Open Table

RAW ASPARAGUS SALAD

Where I can, I try and eat with the seasons.  This week I was excited to see the start of the asparagus season.  Our local shop had bunches of aspargus piled high ... I could not resist a Raw Asparagus Salad.

When I first tasted this salad, with my wonderful friends Emma and Jono, I was intrigued by the idea of raw asparagus, it was not something I had tried before ... one taste and I was hooked.  

It is wonderfully crunchy, very fresh and the perfect side for a slightly cooled roast chicken on a warm day ... or in my case a day when I need to taste a little summer after all this rain! 

RAW ASPARAGUS SALAD - Serves 2 (as a side)

Ingredients

8-10 pieces of Asparagus, 50g Parmesan, 1 Lemon, Runny Honey, Olive Oil, Salt & Pepper

• Remove the woody bit at the bottom of the asparagus 
• Using a potato peeler gently peel the outside of the asparagus.  Start peeling about 4cm down the asparagus and peel to the end of the stalk, you do not peel the head as you want this piece to look pretty in the salad.
• You are now going to cut the asparagus into thin batons similar in shape and size to a match stick.
• Cut each of the asparagus in half lengthways
• Cut the heads of each half of the asparagus (the top 3-4cm) and place in a bowl
• Slice the two halves of asparagus in half again lengthways so you are left with four thin strips of asparagus (if you have very thick asparagus you may need to cut each half into thirds)
• Cut these strips into 4cm lengths and place in bowl
• Repeat with the remaining asparagus
• Using your potato peeler shave the parmesan on top of the asparagus
• Make your dressing by placing the following in a bowl and mixing together: 1/2 teaspoon of honey, 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, 4 tablespoons of olive oil
• Season the dressing with salt and pepper and pour three quarters of the dressing over the salad, mix and taste, add the remaining dressing if required

Cooking notes

I tend to use 4-5 pieces of asparagus per person ... however this will depend on the size of your asparagus, if you are using very small asparagus you may need more and vice versa.

I do not like over dressed salads so tend to add dressing a little at a time.  

Adapting

If you don’t have any parmesan to hand you could try this with another hard cheese, Comte would be good.

 

 

 

CHOUQUETTES & RACHEL KHOO

I have had a very fun foodie week this week.  The children and I have been watching and cooking recipes from Rachel Khoo’s wonderful series ‘Little Paris Kitchen’.  If you have not watched it I urge you to log onto BBC iplayer and watch Rachel create mouth watering recipes from her tiny Parisian kitchen.

We adored her Chicken Dumpling Soup.  My two year old goats cheese addict devoured her Goats Cheese, Pistachio & Prune Cake and the Chestnut Cream was wonderful. 

In amongst all this cooking I was thrilled to get my Rack of Lamb recipe published online by the Evening Standard: http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/lifestyle/foodanddrink/rack-of-lamb-7684386.html

While online tweeting about said article ... I saw that Rachel was doing her first book signing at Harrods.  I popped along and watched her make Gougeres (Cheese Puffs).  She was great, very calm, gave lots of tips and really entertained the few hundred people watching her.  After her demonstration she kindly signed for the children.  

They were thrilled ... Thea started leafing through pointing at every recipe saying 'we need to make that mummy  ... and that ... I am off to get my apron'.

With her apron on she dragged me to the kitchen to make Chouquettes (Sugar Puffs) a firm favourite of ours when in Bouzigues, France.  Thea weighed out the flour, Charlie broke the eggs and we all sprinkled over the chocolate ... they were delicious.

As we cleared up the kitchen I realised I may have made a mistake ... I should have bought two books.  Thea was flicking though the pages while licking the bowl ... I told her to be careful not to cover the book ... her reply ...‘Mummy, Rachel put my name in the book not yours so i can look at is as much as I want ... ’  

What more could I say ... here is the recipe, I hope you enjoy it as much as we did:

CHOUQUETTES - Makes 52

Ingredients

125ml Water, 125ml Full Fat Milk, 100g Butter, cubed, 1 Teaspoon Salt, 1 Teaspoon Sugar, 170g Plain Flour, 4 Eggs, Icing Sugar, 100g Topping (Nipped Sugar, Chocolate Chips, Freeze Dried Raspberry)

• Heat the oven to 170
• Weigh out your flour, mix the salt and the sugar into it
• Pour the water, milk and butter into a saucepan and place on a medium heat until the butter has melted
• Once it has melted turn down the heat, pour in all of the flour and mix like mad.  At this point it will look a little like lumpy mashed potato ... continue beating until it goes smooth, it will take about a minute
• Once smooth transfer the pastry to a mixing bowl and carry on beating until the pastry is cool enough to touch
• Once you can touch it add in one egg.  The batter will go lumpy but carry beating until it is smooth again then add another egg.  Repeat until all the eggs have been mixed into the batter
• Spoon the batter into a piping bag with a 5mm nozzle 
• Line three baking trays with baking paper, dot a little of the mixture on each corner of the baking tray before you place the paper on the tray, this will hold the paper down
• Pipe the Chouquettes on to the baking tray.  Hold the nozzle at 90 degrees about 5mm away from the tray.  Keep the nozzle upright and pipe a walnut -sized ball of pastry on to the paper.  You need to flic the nozzle sideways when the pastry is the correct size and repeat with the next one.  (I had 18 Chouquettes on each of my three trays)
• Dust the Chouquettes with icing sugar, leave for a minute and dust again
• Sprinkle with your topping of choice and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until crispy and golden

Cooking notes

Make sure you add all the flour in one go.

You need to transfer the mixture from the saucepan into a bowl to help it cool down, if you don’t do this it can get rather runny.  If the mixture goes really runny add in a little more flour and pop in the fridge to chill the batter slightly.

Chouquettes are delicious fresh, if you want to store them for a day or two, pop them in an airtight container.  When ready to use them bake at 150 for five minutes to freshen them up.

Adapting

The French make a savoury version of these called Gougeres (Cheese Puffs).  If you want to make the savoury version then add 50g of grated Comte to the batter once the flour is mixed in.  Replace the sugary topping with some poppy seeds and sprinkle over another 25g of grated Comte.

RACK OF LAMB

I adore this time of year, not only for the first signs of spring with the daffodils and blossom but also for the many new foods coming into season.  My butcher had new season lamb delivered this month and I could not resist serving some for a dinner party with a couple of friends.

It is the perfect dish.  It has a wow factor when bought to the table while being quick to prepare and tastes simple wonderful.  I cannot recommend it enough. 

Keeping in season I served the lamb with boiled Jersey Royal Potatoes and green vegetables.  I top my potatoes with a generous knob of butter some chopped flat leaf parsley and a sprinkle of salt ... simple and delicious.

RACK OF LAMB - SERVES 4 

Ingredients

2 Racks of Lamb (300g each), 4 Handfuls Breadcrumbs, 1 Tablespoon Chopped Rosemary, 1 Lemon, 2 Garlic Cloves, Olive oil, Salt and Pepper

• Heat your oven to 220

• In a bowl mix together the breadcrumbs, rosemary, rind and juice from 1/2 the lemon and 20ml of Olive oil

• Seal the rack of lamb in a frying pan, it normally takes about 2 minutes on each side

• Grate garlic and spread over the top of the rack of lamb

• Press the breadcrumbs on top of the garlic and transfer the lamb on to a baking tray

• Cook for 15 minutes

• Leave to rest for 5 minutes, slice the rack in half and serve half a rack per person with your potatoes and
vegetables

Cooking notes

These timings will produce a pink Rack of Lamb.  It is important that the oven is up to temperature when the meat goes in, if it is not then it will not cook through.  If you like your meat more well done, or the oven is not up to temperature when you put the meat in the oven then you will need to cook the Rack of Lamb for a couple of minutes longer.

If you are not going to use the rest of the lemon then cut it into slices and place in the freezer, they make the perfect ice and slice for a gin and tonic.

 

 

THAI COOKING CLASS

Last night I ran a cooking class for a group of girls throwing a surprise hen for a friend who gets married next month.

They asked for a Thai style evening hosted at home.  I put together a menu, they opened some champagne and we began cooking the following menu:

Chicken Satay

Spicy Beef Lettuce Wraps

Red Thai Chicken curry with Basmati Rice

Passion Fruit Meringue Roulade  

We started with the pudding, then cooked the satay and beef which they ate while I showed them how to make the main.  Once the curry was ready I slipped away leaving them to enjoy their dinner.   

The recipes I taught can be found by clicking on the following link: Thai Cooking 

If you are interested in hosting a similar evening for your friends in London please get in touch by emailing me alexandra@myopentable.co.uk 

 

CHICKEN & LEEK FETTUCCINE

I popped into see a friend of mine for coffee a couple of days ago.  She had just received her weekly veg box which on this occasion contained some leeks, she held them up ... ‘vichyssoise or leeks in white sauce ... what else can I do with them ... ‘

I gave her the following recipe, it is delicious, easy and a great way to honor the wonderful leek.

CHICKEN & LEEK FETTUCCINE - Serves 4

Ingredients 

350g Fettuccine, 100g Lardons, 2 Leeks, 3 Chicken Thigh Fillets or 2 Chicken Breasts, 100g Sliced Chestnut Mushrooms, 1 Clove Grated Garlic, 1 Sprig of Rosemary, 200ml Double Cream, Olive Oil, Salt and Pepper, 1/4 Lemon, Parmesan

• Put the pasta on to boil 
• Add the lardons and a little olive oil to a large frying pan.  Cook the lardons on a low to medium heat until crispy, remove from the pan and place in a bowl, once cool drain off the oil
• Slice the leeks into 1cm rounds and place in the frying pan that you used to cook the lardons
• Cook the leeks for a minute, until they have slightly softened.  While the leeks are softening cut up the chicken into bite size pieces
• Add the chicken and mushrooms to the leeks, stir every couple of minutes until the chicken is cooked through
• While the chicken is cooking through remove the rosemary spears from the sprig of rosemary
• Once the chicken is cooked through add the garlic and rosemary.  Cook for a minute then add the cream
• Stir continuously until the cream starts to simmer, squeeze over the lemon juice and stir it in to the sauce
• Season to taste
• Remove the sauce from the heat, drain the pasta and mix them together
• Divide the pasta between four plates and grate over some parmesan 

Cooking note

You want to cook the sauce on a low to medium heat.  If it is getting to hot and the leeks are starting to stick or the meat is browning then the pan is too hot and you will need to turn it down.

If you need to do this quickly then remove the pan from heat and pour a little water on the chicken.  Take care when doing this as it may spit.  

 

ORANGE & ALMOND BISCOTTI

I have just received the most wonderful news ... My brother and his gorgeous wife had a little boy this morning.  I have not stopped smiling.  They are all really doing well, although a little tired, my brother sounds blissfully happy.

Normally when friends have babies I cook a few meals to keep them going for the first few busy days.  As my brother and his wife live in Toronto I can not pop a food parcel on their door step ... I don’t think Spag Bol would taste the same after a ten hour flight and I think customs may have a few issues ... 

So to keep my self busy while I wait for them to wake up and skype (they are five hours behind so were off to bed when they rang).  I have been cooking for the childrens school cake sale tomorrow.  

I have made Biscotti, I was inspired by Green Figs & Ham a wonderful blog written by two sisters.  So thank you to Lorna and Mel and a big Welcome to by nephew ...

ORANGE & ALMOND BISCOTTI - Makes 24

Ingredients

125g Plain Flour, 125g Caster Sugar, 1 Teaspoon of baking powder, 1-2 eggs, 2 Heaped Tablespoons of Flaked Almonds, 2 Heaped Tablespoons of Candied Orange Peel (diced)

• Heat the oven to 180
• Place the flour, sugar and baking powder in a bowl and mix thoroughly
• Beat the egg and add it to the flour a little at a time until it forms a dough.  If the dough is too dry add more egg, if the dough is to too wet dust with a little more plain flour.
• Add the almonds and orange peel to the dough and mix
• Divide the dough into two and create two sausages of dough.  They should be about 2-3cm in diamter and roughly 20cm long
• Transfer the dough sausages to a lined baking tray, make sure they have at least 5cm space around them as they spread, place in the oven for 25-30 minutes until golden
• Remove the biscotti from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes
• Turn the oven down to 140
• Once the biscotti has cooled and firmed up slightly, place the biscotti sausage on a chopping board and cut the sausage into 1cm stripes.  Do this on an angle with a bread knife
• Place the biscuits on their sides on the baking tray and pop back in the oven for another 10-15 minutes till they are golden all over
• Remove from the oven and allow to cool
• Once cool store in an airtight container ... or pop in bags ready for the cake sale

Cooking notes

The biscotti spread quite a bit during the first cooking so I tend to make my sausage, transfer it to the baking tray and then lightly press the sides inwards to correct any squashing that might have occurred during the transfer.

Adapting

You can change the ingredients you use to flavour the biscotti ... if you don’t have any almonds then pistachios would be great.  

 

JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE SOUP

The children have both had colds this week and so I thought they could do with some comforting Jerusalem Artichoke soup.  It is delichous and tastes just like eating a freshly cooked Artichoke.

JERUSALEM ARTICHOKE SOUP - Serves 6

Ingredients

1 Medium onion, 1 Clove of grated garlic, 750g Peeled and chopped Jerusalem Artichoke Frozen, 750ml Boiling water, 3 Teaspoons of Bouillon Stock powder, 100ml Double Cream, Salt and Pepper

• Slice the onions and place in a sauce pan on a low heat with a generous slug of olive oil.  Allow them to cook for a few minutes until they are soft.
• While the onions are cooking boil the kettle and make up 750ml of stock.  For this recipe I add three teaspoons of bouillon powder to 750ml of boiling water
• Grate the garlic into the onions and stir for a minute
• Add the Jerusalem Artichoke and the boiling stock to the pan.  Bring to the boil, once boiling allow to simmer for 20-25 minutes until the Jerusalem Artichoke has become very soft.
• Season with salt and pepper and blend
• Once blended mix in the cream, check the seasoning and serve

 Cooking notes

I bought 1.2kg of Jerusalem Artichoke ... once I had peeled and chopped them all up I was left with 750g 

To test whether the artichoke are ready, gently stab with a fork ... if the fork goes in very easly, like it would through softened butter then they are cooked. 

I tend to use a hand held blender for this and blend in the saucepan ... if your worried about it spitting use normal blender.

Adapting

If you like soup very creamy add more to taste. 

 

CHICKEN PATE

Rich adores Chicken Pate and has been asking for some since we finished the Duck Pate last weekend.  We have friends for dinner I thought it would make a great canapé spread on slices of baguette.  (Slice a baguette, sprinkle the slices with olive oil and pop them in the oven at 180 for  5-10 minutes till they are crisp, once cool spread on the Pate)

Pate is surprisingly easy to make so give it a go.  The great thing about this recipe is that it makes a good quantity.  We will eat the left over Pate for lunch on Saturday ... all we need is some salad and a fresh baguette ... 

CHICKEN PATE 

Fills 0.5l Kilner Jar

Ingredients 

360g Chicken Livers, 180g Butter (Room Temperature), 36ml Sherry, 1 Large clove (or two small ones) of grated garlic, 1 Heaped tablespoon of chopped fresh thyme, Olive oil, Salt and Pepper

• Place the livers in a frying pan with the olive oil.  Cook them on a low heat till they have just cooked through
• Once cooked transfer the livers to a food processor and blitz till smooth
• Place the pan back on the hob and add the garlic and herbs, stir for 30 seconds then pour in the sherry.  Be careful when pouring in the alcohol, if the pan is hot then it will flame.  It is good if it does because it is burning off the alcohol.  If it does not flame allow the alcohol to boil for a minute or so till the alcohol has boiled off
• Pour the alcohol, garlic and any bits left in the pan from the livers into the food processor and blitz quickly again so they are mixed through, remove the lid and allow the livers to cool while you cut up the butter
• Once the livers are cool add the butter to the food processor, season well and then blitz till all the butter has mixed into the pate 
• Transfer the pate to a Kilner Jar and store in fridge 
• Once cool serve with crusty bread

Cooking notes

When making pate I work on a ratio of double the livers to butter.  Make sure that the livers are cooked through but do not over cook them as over cooked livers will make the pate taste slightly bitter.

Wait till the liver has cooled before adding the butter, if you add it to hot livers the butter will melt.

Adapting

You can change the herbs and alcohol in this recipe to change the taste of the pate. 

I enjoy Marsala or Port instead of the Sherry and Rosemary or any other robust herb instead of the Thyme.  If you make the pate with Rosemary use half a tablespoon as it is much stronger in flavour and a tablespoon will over power the pate.  

 

YOGHURT CAKE (no weighing scales needed)

I got to page 81 of my book 'French Children Don’t Throw Food' by Pamela Druckerman.  The Chapter is called ‘Wait’ and talks about the importance of teaching your children to wait for things.

I agree with the book ... one of the best pieces of advise I ever got when my daughter was born was from a friend who already had two children.  She said treat your first baby like they are your second child.  Imagine, when they are crying that you are in the middle of feeding, bathing, changing a nappy of the first so you can not rush to them straight away.

It was something I did and meant that my daughters world did not change to drastically when her brother arrived 20 months later.

I realised though that although I started well with Thea I have not kept up this methodology as well as I could have done ... the children are not adverse to a little tantrum if mummy does not do something quick enough ... 

I am going to try some of Druckermans techniques ... Rich thinks buying sweets in the morning and making the children wait to eat them till the afternoon (page 81) might be a little hard to start with so we opt for the yoghurt cake (page 80).  We are going to make a cake, they are going to have to wait for it to cool and then we will teach them restraint by only letting them have one piece ... 

With the plan decided I put the book down and look for a recipe ... I soon realise that Google brings up a lot of recipes but none of the authors seem to tell you how many grams the yogurt pot should be ... which is kind of crucial to the cake.  

After ten minutes of looking at different recipes I improvise, pick up a yogurt pot and soon the cakes are in producation.

Thea decides her cake will be cherry so she throws in a few handfuls of cherries, Charlie picks orange peel and rather enthusiastically puts in most of the packet. 

My friend Nell, who has arrived mid cake making, is not convinced by the recipe we are throwing together and keeps making very funny faces and commenting that she is not sure this is going to work ... she was especially concerned by the whole yoghurt pot of oil.  I attempt to look calm while I keep my fingers crossed that the cakes taste ok ... we are making two (one each for the children) so if they don't we are going to have a lot to throw away ...

This exercise is teaching me patience ... I am left waiting nervously to see if the recipe is going to make a cake worth eating ... thank goodness it does.

The children waited for the cake to cool, ate their piece and all went well ... it was not till later that I read page 82 of the book that I realised Mummy had not faired so well in the exercise.  Apparently I was meant to teach the children self restraint by not eating any of the cake myself ... oops mummy probably should have read the whole chapter before cooking.

If I had I would have realised that on page 96 the author gives her yoghurt cake recipe, which would have saved a lot of Googling and worrying!  Never mind the one we improvised from worked well. 

I would recommend this if you want to cook something simple with children, have no weighing scales or you don’t like very sweet cakes this is delicious with out making you feel you have eaten too much sugar ... 

YOGHURT CAKE 

Ingredients

1 125g Pot of Greek Yoghurt, 3 Yoghurt Pots of Plain Flour, 2 Yoghurt Pots of Granulated Sugar, 1 Yoghurt Pot of Vegetable Oil, 1 Teaspoon of Vanilla Essence, 3 eggs, 10ml Milk, 1 Tablespoon of Baking Powder

Cake Tins

1 x 2lb loaf tin, 1 x 2lb loaf tin liner

• Turn you oven to 170
• Place a liner in your 2lb loaf tin
• Pour all the ingredients into a mixing bowl.  You use the yoghurt pot to measure out the ingredents. 
• Mix together thoroughly
• Add your flavouring ... 2 small handfuls of cherries, orange peel, chocolate buttons, chopped nuts ... and mix again
• Pour the batter into the lined tin and place on the middle shelf of the oven for 35-40 minutes.  When cooked the cake should be golden on the top and spring back when touched.  To check it is cooked through slide a metal skewer into the middle of the cake, if it comes out clean the cake is cooked.  If the skewer is covered in cake mixture it needs a few more minutes in the oven
• Once cooked remove the cake from the oven and leave it to cool slightly for a couple of minutes
• After a couple of minutes remove the cakes from their tins, keeping the cake in the liners and transfer to a wire rack to cool 

Cooking notes

If you don’t have Greek yoghurt use natural instread.  In France you have a much larger selection of different size Greek and natural yoghurt pots.  If you can not find 125g pots of Greek yoghurt then buy a big pot and use an old 125g pot for the measuring.

I like makes in loaf tins, if you prefer a round cake then line an 8 inch cake tin and cook at 180 for 30-35 minutes instead.

Adapting

You can use this cake as a base for lots of different flavours ... in addition to the suggestions above you could add the zest of a lemon to the mixture then when the cake is cooling in its tin, mix together the juice of the lemon and 55g caster sugar to make a drizzle.  Prick the warm cake all over with a skewer or fork, then pour over the drizzle - the juice will sink in and the sugar will form a lovely, crisp topping.  You could also do this with an orange.

 

DUCK PATE

I started a new book today “French Children Don’t Throw Food” by Pamela Druckerman.  The paragraph on the back caught my eye ‘How can French mothers chat to their friends while their children play quietly’ ... I am already on page 28 and loving it.

The book has a wonderful red and white checked cover that reminded me of French bistros, my mind immediately started thinking of duck pate spread on fresh baguette ... and a glass of cold rose in the sun.

With two children to look after this afternoon ... and grey sky.  I forgot about the rose and compromised with a baguette from the wonderful Le Pain Quotidien, (best baguette I have found in london) and some duck livers.  They are from Gressingham Foods and I think taste wonderful.

I had a delicious lunch of bread and pate and while I go back to getting parenting tips from my book here is the recipe ... 

(If you want to make your own bread rather then buy a baguette with Soda Bread recipe is quick, easy and delicious.)

 

DUCK PATE 

Fills 0.5l Kilner Jar 

Ingredients 

360g Duck Liver, 180g Butter (Room Temperature), 36ml Grand Marnier, 2 cloves of grated garlic, The rind of an Orange (large tablespoon), Olive oil, Salt and Pepper

• Place the duck livers in a frying pan with the olive oil.  cook them on a low heat till they are browned on the outside and still slightly pink inside
• Once cooked transfer the livers to a food processor and blitz till smooth
• Place the pan back on the hob and add a small knob of the butter and the garlic to the pan, stir for 30 seconds then pour in the grand marnier.  Be careful when pouring in the liquor, if the pan is hot then it will flame.  It is good if it does because it is burning off the alcohol.  If it does not flame allow the alcohol to boil for a minute or so till the alcohol has boiled off
• Pour the alcohol, garlic and any bits left in the pan from the livers into the food processor and blitz quickly again so they are mixed through, remove the lid and allow the livers to cool
• While the livers are cooling cut up the butter and remove the peel from the orange (you should have a large tablespoon of orange peel)
• Once the livers are cool add the orange peel and butter to the food processor with some seasoning and blitz till smooth
• Transfer the pate to a Kilner Jar and store in fridge, it will take about 20-30 minutes to set to a good consitancy 
• Once cool serve with crusty bread ... and if you are a bit naughtly with your salt intake as I can be at time, sprinkle with a little sea salt

Cooking notes

When making pate I work on a ratio of double the livers to butter.  Do not over cook as over cooked livers will make the pate taste slightly bitter.

Wait till the duck liver has cooled before adding the butter, if you add it to hot livers the butter will melt.

As my butter content is quite high you might find the pate sets quite hard in the fridge if left for more than a couple of hours.  If this happends remove the pate from the fridge 15-20 mintues before serving to allow it to relax.

The pate will last up to 48 hrs in the fridge.

Adapting

If you don’t like duck liver then use chicken livers instead.  If you do this I would recommend exchanging the liqueur and herbs as I love orange with duck but think chicken works well with other flavours.  

I enjoy Marsala or Port instead of the Grand Mariner and Rosemary or Thyme instead of the orange peel.  You will want a tablespoon of thyme and half of rosemary.  Add the herbs to the frying pan with the liquor instead of with the butter.