Category: cream

Categories
cream egg food meringue strawberry vanilla

strawberry pizza

strawberry pizza

This was supposed to be a strawberry roulade, but the meringue was too fragile for rolling! As a birthday treat for Mrs. Spud, she didn’t mind. When I cut into it, it held it’s shape nicely to the point where you could pick it up to eat – hence, Strawberry Pizza. Massively inaccurate, but makes me smile.

Strawberry pizza (makes a meringue approx 35cm x 20cm):

For the meringue:

3 egg whites

¼ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon white wine vinegar

½ vanilla bean paste

200g caster sugar

1½ teaspoons cornflour

For the cream topping:

200ml double cream

½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste

For the strawberry sauce:

500g strawberries

1 tablespoon honey

For the strawberry garnish:

6 strawberries, quartered

1 tablespoon icing sugar

Zest and juice of half a lemon

½ teaspoon vanilla paste

  1. Heat the oven to 120°C. Line a baking sheet with baking paper.
  2. Whisk the egg whites, salt, vinegar and vanilla until soft peaks form; by hand if you’re bored or using an electric gadget like everyone else. At this point add the sugar and cornflour until stiff.
  3. Smear the meringue in one swooping layer across the baking sheet. Bake in the oven for 2 hours until it is a gorgeous ivory colour and crisp on top.
  4. While it bakes, combine all the strawberry garnish ingredients and leave in the fridge to macerate until needed. For the sauce put all the ingredients in a saucepan and simmer for 10 minutes. Want it rough and ready? Mash with a fork. Want something smoother? Pass through a sieve.
  5. When the meringue has cooled and been removed from the paper, whisk the cream and vanilla together and layer on top of the meringue. Drizzle the sauce over and serve with macerated strawberries on top. If you have some knocking about, some holy basil dotted about would be awesome.
Categories
bacon courgettes cream egg food pancetta pasta

courgette carbonara

I am utterly aghast that I have not blogged this before. I must’ve made it half a dozen times and it never fails to delight, yet somehow it fell through the cracks. I was chatting with a colleague that I was having this for dinner and she asked if it was on my blog. “Of course,” I said, “I’ve cooked it loads of times.” And yet there it wasn’t.

This is a great twist on carbonara. It always nags at me that these delicious pasta dishes don’t have a veg component which means cooking something else on the side. You can’t fault the Italians; it’s the way they eat but I prefer to have everything together. I find peas a little too harsh against the creaminess but the addition of courgette is a great one. It’s an idea I’ve lifted from Jamie at Home and it’s really worth trying. I’m also a big fan of dishes where the sauce is cooked in the same time as the pasta so can be up and on the table in under 15 minutes. Brill.

Courgette carbonara (serves 2):

1 large courgette

6 rashers of smoked streaky bacon, cut into small pieces

Leaves from a sprig of thyme

150ml double cream

A large handful of grated parmesan

250g penne

2 egg yolks

  1. Get a large pan of salted water on the boil and a big frying pan on a high heat.
  2. Slice your courgette in half, then use a spoon to scoop out the fluffy seeds and discard. Slice the courgette on an angle so you end up with pieces about the same size as the pasta.
  3. Chuck the pasta in to boil and keep checking for when it’s al dente. In your frying pan add a splash of oil and toss in the bacon. Keep frying until crisp on once side, then add the courgette and thyme and give everything a good toss to coat in bacony goodness. Meanwhile in a jug stir together the cream, parmesan and egg yolks and grind over loads of black pepper – it really helps cut through the cream. Toss your courgettes every now and then.
  4. Get a mug and scoop out some of the pasta cooking water to slacken your sauce in a minute. When the pasta is cooked drain, and when the courgettes are starting to go tender turn the heat off of the pan (this is important to avoid scrambling the eggs) and add your creamy mix. Keep stirring it to stop the egg clumping and add a dash of the reserved water. Toss with the pasta, check for seasoning and add a little more water if you need a bit more liquid in your sauce. Serve immediately with a dash more parmesan, this dish doesn’t hang around!
Categories
cream food mushroom potatoes shallot spring greens veal

veal with mushroom veloute and champ

I’ve been running wild on rose veal lately, courtesy of Farmers Choice. I’ve really got a taste for this Dorset-raised calf which has a loose texture and a delicate beef flavour and so deserves to be back on the menu.

I’ve paired the meat here with a subtle mushroom veloute and earthy champ-style mash.

Veal with mushroom veloute and champ (serves 2):

100ml milk

100ml chicken stock

1 bay leaf

1 shallot, peeled and sliced

150g button mushrooms

1 tablespoon plain flour

1 tablespoon butter

Lemon juice

50ml double cream

2 veal escalopes

4 floury potatoes, peeled and diced

1 large handful spring greens

A couple of spring onions, sliced

  1. In a small saucepan bring the milk and stock to the boil and add the bay leaf. Turn the heat down to a simmer and add the shallots and mushrooms. Simmer for 3-4 mins and remove the veg from the liquid. Discard the bay leaf.
  2. Fill a large pan with salted water and bring to the boil. Add the potatoes and simmer for 8 – 9 mins. Add the spring greens and spring onions and cook for a further 2 mins, and then drain.
  3. Get a frying pan really hot. Add a little oil to the veal and season well. Add to the pan and cook for a minute on each side, then put to one side to rest while you make the sauce.
  4. Melt the butter in a small saucepan and add the flour. Cook for 1 minute and gradually add the cooking liquor, stirring constantly until you have a smooth sauce. Stir in the cream and adjust the seasoning with salt, pepper and lemon juice. Return the veg to the sauce.
  5. Mash the potato mix and season, but we’re not looking for a puree here. Flash the veal in the pan to heat up and serve with the sauce.
Categories
cream food

tartiflette

What do you cook on one of the hottest days of the year? Why, food designed for high-carb high-energy skiiing of course. Such is the life of weekly meal planning; what seems fine on a rainy Tuesday feels bonkers on a melting Thursday. But there it is.

Seasonality aside, this was inspired by Alex Mackay’s version from his book Everybody, Everyday. It’s taken me nearly a month to read the whole thing, despite cooking about 10 things from it so far. I keep stopping, dash off to cook the gorgeous recipe on that page, then come back to the book later. It’s looking like a dead cert for my cookbook of 2012 unless something amazing pops up in the second half of the year.

As for the tartiflette itself? Comforting yumminess. I’ve deviated from Alex’s recipe slightly to skip one of the simmering stages but I think we end up in a similar place. There’s also call for pre-prepared sticky onions which I didn’t have time for so improvised. If I had one criticism it is that the Camembert left a slightly bitter edge, perhaps something creamier would be nice next time. But a great dish which I will enjoy bringing out when it snows. Probably during the Olympics.

Tartiflette (serves 4 with a green salad):

1½ onions, peeled and sliced

600g waxy potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced

4 rashers of bacon, diced

150ml chicken stock

200ml whipping cream

125g Camembert

  1. Preheat the oven to 200°C. Heat a little oil in a wide frying pan and add the onions along with salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar. Cover with a lid and fry for about 10 minutes until softening. Stir if required to stop them sticking.
  2. While the onions cook bring the stock and cream combined in a saucepan to a simmer and add the potatoes. While it warms taste for seasoning and add salt, pepper and nutmeg as required.
  3. Back at the onions, take the lid off and turn the heat up. Continue to cook for another 10 minutes until brown and sticky, adding a splash more oil if everything is getting stuck. When cooked remove to one side and use the same pan to fry the bacon until crisp.
  4. When the potatoes are just starting to turn tender, turn off the heat and transfer half the potatoes to a baking dish. Add the bacon and onions as a layer, then top with the remaining potatoes and cream mix. Break up the Camembert and dot over the surface, then bake the lot for 20-30 minutes until the top is golden and potatoes cooked through.
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