As
promised here are the recipes and the bits and pieces mentioned
during my chat with Bernie Keith, on his Radio Show, The Bernie
Keith Show, BBC Radio Northampton on Monday 3rd
December, 2018 at 10.10am
Here's what I
mean by resourceful and creative –
a canapé that can turn into a lunch or a supper.
Spiced
Salmon Frittata
For
the spiced salmon marinade :
Marinade
2 x
4oz Salmon fillets
2
garlic cloves, crushed
1
tsp powdered star anise or one star anise
1
tbsp dark soy sauce
Mix
together the marinade, pour over the salmon fillets, turning to coat
thoroughly, cover and leave in fridge for an hour or so –
preferably in a foil tray – much easier to transfer straight to the
oven later.
Pre-heat
your oven 180fan/200c/Gas 6. If you've used a foil tray to marinade
the salmon then wrap it in foil and bake it for 10 minutes. Remove
and set aside to cool. When the salmon has cooled flake it into
small pieces, ready to add to the frittata.
For the frittata :
5
spring onions, finely chopped
tiny
drop of rapeseed oil
100g/4oz
mature cheddar cheese, grated
4
large eggs
salt
and black pepper
Whisk four eggs in a large mixing bowl, add the cheese and
whisk again. Add a touch of salt and plenty of black pepper.
Using a non-stick frying pan – as a guide 28cms/11” in
diameter. Heat a tiny drop of rapeseed oil and add the spring
onions. Sauté until softened, sprinkle in your salmon pieces
including any residual marinade, then pour in the egg and cheese
mixture. Cook on your hob for 2/3 minutes to set the bottom.
Transfer the pan to the grill - cook for 2/3 minutes REMOVE USING
OVEN GLOVES – SEE WARNING!
Words
of Warning!
Pre-heat your grill – BEFORE YOU TURN IT ON ENSURE THAT THE
FRYING PAN YOU'RE USING WILL SLIDE EASILY INTO THE SPACE LEAVING AT
LEAST TWO INCHES GAP BETWEEN THE PAN AND THE GRILL ITSELF, OTHERWISE
YOU'LL BURN THE TOP AND THE MIDDLE WON'T BE COOKED.
Using a fish slice gently flatten down the frittata so that you
break the top – you may find that the
mixture is still not quite cooked. Place back under the grill
for another 2/3
minutes and check – it should be golden brown but if your
preference is for a darker colour
carry on to your desired taste.
For a canapé I used a straight sided cutter measuring 6cms/2½”
in diameter and you should get 12-14 canapés depending on how
careful you are cutting out.
Minimum effort – maximum taste. Can definitely be made ahead as
a canapé. A frittata is excellent served cold in whatever guise!
Don't forget to salmon fillets to your freezer shopping list.
There are good deals out there – usually individually packaged –
in bags of six. You can pull out whatever you need. The bonus is
that they don't take up too much space in the freezer.
What
to serve with the
canapé, the lunch or the supper? Easy – beetroot – salmon and
beetroot is a marriage made in heaven.
Bazzin'
beetroot relish
300g
vac pack of organic cooked beetroot
drained
and cut into small cubes
1
sharp eating apple, peeled, cored and cut
into
small cubes
1
medium onion, finely chopped
75g
soft dark brown sugar
1
tbsp balsamic vinegar
1
tbsp olive oil
salt
and black pepper
Don't
forget to use gloves when prepping your beetroot!
Mix
well and place all the ingredients in a medium saucepan – 16cms in
diameter. Simmer on a low heat, uncovered, for 30 minutes, stirring
occasionally until all the liquid has been absorbed.
Take the pan off the heat and allow to cool. Box up and fridge
until ready to use.
This relish is “your flexible culinary friend”, to coin a
phrase – a topping for a canapé, as a cold side for a lunch or
warmed to serve with a supper.
Frittata
fotos
Stating
the obvious, the onions and the spiced salmon :
Ditto
for the relish :
Here's
the canapé – serve cold and add relish just before serving
Finally
here's the supper with the frittata sat on sautéed veggies and
topped with the bazzin' beetroot relish.
So
easy … so tasty.
Resourceful
and creative desserts
I
promised the same treatment with a pud.
I
hate trifle! For me it's up there with sago and semolina – horrid!
I appreciate that trifle has “grown up” since the 1950s – back
then it was tinned fruit immersed in jelly from a box, the inevitable
Birds Custard topped off with synthetic cream – and
decorated with hundreds and thousands – sprinkles I think they are
called these days.
If
you're like me then this could be the answer :
Sticky
Toffee Orange
Make
a cake – a cake that will freeze well – a sticky toffee loaf cake
Use
as a cake or slice (1.5cm) and cut into small cubes –
place
in a sundae dish – warm the cake if you wish
Make
a toffee sauce – one that will freeze
Use
the sauce warmed to drizzle over the cake or over ice cream
Chop
walnuts, add a knob of butter to a frying
pan,
sprinkle with sea salt flakes
Use
to sprinkle over the cake and toffee sauce or
add
to the sauce poured over ice cream
Segment
a large navel orange and reserve the juice too
Stand by for the recipes and the photos!
Sticky
Toffee Orange - the recipes
:
The
cake
200g pitted dates, roughly chopped
1 tsp of bicarbonate of soda
200ml boiling water
80g unsalted butter, softened
150g soft brown sugar
2 large eggs
180g self-raising flour
Pre-heat your oven 160fan/180c/Gas 4. You'll need a loaf tin –
24x10cms/9½x5¼” approximately - you can grease the tin or use a
loaf liner – much more convenient!
Place the chopped dates in a mixing bowl, sprinkle over the
bicarb and then the boiling water. Leave to stand for 10 minutes
then blitz in a food processor to a rough purée.
Using a hand mixer or elbow grease if you prefer, cream the
butter and sugar until thick and smooth. Add the eggs one at a time
and then follow gradually with the flour, finally add the date
mixture. Pour into the loaf tin and bake for 45 minutes or until
firm. Allow to cool.
Toffee
Sauce
100g soft brown sugar
200ml double cream
½ tsp vanilla bean paste
40g unsalted butter
Mix the ingredients in a saucepan and bring to the boil,
stirring over a medium heat until thickened – 2 minutes.
Both the cake and the sauce can be frozen.
The
Walnuts
100g walnuts, chopped roughly
pinch of sea salt flakes
knob of unsalted butter
Melt the butter in a medium frying pan until it foams. Tip in
the walnuts and add the sea salt flakes. Stir them for 3-4 minutes
until toasted. Tip the nuts into a bowl and leave to cool.
Orange segments and photos next!
How
to segment an orange
I
really do need to get out more!
In
my defence I love oranges – what I don't love is the pith and tough
outer membrane around each segment.
There
is only one way I can describe this method and that is by photo :
You'll
need a serrated knife – I use a bread knife. Top and tail your
orange and then follow the shape of the orange with the knife and
peel away a section at a time. Take your time – you should finish
up with this :
Hold
the orange in your left hand and using the serrated knife – very
carefully – cut along the inside of the white membrane of the
segment - I start on the left hand side – you can see the white in
the photo - repeat on the right hand side. Repeat until you finish
with perfect segments and the discarded membranes, like this :
You
should get orange juice too, reserve and then drizzle over the cubed
sticky toffee cake :
Finally,
a generous drizzle of warmed toffee sauce :
Decorate
with salted walnuts and a scoop of vanilla ice cream or clotted cream
or a generous glug of double cream – choose your guilty pleasure!
P.s.
You'll get 10 segments from a large orange.
Enjoy!
