Glut Central

The allotment seems to have gone mad recently, probably helped by liberal helpings of rain. I knew creating new raised beds for drought conditions would be bound to have this effect! Not ideal for picking flowers, but extremely good growing conditions for weeds and (fortunately) for summer fruit and veg too. The courgettes are growing fast and furious, as are the beans, French and runner, although they were only sown in early June so won’t be ready for harvest any time soon.

I thought my root crops hadn’t done well this year, with only seven parsnip seeds germinating (despite covering the earth with fleece before sowing in April) and gaps in my rows of carrots and beetroot. Take your eye off the ball, however, and things can change virtually overnight! When I went up to the plot one evening this week to weed the root bed, I was amazed to find some huge cylindrical beetroot and plenty more coming. The Snowball turnips were also looking promising, so I thinned them as I weeded. The carrots, under their protective Enviromesh tunnel to foil the dreaded root fly, are looking good too. I sowed more carrot and beetroot seeds in the gaps in the parsnip rows for an autumn crop and went home feeling much better – armed with a basket of beets!

Deciding what to do with these beauties was no contest: I love beetroot roasted and served with cheese and fresh bread, as a side, or taking centre stage in a Puy lentil salad. Just wash, remove the leaves (reserving for later use – they’re equally delicious as long as they’re still green and fresh) and wrap individually in foil, then bake at 180-200°C fan (Gas 5-6) for 1-2 hours, depending on size. They should feel just squishy to the touch when ready. I leave to cool in the oven, then the skin should just rub off when cold, and you can slice them, sprinkling with balsamic vinegar, and chill in the fridge until ready to serve or use in another recipe. My usual beetroot & lentil salad uses feta, but I didn’t have any on this occasion; griddled halloumi makes a pleasant change.

It always seems a shame to throw away the leaves and they taste similar to spinach or chard, so absolutely no reason not to cook them too. You can eat the leaves of beetroot thinnings in salads, but the bigger ones tend to need cooking. I stir-fried my first batch and mixed them in with the lentil salad but transformed the next lot into a delectable beetroot leaf, onion & ham tart, inspired originally by Jamie Oliver’s Italian ham & spinach tart in his ‘Jamie at Home’. Tweaked, of course – I was only cooking for one (with plenty of leftovers for lunch the next few days), so used a smaller circular tart tin and substituted beetroot leaves for the spinach he suggests. I also had two egg yolks left over from making a jostaberry mousse earlier in the week (see below!), so used those with one whole egg. You can omit the ham if you prefer, and make it vegetarian using toasted pine nuts, mushrooms or even capers instead.

Beetroot Leaf, Onion & Ham Tart – serves 3-4

20cm shortcrust pastry case, baked blind
Large bunch fresh beetroot leaves (or you can use 150-200g spinach or chard if you prefer, thick stalks removed)
2 red onions, finely sliced
1 clove garlic, chopped
1tsp sugar
Fresh thyme leaves (several sprigs, leaves stripped from the wiry stalks)
Olive oil
Dash of balsamic vinegar
50g Parma ham (or bacon/any other form of ham you happen to have!)
1 egg plus 2 egg yolks (or use 2 eggs)
200ml crème fraîche (or double cream, or blend of both)
75g freshly grated Parmesan (or Grana Padano, which is cheaper but still pretty tasty)
Salt and black pepper to season

Cook the sliced onions and garlic in olive oil until starting to soften (15 minutes or so), then add the beet leaves and thyme, cooking over a low heat until well wilted down – another 5-10 minutes. Add the ham, then 1 tsp sugar and a dash of balsamic vinegar, then leave to stand until you’ve prepared the egg custard mix.

Meanwhile, mix the egg and yolks in a large bowl, add the crème fraîche and/or cream, season with salt and pepper, then stir in one generous tbsp of grated Parmesan. Tip in the contents of the beet leaf pan and mix thoroughly, then transfer to the cooked pastry case, smoothing the filling out to cover evenly. Sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan and bake for 20-25 mins at 180°C fan (Gas 5). Serve warm with salad and a side of roasted beetroot if you have them. Also delicious eaten cold or warmed through the following day for lunch.

Air fryers are brilliant for heating things like tarts, incidentally. You can use the microwave, of course, but the pastry base has a tendency to go soggy. If you pre-heat the air fryer as usual, it only takes a few minutes to warm a slice of tart – much cheaper than turning the whole oven on and the base remains crispy 😊.

Another of this week’s gluts has been jostaberries. These aren’t actually mine, but both my lovely allotment neighbour and friends with a smallholding have a jostaberry bush, so I invariably get invited to help myself at this time of year. The bushes grow to huge proportions and produce corresponding amounts of fruit. As a cross between blackcurrants and gooseberries, the fruit is quite tart, but lends itself beautifully to jam and compotes, and also works well in fruit fools. Just substitute them for gooseberries or blackcurrants in any fool recipe. As a bonus, you don’t need to top and tail them as you’ll be sieving the compote anyway to make the smooth purée.

This week, when I’ve been quiet on the work front during the usual July lull when all my clients seem to be on holiday, I’ve made jostaberry jam, using my usual recipe. I’d read a great tip online to ease the arduous task of topping and tailing the berries, which are squishy like blackcurrants but have obtrusive tails like gooseberries. By freezing the berries first, the tails just brush off – genius! It still takes a while, as 1.5 kg of jostaberries is a lot of individual berries, but it’s far less messy. And doing them watching a work webinar made not only made the time fly, it also ticked the CPD box. Win-win!

I also made a jostaberry mousse (finally getting on to those spare egg whites!) as a change from fool. It’s been ages since I made a mousse, but they’re not really any trickier than fools and have a delightfully cloud-like texture. This is what I did:

Jostaberry Mousse – serves 4-6

450g jostaberries
100g caster sugar
3 tbsp crème de cassis (optional)
3 sheets of leaf gelatine
150ml double cream
2 egg whites

Put the jostaberries with the sugar and cassis (or a dash of water if not using) in a pan and simmer for 10-15 minutes until soft.

Meanwhile, soak the gelatine in cold water in a small bowl until it softens.

When the berries are cooked, stir in the softened gelatine, then strain into a bowl. Leave to cool, watching carefully as you need to catch it just before it sets. You can refrigerate to speed the process up but do keep checking! I find it usually takes an hour or so and stay in the kitchen doing other tasks so I’m on hand at the critical moment.

Just as it starts to thicken, whip the double cream until the soft swirl stage, then fold gently into the setting mousse. Whisk the egg whites until they form soft peaks, then fold them carefully into the mousse mix until there are no specks of egg white or cream remaining. Pour the mousse into 4-6 glass dishes and chill for a couple of hours before serving.

Food for Free

I love being able to pick food from the hedgerows, be it elderflower blossom for cordial in late May, or blackberries in high summer for jams, desserts and relish. That childish joy of coming across jewel-like fruit as you walk the dog through the woods is one that never goes away. Even my granddaughter, at 16 months, has become adept at spotting them, eagle-eyed from her pushchair: “Bla-bewies”, she suddenly shouts, demanding only the plumpest, juiciest berries to eat as we go along on our walk.

This year has been one of the most amazing crops I’ve seen for a long time, whether it’s down to the fine weather we’ve enjoyed since March, or the reduced pollution since lockdown. Whatever the cause, I’m certainly not complaining! They’ve also been early this year, with the first crown fruit appearing in late July – even earlier in city microclimates according to a colleague on Foodie Translators. I like to use the first pickings added to windfall apples in delicious crumbles, be it a traditional flour-based recipe, or a quick-but-oh-so-yummy Amaretti crumble. I usually cook the apples to soften, then add the blackberries just before topping with crumble (based on 4 parts SR flour, 2 parts butter and 1 part sugar, perhaps with a handful of oats for texture) and baking in a hot oven for half an hour – the taste of early autumn! Another excellent recipe for when you have only managed to pick a handful or so is blackberry, elderflower and lime drizzle cake – I make it with other berries in season, but this is the original. Just be careful it doesn’t go off with the fresh fruit content; I tend to freeze half if there’s only me around to eat it.

Blackberries also go beautifully with plums, that other late summer fruit, so when my early Opal plums started to ripen even earlier than usual this year, in mid-July, plum & blackberry jam was an obvious choice. I used Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s fridge jam recipe and added some of my homemade cassis for an extra twist: sublime! Earlier in the season, I’d made the same recipe, but just with plums and amaretto, also extremely good – just use 1.5 kg plums and 2 tbsp amaretto instead of cassis. Nothing to stop you ringing the changes and adding any liqueur of your fancy to the plums and blackberries, of course.

Plum & Blackberry Jam with Cassis – makes 5-6 jars

1kg plums, stoned
500g blackberries
750g granulated sugar
200ml water
2-3 tbsp cassis (or Amaretto – or any other liqueur of your choice)

Halve and stone the plums and put in a preserving pan with the washed blackberries and 200ml of water. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 20-30 minutes until very soft and pulpy. Add the cassis and sugar, stirring until fully dissolved, and bring back to the boil. Cook for 5-8 minutes until the right consistency is reached – drips should run together when you hold the wooden spoon up above the pan, but this is a soft-set jam, so you shouldn’t need to do the usual setting test on a cold saucer. Leave to stand for 5 minutes to allow the fruit to settle, then pour into sterilised jars and seal as usual (see here for method). Just make sure you refrigerate after opening due to the lower sugar content, but otherwise it should keep in a cool larder for a year or so.

As the blackberries start to become more prolific, my thoughts often turn to another preserve, this time a savoury one. I’m not a huge chutney fan, but I am partial to the lighter relishes. I make cucumber relish every year and another favourite is winter relish, a deep purple ketchup-style concoction inspired by the same friend who passed on the cucumber relish recipe originally. This blackberry-and-apple-based relish requires straining to remove the tiny seeds, but is a delightful spiced accompaniment to pies, hotpots and cold meats in the winter months – and keeps for years once made.

Winter Relish – makes 3-4 jars

500g cooking apples (windfalls are fine)
350g onions
1.5kg blackberries
560ml vinegar (I use malt, but distilled would work too)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground allspice
15g ground ginger
2 tbsp salt
6 whole cloves
6 black peppercorns
500g granulated sugar

Peel, core and roughly chop the apples, discarding any bruised bits if using windfalls. (Alternatively, just chop and add everything. pips, skin and all – just means more volume to sieve, but still works perfectly.) Peel and chop the onions. Place chopped apples and onions in a preserving pan with the washed blackberries. Add the vinegar and spices, then bring to the boil and simmer for 25 – 30 mins, stirring occasionally, until very soft. Allow to cool a little, then push through a sieve into a large bowl. Wash the preserving pan, then return the strained mixture to the clean pan. Add the sugar and stir until it dissolves. Bring back to the boil and cook rapidly until it starts to thicken to a ketchup consistency – much depends on the juice content in the apples and berries, but this may be anything from 15 to 30 minutes. Pot and cover in sterilised jars as usual. Leave to mature for a few weeks before using.

My final blackberry creation was inspired by a colleague who shared a tempting BBC Good Food recipe for blackberry cupcakes on the Foodie Translators group. On holiday in the Isle of Wight with my sister over the weekend, and unable to walk past brambles laden with blackberries, we decided to make the cupcakes with berries left over from a blackberry & apple crumble. Of course, even the best equipped holiday houses are rarely geared up for baking projects, so we had to adapt. We did have some silicone cupcake moulds, but realised too late that we had no cocoa powder, so I added instant coffee granules instead. The moulds were also fairy-cake sized rather than deep muffin cases, so I had to pour the extra mixture into a round sandwich cake tin. Kudos to my sister for having even these baking essentials in her holiday home! We didn’t have an icing bag, needless to say, so the traditional cupcake swirls were out of the question. By this stage, it was late in the day anyhow, so we had the resulting cupcakes warm from the oven with blackberry compote and good (bought) vanilla ice cream – delicious! I will make the real thing according to the recipe soon and report back!

However, I did bring the extra round cake home with me (waste not, want not) and concocted a Black Forest trifle with it last night – simply sublime! I adapted Nigel Slater’s blackcurrant trifle recipe, but it really was simplicity itself to make and a definite nod to the classic Schwarzwälderkirschtorte, but with forest fruit rather than cherries, of course.

Black Forest Trifle – serves 6

150-200g chocolate sponge cake (I used the leftover blackberry & chocolate sponge from the cupcake recipe above, but any chocolate sponge would work)
100-150g forest fruits (I used a frozen mix, but you could use blackberries, raspberries or any forest fruit)
2 tbsp cassis or liqueur of your choice
2 tbsp caster sugar
1 large egg, separated
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
250g mascarpone
150ml double cream
3-4 tbsp natural yogurt
Dark chocolate, grated, to garnish
Handful of blackberries to garnish

Break the sponge into pieces and put into a glass trifle dish. Add the forest fruits (defrosted if frozen) and any juice. Pour over the cassis.

Put the egg yolk and sugar into a bowl and mix, then stir in the mascarpone and vanilla. In a separate bowl, whisk the cream until it forms soft swirls, then fold lightly into the mascarpone mix with the natural yogurt (you can use all cream if you prefer!). Finally whisk the egg white until it forms stiff peaks and fold into the cream mixture.

Spoon the mascarpone custard over the sponge and fruit base and refrigerate for at least an hour before serving. Decorate with grated chocolate and blackberries. Sigh with pleasure as you eat…

Busy, busy, busy…

I’m only too aware that I’ve been very remiss about posting on my gardening blog over the past few locked down months. I can only blame pressures of work (and I know I’m very lucky to have been so busy, especially when so many colleagues have had nothing), family circumstances and now the busiest time in a gardener’s year: harvest time! This post in my translation blog gives a quick overview of what’s been going on in my life for those who don’t already follow it – and, one of these days, when I’ve more time, I promise I will catch up with lots of posts about my sourdough experiments and lockdown cooking/baking in general.

For now, a colleague on the Foodie Translators Facebook group asked me to share my recipe for cassis and I thought I might as well write it up here for future reference. Like many of my recipes, it comes from a yellowed newspaper cutting I’ve had in one of my recipe scrapbooks for years and never got round to making. The article author credits Jane Grigson (her Fruit Book), but I haven’t kept a note of who wrote the article – sorry! This year, with a great crop of blackcurrants, I decided to put it to the test. Warning: it’s a lengthy process, although not that much actual hands-on time, so make sure you allow enough time to complete. Perfect if you’re (still) working from home, juggling work, childcare and household tasks.

Cassis – makes 4-5 500-ml bottles

1kg blackcurrants
1 litre decent red wine
(I used an Exquisite collection Australian Shiraz from Aldi – sorry, France!)
about 1.5 kg sugar
about 750 ml brandy (or gin or vodka – your call)

Take the stalks off the blackcurrants and remove any leaves or squishy berries, then place in a large bowl. Pour over the red wine, cover with a tea towel and leave to steep for 48 hours.

Liquidise in a blender – you may need to do this in two batches due to the volume. Then tip into a jelly bag or straining cloth suspended over a large bowl and leave to drip overnight. (I use a jelly stand, bought as part of a Good Housekeeping offer over 35 years ago, comprising a preserving pan, long-handled wooden spoon, jam funnel, jelly stand and muslin jelly bag. Bar the pan (which came to a sticky end after an ill-fated encounter with plum ketchup a few years ago), I still have the rest – and they come out like clockwork every year. However, you can also strain through an old tea towel tied to the legs of an upturned kitchen stool or chair with a bowl beneath.) After straining, wring firmly to extract every last bit of juice. Discard the dry seeds and skins left in the bag – mine went straight to the compost heap.

Measure the resulting liquid, place in a preserving pan and add 1 kg sugar to each litre of liquid. Note the level. Place the pan over moderate heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Then regulate the heat so that the temperature stays above blood temperature, but well below simmering point. Leave for about two hours, checking every so often to make sure it isn’t simmering too fast. At the end of the two hours, the level should have reduced slightly and the liquid will be slightly syrupy. Leave to cool.

Finally, stir in the brandy, or spirit of your choice (again I used an own-brand cognac from Aldi) in the ratio of 1 part brandy to 3 parts of syrup. Pour into sterilised glass bottles through a standard funnel. It should keep for years – if you can!

Mine didn’t have to wait long for its first use: the very next day, in fact. Perfect added to Nigel Slater’s divine cross between a Tiramisu and blackcurrant trifle (adapted recipe here) and equally good added to raspberry sorbet – I’ve used Chambord raspberry liqueur before, but I think this was even better.

 

 

Incidentally, I’ve been so glad I treated myself to an electric ice cream maker last year. I’ve been wondering about buying one for years. They are expensive, at around £200 to £250 for the Cuisinart model I have, but if you grow a lot of your own fruit, they are worth every penny. They give a much better result than the old Magimix model I had before, where you freeze the bowl overnight, plus you can use them again immediately you’ve made one batch should you feel so inclined. You can also use them straight from the ice cream maker, although I find they are better frozen for at least a couple of hours for best results. The texture (and taste, of course) are quite simply sublime – I’m so glad I took the plunge with birthday money from my parents at the end of last year.

Interestingly, the instructions also say (and you feel for the Masterchef contestants once you read this) that the mixture should ideally be left in the fridge to chill for a couple of hours (or even overnight) before churning, which certainly seems to give good results every time for me. It’s no hassle, as I blend the berries on my return from the allotment in the evening, then leave the mixture in the fridge overnight to churn in the morning (about 45 minutes) as I have my breakfast. No wonder the hapless contestants sometimes end up with a puddle of would-be ice cream rather than a perfect quenelle….

It’s that time again…

Yes, it’s official, autumn has arrived with a vengeance here in sunny (or not-so-sunny at the moment) Sussex. The children have gone back to school, the nights are drawing in and there’s definitely a nip in the air. It would be nice to have an Indian summer, extending the season just that little bit longer, especially after a dampish August, but it’s not looking likely on this week’s showing. Still, harvest time continues and I’ve got apples and plums coming out of my ears. Time to get the preserving pan out again…

Plum jam isn’t usually one of my favourites, as I find the skins, when cooked long and slow in the preserving process, can be quite obtrusive. Jelly is an option, of course, but never quite as satisfying as jam and certainly not right slathered in a traditional Victoria sponge or topped off with clotted cream on a scone. I scoured the internet for recipes that didn’t involve the skins, but didn’t find anything that took my fancy. I also had an urge to use cardamom pods and/or citrus to make a spiced jam, inspired perhaps by my current take on plum compote. This involves halving the plums and removing the stones (you can leave a few in if you like for their extra almondy flavour, but not too much as the kernels actually do contain cyanide!). Place in a rectangular ovenproof dish, sprinkle with a couple of tablespoons of Demerara sugar, the juice and rind of one large orange, and add a star anise. Then roast for 30 minutes or so at 180°C/Gas 5 for a delectable, Spiced Roasted Plum Compote.

Diana Henry’s plum, cardamom and orange jam came close to what I had in mind, but included the orange rind, like a marmalade, and wasn’t strained to remove the plum skins. Finally, I decided to adapt one of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s fridge jam recipes from “Fruit Every Day”. I’ve used this technique for a divine Morello cherry jam before now, and while you have to keep it in the fridge once opened, it stores perfectly in a cool larder before opening – and uses half the sugar of traditional jams, which has to be a good thing. I was pretty happy with the results, but see for yourselves:

Spiced Plum Jam with Cardamom, Orange & Cinnamon – makes 3 jars

1.5kg plums, stoned (I used my late-season Marjories)
750g granulated sugar
2 oranges, grated rind and juice
300ml water
8 cardamom pods, husks removed and seeds roughly crushed
1/2 cinnamon stick

Halve and stone the plums and put in a preserving pan with 300ml of water and the juice and rind of the oranges, cinnamon stick and cardamom pods. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 20-30 minutes until very soft and pulpy. Add the sugar, stirring until fully dissolved and bring back to the boil. Cook for 5-8 minutes until the right consistency is reached – drips should run together when you hold up the wooden spoon over the pan. Carefully pass the mixture through a large sieve into a clean jug or bowl and push through the pulp to extract all the jam. Then pour into sterilised jars and seal as usual (see here for method). Deliciously tangy and no chewy skins!

Chillis and tomatoes are also in abundance at this time of year, and whilst you can dry chillis for use in the winter, it’s also nice to make your own chilli preserves too – so much less sweet than shop-bought offerings and often with more of a kick too. I’ve shared Sarah Raven’s sweet chilli dipping sauce here before, but I also like her chilli jam recipe for a thicker preserve. I usually double the quantities Sarah suggests, but still find it only makes 3-4 small jars – you don’t need much, though, so it’s well worth experimenting. My son thinks the jam could be even hotter, but I like it just as it is. Of course, much depends on the heat of your chillis, and your tastebuds, so do apply caution if using unknown chillis. You could literally be playing with fire! I didn’t have enough Thai fish sauce either for the doubled quantities – why does it come in such small bottles? – so made up the difference with Worcester sauce. It does contain anchovies after all…

Chilli Jam – makes 3-4 small jars

1kg ripe tomatoes
6-8 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
8 large red chillis, seeds left in if you like your preserves hot
large piece of root ginger, chopped
600g granulated sugar
4 tbsp Thai fish sauce or Worcester sauce
200ml red wine vinegar

Roughly chop half the tomatoes and blitz in a food processor with the garlic, chillis and ginger. Pour into a heavy saucepan. Add the sugar, fish (or Worcester) sauce and vinegar and bring to the boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Reduce to a simmer. Dice the remaining tomatoes finely and add to the pan, then simmer for 40-45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mixture thickens and turns slightly darker and sticky. Pour into sterilised jars as above and seal while still warm. Keep in the fridge once opened.

Now, what to do with the next batch of plums, I wonder?! Happy harvesting!

Super breakfasts

It’s at this time of year that breakfasts become a real treat with all the soft fruit from the garden. Such bliss to have a constant supply of strawberries, raspberries and currants of all hues to perk up my breakfast bowl of muesli and yogurt. This year, I’ve even had masses of alpine strawberries some days too. This week it’s the turn of raspberries to take the abundance top spot. I don’t think I’ve ever seen them so plentiful: the canes are weighed down with fruit, hiding under the leaves, dripping with crimson loveliness. I’ve been picking pounds at a time, with plenty for jam (one of my absolute favourites and ideal for beginners, as it is cooked for a very short and defined time, so no worries about getting the set right), desserts of all kinds and ample left over for breakfast.

This jam recipe is adapted from my ancient – and falling-to-pieces – Good Housekeeping cookery book. I still refer to it for staple things like jam-making and this must be one of the first jams I ever made when I started preserving soon after I got married in 1983. I’d like to say I still have the same preserving pan I bought as a set from Good Housekeeping, but I managed to burn the base irredeemably with a particularly sticky chutney some years ago, so now use my mother’s identical model. Now in her 80’s, she hasn’t felt the urge to make jam for quite some time, and is happy to have my frequent contributions to her larder! I do still have the jam funnel, jelly bag and stand, and long wooden spoon though – not bad after 34 years’ service!

Easy Raspberry Jam – makes 6-7 jars

3lb raspberries
3.5lb granulated sugar

Simmer the fruit very gently in a large preserving pan until the juice runs – this has to be one of the most tantalising aromas ever! Then bring to the boil and cook for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, warm the sugar for a few minutes – I use the microwave. Add to the fruit and stir until dissolved, then bring back to a rollicking boil and cook for precisely 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and pour into sterilised jars (see here for method), then cover with waxed circles/cellophane as usual. Another perfect filling for a traditional Victoria sponge, or served with hot buttered crumpets for breakfast…

I usually buy Dorset Cereals muesli (Simply Nutty variety), but it seems to have been getting increasingly expensive lately, along with a lot of other food (gee thanks, Brexit 😦 ), so I’ve been thinking for a while about making my own granola. A quiet spell this week gave me the impetus to give it a go. Many of the recipes I found had honey in, a real no-no for me, so I ended up cobbling together my own recipe based on various sources: Nigella Lawson, BBC Good Food and various other websites. The result is scrumptious, not too sweet, but nutty and crunchy at the same time – and I’m sure it has a lot less sugar than the oversweet and ridiculously expensive bought varieties.

Granola

2 tbsp olive oil
125ml maple syrup
2 tbsp agave nectar (or honey if you’re that way inclined)
1 tsp vanilla extract
300g oats
50g golden linseeds (or milled chia seeds)
50g pumpkin seeds (or sunflower seeds)
4 tbsp sesame seeds
100g flaked almonds
1 tsp cinnamon
100g dried cranberries (or dried fruit of your choice; chopped apricots also work well)
50g coconut flakes

Put the olive oil, maple syrup, agave nectar and vanilla extract in a large bowl. Stir in the oats, seeds, nuts and cinnamon (but not the coconut and fruit) and mix well. Spread out on two greased baking trays and bake at 150°C/gas 3 for 15 minutes. Scrape back into the bowl, stir in the coconut flakes, then return to the baking sheets and bake for a further 10-15 minutes until starting to colour. Remove from the oven and tip back into the bowl, then stir in the fruit. Transfer to a large airtight storage container when cool.

Serve with natural yogurt (or milk if you prefer) and lashings of fresh fruit of your choice!

I’ve written before about the redcurrant & raspberry pancakes I make for breakfast in season, but a revelation last weekend, when my younger son was home and in crêpe-making mood, was how delicious normal pancakes are served with just-warmed fresh raspberries and a sprinkling of sugar – divine! We tried them with nutella and raspberries too, but the nutella detracted from the raspberries in my view; now a drizzling of melted dark chocolate might have been a completely different story….

 

 

Christmas Eve Traditions – Stollen and Cranberry Relish

Having had our pre-Christmas family gathering last weekend before my younger son and his girlfriend flew out to the States to spend Christmas with her American family, today has been a much quieter Christmas Eve than usual. I’m having Christmas lunch with my elder son’s fiancée’s family tomorrow, so no last-minute dinner preparations for me – that was last weekend with a venison-based dinner for 12! Oh, and Nigella’s chocolate tart for dessert – simply divine!

Christmas Eve wouldn’t feel right without doing certain traditional things, however. It’s become a tradition to make lemon cheese, and come to think of it, my grandmother (my mum’s mum) always served lemon cheese tartlets at Christmas tea too. I still have mince pies from last weekend, but Stollen is another festive treat I feel compelled to make. I made the marzipan last weekend (so much better than the bought stuff and simplicity itself to make!) and my trusty breadmaker (Panasonic) does most of the hard work. Then finally I had a last-minute call from my friends this morning to see if I had any cranberry sauce for dinner tomorrow; well, I don’t buy cranberry sauce (me?!), but it’s a matter of minutes to make if you can source cranberries at such a late hour – and again, infinitely nicer than the jars you can buy. The aromas of Stollen and cranberry relish cooking seem like the very essence of Christmas….

Stollen

1/2 tsp dried yeast (I use the organic Dove’s Farm quick yeast)

225g strong white flour

1 tsp sugar

25g butter

1 tbsp milk pwder

1/2 tsp salt

1 large egg

100ml water

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp mixed spice

100g mixed dried fruit of your choice

150g marzipan (see below)

Place the first 10 ingredients in a breadmaker (i.e. all apart from marzipan and fruit), and prepare using Basic Raisin Dough mode, adding the dried fruit when the machine beeps – unless you have a more modern version than mine, in which case you may well have a basket that neatly releases the fruit at the necessary time! Do NOT be tempted to add the fruit at the start, as the mixing process chops it to smithereens – not the effect you want! When ready, roll the dough out on a floured surface to a slipper shape about 20cm long and maybe 15cm or so across. Wet the edges lightly with cold water and then roll your marzipan into two long sausages, just shorter than the length of the dough. Place in two lines down the centre of the dough, then neatly wrap the dough over, pressing into the middle to ensure there is dough between the two marzipan logs. (You can make one fatter marzipan sausage too, but I quite like the double hit of marzipan you achieve this way.) Flip over and place on a greased baking sheet, cover with oiled clingfilm, then leave to prove for 2-3 hours in a warm kitchen (less if you have an airing cupboard or proving drawer!).

Heat oven to 180°C, Gas 5, then brush the Stollen with milk or beaten egg and cook for 20-25 minutes until golden-brown and firm underneath. Brush with melted butter whilst still warm and dust liberally with icing sugar.

Serve warm with tea or mulled wine. Any leftovers are delicious toasted for breakfast too!

Marzipan

225g ground almonds

225g icing sugar, sifted

225g caster sugar

1 egg, beaten

2 tsp lemon juice

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp almond extract

Put the almonds, icing and caster sugar into a large bowl and mix well. Beat in the remaining ingredients, until the paste is soft but not sticky. You may end up using your hands as it’s easier! Knead on a surface sprinkled with icing sugar until smooth. Wrap in clingfilm and store in the fridge until ready to use.

This amount makes plenty to cover a 20/25cm Christmas cake or to fill several Stollens and keeps well in the fridge. Also delicious as a topping for mince pies or mixed with apples, plums or apricots in pies….

Cranberry Relish

 250 g fresh cranberries

5 tbsp port

1 orange, grated rind and juice

50g caster sugar

Put cranberries, orange juice and grated rind and port in a pan and simmer for 5 minutes or until the berries start to burst. Add sugar and cook for a further 5 minutes until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture thickens. Cool, then refrigerate until required.

Happy Christmas!

Viburnum Charles Lamont in full bloom

More Alchemy in the Kitchen

I’ve said before that I love the alchemy of converting piles of fresh fruit and vegetables into jams and chutneys. There’s something very special about a well-stocked store cupboard, harvesting nature’s bounty for the cold winter months ahead. If the produce in question is free from your own garden or allotment (or a neighbour’s, as in the case of my jostaberries), or better still from the hedgerow, that’s even better. I always try to make at least one batch of elderflower cordial a year, as it’s so much better than shop-bought, and this year I was tempted to experiment with my own blackcurrant cordial too, when the blackcurrants reached glut proportions during my week away! Redcurrant jelly is another favourite as it makes the most sublime sauce to accompany lamb, and recently I’ve tried jostaberry jam for the first time, using up the surplus from my neighbour’s monster bush. This hybrid of blackcurrants and gooseberries is deliciously tangy, but a devil to top and tail. Gooseberries are at least large and dry, so can be topped and tailed quite easily in front of the television, blackcurrants usually only need to be destalked as the flower “tails” are quite unobtrusive, but these berries have noticeable tops and tails – you can only really leave them on if you intend to sieve the jam. It took me 40 minutes to top and tail 3lb of fruit for this jam – not ideal, but hopefully the results will be worth it! I find it best to top and tail them in a bowl of water as they are also very juicy so you need to do it with your fingertips, rather than a knife as you would with gooseberries. Another solution, found online, which still takes a while but is far less messy, is to freeze the berries first, then the tails just brush off when frozen. Here’s the recipe:

 Jostaberry Jam

3lb jostaberries

3lb granulated sugar

1 pint water

Top and tail the jostaberries as described above, then cook with 1 pint water in a large preserving pan for about half an hour or until soft. Add the sugar over a gentle heat and stir until dissolved. Bring to the boil and cook vigorously for about 5 to 7 minutes until setting point is reached.

I find the best test is to hold your wooden spoon over the pan and when the drips run together to form a bigger drop that breaks off sharply, the jam will be done. Otherwise, have a saucer in the freezer and place a little of the jam on the saucer, cool slightly, then push with your finger: the surface should wrinkle. You will need to take the jam off the heat while you do this test to stop the jam overcooking.

When set, pour the jam into prepared jars (washed and sterilised in the oven on a low heat), cover with waxed circles and lids, then label when cool.

Jelly is slightly more fiddly than jam, but probably requires less hands-on time and is just as satisfying. You will need a jelly bag and stand, but the resulting jelly will be so much better than anything you can buy in the shops. I love to use it in a ridiculously simple Redcurrant, Orange & Mint Sauce from Delia’s original Complete Cookery Course: just mix a couple of tablespoons of home-made jelly with the grated rind of one orange and a handful of finely chopped mint. Allow to stand and serve with roast lamb – sublime! Also goes well with curry made from any leftover lamb the next day, rather than the more traditional mango chutney.

 Red & Whitecurrant Jelly

3lb red and whitecurrants (or just use all redcurrants)

1 pint water

Sugar (see recipe)

Put the fruit, stalks and all, into a large preserving pan with the water and cook for ½ to ¾ hour until really soft. Strain overnight through the jelly bag attached to a jelly stand into a large jug placed beneath. Do not be tempted to squeeze or poke the fruit as otherwise the jelly will be cloudy.

Measure the extract the next morning and allow 1lb sugar to every 1 pint of extract. Return to the preserving pan and stir over a gentle heat until the sugar has dissolved. Then boil rapidly for 8-10 minutes until a set is achieved (see above). Skim off any froth, then pour into jars, seal and label as above.

The third in my trio of midsummer preserves is blackcurrant cordial. Having put numerous bags in the freezer, made a divine sorbet, a summer pudding and countless other desserts, I thought I’d give this a go. What a revelation! Pure, fresh-tasting cordial, so much nicer than the branded varieties, and of course, you merely need a splash with fizzy water (or sparkling wine!) for a delicious long summer drink or Kir Royal. I tried this last year without the citric acid, but it didn’t keep very long, even in the fridge. This year, I’ve added citric acid, and whilst I’m sure it won’t hang around for long, I think it will keep as long as I need it.

Blackcurrant Cordial

500g blackcurrants
275g sugar
250ml water
½ tsp citric acid

In a heavy-based pan, simmer the sugar, blackcurrants and water gently for 5 minutes. Using a potato masher, break up the fruit to release as much juice as possible. Add the citric acid and simmer for another 2 minutes. Strain the mix through a jelly bag overnight, without squeezing and pour the resulting liquid into a sterilised bottle and keep in the fridge.

If, like me, you have so many blackcurrants that you decide to increase the proportions, please make sure that your jelly bag can take the weight…. Mine was so overloaded that it slipped off the stand, splashing cordial around the kitchen! Fortunately, not too much was lost as it landed in the bowl beneath, but I was very glad I’d had the forethought to cover the kitchen table with newspaper before starting!

Lemon cheese – the perfect winter treat

Whether you call it lemon cheese or lemon curd, a pot of this zesty home-made spread is one of the nicest things from the winter kitchen. I call it lemon cheese, because that’s what my mother and her grandmother before her always called it. In our book, lemon cheese was the proper home-made delicacy, whereas lemon curd was the horrible, often bitter, and sticky, bought stuff! I don’t know whether there is a formal difference, but my recipe, handed down from my grandmother, is definitely lemon cheese!

Winter is the season for all things citrus: I’m loving the blood oranges in their all-too short season just now and the grapefruit, my standard morning breakfast, are always at their best at this time of year. When local seasonal fresh fruit is thin on the ground, it only seems right to turn to citrus-inspired puddings and treats, and they are usually cheaper in the winter months too, as they are in season in their natural habitat. I’ve tried growing lemon bushes in the conservatory, but given up as the dreaded scale insect always took over, causing the poor shrubs to lose most of their leaves and take on a very sickly hue… My conservatory is too small to struggle on with ailing plants, so I’ve resigned myself to shop-bought – and very good they are too. Lidl, in particular, is a fabulous source of those elusive blood oranges; the big supermarkets and local greengrocers rarely stock them, or if they do, at such an exorbitant price that I’m sure no-one buys them! Yet I managed to buy a huge 1.5 kg net from Lidl yesterday for under £2 – a real treat and delicious for freshly juiced ruby orange juice this morning…

Anyway, back to my lemon cheese: it has become a family tradition for me to make this at Christmas (lovely with fresh stollen!), but I make it whenever I have a glut of lemons too. It keeps for ages in the fridge and, as well as being scrumptious on toast, crumpets or with fresh baked rolls, it also transforms many a pudding.

 Nanny Lowe’s Lemon Cheese

3 large lemons, grated rind (of 2) and juice of all 3

4oz butter (or margarine)

8oz granulated sugar (or 1 cup according to Nanny’s (non-American) recipe!)

3 eggs, beaten

Melt butter and sugar gently in a large pan, taking care that the sugar doesn’t catch and burn. Beat the eggs in a separate bowl, then gradually add the juice and grated zest of the lemons, whisking as you go. Add the eggs and lemon mix to the pan, stirring constantly, and keep stirring until the mixture thickens and coats the back of a wooden spoon – 10-15 mins. I sieve at this stage for a perfectly smooth result and then pour into 2 small jars or 1 large. There is often a little bit left over from 1 large jar, but I just keep it in a small bowl in the fridge and use that up first.

Recipes for lemon curd often use a bain marie to cook the mixture over a saucepan of simmering water, but my mum never did that, and it seems to work perfectly, so try it and see.

Having made your delicious lemon cheese, here is one of my favourite recipes for using it up. Be warned, though, you may want to make twice the quantity of lemon cheese as this recipe uses almost the whole jar in one go!

Lemon Roulade

3 large eggs, separated

4oz caster sugar

Grated rind and juice of 1 lemon

2 1/2oz ground almonds

1/2oz semolina (or use more ground almonds)

Filling:

Homemade lemon cheese (as above)

¼ pt double cream

¼ pt natural yogurt

Grease and line a 10×15” Swiss roll tin with baking parchment.

Heat the oven to 150°C/Gas 3.

Whisk the egg yolks and sugar until the mixture is thick enough to leave a trail on the surface when you raise the whisk. Stir in the lemon rind and juice, then fold in the ground almonds and semolina.

Whisk the egg whites in a clean bowl until stiff enough to stand in peaks. Fold the whites gently into the lemon mixture until blended, then transfer into the prepared tin, smoothing the surface evenly.

Cook in the pre-heated oven for 15-20 mins until golden and springy to the touch. Leave to cool, covered with a sheet of baking parchment and a damp tea-towel to keep it moist.

When cool, sprinkle a sheet of greaseproof paper with caster sugar and turn the roulade out onto the sugared paper. Carefully peel away the lining paper.

Meanwhile whip the cream until it forms soft swirls and fold in the natural yogurt. Spread the lemon cheese generously over the roulade and top with the cream and yogurt mix. Then, using the paper as a support, roll up from one short side and transfer carefully to a serving platter.

Dust with icing sugar to serve, decorated with fresh fruit of your choice, or just as it is.

Passion for Preserving

It’s that time of year again, when the dew stays on the grass until mid-morning and the evenings start getting chilly. Despite pleasantly warm days, it’s feeling undeniably autumnal in the garden as shrubs are starting to colour and the late-season flowers are in full bloom: Aster Mönch has been at its splendiferous peak of lilac perfection for weeks, set off spectacularly by the golden yellow stars of Rudbeckia and the wands of orange and brown Crocosmia. Down at the allotment the harvest is in full swing: plums and apples aplenty, and lots of vegetables just calling out to be preserved for the dank, dark days of winter.

I love preserving: ever since I had my very first house and took to cooking and gardening like a duck to water, I’ve adored the alchemy of converting harvested goodies, preferably grown and picked by my own fair hands, into gleaming jars of jewel-like preserves for the store cupboard. It must be nearly 30 years ago that I was tempted by a Good Housekeeping offer of a preserving set with capacious pan, long-handled wooden spoons, a wide-angled funnel, jelly stand and muslin jelly bag. Bar the pan (which came to a sticky end after an ill-fated and ultimately burnt-on encounter with plum ketchup a few years ago…), I still have the rest – and they come out like clockwork every year. The jelly stand has been worth its weight in gold for straining elderflower cordial and redcurrant and blackberry & apple jelly, all three staples of my kitchen year.

At this time of year, though, it’s the vegetables that are calling out to be preserved. I ring the changes depending on what I have in glut proportions, but here are the three preserves I’ve made in recent weeks:

Chilli dipping sauce

400g granulated sugar

3 chopped chillis (mine are Apache, which I find germinates reliably and produces in abundance in my conservatory, hot but not too hot!)

5 garlic cloves, crushed

250ml cider vinegar

250ml fresh orange juice (3-4 juicing oranges)

Put all the ingredients in a saucepan (you don’t need a preserving pan for this, just a large saucepan will do) and cook over a low heat until the sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 20 minutes until syrupy – i.e. when the drips run together when you hold up the spoon over the pan). Leave in the pan for a few minutes to let the chopped ingredients settle, then pour into warm, sterilised jars and seal. I find this makes just enough for a standard 450g jam jar, but you could use two smaller jars if you prefer.

Thanks to Sarah Raven for the recipe!

Cucumber Relish

3lb cucumbers

1lb onion

2 green peppers

1 ½oz salt

1pt distilled white vinegar

10oz granulated sugar

2 tsp turmeric

2 tsp black mustard seed

2 tsp ground allspice

1 tsp ground mace

Peel and dice the cucumbers, finely slice onions and finely chop the pepper. Place in a large bowl, sprinkle with the salt and leave overnight, covered with a tea towel. Drain in a colander, rinse in cold water and drain again thoroughly.

Place remaining ingredients in a preserving pan, stir until sugar dissolves, then bring to boil and simmer for 2 mins. Add drained vegetables, bring back to boil and simmer for 4-5 mins, stirring constantly.

Use a slotted spoon to transfer into warm, sterilised jars (using a wide-necked funnel makes life a lot easier!), then top up with any remaining liquid. Seal with cellophane and lids.

Should make 4-5 jars. Ready in one week, but keeps for ages – delicious with cheese and cold meat.

I’ve had this recipe for years (as you can tell by the Imperial measurements!). It’s in my hand-scribbled recipe book, but my notes tell me it came originally from my friend, Bridget, a home economics teacher and keen fellow gardener.

And finally, my younger son’s favourite:

Spiced beetroot and orange chutney

1.5kg raw beetroot, trimmed, peeled and grated (much easier with a food processor; otherwise wear disposable gloves!)

3 red onions, chopped

3 apples, peeled and grated – you can use cooking or eating; whichever you have available!

Zest and juice of 3 oranges

2 tbsp black mustard seeds

1 tbsp coriander seeds

1 tbsp ground cloves

1 tbsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp salt

700ml red wine vinegar

700g granulated sugar

Mix together all the ingredients in a large preserving pan. Bring to a gentle simmer, then cook for at least 1 ¾ hours until the chutney is thick – or when you draw your spoon down the middle of the mixture, the resulting channel doesn’t immediately fill with liquid. Leave to settle for 10 mins or so off the heat.

Spoon into warm, sterilised jars and seal with cellophane and lids while hot. I find this makes 5 standard jars. It can be eaten straight away, but I think it’s better kept for a few months to mature and then keeps for ages in a cool, dark place. Again, perfect with cheese and cold meat.