Malted Walnut Bread

This is my favourite bread to serve with cheese or soup. I make it with both blitzed walnuts to
give it a real bitter/sweet nuttiness and chopped walnuts for a good crunch. Slightly sweet with the addition of malt extract but it truly enhances this lovely bread.

Recipe.

500g of strong wholemeal bread flour. I used Duchy Estate (I sure the Prince of Wales will be pleased)
a 7g sachet of dried fast acting yeast
1 heaped tbsp malt extract
100g of walnuts blitzed to a rough 'flour'
50g walnuts roughly chopped
1 heaped tsp salt
1 tbsp rapeseed oil (or olive oil)
350ml warm water

either make in your mixer with a dough hook or by hand

Warm the  your mixing bowl, add the flour, salt, yeast, and oil, quickly mix together
Add the malt extract to the warm water to dissolve it and pour most of it into the flour mix.
Mix to a sticky pliable dough adding a little more water if needed.
Either knead in your mixer for around 7 mins or by hand for approx 12.
Now add the blitzed walnuts and mix in well, then the chopped walnuts.
adding the nuts any earlier will produce a greasy bitter finish to your bread.
cover the bowl with greased cling film and leave in a warm place to prove for around an hour or until doubled in size.
Return to your work top and knock the dough back
Roll and shape into a long baguette.
place on a floured oven tray, cover with greased cling and leave to rise for approx 30-40mins.
Once well risen slash a few slits through it with a very sharp blade.
Sprinkle over with a little more flour
Bake in a preheated oven 200c/400f/gas 6 for 10 mins
Turn down the oven to 190c/ 375f /gas 5 for around another 20 minutes or until when the base loaf sounds hollow when tapped.
Leave to cool
Freezes well for around a month or store in an airtight container for 3/4 days maximum.

Spinach Roulade filled with Mascarpone Cheese & Sun Blush tomatoes

This is such a lovely recipe. I like to make 2 or 3 spinach roulades at a time and keep the spares in the freezer. The filling is Italian inspired but I often fill them with  smoked salmon & Philly blitzed together with a little lemon juice and dill. Just replace the parmesan with cheddar in the recipe if doing so.
This makes a perfect starter served warm or cold  or a delightful canapé if sliced thinly.   

400g spinach washed & drained

5 large eggs,

200g tub Mascarpone                                                                                                                                                                                                               

3 tbsp self-raising flour

3oz grated parmesan or peccarino 

a good grating of nutmeg

 12 sunblush or sundred tomatoes chopped  

4 cornichons or 1 larger gherkin finely chopped

1 tbsp capers rinsed and chopped

1 tbsp finely sliced basil leaves                                                                

extra finely grated parmesan for finishing

seasoning                                                                                                           

1. Heat oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5 and line a Swiss roll tin (23 x 32cm) with parchment paper. Sprinkle over a little grated parmesan.
2. Cook the spinach in a little olive oil in a hot pan until starting to wilt,  place in a colander and refresh under the cold tap. Squeeze out as much of the water as you can by placing into a clean tea towel and squeezing. Now put it into a food processor and add the egg yolks, the grated parmesan, the nutmeg plenty of seasoning and the flour. Blitz together until well mixed.
3. In a large bowl  whisk the egg whites until stiff but not dry, then fold into the spinach mixture. Spread in the tin and bake for 12-15 minutes until firm to the touch. 
4. Place a sheet of baking paper on your work top and sprinkle it with a little parmesan.
5. Turn out the roulade by placing it on the prepared parchment and carefully remove the paper while it is still hot. Now place the paper back onto the roulade and roll up.
6. in a bowl mix together the mascarpone, capers, cornichon, tomatoes & basil, season well. 
7. Now you can either immediately spread with the mascarpone mixture if you want to serve the roulade warm or leave it to cool completely if served cold. 
8. you can roll up in 2 ways. If you want to serve this as a starter roll up from the short width making thicker pieces, if using as a canapé roll up carefully starting with the long width hence making smaller pieces when cut.  Which ever way you choose use the parchment paper as your guide and roll quite tightly and firmly 
9. you can freeze the roulade at stage 4 ready for filling when defrosted.
10. Plate & sprinkle over with some parmesan, decorate with some basil leaves & sweet baby tomatoes. 

Duck a l'orange

Roast Duck is a lovely alternative to the Traditional Turkey Christmas lunch especially if there's only 3 or 4 of you at the table. It's a wonderful dinner party dish too using duck breasts instead of the whole bird.

I love to serve this with potatoes roasted in duck or goose fat to make them so crispy and tasty. The usual sprouts, carrots, parsnips & peas would be a fantastic selection of  side dishes to accompany the duckling.  

 To serve 4

a large Gressingham Duckling approx 4-5lbs 

The juice of 4 large oranges. for the sauce

2 oranges chopped into quarters to fill the cavity

2  oranges segmented. Keep the zest and cut into small slivers

2/3 cup soft brown sugar

1 1/2 cups good chicken or better still duck stock

2 tbsp of cornflour dissolved in 2 tbsp water

4 tbsp of Grand Marnier or Brandy

seasoning to taste

 

Turn on the oven and heat to 240c/ 475f/gas 9
Place the 2 quartered oranges into the cavity of the duck
Prick the duck all over with a fork, place on a trivet and roast for approx half an hour
Turn the oven down to 150c/300f/ Gas 2.and roast on for around an hour. The skin should be golden & crispy.
Test by making a small insert between the breast & leg. The juices should be clear.
If you have a thermometer insert it into the cavity it should have reached 170f

While to duck is roasting, place the orange juice,  zest and sugar in a pan and reduce by half over a medium heat
Add the hot stock to reduced orange and simmer for 10 minutes to reduce.
Thicken with the cornflour & water.
Remove duck from roasting pan
Discard the fat from pan. and take out the quartered oranges from the cavity
Leave it to rest for 15 minutes,  .
Add the brandy/Grand Marnier to the roasting tray scraping up all the bits from the bottom
Reduce slightly, pour in the orange & stock and simmer gently for around 10 minutes adding the segmented oranges right at the end to heat through.
Place on a large platter, spoon over the gravy and segmented oranges and decorate with a little greenery such as watercress or parsley sprigs.

 

Pecan & Strawberry Roulade

I make lots of roulades with different ingredients both sweet or savoury. I find them invaluable as a standby from the freezer. I usually double this recipe so there's always another one for a later date.
There's no fat in the 'sponge' at all except the small amount in the eggs and nuts which is great for dieters, you could always substitute the cream for thick Greek Yoghurt or Ricotta to make it even lighter. You could also vary the contents, for instance use walnuts or almonds in place of the Pecans, raspberries, instead of the strawberries. It's wonderful with Maple Syrup whipped cream or how about coconut with mango & passion fruit. The combinations are endless.

I hope you enjoy trying it !!!

 

The Ingredients

4oz/115gm /½ cup caster (superfine) sugar, plus extra for dusting
4oz toasted pecans blitzed finely reserving a few for decorating
4  large eggs
1 heaped tablespoon plain/ all purpose flour
few drops of Vanilla extract
around 1 pint of double cream
a little Framboise liqueur of something similar (optional)
1 dessertspoon of icing (confectioners) sugar
a punnet of strawberries. Sliced reserving a few for decoration

you will need a 8"x10" Swiss roll or shallow baking tin, greased and lined with parchment paper.

method.

Heat the oven to 200c/400f/gas 6

Separate the eggs.
Put the yolks in one large bowl and the whites into another
Add the caster sugar to the yolks, and a few drops of vanilla and whisk well until pale, thick and creamy
Sift in the flour and the ground pecans and lightly fold through
Whip the egg whites until starting to stiffen but not dry.
Gently fold into them into the contents of the other bowl.
Empty onto the baking tray and carefully spread to batter out evenly.
Bake in the centre of the oven for around 10mins when the 'cake' should be golden and springy to the touch.
While the roulade is baking lay a large piece of baking parchment on your work surface
Sprinkle liberally with more caster sugar
As soon as the roulade is baked flip the tin over onto this paper and very carefully remove the backing parchment.
Replace it again straight on top and carefully roll up the roulade while it is still warm
Leave it to cool completely rolled up.
You can freeze it as this stage for a later date.

Whip the cream with a little icing sugar and the Framboise if using until it holds it's shape
Unravel the roulade and spread with cream,  leaving the bottom piece of paper to help you roll it up.
Place the strawberries to one long edge and gently roll up.
Put on a plate and decorate with the spare pecans and strawberries.
Sprinkle over a little icing sugar and serve