Creamy Rice Pudding

9 This is the real thing – a mass of creamy rice and a thick brown speckled nutmeg skin. Don't forget to take a sharp knife and scrape off all the bits of caramelised skin that stick to the edges...

 

Serves 4-6
Preparation time.  -  about 5 minutes
Cooking time  2 hrs

 

Ingredients
150g pudding rice
410g can evaporated milk
150ml single cream (crème liquide)
950ml semi skimmed milk(approx)
75g Golden granulated sugar
ground nutmeg(1 whole clove ground)
a knob of butter

You will also need a round ovenproof dish and lid, with a diameter of about 8 inches (20 cm) and 4 inches (10 cm) deep, lightly buttered.

Method

• Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 2, 300°F (150°C).
• Mix milk, evaporated milk and cream (1 can evap, 250ml crème liquide, make upto 1 1/2 litres with semi skimmed milk.)
• For American measures use a can of Evaporated milk, refill the can with 2% milk and add that then add 3fl ozs single cream and if necessary, make up  to 1 1/2 quarts with more milk
• Put the milk, rice and sugar in the dish to soak…. Preferably overnight, but you can skip the overnight soak.
• Give all the ingredients a good stir.
• Cover the surface with ground nutmeg…then cover with nutmeg again…then cover with nutmeg again… Lots of nutmeg..  (equivalent to one whole clove of nutmeg if you’re grinding)  You'll have guessed that I like LOTS of nutmeg, but the amount can be adjusted to your taste.
• Dot bits of butter on the surface
• cover with lid and put the dish in the centre of a preheated (150C)oven.
• Stir again after 30 minutes cooking
• Stir a further time after a further 30 minutes cooking. Add an extra covering of nutmeg to flavour the skin
• Cook for further 60 minutes (2 hours total cooking time)

Enjoy the dish……

Saturday night sauce with Pasta

I tend to cook a roast dinner on Sunday and see that as the "first" meal of the week.  Of course, it's not necessarily meat and it not necessarily roasted... but you get the idea.

One of the results of this is that I like to use up whatever is in the fridge on a Saturday night, that is if I haven't been dragged out to eat in a restaurant somewhere....  Well, I can live in hope can't ???

The way this meal often works is I think of a dish I would quite like to make, but then simply adapt it as I cook so that I can include whatever I want to use up.

This week, I decided to make a spaghetti bolognese, although I'm sure the purists will realise that it is far removed from the true bolognese sauce served in Bologna.   This one turned out quite nice so I have tried to remember what I did....

INGREDIENTS

about 400gms ground beef
1 can plum tomatoes
1 medium Onion
1 rasher of bacon
1 nice eating apple
a few peas
Mushrooms
a handful of herbes de Provence
a lot of concentrated tomato purée
Some apple juice
enough spaghetti for 4

METHOD

• In a frying pan I fried the beef and the herbes de provence in a little olive oil then set aside in a saucepan
• Next I fried the onion, roughly chopped, again in a drop of olive oil and added to the sauce pan
• The rasher of bacon was next, torn into little pieces and fried before adding to the sauce pan
• Into the saucepan I then added the can of tomatoes, the tomato purée, the apple, peeled and cored and cut into small pieces and the apple juice to keep it moist
• At this point I also added a slug of sherry as I didn't have any red wine open
• The fridge revealed a small dish of left over cooked peas and these were added to the pot as well as all the mushrooms I found
• I brought everything to a rolling boil for a minute or two and then reduced the heat to a simmer for about 30 mins
• Whilst that was cooking, I dropped the spaghetti into a large sauce pan of boiling salted water to cook
• When cooked, I drained the spaghetti, rinsed with boiling water, returned to the pan, added a little olive oil, neated it and then shook the pan vigorously to coat before turning out onto the serving dish and piling the sauce in the middle
• Garnish with a sprinkling of parmesan cheese and some fresh parsley

Pancake Day

I'm still in the UK, getting ready for my return to the Kitchen Garden in France and today is Pancake Day.

I love pancake day and it brings back many fond memories...

As a child, my mother always made pancakes on Pancake Day and it was a real treat.   Not just for me, either, as my father loved them possibly a little more than I did.  He certainly always got more!

Today also bring back memories of fun evenings with friends.   I remember back probably 30 years ago.  I was living in south Wales and one day I was telling one of my fiends that I'd be making pancakes that evening as it was pancake day.  She looked at me incredulously and simply asked, "Do you know how to make pancakes?"

"Come and see!" I replied

The result was a tradition that we built up over the next 20 odd years where, every pancake day, she and her husband, came for dinner and to help make pancakes.  Thinking back, I don't know how we ever managed to make a single pancake as there was so much giggling going on in the kitchen.

Pancake Day, or Shrove Tuesday, Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras as it is otherwise called, is an old Christian festival dating back 1000 years where there is a feast on the last day before lent, in order to use up the foods that should not be eaten during that time.

In England, since the 15th century, the food has been used up by making pancakes, hence the name "Pancake Day".  The biggest pancake ever made was made in Rochdale in 1994 and measured 15 metres, about 50 feet, in diameter and weighing in at 3 tonnes (6600 lbs).   There is also a tradition in the Buckinghamshire town of Olney to hold a pancake race on Pancake day, where contestants, who must be housewives who have lived in the town for more than six months and wear an apron and scarf or hat, run a race whilst tossing a pancake.

It's quite hard taking a photo of yourself, tossing a pancake, using time delay to allow yourself to get back into the photo, pick up the pan and actually toss the pancake, only to find that it went higher than you hoped and was almost out of the frame!!!

My own recipe is very simple

Basic Pancake Batter

(makes eight) 
100g plain flour
Pinch of salt
3 large eggs
200ml milk
A little oil for frying

Place the flour, salt and eggs in a large bowl with half the milk. Whisk until the mixture is lump-free. Add the remaining milk and whisk again until smooth. If you prefer place all the ingredients together in a food processor and blend until smooth, Pour the batter into a jug. The batter can be made in advance and chilled for up to eight hours before use.
Heat a 20cm/8in diameter non-stick frying pan until hot, drizzle a little oil over the centre and wipe it around with a piece of kitchen paper. Now pour a little of the batter into the pan and immediately tilt the pan to spread the batter thinly and evenly over the base. Cook for two minutes or until the top is set and the base golden. Turn the pancake over with a spatula or if you are feeling brave, flip the pancake!
Cook for a further one to two minutes or until the base is golden. Transfer to a plate and interleave with greaseproof paper, keep warm. Use the batter and a little more oil to make a further seven pancakes in the same way.

• Serve simply by dusting with sugar, adding a squeeze of lemon and rolling.
• OR, as soon as you have titled the pan to spread the batter sprinkle in a few sultanas then cook as before.
• I have a friend who insists on taking the pancake but adding golden syrup instead of sugar and lemon

or try them in the following recipe idea.

French Mushroom, Ham & Goats Cheese Crepe
Fill the pancakes with sliced mushrooms sauteed in oil, a slice of ham, then top with thinly sliced goats cheese. Fold up to enclose the filling then pop under a hot grill until the cheese begins to melt. Serve scattered with flat parsley.

OH, I used to make the batter in the traditional way adding the milk, beating, adding more milk, beating again etc.  Now... I just throw everything into a food processor and let it do the work.  I can't tell the difference.

Fish Cakes

Friday in our house is fish night.   Actually, it rarely works like that but that is the idea.   I try and make sure that I eat at least one fish meal every week and, in order to keep tabs on it, I set aside Friday....  If I've not eaten fish in the week then I will have it on Friday....

This week was no exception and, as I hadn't eaten a fish meal I got some white fish out of the freezer...not quite deciding what to do with it...

After some debate... i.e. talking to myself!!!  I decided to make fish cakes and soon found a suitable recipe that I could adapt.

Here's what I did....

	INGREDIENTS 300 gms white Fish 400 gms  Potato A little butter 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley 1 1/2 tablespoons capers, drained 2 small gherkins (chopped) 2 hard boiled egg, peeled and chopped small paprika pepper
For the crumb coating	Wholemeal Breadcrumbs a teaspoon grated nutmeg 1 egg, beaten
For the sauce	Mayonaise 2 gherkins finely chopped a little English mustard

 

first I poached the fish in a little salted milk

Then I boiled  the potatoes in the same milk until they were ready to mash and drained them, reserving the milk

Next I mashed them to a creamy consistency using the knob of butter and some of the reserved milk.

After I had prepared the above things, I mixed all the above ingredients in a large mixing bowl  and added a little more of the milk as needed to help bind it all together.  I mixed well and adjusted the seasoning by adding ground black pepper and salt to taste

Once it was all thoroughly mixed together I formed some balls, I made 8, tightly squeezing the mixture together.

Next I coated the balls by rolling them in the beaten egg and then in the breadcrumbs, placing each finished ball on a board lightly covered in more breadcrumbs.

Finally, I flattened the balls into cakes turning over so that they remained well coated.

To make the tartar sauce I simply mixed together the chopped gherkins and the mayonaise, adding the mustard to taste before leaving to stand until I was ready to serve.

I  fried the fish cakes in a dash of olive oil, over a high heat turning every couple of minutes until they were golden brown.

I served with a garnish of fresh salad leaves and tartar sauce

Baked Cheesy Fish

I made a small fish dish which I served on Christmas Day.   For me, Christmas dinner is a traditional affair with Roast Turkey and lots of vegetables and accompaniments, followed by Christmas Pudding with either cream or white brandy sauce.

This is, of course, quite a heavy couple of courses, so I'm always looking for something a bit lighter to serve as a starter.   This year, I plumped for tiny ramekins of my Baked Cheesy Fish

This is such a simple recipe using basic ingredients and only a few minutes to prepare.  I filled the ramekins in advance and kept them refrigerated before baking and serving.

INGREDIENTS

A piece of smoked Cod
A piece of Brie Cheese
A small portion of mashed potato
A little dry white wine (I used a Chablis)

 

METHOD

I fill a ramekin for each person

cover the bottom 1/3rd of the dish with mashed potato.

Next, add a piece pf fish to fill the dish, leaving a small gap to the top

Add a small slug of wine to each ramekin.  I use about a glassful for 5 or 6 ramekins.

Finally put pieces of the brie on top of the fish

The dish can now be kept refridgerated for upto 24 hours.

Bake in the middle of the oven at 180C for 30 minutes.

Finish off by grilling under a high grill just to brown the cheese, (a couple of minutes)

 

Serve immediately

Baked Chicken

I have a friend who eats chicken.....lots of chicken.    When I say she eats lots of chicken I mean she eats chicken, at lots of times, breakfast, lunch, dinner, late night supper......  you get the idea.  I remember, recently, she was staying with me and, as with all our guests, off we went to Villereal for the Saturday morning market.   She hadn't had any breakfast before we left, settling just for a cup of coffee so when we arrived, the first task was to organise breakfast.   Now, I often have breakfast at the market...  I go to my favourite boulanger/pattissier  and buy croissant or apple turnovers or whatever takes my fancy.  Sometimes they have something seasonal, like last week, when they had a  "Poisson d'Avril" which was like a huge apple turnover but filled, not with apple but with a delicious almond paste......

 

But I digress, on the particular visit in question, I went off to my bakery to buy "Chausson au Pomme", an apple turnover and my friend went off in search of her breakfast....  Imagine my surprise when she returned to the bar, where I had ordered us a couple of noisettes, holding a large piece of spit roasted chicken.   The owner of the bar was completely unphased though, and when he brought our coffees simply wished us both "Bon Appetit" and announced he would bring a warm cloth so she could clean her fingers when she finished.

All this sprang into my mind the other day when I was searching through the freezer looking for something simple to cook for dinner and came across a couple of portions of chicken.

I decided to bake them with my herb and cheese crust.  It's very easy to make, smells gorgeous when you are preparing it and doesn't let you down when you come to eat it.

Baked Chicken in a Cheese and Herb crust

Serves 4

4 portions of chicken,
100gms (4oz) bread, (I use a stale crusty baguette),
100gms Strong hard cheese (I used Mature English Cheddar)
1 medium egg
Handful of Parsley
Sprig of fresh Mint
Sprig of fresh Basil
Salt and Pepper to taste

Wash the chicken and dry gently

In a food processor blend the bread, cheese and herbs.

Beat the egg and dip chicken in egg then coat generously with breadcrumb mix

Cook in the middle of preheated oven (180C) for 45 minutes

 

Note.  I subsequently made this with a selection of cheeses.....I used all the bits in the cheese box at the end of the week and, I'm not sure, but I thought it tasted  even better.   the breadcrumb/herb/cheese mixture also freezes really well.

 

It's a pity the boffins in Silicone Valley haven't come up with a way to send smells, as this really did smell so gorgeous, even before you cooked it.

Fish in a kind of Provencal sauce

It was Friday and I was running out of food....  Well it would be an exaggeration to say running out of food....  My garden is loaded with salad stuff, I had the few last leaves of cabbage growing and the new crop of Broad Beans was ready for it's first picking.....  but....

So, it was Friday and I was running out of food and I had to prepare lunch.  The solution in my mind was take a look at what I actually had and then create something...which would hopefully be tasty.

There were the last couple of pieces of coley, which I quite like.  I had Courgettes (zucchini), lots, I found a fennel in the vegetable rack and as I dug into the freezer, I found the last few tomatoes from last year,  3 large Marmande, a tomato I find very tasty and which freezes and keeps well.

I could create a fish in a kind of Provencal sauce.

  I got down my big old heavy frying pan from the rack and set it on a medium heat

Provence is olive country so a good tablespoon of olive oil was the first thing in the pan, quickly followed by a generous dose of "Herbes de Provence"....(what else??)

Next I peeled and sliced 4 cloves of garlic and chopped a medium onion, throwing them in the pan as I went.

The pan had now warmed sufficiently to turn down to a low heat.

I chopped the onion and tomatoes and added those.  I really needed more tomatoes but I didn't have any so I opened a tin of Italian plum tomatoes and chopped them before adding them, along with all the liquid

I chopped half the fennel and added that.

When I found the tomatoes, I also found a small aubergine (egg plant) from last year...although, I didn't actually grow aubergine last year!!! so that got chopped and added

A few dates, pitted and chopped and the sauce was beginning to come together although it lacked something...  I added a teaspoon of sea salt and a generous cupful of a sweet white wine I have.

The wine is a home made wine made by a local farmer....  It is made in the same way that Monbazillac is made.  Sadly, he lives a few kilometres outside the Monbazillac Vignoble limits and as he isn't a registered wine producer it remains as a home made wine which he can't sell.   This particular bottle was 25 years old and beautifully mellow and smooth.

The fennel was added next and then the sauce left to simmer gently until the liquid had reduced quite a bit.

In the meantime, I lay the fish fillets in the bottom of an ovenproof dish and scattered a good handful of peeled prawns (shrimp) over them.

Once the sauce was ready I covered the fish with it and then baked in a medium oven for about 20 minutes (180C).

I started off calling this a "kind of Provencal sauce" but I'm not sure anyone from Provence would give it a seal of approval....