Unctuous & Delicious Autumnal Tart

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Balsamic Vinegar, Books, Butternut, Cape Town, Clifton Kitchen, Cook Books, Cooking Through The Seasons, Cooks, Food Writing, Foodblogs, Kate Abbott, Lifestyle, Pastry, Peppery greens, Pgotography, recipes, Rocket, Savoury Tart, Tart, Travel, travel Writing, Vegetarian, Watercress

Roasted Butternut Tart Served With Salad

Its cold, rain clouds are mustering over the sea, pregnant with anticipation of what’s to come. The  mixture of slate coloured hues across the expanse of sea make me feel hungry,  I need something bright and unctuous to feed my guests. In the larder I have a good stock of butternut and in the fridge some peppery greens, perfect ingredients for a delicious flaky autumnal tart.

INGREDIENTS

Serves 6 – 8

· 1 quantity short crust pastry or pre-prepared puff pastry (recipe below)

· 5oo g roasted butternut chunks

· 20 fresh sage leaves

· 50 ml olive oil

· Salt and freshly ground pepper

· 100 g pecorino or mature cheddar

· 3 eggs

· 200 ml fresh cream

· Watercress or Rocket leaves

· Balsamic vinegar dressing

PREPARATION

Make the short crust pastry and refrigerate

Preheat the oven to 230C.

Peel and deseed the butternut and cut into chunks. Place into a roasting pan, scatter over 10 of the sage leaves torn into pieces, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for about 40 minutes, until nicely coloured and cooked through.

Reduce the oven temperature to 180C

Roll out the pastry and line a 23cm loose bottom baking tin. Blind bake at 180C, for 10-15 minutes.

Sprinkle the grated cheese over the base of the bottom of the pastry, top with the roasted butternut chunks. Scatter over the remainder of sage leaves.

Beat the egg and cream together, season with salt and pepper and pour over the tart filling. Bake at 180C for about 35 minutes. The tart should feel firm in the middle when gently touched.

Serve with a side salad of either watercress or rocket leaves dressed with some balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

Best served at room temperature

Short Crust Pastry

INGREDIENTS

· 225g plain flour

· 110g butter, cut into cubes

· 1 whole egg

· 1 pinch of salt

· 3 tbsp. of iced water

PREPARATION

Place the flour and butter (sprinkled around the flour) in a food processor.
Place the lid on top and briefly blitz the mixture using the pulse button. Be careful not to over mix it.
Add the egg, salt and iced water. Briefly pulse the mixture again, the moment it starts to become crumbly, stop.
Gather it into your hands and gently pat it together. Do not knead it. Wrap it in cling film and put into the fridge.

Vegetable & Ricotta Torte

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Books, broccoli, Cape Town, Clifton Kitchen, Cook Books, Cooking thorugh the seasons, feta, food and drink, food and travel writing, Food Blogs, gluten free, Kate Abbott, Lifestyle, Mascarpone, News, onion, Parmesan, Photography, Pie, recipes, Ricotta, spinach, Torte, travel Writing, Vegetables, Writing

 

This torte is one I make often using my favourite seasonal vegetables. It is wonderfully adaptable; to be enjoyed in either winter or summer, using whatever vegetables are in season. I usually make my own Ricotta, which I prefer; recipe included.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

140g broccoli spears

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion chopped,

2 courgettes (zucchini) finely sliced

2 garlic cloves finely chopped and bruised to release flavour

120 g baby spinach

1 tablespoon chopped lemon thyme or basil

80 g parmesan, grated

250 g ricotta

225 g mascarpone

25 g feta, finely crumbled

4-5 eggs

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Bring a pan of salted water to the boil and add the broccoli, cook until stems are soft. Drain and plunge into cold water for a few seconds to stop the cooking process and to retain the colour of the broccoli. Chop into small chunks.

In a saucepan, heat the olive oil, add the onion and cook over medium heat until soft. Turn up the heat and add the courgettes, cook until softened and golden brown. Add the garlic and cook for another minute or two, then add the spinach, mix in and cook until the spinach has wilted.

Remove pan from heat, add the broccoli, the herbs and season to taste with salt and pepper. Set mixture aside to cool.

Lightly butter a 20 cm spring form tin and dust with some of the grated parmesan, about 1 tablespoon of cheese should do.

Mix together the ricotta, mascarpone, feta, eggs and about 50g of the parmesan. Add the mixture to the cooled vegetables, folding through to incorporate. Adjust seasoning.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and scatter over the remaining parmesan. Place the tin on a baking sheet which will catch any drips and place in the oven. Bake for about 40-50 minutes. When cooked the top should be golden brown and the mixture still slightly wobbly in the centre.

Remove and leave to rest and set for about 20 minutes before serving. At this point the torte may be cooled completely, then refrigerated and served chilled as a summer torte. Serve with a salad.

Home-made Ricotta

Makes 1 cup

Ingredients

4 cups whole milk

½ tsp. sea salt

3 tablespoons of either distilled vinegar, fresh lemon or lime juice.

Method

Place the milk in a heavy bottom pot. Add salt and heat gently, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching until the milk reaches a temperature of about 80-90C, or if you don’t have a thermometer, heat until the milk starts to simmer and foam at sides. Do not boil.

Remove from heat and add vinegar or the lemon/lime juice. Give the mixture one or two stirs, and then leave alone for the curds to develop. This should take about 5 minutes.

Line a sieve with cheese cloth and place over a bowl. Gently pour the milk mixture into the cheesecloth, disturbing the curds as little as possible in the process. Leave to drain for 5 minutes then bring the ends of the cloth together and tie the bag to the tap over the sink and leave to continue draining for about 15 minutes. The ricotta is now ready to use. The longer it drains the drier the ricotta will be.

Long Distance Tea for Two

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baking, Blog, Books, Cape Town, Clifton Kitchen, Devonshire Honey Cake, Entertainment, food, Hi tea, honey, Lifestyle, Photography, Photos, recipes, tea, Travel, travel Writing, Writing

My long distance correspondent Harold Boardman sent me this delicious recipe for an easy to make cake. It is wonderfully moist, fragrant with honey and just perfect for a chilly afternoon tea, or if you prefer, serve it warm with some custard and you have a lovely dessert.

The cakes flavour can be mild or strong depending on the type of honey you use for the final glaze.

Hi Kate,

I may have mentioned I don’t do baking but this recipe is so simple I had a go earlier with average results!! In the hands of an expert like your good self it will probably taste excellent – hope you try it and mention it in your blog !!

Harold.

Thank you Harold, I love the cake and I am enjoying it with my tea.

Devonshire Honey Cake

Ingredients

250g clear honey, plus about 2 tbsp. extra to glaze

225g unsalted butter

100g dark muscovado sugar

3 large eggs beaten

300g self-raising flour

Method

Preheat the oven to 160C/gas 3/or fan oven fan 140C.

Butter and line a 20cm round loose bottomed cake tin.

Cut the butter into pieces and drop into a medium pan with the honey and sugar. Melt slowly over a low heat. When the mixture looks quite liquid, increase the heat under the pan and boil for about one minute. Leave to cool for 15-20 minutes, to prevent the eggs cooking when they are mixed in.

Beat the eggs into the melted honey mixture using a wooden spoon. Sift the flour into a large bowl and pour in the egg and honey mixture, beating until you have a smooth, quite runny batter.

Pour the mixture into the tin and bake for 50 minutes-1 hour until the cake is well-risen, golden brown and springs back when pressed. A skewer pushed into the centre of the cake should come out clean.

Turn the cake out on a wire rack. Warm 2 tablespoons honey in a small pan and brush over the top of the cake to give a sticky glaze, then leave to cool. Keeps for 4-5 days wrapped, in an airtight tin.

It’s Autumn & Temperatures are Dropping

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Autumn foods, beetroot, Books, Cape Town, Chefs, Clifton Kitchen - Cooking thorugh the seasons, Cooks, Fettuccini, food and drink, Food Blogging, Food Writing, In Season, Lifestyle, Pasta, Photography, recipes, Travel

In season for May and June

It’s time to select and cook with the best that autumn has to offer and what better place to be than in the cosy warmth of kitchen.

The view from my kitchen at the moment is of a large deep sea fishing trawler that has run aground on the beach in front of my home. The poor souls on board are hoping that the rainy and windy weather will improve sufficiently for the large tugs that are on standby, to be able to tow them back into the water. But I digress; it is time for me to focus on food.

My autumn box of produce has arrived, filled with lovely things from which to create some warming autumn meals, and a friend who is a regular guest for dinner, brought me a pheasant and a beautiful piece of fresh skinned and boned fillet of cob.

The way I like to prepare this fish is to cut it into portions and place in a baking dish, generously drizzled with olive oil. To this I add anchovies, rosemary sprigs, Kalamata olives and the juice of two lemons and season with a little salt and some pepper, then cover the fish with thin slices of lemon and bake in a hot oven to cook for about 15 to 20 minutes.

For the pheasant, I simply roast the bird whole with a prune stuffing and some sage butter tucked under the skin and baste frequently throughout the cooking process. Another good way to cook pheasant is to pot roast. Pheasant legs can also be braised with butter, shallots, Calvados and tart green apples and finished with a little crème fraîche.

Also in today’s box are half a dozen apples. A hardy fruit with a long shelf life, the apple can be harvested in summer and kept in cold storage during the winter months. Apples form the basis of many of my desserts, from the English apple Charlotte to the French tarte aux pommes. It is also a classic match for pork and a good counter point for bitter type cheeses such as cheddar.

Apples in my home are eaten raw, grated, sliced cooked, poached, stewed or baked into puddings, pies and tarts. Stewed and pureed they can be used in sweet and savoury sauces. Ring the changes and serve apple as a vegetable. Preheat the oven to 200C. Cut and core unpeeled apple into wedges, cut peeled Spanish onion into wedges, place in a roasting pan. Scatter with sage leaves, drizzle with olive oil and cider vinegar and season with sea salt, freshly ground pepper and a light sprinkling of brown sugar. Roast for about 30 minutes until golden and tender. This accompaniment is nice to serve with roast pork or pork sausages.

Lemons are one of my favourite ingredients. They invigorate food, add colour, good to squeeze over roast lamb or stuffed into chicken either fresh or as a preserve. Lemons also make wonderful desserts such as saucy lemon pudding, lemon soufflé or lemon posset. Now is a good time to preserve lemons in salt, they will be ready to use when winter sets in and until then they will brighten up the kitchen shelf looking like little jars of sunshine.

In the markets you will find lots of baby cauliflower, large and colourful ones too. This is an understated vegetable that can be fantastic if cooked with a delicate hand and some imagination. Serve cauliflower cheese with lamb or as a gratin, blanched then laid in a pan and covered with a thin layer of béchamel sauce, flavoured with bay leaf, nutmeg, a sprinkle of gruyere cheese and a few blobs of butter; this is a good accompaniment to steak or chicken. Or sauté in olive oil and butter together with some onions, and potatoes until cooked, add a dash of cream and seasoning then blend into a soft creamy puree.

Look for sweet purple bulbs of green garlic; much milder than mature garlic and nice to cook in a frittata. Just soften the garlic in butter, and then add eggs, parsley and chives and you have a wonderful quick and delicious meal.

Meat wise now is the time to seek out a good butcher who should have really good supplies organically farmed pork and beef.

Also in season are:

Fruit

Apples, avocado, bananas, cumquats, custard apples, grapes, grapefruit, kiwifruit, lemons, limes, mandarins, melons, nuts, oranges, papaya, passion fruit, pears, persimmons, quince, rhubarb

Vegetables

Asian greens, beans, beetroot, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, capsicums, carrots, cauliflower, celeriac, celery, chillies, cucumbers, daikon, eggplant, fennel, garlic, ginger, horseradish, Jerusalem artichokes, kale, kohlrabi, leeks, lettuces, mushrooms, okra, olives, onions, parsnips, peas, potatoes, pumpkins, shallots, silver beat, spinach, squash, swedes, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, turnips, witlof, zucchini.

My dinner this evening will be ….

Fettuccini served with Baby Beetroot and Bitter Greens.

Serves 3-4

Ingredients

500 g Fettuccini

3 baby beetroot with leaves, washed

2-3 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra to serve

100 ml water

3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

50 g butter

100 g stinging nettles (or baby spinach)

Crumbled soft goats cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Wash the beetroot, trim the leaves and reserve. Place the baby beetroot in a roasting pan, drizzle with half the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Add the water to the pan, cover the pan with foil and roast the beetroot at 220C until tender, this will take about an hour. Once the beet root is cooked let cool, then peel and slice and set aside.

Cook the pasta in boiling salted water for the time specified on the packet.

While the pasta is cooking, heat a frying pan over medium high heat, add the rest of the olive oil, butter and garlic and cook until fragrant, about 20 seconds, add the nettles, and beetroot leaves and cook until leaves wilt, about 2 minutes. Add the beetroot slices and toss together. Scatter over goats’ cheese, drizzle with a little extra olive oil, check for seasoning and serve immediately.

Autumn’s Rich Colours Flood the Kitchen

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Autumn, Books, Books for Cooks, Egg Recipes, eggs, food and drink, Food Blogs, French Tarragon, Fruit, In Season, Life, Mushrooms, olives, pears, Photography, Travel, Vegetables

In season for April

Autumn’s rich colours flood the kitchen and in my organic box are pears, shallots, silver beet, freshly foraged mushrooms and farm fresh organic eggs.

Shallots are small delicious morsels of the allium family. Their flavour is more subtle than common onions. They are quite delicious when caramelised and served as a shallot tarte tatin with goats cheese or as a caramelized shallot and pear salad.

The elegant fragrant sweet pears are wonderful baked with honey, butter, cinnamon and a vanilla pod until they are soft and lightly caramelised, served with a dollop of double cream or poached in red wine syrup flavoured with orange zest and star anise.

Enjoy a simple sauté of silver beet with garlic and a splash of oil from a jar or tin of anchovies. Don’t discard the thick crisp stems. Instead blanch them in salty water, drain and place in a baking dish, add a little cream or a béchamel sauce, some cheese such as Gruyere and a sprinkle of nutmeg and you have a delicious gratin to serve as a side dish.

Enjoy the last of the French tarragon before it goes dormant during the cold months ahead. It is wonderful in most savoury dishes and sauces such as béarnaise and of course tarragon chicken, a perfect meal for when evenings start to cool.

For a simple yet beautiful dish for breakfast or light lunch, there is little to beat the sublime combination of a soft boiled organic egg, homemade aioli, a sprinkle of celery salt and smoked paprika and finished off with fried celery leaves, then garnish with some capers.

Also in season

Fruit

Apples, bananas, figs,, grapes, guavas. Kiwi fruit, lemons, limes, mandarins, oranges, papaya, passion fruit, plums, pomegranate, quince, rhubarb, olives, tomatoes

Vegetables

Asian greens, avocado, beans, beetroot, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, capsicum, carrots, celeriac, celery, daikon, eggplant, fennel, garlic, ginger, leeks, lettuce, mushrooms, okra, onions, parsnips, peas, potatoes, pumpkin, spinach, squash, sweet potatoes, swedes, turnips, witlof, zucchini

Herbs and seasonings

Garlic, ginger, last of the French tarragon, horseradish

Farewell To Summer …..

Tags

Autumn, Blogging News, Books, Books for Cooks, Bread, Food Blogs, Food styling, Food writer, Foods in season, Fruit, Life, Mayonnaise, nuts and seeds, organic, Photography, recipe, stews, Travel, Vegetables, Writing

In Season For March

With the month of March comes the dancing in of autumn, the days are cooling and the mornings are noticeably darker. It is time to welcome back stews and other autumnal treats.

Apples continue to be in season and make wonderful warm desserts or can simply be cut into quarters, sautéed in butter until softened and slightly caramelized, to serve with roast pork or with game birds such as pheasant. The classic Waldorf salad becomes one of my favourite light lunches or side dishes at this time of the year; all the ingredients required to make it of which apple is just one component, are of course in season, providing a perfect end result.

Enjoy the last of the blackberries; and spoil your family with this easy tart. Blind bake a short crust pastry case and when cooled fill with following mixture. For the filling you will need seeds from 1 vanilla pod, 250 ml Mascarpone, and 100 ml pouring cream, 2 tablespoons sugar, 40 ml Vin Santo. Whip all the ingredients together until nice and shiny. Fill the cooked and cooled pastry case with the mixture and top with blackberries. Drizzle over the top with a little blackberry jam, gently heated and thinned with a little water or Vin Santo, cooled before drizzling over the tart.

Capsicums are at their peak from summer to autumn, make the most of them while in season. I love them simply roasted then sprinkled with herbs, salt and olive oil and eaten with sourdough or ciabatta bread; wonderful served either hot or cold and goes well with lamb, chicken, or grilled beef.

Eggplant with its alluring shinny purple black skin is a wonderful carrier of flavours and as such can completely transform a dish. Dusted with flour, fried and layered with a freshly made tomato sauce, basil leaves, parmesan and buffalo mozzarella, then baked, provides an unctuous simple dish to serve either as a starter or a main meal together with some bread; I usually choose a sourdough loaf.

Tomatoes; picking them fresh from my garden, still warm from the sun, served on toasted bruschetta or sourdough, sprinkled with salt flakes and drizzled with peppery olive oil is another one of my favourite light lunches.

Super markets although convenient, I have to say don’t sell the bright flavoured tomatoes I am seeking. Instead and sadly to say, I find the tomatoes they offer to be lacklustre, hard and rather devoid of flavour. If you want great tomatoes, seek out the organic growers at your nearest farmers market, or try growing your own, it is a lot of fun and extremely rewarding.

Also in Season:

Fruit

Apples, avocado, bananas, berries, figs, grapes, lemons, limes, melon, nectarines, oranges, papaya, passion fruit, peaches, pears, plums, raspberries

Vegetables

Asian greens, beans, capsicum, celery, chillies, cucumber, eggplant, fennel, leeks, lettuce, mushrooms, onions, peas, potatoes, pumpkin, shallots, silver beet, squash, sweet corn, sweet potato, tomatoes, zucchini

Other

Almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, Olives

Classical Waldorf Salad

This is an iconic and classical recipe and one with a long pedigree. For best results use the tender stalks from the inner part of the celery

Ingredients

75 g walnuts toasted and a few extra to garnish

2 red apples

Juice of 1 lemon

3 tender celery stalks, finely sliced

1 radicchio leaves torn into bite size pieces

2 Witlof leaves separated

200 g red seedless grapes

1 cup parsley leaves, use flat leaf parsley

Mayonnaise

2 egg yolks

1 tbsp. red wine or chardonnay vinegar

1 tsp. Dijon mustard

130 ml olive oil

25 ml walnut oil

Lemon juice to taste

Makes about 200ml

Garnish

A few leaves from the heart of the celery

A few extra walnuts toasted

Method

To make the mayonnaise: place the egg yolks, vinegar and mustard in a food processor and process for a few seconds. Combine the two oils and with motor running add the oils in a thin steady stream. The mixture should come together in a nice thick emulsion. Add lemon juice, to taste and season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Cut the apple into julienne (small strips) place in a bowl and combine with half the lemon juice. Add walnuts, celery, radicchio, witlof, grapes and parsley. Add 2 tablespoons mayonnaise and remaining lemon juice. Toss to combine and season to taste. Scatter with a few celery leaves from the heart of the celery and a few extra walnuts and serve.

Ancient & Noble Fruits are In Season

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Blogs, Books, Cape Town, Chefs, Cook Books, Cooks, figs, food, Food Writing, Fruit and vegetables, Grapes, Herbs, In Season, Life, Photography, Sardines, Spices, Travel, travel Writing, Veal

In Season for February

Delicate and sweetly sensual, the fig is now in season; its arrival is one of the great pleasures of the long hot summer. Figs and grapes are considered to be ancient noble fruits. Most of the varieties grown locally in most gardens including my own, are the common green skinned variety, but there are also purple skinned varieties.

Once ripened the fig is extremely perishable and best consumed straight away or stored at the most for two to three days in the fridge.

Figs make a great salad when teamed with rocket leaves, torn basil and buffalo mozzarella, drizzled with a little aged balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil. They also make wonderful accompaniments to many cheeses, poultry, and cured pork. They are also beautiful served as a dessert.

But today I am using the noble fruit in a beautiful salad.

Salad of Fig, Manchego Cheese & Walnuts, served with a Grape Dressing

Serves 6

Ingredients

110 g walnuts lightly roasted

100 g rocket

6 figs torn into chunks

120 g Manchego cheese, shaved

Dressing

½ tablespoons honey

1½ tablespoons good quality balsamic vinegar

2 shallots finely chopped

80 ml walnut or olive oil

200 g red or black grapes cut in half

Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Method

For the dressing; whisk the honey, vinegar, chopped shallots and oil in a bowl to combine, then add the grapes and season to taste.

To assemble; toss the figs, rocket and walnuts together, then divide among the plates, and drizzle with the grape dressing, then scatter the Manchego cheese shavings over the top of each salad.

Also in season:

Fruits:

Avocado, bananas, Blackberries, figs, grapes, guavas, kiwifruit, lychees, mangoes, honeydew melons, rock melons, nectarines, oranges, passion fruit, peaches, plums, raspberries, rhubarb, strawberries, watermelon

Vegetables:

Beans, Borlotti beans, butter beans, capsicum, celery, chillies, cucumbers, eggplant, fennel, leeks, lettuce, okra, onions, peas, radishes, squash, sweet corn, tomatoes, zucchini

Herbs & Spices:

Basil, Chervil, Rocket,  Tarragon, Young ginger,

Fish & Meat:

Calamari, Sardines, Veal

The Christmas Cake I Bake the Most Often

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Alomonds, baking, Books, Books for Cooks, Brandy, Candied orange peel, Cape Town, Chefs, Christmas, Christmas cake, Christmas pudding, Cooks, Currants, Food Blogs, Food Writing, Life, Photography, raisins, recipes, Sultanas, Travel, Writing

Of the many Christmas cake recipes under my sleeve, this one I enjoy making the most often. It is moist, not too dark or overly rich and always a pleaser at family gatherings. For me it also doubles as a perfectly lovely Christmas dessert.  An added bonus is that it is also very easy to make. The cake is delicious served with coffee, tea or sweet wine.

Christmas Cake

Serves 12

Prep time 30 minutes. Cooking time 5 hours plus cooling

Ingredients

Part 1

500 gm. sultanas

500 gm. raisins

250 gm. currants

250 gm. chopped candied orange or dried orange peel

180 ml brandy

Part 2

200 gm. blanched almonds

400 gm. butter

450 gm. brown sugar

9 eggs, lightly beaten

450 gm. plain flour

½ tsp. baking powder

Method

Start the first part of this recipe the day before. Combine the dried fruit, candied orange and brandy in a large bowl, cover and leave to macerate overnight.

You will need a 23cm square cake tin for this recipe. Line the base with a double layer of brown paper, and then line the sides with four layers of brown paper. Cut a further layer for the top of the cake. Lightly grease and snip a few holes in it and set aside while you mix your ingredients for the cake.

Preheat the oven to 130C.

Finely chop about 150gm of the almonds, reserving about 100gm to decorate the top of the cake.

Beat the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy; add the egg mixture a little at a time, beating well after each addition. Then stir in the fruit and chopped almonds, add the flour and baking powder, stir until well combined.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan. Smooth the top and decorate with the reserved almonds.

Cover the cake with prepared brown paper and bake on lowest oven shelf for 5 hours. Turn off the heat and cool in the oven overnight.

This cake makes a lovely Christmas gift.