Saitake sell excellent, toasted sesame seeds. Last Sunday when I made sushi I promised myself I’d give them 5 star review in Ocado, where I get it from. I didn’t, in the end, but used them this evening when making a light supper of tuna tartar. We had a roast for lunch, so not much was needed. Tuna tartar made the same way as always, Michel’s way- chopped and mixed with chopped ginger, spring onion, chilli and coriander, dressed with soy, sesame oil, lime juice and honey. Sesame seeds added, generously. Toasted ciabatta from the griddle pan tastes so good tonight, that tuna long gone, we’re still toasting more bread. I would be very happy to eat this kind of food every day. I would. 🙂
Monthly Archives: May 2016
Chocolate bomb.
Spotted at mojewypieki.com, the silicone moulds immediately ordered from Amazon and about 3 weeks later ( the moulds came from China, it took time) I could get them done. What a fantastic dessert. It looks money, it tastes money, it’s pleasant to make. If I had put raspberries inside ( couldn’t be bothered to go and get some, had blackcurrants in the freezer and cassis liqueur, so opted out) it would have been 11 out of 10. That good! 🙂
First, the genoise sponge. 2 whole eggs at room temperature beaten into submission with 50 g of sugar, till pale, fluffy and gorgeous. 13 g of melted butter waiting its turn, while 40 g of plain flour and 16 g of cocoa gently incorporated, butter at the end. Baked in 170 degrees for about 12 minutes.
The mousse; 100 g of chopped chocolate, I used dark and milk chocolate, melted with 15g of butter, 2 tbsps of cassis liqueur- still couldn’t taste any, about 2tbsps of water. 1 egg yolk mixed in, when a bit cooled, the egg white whisked with 25 g of sugar. Also, 50 ml of whipped cream. All the components mixed together, gently, not too lose all the air.
The mousse went into the moulds, the fruit pressed into it, then 6 discs cut of of the sponge, gently smeared with raspberry jam- couldn’t taste it, but maybe it was to act as a glue mostly. Prepared this way, the whole thing went into the freezer for about 5 hours.
The glaze is fantastic. Like a mirror and tastes good too. 2 gelatine leaves soaked, while 150 g of sugar gets heated up with 50 ml of water. Then 50 g of cocoa and 100 ml of double cream in. Straining the whole thing is a good idea, cocoa doesn’t get completely dissolved. Then just a little while in the fridge, maybe an hour, 2 at most. The bombs glazed and finished with while chocolate shavings. Triumphant!!!:-)
Matcha macaroons.
Just as I’m entertaining an idea of maybe baking these things for a living, today they were less than perfect. They cracked in the oven( too hot oven, according to Dorota), so I reduced the temperature and added 3 minutes to the baking time. And the filling spilled out, though I was confident it was thickened enough to hold.
Macaroons made usual way with a Wilton colourant ” leaf green”. 100 ml of double cream brought nearly to boiling point, 1 tsp of good quality green tea added. 240 g of white chocolate, in, well combined after 2 minutes of melting in the cream. Chilled in the fridge till thick enough to pipe onto the macaroons.
The taste brings to mind green tea Kit Kats from Japan, really nice. Not too sweet. If only they looked as good as they taste, I’d be happy.
Ham croquetas.
Proper. 🙂
I followed Jose Pizarro’s recipe from recent GF, hoping for a dish similar to those we used to enjoy in La Tasca, Spanish restaurant in Canary Wharf, back in Ubon times. I do make nice roast chicken croquetas, Michel Roux’s recipe, but these are proper, with very thick bechamel type of sauce and serrano ham. We both loved them and when I asked Florek this morning, ahead of ordering Ocado delivery for next week, if there’s anything he fancies, he asked for croquetas again, exactly the same.
So to start with I fried finely chopped leek on some olive oil, then added about 100 g of serrano ham, finely chopped too, a bit of salted butter. Then 60 g of plain flour mixed in and cooked for a couple of minutes. 300 ml of milk plus 100 ml of chicken stock, all seasoned generously with nutmeg, heated up, I added bit by bit to the ham and leek mixture. Once all the liquid was used, I cooked the whole thing on a small heat for about 10 minutes, till nice and thick. Seasoned with pepper a bit, no salt was needed. Then transferred the mixture to the baking dish, cooled, covered with cling film and chilled in the fridge for over an hour. It thickened nicely, so I was able to shape small croquetas with a spoon. Afterwards it’s the usual trick- flour, egg and panko breadcrumbs. Prepared this way, croquetas chilled in the fridge again for about 30 minutes. Deep fried, served with asparagus from Over Farm near Gloucester. Yum.