Growing and making jam with blueberries | Life and style | The Guardian
The only way I'll ever have enough blueberries for preserving is to grow my own.
We don't seem to get them in any quantity in the UK and those cartons in the supermarket are far too small and too expensive to use as a serious jam ingredient.
Sometimes I've been lucky enough to come across berries with a yellow sticker at a bargain price that are close to their 'sell by' date but still fresh enough to make use of. I buy them up and fill the freezer.
When preserved in combination with another fruit, a little goes a long way, so is a good compromise, but I'd love to have a plentiful supply to feature blueberries as the main player.
For that reason it's time to plant some blueberry bushes on the allotment.
Planting for preserving has specific considerations.
You are aiming to create a glut rather than avoid one and instead of varieties with staggered ripening times, you want enough to harvest all in one go.
Most blueberries you buy are also fairly sweet and nondescript and for jam making a tarter fruit works better for a distinctive flavour once cooked.
As blueberries benefit from company, it is advised to grow at least two varieties side by side for higher yields.
I've chosen Darrow and Jersey, both attributed with a sharper flavour ideal for cooking and I already have Bluecrop growing neglectfully in a pot, that deserves to be liberated.
As they need acid soil to prosper and my soil isn't quite acid enough, I've dug out each planting hole and filled with a mixture of ericaceous compost mixed with about a quarter bark chippings.
I'll be mulching them too with coffee grounds and composted pine needles and watering them only with collected rain water if need be, to keep them happy.
In the meantime, here is one of my favourite recipes using some shop bought berries alongside seasonal rhubarb.
Makes 1.25kg
600g rhubarb
300g blueberries
2 limes, the zest and juice
700g sugar
Wash rhubarb, top and tail then chop into evenly sized pieces (I usually run a knife down the middle of the stalks then chop into roughly 1cm sized pieces).
Place in a glass bowl and pour the sugar over the top.
Cover with a plate or cling film and leave overnight, by which time the sugar will have soaked up the juice from the rhubarb.
Place the grated lime zest and blueberries in a pan, adding 3 tblsp of lime juice.
Heat gently and simmer for 15 minutes with the lid on, until the berries are cooked and surrounded by juice.
Pour the rhubarb and sugar into a jam pan and stir over a low heat until the sugar is completely dissolved.
Add the blueberries and lime, turn up the heat and cook at a rolling boil until setting point is reached (a small dollop of the syrup on a cold plate will readily form a skin when left to cool slightly).
It took me 10 minutes to achieve this and I advise that you keep an eye on it and give the occasional stir whilst it cooks as the mixture is apt to burn if you're not careful.
Skim if necessary.
Pour into hot sterilised jars, put a circle of waxed paper on the surface of each one and seal.
This jam has a nice soft set that suits me fine.
If you prefer your jam to 'cut' rather than dollop substitute all or half of the sugar with preserving sugar that includes added pectin.
Sunday 17 July 2016
Wednesday 6 July 2016
Kimchi. By Amy Chaplin.
Kimchi - Amy Chaplin
I was introduced to the excitement and delight of fermenting foods by Sandor Katz (mentioned here). After a five day workshop with him all I wanted to do was retreat to a country kitchen and experiment. He showed us how to make ferments from all over the world: miso, cheese, mead, dosa, injera and even fruit kimchi. All these recipes and his broad knowledge and unique experience are beautifully put together in his book Wild Fermentation. I highly recommend it. Kimchi was the first thing I made after that inspiring workshop and we put it on the menu at Angelica Kitchen immediately.
Kimchi is a spicy Korean condiment made from cabbage that is fermented with chili, garlic, ginger, scallions and some times fish. The recipe below is a basic fermentation method and can be adapted to any flavor/vegetable combination you want . Make it with just cabbage and it’s sauerkraut, then try adding other flavors to that like caraway seeds, curry spices, mustard seeds…the sky is the limit. Making kimchi, sauerkraut or pickles is a great way to preserve the last of the local cabbage and all those colorful chilis.
Traditional cultures from all over the world consumed a variety of fermented foods in their daily diet from kimchi and soybean ferments like: miso, tempeh and tamari in Asia; sourdough breads and sauerkraut in Russia; and fermented dairy products like kefir, yogurt and cultured butters in all parts of Europe. These days we eat far less, if any ferments, and further, many of the things we consume, like antibiotics, chlorinated drinking water, alcohol and even antiseptic mouth washes decimate the “good” intestinal bacteria, disrupting the delicate balance.
Lactobacillus acidophilus found in fermented foods is not only beneficial in restoring healthy intestinal flora, a key factor to assimilating nutrients in the digestion process, but also helps the body produce natural antibiotics (supporting your immune system) and anti-carcinogenic compounds (helping to fight cancer).
Adding just a 1/4 cup of sauerkraut, kimchi or other naturally fermented pickle to your daily diet will boost and maintain helpful intestinal bacteria. Make sure that the sauerkraut and pickles you buy are naturally fermented and unpasteurized to ensure that you are getting your daily dose of active live enzymes.
kimchi ingredients, left out the cilantro
“The science and art of fermentation is, in fact, the basis of human culture: without culturing, there is no culture…. Culture begins at the farm, not at the opera house, and binds a people to a land and its artisans.” Sally Fallon
ready to ferment
packing the kimchi
day 1
day 7
P.S. Check out rodale.com for more health tips from me.
Kimchi
1 Napa cabbage (1 3/4 pound), you can also use green cabbage
2 carrots, thinly sliced
6 radishes, thinly sliced
6 to 8 scallions or a medium onion, thinly sliced
1 1/2 inch piece ginger
4 large cloves garlic
4 red jalapeño or other kind of chili, more if you like it hot
2 1/2 tsp sea salt
Slice cabbage and place in a large bowl. Add carrots, radishes and onion.
Peel ginger and place in a food processor with garlic and chili. Process until finely minced and add to the bowl with cabbage. Sprinkle with sea salt and using your hands mix everything, kind of massaging everything together, until the cabbage wilts and gets juicy. It should taste a little saltier than you would prefer, this changes as it ferments.
Pack into a crock or vase with straight sides, packing it down with your fist as you go, the liquid should come to the top.
Use a small plate, that fits inside the crock to keep the kimchi down and top with a jar filled with water. The idea is to keep the liquid covering the top of the kimchi, it acts as a seal. Cover everything with a cloth to keep any bugs out. Place in a well ventilated (it will smell), cool area and let it ferment for 5 to 7 days. The length of time will depend on the temperature of your kitchen. Taste after 5 days and if you feel that the flavor is well developed and to your liking then it’s ready.
Remove weight and scoop off any mould or discoloration that is floating on the liquid or the top of the cabbage. Drain liquid off and drink it if you like, or use in salad dressings, chilled soups or add some to your next batch.
Pack kimchi into jars and store in the refrigerator. It lasts for months, the cold temperature will slow the fermentation but not stop it completely, so it may get stronger. Enjoy!
Makes about 4 cups.
I was introduced to the excitement and delight of fermenting foods by Sandor Katz (mentioned here). After a five day workshop with him all I wanted to do was retreat to a country kitchen and experiment. He showed us how to make ferments from all over the world: miso, cheese, mead, dosa, injera and even fruit kimchi. All these recipes and his broad knowledge and unique experience are beautifully put together in his book Wild Fermentation. I highly recommend it. Kimchi was the first thing I made after that inspiring workshop and we put it on the menu at Angelica Kitchen immediately.
Kimchi is a spicy Korean condiment made from cabbage that is fermented with chili, garlic, ginger, scallions and some times fish. The recipe below is a basic fermentation method and can be adapted to any flavor/vegetable combination you want . Make it with just cabbage and it’s sauerkraut, then try adding other flavors to that like caraway seeds, curry spices, mustard seeds…the sky is the limit. Making kimchi, sauerkraut or pickles is a great way to preserve the last of the local cabbage and all those colorful chilis.
Traditional cultures from all over the world consumed a variety of fermented foods in their daily diet from kimchi and soybean ferments like: miso, tempeh and tamari in Asia; sourdough breads and sauerkraut in Russia; and fermented dairy products like kefir, yogurt and cultured butters in all parts of Europe. These days we eat far less, if any ferments, and further, many of the things we consume, like antibiotics, chlorinated drinking water, alcohol and even antiseptic mouth washes decimate the “good” intestinal bacteria, disrupting the delicate balance.
Lactobacillus acidophilus found in fermented foods is not only beneficial in restoring healthy intestinal flora, a key factor to assimilating nutrients in the digestion process, but also helps the body produce natural antibiotics (supporting your immune system) and anti-carcinogenic compounds (helping to fight cancer).
Adding just a 1/4 cup of sauerkraut, kimchi or other naturally fermented pickle to your daily diet will boost and maintain helpful intestinal bacteria. Make sure that the sauerkraut and pickles you buy are naturally fermented and unpasteurized to ensure that you are getting your daily dose of active live enzymes.
kimchi ingredients, left out the cilantro
“The science and art of fermentation is, in fact, the basis of human culture: without culturing, there is no culture…. Culture begins at the farm, not at the opera house, and binds a people to a land and its artisans.” Sally Fallon
ready to ferment
packing the kimchi
day 1
day 7
P.S. Check out rodale.com for more health tips from me.
Kimchi
1 Napa cabbage (1 3/4 pound), you can also use green cabbage
2 carrots, thinly sliced
6 radishes, thinly sliced
6 to 8 scallions or a medium onion, thinly sliced
1 1/2 inch piece ginger
4 large cloves garlic
4 red jalapeño or other kind of chili, more if you like it hot
2 1/2 tsp sea salt
Slice cabbage and place in a large bowl. Add carrots, radishes and onion.
Peel ginger and place in a food processor with garlic and chili. Process until finely minced and add to the bowl with cabbage. Sprinkle with sea salt and using your hands mix everything, kind of massaging everything together, until the cabbage wilts and gets juicy. It should taste a little saltier than you would prefer, this changes as it ferments.
Pack into a crock or vase with straight sides, packing it down with your fist as you go, the liquid should come to the top.
Use a small plate, that fits inside the crock to keep the kimchi down and top with a jar filled with water. The idea is to keep the liquid covering the top of the kimchi, it acts as a seal. Cover everything with a cloth to keep any bugs out. Place in a well ventilated (it will smell), cool area and let it ferment for 5 to 7 days. The length of time will depend on the temperature of your kitchen. Taste after 5 days and if you feel that the flavor is well developed and to your liking then it’s ready.
Remove weight and scoop off any mould or discoloration that is floating on the liquid or the top of the cabbage. Drain liquid off and drink it if you like, or use in salad dressings, chilled soups or add some to your next batch.
Pack kimchi into jars and store in the refrigerator. It lasts for months, the cold temperature will slow the fermentation but not stop it completely, so it may get stronger. Enjoy!
Makes about 4 cups.
Kimchi Radish Pickle.
Kimchi Radish Pickle Recipe - NYT Cooking
INGREDIENTS
1 ¾ pounds radishes (a mix of different types, if possible)
1 ½ tablespoons coarse kosher salt
2 tablespoons Korean chile flakes (not powder)
1 inch-long piece of fresh ginger root, peeled and grated
1 large garlic clove, minced or grated
3 anchovy fillets (optional)
½ teaspoon sugar
PREPARATION
Scrub radishes well with a vegetable brush under cool running water. If using thick-skinned radishes such as watermelon, peel away any hairy or brown spots (you can either leave the rest of the skin on or peel radishes completely). If using small table radishes (usually red, purple, pink or white), trim away roots and most of the green stems, leaving 1/8 inch on top. Halve or quarter smaller radishes; cut larger radishes into bite-size wedges.
Place radishes in a bowl and toss with salt. Let rest for 20 minutes. Drain radishes in a colander set over a bowl, reserving brined juices. Rinse radishes quickly, then shake them to remove excess water.
Prepare the chile paste: In a large bowl, stir together 1/4 cup water with chile flakes, ginger, garlic, anchovies (if using) and sugar. Add drained radishes and mix well to coat with paste. Pack into a 1-quart jar (or 2 smaller jars), then pour the reserved brine into the bowl with the chile paste residue, swish it around to capture leftover seasonings, and pour brine into jar (the liquid will not cover the radishes). Cover and let stand at room temperature overnight. Refrigerate and eat within 1 week.
INGREDIENTS
1 ¾ pounds radishes (a mix of different types, if possible)
1 ½ tablespoons coarse kosher salt
2 tablespoons Korean chile flakes (not powder)
1 inch-long piece of fresh ginger root, peeled and grated
1 large garlic clove, minced or grated
3 anchovy fillets (optional)
½ teaspoon sugar
PREPARATION
Scrub radishes well with a vegetable brush under cool running water. If using thick-skinned radishes such as watermelon, peel away any hairy or brown spots (you can either leave the rest of the skin on or peel radishes completely). If using small table radishes (usually red, purple, pink or white), trim away roots and most of the green stems, leaving 1/8 inch on top. Halve or quarter smaller radishes; cut larger radishes into bite-size wedges.
Place radishes in a bowl and toss with salt. Let rest for 20 minutes. Drain radishes in a colander set over a bowl, reserving brined juices. Rinse radishes quickly, then shake them to remove excess water.
Prepare the chile paste: In a large bowl, stir together 1/4 cup water with chile flakes, ginger, garlic, anchovies (if using) and sugar. Add drained radishes and mix well to coat with paste. Pack into a 1-quart jar (or 2 smaller jars), then pour the reserved brine into the bowl with the chile paste residue, swish it around to capture leftover seasonings, and pour brine into jar (the liquid will not cover the radishes). Cover and let stand at room temperature overnight. Refrigerate and eat within 1 week.
How to Make Any Kind of Kimchi Without a Recipe
How to Make Any Kind of Kimchi Without a Recipe
Kimchi is the solution to an overload of just about any vegetable.
Prepare to get your hands dirty and dedicate some serious fridge space to the cause.
Here's how to do it:
1. Gather equipment and ingredients.
Many Korean families have a mini fridge just for their kimchi—I’ll call that optional. You will need a very large bowl (plastic, glass, doesn’t matter) or plastic tub. That’ll be the place where you salt and prep your vegetables—oh, you’ll need a considerable amount of coarse salt, too. Think about how you’ll store your kimchi: Plastic containers will retain the orangey-red color and garlicky smell of the kimchi. Mason jars can work, or you can find a gallon-sized glass jar online, if not at a local kitchenwares shop, to store your whole batch.
Then, think about what you’re going to turn into kimchi. Those items that make you say, “What am I going to do with all of this!?” They’re usually great candidates. After napa cabbage, radishes take the number two spot on the kimchi totem pole. (Think daikon, not spicy French radishes.) You can julienne a large radish with a mandoline or cut it into cubes. Other great options are cucumbers (slice large ones in rounds and small ones in quarters lengthwise), zucchini, squash, tough leafy greens, or scallions. Those would be the traditional choices, but there’s nothing stopping you from testing out other farmers market finds.
As you’re shopping, eyeball about a gallon’s worth of veg—that’s a good amount to start with for your kimchi adventure. You can also mix and match what you decide to kimchi: Watercress, daikon, and scallions all in one jar? I’m not stopping you.
Things that won’t work would include anything with too distinct a flavor (beets, most fruits—kimchi’s powerful flavor doesn’t play well with others), or anything too dense to tenderize during marinating (carrots are tricky, for example, unless they’re julienned).
2. Prepare the vegetables and get layering.
Now, clean up your vegetables. Depending on what you’re fermenting, preparation can differ. The goal here is to get everything thoroughly covered when marinating, but to keep some texture intact. If using cabbage, trim tops of leaves, cut in half, and remove the core, separating out each leaf. Green onions and leafy greens are usually left whole. If using daikon radish, peel and cut into cubes. If using cucumbers or zucchini, large ones can be cut into rounds and small ones into quarters lengthwise.
Next, pack in a single layer of your prepared kimchi base (cabbage, radish, or whatever you’ve chosen) into your large container/tub. Sprinkle with coarse salt and repeat until you’ve layered in and salted all of your vegetables. Be careful not to go salt crazy; you’re just using enough to remove some moisture and clean the vegetable, not enough to create a super-seasoned kimchi. Let the salted vegetables sit for 3 to 4 hours at room temperature. You can cover with plastic wrap or clean kitchen towels if you’re concerned about cleanliness, but it’s not necessary.
3. Make the “sauce.”
Meanwhile, you can get to work on the seasoning. Combine roughly chopped onion, chopped apple or pear, and two small palmfuls of your briny addition (Saeujeot, miso) to a food processor. Toss in a knob of chopped ginger, about the size of your pinky finger. Finally, go garlic crazy. About 10 peeled cloves should be added to the mixture. Purée. You can add a little bit of water if the mixture is too pasty. You should end up with something that’s about the consistency of applesauce.
Stir in a bunch of scallions that have been roughly chopped, and a julienned carrot to give some texture to the purée. (If you’re making scallion kimchi, you can skip the scallions here.) Finally, toss in two big handfuls of gochugaru, the Korean red pepper flakes. Let the kimchi sauce sit and marinate for at least 30 minutes, or up to 4 hours—the longer the better—at room temperature. Again, cover if you wish.
4. Test the salted vegetables.
You’ll know your veggies are ready for saucing by their taste and texture. After a few hours of sitting in the salt, cut off a small piece, rinse off the excess salt, and taste. The salting will have given it a slightly sour flavor and tenderized it to the point where the snap is gone but there’s still a bit of bite. Think of a favorite kimchi you’ve had and match that texture. The kimchi won’t change much texturally as it ferments.
5. Combine the vegetables and the seasoning.
Time for the fun part! Rinse your vegetables to remove excess salt and pat dry. You might want pull on some rubber gloves now to avoid having bright red, garlic-scented hands for the next few days. Gather your large bowl/container from before and the jars you’ll be using to store your kimchi. Now, pretend you’re making a lasagna: Pack in a single layer of vegetable and then cover generously with the sauce, like topping lasagna noodles with tomato sauce. Spread around and use your hands to gently massage sauce into crevices if need be. Repeat until you’ve used up all of your marinade. Pack your jar(s) with your sauced kimchi if you haven’t been already. Cover the jar’s opening with a layer of plastic wrap (it helps to contain the odor) and place the lid tightly on top.
6. Let it sit.
Leave your kimchi outside of the refrigerator overnight to kickstart fermentation. Taste it in the morning to make sure the funkiness has set in and then transfer to your refrigerator. Pro tip: After a few days, flip the jar upside-down and to distribute the goodness; just make sure the lid is secured tightly to prevent kimchi juice from spilling all over the fridge; flip back to right-side up a day or two later.
Kimchi can be eaten right away, though each day that passes will deepen its flavors, and will keep for a few months. Some people believe kimchi never goes bad, but if you taste it and there’s an unpleasant “fizz,” you might want to skip. Kimchi’s shelf life decreases if you’ve included fresh seafood, like oysters, in your mix. But not eating the kimchi fast enough probably won’t be a problem.
Kimchi is the solution to an overload of just about any vegetable.
Prepare to get your hands dirty and dedicate some serious fridge space to the cause.
Here's how to do it:
1. Gather equipment and ingredients.
Many Korean families have a mini fridge just for their kimchi—I’ll call that optional. You will need a very large bowl (plastic, glass, doesn’t matter) or plastic tub. That’ll be the place where you salt and prep your vegetables—oh, you’ll need a considerable amount of coarse salt, too. Think about how you’ll store your kimchi: Plastic containers will retain the orangey-red color and garlicky smell of the kimchi. Mason jars can work, or you can find a gallon-sized glass jar online, if not at a local kitchenwares shop, to store your whole batch.
Then, think about what you’re going to turn into kimchi. Those items that make you say, “What am I going to do with all of this!?” They’re usually great candidates. After napa cabbage, radishes take the number two spot on the kimchi totem pole. (Think daikon, not spicy French radishes.) You can julienne a large radish with a mandoline or cut it into cubes. Other great options are cucumbers (slice large ones in rounds and small ones in quarters lengthwise), zucchini, squash, tough leafy greens, or scallions. Those would be the traditional choices, but there’s nothing stopping you from testing out other farmers market finds.
As you’re shopping, eyeball about a gallon’s worth of veg—that’s a good amount to start with for your kimchi adventure. You can also mix and match what you decide to kimchi: Watercress, daikon, and scallions all in one jar? I’m not stopping you.
Things that won’t work would include anything with too distinct a flavor (beets, most fruits—kimchi’s powerful flavor doesn’t play well with others), or anything too dense to tenderize during marinating (carrots are tricky, for example, unless they’re julienned).
2. Prepare the vegetables and get layering.
Now, clean up your vegetables. Depending on what you’re fermenting, preparation can differ. The goal here is to get everything thoroughly covered when marinating, but to keep some texture intact. If using cabbage, trim tops of leaves, cut in half, and remove the core, separating out each leaf. Green onions and leafy greens are usually left whole. If using daikon radish, peel and cut into cubes. If using cucumbers or zucchini, large ones can be cut into rounds and small ones into quarters lengthwise.
Next, pack in a single layer of your prepared kimchi base (cabbage, radish, or whatever you’ve chosen) into your large container/tub. Sprinkle with coarse salt and repeat until you’ve layered in and salted all of your vegetables. Be careful not to go salt crazy; you’re just using enough to remove some moisture and clean the vegetable, not enough to create a super-seasoned kimchi. Let the salted vegetables sit for 3 to 4 hours at room temperature. You can cover with plastic wrap or clean kitchen towels if you’re concerned about cleanliness, but it’s not necessary.
3. Make the “sauce.”
Meanwhile, you can get to work on the seasoning. Combine roughly chopped onion, chopped apple or pear, and two small palmfuls of your briny addition (Saeujeot, miso) to a food processor. Toss in a knob of chopped ginger, about the size of your pinky finger. Finally, go garlic crazy. About 10 peeled cloves should be added to the mixture. Purée. You can add a little bit of water if the mixture is too pasty. You should end up with something that’s about the consistency of applesauce.
Stir in a bunch of scallions that have been roughly chopped, and a julienned carrot to give some texture to the purée. (If you’re making scallion kimchi, you can skip the scallions here.) Finally, toss in two big handfuls of gochugaru, the Korean red pepper flakes. Let the kimchi sauce sit and marinate for at least 30 minutes, or up to 4 hours—the longer the better—at room temperature. Again, cover if you wish.
4. Test the salted vegetables.
You’ll know your veggies are ready for saucing by their taste and texture. After a few hours of sitting in the salt, cut off a small piece, rinse off the excess salt, and taste. The salting will have given it a slightly sour flavor and tenderized it to the point where the snap is gone but there’s still a bit of bite. Think of a favorite kimchi you’ve had and match that texture. The kimchi won’t change much texturally as it ferments.
5. Combine the vegetables and the seasoning.
Time for the fun part! Rinse your vegetables to remove excess salt and pat dry. You might want pull on some rubber gloves now to avoid having bright red, garlic-scented hands for the next few days. Gather your large bowl/container from before and the jars you’ll be using to store your kimchi. Now, pretend you’re making a lasagna: Pack in a single layer of vegetable and then cover generously with the sauce, like topping lasagna noodles with tomato sauce. Spread around and use your hands to gently massage sauce into crevices if need be. Repeat until you’ve used up all of your marinade. Pack your jar(s) with your sauced kimchi if you haven’t been already. Cover the jar’s opening with a layer of plastic wrap (it helps to contain the odor) and place the lid tightly on top.
6. Let it sit.
Leave your kimchi outside of the refrigerator overnight to kickstart fermentation. Taste it in the morning to make sure the funkiness has set in and then transfer to your refrigerator. Pro tip: After a few days, flip the jar upside-down and to distribute the goodness; just make sure the lid is secured tightly to prevent kimchi juice from spilling all over the fridge; flip back to right-side up a day or two later.
Kimchi can be eaten right away, though each day that passes will deepen its flavors, and will keep for a few months. Some people believe kimchi never goes bad, but if you taste it and there’s an unpleasant “fizz,” you might want to skip. Kimchi’s shelf life decreases if you’ve included fresh seafood, like oysters, in your mix. But not eating the kimchi fast enough probably won’t be a problem.
Monday 9 May 2016
Tuesday 3 May 2016
Chahohbili – Georgian Chicken Stew.
Chahohbili – Georgian Chicken Stew Recipe on Food52
Author Notes: Chahohbili is a traditional Georgian poultry dish. Originally, Chahohbili was cooked from wild game birds, but nowdays chicken is the main source for t (…more) —Kukla
Serves 6
• 3 lb chicken thighs and drumsticks, bone in with skin trimmed but not entirely removed
• 2 large onions, sliced
• 3-4 large ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 small hot pepper, seeded and finely chopped
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
• 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
• 2 dried bay leaves
• About 6-7 strands of saffron
• 1 tablespoon of each: chopped cilantro, parsley, basil
• Salt, freshly ground black pepper to taste
Put all spices into a spice grinder and pulse until they turn into a powder.
Wash and dry the chicken.
Preheat the heavy skillet.
Add the chicken pieces and fry on medium-high flame for 2-3 minutes on each side until golden brown.
Season with salt and black pepper,
Transfer the chicken to a large casserole.
Reserve 2 tablespoons of chicken roasting fat.
Preheat a clean skillet with 2 tablespoons of chicken roasting fat.
Add the sliced onions and sauté’ until just softened.
Transfer the onion to a casserole; add chopped tomatoes and hot pepper.
Season with salt and sugar to taste and 1 tablespoon of spice powder.
Cover, bring to boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 30-35 minutes.
Remove the casserole from heat stir in minced garlic and chopped herbs.
Let stand for 5 minutes, serve and enjoy.
Author Notes: Chahohbili is a traditional Georgian poultry dish. Originally, Chahohbili was cooked from wild game birds, but nowdays chicken is the main source for t (…more) —Kukla
Serves 6
• 3 lb chicken thighs and drumsticks, bone in with skin trimmed but not entirely removed
• 2 large onions, sliced
• 3-4 large ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 small hot pepper, seeded and finely chopped
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
• 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
• 2 dried bay leaves
• About 6-7 strands of saffron
• 1 tablespoon of each: chopped cilantro, parsley, basil
• Salt, freshly ground black pepper to taste
Put all spices into a spice grinder and pulse until they turn into a powder.
Wash and dry the chicken.
Preheat the heavy skillet.
Add the chicken pieces and fry on medium-high flame for 2-3 minutes on each side until golden brown.
Season with salt and black pepper,
Transfer the chicken to a large casserole.
Reserve 2 tablespoons of chicken roasting fat.
Preheat a clean skillet with 2 tablespoons of chicken roasting fat.
Add the sliced onions and sauté’ until just softened.
Transfer the onion to a casserole; add chopped tomatoes and hot pepper.
Season with salt and sugar to taste and 1 tablespoon of spice powder.
Cover, bring to boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 30-35 minutes.
Remove the casserole from heat stir in minced garlic and chopped herbs.
Let stand for 5 minutes, serve and enjoy.
Thursday 16 August 2012
Tuesday 14 August 2012
Monday 6 August 2012
Tarte Aux Pommes.
Tarte Aux Pommes - French Apple Tart with Pastry Cream Recipe:
- Pâté Sucrée Recipe - French Sweet Pastry Crust Recipe;
- Creme Patissiere (Pastry Cream) Recipe.
Friday 3 August 2012
Food photography: the tricks of the trade.
- Food photography: the tricks of the trade | Life and style | The Guardian: "Food photography: the tricks of the trade"
- Food Photography School – 130+ Video Lessons All About Food Photography:
'via Blog this'
- Food Photography School – 130+ Video Lessons All About Food Photography:
'via Blog this'
Wednesday 11 July 2012
How to cook the perfect chicken kiev.
My first experience! (tastes great, I hope to improve my skills...in days to come.)
Enjoy this buttery chicken kiev dish from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall -here!
SO:
Serves 4
Ingredients:
100ml milk
2 tbsp plain flour
salt and freshly ground pepper
1 egg, beaten
150g dried white breadcrumbs
4 skinless chicken breasts, with fillets
sunflower or groundnut oil for deep-frying
For the garlic butter
100g unsalted butter, softened
4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1 heaped tbsp finely chopped parsley
1 tsp lemon juice
salt and freshly ground pepper
How to make chicken kievs recipe:
1. Begin by making the garlic butter. Mix all the ingredients together really well, then form into a neat pat and chill or freeze until hard.
2. When you're ready to assemble the kievs, put the milk in a shallow dish, season the flour and put on a plate, put the beaten egg in another dish, and finally put the breadcrumbs on a plate.
3. With a very sharp knife, carefully slit each chicken breast along one side, down almost the whole length, parallel to the grain of the meat, to a depth of about 4cm. Give the thick part of the breast a few firm bashes with a rolling pin to flatten and spread it a little. This helps reduce the cooking time. Slice the hard garlic butter into four pieces and put one inside each chicken breast - cutting the butter to fit the hole if necessary. Use the fillets to close up the breasts.
4. Carefully dip each stuffed breast in milk, then flour, then egg. Finally, give it a good coating of breadcrumbs. If you have time, chill the kievs for half an hour, then repeat the egg and breadcrumb coating to give a double layer. This makes it particularly hard for any garlic butter to escape, and gives you an extra crisp finish.
5. The breasts need to be fried fairly gently if they are to cook through before the breadcrumbs burn. Heat your oil to 160C in a large sauce pan or deep fat fryer. Fry the kievs, turning occasionally and very carefully, for 12 minutes at least - 15 if you can get away with it - until golden brown. Drain on kitchen paper and serve immediately.
OR technique:Enjoy this buttery chicken kiev dish from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall -here!
SO:
Serves 4
Ingredients:
100ml milk
2 tbsp plain flour
salt and freshly ground pepper
1 egg, beaten
150g dried white breadcrumbs
4 skinless chicken breasts, with fillets
sunflower or groundnut oil for deep-frying
For the garlic butter
100g unsalted butter, softened
4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1 heaped tbsp finely chopped parsley
1 tsp lemon juice
salt and freshly ground pepper
How to make chicken kievs recipe:
1. Begin by making the garlic butter. Mix all the ingredients together really well, then form into a neat pat and chill or freeze until hard.
2. When you're ready to assemble the kievs, put the milk in a shallow dish, season the flour and put on a plate, put the beaten egg in another dish, and finally put the breadcrumbs on a plate.
3. With a very sharp knife, carefully slit each chicken breast along one side, down almost the whole length, parallel to the grain of the meat, to a depth of about 4cm. Give the thick part of the breast a few firm bashes with a rolling pin to flatten and spread it a little. This helps reduce the cooking time. Slice the hard garlic butter into four pieces and put one inside each chicken breast - cutting the butter to fit the hole if necessary. Use the fillets to close up the breasts.
4. Carefully dip each stuffed breast in milk, then flour, then egg. Finally, give it a good coating of breadcrumbs. If you have time, chill the kievs for half an hour, then repeat the egg and breadcrumb coating to give a double layer. This makes it particularly hard for any garlic butter to escape, and gives you an extra crisp finish.
5. The breasts need to be fried fairly gently if they are to cook through before the breadcrumbs burn. Heat your oil to 160C in a large sauce pan or deep fat fryer. Fry the kievs, turning occasionally and very carefully, for 12 minutes at least - 15 if you can get away with it - until golden brown. Drain on kitchen paper and serve immediately.
Posted by Felicity Cloake Thursday 7 June 2012 The Guardian.
Makes 2
2 chicken breasts
50g salted butter, at room temperature
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tbsp parsley, finely chopped
1 tbsp tarragon, finely chopped
½ lemon
2 tbsp flour, seasoned
2 eggs, beaten
4 tbsp breadcrumbs, panko if possible, seasoned
Vegetable oil, to deep fry
1. Mash together the butter, garlic and herbs, and season with black pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice. Form into 2 sausages, and wrap in clingfilm. Put in the fridge to chill.
2. Butterfly each chicken breast by opening it out using a knife, and then put it between 2 sheets of cling film and bash with a rolling pin or meat tenderiser until about 0.5cm thick, being careful not to create any holes. Season both sides well.
3. Put a sausage of butter near one edge of the chicken and begin rolling the meat up around it, tucking in the ends as you go (use some egg and flour as glue if they prove obstinate). Roll into a tight sausage using the clingfilm, and freeze for 2 hours.
4. Put the seasoned flour, eggs and breadcrumbs into 3 shallow dishes and then roll the frozen kievs in each in turn, then again in the eggs and crumbs to double coat. Put in the fridge to defrost, which should take about an hour. Preheat the oven to 150C.
5. Heat the vegetable oil in a large pan or fryer to 160C, or until a crumb of bread turns golden in about 15 seconds, then gently lower the first kiev in. Cook it for 8½ minutes, then drain on kitchen paper and put in the oven to keep warm while you cook the next. Serve immediately, once your guest has tucked a napkin into their collar.
Why did chicken kiev go out of fashion – can we blame the ready meal? And has anyone ever eaten one in its eponymous homeland?
Thursday 28 June 2012
Wednesday 27 June 2012
Strawberry Cream Pie
Yields: about 10 servings
Crust Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 teaspoons salt
3/8 cup cold shortening or lard
3/8 cup cold butter, chopped
3-4 tablespoons cold water
Cream Ingredients:
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Other Ingredients:
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1 1/2 cups fresh strawberries
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
red food coloring (optional; I skipped this)
mint leaves or whole strawberries for garnish (optional)
Directions:
Note on timing: There are several components of this pie, but their preparation fits together nicely. You can make the crust dough and while it’s chilling, toast your almonds and set them out to cool. While the crust is baking and cooling, make and refrigerate the cream and slice your strawberries. Assemble these things once the crust is cool, and chill your almost-completed pie while you whip up the glaze. Chill the whole concoction for a few hours before slicing for best results.
Make the crust dough: Pulse flour and salt together to combine. Add scoops of lard and pulse into the mixture has the texture of coarse sand, about 10 seconds. Add in chunks of butter and pulse until butter pieces are no larger than small peas, about 10 pulses. Add minimum amount of water and pulse on low. If dough remains crumbly and doesn’t come together, add another 2 tablespoons of water. Add as little as is required to enable the dough to be rolled into a ball. Form the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes.
Toast your almonds: While the crust dough is chilling, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and spread your sliced almonds out on a baking sheet. Toast for about 4-6 minutes, using a spatula to gently flip and stir the almonds ever 2 minutes. They burn quickly, so keep a close watch on the nuts and remove them when they just start to get some color and are fragrant. Mine took about 5 minutes.
Finish making your crust: Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Roll disk of dough out to around 2 inches larger than your (9-inch) pie plate and transfer it, situating it in the plate. Fold the excess dough around the edges and crimp, trimming where necessary. Cover the dough with parchment paper and fill with pie weights or dried beans, pressing to the edges. Bake for around 20 minutes. Remove weights and paper, egg wash crust, and bake 5-10 minutes more, until golden brown (you won’t be baking it again, so make sure it has good color — shielding edges with foil if they begin getting too dark). Let crust cool completely.
Make cream filling: While the crust bakes, prepare your cream filling. Prepare an ice water bath in a bowl big enough to accommodate your saucepan. Mix sugar, cornstarch, flour, and salt in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in the milk and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and cook until thickened, still stirring constantly. Spoon out about 1/4 cup of your hot mixture and gradually drizzle it into your beaten egg, whisking constantly. This will temper the egg so that when you add it back into the hot mixture, it won’t cook. Add the egg into the hot mixture, continuing to stir constantly. Bring this just to boiling.
Set the saucepan in the ice water bath and stir it periodically as it cools. Once cool enough, chill the mixture in the refrigerator. During this time, whip the cream and vanilla together to stiff peaks. Take the chilled mixture from the fridge and beat it to break it up. Stir in about 1/3 of the cream to lighten it, and then gently fold in the rest of the cream until well combined. Chill until ready to use.
Assemble the pie: Cover bottom of crust with toasted almonds, and then dollop in chilled cream mixture, spreading it smooth with an offset spatula or the back of a spoon. Slice about a cup of fresh strawberries and layer them in overlapping concentric circles on the top of your pie. Chill this while you make your glaze.
Make the glaze: Crush remaining 1/2 cup of strawberries and cook with water in a saucepan over medium-high heat for two minutes. Strain through a fine mesh sieve and discard the pulp. Add the juice back to the saucepan over medium-high heat and gradually stir in sugar and cornstarch. Cook until thickened. If you want, you can tint this glaze with food coloring to desired hue, but mine was plenty bright enough! Cool the glaze slightly (I transferred mine to a heat-proof measuring cup with a pour spout to cool for a bit) and then pour over top of strawberry slices on your pie. Garnish with big mint leaves, if you’d like, or whole strawberries. Chill entire pie for at least a few hours for best results; cut with a knife held under hot water and then dried.
Recipe by: Pat Howard
And Brian.
Crust Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 teaspoons salt
3/8 cup cold shortening or lard
3/8 cup cold butter, chopped
3-4 tablespoons cold water
Cream Ingredients:
1/2 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Other Ingredients:
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1 1/2 cups fresh strawberries
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
red food coloring (optional; I skipped this)
mint leaves or whole strawberries for garnish (optional)
Directions:
Note on timing: There are several components of this pie, but their preparation fits together nicely. You can make the crust dough and while it’s chilling, toast your almonds and set them out to cool. While the crust is baking and cooling, make and refrigerate the cream and slice your strawberries. Assemble these things once the crust is cool, and chill your almost-completed pie while you whip up the glaze. Chill the whole concoction for a few hours before slicing for best results.
Make the crust dough: Pulse flour and salt together to combine. Add scoops of lard and pulse into the mixture has the texture of coarse sand, about 10 seconds. Add in chunks of butter and pulse until butter pieces are no larger than small peas, about 10 pulses. Add minimum amount of water and pulse on low. If dough remains crumbly and doesn’t come together, add another 2 tablespoons of water. Add as little as is required to enable the dough to be rolled into a ball. Form the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes.
Toast your almonds: While the crust dough is chilling, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and spread your sliced almonds out on a baking sheet. Toast for about 4-6 minutes, using a spatula to gently flip and stir the almonds ever 2 minutes. They burn quickly, so keep a close watch on the nuts and remove them when they just start to get some color and are fragrant. Mine took about 5 minutes.
Finish making your crust: Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Roll disk of dough out to around 2 inches larger than your (9-inch) pie plate and transfer it, situating it in the plate. Fold the excess dough around the edges and crimp, trimming where necessary. Cover the dough with parchment paper and fill with pie weights or dried beans, pressing to the edges. Bake for around 20 minutes. Remove weights and paper, egg wash crust, and bake 5-10 minutes more, until golden brown (you won’t be baking it again, so make sure it has good color — shielding edges with foil if they begin getting too dark). Let crust cool completely.
Make cream filling: While the crust bakes, prepare your cream filling. Prepare an ice water bath in a bowl big enough to accommodate your saucepan. Mix sugar, cornstarch, flour, and salt in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in the milk and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat and cook until thickened, still stirring constantly. Spoon out about 1/4 cup of your hot mixture and gradually drizzle it into your beaten egg, whisking constantly. This will temper the egg so that when you add it back into the hot mixture, it won’t cook. Add the egg into the hot mixture, continuing to stir constantly. Bring this just to boiling.
Set the saucepan in the ice water bath and stir it periodically as it cools. Once cool enough, chill the mixture in the refrigerator. During this time, whip the cream and vanilla together to stiff peaks. Take the chilled mixture from the fridge and beat it to break it up. Stir in about 1/3 of the cream to lighten it, and then gently fold in the rest of the cream until well combined. Chill until ready to use.
Assemble the pie: Cover bottom of crust with toasted almonds, and then dollop in chilled cream mixture, spreading it smooth with an offset spatula or the back of a spoon. Slice about a cup of fresh strawberries and layer them in overlapping concentric circles on the top of your pie. Chill this while you make your glaze.
Make the glaze: Crush remaining 1/2 cup of strawberries and cook with water in a saucepan over medium-high heat for two minutes. Strain through a fine mesh sieve and discard the pulp. Add the juice back to the saucepan over medium-high heat and gradually stir in sugar and cornstarch. Cook until thickened. If you want, you can tint this glaze with food coloring to desired hue, but mine was plenty bright enough! Cool the glaze slightly (I transferred mine to a heat-proof measuring cup with a pour spout to cool for a bit) and then pour over top of strawberry slices on your pie. Garnish with big mint leaves, if you’d like, or whole strawberries. Chill entire pie for at least a few hours for best results; cut with a knife held under hot water and then dried.
Recipe by: Pat Howard
And Brian.
Tuesday 26 June 2012
Pie Crust Dough
Pie Crust Dough
Recipe by: Willow Bird Baking
Yield: pie crust for one 9-inch pie
Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 teaspoons salt
3/8 cup (6 tablespoons) cold lard or shortening (I recommend lard)
3/8 cup (6 tablespoons) cold butter, chopped
3-4 tablespoons cold water
1 egg and 1 teaspoon water, lightly beaten together, for egg wash
Directions:
Pulse flour and salt together to combine. Add the lard in hunks and pulse for about 10 seconds (literally stand there and count!) until it's the texture of coarse sand. Add in the chunks of cold butter and pulse for about 10 pulses (count 'em!) until butter pieces are no larger than small peas. Add 3 tablespoons of ice cold water and turn food processor on low -- the dough should form a dough ball in a few seconds. If the dough remains crumbly and doesn’t come together, add another tablespoon of water. Add as little water total as is required for the dough to form a ball. Scoop the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap, form into a disk, and chill for at least 20-30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (if you're blind baking the crust without a filling in it; otherwise, preheat according to your recipe instructions). Roll the disk of dough out between two sheets of lightly floured parchment paper until it's around 2 inches larger than your (9-inch) pie plate all around. Use the parchment to help you drape the dough over your rolling pin, and then use the rolling pin to gently transfer the dough to your pie plate. Situate it in the plate without stretching the dough (lift the edges and let it fall down into the corners of the dish). Fold the excess dough around the edges and crimp, trimming where necessary.
If you're filling the crust prior to baking, fill it and bake according to your recipe. If you're blind baking the crust to fill later, cover the dough with parchment paper and fill this with pie weights or dried beans, pressing to the edges. Bake for around 20 minutes at 450 degrees F. Remove weights and paper, brush the egg wash onto the crust, and bake 5-10 minutes more until golden brown (shield the edges with foil if they begin getting too dark). Let the crust cool completely. Fill according to your recipe.
TIPS:
- When preparing a mise en place for this recipe, chop your butter, measure out your shortening, and fill a jar with ice water first. Stick all of these ingredients into the fridge to get ice cold while you complete the rest of your mise en place.
- Your goal is to keep your fats and your crust dough cold as you prepare it, so don't handle it too much. The cold hunks of fat in your dough are what will create the flaky layers in your crust as it bakes.
- I roll out my crust dough between two sheets of parchment paper with a little sprinkling of flour on either side. Periodically I'll stop to lift the paper from the dough to be sure it's not sticking and flip the dough to check the other side as well. The parchment allows me to use much less messy flour.
-For a double crust pie, double the recipe form into two disks to chill. Roll out each disk separately. Situate the first half of the dough in the pie plate as usual, fill it, and top with the second half. Trim and fold the edges of the top crust under the lip of the bottom crust, crimping the two together. Cut a vent in your pie.
Read more at BakeBakeBake: http://bakebakebake.livejournal.com/3524730.html#ixzz1yv3inuWm
Recipe by: Willow Bird Baking
Yield: pie crust for one 9-inch pie
Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 teaspoons salt
3/8 cup (6 tablespoons) cold lard or shortening (I recommend lard)
3/8 cup (6 tablespoons) cold butter, chopped
3-4 tablespoons cold water
1 egg and 1 teaspoon water, lightly beaten together, for egg wash
Directions:
Pulse flour and salt together to combine. Add the lard in hunks and pulse for about 10 seconds (literally stand there and count!) until it's the texture of coarse sand. Add in the chunks of cold butter and pulse for about 10 pulses (count 'em!) until butter pieces are no larger than small peas. Add 3 tablespoons of ice cold water and turn food processor on low -- the dough should form a dough ball in a few seconds. If the dough remains crumbly and doesn’t come together, add another tablespoon of water. Add as little water total as is required for the dough to form a ball. Scoop the dough onto a sheet of plastic wrap, form into a disk, and chill for at least 20-30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (if you're blind baking the crust without a filling in it; otherwise, preheat according to your recipe instructions). Roll the disk of dough out between two sheets of lightly floured parchment paper until it's around 2 inches larger than your (9-inch) pie plate all around. Use the parchment to help you drape the dough over your rolling pin, and then use the rolling pin to gently transfer the dough to your pie plate. Situate it in the plate without stretching the dough (lift the edges and let it fall down into the corners of the dish). Fold the excess dough around the edges and crimp, trimming where necessary.
If you're filling the crust prior to baking, fill it and bake according to your recipe. If you're blind baking the crust to fill later, cover the dough with parchment paper and fill this with pie weights or dried beans, pressing to the edges. Bake for around 20 minutes at 450 degrees F. Remove weights and paper, brush the egg wash onto the crust, and bake 5-10 minutes more until golden brown (shield the edges with foil if they begin getting too dark). Let the crust cool completely. Fill according to your recipe.
TIPS:
- When preparing a mise en place for this recipe, chop your butter, measure out your shortening, and fill a jar with ice water first. Stick all of these ingredients into the fridge to get ice cold while you complete the rest of your mise en place.
- Your goal is to keep your fats and your crust dough cold as you prepare it, so don't handle it too much. The cold hunks of fat in your dough are what will create the flaky layers in your crust as it bakes.
- I roll out my crust dough between two sheets of parchment paper with a little sprinkling of flour on either side. Periodically I'll stop to lift the paper from the dough to be sure it's not sticking and flip the dough to check the other side as well. The parchment allows me to use much less messy flour.
-For a double crust pie, double the recipe form into two disks to chill. Roll out each disk separately. Situate the first half of the dough in the pie plate as usual, fill it, and top with the second half. Trim and fold the edges of the top crust under the lip of the bottom crust, crimping the two together. Cut a vent in your pie.
Read more at BakeBakeBake: http://bakebakebake.livejournal.com/3524730.html#ixzz1yv3inuWm
Monday 18 June 2012
Saucy Sticky Date Pudding.
Saucy, gooey stickydate puddings, dressed with a caramel butterscotch sauce and finished with a rich vanilla bean ice-cream.
Ingredients
For the puddings
250g (1 1/2 cups) deseeded dried dates, roughly chopped into small pieces
312ml (1 1/4 cups) water
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
60g (1/4 cup) salted butter, chopped roughly
2 large eggs (we use eggs with a minimum weight of 59g)
1 teaspoon (5ml) vanilla extract
188g (1 1/4 cups) self-raising flour
150g (2/3 cup, firmly packed) brown sugar
Peacans for decorating
For the butterscotch sauce
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
60g butter
300ml pure cream
For the ice-cream
2 cups full fat milk
2 cups thickened ( or heavy) cream
1 cup granulated white sugar
1 whole vanilla bean, halved and seeds scraped
5 large egg yolks
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
for the puddings
Place the dates and the water in a medium sauce pan over a high heat.
When the date mixture starts to boil, add the bicarb soda and the butter and remove from the heat.
Set saucepan aside and allow mixture to cool for 25 mins. During this time the butter will melt.
Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius (356 Fahrenheit) If you have a fan forced oven preheat it to 160 degrees celsius (320 Fahrenheit).
Grease 6 2/3 cup capacity muffin pans or ramekins.
Transfer the date mixture to a medium mixing bowl.
Using a hand-held beater or whisk, add the eggs and vanilla to date mixture until combined ( this should take less than 30 seconds).
Mix the flour and brown sugar together, breaking up any lumps of sugar.
Add the flour/sugar mixture to the date mixture and fold through until combined.
Spoon mixture into prepared pans.
Bake for 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
Allow to cool in pans for 5 mins and then turn upside down on a plate.
Smother with butterscotch sauce and serve with ice cream and crushed or crumbled pecans ontop.
For the butterscotch sauce (makes 2 cups)
Place sugar, butter and cream in a saucepan over medium heat.
Cook, stirring, without boiling, for 4 minutes or until sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil.
Once at the boil, reduce heat to low.
Simmer for 5 minutes or until thickened.
For the ice cream
In a medium saucepan, over a medium heat, whisk together the milk, cream, half the sugar and vanilla bean ( including the pod).
Bring the milk mixture just to the boil.
while the milk mixture is heating ( ie before it is just at the boil), combine the yolks and the remaining sugar in a mixing bowl and using a hand-held beater on slow speed or a whisk, beat until thick and pale.
Once the milk mixture has come to a slight boil, whisk about 1/3 of the hot milk mixture into the yolk mixture.
Whisk another 1/3 of the hot milk mixture to the yolk mixture.
Return the yolk mixture to the remaining 1/3 of milk mixture in the saucepan.
Using a wooden spoon, stir the mixture constantly over low heat until it thickens slightly and coats the back of a wooden spoon.
This mixture must not boil or the yolks will over cook – the process should only take a few minutes.
Pour the mixture through a sieve or mesh strainer and discard the vanilla pod.
Bring this mixture to room temperature.
Once cooled, cover and refrigerate for 1-2 hours or overnight.
Churn the ice cream in an ice cream maker according to manufactures instructions.
Notes
Before being smothered with the butterscotch sauce, the puddings resemble a light but moist date cake. The more sauce the puddings absorb, the sticker they will become.
The amount of individual puddings the recipe produces will depend on the size of your pudding or muffin moulds. Whatever the size of your moulds, only add enough mixture so that they are 2/3rds full. This will allow room for the puddings to rise.
This recipe can also be used to make one large pudding by placing the mixture in a 20cm diameter pan.
To achieve a more toffee flavour for the sauce, add 25g of golden syrup.
Ingredients
For the puddings
250g (1 1/2 cups) deseeded dried dates, roughly chopped into small pieces
312ml (1 1/4 cups) water
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
60g (1/4 cup) salted butter, chopped roughly
2 large eggs (we use eggs with a minimum weight of 59g)
1 teaspoon (5ml) vanilla extract
188g (1 1/4 cups) self-raising flour
150g (2/3 cup, firmly packed) brown sugar
Peacans for decorating
For the butterscotch sauce
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
60g butter
300ml pure cream
For the ice-cream
2 cups full fat milk
2 cups thickened ( or heavy) cream
1 cup granulated white sugar
1 whole vanilla bean, halved and seeds scraped
5 large egg yolks
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
for the puddings
Place the dates and the water in a medium sauce pan over a high heat.
When the date mixture starts to boil, add the bicarb soda and the butter and remove from the heat.
Set saucepan aside and allow mixture to cool for 25 mins. During this time the butter will melt.
Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius (356 Fahrenheit) If you have a fan forced oven preheat it to 160 degrees celsius (320 Fahrenheit).
Grease 6 2/3 cup capacity muffin pans or ramekins.
Transfer the date mixture to a medium mixing bowl.
Using a hand-held beater or whisk, add the eggs and vanilla to date mixture until combined ( this should take less than 30 seconds).
Mix the flour and brown sugar together, breaking up any lumps of sugar.
Add the flour/sugar mixture to the date mixture and fold through until combined.
Spoon mixture into prepared pans.
Bake for 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
Allow to cool in pans for 5 mins and then turn upside down on a plate.
Smother with butterscotch sauce and serve with ice cream and crushed or crumbled pecans ontop.
For the butterscotch sauce (makes 2 cups)
Place sugar, butter and cream in a saucepan over medium heat.
Cook, stirring, without boiling, for 4 minutes or until sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil.
Once at the boil, reduce heat to low.
Simmer for 5 minutes or until thickened.
For the ice cream
In a medium saucepan, over a medium heat, whisk together the milk, cream, half the sugar and vanilla bean ( including the pod).
Bring the milk mixture just to the boil.
while the milk mixture is heating ( ie before it is just at the boil), combine the yolks and the remaining sugar in a mixing bowl and using a hand-held beater on slow speed or a whisk, beat until thick and pale.
Once the milk mixture has come to a slight boil, whisk about 1/3 of the hot milk mixture into the yolk mixture.
Whisk another 1/3 of the hot milk mixture to the yolk mixture.
Return the yolk mixture to the remaining 1/3 of milk mixture in the saucepan.
Using a wooden spoon, stir the mixture constantly over low heat until it thickens slightly and coats the back of a wooden spoon.
This mixture must not boil or the yolks will over cook – the process should only take a few minutes.
Pour the mixture through a sieve or mesh strainer and discard the vanilla pod.
Bring this mixture to room temperature.
Once cooled, cover and refrigerate for 1-2 hours or overnight.
Churn the ice cream in an ice cream maker according to manufactures instructions.
Notes
Before being smothered with the butterscotch sauce, the puddings resemble a light but moist date cake. The more sauce the puddings absorb, the sticker they will become.
The amount of individual puddings the recipe produces will depend on the size of your pudding or muffin moulds. Whatever the size of your moulds, only add enough mixture so that they are 2/3rds full. This will allow room for the puddings to rise.
This recipe can also be used to make one large pudding by placing the mixture in a 20cm diameter pan.
To achieve a more toffee flavour for the sauce, add 25g of golden syrup.
It's a Date...with Saucy Sticky Date Pudding | Art of Baking: "It’s a Date…with Saucy Sticky Date Pudding"
'via Blog this'
Thursday 7 June 2012
How to cook perfect tarte tatin.
Toffee apples for grown-ups, the tarte tatin is all about the flavour of the fruit – crisp pastry, firm, juicy apples and that sweet, buttery caramel topping, holding the whole lot together. We may grow the best varieties, but the French really know what to do with them.
Serves 6
7 medium apples: 4 Cox, 3 Granny Smith
200g white sugar
50g butter
175g ready-made shortcrust pastry OR
225g plain flour
2 tbsp caster sugar
120g cold butter
1 medium egg, beaten
1. Peel, halve and core the apples, then put in the fridge, uncovered, for 24 hours.
2. Put the sugar into a 20cm heavy-based ovenproof frying pan along with 50ml water and leave to soak for a couple of minutes, then cook over a medium heat until golden and fudgy. Take off the heat and stir in the butter, and a pinch of salt, until well combined, then carefully arrange the apples in the pan, round-side down, bearing in mind the caramel will be very hot, and put back on the heat – you may need to cut some of the apples into smaller pieces to fill in the gaps. Cook for 5 minutes, then take off the heat and allow to cool completely.
3. If making the pastry, sift the flour into a large mixing bowl and add the sugar and a pinch of salt. Grate in the butter, then rub together until it is coarse crumbs.
4. Mix the egg with 2 tsp cold water and sprinkle over the mixture. Mix together into a soft but not sticky dough, adding more water (if required) very gradually. Shape into a ball, and then cover with clingfilm and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes before rolling out.
5. Pre-heat the oven to 200C. Roll out the pastry (you'll probably have some left over if you've made your own) to 5mm thick, and cut out a circle slightly larger than your pan. Put back into the fridge to rest.
6. Put the pastry on top of the pan and tuck in the edges around the fruit. Bake for about 30 minutes until the pastry is golden, then remove from the oven. Allow to cool for 5 minutes, then place a plate, slightly larger than the pan, on top and then, very carefully, using oven gloves, invert the tart on to the plate. Best served warm, with crème fraîche.
Is tarte tatin the queen of apple-based desserts, or do you prefer a strudel, a crumble, a Charlotte, or even a good old-fashioned apple pie? What kind of pastry do you use, and how far do you go down the route of caramelisation?
Serves 6
7 medium apples: 4 Cox, 3 Granny Smith
200g white sugar
50g butter
175g ready-made shortcrust pastry OR
225g plain flour
2 tbsp caster sugar
120g cold butter
1 medium egg, beaten
1. Peel, halve and core the apples, then put in the fridge, uncovered, for 24 hours.
2. Put the sugar into a 20cm heavy-based ovenproof frying pan along with 50ml water and leave to soak for a couple of minutes, then cook over a medium heat until golden and fudgy. Take off the heat and stir in the butter, and a pinch of salt, until well combined, then carefully arrange the apples in the pan, round-side down, bearing in mind the caramel will be very hot, and put back on the heat – you may need to cut some of the apples into smaller pieces to fill in the gaps. Cook for 5 minutes, then take off the heat and allow to cool completely.
3. If making the pastry, sift the flour into a large mixing bowl and add the sugar and a pinch of salt. Grate in the butter, then rub together until it is coarse crumbs.
4. Mix the egg with 2 tsp cold water and sprinkle over the mixture. Mix together into a soft but not sticky dough, adding more water (if required) very gradually. Shape into a ball, and then cover with clingfilm and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes before rolling out.
5. Pre-heat the oven to 200C. Roll out the pastry (you'll probably have some left over if you've made your own) to 5mm thick, and cut out a circle slightly larger than your pan. Put back into the fridge to rest.
6. Put the pastry on top of the pan and tuck in the edges around the fruit. Bake for about 30 minutes until the pastry is golden, then remove from the oven. Allow to cool for 5 minutes, then place a plate, slightly larger than the pan, on top and then, very carefully, using oven gloves, invert the tart on to the plate. Best served warm, with crème fraîche.
Is tarte tatin the queen of apple-based desserts, or do you prefer a strudel, a crumble, a Charlotte, or even a good old-fashioned apple pie? What kind of pastry do you use, and how far do you go down the route of caramelisation?
How to cook perfect tarte tatin | Life and style | The Guardian: "Perfect tarte tatin"
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Wednesday 6 June 2012
Basic Salad Dressing
Basic Salad Dressing:
"It's a simple soy sauce flavored salad dressing made with rice vinegar. Ingredients: 2 Tbsp rice vinegar 1 Tbsp soy sauce 1/2 tsp sugar 5 Tbsp vegetable oil Preparation: Mix all the ingredients other than oil in a bowl. Add oil gradually and mix well. *Makes about 1/2 cup"
'via Blog this'
"It's a simple soy sauce flavored salad dressing made with rice vinegar. Ingredients: 2 Tbsp rice vinegar 1 Tbsp soy sauce 1/2 tsp sugar 5 Tbsp vegetable oil Preparation: Mix all the ingredients other than oil in a bowl. Add oil gradually and mix well. *Makes about 1/2 cup"
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