Chocolate swirls

Sammy is a fan of all things chocolate, and when I asked him what he fancied as an alternative to the ginger crush in my ginger swirls, he immediately suggested these. The results were great. Adding chocolate to dough tends to be disappointing, as it makes the dough dry while also diluting the impact of the chocolate. But spreading chocolate across a layer of dough and then rolling it solves both of those problems, and the result is both light and chocolatey.

Ingredients
the dough
175ml warm milk
300g strong white flour
1/2 egg, beaten
2.5g instant yeast
12g demerara sugar
25g melted butter
2.5g salt

the filling
1/2 egg, beaten
100g dark chocolate

the glaze
25g demerara sugar
25ml water
caster sugar for sprinkling

Method

1. Combine all of the dough ingredients together in a large mixing bowl and mix well. With the dough still in the bowl, stretch and fold, leave for 15 minutes, then repeat the 'stretch-and-fold'/15-minute rest cycle three more times. Leave dough to stand for a further hour at room temperature.
2. Melt the chocolate in a bain mairie. Form the dough into a boule, then roll out on a well-floured surface to form a rectangle. Brush the surface with the remaining beaten egg, spread the melted chocolate over it, and roll it to form a swiss roll.
3. Cut the roll into slices, and arrange them next to each other in an oiled and floured flan tin or on a baking tray, and leave to rise for 1 hour.
4. In the meantime, make the glaze by heating 25g of demerara sugar in 25ml of water until all the sugar has dissolved. 30 minutes before you are ready to bake, set the oven to 200oC.
5. Once the swirls have risen, brush them with the glaze, sprinkle with caster sugar, and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until they are golden brown.

Pot roast chicken

Gemma bought a big orange casserole dish the other day, and I have been rediscovering the joys of pot-roast chicken with vegetables.

Ingredients
1 whole chicken
potatoes
carrots
onions
olive oil
bay leaves
garlic
butter
English mustard
salt
pepper
water

Method

1. Set the oven to 190oC. Peel and roughly chop the vegetables, and put them in the casserole dish. Drizzle with olive oil, add salt and pepper, and a couple of bay leaves.
2. Finely chop a couple of cloves of garlic, mix with plenty of butter, some mustard, and some salt and pepper, and smear generously over the chicken.
3. Place the chicken on top of the vegetables, add a little water, put the lid on and roast for about 2 hours.

Ginger swirls

These ginger swirls are sweet and spicy, and go brilliantly with a cup of coffee. 

Ingredients
the dough
175ml warm milk
300g strong white flour
1/2 egg, beaten
2.5g instant yeast
12g demerara sugar
25g melted butter
2.5g salt

the filling
10g melted butter
100g ginger crush

the glaze
25g demerara sugar
25ml water
caster sugar for sprinkling

Method

1. Combine all of the dough ingredients together in a large mixing bowl and mix well. With the dough still in the bowl, stretch and fold thoroughly. Cover dough and leave  to stand for an hour at room temperature.
2. Form the dough into a boule, then roll out on a well-floured surface to form a rectangle. Brush the surface with melted butter, spread the ginger cross over it, and roll it to form a swiss roll.
3. Cut the roll into slices, and arrange them next to each other in an oiled and floured flan tin or on a baking tray, and leave to rise for 1 hour.
4. In the meantime, make the glaze by heating 25g of demerara sugar in 25ml of water until all the sugar has dissolved. 30 minutes before you are ready to bake, set the oven to 200oC.
5. Once the swirls have risen, brush them with the glaze, sprinkle with caster sugar, and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until they are golden brown.

Rolled, filled dough

Filled slices, waiting to prove

Braised sweet and sour red cabbage with chestnuts

Ingredients
olive oil
100g dried chestnuts
3 sticks of celery
2 rashers of back bacon
1 small red cabbage
1 cooking apple
3 tbsps cider vinegar
3 tbsps balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp sugar
salt
pepper
water

Method

1. Soak the dried chestnuts in hot water for 30 minutes. Wash and chop the celery, cut the bacon into small pieces, core and slice the cabbage, and core the apple and cut into chunks.
2. Gently fry the celery in olive oil. When it has started to soften, add the bacon and continue to fry until the bacon is done.
3. Add all the remaining ingredients, together with enough water to barely cover. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to minimum and simmer until the chestnuts and cabbage are soft.

Crepes

Crepes are back in fashion - and I don't even have to cook them.

Ingredients
200g plain flour
380g milk
2 eggs

Method
Whisk all the ingredients together, fry in a hot, lightly-oiled pan, flip and serve with the topping of your choice.

Focaccia

I've been making focaccia on and off for a few years, but I think the method below is the one I will be sticking with. It isn't too involved, and the end result is as good as any other focaccia I have tasted.

Ingredients
400g strong white flour
300g warm water
7g instant yeast
1 tbsp olive oil

10g salt

coarse salt, more olive oil and some sprigs of rosemary for topping

Method

1. Combine the flour, salt, water, yeast, olive oil and salt in a large mixing bowl. Mix well, then work the dough in the bowl until it smooth. Cover and leave to prove for 1 hour.
2. Set the oven to 200oC. Lightly grease a baking tray. (Mine is 22 cm by 33 cm).
3. Gently work some of the air out of the dough, then transfer it to the tray. With wet hands, stretch the dough out to fit the tray (you can do this gradually, leaving it to rest in between) and leave the dough to rise for 30 minutes.
4. Dimple the shaped dough by pressing your wet fingertips into it, sprinkle with salt, put a few wet sprigs of rosemary on top, and drizzle with olive oil, then transfer to oven and bake for 20 minutes or so, until golden brown.

Eggy bread

I find it hard, first thing in the morning, to think of more than about three breakfast options - pancakes (or some variation on them), cereal, or toast. Here is a simple alternative to toast, which my mum used to make for me, and that I now make for my kids.

Ingredients
4 slices of bread
2 eggs
salt

Method
Beat the eggs in a flat dish. Add a little salt, soak the bread in the egg, then fry in a little oil, until it is done on both sides.

Cod's roe with tomato and green pepper (huevas aliñadas)

Huevas aliñadas or dressed roe is a standard cold tapa in Cádiz, and is a big favourite of Sammy's. There was some cod's roe in my Edinburgh fishmonger the other day, so I bought it and made this simple cod's roe salad for Sammy to welcome him back from his skiing trip with Grandma and Auntie Clara.

Ingredients
250g cooked cod´s roe
2 tomatoes
1/2 green pepper
2 spring onions
3 tbsps olive oil
1.5 tbsps vinegar
1/2 tsps salt
black pepper

Method
Cut the cod's roe into smallish pieces (about 2cm square), dice the tomatoes and green pepper, and slice the spring onions. Combine in a bowl, dress with the olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper, mix well, and leave to sit for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Mild chicken curry with coconut milk

This is a simple curry, mild enough for kids to eat and easy enough for them to cook.

Ingredients
vegetable oil
1 kg of chicken breast or thigh meat, cut into large chunks
250g onion, finely chopped
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp minced ginger
2 tbsps mild curry powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tin of coconut milk

Method

1. In plenty of vegetable oil, gently fry the chopped onion until it is almost done.
2. Add the garlic and ginger, and fry for another minute.
3. Add the curry powder and salt, fry for another 30 seconds.
4. Add the chicken, stir well so that is coated in the onion and spice mixture, and fry for about 10 minutes.
5. Add the coconut milk, bring to a boil, reduce heat to minimum and simmer for 30 minutes.

Simple salad dressing

This is our standard salad dressing. Simply add iPod and serve.

Ingredients
1 tsp French mustard
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
8 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp salt

Method
Mix all of the ingredients in a jar. Put the lid on, and shake well to emulsify.

Simple meatballs

When I was small, meatballs were big. Now that I am big, meatballs are small.

Ingredients
olive oil
1 onion
1 clove of garlic
500g minced pork
500g minced beef
1 egg
75g breadcrumbs (or matzo meal)
1/2 teaspoon salt
black pepper

Method

1. Finely chop and fry the onion in olive oil. When it is nearly done, add the finely chopped garlic and fry for another 30 seconds or so.
2. In a large bowl, mix the fried onion and garlic with the minced pork and beef, beaten egg, breadcrumbs, salt and few twists of black pepper. Shape the mixture into walnut sized balls
3. Heat plenty of olive oil (about 1cm deep) in a large frying pan, and fry the meatballs in batches over a low to meadium heat for about 5 minutes on each side, until done.
4. Strain, then cook for a few more minutes in plenty of tomato sauce.

Borscht (beetroot soup)

My mum came round the other day and handed me a plastic bag. It contained a couple of bunches of beetroot and a small bag of potatoes. I looked at her quizzically. "I was going to make you some borscht," she explained, "but I couldn't be bothered, so I just brought you the ingredients instead." I was still mulling over what to do with the beetroots and whether to obey my mother's instructions, when my veggie box turned up on the doorstep with another instalment of beetroots. Apparently somebody up there was trying to tell me something.

There are lots of different types of borscht: Russian, Polish, Ukrainian; hot or cold; meaty or meat-free etc. This version is adapted from the one in Evelyn Rose's New Complete International Jewish Cookbook.

Ingredients
1 kg fresh beetroots
one carrot
one onion
1.5 l chicken stock
juice of 1/2 a lemon
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
to serve
cream cheese

Method

1. Peel and very finely chop the beetroots, carrot and onion. Put in a large saucepan with the stock, lemon juice, salt and black pepper, bring to a boil, cover, turn heat to minimum and simmer for 30 minutes until the vegetables are soft.
2. With a stick blender, blend the soup in the pan until it is smooth.
3. Add a generous spoonful of cream cheese to each bowl of soup as you serve.

Southern fried chicken

I haven't always been a food snob. When I was growing up in Stirling in the 1970s, I remember that McDonald's and Burger King seemed like the height of luxury and sophistication. Whenever we went down to London to visit my grandparents, my brother and I would insist that we immediately be taken to the nearest branch of McDonald's for a Big Mac and large fries with chocolate milkshake. My children, however, appear to have more sophisticated palates. Even when we find ourselves in an airport and the choices are limited, they refuse to succumb to the blandishments of Burger King.

In general, I admire the fact that their tastebuds are impervious to the marketing pressures of the culture in which we live. However, when they start making snide comments about Kentucky Fried Chicken (or KFC as it is now called) I draw the line. Nobody, but nobody, will ever convince me that that "oh so crispy on the outside, moist and tender on the inside" chicken is actually "slimy", let alone that the name change was the result of Col Sanders' close encounters with deep-fried rodents. I may have given up trying to persuade my kids to go to a branch of KFC, but I decided it was time to try and recreate the finger-lickin' taste at home.

Ingredients
one whole chicken
1 l water
4 teaspoons salt
300 ml milk
1 teaspoon vinegar
two eggs
300 g plain flour
50 g fine polenta
3 teaspoons dried oregano
3 teaspoons salt
vegetable oil

Method

1. Joint the chicken into at least 10 portions. (Two wings, two thighs, two drumsticks, four breast portions)
2. dissolve 4 teaspoons of salt in the water and soak the chicken in the salted water for at least two hours.
3. Add the vinegar to the milk and leave to stand for at least an hour.
4. In a large bowl, mix the milk and eggs.
5. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, polenta, oregano and salt.
6. Drain the chicken, and dip the pieces in the milk and egg mixture, then in the seasoned flour.
7. Heat about 1 cm of oil in two lidded frying pans to a medium heat. Add the chicken pieces to the hot oil, reduce heat to minimum, cover pans and fry gently for 5 minutes. Turn the chicken pieces, cover pans again and fry for another 5 minutes.
8. Remove lids from pans, and cook for another 10 to 15 minutes. Turn pieces again and cook for 10 to 15 minutes more, until the chicken is done.

Parsnip latkes

It's been over six months since my last post. This is because my long-standing back problem finally decided to go critical. I twisted it in March last year and throughout the summer and well into the autumn I was unable to walk more than a couple of hundred yards or even stand up for a few minutes without experiencing severe pain down my left leg. And I also found that sitting at the computer for any length of time caused problems. I didn't completely stop cooking but I generally focused on the quick and easy end of the culinary spectrum and didn't have much energy left for blogging (or much else besides). On 28 December I went into hospital for a micro-discectomy, and three weeks later I am pretty much pain-free and mobile.

Although it's been a long nine months, there have been quite a few positives: I have certainly learned to appreciate some of the simple pleasures I had been deprived of, such as walking, standing and blogging, and I've also learned how to chart a middle path between an unconvincing stoicism and constant whingeing.

In the meantime, our veggie box has continued to arrive and as autumn turned to winter parsnips have  featured with increasing regularity. Last year, I turned the parsnip glut into some rather fiddly oven-baked fritters but this year, in the wake of Hanukkah, I was inspired to make some parsnip latkes.

Ingredients
1 kg parsnips
300 g onions
3 eggs
1 teaspoon salt

Method

1. Peel the parsnips and grate finely by hand or using a food processor. Squeeze out the excess water.
2. Peel and chop the onions, and whizz in a food processor with the eggs and salt. Add parsnips and whizz again briefly.
3. Heat about 1 cm vegetable oil in a large frying pan. Use a tablespoon to shape the mixture into fritters, add to the oil, fry until golden-brown, turn carefully and fry the underside.