Sweet week – take 2

Let the meringues begin!

Here's my basic recipe :

4 fl oz egg whites

225g/8oz caster sugar

As is always my mantra, get yourself sorted before you start whisking.

Your oven should be pre-heated 90fan/110c/Gas ¼ – very cool/very slow.

Cut your parchment to size for two baking sheets measuring 30x30 cms.

You'll need a plain nozzle and a piping bag.

Whisk your eggs whites until they are stiff – the old fashioned way of testing whether they are stiff enough is to tip the bowl upside down over your head – if the mixture doesn't move it's ready! Add half the caster sugar and whisk again until stiff. Fold in the remaining sugar. Your mixture is now ready for the piping bag.

The best way is to show you :

The great thing about disposable piping bags is that you can cut them to size. The end of the bag is snipped to fit your nozzle. If you look at the top of the bag you'll see it's turned over – this is deliberate. Fold the bag over your hand – it enables you to have a steady hold on your bag. Spoon the mixture into the bag until two thirds full and gently ease the mixture towards the nozzle expelling any air. Twist the top of the bag and hold and then use your other hand to steady the nozzle end.

Place a tiny blob of mixture in each corner of your baking trays and “glue” your parchment to the tray.

Holding the nozzle approximately 4cms above the tray squeeze the bag gently and then tilt the bag away in an upward direction so that you create a little kiss curl – not for nothing are these called “Kisses”.

  

Bake for 45 minutes.

Peel the kisses gently from the parchment and you can see there's no trace of where the meringue mixture has been.

This recipe will give you approximately 40 kisses. You can store them in strong ziplok type bags or in tins lined with parchment with well fitting lids. You can buy pretty glass jars with well fitting lids – like the one below. Store in a cool, dry place – NOT in the fridge and they'll keep for 2 weeks – if they last that long!

There's more to come …

Sweet week – take 2

What to do with all those egg whites!

I'm sure it hasn't escaped your notice that you used four egg yolks in the recipe for the parfait which leaves you with four egg whites going begging.

No prizes for the answer – of course it's meringues.

You need do nothing for the moment other than pop them in a box (with lid of course) suitable for the freezer – mark up the box and freeze.

Frozen egg white makes better meringue. 1 egg white is roughly equal to 1 fl oz. Gone are the days when you can measure the size of an egg by small, medium or large. The most accurate way is to weigh the whites. Once defrosted keep your egg whites at room temperature, your whites will whisk better.

A few notes

Your bowl should be squeaky clean – no trace of any grease at all – a glass bowl is best or stainless steel.

Did you know that egg shell attracts egg yolk. There's no need to fiddle with a spoon.

Whisk your whites until firm but not dry, with a sheen on them.  Then add half your caster sugar. The longer they are whisked the better, to really stiff peaks, 5 minutes is no problem at all. Anything added will loosen the mixture. Add remaining sugar and FOLD in DON'T knock the air out of your meringues, under fold rather than over.

Always use baking parchment, it has a silicone finish on both sides.

Consider using disposable piping bags – they are available in a roll. “Get a grip disposable piping bags” available from Lakeland – www.lakeland.co.uk £9.99 for a roll of 50.

Happy piping!

Sweet week – take 2

Pitfalls with the Parfait?

… or what the recipe doesn't say.

Never let it be said that I don't have your best interests at heart.

The recipe is described as “easy/prepare ahead/freeze” but it isn't as helpful as it could be – here's my contribution.

Grease your loaf tin with a drop of vegetable oil – then line it with clingfilm – the film will stay where it's put, ready for the parfait.

Mixing butter and egg yolks is not the easiest of methods – they have a tendency to split – or curdle – or turn into scrambled egg – whatever you want to call it.

To avoid the curdle, cream the butter on its own. Add a little of the cooled melted chocolate and gently mix, then add one yolk at a time and combine well. Continue adding a little chocolate with each yolk added until all 4 are mixed with the butter and chocolate.

Keep your After Eight mints in the fridge – it makes them much easier to chop – and less messy. The mints should be chopped as finely as possible.

Flustered and recipe gone to pot? Got side tracked, the door bell rang and the rest is history – your melted chocolate that was supposed to be cooling is a thing of the past and is now a solid block. Take a breath.

Boil a kettle and carefully place in a bowl large enough to take the bowl containing the set chocolate – not too much, remember you are going to sit the chocolate bowl in the other so that the boiling water can warm the set chocolate. Be patient, after a couple of minutes you'll see the edges of your chocolate melting and glossy. Very gently, turn the chocolate over so that it can begin to melt evenly, after another couple of minutes you'll be able to gently work the chocolate so that it's ready to use.

Similarly if your whipped cream has been deserted (couldn't resist) for a short while it'll be fine to use provided you've not added the alcohol.

When you're ready to rock and roll slice the portions whilst the parfait is beginning to defrost – it will be too soft if you leave it 30 minutes and use a large cooks knife with a straight blade – do not use a slicing motion cut your portions slowly but firmly. If you don't chop your mints as finely as possible then the knife will catch on the mints and you won't get a neat serving.

All is not lost!

Sweet week – Take 2

Parfait – perfect!

I know, I know it's a really lame title but I couldn't resist the obvious French/English thing. As I'm sure you're only too aware a parfait can be a dessert mousse as in the following recipe – it can also be a mousse-like mixture of chicken, duck or goose liver as in Mousse de foies de volaille (chicken liver mousse) – check out Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child et al – it's truly the best ever....sorry, I digress as usual!

Here's a dessert Parfait I found in Woman&Home that I think might make the grade.

Chocolate and mint parfait

250g dark mint chocolate

50g unsalted butter, room temperature

4 egg yolks

300ml whipping or double cream

3 tbsp brandy

150g After Eight mints, chopped

450g loaf tin, lined with clingfilm

Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Stir to combine and set aside to cool slightly.

Whisk the butter and egg yolks until creamy then whisk in the melted chocolate.

In a separate bowl whip the cream into soft peaks and stir in the brandy. Gently fold in the chocolate mixture and After Eights. Spoon into the loaf tin and freeze for at least 4 hours.

Take out of the freezer 30 minutes before serving.

Here's the finished product :

Verdict :

I'm not a lover of alcohol in anything other than white wine in savoury dishes like risotto or a sauce – it should be in a glass! However the brandy in this parfait is really subtle and it should definitely be there – credit where it's due!

If this perfect parfait has piqued your curiosity can I suggest you read the next piece before you attempt to make it – I hope you'll find it helpful.

The humble homity.

I said previously I was a potato girl. What follows is, without doubt, the best potato dish I've ever used – Homity Pie.

The pie is thought to have appeared during WWII probably invented by the Land Girls using what little ingredients they had around. I first came across it years ago in Denby, Derbyshire where the pottery of the same name is still going - it has a great café where they still serve it. Check out www.denbyvisitorcentre.co.uk. (To avoid disappointment, if you intend to visit call ahead if you want to sample Homity Pie – they don't serve it every day). Eventually I plucked up the courage and phoned the café and asked how they made it – here's my take.

Homity Pie

Pastry case

200g/8oz plain wholemeal flour

100g/4oz unsalted butter

pinch of baking powder

cold water to bind

Filling

6 large jacket potatoes, cooked, peeled and diced

1lb onions

3 tbsp rapeseed oil

5 tbsp chopped flatleaf parsley

(3 for the filling, 2 for the topping)

300g/12oz grated cheese – 200g/8oz mature cheddar, 100g4oz Gruyere mixed

(200g/8oz cheese for filling, 100g/4oz for the topping)

3 cloves of garlic, crushed (or garlic paste)

Salt and black pepper

For the pastry case, use a food processor if you have one, pop the flour, baking powder and butter and blitz until breadcrumbs. Add a drop of ice cold water and pulse, gently, until the pastry comes together (do not over overdo it). Tip the pastry out onto a sheet of clingfilm, using the film gather the pastry together into a ball and refrigerate for 30 mins.

Grease your pie dish.

Roll out your pastry, line your dish and refrigerate again until you are ready to bake.

Place the potatoes in a large mixing bowl. Saute the onions and garlic in the oil and cool, then add to the potatoes. Season well. Add the cheese and parsley.

Tip the filling into the pastry case and pack tightly – it will look as if you've too much filling – the tighter you pack, the better it will be. Mix the remaining cheese and parsley together and sprinkle over the top.

Place in a pre-heated hot oven (190fan/210c /gas mark 7) for 40 minutes. Check after 30 minutes. It should be golden brown.

This recipe will give you 12-16 portions – depending on how big you like them – it is filling.

You can of course scale down the recipe and halve the quantities – my two pennyworth is that it freezes well, so, in the unlikely event there are leftovers, you can save any left over for another day. I can only speak as I find – it will vanish!

My final tip – in the past I've made and lined my pastry base and frozen it, as is. When required, pull out of the freezer, pack tightly with the filling and bake.

You'll love it.

Here it is!

The Mazurian Potato Marjoram Pie smelt absolutely delicious as it was cooking.

I should say that I made a vegetarian version so no lardons or bacon.

Here's a couple of photos, one before the oven, one after.

The quantities given in the recipe serve 8. As you can see I made two pies i.e. 2 x 1lb loaf tins which turned out really well – she says – we'll see.

Now for the nitty-gritty stuff.

The recipe didn't actually say peel the potatoes before grating so I didn't. You'll notice that the recipe mentions “if the potatoes are watery, then you'll need to squeeze out some of the excess water”. How messy will it be to have a large bowl of grated potato that may or may not need wringing out!

ere's my tip. Use a clean tea towel to line a large mixing bowl so that it drapes over the sides of the bowl. As you grate your potato tip it into the tea towel until you've finished grating. Gather up the tea towel and lift gently from the bowl – you'll see that water has already drained through the tea towel. Twist the towel to release more water, then tip it away and wipe the bowl dry. Tip the grated potato from the towel into the bowl and continue.

When the pie came out of the oven it struck me immediately of a cross between Rosti and a Hash Brown. I'm a potato girl in whatever form so something new to try is fine by me – can't wait for supper time.

Here it is, the pie ready to serve.

Can't say I'm thrilled with the result. The potato filling is grey and unappetising and whilst the taste isn't bad it's not as good as I'd hoped. For me a recipe should be as complete as it can – if you want someone to invest their hard earned dosh then there should be as much information as possible to make life easy for the cook.

Back to the drawing board ...

P.s. On the plus side, as someone who has both English and American recipes, this book is good - it “speaks” both languages i.e. it gives you varieties of potatoes available i.e. Maris Piper and Yukon Gold and talks about double cream and heavy.

Another new addition …

… to the Library

I've always got a list of cookery books I'd like to add to my collection. There have been two recently, one I've already mentioned. Here's the other - “Polska New Polish Cooking” by Zuza Zak. Everywhere I looked and listened it came highly recommended.

As is always my routine – and delight – I go through the book, page by page, marking anything I like the look of ready for further investigation.

At first glance this looks like a lovely book and here's the first recipe that took my eye.

Mazurian Potato Marjoram Pie

1.5kg potatoes – Maris Piper or King Edward

150g bacon lardons or finely chopped bacon

2 tbsp rapeseed oil

2 onions, very finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

2 eggs, separated

1 tbsp plain flour

3 tbsp double cream

1 tbsp dried Marjoram

salt, white and black pepper to taste

Pre-heat oven to 180c/160fan/Gas 4.

Grease a 2lb loaf tin.

Grate the potatoes as finely as you can. If the potatoes are watery, then you'll need to squeeze out some of the excess water. Place the grated potato in a large bowl.

Fry the lardons or bacon in a frying pan over a medium heat until they release their fat and turn crispy then set aside. Add the oil to the frying pan and fry the onions for about 5 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and continue to fry for 2-3 minutes. Allow both to cool for 5-10 minutes before adding to the grated potato.

Beat the egg whites until soft and fluffy and then add the egg yolks and beat together until combined. Stir the eggs into the grated potato mixture then add the flour and cream.

Add the marjoram and season the mixture with a large pinch of salt and both the peppers. As the bacon is salty you need only add 2 pinches of salt. However if you're going to make a veggie version and substitute the bacon for mushrooms then you may want to add more.

Tip the mixture into your prepared dish. The depth of the babka needs to be at least 8cm (3cm) and bake in the oven for 50 mins to 1 hour. It's ready when the top is golden and crisp on the top.

Hold that thought!