Category: Local

Local food supports local farmers and reduces food miles

Purple basil and sunflower seed pesto

Purple is the new green/ green is the new purple… something like that…

Ingredients

Pesto recipes are always “to taste” – use a little bit of what you have and work around how pungent the herbs are and what you have in the kitchen. Here is what I did with this really strong, sunny number:

  • 2 large bunches of purple basil, leaves carefully wiped with a damp cloth
  • 200g sunflower seeds (I often use sunflower seeds in pesto as a perfectly good healthy alternative to pine nuts and considerably cheaper)
  • 100g parmesan
  • 200ml extra virgin olive oil
  • 3 fat cloves of garlic
  • The zest of half a lemon pared

How To

Blend the ingredients all together in a blender into a thick paste. I like to still retain some texture – a little bit like “crunchy” peanut butter.

The uses for pesto are almost too numerous to list but start with the obvious: pasta and gnocchi and then think crusts on chicken and fish and then spread on crackers and fresh bread….

Marketing #1

The organic food market of “Les Batignolles” in Paris or Marché biologique des Batignolles is a glory hole. In July it made me think of things to do with apricots, nectarines, peaches and big fat juicy tomatoes:

A poshed up pain perdu: Apricot, Nectarine and Almond Pain Perdu and then on to London although still a la Francaise, chez Caroline: Two out of One: Couscous & Yellow Split Pea Stuffed Tomatoes and Couscous and Yellow Pea “Falafel”

Very Visinata Tiramisu

A classic tiramisu with a cheeky cherry twist

Ingredients for four very tipsy tiramisu

  • 250g mascarpone
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tbsp sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla essence
  • dry biscuits such as the traditional “savoiardi” or “boudoir” biscuits or in this version as I forgot to buy them, some leftover dry biscuits – chocolate ones would have worked well
  • a wine glass of “visinata” – home made Romanian cherry liqueur – powerful stuff
  • 2 good cups of leftover cherries which the visinata was made from – stoned (no pun intended)

Good quality cocoa for dusting

Gadgets & Gizmos

2 bowls

An electric whisk or very strong biceps

A sieve or a tea strainer

How To

There are two parts to a Tiramisu: the soggy biscuit part where traditionally expresso is used to moisten the biscuits ( I like to use liqueurs and fruit as here) and the creamy vanilla layer which is eggs and mascarpone and never whipped cream.

Assemble your glasses first. If making “posh” ones then use wine glasses, otherwise plain glass tumblers.  Break the biscuits and intersperse with your fruit. Dribble over the liquer/ syrup so that the biscuits are moistened.

Press the now moist biscuits down. This is important.  You do not want air pockets in the biscuit layer. Add more biscuits , more fruit, more liqueur…  it usually takes two or three rounds. Let them settle down while you make the mascarpone layer.

Whisk the egg whites and 1 tbsp sugar until soft peak stage

In the second bowl, whisk the egg yolks with 1tbsp sugar until white and creamy. Add the vanilla essence. Slowly add the mascarpone and mix thoroughly.

Add one tablespoon of the egg whites to the mascarpone mixture to begin to thin it. Now gently add the mascarpone mixture to the egg whites and fold taking care not to lose air. The idea is to fold in creating a mousse. If your mascarpone mixture is too thick add 1 tbsp of milk before folding in.  Better this and to not lose air than a stodgy dense mascarpone layer that is impossible to “drop” off a spoon into a glass.

The level of “gloopiness” is key – the mix needs to be sturdy enough to hold it as a mousse yet soft and liquid enough to plop down gently into the glasses and envelope the moist biscuit layer.

Gently spoon over the biscuit layer the mascarpone mousse.  You may need to just shake it a little to flatten the surface but try not to bang the glasses as this will destroy air bubbles.

Either dust with cocoa powder through a sieve or cover completely as you prefer.   If you cover completely, the Tiramisu keep for up to 3 days in the fridge as the cocoa forms a protective layer.