Raspberry and Chipotle

Dinner at the Gallo D'Oro

2012-02-03T19:47:00.007Z

Il Galllo d'Oro restaurant is the fine dining restaurant at the Cliff Bay Hotel at Funchal, Madeira. The chef is Benoit Sinthon and the restaurant is the only one on the island with a Michelin star.

Overall I thought the meal was very good. Bravo to Benoit and his team.

I was a bit surprised how close together some of the tables are and facing one another. However on this occasion the company was good (you know who you are !)

We were offered a selection of good breads accompanied by butter and tapenade. This was followed by the chef's delightful and tasty appetiser shown below. Beautiful enough to wear to a wedding, perched on the head at a jaunty angle, the lacy creation shelters a cone of foie gras mousse with a cherry in the middle and some tiny figs. At the side there was 'cherry caviar' which I guessed was made by the process of spherification. The lacy piece was described as cuttlefish crunchy. Both fish courses were cooked superbly.

Red mullet fillets with tomato caviar and tapenade

Clementine sorbet....... this had a beautiful intense mandarin flavour

Sea bream with polenta and a mini ragout of mussels and langoustines

Lemon and lime tart with suzette sauce.

Apple Peeler Slicer Corer

2012-01-01T19:07:00.004Z

This sturdy piece of kit has a suction cup at the base to secure it to the worktop. The apple is pushed on to the 4 prongs lining it up along its core. Turn the handle and ribbons of peel spiral off like spaghetti while the apple is sliced and cored in just seconds. Great for apple pies. The thickness of the peel can be adjusted.

The slicing and coring bit can be moved aside if you only want to peel. Ideal for getting ribbons of orange zest. I prepared the orange zest for Cranberry and Orange Relish using Delia Smith's recipe. Lovely with the Christmas turkey. I also mixed some with mayo and added it to chopped red cabbage and red onion for serving with cold ham.

Go and have a look here This is the cast iron and stainless steel version. It is based on an original Victorian design.

Candied Figs, Sikalaki gliko

2011-12-24T18:03:00.003Z

above: candied figs with ginger

below: ginger sugar

I have a fig tree that specialises in producing unripe figs. To be fair it has produced a ripe figs too. The figs from the first crop ripen well and are large. Those from the second crop are plentiful small and don't usually ripen. This year we had an usually warm April and October and the tree has produced a supply of ripe figs from July to November. We ate them fresh from the tree and I made fig chutney and fig jam too.

I picked the last few that hadn't ripened and this year found a recipe that requires unripe figs.

The recipe is for candied figs and comes from Mama's Taverna a Greek food blog.

Figs are preserved in this way in Greece and Turkey. For the recipe follow the link above. I made some additions and I used less sugar. For the first batch I added lemon zest to the vanilla and cloves. For the second batch I added ginger and cloves. I made some ginger sugar by blitzing about 1 oz peeled root ginger with the sugar till the root ginger disappeared. It smelt wonderful.

I used this to make the syrup.

The recipe has several stages but each one doesn't take too long and the end product is well worth it.

Apple Chutney

2011-11-15T08:40:00.008Z

The photo above shows some of the ingredients. The apples were from my garden. I recently took one to the RHS for identification and they think it is an Allington pippin.

Apple Chutney

500g apples, cored

1 onion quartered

2 cloves garlic

100g muscavado sugar and 100g golden granulated sugar

250ml cider vinegar

2.5cm root ginger

1 heaped tsp powdered mixed spice for pickling

10g salt

1-2 handfuls raisins

This chutney was made in my Thermomix, very easy!

First I put some jars and their lids into the oven on low heat to sterilise.

Everything except the raisins and the vinegar was blitzed. Then the raisins and vinegar were added and the whole lot cooked at 100C until thickened. It was then poured into the jars.

It can be eaten as soon as it is cool if not before. It does keep well too and brings a taste of Autumn sunshine to a grey Winter's day.

Lovely with home made granary bread and aged gouda.

This my my home made apple picker made from a large yogurt pot sellotaped to a pole.

Pear Flan

2011-10-18T17:16:00.005+01:00

This year the old pear tree in the garden has produced some pears. It hasn't really fruited for several years though it used to crop well. The pears become sweet and fragrant when cooked. They don't keep for more than a couple of weeks so I have cooked and frozen some.

Pear Flan

for the base

8oz plain flour

4oz unsalted butter

1oz sugar

Blend in a food processor then add 3-4 tsp water, Leave the dough to rest in the fridge for I hour then roll out to fit a 10 in tin. Peel, quarter, core then slice 4 pears.Arrange the pear slices on the base then cook at gas 6 for 35 min.

for the custard

3 eggs

300ml milk

2 oz plain flour

1 oz sugar

vanilla extract (I used 2 tsp natural vanilla extract (or 1 tsp vanilla flavouring)

To make the custard, blitz the ingredients in a food processor and pour the liquid over the partly cooked base, return it to the oven and cook till the custard is set.

Grate some nutmeg over the flan.

It was nice hot but even better cold.

The Mango Egg

2011-09-10T18:06:00.009+01:00

Last week I went to a street party 'The Art of being British' in Jermyn Street. This street runs behind Fortnum and Mason's and is parallel to Piccadilly.

There are some interesting shops and restaurants there and several of them were taking part.

There was a cookery demonstration by Andrew Turner the chef from the Wilton. I arrived towards the end as he was plating up.

The plate was decorated with some mango puree, next a slice of fried brioche then a small egg. I thought it might be a quail's egg or had it been had by the lesser spotted mango bird? They were available to buy so I placed my order and watched as the chef prepared the next batch.

These eggs had not been laid by any bird and I was intrigued to see how it it was made. The idea was originally hatched up in Spain by Ferran Adria at El Bulli the home of molecular gastronomy and the process of spherifiaction.

This 'egg' had the texture of a poached egg complete with runny yolk. If I hadn't known already what it was made of I think the flavour would have contradicted the appearance and texture, however it made a lovely dessert. Both the yolk and the white were firm on the outside. The brioche was spiced and the egg topped with popping candy.

The recipe and the process of spherifiaction are to be found here

There were also complementary canapes from the Ritz. The ones in the photo below are like mini ice cream cornets though not sweet and topped with a swirl of smoked salmon pate

They also had a dance band and some smartly dressed dance partners available for a twirl.

Roast Tomatoes with Aubergine, Mushrooms and Potato

2011-09-06T18:33:00.002+01:00

The tomatoes are topped with chopped parsley, thyme, basil and garlic, a slice of halloumi cheese and a Kalamata olive. The herbs were fresh from the garden and most of the other ingredients came from the local Turkish shop recommended by my friend Emine.

The vegetables were drizzled with olive oil and roasted at 400F for one hour.

Delicious!

Baba Ganoush with Flat Bread

2011-09-04T18:10:00.007+01:00

Baba ganoush with flat bread and salad

I have been meaning to make this for some time. I first read about it online, I like the name as well as liking aubergines. It is a middle Eastern dip made with aubergines. My version is based on Joanna's recipe on thepassionatecook and Nigel Slaters's version. Both of them emphasised cooking till the skin is blackened to get the smoky flavour.

No problems with the smoke alarm as I chargrilled the two aubergines ( eggplants) on the barbecue in the garden. When cool I removed the skins and chopped the flesh, this was mixed with 2 tsp tahini, 2 cloves of chopped garlic and a couple of squeezes of lemon juice and was left in the fridge overnight for the flavours to blend.

The flat bread started out as a batch of dough made in the bread maker. I gave the dough a quick knead then rolled out pieces till about 1/2 cm thick. One I topped with linseed another with caraway seed, the others left plain. These were placed on an oiled baking dish and left in a warm place for 1/2 hour then baked at 400F till ready.

The one below was cooked in a non stick frying pan and came out more golden.

The salad was tomato, cucumber, onion, garlic and flat leaved parsley. The baba ganoush was garnished with mint and flat leaved parsley.

Overall a good combination of flavours although I would have prefered the baba ganoush a bit less smoky than it turned out.

Purple Podded French Climbing Beans

2011-08-21T19:55:00.005+01:00

I got the seeds for these from a seed exchange that is organised every year by the Cottage Garden Society. The flowers are rose pink and the beans purple. When cooked they quickly turn green. They have a very good flavour. I have saved my own seeds from the last two years for planting the next year and passing on to friends.

Details of the seed exchange are here

A Package of Seed

Now seeds are just dimes to the man in the store

And the dimes are the things he needs,

And I've been to buy them in season before

But I've thought of them merely as seeds;

But it flashed through my mind as I took them this time,

"You purchased a miracle for a dime".

by Edgar A. Guest

Plum Muffin Cake

2011-08-16T11:06:00.009+01:00

Victoria plums are in season at the moment. Uncooked ripe Victorias are sweet. When cooked they become sharper with an amazing and intense flavour.

I experimented by making a muffin mix based on this Delia's online recipe. I doubled the basic ingredients and used plums in place of blueberries and pecans.. Please see Delia's recipe for metric measures and mixing instructions.

10oz SR flour

2 eggs

3 oz sugar

4oz butter

I tsp pure vanilla extract

10 oz SR flour

8 fl oz milk

pinch of salt

I had some buffalo milk so used this in place of the cows' milk which gave it a creamy taste. I used 1lb (454g) of stoned plums. Half were chopped and mixed into the muffin mix and the other half arranged around the top. The mixture was put into a 10in dish flan dish and baked for about 50 minutes at gas 6. The plums should be slightly caramelised. I added some flaked almonds and a sprinkle of sugar while still hot. This could be eaten hot as a pudding or cold as a cake. I did both.

Notes

A nice cake but the vanilla taste was not very strong so I would use 2 tsp pure vanilla or one of artificial vanilla. I would use 4 oz sugar next time.

Chilli Fiesta, West Dean, West Sussex

2011-08-05T22:20:00.010+01:00

This will about my fourth visit to the Chilli Fiesta at West Dean This is where I first discovered chipotle bought from Chillipepperpete Wandering around from stall to stall in the sunshine picking up wafts of delicious cooking smells and the sounds of Latin music playing is a treat though the hardest bit for me was choosing from Moroccan, Carribean, Thai, Indian etc To drink there were locally brewed Ballards ales and apple juice from West Dean's own apples.

There are lots of samples to try such as hot sauces, relishes, chilli chocolate etc.

It is held in the grounds of West Dean College which is set in some lovely landscape and has gardens that are worth visiting in their own right.

At the end of the day lots of people head back to the car park in the fields laden with bags of spices and a big chilli plant tucked under one arm.

THE STARS OF THE SHOW

Chilli 'Masquerade' heat level 8

Salsa on the lawn

Lunch came from Masala Monkey
Plenty of Latin music to listen to

and advice on how to grow chilies

A giant wire chili with seats insideIn the Victorian greenhouses there are over 200 chilli plants on display.

and more music

Herbs

2011-07-16T10:17:00.006+01:00

Many herbs look good in a flower border. as well as being useful for cooking. I like to have a generous supply not far from the back door. Above are golden marjoram, variegated sage, and Italian thyme. I add a mix of chopped golden marjoram, thyme chives and mint to salads.

Last year I had some in a hanging basket just outside the door so I could reach then without going out in the rain.

Below is a selection of herbs bought recently including wonderfully aromatic Vietnamese coriander and zingy lemon verbena whose flavour seems more lemony than lemon.

I also got dill, chervil, coriander and winter savoury which is new to me. I was on the look out for it after hearing about it on one of Nigel Slater's TV programmes. These have been potted up and are growing fast.

I buy my herbs from the Foxhollow Nursery (click here for location) It's up a narrow track and feels like the heart of the countryside rather than the edge of the London suburbs. It is one of the smallholdings on the Little Woodcote Estate. These smallholdings were originally offered to returning servicemen after World War One as part of the 'Homes for Heroes' in the 1920s

This one has a large selection of herbs so there are several varieties of, say, rosemary or thyme etc as well as the unusual and more exotic herbs. They also grow and sell Christmas trees.

The thymes are in full bloom

and on the right are some Christmas trees.

Cut Rounds

2011-07-07T17:59:00.003+01:00

Cut Rounds

I saw these being made on Edwardian Farm on the BBC. They looked and sounded wonderful and I wanted to taste them so I searched for the recipe online and eventually found it. These were made in Devon in Edwardian times although I don't think they had powdered milk then but milk from their own cows. I found this series delightful and beautifully made.

They are similar to scones that are still served in Devon and Cornwall with clotted cream and jam as a cream tea. Splits are also served in Cornwall. These are raised with yeast.

Clotted cream with golden syrup is known as thunder and lightning

I followed the recipe except I only had self raising flour so I used that and added a teaspoon of baking powder. I can't be sure that the amount of raising agent is the same.

I divided the dough in half so one half of my cut rounds are plain. To the other half I added 60g grated Cheddar and 1 tbs chopped herbs from the garden, thyme, rosemary and lavender flowers as I wanted to experiment with a savoury version.

Both versions taste good. The outer crust crisp and the inside more like cake than scone.

Recipe for Cut Rounds by Richard Hunt, Executive Chef, The Grand Hotel, Torquay

Makes 12 approx

Ingredients
500gm Plain Flour
50gm Milk Powder
35gm Baking Powder
50gm Butter
220ml Buttermilk
70ml Milk
(If you like a sweet version add 30gm Caster Sugar)
Beaten egg to Glaze
Method
1. Preheat the Oven to 180c or Gas 6
2. Put all the dry ingredients into a bowl
3. Rub in the Butter
4. Mix in the Buttermilk, and Normal milk, bring together until a soft dough is reached
5. Please use your hands, not a mixer, as you will over tighten the dough!!
6. Roll into a cylinder shape about 3 inches across
7. Cut into pieces approx 60gm each
8. Slightly press to a nice shape
9. Place on the Baking Tray and Glaze with egg
10. Bake for 14-18 minutes until golden and risen
Notes
The dough must be soft not dry, don’t be afraid to add a touch more liquid if you are not happy with the consistency

Happy cooking!

Shiso, aka Japanese Basil

2011-06-14T20:51:00.007+01:00

My friend Kyoko recently gave me some shiso plants for the garden. Shiso has an unusual taste like nothing else that I have tasted. The nearest I can get to describing it that to me it has a fresh green summery taste a bit like the smell of new mown grass with a hint of that smell you get when you brush against tomato leaves, with a whisper of lemon.

I have eaten this with salad and deep fried in tempura batter.

For a present, Kyoko made a bottle of clear magenta cordial for me from the red ( purple) shiso and she tells me it is used when pickling plums. The cordial is easy to make. Pick some red shiso leaves and soak overnight in some water with a little citric acid added. Not too much water, just enough to cover the leaves. Green shiso leaves can be mixed in with the red ones. In the morning drain the juice and boil it with some sugar. Don't use an aluminium pan as the acid can eat into the metal. When cool bottle and refrigerate the cordial. Add water and ice to taste.

Pepsi Japan even produced a Pepsi shiso.

It is used in cooking throughout Asia. The green shiso is wrapped around chicken pieces to be stir fried.

The purple shiso can double up as an ornamental plant, I have seen it in planting schemes at the Chelsea Flower Show. If the birds and snails don't eat them they can grow to 2 or 3 feet high.

The botanical name for shiso is Perilla frutescens and it belongs to the mint family along with basil, coleus and nettles. They all have square shaped stems.
It is used in Chinese medicine and is said to boost the immune system.

Pasta with courgettes, almond and lemon

2011-06-03T20:04:00.011+01:00

I found a recipe for Zuccini pasta with almonds and lemon zest on one of my favourite food blogs, Chocolate and Zuccini. Click here for the recipe.

I followed the recipe fairly closely. I didn't have any harissa paste so I ground a mixture of coriander, cumin, caraway with some powdered chipotle. I used about 1/4 tsp of each with 1/2 a tsp coriander.

I used a couple of mini garlics fresh from the garden. They were self seeded from a previous year's crop. This and the dry weather may be why they are so small but there are plenty of them. I chopped some of the green leaf part and added that as well. Raw that tastes surprisingly strong. I also added some chopped flat leaved parsley at the end of the cooking time. That also came from the garden as a self seeded bonus.

This is a gorgeous combination of flavours and textures. I like the combination of the spices with the lemon and the contrast of textures from the crunch of the almond to the softness of the courgettes and pasta. It made 2 portions and I have a little left over to have cold with salad

Sweet Cicely

2011-05-25T22:51:00.009+01:00

Sweet Cicely (Myrris odorata) is a traditional hardy cottage garden perennial. It grows wild in the North of England. It is related to anise, fennel and caraway and has a similar flavour to anise. It thrives on well drained soil and tolerates partial shade. I have it growing under a fig tree.

It produces umbels of frothy white flowers in late spring providing an early nectar source for insects.. The flowers develop into long slender seed pods as shown in the photo above.

The leaves can stewed with tart fruit like gooseberries or rhubarb to reduce acidity. It can be used to flavour fish. in some countires it is used to flavour Schnapps.

The seeds can be dried and used as a spice or left on the plant to self seed.

Have you used this in cooking and if so what did you use it with?

Today's Bread

2011-04-10T12:41:00.005+01:00

White bread dough sprinkled with red onion and olive oil with thyme, rosemary and garlic from the garden. The dough was rolled and topped with sliced Moroccan olives then baked ready for lunch in the garden. The top photo shows the rosemary bush in flower.

An orange tipped butterfly seen in the garden a few days ago

Wild Food part 2

2011-04-06T19:05:00.002+01:00

After a few warm Spring days the nettles are starting to grow. This is the common stinging nettle, Urtica dioica. I usually cut the new growth back and put it in a bucket of water. After about 2 weeks this turns into a very strong smelling liquid plant food that gets fed to the roses. This year I thought I would grasp the nettle and make soup! The new leaves are said to be be rich in minerals and vitamins.

so here goes, a panful of Spring nettle tops

cooked together with these ingredients a bay leaf and some thyme, then blitzed till smooth

add some milk and voila , nettle soup with cheese, onion and herb scone.

Delicious, and no it doesn't sting, the cooking takes care of that.

Wild Food

2011-04-02T18:35:00.007+01:00

served with smoked trout and boiled egg

These are not just any old leaves, these are organic leaves with a very low carbon footprint. They have travelled just a few feet rather than food miles and can be eaten fresh within seconds of picking.The taste is peppery, similar to mustard and cress or rocket and it may well be growing in your garden.

This plant is a member of the mustard family (Cruciferae family) and is native to Europe, Asia and North America. This small plant forms a rosette of leaves at ground level, during Autumn and Winter then from March onwards sends up stems with white flowers made up of 4 petals and provides an early source of nectar for bees and butterflies.

It is Cardamine hirsuta or hairy bittercress but it's not bitter and you would need a magnifying glass to see any hairs!

A long distance runner of the plant world it can produce seed about 5 weeks from germinating. The flowers produce thin seed pods that explode when touched, throwing the seed several feet. It pops up in plant pots, flowerbeds, lawns and cracks in paving.

This wild flower is an invasive weed so I don't encourage it in the garden but it pops up anyway and makes a good alternative to those supermarket pillows of air full of 'designer leaves'

It is the wild version of land cress.

It loves sneaking into overwintering plant pots and has often produced seed before I've even noticed it.

Pasteis de Nata

2011-03-04T20:12:00.005Z

Pasteis de Nata are like little caramelised creme brulees in a puff pastry case. I love the contrast of the crisp and flaky pastry with the smooth and creamy custard filling. I look for the one with the most caramelised top. They are said to have originate from a monastery near Lisbon to make use of spare egg yolks. The whites were used for starching the nuns' habits and in wineries for the clarifying of wines such as Port.

Penha d'Aguia near the cathedral in Funchal serves excellent ones and good coffee too, both at a reasonable price. You can get Bolo de mel there too and queijadas which are baked using a soft white cheese.

Madeiran Sweet Treats

2011-03-03T09:18:00.014Z

The first time I tasted this it was served in a jug with some little choux buns. I thought it was chocolate sauce so poured it on . The taste was not what I was expecting and had I known what it was would have chosen a different dessert. However I have acquired a taste for it and brought some back with me. Remembering a fellow traveller's tale of an exploding pot of spices that spread through his suitcase whilst in the hold and even ended up in his socks, I packed it very carefully in my suitcase. Just as well because although it was tightly sealed and unopened a bit had seeped out.

This is Mel de Cana Sacarina which translates as 'sugarcane honey' or molasses. The photo below is of sugarcane from Funchal market. This local ingredient is used in biscuits and Bolo de Mel, a tradtional cake. It is lovely served on pancakes with lemon juice and a slice of orange.

Sugarcane

It is also used in poncha (punch). This is a drink made from white rum (aguardente) mixed with mel de cana and lemon juice. Sometimes orange juice is added or even passion fruit juice.

Passion fruits are grown in Madeira and in a supermarket you can get a bagful for about 2 euros! They are however much more expensive in Funchal market.

Whenever I have had this drink it has been made using bee's honey rather than mel de cana.

The best one I had was from a little cafe in the market. It is run by the same people as Botanica 17 who sell plants and flowers on a stall inside on the top floor on the right. The cafe is on the top floor, keep to the left and go to the far end and it's outside. The juice is freshly squeezed for the poncha while you wait. There is also coffee and home made cake.

Madeira Wine

2011-02-01T22:28:00.012Z

Cheers! Today my blog is one year old.

Last week I visited Old Blandy Wine Lodge in Funchal on Madeira to see how Madeira wine is made. We had saved this for a rainy day and it was very rainy that day.
This building was built in the 17th century and was part of a monastery. It was bought in 1840 and converted to a winery. This is a working lodge where the wine is being aged by natural heat.
For about 5 euros a knowledgable guide will take you on a tour and this includes 2 generous glasses of Maderia to sample.

The vat below would hold up to 10000 litres of wine. This one is for display purposes and has had the archways cut into it so that you can walk through it. The smell inside was wonderful, aromatic wood and wine together. There are deposits of sugar on the inside. Chestnut wood was used for the casks, there are sweet chestnut trees in Madeira, and nowadays American oak.The vats were made of Brazil mahogany and nowadays Brazilian satinwood.

The method for making Madeira was discovered by chance. The island was a stopping off point for ships. Wine taken on board in oak casks had brandy added to it to help preserve it. When a ship returned to Madeira with an unopened cask it was discovered that the taste of the wine had improved on its journey due to the heat of the tropics. So wine was sent on round trips to improve it. Eventually this process was achieved by storing the barrels in the warm loft at the top of the wine lodge building. See below. The smell in the wine loft is fragrant and aromatic. Later the wine is transferred into the large vats and continues to age until it is bottled. These are on a lower floor where it will age at a lower temperature and are filled to about 90% to leave an airspace to slowly oxidise the wine.

In the museum there are accounting books from the last 3 centuries.

There are 4 main types of Maderia named after the grape varieties used. At the end of the tour we were given some samples to taste. On the left is a 3 year old Sercial and on the right a 5 year old Bual. The Sercial is dry and the Bual medium rich. I much prefered the Bual for its rich honey and raisiny flavours. We then had some 15 year old Malmsey the sweetest, deepest in colour and richest for taste like an extract of very good Christmas cake with toffee or butterscotch and my favourite. We were told that it makes a good accompaniment for Christmas cake or chocolate. I was in such a hurry to taste this one that I forgot to photograph it!

There is also a vintage tasting room, it is still possible to buy wines dating back to 1920 and in the museum there are bottles dating back much further.

Cheers!

Apples

2011-01-09T19:07:00.007Z

Charles Ross

I have had a good crop of apples from the garden starting last September with a variety that I think is Charles Ross. We inherited the tree so to try and identify it I checked with Brogdale. They are in Kent and have the national collection of fruit trees and a farm shop. These apples can be used as cookers or eaters. In September they are fairly sharp as eaters but cook well together with blackberries. I start with the windfalls or pick as we need them. The flavour mellows and they are at their best by the end of October as the birds soon discover. I pick the rest just before that point and they keep till about Christmas. The flavour is superb, sweetish with a touch of pear.
Charles Ross is a hybrid of Cox’s Orange Pippin and Peasgood Nonsuch.

I planted the other tree, for me it is a must have, it is a Bramley, in my opinion a superb English apple. I picked these during October and November and they usually keep for months, a welcome taste of summer and autumn in the depths of winter.

Bramley

The first Bramley tree was grown in Southwell in Nottinghamshire from an apple pip planted by a young girl. The original tree is still bearing fruit two centuries later and even survived being blown down in a storm. When I was a school girl I used to pass the house on the bus on my way to school. There is a stained glass window in Southwell Minster portraying the town's links with this apple.

Bramley

Bramleys have a characteristic shape being flatter at the poles than most apples. This is useful to know when buying as I suspect that some of the apples passed off as Bramleys are inferior green cooking apples. Raymond Blanc is no fan of these apples describing them as cooking to an acidic green fizz. Sadly many of the supermarket offerings can be like that. Maybe they were picked before they were ripe; they do improve if you keep them in the kitchen for 2 or 3 weeks. But they don’t often have the colour, scent and wonderful flavour of a home grown one.

It holds the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Merit.

In the 1990 s samples were taken from the original tree and clones were propagated at Nottingham University using biotechnology techniques. (This is not the same as genetic engineering.) Apples from these trees were found to be superior to Bramleys from trees produced after generations of grafting. so maybe that explains in part the variations found when buying apples.

Charles Ross and Bramley

Cape Malay Chicken Curry

2011-01-06T18:57:00.003Z

Cape Malay Chicken Curry

Makes 4-6 portions

2 medium or large onions chopped
4 cloves garlic chopped
I kg chicken portions
4 carrots chopped
400ml stock
2 tbs tomato puree
2 handfuls raisins
2 tbs Cape Malay spice mix from Spice Mountain

2 bay leaves
3-4 in ginger grated (I used ready prepared frozen ginger)
3 tbs cider vinegar
2 tbs apricot jam
2 tbs natural yoghurt

I used a large Le Creuset so the frying and oven cooking can be done in the same pot.

Fry the chopped onion and garlic in the oil for a few minutes.
Add the spices, bay leaves and chicken and brown for a few more minutes.
Add the stock, tomato puree, cider vinegar, ginger, raisins and carrots.
Put the lid on and cook at gas 5 for I 1/4 hours.
Before serving, mix in the apricot jam and yoghurt.
I served this with rice and broccoli.
Delicious!

I based my recipe on the one on the Spice Mountain website adjusting it to use what I had available.

Lunch at La Barbe

2011-01-04T22:07:00.005Z

La Barbe is a French restaurant in Reigate. We went there just before Christmas for their December menu. Outside was snowy and cold and the restaurant filled up as people seemed to be taking the opportunity to come out having been snowed in for a few days. It was nice to come in out of the cold to a friendly welcome and sit down to a meal cooked by someone else.

Terrine de Confit de Canard à l’Andouillette Duck confit and andouillette terrine

Andouillette is a type of sausage and not as I imagined a kind of bird!

Coussin de Saumon Fumé aux Baies Roses et Aneth

Smoked salmon filled with roasted salmon, cream cheese and dill mousse with pink peppercorns.

This was very good.

Bourguignon de Venaison aux Champignons et Lardons

Venison and mushroom casserole with lardons and boiled potatoes

Suprême de Canard aux Poires Sauce Bigarade

Roasted duck breast served with caramelized pears and orange sauce

No vegetables came with this dish so some had to be ordered extra. I had spinach and plenty of french bread. The bread was excellent, light and with a crisp crust.

Bûche de Noël au Praliné

Praline flavoured Christmas log

Bûche de Noël is a traditional French dessert served near Christmas. It is a sweet roulade that is usually decorated to look like a log with chocolate buttercream icing. I chose it because of the praline flavouring and it looked stunning. I would have prefered the cake and the buttercream to be lighter.

Overall it was a lovely meal beautifully presented.

Christmas Cake

2010-12-24T17:07:00.006Z

Mixed dried fruit ( sultanas, raisins, currants candied peel, chopped dates ) 22 oz
cherries or chopped dried apricots 3 oz
chopped pecans 2oz
5 eggs
4 oz Muscavado sugar
8oz butter
10oz SR flour
3 tsp mixed spice
Booze, 5fl oz or half a mug. I used Beaume de Venise, have been known to use sherry, Madeira, brandy or whiskey. One at a time!
Flaked almonds

Soak the fruit and spices in the booze overnight.
Use the butter at room temperature and cut into cubes, add the sugar and eggs and beat till fluffy. Add the fruit mixture and mix using a wooden spoon then add the flour and mix. If the mix drops easily off the spoon it is ready to cook. If not add up to 5 fl oz cold tea to make the mixture looser.
Put into a well buttered 8in square cake tin and sprinkle flaked almonds over the top.
Bake in a pre heated oven at gas 2 for 2 hours. After this time check to see if the cake is ready by prodding it with a skewer or knife. If it comes out with sticky cake mix on it give the cake another half hour and check it again.
This improves with keeping if it doesn't get eaten in the meantime.
I usually make an almond paste topping covered by lemon icing instead of the flaked almonds.
We have the first slice on Christmas Eve in the afternoon.

Sausage and Red Cabbage Casserole

2010-12-09T19:26:00.013Z

This winter warmer is a one pot dish. While it cooks slowly in the oven the flavours meld together and makes a sweet and tasty liquor and the house fills with inviting aromas.
Veggie sausages could be used instead.

for 4-6 servings

I red cabbage

4 onions peeled and sliced

3 cloves garlic chopped

12 sausages (I used Waitrose Gourmet sausages, they are not fatty and have a good flavour, or Toulouse sausages would be great)

6 medium sized potatoes sliced, no need to peel.

1 handful raisins

I tbs Branston Pickle

Large glass of red wine

teaspoon French mustard

2 Bramley apples cored and sliced

1 tsp Seasoned Pioneers cardamom masala spice mix

a drizzle of olive oil

Fry the onions and garlic in the oil. I used a Le Creuset casserole dish.

Add the sausages and brown.

Add the wine, mustard, raisins, pickle, apple slices and spice.

Cover with a layer of red cabbage and finish with a layer of potato slices.

Put the lid on the casserole and cook at gas 3 for 2 1/2 -3 hours

Autumn Raspberries

2010-11-18T19:10:00.004Z

We are well into November now, some of the trees have shed their leaves while others, like the silver birch in the background of these photos, still hold onto their golden leaves. The raspberries are still are still producing fruit at the rate of a small bowlful a day. I originally planted 2 varieties, one of them called Autumn Bliss, and one year they were fruiting right up till Christmas. Just about the only care these raspberry canes get is a pruning followed by a thick layer of home made compost once a year. The Autumn crop is more flavourful and less sharp than the Summer crop.

Cinnamon Bun Day

2010-10-04T21:33:00.004+01:00

Cinnamon Rolls, Nordic Bakery, London.

It's Cinnamon Bun day today in Sweden. Also known as cinnamon rolls these delicious treats are made by spreading a mix of cinnamon, butter and sugar onto a sheet of dough then rolling it up.

They are served in several Northern European countries including Finland and Iceland. The first time I tried one was on a whale watching trip in the north of Iceland. It came with a mug of hot chocolate. The Finnish version is larger and is called korvapuusti which means 'a slap on the ear'!

I have also baked them using the recipe on Annes Food blog

You can buy them frozen from Ikea. They are good but the ones from the Nordic bakery pip them at the post.

Borough Market, Southwark London.

2010-10-02T21:08:00.011+01:00

Borough Market is London's oldest food market. Near Southwark Cathedral on the Thames at London Bridge, much of it is tucked away among the railway arches under the viaduct. By night it is a wholesale fruit and veg market, by day a foodie's delight.
The only other time I have been here was years ago as part of a painting course. The night time market had long finished and at that time there was no daytime market so the brighly coloured fruits and vegetables had gone. We had the challenge of painting this empty place in different colours that were to be all the same tone. It was a useful lesson.
I looked forward to seeing the place buzzing and alive with colour and smells of food.
As I wove my way around this gourmet maze I was offered all sorts of goodies to taste. Olives from Greece, wafer thin Jamon from Spain, Turkish meze and Turkish delight, a spoonful of green Thai chicken or Carribean chicken curry, a thimbleful of mulled wine, little cubes of cheeses from England, France, Italy, Spain, Holland..... and chocolate brownies. Trains rumbled overhead and as lunchtime approached the market became more crowded.
My Italian lunch came from Gastronomica, ciabatta with Mozarella, Parma ham and rocket. To take home we bought some duck confit and a very heavy bag of cheeses, Remeker from Boerkaas and Mayfield from E Sussex and a big hole in the pocket!
Then time to leave for lunchtime jazz at the Southbank Centre.
Flickr group

Mulled wine with lavender

or time for some Pimms or Sangria

cheeses from the Dutch Frisian Isles

From Flour Power City bakery there are artisan breads and cakes. Their luscious chocolate brownies are made with 30% Caillebout chocolate and butter and eggs

giant meringues flavoured with raspberry, strawberry or chocolate sit next to Portuguese custard tarts ( Pastel de Nata)

Outside some of the stall holders and shoppers brave the wet weather

Switzen Plum Cake

2010-09-25T20:41:00.005+01:00

This is more of a tart than a cake. When cooked the base has a crumbly texture with a crisp edge and the flavour of the plums is intensified and the juice slightly caramelised.

750g Switzen plums, halved or quartered and stoned

Mix the following ingredients together with a food mixer
225g SR flour
115g butter or olive spread
90g golden granulated sugar
I large egg
1-2 tsp almond or vanilla essence

Spread the mixture evenly in a 25cm cake tin, arrange the plums on top and bake for about half an hour on gas 6, turn down to gas 4 and bake or another 10-15 minutes. Or the mixture can be rolled out like pastry though it will be thicker than you would normally do pastry.
Lovely hot or cold.

Miso and Cucumber Soup

2010-08-23T16:01:00.006+01:00

How cool is that? As a cucumber I suppose. The 2 cucumber plants that I got at the plant swop earlier in the year have done well. The cukes are smaller than supermarket ones at about 6-8in or 15-20cm and have a good flavour. I devised a soup to make use of some of them and included some Cavallo nero also from the plant swop.

Recipe

2 cukes

1/2 onion

4 teacups or 3 mugs water

2 tsp Marigold's miso stock powder

small piece of fresh ginger between 1-2in (2.5-5cm) to taste

1-2 handfuls of chopped Cavallo nero (kale)

I chopped all the ingredients using a Thermomix then cooked for about 20 min.

I then blitzed the mixture till the chunks of veg virtually vanished.

I added the kale and cooked for a few more minutes.

The ginger and kale were an afterthought and made all the difference to the flavour.

Raspberry and Almond Flaugnarde

2010-08-19T20:04:00.007+01:00

A clafoutis is a dessert made from cherries baked in a flan like batter. It originates from the Limousin region of France. When other fruits are substituted the dish is traditionally called a flaugnarde. In Brittany the Far Breton is a similar dessert that contains prunes and sometimes rum.

I used raspberries as I have them from the garden. Vanilla is often used but I had run out so used almond essence instead.

250g raspberries

55g plain flour

55g sugar

3 large eggs

I tsp almond essence

1-2 handfuls flaked almonds

350 ml milk

butter

Butter a baking dish then add the raspberries to the dish.

Mix the flour and sugar then beat in the eggs. Add the milk and almond essence, beat till smooth then pour this layer over the raspberries. Sprinkle the flaked almonds on top.

Bake at 180c or gas 4

Sorry there is no photo this time. I cooked it for some friends who came for a meal at the week end. To see what it looks like click on the link at the top for clafoutis.

Tea and Cake

2010-07-21T21:36:00.012+01:00

Yesterday I went to a Summer Tea tasting lead by Jennifer Wood, founder of the Canton Tea Company. It was at the Petersham Nursery's Teahouse. Petersham Nursery is hidden away up a narrow lane between a church and the R Thames and is an eclectic mix of unusual plants, antique garden furniture, glasshouses, flower filled borders as well as being foodie heaven ! There are lots of places to sit and meet friends.

The teas were delicious and delicate with the exception of one of them!
They were Jasmine green tea, White tea silver needle, Green tea Poochong, Black tea Bai Lin Gong Fu and iced tea made with Bai Lin Gong Fu and honey.

There was a selection of wonderful homemade cake: lemon polenta and almond, coffee, parsnip and maple syrup, chocolate brownie, beetroot. and fig.

The coffee cake was moist and light and came in joint favourite with the lemon polenta and almond, richer and full flavoured.

and then there was this....................................

2005 Xing Hai cooked loose Puerh Tea compressed into the form of a cake. To produce this tea leaves are dried then dry pan fried to prevent further oxidation. The next process is fermentation by micro organisms and is done in a similar way to composting by piling dampening and turning to produce ripened Puerh.

Some were reluctant to try this brew. The smell was variously described as grassy or earthy, tobacco, leather even unwashed dog or dung! The flavour was robust and interesting. I went back for more trying identify what the smell reminded me of, probably a mix of the inside of a brewery and a haystack. It is believed to have extraordinary health benefits.

These guided tea tastings are held occaisionally. The teahouse is open most of the time.

Houmous

2010-07-18T20:28:00.004+01:00

Home made houmous is very quick and easy to make and tastes so much better than most shop bought stuff.

I used

I 400g can chickpeas drained

I dessert spoon of Tahini Paste

Juice of between half and a whole lemon added to taste

Finely chopped fresh garlic, I used about half a clove but sometimes more.

All the ingredients were blitzed together for a couple of minutes with a hand held blender.

It is best made a few hours before eaten so that the garlic flavour can permeate.

I rarely use salt and prefer to add freshly ground black pepper just before eating.

I divide the mixture between several ramekin dishes and freeze some. To part of the mixture I added smoked paprika to taste. The other portion is garnished with fresh mint

Cheese and Onion Bread

2010-07-13T21:31:00.002+01:00

I made a basic white bread dough using 1 lb white flour with water, yeast, sugar and salt.
This was kneaded and left for about one hour to double in size. I chopped one small onion, fried it in olive oil then left it to cool. I added this to the dough with 2 sprigs of freshly chopped sage and 1oz grated cheese. I shaped the dough into 1 loaf and 3 rolls on baking trays and left them in a warm place for half an hour to rise further. I sprinkled some grated cheese on the tops and baked on gas 6 . I ate the rolls while still hot and crusty and they were delicious.

The Picnic Basket so far...

2010-06-30T19:39:00.004+01:00

International Picnic Day

2010-06-28T11:42:00.009+01:00

Incredibly Fruity Raspberry Cakes

Raspberry Latin Rubus idaeus well it's got an I in it!

I am taking part in International Picnic day organised by Months of Edible Adventures

Each blogger taking part choses a letter and devises a recipe beginning with that letter. I have chosen the letter I. I only found out about it at the last minute so there weren't many letters left and I don't think there are many foods beginning with this letter! The first 2 that come to mind are ice (as in ice cream ) and ink (as in squid ink) so it's a bit of a challenge.

At the moment there are plenty of raspberries in the garden so I thought I would devise a recipe using these.

Incredibly Fruity Raspberry Cakes

I think I put raspberries in the bottom of a PineappleUpside Down cake in place of cherries so I thought I would try them in a Victoria cake mix.

200g olive spread or butter

190g golden granulated sugar

4 large eggs

150g raspberries

200g self raising flour

2 tsp baking powder

2 teaspoons vanilla essence.

Oven on at gas 5

Beat the olive spread and sugar and vanilla essence till it looks creamy

Add the eggs one at a time and continue to beat

Gently fold in the flour and the whole raspberries. If the mixture looks a bit stiff add a little milk. I didn't need to as the mixture slipped easily off a spoon.

Half to two thirds fill cupcake cases with spoonfuls of mixture and bake. Check after 10-15 min, they should spring back when you gently touch them. If too soft bake for a few more minutes.

This quantity will make about 20-24 cakes depending on the size of the cases.

Dust with icing sugar if you like otherwise they are lovely as they are and you are ready to pack them in a box and join the picnic.

Variants using the mix above

1 Add fresh basil leaves. Tear the basil into small pieces and add to the mixture or put a leaf on the top before baking. I think the flavour combines well.

2 Add cocoa powder for a chocolately version, I didnt measure this I just added it till it looked really chocolatey.

I need to get some bigger paper cases!

Fanny's Farmshop and Teagardens

2010-06-19T11:18:00.012+01:00

On a narrow winding leafy lane in Surrey is the entrance to Fanny's Farmshop, tea rooms, tea gardens and much more... The first time I went I was greeted by Fanny's friendly dogs.
In the farm shop there is local produce for sale and a selection of home made cakes.

A cream tea among the flowers in the garden

Or High Tea in the tree house?

With Pooh bear? And yes that is a tree branch growing right up through the table!

In the farm section there is a Vietnamese pot bellied pig. It was found wandering a local high street and was rescued by Fanny!

Pasta with tomato, aubergine and olive sauce.

2010-06-04T22:15:00.004+01:00

1 medium aubergine chopped

1 large onion finely chopped

olive oil

3 cloves garlic

6-8 shitake mushrooms sliced.

1 slurp soy sauce

1 large slurp red wine 5-10 fl oz

1/2 tspn smoked paprika

Fresh herbs thyme, sage, rosemary, basil.

2 tins chopped tomatoes

2 tbs tomato puree

2-3 tbs couchillo (or kalamata) olives

Fry the onion and aubergine on the oil for a few minutes.

Add all the other ingredients, cover and simmer for 10 more minutes.

Serve with pasta.

Buna Shimeji with Noodles

2010-05-24T17:46:00.007+01:00

These tiny mushrooms are related to the oyster mushroom, they are often grown on beech trees. They have a mildy nutty flavour when cooked but are not to be eaten uncooked as then the flavour is bitter. Used in Japanese cuisine.

Buna Shimeji (Brown Beech) mushrooms 150g

Noodles for 2

chopped fresh or frozen ginger

half onion chopped or 2 spring onions

2 cloves garlic chopped

soy sauce

15floz/3/4 pint boiling water

1 tsp Seasoned Pioneers shrimp paste or 2 tsp fish sauce

A handful of chopped greens, I used small leaves of Swiss chard.

Remove the base from the mushrooms and separate them into small clumps, put them into a pan with all the other ingredients except the noodles and greens. Boil for 7 min. Add the noodles and greens and simmer for 3-5 min depending on the type of noodles.

Mix well. Serves 2.

Delicious!

The Taste Bomb aka Dahi Puri

2010-05-15T21:33:00.007+01:00

If you get the chance to eat at Kastoori's these are not to be missed!

Kastoori is a friendly family run restaurant, a South London legend specialising in Gujarati/East African vegetarian dishes with lots of big, hot and spicy flavours

The taste bomb is to be eaten in one. That way you get the explosion of sweet sour flavours and the contrasting flavours and textures all happening at the same time. A puri is a circle of flatbread that puffs up to a crisp shell when deep fried. They are then filled and topped up with pani sauce. They are served with sweet and sour sauce and yogurt.

Kastoori Restaurant, Tooting, S. London

How to Make Puris these are much larger than the taste bomb puris.

Sweet Potato Bread

2010-04-10T20:24:00.004+01:00

To make this I used the recipe for a white loaf from my bread making machine's cook book, with the addition of 21/2 oz cooked sweet potato mashed into 1tbs milk. I then left the bread maker to get on with the job. The result was lovely, a crispy crust and good stucture to the bread. The flavour was almost like a sour dough bread.

I have also made roasted butternut squash bread. I blitzed 5 ounces of roast squash with the water that was to be added to the flour and used the bread maker and white bread recipe. This bread had a lovely sweet flavour.

Happy Easter

2010-04-04T13:01:00.005+01:00

another chocolate creation from the Chocolate Festival at the South Bank.

below, from the garden

Hot Cross Buns

2010-04-02T17:11:00.008+01:00

Freshly baked hot cross buns

Hot cross buns!

One a penny, two a penny,

Hot cross buns!

If you have no daughters,

Give them to your sons

One a penny,Two a penny,

Hot Cross Buns!

Traditional nursery rhyme

Hot cross buns were traditionally eaten on Good Friday. Nowadays they are available from supermarkets for weeks before Easter.

For my version I boiled the dried fruit in 4 fl oz tea in a pan until most of the liquid was absorbed. This makes the fruit juicier and makes it stay in the dough. With earlier attempts I found the fruit kept popping out of the dough as it was mixed.
I used a bread maker for the dough using 8 fl oz water to about 1lb flour. I added the fruit when the beeps went. When the dough was ready it was shaped and left to prove before baking in the oven. The water and tea took the place of milk and egg, otherwise the recipe is similar to Delia’s.

Lovely eaten still warm with a bit of unsalted butter.

Chocolate Festival part 2

2010-03-30T19:19:00.010+01:00

At the chocolate festival I watched a chocolate making demonstration by artistry in cocoa
The ones being made were rose creams, a traditional flower based cream made with natural flavouring, dipped in chocolate and topped with a candied rose petal. The cream filling is made from a special powdered sugar not cream. This was rolled into a thin log shape and some melted chocolate spread along it. When the chocolate was set the log was cut into pieces, having this layer of chocolate makes it easier for each piece to be picked up on a fork for dipping into tempered chocolate.

below the finished rose creams, these are also made heart shaped.

There were numerous stalls selling all sorts of chocolate based goodies, both sweet and savoury and plenty of samples to try. Highlights for me were the rose cream I saw being made, a salted caramel from artisan du chocolat, and an Earl Grey truffle from Ooh La La Choclaterie Ltd .

below artisan du chocolat Couture collection

below from Alice in Wonderland The Mad Hatter's Tea Party a chocolate sculpture

Chocolate Festival

2010-03-26T17:13:00.020Z

click on the photo to enlarge

Chocolate Festival, Southbank Centre, London.
The chocolate-art display is part of the Easter Chocolate Festival, featuring sculptures made entirely from chocolate by master chocolatiers and pastry chefs.
My first photo below is part of the creation shown in the photo below it. The central pillar has flowers attached and looks like marble. I kept wanting to touch the exhibits to check they really were chocolate. There was a reassuring smell of chocolate in the room. The textures of the items were so well done. I kept looking at the glove half thinking someone had left their glove on the display. Amazing!

When I first saw this one I thought the rabbits were made from MDF and painted! The texture along the thin edges was rough like cut MDF.

Lunch in the Garden

2010-03-16T13:32:00.004Z

Yes, really!

Suddenly after the weeks of cold weather it is sunny and warm enough for lunch in the garden. The thermometer agreed at 18C ( about 65F) In the background there are crocuses.
Lunch was toasted home baked granary bread with sunlfower seeds, with salad and Pate 'Grand Mere' a l'Aligote.

Duck with Chorizo and Bean Stew.

2010-03-04T19:45:00.000Z

This is my version of Cassoulet. It is quick to put together and should feed 4 hungry people.

4 duck portions
Slices of chirizo
I large onion chopped
I can cannelini beans
Lots of garlic ( several cloves at least)
Several glugs of red wine ( about ¾ pint)
2 tbs tomato puree
1 tsp French mustard
2 tsp Marigold veg stock powder
1 Savoy cabbage cut into chunks
4 medium or large potatoes, thickly sliced
Picante pimenton powder (smoked paprika)
Olive oil

I use a large orange Lecreuset pot so the whole meal is cooked in the one pot from start to finish.
Fry the onion and garlic in the olive oil for a few minutes. Add the red wine, tomato puree, veg stock powder and French mustard and stir well then add the beans.
Place the duck portions on top of this mix and put slices of chorizo on the duck portions, chunks of cabbage next and finish with slices of potato. Sprinkle with picante pimenton powder. Put the lid on and cook in the oven gas 4 (medium heat) for about 2 hours.

Sorry no photo, in a hurry to eat and camera not working.

Lime and Rum Marmalade

2010-02-28T14:09:00.000Z

Lime and Rum Marmalade

This marmalade was inspired by some home made marmalade I had in Portugal. This is no insipid sweet green jelly. It has an intense flavour, a rich deep colour and is not overly sweet. If you prefer it sweeter use half as much sugar again. I did n’t have a complete recipe so have been experimenting. This is my third attempt and now very close to the original.
…..and then I thought of adding rum…

850g limes
350g Muscavado sugar
650g Golden granulated sugar
½ litre water
Rum to taste (add some to the jam as well if you like!)

Put 5 clean jam jars with lids separate on a baking tray and into an oven on gas mark 1
Leave the limes whole and cook with the water for 15 min in a pressure cooker. In the original marmalade the limes had been sliced first.
Or simmer in an open pan until the rinds are soft, stir and make sure it doesn’t boil dry.
Put in a food processor or Thermomix and process so that the peel breaks into smallish pieces. Add the sugar and cook until the setting point is reached. You’re there when a sample will set on a saucer. I love that bit as I usually get to taste several samples before it is ready.
Pour into the hot jars and immediately screw the lids on tightly.

I have experimented by adding some rum to one of the jars. I didn’t put the lid on this one, waited till it was cool and added some rum.
About 5 teaspoons (25ml) per 1lb pot (454g) tastes good.

With my first 2 attempts it was problems with texture rather than flavour. One was over processed, too watery and didn’t set.
With the other, I cooked the limes in the microwave, the peels were rock hard and there wasn’t enough water!

A Quick Supper

2010-02-18T13:13:00.000Z

This was put together in about 10 minutes. I love the combination of flavours particularly the contrast of the horseradish with the smoked fish.
The smoked trout and cooked beetroot (without vinegar) both came from Lidl's. Good quality and very reasonably priced. The washed but unpeeled potatoes were cooked in the microwave for about 6 minutes then cut into chunks while still hot. The dressing for the potatoes is made from 3 parts Hellman's light mayo, 3 parts Onken mild set yoghurt and one part horseradish sauce from a jar. Finished with freshly ground black pepper.

Rosewater and chocolate cakes

2010-02-14T22:27:00.000Z

I made a basic Victoria sponge mixture. Half the batch was flavoured with Mymoune rose water

and the other half with cocoa. The icing is a light vanilla buttercream . The rose one is topped with a rose petal and the chocolate one with a chocolate covered walnut from Artisan Choclatier (Cerne aux de noix enrobes de chocolat noir)

2010-02-12T12:45:00.000Z

Lunch at Pied a Terre, Charlotte St, London.

We went on to this restaurant after visiting the Monet exhibition at The Helly Nahmad gallery in Cork Street. Like the gallery the exterior of the restaurant was so discreet that we almost walked past it. It is behind a black paneled and glass façade on the ground floor of a town house.

Ours was a circular table. There was a globe shaped glass vase with gerberas inside it and pretty glass cover plates decorated with a large pink gerbera placed on a silver edged square glass plate. The comfortable seating was a curved banquette for two with cushions. The canvases for the works of art here are white porcelain plates.

White wine Stadt Krems, Gruner Veltliner Austria 2009

Breads: brioche, Guinness and star anise, walnut and pecan, bacon and onion roll, poppy seed roll.

Canapes

Potato and parmesan gnocchi
Pea pannacotta, Jerusalum artichoke mousse, toasted almonds
Foie gras and poppy seed tuile sandwich

Starter
Salt cod and almond mousse, with seared salmon and salmon roe and basil puree.

Main
Red wine Te Mania Pinot Noir New Zealand 2003
Duck, Savoy cabbage

Mango velouté with Coconut and chili foam with coconut crystals and Thai Basil

Coconut crystals are made from the sap that exudes from freshly harvested coconut blossoms. They are naturally sweet and in texture like tiny fragments of meringue.

Chocolate mousse with mandarin Sorbet and walnut velouté with little pieces of Sauterne jelly

Petit fours with Lapsang Souchong tea

There was as interesting variety and combinations of flavours and the quality and presentation of the food was excellent. Service was very good.
With the main course I would have liked a bit more vegetable, maybe some potato, there was only a tiny portion of cabbage hiding under the duck, and less salt in the sauce. I wasn’t sure what the sauce was as the salt dominated the flavour.
Overall a very special meal. For me the highlights were the amazing and unexpected pre dessert and the canelé that came with the canapés. There was a generous supply of lovely breads and the star was the brioche.
Canelés we were told by the friendly and informative waiter are a speciality from Bordeaux. Tower shaped with fluted edges they have a crisp caramelized outer crust and a rich firm custard centre.

Lunch costs £23.50 for a 2 course set menu including canapés. We both made the same choices from the menu. I think this is excellent value for the superb meal that we had. On this occasion we had some vouchers from the Financial Times which meant one of us dined for a fiver!

PS Apologies for the poor quality photos, taken on my moblile.

More about Macaroons

2010-02-04T20:27:00.001Z

Laduree's rose, chestnut, pistachio, praline, salted caramel and raspberry macaroons.

(from Ladurée, Burlington Arcade, Piccadilly, London.)

Laduree's macaroons are arranged like gems in the gold covered interior of the shop that opens out into the Burlington Arcade.

These are soft macaroons ( French macarons) very similar to meringue with ground almonds. They are crisp on the outside and softer inside sandwiched togther with a smooth creamy filling making a good contrast of textures.

Macaroons are believed to have originated in Italy and the English word comes from the Italian word maccarone meaning paste The original Italian macaroon was similar to Amaretti biscuits.

My taste tests reveal that the rose one is my favourite followed by the praline and vanilla. The vanilla one got eaten before the photo was taken. The salted caramel had a lovely caramel filling and was not really salty. I didn't think the pistachio one had a lot of flavour, it is one of their most popular ones maybe because of it's colour and I prefer the creamy fillings to the jam like filling of the raspberry one.

I have read that Yauatacha tearroom in nearby Broadwick Street serves macaroons such as Champagne with gold leaf or kumquat. They are a fusion between Chinese dim sum and European patisserie with Asian influenced flavours so those will be the next for me to try. Jasmine and green tea might be interesting.

Ladurée Macaroons

2010-02-03T18:57:00.000Z

I was on my way to see a Monet exhibition in London today. The no 38 bus stopped right outside the Ladurée macaroon shop. I bought a selection, more about that tomorrow when I have done a bit more research!

Couscous with Ras-el hanout

2010-02-02T18:58:00.000Z

Couscous with Ras-el hanout

I have cooked couscous before and wanted to try it with Ras-el hanout the traditional Moroccan spice mix. I bought the spice mix online from Seasoned Pioneers. The foil pouches are resealable.
The smell is absolutely wonderful!!! There are 15 different ingredients in the mix. It says on the pack 'An amazingly complex spice blend with a multitude of warming spice and herbal flavours.'
It certainly delivers what it says on the pack.

I cup couscous
2 cups hot water
1-2 tsp Vegetable stock powder (I used Marigold bouillon powder)
1-2 tbs tomato puree
6 sun dried tomatoes chopped
3 cloves garlic chopped
2 medium red onions chopped
handful of raisins
2 tsp Ras-el hanout (I used Seasoned Pioneers spice mix.)
Olive oil
Juice of 1 lime

To make the sauce fry the onions and garlic in the oil until soft and beginning to caramelise.
Add the sundried tomatoes and spice mix and heat for 2-3 minutes more.

Put the hot water into another pan and add the stock powder and tomato puree and mix well, then add the couscous. Simmer on a low heat for 5 mins and leave to stand for a further 2 mins. Fluff up the couscous with a fork then add to the sauce, together with the lime juice and mix everything well. The sauce part could be made in advance.
Toasted flaked almonds can be added but I didn't have any in stock.

I served this with grilled Portabella mushrooms and fried yellow peppers.

Instead of grilling the mushrooms, spoon a generous layer of the couscous mix onto each mushroom and cook for about 30 min in a moderate oven.

Raspberry and Chipotle

2010-02-01T13:52:00.000Z

I have been dipping in and out of foodblogs for some time now. One of the first that I found was when I was looking online for a chocolate and courgette cake recipe. That blog is called Chocolate and Zuccini. As well as finding the recipe I was looking for I found so much more. There were other lovely recipes of course, interesting comments and insights from readers, French idioms and a store of treasures listed down the side ....... links to other food blogs! One of those links took me to Anne's Food. On Anne's wish list is Raspberry and chipotle sauce. I had never heard of this but as chipotle is one of my favourite ingredients already in the store cupboard and I had raspberries growing in the garden, I thought I would try and devise a recipe. More of that in another post.
I shall hope to feature some of the food bloggers who have inspired me to start this blog as well as with their recipes and their generosity.