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| Whats good at the moment Nigel...? |
Good morning, i don't feel we need to dwell on the weather we need to concentrate on bright, happy, warming thoughts; and that is where i come in......Menu for today starts with a warming pot of old-skool smoked bacon and pea soup with some crusty bread from Leivito Bakery. Followed by some delicious herby, garlicky flatbreads with Mia Pasta's pre-made dough which makes saturday night dinner easy (pizzas). I also have a wonderful crisp cabbage which i will be cooking very fast with the addition of garlic. Rosedale Orchards have supplied us with juicy, sweet pears and apples and some of their fruit juice to sample and cook with....I have a lot to cook and a lot to share with you all. Come by and have a sample and a cooking lesson, see you soon
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freshly baked bread
Leivito Bakery |
WOK COOKED CABBAGE WITH GARLIC
½ cabbage or Chinese cabbage
olive oil or good quality oil
freshly ground black pepper
Remove and discard the outer leaves from the cabbage and cut the leaves into large pieces.
Pound the garlic in a mortar and pestle with a large pinch of salt until coarsely ground.
Heat a wok or fry pan until very hot, add a generous amount of olive oil and heat until almost smoking.
Add the garlic to the wok, then immediately add the cabbage and stir-fry, moving the wok contents constantly to prevent the garlic from burning.
Cook, adding extra oil as necessary, over high heat until the cabbage is warmed through and still crunchy.
Transfer to a large serving platter and sprinkle generously with freshly ground black pepper.
SMOKED BACON AND PEA SOUP
This classic soup warms the cockles of any hearts. The hocks can be substituted with bacon ends or ham bones if you desire.
Serves 10 3 sticks of celery
3 fresh bay leaves (or 2 dried)
3 sprigs fresh rosemary, leaves picked and chopped
Method
Place the bacon hock into a large pot and cover with cold water bring to the boil along with the herbs. Finely chop onions and celery, roughly chop the carrots add to the pot, add a generous pinch of pepper and add the split peas (rinsed first under cold water). Reduce the temperature to a gentle simmer and leave for 1 – 1 ½ hours, skimming away any foam or froth from the top of the soup as it forms.
When the cooking time is up test the split peas so that they are very tender and mushy and the bacon meat is falling from the bone. When this is achieved carefully remove the bacon hock to a plate and remove all the meat by shredding it roughly, set aside until you adjust the consistency of your soup. I do this by using a potato masher to mash the peas and veggies to a smoother consistency, but this is optional. Taste the soup and adjust the salt as we haven’t yet added any so far due to the fact that the bacon may be a little salty and the peas cook more evenly without it. Add salt to your liking and plenty of pepper, return the meat back to the soup and reheat gently. Serve in warm bowls with plenty of crusty bread.
MIA’S PASTA – FLATBREADS
Maria makes these wonderful balls of yeasty dough which can be turned into delicious flatbreads, pizza and calzones. It saves a lot of pre-planning and time perfect for a relaxed Saturday night dinner to accompany that movie!
1 ball of dough from (Mia Pasta)
Handful olives, stoned (optional)
Sea salt flakes
Preheat oven and baking tray to 200C. Place the oven rack in the top half of the oven.
If you have a mortar and pestle I would suggest using it to make a fragrant paste with the herbs, garlic and salt or otherwise simply chop the ingredients together until very fine. Add enough oil to loosen the ingredients to create a thickish sauce. Set aside.
Sprinkle a little flour onto your work bench, you can divide the dough into 4 -6 to make smaller flatbreads, or in half (choice is yours). Roll the dough into rounds about 4mm thick, brush generously with the herby oil ensuring you get a little of the garlic and herbs on each bread, if using olives scatter these over the bread and finally sprinkle with a little sea salt flakes; place onto your preheated oven tray.
Bake for about 8-10 minutes or until the bread is golden on the top and bottom, cut into wedges and devour almost immediately as it is so damn good.
POACHED PEARS IN FRUIT JUICE
Rosedale orchard not only grow exquisite fruit but also produce fantastic fruit juice which I am going to use to poach some of their juicy pears.
1 litre juice – pear, blackcurrant or apple
Couple strips of orange zest
6 pears, peeled and cored
Place the fruit juice into a deep medium size pot, add the sugar (sweetness is up to you) add the vanilla pod and orange zest. Bring to the boil then reduce the temperature to a gentle simmer. Place the pears in the liquid and place a round of greaseproof paper on top to help keep the moisture in and to keep the pears submerged. Poach gently for 10 – 20 minutes or until the pears are tender all the way through.
Remove the pears carefully onto a platter and return the liquid back to heat and boil vigorously unti the liquid has reduced to a thick syrup.
Serve the pears whole with the fruit syrup poured over with either vanilla ice cream, cream or perhaps crème fraiche..
This cake is fresh and airy with little morsels of juicy seasonal pears.
serves 6-8
50g butter, melted, plus extra for the tin
500g ripe pears, peeled, cored and roughly chopped
1 lemon, juice and zest
1 heaped tsp baking powder
icing sugar , for dusting
Heat oven to 180C/160C fan. Line a 20cm loose-bottomed cake tin with baking paper and brush with butter.
Put the prepared pears in a bowl with the lemon juice , to prevent them discolouring.
Sieve the flour, baking powder and ginger into a bowl, adding a pinch of salt and the caster sugar.
Whisk the eggs and melted butter together until thick (5 minutes) add to the flour mixture. Gently fold together. Finally, fold in the pears with their juices and the lemon zest. Pour the cake mixture into the tin.
Bake for about 50 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Place on a wire rack and allow to cool slightly before removing from the tin, gently peeling away the parchment.
Dust with icing sugar, it is wonderful served warm or at room temperature with crème fraiche.
ALISON WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE FOLLOWING VENDORS FOR THEIR FANTASTIC PRODUCE
ROSEDALE ORCHARDS – pears, and fruit juice
McATHURS BERRIES – cabbage
MIA’S PASTA – fresh yeasty dough
LIEVITO BAKERY – selection fresh bread
SINGER, JACOB AND ILANA - Falafel and hummus
