This Cheese, and Rosemary Christmas Tree is a terrific addition to any Christmas party, and best of all its quick and easy to make. Use it to form a centrepiece for your party table. Each branch of the ‘tree’ breaks off to become a cheese straw ready to be dipped into a suitable sauce. I like to use my Tomato and Chilli jam as a dip. But it could be anything you like.
Bacon and Avocado Wedges make an interesting party snack that is quick to both make, and serve.
Most people only think of avocado ether in a salad or as a support for prawns. They are much more versatile than that. This recipe makes use of classic flavours that marry well with avocado, bacon, garlic, lemon, and basil.
Try These Christmas Smoky Bacon and Maple Sprouts. The ubiquitous Brussel Sprout must be the largest topic of discussion at the Christmas dinner table. Love them or hate them they are here to stay so why not make them the biggest hit of the meal. Avoid the soggy wet sponges, or the green bullets so often served, and give this recipe a try.
There is a strong American influence here with the rich sweet smokiness of barbecue ribs, offsetting the slightly bitter sprouts.
All the preparation of the sprouts can be done the day before leaving only the cooking to be done ready to serve. Rather than drown the spouts in water, the cooking is done in a wok with the moisture been maintained by the addition of a little chicken stock.
The day before, take the sprouts and trim off a small part of the root and any loose or damaged leaves. Cut each sprout in half down though the root to make two equal halves. If the sprouts are on the large side, cut them into quarters.
This will allow the sprout to cook quickly avoiding undercooked centres. It will also allow the flavours to penetrate deep into the vegetable. Only wash the sprouts if muddy, but as they grow above ground, they should be clean. If you do wash them, do it before then are trimmed and halved.
Cover the sprouts with a sheet of damp kitchen paper then cling film the bowl and store in the fridge.
Place the wok over a medium to high heat and add the oil. When the oil is hot, add the bacon pieces and fry in the hot oil until crisp but not dehydrated. Use a perforated spoon to lift out the bacon onto kitchen paper to cool, leaving all the fat in the wok.
Add the sprouts, to the wok tossing them in the hot oil. Fry the sprouts until they have taken on a little colour, then add a splash of the chicken stock, the salt and mill pepper. Then place on the lid to let them steam-fry.
Turn the sprouts every minute of so, adding a dash of stock each time, remembering to replace the lid Continue this for roughly 12 minutes. Or when the sprouts are almost cooked.
Now remove the lid, and return the bacon to the pan. Add the chopped parsley, then drizzle the pan with the maple syrup.
Give the sprouts a mix then check of the seasoning, and you are ready to serve.
Enjoy Life!
John.
Hi, my name is John Webber, award winning chef and tutor, now retired to the west coast of Scotland. Welcome to our blog focusing on food, cooking, and countryside. My aim is to pass on my years of skills and knowledge together with an appreciation of the countryside.
Join us to experience the beauty of the west coast, cook some great food and be at ease in the kitchen.
Join The ‘Westcoaster Newsletter.
Sign up to our newsletter to receive regular updates of what’s new and upcoming at ‘The Westcoaster.’
© Copywrite, John Webber. 2024
Make a Christmas Stollen this year and forgo the heavy Christmas cake!
The Stollen, is a German fruit bread made with yeast, and contains dried fruits, candied citrus peel, nuts and spices. Traditionary marzipan is folded into the dough before baking. If that’s not to your taste, it can easily be left out of the recipe.
Serve these Christmas Pudding Souffles to you guests and you will instantaneously be seen as a culinary genius. People are always impressed by a served a souffle, in fact they are a lot easier than people imagine.
Harissa Paste is a condiment originating from Tunisia and one of those flavours that once tasted, you become hooked on. If you like spicy, rich flavours, then this is a must-have ingredient in your kitchen. Its tones of fragrant spices, together with the kick of chilli, place it firmly in my top 12 store cupboard ingredients. This recipe uses peppers as well as chilli to make a more refined, smother paste than all chilli versions.
Most people will be familiar with Harissa stirred though cous-cous, but its uses stretch far beyond that. It makes a great marinade for meat or fish, particularly for the barbeque. Try a spoonful in a tomato sauce or a lamb stew, or simply stir it into some mayonnaise to make a summertime picnic dressing. The ubiquitous Prawn Cocktail can be given a sneaky edge with a little Harissa mixed into the sauce before adding the prawns.
A great cheat is to add it to a shop bought item like Coleslaw or Hummus. Your guest will assume you have been busy in the kitchen all day. Just remember to hide the containers or the game will be up!
Beware though, once you start using harissa it becomes additive. The good news is that it freezes well so you can always have it on hand. Its one of my Top 12 Seasonings, see the rest of them HERE.
Let me explain this with a short story. Some years ago, when perfecting the recipe, I thought it would be a clever idea to buy a ready – made version to compare the flavours. So, we when to a supermarket and bought a well-known leading brand of harissa and performed a taste test.
Well, putting it simply, the bought version was flat and lacked any of the characteristics of a good harissa. Been a bit puzzled I checked out the ingredients list on the container, and what do you think was the main ingredient? Peppers? Chilli? Even tomato? No, it was carrots!
I think today things might have improved, but it’s still better to make your own. You have the ability to tune the recipe to your own liking, hotter or milder Some people like to add some roasted and ground caraway seeds, its up to you. You’re in control.
Traditionally the peppers would be roasted in the coals of an open fire. This not only cooks the pepper buy also allow the skin to be removed easily. During the process, the flesh of the pepper takes on a smoky flavour which enhances the paste immensely. I also use a little smoked paprika in the recipe to capitalise on the flavour.
This is a bit messy, but this is about 80% of the work in making the paste.
If you cook on gas its easy, just place the pepper over an open gas flame turning it with a pair of tongs. Have some clingfilm on hand, and once the pepper is black all over, wrap it in the clingfilm. Don’t be put off by the colour thinking the pepper is ruined. The black is only the skin, which we will remove. Repeat this for the second pepper, them leave them to cool completely. Some people like to roast the chillies as well, I just use the smoked paprika instead.
Now I don’t have gas, so I use a picnic stove backed up by a blowtorch. It works fine, as long as it’s not raining!
Once the peppers have cooled, we get to the messy bit. You will see that the peppers have collapsed a little as they cooked, and there will be some liquid sitting inside the flesh. Keeping the film in place slice down one side of the pepper and open it up a little. Cut off the stem, and you will be able to open the pepper right out to a flat sheet. Flip the pepper over using the film to lift off as much of the black skin as possible. The rest of the black skin can simply be scraped off with the back of a knife. Don’t worry about a few bits of black still adhering to the flesh, it’s all flavour.
Cut the stems from the chillies, split them open and remove the seeds and the white membrane holding them. Peel the garlic, and crush using the salt to make a smooth paste.
Add the chillies and garlic to a small food processor, followed by the peppers.
Add the tomato puree, salt, and spices to the machine, then process the contents to a smooth paste. Lift off the lid then work in the olive oil and lemon juice into the paste. Have a taste, it should linger in the mouth with each individual flavour coming through. If its not spicy enough for you, add a little cayenne pepper into the mix.
The paste will keep a week in the fridge. Store it in a covered jar with a little olive oil covering the surface of the paste. I always keep some in the freezer, Ice cube trays are ideal for freezing. The cubes can then be stored in a freezer bag or box. If you need to make the paste, double the recipe so you have some to freeze. Double the joy, and you only have to clean up once!
By wrapping the pepper in the film, the heat is retained, and the pepper will cook from within. This is also a wonderful way of preparing peppers for use in a salad or stuffing as well. If you object to the cling film, you can put the peppers into a plastic bag. Its not quite as good, but should work.
Rose Harissa is similar to a standard Harissa bit a little milder. The paste is made with the addition of rose water and rose petals to add a floral fragrance. If you would like to make some, there is a great recipe ‘HERE‘
Enjoy Life!
John.
Hi, my name is John Webber, award winning chef and tutor, now retired to the west coast of Scotland. Welcome to our blog focusing on food, cooking, and countryside. My aim is to pass on my years of skills and knowledge together with an appreciation of the countryside.
Join us to experience the beauty of the west coast, cook some great food and be at ease in the kitchen.
Join The ‘Westcoaster Newsletter.
Sign up to our newsletter to receive regular updates of what’s new and upcoming at ‘The Westcoaster.’
© Copywrite, John Webber. 2024
Baking Simple Scones at home is easy and very rewarding. Homemade scones are always a winner whatever time of year. But particularly pleasing enjoyed in front of the fire when the weather is disappointing.
These are The 12 Best Seasonings you need to get sensational results in the kitchen. They should be in everybody’s kitchen at home, and in fact, I would go so far as to say I feel culinary naked without these. Some of these you will …
Making Sweet Pickled Cucumber is a great way of using up excess cucumber and giving a rather bland food an enticing lift.
I decided to have a go at growing cucumbers this year. And I quickly discovered that they had teamed up with the courgettes in an attempt to take over the planet. Having bombarded the friends and neighbours with free cucumbers I still had more than we could deal with.
This led me into looking into new ways of using cucumbers in new ways. The obvious option was pickling, and after a few attempts I ended up with the version below.
As the cucumber is technically a fruit, I have married it with a slight Asian influence using ginger, chili, and coriander as a background. The result is a sweet, light, zingy pickle, which marries perfectly with fish, particularly cured fish. Of course, it’s equally at home at the BBQ, on a burger or lifting your lunchtime sandwich to new heights.
This is not a long-term pickle used as a preserve but more of a short-term chutney which helps to season and punch up the flavours of the item it is served with.
The first task is to slice the cucumber, aim for slices about 3mm in thickness. Too thick and they become intrusive, too thin and the pickle will lack character. You can either use a sharp knife or a mandolin as you wish, whichever you feel safer with. The mandolin has the advantage of producing consistent slices but watch your fingers! There isn’t a chef on the planet that hasn’t cut themselves on a mandolin at some point.
Once all the cucumber is sliced take a colander set in a bowl and cover the base with slices of cucumber. Sprinkle the cut slices with some of the table salt, then add another layer of cucumber, then more salt. Keep going until all the cucumber and salt is used up. If you run out of salt don’t be afraid to use a little more to complete the process.
The function of the salt is to draw out some of the liquid in the cucumber. In turn this will season and crisp up the slices ready for the pickle.
Don’t be afraid of the amount of salt. Its not the volume of salt that will dictate the saltiness of the pickle but rather how long the slices are exposed to the curing.
When the slices have been exposed to the salt for 10 to 12 minutes, give then a good rinse under running cold water to remove all the salt. Don’t leave the slices sitting in water, drain them as soon as ready and tip them on to a clean cloth to drain.
I am flavouring the pickle with two types of ginger. Root ginger for its vibrant warmth, and stem ginger for a smoother sweeter flavour. I also like to add some of the syrup from the stem ginger as well for good measure.
Weigh the sugar into a small bowl then add the cider vinegar, and whisk together.
Then using a fine microplane grater grate a lump of stem ginger into the vinegar. Peel the root ginger (this is best done by scraping the root with a spoon). Then grate a teaspoonful of fresh ginger on top. Doing the grating this way will make sure all the sticky stem ginger finds its way into the bowl.
Add a teaspoon of the ginger syrup, followed by the chili flakes and coriander seeds. Give the whole thing a whisk, and it’s done.
Take a sterilized half litre Kilner jar and cover the base with a layer of the drained cucumber. Spread a spoonful of pickle over the slices, then add more cucumber and more pickle. Repeat until all the cucumber is used pouring any remaining pickle into the jar. Lightly press the cucumber down with the back of a spoon, then close up the lid. Give the jar a shake to insure all the slices are exposed to the pickle.
You will notice that the cucumber slices are not covered with pickle, don’t worry that’s fine. Place the jar in the fridge for at least four hours, or better still overnight.
As the pickle reacts with the cucumber the volume of liquid will seem to increase as the cucumber sinks down a little in the jar. Store the pickle in the fridge ready for use.
The pickle will keep up to five days in the fridge and I think gets better after a couple of days maturing.
Enjoy Life !
John.
Hi, my name is John Webber, award winning chef and tutor, now retired to the west coast of Scotland. Welcome to our blog focusing on food, cooking, and countryside. My aim is to pass on my years of skills and knowledge together with an appreciation of the countryside.
Join us to experience the beauty of the west coast, cook some great food and be at ease in the kitchen.
Join The ‘Westcoaster Newsletter.
Sign up to our newsletter to receive regular updates of what’s new and upcoming at ‘The Westcoaster.’
© Copywrite, John Webber. 2024
Cheese, Bacon, and Red Onion Muffins are great served as finger food or taken on a picnic. In fact, they are great all year round and are one of my regular contributions to village social events.
Muffins are easy to make, and once you have mastered the basics there is a wealth of ingredients that can be added, both sweet and savoury. Let me take you through the process, and lets get baking!
These Scottish Venison Meatballs are so easy to make, and much better that the shop-bought versions. To go with them I’m making a mushroom and whisky sauce to toss through buttered Tagliatelle. The dish uses ingredients abundant in the Scottish countryside, perfect for autumntime when a variety of wild mushrooms are available to use.
These French Apple Tarts are a real celebration of apples. When discussing fruit tarts, the British focus is as much on the pastry as the filling. The French aspect is all on the filling with the pastry been a necessary adjunct. That’s not to say that the pastry can be of poor quality, but its there to showcase the main product.
For these tarts we are using two distinct types of apples. Bramley apple for full on flavour, backed up with a dash of good cider. Green apples, Granny Smiths of French Golden delicious provide texture and a hint of freshness to the tarts. These tarts can be made the night before and stored in the fridge. The trick is to glaze and seal the apple with melted butter and lemon to stop the apple discolouring.
The first job is to make the apple puree. This needs to be cold before use so its an ideal job to do the night before you intend to make the tarts.
Peel and core the apples then cut into thin slices. Put the slices into a shallow pan with the butter then place the pan over a low to medium heat. Sprinkle the apples with the sugar, cider, and lemon juice, then pop on a lid.
Cook slowly, removing the lid and stirring from time to time. Once the apples have softened and become a puree remove the lid and cook for a further three or four minutes to dry the puree a little. Have a taste and add a dash of sugar if you think the puree needs it, but don’t let it become too sweet Scrape the puree into a clean bowl and let cool completely.
Find yourself a small plate approximately 12cm in diameter. Next cut some squares of baking paper just a little larger than the size of the plates.
Open the puff pastry and carefully unroll onto a chopping board. Place the plate onto one edge, then using the point of small knife cut around the plate for form a disk of pastry. Use a fish slice to lift the disc into a square of baking paper, then place a second square on top. Its important not to crush the edge of the pastry, or the cooked tart will rise unevenly.
Repeat this process, laying each disk on top of the first with a sheet of paper in between. Lift the stack onto the plate then refrigerate for ½- 1 hour.
Before you start, melt the 30g of butter in a small dish and work in 2tsps of lemon juice, keep that handy to glaze the finished tarts.
Cut a granny Smiths apple in half from the stem downwards, then cut out the core. Then take a slice off one side and starting at the side you have just cut slice the apple into 2mm thin slices. You can do this with a knife or use a vegetable mandolin as you wish. Only cut one or two apples at a time, or they will discolour before you can use them.
Take a disk of pastry, keeping the paper base in place and set in onto the chopping board. Set a mound of apple puree into the centre of the disk.
Lay a slice of apple on the pastry, sitting with one end on the puree and the other end about 6mm in from the edge of the pastry. Add a second slice, overlapping the first by approximately a third and keeping in from the edge. When you have completed the circle, tuck the last slice under the first take a small knife and gently score a grove into the pastry around the circle of apples. This will allow the pastry to rise up around the apples and form a rim. Brush the tart all over with the melted butter / lemon mix. Then transfer the tart onto a tray, and place in the fridge while you work on the next one.
To make the cider syrup simply pour the cider into a small pan and add the caster sugar. Bring the pan to the simmer and simmer gently until most of the cider has evaporated and you have a thick, but still runny syrup. Watch out as the syrup will thicken as it cools, a dash of hot water will thin it slightly if needed.
If you are going to cook the tarts at once straight away sprinkle heavily with icing sugar and place in a hot oven 180° for 35 minutes, then remove and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar or until the pastry is crisp and golden brown and nice the apples have a nice colour. Whilst the tarts are cooking, put the mascarpone in a bowl and beat through the vanilla seeds.
Place the cooked tarts onto a serving plate and place a good scoop of vanilla ice cream, topped with chopped pistachios. Finish the place with a thread of cider syrup around the tart and a sprinkling of icing sugar laced with a pinch of ground cinnamon.
I have kept the finished tarts in the fridge for a couple of days without problem. The butter and lemon juice glaze on the apples prevents them from discolouring. You can also freeze the finished raw tarts, and even bake them directly from frozen. You need to be sure they are covered and don’t get damaged in the freezer though. If cooking from frozen allow about an extra 10 minutes cooking.
Enjoy Life!
John.
Hi, my name is John Webber, award winning chef and tutor, now retired to the west coast of Scotland. Welcome to our blog focusing on food, cooking, and countryside. My aim is to pass on my years of skills and knowledge together with an appreciation of the countryside.
Join us to experience the beauty of the west coast, cook some great food and be at ease in the kitchen.
Join The ‘Westcoaster Newsletter.
Sign up to our newsletter to receive regular updates of what’s new and upcoming at ‘The Westcoaster.’
© Copywrite, John Webber. 2024
Fattoush is a great summer salad perfect for eating al fresco with a friends or a barbeque. This is a rustic country salad from Syria and Lebanon that uses a dressing make from buttermilk. This gives the salad a smooth let sharp finish that makes it so refreshing.
How to make – Cheats Chocolate Fondant. The classic restaurant chocolate fondant is a challenge for the pastry chef needing dexterity and exact timing to be served to perfection.
This version is much easier to make and is far more forgiving in cooking and serving as it is made in advance.