Spice Bread

This bread is, in truth, more like a spicy cake but to me it is bread in the same way that tea brack or soda bread, although cake-like, are breads. Despite its fairly unassuming and plain looks, this bread is packed with delicious flavours and its almost austere appearance belies its delightfully delectable qualities. The crumb is not as delicate as a sweet cake would be and in texture is more like a gingerbread cake or a freshly baked brown soda bread.

What I present here is essentially the same as a French pain d’epices and whilst lovely to eat on its own with a refreshing cup of tea, it is incredible versatile and also makes a great accompaniment to a range of dishes.

I love it gently fried in a little butter and served with some pan-fried apple or pear wedges and a caramel sauce. Although calorific and perhaps not great for the arteries, this is an incredibly delicious and self-indulgent treat to eat every once in a while.

The finished flavour of the bread also depends very much on the choice of honey used as different types will produce subtly different results. The inclusion of ground cloves and allspice give the bread an almost bitter edge on the palate. This is not in any way unpleasant and means that the bread is a perfect partner to rich ingredients, such as foie gras or blue cheese.

The aroma of the bread as it cooks reminds me so much of my kitchen at Christmastime and also brings back fond memories of the bustling activity in my grandmother’s kitchen as she prepared for the annual festivities.

Finally, I should mention that this bread stores incredibly well and is still extremely good to eat a few days after having been baked – just store it in an airtight tin.
 

Ingredients:

250g runny honey
125g light brown Muscovado sugar
75g butter

175ml water

225g plain flour

1tblsp baking powder

1tsp ground ginger

1tsp ground cinnamon

1tsp freshly grated nutmeg

½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

¼ tsp ground allspice

A generous pinch of ground cloves

1 large egg, lightly beaten

30g flaked almonds
50g raisins, chopped

Grated zest of 1 lemon

Grated zest of 1 orange
 

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180C/Fan Oven 160C/Gas Mark 4. Line a 25cm x 10cm loaf tin with non-stick baking parchment and set aside.
2. Place the honey, butter and sugar into a saucepan and add the water. Place over a moderate heat, stirring occasionally until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved. Bring up to the boil and then remove from the heat and allow to cool for 10 minutes.
3. Sift the flour, baking powder and spices into a large mixing bowl and slowly add the honey mixture and the beaten egg, mixing well to ensure that there are no little pockets of flour.

4. Finally, add the flaked almonds and chopped raisins, mixing well to distribute evenly. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake in the preheated oven for 50-60 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

5. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin.

Serves 10-12.

 

Pear & White Chocolate Cake

I am not a huge fan of white chocolate as it can be cloyingly sweet, but there is something about its inclusion in this cake which really brings out the flavour of the pears. I love pears and believe that quite often they are a fruit that really come into their own when cooked or baked. This is certainly the case where this cake is concerned.

Yes… this is an undeniably sweet cake, but it really does taste fabulous and is perfect served as a dessert, though I wouldn’t say no to a slice if offered it as a treat to eat with a cup of tea. The pears cut through some of the sweetness of the white chocolate and add a welcome juicy fruitiness. All too often fresh fruit added to a cake seems to almost lose some of its characteristic taste, but this is definitely not the case here; this is most definitely packed full of pear flavour.

The cake has a dense crumb, but is not heavy; in fact it has an almost chocolate truffle like texture and is very moreish. I was extremely pleased with how it turned out. The white chocolate in the cake perfumed my kitchen with a gentle caramel smell which was incredibly tempting; it took every ounce of self-restraint I had to stop myself from cutting a slice and devouring it as soon as it emerged from the oven. Actually, this cake is lovely if served slightly warm or allowed to cool to room temperature, with a generous dollop of lightly whipped fresh cream on the side. Happy days!

Ingredients:

2 ripe pears, peeled, cored and diced into 1cm chunks
1tblsp of pear liqueur

180g white chocolate, chopped

350g butter

575g caster sugar

375ml milk

300g plain flour

100g self-raising flour

3 large eggs, lightly beaten

To finish:

1 pear sliced very thinly from top to bottom, with a sharp knife

Juice of half a lemon

A little icing sugar for dusting

 

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 160C/Fan Oven 140C/Gas Mark 3. Line a 22/23cm round cake tin with non-stick baking parchment and set aside.

2. Place the reap chunks in a small bowl and pour over the pear liqueur. Set aside.

3. Place the chocolate, butter, caster sugar and milk in a large saucepan over a low heat. Stir with a wooden spoon until melted and the mixture is smooth. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool for 20 minutes.

4. Sift the self-raising flour and flour together and gradually add to the chocolate mixture so that it is fully incorporated and there are no lumps. Add the eggs, mixing well so that they too, are fully incorporated. Finally, fold in the liqueur soaked pears. Pour the mixture into the prepared cake tin and bake in the preheated oven for 1½ - 1¾ hours until risen and a thin skewer inserted, comes out clean. Allow to cool in the tin.

Pear crisps:

5. Dip the pear slices in a little lemon juice and place on a baking tray covered with non-stick baking parchment. Place into an oven at its lowest setting for approximately 2 hours until dried out and crisp.

To finish:

6. Dust the cooled cake with some icing sugar and arrange the pear crisps on top. Serve.

Serves 10-12.
 

Vanilla Butter Cookies (made with cookie press)

My cookbook collection continues to grow and I will admit that it’s starting to reach an embarrassingly large size. You know you have a problem and that an obsession is reaching a point when it’s almost out of control when you feel that you have to hide it from others. I am now at the stage where I sneak newly acquired cookbooks into the house, hoping that no-one will notice that another book has been added to the shelves.

 

In my defence, I rarely buy new cookbooks; instead I scour the internet for cheap second-hand books and have been delighted with many of my purchases, which have been relatively inexpensive to buy. This is just as well really, because I think that I am going to have to seriously consider the possibilities of having an extension to my home built to house them all.
 

If this was my only cookery related obsession, it would probably be tolerable to my nearest and dearest, but unfortunately, I also find it hard to resist buying kitchen gadgets! Now the term ‘gadget’ encompasses a great many things… pasta makers, ice-cream makers, whisks cookie cutters, piping nozzles – the list goes on and on. I justify these purchases by convincing myself that the use of these pieces of equipment will improve my cooking immeasurably, save time and make the food I create look so much more professional. Whilst there is a certain truth in this, the reality is that most of these gadgets and pieces of equipment languish at the back of the kitchen cupboard for most of the time.

One piece of cooking equipment that I was recently seduced by was a cookie press, from which I imagined myself making hundreds of perfectly formed cookies and biscuits at break-neck speed. The reality is that there is a certain knack to producing the cookies, but once you get a feel for it, you will be churning out tasty little shortbread cookies by the dozen. I found that it is better not to use non-stick baking parchment as the cookies don’t stick to the paper when you oppress them out. Greaseproof paper works relatively successful, but I found using reusable silicon mats produced the best results.

These cookies are rather like the Danish butter cookies that are readily available at Christmas. I liked the vanilla flavour of these biscuits, but you could easily ring the changes by using lemon zest or spices instead.

Ingredients:

100g butter, softened
70g icing sugar
150g plain flour

1 medium egg, lightly beaten

1 tsp vanilla extract/paste

To finish:

Caster sugar for sprinkling
 

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/Fan Oven 160C/Gas Mark 4. Line two baking sheets with greaseproof paper or silicone baking sheets.

2. Place the butter and icing sugar in a mixing bowl and using a hand-held electric mixer, beat together until light and fluffy. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix together until fully incorporated, to create a soft dough.

3. Spoon the dough into a cookie press (or into a disposable piping bag fitted with a large star nozzle). Following the manufacturer’s instruction, use the cookie press (fitted with the chosen cookie shape attachment) to create individual cookies or pipe out individual cookies using the piping bag.

4. Bake in the preheated oven for 10-15 minutes, depending on the size of the cookies. The cookies are ready when they are still pale but tinged a light, golden colour.

5. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with caster sugar. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling completely.

Makes 40 (approximately).
 

   

Patatas Bravas

I love patatas bravas - a Spanish potato dish often served as part of a tapas menu in Spanish bars and restaurants. The dish usually contains potatoes in a tomato based sauce and is regularly served with aioli, a garlic flavoured mayonnaise-like sauce. Some recipes for patatas bravas use a mild tomato sauce alone, but I like the slight heat that the added chilli gives. This is enhanced by the faint background taste of rosemary, but you could use a little thyme instead if you prefer.

This is a perfect dish for serving on a warm summer’s day as part of a range of buffet type dishes, where people can help themselves as they relax in the sun.

Ingredients:

1kg waxy potatoes, peeled and chopped into 3cm chunks
50ml olive oil
Sea salt
Sauce:

2tblsp olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

1 red chilli, finely chopped, 400g tin of chopped tomatoes

1 clove of garlic, finely chopped

½ tsp sugar

1½ tsp smoked paprika
A sprig of Rosemary

25ml sherry vinegar (I used Pedro Ximenes sherry)

Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

To serve:

A large handful of finely chopped, fresh flat leaf parsley
 

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 200C/Fan Oven 180C/Gas Mark 6.

2. Heat the olive oil in a small roasting pan in the oven until hot. Remove from the oven and then add the potatoes, tossing them to make sure that they are evenly coated. Season the potatoes with sea salt and return to the oven for approximately 45 minutes. Check the potatoes after 20 minutes, turning them so that they roast evenly. While the potatoes are roasting you can make the sauce.

Sauce:

3. Put the oil in a medium sized, heavy based saucepan and heat over a moderate heat. Add the onions and fry stirring regularly until they are golden brown (about 6-8 minutes).

4. Add the finely chopped chilli and garlic and fry for a further minute.

5. Add all the other ingredients other than the sherry vinegar and season well. Bring to the boil and then reduce the heat so that the sauce is merely blipping away. Cook for about 20 minutes until the sauce has reduced slightly. Add in the vinegar and allow to cook for a further 3-4 minutes.

6. Remove from the heat. Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary. Remove the sprig of rosemary and discard.

To serve:

7. Spoon the sauce into a serving dish and pile the roasted potatoes on top. Sprinkle over the chopped parsley and serve.

Serves 4-6.

Albondigas - Tapas-Style Meatballs in a Tomato Sauce

Tapas and tapas-style dishes seem to be very popular at the moment. Tapas are snack-like dishes which are traditionally served in Spanish bars and restaurants. The word tapas is derived from the Spanish word tapar, which means to cover. Originally tapas were slices of bread or meat which were balanced on the rims of wine-glasses to prevent flies from landing in the wine or sherry in between sips. Invariably, over the course of an evening in a hot bar and as more wine was imbibed, the drinkers would nibble on these edible glass covers… and tapas were born.

Tapas are based on the idea of sharing; a selection of dishes is presented to or chosen by a group of diners and they all take small samples of each. This is similar to the dining approach used when eating Italian antipasto or Chinese dim sum and is one of the aspects of tapas that I love – food should be about conviviality, friendship and sharing and community.

 

At their simplest, tapas can consist of small bowls of olives, salted almonds or chorizo sausage, but as time has gone by a whole range of sophisticated and exotic tapas dishes have been developed. Some dishes are intended to be served cold, but many are also served hot or warm.

One of the most popular tapas dishes and one that anyone who has visited or holidayed in Spain will be familiar with is albondigas or meatballs served in a rich tomato sauce. It is really important that the tomato sauce is well flavoured and is given a chance to reduce and thicken a little. If you allow it to remain watery, it lacks the flavour punch that is required and you will wonder why you bothered. I like to add rosemary to the sauce and a little sherry vinegar as this accentuates the sweetness of the tomatoes and makes for a more rounded flavour on the palate. If liked, you can also include half a very finely chopped red chilli to add a little spicy heat. As usual, taste as you go along and adjust the seasoning as necessary. Have confidence in you cooking and trust in your own taste. I often look upon recipes as guides rather than formulae that have to be slavishly followed. Granted, with baking, which relies upon precise measurements and processes being followed, it is probably advisable to follow the recipe exactly, but with the type of cooking that this recipe for albondigas involves, you can be a little more adventurous.

 

Ingredients:

Meatballs:

500g minced beef

1 small onion, chopped very finely

1 garlic clove, chopped finely

1 handful of flat-leaf parsley finely chopped

100g fresh white breadcrumbs

1 egg, lightly beaten

Salt & freshly ground black pepper

2tblsp olive oil

Sauce:

2tblsp olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

1 carrot, finely chopped into small dice

1-2 sprigs of thyme

1 sprig of rosemary

250ml full-bodied red wine

1 tin of chopped tomatoes

1tblsp sherry vinegar

Salt & freshly ground black pepper
 

Method:

Meatballs:

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/Fan Oven 180C/Gas Mark 6.

2. Put all the ingredients into a large mixing bowl, season with a little sea-salt and freshly ground black pepper and work together with your hands until well mixed together.

3. Using your hands, form little balls (about 4cms in diameter) out of the meat mixture. Place the formed meatballs in a roasting dish, drizzle over the olive oil and roast in the oven for 15 minutes.

Sauce:

4. Heat the oil in a medium-large sized saucepan over a moderate heat. Add the onion, garlic and carrot and fry gently, stirring occasionally until softened but not coloured (about 7 minutes).

5. Add the sprigs of thyme and rosemary and then add the glass of wine. Allow the wine to reduce by almost a half and then add the tin of chopped tomatoes. Allow this to bubble gently for about 10 minutes and then add the roasted meatballs and the sherry vinegar. Allow to bubble over a low heat for a further ten minutes and then spoon into a large serving bowl and serve.

Serves 4-6.