All you have to do is slice the vegetables thinly, wrap all the items in a piece of parchment or tin foil, and cook the parcel in the oven at 200 degrees C (390 degrees F) for 20 minutes or on the barbecue so that the food cooks in its own juices, keeping the moisture in the pouch, which will swell with hot steam. When cooked, slide the bag onto the diner’s plate and watch as they unwrap their parcel. It never falls to impress! Serve with new potatoes, couscous, or rice.

Cooking en papillote is a healthy way of cooking that perfectly suits delicately flavored foods. Here are some ideas:

• Dry vermouth or dry white wine, thyme, parsley, and dill with fennel, carrot, celery, and shallot or onion. Note that fennel has a strong flavor that is not to everybody’s taste and could be replaced by leek
• A taste of the East: Soy sauce, a splash of sherry, just a drop of sesame oil with julienne of ginger, garlic, sweet peas
• Be adventurous: White wine or dry vermouth, tangerine or orange slices, fennel, red onion, chives
• Provencal style: Chopped (seeded, drained) tomatoes, olives, oregano, capers, garlic.
• North African way: garlic clove, 1 tsp cumin seeds, extra-virgin olive oil, juice of 1 lemon + zest or 1 finely chopped preserved lemon, 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded, 1 bunch coriander, salt & pepper to taste

Now for the more complex question of, which fish? Whole gutted and cleaned trout, sole, salmon fillets, and bream are good choices. Mostly farmed so sustainable, they never achieve the same flavor as their “free range” counterpart, but when it comes to cod, should we still provide a demand when stock are being depleted? Are there still plenty of fish in the sea?

My answer to that one is that I have not stopped buying cod, but I diversify what I buy and look out for new yummy recipes.

]]> http://justbaking.net/2008/07/02/dressed-to-impress-en-papillote/feed/ http://justbaking.net/2008/06/30/fun-with-jam-drops/ http://justbaking.net/2008/06/30/fun-with-jam-drops/#comments Mon, 30 Jun 2008 11:32:58 +0000 Solange Berchemin Cookies Beginning Baker http://justbaking.net/2008/06/30/fun-with-jam-drops/ “A cup of coffee, friends, and a natter” rates in the top five of my feel-good list at the moment, so yesterday as I was getting food ready for dinner, Anne was coming around, I thought it would be nice to finish the meal with coffee and biscuits, slumped in a cosy corner, exchanging news. Looking for a biscuit recipe in my new bible, The Baker, by Leanne Kitchen, I spotted jam drops.    

When I was very small, at school, they taught us how to make “lunettes,” biscuits shaped like spectacles, sprinkled with icing sugar, the eyes filled in with jam. Jam drops obey the same principle and they could have been named “eyeballs” but I guess that would not have been very appetizing. There is nothing to them. They are a little time-consuming to make, but I have not had so much fun in the kitchen for a long time, and they are delicious.

Jam Drops

Makes 32
Ingredients:

80g unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup / 80g caster sugar
2 tblsp milk
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
1 cup /125g self-raising flour
1/3 cup/40g custard powder or instant vanilla pudding mix
1/3 cup raspberry jam/100g ( I used recently homemade strawberry jam)

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to moderate 180C/ 350F/Gas 4 and line two baking trays with baking paper.

2. Cream the butter and sugar in a small bowl with electric beaters until light and fluffy, or a fork will do. Add the milk and vanilla and beat until combined. Add the sifted flour and custard powder and mix to form a soft dough. Roll heaped teaspoons of the mixture into balls and place on the trays.

3. Make an indentation in each ball using the end of a wooden spoon. Fill each hole with a little jam. Bake for 15 minutes, cool slightly on the trays, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Jam drops will keep up to 7 days, stored in a cool place in an airtight container, or can be frozen, in which case, you will have to be really fast as they disappear so quickly.

I suspect that master pizza bakers have secret competitions held in Parma or Naples to produce the most unlikely combination of toppings. I am sure they dream up silly toppings and give them Italian names. I can imagine them in the heart of Italy, having discussions such as, “What about the Pomegranitela: crayfish, asparagus, and pomegranate pizza, and for this season’s vegetarian choice, the Sisistellina: salad, spring onions, spices, and to top it all . . . come on . . . why not? Be new, be trendy . . . spaghetti, that should be a winner.”

I am sorry, but I do like some things to be simple; this is why I like the pizzas in Syria – no nonsense, full of flavor, simple one-choice pizza. Some of you might say that they had the same in Morocco or in Algeria. see across several countries one kind of pizza, I had forgotten all about it, but as I was reviewing Feast Bazaar by Barry Vera, it all came back. I tried the recipe and it was as delicious as I remembered. Here it is if you would like to have a go, and if you have experienced some silly toppings, let us know with your comment.

Cinnamon Lamb Pizza with Oregano

35g wholemeal flour
435 g plain flour, plus extra, for rolling
2 teaspoons fresh yeast
2 teaspoons sugar
21/2 teaspoons salt
420ml water
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 small brown onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
300g minced lamb
4 tablespoons tomato sauce
4 balls buffalo mozzarella
2 large sprigs oregano, leaves picked

Makes 4

To make the pizza bases, place the flours, yeast, sugar, and 21/2 teaspoons salt into a mixer with a dough hook. With the motor running, slowly add 420ml water and 2 teaspoons of the oil. Leave the mixer on low speed for 10 minutes, or until a smooth, firm dough forms.

Divide the dough into four even portions, place on a lightly oiled tray, and cover with a damp tea towel. Leave for about 2 hours, or until the dough has doubled in size.

Roll out each portion onto a lightly floured surface to create four circles that have a 12 cm diameter and are 5mm thick. Preheat the oven to 220C (425F/Gaz7).

Heat the remaining oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cinnamon and fry for about 2-3 minutes, or until the onion is soft. Add the lamb and cook for 20-30 minutes or until it is crispy, Make sure you keep stirring the mince to break it down into small pieces. Remove from the pan and drain on paper towels.

Place the pizza bases on baking trays. Spread 1 tablespoon of tomato sauce over each one, spreading all the way to the edge. Sprinkle the lamb evenly over each base, then tear the buffalo mozzarella over the lamb. Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes, or until the cheese has melted and the pizza bases are golden and crispy. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the oregano. Season and serve immediately.

When it came to share this delicious recipe with you, I thought I’d better investigate the cook who bought that recipe to my table, and what I found truly gobsmacked me. Why was I not told? How come I did not know, had never heard of her? Have I been living with a paper bag over my head for the past many years? Well no, I did not know Angela Hartnett, and now I read that she is the UK leading female chef. Earlier on in her career she got a job in Gordon Ramsay’s kitchen. She lasted 12 years — that in itself seems to me like a feat. Her restaurant has its very own Michelin star; she received an MBE from the Queen for services to the Hospitality Industry.

Last year, she published her first book of recipes Cucina, which was acclaimed by its readers and the pros alike, and if that was not enough, she has been taught her skills by a Italian grandmother, though the latter is just for me to cleverly link her biography to the stuffed onions recipe which seems to be a little bit like a signature family dish.

Stuffed Onions

Ingredients:Olive oil and butter

2 shallots

1 carrot

1 finely diced celery stick (that I did not use, as there is a serious case of celeryphobia at home)

10 g of dried porcini mushrooms (which will have to be presoaked in 1/4 litre of hot water, according to the packet instructions)

A little bit of tomato puree

Splash of red wine

4 large onions

100g breadcrumbs

100g grated Parmesan

Parsley

Salt and pepper to taste

Method:
To make the sauce, heat some oil and butter in a pan and add two finely chopped shallots, one finely diced carrot, and one finely diced celery stick and cook for a few minutes until translucent. Add 10g of dried porcini mushrooms (presoaked in about 250 ml of hot water for 5 mins) and cook for a further 2-3 mins.

Add a squirt of tomato puree and a splash of red wine and bubble until completely reduced. Finally, add the strained mushroom liquid, reduce the heat, and simmer for up to 1 hour. (Though my sauce took less time to reduce.) Keep a little bit of the liquid, you will need it later on.

Meanwhile, bring a large pan of water to the boil, add 4 peeled whole onions, and boil for 3 mins. Drain and cut them in half and scoop out the centre with a spoon until you’re left with just 2-3 layers of skin.

Chop the scooped out centre of the onions finely and add these to a bowl of 100g breadcrumbs and 100g grated Parmesan cheese and a splash of the mushroom water (enough to bind the stuffing together).

Add parsley, salt, and pepper to taste. Finally, put the onions in an overproof dish, drizzle with olive oil, stuff them with the Parmesan breadcrumbs and spoon over the mushroom sauce.

Cover with foil and bake for 15-20 minutes at 200C (gas mark 6).
When it came time to upload a picture, the reason why I uploaded one of Vincent’s still lifes is because mine looked like this!

Let me start from the beginning, then you could try to bake these little cookies. They take no time to bake, and if they taste like what you think they should, I shall eat my baking tray. Oops, mistake, dropped  the “h,” I shall heat my baking tray. I know, I know, it does not conjure the same fun, but I was tricked once already.

Let me tell you how: I spotted this recipe over a weekend. Since I had my induction meeting with the network the following Monday, I thought, ”What better gesture than to bake these lovely ‘marmalade buttons’?” I used ground rice. I displayed them on a presentation plate. I put my offering in the middle of the meeting table, only to observe all participants crunching away while their noses twitched. Next thing I knew, the boss had disappeared. Had I poisoned her?

I contacted a baker friend of mine, who advised me to use semolina or, even better, crushed almonds instead of ground rice. Then the boss reappeared. I tried once more, this time with semolina. They still did not taste how I thought they should — though I hasten to add that they always tasted nice. Slightly too soft on retrial.

So, will you give it a go and try Dan Lepard’s Marmalade Buttons on April Fool’s Day?

Marmalade Buttons 

• 100g unsalted butter
• 50g caster sugar
• 50g good marmalade 
• 100g mixed peel
• 100g plain flour
• 100g ground rice or semolina
• Demerara sugar

Beat together the butter and sugar until smooth, then add the marmalade and mixed peel and beat until combined. Stir in the flour and ground rice; knead in the bowl until you have a smooth dough, then roll into a cylinder about 25 cm long. Wrap in clingfilm and chill until firm.

Heat the oven to 170 degrees C (150 degrees C fan-assisted)/325 degrees F/gas mark 3. Line a baking sheet with nonstick baking parchment. Unwrap the dough and rub with a little water to moisten. Tip some demerara sugar onto a plate and roll the dough in it to form a crust. Slice the dough into 0.75 cm discs, lay them a few centimeters apart on the tray, and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until pale golden brown.

It should have looked like THIS

instead it looked like THAT…….

In fact there is nothing difficult in making a terrine and it should look terrific, it only requires a bit of organisation, once you understand that you have to treat each vegetable separately you are in with a chance.
For the bottom layer, I used celeriac, I like celeriac, it is ugly, knobbly, but tastes terrific has a nutty flavour, in France it is used for remoulade-salad. When you get the hang of it, you might want to add spice in which case, spinach goes with nutmeg and carrot with spring onion and ginger.

serve 8 to 10
Ingredients:
15g butter
3 eggs
75g of full fat cheese
salt and pepper
175g cooked carrots
175g of frozen whole leaf spinach
175g of chopped and peeled celeriac

Method:
Preheat the oven to 160/ mark 3
melt the butter and cook the celeriac for 3 minutes, put in a bowl
repeat the operation for the spinach and the carrots
each veg. needs to go in separate bowl
Puree each veg with 75g (30z) of full fat cheese and 1 egg, salt and pepper until smooth, you can use the food processor for this, but then again each veg needs to be food processed separately.

in a greased oblong bread or cake tin (the nec plus ultra is a terrine dish) pour the celeriac mixture, then the spinach on the top, finally the carrots, cove with a sheet of aluminium foil, bake for 1 hour, or until a sharp knife comes out clean when inserted. Allow to stand for 10 - 15 minutes before turning out. Serve as a starter or a light lunch.

Photo of the good looking terrine is from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/stuart_spivack/1746885/

Cherry Clafoutis

• 2dl of milk (20 centiliter) 
• 3 eggs
• 150g of all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup of sugar
• 750g of fresh black sweet cherries
• 2 tsp of sugar
• a pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon of unsalted butter

1. To make the batter in a blender, as you would for pancake batter: combine the milk, eggs, flour, sugar and whirl them at high speed for a few seconds. To make the batter by hand, stir the flour and eggs together in a large mixing bowl, and slowly stir in the milk, sugar. Beat with a whisk until the flour lumps disappear and the batter is liquid and smooth.
2. Leave the batter rest for 2 hours, when it is time to use it, preheat the oven mark 5-6  
3. Pat the cherries completely dry with paper towels, then spread them evenly in a shallow, buttered baking dish, pour in the batter.
4. Sprinkle with the sugar
5. Bake on the middle shelf of the oven(thermostat 5-6) for 45 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and firm to the touch. The batter will raise, then fall again when out of the over. serve warm 

But let’s not get carried away. I got my recipe from a celebrity chef. Not the one who is throwing knifes at you, nor the other whose merchandise-dishes are shaped like of her boops. No, I got it from a simple, personable, joyful guy whose TV programs make you want to follow him around the country when he looks for fresh fish and sea-food: Rick Stein. (Click on his name for the recipe.)

But back to flans with:

Ingredients:
225g Cheddar
170g bacon
4 eggs
115g butter (very optional/I don’t)
115g very fine bread crumbs
65cl milk
1 large onion
pepper

Peel & slice the onion finely.  Grate the cheddar.  Slice the bacon into small squares.  In a salad bowl, mix the eggs with the milk, 3/4 of the cheddar, the onion, ground pepper.  Add the bacon and the breadcrumbs here the recipe includes the butter but Hey it is January, remember.

Mix well, transfer to an oven dish and sprinkle with bread crumbs.

Bake in a preheated oven, mark 7/190 °C for 25 minutes

Finish it off under the grill.

Bramley: Cook to a fluffy, melt in the mouth texture with a tart flavour, great in crumbles and pies, they go well with pork and sausages too.
English Royal Gala: Dessert apple, delicate flavour, keeps well
Egremont Russet: Quite ugly, with a rich nutty flavour, excellent with cheese or in salad.
Spartan: The fairy tale apple, that scared the life out of me when I was a nipper, so that my dad had to drag me out & away from a screening of snow-white while screaming my head off, I bet he was as shiny-bright red as a spartan. But back to the science. the flesh is very white, juicy some say it smells of melon and strawberry.
Cox’s: Orange/yellowy red striky skin, without any doubt Britain’s fav, its flavour is…Cox’s indeed

To know more about apples without trawling through a million sites refering to Apple-Mac click on http://www.orangepippin.com/default.aspx. It contains a mine of information.

• preheat the oven to 190 °C/mark 5
• In a large bowl and it has to be large, cream the margarine, honey, egg, vanilla (if you use).
• Add the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, stir well
• Then goes the oats, raisins and apple, stir equally thoroughly
• on a baking tray (greased) drop by spoonful and flatten a little
• bake for 8 to 10 minutes
• Allow the biscuits to cool on the sheet for 5 minutes before you remove to the wire rack to cool completely.