BBC Recipes – a Suggestion!

I see, as most of us do, that the BBC is to remove 11,000 or more free recipes from their website and that almost everyone is pissed off about this.  Me too! 

However ...

Whilst all the free recipes online (including mine!) are a great and useful resource what is even usefuller is learning some key recipes and taking it from there!

 

I recently wrote a post, titled “Why are Most Cookbooks the Same” because most recipes in books and online are just that – recipes. They give no further information on how to make the dish exactly the way you want it; how to vary the flavour, texture and finished result according to taste, what’s available and budget. 

On my blog and in my books instead of giving just a collection of recipes I try to help people learn and understand the basics of a dish and the many ways to vary it so they can eat exactly what they fancy every day of their life!

In the aforementioned post I remark that there are 2,592 recipes for hummus listed on Eat Your Books none of which you need if you know the basics of making hummus and other bean dips which are given here.

Suppose you want to make a salad dressing – all you really need to know is the proportions of oil to vinegar or other acid, how to make it emulsify (it’s a doddle) and some great additions all of which vinaigrette making information is here.

A useful cookie recipe that can be varied with all sorts of additions?  Or maybe you'd like an easy to vary shortbread recipe.

Here is an honestly foolproof and failproof meringue recipe – with lots of variations.

Scones/Dumplings/Doughnuts?I have a great recipe which makes all these and much more but I’m afraid there’s so very much I can tell you about this recipe; (different fats, liquids, methods etc. I had to write a book about it!

These are Sautéed Blueberry Scones!

Here is a simple but very useful and delicious cream sauce which can be varied and added to and used with pasta, fish, chicken, steak, mushrooms, as a dip and lots more. 

Almost (but not quite) all soups can be made based on my one “genius” recipe – details here.

Ice Cream is another example – my very, very easy no-churn and egg-free ice cream recipe can be varied to make wonderful ices limited only by the imagination. 

I could go on!

Once you know these basic key recipes you can save them somewhere for easy reference, handy hint; don’t hide them like the Beeb. According to the ticker tape on BBC News – 

“recipes on the BBC website will become harder to find with an online search” 

So not gone, just hidden! 

Lab Grown Meat, Dead Animals or a “Pile of Vegetables”?

I had a fabulous lunch with my friend Debbie at Archie Browns, a vegetarian café (and health food shop) in Truro last Thursday; we shared a tasting platter and it was wonderful.

Telling the chaps I “work” with about this the next day one guy said how could I be so pleased with “just a pile of vegetables?” Well really, just look at it …

Another of the guys, however, is a vegetarian and knows of Archie Browns so, of course, agreed with me.  He also made the important point that in a world of diminishing resources, a growing population, greenhouse emissions, climate change and what have we, it makes no sense to feed an animal much more food and water than we get out of it! This brings me to the second point of this post, have you seen this?

It’s Meat Jim – but not as we know it!

Scientists have been working on producing meat from stem cells rather than from dead animals and recently tested and tasted a lab-grown meatball.

This meatball was produced by Memphis Meats who grew animal muscle tissue using stem cells of cows and pigs fed with nutrients and oxygen. Based on the current price of lab-grown beef which is about $18,000 per pound it probably cost about $2,000 (plus, of course the trimmings!) but hopefully will become cheaper as they get better at it.

Some people apparently think the idea of growing lab-grown meat is yuk but then again some people don’t like the idea of eating dead animals and think that is yuk. What do you think?

If (a big if) this really works and has no hidden side effects – what a good idea! Watch a video about it here and see what you think.

Of course if you can’t wait for the price to come down but would just like to make yourself a delicious real beef burger see here. 

In Other News …

Having reviewed quite a few books I am now a member of the Legend 100 Club and will be sent books from Legend Press to review, but not necessarily foodie ones.  

To be honest I was a little discombobulated with the first one;  Fracture by Clár Ní Chonghaile, to review as this is really not my normal style of reading matter. 

How wrong I was, as soon as I read the first page I was hooked. The story is of a journalist held hostage in Somalia told from his own perspective plus that of his mother and of Abdi, a young guy recruited by the terrorist group to “take care” of the prisoner. 

The book is topical, realistic and makes one look at Islamic fundamentalism and terrorism from a different perspective. It taught me a lot I didn’t know about Somalia. The writing is excellent the characters believable and I felt sympathetic towards them. I heartily recommend it.

And speaking of reviews ... just look at this a comment on my last post.

“Hi there, just like to say that I purchased your 4 genius books for kindle yesterday - ice cream, sorbet, scones and soup. They are great! Wonderful simple recipes and a delightful writing style that made me laugh out loud at times.”

Thank you Rikki!

Genius Recipes? ~ see here

How to Prepare, Clean & Cook Fresh Leeks

It’s British Leek Season – Hurrah!

Did you know that today marks the start of the British leek season which runs all the way through to April?

Jolly good too because leeks are seriously one my favourite vegetables and not just in an accompaniment kind of a way.  For me leeks are a delicious and important main flavour in numerous dishes. I almost always have a leek about the place and I recommend you do the same!

To mark this auspicious occasion I have been asked to write a little about these delicious alliums together with one of my favourite recipes so do please read on.

Firstly and importantly leeks do tend to have a little grit and dirt between their leaves so here is a good way of washing them …

How to Prepare & Wash Leeks

The easiest way, I find, is to  top and tail the leek, run a knife along its edge and remove and discard the out edge. Split the leek in half lengthwise and then slice crosswise.  Put into a large bowl with PLENTY of cold water so that the sliced leek floats. Swirl about a bit, let the water calm down and then carefully lift the leeks out so that the soil and grit, which has sunk to the bottom, stays in the bottom where it belongs. Do not strain them.

Secondly here is a great way of cooking leeks which makes them sweet and tender and concentrates their flavour.

A Great Way to Cook Leeks

~   Heat a knob of butter (or olive oil or bacon fat) in a saucepan with a lid and toss and separate the washed and drained leeks in the fat to coat.

~   Sprinkle with a little salt.
~   Press something appropriate (a piece of foil, a piece of baking parchment, greaseproof paper or a butter wrapper) directly onto the leeks to cover completely. Try not to burn yourself on the side of the pan.

>~   Turn the heat down to low and put the lid on the pot; the leeks should not so much fry in the butter as gently steam in it.
~   Cook slowly until they are very tender – you can stir once or twice during this time and they should take about 20 minutes.

Leeks cooked this way are really useful being great in everything from soups (see here for my Leek & Potato Soup recipe plus a bit of a rant!) to lovely mashed potato, posh cheese on toast, Alfredo Sauce (for pasta and lots of other things), stirred through cooked peas and even in baked things such as scones or on pizza.  They are, however particularly good with seafood.  I often have them with salmon but a very delicious dish I ate in France a few years ago and then replicated at home is …

Breton Scallop & Leek Galettes

"Galettes" (Galettes de Sarrasin to use their full name) in Brittany refers to a particularly delicious (and, as a bonus, gluten free) type of crèpe made of buckwheat. They are light and crisp with a slightly nutty flavour. The galette recipe is below but if you haven’t got any buckwheat normal crèpes will stand in pretty well.

The main subject of this post is the scallop and leek filling – aha, we get to it at last!

Scallops in a Creamy Leek Sauce

Use either the little queen scallops or the larger ones, in which case slice them before cooking.

2 small leeks – cleaned and thinly sliced
30g butter
50ml dry white wine
150ml double cream
300g raw scallops
salt and pepper

~   Prepare and cook the leeks in the butter as above.
~   Add the wine or stock and allow to simmer for a minute or two.
~   Stir in the cream, bring to a boil then turn down the heat and simmer a few minutes.  Taste and season.
~   At this stage you could set the sauce aside to later.
~   To cook the scallops just reheat the sauce to boiling, turn down to a low simmer, add the scallops and leave on the heat just till the first bubble appears on the surface of the sauce. Set aside, covered, to finish cooking in the residual heat of the sauce. Scallops are very delicate chaps and any more cooking could toughen them.

Divide the creamy scallop and leek mixture between the hot pancakes, fold over the tops and enjoy.

Oh – I’ve just thought of another good leek idea; this is a fancy garnish I used to do a lot when cheffing …

Frazzled Leeks

Cut a leek into long thin strips, rub a little cornflour through them (this makes them crunchy) and deep fry for a few minutes till they are golden. Lift out of the oil with a skimmer and drain on kitchen roll. Sprinkle with a little crunchy sea salt.

Buckwheat Pancakes

This makes 4 large pancakes or more smaller ones, obviously!

100g buckwheat flour
pinch of salt
1 egg
300ml milk
50g butter – melted

~   Stir together the salt and the flour and make a well in the middle.
~   Break the egg into the well and start whisking it in gradually adding the milk till a batter the consistency of single cream is achieved.
~   Chill for a couple of hours then stir in the melted butter.
~   Proceed to make pancakes as per usual, ie. lightly grease a frying pan, bring to good heat and ladle in about 2 tablespoons of batter. 
~   Roll the pan to spread the batter thinly and cook till the underside is golden.
~   Turn with a deft flip of the wrist or more carefully with an implement.

So that's it from me but for lots more recipes, tips and info on British leeks go here.

http://www.britishleeks.co.uk/

Super Flexible Cookie Recipe

I received some great Seed & Bean Chocolate in the post the other day which I initially decided to just eat and eat and eat but then thought it might be a good idea to test some in the cooking department so I made cookies. 

I had three different flavours of chocolate to test.  I didn't want to use too much of it for this experiment so divided the dough into 6 and flavoured them thus …

1.  Dark Chocolate with Chilli & Lime

2.  Milk Chocolate with Cornish Sea Salt & Lime

3.  Lemon Poppy Seed White Chocolate

4.  Granola

5.  Salted Roasted Nuts

6.  Rum & “Raisin”

Look …

Key Cookie Recipe …

120g soft butter

100g caster sugar
50g light brown sugar

1 egg
½ tsp real vanilla extract

240g plain flour

pinch of salt

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

about 180g of chosen mix-ins

~   Cream together the butter and sugars.
~   Beat the egg together with vanilla extract.
~   Sift together the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt.
~   Gradually whisk in the egg (and here’s a handy hint – add a tablespoon of flour at the same time and the mixture is less likely to curdle).
~   Gradually stir in the flour mixture together with chosen additions to make a stiff-ish dough.
~   Now here’s a great thing about this dough … put it in the fridge overnight at least and in theory up to 72 hours. I’m afraid I couldn’t wait that long, I was brave and strong and waited about 36 hours.

~   Preheat the oven to 350°F/180ºC/160ºC fan/gas 4.
~   Divide the dough into walnut sized balls (or bigger for bigger cookies, or sticks for long cookies) and place not too close together on baking sheets.

~   Squash them a bit!
~   Bake till golden and puffed but still a bit squidgy to the touch.

~   Cool on a rack.

  

This  made 22  variously sized soft cookies with crispy edges. I have personally tested one of each and they all worked well …

~   The Dark Chocolate and Chill was fabulous, of course. The Cornish Sea Salt and Lime was good too but then chilli is always the go for me! 

~   Next time I make the Lemon Poppy Seed White Chocolate cookies I think I’ll add a little lemon zest to continue the theme.

 ~  The granola cookie made a fine breakfast drizzled with a little honey. Next time I shall try replacing a tablespoon of sugar with honey when making the dough.

 ~  The salted nuts needed more nuts, or at least not both of them in the same place!, and more salt. I think next time I’ll sprinkle with a little crunchy sea salt before baking.

 ~  The rum and raisin-ish cookie I made with rum soaked dried fruits, (you'll have to scroll down a bit but it's worth it!) was soft, cakey and pleasantly boozy.

Don't forget it - pin it!

Other cookie additions that spring to mind …

~   A knob or two of stem ginger, coarsely chopped – this would be good either instead of or as well as dark chocolate chips.

~   Dried fruits that have not been macerated in alcohol, as opposed to the ones above, dried cranberries and orange zest would be a nice combination.
~   Coarsely chopped toffee or fudge.
~   A spoonful of ground coffee – also good with chocolate chips.
~   Toasted almonds with a drip or two of almond essence.

~   Toasted coconut.
~   Ground cinnamon.
~   Different essences and extracts – peppermint for instance, again with chocky.

Experiment – I did!

I do love a basic recipe, me!  If you have several of these in your brain, or other handy place, then you are really ready to cook – I've written a few books in a series I have called my Genius Recipes Series.  

Seafood Chowder & Pepper "Wine"

~   Menu   ~

Seafood Chowder without ...

Hot and Potent Pepper Wine!

Croutons

A glass of Sauvignon Blanc

You know when you have a little this or that leftover and it's 'not worth keeping'?  Well it is, so there!

I keep several collecting boxes in my freezer; bread scraps, meat scraps and fish scraps, for instance.  This last collection came delightfully into play today when I made myself some Seafood Chowder. 

This was a good idea I had when I was cooking at the Tamarind Club in Tortola.  In theory it was a cunning plan to use up all the fishy scraps we had left over after preparing whole fish for other dishes.  Sadly it became so popular, especially after I had My Other Good Idea, that we were making gallons of the stuff two or three times a day. 

Seafood Chowder

Useful Pinterest friendly
image ~ give it a go!

2 medium onions - coarsely chopped

2 carrots - coarsely chopped

2 celery stalks - coarsely chopped

1 tbsp olive oil.

3 medium potatoes - peeled and thinly sliced

fish stock or water

a collection of fish scraps

~   Gently sweat the onion, carrot and celery in the oil till softening and just starting to colour.

~   Add the potatoes and add just enough water or stock to cover. 

~   Bring to a boil, turn down the heat, cover and cook till the potatoes are tender.

~   Whilst this is cooking prepare your fishy scraps.  As I say this was originally a use up recipe and we had, to my mind, three categories of fish to use up: 1) raw fish, 2) raw shellfish, 3) cooked fish and shellfish.  So, whatever you have of these categories, cut into similar sized pieces but keep separately in their groups. 

~   When the potato is tender mash with a potato masher (grumpy or not!) so that they are almost smooth but a little chunkiness remains.

~   Taste and season and add milk or cream or a mixture to make a rich thick soup.

~   Bring to the boil, turn down to a simmer and add the raw fish scraps.

~   Return to only just boiling, add the raw shellfish, return to only just boiling one more time and  add cooked fish and shellfish. 

~   Immediately turn off heat and allow the chowder to sit a few minutes to allow the last addition to heat through. 

~   If using later REHEAT GENTLY.

This is such a brilliant method for making soup that I have written an entire soup cookbook, containing 60+ delicious soup recipes based on one easy flexible key recipe together with instructions for stock making, guidance on adding herbs, spices and other flavourings plus additional recipes for roasted garlic, pepper coulis, frazzled leeks, compound butters and other garnishes and accoutrements.

My Other Good Idea was to serve the chowder with a pretty glass bottle of “Pepper Wine” for drizzling purposes.  In this case, as is often the way in the Caribbean, pepper means chilli and wine means rum.  A little really contrasts with and enhances the creaminess of the soup.

Caribbean Pepper "Wine"

Just bung some dried chillies or even pepper flakes in a bottle of rum and wait a few weeks.  After this went on the menu there was no going back!

Soup Fritters!

This chowder featured in possibly the most bizarre thing I have ever cooked – soup fritters.  We had a very on/off function pending and, eventually, it was off,  Then suddenly one Sunday afternoon, half way through a busy brunch, I was told it was on again.  Eighty people were due in a couple of hours hoping for up-market nibbly bits.  I would have liked to panic but didn’t have the time. 

Save to Pinterest so you don't forget!

What I did do was make fish cakes out of the remains of the seafood chowder.  I can’t remember how but if I had to do it today this is what I would do.  

Strain the chowder, reserving all lumps, and bring the juices to a boil.  Thicken quite substantially with a beurre manie (flour and butter munged together) and whisked in.  Cook a few minutes and cool a while.  Mix in reserved fish etc. and enough breadcrumbs to make a malleable consistency.  Taste and flavour up – lime zest and hot sauce spring to mind.  Spread onto a cooled shallow dish and chill to firm.  Roll into balls, flatten, coat in breadcrumbs (panko are great) and shallow fry to crisp and golden.   They were such a success people asked for the recipe but I was too embarrassed to tell them.

10 Interesting Ways to Use Leftover Pastry Scraps plus a Boring One!

Firstly collect all the pastry scraps and trimmings and knead together very lightly, then …

1.      Palmiers/Pinwheels

Roll the assembled pastry into a rough rectangle, it can be a raggedy one.  Scatter something delicious over the surface – good combinations would be Cheddar and Chilli, Pecans & Maple Sugar, Ham and Cheese, Dried Fruit & Brown Sugar, whatever you’ve got.  Roll up the pastry from one long edge, moisten the far edge and seal the roll. EITHER place sealed side down on a greased baking sheet, glaze and sprinkle the top as appropriate, bake till crisp and golden and then slice into pinwheels OR slice before baking, lay cut side up on the baking tray and cook like that.  The second option is good when using cheese as it goes all melty and yum.

2.      Marmite Nibbles

Spread the rolled out pastry with a little Marmite (it spreads easier if you warmer it a little), fold in half and reroll to enclose the Marmite. Cut into little shapes and bake till crisp and golden.  These are not only delicious but, as a bonus,  you can scare Americans with them!

3.      Turnovers

Roll the pastry out thinly, cut into circles and put a spoonful of something delicious on half the pastry disks. Brush the edges water, milk, cream or beaten egg and fold in half enclosing the filling, press the edges together. Place on a lightly greased baking tray, brush the top with milk or cream and sprinkle with sugar or salt. Using the tip of a sharp knife prod a little hole in the top of each turnover to allow steam to escape.  Bake in a medium hot oven (say 190ºC/375ºF/170ºC fan/gas 5) till crisp and golden. Turnovers can be fried too as with these fake samosas!

4.      Anchovy Bites 

These are much the same as above but using anchovy paste (either Patum Peperium aka Gentleman's Relish or mash an anchovy or two into some soft butter).  Continue as above. These are particularly beguiling cut into fishy shapes.

5.      Rustic Tarts

If you don't have tart cases just cut out rounds or squares of pastry, top with chosen filling leaving about 1cm naked edge and then fold the edge up and over the filling to frame it which gives and attractive a rustic effect. Brush with beaten egg and bake till crisp and golden. 

6.      Sausage Rolls or similar

See here for "similar" rolls made with rhubarb!

7.      Mini Napoleons

Cut the rolled out pastry into equal squares or rectangles and lay a little apart on the greased baking sheet.  Bake till risen, cool, split and fill with something wonderful.

8.      Baby Tarte Tatins

Use a little muffin tray for these. Put a spoonful of your chosen filling (which then becomes a topping) into each of the muffin um … hollows?  Top each with a circle of pastry tucking it in at the edges and bake till crisp. Cool a little and then turn out carefully.  Apple is the traditional Tatin topping but roasted tomatoes, caramelised shallots etc. are good too.  Nothing too wet or runny.

9.      Cook's Treat

Just toss the trimmings with a little sugar and powdered cinnamon and bake till crisp.  Make a cup of coffee and have yourself a sit down. You could add a little leftover ice cream (which you are sure to have if you’ve got a copy of my genius recipe no-churn ice cream book!)

10.  Crunchy Topping

Using the same principal as above but more sophisticatedly (is that a word?) roll the scraps out and cut into random or not random (ie. leaves) shapes, toss with sugar and cinnamon and scatter over the top of a dish of cooked apples (or whatever).  Bake till hot and crisp.

11.  BORING – just save all your bits of pastry in the freezer till you have enough to make something big.  See here for how to store puff pastry plus how to make Cheese Straws out of scraps.

A little more pastry scrap information …

~   Sprinkle a little coarse sea salt on savoury pastries.

~   Where appropriate sprinkle the pastry with grated cheese before cooking.

~   Sprinkle sweet pastries with sugar – caster or light brown are my favourites.

~   Only used ready cooked or quick cooking fillings for these little nibbles as the pastry doesn't take long to bake.

~    Cook these pastries in a medium hot oven 375˚F / 190˚C / Gas 5 / Fan 170˚C would be good but if the oven’s on a different temperature you can, within reason, use that!

PS. ~ I've had some more ideas!  See Brown Sugar Doo Dahs here.

If these are just some of the suggestions I can think of for pastry don't you wonder what ideas I have for the other 450 potential leftovers in my book Creative Ways to Use Up Leftovers?

It was originally published as The Leftovers Handbook so don't go buying a second copy unless you really want to!

A Couple of Reviews ...

 “Really useful!

I love this book. In addition to being clearly set out in alphabetical order and having good ideas for using up a huge range of food, it has tips for cooking and for each ingredient a list of things that go well with it. I have used it a lot since I got it.”

oOo

“Leftover Heaven

If you feel the same about using leftovers as I do, then I can truly recommend Suzy Bowler's wondrous book The Leftovers Handbook. Suzy and I have conversed for a while on social media, discussing recipes and the use of flavours and a few days ago we were very lucky to receive a copy of Suzy's book. At just under 300 pages this fabulous book guides us through what we can do with a plethora of ingredients all categorised alphabetically from Aubergines to zest. There are tips and handy hints to get you in the mood and if you are looking for leftovers inspiration then this is the book for you.

Interspersed with the ingredients are wonderful recipes, recipes without pictures, a feature I totally agree with. The addition of pictures in cookbooks only serves to increase pressure on the modern-day home cook and experimenting with the flavours and ingredients is far more important than stacking your vegetables or smearing a coulis across your plate. One of the great things about this book is the ease in which each ingredient is showcased and the recipes follow on so naturally.”