Eve’s Pudding – tempting ...

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If Adam was around today, I think Eve would be hard-pushed to find an apple to tempt him.

I grew up next to an orchard. I have no idea what varieties I - and my equally delinquent siblings - scrumped*, but there were a lot of tempting fruits. They ranged from tiny sour crab apples - perfect for jelly - through sweet pink-fleshed varieties, to enormous freckly cookers that needed just a touch of sugar and a little spice to bring out their best.

The storeroom at the back of the house smelled cidery in the autumn, with boxes of carefully wrapped (more honestly acquired) apples. This is not a smell the supermarket offerings can recreate.

I am racking my brains to think of varieties beyond Braeburn, Gala, Pink Lady, Granny Smith, Fuji, Cox’s Pippin and the (pretty good) cooker, Bramley.  They all blow my least favourite, Golden Delicious, out of the orchard in terms of flavour and texture, but still... would Adam risk being chucked out of the Garden of Eden for one of these? I’m inclined to think not.

I was delighted to receive a bag of homegrown apples from a friend recently. They were an old variety – Reinetta. I’m not sure of the exact strain, but the variety is believed to have originated in France in the 16th century so it’s got a decent pedigree, and if it has survived all those years, it must have some commendable characteristics.

It does. Intensely sweet and sharp, with a dense, creamy flesh, and not too juicy, these heritage apples were perfect for this fat-free dessert.

Eve’s Pudding is best served straight from the oven as the sponge topping sinks a little as it cools.

For 8 individual, tempting portions, you will need...

Stewed Apple Filling

500g (prepared weight) of cooking apples (Granny Smith or Bramley will do if you haven’t got a friend with a heritage apple tree)

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

50g caster sugar

2 tablespoons water

Sponge Topping

2 large eggs

50g caster sugar

a pinch of salt

60g plain flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

To serve

2 teaspoons icing sugar mixed with ¼ teaspoon of cinnamon

Good vanilla ice cream or home-made custard (optional)

Pre-heat the oven to 160°C

First make the filling: peel, core, and slice the apples and sprinkle with lemon juice to prevent them from discolouring. Place them in a medium saucepan with the sugar and water. Cover and cook gently over a medium heat for about 8 minutes or until soft. Divide between 8 small pie dishes or ovenproof bowls. Leave to cool.

Meanwhile make the sponge topping: place the eggs, sugar and salt in a mixing bowl and, with an electric whisk, beat until the mixture is thick and creamy and more than doubled in volume. To check if it is thick enough, stop the beaters and lift them from the mixture. Any mixture dropping from the beaters should remain on the surface for a moment or two.

Mix the flour, baking powder and cinnamon together and sift, about a quarter at a time, into the egg mixture, folding in between additions. (Folding in avoids overworking the batter, keeping it light and airy.To fold in, use a large metal spoon and cut through the centre of the batter. Move the spoon across the bottom of the bowl, and back up the side and across the top bringing some of the mixture from bottom to top. Give the bowl a quarter turn and repeat. Keep folding the mixture and turning the bowl until the flour is incorporated into the batter.)

Divide the mixture between the bowls of cooled stewed apple. Place the bowls on a shallow baking tray or roasting dish and bake in the pre-heated oven for 25-30 minutes or until well risen and golden.

Remove from the oven and sift the icing sugar and cinnamon over the top before serving as soon as possible.

This fat-free dessert is even more tempting with a scoop of vanilla ice cream melting over the top. Just saying...

*scrump – a juvenile rite of passage which involves raiding orchards, and develops such useful skills as outrunning fearsome guard dogs, emergency tree/wall/fence-climbing and river/ditch leaping – all very Enid Blyton, and wonderful exercise.


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Marmalade and Almond Cake – has a delicious Scottish accent

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What images does Scotland conjure up for you? The mournful wail of bagpipes? The Loch Ness monster? The highland fling? Men in kilts? Brave Heart? Tartan? Scotch whisky? Shortbread? Haggis? Billy Connolly? That delicious but often incomprehensible accent?

For me, it’s marmalade. You see, after watching the Hairy Bikers visit the birthplace of marmalade in Dundee, I got an irresistible craving for thick-cut, whisky-laced, homemade marmalade.

 Do you have any idea how much marmalade a mere 6 oranges can make? It was like the fairy tale of the magic porridge pot! I can see myself having to work my way through toast and marmalade for breakfast for the next ten years... or asking you guys for recipes that use marmalade as an ingredient... Any ideas?

I’ll start the ball rolling with this easy cake.

 

For 1 x 2lb loaf, you will need...

125g butter, softened

100g caster sugar

1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest

2 eggs, beaten

250g plain flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)

a pinch of salt

2 tablespoons fresh orange juice

¼ teaspoon almond extract

100g thick cut marmalade 

Marmalade Glaze

75g thick cut marmalade

2 tablespoons fresh orange juice 

Line a 2lb loaf tin with baking paper or a loaf tin liner.
 

In a large mixing bowl or stand mixer, cream together the butter, sugar and orange zest until the mixture is light and fluffy. 

Add the beaten egg, a little at a time, mixing between additions until combined. (If the mixture curdles, the finished cake will just be a little heavier - no big deal.)  

Sift together the flour, baking powder, and bicarbonate of soda and add the salt. Add to the mixture in the bowl, a little at a time, beating until just combined. Finally, add the orange juice, almond extract, and marmalade and mix until just combined. 

Transfer the batter to the prepared loaf tin and bake in the pre-heated oven for 35-40 minutes. When the cake is cooked through, it should spring back when pressed lightly with a finger. A cocktail stick or skewer inserted into the middle should come out clean—with no mixture clinging to it. Leave in the tin while you make the glaze. 

To make the glaze, place the marmalade in a small saucepan with the orange juice and heat gently until the marmalade has melted. Fork the stands of peel onto the cake, arranging them down the centre. Drizzle the liquid over the cake, using a pastry brush if necessary to coat every centimetre with delicious orange syrup. Leave to cool in the tin. Perfect with a cuppa!

There! That’s takes care of 175g of the stuff. Just another 175 million grams to go... help!
 

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Camembert and Walnut Bites – accentuate the positive...

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I want to love Camembert. It looks very charming on a cheeseboard, instantly adding ze strrrrong Frrrrrrench accent. And it is always up for a picnic – just add a fresh baguette and a bottle of vin - et voila! What’s not to love? Well...

Camembert is often described as buttery and nutty – I like that bit. But to me, there is a cabbage-y tang lurking in its depths. I’m not the greatest fan of cabbage at the best of times, so why would I want it in cheese... given I’m not even the greatest fan of cheese at the best of times and will easily find an excuse to skip straight to dessert.

However... as the song says, you’ve got to ac-cen-tu-ate the positive (add buttery pastry, a touch of honey, and some walnuts) ... e-li-min-ate the negative (heat and a smidgen of rosemary seems to minimise the cabbage-y note), et voila! This I can love.

For approximately 25 party-sized bites you will need...
... a 7cm empanada press (widely and generally quite cheaply available from most kitchen stores), or a little patience.

50g walnuts

125g Camembert, cut into rough chunks

½ teaspoon very finely chopped fresh rosemary

25g runny honey

500g good quality all-butter puff pastry 

a little cold water to seal the pastries 

a little beaten egg to glaze the pastries 

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C 

First, blitz the walnuts in a food processor until reduced to large crumbs. Add the camembert and rosemary and process until reduced to a moist crumbly mixture. Add the honey and blitz to combine with the other ingredients.

If you haven't got a food processor, you will need about 5 minutes and a good chopping action

Roll out the puff pastry (or buy ready-rolled) to a thickness of about 3mm. Using the cutter side of the empanada press, stamp out circles until you have used up all the pastry. (If you don’t have an empanada press, use a 7cm round scone cutter instead.)  

Using lightly floured hands, take approximately half a teaspoon of the mixture and roll it into a ball. (This might seem a stingy amount but - trust me - any more will leak from the pastries as they cook.) Repeat until you have the same amount of cheese balls as pastry circles.

Be stingy with the filling unless you want accidental camembert and walnut crisps 

Place a pastry circle on the empanada press and place a cheese ball in the centre. Dampen the edges of the pastry with a little cold water and close the empanada press, gently sealing the cheese inside a half moon. (If you are doing this without an empanada maker, fold the pastry over the cheese ball, pressing the dampened edges together, pinching them together between thumb and index finger.) Repeat until you have approximately 25 half moons made. Kids love helping with this bit.

(I often make them to this point then freeze in a single layer to cook at a later date, straight from the freezer. If cooking from frozen, you’ll need to give them an extra minute or two in the oven.) 

Place on a baking tray, approximately 3cm apart to allow them to puff up. Bake in the pre-heated oven until risen and golden – about 10 minutes. Allow to cool slightly on a wire rack before handing round with drinks. Best served warm.

Variation: swap the honey for the same amount of apricot jam, or cranberry jelly. Both go terrifically well with Camembert. 

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Piri Piri... Peri Peri... Pili Pili Chicken – Some like it hot !

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It is Piri Piri? Or Peri Peri? Or Pili Pili ? I lean towards Piri Piri, but whatever you prefer to call it, this spicy chicken dish, which originated in Portugal’s former African colonies, has been a huge hit world wide - as evidenced by the success of Nando’s restaurant chain. I’ve never tasted Nando’s version, which apparently goes from a wussy version that barely registers on the Scoville Scale, to a “throat-scorching” extra h-h-hot!

There’s not much preparation to this easy recipe, however you will need time for the chicken to wallow in all those lovely flavours – 24 hours if possible. It's worth it though, for a succulent, tasty chicken that is so easy to portion up.

The recipe below is how I like it – with the heat somewhere between 10,000 – 20,000 Scovilles so I can still taste the other flavours in the dish. The beauty of this marinade is that you can tweak the ingredients to how you like it. Use African Bird’s Eye Chillies to ramp it up to 100,000+ Scovilles if you like it hot.

For 1 spicy chicken, feeding about 4 people, you will need...
... a food processor

Piri Piri Marinade

100mls extra virgin olive oil

30mls cider vinegar

3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley

2 fat cloves of garlic

2 red chillies, stalks removed, deseeded and roughly chopped

1 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger

1 teaspoon coriander seed, crushed to a powder

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon of sweet paprika

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

the juice and finely grated zest of half a lemon

the juice of half a lime 

1 chicken weighing approximately 1.5kg, spatchcocked* 

Time – at least 12 hours, but preferably 24 hours. 

Place all the ingredients for the marinade in a food processer and blend until combined into a smooth liquid.

Place the spatchcocked chicken in a large Ziploc-style bag or non-metal container and pour in the marinade. Seal and refrigerate for 12 hours or overnight, turning occasionally to make sure the marinade gets a chance to reach all parts of the chicken.

Pale and interesting? Nah!

 When ready to cook, pre-heat the oven to 200°C. Place the chicken in a shallow roasting tin and roast for 35 - 45 minutes, or until cooked through. To test for doneness, pierce the thickest part of the thigh and if the juices run clear, with no trace of pink, then it’s cooked.

Looking so much better with a tan !

I’m serving this with a carrot and orange salad and baked potatoes.

 

*A spatchcocked chicken is prepared as follows: 

Sit the chicken on its breast and, using a heavy duty kitchen scissors or poultry shears, cut down both sides of the backbone, and remove it. Open the chicken out and, using a heavy knife, cut into the cartilage in the centre of the chicken, until the knife reaches the breastbone. Turn the chicken over and gently press down to flatten it out.
 

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Chicken ‘Kindorf’ Salad – Waldorf, kind of !

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Have you ever heard of William Arthur Ward before today? Me neither. However, you will probably know some of his words. He’s a guy frequently quoted by bumper stickers and fridge magnets and you’ll have seen this quote at some point in your life:

“Every person has the power to make others happy. Some do it simply by entering a room, others by leaving the room.” So true.

For me, it totally applies to the grapes in Waldorf Salad. I know they are a classic ingredient of this classic salad but they have the power to make me happy by leaving the salad well alone.

Don’t worry. Several other non-classic ingredients that have the power to make me happy have entered the salad, and more than made up for the absence of grapes.

 

For Chicken Salad for 2 – 3 happy people you will need...

Dressing

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

2 tablespoons Greek yoghurt

¼ teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

a pinch of salt 

Salad

1 large cooked chicken breast, sliced into bite-sized pieces

1 red-skinned dessert apple (I used Fuji), skin on, diced

1 stick of celery, peeled of stringy bits, finely sliced

1 tablespoon fresh parsley, finely chopped

15g almonds, roughly chopped

25g walnuts, roughly chopped

25g sultanas

35g ready-to-eat-apricots, snipped into sultana-sized pieces

 

Simply mix the ingredients for the dressing together until combined. Then add the salad ingredients, stirring them through the dressing until coated with the creamy sauce. Instant happiness!

(This also makes a great sandwich filling.)  

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Basmati Salad – from leftover, to lively !

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I haven’t done a War On Waste recipe for ages – perhaps it’s because I’m getting much better at not wasting food. However, I miscalculated last night’s dinner and ended up with an extra portion of basmati rice left over.

It stared accusingly from the fridge so I introduced it to a few other ingredients. In the right company, and given an overnight in the fridge to think about things, it has become a lot livelier than it was before.

For quick and lively side-salad for 2 – 3 people you will need...

Salad

1 portion of cooked basmati rice, cold

1 large ripe tomato, diced

1 Braeburn apple, (or other crisp sweet-tart apple) skin on, diced

1 spring onion, finely chopped

2 teaspoons finely chopped pickled jalapeno peppers (optional)

25g walnuts, finely chopped

25g sultanas

1 teaspoon very finely shredded fresh mint 

Dressing

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 heaped teaspoon wholegrain mustard

¼ teaspoon fine table salt

a little freshly ground black pepper 

In a mixing bowl combine the salad ingredients.

Place the dressing ingredients in a screw top (or tightly-lidded) jar and shake well to combine. Pour over the salad and toss lightly to coat all the ingredients. Cover and refrigerate for about half an hour to allow the rice to soak up the flavours.

This will keep some grilled skate company on my plate this evening.

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Quick Blackcurrant and Rhubarb Jelly – Appeals to my inner cave-dweller !

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From disgusting to delicious in about 20 minutes

As a devoted eater, I love trying tastes new to me. This isn't always a success initially. I often need to try a food several times to check if I still don’t like it, or whether the taste is something I could get used to – or might even get to like.

Among the foods that have grown on me over time are: avocados, anchovies, olives, asparagus, some blue cheeses, oysters, smoked fish, snails, liver (but only in certain guises) – I could go on but there’s quite a list. 

We can acquire a taste for something previously repellent, but it needs repeated trials before your inner cave dweller will accept that you are not trying to poison yourself.

When it comes to blackcurrants, however, repeated trials have failed … eh… repeatedly. The cave-dwelling part of my brain flatly refuses to allow fresh blackcurrants past my lips. The taste of this beautiful little berry nauseates me... which is funny because if I could eat just one jelly or jam for the rest of my life, I would probably choose blackcurrant. There is obviously some alchemy in the cooking that magically transforms the taste from disgusting to delicious.

For a small pot of jelly (approximately 400g) you will need…

260g blackcurrants

140g rhubarb, washed and sliced into 1cm chunks

4 tablespoons unsweetened apple juice (or water)

400g sugar

4 tablespoon lemon juice

Wash the blackcurrants and pick them over to remove any stray leaves etc. You needn’t be too fussy about removing the stalks as the solids will be sieved out at the end.

You’ll need to select a saucepan large enough to allow the ingredients to expand up to 5 times without bubbling over. Place the washed berries in the saucepan with the rhubarb and apple juice (or water). Cook for about 20 minutes over a medium-low heat until the fruit has softened.

Meanwhile, place 3 saucers in the freezer – use these later to check if the jelly will set.

Add the sugar and lemon juice and keep the heat low until the sugar has completely dissolved. (If you stir the mixture with a wooden spoon, you will feel any undissolved grains of sugar on the bottom of the pan.)

When the sugar has dissolved, turn up the heat so that the mixture begins to boil energetically. Boil for 6 minutes before testing to see if the end product will set.

To test that the jelly will set: remove one of the saucers from the freezer and spoon a little of the mixture onto it. Let it cool for a minute then push your finger through it. The surface should wrinkle and your finger should leave a clear path. If not, continue to cook for a further minute or two before testing again on another cold saucer.

Pour the mixture into a metal sieve set over a bowl to catch the liquid. Press the fruit with the back of a spoon to extract as much juice and pulp as possible (We’re not aiming for a clear jelly here). Transfer the contents of the bowl to a *sterilised jar and discard the solids left in the sieve. 

This quick and easy preserve will keep for up to a month in the fridge and is delicious on toast, with goats cheese, or as an unusual filling in a Victoria Sponge.

The End

What foods have you come to like over time? What tastes are still to pass the cave-dweller test?

*The easiest way to sterilise jars is to run them through a hot cycle of the dishwasher. Otherwise, wash in hot soapy water, rinse, and dry in the oven at 100°C. 

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