Seasons Archives - Page 33 of 41 - All That I'm Eating

Raspberries, Elderflower Cream and leftover Elderflower Shortbread

July 1, 2012 By All That I'm Eating 34 Comments

So you’re in the kitchen feeling a bit peckish and you spot the biscuit tin. My biscuit tin had previously been looking after some elderflower and white chocolate shortbread but was there any left? Yes. Yes there was some left, but just one piece. Should I eat it myself and snub all knowledge of its existence?

Unfortunately as I was plotting how to cover my tracks my other half walked in to the kitchen with a similarly devilish plan. I think for a moment we both considered lunging for the tin and throwing all sense of caution out of the window. I’m glad this didn’t happen as one or more of us would probably have ended up with crumbs in our eyes and shards of shortbread embedded in our forearms. read more

Beetroot, Walnut, Goat’s Cheese and Orzo Pasta ‘Salad’ with Dill Dressing

June 23, 2012 By All That I'm Eating 30 Comments

We are coming to the end of last year’s stored beetroot and can look forward to some fresh summer beetroot soon. I haven’t planted beetroot this year as I decided I would grow peas, beans, more beans, tomatoes and courgettes only. Not to worry though as last year’s beetroot are still popping up in my vegetable box and down at the local market. I’ve called this a ‘salad’ because it sort of falls in the salad category with the beetroot, walnuts and dressing but at the same time it is a pasta dish; a very luminously coloured pasta dish at that. read more

Elderflower and White Chocolate Shortbread

June 18, 2012 By All That I'm Eating 30 Comments

When you’ve gone to the effort of making elderflower sugar it is paramount that you make the most of it in ever varying and interesting ways. I thought I’d run out of sugar much sooner than I have; indeed I still have around 500g left. The sugar itself has an incredible aroma and every time you open the lid it smells of hedgerows. The little elderflower cakes I made were lovely but I wanted something a little more biscuit orientated. Not only does shortbread fill this requirement it’s also much easier to take to work; no icing to melt/squash before lunchtime. read more

Miniature Elderflower Cakes made with Elderflower Sugar

June 12, 2012 By All That I'm Eating 39 Comments

I had grand visions of picking great swarms of elderflowers and returning home to concoct some floral cordial. My imaginings were interrupted with the first (and now unrelenting) rain and my great plan was no more. I had heard that elderflower is not to be picked on a rainy day and I wasn’t about to don my wellingtons and test that theory. So instead of making gallons of cordial I baked some elderflower in to my life.

These little cakes I suppose pay homage to the great elder tree; a plant that doesn’t look like much until it is burgeoning with white flowers and then, if you manage to resist the flowers, festoons itself with beautiful berries. I needed both fresh elderflowers and some cordial for these cakes but try as I might I could not get hold of local elderflower cordial. The elderflowers were relatively easily obtainable, once you’ve negotiated your way through the many cobwebs that is.

You will need:
1 egg
Butter
Elderflower Sugar (see below)
Self raising flour
Elderflower cordial
Icing Sugar read more

Victoria Sponge with Balsamic Strawberry Jam

June 8, 2012 By All That I'm Eating 28 Comments

I love a good cake and they don’t get much better than a classic Victoria sponge. It’s got all you need in a cake; light, sweet, buttery sponge with fruity, slightly sharp jam sticking it all together. It is debated which jam is the best; strawberry, raspberry or even blackcurrant. Strawberry would always win for me and when I saw a lonely punnet of English strawberries at the greengrocer’s I had to buy it. After debating what to make with my edible purchase I set about putting a twist on this traditional cake.

It goes without saying that your sponge must be magnificent but I think the jam is just as important as both the literal and metaphorical glue that holds this cake together. As much as I like the fruitiness and sweetness of strawberry jam I enjoy the faint acidity that comes with it. To increase the tang in my jam I wanted to incorporate some balsamic vinegar.

You will need:
3 eggs, beaten
Butter, at room temperature
Sugar
Self raising flour
Vanilla extract
1 punnet of ripe strawberries
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Strawberry jam read more

Rhubarb and Elderflower Crumble

June 4, 2012 By All That I'm Eating 26 Comments

Elderflower has been an ever present flavour throughout my life. When I was younger it was always such a treat when we had a bottle of elderflower cordial or pressé in the fridge. I would relish the flavour trying to make it last as long as possible. I remember making ice lollies in the summer; orange juice, blackcurrant squash or lemonade but it was always the extraordinary elderflower lollies that got eaten first. Elderflower seemed rare, elusive and exclusive.

Last year on a foraging trip I found some elderberries which meant only one thing: a few more months and I could finally pick fresh elderflowers. I had been waiting to pick some for as long as I can remember and that time has now come. Off I went with my basket on my bicycle to sniff out these delicate flowers.
Every patch of cow parsley set the heart racing, it does look very similar. There was much cycling, stopping, sniffing and looking and finally I found some, not quite where I remember it, proudly bursting forth in flurries of white. After carefully sidestepping the nettles, running away from bees and avoiding the inhalation of small insects I picked three nice blooms. read more

Wet Garlic, Bacon and Broccoli Pappardelle

May 30, 2012 By All That I'm Eating 21 Comments

You know that saying about life giving you lemons? I was given some wet garlic (also called green garlic) in my vegetable box. Lemons can be made into lemonade but I certainly wasn’t about to start making garlic juice. I took some time to ponder its use. It looked like a skinny leek, but much longer, with the very pungent and distinct aroma of garlic. Firstly I thought it best to try it raw to see what I was up against. I think even now I have a faint whiff of garlic on my breath. Raw wet garlic would, I’m sure, be acceptable to the ultimate garlic aficionado but not for me. Cooking was to be the way forward but I wondered whether to treat it like a leek which needs longer cooking or treat it like garlic which burns in the blink of an eye. You will need: 6-8 rashers smoked bacon, diced 1 small onion, diced 1 wet garlic stalk/bulb, finely sliced 100ml chicken or vegetable stock 1 small head of broccoli, cut into florets Pappardelle (however much it takes for you to be full) Oil for frying Salt and Pepper

Start by frying the onion in a little oil for a few minutes to soften. Add the bacon and fry for about five minutes until the bacon is cooked and the onions turning translucent. Add the garlic and reduce the heat. Fry for a few more minutes before pouring in the stock. Simmer this on a medium heat stirring occasionally. I used some of the chicken stock I had made from the leftover chicken.

While this cooks, add the pappardelle to boiling water. Four or five minutes before the pasta is ready, add the broccoli to the same water. The sauce should be reducing but turn the heat up or add a little more stock if it’s happening too fast or too slow. When the pasta and broccoli are done, add the broccoli and a little of the pasta water to the bacon sauce. Serve the broccoli, bacon, garlic mixture on top of the pappardelle.

I was really surprised how the garlic mellowed with cooking. There was a definite garlic undertone to the dish but it was not as overpowering as I thought it might be. The salty bacon, sweet onion, pungent garlic and juicy broccoli were all married together beautifully with the chicken stock. If you’re lucky enough to get hold of wet garlic this is certainly worth a try (I also added it to frying Chorizo and it worked a treat), if you’re brave then you could try slicing it in to a salad. read more

Chicken and Chorizo Tartlets

May 21, 2012 By All That I'm Eating 28 Comments

I’m not very good at anything that requires precision; cutting, gluing, drawing, sewing and the like just aren’t made for me no matter how much I might like them to be. I thought it was time I challenged this, determined to be as perfect as possible I set about making some mini chicken and chorizo tartlets. This of course was not only an excuse to try and achieve the impossible; namely a pastry tart case that didn’t shrink, but also to use up some more of my leftover chicken. To make four mini tarts you will need: 4oz flour, 2oz butter and cold water for the pastry 125g cooked chicken 125g cooking chorizo 1 small onion Small handful parsley 25g butter 1 tbsp flour 1/2 pint milk

First and foremost make the pastry. Rub the butter into the flour until you have breadcrumbs and then add drops of water until it comes together. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes or so. Roll the pastry out and divide into four pieces. Line each tart tin with the pastry and prick the base with a fork. I thought I’d make a right mess of lining the tins but it was really quick and simple; no holes and no patching up required.

I tried that trick of pushing the rolling pin over the pastry when it’s in the case to remove the excess pastry from the edges and it worked brilliantly. Line the tarts with some baking paper and fill the tart cases with baking beans. Bake in a preheated oven at 200C for 15 minutes then remove the baking beans. I don’t think I was quite firm enough pushing my beans down as I did get a few air bubbles so I’ll be sure to be more forceful next time.

The fiddliest part was the unfortunate but necessary step of removing the skins from the chorizo. They may be natural skins and fine to eat but I’d had them before and ended up having to pull the skins off after cooking and out of my teeth. I wasn’t prepared to spend the evening flossing so skin removal was essential. Once the skins are removed, chop the chorizo and fry on a medium heat so the oil runs out of the chorizo and it gets nice and crispy. Remove the chorizo from the pan leaving some of the oil and put the onion in. Fry the onion until soft and going brown at the edges; the smell was divine. read more

Coronation Chicken: using up leftover chicken

May 17, 2012 By All That I'm Eating 14 Comments

Removing all the meat from a cooked chicken has to be one of the most rewarding things to do; ending up with a plate full of bones and a bowl full of meat opens up a world of possibilities. As I mentioned in the previous post the bones were used to make stock; half of this was used in a bright broccoli, celery and stilton soup. I think the other half will end up in a risotto in the near future.

First and most importantly it was essential to make some form of chicken sandwich from the leftovers. As Jubilee fever is gripping the nation at the moment I thought the most appropriate sandwich would be Coronation chicken. Possibly my favourite sandwich filler but one I’ve never made myself and I wanted to do it properly, do it justice and so I set about making some mayonnaise.

You will need: 2 egg yolks 250ml oil (I used half groundnut, half rapeseed) Cooked chicken Curry Powder Mango Chutney Bread, salad, other sandwich bits

My mixer would be the perfect thing to make glorious, fresh, silky mayonnaise, at least that’s what I thought. As far as I was aware 1 egg yolk can emulsify 100ml of oil but none of the recipes I found followed this rule so I trusted both my instincts (which are apparently useless) and a few recipes and went for 2 egg yolks and 250ml oil. read more

Lemon and Thyme Roast Chicken and the leftovers

May 15, 2012 By All That I'm Eating 19 Comments

chicken with lemon, thyme, onions and garlic

A beautifully roasted chicken is hard to beat; with crispy skin and succulent meat there’s nothing quite like it. Having a whole roast chicken is a rare thing for me, indeed this is the first chicken I have roasted in a very long time and I wasn’t about to waste a scrap of it. The chicken that was to fulfil my roast chicken dreams was a local, free range, corn fed bird. This post is about my perfect Sunday lunch and making the most of the leftovers.

Lemon and thyme roasted chicken is a classic, simple recipe. Shove it all together, chuck it in the oven and reap the rewards later.
You will need:
A chicken (I used a 1.4kg bird for two)
1 lemon
Fresh thyme
1 onion
Butter
Salt and pepper

Start by cutting the string off the legs and stuffing the cavity with a few sprigs of thyme and half a lemon. Cut the onion up into chunks and put them into a roasting tin with the other half of the lemon and a few more sprigs of thyme. Put the butter into a bowl and mix in some salt and pepper. Now comes the slightly tricky and disgustingly satisfying part; separate the breast meat from the skin. I use a spoon to do this to minimise ripping the skin. When skin and meat are sufficiently separated, stuff some of the butter under the skin. Rub the rest of the butter onto the outside, put in to the roasting tray and roast in the oven at 160C for an hour or so or until cooked through. read more