Food from Friends

What a summer it's been- and made all the more special thanks to friends. We've had get-togethers and adventures with old friends, but have also enjoyed making new friends along the way, (especially in the Auvergne), which was a lovely surprise.

On returning from our travels, one more surprise for me- a 'Welcome Back' present awaiting us on the doorstep- from a friend's allotment.



When I opened up the bag- this is what was inside:

Welcomed home with veg!

So this week's blog is all about how I made four main dishes- and the same again of leftover lunches- from this bountiful bagful.

I started with the Swiss Chard ( or blettes as it is known in French).

This excellent vegetable is a story of two halves: the leaves which are like spinach and can be used in the same sort of dishes, or can be stuffed like cabbage leaves; and the stems which are like celery and make lovely soups but also gratins and tasty side dishes too.

Swiss Chard- a story of two halves

I decided to make a Quiche Aux Blettes (Swiss Chard Tart- but it sounds tastier in French) with the leaves and a Lyonnais-style side dish with the stems.

Wash the leaves well and wilt down in a saucepan (with just the water clinging to them- no more) then drain and squeeze the leaves dry using a J cloth or tea towel.

Squeezed Chard

Fry some bacon lardons ( or toast some pine nuts for a completely veggie version) and lay in the bottom of a baked pastry case, add the chard and some grated cheese of your choice. 

Nearly there

Beat 3-4 eggs with 200 ml of milk and pour over the mixture in the pastry case. Bake at 170 degrees for 20-30 minutes or until risen, firm and golden.

Quiche aux Bletttes

With sweetcorn to start, and a green salad to accompany- the quiche was a real feast- and the leftovers made two lunches as well.

Likewise the side dish went beautifully with some poached salmon.

Slice the chard stems into bite size pieces. Fry 1 sliced onion and 1 clove of garlic (minced) in some oil, then add the chard pieces and brown a little. Add 1 tbsp white wine or dry sherry and a crumbled vegetable stock cube. Cover with a lid and simmer until the liquid has nearly all been absorbed. Just before serving boil quickly to evaporate the last of the liquid  and whisk in a knob of butter to make the dish glossy.

Lyonnais style Chard- bubbling away

Now for the big beast- that golden marrow!

First job- cut it in half- and use one half for a Mediterranean Tian and the other was to be stuffed and served with salad.

A marrow to be proud of!

I sliced one of the marrow halves lengthways, scooped out any large seeds to make a trench and filled it with beef ragout ( spag bol sauce basically!) 

Beef ragout

and topped with grated cheese-

Ready for the oven

Bake at 180 degrees until the marrow is tender and the cheese golden brown (abut 30 minutes).

Stuffed sliced marrow

The next dish- a Mediterranean Tian - takes a little more work but it's well worth it.

Ingredients:

1 courgette ( or half a marrow!)

400g bechamel sauce

1 aubergine

2 peppers

125g mozzarella

salt pepper and oil (for browning)

breadcrumbs and Parmesan for topping

First make your bechamel sauce in a saucepan (you can add a little grated cheese if you want too).

whisk up your bechamel sauce

Next slice your veg into rondelles and soften them a little in a frying pan with some oil.

slice your veg into rondelles

Spread the sauce in a layer in the bottom of a gratin dish

Spread out the sauce

Layer in the veg and the sliced mozzarella

Season well and place in oven.

Ready for the oven

Bake in a hot oven (200 degrees) until the veg are tender and the sauce is bubbling and golden. Next time I make it, 10 minutes before the end of the cooking I will sprinkle on breadcrumbs and Parmesan to make a crunchy, cheesy topping- so I suggest you do that this time too.

Mediterranean Tian

Any leftovers from this went into a glorious minestrone soup for lunch:

Use-it-All-Up Minestone Soup

Last but most definitely not least, the potatoes.

So many delicious things can be made from the humble spud- but this time I opted for a recipe I gleaned in the Auvergne- Truffade- which is a sort of cheesy, bacon and potato hash. This has to be one of the most delicious things- if you like bacon, potatoes and cheese. which I do- and I recommend it out of all the dishes on this post.

I par-boiled the potatoes until just tender and fried off the leftover bacon lardons ( from the quiche).

I added the potatoes and fried for a while, turning frequently to distribute all the golden crunchy bits from the bottom of the frying pan.

Fry the bacon and potatoes

Lay in a gratin dish with slices of either Tomme cheese ( a lovely stretchy cheese from the Auvergne) or mozzarella. Season well.

Lay in a gratin dish with cheese

Pour over a small carton of creme fraiche and bake at 200 degrees until bubbling and golden ( 20 minutes or so).

Truffade

Phew! Four main dishes, two sides and umpteen leftover lunches- not bad.

Many thanks to all our friends and family for making this summer such a special one.

Sugar and Spice

All things nice. That's what I want my blog to be made of.
And this time I have been inspired by a recipe I tried out after watching 'Barefoot Contessa' on TV.

I do love chef Ina Garten- she looks a bit like me (although perhaps a few boxes of chocolate cookies and several sticks of butter down the line) and her recipes are always delicious.

Ina Garten in her kitchen

Leftover Liz in the kitchen

                                                          Spooky eh?

This first recipe is no exception to the delicious rule- Baked Cinnamon Mini Doughnuts. Mmmm!

As Ina says, 'Who doesn't love a doughnut?'- and she clearly has had a few in her time, as have I.

 I was intrigued with the idea of making these without a deep fat fryer though and so

duly purchased a silicone mini doughnut mould ready to try out the recipe.
I can report that it worked well and I adapted the quantities a little to give you a version here (less melted butter but still pretty damn good.)

This quantity makes 12 mini doughnuts.

Ingredients:
125g flour
125g sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon or mixed spice
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
200ml milk
1 tbsp butter (melted)
1 tsp vanilla extract

For the topping- 50g sugar, 1 tsp mixed spice or cinnamon, 50 g sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees
2. Sift together the flour, salt, baking powder, spice and sugar.
3. In a separate jug, melt the butter (allow to cool a little) and whisk in the egg, milk and vanilla
4. Mix the wet ingredients with the dry
5. Pour or spoon into the moulds, filling just as far as the top of the central ring. Bake for 15 minutes or so until just golden and firm.

Turn them out once cool.

Melt 50g butter on a saucer in the microwave. Pour 50g sugar onto another saucer and mix in a tsp mixed spice or cinnamon.
Dip one side of each doughnut in the melted butter and then the sugar.

Baked Cinnamon Mini Doughnuts

I do like the flavours of cinnamon, nutmeg (or mixed spice) in cakes. This next recipe is a family favourite ( as you can see from the old recipe book) and never fails. It is particularly economical - ie. no eggs, no butter - as recipes often were back then.

Family Spice Cake

Ingredients:

450g flour

110g veg fat or 110ml veg oil

175g sugar

4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp black treacle

110g dried fruit

3 tsp mixed spice

275ml milk

1. Melt the veg fat and mix in treacle and milk

2. Combine all the dry ingredients thoroughly- and make a well in the centre to pour in the treacle mixture

3. Mix well with a spoon and then pour into a well greased 18 cm baking tin

4. Bake for 1 and 1/2 hours at 175 degrees- but check regularly with a skewer to see if it is cooked through.

The rest of todays's recipes are savoury- using chili, ginger and other warming spices and flavours to enhance simple leftover dishes: Thai- inspired noodle salad,  spiced pickled salad, chili chips and Tarte a l'indienne.

I'm beginning with the pickled salad.

Pickled Vegetable Salad

Slice cucumber, carrot and radish thinly with either a mandoline or in the food processor.

Bring 3 tbsp rice vinegar, 60 ml water, 2 tsp sugar, 1/2 tsp chili flakes or finely chopped red chili, juice of 1/2 lemon or lime and 1tsp minced ginger to the boil in a small saucepan

Pour over the vegetables and allow to cool before refrigerating for at least 4 hours.

Drain off the excess liquid ( but KEEP IT for the noodle salad dressing) and serve garnished with toasted sesame seeds.

For the Thai-inspired noodle salad, two things to say.

First of all, I am indebted to fellow blogger Thewholeingredient for the inspiration behind this recipe.

Secondly, I'm not going to tell you how to make the noodles and stir fry veg that make up this salad- as it is supposed to be made when you have leftover stir fry to use up!

Thai-inspired Noodle Salad

Ingredients:

leftover noodles and stir fry veg

leftover pickling vinegar etc from the recipe above

2-3 dates

1 tbsp crunchy peanut butter

1 tbsp soy sauce

Blitz all the above dressing ingredients ( except of course the noodles and stir fry itself) and then warm them through in a small saucepan 

Pour over the waiting noodles and veg, add a dash of sesame oil and garnish with some extra chopped peanuts and spring onion if you have them.

Finally, my last two 'recipes' use up leftover chili con carne and chicken curry respectively.

My favourite way to use up a few spoons of chili is - over chips!

Put 'em in a bowl, spoon on the chili- add cheese if you want- and serve! (Not really a recipe but yummy nevertheless)

Chili chips

A little more skill required for the leftover curry- but not much.

Tarte a l'indienne

Tarte a l'Indienne:

1 baked pastry case

2-3 tbsp leftover curry with sauce

3 eggs

200 ml milk

1. Preheat the oven to 190 degrees

2. Blitz the leftover curry together with the milk and beat in the eggs

3. Pour into the pastry case and bake for 20 -30 minutes until firm and golden.

OK with you Ina?

How good was that?

Oranges and Lemons

How many recipes call for a squeeze of lemon? Looking back through the blog archive, I was hard pressed (or even hard squeezed) to decide which ones to choose for this week's theme.
In the end, I've opted for some which make the most of seasonal veg and produce ie. courgettes, fresh fish, salads- oh, and a jar of marmalade which I needed to use up!


Lemon and courgettes are a flavour combination made in heaven. My first recipe uses finely sliced courgettes, garlic,  lemon juice and rind- and not a lot else.

Lemon and Pepper Courgettes

Slice your courgettes into ribbons using a vegetable peeler.
Heat some olive oil in a frying pan or wok and add a crushed clove of garlic. Swirl the garlic around a bit in the oil, but don't let it brown.
Pile in the courgettes and stir fry quickly.

Lemon and Pepper Courgettes

Add the juice and rind of 1 lemon and let the mix bubble and steam for a minute or two.
Season with sea salt and black pepper and serve.

This is just as good if you serve it cold the next day with a little vinaigrette as part of a salad.

One of my favourite lemon-y courgette recipes is a Courgette and Pesto Cake (which I have featured on the blog before and also on the Guardian website). Here it is again if you missed it:

https://witness.theguardian.com/assignment/53f4877ae4b092330feea16d/1122595

Courgette and Pesto Cake

This savoury cake makes a delightful supper or starter with it's vibrant green colour and blend of lemon, basil, courgette and parmesan flavours.

Ingredients:

150g self raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

2 courgettes

2 tbsp green pesto

juice of half a lemon

2 eggs

200ml natural yoghurt

100ml olive oil

100g grated Parmesan or Pecorino

1 tsp each salt and ground pepper

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees

2. Sift together the flour and the baking powder and salt

3. Add the eggs, yoghurt and olive oil and beat well

4. Wash and grate the courgettes using a coarse grater or food processor.

5. Wrap in a clean J cloth or tea towel and squeeze hard to remove all excess liquid

6. Add the courgettes, lemon, pesto and cheese to the cake mix and beat well.

7. Pour into a buttered and lined loaf tin and bake for 45 minutes until golden and when a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. (Cover with aluminium foil for the last 10 minutes if it is browning too quickly.)

8. Cool on a wire rack and serve warm.

Courgette and Pesto Cake

Final lemon recipe for today is:

Lemon and Chive Mayo Hollandaise.

Now, you may not realize but mayonnaise and Hollandaise are sister sauces. One is capricious and has a taste of luxury, the other is more reliable and forgiving.

You can change the Cinderella sister (mayonnaise) into her classier sibling with the simple addition of melted butter and some lemon juice.

Place a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering hot water (don't let the bowl touch the water).

Put two tablespoons of good quality mayonnaise into the bowl and add the juice of half a lemon.

Melt 50g of butter in a jug ( 30 seconds in the microwave should do it) and pour it into the mayo in a steady stream, whisking as you go.

Add some chopped chives and hey presto! the sauce is ready.

Lemon and Chive Mayo Hollandaise Sauce

I served it with trout fillets - but it was excellent the next day too, mixed with cold new potatoes for a potato salad.

Now for the oranges.

The idea for this citrussy theme came to me after I accidentally bought a jar of extra thick cut bitter orange marmalade. Nobody liked it- and it was nigh on impossible to spread on toast because of the thickness of the peel.

I couldn't throw it away though, could I, dear reader? What would you think of me? Instead I made:

Sticky Seville Marmalade Cake

Ingredients:

175g soft unsalted butter

175g caster sugar

2 large eggs

175g self raising flour

pinch of salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

3 tbsp chunky orange marmalade

2 tbsp milk

(for the glaze)

2 tbsp chunky marmalade

100g icing sugar

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and grease and line a 20cm baking tin.

Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy.

Add the beaten eggs gradually, along with a tablespoon of flour.

Sift in the remaining flour, baking powder and salt.

Now add the marmalade, mix well and pour into the tin.

Bake for 50 minutes until risen and firm.

Turn out when cool.

Warm the remaining marmalade and pour over the cooled cake.

Now mix the icing sugar with 2 tbsp warm water and mix well. Pour this over the cake. The chunks of marmalade will stand up through the sugar glaze.

Sticky Seville Marmalade Cake

Serve warmed with cream.

Sometimes you hit on flavours which are a bit 'out there' but seem to work. I'm not talking snail ice cream or garlic fudge- but orange, fennel and olives work together well (trust me- I'm not a chef!)

Braised Fennel with Orange and Olives

When I first had this braised fennel dish (at a barbecue) I was amazed by the combinations of flavours- salty, fruity and aniseed-y all at the same time. Wonderful with fish (served here with barbecued trout) or lamb chops.

Ingredients:

2 bulbs of fennel

20 cl of orange juice

1 tablespoon of pitted green olives, chopped

1 onion finely chopped

1 clove of garlic

olive oil and a knob of butter for frying

Soften the onion and garlic in the oil and add the finely sliced bulbs of fennel.

Add the butter and stir in.

Pour over the orange juice, cover and simmer until all the liquid has been absorbed and the fennel is tender (about 20 minutes on a low heat). Just before serving, add the chopped olives and season to taste.

This dish works well in the slow cooker too.

Final orange dish is a simple

Orange Vinaigrette

Ingredients:

 juice of 1 orange

3 tbsp sunflower oil

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1 tsp honey

salt and pepper

Mix all ingredients in a bottle or jar- shake well to emulsify.

Delicious with a carrot salad or with a plain green salad.

Good as a warm sauce for a chicken salad too.

Orange vinaigrette sauce

One last point- do use good quality ingredients, as fresh as you can- but check where they come from!

Bless you!

Just Six Eggs

I know I've blogged on this subject before- but if a thing's worth doing, it's probably worth doing again and this time I have come up with a few more cracking ways to use up a box of eggs.

My dear Mum used to say, if you have half a dozen eggs in the fridge you always have a meal. And not just one. I've got three here for you.




First of all, I'm going mad and using up three of the little chaps in a quiche. I know I make a lot of quiches but this time it's a Trout and Watercress Quiche, which feels quite special.

Bake a 20 cm pastry case blind or use a pre-prepared one for simplicity.

Let the pastry case cool down if need be, and meanwhile chop half a bag of washed watercress* quite coarsely. Take one trout fillet and cook it in the microwave for 1 minute in a microwaveable dish covered with cling film. (If you don't have a microwave - pan fry it quickly or poach until it is translucent.)

Spread the watercress over the base of the patry case, flake the cooked trout flesh (discarding the skin) over the watercress and add a thin layer of grated Emmental or strong cheddar cheese.
Beat the 3 eggs with some salt and pepper in a measuring jug and bring the level up to 500ml with some milk.
Carefully pour into the quiche shell ( it should just fit) and bake at 180 degrees until firm and golden.
Scrummy hot, cold or warm.

Trout and Watercress Quiche

*You can use up the remainder of the bag of watercress in a Salad Bag Soup.

http://lizsleftovers.blogspot.co.uk/2015/06/super-speedy-summer-suppers.html

The next recipe is one I've adapted from a recipe book by cute Italian Gino d'Acampo. When I saw it, it struck me immediately as a genius way of using up leftover Spaghetti Bolognaise. I have some leftover sauce, but no spaghetti, so decided to use up a bit of tagliatelle I had in the storecupboard as there was such a small amount in the bag, it wouldn't make a whole portion by itself. Did it work? Well reader, it was good- so the recipe uses up whatever little bits of pasta you might have.

Just a few ingredients

This might not look like much ot make a meal for two - but the diminutive chef obviously knows how to make a little go a long way- and with the addition of some grated cheese ( Emmental, Cheddar, Parmesan or Pecorino- whatever you like) and a sliced tomato, we had a scrumptious supper.

Cook the pasta until it is al dente and mix it into your pan of leftover meat sauce:

Mix the pasta and the sauce

Beat the eggs with a splash of milk and a handful of grated cheese and pour into the pan with the pasta and sauce, top with some more cheese and a sliced tomato:

Add the eggs, cheese and a sliced tomato

Bake for 20 minutes or so in the oven at 180 degrees until set and golden. (Make sure your pan is ovenproof, or transfer it to a baking dish and smooth it level before baking):

Golden frittata

Serve it straight from the pan or turn it out onto a plate. 

Finally, I'm using the last egg in a Chef's Salad.

If you have never heard of this recipe, a Chef's Salad is basically the ultimate leftover salad dish- made from whatever the chef has left over in the fridge. No frills.

Traditionally, it is supposed to contain hard boiled egg, some kind of cold meat, grated cheese, salad leaves, tomatoes and cucumber- plus whatever else you want to put in there. I like sweetcorn and some garlicky croutons* to give it crunch. Dress the whole lot with a lemony vinaigrette, or salad cream (if you must).

* For croutons and other bready ideas go to:

http://lizsleftovers.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/garlic-bread-dauphinoise-and-10-other.html

Chef's Salad

If you want to see more egg-citing recipes from the blog you can follow this link:

http://lizsleftovers.blogspot.co.uk/2013/05/week-16-take-half-dozen-eggs.html

I'll leave you now to get cracking.......