Tag: Kitchen

Categories
Mains Recipes

Roast Veg Tartlets

Warm ’em up, or eat ’em cold. Either way, these individual vegetarian tartlets will provide an attractìve, appetising, tasty and nutritious lunch. They’re also a great way to use up leftovers.

Servings

2 tartlets, so a light lunch for 2.

Timings

30 mins to roast the veg while you make the pastry and the tomato sauce, then 15 mins to bake at 180C.

You Will Need:

  • A couple of individual sized flan/tartlet dishes
  • 1 small sweet potato
  • 3 – 4 chestnut mushrooms
  • Half a red pepper
  • Drizzle of olive oil
  • A sprinkle of dried mixed herbs
  • 110g plain wholemeal flour
  • 50g butter
  • Pinch of salt
  • 2 – 3 tbsp cold tap water
  • Half a red onion
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • 3 – 4 tbsp tomato passata
  • Half a 400g tin of kidney beans
  • Black pepper
  • Strong hard cheese, like mature cheddar or parmesan, for grating

Method

  1. Turn a fan oven on to 180C.
  2. Peel and chop the sweet potato into 1 – 2 cm sized chunks. Quarter the mushrooms, and cut the red pepper into pieces the same size as the sweet potato. Place all in a roasting dish. Sprinkle with the herbs and drizzle with oil, then place in the oven for 30 mins.
  3. While the veg is roasting, get started on the pastry. Sieve the flour into a food processor with blade fitted. Chop the butter into small cubes and add to the flour with a pinch of salt. Pulse a few times until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Drip in the water and pulse again, until you have a ball of soft dough. Remove, wrap in cling film and place in the fridge while you make the tomato sauce.
  4. Warm a few drops of the oil in a saucepan. Crush in the garlic and add the onion, finely chopped. As it softens, add in the passata and kidney beans. Give it a few twists of black pepper. Stir to mix and let reduce for a few minutes, until you have a thickish consistency.
  5. Grease the individual tartlet dishes with butter. Take the pastry dough from the fridge and roll out on a floured surface, then use to line each pastry dish. Prick each a few times with a fork.
  6. When the veg has finished roasting, scrape it all into the saucepan and mix in with the tomato and kidney beans. Leave the oven on.
  7. Spoon the veg and tomato mixture into the tartlet cases, then top with the grated cheese. Place in the oven for 15 mins until baked, with the cheese browned.
  8. Serve up with seasonal steamed veg, or let cool and enjoy with salad.

Customise it!

Swap in an̈y leftover veg you may have that is good for roasting: parsnip, carrot, celeriac, green or yellow pepper. Chop up a few celery stalks and add to soften in the tomato sauce. Try grating Stilton over to give another taste twist.

Recently, I’ve been revisiting the great REM albums from the 1990s. I played these a lot when first released and have always admired the band’s music. I feel quite privileged to have seen them play live on two occasions when they visited the UK. Here’s one of many fave tracks, this one from the New Adventures in HiFi album: Bittersweet Me.

Categories
Bakes Recipes

Carrot, Orange & Walnut Cake

The humble carrot is cheap and in plentiful supply in our shops at the moment. So, I thought, what better time to bake up a carrot cake?

There are already a whole host of carrot cake recipes out there, so I read through a few before deciding how I would approach mine.

I was looking to make a single tier traybake, incorporating mixed spice, sultanas and walnuts alongside the carrot, topped off by a cream cheese frosting with the tang of orange zest.

I actually found a Mary Berry recipe that was more or less what I had in mind, so was largely influenced by that. Cheers, Mary! My only real deviation was to throw a handful of sultanas into the cake mix, as I really like the added juiciness they bring.

I was pleased with the results – that’s it in my photo at the top of the post – and it has gone down well in the ADK household.

The orange cream cheese frosting is irresistible. I strongly advise dipping your little finger in once it’s made, scooping some up for a preliminary taste test before spreading the rest on the cake. Believe me, you won’t regret it.

Servings

This will give you around 16 slices.

Timings

30 mins to prepare, 40 mins to bake at 160C in a fan oven. Make the frosting while the cake is baking and allow 5 mins more to apply it when the cake has cooled.

You Will Need

For the Cake

  • 225g self-raising flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp mixed spice
  • 150g light brown sugar
  • 50g chopped walnuts
  • 50g sultanas
  • 2 eggs
  • 150 ml vegetable oil
  • 1 tbsp milk
  • 200g coarsely grated carrot

For the Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 100g unsalted butter
  • 200g cream cheese
  • 250g icing sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • zest of 1 orange
  • handful of chopped walnuts

Method

  1. Grease and line a traybake tin. The one I used is 22cm square. Switch a fan oven on to 160C.
  2. Sieve the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and mixed spice into a bowl. Sprinkle in the sugar, chopped nuts and sultanas.
  3. Mix the eggs, oil, milk and grated carrot in a separate bowl.
  4. When the oven is up to temp, pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix thoroughly with a spatula until no dry ingredients are showing. Scrape into the traybake tin and level. Put in the oven for 35 – 40 mins.
  5. While the cake is baking, make the orange cream cheese frosting. Place the butter, cream cheese, icing sugar, vanilla and orange zest in a bowl and whisk with an electric mixer until thick and creamy. Place the bowl in the fridge until required.
  6. Check if the cake is fully baked – the top should be browning and a skewer inserted in the middle come out dry. If it is, take from the oven and set aside to cool in the tin.
  7. Once cool, remove carefully from the tin and spread the orange cream cheese frosting all over. Top with the chopped walnuts.
  8. Cut into slices and serve.

Customise It!

Swap in some chopped toasted pecans for the walnuts if you wish. Frosted toppings like this often look good with a sprinkle of edible blue cornflower petals, if you have them. They are more about visual effect and presentation, though, rather than adding to the taste.

Here’s a song that came on Spotify while this traybake was in the oven. I hadn’t come across it for a while, and remembered how good it was, so here it is: Birmingham post-punk band The Au Pairs with It’s Obvious.

Categories
Bakes Recipes

Spiced Fruit & Rooibos Traybake

Here’s a fresh and fruity traybake to welcome the first signs of spring. Dried mixed fruit is plumped up by infusion in freshly brewed Rooibos (or Redbush) tea. Dark brown sugar and mixed spice ensure a deep rich colour and satisfying warmth.

The tea blend I used is one called Kalahari that I picked up in the Tea Emporium in Bath, on one of our motorhome trips down to the west country. It mixes Rooibos leaves with orange peel, lemongrass, and specks of marigold and thistle flowers. It looks beautiful and makes a lovely, refreshing caffeine-free drink. Here it is:

I’m pleased to say it can now also be enjoyed in cake form! No Kalahari? No problem – other blends of Rooibos (flavoured or plain) can be used just as well.

Servings

This should give you around 16 slices.

Timings

Prep took me around 30 mins, including soaking the dried fruit in the tea. Bakes in a fan oven at 160C for 40 mins.

You Will Need:

  • 75ml tea made up with Rooibos leaves and boiling water
  • 160g mixed dried fruit – I used sultanas, candied peel and glace cherries
  • 180g butter, softened
  • 160g dark brown sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • 200g self-raising flour
  • 1 tsp mixed spice (nutmeg, cinnamon, coriander seed, clove, pimento and ginger)
  • 3 tbsp dark brown sugar for sprinkling

Method

  1. Grease and line a tray bake tin. The one I used is 22cm square.
  2. Place your assortment of dried mixed fruit in a bowl.
  3. Make up a pot of tea using the Rooibos leaves and boiling water. Using a tea strainer, measure out 75 ml and pour it over the dried fruit. Stir and set aside (see the photo just above, showing my fruit soaking in the Rooibos tea).
  4. Put the sugar and softened butter in another bowl, and whisk together with an electric mixer until nice and creamy.
  5. Crack in each egg one at a time, and whisk in. Sprinkle in a little of the flour each time to avoid curdling.
  6. Sieve in the rest of the flour and the mixed spice. Whisk again to combine.
  7. Turn a fan oven on to 160C.
  8. Drain the mixed dried fruit with a sieve, catching the tea to retain in a separate bowl. Tip the fruit into the cake mixture and whisk in.
  9. Add in as much of the retained tea as necessary to bring the cake mix to the right consistency. You should be able to pick up a spoonful and slowly but surely let it slide back off the spoon, into the rest of the mix with a plop! I used most of the retained tea in mine.
  10. Give it a final whisk then scrape into the prepared tin with a spatula. Spread out into the four corners and level the top.
  11. Finally, sprinkle the dark brown sugar topping over the cake with your fingers.
  12. Place in the oven at 160C for 40 mins. Check after about 30 mins – if a skewer in the middle comes out dry then it’s done.
  13. Leave to cool and cut into slices. They will keep in a tin for a few days but, seriously, they will all be eaten by then anyway!

Customise It!

You can use a different combination of mixed dried fruit if you wish, or if that’s what you have in the cupboard – currants, dried apricots and so on should work fine.

Rooibos leaves that come with different natural flavourings to mine will be ok. If you like plain Rooibos to drink then use that. I sometimes have Rooibos with a dash of vanilla extract, and that would make an interesting combo for using here.

The weather is due to be fine this weekend, so I’m getting out into the garden today to enjoy our first real sun and warmth of 2025, with a pot of Rooibos and a slice of traybake. Time to relax and enjoy the silence.

Speaking of which, it’s currently the 35th anniversary of the release of the classic Violator album by Depeche Mode, which I plan to listen to again in the garden on my headphones. So, let’s add this track to the ADK Playlist: Enjoy the Silence.

Categories
Mains Recipes

Firecracker Salmon

Here’s a fairly quick and easy way to zing up some salmon fillets, using a fiery topping sauce made mainly from ingredients you might find stowed away in a kitchen cupboard or fridge.

I served the firecracker salmon over a bed of veg and beansprouts, flash cooked in the wok using the remainder of the fiery topping as a spicy and fruity stir fry sauce. The veg consisted of crushed garlic and chopped root ginger, with fine batons of carrot, celery and red pepper, a few sliced mushrooms and a chopped red onion. I also chopped in a bunch of coriander/cilantro leaves and wilted in some pak choi.

No carb accompaniments required, but see Customise It! below for another suggestion to accompany the salmon.

The stir fry was made in the time it took the salmon to cook in the oven, so no additional time is required. The finished meal you can see in my photo at the top of the post.

Servings

2 adult portions.

Timings

5 mins to prepare, 20 mins to cook.

You Will Need:

  • 2 salmon fillets

    For the fiery topping
  • 2 tbsp red chilli paste
  • 100g tomato passata
  • 2 tbsp fruit jam
  • 2 tbsp rice or white wine vinegar
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce

    To sprinkle
  • a handful of sesame seeds

Method

  1. Turn a fan oven on to 180C.
  2. Take a roasting dish and line it with a rectangle of tin foil. Drizzle a little of the oil on the foil and lay the two salmon portions down on it, side by side. Then lift up the edges of the tin foil and pinch them at the corners to form a little fence tightly around the sides of the salmon.
  3. Put the fiery topping ingredients in a clean screw top jar and close with the lid. Give it a really good shake to mix.
  4. Unscrew the jar and, using a basting brush, smear the topping over the tops and sides of the salmon. The tin foil parcel will help it stay on the fish while it cooks, and stop it dripping off.
  5. Place the tray in the oven when it is up to temp. After 10 mins, remove it and baste the tops and sides again with another layer of fiery topping. Place back in the oven for a further 10 mins.
  6. Remove and use a spatula to lift each portion of salmon on to a warm plate. Sprinkle over the sesame seeds to serve.

Customise It!

An alternative to the stir fry accompaniment would be to place some small potatoes with chopped onion and peppers on the roasting tray alongside the salmon parcel, then serve it all together. This way there is only one cooking pan involved, and the wok can stay in the drawer.

Here’s a cracker of a track I’ve been playing this week in the ADK Kitchen. I heard it by chance recently and it reminded me how good this band were in their day. I have always liked the guitar sound of Andy Gill in particular. This is What We All Want from Gang of Four.

Categories
Mains Recipes

Steak & Real Ale Hotpot

This week I’ve had the electric slow cooker back in action, delivering another true winter warmer of a Sunday dinner.

For this variation on the Gastropub classic, steak and ale pie, I bought locally reared beef from a farm shop butcher, along with a favourite dark ale from a local craft brewery. Add hot beef stock and seasonal veg, and leave it to bubble away for several hours in the corner of the kitchen, filling the house and whetting the appetite with its satisfying aroma.

What’s more, I heartily recommend buying an additional bottle of the ale, so that the chef can relax with a glass while all that cooking is quietly underway. Preferably while watching the Premier League on Super Sunday. Hey, I earned it!

For the record, my choice was Meon Valley Bitter, brewed by Bowman Ales in the rolling countryside of the South Downs.

Cheers!

Servings

At least 6 adult portions here.

Timings

5 – 6 hours in an electric slow cooker on low. or fan oven at 140C (No slow cooker? See Customise it below).

You Will Need

  • 3 – 4 tbsp of plain flour
  • a few twists of black pepper
  • around 1kg chuck steak
  • a good drizzle of oil
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1 onion
  • 2 carrots
  • 1/4 of a celeriac
  • 500ml bottle of real ale
  • 500ml beef stock
  • 100ml tomato passata
  • 2 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 tbsp dark brown sugar
  • salt, pepper
  • 1 bay leaf
  • sprinkling of fresh herbs – I used rosemary and thyme.
  • 2 tbsp cornflour
  • 2 tbsp cold water

Method

  1. Turn the electric slow cooker on at the high setting, and leave to warm up. Sprinkle the flour into a shallow dish and season with the black pepper.
  2. Chop the steak into bite-sized chunks. Roll the chunks in the flour and pepper mix until they are coated all over.
  3. Warm some oil in a large frying pan on the hob. Transfer the chunks of steak over and sizzle until the outsides are sealed. Place in the slow cooker bowl.
  4. Top up the oil in the frying pan if necessary, then crush in the garlic. Roughly chop the onion, carrots and celeriac into chunks a similar size to the steak, and add to the frying pan. Turn over a few times with a spatula to get all the veg warmed through and just beginning to sear at the edges. Transfer to the slow cooker bowl.
  5. Next, add the passata, mustard and sugar to the frying pan. Pour in the ale and stir to mix. Turn up the heat and, as it starts to bubble, transfer to the slow cooker bowl.
  6. Finally, pour the beef stock into the frying pan and bring to the boil, before tipping it into the slow cooker bowl.
  7. Place the bay leaf in the slow cooker bowl. Tear or sprinkle in the herbs, and give it all a good churn with the spatula.
  8. After about 40 mins, turn down to the medium setting and leave to bubble away quietly for 5 – 6 hours.
  9. After that cooking time, make up a roux by mixing the cornflour and water until smooth, then pour into the hotpot. Stir in and watch as the sauce thickens. Repeat this stage a few more times if you like, till the hotpot gravy reaches your preferred consistency. You will then be ready to serve.
  10. I served this with some roasted charlotte potatoes, as shown in my main photo at the top of the post.

Customise It!

Don’t worry if you do not have an electric slow cooker – just replace it with a lidded casserole dish. Start it off at 180C in a fan oven for 40 mins, then turn down to 140C for 5 – 6 hours.

I used celeriac, but you could just as easily use parsnip and a few sticks of celery, roughly chopped. The rosemary and thyme were the fresh herbs I had to hand, but you could replace these with mixed dried herbs.

The choice of beer is a matter of personal taste. My Meon Valley Ale is a locally brewed best bitter, but you can use any other real ale. Make sure it is brown or ruby though, to help provide the taste and the colour – a lager just won’t work as well.

Here’s a classic punk album I’ve been listening to again this week, featuring the inimitable voice of Poly Styrene. I could have chosen many tracks from their debut album, but have settled on this: X-ray Spex with Let’s Submerge.

Categories
Blog Mains

Both Ends Burning

Well, that’s a good description of how it’s felt this last few days in the UK heatwave. After lots of no-cook meals and salads recently, the temperature in the kitchen finally subsided sufficiently, so that we could contemplate turning the cooker back on again.

It had to be something quick, however, so as not to undo the good work of the increasingly refreshing afternoon breeze coming across the back garden. Cue the classic midweek standby – the omelette. This one had a Spanish feel to it, using up some leftover Jersey new potatoes (from the potato salads), half a sweet red pepper and a few chopped black olives. I mixed in the rest of a dish of ricotta with the eggs, chopped fresh spring onions from the garden and some grated cheddar. Served up with seasonal freshly picked steamed green veg on the side – on this occasion french beans, mange tout and broad beans.

Eaten al fresco to stay cool. And speaking of staying cool, let’s add some Roxy Music to the ADK Playlist:



Categories
Breakfast Recipes

Blueberry and Apricot Muesli

This breakfast dish looks and tastes great – the bright blue and orange combination making for a lively, satisfying and healthy start to your day.

Servings

Makes one bowl for immediate consumption!

Timings

5 mins to prepare

You Will Need

  • 4 – 5 dessert spoonfuls of rolled oats
  • 1 dessert spoonful of pumpkin seeds
  • 1 dessert spoonful of sunflower seeds
  • 1 dessert spoonful of mixed dried fruit
  • a handful of fresh blueberries
  • 1 fresh apricot, chopped
  • a few dessert spoonfuls of natural yoghurt
  • 1 dessert spoonful of chopped nuts

Method

  1. Combine all the ingredients, other than the yoghurt and nuts, in a breakfast bowl. Reserve 2 – 3 blueberries and apricot pieces.
  2. Top with the yoghurt, sprinkle over the chopped nuts, and add the reserved blueberries and apricot to garnish. Enjoy.

Customise It!

Keep to the core ingredients of oats, seeds, fruit and nuts, otherwise swap in whatever is fresh and seasonal or whatever you have to hand. Raspberries or strawberries work well, and later in the summer I will be using freshly picked blackberries. Add milk in place of yoghurt, and add a swirl of honey if that’s your thing.

Categories
Blog

Paint It Blackcurrant

Delighted to have picked up this crop of fresh blackcurrants from our local community farm. As we’re currently bracing ourselves for the hottest day of the year here in the UK, I’ve decided to make some cooling blackcurrant ice cream with my Cuisinart ice cream maker, so am currently investigating recipes. All helpful ideas and suggestions welcome! Watch this space for a post later this week about the finished article.

Categories
Recipes Sides

Beetroot, Feta and Walnut Salad with Bulgar and Quinoa

This deliciously tasty side salad combines beetroot with feta cheese and chopped toasted walnuts, along with a mix of bulgar wheat and quinoa. The beetroot naturally colours the feta and gives the whole dish a pinkish hue.

Servings

Serving this as a side to a main should be sufficient for 2 – 4 people.

You Will Need

  • 60g mix of bulgar wheat and quinoa
  • 240ml water
  • one cooked beetroot
  • 100g feta cheese
  • 50g walnuts

Method

  1. Put the bulgar/quinoa mix in a saucepan with the water and bring to the boil. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer and leave for about 25 mins. Turn off, drain and rinse in a sieve under cold running water.
  2. Dice the beetroot and the feta.
  3. Toast the walnuts in the oven at 180C for 5 – 10 mins, then roughly chop in the food processor with blade fixed.
  4. Combine the ingredients in a bowl and give them a swirl with a fork, fluffing up the bulgar/quinoa as you go. The juice from the beetroot should naturally infuse the salad with a pink glow.

Customise it!

You can omit the nuts if they’re not your thing. Replace with something green and small, like chopped fresh spring onions. You could also swap the bulgar/quinoa with couscous or even rice, if that’s what you prefer (or have in the cupboard!)

Categories
Mains Recipes

Summer Greens Quiche with Stilton and Ricotta

Summer green vegetables are reaching their peak just now, and this quiche brings out the best in them. Fetch a crop from the garden or market stall, and mix with creamy ricotta and salty blue cheese in this fresh and vibrant quiche.

Servings

Makes 4 generous slices, or 6-8 average ones!

Timings

About 15 mins initially to prepare the pastry, and another 15 mins to prepare the filling including steaming the veg. Baking time is an initial 10 minutes for the case alone, then 45-50 mins for the filled quiche.

You Will Need

For the pastry

  • 115g plain flour
  • 115g wholemeal flour
  • 100g soft margarine
  • a pinch of seasalt
  • a pinch of paprika
  • a few drops of cold water

For the filling

  • Approx 180g fresh green veg (I used broccoli, french beans, runner beans and mange tout)
  • about 3 spring onions
  • 3 large eggs
  • 130g ricotta cheese
  • 50g stilton cheese
  • twist of black pepper

Method

  1. Grease a 20cm flan dish with some margarine or spread. I like to line the base with a circle of greaseproof paper in addition, as I find it helps to remove the quiche once baked.
  2. Make the pastry by sieving the two flours into a food processor fixed with blade, along with the margarine cut into cubes. Pulse until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add a few drops of water and pulse again until you have a ball of pastry whirling around the blade. Take it out, pat into a ball and wrap in clingfilm, placing it in the fridge to stay cool.
  3. Prepare the veg. Trim the ends off the beans and cut into 2-3cm lengths. Trim the ends of the mange tout, and cut any leaves and tough stalks off the broccoli.
  4. Put the veg into a steamer over boiling water for about 10 mins.
  5. While the veg is steaming, turn on the oven and set to 180C. Take the pastry from the fridge and roll out with a rolling pin to a size that will fit the flan dish. Carefully place it into the dish. Leave any pieces overhanging at the edges for the moment. Prick the base with a fork in 5 or 6 places. Place it back in the fridge while the oven is getting up to temperature.
  6. Remove the veg from the steamer and drain in a colander. Set on one side.
  7. With the oven up to temperature, remove the pastry dish from the fridge. Crumple a square of greaseproof paper with your hands and place it in the dish. Fill the paper with baking beans, spreading them out with your fingers so they cover the whole of the base and are gently pressed up to the sides. Place in the oven for 10 mins.
  8. While the pastry base is baking, top and tail the spring onions and cut into 2-3cm lengths. Chop the stilton roughly into cubes. It will crumble a bit as you do.
  9. Mix the eggs and ricotta in a jug, and give it a few twists of black pepper.
  10. Remove the pastry dish from the oven and carefully lift the paper and baking beans into a separate bowl to cool. Don’t worry too much about any pastry overhanging the edges – it will drop off as it bakes, either at this stage or the next one.
  11. Spread the steamed veg across the pastry base, and crumble the stilton over it. Carefully pour the egg and ricotta mix into the pastry base, making sure it gets into all the little cavities between the veg. Dot over the chopped spring onions, making sure they are lightly pushed into the mixture so they don’t burn.
  12. Bake in the oven, still at 180C, for about 45 – 50 minutes. The mixture should have risen and the top should be slightly browned. Remove and leave to cool in the dish.
  13. When cool, chop into slices and serve!

Customise it!

Main opportunity for going freestyle here is in the choice of veg. Sticking broadly to the theme of seasonal green/garden veg, you can use whatever you have to hand – perhaps introduce some greens, spinach, kale or chard. Herbs will also go well. Any combination should work, but keep it to a total of around 180g so as not to overfill.

You can also use any other crumbly blue cheese in place of stilton e.g. Dorset Blue Vinney. If you’re short of time, or don’t want to bother making the pastry, then you can use some ready made shortcrust pastry.