Recipes By Month Archives - Page 35 of 42

Sloe Port: The Taste Test

April 10, 2012 By All That I'm Eating 21 Comments

My sloe journey started on an early Autumn day when I was full of enthusiasm for making sloe gin. After rambling through the hedgerows, dodging a few rabbit holes and being careful of the thorns I had a basket rammed with sloes. I had romantic visions of sloe picking scenes but in reality it was pretty hard work. Was it worth it? Absolutely. The sloe bushes are now in full, sweet smelling blossom and my port is ready. If you are out and about and spot a blossoming sloe bush, make a mental note to remember its location ready for picking come Autumn.

My Sloe Journey

Gin – first of all the sloes were steeped in gin. This particular batch included some blackberries which have to be removed after three months to stop them turning bitter. At this point I had a litre of glorious hedgerow gin and some plump, gin filled sloes that couldn’t be simply thrown away. Port – the berries leftover for the gin weren’t going to be wasted so they were made into sloe port. Chocolate – once the port is finished the berries will be used again to make some sloe chocolate truffles.

So now I have a Rumtopf full of sloes swimming in ruby red port. The port is fantastic; a more rounded version of the sloe gin. You get the flavour of sloes, the warmth of the alcohol and the richness of red wine. There’s nothing else quite like it. I can’t wait to have some with cheese, add it to gravy for richness and put a little in a hip flask for a calm evening walk. My sloes and I have been on a magnificent adventure thus far but where can I go from here? I have a few ideas up my sleeve to ensure that the sloes are used to their full potential. Out of 2kg of sloes I have produced 3l of elixir and I don’t intend to stop there. read more

Hot Cross Bun Bread and Butter Pudding

April 3, 2012 By All That I'm Eating 20 Comments

Easter provides an opportunity to make things you don’t normally make; Simnel Cake, Chocolate Nests and Hot Cross Buns to name a few. If the weather is horrible it provides time to bake at leisure. This is a recipe for when you have bought or made too many hot cross buns in all the Easter excitement and they have gone a bit stale. It could also be used to disguise a less than perfect batch of homemade hot cross buns. It’s a brilliant way to make the most of this lovely, fruity spiced bun. Warm, crisp on top, gooey centre; what more could you want? You will need: 4 Hot Cross Buns, Butter for spreading and a bit extra, 1 egg and 2 egg yolks, 3 tbsp caster sugar, 410g can condensed milk, A little extra milk Marmalade (optional)

Slice the hot cross buns into four or five slices and butter on one side. I thought I’d be lucky to get three slices but four or five can be easily accomplished with a little perseverance. If you want you can put marmalade on the buttered side too for an extra citrusy zing. Put the buttered slices into an oven proof dish.

Whisk together the egg, egg yolks and sugar with until well combined. Empty the condensed milk into a saucepan and add two tbsp milk. Heat gently until almost simmering and then pour into the egg mixture whisking all the time. If you’re particularly exuberant with the whisking and subsequent calorie burning it would be rude not to reward yourself with extra pudding. Pour the custard over the bread and leave to soak in for a few minutes.

If the pudding is looking a bit parched and there’s not a drop of custard visible, pour over a little extra warmed milk. This will depend on the size of the hot cross buns you use. Put a few small knobs of butter on top of the pudding. read more

Kohlrabi and Carrot Salad with Broccoli Stir Fry

March 30, 2012 By All That I'm Eating 19 Comments

I get a seasonal vegetable box delivered. I like it because it forces me to try new vegetables and recipes to make the most out of what I have. I shouldn’t admit it but I’m going to: there are some vegetables I could live without. It’s terrible I know but I could happily frolic through life without missing celery or leeks. There are also some vegetables that I adore for a short time but when they turn up in my fridge over and over again I’m tempted to put them on the compost. There’s only so much cabbage a person can eat without genuine fear of becoming a brassica. This recipe was devised because of the cornucopia of vegetables residing in the fridge. You know it’s time to use up as many as possible when you can no longer close the door.

Kohlrabi was the most intriguing vegetable of the lot; it looks a bit like an octopus. Dinner was to be designed around a loving partnership of kohlrabi and carrot. Toasting sesame seeds is one of my favourite smells.

For two people:

For the carrot and kohlrabi salad:

a quarter of a kohlrabi, peeled and julienned
three small carrots, peeled and julienned
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
black pepper
2 tbsp of toasted black sesame seeds

For the broccoli stir fry:

Handful purple sprouting broccoli, woody ends removed and chopped
1 large red onion, sliced
2 garlic cloves, sliced
1 sachet miso soup
1 tbsp soy sauce
1tbsp sweet chilli sauce
Oil for frying

2 noodle nests

I always remove the ends of the purple sprouting broccoli as I can find them to be a bit woody. You could leave the broccoli stalks in their entirety but they might be a tad tricky to consume gracefully at the table. read more

Purple Sprouting Broccoli, Garlic Infused Olive Oil and Parmesan Pasta

March 24, 2012 By All That I'm Eating 18 Comments

Purple sprouting broccoli has to be one of my favourite vegetables. Its arrival on my plate with the warmer weather tells me that in a few weeks time I will be enjoying asparagus. It’s delicate appearance and slightly sweet taste is brilliant with so many foods. I like mine nice and simple; with copious amounts of garlic infused oil and coronary shattering piles of Parmesan. read more

Rhubarb Sorbet and Shortbread

March 19, 2012 By All That I'm Eating 22 Comments

Rhubarb has been making a few appearances of late and there are only so many crumbles you can eat without wishing for a little variety. Rhubarb has so far featured on here as Rhubarb and Custard and Rhubarb and Blood Orange Compote. It’s been with something else; something to cushion the blow of its out and out sourness. Now is the time to embrace the wonderful cheek puckering that rhubarb provides with a decadent rhubarb sorbet.

I managed to get hold of some delicate Champagne rhubarb and set about making my sorbet. Two large sticks of rhubarb weighed around 500g which turned out to make enough sorbet for four. Discard the ends of the rhubarb before cutting into inch sized pieces. Put the chopped rhubarb in a pan with small amount of water and about 80g in total of sugar. When I make sorbet I always add a tablespoon of glucose syrup and half the sugar I think I’ll need. The glucose syrup gives it a certain texture; it sort of makes it sticky and gives a thicker mouth feel. read more

Sausage Rolls Four Ways

March 14, 2012 By All That I'm Eating 20 Comments

A good sausage roll is like a hug from an old friend. There’s something about its warmth, flaking pastry and well seasoned squidgy middle. I thought that interfering with something so simple would be a travesty but it was in fact a revelation. I like to think of them as spruced up sausage rolls or sausage rolls with attitude.

Originally I was just going to put a few caramelised onions in with the sausage meat but then I started thinking of other flavours; rosemary and fennel to start. With these new found thoughts I made a batch of eight sausage rolls, two of each of the following flavours; caramelised onion, herbs, fennel and olive. I think a nice spicy tomato chutney would have been brilliant too.

First of all make the caramelised onions. I used a whole onion, fried gently in butter for 20 minutes until soft and starting to brown then added sugar, salt and pepper. They were wonderfully sticky. While the onions are cooking; crush some fennel seeds, chop a few sprigs of fresh rosemary, parsley and chives and finely chop a few olives. read more

The Cornish Pasty

March 8, 2012 By All That I'm Eating 18 Comments

The Cornish pasty is an absolute classic. If you’re ever in Cornwall you won’t be far from one, you’ll probably smell it before you see it. Originally from humble origins the pasty is now a celebrated meat and vegetable filled pastry. For those who don’t know the pasty was the food of Cornish miners. The way it is folded over (with a thick edge of pastry on one side) meant that the miners didn’t have to put their hands in their mouths when eating. It’s a clever bit of pastry this and it got even cleverer when you had a savoury and sweet end separated by a wall of pastry. Meat and vegetables in one end and fruit or jam in the other. If I had one of these for my lunch I’d consider it pretty luxurious.

Before the pasty police come out in force and criticise my ingredients or method, I think it’s important to point out that I am not Cornish. However, my better half is half Cornish and his Grandmother a full on Kernow woman and she has passed on some of her pasty knowledge.

Making pasties is quite personal; only you know what proportions of vegetables and meat you like, how full you want your pasty to be and how big. Because of this I can provide a guide but you can change proportions at will. To make four large pasties I used: one large and one medium potato, half a swede, three small onions and 500g of skirt steak. For the pastry I used 400g of plain flour, 200g butter and enough cold water to make a dough. read more

Jerusalem Artichoke Gratin, Buttered Spring Greens and Sausages

March 3, 2012 By All That I'm Eating 19 Comments

The daffodils are out which means Spring has sprung. Now is the time you might be considering giving your home a Spring clean. Coincidentally, Jerusalem artichokes are in supply at the moment and can assist with your Spring cleaning; that is, if you are also planning to clean your…for want of a better word…insides. Jerusalem artichokes will never win most attractive vegetable of the year but for what they lack in manners and appearance they more than make up for in taste.

The sausages I had for this were some lovely, local chipolatas from a fantastic butcher. My butcher not only knows everything there is to know about meat, he knows a fair few things about vegetables. I heeded his advice about cooking the spring greens and they turned out brilliantly – see below.

Jerusalem artichokes aren’t very big and to make the most of them I needed a helping hand from the potato. In total you need 450g finely sliced and peeled artichokes and potatoes. You don’t have to peel the artichokes if you give them a good scrub but I did. They have a tendency to go brown very quickly once peeled so speed is of the essence here.
Layer the finely sliced potatoes and artichokes in a baking dish, seasoning between each layer. Mix together 120ml cream and 180ml milk and pour this over. Place in an oven at 170C for an hour and twenty minutes. read more

Spring Green and Bacon Potato Cakes with Cheddar and Chive Sauce

February 27, 2012 By All That I'm Eating 23 Comments

Spring greens offer so much in their name. They suggest that either spring is here or is just around the corner, they have disguised their cabbage relations with their seasonal pseudonym. I happen to think that spring greens also deliver a lot. They look shrivelled and unwelcoming with their leaves closed to the outside world but once you start to snap them off and slice them up they are wonderfully versatile. As a relation to the cabbage, spring greens lend themselves particularly well to a pairing with bacon. Spring greens and bacon are a delectable combination but don’t make for much of a meal on their own. However, when mixed into some mashed potato and smothered in a rich cheese and chive sauce, what a meal it makes.

For the potato cakes:
600g potatoes (Maris Piper are ideal)	£0.54
Milk and butter (for the mash)	£0.20
6 rashers smoked, streaky bacon	£1.50
4-5 big leaves savoy cabbage (or Spring greens)	£0.20
Salt and pepper	£0.02

For the cheese sauce:
25g butter	£0.15
25g plain flour	£0.02
300ml milk	£0.10
75g strong cheddar cheese	£0.85
Small handful fresh chopped chives	£0.40


Total	£3.98

First and foremost make some mashed potato. Maris Pipers I found to be particularly good; they are fluffy enough to make mash like a cloud and yet waxy enough to hold the greens and bacon in. Mash your potatoes as you see fit; add milk, butter, cream and anything you fancy but don’t forget the salt and pepper. While the potatoes are boiling away, slice some bacon and fry in a pan. Snap the leaves of the spring greens off and shred it finely. Add to the bacon and carry on frying until lovely and golden. For two people I used four rashers of bacon and five large spring green leaves. read more

Classic French Onion Soup

February 23, 2012 By All That I'm Eating 19 Comments

For some reason I have a bit of a thing for French food. It’s the food that never fails to put a smile on my face; partly because of the flavours but also because it’s a great excuse to showcase local, British ingredients in different ways. It’s a funny time of year, I feel it’s almost time to crack out a salad but at the same time I still want comfort and warmth. What better than the absolute classic French onion soup?

There’s nothing quite like it, it wraps you up from the inside out but at the same time remains quite clean and almost guilt free. Considering it’s basically boiled onions in beef stock, which doesn’t have quite the same ring to it, it delivers on so many levels. There’s sweetness, depth and texture with every mouthful. There are so many different ways of making French onion soup/onion soup and after looking at several versions I was able to ascertain the most important ingredients are: onions, beef stock, alcohol and Gruyère. I went into soup making with full gusto. read more