A Fruity Autumn Tart

Not one my strong points pastry but after having a fab meal at the Gilbert Scott restaurant last week I thought I'd have a go at the pudding I had there.

I used Nigel Slater's recipe (though I added a little vanilla in the frangipan mix).

Even if I say so myself it came out looking rather good!

Hope Liz is not late tonight otherwise it might all be gone!

Pork Chops with Star Anise Scented Plums

I'm on a bit of an inspired cooking binge at the moment after a fine meal at the Gilbert & Scott Restaurant in the St Pancreas hotel on Friday. Fantastic 'Modern British' cuisine in a great setting. On Saturday I picked up two thick, meaty pork chops from the butcher in Pitshanger Lane and decided to combine them with some of the plum glut I have at the moment. Very simple but very tasty.
Serves 2.

Ingredients
2 Pork Chops (nice and thick if possible)
3 Large plums (halved and stoned)
2 Star Anise

Heat a griddle pan till very hot. Oil and season the chops and press pieces of star anise into the plum. Fry the chop for 3-5 minutes on each side. Place the halved plums on the chops and put in a moderate oven (180C) for 15-20 minutes.
Serve with roasted potatoes and green beans.

A Quick Lunch

Couldn't resist pairing some very ripe figs from the Pitshanger Lane greengrocer's with some ripe tomatoes and courgettes from the garden in a quick lunch before heading into London for a bit of 'culture'. Serves 2

Ingredients
3 Ripe Figs
Small chunk of blue cheese
Parmasan shavings
6 Cherry or small plum tomatoes
1 Small round courgette (or a normal one)
Fresh Thyme
1/2 a lemon
1 tbsp Olive Oil
Balsamic Vineger

Pre-heat the oven to about 150C.
Slice the courgettes length about the thickness of a pound coin (about 3mm for all of those who don't have Pound coins). Mix together the thyme, lemon juice, salt, pepper and olive oil. Griddle courgettes in a ridged pan for 5 or so minutes on each side, adding the tomatoes towards the end.

Meanwhile cut a cross in the top of each fig (to about half-way down), squeeze gently and put 1/3 of the blue cheese in each. Put in the oven for about 7 minutes until the cheese has melted.

Arrange nicely on plates with a few parmasan shavings, a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and any marinade that is left.

Lamb Cakes

This weekend we made our annual visit to the Royal Berkshire Agricultural Show (or as we ill always know it the Newbury Show). As well as lots of animals on show in all their shampooed and primped glory, the craft tent full of glorious treasures there is the farm food tent. As usual we came back with the car loaded up with high quality meat, artisan chutneys and oils and far too many interesting ciders, vodkas and gins!
Last night we had a simple roast leg of lamb (the freezer was full and the lamb wouldn't fit) with some of the vegetables from the garden. Tonight I fancied something different rather than a straightforward salad.
Serves 2.

Ingredients:
3-4 medium potatoes, peeled, boiled and riced
Good handful of shredded or chopped coat roast lamb (beef would work as well)
Bunch of parsley finely chopped
1 egg, beaten
Salt & Pepper

Mix all the ingredients together and shape into four cakes about 1.5cm thick. Put in the fridge for 15 minutes to firm up.

Heat some oil in a pan and shallow fry until crispy and golden on both sides.

Serve with a punchy green salad with watercress and rocket in it. Add some quartered or halved tomatoes and some sliced raw mushrooms. Dress with a vinaigrette (I used a mix of raspberry vinegar and extra virgin olive oil).  

Harvest 2013

Compared to last year I've had a bumper harvest. Not the best ever but good quality and quantity of most of the crops. All are grown outside, tomatoes and peppers against the back wall of the house for warmth and shelter, the rest in the vegetable beds at the other end of the garden.

Tomatoes: This year I grew a selection of varieties which I bought from one of our local garden centres. All varieties did well, my favourite was a medium sized striped plum type which had a wonderfully rich sweet and sour flavour. The red and yellow cherry varieties have both cropped well and with good flavour. There is also a self seeded round variety that hasn't ripened yet - with nights drawing in I can see a green tomato recipe in my future.

Bell Peppers: These have produced a handful of fruit each and are currently green. Have a feeling they may remain so as the days get shorter and cooler.

Chillies: Very little fruit if any. May have to try again next time in the greenhouse or indoors.

Apples: Both trees did well this year. The Egremont Russet did suffer some damage from birds and bugs but the flavour from those that survived was very good. The other tree, which we think is a Cox, produced a very heavy crop of crisp, juicy and flavoursome fruit.

Victoria Plum: The tree is far too large for the garden and produces an enormous amount of fruit. Too much for us to eat but this year I've stewed them with vanilla sugar and frozen them for the winter as well as scoffing them straight from the tree, wonderful flavour.

Courgettes: Yellow and green round ones this year - they cropped well (three plants have kept us in courgettes for the whole season) but had a tendency to get too large very quickly. Good flavour and texture though.

Runner Beans: Good crop this year, enough to freeze, with good flavour. No idea what the variety is as I have been saving and planting my own seed for so long I've forgotten where the seeds came from!

Leaks: Early days as I won't harvest these for some time but they are looking good.

Jerusalem Artichokes: Good grief these will take over the world (if they aren't strangled by bindweed first) if I'm not careful. Just about to flower and not yet ready for harvesting. Should keep me going (and f***ing) well into the new year. Must be disciplined enough to harvest them all or they will keep spreading!

Blackberries: These are just wild brambles and we have to hack them back to get into the shed. High humidity at the wrong time meant that the 'crop' spoiled quickly and so very little ended up in the freezer.

Rhubarb: Excellent crop again, plenty in the freezer for stewing in the winter.

I'll probably grow the same next year, I need new planters for the tomatoes and I must push back the approaching artichoke apocalypse or I may never see the far end of the garden again. The shed needs painting with a preservative and new felt on the roof. Shrubs in the front half of the garden need cutting back as  does the eucalyptus tree. 

Horseradish Dumplings

My standard accompaniment to stews and casseroles. Simple to make and very filling. Makes 3-4 dumplings depending on how big you want them.

Ingredients
125g Self Raising Flour
50g Suet (beef or vegetable)
1-2tsp of Creamed Horseradish (you could use freshly grated if you have some)
Salt and Pepper
Water

Mix all the dry ingredients together. Add the horseradish and enough water to make a slightly sticky dough. Allow to stand for 10-15 minutes. Flour your hands and make 3-4 balls of dough. Place dumplings on top of the stew/casserole and cover with a lid and cook for about 20 minutes. They will grow in size, sometimes double in size in the steam from the stew.

Bangers and Mash - With A Twist

It's cold still and we needed something warming inside us - Liz after a hard day at work me just from popping down the shed to feed the garden birds! Serves two or three.

Ingredients
6 nice meaty sausages (I used Waitrose Pork, Apricot and Ginger)
1/2 Red Cabbage - shredded
1 Medium Onion - finely sliced
8 Soft Dried Apricots - halved
100ml Cider
1 tblsp Vegetable Oil

Gently fry the sausages in the oil until they are coloured on all sides. Add the onion and continue frying for a few minutes until the soften. Add the red cabbage and the apricots and stir. Add the cider, season then cover and cook on a low heat for ten minutes or until the vegetables and the sausages are cooked.

Serve with plenty of creamy mashed potatoes with a decent mustard and a glass of cider.

Birthday Supper with Friends

It was my birthday yesterday and after returning from a visit to the Natural History Museum where we viewed the always wonderful Wildlife Photo exhibition I cooked supper. It was a combination of items bought from the Waitrose deli counter and home cooked so I still had the pleasure of cooking without having to spend so much time in the kitchen that I didn't see my friends.

Alongside marinated anchovies, olives, bread and oil I prepared some Roasted Peppers with Manchego Cheese. This was followed by a Smoked Salmon Fillets with Horseradish and Dill Yoghurt with Beetroot Risotto. Pudding was Melting Chocolate Orange cakes by Gu. It all seemed to go down well!

Roasted Peppers
This can hardly be called a recipe to be honest! Serves 4 as part of a mixed starter or two with some bread and a green salad for a nice lunch.

Ingredients
2 long sweet red Romano peppers cut in half long ways
1 clove of garlic cut into slivers 
1/2 tsp of oak smoked paprika
50g of mancahgo cheese grated or in thin slices
25g Parmesan cheese grated
1tblsp olive oil (I used a smoked oil for extra flavour)

Place the peppers in a baking dish, cut side up and sprinkle the garlic, paprika and oil over them. Bake in a moderate oven (150-180C) for 10-15 minutes until starting to soften. Add the manchego cheese and the Parmesan cheese then place back in the oven for 5-10 minutes to allow the cheeses to melt.

Smoked Salmon with Beetroot Risotto and Horseradish Yoghurt
For four people use the recipe for Beetroot Risotto I've detailed before but leave out the Bacon and the Parmesan Cheese and add the juice of half a lemon at the end. If you cant get lightly smoked fillets then normal salmon or trout fillets will do.

Ingredients (for four)
Beetroot Risotto
4 Lightly Smoked Salmon Fillets (about 100-150g each)
1 tblsp Olive Oil
1 tblsp Greek Yoghurt
1 tsp Creamed Horseradish
2 tsp finely chopped fresh dill

Mix the yoghurt, horseradish and dill together and set aside.
Make the risotto as per the instructions.
While the risotto is resting (after cooking with the lid on in a warm place), pan fry the salmon fillets in the oil.
Place the salmon fillet on  the risotto, place a spoon full of the horseradish yoghurt on the salmon fillet and sprinkle with a little reserved chopped dill if desired.


 

Cauliflower Risotto

It's been ages since I last blogged, I haven't stopped cooking (or eating) for that matter just forgotten to write about what I've been cooking.
This week we've had sub-zero temperatures, several centimetres of snow on the ground and no windows for a couple of days while we had the old double glazing replaced in four rooms (including my 'den'). Now the house is snuggy again and the cats are lounging on the window sills looking out at the birds pecking around in the snow and clinging to the bird feeders. Last night we had a nice warming risotto to give us our own central heating. While I was out feeding the birds I pulled some leaks from the frozen veg patch. Serves three.

Ingredients
1 medium cauliflower broken into florets.
3 small leaks, trimmed, washed and finely sliced
1 clove of garlic, crushed
225g risotto rice
750ml hot vegetable stock (or thereabouts depends on the age of your rice)
Small bunch of parsley
2 tablespoon olive oil
20g of butter
1 glass of white wine (something you'd like to drink with the meal) - Optional.
50g of parmesan cheese, grated plus some shavings for serving.

Method
Drizzle half the oil over the cauliflower and season with salt and pepper. Roast in a medium oven (150-180C) while you make the risotto. Check and shake the cauliflower until it is cooked, browned on the edges with soft stalks.
Meanwhile melt half the butter with the oil and gently fry the leeks until softened. Add the rice and stir until coated with oil and butter. Add the wine if using and stir until evaporated. Gradually add the stock, ladle by ladle, until the rice is cooked. Add the parsley and stir, add the rest of the butter and parmasan and stir. Add the cauliflower and stir through. Serve with the parmesan shavings on top.