Roasted Monkfish Tail
Here’s a birthday cake I made. A basic victoria sponge filled with cream and jam and covered in sugarpaste. Summery and sweet. A great present for a friend.
Red Pepper, Aubergine and Chickpea Lasagna
A good veggie staple - delicious reheated the next day too.
2 tins chopped Tomatoes
1tsp chopped Garlic
2 tbsp chopped Basil
2 large Aubergines
4 tbsp Olive Oil
50 gms Butter
40 gms Plain Flour
500ml Whole Milk
1 250 gm tub of Ricotta
9 sheets dried Egg Lasgna
250g ready-roasted Red Peppers
1 x 410g tin Chickpeas
1 x 125g pack of Mozzarella
4 tbsp Grated Cheddar
1 20x 28 cm dish approx
1. Preheat oven to 180C.
2. Heat up 2 tbsp olive oil in a saucepan, add garlic, saute until soft then add chopped tomatoes - bring to boil and simmer for about 20 mins. Then add basil and set aside.
3. Meanwhile, trim and thinly slice the aubergines. Brush with remaning olive and preheat a griddle, and, when hot griddle the aubergines on both sides until cooked. Set aside.
4. Melt the butter in a pan and add in the flour. Cook over a low heat for a minute. Take the pan off the heat and add the milk little by little, whisking each time until smooth. Once the milk is incorporated return the pan to medium heat. Bring the sauce to a simmer and cook until thickened stirring all the time. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the ricotta, a grating of nutmeg and some seasoning.
5. Spoon a third of the white sauce into the dish and three pasta sheets, place one half of the tomato sauce on top of the sheets, followed by half the griddled aubergine pieces. Add another third of the sauce. Mix the peppers and chickpeas and scatter tho whole lot over the sauce, Next add another 3 pasta sheets, the rest of the aubergine and tomato sauce, three more sheets, the rest of the white sauce.
6. Drain and chop the mozzarella and scatter with the cheddar over the top.
7. Bake for 40 -45 minutes until golden and bubbling.
Chequerboard Biscuits
This is another Dan Lepard recipe. When I saw the picture of these - I just had to try them.
I was so eager to make these I only had half the quantity required of OO’ Flour and I used half self raising flour - so mine rose up a little and became rounded - but I still think they look great.
See recipe here -
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/oct/14/chocolate-mousse-chequerboard-biscuit-recipe
He also makes mousse to go with the biscuits, but making the biscuits is enough work for one day!
PassionFruit and Coconut Cake
I’m a sucker for any recipe with passionfruit in it. I love the sweet sharp acidic taste and the amazing aroma. Much underused in my opinion. Anyway, I ‘d been looking for a recipe for a madeira cake using passionfruit instead of the ubiquitous lemon (don’t get me wrong I love lemon too!) and I came across this recipe by Dan Lepard in the Guardian. This promised buttery and buttery it was. The coconut crumble topping added a nice crunchy crust and the whole was delicious! Unusually the recipe calls for double cream - but the method was very simple and easier than a creamed cake mix.
I adapted his recipe to fit my 23cm cake tin and baked slightly longer too.
100g Butter
35ml Sunflower Oil
200g Caster Sugar
Pulp from 3 Passionfruit
35g Cornflour
4 Eggs, separated
135ml double cream (use the rest from the tub to serve with the cake)
265g Self Raising Flour
For the coconut crumble
50g Butter
75g Plain Flour
50g Caster Sugar
25g Desiccated Coconut
1. Line the base of a 20cm round cake tin with nonstick paper and heat the oven to 180C (160C fan-assisted).
2. Make the crumble mix by rubbing the butter through the flour, caster sugar and coconut until it turns crumbly. Set aside.
3. Melt the butter, then pour into a bowl and beat in the oil, sugar, passionfruit, cornflour, egg yolks and cream.
4. In another bowl, beat the egg white with a spotlessly clean whisk until it holds soft peaks when the whisk is pulled out.
5. Sift and fold the flour and baking powder into the passionfruit mix, then fold in the egg white gently and spoon into the tin.
6. Sprinkle the crumble mix gently over the top of the cake and bake for about 75 mins or until a skewer poked in pulls out almost clean. Leave to cool in the tin, then run a knife around the edge to release the cake.
Moorish Stuffed Aubergines
This is from a Spanish recipe by Rick Stein I saw over Xmas. Supisingly filling too!
1 Onion
4 Aubergines
6tbsp Olive Oil
4 Garlic Cloves
1 Large Red Pepper chopped
1 1/2 tsp Freshly Ground Cumin Seeds
1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
1/2 tsp Ground Nutmeg
1 tsp Smoked Spanish Paprika
Large Pinch of Dried Chillies
500 gms Lamb Mince
100 gms Manchego Cheese
6 Tbsp Tomato pulp (passata)
Salt and Pepper
1. Preheat oven to 180C
2. Cut each aubergine lengthways through the stalk, then score flesh criss-cross with a knife. Drizzle with the olive oil and bake in for 30-40 minutes until the flesh is soft and tender but not browned.
3. Meanwhile heat the remaining oil in a large non-stick frying pan. Add the onion, red pepper and spices and fry gently for 10 minutes. Add the lamb mince and fry for 5 mins on a high heat until the meat is browned. Stir in tomato sauce and simmer for 5 mins.
4. Remove the aubergines and increase the temperature to 220C. Carefully scoop most of the flesh out of the aubergines, leaving the skins with a layer of flesh about 1cm thick.
5. Stir the scooped out mixture into the lamb and add salt and pepper to taste.
6. Spoon the mixture into each aubergine and sprinkle with cheese.
7. Bake for approx 10- 15 mins until cheese is melted.
Fruit Flan
This is VERY easy and quick to make.
Ready Rolled All Butter Puff Pastry
400ml Double Cream
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
150 gm Bar White chocolate
Selected fruit of your choice - I used Kiwi, Nectarines, Raspberries, Fresh Pineapple
2 tbsp Apricot Glaze
1. Score pastry approx 2.5 cm all the way round the edge with a sharp knife. Prick the center all over with a fork
2. Bake in a hot oven at 200C for about 15-20 mins or as per the packet instructions.
3. Meanwhile prepare the fruit and whip the double cream into soft peaks with the vanilla.
4. Remove pastry from oven and leave to cool completely.
5. Melt the white chocolate in the microwave in 20 second bursts. Brush the inside of the pastry case with the melted chocolate. Leave to set.
6. Spread the cream over the chocolate and arrange fruit on top.
7. Melt glaze in a small saucepan and brush over the top of the fruit.
Serve as soon as possible.
Lemon and Passionfruit Tart
Lemon tart on its own is pretty delectable - lemon and passion fruit tart is even better. If you are a fan of the tart richness of lemon and the delightful sour-sweet fragrance of passionfruit encased in a rich buttery pastry, this tart is for you. The filling will be a little runny when you get it out of the oven but it will set on cooling. You want to have a little wobble, the custard can be horrible if overcooked.
Pastry
150 gms Butter
75 gms Icing Sugar
Finely Grated Zest of 1 lemon
2 Free-Range Egg Yolks
1 tsp Lemon Juice
250 gms Plain Flour (preferably Italian 00)
Filling
4 Lemons
4 Ripe Passion Fruit
180 gms Caster Sugar
6 Free Range Egg Yolks (save whites for Pavlova - they freeze well)
150 ml Double Cream
Icing sugar to finish
1. To make the pastry, beat the butter, icing sugar, lemon zest, egg yolks and lemon juice to a soft cream.
2. Tip the flour in and mix with a table knife- then draw the mixture in together with your hands and knead together to a soft dough .
3. Wrap in cling film and rest in fridge for 2 hours. Give the pastry another light kneading before you roll it out to prevent cracking. Roll it out thinly and press the dough into a 20/22cm loose bottomed tin making sure the base and sides are well moulded. If pastry tears - just repair with some more pastry. Chill the the tin in the fridge for 20 minutes.
4. Meanwhile grate the zest from 2 lemons and reserve, squeeze the juice from all 4 lemons. Scoop the passion fruit pulp into a small pan and add the lemon juice. Bring to the boil and reduce a third to about 150 ml. Pass through a sieve to remove seeds. Set aside to cool.
5. Line the pastry case with foil and baking beans. Bake case blind at 180C for 20 mins. Remove the foil and beans and trim neatly, then cook for a further 5 minutes until base is cooked. Reduce oven setting to 140C.
6. Meanwhile to make the filling beat caster sugar, egg yolks, and lemon zest in a bowl until pale and creamy then add double cream and trickle in the cooled fruit juice. Don’t worry if mixture curdles. It will be fine.
7. Pour the lemon cream into the tart case and bake until filling looks lightly set about 45 mins. Turn off the oven and leave tart to cool for about 1 hour. Remove from oven, leave to cool completely and then chill in fridge.
8. Sift icing sugar over tart.
9. Then caramelise with a blow torch.
YUM - I made 2!
