A Merry Christmas with Mince Pies

Just a quick hello before I go out to the post office, supermarket, Moroccan shop, forest for more cones and make more of these mince pies. The list is actually a lot longer than that but I am out of bed before 10 am (unheard of) and am not going to get stressed about anything today. I have promised myself. And breathe…

This is my recipe for mince pies and I have to say that, in my opinion, they beat any shop bought ones by a mile. They are better because: number one they contain Amaretto almond liqueur and anything tastes better with Amaretto in it. They also contain chopped toasted almonds for a bit of crunch, dried cranberries, mandarin zest and, the special ingredient, crystallised ginger. Make these and you’ll never go back to shop bought I promise. Even if you have an ever-increasing list of things to do….

In the pictures and the recipe below I have used shop bought puff pastry but I have also made a lovely batch with this spelt flour pastry recipe adding a teaspoon of mixed spice to the flour. If you don’t have all the different dried fruits you can just  use the more traditional, raisins and sultanas.

Marvelous Mince Pies Recipe

Makes 12- 16 pies, vegetarian

• 1 pack frozen puff pastry (defrosted)
• 4 Tbsp molasses/miel de cana/maple syrup
• 75 ml sweet sherry or port
• 250 g moscatel raisins
• 50 g dried figs
• 50 g dried apricots, chopped
• 50 g medjool dates without stones
• 50 gr dried cranberries
• 50 g crystallised ginger, finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp mixed spice
• 1 mandarin, zest first & then juice
• about 50ml Amaretto (or Cointreau is nice)you may need to add more
• a few drops of almond extract
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbsp honey
• about 100 -150 gr chopped toasted almonds, roughly chopped
• olive oil for brushing
• icing sugar for dusting

In a large pan, dissolve the molasses/miel de cana in the sherry over a gentle heat. Then add the dried fruits, crystallised ginger, spices, zest and  juice of the mandarin and the Amaretto. Bring to a simmer and cook gently for about 15 minutes until all of the liquid has been absorbed stirring occasionally. You may need to add more amaretto if it is absorbed quickly.

Add the almond & vanilla extracts, honey and the nuts. Stir well to combine everything and leave the mixture to cool in a bowl.

When the mixture is cool (very important or the pastry won’t work), preheat the oven to 200 degrees and oil & flour your muffin tins.

Roll out your first piece of puff pastry to a thickness of 2mm (leave the other piece in the fridge). Cut out 6 circles of about 9 or 10 cm diameter and 6 tops of about 7 cm diameter, you may have to re roll the pastry and may get a few more than 6 if you do. Push the larger circles into the muffin tins and fill each pastry case with a dessertspoonful of the mixture. Brush the edges of the pastry base with a little oil and then top with the smaller circles. Push the edges together to seal.

Make a little slit in the top of each with a sharp knife and brush with a little olive oil (or egg wash) and bake for about 15 minutes, until the tops are golden brown and puffy. Keep an eye on them they cook quickly. Leave to cool for a few minutes then take them out of the tin. Leave the tin to cool down completely before rolling out your next batch.

Dust with icing sugar just before serving. You can serve hot, warm or room temperature with cream, ice cream or a glass of Amaretto on the side….

Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! Felices Fiestas!

 

Gingerbread Parkin with Vanilla Apple Sauce

The Washer Up has been going on about how wonderful Parkin is for ever. It’s a northern thing you see. As in, from the north of England, specifically the north-west. Yorkshire and Lancashire if you want to be precise. And they will want it to be precise. I am sure there will be comments about its origin and claims that it is definitely from Yorkshire or undenialbly from Lancashire.  I’m a soft southerner so I couldn’t give a “monkey’s” as they say down south.

So when I saw this recipe for it on one of my favourite food blogs, Kellie’s Food to Glow, this week I was desperate to give it a try. It’s traditionally served on Bonfire night – November 5th, which also happens to be our friend, Jeannes birthday. There was my excuse, as if I needed one. It was enough just to see the smile on his face. Honestly.

The Vanilla Apple Sauce that Kellie serves it with is genius. It’s like a vegan custard, a thick vanilla-y custardy apple sauce that we served warm with the hot slices of gingerbread parkin. And a sneaky scoop of vanilla ice cream if you must know. Well it was a birthday dessert.

Parkin is traditionally served cold and spread with a little butter according to The Washer Up. Whichever way it is delicious but you have to leave it wrapped up to mature for at least 3 days before you eat it.  So be patient and organised for a change because the stickiness you get is really worth the wait.

I deviated from Kellie’s recipe slightly by using half coconut oil (not very northern at all!) and half dairy-free margarine because I didn’t have enough margarine. I also used half honey because I didn’t have enough golden syrup and used wholemeal spelt flour instead of plain. It’s a wonder that I managed get anywhere near the original really but this is obviously a very forgiving recipe. No complaints from this end!!

Gingerbread Parkin Recipe

Enough for a 10″ loaf tin or an 8″ square baking tin. Adapted from Food to Glow

• 100 g butter or dairy free margarine (I used 50g coconut oil/50g marg)
• 100 g black treacle/molasses/miel de cana
• 200 g golden syrup/agave syrup (I used 100g syrup/100g honey)
• 75 g palm sugar/dark brown sugar
• 200 g flour sieved with 2 1/4 tsp baking powder & 1/4 tsp salt (I used wholemeal spelt flour)
• 100 g medium oatmeal (I blended my normal oats to finer powder)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 Tbsp ground ginger
• 1 1/2 tsp mixed spice
• 10 pieces/cubes crystallised ginger, finely chopped
• 2 eggs
• 6 Tbsp oat milk (or other milk)

Preheat the oven to 140C. Oil and completely line your baking/loaf tin with baking paper.

In a large heavy pan, melt the butter (or replacements), treacle, syrup and sugar over a low-ish  heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar has dissolved.

Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl, make a well in the centre and pour in the melted buttery syrup, stirring together well. Beat together the eggs and milk and pour this in too. Fold all of this through until well incorporated and pour the whole lot into your lined tin.

Bake for 90 minutes until a deep golden brown and a skewer inserted comes out clean. Then leave it to cool in the tin on a wire rack.

When cool, wrap it up in its baking parchment, then in two layers of foil and leave it in a cool dry place for at least 3 days but up to a week.

Good luck with that, I managed 2 1/2 days but it really does get better and stickier and more moist the longer you leave it wrapped up so don’t eat it straight away. It won’t be the same!!

Vanilla Apple Sauce Recipe

Vegan, gluten-free.

• 500 g apples, peeled, cored and roughly chopped
• 100 ml water
• 4 tbsp agave syrup or honey
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp butter/margarine

Put the apples, water, syrup/honey and vanilla in a pan and cook gently for about 15 mins until the apples are soft then stir in the butter. You can use it as it is, if you like it chunky. Mash it up a bit more or blend it to give it a smoother creamier consistency. Taste and add more honey, vanilla or a squeeze of lemon juice to tart it up a bit. Serve it warm, or room temperature, with a slice of the parkin.

Have a Lovely Weekend!!

Fresh Fig and Almond Fumble

A fumble, just in case you were wondering or being smutty, is a cross between a fool and a crumble. The best bits of two classic British desserts brought together to create something beautiful and simple to make. It is extremely versatile too. You can basically use whichever fruits are in season. Strawberries, apples, plums, mangoes, pears, rhubarb, gooseberries, you get the idea.

A fool is traditionally made with a fruit puree or compote stirred (or marbled) through whipped cream. I used goat’s yoghurt instead of cream, the sourness is fantastic with the sweet sticky fig compote. You could use Greek yoghurt or a mixture of yoghurt and whipped cream if you like.

My crumble is made with olive oil and honey rather than butter and sugar so it is all round a really healthy dessert. The crumble  is given extra flavour and crunch by adding flaked and ground almonds to the mix. I chose almonds because I saw  families picking their almonds at the same time as picking their figs today and the figs at the market looked beautiful.

I made a compote with the figs just by cooking them with some honey and a bit of water until it resembled runny jam. I left it to cool while I made the crumble mix. You just spread out all of the crumbly lumps on a baking sheet and cook it until it is browning. When it’s cool you can store it in an airtight container and use it to top ice creams, stewed fruit, yoghurt and anything else you think could do with a sweet crunch. This recipe makes more than you need so you should have some left over, unless you keep picking at it of course.

Fig & Almond Fumble Recipe

Makes 2, vegetarian. No butter, no sugar, no cream. Adapted form Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall

• 200 g soft ripe figs, roughly chopped
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp water

Put the figs, honey and water in a sauce pan, bring to a  boil then lower the heat to medium and simmer until it resembles a jammy compote. About 3-5 minutes. Leave to cool.

• 3 tbsp ground almonds
• 6 tbsp wholemeal spelt flour (or any flour)
• 3 tbsp oats
• 3 tbsp flaked almonds
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• a pinch of salt
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 3 tbsp honey

Preheat the oven to 180C and line a baking sheet with parchment. Mix all the dry ingredients together in a bowl. Using a fork,  mix in the olive oil and honey the using your fingers make it resemble crumble. You should make lots of  clumpy crumble lumps. Spread the crumble out in one layer on the baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes but keep an eye on it incase it burns. It depends how big your clumps are as to how long it will take. It should be nicely browned. Now leave it to cool.

• 2 pots or 250ml goat’s/Greek yoghurt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• about 4 large tbsp fig compote in each serving
• a large handful of crumble mix for each

When the compote and crumble mix have cooled, mix the yoghurt and vanilla in a bowl and swirl through the compote. Taste it and add some honey if you think it needs it but remember the crumble is going on top.

Pour into serving dishes and top with a generous handful of crumble mix. You may have to crumble it more if you have large clumps.

Enjoy!!

Individual Strawberry and Amaretto Trifles with Toasted Flaked Almonds and Crushed Amaretti Biscuits

You can make a big one if you like but these are cute, don’t you think? I made a big version (in fact it was huge) for a Jubilee party at our friend, Jeanne’s house. There were about 14 people going so I made the most enormous trifle and an apricot frangipane tart aswell. Well you wouldn’t want to run out of desserts would you? 

Jeanne knows how to throw a party, she has a fine selection of a cushions in a pink Jubilee style and she always makes the best drinks. Champagne with strawberries and a big jug of Pimms filled with fresh fruit, cucumber and mint. How to choose? One of each obviously.

Even after a gorgeous buffet prepared by Jeanne everyone managed to polish off one or (in some cases) two desserts. It’s difficult to get a good picture of a trifle as you can see from my attempt below, it’s like a big sloppy delicious mess really. I was pleased with the glaze on my apricot tart though.

So, solely for your benefit you understand, I had to make some of these pretty little individual trifles that would photograph better.

Just a few tips; the recipe below is just an outline, it obviously depends on the size of you dish, glass or bowl as to how much of everything you need. The fruit can be replaced with whatever is in season or looks nice in the market, as can the booze, just try to match it with the fruit. You may have to do a few taste tests first before you get the right combination!

Oh and don’t go too mad with the amount you put in, apparently it is possible to have too much alcohol in a trifle. Mine was a little on the strong side but there are worse things in life and I didn’t hear anyone complaining.

Individual Strawberry & Amaretto Trifles

• mini sponge cakes (or trifle sponges)
• strawberry jam
• amaretto
• fresh strawberries
• icing sugar
• creme patissiere (or thick custard) see my recipe  That amount was enough for 4 or 5 individual trifles . I added a splosh of amaretto to it instead of the orange blossom water.
• double cream (for whipping)
• vanilla extract
• caster sugar
• mascarpone
• flaked almonds (toasted in a dry pan)
• amaretti biscuits

Spread the jam on each of the sponges and sandwich them together to form a single layer covering the bottom of your dish, glass or bowl. Try one. Jam sponge is lovely, how long has it been?

Poke holes all over the sponges with a wooden skewer and slowly drizzle over the Amaretto letting it soak in. Don’t go too mad. Leave it for about 10 minutes to soak in properly.

Hull and half or quarter some strawberries and arrange them evenly on top of the sponge. Blend about the same amount of strawberries and a tablespoon or two of icing sugar to a smooth coulis/sauce and pour it over the strawberries.

Cover with a layer of cooled creme patissiere (or thick custard). Whip some cream with the same amount of mascarpone, a little vanilla extract and a few tablespoons of caster sugar to soft peaks. Spread this evenly over the custard layer.

Refrigerate until ready to serve and then top with a layer of toasted flaked almonds and crumble over some Amaretti biscuits.

Enjoy!!

Things That Made Me Smile Today

Rufus posing on his favourite sofa. Very handsome he looks too!!

Grandad’s Pickled Red Cabbage

It was my granddad’s birthday on Tuesday, he was 93. I phoned him to wish him a happy birthday and also to persuade him to give me this recipe. After the success of his amazing Pickled Onion recipe that I posted in the Summer I have been trying to get him to write this one down too. They really are the best pickled onions in the world. If you haven’t tried them yet, what are you waiting for?

I have been running past these red cabbages every day with the dog thinking “I have to get that recipe”.

Then I got a huge red cabbage in my organic veg box this week and I knew it was time.

Grandad uses pickling spices that come in a muslin bag from the supermarket. You hang them in the vinegar while it is boiling to infuse it with the spices. They don’t sell pickling spices in the supermarkets here so I googled it to find out what they were.

There are different combinations but the main ingredients are bay leaves, cardamom, allspice, coriander, mustard seeds, cinnamon, black peppercorns and cloves. I didn’t have any muslin and all the shops are shut for Jueves Santo (Holy Thursday) so I just threw the whole lot into the vinegar. Hopefully it will turn out the same but I won’t know for a month. That’s how long you have to leave it before eating.

Grandad’s Pickled Red Cabbage Recipe

Makes 1 big jar, vegan, gluten-free

You have to salt the cabbage overnight before continuing

• 1 small red cabbage (I used 1/2 a big one)
• salt
• 1 or 2 bags of pickling spices or I used: 2 bay leaves, 1 cinnamon stick, 2 cardamom pods, 1/2 tsp mustard seeds, 1/2 tsp coriander seeds, 1/2 tsp allspice berries, 1/2 tsp black peppercorns, 4 or 5 cloves
• 500 – 750 ml malt vinegar (or I used a mixture of malt vinegar, sherry vinegar and cider vinegar)

Tear off the outer leaves of the cabbage and any that look a bit tired. Remove the core and slice the cabbage into 1/4 inch slices. Lay them out on a large ceramic plate and salt very generously. Leave overnight.

…In the morning my grandad recommends trying some of the salty cabbage and, he says you’ll wonder why you are pickling it…

Rinse the salt off and dry the cabbage. Put the vinegar and pickling spices in a pan and bring to the boil. Lower the heat slightly and cook for 10 minutes. Now you can remove the muslin bag of spices if you have one.

Pour about half of the hot vinegar into a sterilised jar then add most of the cabbage. Fill up the jar with the rest of the vinegar and any more cabbage that will fit in. Make sure the cabbage is covered with vinegar then seal the jar and store in a cool dry place for about a month before opening.

 I’ll let you know in a month how it is…….if I can wait that long!!

Thanks Grandad, Happy Birthday, Happy Easter and I’ll see you soon!!

Lots of Love

Rhubarb, Ginger and Almond Crumble

I hope you realise that I am risking arrest by sharing this recipe with you. I could be charged with possession of an illegal substance or intent to supply. Apparently it is illegal to grow rhubarb in Spain because it is poisonous to goats. No I’m not joking, it’s true!

You can find tinned rhubarb in British supermarkets here but that’s not the same. For a start it’s not pink which is kind of the point of rhubarb really. The stuff in tins is a sloppy green excuse for rhubarb so when you do come across some of the real stuff, you always buy it and quite a lot of it. And before you ask, no, I’m not revealing the name of my supplier.

Indian Spiced Scotch Egg with Curry Mayo and Turmeric Potatoes

For those of you that don’t know, a Scotch egg consists of a hard-boiled egg (with its shell removed) which is usually wrapped in a sausage meat mixture, coated in breadcrumbs and deep-fried. They are traditionally served cold as picnic food.

The London department store Fortnum & Mason claims to have invented Scotch eggs in 1738  but they were most definitely taking inspiration from the Moghul dish Nargisi kofta where hard-boiled eggs are encased in a spicy meatball mixture.

Battered Halloumi with Mashy Peas, Tartare Sauce and Spicy Lemon Pickle

 This recipe came from a new book The Washer Up bought for me called Terre A Terre. Terre A Terre is a vegetarian restaurant in Brighton and the book has some amazingly creative, unusual recipes for dishes that you will have never seen anywhere else. Their aim is to challenge the image of vegetarian food and push the boundaries of conventional perceptions by creating gourmet vegetarian cuisine.

This recipe caught my eye mainly because of the Halloumi cheese. In case you didn’t know I love Halloumi. Halloumi is a Cypriot sheep’s milk cheese that is special because it cooks rather than melts. Because of this you can grill it or fry it and it doesn’t lose it’s shape. I usually cook my Halloumi slices in a dry pan and then marinade them in olive oil, lemon juice, fresh herbs & spices. You can see the full recipe here.

This recipe is a vegetarian play on the traditional English Friday night take-away dish: Battered Fish with Mushy Peas & Tartare Sauce you would get from the local fish & chip shop.  They had me at battered Halloumi, but the addition of minty mushy peas really sealed it for me. The tartare sauce recipe is mine. I don’t like capers or gherkins (cornichons) so I substituted them for pickled onions, which I love, and it worked! I also added some coriander as well as parsley. The result is better than any tartare sauce you’ve ever tried, I promise. The addition of the nori seaweed is from the book and is, I have to say, genius. Nori seaweed is what you use make sushi rolls and the flavour of the sea it gives to the sauce is so spot on, once you’ve tried it you’ll wonder why you’ve never done it before.

The “mashy peas” came about by happy accident. I halved the recipe for the minty pea puree from the book which was for 6 people but forgot to halve the butter. This resulted in a very buttery puree (above). To resolve this (I didn’t have any more peas to add) I decided to add some mashed potato to the puree. I had seen Jamie Oliver do something similar with broccoli and peas in mash. Any excuse to include mash really.

The spicy lemon pickle (they call it “Yemeni Lemony Pickle” which is such a cool name) is just the right mix of sweet, spicy and sour and is a fabulous alternate dip for the Halloumi with the creamy tartare sauce. You could always just serve this with a wedge of lemon instead if you’re not up for making the pickle as well. I made it because I had a large fruit bowl full of lemons and was making some preserved lemons as well. I will post the recipe for the preserved lemons when they are ready.

The original dish in the book also serves pickled quail’s eggs and vodka grape tomatoes with this. As fantastic as they sound it would be a lot of work if you were to make everything. I was really happy with it as it was but am intrigued about the pickled quail’s eggs!  This book makes you appreciate and understand how much work goes into each component part of each dish at this restaurant and definitely makes me want to go the next time I am in Brighton.

Each recipe has 4 or 5 different elements to it but you can pick and choose as to how many you do, like I did. It is really inspiring and aspirational.

The Halloumi is soaked in buttermilk for several hours or overnight so do this in the morning or the night before.

Battered Halloumi with Minty Mashy Peas, Tartare Sauce & Yemeni Lemony Pickle Recipe

Serves 2 -3, vegetarian.  Adapted from Terre A Terre by Amanda Powley & Phillip Naylor

For the Halloumi

• 1 pack 250 gr Halloumi cheese
• 250 ml buttermilk or 125 ml yoghurt mixed with 125 ml milk
• plain flour for coating
• sunflower oil to deep fry

For the Batter

• 75 gr plain flour
•  35 gr self-raising flour
• 2 tsp white wine vinegar
• 120 ml cold water
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• salt & black pepper

Cut the Halloumi in to thin slices (less than 1/2 cm) then cut them into triangles (See photo above). Cut the triangles with the natural break of the Halloumi. Put the buttermilk or yoghurt/milk mixture in to a dish (I used an empty1 litre ice cream tub) and submerge the Halloumi in the liquid to soak, overnight or, for several hours in the fridge.

To make the batter whisk all the ingredients together in a bowl to make a batter the consistency of double cream. Adjust water/flour if necessary. Cover with cling film and keep in the fridge until you are ready to cook the Halloumi.

Just before serving heat the oil in a wok or deep fryer to hot (180 C).  Put some plain flour in a shallow dish and remove the Halloumi & batter from the fridge. Lift the Halloumi pieces, one at a time, out of the buttermilk and let it drip off slightly. Put it in the flour and flip it to coat, then put it in the batter. Open a window unless you want your whole house to smell of deep-frying. When the oil has reached temperature, lift the Halloumi out of the batter and carefully drop it into the hot oil. Fry two triangles at a time. It should puff up and start to turn golden straight away. If not your oil is not hot enough. Turn the halloumi with a slotted spoon to cook on both sides. This should only take a minute or two to be crisp & golden on both sides. Remove with the slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper.

For the Mashy Peas

• 200 gr frozen peas
• a big handful of mint, keep the stalks & chop the leaves
• a big handful of parsley, keep the stalks & chop the leaves
• 50 gr unsalted butter
• 2 medium potatoes, peeled, quartered and put in a pan of cold salted water
• salt & black pepper

Bring the pan of salted water with the peeled quartered potatoes to the boil, turn down slightly and cook for about 20 minutes or until the potatoes are tender all the way through.

Meanwhile, in a small pan of boiling, salted water, cook the peas with the herb stalks until tender (about 3 minutes).  Drain the cooked peas and throw away the stalks. Blend the peas with the butter and chopped herbs, season with salt & pepper and taste.

Drain the potatoes and mash them well in the pan. Heat up the pea puree and add this to the mashed potatoes, stirring well with a wooden spoon. Add more salt & pepper & taste again. Just heat through in a pan when ready to serve.

For the Tartare Sauce

• 1 nori seaweed sheet
• a handful of coriander & parsley, chopped
• about 4 heaped tbsp good mayonnaise
•  1 or 2 pickled onions, roughly chopped
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• fresh lemon juice about 2 tbsp
• salt & black pepper

Put the nori sheet under the grill for a few seconds on each side to crisp up. Keep an eye on it, it burns! Crumble or chop the nori into the processor with the rest of the ingredients and blend until incorporated but still a bit chunky. Season with a little salt (the seaweed is salty) and pepper stir in and taste. You may want to add more lemon juice or pickled onion. It’s up to your taste buds. Store in the fridge.

For the Yemeni Chilli Paste (for the lemon pickle)

makes 1 small jar

• 4 red chillis, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/4 tsp coriander seeds
• 1/2 tsp black peppercorns
• a big handful of fresh coriander, leaves & stalks
• salt
• olive oil

Blend all the ingredients together, drizzling in olive oil until a paste consistency is reached. Pour into a clean jar and cover the top with olive oil. Will keep in the fridge for at least a month.

For the Lemon Pickle (makes 1 jar)

• 4 lemons, segmented
• 100 ml fresh lemon juice
• peel from 3 preserved lemons (I didn’t have any but I have made some now)!
• 150 gr caster sugar
• 3 or 4 tsp yemen paste, recipe above, or more if you dare
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh mint

Segment the lemons by cutting off the peel & white pith, from top to bottom all the way around (See photo above). Then cut out the lemon segments in between each membrane. Put the lemon segments from 3 of the lemons into a blender and reserve the segments of the fourth for later. Add the lemon juice, peel from preserved lemons if using, to the blender and liquidize until smooth. Put this in a small pan with the sugar and heat gently until the sugar dissolves. Boil rapidly for two minutes then stir in your Yemeni chilli paste. Put in the fridge to cool. When cool stir in the reserved lemon segments and chopped mint. This is now ready to serve. Store in the fridge. This would be a great sauce or baste for grilled fish or chicken as well.

 To serve, warm your plates and put your lemon pickle (or lemon wedge if you are going for the easier option) and tartare sauce in their dishes on the plate ready. Heat the frying oil. Heat the mashy peas over a low heat with a little veg stock to loosen if necessary. Keep an eye on it while you fry off the Halloumi. Drain the halloumi on kitchen paper and pile them on the plates with a big spoon (or quinelle) of the mashy peas.

This may sound like a lot of work  but it’s so worth it. Soaking the Halloumi really brings out the flavour and softens the texture. The mashy peas are to die for and the lemony pickle is perfect if you can be bothered. The Washer Up said the Halloumi was better than battered fish! I will definitely be trying some more recipes from this book in the future and would recommend it to any creative, confident cooks out there who are looking for something different, delicious, challenging and inspiring. I’m going to have a go at the pickled quail’s eggs next time, I promise!!

The Holy Trinity Pie – Potato, Cheese and Onion

 

Potato, cheese and onion are, for me, the Holy Trinity of flavours. Think Cheese and Onion Crisps (Walkers obviously), they are the best flavour by a mile. Sour Cream & Chives Pringles.  Jacket potato with cheese, sour cream and chives (a la Spud -U-Like)  the classic, original & best topping. And, of course, the Potato, Cheese and Onion Pie.

Trying to replicate the flavour of that perfect pie with crumbly pastry and that soft, mellow, almost sweet and comforting filling, was a challenge I was very happy to take on. With so few ingredients they all have to be exactly right or you might as well not bother.

• The Potato: something floury for making good mash with no lumps, you don’t want waxy here. There is a  fantastic list of which potatoes to use for which dish at Love Potatoes. Apparently Maris Piper and King Edward are good all rounders but they recommend Nadine, Rooster, Saxon or Wilja for mash.
• The Cheese: a personal thing obviously but I recommend using a creamy, white, crumbly cheese like an unmatured Lancashire (The Washer Up’s favourite). Other cheeses to use are a crumbly Caerphilly or, if you want to go more “European”, an Italian Fontina or French Tomme de Cantal.
• The Onion: the classic yellow onion is the onion of choice for me but you could use spring onions for a fresher, green flavour and look. Softened leeks would be lovely especially if you’re going for the Caerphilly option and flying the Welsh flag. Or even chives if you want the full sour cream and chives Pringle effect.

I have opted (controversially,I know) to make a wholemeal shortcrust pastry. I thought the contrast between the soft fluffy centre and a nutty, flaky crust would be nice and I was trying to “healthy” it up a bit I suppose. Potato and cheese guilt taking over maybe. It works really well but feel free to stick to plain flour if you are a traditionalist. My pastry recipe comes from a book called The Art of the Tart by Tamasin Day-Lewis which is where I also discovered the recipe for L’Aligot Tart.

 L’aligot is a country dish from south-western France made with mashed potatoes, garlic, cheese (tomme de Cantal) and cream. Sounds amazing doesn’t it. So I decided to add some garlic to my onions (controversially again) and I swapped the cream for sour cream to stay on my Spud-U-Like theme….

Potato, Cheese & Onion Pie Recipe

makes 3 individual pies, double the amounts to make 1 big pie for 4-6 people, vegetarian

• 180 gr wholemeal flour (or plain or a mixture)
• 90 gr cold butter, diced and refrigerated
• a pinch of sea salt
• iced water (2 or 3 tbsp)
• 2 potatoes, about 500 gr peeled and cut into eighths
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• salt & black pepper
• freshly grated nutmeg
• about 150 gr Lancashire cheese (see above for other cheeses) crumbled into chunks
• about 75 ml sour cream/creme fraiche/cream
• 30 gr butter
• 1 egg white, for brushing

Sieve the flour and a pinch of sea salt into a bowl or food processor(throw in the wholemeal bits left in the sieve as well). Put the cold diced butter on top and process (or rub the butter and flour through the tips of your fingers) until the butter is the size of peas. Then drizzle the ice-cold water in, a tablespoon at a time, (with the processor running) until it coheres into a single ball. Don’t add too much water or it will shrink when baking. If you can still see the butter that is good, that’s what makes the pastry flaky. As soon as it forms a ball wrap it in cling film and put it in the fridge for at least half an hour to chill.

Meanwhile put your potatoes in a large pan of cold, salted water, bring to the boil, lower the heat slightly and cook for about 20 minutes until the potatoes are soft. Saute the onions in a tablespoon of oil or butter with a big pinch of salt, over a medium heat until they are softened, not browned about 8 minutes. Add in the garlic and cook gently for another couple of minutes.

When the potatoes are soft drain them, put them in a large bowl and mash with a potato masher. Heat up the sour cream and butter in a small pan over a medium heat. When the butter has melted pour this onto your mashed potatoes and mix vigorously with a wooden spoon. Add the onions and garlic and the cubed/crumbled cheese. Season with salt, pepper and a little grated nutmeg, mix everything together and set aside while you roll out your pastry.

Preheat oven to 190C. Butter and flour your pie dishes/baking dish, Flour your work surface and cut your ball of dough into three (if you are making individual pies). Keep one piece out to work with and put the other two back in the fridge. Roll the pastry out to about 3 mm thick, cut a third off and keep it for the top of the pie, in the fridge. Push your pastry into your pie dish/ramekins (don’t stretch it) and leave some overhanging the edge. You can cut bits off and stick it in any gaps. Put it in the fridge while you do the other two. Blind bake the pastry shells by lining the bottoms with baking paper and weighing it down with some baking beans (uncooked beans or chickpeas). Bake for 5 -6 minutes, then remove the baking paper & beans, prick the base with a fork and brush the bottom with the egg white. Return to the oven for another 4 minutes to firm up the base. Trim off any rough edges.

Roll out 3 circles from the reserved pastry a little bit larger than the top of your pies. Fill the blind baked pastry shells with the mashed potato mixture, pushing it down so you don’t get any gaps. Top with the uncooked pastry circle and seal the edges with a fork. (I forgot to do this). Make a few holes in the centre of the top and brush with egg white.

Bake for about 15 -20 minutes until the top is browned and the pie warmed through…..

Serve hot out of the oven in the pie dish or leave to cool for about 10 minutes before turning out onto the plate. I think peas are perfect accompaniment to this pie but broccoli or wilted spinach would work too. Maybe even with a salad for lunch….

Once you’ve tried this you will never go back to buying them again. The ultimate in vegetarian comfort food perfect for rainy days like these….

Poor Rufus……Wet dog!!

Mulligatawny Barley Risotto

Mulligatawny soup is one of those old-fashioned dishes that sounds quite exotic, but you don’t really know what it is.  Mulligatawny means “pepper broth” in Tamil. It became popular with the British stationed in India during colonial times and when they returned home they brought the recipe back home with them.

This Anglo-Indian curried soup has many variations using different vegetables & spices and it is often thickened with rice. Freshly ground toasted spices are used to give it a distinctive warming flavour and aroma.

A spicy soup is just the thing at this time of year when you come home from a very long walk. Today we walked all the way down into the Barranco Blanco valley. At the bottom of this beautiful valley they started to build another golf resort/hotel and then stopped when they didn’t get permission. So not only is it a blot on the landscape, it is also abandoned & unfinished.

This is the view from the top, yes we walked all the way down & then back up again! The lake is in the grounds of a beautiful house and you can see on the left the unfinished hotel/resort. It would almost be better for them to finish it rather than just leave it like that, but if its built illegally then no one will touch it and the money just isn’t here anymore.

This is another beautiful property we saw on the way back up. I think that might just be the garage…I’ll just live there if you don’t mind, great view!!

The rumour goes that this “Hidden Valley” is where Franco hid a lot of Hitler’s generals after the war. Might explain the enormous houses and this eerie looking watchtower…

Anyway back to the soup. The recipe I had added cooked rice to the soup at the end. I decided to throw in some barley to cook in the soup towards the end of cooking as I didn’t have any cooked rice and my dad always used to put barley in his soups when I was young. Maybe I went a bit mad with the barley because it turned out like a spicy barley risotto rather than a soup, but it was all the better for it. It has all the ribsticking goodness of a risotto but no stirring! The freshly ground spices really make a difference to the flavour of the dish, don’t miss this part out if you can help it…You can use whatever vegetables you have in your fridge, that’s what I did.

Mulligatawny Barley Risotto

adapted from a Delia Smith recipe

serves 4 vegetarian

• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 medium courgette 1 cm diced
• 1/2 cauliflower in florets
• 1 medium potato, 1cm cubed (or some halved baby new potatoes)
• 1 large tomato chopped
• 25 gr butter
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large cardamom pod (seeds only)
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
• 1/4 tsp dried chilli flakes
• 1 & 1/2 tsp coriander seeds
• 1 litre veg stock (or more if you want it soupy)
• 125 gr barley
• salt & black pepper
• fresh coriander chopped

Melt the butter with the olive oil in a large pan then add the onions and cook over a medium heat until they are a golden brown colour (About 10 minutes). Now put the cardamom, cumin, fennel & coriander seeds in a small pan with the chilli flakes and dry fry them over a medium heat for about 2 or 3 minutes until they start to splutter & jump. Tip them into a mortar & pestle and crush them finely. (You can also crush them with the end of a rolling-pin in a small cup). Add the spices to the onions, stir to combine then add the vegetables. Season generously with salt & black pepper, cook for 1 minute then add the veg stock and the barley. Put the lid on and cook gently for about 20 minutes or until the vegetables are soft.

You can serve it like this with some fresh coriander stirred through or for a smoother, thicker consistency ladle out just under half of the soup into a large bowl and blend it carefully (hot soup!) until smooth. Add this puree back into the soup, stir in the coriander and reheat gently. Add more stock to thin it out if you want to. Taste for seasoning and serve in warmed bowls with Anglo crusty bread or Indian parathas.

This really is a delicious soup dish, just perfect for those cold winter nights when you are chilled to the bone and miserable. The comforting warmth of the barley mixed with the aromatic spices is a heavenly combination.

This is one of those old-fashioned recipes that should not be forgotten. If this is where the British love affair with Indian cuisine started then I, for one, am really grateful. I’m bringing Mulligatawny back, you should try it too….

Don’t forget to check out the fantastic November Round -Up of YBR (Your Best Recipe) hosted by Nancy at Spicie Foodie. Click on the badge below to see an amazing variety of delicious dishes with beautiful photos. A real feast for the senses…