Flourless Beetroot and Chocolate cake

Photo by Ryan Ball (www.ryanballphotography.com), Food Styling and recipe my own. 

In this recipe, beetroot acts in the same way carrot does in a carrot cake; it adds moisture, natural sweetness and earthiness to a wonderfully gooey chocolate cake base. This cake is incredibly easy to make, and you can make it even simpler by buying pre-cooked beetroot, which is available to buy in many shops (just make sure it's plain boiled beetroot you are buying, as opposed to anything in vinegar!).

It's best made the day before you want to serve it, as it benefits from a night in the fridge, to firm up the sponge. If you're feeling adventurous, have a go at the candied beetroot too- it's sure to take your cake to the next level!

Ingredients

For the Cake:
300g beetroot, peel and chopped into 3cm chunks
350g dark chocolate, broken into pieces (I like 70% cocoa variety)
185g butter, cubed
6 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
220g soft brown sugar
100g ground almonds

For the Vanilla Creme Fraiche:
360g creme fraiche
2 tbsp icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

For the Candied Beetroot:
230g caster sugar
150ml water
2 small beetroots, peeled and sliced as finely as you can
1 tbsp lemon juice

Method

1. Start with the cake. Boil your beetroot in a small pan of water until tender (around 45 mins). When cooked, blitz in a blender to create beetroot pulp.

2. Preheat oven to 160°C / 325°F. Grease a 9 inch cake tin and line with grease proof paper. 

3. Put the butter and dark chocolate in a small saucepan, and melt over a low heat, stirring occasionally until smooth.  

4. Meanwhile, crack the eggs into a bowl, and add the vanilla extract, soft brown sugar and ground almonds. Whisk together, then add the beetroot pulp and the melted chocolate and butter mixture. Mix well.

5. Pour the mix into your pre-prepared baking tin, and cook in the middle shelf of the oven for about 1 hour. After about 45 mins you can check it, and if the top is going too dark, just cover it with some tinfoil and continue to bake. You will know the cake is ready when the edges look cooked, and the middle still has the slightest wobble to it. Remove from the oven and allow to fully cool, before placing in the fridge for atleast 3 hours or overnight ideally. This will help to firm up the cake, and make it easier to get out of the tin.

6. For the candied beetroot, add the water and sugar to a small sauce pan and slowly heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Once it has dissolved, bring to the boil gently, and add the thinly sliced beetroot. Simmer for around 15 minutes, until the beetroot is softened and slightly translucent. Remove each slice from the pan with a fork, and lay flat on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Leave to cool. If you want to caramelise and crisp them further at this point, you can pop them in the oven at 180°C for 5-10 minutes, just keep an eye on them as they can quickly burn at this stage.

7. When you are ready to serve the cake, make the icing by beating the creme fraiche, vanilla extract and icing sugar together. Have a little taste and add more sugar or vanilla if you like. When you're happy with the flavour, simply spread on top of the cake. Top with your candied beetroot pieces, and drizzle with the reserved syrup. Voila! 

Diwali Recipes for VeeTee Rice

I'm pleased to be able to share my most recent food styling project for VeeTee rice (https://www.veetee.com/). I was the food stylist on this two day shoot, featuring 15 mainly Indian-influenced recipes, all using extra long grain basmati rice (which incidentally, is a wonderful product, I would highly recommend!). Below are some shots from the project. It was a pleasure as always working with photographer Casey Lazonick on this, and it was a real delight to be able to venture into some interesting Asian recipes, all written by the chef, author and teacher, Monisha Bharadwaj. Thank you for the opportunity all!

Photographs: Casey Lazonick (https://www.caseylazonick.com/)
Recipes: Monisha Bharadwaj (https://www.cookingwithmonisha.com/)
Food Styling: Georgie Hodgson (www.georgiehodgson.co.uk)

Frozen Watermelon lollies

Freezing fruit is something I love to do over the summer months; favourites of mine include bananas (peel then freeze), grapes and watermelon. When the temperature soars (we're still waiting for that to happen here in UK...!), there's nothing better than cooling down with an ice-cold lolly. These frozen watermelon lollies are guilt-free and a great way of boosting your fruit intake and re-hydrating. They are just the thing for hot and bothered children too!

With a small knife, simply make a small slice into the edge of each watermelon wedge, to create a groove in which to insert a lolly stick. Place your watermelon lollies on a tray lined with greaseproof paper, and freeze for between 2-4 hours. Enjoy!

Photo by Hannah Hughes, Props by Lauren Miller, Food styling by me.

Griddled corn with lime, chilli and coriander butter

Photograph by Hannah Hughes, Props by Lauren Miller, Recipe and Food Styling by Georgie Hodgson (that's me!).

This moreish griddled corn is a great vegetarian option for a summer barbeque, and with sweetcorn coming into season very soon (usually around August to September time), it's the perfect time to be eating it. Make the butter as spicy as you like by adjusting the amount of chilli to suit your tastes.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

4 fresh corn on the cobs, stripped of their husks and washed
1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
handful of chopped coriander, plus extra for garnish
zest of 1 lime
150g butter, softened to room temperature

Method:

1. Mix the chopped red chilli, coriander (reserving a small amount for garnish), lime zest and butter together in a bowl with some salt and pepper and place to one side.

2. Par-boil the corn until just tender (about 5-7 minutes) in a large saucepan of salted water. Remove from the pan and finish it off by placing on a hot barbeque grill or a griddle pan for 5-10 minutes, turning regularly until it is nicely charred.

3. Remove the charred corn from the heat and place onto a serving platter. Spread the lime, chilli and coriander butter over the top of each corn (or let people do this themselves if you prefer). Finish with more fresh coriander and lime wedges for squeezing.

Panfried Mackerel with pickled rhubarb

Photography by Casey Lazonick, prop stylist Cynthia Blackett, food styling and recipe myself.

Here the tartness of rhubarb together with the oiliness of mackerel is a match made in heaven. This is a good recipe for a midweek supper; mackerel cooks in minutes, and if you have a jar of pickled rhubarb in your fridge ready to go, then there's really very little prep to do. Just serve with some new potatoes or rice, and a bit of salad.

Top tip: You can add other veg into the pickle too; I threw in some sliced radishes in the photograph below, as I had some that needed using up. Pickling is a great way of making use of leftover bits and bobs like that- generally any veg which you can eat raw works for pickling.


Pickled Rhubarb

Sterlized jars
250ml apple cider vinegar
250ml water
150g caster sugar
500g raw rhubarb, washed and cut into 2cm pieces (choose the pinkest you can find for a good colour)
Small piece of ginger, peeled and sliced
Couple of cloves, peppercorns, bay leaves for flavour

1. Add the chopped rhubarb to the sterilized jars. Pop in a couple of peppercorns, cloves and bay leaves.

2. Place the apple cider vinegar and water in a small saucepan and add the sugar. Heat until just simmering, stirring it to dissolve the sugar, then pour over the rhubarb into the jars.

3. Close the lids and leave to cool, before refrigerating. They will be ready to eat after 2 days, and will keep for around a month.

Panfried Mackerel

Mackerel fillets
Salt and Pepper
Oil for frying (I use rapeseed)

1. Add a glug of oil to a large frying pan, and place on a medium to high heat.

2. Pat the mackerel fillets dry with some kitchen towel- this will help them to crisp up. Season with salt and pepper.

3. When the oil is hot, add the mackerel skin side down. Press down on each fillet firmly with a fish slice, until you feel the fish is no longer trying to curl up. Cook for 1-2 minutes, then flip and cook for a further 30 second to 1 minute depending on the thickness of the fillet. Remove the fish to a plate lined with kitchen towel to remove excess oil, then serve.

Photography Casey Lazonick, prop stylist Cynthia Blackett, food styling and recipe myself.

A Tribute to Borough Market

Ever since I moved to London some 8 years ago and first stepped foot in Borough Market, I've referred to it as my favourite place in the city. I take every friend or relative who visits me there, whether they like it or not, and they never leave disappointed. It's the ultimate food lovers paradise, a booming and bustling hub of activity, with an incomparable energy. Visiting is a feast for the senses, with great towering wheels of parmesan piled up high, gleaming bottles of fragrant oil lining the stall shelves, and bountiful baskets of fresh seasonal produce beckoning you to buy. The traders are experts in their fields, and many of them have become my friends over the years. I can honestly say that it is a real community, and in this day and age that is something to be cherished.

With the wonderful news that Borough Market will be re-opening it's gates this Wednesday 14th June after the horror and sadness it has endured of late, I wanted to pay tribute to this special place in my own little way, by sharing some of my favourite shots that I've taken in my years of pottering around Borough Market. Some of these are taken on my DSLR camera, and some are just happy moments I've captured on my phone.

I hope that lots of you will join me in the coming weeks in visiting the Market, and filling up your shopping bags to show support to the Traders. Borough Market really is the most unique and wonderful treasure. It holds a huge place in my heart, and nothing will ever change that.

#loveborough

 

Purple & White Sprouting Broccoli with Toasted Almonds

This is so straightforward, I can barely even call it a recipe. There's just no need to mess with such a gloriously fresh and seasonal ingredient, so I say keep it simple and let the wonderful flavour of the sprouting broccoli shine through. Rather excitingly, I found white sprouting broccoli on sale at Borough Market, though I imagine that it won't have hit the supermarkets just yet, so if you can't find white, just use the more widely available purple variety.

Photography by Casey Lazonick, Prop styling by Cynthia Blackett, Food styling and recipe by myself. 

Ingredients:

1 bunch purple sprouting broccoli
1 bunch white sprouting broccoli
150g flaked almonds, toasted till golden brown in a dry frying pan
juice of half a lemon
olive oil
salt & pepper

1. Fill a large lidded saucepan with water and bring to the boil. Add a good pinch of salt. Slice any especially large broccoli florets in half length ways so they are all roughly the same size. Plunge the broccoli into the boiling water and cook for 2-3 mins, until it is slightly softened but still very aldente, and hasn't lost all of it's purple colour (the purple colour fades to dark green rapidly when cooked, but visually it's nice to retain some of that purple if you can, so don't over cook).

2. Drain the broccoli and add to a a big bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and the lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper, and give it a toss around, coating the broccoli thoroughly.

3. This can be served warm or cold. When you are ready to serve, just scatter the toasted almonds over the top and voila!

Easter Egg Florentines with Cacao Nibs (A Borough Market Comission)

In this recipe I’ve given my favourite teatime treat, Florentines, a fun Easter twist. These make lovely gifts, presented in a little nest-like Easter basket or box. They are also great fun for kids to help decorate and are perfect to take to any school Easter fair.

You will need a small egg-shaped cookie cutter, which you can buy from many cookware shops or off the internet. A couple of fine nozzle piping bags are also handy for the chocolate decoration.

Ingredients

50g butter

50g demerara sugar

50g golden syrup

50g plain flour

25g glacé cherries, chopped

25g candied peel, finely chopped

25g almonds, finely chopped

25g pistachios, finely chopped

25g cacao nibs

To decorate:

200g dark chocolate drops (70% cocoa solids)

200g white chocolate drops

1. Preheat the oven to 180C and line a baking tray with parchment paper.

2. Heat the butter, sugar and golden syrup in a pan gently, until the butter has melted. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the flour, chopped fruit and nuts and the cacao nibs until combined.

3. Place heaped teaspoons of the mixture onto the lined baking tray. It’s best to do this in small batches of around 5 Florentines at a time, as when they come out of the oven you need to act fast to cut them with your egg-shaped cutter while the mixture is still hot and soft.

4. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from the oven and use your cutter to press firmly onto the biscuits to create Easter egg shapes. A sharp knife is useful to help you trim away the edges and a small plate popped on top of your cutter will allow you to press down firmly without hurting your hands.    

5. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Repeat the process until you’ve used all your mixture up.

6. Once cooled, you can think about the decoration. Melt your chocolate in the microwave or in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. Once melted, decorate as you please. Use a piping bag to create the dots and lines, or alternatively just spread your chocolate on or drizzle it over the biscuits.

Top Tip:

Chocolatier Louise Anderson from Rabot 1745 in Borough Market gave me a great tip on how to temper dark chocolate without a thermometer. Melt two thirds of your pack of chocolate drops in a bowl over a saucepan of simmering water (make sure you don’t get any water in with the chocolate as this will make it go grainy). Do not stir. When you can see that it has nearly melted, then you can stir gently until smooth and entirely melted. Remove your bowl of chocolate from the heat, place on a dish cloth to absorb any water on the bottom of the bowl and add the remaining third of your pack of chocolate drops. Stir in gently until completely melted. To test, dab a little chocolate to your bottom lip - it should be slightly cooler than your body temperature.

Mora Restaurant, Leytonstone

I was delighted to discover a new Italian restaurant opening not 10 minutes walk from my front door. Mora Italian Restaurant http://www.moraitalianrestaurant.co.uk/ sits on High Road Leytonstone, and has a strong Sardinian influence (the co-owners are Sardinian themselves). Funnily enough, I discovered it walking past it on the way to and from my local gym...so sometimes going to the gym does pay off, though possibly not in the way I am intending it too..! Exhausted after my marathon of a gym session (naturally), I've often peered through the glass windows on my way home, eyeing up steaming bowls of fresh pasta or oozing risotto from in front of content diners. So after a particularly vigorous 10 minutes on the exercise bike last Saturday, I decided it was about time that I enjoyed some of this pasta too- I'd earned it after all!

Mora is a buzzing little place, and my brother and I were only just able to reserve a table for that evening- always a good sign. We ordered promptly, starting with a bread basket, which was brimming with three types of freshly baked warm bread; Focaccia, Carasau (a flat Sardinian crisp bread with herbs), and a brown crusty variety, plus olives, oil & vinegar for dipping. We also ordered a tomato and mozarella crostino with Sardinian salami, which was pure comfort food. Fresh tomato paste slathered on griddled toast, topped with blobs of melted mozzarella, and the softest salami, full of melt-in-the-mouth buttery fat.

For our main course we both veered towards pasta dishes- how could we not when they make their own pasta fresh each day. A generous bowl of pappardelle with wild boar ragu was just rich enough, with the beautiful thick ribbons of pasta containing just the right amount of aldente chew. We also chose taglioni cacio e pepe (taglioni with pecorino and black pepper), a good bench mark of a dish for any Italian restaurant. This was a rich and buttery nest of deliciousness, and definitely a stand out dish for me. We enjoyed our food with the house red, which was the perfect pairing.

Then onto pudding (when in Rome...), an Affogato (vanilla ice cream with espresso poured over the top) and it had to be the tiramisu; a creamy yet light coffee-soaked pud, which was another hit.

Mora was an absolute carb-filled disaster for our so-called diets, but worth every delicious mouthful. It may take a little more than my 10 minute stint on the exercise bike to redeem myself this time, but as Sophia Loren said 'I'd much rather eat pasta and drink wine than be a size zero'. Hear, hear!

Goose filled lettuce cups with brussel sprout & radish slaw and zingy asian dressing

This recipe was commissioned by Borough Market, find it on the Borough Market website here: http://boroughmarket.org.uk/recipes/goose-filled-lettuce-cups-with-sprout-radish-slaw

This feel-good recipe can be made with any leftover roasted meat and promises to bring some brightness and zest to a Boxing Day table. I’ve chosen to use goose, which I like to re-heat, as it gives a nice contrast between hot goose and cold crisp lettuce, but this is optional and cold meat would work nicely too. It’s a refreshing change from all the heavy and rich food we gorge on over Christmas; and the zingy dressing promises to blow away any post-Christmas cobwebs and revive any past-their-best relatives!

Serves 6

Ingredients 

200-300g cooked goose meat, off the bone, torn into pieces

1 baby gem lettuce, washed and broken into leaves

Small bunch of radishes

100g brussel sprouts (uncooked and washed)

2 spring onions, finely chopped

1 red chilli, seeds removed, finely chopped

½ tbsp sesame oil

Juice of half a lemon

For the dressing

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp rice wine vinegar

1 tbsp honey

½ tbsp sesame oil

½ tbsp fish sauce

1 tbsp of sesame seeds plus extra for garnishing, lightly toasted in a dry frying pan

Lime wedges to garnish

1.       Optional: Place the cooked goose meat on a baking tray and place in a preheated oven at 160C for 10 minutes, or until it is piping hot through.

2.       Mix all the ingredients for the dressing in a bowl. Season with a little salt and pepper and have a taste. The beauty of this dressing is that you can tweak it to your own liking, so feel free to add more honey for a sweeter finish or rice vinegar for sharpness.

3.       Finely shred the brussel sprouts and thinly slice the radish, keeping a couple of radish back for garnishing. Place in a bowl and add your chopped chilli, spring onions, ½ tablespoon of sesame oil and lemon juice and mix with a spoon. Season with a little salt and pepper and have a taste. 

4.       Place your lettuce leaf cups on a big serving plate and spoon the shredded goose equally into them. Top with a spoonful of brussel sprouts and radish slaw.

5.       Garnish with more sliced radish and sprinkle toasted sesame seeds onto each cup. Serve with wedges of lime for squeezing and the dressing in a small bowl with a spoon to allow guests to dress their own.

ALTERNATIVE: This recipe will work with any leftover roasted meat - turkey, lamb, beef, you name it. You can also add rice noodles to the cups to further bulk them out.