In the Bag - March

Fellow food blogger Julia runs the wonderful and super-successful A Slice of Cherry Pie, on which every month she holds a competition to come up with the best recipe using seasonal ingredients in an appealing and tasty way. Since the ingredients in the bag for March are leeks, cheese and eggs, I thought I would face up to one of my culinary nemeses: the souffle.

Leeks, eggs and cheese are good friends, and I thought about going for a quiche or a pie or perhaps a Spanish omelette, but then I admitted to myself that it's time I got over the Collapsed Souffle Incident of 2005 and begin afresh with the deceptively tricksy egg dish. So here goes...


Blue Cheesy Leek Souffles
Makes 2 individual large ramekins (or 4 small ones)

Ingredients:
1 large leek, finely chopped
25g butter + a bit more for the leeks
25g plain flour
200ml milk
2 eggs
25g blue cheese, crumbled
salt & pepper

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease the ramekins with butter. Separate the eggs, keeping the yolks in reserve and placing the whites into a large mixing bowl.

2. Melt a knob of butter in a frying pan. Saute the leeks for a few minutes until golden and tender.

3. Melt the rest of the butter in a saucepan. Stir in the flour and cook for one minute. Add the milk bit by bit and bring to the boil, stirring until the bechamel sauce is blended. Simmer for two minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and leave to cool slightly.

4. Stir the cheese and leeks into the sauce, then beat in the egg yolks.

5. Whisk the egg whites until stiff. Stir 1 tbsp whisked egg whites into the sauce to lighten it and then slowly fold in the rest.

6. Spoon the eggy mix into the prepared ramekins, place on a baking tray and bake until well risen and golden - about 20 minutes. Serve straight away with a big green well-dressed salad.

And it worked! Not scary at all. What on earth was I so worried about?

Bon appetit!

Top 5 Breakfasts on holiday

Spring is here, which means that summer is just around the corner, right? That got me thinking about my upcoming holiday plans (to Uzbekistan, of all places, but that's another story) and I started reminiscing about the glorious morning repasts I've encountered on my travels.

I'm a fan of the weekend breakfast - we've talked about this before - but there's something about being on holiday, with fewer cares and more time to spare, that makes that first meal of the day even more of a treat. Lingering over the local paper or reading a guide book to learn more about your destination; hanging out with your travelling companion discussing plans for the day ahead; making promises to yourself that you'll start eating healthily again the moment you arrive home - these morning moments are part of what makes travelling so special to me, and why I've come up with my Top 5 Holiday Breakfasts. Dig in!

1. American pancakes with strawberries and maple syrup
Bucks in Woodside, California is a legendary breakfast hangout of Silicon Valley's rich and famous technology entrepreneurs. The Monkey and I went there (twice) in a week-long holiday visiting our good friend Pete, and ate these beautiful fluffy pancakes stacked high and served with fresh strawberries, ladles of maple syrup and a bottomless mug of strong filter coffee.

2. Roti Chanai with super-sweet tea
The Monkey can often be found raiding the fridge in the early hours of a post-takeaway morning, mopping up curry sauce with leftover peshwari naan for breakfast. It's a less than endearing habit, but when in Malaysia, do as the Malaysians do ... Curry breakfasts may be hard to get your head round but once I tasted soft, flaky roti bread dipped in hot spicy curry sauce for the first time, I knew I was in love. Especially when it's washed down with mugs of tea made with super-sweet condensed milk, and all for the eqivalent of about 50p. What a treat.

3. Huevos Rancheros
Back to the Americas for another spicy start to the day. Many of my favourite things combine on one plate here: corn tortillas, fried eggs, tomato, refried beans, fried potatoes, maybe some avocado and of course, lashings of green Tabasco sauce for a bit of extra spicing. Not an everyday (or even an every-week) brekkie, for the arteries' sake but that's what holidays are for...

4. French baguette with Marmite
In theory this is so wrong - such a quintessentially British product spread on France's daily bread - but the proof is in the tasting. Trust me. The creaminess of French unsalted butter, the saltiness of love-it-or-hate-it Marmite, the crunch of the baguette - it's a match made in heaven. Or should I say paradis?

5. An Everything Bagel with butter, marmite and sliced tomato
Not strictly a holiday breakfast, this one, but it's an homage to the wonderful Wholly Bagels, Wellington, where I worked for six months in the cold and windy winter of 2005. Starting work at 6.45 every morning would have been a whole lot tougher without one of these beauties and my daily fix of three espressos to kickstart my customer-service smile.

Now, I wonder what they eat for brekkie in Uzbekistan...

Rhubarb and Ginger Baked Cheesecake

Spring is in the air, can you feel it? The days are getting longer, the daffodils and crocuses are blooming, and pink, gorgeous rhubarb is for sale in all the greengrocers. It's a glorious time of year - a time for regeneration, for looking forward, for long walks in the countryside and leisurely lunches with family and friends.

The Monkey and I had our siblings and mothers over for Sunday lunch yesterday, the first time this year we'd all been together round the kitchen table for chats and giggles. I decided a celebratory treat was in order, so tracked down (and adapted slightly) this gorgeous recipe for a baked rhubarb cheesecake with just a hint of gingery spice. The perfect way to follow up Monkey's chicken and leek pies, and a deliciously decadent Sunday afternoon dessert.


Makes 8 very generous portions

Ingredients
500g rhubarb
1 piece Chinese stem ginger in syrup, finely chopped, plus 2 tbsp syrup from the jar
175g caster sugar
175g pack ginger snaps
50g butter, melted
500g tubs mascarpone cheese
2 tbsp cornflour
3 large eggs

Method
1. Preheat oven to 180C and grease the base of a 22cm springform cake tin
2. Chop the rhubarb into 2cm pieces and place in a saucepan with the stem ginger, syrup, 100g of the caster sugar and 4 tablespoons cold water. Poach for about 10 mins, until the rhubarb is tender. Drain the rhubarb into a bowl, reserving the juices.
3. Coarsely crush the biscuits in a large plastic food bag with a rolling pin. Tip into a bowl, stir in the melted butter and mix well. Tip into the tin and press down firmly with back of a spoon. Put in the fridge to cool while making the filling.
4. Use an electric whisk to beat together the mascarpone, cornflour, eggs and remaining sugar for 1-2 minutes until smooth. Spoon the strained rhubarb into the mascarpone mixture, using a metal spoon to swirl gently so as not to over-mix. Pour into the cake tin and bake for about 45 mins, until golden and firm. Leave to cool completely before removing from the tin.
5. Dust with icing sugar and cut into wedges. Serve drizzled with the reserved rhubarb syrup.

Michelin Star #1 - Restaurant Martin Wishart

Late last year, in honour of my mum's 60th birthday, a cosy family group of seven trouped along to Edinburgh's first Michelin-starred restaurant, Martin Wishart for dinner. French in its style of food and Scottish in its choice of produce, Wisharts manages to be both conservative and daring at once. I can't imagine many restaurants at this level bother to offer a vegetarian tasting menu in parallel with the regular one.

A quiet, almost subdued atmosphere pervades the beige-and-cream room; a respectful hush descends as each new dish from the six-course tasting menu is delivered and explained by the slick but not obsequious waiting staff. Rarely, I think, do they cater to larger groups such as ours - the regular clientele more likely to be doe-eyed couples talking in excited whispers - and so our usually noisy banter must be tempered somewhat on this occasion. But we mind not a jot, as plate after plate of perfectly executed food appears in front of us, negating much need for conversation other than appreciative "mmmm" noises all round.

Vivaldi Potato Veloute with chestnut puree, autumn truffles and cepes
***
Emmental Souffle with soubise spinach
***
Ceviche of Halibut with mango and passion fruit
***
Fillet of John Dory with puree of jerusalem artichokes
***
Truffle Risotto with pan-fried king scallop
***
Selection of cheese from the groaning trolley
***
Chocolate and Praline Mousse

With champagne to start, a few bottles of NZ sauvignon blanc throughout and a special dessert wine to round things off - oh, and a small port with coffee - we were all gently sozzled by the time we rolled out the door some four hours later. Stuffed and happy, we made our bleary way home knowing that we had just sampled some of the finest food in the country. I can't wait to go back some day...

Potato, Roast Garlic and Thyme Soup

Ah, the humble potato. So often overlooked, or treated as a mere side dish in relation to its glitzier meat, fish and veg counterparts. Pure carbs, it gets a bad rep in these low GI times, but isn't it time we put it in the spotlight and treated the lowly tattie with the respect it deserves?

I created this simple soup for a competition called No Croutons Required, held monthly by Tinned Tomatoes and Lisa's Kitchen. The theme for February was simply 'Potatoes', and in this recipe they are allowed to shine...


Potato, roast garlic and thyme soup
Serves 4-6

Ingredients:
Knob of butter and splash of olive oil
Whole head of garlic
1 onion, sliced
4 large potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 pints vegetable stock
Handful fresh thyme, stripped from the stems and chopped
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Method:
1. Cut top off head of garlic. Wrap in foil and roast in oven (200c) for about 45 minutes until soft.
2. Fry onion in olive oil and butter for five minutes until soft. Add potatoes and stir around to coat thoroughly.
3. Add stock, cover pan and simmer for about 15 minutes until potatoes are soft. After ten minutes add the chopped thyme.
4. As potatoes are simmering, take roasted garlic and gently squeeze out the soft pulp from the cloves. Add to the soup pan and stir thoroughly.
5. Blend soup well using a hand blender or liquidizer. Add a knob of butter to make the soup glossy.
6. Serve with a drizzle of olive oil, a sprinkle of chopped thyme and some lovely fresh bread.

Delicious! Fingers crossed for the competition...

Raspberry & White Chocolate Muffins

I made these for my friend Pete's 30th birthday the other day, and took them in a neatly packed bag to the pub where a crowd was gathered to celebrate. Very appreciative he was too - for a few minutes - but once the others got wind of the contents of the bag they were promptly devoured in about five minutes flat. I hope Pete managed to keep at least one for himself! Who can blame the others, though: these are quite probably one of the best things I've ever baked. (Well, it just so happened that a couple of the muffins broke as I was removing them from the tin, and it would have been a shame to waste them...)


Makes 12-14 large muffins for very appreciative friends

Ingredients:
450g plain flour
3 tsp baking powder
225g golden caster sugar (preferably Fair Trade)
1 large egg
1.5 tsp vanilla extraxt
330ml milk
75g butter, melted
about 150g raspberries (frozen ones will keep their shape better)
about 150g white chocolate, chopped into chunks

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 200 C/ gas mark 6
2. Sift flour and baking powder into large mixing bowl. Stir in the sugar.
3. Crack the egg into a separate bowl, and whisk in the milk, vanilla and melted butter.
4. Stir the liquid into the flour mixture, mix well.
5. Carefully fold in the raspberries and chocolate, stirring as little as possible to avoid damaging the berries.
6. Spoon mixture into muffin tray (using muffin cases if you like) and bake for 30 minutes until firm and golden. Allow to cool slightly then remove from tin and indulge.

Best eaten warm - not that they'll last long once friends find out about them.

Hot and Sour Noodle Soup

Sometimes, when you're feeling under the weather - stressed, over-worked, hungover or just plain old tired - you need food that actively makes you feel healed with every mouthful. Something fresh, zesty and spicy enough to make your tongue burn just a little.

I found myself in such a position last night - a big weekend full of friends, gigs, pizzas, work and late nights had left me feeling a little jaded and it was only Monday. A whole week still to get through. Drastic food action was needed, and so this delicious bowl of health was called into play. It was mainly made up as I went along, using all the flavours and ingredients I craved - whatever I had in the house. It did the job: the warmth of the chilli defugged my brain, at least temporarily, and the fresh umami of the broth seemed to undo all the bad work of the pizza and chips from the weekend. That's what I'm telling myself anyway...

Try this next time you're feeling in need of a restorative lift.


Hot and Sour Noodle Soup with Tofu
Serves 2

Ingredients

For the broth:
1 litre vegetable stock
2 tbsp soy sauce (more to taste)
1 tsp chilli flakes
Juice of 1 lime
Dash fish sauce
Dash sweet chilli sauce
Dash sesame oil
Sprinkling dried ginger

For the stir-fry bit:
Mix of sunflower and sesame oil
1 sliced onion
3 cloves garlic, crushed
A good mix of sliced veg - carrots, peppers, courgettes, mushrooms, baby corn - whatever you fancy really
1 pack marinated tofu chunks (the kind that doesn't need additional cooking)

Garnish:
3 spring onions, trimmed and sliced
4 tsp lightly toasted sesame seeds
1 block of dried noodles per person

Method:
1. Place all ingredients for the broth in a large saucepan, cover and simmer gently for about 20 minutes, until the flavours are good and mingled.
2. When the broth is almost ready, heat the oil in a wok and fry the onion and garlic for a couple of minutes until soft. Add the vegetables and tofu; stir-fry for about 5 minutes until cooked but it still has bite.
3. Meanwhile, boil the noodles as per packed instructions. Place each serving in individual bowls. Place stir-fried veg on top, followed by generous ladles of the hot and spicy broth. Garnish with a sprinkle of spring onions and sesame seeds and serve immediately.

Notes:
1. This could work equally well with stir-fried chicken or even pork instead of tofu.
2. If saving leftovers to trasnsport to work next day, store all components separately and construct and reheat at the last minute to avoid soggy noodles.