The goose is getting fat

Posted on December 8, 2012 by lardersaga

snow flake

Scarily, Christmas is fast approaching. This should be of no real surprise given it is the same date every year, but somehow it does rather creep up on you. Despite 2012 rapidly dwindling away, I am happily smiling to myself, as roughly speaking, I have smugly completed the menu planning for the festive season ahead, give or take a bit. We have Christmas at home and I know from previous experience that being vaguely organised in the dining department aids everyones enjoyment, and dare I say, waistline, over the holiday, it always gets bigger but who cares? This year I really think the blue one will ‘get’ Christmas, tomorrow is his nursery Nativity play and his acting debut in no lesser role than a ‘sheep’. There has been plenty of chat about ‘baby Jesus’ and if the ‘pink one’ could act that particular role she would be thrilled, but guess what, said nursery is inundated with offers of younger siblings acting as the Christ child! And a very definite ‘NO’, resounded in answer.

mini mince pies

Christmas at Blackberry Farm is organised chaos, divine, but still chaos. We tend to keep it very low-key and traditional, rarely moving beyond the village boundaries, hunkering down inside with log fires burning or outside clearing the woods having endless bonfires, one of Mr.P’s favorite pastimes, along with setting off toy rockets and riding Toffee. There is a lot of food, a lot of eating and curiously a lot of drinking. I have ordered my ham, my turkey and a bulk load of that delicious smoked trout from the wonderful Moffat Fine Foods. Every year I slyly suggest having goose (which I adore), but speedily get shot down with all guns blazing by the turkey fan club. The freezer is gradually filling up, homemade pates, mince pies, cakes, soups, a veal curry and even a ‘Middle Eastern shepherds pie’. The annual delivery from Liberty Wines has just been dumped courtesy of my extremely clever sister who works in the trade, the Christmas cake is being ‘fed’ with a never ending bottle of Berry Brothers Brandy, so all in all we are in pretty good shape. With the exception of the ham and turkey I doubt we will buy any meat in, we have a freezer full of game birds, the 3 lambs have just been delivered back from the ‘grim reaper’, and earlier in the autumn we bought half a veal calf. WOw, we are seriously spoilt.

The one thing we have little of is the ‘fish wishy’ bits. Yes I have ordered some smoked trout but I had rather been counting on going for an all out Scandinavian Christmas Eve inspired by a recent trip to Sweden. I am however struggling to establish how I am going to obtain lovely fresh fish on the Monday given where we live in the country. No doubt I will resolve this issue shortly, hopefully having established what ‘fishy wishy’ dinner I am actually going to create in the meantime. In the heat of all this creative fervour I know the real focus should be on Christmas shopping, decorating, writing cards, detoxing the house from all the various junk it has collected in the last year, even starting my hideous tax return, unsurprisingly, it is just so much more fun cooking.

a treat for Father Christmas

In the meantime, if you can be faffed and have the energy and enthusiasm or are just seeking a distraction from the dreaded endless list of ‘other things to do’, here is my sweet pastry recipe for mince pies!! I made my first batch today – the blue one was very excited, he promptly laid out a plate for Father Christmas, and then banned all fires in the house due to concerns over present delivery!! It now feels arctic and is really rather perishing.

Sweet Pastry for Mince Pies

250gms plain flour

125gms butter

2 tablespoons of soft brown demerara sugar

1 tspn of cinnamon

1 egg yolk and 1 whole egg

1. Put the flour, butter, sugar and cinnamon in a magimix and whizz until resembling fine breadcrumbs.

2. Add the eggs and whizz till it just comes together and then bring it together by hand.

3. Chill in the fridge for 10 minutes and then roll out for mince pie making!!

I don’t blind bake my pastry for these, I simply roll out the pastry on a icing sugar dusted surface, cut and line the tins, chill the pastry in the tins for 10 minutes, pop some mincemeat in, add the hat and bake till just golden. It seems to work well. Might I add the thinner the pastry, the better. So be brave when rolling, it will make a much more interesting pie!

This pastry can be frozen raw or stored in the fridge for a couple of days. Cooked mince pies can also be frozen and pulled out to quickly warm through in an oven.

They are the perfect little treat to stockpile and pull out for tea time or an impromptu pudding with lashings of brandy butter.

And last but not least, returning briefly to that note about my sister, watch closely, her guest post will be here shortly (she has promised)- ‘what to drink this Christmas, apart from the blatantly obvious’, or something on that theme.

Posted in Delectable delights, One for the larder | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Sweden

Posted on November 29, 2012 by lardersaga

I have never been North of Scotland, so an invitation to Sweden was irresistible. Possibly because the promise of 2 nights without the little people was particularly enticing but also because I really wanted a taste of Scandinavia. What do I know about the country apart from the obvious; home of Ikea, pickled herring, Bjorn Borg, Abba and Aquavit, and lots of good looking specimens of the male and female variety. Not a lot is the answer. What did I come away with, I really like the Swedes, and not just to look at, and I really like their food!

I had been vaguely aware of the new dawn in Scandinavian food gripping the foodie gang. Who could ignore the press that ‘Noma’ has had since winning best restaurant in the world in 2010, but that said I was none the wiser as to what to expect on landing on Swedish terra firma. Clearly fish would feature on the menu, after all much of Sweden is made up of islands surrounded by the swirling Baltic. Apart from that I was rather in the dark, a bit like Sweden is for much of the year. Thankfully for me, my dreadful preconceptions did not hit the radar at all, piles of pickled herring and reindeer meatballs were not even spied, slightly I may add, to Mr.P’s disappointment.

Stockholm is stunning, a Venice of the north. Stunning and grand, I should add. The ‘Palace’ dominates the old town, a vast baroque statement of power and prestige. Eating is big. The Swedes appear to eat all day and I can see why; it gets dark early, it’s cold outside, so why not linger over edible pleasures? Take ‘Volt’, a newish restaurant that is quite the most novel and innovative place I have frequented this year. Achingly cool, the food is sublime, surpassing all expectations, it really is a very special establishment. Never, and I mean never, have I eaten such delicate lamb. Venison spiked with juniper tasted like it jumped straight out of the fir clad woodlands, and the beef carpaccio would have made an Italian cry. Controversially for Mr.P, they choose the wine for you. Ooh, ‘shiver me timbers’ that is not what Mr.P likes at all. You’re unlikely to have heard of it because it is all organic and sourced from vineyards that barely exist due to the tiny quantities produced. Do not be put off, someone has spent a lot of time and thought doing this, resulting in a perfect wine-food marriage. The service is exceptional, and of course English is perfectly spoken, so no tongue twisting around the menu. It’s like eating at a friends house, (apart from obviously much better), the restaurant probably has no more than 15 tables, the result is informal yet welcoming. The four chaps behind it have created something very clever, well worth eating at, don’t miss it.

Rocketing to the other rend of the food spectrum as to where to eat. ‘Ostermalm’ food halls are a great grazing spot for lunch. ‘Liza Elmqvist’ restaurant is an exquisite fish bonanza, satisfying all those cravings for herrings, shrimps, salmon, roe and much much more! The place is throbbing with a tidy que persistently 20 deep from 1pm till when we left at 2.30pm. This place is humming and with good reason. Fresh, fresh, fresh; it serves quintessential Swedish seafood that is just extremely good. A quick trek round the market reveals a whole new world of food that is frankly just not available in England, moose, reindeer, capercaillie, black grouse, and probably a whole host of other animals that I have never eaten before. Pretty exciting stuff if only I had more than 48 hours.

Fully enthused from my trip to Sweden I returned to ‘Blighty’ inspired and determined to seek out Swedish cookbooks. Alas I have none, but that brilliant writer, Diana Henry, in ‘Roast Figs, Sugar Snow’ and ‘Food from Plenty’ does swerve into their cuisine a fair bit. Needless to say I have dropped some heavy hints for Christmas, and yes ‘Scandilicious’ and ‘Sugar, smoke and salt’ both feature on the wishlist. I don’t think I have ever cooked any traditionally ‘Swedish’ food, but come to think of it I probably have concocted some fusion form of cured fish that could vaguely be passed off as being Swedish!

‘Beetroot cured salmon with fresh horseradish and bitter leaves’. We served this a couple of weekends ago for a dinner and I have to admit it made rather a good starter. Unbelievably we are still working through our stash of beetroot from the garden but only have the ‘choggia’ variety left.. Surprisingly it still dyes the salmon a wistful pink while the sugar, salt cure transforms the raw fish into gravadlax. This starter is a blinder for the culinary challenged as it really requires no cooking – the salmon is cured over 24 hours and then sliced and served with a salad. What could be easier with the festive period looming. Relatively inexpensive, easy to prepare, clean, healthy and ‘pretty’! and kind of Swedish!

Beetroot cured salmon with fresh horseradish and bitter leaves

The Cure

500gms of fresh skinned salmon

2 tablespoons of Maldon salt

2 tablespoons of white sugar

1 tablespoon of ground black pepper

1 tablespoon of gin or vodka

1 fresh uncooked beetroot

The Salad

Several handfuls of bitter leaves, watercress, rocket, chard

4 beetroot roasted in the oven and peeled

Fresh horseradish to grate

1. First slice the beetroot extremely thinly and place half at the bottom of a small dish that will hold the salmon. Mix the sugar, salt, pepper in a bowl. Place 2 tablespoons of the mix on top of the beetroot and now lie the salmon on top, place the rest of the cure mix on top of the salmon followed by the beetroot. Now pour the gin/ or vodka over the top. Cover with foil and place in the fridge for at least 24 hours with some weights on top, tinned tomatoes work very well!

2. After 24 hours the salmon will be cured and can be sliced as thinly as possibly ready to use!

3. I serve the salmon with salad leaves, roasted beetroot and a grating of fresh horseradish with a very simple olive oil dressing. If you have no fresh horseradish you could make a more Dijon based dressing and serve with some chopped dill or fresh chives. Alternatively you could be quite traditional and serve the salmon very simply with creme fraiche and rye bread – ummm , delicious.

NOTES:

Stockholm:

VOLT restaurant – have a peek it is really special – http://www.restaurangvolt.se/eng/food.asp

Food Halls in Stockholm: http://www.saluhallen.com/Lisa Elmqvist (Fish)

Diana Henry, ‘Food from Plenty’ – my bible of inspiration for what to cook for large numbers, family friendly and budget sensitive.

Diana Henry, ‘Roast Figs, Sugar Snow’ – an indulgent, seasonally sensitive treasure trove of recipes, perfect for the longer, dark days of winter.

Posted in Fish fantastic, Little black foodie book | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Pressure’s on, (but this post is out of date)!

Posted on November 23, 2012 by lardersaga

Mid way through november and I am beginning to get nervous that the ‘blue’ ones expectations over my cake making skills are somewhat misguided. Naturally I can make a cake but a ‘knights castle’ with a dragon, princess and several knights on horses really is going to be rather testing. I think a little trip to Jane Asher and her rather special cake shop on Chelsea Green is in order – not to buy a cake, merely to kit me with lots of exciting paraphernalia to help me make ‘Sir. Walters’ rather grand castle cake.

Like so many aspects of cooking, icing and cakes is an art in itself. I have a friend who has turned her eye and hand to this and creates the most magical, bespoke cakes. I look with envy at her gallery of handiwork, mind-boggling as to how many hours, love and attention went into making them. The thing is, there is something rather special about planning a 3 year olds’ party, in particular the cake – given that I like to think I can cook I do believe I must have a stab at this, and not default to the ‘work of art’ option, tempting though it is. Previously I have been primed with making a tractor cake – that was last year and not bad, a rocket, that was not so good, and that is where my creative icing experience ends, so a castle is going to be quite a challenge, watch this space by next week said castle should have been created.

That however is next week and at this precise moment in time I am relishing the peace and tranquility of Heathrow airport without the much adored little people. A flying visit to Sweden for an old friends important birthday is the reason, but frankly I’d be happy to hang out here all weekend, it is just so calm and quiet! Almost like the calm before the storm particularly with next weeks ‘knights’ party looming. The ‘little people’ are thrilled as they have the doting grandparents wrapped around their fingers to keep them entertained, so everybody is happy. Two nights of sleep for mr and mrs p, and no sleep for granny and grandad!

On that rather spoiling note I am strangely not going to share ‘The Weeks’ latest recipe, ‘Vegetables cooked with autumn leaves’ , straight from the world-renowned restaurant ‘Faviken’ in Sweden, though that clearly would be very appropriate, but instead encourage you to try my ‘Roasted butternut, pomegranate and feta salad’. It requires no foraging around the woods for leaves but does use some quintessential seasonal produce. Glistening, pink and pretty pomegranate seeds, maple roasted butternut, roasted hazelnuts and intriguingly, toasted butternut seeds and pomegranate molasses in the dressing. Warming, earthy, colourful and healthy, and hopefully more appetising than those leaves, though I’m very tempted to try them as well, particularly as the recipe gives very specific instructions as to what leaves to use, “6 handfuls of autumn leaves from last year (check carefully for insects)” ! I am not entirely sure if I am qualified to tell which leaves are last years, anyhow maybe my trip to Sweden will reveal all.

Maple roasted butternut salad with pomegranate and feta

1 butternut squash, cut into wedges, keep the seeds

1 pomegranate, de-seeded

1 packet of feta cheese

2 handfuls of hazelnuts or walnuts

2 large handfuls of mixed salad leaves, rocket, watercress, red chard, washed and spun dry

1 tablespoon maple syrup

Dressing: 1 tblsp of Pomegranate molasses, 3 tblsp olive oil,  1 tsp honey

Turn the oven on to 180

Serves 4

1. Cut the butternut into wedges and place in a roasting pan with a good splash of olive oil, 1 tablespoon of maple syrup and a good pinch of Maldon sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Roast in the oven at 180 for 30 minutes or until slightly caramelised and soft.

2. Meanwhile deseed the pomegranate, carefully removing the white pith.

3. Place the hazelnuts in a pan and pop in the oven to lightly roast, watch them like a hawk as they turn and burn fast. Remove, and rub the skins off and gently break up. Likewise splash the butternut seeds with olive oil and salt and toast in the oven for 15 minutes.

4. Wash the salad and spin dry. Crumble the feta cheese.

5. Make the dressing by whisking the pomegranate molasses with the olive oil and honey. The dressing should emulsify but can be loosened with either vinegar or water.

6. To serve place a handful of leaves on a plate, followed by the butternut, seeds, nuts and crumbled feta cheese. Repeat, and build up the salad, dressing the leaves between layers. Server immediately.

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

‘V’ is for venison

Posted on November 9, 2012 by lardersaga

Leaves falling, frosts hardening, days darkening. Bring on Autumn food with all of its color, richness and intensity. Now is the time to indulge in ‘one pot wonders’, piles of roasted root vegetables, casseroles, slow cooked joints of meat and of course the spoils from ‘fighting the birds’. Comfort food is order of the day – heart warming dishes to nurture the body and mind and keep the cold out.

Venison, what is there not to like? Rich and red, and surprisingly good for you – crazy isn’t it and yet as a country we eat so little. I adore venison and though I certainly was not brought up eating it, venison is now a staple in our family kitchen and the ‘little people’ are frankly,  and thankfully, none the wiser that ‘Bambi’ is for tea, as they thunder through another plate of venison ragu! My local butcher in the country pretty much always has venison for sale. I tend not to cook with the very large joints, though they are delicious, instead I use his diced venison and put it into pies, ragu, and casseroles. Last week we had Mr.P’s highly entertaining cousin for dinner, he is a cartoonist, a rather good one at that, and in order not to miss out on all the family gossip I was determined to create a ‘one pot wonder’ to allow me to partake in the evening as opposed to slaving over a hot stove.

Sorry, this all sounds a bit ‘Downton Abbey’, upstairs downstairs, but the danger in entertaining is that unless you are super organised there is always a real risk that the cook ends up marginalised in the kitchen. My remedy is to keep the food simple, and be really prepared prior to kick off. Hence on this occasion we had an autumn salad of roasted butternut, pomegranate, rocket, toasted walnuts and fresh goats cheese, followed by a venison and chestnut pie with chanteray carrots, peas and pea shoots followed by some wonderful cheese from La Fromagerie.  Let’s talk about that pie!

A ‘venison pie’ had been playing on mind for a good few weeks. I felt I had to wait till Autumn was in full swing before indulging, so last week posed the ideal time. The issue I had was that I didn’t want a classic venison dish with juniper berries and the like,  so I free styled it and ended up with a rather interesting result.  A little bit of cinnamon, a little bit of chilli, tomatoes, red wine and importantly chestnuts, slow cooked with the browned venison, and a velvety rich and thick casserole materialised. The result was quite sublime, one empty pie dish stood testimony to that! As I mentioned, I didn’t follow a recipe but made it from left over vegetables in the fridge and larder staples. It was ‘wipe your plate clean’ good, ticking all the right boxes, rich, intense and seriously comforting, quite delectable seasonal food.

There you have it – red meat that is good for you, a ‘one pot wonder’ and a do ahead dinner. You can either serve it as a casserole or pop a puff pastry lid on it and make a pie! Any left overs can be pulsed in the magi-mix to make into ragu and another new dish is created! Of course it doesn’t shout sophistication and elegance but actually who needs painted plates at this time of year? The key about this little number, is that once the preparation is done – the mess is over, hoorah, and then it is relax time, enjoy and eat. It is the common sense answer to being part of the party and not missing out. Teamed with a good hearty red wine it is just what is needed to warm the soul as the days get darker, nights longer and ever frostier.

Venison with chilli, chestnuts and red wine

Serves 6 – 8

1 kg of diced venison

2 onions diced

3 sticks of celery diced – not too small

2 carrots diced – not too small

1/2 pack of chestnuts

1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon of chilli flakes

olive oil

1 tin of chopped tomatoes

200ml of red wine

1 tablespoon of maple syrup (optional)

Maldon sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Turn your oven on to 160c.

1. First of all you need to brown your meat. Season it first with salt and pepper and pop small quantities into a really hot frying pan with a little olive oil. Do not overload the pan as the meat will stew as opposed to seal, and you will not get that lovely caramelised brown effect. As soon as the meat has been sealed on all sides, pop in a separate bowl. De-glaze the pan with a little water between each batch and add the ‘deglazed’ juices to your sealed meat.

2. Now add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to a ‘Le Creuset’ casserole dish and brown off the onions, celery and carrots, turning every now and again with a wooden spoon. This should take about 10 minutes. When the vegetables have a little color and have started to soften add in the venison, tinned tomatoes, red wine, bay leaf (if you have one), chilli, cinnamon, and additional water if neccessary, to cover the meat entirely. Give everything a really good stir and then pop the lid on the casserole.

3. Put the casserole into a preheated oven at 160c for 2 hours (or the simmering oven of an aga). After 2 hours check the meat and see if it is really tender – it may need a little longer – another 20 minutes. Either way, the sauce should have picked up a really intense color and have thickened considerably, and the meat (as said before) should be so tender you can cut it with a spoon!

4. When you are happy that the meat is tender and sauce thick enough, season the casserole. It will need a good pinch or 2 of salt (don’t be shy), ground black pepper and I like to add a little maple syrup – 1 dessert spoon will be ample, just to balance out the flvours.

5. If you want to serve it as a casserole you can serve immediately or re-heat as required. If making into a pie, let the meat cool down and then pop it into a pie dish. Try to buy ‘all butter’ puff pastry and roll out as required, brush with egg wash and pop back in the oven for another 25 minutes to cook the pie lid and re-heat the venison. Remove from the oven when the pie lid is golden and meat piping hot.

Notes: Of course once the venison has been ‘casseroled’ you can freeze it in batches and pull it out of the freezer as required.

If serving as a casserole it will go really well with any Autumn root vegetable mash, celeriac and potato, butternut and carrot, or a gratin dauphinoise. As a pie I don’t think you need anything else apart from some ‘green’!

It does rather need some ‘green’, we had it with steamed swiss chard this week and last week with slow roasted baby carrots, peas and pea shoots. (oops I’ve let slip that we have eaten it twice in 10 days), but most things will work, fine green beans, cavelero nero etc etc.

AND yes  you do need to use a casserole dish, I use a Le Creuset and swear by it.

And lastly for a family plug, Oliver Preston is our in house family cartoonist. Very talented and extremely funny. Take a peek www.oliverpreston.com

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

Fighting the birds!

Posted on November 2, 2012 by lardersaga

Honestly I couldn’t wait. There is no justification and I really should have saved my pennies but I just had to get my hands on the new ‘Jerusalem’ by Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi. It is a real rollercoaster ride, culture, color, religion, all entwined in this amazing kaleidoscope of a book about food from a land I have never been to, but have known about since time began. Inspiring, partly because the list of ingredients are so exotic and alien, date syrup, pomegranate molasses, tahini, zatar, but also because the mere sound of such food and novel combinations starts my heart, mind and taste buds racing, where is this going, how will it look, will I like it? So, in between frantically fielding the ‘little people’ I have been flicking through my new treasure, seeking out new recipes, learning about a new cuisine and being totally overwhelmed by the wealth of ingredients available in Jerusalem.

To date I have cooked a couple of cakes, the semolina, coconut and marmalade and the clementine and almond syrup,  a wonderful roasted cauliflower salad, the beetroot salad, the shashuka, and the grilled fish skewers with hawayej and parsley. A rainbow palette of spices, color and intriguing combinations and all delicious. How lucky are we to live in a country with ingredients and products at our finger tips to have the opportunity to replicate some of these exciting recipes?

I adore all the seasons and am hugely stimulated by the changes that each season brings, which manifests itself most obviously in my life through food. Autumn is a rich season, there is so much outstanding produce available it is hard sometimes not to be overwhelmed by the choice.  Though curiously, we have a houseful of guests this weekend and I am completely sitting on the fence as to what to cook, just too spoilt!

The reason for the house party is shooting, or as the blue one charmingly calls it ‘fighting the birds’. Mainly pheasants, possibly a partridge and a few ducks. The prospect of a freezer full of game birds is rather exciting. This year we exhausted resources long before Easter so I am itching to get cooking again as I adore all of the above and just believe you have to be a little creative as to how to keep the menus interesting. I am not going to wax lyrical about how good these birds taste, or indeed how nutritionally good for you they are,  as I trust you tend to either like them and cook with them, or tend to keep a wide berth. My gut instinct with all game birds is that they have long been overcooked in this country, dried out to a dehydrated skeleton of their former selves, tasting like leather and hard on the jaw, and my own view and one our family subscribes to, is that most birds really don’t need as long in the oven as previously thought. The net result is we now have a repertoire of game recipes that are approached with excitement, as opposed to trepidation, mainly because the meat is tender and dripping with flavor.

On that note please let me introduce you to and encourage you to try this divine ‘Pheasant and pomegranate salad with raspberry vinegar’. It breaks away from anything traditionally ‘pheasantish’ and is extremely good for that reason. It combines tender, warm pheasant with roasted hazelnuts, crunchy fennel, velvet avocado, peppery watercress, jewels of pomegranate and of course the crucial raspberry vinegar, all rather reminiscent of the recipes from ‘Jerusalem’. It is light, yet Autumnal, pretty (always important in my view) and stacked full of healthy ‘things’ to ward off all those filthy germs that the little people keep collecting. It works well as a starter but can be a main course with a loaf of crunchy bread. Well worth a punt as it just is so pleasingly different. Don’t be put off if you can’t find raspberry vinegar, smashing a few handfuls of fresh raspberries in with white wine vinegar is a very satisfactory substitute.

Pheasant and Pomegranate Salad with Raspberry Dressing

Serves 6 as a starter, 4 as a ‘girly’ lunch and 2 for a hungry couple!

1 Pheasant

1 large fennel Bulb or 2 small

1 bag of watercress

1 pomegranate seeded

1 handful of hazelnuts toasted in the oven for 10 minutes

1 ripe avocado

1 lemon – juiced

Toasted ciabatta breadcrumbs (optional)

Dressing

2 tablespoons of raspberry vinegar

6 tablespoons of olive oil

1 tablespoon of honey or maple syrup

salt and freshly ground pepper

Whisk all the above ingredients together

1 . Roast the pheasant in the oven at 180 for 25 – 35 minutes – roast with plenty of butter and a good shake of salt and pepper. The key here is to let the bird sit for 20 minutes before stripping the meat off, also pheasant does not need to be cooked for hours and hours – most birds in an efficient oven will be perfectly cooked in 25 minutes.

2. Using a mandoline or a very sharp knife slice the fennel into strips, and the avocado. Toss together with the toasted chopped hazelnuts, watercress and pomegranate, drizzle lightly with olive oil and lemon juice.

3. Place the shredded, warm pheasant on top of the salad and dress with the raspberry vinaigrette, serve immediately.

Notes:

And for the curious cook: ‘Jerusalem’ by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi, available from most bookshops and of course, Amazon.

Posted in Cuts for carnivores, One Pot Wonders, Seasonal salads | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Memory lane chocolate biscuit cake

Posted on October 25, 2012 by lardersaga

Last weekend we visited Cornwall. Not our standard weekend out of London, after all it is a rather hefty 270 miles away, so not a distance to be taken lightly with the little people in tow.  A family wedding beckoned, and importantly the blue one had had the call up to be a page, his first outing I may add, and a brave call for the bride. As for Cornwall, I haven’t been to that part of the country for a good 8 years so it was bit like visiting some long-lost relation. There were bits I remembered but what I had completely forgotten is how utterly stunning that particular coastline is. The weather was pretty British, slightly unpredictable, Saturday was mixed but Sunday was heaven. In parallel with the weather we were all ‘very British’, pretending it was ‘just fine’, when actually the north wind was ice, not that that stopped the surfers, swimmers or indeed bride from venturing into the sea.

The wedding it self  was enchanting and the ‘page’ was pretty well-behaved, with the exception of being caught on video saying ‘I WANT to go home’, he really excelled himself. Needless to say his angelic behavior did not last the entire duration, crucially he managed to survive the church, latterly he was fished away from the wedding cake bubble gun in hand, and extracted from undoing the guy ropes on the tent. Clearly wearing a kilt was the highlight but the real icing on the cake (dreadful pun) was the chocolate biscuit cake that was cleverly disguised as part of the deceptive looking, traditional ‘fruit’ wedding cake!

What is there not to like about this devilishly easy slab of naughtiness? No cooking needed, a little melting I agree, and as soon as you bite into it, Pandora’s box of childhood nostalgia envelopes you. It is supremely addictive and great picnic fare, even if picnicking is a little ambitious right now. Also it is the obvious ‘delectable delight’ to make with toddlers, a good bit of bashing of biscuits is somewhat more appealing to me than the blue one doing the equivalent to his sister. In an ideal world that can keep the ‘blue one’ occupied for at least 10 minutes, rolling-pin in hand, biscuits cascading around the kitchen. It is also the magic canvas for going ‘off piste’, you can add whatever you want, popping candy, marshmallows, hundreds and thousands, nuts, sultanas, any crazy creation goes, as long as the ‘little people’ feel they have been involved. We kept ours boringly text book, I ended up using some half opened packets of chocolate and throwing in a couple of handfuls of raisins but that was as adventurous as we got, though we did wrap the slabs in brown paper tied with twine, very rustic!

As you can see I have deviated completely from the Cornish wedding, but the point of all of  my chatter is one of the many things I loved about the wedding in question, is that as one left the tent there was a tower of charming little boxes filled with said chocolate biscuit cake and the fruit wedding cake, what a wonderful remedy to ease the slog back to London. The second thing I really loved, is at lunch on the Sunday some genius had revved up the local vintage ice cream van (and man) to serve the most indulgent creamy ices, such attention to detail and so very lovely. Ice cream and chocolate to fuel us home – happy sleepy ‘little people’, relief to Mr.P!

Chocolate Biscuit Cake with White Chocolate Drizzle

400gms plain digestive biscuits

100gms milk chocolate

50gms dark chocolate (75% cocoa solids)

3 -4 tablespoons of golden syrup

2 handfuls of sultanas

75 gms of butter

40gms white chocolate

40gms dark chocolate

1.First bash your biscuits. If you have no toddler to do the bashing for you (rolling pin in large bowl if you do!), a magimix does a fine job. Try to get a combination of fine crumbs and some slightly broken up biscuits to create a little texture.

2. Now melt the butter, chocolate, golden syrup together, either in a microwave or on the hob, till completely melted.

3. Add the melting chocolate ‘goo’ to the biscuits and stir thoroughly together. If you think the mixture is too dry add a little more melted butter and golden syrup.

4. Line a baking try with baking paper and press the biscuit mix into the tray. Leave to set in the fridge.

5. Once the biscuit slab has set melt the white chocolate and dark chocolate and drizzle over the cake letting one set first before drizzling the second.

6. Once the drizzle has set slice the chocolate biscuit cake.

Posted in Delectable delights, Picnic party, Toddlers and tinies | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Soup kitchen

Posted on October 18, 2012 by lardersaga

It really is soup time of year and unusually I have invested a little more time than normal into making it. Instead of cooking ‘off piste’ which I have a naughty habit of doing, I have actually been reading and what is more, following some recipes, that is after all why they are there!! A few years a go I pulled an article from ‘Food and Travel’ and slowly worked through all the suggested soup recipes. The article is so war-torn now it deserves to be framed, hence why I decided to treat myself and invest in the book the recipes originally derived from. Hunted down on Amazon for the absurd second-hand price of £1.57 plus postage, I was thrilled when said book turned up, and “in good condition” I may add.

Soup to me is the ultimate comfort food, and come to that easy food, and cheap. It works perfectly for lunch with a hunk of bread, but can also be tarted up for a starter in the evening. It usually freezes well, and assuming it is not served with lashings of cream tends to be packed full of goodness and healthy things, vegetables and stock being the lynch pins. I guess it is also a time of year ‘thing’, what with the evenings drawing in, leaves falling from the trees, log fires, and crisp autumn air, soup is just the perfect antidote as a pick me up. Autumn colors also lend themselves to soup, harvest suppers, bonfire night, even Halloween, so all in all it’s   my ideal partner for the change of seasons, the perfect friend to prepare me for the longer, darker days of winter ahead.

Poor Mr.P has hence been on a bit of a soup safari, and he’s hanging on in there, enthusiasm still intact and appetite for soup still evident. His favourite to date being the ‘hot and sour soup’ , which is a clear Thai broth with prawns and mussels. My favourite is the ‘cauliflower and dolcelatte’, Josie’s favorite being the ‘butternut, ginger and coconut’, the weekday favorite being,  ‘tomato and beetroot’ – cunningly using up that famous glut of beetroot from my kitchen garden. However, in order not to overkill you with choice, the one that I feel holds its’ own at precisely this time of year, the one that comes top of the seasonal charts, is the butternut variety!

I adore the burnt orange color, and think it works particularly well with bonfire night and Halloween looming. It is just what witches would order, slightly spicey, a bit unpredictable because of the coconut milk, yet velvet smooth and heart warming, perfect broomstick rocket fuel! With my own witches hat on, I actually brew up 2 very different butternut soups one is the one noted above, taken straight from Tom Kime, ‘Exploring Taste and Flavour’, the other being my own creation, and is rather more traditional, using apples, chilli and ginger. Both are fabulous autumn fare and quite delicious in their own unique ways, one quite ‘English’, and one quite ‘Asian’. I will leave you with the 2 recipes – take your pick they are both wonderfully comforting and extremely good.

Bonfire Night Spiced Butternut and Apple Soup

Serves 4

1kg butternut squash, peeled and cut into cubes

Splash of olive oil

Splash of maple syrup

2 garlic cloves, peeled and cut roughly

4cm ginger, peeled and chopped finely- or grated

1 red chilli, chopped roughly

1 onion, chopped roughly

500ml of chicken stock or vegetable stock

4 small or 2 large, eating apples peeled and chopped roughly

200ml of milk

Pre-heat the oven to 200C/400F/ gas mark 6

1. Place the butternut, onion, garlic, chilli and apple on a baking tray – splash over the olive oil and maple syrup, a good pinch of Maldon sea salt and grind of black pepper and roast for 30 minutes until soft and slightly caramelised.

2. Place the chicken stock in a liquidizer with the roasted vegetables, ginger and milk and puree until really smooth, add more stock or milk depending on consistency and richness required.

3. Return the puree to the pan and add some Maldon sea salt and a good ground black pepper and reheat.

Serve with a swirl of cream and some chopped fresh herbs, parsley and hazelnuts works well or just some fresh thyme.

P.S: A note on stock – it is always preferable to use homemade, however, if the cupboard is bare (!) most of the large supermarkets sell fresh stock, if you can’t get hold of this I would recommend just using water and not bothering with stock cubes at all.

Creamy Butternut Squash Soup with coconut cream, ginger and coriander – Tom Kime 

1 kg of butternut squash, peeled and cut into 2cm cubes

3 tablespoons of olive oil

1/2 bunch of fresh coriander

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

4 cm fresh ginger, peeled and grated

1 red chilli, de-seeded and finely chopped

1 onion, finely chopped

2 sticks of celery, finely chopped

500ml homemade vegetable or chicken stock

400ml coconut cream

juice of 1 lime

Preheat the oven to 200c.

1. Mix the butternut squash with 2 tablespoons of the oil, salt and pepper and spread out in a roasting tin. Roast for 20 minutes until soft and caramelised.

2. Finely chop the coriander stalks and mix with the garlic, ginger and chilli.

3. Heat a pan over a medium heat. Add the remaining oil and fry  the garlic mixture for 2 minutes until fragrant. Add the onion and celery, turn down the heat and cook gently for 10 minutes. Season well with salt and pepper. Add the stock and the coconut cream . Bring to the boil then turn  down to a simmer. Cook gently for 10 minutes.

4. Puree the butternut and add the cooked onion, celery, stock and coconut mix, puree until completely smooth.

5. Add the lime juice and taste the soup. It should be a balance between hot, sweet, salt and sour. Serve garnished with chopped coriander and a pinch of chilli powder.

SOUP KITCHEN NOTES:

‘Exploring Taste and Flavour’ – Tom Kime, this is a wonderful book of Asian, fusion and mediterranean flavors. Published in 2005 it still feels incredibly relevant today and has the most stunning array of mouth-watering recipes.

‘Soup – Glorious Soup’ – Annie Bell, is my bargain book off Amazon. As the title suggests this only deals with one thing – I highly recommend the ‘Hot and Sour’ soup, the ‘Fennel and Crab’ and the ‘Pear and Stilton’. Today, a ‘used’ copy is being sold at £1.20, which is practically cheaper than a newspaper and certainly cheaper than a Starbucks!

Posted in One Pot Wonders, Vivacious vegetables | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

‘The Relaxed Holiday Cook’

Posted on October 11, 2012 by lardersaga

I admit I love burgers, I have no shame! This burger comes with a totally different health warning. The ‘Squork Burger’ is like nothing I have ever tasted before, clearly because I haven’t, that’s because it is a squid and pork burger. This is seriously novel and seriously good. Let me explain. Back in the days of ‘Sugar & Spice’ my first chef was the unbelievable kitchen wizard, Davina. We worked extremely hard, she worked extremely fast, possibly the fastest chef I ever employed. After a year or so she quite understandably and wisely moved on to a different role in the world of food, she joined Blues. Blues is a wonderful agency based in London who supply chefs and waiting staff, they also do interesting projects on the side, teaching cookery in a school for children with special educational needs, and have over the years published 3 books. Their latest endeavour, a book called the ‘The Relaxed Holiday Cook’.

Possibly the best example of a misnomer in a cynics view! ‘The Relaxed Holiday Cook’ – surely it doesn’t exist? Well it can do and does, and that is where Blues has been particularly helpful, as they have done the initial hard graft of compiling a savvy little book of really useful recipes to help in that whole relaxing process. It is a great concept, designed and written for people who are destined to holiday in the self-catering style, be it by the beach, in the mountains or in the country.  Intelligently Blues have used their own network of chefs and contacts to source tried and tested recipes and the result is magnificent. It is not a glitzy showpiece, it is a slimline, lightweight morsel to tuck into your packing stashed full of invaluable recipes, ideas and top tips as to how to make self-catering holidays fun, fair and fuss free in the cooking zone. I love it, and the burgers are straight from its ‘hallowed’ pages.

The book is intelligently divided into 3 sections each with appropriately themed recipes in each, ‘The British Seaside’, ‘The Mediterranean’, ‘The Mountains and Countryside’. I know the girls at Blues have tested all these recipes in their own kitchen, so they certainly work, the trouble is just choosing which one to do! Let me leave you with the ‘Squork’ burger recipe and maybe it will entice you to put this little gem of a book on a Christmas wish list!!

‘Squork’ Burgers’  – from ‘The Relaxed Holiday Cook’ 

I don’t think I would have put pork and squid together myself but it really is a very good marriage. I have previously made and eaten ‘squid and mackerel’ burgers, courtesy of that genius Anthony Demetre, and they are very good  – so maybe it’s the squid that is the magic ingredient, or maybe it is just that hint of Asia that makes these burgers different. I can’t put my finger on it but I do highly recommend them, they really are interestingly different in a ‘very good’ way!

Serves 4

2 medium banana shallots/ or 1 onion

2 spring onions

500g good quality minced pork ( I actually used some pork tenderloin that I had in the freezer and popped it through the mincer)

100g washed squid, finely chopped

1 tsp of grated ginger

1 large handful of finely chopped coriander

pinch of Chinese five spice (I could not find this in our local store so don’t panic if you are bereft as well)

sea salt and grind of black pepper

1. Finely chop the spring onions and shallots. Heat the oil in the frying pan and sweat the onions till soft.

2. In a large bowl mix together the pork, finely chopped squid, ginger, sweated onions, coriander, five spice and the salt and pepper.

3. Make the mixture into 4 burgers, and barbeque, grill or fry until completely cooked through.

I served the ‘Squork’ burgers with homemade buns and a teaspoon of ‘Tomato and Chilli Jam’ (April Archives)- alongside Ottolenghi’s ‘Sweet Winter Slaw’ from ‘Plenty’, and they were a complete hit. But, as recommended by Blues one could go down a more Chinese route and serve alongside some egg fried rice and steamed pak choy.

Recipe donated by Peter Mulford.

Now the important bits:

Firstly thank you to the team at Blues for collating such an appetising volume of recipes.

Where to buy the book: www.amazon.co.uk

How to get hold of Blues: www.bluesagency.co.uk

Tomato and Chilli Jam Recipe : https://lardersaga.com/2012/04/19/sweet-chilli-and-tomato-jam/

Posted in Cuts for carnivores, Fish fantastic, Little black foodie book | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Tinkering in Bordeaux

Posted on October 8, 2012 by lardersaga

Contrary to popular belief, we rarely go away at weekends, largely because the tribe, Mr.P included, is wedded to the farm, riding ‘Toffee’ and chasing sheep. September being the exception, with a weekend in Suffolk and one in Bordeaux. Now I have been to Suffolk many times, but Bordeaux was a new one on me. Firstly, don’t get me wrong I love the ‘little people’, and adore their company,  that is, most of the time (never at 5am), but there is something very indulgent about having time out just with Mr.P. We were catapulted into South–West France because Mr.P in his wisdom, has bought, as far as I can decipher, a little bit of vine, this vine is thank fully part of a larger vineyard, jointly owned (at least for the next 10 years) by a collection of other wine connoisseurs. This all sounds like a pretty poor excuse for going to Bordeaux, but there was a rather key tasting taking place at said vineyard, and this seemed the perfect prompt for a cheeky escape from the ‘pink’ and ‘blue’.

Flights to Bordeaux are ‘mini-break’ heaven – there is an absurdly early flight on a Friday morning but the upside is you’re treading on rich and rare Bordeaux soil by 945am,  therefore having the whole day to play with, likewise on return we were back in ‘Blighty’ in time for Sunday lunch. Strangely we never made it into Bordeaux city which I believe is stunning, instead we dashed down to Sauterne country and visited Chateau Coutet and the following day the coast, that’s the Atlantic if your geography needs a little reminding.

We weaved around the roads between miles and miles of intricately kept vines, in awe of the quantity of Chateau and the relatively small size of some of the estates, crisscrossed over the Garonne, and were genuinely spell-bound at how beautiful the countryside is. The villages look old, properly old, built with that pretty sun-baked sandstone. The vines were just beginning to get really heavy from the ripening grapes, some aubergine purple, others, moss-green. It is a symmetry lovers paradise, everything is so neat, perfect alignment  between the vines, perfectly angled towards the sun. The landscape is precise, yet at the same time tranquil and calming – quite unusual – and of course, ideal picnic weather.

A quick raid on Barsac, a visit to the boulangerie, and charcuterie and lunch was sourced. Sitting on the banks of the Garonne watching the muddy water slip away we considered what to do the next day and were sold on the idea of fresh oysters from the Atlantic at Arcachon Bay. This should have been a genius day out had I not map read quite so badly, we did eventually get to Cap Ferret and the said oyster supply, but via the scenic route! This journey should take about 1 hour, one moment you are in the thick of some of the most famous vineyards in the world, and the next you should be on the edge of the Atlantic,  (we weren’t but that was my fault!) white beaches stretching in each direction and empty,  barely another sole there! It was/is quite unbelievable.

Obviously people tend to go to Bordeaux for the wine, I really went for the food. I don’t drink red wine, so sadly Mr.Ps’ vine is rather lost on me! But the food, well that is another story. French picnics are always very satisfactory as lets face it, no one really can make a baguette taste quite as good as the French. And frankly, it is impossible to beat  the fresh oysters at Cafe Pinasse, looking out over the glistening Arcachon bay, you can survey the  biggest sand dune in Europe while guzzling some of the freshest seafood in France.   The oyster beds are literally in front of the cafe! On the Friday night we had dinner at the beautiful ‘Les Souces De  Caudalie’, a restaurant with a Michelin star, which unusually was much less ‘faff’ than normal, none of those endless courses you don’t order arriving between the courses you do order, which for me was a relief. The food was in sympathy with the season and local area, the ‘terroir’.  It was  sourced carefully and  exquisitely prepared, quite a delight and refreshingly unexpected.  It was uncomplicated, utterly divine and did not leave you with a dreaded food hangover. Saturday night was the wine tasting, sadly that was lost on me, but apparently the vine is ‘promising’.

As memories of Bordeaux fade, I started thinking as to how one could create a good autumn salad, something quintessentially French, and something to remind me of those  sunny few days in Bordeaux. Variations of this salad have existed for years, but my novel contribution is to add in roasted grapes. ‘Roasted grapes’ I hear you say – pretty controversial – trust me, try it, they are quite delicious.  So please let me introduce a ‘Chicory, Roquefort, roasted grape and walnut salad’ , for an easy salad, starter or lunch this is well worth a punt. The bitterness of the chicory balances out with the sweetness of the grapes and saltiness of the Roquefort, the flavours marry and it really is rather good.

Chicory, Roquefort, roasted grape and walnut salad

Serves 2

1 head of chicory or 2 small heads

A good handful of walnut halves

100gms of Roquefort

100gms of grapes – can be red or green

Set the oven to 180c

1. Pop the walnuts on an oven tray and put in the oven for 8-10 minutes – please watch them carefully and don’t leave them in the aga, as they are the easiest things ever to forget about! They should be lightly roasted, so they are just beginning to release their wonderful nutty aroma.

2. Pop the grapes on an oven tray with a splash of olive oil, a pinch of salt and  grind of pepper and pop in the oven for 10 minutes until shrunken and collapsed in size.

3. Wash the chicory leaves and spin dry,  and crumble up the Roquefort into small bitesize pieces.

4. Now make your salad, a few leaves of chicory on the bottom, a few walnuts, a few crumbles of Roquefort, and a few grapes – carry on like this on each plate and build up several layers.

5. Finally add a tablespoon of white wine vinegar and a tablespoon of olive oil, to the grape juices at the bottom of the pan they roasted in, and drizzle the juices/ dressing over the salad. Grind of black pepper and pinch of Maldon sea salt and your salad is ready.

Serve with fresh baguette or sourdough toast.

Bordeaux Notes

Flights – we flew BA from Gatwick to Bordeaux

‘Cafe Pinasse’ in Cap Ferret is humming. Serving the freshest, local catch, it is a really buzzing, fun place for lunch.

2 Bis Avenue Océan  33950 Lège-Cap-Ferret, France 05 56 03 77 87

‘Les Sources de Caudalie’ – is where we had dinner. ‘Tres elegante’ and it’s attached to a very special hotel.

Chemin du Bourran 33650 Martillac, France 05 57 83 83 83

Posted in Little black foodie book, Seasonal salads | Tagged | 1 Comment

Time for Tea: A Cake for Granny

Posted on October 1, 2012 by lardersaga

‘Carrot cake and it doesn’t even taste of carrots!’ At least that is what Mr.P announced last week after years of pressure to try the blessed cake he finally braved it only to proclaim the above. The reason we had cake was Granny, Granny loves cake and all sweet things. Granny comes to London,  so as a small thank you for the effort she makes on a regular basis to visit the tiny terrors, otherwise known as the ‘little people’, we always make a cake.

I don’t think you can really count it as one of your 5 a day but does that matter? It does have carrots in it somewhere, also a smattering of walnuts and coconut. I’ll be honest it isn’t my recipe, all credit goes to those very clever chaps at Ottolenghi. This recipe is in their first book, which is a beauty, a collection of scrumptous recipes using some novel ingredient combinations. The baking section is heaven and this recipe is foolproof. Like so many Ottolenghi recipes, and probably recipes in general, it feels complicated and long-winded, but trust me once you’ve made it once, you won’t look back and what’s more, making it gets quicker after the debut outing.

Of course the magic of carrot cake is the cream cheese frosting. I can’t put my finger on it but something about that icing just hits the spot every time. I freestyle it, beating butter with icing sugar and then the cream cheese, sweet and savoury, totally indulgent. As for the cake itself, the use of carrots and oil make it absurdly light and fresh, it keeps like a dream, for a happy 4 days, but I guarantee it won’t last that long! The last 2 occasions we have made it we have halved the Ottolenghi recipe, and this makes a very healthy sized 20cm round cake.

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting 

The original recipe is from Ottolenghi – The Cookbook – this one has been reduced in size, halved to be precise, but a few of the quantities have been moderated.

  • 80g plain flour
  • 1/4 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/2tsp mixed spice
  • 1 large free-range egg
  • 1 free-range egg yolk
  • 100g sunflower oil or olive oil if that is all you have to hand!
  • 135g caster sugar
  • 50g walnuts, chopped
  • 25g desiccated coconut
  • 80g carrot, grated very finely – ideally on a microplane
  • 1 free-range egg whites
  • a pinch of salt
  • Icing
  • 80g cream cheese,at room temperature
  • 35g unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 25g icing sugar

1 Preheat the oven to 170°C/Gas Mark 3. Grease a 20cm springform cake tin and line the base with baking parchment.

2 Mix together the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and spices. Lightly whisk the whole egg with the egg yolk.

3 Put the oil and caster sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the beater attachment and beat for about a minute on a medium speed. On a low speed, slowly add the beaten egg. Mix in the walnuts, coconut and carrot and then the sifted dry ingredients. Don’t over mix.

4 Transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Wash and dry the mixer bowl, making sure it is totally clean, then put the egg white and salt in it and whisk on a high speed until firm peaks form. Gently fold the egg white into the carrot mixture, being careful not to over mix.

5 Pour the cake mixture into the prepared tin and bake for approximately 40 minutes; it could take longer or less time depending on your oven. A skewer inserted in the centre should come out dry. Let the cake cool completely and then remove from the tin.

6 Cream the butter and icing sugar together and once thoroughly combined add the cream cheese. I have given the Ottolenghi quantities above but feel brave and freestyle it. Ice the cake when completely cold.

Am quite proud of the sweet peas – they have been flowering now for a happy 3 months!! And still going – clearly the slugs and snails are not fond of the flowering variety as they nailed my real peas!

Notes: Cookbooks well worth investing in.

The Cookbook by Ottolenghi – an all in overview of the deli/cafe empire – delicious.

Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi – a vegetarian heaven.

Jerusalem by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sammi Tamimi – only recently published but I can’t wait to get my hands on it – as the name suggests – recipes and flavours from the East.

Posted in Delectable delights | Tagged , | 1 Comment