The coleslaw conundrum - an uphill battle!

I have friends and students who really dislike coleslaw and would pull a face that you're not supposed to see and then decline. The most frequent comments are - “it's tasteless and too much dressing” “I like the combination of vegetables but the dressing is too creamy and sickly”

I do like a challenge and consequently was delighted to hear “completely different to shop bought” “the dressing is very light not like the shop bought stuff”, “refreshing, tangy and delicious”.

If you don't want to be bothered with slicing and dicing then you could choose a good quality or your favourite shop bought brand of coleslaw and enhance it – there is without doubt a world of difference out there – it does not necessarily follow that the most expensive is the best, if you get my drift.

Obviously industrial processors are used for the mass produced product, hence the huge chunks of tough, woody cabbage in the mixture. So, if you are going to use a ready prepared version and make it your own you might want to fish out the larger pieces of cabbage and slice/chop/dice at will!

Add any of the variations mentioned in the Coronation Slaw recipe – to begin with the curry powder, lime juice and mango chutney then the apricots and sultanas. Add chopped nuts – walnuts or pecans would work well or a sharp flavoured apple, peeled quartered and diced. It's whatever floats your boat but is more practical if you don't have the time to slice and julienne the cabbage and carrots.

There is another speedier option – you can buy bags of coleslaw mix – in theory ready to use. The downside is that this product is mass produced as is the ready-made coleslaw and suffers the same fate - large inedible slices of cabbage et al. However it's nothing a chefs knife can't put right – tip it onto a chopping board and refine! The upside is it's practical and if you want to road test creating your own slaw it's worth a shot.

I don't want you to get the idea that I'm a coleslaw snob – too late was the cry!

The coleslaw conundrum …continued … say hello to your new best friend!

The julienne peeler - every serious cook should have one!

Here's another thing that gets on my wick – entirely related to shop bought coleslaw you understand – carrots either sliced so finely they are mush or so chunky and uneven you have to make an unscheduled trip to the dentist – without being ridiculous your slaw should be of a similar size.

Carrots bleed if you grate them – not to mention pebble dashing every nook and cranny in your kitchen – how is it possible that grated carrot can jettison so far?

Ta dah – enter the julienne peeler.

Here it is, along with the uniformly sliced strips of carrot it produces :

A neat piece of kit and inexpensive too.

The result of all your hard work looks like this :

Of course you could, if you prefer, dust off one of the gazillion attachments that belongs to your food processor/mixer for which you paid an exorbitant price and, if you can remember which bit goes where, use the slicer cum grater. Oh and create a washing up mountain to boot!

The coleslaw conundrum - Coronation Slaw

My quest for a good quality coleslaw has been going almost as long as the vegetarian burger.

I mentioned the slaw in My Quest with a photo of it, alongside the corn and chickpea burger and promised that the recipe would follow, here it is :

Coronation Slaw

110g white cabbage, finely sliced – approximately

one third of a medium size cabbage

1 carrot – peeled and sliced with a

julienne peeler

1 spring onion – 15g finely sliced

salt and black pepper

30g ready to eat apricots, finely diced

30g sultanas soaked in mango and apple juice

50g mayo

50g sour cream

1 tsp mild curry powder

squirt of lime juice

1 tbsp mango chutney

If there's one thing that gets on my wick it the huge lumps of woody cabbage you always find in shop bought coleslaw.

If you are of a similar mind and decide to try this recipe, I promise you that attention to detail is worth the effort. Here's what I mean :

First up slice a “cheek” of cabbage – a sharp paring knife is the best piece of kit – smaller and more easy to control – with care!

                                      

The recipe given will give you a box of slaw – measuring approximately 11cms x 6.5cms x 5cms. One box lasted me a week, a spoonful here and a spoonful there – you'd be surprised how well it fits as a side to lots of main dishes and particularly as part of a sandwich.

To be continued ...

Radio Recipes!

Next Tuesday, 11^th April at 10.45am I'll be talking to Bernie Keith on his Radio Show, The Bernie Keith Show, BBC Radio Northampton, chatting about chocolate. I promised Bernie's Producer, Sarah that I'd post the recipes, along with photos of the bits and pieces mentioned so that if anyone wanted the recipes or any other information, it was available.

Here goes :

Easter Nests

200g plain chocolate, broken into small pieces

30g golden syrup

50g unsalted butter

100g Rice Krispies (or cornflakes if you prefer)

3 mini eggs for each next

Makes 12

Place the chocolate, syrup and butter into a bowl and melt over a pan of simmering water.

While this is melting, line a muffin tray with 12 paper cases.

Whisk the chocolate mixture together until it's smooth and shiny, then remove from the heat. Add the cornflakes and mix to coat evenly.

Portion out the mixture into nest shapes in the paper cases and put ¾ mini eggs in the middle of each. Place in the fridge to set.

Chocolate Notes:

When melting chocolate do so in a large bowl and glass is the best.

Do not overheat chocolate, gently simmer the water.

Leave the melting chocolate alone.

Make sure that the simmering water does not touch the bottom of the bowl. It should be the steam from the water that melts the chocolate.

I realise that this is not a traditional Easter Egg but hey does it really matter so long as it's chocolate?! What I love about this is it's easy and makes heaps so whilst it sounds like it could be expensive if you've lots of treats to give then you'll find it's great value too.

Rocky Road

250g dark chocolate

150g milk chocolate

175g soft butter, unsalted

4 x 15ml tbsp golden syrup

200g hobnobs

*150g shelled Brazil nuts

*150g red glace cherries

*125g mini marshmallows

Put the biscuits into a freezer bag and roll with a rolling pin until you get a mixture of rubble.

Chop the Brazil nuts into different sizes.

Chop both sorts of chocolate into small pieces, or use chocolate buttons made for melting and then put them into a heavy-based saucepan to melt with the butter and syrup over a gentle heat.

Take the pan off the heat and add the biscuit and nuts, cherries and mini marshmallows. Turn carefully so that all the ingredients are coated with the syrupy chocolate.

Tip into a foil try (I use a tray bake size), smoothing the top as best you can, although it is meant to be uneven.

Refrigerate until firm enough to cut, which will take about 1½-2 hours. Take the set block out of the tray. With the long side in front of you cut 6 slices down and 4 across so that you have 24 squares.

Original recipe was taken and tweaked from “Nigella Christmas”.

This is the basic Rocky Road recipe. The three ingredients marked “*” can be swapped to suit your own personal taste. You can choose any of the ingredients given on your “Design your own Rocky Road” sheet attached.

Make ahead tip:

Make the Rocky Road and refrigerate to set, cut into bars or bite size pieces and then store in an airtight container in a cool place for up to 1 week.

Freeze for up to 1 month.

Make it your own

There's nothing quite like giving a gift that you've made. These days it's easier because there are so many bits and pieces you can buy, inexpensively, to make it special.

The foil trays are by a company caalled Queen of Cakes via Amazon and measure 7” x 4.5” in old money or if you prefer 18cms x 11.5cms. The cellophane bags came from Lakeland Plastics and the Easter “pegs” came from Home Bargains, as did the tiny Easter buckets.

Design your own Rocky Road

Traditionally Rocky Road is made using Brazil nuts,

glacé cherries and marshmallow.

Rules are meant to be broken - take a look at the

list below and if you'd like to design your own

Rocky Road swap any or all of the three

ingredients in the original recipe for the

same weight

(or may be four if you want to stay true

to Rocky Road and include the mini marshmallows)

Cashew

Peanut

Pistachio

Pecan

Hazelnut

Glacé cherry

Dried sour cherries

Cranberry

Apricot

Banana chips

Pineapple

Sultanas

Nougat

Turkish Delight

Fudge

Toblerone

Praline

Salted Caramel

Mini Marshmallow

Popping Candy

My latest versions are :

Pecans with dark cherries and vanilla fudge

Pistachios, apricots and Turkish Delight

Chocolate Bark

Kit required

Baking sheet 30cm x 18cm approximately

A handful of chopped dried cranberries, chopped dried apricots and toasted, roughly chopped hazelnuts. I appreciate that sizes of hand vary! As a rough guide 30g.

Line a baking sheet with cling film. You will find the cling film easier to control if you oil the baking sheet.

Break 300g of dark or milk chocolate into pieces and put in a bowl over a pan of gently simmering water and melt. When the chocolate has melted pour it onto the cling film lined sheet, spreading evenly – I use a spatula.

Scatter the fruit and nuts over the chocolate - gently pushing in any that need a little help – if you aren't confident with a finger tip then use a small round bladed knife as illustrated.

Leave to set for 4 hours – remove from the sheet and peel off the cling film. Cut the chocolate and fruit into diagonal chards using a large chefs knife - place in a cellophane bag and “peg” to finish.

You can use any combination of fruit and nuts to suit your taste.

Happy Easter and I hope you enjoy the chocolate treats!

Easter Emergencies - Whilst I'm at it …

...speaking of cherries and raspberries too – I thought you'd find the following two recipes of use in your secret culinary arsenal. I have mentioned them previously but a long time back - they are definitely worth repeating.

Cherry and raspberry compote

350g cherries, stoned

150g caster sugar

juice of 1 lemon

150g raspberries

Pour 4 tbsp of water into a pan and add the cherries, sugar and lemon juice. Place the pan over a medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Cook the cherries over a low heat for 5 to 10 minutes, until they have released some juices but are not overcooked.

Add the raspberries to the pan and cook for a further 1 to 2 minutes, until they start to soften. Remove the pan from the heat and leave the mixture to cool, then chill it well before serving.

Cherry Compote

350g cherries, defrosted if frozen

50g granulated sugar

2 tbsp cherry juice

¼ tsp almond essence

2 tsps arrowroot

1 tbsp cold water

Place the cherries, sugar and juice in a saucepan heat gently, stirring. Cook for 10 minutes then break up the cherries so that there are no whole cherries left. Add the almond essence.

Blend the arrowroot and water together then add to the cherry mixture, on a gentle heat, stirring continuously. When the mixture has thickened heat for another minute.

Use over ice cream when warm or set aside to cool and decant into a clean screw top jar and “fridge”.

Notes:

Both the compotes have many uses – apart from warm served with ice cream. Spread it on toast, serve with yogurt, on top of cereal and definitely with scones.

Sweet dark cherries available frozen from Sainsbury's £2.15p for £480g.

Raspberries – shop around – Iceland's £1.50 for 300g.

You'll be pleased you made one or the other!

Easter Emergencies - Hodgepodge – take 2

Never let it be said that I don't give you alternatives - here's another variation of Hodgepodge :

Cherry and Chocolate Hodgepodge

Serves 1

1 410g can of Black Cherry pie filling with

fruit separated from juices

3 meringue kisses, crushed

25g of chocolate – see below

As with the previous Hodgepodge recipe a glass bowl or sundae dish is perfect for this dessert.

Tip the cherries into a sieve and let the juices drip through – this will take a while since they are dense – it's worth the wait.

Assemble with the meringues, add a dessert spoon of cherries then add tiny pieces of chocolate of your choice – the list is endless but here's an idea or five :

plain chocolate drops

crushed Maltesers

small pieces of Rocky Road

bash a crunchy (in its wrapper – so convenient, no bits

other than where you want them to be!)

bash a flake (in its wrapper)

In the photos below I used tiny pieces of Rocky Road.

Add another dessert spoon of cherries. With the juices reserved add a drop of water to loosen – loose enough to be able to drizzle over the top of the cherries.

You'll have cherries and juices left over but I can't believe this is going to be a problem. You could either repeat the dessert or use as a topping over ice cream. If you want a grown-up version, add a drop of Kirsch to the juices but don't tell anyone I said so! Your secret is safe – tee hee.

P.s. An optional extra – add a scoop of chocolate ice cream in between the cherries.

Easter Emergencies - The Upside to the Hodgepodge!

To begin, you've included all the elements of a good dessert :

sweetness – the meringues

texture – the hazelnuts

sharpness – the raspberries and the juices

sticky toffee sauce and ice cream – pure indulgence

what is a dessert without indulgence!

Better still the Hodgepodge is instant – ish. You can put in as much or as little effort as your time permits – to explain.

You can buy drums of meringue kisses or make your own*.

You can buy ice cream or make your own*.

You can buy whole hazelnuts and chop and roast or buy roasted, chopped hazelnuts in 100g bags ready to use.

Frozen raspberries are another “Perfect Product” for our list.

You can buy jars of caramel sauce – dulce de leche or salted caramel or you can make your own sticky toffee sauce*.

If you want to make any marked * above, i.e. your own meringue kisses, vanilla ice cream and sticky toffee sauce the recipes for all three are on the blog.

It's whatever suits you best - a very large tick whichever way you look at it!