Milan Cookies

The July Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Nicole at Sweet Tooth. She chose Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies and Milan Cookies from pastry chef Gale Gand of Food Network.

To be perfectly honest, this month's daring bakers challenge wasn't really a success for me. I didn't love the batter recipe for the cookies - they turned out kind of elastic-y, and something about the whole texture was just off. It's always a sad moment when you take the time to get your ingredients, pipe batter, sandwich cookies and the end result doesn't seem to add up to the effort. The only remedy is to get in the kitchen again as soon as possible and bake again to start fresh!

And Finally... Cherry Samosas

Photo courtesy of Qype UK

So this is the last in the Nom Nom Nom '09 trilogy of posts. That means it the last chance for us to grovel and say... go on! Vote for the Go Go Gin Girls. Please? After all, we got drunk and we set things on fire. Voting is open until the end of this week, and if we win we might even just do a victory dance.

To complete our 3 course menu, we decided on cherry samosas. These are derived from a Gordon Ramsey recipe which I have made before to great success, but we simplified it somewhat in the execution of it for Nom Nom Nom (i.e. we left the lemon out).

Photo courtesy of Qype UK

Cherries are really in season at the moment, and the ones we bought from the farmers' market were ripe and juicy. We made quite a mess in stoning the cherries; my hands were stained red.

It's also quite a labour-intensive recipe. Not only do the cherries need to be stoned an halved, they are then flambé'd, and cooked down into a jammy compote. Filo pastry is then layered on top of each other, and this is all folded into a samosa-like shape before being baked. But it's well worth the work, as you get a crispy hot parcel of juicy, cherry goodness, accompanied by apple scented mascarpone.

Cherry Samosas with Apple Mascarpone

Serves 4

1 box of filo pastry
300gr cherries
A small handful of mint
A pack of unsalted butter
1 tbsp sugar (to taste)
A good glug of brandy (I guestimate at 100mls)
A tub of mascarpone
Half an eating apple
Icing sugar

Pit and halve the cherries, reserving a few for garnish. In a non stick frying pan, melt a knob of butter until foaming, and then add the cherries. Add the tablespoon of sugar and cook on a low heat until the juices are released. Pour over the brandy and carefully bring a lit match towards it - it should catch fire and flambé the mixture. Simmer on a low heat until thickened and syrupy. Taste it and if needed, add more sugar. Take off the heat, throw in the mint, chopped finely, reserving one leaf. Leave the mixture to cool.

To fold the samosa, take out the filo and slice into three lengthways. Melt the pack of butter and pour off the clarified butter, discarding the white bits. Using a pastry brush, brush one lenghtways layer of filo with the butter, then lay another on top. Brush again with butter and lay another one on so that it's 3 sheets thick. Spoon a tablespoon's worth of the cherry mixture onto the bottom corner of the sheet, then fold the sheet carefully into a triangle, pressing down the seams. Butter the rest of the sheet and carry on folding until you've run out of pastry, sealing the seams as you go along. Repeat until you have 8 samosas (2 per person). When you come to baking them, brush both sides with butter (no one said it was a healthy recipe...) and bake in a hot oven, around 200 degrees C, for 10 - 15 minutes or until browned. Meanwhile, grate the apple into a clean tea towel and squeeze a little of the juice out. Mix with the mascarpone.

To serve, dust the samosas with icing sugar and place two on the plate with a quenelle of the mascarpone. Garnish with a mint leaf and a couple of cherries.

If you're in a generous mood, Action Against Hunger have teamed up with Nom Nom Nom and are holding a charity raffle; prizes include a meal at Le Gavroche... Click here to donate.

Sketch - Visit 1 & 2

Recently, Sketch have been offering a £50 off voucher which myself and my mate, being the skintoid food-lovers that we are, snapped right up. A table was booked at the Gallery.

Sketch is seriously cool. The decor in all of their many rooms is stunning, even down to the strange towering sculpture of childrens' toys spray painted grey, terrifyingly topped with a Chucky-esque doll. On our initial visit (yes, there were two), we were shown to a table which was disconcertingly close to our neighbours. This is not conducive to a good gossip that my friend and I are prone to indulge in. We were so close that we could see that they got an amuse bouche, and we didn't. Not the best start to a meal.

To start, I ordered the "Red tuna: Cubes of red tuna and vegetables / artichoke, red tuna and soya sauce on toast / curried fruit and vegetable smoothie with olive oil". This was pretty weird - fridge cold slices of raw tuna topped slightly soggy pieces of toast and the tuna cubes floating around in a cold curry sauce was rather unpleasant. Reading back on the menu description I'm not sure what I was expecting really - I was blind-sided by my love of raw tuna.

My main was rather more delicious: "Veal « Palais Royal »: Head and tongue of veal / braised veal cheek /Lentil and herb salad". The meat was tender and succulent, yielding gently underneath my fork. Unfortunately, the lentils were aggressively salted. In contrast, my companion's dish was woefully underseasoned. Perhaps she should have smothered her beef tartare with the lentils. When we complained to the waitress, she looked at us witheringly and said "we don't usually get negative comments about our food. Maybe it's not your style". She's quite lucky she didn't end up with my fork embedded in her face.

We then decided, to get a really rounded experience, we'd have a dessert to share. Having heard that the "Malabar: Bubble gum ice cream / lemon Wurtz / orange blossom marshmallow / pannacotta /crispy green tea" was popular, we thought it best to try this. We were instructed to mix the plate up, which made it look rather like a plate of sick. Upon the second mouthful, my friend made an "errrummpphhh!" kind of noise. I looked at her with horror. She pulled two shards of plastic out of her mouth. At this point, it really was so farcical that all I could do was howl with laughter much to the disgruntlement of our neighbours. It really was the last straw. The manager was apologetic and looked disappointed. Our bill was heavily discounted.

So, when we were offered a complimentary meal, we pondered whether or not to come. But then, I think if a restaurant has ballsed something up so royally, we should give them another chance.

We were treated rather differently. A lovely glass of Champagne in the bar adjacent to the dining room allowed us to catch up over various amusing anecdotes of the weekend passed. We were then seated at a table for just the two of us. Cocktails were proffered, wine was placed on the table, and our meal commenced.

To start, I ordered "Oyster and scallops: Irish rock oysters / sliced scallops and smoked parsley galette /diced cucumber and green apple with Espelette pepper". When the dish was placed down, a pleasing waft of the seaside accompanied it, as did a shot of intense apple foam which I was instructed to eat between bites. Why a plastic shot cup? I thought those days of plastic tableware were over when I turned 5. Anyway, the dish is certainly not for one who may have a problem with textures. The oysters were creamy, the raw thinly sliced scallop beneath it was slippery and delicious. The apple foam was a perfect palate cleanser.

My main, "Roast rump of lamb with Indian spices /spinach and watercress velouté with Roquefort /braised turnip in beetroot stock" looked great when it was placed before me. However, from this dish I have learned that Indian spices, lamb, and Roquefort aren't a combination I would like the try again. The lamb was cooked beautifully but it was too many dominant flavours fighting with each other. In contrast, the beetroot-braised turnip was exactly that and was rather refreshing and sweet over the rest of the dish. Sides of gratin Dauphinois (surprisingly topped with cheese - "Cheddar. Well, Emmenthal, which is like Cheddar") and round lettuce with anchovies were perfunctory.

To finish, we decided on "Dessert for two: Coconut lollipop / prunes / pear and Yuzu / fruit tart / blackcurrant biscuit". Probably a case of eyes bigger than our bellies, but in the name of the full experience, we soldiered on.

I'm glad we did, because although we were unable to finish all the dish, the desserts were very good indeed. The super-sweet prunes stuffed with marzipan was an incredible contrast to the tart, slightly bitter yuzu and pear (far left of the picture).

A final surprise - we finished with espressos, which when stirred seemed thick and viscous but in actual fact were served in silicone cups. Why? I'm not sure, but it's not every day you can squidge your espresso cup.

It's been hard to write about this meal. Our first visit was almost ridiculous, but the way Sketch made up for it was exemplary. The service was impeccable throughout; napkins were picked up and folded on the chair for absent occupiers without making us feel like we were being watched. There was no sign of our nemesis waitress. I'm not sure I would visit again because even though I enjoyed many elements of the food such as the oysters and scallops, there were others which I found misjudged and borderline repulsive - after the first or second taste, I left that Roquefort off my lamb.

However, both times the dining room was packed with beautiful people and people genuinely seemed to be enjoying their meals. Perhaps the waitress was right, and Gagnaire's food is just not my style.

Sketch

9 Conduit Street
London
W1S 2XG

Tel: 0207 659 4500

For Helen's report of the experience, see here.

Red Berry and Basil Granita

This summer, it's all about berries! I managed to salvage enough of the strawberries I picked to make fresh red berry granita. Granita is an easy way to make a frozen treat in the summertime: all you need is fresh berries, simple syrup and a good freezer! It really has a great intense berry flavor, and you can easily play around with additional flavors to complement the fruit. I love the subtle tones of the basil leaves in this particular recipe I've developed, but it's also delicious with a little sweet balsamic vinegar, or some fresh mint.

I love these recipes that you can make in advance, that can be made with very little ingredients but really showcase the freshness of the produce you use. What has been your favorite dessert recipes this summer?

Red Berry and Basil Granita
Recipe (serves 4)
1/4 cup of sugar
1/4 cup of water
2 cups of strawberries
2 cups of raspberries
1 teaspoon of lemon juice
10 basil leaves

In a small saucepan on medium heat, add the sugar and water. Once the sugar has completely dissolved, remove from the heat and let the simple syrup cool.

In a blender, add the fruit, basil, lemon juice and simple syrup. Blend until just smooth. Pour the mixture in a shallow pan, cover with plastic wrap (the plastic wrap should touch the top of the berry mixture to avoid water condensation). After about an hour, scrape the mixture using a fork to form crystals. Make sure to scrape the entire mixture. Scrape again before serving, and garnish with basil leaves. Enjoy!

The Main - Duck with Gooseberry Sauce

Photo courtesy of Qype

So our saga at the Nom Nom Nom '09 continues. As we ran around Marylebone Farmers' Market, we were acutely aware of the time ticking by. I'd spotted some duck breasts earlier, at £10 for two but as we were on a budget (we were paying for the ingredients ourselves, after all) we thought it a good idea to have a shop around. We sprinted round Waitrose, freshly opened on a Sunday morning. They had every type of meat, including diced wild rabbit - no duck breasts. So, these here you see are the most expensive, slowly grown duck breasts I'll ever have bought.

Duck is the obvious pairing for fruit. It's rich, gamey meat can withstand sweet or tart fruits well, so to carry on the fruity theme we picked gooseberries, as they'd be in season. Cooking it down into a puree doesn't make the prettiest sauce, so I imagine we lost out in presentation. However, the tartness of the fruit combined with the salty, caramel-colour duck skin ane medium rare, juicy flesh was heavenly. With this, of course you need some kind of potato, and we made the most of the duck fat that we'd rendered out by frying the fondant potatoes in it. Waste not want not. Nestled on a bed of colourful Swiss chard, our dish was complete.

Duck with Gooseberry Sauce

Serves 1

1 duck breast
100gr gooseberries
4 shallots
A knob of butter
2 medium sized floury potatoes
A glug of white wine
A pinch of ground cloves
Sugar, to taste
Half a bulb of garlic
1 sprig of rosemary
Chicken stock
Some greenery (in our case, Swiss chard but spinach or savoy cabbage also works)

Score the duck breast and salt heavily. Meanwhile, peel the potatoes and cut in half lengthways. Top and tail the gooseberries. Pat the duck breasts dry, and fry them on a low heat, skin side down to slowly render the fat out. This needs about 15 minutes, to really get the fat out and crisp up the skin. When this is done, turn the duck breast and fry on a medium heat for a minute or two to give it some colour. Remove and leave on a baking tray. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celcius.

Next, fry the potatoes in the rendered duck fat until they are browned. Remove them and place in a frying pan with a lid, with the browned sides facing up. Smash the garlic cloves with the side of a knife, scatter them around the potatoes with the sprig of rosemary, chopped finely. Add the chicken stock until it comes partway up the side of the potatoes, but doesn't cover the previously fried part. Put the lid on and simmer gently for about 15 - 20 mins, or until the potatoes are tender.

Meanwhile, heat the knob of butter in a pan and add the shallots, sliced. Fry until softened and then add the glug of wine. Simmer until reduced, then add the gooseberries and the cloves. Fry on a low heat until the gooseberries have collapsed, and mash them down with a fork. Add sugar to taste and leave to simmer gently.

Depending on how thick your duck breasts are, we put ours in the oven for 8 - 10 minutes. Remove and leave them to rest for 10 minutes, to coincide with the potatoes being finished. To serve, plate the potatoes on a warmed plate. Strain the stock into a saucepan and add the greens to be cooked in the garlicky rosemary stock until al dente, and then drain and use them as a bed to serve the duck breast, sliced on top. Spoon some of the stock onto the meat, and serve the gooseberry sauce on the side.

Don't forget to vote for the Go Go Gin Girls HERE!

Strawberry Tarts

Growing up, my parents' family house in the South of France had a small fruit and vegetable patch where I would escape to in the summer to pick and taste that summer's berries. A couple days ago I rediscovered the pleasure of berry picking by visiting a little farm outside of Montreal. Seeing the farmers work the land brings up an array of questions surrounding what we choose to put on our tables everyday. I always catch myself when I'm at the butcher's looking at the neatly packed meat and pushing away the thought that the meat was once part of a living animal. In an effort to better understand where our food comes from, I've made the necessary effort to confront the facts about the origins of our food. Even piking strawberries for a couple hours in the afternoon, in the middle of a farmed field, gets you thinking about the journey from the farm to the table.. and isn't it always better when that trip is as close as can be?

Picking your own vegetables or fruit from a trusted farm also gets you thinking about what we've been fed (pun intended!) to think about food. Tomatoes in the supermarket are generally perfectly round, uniformly red and as shiny as can be. Sure, this may fit our idea of what healthy, nutritious produce should look like, but it's really not how nature intended it. Fruit and vegetables should not be perfect, they should have little bumps and imperfections and come in different shapes and sizes. I had fun picking out all the different kinds of strawberries I could find. The strawberries I used for the tart were all very petite (about the size of raspberries) which worked out well for individual tartelettes. I am planning on making a mixed berry granita with the rest.. although I must admit that at the rate we've been munching on them, I'm not sure I will be able to do so!

Recipe
See here for my tart dough recipe (I added a tablespoon of cocoa powder to my paste sucree recipe this time), and my pastry cream recipe. At cooking school, we used to finish off all fruit tarts by glazing them with an apricot glaze. You can do the same at home by melting down apricot jam in a small saucepan with a couple tablespoons of water, and gently brushing the mixture on top of the fruit. Enjoy!

Asmara - An Eritrean Adventure

I've been wanting to try Eritrean food for a while. I've never been to Africa, nor sampled the food from the continent so I was quite excited when a friend suggested we meet up and try Asmara, named after the capital city in Eritrea, in Brixton. It had an unassuming front. When we approached, we thought it rather resembled a kebab shop with its neon frontage. Thankfully, it wasn't.

Upon entering the restaurant, we were quite relieved that we hadn't booked. Aside from one couple, the restaurant was empty and deathly quiet. We sat down, and decided to order the special meat feast. We weren't sure what would be best from the menu, and this seemed the best way to try out a range of dishes. Unfortunately our waiter wasn't exactly chatty; I'd have liked to ask more questions about the food, but the language barrier prevented this.

When the food came, the injera was brought out first on a large metal platter for all of us to share. This was to be the vehicle in which you shovel the food into your mouth. There's no cutlery here. The injera was quite sour due to the flour being left to ferment, much like a sourdough, and was more of a pancake with a crumpet-like look to it. Next, our dishes were spooned on top of the injera, and we attacked it like hungry wolves.

There were two minced dishes, a chicken (on the bone) dish, an egg and mince dish and some lamb. The 'mixed vegetable' dish was potato wedges, topped with some cabbage, and finally some spinach. These were well spiced, some spicy and some mild. Textures aside, these were quite difficult to differentiate between. I'd have preferred some proper vegetables, as a meal without any makes me feel uneasy and the potato and injera combination was quite stodgy.

My favourite dish of the night was the lamb chunks. Originally, the menu offered lambs liver and tripe, which we swapped for this as the description of it cooked in a claypot sounded better.

The chunks were tender, juicy and spicy. The injera soaked up all the juices from the meat and became spongy and was very tasty. It's filling stuff though, and after demolishing the plate, we were fit to pop.

Included in this set meal was traditional coffee. It was a bit of a bizarre moment, as the waiter brought out a small saucepan with coffee beans roasting in it, and showed it to a nearby table who had finished their meal a little earlier. The smell of roasting beans filled the (now half full) restaurant.

We were presented with the coffee accompanied by this giant bowl of warm, salted popcorn. Once again, I was unable to ask the waiter of why this is served with the coffee, but we ploughed through it. Popcorn is so moreish. The coffee, said to be like rocket fuel, was rather medicinal tasting and thankfully didn't keep me awake all night.

I enjoyed the meal a lot, although after a while I became a bit bored with the injera; it was a touch too sour for my tastes and it was very filling. The meat was well cooked and decently spiced and the meal was a bargain; £18 a head including service for the meat feast, a beer and a shared bottle of wine between 4.

I'd like to return, and perhaps sample some vegetable dishes for a bit of variation. Dining a little later, say at 8:30pm instead of an hour earlier might be better too, as the atmosphere definitely picked up as the restaurant filled up.

Asmara

386 Coldharbour Lane,
Brixton
London SW9 8LF

Tel: 020 7737 4144