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.
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 Soufflés 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.
There are a few key points to souffle success, and I will explain all of these and highlight them at the end of the blog. This is a long post, but don’t be put off. I have tried to go into a much detail as possible to explain what is happening at each stage.
You can ether serve these on Christmas day or use them as a way of using up leftover pudding. I think Christmas pudding falls into the same trap as the turkey and the Christmas cake. We always buy one that is too large!
My advice is to make things as easy as possible and make the pastry cream the day before. That only leaves you to mix the base and whip the egg whites and you are ready to go.
Place the egg yolks into a medium sized bowl and beat in the dark brown sugar with a small whisk. Add the vanilla essence, flour, salt, and cornflower and mix together.
Mix in just enough of the milk to form a batter, then put the remaining milk on the stove to heat up. Have a small bowl, icing sugar and some cling film ready to receive the finished cream.
When the milk is hot, but not boiling, slowly add the milk to the bowl containing the egg yolks and flours. Make sure to whisk continually as you add the milk. When all the milk has been added, tip the contents of the bowl back into the pan, use a spatula to make sure all the ingredients have been transferred to the pan.
Return the pan to the heat and use the whisk to keep the contents moving. As the pan gets close to boiling the cream will begin to thicken. Give the cream a good whisking then switch to the spatula reducing the heat a little. Cook the cream over the heat for two to three minutes, when it should be thick enough to stand up on its own.
Scrape the pastry cream into a small bowl, levelling it off a little.
As soon as the pastry cream is levelled off, sprinkle a layer of icing sugar on top, then tightly cover with cling film.
As the cream cools, steam will turn the icing sugar into a syrup which will prevent a tough skin forming on the surface. The pastry cream can now be allowed to cool and will keep three to four days in the fridge.
This is one of the key stages in producing a good souffle. Look for ramekins with straight sides, (curved ones don’t work that well) and that are not too thick and heavy.
Heavier ramekins do work, but the souffle won’t begin to cook until the heat as penetrated the walls of the ramekin.
Have some soft, not melted butter, and caster sugar to hand. Using a pastry brush, coat the insides of the ramekin with the butter. Spoon some caster sugar into the ramekin, then holding the ramekin on its side rotate it letting the sugar spill back into the container. Have a good look at the inside and the rim of the ramekin, if you see any uncoated areas have another go.
For this I’m using 9cm / 175ml ramekins, but you can use smaller ones if you wish.
Turn your oven on to 200˚c – 400˚f. I prefer to use a standard oven for souffles as I find some fan ovens can cause the souffles to lean over, like a tree in a strong wind.
Place a baking tray onto the middle shelf of the oven to pre – heat making sure there is enough hight above it to allow the souffles to rise.
Just before you begin to tackle the whites, have a bowl ready to mix everything together. Check the Christmas pudding and pastry cream are warm enough to work with. Particularly if you made the pastry cream the day before. A few seconds in the microwave will help. They need to be just warm and soft – not hot!
In a large clean bowl whisk the egg whites a little then add the cream of tartar. I prefer to whisk the whites by hand, so I can feel when they are ready. When you have light snowy texture begin to sprinkle in the sugar. This will stabilise the meringue and make it easier to mix in later.
Use a machine by all means but be careful not to over whisk them. We don’t want the whites to be fully whipped, we are looking for what’s known as soft peak. The best way to judge this is to lift the whisk vertically out of the white then quicky turn it over. A peak of whites will be left on the end of the whisk. If the point of the peak has fallen over, that’s soft peak. If the peak sits firm and proud, that’s stiff peak.
Think of the egg white like a balloon. If they are over inflated by too much whisking as they rise in the oven they will inflate even more and like a balloon, burst. You will see your souffle rise in the oven, and just as you begin to congratulate yourself it will deflate and collapse in front of you.
Lightly whisk one-quarter of the whites into the souffle base to loosen it slightly, and then carefully fold in the remainder. Make sure that you do not overwork the mixture – this is to ensure you do not knock out all the air previously whisked in.
Take the mixing bowl and add the Christmas pudding and rum. Using the spatula, beat the two together to soften the pudding. Add the pastry cream to the bowl and beat the two together to combine.
Now take roughly a quarter of the whites and beat them into the base you have just made. This is to soften up the mixture even more.
Add all the remaining whites to the bowl, but now gently fold the white into the base with the spatula.
The technique we use is called, Cut and Fold. Hold the spatula at the far side of the bowl, toughing the bottom of the bowl, with the edge facing towards you. Bring the spatula towards you and as you reach the edge of the bowl twist your wrist and lift the spatula. This will lift the mixture at the bottom of the bowl to the surface and fold it into the souffle mix. Give the bowl a slight turn then repeat the process.
Keep folding and turning the bowl until the whites are incorporated into the souffle.
Over folding will spoil the souffle. So, if you’re not sure when to stop, look at the mixture. When you have thin streaks of egg white still visible it ready. If the egg whites have completely disappeared, its overmixed. Don’t worry the streaks of egg white will disappear in baking.
Contrary to common belief, the souffles do not need to go into the oven immediately. So, relax, you can leave the filled ramekins ten minutes or so without problem. However, when they come out of the oven, we need to serve them at once. If you are serving a number of people, appoint somebody to be ready and help carry them to the table when they are ready.
Make sure you have your serving plates ready. If you are serving ice cream, have it already scooped back in the freezer, and have an icing sugar sieve ready to dust the cooked souffles.
Open the oven, and quickly place the souffles onto the pre-heated tray, closing the door as quickly as possible. Don’t be tempted to have a peep at them while they are cooking, set a timer for 12 minutes. Go round and top up the drinks, put anything like ice cream of cream ready onto the table, and wait.
When the timer goes off you should have well risen light brown souffles. Lift the tray from the oven, dust the tops of the souffles with icing sugar and serve.
It’s crucial that the mixture can rise within the dish it’s been baked in. make sure the whole of the interior of the dish is coated as well as the rim. If your souffle only rises at one side, its because you missed coating a bit of the inside.
For the souffles to rise we need to get heat into the ramekins as quickly as possible. Using a cold baking tray will slow down the cooking process resulting in in a souffle that is cooked on top, but raw underneath.
Less is more here, if you’re not sure on how to whisk the whites have a practice beforehand. A couple of wasted egg whites could save you a whole batch of souffle mix.
Folding the whites into the base, using cut and fold retains the air beaten into the whites. Why go to all that bother to whisk in all that air, then beat it back out again.
There is an easy way to compare the capacity of dishes like ramekins. Place the dish onto the scales. Set the scale to zero and to read in grams. Fill the dish with water and when its full, note the weight. One millilitre of water weighs one gram, so if the scales show 140 grams that’s 140 millilitres. This recipe filles 4 x 175ml ramekins, that’s 680ml. divide that by 140 and its 5. So, the recipe will fill five of your ramekins.
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
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.
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 already have, and all are easily available if you don’t. So, let’s have a look and see my choices and how I would use them.
Some of these items are used to enhance the way that our taste buds perceive flavours. Some act like all-in-one seasonings, but with all of them the key is restraint. They should be there, but not there. If your guests comment on tasting the ingredient itself, you have overdone it!
I know some of these might seem strange but think about it. The main flavour sensations we are trying to create in our cooking are hot, sweet, salty, sour, and umami. A great dish will encompass at least two of these. And learning how to season is a key skill in becoming a great cook.
Adding a dash of mustard into any white sauce will give them a lift. The French version, been made with wine and vinegar adds an acidic punch as is great to season and lighten a creamy pasta dish.
Mustard also acts as a thickener and stabiliser. Perfect for holding the fatty products and liquids together in a salad dressing or sauce. Try rubbing a layer of mustard with chopped herbs onto your lamb or Turkey roast before cooking. It will produce a lovely flavoursome crust.
I use these as a basic seasoning alongside sea salt and pepper. The chemicals in chilli effect the taste buds in the mouth and to produce a warming balance to flavours.
I use a medium heat chilli, and some restraint is required not to overdo the dosing. The Capsaicin, which is the active ingredient, can become addictive. Leading to your food become hotter and hotter. Great for you, but not your guests!
Many a chef has a bottle of tomato ketchup sitting ready to add into a struggling dish. They may not admit it, but believe me, its not just for the staff lunch.
Try a dash of ketchup in a bolognaise for a super tomato sauce.
If you like to make your own burgers, adding ketchup really brings out the flavour of the meat. Heavy stews can be lifted with the addition of ketchup.
Been an emulsion, mayonnaise is great used as an enrichment in dishes. Try a dash in mashed potato, in place of butter for a healthier option. Fish soups benefit from a spoonful of mayonnaise worked in off the heat just before serving.
If you like to use very lean meat to make your burgers, they can be a little dry. Mix in some mayonnaise to enrich the meat without the saturated fat. If you like to finish you soups with a dash of cream, try some mayonnaise instead for a smooth finish on the tongue.
Traditionally British, yet with strong oriental connections this classic sauce is fermented with anchovies, tamarind, vinegar, sugar, onions and garlic. The exact recipe is closely guarded. It’s easy to overdo it when using Worcester sauce, just add a few drops at time to add a satisfying umami finish to the dish.
A classic accompaniment to tomato-based dishes but also great added into stews and casseroles. Add the sauce into the dish during cooking so it blends into the dish rather than been the first thing you taste. Rub a (very) small amount onto a cooked steak before serving. If you are pan frying a steak, deglaze the pan with a few drops of sauce added just before the wine of stock to make a great gravy.
One of my favourite ingredients, it differs from standard paprika by been made from dried and smoked peppers. This give the spice a smoky almost campfire background that I find addictive. Like standard paprika its available in mild (dulce) and hot (picante) versions according to the type of peppers used. I find the hot version to bs more useful, by adding one of our five flavour sensations into the mix.
Try ringing the changes to your lentil soup with a spoonful of paprika cooked into the soup. Add some into a dry meat rub, to impart an extra smoky ascent to the crust.
Chilli con carne takes on a new identity with the addition of hot smoked paprika.
Make a whole new version of scrambled eggs by cooking some gently in the butter before adding the eggs.
Paprika can burn easily so be careful not to overdo it.
Pesto, whatever herb it is made with becomes an instant explosion of flavour. A range of pesto’s made with different herbs and frozen in small cubes is immensely useful in any kitchen.
Ether add into a soup or float the defrosted pesto into the top of the soup as both a garnish and seasoning in one. Cheese toasty? Spread a little pesto onto the bread, and wham. Mix pesto into soft butter for an herby spread. Try fried eggs, finished with a dollop of pesto.
Add to mashed potato, instant flavour on a plate. Boring shop bought pizza? Add some pesto, and you’ll think you’re in Italy! Try out our own basil Pesto, find the recipe, HERE.
Now here I mean REALLY GOOD wine vinegar. This is the one where you will need to look further afield that the supermarket. Try a good deli or even amazon if that’s not possible. If when you taste it, your mouth locks up, its not good enough. Expect to pay a lot more that you think to get a really good vinegar. Balsamic vinegar is the one that gets all the hype, and it can be outstanding. However, to get a top-quality balsamic vinegar is extremely expensive. If its too cheap be suspicious, it likely to the be a harsh unaged raw vinegar. More likely to ruin a dish that improve it.
Use some red wine or red fruits vinegar to deglaze a pan after cooking a steak and before adding the stock. Better than using cheap wine.
Heavy stews and casseroles, particularly game benefit from finishing with a fruit-based vinegar. A few drops of sherry vinegar are a great finish for fried eggs.
Finish tomato soup with a few drops of red wine, or fruit vinegar.
As above there is a world of difference in the quality of olive oils. As I write this the cost of olive oil has risen sharply due to a poor harvest last year.
The premium oil is known as cold pressed virgin olive oil. Here the olives have the oil remove purely by pressing them. The oil can be purchased in filtered and unfiltered versions. Commercial olive oil is extracted by heating the olive and using a centrifuge to spin out the oil. This is very efficient but the heating process losses some of the flavour from the oil. The flavour of the oil can be defined as been ether fruity or peppery, some been quite harsh on the pallet. Personally, I tent to go for the fruity versions.
I should say that this oil is used mainly as an ingredient. Depending on the type of oil used the smoke point (burning) can be too low and aggressive frying will cause the oil to burn and become bitter.
For frying by preference is to use sunflower oil with the addition of a little butter once the initial heat has been reduced.
Surely salt is salt. well, no, mined and iodized table salt is well, just salty. Sea salts on the other hand have additional minerals from the seawater the salt is evaporated from. This adds addition flavour and often adds umami notes adding to the flavour profile of the food.
Finish your bread dough with a sprinkling of flaky salt before baking for a great crunch and flavour.
Harissa.
Use this as a marinade with the addition of some olive oil and lemon juice. Add to or serve alongside Hummus.
Rub under the skin of a chicken before roasting. Pop a half a lemon and a couple of cloves of bruised garlic into the cavity, then into the oven. The skin will stop the Harissa burning while the flavours seep into the meat and also stop the breast from drying out.
Use harissa to flavour roasted vegetables, great with roasted carrots.
If you want to try and make your own Harissa, check out our recipe, HERE.
A little like the Sea Salt there is more to pepper than you might think. Now what I would like you to do is go to your kitchen cupboard, grab that container of ground white pepper and throw it into the bin. That’s not what we mean when we talk about pepper!
Peppercorns are small, dried berries, and there are many different varieties available, Including, Szechuan, Pink, Green, Tellicherry, White, Black, Long and Sansho.
Each pepper has its own characteristics, adding that bit extra to the dish. Start with black peppercorns and invest in a pepper mill, you will never look back.
In the past I have even had a pepper grinder filled with a mixture of peppercorns, blended for a particular use.
Of course, things don’t stop there, we can make other additions to the table just by using these ingredients themselves.
Mix some harissa, or pesto into mayonnaise to make an instant dip.
Mix some ketchup, Worchester sauce, vinegar and a dash of oil for an instant dressing.
Try some ketchup with a pinch of smoked paprika and Worcester sauce for a super, and quick barbeque marinade.
Use your olive oil, vinegar, and a dash of mustard to make a French dressing.
This is not a definitive list; we could go on and on. I have a cupboard full of spices in my kitchen not to mention fresh herbs, and garlic from the garden. These are the items I use most frequently, and I believe should be in everyone’s kitchen. If you have any favourites I have left out, let me know.
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
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.
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 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. The fundamentals of making shortbread are very like pastry and it would be worth reading our post on ‘Getting to grips with pastry.’ To put things into perspective.
The big barrier to getting crisp, light shortbread is gluten so a low protein plain flour, maximum 10% must be used. Shipton Mill do a nice Organic Soft Cake and Pastry White Flour with just over 9% protein.
This is a gluten free agent added into the flour to further reduce the protein in the flour and make it lighter.
Cornflour, always on hand and disappears into the flour perfectly. Use if you need a biscuit with a good snap Overdoing the quantity can make a dry powdery finish in the mouth.
Rice flour gives a rougher texture to the dough with a crumbly nature.
Ground almonds, make the dough crumblier, but also heavier. They also need a dash of almond essence to boost their flavour.
Some people like granulated sugar to give a gritty texture, but I’m not a fan.
Caster Sugar is a common choice and gives a good result. Golden caster offers a little more flavour in the dough.
Icing sugar is my preferred choice, unrefined sugar could also be used.
Use the best unsalted butter you can. The lower the water content of the butter the better the shortbread will be. While it may seem counter intuitive some chef’s lower quality use a pastry butter / margarine instead of superior quality dairy butter. This is because the pastry butter has an exceptionally low moisture content. The shortbread is crisper, but the flavour suffers.
True shortbread dough should be au natural, but I sometimes use a little vanilla to enhance the flavour of the butter. You could also add some chocolate chips or citrus zest if you like. Try sprinkling demerara sugar on the surface of the dough before cooking to add a sweet crunch.
Some small tweaks here to make the lightest shortbread. I use a two to one mix of plain flour and cornflour to really reduce the gluten content. I also like to add a touch of baking powder to help the dough rise in the oven and become airier. Finally, we use icing sugar to make a nice smooth dough. I like to roll the dough into logs and then slice the biscuits off (see below). This minimises stretching, and toughening the dough.
Here the rice flour helps lighten the dough. The texture of the rice flour is coarser, hence the ‘Sandy’ nature of the shortbread
This recipe uses ground almonds to reduce the gluten content of the flour. Along with the egg yolk this makes the shortbread richer abet slightly heavier.
Mix the butter icing sugar, vanilla, and salt (Unless you’re using salted butter) on low speed in the mixer until smooth. Increase the speed of the mixer to medium and cream the butter mix for three to four minutes. The mix should become soft and lighten.
Bring the speed of the mixer back to low and add the sifted flours mixing only just enough to incorporate the flour. Take extra care not to overwork the dough! It is better to finish the mixing of the dough by hand The lighter this is done the better the final shortbread will be.
Rollout the dough carefully dusting with a little flour as you go. Don’t be too vigorous with the rolling and turn the dough as you go. This will Roll the dough to the required thickness according to use and cut out with a cutter dipped in flour on each cut.
The remaining dough can be brought together once more then re rolled and cut again. Discard and dough left over from the second rolling.
If you can’t be bothered with all that rolling, and don’t mind slightly rustic biscuits there’s another option. Bring the dough together and split into two. Roll each dough into a log 4cm in diameter and wrap in greaseproof paper. Chill for 15 minutes, then slice into 1cm rounds.
Lay the biscuits out onto a baking sheet and prick with a fork. Leave to rest for about 15 minutes, use that time to heat up the oven read for baking. Bake the shortbread in the centre of the oven at 160° for roughly until light golden brown around the edges.
As the biscuits are removed from the oven dust with caster sugar and allow to cool before storage.
If you don’t have a food mixer you can make the dough in a food processor, or by hand. The processor makes a decent job of the creaming, but great care is needed not to overwork the dough when the flour is added. I would recommend using the processor just to cream the butter and sugar and then work in the flour by hand.
Yes, the best way of doing this is to carefully roll the dough into a log about 5cm in diameter. Wrap the log in greaseproof paper, then freeze on a tray. To bake, remove the cling film from the logs and slice into 5mm thick discs. Lay the biscuits out onto a baking tray, then place in the oven for around 8 minutes, until nicely golden brown.
I always do, but some people choose to use the rubbing in method. Mix the flour and sugar together then rub the cold diced butter in with your fingers or a pastry knife.
This will make a very crumbly shortbread with very little snap.
Easy, make the dough as described above. Line a rectangular baking tin with baking paper leaving a good overlap at the sides. Press the dough into the tin to a dept of 2cm than prick the dough all over with a fork. Leave the dough to rest for 15 minutes then bake as above. When cooked, remove from the oven, and let cool in the tin for 10 minutes. Then using the paper overlap, carefully lift the shortbread out onto a chopping board. Take a cook’s knife and using a guillotine like motion cut the shortbread into fingers. Let the shortbread cool completely before removing from the paper.
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
© Copywrite, John Webber. 2024
© Copywrite, John Webber. 2024
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
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.
Baba Ganoush is commonly eaten throughout Syria and Lebanon and is traditionally made with aubergines roasted over an open fire. Great if you have one available, but I’ve explained how to do this in your kitchen at home.
I prefer to use Roast Garlic for this recipe as its less pungent and makes for a more delicate yet flavourful dish. If you don’t want to go to the bother of roasting garlic, have a look at the F.A.Qs below for a tip to mellow fresh garlic. If you do, look up our post on How to Be a Garlic Expert, to see how to do it, it’s easy!
Take the aubergines and prick them all over with a small knife. This is to stop the possibility of the aubergines exploding when handled. Getting covered in boiling hot aubergine is definitely not recommended.
Rub the skins with a dash of oil then place them on a tray in a very hot oven. Set the oven as high as it will go. Alternatively, if you cook on gas and don’t mind the mess just pop the aubergine directly over the open flame. This is the traditional was of cooking the aubergines and adds a smokie hint to the mixture. You could of course use the barbeque to do this as well.
After about 20 minutes the aubergines should be ready. If doing this in the oven I also like to attack them with a chef’s blowtorch. This will add a little of the flavour we are missing by using the oven. If you’re not sure on how to do this safely don’t try it, it’s not essential to the dish.
Carefully slice each aubergine oven then let them cool for five minutes.
The skin should just peel off the flesh. If it’s too hot to handle place one in a sieve set over a bowl and scoop out the flesh from the skin with a spoon.
When all the flesh is in the sieve, discard the skins, then spread the flesh around the sides of the sieve, pressing it lightly. The objective is to strain off as much liquid as possible from the flesh, you will be amazed how much is released from the flesh.
Tip the flesh from the sieve into a mixing bowl, we want the mix to be rustic with some texture. But if you want the mix to be totally smooth and creamy use a small food processor. Don’t run the machine constantly, just pulse it or the mix will be too watery.
Add the roast garlic, salt, chilli flakes, Sumac and Tahini. Work the ingredients together with a spatula. If some bits refuse to break down use a table fork to soften them down.
Add the olive oil and half of the lemon juice and mix again. Have a taste and add more lemon juice and salt if needed. Be generous with the lemon juice as it will lighten the mix and give a fresh tang to the aubergine.
When you are happy with the flavour, cover the bowl and leave the mixture to stand for at least an hour before serving. Make it the day before by all means, store it in the fridge and let it come to room temperature before serving.
Spread the mixture out onto a deep plate. Using a bowl spoils the presentation and makes it more difficult to serve yourself.
Sprinkle the surface with toasted pine kernels and a few pomegranate seeds. The sharpness of the pomegranate works well against the rich mixture.
Finish with some chopped parsley and I like to use a little herb oil to top things off.
Yes, we can just use fresh garlic. I would only use 1- 1½ cloves for the recipe as its much stronger than the roasted version.
Peel and crush garlic, squeeze the juice from the lemon then steep the sliced garlic in the juice for 20 minutes. This will take some of the fierceness off the garlic. The garlic and the juice can then both be used in the recipe.
Tahini is a paste made from ground sesame seeds and olive oil. Some varieties may also include some sesame oil for added punch. It is used as a thickening and flavouring ingredient in middle eastern cooking. Don’t just limit it to that, it makes a good dip, salad dressing, or just have it on toast!
Sumac is the ground berry of a shrub found in the middle east and parts of Europe.
The berries are deseeded, dried and ground into a powdered spice.
It has a deep crimson-red colour and is a really useful spice to lift fish and vegetable dishes. It has a tangy slightly sour flavour. Think of it like a powdered slightly sweet lemon juice. Great for bringing out flavours in food.
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
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!