Category: egg

Categories
cream egg golden syrup lemon pastry

heston blumenthal’s perfect treacle tart revisited

heston blumenthal's perfect treacle tart

“Haven’t I read this before?” Why, yes you have. But for one thing, the picture is beyond ghastly. Secondly I followed even more of the rules than before. And finally I previously linked to The Times, and can’t stand the idea of the recipe disappearing behind the Murdoch paywall.

So how was it this time? I made the pastry myself. It was alright. I am no pastry ninja, possessing of skillet-like furnaces for hands that sees any dough crumble to bits in my grasp. I need a walk-in fridge to help with this. I’d be happy enough with shop-bought pastry for this. And I aged the treacle by baking it in a low oven for 24 hours. I’d like to think it made a difference, but the flavour maturation is subtle but interesting. Worth it if you have the time, don’t weep if you don’t.

If you haven’t tried this yet, really, really do. If you think Heston Blumenthal recipes are too complicated, they’re really, really not. It’s a stunner, and will make you incredibly popular if you take it round someone’s house for tea. Do it.

Heston Blumenthal’s perfect treacle tart (an easy 10 slices):

For the vanilla salt:

Seeds from 2 plump vanilla pods

50g sea salt

  1. Work the seeds into the salt with your fingers and leave to infuse until you’re ready to serve.

For the pastry:

400g plain flour

1 heaped teaspoon table salt

400g unsalted butter, chilled and diced

100g icing sugar

Zest of 1 lemon, finely grated

Seeds from 1 vanilla pod

2 large egg yolks (about 40g)

2 large eggs (about 120g)

  1. Tip the flour and salt into a large bowl. Using your fingertips, rub in the butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Given the amount of butter, you may need to add and rub it in in batches.
  2. Quickly stir in the icing sugar, lemon zest and vanilla seeds. Add the egg yolks and the whole eggs, and mix until combined. Tip onto a sheet of clingfilm, wrap it up and leave to rest in the fridge for at least 3 hours.
  3. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 150°C.
  4. Dust a piece of greaseproof paper with flour. Take the pastry out of the fridge and remove the clingfilm. Place the pastry on the greaseproof paper. Cut off about one third of the dough and reserve in case it is needed to patch holes in the pastry base. (If unused, it can be frozen or baked as biscuits.) Shake over more flour, then top with a second piece of greaseproof paper. Begin to roll the pastry flat, moving the pin from the centre outwards. Turn the pastry 90 degrees every few rolls. Aim for a thickness of 3mm–5mm, and a diameter of 45cm–50cm. Once the pastry is rolled out to the correct thickness, peel off the top layer of greaseproof paper, trim off any excess, then wind the pastry onto the rolling pin, removing the other layer of paper as you go. Unwind the pastry over the flan tin and gently push it into the base and sides. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
  5. Once the pastry has firmed up, remove it from the fridge. Prick the base with a fork to stop it puffing up. Take a fresh piece of greaseproof paper, scrunch it up and smooth it out several times (this makes it easier to put in position), then place it over the pastry base. Put baking beans or, even better, coins on top. Return the lined pastry case to the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
  6. Remove the case from the fridge and put it in the oven to bake for 25–30 minutes, until the pastry is a light, golden brown. If, after removing the beans or coins, the base is slightly tacky, return the case to the oven for 10–15 minutes.

For the filling:

400g loaf of brown bread, whizzed to crumbs

200g unsalted butter

3 large eggs

75ml double cream

2 teaspoons table salt

900g tin of golden syrup (age this by placing in the lowest your oven will go for at least 24 hours)

Zest of 3 lemons

Juice of 2 lemons

  1. Preheat the oven to 150°C.
  2. Make a beurre noisette by putting the butter in a pan over a medium heat. When the butter stops sizzling (a sign that the water has all evaporated, after which it will soon burn) and develops a nutty aroma, remove it from the heat. Strain it into a jug and leave to cool. Discard the blackened solids left in the sieve.
  3. Put the eggs, cream and salt in a bowl and whisk until combined. Set aside.
  4. Pour the golden syrup into a pan and heat gently until liquid. Pour the beurre noisette into the warmed syrup, and stir. (Try to avoid tipping in any sediment that may have collected at the bottom of the jug.)
  5. Pour the buttery syrup into the egg and cream mixture. Stir in the breadcrumbs and the lemon zest and juice.
  6. Transfer the mixture to a large jug. Pour two-thirds of it into the pastry case. Slide the tart into the oven and pour in the remainder of the filling. Bake for 50–60 minutes, or until the tart is a deep brown colour. Remove from the oven and leave to cool before taking out of the tin.
  7. Serve the treacle tart with a few grains of vanilla salt sprinkled on top, and with a good dollop of clotted cream.
Categories
beef egg food noodles onion peppers spinach steak

jap chae

Following my first brush with Korean BBQ, subsequent egging on from gourmet traveller, and inspiration from Judy Joo, I knew my second dish had to be Jap Chae.

I took a good look at Judy Joo’s recipe, and dived into the challenge. Being a forthright so-and-so, I made a few adjustments. I understand they are at the heart of the dish but I had no chance of finding dangmyeon, or sweet potato vermicelli, in my corner of Essex. It’s hard enough finding an Asian store of any description, so I hope the panel will forgive me substituting fine egg noodles (if I ever see some on my travels, I will grab them and give ’em a try). On a more personal level, I love it when beef has that black-brown seared crust on, and worried that this recipe might lose it. So I chose to sear the beef very quickly over very high heat, then leave it to rest alongside the omelette before adding back at the end. By resting it here, those lovely steak juices would wander off and get leeched by the egg, so double win there.

All told, it was a lovely plate of noodles. Dark and rich, with plenty of fresh vegetable crunch. The omelette and beef were nice little nuggets of treasure hidden away amongst it all. Thanks guys! So what’s next?

Jap chae (serves 2):

200g rump steak, thinly sliced

For the marinade:

1 teaspoon sugar

1 tablespoon soy sauce

2 tablespoons mirin

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 teaspoon sesame seeds

For the noodles:

2 nests fine egg noodles, broken up

2 tbsp soy sauce

Everything else:

2 eggs, beaten

1 large onion, sliced

4 cloves garlic, crushed

1 small red onion, sliced

1 small carrot, julienned

12 oyster mushrooms, sliced

½ red pepper, julienned

Handful baby spinach leaves

1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds, crushed

3 tablespoons sesame oil

2 tablespoons soy sauce

  1. Mix the marinade ingredients together, pour over the steak and leave for at least half an hour.
  2. Boil the noodles as per packet instructions, drain and rinse through with plenty of cold water. When cool to the touch pour over the soy and let it soak in.
  3. Get a pan on medium low and spread the egg thinly over the base of the pan. When it sets flip it over, cook briefly, roll it up and put to one side.
  4. Get the pan up to ferocious heat and add a splash of oil. Sear the beef quickly for about 45 seconds on either side and remove to the same plate as the omelette to rest while you get on with everything else. (I couldn’t bear to lose that leftover marinade so poured it over the resting noodles).
  5. Keep the heat high and add the onion and garlic and cook for 3 minutes. Keep it moving the whole time and it shouldn’t catch. Add the red onion, carrot, mushrooms and pepper and continue stir-frying at pace. Fry for 3 – 4 minutes more until they vegetables start to go tender, then add the spinach and beef. Slice the omelette into strips and add those too along with the noodles and the rest of the ingredients.
  6. Cook for another minute or two until everything has been warmed through and the noodles take on a glossy appearance.
Categories
egg food peppers tomato

shakshuka

An intriguing, spicy, fruity and hearty brunch-style dish from Ottolenghi’s Plenty. Pretty quick to do, and really no effort at all… no excuse not to try it!

I made it based on the Plenty recipe which is reprinted here:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2007/apr/07/foodanddrink.shopping5

Categories
egg food leeks

leek fritters

This is a cheeky treat from Ottolenghi’s latest, Plenty. I picked it out to cook expecting something quite nice but it simply floored me how good it was. There’s a lightness there, provided by the egg white I guess. Paired with a potent, tangy yoghurt this makes a pretty filling but very tasty brunch (or dinner when helped along by a salad – the brown specks on mine are a balsamic dressing!).

(It should be noted my method is adapted from Ottolenghi’s according to store cupboard and mood)

Leek fritters (serves 4):

3 leeks, sliced

1 onion, finely diced

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon turmeric

½ teaspoon coriander

Handful of chopped parsley

150g self-raising flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

50g butter, melted

1 egg

Some milk

1 egg white, whisked to soft peaks

For the garlic and coriander yoghurt:

300ml Greek yoghurt

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Handful of chopped coriander

1 garlic clove, grated

  1. Fry the onions and leeks gently until tender, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a bowl to cool, adding the spices, parsley, some seasoning and a pinch of sugar.
  2. Combine the flour, whole egg, butter and baking powder and add enough milk to make a thick batter. Combine the leek mixture with this batter and fold in the whipped egg white.
  3. Cover the base of a pan with oil and get over a medium heat. Add large dollops of fritter mix to form pancakes and allow to brown underneath before flipping. This will take about 4 minutes on each side. Fry in batches until all done, draining on kitchen paper until needed.
  4. To make the yoghurt sauce, combine all the ingredients. Taste often, adding more lemon / oil / salt and pepper as required. A squeeze of lemon over the fritters wouldn’t go amiss either.
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