From our kitchen to yours.
Berber Tajine
Tomato Jam
1 tablespoon sweet red paprika (not the dark of Hungarian one it will be too bitter)
1 tablespoon cumin
3 star anise left whole for removing before serving
tiny piece of mace crunched up
4 tablespoons sugar
scatter of coriander seeds
generous teaspoon of lemon anise seeds, ground in your hands until the aroma floats around you
head of pink garlic flattered and peeled and roughly chopped
1 large red onion - sliced in fine rings and then chopped
cover the bottom of the sauce pan with olive oil..if you can't find Moroccan, then swish Spanish
handful of soft plump sultanas
5 tomatoes peeled with a vegetable peeler then finely chopped
Put all the ingredients, except for the tomatoes into the saucepan, over a diffuser and caramelize down until everything begins to stick to the side of the saucepan but not the bottom.
This will take around 20 minutes to half an hour. Add the chopped tomatoes and cintinue to cook down over the diffuser until it is quite reduced. This divine dish freezes wonderfully.
Kefta Balls
250gms twice minced beef or lamb
1 tablespoon cuminhandful of finely chopped coriander
4 garlic cloves finely, finely chopped
juice of a fat lemon
Mix all ingredients together and roll into balls the size of big marbles
Place your tajine on its diffuser, on top of the stove over a gentle heat.
Add about 1/3 cup of boiling water to your tajine.
Fill the base of your tajine up to the first "rim", with tomato jam, remembering to take out the star anise otherwise it will like you are eating bits of the forest floor.
Warm the tomato jam and add the kefta balls in a circle, pushing the down into the jam but not hitting the bottom.
Simmer for about 15 minutes
Break 4 eggs close to the sides and when the white begin to turn white, fork the yolks dragging them across the top. Be careful not to dig up the jam when doing this.
Place the lid on the tajine and leave for about 5 minutes still on the diffuser over a low, low heat.
When cooked, add coriander and sweet red paprika floats.
It's divine to eat traditionaly, from the tajine, with bread, rather than a fork.
Fabulous Sunday Brunch.
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SALAD OF FIELD GREENS
Toasted Walnuts, Green Apple
Oloroso Sherry Vinaigrette,
Shaved Vella Family Dry Jack
Serves 4
8 oz. mixed baby lettuces
2 oz. walnut pieces
2 Granny Smith apples
1 tsp olive oil
2 oz. dry jack cheese, shaved with a peeler
1 tbl shallot, minced
1 tbl lemon juice
2 tbl Oloroso sherry vinegar
½ cup extra virgin olive oil, best quality
2 pinch vitamin c powder, crushed vitamin c supplements or ascorbic acid
1 gram gelatin powder
Method
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Toss walnuts with 1 tsp olive oil, salt and pepper.
3. Bake walnuts on a baking sheet until 10 minutes or until golden brown.
4. Cool nuts to room temperature before serving.
5. Whisk together shallot, lemon juice, vinegar, salt and pepper.
6. Then whisk in best quality olive oil in a drizzle.
7. Wash and clean mixed baby lettuces.
8. Prepare a mixture of 1 cup cold water and a pinch of vitamin c powder.
9. Peel apples, place peel in vitamin c water.
10. Cut apples into nice square medium dice, saving scraps and place diced apple in vitamin c water.
11. Place apple peels and scraps in a food processor with a pinch of vitamin c powder.
12. Puree until smooth, scraping down when necessary. Place in a fine strainer and push liquid through.
13. Place a quarter of mixture in a heatproof bowl, sprinkle on gelatin.
14. Let gelatin mixture sit for 5 minutes to bloom gelatin.
15. Whisk over a double boiler until gelatin has melted.
16. Off heat, whisk into the rest of the apple juice.
17. Place over an ice bath and let cool until thickened.
To present: toss lettuces with dressing to taste, place lettuces on 4 salad plates. Drag a line of the apple coulis sauce on plate. Decorate with diced apples and toasted nuts. Sprinkle salad with shaved dry jack cheese.
Enjoy!
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Raspberry Jelly
Ingredients
600g raspberries
70g sugar
water
4 leaves of gelatine
extra raspberries for garnish
Method 1. Put the raspberries and sugar in a heat proof bowl, and seal with cling film. Place on top of a saucepan of gently simmering water for 40 minutes. 2. Take a either a colander lined with a muslin cloth or a jelly bag and place it over a large bowl. Pour the raspberries and their juice into colander/jelly bag and leave to drain - preferably overnight . 3. Take the juice and measure it out, add enough water to have 500ml of raspberry juice. Serving Suggestions Advanced preparation This jelly can easily be made a day in advance, and will keep in the fridge for two to three days. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ingredients 225g strong bread flour 30g caster sugar 8g dried yeast 50ml full fat milk 85g softened butter 2 whole eggs 2 large punnets of strawberries, plus sugar to taste Method 1. Using a mixer with a paddle, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffly or by hand, with a wooden spoon. Add the eggs and mix for another 2 minutes. 2. Add the milk, incorporate, then add the flour and yeast and mix until all ingredients are incorporated. Continue to work the mixture for another 3 minutes. Cover the bowl with a clean damp tea-towel and leave in a warm place to prove until it has doubled in size. 3. Transfer the dough from the bowl onto a floured surface and roll it out to about 1.5cm thick. Using approximately a 7cm round cutter cut out circles from the dough, then using a 2cm round cutter cut the hole out of the center. The mixture that is left over can then be reshaped into another doughnut. 4. Leave the dough to prove again until it has doubled in size, the deep-fry at 170 degree until golden brown, you need to turn them over half-way through the cooking. Remove from oil then toss them in a bowl of caster sugar until well coated. They are ready to serve. 5. We serve them warm, with a strawberry compote and clotted cream ice cream. To make the compote cut the strawberries in half removing the green stalk, then gently heat in a saucepan with a sprinkling of sugar to taste, until sugar is dissolved. Advanced preparation The batter can be made the day before and kept in the fridge in an airtight container, but the donuts are best made just before you want to eat them. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Oriental Chicken Kebabs Ingredients 1 large chicken breast 1/2 red pepper 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar 1/2 tbsp soy sauce 1/2 tbsp oyster sauce 3 drops sesame oil 1/2 tbsp fish sauce 1 tbsp clear honey 1/4 clove crushed garlic 1/4 tsp chopped fresh ginger 1 tbsp olive oil 8 cocktail sticks Method 1. Remove skin from chicken breast and chop into 1 cm cubes. De-seed pepper and chop into 1 cm squares. 2. Take a small saucepan and add all the ingredients except the olive oil, chicken and peppers. Warm over a gentle heat until everything is incorporated, remove from heat. 3. Thread the chicken and peppers onto the cocktail sticks, ensuring that there is an even quantity on each stick. Place in a bowl and pour the marinade over, mix well. Cover with cling film and leave in the fridge for at least 4 hours. 4. Preheat a heavy based cast iron griddle until it is very hot brush lightly with the olive oil and cook the kebabs quickly, turning regularly. Serving Suggestions Advanced preparation These can be made at least 2 or 3 days ahead of time if you wish, they will benefit from the added marinating time, however always cook them just before you serve them. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Eton Mess Ingredients 4 cups strawberries 2 teaspoons caster or vanilla sugar 2 teaspoons pomegranate juice 2 cups whipping cream 1 packet individual meringue nests Method
1.Hull and chop the strawberries and put into a bowl and add the sugar and pomegranate juice and leave to macerate while you whip the cream. 2. Whip the cream in a large bowl until thick but still soft. Roughly crumble in 4 of the meringues nests - you will need chunks for texture as well as a little fine dust. 3. Take out about half a cupful of the chopped strawberries, and fold the merinque cream and rest of the fruit mixture together. Arrange on 4 serving plates or glasses or in a mound, and top each with some of the remaining macerated strawberries. Recipe courtesy of the Walnut Grove.
4. Place the gelatine leaves in a bowl of cold water to soak until they are soft. Remove from water, place in a cup and microwave until liquid. Take a small amount of the raspberry juice and add it to the gelatine, stirring until incorporated. Then pour this mixture into the rest of the raspberry juice. Mix well, pour into moulds and put into the fridge to set.
5. When the jelly has set and you want to serve them, put the moulds in hot water for a minute before tipping upside down.
Homemade Doughnuts with Strawberry Compote
5 . Serve with hot as a canapés or starter.
Following last months party themed dish - Roasted Pumpkin Parcels, this months recipe is another quick and easy party nibble. It is very quick to prepare and is always a winner. If you wanted to adapt them for the BBQ in the summer, just use larger kebab sticks, and cut the chicken and peppers into larger cubes. Remember to soak larger kebab sticks (if they are wooden) in water for at least half an hour, this will help to stop them burning while they cook.
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