Cream of Mushroom Soup

We stumbled across this recipe trying to find something to do with excess mushrooms. We both love mushroom soup, but this recipe is a special treat. It is so easy to make and incredibly tasty. It is a beautiful pale colour;  the lemon gives it an extra zip and the parmesan thickens it up a bit. Original version from Simon Hopkinson for Spring, but we tried it in autumn and will be eating it throughout Summer in Australia. If you want to be really naughty (like Simon H) you can add 4 tbsp of double cream before you scatter on the parmesan...but we generally prefer it without the extra cream.

We have also used Porcini mushrooms (soaked on milk and drained then chopped) mixed with closed cup mushrooms; the porcini overwhelms the dish, but if you like a strong mushroom flavour try this alternative. 

Foodstuff you will need: 

175g mushrooms (peeled and sliced) - cultivated closed or open cup mushrooms work best

medium onion (peeled and chopped)

125ml milk

125ml pouring cream

salt and pepper

generous helping of grated nutmeg

25g butter

300ml vegetable or chicken stock

lemon juice to taste (1/2 lemon)

generous helping of grated fresh parmesan

Equipment:

2 medium sized saucepans with lids

Chopping board and knife

Measuring jug

Liquidiser/blender

Ladle

How to throw it together

Place mushrooms, milk and cream and seasonings in a pan and bring to a simmer. Cook very gently with lid on for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile soften the onion in the butter until pale/golden. Then pour in the stock. Simmer for 5 minutes.

Combine the 2 pan-fuls and liquidize until very very smooth

Sharpen with lemon juice and check seasoning.

Reheat without boiling and ladle into individual soup bowls.

Scatter with parmesan and serve immediately.

Great with warm bread or toast.

Ricotta cakes and tomato salsa

We discovered these cakes from Jamie’s Italy last year and have tried all sort of variations with them but prefer the original recipe. These are great after a long morning in the garden or a long cycle ride, with a 2-4 hour siesta out of the sun to look forward to...:) We have also had them for brunch; delicious especially when the tomatoes and basil come straight out of our garden

Foodstuff you will need: 

450g crumbly ricotta cheese (from Deli- not packet stuff)

350g parmesan cheese grated finely (reserve some for serving)

10g flour

Salt and Pepper

1 egg

4-6 large ripe tomatoes

2 sprigs of fresh basil

extra virgin olive oil

red wine vinegar

nutmeg (grated)

Equipment:

Large mixing bowl

Non stick frying pan

Fish slice

Fork/Spoon for mixing and placing in pan

Chopping board and knife

Bowl for mixing tomatoes in

How to throw it together

Mix the ricotta with the parmesan, flour, salt and the egg.  Stir well.

Season with pepper and place in fridge.

Halve the tomatoes. Remove and discard the centre and all the seeds.

Chop the flesh into small chunks and drain off any excess liquid. Place in bowl.

Chop the stalks of the basil finely and tear the leaves up roughly then add to the tomatoes.

Season with salt and pepper, olive oil and add a small glug of red wine vinegar. Mix well.

Put oil into a frying pan over a medium heat. Remove mixture from fridge and add to pan in small spoonfuls.  The pieces should not be touching. 

Fry the ricotta cakes for a couple of minutes on each side until golden brown. Carefully turn them over using the fish slice.

Serve at once onto warm plates.

Sprinkle salt and grated nutmeg over the top. 

Arrange a spoonful of tomatoes on the side. 

Drizzle on extra olive oil and parmesan. Eat and enjoy!

Lemon Tart

This is my all time favourite lemon dessert. It comes from Galton Blackiston, a Norfolk chef with a fantastic hotel/restaurant.  Do not be put off by the number of eggs involved. It is worth it. Just cut down on your egg intake for the rest of the week. The photo below is how it should look when finished. Not quite managed this look yet but worth trying again and again...until we can produce a master chef like version...

Foodstuff you will need: 

For the sweet pastry (makes double the quantity you need)

310g plain flour

150g caster sugar

salt

175g unsalted butter

3 egg yolks

few drops of vanilla essence

3 tablespoons of water

Lemon Filling

2 egg yolks beaten for sealing pastry case

7 eggs

275g caster sugar

zest of 2 lemons

juice of 4 lemons

22ml double cream

Equipment:

25cm fluted flan tin (with removable base)

Sieve

Large bowl

Oven

Small bowl

Whisk for beating or wooden spoon

Flat surface big enough for rolling pastry on

Cling film

Baking beans/Rice

Baking paper/Greaseproof paper

Pastry brush

Jug

Baking tray

How to throw it together

Sweet Pastry

Sift together the flour sugar and salt into a large bowl

Add the butter in small cubes and using your fingertips, combine to produce a fine breadcrumb like mixture.

Beat the eggs yolks together and add the vanilla essence

Drizzle this into the flour mixture, followed by the water and gently bring it all together to produce a soft dough.

Turn out onto a lightly floured surface.

Divide pastry into 2 and wrap individually in cling film (glad wrap for Aussies!)

Place in fridge for at least 1 hour or freeze and use later.

You need one of the portions for the lemon tart but can save the rest for another day.

Preheat the oven to 180C

Take pastry out of the fridge and bring to room temperature.

Line the tin with the pastry.

This can be quite tricky but as a picture paints a thousand words, try this..

Once the pastry is in the tin, cover with baking paper over the top and put in baking beans or rice.

Place in preheated oven and bake blind until the pastry starts to brown around the edges

Remove from the oven, carefully lift out the baking paper and beans/rice and return to the oven.

One the base starts to colour, remove from the oven and brush the pastry all over with the beaten egg yolks to seal any cracks.

Return to the oven and bake until the yolk mixture is cooked. Repeat this process twice more to ensure that the pastry case is absolutely sealed. Remove from the oven and set aside.

Turn down oven to 140C

Filling

Gently whisk the eggs and sugar in a large bowl without creating too many bubbles or forth.

Add the lemon juice and the double cream and pass the liquid through a sieve into a jug.

Skim off any froth and finally stir in the lemon zest

Place the warm pastry base onto a baking tray and put it into the oven

Pour the lemon mixture into the pastry case there as it is hard to avoid spilling it if you move it after it has been poured.

Cook for about 50 minutes until just set although it should still wobble in the middle.

Remove from the oven and cool. Only cut to eat when cool.

Do not store in the fridge.  Store in dark cool place in airtight container.

The best courgette recipe: Flora’s courgette cake

Sarah made 15 of these cakes over the course of the Italian summer as we had a glut of courgettes in the garden.  My mum liked the cake so much she copied the recipe from us and made it for some of her friends who are also now trying it.  It originates from Nigella Lawson: “How to be a Domestic Goddess” – recipe referred to us by Eric Culley (Nigella gives credit to Flora Woods for devising this exceptional cake) 

After so much tasting and trying to get the filling to set, we often ended up with a runny messy cake (see photos) but the taste ....mmmmm! We adore this recipe.  We prefer it without the icing and making the lime filling ourselves; my mum prefers it with icing and uses M&S lemon curd sharpened with fresh lime juice for filling. 

It is a versatile excellent cake with a cup of tea or coffee after a long cycle ride. I served it to my parents for dessert and we have also had it for breakfast with an expresso.

Foodstuff you will need: 

Cake

60g raisins

250g of courgette (weighed before grating)

2 large eggs

125ml veg oil

150g caster sugar

225g self raising flour

½ teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda

½ teaspoon baking powder

Lime filling

75g unsalted butter

3 large eggs

75g caster sugar

125ml lime juice (approx 4 limes)

zest of 1 lime

Icing

200g cream cheese

100g icing sugar

juice of 1 lime (more to taste)

2-3 tablespoons of pistachio nuts

Equipment:

2x21cm sandwich tins (greased and lined with baking paper)

2 large mixing bowls

Wooden spoon (or electric beater)

Spatulla

1x350ml jar

Grater

Rack for hot tins

Sieve x 2

Kitchen towel

Oven

How to throw it together

Cake

Preheat oven to 180C

Put raisins in a bowl and cover them with water to plump them up

Wipe courgettes with a kitchen towel.

Grate the outer part of the courgette(s) using the course side of the grater (not the fine side otherwise will turn to mush) You can throw away the softer centres.

Place grated courgette in sieve over the sink to drain any excess liquid.

Put eggs, oil, sugarin a bowl and beat them until creamy

Sieve in the flour, bicarb and baking powder and continue to beat until combined.

Drain the raisins. Stir in the grated courgette and raisins

Pour the mixture into the tins and bake for 30 minutes until slightly brown and firm to touch

Leave in their tins on a rack for 5-10 minutes , then turn out and let cool on the rack until the filing and icing are ready.

Lime filling

Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan, add all the other ingredients and whisk to a custard over a gentle heat. Care: Do not put in more lime juice than stated in the recipe! The filling will not set.

Let it cool in the fridge before filling the cake with it.

Cream Cheese Icing

Beat the cream cheese in a bowl until smooth, add the sieved icing sugar, beating well to combine then stir in the lime juice to taste.

 

Constructing the cake

Put one half of the sponge cake on a plate and spread on the lime filling.

Put on the top of the cake and spread on the icing (as thick as possible)

Place the pistachios on top.

You can keep this in the fridge to firm up the icing/filling but we preferred the cake kept in a cool place in an airtight container.