Blackberry and Apple Caramel Crumble Tart

This week was Mr Vitty's Birthday and he asked for Blackberry and Apple Crumble instead of a birthday cake.  I had some caramel in the freezer (left over from my birthday cake) and wanted to use the tart ring Mr Vitty had bought me for my birthday earlier this month so made a  'Blackberry and Apple Caramel Crumble Tart'.  It's  a sweet pastry case filled with a layer of caramel, apples, blackberries and topped with crumble. The creamy caramel mixing with the apple and blackberry juice was lovely combined with the crunch of the pastry and crumble.  Mr Vitty's view was that you can't improve on Blackberry and Apple crumble.  He has been known to be wrong before....

This recipe does take some time to make (although much of that is allowing the pastry to rest and caramel to cool) and is signficantly more work than a straight forward crumble. However,  all the individual elements will freeze so it might be worth making more than you need and storing the component parts for this or other things in the future.

Ingredients Sweet Pastry 350 g Plain  Flour 125 g Butter 125 g Caster Sugar 2 eggs and one yolk 1 egg beaten with a pinch of salt Caramel 150 g Caster Sugar 150 g Double Cream 75 g Butter Fruit 2 Large Cooking Apples 25 g Butter 2 tbsp Icing Sugar 225 g Blackberries Crumble 150 g Flour 75 g Butter 75 g Demerera Sugar

Method Sweet Pastry Make the sweet pastry by rubbing in the butter to the flour until it looks like breadcrumbs. Mix in the caster sugar and then add the egg and bring it all together, working it just enough to  produce a smooth, pliable dough.  Wrap the dough in cling film and rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.  Roll out the dough and use to line a flan ring.  Ensure the pastry is pressed into the bottom of the ring but leave some of the excess pastry hanging over the edges of the ring to allow for any shrinkage when the pastry is cooked. (There will be a lot of excess pastry but what isn't used can be stored in the freezer wrapped in greaseproof paper and put in a freezer bag).  Put the lined pastry ring back into the fridge and leave to rest for a further 30 minutes.  Line the pastry with greaseproof paper and baking beans (or rice) and place in a preheated oven at 200 C for 15 minutes.  Remove the baking beans and greaseproof paper and brush the pastry with egg/salt mixture.  Return the pastry case to the oven for a further 5 minutes before removing it and allowing it to cool. Caramel Whilst the pastry is resting make the caramel.  Heat the sugar over a medium heat until it begins to melt.  Shake the pan occasionally to ensure the sugar melts evenly.  When the sugar has melted boil it until it turns a caramel colour.  Remove from the heat and stir in the cream.  If the caramel clumps together put the pan back over a medium heat and whisk or stir rapidly until the cream is incorporated and caramel sauce has formed.  Take off the heat and stir in the butter.  Allow to cool. Fruit Peel and core the apples and cut into medium slices.  Melt the butter in a large pan and fry the apples until they are soft but still holding their shape.  Add the icing sugar and allow to caramelise a little.  Be careful with the amount of sugar.  The exact amount you need will depend on the sourness of the apples.  You don't want the apples to be sweet (that will come from the caramel, pastry and crumble) you just want to take the edge off the sourness. Crumble Make the crumble by rubbing the butter into the flour and adding the sugar. Assemble Neaten up the pastry case by slicing off the excess pastry from the ring.  Make sure that you are able to remove the ring by lifting it over the pastry case.  Keeping the pastry case within the ring and on a baking sheet spread over the caramel.  Lay the the apple slices ontop of the caramel and then sprinkle over the blackberries.  Finally top with the crumble. Cook Cook at 180 C for about 30 minutes until the crumble is cooked through and the fruit juice is beginning to bubble through the top.  Allow to cool before removing the ring and serving with cream.

Aga Cooking in Cornwall

We've been on holiday in the far west of Cornwall in a lovely cottage with a great farmhouse kitchen  - but only an Aga and microwave to cook with!  I've never really cooked on an Aga before so the thought of not being able to control the temperature of the oven or the hobs was a bit scary.

Apparently one of the advantages of an aga is that it's always on, so I decided to do some slow cooking - Beef Bourguignon (a good excuse to buy a second bottle of wine) and chicken curry for the week's main meals along with some bread, scones and profiteroles filled with Baileys cream (a 1980s throwback worthy of Back to the Future day and one of Mr Vitty's favourite puddings).

The most difficult thing about cooking on the aga was not being able to see what was going on in the ovens and trying to figure out what 200 C related to in terms of the position of the trays in the two ovens.  Having less oven space than at home, with only one shelf in each oven, also meant I had to think a bit more about the logistics of what was being cooked when.  That said, with the help of the internet, everything worked out well. The best thing cooked in the aga was probably bacon and eggs for breakfast on our final day - much easier than on a conventional hob.

Chicken Curry (serves 6)

Ingredients 8 Chicken Thigh Fillets Tikka Spice mix Garam Masala Olive Oil Onion Ginger Red Pepper Green Pepper Mushrooms Garlic Chillies Tin Tomatoes Potatoes Salt Pepper Spinach Coconut cream Fresh Coriander

Method Cut the chicken thighs into small strips and marinade in the tikka spice mix, garam masala and olive oil whilst you prepare the vegetables.  Chop the onions, ginger and chillies. Slice the peppers and cut any large mushrooms in half or quarters. Crush the garlic. Peel the potatoes and cut into small cubes.  Rinse the spinach. Heat a tablespoon of oil in a large casserole dish over a high heat and brown the chicken  in small batches.  If the chicken sticks a little to the pan add a little more oil or water and scrape the pieces from the bottom of the casserole.  Keep the chicken to one side and fry the onion and pepper until soft.  Add the mushrooms, ginger, chillies and garlic along with some more of the tikka spice mix and garam masala.  Cook for a few minutes and then pour in the tinned tomatoes.  Bring to the boil and add the potatoes and season with salt and pepper.  Cover with a lid and put in the cool oven of the aga for an hour, or until the potatoes are soft and the chicken is tender. Check the seasoning and add the spinach.  Put back into the cool oven and cook for 20 minutes or until the spinach is wilted (during which time you can boil the rice).  Stir through a couple of table spoons of cocount cream and a fresh coriander.  Serve with rice and a little more coriander as a garnish. (If I was at home I'd have used a spice mix that included coriander, cumin, turmeric, cardamon and fennel seeds - but that's the other thing about cooking on holiday - you make do with what you have)

Baileys Profiteroles (Serves 6)

Ingredients Choux buns 60 g Butter 225 ml Water 125 g Plain Flour 1/2 Teaspoon Salt 4 Eggs Baileys Cream 300 ml Double Cream Baileys Sugar Chocolate Sauce 175 g Dark Chocolate 100 ml Water 50 g Caster Sugar

Method  Place the water and butter into a saucepan and bring to the boil.  Tip in the flour and salt and beat over a medium heat until a smooth paste is formed that comes away from the pan.  Tip the paste into a cool bowl (or the bowl of a food processor - but I didn't have one in Cornwall).  Beat in one egg at a time until you have a smooth batter that can be piped or dropped onto a greased baking tray, you may not need all the eggs (I forgot my piping kit so dropped teaspoons of mixture onto the tray resulting in some misshapen choux buns).  Put the tray in a hot oven (200 C) for 20 minutes or until the choux buns are golden brown.  Remove from oven and pierce the profiteroles with a fork or tooth pick.  Return to the oven for 4-5 minutes leaving the door ajar to help the buns dry out.  Allow to cool on a wire rack and keep in an airtight container. Whip the cream to soft peaks, being careful not to overwhip.  Towards the end whisk in baileys and sugar to taste.  Use the flavoured cream to fill the choux buns, either by piping it into the shells or cutting each bun in half and adding a spoon of filling.  Don't do this too much in advance as the choux buns will go soggy. Melt the chocolate in a microwave.  Dissolve the sugar in the water over a medium heat and then bring to the boil.  Boil for a couple of minutes and then stir into the melted chocolate to form a hot chocolate sauce. We ate these over a number of evenings keeping the choux buns unfilled and putting them in a hot oven for 10 minutes to crisp up and then allowed to cool before filling.  The cream and chocolate sauce kept well in the fridge for a couple of days and the sauce reheated well in a saucepan.

Bread and Cheese

When we go on holiday we often spend at least part of the time self catering.   This is so Mr Vitty can get out at all hours of the day and night to go birdwatching (feathered variety, normally).  It gives me the opportunity to cook the food from the area we're visiting or attempt one of the specialities of the region.  We go to Cornwall quite a lot but this year I've failed to cook anything cornish (unless scones count) or even buy anything produced here (not even a cornish pasty! - although we did get some Yarg and Brie from Sainsbury's).  So today being the last day of the holiday I persuaded Mr Vitty to do something other than watch birds and we went into Newlyn to go to the art gallery and have a look around.

I really like Newlyn.  It's a town with an eclectic mix of fishing industry, art and small food shops selling fish, bread, cheese, charcuterie and cakes. We needed something for lunch and the bread snob in me was delighted to find some great sourdough in the Newlyn Cheese and Charcuterie deli from Vicky's Bread - another local (ish) producer that supplies some of the smaller village shops in the region. Although it was the sourdough in the window that persuaded me to cross the road, unsurprisingly for a cheese shop it had a great selection of local cheeses.   They had some red Goats Cheese - a hard cheese the colour of Red Leicester. As we'd never seen red goats cheese before we bought the last slice along with some Helford Blue - a soft blue cheese a bit like Cambozola.  Both complemented the ends of the Yarg and Brie lingering in the fridge.  With a couple of scones, clotted cream and jam we had a good lunch (but should have bought a bottle of red wine to wash it all down).

Next time we're in this neck of the woods we'll definately be doing more food shopping in Newlyn.

A matter of Taste: Salt

Salt is essential for us to survive and humans have added salt to enhance the taste or preserve food for thousands of years. The trade in this highly valued commodity has even been attributed as the beginnings of human civilisation.  Its use in food preservation meant that people could store food over winter and food could be traded over large distances, allowing travel and the mixing of cultures and ideas.

Salt enters the salt taste cells through sodium ion channels.  These channels are found on the top of the taste cells that form part of our taste buds. When the sodium enters the taste cells it causes a signal to travel from the top to the bottom of the cell, which is next to a nerve cell. The nerve cell then transmits that signal to the brain. Once in the brain all the nerves transmitting 'salt' signals are clustered in the same area, no matter where in the  mouth the original taste was detected, and are interpreted as 'salty'.

The sodium channels can also allow the acid found in sour foods into cells.  I've been known to add too much salt when cooking and tried to reduce the salty tast by adding lemon juice.  This works because the citric acid in the lemon juice interacts with some of the 'salt' receptors  - reducing the number of receptors detecting 'salt' and therefore reducing the perception of saltiness.

Yet as well being essential for our bodies to function, too much salt can be bad for us. Our bodies therefore try and maintain the balance of salt we need and our sense of taste has adapted to help that regulation.  Our bodies have a threshold level of salt, above which we no longer like it.  This 'bliss point' is different for each person. And salt also does more than make our food taste salty.  It also affects our perception of other tastes and textures such as sweetness, thickness or as an overall flavour enhancer, which is partly why it's used in the food industry. Alternatives to salt, which don't have the undesirable health consequences, have been developed but these can tase different to normal salt.  For example, potassium chloride (instead of sodium chloride which is 'normal' salt) can taste bitter.


The other reason our food industry values salt is the same as in ancient times - its preservative quality.  High levels of salt prevents the growth of the microbes that cause food to spoil or make us ill.  Using salt for this purpose can lead to very high levels of salt in some processed foods as part of the strategy to extend food shelf life. 

Our innate love of salt combined with its utility in preserving food and enhancing flavour makes reducing its use difficult for food producers.  They are trying to meet consumer demand and pressures from healthcare providers to reduce salt in foods, whilst retaining the shelf life and taste profile of their products. Perhaps the only way to successfully achieve lower salt in processed foods is for us as consumers to change our expectations of both shelf life and taste.






References:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK50958/#

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0072592/

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK11148/

http://www.nih.gov/researchmatters/february2010/02082010taste.htm

http://www.cf.ac.uk/biosi/staffinfo/jacob/teaching/sensory/taste.html#WhyTaste

A Peck of Pickled Pears

Again I'm grateful for the generosity of my colleagues with gluts of fruit - this time it was pears. Pickling isn't something I've really done before so this was a good opportunity to try it. Again I reached for Pam Corbin's River Cottage preserves book but with some added cardamon Ingredients: 300 ml Cider Vinegar 400 g Sugar 5 cm Stick of Cinnamon 25g Ginger Bruised 1 Teaspoon Allspice Berries 6 Cardamon pods (optional) 1 kg Pears Cloves

Method:

Heat the sugar, cinnamon, ginger, allspice and cardamon with the cider vinegar over a medium heat stirring until the sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil and then turn down to a simmer.  Meanwhile peel the pears leaving the stalks and bases intact.  Stud each pear with 2-3 cloves and add to the pickling liquor.  Simmer gently until the pears are tender but not falling apart.  Pack the pears into warm sterilised jars*.  Boil the pickling liquor for 5 minutes and pour over the pears.  Seal the jars with vinegar proof lids and leave for 1 month before eating.  Eat within a year, with cold meats.

* To sterilise the jars wash them and any lids in hot soapy water and rinse.  Stand in a roasting in and place in the oven at 100 C until you need them.  I do this before I start any preserving so they are ready.

Market Inspiration - Heritage Carrots, Good Sausages and a Squash soup

Once a month Norwich Market is supplemented by the Norwich farmers market.  Today the farmers market was small but one stall had a fantastic display of seasonal veg.  Norfolk Marsh Pig were there and I bought a couple of packeds of their fantastic chilli beef jerky- you can really taste the spices (and the chilli!).

Chilli Beef Jerky from Norfolk Marsh Pig

However, it was the fantastic array of different squashes, heritage carrots and cavolo nero that really inspired me this week (and it's quite unusual for me to be inspired by veg).

It was a wet, chilly day so comfort food was needed to go with the veg. Sausages.  Pickerings meat stall on the market sells the best sausages and bacon.  So dinner was the carrots (which Mr Vitty didn't like) and the brassica with pork, onion and cheddar sausages, mash, and beery onion gravy (made with Leffe because that's what we had in the fridge).

The squash was the base for a warming, subtly spiced, soup. As a rule Mr Vitty doesn't like squash soup - but even he liked this :)

Ingredients: 1 medium squash 1 tablespoon olive oil  1 teaspoon cumin seeds, 1 teaspoon coriander seeds  4 cardamon pods 2 onions chopped 3 cloves of garlic crushed A thumb sized knob of ginger finely chopped or grated 1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes (or to taste) 500 ml stock or water 1 star anise Juice of half a lime  Salt Pepper Creme fraiche or soured cream Fresh coriander chopped

Method: Put the oven on at 200 C to warm up. Break your way into the squash, remove the seeds and chop into large pieces.  Drizzle with olive oil and a little salt and pepper and roast in the oven for about 30 minutes or until soft. Scoop the flesh from the skin - needless to say this is easier if the squash has had a chance to cool. If you are using whole spices put them in a dry pan and place over a medium heat to dry roast.  Crush the spices in a spice grinder or pestle and mortar.  If you're using ground spices a teaspoon of each should be enough. Heat some olive oil in a pan and fry the onion. Add the spice mix, garlic, ginger and chilli and fry for a few seconds. Add the soft flesh of the squash and mix to combine it with the onions and spices. Cook for a minute or so and then add the stock or water and the star anise. Bring to simmering point pressing the squash into the stock. Simmer covered for 20 minutes and remove the star anise before blitzing with a blender or passing through a sieve.  Adjust the consistency of the soup by adding water to thin it or boiling uncovered to thicken.  When the soup is the texture you like add the lime juice and check the seasoning. Bring back to simmering point and serve with a swirl of creme fraiche or soured cream and a sprinkling of chopped fresh coriander (if you have any).

We ate this with some ciabatta made using Richard Bertinet's recipe from his book, Crust.

Birthday Cake(s)

Last weekend one of my best friends turned 40.  We've known each other for over 20 years (which is a scary thought) and is one of those friends who I can not see for a long time, but when we meet up we just pick up where we left off.  So when her husband planned a surprise party I really wanted to make her birthday cake.  It was only after I volunteered that he told me her twin was coming (2 cakes), and that it was also their Dad's birthday (3 cakes), and that with the guests there would be 60 of us (3 cakes and 2 lots of chocolate brownies).

To top it off it was my birthday too :) (4 cakes and 2 lots of chocolate brownies then).

Birthday Cakes

The fruit cake was intended for their Dad and is Nigel Slater's recipe from the Kitchen Diaries.  He suggests a variety of fruit and I used apricots, figs, prunes, glace cherries and mixed peel in addition to the traditional raisins, sultanas and currants. The joy of a fruit cake is that it can be made in advance.  In this case I only left it for a couple of weeks and fed it with brandy 3 times.  I decided to top it with a mix of fruits and nuts and glazed with hot apricot jam thinned with a splash of water.  Much easier and quicker than my normal marzipan and royal icing and it looked and tasted fantastic.

Key ingredients	Straight out of the oven
Easy and colourful topping

The other cakes were a bit more complicated and had a LOT of chocolate :).  They were all based on a basic chocolate sponge.  The variation came in the fillings toppings and chocolate collars.

The dark chocolate cake was sandwiched toghether with chocolate orange butter icing and then covered with a dark chocolate ganache which was also used to pipe the roses on the top. I then tempered white chocolate and used it to make an 'abstract' chocolate collar to go round the outside.	Chocolate Cake with a chocolate orange filling
Chocolate Cake with white chocolate ganache	The white chocolate cake was the same sponge but with no orange in the butter icing and then covered and piped with white chocolate ganache and surrounded with a dark chocolate collar.
My birthday cake was more straightforward but tasted good. Chocolate cake (what else) sandwiched and topped with a salted caramel creme patissier, drizzled with caramel and decorated with salted caramel popcorn.	Salted Caramel Chocolate Cake

The brownies were Nigella Lawson's recipe from the Domestic Goddess book - half with walnuts and half with with white chocolate chips.

I've never seen cake disappear so quickly.....

5 minutes later....