My Favourite…. Confit of Summer fresh Sweet Peppers

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Shelves are overflowing with wonderful summer produce and the array of capsicums at the moment is a cornucopia of delight. I love them raw in salads, grilled, baked with various fillings or as I am doing today, confit of sweet peppers. The peppers taste superb if they are grilled on a barbecue, but as I don’t have the barbecue fired up,  instead I am grilling them over the gas flame.

Confit vegetables are so wonderfully versatile. You can serve them as tapas, or as a topping on toasted country bread, they are absolutely gorgeous in pasta dishes, or serve them in salads. Today I eat them warm, stuffed into pita bread and topped with feta cheese.

The confit of peppers can be kept in their preserving oil in the fridge for about two weeks, presuming they last that long. To serve them warm, simply heat them under a grill or in a saucepan with a splash of the preserving oil.

Confit of summer fresh sweet peppers

Ingredients

500 g red peppers (or mixed colours if you wish)

600 ml light olive oil

2-3 sprigs of thyme

1 bay leaf

1 sprig rosemary, about 6 cm in length

2 garlic cloves sliced

1 tsp. peppercorns, lightly crushed

Method

Rub the pepper all over with a light film of oil, and then grill them turning frequently until the skin is blackened and blistered all over. Then plunge them into a bowl of ice water. Remove and peel. Cut the peppers lengthways, remove the membrane and seeds and cut each half into two.

Heat the oil in a saucepan until very hot, but not smoking. Add the peppers, thyme, bay leaf, rosemary, garlic and peppercorns. Cook over low heat for about 30 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave the peppers to cool in the saucepan. Transfer the cooled peppers to a jar; pour in oil to cover, then seal. Keep in the fridge until ready to use.

Olive, Onion & Thyme Quiche served with Marinated Tomatoes

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There is an ancient pleasing flavour to olives, a flavour as old as God. There will be three of us for supper this evening and I’m making a quiche with an olive twist, serving with it the marinated tomatoes that I made yesterday.

As I prepare the final touches to the table, the smell of roses, mingled with Jasmine, light, fruity and romantic, wafts in through the open doors. Although a lovely evening, its chilly breeze makes it impossible to eat among all this billowing, fragrant chaos as I would have liked to. It’s time to close the doors against the chill and bring warmth into the room before everyone arrives.

For this recipe you can use bought, pre-made pastry which makes the quiche quick and easy to do. For accompaniments serve a nice mixed salad or a mixture of steamed broccoli and spinach dressed with vinaigrette, or just sliced tomatoes with onions.

 

Serves 4

Ingredients

For the Short crust Pastry:

225 g plain white flour

Tiny pinch of salt

110 g butter

Water or beaten organic egg mixed with a little water

Ingredients

For the filling:

150 g olives, pitted and chopped half

200 ml cream

3 eggs

2 onions, sliced

15 ml finely chopped fresh thyme leaves

80 g grated Gruyère or Emmenthal cheese

Grated zest of 1 lemon

Salt and pepper to taste

3 tbsp. olive oil

Method for pastry

Start with the pastry. Sift the flour into a large bowl with a pinch of salt. Cut the butter into cubes and rub into the flour with your fingertips, until mixture looks like coarse breadcrumbs. Add just enough water or egg and water mix to bring the pastry together. Do this using a fork or a knife.

Collect the pastry into a ball with your hands. Cover with cling film and leave to rest in the fridge for 15 minutes.

Roll pastry to fit a suitable baking container, cover with baking paper and fill with baking beans or rice. Bake blind in a preheated  oven at 180C for about 12 minutes, the pastry should be a light golden colour. Remove and leave to cool while you prepare the filling.

Method for filling

Heat the olive oil in a pan and sauté onions gently until golden in colour.

In a bowl gently mix together the onion, olives, thyme, grated cheese, lemon zest, the beaten eggs, cream, and seasoning.

Pour the mixture into pastry case. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 C until the filling sets , approximately 35-40 minutes.

Serve with salad of choice.

Linger a Little Longer with Fresh Ricotta & Spinach Crêpes

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The spinach in my garden is still producing new leaves, just the thing I want for what I am planning. The spinach together with the gorgeous fresh ricotta, herbs and seasoning, will make a rather nice filling for some posh crêpes

Fresh Ricotta & Spinach Crêpes

Serves 4 as a main meal or 8 as a starter

Crêpe batter

500 ml milk

170 g plain flour

4 eggs

100 g butter

Filling

1½ tablespoons olive oil

3 cloves garlic finely chopped

400 g baby spinach

200 g ricotta

60 g parmesan cheese finely grated, a bit extra for scattering

1 tsp. finely chopped fresh thyme leaves

Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Prepare the batter: I find a food processor works well for this purpose. Put milk, flour, eggs and a pinch of salt in a food processor, mix until well combined.

In an 18cm non-stick pan, heat about 5 g of butter over medium heat. Once the butter has melted, place 2 tablespoons of the batter in the middle of the pan, swirling to spread batter thinly and evenly. Cook crêpe until just set which should take about 1 ½ minutes, turn and cook the other side for about 30 seconds or until golden brown. Transfer crêpe to a plate and repeat the process with the rest of the batter. You should end up with about 20 crêpes.

For the filling: heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over high heat, add garlic and sauté for a few seconds then add the spinach, and a pinch of salt, stir until the spinach has wilted. Transfer spinach to a bowl, leave to cool slightly then add the ricotta, parmesan, thyme, season to taste. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 200C

Working one crêpes at a time, fill with 2 tablespoons of ricotta and spinach filling. Fold crêpes in half, then in half again to form a cone shape. Place the crepe on a paper lined oven tray and repeat the process with the remaining crêpes and filling. Bake until heated through and the edges start to crisp; this should take about 10-15 minutes.

Serve scattered with parmesan and an accompaniment of well seasoned and finely diced ripe tomatoes tossed in olive oil.

Something Warm & Comforting to Soothe a Sad Moment

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The noticeable absence of summer weather, and the overcast and wintery conditions of the day somehow suite the sadness I feel inside. Friends are in the process of a bitter divorce and another has departed this planet.

So with all this unwanted gloomy news I head for the kitchen, I want something to soothe the soul, it will not be the usual savoir faire, but instead I think I will have a warm oozy Mozzarella Pancetta Sandwich.

Mozzarella Pancetta Sandwiches

Serves 2

Ingredients

4 slices of good quality bread; sour dough or ciabata

Butter

1/2 tsp. Lemon zest

A squeeze of lemon juice

100g Buffalo mozzarella or bocconcini

4–6 Basil leaves, torn

4-6 rocket leaves, tossed in olive oil

8 slices Pancetta

Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Cook the pancetta until crispy either in a pan or under the grill, then set aside on kitchen paper to drain.

Slice the mozzarella into about  1 cm discs and marinate for a few minutes with the lemon zest, lemon juice, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Butter each slice of bread. Place 2 of the slices, butter side down on top of a chopping board and divide the marinated mozzarella between them. Add the torn basil leaves, rocket, salt and pepper to taste and the crispy pancetta. Top with the other slice of bread, butter side facing up and gently fry the sandwiches in a heavy based frying pan over a moderate heat until they are golden on both sides. Remove and slice into fingers and serve

A delicious soupçon at the end of a meal

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Sometimes instead of dessert I will instead serve these beautiful peppermint creams at the end of a meal with either coffee, tea or a night cap of choice. You can of course make a dessert as well, it is entirely up to you. I love these easy to make peppermint creams as do my friends who have enjoyed them often. Served displayed on a beautiful platter, makes them the best treat imagined.

Peppermint Creams

Ingredients

Makes about 40

125 g unsalted butter

75 g icing sugar, sifted

15-20 ml crème de menthe

500 g dark chocolate finely chopped, ( good quality, 60-70% cocoa solids)

Method

Place butter in a bowl and beat with electric mixer on high speed until light and fluffy which should take about 4-5 minutes. Beat in one third of the icing sugar and half the crème de menthe, beat well to combine. Add half of remaining icing sugar and remaining crème de menthe, and beat well to combine, and then beat in the last of the  remaining icing sugar. Refrigerate for about 30-40 minutes or until the mixture is a workable consistency. Take heaped teaspoons of mixture and form into mounds and place the mounds  on a tray lined with baking paper. Freeze until firm but not frozen solid, about 15 minutes should do it.

Melt chocolate in heatproof bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water, making sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water. Dip the creamed mounds one at a time into the melted chocolate, shake off excess, and then gently roll in cocoa. Place the peppermint creams on tray lined with baking paper and refrigerate until firm. This should take about 40 minutes. Store the peppermint creams in fridge in an airtight container.