Rhubarb and custard tart with Italian meringue topping

Yet again I have got into the habit of concentrating on making savoury food and not spending any time on puddings. One of my aims for the future is to even this out, as although I’m not bad at baking, when it comes to making clever desserts I’ve got a lot of work to do! I just haven’t really got much of a sweet tooth, so will always err on the side of starters and mains, with cheese to finish. 

Special occasions are perfect times to make something sweet, and it was for a friend’s birthday that I thought I would give this tart a try. More and more I try to be conscious about using seasonal ingredients, but this year I have been really rubbish at taking advantage of all of the lovely British rhubarb that is available at the moment. I love rhubarb, it is such a flavoursome and versatile ingredient; being great in both sweet and savoury dishes. Even meat and fish such as lamb and mackerel work so well with the tart acidity that comes off it. My favourite use of rhubarb though has to be the traditional rhubarb and custard. I used to love wolfing down those boiled sweets when I was younger, and this tart brings back that same old fashioned flavour. The delicate pastry and Italian meringue also make this a light and refreshing dessert, perfect after a rich and heavy meal. 

Tarts like this often take lots of time with all the resting and cooling involved, but it is well worth it for the end result. Pastry always takes a lot of care and lightness of touch but practice makes perfect. Making it always stresses me out as you have to be so delicate with rolling and lining the tins, then making sure that it is not to thick, but also not too thin that it will crack when cooked. But after a few attempts you will be so much more confident with it, and every time I make it I get a better result. The same with the custard, which takes concentration and patience so that it is slowly cooked down to the right texture without scrambling. 

Each element of this tart uses techniques that are great to learn and can be used in many other dishes. Once you master making pastry, custard and Italian meringue the sky is the limit with what you can create.

Serves 8-10

Ingredients:

For the shortcrust pastry: 

120g butter, at room temperature

100g icing sugar

pinch of salt

225g plain flour

2 egg yolks, whites kept for the meringue

2 tbsp cold milk

For the rhubarb:

1 kg british rhubarb, trimmed and peeled of woody bits

150g caster sugar

1 lemon, juice only

For the custard:

4 egg yolks, whites kept for the meringue

65g caster sugar

15g plain flour

15g cornflour

100g ground almonds

1 vanilla pod

A few drops of almond extract

250ml whole milk

100ml double cream

For the Italian meringue:

400g caster sugar

7 egg whites (6 from the eggs used above and 1 extra)

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Makes a tart to fit a deep 25cm non-stick tart tin.

Preheat the oven to 180ºC

To start make the pastry. Cream the butter and sugar together in a food processor until light and pale in colour. Add the flour, salt and egg yolks and pulse a few times until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs, Pour in the milk and pulse again a couple more times. Tip the mixture out onto a clean surface and push the mixture together until it just forms a dough. Wrap with clingfilm and put in the fridge to rest for an hour. 

Grease and line the tart tin with some butter.

Once the pastry has rested take it our the fridge onto a floured surface, and roll out to a square that is slightly bigger than the tin and a couple of millimetres thick. Flour the rolling pin and roll the pastry around it and unravel over the tin, very gently tucking into the corners. If the pastry is really short it might break up a little, and can be patched up with some extra pieces. Make sure it is all sealed and even all the way up the sides. Scrunch up a large piece of baking parchment, then use it to line the pastry. Pour baking beans on top of the parchment to evenly line the bottom, then put in the preheated oven for 6 minutes. Carefully remove the baking beans and top piece of parchment and brush the part-cooked pastry with a little egg white. This will help seal the pastry and stop any cracks from forming. Put the uncovered case back into the oven for another 5-8 minutes, or until golden brown and cooked through. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. 

Turn the oven down to 160ºC.

Cut the trimmed rhubarb into 3 inch pieces and scatter evenly onto the bottom of some large baking trays. Sprinkle over the caster sugar and squeeze over the lemon and toss to combine. Put in the oven for about 10 minutes then check - the thickness of the rhubarb will determine how long they take. If they are not quite cooked return to the oven for a couple of minutes until they have a little give when touched. Remove from the oven at this point - they will continue to cook as they cool. Set aside until cold. 

To make the custard, beat the eggs with the sugar until pale in colour and well combined. Add the cornflour, flour, almond flour and extract and mix well again. Set aside. Pour the milk and cream into a medium saucepan along with the split vanilla pod. Bring to just below boiling then remove the vanilla and slowly pour the mixture into the egg and flour, whisking all the time. When well combined return back to the pan and put on a low-medium heat. Whisking continuously, cook slowly until the custard is very thick. Remove from the heat then pass through a fine sieve. Pour into the cooled tart case and spread evenly with a palate knife. Allow to cool, then refrigerate for at least an hour. 

Once the custard has set arrange the rhubarb pieces over the top to cover. Return to the fridge while you make the meringue.

Now make the Italian meringue. Put the caster sugar into a small saucepan and just cover with water. Put onto a high heat. Pour the egg whites into a large bowl and whisk with a handwhisk until light and foaming. 

When the sugar reaches 115ºC take it off the heat. Working quickly, turn the whisk up to a medium-high speed and slowly trickle in the hot sugar until fully combined. Turn the whisk to a high speed and continue to mix for another 10 minutes or so until the meringue is glossy and light. Spoon a little of the meringue onto the top of the tart and smooth over. Put the rest of the meringue into a piping bag and working from the outside in, carefully pipe little swirls. Once covered, use a blowtorch and quickly brown the outside of the meringue. Keep refrigerated until you serve. 

Roasted guinea fowl with braised leg, cauliflower cheese puree, chard and bluefoot mushrooms

This weeks recipe is something that I’ve had churning around my mind for ages in various forms. Because of the collaboration with the other bloggers in the past couple of weeks, I have had to wait to finally get round to cooking this, but this allowed me to develop the dish in my head and refine different elements. I’m really happy with how it finally turned out, and really can’t wait to make and eat it again!

There are no two ways about it, this dish is a major slog to prepare and takes ages, but it is truly worth it in my opinion. Each main part of the dish would make a nice meal on their own in the form of cauliflower cheese, roasted guinea fowl and a slow cooked guinea fowl broth, but by taking them a step further you end up with a load of flavours that work together really well. As usual, most of the parts can also be prepared way in advance, making it an option for when you’ve got friends around for dinner. All you need to do is quickly cook the crown and heat up the other ingredients. 

Guinea fowl is a delicious meat and is now even widely available from decent supermarkets. It is a great alternative to chicken with a stronger flavour, and it stays really moist when cooked on the bone. I’m not the world’s greatest poultry cook and I found it fairly easy to get right. Portioning the bird yourself is a good thing to get into, especially when chicken and duck in particular are so much cheaper as a whole. They also go way further and you end up with the carcass to make a decent stock with. I used to be quite intimidated by tackling a whole piece of meat like this, but once you get stuck in and have a bit of practice it is really quick to do. Removing the wishbone of whole birds is a really good idea if roasting on the bone. This makes taking the breasts off so much easier when cooked, which is especially needed when ready to plate up and everything is cooking at the same time. 

Getting the stacks made from the potatoes and shredded leg meat is a bit fiddley, but easier than it sounds with a bit of care. The key thing is making sure the components are all cold when constructing, as the butter holds everything together and the parma ham won’t slip everywhere. It’s nice to combine the slow cooked texture of the leg meat with the roasted breast to add another taste and texture to the dish. 

Serves 2

Ingredients:

1 guinea fowl, wishbone removed, legs and wings cut off and kept

Salt and pepper

1 tbsp butter

Olive oil

For the braised leg:

The legs from the guinea fowl

1 carrot, chopped

2 shallots, sliced

2 garlic cloves, crushed

5 sprigs thyme

1 bay leaf

1 glass of dry white wine

1 ltr good chicken stock

And then:

4 slices parma ham

1 large maris piper potato

500 ml good chicken stock

1 clove garlic

1 bay leaf

5 sprigs thyme

2 tbsp butter

1 tbsp parsley, finely chopped

For the cauliflower cheese puree:

1/4 head of cauliflower, cut into small florets

500ml whole milk, or enough to cover the cauliflower

1 garlic clove, crushed

5 sprigs thyme

2 tbsp double cream

50g gruyere, finely grated

For the sauce: 

The wings and trimmings from the guinea fowl

Olive oil

2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

1 shallot, finely chopped

5 sprigs thyme

80ml brandy

The drained liquid left after the legs have been braised, about 800ml

1 tbsp butter

For the chard:

3-4 large chard leaves, shredded, with large storks removed

1 tbsp butter

1/2 garlic clove, finely chopped

For the mushrooms:

6 bluefoot mushrooms, trimmed 

1 tbsp butter

1/2 garlic clove, finely shopped

2 thyme sprigs, leaves picked

Prepare the guinea fowl by carefully removing the wishbone at the back of the bird, leaving the breasts and skin as intact as possible. Cut off the legs and wings and trim the rest of the carcass until just the crown remains. Keep all the trimmings for the sauce later. 

Heat up a medium saucepan or skillet with a little olive oil to a medium-high heat. Season the legs and sear until well coloured on all sides. Remove from the pan, turn the heat down a little and add the carrots, shallot, garlic and thyme and fry for a couple of minutes until starting to caramelise. Pour in the white wine and allow to boil and reduce by half, then add the stock. Add the legs and the bay leaf back to the pan and bring to a simmer. Season well.  Turn to a medium-low heat, partially cover and allow to cook for 45 minutes. 

While the legs are cooking prepare the rest of the ingredients that will go into making the leg stacks. Peel the potato and cut it lengthways into slices the thickness of a pound coin. Using a circular object about an inch in diameter, carefully cut 8 round discs out of the slices. Put the potato discs into a small saucepan with the second measurement of stock, garlic, bay leaf and thyme and bring to the boil. Cook gently for about 5 minutes or until just tender. Drain and allow to cool on a plate. 

When the legs are cooked, remove them from the cooking liquid and set aside to cool slightly. Drain the liquid and reserve for the sauce. When cool enough to handle, strip the meat from the bones and very finely shred. Place in a bowl. Melt the butter in a small saucepan then add to the leg meat with the parsley and seasoning. Mix well then taste and adjust if necessary. Cover the bowl and put in the fridge to cool down. 

When all the elements are cool, put 2 12” pieces of cling film onto the work surface. Place two pieces of parma ham on each, joined to form a rectangle with as few gaps and tears as possible. Form 6 tiny patties out of the leg meat, the same diameter as the potato rounds and twice as thick. Starting and ending with a piece of potato, stack the potato and meat patties so that you form one cylinder stack per person. Gently put a little pressure on each one to help stay together, but making sure that the potato and meat are the same diameter. Carefully roll each one with the two pieces of parma ham, using the cling film to help wrap tightly. Make sure there are no gaps for the filling to spill out of, then cover and refrigerate. 

To make the cauliflower cheese puree, put the milk, garlic and thyme into a medium saucepan with a good crack of black pepper and bring to the boil. Add the cauliflower and simmer for 6-8 minutes, or until tender. Drain the cauliflower and tip into a small food processor with the double cream, seasoning and gruyere. Blend really well, adding more cheese, cream and seasoning to balance the texture and taste. Pass through a fine sieve into a bowl and set aside to reheat later. 

For the sauce, put a large frying pan or skillet on a high heat with a little olive oil. Season the wings and trimmings and when the pan is hot, sear well on all sides until really coloured. Turn the heat down slightly and add the shallots, garlic and thyme, being careful not to burn, and fry for a minute. Add the brandy and flambe. When the flames have gone out, pour in the reserved cooking liquid from the guinea fowl legs and season again. Bring to the boil and reduce the liquid until thickened, dark and glossy. The texture of the liquid should coat the back of a spoon. Drain through a sieve into a clean pan and set aside. 

Pre-heat the oven to 200ºC (Fan).

Heat up a heavy frying pan to a high heat with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. Season well then sear the guinea fowl crown quickly on all sides until golden brown. Remove to an oven tray and position so that the breasts are upwards. A small trivet of any spare root veg helps to sit the bird up if needed. Rub the butter over the top of the guinea fowl and put into the hot oven for 18 minutes, or until the juices run clear from the thickest part. Remove from the oven and set aside to rest. 

While the meat is resting, place the wrapped leg meat stacks onto a lined oven tray and put in the oven to crisp up for 5-6 minutes. 

This is also the time to cook the greens and mushrooms. Heat 1 tablespoon of butter each in two separate pans. When at a medium heat add the garlic to each and cook for a minute. Fry the chard and mushrooms in each pan for a couple of minutes until tender and cooked, seasoning as you go. A splash of water with the chard will help the cooking. Keep warm until time to plate up.

While the mushrooms and chard are cooking heat up the puree and sauce, finishing off the latter by stirring in the butter. 

Once rested for 8-10 minutes, carve the breasts from the guinea fowl. 

To plate up, spoon a large tablespoon of the cauliflower cheese puree onto each plate. Add the leg meat and potato stacks and some of the chard. Position the breasts on top, scatter over the mushrooms and spoon on some of the sauce. 

Slow roasted pork belly with crispy cod cheeks, bearnaise sauce, peas, celeriac and apple

Sorry for the lack of blog action over the past couple of weeks. I’ve been away in Devon for the past week or so, so my home cooking has taken a bit of a backseat. 

Carrying on from last blogs brunch, we all decided to set another theme which this time was set as surf and turf. Like brunch, this was a bit of a funny one for me as surf and turf isn’t normally something I decide to cook, so it was time to get my thinking cap on again! I often cook fish and add something like chorizo or bacon to add another flavour, but I wouldn’t class this in the same way as the fish is always the main part. In my mind surf and turf should share equal prominence whilst complementing each other perfectly. I also wanted to stay away from the cliche of beef and lobster. Not only does my budget not stretch as far as this too often, but I also feel like a good bit of steak doesn’t even need anything else and vice versa. It will certainly be interesting to see what everyone else comes up with, and it’s really always inspiring to chat about it on Twitter. 

White fish and pork are always good companions, but I wanted to do something a little different with this dish. I’ve always loved pork belly, but I often find that the big slab normally dished up is a bit much. Combining this with soft white fish lessons the portion size and makes a much more balanced plate of food. Pork belly also has a more subtle flavour than bacon or chorizo, so each ingredient on the plate stands out. Most flakey white fish would be a suitable pairing, and in this instance I opted to use cod cheeks. This came after a chat a while ago with local fishmonger Jon Norris, who recommended that I use them instead of monkfish in a dish that I was planning at the time. Like monkfish they have a meaty texture and can stand up to bold flavours. I also like the idea of using a less used part of the fish, especially with cod where the amount of flesh in the cheeks is too good to ignore.

Although I was pleased with the way that the dish turned out and ate, in reflection there are a few changes that I would make if cooking again. The cod cheeks were really good but I feel like the proportions were still a little uneven, so I would reduce the amount of cod a little. I would also be tempted to scrap the panko and deep fry element and gently poach the fish instead. This would reduce the richness further still, whist the crunchy texture would still be a part of the dish in the form of the pork crackling. I think in cooking sometimes you get tied-up in habit, and recently I have been breading and frying perhaps a few too many things when something a little simpler would have been better. That said, fried cod cheeks and bearnaise as a meal in itself would still be immense. 

When buying pork belly and pork in general, always buy as good quality as you can afford, and always buy a lot more than you need. I went to the brilliantly fantastic Ginger Pig in Victoria Park for this. Slow roasted pork makes incredible leftovers, and if you use 1.5kg for 4 people in this recipe you will get a fair bit. I plan on using it in a slightly healthier but equally delicious vietnamese style soup with loads of chilli, ginger and lime. 

Bearnaise is a classic french sauce that is well worth mastering. The creamy yet tangy tarragon and butter goes so well with anything from steak to white fish, and really helps tie everything together in this recipe. I used Michel Roux Jr’s version as a base for the recipe below, which as usual is easy to follow and tastes great. This original can be found here:

http://www.goodtoknow.co.uk/recipes/428220/Michel-Roux-s-bearnaise-sauce

Serves 4

Ingredients:

For the pork belly:

1.5kg piece of pork belly

2 fennel bulbs, sliced thickly

5 garlic cloves

1 large glass dry white wine

Salt and pepper

Olive oil

For the cod cheeks:

6-8 cod cheeks - you want 3 x 1 inch pieces per person

1 large handful panko breadcrumbs

100g plain flour

1 egg, beaten

Salt and pepper

Vegetable oil for frying, about 1 litre 

For the bearnaise sauce:

4 egg yolks

1 small banana shallot, very finely chopped

4 tbsp tarragon, chopped

3 tbsp white wine vinegar

250ml clarified butter

1/2 lemon, juice only

3 tbsp cold water

Salt and pepper

For the peas:

150g frozen peas, defrosted

1/2 small banana shallot, finely chopped

1/2 lemon, juice only

1/2 clove garlic

1 tbsp tarragon leaves

Salt and pepper

Olive oil

To finish:

1 braeburn apple, cut into 1cm squares

50g celeriac, julienned

1/2 lemon, juice to squeeze over the prepped celeriac and apple

Peashoots

Preheat the oven to 140ºC.

Take the piece of pork belly out of the fridge bring to room temperature. Using a sharp knife slash through the fat at 2.5cm intervals. This will help the crackling crisp up and will also make slicing easier once cooked. Sprinkle generously with sea salt and rub into the fat so it gets between the slash marks. Drizzle with a little olive oil and set aside while you prepare the trivet. Slice the fennel and arrange with the garlic in the bottom of an oven tray. Season and toss in a little more olive oil. Place the pork belly skin side up on top and put in the oven for 2.5 hours. Add the white wine to the bottom of the oven tray half way through cooking. 

While the pork belly is on make the bearnaise sauce. Pour the white wine vinegar into a small saucepan with three quarters of the tarragon, some seasoning and the chopped shallot. Reduce by half over a low heat then take off the heat and allow to cool. If clarifying your own butter then do this at this point too and cool slightly (Roux suggests it should be tepid). When the reduction is cool add the egg yolks and whisk well. Return to a very low heat and carry on whisking continuously and making sure that the mixture doesn’t get hot enough the scramble. After about 10 minutes the eggs will have emulsified with the reduction and formed a thick frothy texture. Take off the heat and very slowly add the butter, whisking still until all the butter has been incorporated into the sauce. Pass through a sieve then add the remaining tarragon and taste. Squeeze in the lemon and season if necessary. Cover and set aside. 

Next prepare the cod cheeks. Put the flour and panko onto two separate plates and beat the egg in a small bowl. Season each element. Coat each cheek with the flour then dip in the egg before transferring to the panko plate and covering well with the breadcrumbs. Cover and set aside.

Prepare the rest of the ingredients while the pork finishes cooking. 

When the 2.5 hours is up, raise the heat of the oven to 210ºC and cook the pork for another 15-20 minutes, or until the crackling is bubbling and crispy. Take out of the oven and allow to rest while the rest of the dish is finished. 

Heat the frying oil for the cod cheeks in a medium saucepan to 160ºC. 

Heat another small saucepan with a little olive oil to a medium heat. 

When the deep frying oil is up to temperature carefully lower the cheeks in and fry for a couple of minutes until golden and crisp on the outside. Use a slotted spoon to remove them to a plate lined with kitchen paper to drain. 

While the cod cheeks are cooking fry the shallot and garlic in the other saucepan for a minute until softened. Add the peas, lemon and seasoning and cook until the peas are tender. Stir in the tarragon leaves. 

To plate up, spoon some of the bearnaise onto the middle of the plate and place a piece of the pork belly on top. Arrange the cod cheeks on the plate and add the peas. Finish with the apple cubes, some of the celeriac matchsticks and peashoots.

Chorizo and rosemary baked beans with a poached egg and rocket

For this weeks blog post a few of us on Twitter decided that we would set a topic and all cook and blog something along those lines. As someone who mostly cooks and blogs alone I relished the chance to do something interactive with other foodies. However, for the first time since starting the blog I felt a sense of pressure to perform, so hopefully this post will be good enough! It’s been really good fun though and I can’t wait to see what everyone else has come up with. 

The topic for this week was brunch. This suited me fine, although I don’t eat brunch too often so it was a challenge to try and think of interesting things to come up with in such a broad category. Over the past week or so my mind has been racing with loads of different ideas, with some sounding pretty wacky and others frankly disgusting. In the end I’m almost sad to say that I went for something pretty safe, but I think equally delicious; good old baked beans. My version lifts the simple tinned version to a new dimension, with the chorizo, paprika and rosemary giving the finished dish a brilliant depth of flavour. 

I think I’m the only person I know who really dislikes Heinz baked beans. I find them too sweet and tangy to the point where they overpower any dish that they’re with. With this recipe the finishing touches are what really make the beans special. Some tinned beans cooked with onions and tomatoes would normally be quite bland, but the addition of the treacle, salt and vinegar at the end of the cooking transforms it into something really tasty. This is what I can never understand when talking to people that don’t eat salt; the difference it makes in the taste of food is staggering. 

This is a really simple dish to make, and once you try it you’ll make it again and again. The only thing that it needs is patience with the slow and gentle cooking, firstly with the onions and then with the beans. I have used tinned pulses in this recipe for ease, but you can use dried beans that have been soaked overnight if you have them.

It’s worth making a big batch as it keeps well for quite a few days, and like any stew or curry will get better with time.

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

For the beans:

50g butter

4 red onions, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2 tbsp fresh rosemary leaves, finely chopped

1 medium red chilli, finely chopped

110g good chorizo, skinned and cut into 1cm pieces

1 heaped tbsp hot smoked paprika

4 tins cannellini beans, juice retained from 2 of the tins

2 tins butter beans

2 tins chopped tomatoes

2 bay leaves

1 large tbsp black treacle

Splash of white wine vinegar

Salt and pepper

For the poached eggs:

1 large egg per person

Splash of white wine vinegar

Salt and pepper

To finish:

Small handful of rocket leaves

Parmesan cheese

Slices of good quality toasted bread

Butter

Olive oil

Heat up a large, high sided frying pan or skillet on a low heat and add the butter. When melted add the onions, garlic, chilli, rosemary and paprika and cook slowly until very soft, about 20-30 minutes. Add the chopped chorizo pieces and fry for another 5 or so minutes, or until softened and the oils have been released into the onions. 

Pour in both types of beans and the retained liquid, the chopped tomatoes and bay leaves. Stir gently and bring to the boil, then turn right down to a low heat and simmer uncovered for an hour. Be careful to only stir every so often and not to vigorously to keep the beans as intact as possible. 

When the beans are nearly done put a large saucepan of salted water on to boil.

After an hour the beans should have thickened a little and darkened in colour slightly. Season well and add the treacle and vinegar, folding into the sauce. Cook for another couple of minutes then taste; you want to find the perfect balance between sweet, salty and sharp. Adjust as needed and take off the heat. 

When the water is boiling add the splash of white wine vinegar and reduce to a gentle simmer. Very carefully crack the eggs with a knife and break very close to the surface of the water. Cook for two minutes then check by lifting with a slotted spoon and touching the yolks. If they aren’t quite done then drop back into the water for another 30 seconds. 

While the eggs are cooking get the bread toasting and buttered ready to serve.

To plate up spoon some of the beans into a shallow bowl and position the poached egg in the middle. Top with a few rocket leaves, sprinkle over some grated parmesan and drizzle over a little olive oil. Serve with the hot buttery toast and dig in.

Salted caramel and buttermilk creme caramels

I’ve been trying to get back into making puddings recently, as more and more I’ve started to find myself spending ages concentrating on a nice savoury dish and totally overlooking anything to eat afterwards. I have to admit that I haven’t got much of a sweet tooth, and would always choose a starter and main or a cheese option to follow, but I do sometimes find myself craving a dessert. So instead of relying on that bar of chocolate lurking in the cupboard I thought it was about time I tried to make something for myself. 

I hadn’t thought about making creme caramels until very recently. They seem to get totally overshadowed by the more glamorous and popular creme brulees, but there’s something about the soft silkiness of the caramel that is just to die for. I had always thought that they were quite difficult to make, but after doing some research and practicing I was amazed at how easy they are. I’ve since made them for dinner parties, where you can make them quickly and have them sitting in the fridge until needed. Their clean flavour and light texture make them a great end to a meal. 

As with any baking, it’s important to stick to measurements and practice really makes perfect. The most important things with this recipe is not to overcook the caramel and the custard. When cooking the caramel, you need to find the perfect balance between being golden enough to maximise flavour but not dark enough to burn and be bitter. You need to watch over it all the time so you can catch it at just the right moment. With the custard, the key is to cook it gently so that it doesn’t scramble and ruin the texture.

For this post I’ve used the brilliant Dan Lepard’s recipe for inspiration and guideline amounts. Every baking enthusiast should grab a copy of Short and Sweet; it really is a bible. I’ve put a twist on his recipe by making a salted caramel and using buttermilk to make the custard slightly sourer with a lighter taste. The joy of these recipes is once you have the basic technique nailed you can experiment to create your own version. 

Makes 6-8 using mini loaf tins

Ingredients

For the caramel:

Caster sugar

A good pinch of salt

For the custard:

100g caster sugar

6 medium eggs

1 vanilla pod, seeds scraped out

300ml whole milk

200ml buttermilk

50ml double cream

To make the caramel, pour caster sugar into each loaf tin until just under a centimetre deep then pour it all into a small saucepan. Add a small amount of water and put on a medium heat. Cook until the caramel is bubbling away and starting to turn a deep red/brown colour, then sprinkle with the salt. Do not stir with a spoon at any point as the caramel may crystalise, just gently swirl the pan. As soon as the caramel is the right colour pour equally into each tin and tip around to make sure that the bottoms are covered. Set aside while you make the custard.

Pre-heat the oven to 140ºC (fan).

Make the custard by mixing the eggs, vanilla seeds and sugar in a large bowl until combined but not frothy. Beat in the milk, buttermilk and double cream then tip into a medium saucepan. Cook on a low-medium heat, whisking frequently, until the mixture is only just hot to the touch. Carefully pour the custard into the caramel lined tins, leaving a lip of about a centimetre. Place the tins into a deep oven dish and create a bain marie by pouring boiling water around the outside. 

Cook for 18 minutes before checking, they should only have a tiny wobble in the middle. If they are too wobbly pop them back in for another minute or two. Once cooked, allow to cool then refrigerate for at least four hours.

To serve, carefully cut around the edge of the tins with a sharp knife and tip quickly onto a plate. A blowtorch can be handy to quickly flash around the outside if they don’t come out straight away.

Crispy and poached oysters with oyster and leek veloute, pickled cucumber and lemon and tarragon oil

Last week I had a few days off work on holiday, but used this time to really relax with no plans to travel anywhere. Instead I just had a lovely enjoyable few days pottering around London and cooking. It was really nice to get out and visit some of the cracking local independent food suppliers that are normally closed when I get my days off on Sundays and Mondays. 

On Tuesday I took the bus down to Victoria Park where I placed an order with brilliant fishmonger Jonathan Norris. He is someone who I have spoken to many times on Twitter, mostly for help about what is in season etc, but it was great to finally pop in and say hello in person. Since I moved to Stoke Newington I haven’t been down to the area too often, but Katie used to live in Victoria Park and I really do love it round there. I’ve many happy memories of ogling at sausage rolls in the window of the Ginger Pig and breakfasting by the lake at the park pavilion. It’s such a foodie hub and you can get nearly anything in that tiny handful of shops. 

On this occasion I had ordered oysters. Now I am the first person to put my hand up and say that I’m not wild about eating raw oysters. It’s not the taste, I’m just not too keen on the texture, and they’re not something that I take that much pleasure from eating. But like I said about bone marrow in the previous blog post, I’m sure that this is a transitional thing and I will end up eventually liking them. But in the meantime, I know that there are other things that you can do with them and I was determined to make something nice. I liked the idea of gently cooking them with a creamy, chowder like soup.

I thought that this would also be a good occasion to have a go at making a veloute. It’s always something that I’ve associated with fine dining and have been nervous to attempt to make this super smooth, decadent soup. For Christmas I was fortunate to be given a number of great cookbooks, including the huge and insanely good Square Cookbook by Philip Howard. I knew that oyster veloutes existed, and when looking through the index for pointers I was pleased to see that there was a recipe for that very thing. I have used the veloute recipe in that book as the base for the one I made here, although Phil used his as part of an amazing starter with eel, salt cod and caviar. I haven’t quite gone that far here, simply deep frying some oysters to contrast the texture and adding some lightly pickled cucumber to give the acidity that is much needed in this creamy dish. 

Freshness is of the utmost importance when it comes to oysters. I would only really eat them on the same day as buying them, and only from a decent fishmonger. This is the joy of getting to know good local food suppliers, as you can learn loads about seasonal food and really trust that the produce that you get is top quality; a far cry from the majority of supermarkets. 

Serves 2 

Ingredients:

For the crispy oysters:

2 oysters

1 small handful panko breadcrumbs

1 egg

2 tbsp flour

Salt and pepper

Vegetable oil for deep frying, about 1 litre

For the poached oysters:

4 oysters

For the veloute:

3 medium leeks, finely sliced

1/2 onion, finely sliced

1/2 floury potato such as maris piper, finely sliced

30g butter

500ml water

250ml whole milk

1 large tbsp creme fraiche

8 oysters

For the pickled cucumbers:

1x 3” piece of cucumber

100ml white wine vinegar

3 tsp sugar

5 black peppercorns

For the lemon and tarragon oil:

100ml olive oil

1 small handful tarragon

1 lemon, zest only

For the sauteed leeks:

1/2 a leek, julienned into thin 2” sticks

1 large knob butter

Salt and pepper

Firstly make the lemon and tarragon oil. Put the oil, tarragon and lemon into a small saucepan and gently warm up, but not enough to start frying the flavourings. Turn off the heat, cover the pan with clingfilm and leave to cool down and infuse. Transfer to a squeezy bottle and set aside. This is best done a day in advance to let the flavours mix into the oil. 

To make the veloute, heat the butter in a large saucepan on a medium heat. Add the leeks, onion, potato and seasoning and cook for 6-7 minutes, until softened. Pour in the water, bring to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the milk and creme fraiche and bring back to boil then pour the liquid through a sieve into a bowl. Spoon about a quarter of the leeks, onion and potatoes into a food processor with the strained liquid and blend really well until very smooth. Discard the remaining leeks. Strain again and set aside to cool. This part can be done in advance. 

While the veloute is cooking, make the pickled cucumbers. Peel the piece of cucumber and cut in half, then scrape out the seeds with a spoon and discard. Carefully cut into an even fine dice and put into a small bowl. Pour the white wine vinegar into a small saucepan with the sugar and peppercorns. Bring to a simmer and cook until the sugar has dissolved. Remove the peppercorns and pour over the cucumbers. Mix well with a spoon and set aside to cool. 

Julienne the leeks for the garnish and fry gently for 10 minutes in the butter and a little seasoning until softened. Keep warm and set aside.

Heat the frying oil up in a heavy medium saucepan to 170ºC. 

Slowly reheat the veloute up to just below boiling. 

Fill a small saucepan with salty water and bring to the boil.

To make the crispy oysters, set up two small plates and a bowl. Beat the egg into the bowl and put the panko and flour respectively on the other two plates. Season each part. Open two of the oysters, keeping them as intact as possible and draining the liquid. Gently roll the oysters in the flour, then dip into the egg before moving to the breadcrumb plate and covering. 

Open the 8 oysters for the veloute and put into the food processor.

Open the 4 remaining oysters for poaching. 

When the oil is hot, water boiling and veloute up to temperature it is time to finish the dish. Put the 4 oysters into the boiling water, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for two minutes. At the same time, lower the coated oysters into the hot oil and deep fry, turning occasionally until golden brown, about a minute. While this is happening, tip the veloute into the food processor over the oysters and blend really well until combined and frothy. Taste and season if needed. 

To plate up, make a little mound out of the cooked leeks and place in the middle of the bowls. Pour some of the veloute in and position the poached oysters in the ‘moat’. Spoon a little of the pickled cucumber around each side and put the crispy oysters on top of the leeks. Drizzle a bit of the lemon and tarragon oil around the bowl and serve quickly.