaga

Sweet chilli 021

The clever little men behind WordPress put together a rather impressive annual report for Lardersaga which came winging into my inbox on New Years Eve. All sorts of fascinating information is disclosed, number of hits per day, where in the world they come from, where they found lardersaga, all in all, mind boggling stuff. Needless to say amongst all of this paraphernalia are the statistics for the most popular post, in others words the recipe that has been most frequently visited over the last 9 months. Am I surprised to discover it is ‘Sweet Chilli and Tomato Jam’? No, probably not. I mean did I ever tell you that chillies after all are addictive? Once bitten, totally smitten, applies to this one, honestly once you’ve made this jam you’ll never look back, it really is a classic larder staple, and very, very, very addictive. And judging by the traffic this post has generated I think it speaks for itself.

Sweet chilli 015

So baring in mind one of those ambitious resolutions was to cook something new everyday, (drat just conveniently realised the running failed to start last week), I dived into ‘salt sugar smoke’, to see what that wonderful matriarch on cooking, Diana Henry, had to say about chilli jams and sauces. One ‘Pepper and Chilli’ jam looked tempting but the recipe listed pectin which I certainly don’t have floating round my larder, further on I found a very simple recipe for a ‘thai sweet chilli sauce’, notably different from my previous ‘jam’ version this is one for dipping and dressing. Back in the Sugar&Spice kitchen we used to make a fabulously punchy one straight out of Peter Gordons’ ‘Sugar Club’ cookbook and this one was broadly similar but had slightly less ingredients. Apologies for getting nerdish about chilli sauces, clearly yours truely is addicted, the sad reality is homemade ones are just leagues ahead of anything you can buy off the shelf and this sauce, not unlike the ‘Sweet Chilli and Tomato Jam’ I shared with you last April, is just a firecracker, a stunning, cheeky little number to pull out and pep up the January blues.

This recipe is pip squeak easy to make and for anyone who loves a little Asian influence in their food, is the perfect accompaniment to grilled chicken, fish or even a little healthy Thai salad. I took a few short cuts and pushed all the ingredients into a hand blender with the vinegar and fish sauce and gave it a healthy whizz before adding it to the caramel. It makes 2 jars and keeps in the fridge pretty much indefinitely. Unlike the jam, which is more in line with a relish or chutney, this really is a sauce, beware it will knock your socks off!

 Thai sweet chilli sauce – from ‘salt sugar smoke’ by Diana Henry

6 large red chillies, 3 of them deseeded, all roughly chopped

5cm (2in)square piece of fresh root ginger, peeled and roughly chopped

finely grated zest of 3 limes and juice of 2

12 garlic cloves peeled

1 large bunch of coriander leaves

300gms granulated sugar

50ml Thai fish sauce

120ml white wine vinegar

1. Puree the chillies, ginger, lime zest, juice, garlic, coriander in a food processor or handheld blender with the white wine vinegar and fish sauce.

2. Put the sugar in a heavy based saucepan with 6tbspn of water and place on a medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Increase the heat and boil until the sugar becomes a caramel colour. Stir in the paste- it will spit- and simmer for 2 minutes. Leave to cool and then pour into sterilized jars. When cool, refrigerate.

Posted in Delectable delights, One for the larder | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

New Year Resolutions

Posted on January 9, 2013 by lardersaga

Tortellini

Famously renowned in our family for being a tad ambitious as to what can be squeezed into each day, and in spite of being in my fourth decade of this glorious life, I still have not learnt from previous mistakes and my endless resolutions are testament to this! Honestly, it doubles as a ‘to-do list but who cares. At least there may be some fleeting chance of success. So topping the list are some fairly grandiose ideas like, getting published, going viral (not really sure what that means but in terms of a blog I think it is a good thing), becoming a food stylist and food photographer, then there are the usual very dull ones, drink more water, less wine, no coffee, exercise, get fit and run at least twice a week, and that is not after the ‘little people’, uumm all of that bit is starting this week when technically my new year really begins! Somewhere in between the absurd and ridiculous are the vaguely achievable resolutions, cook something new everyday, read more cookery books, read any books, start a pop-up restaurant / supper club, cook more, waste less, learn how to tweet, operate facebook, get a grip of social media, turn on the tv, turn off the tv, the list is endless. Hidden amongst these endless random wants and not wants is a resolution that has already been achieved, ‘to make my own pasta’ – ha ha – a home goal, how smug am I? Goodie, off to a fabulously optimistic start.

Making tortellini

Please don’t get me wrong, I have made pasta before but it had not become a kitchen staple and there was probably a good reason for this. That said I was really keen to remind my self that any task done once becomes instantly easier, faster and less messy on the second outing, and this particularly applies to pasta making. Homemade pasta does require patience and a serious love of pasta so probably not advisable for the faint hearted, wheat intolerant or pasta ignorant, but for those in the know whom respect this humble marriage of eggs and flour start preparing the kitchen for a little ‘flour’ dusting! I have now made it twice in the last week and it is very good, I think on that basis the pasta machine has done an impressive jump in culinary social-climbing and will now remain resident in the larder as opposed to hanging out in the laundry.

Tagliatelle

Many of you will appreciate our family’s love of Italy, so it is no great surprise that pasta is regularly on the menu at home. We use vast quantities of dried pasta the likes everyone is familiar with but fresh ravioli and tortellini we only eat occasionally. And it was this latter form of pasta that got our fingers itching. Pasta itself is very easy to make, flour and egg yolks are combined to make a dough which is then passed through a pasta machine, this process compresses the dough and makes it thinner and thinner and thinner until on the last setting the correct pasta width is reached. I don’t mean to over simplify the process but there really is very little to it. What I have failed to mention is that we have an electric pasta machine that does substantially speed up the rolling process. Kindly given to us some years ago the ‘Pasta Presto’ is genius, it has 3 settings, the first to make flat pasta sheets, then tagliatelle and then little ravioli – really clever, and very easy on the arms!

Pasta presto

As for the filling, the jewel in the middle of these nifty little parcels, that is largely up to you. Ravioli traditionally are pasta parcels stuffed with leftovers, it hence seemed appropriate that a little cunning fridge raiding would probably produce the necessary bounty. A few off cuts of veal were minced and thrown together with some savoy cabbage and Parmesan – inspired by some Agnolotti devoured at Boca Di Lupo, I had a quick flick through their bible of a book and found said recipe, Mr.P was thrilled. Second outing we were much braver and concocted 2 creations ourselves, swiss chard, ricotta and Parmesan, and then a butternut, almond, sage and ricotta. Both delicious and elevated to an unprecedented height by a wonderful sauce discovered in the ‘Boca’ cookbook. ‘Walnut sauce’ was a complete new one on me and a seriously good discovery. This I promise will be used time and time again and will absolutely become a regular feature in our kitchen. Deceptively creamy and luxurious you would imagine the sauce has a huge cream content, actually it has none, it is a savvy emulsion of bread and milk, walnuts, Parmesan, oil and water. I admit it does sound unconventional, I promise it works, it really is fantastic, and actually with a little ingenuity could be used in a number of different ways. So on that note, I don’t really expect you to reach for the pasta machine but please try this sauce, it is revolutionary. Silky, nutty, even healthy – you will love it – that is almost an order!

pasta 014

Pasta Dough

200 gms of 00 pasta flour

3 egg yolks and 1 whole egg

This will make more than enough pasta for tortellini for 4 people as a starter or 2 as a main course. Anything extra you can always keep aside as plain sheets for lasagne or make parpadelle! To cater for more I would jump to 400gms of flour and 6 egg yolks. BUT please note this is merely a guideline, the aim is to make a pliable dough, not indifferent in texture and feel to ‘playdoh’ , so if the mix is too dry just add in more egg yolks until it comes together and forms a dough. My brief experience of making pasta is to be guided by how it feels as opposed to the recipe as the size of the eggs makes a huge difference so do go on instinct instead of hard and fast recipe quantities!

When the dough has come together knead well and then roll until it is a sensible size to start passing through the pasta machine. Every time it is passed through, fold it and pass it through again. We put the pasta through 3 times on each setting and stopped at setting no.2 for making tortellini. You can go thinner obviously but this is what Boca di Lupo recommended and it certainly worked for us. When the pasta is the required width to work with cut into your desired shape, we simply used a large round cutter, place a small teaspoon of filling in the middle, fold the parcel in half, seal with a little water, pinch around the sides and ‘ker- ching’ your parcel is made! We dusted an oven tray with polenta and flour and rested the tortellini on top and stored them in the fridge for several hours before using them, I think this works as it drys the pasta out slightly and allows the filling to set a little before plunging them into a pot of salted boiling water!

pasta 019

Wonderful ‘Walnut Sauce’ from Boca di Lupo – Jacob Kenedy

Serves 4

80gms of freshly grated Parmesan

4 tablespoons of milk

60gms of bread broken up crusts removed

100gms of walnut halves/ pieces

150ml of olive oil

300ml of water

1. Soak the bread in milk and then add the Parmesan and walnuts. Blend in a liquidizer or hand blender until completely smooth.

2. Now gradually add in the oil and water – the paste will become very thick and then gradually will thin down as the emulsion forms into a lovely smooth nutty sauce. Add pepper and salt and then re-heat in a pan to serve with pasta!

EAT and ENJOY – !

Posted in One Pot Wonders | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Goodbye 2012

Posted on December 31, 2012 by lardersaga

Christmas cake 003

Ten days of feasting, family and fun and now New Year. The menu,  a simple Chicory and Radicchio salad with fresh Pecorino followed by Spaghetti Bottarga. The guests, aha here is the magic, just Mr.P and moi. The dress; smoking jacket for him, a long black number for me. The wine, probably Italian, but that’s not my department. Location; the farm.  Carriages; probably before midnight (and that will be a first this holiday). Surprise event; flooding!

Hideously simple but utterly divine, is my prediction for this evening, (apart from the flooding, please make it stop raining). Not everyone’s cup of tea I agree, and hardly a wild glitzy night, but the last week or so has just been a blur of wonderful food, gorgeous people, amazing presents, late nights, early mornings, wind, rain, more rain and even more rain. We have eaten everything from the traditional roast turkey on Christmas day, to our own home reared lamb, mutton, partridge, duck, veal, 9kg of Green Gammon, in practically every combination. Veal cooked in hay, an Alpine raclette, Bang Bang Turkey, Middle Eastern Shepherds Pie, French Onion Soup, Hot and Sour Thai Squid Soup, Crab Linguini, Fois Gras, Cured Mackerel, I think you get the picture. We have pillaged what is left in the garden, beetroot and chard, raided the sheep shed for the hay, and made a small dent in the freezer of frozen meat! and a very large dent in the Christmas cake.

Christmas 2012 150

Father Christmas did a fine job this year and brought a library of new cookbooks, ‘Polpo’ A Venetian Cookbook, ‘salt sugar smoke’ Diana Henry, ‘Limoncello and Linen Water’ Tessa Kiros, ‘scandilicious’ Signe Johansen, ‘Sugar & Spice’ Gaittri Pagrach-Chandra and brilliantly ‘What to do with the Cold Mutton’ 1887! Some had been on my wish list others were a complete surprise (no guesses there) and some a really pleasant discovery. Take ‘Sugar&Spice’, kindly bought by my sister because of the name, the same that I chose for the catering company I set up in 2001 and subsequently sold in 2011. It is written by the brilliant Gaitri Pagrach-Chandra, who wrote the highly acclaimed ‘Warm Bread and Honey Cake’ which I sadly don’t have in my collection but whose recipes I have followed through other blogs.  The name is a giveaway, so no points for guessing the content of ‘Sugar & Spice’, it is a wonderful compendium of everything sweet, naughty and nice. An absolute must have for the ‘little people’ and probably for that matter big people, a great addition to my ever increasing library.

Christmas 2012 145

Unsurprisingly there was a healthy dose of Italian books. ‘Polpo’, inspired by the huge success of their family of London restaurants, sadly none of which I have been to, is a really clever book. I particularly love the fact there is no spine to speak of, thoughtfully removed prior to being launched into the heat of the kitchen where it would have invariably disappeared anyhow. It contains heavenly photos of Venice and mouth-watering recipes that will certainly feature on our menu shortly. ‘Limoncello and Linen Water’, exquisitely named with charming photos, it is a nostalgic trip into Italy with age-old family recipes, a real gem uniting past and present. And for the finale, my Swedish prayer was answered, ‘scandilicious’ happily arrived along with the wonderful ‘salt sugar smoke’ by Diana Henry who I simply adore. She is an author whom it is impossible not to like. A truly inspired, wonderfully well-travelled, sensible, brilliant chef. My mission in 2013 is to cook more of her recipes – without question my favourite family chef of the day. And finally the trump card, ‘What to do with the Cold Mutton’, a book written well over a century ago with some totally cracking recipes, watch this space, I promise to use it!

Christmas 2012 149

So no lack of material to propel me into the new year. The question is the agenda? Where will this funny little blog take me next and what adventures lie ahead. Somehow,  and in spite of the wonderful daily obstacles set up by the pink and blue I have managed to write, and write on a somewhat consistent basis. I do love it and am always astonished to discover people using the recipes and following some of my random culinary advice. I hope you will continue to enjoy reading lardersaga, reincarnating the recipes and putting up with my endless drivel about how food obsessed my life really is!!

Happy New Year, may it bring you all plenty of joy and happiness, and hopefully a little more sunshine!

Posted in Little black foodie book | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Brace yourself

Posted on December 21, 2012 by lardersaga

duck ragu 035

Strangely I am not talking about Christmas. Imagine my excitement when the dentist/ torturer (rather depends which side of the chair you are), announces, (not a moment too soon I may add), that the hideous traintracks running round my mouth are finally going to be removed. Praise the Lord. To give you some context I am extremely spoilt as up until last year my pearly whites had given me not one bit of grief. Granted, the wisdoms were removed and I looked like a hamster for a week, but with that exception I don’t even have a filling. That is until I noticed some serious subsidence and hence the braces. It is amazing what they can do now days, but pain is part of the gain, and that pain is pretty hideous I may add if: A. you love food and eating, and B. you like talking. I cannot tell you how thrilled I am at the prospect of them being removed. No doubt the waistline will expand chronically and I’ll live to regret the new freedom in my mouth, this is likely to be the best Christmas present ever.

duck ragu 027

Moving swiftly on, I promised you ‘one pot wonders’ and to date have only delivered a handful, so before this year is out please can I recommend our new family favorite ‘Duck Ragu’. This goes back to having a freezer full of game and looking for alternative ways to use it. I rather like duck, along with pigeon, hare and rabbit but Mr.P is not a fan, especially of the latter two, particularly after ‘Nibbles’ took an early departure from this world! So roast duck in its classic state is not an option, duck ragu however seems to have slid under the radar and importantly be suitably disguised as to not pull too many heart strings. The origin of the recipe is unsurprisingly from The River Cafe Pasta Book, a total gem, however the wonderful Ruth Rogers would be horrified by how I have changed it. In my defence, it is to make it more user friendly on the time poor and ‘little people’ rich families, so yes it is bastardised to suit me, but still shockingly good and appeals to young and old alike, even the pink one aged 18 months wolfs it down.

duck ragu 053

This version of ‘Duck Ragu’ is complex as it combines the classic ragu foundation bricks, celery, carrot, onions and garlic, with spices, cinnamon, star anise and chilli with the heady scent of juniper and sage. The first time I made it, it seemed to take an age, but persevere as once done the beauty of this dish is that it is a ‘one pot wonder’. As the ingredients above indicate the ragu is velvety, earthy and warming, a cracking way of cooking wild duck and a really good dinner party number if you want to concentrate on gossip as opposed to slaving in the kitchen. This was my particular scenario last tuesday when some dear friends pitched up from Bonny Scotland and I hosted an evening in their honor. I wanted something tasty, different, and critically, easy. Also, I say dinner party, that sounds way too grand, it was more just a very jolly gathering of 8 friends, certainly not high brow Michelin Star painted plate food, sadly for them, just simple seasonal fare, colorful, interesting and not altogether familiar!

duck ragu 057

Duck Ragu

Serves 8

2 wild Duck

2 carrots, cut into 1 cm cubes

4 sticks of celery, cut into 1 cm cubes

8 garlic cloves, 4 finely chopped and 4 peeled and left whole

2 onions, cut into fine dice

1 tablespoon of juniper berries, crushed with a pestle and mortar

1 teaspoon of chilli flakes

2 star anise

1 cinnamon stick or 1 teaspoon of cinnamon powder

300 ml of red wine

2 bay leaves

2 x 400gms tins of chopped tomatoes

20 sage leaves

Olive oil

salt and pepper

3 – 4 tablespoons double cream

1. First of all put your large Le Creuset dish on a hot plate and heat up 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the onions, carrots, celery and garlic, stir frequently so the vegetables don’t burn but get a good golden color.

2. While the vegetables are cooking put a frying pan on the heat, ideally non stick, and brown the duck all over with a little olive oil added to the pan. When the duck has cooled stuff inside each cavity 10 sage leaves and the juniper berries, and 2 peeled whole garlic cloves.

3. When the vegetables have turned a good golden color, add the red wine and stir well, now add the tomatoes, chilli, star anise, cinnamon, chilli and bay. Turn off the heat and push one duck at a time into the Le Creuset dish. Stuff some tomato sauce into the cavity and make sure the 2 duck are sitting snugly, practically submerged in the tomato-vegetable sauce. Pop the lid on.

4. Put the Le Creuset into a pre heated oven 150, for 2 hours.

5. Remove from the oven and allow to cool until acceptable to handle.

6. Right this is the messy bit, strip the duck and shred the meat and set aside. Put all the tomato-vegetable sauce in a magi mix and pulse to make a thick sauce. Add the duck back into the sauce, add a good pinch of Maldon sea salt and a good twist do black pepper. When you are ready to use it stir in the cream and reheat. One pot wonder ‘duck ragu’ to feed 8. Serve with good tagliatelle or parpadelle, and plenty of freshly grated Parmesan.

duck ragu 045

Posted in Cuts for carnivores, One Pot Wonders | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

What to drink this Christmas? Guest post from the family wine guru!

Posted on December 13, 2012 by lardersaga

christmas 006

When asked to write something on Christmas drinks I really wanted to avoid repeating the countless wine columns in the papers and magazines at the moment by suggesting some slightly different wines to try at Christmas. What to have with turkey, smoked salmon, Christmas pudding, etc. There is a reason the classics are classics though – they do tend to work. Port with Stilton – it’s a no brainer. Chablis with smoked salmon – the two come hand in hand. Turkey – ok there’s slightly more room for manoeuvre here, but you can’t go too wrong with a decent Bordeaux or top end Tuscan.

So I’ve gone with a slightly different approach – some drinks for the other Christmas moments, and some alternatives to the tried and tested favourites.

A sparkler to get you through Christmas morning…
Whether your Christmas morning consists of church, stockings, presents, food preparation, family diplomacy or a combination of all of the above, a glass of something sparkling and delicious is an absolute must. I always used to think that nothing but Champagne would do, but I tasted an English sparking wine in September which changed my mind: Nyetimber’s Blanc de Blancs 2003, from Chardonnay grapes grown in West Sussex. It is made in the same way as Champagne, and the price is sadly no different, but it has the patriotic card in its hand, and most importantly it tastes heavenly. Swirl it around your glass and take a gentle sniff and you’ll be met with a host of aromas which meld together like honey on buttered toast (full fat butter and rich fruity honey), while when you take a sip there are flavours of dried apricots, quince, peach, which flit about in the smooth sparkling mousse. Divine!

Be careful not to over chill your sparking and white wines – the fridge should be fine, but when left in buckets of ice for too long they can be so chilled that you lose some of the aroma and flavour in the wine.

If you are an ‘only Champagne’ sort of person, (and if you can’t  demand this at Christmas then when can you?) then go for something classic. There are so many supermarket deals that it’s difficult to tell if you are really getting value for money. Quite simply you cannot go wrong with Pol Roger, Louis Roederer, Bollinger, Billecart Salmon etc.

A wine for when the family have gone…
If you are hosting this Christmas then no matter how wonderful your guests are, you will probably be a tad relieved when the last one leaves. This is the moment for a little something secret to be cracked open for a cheeky glass on the sofa in front of the Downtown Christmas special. I’ve chosen a sherry for this, bit controversial but hear me out. Sherries come in several shapes and sizes and the key is picking the right one for the right moment. For this occasion, I’d go for an ‘Amontillado’, and would recommend Valdespino if you can get hold of it, but if not last Christmas I remember a bottle of the Sainsburys Taste the Difference Amontillado really doing a decent job. Without going into the terrifyingly complicated way in which this sherry is produced, suffice to say Valdespino Amontillado is a complete treat. Dry as opposed to sweet, but rich and smooth on the palate but not heavy. It is warm and welcoming with buckets of dried fruit aromas. Intense savoury caramel notes, roasted nuts and orange peel, with the lightest touch of Christmas cake and hint of winter spices. An excellent (if a little indulgent) partner to a log fire and relaxing evening. Seriously yummy.

A crowd pleaser…
If you are planning a large gathering or drinks party it can be tricky to choose something to please everyone, and that isn’t going to break the bank. To finish up I’d like to sing the praises of a white wine that ticks so many boxes yet is often maligned and forgotten about. Soave (pronounced swaav-ay) can be clean, fresh, smooth, waxy and wonderfully flavoured. If decent, it would struggle to offend any palate, no matter what your tastes, and ot works happily with or without food. Unfortunately there has been an awful lot of dodgy stuff made in the past, which is where its reputation comes from. Look out for bottles labelled ‘Soave Classico Superiore’ as these come from better vineyard sites (although there are always exceptions). Most supermarkets do their own label versions, and again these tend to be really quite decent and a safe bet. On the more high end side of things, in my office the undisputed king of Soave is called Pieropan, and particularly their single vineyard wine ‘La Rocca’. Just a joy of a wine, but slightly more special. If you get hold of this over Christmas – I’d keep it all to yourself!

Posted in What to drink | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment