Rich, and delicious, Walnut Bread is a perfect bread to serve with cheese at a casual lunch. Or as part of a dinner party meal. Savoury yet sweet it’s very moreish and is just as good lightly toasted and served with butter.
Pea and wild garlic houmous. A versatile taste of spring, fresh and light.
Yet easy to make.
Clotted Cream Brûlee with Grenadine Rhubarb is a great dinner party dessert. It’s both light and rich at the same time. The sharp, sweet fruit cutting through the rich comforting cream of the brûlee. What’s even better, you can make both components the day before. Leaving only the glazing of the brûlee to be done on the day. I have always had a fondness for clotted cream. Going back to my days in the west country where we used to collect it straight from the farm. The shop bought version is not the same but works perfectly for this.
2 medium sized Pyrex bowls
A suitable saucepan- see below
Whisk
Flat bottomed heatproof silicone spatula
Probe thermometer
Fine strainer
Suitable serving containers.
200ml double cream.
150ml clotted cream.
80ml whole milk.
1 vanilla pod.
5 large egg yolks.
40g golden caster sugar.
Caster sugar to caramelise.
This is not technically a true crème brûlee, as we are not cooking it in the oven. This is a stove-top or cheats brûlee. This method has some advantages. We can add more delicate ingredients into the mix that would be spoilt in the oven. It also allows us to serve the cream in a non-oven proof container. A positive change from the everyday ramekin presentation. These are best made the night before you wish to serve them, so they are fully set for your guests to enjoy. The Food Files page on Eggs will give you more information on eggs and how to use them
Choose a saucepan where it’s easy to access the corners of the pan. One with curved edges is ideal. Add the milk and double cream to the pan. Split the vanilla pod and release the seeds from the husk with the back of a knife. Pop the pod and seeds into the liquid and bring the pan to the simmer over a medium heat. Remove the pan from the heat and leave to stand to extract the full flavour of the vanilla.
Meanwhile, in a bowl, whisk, together the egg yolks and the sugar until well blended. And insure you have a second clean bowl large enough to take the whole mixture when its cooked. Pyrex is perfect for this and if its possible stand the bowl in some iced water so we can cool the finished mixture quickly
Return the pan to the heat, and as it nears the simmer whisk in the clotted cream, do not let the pan boil.
Give the egg and sugar mix one last beat then pour the hot clotted cream into the egg-sugar mixture, whisking constantly. Tip the mixture to the pan scraping it all out of the bowl with the spatula ten set the pan over a medium heat. Cook the mix stirring all the time with the flat – bottomed spatula. Do not use any spoon shaped tool for this. Too little of the pan’s base is touched by a curved tool. Resulting in the contents of the pan sticking to the bottom and burning.
Heat the mixture until you see steam starting to rise from the surface. Now pay close attention to the pan as the egg will be close to overcooking. Bring the temperature of the mix to 82°C and cook for three to four minutes. At which point the mix will have become quite thick a little like plain yoghurt. As soon as the temperature reaches 84˚C strain the brûlee into the waiting bowl with the help of the spatula. Give the mix a stir in the bowl to remove the heat as quickly as possible
Now this can all be a bit daunting the first time you try it. The trick is to be well organised; you can’t afford to be looking for things while you are cooking the brûlee. Put the cat out, lock up the kids, tie up the dog, and turn off the phone.
If at any point you think the mixture is getting too hot. Tip it directly into the bowl, if your wrong it doesn’t matter. You just have one more bowl to wash up.
Once the mixture has cooled down a few minutes, fill your serving containers and let them cool completely. Do not cover the containers until completely cool. If you do condensation will form and spoil your attempts at caramelising the surface of the brûlee. This is one occasion when you do want a skin on your custard!
80ml grenadine syrup.
20 pieces of rhubarb, split and cut inro 5cm sections on an angle.
For the rhubarb, in a wide pan, bring the sugar, water and grenadine syrup to the boil. Add the rhubarb and cook gently at a simmer for a minute or so – any longer and it will lose its shape.
Remove the rhubarb with a slotted spoon and continue to reduce your syrup. Remove the syrup from the heat and allow to cool.
You can dip the rhubarb back into the syrup, once both are cool, then remove again. This will help intensify the flavour and hold the shape of the rhubarb pieces.
‘Burnt Cream’ is a common translation for a brûlee but the very last thing we wish to do is burn it. The target is to produce a light, crisp coating with a rich caramel flavour, which also add texture to the dish
The traditional way of glazing the surface of a brûlee is to set the container into ice and water to keep it cool. Cover the surface with refined sugar and glaze them under the grill. It’s quite messy. Water everywhere and of course useless if you have not served your dish in an oven proof container.
I think the best option use to use a gas blowlamp. They come in all sizes, with the smaller ones been popular at home. I find these a bit small with too narrow a flame to get a nice even glaze on the sugar. Go for a medium sized blowlamp with a removable head. Not only can you use it to glaze your sugar. But they are also ideal for finishing Naan bread, Chapati and of course the BBQ.
To glaze the tops, using a small sieve sprinkle evenly with caster sugar. Don’t overdo the sugar or it will be impossible to dissolve it all. This will result in a sandy texture to the topping and poor flavour.
This process needs to be done close to serving the dessert to avoid the crust becoming soft and chewy. And don’t use brown sugar as many recipes suggest. Only white refined sugar will make caramel, the rest are a poor substitute. Take the blowlamp and get a good fierce flame. Wave the flame over the sugar working back and forth watching the sugar. As the sugar begins to melt sprinkle once more with sugar and return the flame. The trick is to keep the flame moving all the time. Don’t let any one part of the surface get too hot or it will burn. Imagine you are using a can of spray paint and attempting to get a nice even coat of paint without runs. It’s very much the same movement.
Do Not attempt to tough or eat the dessert until the caramel is completely cooled down. Hot caramel is roughly 185˚c and will give you very nasty burns.
Do Not attempt to glaze or work with cooked sugar with pets or children around.
Be aware of where the flame of the blowlamp is pointing work far away from any flammable items. In fact, when possible, work outside.
When storing the blowlamp always remove the head from the gas canister. This will prevent any slow leakage of gas that may develop.
Chopped skinned pistachio nuts.
Crisp shortbread biscuits.
A rectangular plate suits the dish well if you have one. Lift the rhubarb from the syrup and set a small pile to one end of the plate. Place a brûlee at the other end with a shortbread biscuit propped up against it. Coat the rhubarb with some of the syrup letting it drizzle across the plate and finish with a sprinkle of chopped, skinned pistachio nuts if wished.
Your mixture hasn’t been cooked enough. It must reach 84˚C for the egg yolk to set and thicken the cream. Also if you are using a probe thermometer make sure you don’t touch the base of the pan. This will give you a false reading
Unfortunately not. If you try to freeze the mix it will separate as it defrosts. You can of course make the Brûlee the day before. In fact I would encourage you to do so. The mix will firm up overnight and you have plenty of time to repair any disasters.
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.
If you enjoyed your visit with us, please subscribe up to our newsletter to receive regular updates of what’s new and upcoming at The Westcoaster. Subscribe Here
©John Webber. 2023
Quick and easy Ricotta hotcakes. perfect for breakfast with honey butter and berry fruits. Alternatively serve them to enhance a full cooked breakfast.
Sample Arisaig and Morar, one of the outstanding areas of the Scottish west coast
Now is the time to grow your own tomatoes. This year again we are looking forward to a good crop of tomatoes from the polytunnel. And as I’ve said before, I’m no gardener, so if I can do it anybody can. But, you don’t need a polytunnel or greenhouse to enjoy home grown tomatoes. A bit of space near a window is all you need to give it a try. My seedlings are coming on in the living room ready to be planted later. Once the weather improves and we have seen the end of the frost.
If you have never tried growing your own, grab a packet of seeds from the garden centre and get going. I have been growing three varieties Outdoor Girl, Alisa Craig, and San Marzano.
I start the seeds in plug trays and once I have about 8cm of growth re-pot them into 10cm recyclable pots. The seedlings will be quite fragile. And if allowed to grow too tall will be unable to support themselves. When re-potting cover the seedling stem down to just below the formed leaves. If you have small leaves forming near the base of the stem pick these off before covering with compost. If this is not done, they may cause rot below the surface. The pots are used later as a watering aid once the plants are in their final position.
Once they begin to outgrow the pots again, they are re-potted once more into 15cm deep pots proceeding as before. I always use fresh compost when seeding and re-potting. As the plants get larger feed once a week with liquid feed and support with plant sticks as needed.
I keep the plants in the living room by the window until I’m sure the frosts have finished. I you live in a warmer area; you should be able to move into the greenhouse or polytunnel earlier.
When the time comes the plants are potted on once more into 30cm pots. You can use slightly smaller pots if space is a problem. But if the pot is too small, the yield of the plant may be reduced. Again, I use fresh compost with a layer of gravel in the base of the pot for drainage. The 10cm pots are sunk into the compost to allow water to reach the roots and not form around the stem. Watering the surface of the pot can cause the stem to rot at ground level. The sunken pots get the water/feed down and keep the surface dry. try to avoid getting the leaves wet as this can also be a cause of rot. It’s often a good idea to take the plants outside during the day and then bring them under cover for a few days to become acclimatised to a change in temperature before permanently planting them out.
An alternative is to use grow bags and buy Plant Halos‘. These are doughnut like devices which are perfect for growbags. They allow extra compost to be used in the centre to give the plant more depth for growth. The outer ring is then filled with water that dribbles down via spikes in the base of the halo to water the roots. If you want to try growbags, I would definitely recommend you use the halos. I don’t think the growbag on its own has enough depth to support an adult plant. I have heard of people cutting one side of the plastic off two bags. Then sandwiching the two together to increase the depth. Fine if you are just growing a couple of plants on the balcony, but I think pots are a better bet. This year I am also going to use the Haloes on my 30cm pots to make the watering easier.
There are two main types of tomato plants, Bush, and Cordon. Some varieties such as Rio Grande, Red Alert, and Incas are bush tomatoes. These are better if you want to use grow bags, smaller pots or even hanging baskets. These are a good bet if you are just starting off or don’t have a greenhouse or polytunnel. They also don’t require any pruning as they grow.
All three of these tomato varieties I’m growing are Cordon Tomatoes, San Manzano, Outdoor Girl, and Alisa Craig. This means they need to be supported as they grow with robust canes as they can grow up to 1.8mt in hight. Set the canes deep into the pots and support the top with garden wire. The watering halos have the provision to set a tepee of canes around the plant.
They also need to be pruned during the growing process. The basic principle in pruning cordon tomatoes plants is that you want the main stem to be where the leaf stems emerge from. Take a look at https://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/grow-plants/how-to-grow-cordon-tomatoes/ for a detailed instruction on pruning.
These are well suited to variable, colder UK conditions, i.e., Scotland. And can be grown outside if you have a suitable protected sunny spot in the garden. Flavour is a traditional sweet and sharp, good for salads and preserving.
As far as taste goes this variety is still the one which many gardeners compare against for measuring how tasty a tomato is. Ailsa Craig has the right balance of sweetness and acidity combined with deep tomato flavour. There are few, if any tomatoes, which can match Ailsa Craig when it comes to taste. The texture is good for salads, and firm enough to make them excellent for slicing and serving on burgers and in sandwiches.
These are my go-to cooking tomatoes and even if you are just buying your tomatoes in a tin, look for San Marzano. This is both a tomato variety and a region in Italy from where they take their name.
They are a plum tomato, a bit thinner and longer than the plum tomatoes you will be familiar with. with a lovely sweet – sharp flavour. The key thing is that they have fewer seeds and more flesh than a plum tomato. I find a lot of ‘Plum’ tomatoes seem to be no more than a stretched round tomato. If you have ever wondered why your tomato sauce is never as good as the one you tasted on your Italian holiday. It’s simply the quality of the ingredients.
So, now’s the time to get started. Once you have tried your home-grown tomatoes, you will realise how poor the shop bought versions are.
Look up the websites below for more in-depth information.
https://www.tomatogrowing.co.uk/
https://www.rhs.org.uk/vegetables/tomatoes/grow-your-own
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.
If you enjoyed your visit with us, please subscribe up to our newsletter to receive regular updates of what’s new and upcoming at The Westcoaster. Subscribe Here
©John Webber. 2023
My easy potato and spinach curry ( to make at home. Quick, easy and very tasty, what’s not to like?
Make these easy soda breads at home. It’s so satisfying and rewarding everybody should be doing it.
These homemade Welsh Cakes are easy to make and are a great addition to an afternoon tea spread. They are a variation of a griddle scone and shortbread, lightly spiced and finished with a coating of sugar. These make a great alternative to scones or cookies if friends come around. The only problem with them is that is impossible to only have one! They are at their best served fresh and warm but will keep in a cake box for a few days.
My father was Welsh, and as a child we often made the trip to Wales to see my relations. You were always sure to be greeted with a plate of warm Welsh cakes straight off the griddle. I have fond memories of those days and looking forward to the inevitable plate of warm delight.
Each region as its own variation of stove top bakes. Back at the farm Scotch pancakes are a firm favourite cooked directly on top of the hotplate. I attempted it once, what a mess. I had to scrape my efforts off the cooker. I’ll stick to the Welsh cakes.
Mixing bowl
Small knife
Pastry knife
Jug for beaten egg
Measuring spoons
Flour sieve
Silicone spatula
Fish slice or pallet knife
Cooling wire
50g unsalted Butter
50g lard
230g plain Flour
80g caster Sugar
Pinch salt
75g currants
1 ½ tsp baking Powder
1 tsp clear Honey
¼ tsp mixed Spice
4tbsp beaten Egg
2 tbsp milk
Caster sugar to sprinkle on top.
Dice the butter and lard into 1cm cubes then return to the fridge to firm up for a few minutes.
Weigh the flour then sieve into a mixing bowl, and stir in the baking powder, mixed spice, and salt.
Add the diced fats to the dry mix and rub fat into the flour to produce a sandy texture. Using a pastry knife will avoid the chances of melting the fats into the flour.
Add the sugar, currants, spice and honey and mix in.
Finally add the egg and mix just enough to produce a firm dough. Do not over work the dough or the Welsh cakes will be tough. Just like scones the less the dough is handled the lighter the finished product will be.
Roll out the dough 8mm thick on a lightly floured surface. Cut out circles of dough 6cm to 6.5cm diameter. Don’t try to make them too large or they will break up as you try to turn them.
Cook on a flat griddle plate lightly coated with ghee or vegetable oil over a medium heat until golden brown. Give them about 1 ½ minutes then flip them over and cook on the other side for the same time. Turn again and cook for another half a minute on each side.
As soon as cooked lift onto a cooling wire and sprinkle with caster sugar. You can also cook the Welsh cakes in a non-stick frying pan again with a touch of fat added to help the colour form.
To ring the changes, try maple syrup instead of honey in the dough.
Try a pinch of cinnamon instead of mixed spice. Leave out the currants and top each Welsh cake with a dollop of cooked diced Bramley apple. Do give them a try, they are just as easy as making scones, but without the need to put the oven on.
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.
If you enjoyed your visit with us, please subscribe up to our newsletter to receive regular updates of what’s new and upcoming at The Westcoaster. Subscribe Here
©John Webber. 2023
Delicious, mango and coconut cream tarts. Great for entertaining. Light,crisp almond pastry filled with fresh mango and coconut cream.
Learn the technique of making small crisp tart shells using perforated rings. Great for entertaining with a variety of fillings.
Make your own ghee at home. It’s easy to do and very versatile. The homemade version has a more neutral buttery flavour that has several uses. Making a curry, producing French emulsified sauces, in bakery goods or high-temperature frying.
To get the best from your curry creations do read our posts on, – Make your own Garam Masala, – How to make Indian onion pastes, and Make your own Indian flavouring Pastes .
Have you ever wondered what’s in that tin of ghee you religiously buy to make your curry as authentic as possible? Well, its butter, yes just butter. It’s not exactly identical as the butter on your toast. It has been cooked to remove the milky part of the butter and extend its shelf life.
Now if you’re into French classic cookery you may have come across clarified butter. Well, it’s basically the same thing. For the Indian version the base butter is different, and it cooked slightly longer to change the flavour.
But for all practical purposes we can make our own ghee to use for a curry or a hollandaise sauce as we wish. You can store the butter for up to a month and a half in the fridge. Or as I do freeze it in ice cube trays to have handy blocks ready when I need them.
1x 250g block of unsalted butter
Small saucepan
Small ladle or soup spoon
Fine heatproof sieve
Heatproof bowl (pyrex is ideal)
A good result needs a good start and that’s the butter. You don’t need to buy the most expensive, but it must be unsalted. If you use salted butter for this, you will have a briny deposit in the pan that can spoil the finished product. As the butter cooks the milky part will rise to the surface and the solids will fall to the bottom of the pan.
Place the block of butter into the pan and pop onto a medium heat. Don’t use a lid as we need to keep an eye on the butter cooking
As the butter melts, foam will appear around the edge of the pan. Don’t worry that’s normal but we don’t want the butter to be rapidly boiling, just a gentle simmer.
When the foam covers the surface of the pan begin to skim it off the surface of the butter. You will see the liquid butter below becoming clearer. Listen to the pan it will be making a noise a little bit like a deep fat fryer after cooking chips. A kind of crackle as the last of the moisture in the oil evaporates. The butter in the pan is doing the same thing.
It’s very important you do not leave the pan at this point. Not only will you spoil the butter, but you will have the same danger as a deep fat fryer. If the fat becomes too hot it will burn and eventually ignite.
Keep a close eye on the pan and you will see the butter stop moving around. The sound coming from the pan will also all but stop. Both indicators tell you the butter is ready for straining. Don’t hesitate, strain it into the bowl at once.
The pan will have a deposit on the bottom, this should be a light brown and not welded to the pan. If it’s dark and smells a bit nutty, you have over cooked it a bit. You will have made what the French refer to as Burre Noisette (nut brown butter). It should be ok for a curry, but no good for hollandaise etc.
Let the ghee cool in the bowl and ether transfer to a lidded container or pour into ice cube trays and freeze. Once frozen tip out the cubes and store in a sealed plastic bag or box back in the freezer. NOTE, If the ghee is not stored in a sealed container, it will absorb the flavour of anything store close to it. In the fridge it will be good for six weeks, in the freezer up to three months.
When you go shopping, look out for unsalted butter that has been discounted as its close to its use by date. Take it home and cook it straight away, you will give the butter a new lease of life and save the waste of it been discarded.
As you can see it’s not difficult and only take a few minutes to do, give it a try.
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.
If you enjoyed your visit with us, please subscribe up to our newsletter to receive regular updates of what’s new and upcoming at The Westcoaster. Subscribe Here
©John Webber. 2023
Make these essential Indian pastes at home. To make you a master of the curry.
Make your own Chaat masala and Tandoori spice easily at home. Have the flavours of the Indian restaurant ready to use.