Hodgepodge … again

Having gone to the bother of giving you the blueberry compote recipe it seemed rude not to give you another recipe in which to use it!

Hope you like my latest :

Lemon and Blueberry Hodgepodge

Serves 1

3 lemon meringues, crushed

1 scoop vanilla ice cream

30g lemon curd – microwave on medium for

10 secs – stir and then the curd is ready to pour

1 tbsp blueberry compote

sprinkle of toasted flaked almonds to decorate

Before we go any further – a couple of pointers. The lemon meringues I found in Marks and Spencer – see photo below. We've spoken about lemon curd – you can make your own or buy a good substitute as a back up – mine is Marks and Spencer's Sicilian – see photo below.

Finally, the toasted flaked almonds. I toasted them in the oven – 160fan/180c/Gas 4 for 5 minutes. I set my timer a minute at a time – checked and gave the baking tray a shake - the colour of the almonds is up to you but don't forget them or you'll be really cross!

Construct as follows :

Meringues, crushed

add scoop of ice cream

drizzle the loosened lemon curd over the ice cream

add the blueberry compote

decorate with a sprinkle of toasted flaked almonds

It is best served in a glass dish or bowl as you can see :

Another easy assembly dessert option to include in your store cupboard arsenal!

The Compote Compilation

A cook can never have enough compotes to choose from – here's another – this time blueberry. They are quick and easy to make and have a gazillion uses – the usual suspects like toppings for pancakes, cereals and yogurt. Dressing up desserts like cheesecakes – giving that much needed sharpness - quick and simple over ice cream.

Here it is :

Blueberry Compote

250g blueberries – defrosted if frozen

100g caster sugar

juice of one small lemon

Pop the blueberries and the sugar into a medium sized saucepan and cook gently until the sugar melts and the mixture begins to thicken – add your lemon juice. This should take approximately 15 minutes. Stir occasionally taking care not to break up the fruit – this is a marathon not a sprint – be patient – it's only 15 minutes. If you must walk away from the stove then make sure you've got your timer around your neck.

When the mixture is cooked leave it to cool – then spoon into the clean jar you've got ready!

Here's one I made earlier – the compote not the jar :

Never let it be said that I don't try and save you time – frozen blueberries are available from Sainsbury's – 400g for £2.15.

Enjoy the 15 minutes of therapy nurturing your compote – I certainly did!

The coleslaw conundrum - the raw slaw principle

For me a coleslaw is not just a summer side for a BBQ. I like the flexibility of having the raw ingredients, prepped and ready to use. This type of “salad” is delicious all year round.

You can use any dressing that takes your fancy and the balance of the cabbage, carrot and whatever else you throw in a bowl is entirely your own choice. There is an added advantage too – if you like to eat sensibly say, during your working week, then making up a batch of raw slaw will be your best friend – so often we set out with the best of intentions but after a long hard day at work your resistance is really low. The answer is to have your ingredients ready and waiting to assemble quickly.

So, with that in mind :

Slice your cabbage – bag, clip and fridge.

Julienne your carrots – as many as you like – bag, clip and fridge.

Spring onions are mild, you could use a Spanish onion if you prefer or a red version. You can get a sweet, mild variety in the Tesco Finest range. Slice, bag, clip and fridge.

Here's an alternative dressing if you aren't fond of a mayonnaise base.

Pomegranate Dressing

2 tbsp pomegranate molasses

juice of two limes

2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce

pinch of nigella seeds

1-2 tsps sumac

Mix all the ingredients together, preferably in a jug then

pour into a clean jar (with a lid!) and shake well

You might have noticed that it's healthy too. If you are a virtuous person and have leftover protein in your fridge, like salmon or chicken - try creating your own wrap together with the pomegranate slaw. Leftover Asian Spiced Salmon would work well too – the recipe is on the blog.

By the way – did you know its origin is Dutch – from the word koolsla, meaning cabbage salad and evolved into the word coleslaw.

I hope I haven't bored the pants off!

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!