Friday 25 September 2020

Quince & Apple Pie


 

I like the idea of quince- and the blossom on the tree in spring is exquisite - but the reality of the fruit is often challenging. Rarely is it that I cut into a quince without finding I then have to dig out all the wormy sections, and the road-kill remnants that I then have to work with are not a noble sight. I can well-understand why it is that this fruit is no longer grown commercially! On occasion, though, I come across a recipe which restores my faith in the things.....and this is one such. The flavours are subtle and complicated, and the combination of spice and rich fruit is comfortingly reminiscent of Christmas. It has much to recommend it.

Ingredients: 3 medium quince, peeled, cored and quartered; 6 medium apples, cox or similar, peeled cored and thinly sliced; 3 oranges; 2 lemons; 3/4 cup sugar, + 2 tbs sugar; 2 tsp cinnamon; 16 prunes, quartered; 1/3 cup sweet white wine; 20 peeled, blanched almonds; shortcrust pastry, made with 10 oz flour and 8 oz butter (this will leave enough over for the base of a different tart on another day).

Method:

1. Roll out the pastry to line a 28 cm diameter false-bottomed tart tin. Freeze the base for twenty minutes, and then blind bake it at 190°C  to biscuit crispness. Roll out the remaining pastry to a size and  shape large enough from which subsequently to cut the top for the pie, and refrigerate this pastry, to firm up.

2. Grate the jest from the oranges into a bowl and set aside. Into a saucepan of medium size squeeze the juice from the oranges and lemons; to this, add 1 tsp cinnamon and 3/4 cup of sugar, and the sweet wine; add the quince quarters, cover with water, bring to the boil  on the stove, and then cover and simmer until the quince pieces are properly soft (perhaps 15 minutes). Remove the quince pieces to a bowl, and over a low heat reduce their poaching liquid until it is a syrup, and allow this to cool.

3. Combine the apple slices with 2 tbs sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon and the grated orange zest. Use half of this mixture to line the base of the baked pastry shell, and then place on top first the quince pieces, than the quartered prunes and the almonds; spread the remaining apple mixture over the top. 

4. Take the remaining pastry from the fridge, and cut out the top for the pie, using a lattice template if so inclined (I generally do). Put the top in place, pressing down with a rolling pin to attach it firmly to the top of the pastry shell, and to cut off the excess pastry around the side. Brush the top of the pie with beaten egg-white, and then bake for forty minutes.

5. Allow to cool properly before you remove the pie from the the tin. Serve warm or cold, with a spoonful of the reduced poaching liquid as a sauce. Be warned: one slice is not enough!

Tuesday 22 September 2020

Stuffed Aubergine


 

The ingredient which makes this dish is, surprisingly, the 1/4 tsp of allspice, which gives it a whole additional dimension, as well as hinting at some elusive 'other'....which could be Athens or it could be Marrakech. Whichever it is, these are best served cold, with at least the suggestion of a hot summer's day in the background.

For two:

Ingredients: 1 large aubergine; salt & pepper; 30 ml olive oil; 1 medium onion, chopped; 1 large garlic clove, minced; 1/4 tsp ground allspice; 16g sultanas; 1 medium tomato, diced (or 1/2 tbs tomato puree...but a fresh tomato is preferable); 3/4 tbs red wine vinegar; 1 tsp sugar; scant handful of chopped parsley; 75 ml water.

Method:

1. Halve the aubergine; cut out as much as possible of the flesh, then salt the shells and leave them upside-down to drain of liquid for twenty minutes or so, before blanching them for 2-3 minutes in boiling water.

2. Heat the oven to 200° C.

3. Sauté the onion and garlic in 2 tbs oil, until soft, then add to this the chopped aubergine flesh, salt, pepper and allspice. Cook over medium heat for 3 - 4 minutes, then add the sultanas and tomato, vinegar and sugar. Cook together for about five minutes, until it becomes a thick stew;stir in the chopped parsley.

4. Arrange the aubergine shells in a baking dish in which they fit snugly, and fill them with the mixture. Mix the remaining oil with the water and pour over the filled shells. Bak for about an hour, and then leave to go cold before you serve them.

Monday 21 September 2020

Blackcurrant Mousse Gateau

 


This might seem like a complicated recipe, but as long as you're organised, in fact it is quite straightforward. Looks good, and tastes excellent!

The version I made which I photographed for this post used genoise sponge as a base; by preference I would use a biscuit crumb base, as in a cheesecake, not least because in this house something this size is never going to be consumed at one sitting, and so you really want a base which won't go soggy if left for more than several hours.

These ingredients make 1 x 23 cm gateau.

Biscuit crumb base, using ten digestive biscuits (approximately) and 50g butter- blitz the biscuits along with the melted butter in a food processor, and then press into the base of a lined 23 cm spring form mould, and bake for ten minutes in a 180 degree C oven.

Mousse: 6 tsp powdered gelatine; 400g blackcurrant puree; italian meringue, made using 190g sugar, 45 ml water and 100ml egg white; 150 ml whipping cream.

Glaze: 2 tsp powdered gelatine; 50g sugar; 150 ml creme de cassis; 1/4 cup fresh blackcurrants.

Method:

1. Grease a 23 cm spring form tin, and line the base with greaseproof paper. Make the biscuit base, and allow it to cool in the tin.

2. For the mousse, heat the puree and powdered gelatine together in the top of a double boiler; once you are sure the gelatine has all dissolved, take off the heat and allow it to cool.

3. Make the italian meringue: heat the sugar and water together over medium heat until they reach 122 degrees C; whisk the egg white until it begins to be dense, and then pour the sugar syrup into it, whilst whisking, and continue to whisk until it is properly stiff, and has significantly cooled (perhaps five minutes of whisking); fold into this the cooled blackcurrant puree, and then fold into this the cream, which has been beaten until it holds its shape. Pile this mixture into the tin, on top of the biscuit base. Smooth the top, and refrigerate for at least four hours, to allow the mousse to set.

4. To make the glaze, add the  sugar to the cassis and the blackcurrants in a small pan and heat gently, until the sugar has entirely dissolved; . Off the heat, stir in the gelatine, and gently pour the glaze over the top of the mousse, making sure that the blackcurrants are more-or-less evenly spaced. Return the tin to the fridge for a further hour or so, until the glaze has also set.

To un-mould, run a warm knife around the inside of the tin, to free the mousse before releasing the tin.