Glazed Toman with Stewed Peppers and Manchego Risotto.

My apologies for my complete lack of contribution this month. I shall explain. I have been a gypsy wandering from house to house for many moons now. While staying at others it is not best practice to take over their kitchens, make a mess, then force feed them.... so I have been eating peanut butter sandwiches and local hawker center food. I am SO ready to get back behind the stove and continue where I left off. Luckily, we are moving into a new flat next week and I will be going on a cooking rampage so FASTEN YOUR SEATBELTS!

Toman also known as the "giant mudfish" is typical in Southeast Asian cooking. Normally found in street stalls barbequed to perfection, you can also buy fillets at the g-store and fancy it up at home. It is meaty flaky and handles glazes and spices well. If you can't find Toman, buy some catfish and give it a Southern twist!

xx

Glazed Toman with Stewed Peppers and Manchego Risotto
serves 2

Ingredients:

• 2 medium Toman fillets, bones removed


• 1 tsp soy sauce


• 1 tsp brown sugar


• 1 tsp apricot jam


• 2 cloves of garlic, minced


• 1 onion, finely diced


• 1 tsp tomato paste


• 3 peppers (one green, one yellow, one red), julienne


• extra virgin olive oil


• dash of tabasco


• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, divided


• 1 large onion, chopped


• 1 1/2 cups arborio rice


• 1/2 cup dry white wine


• 5 cups (or more) hot chicken (or vegetable) broth


• 1/2 cup manchego, shredded


• salt and pepper

Directions:

For the fish:

• Preheat the oven to 425F/220C


• Mix the glaze together.


• Coat fish.


• Put the fish in the oven for 15 minutes until flaky and perfectly cooked.
  

For the peppers:

• Sweat the garlic in the olive oil over the stove.



• Add the peppers and cook on medium heat for 5 min.



• Add the tomato paste and stir.



• Add a ladel full of the warm chicken stock and let thicken but be careful not to overcook the peppers.



• Sprinkle on some Tabasco!
  

For the risotto:

• Melt half of butter (2 Tbsp) in a heavy saucepan over med. heat.



• Add onion and soften (about five min).



• Add rice; stir and toast for a couple of minutes.



• Add wine and cook until almost all liquid is absorbed. Stir constantly!



• Add 1 cup hot broth. Simmer until broth is almost absorbed (KEEP STIRRING!!! You don’t want any to stick to the bottom)



• Add more broth, 1 cup at a time, allowing each addition to be absorbed before adding.. stirring the whole time!



• You know it’s done when risotto is tender and mixture is creamy.



• Take off heat and add the manchego and salt & pepper to taste.



• Serve with the stewed peppers and the fish on top!

Banana Bread with Toasted Walnuts and Dark Chocolate

Believe it or not, this recipe comes from a leaflet I found in the Guardian called 'quick and healthy snacks'. To me that says 'eat me'. It's a booklet done by Tomasina Miers, who just so happens to have a very wonderful Mexican restaurant (make that plural) in London and very appetising Mexican cook book. It turns out she is also a dab hand at 'quick and healthy snacks'. Banana bread is very important to me, so I'm not about to share a recipe with you that I think is under par. For the best part of my life I have loathed the banana, except in 'bread' form. As it so happens I now love banana, so the bread form is even more enticing to me. Add some dark chocolate and toasted walnuts and you have a grown up version that lasts for days and certainly fills the elevenses slot without too much guilt. The only change I have made is to add more banana, I tend to use three when Tomasina's recipe calls for only 2 medium bananas, in weight: 250g. It's great for packed lunches as well as tea time. Just don't give it to someone with an allergy to nuts.

Ingredients:


125g softened, unsalted butter

120ml semi-skimmed milk

1 tsp lemon juice

150g walnuts

250g plain flour

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1/2 tsp cinnamon

A couple of pinches of ground allspice

200g dark brown soft sugar

2 large eggs, beaten

3 very ripe bananas roughly mashed

A few drops of vanilla essence

150g 70% dark chocolate, roughly chopped

2 small loaf tins*

Preheat the oven to 180C and leave the butter out to soften. Mix the milk with the lemon juice and leave aside (this will curdle, and give it thickness). If you have good non-stick tins then all you need to do is line the bottoms with some parchment paper, keep the parchment in place with some dabs of butter.




Put the walnuts on a baking tray and warm through the oven until they are lightly toasted, about 5-8 mins then leave to cool. Sift the dry ingredients - flour, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon and allspice - into a bowl. In another, larger, bowl, cream the butter and half the sugar until pale, light and fluffy. I am still of the wooden spoon school so just make sure you're arms are up to it.




Gradually add the eggs and a tablespoon of the flour mixture, then beat in the rest of the sugar, tha bananas and the vanilla essence. Best the remaining dry ingredients into the mixture adding the milk bit by bit.




Roughly chop the walnuts and fold into the mixture with the chocolate. Pour into the loaf tins and bake in the oven for 50 minutes or until a metal skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tins for 10 minutes then turn out of the tins on to metal racks.




*I only have one small loaf tin so I split the batter into the loaf tin and into muffin trays. When you are using baking soda or power you can't really let the mixture sit for over an hour while one tin bakes. Take the muffins out (depending on size of muffins) after 20-25 or so mins.

London Food Festival

I recently went to a food festival in Earl's Court in London and it had to be one of the best days I have spent in a long time. It seems to me the only place where you can drink neat gin from 11 am onwards. I wouldn't recomend it on an empty stomach but from the moment you walk in, there are samples and cooking demonstrations galore.

A few things that I came away from the day were the above. I have already sung the praises of sloe gin and tasting the things that Sloe Motion did were so amazing. I will be making a much bigger batch this year. Edinburgh Gin may have just replaced Hendrick's as my favourite gin, it's not just whisky that the Scots do extraordinarily well. This gin is so rich in flavour and there isn't a burning throat in sight. If you can find some, get your hands on it. Conversely, their whisky is best left to their compatriots in the industry. Lastly: Love Your Larder is a way of getting all of these things which you can only get at farmers markets or foodie festivals straight to your door. Worth checking out as the guy on the stall was so lovely I only hope his fledgling business goes well.

I also went to an art fair that weekend. I'd say it was a rather good weekend.

Blue Mondays

I am not going to even begin to take credit for this. Lucy Young, protoge of the wonderful Mary Berry, is a great cook and recipe writer in her own right. Long established in the Aga community and beyond, she ensures all of her recipes cater to conventional ovens also; much to our benefit. This blueberry crumble cake is more of a blueberry-muffin-meets-shortbread than your standard cake. If you're anything like me, then you would think that is a good thing.

300g (10oz) self-raising flour

1 tsp baking powder (be sure to use just one measured tsp as if you use too much the cake will rise too much then cave in the center)

2 large eggs, beaten

Grated zest of 1 small lemon (if you are a thorough grater then you may only need half a lemon)

150g (5oz) unsalted butter, melted

200g (10oz) blueberries

For the crumble topping:

75g (3oz) self-raising flour

40g (1 1/2oz) unsalted butter, softened

75g (3oz) demerera sugar

25g (1oz) semolina (although this seems like very little, trust me it's worth adding)

You will need a deep, 20cm (8in) diameter spring form tin. Line the base with a disk of parchment and butter the sides well.

To make the cake, measure the flour, baking powder and caster sugar into a mixing bowl. Stir in the beaten eggs. Add the lemon zest and melted butter and beat again with a wooden spoon until combined. Although the recipe doesn't state it, I'm going to tell you: this is a very dry mix. It almost has the consistency of a very wet cookie or shortbread mixture so don't be alarmed if it doesn't resemble cake batter.

Spread two thirds of the mixture into the base of the tin (you may need to 'push' rather than 'spread') and scatter over the blueberries. Then spoon the rest of the mixture on top and try and leave a smooth, even surface. If there are the odd gaps, do not worry.

To make the crumble topping, mix together all the ingredients in a bowl and rub together with your fingertips to give a fine crumble mixture. Sprinkle this over the top of the cake (it will also serve to fill in any gaps that may be left showing the odd blueberry or two).

Bake in a preheated oven (160C /320 F for a fan oven) be sure not to have it too hot or the sides will go too crunchy and the center will stay gooey, too low and the whole cake will become rather hard. Bake for about 1 1/4 until golden brown and when the centre is tested with a skewer it comes out clean.

Remove from the tin and paper. Leave to cool slightly as the centre stays hot for some time, but try to serve warm. It is an amazing afternoon tea cake or post-lunch desert. I would serve it with pouring cream or cold vanilla custard.

Croque en Bouche

Courtesy of Bea's of Bloomsbury, which just so happens to be the best teahouse in London. That isn't hyperbole.




Now that the hubbub of the Royal Wedding has died down and they are no longer Kate and Wills but the Duke and Duchess we can reflect on the best part of a wedding - the food, and more precisely, the cake. I think most of the country would agree with William's
choice of chocolate biscuit cake but it seems to me that when it comes to wedding cakes, it's the French who have the right idea. Piles of profiteroles covered in crunchy caramel - winning wedding cake if you ask me. To give it full ceremonial status they must be towered into a large conical shape and decorated with various bits of nougatine, sugared almonds and royal icing, or anything you wish really.



In my first attempt at this 'cake' I had to assemble it in between courses for lunch so didn't quite brave the full stature that would have made it a Piece Montee. Filled with the holy grail of the pastry world (creme patissiere) and decorated with pastel coloured sugared almonds, this is a wedding - and general celebration cake - cake not to be missed! Be warned, those who do not have a sweet tooth, may be better off with Catherine's choice of wedding cake.



For the Choux Pastry:


Makes about 40 profiteroles
100g plain flour
Pinch Salt
150ml water
75g butter
3 eggs, beaten


Sift together the flour and salt into a large bowl. Place the water and butter in a large saucepan with high sides set over a medium-high heat, stirring, until the butter melts. Let the butter melt completely and come to a boil then remove from the heat. Add the flour and salt all in one go and beat very well with a medium spoon.


Reduce the heat and replace the saucepan, stirring for 1 minute until the mixture becomes sticky. Remove from the heat again. Pour about 1/4 of the beaten egg into the pan and beat very well. Add a little more egg and beat well again until the mixture comes back together. Continue to add the egg, beating vigorously all the time, until the mixture has softened, is shiny and had a dropping consistency. You may not need to add all the egg so keep an eye on it as you go.


Take two spoons and with a cup of cold water as well as two lined baking sheets. Wet the spoons and spoon the dough into walnut sized balls, giving enough space for expansion. Wet the spoons every time as the cold water will help create a crunchy shell. Place in a preheated oven at 220C (425F) and cook for about 20-25 minutes until puffed up and golden.


Take the profiteroles out and pierce a hole in the bottom of each profiterole, returning them to the baking sheets and placing them hole-side up. Return to the oven for another five minutes to allow the steam to escape. Allow the profiteroles to cool on a wire rack.


For the Creme Patissiere - make this when the profiteroles go in the oven so the cream if cold when it comes to filling the profiteroles:


7 medium free-range egg yolks
75g/3oz caster sugar
25g/1oz plain flour
4 tsp corn flour
500ml/18fl oz whole milk
1 tsp vanilla paste


In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar until they turn a pale blonde colour. Whisk in the flour and cornflour and set aside.


Place the milk and vanilla paste in a heavy-bottomed saucepan, bring to a boil and simmer for about five minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and let cool for 30 seconds. Pour the hot milk onto the egg mixture, whisking all the time, then return the mixture to the pan. It is important to pour the hot milk onto the cold eggs before you return the mixture to the pan to prevent the eggs from scrambling. Bring the mixture back to the boil and simmer for one minute, whisking continuously, or until smooth. To check that it is the thickness you require, make sure that it coats the back of a cold spoon evenly. Pour the cream into a clean bowl and cover with cling film but ensure that the plastic is directly touching the cream. Place in the fridge to cool.


To assemble:
When the profiteroles are cool and the pastry cream is chilled, fill a piping bag fitted with a small piping nozzle. Pipe the pastry cream into the profiterole through the hole made by the skewer to release the steam. Make sure you don't over-fill or cause it to crack.


Make the caramel - place 375g caster sugar and 150ml of water in a saucepan, stir over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Do not stir after this point. Allow the sugar syrup to cook until it starts to develop a caramel colour. You can swirl the pan to even out the caramel colouring. It should be no darker than the colour of whisky when you remove it. Place the pan over a bowl of boiling water. Use tongs to dip the profiteroles into the caramel and assemble. This is when you can dip some sugared almonds as well to stick onto your Croque en Bouche, whether they are individual portions or large golden towers.

Elana's South Sea Chicken Salad

I normally cannot stand chicken salad, tuna salad, or anything of a wet salad nature. Elana's recipe for her curry chicken salad is the one exception. It is light, tangy, and a perfect lunch for those on a diet. You can also make it ahead and enjoy all week. Seriously yum...

Ingredients:

• 3 cups cooked chicken breast, shredded
• 2 mangoes, cubed
  
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 3 scallions, minced
• 1 red onion, finely chopped
• 1 head romaine lettuce, shredded
• 1/4 cup cashews, roughly chopped
• 1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 cup plain nonfat yogurt
• 1/2 cup nonfat mayo
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp curry powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• S & P

Directions:

• In a small bowl mix together the yogurt, mayo, olive oil curry powder, cumin and s&p
• In a big mixing bowl combine rest of ingredients.
  
• Pour dressing over and stir.
• Serve over salad or in sandwich form.
  

Vietnamese Phở

Phở (pronounced "fa") is the first thing that comes to mind when talking about Vietnamese cuisine. For those who are unfamiliar, it is a hearty noodle soup normally with chicken or beef that has a load of delicious extras to pile on (think bean sprouts, mint leaves, lime, chili, etc).

We were in Ho Chi Minh City last week for work and got a good dose of all things Phở. There are the fast food chains carrying the soupy treat (notably Phở 24 and Phở 20) and the mom and pop shops serving it up out of a big cauldron. Now I know eating off the street is generally not advisable but if you happen to be in the area go visit the famous Phở Le sidewalk eatery for the best in town... just make sure not to look at the mass pile of questionable meat in the corner. Just take a couple of Pepto on the way in.. you will be fine. It's worth it!

For those who want to make this at home I have included a basic Vietnamese recipe for phở gà (with chicken). Of course, it always tastes best if you have a stock pot on the go but for those who live real lives just use the best stock you can get a hold of.

Phở Gà
serves 4

Ingredients:

• 2 Litres of high quality chicken broth.
• 1 inch knob of ginger, grated very finely
• 1 Tbsp fish sauce
• 2 cups shredded cooked chicken
  
• 1 lb thin rice noodles, fresh or dried
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped finely
• 1 Tbsp rock sugar
  
• 3 scallions, green part only, chopped

to garnish (optional):

• beansprouts
• mint leaves
  
• fresh cilantro, chopped
• lime wedges
• fresh chopped chilis or chili paste to mix in.
  

Instructions:

• Cook rice noodles according to instructions. Set aside.
  
• Heat the broth, ginger, onions, fish sauce, and sugar over the stove.
• Simmer away until onions are tender.. should be about 15 min.
• Add the shredded chicken, scallions, and rice noodles and heat through.
• Add salt if necessary.
  
• Serve with whatever extras you like on top!