Recipe

January 17, 2018 3 Michelin Stars

The Eleven Madison Park Granola

Each guest leaving Eleven Madison Park receives a parting gift of a jar of granola, and it’s absolutely delicious. We were given two jars last time we were there, and we’re already down to the last inch or so… Having become so quickly addicted to it, I wondered if it was listed anywhere, and fortunately it’s listed everywhere – yay!

SaveSave

11 Madison Park Granola

Cook 50 mins

Prep 10 mins

Ingredients

Total 60 mins

Yield 6 cups

2 ¾ cups rolled oats
1 cup shelled pistachios
1 cup unsweetened coconut chips
⅓ cup pumpkin seeds
1 tablespoon kosher salt
½ cup light brown sugar
⅓ cup maple syrup
⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
¾ cup dried sour cherries

Instructions

Preheat oven to 150ºC/300ºF. In a large bowl, mix together the oats, pistachios, coconut, pumpkin seeds and salt.
In a small saucepan set over low heat, warm the sugar, syrup and olive oil until the sugar has just dissolved, then remove from heat. Fold the liquids into the oat mixture, making sure to coat the dry ingredients well.
Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat, and spread granola over it. Bake until dry and lightly golden, 35 to 40 minutes, stirring granola a few times along the way.
Remove granola from oven, and mix into it the dried sour cherries. Allow to cool to room temperature before transferring to a storage container. Makes about 6 cups.

Notes

I like to pimp my granola – I add goji berries, dried cranberries, sunflower seeds, dried apricots and much more to my granola. This definitely adds to the calories, so don’t eat too much of it, but it does make for a more delicious granola.

Courses Breakfast

April 26, 2015 Recipe

Warm spring salad, with a wild garlic dressing

I think we’re all trying to eat more vegetarian food aren’t we? At least occasionally? I’m predominantly a vegetarian these days, though I will sometimes eat fish. But just because you’re eating something vegetarian, it doesn’t mean you have to be boring about it! This dish satisfies on several levels, and if you really want a bit of protein with it – try adding something delicious, such as a few pieces of Spanish Jamón Ibérico crisped in the oven {which is what I did for Hubby}.

The other key thing about eating vegetarian food is to eat seasonally, so that ingredients are at their peak both in terms of taste and nutrition, and incurring as few food miles as possible.

Ingredients {serves 2}

5 carrots
1 orange pepper
1 tsp caraway seeds
1 tsp green cardamom seeds {podded}
3 Tbsp Marsala
2 Tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper

1/2 golden beetroot
3 Tbsp white balsamic vinegar

1 bunch of asparagus
Handful of parsley
2 Little Gem lettuces
1 Tbsp wild garlic juice*
3 Tbsp natural yoghurt

To Dress:
10 slices of Jamón Ibérico {optional}
Edible flowers {optional}

Method:

Peel the carrots, and if they’re large, cut them into quarters. Chop the pepper into cubes, don’t worry about peeling the skin {unless you desperately want to}
Put the carrots and peppers into an appropriate roasting dish with the caraway and cardamom, and the oil. Season with salt and pepper, and put into a hot oven, at around 180ºC
In the meantime, peel and finely slice the beetroot on a mandolin – put into the balsamic vinegar
Mix about 1 tablespoon of wild garlic juice* into the yoghurt and set to one side
De-ear your asparagus {just pull of the triangular leaves you find on the stalk} and set to one side
If using the Bellotta, put individual strips onto a foil lined baking tray, and put in the oven for around 10 minutes, or until they are coloured and crisp
When the carrots begin to colour slightly, pour the Marsala into the dish, and put back into the oven
Pick over your parsley, and rinse it, then spin it in a salad spinner, to remove the excess water
Slice your individual little gem lettuce leaves through the spine into long strips
Remove the stamens from your edible flowers, if using
When the carrots and peppers begin to caramelise, pop your asparagus tips into a small pan of boiling water, until just cooked
While the asparagus is cooking begin to plate up – put a small handful of the parsley and little gem onto the plate, and top with the carrots and pepper. Scatter your edible flowers, if using, and place a few discs of the pickled beetroot onto the dish. Spoon small ‘blobs’ of the garlic yoghurt onto the plate and top with the asparagus… You can also mix the remaining balsamic vinegar with the oil from the carrots, and dress the dish with that. If using the ham, top the dish with this last, to ensure it remains crisp.

* When wild garlic is in season, I run boxes of the leaves through the juicer, and then freeze the juice in ice-cube trays. Mixed either with olive oil and vinegar to produce a vinaigrette, or here mixed with yoghurt, or added to stews and sauces, it adds an incredible level of umami to any dish!

*Carrot and pepper, roasted with cardamom and caraway*

*The dish topped with the Jamón Ibérico*

April 21, 2015 Recipe

Antioxidant Rich Smoothies

Smoothies can be a quick way of consuming wasted calories, or with a little planning and foresight, can add valuable minerals and vitamin to your diet – forget throwing in a banana and some milk, and concentrate on building a smoothie recipe which offers you more… Once you familiarise yourself with the nutritional properties of some of the ingredients, you can tailor something to suit your own specific needs, as I have done here.

The quantities given will make 2 large smoothies – have one for lunch, and save the other for an evening snack, when you feel the chocolate munchies coming on. Not only will the cacao nibs kill the craving, but they’ll give you a better sense of well-being than chocolate, in my opinion…

Cacao and Coconut Smoothie

50ml almond milk
330ml coconut water
40g coconut flesh
2 bananas
1 Tbsp organic cacoa nibs
1/2 mango
1 passion fruit
50g pineapple
big handful of ice
{handful of mint, for an mint-choc hit ;0)}

Blend all the ingredients together, until the texture is to your liking. The cacao nibs will add fibre, but if you find the texture unpleasant, you could always use ground cacao. Personally I think it adds to the fullness of the smoothie.

Nutritional information:

Almond milk is made from whole, blanched {or sometimes unblanched} almonds which have been soaked in water overnight. Whizzed with the fresh mineral water the following day, you drain them through muslin 0r nut bag, and use the resulting liquid in place of dairy milk. The flavour is actually rather refreshing, though not good for cappuccino’s etc. Nut milks are much higher in protein than cow’s milk, with a lower saturated fat content, and higher level of healthy fats. Unsweetened almond milk has a low glycemic index, so won’t cause your blood sugar levels to spike – a key consideration when looking for smoothie ingredients, which are so often fruit based. Being non-dairy, it doesn’t require refrigeration either, which makes it great to take out with you for the day! What else? There’s no lactose or casein, so it’s eminently suitable for those on a dairy-free, lactose-free, or casein-free diet. It’s also vegan and vegetarian friendly, so can be enjoyed by everyone apart from our poor nut-allergic chums! To sweeten almond milk, soak a couple of dates in water for an hour, and blend into the filtered milk.

Coconut water can be a bit of an acquired taste on its own, but add it to juices and smoothies, and it brings a whole heap of benefits to the party. Containing sugars, minerals, vitamins, cytokinins {which are anti-carcinogenic}, amino acids, cytokine {anti-ageing and PH regulation}, electrolytes {including potassium and sodium, both of which aid rehydration, and give coconut water a similar electrolyte balance to blood}, bioactive-enzymes {which aid digestion}, and phyto-hormones {which are currently touted to be anti-ageing, antioxidant, and again anti-carcinogenic}.

Bananas contain potassium, vitamin B6, magnesium and vitamin C. Potassium is particularly useful for improving heart health, and lowering blood pressure. They also contain tryptophan, which can improve your mood and help your memory. Not just for the kids and the gym freaks after all!

Mango contains an antioxidant called zeaxanthin, which helps filter out blue-light rays, and decreases the risk of age-related macular-degeneration. The beta-carotene found in its rich orange flesh has been shown to have an adverse affect on colon and prostate cancer. Again rich in potassium, but also in fibre and Vitamin A, this makes mango a must-eat fruit in my family {my family are predisposed to macular-degeneration, and my father has just finished prostate cancer treatment!} Eat those mangoes people!

Passion fruit contains dietary fibre, high levels of vitamin C, but also vitamin A, beta-carotene, and our good friend potassium.

Pineapple is the only known source of Bromelain, which is thought to improve joint mobility, decrease joint inflammation, alleviate joint pain, and inhibit tumour growth. Again it contains vitamin C, betacarotene, and potassium, making this smoothie a real power-house.

Cacao nibs contain flavonoids, similar to those found in tea, grapes and berries. Whilst research into flavonoids is ongoing, particularly around the quantities which need to be consumed, they are reputed to lower cholesterol, and act as an anti-inflammatory. They also contain polyphenols, which again help with cardiovascular health, and are thought to inhibit strokes and cardiovascular disease {both through improving platelet ‘clogging’ and strengthening artery walls}.

Alternatives: You could swap out the banana for an avocado – it would increase the fat content significantly, but would create a smoother mouth-feel, which would work well with the flavour of the cacao. You could also add coffee beans and/or a shot of coffee, as a perfect breakfast pick-me-up – it’s yummy!

April 18, 2015 Baking

Churros, with Pistachio and Cardamom Sugar

Every so often, I think ‘I must make the kids churros for breakfast’, and I very rarely do!! Perhaps with four of them, Saturday is already too chaotic? However today they were all a pre-occupied, so I jumped out of bed, and raced into the kitchen. Inevitably Scarlett followed me, so she helped me make the dough, and find all of the ingredients. I often have flavoured sugars to hand, and we all know that I love my cardamom and pistachio – no surprise then that I keep a stash of that in my cold store! I did also make normal cinnamon and sugar, but honestly, do try it with cardamom – it’s amazing!

This recipe is Nieves Barragán Mohacho’s, and my only comments would be that it’s pretty firm to use in a piping bag – if you have a biscuit press, definitely make sure you use that – I nearly ended up wearing mine!

Ingredients:

Serves 4-6
For the churros:
plain flour 250g
salt 1 pinch
unsalted butter 50g
water 200ml
caster sugar (for dusting the churros) 50g
vegetable oil 300ml

For the chocolate:
dark chocolate (70 % cacao) 150g
double cream 300ml
vanilla pod 1
cinnamon stick 1
whipping cream 100ml

For the pistachio and cardamom sugar:
100g caster sugar
1tsp good ground green cardamom
2 Tbsp good pistachios, ground with the sugar in a spice grinder

Method:

To make the churros, mix the flour and salt together in a mixing bowl. Heat the butter and water in a pan and bring to the boil. Pour into the flour mixing constantly with a spoon. Mix well and then refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, grate the chocolate into a bowl. Heat the double cream with the vanilla pod and cinnamon stick and bring to the boil. Remove the vanilla pod and cinnamon stick and remove the cream from the heat, and stir in the grated chocolate until the chocolate has entirely melted. Meanwhile, whisk the whipping cream until firm.
Heat 300ml of vegetable oil to 160C-180C. Fill the churrera/piping bag with your mix and squeeze just a small amount out to check the flow. Pipe out 15cm lengths of churro mix into the hot oil (these can be piped into spirals or loops for aesthetic purposes), and cook for between 7-10 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the oil and place on absorbent kitchen paper and dust with the caster sugar. Serve piping hot with the chocolate.
When your churros are ready, divide the chocolate, while still hot, into glasses and dollop a spoon of whipped cream on top. If you have prepared the chocolate in advance and wish to reheat it at the last minute, be careful not to bring to the boil as the mix will curdle.

Scarlett hugging the warmed dough!

The churros on the left have the cardamom and pistachio sugar, those on the right, the cinnamon sugar

On the left, pistachio and cardamom, on the right, cinnamon

February 2, 2015 Recipe

Saffron Chicken

My Ottolenghi obsession continues: this saffron chicken salad with fennel has the warm notes of saffron, and the bright piquancy of blood oranges. There’s something about Middle Eastern cooking that fascinates me at the moment. Though I’m normally firmly routed in an Italian sensibility, for the last couple of years Hubby has increasingly cooked dishes from the Indian subcontinent. As a result we’ve become attuned to the subtlety of spices and herbs. Curries and the like can still be a little overwhelming for my Mediterranean palate, but Middle Eastern cuisine sits very comfortably between the two: bright herbs and warm spices, the food is flavoursome, colourful and healthy. Though this dish isn’t a traditional Israeli one, it was born out of that food culture. It can be served on its own, or for a more substantial meal, you could pair it with Persian Jewelled Rice.

Ingredients:
1 orange ( I used two small blood oranges)
50g honey
½ tsp saffron threads
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
about 300ml water
1kg skinless chicken breast
4 tbsp olive oil
2 small fennel bulbs, thinly sliced
15g picked coriander leaves
15g picked basil leaves, torn
15 picked mint leaves, torn
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 red chilli, thinly sliced

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C Fan/Gas Mark 6.
Trim and discard 1cm off the top and tail of the orange and cut it into 12 wedges, keeping the skin on. Remove any pips. Place the wedges in a small saucepan with the honey, saffron, vinegar and just enough water to cover the orange wedges. Bring to the boil and simmer gently for about an hour. At the end you should be left with soft orange and about 3 tablespoons of thick syrup; add water during the cooking if the liquid gets very low. Use a food processor to blitz the orange and syrup into a smooth, runny paste; again, add a little water if needed.
Mix the chicken breast with half the olive oil and plenty of salt and pepper, and place on a very hot, ridged griddle pan. Sear for about 2 minutes on each side to get clear char marks all over. Transfer to a roasting tin and place in the oven for 15–20 minutes, or until just cooked. Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, but still warm, tear it with your hands into rough and quite large pieces.
Place in a large mixing bowl, pour over half the orange paste and stir well. (The other half you can keep in the fridge for a few days and would make a good addition for herb salsa to serve with oily fish such as mackerel or salmon.)
Add the remaining ingredients to the salad, including the rest of the olive oil, and toss gently. Taste, add salt and pepper and, if needed, some more olive oil and lemon juice.

February 1, 2015 Recipe

Saffron Jewelled Rice

As a pescetarian, vegetarian dishes are a substantial part of my diet, but when I need to feed a large number of people this is ideal, and is generally a crowd-pleaser. Because it’s one dish that’s fantastic to serve alone, with meat, or fish, it suits so many diets. For our school Quiz Night {amazingly one of the highlights of the social calendar, as we’re all so laughably inept} I served it with Ottolenghi’s Saffron Chicken.

Jewelled rice is a Persian {Iranian} dish, usually saved for weddings and celebrations. Although mine is perhaps not the most authentic version, it seems there is no definitive recipe {or rather everyone thinks their version, is the definite version}. I can’t even spot a consistent difference between the two names: Morasa and Javaher Polow – both seemingly meaning jewelled rice.

Amongst the dozens of recipes I’ve read, there appear to be two distinct variations: one which uses spices and saffron, and a whiter version which omits them. Beyond that, I’ve seen every combination of ingredients and techniques. A few remain common: both nuts and dried fruit feature heavily, with the fruit usually being barberries. These are a sour berry not dissimilar to cranberries in appearance, but as I don’t always have them to hand, I’ve found dried physalis, and sour cherries to be a decent substitute. The physalis particularly has a sour but plump effect. The recipe which appealed to me the most came from the Amira site, and this is the one I’ve adapted.
Serves 8 comfortably

Ingredients:
600g long-grain basmati rice
Generous pinch of saffron threads
300g dried fruit (I used cherries, physalis, cranberry and blueberry)
4 shallots, finely chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
60g unsalted butter
A few fine julienne of carrot
Zest of 1 orange
1 cinnamon stick
seeds from 8 cardamon pods
2 tsp cumin seeds
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

To serve:
100g walnuts, roughly chopped
100g pistachios
seeds of a large pomegranate
Generous handful of parsley, chopped
1 garlic clove, very finely chopped

Method:

Run the basmati under water in a sieve to remove the excess starch, and the cover with cold water, setting it aside to soak for an hour
Cover the saffron with three tablespoons of orange blossom water, and leave to steep
Add the dried fruit to a small bowl, and barely cover in boiling water, leave to steep
After 30 minutes, add the oil and half the butter to a frying pan and set over a low heat. Add the spices and the shallot, and soften gently for 30 minutes until the shallots are barely caramalised. Turn off the heat.
Drain the rice into a large saucepan, and pour boiling water over the rice, until it comes approximately 3cm above the rice. On a medium heat, boil the rice for 3 minutes, then drain and rinse under cold running water, draining well.
When cool, mix the basmati into the shallots, along with the carrot strips, orange zest, saffron infusion, the dried fruit, and their soaking water. Season well with salt and pepper, and stir well.
Dot the surface of the rice with the remaining butter
Using a wooden spoon handle, make 5-6 holes through the rice, allowing it to steam evenly
Take a large piece of baking paper, scrunch it up, and soak in a little water. Shake off the excess, and lay over the rice {as a cartouche}. Cover the pan tightly with a damp tea towel, or sheet of foil, and set over a low heat. Cook, undisturbed, for 40 minutes. By this time your rice will be fluffy and a buttery crust will cover the bottom
While the rice is steaming, toast the nuts in a dry pan until they begin to smell ‘nutty’. Tip into a large bowl, and stir in the parsley, orange zest, garlic, carrot strips and pomegranate seeds
Once the rice has cooked, remove the paper, and stir through the nut and herb mixture. Serve the caramelised rice (the tah-dig) over the top.

I combine this dish with Ottolenghi’s Saffron Chicken, which also contains cardamom and oranges {one of my favourite combinations, as I’m sure you will have realised!}. The two dishes have a number of ingredients in common, and echo each other very successfully. I also took along a selection of hummus, with pitta breads toasted with a little olive oil, parsley and dukkah. Our portable pudding was a bento box of fruit, and a few riciarelli {which though Italian, are not hugely dissimilar to Middle Eastern nut treats}. And no. We did not win!

Do let me know what your favourite version of Jewelled Rice is!

January 27, 2015 Recipe

Braised lettuce, with spring onions and peas

There’s something very comforting about braised lettuce – maybe it’s because I know that lettuce is a soporific? Such a useful vegetable, there’s always, always, a variety of lettuces in my fridge, and as soon as the weather improves, in my garden. I like all varieties, particularly the more fluffy varieties such as lambs lettuce, and pea shoots (though not technically a lettuce)… I’m rather partial to herb salads to, especially those found in Eastern Europe and the Middle East… But I digress – perhaps lettuce makes one too calm, too loquacious…

Today’s variety is baby gem – that old stalwart of prawn cocktails… Personally I usually have mine simply cut in half, with a drizzle of very good olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and a good helping of salt and pepper – delicious just as it is. However todays little gem was destined for the pot! Braised with cumin seeds, white wine, and a tiny dash of cream, it was a perfect accompaniment to my sea trout.

Ingredients:
4 baby gem lettuce
1 glass white wine
Splash double cream
1 Tbsp cumin seeds
Bunch of spring onions
100g petit pois
20g unsalted butter
1 Tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Trim the spring onions, chopping three or so into a fine dice – retain the others whole
Cut the baby gems in half lengthways, retaining a little of the stalk to help keep their shape
Pop the oil and butter into a frying pan or shallow casserole, and soften the chopped and whole spring onions, without colouring them. At this point add the cumin seeds, salt and pepper
When the onions have softened a little, add the baby gems, cut side down, and cook for around 2 minutes, until they begin to soften
Add the glass of wine, and cream, and continue to cook for around six more minutes, until the lettuce is tender to a knifepoint, and the wine and cream have thickened
Add the petit pois, and cook until just tender

Notes:

This would make a great dish with fresh peas when they’re in season – I can’t digest fresh peas for some reason, but it would work beautifully
You could actually get away with adding more cumin seeds, they don’t taste as strongly in this as you might imagine
I added a little fennel herb salad to the bottom of my dish, and chervil, just to boost the anise notes further

January 16, 2015 Breakfast

Cardamom Scented Pears

It was so spectacular this morning: the boats were buzzing up and down the Thames, and the gulls were spiralling high on the wind… It may be January, but I really wanted to eat breakfast outside. Though the sun was blazing, it definitely felt more appropriate to eat something warm and nourishing, and there’s nothing like a bowl of porridge to warm you up. I had some lovely pears to hand, and as I’m going through a bit of a cardamom phase, I thought they might taste rather special pan-fried with the warming spice. I’d intended popping in a few emerald pistachios, but I appear to be using them up all too frequently in jewelled rice. A quick ferret in the cupboard turned up my old favourite, dried sour cherries. I love these, although they’re very sweet (and therefore perfect for sweetening up the porridge), they also have a great sour tang – sour enough to enliven the tastebuds on a cold morning. I popped them into the pan with the pears and they were a revelation! Enough of the pear juice had steeped into them to plump them a little, but the pan gave their outer shell a crisp and chewy texture, almost akin to little chewy toffees… This combination is so much better than I anticipated, and the whole thing took less than ten minutes to prepare. I drizzled a little local honey onto the top, and took my bowl outside, watching the world pass me by… As a taster of the coming spring, they were the perfect start to my day.

Ingredients (for 2):
1/2 large rip pear, cored, and cut into wedges
1 tablespoon of coconut oil, or butter
the seeds of 5 green cardamom pods
1 small handful of dried, sour cherries
1 teaspoon organic honey (not manuka, probably too strong for this)
1 portion of gluten-free porridge per person, made to your preference

Pears, cored and cut into segments

Pen fry the pears for 2-3 minutes on each side, until they’re golden, with the cardamom and cherries

Drizzle with a little bit of organic honey, and savour the moment

A perfect day :0)

January 15, 2015 Italian

Saffron Risotto

Saffron risotto | Risotto alla Milanese: the favourite comfort food of my thirteen year old. She’s always loved risotto, and I can only put that down to the holidays we took when she was very tiny, when we would spend the summer months in Italy… One of her first ever risotto’s was a Barolo and gorgonzola affair, eaten al fresco in Lucca, the spectacular walled town to the north of Pisa. Just over a year old, the Italian’s adored her gusto as she wolfed down half of my supper, having already eaten a healthy portion of my carpaccio… To this day carpaccio and parmesan are a key part of her diet. I’ve never really considered before how much this has to do with early exposure, but in retrospect, some of these early ingredients are the very bedrock of her diet.

There’s quite a lot of detail to put into any post on risotto, so I’ve separated the parts out, with one lengthy post on the finer details of risotto here… And here is my saffron risotto:

Ingredients:
250g risotto rice, preferably Aquerello rice
1L of good chicken or vegetable stock
3 shallots, very finely diced
a large pinch of good saffron
1 large glass of white wine (I used a mixture of Noilly Prat and Marsala)
60g of cold, diced, unsalted butter (approx)
40g of hard cheese, such as Grana Padano or Parmesan

Method:

Sauté the shallots in the butter and olive oil until they soften – you’re not looking for the shallots to colour… And unlike some risotto bases, the soffrito for saffron risotto doesn’t include garlic. My shallots were chopped a little too large here – ideally you want them to be the same size as the rice.
In the meantime, gently heat your stock – do not boil it, or you may reduce the stock to fast, and make it too strong.
Take a ladleful of the stock and put it into a small bowl – add your saffron and allow it to infuse
Once the shallot has softened sufficiently, pour in the risotto rice, and stir it into the base – you’re actually looking to toast the rice (tostatura), and you can see each kernel will become more translucent. After a minute or so, pour in the alcohol of your choice… Ordinarily it’s a glass of white wine, but I’ve seen a variety of things used from Vermouth to Masala – personally I like the herby’ness of Noilly Prat, but on this occasion also used a little Madeira to push up the richness of the flavour base, and enhance the colour of the dish (apparently in Italy it’s not uncommon to add a tablespoon of passata, to increase the richness of the colour). Allow the alcohol to bubble until it has been absorbed into the rice. I do this until you can draw a line through the rice, with no liquid left in the pan.
If your saffron has “bloomed” sufficiently you can add it to your rice (I used to add it to the stock, but it seems to work better this way).
From this point on the process can be repeated with the stock – add a ladle at a time until it sits just above the rice, and keep stirring it until the stock has been absorbed.
Once the risotto has absorbed all the liquid, and is just al dente, take it off the heat and set it aside for a minute. This resting process allows the temperature to come down just enough, before you beat in the cheese and butter (the mantecatura).
Add sufficient cheese and cold diced butter to develop a creamy sauce – I can’t really tell you how much, as this bit is quite personal. I probably used about 60g of butter, and 40g of Parmesan.

I’ve shown the whole process in the following photographs….

Risotto base — Soften the shallots in a little olive oil

Add your alcohol and raise the temperature a little

Keep stirring until the alcohol is absorbed – you should be able to draw a line through the rice with your spoon.

Add a ladleful of stock

Keep stirring the rice, which allows the starches to be released. Make sure the stock is absorbed before adding the next ladelful.

Repeat the process, one ladleful at a time, until all the stock is used and the rice is al dente. If you run out of stock, you can add a little water.

Take your rice off the heat, and allow it to relax for a couple of minutes. Then beat in the cold butter and cheese, until a soft and relaxed risotto is achieved (clearly to your taste).

Serve the rice in a warmed bowl, with additional Grana Padano or Parmesan.

January 14, 2015 Recipe

Cardamom Scented Rhubarb Tart

I know, what’s with the cardamom already? But trust me, this isn’t just about obsession, this is about delicious perfection. Cardamom is absolutely perfect with rhubarb, and blood oranges – it had to make it into this dish. One thing we’re not terribly good at in mainland Europe, is layering spices. It must be an art form we’ve lost along the way, as our ancestors were absolutely obsessed with spices and herbs, from sweet cicely to orange thyme {I was going to call the blog that at one point, but it’s too long to put into a search engine :0)}.

In this rhubarb tart, the main vegetable is poached in a liquor of blood oranges, Grand Marnier, cranberry juice, and cardamom pods – it’s exquisite! Oh. And yes. Rhubarb is a vegetable. Some of the resulting rhubarb is then blitzed into creme patisserie, making the most delicious custard, and poured into a pastry shell… Easy peasy huh?

Well, it would have been if I hadn’t been glued to this years’ Bocuse d’Or competition. I had to poach my rhubarb three times, to get to a consistency I liked. At least it provided the additional purée for the crème pâtt’, so it’s all good! Do watch yours like a hawk, even 30 seconds here or there makes a difference.

Ingredients for the Pastry:
300g plain flour
150g unsalted butter
½ tsp salt
120g icing sugar
3 large egg yolks
Seeds from ½ vanilla pod
1 egg for the egg wash

Ingredients for the Poaching Liquor:
juice of 3 to 4 blood oranges
100ml cranberry juice
seeds of 6 green cardamom pods
2 Tbsp Grand Marnier (optional)
3 stalks of rhubarb

Ingredients for the Crème Pâtissèrie:
300ml full fat milk
80g unrefined caster sugar
30g unsalted good quality butter
40g plain flour
4 free range egg yolks
200g poached rhubarb

Now, before we even begin with the method, no, of course I didn’t make my own pastry on this occasion! You may love to do so, but I find this stuff so perfectly good, that I very rarely use anything else! The recipe above is Heston Blumenthal’s, and if you feel the need to torture yourself, it will do very nicely, thank you! I have made it before, and it’s jolly decent pastry…

Method:

Add the lemon zest to the egg yolk mixture and then add to the bowl in the mixer and continue to mix on low speed until fully combined and a very soft dough has formed {approximately 3-5 minutes}.
Mould the dough into a flat rectangle and wrap it in clingfilm before placing in the fridge for at least 1 hour. {Last time I made it, I did it overnight, was pretty firm when I rolled it out}
Roll the pastry between two sheets of baking paper to a thickness of 2mm, using two stacked 2 pence coins as guides, then place in the freezer for 30 minutes.
Pre-heat the oven to 190ºC/gas mark 5. Line a tart tin with the pastry making sure to press it into the edges and leaving the pastry hanging over the edge.
Take a sheet of baking paper and scrunch it up several times to eliminate any sharp edges. Prick the dough with a fork all over the surface. Place the baking paper on top and add enough coins {or baking beans} to fill the casing ¼ of the way up. Place in the preheated oven to bake for approximately 20 minutes or until fully cooked. {Be careful with the coins – once nearly put a watch battery in the oven which someone had dumped in the coin pot – check them!}
In the meantime, mix some of the leftover dough with an egg using a hand blender.
After 20 minutes, remove the baking paper and coins and, using a pastry brush, brush the entire surface of the tart with the dough and egg mixture. This ‘liquid pastry’ will ensure that any holes will be sealed. Return the tart to the oven for an additional 10 minutes.
Remove the tart from the oven and allow to cool completely.
Meanwhile, chop your rhubarb to an appropriate length – this will, of course, depend entirely on the tart case you’re using! Make sure all the lengths will actually fit inside your case, and try to pick stalks of a comparable size. It’s inevitable that the rhubarb itself will lessen in colour towards the top of the stalk, but if you’re careful, you can match several stalks together to achieve a pleading gradient of pink. I found three stalks fit my tart tin perfectly…
Combine all of the ingredients of the liquor together, and bring to a boil. Now. Having done this three times, and not being particularly attentive (!), I found that it was best if I brought the liquor to a boil and then turned it off! Put the rhubarb in, and set a timer for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, turn the rhubarb over. It won’t be tender at this stage, unless you’re using very tiny stalks. After the second five minutes, bring the liquor back to a boil, and immediately turn it off again! Turn the stalks after a further five minutes, then squidge them, as you might do a steak. If they feel nearly there, remove them immediately – they will continue to soften. This method will at least ensure your rhubarb does not disintegrate in the pan (as my first batch did). If they’re still terribly firm, turn them over and wait a further five minutes. When just about tender, set aside the rhubarb, and reduce the liquor down to a thick and syrupy glaze.
To make the crème pâttisèrie, put all the ingredients into the Thermomix bowl and cook for 10 minutes at 90C, speed 4. Give it a quick whizz at the end to ensure it’s smooth {especially if you still have cardamom seeds in it}, then pour into a bowl and cover with cling film until it’s cool. Yes – that’s it! Keep it in your fridge until you require it.
Finally – the assembly – take your cooled tart shell, fill it with the pastry cream, top with the poached rhubarb, and glaze with a little of the reduced poaching liquor. C’est parfait, n’est ce pas?

Notes:

I remembered, last year, that Tom Kitchen shocked asparagus before cooking – by putting it into ice-water – the reverse of an ice-bath… It sets the chlorophyll, and though rhubarb doesn’t have chlorophyll per se, I though it might help the colour… It certainly seems to work…
Poaching the rhubarb in successive batches in the poaching liquor definitely intensifies the colour and cardamon flavour
You can use any leftover rhubarb on porridge, ice-cream etc – it’s delicious