In a nod to Halloween this week, here is a recipe for toffee apple pie.
Serves 4
Ingredients:
4 Large Cooking Apples – Peeled and Sliced
75g Butter
75g Light Brown Muscovado Sugar
100ml Cider
1/4 tsp Mixed Spice
1 tbsp Golden Syrup
Sweet Short Crust Pastry
Method:
Pre heat oven to gas mark 6.
Use 1/2 the pastry to line a pie dish.
Melt the butter in a pan and add the rest of the ingredients (except the syrup), simmer until the apples start to soften.
Remove the apples with a slotted spoon from the pan and layer in the pie dish.
Add the syrup to the remaining sauce in the pan and bring to the boil till the sauce starts to reduce into a thick toffee mixture.
Spoon the mixture over the apples.
Roll out the remaining pastry to cover the pie dish. Brush with egg white and make a small hole in the middle of the pastry to let the air escape.
Bake for 25 minutes. Serve with vanilla ice cream or custard.
This recipe was inspired by “Zuppa di zucca” – from the The River Cafe Cook Book
.
However after many years of cooking this now, I look back at the original recipe and I think I have finally achieved what I can call my own version.
Keep the seeds from the pumpkin, as if you can get it right they taste delicious roasted. I’m still trying to perfect this myself but have a look at Molly Irwin’s blog for a simple method.
Serves 8
Ingredients:
1.5kg Pumpkin or Squash – Peeled and Thickly Sliced
2 tsp Oregano
2 tsp Basil
1 tsp Sage
6 tbsp Olive Oil
50g Butter
2 Red Onions – Finely Chopped
150g New Potatoes – Halved
2 Garlic Cloves – Sliced
2 Chilli’s
1 tsp Cumin
1 tsp Coriander
1/2 tsp Turmeric
50ml Tomato Purée
Sea Salt and Black Pepper to taste
1 litre Vegetable Stock
Method:
Layer the pumpkin on a baking tray and sprinkle with oregano, basil, sage, salt & pepper, then drizzle with 1/2 the olive oil.
Roast the pumpkin on Gas Mark 5 for 30 minutes turning once.
Remove the pumpkin from the oven and cool slightly before chopping into cubes.
Heat the oil and butter in a large saucepan and gently fry the onion until soft.
Stir in the garlic, pumpkin and potatoes and continue to cook for a minute.
Add the spices, salt and pepper.
Add enough stock to just cover the pumpkin. Turn down the heat and simmer until the potatoes are tender ~about 25 minutes.
Purée the mixture and then return to the saucepan and add more stock as required.
Check for seasoning.
I have tried a few beetroot brownie recipes since HFW did them on River Cottage last year, however this is a recipe that is gluten free for my grandmother as she can not eat wheat flour. The hazelnuts I add for an extra taste of autumn (and they are Lenny’s favourite), but you can substitute ground almonds for a more subtle flavour.
Ingredients:
100g Hazelnuts
250g 75% Dark Chocolate
200g Butter
250g Cooked and Puréed Beetroot
3 Medium Eggs
1/2 tsp Vanilla Essence
200g Caster Sugar
75g Rice Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
Method:
Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 4.
Roast the hazelnuts on a baking tray for 10 minutes, turning occasionally and checking they are not browning too much.
Once roasted, grind as finely as possible in a pestle & mortar, coffee grinder or food processor.
Melt the chocolate and butter in a bain-marie, or glass dish over simmering water.
Mix together the beetroot, eggs, vanilla essence, sugar and melted chocolate mix.
Fold in the rice flour, baking powder and hazelnuts.
Line a baking tin with greaseproof paper and pour in the mixture.
Bake for 35 mins. Test to see if the brownies are cooked using a skewer, however unlike a cake it should be slightly soft and sticky in the middle.
Leave to cool before cutting into squares.
The clocks have turned back and it’s time to pull up the last of the tomatoes. We have had a superb run this year and I have become addicted to my slow roasted tomato recipe, however, today I have to find a use for all the lovely green ones left behind. We don’t have a greenhouse so they will not ripen on the plants now.
This chutney has been modified from a recipe by Floyd On Britain & Ireland
. As with any pickles and chutneys it should really be about what you have to hand and want to preserve, adding your own touch to the recipes is all part of the fun.
Ingredients:
15g Root Ginger
5 Green Chillies
1kg Green Tomatoes – Chopped
250g Apples – Peeled & Chopped
100g Currents
250g Onions – Chopped
1tsp salt
250g Dark Brown Sugar
250ml Malt Vinegar
100ml Cider Vinegar
Method:
Bruise the ginger keeping the skin on, this will release the heat. Tie in a muslin bag along with the chillies.
Place all the ingredients in a preserving pan.
Bring to the boil, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Remove any scum from the top.
Simmer until the desired consistency is reached ~ 1 hour.
Remove the muslin bag and pour into sterilised jars, seal immediately.
NB: This recipe will fill 6 x 8oz jam jars.
Visit the Brampton Deli store.
This cake is full to the brim with rich fruit, nuts, spices and alcohol. The longer you leave it to mature, the better!
We still have some of last years cake left. If well marinated and stored correctly it will keep very well.
Don’t skimp on the alcohol, I tend to add an additional slug of port and rum as I go along, but that means it requires more cooking time. If you stick to the guidelines below this time, you can modify it to your taste next time around.
This recipe fills a 9 inch cake tin, however this year I am making 5 smaller cakes for hampers, using a Silverwood Multi Size Cake Pan.
Ingredients:
450g Raisins
225g Currents
150g Candied Fruit Peel
150g Walnuts
150g Sultanas
150g Prunes
125g Dark Brown Muscovado Sugar
2tsp Vanilla Extract
1tsp Cinnamon
1tsp Salt
1/2tsp Nutmeg – Grated
1/2tsp Cloves – Ground
1/2tsp All Spice – Ground
5tbsp Dark Rum
5tbsp Brandy
5tbsp Whisky
5tbsp Port
Method:
Put all the ingredients into a large stock pot and mix well with a wooden spoon. Heat gently and simmer for 15 minutes. Do not let it boil as you need to retain the alcohol. Leave to cool and pour into a jar for storage for at least a week, stirring the mixture daily.
I’ll see you next week when I’ll post the next instalment… You can’t rush perfection!!
Updated 9/11/09: Check out the next stage here.
A short visit to Cornwall this weekend reminds me how much I miss living by the sea, so this site has kept my sprits up today:
buythesea
We visited Jo Downs’s shop in Padstow. Beautiful glass art work. I love the glass tiles. I hope one day I can design my own bathroom and include a few of these dotted around.
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Ingredients:
12 Quail’s Eggs
200ml White Vinegar – So as not to taint the eggs.
For the pickle:
150ml White Vinegar
50ml Water
1/4 tsp Ground Black Pepper
1/4 tsp Chilli Flakes
1/4 tsp Yellow Mustard Seeds
1 tsp Salt
1 Clove Crushed Garlic
Method:
Bring a pan of water to the boil and simmer till hard boiled ~ 4 minutes, stirring gently so as not to crack the eggs but to keep the yolk central in the egg.
Remove the eggs from the water and cover in the White Vinegar for 12 hours. This will dissolve the shell making it easier to peel.
Discard the vinegar and peel the eggs removing the tough inner membrane, along with any remaining shell. Rinse the eggs well and put in a sterilised jar.
In a pan, bring the pickling ingredients to the boil and simmer for at least 10 minutes.
Pour the vinegar mixture over the eggs and seal the jar.
I did not strain the pickling vinegar hence I have a rather cloudy jar of eggs, so I advise doing so if you want the jar to look clear.
UPDATED: 17th March 2010
This is great picnic food, it will keep warm without spoiling in tin foil but is also great eaten cold, served with some alioli, and will keep for a couple of days.
If you are making this recipe from scratch then slicing the potatoes before parboiling reduces the cooking time, but this recipe is even better when you use up left over new potatoes.
Ingredients:
600g new potatoes, sliced into approximately 3mm slices, just a guide no need to be too exact this is a rustic dish after all.
6 eggs
Pinch of saffron
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp oregano
Salt & black pepper
3 tbps olive oil
1 large red onion, finely sliced
1 clove of garlic, finely sliced
100g chorizo, diced into approximately 1/2cm cubes
10 cherry tomatoes, halved
1 red pepper, diced
1 red chilli pepper, finely chopped
Method:
If required parboil the new potatoes and then rinse in fresh water and set aside in a large bowl.
Beat the eggs together lightly with the seasoning’s.
Soften the onions in 2 tbsp of the oil in a large frying pan and then add the garlic, chorizo, tomatoes, pepper and chilli. Cook for 5 minutes to release the flavours from the chorizo and soften the tomatoes.
Tip the contents of the frying pan into the potatoes. Add the remaining olive oil to the frying pan, do not rinse the frying pan as you want to keep all the lovely chorizo flavoured juices.
Add approx 1/2 the egg from the already beaten eggs to the potato mixture and stir well to combine all the ingredients.
Pour the potato mixture into the frying pan and cover with the remaining egg. Flatten the omelette down into the pan. Cook on a low gas for 1 minute on the base and then brown off the top under a hot grill until the egg is cooked through.
150g Chana Dal – Soaked for 24 hours
1 Dried Red Chilli
1/2 tsp Turmeric
1 Bay Leaf
Cook all the above in 2 pints of water for about 40 minutes, until the water has reduced down almost completely and the dal has softened.
NB: This dal will retain it’s shape and does not break down too much so make sure the pan does not dry out.
100ml Coconut Milk
400ml Roasted Tomato Purée (made from approx 350g cherry tomatoes)
Add the coconut milk and tomato purée and bring to a simmer.
150g Shallots – Finely Chopped
3 Cloves of Garlic
1 Cinnamon Stick
1 tsp Cumin Seeds
1 tsp Coriander Seeds
1/2 tsp Nigella Seeds
1/2 tsp Brown Mustard Seeds
10-12 Curry Leaves – Crushed
1 Red Chilli – Chopped
12 Cherry Tomatoes – Halved
2 tbsp Coriander – Finely Chopped
Soften the shallots and garlic in the oil, along with the cinnamon stick in a cast iron or heavy based pan.
Grind the spices in a pestle and mortar. Add to the pan with the chilli stir through for 2 minutes and then add the cherry tomatoes. Stir though for about 1 minute.
Add the spice mixture to the dal and simmer until the dal has thickened to your liking.
Update 26-10-09: Just made this with the addition of some left-over marrow, and I used mung beans instead of Chana-dal. They require much less cooking time.
