Winter Citrus

It's funny to think that, on a cold November night, sunny citrus is in season and at it's best. Fragrant lemons, juicy Clementines and tart Seville oranges for marmalade are all ready to shine over the next few months.
Just as well- as I have a large bowl of lemons to use up after a drinks party last week. (The miserable weather sent everyone towards the warm mulled wine and cider rather than opting for ice and a slice in their drinks!)


Now, lemon zest and juice freeze well and can be kept frozen until you make a dish requiring a squeeze of lemon or similar ( and let's face it, there are plenty of them.)

Lemon juice and zest for the freezer

But this time I wanted to make a selection of dishes from the fruit.

I started with a classic Tarte Au Citron - lemon, eggs, sugar and cream poured into a sweet pastry case. You can either use a pre-prepared case or make your own sweet pastry from 175g plain flour, pinch of salt, 100g of butter, 25g of icing sugar and 1 egg. (Blitz up the flour, salt and butter. Add the sugar and the egg and mix until you have a soft dough to line your tart dish. Bake 'blind for 15-20 minutes at 190 degrees) Allow to cool.

For a 23cm diameter pastry case you will need 3 eggs, the juice and zest of 3 lemons, 100ml of double cream and 100g of sugar. 

Begin by creaming together the eggs and the sugar using an electric mixer.

Cream together the eggs and sugar 

Beat for around 10 minutes until the mixture is pale and creamy.

Now add the lemon zest, juice and then slowly pour in the cream whilst the motor is running.

Slowly add the cream to the egg, sugar and lemon

Beat for another 5 minutes and then pour into the pastry case. Bake in a moderate oven ( 125 degrees) until set firm ( about 30 minutes ).

Once cool, sprinkle with icing sugar and serve.

Tarte au Citron

My tart case was smaller than 23 cm - so I had lemon cream mixture leftover. I poured it into ramekins, placed them in a bain marie and cooked them alongside the tart.

Lemon creams in a bain marie

Once cool, they are sprinkled with sugar and glazed with a blowtorch ( or hot grill) to make Lemon Crème Brulée. These were so nice, they'd be worth just making on their own and forget about the pastry case!

Lemon Crème Brulée

If you prefer your tart to be meringue topped- whisk up egg whites with caster sugar and a pinch of cornflour, top the tart and glaze it with a blowtorch:

Meringue topped lemon pie

Now for a savoury dish- Chinese Style Lemon Chicken. (Crispy chicken breast in breadcrumbs with a fresh lemon sauce).

Marinade chicken breasts in soy sauce and a little mirin or sherry. Then roll them in fresh breadcrumbs and place on a lightly greased baking tray. bake at 180 degrees until crispy and golden.

Crispy chicken..mmm!

Now make your sauce: Put 200ml of chicken stock, juice and zest of 1 lemon and 2-3 very thin slices of lemon and 1 dessertspoon of sugar or honey in a pan and simmer until the lemon slices are tender.

Simmer lemon zest and juice with stock and sugar

Mix 1 dessertpoon of cornflour with a little water in a cup and then add it a teaspoon at a time into your simmering lemon mixture until you have the consistency of sauce you like.

Thicken with cornflour

Taste and add more sugar if really too tart for your taste and then pour over your sliced crispy chicken.

Chinese Style Lemon Chicken

Finally, a couple of other citrus dishes that I like to make at this time of your year. Firstly my Caramel Clementine Upside Down Cake- which is quite simply the best cake I ever make! 

Caramel Clementine Upside Down Cake
http://lizsleftovers.blogspot.com/search?q=clementines

Click on the link below the picture for the recipe.

And lastly- Marmelade Madeleine Pudding- great for using up leftover cake ( it doesn't have to be madeleines!)

Just split the madeleines and spread them with marmelade. Pack them into a buttered dish and pour over a custard made from 350ml of milk, 1 egg, 1 tsp vanilla essence and 1 sachet of vanilla sugar. Leave to soak for a while ( you can add a bit of orange liqueur too if you want)

Soak the madeleines in the custard

 and then bake in a moderate oven (150 degrees) in a bain marie until set and risen.

Et voila- a Proustian Pud in a matter of moments.

Marmelade Madeleine Pudding

And so ends my lemon and orangey oddysey. Happy juicing and zesting- and I hope to see you at Christmas time!

Mellow Fruitfulness

Autumn is well and truly here- damp and dreary, wild and wet.

Luckily there is still plenty of colour in the Autumn fruit and veg bowl to brighten spirits and plates over the coming month.

Pears, squashes, pumpkins, marrows, tomatoes. parsnips-plenty to feel good about there.






First of all, I wanted to use up the last of the pears from my crop this year. Of course the trouble with pears is getting them just right- not too hard and unripe and not past their best ( which happens all too quickly). Eddie Izzard summed it up in his famous fruit bowl sketch- ( apologies for the over-fruity language)  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVTDwq2q3Ak

Well, I find the best way to treat these 'gorgeous little beasts' is to poach them- in 400ml red or white wine, or sugar syrup, or Earl Grey tea or even ginger beer ( according to your preference). Just make sure the poaching liquid is sweetened to your liking and I would always recommend the addition of 2-3 star anise to the liquid too. You can poach them for as long as it takes- but they are ready when a knife slides easily into them.

Pears poached in wine and star anise

Poached pears are lovely on their own- but even better when added to a trifle like my Sugar and Spice Trifle:

Sugar and Spice Trifle
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/apr/23/trifle-recipes-swap-speculoos-biscuits-breakfast-dale-berning-sawa

Click on the link for the full recipe.

I use Speculoos biscuits for this easy pud- but ginger biscuits do just as well.

The soft pears also go well in a Tarte Tatin- laid in a caramel sauce in the base of an ovenproof dish or pan and topped with puff pastry then baked at 180 degrees until the pastry is golden and the caramel sauce bubbling. Turn out on a plate when warm.

Pear Tarte Tatin

Keen to try out the first of my butternut squash crop, I used half in a soup with parsnips and half in a Baked Risotto.

Mirror Mirror on the wall...who is the fairest of them all?

Peel and chop your veg into even sized pieces, add a handful of red lentils and then cook until tender in a litre of good vegetable stock. Blitz once the veg is tender and serve with cream or yoghurt swirled in.

Parsnip and Butternut Soup

The remaining squash is going into a baked risotto- but you could just as easily serve it roasted and stuffed ( like these marrows stuffed with leftover Bolognaise sauce and baked with cheese )

Bolognaise Stuffed Marrow

or as a traybake with sausages,  potatoes, onions,  coarse grain mustard, olive oil and a handful of peas thrown in at the end. (Or just use up whatever you have in the fridge!)

Use-it-up Traybake

                  

And so to the other half of the squash- made into a Baked Risotto.

This recipe is good if you are serving it at a dinner party and prefer to spend more time with your guests, rather than constantly stirring the risotto.

You will need: 1/2 butternut squash or potimarron roasted for 20 minutes or so in a hot oven, 1 leek ( chopped and softened in a little oil), 100g of risotto rice per person, 1 cup of cider, 1 litre of vegetable stock, 1 tbsp of Boursin cheese with garlic and herbs, some chopped fresh herbs, olive oil and Parmesan to dress the dish.

Begin in the usual way, coating the risotto rice and leeks with oil in a deep pan.

Coat the rice and leeks with oil in the pan

Add the cider and stir until the liquid has been absorbed.

Cook in the cider until absorbed

Carry on adding veg stock ladle by ladle, stirring as you go, until about half has been absorbed.

Add the squash, some fresh herbs and salt and pepper as necessary. 

Add the herbs, squash and rest of the liquid

Transfer to an ovenproof dish with a lid, add the rest of the stock and place to cook covered in a moderate oven (170 degrees) for 20 minutes or so until all the liquid has been absorbed.

Stir in the Boursin and serve with extra Parmesan and olive oil to dress it.

Baked Squash and Leek Risotto

Finally, if you have lots of leftover risotto- make Arancini (little risotto rice balls- usually deep fried but equally good baked in the oven).

Wet your hands and make golf ball sized patties from the cold risotto rice. Roll each one first in beaten egg

then in chapelure ( toasted breadcrumbs)

(I make mine from leftover biscottes blitzed up with a few Pringles  but it's also a good way of using up leftover toast if you've made too many slices.)

Place on a lightly greased oven tray ( or fry in hot oil) and bake until golden in a hot oven (180 degrees). They don't take long.

Serve with a spicy dipping sauce.

                               

                                                                                 Arancini

Time to put away the wellies. The garden can look after itself  until the Spring.The weather can do what it likes out there- I am cosy with soups, risotto and puds to keep me going.

                                                            Bon appétit!

Fifty Shades of Green

Well, maybe not fifty.

But there is still plenty of green stuff to harvest in the late summer potager- squashes, courgettes, salad leaves, apples, pears, sorrel, chard, herbs and kohlrabi to name a few.

Enough to inspire a green themed post today.




So, this month I give you recipes for vegetable fritters- using up some of your glut of courgettes perhaps- or making the most of other garden veg such as kohlrabi, broccoli or cabbage.
Also, a delicate flavoured soup made from lettuce and garden herbs.
And finally, an autumnal chutney using up the last of the apple crop, tomatoes, onions and pears.

At our Atelier de Cuisine this month, we made Palets de Courgettes (Fried Courgette Cakes).

Simply grate together 2 courgettes, 2 carrots, 2 potatoes, 1 onion and 2 cloves of garlic. (You can add whatever veg you like here- sweetcorn would be good or white cabbage or chopped broccoli)
Mix together in a bowl with 1-2 eggs, 100g of grated cheese ( eg Cheddar, Parmesan or Emmental) and plenty of salt and pepper.
We didn't add any flour on this occasion, but I would recommend adding a tablespoon of plain flour or cornflour to help bind the fritters and soak up the juice from the courgettes.

Grate together your veg into a bowl and add 1-2 eggs

Press spoonfuls into a pan ( with a dessertspoon of oil) and fry gently until golden on both sides

Press spoonfuls into a frying pan

We ate ours with macaroni cheese and a spicy chilli dipping sauce. Nice!

Fry gently until golden on both sides

I make a similar version with grated kohlrabi, if you grow it or can find it in the greengrocers:

Mix 2 grated kohlrabi with 3-4 chopped spring onions, a tbsp of curry powder, 1 tbsp plain flour, 1 egg and 2 tsps turmeric, plus 1-2 tsp salt:

Mix up your grated veg and spices with egg and a bit of flour

Fry spoonfuls in hot oil:

Fry in hot oil

Drain well on kitchen paper and serve:

Kohlrabi fritters

Next I am making my Mr McGregor Soup- so named as it uses lettuce and garden herbs, such as sorrel and parsley to give it it's delicate but delicious flavour ( and would appeal to both the farmer and to Peter Rabbit!)

If you haven't cooked with lettuce- now's the time to try it. It's a great way to use up a glut of salad  from the garden or some slightly sad leaves from the salad crisper which might otherwise go to waste.

Fry 1 chopped onion and 1 minced clove of garlic in a little oil, then add a chopped head of lettuce, a handful of chopped sorrel or spinach, a bunch of chopped parsley or chives and either 2 diced potatoes or some leftover mash and 1 litre of vegetable stock.

Fry up lettuce, onion, potato, herbs etc

Simmer gently until the potato is tender and then blitz with a hand blender and adjust the seasoning:

Blitz until smooth

You will probably need to sieve the mixture as well, as some types of lettuce can be quite fibrous.

You can add milk or cream, but I think you will find it is delicious as it is.

Mr McGregor Soup

Finally, I made a big batch of my Autumn Chutney- using up the veg and fruits which are plentiful at the end of the summer.

Ingredients:

800g of  peeled, chopped tomatoes

450g chopped onions

1.25 kg apples, (peeled and chopped)

600g pears ( peeled and chopped)

4 minced cloves of garlic

100g fresh grated root ginger

1-2 red chillies or 2 tsp chilli paste

450g sultanas

1 tbsp salt

900 ml white wine or cider vinegar

750g demerara sugar

Put all the ingredients in a very large preserving pan and bring to the boil:

Put everythiing in a large pan

Boil for 2-3 minutes and then reduce to a simmer. Let the mixture simmer for at least an hour, then mash the fruit with a potato masher to reduce the size of the chunks, stir and continue to simmer until reduced in volume and nice and thick for spooning into sterilized jars.

This quantity made 10 pots of chutney:

A batch of Autumn Chutney

A perfect way to round off a September session in the kitchen.

Or garden!

Sauce and Spice

Or what to do with leftover curry.

I made a big batch of Chicken Korma the other day, and there was plenty left over.
I could just freeze it - and have the same meal again another day- but as there was more sauce than chicken left in the pot, I decided to use it up in different ways.



Firstly, I made a super quick dhal (using tinned lentils and tinned onions- but you could cook your lentils and onions in the normal way too of course.)
Just mix 1/2 tin onions( or 1 chopped onion gently fried) and 1 tin of green lentils ( water and all) with 1 tsp ginger, 1 tsp minced garlic and 1 tsp finely chopped chilli. Add 300 ml leftover curry sauce and simmer for 20 minutes or so.

Green Lentil Dhal

Next I made a Goan Curry Soup. Just blitz the leftover curry with 300ml chicken stock, 1 tsp chilli, 1 tsp ground ginger, 1 tsp turmeric and 1 cup of apple juice.

Blitz together your ingredients

Serve with some cooked rice or coconut cream to thicken.

Goan Curry Soup

Lastly I had a choice of two dishes ( only enough leftover sauce for one- but here are both the recipes so you can choose.)

First of all, a Tarte à l'Indienne ( or Curry Quiche).

Mix your leftover curry sauce with 4 beaten eggs and a splash of milk or coconut/almond milk.

Pour into a pre-cooked pastry case ( 23 cm in diameter ) and bake at 170 degrees until set and golden. (Aprroximately 1 hour- but keep checking).

Tarte à l'Indienne

Lastly, try this Curried Gnocchi Tray Bake.

You can make your own gnocchi from leftover cold mashed potato or cooked pumpkin ( or use a storecupboard packet for speed).

To make your own, mix 2 cups of cold mashed potato or mashed pumpkin with 1 egg yolk and 1 cup of flour, salt and pepper.

Form into little balls and flatten slightly with a fork. 

Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and drop the gnocchi in one by one. As they cook, they will rise to the surface. Skim them out with a straining spoon and put them in a buttered dish.

Cooked pumpkin gnocchi

Mix the little dumplings with cooked broccoli, chard, spinach or leeks and your leftover curry sauce.

Gnocchi ready for the oven

Sprinkle over some breadcrumbs and bake until golden and bubbling in a hot oven (180 degrees) for about 20 minutes.

This is a one-pot dish, and needs nothing else with it- so plate up and enjoy!

Curried Gnocchi Tray Bake

And so ends my tale of leftover curry sauce. I hope it inspires you to make some spicy saucy dishes yourselves.

Nothing left for me now except the washing up.