week 26 - Kitchen Diaries II - Nigel Slater

The English summer is now in full flow (as I write this while sitting under a blanket) and so we've been spending even more time arguing down at the allotment after work. Thankfully the soft fruits are hitting their peak, and so now the Ewing gets some peace to do 'proper' jobs while I'm distracted, like a sticky fingered-child, by picking said soft fruits. Of which approximately half make it into plastic takeaway containers to take home.

There are blackcurrants, whose leaves I recently plundered for my panna cotta; and gooseberries; and tiny golden raspberries alongside their bigger red cousins. But best of all are the jostaberries - a black currant and gooseberry hybrid - which have been rampantly growing since the Ewing got the allotment and planted them for me, knowing they were two of my favourite fruits. Thank you darling. (Oh, that's ok - TE).

Like many fruits, they also go perfectly with almonds. Originally I wanted to make a bakewell tart and replace the raspberries with jostaberries, but, leafing through the often overlooked second volume of Nigel Slater's Kitchen Diaries, I realised they would make a great addition to his frangipane and fruit-filled almond tart.

Additionally, as well as tasting great, jostaberries lack the vicious thorns of a gooseberry bush and are bigger than blackcurrants, making them very easy and much more satisfying to pick. Even someone with no patience, like me, can fill a tub (and their face) in no time at all.

I keep thinking the leftover berries would make a great flavoured vodka, or gin, but I never seem to have enough leftover to try it. Maybe this year....

Although I have given the frangipane recipe from Nige's book below, I have to confess I used leftover frangipane that the Ewing had frozen after making rhubarb danishes for me way back in March. Which we unearthed after doing one of our 'can't fit anything in the freezer' clear outs, which were supposed to have become less frequent during lock down but still happen with a predictable regularity. 

It turns out that frangipane freezes remarkably well, and I can also heartily recommend adding a slug of Grand Marnier and a dash of almond extract, if you have it.

My hot hands, combined with all the careful measuring that baking involves, make pastry a bit chore but I followed the recipe for the shortcrust faithfully (even though my tin was a little larger than the one specified) and it was glorious. Short, buttery and no hint of a soggy bottom. While I made it (honest), the Ewing was roped in to roll it out and line the tin. Thank you darling. 

Jostaberry and almond frangipane tart

Adapted from the Kitchen Diaries II

Pastry

200g flour 

100g butter

1 egg yolk 

Ice cold water 

Frangipane

100g butter 

125g caster sugar 

2 eggs

125g ground almonds 

60g plain flour

Good splash of Grand Marnier (optional)

1 tsp almond essence (optional)

Large handful of jostaberries or blackcurrants

small handful of untoasted slivered or flaked almonds

Icing sugar to dust (optional)

You will also need:

a round 22cm loose-bottomed tart tin at least 3.5cm deep

beans for baking blind

Put the flour and butter, cut into small pieces, into the bowl of a food processor. Add a pinch of salt and blitz to fine breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolk and enough water to bring the dough to a firm ball. The less you add the better, as too much will cause your pastry case to shrink in the oven.

Put the pastry in the fridge to rest for at least 30 mins and up to 24 hours.

Heat the oven to 200C. Put a baking sheet in the oven to warm. 

Pat the pastry into a flat round on a floured surface, then roll out large enough to line the tart tin. Lightly butter the tin, dust it with a small amount of flour, shake off any surplus then lower in the round of pastry. Push the dough right into the corner where the rim joins the base without stretching the pastry. Make certain there are no holes or tears. Trim the overhanging pastry.

Line the pastry case with kitchen foil or baking parchment and baking beans and slide on to the hot baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes, then remove from the oven and carefully lift the beans out. Return the pastry case to the oven for 5 minutes or so, until the surface is dry to the touch. Remove from the oven and set aside. 

Turn the oven down to 160C, and return the baking sheet to the oven.

To make the filling, using a food mixer cream the butter and sugar together till pale and fluffy. Lower the speed, then mix in the eggs and then slowly fold in the ground almonds and flour. Spoon the almond filling into the cooked pastry case, smoothing it lightly with the back of the spoon.

Scatter the fruit on top of the almond filling and sprinkle almonds in the gaps. 

Slide the tart on to the hot baking sheet and bake for 40 minutes till the filling is well risen and golden brown. 

Remove the tart from the oven, dust with icing sugar if you'd like, and allow to cool slightly before serving. Preferably with double cream.

Week 5 - Real Good Food - Nigel Slater

February is not yet through and yet we're already back to lamb and already back to dear Nige. I didn't mean to return to Mr Slater so soon, but I have wanted to make this recipe since far before #cookbookchallenge began. In fact right back to my uni days, where I'd tuck myself in to bed and leaf through my rapidly growing collection of cookbooks, before dozing off while dreaming of steak and scallops (sadly the reality was more cheese toasties and tinned tuna).

While I always thought it was rather a summery-sounding recipe, after seeing lamb cutlets reduced on the Waitrose meat counter on the way home from work (already negating the benefits of any pay rise), I knew it was a sign and the time had come to finally make it. 

While it would be perfect thing to enjoy in more clement weather - taking delicate little frenched lamb cutlets, coating in breadcrumbs, fresh mint and Parmesan, and shallow frying until crisp outside and blushing pink within - it bought a little ray of sunshine into a gloomy February evening. Although we did enjoy with a glass of leftover port from Christmas, rather than a crisp glass of cold rose.

While it was slightly more effort than I would normally think of putting into my post-work scran, it was made far easier after I roped in the Ewing - who loves a good process to follow and is far more methodical that I am - to assist with the chopping and prepping and breadcrumbing. 

Lamb chops with Parmesan and mint
adapted from Nigel Slater's Real Fast Food

8 lamb cutlets or 4 lamb chops, fat trimmed

salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 eggs, lightly beaten

large handful of grated Parmesan cheese

50 g fine breadcrumbs

2 tbsp chopped fresh mint or parsley, mixed into the breadcrumbs

olive oil for frying

lemon wedges, to serve

Bash chops out carefully with a meat cleaver or rolling pin.

Press chops into the cheese, making sure it sticks well to both sides.

Dip the chops into the egg and then into the herby breadcrumbs.

Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a large pan. Place 3 to 4 chops in the pan, you may have to do this in batches, reduce heat and cook until nicely browned, about 2/3 minutes per side.

If cooking in batches, place cooked chops an oven-proof dish and keep warm in a low oven. Repeat with remaining chops.

I'm pleased to report the effort was certainly worth it, as we both agreed it was one of the best dinners we had enjoyed for a while. And we certainly don't do badly on that front. In fact, for my next trick, I'm already thinking of trying something similar with pork steaks or veal and serving with spaghetti in tomato sauce.

Week 1 - Kitchen Diaries - Nigel Slater

New year new you, or so the saying goes. Although, really I’ve reached a stage in life where I’m quite happy with the old me. Even more so when it means the highlight of the weekend is going to the butchers to pick up some premium free range Dorset pork chops (from Webster family butchers in Southbourne) and then making this recipe, from Nigel Slater’s Kitchen Diaries, glass of wine in hand. 

Nigel Slater is the author whose books most frequently line my bookshelves. And of his books, this is probably my joint favourite (stay tuned to see which tome it shares a podium with). Written, as the name suggests, like a diary, it’s perfect to curl up with for inspiration. Ideal for planning seasonal eating or, if you’re anything like me, skipping ahead to the summer when you’ve had enough of the all the cold and damp and you want to dream about ripe peaches dribbling down your chin and warm sand between your toes (or vice versa).

This recipe is quick, easy and perfect for a chilly January afternoon, enjoyed alongside the remnants of the bottle I hadn't yet drunk, before curling up on the sofa beside the Ewing to watch the football.

Pork chops with mustard sauce

adapted from Nigel Slater's Kitchen Diaries

For 2

2 large pork chops

big glug of brandy/white wine

100ml of double/whipping cream

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

1 tbsp wholegrain mustard

Sprinkle of Bisto Best for chicken/chicken stock cube

Turn the oven to 180°c. Heat a frying pan over a high heat and add the pork, with a little oil if the chops don't have much fat, and fry for a couple of minutes on each side until golden. Don't forget to crisp up the fat. put the chops on a tray and into the oven for 8/10 minutes to finish cooking while you make the sauce.

Over a medium heat add the brandy/wine to the pan you fried the chops in and let it reduce, scraping up any bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the cream and mustard (and a little Bisto if, like me, you wanted some extra oomph) and leave to bubble and reduce for a few minutes. Taste, season with salt and pepper, add the cooked and rested chops back to the pan to heat through and then divide between two plates.

I served this with two types of cabbage; red cabbage slow braised with a chopped green apple, cider vinegar, a spoonful of cranberry sauce and and couple of spoonfuls of brown sugar; and sweetheart cabbage, lightly steamed and crisp. 

I'm sure my Irish grandmother, were she still with us, would have admonished me for not including potatoes (and I'm sure the Ewing would agree). But while mash, or a few floury boiled spuds, would have been good, I found it quite enough with the rich meat and the rich sauce. Although the Clare Valley Riesling we drunk alongside had an acidity that was very welcome.

As if that wasn’t worth the price of admission alone, I also made Nigel’s frosted marmalade loaf cake from his Kitchen Diaries 1. Made with the remnants of a jar of homemade whiskey marmalade, 2017 vintage. This is a recipe that the Ewing has made a few times (although never for me, I note) but this time I made it for her. Or more precisely, I made it for her to take into the office for her new workmates. Apparently her boss had a slice, and she hasn’t been sacked yet, so I’m taking it that it went down well.

My only amendments this time were to use a mix of white flour (plain, with baking powder added) and wholemeal spelt flour, as I found some in a jar on the shelf as I was rooting about and thought the nuttiness, slightly crumbly spelt would work against the bitterness of the marmalade.

I also misread the '2 tbsps of orange juice' in the icing as 'juice of two oranges'... Luckily I had only added one orange by this point, but the mix was still far too liquid and I ended up adding more icing sugar after my initial application barely glazed the top of the cake. Well, the whole point, according to Nige's blurb, is to end up with the crisp crunch of the topping as a contrast to the soft sponge.

Frosted marmalade cake

For the sponge:

175g butter

175g golden, unrefined caster sugar

a large orange, finely grated

3 large eggs

75g orange marmalade

175g self-raising flour (I used 125g plain white and 50g wholemeal spelt plus 1tsp of baking powder)

For the frosting:

100g icing sugar

2 tbsps orange juice

Set the oven at 180 °C. Line a loaf tin about 25 x 11 x 7cm deep.

Put the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and beat, with a mixer or electric whisk, until pale and fluffy.

Whisk in the eggs, one at a time, beating thoroughly between each addition.

Beat in the marmalade and the grated orange zest.

Gently fold in the flour and baking powder. Do this slowly, firmly but carefully, till there is no sign of any flour. Gently stir in the juice of half the orange.

Spoon into the lined cake tin, lightly smoothing the top. Bake for 40 minutes, checking it after 35 with a metal skewer. Leave to cool in the tin, then remove and cool on a wire rack.

Sieve the icing sugar and mix it to a smooth, slightly runny consistency with as much of the remaining orange juice as it takes. Drizzle the icing over the cake letting it run down the sides, and leave to set.

As an addendum, my colleagues found out about the cake for the Ewing's colleagues, and so I baked another one this weekend just for them, As its my last week before starting my new job (eeek) I'm not so worried about being sacked, just hoping there are no ill-effects so they can all come for a farewell drink on Friday....