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.

  

Clementine and Ginger Cake Trifle

This recipe was commissioned by The Trustees of Borough Market. Recipe, styling and photography by me: http://www.boroughmarket.org.uk/recipes/clementine-gingerbread-trifle 

A real show stopper- this will go down a treat on Christmas day!

 For any Christmas pudding haters out there, this trifle is a nice alternative and, with its flavours of clementine and ginger, still feels just as festive and celebratory. I’ve used the delicious ginger cake from Bread Ahead Bakery and beautiful cinnamon honey from Field and Flower, which makes this recipe really very easy. I’ve chosen to prepare it in one huge trifle dish to make it a great centre piece for any party, but it works in individual glasses just as well. Top it with whatever you like - crushed ginger biscuits and crystallised ginger works well - and for a bit of colour and pizazz, you can bejewel it with glistening pomegranate seeds and red currants.

For one large trifle, serving 10 people:

Ingredients

500g Ginger cake

4 tbsp Sherry

8 Clementines

750ml Orange juice (about 8 oranges)

8 Gelatine leaves

500g Mascarpone

500g Greek yogurt

Cinnamon honey

Zest of one orange

250g Double cream

Handful of pomegranate seeds for decoration

Handful of ginger biscuits, crushed

Handful crystallised ginger, chopped

Method

1. Start off by making your orange jelly. Heat the orange juice in a pan until nearly boiling. Soak the gelatine in cold water and leave for 5 minutes until softened. Take the pan off the heat, squeeze out the water from your gelatine and stir it into the heated orange juice. Leave the mixture to cool a little.
2. Meanwhile cut the ginger cake into 2cm cubes. Place at bottom of your trifle dish and press down a bit to ensure it’s nice and snug. Drizzle the sherry over the cake.
3. Peel the clementines, removing as much of the white pith as you can whilst keeping the fruit whole. Slice 1cm slices across the fruit to give you disks of clementine. Lay the slices on top of your ginger cake base. Try to make sure that there is no sponge visible, as the fruit will act as a barrier to prevent the jelly mixture from just soaking straight into the sponge. Place some slices upright against the glass to create a fantastic retro look.
4. Carefully pour the jelly over your ginger cake and fruit. If you find that the clementines start floating out of place, pour in just a little of the jelly to start with, and allow that to set in the fridge, before pouring in the rest. This will ensure that your beautifully arranged clementines stay in place. Leave in the fridge until the jelly is set (usually about 5 hours).
5. When the jelly is set, beat together the mascarpone and Greek yogurt until smooth and add cinnamon honey and orange zest to taste.  Chill again until this has solidified slightly.

If you feel you want to give your trifle a bit more height (and this is optional depending on how full your trifle bowl is at this point!), whip the double cream to soft peaks and spoon on top of your trifle. Chill until serving time, when you can sprinkle with your chosen toppings - in this instance crushed ginger biscuits, crystallised ginger and pomegranate seeds.

This recipe was commissioned by The Trustees of Borough Market. Recipe, styling and photography by msyelf. 

Autumn Comforts: Butternut Squash

There's something wonderfully comforting about butternut squash. From its slightly sweet flavour and soft texture, to its beautiful sunset orange hue, it is the perfect ingredient to be cooking with at Autumn time. It's worth noting that you should be a little careful with other squash varieties- some of these beautiful Gourds we are seeing popping up at markets  at the moment are often only decorative, and not very nice to eat, though very pretty to look at. You're always safe with a butternut squash though, and it's got lots of beautiful flesh to give. It's also a great carrier for flavour. In the two recipes below I have paired it firstly with sage, a mellow and aromatic herb that I love to use in pasta dishes, and secondly with chilli, which gives my butternut soup a fabulous kick.

Top Top: When deseeding the butternut squash don't throw the seeds away- these little gems are delicious when roasted and a high source of fibre, plant-based protein and vitamins. Give them a wash and remove any bits of squash. Allow to dry on some kitchen towel. Place in a roasting tin with a little olive oil, salt and if you like a bit of spice, try sprinkling some hot smoked paprika on too. Roast at 180C for around 20-25 minutes, until they are a dark nutty brown colour. Sprinkle on salad or soups, or just enjoy as a snack. Waste Not Want Not!

Pretty little things squash seeds, and good for you too

Roasted butternut squash seeds with olive oil, salt and hot smoked paprika

Rigatoni with Butternut Squash, Sage and Feta

Serves 4

A perfect mid-week supper, this dish is high in the ease and comfort factor. I have chosen Rigatoni pasta in this recipe, simply because I like the satisfying bite that these big tubes of pasta give the dish. Any pasta would work of course, but I prefer to opt for varieties you can scoop up with a spoon alone, like Penne, Conchilglie (shells) or Orecchiette, simply because I like to be able to sit on the sofa with a big bowl full and eat it with minimal effort.

300g Rigatoni pasta or similar
1 large butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and chopped into bite size pieces
Large bunch of sage leaves, large stalks removed and chopped (fresh sage is best, but dried will work)
Olive oil
Knob of butter
1 large red onion, sliced
1 large clove garlic, finely chopped
1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped (optional- if you like a little spice) 
Large bunch of spinach
150g feta cheese 

1. Preheat oven to 200C. Place the butternut squash in a roasting tray, and sprinkle generously with half your chopped sage, and salt and pepper. Drizzle with olive oil, give it a good shake so it's all lightly coated in the oil, sage and seasoning. Roast in the oven for 25-30 minutes, giving it another shake mid-way through, until the squash is soft throughout and starting to going crisp on the outside.

2. Cook the Rigatoni in salted boiling water, according to pack instructions (usually 10-12 mins)

3. Meanwhile in a large pan, Melt the butter, and gently fry the onion in it until soft and beginning to caramelize. When they are soft and sticky, add the garlic, the rest of the chopped sage, and red chilli and fry for a couple of minutes till softened, adding more butter or olive oil if needed.

4. Next add the spinach to the pan and allow to wilt for a few minutes. Add your cooked rigatoni and butternut squash to the pan and gently fold to coat the pasta and ensure it's all mixed nicely. If the sauce is looking a little dry, just add a drizzle more olive oil and a knob of butter. Check the seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste (bear in mind the feta is salty, so don't go over board).

5. Place in serving bowls and crumble feta over generously. Enjoy with a good film and glass of red wine- bliss!

Butternut Squash and Chilli Soup

This soup is a great winter warmer, and it's a good idea to make a big saucepan-full on a weekend, and freeze it in batches, so you can dig it out whenever suits for a fuss-free dinner or a hearty office lunch. The amount of liquid needed in this recipe depends entirely on the size of the squash you start with, and on how thick you like your soup- the bigger the squash the more liquid you will need. I suggest you start with the amount I have recommended here, blitz it up, see how it looks, then adjust the liquid levels by adding extra stock, hot water or a drop of milk.


1 large butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and chopped into large cubes
Olive oil
2 onions, chopped
1 large clove of garlic, chopped
1 red chilli, finely chopped
900ml veg stock
4 tbsp creme fraiche


1. Preheat oven to 200C. Place the butternut squash in a roasting tin, sprinkle with salt and pepper, drizzle with olive oil and roast for around 30 mins, giving it a shake up/turn half way through, until it is soft and starting to go crisp at the edges.

2. Melt the butter in a large saucepan, and gently fry the onions until soft. Add the garlic and ¾ of the red chilli and fry for a few minutes until soft.

3. Tip the roasted squash back in the pan, add the stock and creme fraiche and give it a good stir. Use a stick blender to blend your soup, or pour into a liquidizer and blitz until smooth. If the soup is too thick, you can add a little more veg stock, hot water, or even a drop of milk to get it to your desired consistency.

4. Give it a taste, and add seasoning accordingly. Serve hot with a dollop of creme fraiche, a sprinkle of chopped chilli, and some of the roasted squash seeds (see Top Tip at the top of blog post).

Crème fraiche going in.....

A Day Trip to Orford, Suffolk

Last Saturday I visited Orford, a very pretty little Suffolk coastal town. Aside from getting some gloriously fresh sea air and the odd precious glimmer of sunshine, our day turned out to be pretty food-orientated - the absolute best kind of day!

What nicer place to sit and read a book?

A pretty wisteria-draped doorway spotted along the way

We started off with breakfast in the form of the most delicious freshly baked pastries and Monmouth coffee at the somewhat iconic Pump Street Bakery. From the outside, Pump Street Bakery looks like your standard Suffolk-pink chocolate-box town house. But to the side of the building, just above the door, you'll see the swirly and rather lovely sign painted onto the shell-pink wall, behind which lies a cosy, top-notch bakery.

Pretty as a picture, Pump Street Bakery

Aswell as buying a stash of baked goodies to take home for later (when in Rome...), we had a breakfast fit for a King, sharing sweet and sticky cinnamon buns, the most delicious buttery almond croissants, and a bear claw (an almond paste filled pastry which is shaped a little like a bear claw, hence the name). There's not all that much space to move inside the bakery, and as you'd expect it's a busy and bustling little place, but we managed to grab a table outside. My advice- get there as early as you can bear to. They also do more extensive cooked breakfasts- I saw a rather substantial and heavenly looking bacon and avocado bap floating past to a nearby table, so if you're in Orford, this is definitely your breakfast spot (and possibly lunch and afternoon tea too!)

Freshly baked goodies at Pump Street bakery

Decisions, decisions.....

But first, Coffee- a perfect flat white to perk me up

A soft and sticky cinnamon bun, devoured within minutes

An almond paste-filled bear claw

Honestly, everything you buy from this bakery will be top-draw. We took chocolate brownies back home for later, which we kept in the fridge- a cardinal sin some might say, but actually I would recommend doing this, as eaten cold they became even more chewy and fudgy. We also bought baguettes, a ham sandwich and some of there Pump Street Bakery chocolate to take home (yes, they make incredible chocolate too, which is mixed with excess bread crumbs- sounds weird, but trust me it delicious). We were officially out of control and living some kind of carb-filled dream!

Make sure you don't miss their beautiful bean-to-bar chocolate range too, what a lovely present it would make

Goodies to take home

After breakfast we went for a long walk along the sea wall, to burn off some of that pastry (it's all about balance guys..), before heading to our lunch venue, The Butley Orford Oysterage. With a name like that I knew I was going to like it before I'd even set foot in it.

As unpretentious from the outside as it is on inside in terms of decor, service and food, The Butley Orford Oyster serves up some seriously comforting home-style cooking. It is primarily a fish restaurant (so not the place to take your veggie mates), but if you like your portions big and your flavours strong, then this is the place for you. I'm talking hot and bubbling fish pies straight out of the oven, a giant fillet of cod, simply grilled and smothered in parsley sauce, and of course the most deliciously plump oysters, home-grown in their own oyster beds nearby, and seriously some of the best I've had. They also have an off-site smokehouse, where they smoke their own trout, mackerel, salmon, cods roes and more, all of which is served up in the restaurant. The desserts too were simple but good. A selection of fruit sorbets was a nice palate cleanser, and a slice of warm chocolate and almond cake with pistachio ice-cream was the perfect sweet treat to end on. The interior is informal and humble, and almost cafeteria-like. I don't mean that in a negative way, I just mean that the interior won't wow. But when the food is this good, who cares!

A humble starter- smoked mackerel pate and hot toast

Grilled prawns, simple and delightful

The Butley Oyster legendary fish pie

About as unpretentious and as delicious as it gets

Because every good meal ends with warm chocolate and almond cake with pistachio ice-cream

Hopefully this review of my day trip to Orford will inspire some of you to visit this great little town with plenty to shout about. In summer particularly it's a great destination to get some fresh sea air and jolly good food too. I know I'll certainly be revisiting!