Rhubarb Triangles

I have long been an admirer of Deb Perelman, a.k.a. Smitten Kitchen. What a name ha? Smitten Kitchen…That’s such a great name for a food blog. Let me tell you, I have long been smitten, but to be honest I also have been procrastinating on buying the cookbook, until earlier this year. I tried some of the recipes during the warmest of weeks, which on one hand was a huge mistake (I become a mess when trying new recipes and reviewing books) but on the other I just couldn’t wait for it to arrive. I was skipping for joy. Really.

For the first recipe I went all out for strawberries. I love the stuff so there was no doubt whatsoever about this one, and those fools were good. They took too much time to prepare, and spending a hot afternoon in the kitchen is always going to be a faff, at least for me, but they were worth the time and effort. *That* I will definitely say. The second recipe you will find here is Deb’s Rhubarb Triangles. It also intrigued me because these are on the cover, and you know me and book covers. We have a thing. They look like and are in fact, mini jam tarts, the dough being her take on shortcrust pastry, but with almonds. (There are lots of photos in this post, so be aware!)

I know that rhubarb is not in season right now, but there photos have been in my files begging me to publish them, and it’s a special one for me too – here’s my first attempt at baking with rhubarb. I used to pass by the rack every time I visited the market, but this recipe has helped me to overcome the fear! Sounds a little dramatic, and it is, but that’s how edgy I get with new ingredients! On to the recipe, which will give a yield of about 25 mini cookies. Before you start, please be aware that you will have way too much filling, but I used whatever remained poured over vanilla ice-cream. A real treat.

For the filling:

• 900g rhubarb stalks
• 130g caster sugar

For the dough:

• 50g ground almonds
• 250g plain flour
• 65g caster sugar
• pinch salt
• 115g cold unsalted butter, cut into small chunks
• 1 egg
• ¼ teaspoon almond extract

To prepare the rhubarb for the filling, wash the lot and trim the ends, and cut into 1cm cubes. Tip these into a large saucepan with the sugar and cook for around 15 minutes, covered on low heat. Now, on medium heat, remove the cover from the pan and cook for another 15 minutes, stirring once in a while, until the fruit begins to break down. Remove the mixture from the heat, pour it into a shallow and let it cool well.

In a large bowl, add the ground almonds, flour, caster sugar and salt, and mix. Using your thumb and forefingers, lightly work the butter into the flour mixture until it looks like small breadcrumbs. Add the egg and almond extract. Combine the lot with your hands till you have a dough. Wrap this in clingfilm and place in the fridge for a good 30 minutes.

When the rhubarb compote and dough are cold, flour your workspace, place the dough onto it, flour the top of the dough, and gently roll it out to a rough 3mm thickness. Cut out 7cm circles. Fold the edges and pinch them together to get three sides, and pinch the ends to get corners. The dough remains very crumbly, even cold, so be careful.

Using a teaspoon measure, pour the fruit compote into the middle of the pastry triangle. Repeat this step until you use all the dough. As you go along, place each one on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.

Before baking you could place each tray with the little tarts in the freezer, to help them keep the shape. Unfortunately my freezer is the size of a drawer so I couldn’t afford doing this. Don’t worry too much though. Just preheat the oven to 190ºC/170ºC fan. Bake for 15 minutes or until the edges turn golden. Some will open, but I didn’t mind at all! When they are done, put them on a wire rack to cool.

They will keep for 2 days in an airtight container at room temperature and a bit longer if stored in the fridge, which is where I kept them. Enjoy!

Rob x

(Recipe adapted from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook by Deb Perelman, Square Peg, 2012.)

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Marble Cake

I’m a wuss when it comes to trying new things. Yep with an emphasis on the p. *stops for a pause* I have been wanting to try this recipe for weeks, but somehow it moved towards the back of my to-do list as other bakes took over. The reasons are many, not worth mentioning. Some might not even make sense, but there is one that does. Paul Hollywood…master baker…The Great British Bake Off…those piercing blue eyes telling you off for a disappointing cake…and Mary Berry’s eyes of course! Phew! Now it’s not as if Mary and Paul were in my kitchen watching my every move, but their books with their lovely faces looking out at me sure make it seem like it sometimes! (See photo below!) And this is Paul’s recipe, so really there’s no pressure. (Don’t you feel tense while watching GGBO?!)

Seriously though (as if I wasn’t earlier) Mr. Hollywood’s marble cake is quite straightforward, easy and fun to make, and home baking should be fun. Lots of people ask me which book of his to get, assuming they cannot get all of them. For me, there’s no hesitation: definitely How to Bake. It is an all-rounder.

As usual I urge you to read the steps before you start. Don’t just read as you bake. I am trying to improve. Seriously.

•  200g butter, unsalted and softened
• 200g golden caster sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 eggs
• 250g plain flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 40ml milk*
• 2 teaspoons cocoa powder, unsweetened
• Some icing sugar for dusting

Preheat the oven at 180ºC (fan 170ºC) and line a tin loaf with a baking paper.

Put the butter, 180g of the caster sugar and vanilla extract in a large bowl, and beat together until the mixture turns light and airy. Then beat the eggs in, one by one. Sift the flour plus baking powder over the mixture, and add 2 teaspoons of the milk, folding it slowly. Tip two-thirds of the mixture into the lined loaf tin.

Sift the cocoa powder over what remains of the mixture and fold this in with the remainder of the sugar, that is 20g and the rest of the milk. (The recipe calls for full-fat milk*; I have made this with semi-skimmed and it worked well too.)

Slowly spoon this chocolate mixture over the vanilla one in the tin.

Now comes the forming-of-the-marble-bit (as I like to call it). Take a fork and run this through the batter. Go for it, do it slowly but don’t be afraid of it.

Bake for around 55 to 70 minutes. It will be done when a skewer or knife comes out clean. Leave it to cool for a while in the tin, then on to a wire rack. Leave to cool completely before dusting it with icing sugar.

Such a great treat for a tea party. If you don’t like tea (like me) try it with a milky hot chocolate, on the couch with a good book. Enjoy!

Rob x

(Recipe adapted from How to Bake by Paul Hollywood, Bloomsbury, 2012.)

Fajitas.

My idea of a lovely evening would be inviting some friends over for a simple supper, which I can prepare in less than 30 minutes – in less than 10 preferably! I love my kitchen and spend days and days cooking and baking but I do get tired sometimes. So anything that can help me prepare an informal party in no time for and with the people I love spending time the most is always welcome in my book. It takes away the stress and panic, and I think that the simplest meals can be the best meals. These fajitas also take away the assemblage, which in this case is done by others! All you have to do is some prepping – cooking the meat in minutes in a pan and chopping the veggies. Easy stuff.

You can make these fajitas with chicken or beef, or any mixture of veggies you like. If you’re using any kind of meat, the trick is to marinate it well ahead of time to make it moist and tender. Who would want a dry fajita anyway? I had one once and it was stringy and chewy. Not nice. I made this some weeks ago after a very full day when I really didn’t want to spend more time in the kitchen than I had to. There was a little planning beforehand, nothing big – I knew I wanted to cook something quick, simple, and without too much work.

So I bought some rump, cut it into thick strips when I got home and marinated all of it for a couple of hours in the fridge. I then shallow-fried it and left it in the pan till it cooked to medium/rare, keeping an eye on it, as always. You don’t even need any oil if that’s what you prefer, especially if you use a non-stick pan – the marinade has plenty of moisture anyway. But I don’t like burnt meat, so this time I played it safe. All you have to do then is to chop a red pepper, throw in a yellow pepper for luck, dice one or two fresh tomatoes. Place these in individual serving bowls, together with a packet of ready washed rockets leaves and you’re done. Place everything on a corn tortilla, wrap it up and eat. For something extra you can serve it with cornbread for a meze style meal. Perfect for summer. The following is what you need for the marinade:

• 3 garlic cloves, crushed or very finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 small cubes or crystallized ginger (or ¼ teaspoon ginger powder)
• 2 teaspoons light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cold water

Place the meat in a bowl and pour the marinade over it. Mix it well, cover with cling film and put it in the fridge for an hour or two or until needed. Cook and serve on corn tortillas with greens and other vegetables. Easy!

Rob x

Chocolate Chip Muffins

A couple of weeks ago I wanted something sweet but which was not going to take the best part of the afternoon to prepare it. When it comes to that I turn to one person. You know who…don’t you?

I bought Nigella Feast recently. (About time…it was published in 2004!) In it is a lovely muffin recipe which I adapted just because I didn’t have all the ingredients. It turned out really well. The only thing is that I’ll have to buy chocolate chips the next time I try it. Chocolate chunks seem to be too heavy for these muffins to handle. But they’re great anyway. This is quick and really easy so give it a go. You will not be disappointed.

Two notes before you start:

What I do for the chocolate chunks is to take a plastic freezer or sandwich bag, put a bar of chocolate inside, close it and bash it with a rolling pin. (See? I said this was quick. Brutal but quick.)

If you want these to be extra chocolatey Nigella suggests adding 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder with the dry ingredients. Makes 12.

• 250g plain flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• half teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 175g caster sugar
• 100g chocolate chunks (or 1 bar)
• 250ml milk
• 90ml vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C and fill a muffin tray with paper cases or line each one with baking paper cut in squares.
2. Put all the dry ingredients, including the chocolate chunks in a large bowl.
3. Pour the liquids in a smaller bowl, or better still in a medium measuring jug. Pour these into the dry ingredients till all is combined and just moistened. Don’t mix too much to so that the end result will be light and fluffy muffins.
4. Spoon the mixture into their muffin cases and bake for 20 minutes until the muffins are risen and golden. Check if their completely cooked by inserting a skewer or knife.

Enjoy!

Rob x

Beef Stew

J tells me that I tend to panic whenever I have friends over for lunch or dinner no matter how easy the meal was to prepare. This is perfectly true. (Yes..I am aware of it and I am really working on it.) So I never cook anything complicated to begin with. This is even more true when I have people over mainly because my Surrey flat is very small and the kitchen is tiny. I am not complaining because I’ve seen tinier kitchens than this! But I think I might have just picked up on something that my mother did. She too has a little kitchen but she makes these fantastic dishes and can whip up a meal in a jiffy with a small number of ingredients. (I really have a lovely mum!) She’s really keen on one pot suppers and I can understand why. They are easy to prepare, comforting, especially on a cold winter’s day and you can potter about the house doing your thing while they do their thing and cook.

So the following is my take on my mum’s recipe. It comes in handy when I want that comfy warm feeling of her cooking. This will easily serve 6.

Just a note before going ahead with the recipe. Sometimes I serve this with mashed potatoes but other times I don’t bother too much and add diced ones in the pot. J prefers the mash so I usually do what I’m told..*ehem*. I know that the list of ingredients is long but please bear with me. For this Beef Casserole you need:

• 750g diced beef (in bite-sized chunks)
• 3 tablespoons plain flour
• Pepper, to taste
• 3 tablespoons regular olive oil (not extra virgin)
• 1 leek, chopped
• 1 large onion, or 2 small ones, chopped
• 2-3 garlic cloves, crushed or finely chopped
• 8 large mushrooms, quartered
• 2 carrots, diced
• 1 cup red wine
• 1-2 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon dried thyme
• 1 litre beef stock (or enough to cover ingredients)
• 1 heaped tablespoon tomato paste or tomato concentrate
• 1 tablespoon sugar (I prefer the dark brown kind but it’s really up to you)
• 2-3 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1. Preheat your oven to 180°C. Toss the beef in flour and season with some pepper. Then brown the beef well on all sides in an oven proof pan. Remove the meat from the pan to a separate container until needed later.
2. Gently fry the chopped leek, onion, garlic, celery, carrots and mushrooms in the same pan you seared the beef for around 5 mins, adding the wine slowly to scrape the meat juices from the bottom of the pan. Place the beef in the pot again.
3. Add the bay leaves, thyme, tomato paste, stock and sugar and stir. Finally add the Worcestershire sauce and give everything a good mix. Cover and put the pan into the preheated oven for around 1 and a half hours.

   Serve with mashed potatoes. Enjoy!

   Rob x