Bread roll by Nigel Slater.

- Bread roll recipes | Nigel Slater | Food | The Guardian
Soft rolls with feta and kefir
These rolls prove more slowly than usual because of the cold kefir.
Speed things up by using a warm bowl and by warming the flour in the oven for a few minutes before adding the yeast and liquid.
You will also need a rectangular baking dish or bread tin, approximately 25 x 16cm. Makes 6 rolls

plain flour 500g
fast-acting yeast 1.5 tsp
sea salt 0.5 tsp
kefir 200ml
olive oil 3 tbsp
warm water 100ml
feta cheese 200g
rosemary 3 bushy sprigs
thyme 5 bushy sprigs

To finish:
olive oil a little
thyme and rosemary a few sprigs

Put the flour (500g), yeast (1.5tsp) and salt (0.5tsp) in a large, warm mixing bowl.
Put the kefir (200ml) in a jug, add the olive oil (3tbsp) and the warm water (100ml) and stir well.
Combine the kefir mixture and flour with a wooden spoon or your hands and mix until you have a soft and slightly sticky dough.

Crumble the feta (200g) into a small bowl.
Remove the leaves from the rosemary and thyme and finely chop them to give you 1.5tbsp, and add to the crumbled cheese.
If you are making the dough by hand, tip on to a floured board and knead the cheese and herbs into it.
If you prefer the easy way, use a food mixer fitted with a dough hook to knead the cheese and herbs into the dough.
Continue kneading for a couple of minutes, adding a little more flour if necessary to stop it sticking, then put the dough back in its bowl, cover with a clean, warm cloth and put it in a warm place.
Leave the dough in peace until it has risen to almost twice its original size.

Line a deep-sided baking tin with a piece of baking parchment.

Cut the dough into 6 equal pieces then shape each one into a round bun.
Place the buns in the baking tin, three down each side, then return to the warm place, cover with the cloth and leave for about 30 minutes, until nicely risen and touching one another.

Set the oven at 220C/gas mark 8.
Toss the herbs in the olive oil and scatter them over the rolls then bake for about 20 minutes, until lightly golden brown.

Beef brisket.

- Pot-roasted beef brisket recipe | BBC Good Food
The dried porcini will add about three quid to the cost of this dish, but you get a lot of flavour for your money. We ate this with mashed swede, and loads of butter and black pepper.

Serves 6-8
dried porcini 25g
beef brisket 1.5kg, rolled and tied
banana shallots 6
carrots 350g, small ones
black peppercorns 12
bay leaves 4
thyme sprigs 6
swede 1, mashed to serve

Put the kettle on.
Set the oven at 230C/gas mark 8.
Put the dried porcini in a heatproof bowl, then pour the boiling water over it, cover with a plate and leave to soak for 25 minutes.
This will give you a deeply flavourful broth.

Place the rolled and tied brisket in a large casserole - lid off, then put it in the oven and roast for 25 minutes.
Peel and trim the shallots and halve them lengthways.
Scrub and halve the carrots lengthways.
Add them to the casserole together with the porcini and its broth, the peppercorns, bay and thyme, then cover with a lid.
Lower the heat to 160C and bake for 4 hours.

Remove the brisket from its broth and leave to rest for 10 minutes.
Put the casserole over a high heat, bring the contents to the boil and leave until reduced by about one-third.
Slice the brisket into thick pieces, dividing it between deep plates, then spoon over the broth and vegetables.

For the mashed swede
Peel a large swede and cut it into large chunks, pile it into a steamer basket or colander and cook over a pan of boiling water for 20 minutes until soft.
Tip into a bowl and crush thoroughly with a potato masher.
Add a thick slice of butter (about 30g) and lots of coarsely ground black pepper.
Beat firmly with a wooden spoon till fluffy.
Serve in generous mounds in the broth that surrounds the beef.

OR:
- Nigel Slater’s beef brisket recipes | Food | The Guardian

Nigel Slater’s Baked ricotta with thyme.

This is one of those recipes that works both hot and cold, though isn’t at its best served straight from the fridge.
Feel free to add a pinch of dried chilli flakes or a little dried mint.
I haven’t added salt to the mix but you may wish to, depending on the age of your parmesan.
The older, firmer cheeses may well be salty enough.




Serves 4
500g ricotta
2 eggs
1 tbsp thyme leaves
95g grated parmesan

Set the oven at 200C/gas mark 6.
Transfer the ricotta to a mixing bowl and lightly mash it with a wooden spoon.

Break the eggs into a bowl, beat well with a fork, then fold into the ricotta with finely ground black pepper.
Roughly chop the thyme leaves then mix with all but 2 tbsp of the parmesan.

Fold the thyme and parmesan into the ricotta then spoon into an oven dish.
Smooth the surface then scatter the reserved grated cheese over the top.

Place the dish in the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes until the ricotta has risen and the crust is golden brown.
Serve immediately with the tomatoes below.
- Nigel Slater’s ricotta recipes | Food | The Guardian

Nigel Slater’s Sticky, seeded fruit bread and malt loaf.

A cold winter’s afternoon, almost dusk, is the time I need a slice of malt loaf.
Cut thick and buttered, it is deliciously nostalgic.
It occurred to me that the basic loaf could be embellished with seeds and more dried fruits, to give a treacly, almost cake-like bread suitable for eating with cheese, in the way fruit cake can be eaten with cheddar.

Makes 1 loaf
150g malt extract
100g light muscovado sugar
2 tbsp black treacle

250g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
a pinch salt
50g rolled oats
100g stoned weight prunes

2 eggs
125ml black tea
100g sultanas or raisins
5 tbsp pumpkin seeds
4 tbsp linseeds 4 tbsp

To finish
malt extract a little more
pumpkin seeds 1 tbsp
linseeds 1 tbsp
full-flavoured blue cheese to serve

You will need a deep, rectangular cake tin measuring 20cm x 9cm lined with baking paper.

Preheat the oven to 160C/gas mark 3.
- Gently warm the malt extract, muscovado sugar and black treacle in a small saucepan, without stirring, until the sugar has dissolved.
- Combine the flour, baking powder, salt and oats in a large mixing bowl.
Cut the prunes into small pieces and stir them in.
- Make the tea.
- Break the eggs into a small bowl, beat lightly with a fork.

Pour the warm malt and sugar mixture into the flour together with the tea and the beaten eggs.
Then fold the sultanas, pumpkin seeds and linseeds into the batter.

Scoop the mixture, which will be soft and runny, like a gingerbread batter, into the lined cake tin.
Bake for 60-75 minutes until risen and lightly springy.
Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin.
While the cake cools, brush the surface with a little more malt extract and sprinkle with the extra pumpkin seeds and linseeds.
Leave to thoroughly cool before slicing and serving with blue cheese.

- Nigel Slater’s comforting cheese recipes | Food | The Guardian

- Nigel Slater’s malt loaf recipes | Food | The Guardian

Pig's cheeks.

- Nigel Slater's pig's cheeks recipe | Food | The Guardian
Braised* pig's cheeks.
The main ingredient is something that has recently started to appear on the shelves of our local Morrisons - £1.40x3 pieces (£5.40 1kg).
Remember to remove your pigs cheeks from the packaging, pat dry and bring to room temperature.

The accompanying potatoes produce a creamy, almost "wet" mash of a very soft and velvety texture.
Serves 4.
olive oil a little
pig's cheeks 8
carrots 3
onions 2
red onion 1
celery 2
garlic 4
flour 2 tbsp
thyme a generous bunch
orange peel a short piece
bay leaves 3
red wine 1 bottle, rich and bold (OR - 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar+2 cups hard apple cider+chicken stock; OR perhaps cider/calvados or stout)
sugar or fruit jelly 2 tbsp or so
1 tsp sweet smoked paprika (optional)

...in one word:
- equal amounts of onion, carrot and celery or my preferred choice of celeriac - the root of the celery plus a bay leaf, sprig of thyme and a few black peppercorns, another nice addition can be a head of garlic split in half.

- Warm a thin film of oil in a heavy roasting tin over a moderate heat, then season the cheeks with salt and pepper and brown them lightly in the oil.
Remove and set aside.

Cut the carrots into thick slices, peel and roughly chop the onions, cut the celery into short lengths and peel and slice the garlic.
Add the carrots, onions, celery, orange peel and garlic to the pan in which you browned the cheeks, letting them soften and colour very lightly.
...in one word:
- Using the same frying pan, add the **mirepoix of vegetable and colour.

- Set the oven at 140C/gas mark 3.

Return the cheeks to the pan, tucking them among the vegetables, scatter over the flour, season with salt and black pepper, cook for a minute or two then add the thyme, the bay leaves and the wine.
Bring to the boil, cover loosely with foil or baking parchment, then bake for 2.5 to 3 hours until tender.
Check occasionally to make sure the liquid isn't reducing too far.
After an hour or so, it might be prudent to taste and add up to two tbsp of sugar, or some apple or other fruit jelly/runny honey to the gravy.

Taste and correct the seasoning and serve with the potatoes.

Nigel Slater's classic pissaladière (pizza).

Nigel Slater's classic pissaladière recipe | Life and style | The Guardian ... is a dish which originated from Nice in Southern France.
The dough is usually a bread dough thicker than that of the classic pizza Margherita, and the traditional topping consists of usually caramelised (almost pureed) onions, black olives, and anchovies (whole, and sometimes also with pissalat, a type of anchovy paste).

Marmalade panettone pudding.

Recipe by Nigel Slater published in the Guardian.
Panettone makes a fine bread and butter pudding.
Adding dollops of home made marmalade to this comforting pudding has made it even more interesting and satisfying to eat.
You could use half cream and half milk here, but the panettone adds a richness that I would argue makes such an addition unnecessary.
And a drizzle of cold double cream as you eat is excellent.
Serves 6.

Ingredients
325g panettone
5 heaped tbsp marmalade
4 large eggs
500ml creamy milk

Method
Set the oven at 180C/gas mark 5.
You will also need a deep ovenproof dish measuring roughly 30x26cm, very lightly buttered.
Slice the panettone thinly, it really doesn’t matter if it crumbles.
If it is a good panettone then I think it should anyway.
Melt the marmalade in a small saucepan.
Put half of the panettone slices in a dish.
Spoon over half of the marmalade.
Break the eggs into a bowl and beat them lightly, then beat in the milk.
Pour half of the egg custard mixture over the panettone.
Add the remaining slices, the rest of the marmalade and then the custard.
Bake in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes until it is puffed and golden.
Shake it gently.
It should wobble, but show no sign of uncooked custard.
Serve warm, and if you wish, with a drizzle of cream.

Seville Orange Marmalade By Nigel Slater,

From the 4th Kitchen Diaries.

So, according to the recipe you need:
Seville Oranges 1.3kg (about 15),
Lemons 2
Golden granulated sugar 2.6kg. (Golden Granulated has a glistening golden colour with a subtle caramel taste. Golden Caster Sugar substitute - Demerara.)

- Remove the peel and pith from the oranges and lemons.
Take a very sharp knife and score four lines down each fruit from top to bottom, as if you were cutting it into quarters.
Let the knife cut through the peel without going into the fruit.
The peel is then easy to remove by hand.
- Cut the peel into fine shreds (or to a size you want them if you like a chunkier texture) and put them into a large bowl.
- Squeeze all the juice from the oranges and lemons into the bowl, but catching the pips and keeping them to one side.
With hand juicer balanced over a sieve, over the bowl, made this fairly fiddly task go by with minimum fuss.
Chop the pulp up and put that in with the juice.
- Add the 2.5 litres of cold water, pouring it into the bowl with the shredded peel.
Tie the reserved orange and lemon pips in a muslin bag and push into the peel and juice.
So, in one large bowl You have:
peel
juice
pulp
pips
2.5 water
Set aside in a cold place and leave overnight.

- The next day, tip the mixture into a large stainless steel or enamelled pan, or a preserving pan and push the muslin bag down under the juice.
Bring to the boil then lower the heat so that the liquid continues to simmer merrily.
It is ready when the peel is totally soft and translucent.
This can take anything from 40 minutes to a good hour-and-a-half, depending purely on how thick you have cut your peel. (I left mine a good hour and a half to be sure, and the peel was then soft and the pith translucent).
- Once the fruit is ready, lift out the muslin bag and leave it in a bowl until it is cool enough to handle.
Start adding the sugar to the peel and juice then turn up the heat, bringing the marmalade to a rolling boil.
- Squeeze every last bit of juice from the reserved muslin bag into the pan.
Skim off any froth that rises to the surface. (If you don’t your preserve will be cloudy.)
Leave at a fast boil for 15 minutes.
Remove a tablespoon of the preserve, put it on a plate, and pop it into the fridge for a few minutes.
If a thick skin forms on the surface of the refrigerated marmalade, then it is ready and you can switch the pan off.
If the tester is still liquid, then let the marmalade boil for longer.
Test every 10 to 15 minutes.
Some mixtures can take up to 50 minutes to reach setting consistency.
- Mine did work after 15 minutes.
After turning the heat off I got my assortment of jars soaking in water with sterilising tablets.
I then ladled the hot, burnt orange juice into the sterilised pots and sealed immediately.

6 jars (370g each) from 1kg Seville Oranges.

Nigel Slater's lentil soup with ricotta.

Nigel Slater's lentil soup with ricotta | Life and style | The Guardian:

Verdict on the new lentil soup recipe I tried:
- not appetizing in appearance but gustable soup.
The recipe

Cassoulet.

Cassoulet: a rich stew originating in southwest France containing beans and various meats (such as sausages, pork and preserved duck or goose).
Cassoulet Recipe - LifeStyle FOOD: Recipe by Rick Stein.
ingredients
500g home-salted belly pork
65g duck or goose fat
1 head garlic, broken into cloves, peeled and sliced
1 large onion, chopped
1kg dried haricots, blancs beans, soaked overnight
large bouquet garni made from leek, celery, thyme sprigs, bay leaves and arsley stalks
6 good quality Toulouse sausages
4 legs duck confit, cut into two at the joint

1. Cut the piece of belly pork lengthways into three thick slices, then cut each piece across into two.
2.Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
3.Heat 50g of the duck fat in a six-litre flameproof casserole dish.
4.Add the garlic and onion and fry gently until soft but not browned.
5.Add the beans and the pieces of salted belly pork, cover with 1¾ litres/3 pints water and push in the bouquet garni.
6.Bring to the boil, skimming off any scum as it rises to the surface, then cover, transfer to the oven and bake for one hour or until the beans are just tender (this will depend on the age of your beans).
7.Heat the remaining duck fat in a frying pan and brown the sausages all over.
8.Lift them onto a board and slice each one sharply on the diagonal into three pieces.
9.Remove the cassoulet from the oven and increase the oven temperature to 220C/425F/Gas 7.
10.Add the sausages and the pieces of duck confit to the casserole and push them down well into the beans.
11.Return the casserole to the oven and bake uncovered for a further 45 minutes or until the liquid has reduced and the cassoulet is covered in a dark golden crust.
12.Serve straight from the pot at the table.

Smoked salt, toasted onion and juniper butter by Nigel Slater.

I have not tasted yet!
Uses for this smoky, aromatic butter go well beyond spreading on a loaf.
Melt slices over potatoes served hot from the steamer; use it to sauté salmon steaks or haddock; toss wedges of lightly cooked cabbage in it.
The recipe makes 250g and it freezes well.

onion 1, small
unsalted butter 250g
juniper berries 8
dill 10g
smoked salt

Peel the onion and cut into quarters from root to tip, then slice each piece thinly.
Melt 30g of the butter in a shallow pan, stir in the sliced onion then let it cook over a moderate heat for 15-20 minutes.
Remove from the pan and leave to cool.

Place the rest of the butter in a mixing bowl and beat to a soft, lightly whipped consistency with a wooden spoon.
Bash the juniper berries with a heavy weight, such as a pestle, so they release their fragrance then add them to the butter.
Remove the dill fronds from their stems, then chop them finely and add to the butter.

Add the salt to the butter, then the cooled, toasted onions and combine gently, taking care not to overmix.
Serve the butter with the bread.

The butter will keep for several days in the fridge.
You can freeze it, too.
Roll the butter into a fat cylinder shape, then place on a piece of clingfilm, wrap and seal.
Freeze until needed.
Alternatively, and to make defrosting easier, refrigerate the butter until cold enough to slice, then wrap and freeze in individual slices.

Linseed and treacle bread by Nigel Slater.

Tested and Proven - delicious!
I heartily recommend putting a baking stone in the oven to heat up first.
Makes a medium-sized loaf.

rye flour 200g
strong white bread flour 200g
barley flakes 50g
sea salt 1 tsp
black treacle 2 tbsp, lightly heaped
warm water 350ml
fast-acting yeast 1 x 7g sachet
rolled oats/oatmeal 40g
pumpkin seeds 35g
sunflower seeds 25g
golden linseeds 30g
golden sultanas 75g

Warm a deep, wide mixing bowl - the warmth will help your dough rise more quickly.
Combine the flours and barley flakes then lightly crush the sea salt flakes in the palm of your hand and stir them in.

Put the black treacle into a jug then stir in the warm water, dissolving the treacle as you stir.
Tip in the yeast, let it dissolve then pour into the flour and barley.
Using a wooden spoon rather than your hands – the dough is sticky – stir in the rolled oats, pumpkin, sunflower, golden linseeds and sultanas.
Mix for a full minute, so the flour, liquid, seeds and fruits are thoroughly combined.
The texture of the dough should be very moist, poised between that of a bread dough and a cake mixture.

Dust the surface lightly with flour, cover with a tea towel and leave in a warm place for an hour or so.
Any warm, draught-free spot will work.
Check the bowl occasionally to make sure it is warm, but not too hot.

Get the oven hot – it will need to be at 220C/gas mark 8.
If you have one, place a bread or pizza stone, generously floured, in the oven to get hot.
Failing that, a baking sheet will do.
When the oven is up to temperature and the dough has risen to almost twice its original volume, transfer it to the hot baking stone or sheet, reshaping it into a round loaf as you go.
Bake for 35 minutes, until the crust is lightly crisp and the base sounds hollow when tapped.

Transfer the warm loaf to a cooling rack and allow to rest for a good 30 minutes before slicing.
The loaf will keep, wrapped in clingfilm and foil, for 4 or 5 days.



Note:
Barley Flakes:
If barley flakes remind you of oatmeal (rolled oats), it’s because they’re created the same way, by steaming kernels, rolling them, and drying them.
As with barley grits, flakes can be made from whole grain barley or from pearl barley, with only the former considered to be whole grains.
Barley flakes cook faster, because they’ve been lightly steamed and because of their greater surface area.
Substitute flaked barley: the oats will work just fine!

Rolled oats:
- Quaker is one of the best known and most widely distributed brands.
Quite often oatmeal is sold 3 forms and you should use the type labelled as "quick cooking oats" as this is the type that is the same as UK rolled oats.
Avoid "instant oatmeal" as this is made from oats that are too finely ground.
The other form of oatmeal is labelled as "old fashioned oats" or sometimes as "jumbo oats".
These oats are slightly less processed than rolled oats and could be used in the recipes but tend to be more fibrous and chewy.

Nigel Slater in his garden.

Turning the tables: Nigel Slater in his garden | Life and style | The Guardian:

'via Blog this'