La Cuisine de Sarah

Wild Garlic Pesto

noreply@blogger.com (La Cuisine de Sarah) — Sun, 05 May 2013 14:53:00 +0000

A Spring recipe - Spring has finally sprung! I'd love to say I picked the wild garlic myself, but unfortunately I doubt there is much of it growing in London (not in my neighbourhood anyway!). I got mine through my organic veg box scheme, you may also be able to find it at farmers markets. If you do live in a more rural area, have a look out for it. It likes shady wooded areas and is in season now. It has oval shaped leaves and white flowers - you will usually be able to smell it before you see it!

Wild garlic leaves

Warning: this is a seriously garlicky pesto! It has a strong pungent flavour so garlic lovers will adore the taste, but if you are not fond of regular garlic, I would stay away from this!

Serve as you would basil pesto - it is delicious served with pasta, or can also be used to dip bread or flatbreads into.

Makes around 500ml of pesto - or two small jars
Ingredients

-100g wild garlic leaves, washed, dried and chopped
-50g chopped almonds (or other nuts such as pine nuts, cashews or walnuts would work well)
-50g grated parmesan style cheese
-Zest and juice of half an organic lemon
-100ml good olive oil (more or less may be needed according to desired consistency)
-Black pepper

1. Put all of the ingredients into a food processor and pulse until you get a smooth paste. Add more olive oil if you prefer a more liquid consistency. You can also use a mortar and pestle to pound the pesto into a paste which will give a more chunky texture, however this will obviously require more time and elbow grease!

Chocolate Orange Ganache Tart

noreply@blogger.com (La Cuisine de Sarah) — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 11:51:00 +0000

My New Year's 'de-tox' is well and truly over... Re-tox with this indulgent dessert!

Serves 6 - 8

Ingredients

-400g dark chocolate
-350ml double cream
-50g unsalted butter
-25g melted unsalted butter
-1 tsp liquid glucose (optional)
-100g candied orange peel (I made my own)
-200g 'sablé' type biscuits

1. First make the base -whizz the biscuits into crumbs in a food processor then pour in the melted butter, whizzing again to combine. Pour this mixture into a well greased 23cm loose based tin (you may not need all of it). Using a palette knife, smooth down the biscuit crumbs pressing into the corners and up the slide of the tin. Use the palette knife to press down and compact the biscuit crumbs as much as possible. You are looking for a thickness of about 0.5cm of compacted biscuit crumbs lining the tin. Cover with cling film/ foil and place carefully in the freezer until required.

Biscuit base

2. To make the ganache filling, place a large heatproof bowl over a pan of boiling water (make sure the bowl is not in contact with the water). Break the chocolate into pieces and put these in the bowl with the cream, liquid glucose (if using) and remaining butter. Melt this very gently, stirring now and again and making sure it does not get too hot (if the chocolate gets to hot it will turn into a grainy texture). Chop the candied orange peel (reserving a few slices for decoration) and add to the ganache, then leave to cool for 5 minutes or so.

3. Remove the base from the freezer, and carefully pour in the ganache. Use a palette knife to smooth the surface, then leave to cool completely. Once cooled, refrigerate until needed (remove the tart 30 minutes before eating). Top with the remaining candied orange peel to decorate (Tip: use a sharp knife dipped in boiling water to slice).

English Muffins

noreply@blogger.com (La Cuisine de Sarah) — Sat, 19 Jan 2013 17:47:00 +0000

After a recent Spring clean it was decided that we were in need of a new toaster. The one we had was ok, perfectly capable of toasting I suppose, but we had had it for a while and I thought it was probably time to upgrade. After much umm-ing and ahh-ing, and comparing of tech specs of various toasters (oh yes, I took it very seriously. This is how 'rock and roll' my life is.), we found our ideal toaster. 4 'extra wide' slots, a bagel warming function, and apparently capable of toasting 120 slices an hour... I haven't tested that yet.

Anyway in honour of my new kitchen gadget I made these English muffins. I have to say they are best freshly cooked, simply sliced and buttered, but of course they will also be delicious toasted. They are made from a basic bread dough, and dusted with semolina before cooking which gives them their typical crunchy crust. They are much more substantial than shop-bought muffins, and even if I say so myself, a thousand time more delicious.

English Muffins - makes 10

Ingredients

-500g strong white bread flour
-1 tsp quick yeast
-1 1/2 tsp salt
-325ml water
-1 tbsp oil (I used rapeseed, sunflower or olive oil could also be used)
-Pinch of sugar
-Semolina for dusting

1. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, yeast, salt and sugar. Gradually pour in the water and then the oil, mixing with your fingers. Bring together into a ball of dough, then knead on a floured surface until smooth (around 15 minutes). Alternatively, use the dough hook of a food mixer to knead the dough.
2. Put the dough into an oiled bowl, cover and leave to rise until doubled in size (around 1 hour).
3. Knock back the dough and divide into 10 equal pieces. Dust a large wooden board with semolina. Using the palm of your hands roll the lumps of dough into a ball, then flatten. Dust well with semolina then place on the board. Repeat with the rest of the dough, then leave to rise again for around 30 minutes (cover the board with a large plastic bag to prevent the dough from drying out).

4. To cook the muffins, ideally you will need two heavy based frying pans, however I used a pancake pan and a large cast iron saucepan and they both worked ok. Heat your pans on a medium heat (you do not need any oil), then place three to four muffins on each. Leave to cook for around two minutes, then flip over. Continue cooking in this way for 10 - 15 minutes - until they are puffed up and browned on each side, and they have become lighter. Adjust the heat if they are cooking too quickly/ slowly.

Enjoy fresh or toasted, split and spread with butter.

Apricot & Hazelnut Benoîtons

noreply@blogger.com (La Cuisine de Sarah) — Sun, 14 Oct 2012 16:03:00 +0000

Benoîtons are French small rectangular shaped rolls, most often flavoured with nuts and raisins. They are traditionally made with rye flour (or a mix of rye and white flours).

Forever on the lookout for new breakfast ideas for workdays (see Breakfast Fruit bread), i'll be taking these to work filled with butter and jam or with peanut butter. I have to admit though, they are probably best fresh out the oven with a generous spreading of good butter :-)

Makes 8 benoîtons

Ingredients

-100g light rye flour
-200g white bread flour
-1 tsp quick yeast
-1 tsp salt
-150ml milk
-100ml water
-70g chopped dried apricots
-40g chopped hazelnuts

1. Warm the milk in a small saucepan (do not boil) then leave to cool to room temperature.
2. In a large bowl, combine the flours, salt, and yeast. Pour in the milk and mix, adding enough water just to bring the dough together. Knead for 10 minutes (by hand or in a mixer with dough-hook attachment), until smooth and elastic. Tip in the apricots and hazelnuts and knead again until incorporated.
3. Put the dough into a greased bowl and leave to prove in a warm spot for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
4. On a floured surface, flatten out the dough into a rectangle roughly 30cm x 20cm and 2cm thick. Cut into 5 strips from top to bottom then cut once along the width to form 10 benoîtons. Transfer to 2 lined / greased baking sheets and leave to rise for 15 - 20 minutes. Meanwhile preheat the oven to 220C.
5. Once risen, brush the benoítons with water and bake for 15 - 20 minutes or until golden and crisp.

Plum Jam Tart

noreply@blogger.com (La Cuisine de Sarah) — Sun, 02 Sep 2012 19:01:00 +0000

This summer I made nearly 4kg of jam whilst on holiday in France, thanks to a tree laden with small golden plums at the bottom of my Mum's garden. I could have made much more, if only I had the time and the means to transport it back to London. Anyway, so now I have a healthy stock of home-made plum jam. It's lovely, but I do like to vary the flavour of jam I have on my toast... and who knows how long it would take me to eat my way through 4kg of jam. So I was looking for alternative ways to use up the stock of plum jam to make way for the other types of jam I have yet to open. A jam tart seemed ideal.

The pastry used for this tart is based on a method which uses self raising flour, more egg and less butter. The result is a lighter, cake-like crust. I used orange flavoured liqueur and some vanilla sugar to flavour the pastry, and almonds sprinkled on the top of the tart for some crunch, but you can vary these ingredients to taste. This recipe yields more pastry than is needed; you could either save (or freeze) the rest of the pastry, or use a larger tin (for a larger but thinner tart).

Serves 6

Ingredients

Pastry

-400g self raising flour

-100g butter, cubed

-100g caster sugar (I used 30g vanilla sugar and 70g plain caster sugar)

-2 eggs

-30 ml orange liqueur (or other such as rum)

-Water (if required)

Filling

-450g jam (preferably home-made!)

-1 tbsp flaked almonds

-1 tsp sugar (optional)

-Milk for glazing

1. Grease a 23cm tin and keep in the fridge until needed.

2. In large bowl mix together the dry pastry ingredients and add the butter, use your fingertips to work in the butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Make a well in the centre and crack in the eggs, and use a knife or metal spoon to mix. Slowly pour in the liqueur to bring the pastry together (add water if required). Bring the pastry together into a ball, cover in cling film and chill for at least 30 minutes.

3. Preheat oven to 180C. Dust a work surface with flour and roll out enough pastry to line the greased tin (to about 5mm thickness). Push the pastry down into the tin, trim the edges and prick with a fork. Spoon the jam onto the pastry and spread evenly over the tart. Use some of the pastry trimmings to create a lattice and place this on the tart. Sprinkle over the almonds, brush the lattice with milk and sprinkle over the teaspoon of sugar.

4. Bake for 20 - 30 minutes or until golden. Leave to cool slightly before eating, the jam gets extremely hot!

Beetroot Bhaji

noreply@blogger.com (La Cuisine de Sarah) — Sun, 19 Aug 2012 10:18:00 +0000

We have been getting lovely fresh beetroot in our weekly organic veg box delivery for a few weeks in a row now, and I was running out of ideas of what to do with it. I didn't want it to end up like the potatoes which we don't really eat much of, which are usually still left over at the end of the week (when we receive yet more of them).

So I experimented and made them into bhajis, mixed with some red onion and lots of spices. I'm not sure if they are traditional at all, but they are perfect for picnics dipped into a minty raita, or stuffed into a chapati with some crunchy lettuce, tomato, cooling yoghurt and a chutney of some kind.

Makes 20 - 25 bhaji

Ingredients

-1 bunched beetroot (roughly 500g), tops trimmed and left in their skins
-1 large red onion
-200g gram (chickpea) flour
-200ml fizzy water
-1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
-1 tsp salt
-1 tsp nigella (jalonji) seeds
-1 tbsp cumin seeds - lightly toasted in a dry pan, then crushed
-1 tsp coriander seeds - lightly toasted in a dry pan, then crushed
-1 tsp ground turmeric
-1 tbsp good garam masala (I used madras)
-2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
-2cm chunk of fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
-1 chopped red chilli, fresh or dried (optional)
-1 tbsp chopped fresh mint

-Sunflower oil for deep frying (about 750 ml)

1. Firstly give the beetroot a good scrub, then coarsely grate into a large bowl (or use appropriate attachment on your food processor). Then peel and finely slice the red onion, tip into the bowl with the beetroot and put to one side.
2. In a separate bowl, sieve in the gram flour then mix in the remaining ingredients (apart from the oil and the fizzy water). Make a well in the centre of the mix, then start to incorporate the fizzy water, mixing with a fork. Add just enough to form a thick batter, then pour this onto the beetroot/ red onion and mix thoroughly.
3. In a large, deep frying pan, pour in the oil to about 5cm deep. Gently heat until it is hot enough that when you sprinkle flour into it, it sizzles.
4. Take tablespoons of the mix and lower gently into the hot oil, several at a time. Cook for 3 - 4 minutes or until the bottom starts to crisp, then carefully flip over.

When they are crispy all over remove from the oil and drain on kitchen paper while you fry the rest.

Delicious served hot or cold.

Truffle & Mushroom Ravioli

noreply@blogger.com (La Cuisine de Sarah) — Sat, 11 Aug 2012 15:45:00 +0000

I love filled pasta and really don't make enough of it. I have a pasta machine but it is one of those things that has been stored out of reach above the cupboards in the kitchen, and has ended up being neglected. However, recently I've been watching Michela Chiappa's 'Simply Italian' series on TV which inspired me to dust off the old pasta machine. To honour its outing I decided to open the jar of truffle paste I had been saving.

For a special occasion these ravioli are delicious served with a light sauce of olive oil & garlic. I served them with a rocket & roasted fennel salad and some nice chilled white wine.

Serves 4

Ingredients

For the pasta

-300g '00' flour
-3 eggs

-Semolina, for dusting

For the filling

-250g ricotta
-250g mushrooms (I used a mix of chestnut and shitake mushroom)s
-1tbsp black truffle paste (or more to taste!)

For the 'sauce'

-100 ml good olive oil
-2 cloves of garlic
-Grated parmesan style cheese, torn fresh basil, to serve

1. To make the pasta, tip the flour onto a work surface or into a large bowl and make a well in the centre. Crack in the eggs and gradually work them into the flour using a fork. When the mixture is starting to come together, use your hands to knead the dough for 10 minutes or until smooth. Wrap the dough in cling film and chill for 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile make the filling. Finely chop the mushrooms and fry in a glug of oil over a medium-high heat, until all their water is cooked out and they start to brown. Leave to cool. In a bowl, mix the ricotta with the truffle paste and mushrooms and season to taste. Chill until needed.
3. Dust your work surface with flour and either use a pasta machine or rolling pin to roll out your pasta dough to about 1mm thick. The dough should be worked well so that you get a smooth, almost translucent sheet of pasta. You need to keep the sheet of pasta dusted with flour and work quickly to prevent it drying out.
4. Have ready trays dusted with semolina to place the finished ravioli on. If you have used a pasta machine you will have 1 or several long rectangles of pasta, ideally this is what you are looking to achieve if you have used a rolling pin. Take the filling and place teaspoonfuls of it every 2-3cm along one side of the pasta sheet. Brush the edges and between the spoonfuls of filling with water. Carefully fold the other side of the pasta sheet over the filling. Press down and make sure no air is trapped in with the filling. Use a knife or pastry cutter to cut the ravioli and place on the trays dusted with semolina. Cover with cling film and chill until needed (you can also freeze them at this point).
5. Peel and finely slice the garlic. Heat the olive oil in a small pan and gently fry the garlic.
6. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil, and gently slide the ravioli in. They will take under 5 minutes to cook so make sure you are ready to eat!
7. When the ravioli are cooked to your liking, very gently drain them. Transfer to heated plates, drizzle over the garlic oil, sprinkle with the cheese and basil, a little salt, and lots of cracked black pepper.

As it has been a while, i'm submitting this to Presto Pasta Nights, this week hosted by Briciole.

Breakfast Fruit Breads

noreply@blogger.com (La Cuisine de Sarah) — Tue, 01 May 2012 06:21:00 +0000

This month I am hosting the Fresh From The Oven challenge. I had a long think about what to make and decided on breakfast fruit breads. Now, for me there are two types of breakfast breads. You've got the rich, buttery, sugary and indulgent kind. Which, don't get me wrong, are lovely once in a while. But then you have the more wholesome fruit breads, which I feel less guilty about eating for breakfast and which I find are more suited for weekday working breakfasts. This is what I have gone for here, but feel free to make your favourite breakfast fruit bread, whatever the type! I like to make a few loaves at a time, slice them, and freeze them. Then I can grab a few slices at a time to toast or defrost and to take to work.

I would usually use a 50/50 mix of wholemeal/ strong white flours but alas I had run out of wholemeal flour this time, so I used mostly white flour but added a bit of dark rye flour. This bread also has oats, peanuts, seeds, raisins and chopped prunes but you can use whatever you have handy. I have made a dried fig and walnut bread before which was lovely and also dried cherries and almonds make a nice fruit bread.

For details of how to take part in the challenge visit Utterly Scrummy blog, this is also where this month's roundup will be posted at the end of May. Happy Baking!

Healthy breakfast fruit bread

Makes 1 loaf

Ingredients

-250g strong white flour
-250g strong wholemeal flour (or a mix of flours)
-25g nuts / seeds
-75g prunes, chopped
-50g rolled oats
-350ml warm water
-2 tbsp natural yoghurt
-1 - 2 tbsp maple syrup or honey
-1 tsp quick yeast
-1/2 tsp salt
-Milk for glazing

1. Combine the flours, oats, yeast and salt in a large bowl then add the yoghurt and maple syrup/ honey. Slowly add the water and combine until it starts to come together- you may not need it all.
2. Use the dough hook of your food mixer to work the dough for 5 - 10 minutes or until smooth (or knead by hand).
3. Place the ball of dough in an oiled bowl, cover with cling film and leave to rise in a warmish place until doubled in size.
4. Punch down the dough and use your hands to spread it out into a 30 x 20 rectangle (roughly). Sprinkle the dried fruit and nuts and seeds evenly over the dough. Taking the longest side, roll up tightly then fold under the side. Place in a greased loaf tin and leave again to rise until doubled in size. Meanwhile pre-heat the oven to 220C.
5. When the dough is ready use a sharp knife to slash the dough, then brush with milk. Bake for 10 minutes at 220c then turn the oven down to 200C and bake for a further 20 - 30 minutes, or until golden and 'hollow sounding'.

Enjoy with butter and/ or your favourite jam.

Hot Cross Bun Rogue Gallery

noreply@blogger.com (La Cuisine de Sarah) — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 21:13:00 +0000

I have just made hot cross buns for the first time and have discovered that, although the dough itself is quite straightforward, there is definitely a knack to the cross lattice... The cross mixture is made from flour, water and melted butter which is whisked together then spooned into a piping bag. Then you are let loose on the buns just before baking them. I obviously wasn't ready and I think I made my mixture too thin so I had to be quick... anyway it has created some interesting patterns :-)

'Rustic' would be the kindest way of describing this one

... and this one....

Success!

Happy Easter!

Banana & Hazelnut Cake

noreply@blogger.com (La Cuisine de Sarah) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 22:09:00 +0000

I have been experimenting with chestnut flour recently, it makes gives this cake an extra nutty flavour. To make a good banana cake the bananas need to be really ripe, ideally you need to wait until they start to turn brown -personally this is how I like them anyway as I find they have more flavour.

Ingredients

-3 very ripe bananas, peeled and mashed
-100g self raising flour
-100g chestnut flour (or another 100g self raising flour)

-1 tsp baking powder
-2 eggs, beaten
-75g caster sugar
-50g hazelnuts, chopped or bashed

1. Grease and line a 500g loaf tin. Make sure all of the ingredients are at room temperature. Preheat oven to 180C.
2. Combine the flours and baking powder and put to one side. In a large bowl cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy then gradually add in the egg, mixing well after each addition. Fold in the flour mix until just combined, then mix in the mashed banana and hazelnuts.
3. Pour the mix into the cake tin and bake for 45 mins - 1 hour or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. Leave to cool before eating.

Rustic White Loaf

noreply@blogger.com (La Cuisine de Sarah) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 10:11:00 +0000

This is the first time I have tried making bread using a poolish. It worked out well and is easy to manage- I made the poolish early in the morning before work, then made the bread in the evening so the poolish had a good 12 hours to ferment. You can also leave it overnight. This loaf had a nice flavour and great crust (it erupted!)

Ingredients

Poolish
-50 g strong white bread flour
-50 g rye / whole wheat flour
-250ml water
-1/4 tsp dried yeast

Loaf

-500g strong white bread flour
-1tsp dried yeast
-2 tsps salt
-350ml warm water

1. The night/ morning you wish to bake, mix the ingredients for the poolish together, cover with cling film , and leave in the fridge for 12 - 24 hours.
2. Dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Mix together the flour, salt, poolish and add the water and stir. Knead for 5 -10 minutes, the dough will come together and form a smooth ball. Leave this covered with greased cling film for 1 h or until doubled in size.
3. Preheat oven to 250C. Take the dough, punch it down and shape it, place in a 500g baking tin, cover with greased cling film and leave for 1 - 2 hours until well risen.
4. Remove the cling film and bake for 10 minutes at 250C then lower the temperature to 200C and bake for a further 20 - 30 minutes, or until the loaf sounds hollow when tapped.

Roasted Butternut Squash stuffed with Beetroot 'tartare'

noreply@blogger.com (La Cuisine de Sarah) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 20:10:00 +0000

This is a simple midweek throw-together dish...

Serves 2

Ingredients

-1 butternut squash, halved lengthways and seeds removed

-2 cooked beetroot

-1 slice feta cheese

-1 tbsp toasted sunflower seeds, or chopped walnuts

-Breadcrumbs

-Sunflower oil

-Seasoning

-Fresh mint to garnish (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 250C. Brush the butternut squash halves with sunflower oil and season. Transfer to a roasting tray and roast until tender - about 30 minutes.
2. Finely dice the beetroot and feta, then mix with the toasted sunflower seeds. Season to taste.
3. Spoon the beetroot mixture into the cavities of the squash. Sprinkle over the breadcrumbs and finish with a drizzle of oil, then return to the oven for 5 minutes. Top with chopped mint.

Enjoy with a green salad or rice/ couscous/ quinoa.

Chocolate Cake with Poached Pears

noreply@blogger.com (La Cuisine de Sarah) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 19:02:00 +0000

A thin, vanilla and spice soaked chocolate sponge topped with poached pears. Can be served hot or cold.

Serves 6 -8

Ingredients:

For the pears:

-6-8 pears (I used conference pears, which hold their shape well)
-75g sugar
-1 vanilla pod
-1 clove
-1/2 tsp mixed spice
-1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
-200ml water
-100ml ginger wine

For the cake:
-125g butter, softened
-125g self-raising flour
-125g caster sugar
-3 eggs
-2 tbsp cocoa powder
-50g dark chocolate, finely grated

1. First start with the pears. Keeping the stem intact, carefully peel the pears and take a slice off the bottom so they can stand upright. Using an apple corer and sharp knife, remove the seeds from the centre of the pear, cutting into the pear from the bottom.
2. In a large saucepan gently heat the sugar, ginger wine, water, vanilla (split) and spices. Lower in the pears, cover, and poach for 15 - 20 minutes or until just tender.
3. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180C. Grease and line a 23cm spring-form tin.
4. Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Crack in one egg at a time, mixing well after each addition (adding a spoonful of flour with each egg will prevent the mix from splitting). Finally, sift in the flour and cocoa powder, then fold in with the grated chocolate.
5. Pour the cake mixture into the tin and spread out to the edges, it will be a thin spreading as this will not be a thick cake.
6. Bake the cake on the middle shelf for 30 - 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.
7. To serve the cake, remove the pears from their poaching syrup and put to one side. Reduce the remaining syrup over a medium - high heat until thickened. Use a fine skewer to pierce the cake all over, then pour over some of the syrup spreading it over the cake as you go. Arrange the pears on top of the cake.

Can be served with cream, custard or ice cream.

Home-made Granola

noreply@blogger.com (La Cuisine de Sarah) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 19:11:00 +0000

In line with my 'eat more wholefoods' New Year's resolution, I made this granola to take for breakfast at work during the week. I've been having it with slices of banana and soy milk.

I've used almonds, hazelnuts, dates, coconut and apricots as the main flavours but you really can add whatever dried fruits and nuts you have to hand. I admit I just saved this batch from burning but it still tastes good :-)

Ingredients:

-300g rolled oats
-100g shelled almonds
-50g hazelnuts
-30g pumpkin seeds
-1 tbsp golden linseed
-1 tbsp wheatgerm
-2 tbsp honey (British / local - save our bees!)
-2 tbsp golden syrup
-2 tbsp apple juice
-2 tbsp walnut oil (or sunflower oil)
-20g toasted coconut flakes
-75g pitted dates, chopped
-75g dried apricots, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 180C and line two baking trays with baking paper.
2. In a small pan, mix together the honey and golden syrup and warm over a low heat. Mix this together with the rest of the ingredients (apart from the dates, coconut and apricots) in a large bowl.
3. Divide the mixture between the two baking trays and spread out. Bake for 20 - 30 minutes until browned and crisped, stirring at 10 minute intervals.

4. Mix with the dates and apricots and leave to cool entirely before storing in an air tight container.

Serve with milk, yoghurt or as a crunchy topping for desserts.

Yellow Split Pea Soup

noreply@blogger.com (La Cuisine de Sarah) — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 14:43:00 +0000

This soup is comforting, nutritious and extremely cheap to make. The 500g bag of organic yellow split peas I used cost me just 99p, and the whole soup can't have cost more than £2.50 to make. So it complies with more than one of my New Year's Resolutions- a good start to 2012!

Serves 6 as a starter or 4 as a main course

Ingredients:

-500g dried yellow split peas, rinsed
-1 onion, peeled and chopped
-1 2cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
-1 small red chilli, seeds removed and chopped
-1 tsp turmeric powder
-1/2 tin coconut milk
-1 litre vegetable stock
-1/2 soy sauce
-Juice of one lemon
-1 tbsp sunflower oil for frying
Seasoning

1. Gently fry the onion, ginger and chilli until soft. Add the split peas to the pan with the vegetable stock and turmeric, and simmer for 30 minutes or until the split peas are tender but still with some bite to them. You may need to top up with water as the peas cook.
2. Remove 1/3 of the split peas from the pan and put to one side. Purée the rest using a hand blender (or transfer to a food processor). Pour the reserved split peas back into the pan.
3. Stir in the lemon juice, coconut milk, and soy sauce then season to taste.

Serve with chunky bread and a swirl of yoghurt if liked.

Christmas Leftover Toasties

noreply@blogger.com (La Cuisine de Sarah) — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 12:52:00 +0000

Left:

-Slices of Bath Soft cheese

-Pomegranate seeds

-Finished with rocket leaves

On homemade foccacia

Right:

-Layer of celeriac mash

-Roasted sprouts and shallots

-Slices of cheddar

-English mustard

On white sourdough

Both lightly brushed with sunflower oil and toasted over a low heat for 5 -10 minutes each side. Fine dining it is not, but who can refuse a cheese toastie??

Celeriac Gratin

noreply@blogger.com (La Cuisine de Sarah) — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 21:53:00 +0000

Celeriac has to be my favourite winter vegetable. This dish, although delicious by itself, would also make a great side dish on Christmas Day.

Serves 2 as a main or 4 as a side dish

Ingredients

-1 small celeriac root, peeled
-200ml double cream
-100ml milk
-1 garlic clove
-1 bay leaf
-Salt, pepper, freshly grated nutmeg

1. Preheat oven to 200C. Chop the celeriac into 2mm slices. Heat the milk and the cream in a pan with the bay leaf, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and garlic. Tip in the celeriac slices and stir. Simmer for 10 minutes.
2. Grease an ovenproof dish and pour in the contents of the pan. Transfer to the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until browned.

Christmas Spice Cakes

noreply@blogger.com (La Cuisine de Sarah) — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 19:04:00 +0000

We got our Christmas tree today so I am getting into the Christmas spirit now :-)

Ingredients
Makes 15 -20 small cakes

-45g runny honey
-45g treacle
-90g golden syrup
-90g brown sugar
-180ml milk
-200g self raising flour
-1/2 tsp baking powder
-1 tsp ground allspice
-1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
-1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
-65g butter, softened
-1 large egg, beaten
To serve: 75g sugar, 1 tsp ground cinnamon

1. Preheat the oven to 180C and grease some cake tins (muffin tins for example or here I used heart shaped ones).
2. Dissolve the brown sugar, golden syrup, treacle and honey in the milk in a saucepan over a medium heat. Leave to cool slightly.
3. Mix the flour, baking powder and spices together in a large bowl. Beat with the softened butter.
4. Add the sugar/ milk mixture in batches, mixing well after each addition. Add the beaten egg and combine.
5. Spoon the mixture into the moulds and bake for 20 -25 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into one of the cakes comes out clean.
6. Meanwhile mix the sugar and cinnamon together in a large bowl. Place a few of the cakes into this sugar mixture as soon as they are removed from the oven. Spoon over the sugar then place on a wire rack to cool. Repeat with the rest of the cakes.

Butternut Squash, Feta, and Sundried Tomato Polenta Cake

noreply@blogger.com (La Cuisine de Sarah) — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 11:07:00 +0000

... because cake doesn't always have to be sweet! This cake is easy to make and very versatile, I used butternut squash, sundried tomatoes and cheese but you can experiment and use olives, other vegetables, herbs, etc.

Great served with salad or served with drinks as an aperitif.

Ingredients

-150g cooked butternut squash (I halved a squash, roasted it and scooped the flesh out once cooled)
-100g polenta
-150g self raising flour
-50g quark, soft cheese or yoghurt
-100g feta or Cheshire cheese, very roughly chopped
-75ml milk
-3 eggs, beaten
-30g melted butter
-10 sundried tomatoes (in oil), chopped
-1tsp tomato purée
-1tsp baking powder
-Small handful sunflower seeds, toasted
-A few gratings of cheddar
Salt, pepper to taste
Sunflower oil for greasing

1. Preheat oven to 180C and grease a non-stick loaf tin (2lb).
2. Purée the butternut squash in a food processor or mash with a fork.

3. Mix the flour, polenta, and baking powder together in a mixing bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients (saving half the sunflower seeds and grated cheddar for the topping) and mix just until well combined. Season.
4. Tip the mix into the greased loaf tin and sprinkle over the sunflower seeds and grated cheddar. Bake for 35 - 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.

Can be served hot or cold.

'Sisu': Finnish Rye Bread

noreply@blogger.com (La Cuisine de Sarah) — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 16:12:00 +0000

This is my favourite bread at the moment, I got the recipe from a bread course but it is a traditional Finnish loaf. 'Sisu' translates as guts and perseverance, which is surprising really. After having spent two days making Panettone last weekend, this loaf is incredibly simple to make in comparison! And as it uses rye flour which is naturally low in gluten, it does not require any kneading. Just mix, prove and bake.

It is quite a dense bread but is delicious topped with cheese and gherkins, smorgasbord style.

Sisu

Makes one large loaf or two smaller ones

Ingredients:

-150g light rye flour
-350g dark rye flour
-300g sourdough starter (see step 1.)
-1 tbsp treacle
-10g caraway seeds
-15g fine salt
-350g luke warm water
-Sunflower oil for greasing

1. A day before you wish to bake, take 100g of your starter and mix with 200G rye flour (light or dark) and 100g water. Cover and leave to ferment overnight.
2. The day you wish to bake, mix all of the ingredients together. You will get a cement like dough. Grease a 400g loaf tin with sunflower oil (for one large loaf) or two for two smaller loaves.

The mix

3. Wet your hands then form the dough into a smooth shape and drop into the tin(s). Sprinkle with some rye flour and caraway seeds. Cover and leave in a warm place to prove for 3 - 4 hours. When the surface has cracked it is ready to bake.

Ready to go in the oven

4. Heat oven to 250C and bake for 40 minutes for two loaves or up to an hour for one large loaf. Reduce the heat to 200C after 10 minutes. When cooked, remove from the tin and cool completely on a wire rack.

Roasted Pumpkin with Chickpeas in Spiced Coconut Sauce

noreply@blogger.com (La Cuisine de Sarah) — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 11:29:00 +0000

I have long suspected that there is much more to Indian food than the dishes we find on the menu in most of the Indian restaurants in the U.K.. The menus always follow the same format and seem to offer the same thing. Maybe I haven't been going to the right restaurants!

I was delighted to find this gem of a book at a book-sale at work: 'Tasting India' by Christine Manfield.

Christine is an Australian chef and has travelled extensively in India. It is a beautiful book with stunning photos of Indian landscapes contrasted against those of busy city life. What I like most is it is divided into regions and each chapter has an introduction to the region, it's history and their particular style of cooking. The book has over 250 recipes and many of them are vegetarian. Not a korma or vindaloo to be found.

This is my recipe inspired by this book. It involves a lot of grinding / puréeing so a mini chopper or good pestle and mortar is needed!

Roasted Pumpkin with Chickpeas in Spiced Coconut Sauce

Serves 4

Ingredients

-1 small pumpkin or butternut squash, skin and seeds removed

-1 tin chickpeas

-1 onion, peeled and chopped

-1 red chilli, chopped

-3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

-3 cm chunk of ginger, peeled

-1 small tin chopped tomatoes (230g)

-1 tin coconut milk (400ml)

-Small handful unsalted peanuts

-1 tsp soy sauce

-1 tsp toasted sesame oil (optional)

-Sunflower oil for roasting/ frying

Spice mix:

-1 tsp coriander seeds

-1/2 tsp cardamom seeds

-1 star anise

-1/2 tsp peppercorns

-1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 250C. Chop the pumpkin into 2cm x 2cm cubes and spread out on a baking tray. Drizzle over some oil and coat the pieces. Roast until tender - about 20 -30 minutes.

2. Meanwhile put the onion, ginger, garlic and chilli into a food processor and pulse to a rough purée (I did this in a mini chopper, I found I needed a larger quantity for the blades to engage so I doubled the quantity and froze the rest for next time).

3. In a spice grinder or good pestle and mortar grind the coriander and cardamom seeds, star anise and peppercorns. Mix with the ground cinnamon. If you prefer you can use some garam masala instead of this spice mix.

4. Heat 1 tbsp of sunflower oil in a large sauce pan and gently fry the onion/garlic/ginger/chilli purée for 2 - 3 minutes. Add the spice mix and cook for a further minute or two.

5. Add the coconut milk, tinned tomatoes, soy sauce, and toasted sesame oil to the pan and simmer for 5 - 10 minutes or until slightly thickened.

6. Meanwhile, toast the peanuts in a dry pan until browned. Place them in a plastic bag then use a rolling pin to bash them into small pieces. You could use a pestle and mortar if you have a good one.

7. Drain the chickpeas and add these, the roasted pumpkin and the ground peanuts to the sauce. Simmer for 5 minutes and season to taste.

Serve with rice. This curry is best left overnight in the fridge for the flavours to really develop, then reheated the next day.

Panettone

noreply@blogger.com (La Cuisine de Sarah) — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 19:28:00 +0000

This month's 'Fresh from the Oven' challenge is Panettone, hosted by Sarah of Maison Cupcake. Traditionally Panettone is naturally leavened, i.e. it uses a starter/culture instead of dried/ instant yeast to make the bread rise. So I decided to make it to this recipe which seemed to authentic and quite easy to follow. It involves bulking up a sourdough starter for 5 days prior to making the Panettone. I have to say I didn't choose the most straight-forward recipe, in addition to the 5 days needed to get the starter ready it then needs 12 hours for the 'first dough' to ferment and 12 hours for the 'final dough' to rise. However I am a great believer in 'Slow food' so I was prepared to give it a go, although I was slightly nervous about it as I had never made Panettone before! I was pleased with the results, I got 3 small breads and they do taste authentic even if the look a little, er, rustic. The two nicest ones will be gifts and I am keeping the mushroom looking one as a taster :-)

Cooking notes:
-The recipe calls for diastatic malt powder, I have never seen this before so took a gamble and used 1tsp barley malt - it seemed to work!
-I used sultanas and soaked them in rum and cointreau for 12 hours (whilst the first dough was fermenting)
-I didn't bother buying proper Panettone moulds, I lined large tinned tomato tins with greaseproof paper which worked well.
-I was going to attempt to hang the breads upside down to cool as recommended in the recipe, but when I got mine out of the oven they looked a bit too fragile to undergo this treatment. I laid them down on a wire rack to cool and removed them from their tins after 15 minutes.

The dough after 12 hours rising

The glaze and sugar dusting

Before going in the oven

The mushroom shaped one!

Paris

noreply@blogger.com (La Cuisine de Sarah) — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 13:11:00 +0000

Last Christmas I was given a French Patisserie course in Paris as a present (best present ever!) - and last weekend we finally got to go! It was an afternoon course so we spent the rest of the weekend being tourists and wandering round Paris (mainly walking in and out of bakeries and bistros). Paris brings together all that is great about French food culture. I loved seeing all the independent bistros and wine bars, and the range of produce available on every corner. It is definitely a foodie city. One of the highlights for me was having lunch at Rose Bakery, I have their recipe book and have always wanted to go- it didn't disappoint, the food was delicious and mostly vegetarian.

Here are some photos of our foodie weekend:

Bistros

Rose Bakery

We had lunch here, they serve quiches, salads, mini pizzas other fresh deli type food. It is mostly vegetarian and organic. Unfortunately I didn't get to try their cakes afterwards as we had to rush off as we had booked to go up to the top of the Eiffel Tower.

My lunch

Cakes

Chalet Savoyard

We had dinner here one night, I had an individual fondue savoyarde (why not?) which came not only with an enormous basket of crusty bread cubes, but also with a bowl of potatoes! Much too much for any normal appetite but I had a good try.

My fondue

Boulangeries

We visited quite a few of the bakeries who came in the top ten 'Meilleures Baguettes de Paris 2011'. I was very disappointed to find the bakery who won the competition was shut! We tried the bread from some of the others however, and they were all very good as was to be expected! Many of these boulangeries were along the same road - Rue des Abbesses. I wish I lived in this neighbourhood- I would never tire of eating their bread. Why do we get stuck with Greggs over here??

This boulanger won 'Best Baguette in Paris 2011'- closed at weekends :-(

My Patisserie course

In just over 3 hours we made all this:

-Early grey madeleines

-Millefeuille (puff pastry already made and chilled)

-Rhum baba

-Chocolate fondants

-Chocolate crème brulées

Making puff pastry

Making Crème Patissiere

Ganache lined ramekins for Creme Brulée

Moulds for Rum Baba

Fondants au chocolat

Infusing butter with earl grey - for Madeleines

My Millefeuille

Pumpkin Soup with Coconut, Ginger and Chilli

noreply@blogger.com (La Cuisine de Sarah) — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 15:00:00 +0000

Another pumpkin recipe- I hadn't realised just how versatile pumpkins are until recently. From one fairly large Crown Prince pumpkin I have made enough soup to generously serve 10 people, using the rest of the flesh in a cake, and I am planning to roast and salt the pumpkin seeds! I have used the Crown Prince variety here as I have heard they have more flavour than the standard Jack-O-Lantern ones (the orange ones which are usually used for carving at Halloween).

Serves 4

Ingredients

-500g pumpkin flesh (seeds and skin removed- this is roughly 1/2 a small pumpkin or 1/4 of a large one)
-1 tin coconut milk
-1 red chilli (or as much as you can handle), finely chopped
-3cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated
-1 onion, peeled and finely diced
-1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped
-1 tsp tomato purée
-1 tsp marmite
-1 tsp stock granules (I used Marigold)/ 1/2 good quality stock cube
-1 tbsp soy sauce
-1 tsp toasted sesame oil (optional)
-1 lime leaf
-Sunflower oil for roasting/ frying
-Seasoning to taste

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200C. Chop the pumpkin into 3cm chunks and arrange on a roasting tray. Drizzle with sunflower oil and toss to coat. Roast for 30 minutes or until soft.
2. In a large saucepan gently fry the onion in some sunflower oil over a low heat until soft- do not let it brown. Add the garlic, ginger, and chilli and fry for 1 - 2 minutes more.
3. Take a large measuring jug and fill with 1 litre of hot water. Add to it the following: tomato purée, Marmite, soy sauce, stock, and toasted sesame oil- stir to dissolve.
4. Transfer the roasted pumpkin to the saucepan and add the tin of coconut milk, the stock, and the lime leaf. Simmer for 15 minutes then remove the lime leaf and purée using a stick blender or food processor (adding more liquid to get the desired thickness). Season to taste- you can also add more chilli/ soy sauce etc. if desired.

Cinnamon Rolls- Fresh From The Oven October challenge

noreply@blogger.com (La Cuisine de Sarah) — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 18:47:00 +0000

This month I am taking part in the Fresh From the Oven challenge for the first time. This is a monthly baking challenge for food bloggers, and i'm looking forward to taking part - I think it will be a good way for me to try things I wouldn't usually make.

This month the challenge is Cinnamon Rolls and it's being hosted by Things We Make. I was very happy with this as a first challenge, as I had been wanting to make something like these for a while. They make a tasty breakfast treat, or are also nice with coffee in the afternoon, or both :-)

The recipe is below. I changed the filling slightly by adding chopped hazelnuts and flaked almonds.

400g Strong White Bread Flour
2 Sachets of instant yeast (14/15g)
200g Plain Flour
2 Egg Yolks
250ml Lukewarm Milk
50g Melted Butter
1Tbsp Sugar
1/2 tsp Salt

Filling

150g Very Soft Butter
50g Brown Sugar - muscovado or demerara
1Tsp Cinnamon
A Handful of Sultanas (optional)
(I also added 1 tbsp each of chopped roasted hazelnuts and flaked almonds)

Icing (optional*)

2 Cups of Icing Sugar
1 Tblsp Melted Butter
1/4 Tsp Cinnamon
1/2 Tsp Vanilla Extract
Water to Mix

Instructions

In a jug mix the yeast, warm milk and tablespoon of sugar.
Leave to froth for 10 minutes if you have time then add the melted butter and egg yolks.
Mix this into the flours, with the salt.
Knead for 5-10 minutes on a floured surface or in your food mixer with a dough hook for 5 minutes.
Put in a large bowl with a plate on top and leave in a warm place until doubled in size (1-2 hours)
Knock down and flatten out until it's about the size of a large baking tray.
Slather with the very soft 100g ofbutter.
Sprinkle with the mix of brown sugar and cinnamon, and the sultanas.
Roll up so you have a long swiss roll type thing.
Slice into 2" slices and place in a deep cake tin
I used a 26cm Kaiser tin, with a bit of butter rubbed into it.
Allow to rise for another 1/2 hour. Tuck in any sultanas so they don't burn.
Bake at 200c for 10 minutes
Cover loosely with foil and bake for another 15 minutes or so.
At this point I brush it with a little melted butter and put it back in if not quite cooked through but it's probably not necessary. I am a born fiddler.
Tip out straight away - using a plate to tip it onto then back onto a 2nd plate.
Top with the warm buttery icing and leave to cool....as long as you can bear it.