Archive for October, 2009
How to make your own strawberry jam
Posted: 23 October '09 by Niall
Make your own strawberry jam
The last time we walked around our local supermarket I spied some sorry looking strawberries – small and misshapen they might have been, but perfect for making jam!
You don’t need any special skills for jam: it’s a fairly simple process, and the end result is well worth it. But strawberry jam is a slight exception to the rule – strawberries are low in “pectin”, a natural gelling agent that helps the jam to set. Because strawberries are low in pectin, it’s best to use a jam sugar, which has added pectin. I’ve also added a good squeeze of lemon juice – lemon is high in pectin, and will help your jam to set.
Basically, with a little care, you shouldn’t have any problems.
Makes six 250ml jars of strawberry jam
You can see more photos hereImage 1Image 2Image 3Image 4Image 5
Ingredients:
- 1.1kg fresh strawberries (slightly under-ripe is better than over-ripe)
- 1.1kg jam-making sugar
- 1 large lemon
- A preserving pan
- A jam funnel (optional)
- A large ladle
- A couple of small plates
- A wooden spoon
- 6 x 250ml jam jars
- Wax discs and Cellophane
Method:
- Put the small plates in the freezer
- “Hull” the strawberries (i.e. take out the hard core below the leaves) and halve the larger ones, so every piece is roughly the same size
- Put the strawberries into the preserving pan with the sugar and the lemon juice. Put over a low heat and warm through until the sugar dissolves. Don’t stir the strawberries too much as this stage as they’ll break up, and you want nice large pieces of fruit in the finished jam.
- Now that the sugar has dissolved you need to boil the jam. Run a wooden spoon around the corners and across the bottom of the pan to make sure all the sugar has dissolved. Increase the heat and bring the jam to a gentle rolling boil.
- Allow the jam to boil like this for 4-5 minutes and then remove the pan from the heat.
- Take 1 of the cold plates from the freezer. Spoon a little of the jam onto the plate and set it aside to cool. Once it has cooled, run your finger through the cold jam – if you see wrinkles then your jam will set, and you’re ready to move on. If you don’t see any, return the jam to the boil for a further 1-2 minutes and repeat this process. You might need to repeat this step a few times until you get it right (just remember to use a new plate from your freezer for each pectin test).
- Take a dessert spoon and skim off as much of the scum (i.e. the white froth) as you can from the jam in your preserving pan, then leave the jam to sit and cool slightly for a while before potting it – about 20 minutes should be fine – which prevents the fruit from floating to the top of the jam.
- While you’re waiting for the jam to cool, you can sterilise your jam jars. Preheat the oven to 120°C/fan100°C and wash the jars in warm, clean soapy water, then rinse in clean water. Put the jars upside down on a clean baking tray and put into the oven for 10 minutes to dry out, removing them and setting the aside just before you need them.
- If you have a jam funnel you can use it to put the jam into your jars – we didn’t, and it does make a mess in a sticky, molten-lava kind of a way. Just make sure that you don’t overfill your jars.
- Now put the wax discs on while the jam is hot to melt the wax and seal in the jam, then cover with Cellophane.
- Taa-daa! You’ve made strawberry jam!!
Categories: Featured Post > Jams and Preserves > Recipes
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Anyone for pigs’ feet???
Posted: 22 October '09 by Kelly
‘Pigs’ trotters, are you mad?!!’ I hear you say…. but it seems in times of recession, restaurants are turning to cheaper cuts of meat like pork belly and faggots to entice people to eat out more. But would a plate of offal, tripe or pigs’ trotters entice you to go out for a meal?
Well, Niall and I recently visited St Johns restaurant in Farringdon, London. The chef Fergus Henderson has a ’Nose to tail’ philosophy with things like ‘chitterlings and swede’ and ‘roast bone marrow and parsley salad’ on his menu. I was slightly nervous going in but I was surprised as to how tasty the food was. Niall and I will definitely be looking out for some surprises on the menus in Belfast restaurants as the recession bites during the winter months.
We would love to hear if you have found a restaurant serving these forgotten cuts of meat or if you have been adventurous at home!
Here’s our tasty recipe for pigs’ trotters with beans – Zampone e Fagioli
Serves 3 to 4 people
Ingredients:
- 1 pigs’ trotter (shin bone removed by your butcher), soaked overnight in cold water
- 1/2 pound minced pork
- 1/2 pound prosciutto, diced
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Scant pinch of the following spices: cinnamon, cloves, coriander, star anise, caraway
- 1 pound of dried borlotti beans, soaked overnight and drained
- A good glug of olive oil
- 1 medium-sized onion, diced
- 1 cup of chicken stock
- 2 tablespoons tomato puree
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Balsamic vinegar
You’ll also need: a large needle, butchers’ twine
Method:
- Remove the trotter from its bath, rinse in cold water, and pat dry.
- In a large bowl, thoroughly combine the pork meat, the prosciutto, and the spices.
- Season the inside of the trotter with salt and pepper and stuff with the pork mixture.
- Using a large needle and butchers’ twine, truss the leg by sewing either side of the trotter-sausage together in a zig-zag.
- Place the trotter in a large pot with enough water to cover it by several inches and place over high heat.
- Once the water has reached boiling point lower the heat and simmer covered for 2 hours.
- In the meantime, boil the soaked beans in water 1 hour, until tender but still slightly firm.
- In a frying pan, heat the olive oil over a medium heat and add the onion, cooking until soft and translucent.
- Stir in the chicken stock and tomato paste and cook over medium heat 5 minutes.
- Add the drained beans and cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Season with salt a pepper and place onto a serving dish.
- When the trotter is done, remove it from the water, allow to rest 10 minutes.
- Slice into 1/2-inch discs and place on top of the beans.
- Drizzle with balsamic vinegar, and serve.
Buon Appetito!
Categories: News
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Wine Review: Sangre de Toro 2006
Posted: 21 October '09 by Niall
Wine Review: Sangre de Toro 2006
On a horrible wind-swept and rainy evening, Kelly and I thought we’d cheer ourselves up with a cheeky bottle (or two!) of wine. Amazing how wine can do that.
The Torres wines are firm favourites of ours: consistently good flavours, and not too hard on the pocket. And depending on your choice, you also get a toy – a kind of Kinder Egg for adults!
With the plastic bull safely stowed away, we opened our bottle of Sangre de Toro 2006..
The Details
- The Wine: Sangre de Toro 2006
- Producer: Don Miguel Torres
- Region: Castilla y León, Spain
- Grape: 65% Grenache, 35% Carignan
- Alcohol: 13.5%
- Cost: £6.49
Tasting Notes
The wine is a pleasant deep cherry-red in colour, and the spicy cinnamon and berry notes are immediately noticeable on opening the bottle.
In terms of flavours there are the usual forest-fruits in there (and a lot of them), but also something a little sweeter.. strawberries maybe. With all of this going on, it’s a nicely balanced wine – savoury, with a slightly sweet edge.
The tannins aren’t particularly smooth and there is a bit of an alcoholic kick – a solid, rustic, substantial wine.
Food Pairing:
This wine would be well-paired with any meaty foods: red meats and game, and roasts/stews/casseroles in general.
Our Verdict:
The Sangre de Toro 2006 isn’t a particularly complex wine, but that’s not a bad thing. It’s very “gluggable”, has plenty of flavour, goes particularly well with food, and with the £6.49 price-tag, it’s hard to find a better entry in the “everyday” category.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Other Information:
“Sangre de Toro” means “Blood of the bull” – and explains the plastic bull attached to the foil.
You can click here to visit the Torres website.
Categories: Red Wine > Wine Reviews
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The River Cottage Family Cookbook by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Fizz Carr
Posted: 19 October '09 by Niall
The River Cottage Family Cookbook
“This is a cookbook for everyone in the family to pick up and use.”
The River Cottage Family Cookbook is exactly that – a cookbook that everyone in the family can use – a how-to guide for good cooking. More than that though, the recipes are perfect day-to-day eating, having a heavy emphasis on good food and healthy, satisfying rustic grub. No fancy or sophisticated dishes here, just good staple dishes that are good to have in your repetoire.
The book is broken down into clearly defined sections: Flour; Eggs; Fruit; Vegetables; Fish; Meat; and so on. Each chapter comes will useful insights and recommendations, as well as a selection of reliable recipes intended for frequent use, such as:
- Creamy fish pie
- Spaghetti Carbonara
- Chicken Curry
- Roast Chicken
- Eggy Bread
- Custard ice-cream
- Gooseberry Crumble
- Your own ice-lollies
Another theme in the book is getting your kids into the kitchen and getting them involved in cooking. The recipes are designed so that 10 to 12 year olds can make them, with help – while older children should be able to make most of the dishes on their own.
The recipes aren’t just a list of ingredients either, but give the reader a full explanation of how and why things are done. The cookbook is well worth getting for this reason alone – inexperienced and/or young cooks can learn a lot, and there are plenty of photos throughout the book for reference.
The book also comes with lots of useful extras – I particularly like the step-by-step projects and how-tos:
- Make your own sausages
- Experimenting with steak
- Building a campfire for outdoor cooking
- How to make bread
- Making your own pasta
- Growing tomatoes
Details
- Title: The River Cottage Family Cookbook (hardback)
- Author: Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall & Fizz Carr
- Pages: 415
- Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
- ISBN: 0-340-82636-3
- Cost: £20
- Where to get it: From www.amazon.co.uk
Our Verdict:
The River Cottage Family Cookbook manages to be both a cookbook for the inexperienced and a way to involve children in cooking – and succeeds in both areas without patronising either group.
A great resource for everyone – and a useful source of inspiration for feeding the family. Highly recommended.
Other Information:
You can read more about River Cottage at: www.rivercottage.net
Categories: Books for Cooks
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Currying favour at the Bengal Brasserie
Posted: 19 October '09 by Kelly
Bengal Brasserie
On Saturday night Niall and I headed out to the Bengal Brasserie on the Ormeau Road for a long-awaited curry.
We’ve been going to the Bengal Brasserie for ages – from when it was a shabby-but-much-loved place down near the Ormeau bridge, to the latest incarnation as a contemporary, plush new eaterie at the Newtownbreda end of the road. Despite the radical change in appearance, the quality of the food and the service has never faltered.
The perfumed cloud of Asian spices had our mouths watering as we made our way to the entrance and, on entering the almost permanently busy restaurant, we were welcomed by a member of staff who took us to our table – while we eyed the largest bottle of Sangre de Toro we’d ever seen the whole way! It should probably be said at this point that the service at the restaurant is just great – friendly, very helpful with food combinations and amounts (you’ll be tempted to order all of the side dishes on the menu!), and extremely courteous – opening the door for you as you leave and wishing you a good night is a nice touch, as is the slight nod of recognition for a returning customer.
As good as the staff are, it’s the food that’s the star – there’s something for everyone on the menu: sweet and creamy Kormas; sizzling Tandoori skillets; and fiery vindaloos. Ordering some poppadoms with sauces and relishes is a must, giving you plenty of time to look over the menu – my favourite relish is a tangy, onion-y concoction that is very more-ish, but all four offer something very different and disappear quickly.
I was surprised with the wine list the first time I saw it, in all honesty. My experience of these things in curry houses is a bad one, without exception. But the Bengal Brasseries list is pretty good – some New World, some Old World – plenty to choose from. We opted for a punchy Cote du Rhone from the always-dependable Chapoutier stable – a fantastic red that was able to stand up to the myriad flavours in the dishes without overpowering them.
For our starter I ordered the King Prawn Sukka (meaty king prawns on a chapati with a rich tomato and chilli sauce) and Niall ordered the Chicken Pakora (strips of chicken in a light, spiced batter). Both were fantastic – just the right amount to whet your appetite for the meal yet to come – and left us disagreeing over who had chosen the best.
Harmony, or at least silence, was restored when the main courses appeared. Niall’s Lamb Palok is a big favourite of ours – a mild enough curry based on LOTS of spinach and slices of garlic, with tender portions of lamb. My Murg (chicken) Bhuna is a tomato-based dish – some heat, a little sweetness, and lots of those aromatic tumeric and coriander spices – and just delicious. The two dishes were very different, and made a nice contrast – Niall’s earthy spinach curry against my tangy tomato dish. Both dishes came with portions of rice, which I like – it’s a slight bug-bear of mine that, in some restaurants, rice has to be ordered in addition to the curry – a kind of “hidden” charge. We also ordered a Keema Naan (flat-bread with marinated, minced lamb between the layers) and Palok Bhajee (more spinach, but totally irresistable).
Unsurprisingly, we didn’t manage a dessert, despite repeated, wistful glances at the menu.
Saying our goodbyes to the staff, we walked off into the night, happy and contented.
| Starters: | |
|---|---|
| King Prawn Sukka | £3.95 |
| Murg Pakora | £3.95 |
| Main Courses: | |
| Murg Bhuna | £7.45 |
| Lamb Palok | £7.45 |
| Sundries: | |
| Keema Naan | £1.95 |
| Palok Bhajee | £2.95 |
| Bottle of Cote du Rhone | £22.50 |
| Total: | £50.20 |
A fantastic restaurant that others have called “the best curry house in Belfast” – and we’d be hard-pressed to disagree.
A restaurant to introduce your friends to – for which they’ll be eternally grateful.
Bengal Brasserie
455, Ormeau Road,
Belfast
County Antrim
BT7 3GQ
t: 028 90647516
w: www.bengalbrasseriebelfast.co.uk
You can also see the Bengal Brasserie on Google Maps.
Categories: Northern Ireland > Restaurant Reviews > United Kingdom
