Issy’s Heavenly Eight Fruit Christmas Cake

I’ve always been quite vain about my Christmas cake, but when I ate a slice of my friend Issy’s cake last year, my pretensions crumbled to dust. Today I am going to be baking her marvellous cake. Here is the recipe:

12oz unsalted softened butter
12oz light or dark muscavado sugar
14oz plain flour
4 eggs
grated rind and juice of half a lemon
1 teaspoon lemon oil (optional)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp mixed spice
1/4 tsp Chinese five spice powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 lbs dried fruit and nuts, using eight from the following: pitted prunes, sultanas, raisins, apricots, cherries, crystallised ginger, pecan, walnuts, almonds, papaya, mango, citrus peel, peaches
1/8 pint amontillado sherry to soak the fruit overnight

Cream the butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs and flour. Stir in the rest of the ingredients. Spoon into a prepared tin (10inch round, 14 inch square – note to self, is this right? poss the other way round). Bake at 180/gas 4 for 3.25-4 hours. After 2 hours, reduce the heat to 150/gas 2. Cover with brown paper or foil to prevent burning.

Allow to cool completely before double wrapping with foil, then feeding weekly with brandy or sherry. Just before Christmas cover with marzipan and a simple icing of icing sugar and lemon.

Catherine Blyth’s and Madhur Jaffrey’s Courgettes

We had supper with Catherine recently and she cooked these delicious courgettes, so I begged her for the recipe. She thinks she may have posted it somewhere on this site as a comment, but I haven’t found it, so I am giving the recipe its own entry, in Catherine’s words:

“Here is the recipe for Yogurt with Courgettes, taken from Madhur Jaffrey’s genius book, Eastern Vegetarian Cooking.

I think she’s a little heavy on the oil, and you can easily pack in more courgettes, or play about with the amount of yoghurt.  Smoked paprika works wonderfully as an alternative to cayenne.

2 medium courgettes (340-400g)
3/4 tsp salt
1 medium onion
350ml yoghurt (I use Greek)
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp black mustard seeds
1/16 tsp ground black pepper
1/16 tsp cayenne pepper (use as much as you like, says MJ; try paprika, say I)

 Trim and coarsely grate courgettes.  Put in a bowl and sprinkle with 1/2 tsp salt.  Toss to mix and set aside for half an hour.  Drain the courgette and press out as much liquid as you can.  Separate the shreds so you do not have lumps.

[I prefer to put them in a colander in the sink rather than a bowl; then I can squeeze juice out directly, and there is less squeezing to do.]

Peel and slice the onion into fine half-moons.

Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium flame.  When hot, put in the mustard seeds.  As soon as they begin to pop — just a few seconds — put in the onion.  Stir and fry until the slices are translucent.  Add the courgette.  Stir and fry for another three minutes.

[I often do this for longer, as I often have more courgettes — but fast at a high heat makes them greener and maybe fresher.  Sometimes I add a sprinkle of sugar, particularly if I am not using the freshest courgettes…]

Remove from the heat and let cool slightly.  When cooled, fold in the yoghurt.  [Or do it hot and have nice curdled green goo…  Tastes better than it looks.]

Add the remaining pepper, salt [if necessary] and cayenne [or don’t and simply sprinkle with your stunning red paprika at the end].

If you wish to eat cold, cover and refrigerate.  If warm, place in a  double boiler over a low flame.  Then heat, stirring in one direction, until warm. Do not let it boil.

As MJ says, it can be eaten hot, cold, or straight from the fridge, all by itself…”

Christmas lunch

This is a quick record for posterity, as I will forget this year’s Christmas lunch by mid-January and no doubt be agonising again in future years about whether I really like red cabbage with goose.

Alors, this year we had:
Chadwick’s goose – a Childhay one – nosebleedingly expensive but delicious – 4.5kg fed six abundantly. In fact, one downside of goose is that I don’t think it’s as good for sandwiches, pies, etc as turkey is, as we’ve had a fair bit  leftover. A goose looks truly wonderful, with its crackly, blistered skin. Very Dickensian. It was great for a change, but on balance I think I’ll revert to a turkey next year, more for the wonderful leftovers than anything else.
Roast potatoes, parsnips, pigs in blankets, sprouts – all as you’d expect and good.
Stuffings: black pudding and apple in the goose – this was good on the day, but not great afterwards. I used Sarah Raven’s recipe. As with many of her recipes, half quantities would be fine. I did manage to trick my mother into trying both black pudding and pickled walnuts though, which was a triumph. Black pudding ranks slightly above parmesan but below swede in her list of unfavourite foods. She loved it though. I also did Jamie Oliver’s sage and onion stuffing, to which I added a good handful of chopped hunza apricots. This was delicious and I’d definitely make it again. He uses hunks of torn bread rather than breadcrumbs and it made for a less solid stuffing somehow:
http://consumingtheharvest.wordpress.com/2009/03/27/jamie-oliver-stuffing/
We had red cabbage, braised with apples and blackberries – hmmm. Again, good on the day as it cut through the richness of the goose really well, but we had masses left over and it didn’t work second time round.

Nell made Grandma Hayter’s Christmas pudding recipe back in October. Last year I deviated and cooked Nigel Slater’s very fabulous pud (see previous posts), but the family original recipe was wonderful and I think we’ll stick with this one.

Extra Christmassy cooking: girls made Florentines and chocolate truffles for presents – looked beautiful, tasted good and were close to a doddle (apart from the Florentines melting all over the baking sheet and requiring a bit of finger-tip blistering remodelling). We also made Mumsnet’s Christmas rocky road recipe, but our family doesn’t really eat enough milk chocolate for this to be really up our alley. Good recipe though – and a genuine doddle, no last minute faffing required there.

The greatest food revelation over Christmas was Issy’s twelve fruit Christmas cake. I MUST get the recipe. I’m usually vain about my Christmas cake, but her cake knocks mine into a cocked hat (crummy image appears in mind).

Onto the season of steamed veg and grapefruit (just as soon as I finish that box of Cartmet sticky toffee truffles)…..

Seabass Tagine

Thomas made this for us in Paris this Autumn. I thought I’d lost the recipe but in a pre-Christmas clear-out, Edward unearthed it. I think Thomas said he thought he had overcooked it, but somehow that had created the sweetest, stickiest veg underpinning the fish – delectable.

For 6: equal weight of sea bass and small potatoes (about 1.5kg fish for 6), 2 large tomatoes, red pepper, garlic, dried chilli, fresh red chilli, saffron, olive oil, preserved lemon, olives, small bunch coriander.

Place the potatoes on the bottom of a deep baking tray. Add two large tomatoes, sliced, one sliced red pepper, two cloves of unpeeled garlic, a teaspoon of dried chilli and some chopped fresh chilli. Add 150-200ml water, a pinch of saffron and a glug of olive oil. Pre-cook in a moderate oven for 30 minutes.
Add one small preserved lemon (taking out the innards and slicing the skin) and the olives. Put the fish on the bed of vegetables, adding some pepper and tomato slices on the top to decorate it. Squeeze over some lemon and a drizzle more olive oil. Cook for another 30 minutes, adding a bunch of chopped fresh coriander half way through.

 

Jane’s Chocolate Brownies

Children’s Church in Slindon is brilliantly done. It’s meaningful and relevant to the great range of ages that attend, and our girls are thrilled when we time our visits to Sussex with the dates that it’s on (once a month). Rosemary leads the discussion and singing and Jane does a crafty activity. Jane also bakes the most scrumptious goodies to accompany the sticking and glueing. This week it was brownies. I usually make Nigella’s from Domestic Goddess, but I shall deviate next time. These were dark, sticky and utterly chocolatey.

Grease and line an 8inch square tin.
Melt 250g unsalted butter.Sift together 50g plain flour with 50g cocoa. Chop 250g dark chocolate (Jane recommends Sainsbury’s value dark choc for this) into tiny chips. Mix the chips of choc into the flour/cocoa and add 500g caster sugar.
Beat 4 eggs with a small amount of vanilla extract.
Mix the melted butter into the dry ingredients, then beat the eggs quickly into the mixture.
Bake in a 180 degree oven for 30 minutes keeping a close eye. When the top is crackly, but it’s pretty much set when you shake the tin, it’s done.

Recipes for Cape Town

I wanted to take some of my favourite recipes to Cape Town. Here goes:

Leon Gobi:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2008/oct/06/foodanddrink.recipe

My favourite Skye Gyngell curry:
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/recipes/squash-and-tomato-curry-with-lime-and-coconut-926621.html

and her Romesco recipe for grilled squid:
http://wwwfamilycookbookcom.blogspot.com/2009/02/skye-gyngells-squid-with-rocket-and.html

Nasello all’Palermitana:
1 hake (or bass, grouper, grey mullet) c1kg – or 4 smaller ones
fresh rosemary sprig
2 garlic cloves
8 anchovy fillets, chopped
2  teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
30g slightly stale breadcrumbs
salt, pepper, lemon

Pre-heat oven to 170/325/gas 3. Brush inside of fish with olive oil, stick sprig rosemary inside. Put it in oiled ovenproof dish.
Heat 5 tablespoons olive oil in a pan over low heat and add garlic and anchovies. Cook until garlic lightly coloured, mashing anchovies. Drizzle over fish. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with chopped rosemary. Scatter with breadcrumbs and bake for around 30 mins. Serve with lemon wedges.

Konditor and Cook’s Raspberry Coconut Slice

I have had a passion for Konditor and Cook’s raspberry and coconut slices for years. When Nell was tiny I often used to drive up to Tower Bridge and hang around the Design Museum cafe in a dizzy haze, drinking tea andscoffing these delicious slices and letting the breastfeeding use up all the calories. I neither have the excuse nor the opportunity to eat them very often these days, but I live in hope that K&C will bring out a cookbook – can’t understand why they haven’t already given that their cakes are the best in London. I’ve never had a recipe for these, but this one from Delicious magazine looks close-ish, although I’m sure there’s something almondy going on with the Konditor and Cook ones. Hmm.

I always want to make cake when I’m on a diet…

First autumn Sunday lunch of the season

We’ve been to Borough Market today (along with a flying visit to Tate Modern and tea at Laura’s followed by a trip to the top of St Paul’s – legs still aching) on the look out for scrumptious things for lunch with Alice and Rebecca tomorrow. Stillfield Farm had a chunky joint of rare breed pork and on our way out I spotted that Turnips had quinces. I’ve just spotted this Sophie Grigson recipe on the BBC good food site and it looks perfect. We brought some apples back from Sussex so I think a slightly quincy apple crumble might be good for pudding. I’ve also got a bag of slightly aging greengages left from last weekend so I think we might have to eat another greengage and almond tart tonight, sigh…Diets are only for week days.

Apricot and Blackberry Clafoutis

This is a recipe from today’s Sunday Times. It’s meant to be made with peaches, but my apricots were ripe and the peaches weren’t…The oven at the cottage, as per usual, was far too hot – needs to be on at 140 degrees there and only done for 20 mins tops.

Knob of butter
2 tbsp plain flour, sifted, plus extra for the dish
1 large ripe peach, each half sliced into six, or 4 apricots, sliced each into six
2 handfuls blackberries
100g caster sugar, plus 1 tbsp
3 eggs
1/4 tspn vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
2 tbsp ground almonds
110ml double cream, plus more to serve
1 handful flaked almonds
icing sugar

Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees, gas 4. Generously butter a 23cm tart tin or similar dish. Scatter flour over the surface and shake out the excess. Arrange the fruit in the tin and scatter over one tablespoon of caster sugar.

With  electric beaters, whisk 100g sugar, the eggs, vanilla essence and salt together for five minutes, or until the mixture leaves a ribbon on the surface when you lift the whisk. Gradually fold in the flour and the ground almonds.

In another bowl, whip the cream until it forms soft peaks. Using a large metal spoon, carefully fold it into the egg mixture until evenly mixed, but without losing the air.

Pour the batter over the fruit, scatter the flaked almonds over the top and bake for about 25 minutes until puffed up and just set. Remove and leave to stand for five minutes. Sprinkle with icing sugar before eating with cream.

With thanks to Lucas Hollweg and the Sunday Times.

Pine nut ice cream

Rose Prince via Albino Barberis. Toast 4tbsp pine nuts in a dry pan until they change colour slightly. Set aside. Whisk 3 egg yolks with 2tbsp golden caster sugar until frothy.

In another bowl, wishk 10.5fl oz/300ml whipping cream until thickened. Fold in the egg yolks then stir in the cooled pine nuts.

In a third bowl, whisk the three egg whites until thick and foamy, then fold carefully into the egg and cream mixture, using a knife or metal spoon so as not to knock the air out.

Pour into an 8in/20cm loaf tin lined with cling film an freeze until solid. There is no need to churn or stir. It will set to a lightweight ice cream to serve with thin, crisp sweet biscuits. Barberis wouuld pour over a little syrupy, aged balsamic vinegar.

Can also be done with hazelnuts or cobnuts.