OMG This Must Be THE Best Omelette Ever!

Sorry about the over the top title to this blog, I was going to call it Crunchy Chorizo Flecked Omelette but you know how it is – we have to try harder and harder to make ourselves noticed on social media and saying …

“Mm, that was rather nice” 

probably wouldn’t do it!,

This rather nice omelette has been evolving over some time and, in fact, I have written about it in its earlier stages before but details below.  

This is just a quick post to tell you of a great idea I had …

I am very partial to chorizo and have often added it to my favourite omelette but the other idea I had a brilliant idea.  Instead of adding the chorizo to the filling I coarsely chopped it and gently cooked it slightly in a little oil in the proposed omelette pan.

I then cooked the omelette in accordance with instructions here so that, over the higher heat, the chorizo crisped up and flecked the outside of the omelette.  Good idea of what?

Gorgeous Omelette Recipe

There I go again!

This omelette filling has been evolving for some while …

~   Thinly slice a red onion and cook like this.
~   When the onions are soft but not caramelising add 2 or 3 small new potatoes, thinly sliced, plus just a splash of water.  Replace the foil covering and lid (you need so see how to cook the onions, here!) and continue cooking till they are completely soft.

~   These days I then stir in half a teaspoonful of smoky, medium hot chipotle paste, which I get from Asda.
~   Whisk up 2 eggs and make the omelette(with the chorizo as above) and, when the egg is almost cooked, add the oniony/potato/chipotle mix and grate over some mature cheddar cheese.
~   Fold in half, pour out a glass of red wine and eat.

This is a great way of making the most of a little leftover chorizo but, of course, omelettes are great for making the most of all sorts of leftover foods which, as you may know, are something of a passion with me!

See here for detailed instructions on making an omelette 

and 

See here for more about my book on cooking delicious meals with leftovers.

Penne in a Creamy Blue Cheese Sauce with Roasted Pears

Firstly, an admission ~ I wanted to refer back to the post about this lovely blue cheese pasta recipe which I wrote in 2010 but the whole thing seems to have disappeared!   So, instead I referred back to my old Sudden Lunch! files and have repeated the whole thing, virtually verbatim, here! 

I had lunch for dinner last night – makes a change! The reason being that I was out all day and was absolutely starving, darlings, by the time I got in. So, my evening lunch was whipped up quickly out of a few things I had laying around the place, notably some award winning and scrummy Cornish Blue Cheese and some Butterscotch Roasted Pears. I was not that surprised, therefore, when I made this dish as it is an old standby of mine. 

Please pin for future reference!

Years ago, at work, I did a dessert of Butterscotch Baked Pears. It sold well but I found I was left with a couple of portions; too small an amount to offer on the evening’s menu but too big to throw away. (Actually, I think almost everything is too big to throw away – I can’t abide waste, my dears, which is why I wrote Creative Ways to Use Up Leftovers.

Anyhoo, the upshot is that I stirred the pears into a Gorgonzola sauce I had made, and it was divine. One customer trailed sadly after me for weeks until I gave him the recipe (I was a little embarrassed).  The reason I had some of these pears laying around last night is that I was making some Butterscotch Pear Ice Cream (see Luscious Ice Cream without a Machine for the recipe!).

The basic Pasta in Blue Cheese Sauce recipe, for which I now use the wonderful Cornish Blue, goes thus …

Penne Pasta in  Blue Cheese Alfredo – for 2

200ml double cream

15g butter

25g freshly grated Parmesan

50g crumbled Cornish Blue Cheese (or Gorgonzola, Cambozola, Stilton, etc)

salt and pepper to taste – I myself, personally, would be heavy on freshly ground black pepper

225g (raw weight) penne (or other) pasta – cooked

~   Gently heat the butter and the cream together, stirring, till the butter has melted into the cream.
~   Add the 50g of shredded Parmesan and the blue cheese and stir till melted.
~   Slowly bring almost to a boil, then immediately turn down the heat and simmer gently, still stirring quite a lot but only for a minute or so, maybe less, till you have a smooth creamy sauce.

~   Toss together with the cooked pasta till all hot.

~   Stir in a handful of butterscotch baked pears or, perhaps, sprinkle with crunchy toasted walnuts.

Butterscotch Baked Pears

500g ripe but still a little firm pears – about 4

85g butter

85g soft light brown sugar

pinch of salt

~   Preheat oven to 180ºC/350°F/160ºC fan/gas 4.
~   Peel and core and halve, slice or dice the pears according to how you intend serving them.
~   Put the butter, sugar and salt into a shallow oven proof dish and heat in the oven for a few minutes till melted.
~   Turn the pears in the buttery goo to coat.
~   Cover with foil and bake for about 45 – 60 minutes till the pears are tender and reclining in a butterscotch sauce.

Serve with ice cream or cream, in cakes, pancakes, etc. or add to the above pasta dish.

A Genius Idea for Food Scraps

~ Food Collections ~

I have written before of the sheer handiness of having collections of this and that but it is worth repeating and going into more detail.  

Collecting your scraps saves money, avoids food waste, allows for spontaneity and can make you happy with the delicious food you make! 

The idea is simple – group together similar scraps and leftovers in the fridge or freezer, as appropriate, and add to them till you have enough to make something delicious.  For instance …

Bread Scraps

I always keep bits of unwanted bread in the freezer, they can be used in so many ways. Here are some of them …

~  bread pudding
~  French toast pancakes,
~  stuffing,
~  breadcrumbs
~  croutons
~  bread sauce, and
~  7 interestingly different ideas for leftover bread

Cheese Scraps

I keep this collection in a box at the back of the fridge. Wrap the cheeses loosely in parchment or greaseproof paper and then store in plastic bags in the box. A scrap of cheese can be good added to egg dishes, mashed potatoes, pasta sauces and so on. Here are 64 ideas for leftover cheese I wrote about earlier! 

Pastry Scraps

Every time I make my real man a pie (just about weekly) I add the pastry trimmings to my collection so that I can make these delicious pastry recipes.

Raw Meat Trimmings

Steak in particular – when cooking professionally and cutting up a whole tenderloin or sirloin etc. any good quality trimmings and undersized pieces I used to make Peppered Steak Salad. 

Other meats – when there are enough scrappy bits I make stock.   Better quality trimmings, both raw and cooked can be added to soups, stir fries, risotto, pasta dishes etc.  Sometimes if the meat is all good quality but a little fatty I make burgers, they are very easy. Not necessarily beef burgers, however, here is a great recipe using pork trimmings …

BBQ Pork Burgers

2 rashers bacon – I like smoked
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp dark brown sugar
½ tsp salt
500g good quality pork scraps – minced or fairly finely chopped
1 tbsp oil
BBQ sauce

~   Coarsely chop the bacon and cook, preferably in its own fat, till crisp.  Drain on kitchen roll.

~   Mix together the next 3 ingredients.

~   Form the chopped meat into two or three burgers.  People sometime ask me what I add to burgers to keep them together e.g. egg or breadcrumbs but the answer is Nothing. Just munge it lovingly together and all should be well.

~   Rub the burgers with the sugar mix.

~   Brush with a little oil and grill or pan fry till crisp and golden and cooked through – it can be a bit risky under cooking pork.

~   Brush with BBQ sauce and pop back on the grill for a minute or two.

~   Serve on buns drizzled with more BBQ sauce and a great addition is a spoonful of coleslaw on each burger.

Seafood Scraps

Freeze in two separate collections – raw and cooked.

A gorgeous use of varied fish scraps, both raw and cooked, is my Seafood Chowder but there are lots of other good ways to use them; fish cakes, salads, risotto, pasta dishes, fish pâté and more – over 30 ideas in my Creative Ways to Use up Leftovers.

Leftover Nuts

This last one is not quite a collection! I use nuts in all sorts of dishes so buy bags of mixed roasted salted nuts and pick out specific nuts as needed. I have almonds and hazelnuts with yogurt and muesli for breakfast, add cashews to curries and salads and to this excellent popcorn recipe. Brazils I give to my real man as I don’t like them and pecans tend to accumulate as I have no specific plans for them.

When I have enough set aside I make something lovely such as the biscotti in my last post.

Several of these ideas are included in Creative Ways to Use up Leftovers together with loads and loads of other ideas for over 450 possible leftovers.

Great Preview Here

What to do with the Most Wasted Foods in the UK

I have just read another article in the Huffington Post about food waste in the UK.

According to point 8 in the article the most-wasted foods and drinks are bread, potato, milk, fizzy drinks, fruit juice and smoothies, poultry, pork, ham and bacon, cakes and pastries. Well, let me tell you something …

… actually several somethings.

Bread Scraps

See here for 7 Interestingly Different Ideas for Leftover Bread, for instance this Melted Onion Panade.

Leftover Potatoes

See 8 ideas for leftover baked potatoes here  and how to make wonderfully named and delicious Krumplinudli from mashed potato is here.

Surplus Milk

Interestingly milk seems to last way, way longer than its Use By date to no detriment whatsoever.  See here for details and you might think again before throwing the stuff away!

~   Leftover milk can be frozen – it is not great for drinking once thawed but is fine in recipes which is easier if you freeze in ice cubes.
~   Make milkshakes – especially useful if you also have “leftover” ice cream!
~   Add to mashed potatoes
~   Make rice pudding
~   Poach some fish in it.
~   Turn leftover milk into buttermilk for baking by stirring 1 tablespoon of lemon juice into 240ml milk.

If your milk has separated, lucky you – it is surprisingly easy to make lovely cheese.

Leftover Fizzy Drinks

~   Freeze leftovers in ice cube trays and use them to cool down further fizzy drinks without diluting them!
~   Make Sorbet – partially freeze the fizzy beverage then either break up the crystals with a fork or similar or run through the food processor. Add a little suitable alcohol (it must be a spirit and use 50ml per 250ml of fizz) such as rum with coke or Cointreau with fizzy orange and re-freeze.
~   Rumour has it that using soda drinks in baking works but I haven’t tried it. If you have let me know how it went!

Leftover Fruit Juice

~ Freeze, as above, as ice cubes for the same reason.
~ Mix in a little icing sugar and use to glaze cakes.
~ Toss summer fruit in a few spoonsful of orange or other suitable juice 30 minutes before serving.
~ Cocktails – many cocktails include fruit juice, see this article on BuzzFeed and have fun!
~ Make a delicious sauce for your dinner! See point 8 here on how to deglaze a pan and use whatever juice goes well with your meat or fish e.g. apple juice with pork, cranberry with turkey, lemon with fish etc. 

Tomato juice is a rather special case, I suggest you either add it to soups and stews or make a …

Bloody Mary

Per person

90ml tomato juice

45ml Vodka

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Worcestershire sauce

Tabasco

black pepper

a stick of celery with leaves

~ Fill a tall glass with ice.

~ Mix together the tomato juice, vodka and lemon juice and season to taste (as us food writers say) with the Worcester sauce, Tabasco and black pepper.
~ Pour over the ice and bung in the celery!

Leftover Smoothies

I’m afraid I am flummoxed with this one, other than freeze it, and don’t think I am alone. Here are someone else’s smoothie ideas but they are somewhat tongue in cheek!

Leftover Poultry, Pork and Ham

Throwing away leftover meats of any kind is absurd, there’s so many ways to use them; sandwiches, stir fries, soups, salad, risotto, pasta, pizza and so on. Why anyone would chuck it is beyond me –

As a taster, so to speak, here is a lovely way to use up ham – Haluski. 

Leftover Bacon – a rather special meat!

See here for an utterly wonderful use for leftover bacon – Bacon Salt which is great for making all sorts of dishes bacony! I am absolutely delighted with this.

Too Much Cake – ridiculous, who throws away cake?

Good ideas are – add crumbled cake to ice cream, trifle, make cake pops, cake truffles (details in Creative Ways to Use Up Leftovers) or make cake croutons (dice the cake, toss in melted butter and then bake in a medium oven till crisp and golden) to serve with desserts.

Leftover Pastries

Now this is a tricky one, especially without knowing what sort of pastries, but if I had such a thing leftover I would probably freeze it and have a think. Or maybe eat it and have a coffee.

Do croissants qualify as pastries? They make lovely French Toast (much better than made with bread), good in bread pudding of the custardy sort, as are Danish pastries, and they also make great croutons.

Now then, don’t you wonder what ideas I have for the other 450 potential leftovers in my book Creative Ways to Use Up Leftovers?

Great Preview Here

My Definition of the Verb "to frazzle"

I have been frazzling things in the kitchen for years but whilst preparing this post I looked up “frazzle” in the dictionary for the correct meaning; apparently the primary definition is …

“to put in a state of extreme physical or nervous fatigue”

I probably did frazzle some of the kitchen staff, including myself on occasion, but that’s not what I mean.

The other definition I found is …

“cause to shrivel up with burning”

I might have done this too once or twice but I wouldn’t recommend it.

My own personal definition of frazzle is …

“to fry shreds of an ingredient till crisp”

This sort of frazzling is a great way of using up and enhancing a little bit of this or that to create a snack, cook’s treat, garnish or component of a dish.

I was prompted to write post this by a couple of experiments we did in the pub kitchen where I am now employed making desserts – firstly we sliced a Chantenay carrot lengthways and deep fried it.  Drained, cooled and salted the slices were both pretty and delicious.  

Yesterday, as I peeled a whole case of apples to make loads of apple crumble (the season is upon us – yikes!), I wondered what would happen if we deep fried some of the peelings.  So we did and they were crisp and lovely with caster sugar and a pinch of cinnamon, I think they will be showing up quite a lot on the menu.

I don’t think I have frazzled either of these in the past and have no photos of the above experiments but I have frazzled the following …

Sweet Potatoes 

To frazzle these I first peel the sweet potato and then using the potato continue peeling until I have a pile of sweet potato ribbons. More ideas for delicious sweet potatoes here.

Leeks

These make a lovely crunchy garnish for creamy leek dishes (see a few great ideas for leeks here). Cut a leek into long thin strips, rub a little cornflour (aka corn starch in the US) through them to help them go crips and deep fry for a few minutes till golden. Lift out of the oil with a skimmer and drain on kitchen roll. Sprinkle with a little crunchy sea salt.

Sage and Parsley

Just drop clean and dry sage leaves or parsley sprigs into hot fat for literally a few seconds, 2 or 3 will probably do it. Drain on kitchen roll and sprinkle with sea salt. Bacon and pork, savoury apple dishes, onions, butternut squash and blue cheese will all benefit from a sage garnish, and the parsley is a great garnish for fish dishes in particular and most other savoury dishes too.

Frazzled Onions which I usually call Onion Grass on menus. 

This is a quicker, easier and in my opinion nicer alternative to making onion rings. 

~   Peel halve and thinly slice onions into half-moons.

~   Toss together with seasoned flour – the easiest way to do this is in a bag.
~   Shake off excess and deep fry the onions.
~   Drain well and season.

Chorizo

Fry coarsely chopped, julienned or shredded (or any other shape) chorizo in a little olive oil till crisp.  Remove from the oil and set aside on paper towel to cool and crisp. Sprinkle on salads, soups, pasta dishes, fish and anything else that takes your fancy.

DON’T throw the oil away it will be infused with chorizo and great for drizzling on things such as soup or fried eggs, for instance.  See here for lots more on chorizo including purpose made chorizo oil. 

Prosciutto

Pretty well the same goes with Prosciutto for instance Tagliatelle in Asparagus “Pesto” with Frazzled Prosciutto.

Chicken and Duck Skin – Grattons and Gribenes

These are delicious crispy morsels made from duck or chicken skin. See here for how to make grattons and gribenes and use them to garnish soups, salads, pâtés and general duck dishes or just nibble on them.

Pancakes

Leftover pancakes are great cut into strips, fried till crisp and used to garnish whatever you fancy.

This is just one good way to use up scraps, bits and pieces and leftovers – I have written a book containing literally hundreds of good ideas, suggestions, recipes and tips ~ have a look at my leftovers cookbook Creative Ways to Use Up Leftovers.

Sorry I haven’t posted for a while, by the way, my computer has been having a problem but he’s OK now.

OK – that’s all for now, enjoy the sunshine! Let me know if you think of anything else that could do with a damn good frazzling!

10 Delicious Reasons to buy Real Parmesan Cheese

I work with a guy, Graham, who despite limited cooking facilities is pretty interested in cooking for himself and eating well. I suggested he try making Alfredo Sauce which is so quick, simple, easy and yet absolutely delicious. See here for easy Alfredo Sauce recipe.

When I got to the Parmesan bit he asked if the ready grated would work or would he have to buy it in the piece and I related to him a tale I had heard years ago of grated “Parmesan” being made of grated umbrella handles. 

I thought I’d try to find the truth of the matter. I wondered if it was an urban myth but was surprised to find that not only is it true; a guy in Italy in 1969 was in fact doing the dirty deed but, furthermore and coincidentally, the matter seems to be trending!

Apparently the FDA recently found that  one company’s “100% grated Parmesan Cheese.”  was a mixture of other cheeses and cellulose. So they went on to investigate other grated “parmesan” producers and you can read what the FDA discovered here.

According to the Guardian it probably won’t kill you but, call me a foodie if you will, I want more from my food than just surviving the experience and expect you do to. So my answer to Graham is:

“Buy the real thing”

Here are 10+ good reasons to buy delicious real Parmesan cheese …

1.      Peppered Parmesan Popcorn

Simples – just toss freshly popped corn with butter, freshly grated Parmesan and lots of freshly grated black pepper. 

Here’s a tune to listen to while you pop! 

2.    Add Parmesan to Pangrattato

You might not know what I am talking about but see here for this Quick Cheap Easy Way to Improve Almost Any Meal.

3.    La Macronade

This is basically hot cooked pasta tossed with the rich juices from a meaty stew and layered up with plenty of freshly grated Parmesan. Finish with a layer of parmesan (and I don’t think it’s traditional but I’d add a handful of breadcrumbs to the top layer for extra crunch) then grill or pop in a hot oven till the top is golden.

4.   Roasted Garlic & Parmesan Polenta – enough for 4

700ml vegetable stock
145g cornmeal

2 teaspoons roasted garlic – see here for how to roast garlic 

2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese

~   Bring the water to a boil and stir in the Oxo cube, if using, till dissolved.
~   Slightly moisten the cornmeal till it is the texture of wet sand (this is a trick to keep the polenta smooth taught to me by a girl I used to work with, Cardella,  in the West Indies – for which I thank her).

~   Add the wet cornmeal to the boiling water and stir in thoroughly.
~   Turn down the heat and simmer stirring almost all the time, it will thicken quite quickly but still needs to simmer for another 10 minutes or so till completely cooked.
~   Stir in the roasted garlic and the cheese, taste and season (I like lots of pepper) and serve immediately topped by something delicious and savoury.

Leftover polenta is delicious fried by the way – 7 ways to use leftover polenta here.

5.   Salad of Roasted Pears with Shavings of the Best Parmesan you can find

1 not quite ripe pear per person
20g butter per person
½ tablespoon soft light brown sugar per person
½ tablespoon of sherry or balsamic vinegar per person
tender salad leaves
some great Parmesan in the piece

~   Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/180ºC fan/gas 2.
~   Peel the pears, remove the core, and cut them into wedges.
~   When the oven is hot put the butter and the sugar into an appropriate sized ovenproof dish and heat in the oven till the butter has melted.
~   At the pear wedges and toss to coat.
~   Cook for about 10 minutes till tender.
~   Remove the pears from the pan and set aside to cool somewhat.
~   Stir the vinegar into the juices in the pan, taste and season and also set aside to cool.
~   To serve toss a handful of salad leaves per person in the juices and arrange on plates or in a bowl.
~   Arrange the pear wedges on top and then using a potato peeler shave a generous amount of Parmesan over the salad.

6.   Mushrooms on Toast with (Black Garlic if you can get it) Alfredo

Mushrooms in Black Garlic Alfredo recipe here.

7.   Stir into soup as in this Parmesan and Roasted Garlic Soup from my soup recipe cookbook which gives one key recipe plus all the info I can think of and 60+ soups based on the key recipe.

8.   Parmesan and Garlic Butter 

Just add freshly grated Parmesan to garlic butter and use in all sorts of fabulous ways such as …

     ~   garlic bread
     ~   swirl into hot soup
     ~   chill and slice to top steak, chicken, fish etc.
or asparagus!
     ~   serve on corn
     ~   spread in appropriate sandwiches
     ~   pop in a jacket potato
     ~   add to mashed potato
     ~   after pan frying something and setting aside to rest stir the butter into the juices  for a quick sauce
     ~   add to pasta or risotto
     ~   etc.

Read more about compound butters here.

9.   Asparagus & Parmesan Sauce or Pesto

Cook asparagus till tender but not at all mushy and purée with butter and Parmesan cheese for a simple sauce or with the classic Pesto ingredients; garlic, Parmesan, olive oil and pine nuts, to be almost authentic. Stir through cooked peas, hot pasta or serve as a dip.

10.   Don’t throw away Parmesan rinds!

~ Simmer in tomato sauces or soups, as is traditional when making Minestrone, or in any sauce or soup that you would grate Parmesan over.
~ Parmesan broth – simmer rinds in chicken or vegetable stock together with your choice of flavourings for an hour or more. Strain and use the broth in soup, sauces, and risotto.
~ Marinate in olive oil together with flavourings such as herbs, garlic, black peppercorns or chilli. Discard the rind and use the oil to drizzle or dip.

As you may know I am a bugger for leftovers so please see here for 64 Ideas for Leftover Cheesemany of which can be made with Parmesan (plus a Joke!) 

Quick Cheap Easy Way to Improve Almost Any Meal ~ Pangrattato!

Pangrattato (plural Pangrattati) 

Italian ~ breadcrumb

I had lunch at Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen at Watergate Bay the other day (with a long time no see good friend which was great) where, on reading the menu, I realised that I’ve been at the pangrattato for many, many years without knowing it! Although pangrattato seems be the normal term on menus I think if I was still cheffing I might say pangrattati as just one sounds a bit meagre!

Good idea! Pin this for handy reference.

Pangrattato/ti (from grated bread) is/are crispy flavoured breadcrumbs which are a fabulous way of adding deliciousness and texture to all sorts of meals; I find you can’t go wrong with a crunchy sprinkle! It’s also Very Cheap as you can use stale bread and the additions are a great way of using up other leftover bits and pieces.

This simple garnish (to say the least) can be varied in ways too numerous to mention but I’m going to have a go. I think this is another one of those genius recipes that once you know the basics you can go on to make any number of wonderful things.

Different breads can, of course, be used and all sorts of things such as nuts, seeds, herbs, spices etc. can be added to create the perfect pangrattato for your chosen dish. Make the breadcrumbs by grating the bread, chopping it finely or coarsely, or it running through the food processor. The advantage of this last method is you can add other additions such as nuts or herbs to the crumbs and chop them in at the same time. The disadvantage is the faff of setting it up and the subsequent washing up.

Olive oil is the most commonly used oil in pangrattato, flavoured oils are good, nut oils make a nice change and butter works too, especially for sweet pangrattato.

The breadcrumbs should be crisp which can be achieved by either baking or frying them. Either way you need about 2 tablespoons of oil or butter per 100g of crumbs and if you are adding garlic or herbs or spices it is a good idea to gently warm them in the oil over low heat before tossing with the crumbs, thus infusing the oil and making everything even tastier.

Baked Pangrattato

Moisten the crumbs with the oil, flavoured or otherwise and toss with other additions, spread on a baking tray and bake in a preheated oven at 180ºC/350°F/160ºC fan/gas 4 for about 5 minutes. If you are cooking something else a slightly higher or lower temperature is fine, just keep an eye on the crumbs.

Fried Pangrattato

It is far better, in my opinion, to moisten the crumbs with your chosen oil and then fry them in a dry pan rather than heating the oil in the pan and then adding the crumbs.  My way means that the crumbs have time to absorb the oil and so become uniformly crisp rather than the first bit to hit the pan frying hard and the rest having to catch up!

Don’t forget to taste and season your pangrattato before serving.

 Some Ideas for Pangrattato…

~   Just salt and pepper can be good – warm the oil with some coarsely ground black pepper, cook the crumbs then stir in a little crunchy sea salt.

~   Warm chilli flakes in a similar manner, perhaps with a little orange zest too.

~   3 Garlic Suggestions for Pangrattato …

     1.  Warm finely chopped garlic in the oil or butter before tossing with the crumbs.

     2.  Use the oil from roasted garlic instead of plain oil or butter.
     3.  Black Garlic Pangrattati, (were you expecting this?) stir a little finely chopped black garlic or a teaspoon of black garlic paste into the oil, good dose of black pepper would be good in this.

~   One or two coarsely chopped anchovies and a little garlic – this is an interesting alternative to croutons in Caesar Salad.

~   Bacon or ham or chorizo etc. – coarsely chop and toss with the crumbs in the hot oil, particularly good sprinkled over macaroni cheese type dishes.

~   Pesto Pangrattato – warm a little finely chopped garlic and some coarsely chopped basil in the oil. Add some coarsely chopped pinenuts to the crumbs and as soon as you have cooked them and they are hot and crisp stir in some grated Parmesan.

~   Nutty Pangrattato – actually my first ever Sudden Lunch! post concerned cobnut pangrattato (although I didn’t realise it at the time!) and it was so delicious I remember it to this day. Might make it again in a minute, I’ve got some cobnuts.  

~   Lemon and Parsley – great for fish dishes, warm finely grated lemon zest and some coarsely ground black pepper in the oil and stir in chopped parsley once cooked. Maybe add a few chopped capers and sprinkle over smoked salmon with sour cream!

Sweet Pangrattati

Best to use butter for these and stir in a little sugar too.

~   Hot Cross Bun Crumbs! When making my Hot Cross Bun Ice Cream (our new favourite!) I like it if I have a few cooked crumbs left over; they are great sprinkled on fruit dishes or other ice creams.

~   Stollen Pangrattato, maybe add some crumbled marzipan and/or some chopped almonds – good over peaches, for instance.

~   Brioche Pangrattato – butter, sugar, perhaps some cinnamon or a little vanilla paste.

~   Etc.

As I often say with these genius recipes – “Your turn”!

What to do with your Pangrattato

You can of course sprinkle it willy nilly as the mood takes you but here are a few suggestions …

~   Add crunch to perfectly cooked fresh veggies eg. asparagus or broccoli or green beans. Anchovy pangrattato is excellent with cauliflower.

~   Egg dishes as in my Toast on Eggs recipe here.
~   Toss with gnocchi – in my opinion gnocchi need all the help they can get!

~   Top risotto.
~   Sprinkle a little on cheese (maybe let it cool a little first if using on a cheeseboard), walnut pangrattato would be good on blue cheese, for instance, or pesto pangrattato with goat cheese.

~   Use instead of more traditional croutons on thick creamy soups.

~   Makes an almost instant gratin topping!

~   Sprinkle on salads.

~   Pangrattato is a perfect addition to creamy dishes such as pasta in an Alfredo Sauce.

Pasta con Pangrattato

This is a great emergency meal if you haven’t got much in!

 

~   Whilst cooking your pasta (any pasta will work) make a pangrattato with whatever you fancy but being a little generous with the oil or butter. It is best for this dish to cook the crumbs in a pan on top of the stove.
~   When the pangrattato is crisp and golden stir in some grated Parmesan (or blue cheese or mature cheddar or nothing) and any other additions you fancy.
~   Set a few of the crumbs aside to garnish.
~   Drain the pasta then toss with the pangrattato in the pan.
~   Sprinkle with the reserved crumbs and serve immediately whilst still crisp.

An alternative to breadcrumbs is tiny weeny croutons (lots more info on Croutonology here).

Sweet Pangrattato Ideas …

~    Sprinkle over ice cream or top a sundae.

~    Porridge!

~  A quick crunchy topping for cooked fruits.

Jamie Oliver’s Fifteeen 

Lunch at Fifteen was good and the dessert, a sort of white chocolate and strawberry cheesecake in a jar, was both large and gorgeous which is one of my favourite combinations!

Ideas for Leftover Haggis ~ including a few sensible ones!

I have cooked and served a few Burns Suppers in my time – not due to any inherent Scottishness but because I lived in the West Indies!

A friend and I ran the bar and restaurant side of the Royal British Virgin Islands Yacht Club where British ex-pat patrons liked to observe the traditions of home. Of course we couldn’t get free range haggis out there, too hot for them, but we could get good farmed haggis! Any leftovers were, of course, put to tasty use – here are some suggestions.

Traditional Haggis Accompaniments

Haggis is good with strong ale and/or whisky, black pepper, rowanberry or similar sweet sauce and, of course, with neeps and tatties. For the benefit of any foreign chappies reading this neeps and tatties are swede and potatoes, each cooked and mashed separately with butter.

Haggis Leftovers 

If you do have some haggis left over here are my ideas …

1.   Haggis pizza – lovely easy pizza base recipe here, use the normal toppings; tomato sauce and mozarella or be creative and add what you like! Maybe some tatties!

2.  Add to Bubble & Squeak or, more correctly, Rumbledethumps as it’s known north of the border (apparently one of Gordon Brown’s favourite dishes) which is also a useful way to use up leftover neeps and tatties. Take this another step further …

3.  Pour beaten egg over the cooked bubble and squeak, lift to allow uncooked egg to flow under the bubble, sprinkle with a little cheese and pop under a hot grill for a minute or two. Haggis Frittata – fusion!

4.  Toss with pasta in a peppery Alfredo Sauce which is one of the loveliest, quickest, easiest sauces ever!

5.  Stuff large open mushrooms with a mixture of leftover haggis, soft breadcrumbs, cream, black pepper and a wee dram of whisky. Top with a few more breadcrumbs and bake till hot and crispy.

6.  Make scotch eggs using 50:50 haggis and sausagemeat and they will be even more scotch than usual!

7.  Use a similar mixture to make haggisy sausage rolls.

8.  Roll into little balls and make Haggis in the Hole using my wonderful, easy and stunningly cheap Yorkshire Pudding recipe here.

9.  I have recently read that haggis lasagne is a “traditional” après Burns Night treat which was news to me and I wonder whose tradition! I think it would work, though it being lamb I think I might use feta as the cheese.

10. If you have a whole unused haggis (by rights it should be a sporting haggis weighing 500g with a maximum diameter of 18 cm and be 22 cm long) then you could try to beat the Haggis Hurling World Record which was set at 180’10” by one Alan Pettigrew in 1984 and wasn’t beaten for many years. In June 2011, however, one Lorne Coltart lobbed a haggis a magnificent 214’9″.

The most surprising haggis recipe I have seen so far is ‘Haggis, Okra and Coconut Tart with Pineapple Salsa’ but haven’t tried it, if you do please make sure to leave a comment for me!

Although I visit Scotland quite often I have never been lucky enough to see a wild haggis but here is an interesting photo … 

I was also interested to read, the fact that it is possible to buy haggis whistles and that …

“in skilled hands this whistle can perfectly
mimic the mating call of the Haggis”

See here for more information about wild haggi (plural) 

Address to the Haggis

This lovely poem is read as the haggis is borne aloft towards the table, it is quite long and Robert Burns wrote it in 1786 to express his appreciation of the noble beastie. I don’t think he was being too dour, however, as its starts …

“Fair fa’ your honest, sonsie face,
Great chieftain o’ the pudding-race!”

… and later on …

“The groaning trencher there ye fill,
Your hurdies (buttocks!) like a distant hill”

Nicely put!  Read the whole Address to a Haggis by Robert Burns plus a translation here 

If these are just some of the suggestions I can think of for leftover haggis don’t you wonder what ideas I have for the other 450-ish potential leftovers?

Read more here.

15 Delicious Ideas for Marzipan Trimmings

I have just marzipanned our Christmas cake and find I have an unseemly amount of trimmings, This doesn’t faze me one little bit because there are so many delicious ways to use the leftovers.  In case you find yourself in a similar situation here are my ideas …

Cook’s Treat – this is your absolute right so feel free to nibble away to your heart’s content.

Stuffed Dates – just remove the stones from dates (if someone hasn’t done it already) and insert a nugget of marzipan.

Marzipan Balls 

Santa brought these for my real man last year and he loved them so much I think it will become a tradition. Just roll the leftover marzipan into balls and dip in melted chocolate. This also produces some cooks treats during production.

Marzipan Sculptures

If you are of an artistic bent then make marzipan fruits or other “sculptures” and decorate as appropriate. Here’s my pathetic effort – must try harder!

Marzipan Sprinkles

Bake little scraps of marzipan in a medium oven, say 180ºC/350°F/160ºC fan/gas 4 ish, until crisp, they won’t take long, then crumble over things such as ice cream or Affogato.

Chewy Marzipan Cookies

To be honest this recipe uses a whole pack of marzipan but you could either halve the recipe or buy a pack specially to make them – because they’re worth it.

2 egg whites
70g-90g icings sugar – sifted
pinch salt
500g marzipan – finely chopped or grated
a little more icing sugar

~   Preheat the oven to 160ºC/325°F/140ºC fan/gas 3.
~   Line 2 baking trays with greaseproof or baking parchment and grease lightly.
~   Whisk the egg whites till pretty damn frothy but not so that you have a meringue situation.
~   Slowly whisk in the sugar, salt and marzipan speed up and whisk to a soft sticky dough which is as smooth as poss.  You may need to add more sugar or, if too firm, perhaps a splash of rum; the texture of bought in marzipan seems to vary quite a lot.
~   Scoop into small balls, roll in icing sugar to coat and place well-spaced (4cm or so apart) on the baking trays, they will spread during cooking.
~   Bake for 20-25 minutes till golden round the edge and cracking on the top.

Marzipan Ice Cream

200g white marzipan
500ml double cream
50ml Amaretto or brandy
200g condensed milk
maybe some inclusions ~ chocolate chips, toasted almonds, dried cherries, for instance

~   Coarsely grate the marzipan and then heat gently with the cream till melted.  Cool to completely cold.
~   Whisk together the marzipanned cream and the liqueur to thick.
~   Fold in the condensed milk plus any inclusions.
~   Freeze.

This recipe comes from my book Luscious Ice Creams without a Machine, which gives over 100 no-churn ice cream recipes including how to make the cherry ice cream in the ice cream sandwich above.

Mince Pies 

… become even richer and deliciouser with a little grated or finely chopped marzipan added to the mincemeat.

Marzipan Enhanced Fruit Tart 

To make a deliciously different fruit tart add a layer of marzipan.

~   Preheat oven to  200°C/400°F/180ºC fan/gas 6.

~   Roll out the leftover marzipan to size and lay it in the base of the tart case. 

~   Top with your chosen fruit, sliced peaches are lovely as are pears.  

~   Sprinkle with a little sugar and bake for about 20 minutes till the pastry is crisp and brown and the fruit is tender and starting to caramelise.

Alternatively make a …

Frangipane Fruit Tart!

Good Housekeeping have a great Pear-Frangipane Tart recipe here.

Fruit Crumble with Marzipan

This is my basic crumble mix, which is enough to top about 750g fruit to serve 4 people, with added marzipan. Cherries are particularly good topped with this and served with clotted cream.

240g plain flour
160g cold butter or margarine
120g sugar
150g grated marzipan

~   Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350°F/160ºC fan/gas 4.

~   Rub together the flour and butter till the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
~   Stir in the sugar and the marzipan.
~   Sprinkle the mixture over raw or cooked fruit in a shallow ovenproof dish.
~   Bake till the fruit is hot (and cooked if using raw) and the crumble is crisp and golden.
~   Serve hot or cold.

Marzipan Scones – see here for my very flexible scone recipe and after making the dough gently fold in leftover marzipan cut into small dice.

Marzipan Pancakes

Make thick fluffy pancakes, the recipe is here. Whilst the first side is cooking coarsely grate over some marzipan. This way, when flipped, it will have a chance to soften and go golden without overdoing it.

Stollen – I feel I should give a recipe for Stollen here but as I haven’t made it for years ‘n’ years see here for how to make the Perfect Stollen.  

Save the marzipan till Easter and make Simnel Cake!

If I can think of all these ideas for leftover marzipan don’t you wonder what I’ve come up with for the othr 449 potential leftovers in my book Creative Ways to Use Up Leftovers?

Look inside here!

Sweetfire Beetroot Recipes

It’s the most wonderful time of year, again.  No, not that one – the time of year when Tesco Head Office fails to comprehend or take on board the severe drop in customers when the season ends and the tourists leave Padstow!  They stock up like maniacs and we pick up so many fabulous bargains that we actually share them with the neighbours!

A lovely find, and something I had not tasted before was these little beauties. They are called Sweetfire Baby Beetroot and are indeed sweet and spicy, in fact I hope the neighbours didn’t have too much of a surprise, we didn’t realise how hot they are.

So what did I do with this bounty? Firstly I made …

Beetroot & Boursin Risotto 

Serves 2

1 tbsp olive oil or butter
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, finely minced
200g risotto rice, such as Arborio or Carnaroli
½ glass of white wine
500ml or so vegetable stock, gently simmering with the lid on
6 Sweetfire baby beetroot
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp or so Boursin (or other cream cheese)

~   Gently cook the onion in the oil or butter in a saucepan till tender.
~   Stir in the garlic and cook a minute or two more.
~   Stir in the rice and continue cooking and stirring for 7–8 minutes until it looks translucent.

~   Add the wine and cook, stirring, until absorbed.

~   Add a ladleful of hot stock and continue to cook, stirring and staring into space till that too is absorbed. Carry on like this with the stock until the rice is just tender with a little bite in the middle (al dente) and is coated in creamy sauce which will take about 20 minutes. It may not take all the stock or might need a little more, use your judgment.
~   Stir in the beetroot and then the Boursin.

~   Taste and season and stir over the heat just long enough to mingle in the cheese and heat through the beetroot.

~   Serve immediately.

Riso al Salto

With the leftover risotto (I never seem to finish my dinners!) I made Riso al Salto, or “leftover risotto fritter thing” as it’s known in the UK, for a Sudden Lunch.  Just form the cold risotto (it has to be cold or it won’t work) into a cake and fry in a little olive oil till hot and crisp.

Sweetfire Beetroot Soup 

Serves 2

This is another variation on my Super Flexible Recipe for Soup.

Maybe pin this for later!

1 medium red onion – thinly sliced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 small floury potato – peeled and thinly sliced
vegetable stock
6-8 baby beetroot – coarsely chopped

~   Cook the onions in the oil exactly as explained here which is The Best Way to Cook Onions!
~   Peel and slice the potato and add to the onions.
~   Add just enough stock to cover the potatoes, bring to the boil, turn down the heat, put on the lid,) and simmer till the potatoes are tender.
~   Stir in the beetroot and cook for 5 more minutes.
~   Purée in a liquidiser, food processor or with a liquidiser on a stick adding more stock (or cream) to make it just how you like it.
~   Taste and season.
~   Serve topped with a little sour cream if you can – it goes really well.

After spurning beets for years and years due to having been frightened by them as a child I am now starting to realise that they are not the demon veg I thought they were. This is the second time I’ve had a go with them in just a couple of months. 

McDonald’s …

A week or two ago, under duress, my real man and I went into a McDonald’s for breakfast.  It was his first visit and the only time I went into one before was about 25 years ago when I was showing a friend why I didn’t think it was real food.  At the time I think there was a sign on the wall saying …

“Now Made with Real Chicken!!”

On this visit I had pancakes with maple syrup – they tasted fine but were ultra-flabby as one would expect, I suppose, as they’d been steaming in a box. My coffee was fine.  My darling had an egg McMuffin which he said tasted OK but was tiny.  

Actually I can see that McDonalds are a boon to people on the road who just need to refuel but in recent, unrelated to my visit, discussions on FB I have read of mothers who take their children to McD every morning for breakfast on the way to school.  Is that cos they are poor?  Because if so I’ve got news for them!

For how to easily make all sorts of delicious pancakes see here!

Generally speaking the weather is still fab in Cornwall and we’ve been for a lovely wander in the countryside three days in a row. Our primroses and lots of other flowers are blooming and we saw rhododendrons in bud. Is this normal can anyone tell me?