Easy Peasy Puff Pastry

 This was a bit of an experiment. It only took about 10 minutes and really was easy-peasy. 

It rolled out beautifully.

8oz plain flour

4 oz ice cold butter cut into small cubes

Ice cold water 

1/2 tsp salt or to taste

Put the flour into a food processor

Add about one third of the butter cubes at a time and pulse gently, there should still be small bits of butter distributed throughout the flour.

Add enough cold water to bind the mixture.

Roll out the pastry thinly to the shape of a triangle.

Fold into 3 and roll out again. turn the pastry 90 degrees and repeat the process till you have done it three or four times.

Wrap the pastry and leave it to rest in the fridge for 1-2 hours before rolling it out.

Cook at 180 fan oven.

Avocado and Cashew Pesto

 

 

Some years ago I found this recipe on Joanna's blog thepassionatecook  here

I have made this many times and  tried my own variations and found there's bit bit of flexibilty with quantities. One time I had started getting the ingredients together to find that I had no avacados so I used peas instead.

This is my version 

Ingredients 

75 g cashew nuts

75 g string cheddar or parmesan grated

2 small cloves garlic

30-40 g fresh  basil

¼ tsp dried crushed chilli

2 avocados peeled and mashed

30 ml good quality extra virgin olive oil (or hemp seed or flax seed oil)

30 ml water and juice of a lemon or a lime

To prepare 

Assemble all the ingredients first. 

Toast the cashews in the oven then add to the food processor and blitz together with the garlic and chilli. The heat od the nuts partially cooks the garlic.

Add all the other ingredients and blitz again pausing to check that it's mixing OK

If you are serving it with pasta you could sprinkle the cheese over instead of mixing it in with the pesto. I prefer to mix it in with the pesto. 

 

Serve with hot pasta or noodles or spread on toasted sour dough. 

Soooooo good! 

 

Chocolate Brownies with Pecans

 Butter 6.5 oz

Sugar  9.5 oz

Eggs 3 large

cocoa 2oz

plain flour 3 oz 

Chocolate 70% cocoa solids  6.5 oz 

Pecans   chopped 1.5 oz

Melt the butter and chocolate over a bowl of hot water

Sieve the flour and cocoa together

Whisk the eggs and sugar together for 5-10 minutes until thick then add the melted butter and chocolate stirring gently.

Add the pecans and the  flour and cocoa and gently fold into the mixture. Nothing vigorous as you don't want to knock out any of the air that has been whisked into the egg and sugar mixture.

Place in an 8 in square tin that has been lined with baking parchment or foil.

Cook for about 25-30 minutes at 180C/160C fan/gas 4.

When it's done there should be a thin crust with a gooey but not wobbly mix underneath.

Leave to cool before removing from the tin.

Optional add some white chocolate chips in with the pecans.

 

Tarte aux Quetches

 This tarte is popular from  the Alsace ( Tarte au quetches) to Germany (Quetschekuche) 

 I know about it as my grandfather grew up in Belgium.

Quetche plums are small dark purple plums. I have Victoria plums from the garden so use those instead.

 

 

My version     (scroll down for a Bavarian version)

Victoria Plums halved and stones removed

 For the base, blend these ingredients by hand or in a food processor.

8oz self raising flour ( altenative option for more texture, replace 2 oz of the flour with  2oz ground almonds or semolina)

4 oz butter

2 oz sugar

1 egg

vanilla extract to taste  (alternatives almond essence or cinnamon)

Roll out like pastry or press onto a cake tin or baking dish. 

I used a rectangular non stick cake tin 8x12 in

Arrange the plums on top overlapping so that you get plenty on as they shrink during cooking.

Bake at gas 6 for 45-50 min

Enjoy with cream or Greek yogurt.

Can be frozen.

The base can vary from a yeasted dough to a shortcrust pastry and the plums are sometimes sprinkled with streusel. you can find a Bavarian recipe here

Chocolate Brownies with Pecans and Morello Cherries

 

Ingredients

• 115g/4oz unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
• 170g/6oz caster sugar I used half soft brown sugar
• 2 free-range eggs beaten
• 100g/3½ oz plain chocolate (minimum 65% cocoa solids I used 85%) chopped
• 55g/2oz pecans (optional) chopped
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 55g/2oz plain flour
• 55g/1oz cocoa powder
• 55g/2oz morello cherries or raspberries

Optional

• 2 tsp instant coffee granules
• 2 tbsp warm water

Cream the butter and sugar then add the eggs.

Fold in the flour and cocoa then mix in the chocolate nuts and cherries.

Cook at gas 4 for 30-40min.

 

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Traudl's Apple Cake

 

 

This recipe came from my good friend Traudl who lived near us for many years. She originally came from Bavaria. I always enjoyed a slice of this at her house usually with cream or ice cream.

 

 

 

 

 

I also do several of my own variations of this recipe. 

Sprinkle cinnamon and flaked almonds on before cooking. 

Swap the plain flour with self raising flour and just press into the tin so skip rolling it out. The base turns out more cakey. 

I don't always peel the apples.

Add either vanilla or almond essence to the base.

Frozen Bramley slices or Granny Smith slices work well too

Plum with almond cake  

 

This is a variation of the apple cake. I used SR flour instead of plain, almond essence instead of vanilla and cooking plums instead of apple. I added 2 tsp milk to the batter mixture.

I cooked it at gas 6 for 40 minutes. as ovens vary check it after 30 min.

Beetroot and Barley with Mackerel

 

Whole barley cooked with garlic and ras al hanout, cooked beetroot, peas and runner beans served with fried mackerel.