Today’s starter is a lemon hummus, based on a recipe by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. I added a little less lemon juice than the recipe, and added fresh coriander to the usual base of blitzed chickpeas, tahini and olive oil. Topped off with a sprinkle of ground cumin, and served up with breadsticks and crudites, accompanied by a glass of prosecco. Mmm!
Pitched into this yellow earthenware bowl, I think I enjoyed the bright summer sunshine colour of the dish almost as much as the fresh taste. Kept reminding me of this great track from Coldplay, now the latest addition to the ADK Playlist.
Regular visitors will know that this week I’ve been researching how to turn a lovely fresh crop of blackcurrants into ice cream. Well, my photo shows a few scoops of the results! I relied heavily on an old Delia recipe, and updated it for the age of the electric ice cream maker. There is really very little added other than sugar and cream, leaving this tart and vibrant coloured summer fruit to be the star of the show.
Servings
This will make 500g of ice cream, so comfortably enough for 5 – 6 servings.
Timings
15 mins preparation, and 35 mins churning.
You Will Need
400g freshly picked blackcurrants
175g granulated sugar
150ml water
300g double cream
an electric mixer
an ice cream maker
Method
Place the drum of the ice cream maker in the freezer to get really frozen. I usually allow 24 hours.
Press the blackcurrants through a sieve with a bowl beneath. The bowl will fill with divine purplish juice, leaving behind the pips and skins in the sieve, which can be discarded.
Combine the sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to the boil, dissolving the sugar. Simmer for a few minutes, then switch off. Combine with the blackcurrant juice and leave to cool.
Whisk the double cream with a mixer.
Place both the bowl of whipped cream and the bowl of blackcurrant juice in the fridge for a couple of hours to get really cold. Then remove from the fridge and combine, stirring it through so that all the cream takes on a purplish colour.
Remove the frozen ice cream maker drum from the freezer. Tip the blackcurrant/cream mix into it and churn for around 35 mins.
Switch off and spoon/scrape the ice cream out of the drum into a plastic container. Seal and place in the fridge for a good few hours before serving. The longer it has the more it will set.
With this week’s great weather set to continue, I am looking forward to cooking for friends coming over this weekend. I plan to get much of the preparation done in advance, so we can make the most of the time together al fresco, relaxing and catching up over cold drinks and lunch. Home-made ice cream makes an ideal dessert for this, as it can be made earlier in the week and left to sit in the freezer till it’s required.
This is particularly true this time of year. We are lucky to have some great soft fruit producers locally (which also helps to keep the food miles down). My photo shows the batch of strawberries I’ve bought to make into ice cream. As I write this, they are chopped, mashed and soaking in sugar and lemon juice in the fridge, waiting to be combined with whipped double cream and churned for a half hour in the ice cream maker. All being well, there should be another post in a few days showing some scoops of the finished product!
Meanwhile, here’s a favourite track of mine by Jamiroquai, that seems to capture that summertime feeling.
Today’s crop from the local community farm had soup written all over it – turnip, swede, carrots, potatoes and a handful of flatleaf parsley. I added onion and celery, and defrosted 1 litre of chicken stock from a previous Sunday roast. Throw in around 100g of pea and barley soup mix and simmer for 40 mins. Plunge in the handheld blender for a few blitzes to give it just the right consistency. Served with a loaf of sourdough for dipping, and eaten (again) al fresco.
This harvest of fresh, natural ingredients made enough for two hearty servings, with about 3 – 4 left over. Soup-ermassive! Earlier in the day I had been lying in the warm sun listening to Muse’s Black Holes and Revelations album on my headphones, so it seems apt to add this latest track to the ADK Playlist. Take it away, Muse.
A Different Kitchen 