Recipes

Mike Harding’s Courgette Soup

9th August 2010 » Permalink: Mike Harding’s Courgette Soup

5 courgette plants are getting ready to deliver their crop in the Touch garden… there will be far too many to eat daily, so I had a look at freezing them, but apparently they go a bit squishy when defrosted. So I investigated a courgette soup recipe… either this or lucky neighbours!

Ingredients:

2 lbs (900 g) courgettes
½ lb (225 g) potatoes
4 cloves garlic
1 onion
1½ pints (900 ml) water or white vegetable stock
Salt and Pepper (best is Madagascan pepper – thanks, Philip!)
1 tablespoon chopped basil
1 tablespoon chopped oregano
1 tablesepoon chopped chives
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 oz (56 g) grated parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons cream

Method:

Wash the courgettes and chop into chunks. Peel and cut the potatoes into small cubes.
Peel and slice the onion. Crush the garlic.
Heat the olive oil in a large pan and add the onion and garlic. Lightly fry for about 5 minutes to soften.
Add the potatoes to the pan, cover with half of the stock or water, bring to the boil and then reduce to a simmer for about 15 minutes until half-cooked..
Add the courgette chunks, salt and pepper to taste, chopped oregano and basil and the rest of the stock or water, bring to the boil and then reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are fully cooked.
Either rub through a sieve or put through a blender to make a smooth pureee.
Return to a clean pan, re-heat and add the cream, grated parmesan and chopped chives without boiling.

Serve immediately with a sprinkling of cheese on the top of the bowls.
Serves 4.

Eddie Nuttall’s Risotto with Vegan Bacon

6th August 2010 » Permalink: Eddie Nuttall’s Risotto with Vegan Bacon

(Serves 2)
1 Onion (chopped)
1 Clove of Garlic (chopped)
1 Vegetable Stock Cube
250g Arborio Rice
Half a lemon
1 Bottle of Riesling (or other white wine if preferred)
4 slices of Vegan Bacon (cut into small squares)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Soya Margarine

1. Firstly, add the stock cube to water in a medium saucepan and simmer until dissolved. Reduce to a low heat so the liquid stays warm.
2. Melt a generous slab of soya margarine with some olive oil in a large, heavy pan on a medium heat.
3. Add the chopped onion and garlic and sauté until the onion is slightly opaque.
4. Next add the vegan bacon and arborio rice and stir vigorously until everything is coated with the melted soya margarine.
5. Throw in a glass or so of the white wine, and stir until the liquid is absorbed. At some point during this, add the juice of the lemon also.
6. Next add a ladle of stock to the rice, and stir until absorbed. Repeat this one ladle at a time until the rice is al dente. During this you must stir the rice constantly to avoid it burning or sticking to the bottom of the pan. This can be quite hard work, so I recommend this to be a good time to dig out a favourite album to help you through it. Remember you still have a bottle of wine (minus one glass) for medicinal purposes at your disposal also. If you run out of stock before the rice is cooked, just use hot water.
7. When ready, serve immediately with piles of fresh rocket and excessive amounts of ground black pepper, and enjoy with the remainder of the wine. Do not leave to sit in the pan, it goes glutinous and rubbish really quickly.
8. If you cannot find vegan bacon at your local health food store, try experimenting with other ingredients. I have had great results from sun-dried tomatoes, fennel, asparagus, beetroot (which dyes the rice to an attractive pink), and slightly surreal-looking wild mushrooms respectively.

Angeline Evans’s Macaroni and Cheese with Portabella Mushrooms (or The Art of Perfecting the Béchamel Sauce)

31st July 2010 » Permalink: Angeline Evans’s Macaroni and Cheese with Portabella Mushrooms (or The Art of Perfecting the Béchamel Sauce)

16 oz. elbows pasta (whole grain, basic, gluten-free, whatever you like). Cook pasta per packet instructions, drain and place in greased baking dish.
16 oz. grated cheese, any kind, but at least 3 types (preferably 5) to make it interesting, e.g. extra sharp cheddar, colby jack, mozzarella, etc… Whatever you do, DO NOT USE VELVEETA! I buy the cheese in bricks and grate it myself.

A few good-sized portabella mushrooms. Chop into pieces. Brown mushrooms in a separate pan with BUTTER for a few minutes till mushrooms impart smoky fragrance, but before they turn to mush. Add cooked mushrooms to the baking dish with elbows pasta.

Pre-heat oven to 400˚F in bake mode.

To make the cheese sauce or béchamel, you’ll need:
8 tablespoons butter
6 tablespoons flour
4 to 5 cups of milk (warm in microwave for a few minutes)
salt and pepper
parsley (handful, chopped)

Melt butter over low heat in saucepan. When butter is melted, add the flour. Stir and blend flour/butter mixture over low heat for at least 5 minutes till lumps are gone, and mixture has a slight hint of nut brown color. It is important to thoroughly cook the flour, but not burn the whole thing. Once mixture is well blended, GRADUALLY add the warmed milk a little bit at a time. Keep stirring over low heat. Get rid of lumps before adding more warmed milk. This is essentially your classic white sauce (béchamel) base.

Once all the milk is added and mixed, add grated cheese. Stir till cheese is all melted. Season with salt and pepper. Add parsley. Now you have your doctored-up cheese sauce.
Pour cheese sauce over cooked pasta and mushrooms. Sprinkle in a tiny bit of paprika if you like. Bake in oven uncovered for approximately 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from oven before cheese gets burned.

Randy Gibson’s Peach Tea Julep

14th July 2010 » Permalink: Randy Gibson’s Peach Tea Julep

2 oz. (60 ml) Tea Infused Bourbon
3/4 oz. (25 ml) Simple Syrup
10 mint leaves
3 dashes Fee’s Peach bitters (or two slices of fresh peach)
Lemon Slice
Mint Sprig

To make the Tea-infused Bourbon add one strong black tea bag to every 8 oz (240 ml) of Bourbon (I prefer Buffalo Trace or Makers Mark for this). Allow to infuse for 4 hours, remove the tea bags and use. This will keep indefinitely.

To make the simple syrup mix 2:1 parts sugar to water and bring to a light boil. Turn off the heat and allow to cool – kept in the refrigerator this will keep for about a month.

To assemble the julep:

Muddle the mint leaves with the simple syrup and the bitters in a heavy glass. (if using fresh peach, muddle that here as well)

Top with half the Tea-Infused bourbon, stir well and add crushed ice to nearly fill the glass. Add the rest of the bourbon and give a stir. Top the glass off with more crushed ice.

Garnish with a lemon slice and a sprig of mint.

Enjoy on a warm porch with a good breeze and the sun shining.

Tochnit Aleph’s Salad Dressing

23rd June 2010 » Permalink: Tochnit Aleph’s Salad Dressing

2 schallots
1 red habanero chili
3 cloves of garlic
40ml balsamico vinegar
40ml olive oil
20ml soy-sauce (japanese)
1 spoon of hot mustard
1 spoon of sweet mustard
1 spoon of minced horseradish
1 twist of lemon
salt
pepper

put everything in a blender and pour over salad of your choice
(also good as a dressing for cold noodle-salad)

Ed Benndorf’s 7 Potatoes & 3 Tomatoes

23rd June 2010 » Permalink: Ed Benndorf’s 7 Potatoes & 3 Tomatoes

Boil seven potatoes
While boiling cut three tomatoes
After boiling put the potatoes on a plate, cut them and add the tomatoes
If needed add some salt

Paul Williams’s J G Ballard

25th May 2010 » Permalink: Paul Williams’s J G Ballard

Mutated Armadillo baked in its own lead shielding (from The Voices of Time, Phoenix, 1997)

Fiona Talkington’s Clare’s Roasted Butternut Squash Salad

21st May 2010 » Permalink: Fiona Talkington’s Clare’s Roasted Butternut Squash Salad

Butternut squash is the food of the gods to me and this easy and delicious dish was first made for me by a lovely friend, hence the title.

Chop a buttnernut squash (peeled, de-seeded, all the usual things) into chunks. Drizzle with olive oil and roast along with chopped garlic, a few sprigs of fresh rosemary and black pepper.

Meanwhile for the dressing whisk together 4 tbsp olive oil, 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar, 1 tbsp clear honey, 1 tbsp soy sauce and crushed garlic.

In your favourite large bowl put wild rocket. Arrange the roasted squash over the top, add chopped or crumbled goats cheese and chopped walnuts. I added some chopped dried apricots too which give it another texture.

Perfect for a winter lunch, a summer supper with a glass or two of chilled white wine or elderflower and try prosecco jelly for dessert.

If you want a non veggie option, some crisp fried parma ham nestling amongst the rocket is very tasty!

Anonymous (from 1659) – Submitted by Daniela Cascella, from a recipe book from 1659, for the new Parliament

20th May 2010 » Permalink: Anonymous (from 1659) – Submitted by Daniela Cascella, from a recipe book from 1659, for the new Parliament

An Excellent Recipe to make a Compleat Parliament or (if you please) a New Senate Fitted to the English-Man’s Palate

…one and fifty Anabaptists, blach’t in fair river water, threescore Independents, a quarter of a pound of John Lillburn’s bones beaten into a fine powder and sear’d, the better to unite with the rest; whereunto adde an ounce of Oyle of Saint-John’s-Wort, a drachme of the scrapings of the Divell’s cloven foot; five spoon-fulls of the marrow of old Oliver’s nose; half a Committee man; two Gallons of Aquafortis, seventy Scot’s haslets, together with a Kidderkin-full of Hugh Peter’s sighs and tears, evaporated into water in an Alembiqu’ made of an Organ-pipe..

Eva-Lena Soderberg’s Swedish Choklad Bollar

28th April 2010 » Permalink: Eva-Lena Soderberg’s Swedish Choklad Bollar

200 gram Butter
1 1/2 deciliter Sugar
4 teaspoons Vanilla Sugar
6 tablespoons Chocolate Powder
6 deciliter Oat Flakes
1 teaspoon cold Coffee

Mix together and roll into small balls, cover in coconut flakes, then chill.
(If you do not have Vanilla Sugar, use a couple of drops of Vanilla Extract…)

Dave Knapik’s Eurovision Song Contest 2009

19th April 2010 » Permalink: Dave Knapik’s Eurovision Song Contest 2009

Eurovision

This cocktail needs to be sweet and trashy, with a thin veneer of pseudo-sophistication, as well as slightly embarrassing to admit to liking. Eastern Europe should dominate this drink as much as it dominates the contest, though the west should make an appearance as well, just to give the proceedings a surface appearance of fairness.

* 2 parts vodka
* 1 part Pálinka (Hungarian flavoured brandy) … maybe some other potent Eastern European spirit as a substitute (credit to Kai Hoffman)
* a dash of Angostura Bitters “to represent the dashed hopes of anyone not from east of the Danube” (credit to Jo Tacon)

Eastern Dominance
2 parts vodka
1 part slivovica (Slovakian plum brandy)
Shake with ice and serve in a martini glass

Western Ruin
1 part dry London gin, preferably Bombay Sapphire or Gordon’s
1 part French brandy
Shake with ice and serve in a martini glass

The Terry Wogan
This drink must taste bitter and bitchy but be ultimately endearing.
1 part dry London gin, preferably Bombay Sapphire or Gordon’s
1 part Jameson Irish Whiskey
a dash of Angostura Bitters
Essentially it’s a Smoky Martini with Irish whiskey instead of Scotch and a dash of bitters thrown in.

Wake Up With Wogan

Because some days you require alcohol earlier than others, this is same as The Terry Wogan, but mixed with orange juice to taste to lend it a pre-evening air of respectability. Although generally this should be made with anywhere from four to six parts orange juice, it can be made with as much or as little as you’d like. You can even make it with no orange juice. Yes, I know that would leave you with simply a Terry Wogan, but here’s the best bit: you can still call it a Wake Up With Wogan. You’re not an alcoholic, you just prefer your Wake Up With Wogan dry.

Douze Points
1 generous glass of your favourite 12 year old Scotch whisky
1 Gauloises cigarette
Smoke this classic French cigarette whilst drinking a fine glass of whisky. If you must speak whilst enjoying your twelve points, you are required to do so in English with a fake, vaguely Continental accent.
Irelande Douze Pointe
1 pint of Guinness
1 shot of Ouzo 12
Sink the shot in the Guinness and it’s 2008 with turkeys all over again!

Daniela Cascella’s Grandmother’s pasta (nonna Maria)

7th April 2010 » Permalink: Daniela Cascella’s Grandmother’s pasta (nonna Maria)

For two people:

150 grams fusilli pasta
1 big onion (or 2 small)
400 grams ripe plum tomatoes (or, a can of chopped tomatoes)
100 grams black olives
a spoonful of raisins
½ spoonful of capers
a spoonful of pine nuts
two spoonfuls extra virgin olive oil

Chop the onion finely, put in a pan with the olive oil and let it cook for a couple of minutes. Add the raisins, capers, olives and pine nuts and let it cook for another minute. Add the tomatoes, put the lid on the pan and keep on a low flame for 15 minutes.
Cook the pasta separately and then mix the sauce.

Best served with Italian red wine! Philologically, I would recommend a bottle of Taurasi or Rubrato, which are from the same region this recipe comes from. Away from the region, Valpolicella Ripasso or Montefalco would do, too.

Carl Michael von Hausswolff’s Meatballs

3rd April 2010 » Permalink: Carl Michael von Hausswolff’s Meatballs

Minced beaf
Minced lamb
Mustard
Yellow onion
Garlic
Eggs
Black pepper
Salt
White bread crumbs

Get the ingredients, chop up the onions in small pieces and mix with the rest.

Roll small balls.
Fry.
Eat with mashed potatoes, lingon berry jam and a sauce made from the rests in the pan… just add some milk.
A nice red wine from Bourgogne would suit well.

Brian Morton’s Beetroot Cured Salmon

2nd April 2010 » Permalink: Brian Morton’s Beetroot Cured Salmon

(Saumon Tchernakova – but as yet untasted (here at least) by the dedicatee!)

Need: salmon tail, or thinnish (not too) pieces;
beetroot;
vinegar and/or lemon juice;
a shallot;
clove of garlic;
dill;
vodka (optional but very good);
salt/pepper; to serve: dill;
sour cream/creme fraiche

Boil the beetroots whole and then mash them down in the cooking water, which should have a drop of vinegar, chopped shallot, smashed garlic, vodka, half the dill (or just the stalks) 1/2 teaspoon salt and some pepper added.
Strain the juice off, taste and add lemon/salt/pepper to taste.
Then when still warm but not hot, immerse the salmon tail or pieces in.
Refrigerate when cool for two hours.
To serve: remove and drain, then slice through each piece at an acute angle, revealing pink centre and red exterior.
Serve with sour cream, chopped dill, raw red onion or shallot; frisee salad

Salmon confit

Need: fillets of salmon (NOT darnes on the bone) or trout;
olive oil or flavoured oil (lemon/chili);
bunch of tarragon, or dill, salt, lemon juice;
thermometer or guesswork

Put all the tarragon and plenty oil in a blender and whiz till fine.
Meantime, lightly salt the salmon pieces (still with skin on bottom) and sprinkle them with lemon juice.
Then, while salmon sits, strain the oil, ideally through a bit of muslin or fine sieve.
Shake excess salt and lemon juice from each piece of salmon and immerse in strained oil for two hours, or a bit more.
When ready, take out salmon and WARM oil to 43 C.
When temperature reached put salmon back in oil and keep temperature steady for about 5 to 7 minutes.
Take out, drain on paper and serve as required; fish is neither ‘raw’ nor ‘cooked’ – looks the former, but tastes closer to the latter, and it should have the aroma of the oil in it.
ALTERNATIVELY, if no kitchen thermometer, warm the oil in a pan till you can feel it with a finger tip get hotter than blood heat.
Then pour over the fish in a bowl which is standing in larger bowl of boiling water, but off the heat – works just as well.
If the fish goes opaque very quickly, it’s too hot. It should ideally look ‘different’ but not cooked – the marinade makes the connective tissue break down and changes the texture, which is soft AND flaky.
We’re addicted to it at the moment, which given that Loch Striven salmon is cheaper than mince, is a mercy.

(I once made it ‘three ways’, with a portion of confit, a portion of minced raw salmon and a little piece deep fried in tempura batter, plus trimmings)

Ian R. MacLeod’s Flying Saucer Pie

10th March 2010 » Permalink: Ian R. MacLeod’s Flying Saucer Pie

Like many good recipes, this one comes vaguely remembered from a book which is now lost. I reckon the book was probably eaten by the dog; of course, this is also always a sign of quality, as only the best recipe books get enough food splattered on them to become truly attractive to canines. The recipe itself is a cheat, in that it involves putting together a few cheapish and easily obtainable shop-bought things in such a way as to give the impression of many hours of intense labour in a hot kitchen. To my mind, this, again, is no bad thing. The name comes from my daughter’s Emily’s description of what it looks like when finished. If you try it, you’ll soon see what I mean.

500 g packet of puff pastry
500 g of minced beef (or whatever other meat or non-meat takes your fancy)
100 g (ish) packet of sage and onion stuffing mix (or, again, whatever else.)
A large glass of red wine (you can use white for lighter meats)
An egg, lightly whisked.

Thaw and roll out and then cut the puff pastry into two circles, one a little larger than the other. The younger of you will be aiming for diameter of 20 and 25 cm – the older for something like a vinyl LP. Mix the meat and the puff pasty and the wine in a bowl. The rest of the wine in the bottle can, of course, be thrown away. Place the smaller of the two pastry circles on a flat, greased baking pan. Then put that mixture, looking pretty much like an upturned bowl, centrally on the circle, leaving about 2 cm around the edge. Brush the edge with the egg mix, place the bigger pastry circle on top, use a fork to make a pretty pattern where they join, then cut a couple of slots to let the air escape from the top. Trim off any bits which offend artistic sensibilities regarding the circularness of your circle. Use the rest of the egg to glaze the pie (which should by now be looking like a flying saucer unless something has gone seriously wrong) and place in the oven for about an hour and ten mins at gas mark 5 or about 190 centigrade. Make sure it’s good and brown and well cooked and, uh, eat it, although you might like to wait about 20 mins for it to set and cool.

The pie is actually one of those rare things that works even better after a day or so left cold.

www.ianrmacleod.com

Emma Cunniffe’s Favourite White Chocolate and Raspberry Trifle

6th March 2010 » Permalink: Emma Cunniffe’s Favourite White Chocolate and Raspberry Trifle

300g/10oz raspberries
1 swiss roll(not chocolate)
juice of half lime
125g/4oz white chocolate
1tbsp Vodka
150g/5oz double or whipping cream
2tbsp icing sugar
2 x 500ml/17fl oz cartons fresh custard
a few sprigs mint

Place 100g/3oz of raspberries in a sieve placed over a bowl.Use the back of a spoon to push all their juice through into the bowl,leaving the pips behind.Scrape under the sieve so nothing is wasted.Add the lime juice,vodka and sift 1 tablespoon of icing sugar over the top.Stir well.

Slice the swiss roll about 1cm thick and use most of the slices to cover the base and make a single layer up the sides of a nice glass bowl.Moisten the slices with most of the raspberry juice and scatter with another 100g of raspberries.Set aside 20g of the chocolate and break up the rest into small pieces.Place the broken chocolate in a bowl and place inside another bowl filled with boilng water.Stir until the chocolate melts.This takes a few minutes,but if you want to speed it up,bring a small pan of water to the boil and suspend the bowl over the top.When it has melted,stir 1 tablespoon of the cream into the chocolate and then stir the mixture into 1 of the cartons of custard.

Pour half the chocolate custard over the prepared swiss roll and lay the remaining slices on top.Dribble the remaining raspberry sauce over the slices and scatter with most of the remaining raspberries,reserving about 10 to decorate the top of the trifle.Use about half of the second carton of custard to cover the trifle completely.Whip the rest of the cream until stiff and lift up scoops with a fork to decorate the top of the trifle.

Add the reserved raspberries.Grate the remaining chocolate on the large hole of a cheese grater over the top.Plant the mint sprigs here and there and dust the trifle with the rest of the icing sugar.Cover with clingfilm and chill for a minimum 2 hours and for up to 24 hours.Serve with the remaining custard.

Enjoy!!

Gavin Bryars’s Vancouver Island Salmon

25th February 2010 » Permalink: Gavin Bryars’s Vancouver Island Salmon

Use wild salmon fillets, ideally from the Pacific (there are frozen Alaskan wild salmon easily available in UK). In Canada I would use fresh Spring, Pink, Coho or Sockeye – it works well with the darker kinds of salmon. Scottish or Atlantic salmon is also fine but this is more usually farmed. Allow one good-sized fillet per person or a couple of smaller ones.
Pour some olive oil (extra virgin organic is best…) into a pan, enough to coat the bottom of the pan at least. Place the salmon fillets, whether fresh or frozen (and cooking direct from frozen is fine), skin side down in the pan. Sprinkle with roughly chopped garlic (as much as you like, I usually add at least four cloves), roughly chopped dry ginger and pour organic tamari or other soya sauce over the fish. Optionally dribble a good size spoon of clear honey over the fish.

Cover the pan and cook on a low flame until the liquid is bubbling vigorously. Turn off the flame, always leaving the pan covered with the lid. Leave to stand for around twenty minutes or longer. Prepare other food in this time and only go back to the salmon when everything else is more or less done. At this point light the flame again and bring to the bubbling state. Turn off the flame and the salmon is ready. It will have poached and steamed during the time it was left, and there will be a rich sauce in the pan too.
I would serve with baby new potatoes, dwarf French beans and salad. This is one of the easiest and most effective ways of cooking salmon fillets or steaks.

[Bamfield, in a remote part of the Pacific coast of Vancouver Island]

Philip Jeck’s Elderflower Champagne

5th February 2010 » Permalink: Philip Jeck’s Elderflower Champagne

Ingredients:

4/5 large heads of elderflowers, picked on a dry sunny day, fully open. This is usually in the early June in the UK.
1kg sugar
2 lemons
4 tablespoons of white wine vinegar
10 litres of cold water
Equipment:
10 litre vessel (like a plastic bucket)
Bottles that are strong enough to take the pressure of the gas produced (like litre tonic, lemonade bottles)
a large jug
a small jug
a lemon squeezer
a funnel
a potato peeler or sharp small knife
a tablespoon
a sieve
a strainer or fine clean muslin

Method:

Make sure all the equipment used is sterilised and well rinsed (very important or it will go bad).

Wash the lemons and peel finely as possible the rind.

Remove any insects, leaves or any other objects from the flowerheads, don’t wash them.
Squeeze the lemons and put the juice in the 10 litre vessel with the rind and flowers.
Add the sugar and wine vinegar, carefully so as to not crush the flowers
Pour on the water and stir gently. Cover and leave to stand 24 hours,
Stir gently about every 6 hours.

After 24 hours take off cover and remove any large pieces of flower heads and rind
Use small jug to pour some liquid into large jug through the sieve. When large jug is full, place the funnel into a sterilised bottle and pour liquid through strainer/muslin into bottle. Repeat for all of the bottles, screw caps on firmly and leave somewhere not hot or cold.
After 2/3 weeks it will be ok to drink but the longer left the more the flavour develops.
It will last up to a year. When opening be careful it can be very lively!

The Tapeworm’s Worm

21st January 2010 » Permalink: The Tapeworm’s Worm

Like most insects, worms are totally tasteless… they can be pan-fried, oven baked or whatever, but the worms MUST be absolutely purged (cleaned of intestinal matter – especially sand, which an earth worm uses to “grind” it’s food much like a chicken gizzard). But it is impossible to adequately purge a worm, so perhaps its best not to try.

The Observer published a recipe for Banana Worm Bread by Carlene Thomas-Bailey on 13th November 2010.

Rebekah Staton’s Creamy Alchy Choccie-Cookie Loggie

20th January 2010 » Permalink: Rebekah Staton’s Creamy Alchy Choccie-Cookie Loggie

Warning! Do not attempt this recipe if you will consume it with guests who can’t handle the truth.

Whip some cream with vanilla essence until firm.
In a separate dish pour out a generous amount of your favourite liqueur.
Dip (one by one) your favourite cookie, quickly, into the liqueur.
Now glue the cookies together with the naughty cream until you have formed a ‘log’.
Take the rest of the cream and coat the log with it.
Now take some Sprinkles (chocolate preferred) and shower the log.
Serve with two plums… or fruits of your choosing!

Voila!!!

NB Have ambulance on speed dial