Raspberry, Pomegranate, Rosewater & Pistachio Pavlova

Even though Valentine’s Day seems to be one of the most popular days in the year for dining out, I always think it’s far nicer to make something tasty at home for your loved one to eat! Don’t get me wrong, I love eating out and trying new restaurants, but personally I prefer not to do so on Valentine’s Day where it’s hard to get bookings and so many restaurants want to get you in, served and finished as quickly as possible so that they can accommodate another sitting.  I probably sound extremely cynical and a little grumpy, but believe me, I have experienced this more than once! In fairness, not ALL restaurants have this approach, but many do.

My other great complaint about dining out on Valentine’s Day is that many restaurants eschew their normal menus and offer so-called ‘Special’ Valentine’s Day menus. These menus are often predictable and contain dishes that are easy for stretched and stressed restaurant kitchens to prepare. Regular a la carte menus are often set aside completely for the night or are offered in a truncated form, again easier for busy kitchens to deal with!

I wanted to create a dish that was sweet and light but looked pretty and delicate and most of all inviting to eat; something elegant, a little playful and fun… which for me is what romance is all about.

After toying with a number of ideas, none of which was really grabbing me, I decided to make a pavlova. I must have produced hundreds of pavlovas over the years, but I don’t think I will ever tire of producing them because they are easy to make and people seem to love them! It’s hard not to… with their crisp exteriors giving way to a marshmallow-like centre they are already wonderful, but add cream and fruit and they are a perfect end to a meal, as witnessed by their almost universal popularity.
 

I’m not normally a fan of rosewater, but here it works really well. I erred on the cautious side when adding it, because I know from experience that if you are heavy handed with it, it can swamp the flavours of all other ingredients. Here, the rosewater is a gentle background note that delicately flavours the pavlova, working in harmony with the fresh raspberries, pomegranate seeds and chopped pistachios.

Because this is a layered pavlova, I have doubled the quantities given in my basic Strawberry Pavlova recipe, but have cut back a little on the cornflour and vinegar. Other than that, this is more-or-less the same recipe with a little added rosewater for flavouring. if you like you can fold in half of the chopped pistachios to the meringue just before you spoon it on to the baking trays, but I prefer to sprinkle them over the finished pavlova just before serving. This recipe will leave you with a number of egg yolks, but I have a few recipes coming up over the next couple of weeks that are great for using them up.

 

Ingredients:

8 large egg whites
500g caster sugar

1tblsp cornflour

2tsp white wine vinegar

1tsp rosewater

Filling:

500ml single cream, lightly whipped (flavoured with ½ tsp of rosewater if desired)

125g fresh raspberries

Seeds of 1 pomegranate

50 pistachios (unsalted) roughly chopped

To decorate:

Some crystallised rose leaves or fresh rose leaves (untreated with pesticides etc.)
 

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/Fan Oven 160C/Gas Mark 4. Line three large baking sheets with baking parchment which onto each you have drawn a 23cm circle on the underside. Set aside.

2. Place the egg whites into a large mixing bowl and using a hand-held electric mixer whisk the egg whites to the soft peak stage. Gradually whisk in the caster sugar, mixing well after each addition to create a glossy meringue which hold it shape.

3. Sift over the cornflour and add the vinegar and rosewater, mixing briefly so that they are just incorporated.

4. Spoon the mixture, dividing it evenly, onto the three prepared baking trays using the circles that you have previously drawn as a guide, making sure to keep within the edges. Leave aside a few tablespoons of the meringue mixture for the final meringue disc and place into a disposable piping bag fitted with a plain 1cm round nozzle. Use this to pipe little ‘mounds’ of the meringue over the top of this disc. This will be the top layer of your pavlova.

5. Place the trays into the preheated oven and immediately reduce the oven temperature to 120C/Fan Oven 100C/Gas Mark ½. Bake for 1 hour exactly and then turn off oven. Allow to cool completely in the oven before finishing.

To finish:

6. Carefully peel the baking parchment off the  baked pavlova discs.

Place one of the plain pavlova disc on your serving plate/cake stand and spoon over half the cream. Top with the other plain pavlova and spoon the remaining cream on top. Place the top pavlova disc on top.

7. Scatter the fresh raspberries, pomegranate seeds and chopped pistachios over the top of the pavlova. Serve with rose petals strewn around the pavlova with a few decoratively placed on top.

Serves 6-8 generously.
 

 

Tear-and-Share Granary Bread Rolls

In many ways, this recipe is a follow-on from my previous post as this bread is an adaptation of that basic recipe, where I have substituted some of the strong white flour for malted granary flour. Also rather than prove the bread in a basket or bake it in a tin, I have opted to form it into little bread rolls which I allow to prove side-by-side so that when they bake they join together and then have to be torn apart in order to be eaten.

 

The white bread recipe that I gave in my previous post could also be shaped in this manner to create white bread rolls rather than the loaf of bread that I suggested in that post. I just love the quirky variations that are possible and how adaptable bread dough is. What I particularly like about this particular bread is its communality… I like to plonk it on a bread board in the centre of the table and let everyone tear off their own bread roll! Amusingly, no-one ever seems to be the first one to launch in and rip off a roll, but once the first one has been taken it becomes a free-for-all with everyone scrambling to grab one before they are gone!

 

I do feel a bit of a fraud giving this recipe, because it is basically the same as that given in my previous post, but on considering whether to publish it, I decided that it was worth doing because it illustrates the many variations and possibilities that are available to you, once you have a good basic recipe to hand and gain confidence in baking your own bread.

 

In my opinion, this bread is all the more appealing when liberally spread with a good Irish butter!

Ingredients:

300g strong white bread flour
200g malted brown/granary bread flour

10g salt

15g fresh yeast

300ml water

1tblsp olive oil
 

Method:

1. Place both flours in a large mixing bowl and add the salt, giving everything a good mix with your hands so that the salt is well distributed. Crumble in the fresh yeast and mix this through as well. Add the water and olive oil and mix with your hands to form a soft dough.

2. Tip the dough out onto a clean work surface (no need to dust it with flour) and knead for about 10 minutes or until the dough feels soft and silky. Place the dough in a clean, lightly oiled bowl and cover with cling-film. Set the bowl aside and allow the dough to prove until doubled in size which can take anything from 60-90 minutes depending on the ambient temperature of your kitchen.

3. Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface and gently punch out the air. Divide the dough into 7 small, equally sized balls/rolls (I use my electronic scales to do this, but you can do it by eye). Place one ball in the centre of a large parchment-covered baking tray which you have sprinkled with a little flour and space the remaining 6 balls evenly around the edge, spaced slightly apart so that the individual rolls have room to rise and join into each other. Allow the bread rise for a second time until it is almost doubled in size, which will take about 60 minutes.

4. Preheat oven to highest setting and place an empty roasting tin onto the floor of the oven to heat up along with the oven.

5. When the bread has proved for a second time, place the baking tray into the preheated oven. Throw some ice-cubes into the heated tray at the bottom of the oven to help the bread develop a good crust.

Makes 1 large loaf of 7 tear-and-share rolls.

 

 

A Simple White Loaf!

This is the bread that I most often make, baking up a number of loaves each week for my gang who absolutely love it. There’s nothing fancy or elaborate about it… it’s just a plain white loaf. Sometimes I bake it in a loaf tin, other times I braid it or bake it free-form after it has had its second rise in a proving basket.

 

Bread at its very simplest contains flour, yeast, salt and water – that’s all! Once you understand and get a feel for making your own bread a whole new world of possibilities is opened up and, believe me, you will have great fun adapting the basic recipe to create wonderful homemade breads that your friends and family will descend upon like hungry vultures. And really… for me that’s what cooking and baking is all about, making delicious tasting food for those whom you love. Although I am often experimental on the cookery front (which alarms my three children who tend towards being fussy eaters) my main aim along with extending their culinary boundaries is to produce food that they will enjoy eating.

 

Along with using different flours, this recipe can be adapted to include nuts, seeds, dried fruit and other flavourings. I really would encourage you to experiment and most of all to have fun doing it.

 

Many people seem to think that making your own yeast-risen bread is an arduous task, but really it isn’t. Yes… it takes time, because the bread has to be allowed to prove, but it does that by itself, covered with a clean damp tea-towel or some cling-film, nestled away in a corner of the kitchen. The bread does require kneading for 8-10 minutes, but other than initially weighing out the ingredients and later shaping of the dough, there is very little physical effort required.  You can knead the bread using the dough hook attachment on a free-standing mixer, but I actually prefer to do it by hand, because you get a ‘feel’ for the dough and come to understand when it is ready. Ultimately, do whatever works for you.

 

I sometimes substitute different flours for the strong white bread flour listed in the ingredients for this recipe. In one of my favourite variations, I substitute just under half the white flour for malted brown/granary flour, which tastes absolutely amazing! The nutty, malty aroma in the kitchen as this bread bakes is addictive and you will find yourself checking the clock and counting down the minutes until the bread is baked. One thing to note when using/substituting different flours is that their absorption rates may differ to that of white flour and may require slightly less or slightly more fluid than I have specified here. To be honest, if I was going to err on either side, I would always opt for having my dough slightly too sticky rather than too dry as the latter produces a heavy dense and indigestible loaf.

 

You will see that I have recommended using fresh yeast to make the bread. If you are unable to get your hands on some, by all means use dried yeast, using half the amount of fresh yeast specified in the recipe.

 

I think that I have said this before and I know that is sounds a tad pretentious, but there truly is something so life-affirming and fundamental about baking your own bread. I can really see why people become quite obsessive about it. Anyhow… do have a go at making your own.
 

Ingredients:

500g strong white bread flour
10g salt

15g fresh yeast

300ml water

1tblsp olive oil

Method:

1. Place the flour in a large mixing bowl and add the salt, giving everything a good mix with your hands so that the salt is well distributed. Crumble in the fresh yeast and mix this through as well. Add the water and olive oil and mix with your hands to form a soft dough.

2. Tip the dough out onto a clean work surface (no need to dust it with flour) and knead for about 10 minutes or until the dough feels soft and silky. Place the dough in a clean, lightly oiled bowl and cover with cling-film. Set the bowl aside and allow the dough to prove until doubled in size which can take anything from 60-90 minutes depending on the ambient temperature of your kitchen.

3. Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface and gently punch out the air. Shape the dough into a nice round ball and place presentation side down (i.e. top first) into a proving basket liberally dusted with flour or bottom/seam side down into a 900g lightly oiled and floured loaf tin. Allow to rise for a second time until it is almost doubled in size again, which will take about 60 minutes.

4. Preheat oven to highest setting and place an empty roasting tin onto the floor of the oven to heat up along with the oven.

5. If you have used a proving basket gently upend the risen dough in one movement onto a floured baking tray. Slash the bread a couple of times with a baker’s lame or sharp knife and place the tray into the preheated oven Throw some ice-cubes into the heated tray at the bottom of the oven to help the bread develop a good crust.

6. Bake the bread in the oven for 35-40 minutes, until well risen, deep golden brown and the bread sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom. If using a loaf tin, the baking time should be the same, but allow to cool in the tin for a few minutes before removing and transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling completely.

Makes 1 large loaf.

 

Viennese Shortbread Fingers

Every now and again, I like to make a big batch of biscuits to have on hand in the biscuit tin… something nice to nibble on with my beloved cup of tea. These days there are many varieties of biscuit for sale in the shops and supermarkets, but ultimately, I prefer something homemade, if at all possible. Making your own biscuits/cookies is usually a very quick and easy thing to do and they really do taste so much better than their mass-produced cousins.

 

When I was a child there wasn’t the choice that there is nowadays in the shops and the most decadent biscuits we ever bought were chocolate-covered digestives… and we only had those when guests were expected! Other than that it was plain Digestives or Rich Tea. Interestingly, my grandmother who played a huge role in influencing my love of cookery, never really baked biscuits… the only thing I can ever recall her making was shortbread or flapjacks, but nothing more adventurous than that, though both of these tasted wonderful. I thought my friend Sara who lived across the road was so lucky, because her mum used to make Millionaire’s Shortbread….which to me, at that age, seemed like the ultimate in hedonistic home-baking. To this day whenever I make Millionaire’s Shortbread, I always think of how envious I felt of Sara and her brother and sisters! See my recipe for Millionaire’s Shortbread here.

 

Most home-baked biscuits can be stored quite successfully in an air-tight tin for a few days, unlike those that are commercially produced which seem to stay crisp and crunchy for a far longer time, courtesy of the preservatives and anti-humectants that tend to be included. Yes; biscuits are an indulgence, and by no stretch of the imagination could they be considered a dietary necessity, but if I’m going to treat myself, I’d far prefer to eat something that contains the best of ingredients and where I know exactly what has been used. On that basis, I don’t mind that homemade biscuits may not last long as store-bought versions, because they just taste far superior and usually far more delicious!

 

This is a great recipe; really simple to make and results in a short and buttery biscuits. Rather than use caster or granulated sugar for sweetness, powdery icing sugar is used. This along with the inclusion of some cornflour makes a biscuit that just melts in the mouth. The baked biscuits can be sandwiched together with vanilla flavoured buttercream or a splodge of jam if desired, but I like them just dipped in some melted dark chocolate.

 

The key thing when making these biscuits is to allow the butter to soften to room temperature so that all the other ingredients can be incorporated easily to create a soft dough that can be piped. I used a star nozzle fitted to a disposable piping bag to create ‘fingers’, but you could also pipe rosettes, about 5cms in diameter if preferred.
 

Ingredients:

250g butter, very soft but not melted
60g icing sugar

225g plain flour

70g cornflour

½ tsp vanilla extract/paste

To finish:

100g dark chocolate, melted
 

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 160C/Fan Oven 140C/Gas Mark 3. Line two large baking trays with non-stick baking parchment and set aside.

2. Place the butter and icing sugar into a large mixing bowl and cream together until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes) with a hand-held electric mixer.

3. Sift the plain flour and cornflour together and gradually mix into the butter mixture along with the vanilla extract/paste to create a soft dough. Do not over-mix as this will result in ‘tougher’ biscuits.

4. Spoon the dough into a disposable piping bag fitted with a 1cm star nozzle. Pipe out 6-7cm long fingers onto the line baking trays leaving about 2cms between each ‘finger’. You should get about 30 biscuits. Bake in the preheated oven for 15-17 minutes until barely coloured. Remove the trays from the oven and allow the biscuits to cool for about 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.

To finish:

5. Dip one end of each biscuit into the melted chocolate and lay on baking parchment to harden.

Makes approximately 30 biscuits.