Harissa Hummus

As with many of the best dishes, this recipe evolved by accident due to a deficiency in ingredients. I have been looking for a good hummus recipe for a while, and after a bit of online research I found that most traditional hummus contains tahini, a ground sesame seed paste. Needless to say I did not have any in stock, but what I did have in the fridge was half a jar of Harissa. This substitution turned out to work brilliantly, with the hummus maintaining its conventional base-flavours of chickpeas, lemon and garlic, but the smoky, spicy Harissa added a reddish tinge and delicious warm kick. Enjoy with lots of different dipping implements for maximum flavour and texture.

You Will Need...

- 1 can of chickpeas

- 2 garlic cloves (crushed)

- Juice of 1 lemon

- 1/2 tsp ground cumin

- A few splashes of extra virgin olive oil

- 1 tsp Harissa paste

- Hot paprika to serve

- Salt

- A selection of dipping implements to serve e.g batons of cucumber, carrot and celery, sliced toasted pitta breads, breadsticks etc.

You Will Need To...

- Tip the can of chickpeas including liquid into a saucepan, bring to the boil and simmer for about 5 minutes or until the chickpeas are softened but not mushy.

- For ultra-sooth hummus you will need to skin the chickpeas. I find the easiest way of doing this is to remove them from the hot water (this must be reserved) with a slotted spoon and place them on one half of a tea-towel. Fold the other half of the towel over the top and gently rub the chickpeas underneath. Most of the skins should have rubbed off and the rest can be removed by hand fairly easily. If you are short of time and/or like your hummus a little chunkier you can skip this step.

- Place the softened, skinned chickpeas in a food processor and blitz until sand-like in texture. Gradually add several splashes of the cooking liquid until your chickpea-paste comes together and forms a smooth paste. 

- Add a few glugs of olive oil, the lemon juice, cumin, Harissa paste and crushed garlic and blitz again. Add salt to taste and adjust to suit your preferences i.e. sharpen with more lemon juice or increase the heat with more Harissa paste.

- Spoon into a bowl and top with a drizzle of olive and a sprinkling of hot paprika. Arrange on a platter with some dipping tools and dig in.

Enjoy! C x

Summer Strawberry Tart

Inspired by the sunshine, this is a quick and easy but impressive looking pudding from the Great British Chefs website. Marinating the strawberries in rosé, sugar and Honey makes this tart irresistible. A sweet pastry and delicious crème patissière complement the sharp taste of rosé coated strawberries. Only a small amount of preparation is needed for the marinating and pastry making. This is a simple and straightforward recipe to follow with an impressive and tasty outcome. As you can see from the photos, I tried using both a rectangular and circular tin, both of which I think worked equally well.  

Sweet pastry

You Will Need...

125g of butter

60g of icing sugar

1 egg yolk

125g of plain flour, plus more for dusting

75g of ground almonds

2g of baking powder

1 pinch of salt

3 sprigs of lemon thyme, leaves picked

Crème patissière

You Will Need...

200ml of milk

40g of sugar

2 egg yolks

14g of cornflour

1 vanilla pod, cut and deseeded

Marinated strawberries

18 strawberries, roughly quartered

30ml of rosé wine

1 tsp of caster sugar

1 tbsp of clear honey

You Will Need To...

1. Mix the butter and sugar together to form a smooth paste. Add flour, ground almonds, salt and baking powder. Rub the mixture between your fingertips to form a sand-like texture

2.Add the egg yolk and the chopped thyme and continue to work the mix until it comes together to form a dough. When your dough is ready, wrap it in cling film and leave in the fridge to rest for 2 hours

3.Once the dough has rested, preheat the oven to 160ºC/gas mark 3. Lightly dust a workspace with flour and roll the dough to 1/2cm thickness. Place the dough into a shallow spring form tin, and use the excess dough to build a 1cm side for the tart

4.Bake for 13 minutes until lightly golden. Once cooked, leave the pastry to cool in the tin

5.For the crème patissière, put the milk and vanilla pod in a saucepan and bring to the boil

6. Meanwhile, mix the sugar and the egg yolk in a separate bowl until you reach a creamy, smooth consistency. Add the cornflour and continue to whisk

7.Once the milk has come to a steady boil, pour half of the milk into the bowl, whisking thoroughly. Whisk the milk and the eggs in the bowl then return the mixture to the pan and continue to whisk on a low heat, returning to a steady boil. Continue to cook for 3 minutes after boiling

8. Put the crème patissière in the fridge in a cold bowl, and cover it with cling film. Once chilled, gently whisk until smooth and return to the fridge until ready to serve

9. For the marinated strawberries, place the cut strawberries into a bowl. Add the caster sugar, rosé wine and honey. Mix until glazed

10.Before serving, spread a generous 1cm layer of crème patissière across your cooked tart and cover with the marinated strawberries. Once covered, spoon the excess marinade on top of the tart to glaze.

Enjoy! Z x

A Flavour of France

After spending two relaxing weeks basking in the South-Western French sunshine, I had to share some of my favourite recipes and dishes inspired by the region. My family rented an old converted farmhouse near Gaillac, a town in the Tarn department of France where the regional produce includes excellent wines, pâtés and game. As we were self-catering for a fortnight and temperatures exceeded thirty degrees celsius every day, no one was up for spending hours in the kitchen, especially with lazy days reading and sunbathing by the pool on the agenda. Furthermore, the laid-back style of living is most definitely reflected in the food - un-fussy, straightforward recipes that still deliver in terms of flavour. So here is a selection of some of my favourite and ridiculously easy yet delicious summer dishes, with one or two of my mum's thrown in for good measure!

A simple and delicious start to the day - Natural yoghurt topped with frozen berries, flaked almonds and a drizzle of maple syrup. 

Foil Fish Parcels

A lovely light supper that can be prepared well in advance.

You Will Need To:-

- Place a fillet of fish of your choice ( I used mullet) on a rectangle of foil and top with a squeeze of lime juice, salt and pepper, one bay leaf, a sprig of parsley, a slice of lemon, a teaspoon of capers and a tablespoon or two of cream. 

- Scrunch up the corners to make a foil parcel and cook for ten minutes in the coals of a hot barbecue or on top of the grill if using a gas barbecue. 

- Serve with salad and crusty bread to mop up the juices. 

Foolproof Tarte-Tatin

This is effectively a cheats version of the French classic, yet still utterly moreish and crowd pleasing, as well as a personal favourite! Apologies for the uselessly vague measurements - it has kind of evolved over time with no set recipe, plus there were no scales on offer!

You Will Need To:-

- Cover the bottom of a fairly deep metal handled frying pan with a thin layer of caster sugar (about 100g). Place on a medium heat and add about 100ml of calvados, armagnac or brandy and the scraped seeds and remaining pod of one vanilla pod and leave to bubble - do not stir or the sugar will crystalise. 
- Swirl around by the pan handle from time to time until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture turns a caramel brown colour.
- Peel, half and core four or five apples. Place cut-side down into the caramel.

- Add half a dozen small knobs of butter (about 50g).

- Allow to bubble away for about fifteen minutes until the sauce darkens a little and thickens - spoon this over the apples to coat the tops in the boozy, vanillary caramel.

- Allow this mixture to cool. Then half an hour before serving, place a thin sheet of puff-pastry on top of the pan over the apples and tuck the edges down around the apples if there is any overhang. The French supermarkets sell round pre-rolled sheets which fit perfectly but I am yet to find these in English supermarkets. I have used a regular pre-rolled rectangular sheet before and managed to make it fit though!

- Bake in a hot oven for about half an hour or until the pastry is golden and risen.

- Cross your fingers and turn the tart out onto a plate to serve. (upside down so the pastry is underneath and the apples ontop)

- Serve with a spoonful of creme fraiche, several spoonfuls of the vanillary syrup, and a generous glass of brandy of your choice.

Lemon and Herb Chicken Kebabs

A barbecue favourite in my family - you can't really go wrong with grilled chicken and veg, plus it is a good way of using up any random vegetables you have kicking around in the fridge. The marinade for the chicken lifts the flavours, adding a zesty citrus hit. 

You Will Need To:-

- Chop chicken breasts into bitesize chunks and leave to marinade in the following mixture for an hour or so - Olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, chopped rosemary, thyme, crushed garlic, salt and pepper. 

- Chop a variety of veg into similar sized pieces - I used courgettes, peppers, mushrooms and onions. Tomatoes also work well.

- Thread the chicken and veg onto skewers and grill on barbecue for about 15 -20 minutes or until chicken is cooked. 

Unfortunately I cannot pass the following dishes off as my own, however I had to include them as they were so delicious and most accurately reflect the food of the region.

Mum's delicious Smoked Duck Salad, with goat's cheese, apple, walnuts, raisins and crisp lettuce leaves

The remnants of my amazing personalised pear and hazelnut birthday gateau, sourced from a local patisserie.

Another of Mum's specialities - Duck breast with a red wine & cherry sauce served with puy lentils and creme fraiche.

C x