Lemon and cardamom tart

I do love a good dessert and one of my absolute favourites is the French classic tarte au citron, or lemon tart. Creamy and zingy, its smooth filling and light pastry is hard to resist. Today I took it upon myself to make some mini lemon tarts but I wished to add an exciting twist. An unusual but delicious spice, cardamom, unlike vanilla and cinnamon, is not what most people would usually think of incorporating into a dessert. So I decided to have a go and add it to my lemon tart custard. These lemon tarts are a delight, with a silky custard and crisp, short pastry.

Lemon and cardamom tarts

Makes 6-8 small tarts or 1 large one 

Ingredients

For the pastry

200 g plain flour
100 g butter
1 egg yolk
water to mix, approx. 2 tbsp

For the filling

3 large eggs
284 ml double cream
100 ml freshly squeezed lemon juice (approx. 3 lemons will yield this volume)
150 g vanilla sugar 
2 cardamom pods, bashed briefly with a pestle and mortar to release seeds

Notes - If you don't have vanilla sugar then just use normal caster sugar. If cardamom doesn't sound entirely to your taste then omit it - you certainly won't regret making these lemon tarts! You don't have to make mini tarts, make a large one if you do not own small tart dishes. You can also add the zest of a lemon if you wish.

Method

1. Begin by making your pastry. Rub the butter into the flour until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolk to the crumbs with enough water to bind them to form a soft dough - I used 2 tbsp but just use as much as is necessary. Wrap the pastry in cling film and place in the fridge to chill for 20-30 minutes. Preheat your oven to gas mark 5.

2. Once chilled, roll your pastry out to a thickness of approximately 2-3 mm. Cut to fit into small fluted flan tins and press in firmly. Remove most of the excess by rolling your rolling pin over the tops of the tins, or simply use a knife leaving a small rim of excess pastry and just trim after baking. Chill for 5-10 minutes before baking. Prick the base of the tarts gently using a fork, line with foil or greaseproof paper and pour in some baking beans to stop the bases from puffing up during baking. If you don't have baking beans, use rice, coins or dried pulses. Bake for 10 minutes or until lightly golden. Once cooked, turn the oven down to gas mark 1.

3. Meanwhile, make your filling. Pour the cream into a small saucepan along with the cardamom pods. Bring to the boil over a gentle heat. Once boiling point is reached turn off the heat and leave the cream to infuse whilst you prepare the other ingredients.

4. Crack the eggs into a large bowl with the sugar and briefly whisk together. Next whisk in the infused cream and the lemon juice. Take care not to over whisk as this will result in a undesirably foamy consistency. Sieve this mixture and leave to stand. 

5. Fill your pastry shells (still in flan tins) and place carefully into the oven (at gas mark 1). Bake for 20-25 minutes or until set with only the slightest wobble. Leave to cool before enjoying as they are or with a dollop of crème fraîche, whipped or clotted cream or a simple fruit coulis - blueberries or strawberries would go very nicely. To make a coulis, simply place the desired fruit (make sure it is a soft fruit) and some caster sugar to taste and a good squeeze of lemon juice into a food processor and blitz until smooth. 

If making a full-sized tart, you will need to adjust the cooking times. As a rough guide, bake the pastry shell for approx. 15-20 minutes - just cook until golden. For the filling you will need to bake for around 40-50 minutes, but again keep checking until the custard is just set.

Bon appetit!


Sasha

 

Griddled aubergine and 'feta' salad

Due to the warm weather we've been thoroughly enjoying making salads, especially vegetarian ones and tonight was another fantastic triumph. We have seen multiple recipes for aubergine and feta cheese salads and we have just chucked a mixture of these and our own ideas together to create the following. 

We say 'feta' because the cheese we actually used wasn't strictly feta, as it was made from cow's milk as opposed to sheep or goat's. We chose to use this as Sasha was unfamiliar with the cheese and we wanted something similar in texture and taste but without the acidity of true feta. This cheese had a less acrid flavour, blending nicely with the aubergine and pine nuts. 

Griddled aubergine and 'feta' salad

Serves 2-3 

Ingredients

100 g mixed salad leaves

75 g ‘feta’ cheese

15 g pine nuts

2 small aubergines

1 tbsp garlic/olive oil

1 tsp dried oregano

1 ½ tbsp salt

pinch pepper

Notes - Don't freak out about the amount of salt! It's used to extract the excess water from the aubergines and is mainly lost in the water when you dry the aubergine slices with a piece of kitchen paper. The 'feta' cheese we used was called 'Patros Natur' but you can use any alternative or indeed feta itself. Again the use of a griddle pan is kind of essential although you can make it work without if needs be, or just chuck the aubergine on a barbecue or under a salamander flame grill.

Method

1. Firstly trim the tops off your aubergines and slice them length ways (see picture) so you have a full length cross-section, slice them about a 1/4 inch thick (or as close to as possible, it'll just take longer to cook them if they are thicker). If you are worried about knives slipping then just cut them into rings of the same thickness.

2. Lay your aubergine slices on a tray in a single layer (no overlapping) and sprinkle them with all of the salt, rubbing it in gently, put aside for 20-30 minutes or until a decent amount of water has been extracted. 

3. Meanwhile, prepare your salad leaves and then the dressing - by mixing the oil, oregano and pepper together. Crumble your cheese into small pieces and toast your pine nuts in a hot frying pan until lightly brown. Set all these aside until you are ready to assemble your salad.

4. Heat a griddle pan on a medium-hot heat. Dry your aubergine slices with kitchen paper, (you'll be amazed how much water will come out - most of the salt will be removed but some will remain to season the dish) place them on a chopping board and brush them with the dressing on one side. Griddle them oiled side down, then oil the other side, turn once when griddle lines appear, finish cooking them through on the other side and repeat with the rest of the slices.

5. To plate, place a base of salad leaves tossed with a little of the cheese and a few pine nuts. Then arrange the aubergine slices as you see fit and sprinkle with the last of the cheese and pine nuts. Drizzle with a little garlic oil and enjoy immediately.

Warm asparagus and halloumi salad

We cooked up a right treat tonight! It's the short-lived British asparagus season (generally from 24th April - 21st June) at the moment and we got our hands on a few tender stems and wondered what we could do to celebrate these delicious vegetables. This is what we came up with...

As the weather has been so beautiful and warm recently, we craved a light and delicately flavoured supper. Salads can be dull and uninteresting and often not at all satisfying. This is most definitely not the case here - not only is this dish quick and simple to rustle up, it is absolutely divine and, perhaps unexpectedly, filling. 

We think you will love this. The little nuggets of salty halloumi marry perfectly with the sweetness of the asparagus and the balance of flavours is complimented exquisitely by the garlic oil (see homemade condiments). 

This salad has very few components but we assure you it will not disappoint. Go on, get some British asparagus whilst it's still around (blink and it'll be gone!) and get in the kitchen!

Warm asparagus and halloumi salad

Serves 2

Preparation time - less than 5 minutes

Cooking time - 5 minutes

Ingredients

10 full length British asparagus stems

125 g halloumi cheese

100 g mixed salad leaves 

1/4 tsp cumin seeds

1/4 tsp coriander seeds

2 tbsp garlic oil

salt and pepper

Notes: Snap the woody ends off the asparagus and if it is really woody, then shave off the outer skin from the lower stem. The halloumi cheese must be of a good quality as otherwise it will leak too much water when frying; we use Cypressa. You can use whichever salad leaves you enjoy most, however we used a mixture of spinach, rocket, baby lollo rosso and red chard.

Method

1. Cut your halloumi into 3/4" cubes and set aside in a bowl. Grind the cumin and coriander seeds in a pestle and mortar and sprinkle over the halloumi, coating evenly.

2. Put a griddle pan  (if you don't have a griddle pan then a large heavy based frying pan will suffice  but we do recommend a griddle pan to achieve the best flavour) and a large frying pan on to heat. Meanwhile, prepare your asparagus (as above) and add a chef's measure (see conversion table) of salt and pepper to your garlic oil and brush this mixture onto your asparagus stems lightly. 

3. Place the halloumi into your frying pan and the asparagus into your griddle pan (no extra oil required in either pan). Fry the halloumi until golden brown (don't worry, the joy of this cheese is that it does not melt) - this should take around 5 minutes or so, but keep an eye on it as halloumi will burn quickly. The asparagus will be ready when it has griddle lines on and it is just cooked through (you still want a slight crunch) - this should also take around 5 minutes.

4. Place your salad leaves onto plates and simply toss with the halloumi. Arrange the asparagus stems on top and finish with a drizzle of garlic oil. 

 How could you possibly resist this?!

Broad beans and bacon on toast

If you're seeking something different for lunch during these warmer months, a light dish such as this is perfect, especially if you fancy something a little naughtier than a salad. This is a conglomeration of various recipes and has become a standard meal in our house as we always have the ingredients available. It is simple and delicious and takes very little time to put together, great for when you are in a rush!

Sautéed Broad Beans and Bacon on Toast

Serves 2

Ingredients

250 g frozen broad beans, peeled

4 rashers bacon, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

2 tbsp freshly chopped parsley

2 tbsp garlic oil

pinch pepper

thickly sliced crusty bread, toasted

Note - We used smoked bacon but of course you can use unsmoked if you prefer. We peel the broad beans because the outer skin is tough and has an unpleasant texture. It is worth the time taking the skins off, but if you like the texture, by all means keep them on. If your mix becomes too dry throughout cooking add more oil. If you don't have garlic oil, simply substitute olive oil and add a finely chopped garlic clove with the onions.

Method

1. Boil the broad beans for 4 minutes in salted water. Drain and rinse under cold water (this will help to cool them down for when you handle them to peel). Peel the skins off and set aside.

2. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and then sauté the onions until soft but not coloured (~ 2 minutes). Add the bacon pieces and sauté until browned (~ 5 minutes).

3. Meanwhile, toast four slices of bread. 

4. Add your beans and toss through the bacon and onions (~ 1 minute), season with pepper and add the parsley just before serving on buttered toast.

Hope you enjoy, we sure did!

  

Rich Fruit Scones

Scone - pronounced two ways... there's always been a debate about this. We don't really care too much which way it is said (if you are more interested a here's a link - Scone), we just know that they are tasty.  

We've baked up a batch of lovely fruity cakes for an afternoon snack, these are simply amazing with thick clotted cream and a jam of your choice - we had homemade plum jam and also a grapefruit marmalade, but these are just as perfect with the standard strawberry jam. This recipe came from Jacob's mum, we don't know where she got it from, most likely her mum, but we like it and it goes down well.

Rich Fruit Scones

Makes 10-12 large scones 

Ingredients

1 lb self raising flour

a pinch of salt

3 oz fat (margarine or butter)

3 tbsp caster sugar

semi skimmed milk

5 oz raisins

2 beaten eggs

Notes - The milk was enough volume to bind the mix into a soft dough (if you get a sticky dough, you can reverse it with addition of a little flour). The milk is also used for brushing the tops before they go in the oven.

Method

1. Sift the flour into a bowl, add the salt and fat. Rub these together to a breadcrumb texture, add the sugar and raisins and mix through the breadcrumb mixture and set aside

2. Beat the two eggs together and make a well in the flour mix, pour in the eggs and bring together the mix adding as much milk as necessary to bind into a soft dough (approx 3-5 tbsp).

3. No need for a rolling pin here, push the ball of dough down into a round, about 1inch thick and cut using a biscuit cutter (we used a fluted 2 1/2 inch cutter). Place them on a baking tray, brush with milk and bake in a preheated oven (Gas Mark 5) for 15 minutes until golden. 

Serve warm with good quality clotted cream and a dollop of jam and savour each bite!

Jacob and Sasha

Puff pastry pizza

Just a simple recipe tonight, but a delicious one at that. Pastry skills are difficult to obtain if you don't constantly practice - we make certain types of pastry but something that we've never done is make our own puff pastry. I would like to attempt this one day but for the majority of the time we just don't have time to deal with it so we always have a block of puff pastry in the fridge/freezer for times like these. 

There is nothing wrong with this, especially if you wish to get the lovely light crispy layers that the ready-made ones give you (I'd like to see a chef replicate this! If anyone can, please teach me). Don't get me wrong, I'm not endorsing ready-made everything, in fact I'm really quite against it. I love to make as much as I can completely from scratch. I'm not the type to go and buy a jar of sauce or whatever to make life easier. Cooking is a therapeutic activity (and should not be stressful - if it is you're doing it wrong or working in a professional kitchen) and I love getting my hands dirty learning new techniques all the time. I'm not claiming to be the best cook ever and never cheat (only when I simply must). I'm just saying it's perfectly alright to use ready-made puff pastry.

This recipe came to me one evening when we didn't have much in the fridge. It is not completely unique but was a concoction I put together and found to be quite delicious. One thing you may notice is that this is a tomato sauce free pizza - for those worried about the pastry being too dry and flaky - don't be. I can assure you it won't be. This is a great dive in and share between friends dish and is also fantastic cold the next day for lunch or a light nibble. Of course you can vary the toppings but this is what we had when I made it and it worked very well. 

Dig in!

Puff pastry pizza 

Serves 4 

Ingredients

1 block ready made puff pastry (approx 500 g)

1/2 small red onion

60 g cured chorizo sausage (1/4" slices)

1 large vine-ripened tomato

A handful of leftover roast chicken (about 100 g)

3 large chestnut mushrooms

80 g grated mature cheddar cheese 

A drizzle of garlic oil (optional, extra virgin will do just fine)

A handful of rocket (arugula) leaves

Cherry tomatoes 

Notes - Use vine-ripened cherry tomatoes if you can - we were very happy to discover today that this week is British tomato week (May 21st-27th) and have acquired some beautiful Norfolk-grown Piccolo cherry toms. As for the roast chicken - this is either a perfect meal for using up leftovers after a roast or alternatively you can buy a ready-roasted one from the supermarket rotisserie (another perfectly acceptable cheat). 

 

Method

1. Roll out your ready-made puff pastry on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle to fit the size of your lightly oiled oven tray or baking sheet (ours is 14"x10"), and approximately 1/4" thick. Score a 3/4" wide border around the pastry (don't cut all the way through!) and place in a preheated oven (Gas Mark 6, 200^oC) for 10-12 minutes or until lightly golden and puffed up.

2. Whilst the pastry is in the oven prepare the toppings. Coarsely grate your cheese, slice your onion and tomato into rings (1/4" thick) and slice your mushrooms. The leftover chicken can be pulled into strips and chorizo sliced. 

3. Remove the pastry from the oven, sprinkle a third of the cheese onto the pastry within the borders (scored previously - if it's massive and puffed up just push the inner section down gently, leaving the borders puffed, but not too much as otherwise you'll lose the layers. Be careful not the burn yourself on the steam released in doing so) layer the toppings as you see fit, I did the onion followed by the tomato, mushrooms, chorizo and chicken and then topped these with the remaining cheese. 

4. Cook the pizza in the oven for another 15-20 minutes or until the toppings are cooked through and golden. Dress with the oil and serve with a handful of rocket and cherry tomatoes. 

Enjoy!

 

Jacob

Mint Mocha Cupcakes

As Jacob is currently finishing his last few exams and is therefore tied up with revision I have chosen to take the time to make some tasty treats and so as a result this post is a solo venture. Although Jacob took a short break to take the photograph for me.

In the last few weeks I've been pretty fascinated, perhaps even obsessed, with the mint/chocolate/coffee combination, in drinks and nibbles. I have decided to take it upon myself to incorporate this into something I love doing... making cupcakes.

Coffee and chocolate are a match made in heaven, a bit like tomatoes and basil or chocolate and hazelnuts. When these are combined with mint in the form of a mocha drink, it just puts a smile on my face, making me feel warm and happy. For these cupcakes I have made a moist yet light and soft sponge and slathered it with a lovely minty buttercream frosting.

Here is the recipe, hope you enjoy! NB. This is the first time I have made these cupcakes - I adapted a recipe which I found in a book to suit my needs and as a result came across a few little obstacles. However I have indicated in the recipe where this is the case and have made note of how to deal with them. Don't worry, the recipe isn't difficult, though I do recommend that you read it all the way through before attempting to make them yourselves. For example, next time, I would not add the bicarbonate of soda whilst the chocolate and coffee mixture is on the heat! In my opinion these really worked, so I certainly hope that you like them!

Mint Mocha Cupcakes

Makes 12 regular cupcakes or 36 mini cupcakes

 Ingredients

For the cupcakes	For the frosting
150 ml water	60 g margarine or butter
100 ml semi-skimmed milk	1 tbsp golden syrup
250 g caster sugar	200 g icing sugar
125 g margarine or butter	1/2 tsp peppermint extract
20 g dark chocolate (70% cocoa)	A couple of drops of green food colouring
2 tbsp golden syrup
2 tbsp cocoa powder	To decorate
4 tbsp espresso powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda	Chocolate chips
250 g self-raising flour	Grated chocolate
2 eggs, lightly beaten Method For the cupcakes 1. Place the water, milk and caster sugar into a large saucepan. Heat gently over a low heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved. 2. Next stir in the margarine, dark chocolate, golden syrup, cocoa powder, espresso powder and bicarbonate of soda. Bring to the boil and then heat gently until all of the ingredients have combined. Be careful - when I did this the mixture puffed up and I very nearly invoked a volcano-like incident.  After a minute or two take this off the heat and leave to cool a little. 3. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to gas mark 4/180°C and line your muffin tin(s) with the appropriate sized paper cases. 4. When the chocolate and coffee mixture has cooled a bit, transfer it to a large mixing bowl and beat in the eggs and the flour until you have a smooth consistency - use a whisk for this. I can sometimes be a little impatient and so I started to add the flour and eggs whilst the chocolate and coffee mixture was still very hot. I suffered no ill effects from this, although I did add the flour first with the aim that it would cool the mixture down enough so as not to scramble the eggs. Needless to say, no scrambling occurred. 5. Next simply pour into your muffin tins ready to bake. The mixture is quite runny and so I transferred it to a jug for ease of transfer (though, naturally, I still managed to spill a little).  6. Bake in your preheated oven: 10 minutes for mini cupcakes and 25 minutes for full-sized ones.  7. Leave to cool in their tins for 5 minutes after cooking and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Happy Baking! Sasha	Chocolate covered coffee beans For the frosting 1.  Mix together the margarine and golden syrup with a fork until soft.  Note - The addition of golden syrup to the buttercream results in something of a fudgy texture which sets slightly more than a normal buttercream would. 2. Next add the icing sugar and mix thoroughly until well-combined and there are no lumps. 3. Add the peppermint extract and a couple of drops of green food colouring and mix thoroughly. Of course you can adjust the amount of peppermint you add, but I think a half teaspoon works well. You want just enough colouring to result in a pale green frosting. 4. Generously swirl your frosting on top of the cupcakes and decorate with grated chocolate, chocolate chips or chocolate covered coffee beans.

Moroccan-Style Chicken Tagine

 

Tagine (tæˈʒiːn) - n -  1. A traditional North African stew with vegetables, meat and a variety of spices.  2. A characteristic terracotta cooking pot with a conical lid.

For our first post we decided that we would share a lovely simple dish which is full of flavour and which we love to devour.

We have unfortunately never been to Morocco, however we have read many books and articles about its cuisine and eaten in various North African restaurants; as a result this is our take on a Moroccan tagine.

Enjoy!

Moroccan-Style Chicken Tagine

Preparation time - 15 minutes

Cooking time -  50-60 minutes

Serves 4

Ingredients

600-700 g boneless chicken leg, cut into bite-sized pieces

2 medium onions - half ring slices

6 medium cloves garlic - finely chopped

500 g Maris Piper potatoes - peeled and cut into 1 inch dice

1 x 400 g can chickpeas - 230 g drained

200 g fresh vine-ripened tomatoes - peeled and chopped

1 cinnamon stick (~ 10cm)

1 tsp ground turmeric

3 tsp Ras-el-Hanout

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

pinch of saffron threads

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

200 ml chicken stock

2 tbsp olive oil

20 g butter

Notes - We used 2 chicken oxo cubes to make up our stock - these cubes are salted so we used this to season our dish. Alternatively you could use homemade or shop bought stock and then season with salt accordingly to your taste.  Ras-el-Hanout is a traditional Moroccan spice blend available in the majority of shops and typically comprises cardamom, clove, cinnamon, ground chili peppers, coriander, cumin, nutmeg, peppercorn and turmeric.

Method

 

1. In a large pan (if you don't have a tagine - don't worry, we don't...) heat the oil and butter, add the onions and garlic and soften slightly over a medium heat, without browning, for about 2 minutes.

2. Add the chicken and all of the spices, stir and leave to cook for approximately 10 minutes over a medium heat, continuing to stir occasionally.

3. Next add the potatoes, stir to combine and cook for another 5 minutes.

4. Add the tomatoes, cover and cook over a low heat for 20 minutes.  Stir from time to time to ensure it has not caught on the bottom of the pan.

5. Once the ingredients have combined to produce a thick sauce, add the chickpeas and stock. Stir and leave to simmer, uncovered, until the potatoes are soft and the sauce begins to thicken. Season to taste and serve immediately.

Side dishes 

  

We recommend that you serve this with some cous cous, simply prepared using the recipe below.

For every 100 g of dried cous cous - mix with approximately 120 ml of boiling hot chicken stock (we use one chicken stock cube for this amount of liquid) in a bowl, cover with a plate and leave to absorb for 10 minutes.  Once absorbed, scratch with a fork to separate the grains and season with 1 tsp grated lemon zest, 1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice and a pinch of ground black pepper.  Add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil if desired.  Serve immediately with the tagine.

We hope that you enjoy this as much as we do and welcome any comments you might have.