Recipes | Nics Nutrition:
From "UK Specialist Registered Dietitian (RD).
- a healthy balanced diet.
Foods cannot be classed as ‘good’ and ‘bad’ in my eyes, and I promote healthy lifestyles as a way of life, rather than fad/short-term diets."
'via Blog this'
Wednesday 30 November 2016
Wednesday 3 August 2016
Vinaigrette. Sauces.
- The Food Lab Turbo: How to Make a Simple Salad Worth Eating | Serious Eats
- Simple Vinaigrette Recipe | Serious Eats
INGREDIENTS
1 small shallot, minced (about 2 tablespoons)
1 small clove garlic, minced (about 1/2 teaspoon)
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon water
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
DIRECTIONS
1. Combine shallot, garlic, mustard, vinegar, and water in a large bowl and whisk to combine. Whisking constantly, slowly drizzle in olive oil.
Alternatively, place all ingredients in a tightly sealing jar, seal, and shake vigorously until emulsified.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Vinaigrette will keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
- A Salad Dressing Recipe to Rule Them All - The New York Times
A Salad Dressing Recipe to Rule Them All
- Five Sauces for the Modern Cook - The New York Times
- Simple Vinaigrette Recipe | Serious Eats
INGREDIENTS
1 small shallot, minced (about 2 tablespoons)
1 small clove garlic, minced (about 1/2 teaspoon)
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon water
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
DIRECTIONS
1. Combine shallot, garlic, mustard, vinegar, and water in a large bowl and whisk to combine. Whisking constantly, slowly drizzle in olive oil.
Alternatively, place all ingredients in a tightly sealing jar, seal, and shake vigorously until emulsified.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Vinaigrette will keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
- A Salad Dressing Recipe to Rule Them All - The New York Times
A Salad Dressing Recipe to Rule Them All
- Five Sauces for the Modern Cook - The New York Times
How to Make Traditional Cassoulet.
How to Make Traditional Cassoulet (And Why You Should Put Chicken in It!) | Serious Eats
First off, it's the shape of the pan.
A traditional cassole has a tapered shape that gives it an extremely high surface area to volume ratio.
More room for evaporation means better skin formation and better browning.
In fact, the last two pictures above are of cassoulets cooked in the exact same manner, the only difference being the vessel they are cooked in.
Unfortunately, it's tough to find a good cassoulet pot around here.
A regular cassoulet will form a crust in about 4 hours of cooking in a 150°C/300°F oven.
What about if you just cook your Dutch oven cassoulet for longer or hotter?
I tried a variety of time and temperature ranges.
At the very best, what you end up with is this:
Decent crust alright, but the crust is really formed by the beans and the meat, not by the liquid itself.
Underneath, the beans are too dry.
The second problem is the store-bought stock I'd been using.
Homemade chicken stock tends to be very high in gelatin, a result of the high amount of connective tissue in the bones and cartilage used to make it.
Store-bought stock, by contrast, is thin and watery.
It's this gelatin that forms the crusty raft on top of the cassoulet, giving it both crust and body.
It's these two problems—wrong pot, not enough gelatin in the stock—that lead many recipes to resort to using breadcrumbs to create an artificial crust.
So what's the solution? Well the obvious one is to just make your own goddam stock.
It's actually way easier than it sounds, though it again requires a bit of a time commitment.
I'll admit it: sometimes even I'm too lazy to make my own stock when I've already got a day-long project ahead of me.
So what's the next best thing?
Just fake it.
By blooming store-bought unflavored gelatin in regular store-bought stock, you can create a rich stock full of body that forms a raft just like the real deal.
I don't go easy on the gelatin either (remember, you have to make up for using the wrong-shaped pot as well).
A full three packets for a quart of liquid gives it the body and crust I'm looking for.
In order to get a cassoulet that stays nice and loose underneath while still building a crust up top, it's important not to drown that crust out.
If your liquid level starts to get too low, add more liquid (just plain water works) to the pot by carefully pouring it along the side of the pot so that it goes under the crust, not over it.
First off, it's the shape of the pan.
A traditional cassole has a tapered shape that gives it an extremely high surface area to volume ratio.
More room for evaporation means better skin formation and better browning.
In fact, the last two pictures above are of cassoulets cooked in the exact same manner, the only difference being the vessel they are cooked in.
Unfortunately, it's tough to find a good cassoulet pot around here.
A regular cassoulet will form a crust in about 4 hours of cooking in a 150°C/300°F oven.
What about if you just cook your Dutch oven cassoulet for longer or hotter?
I tried a variety of time and temperature ranges.
At the very best, what you end up with is this:
Decent crust alright, but the crust is really formed by the beans and the meat, not by the liquid itself.
Underneath, the beans are too dry.
The second problem is the store-bought stock I'd been using.
Homemade chicken stock tends to be very high in gelatin, a result of the high amount of connective tissue in the bones and cartilage used to make it.
Store-bought stock, by contrast, is thin and watery.
It's this gelatin that forms the crusty raft on top of the cassoulet, giving it both crust and body.
It's these two problems—wrong pot, not enough gelatin in the stock—that lead many recipes to resort to using breadcrumbs to create an artificial crust.
So what's the solution? Well the obvious one is to just make your own goddam stock.
It's actually way easier than it sounds, though it again requires a bit of a time commitment.
I'll admit it: sometimes even I'm too lazy to make my own stock when I've already got a day-long project ahead of me.
So what's the next best thing?
Just fake it.
By blooming store-bought unflavored gelatin in regular store-bought stock, you can create a rich stock full of body that forms a raft just like the real deal.
I don't go easy on the gelatin either (remember, you have to make up for using the wrong-shaped pot as well).
A full three packets for a quart of liquid gives it the body and crust I'm looking for.
In order to get a cassoulet that stays nice and loose underneath while still building a crust up top, it's important not to drown that crust out.
If your liquid level starts to get too low, add more liquid (just plain water works) to the pot by carefully pouring it along the side of the pot so that it goes under the crust, not over it.
Wednesday 27 July 2016
Sunday 24 July 2016
Parisian Flan.
“Sir Bones: is stuffed, / de world, wif feeding girls.” | Orangette
From Dorie Greenspan’s Paris Sweets
This recipe, adapted by Greenspan from the esteemed pâtissier Pierre Hermé, makes a traditional Parisian flan, which (unlike the flan generally familiar to Americans, jiggly or gelatinous or covered in caramel) is a custardy almost-cake in a flaky pastry crust.
It is unbearably delicious.
Dorie Greenspan, I apologize for my lack of faith.
For the crust:
1 stick plus 5 Tbs (6 ½ ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ tsp salt
½ tsp sugar
½ large egg yolk (lightly beat one yolk, and then spoon out half)
3 ½ Tbs whole milk
2 cups all-purpose flour
For the filling:
1 ½ cups whole milk
1 2/3 cups water
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
½ cup cornstarch, sifted
To make crust:
Put all of the crust ingredients except the flour in the bowl of a food processor and process until the mixture is soft and creamy.
Add the flour and pulse in quick spurts until the dough forms a ball—then stop.
Turn the dough out onto a smooth work surface, gather it together in a ball, and flatten into a disk.
Wrap the disk well in plastic wrap.
Chill the dough for at least four hours. [Dough can be kept in the fridge for up to three days.]
Line a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper and keep close at hand. Working on a generously floured work surface, roll the dough out to a thickness of between 1/8 and ¼ inch. Cut out a 12-inch circle of dough and transfer it to the lined baking sheet. Cover and chill dough for at least thirty minutes.
Butter a 9-inch/22cm springform pan and put it on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Fit the dough into the pan, pressing it evenly along the bottom and up the sides.
Don’t worry if the dough tears, as it did for me—just patch it back together and carry on!
Trim the dough so that it comes 1 ¼ inches/3cm up the sides of the pan.
Chill the dough for at least two hours and up to overnight.
Center a rack in the oven, and preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit/180C.
Line the crust with parchment paper and fill it with beans, rice, or pie weights.
Bake the crust for 18 to 20 minutes, until it is set but not browned. Pull it from the oven, remove the paper and beans, and cool to room temperature.
To make filling:
Bring the milk and water to a boil in a medium saucepan.
Meanwhile, in another medium saucepan, preferably one with a heavy bottom, whisk the eggs, sugar, and cornstarch together.
Whisking without stop, drizzle ¼ of the hot liquid over the egg mixture.
When the eggs are warmed, add the rest of the liquid in a steady stream.
Put the saucepan over medium heat and, whisking constantly and energetically, heat the filling just until it thickens and a couple of bubbles pop to the surface.
Immediately remove from the heat, and push the filling through a sieve into a bowl. Let the filling cool for about 30 minutes.
Center a rack in the oven, and preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit/190C.
Put the pan with the crust on a parchment-lined baking sheet (if it isn’t still on one), and scrape the filling into the crust.
Smooth the top.
Slide the baking sheet into the oven and bake the flan for one hour, or until the filling is puffed and golden and just jiggles in the center when you tap the pan.
Transfer the baking sheet to a cooling rack, and let the flan cool to room temperature; then chill the flan for at least six hours, preferably overnight.
According to Mr. Hermé, the flan should be served cold.
From Dorie Greenspan’s Paris Sweets
This recipe, adapted by Greenspan from the esteemed pâtissier Pierre Hermé, makes a traditional Parisian flan, which (unlike the flan generally familiar to Americans, jiggly or gelatinous or covered in caramel) is a custardy almost-cake in a flaky pastry crust.
It is unbearably delicious.
Dorie Greenspan, I apologize for my lack of faith.
For the crust:
1 stick plus 5 Tbs (6 ½ ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ tsp salt
½ tsp sugar
½ large egg yolk (lightly beat one yolk, and then spoon out half)
3 ½ Tbs whole milk
2 cups all-purpose flour
For the filling:
1 ½ cups whole milk
1 2/3 cups water
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
½ cup cornstarch, sifted
To make crust:
Put all of the crust ingredients except the flour in the bowl of a food processor and process until the mixture is soft and creamy.
Add the flour and pulse in quick spurts until the dough forms a ball—then stop.
Turn the dough out onto a smooth work surface, gather it together in a ball, and flatten into a disk.
Wrap the disk well in plastic wrap.
Chill the dough for at least four hours. [Dough can be kept in the fridge for up to three days.]
Line a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper and keep close at hand. Working on a generously floured work surface, roll the dough out to a thickness of between 1/8 and ¼ inch. Cut out a 12-inch circle of dough and transfer it to the lined baking sheet. Cover and chill dough for at least thirty minutes.
Butter a 9-inch/22cm springform pan and put it on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Fit the dough into the pan, pressing it evenly along the bottom and up the sides.
Don’t worry if the dough tears, as it did for me—just patch it back together and carry on!
Trim the dough so that it comes 1 ¼ inches/3cm up the sides of the pan.
Chill the dough for at least two hours and up to overnight.
Center a rack in the oven, and preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit/180C.
Line the crust with parchment paper and fill it with beans, rice, or pie weights.
Bake the crust for 18 to 20 minutes, until it is set but not browned. Pull it from the oven, remove the paper and beans, and cool to room temperature.
To make filling:
Bring the milk and water to a boil in a medium saucepan.
Meanwhile, in another medium saucepan, preferably one with a heavy bottom, whisk the eggs, sugar, and cornstarch together.
Whisking without stop, drizzle ¼ of the hot liquid over the egg mixture.
When the eggs are warmed, add the rest of the liquid in a steady stream.
Put the saucepan over medium heat and, whisking constantly and energetically, heat the filling just until it thickens and a couple of bubbles pop to the surface.
Immediately remove from the heat, and push the filling through a sieve into a bowl. Let the filling cool for about 30 minutes.
Center a rack in the oven, and preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit/190C.
Put the pan with the crust on a parchment-lined baking sheet (if it isn’t still on one), and scrape the filling into the crust.
Smooth the top.
Slide the baking sheet into the oven and bake the flan for one hour, or until the filling is puffed and golden and just jiggles in the center when you tap the pan.
Transfer the baking sheet to a cooling rack, and let the flan cool to room temperature; then chill the flan for at least six hours, preferably overnight.
According to Mr. Hermé, the flan should be served cold.
Tuesday 19 July 2016
Roast chicken with dill and leeks recipe . By Diana Henry.
Roast chicken with dill and leeks recipe - Telegraph
Simple, satisfying and perfect for Sunday lunch: whole roast chicken infused with dill and lemon, cooked with waxy potatoes
You might think this recipe comes from Scandinavia – land of dill lovers – but in fact it was inspired by a dish I had in Turkey, where whole fish were cooked on a bed of potatoes and dill (and a little raki). This is a very comforting dish, but light and spring-like at the same time. Serve it with roast tomatoes or a carrot purée.
SERVES
8
INGREDIENTS
2kg chicken
10g dill
75g unsalted butter, slightly softened
1 lemon
500g waxy potatoes, peeled
4 leeks
400ml chicken stock
3-4 tbsp dry vermouth
4 tbsp crème fraîche (optional)
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 200°C/gas mark 6. Remove the coarser stems from the dill and set them aside. Roughly chop the remaining light, leafy part. Mash the butter with half the chopped dill.
Carefully lift the skin of the chicken breast and legs and push about half the butter under. Spread the remaining butter over the bird and season. Put in a roasting tin or a flame- and ovenproof dish. Squeeze the lemon over, then put the shells into the cavity of the bird with the dill stalks. Truss the chicken, if you like. Roast for 20 minutes.
Slice the potatoes to the thickness of a pound coin. Trim the leeks, discarding most of the dark-green tops. Chop into 4cm lengths and wash thoroughly.
Take the chicken out of the oven and put the potatoes and leeks around it, coating them in the juices. Season. Pour the boiling stock on to the vegetables with the vermouth.
Reduce the temperature to 180°C/gas mark 4 and return the bird to the oven for one hour. The potatoes will become tender and the cooking liquid reduce significantly. If the vegetables haven’t absorbed all the liquid, remove the chicken to a warmed platter and insulate with foil to keep it warm.
Set the roasting tin on the hob and boil until the liquid mostly disappears. Add the crème fraîche, if using. Heat this through – it doesn’t have to be completely mixed into the vegetables. Check for seasoning.
Put the bird back on top of the vegetables, throw on the rest of the chopped dill and serve.
Simple, satisfying and perfect for Sunday lunch: whole roast chicken infused with dill and lemon, cooked with waxy potatoes
You might think this recipe comes from Scandinavia – land of dill lovers – but in fact it was inspired by a dish I had in Turkey, where whole fish were cooked on a bed of potatoes and dill (and a little raki). This is a very comforting dish, but light and spring-like at the same time. Serve it with roast tomatoes or a carrot purée.
SERVES
8
INGREDIENTS
2kg chicken
10g dill
75g unsalted butter, slightly softened
1 lemon
500g waxy potatoes, peeled
4 leeks
400ml chicken stock
3-4 tbsp dry vermouth
4 tbsp crème fraîche (optional)
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 200°C/gas mark 6. Remove the coarser stems from the dill and set them aside. Roughly chop the remaining light, leafy part. Mash the butter with half the chopped dill.
Carefully lift the skin of the chicken breast and legs and push about half the butter under. Spread the remaining butter over the bird and season. Put in a roasting tin or a flame- and ovenproof dish. Squeeze the lemon over, then put the shells into the cavity of the bird with the dill stalks. Truss the chicken, if you like. Roast for 20 minutes.
Slice the potatoes to the thickness of a pound coin. Trim the leeks, discarding most of the dark-green tops. Chop into 4cm lengths and wash thoroughly.
Take the chicken out of the oven and put the potatoes and leeks around it, coating them in the juices. Season. Pour the boiling stock on to the vegetables with the vermouth.
Reduce the temperature to 180°C/gas mark 4 and return the bird to the oven for one hour. The potatoes will become tender and the cooking liquid reduce significantly. If the vegetables haven’t absorbed all the liquid, remove the chicken to a warmed platter and insulate with foil to keep it warm.
Set the roasting tin on the hob and boil until the liquid mostly disappears. Add the crème fraîche, if using. Heat this through – it doesn’t have to be completely mixed into the vegetables. Check for seasoning.
Put the bird back on top of the vegetables, throw on the rest of the chopped dill and serve.
Chicken in the pot with vegetables and barley. By Diana Henry.
Chicken in the pot with vegetables and barley recipe - Telegraph
A whole chicken poached with leeks and carrots makes a substantial and comforting broth
This is one of the best things I cook. It's like a substantial version of the chicken soup my family grew up with.
SERVES 6
INGREDIENTS
1 medium-sized chicken, about 1.6kg
4 leeks
300g long slim carrots, preferably with greenery
1½ tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 celery sticks, finely chopped
bouquet garni, plus more parsley stalks
200ml dry vermouth
55g pearl barley
about 4 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves
METHOD
Remove any discoloured layers from the leeks and trim and discard the dark tops. Cut into 4cm lengths and wash thoroughly under running water. Trim the carrots, leaving a little tuft of greenery if there is any. Wash really well,
but don't peel. Cut fatter carrots into halves or quarters lengthways.
Heat the oil in a heavy-based casserole over a medium heat and brown the chicken on all sides. Try not to tear the skin as you turn it over (I use wooden spoons), and season as you go. Remove the chicken, set it aside and add the onion and celery to the pot. Sauté gently until the onion is softening but isn't coloured, about five minutes.
Return the chicken and add the bouquet garni, parsley stalks, carrots, a good grinding of black pepper, the vermouth and 800ml of water. Bring to the boil, then immediately reduce the heat right down, cover and poach the chicken for 1½ hours. The water must not boil – it has to be gentle or the chicken will become tough. With 45 minutes of cooking time left, add the barley. With 15 minutes left, add the leeks. At the end, add the chopped parsley.
Serve in big broad soup plates, giving each person some of the vegetables, barley, broth and chicken. My mum serves boiled potatoes with this, which you can break up in your broth, or buttered wheaten (soda) bread. I must admit to gilding the lily a little and offer cream, mustard and sometimes even horseradish.
A whole chicken poached with leeks and carrots makes a substantial and comforting broth
This is one of the best things I cook. It's like a substantial version of the chicken soup my family grew up with.
SERVES 6
INGREDIENTS
1 medium-sized chicken, about 1.6kg
4 leeks
300g long slim carrots, preferably with greenery
1½ tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 celery sticks, finely chopped
bouquet garni, plus more parsley stalks
200ml dry vermouth
55g pearl barley
about 4 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves
METHOD
Remove any discoloured layers from the leeks and trim and discard the dark tops. Cut into 4cm lengths and wash thoroughly under running water. Trim the carrots, leaving a little tuft of greenery if there is any. Wash really well,
but don't peel. Cut fatter carrots into halves or quarters lengthways.
Heat the oil in a heavy-based casserole over a medium heat and brown the chicken on all sides. Try not to tear the skin as you turn it over (I use wooden spoons), and season as you go. Remove the chicken, set it aside and add the onion and celery to the pot. Sauté gently until the onion is softening but isn't coloured, about five minutes.
Return the chicken and add the bouquet garni, parsley stalks, carrots, a good grinding of black pepper, the vermouth and 800ml of water. Bring to the boil, then immediately reduce the heat right down, cover and poach the chicken for 1½ hours. The water must not boil – it has to be gentle or the chicken will become tough. With 45 minutes of cooking time left, add the barley. With 15 minutes left, add the leeks. At the end, add the chopped parsley.
Serve in big broad soup plates, giving each person some of the vegetables, barley, broth and chicken. My mum serves boiled potatoes with this, which you can break up in your broth, or buttered wheaten (soda) bread. I must admit to gilding the lily a little and offer cream, mustard and sometimes even horseradish.
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's melon recipes.
No need to laugh … Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's melon recipes | Life and style | The Guardian
Melon, cucumber and courgette salad with olives and red onion
Here, I've partnered melons with their cucurbit relatives, cucumbers and courgettes. All that delicate, juicy flesh is pointed up beautifully by the assertive flavours of olives and onion. Serves four as a side dish.
½ large cucumber (about 200g)
1 medium courgette (about 200g)
¼ small charentais or galia melon (about 200g)
50g pitted black olives, such as kalamata
½ medium red onion, peeled and finely chopped
Juice of ½ small lemon
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Quarter the cucumber lengthways, scoop out the seeds with a teaspoon and slice into thin quarter-moons about 2mm thick. Put the slices in a large bowl. Top and tail the courgette, quarter it lengthways and cut into pieces the same thickness as the cucumber. Add to the bowl.
Scoop the seeds out of the melon. Carefully slice the melon off its skin, then cut it first lengthways into two to three slender wedges, then crosswise, as with the cucumber and courgette, and add to the bowl.
Roughly chop the olives and add to the salad with the onion. Squeeze over the lemon juice, trickle over the oil, give it a good seasoning and stir together gently. Taste, add more salt, pepper or lemon juice if needed, and serve straight away.
-----------
Melon smoothie with orange, ginger and honey
Puréed ripe melon has a lovely, velvety, almost creamy texture.
This refreshing smoothie tastes best when really cold, so chill the melon first.
If your blender isn't up to processing ice cubes, just drop a couple into each glass before you serve the smoothie.
Serves two.
1 small to medium ripe charentais or galia melon, chilled (about 1kg)
150ml freshly squeezed orange juice
1 thumb-sized chunk ginger, peeled
3-4 ice cubes
1-2 tsp honey
Scoop out the melon seeds, then scoop the flesh off the skin in chunks, dropping them into a blender as you go.
Add the orange juice.
Finely grate the ginger into a sieve over a small bowl.
Press the grated ginger with the back of a spoon, to squeeze out its juice, measure out a teaspoon and add to the blender.
Add the ice and whizz the lot until smooth.
Add a little honey to taste, just to enhance the fruity flavours, and a touch more ginger juice, if you fancy more kick. Drink immediately.
Melon, cucumber and courgette salad with olives and red onion
Here, I've partnered melons with their cucurbit relatives, cucumbers and courgettes. All that delicate, juicy flesh is pointed up beautifully by the assertive flavours of olives and onion. Serves four as a side dish.
½ large cucumber (about 200g)
1 medium courgette (about 200g)
¼ small charentais or galia melon (about 200g)
50g pitted black olives, such as kalamata
½ medium red onion, peeled and finely chopped
Juice of ½ small lemon
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Quarter the cucumber lengthways, scoop out the seeds with a teaspoon and slice into thin quarter-moons about 2mm thick. Put the slices in a large bowl. Top and tail the courgette, quarter it lengthways and cut into pieces the same thickness as the cucumber. Add to the bowl.
Scoop the seeds out of the melon. Carefully slice the melon off its skin, then cut it first lengthways into two to three slender wedges, then crosswise, as with the cucumber and courgette, and add to the bowl.
Roughly chop the olives and add to the salad with the onion. Squeeze over the lemon juice, trickle over the oil, give it a good seasoning and stir together gently. Taste, add more salt, pepper or lemon juice if needed, and serve straight away.
-----------
Melon smoothie with orange, ginger and honey
Puréed ripe melon has a lovely, velvety, almost creamy texture.
This refreshing smoothie tastes best when really cold, so chill the melon first.
If your blender isn't up to processing ice cubes, just drop a couple into each glass before you serve the smoothie.
Serves two.
1 small to medium ripe charentais or galia melon, chilled (about 1kg)
150ml freshly squeezed orange juice
1 thumb-sized chunk ginger, peeled
3-4 ice cubes
1-2 tsp honey
Scoop out the melon seeds, then scoop the flesh off the skin in chunks, dropping them into a blender as you go.
Add the orange juice.
Finely grate the ginger into a sieve over a small bowl.
Press the grated ginger with the back of a spoon, to squeeze out its juice, measure out a teaspoon and add to the blender.
Add the ice and whizz the lot until smooth.
Add a little honey to taste, just to enhance the fruity flavours, and a touch more ginger juice, if you fancy more kick. Drink immediately.
Cantaloupe Gazpacho.
Cantaloupe Gazpacho Recipe - Bon Appétit
Preparation
Purée 1 medium cantaloupe (peeled, seeded, chopped),
1 small cucumber (peeled, chopped),
2 tablespoons chopped red onion,
2 teaspoons kosher salt,
and 1/3 cup water in a blender until smooth.
With motor running, drizzle in 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil;
season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Serve gazpacho chilled, topped with thinly sliced fresh mint.
Preparation
Purée 1 medium cantaloupe (peeled, seeded, chopped),
1 small cucumber (peeled, chopped),
2 tablespoons chopped red onion,
2 teaspoons kosher salt,
and 1/3 cup water in a blender until smooth.
With motor running, drizzle in 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil;
season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Serve gazpacho chilled, topped with thinly sliced fresh mint.
Monday 18 July 2016
Pumpkin pie and ginger cream.
A couple of days ago Maddy, the little girl from next door, brought me a bowl of pumpkin flesh, dug out of a large pumpkin she was carving for halloween.
Here is a slice of the pie I made with it following a recipe I always use and that never fails to go down well.
This pie only gets made once a year and some years I don’t get around to it at all.
Preheat the oven to 180 C / gas mark 4
Make shortcrust pastry to line a 23cm loose-bottomed flan tin: 160g plain flour, 80g unsalted butter, 1 – 2 dessert spoons caster sugar, zest of half a lemon (optional), 1 egg yolk, a drop of milk or water as required.
Rub the butter into the flour, add some sugar and lemon zest if you like then bind together quickly using the beaten egg yolk, adding some milk or water to bring the mixture together and gather it into a ball.
Leave to rest for half an hour in the fridge, wrapped in cling film.
Roll out the pastry and line the buttered flan tin.
Prick the bottom with a fork and place a piece of greaseproof paper and baking beans over the base.
Bake for 25 minutes then take out the oven, remove the beans and paper and leave to cool.
Cook 600g of pumpkin flesh in a pan for approximately 15 mins with just a splash of water; as it cooks it will make its own juice so you don’t want it too watery.
Put the cooked flesh into a food processor (or use a hand blender).
Add to it, 125g soft brown sugar, half a teaspoon each of nutmeg, ground ginger and ground cinnamon, 1 tablespoon honey, grated zest from each of 1 lemon and 1 orange and the juice from half of each.
Process until smooth.
Add 3 beaten eggs and blend together then pour into the pastry case and bake for 50-60 minutes until the centre is set.
Allow to cool then serve dusted with icing sugar and accompanied by whipped cream slightly sweetened with some of the syrup from a jar of stem ginger.
Gloria Nicol grows many of the ingredients for her preserves on an allotment close to her home in the Forest of Dean.
She writes the blog www.laundryetc.co.uk, where you can read more about her preserving.
Here is a slice of the pie I made with it following a recipe I always use and that never fails to go down well.
This pie only gets made once a year and some years I don’t get around to it at all.
Preheat the oven to 180 C / gas mark 4
Make shortcrust pastry to line a 23cm loose-bottomed flan tin: 160g plain flour, 80g unsalted butter, 1 – 2 dessert spoons caster sugar, zest of half a lemon (optional), 1 egg yolk, a drop of milk or water as required.
Rub the butter into the flour, add some sugar and lemon zest if you like then bind together quickly using the beaten egg yolk, adding some milk or water to bring the mixture together and gather it into a ball.
Leave to rest for half an hour in the fridge, wrapped in cling film.
Roll out the pastry and line the buttered flan tin.
Prick the bottom with a fork and place a piece of greaseproof paper and baking beans over the base.
Bake for 25 minutes then take out the oven, remove the beans and paper and leave to cool.
Cook 600g of pumpkin flesh in a pan for approximately 15 mins with just a splash of water; as it cooks it will make its own juice so you don’t want it too watery.
Put the cooked flesh into a food processor (or use a hand blender).
Add to it, 125g soft brown sugar, half a teaspoon each of nutmeg, ground ginger and ground cinnamon, 1 tablespoon honey, grated zest from each of 1 lemon and 1 orange and the juice from half of each.
Process until smooth.
Add 3 beaten eggs and blend together then pour into the pastry case and bake for 50-60 minutes until the centre is set.
Allow to cool then serve dusted with icing sugar and accompanied by whipped cream slightly sweetened with some of the syrup from a jar of stem ginger.
Gloria Nicol grows many of the ingredients for her preserves on an allotment close to her home in the Forest of Dean.
She writes the blog www.laundryetc.co.uk, where you can read more about her preserving.
Pear custard pudding. By Gloria Nicol.
Serves 6
4 large eggs
120g / 4 oz caster sugar
25g / 1 oz plain flour
small pinch of salt
250 ml / 8 1/2 fl oz whole milk and cream (mixed however you fancy)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
4 pears, peeled cored and quartered
butter for the dish
icing sugar for dusting
Butter a baking dish, approximately 22 by 30 cm.
Preheat the oven to 200C / Gas Mark 6.
Place the pears in the bottom of the dish, side by side.
Whisk the eggs and sugar together till light and frothy, then continuing to whisk add the flour and salt till the mixture is like thin batter.
Add the milk/cream combo and vanilla and whisk some more.
Pour the batter over the pears and bake it for 40-50 minutes till golden on top and almost set in the middle.
Leave to cool and dust with icing sugar when still warm or serve cold.
If there is any left for breakfast, then tuck in.
Gloria Nicol grows many of the ingredients for her preserves on an allotment close to her home in the Forest of Dean. She writes the blog www.laundryetc.co.uk, where you can read more about her preserving.
4 large eggs
120g / 4 oz caster sugar
25g / 1 oz plain flour
small pinch of salt
250 ml / 8 1/2 fl oz whole milk and cream (mixed however you fancy)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
4 pears, peeled cored and quartered
butter for the dish
icing sugar for dusting
Butter a baking dish, approximately 22 by 30 cm.
Preheat the oven to 200C / Gas Mark 6.
Place the pears in the bottom of the dish, side by side.
Whisk the eggs and sugar together till light and frothy, then continuing to whisk add the flour and salt till the mixture is like thin batter.
Add the milk/cream combo and vanilla and whisk some more.
Pour the batter over the pears and bake it for 40-50 minutes till golden on top and almost set in the middle.
Leave to cool and dust with icing sugar when still warm or serve cold.
If there is any left for breakfast, then tuck in.
Gloria Nicol grows many of the ingredients for her preserves on an allotment close to her home in the Forest of Dean. She writes the blog www.laundryetc.co.uk, where you can read more about her preserving.
Carrot & rhubarb jam. By Gloria Nicol.
Makes approx 1.5Kg (3lbs 5oz)
500g (1lb 2oz) carrots, peeled, topped and tailed
500g (1lb 2oz) rhubarb, washed and trimmed
1 unwaxed lemon
800g (1 3/4lbs) sugar (use jam sugar with added pectin for a stronger set)
60g (2oz) stem ginger (approx 4 balls)
150g (5oz) candied peel (any citrus or melon will do)
Finely grate the carrots and place in a pan with 500ml (3/4pt) of water.
Finely grate the zest from the lemon, squeeze out the juice and place to one side.
Chop the lemon halves, pith and all, into chunks and place them and any pips in a muslin bag tied closed with string or a knot and add them to the carrots.
Bring to a simmer and cook with the lid on for 20 minutes, then remove from the heat.
Chop the rhubarb into 1cm (1/2in) sized cube pieces.
If the sticks are thick I slice them lengthways once or sometimes twice before chopping into equally sized small chunks.
Place the rhubarb in a bowl, add the lemon zest and juice and pour the sugar over it.
Cover and leave for an hour or two until the juice starts to run from the rhubarb.
Tip the contents of the rhubarb bowl into a preserving pan and add the cooked carrots, cooking liquid and muslin bundle.
Add the finely chopped stem ginger and candied peel cut into thin slivers.
Heat slowly, stirring all the time until the sugar is completely dissolved, then turn up the heat bring to a rolling boil and cook until setting point is reached (this took me around 25 minutes). (Test for a set on a cold plate or use a jam thermometer.)
Discard the muslin bag.
Pour into hot sterilised jars, leaving 1 – 2cm (1/2 – 3/4in) headspace, screw on the lids to fingertip tight and process for 10 minutes in a hot water bath.
For more info about how to hot water process your preserves, refer to the guide here.
Leave your jars until cold and don’t forget to label and date them.
Gloria Nicol grows many of the ingredients for her preserves on an allotment close to her home in the Forest of Dean. She writes the blog www.laundryetc.co.uk, where you can read more about her preserving.
Cherry clafoutis. By Gloria Nicol.
Serves 6 (generously)
3 eggs
100g (1/2 cup) caster sugar
1tsp vanilla extract
1/4tsp salt
40g (1/3rd cup) plain flour
200ml (1 cup) milk
450g (16oz) fresh cherries, pitted or whole
(or 400g (14oz) if using bottled/canned , well drained)
kirsch or amaretto
some icing sugar (optional)
Butter a 25cm diameter earthenware or enamel dish. Pre-heat the oven to 200C (400F, Mk 6).
If you are using a mixer, just throw the first 6 ingredients together and beat together to form a smooth batter. Working by hand, whisk eggs, sugar, vanilla and salt together, then add the flour followed by the milk to make a smooth batter.
Pour half into the prepared dish, spread the cherries over the batter and splash with a few teaspoonfuls of your chosen liqueur. Pour the rest of the batter over the fruit. Bake for 40-45 minutes until the top is lightly golden and the custard centre is beginning to set. Leave to cool for a while so the custard sets further. Serve warm dredged with icing sugar and another drizzle of liqueur if you like.
Gloria Nicol grows many of the ingredients for her preserves on an allotment close to her home in the Forest of Dean.
She writes the blog www.laundryetc.co.uk, where you can read more about her preserving.
3 eggs
100g (1/2 cup) caster sugar
1tsp vanilla extract
1/4tsp salt
40g (1/3rd cup) plain flour
200ml (1 cup) milk
450g (16oz) fresh cherries, pitted or whole
(or 400g (14oz) if using bottled/canned , well drained)
kirsch or amaretto
some icing sugar (optional)
Butter a 25cm diameter earthenware or enamel dish. Pre-heat the oven to 200C (400F, Mk 6).
If you are using a mixer, just throw the first 6 ingredients together and beat together to form a smooth batter. Working by hand, whisk eggs, sugar, vanilla and salt together, then add the flour followed by the milk to make a smooth batter.
Pour half into the prepared dish, spread the cherries over the batter and splash with a few teaspoonfuls of your chosen liqueur. Pour the rest of the batter over the fruit. Bake for 40-45 minutes until the top is lightly golden and the custard centre is beginning to set. Leave to cool for a while so the custard sets further. Serve warm dredged with icing sugar and another drizzle of liqueur if you like.
Gloria Nicol grows many of the ingredients for her preserves on an allotment close to her home in the Forest of Dean.
She writes the blog www.laundryetc.co.uk, where you can read more about her preserving.
Sunday 17 July 2016
Blackberry, apple, rose geranium jam. By Gloria Nicol.
Makes approx. 1.2Kg (2 1/2 lbs) of jam
500g (1 lb) tart apples, bramleys or wild apples will do fine, peeled cored and roughly chopped
300ml (10 fl oz) water or apple juice
500g (1 lb) blackberries
juice of 1 lemon
750g (1 3/4 lbs)sugar
4 – 6 rose rose attar geranium leaves (optional)
Cook the apples with the water or apple juice until the fruit begins to break up and becomes soft.
Add the blackberries and lemon juice and simmer for a further 10-15 minutes.
If you prefer a seedless jam, allow the fruit to cool then run it through a food mill or push through a sieve and continue with pureed fruit.
Add the geranium leaves tied together in a bundle and the sugar to the fruit and stir over a gentle heat until the sugar has dissolved, bring to a simmer then remove from the heat and leave for the flavours to macerate for several hours or overnight.
If you plan to can (water process) your jam, prepare the water bath and jars and place jar seals in a pan of hot water on the hob.
Using a preserving pan, bring everything to a rolling boil and maintain the heat until it reaches setting point and a blob of syrup readily forms a skin as it cools on a cold plate.
It only took me 5 minutes to reach a set with my jam. Fish out the geranium leaves and discard them.
Pour the jam into hot sterilised jars and seal. If you are canning your jam, process for 5 minutes then remove from the canner.
From: Gloria Nicol writes the blog laundryetc and is the author of 100 Jams, Jellies, Preserves and Pickles - 100 Jams, Jellies, Preserves & Pickles: Amazon.co.uk: Gloria Nicol: 9781907563614: Books
Blueberry Sage Jam.
Putting Up with Erin- A canning blog focused on pickling, preserving and "putting up" food in jars.
Yield: 9 half pint jars
Ingredients
10 cups fresh blueberries
4 cups sugar
Juice and zest from 2 lemons
2 Tbsp powdered pectin
1-2 handfuls of fresh sage
Instructions
In a large- sized, non-ionized pot combine blueberries, sage, and lemon zest and juice. Heat on low to medium heat. As the mixture begins to warm, mash up the blueberries using the back of a wooden spoon or potato masher.
Add sugar and pectin, bring to a boil, lower heat to sustain a simmer for 10 minutes, or until mixture reaches 220F. Using either the frozen saucer method or another gel point method test your set.
Ladle jam into hot, sterilized half pint jars leaving approx. 1/4 inch headspace.
Wipe rims, apply lids and rings (finger tight), and then process jars in a hot water bath for 5 minutes.
Remove jars from canner and let cool on a folded towel on the counter for 24 hours.
Can I use something other than lemon juice?
A: For those of you who can’t have citrus, try using a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar in place of the lemon.
It will balance the flavor in the same way.
Yield: 9 half pint jars
Ingredients
10 cups fresh blueberries
4 cups sugar
Juice and zest from 2 lemons
2 Tbsp powdered pectin
1-2 handfuls of fresh sage
Instructions
In a large- sized, non-ionized pot combine blueberries, sage, and lemon zest and juice. Heat on low to medium heat. As the mixture begins to warm, mash up the blueberries using the back of a wooden spoon or potato masher.
Add sugar and pectin, bring to a boil, lower heat to sustain a simmer for 10 minutes, or until mixture reaches 220F. Using either the frozen saucer method or another gel point method test your set.
Ladle jam into hot, sterilized half pint jars leaving approx. 1/4 inch headspace.
Wipe rims, apply lids and rings (finger tight), and then process jars in a hot water bath for 5 minutes.
Remove jars from canner and let cool on a folded towel on the counter for 24 hours.
Can I use something other than lemon juice?
A: For those of you who can’t have citrus, try using a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar in place of the lemon.
It will balance the flavor in the same way.
Lavender Ginger Pickled Blueberries.
Putting Up with Erin- A canning blog focused on pickling, preserving and "putting up" food in jars.
Ingredients
6 cups fresh blueberries
3-5 Tbsp dried lavender
1 cup honey
3 inches fresh ginger (peeled and sliced thin)
3/4 cup water
1-1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
Instructions
Wash the blueberries (removing an stems or bad berries).
Tie loose lavender in a tea bag or ball (multiple bags work fine).
Combine the vinegar, water, and honey in a medium saucepan and bring them to a boil.
Add the lavender tea bags and sliced ginger.
Once the brine is boiling vigorously, add the blueberries.
Stir and cook for 5-7 minutes, or until the brine has returned to a rolling boil and has started to turn a vivid purple.
Remove tea bags.
Ladle the blueberries into the prepared jars leaving a 1/2 inch headspace.
Cover the berries with brine, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.
Remove any trapped air bubbles from the jars.
Wipe the jar rims, apply the lids and rings, and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.
Remove jars from canner and place them on a folded towel to cool.
Let sit for at least 24 hours before consumption.
Ingredients
6 cups fresh blueberries
3-5 Tbsp dried lavender
1 cup honey
3 inches fresh ginger (peeled and sliced thin)
3/4 cup water
1-1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
Instructions
Wash the blueberries (removing an stems or bad berries).
Tie loose lavender in a tea bag or ball (multiple bags work fine).
Combine the vinegar, water, and honey in a medium saucepan and bring them to a boil.
Add the lavender tea bags and sliced ginger.
Once the brine is boiling vigorously, add the blueberries.
Stir and cook for 5-7 minutes, or until the brine has returned to a rolling boil and has started to turn a vivid purple.
Remove tea bags.
Ladle the blueberries into the prepared jars leaving a 1/2 inch headspace.
Cover the berries with brine, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.
Remove any trapped air bubbles from the jars.
Wipe the jar rims, apply the lids and rings, and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.
Remove jars from canner and place them on a folded towel to cool.
Let sit for at least 24 hours before consumption.
Honey Sweetened Blueberry Jam.
Guest Post: Honey Sweetened Blueberry Jam (from Food in Jars) - 100 Days of Real Food
INGREDIENTS
700 gram/4.6 Cups
⅔ cup honey (8 ounces)
½ lemon, juiced
INSTRUCTIONS
Pour the berries into a low, wide, non-reactive pan and mash.
Add the honey and lemon juice and stir to combine.
Let the mixture sit until the honey begins to dissolve.
Place the pan on the stove and bring to a boil.
Cook, stirring regularly, for 10 to 12 minutes, until the jam thickens.
To make the jam shelf stable, pour it into clean, hot jars.
Apply lids and rings and process in a boiling water bath canner for ten minutes.
When time is up, remove jars from the canner and place them on a folded kitchen towel and let them cool.
When the jars are room temperature, check the seals.
If the lids have gone concave and don't wiggle at all, they are sealed.
Any unsealed jars should be refrigerated and used within a few weeks.
If you don't want to process the jam, just pour it into a jar, let it cool, and put it in the refrigerator.
INGREDIENTS
700 gram/4.6 Cups
⅔ cup honey (8 ounces)
½ lemon, juiced
INSTRUCTIONS
Pour the berries into a low, wide, non-reactive pan and mash.
Add the honey and lemon juice and stir to combine.
Let the mixture sit until the honey begins to dissolve.
Place the pan on the stove and bring to a boil.
Cook, stirring regularly, for 10 to 12 minutes, until the jam thickens.
To make the jam shelf stable, pour it into clean, hot jars.
Apply lids and rings and process in a boiling water bath canner for ten minutes.
When time is up, remove jars from the canner and place them on a folded kitchen towel and let them cool.
When the jars are room temperature, check the seals.
If the lids have gone concave and don't wiggle at all, they are sealed.
Any unsealed jars should be refrigerated and used within a few weeks.
If you don't want to process the jam, just pour it into a jar, let it cool, and put it in the refrigerator.
Blueberries.
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.
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.
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