A Red Cabbage and Tarragon Slaw with Artichokes + Croutons

I can remember being in junior school and making coleslaw in a home economics lesson. I can't recall anything else we ever made. I used to love creamy coleslaw as a child; I remember buying tubs of it by weight at the supermarket deli counter and vinaigrette coleslaw too. They were the two options back in then. Whatever happened to the tangy vinaigrette variety? I've not seen it in years. 

I still love a good slaw, though when making it myself I like to go a step or two further than the traditional, white cabbage, onion and carrot combo. This version came about purely by an impulse purchase of a red cabbage and what I had in the fridge that needed to be put to good use. 

I like using red cabbage in the colder months for a slaw and adding some herbs for freshness and  interest: in this instance I used some tarragon for its warm aniseed flavour. The quantities given below will produce a bounty of slaw to keep you going through the week, with enough spare to give a few tubs away to your nearest and dearest. If you want a smaller amount just half or adjust the recipe to suit.

Red Cabbage and Tarragon Slaw with Artichokes + Croutons

½ red cabbage

1 red onion

200g brussel sprouts

4 medium carrots

30g fresh tarragon

50g pumpkin seeds

100g creme fraiche

5 tbsps good quality mayonnaise

2 tsp nigella seeds

juice of ½ a lemon

1½ tbsp cyder vinegar

285g jar of artichoke hearts in oil

1 ciabatta loaf

olive oil

dried basil

Preheat the oven to 200℃ / 180℃ fan ready for baking the croutons.

Thinly slice the cabbage, onion and sprouts and grate the carrots on the coarse side of a grater. Add the shredded vegetables to a large mixing bowl. Finely chop the tarragon adding all but a small handful to the bowl. Next add the pumpkin seeds and give it a quick mix.

Now add the creme fraiche, mayonnaise, nigella seeds, lemon juice and vinegar. Give it all a good stir and taste for seasoning adding salt and black pepper to your taste. Set to one side. 

To make the croutons slice the ciabatta loaf into cubes that are approx 1" square. Place these in a single layer on a baking tray and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle over your reserved tarragon and a shake or two of dried basil. Toss the cubes of bread to ensure all sides are coated in the oil and herb mixture. Place in the oven and bake for approx 10 mins, shaking them gently half way through the cooking to ensure they are golden on all sides.  Remove from the oven and set to one side.

While the croutons are baking fry the artichokes in a small frying pan using a little of the oil from the jar. Once they are golden and slightly crispy remove them onto some kitchen paper.

Serve the slaw topped with the artichokes and croutons. Enjoy.

The Start of Something Savoury: Yellow Beetroot + Feta Tart

I am going to start featuring savoury recipes on the blog. If you read this blog, you could be forgiven for thinking that I only bake cakes and that I bake them often. I probably do bake cakes more often than the average person, but they are, in most instances, for other people or to share with other people at a gatherings.

The food I most often cook is savoury everyday family food. We're a family of pescetarians who like to eat with the seasons. Today I am sharing this recipe for Yellow Beetroot and Feta Tart. This recipe came about as I had three yellow beetroot on borrowed time and a pack of feta cheese in the fridge. We've been eating it cold with salad for lunch this week, but it can also be served warm for supper maybe with a baked potato and some wilted chard on the side.

Yellow Beetroot + Feta Tart

1 pack of ready rolled shortcrust pastry

3 Beetroot (yellow or regular), peeled and coarsely grated

1 tbsp olive oil

1 red onion, finely sliced

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

fresh thyme

1 tbsp soft brown sugar

140g feta cheese

2 eggs, beaten

150ml creme fraiche

nigella seeds (optional)

dried purple basil (optional)

Preheat the oven to 180℃ (160℃ Fan). Line a regular flan dish with the pastry, leaving any excess pastry hanging over the rim. Line with baking parchment and fill be baking beans (or other baking weights) and bake blind for 10 mins. Remove the paper and pop it back into the oven for a further 5 mins, or until the pastry is pale and slightly golden. Trim the over hanging pastry and place to one side to cool while you get on with preparing the filling.

Heat the oil in a frying pan and cook the onion over a low-medium heat until soft. Add the beetroot, vinegar, sugar and a splash of water to loosen. Next throw in some thyme leaves picked from several sprigs. Cook, stirring occasionally for 5 - 8 mins, until everything is soft and there is no liquid in the pan.

Cool the filling slightly, then spread over the base of the tart. Next crumble over the feta cheese. Whisk the eggs together with the creme fraiche and season with a little black pepper. Pour this over the feta and spread to cover the surface.

Cook in the oven for approx 30mins, or until set and golden. Leave to cool slightly before scattering with extra thyme sprigs, nigella seeds and dried purple basil.

An Autumnal recipe for Tesco Home: Crumble {and Custard}

I love a change of season with its shift in seasonal produce dictating change in the kitchen. Mother nature has pretty much timed it to perfection. Just as the appeal of fresh crisp salads and strawberries & cream start to fade away along with warm summer evenings, along come the soups, casseroles, apples and blackberries to take us into the cosy season. It's the back-to-school and throw-a-sweater-on season, and one of my favourite times of the year.

Today, I am sharing my first autumn recipe of the year: Plum, Fig and Blackberry Crumble served with a White Chocolate and Cardamom Custard. It's a recipe that Tesco Home asked me to develop for their new autumn / winter 2014 kitchenware collection which launched this month. My favourite pieces, all of which I used in creating this recipe, include the nostalgically shaped porcelain milk bottles, the contemporary grey dipped crockery, baking dishes in a range of muted colours and a generous oak chopping board which is already earning its keep in my kitchen by doubling up as platter for serving food. These purse-friendly considered designs are as useful as they are good-looking - perfect for the home cook with an eye-for-design.

Credits: grey dipped sauce jug, £4; white porcelain bottle, £5; large ribbed mixing bowl, £8; large oak chopping board, £18; grey medium baker dish, £9; grey dipped cereal bowl, £4. All available now from Tesco Home.

For the recipe, please scroll down.

Crumble recipe, styling & photography: Buttercup Days

Custard recipe: Cooking Fror Real Life by Joanna Weinberg

#tescohome

@tescoliving

Plum, Fig & Blackberry Crumble with White Chocolate & Cardamom Custard.

The quantities given below for the crumble topping will make far more than you will need. Just place the leftover crumble topping in a freezer bag and pop into the freezer. You can add direct from the freezer to any fruit base you have to hand for an almost instant crumble. I have given rough quantities for the fruit base. It isn't an exact science, but you want enough to half fill your dish. I prefer not to add sugar to my fruit base as I think the sugar in the crumble topping and the sweet custard add enough sweetness. However should you wish to stir in a tbsp or two of caster sugar to your fruit, I will not judge you.

Ingredients for the crumble topping:

250g butter, diced

310g plain flour

350g soft brown sugar

85g oats

pinch of salt

2 tsp mixed spice

125g of nuts, roughly chopped if large (I used a mix of pistachio, pecan and almond)

Ingredients for the fruit base:

6 plums

2 figs

a punnet of blackberries

1 - 2 tbsps of apple or orange juice

Ingredients for the custard:

150ml whole milk
150ml whipping or double cream

50g white chocolate, grated

5 cardamom pods, shells removed, seeds pounded

2 medium egg yolks (free range please)

50g caster sugar

Preheat the oven to 200℃ / Gas 6.

To make the crumble, lightly rub together the butter and flour until the mixture resembles coarse, slightly chunky breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar, oats, salt, spice and nuts. Put to one side, while you prepare the fruit.

Stone your plums and cut into quarters or sixths if they are large. Cut the figs into similar sized segments. Add to your baking dish along with the blackberries. You want your fruit to fill roughly half the capacity of the dish. Add a plum or fig more if you need to increase your volume of fruit. Drizzle 1 - 2 tbsps of juice over your fruit. 

Top your fruit with the crumble, bagging up the left over crumble for the freezer. Bake the crumble for about 20mins, until the top is golden and the fruit is bubbling at the edges.

To make the custard, place the milk, cream, grated chocolate and cardamom in a pan and heat gently, stirring occasionally, so that the chocolate doesn't stick or burn, until the milk steams and tiny bubbles prickle at the side of the pan. Remove from the heat and cool a little.

Mix the egg yolks with the sugar in a bowl, and slowly stir in the milk and chocolate mixture. Rinse out and dry the milk pan and return the mixture to it. Cook over a medium-low heat, stirring, until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon, being careful not to let it curdle. Serve immediately with the crumble. Enjoy.

An Autumn Weekend

It looks like autumn is well and truly here. Only the weekend before the one just gone we were sitting on a sunny beach; just over a week on and it's coats, scarves and a craving for porridge in the mornings. I love autumn; crisp days, the scent of bonfires in the air, a new wave of seasonal foods from soups and stews to proper puddings with custard, winter clothes (so much more forgiving to wear), log fires, Sunday roasts and the excitement that Christmas is not so far away.

This weekend we firmly marked autumn's arrival by 'putting the central heating on'. It's a big thing in our house, flicking that switch. House rules state that the central heating can be turned on no earlier than October 1st and must be off by April 1st. Modern climate change has yet to be taken into account with this rule. This is David's rule, of course not mine. Growing up, my dad had a similar one; must be some kind of 'man' thing about not wanting to 'give in too early' to the heating.

The first thing David said to me in my slumber on Friday wasn't 'good morning my love, did you sleep soundly / can I get you a cuppa?', no it was 'the central heating has come on!' His voice had an element of panic to it. If the house gets cold enough, below a certain temperature, the central heating will automatically click on. Good old central heating. I stuck my leg out from under the duvet and touched the radiator with my toes; it was only tepid, but on all the same which made me smile. I love central heating you see. I was in for further delight when I took my morning shower. The towel on the radiator was warm and toasty. Simple stuff but it made me happy. So without too much reluctance it was officially turned on at the weekend. Toasty days are ahead.
 

On Sunday we went with the kids for walk in Hove Park. It looked really stunning in all its autumn glory. I've attached some of the pictures I took to this post. Don't you think the trees look beautiful? All in all our first proper autumn weekend.