Author: Gary @ BigSpud

A bit of a geek who loves food.

Categories
chocolate food meringue strawberry

strawberry and caramel meringue

strawberry and caramel meringues

I haven’t had meringue in ages. So I had to make some, along with some strawberries left over from my salad. I’d also been given as a recent brithday gift some of Willie Harcourt-Cooze’s 100% cacao Venezuelan Black chocolate; a fruity and nutty delight that is so wonderfully bitter. So after making meringues I dipped the bases in melted chocolate and left them upturned in the fridge to harden. When it came time to serve I knocked up some caramel sauce and drizzled over, finishing with some strawberry slices. In truth some cream would’ve worked wonders here, but I was knackered and just wanted to eat!

Strawberry and caramel meringue:

For the meringue:

3 egg whites

100g golden caster sugar

For the caramel:

100g golden caster sugar

250ml single cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

15g butter

  • To serve:

100g melted dark chocolate

6 strawberries, thinly sliced

  1. Preheat the oven to 160C.
  2. Whisk the egg whites in an absurdly clean bowl until stiff. Add the sugar gradually and keep whisking until firm and glossy.
  3. Spoon into discs on a lined baking tray. Bake in the oven for about an hour until crisp and slightly cracked.
  4. When cool dip the base into melted chcolate and leav upturned in the fridge to set.
  5. For the caramel melt all the ingredients on a low heat until bubbling and golden. You may want to add a blob of golden syrup if it’s either not sweet or dark enough.
  6. Drizzle the sauce over the meringues and top with sliced strawberry.
Categories
bread food rosemary

barbecue bread

After watching a fascinating article on Rick Stein’s Far East Odyssey, I grew into the idea of cooking bread on a grill. Not something I’d done from dough – I’d grilled existing bread but not taken it straight from the proving on to the fire. What the hell.

Went with a pretty basic bread recipe – might as well start simply – and allowed a hefty double-proving. Then whacked blobs of it on to a mega-hot barbecue until darkened on both sides. After turning once I used a rosemary sprig to douse them with olive oil. The results were puffy and interesting, not doughy at all considering a total of about 4 mins cooking time. My only complaint was that I was after something a bit more flatbready. Next time before second proving I would roll flat and pitta-esque to achieve that Turkish-style puffy bread.

Barbecued bread:

400g strong white bread flour

1 packet dry yeast

Pinch salt

Pinch sugar

300ml warm water

  1. Mix the dry ingredients together and add water until a sticky dough is formed.
  2. Continue to work the dough, kneading and stretching for about 10 minutes.
  3. Leave in a bowl drizzled with vegetable oil covered with a damp tea towel for about an hour.
  4. Punch the dough back down and allow to prove again for another half-hour or so.
  5. Preheat a barbecue as hot as it will go.
  6. Tear off pieces of dough and place on a flat grill.
  7. Turn when it has darkened on one side. Use a sprig of rosemary to baste the cooked side with olive oil.
  8. When done on the other side, devour like an animal.
Categories
food garlic lamb lemon prosciutto rosemary

italian roast lamb

I was really in the mood for artichokes alla romana again, and had the thought of lamb but more so. Even though it’s mid-Summer, I was craving some roast lamb. So to go with the artichokes I put an Italian spin on the meat. I whizzed up rosemary, garlic, lemon zest and prosciutto with some oil and then smeared all over my pierced joint. A while in the oven and a pungent, flavourful piece of meat was enjoyed. Iwas very pleased with the cut too – I planned a leg but my butcher only had absolute whoppers. What he did have though was a boned & rolled shoulder, which although I didn’t expect both speeded up the cooking time and gave me a nice crevice into which to cram the tasty stuffing.

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Italian roast lamb

A fragrant and tasty roast lamb dish.

Ingredients

  • Leg or shoulder of lamb
  • 3 slices of prosciutto or Parma ham
  • Leaves of 2 rosemary stalks
  • Zest of 1 lemon
  • 2 fat garlic cloves

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 230C.
  • Whizz the prosciutto, lemon, garlic and lemon zest in a processor. Add olive oil to slacken to a mushy paste.
  • Pack the stuffing / baste around the meat, poking into any nooks or crannies. Stab the meat with a knife if necessary.
  • Put the meat in the oven and turn down to 170C.
  • Cook until done to your likeness - 1hr 30mins for this one.
Categories
balsamic vinegar food mozzarella prosciutto rocket strawberry

strawberry rocket salad

What a Summer stunner. The marvellous Simon had made this for us the previous week and it was fantastic, so I had to have a go myself. It originates from this month’s Waitrose magazine.

It kinda shouldn’t work, but when you load your fork with a little of everything –  crunchy shallot, bitter rocket, salty prosciutto, sweet strawberry, soft mozzarella and tangy balsamic dressing – it explodes in the mouth for a perfect combination.

Strawberry rocket salad:

450g strawberries, hulled and sliced

10 slices of prosciutto

100g rocket

200g buffalo mozzarella, torn into bite-sized pieces

2 shallots, peeled and sliced

For the balsamic dressing:

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

black pepper

  1. Whisk the vinegar, oil and plenty of pepper together in a large bowl.
  2. Toss the strawberries, shallots and rocket leaves with the dressing.
  3. Arrange the ham and cheese on the plates, then spoon some salad over the top.
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