A COUPLE OF NIGEL SLATER RECIPES

How could I resist making a couple of Nigel Slater's wonderful recipes.

We find from reading his books, Nigel calls Toad in the Hole - 'Toad' - and has always fondly called it this since he was a child.

The sausages used should really be the herby variety, but in the freezer I had some fabulous pork sausages made by my local Q Guild butcher. Obviously for the photograph, herb would have looked better but I hadn't preplanned making this and so thick pork sausages it was.

You have to firstly skin the sausages and then wrap them in Prosciutto. The batter is slightly soggy underneath and crisp on top - exactly as Nigel wants us to experience his recipe. Also, a new twist, was to add grain mustard to the batter mix - his 'Toad' was a winner.

I served this with his browned onion and Marsala gravy, and have made this on numerous occasions.

The recipe comes from his book Nigel Slater's Real Food
PLUM CRISP - NIGEL SLATER'S KITCHEN DIARIES


This is a quick and easy recipe to make and I chose bright red ripe plums for this. Nigel advises the pudding is best eaten hot, with either ice cream or cold cream.

The crisp topping is made by simply melting butter and pouring over breadcrumbs and sugar.

The Kitchen Diaries is one of those books that you can't put down and then can't make your mind up which recipe to cook next!

Nigel writes for The Observer and you can find his Plum Crisp recipe here.

CRUMBLE BERRY MUFFINS

This recipe came from Feel Good Food by Woman & Home - the magazine is published quarterly and is an excellent source of inspirational recipes, ideas, styling and information.

Unfortunately, in the photograph you can't see any evidence of the berries because the muffins are scattered with a pecan crumble topping, well that's my excuse anyway! Perhaps it would have been a good idea to coat the berries in a little flour and then gently poke them into the mixture in the muffin cases.

WOMAN & HOME FEEL GOOD FOOD

AUTUMN 2008

Makes: 8

You will need: 175g self-raising flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 50g fruit sugar, 100g melted butter, 2 free range eggs, 75ml skimmed milk, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 100g mixed berries.

For the topping: 15g unsalted butter cut into cubes, 25g plain flour, 1tsp fruit sugar, 20g pecans roughly chopped.

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C/150°C fan/325°F/Gas 3.
2. Make the topping by rubbing the butter into the flour and then stir in the sugar. Put to one side.
3. Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl and add the sugar. Mix together the melted butter, eggs, milk and vanilla. Pour the mixture into the flour, add the berries and stir to combine - be careful not to over mix.
4. Divide the mixture between the cakes cases in a muffin tin. Top each with a little of the crumble mixture, then the pecans.
5. Bake for 20 minutes or until well risen and golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.

DELICIOUS!

EASTER CUPCAKES

Julia over at A Slice of Cherry Pie is hosting her annual Easter Cake Bake challenge and this is my entry.

If you click here you can see my two previous entries for this challenge.

Cupcake heaven - I made vanilla scented cupcakes, topped with chocolate fudge icing, on to which I placed the mini-eggs. Curls of white Belgium chocolate and Green & Blacks Organic Dark Chocolate, were then scattered over the cupcakes.

To make 12 vanilla cupcakes you will need: 150g softened unsalted butter, 150g caster sugar, 175g self-raising flour, 3 eggs, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract.

1. Line a 12 hole muffin tray with paper cake cases. Put all the ingredients in a bowl and beat for 2 minutes. Divide the mixture among the cases.
2. Bake in a preheated oven, 180°C/350°F/Gas 4 for 18-20 minutes until they are risen and just firm to the touch. Transfer the cakes to a wire rack to cool.

Chocolate Fudge Icing

You will need: 25g unsalted butter, 15g cocoa powder, 175g icing sugar, 2 tablespoons of milk.

1. Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Stir in the cocoa powder and cook, stirring for about 30 seconds until smooth. Remove the pan from the heat and gradually stir in the icing sugar and milk, mixing until smooth.
2. Return to the heat for 1 minute, stirring until it has a glossy pouring consistency. Quickly spread the icing over the cakes whilst it is still warm.

Note: Very quickly, the fudge icing cannot be spread, as it cools down. I popped the mixture into a basin and warmed it through in the microwave until it became a pouring consistency again, you may need to thin it down a little with some more milk.

Spread the chocolate fudge icing on top of the cupcakes, and top with mini eggs. Decorate with the chocolate curls.

PINEAPPLE CARPACCIO

I purchased a super sweet ready to eat pineapple at the supermarket. Even though they are green on the outside, within they are sweet, fragrant and very juicy.

This recipe will be wonderful, especially if you want to make a prepare ahead dessert that will feed lots of people and impress your guests. The best thing is you will be able to make this dessert for about £3.00.

Carpaccio means to cut thinly, but upon inspection of the said cut pineapple, I don't think mine warrants that title. Must try harder next time.......

The rum, star anise and black peppercorn infused stock syrup is simply poured over the sliced pineapple and then left in the fridge overnight. Marcus says to drain off the liquid and serve with other dishes.......I don't think so! It was so wonderfully sticky and aromatic that I served our pineapple along with some of the syrup and a good vanilla ice cream.

ONE PERFECT INGREDIENT by Marcus Wareing

ISBN 9781405320047 - Page 160


You will need: 1 ripe pineapple, 300g caster or granulated sugar, 4 star anise, 50ml dark rum, 6 black peppercorns.

1. Top and tail the pineapple, cut off the skin and remove the 'eyes'.
2. Slice the pineapple cross ways into very thin discs. Place these in a shallow rigid container, overlapping them in a single layer.
3. Put all the remaining ingredients in a pan with 400ml cold water. dissolve the sugar over a low heat, stirring once or twice, then bring to the boil.
4. Pour the syrup over the pineapple, making sure that every slice is submerged. Cool, then cover and leave to infuse in the fridge overnight.

CURRIED PARSNIP & APPLE SOUP WITH PARSNIP CRISPS ALSO CREAM OF CELERY SOUP

The first soup comes from Delia's Winter Collection and must be one of the best soups I have ever eaten.

The recipe can be found here on Delia's website.

The flavour combinations are truly wonderful, and if you are a curry fan, then this soup must surely go on your 'to do list' of recipes.

Hopefully, you will have spices that haven't been bought ready ground. It really is worthwhile roasting your own spices when you need them. The aroma from the spices when you are crushing them in the pestle and mortar is heaven.

I always try to remember not to liquidize soups too much, because I prefer my soups to have some texture to them.

The parsnip crisps for the garnish are very easy to make, simply slice the parsnips very thinly, fry in hot fat for a few minutes and then, as if by magic, they start to curl and twist into wonderful shapes.


The Cream of Celery soup, comes under the heading of luxury soups in Delia's Frugal Food.

I had some celery and leeks that were starting to look sorry for themselves, suddenly these tired looking vegetables transformed themselves into a delicious soup.

I bought my celery seeds from the health store, unfortunately, these aren't very easy to find. You can buy them from the Seasoned Pioneers website though.

Here is the slightly adapted recipe.

CREAM OF CELERY SOUP
DELIA'S FRUGAL FOOD
ISBN 9780340918562 - Page 23

350g sticks celery trimmed (save the leaves), 25g butter, 110g peeled potatoes cut into chunks, 2 sliced and washed medium leeks (white parts only, but I used all of the leek), 570ml chicken stock, 275ml semi-skimmed milk, ¼ teaspoon celery seeds, 2 tablespoons cream, seasoning.

1. Melt the butter in a large pan over a low heat.
2. Chop the celery and add it to the pan, together with the potatoes and drained leeks. Then stir to coat the vegetables with butter, cover very gently for about 15 minutes, shaking the pan from time to time to prevent the vegetables from sticking.
3. Pour in the stock and milk, sprinkle in the celery seeds and some salt. Bring to simmering point over a very low heat (watching it doesn't boil over), cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes, or until the vegetables are absolutely tender.
4. Liquidize the soup until it's your preferred consistency. Return the puree to the pan and add the cream.
5. Bring back to the boil, taste and season.
6. Just before serving, chop up the reserved celery leaves and use these to garnish the soup.

TOASTED GRAIN AND NUT CEREAL

Bill Granger is famous for his breakfasts and you just know his recipes are going to taste good.

I love muesli and granola, and mostly only make enough to fill a large storage jar, so that I can quickly move on to the next recipe.

The recipe Bill gives, is a blueprint really, and one that you can easily adjust to suit any particular whims you may have at the time you make it.

I cooked the cereal on a conventional oven setting but it didn't seem to brown and crisp and so I popped the fan oven on and it very quickly browned and crisped up.

After going to Tom's Kitchen for brunch and eating granola, I wanted to reproduce something similar. This wasn't as rich as Tom's granola but tasted every bit as good!

Oh! nearly forgot - you will need a small dish of Greek yogurt drizzled with honey to go alongside!!

BILL'S SIDNEY FOOD

ISBN 0864119917 - Page 53

If you make the full quantity it will yield 1.5kg.

You will need: 125g unsalted butter, 6 fl oz honey, 1½ teaspoons vanilla essence, 500g rolled oats (I used jumbo oats), 1 cup sunflower seeds, 1 cup slivered almonds, 1 cup shredded coconut, ¾ cup pumpkin seeds, 1 cup rye flakes, 1 cup chopped dried fruit, such as sultanas, apricots, cranberries etc.

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C(325°F). Place butter, honey and vanilla in a small saucepan. Cook gently over a low heat, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes, or until the honey and butter are combined.
2. Place the remaining ingredients, except the fruit, in a large mixing bowl and mix well, Slowly stir in the butter mixture, making sure that each grain is evenly coated.
3. Spread the cereal over two baking trays and bake in the oven for 25 minutes, or until the grains are crisp and very lightly browned. Stir occasionally to prevent the mixture from sticking to the baking dish. Also, check that the grains aren't over browning.
4. Remove the cereal from the oven and allow to cool.
5. When the cereal has cooled, add the dried fruit and stir evenly through the grain mixture.
6. This can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 1 month.

Here is a link to a couple of other granola recipes.