Falafel – little green Patties on Paddy’s Day

Pin It

Patty or Paddy? Paddy or Patty? On Irish soil, it will always be Paddy but the Americans can call him what they like. New research points to the first St Patrick’s Day celebrations being held in Florida in 1600 and the first parade apparently took place there a year later. Boston followed suit in 1737 and New York a tardy 25 years later. Ireland didn’t get in on the act until 1903 with the first parade in Waterford. Dublin joined in in 1931.

Patrick’s real name is thought to have been Maewyn Succat and he is believed to have been from either Scotland or Wales, son of a Roman-British army official. But Happy St. Maewyn Succat’s Day doesn’t have the same ring to it so I’m sticking with Paddy and you can say Patty if that floats your boat.

Food-wise, I’m breaking with tradition this year and skipping the corned beef and colcannon and making ... er... chickpea patties - well Falafel is green enough to be Irish on March 17.

(You could have Guinness Chocolate Cake for afters...)

For about 30 ... erm... patties ... you will need...

250g dried chickpeas, soaked overnight (for about 10 hours) - no shortcuts here - tinned chickpeas just won't cut the mustard in this recipe.

1 teaspoon cumin seed

1 teaspoon coriander seed

½ teaspoon black peppercorns

1 teaspoon fine table salt

2 tablespoons gram flour (chickpea flour)* 

4 spring onions, finely chopped

4 cloves of garlic, sliced

3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh coriander leaf

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley

*You can substitute regular wheat flour but obviously they stop being gluten-free

Sunflower oil for frying

Rinse the pre-soaked chickpeas, drain and roll in a clean tea towel or some kitchen paper to remove as much moisture as possible. Blitz in batches in a food processor until you have a uniformly crumbly mix - you are not looking for hummus. 

Toast the cumin and coriander seed along with the black peppercorns in a dry frying pan over a medium heat until they smell toasted – anything up to 5 minutes. Immediately remove and transfer out of the pan into a bowl otherwise they will carry on toasting. When cool, crush the spices (in a spice grinder, with a pestle and mortar - whatever you normally crush your spices with).

A bit finer than this please, chef!

Add these along with the remaining ingredients to the final batch of chickpeas and blitz until smooth. Mix in the rest of the blitzed chickpeas until evenly combined. You are looking for a couscous-like texture.

If you have a falafel scoop, use that to make little patties. Otherwise, dampen your hands and take walnut-sized scoops of mixture, roll them into a ball and flatten slightly.

Heat oil in a deep fat fryer to 180°C. Pop the falafel in one at a time, careful not to overcrowd the fryer or you’ll lower the temperature and end up with oily falafel. Fry until these little green pucks have taken on a golden hue – 3 – 5 minutes depending on size. Turn out into a dish lined with kitchen paper.

I serve them as follows:

Smear a flatbread with hummus. Add finely shredded iceberg lettuce, finely chopped tomato, cucumber, shredded spring onion, and a squirt each of garlic dressing and Sriracha sauce. Squash in 3 to 5 freshly cooked falafel. Fold in the sides, then roll tightly and enjoy as you watch the parade (or the Ireland v England match) wherever you are.

Pita does equally well.

Happy St Patrick’s Day!

Pin It

Vanilla Orange Caramel Pancake Sauce – Mardi Gras for your mouth!

Pin It

Pancakes and crêpes are nothing on their own. Left to their own devices they would never go out. Savoury or sweet, they depend on fillings and dressings to give them a social life.

Though I’m a fiend for maple syrup, sometimes something as simple as a sprinkle of sugar and a squeeze of lemon juice is just the thing to make a pancake interesting. However, for a real taste of Carnival, my current favourite is this zingy vanilla orange caramel sauce.  Pour the hot syrup over pancakes or crêpes and feel your taste buds samba!

The sauce thickens as it cools and if there is any left over, it’s delicious, cold, on ice cream.

For approximately 150mls of sweet, zingy caramel sauce you will need…

150g caster sugar

10g salted butter

zest of one orange, finely grated or cut into shreds

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract (or vanilla bean paste)

100mls fresh orange juice

You will need to exercise a little caution – melted sugar is extremely hot.

You will also need a medium-sized, heavy-bottomed, light-coloured saucepan (light-coloured so you can see the sugar change colour as it melts and judge easily when to take it off the heat.)

Put the sugar in an even layer in the pan and place the pan over a medium heat, supervising it constantly until the sugar has melted. You will need to swirl the pan occasionally so that the sugar melts evenly. I prefer to swirl rather than stir as over-stirring can cause the sugar to clump, however a little gentle poking at the melting mixture with a wooden spoon or spatula won’t hurt.

Another swirl or two will capture those sugar crystals on the side

Once the sugar has melted, keep it over the heat until it has turned a rich amber colour and starts to smell like caramel. Watch the pan like a hawk as the melted sugar can burn quickly and become bitter (if that happens, start again).

The caramel is ready when it smells like caramel and is a rich amber colour

Now add the butter, stirring until it has melted into the caramel, then add the orange zest, and vanilla and stir to incorporate.

Add the orange juice in a steady stream, stirring until you have a smooth syrup. It will bubble furiously and the cold juice may cause the caramel to solidify in places.  If this happens,  just keep stirring over the heat and any blobs of caramel will eventually melt back in to the sauce.

Bubbling furiously

Once you have a smooth sauce, remove from the heat.

This sauce can be made ahead and served hot or cold. If using hot, remember that it is super hot and warn people accordingly. As it cools it thickens up and is delicious with ice cream.

To serve hot, reheat in a saucepan over a medium heat and then pour over hot pancakes. You could also prepare (or buy) your pancakes ahead and reheat them in the sauce as in the picture below.  Click here to for an easy cider and cinnamon pancake recipe

Pancakes ready to party!

Pin It

Honey Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with Ginger Crème Fraiche – stirring stuff!

Pin It

I have a complete mental block when it comes to buttons on kitchen appliances. My particular downfalls are my electric beaters and my stick blender. When using either, I manage to successfully carry out the task I had in mind – whip cream for example, or blend soup. Easy enough! Job done!



Honey Roasted Butternut Squash Soup with Ginger Crème Fraiche



It’s the next bit I find tricky. I switch off the appliance and go to eject the beaters/blade but for some strange reason I am unable to carry out this simple step. Instead, I lift the appliance out of whatever mixture I have been working with – still dripping with cream/soup etc and ... switch... the... damn... thing... back... ON!

At this point, about a tablespoon of cream/soup is dispersed around the kitchen at a centrifugal force of OH MY GOD!!! Have you any idea how much kitchen/person a tablespoonful of liquid will cover? Worse, each droplet has a spinning trajectory which means that it will not only COVER every surface within a 10 foot radius, but it will actually get BEHIND stuff too.

I only ever make this mistake when I have just finished my makeup and blow-dried my hair and guests are about to arrive.

This evening I am taking no chances. My husband is on soup-blending duty and the ginger crème fraiche only requires stirring. Athough...there is still the cream to whip for the cherry profiteroles. After a glass of wine that will be tempting fate. Oh dear - fingers crossed!

Honey I Roasted the Squash!

For 8 servings you will need...

1 butternut squash weighing about 1.2kg

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon fresh thyme

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 carrots, peeled and halved

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon runny honey

6 fat cloves of garlic, unpeeled

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion (think tennis ball-sized), finely chopped

2 sticks celery, peeled and finely chopped

1.5 L vegetable or chicken stock

Preheat the oven to 180°C

1                    Cut the butternut squash into quarters lengthways and scoop out the seeds with a spoon. Cut each wedge of squash into half across the middle. Place in a shallow roasting tray with the olive oil. Get your hands in there and anoint each piece of squash with the oil until liberally coated and glistening. Sprinkle with fresh thyme and a little salt and black pepper. Place in the oven for 10 minutes.

2                    After 10 minutes, remove from the oven and add the carrots. Sprinkle the squash with balsamic vinegar and drizzle with honey, making sure each wedge gets a little bit of honey sweetness. Place the tray back in the oven and continue cooking for a further 25 minutes, adding the unpeeled garlic 10 minutes into this cooking time. When the squash is cooked, remove from the oven and leave to cool for about 5 minutes.

3                    Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over a gentle heat. Add the onion and celery and cook gently without colouring until the onions are soft and translucent - about 5 minutes.

4                     Chop the roasted carrots and add to the saucepan. Remove the skin from the butternut squash before adding to the saucepan. Squeeze the garlic cloves gently until the skin bursts then add the soft garlic pulp to the saucepan. Finally add the stock. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat. Cover and simmer gently for about 15 minutes, then blend. A stick blender is perfect for this job.

Ginger Crème Fraiche - stirred, not shaken!

For the ginger crème fraiche you will need...

6 tablespoons crème fraiche

1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger

Simply stir the two together and chill until needed.

Just before serving, swirl a little of the ginger cream into the soup.

Pin It

Pupcakes – the main ingredient is imagination!

Pin It

When my sister said “Cake Sale... Next Saturday... For charity... Inspiration for the novice baker please?!”, it had to be Pupcakes.

These are my (current) favourites. They are a little fiddly to make but so worth it when you see the reaction they get. Both kids and grownups deliberate for ages over their choice. When I point out that each of these little cuties tastes the same, I often get the reply “But, Hester! They all have different personalities! I have to find the one that’s right for me!”

For 1 dozen cute pupcakes (each with their own personality) you will need...

... a small star-shaped piping nozzle such as a Wilton 22 and a piping bag (or a freezer bag with the corner snipped off to accommodate the piping nozzle).

1 dozen vanilla-flavoured plain cupcakes

Buttercream Icing

250g butter (not dairy spread), at room temperature (i.e. soft)
275g icing sugar, sifted
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

1.                 Place the soft butter together with half the icing sugar in a large mixing bowl or stand mixer. Mix together slowly to avoid filling the kitchen with a sweet sugar cloud. When mixed, add the second half of the icing sugar and the vanilla essence and whip until light and fluffy – I usually mix this in my stand mixer, leaving it running for 5 minutes. This amount will decorate 12 cupcakes.

To decorate the pupcakes you will need...

6 red/pink Starburst sweets (or similar soft fruit caramels), for the tongue

6 marshmallows for the muzzle, snipped in half so you have two discs from each

a further 4 marshmallows for the ears, each snipped into 4 long slices then rolled out to make long floppy ear shapes

24 Smarties (or similar sweets) for the eyes (pairs of matching colours if possible)

12 Smarties (or similar) for the nose - pink or brown look good

a little imagination 

 

Mmmmm, I feel like a kid in a candy store!

2.                 First, make the tongues: Unwrap 1 Starburst (or soft fruit caramel) and place it in the microwave for about 4 seconds to soften it slightly. Roll it out to a thickness of about 2mm. Using a kitchen scissors, cut out rounded teardrop shapes about the size of your index fingernail. You should get 2 tongues from each sweet. Fold each teardrop gently in half, then unfold to create a line down the centre of the tongue. Gently bend to make natural-looking tongue shapes (as shown in the photo above). Ok, that was the difficult bit. The rest is an easy assembly job.

3.                 Next, If your cupcakes are domed, cut the tops off in line with the top of the cupcake cases to make a level surface for your icing.

4.                 Half-fill your piping bag with the freshly-whipped icing (piping bags are a lot easier to work with if not too full).

5.                 Cup a cake in one hand and, with the other, pipe icing all over the surface using little stabbing motions to mimic the appearance of fur.  It doesn’t have to be too neat.

6.                 Place a marshmallow half – with the sticky, cut side, down - off-centre to create the muzzle. Cover this with icing too. Place 2 Smartie eyes on the cake as shown in the photo below. Top the muzzle with another Smartie for the nose.

7.                 Press a pair of marshmallow ears either side of the eyes, making sure a sticky side is in contact with the icing as this helps it adhere.

8.                 Insert a Starburst tongue between the muzzle and the cupcake to secure.

9.                 Finally, pipe a cute little curl just over the eyes. Once you’ve done one, the rest are much quicker to assemble. Store in a cool dry place (not the fridge!)

Start with a level base; use half a marshmallow for the muzzle; add marshmallow ears
and candy eyes and nose; finally poke the tongue just under the base of the muzzle. 

The event, at St Matthias Hall in Killiney, Co. Dublin on Saturday, December 1st, 12 noon to 2pm, is in aid of the Intellectual Disability Association of Lesotho. Christmas music... mulled wine... tea, coffee, hot chocolate with marshmallows...  mince pies.... cakes, buns, cupcakes etc. as well as some Christmas crafts... Break Christmas in gently...

Come along on Saturday and meet the Ambassador of Lesotho and his family as you deliver a delicious donation, or simply take time out to enjoy one of the gorgeous creations on offer along with a cuppa and maybe even get some of your Christmas shopping done.

And, hey! Hands off! That one's mine!

Other bake sale ideas include:
Honey, Lemon and Almond Tartlets - this recipe makes 18
Banana, Pear and Coconut Loaf - excellent with coffee, improves if made ahead of time

If you have your own favourite bake sale recipe that you’d like to share with the bakers participating in the sale, please email me your link at simpleingredientsmagicalfood@gmail.com, and I’d be delighted to add it to the list. Pin It

Plaited Porter Bread – a loaf of plain is your only man !

Pin It

I felt sorry for the poor chefs each wrestling to turn four obstinate strands of dough into a neatly-plaited loaf, under the watchful eyes of (the acerbic) Monica Galetti and (the wincing) Michel Roux Jnr., in a recent episode of Masterchef - the Professionals.

Herding mice at the crossroads is the expression that came to mind as I watched those seemingly-inanimate strands doggedly resist all attempts to arrange them into neat, braided order.

Although it might seem like it, you don’t need four hands, a degree in juggling, and a black belt in macramé to end up with a rather impressive bread. You just need a little know-how, and to be able to count to 4. (Although, a little practice doesn’t go astray either.)

For a bread with a slightly bitter edge that's perfect with cheese, I used the best part of "a pint of plain", but you could use water instead.

For 1 plaited loaf, you will need...

Bread dough

500g strong white flour

1 x 7g sachet of fast action bread yeast

2 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

½ teaspoon caster sugar

330mls porter (Guinness, Murphy’s, or Beamish)

Egg wash

1 small egg, beaten, mixed with a pinch of salt

(optional) a few oats, or seeds for sprinkling over the top of the loaf (poppy, sunflower, pumpkin or sesame all work for me)

Method

Place the first 5 ingredients in a mixing bowl or stand mixer and mix to combine. Warm the porter to between 27°C–35°C. (If you don’t have a thermometer, this is when a finger dipped in the beer will feel neither hot nor cold. Too hot, it will kill the yeast. Too cold, it will just take longer to activate.)

Add the warm porter to the dry ingredients and mix until combined. If you are using a stand mixer with a dough hook, mix for about 8 minutes. If kneading by hand, knead until the dough is smooth and elastic (about 10 minutes).

Place the dough back in the bowl. Cover with some oiled cling film and leave in a warm place to rise for about an hour or until doubled in size.

Next, turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead for a minute or so. The dough will collapse alarmingly but don’t worry, the yeast is still working.

Divide the dough into four even pieces and roll each into a sausage shape approximately 30cm long and tapered slightly at each end.

Join the four dough ‘sausages’ at one end, with the other ends fanning out. Number the positions of the fanned ends: 1, 2, 3, 4. The number of the position doesn’t change. Every time you move a strand it takes the number of its new position.

Ok, here goes...

Cross strand 4 over strand 2. Cross 1 over 3. Cross 2 over 3.

From Top Right to Bottom Right (strands shown in their new position) :
 Fan out the dough strands; cross 4 over 2; cross 1 over 3, cross 2 over 3

Repeat the above sequence until you have a tidy plait. Tuck both ends under to neaten the loaf. Place on a lightly floured baking sheet. Cover and leave to rise once more in a warm place for about 30 minutes or until doubled in size. (To check if the dough has proved sufficiently, poke it with a finger. The indent should remain. If it bounces back quickly, let it rise for a little longer before checking again.)

When you are ready to bake, pre-heat the oven to 200°C.  While the oven is heating, brush the dough with the beaten egg. Lightly sprinkle with oats or seeds if using. Transfer to the pre-heated over and bake for 10 minutes, then turn the oven down to 180°C and continue baking for a further 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and tap the base of the bread. It should sound hollow. If not, return it to the oven for a further 5 minutes. Cool on a rack.

Pin It

Rosemary Garlic Sautéed Potatoes – pretty close to perfect

Pin It

As an Irishwoman, I am genetically predisposed to adore potatoes. Mashed... baked... fried... chipped... roast... steamed... you name it, I’m there, knife and fork - or just plain fingers - at the ready.

It is very hard to pick a favourite. A strong contender - and a simple classic dish that I’ve rustled up since childhood - is sautéed potatoes. Excellent with roast or grilled meats, with a delicious golden crust, and laced with garlic and rosemary, I think this version is pretty close to perfect (and if onions make you cry, read the simple tips at the end of the recipe).

As a side for 2 greedy people, or 3 – 4 more restrained appetites you will need:

500g floury potatoes such as Rooster, peeled and cut into bite-sized cubes (of about 1.5cm)

25g butter
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, halved from top to bottom, then sliced thinly into half moons
1 teaspoon of very finely chopped fresh rosemary
1 clove of garlic, very finely chopped

50g butter
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt (I prefer Maldon for this dish)

 

 

1.                 Place the potatoes in a medium saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil then simmer gently for 10 minutes. Carefully drain off the water and set the potatoes aside for a couple of minutes to allow the steam to evaporate. You want the potatoes to be as dry as possible. They will still be a little firm but that’s perfect. You don’t want them to break up when you start to fry them.

2.                 While you are waiting for the potatoes to cook, place 25g of butter together with 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. When the butter has melted, add the sliced onion. Lower the heat and cook gently until the onion starts to turn golden (about 7 minutes). Add the rosemary and garlic and cook for a further minute. Remove from the heat and transfer to a bowl.

3.                 Wipe out the frying pan with kitchen paper before adding the remaining butter and olive oil. Place over a medium-high heat and when the butter has melted and stopped sizzling, add the potatoes cubes. Cook for about 5 minutes or until the sides of the cubes touching the pan have started to turn golden. Gently turn the potato cubes and continue cooking until gloriously golden all over.

4.                 Scatter the cooked onion mixture over the potatoes, sprinkle with a little sea salt and continue cooking for a minute or two to heat through. Serve as soon as you possibly can, although this dish will relax happily in a warm oven for 20 minutes if necessary.

Note: If preparing onions makes you cry, read on for some simple tips to avoid weeping into your sautéed potatoes...

When you cut into an onion, it releases a volatile compound that irritates nose and eyes. Use a sharp knife to avoid excessively crushing the onion cells, releasing less of the compound in the first place. Breathe through your mouth to avoid the onion vapours going up your nose and lean slightly away from the onion so that the vapours don’t rise into your eyes.

Or wear some stylish goggles like my lovely assistant, Naomi...

(Photo by Veronica Casey)

 

Pin It

Potato Gnocchi with Sage and Walnut Butter – Better a Dinner of Herbs...

Pin It There is a proverb which goes something like: Better a dinner of herbs where love is, than a fatted calf and hatred therewith. In other words, better to have modest offerings given with a generous heart than abundance offered with a mean spirit.

Gnocchi sounds so much more exotic than "potato dumpling"

My cupboard obviously has a generous heart. At first glance today, it appeared empty. Baked beans on toast for dinner... hmmmm. Think, Hester, think! Potatoes, flour, Parmesan, eggs, nuts, butter and plenty of herbs in the garden... channelling ... channelling... ggggggnnnnnn...  gnocchi!

For 3 to 4 servings you will need...

Gnocchi

550g Rooster or other floury potato, skin on

100g plain flour

2g  (½ teaspoon) baking powder

½ teaspoon fine table salt

1 egg, beaten

A little extra flour for dusting

1                  Place the potatoes in a medium saucepan and carefully add just enough boiling water to cover. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cover with a lid and cook gently for about 15 minutes or until easily pierced right through with the tip of a knife. Drain the cooked potatoes and leave them aside for about 5 minutes or until just cool enough to handle. Gently peel, then push the potatoes through a potato ricer, catching them in a large mixing bowl. If you don’t have a ricer, mash them with a regular potato masher. Using a fork, gently spread the potato out into an even layer without compacting it. Leave to cool.

2                  Next, sprinkle in the flour and baking powder and lightly combine until the mixture resembles ground almonds.

3                 Add the beaten egg and mix gently using a fork to bring the ingredients together. When the egg has been evenly dispersed throughout, bring the mixture together in a ball, using floured hands.

4                 Turn out onto a floured work surface. Divide the mixture into about 4 portions and roll each into a rope about the thickness of your thumb. Using a sharp knife, cut each rope into pillows of dough about 1.5cm long (half an inch).

5                 Place each pillow of dough, one at a time, cut side down in the palm of your lightly floured hand. Press gently with the back of a fork so that it forms a slightly ridged indent. This helps the gnocchi hold any sauce you care to add. (You can freeze them on a tray at this point and transfer the frozen gnocchi to a freezer bag. Cook from frozen.)

6                 To cook: bring a medium saucepan of water to boil. Carefully drop the shaped gnocchi into the pan one at a time. They will sink to the bottom of the pan. Don’t add more than will cover the base of the saucepan in a single layer. Make sure the water comes back to simmering, turning up the heat if necessary. When the gnocchi rise to the surface continue cooking for a further 3 minutes. When the gnocchi are cooked, drain and add to your favourite sauce.

The humble potato gets an Italian makeover

Gorgonzola or porcini sauces are particularly good with gnocchi. Today, however, I’m all about the simple so here’s how my sauce goes...

Sage and Walnut Butter

70g butter

50g finely chopped walnuts

3 tablespoons finely chopped flat leaved parsley

1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh sage

1 fat clove garlic, crushed

Parmesan

Black pepper

1                 Melt the butter in a frying pan over a medium heat until sizzling. Add the cooked gnocchi to the pan in a single layer and fry gently until golden brown – about 3 minutes. Turn to brown the other side and add the walnuts at the same time. After 2 minutes, add the crushed garlic and herbs and cook gently for a further minute or so.

2                 Transfer to a warm serving dish and scatter with parmesan shavings.

Just add Parmesan

Better than beans on toast!

Pin It