Tag: Recipes

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Bakes Desserts Recipes

Plum & Almond Slices

This week I received a harvest of the first plums of the summer. They are plump, juicy and a magnificent purplish colour (see below). Isn’t nature wonderful – Artificial Intelligence (AI) can do more and more things nowadays, but it can’t produce these (yet).

I will return to the subject of AI in a few moments.

I decided to combine the plums with ground and flaked almonds in a traybake, cut into slices to have with a cup of tea or coffee, as shown in my main photo at the top of this post.

The slightly tart taste of these early plums complements the rich, velvety, amaretto-ish, marzipanny taste of the egg and almonds. Delish!

Servings

16 slices.

Timings

15 mins to prepare, 30 mins to bake at 180C.

You Will Need

  • 125g self-raising flour
  • half tsp salt
  • 80g ground almonds
  • 170g baking spread or margarine
  • 150g caster sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 tsp almond essence
  • 300g plums, de-stoned and chopped into rough pieces
  • a few handfuls of flaked almonds

Method

  1. Grease a baking tray and line it with baking paper. The one I used is 22cm square. Turn the oven on to warm up to 180C.
  2. Sieve the flour and salt into a bowl, and stir in the ground almonds.
  3. Combine the spread and sugar in a second bowl and whisk with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy. Add in the eggs and whisk, one at a time, and then the almond essence.
  4. Combine the contents of the two bowls and fold in.
  5. Spread a few spoonfuls of the cake mixture over the bottom of the baking dish and spread out so it is flat.
  6. Pour the plum pieces into the rest of the cake mixture in the bowl, and fold in. Add the plummy cake mix to the baking tray. Level it out with a spatula, then sprinkle the flaked almonds over. Press the flaked almonds down gently with the back of a fork, so that they adhere to the mixture.
  7. Bake for 30 mins at 180C. Then remove and allow to cool a little in the tin, before transferring to a wire rack.
  8. When completely cooled, cut into slices.

Customise It!

If you don’t have plums to hand, try other soft fruit, like cherries or berries.

Like me, you may have noticed that we are hearing more and more these days about the growth of Artificial Intelligence, or AI, and that it will be taking over more and more jobs and tasks that are carried out by humans.

Mmmm. I’ve been wondering whether AI could come up with a recipe such as Plum & Almond Slices, and then bake it? Would it seriously be bothered carefully trimming around the stones in a pile of plums with a sharp knife? And if so, would it lick the batter left on the spatula and in the bowl once its put the traybake in the oven? If not, it would be missing out on a special treat, and that certainly isn’t my definition of progress.

Turning to the ADK Playlist, I was intrigued to find out recently that I have a new, AI personalised DJ on Spotify. His name is Xavier and he presents a continuous stream of music curated from my listening over previous years, with new tracks that he thinks I may also like. If I want to skip a track, I just ask him and he moves on to introduce the next song.

He hasn’t completely mastered my tastes so far, but I am sure it is only a matter of time. Interestingly, I didn’t ask for him to start doing this – he just appeared one day on my app.

It reminded me of this track by Leftfield, called Machines Like Me, which contains the line Machines, they’re taking over. Maybe I’ll ask Xavier if he knows it.

Categories
Sides

Royal Blood Orange Salad

Now here’s a vibrantly coloured salad to liven up your patio table and get your summer lunch guests talking.

Slices of fresh orange are combined with wafer thin slivers of raw beetroot, in a sweet and sour dressing, topped with roasted pumpkin and sunflower seeds infused with the taste of fennel.

The inspiration came from a chef I admire a lot, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. That deep shade of purpley-red that the fruit takes on from the beetroot juices (see my photo above) reminded me of blood oranges. As the music of Brighton duo, Royal Blood, was playing a lot in the ADK Kitchen when I was making this, I decided to call it my Royal Blood Orange Salad.

Still with me? Here’s how it’s made.

Servings

This is a side salad, rather than a main. Along with other salads as part of a summer lunch table, it will serve 4 people.

Timings

10 mins to chop and prepare, before leaving to marinate for 2 hours before serving. 15 mins to make the roasted seed topping, which is added just before serving.

You Will Need

  • 2 small beetroot, raw
  • 2 medium sized fresh oranges
  • 3 tbsp white wine vinegar
  • 1 tsp soft brown sugar
  • seasalt and freshly ground black pepper

For the roasted seed topping:

  • 2 tbsp fennel seeds
  • half tsp seasalt
  • 1 and a half tsp caster sugar
  • 40g pumpkin seeds
  • 40g sunflower seeds
  • 1 tbsp rapeseed or olive oil

Method

  1. Peel the outer skin from the beetroot. Using a vegetable peeler, cut the beetroot into wafer thin slivers.
  2. Trim the top and bottom off each orange. Then, standing each orange on a chopping board, trim off the skin and pith, leaving a fleshy orange ball. Cut horizontally into slices about 1cm thick.
  3. Put the beetroot and orange in a bowl and add the white wine vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper. Toss to combine, and place in the fridge to marinate for a couple of hours.
  4. Meanwhile, prepare the seed topping. Begin by pre-heating the oven to 180C.
  5. Using a pestle and mortar, grind the fennel seeds, salt and sugar to a fine powder. Then place the powder in a bowl with the pumpkin and sunflower seeds, oil and 1 tbsp water, and stir to combine.
  6. Line an oven tray with baking paper, and spread the seed mix out upon it. Place in the oven for about 8 mins.
  7. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
  8. Remove the marinated orange and beetroot from the fridge, giving it a gentle stir. Sprinkle the cooled seed mix over and serve.

Customise It!

Mmm, an interesting one! There’s quite a delicate mix of flavours and colours in here, so I’m wary of messing too much with it. There is something faintly oriental about the sweet and sour dressing, so the next time I make this I think I will try Chinese 5 spice in place of the fennel seeds and see how that goes.

The roasted seed mix I really liked, so much so that I kept some for snacking on (see my photo below). It was also great as a topping sprinkled over muesli at breakfast time.

I was experimenting with this salad in the days before seeing Muse at Milton Keynes Bowl (see Hysteria for more). Royal Blood were supporting Muse at the concert, and I was playing their music in the ADK Kitchen in preparation for seeing them live.

They were great to see, and went down very well with the 65,000 crowd. I was particularly interested to see if and how Mike Kerr could reproduce that distinctive sound when playing live. If you haven’t heard them, he manages to draw a very expansive range from one bass guitar, making it sound like he is playing two or more guitars. I noticed he was making a lot of use of foot pedals to achieve distortion. Incredibly, he could produce chords by simply banging the frame of the guitar with his fist, without touching any of the strings.

Royal Blood are popular, well regarded and critically acclaimed. It is very much deserved. Here they are with Boilermaker.

Categories
Recipes Snacks

Mozzarella, Tomato & Basil Baguettes

I was lucky enough to enjoy today’s dish (shown above) on a lunchtime visit to the home of my good friends, Kelvin and Eva. It was another hot day and we had just been for a walk in the shade of the woods to cool down. We sat under the parasol in the back garden and enjoyed these amazing toasted baguettes.

I am pleased to say that Eva has agreed to write a guest post sharing the recipe. Over to Eva!

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One of my favourite hot weather snacks for this year is Mozzarella, Tomato & Basil Baguettes. I used to make a lunch dish with mozzarella, a few tomatoes and fresh basil just spread out on a plate, served with a balsamic dressing. However, since eating this version on holiday in Tenerife, while overlooking the sea, with the sound of the waves and the fragrant smells of the flowers and trees nearby, I am now a convert to this version of the Italian starter.

You Will Need:

  • One fresh baguette
  • One good quality buffalo mozzarella cheese
  • 2-3 ripe tomatoes
  • A hand full of fresh basil leaves
  • Balsamic vinegar
  • Olive oil
  • Sea salt
  • Balsamic glaze

Method

  1. Cut the baguette into 15 cm long sections and slice through each section to make two halves.
  2. Put the inside of each slice under a grill to crisp it up.
  3. Slice the tomatoes and mozzarella, and arrange them on top of each baguette half, finishing with the basil leaves.
  4. Sprinkle some sea salt over each slice along with a generous drizzle of good quality balsamic vinegar and olive oil.
  5. To make it look even more appetising, I finish with a balsamic glaze!
  6. The perfect drink for me to accompany this little snack is a cool glass of French Rosé! A truly European feast!

As a guest poster on A Different Kitchen, I get to choose the latest track for adding to Kevin’s Playlist. Having been given the inspiration for this dish on holiday, it has to be my favourite Spanish song which we heard played and sung several times on our walks along the promenade. It’s a very catchy song and you won’t be able to get it out of your head for some time!!

This is La Camisa Negra  (the black shirt) by Juanes.

Categories
Bakes Recipes

Carrot & Orange Traybake

Give the humble carrot a whole new taste twist in this delicious traybake!

Coarsely grated, carrot helps the cake mixture to stay moist, and adds texture. Together with soft brown sugar and a dusting of cinnamon, the cake is firmly on the brown/orange/cream colour spectrum, which I find very pleasing, and very 1970s.

What’s more, flavouring the soft cheese frosting with orange gives me a basis for adding one of my favourite ever bands to the ADK Playlist.

More of the music in a moment. First of all, here’s how to make Carrot & Orange Traybake.

Servings

How many individual portions this makes depends on how small (or large!) you decide to cut the slices. Mine made around 20 slices, each about 6cm x 4cm, to fill two tins, one of which is shown below.

Timings

10 – 15 mins to prepare the mixture, and 25 mins to bake in the oven at 180C. Add 10 mins for the orange frosting.

You Will Need

  • 225g butter or spread
  • 225g soft brown sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • 225g self-raising flour
  • half tsp salt
  • 3 tsps mixed spice
  • 300g carrots

For the orange frosting:

  • 100g butter, softened
  • 100g icing sugar
  • 200g soft cream cheese
  • 1 tsp orange extract
  • cinnamon for dusting

Method

  1. Turn the oven on at 180C. Grease and line a baking tin (the one I used is 23cm square).
  2. Put the softened butter and sugar together in a bowl and mix with an electric whisk until light and fluffy.
  3. Add in the eggs, one at a time, with a spoonful of the flour after each one. Mix in each time, using the whisk.
  4. Add in the rest of the flour, the salt and mixed spice, and fold in with a spatula to incorporate.
  5. Grate the carrots – I used an electric food processor with grating tool fitted. Add the grated carrot into the mix and fold in again with the spatula. Make sure that all the grated carrot is wet with a coating of the mixture.
  6. Scrape the mixture into the baking tin and level the surface. Put in the oven for around 25 mins, until it is golden all over and a skewer put into the middle of the cake comes out dry.
  7. Let it cool in the tin for about 30 mins, then transfer to a wire rack to complete the cooling.
  8. Make the orange frosting by putting all the ingredients in a bowl and mixing together with an electric whisk.
  9. When the cake has completely cooled, transfer to a chopping board. Spread the frosting evenly over the top, and dust with a little cinnamon. Cut into slices and keep in a box or tin till they’re all eaten. That won’t be long, however.

Customise it!

If you wish, you could use chopped walnuts to sprinkle over, in place of the cinnamon. I used orange extract as it gives an intense flavour, but if you like you could use a little orange juice, and/or zest in the frosting, instead.

Did someone say Orange Juice? Here’s Edwyn and the lads with Felicity.

Categories
Desserts Recipes

Eton Rifles Mess

“Sup up your beer and collect your fags,
There’s a pick your own farm down near Slough….“

Ok, well maybe those aren’t quite the opening lyrics of the classic song written by Paul Weller, The Eton Rifles. However, this time of year means strawberries in the fields, summer days spent picking the juiciest and ripest to fill your punnet, and making them into that seasonal classic dessert, Eton Mess.

This dish originated at Eton College in the 1930s, and consists of broken meringue pieces, chopped strawberries and whipped cream. However you combine them, in my experience, they always end up looking a bit of a mess, hence the name (my main photo above is a case in point, though please note the sprig of fresh mint strategically positioned for artistic effect).

“Get out your mat and pray to the west,
I’ll be in the kitchen making Eton Mess…

That also may not be a totally accurate quote from the song. However, for me, this dish always brings to mind The Jam’s classic track about class hierarchy perpetuated by old public schools.

Ready to tear down the House of Commons in your brand new shoes? No? Settle for making some nice meringues?

Here’s how to make Eton Mess.

Servings

This should give you dessert for 4 people.

Timings

The meringues take 1 hr 30 mins to bake, during which time you can prepare the cream and strawberries. Once the meringues cool, it will then take seconds to combine.

You Will Need

  • 3 egg whites
  • 175g caster sugar
  • 100ml double cream
  • a 250g punnet of fresh strawberries

Method

  1. Heat the oven to 150C.
  2. In a clean bowl, whisk up the egg whites with an electric mixer till they form silky, white peaks.
  3. Add the sugar in spoonfuls at a time, whisking again after each one until all the sugar has been combined.
  4. Line a baking tray with baking paper, and drop the meringue mix on to it in dollops. You should get around 10 meringues.
  5. Place in the warmed oven for around 1 hr 30 mins, till golden. Leave to cool. They will be crispy on the outside, and slightly chewy at the centre.
  6. In a separate bowl, whisk the double cream until thick.
  7. Chop the strawberries.
  8. Crush the meringues into pieces, and mix with the strawberries and cream to make a right old mess.
  9. Place in the fridge until serving.

Customise it!

It is possible to add other summer berries, like blueberries, if you wish. You could also try mixing mascarpone in place of the double cream.

No surprises as to choice of track for the ADK Playlist. This is The Jam with The Eton Rifles.

Categories
Drinks Recipes

Fresh Elderflower Cordial

Summer weather has arrived! One of the pleasures of this time of year is sitting in the garden on a sunny afternoon with a cold, refreshing drink of elderflower and sparkling water with ice.

Even better when the elderflower cordial is fresh and home made from the blossoms on local trees. I can’t claim any credit for this as it is my wife Lesley who makes it for us. Over to Lesley for a guest post, on how to forage for and make fresh elderflower cordial:

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I enjoy watching what is in season in the hedgerow at different times of the year. This was particularly true during lockdown, when the only thing to do was cycle or walk around local footpaths.

In May, Elderflower trees burst into blossom, looking very pretty and with quite a distinctive smell. The scent is the sure-fire way of telling that you have got the correct creamy white umbilifers.  It’s a little bit musty and lemony and definitely light and summery.

Collect the ones that are just bursting out into flower. A tree or hedgerow on a quiet lane, with no passing vehicle traffic, is ideal. I snip the heads with scissors and put them into a canvas bag inside my backpack. The scent when you open it up is incredible!

Take about 20 flower heads, inspect them first and reject any with little beasties. Heat about a litre of water with 400g of any type of sugar in a pan till it dissolves. Grate the rind of 3 or so lemons or limes, and add to the pan with the squeezed juice. Dunk the elderflower heads into the water and leave to infuse overnight.

It’s a really sticky mixture, so take care when pouring it. Strain the liquid into a suitable container (I use a tea towel lining a funnel) and store in the fridge. You should have just over a litre of clear, honey coloured cordial.

To make up a drink, dilute with water approx 1:2 or to your taste, and add a few ice cubes (see main photo above). I love to use carbonated water.

You can also pour some of the cordial into ice cube trays to store and freeze for later. 

As a guest contributor to A Different Kitchen, I get to add a favourite track to Kevin’s Playlist. We go to gigs these days with teams of producers co-ordinating amazing light shows and technical rigs for sound and effects. I have been looking back at 1960’s bands performing live, when things were very different. An amazing example is the Rolling Stones performing Sympathy for the Devil, live for over 8 minutes with John Lennon  amongst others watching on – raw and so obviously talented.

Cheers!

Categories
Bakes Mains Recipes

Sweet Potato, Red Pepper & Feta Strudel

Today’s post completes a hat-trick of savoury vegetarian Strudels, with my third and final filling mix.

This one is beautifully rich in colour and taste, with the bright orange and red of roasted sweet potato and red pepper peeping through the arms of the puff pastry lattice work. Cubes of feta cheese add contrast and a little saltiness. There’ll be enough here for a midweek meal for two.

For a recap on the others, check out Spicy Veg Strudel and Leek, Stilton & Walnut Strudel.

As with my previous Strudel recipes, the filling is pretty easy to put together. Put 2 – 3 medium size sweet potatoes on a roasting tray. Chop half a red pepper into 4 – 5 large pieces and place alongside the sweet potatoes. Drizzle the red pepper pieces with a little oil, and roast in the oven at 180C for 25 mins.

Once roasted, split the sweet potatoes with a knife and scrape the soft orange flesh into a bowl. Chop the red pepper (which should now be soft and a little charred at the edges) into smaller pieces and add to the sweet potato. Give it a stir to mix it up, and leave to cool. When cooled, add in 100g feta cheese, cubed or crumbled, and stir again to mix.

Prepare 250g of ready made puff pastry as shown in the photos in Spicy Veg Strudel, this time using the sweet potato, pepper and feta mix to fill. Roll up the lattice as shown in those photos and, as with the other Strudels, baste with milk and sprinkle over some nigella seeds. Bake for 25 mins at 180C.

Cut into slices of your chosen size, and serve. The Strudel can be eaten warm or cold, perhaps with a green salad or your favourite green veg.

All these references to lattice in my last few posts has been reminding me of the line ” ..crawling the tightrope along the lattice work..” from a track I’ve always admired. It’s a song about a woman who tends a mysterious garden where the sun doesn’t fall, yet the plants flourish, and where the animals are afraid to go. The chorus is “magic in her hands, she could make anything grow, magic in her hands, she had green fingers”.

In another curious twist of poetic symmetry, the artist herself has recently returned to playing live after some 15 years away from the stage, which is a joy to see.

It could only be from one person, really, so here’s a track for the ADK Playlist for any goths out there. This is Siouxsie and the Banshees with Green Fingers.

https://open.spotify.com/track/3bwffGHk0FPYKkFpvPovCU?si=0db0445784e14e4f
Categories
Bakes Mains Recipes

Leek, Stilton & Walnut Strudel

Here’s another savoury, vegetarian Strudel filling, using the technique featured in my previous post to make a latticed wrap with puff pastry.

The 3 star ingredients – buttered leek, blue stilton cheese and chopped walnuts – are a classic combo that go really well together. You should get a creamy, satisfying taste with a hint of saltiness from the cheese.

Chop and soften a leek in a saucepan, with a knob of butter. After about 10 mins, chuck in 100g of crumbled blue stilton cheese and 50g of chopped walnuts. Give it a good stir so the cheese melts in the warm buttery leek and the walnuts are spread throughout the mix. Set aside to cool for another 10 mins or so.

Roll out and prepare 250g of a pack of puff pastry as shown in the series of photos in Spicy Veg Strudel, this time filling it with the leek, stilton and walnut mix. Fold it up as shown in the photos, baste with a little milk and top with a sprinkling of nigella seeds. Cook in an oven at 180C for 25 mins, till golden and looking like the main photo above.

Serve warm, in generous slices. Enjoy.

There’s one more strudel filling idea to come, so check it out in the next midweek post.

Here’s a track I heard by chance on the car radio recently, and really liked, so I thought I would share it here. It’s by German DJ/producer Timo Maas – To Get Down.

Categories
Bakes Mains Recipes

Spicy Veg Strudel

Strudel – isn’t that a German dessert with spiced apple? Well, yes that’s true. However, I had the idea of making a savoury version with a vegetarian filling and, instead of a dusting of icing sugar, topping it with a sprinkling of nigella seeds.

Once you’ve made the filling and let it cool, it is fairly quick to put together, especially as I’ve used a pack of pre-made puff pastry. It’s fun to make, as you’ll see from the photos below, and looks great when it emerges from the oven.

Servings

A tea time meal for 2.

Timings

15 mins to make the filling, and 10 mins to roll it up. About 25 mins in the oven at 180C.

You Will Need

  • drop of oil
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • 1 tsp chilli powder
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • half a red onion
  • 4 – 5 mushrooms
  • 1 celery stick
  • 1 400g tin of kidney beans
  • 1 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
  • a handful of fresh coriander
  • a few leaves of kale or spring greens
  • half a 500g pack of puff pastry (i.e. 250g)
  • a little milk for basting
  • a handful of nigella seeds

Method

  1. Put the onion, celery and mushrooms in a food processor with blade fitted and blitz until finely chopped (but not pureed).
  2. Warm the oil, garlic, chilli powder and cumin seeds in a pan till sizzling. Add the blitzed vegetables and leave for a few minutes to soften.
  3. In the meantime, put the kidney beans, tomatoes, coriander and kale/greens into the food processor and blitz again till finely chopped (but not pureed). Tip into the frying pan.
  4. Give it all a good stir and leave to cook. You want the water to evaporate leaving a thick, mixed vegetable paste that will hold its shape and not be runny. Leave to cool, and turn the oven on to 180C.
  5. Open the pack of puff pastry and cut in half, putting one half back in the fridge to use another time. Roll the other half out with a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface, to make a rectangle approx. 40cm x 20cm.
  6. Cut a piece from each of the corners as shown in the first photo below. Make cuts in each side to about one third of the way across, again as shown in the first photo. It should look like a Christmas tree on it’s side, with a top and bottom, and branches about 1 – 2cm thick.
  7. Place the cooled filling along the centre (the trunk of the tree). It is important that it has cooled, otherwise it will start to melt the uncooked pastry.
  8. Tuck in the flaps at the top and the bottom, then fold in each of the arms alternately, as shown.
  9. Baste with the milk, sprinkle over the nigella seeds.
  10. Place in the oven for about 25 mins or until golden brown.
  11. Serve by cutting off slices of your preferred size (see my main photo at the top of this post).

Customise It!

A food processor is ideal for making the mix, as it needs to be finely chopped to mesh and bind together to make the filling. However, you could chop the veg finely with a knife and mash it all with a masher while in the pan, if you need to.

Feel free to add or swap in other veg and spices. Peppers add colour, as will chopped or grated carrot, for example.

The pastry and the filling ingredients make this a self-contained, balanced meal in itself, perhaps just accompanied by some red or brown ketchup. You could serve with a salad if you wish.

This went down very well the first time I made it, to the extent that I have made it again with different fillings. It is easy once you’ve mastered the latticing technique shown in the photos. I will feature another of the fillings in my weekend post.

For choice of music, I think it’s time we added something by The Chemical Brothers to the ADK Playlist – here’s Let Forever Be.

Categories
Bakes Desserts Recipes

Cappuccino Cake

Hats off to our friends at Waitrose for this week’s recipe bake, an ideal cake for coffee lovers. With a sponge base made from real coffee, topped with a coffee cream frosting and a sprinkling of cocoa powder, it’s no surprise that this is given the title of Cappuccino Cake.

Servings

About 8 generous slices.

Timings

15 mins to prepare, 40 mins to bake.

You Will Need

  • 100g butter
  • 3 tbsp single cream
  • 2tbsp black coffee (made from ground coffee if poss, but instant will do)
  • 75g caster sugar
  • 50g light brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 100g self-raising flour
  • half tsp salt
  • 100g mascarpone
  • 3 tbsp icing sugar
  • cocoa powder for dusting

Method

  1. Warm the oven to 170C. Grease and line a 450g (1lb) loaf tin.
  2. Heat the cream and coffee in a microwave till mixed, then allow to cool.
  3. In a separate bowl, take 1 tsp of the cooled coffee cream and mix with the mascarpone. Set aside to chill in the fridge for use as frosting.
  4. Cream the butter and sugars with an electric mixer. Gradually beat in the eggs, vanilla and the rest of the coffee cream.
  5. Fold in the flour and salt, and combine to a smooth batter. Scrape into the lined loaf tin and bake for 40 mins.
  6. Transfer to a rack to cool.
  7. While the cake is cooling, finish off the frosting. Combine the chilled coffee mascarpone with the icing sugar and beat together with an electric mixer. Spread over the top of the cooled cake, and dust with the cocoa powder for that cappuccino effect.

Customise it!

If you are ok with nuts, you could add around 75g chopped walnuts to the sponge batter, effectively turning this into a cappuccino-topped coffee and walnut cake.

You can make the black coffee as strong as you wish – why not take the 2 tbsp required from a dark espresso, while you drink the rest.

Turning to choice of music, this week we heard the sad news of the passing of Andy Rourke, bass player in The Smiths. Andy was responsible for many wonderful bass lines in the band’s music, and here is one example – This Charming Man.