Seasonal Soup Flamande - sprout soup courtesy of Delia

It was the day after a spectacular New Year's Eve feast  at my local gastro pub, The Ingham Swan www.theinghamswan.co.uk/ (smoked chicken and duck ballantine with melba toast, quince ailoli, apple and celeriac salad; pan fried sea bass, cod fishcakes and lemon grass and brown shrimp beurre blanc; assiette of desserts .....) - if you are in the area you will not be disappointed - that I decided to cook up something a bit different for a New Year's Day detox!
What's better than a soup if you need sustenance and not excess? The obvious choice was to turn to the Delia Collection and book number one 'Soup' 2003 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Delia-Collection-Soup-Smith/dp/0563487305/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1357678117&sr=1-1. There are so many excellent soup recipes in this collection. Our favourite, and certainly my son's favourite as he has been eating this since he was nine months old, is the fresh tomato soup on page 49: a really simple and filling soup that brings out that gorgeous tomato flavour. My dad's favourite (God bless him), always used to be the delightful French Onion soup on page 104: a real hearty and wholesome soup that would keep you going for hours!

Soup Flamande with Creme Fraiche and Frizzled Sprouts and served with a cheese and onion roll

 This time though, I've gone for something slightly unusual. It is a classic Flemish soup according to Delia, essentially it's sprout soup! Don't let that put you off. It's amazing how subtle the sprouts are as they are tempered by the other ingredients of leeks and potatoes. All my recipients were impressed and enjoyed this fresh and tasty offering; and the frizzled sprout garnish was surprisingly moreish.

Soup Flamande with Creme Fraiche and Frizzled Sprouts (copyright Delia Smith 2003)

Serves 4-6
350g potatoes
2 Large leeks
350g Brussels sprouts
50g butter
425ml vegetable stock
570ml (1 pint) milk
2 tbsp creme fraiche
a squeeze of lemon juice
salt and freshly milled black pepper
For the garnish
4 tbsp creme fraiche
4 large sprouts, shredded
1 tbsp olive oil

The prepared vegetables

Simmering in the stock and milk

The liquidised soup

Frizzled sprouts

1. Peel and thickly slice the potatoes. Chop the leeks in to 2.5cm pieces and quarter the sprouts or halve the smaller sprouts.    
2. Melt the butter in a large saucepan and add the leeks, potatoes and sprouts, stir well and coat them in the butter. Add some salt and pepper. Put the lid on and let them sweat over a gentle heat for about 5 minutes.
3. Next add the stock and milk and bring up to simmering point and cook very gently for 20-25 minutes. Be careful not to let the milk boil over.
4. Cool the soup and liquidise. Add two tablespoons of creme fraiche and a squeeze of lemon juice and reheat.
5. Meanwhile, while the soup is reheating, make the garnish. Heat the olive oil in a small frying pan over a high heat and when the oil is very hot, add the shredded sprouts and fry them for 2-3 minutes until they are crisp and golden. Drain them on kitchen paper. Serve the soup in warmed bowls with a little creme fraiche spooned on top and garnished with the frizzled sprouts.

The garnish can be made in advance and can be re-frizzled in a hot frying pan just before serving

Little Mincemeat Souffle puddings: as always, Delia is spot on

Straight out of the oven and nicely risen

I couldn't let Christmas go without a seasonal offering and yes, it's late to be posting this, but this recipe is a light and delicious alternative to rich Christmas pudding which can be very easily made. Whats more, is that these delightful souffles can be made ahead and reheated or even frozen for a later date. The recipe is from Delia Smith's Christmas (1990) http://www.amazon.co.uk/Delia-Smiths-Christmas-Smith/dp/0563370645/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1356359851&sr=8-2 This is a book that has been reprinted and revamped a number of times and my version is the hardback copy. It's a copy that I've owned for the last 13 or 14 years and really I should make more use of it. There are some brilliant recipes  and the book is organised into chapters such as canapes and nibbles; all kinds of Christmas cakes; a vegetarian Christmas; the last 36 hours; ducks, geese and game; homemade sweets and chocolates, to name but a few. In fact it is very comprehensive in covering all angles and I find all the recipes I have tried to be a resounding success. Take the Truffle torte on page 154, this is a decadent, rich chocolate dessert that is so easy but impressive, guests never fail to love this! The Sausage rolls on page 72 are lovely and you get that satisfaction from making your own flaky pastry. Tomorrow I'm going to give the Parmesan-baked parsnips a go (page 142) and serve alongside all my other veggies...Happy Christmas!


Little Mincemeat Souffle Puddings (copyright Delia Smith 1990)

Serves  8
110g butter
100g caster sugar
6 large eggs, separated
175g light ginger cake, reduced to crumbs in a food processor
A pinch of ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
110g mincemeat
Grated zest of 1/2 lemon
Extra butter and caster sugar for coating the ramekins
You will need eight  (9cm) ramekin dishes

Trying one out today, reheating rest tomorrow.

Creaming the butter and sugar

Folding in cake crumbs, mincemeat, spices and zest.

Whisked meringue mixture

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Brush the ramekins with melted butter and tip a dusting of caster sugar in to coat, tip out the excess. Arrange the ramekins in a roasting tin.
2. In a mixing bowl cream the butter and 50g of the sugar together until the mixture is pale and fluffy.
3. Beat in the egg yolks, a little at a time. Fold in the cake crumbs, followed by spices, mincemeat and lemon zest. 
4. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until they form soft peaks and gradually whisk in the remaining 50g sugar. The mixture will be like meringue, carefully fold into the rest.
5. Spoon an equal quantity into each ramekin, pour approximately 1cm of boiling water into the roasting tin and bake for 25 minutes.  
6. Slide a palette knife round the edge and turn out on to serving plates, dust with icing sugar and serve.

Carefully folding in.

Spooned into the ramekins ready to be baked

Served with pouring cream, why not try chilled rum sabayon? (p.44)

These puddings really are great and my daughter loved them - she's not a fan of Christmas pudding. Another good thing about them is that they don't require too many difficult ingredients: I had a jar of mincemeat in the cupboard and used the McVities golden syrup cake that can be bought in any UK supermarket.

Instant chocolate mousse for everyone!

What child (or grown up for that matter )would not enjoy this?

Ready to sit and chill in the fridge until later

I first spied this recipe for Instant chocolate mousse in a Sunday supplement quite a few years ago when they were obviously promoting Nigella Lawson's latest book of the time Nigella Express (2007) http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nigella-Express-Lawson/dp/0701181850/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1354017518&sr=1-1 (this link I've added is to the paperback, you can still get the hardback version which is what I've used). At the time I duly stashed it away in one of my many folders of collected recipes from magazines and then promptly forgot about it! It wasn't until passing a second hand book shop a few weeks ago that I spotted a copy of the book in the window for a fiver and thought 'bargain, I've only got three other Nigella books!'. So after a quick flick through I was once again reunited with this recipe that looked so appealing years ago. One of the great things about this mousse recipe is that it has a lack of raw egg so there is none of that worry about giving it to small children.

 I may also add I have yet to cook anything else from this book. On reflection there are without doubt some very tempting offerings. Take the Doughnut French toast on page 188 (looks like a sublime sweet treat) or the Juicy beef skewers with horseradish dip (perfect for a standing up buffet). Every single recipe is accompanied by a beautiful photograph of the finished article so you know what you've got to aim for. Like my previous blog entry, this is another fast food book- offering; something we are all grateful for with our eternally busy lives.

A great recipe to do with the kids

Instant chocolate mousse (copyright Nigella Lawson 2007)

Serves 4-6
150g mini marshmallows
50g soft butter
250g good dark chocolate, chopped into small pieces
60ml hot water from a recently boiled kettle
1 x 284 ml tub double cream
1 tsp vanilla extract

Melting the ingredients

A good quality vanilla extract is so much better than an essence

Whisking the cream

1. Put the marshmallows, butter, chocolate and water in a heavy-based saucepan.
2. Put the saucepan on the hob over a gentle heat to melt the contents, stirring every now and again. Remove from the heat.
3. Next, whip the cream with the vanilla extract until thick and then fold into the cooling chocolate mixture until you have a smooth, cohesive mixture.
4. Pour or scrape into 4 glasses or ramekins, about 175ml each in capacity, or 6 smaller (125ml) ones, and chill until you are ready to eat.

Incorporating cream and chocolate mixture

Spooning into bowls

Tips: This mousse is delicious but also very rich! The smaller portion (125ml) seems plenty. Also, don't over whisk the mixture as it will still set after and hour or so in the fridge even it it seems quite runny in the bowl.

The ultimate treat for any cook: Larousse Gastronomique

Maybe it's just me, but don't you find when you're doing a spot of Christmas shopping you seem to come across a multitude of items that would be so suitable for yourself and there's nothing much cop for anyone else! Well, this year my Christmas present to myself just had to be the wonderful Larousse Gastronomique, it is a veritable feast of knowledge on food and its history, cookery techniques, culinary terms, chefs... you name it, it's got everything in it. Oh and it's got 3,800 classic recipes! Now of course almost anything can be easily sourced over the web these days, but this book is an object of beauty that will adorn your bookshelf with pride and with everything you need to know in one gorgeous volume you just can't say no - well I couldn't!

Simplicity of design

Endorsed by no less than Heston and Gordon!

This will definitely look good on my bookshelf ;)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/New-Larousse-Gastronomique-Hamlyn/dp/0600620425/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1354047221&sr=8-1

Homemade flatbread, chicken with cardamom and coriander-coconut chutney: fabulous fast food

A really tasty and simple supper

Stir frying the chicken and spring onions

Before I launch in to how brilliant this next cook book is (and it really is great), I feel I need to have a quick tally-up of how many books I have cooked from so far, and the grand total is 17! So obvious calculations show I've only got another 183 to get through! But hey, that's great because there are so many wonderful recipes I want to get my teeth into.

So back to business, like I said this next book and the following recipe are brilliant fast food suppers when you've had a long day at work or as they say, if your friends drop round unexpectedly for supper. (Has anyone ever done that? I would feel rude imposing myself uninvited!). Anyway, I have conjured up many a meal from this book 10 Minutes to Table (2009) by Xanthe Clay http://www.amazon.co.uk/10-Minutes-Table-Real-Cheating/dp/1845336461/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1354012022&sr=8-1

Reading through the book you are struck by how so many of her recipes start with 'put the kettle on'. Obviously this is essential if you are going cook something up in 10 minutes! If I'm being honest most of the recipes take me about 20 minutes and that's because I don't fly round the kitchen like a possessed banshee!

The aim of this book is unsurprisingly to entice people away from that mid-week take-away or those ready-meals that are weighing down our supermarket shelves. All the recipes are for two so it's great not having to calculate quantities from a four or six portion recipe and you can always cook something nice for your beloved when they are late home from work and the kids have had theirs at 5 o'clock! The book is divided into chapters entitled meat, birds, fish, veg, fast ingredients and basic rules for fast food. The last two chapters are full of useful advice which really does aid you in getting out that meal in super-quick time.

So, what are my favourite recipes? I really like this recipe which I'm going to run through (page 66). My husband adores the Spring lamb with braised little gems, peas and broad beans and Jersey Royals on page 46. Parmesan chicken, courgettes with tarragon, quinoa and fresh tomato sauce is good (Page 56) as is the Chicken, pak chou and almond stir fry (page 59) and the Crisp fish with minted mushy peas (page 100). There are more that I've tried and really you just can't go wrong with these recipes for quickness and for utter tastiness.


Homemade flatbread, chicken with cardomom and coriander-coconut chutney (Copyright Xanthe Clay 2009)

Serves 2
Bunch of spring onions
1 tbsp olive oil
2 skinless chicken breasts
half tsp ground cardomom or the seeds from 6 pods
2 tbsp of any flour
4 tbsp Greek yogurt
For the flatbread:
About 150g self-raising flour

Chopped spring onions, can't beat that lovely fresh aroma

1 tbsp olive oil
For the chutney:
3 tbsp desiccated coconut
Bunch of fresh coriander
1 clove of garlic, peeled
 A few drops of sweet chilli sauce or a green chilli
1 lime 2 tbsp olive oil

Rolling out the flatbread dough

Coriander, another beautiful aroma!

Cooking the flatbread

Oh the fragrance of fresh lime!

1. Put the kettle on to boil. Place the coconut in a mug and pour over just enough boiling water to cover it. Slice the spring onions. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large frying pan and stir them in. Cook gently. Cut the chicken into 1cm thick slices and stir into the pan with the cardamom. Leave to cook while you make the flatbread.
2. Heat a griddle or heavy frying pan to very hot. Mix the flour with a large pinch of salt, 1 tbsp olive oil and enough water to make a stiff dough (about 4 tbsp). Divide the dough in two and roll out into rough circles. Cook on the griddle or pan for about 2 minutes on each side, until slightly charred.
3. Sprinkle 2 tbsp of flour in to the chicken pan, stir well, and leave until cooked through.
4. Put the coriander leaves in a mini food processor with the garlic, a few drops of chilli sauce (or a piece of green chilli) and the juice of half a lime. Then blitz. Drain the coconut(stir the liquid into the chicken pan) and add to the blender along with the olive oil. Blitz again to mix it.
5. Stir the yogurt into the chicken, adding more water, if necessary, to make a creamy sauce.
6. Taste and add salt and pepper. Serve up and enjoy.

Blitzing to make the chutney

A satisfying meal and satisfying to know that you've made the whole lot too.

All in all, this went down a treat: simple, tasty and not unhealthy. I particularly liked the sweetness of the chutney courtesy of the sweet chillli sauce I added and the flatbreads are a staple that can be created at a moment's notice.

Sesame and Maple Syrup Flapjacks: traybake heaven

Most kids love a spot of cooking so when I asked my son shall we get stuck in and do some flapjacks, he jumped at the chance! This time we thought we'd try a specifically children's cook book: Children's book of baking (2007) by Sara Lewis  http://www.amazon.co.uk/Childrens-Book-Baking-Sara-Lewis/dp/0753715503/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1352731252&sr=8-2  The book is a lovely collection of recipes divided in to sections such as little cakes, cookies, cut-and-come-again cakes and traybakes. Every recipe is beautifully documented with instructional photographs and has a list of the required equipment making it an ideal book to give to a ten or eleven year old to follow independently, but equally it is suitable to use with your younger ones. Over the last couple of years we have made a few of the recipes and all can be said to be reliable and enjoyable to make. For example, the chunky chocolate and oat cookies on page 56 are rather moreish as are the chocolate kisses on page 54. If you don't do a lot of baking and sometimes lack confidence,  this book is also good on advice and tips, from outlining cook's terms to detailing cake-making techniques; you don't have to have children to appreciate this book!

A perfect afternoon pick-me-up!

Sesame and maple syrup flapjacks (copyright: Octopus Publishing Group Ltd 2006)

Makes 9
200g butter
200g soft light brown sugar
5 tbsp maple syrup or golden syrup
50g sesame seeds, plus 1 extra tbsp for sprinkling
250g oats
20cm square tin

Measuring out the ingredients

Melting the butter, sugar and syrup

Melted mixture

Pressing the mixture into the tin

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Cut a square of baking parchment and line the tin.
2. Put the butter, sugar and syrup in a saucepan and heat gently, stirring from time to time using a wooden spoon until completely melted.
3. Take the saucepan off the heat and stir in the sesame seeds and oats. Spoon the mixture into the tin and press flat with the back of a metal spoon. Sprinkle with the extra 1 tbsp of sesame seeds.
4. Bake the flapjack for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and just beginning to darken around the edges of the tin. Leave to cool for 10 minutes. Mark the flapjack into squares (9 in total) and leave to harden and cool completely



Divided into 9 squares.

5. Lift the paper and flapjack out of the tin and cut into 9 pieces. They can be stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days (if they last that long!)

Two pieces in one day - how extravagant is that?!

Next time: A quick after-work supper and chocolate mousse for everyone!

Thai-style Chicken with Chillies and Basil: after-work yumminess!

Thai-style Chicken with Chillies and Basil served on a bed of egg-fried rice

You can't beat a Ken Hom recipe for its freshness, tastiness and simplicity. Everyone should give him a go! This recipe caught my eye because of the use of basil. I was determined not to let my basil plant wither away on the window sill while I tried to get myself organised during a particularly busy week. My natural instincts were to look for an Italian recipe using basil, and this time I wanted to avoid using up the whole plant to make homemade pesto which I'd put in the freezer and use later, as it seemed too convenient and not very challenging! However there is nothing challenging about this recipe, it is so simple and delicious that I've made it several times since the first time I took the photos! Another brilliant aspect to the recipe is that it uses boneless, skinless chicken thighs - such underrated parts of the chicken but far more tasty and succulent than  chicken breasts, oh and cheaper of course!

I'm afraid again, this is a book that I've never cooked from before and have only owned for a couple of months after buying it at the Ingham village fete in the summer. My other trusty Ken Hom book I've used loads of times and no doubt that will be making an appearance in the coming year. This book though is called Ken Hom Cooks Thai (1999) http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ken-Hom-Cooks-Thai/dp/0747276099/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1351464978&sr=1-1

The recipe can be found on page 118. Flicking through the rest of the book there does seem to be a a lot of ingredients in many of the recipes, however, don't let that put you off. Once you stock your store cupboard with essentials like soy sauce, oyster sauce, fish sauce, Shaoxing rice wine (or as I use dry sherry), sesame oil, there isn't often  too much else that you need to hunt out. Hom's recipes are so reliable and tasty, it is so worth cooking from scratch and not reaching for a jar of ready-made sauce! In case you are wondering what other delights there are in this book, I'm already planning to make the Delectable Duck and Pineapple Curry on page 135 and the Hot and Sour Prawns on page 109 and incidentally both recipes require basil leaves, so lets hope there's some life in that plant yet!

My vibrant basil plant

Thai-style Chicken with Chillies and Basil (copyright 1999 Promo Group Limited)

Serves 4

450g boneless, skinless chicken thighs
2 tsp light soy sauce
2 tsp Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry
1 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp cornflour
1 stalk fresh lemongrass
1 tbsp groundnut oil (peanut oil)
3 tbsp finely sliced shallots
2 tbsp coarsely chopped garlic
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp dark soy sauce
2 tsp lime zest
3 large fresh red or green chillies, seeded and finely sliced
2 tsp sugar
large handful basil leaves

Stir-fry marinade

Some of the key ingredients

1. Cut the chicken in to 2.5cm chunks and combine it in the bowl with the light soy sauce, rice wine, sesame oil and cornflour. Allow it to marinate for about 20 minutes.
2. Peel the lemongrass to reveal the tender whitish centre and cut into 5cm pieces. Smash with the flat of a knife.
3. Heat a wok or large frying pan until very hot, then add the groundnut oil. When the oil is hot, add the lemongrass and chicken. Stir-fry for 5 minutes, until the chicken is brown.
4. Pour the contents of the wok into a steel colander and drain. After a minute or so, reheat the wok and return the drained chicken and lemongrass to it

Stir-frying the chicken 

5. Add the rest of the ingredients except the basil and continue to cook for another 8-10 minutes, stirring from time to time.

Sliced chillies.

6. When the chicken is cooked, add the basil leaves and give the mixture a good stir. You can remove the lemongrass stalks before serving.

Finally adding the basil

Very handy for cheating!

Tips: I used Bart's lemongrass as I couldn't get hold of any of the fresh stuff so therefore just let it melt in to the rest of the ingredients. My handful of basil wasn't enough. If you've got a plant like mine, don't skimp! It soon wilts to not very much at all! I also chopped up onion instead of the shallots as I've got a glut of them too.

Cooking up those tasty dishes

I either serve it with homemade egg-fried rice (as pictured) or with sesame noodles (delicious peanut and sesame dressed noodles). If we are feeling extra hungry, I'll stir-fry separately some baby corn, carrots, broccoli and mushrooms.