Pear Flan

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

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.
Have a look on you tube here

Roast Tomatoes with Aubergine, Mushrooms and Potato

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

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

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

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

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