My Essential 12 tips for a Successful Christmas Dinner.
Christmas is really a once-a-year dinner party. And this is my guide to having a Successful Christmas Dinner, without all the stress.
Tag: how-to
Try A Beautifully Light Helston Pudding, My Easy Christmas Dessert.
Beautifully light Helston Pudding. It’s easy to make comfort food which makes a light alternative to Christmas Pudding. I have put in a couple of minor changes to make it even more Christmassy, and served it with an orange brandy sauce.
Making The Best Basil Pesto.
In my opinion this is the best basil pesto you can make. I hate the off green sludge sold as pesto in the supermarkets. You can be sure its not made with the best of ingredients. It’s dull, flat flavour could put you off pesto for life, if you didn’t know better.
I want to see the ingredients I am using. This version of pesto has diced Parmesan Cheese and whole pine kernels though the sauce to give texture and added interest to any Pasta Pesto.
To put this into perspective, I once bought a jar of Harissa. A Smokey, peppery, red chili paste used in middle eastern cookery. When I studied the ingredients on the jar the main ingredient was not peppers or chilli, but Beetroot! Working on that basis the best part of my shop bought pesto may be grass clippings…..
The Best Basil Pesto.
This is my version of a classic Italian Pesto alla Genovese. Rather than been totally smooth I like my pesto to have some texture and show off the ingredients it made with.
If you’re a traditionalist this is a job for the mortar and pestle. If not, or if time is short use a small food processor. DON’T use a blender it will take all the character out of the pesto and emulsify the cheese into the oil.
A word on Parmesan Cheese.
For the cheese use a Parmesan or Pecorino as you prefer. I use Grana Padano Parmesan as I think it’s a waste to use good Reggiano in the sauce. Keep that for serving on the pasta or treating yourself with a glass of wine.
DON’T whatever you do buy the small tubs of ready grated cheese. You can get good pre-grated parmesan buy the stuff in the tubs smells like old socks. I have a theory relating the contents of the tubs. If you grate your own cheese, you will have noticed the thick skin that sits just under the thin rind. Grate a little of the skin and you will find it smells just like the cheap grated cheese. And personally, I think that’s what is in the tubs. Its Parmesan Jim, but not as I know it!
Rant over, let’s get going.
You will need.
Mortar and pestle or small food processor.
Chopping board and knife.
Small frying pan.
Fine grater.
Bowl scraper.
Small jar or ice cube tray for storage.
The Best Basil Pesto.
Makes about 300ml – 345g.
80g basil leaves – no stalks.
70g pine kernels.
40g grated parmesan cheese or pecorino if you prefer.
45g Parmesan cut into 4mm dice.
125ml light fruity olive oil.
large pinch flaky sea salt.
2 good cloves of garlic, 3 if they are small.
Extra sea salt and mill pepper as needed.
Heat a small frying pan over a medium heat. Add the pine kernels and toast them gently, keeping them moving all the time, turning from top to bottom. We only want to toast the pine kernels to a light golden brown. Its very easy to burn them so be careful. If you burn them, don’t use them. It’s a good idea to have some spare on hand just in case. Keep any leftovers in the freezer to keep them fresh until you need them. When the kernels are ready tip them onto a plate to cool down completely.
Peel the garlic and remove any green shoot from inside the clove. Add the sea salt to the garlic and crust to a smooth paste.
Place the garlic / salt paste into the mortar or processor and add 40g of the toasted kernels. Throw in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and work to a smooth paste. Use a light olive oil, not a dense peppery one or it will mask the fresh flavours. DON’T as some chefs advocate use vegetable oil! They will argue that the vegetable oil allows the flavour of the basil to come through. Bull%**t, they are just trying to save money and increase their profits.
Add the basil leaves to the mix and break down to a paste adding more oil as needed. I only use the basil leaves to make the pesto. Some people will add the finer stalks to the mix, again to save money. The choice is up to you, but I find the stalks can cause the pesto to discolour.
I wouldn’t mind betting the stuff in the jars has the stalks included, and God knows what’s in the mix.
Now we have a nice green sauce add the grated parmesan and any remaining oil. Don’t overwork the mix, we don’t want the cheese to become emulsified into the oil.
Finally, stir in the diced cheese and reserved pine kernels, check your seasoning and your ready to go. Store the pesto in a narrow-mouthed jar with a layer of olive oil on top to keep the air out. It should be good for about a week in the fridge. To store it longer its best frozen, again ice cube trays are the most convenient method.
TIP,
If you don’t have a greenhouse or polytunnel to grow your Basil don’t worry. Buy two or three fresh plants in the supermarket. Keep then in the kitchen near a window and out of draughts. Water them regularly with some house plant food and they will triple in size. That will give you a steady supply of fresh basil, cheaper and fresher than buying it in packets.
For me this is a essential store cupboard staple. Never mind pasta, it’s a great accompaniment to vegetable dishes like my Courgette and Tomato Tarts. Brilliant with fish, and a spoonful of pesto transforms a simple mashed potato. 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 your own Easy Fresh Tomato Pasta Sauce.
Make your own Fresh Tomato Pasta Sauce, it’s easy! Enjoy the flavor of italy at home in less than 45 minutes.
How to make your own Tomato and Chilli Jam.
Easy to make Tomato and Chilli Jam. One taste and your hooked! Great with meats and shellfish. The possibilities are endless
How to Make Blackberry Jelly, and why fruit jellies work.
Want to know how to make Blackberry Jelly? It’s not that difficult, and so satisfying to make the best of the (free) autumn harvest. If your north of the border you will know this as Bramble Jelly. Whatever you call them it’s great fun collecting the fruit on a warm sunny afternoon.
When your collecting, expect a few war wounds from the spiky stems and keep away from the main roads. Stick to country lanes where the traffic is light. The berries won’t be covered in pollution from traffic and you’re less likely to be flattened by a passing lorry. Do be sure what you are gathering is edible. There are plenty of good books and websites to help you. The golden rule is if you’re not sure, don’t use it.
Gather with care and don’t strip a bush of fruit, take a few here and there and move on to the next bush. There will be plenty for all and remember that wildlife needs the autumn harvest more than you do.
Blackberry Jelly.
You will need.
Wide thick based pan.
Colander or sieve.
Heatproof spatula.
Saucer and / or probe thermometer.
Jam funnel.
Jelly bag or sheet of muslin cloth.
Measuring jug.
Sterilised jam jars and lids. Check out the food files page on how to do this.
Waxed paper jam covers.
Makes Roughly 600ml.
Stage 1.
750g Blackberries
1 Bramley cooking apple (roughly 200g)
225ml water
1 lemon
Stage 2.
Granulated or preserving sugar.
Why Jelly and not Jam?
Why go to all the trouble of straining all that fruit and then only using the juices. Why not just make jam? Well, you can, the classic recipe is equal weights of fruit and sugar cooked together with some water and lemon juice. Cook the fruit to 105˚c and transfer to jars just as we will do with the fruit juices.
So, what’s the problem? It’s those damn seeds. There are so many small hard seeds in the fruit that the jam almost becomes crunchy. You will be flossing the seeds out of your teeth for ages. And the texture of the seeds overtakes the flavour of the fruit.
To press or not to press.
Those of you that follow my ramblings will know I like to do things a little differently if I think it’s an improvement on the classic method or recipe. No change here. Recipes for fruit jellies will tell you to stew the fruit. Then hang the stewed fruits in a jelly bag or muslin overnight to let the juices drip though. Never press the fruit!
Well, I do. The above is fine is you want a nice clear jelly, and you have a fridge large enough to support a jelly bag and bowl. I don’t and I like to get the maximum flavour and yield from my efforts. The choice is up to you.
It’s all about the pectin.
Pectin is the key to a jam or jelly setting. Once the fruit has released its pectin and we have a specific density of sugar the two will react together and begin to gel. Adding a little acid (lemon juice) helps the reaction and gives the flavour a boost.
So where do we get pectin?
Well, some fruits are naturally high in pectin. These include Blackberries, Redcurrants, Quince, Tart Apples, Rowanberries, Lemons, Limes, and Cranberries.
Low pectin fruits include. Raspberries, Strawberries, Pears, Blueberries, Peaches, Apricots and Pineapple.
So how do we make a jam or jelly with a fruit that is low in pectin like strawberries? We simply add pectin. This can be done in different ways.
The simplest is to method is just to use jam sugar.
You can make a stock with a high pectin fruit like Redcurrants and add that to your fruit instead of water.
Or you buy Pectin Powder or liquid and add it in to the pan. Liquid can be added with the fruit to the pan. Powder should be mixed in with the sugar before its added to the fruit.
Know your sugar?
You will come across recipes that ask for granulated, jam, or preserving sugar, but what’s the difference?
Granulated Sugar is the basic for of refined sugar and a good economic choice for jams and jellies.
Castor Sugar is simply more finely ground sugar producing finer crystals. Normally used for pastry and deserts. Not recommended for jams and jellies as it contains an anti-caking agent to avoid lumps forming. This produced more foam and waste when cooked with fruits.
Preserving Sugar is a pure sugar with larger crystals. This dissolves a little slower than granulated sugar, reducing the chance of burning. The sugar also produced less foam while still allowing the impurities to rise to the top.
Jam Sugar is preserving sugar with added pectin. This is the easiest way of working with low pectin fruits. Don’t use it with high pectin fruits though, or you will end up with a fruit brick.
Know we know, so, let’s get on with it.
Have a probe thermometer on hand or place a couple of saucers in the freezer to get really cold. I do both.
Give the Blackberries a wash and drain well in a colander. Wash the apple and cut into rough dice about 1.5 cm across. Keep the skin on and include the pips. Tip the apple into the pan and add the fruit on top.
I like to add a little of the zest of the lemon as well as the juice to boost the citrus notes. Using a peeler slice off four strips of zest from the lemon then remove the juice.
Add the juice, zest and any pips liberated to the pan. Bring the pan to a simmer over a medium heat stirring from time to time. Pop on the lid and cook gently for twenty minutes.
I like to press the fruit lightly during cooking. A potato masher is ideal, just press lightly here and there, don’t overdo it and puree the fruit.
Draining the juices.
When the fruit is cooked set up your jelly bag or muslin over a suitable container to catch the juices. Ladle in some of the mixture and leave to drain. After about 10 minutes or so I give the mix a stir with a spoon then Lightly squeeze the bag to extract as much juice as possible.
When you are sure you have as much juices as possible empty the bag and repeat the process until all the mix is filtered.
Wash the pan and return the filtered juice to the pan measuring the volume as you do so.
For each 100ml of juices you will need 75g of sugar. I had 600ml of juice so used 450g of sugar.
The second cooking.
Bring the juice to the simmer then add the sugar. Stir to dissolve the sugar then turn up the heat to a fast simmer / gentle boil. Have your sterilised jars ready and turn on the oven to 100c.
As the juices simmer, a scum will be produced on the surface of the jelly. Use a small ladle or kitchen spoon to lift off the scum and discard. You may need to repeat this as the jelly cooks and reduced down
As the jelly cooks, water will evaporate, the flavour will be concentrated, and the sugar content will increase. When we reach the optimum sugar density, gelling will begin.
How do we know when we have reached setting point?
One way is to pour a little of the jelly onto a cold plate and as the jelly cools push a finger through it to see if it ripples up. If the jelly flows back together it’s not ready. If it ripples up to form a mound it’s ready to go into jars and be sealed.
This can mean quite a bit of messing about. Experienced jam makers can tell by the size of bubbles and how they move in the pan during cooking. Most of us however don’t make jams or jellies enough to be that familiar with the process.
Use a thermometer to insure setting.
I think the best and easiest method is to use a probe thermometer. As the contents of the pan become denser the boiling temperature increases. This means by knowing the boiling temperature of the liquid we know the density. Once the juices reach 105˚c your jam or jelly is ready.
You should get to 102˚c quite quickly but it can take an age to get up to 105˚c. Be patient, stopping the cooking too early means it won’t set correctly. As you get close to been ready pop your jars in the oven to warm up.
When ready, lift off any final scum that has formed and fill the warmed jars. Place a paper disc on the surface of the jelly and seal with the lid.
Let the jars cool then store in a cool dark place. Unopened it should last long enough to see you through to the next berry season.
Nothing beats homemade preserves. A couple of hours work will fill your cupboard with flavour it’s almost impossible to buy!
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
Simple, Summertime Courgette and Tomato Tarts
Its mid-summer, the tomatoes are ripening, and the courgettes are going wild. These Courgette and Tomato Tarts are an ideal way of using up this seasonal bounty. And impressing your guests.
How to make, Rosemary and Red Onion Focaccia Bread
Homemade Focaccia bread is a joy and very versatile. It’s sure to become a family favourite, and a great accompaniment to a BBQ or picnic.
The Best, Walnut Bread, Rich, and Delicious
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.
If you’re not familiar with making bread. Read our page on Making Bread at Home for all the information and tips you need to make your own great bread.
Makes two small loaves.
Ferment.
2tsp – 7g dried yeast
3 tbsp water at blood heat
Good pinch flour
The dough.
330g granary flour
½ tsp- 3g Salt
45g unsalted butter
25g dark brown sugar
190ml milk at blood heat
60g chopped walnuts
60g sultanas
Oven temperature 200˚c 395˚f
You will need.
2 x 1lb loaf tins with liners
Mixing bowl or mixing machine
Small saucepan
Bowl for the milk
A fine sieve
Small bowl for the ferment
Measuring spoons
Chopping board and knife
This is a complex bread enriched with brown sugar, sultanas, and walnuts. All of this can be a struggle for the yeast to cope with, so a ferment is used to help the bread prove. Look up our post on ‘What is Yeast a baker’s guide’ to get the lowdown on how to use yeast and get the best from it.
How to make, a ferment.
Put the flour into a clean mixing bowl and add the salt. Mix the yeast with the lukewarm water in a small bowl add a good pinch of flour stir in and leave to stand for 15-20 minutes. The contents of the bowl should be light and bubbly when ready for use.
Getting organised.
To enhance the ‘nutty’ flavour of the bread we are going to toast the butter and make nut brown butter. The French term for this is ‘Beurre Noisette which is commonly used at a dressing for fish, pasta, and vegetables.
Before you start whisk the milk and sugar together in a small bowl. Have a small fine sieve ready and keep both to hand.
How to make, Beurre Noisette.
Dice the butter and pop into a small saucepan. Place the pan over a medium heat and watch it closely. This will need your undivided attention. You can go from Beurre Noisette to Beurre Noir (black butter) very quickly.
Watch the pan like a hawk. The butter will begin to foam and make a crackling sound as the moisture is driven off. After a couple of minutes, the foaming will slow down the noise from the pan become quieter. You are now seconds away from been ready. The butter will start to become golden brown with a light crust on the surface.
Immediately strain the butter through the fine sieve into the milk and stir well.
If you think the butter has gone too far DON’T put into the milk. You will just waste everything. Get some fresh butter and have another go. Don’t worry once you have mastered it its quite straightforward.
Making the dough.
Put the flour and salt into a mixing bowl with the dough hook attached and mix on a slow speed. Pour the milk and butter mixture into the flour a little at a time. Then add the ferment water which should now be actively bubbling with yeast.
Mix on a low speed for 10 minutes to stretch the dough after which it should be soft and elastic.
Roughly chop the walnuts and add them to the dough with the sultanas.
Remove the dough hook then cover the bowl with a cloth leave in a warm place (about 25°C/75°F) for the dough to rise. This will take about 1 hour.
Moulding the dough.
Tip the dough out onto the work surface and ‘knock back, the dough. Do this by punching it with the heel of your hand 2 or 3 times; this will release some of the gases in the dough. Then fold the dough over three or four times to spread the yeast cells through the dough.
Roll out the dough into a long sausage shape and divide into 2 pieces. Place the dough ‘sausages’ in the lined tins and cover with a tea towel. leave the tins in a warm, draught-free place to ‘prove’ for about 45 minutes. When ready the loaves should have almost doubled in size.
Alternatively, the dough can be formed into small loaves on a baking sheet.
Baking the bread.
Bake the bread in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes.
When baked turn the loaves out of the tins onto a wire rack to cool completely before use. Use within three days or freeze for later use.
Tips.
A packet fast action yeast can be used instead of the dried yeast if wished.
To add even more flavour, try the addition of ½ tsp of chopped fresh rosemary leaves into the dough.
Do give this bread a try. I guarantee once you have, it will become a regular treat.
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
A guide to Flour Types and uses.
This bakers guide will answer all your questions about flour. Types and grades of flour are explained. Along with a range of alternative flours. See our tips on baking and using different types of flour.
Making Bread at Home.
Making bread at home? All your questions answered here. Together with hints and tips to help you.
What is yeast? A Baker’s guide.
What is Yeast? Yeast is all around us, in different forms. It’s a single cell organism without which life would be all the poorer. We know that bakers use it to make a dough ‘rise’. Without it, our bread would be like flat, hard cakes. A little understanding of how yeast works and what it needs will improve our baking. And reduce our failures.
In the days when people made their own bread, they would go to a brewer and get a jug of fluid and yellow brewer’s yeast.
Nowadays, yeast is made commercially on a large scale. The yeast you buy at the shops is compressed into moist blocks of a grey / yellow plasticine like mass. Fresh yeast like this is my favourite form of yeast. It produces a better flavour in the bread and is easy to use, but its shelf life can be a problem if you don’t bake frequently.
Also, if you don’t live in or near a city you may have problems buying fresh yeast. For that reason, all the recipes in the blog use yeast in a dried form.
Yeast types.
As far as our bread is concern, we have four options we can use: –
Fresh, or ‘wet’ yeast.
As I’ve said great to use, but a problem to find and store. If your local wholefood store doesn’t sell a lot of yeast, it may be deteriorating before your get your hands on it. Also, as the wastage can be high, so shops will charge a premium for fresh yeast. fresh yeast can be crumbled directly into the flour or used to make a ferment (my preference).
Freezing fresh yeast.
You can freeze fresh yeast. Wrap it in tinfoil and if you have it pop the parcel into a small bubble wrap bag then freeze. The bubble wrap will protect the yeast from the harshness of the freezer and prolong its life.
The yeast will be fluid when defrosted and you will need to add a little more to the recipe when making the dough. This is because some of the yeast cells may have been damaged during the freezing.
Natural yeasts – sourdough.
This is a simple basic process where we mix flour and water together and allowing the natural airborne yeasts begin to ferment the batter. This is then cleaned and fed each day for five to seven days to make our ferment, or sourdough starter as it is known. Look up our post on making your own sourdough starter.
The long slow proving needed for sourdough produces a bread with great flavour and keeping qualities. Nothing beats sourdough toast!
Dried yeast.
This is fresh yeast dried and compressed into pellets. Usually sold in a small tin and needs to be mixed with water before use. DO NOT add it directly into the flour as it will not dissolve in the dough. Works fine, I would always recommend making a ferment to make sure the yeast is properly dissolved.
Fast Action Yeast.
This in the one you buy in the little tin foil pouches. Originally developed for bread making machines this is a finer grain. This means it will dissolve in a dough without pre-mixing with water. The ‘Fast Action part is because vitamin C has been added to the yeast to supercharge it and help the machine produce a lighter loaf.
Changing from fresh to dried yeast.
Both are fine to use at home and there is a basic rule for converting a recipe from fresh yeast to dried or visa vera. Use half the weight of dried yeast to the fresh quantity. And of course, use double the weight of fresh yeast to dried in the recipe.
How yeast works.
Yeast requires sugar (glucose) before it can ferment. Luckily, yeast contains enzymes which are capable of changing both cane sugar, (sucrose) and malt sugar (Maltose) into Dextrose. So almost any sweet material (except milk sugar) will assist in fermentation.
The problems with sugar
As wheat flour already contains 2.5% of these sugars. Any mixture of flour and water will readily ferment without the addition of any extra sugar. What’s important is the concentration of sugar that the yeast has to cope with. A dough with more than 12% sugar will be inhibiting the actions of the yeast. This must be remembered when doughs are made which are very rich in sugar. The yeast content must be increased to compensate for this effect. I would always use a ferment as well to give the best chance of success.
High fat breads.
Excess, fat, salt, sugar, and spices all slow down the progress of the yeast. Where we have a dough with very high concentrations of fat like a brioche dough. The majority of the fat is added to the dough at the ‘knocking back stage’. This give the dough time to prove and develop before the fat is worked in.
Salt.
Direct contact with salt will kill yeast. 7-10g of salt per 0.50kg of flour should be plenty for the dough without inhibiting the action of the yeast too much.
Making a ferment.
This is something a like to do. And is beneficial for the dough, particularly rich doughs like my walnut bread.
Take the yeast and mix to a smooth paste in a small dish using blood temperature water. The mix should be the consistency of double cream. Add a good pinch of the flour you will be using and mix in. over the dish with a tea towel and leave to stand for a while. When the yeast is bubbling and has risen in the dish your ferment is ready to use.
And that’s where the term ‘Proving’ comes from. Many years ago, before modern cold storage you couldn’t be sure if the yeast was still active enough to make bread. Mixing the yeast with flour and water and seeing it ferment and grow proved the yeast was fit for use. Today we still do this but for a different reason. It allows the yeast to get a head start. And begin to multiply before having to cope with concentrations of fat or sugar.
Temperature.
How many times have you seen ‘warm’ water specified in a bread recipe or prove in a warm place? The problem here is our interpretation of ‘warm’. You may have noticed above I specified ‘blood temperature water’ for making the ferment. We are warm blooded, so anything warm feels neutral to us.
Yeast is dormant at (0°c) but as the temperature increases so too does the activity of the yeast until at (49°c) it becomes killed. The best working temperatures are between (21-28˚c).
Without understanding this, it is easy to be tempted to ferment yeast at too high a temperature. Even 28°c) feels comparatively cool to the touch. Too high a temperature causes the dough skin ove and spoils the formation of the interior of the bread.
If you’re not sure how warm your water should be, here’s a simple baker’s trick.
Take the temperature you want your dough to be, let’s say 26˚c then double it, that’s 52˚c.
Take the temperature of the flour you are using. Let’s say it’s been in the larder and is only 18˚c.
Take that from the target temperature, and that’s the water temperature you need- 52˚c-18˚c =34˚c.
So, when you are making your bread remember it’s a living thing. Using yeast is not unlike growing a plant. You start with a few cells that need to cared for in the right way.
Not too hot, some moisture, be careful with the minerals and your yeast will grow and flourish. And of course, so will your bread.
Enjoy life!
John.
©John Webber. 2023
How To Grow Your Own Tomatoes.
Grow your own tomatoes at home. It’s easy and if I can do it anybody can.
Easy Soda Breads to Make at Home.
Make these easy soda breads at home. It’s so satisfying and rewarding everybody should be doing it.