RETURNING SOON!

You might not believe me, (and I don't blame you since I've been gone for so long) but I've missed my blog! We've had a very busy few months with friends and family coming to stay, and in order to get in the mood for cooking and photographing, I usually need a little bit of quiet and a few uninterrupted hours to spare which, lately, have been hard to find.

So never fear, just like Arnie, 'I'll be back'.

Some images below from the extraordinarily beautiful weather London had last weekend. We revelled in the sun and ran around the parks in nothing but shorts and teeshirts! (Shorts and teeshirts!) Overdosed on Vitamin D! And even got a little sunburn! I heart London in the springtime. Beats Paris every time....

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COCONUT MACAROONS

So: I ended up making coconut macaroons. And they were wonderful.



I feel a bit traitorous saying this because they were so lovely (and if I could, I'd eat about three in a row!) but to tell the truth, I was hoping for something slightly different to what emerged from my oven. I had visions of those beautiful golden brown coconut rochers (rochers à la noix de coco or congolais) that they sell in french pâtisseries: dense and heavy with soft and chewy centres. Do you know the ones? Somehow I ended up with a different kind. Mine were cream coloured, flushed with a pinky golden hue, softer and more like meringue. Beautiful. But not quite what I was expecting.









I think I was a bit reckless with my recipe choice. I consulted a couple of the books on my shelf and Nigella's website, found photographs of delicate looking pale macaroons and thought to myself, ok, well, maybe they'll look different when I bake them; you must just have to cook them for longer to achieve that caramelly golden shell. I'd give it a go. Not so. After a little more research I discovered there are several ways to make macaroons...



The biggest difference is in the preparation of the egg. You either make a meringue mixture with sugar and egg whites into which you stir the coconut and other ingredients, or; you add the egg whites (or whole eggs) to the rest of the ingredients with little or no whisking. Some people only use egg whites, others add the yolks. Some use condensed milk and others use flour. The variations are apparently endless... So little wonder I didn't find the exact ones I was looking for on my first shot. Who knew there were so many different ways to make a simple macaroon?!







Anyway, while I didn't find my perfect coconut macaroon, I did find a perfectly lovely alternative. These macaroons are light and delicate but have a soft and moist interior with a wonderful coconut flavour. Chris declared them incredible and suggested they might be even better if dipped in some melted dark chocolate (something to try next time!).





So I guess that proves that sometimes it's good to make mistakes - you might just find something delicious which you would never have otherwise tried.



COCONUT MACAROONS
(adapted from Nigella Lawson's website)

2 large egg whites (1/4 cup)
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
100g caster sugar (1/2 cup)
30g ground almonds (1/3 cup)
1 teaspoon vanilla essence (or coconut essence if available)
250g shredded or desiccated coconut (3 cups)
pinch of salt


Preheat the oven to 170ºC/gas mark 3.

Beat the egg whites until frothy – no more – then add the cream of tartar and carry on beating until soft peaks are formed.

Add the sugar a teaspoon at a time and whisk until the mixture is very thick and glossy.

Fold in the almonds, salt, vanilla and coconut. The mixture will be sticky but should hold its shape when spooned together.

On a lined baking tray, form into 4cm diameter sized domes. Make sure to pile the mixture up as high as you can to maintain a nicely rounded cookie - they tend to flatten out as they cook.

Cook for 20 minutes or until they've just turned an even golden brown.

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VANILLA CUSTARD WITH BAKED SPICED RHUBARB

For some reason I have always associated rhubarb with winter.

Even the name sounds barren and hardy; a vegetable to brave the cold. That’s right, vegetable. Even though it’s pink and us westerners always eat it sweetened or as a compliment to meat, it’s a vegetable which starts to appear in early spring and most certainly is not a fruit. It’ll boost your Vitamin C levels and up your dietary fibre, but if you need more than just one excuse to add it to your shopping basket; it sure is pretty.



Up until he moved into a rest home a few years ago, my pépé has always grown his own rhubarb in his back garden. Huge, enthusiastic plants which exploded from the ground and took over their corner of the vegetable patch. I can always remember him grabbing his French Opinel knife and stretching down without bending his knees to cut a healthy bunch of thick rhubarb into a plastic bag for us to take home. No one else we knew grew rhubarb (or really ate it) and as a result I tend to associate it with my family more than any other vegetable or fruit. All the rhubarb my grandfather grew was either melted down into a delicious, caramely compote by my grandmother, stewed to go on top of cereal or added to a fruit crumble.

To me, rhubarb will always be a particularly French vegetable.



But I’m in London, and last weekend was cold and windy and didn’t quite know what to do with itself. So I made something typically English.

Rhubarb and custard.









Oh deliciousness. The rhubarb is tart and syrupy sweet, and leaves your mouth slightly dry. The custard is velvety, luxurious and tastes just how home should make you feel; warm and contented.

I felt a bit naughty using almost a litre of full fat cream to make this, so for next time I’m going to find a recipe that uses milk instead of cream. But oh, the cream is so good. And if you only eat it once in a while, then who’s to know?



Homemade custard is surprisingly easy to make. It tastes richer and so much more real that anything you can buy in supermarkets. Once you try it for yourself, I don't think you'll ever go back to the plasticy, slightly fluorescent kind from a carton.









Chris and I had this for dessert on Sunday night while watching a movie we rented from the library. We had seconds and afterwards I didn’t feel full or overwhelmed by the sugar and creaminess at all. It's a relatively light dessert - the rhubarb and traces of cinnamon and star anise keeping the richness of the custard in check.

It's a bit chilly in London again this weekend. I feel like making another pot of custard and warming myself up. But, I'll resist. There are six egg whites waiting for me in the fridge, so I'll be good and bake something else equally delicious if not quite as satisfying as a bowl of shiny custard. Coconut macaroons? To be continued....






Vanilla Custard
(adapted from Modern Classics Book 2 by Donna Hay)

3 cups (24 fl oz) single or pouring cream
1 spilt and scraped vanilla bean (or 1 teaspoon vanilla essence)
6 egg yolks
1/3 cup caster sugar
2 tablespoons cornflour
1/3 cup milk

Heat cream and split vanilla bean and seeds (or vanilla essence) in a saucepan over a low to medium heat until hot but not boiling. Stir regularly to keep from scorching the bottom of the pot.

Whisk together egg yolks and caster sugar until doubled in volume.

In a separate bowl, mix cornflour and milk until well combined.

Slowly pour the hot vanilla cream over the egg mixture, one ladleful at a time, whisking well during and after each addition to ensure the egg does not separate. Whisk in the cornflour mixture until combined. Return to the saucepan and stir slowly over low heat for 4-8 minutes until the desired consistency is achieved. The longer you leave the custard to cook, the thicker it will become.

Serve warm. Makes about 3 1/2 cups.



Baked Spiced Rhubarb
(adapted from Nigel Slater in The Observer Magazine)

400g young rhubarb
3 heaped tablespoons liquid honey
a small orange
a cinnamon stick
2 whole star anise

Set the oven at 160°C. Trim the rhubarb and cut it into short lengths. Put the pieces into a baking dish, then trickle over the honey. Zest the orange then cut in half and squeeze the juice over the rhubarb. Add the orange shells to the dish along with the cinnamon stick, star anise and orange zest. Cover with a piece of foil or a lid, then bake for 30 minutes, or until the rhubarb is soft but has kept it's shape.

Serve a few pieces spooned on top of some of the warm vanilla custard.

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EGYPTIAN CHICKEN WITH APRICOTS + FIGS

Spring has arrived in London. It's such a different experience from the change in season back home which is much gentler and less noticeable. All the trees down our street are either in bloom or already covered in new leaves. I know I'm meant to be craving salads and crunchy, fresh things now that the warm weather is upon us, but a couple weeks ago there was still enough of a chill in the air to remind me of the snow and icy wind we'd recently escaped. I wasn't quite ready to give up the warming, hearty dishes of winter.

A tagine sounded just about right. Perfect for a chilly day but so full of the flavours of summer that you can hardly call it winter fare. Whenever I want to cook something from the Middle East, I always turn to recipes from my favourite New Zealand chef/cook, Julie Le Clerc.





Inspired by the heritage of her Lebanese great grandfather, Julie traveled to Morocco, Lebanon, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Egypt, Jordan and Iran; a journey culminating in two beautiful cook books on the food and culinary traditions of the Middle East. I have given both of these books to Chris' mother Barbara. Everything either of us has made from their pages has turned out wonderfully and several of the recipes have even become regular favourites.

The dish I chose to cook last Sunday night was from the second of the two, 'Taking Tea in the Medina'. ('Made in Morocco' is the first.) I've made this recipe a few times, and every time I do, I remember why. Because it's so delicious. It's fragrant yet simple, enticing yet honest. The kind of food I love.













Every step in this recipe is easy. There are no exclusive or hard-to-find ingredients and, as long as you take your time and don't try to rush it, it will turn out exactly the way it's meant to.









You can serve it as it comes or with a dollop of thick, plain yoghurt on the side. I also made a quick salad of sliced cucumber and fennel, sprinkled with fresh mint leaves and dressed with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and the juice of half a lemon.





I can't wait to start traveling through this part of the world and experience first hand what I have only seen in the pages of a book or on a screen.

In the mean time, my kitchen is an adequate substitute – clouds of cinnamon and cumin laced steam rising from my cook top. Halving dried figs and apricots, the sugary, concentrated juice coating my fingers. Filling a cast-iron pot with layers of ingredients and covering and baking until meltingly soft. The heavily spiced aroma of cooking in the air.

A worthy send-off to our first winter in London!


Egyptian Chicken with Apricots + Figs
(slightly adapted from Taking Tea in the Medina by Julie Le Clerc)

12 chicken thighs (with bone in)
sea salt + freshly ground black pepper
olive oil
1 cup dried apricots
1/2 cup dried figs, halved
1/4 cup raisins or sultanas
2 onions, finely sliced
2 teaspoons each ground cinnamon + coriander
2 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 cups long grain rice

1. Preheat oven to 190°C. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat a frying pan, add a little oil and brown chicken pieces for 5-6 minutes on each side until golden brown. Remove to a roasting pan or dish and scatter with apricots, figs and raisins.

2. In the same frying pan, cook onions over a gentle heat in a little more oil for 10 minutes until softened but not coloured. Add spices and fry for 1 minute. Add stock and bring to the boil, then pour this sauce over the chicken. Bake uncovered for 45 minutes.

3. Cook rice in boiling water for 10 minutes, then drain well. Season with salt and pepper and place in a buttered ovenproof dish. Spoon chicken and sauce on top. Cover with foil (and a lid if you have one to go with your oven dish) and bake for a further 30 minutes or until chicken tests cooked - when a sharp knife is inserted to the bone and the juices run clear.

4. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper if necessary before serving.

Serves 6

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COURGETTE + AGED CHEDDAR SLICE

Chris and I try to eat vegetarian meals for at least half the week. We're not vegetarians - not even close. We love meat far too much to ever even contemplate abstaining in the long term. Crispy, golden bacon and juicy, rare steaks we could not live without. But there's also something tempting and refreshing about an entire meal revolving around vegetables and herbs. We use eggs and dairy products frequently and try to discover new recipes and different ways of approaching individual ingredients.







For one of my vegetarian cooking nights this week I found this recipe for Courgette and Aged Cheddar Slice. It's from one of my favourite New Zealand cooks, Julie le Clerc. I have a few of her books, but Viva Food is one of the ones I probably cook from the least. In an effort to validate it's presence on my book shelf, I took it down, flicked through the pages looking for some inspiration and found this recipe.

First off, aside from having to grate and drain the courgettes, this slice is straightforward and quick to assemble. If you're looking for something to cook on a rushed weeknight, this is exactly what you need. While it requires almost an hour in the oven, the preparation is speedy and once you’ve mixed the batter together, all you need to do is relax until it’s done.









I'd recommend using a fairly strong cheddar - a sharp cheese which will cut through the creaminess of the egg. You could even double the cheese if you're feeling daring - I think it could handle a little more. After the requisite 40 minutes in the oven, make sure you double check the filling is done before switching off your oven. I found that it took at least another ten minutes before the centre was entirely set.





I think I'll cook this again in summer; maybe we’ll take it up to the heath for a sunday picnic when it will taste even better because the courgettes and tomatoes will be in season. Eating warm slices in the sun and reading. Perfect.





Courgette + Aged Cheddar Slice
(slightly adapted from Viva Food by Julie Le Clerc)

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, finely sliced
500g (4 medium) courgettes, grated
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano (I used a small bunch, picking off the leaves, leaving some whole and chopping the rest)
1 cup grated aged cheddar
1 cup self-raising flour
4 free-range or organic eggs
1 cup milk
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 medium tomatoes, thinly sliced

1. Preheat the oven to 200ºC. Line a 17x27cm slice tin with non-stick baking paper, allowing overhang on all sides. You could alternatively grease the tin generously with butter, though you will get better results and the slice will be easier to remove from the tin if you line it with paper.

2. Heat oil in a frying pan and cook the onion for 5 minutes until softened but not coloured. Remove to cool. Squeeze any excess liquid from the grated courgettes and add to the cooled onion with the oregano, cheese and flour.

3. In another bowl, lightly beat the eggs with the milk and season with salt and pepper. Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix to just combine. Pour into prepared tin. Arrange tomato slices on top.

4. Bake for 40 minutes or until firm in the centre. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes to firm before turning out to slice. Lasts up to 3 days if stored in the fridge.

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