Categories
Love food Sweet stuff

Iced chocolate terrine

I have been making this recipe every Pesach for years. It’s a real family favourite. I really don’t know why I keep it just for Pesach but somehow doing so makes it that more special. I have to warn you though that it is very rich, so don’t cut your slices too big.

A word about my picture… I thought I should tell you that the lines on the side are from the clingfilm. I probably should have smoothed it out but we just wanted to get on and eat it.

Ingredients

  • 75g dark cooking chocolate
  • 6 egg yolks
  • 120g caster sugar
  • 50g honey
  • 120g unsalted butter or margarine at room temperature
  • 65g cocoa powder
  • 300 ml double cream/non-dairy cream (unsweetened)

Method

  • Line a 900g loaf tin with cling film and ideally cut enough so that you will be able to pull it over the top once frozen
  • Place the honey and chocolate into a small microwaveable bowl and gradually heat to melt the chocolate.
  • Leave to cool a little then stir in the sugar and egg yols
  • Beat the butter and cocoa powder together until smooth; mix with the melted chocolate mix
  • Whip the cream, then mix with the chocolate mixture
  • Pour into the loaf tin, smooth out so you have a level top and place in the freezer (for at least 8 hours)
  • Remove from the freezer approx 10 mins before eating. Turn upside down onto a plate, peel off the cling film and slice.
Categories
Love food Salads

Roast beetroot salad…

… with ginger and tahini dressing

Roasted beetroot is a great way of eating beetroot. Serving it with a mix of salad leaves or rocket as I have (in the pic), plus the ginger and tahini dressing makes it a very lovely salad.

Ingredients

  • 500g raw beetroot cut into wedges
  • 4 tbsp olive oil
  • 4 thyme sprigs
  • 2 tbsp tahini
  • 1/2 large lemon, juice
  • 1 tsp maple syrup or honey
  • 1 tsp finely grated ginger
  • 1 small garlic clove crushed
  • 1/4 tsp ground turmeric
  • salad leaves or rocket

Method

  • Toss the beetroot wedges with 3 tbsp olive oil, season and spread out in a roasting tin. Roast for 20 mins (190C), then stir in the thyme and roast for a further 20/25 mins.
  • Put the remaining 2tbsp oil, tahini, half the lemon juice, maple syrup or honey, ginger, garlic and turmeric on a bowl. Add a small amount of water and mix with a fork. It will thicken up. Keep adding water until you have a good consistency to drizzle over the salad. You can also keep adding a bit more of the other half of the lemon juice at a time to get the right taste for you. We don’t like our dressings to be too lemony.

Tip: The beetroot will take a very long time to cook if the wedges are too thick. A 1cm thickness is about right. Check its ready by piercing with a knife to see if the the knife goes through easily.

Categories
Love food Other

Spinach & sweet potato fritters

Sabrina Ghayour is one of my favourite cookery writers/chefs. I’m sharing these with you now as they are very adaptable to Pesach. Just replace the flour with matzo meal. Add a bit at a time and mix to a good consistency for frying. Too little and they won’t hold, too much they will be very stodgy.

They freeze well and can be reheated in the oven for 10/15 mins if defrosted – longer if from frozen. If putting in the oven frozen then don’t preheat first.

Ingredients (makes 20-ish)

  • 300g sweet potato, peeled and coarsely grated
  • 150g baby spinach leaves, finely chopped
  • 3 tsp turmeric
  • 1 tsp chilli flakes
  • 3 large eggs
  • 100g plain flour (can use matzo meal for Pesach)
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • Salt and pepper
  • Vegetable oil, for frying

Method

Put the sweet potato, spinach, turmeric, chilli flakes, eggs, flour and baking powder into a large bowl and mix well. Season generously, then leave the batter to rest for 15 minutes.

Heat the oil over a medium-high heat and bring to frying temperature (add a pinch of the batter: if it sizzles immediately, the oil is hot enough). Line a plate with a double layer of kitchen paper.

When the oil is ready, stir the batter. Using slightly oiled hands shape the batter into fritters and put into the hot oil. Fry the fritters for one minute, then turn them over and fry for another minute or so, or until nicely browned all over. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the fritters from the oil to the paper-lined plate to drain. Serve hot.

Categories
Love London

Theatre at home

So we’re all stuck at home but many of our favourite theatres are making sure we can still have access to great entertainment. Some are free, others make a small charge. If you can afford to though, I encourage you to make a donation each time you watch. We do after all want all these theatres to re-open once they are able to.

This is just a small selection here. Feel free to message in if you know of any others that are worth checking out.

National Theatre are releasing a new show for viewing each Thursday, available to watch for 1 week on their You Tube channel. One Man & Two Govnors is first up, this Thursday 2 April

Hampstead Theatre have announced three shows to be streamed across three consecutive weeks. Wild is the first one available

Royal Court Theatre are showing Cyprus Avenue until 26 April. This hard hitting black comedy Cyprus Avenue tells the story of a man struggling with the past and terrified of the future. Eric Miller (Stephen Rea) is a Belfast Loyalist. He is experiencing a psychotic episode and mistakes his five-week old granddaughter for Gerry Adams. Generations of sectarian trauma convince him that his cultural heritage is under siege. He must act.

Original Theatre online are showing plays such as Art and The Croft.

Categories
Love food Salads Vegan

Winter slaw

I’ve renamed this recipe from Christmas slaw to winter slaw. It’s so good why would you only have it in December? This salad makes a regular appearance on our table at any time of the year

It’s made with white cabbage, carrot, red pepper, pecans, spring onions and mixed with a simple dressing. Other than that I don’t have a lot to say about it. You can find the recipe on BBC Good Food.

Categories
Love food Main event

Cauliflower cake

I know cakes are usually sweet but this savoury cake is very good indeed, from the genius Yottam Ottolenghi. The use of the term ‘cake’ did get us talking about what the definition of a cake is – any thoughts dear readers?

The recipe is below but if you have Ottolenghi’s Plenty More cookbook you will find it there, page 258.

CAULIFLOWER CAKE
Serves 4 to 6

• 1 small cauliflower, outer leaves removed, broken into 1¼-inch florets (1 lb/450 g)
• 1 medium red onion, peeled (6 oz/170 g)
• 5 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon finely chopped rosemary
• 7 eggs (scant 1 lb/440 g)
• 1/2 cup basil leaves, chopped
• 1 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/3 teaspoons round turmeric
• 5 ounces coarsely grated Parmesan or another mature cheese
• Melted unsalted butter, for brushing
• 1 tablespoon white sesame seeds
• 1 teaspoon nigella seeds
• Salt
• Black pepper

Preheat the oven to 400ºF/200ºC.

Place the cauliflower florets in a saucepan and add 1 teaspoon salt. Cover with water and simmer for 15 minutes, until the florets are quite soft. They should break when pressed with a spoon. Drain and set aside in a colander to dry.

Cut 4 round slices, each 1/4-inch thick, off one end of the onion and set aside. Coarsely chop the rest of the onion and place in a small pan with the oil and rosemary. Cook for 10 minutes over medium heat, stirring from time to time, until soft. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool. Transfer the onion to a large bowl, add the eggs and basil, whisk well, and then add the flour, baking powder, turmeric, Parmesan, 1 teaspoon salt, and plenty of pepper. Whisk until smooth before adding the cauliflower and stirring gently, trying not to break up the florets.

Line the base and sides of a 9 1/2-inch springform cake pan with parchment paper. Brush the sides with melted butter, then mix together the sesame and nigella seeds and toss them around the inside of the pan so that they stick to the sides. Pour the cauliflower mixture into the pan, spreading it evenly, and arrange the reserved onion rings on top. Place in the center of the oven and bake for 45 minutes, until golden brown and set; a knife inserted into the center of the cake should come out clean. Remove from the oven and leave for at least 20 minutes before serving. It needs to be served just warm, rather than hot, or at room temperature

Categories
Love food Sweet stuff

Peanut Butter Crispies

If you are in need of a quick treat during this horribly unsettling time, give these yummy Peanut Butter Crispies a whirl. They’re very quick and easy to make, with no cooking. You will have to leave it an hour or so though to set so a little patience is required.

Ingredients

  • 95g rice krispies
  • 120g peanut butter
  • 175g malt syrup* (rice or barley) or 175g agave syrup
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • Topping: 250g dark cooking chocolate and 1 tbsp peanut butter

* – malt syrup can be found in most supermarkets with the baking ingredients. Don’t be tempted to substitute golden syrup, it will be far too sweet.

Instructions

Put the peanut butter and syrup into a pan and heat until the peanut butter is melted into the syrup. Try to heat slowly as ideally you don’t want it to get too hot as if it gets too hot you will need to let it cool down before adding the rice krispies. Adding the rice krispies when it is too hot will soften them too much and then they won’t be crispy! Mix in the vanilla extract to the syrup and peanut butter and then mix in the rice Krispies. When thoroughly coated press into a greased baking tin. I use a tin measuring 23cm X 20cm.

For the topping, melt the chocolate and peanut butter. Pour over the crispies and put in the fridge to set. I recommend cutting before the chocolate hardens too much. Store the crispies in the fridge. If they’re not all eaten straight away, they will keep for a few days before going soft.

Categories
Love London

The Charterhouse

If you have ever walked around the Farringdon/Smithfield area you may well have walked round or through Charterhouse Square. The square is has The Charterhouse on one side of it. whose history dates back to 1348. The Charterhouse’s first served as a monastery to the Carthusian monks, giving its name to nearby Carthusian Street; it continues through to the present day serving as an almshouse to ‘brothers’.

The Charterhouse opened to the public in 2017 offering a range of tours in which you will not only learn about the fascinating history but will also see some stunning and very well-maintained interiors. The tours start from £12 and are available Tuesday to Saturday. My personal recommendation is to take one of the tours led by one of the Brothers (not a monk but someone who lives in the on-site almshouses). These are a little more expensive (and longer) but are well worth it for a more personalised tour. That said, if you are short of time or like many I know j can only take in so much information, then the shorter tour is I am sure still very worthwhile.

Categories
Breakfast/brunch Love food Other

Welsh rarebit

For a cheesy supper or brunch snack not much beats welsh rarebit. I know you could simply grill some cheese on toast but this is really worth the additional 20 minutes or so to make. There are many variations of the basic welsh rarebit recipe, I particularly like this one made with Guinness (or any other stout).

As you can see from the pic above we had it here on toast. Although I didn’t do it this time, my favourite way of serving it is atop a portobello mushroom. If going with the mushroom option then brush them all over with oil and place in the oven for 15 minutes to cook before spooning the rarebit mix on top.

Whether topping toast or mushrooms, when ready to eat pop under the grill for a few minutes to heat through, until golden brown in spots and bubbling.

This quantity will make enough for 4/6 servings. If you have spare mixture left over it freezes well to be used another time.

The left over Guinness can be used to make soda bread or find yourself a Guinness chocolate cake recipe. Of course, if you are being really organised you can make the bread first to use as your toast base.

Ingredients

  • 25g butter
  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp flour
  • 75 ml Guinness
  • 140g mature cheddar, grated
  • 1 tsp English mustard
  • 2 eggs beaten

To make

  1. Melt the butter in a saucepan and fry onion for 10/15 mins until soft and translucent.
  2. Add the flour and cook for 1 minute.
  3. Gradually add the Guinness to make a smooth sauce; add the cheese and mustard.
  4. Finally add the eggs on a low heat until the mixture thickens. Do NOT overcook or have the heat too high otherwise your eggs will scramble.
  5. Your mix is now ready to top on your toast (toast both sides of the bread) or mushrooms and grill.
Categories
Breakfast/brunch Love food Vegan

Granola

This is easy but I won’t lie it can seem a bit laborious; there’s a lot of nut chopping and then regular turning of the Granola in the oven. It makes a lot though so you don’t have to make it too often.

You can eat this granola as is but you can also add dried fruit once cooked.

Ingredients

  • ½ tsp salt
  • 170g oats
  • 170g mixed grains or oats only (I get these from a health food store)
  • 200g mixed nuts, roughly chopped (you have to do this by hand with a sharp knife; don’t attempt to do it in a processor, you will end up with mostly ground nuts)
  • 50g mixed/sunflower/pumpkin seeds
  • 50g coconut shavings
  • 40g coconut oil
  • 120ml/172g runny honey
  • 1 large egg white

Method

  1. Put the dried ingredients into a large mixing bowl and give a good stir
  2. Put the coconut oil and honey in a microwaveable bowl. Heat until the coconut oil has melted into the honey
  3. Pour into the dried ingredients and stir until all are covered in the  oil-honey mix
  4. Fluff up your egg white and mix through the granola
  5. Spread the granola onto a wide baking tray (the biggest you have) and place in the oven on 150C. It will take approx. 40 mins to cook. You will need to stir it regularly to cook evenly. It is ready when it looks ready ie golden in colour.
  6. I leave for 10 mins before doing the first stir and then decrease the time between stirrings as I go.