How To Be A Shortbread Expert. There are thousands of recipes for shortbread, and an equal number of opinions as to the ingredients, methods, and baking. I suppose really you could think of shortbread as posh pastry, uplifted to celebrity status.
Vanilla Panna Cotta must be one of the easiest desserts to make, but perhaps harder to get exactly right. Success depends on using the best ingredients and taking care to blend them perfectly. Read on to learn just how to do that.
Why Not Make Your Own Easy Flatbreads at home? It’s much easier than you think, and makes an impressive addition served with snacks and dips when entertaining. You can even make and roll them in advance, then cook them in front of your guest for some added theatre. You can even cook them on the barbeque to make handy wraps and pockets.
To make these fool proof, I’m using self-raising flour. Traditionally of course, this wouldn’t be used but the added lift from the flour compensates for the lack of an open flame if like us, you’re all electric. I’m also using a kitchen blowtorch to colour and puff up the flatbreads. If this is a bit scary, don’t worry it not essential.
Mix the bicarbonate of soda and flour together then sieve into a mixing bowl.
Add the salt and sugar and mix into the flour.
Make a well in the centre of the flour and add the buttermilk. Work the buttermilk into the flour to form a dough. We need the dough to be moist but not sticky. Don’t be afraid to add more buttermilk if needed. This will depend on the brand of buttermilk you are using.
As soon as you have everything together, stop mixing. Too much working the dough will cause the flatbreads to be tough.
Cover the bowl with a cloth and leave the dough to stand 15minutes to rest and rise. Remember this is not a yeast dough, so don’t expect to see an enormous rise in the dough. The lift in the flatbreads will come from the gases formed by the raising agents, and the steam generated in cooking.
Dust the table with flour then, lift the dough out onto the table and form into roughly 45g balls of dough, you should make 10.
Roll each ball of dough into a rough circle about 3mm thick. Dust with just enough flour to prevent sticking but don’t overdo it. Loose flour sitting on the surface of the flatbread will burn in cooking.
Lay the rolled flatbreads onto a plate with a sheet of baking paper between each bread. This will prevent the flatbreads from sticking to each other and can be used to transfer the dough to the griddle plate if needed.
The flatbreads can be kept like this for up to an hour before cooking if you are waiting for your guests to arrive. It also will give you time to clean up!
This can be done on a flat griddle plate on the cooker, in a frying pan, or even on the barbecue if it has flat heated surface.
Whichever method you choose we need a lot of heat, so if you are using a frying pan, make sure its up to the job!
Been a bit chefy, I also like to use a blowtorch on my flatbreads. The extreme heat generated will make the dough puff up even more and the flame imparts a traditional colour, and flavour to the dough.
If you’re not sure on how to use one safely, then don’t. It should be safe enough on the barbeque, but using one indoors need care, the last thing you want is a visit from the fire brigade.
Once your cooking surface is hot lay one flatbread onto the hot metal. If this is tricky, keep the dough on the baking paper and use this to lower the disc of dough down. The paper can easily be peeled off once the dough has set.
Cook the flatbread for about 90 seconds on one side, you should see the dough begin the bubble and blister with the heat.
Turn the flatbread over and give it another 60 – 90 seconds. If you are using the blowtorch, simple wave the wave over the dough briefly on each side. Don’t leave the flame in one place or it will burn the bread instantaneously.
As each flatbread is cooked, transfer it on to a plate with one side of a barely damp tea towel draped over. Cover the bread with the spare side of the tea towel immediately.
If you forget to cover the flatbreads as soon as they are cooked, they will dry out very quickly and become like a biscuit.
Serve as soon as possible after cooking to get the best texture, fantastic with dips, Hummus, Baba Ganoush or used as a wraps!
Don’t worry, we can turn plain flour into self-raising flour easily. For every 100g of flour you are using add 1tsp of baking powder. Mix it in well, then sift the two together. Some pastry chefs prefer to make their own self raising flour as they have full control over the raising agent been as fresh as possible.
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
Baba Ganoush is easy to make at home and so much nicer then the bought in versions. Serve it as a snack or as part of a mezze spread with warmed Pita breads. Why not go the whole hog and try our recipe to make your own flatbreads and impress your guests even more.
How to make Hummus. It’s easy to make this classic middle eastern snack, better and fresher than the bought version. Its smooth healthy, and full of flavour. And once you have mastered the process there is a wealth of other flavours you can add to the basic mix.
Flavoured Butters are one of the easiest ways of putting flavour onto a dish. I simply can’t think of anything else you can that make that will transform your cooking so quickly and efficiently. Imagine a simple jacket potato lifted by adding cheesy bacon butter. Boring cooked rice given a punch with lime, ginger, chilli, and coriander butter. Or a grilled chicken breast topped with harissa flavoured butter, amazing!
Best of all they are not difficult to make. If you have a small food processor they can be made in minutes, if you don’t, just a bit more elbow grease is called for. And once made they can live in the fridge ready for instant use. Chefs refer to these butters as compound butters and the scope is endless.
Using these butters means you can add multiple flavours to a dish in one go and in measured quantities. Once you know how much you like, it’s going to be the same every time without fail.
I have built these recipes based on 125g (1/2 a pack) so each block of butter will give you the chance to make two variations.
I use these butters in two main ways.
Firstly, by letting the butter melt over a cooked item, which could be a steak, grilled fish, or the humble jacket potato. As the butter melts over the hot food, it bastes it with rich butter and the chosen combination of flavours. You will be amazed how it can make a quite simple dish seem exotic and ‘chefy.’
Secondly, a flavoured butter can be mixed into a dish. Rather than adding each flavour separately, they all hit the dish together and POW. out comes the flavour. Try mixing some of my lime, garlic and ginger butter into cooked rice and see what I mean!
All these butters freeze well. I use three months shelf life as a guideline. The finished butters can simply be rolled in greaseproof paper forming small logs about 3cm in diameter then frozen. Slices can then be cut off the frozen log as required.
If I intend to use the butter on top of say a steak, I would then make individual portions of butter. Line a small tray or plate with a plastic bag then using a piping bag fitted with a star tube pipe rosettes of butter onto the plastic. When the tray is full, pop it into the freezer until the butter is set. The rosettes can then be stored in a freezer safe box until needed.
Most of these butters can be made in the same way.
Make sure your butter is a room temperature and of a spreading consistency. Start with the hard ingredients you are using like garlic or ginger and chop or grate them as finely as possible. Pound these into the butter first with any salt been used then add in any liquids like oils or fruit juices.
If you are having difficulty blending in the liquids your butter may still be too firm, Warm the mix and try again. Finally add in delicate item like fresh herbs and fold the butter together.
The look and flavour of the butter can be quite different depending on how you mix the butters. Finely chopping items like chillies or fresh herbs then folding them into the butter will give more delicate flavours. Pounding or processing the same ingredients into the butter will extract more flavour and let those ingredients dominate the finished butter. And of course, the butter will turn the colour of the ingredients, in this case red or green.
If you are going to use the butter very soon, spoon it into small ramekins ready for use or serving. If the butter is for later use freezing is ideal.
Take a sheet of greaseproof paper about 25cm in width and spoon the finished butter in the centre forming a line about 12cm up from the bottom. Bring the bottom edge of the paper up and over the butter, pressing the paper in to form a cylinder. Aim to produce a roll 3cm in diameter, then twist the ends together like a Christmas cracker. The butter should be fine in the freezer for up to three months.
Don’t be put off by the amount of garlic, it’s really mild and mellow. Try this one pushed under the skin of a whole chicken before roasting.
This makes a great alternative filling in a chicken Kiev.
I use a mortar and pestle for this. Crush the garlic in the salt then add 1/3 of the pine kernels and crush them in. Work in the soft butter, then add the oil, shredded basil leaves and cheese. Mix to bruise the basil slightly then wrap.
Brilliant on grilled Lamb, or use on the B.B.Q.
Good for grilled fish and poultry.
If you are roasting you peppers at home, rub each one in oil, then cook on a tray in a 240˚c oven for 15 minutes. The skin of the pepper should blacken if this is not happening take them outside and use a kitchen blowtorch to finish the job. You can of course buy them in jars.
I’ve put this one in as a bit of fun. Back in the days of grand hotels Snails roasted in the shell was a trendy starter. This is the recipe for the butter that was pushed into the shells, prior to cooking and flavour the meat.
Don’t go rushing into the garden to try it out! The snails used were specially reared and their systems cleaned out before been shipped out to kitchens.
One of my favourite butters. Use on top of grilled fish or mix into cooked rice or cous-cous.
Similar to the previous butter, but a little milder without the fish sauce and ginger.
Let this one melt into a baked potato, or spread onto hot cheese scones.
Great for cooked rice or cous-cous. Also makes a good spread for the likes of a club sandwich.
Use these butters on hot scones or muffins. Great to give a lift to pancake day as well.
Try this on a toasted hot cross bun.
Melt the chocolate in a bowl over hot water then let cool. When cool, but not set fold the chocolate into the soft butter then beat in the sugar and cocoa powder.
Do give some, or all of these a try, and let me know how you get on.
Unsalted butter is the natural product make by churning fresh cream and nothing else. By adding salt to the butter it lengthens its shelf life so its unlikely to be as fresh as unsalted butter. Adding the salt also help the butter hold together so its possible to use lower quality cream to manufacture it. And finally we can simple control how much salt is in the butter.
Learn more about Butter ‘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
One of my favourite Scottish dishes, Cullen Skink is a rich fish soup with leek and potatoes. The name originates from Cullen a small fishing village on the Northeast coast of Scotland. And the term ‘Skink is derived from the Gaelic for ‘essence’ a good description of the aroma of fishy peat smoke coming from the haddock.
Potato and Roast Garlic Soup is a simple recipe, yet quite refined. Ideal as a starter for a dinner party or served in expresso cups as a pre-starter. Its rich, smooth consistency, offset by serving the soup with parsley pesto is always a winner!
How to Become a Garlic Expert, every time you cook is often a mystery to the British. While other cultures across the world utilise garlic in many forms, we simply push a clove of garlic into a crude metal press and squeeze the life out of the clove into whatever we think will benefit from a hit of flavour. Leaning how to use garlic properly will open up avenue in your cooking.
Have a look at our post, Fantastic garlic and chefs secret, oils for tips on growing your own garlic and how to make herb oils. And if you are looking for a source of garlic try The Garlic Farm on the Isle of White who grow some of the best garlic in Britain.
For centuries garlic has been valued for its culinary and medicinal attributes. There are Biblical references to garlic and in many cultures, garlic was given to provide strength. Garlic was given to the original Olympic athletes in Greece, as perhaps one of the earliest performance enhancing tricks. Can you imagine working out in the gym munching on garlic? You might have the place to yourself.
The romans referred to it as ‘The Stinking Rose’ recognising both its value and pungent smell. But there is far more to garlic and learning how to get the best and most subtle.
Most of the small heads of garlic we get in supermarkets is imported Chinese garlic. Most of it is dried out and has lost its freshness. My advice is to grow your own, its easy and lets you try new varieties. You don’t even need a garden, I grown mine in pots in the polytunnel, but a large window ledge or balcony would be ideal. Plant out the garlic in the winter or early spring to have a crop in spring or early autumn.
There are two types of garlic. Soft neck which is what you will find in the supermarkets and Hard neck, which has a better flavour and if you grow at home provides you with the stem and flower, known as ‘scapes’, to use in addition to the bulb. These are popular in Chinese food stores.
Most chefs will peel garlic by using a cook’s knife. Lay the garlic clove onto the chopping board and place the cook’s knife flat on top of the garlic so it site roughly halfway down the blade. Give the knife a firm tap with the heel of your hand. This will loosen the skin enough, so it almost falls of the clove.
This takes a little practice and some care. If you are not confident working with a large knife, try the same technique using a flat scraper or fish slice instead.
There is a gadget on the market that peels the garlic clove via friction. It is basically rubber tube in which the garlic sits. You then roll the tube across the counter pressing down with the flat of your hand. I have never tried it, but it may be worth a look.
You might think garlic is a bit of a one trick pony but that’s not the case, it has a number of different personalities according to its variety and most important of all how you use it.
When a clove of garlic is crushed in a press or by hand an enzyme in the bulb changes the chemicals in the garlic to produce the pungent aroma, we all know. These enzymes react with oxygen in the air to intensify the flavour. Leaving crushed garlic to stand a few minutes will enhance the flavour to its full potential.
You can of course use a garlic press but it won’t give you the full flavour. It has become very popular to grate garlic into a dish using a very fine microplane grater. I think this is a better option than the press, and a lot easier to clean!
Using your cooks knife peel and chop the garlic. Move the garlic into a small pile towards the front of the chopping board and put a good pinch of sea salt on top of the pile.
Hold the cook’s knife flat on the board and place two fingers of the left hand (assuming you are right-handed) just below the tip of the knife. Place the knife, still held flat onto the garlic using the top third of the knife where the curve is.
Now press down with the two fingers and draw the blade across the pile with a clockwise twisting motion. The pressure of the knife and the grinding of the salt should after a number of passes across the garlic beginning to crush it to a paste. When the process is complete you will have a slightly sticky garlic paste. Not only does the salt help with the crushing, but it also draws the moisture for the garlic developing the flavour.
Black garlic is manufactured by storing heads or cloves of garlic in carefully controlled conditions of temperature and humidity. the pungency of the garlic almost disappears, and the garlic develops flavours of Liquorice and caramel with a sharp finish. Its quite morish and great on sourdough bread as well as been an interesting ingredient. Its well worth trying, the only downside is that it’s too complicated to make at home.
This is a great way of adding a mild, rich flavour of garlic to soups and stews. Its really good on toast as well!
Trim off the tops of the garlic heads to reveal the cloves below Place the cold milk into a pan and add the heads of garlic. Bring the pan to the simmer and allow to cook for one minute., then remove from the heat and let the pan stand for five minutes This will remove some of the strong flavour from the garlic and make it more mellow.
Remove the pan form the heat and drain off the milk them cool the garlic under running water. As the garlic is cooling wash off any scum or fat in the bulbs.
Take some tinfoil and make some double thickness squares of foil, large enough to completely enclose a head of garlic. Place a head of garlic on each square cut side up. Add a pinch of sea salt, then pour a teaspoon of olive oil over the garlic. TIP. If you set the foil into a small bowl, it makes the process a lot less messy.
Wrap each head of garlic in a square of foil, insuring it is well sealed. Then place the garlic parcels on a tray, (cupcake trays work well) and roast in the oven for 45 minutes at 180˚c.
When ready remove from the tray and let cool.
If you want to roast a large volume of garlic, set the blanched heads in an ovenproof casserole.
Add the oil and salt as before, you will need less oil this method. Place a sheet of tinfoil on the pan followed by the lid. This will help seal in the moisture. Cook for roughly 75minutes at 180˚c.
When cooked let the garlic cool in the pot. Remove and store in the fridge. The garlic will keep for a week or so dependent on your fridge.
Confit garlic is a method of cooking and preserving garlic for later use. The long slow cooking mellows the astringency of the garlic. This makes it great for using in hummus, making garlic mash or using in salad dressings.
Pull apart the heads of garlic to produce individual cloves. These is no need to peel the cloves, but you can if you wish. The skin comes off easily once the garlic is cooked.
Place the garlic into a small pan and cover with the olive oil. Don’t use your best quality oil, a mid-range version is fine. Ensure the garlic is covered but don’t swamp the pan, it’s just a waste of oil.
Place the pan over a really low heat. We need to cook the garlic but without letting the pan boil. Ideally You want the oil to be at 90°c and stay there. I think this is best done without a lid on the pan as you can see exactly what’s happening. A probe thermometer is also very useful to be sure the garlic is cooking.
Leave to cook for 30-40 minutes or until the garlic cloves are soft. If the pan starts to simmer remove it from the heat for a while and then return it to keep on cooking.
When the garlic is ready have your sterilised jars on hand then transfer the contents of the pan to the jars. Ensure the garlic is completely covered in oil then secure the lid.
Let the jars cool until you can handle them, then stand them in iced water to cool quickly.
If you are unsure on how to sterilise preserving jars look up our post, Home Preserving, The Golden Rules.
Store the jars in the fridge, where they should be fine for a month, unopened. Always use clean spoons to remove the garlic from the jars to avoid contamination. Do not use and jars which have bubbles of gas forming within them. If you want to store the garlic for longer, Keep in in the freezer for up to six months
And finally. Never put raw garlic into oil to make flavoured oils. Bacteria can form within the oil from the raw garlic, resulting in food poisoning from Botulism Toxins.
Fry sliced garlic with coriander seeds or leaves then spoon over rice.
Fry garlic stems with bacon.
Making garlic mashed potato with new season garlic stems (scapes)
Slicing the garlic without crushing produces a milder more refined flavour great with pasta and olive oil.
Use the garlic whole and cook long and slow and it melt into your stew wrapping the dish with a sweet mellow richness.
Adding an unpeeled clove of garlic to the pan when cooking meats, fish or vegetables will add a scent of garlic to the food been cooked.
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
One of life’s guilty pleasures has to be a bowl of hot mashed potato. And it is one of the most versatile products that we can use to create a great plate of food. They can be used to form a foundation for the presentation, provide a contrasting texture on the plate, and become ‘a vehicle of flavour’. That is, they become a method of adding a complimentary flavour to a plate. Such as horseradish mash with beef, or saffron mash with fish. In a similar way, they can absorb flavour on a plate such as the gravy of a stew or braise.
Braised Oxtail is my idea of heaven on a cold winter’s day. So, with the frost on the ground and minus five on the thermometer I decided the time was right to get cooking.
For me Braised Oxtail is the pinnacle of meat eating. Its not difficult to cook, but it does take a little time. If the idea of having the oven on for such a long cook, use a slow cooker to do most of the cooking.
How to make Ricciarelli Biscuits, these Italian delicate almond cookies with a melt in the mouth centre are usually enjoyed during Christmas time in Tuscany. Try them out as an alternative to or in addition to mince pies when entertaining guest over the holiday. And note to self, remember to try our Luxury Cranberry and Whisky Mince Pies.
Ricciarelli Biscuits, also make great gifts, wrap them in cellophane bags and hand them out to friends for a very personal gift.
To get the best flavour we are going to make our own ground almonds. If this is a problem for you, shop bought ground almonds will work. Try and get the best quality you can to get the freshness. I avoid using shop bought almond essence as its closer to paraffin than almonds. You can buy a very good almond oil but its quite expensive, and may be hard to find.
Using a small food processor, grind the almonds down. This is best done in two batches to avoid the almonds becoming too warm with the friction created. If the almonds are overdone, oils will be released from the nuts and they will begin to form a paste, spoiling the mix.
Split the vanilla pod longways and using the back of a small knife scrape out the seeds.
Take a mixing bowl and add the vanilla with all the dry ingredients. Using a very fine grater remove the zest from the lemon and add to the bowl. Mix everything together and set aside.
Take the stainless-steel bowl and insure it is spotlessly clean. Any traces of fat on the bowl or the whisk will prevent the whites from aerating.
Separate the eggs allowing the white to fall into the bowl keeping the yolks separately for other uses. Add a pinch of salt to help the whites expand then whisk to stiff peaks.
When the whites are ready, tip them out onto the dry ingredients and fold the white into the mix to make a soft paste.
I like to leave the bowl to stand for about 10 minutes at this point to allow the mix to settle. paste.
Take a large flat plate and add a liberal amount of icing sugar. Using two dessert spoons scoop shapes of dough a little smaller than your thumb onto the sugar. Roll the shapes in the sugar, then transfer each one to a lined baking tray pressing the flat of your finger down to flatten the dough slightly.
Bake for 10-12 minutes until the edges are a light golden colour and the centres are just soft. Cool the biscuits on a wire then sieve icing sugar over the top.
When complete cooled store in an air-tight container where they should be fine for 3-4 days.
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.’
©John Webber. 2023
Gratin Dauphinoise Potatoes are an absolute classic crowd pleaser, and so versatile. The lusciously rich creamy potato with a boost of garlic is a great accompaniment to both red and white meats. Its easy to make and can be made ahead and reheated if needed. I’m going to show you the correct method for making the gratin, so forget what you may have had in the past and try these out.
This Easy, Banana and Blueberry Overnight Oats breakfast is great. Fresh fruit, and oats. What’s not to like!