Leeked

06/03 LEEKED

This has taken a long time to come around, simply because life gets in the way and cooking sometimes becomes a by product. A sad thought, food is not fuel. Well it shouldn't be, and this recipe is a testament to time. It takes a slow pottering to prepare, a slow bake and then a slow picking to eat.

This tart is the edible equivalent of a long ramble - be it verbal or wandering. It is calming, simple and provides a small comfort when your world has hurried past. Caramelised into the pastry floor, these leeks succumb to their secret sweetness leaving you calm and contemplative. The world is big, but then we are very small.

Ingredients (all approximate) - 

2 Leeks
125g Salted Butter
125g Plain Flour
75ml cold water
1 tsp Caraway seeds
1 tbls Balsamic Vinegar
1 tbls Olive Oil
1 tsp brown sugar
Salt + Pepper

What I did - 

While not difficult, it does involve some calm and time. If you really can't be bothered then use frozen puff pastry... but do go with me. Start by rubbing the butter into the flour until completely crumbled into buttery sand. Add the fennel seeds. Make a small well in the centre of the flour, pour the water in and mix together with your fingers until it combines. Work into a dough, patiently and messily, that isn't dry not its it hard and over worked.

It may look less than perfect at this stage, but chill it cling filmed in the fridge for half an hour. While it's chilling prepare the leeks but stripping their ouster layer and washing them thoroughly. Cut them into inch lengths and arrange on the base of a tart tin (solid so it can be turned out). Dust them in the sugar, vinegar, oil and seasoning. Roast in a 180 degree oven for about 20 minutes, until they just start to brown.

Back to the pastry, take it out of the fridge and knead it for a few turns to loosen it. Roll it out to a length 2 to 1. then fold into thirds. Roll the long way again, repeat folds. Do this a couple of times until the pastry is pliable. Then roll out into a large disc, trim the edge to roughly the size of the baking tin. Take the leeks out of the oven, blanket them in the pastry. Use a fork to poke holes in the surface.

Bake again for another 30 minutes. The pastry will be truly golden, verging on tan. The tart is ready! Take it out the oven. Let it stand until you feel confident to place a plate upside down the top and flip the whole fiasco. Tap the bottom (now top) of the tin to loosen the leeks. Slowly raise it to unveil the marvel that is the leaky upside down pastry creation!

JG

Dark Night In

25/11 DARK NIGHT IN

When the darkness of winter creeps over the world, fleeting moments of sunlight pass all in the blink of an eye. The darkness does bring comfort. Turning on the twinkling kitchen lights as steam rises from bubbling pots and pans - that’s the idea at least. To spend a dark evening dancing around your kitchen like the goblins and spirits on bald mountain – taming the beast of the night before the witching hour.

This recipe came from one such evening, one such cauldron and one such night beast (yours truly). The starch from the potatoes emulsifies with the roasting oils and transforms this simple recipe of two ingredients into a decadent bowl of winter comfort. I have included the two versions that are regular suppers – both warm the soul. One uses rosemary to roast the cauliflower, creating a rich woody soup. The other uses curry powder for roasting, infusing a heady spiciness to the soup. Both are the right kind of kitchen warmth that will tame the darkness of winter and turn every kitchen into a place of nighttime concoctions.
1 Cauliflower

Ingredients (all approximate) - 

2 Potatoes

Olive oil/knob of butter

1 Rosemary Sprig OR 1 tbl curry powder

Salt + Pepper

Pumpkin seeds (entirely optional)

What I did - 

ROAST the living daylights out of the cauliflower. Break into white tufts and sprinkle with a blizzard of salt, pepper and rosemary leaves/curry. Blitz in a 200degree oven for an hour or more. until they have transformed into a charred forrest – about 45 minute.

As the oven roasts, boil the peeled potatoes (cut into small chunks) in about 500mls of water. Until they are softened – about 15 minutes. Turn the water off and leave until the cauliflower is ready. Scrape all the roasting tin; the oils, the spices, salt and of course cauliflower into the pot. Using a stick blender, blitz until it becomes a thick smooth creamy emulsion. Add a small know of butter or olive oil and blitz again, the fat will help the soup thicken and become creamy without the need for any dairy.

Season with any additional salt/pepper/rosemary/curry powder to taste – soup always fluctuates to each cook. Serve very hot in small bowls – there’s toning better then getting lots of small bowls of soup. Add some pumpkin seeds as a garnish and to add a nutty crunch.

JG

Peachy Hot Bed

21/11 HOT BED

We all want to dive under a blanket at the best of times, a hot warm blanket to melt under while the winter sets in. These are the times when energy is at an all time low, and you really want to cover yourself and forget about the rest of the world. 

Indeed this recipe is found hiding under its own crumbly blanket. A soft bed of fleshy, sweet and hot fruit robed in a dusting of glorious crumbs. The only thing this bed needs is a good spoon. And you have two choices - big spoon or little spoon. Also both benefit from cream.

Ingredients (all approximate) - 

3 Old Peaches
75g Butter
75g Sugar
75g Flour


What I did - 

Arrange the slightly old soggy peaches around a small baking dish (this is a small recipe for three to four at most). They should all be standing on their backs, the thin gill of the meat upwards.

In another bowl rub the butter into the flour and sugar until you get a thick gloopy crumb. Sprinkle over the peaches as evenly as possible - don't press it down, the lighter it falls the more the preaches melt and the crumb stay loose in the oven.

Bake at 180 degrees for 40 minutes or so - just before the crumbs start to catch. The more heat this is exposed to the more the fruit melts and crumb crisps.

Eat directly out of the dish if there's only two of you, or glooped in cream with friends. The best way to be.

JG

Confusion Cake

28/10 CONFUSION CAKE

Following the deceptive pixie, this is a grippingly dark recipe - in need on an uplifting force. I haven't felt the true do or die spirit when cooking for a while. Comfort zones are best left to those who can afford beige. The only absolute here was the need to produce a desert for a sunday lunch provided with love. What came next is hard to explain.

I did have apples. I didn't make milk. Or sugar. Or useful flour.  So with that the best course of action is to bake a cake. Obviously. Now baking is a thing of precision and science and Art which has elevated itself to a primetime BBC broadcast. This is no such thing, basically try to find things that resembled cake ingredients  - coconut milk, plain flour, molasses. And hope that if you throw caution and faith to the wind then a sweet aroma will come back. Somehow this miracle worked. Although it was dark, treacly and delicious - It does need cream to help it convert to delicious.

Ingredients (all approximate) - 

1 Apple
200ml Coconut milk
2 Eggs
50g soft butter
1.5 cups Plain flour
1 tsp baking soda
150g Molasses (dark sugar, anything really)


What I did - Oven preheat into 180

Line a small baking dish with some butter smears and flour. Then coat the base in sugar/molasses. Slice the apple thinly and fan around the dish - ideally elegantly, but its going to be eaten so no stresses required. In another please don't stress.

Once lined and ready, prepare the batter by using the all in one method. Simply because there was no way of really telling if it was going to work so throwing caution to the wind seems the best idea. Beat it until it completely comes together (the qtys listed worked, however in finding this balance there was a bit of a guessing game - it should be a smooth light batter).

Pour over the apple lined tin and bake for 30 minutes in a 180degree oven. Check at this stage if it needs more, if the skewer is sticky give it another 5-10 minutes.

When it's ready take the dish out of the oven and let to cool for 15 minutes or so - until you feel comfortable enough to turn it out. Flip it quickly onto a plate. The foil will come out easy, then gently peel it off - don't rip it unless you want the mess that is photographed here.

Don't stand on ceremony, just cut it and eat it. Seeing a mess may make you feel less so.

JG

Pixie Jar

18/10 PIXIE JAR

In the flick of a wrist, in just a flash, you'll land a prince with a tonne of cash. Wishful thinking. As sweet and glistening as this faerie godmother of biscuits look, be warned they are prone to taking a dark turn. This was in a moment of transcendant hesitation. I had no idea what was going to come and something so perfect and pretty was always going to lead me astray.

This recipe is easy to let turn dark. Over working the crumb, too long in the oven, a heavy had in the jar… This is about being gently and calm. Let things happen and trust that they all do for a reason. This was what happened the first time I made these, spontaneous and camp biscuits. They were a treat which paved the way for darker versions. Be warned this pink faerie isn’t as wholesome as she looks. But she is very moorish and who doesn’t like twinkling in the dark.

Ingredients (all approximate) - 

200g Flour

60g sugar

125g Butter

1/2 tsp vanilla paste (no extract, has to be viscous or dry – even use vanilla sugar if you need)

50g Waitrose Raspberry Sugar*

*Trust me on this, there is no substitute. Unless you can’t get to a Waitrose in which case just find a camp sugar

What I did - 

The thing with shortbread is that its short. Short means quick. Short means easy. Theoretically.

Begin by grating the butter into the sugar. This makes it easier to mix without melting and it would be a lumpy mess if the butter melted while mixing. This way the small shavings of butter are coated in the sugar evenly and when bakes will belt away creating the shortbread crumb. 

Add the flour to this mix and use your fingers to flutter into a humbly mess. It will not look anything like a biscuit dough. In face it amy look like a bowl of pale sand. This is all okay. When its all combined, no large butter lumps and no patches of flour floating around you can start wodging into something that resembles more of a dough. 

The problem is if you over work it the butter melts and you end up with a very dense crumb and end up with a kindergarten biscuit. Keep the mix dry and turn on to a bench. Here you can work it into a loose lump and then roll to about 1cm. It should not hold together, instead use a big knife to cut into fingers and then use to slide under and transfer to a baking parchment lined tray. Repeat until your suitably frustrated. Transfer to the fridge and chill for half an hour.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Dust each biscuit gently with the pink magic sugar. Bake for 15 minutes. Don’t let the pale colour fool you, it is cooked. 

Leave to cool for about 10-15, until you can slide them to a cooling rack to dry out completely. 

Ifa ll goes to plan you end up with a really delicious crumble shortbread. If it doesn’t like the other times I’ve tried this you end up with a dark, sweet biscuit best suited for drowning in coffee. Either way win/win.

JG

Overcast Light

26/09 OVERCAST LIGHT

Food for thought? Food for fuel? Food for fun. Because to be honest, when the going gets tough, the tough get seriously hungry. This is always the case when it comes to uprooting your life, and this meal is an all in one pre- and post-adventure comfort. It really is just a way to plate up nearly all my favourite ingredients at once (as is the case here, often ready in the fridge).

This particular one holds particularly fond memory in my mind. The blissful last week in Australia, where everything was perfect because it was coming to an end (for now). There was one day where I should have been preparing, but instead shared this and a bottle of grigio in the overcast warmth - my kind of heaven. This is always going to be a plate of overcast happiness.

Ingredients (all approximate) - 

1 Salmon Fillet
3 Eggs
100ml Milk
1 Broccoli
1 Avocado
200g String Beans
70g Goats cheese
Lemon
Salt + Pepper


What I did - 

Really not a stressful cook, just one to do when you have some time at home to juggle the different ingredients. Start by throwing the salmon fillet under a hot grill for about 15 minutes with some lemon, salt and pepper. It doesn't need to cook through, just catch enough to colour on one side.

Whisk the eggs together until pale, add the milk and a chunk of the goats cheese and beat again. In a small baking dish, flake the salmon in the bottom. Pour over the eggs, sprinkle with salt and pepper again and throw into the oven for about 20 minutes at 200degrees. The heat needs to be high so that the eggs inflate around the fish.

While the bake is on, steam the broccoli and beans, or blanche them for 5 minutes. Really don't cook these through, keep them crunchy and hot. Drain/take them off the heat and add to a large salad bowl. Crumble the remaining goats cheese over, gouge out the avocado and squeeze the life out of the lemon. Quickly tumble through the bowl, the heat from the vegetables will melt the cheese with the soft avocado and lemon. It should end up a white-flecked bowl of sharp greenness.

Once the eggs have inflated appropriately, like a blimp, take the dish out of the oven. Serve direct from the dish at the table. Have your guest deal with the wine. Immediate perfection.

JG

Over or Under

06/09 OVER or UNDER

There is a strange moment before any journey where you need to stop and meditate on all the turns and paths ahead of you. The road isn't always going to be straightforward, or smooth - you face the decision to go over the mountain or under it. If the mountain defeats you, where then will you go? The rugged peats of these profiterole mountains are an untameable beauty, yet inside these small pastry mountains is a creamy heaven waiting to be found.

Together they collide in spectacular form, the clashing textures are unified with nutty cocoa creaminess - eloquent I know. They appear to involve much more work than there actually is - the most annoying part will be washing up just because you end up with a stack of used bowls. They are calming to make, and provide quick reassurance that even the most daunting adventure is always full of surprises. 

Ingredients (all approximate) - 

150g Plain Flour
50g Butter
3/4 Cup Water
1/2 Tsp salt
3 eggs
100ml Cream
50g Dark Chocolate
1tbls Nutella
Handful of chopped almonds


What I did - 

Don't panic! This isn't a recipe of pain, it is a thing of great beauty. Simply because it involves little to no skill and creates delicacies of awe.

Start by melting the butter into the water with the salt. Once dissolved add the flour and return to the heat for a brief moment while you mix it into a single paste - the water will evaporate and it will become a dough almost instantly. Transfer to a food processor (or a bowl and a strong, fast arm) and one by one add the eggs. The end result will be a sticky paste - less of a dough than before. Dollop tablespoon amounts onto a lined baking tray and bake for 40 minutes at 180 degrees. Easy.

Turnt he oven off and let them cool completely into puffed pastry shells. Whip the cream with the nutella until firm, then using a piping bag poke a hole in each pastry and  squeeze until they are fattened with the nutty cream.

Put in the fridge while the chocolate is attended to. Melt until black and glistening. Then bathe the top of each profiterole in the molten chocolate. Sit them upright on a tray and scatter the almonds on the top.

Leave in the fridge for half an hour before eating so that all the different components come to an agreeable temperature and the chocolate is wonderfully matted. Fiddly fun, and you've now got cream on your face.

JG