What Rachel Ate

Chocolate macaroons

November 4th, 2011

choc_macaroons

I wonder if any of you out there are as obsessed with macaroons as I am? Something seems to happen when you make your first batch of macaroons and the continual search for perfection begins – that perfectly smooth top, neat little feet and squidgy centre. I’ve spent hours poring over beautiful pictures (some of the best are here) and I could hold down a two hour conversation on them if you’re so inclined.

The perfect macaroon - from Serious eats

I make macaroons for nearly all of my catering jobs and someone nearly always asks me if macaroons are difficult to make. Er…yes! I must have made hundreds of macaroons by now. I’ve thrown away more batches than I care to admit and had so many tantrums that my boyfriend scarpers whenever I make them.

So what’s the point then? Well… I’m here to share what I’ve learnt. Below is my chocolate macaroon recipe – an amalgamation of the many recipes I’ve tried with lots of tips and tricks I’ve learnt along the way. Unfortunately, there is no quick fix for the perfect macaroon. In my experience there are a lot of steps and they all need to be done correctly. Make sure you have plenty of time and no distractions and read the recipe through before you start cooking.

Fancy some more reading?
Macaroon king, Edd Kimber’s, recipe
Lots of really, really useful posts on macaroons with plenty of troubleshooting advice
Tartelette’s brilliant guide to making macaroons
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Tags: chocolate, macaroon
Posted in Cake recipes, Rachel's favourites | 2 Comments »

Winter slaw

November 1st, 2011

winter_slaw

This is a fantastic winter salad recipe, especially good for using up veg box ingredients. I love it with pittas and hummus for a quick and healthy lunch/dinner (always a good thing), but I’ve also eaten it with ribs and jacket potatoes and loaded onto cheese on toast.

The idea is to finely slice/grate lots of winter vegetables, I use my food processor for this, but a knife and grater will do this job, it will just take a bit longer. Use any combination of red cabbage, white cabbage, savoy cabbage, carrots, swedes and turnips, just beware that it will make a lot of slaw.

I like to store the shredded veggies in a large sandwich bag and dress it as and when. I prefer to use my favourite salad dressing rather than mayonnaise, the mustardy dressing goes really well with the sweetness of the vegetables, but I sometimes add a spoonful of yoghurt or mayonnaise for extra creaminess. You can also spruce it up with a handful of toasted seeds or take it in an Asian direction with chopped toasted peanuts, lime juice, fish sauce and coriander.

Tags: cabbage, carrots, dressings, swede
Posted in Salad recipes | No Comments »

What to do with half a pig

October 20th, 2011

My boyfriend is the practical sort – for previous birthdays he’s bought me a sexy camera, gardening gear, foraging books and a coffee grinder. So when he started making secretive phone calls and muttering about how complicated my birthday was to organise, I didn’t exactly think he was whisking me off on a mini break.

After some heavy hint-dropping on his part, I finally twigged. He’d bought me half a pig for my birthday! Not only that, we were going to butcher it…

Pete somehow managed to transport 35kg of pig on his bike (I wish I was there when he turned up at the butchers with his backpack). In the end, they had to cut off the head and leg and he did it in two trips. Meanwhile, he made me go into the other room, then called me into the kitchen to present me with my present…
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Posted in Rachel's favourites | 3 Comments »

Banana, coconut and pecan friands

October 16th, 2011

banana_friands

This blog is starting to make it look like I only eat cakes at the moment. I promise I do eat other food, even things that are blog-worthy, but somehow I get too caught up in eating and then it’s too late to take a picture.

So what have I been eating recently? A fabulous Honest burger (get there early to avoid the queues), this nutmeg and honey ice cream which we turned into outrageous affogatto. Paella from Rick Stein’s new book (which I can’t recommend enough), a pork, chorizo and chickpea stew (similar to this but with pork shoulder, so I cooked it for ages in the slow cooker). I recently did some catering for an afternoon tea for a hen party and made these cheese scones, amongst many other things, but the scones were definitely the favourite.

So now for the cake. These were one of those fortunate creations that happen when you’re trying to use up ingredients. Some over-ripe bananas, egg whites in the fridge and various packets in my cupboard. What you get is a dense, nutty cake – crisp on the outside and soft in the middle. I like them with a coffee for an afternoon treat (like I need an excuse) but I’ve also managed to convince myself that they’re suitable for breakfast too – what with the bananas and nuts…
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Tags: banana, coconut, pecan
Posted in Cake recipes | No Comments »

Blackberry cupcakes

October 3rd, 2011

white_choc_blackberry2

Do you like cupcakes? There’s no denying they look good, but they can often disappoint – slightly dry cake and a mountain of overly sweet icing. You’ve probably guessed by now that these cupcakes are a little bit different. First, I only pipe the icing into the middle of the cake, so the cake to icing ratio is a bit better. But what really makes a difference is adding crushed blackberries to the icing. Not only do you get the pretty lilac colour, but the sourness of the fruit cuts through the icing as well. Blackberries are bang in season right now, but could try with raspberries and strawberries. I also use this fruity icing for layer cakes too – pretty colour and one of your five a day (ha!).

White chocolate and blackberry cupcakes

Tags: blackberry, cupcake
Posted in Cake recipes | 1 Comment »

Sweet potato and black pudding salad

September 30th, 2011

black_pudding_salad

Do you like black pudding? I love the stuff. If it’s on a restaurant menu, I’m pretty much guaranteed to order it (Black pudding Scotch egg? Yes please!) My favourite is Clonakilty, but I think that’s mostly because it reminds me of good times in Ireland.

A friend of mine recently brought some of the good stuff back for me from Ireland and I set about thinking of ways to use it up. One of my ideas was salad – so I set about googling ideas and most of them were laughable. Seriously: black pudding, croutons and a few salad leaves does not a salad make, it’s basically a sandwich arranged slightly differently on the plate!

So I came up with my own. First up roasted slices of sweet potatoes because they’re delicious, healthy and filling. Plus the sweetness is really good with the intense meatiness of the black pudding. While the black pudding and sweet potatoes were roasting, I made a simple vinaigrette and let the sliced onions sit in it to take off raw edge. Add a few rocket leaves and you’re done. I love the colours of this salad – so pretty!

You could definitely add a poached egg on top (we did) or add in some beans to make it more filling. Obviously, this would be dee-licious with pumpkin or butternut squash (the season’s just about to start). If you’re really squeamish about the black pudding, you could use sausages instead, but the black pudding is really worth a try.

black_pudding_salad_2

Tags: black pudding, butternut squash, pumpkin, sweet potato
Posted in Salad recipes | 5 Comments »

Blueberry streusel cake

September 17th, 2011

blueberry_cake

This is a very grown-up cake, but in the best possible way. It’s sweetened with maple syrup and flavoured with just a little rosemary and thyme which makes it lovely and fragrant. I made this cake on Wednesday, then another on Thursday – it’s that good. The streusel topping? It’s basically a nutty crumble sprinkled on top of the cake – you can’t go wrong really.

I’ve got tonnes of blueberries stashed in my freezer, so I’m been using them up with this recipe, but you could definitely use blackberries instead, preferably foraged from a hedgerow.
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Posted in Cake recipes | 4 Comments »

Slow cooker recipes

September 5th, 2011

Do you have a slow cooker? It seems that most people who own one, love it. Yet we got one a few years ago as a Christmas present and have only used it a handful of times…

I dusted mine off recently to develop some recipes for BBC Food and have been, at least partially, converted. Slow cookers are perfect for cooking cheap cuts of meat – and while you can get the same effect by cooking in a low oven, I love being able to chuck everything and leave it for 8 hours. I’m not a particularly patient cook and invariably end up checking dishes constantly when they’re supposed to slow cooking. But as the temperatures are so low, there’s a huge margin of error with slow cookers; so if you leave it for 8 or 10 hours, you’ll be ok.

And I know everyone says this, but it really is so nice to come home to a curry or stew after work. Granted, you probably need to do a little cooking before you leave in the morning, but it’s so worth it. Especially as I would be too scared to leave something in the oven all day.

Below are the recipes I developed, which are admittedly pretty meat heavy. I’m keen to try cooking beans as well. Deb from Smitten Kitchen says ‘I make all of my dried beans in the slow-cooker these days. They are perfect every time, and the flavour of fresh beans – even the sad-looking ones from grocery store bins I used – is incomparable. No pre-soaking, just cover them 2 to 3 inches of water and cook them 3 hours on high. (I have learned that cooking time can vary widely in slow-cookers so allot more time than you might need. I often make mine in the day or days before and let them cool in their cooking water, which is then by then very flavourful.)’ and I’d also like to try cooking a daal too.

What do you cook in your slow cooker?

Chipotle pulled pork

Cook the pork shoulder in the slow cooker all day until it’s literally falling apart, then add a really simple chipotle sauce and eat it with guacamole and salsa.

Chicken and butternut squash stew

I think this might be my favourite recipe, it’s downright delicious. I love chicken thighs, and the butternut squash makes it healthier (and cheaper).

Beef curry

A ridiculously easy curry recipe, but still really tasty. I’ve made this half the beef and used butternut squash instead and I’m keen to try a version with lamb and chickpeas. It also freezes really well, so I would make a vat and stow half in the freezer.

Braised lamb shanks

I’ve not eaten many lamb shanks (the mid-90s surge in popularity passed me by), but these were so good, the meat literally falls off the bone. One lamb shank, especially with mashed potato is one hearty meal – be warned!

Beef brisket with cannellini bean mash

This is a really simple way to eat brisket, but the bean mash (which is really rich and creamy) makes it into something a bit special.

All photos by Toby Scott

Posted in Dinner recipes | 6 Comments »

Pea, bacon and basil tart

August 27th, 2011

pea_tart

A Saturday with nothing planned is pretty special. Today I got to stay in bed, brunch on Dan Lepard’s delicious potato cakes, the boy made me a proper coffee (on our pride and joy) and I read the Saturday papers. This tart was my task for the day. Jammed with fresh peas, basil and a little bacon – it makes a lovely summer lunch; especially with a tomato salad.

A lazy Saturday is perfect for pastry-making. First, make the pastry, then sit down for a bit while it rests. Roll the pastry, sit down and let it (and you) rest some more. Then bake blind, fill with tasty fillings and bake until puffed and golden-brown. Finally, eat, feeling extremely proud of yourself. Scared of making pastry? Don’t be. It’s ok if it shrinks a bit or you get holes, just patch ‘em up! It’s still going to taste so much better than the shop bought stuff. (Need more inspiration? I love this recent post from Joy the Baker.)

Tags: pastry, peas
Posted in Pastry recipes | No Comments »

Summer recipes

August 23rd, 2011

A few of my friends read this blog (hello!) and whenever I see them, I get a telling off for not posting often enough, or recently, posting too many cake recipes. So, sorry everyone, I’m back and I’ve got a few recipes up my sleeve to share with you.

But first, I wanted to share a collection of my favourite summer recipes. It may not always be sunny outside, but vegetables don’t get any better than they are right now and these are my favourite ways to make the most of them.

Sweetcorn pancakes
These are a Breakfast club classic; make them and you’ll see why. They’re particularly good with bacon, avocado and soured cream.

Caponata
A Sicilian vegetable stew, a bit like ratatouille but with a sourness from capers, olives and vinegar. It’s best eaten at room temperature with slices of toasted bread.

Roasted Tomato and Spinach bulghar salad (top picture)
Roasted cherry tomatoes, slow-cooked red onions and lots of fresh herbs. Make loads and eat leftovers for lunch.

Courgette, chickpea and spinach soup
This is a surprisingly light summer soup; lemon juice and loads of herbs make it zingy and fresh.

courgette soup

Spaghetti with tomato and almond pesto
I’m planning on making lots of this with the tomatoes taking over our garden.

Courgette strata
It may sound a bit strange, but this is all kinds of delicious. Eat it for brunch with sausages or for lunch with salad. This is also one of those delightful dishes, that benefits from being made in advance and I have to say, I prefer it when it’s lukewarm.

Elderflower and cucumber gin fizz
Required summer sipping.

Recipes to try
And here are a few recipes on my ‘to try’ list

Posted in Rachel's favourites | 1 Comment »

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