I wanted to treat some guests to something a bit fancy and a bit special, yet could be made well in advance. I hit on a “strawberries and champagne” theme and sidetracked over to jelly. So I had strawberry jelly made with champagne with strawberries suspended in it. I’d intended to make a champagne foam to top it off too, but I just couldn’t be arsed! I recommend making half the mixture, setting the first lot with fruit in, then pouring the remainder on top to allow the fruit to dangle in jelly-space.
Champagne and strawberry jelly:
135g strawberry jelly, diced
100ml boiling water
300ml champagne
Strawberries, 5 or 6 per serving
Mint leaves to garnish
Melt the jelly cubes with boiling water in a jug. Top up with champagne.
Pour half of the mixture into serving glasses and put the fruit in. Put in the fridge to set (about two hours).
Top up with the remaining jelly mix and allow that to set. Garnish with mint leaves.
After the very successful chicken with chickpeas finished with balsamic vinegar, I thought I’d take a moment to talk about one of my favourite ingredients. I don’t remember hearing much about it pre-Jamie (late 90s) – though I suspect Sophie Grigson mentioned it as it’s very her. I definitely can’t imagine a larder without it now though; it’s a permanent staple in my house and swiftly restocked if I look like running out. I keep two varieties in the pantry: an everyman cheap bottle to go in sauces and stews where it’s going to cook for a long time, and more expensive one that I use as a dressing or finishing touch to a dish. That’s the one pictured above and it’s about £11 a bottle. It sounds expensive – and it is – but if you break it down it lasts me about nine months and in relation to the pleasure that this sticky, smoky, sweet, sharp liquid brings it’s terrific value for money.
Vinegar is generally made from fermenting something; barley for malt vinegar, wine for wine vinegar and so on. Balsamic is made from reduced grape juice, hence giving it it’s distinct and sought-after rich fruitiness. It’s widely accepted that the best is from Modena, so look for that for your first indicator that it’s good. The second stage is the wording. The phrase Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale is protected, meaning that’s the very best stuff and should be the one you’re looking for. Thirdly, look for the amount of aging. The longer it’s been aged, the more developed the flavour.
What to do with it? As a purist the very best I can do with it is to suspend a little in some excellent extra virgin olive oil, then dunk some fresh bread into the mix to soak up the rich blend. The oil will spread over the tongue, the sweetness will rush over it and be followed by the tangy edge that really makes it. Like good wine tasting, you pick up different fruited and herbal notes in different vinegars.
Beyond that, I think balsamic vinegar works well whenever you have something deep and sweet, often that’s a little spicy and been cooking a while. It’s natural friends are tomatoes and other mediterranean veg. Try sprinkling some over some griddled courgette, or paired with the classic insalata caprese. Or a whiz over a bolognese just before serving. It’s something that adds one final dimension or a touch of richness to a uniform dish.
It’s a superb condiment, and I certainly never leave it far from my pan. Here’s a few of my favourite things to do with it:
Yes, another recipe from Jamie Oliver’s book Jamie’s America. This one is a rich, moist chicken breast over a hearty and fiery chickpea stew. It sounds peasanty – and it is – but like most peasant foods is earthy and satisfying, and dead easy. I’ve used chicken breast with skin on as I want to give it time in the oven, and leaving the skin on retains moisture by allowing fat to drizzle through the meat. This prevents dry ‘orrible flesh. I’ve used tinned chickpeas ‘cos let’s be honest – who wants to soak chickpeas overnight?
The chicken breast was left to marinate before I went out for work in a mashed up blend of parsley, garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Back from work a few hours later and it’s the turn of the chickpea. I sweat down an onion, two cloves of garlic and some paprika until soft, and then add four diced tomatoes, half a jar of sweet peppers and a tin of drained chickpeas.
While that simmers I turn my attention back to the chicken. I put it skin-side down on a hot griddle until dark lines appear, then turn 30 degrees to get that fancy criss-cross appear. When there’s more lines I turn them over and put the whole thing in a 200C oven for about 8 minutes. While that continues I look back over the chickpea stew, and adjust seasoning with salt, pepper and red wine vinegar. The chicken looks done now so I bring the chicken out to rest for a couple of minutes, to let all those tasty juices flow back through the breast.
To serve I pile some chickpeas up, top it with sliced chicken breast and few torn basil leaves over. At the last minute I reckon a drizzle of balsamic vinegar will help here, so I get out my best to sprinkle over. It goes really nice with the juicy chicken and peppery chickpeas. It’s a really tasty dinner and fairly easy too. I’ll be seeing this one on my plate again!
Somehow, despite a relatively agnostic upbringing, I have a lot of Jewish recipes as standbys in my collection. I don’t live in a particularly Jewish area, nor know any particularly active Jews. Maybe it’s the cunning economy ingredients that agree with me, using what there is to make outstanding hearty dishes. There’s so much love poured into them, which I particularly appreciate.
I had a load of hot chocolate left after this weekend, which was more custardy than saucey so I wanted some sponge to soak it up. I went towards a fatless batter to allow the custard to seep in. When dry the texture is reminiscent of a sponge finger, but it was just what I needed when warm.
Sponge cake:
3 eggs, separated
150g caster sugar
100g plain flour
Whisk the egg yolks with half the sugar until pale and creamy.
Whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt until firm, then add the remaining sugar and continue whisking until you get something like a meringue.
Fold the egg mixtures together gently, then fold in the flour.
Pour into a 20cm springform cake tin and bake at 180C for 30 mins or until browned and slightly firm to the touch.
