Breakfast

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

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 5, 2014 Recipe

Gordon Ramsay’s Baked Spice Porridge

My predictable January health kick survives* – we’ve reached the 5th – and although it’s a Sunday morning, I’ve managed to stall breakfast long enough to make baked porridge. I’d caught this recipe earlier in the week on Ramsay’s show, and located the recipe online. I have to say, it’s so much nicer than perhaps it sounds! Forget that oats are a good source of soluble fibre, help reduce cholesterol, and provide an invaluable source of manganese and non-meat protein – this thing tastes yummy too!

Ingredients:
Serves 4–6
150g (5oz) jumbo rolled oats
seeds from 1 vanilla pod
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1⁄2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg, plus a little extra to sprinkle
50g (2oz) whole blanched almonds
50g (2oz) blanched hazelnuts
75g (3oz) raisins
1 ripe pear, peeled, cored and chopped into small chunks
500ml (18fl oz) milk, plus extra for serving
200ml (7fl oz) double cream
2 tbsp demerara sugar

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas 4.
Combine the oats and vanilla seeds in a mixing bowl – use your fingers to rub the seeds through the oats. Add the spices, nuts, raisins and pear and mix well. Stir in the milk and cream,
and then pour the mixture into a baking dish. Dust with a little extra grated nutmeg.
Place in the oven and bake for30–35 minutes, or until the oats are completely softened and the liquid absorbed.
Heat the grill on its highest setting. Sprinkle the top of the porridge with the sugar and place under the grill for 3–4 minutes, or until the sugar has melted and created a crust.
Serve warm, with a little extra milk on the side if desired

Notes:

I omitted the cream from mine, but I used whole milk, and upped it to 600ml
Do leave your nuts whole if you can, they will soften in the mix
I used 100g dried cranberries instead of raisins – I’m not that keen on raisins these days
I forgot to put in the pear – damnation – I have some excellent pears too
I used my Thiercelin Pain d’Epices spices, because I’m becoming vaguely addicted to the scent – although Hubby did say that it smelled a little like a Christmas pud, so beware
If you’re not going to pop your vanilla bean pod into sugar, you could put it into the porridge to cook alongside the other ingredients
Hubby had his porridge without milk on the side, but I did, it’s pretty thick otherwise
I cooked mine in a Le Creuset dish, which meant that when it cooled down, I was actually able to cut it into strips – like a soft breakfast bar. It’s actually even more delicious cold – that’s my breakfast for tomorrow sorted, with some fresh fruit, and a splodge of natural yoghurt I’ll be good to go…

The Porridge and Milk

The Baked Porridge

Delicious, but even nicer when set, and cut into slices

March 6, 2012 British

Browns Hotel, Mayfair

Today the Breakfast venue is Browns. Arguably, the first hotel in London, established in 1837, the website says that this five star establishment welcomes guests that are ‘in the know’. I have no idea what that means, so I must be completely clueless. Armed with that knowledge, I’m expecting to be greeted by a doorman extending a hand for some secret handshake, or worse expecting me to deliver a password, the failure to deliver either resulting in me being thrown out onto the street. Disappointingly, I’m asked for neither, and am shown to the Hix restaurant.

I’d describe the decor as corporate dining chic. Wood panneling, crisp white table cloths, with potraits and other art works adorning the walls, and olive green upholstery. It’s a long, light room and gives a feeling of space and openness.

I’m asked promptly if I desire drinks and ask for a cappuccino and grapefruit juice, in the absence of being offered anything more exotic. The breakfast menu is as extensive as you’d expect from a five star hotel. I regularly avoid buffet breakfasts, and there is one here which looks extensive and varied. I happen to notice an addition not listed on the website menu and decide to choose it: Poached Eggs on Mushroom.

Within a reasonable amount of time, the plate arrives. It looks very appetising, two portabello mushrooms large enough to support two poached eggs, with a reasonable amount of hollandaise sauce. Gliding the knife through it all, it reveals two medium cooked eggs, with nice runny yolks and firm, but well cooked mushrooms. All nicely put together, and well cooked, but I’m just a little disappointed. For some reason I had assume the strap line of green herbs referred to a herb butter, but in fact it was a herb crust. As the egg sat on top of the crust, it went slightly soggy, and the flavour, though nicely cooked didn’t seem to marry well. The combination particularly of the herb crust and hollandaise seemed quite alien to my tastebuds when combined with mushroom and egg – all the textures were too soft.

The room is comfortable and the service is discreet, but I struggle to make sense of how I feel about it. The food was well prepared and cooked, but I need more texture in my breakfast. I decide I’m not a fan of herb crusted mushrooms which taste too… green… I don’t believe I’m gifted with synesthesia, so on a scale of 1 to 10, I give this a purple.

Brown’s Hotel,

Albemarle Street,

London W1S 4BP

February 21, 2012 1 Michelin Star

The Lanesborough, Belgravia

Breakfast number two of the week and today the venue is the Lanesborough on Hyde Park Corner. An impressive 19th century building which is now a small, but luxurious hotel, in the heart of London. Originally built as a hospital (St. Georges) in the 18C, it was demolished and rebuilt in 1827 by William Wilkins. The hospital itself transferred to Tooting in 1980, and the building fell into disrepair until 1991 when it was refurbished and re-opened, and now is arguably the most expensive hotel in London.

I’ve been here many times before, though I’ve never stayed overnight, and I’ve certainly enjoyed the hospitality of the restaurants and bars – the library bar is a favourite of mine. On entering the hotel I’n directed to Apsleys, the restaurant. Taken over by Heinz Beck in 2009, it is his first restaurant outside of Italy and was awarded a Michelin star in 2010 (the fastest for a London restaurant at the time).

The last time I was here was for dinner before the refurbishment, then, it was a colonial style greenhouse with pastille coloured 80’s styling, with a very loud piano playing in the centre – we expected to find George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley hiding behind the palms with fake tans and shorts. Now it has the feeling of a light, open, Italian venue, with a Titian-esque artwork as a centrepiece. I assume this is to announce the ‘rebirth’ of the restaurant itself (although for some reason the artwork has go-faster stripes).

The menu is extensive and they even encourage you to be creative and go ‘off menu’. Given my recent disappointment, I know I’m going to go down the Eggs Benedict route again. The orange juice is already in the waiters’ hands, so I accept the invitation and give my order.

I assume the go-faster stripes on the centrepiece give the illusion that orders are being handled much more quickly than they are, and we wait what seems to be an age. All three of us have ordered eggs, so I assume only one egg chef is on, or they are out the back squeezing a couple from the chicken. Finally, the dishes arrive. Again the food looks great, though as I found to my cost yesterday, looks can be deceiving. I look more closely…

Two nicely formed poached eggs on top of an abundance of ham, and one half of a largish muffin. A decent, but not overwhelming amount of hollandaise with a pinch of paprika. My knife glides through the egg revealing a medium cooked egg with a yolk that flows down over the ham and muffin, but is not indiscreet enough to damage the texture of either. The ham is a honey roast ham, organically sourced, and full of flavour; and the muffin is nice and fluffy. The hollandaise, is creamy, but could do with just a touch more acidity – but I feel I’m splitting hairs now.

I enjoy the venue, the eggs Benedict were good. The service, other than waiting for too long, was fine and I leave in good humour – joking with the staff as I leave. One tells me his favourite egg joke:

How do Monsters like their eggs cooked – Terri-fried.

Update:

I had breakfast again this morning, and things have definitely deteriorated since my last visit. Eggs were undercooked, the staff kept trying to sell us pastries every five minutes and I had to ask for juice three times. A glass of grapefruit juice finally arrived, but had been watered down. I also had to ask for a cup of coffee twice, and finally got it at the end of the meal. The bill also had to be requested three times! 17/9/12

February 15, 2012 Italian

Quadrato, Canary Wharf

I may be apart from the majority of people when I say that I consider breakfast to be the most important meal of the day. A good breakfast puts a smile on my face, and helps prepare me for the onslaught of the day.

So, given that, it’s only natural that I eat breakfast out on a regular basis, and when I see ‘Breakfast Served at all Times‘ I can’t help myself emulating the comedian Steve Wright and ordering “French toast during the Renaissance”.

Today the venue is Quadrato at the Four Seasons in Canary Wharf. For well over a decade I’ve eaten in Quadrato and know it extremely well – it has always been a trusted source of a good meal, especially in truffle season. Walking into the restaurant is like walking into a friends house – the doorman welcomes me back, takes my coat and I’m seated immediately with efficiency and charm. The decor is clean, functional, hotel-esque, and hasn’t changed materially in 12 years. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but what was shiny and modern twelve years ago, is now just a little dull.

The waitress immediately asks if I’d like a juice – there are three on offer: orange; grapefruit; and cranberry. Usually Quadrato has a juice of the day, but either this has been dropped for the day, or forgotten about. I order a grapefruit juice and a cappuccino.

As you would expect in a Four Seasons Hotel, the breakfast menu is extensive. As I’m in the furthest enclave of the City, and folklore states that Mr Benedict was a Wall Street investment banker, I decide to honour him and order the Eggs Benedict. I have had it here many times, and it has historically been my favourite. I was surprised this time not to be asked how I’d like my eggs, as this has always been a nice feature of the restaurant. It demonstrates that they are making the dish for me, personally, and yes, they care how I prefer them.

My grapefruit juice and cappuccino arrive in good order, and my Eggs Benedict arrives a little too fast for comfort. Now, I don’t consider myself an expert, but over the years I’ve eaten this dish in many different restaurants and countries. Here the presentation looked great, the product looked appetising, and I was looking forward to the dish.

There was quite a lot of Hollandaise. I began to realise that this was hiding the lack of ham I’d expected between the egg and English muffin. What I did encounter was such a thin slice of ham that it deemed it pointless and tasteless. However there was a surprisingly and relatively large quantity of very wet and soggy spinach. Just to be sure, I ask the waitress if this is the correct order and she confirms that this is my Eggs Benedict and not the Florentine (typically with spinach). I plow on, determined to put my spinach phobia aside. As I pierce the egg an unreasonable quantity of water is ejected. Worse still, the egg itself is undercooked, just a small white bag of fluid, adding to my general depression and making the muffin even soggier than the spinach. I’m left reminiscing about all of my past Eggs Benedict, as if bereaving an absent friend.

Disappointed, I leave half the breakfast untouched, and I’m not asked why. I pay the bill, my coat and bag arrives with speed and I leave…

In my view a perfect Eggs Benedict should have a muffin which is crisp on top and fluffy throughout. The ham should be of sufficient quantity that you can discern which type of ham it is; and the egg should be fresh and firm. The egg yolk should have enough oozing viscosity to drip over the ham and muffin, but not to permeate the bread. It’s important to maintain the various textures of the food. The hollandaise should be creamy and exhibit a level of acidity which pokes your palate and gets your juices flowing. And nowhere, other than possibly somewhere in the kitchen drawer, or back in Florence, should there be spinach.

On my way to my next meeting I grab a croissant, and needless to say, I have a bad day.

Update: We were contacted by Four Seasons almost as soon as this piece went onto Urbanspoon, keen to find out where they went wrong.

Quadrato
Four Seasons Hotel

46 Westferry Circus
London

E14 8RS