We had some of these in the veg box last week, and they've been lurking in the fridge ever since. Stuck for what to do, I turned to the trusty Nigel Slater, and his book about vegetables, Tender.
You'll need 3-4 Jerusalem artichokes per person, if you're having them as a side dish. Beware their side-effects!
Stick your oven on at about 180 degrees C or hotter (often it depends what else you're cooking in there).
Wash the artichokes, and slice them lengthways. Sling a knob of butter and a good slug of olive oil in your roasting tin, and put it into the oven to heat up. After 5 minutes or so, bring the tin out, and place the artichokes face down in the butter/oil. Chuck in a couple of cloves of garlic for each person, still in their skins.
Roast in the oven for 20-25 minutes, until the bottoms are crispy. Squeeze a little lemon over the top, and add lots of salt and black pepper.
20 April 2010
Cakey flapjacks
Don't get me wrong - they're still pretty solid - but these are slightly more cakey than your average flapjack.
Makes lots (at least 16). You'll need:
175g light brown sugar
150g butter
3 tablespoons golden syrup
1 teaspoon bicarb of soda
200g plain flour
200g oats
a good handful of raisins
Stick the oven on at about 180 degrees C, and line a tray/dish with greaseproof paper. The size of the dish will depend on how deep you want your flapjack to be - you could even do this on a baking tray.
Sling the butter, sugar, golden syrup and bicarb in a saucepan, and put on a low heat. They'll melt and look an unholy mess - give it a good stir, and don't worry about it. Add the flour, oats and raisins, and stir until well mixed.
Tip into your dish/tray, level it all out, and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, until it's turned golden brown. Leave to cool in the tin - but do remember to divide it into slices, as it's pretty solid once it's cooled down.
Makes lots (at least 16). You'll need:
175g light brown sugar
150g butter
3 tablespoons golden syrup
1 teaspoon bicarb of soda
200g plain flour
200g oats
a good handful of raisins
Stick the oven on at about 180 degrees C, and line a tray/dish with greaseproof paper. The size of the dish will depend on how deep you want your flapjack to be - you could even do this on a baking tray.
Sling the butter, sugar, golden syrup and bicarb in a saucepan, and put on a low heat. They'll melt and look an unholy mess - give it a good stir, and don't worry about it. Add the flour, oats and raisins, and stir until well mixed.
Tip into your dish/tray, level it all out, and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, until it's turned golden brown. Leave to cool in the tin - but do remember to divide it into slices, as it's pretty solid once it's cooled down.
12 April 2010
Baked dippy eggs
This has to be the easiest thing to make for lunch ever. It even beats boiled eggs.
Makes enough for 3. You'll need:
3 small ramekin dishes
3 eggs
a couple of slices of parma ham, torn into small pieces
a handful of spinach leaves
a little grated cheese (something strong like mature cheddar or parmesan would be good)
Stick the oven on at about 180 degrees C, and butter the ramekin dishes.
Sling a few pieces of parma ham and some spinach leaves into each ramekin. Crack an egg into each, and sprinkle a little grated cheese on top.
Bake in the oven for 5-10 minutes until the egg white is solid, but the yolk is still runny. Keep checking on it!
Makes enough for 3. You'll need:
3 small ramekin dishes
3 eggs
a couple of slices of parma ham, torn into small pieces
a handful of spinach leaves
a little grated cheese (something strong like mature cheddar or parmesan would be good)
Stick the oven on at about 180 degrees C, and butter the ramekin dishes.
Sling a few pieces of parma ham and some spinach leaves into each ramekin. Crack an egg into each, and sprinkle a little grated cheese on top.
Bake in the oven for 5-10 minutes until the egg white is solid, but the yolk is still runny. Keep checking on it!
Aubergine curry
Curry seems to be going down well at the moment - you ate this with a little rice and some cumin potatoes, and liked all three.
Makes enough for 4, as one of a couple of main course dishes. It'd also be nice with some chickpeas thrown in.
You'll need:
1 onion, finely sliced
1 medium aubergine, cut into chunks
1 green pepper, cut into large(ish) pieces
whatever veg you have left in the fridge that you need to use up (we had a small piece of butternut squash that got chucked in)
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon medium curry powder
1 teaspoon brown sugar
(you could also add some chilli powder, if you're making this for non-small people, or indeed for small people who like spice)
sunflower oil
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
Fry the onion in a little sunflower oil until it turns translucent. Add the pepper and aubergine chunks, and fry until they have softened (you may need to add some more oil - the aubergine will absorb a lot). Chuck in all the spices, and fry for a couple of minutes.
Add the chopped butternut squash (or whatever other veg you want to use up), and the tin of chopped tomatoes. Rinse the tin out with some water, and add this in too. Bring everything to the boil, and then simmer for 20-30 minutes, or as long as you've got.
Makes enough for 4, as one of a couple of main course dishes. It'd also be nice with some chickpeas thrown in.
You'll need:
1 onion, finely sliced
1 medium aubergine, cut into chunks
1 green pepper, cut into large(ish) pieces
whatever veg you have left in the fridge that you need to use up (we had a small piece of butternut squash that got chucked in)
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon medium curry powder
1 teaspoon brown sugar
(you could also add some chilli powder, if you're making this for non-small people, or indeed for small people who like spice)
sunflower oil
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
Fry the onion in a little sunflower oil until it turns translucent. Add the pepper and aubergine chunks, and fry until they have softened (you may need to add some more oil - the aubergine will absorb a lot). Chuck in all the spices, and fry for a couple of minutes.
Add the chopped butternut squash (or whatever other veg you want to use up), and the tin of chopped tomatoes. Rinse the tin out with some water, and add this in too. Bring everything to the boil, and then simmer for 20-30 minutes, or as long as you've got.
Cumin potatoes
We made these to go with the aubergine curry - they're very fragrant, and not too spicy.
You'll need:
500g potatoes (ish)
1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
3 teaspoons cumin seeds
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon turmeric
a squeeze of lime juice
2-3 tablespoons sunflower oil
Peel, cube and boil the potatoes until they are tender. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a frying pan, and stir fry the mustard seeds and cumin seeds for a minute. Add the rest of the spices, and fry for another 1-2 minutes.
Add the potatoes, and fry for 5 or so minutes, until the outside of them has gone crispy. Squeeze over a little lime juice, and serve (they'd be nice with a little chopped fresh coriander on top).
It would also make a great way to roast the potatoes - once you've got the oil and spices ready, chuck the potatoes in a roasting tin, sling the oil/spices over them, and toss to mix. Roast in a hot oven (220 degrees C or hotter) for 15-20 minutes (they're only in small cubes, remember), until they've gone crispy.
You'll need:
500g potatoes (ish)
1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
3 teaspoons cumin seeds
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon turmeric
a squeeze of lime juice
2-3 tablespoons sunflower oil
Peel, cube and boil the potatoes until they are tender. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a frying pan, and stir fry the mustard seeds and cumin seeds for a minute. Add the rest of the spices, and fry for another 1-2 minutes.
Add the potatoes, and fry for 5 or so minutes, until the outside of them has gone crispy. Squeeze over a little lime juice, and serve (they'd be nice with a little chopped fresh coriander on top).
It would also make a great way to roast the potatoes - once you've got the oil and spices ready, chuck the potatoes in a roasting tin, sling the oil/spices over them, and toss to mix. Roast in a hot oven (220 degrees C or hotter) for 15-20 minutes (they're only in small cubes, remember), until they've gone crispy.
06 April 2010
Chocolate tart
With optional Easter chicks. 'Scuse the bad photo, but it was taken after a couple of glasses of fizz, and the phone was wobbling slightly.
You made this for your chocaholic Grandma for Easter Sunday lunch - we took it with us as a surprise. She wasn't allowed to look at it until all the chicks had been carefully placed on top.
It's based on a lovely Rachel Allen recipe from her Bake collection, and serves...well, that all depends on how greedy you are. We comfortably got 12 portions from it.
You'll need:
shortcrust pastry (8oz flour usually gives enough to line a 20cm flan dish, plus a little left over for 4 or 5 jam tarts)
125g milk chocolate, chopped into small pieces
175g dark chocolate (ditto)
2 eggs (beaten)
175ml double cream
125ml milk
Stick your oven on at about 180 degrees C, and grease your flan dish. Line with shortcrust pastry, prick the bottom with a fork, and then weight down a sheet of greaseproof paper with some baking beads or lentils/rice etc. Bake the pastry shell in the oven for 12-15 minutes, until it's turned golden brown.
In the meantime, mix together the cream and milk in a saucepan, and bring to boiling point. Quickly take it off the heat, and tip in the small pieces of chocolate (taking care to test a few on the way). Stir until they have dissolved, and you have a glorious creamy, glossy, chocolate-y sauce.
Leave to cool slightly, then carefully mix in the eggs. Pour the mixture into the pastry shell, and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes - you want it to just softly set. If you leave it to cool in the tin, it'll be much easier to extract.
02 April 2010
Bento
You haven't been feeling great this week, so I made you a bento box for tea - spinach and cucumber salad, some steamed rice with peanuts, a little poached salmon, and a few slices of banana. And a little lake of soy sauce for dipping in the centre, of course.
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