Goat’s Cheese

This is Joe.

When I first met Joe I was in his living room wearing pyjamas with my mascara halfway down my face. I had been painting the town red the night before with his housemate – my good friend Helen, and had ended up staying the night on their sofa.

Luckily he didn’t hold this against me. About a week ago Helen mentioned Joe had started making goat’s cheese in his spare time! Urrrm…AMAZING!

So on Saturday I managed to convince Joe to let me watch him make his latest batch in exchange for a slice of cake, a coffee and the link to the YouTube video where Harrison Ford pierces Jimmy Fallon’s ear!

First thing on the list: Buy Goat’s Milk. Sounds easy, goat’s milk is everywhere right? Wrong. We needed full fat goat’s milk which turned out to be as difficult to find as forced rhubarb!*

Things we learned on our Full Fat Goat’s Milk Quest:

1) People who sell cheese don’t make the cheese or know where you can buy milk. But, there is a marvellous selection of French Cheeses on Broadway Market. Plus, the people on said cheese stall said that if we found a goat they’d be happy to look after it for us.

2) The staff at Hackney City Farm were very helpful. They told us that:
a) they don’t sell goat’s milk
b) even if they did it’s the wrong season because goats don’t produce milk till the spring when they’ve had their kids
c) their goats won’t be having kids because they have tried to breed already them but without success
d) fresh goat’s milk has lots of goat hair in it.
e) their first thought as to why we wanted goat’s milk was that we must need it to feed our own baby goats (this isn’t really a fact it was just quite funny)

3) We couldn’t find any goat’s milk in Spitalfields either…although there is a statue of a goat which we felt was misleading and was most definitely mocking us.

4) There’s a company at Borough Market called “the greedy goat” and they sell goat’s milk icecream, but they don’t sell the milk. They also told us that Neal’s Yard Dairy doesn’t sell it either but asked us to ask them anyway to show them there’s a demand.

5) Neal’s Yard Dairy don’t sell goat’s milk, and it’s not the right time of year for it anyway (we knew both of these things already but it’s always good to get a second opinion)

6) Waitrose near the Barbican does sell full cream goat’s milk!!! SUCCESS!

Goat’s Cheese by Joe

1) Put 50ml of boiling water into a jug or other heatproof container.
When the water has cooled to room temperature add 1 teaspoon of citric acid, stir thoroughly until it dissolves.

2) Put 2 litres of whole (full cream) goat’s milk into a large saucepan.

3) Stir the milk with a large spoon and with a “lifting motion” mix in the citric acid.

4) Gently heat the mixture to 83°C stirring occasionally so that the milk doesn’t catch and burn on the bottom of the pan

5) When it reaches the correct temperature take the pan off the heat and leave to stand for 30 minutes or until there are what look like yellowish cracks in the mixture.

6) Line a colander with a double thickness of muslin cloth (which has been sterilised) and fit the colander over a large bowl or pan

7) Pour the milk mixture into the lined colander. This will allow the whey to drain out into the bowl below leaving only the cheese in the cloth.

8) Stir in some salt (and some herbs too if you like) then twist the corners of the cloth up together to encase the cheese and squeeze out more of the whey as you do so.

9) Tie the corners together and hang the cheese up with a bowl below it to catch the drips, leave like this for 2 hours

10) Pop the finished cheese in the fridge overnight to firm up, and that’s it! Easy 🙂

The resulting cheese is creamy, rich and had a very subtle goat’s cheese flavour which intensifies in cooking. As well as generally scoffing this delicious cheese I used it to make some snazzy little tarts:

Goat’s Cheese & Red Onion Tarts: Line a greased bun tin with rounds of puff pastry then fill them with a mixture of fried red onions and onion chutney (or onion jam). Top with small pieces of soft goat’s cheese and a sprig of thyme.
Bake in the oven at 190°C for around 15 minutes.

As well as a pretty decent quantity of cheese you will notice that quite a large amount of whey is also produced. Joe said that from his research the main uses for excess whey were beauty related, and that some people even take baths in it! None of our housemates seemed keen on soaking themselves in thin goaty milky liquid but everyone munched the whey based soda bread I hurled together, which I jazzed up with some black onion seeds and fresh thyme.

I’m still swimming in whey (not literally), so this morning I made pancakes with it too.

Whey Pancakes: Mix 1 cup of plain flour with an egg and whisk thoroughly. Gradually add 1 cup of whey and whisk until smooth. Stir in a teaspoon of caster sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda.
Use this batter to make small pancakes in a non-stick pan which has been greased with a little bit of vegetable oil. I served mine with some of the cheese, pomegranate seeds and maple syrup (although honey would be great too).

And finally. After all that, I STILL have some whey left, so I decided to test the theory that whey is super-fantastic for your skin by making a foot soak.

Whey & Lavender Foot Soak: In a pan I mixed 300ml of whey with 300ml of water. Then I added 1 teaspoon of dried lavender flowers and 1 teaspoon of honey. I heated the mixture gently until the honey had dissolved but the mixture wasn’t yet simmering. I then passed the mixture through a sieve to catch all the Lavender flowers and popped it into a large bowl ready for my toes.
Once it had cooled enough to touch I popped in my feet. The bowl wasn’t quite big enough (should’ve checked this really) but it did the job. I left my feet to soak until the liquid cooled down to room temperature and I got bored, but I must admit it felt pretty good. I don’t know of that’s the whey or just the fact it was nice warm water on my feet but either way I tried it and whey was used – huzzah!

*in my last blog post about crumble I struggled to find rhubarb, since then it seems to be everywhere. So I bought some, simmered it in water with some juniper, star anise, slices of oranges and lemons and then sweetened it with a dash of honey. When soft I scooped out the rhubarb and served it with some smoked mackerel and a few rocket leaves dressed with lemon juice and black pepper.
I then picked out the spices and citrus fruits from the simmering liquid and reduced it down to a (still quite thin) syrup. When cooled you can dilute this with fizzy water for a fancy rhubarb cordial! Whoop!

Crumble

Cooking, Recipes

This week I decided to write about Rhubarb. After much thought, research and contemplating possibly pairing it with fish, constructing an elaborate sarnie or shaking a cocktail I opted for a good, old fashioned rhubarb crumble recipe to banish a few winter blues.
But hey there, hang on, where’s all the rhubarb?! I thought it was forced rhubarb-o’clock…am I wrong? Or, did you eat it all while I’ve been sleeping?
Anyway, after traipsing round 3 supermarkets and at least 6 grocers this week I am still rhubarb-less.
On my way home yesterday (past the final green grocers before our street) my flatmate Damian spotted a big pile of quince. I haven’t cooked with quince before so I was quite excited to give it a go. Also quince gets a nice mention in the poem The Owl and the Pussycat which we had been discussing earlier that afternoon after spotting someone sporting a rather fetching Christmas jumper with an owl design on it on the Piccadilly line.

“They dined on mince, and slices of quince,
Which they ate with a runcible spoon;
And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand,
They danced by the light of the moon,”
-Edward Lear

Talking of owls there’s a lovely photograph by Deana Kolencikova at the Taylor Wessing portrait photography prize exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery at the moment. The photo is called ‘Man with Owl and Lucy’. Lucy is a white west highland terrier who I remember seeing with her owner and his owl walking along Bridlesmith Gate in Nottingham one morning. Her owner was politely talking to passers by who wanted to know more about his owl but he wanted to make sure people knew how frustrating Lucy found being upstaged by the bird. Anyway, back to the quince…

…there’s no mince in this crumble (you might be pleased to know) and I don’t have a runcible spoon…although I do have a plastic spork or two somewhere which I think is nearly the same thing. In this recipe, I’ve added fragrant cardamom and a splash of rosewater (which in my head gives it a bit of an Old Elizabethan vibe). It’s very tasty, give it a go…and if you’re in London pop into the National Portrait Gallery…or look out for Lucy next time you’re in Nottingham. Whatever you’re doing this weekend just don’t tell me how delicious all your rhubarb recipes are because that’d be mean x

Quince & Apple Crumble (aka not Rhubarb Crumble)

Ingredients
1 quince
1 Bramley apple
100ml water
1 teaspoon of ground cardamom
50g Demerara sugar
1 teaspoon of rosewater

For the crumble topping:
200g plain flour
100g unsalted butter
100g Demerara sugar
50g rolled oats
Pinch of salt

Method

1) Preheat the oven to 190°C.

2) Peel, core and slice the apple and the quince. Lay the slices in a large ovenproof dish and pour over 100ml of water, the ground cardamom and 50g of sugar.
3) Bake in the oven for 45 minutes (stirring occasionally to ensure that the top layer of fruit doesn’t get scorched).
4) Meanwhile, make the crumble topping by rubbing the flour and butter together between your fingers until it resembles fresh breadcrumbs.
5) Now stir the remaining sugar, oats and salt into the flour and butter mixture and set aside.
6) When the fruit is soft sprinkle over the rosewater and then cover the fruit with the crumble topping.

rosewater and crumble topping
7) Return the dish to the oven for 25-30, minutes or until the topping is crisp and starting to turn golden at the top and edges.

8) Serve with custard, cream, yoghurt or ice cream.

Happy New Year!

Cooking, Recipes

Firstly a very Happy New Year, I hope you all had a wonderful time over the festive season and have exciting plans for 2014. Secondly I want to apologise for the long silence…

In the time between now and my last blog post I’ve had the official launch party for my first book “Cooking Without A Kitchen”, become newly single and moved in to a lovely flat in East London.

So swings and roundabouts seems to sum up the last few months. Whichever one of those is better (swings in my opinion, roundabouts make me feel a bit queasy) then that’s where I currently find myself as things are definitely looking up.

For starters I flippin’ love East London. Ok, so there are quite a few people with complicated moustaches who seem incapable of smiling or wearing socks with their brogues (what’s that about?!). But, there are cheerful organic grocers everywhere and I can go for long strolls along Regent’s Canal whenever I want, ooh and on Sunday I can wander down to Columbia Road and buy flowers! London Fields station itself smells like malt loaf all day long because there’s an independent brewery at one end of the road and a sourdough bakery at the other. It’s brilliant. You get the picture.

2014 can’t be all about eating and skipping along flower markets though I’ve got to get some work done too. I have promised to help out with those on New Years resolutions diets by coming up with a fun healthy vegetarian or vegan recipe once a month, watch this space. At the moment I’ve had a request to provide recipes which are free from oil, sugar, meat, fish and dairy but please do get in touch if there is something you are also trying to cut out or eat more of, I’d love to hear from you.

Now for a recipe! As part of settling in to my new neighbourhood I spent the morning sussing out the local shops and with my purchases whipped up this tasty warm salad. If you haven’t cooked little gem lettuce before I strongly recommend you give it a whirl it’s delicious; surprisingly nutty and the bitterness you often get from the leaves in the centre is mellowed by the cooking process.

Pan Fried Little Gem and Garlic Crouton Salad

Serves 2

Ingredients

2 thick slices of sourdough bread
Olive oil
Small Bunch of chives (finely chopped)
2 tablespoons of Greek Yoghurt
2 tablespoons of lemon juice
2 little gem lettuces
100-150g of marinated anchovy filets
1 ripe avocado
1 garlic clove (crushed)
Salt and Pepper

Method

1) Cut the bread into large cubes and fry in 2 tablespoons of olive oil until golden.

2) Throw the crushed garlic into the pan with the croutons just briefly to soften it and take the rawness out.

3) Take the pan off the heat and tip the croutons onto some kitchen paper to drain off any excess oil.

4) In a small bowl mix the yoghurt, lemon juice and chopped chives together. Season with salt and black pepper and set aside in the fridge until later.

5) Wash the lettuces but keep them whole and slice any muddy or discoloured ends from the stalk. Cut the prepared lettuces into quarters and fry in a non-stick pan without any oil until they start to brown. Pop the cooked lettuce onto a plate and drizzle over a little olive oil or better still use some of the marinade from the anchovies.

6) To serve arrange spoonfuls of the yoghurt dressing onto the plates, top with the little gems, slices of avocado, anchovies and then scatter over the croutons and season everything with a generous amount of black pepper.

Riverfood

Events, Food Heroes

It’s summertime, so the blogosphere is humming with delicious holiday snaps – pictures of ripe fruits straight from the tree, local village cheeses or fragrant sweets from exotic markets…

…for the most part I’ll be at home in London, not really known for its fresh produce…although I did rob a bit of elderflower from someone’s garden the other week, ooh and there’s a fig tree near the bus stop (might, also be in someone else’s garden).

So, when I received an invitation to the launch event for Coopers Restaurant Consultants, on a boat, where all the food was going to be predominantly sourced from the Thames I was excited and dubious in equal proportions.

We arrived at Festival pier on the Southbank to board the MV Royalty for the #riverfood event. It was a boiling hot but choppy day and the boat rocked enthusiastically from side to side. Once aboard, making our way towards the complementary cocktails I began to recall a sense of wobbly unease, like walking across one of those rope bridges at the adventure playground with your big brother jumping up and down on it at the opposite end.
As Richard and I carefully sipped grapefruit margaritas and watermelon Mojitos we were both unsure how we were going to cope with the seafood based menu should sea sickness fully take hold.

To our surprise we set sail along the river and even more surprisingly this helped settle us and with wafts of London’s approximation of fresh air drifting in through the windows, we even started to feel hungry.

Coopers had arranged for some really lovely waiting staff who shuffled along in precarious zigzags carrying huge platters of canapés. The first were Hollowshore Oysters with shallot vinegar and Tabasco jelly followed by a seemingly endless supply of freshly shucked ones. Both were delicious.

Next we were presented with some zingy Green Tomato Soup with Pickled Whelks served in small painted sake cups.

Here’s the Estuary Smoked Kipper with Egg & Cress that came next…

…and I had seconds of the Old father Thames Smoked Pike.

We snuck out onto the deck to watch the chef in action, barbecuing some zander which was served with smoked bacon, white onions and bay.

So as well as a pile of fantastic fresh riverfood, I ate my words. London has some wonderful fresh produce, so, fellow staycationers, if the MV Royalty #riverfood ship sets sail again soon get yourselves down to the Thames x

Valentine’s Day by the River

Recipes

Doing something special and romantic for Valentine’s Day can be a tricky business. Going out for dinner is the obvious choice but restaurants get so busy on the 14th that it’s unlikely to be a very intimate experience. I remember taking telephone bookings when I worked in French Living. The set menus were always carefully developed by the chefs and the waiters would arrange the whole dining area into a sea of tables for two, but I never liked having to tell customers that; yes, they could have a table at 7.30pm but we would need that table back again by 9pm. It seemed so sad to cut their evening short, but the demand was so great there was nothing else to be done.

So, let’s say eating out is off the agenda, what about eating in? It’s cosy, it could be cheaper than a restaurant and the menu can be whatever your imagination and culinary skill will allow! If you do choose to stay in and can’t decide what to make I’ve written a three course Valentine’s Day menu for Great British Chefs so do have a butchers by clicking here.

But, if spending more than 20 minutes in the kitchen fills you with dread or there are simply too many distractions at home, like pets, kids or a half painted living room then there is a third option – Cooking without a Kitchen!

This Valentine’s Day (which for the purposes of my own publishing deadlines actually took place on Sunday the 3rd of February) was spent on the south bank of the River Thames, just round the corner from the Golden Hinde and Southwark Cathedral. We unpacked a small shopping bag of goodies and prepared the meal then and there. We didn’t have a table but the wall worked fine and the views over London were just as good as any fancy restaurant. There was no rush because no one needed the space before or after us and there were hardly any distractions, oh except one guy who tried to sell us pebbles he’d found in the river but that was quite funny.

Mint Tea Couscous with Artichokes & Prosciutto

Ingredients

1 small bag of pea shoots

1 small bag of couscous

1 punnet or jar of chargrilled artichokes in olive oil (from the deli or similar)

4 slices of prosciutto

1 takeaway cup of peppermint tea (buy this from a coffee shop as near to your picnic spot as possible so it stays hot)

Equipment

2 plastic, wooden or paper plates

1 plastic bowl

1 plastic measuring cup (can be any travel cup or mug really)

Mini salt and pepper shaker (optional but nice)

2 plastic spoons, or forks (or sporks!)

Method

1) Using the measuring cup put 1 cup of couscous into the plastic bowl. Measure out about 1 and a half cups of the hot mint tea and pour over the couscous. Cover the bowl with one of the plates and leave to sit for about 5-6 minutes to let the couscous absorb the tea.

2) Sip the rest of the mint tea while you wait.

3) When the couscous is ready, fluff it up by breaking up the clumps of grains with a fork and mix in some of the oil from the artichokes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

4) Pile the pea shoots onto each of the plates, then add the couscous. Top with the artichokes and the slices of proscuitto and serve to your loved one.

bridge

Happy Valentine’s Day xxx

I’d love to hear your Valentine’s Day stories or recipes. Do get in touch via the comments box below, say hi on my Facebook page or get tweeting x

“Puttin’ on the Ritz”

Recipes

Last week it was my Mum’s Birthday. Normally it’s quite tricky to think of nice things to do – my Mum is a very busy lady and doesn’t really like a lot of fuss; a spa day or manicure would actually be her worst nightmare.

In December I was hooked on watching “Inside Claridges” on BBC2 but there was no time to pop back to London let alone book a table anywhere. Instead I spied a jolly looking tea set in the dresser and decided to make a swish afternoon tea for her at home.

Mum’s Birthday Tea

Designing the menu didn’t take too long. She much prefers classic, simple flavours so I went with cheese & tomato and cucumber & cream cheese sandwiches. But, just for good measure I cut the crusts off and made them lengthways like they do at those fancy hotels – well that’s what I think it said in the documentary and in this lovely little book on Afternoon Tea from the Ritz.

She also likes a cake called “Morning Buns” which they only make at Jarrold‘s restaurant but I didn’t have the required 6 hours for the round trip to Norwich either and I suspect the recipe is a closely guarded secret! In their place I made some rock cakes from a Dan Lepard recipe and they turned out brilliantly and very close to what I wanted (I used 160g of sultanas and a dash of vanilla extract in my batch).

For a splash of colour I made some mini fruit tarts. I only had about an hour to make everything (so whipping up a batch of Crème Pâtissière was not an option). Instead I made a little bit of vanilla butter cream to put into the bottom of the tart shells – just enough to prevent the fruit from falling out! There wasn’t quite enough time to sieve the apricot jam or wash up the pastry brush after the egg washing either so I just encouraged the warmed, lumpy jam to vaguely cover the fruit with a teaspoon (ssshhh, I hope there are no Roux brothers reading this!). I think I got away with it, they tasted lovely and took a fraction of the time of the real thing:

Fruit Tarts

Makes 12

150g plain flour

75g of unsalted butter, diced

1 egg beaten

1 teaspoon of caster sugar

2-3 drops of vanilla extract

cold water to bind

For the buttercream:

50g of unsalted butter at room temperature

icing sugar to taste

2-3 drops of vanilla extract

For the topping:

1 tablespoon of apricot jam

2 kiwi fruits

handful of grapes (or any berry fruit you prefer)

1) Place the flour and the butter in a bowl and rub together with your finger tips until the mixture looks like fresh breadcrumbs and the butter is evenly distributed.

2) Stir in the sugar, vanilla and half of the beaten egg.

3) Slowly, adding a little at a time, pour in some cold water. Mix until the dough comes together.

4) Wrap the pastry in cling film and place in the fridge until you are ready to use it and to allow it to rest a little.

5) Dust the work surface with flour and then roll out the dough to about 5mm thickness and cut into circles using a fluted cutter.

6) When all the tart cases are ready for baking brush them with the remaining egg wash and bake at 150-170°C for 15-20minutes or until lightly golden.

7) Place them on a wire rack to cool while you make the butter cream and slice the fresh fruit.

8) Mix the butter with a fork as you add dessertspoonfuls of icing sugar (I used about 2) and beat well after each addition until smooth. Taste it to check it is sweet enough and then mix in the vanilla extract.

9) When the pastry shells are cool place a small amount of the butter cream (about 1/2 a teaspoonful) into each one and then top with the sliced fruits.

10) Gently warm the jam (and sieve it if you have time) and brush the jam over the fruit to glaze.

11) Serve immediately

Finally; the Birthday cake. Mum and Dad are still swamped in festive leftovers, there’s over half a Christmas cake still knocking around so I thought making a whole sponge cake would be decidedly unhelpful at this point. Instead I made individual muffin sized sponges, flavoured with caraway seeds and topped with lemon icing. A single candle in each one signified the celebration.

Everything was washed down with lashings of tea from a proper pot and afterwards we escaped to St. Mary Mead by watching Miss Marple DVDs… but now I’m thinking we should have been watching Jeeves and Wooster instead – check this out Mum you’ll love it:

The Revenger’s Tragedy

Events, Recipes

So while I was on holiday in Herefordshire over the Summer I got a text message from the associate director at the Leicester Curve Theatre, and good chum, Suba Das (check me out with my glamorous friends!) asking me to come up with a bespoke cocktail for his next production; The Revenger’s Tragedy.

Of course I said YES!!! I really need very little excuse to get out the cocktail shaker 😉

He put me in touch with his production team and designers and that’s when the brief started to take some serious (and rather restrictive) shape. They wanted:

A new cocktail recipe
Must be Edwardian in style
Needs an element of “theatre” or “process” to it (but not too much as it might not be served by professional mixologists)
Quick to prepare at the interval as all the customers could arrive at once
There’s no freezer on site so ice is a no, no

Right….

I went away, got slightly obsessed by trying to add grapefruit juice to many things, none of which worked.

Then, on a whim I turned my attention to the ingredients list from a bottle of fentiman’s rose lemonade. The packaging looks fairly Edwardian…ish and I checked in some of my more ancient cookery books that rose would have been used as a flavouring a century ago and it all seemed rather plausible. Rose lemonade is delicious and it inspired me to add ginger to the mix – as the ginger cuts through any soapiness you might get from the rose but equally the rose takes a little of the harshness from the ginger. I just hoped that I could make something similar (and obviously boozier!)

I was still keen on using the grapefruit juice simply because it was pink as I figured anything rose flavoured should be pink…except it really didn’t taste brilliant and I was still struggling to find anything theatrical apart from using a cocktail shaker, and that was out as it would have been too complicated. Aaagh!

CHAMBORD!!! of course. How could I forget this?! I’d been offered some in a glass of prosecco one Christmas and not only is it delicious but who could resist the perfume like bottle with gold band and sparkly cap – not me! Chambord (a black raspberry liqueur from France) luckily sinks nicely to the bottom of the glass to give a beautiful pink gradient – much better than the grapefruit juice and it worked really well with the rose! Success at last – it only took a month!

The Gloriana

It’s called The Gloriana after the murdered wife of the main character, the revenger, Vindice.

1 measure of Gin

1 tsp of Rosewater

4 measures of Ginger Beer

1/2 measure of Chambord (or other raspberry liqueur)

Make sure all the ingredients are chilled before making this or slide in a couple of ice cubes a the end.

1) Pour the Gin into the glass

2) Stir in the Rosewater

3) Add the Ginger Beer

4) Slowly add the Chambord – don’t stir, let it sink, Serve!

My cocktail is now on sale at the interval in a purpose built Edwardian style bar, complete with an Edwardian barmaid! You can purchase a Gloriana during performances of The Revenger’s Tragedy at Hoxton Hall (10th of October – 10th of November).

This play is pretty gruesome so it’s perfect for Halloween – grab a ticket here. Or if you can’t get to London you’ll just have to dig out those cocktail glasses and stir up a couple of Gloriana’s at home.

Adventures in Canapés

Events, Recipes

I think a good canapé should look and taste delicious but equally your guests need to know they will be able to actually pick the thing up!

You shouldn’t need to use your hand like a claw from a fairground toy-grabbing machine just to avoid the very real danger of the base of the canapé sliding to the floor whilst the topping collides with your eveningwear! Many a lapel has fallen foul of a blob of rogue hollandaise! (true story!)

Canapés are ace when done well (and structurally sound), and I love them because they are a great way to feed people who are going to be moving around a lot! Together with my business partner Bradley Taylor; we are going to be hosting themed pop-up cabaret nights in London. We are very keen to have our events centred around food to help bring together the theme and make everyone feel welcome.

Because canapés are small you can have real fun with the flavours and reinvent classics to fit your theme. Pastry or mini pancakes make great bases so why not try adding additional flavours to the mix. Add fresh dill to blini batter before frying and top with sour cream and salmon or Bradley’s creation of cooked prawns mixed with chilli jam and fresh rocket – delicious!

Canapés don’t just need to be reserved for parties or events; a plate of three of four would make an elegant starter for a special meal and many can be prepared in advance.

Mini Sweet potato & cardamom patties

We’re making sweet potato patties for our first big event so we’ve put mild curry powder into the pastry to give it a subtle spicy flavour and a lovely yellow colour (Makes around 25)

For the Pastry

200g plain flour

100g of butter

2 tablespoons of mild/medium curry powder

1 teaspoon of turmeric

cold water

1 egg beaten

For the filling

1 small sweet potato (around 150-200g)

1 tablespoon of olive oil

1 teaspoon of ground cardamom

1 teaspoon of hot chilli powder

1 small red onion finely diced

1 red pepper finely diced

100g of sweetcorn

50g of peas

1 teaspoon of honey

Start by making the filling:

1) Peel and chop the sweet potato into large chunks and boil for around 10 minutes or until soft. Drain, mash and set aside.

2) Next, heat the oil in a large frying pan and add the cardamom and the chilli powder

3) When the mixture starts to sizzle add the onion and red pepper. Reduce the heat and allow to soften slowly until the onion starts to be come translucent but not brown.

4) Stir in the mashed sweet potatoes, sweetcorn, peas and honey. Keep stirring until everything is thoroughly combined and the honey has melted into the mix.

5) Take the filling off the heat and set aside whilst you make the pastry.

6) Rub the butter, flour and spices together in a bowl until the mixture resembles fresh breadcrumbs

7) Add a pinch of salt then gradually add the water – only add just enough to bring it together to form a firm and smooth dough (so just add it a dessertspoonful at a time and knead gently as you go).

8) Wrap it in cling film and rest the pastry in the fridge for around 30 minutes

9) Once rested roll out to around 1 or 2mm thick and cut into circles with a straight or fluted round pastry cutter.

10) Brush one side of each circle with beaten egg

11) Place ½ teaspoonfuls of the filling mixture onto one half of each pastry circle and then fold the opposite side over to cover it and enclose the filling into half circle shaped patties.

12) Press to seal and then use a fork to make small indentations along one side (this helps secure the seal and looks good too)

13) Repeat until all the pastry is used and brush all the patties with the rest of the egg wash.

14) Bake at 200°C for around 10 minutes.

15) Serve cold on their own or warm with a red pepper sauce or a yoghurt dip.

(If you have any of the filling mixture left – it makes a great side dish with grilled or barbecued chicken)

Grilled pineapple with lime and coriander

Canapés don’t have to be tricky either – this grilled pineapple number is a cinch but has wonderful flavour – if you can grab some of those fancy bamboo skewers they’ll look extra special. (Makes around 50)

1) Mix the juice of 1 lime with a small bunch of fresh coriander which has been finely chopped. Add half a teaspoon of ground black pepper and set aside.

2) Peel, core and cut 1 fresh pineapple into chunks. Place on a baking tray and the pineapple pieces until they start to caramelise at the edges.

3) Take the tray out from under the grill and immediately pour over the lime and coriander mixture and toss the pineapple gently so it gets well coated in the dressing.

Serve warm or cold on sticks or bamboo skewers.

The recipes in this post are taken from the menu at our “A Tropical Storm” event taking place on the 4^th of October at Caipirinha Bar in Highgate – a night of Music, Drama, Comedy and Canapés. Caipirinha is known for it’s great cocktails but we’ll be adding one or two of our own to their menu on the night too, like this Lychee Bellini:

Lychee Bellini

1) Place a whole sprig of fresh mint into a champagne flute.

2) Fill up halfway with Rubicon lychee juice drink

3) Top with prosecco and serve.

It would be wonderful to see you all next Thursday at A Tropical Storm

For more details on our pop-up events venture Taylor & Nice visit our website, come see us on facebook or join in on twitter

xxx

Jubi-picnic!

Cooking, Events

My Jubilee Weekend

I am slightly ashamed to say that with all the meetings, recipe testing and business planning I almost entirely forgot about the 4 day weekend of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. Luckily I was prompted just in time when my good pal Helen asked if I would like to go to a street party on Sunday.

Still keen to stick to my healthier ways I whipped up a light, wholesome Jubilee Picnic ready to share at whichever East London bash that would be willing to let us pull up a plastic chair.

I made coronation chicken skewers using free range chicken breasts, yellow peppers and dried fruit, served with a dip made from Greek yoghurt, curry powder, coriander and lemon juice.

For a more whole-food cucumber sandwich I used rye bread filled with quark, cucumber and dill.

And as a sweet treat I made some Lemon & Lavender Drizzle Cake & Portmary Scones (both from Harry Eastwood’s book) which were lovely.

I felt a royal picnic would not be complete without a little Pimm’s but instead of Lemonade I used Perrier to mix which isn’t half bad and much kinder on the teeth!

We decided to head to London Fields as we thought that there was a good chance that Broadway Market or Columbia Road Market (both pretty much side by side) would be having some kind of shin dig. No such luck. Broadway Market was empty and Columbia Road had it’s usual Flower Market, which is always nice (and one of the flower sellers made a fuss of Helen’s bowler hat) but it wasn’t exactly what we were looking for. Just as we were about to give up hope we heard the “thud thud thud” of some exciting music and tried to work out where it was coming from. This was the final nail in the coffin that was our street party hunt as the music in question was coming from the boot speakers of a parked car next to an unmanned barbecue and a small bouncy castle complete with a single kid. I’m sure this street party livened up later on but at this point we were cold and damp from the drizzle so lugged our picnic back to Helen’s flat.

This turned out to be the best decision; Helen’s flat has bunting, hot coffee and a TV on which we could watch the live broadcast of all the celebratory boats sailing down the Thames and all the rain was outside 🙂

Happy Bank Holiday x

When Jack came to stay.

Cooking, Recipes

Jack is my sister-in-law’s brother…or my brother’s brother-in-law . . . surely there has to be a shorter way of saying this.

Anyway, Jack has been asking for my help to prepare for his new university course in digital games design. His background is in engineering which, excitingly, means all his digital designs of trains and cars would actually work if made in real life. The other students on the course are likely to have come from art courses and Jack wanted to hang out with me and try and get up to speed on arty fartiness! I found a timeline of art history, selected some examples of key pieces I like and why, and came up with this analogy to help him evaluate works of art.

“Lashings of Orange Juice & Lemonade”

The best thing I could come up with was “orange juice and lemonade”. Normally this is a mocktail, perhaps chosen by designated drivers down the pub or anyone in need of a quick thirst-quenching sugary hit.

I use it to explain art (I promise there is method to this madness):

The orange juice represents the conceptual integrity of the work, the idea, story or message that the artist wishes to communicate with the viewer.
The lemonade is representative of the aesthetic quality or the level of technical skill required to produce the work.

And finally:

The glass in which these liquids are poured is my perception of the piece.

For example; I feel that a painting like John by Chuck Close would be a full glass of lemonade – this is because of the incredible photorealistic quality requiring enormous technical skill. Fountain by Marcel Duchamp is a urinal (which he didn’t make himself, basically he just chose it to exhibit to challenge the art world). In its historical context this is a brilliant and humorous thing; a big glass of orange juice for me! Another of my favourite paintings is Empire of Light by René Magritte. In my opinion this is a large glass of both orange juice and lemonade in equal quantities. Check it out if you haven’t see it before.

I use this analogy because it reminds me to split my evaluation into an analysis of the concept and of the aesthetic quality. Also, it’s a little less risky to go around a small gallery whispering to your friend “barely a drop of orange juice in this one, no lemonade either” rather than “that’s a rubbish painting, the message it is trying to convey is weak and it’s not very well drawn”.

We spent the rest of the day loading up on coffee and creativity. We discussed conceptual art in the Tate Modern, grabbed a quick lunch from the stalls at Borough Market and then went sketching in the V&A. We arrived home with sensory and caffeine overloads and completely drenched from a downpour.

After a quick change I took a look in the kitchen cupboard to see what I could do for dinner. We were due at a party that evening; a fundraiser for the production of As You Like It which my boyfriend Richard is currently performing in – catch it quick before it ends on the 19th of May!

The party was 1920s fancy dress and aptly named Jazz You Like It! Knowing there would likely be a number of cocktails (and we all still needed time to get dressed up) a speedy-stomach lining meal was required. Manwiches seemed the only answer!

Manwiches

Roast a selection of your favourite root veggies, garlic and onions in olive oil or cold pressed rapeseed oil.
Toast some thick slices of bread and spread both sides with hummus (store bought is fine)
Pile in the roast vegetables, sprinkle with zahtar mix and some crumbled feta and form the sandwich with the other slice of toasted bread.

Scrummy! If you are about to go out on the tiles I suggest you scoff these before you get your glad rags on- they’re mighty messy!

The party was brilliant, there was a raffle and Jack won an hour of personal martial arts and fitness training! We donated a dinner party for 4 which we shall be cooking in the winner’s house…a blog post for another day I predict.

Happy cooking!

Miriam Nice

creative – author – presenter

london

Goat’s Cheese

Goat’s Cheese by Joe

Crumble

Quince & Apple Crumble (aka not Rhubarb Crumble)

Happy New Year!

Pan Fried Little Gem and Garlic Crouton Salad

Riverfood

Valentine’s Day by the River

Mint Tea Couscous with Artichokes & Prosciutto

I’d love to hear your Valentine’s Day stories or recipes. Do get in touch via the comments box below, say hi on my Facebook page or get tweeting x

“Puttin’ on the Ritz”

Mum’s Birthday Tea

Fruit Tarts

The Revenger’s Tragedy

The Gloriana

Adventures in Canapés

Mini Sweet potato & cardamom patties

Grilled pineapple with lime and coriander

Lychee Bellini

Jubi-picnic!

My Jubilee Weekend

When Jack came to stay.

Jack is my sister-in-law’s brother…or my brother’s brother-in-law . . . surely there has to be a shorter way of saying this.

“Lashings of Orange Juice & Lemonade”

Manwiches

Goat’s Cheese by Joe

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Quince & Apple Crumble (aka not Rhubarb Crumble)

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Pan Fried Little Gem and Garlic Crouton Salad

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Like this:

Mint Tea Couscous with Artichokes & Prosciutto

I’d love to hear your Valentine’s Day stories or recipes. Do get in touch via the comments box below, say hi on my Facebook page or get tweeting x

Share this:

Like this:

Mum’s Birthday Tea

Fruit Tarts

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Like this:

The Gloriana

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Like this:

Mini Sweet potato & cardamom patties

Grilled pineapple with lime and coriander

Lychee Bellini

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Like this:

My Jubilee Weekend

Share this:

Like this:

Jack is my sister-in-law’s brother…or my brother’s brother-in-law . . . surely there has to be a shorter way of saying this.

“Lashings of Orange Juice & Lemonade”

Manwiches

Share this:

Like this: