What to serve

… with the Orange Cake

A slice of cake is very nice but I'm serving it as an after supper treat for friends.

The Orange Cake is moist – moist is good but, to use the northern vernacular, it can be claggy. So, as I would make extra “drizzle” to serve with a lemon drizzle cake lets make an orange syrup (or drizzle if you prefer)

Orange Syrup

200g icing sugar

250ml orange juice (no bits)

Put the sugar and orange juice in a small saucepan and heat gently so that the sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil and then reduce the heat and simmer on a low heat for 10 minutes.

You'll then have a syrupy drizzle ready to dress your cake.

Here's a photo of the one that I made earlier :

and it works brilliantly. If you wanted to add another element then why not the white miso or plain vanilla ice cream (there are recipes for both of these, both no-churn, on the blog).

I suppose I should point out that this is what I would call a weekend pud – when you're in need of a treat or just good old fashioned comfort food!

A perfect combination

… the “old” meeting the “new”.

In Book alert! I wrote about Claudia Roden and her books.

In All around the book shelves I mentioned that the perfect combination in a cookery book would be history and recipes too - here's one that is definitely in the “desert island/burning building” category.

Claudia Roden's “The Book of Jewish Food” was first published in the UK in 1997 and is divided into The Ashkenazi World and style of cooking and The Sephardi World with its many styles of cooking.

By “old” in the above title I do not disrespect – I just mean that by modern standards it's probably considered to be so - it's 19 years is old. I have read one particular recipe in this book from The Sephardi World section so many times I could recite it without any prompt.

It is :

Gateau a l'Orange

(Orange Cake)

2 oranges

6 eggs

250g sugar

2 tbsp orange blossom water

1 tsp baking powder

250g ground almonds

Wash the oranges and boil them whole for 1 – 1 ½ hours or until they are very soft.

Beat the eggs with the sugar. Add the orange blossom water, baking powder and almonds and mix well. *Cut open the oranges, remove the pips and purée in a food processor. Mix thoroughly with the egg and almond mixture and pour into a 23cm cake tin – lined with baking parchment, preferably non-stick and with a removable base. Bake in a pre-heated oven 190c/170fan/Gas 5 for an hour. Let it cool before turning out.

What put me off baking this cake was the boiling of the oranges.

Now for the “new” - it should really read “up to date” since I suppose it's not rocket science to use a microwave. Instead of boiling the oranges, microwave them for 8 minutes on high. I used 3 medium sized oranges (as a guide 67-74mm) and turned after 4 minutes. Make sure your fruits are in a covered vented microwave container. Continue with the recipe at *.

I'm not a cake eater generally but in the interests of being true to the art I tasted this and – I know I shouldn't say it of my own efforts – it was everything I like in a cake – moist and the depth of the orange flavour was really good. Everyone else who had a slice loved it too.

Here's what it looked like :

I rest my case!

Guilty pleasure

or, how sad am I!

When I acquire a new cookery book there's a certain protocol that needs to be observed in order to get the most of your latest acquisition.

Don't rush into this … anticipation is the key – I definitely need to get out more.

The first step is to sit comfortably – cuppa or tipple of your choice optional. Ensure you have a supply of coloured tabs (like the post it notes but smaller) so that any “notations” are done carefully since it would be sacrilegious to spoil pages by turning them.

Then go through your book cover to cover, take your time inwardly digesting (sorry for the pun). Any recipes that appeal get a tab – this way you don't miss anything and it doesn't matter if, later on, you decide to discard an original marker.

What is beyond irritating – it may be that it's a senior thing – if you don't “mark” recipes, or anything you want to refer to later for that matter – you can never find it second time around – hence the marker system.

When I'm trying to decide which books should be given away I'll keep the tomes with all the tabs showing – hey it's a start.

In the post A perfect combination coming shortly it illustrates why you should hold on to books that may be considered old or out of fashion.

Chutzpah!

All along the bookshelves

… decision time!

How many books do you have in your collection - how many of them have you had for years and never actually opened or may be you've flicked through once and then shelved, doomed to that cookery book box in the sky.

May be you need to make space for books that you'd like to add to your collection but how do you decide which are to stay and which are to go.

My collection falls into different categories – reference, history, classics, new discoveries, favourite cuisine. Sometimes if you're lucky the categories overlap and you'll have a fantastic history book crammed full of recipes too.

What's the definition of a great cookery book – for me that would be a book that I refer to over and over again.

Buying cookery books is an addiction, like buying shoes or handbags and we all know that sometimes we don't get it right so the “never opened” books are easier to pull off the shelves and dust before finally deciding on their fate.

May be it's time to do a spot of recycling and send a box or two to your favourite charity shop so that someone else can benefit.

I know this won't be easy - think of it as you do when clearing out your wardrobe and the golden rule … if you haven't worn it for six months then you don't need it – out it goes or rather into the recycling bag/box – alternatively ask yourself which books would you take to your desert island or rescue from a burning building.

Bonne chance!

The F Word - The art of disguise

… of fish, continued - Nasi Goreng, or not

Set down below is my standard recipe for this favourite.

 Nasi Goreng

3 eggs

1 tbsp water

1 tbsp oil

4 tbsp vegetable oil

2 onions, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed or garlic paste

half tsp chilli powder

8oz (225g) cooked rice

6oz (175g) cooked chicken or turkey meat, diced

6oz (175g) peeled prawns, defrosted if frozen

2 tbsp dark soy sauce

1 tsp soft light brown sugar

1 tbsp lemon juice

6oz (175g) cooked wafer ham, thinly sliced

black pepper

Serves 4-6

Beat the egg lightly with the 1 tbsp water.  Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wok or frying pan. Pour in the egg and cook until set underneath, turn and cook until set on other side.  Slide the omelette out of the pan, roll up into a cigar shape and slice into strips – set aside.

Add the vegetable oil to the wok and heat gently. Add the onions, garlic and chilli powder and fry until lightly browned.  Add the rice and cook for a few seconds then stir in the chicken and prawns.

Mix the soy sauce, sugar and lemon juice together, then stir into the rice mixture. Stir in the ham then season to taste with pepper.  Spoon the mixture into a serving bowl and garnish with the omelette strips.  (serves 4-6)

Nasi Goreng literally means “fried rice” - in effect, leftovers i.e. everything in it, apart from the onion, garlic and chilli and the sauce is already cooked.

Here's a thought or two to “perfect” the disguise.  Omit the omelette element at the beginning of the recipe.

Substitute the cooked chicken with thin strips of smoked salmon and/or smoked salmon flakes.

Substitute the ham with 4-6 hard boiled eggs, chopped.

Garnish the completed dish with chopped coriander or chopped flat leaf parsley – whichever you prefer.

Serve wok to table as part of your sharing fish salad platter.

My final tip – why not serve with a bowl/basket of Little Gem lettuce “cups” then your guests can spoon the Nasi Goreng into the lettuce cups and enjoy.  A little extra – serve individual dishes of sweet chilli sauce to each person so they can dip their lettuce cup full of Nasi Goreng.

Healthy stuff and no batter in sight!

The F Word - "It's too boring!"...

In the boring, tasteless fish camp I immediately think of salmon – you usually find it poached and plonked on a platter with a miscellany of equally boring bits and pieces.

No taste, no flavour, no wonder!

I've mentioned the following recipe previously and I make no apology for repeating it. If you haven't tried this, you should or you haven't made it in a while you'll be glad to be reminded.

Asian Spiced Salmon

Serves 2

2 x 110g Salmon fillets

2 tsps garlic paste or 2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 tsp powdered star anise or one star anise

1 tbsp dark soy sauce

Mix together the garlic, star anise and soy sauce and pour over the salmon fillets, turning to coat thoroughly, cover and leave in fridge for an hour or so.

When you are ready to cook, pre-heat your oven 180fan/200c/Gas 6. Place the fillets in a foil tray and bake for 10 minutes.

Whilst the salmon is baking bring a medium sized saucepan of water to the boil. When boiling add a tsp of salt and drop your asparagus tips into the boiling water. As soon as the water comes back to the boil, drain, add to the baked salmon and serve.

Any leftover salmon and asparagus is excellent served cold.

Note to self :

For the purpose of this recipe I would use the small, fine asparagus spears – they are tender and sweet. Asparagus comes in all weights and sizes and, for those who may not be aware, the best way of preparing it is to find its natural “break”. Hold a spear between your thumb and index finger and bend gently, it will snap where it needs to, removing the “woody” end which you discard or keep for soup. When you've “snapped” your spears neaten the edges so that they are all of a similar size – don't want to be untidy! As a guide 4-6 spears per salmon fillet.

What's not to love and I hope you change your anti-fish mind!

The F Word.. "It's too fishy!"

The fish that springs immediately to mind when using this title is smoked mackerel. It is usually presented in a paté which is fine but there are other ways.

For the following idea combine ingredients so that the fish doesn't overpower – in particular seasonal new potatoes, delicious served as part of a warm salad.

As an added bonus the following recipe can be made with sour cream or if you want to be a little more health conscious use a low fat crème fraiche.

Warm smoked mackerel salad

Serves 2

350g new potatoes

1 tsp horseradish cream

juice of 1 lemon

2 smoked mackerel fillets, skinned and

flaked (200g approx)

black pepper

100g sour cream

bunch of spring onions – approx

85g when trimmed and finely sliced

handful of flat leaf parsley, finely chopped

OR use baby spinach

Cook the potatoes in salted boiling water until tender. Whilst the potatoes are cooking mix the sour cream, horseradish cream and lemon juice in a large bowl. Season with black pepper.

Drain the potatoes and cut in half lengthways – let them cool and then tip into the sour cream mixture so that it covers the potatoes – the mixture will loosen. Add the flaked smoked mackerel and the spring onions and combine gently. Sprinkle with finely chopped flat leaf parsley and serve whilst warm.

Ps. If there is any left, box it, fridge it and lunch it next day! If you like cold leftovers so be it – if you don't then just pop into the microwave (at home or the office) for a minute to warm through and instant lunch!

I think that's one or two boxes ticked!

Here's a photo of one I made earlier.