ASPARAGUS TARTS

I have seen lots of food blogs showcasing asparagus and thought if I wasn't careful I would miss the moment, and for lovers of asparagus there is even an Asparagus Festival in the Vale of Evesham.

Nigel Slater in The Kitchen Diaries shares with us the way he likes to eat his spears, with butter not melted, but soft enough to sink a finger in. He eats his spears at home the way he was taught by an asparagus farmer in Evesham. You boil them in deep, salted water till they will bend and are a dull, muted green - 'that way, they have more of a flavour to 'em'. You eat them with nothing but a china plate of brown bread cut as thin as you dare, buttered as if you were plastering a wall.

With the asparagus spears that were left after making the pie, I ate the rest of them the Nigel Slater way!!

My preference is to roast asparagus, none of the flavour is lost into the water that way. Nigel Slater in his book Appetite gives an easy way to roast asparagus - just wrap them in foil with a spoonful of water and a slice of butter tucked inside.

The following recipe is by Antony Worrall Thompson and the tarts were eaten greedily and with much appreciation. The asparagus in the photograph was grown in the Heart of England.

BBC GOODFOOD MAGAZINE -
ANTONY'S WEEKEND COOKBOOK

ISBN 0563493801 - PAGE 126
SERVES: 4

500g ready-made puff pastry, thawed if frozen. A little plain flour, for dusting. Unsalted butter, for greasing. 3-4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil. 1 large onion, thinly sliced. 16 asparagus spears, trimmed. 1 egg, beaten. 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Salt and freshly ground black pepper. Tomato salad, to serve.

1. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured board to 0.5 cm thickness. Cut the pastry into four even-sized rectangles, each about 20 x 10 cm and trim down the edges. Arrange on a large greased baking sheet, prick all over with a fork and chill for at least 30 minutes.
2. Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas 6. Heat two tablespoons of the olive oil in a frying pan and cook the onion for 3-4 minutes until softened but not coloured, stirring from time to time. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
3. Blanch the asparagus in a pan of boiling water for 1 minute. Drain and refresh quickly under cold running water. Set aside to cool completely.
4. Spread the softened onion over the pastry bases, leaving a 1 cm border around the edges. Arrange the asparagus spears on top to cover the onion completely and brush lightly with the remaining olive oil.
5. Brush the pastry borders with the beaten egg and sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese over the whole tart. Season to taste and bake for 15-20 minutes or until the pastry is puffed up and golden brown. Remove the tarts from the oven, transfer to warmed plates and serve hot or warm with the tomato salad, if you like.

ROAST TOMATO SALAD

This was one of those occasions when I was pleased to use balsamic vinegar. It's very difficult to get a tomato that actually tastes or smells like a tomato unless you grow them yourself in the summer. Using the balsamic vinegar helped to bring out the flavour. The salad can be served either warm or cold.

I have adapted the recipe slightly from the original, sometimes I just can't help myself!

MARIE CLAIRE - FOOD FAST - DONNA HAY

ISBN 0864119100 - PAGE 134

SERVES: 2

1. Preheat oven to 200°C/400°F.
2. Halve the tomatoes and place, flesh-side up, in a baking dish.
3. Sprinkle with a little olive oil and pepper. Bake until soft.
4. Transfer tomatoes to a serving dish, top with spinach. Sprinkle with balsamic vinegar, olive oil and more pepper.
5. Shave Parmesan cheese over the top before serving.

BREAD AND BUTTER PUDDING

Mary Norwak in her book English Puddings, Sweet & Savoury, tells us that this pudding has been popular for more than two hundred years and appears in many eighteenth-century cookery books. As with all old recipes, there are many variations.
Gordon Ramsay and Jamie Oliver lace their bread and butter pudding with Bailey's cream liquer, Gary Rhodes uses eight egg yolks and ½ pint of double cream. There are now recipes for chocolate bread and butter pudding. All of these variations have helped to re-invent the bread and butter pudding, by modernising this old nursery favourite.
On a personal level, I have been scarred for life, by being given badly made bread and butter pudding. The most common faults are the custard separating and currants having been placed on top of the bread and these have burnt during cooking. they then resemble rabbit droppings!!
This particular recipe, whilst not entirely traditional, is a good everyday bread and butter pudding, and one that even I will eat. On a light hearted note, if you look at the photograph of the slice of bread and butter pudding, you will see that there appears to be only three currants. I assure you that there were others and that these were hidden amongst the layers of bread and custard. I think this is possibly called uneven distribution!!
For this recipe you will need medium sliced bread that is about two days old. It is important to use full cream milk and also butter to spread on the bread, otherwise it's really not worthwhile making as it will taste just the same as the one put before you when you were a child and we don't want that - do we!!!

I have slightly adapted the recipe from the original.

HAMLYN COMPLETE COOK

ISBN 0600601986 - Page 501

SERVES: 4 (but I'm afraid to say, mostly 2)

40g soft butter
4 slices of medium sliced white bread, crusts removed
1 tablespoon of apricot jam
50g sultanas, raisins or currants
450ml full cream milk
2 tablespoons sugar
2 eggs, beaten

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4.
2. Grease a 1.2 litre ovenproof serving dish with some butter.
3. Butter the bread and spread with the apricot jam. Cut the slices into small triangles. Layer 8 triangles of bread in the dish, sprinkle with the fruit, top with the other 8 triangles of bread.
4. Place the milk and sugar in a saucepan and heat to just below boiling point. Remove from the heat and whisk in the eggs. Strain the mixture over the bread and leave to soak for 30 minutes.
5. Place the dish in a roasting tin and fill with hot water to halfway up the sides, bake in the oven for 45 minutes, increase the heat to 190°C/375°F/Gas Mark 5 for a further 10-15 minutes until crisp and golden on top and just set. Serve at once.

MUSHROOMS WITH CHERRY TOMATOES

This recipe is very easy as lots of the best recipes are. These look stunning served with steak or poultry. Or, how about serving them on a thick slice of toasted bread with some of the cooking juices poured over.
I have cooked lots of sweet and savoury dishes from this book and find it is one of those books that you keep going back to, time and again. Good Housekeeping have some brilliant recipes in their books - try them for yourself.

GOOD HOUSEKEEPING NEW RECIPE BOOK

ISBN 0007116918 - PAGE 238

SERVES: 6 people (can easily be scaled down)

6 large flat or portabella mushrooms
oil for greasing
2 finely sliced garlic cloves (optional)
6 sprigs cherry tomatoes on the vine
3 tablespoons olive oil

1.Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C Fan oven/Gas Mark 6. Put the mushrooms into a greased roasting tin, scatter over the garlic, arrange a sprig of cherry tomatoes - still on the vine - on top of each mushroom, then drizzle with olive oil.
2. Season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper, then cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes.
3.Take the foil off the mushrooms and continue to roast, uncovered, for a further 15 minutes.

Fabulous.

SPATCHCOCK CHICKEN WITH LEMON AND ROSEMARY

This recipe is a particular favourite of mine. It can be cooked both in the oven and on the barbecue (It is best to cook the chicken in the oven before finishing on the barbecue). This is one of those never fail to please recipes, and so I think that makes it perfect.
We aren't talking about pretty here with this recipe, we're talking about a beautiful golden chicken that is moist and tastes delicious. When you put the chicken onto your table it really is a wow! moment. To see this chicken in all its glory click onto the photograph for a better view!

I have been asked about the pretty jug in the photograph. This was bought from Clive Ramsays Deli in the beautiful Scottish village, Bridge of Allan. Basically, this jug holds 'liquid gold'! We were looking around the deli and were literally seduced by the place. I bought lots of goodies and my husband also chose some things. The jug holds extra virgin olive oil. I went outside whilst my husband paid and when he came to me he had turned 'a whiter shade of pale', and said the bill was a lot more than he had expected! The culprit was the jug of olive oil. Being in holiday mode I hadn't paid much attention to the price, but I just loved the jug. I kept very quiet and hoped and prayed the contents were going to be OK. What a relief the extra virgin olive oil within the jug is fabulous and I use this specifically when I am making Nigella's Ultimate Greek Salad!!

NIGELLA LAWSON FOREVER SUMMER

ISBN 0701173815 - Page 136

SERVES: 4 people

When I have seen Nigella spatchcocking a chicken on television, she does it with a glint of mischievousness in her eye, and tells us how she loves a bit of DIY surgery!!
Anyway, this is how to do the spatchcocking, which is very easy. First take the chicken, breast side down, cut through all along one side of the backbone. Then cut along the other side of the backbone, remove this. Turn the bird the other way up and press down as you open it out. Hey presto! one spatchcocked bird.

It is best to marinade the chicken the day before you want to cook it.

1 spatchcocked chicken (2-2.25kg)
3 long sprigs fresh rosemary
juice of lemon, plus more lemons to serve
1 red onion
100ml olive oil
Maldon Salt

1. Put your spatchcocked chicken into a large freezer bag. Pull the needles off 2 sprigs of rosemary and drop them on top. Cut the lemon in half and squeeze the juice, put the empty shells in the bag as well. Cut the unpeeled onion into eighths and add these to the bag. Pour in the olive oil and tie up the bag and place in the fridge.
2.Take the chicken out of the fridge and let it come up to room temperature.
3. Preheat the oven to 210° C/Gas Mark 7.
4. Lay your chicken, skin side up on a tin lined with foil, along with the lemon husks and onion pieces, add the remaining sprig of rosemary torn into a couple of pieces, tucking them between the leg and breast. Cook for about 45 minutes, the chicken should be crisp skinned and tender.
5. Take the chicken out of the oven, cut the chicken into four pieces and arrange these on a plate, along with the onion, pour over any syrup juices from the tin and sprinkle with Maldon salt. Cut a lemon or two into quarters and scatter these around the chicken.
6. Serve with Nigella's Ultimate Greek Salad.

Since writing this post I have added two more Spatchcock Recipes:

Spatchcock Chicken with Gremolata served with a Wild Rice and Pepper Salad

Spatchcock Chicken with Lemon, Oregano and Paprika served with a Crunchy Rice Salad

SWEET LEMON BROWN-BUTTERED APPLES

A very easy recipe, so come on have a go at this one. The apples both taste and look wonderful. The sauce in which they are cooked has a hint of toffee.
I must confess, I didn't make the lemon brown butter because there was plenty of sauce in the dish in which the apples were cooked. The recipe calls for red apples, but as you can see in the photograph mine were green, as these were the only ones I had in the house!!

MARIE CLAIRE - FLAVOURS DONNA HAY


ISBN 0864119925 - PAGE 50

SERVES: 4

4 sweet red apples, halved
60g butter, chopped
50g demerara sugar

lemon brown butter:
125g butter
2fl oz lemon juice
4 tablespoons sugar.

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/(350ºF)/Gas 4. Place the apples in a baking dish, cut-side up, and top with butter and demerara sugar. Bake for 30 minutes, basting frequently until the apples are soft.
To make the lemon brown butter, place the butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Allow the butter to slowly simmer until it smells nutty and has turned golden brown. Remove from the heat and add the lemon juice and sugar. Return to the heat and stir for 2 minutes.

Place the apples on a plate and spoon over the lemon brown butter. Serve warm with ice cream or Greek yoghurt.

Everyone will love these!