Nourished

Recipe

Recipe

Chocolate Delice

I realise that I don’t usually pay homage to a chef when making a recipe, but the legendary Monsieur Blanc is no ordinary chef!  Nearly as important to my culinary journey as the Roux Brothers, Raymond is completely self-taught, and his Manoir aux Quat’Saisons has held two Michelin stars since 1985 – no mean feat.  As well as sharing my birthday, Raymond is a most amusing and very brave man – he served both his first and second wife a croquembouche on their wedding day…

This delice was featured on Kitchen Secrets, a most enlightening look at a number of dishes and techniques.  Every time I see an episode, I note another little detail.  You can see this particular recipe on You Tube, which certainly shows you how simple it can be.

Ingredients

For the base
100g/3½oz toasted hazelnuts
100g/3½oz caramelised sugar pieces
150g /5¼oz bran flakes, slightly crushed

For the delice
140ml/5fl oz full-fat milk
325ml/11½fl oz double cream
2 free-range eggs
340g/12oz good-quality dark chocolate, minimum 60 per cent cocoa solids, roughly chopped

For the caramel hazelnuts
125g/4½oz caster sugar
8 hazelnuts, shells removed, lightly toasted in a dry frying pan

For the coffee foam
200ml/7¼fl oz strong black espresso coffee
1 sheet gelatine, soaked in cold water for 10 minutes, drained

To serve
2-3 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tbsp freshly ground coffee beans

Preparation method

  • For the base, blend the hazelnuts and caramelised sugar pieces in a food processor until you have a smooth paste. Heat the paste in a small pan on a gentle heat until warmed through.
  • Place the bran flakes and warmed praline paste into a mixing bowl and scrunch them together, using your hands, until the bran flakes have broken down and been incorporated into the paste.
  • Line a baking tray with a sheet of greaseproof paper, then transfer the praline mixture onto it. Cover the praline mixture with a second sheet of greaseproof paper, then roll the mixture out until it measures at least 14cm x 20cm/5½in x 8in and is 0.5cm/¼in thick.
  • Remove the top sheet of greaseproof paper, then push a 14cm x 20cm x 3cm/5½in x 8in x 1¼in rectangular pastry frame down onto the praline mixture and trim off any excess. (NB: The excess praline mixture can be pressed into any gaps in the mould, if necessary.)
  • Cover the mould with greaseproof paper and chill the praline in the fridge for 30 minutes, or until set.
  • Meanwhile, for the delice, heat the milk and cream in a saucepan and heat gently over a medium heat until it just reaches boiling point.
  • Meanwhile, whisk the eggs in a bowl.
  • As the milk and cream mixture comes to the boil, pour it over the eggs, then whisk the mixture constantly until smooth and thick.
  • Stir in the chopped chocolate and whisk again until the chocolate has melted and the custard is smooth.
  • Remove the base from the fridge and pour in the chocolate delice to fill the mould. Gently tap the sides of the mould to release any trapped air bubbles, then smooth the surface using a palette knife. Chill in the fridge for 6-12 hours, or until completely set.
  • Meanwhile, for the caramel hazelnuts, heat the caster sugar in a pan over a low heat, stirring occasionally until golden-brown and caramelised. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool slightly. (NB: The caramel is cool enough when a cocktail stick dragged across its surface leaves an imprinted trail.)
  • Spear each hazelnut onto a cocktail stick, then dip the hazelnuts into the caramel until coated. Stick a little adhesive putty onto the underside of a shelf or cupboard above a worksurface and secure the cocktail stick into the putty, so that the caramel drips off the hazelnut and creates a tail. (NB: Place a baking tray or sheets of greaseproof paper underneath the hazelnuts to catch any caramel that drips.)
  • Set the caramel hazelnuts aside to cool and harden for at least 30 minutes.
  • For the coffee foam, just before serving, heat half of the coffee in a pan until just hot but not boiling.
  • Squeeze the gelatine sheet dry, then add it to the hot coffee and continue to warm until the gelatine has completely dissolved.
  • Pour the remaining cold coffee into a bowl, then add the hot coffee mixture to it. Whisk well until the mixture starts to foam.
  • To serve, heat the outside of the mould using a chefs’ blow torch to loosen the base of the delice. Carefully remove the pastry frame from the delice.
  • Heat the top of the delice very quickly using a chefs’ blow torch to make the surface glossy. Dust the delice with some of the cocoa powder and ground coffee beans.
  • Smear a teaspoonful of the coffee foam across the width of six to eight serving plates. Plunge the blade of a knife into boiling water to heat the metal, then slice the delice into six to eight pieces and place one onto each smear of foam, at an angle. Rest a caramel hazelnut against each slice. Dust each serving with the remaining cocoa powder.

Whisk the mixture constantly until smooth and thick

Stir in the chopped chocolate and whisk again until the chocolate has melted and the custard is smooth

It will look like this, leaving ribbons on itself…
Pour in the chocolate delice to fill the mould (I didn’t have a rectangular mould to hand)
Watch your caramel, it’s cool enough when a cocktail stick dragged across its surface leaves an imprinted trail
The finished article – a gigantic slice of chocolate delice – I’d recommend a slice about half the size

Almond

Almond and Citrus Drizzle Cake

The girls are always asking me for lemon drizzle cake – it seems that the school makes a fabulous one for snack time.  Of course I couldn’t go with a standard version, and wanted to incorporate a couple of different ideas. As well as lemons, I wanted to use blood oranges for a fuller scent load, and a pink icing.  And given my recent obsession with frangipane and nut flours, I also wanted to include a little ground almond into the cake, though I suspect you could probably swap that for polenta too.

Ingredients:
Cake:
300g butter, softened
300g caster sugar
zest of 2 unwaxed lemons
zest of 2 blood oranges
5 eggs
200g self-raising flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
100g ground almonds

Sugar glaze:
juice of 2 unwaxed lemons
juice of 2 blood oranges
100g caster sugar
icing sugar

Method:

  • Pre-heat the oven to 180ºC/160ºC fan. Using a 2lb loaf tin, either grease and line it, or pop-in a liner.  (I made two smaller cakes)
  • Zest all of the citrus fruits, and then juice them.  Keep separately
  • Cream the butter and caster sugar together until light and doubled in volume and pale.  Add half of the zest, then add the eggs, one at a time, and beat thoroughly in between
  • Add the ground almonds, and combine
  • Add the flour, and mix until just combined
  • You want the mixture to have a soft dropping consistency, so if required add a little milk.  This may not be necessary, depending on how dry your almonds are
  • Pour into the tin(s) and bake for 50-55 minutes or so (35-40 minutes for smaller tins).  A toothpick or cake tester should come out clean, although there may be a few (almonds) crumbs stuck to the tester.
  • For the icing, mix together the caster sugar and the juice.  Warm briefly to allow the sugar to dissolve.  
  • Pour the glaze over the top of your cake, piercing it with holes if you want it to saturate the cake
  • Mix the remaining glaze with some icing sugar, to your chosen consistency, and mix in the remaining zest.  Coat or pipe or zigzag as appropriate
  • Allow to cool in the tin before turning out.
Notes:

  • The mixture may look curdled – this is the impact of the zest – don’t worry about it
  • I like to combine the almond before the flour, as you don’t want to overwork the gluten in the flour
  • The bicarbonate of soda reacts with the acid, adding further lift to the batter.  You could use baking powder, but I used this specifically because of the acid reaction
  • I spooned the glaze on top of the cake and allowed it to soak it.  Having thoroughly saturated the cake, I mixed the remaining juice with icing sugar, until reaching a spooning consistency.  This is obviously a lot of sugar, but let’s not forget I’m making this for the kids… Because I used blood orange juice, it was also pink, but that was part of my plan! If you want a more professional teatime finish, you can either use just lemon juice, or pipe it onto the cake in a more zig-zag pattern
The cake batter before baking
Spoon the cooled syrup over the cake, having pierced several holes into it
The finished article, you can see the moisture layer all around the edge of the cake

Yes it’s garish and pink – if you don’t want pink icing, don’t use the blood
orange juice in the icing layer.  You can still use it in the syrup for flavour.

Baking

Caraway Blini

I happened to have some smoked salmon which needed using up – you know, like you do – and I wanted a new blini recipe.  The problem with blini is that by about the third, you’re feeling their leaden grip in your stomach.  They stop being a vehicle for the topping and become a hindrance.  I’d had my eye on Felicity Cloake’s recipe for a while now, as it’s a variation on Richard Bertinet’s, and I think we all know I love Richard’s gallic charm (and his excellent online baking shop).

Felicity trialled a number of batters, and gives her verdict – go have a look – it’s an interesting article and it may well be that the beer batter she mentions appeals more to you…
I liked this one because of the inclusion of the egg whites, which I thought would add an airy lightness to the batter, and it does.  Felicity also includes caraway seeds: I’m a definite fan – there are a few recipes on here which include caraway.  The batter does take a little longer to make than some variations, but the steps really do require the minimum of work, so it’s really not onerous!
Ingredients:
150ml milk
70g buckwheat flour
70g strong white flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp caraway seeds
2 free-range eggs, separated
4g dried yeast
100g sour cream
25g butter
Makes about 35

Method:
  • Heat the milk in a small pan until it just boils. While it heats, put the flours, the salt and the caraway seeds in a large bowl and separate the eggs.
  • When the milk begins to boil, take it off the heat and stir in the yeast, followed by the egg yolks and the sour cream – you’ll need to stir vigorously with each addition.
  • Pour the contents of the pan slowly into the bowl of flour, stirring as you do so. When you have a smooth paste, cover and leave in a warm place for an hour, or until spongy – it won’t rise dramatically, but it should have expanded slightly, and have developed a few bubbles on the surface.
  • Whisk the egg whites to soft peaks and then very gently fold them into the mixture using a rubber spatula or metal spoon. Once thoroughly mixed, cover, and leave for another 2 hours.
  • When ready to cook, melt the butter in a large frying pan over a medium high heat, then add the batter in teaspoonfuls to the pan and cook until bubbles rise to the top, then flip them over and cook for another minute or so on the other side, until golden brown. You’ll probably need to do this in batches, so keep them warm while you cook the rest – these are best hot from the pan.
 
Notes:
  • I only left the second rise for an hour, but it was in a warming drawer.  The results were fine, but when I came back later to tidy up, the remaining batter in the bowl was even lighter and more voluminous.  Do try to leave it for the full rise if you have the time
  • I have a Staub crepe pan, which I should have used, but it’s a heavy beast to dig out late on a Sunday night… These actually worked just as well in a non-stick pan
  • I slightly whisked my egg whites at stage one – stop – they go in at stage two!  They were fine take on from there though…
  • The caraway worked perfectly with the salmon, but it’s not necessary if you don’t like it

 

Goat's Cheese

Pea, Goat’s Cheese and Mint Quiche…

It’s the annual School Quiz, and the endless battle to create something that can be transported like a picnic, but is more gourmet than soggy sandwiches… I made the mistake of asking Hubby what he fancied, and he requested quiche… Quiche!  I’ve never made quiche, primarily because my mother-in-law makes such a fantastic one, and, well, just because… But if I was going to have to make quiche, I wanted something really unusual, vibrant and delicious…


I do love the web – instantly thousands of choices at my fingertips… I found a fantastic recipe on the BBC site (of course) which consisted of a layer of peas, with goat’s cheese, mint and spring onions… Perfect, and just passably vegetarian for those allowed eggs and cheese.  This is absolutely going to be on my summer repertoire, and the girls loved it!

Ingredients:

300g frozen peas
3 tbsp olive oil
handful mint leaves
2 eggs
284ml pot double cream
4 spring onions, finely sliced
200g mild goat’s cheese, crumbled
280g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
140g cold butter, cut into pieces

Method:

  • Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Follow steps 1 and 2 of the Sticky onion & cheddar quiche recipe, opposite page. 2 While the pastry is chilling, cook the peas in boiling water for 3 mins, then drain and refresh under cold water. Use a hand blender to purée the peas with the olive oil, then stir in the chopped mint and season.
  • Lightly prick the base of the tart with a fork, line the tart case with a large circle of greaseproof paper or foil, then fill with baking beans. Blind-bake the tart for 20 mins, remove the paper and beans, then continue to cook for 5-10 mins until biscuit brown.
  • While the tart is cooking, beat the eggs in a large bowl. Gradually add the cream and stir in the onions. Season. When the case is ready, spoon and spread the peas over the base, pour over the egg mix, then finally scatter over the goat’s cheese. Bake for 20-25 mins until set and golden brown. Leave to cool in the case, trim the edges of the pastry, then remove and serve in slices

Notes:
  • Clearly I did not make my own pastry – I was preparing a meal for eight people – I’m not bonkers…  I use a very thin pastry, which doesn’t require baking blind, but here I should have done – I definitely had a soggy bottom and had to pop the tart into the warming drawer to head from the bottom! Not helped by the fact I put my tart case onto a layer of foil in case of leakages, which actually then covered the perforated base of my case… Whoops…
  • Don’t forget to put the mint into the pea, rather than trying to scatter it on top (I forgot to put it in at first – but the mint will just float up in your egg mixture! Not ideal, though not the end of the world…)
  • The opening photograph is from the BBC website – clearly I forgot to photograph my finished quiche in the rush
  • Be careful which goat’s cheese you use – the first time I used this, but the second this – the second took longer to cook, was ‘moussier’ and slightly more ‘curdled’.  I’ve included a photo of the second, you can see the cheese fluffing up…

    Spread the pea and mint mixture over the base of the BLIND BAKED tart
    Then scatter the goat’s cheese and spring onions over the pea base…
    Definitely not happy with this one – not as good as the first!

    Baking

    Frangipane Tarts

    Pistachio frangipane, with figs

    There’s something about the scent of frangipane which has haunted me for decades. We have relatives on the French side of the Swiss-France border, and on our very first visit, we had a plum and frangipane tart. The memory has stuck with me for twenty years – served at room temperature – the tart was luscious, creamy, delicately scented – just adorable.

    Spotting some nectarines which needed using up, I thought it would make a delicious variation.  A quick trawl through some of my favourite chefs revealed a recipe on the BBC site by Angela Hartnett…

    That first tart was consumed by the multitudes in my household within twenty-four hours.

    Luckily, the quantity of frangipane in the recipe allowed me to make two tarts – so the second tart was a plum and frangipane one…  The plums hold up better than the nectarines, though surprisingly they do make the mixture more moist (I would have assumed the nectarines would offer up more water).  The scent load is also greater with the plums.

    Having everything to hand, the second tart only took about 10 minutes to prepare, so well worth keeping some frangipane in your fridge (bring it back to room temperature, and give it a quick re-fluffing with a fork – et voila – instant tart…).

    The next time I made a bakewell tart, and then another for my chum Sarah… And then we moved on to pistachio and fig tarts, with a further tart for another chum, Nicole…

    Once you have the basic frangipane recipe in your back-pocket, the possibilities are endless :0)

    Ingredients:
    For the pastry:
    375g/13¼oz plain flour, plus extra for dusting
    15g/½oz sugar
    225g/8oz unsalted butter, cut into cubes, plus extra for greasing
    1 free-range egg
    4 tbsp ice-cold water
    For the frangipane:
    200g/7¼oz unsalted butter
    200g/7¼oz caster sugar
    2 free-range eggs
    200g/7¼oz ground almonds
    For the tart filling:
    5-6 ripe plums, each cut into eighths, stones removed
    To serve:
    icing sugar, for dusting
    whipped cream or crème fraîche

    Method:
    • For the pastry, sieve the flour and sugar into a large mixing bowl. Tip the cubed butter into the bowl. Rub the butter and the flour between your thumb and fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
    • In a jug or small bowl, beat the egg together with four tablespoons of ice-cold water. Pour into the flour mixture.
    • Slowly bring the ingredients together with your hands to form a dough, being careful not to overwork it.
    • Knead the dough lightly on a clean, floured work surface, then wrap it in cling film and refrigerate until firm, at least 30 minutes.
    • For the frangipane, beat the butter and sugar together in a bowl until light and fluffy. Crack the eggs into the bowl one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the ground almonds and mix well until combined. Set aside.
    • Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Dust the work surface with flour and roll the chilled dough out thinly. Use it to line one large 25cm/10in tart ring or 6-8 individual tartlet rings 8cm/3¼in in diameter. Trim away any excess.
    • Spoon the frangipane into the tart case so that it comes about halfway up the sides. Smooth over the surface with a spatula and cover the frangipane evenly with the plums.
    • Bake for 30-40 minutes (15-25 minutes for the tartlets), or until the pastry is crisp and golden-brown and the fruit is tender.
    • Remove the tart(s) from the oven. Dust with icing sugar and serve warm with whipped cream or crème fraîche.
    Notes:
    • I used a pre-rolled pastry sheet made by Marie – it’s the best I’ve used, comes in a circle, and is rolled super-fine!  Because it’s so fine, I always brush it with beaten egg and allow to dry in the fridge, before putting any filling in
    • Don’t push your figs too far into the batter, it will rise up around them.  For maximum visual effect, just lightly lodge them in

    Lay the fruit in a pattern of your choosing – you can see from the plum chart that I chose a different layout that time

    Fig and pistachio frangipane

    Nectarine and frangipane

    Plum and frangipane

    Bakewell Tart: spread jam  spread a layer of frangipane, and top with almonds halfway through cooking #simples

    Baking

    Banana Bread [Thermomix]

    c3885-p3020127I’m a mother of four – you have to be able to knock-up banana bread to use up all those mushy bananas.  I don’t know what happens – some weeks they go through many bunches, others none…  Still, banana bread is a favourite of the 11yo, so it’s never a wasted effort.

    I’ve found that making cake batter in the Thermomix is speedy, but can result in too much gluten development, resulting in a leaden batter.  Here I’ve put everything else in together and blitzed, before adding the flour by hand at the last moment.   The Thermomix does give you a finer puree of bananas, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing from my point of view!

    This recipe is based on the one on the BBC website…

    Ingredients


    285g/10oz plain flour
    1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
    ½ tsp salt
    110g/4oz butter, plus extra for greasing
    225g/8oz caster sugar
    2 free-range eggs
    4 ripe bananas, mashed
    85ml/3fl oz buttermilk (or normal milk mixed with 1½ tsp lemon juice or vinegar)
    1 tsp vanilla extract

    Thermomix Preparation Method:
    • Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
    • In the thermomix bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy – I do this using the butterfly…  Bring it slowly up to Speed 4 / 5 minutes – this stops the sugar mixture from splashing all over the TM bowl.
    • Remove the butterfly, and add the eggs, mashed bananas, buttermilk, and vanilla extract to the butter and sugar mixture. Mix on Speed 4 / 2 minutes.
    • Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt into the TM bowl, and fold the wet ingredients into the dry by hand.  When mostly combined, pulse briefly for around ten seconds until more thoroughly mixed – try not to overwork the batter.  Once you have removed 90% of the batter, you can briefly pulse again for just a few seconds – this will spin the remaining batter out of the blade an onto the side of the TM bowl.
    • Grease a 20cm x 12.5cm/8in x 5in loaf tin and pour the cake mixture into the tin.
    • Transfer to the oven and bake for about an hour, or until well-risen and golden-brown.
    • Remove from the oven and cool in the tin for a few minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely before serving.
     
    Normal Preparation Method:

    • Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
    • Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a large mixing bowl.
    • In a separate bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
    • Add the eggs, mashed bananas, buttermilk and vanilla extract to the butter and sugar mixture and mix well. Fold in the flour mixture.
    • Grease a 20cm x 12.5cm/8in x 5in loaf tin and pour the cake mixture into the tin.
    • Transfer to the oven and bake for about an hour, or until well-risen and golden-brown.
    • Remove from the oven and cool in the tin for a few minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely before serving.

    Chickpea

    Moroccan chickpea soup…

    a754f-p3020113My favourite Saturday lunch, always made by Hubby, is this incredibly simple but very aromatic soup. The lemon zest clears your jaded palate and sets you up for the weekend…

    As chickpeas are an excellent source of fibre and protein, it’s the perfect dish for vegetarians and vegans, without compromising at all on flavour.

    This particular recipe comes from the Good Food magazine, but there are a number of variations out there…

    Ingredients
    1 tbsp olive oil
    1 medium onion , chopped
    2 celery sticks, chopped
    2 tsp ground cumin
    600ml hot vegetable stock
    400g can chopped plum tomatoes with garlic
    400g can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
    100g frozen broad beans
    zest and juice ½ lemon
    large handful coriander or parsley and flatbread, to serve

    Method

    • Heat the oil in a large saucepan, then fry the onion and celery gently for 10 mins until softened, stirring frequently. Tip in the cumin and fry for another min.
    • Turn up the heat, then add the stock, tomatoes and chickpeas, plus a good grind of black pepper. Simmer for 8 mins. Throw in broad beans and lemon juice, cook for a further 2 mins. Season to taste, then top with a sprinkling of lemon zest and chopped herbs. Serve with flatbread.

     

    Recipe

    Sea trout, with Thai scented stew…

    There are so many bugs flying around at the moment, that all I seem to be cooking are stir fries and curries – it’s the desperate desire to get garlic, lemon grass and ginger into my family. All four have particular qualities for those suffering at this time of the year – the ginger relieve congestion, lemongrass helps with sore throats, chilli contains capsaicin, and is high in vitamin C, and the garlic has antibacterial properties…

    Another week, and this time Hubby has somehow managed to perforate one ear drum, and has a double-heorrage in the other – he hasn’t managed to hear clearly for nearly a week – so time to reach for the aromatics again.

    As well as those medicinal herbs and spices, I’m including some gorgeous sea-trout (for protein and omega-3), sweet potato and butternut squash (contains beta-carotene, good for immunity), and a coconut-milk liquor (coconut milk contains magnesium, which is good for relaxing muscles and nerve endings, hopefully calming the raging tinnitus).

    The resulting dish is not ragingly spicy, but full of aromatic flavour.

    Ingredients
    1 inch of ginger, grated
    3 fat cloves of garlic, finely diced
    2 shallots (or onion) finely diced
    2 red chillies, finely sliced
    2 sticks of lemon grass (I bash mine to release the flavour, them remove before serving)
    500ml fish stock
    200g (approx) butternut squash, peeled and cubed
    200g (approx) sweet potato, peeled and cubed
    1 bulb of fennel, finely sliced
    400ml coconut milk
    Splash of fish sauce (nam pla)
    Juice of two limes
    4 kaffir lime leaves
    1 large fish steak per person
    Coriander, to serve

    Method:

    • Gently fry the ginger, garlic and shallots until softened, but not coloured
    • Add the chilli, lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves, fish sauce, vegetables, stock, and coconut milk
    • Bring the ‘soup’ to the boil then pop into a warm oven to reduce.  I can’t be more specific than that, though I would have thought around 170ºC would do it, for around an hour (as I was in London, I was cooking in the AGA, in which case it was in the second oven for an hour)
    • When the liquid has reduced and thickened to a stew-like consistency, pop the fish steaks, skin side up, onto the stew, and allow to heat through for barely 6-10 minutes until just cooked.  
    • Serve the fish on top of the stew, spooning a little on top of the fish.  Scatter the coriander, and a give it a good squeeze of lime juice.

    Blood Oranges

    Drop scones with blood-orange compote, and scented crème fraîche…

    Now that spring is finally around the corner, it’s time to abandon our winter warmers for breakfast, and start awakening our tastebuds.  Citrus fruits are always a delight first thing in the morning, and have the effect of stimulating our palate and our metabolism.  I’m not suggesting you suffer though – this breakfast combination makes a very luxurious treat…  I made it last week for the 11yo during half term, and as today is her 12th birthday, I made it for everyone…

    Blood-Orange Compote, and scented Crème Fraîche


    Ingredients:
    4 blood oranges
    20g caster sugar
    100g creme fraiche
    1/2 vanilla pod
    Method:
    • Put the crème fraîche into a small serving bowl, and zest at least two of the blood oranges into it, to taste – you’re looking for a zingy, tart contrast to the sweet compote.  You may want to sweeten it to taste with icing sugar – it will be very tart…  Alternatively, you could a teaspoon or so of vanilla extract, to round out the flavour
    • Peel and segment the oranges – make sure you do this over a bowl to capture all of the juices
    • Warm the orange segments and their juice in a pan over a low heat
    • Cut open the vanilla pod and scrape out the seeds – add them to the pot with the sugar
    • Remove from the heat and allow the ingredients to infuse together while you make the drop scones – if possible leave it somewhere which will retain the heat in the pan (like warming drawer, or warming plate on an Aga)

    Drop Scones

    Ingredients:

    2 eggs, lightly beaten
    100ml milk
    25g caster sugar

    25g butter, melted
    125g plain flour
    1 tsp baking powder
    Pinch of salt

    Sunflower oil or butter, for greasing

    Method:
    • Whisk the eggs, butter, and around 90ml of the milk, until thoroughly combined
    • Put the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder into a bowl, an pour in the wet ingredients, gradually incorporating the dry ingredients.  Keep whisking until you achieve a smooth, but thick dropping-consistency batter.  If the batter is too thick, incorporate a little more milk, until the correct consistency is achieved.  
    • Heat a flat griddle pan, and drop the batter in blobs from a spoon.  The mixture will spread out a little, so leave enough space between the scones.
    • When the top surface of the drop scone begins to dry a little, and little bubbles begin to form and burst, flip the pancake over, and cook for a further thirty seconds.
    Serve the pancakes with the compote, and Crème fraîche on the side.  Delicious. The acidity in the blood-oranges will keep your taste-buds zinging for hours.

    Recipe

    Prawn, Pumpkin and Peanut Curry

    Pumpkin and Prawn CurryI came across Pure Package in one of the red-tops – the company delivers pre-packaged food on a daily basis for those with specific dietary goals (whether it be weight loss, athletes in training, models etc).  I wasn’t particularly interested in the service itself (I enjoy cooking far too much for that), but I was definitely interested in the nutritional aspect.  Browsing through their website, I came across the following recipe from their cookbook, which instantly appealed.  I love anything which uses squash, and as I had everything in my pantry (for once), there seemed no time like the present!

    Ingredients:
    1/2 small pumpkin – peeled, deseeded and cut into bite-size pieces
    320g broccoli, cut into small florets
    1 tablespoon groundnut oil
    1 small red onion, peeled and finely chopped
    3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
    2cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
    1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
    2 teaspoons Thai green curry paste
    160g chestnut mushrooms, sliced
    3 tablespoons smooth peanut butter
    600ml coconut milk
    juice of 2 limes
    2 tablespoons tamari soy sauce
    250g sugar snap peas
    2 tablespoons finely chopped coriander

    Method:

    • Tip the pumpkin into a non-stick roasting tray and roast in the oven for 15–20 minutes or until soft. Remove from the oven and set aside.
    • Blanch the broccoli in boiling water for 2 minutes. Drain and set aside.
    • Meanwhile, heat the groundnut oil in a wok or large non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 2 minutes until soft but not coloured. Add the garlic, ginger and chilli and cook for a further 1 minute.
    • Add the curry paste and stir in the mushrooms, coating them in the paste. Stir in the peanut butter, coconut milk, lime juice and tamari and cook for 2 minutes.
    • Add the blanched broccoli, sugar snap peas and roasted pumpkin to the curry and simmer for 5–8 minutes. Check the seasoning and add more lime juice or tamari if needed.
    • Add the coriander to the curry and stir through just before you are about to serve.
    Notes:
    • The sauce was actually pretty rich, much richer than I anticipated.  As a result I had to add another lime before serving…  I’ll reduce the initial quantity of peanut butter in future (you can always add some in as you go along)
    • I added a few prawns to my curry, not for any nutritional reason, but because the 11yo likes them!

     

    Pumpkin and Peanut Curry

    There are more recipes in the Pure Package Cookbook >