RHUBARB CRUMBLE TART

I rarely make New Year's resolutions but I made one this year - that I would blog something every week. Well, that didn't work very well so here we are, into the second month of the year, and this my first post of the year. Ho hum.

But yay, it's rhubarb time again. I love rhubarb. My Mum would make rhubarb sponge, rhubarb crumble and rhubarb and custard - the rhubarb juices would curdle the custard into a glorious mess. I am happy with ordinary green rhubarb but always look forward to the new season rhubarb from Yorkshire - pink, tender and delicious.

I was going to look for something highly skilled and arty to do with my rhubarb but deep down I wanted a tart with something crunchy on top.  This isn't a particularly original recipe but it is lovely and fairly easy to make.  I can make sweet pastry (and it is very easy) but time is precious so I use a pack of ready made. Just make sure it is sweet pastry and is made with butter.

1 pack of sweet pastry

750g rhubarb
200g sugar

120g cold butter diced
120g plain flour
90g ground almonds
120g demererra sugar
Handful of flaked almonds


Heat oven to 180c. Butter and flour a 10" flan case with removable bottom and line bottom with baking parchment. Roll out the pastry until nice and thin then line the flan case. Crimp the edges so it looks pretty. Chill in the fridge for 15 minutes. Take a sheet of greaseproof paper and line the pastry case loosely and add baking beans. Bake blind in a 200c oven for 20 minutes, remove the paper and beans and bake for a further 10 minutes until pale golden brown and set. Turn oven down to 180c.

Wash the rhubarb, dry, then slice into 2" chunks. In a heavy bottomed saute pan spread out the rhubarb then sprinkle over the sugar. Leave on a low heat until the rhubarb starts releasing juice then occasionally shake the pan until the sugar has melted and the rhubarb is tender. Tip into a sieve over a bowl to let the rhubarb strain.

For the topping, rub the butter into the flour and ground almonds until it looks like breadcrumbs - don't worry if you are left with some lumps, it adds to the texture. Stir in the sugar and flaked almonds.

Fill the pastry case with the strained rhubarb, lightly spoon the topping mixture on top, and bake for 30 minutes until golden. Serve warm with cream - or custard!!

BUBBLE AND SQUEAK

I have eaten bubble and squeak all my life. What else would you do with the vegetables left over from a Sunday lunch, to go with the meat leftovers? Bubble and squeak is one of those dishes that people argue about so I am not claiming that this is the defintive recipe, I am just sharing my family recipe with you. Quantities are difficult because you are basically working with what you have but as a guideline you want to make the same amount of mashed potato as the vegetables you have leftover. I always add some peas too. I think one of the key ingredients is the white pepper - it adds a little heat and a lot of flavour to the end product.

Serves 2

2 handfuls of cooked cabbage/sprouts/beans/broccoli
1 handful of cooked peas
Potatoes to make 2 handfuls of mashed potatoes
White pepper
Salt
1 egg
Oil or lard

Boil the potatoes for 20 minutes until soft then mash them with a generous sprinking of white pepper. Chop up the vegetables and mix with the potato along with the egg. Season generously with a little salt and lots of white pepper. Heat a large frying pan, add the oil or lard and heat. When nice and hot put the mixture in the pan in four spoonfuls - leave for a couple of minutes then turn over when golden brown. Repeat.

I always have this with leftover roast meat, pickled onions and pickled walnuts. Just a London girl's recipe.

SALTIMBOCCA WITH MARSALA

You may notice a bit of a theme here – a couple of Sundays ago I felt like cooking something other than the usual Sunday roast, so thought about some of my favourite dishes to create a lunch. I started with the seafood salad in the previous post then proceeded to Saltimbocca, a classic Italian dish that translates, apparently, as ‘jumps in the mouth’.  Looking at Wikipaedia my versions has elements of both the classic and Roman versions, as it has a Marsala sauce but isn’t rolled up – the technicalities confuse me! At this point I admit I am not Italian and apologise if I offend anyone. 

This is traditionally made with veal, although in the UK it is often made with pork. However, now that British veal is so readily available, and so delicious, I have no qualms about going down the veal route. Most butchers and a lot of supermarkets now sell it – I got mine from Ocado and very delicious it was. This is quite a simple recipe and is good for a dinner party as it can be prepared way in advance – and actually the preparation isn’t that hard anyway. I served this with sprouting broccoli tossed in a little anchovy and garlic sauce, spinach and new potatoes.

 Serves 4 

8 small or 4 large veal escalopes

8 slices of Parma ham

8 large sage leaves (or 16 small)

8 toothpicks

Olive oil

Wine glass of Marsala 

If the escalopes are thick beat them out between two sheets of greaseproof paper or cling film until 5mm thick. Now the idea is to cover each escalope with Parma ham so, depending on the size of your escalopes use the appropriate amount of Parma ham. Then lay 1 or 2 (depending on size) sage leaves on top and secure the whole thing with a cocktail stick. They should then look like this:

Heat some olive oil in a large frying pan until moderately hot. Put the escalopes in Parma ham side down and cook for a couple of minutes, then turn over and cook for another 5 minutes or until cooked through. Put the escalopes onto a warm plate, and deglaze the pan with the Madeira, bubbling it well until syrupy. Serve the Saltimbocca immediately, drizzled with the sauce, and with whatever vegetables you fancy.

ITALIAN SEAFOOD SALAD

I have a good friend who is half Italian, and whose father was a very good cook, so I am always a bit nervous about writing about Italian food - so I hope if I make any culturally glaring errors she forgives me!

This is a lovely light starter that stimulates the appetite rather than smothers it, with flavour combinations that are well balanced and zingy. I used prawns, squid and scallops but you can also use razor clams, queenies, mussels, octopus and clams.  It is difficult to give measurements for the ingredients as it all depends on appetites and seafood combinations, but this is what we had last time I made it:

Serves 4

Olive oil
Clove of garlic crushed
8 king scallops, roe removed and sliced horizontally in half
4 medium sized squid tubes, with tentacles if possible, sliced into rings
16 king prawns, deveined
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Teaspoon of chilli flakes
Small bunch of chopped parsley

Heat the garlic slowly in 2 tablespoons of oil for five minutes to imopart its flavour - don't let it brown or it will become bitter. Remove the garlic and discard. Fry each item of seafood separately - I usually do the scallops first, getting the oil really hot and then searing them quickly on both sides. Remove to a bowl. Then do the prawns until they go pink and add to the scallops. Finally fry the squid rings and tentacles until just opaque and transfer to the bowl.

To the warm seafood add two tablespoons of good olive oil, ground black pepper and leave to cool. Then add the lemon juice, the chilli flakes and parsley. Stir and leave to rest for 15 minutes. Taste and season as required - you may need more lemon juice, more oil, or a pinch of salt. Divide between four shallow plates making sure everyone get an equal amount of seafood and dressing. I serve with warm ciabatta bread for soaking up the juices, and a chunk of lemon for added zing!

MY 50th BIRTHDAY PARTY!!!

I am truly happy to be 50 - a couple of years ago it was unlikely I would get this far and I feel happier every year I get older - I'm lucky. I made some difficult decisions 5 years ago but they were the right ones and now life is good. So I wanted to celebrate my 50th birthday but not in an over the top way - everyone I invited is important to me and Mr Redding. One of my guests I have know and loved since 1981 - others I have only really got to know in the last year. But they are all dear to me and Mr Redding and they were who we wanted to share this day with. And my Dad ... my Dad is great company and he wasn't short of glamorous women wanting to talk to him!  It was a lovely party, started at 4.00pm and ended at midnight - I will share pics of the food we had.....special mention to Sally at Persepolis http://foratasteofpersia.co.uk/ for wonderful kibbeh, pastries and baba ganoush base inredients....go there for a fabulous experience. So, random pics:

Baba Ganoush made with fantastic tinned aubergines from Persepolis

Lamd and vegetable samosas from Khans superstore on Rye Lane

Couscous with lots of mint, lemon and olve oil

Aubergines brushed with olive oil, griddled, and sprinkled with chilli flakes

Hummus - chick peas, tahini paste, olive oil and lemon juice - bliss...

Strips of chicken breast marinaded wirh za'atar and cumin - griddled quickly so it stayed juicy - glorious.

I also made Persian style lamp meatballs, amd served everything with lots of pitta bread and Persian flat bread. I think  it went ok....there was nothing left!

SHOULDER OF LAMB WITH SPRING HERBS

Lamb is my favourite meat, as you may well have gathered. I always choose shoulder over leg because, frankly, I love fatty lamb and if it is cooked slowly a lots of the fat renders away anyway, leaving succulent flavourful tender meat. Mr Redding and I aren't blessed with a garden but we have a small balcony and, courtesy of Poundland, a rather clever space saving herb garden. We grow all the basics - rosemary, sage, thyme, parsley, chives, chervil and mint.  I don't grow coriander because I find it bolts so easily, and (whispers) I'm not a huge basil fan.

So what better way to cook a lovely young shoulder of lamb than with a selection of young herbs, giving a green lightness to the rich meat. I also added lemon zest for added zing. I bought a whole shoulder and boned it (because I quite enjoy boning out meat and I understand the lump of meat I am left with) but a pre-boned joint will do fine. This is very strauightforward but very tasty - I served it with boiled new potatoes and runner beans and petits pois.  Spinach would also go well.

Shoulder of Lamb with Spring Herbs

1 shoulder of lamb, around 1.6kg - boned
75g butter
2 handfuls of herbs, from chives, sage, thyme, rosemary and mint, chopped finely
Finely grated zest of a lemon
Salt and black pepper

Open out the boned shoulder and season with black pepper. Combine the herbs, lemon rind and butter in a bowl, season with a little salt, the spread over the inside of the joint. Roll up, tucking in where necessary, and tie up nice and securely.

Line a baking tray with tin foil, lay on the joint and wrap loosely. Cook at 180 for 2 hours, increase heat to 200,  uncover and cook for a further 45 minutes.

Allow to stand for 20 minutes, remove strings and carve into thick chunks - no need to worry about delicate uniform slices here.  Make a gravy from the roasting juices (skimmed) and beef stock (or even an Oxo cube, but I didn't say that!). The golden rule with all lamb dishes is that everything -  plates, vegetables, serving dishes and gravy have to be HOT!  Serve with plain vegetables so as not to distract from the flavour of the lamb and herbs.

STRAWBERRIES AND CREAM CAKE

I really enjoy cooking lunch on a Sunday. We usually eat around 2.00 so I have plenty of time to take things slowly and to try out different things. But we are quite traditional about our Sunday lunch so it usually involves something light and fishy for a starter, a roast or other lump of meat based main course, then something fruity and refreshing for pudding (and yes, I say pudding, I hate the term dessert - just one of my quirks).  Last night I had returned from three glorious days in and around Bournemouth with Mr Redding, so today was keeping everything very simple - smoked salmon to start, roast chicken and roast potatoes, runner beans and savoy cabbage and strawberries and cream to finish. But that pudding started worrying me - too simple. Strawberry mousse? Very nice but I didn't have any almond thins to go with and didn't feel up to making them. Then I thought - what about making a bit of sponge - relatively easy and very effective.  So I made a fatless sponge, layered it up with kirsch, strawberries and cream and it all turned out rather well......

Serves 4

Sponge

75g plain flour
Pinch of salt
3 eggs
75g caster sugar
Tblsp. warm water
Tsp. vanilla essence

Filling

Tblsp. Kirsch
400g  strawberries
200ml  double cream

Icing sugar and a skewer to serve
4 3" serving rings

Line a swiss roll tin with baking parchment.  Preheat the oven to 150.

To make the sponge whisk the eggs and sugar together with an electric whisk/mixer until pale, thick and frothy. Fold in the flour and salt and then add the water and vanilla essence.  Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 15 minutes, or until golden and firm to the touch.

Use a 3 inch serving ring to cut out 8 discs of sponge. Put a disc of sponge into each of 4 rings and place on a flat plate. Scatter a few drops of kirsch on the sponge.

Selecting smaller strawberries, cut the tops off, slice in half and arrange around the edge of the sponge, with the cut side facing the serving ring. Make sure they fit tightly.

With the rest of the strawberries, hull them, add a teaspoon of caster sugar, and mash gently in a bowl. Spoon the mashed strawberry and some of the juice into each of the serving rings until they are almost filled. Whip the cream until fairly stiff and spoon on top of the strawberry mixture - don't skimp.

Finally, place the other disc of sponge in the serving ring and sprinkle more kirsch on top. Leave in the fridge for a couple of hours.

To serve, upend the ring onto a plate and ease out. Heat the skewer until very hot, sprinkle the top of the sponge with icing sugar, then use the skewer to create a gird pattern on top. Serve with a little additional cream.