WEEKEND KITCHEN RECIPE SHEET 27th March 2016 Shaskuka A great breakfast/brunch dish, top with crumbled feta or a drizzle of yoghurt, and some warm pitta bread for dunking. (Nick says: one of my favourite things! Really a perfect brunch - trust us on this one) I tbsp rapeseed or other cooking oil 1 white onion, sliced 1 red pepper, sliced 1 clove of garlic, crushed 2 tins chopped tomatoes 1 tbsp tomato puree 1 tsp ground cumin 1 tsp paprika 1 tsp sugar A pinch of chilli flakes, or to your liking 8 eggs Salt and freshly ground pepper Freshly chopped coriander and parsley to garnish. Serves 4 You can make this in a large frying pan, or individually in smaller dishes, which then you could finish off in the oven. Heat the oil in a large frying pan on a medium heat and fry the onion until soft. Then add the red pepper, garlic and the spices. Cook for 2 minutes until the pepper is softened. Season with salt and pepper. Add the tins of chopped tomatoes and tomato puree, and simmer for 10-15 minutes until it has reduced and thickened a little. If using one pan, make some deep wells in the mixture, and break in the eggs. Cover and continue heating until the eggs are set to your liking. Transfer to a plate and scatter with the chopped herbs. Page 1
NB - If making individual portions, pour the tomato mixture into 4 oven proof dishes then create two wells in each and pop the eggs into the wells. This goes in an oven heated to 180C/ Gas Mark 4 until the eggs are set. Torta Pasqualina or Italian Easter Pie This pie is not just for Easter - it s like a Cornish pastie and is great for picnics, lunch boxes or a quiet lunch with green salad. 2 sheets of puff pastry (all butter is best) 700g of spinach (or Swiss chard, or a mixture of both) 3 tbsp breadcrumbs 100g grated parmesan (fresh please!) ½ tsp salt 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper ½ tsp grated nutmeg (again, freshly grated) 450g ricotta 2 eggs, beaten 1 egg for egg-washing the top 2 hardboiled eggs, roughly chopped 150g diced ham Serves 6-8 You can make this pie free-form or use a 10inch pie tin, well greased with butter or oil. Steam or wilt the spinach until just cooked, set aside to cool. Then squeeze out any excess moisture. Roughly chop and add to a large mixing bowl. Add the breadcrumbs (they help to soak up any moisture), seasoning, cheeses, ham, beaten and hard boiled eggs and combine well. Roll out the puff pastry, and line the bottom of the pie tin, leaving some overhang. Pile in the spinach mixture, and press down lightly. Cover with the remaining pastry, and crimp the edges. Brush the top with egg wash and prick lightly with a fork. Place the pie in a preheated oven at 180C for 40-55 minutes until golden brown. Page 2
Chocolate Caramel Pain Perdu Eggy bread with a lovely Easter twist! 4 eggs, beaten 50ml milk or single cream 1 tbsp runny honey ½ tsp vanilla extract 1 tbsp butter Pinch of salt 4 thick crust less slices of white bread or brioche 50g butter, melted 1 tsp rapeseed oil 150ml double cream 1 tbsp muscavado sugar 1 tbsp dark chocolate drops Small pinch of salt Fresh fruit to serve - I like blueberries and raspberries A handful of toasted nuts (optional), I like to use hazelnuts Icing sugar Serves 4 Heat the cream, muscavado sugar and chocolate gently in a saucepan until melted and combined and keep the sauce warm. Whisk together the eggs, milk/cream and honey. Transfer the mixture to a baking tray large enough to hold the bread. Prick the bread lightly on both sides with a fork, and dunk the bread in the mixture on both sides, then leave to sit in the mixture to soak it up. Melt the butter and oil in a large non-stick frying pan. Once melted and bubbling, add the soaked bread, and fry on a medium heat until lovely and golden brown - approximately 3 minutes on each side - until cooked through and lovely and golden brown. Cut the bread into triangles and arrange on a plate. Drizzle over the warm sauce and serve with the berries and a dusting of icing sugar. Page 3
Morzine Quiche Along a similar theme to a quiche lorraine, but using cheese local to the Morzine region. This is a quiche as a quiche should be - bursting with flavour and a strong salty hit. Wonderful. The trick here is to cook the tart on low, meaning you get more of a texture of a lemon tart, rather than a puffed up, airy quiche. The final result is all the better for it. 125g Plain flour Salt 55g butter 35ml water 3 medium eggs 300ml double cream Salt Pepper 200g Reblochon cheese 150g diced pancetta 50ml white wine Serves 8 Pre-heat your oven to 180C/ Gas Mark 4 Combine the flour, butter and salt in a bowl and rub together to resemble bread crumbs. Add ¾ of the water and combine, adding the remaining water if the dough is too dry. Bring the dough together but don t over work. Wrap in cling film and chill for 30 minutes. Roll the pastry and line a 10inch tart case. Allow it to chill in the fridge again while you prepare the filling. Hope up the cheese and set aside. Heat a frying pan on a medium/high heat and fry the pancetta until golden brown. Deglaze the pan by pouring in the white wine and reduce it until it s almost dry. Too much liquid will affect the egg mixture. Set the bacon aside. Bake the tart case blind by covering it with greaseproof paper and packing it with rice or dried beans. It ll need around 25 minutes until the pastry is golden. Remove from the oven and reduce the heat to 130C/ Gas Mark 2. Whisk the egg, cream and salt together. Spread the cheese and pancetta around the tart case and pour over the egg cream mixture. Bake in the oven for 30-45 minutes until the egg mixture is set with a slight wobble. Depending on your oven this may take a little longer. Page 4
Slow cooked garlic and herb lamb neck You can use any cut of meat here but the lamb neck is super cheap and super tasty. Ask your butcher to remove the sinew. Leave some of the fat though as this adds to the flavour. If you don t have neck filet, you can use any other cut of lamb steak. The beauty of this dish is the lamb cooks on the vegetables, meaning both get loads of each other s flavour. Cooking the lamb on a lowish heat in the oven keeps it nice and sweet and tender. 2 tbsp olive oil 1 head of garlic 1tbsp chopped rosemary 1tbsp chopped thyme 4 lamb neck fillets Salt 2 onions 4 carrots 2 celery sticks Serves 4 Pre heat oven to 150C/ Gas Mark 3 Blend the oil, garlic, rosemary, thyme and a pinch of salt. Rub this all over the lamb neck fillets and allow to marinate for at least 1 hour - overnight would be better. Heat a frying pan on a medium/high heat, drizzle a little oil and sear the lamb all over until golden. Evenly chop the onion, carrot and celery and spread onto a roasting tray. Lay the lamb on top of the vegetables, pour a little water in the tray and roast in the oven for 45 minutes. Keep checking the tray and add a little water if needed. At the end of cooking the tray should be nearly dry and the veg roasted. Leave the lamb to rest for a few minutes and serve. Fresh spring chickpea salad This is all about colours and textures. Crunchy, vibrant peppers, chickpeas and a lovely simple dressing. This is a chuck-it-together which will grace you barbecues or your lunch boxes. 2 red peppers 2 yellow peppers 1 red onion 1 bunch of coriander Page 5
2 tins of chickpeas 1 tbsp olive oil 2 tbsp orange juice Juice of 1 lime 1tsp white wine vinegar 1tbsp honey salt to taste 1 bunch of spring onion Serves 4 Core the peppers and remove the stems. Peel the onion and remove the root. Place the peppers, red onion and coriander into a food processor and pulse. Pulse it as fine as you like it. Alternatively, simply chop into small pieces. Place the chickpeas in a bowl with the chopped veg, oil, orange juice, lime juice, vinegar, honey and salt then mix. Top with sliced spring onion and enjoy. Hazelnut meringue roulade You really have to give this a go! This is one of my standby quick and really easy recipes, for when you need a dessert and you need one now. It really is so quick, easy and so delicious. Your guests will never know that it took you less than 30 minutes to throw together. For the meringue: 3 large, organic egg whites 175g white caster sugar ½ tsp vanilla extract Butter, for greasing ½ tsp white wine vinegar 1 tsp cornflour 40g toasted chopped hazelnuts, plus extra to decorate 284ml double cream 2 tbsp Nutella Icing sugar, to dust Serves up to 8 Bake at 190C/Gas Mark 5 Page 6
In a large, grease-free mixing bowl, whisk the egg whites to soft peaks. While continuously whisking, slowly add the caster sugar 1 tbsp at a time until you have a stiff, glossy meringue mixture. Whisk in the vanilla extract until combined then the wine vinegar and cornflour. Fold in the hazelnuts and spread in the tin. Grease a swiss roll tin and line with greaseproof paper. Pour the mixture on to it and bake for 15 minutes. You want the meringue to be a light golden colour and soft on the inside. Prepare another length of greaseproof paper and carefully turn the meringue out on to it. Whip the cream to soft peaks and fold in the Nutella. Spread this over the cooled roulade and roll it up tightly, leaving the greaseproof paper behind as you go. Dust with icing sugar and scatter with more chopped hazelnuts before serving. Paris Brest This is a king of desserts, created to mark the traditional Paris Brest cycle race - hence the look of a round cycle wheel. It uses choux pastry which you don t need to be scared of, you just need to follow these instructions to make perfectly light choux. You fill the rounds with the praline paste but equally, you can use exactly the same filling as you have with the roulade. 95ml tap water 32ml full cream milk 50g unsalted butter, cubed 4g sugar 1g salt 75g plain flour 75g whole eggs, room temperature Chopped nuts Serves 4 and a few more Pre heat the oven to 180C/ Gas Mark 4 Put the water, milk, butter, sugar and salt in a pan and put it on a medium heat. You just want it hot enough to melt the butter without any of the water evaporating. As soon as the butter has melted, turn up the heat so that the water comes to a boil. Page 7
When the water is boiling, take it off the heat and stir in the flour. Stir the mixture for 2 minutes off the heat (the mixture should be coming away from the pan). Return to a medium heat and continue stirring for another 2 minutes. Put the mixture into a bowl and, using a mixer, mix on slow for about 30 seconds (this allows some of the heat to escape). Turn the mixer to a medium setting and add the eggs a little at a time, beating at each interval. Do this until all the eggs have been incorporated into the mix. The mixture should be glossy, thick and be able to hold its shape. Put it into a piping bag. Pipe the pastry out in a circular shape on a non-stick baking tray or on greaseproof paper (you can use a stencil if you want to create uniformed shaped Paris Brest). Scatter chopped nuts over the top and slightly press them into the mixture. Bake in the oven for 40 minutes then reduce the temperature to 140C/ Gas Mark 3 for 5 minutes (or until golden). Once baked, immediately poke a hole in the bottom and leave them hole side up on a rack to allow the steam to escape. You now need to fill two rings to create one Paris Brest, a bit like a bagel. You can use the nutella mix from the roulade or make a praline paste (see recipe below) and mix 4 or 5 tbsp of it into 300ml of whipped cream. Praline Paste 125g hazelnuts 125g almonds 200g sugar 2 tbsp water Pre heat the oven to 150C/ Gas Mark 3 Place the nuts on a baking tray in a single layer and toast them for 15 minutes. When you remove the tin from the oven, rub the hazelnuts and almonds with a clean cloth to remove their skin as much as possible. Let everything cool down at room temperature. Page 8
Heat the sugar and the water in a saucepan on medium heat until it reaches 116 C (use a sugar thermometer for this). Then stir in the almonds and hazelnuts and stir with a wooden spoon. Make sure to coat all the almonds and hazelnuts in the syrup, which will eventually crystallize: it is normal and it is due to the thermal shock, but keep on stirring constantly on medium-low heat. The sugar will eventually melt again and become a caramel; during this stage keep stirring to prevent the caramel from burning. Pour out the caramel and nuts onto silicon mat (or parchment paper) spread out as much as possible in a single layer and leave to cool down to room temperature Break the praline into small pieces with your hands or with a knife and place them in a food processor, blitz a few times to break up the praline. Keep on processing for several minutes to obtain a thick but spreadable praline paste. Add a dash of vegetable oil (e.g. hazelnut, peanut...) if the paste is too dense. This can then conveniently be stored in an airtight jar and will keep for several months. Page 9