When leftovers stare at me from the back of the cupboard, I have to use them. I was fortunate enough to get hold of both a cherry panettone and a chocolate-chip panettone this Christmas, used both in bombes, and naturally had a fair chunk of each left over. I have fond memories of black forest gateau and often default to it in times of sugary need. Cherry and chocolate bread? How can I turn it into anything else?! In just a few minutes you get this dark, sweet jammy delight which fills you with gooey indulgence. Yummy. You could make this with a traditional custard, but I find the caramel-style base gives a rich and satisfying finish.
Of course I wouldn’t usually have these two types of bread available, so I imagine normal bread / sponge dotted with chunks of dark chocolate and tinned cherries would likely achieve just as tasty results.
Black forest bread pudding:
4 slices cherry panettone
4 slices chocolate-chip panettone
2 tablespoons black cherry jam
100g sugar
2 tablespoons water
300ml milk (I used semi)
125g dark chocolate, chopped
2 eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons kirsch
Icing sugar to serve
Pre-heat the oven to 180°C.
Layer the bread in a casserole dish. Spread the jam on the underside of the bread as you do this.
Melt the water and sugar in a saucepan over a medium heat and allow to bubble. Meanwhile melt the milk and chocolate together in a separate pan and add a tiny pinch of salt.
When the sugar syrup starts to turn golden and the chocolate has melted into the milk, add the milk to the syrup. It will splutter and spit so be careful. After a minute’s bubbling turn the heat off and add the eggs and kirsch. Whisk vigorously to ensure the egg doesn’t scramble, and once it is incorporated pour the mixture over the bread. If the bread is a little stale you may want to leave it to steep for a few minutes to moisten it.
Bake in the oven for 15 minutes, or until the top starts to turn crisp. Dust with icing sugar and serve.
The most recent series of The F Word (which changed inexplicably mid-series to Gordon Ramsay’s The F Word) played host to local restaurants, pitting them against one another to find the best UK local restaurant. I’m not sure how you compare carbonara to chow mein to see which is “best” but the competition was entertaining enough. The show would have been improved tenfold if it had’ve been only clips of Jean-Baptiste stumbling though a pad thai, but there you go. The winning restaurant was Lasan, an Indian restaurant – what’s this, Gordon has a new book and series based on Indian food out? Well that is a coincidence.
Serendipity aside, I loved the sound of the dish that swung it for the Birmingham curry-house; masala beef with curried pumpkin. It seemed like a skillful blend of techniques and ingredients, and given I have a bit of a home-cooked curry fetish lately I thought I’d give it a whirl. I made some changes to the original: my budget didn’t stretch to fillet this week so used some casserole-type steak and braised it for a long time, and my house is not so spicy so I toned down the chilli element. I also chose to forego mustard oil, substituting oil steeped in yellow mustard seeds for a similar burn. I didn’t have time to grab veal bones so a little beef stock concentrate had to do instead, and finally tinned tomatoes seemed like a decent enough substitute, and I didn’t fancy a real tomato in January being worth cooking with. Other than that I was fortunate enough to grab some khudu, or Indian pumpkin, from a superb little Asian grocer’s near me.
The results? The curry was absolutely delicious. Rich and meaty, while still spiced and sweet was a very complex and deep flavour. The sweetness of such things as cassia bark came through, while the last-minute addition of cashew nut paste brought a richness to the sauce. A triumph. The pumpkin, while tasty enough, was a little watery. If I’d known this in advance I would’ve perhaps salted the squash first to draw the excess moisture out. That said, it was a refreshing taste alongside the rich curried gravy. With recipes like this, I can see why head chef Aktar Islam took the trophy. I’d certainly love to see a book of curries like this.
PS. leftover cashew nut paste, blended with a little cream and sugar and a hint of cardamom, makes an excellent lassi to follow this.
Masala beef with curried pumpkin:
750g casserole beef, diced
For the marinade:
1 tablespoon garlic and ginger paste
2 tablespoons papaya paste
2 tablespoons mustard oil
1 teaspoon tandoori masala
½ teaspoon chilli powder
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon turmeric
For the sauce:
4 green cardamom pods
3” cassia bark
3 bay leaves
1 large onion, sliced
½ tablespoon garlic and ginger paste
½ tablespoon ground coriander
½ tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chilli powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tin tomatoes
1 litre beef stock
5 tablespoons smooth cashew nut paste (toasted cashews blitzed with a little water)
For the curried pumpkin:
500g pumpkin, peeled and diced (approx 2cm squares)
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon coriander seeds, cracked
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 teaspoon tomato paste
1 onion, finely chopped
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon turmeric
½ teaspoon ground chilli powder
100ml water
Handful fresh coriander, chopped
Combine the beef with the marinade ingredients and leave for about 6 hours for the spices to penetrate the meat.
For the sauce, seal the beef in a large casserole pan then remove to one side. In a little oil crackle the cassia bark, cardamom and bay leaves for about a minute. Brown the onion, then add the garlic and ginger paste.
Add the dry spices and cook out for a few minutes, add the stock then bring to the boil. Scrape the excess marinade off the beef then add to the pan. Leave to simmer uncovered for 2 hours. Check the beef is tender before serving.
To finish the sauce add the cashew nut paste and ground cardamom just before serving. Adjust seasoning if needed.
For the pumpkin, crackle the seeds in a little oil for a minute then add the onion and garlic.
When the onions have softened add the pumpkin and toss in the mixture. Add the water and cover, cooking quite vigorously until the pumpkin is tender. Top with coriander and serve immediately.
I have a version of carbonara I like to use when I need to keep the calorie- or egg-count low for this classic Italian pasta dish, but sometimes I need to bust out the real deal. The recipe often comes up for fervent debate, but I think most can agree that pancetta, eggs, cream and parmesan play a part in there somewhere. I love the sweet pungency of garlic, so I also chuck a clove in there for fragrance. For me it’s best when the pasta is really al dente, the sauce slick with no lumpy egg bits, big punches of salty pancetta, with a tiny tingle of black pepper at the end.
Tagliatelle carbonara (serves 2):
4 tagliatelle nests
100g pancetta, diced
1 garlic clove, peeled but whole
50ml single cream
2 egg yolks
Large handful of parmesan
Beat the egg yolks, cream and parmesan together with plenty of black pepper and set aside.
Boil the tagliatelle until al dente. While you do this fry the pancetta and garlic together in a little oil until the meat starts to crisp. Discard the garlic at this point.
Ladle a big splash of the pasta liquor into the pan with the pancetta, drain the pasta off and add this into the same pan.
Turn the heat off, and working very quickly add the sauce mixture into the pan. Shake the pan vigorously and beat with a wooden spoon to make the sauce stick to the pasta. Removing the pan from the heat, and the vigorous motion will stop the egg from scrambling. After about 45 seconds check for seasoning, then serve immediately.
Gor blimey I luv a sarnie. And the Americans really know how to do it. This Scooby snack of a sandwich is a New Orleans specialty, supposed to be a big enormous circular loaf that lasts a working man all day. The olive mix is the base of this, the rest is essentially a deli in a bun. As you sink your teeth through the bread you get all sorts of wonderful flavours popping through, pickled veg, smoked cheese, salty ham, sweet tomato… a real treat. The recipe listed below is a suggestion, nothing more. Add or delete as your cupboard and deli provide.
I first saw this sandwich back in 1998, back on the inspiring and pornographic Nigel Slater’s Real Food, where calm Kiwi cook Peter Gordon pressed layer upon layer of ingredient on to this bap. I salivated over it at the time then promptly never made it. Fastforward 11 years, I finally get round to it. If you want to see it, as with much of Channel 4’s content, it can now be seen on Youtube.
Muffuletta:
1 large round loaf, about 30cm across (focaccia works well)
Mixed olives
Sundried tomatoes
Sliced fresh tomato
Sliced artichoke
Parsley, chopped
Spring onions, sliced
Pancetta, grilled
Gruyere cheese, thinly sliced
Slice the loaf horizontally and drizzle olive oil on both sides.
Layer the ingredients as generously as you can. Season the fresh tomatoes when you get there. It’s also a good idea to dribble a little extra oil near the top layers to allow the flavours to be drawn down.
Put the lid back on, cover with clingfilm and press down with tins and other heavy things. Leave for a couple of hours if possible.
