Fluffy Easter Pancakes

Some of the fluffiest, nicest pancakes I've ever eaten are made with buttermilk. Buttermilk is the liquid that is left from churning butter or cream, and although you can buy buttermilk reasonably easily, it is not something that most people would have as a staple in the fridge. This means that if you decide to make buttermilk pancakes one morning, it is likely to involve a special trip to the shops to get it.

Today I'm sharing a recipe I use for pancakes that give the same result as the buttermilk kind, but is much less hassle to make -  with a technique for lightly souring the milk to create a perfect substitute for the buttermilk. These pancakes are deliciously light and fluffy and not overly sweet. You can of course top them with anything you like, but today I have topped mine with mixed berries and maple syrup.

These pancakes make a perfect Easter brunch, or even a simple dessert served with yoghurt, ice cream or any manner of toppings that you can dream up. I have also made small pikelets from this mixture and topped them with jam and cream to make a sort of Devonshire Tea style treat.

However you adapt them to your taste, this recipe is a keeper, with great results every time. Maybe give it a try this Easter long weekend?

Fluffy Buttermilk Style Pancakes

With Berries and Maple Syrup

You will need: 1 cup milk, 2 teaspoons white vinegar, 3 eggs, 2 cups Self Raising Flour, 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder, 2 cups mixed frozen berries, 2 tablespoons caster sugar, maple syrup to serve.

Method: Add the 2 teaspoons of vinegar to the milk, stir through and allow it to stand for a couple of minutes. This will lightly sour the milk.

Combine the berries and the sugar, microwave them for 1 minute and stir well. You could also do the berries in a small pan on the stove, but I find the microwave is quick and easy - and less cleaning up.

Whisk together the milk and the eggs. Add half of the flour and all of the baking powder to the mixture and whisk until smooth. Now add the remaining flour and whisk through, ensuring there are no lumps. If the mixture feels too thick, add a little extra plain milk. If it is too thin, add extra flour.

Allow the pancake batter to rest in the fridge for 10-15 minutes.

Cook the pancakes in a lightly greased or non stick pan. When bubbles appear on the surface, they are ready to turn over. The pan should be moderately hot - watch the temperature, as if the pan is too hot, the pancakes will be overcooked and dark on the outside and not cooked in the middle.

Serve the pancakes with the berries and maple syrup - or anything you fancy.

Makes 4 large or 8 medium sized pancakes.

*******

Sweetness and Light

Pancakes are about as old school as you can get - archaeologists have found evidence that they were the earliest and most widely consumed cereal based food eaten in prehistoric societies. You will find them in some form in cuisines all over the world and everyone seems to have a different version of them. Depending on where they are from, you will find preferences for sweet, savoury, thin or thick, soft or crispy. Yep, pancakes have been a favourite amongst human beings for a long time.

Occasionally I whip up a batch of pancakes as a treat on a Sunday morning - they are a big favourite in our household, particularly a version I make with ricotta cheese and lemon. I thought I would share the recipe, as they are quite delicious and the perfect accompaniment for all of the lovely Summer fruit that is in season at the moment.

These pancakes are light and lovely, and would be great as a dessert as well as a special breakfast treat. The key to good pancakes is to not go crazy with the whisk and over mix the batter. If you do, you will likely end up with tough, rubbery pancakes instead of light, airy ones. I know some recipes get you to beat the egg whites separately, but as long as you aren't heavy handed with the mixture I don't think this is really necessary. Keep it simple, don't over beat the mixture and ensure that you allow the mixture to rest and all will be well. I use a non stick pan to cook my pancakes, but if you don't have one, just grease a normal pan lightly and you are good to go.

Because I serve these pancakes with sweet fruit and maple syrup, I don't put sugar in the pancake batter - I think this would make them too sickly. The lemon rind and the ricotta give the dish a lovely freshness and I don't want to drown that all out with a major sugar overload. These pancakes are best made close to serving time, but you can easily make the batter a couple of hours ahead if required and just keep the mixture in the fridge until you are ready to cook them.

As for toppings, these ricotta pancakes are delicious with fresh natural yoghurt and pureed fruit as a sauce instead of maple syrup. They are also great with yoghurt, almonds and fresh honeycomb if you can get it. Yummy. Today, I chose nectarines, mango, blueberries and fresh figs - a perfect way to celebrate the fruits of Summer.

As if this dish wasn't nice enough to look at already, I increased the pretty factor by serving the pancakes on my lovely green vintage china plates that I found in a flea market whilst on my honeymoon in Paris. Something about them is very happy making to me - lovely memories. And anyway, who needs an excuse to eat off the nice china? Keeping it in the cupboard and not using it is utterly pointless.

So, channel your prehistoric ancestors and whip up a batch of pancakes - but maybe mix it up a bit by eating them off the good china? Hell, why not?!

Lemon and Ricotta Pancakes

with Summer Fruits and Maple Syrup

You will need: 1 cup milk, 2 eggs, finely grated rind of half a lemon, 1 1/3 cups self raising flour, two pinches salt, 3 heaped tablespoons ricotta cheese. To serve - maple syrup, fresh fruit .

Method: Whisk together the milk, salt, eggs and lemon rind. Add the flour gradually, continuing to whisk until smooth. Put in the fridge to rest for at least 30 minutes.

Fold through the ricotta cheese - it does not have to be smooth - leave some lumps in it. A bit of texture is pleasant and you will get delicious pockets of ricotta as you eat the pancakes.

Heat a non stick fry pan to a medium/high heat and cook the pancakes in batches until golden. Serve the pancakes right away stacked with fresh fruit and drizzled with maple syrup.

Makes 6-8 pancakes.

******

A Christmas Choc-Berry Bonanaza!

Every year, my work colleagues and I get together for a big Christmas morning tea. A lot of us really enjoy cooking, so people tend to bake up a storm with all sorts of tasty delights to share (and we always over cater, so we inevitably end up inviting everyone in the building to come down and join us so nothing goes to waste) Usually I make something savoury - a vegetable tart, savoury muffins, little meatballs and dipping sauce - stuff like that.

This year I looked in the fridge and realised I had lots of beautiful seasonal fruit and thought I would base my dish around that and do something sweet. I also wanted something that looked a bit festive, so my first thought was a traditional trifle, made with jelly and custard - just like we always seemed to have at Christmas when I was a kid. Then I was thinking that a rich berry mousse might be nice. In the end I came up with my version of a trifle that merged both ideas - a white chocolate and berry mousse trifle. I was really happy with how it turned it, and it tasted really delicious. It is pretty rich, and you would serve smallish portions, so you could feed quite a big group of people with a trifle the size of mine - not that big.

Although it was really easy to put together, ideally you need to start the recipe a day ahead. This means that everything can set properly. This is important, as the mousse is not one of those super firm style mixtures. It does not contain gelatin, so although the mousse does firm up enough to hold together nicely, it has a fairly soft texture that requires chilling overnight.

So, what did I do? First, I used a couple of packets of good old fashioned Aeroplane Port Wine Jelly and made it according to the instructions. I poured this into a trifle dish and added a handful of berries over the bottom. Then, I let the jelly set until firm.

Next, I made up a big batch of white chocolate mousse. (You will find the recipe below) When it was done, I divided the mixture in half, and to one of the bowls of mixture I added just under a cup of fresh, pureed raspberries. You could probably use frozen ones, but I would drain them really well before pureeing them, as all of the extra moisture may cause issues with the mousse setting. The next step was to cut 2 pieces of sponge cake to the size of the trifle bowl, and gently push it down onto the jelly layer, brushing it with some strawberry liqueur when I was finished.

After the first sponge layer was in place, I poured the raspberry mousse into the bowl - then the second layer of sponge, a brush with the liqueur again, and then the plain white chocolate mousse over that. The trifle then went in to the fridge overnight to set, covered in plastic wrap. I decorated the trifle just prior to serving with fresh strawberries, blackberries, raspberries and blueberries.

 White Chocolate and Berry Mousse Trifle

 

This would be a really nice do-ahead Christmas dessert - either as a large dish, or in small individual serves. I was thinking of lots of summery variations to this - passionfruit and mango, coconut and lime, peach and raspberry. Alternatively, you could ditch the fruit focus and make it with dark chocolate, kirsch liqueur and cherries, to make a sort of black forest trifle. All of that would be easy to adapt.

Here is my basic white chocolate mousse recipe to get you started. You could easily serve it as a mousse on it's own - or do what I did and make it the basis for another dessert.

White Chocolate Mousse

You will need: 350g White Chocolate, 1/3 cup milk, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract (the good stuff - not the faux "essence"), 3 large eggs separated, 375ml Cream.

Method: Melt the chocolate, milk and vanilla in a double boiler (or do what I do and use a small metal mixing bowl sitting over a pan of boiling water. Make sure the water isn't touching the bowl, or it will be too hot and the mixture may go too far and harden) Allow the chocolate mixture to cool for about 10-15 minutes.

While the chocolate is cooling, whip the cream until firm. Set aside.

Add the egg yolks to the chocolate mixture and whisk together well - the warmth of the mixture will gently cook the eggs to form a sort of custard like consistency.

Take a very clean and dry metal bowl and beat the egg whites until firm. Remember that egg whites will not firm up when beaten if there is even a tiny amount of oil/butter or other fat in the bowl - even some residue in a plastic bowl will ruin them - which is why we never whip our egg whites in plastic. It doesn't hurt to be a bit OCD with your metal bowl either and give it a couple of good washes to make sure it is super clean.

Now fold the cream and the chocolate mixture together until combined.

Next, gently fold through the egg whites through the cream/chocolate mixture. Spoon into dessert cups or use as part of a trifle or gateaux like I did.

Variations: You could of course use dark chocolate or any other kind that takes your fancy for this mousse. You can also turn this in to a fruit flavoured mousse by making up the white chocolate version, but adding about a cup of fruit puree to the mixture. I used just under a cup of fresh pureed raspberries for the raspberry mousse in my trifle. Mango or passionfruit would be a lovely alternative.

This recipe serves 6 people as individual servings. Double the recipe if you are using the mousse for a trifle or dessert like mine, and you want a couple of layers.

 

******

 

 

Fruity Inspiration

You guys are all aware by now that baking isn't really my bag. I will happily spend 3 days making a master stock, or painstakingly put together a 9 course degustation menu, but setting aside half an hour to make a cake just doesn't do it for me. Well, the Goddess of baking and sweet things must have aligned all the planets of something, because this week I had an idea for a cake recipe buzzing around in my head that just wouldn't go away. I took this as a sign from the universe that I should head to the kitchen and give this cake experiement a bit of a whirl.

I don't eat cake really - but when I do, my sweet thing of choice is lemon syrup polenta cake. I love the texture that the polenta has, and the tang of the lemon. Yum. My recipe idea is a bit of a variation on that type of cake, using fresh lime and lashings of passionfruit. I decided to add some almond meal to the equation, as well as using olive oil instead of butter. The result is a beautifully textured but very moist crumb and a sticky, tangy, fresh tasting syrup.

These cakes are lovely by themselves with a hot cuppa, but I think they would work really well as a do-ahead dessert. I'd serve them slightly warm with some clotted cream, creme anglaise or maybe some marscapone with some fresh lime rind folded into the mixture. You could also use those very small muffin tins and serve them as tiny sweet petit fours after dinner.

Sticky Passionfruit and Lime Polenta Cakes

As this was an experiment, it was all a bit free form. I used the quantities that I hoped would work, based roughly on the proportions I use when making normal muffins - and on the amount of almond meal and polenta I had in the pantry. Once I had that in mind as a starting point, I added some other ingredients and let my instincts take over. I was really happy with the result - the proportions worked a treat and I ended up with the texture I was hoping for. Dealing with the egg whites seperately really helped with this I think. I wasn't going to bother with the egg white thing, but it only took an extra two minutes and was worth it.

These cakes were fast to make and only take about 20 minutes to cook, so they aren't too much of a stretch for someone like me who doesn't usually have the patience or inclination for cake baking. Hell, I whipped up these on a Saturday morning while I stacked the dishwasher and sipped my morning coffee! Very do-able indeed.

You will need:
For the cake - 4 free range eggs, 1/2 cup caster sugar, 1/2 cup almond meal, 1/2 cup fine polenta, 1/2 cup plain flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 2 tablespoons olive oil, Juice and rind of 1 fresh lime, Pulp from about 3 passionfruit.

For the syrup - 1 cup caster sugar, Juice and rind of 1 fresh lime, Pulp of 2 passionfruit, 2 tablespoons water.

Method:  First, make the cake. Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease your muffin tins if you are not using silicone tins like I did.

Separate the eggs and put the yolks in one mixing bowl and the whites in another. With an electric beater, whip the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Set aside. (Hint - it is always better to beat egg whites in a metal bowl, or a ceramic one as a second choice. Plastic bowls tend to retain grease and oil, which is the enemy of fluffy egg whites!)

Combine the half cup of caster sugar with the yolks and beat until the mixture is lighter in colour and increases slightly in volume.

To the egg yolk mixture, add the almond meal, polenta, plain flour, baking powder, olive oil, lime juice and rind. With a spatula, combine all of the ingredients.

Now gently fold a third of the egg white into the cake mixture. Put in the rest and fold in until combined. Don't be too heavy handed with the mixture.

Spoon the mixture into the muffin tins, remembering that these cakes do not rise a whole lot, so you can fill them almost to the top.

Bake at 1080C for 15-20 minutes. The cakes are cooked when they are slightly brown and the mixture springs bak a little when you touch the top of them.

While the cakes are cooking, put together the syrup - just combine all of the syrup ingredients in a small saucepan and simmer gently for a few minutes until the sugar is dissolved completely and the syrup thickens slightly.

When you remove the cakes from the oven, spoon over about half of the syrup while they are still warm. When you are finished, run a knife around the edges so that they don't stick to the pan. Spoon over the remaining syrup and allow the cakes to soak up the mixture.

Serve warm or cold with cream, marscapone or icecream. Or scoff them without the extras.

Makes 10-12 small cakes

******

Baking Bliss

This week has been rather exciting in the Gourmet Goddess kitchen, as we took delivery of a new fan forced oven to replace the evil, contankerous old beast that I have been cooking with since we moved into our house almost two years ago. I have to admit I was pretty happy to see the demise of the old one, which had a penchant for cremating the bottom of whatever you put in it, whilst leaving the top of everything unpalatably raw. I don't really bake much at the best of times, but the crappy oven really didn't make me want to change that situation!

Well, I am very happy to report that the new oven is a whole other world - one where things cook as they are meant to and your pastry ends up golden and puffed (and cooked evenly!) just like it should. Hell, I may even be tempted to bake a cake - or Goddess forbid - a meringue! Watch this space.

So, my first oven baking experiment was a couple of simple apple, almond and nashi pear tarts. The golden tarts are given a lovely sweetness and glossy finish by an easy maple syrup glaze.

You could actually use any kind of fruit for these - apricots, peaches or nectarines when in season would be gorgeous - cherries, berries or quinces would work a treat too. I used apples and nashi pears because they happened to be in the fruit bowl at the time. Whatever fruit you decide to use,  the result is a delicious, easy to make tart that looks lovely too. This style of tart reminded me a lot of the apple galettes that you would always see in the patisseries around Paris. I confess I enjoyed a slice of mine with a nice big milky Cafe au Lait, and a generous serve of nostaligia -  imagining I was back, sitting in a cafe in St Germain on my honeymoon watching the world go by. Food is always so evocative of past memories and this one really did that for me.

Maple Glazed Apple and Nashi Pear Tarts

You will need: 2 sheets ready rolled puff pastry, 2-3 apples or nashi pears (I used some of both), 1 1/2 cups almond meal, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, 2 tablespoons warm water, 30g melted salted butter, 1/3 cup maple syrup, 1 beaten egg.

Method: Preheat the oven to 200C.

Peel and core the apples/nashi pears, cut them in half and slice them thinly. In a bowl, combine the almond meal, vanilla, brown sugar, melted butter and warm water. Mix well to make an easily spreadable paste. Add a little more warm water if the mixture is a little too firm.

Take the two sheets of pastry and cut them in half, lengthways. You should now have four lengths of pastry of equal size. Take two of the pastry sheets and cut a border into them, about 2 cm wide, removing the pastry in the middle. You will be left with two "frames"made of pastry.

Brush the other two peices of whole pastry with a little of the egg. Carefully lay one of the "frames" onto each of the pastry peices. Press the edges down gently. Now evenly spread half of the almond mixture onto each of the tarts, smoothing it up to the edge of the border you have created.

Take the sliced apple/nashi pears and carefully arrange the slices, so that they slightly overlap, until you have covered the tarts. Brush the edges of the pastry with a little bit of the egg wash.

Bake the tarts for 15-20 minutes until they are lightly golden. Remove them from the oven and using half of the mixture, brush the top of the tarts with the maple syrup. Return to the oven for another 5-10 minutes until they turn a deeper golden colour.

Remove the tarts from the oven, and while they are still warm, brush the remaining maple syrup over them.

Serve warm or cold. Makes two medium sized tarts.

******

Good things...Small packages

Out grabbing a few pre weekend groceries on Friday, I noticed a tray of gorgeous red figs at the greengrocer and thought it would be nice to use them in a dish this week. When I bought them I wasn't 100% sure what I was going to do with them, but then I was unpacking the shopping and I noticed I had some boned quail breasts in the freezer that I should probably think about using. Figs go beautifully with game, so it seemed logical to pair them up in a dish.

Quail is a game bird renowned for the delicacy of its taste. It may be very small, but it has delicious flavour in abundance. It is a particularly versatile game meat, suiting a wide variety of cuisines. It is simple to cook, which is great if you like the idea of game, but are daunted by cooking a duck or a turkey. There are many different breeds of quail - the variety I have used in this recipe was sourced from Game Farm, who breeds and supplies Japanese Quail grown the lush pastures of the Upper Hunter Valley in northern NSW. I've always been happy with the quality of their products (I have used their duck and turkey on many occasions) and they are quite easy to find these days. The Game Farm website will tell you where your nearest stockist can be found if you have no luck finding their quail.

If you are a bit squeamish about the idea of preparing quail, today's recipe is great, as it uses quail breast that is already off the bone. The flavour is not too strong and it is easy to eat - no small fiddly bones to deal with. This would be a good dish to try if you have never eaten quail before. All very managable. I actually love quail cooked in the Asian style - on the bone and super crispy, so you can actually eat the caramelised crunchy smaller bones - but I know that isn't everyone's cup of tea. I promise today's recipe is a much more straightforward affair. It would make a beautiful dinner party entree or a light lunch or dinner. If you absolutely can't face the idea of quail, you could perhaps substitute the quail for sliced chicken thigh. Sure, it isn't exactly the same dish, but the flavours would still work.

I have used beautiful fresh sorrel from my garden as one of the salad components of this dish. Sorrel is used commonly in French cuisine - particularly in sauces and soups - but it is delicious as a salad green. It has a fresh, almost grassy character that works beautifully with the sweetness of the figs. Sorrel is very easy to grow and a great addition to your herb garden. Always use the very young leaves if you are eating it as salad, as the mature leaves are strong and more suited to soups or other dishes.

Aromatic quail breast salad

with sorrel and figs

You will need: 350g quail breasts (skin on, off the bone),10 juniper berries, 1 teaspoon fennel seed, 1 mignonette lettuce, 1 cup sorrel leaves, 4 fresh ripe figs (each one sliced into 6 peices), 1/2 red onion sliced very finely, 1 lebanese cucumber deseeded and sliced.

For the dressing: 1 clove minced garlic,2 tablespoons walnut or hazelnut oil, 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar, 2 tablespoons maple syrup, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, pinch of cayenne pepper, 2 teaspoons warm water, salt and pepper.

Method: Crush the juniper berries and fennel seed (or chop them roughly) and place in a bowl with the olive oil and the quail breasts. Season generously with salt and pepper and combine well. Cover and put in the fridge to infuse for at least an hour - overnight is even better if you have time.

To make the dressing, whisk together the garlic, sherry vinegar, maple syrup, lemon juice, cayenne and warm water. Season with salt and pepper to taste - adjust amounts to your taste if required. You may want more lemon, or a touch more maple syrup. Just taste and adjust as you go.

Assemble the salad ingredients on your serving plates/platter.

Wipe the quail breasts with a paper towel to remove any large peices of juniper of fennel. Heat an oiled grill or frypan and cook the quail skin side down until crisp and browned. Turn over and allow to cook for another minute. The quail will cook quickly, so watch that you do not overcook it - don't forget that it will continue to cook when you are resting it.

Remove the quail from the pan and allow to rest for 5 minutes.

Arrange the quail over your slad ingredients and drizzle over some of the dressing. Serve right away. Serves 4.

******

Delicious Scotland - Part II

Welcome to part two of my Scottish food adventure. Here are some more of my favourite meals enjoyed in Glasgow, Edinburgh and the picturesque Highlands. There was just so much beautiful food out there to experience and I manged to sample some fantastic dishes. Here are some more of my highlights.

I enjoyed this beautiful rich seafood chowder at a small inn on the shores of Loch Ness. Full of leeks, herbs, cream and a selection of succulent local seafood it was indulgent and delicious. They served hunks of straight- from- the- oven, house made bread on the side which was perfect for capturing all that delicious liquid. I haven't made chowder for ages and this really inspired me to do just that very soon.

This next dish was just so simple, but it proved yet again that if you use quality ingredients you don't have to fuss around with them too much. This perfectly prepared local smoked salmon was served with a drizzle of parsley oil and fresh herbs, and that was all that was needed for a luscious starter. The salmon had an almost buttery texture that was irresistable against the freshness of the parsley oil. Yum!!

You already know how I feel about meringues *swoon* - and this gorgeous looking specimen that I enjoyed in Edinburgh was pretty much meringue perfection for me. The sweet crunch of the meringue, served with tangy raspberries and marscapone cheese were a knockout. And my goodness, doesn't it look beautiful on the plate?! Like garnet red jewels on a snowdrift. *sigh*

Scottish seafood knocks my socks off again with these fabulous oysters. Freshly shucked, briny, plump and glistening in their shells, they needed nothing but a touch of lemon and a dash of pepper. I just love that pure explosion of sea taste that a very fresh oyster delivers - and these oysters were simply outstanding.

My experience of the following dish was no doubt enhanced by the fact that I ate it whilst sitting out in the gardens of the historic Dornoch Castle Hotel on a crisp highland spring day, overlooking the 12th Century Dornoch Cathedral. But setting aside, I really loved this dish of pork loin and celeriac mash served with a superior black pudding and a creamy mustard and cress sauce. Rich flavours, juicy pork and a beautifully spiced black pudding made this dish so satisfying. 

Visiting old friends in Edinburgh, we had planned to have lunch together and then go off for an afternoon of strolling around the gorgeous city. Unfortunately the strolling never eventuated - lunch kind of stretched out to a four hour, twelve course extravaganza at a fantastic Spanish restaurant my friends Tancred and Evelyn recommended. The afternoon was wonderful - lots of laughter, invigorating discussions and Spanish wine of course! The tapas dishes we enjoyed were outstanding. Each one so full of flavour and perfect for sharing.

So, we started with scallops cooked with leek and crispy jamon, marinated white anchovies and a confit of duck leg served with a sauce of calvados (with duck meat so tender that you literally touched it, and it fell from the bone)

Next on the menu we chose a spicy chorizo stew in a garlicky, chilli tomato gravy - then moist, juicy almond and herbed beef meatballs - and waiter.... please bring us more duck.......oh...the duck......

Evelyn and I are both black pudding fans, so we couldn't resist the black pudding with apples - which was for me one of the standout dishes of the afternoon. The best black pudding I have ever tasted. And it worked so beautifuly with the sweet, caramelised apples. We also enjoyed a selection of spanish cured meats and cheeses, and completely addictive chicken croquettes - we loved them so much we ordered a second batch! Crunchy and crisp on the outside, creamy and rich and decadent on the inside.

As well as a second batch of croquettes, we savoured a whole hot baked goat's cheese with seville oranges (what an inspired combination - rich and sticky and delectable) and fried, spiced chicken with lemon and mustard - the chicken inside the crisp coating was meltingly moist, sweet and tender. Just delicious. Lunch was four hours of complete gastronomic heaven, made all the sweeter by sharing time with dear friends.

My last night in Scotland - and this beautiful, perfectly cooked lamb shoulder was a fitting end to what was a suprising and satisfying culinary journey. The lamb had been slow cooked and was so tender it just fell apart on the fork. Served simply with a reduction of pan juices and a touch of wine and juniper, it was as comforting and cosy as a bunny rug. It went beautifully with the amazing, peaty, velvety, buttery tasting whisky that I drank with it. Outside, the wind blows over the black, icy loch. Comfort food? Yes - very comfortable thankyou......

If you ever have the opportunity to visit beautiful Scotland, then make sure you sample the spectacular seafood that they have on offer, as well as the wonderful game. I think it is the clean air and water and the wild open spaces that make the produce so special. I absolutely fell in love with the food as well as the countryside that seemed to teem with wild pheasants, rabbit and deer. And I'm sticking to my guns on the whole haggis issue - forget about being squeamish about what it is made of - it is a delicious expression of head to tail eating. The Scots knew what they were doing with that one. It's good to occasionally eat something that scares you a little. Well, they aren't Scotland the brave for nothing!

******

Scottish Food Fancies - Part 1

As well as bagpipes, tartan, the kilt and big hairy cows, Scotland is also the home of the deep fried Mars Bar -  so you can imagine that when I jumped on my flight from London to Inverness I was probably not expecting the best in the way of culinary experiences. Before I go any further, I will confirm that I am a haggis lover. I am not squeamish about chowing down on this iconic Scottish dish of minced offal, barley, oats and spices, served conveniently in a sheep's stomach. My sister who lives in Scotland thinks the whole idea of haggis is revolting, but happily my lovely Scottish brother in law doesn't feel the same way and treated me to haggis and tatties (potatoes) on my very first night in Scotland.

Haggis dispatched, it was time to see what other culinary treats Scotland had to offer. As it turns out, my visit to Scotland was full of wonderful food experiences - so many in fact that I will be sharing them with you two installments.

Driving around the Scottish Highlands is thirsty work and we decided that afternoon tea was in order. Now, whilst I adore a cup of tea (in fact, I do confess to having a bit of a tea fetish - I have so many varieties and even my desk at work has a pot of tea permanently brewing away on it) I'm generally not a huge cake fan, but when I saw the homemade cakes on offer at this little roadside coffee shop in the middle of nowhere, I just had to indulge. Mine is the chocolate and sour cherry concoction at the front - and boy, was it spectacular. My brother in law chose the creamy caramel delight at the back (which I tasted and can confirm that it was delicious) The cakes were all made by the lady that ran the shop (she also runs the ajoining plant nursery). Teamed with an invigorating pot of freshly brewed tea, it was just perfect.

Whilst visiting the small town of Beauly, I enjoyed this beautiful whole loch trout, at a local restaurant called The Priory (located next to, you guessed it - a 13th Century priory) cooked simply with butter and lemon sauce. It was my first foray into Scottish seafood and as you will see, it wasn't the last. Perhaps it was the deep, dark, cold and very clean waters of the local lochs that made this fish taste so pure and delicious, but it was just perfect.

Oats feature heavily in Scottish cooking and being a big fan of oats I jumped at the chance to try this dish of oat crusted seafood in the little seaside village of Cromarty. The oats were finely ground and seasoned and provided the perfect nutty tasting crust to the super fresh local seafood - scallops, octopus, mussels and salmon. Again, quite a simple dish but so tasty and delicious. I will be stealing the oat crust idea for a dish of my own very soon - it is a great super tasty alternative to breadcrumbs and makes the crust super crispy. Yum!

Back to The Priory for afternoon tea and a selection of Scottish shortbread, scones, caramels and my favourite - meringues! These meringues were to die for - sandwiched between a layer of freshly whipped cream, they were all I wanted with my pot of tea. The other selections didn't stand a chance, so I can't tell you what they were like!! Those meringues took me to my happy place.

I love a terrine and this game terrine really hit the spot. Made with venison and rabbit, served with hot toast and a housemade beetroot relish, this was perfect washed down with a pint of ale at the Plockton Pub. Does anyone remember the wonderful series "Hamish Macbeth" ? Well it was filmed in the picturesque village of Plockton, which can now add a pretty fabulous terrine to its attractions.

Still at the Plockton Pub - it was cold and windy outside, but this salmon and haddock pie warmed the cockles of my heart. Served with a creamy mustard and herb sauce and a breadcrumb crust, it was comfort food personified. The fish was a mixture of fresh fillets and a touch of smoked haddock, which really took the flavour to another level. It was rich and tasty and the fish was cooked just right.

A change of location now - off to the cobbled streets of Edinburgh for their version of a seafood platter. More like what I would call a chowder - Salmon, mussels, scallops and prawns served with a dash of cream, horseradish and crusty bread. It was big on flavour and once again the seafood was superb - clean, fresh tasting and perfectly cooked.

My love affair with game was indulged in this superb venison pate, flavoured with juniper berries and served with oatcakes, spiced red cabbage and fresh redcurrants. This dish came from a little cafe/restaurant in the village of Cromarty (where you will recall I also enjoyed the fantastic oat crusted seafood) This pate was rich and velvety, with the herbal aromatics of the juniper complimenting the venison beautifully. Teamed with the tart burst of the fresh redcurrants and the nuttiness and texture of the oats, it really was a taste sensation.

So ends the first installment of my favourite Scottish food experiences - there were a whole lot more, which I will share with you all soon in Scottish Food Fancies II. Scotland is indeed proving to be bonny. And not a deep fried Mars Bar in sight.

*****

Paris Cooking School

Hi everyone - well this weary traveller is back from a month away, still a bit jetlagged and adjusting to having to get up for work every morning and be back in the real world again. I had a fantastic time away, and over the next few weeks you will be seeing and hearing a little of some of the food experiences I had in my travels. I have returned home with a whole swag of inspiration and ideas for dishes, as well as some new skills (I now know how to butcher a whole rabbit!) and some great kitchen hints and techniques. My trip took me to London, Inverness, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Paris - all very different places with different produce and different food traditions. But I thought I would begin with an account of my cooking school experience in Paris.

Starting the day with a cafe au lait before heading to cooking school

I woke really early on my second day in Paris very excited that I was heading for cooking school that morning. Students had all been instructed to meet outside the Jules Joffrin train station where we would meet our instructor, Chef Pino Ficara. We would then walk to the nearby market to purchase our fresh ingredients and then up the hill to the school itself for class.

Our first market stop was a fromagerie (cheese shop) where Pino gave us a lesson in the various kinds of cheesemaking techniques which had us all spellbound. Cheesemaking is such a scientific and magical process and many recipies and ways of working have been around for literally hundreds, if not thousands of years. I learned about how the fromageries were set up, in order to have the cheese at it's best, and also to prevent the stinky cheeses from cross contaminating the more delicate ones- a lot of the cheeses are not refrigerated and virtually all of the cheese is made with raw milk. In Australia, it is illegal to sell raw milk products (an exception was only recently made that allowed 2 kinds of Roquefort to be imported, but our laws are ridiculously antiquated) so I was so excited at the prospect of having a raw milk cheese fest.

A tiny sample of the huge selection of cheeses I came across in the fromagerie

And a fest it was. I tasted no less than 15 kinds of cheese (there must have been a couple of hundred in the shop) - all hand made - some made by monks, some aged in caves, some preserved in straw, cheese soaked in wine or basted in beer, cheese from cow milk, sheep milk and goat milk, bright yellow hard cheese and creamy milky white cheese, cheese that tasted of clean air and pure milk, cheese that was sticky and deliciously foetid, cheese covered in ash or studded with wild herbs and lavender,tangy and crumbly cheese, velvety white goat cheese so delicious it made your eyes roll back in your head! The shop itself was so beautifully set up. The aproned staff expertly cut and lovingly wrapped our selections and we headed to our next stop - the charcuterie (butcher)

Some of the poultry and game on sale at the charcuterie

If you are squeamish about raw meat or you are only used to buying your meat wrapped in sanitised plastic packets, then you might have been a bit freaked out on entering the butcher shop. Much of the meat such as poultry and games is sold in one piece, with head, feet/ claws all still attatched. Not only are these used for stock, but they also allow you to ensure that the meat is fresh. The selection available was so exciting - including pheasant, squab pigeon,quail, duck, about 7 or 8 varieties of chicken, venison, rabbits and hares. I love game and particularly rabbit so I was thrilled when it was decided that we would cook rabbit that day. We bought two whole rabbits (skinned, but with the head and all left on, as well as the liver - we had plans for that) which were wrapped up by the butcher in brown paper and string and we headed down the street to the fishmonger.

Oysters and fresh live crustaceans for sale at the local fishmonger

The selection of fish, and particularly shellfish was spectacular - so many varieties of oysters! (they are never pre opened, they are sold closed or you can get the fishmonger to shuck them for you), mussels and clams, periwinkles, live crabs of all kinds, langoustines, prawns and lobsters - also smoked fish, snails and fresh kelp. The first thing that strikes you is that the fish doesn't smell fishy - it is SO fresh that it just smells like seawater. Everything looked so superb - we chose two large silvery bream that we planned on turning into a starter for our menu.

Delicious berries, destined for our kitchen

Pretty fresh radishes and onions at the greengrocer

Next stop, the vegetable market- a riot of brightly coloured reds, greens,oranges. Tight bunches of scarlet radishes, bundles of emerald green and creamy white asparagus, all kinds of herbs displayed in large wicker baskets big enough to put your washing in - and the berries! That luscious aroma of fresh strawberries again, cherries, melons... Everything looked so abundant and beautiful. We decided on what we wanted to serve with our dishes and came away with bunches of sweet smelling herbs, celery root (celeriac), wild asparagus (which I had never seen - delicate, with thin stalks and small pretty tapered ends), endive (witlof), fresh carrots, eschallots, garlic, a punnet or two of ruby coloured raspberries and some sweet smelling strawberries.

Gorgeous fresh artichokes for sale

Final stop on the way back to school was an artisan bread maker (who Chef said is quite mad and obsessed with perfection - but makes the best bread in Paris - using a centuries old woodfired oven, grinding his own flour with a stone grinder and keeping his sourdough culture literally locked in the basment because he is scared someone will steal it!) The bread! Oh.....the bread! The best I have ever eaten in my life. We chose bagettes, walnut bread, and a fruity rye loaf that we planned to serve with our cheeses. We munched on still warm bagettes happily as we walked up the hill to school in the sunshine.

Fresh bread from the artisan bakery - baked 4 times a day

The class was amazing and I learned so much - so many great tips and techniques as well as learning more about the actual chemistry of what happens to ingredients when you combine them or treat them in a particular way. It was also SO much fun. I learned to make proper creme patissiere (the beautiful custard that goes into choux puffs or tarts, and also butchered my first whole rabbit, which was like conducting surgery. In Australia they never have the feet or head left on!) I was in culinary heaven as we put our menu together - a starter of oven roasted bream filllets baked on a thick bed of fresh herbs and served with creamed celeriac, the main course of braised rabbit with sauteed endive, wild asparagus, carrots and eschallot confit and a dessert of a strawberry and raspberry tart, with an almond pastry base and vanilla creme patissiere. We also enjoyed a superb cheese platter between main course and dessert and lots of lovely french wine to wash it all down with. An unforgettable experience.

Here is what I cooked that day:

A starter of herb baked bream, celeriac puree and mache

Braised saddle of rabbit with wild asparagus, confit eschallots and witlof

Fresh fruit tart with almond pastry and creme patissiere

Because it doesn't get dark until 10pm, I decided to jump on a boat after class and cruise the Seine, enjoying the warm weather and that beautiful golden evening sunshine that turns everything buttery yellow. I cruised past the palaces, the tower, the Louvre - along the embankments where people were enjoying a glass of wine or lying on the grass. I felt so lucky to be there and to have had such a wonderful day. When I eventually made it back to Montmartre, I decided that I would have a picnic on my balcony for dinner, (I had eaten a lot during the day so I didn't want a big restaurant dinner) so I simply bought a small bagette (warm from the oven - they bake 4 times a day here!) ,a small piece of succulent cooked duck (in Paris butchers sometimes sell meat they cook on the premises), some raspberries and a little pot of creme freche to dip them in and ate them on my very Parisian wrought iron Juliet balcony overlooking the street as the sun went down. What a great day.

Chef Pino Ficara and I in the Montmartre kitchen

I have fallen completely and utterly in love with Paris - can you blame me??? I am already planning an extended return trip in 2011. In the meantime, I plan to hone my new skills and appreciation for French food in my own kitchen. Bon appetit!

*****

Shopping & Cooking - Sunday Organic Market

I have lived in Marrickville for quite a few years and can't count the number of times I have passed the badly written sign at the Addison Road/Victoria Road intersection advertising the Addison Road Organic Sunday Market. A few times I have thought "Hmmm...must check that out one Sunday" - but never actually got my act together to go (despite it being only a 15 minute walk away from my house - pathetic, isn't it?) I also think that the sign was so crappy and amateur that I had visions that the said organic market would comprise of a few hippies selling some dodgy produce from a sarong draped card table. Well, on Sunday I woke up to a beautiful autumn morning and I needed to buy some supplies anyway, so I thought I would get out in the sunshine and pay the market a visit. The market is situated at 142 Addison Road in Marrickville, New South Wales - which is part of the Addison Road Centre - apparently the largest community centre in Australia. It houses a number of not for profit organisations and community groups, as well as hosting the market from 9am to 2pm each Sunday.

Fresh from the farm

We arrived right on 9am, and already there were groups of people heading down the driveway entrance with kids, dogs and shopping bags. A band was setting up under the trees and the aroma of coffee was completely seductive. I imagine that as the morning wears on, it could get quite busy, so I recommend an early start to ensure ease of shopping, and that you get your pick of the best stuff. The market is lovely to walk around being surrounded by trees and away from the main road. It is also the perfect spot to enjoy breakfast outside in the fresh air, which is what we did.

Actually, I confess to indulging in not one breakfast but two. (Degustation brekky anyone?) I could not resist the lure of beautiful, flaky, stretchy Roti Canai, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roti_canai) served with a mildly spicy dahl to dip it into. Memories of breakfasts in Singapore came flooding back. The stall that sold these also had a beautiful selection of mostly Malaysian curries and treats - all of which smelt and looked amazing. I'm definitely going to pay them a visit again.  Breakfast number two was from a stall selling a variety of traditional German Sausages - we chose bratwurst that we devoured with saurkraut, onions, mustard and sauce served in a lovely fresh roll. Delicious. There are lots of other breakfast options, including fresh fruit juices, steamed dumplings, bacon and egg rolls, vegetarian treats and a few choices of coffee stalls (including Fairtrade) I plan on working my way around to all of them!

The first stall that caught our eye was Brasserie Breads - a Botany based artisan breadmaker that offered a stunning selection of organic savoury and sweet sourdoughs, pastries and other baked treats. After sampling a number of the breads on offer (and a deliciously aromatic sliver of freshly baked hot cross bun) we settled on a large traditional sourdough loaf, and a garlic loaf studded with masses of beautiful, gooey caramelised garlic. It smelt so good, I wanted to rip into it with my teeth right there! I managed to control myself and explored the rest of the market.

I love mushrooms so a stall specialising in mushrooms got my attention - I have never seen such a range of varieties for sale in one place. I was particularly interested in the lovely orangey, saffron coloured wild pine mushrooms. The lovely bloke running the stall told me that due to the recent rain, the pine mushroom harvest was particularly good. I couldn't leave without buying some of course!

Pretty mushies

Wandering through the stalls, I also picked up some gorgeous Tuscan cabbage (kale), fresh herbs, organic black figs (which I hope to turn into something delicious in the coming days), organic fetta cheese and some duck fat for those times when I want to feel all French and indulgent.

Another great stall I discovered was one specialising in various varieties of potatoes and garlic. I was very excited to see some types I didn't recognise and chose the deliciously named Dutch Cream variety to take home. I decided that those potatoes had a date to keep with my newly purchased duck fat later that evening...

From the potato/garlic man - I chose the Dutch Cream variety

As well as a good selection of fruit and vegetable stalls, the market has much more on offer - fresh flowers, organic cheeses, homemade preserves, herbs, eggs, honey, cakes and pies. There are also some plant stalls, second hand clothing, jewellery and bric a brac for those who like to fossick. The fun and relaxed atmosphere of the market made for a really enjoyable morning. It would be very easy to just sit under those trees drinking coffee, listening to the music and watching the eclectic passing parade all day if you wanted to. All shopping should be this enjoyable. I was impressed by the pricing of the produce on offer at Addison Road - sometimes choosing organic can be insanely expensive, but I felt that it was all pretty reasonable. Some of the trendier organic markets I have visited make choosing organic cost prohibitive for many of us, but this market seems to be more aimed at the local community and was a lot more reasonable. Certainly worth checking out  - even just as a pleasant Sunday morning breakfast excursion if nothing else.

What I bought on Sunday

I had already decided to try the Dutch Cream potatoes cooked in duck fat for dinner on Sunday evening and I teamed these with a salad of organic baby rocket (another market purchase), the organic fetta cheese, grape tomatoes and olives which I just drizzled with some olive oil and balsamic. I also slow cooked a leg of lamb with garlic, olive oil, a touch of white wine, lemon and rosemary (5 hours in my favourite cast iron/enamel pot at 190C) and added some of the gorgeous sticky garlic bread from Brasserie Breads for good measure.

What I cooked on Sunday

Sunday dinner was delicious - and there was plenty of left over lamb which I am already dreaming up plans for. I always like finding ways to create new dishes from leftovers - I'm notorious for over catering so it is a skill I'm trying to work on! I imagine you will see the lamb in some other incarnation in the coming days. The potatoes were a knockout - crispy on the outside and creamy and fluffy in the middle. I scored them all over with knife before I cooked them to maximise the surface area and to allow all that gorgeous duck fat to permeate through the potato. I used a tablespoon of the duck fat, which was plenty and just seasoned them with some sea salt and pepper. The potatoes had great flavour but weren't in the least greasy. If you see Dutch Cream potatoes for sale, give them a try - they are beautiful.

*****

Ravishing Ruby

Who can resist the stunning ruby red of rhubarb? Today's dessert teams up rhubarb with strawberries, vanilla and a hint of rose water to create a gorgeous ruby coloured compote that is very versatile. I have teamed it with meringue, but you can use the compote in lots of ways - as a base for a beautiful rhubarb crumble, as a jam on scones or piklets, as a sauce on icecream, served with yoghurt for breakfast or folded through whipped cream to make an old fashioned rhubarb fool. To top it all off, the compote freezes well so you can make a batch and save some for later.

Rhubarb is usually cooked with water and sugar and then stewed, but I prefer to cook it in the oven without water. Rhubarb contains a high percentage of water to begin with and I find that the oven method gives you a much better result and avoids the rhubarb breaking down too much and turning too watery and thin. The oven method also gives a superior flavour and colour.

Things you might not know about rhubarb - Despite being used most commonly in desserts and jams, it is actually a vegetable. The word rhubarb comes from the Latin word "rhababarum" which means "root of the babarians." It originated in China and the earliest records date back to 2700BC, when it was cultivated for medicinal purposes. It was considered very precious and was traded along with opium.

About the leaves......Sometimes when you buy rhubarb, it will still have the leaves attatched. The leaves contain highly poisonous oxalic acid that you should never consume under any circumstances. When you dispose of them, make sure they are kept out of the reach of children or any pets that might get hold of them. If you are a gardener, you can use the leaves to make an environmentally friendly bug spray, by boiling the leaves in water and using the liquid. Just be sure to clean the pot very carefully afterwards and keep the liquid in a safe place, as you would any kind of poison.

You will notice that I didn't make the meringues for today's dessert, I used good quality plain store bought ones. Feel free to make your own, especially if you happen to have a lot of eggwhites that need to be used and a bit of time on your hands. Today, I had neither :)

You would know by now that I'm not a huge dessert fan, but this one? Divine.

Rhubarb and Stawberry Meringue Parfait

You will need: 8-10 stalks rhubarb sliced into pieces about 3cm long, 2 cups strawberries hulled and halved, 3/4 cup caster sugar, 1 vanilla bean, 1 teaspoon rose or orange blossom water (you will find these at middle eastern stores or continental delis), 1 large meringue per person, 300ml thick or double cream, 1 tablespoon blanched and lightly toasted almonds.

Method: Heat the oven to 200C. Lay a piece of baking paper in the bottom of a small baking dish. Split the vanilla bean in two and scrape out the seeds. Combine the rhubarb, sugar, vanilla (the bean as well as the seeds) and place in an even layer in the baking dish. Bake for 20mins.

Remove the rhubarb from the oven and add the strawberries and the rose or orange blossom water. Gently combine - you do not want to crush up the rhubarb too much. Return to the oven for another 8 mins. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. The rhubarb mixture is best served at room temperature, so if you are making it ahead, take it out of the fridge before serving.

To assemble the parfaits, first chop the meringues in 4. Put a spoon of the rhubarb mixture in the serving bowl/glass, then some meringue, then some cream. Repeat. Top with some toasted almonds and serve.

*

Cheeky Tart!!!

"The Queen of Hearts she made some tarts all on a summer's day;

The Knave of Hearts he stole the tarts and took them clean away"

Ok, so I'm not the Queen of Hearts and it isn't a summer's day (in fact it's bloody freezing!) but I have been baking tarts today. I headed into the kitchen this morning to make something to take to work for lunch this week and whilst I was waiting for that to cook, I decided to bake some tarts to use up some spare puff pastry that was taking up space in my freezer. I really didn't fancy the thought of leaving the house to go food shopping, so I hunted around in the pantry for inspiration, determined that there must be some kind of filling I had ingredients for. Well, turns out that I found a little more inspiration than I bargained for, and the result was six different kinds of tarts (although they all start with the same basic beginnings)

I was going for a rustic, free form style with these tarts - no pie tins or cutting out baking paper or blind baking or any of that kind of carry on! I love that every one is different and that they aren't perfect. You could eat them like a pastry with a cup of tea, or serve them as a dessert, warm with a dusting of icing sugar and some cream or a good quality icecream.

My six fillings were: almond and walnut , strawberry, fig, orange, apple and mixed berries. All I did was to place the various ingredients on the top of the tarts. None of the toppings were pre cooked. The figs and oranges are the glace kind (these came from the wonderful Pomona Fruits - best glace fruit ever! http://www.pomonafruits.com.au/ ) The apple and the strawberries were just sliced thinly raw, and the berries were just a handful of the frozen kind I had in the freezer. I sprinkled a little bit of castor sugar on the berries and the strawberries before putting them in the oven and when the tarts were cooked I brushed them all with maple syrup when they were still warm to give them a glaze.

I have given the basic tart recipe below, but go with any topping you fancy - I came up with six just based on what I had in the pantry today - the possibilities are endless. The filling is a simple almond based one that isn't overly sweet.

And here is today's tart selection - my recipe makes 16 tarts

You will need: 4 sheets puff pastry, 200g almond meal, 1 egg, 1/2 cup cater sugar, 100g butter, 1/3 cup maple syrup and whatever topping/s you have chosen.

Method: Melt the butter and combine with the almond meal, sugar and the egg. Set this aside. Cut the pastry into 4 rounds for each sheet (this will make 16 tarts) I used a small upturned rice bowl as a cutting guide.

Spoon the almond mixture onto the pastry and spread it out so it almost comes to the edge. Add your chosen topping. Fold/pinch the edges of the tarts the whole way around. Chill the tarts in the fridge for 15mins.

Bake in a moderate oven for 15-20 mins or until puffed and golden brown. When you take them out of the oven, brush them with maple syrup to form a light glaze.

*