Rhubarb and Coconut Rice Pudding

Recipe courtesy of Psychologies Magazine (May 2017) and taken from ‘A Year of Beautiful Eating’ by Madeleine Shaw.

Serves : 2

Ingredients :
500ml rice milk or other milk
200g coconut cream
1 vanilla pod
1 cinnamon stick
1 cardamom pod
1 tblsp maple syrup
120g pudding rice or short grain rice
2 tblsp flaked almonds, to serve
Extra maple syrup, to serve (optional)

For the rhubarb compote :
2 rhubarb stalks
2 tblsp maple syrup
Grated zest and juice of 1 orange

Method :

First make the rhubarb compote. Finely chop the rhubarb into 1 cm pieces. Place in a saucepan with the maple syrup and orange zest and juice. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat and allow to simmer for 15-20 minutes until cooked through. Keep warm to serve with the rice pudding.

Meanwhile, put the milk, coconut cream, vanilla pod, cinnamon stick, cardamom pod and syrup in another pot, over a medium-low heat. Bring to a simmer and cook gently for 10 minutes, then bring to the boil and add the rice. Cook for 20 minutes, stirring well, until the rice is cooked through.

Take out the cinnamon stick, and the vanilla and cardamom pods. Serve the rice pudding with a dollop of the rhubarb compote, sprinkled with flaked almonds on top, plus a drizzle of maple syrup, if needed.

Carpaccio Di Ananas E Fragole

Recipe courtesy of Hello Magazine.

Serves : 4

Ingredients – Honey Syrup :
6 tblsp water
100g / 4oz caster sugar
2 tblsp honey

Ingredients – Fruit :
1 small pineapple, peeled and cored
1 punnet strawberries
4 scoops of sorbet (perhaps raspberry)

Method :

For the syrup, place the water, sugar and honey in a heavy pan and heat gently until the sugar dissolves. Boil rapidly until the syrup turns golden brown, remove from the heat and leave to cool a little. Drizzle over 4 serving plates.

To prepare the fruit, slice the pineapple as thinly as possible, using a food slicer – and slice the strawberries. Arrange on serving plates in a flower pattern and add a scoop of sorbet in the centre. Serve at once.

Summer Fruits – Smooth operator

Recipe courtesy of The Co-operative Food Magazine.

Nothing evokes summer quite like the taste of plump and juicy summer berries. Whether you’re planning a weekend picnic, making a fruit tart or a healthy smoothie.

Ingredients :
115g blueberries
115g raspberries
150ml apple juice
2 tblsp natural yogurt
Some crushed ice
Extra blueberries and raspberries to garnish

Method :

Pop all the ingredients in a blender and whizz until smooth. Pour into a glass and garnish with the blueberries and raspberries.

Redcurrant Chocolate Puddings

Recipe taken from Hello Magazine many years ago.

Serves : 10

Ingredients – Base sponge :
100g (4oz) butter
100g (4oz) caster sugar
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
300g (11oz) plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
Juice of 2 medium oranges

Ingredients – Top sponge :
50g (2oz) caster sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
150g (5oz) plain flour
50g (2oz) butter, melted

To serve :
225ml (8 fl oz) chocolate sauce
Strawberries brushed with warmed redcurrant jelly

Step One : For the base sponge, beat together the butter and sugar until creamy. Stir in the eggs and egg yolk, then fold in the flour, baking powder and orange juice. Divide the mixture between 10 ramekin dishes.

Step Two : For the top sponge, whisk together the sugar, egg and egg yolk until thick and creamy. Carefully fold in the flour and melted butter and spoon into the ramekin dishes.

Step Three : Preheat the oven to 220oC / 425oF / Gas Mark 7 and bake for 10 minutes or until just firm when pressed. Turn out the sponges and serve with chocolate sauce and strawberries brushed with warmed redcurrant jelly.

Chelsea Buns

Recipe courtesy of Psychologies Magazine and taken from “All You Knead is Bread” by Jane Mason.

Makes : 8-10 buns

Ingredients :
300g all-purpose white wheat flour
200ml water
3/4 tsp instant yeast
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tblsp butter
1 tblsp sugar

Filling :
75g dried fruit (raisins, sultanas, currants)
25g mixed peel
50g soft brown sugar
25g butter, melted and cooled
2 big tblsp honey, melted to glaze

You will need a deep baking pan, about 25 cm wide, well-greased.

Step One : Put all the ingredients into a big bowl and mix together. Tip out and knead well for 10 minutes. Pop the kneaded dough back into the bowl and cover with a tea towel. Allow to rest for 1-2 hours until doubled in size. Meanwhile, mix the dried fruit, mixed peel and sugar together to make the filling, then set aside.

Step Two : Pull the dough out onto a well-floured surface. Roll into a rectangle about 30 x 23 cm. Brush the cooled, melted butter over it and scatter the fruit mixture evenly over the top.

Step Three : Roll up the rectangle, tugging it gently toward you at each roll to achieve a tight sausage. To make it easier to slice, cover it with clingfilm and place it in the fridge for 30 minutes or so.

Step Four : Use a sharp, serrated knife to cut the sausage into 8-10 slices if you like your buns thin, or 6 if you like them really fat. Place them into the prepared baking pan and cover with a lightly floured tea towel. Allow to rest for 1 hour until doubled in size.

Step Five : Preheat the oven to 180oC / Gas Mark 4. Bake for 30-35 minutes until golden. Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack. Brush with melted honey while they are still hot.

Salute the Salad : Poached Salmon, Almond and Grapefruit Couscous

Recipe courtesy of Psychologies Magazine (May 2016) and taken from “Savour : Salads for all seasons” by Peter Gordon.

For this light, healthy meal, poach the salmon in a pan wide and deep enough to hold the pieces in one layer. The couscous can also be served with other meats.

Serves 2 as a main course

Serve warm or at room temperature

Ingredients :
100g couscous
1 carrot, peeled and coarsely grated (shredded)
1 tblsp extra virgin olive oil
2 spring onions
1 small handful of flat-leaf parsley, still on the stalk
1 grapefruit
2 salmon fillets (150-175g each), bones removed but skin left on
3 tblsp flaked almonds, lightly toasted and roughly chopped
1 small handful salad leaves (perhaps use pea shoots)
1 lemon, halved

Step One : Mix the couscous with 100ml of tepid water and 1/4 tsp of salt, and leave for 5 minutes. Mix in the grated carrot and olive oil and leave for 5 minutes. Trim both ends from the spring onions. Thinly slice the green parts and mix into the couscous. Pick the parsley leaves from their stalks, coarsely shred and add to the couscous. Put the parsley stalks and spring onion white ends in a separate pan. Add water to a depth of 4 cm and 1 tsp of salt, bring to the boil then reduce to a rapid simmer. Peel three strips of rind from the grapefruit, avoiding any white pith, add to this poaching stock as it heats up.

Step Two : Gently lower the salmon pieces into the stock, skin side facing down, and bring back to the boil. Turn off the heat, put a lid on the pan and leave for 8-10 minutes, by which time it will be cooked (if the salmon is thin, and submerged, leave it for no more than 4-5 minutes).

Step Three : Meanwhile, segment the grapefruit, cutting off the peel and pith. Cut each segment into three or four pieces and mix into the couscous along with the almonds and any juice you can squeeze from the grapefruit core.

Step Four : To serve, divide the couscous among your plates and sit the salad leaves on top. Remove the salmon carefully from the poaching liquid and lay on a plate, skin side facing up. Peel off the skin and carefully scrape away any dark-coloured flesh (and blood line) under the skin using a teaspoon. Break the salmon into flakes and sit it on top of the couscous. Tuck in a lemon half and serve.

Salute the Salad : Grilled Carrots, Manchego, Orange, Agave, Pecans and Sultanas

Recipe courtesy of Psychologies Magazine and taken from “Savour : Salads for all seasons” by Peter Gordon.

This relatively simple salad will seem all the more fabulous if you use a few different colours of carrots. I found the combination of just two colours worked well and decided against using purple ones. I’ve also made this using baby carrots, which looks and works a treat. Manchego is a fantastic ewes’ milk cheese from La Mancha, near Madrid, in Spain. If you prefer, you can use British Wigmore or Berkswell, Italian Pecorino, or some other firm ewes’ milk cheese – something you can shave or slice over the top. Agave syrup is a fabulous, earthy, sweet syrup, which complements the pecans – replace it with maple syrup if you can’t find it.

Serves 4 as a starter

Serve warm or at room temperature

Ingredients:
600g carrots, peeled, halved lengthways
3 tblsp olive oil
2 oranges, segmented
3 tblsp agave syrup (or use maple syrup)
50g sultanas (or golden raisins)
100g pecans, toasted and chopped
1 spring onion, thinly sliced
handful salad leaves (perhaps rocket)
60g manchego

Step One : Steam or boil the carrots in salted water for 6 minutes. If using baby carrots, cook for 4 minutes. Tip into a colander and leave to drain. Brush with 1 tablespoon of the oil and season with salt and pepper, then cook in a heavy based pan until coloured on both sides and cooked through, about 3-4 minutes depending on their size. Leave to cool.

Step Two : Mix the orange segments with any of their juice you can squeeze from the ‘core’. Add the agave syrup, sultanas and pecans. Leave for 10 minutes, then mix in the remaining oil. Leave for at least 20 minutes to allow the sultanas to soak up some of the liquid, tossing from time to time. Just before serving, mix in the spring onion.

Step Three : To serve, lay the carrots on a platter or individual plates. Scatter on the salad leaves, then spoon on the orange, sultana and pecan mixture. Thinly shave the manchego on top just before you serve it.

Fruit and Nut Couscous with Fresh Herbs

Recipe courtesy of Psychologies Magazine (August 2019) and taken from Summer Every Day by Acland Geddes and Pedro Da Silva.

Fruit and Nut couscous

Serves : 6 – 8

Ingredients :
500g couscous
Olive oil, for frying and drizzling
50g whole almonds
50g whole cashews
50g whole pecans
1 pomegranate
2 tblsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 tblsp chopped fresh mint
2 tblsp chopped fresh basil
50g dried apricots, chopped into small pieces
50g raisins

Step One : Put the couscous in a serving bowl and add cold water until it is covered by about 2 cm of water. Leave until all the water is absorbed (about 10 minutes), then fluff it up with your hands.

Step Two : Put all the nuts in a pan with a splash of olive oil and toast over medium heat until they are nicely browned. Set aside to cool.

Step Three : Remove the pomegranate seeds by cutting the fruit in half, holding it over a bowl and bashing the outside with the back of a wooden spoon so that the seeds fall into the bowl.

Step Four : Stir the herbs, nuts, pomegranate seeds and dried apricots into the couscous. Add a little olive oil, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and serve.

Orange and Almond Cake

A Gary Rhodes recipe

Makes : 3 x 2lb (900g) cakes

Ingredients:
3 whole oranges
12oz (350g) ground almonds
12oz (350g) caster sugar
½ tsp baking powder
9 eggs, size 3, beaten

The quantities here are quite large but using 3 oranges gives a stronger finished taste. If you cut the recipe down to a third, the flavour isn’t as good. This recipe also works well using 4 lemons instead of the oranges or a combination of lemon and limes. The cake freezes for up to a month.

Step One : Place the unpeeled oranges in a pan, cover with cold water and bring to a simmer. Cook for 1 hour, topping up with water when necessary. Remove oranges from the pan and allow any excess water to drain off. Cut into quarters. Remove all pips the puree the oranges, including the pith and the zest, in a food processor. Leave to cool.

Step Two : Preheat the oven to 180oC/350oF/Gas Mark 4. To make the sponge, mix together the ground almonds, caster sugar and baking powder. Whisk the eggs until the mixture trails off the whisk in thick ribbons. Fold in the almond and sugar mixture, then add the cooled orange puree. Pour the mixture into 3 x 2lb (900g) loaf tins, filling them by about two-thirds. Bake for 40-45 mins.

Step Three : The cakes are ready when they’re firm to the touch and if pierced with a knife, it comes out clean. Leave to cool before turning out of the tins. If the cakes sink in the centre once they have cooled, this will have no effect on the finished result – they are still delicious. They will keep for several days in an airtight tin.

Toffee Apple Pudding

Who can resist this indulgent sticky treat? The rich toffee sauce completely coats the apples and melts right through the delicious steamed sponge.

Serves : 4
Prep time : 20 mins
Cook time : 2 hours

Ingredients for the topping:
2 cox’s apples, peeled, cored and cut into chunks
Juice of 1 lemon
50 g (2oz) butter
150g (5oz) caster sugar

For the sponge:
175g (6oz) butter, at room temperature
175g (6oz) caster sugar
2 eggs, beaten
250g (9oz) plain flour, sifted
2 tsp baking powder

Step One : Toss the apple chunks in half of the lemon juice and put into a greased 1.1 litre/2 pint pudding basin. Warm the butter, sugar and remaining lemon juice in a heavy based pan. Stir the foamy mixture occasionally until it becomes a golden brown toffee colour and then pour the mixture over the apple chunks in the basin.

Step Two : Make the sponge mixture by creaming together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Gradually beat in the eggs – don’t worry if the mixture begins to curdle. Fold in the sifted flour and baking powder. Spoon the mixture over the toffee apples and smooth the top of the pudding with a palette knife.

Step Three : Cut out two circles larger than the basin, one from foil and the other from greaseproof paper. Pleat each one down the centre – this allows the pudding to rise. Use them to cover the basin, scrunching up the sides to form a seal or secure with string if you prefer. Place a folded strip of foil underneath basin to help lift it.

Step Four : Half fill a large pan (preferably with a steamer) with boiling water, lower in the pudding, cover and simmer for 1hr 45 mins – 2 hrs. Top the pan up with water as needed. Carefully remove the lid and pudding, put a plate on top and slowly turn the pudding over. Serve with ice cream, cream or custard.

Tip: If you don’t have a steamer, use a large saucepan instead. Place the pudding on an inverted saucer and half fill the pan with boiling water. Put on a tight fitting lid and simmer for one and a half hours. When topping up the water during cooking, take care not to splash the pudding – or yourself.