Near Instant Lentil and Franks Soup | Book of Elsa

Lemonade | Sort of | Book of Elsa

This recipe originated from the great Nigella Lawson, as always I've fiddled and here it is.

If you're lucky enough to have an almost grand-father in law with a garden full of mint, this is for you.

large bunch of mint 

100g caster sugar

1 lemon

2 easy peelers <or any other citrus>

625ml ≅water

In a small saucepan, put 125ml of water with the sugar, mint and and zest from the fruit. I use a potato peeler to keep the zest in large pieces. 

Place on high heat, once it's boiling turn then heat down to the lowest it can go and simmer for 5 minutes, take off the heat and let cool completely.

In the meantime, juice the fruit to give about 100ml then make up to 500ml with water.

Once the syrup is cool, strain both the diluted juice and syrup into a jug. Serve over ice.

It occurs to me that a glug or two of rum/vodka wouldn't be a bad thing.... 

  

Fish Tacos | Book of Elsa

Look, I'm not going to pretend I am mexican <or even that I have been to mexico> but these taste delish. Just what you want in a warm soft tortilla, spiky sauce and crunchy salad.

If you happen to be flush with cash, replace the fish with raw prawns and proceed as per.

Don't be daunted by the list of ingredients: it really is a chop <get him to do it> and assemble job.

Lemon Cake | Book of Elsa

• Ingredients:
• Finely grated zest of 3 large lemons mixed with 3 tablespoons lemon juice 
• 350g Plain Flour
• 1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 225g Unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 400g Caster Sugar
• 3 Large Eggs
• 200ml Buttermilk or Whole Milk with a table juice of lemon juice added

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180℃. 

Grease and flour your choice of baking tin. Or line a tin with parchment paper.

In a stand mixer using a paddle attachment whisk the butter until fluffy. 

Add the sugar and mix until it resembles soft ice cream.

Add all other ingredients except the zest and juice mixture and mix into a smooth batter.

Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the zest mixture and mix for another few seconds.

Pour batter into a prepared tin and bake for 1 hour to 1 hour and half. 

Cake is done when a skewer comes out clean.

place on a wire rack to cool completely.

https://youtu.be/PxVLWt3fF4M

Barbecued Chicken & Aubergine Salad | Book of Elsa

This chicken taste best if left to marinade overnight but at least 30 minutes is just fine. 

aubergine salad

don't mind the throw away bbq

smells so good

marinaded chicken ready to go!

Sweet Saffron Bread with Cranberries | Book of Elsa

Sweet Saffron Bread with Cranberries

Happy New Year 2019 | Pandoro Cake | Book of Elsa

This started life as a Galette des Rois that flopped quite literally because I cannot make very thick custard (no matter the recipe I always end up with a puddle of loose yellow cream). I wanted to try again making the puddle work for me so to speak. So here is a part cake, part trifle but wholly delicious dessert.

A Christmas Grinch | Book of Elsa

The forced cheerfulness, the crowds, the inevitable rain and anxiety about ones’ whole family gathering in one place can bring me out in hives if I’m perfectly honest. But I do love food and this year I’ve decided NOT to be a Grinch and it’s about time I try to embrace the Christmas spirit or just settle for finding it.
Right, so as I type it’s the 11th December and the shopping for presents is done, tick. The (real) tree is lit up, decorated and smelling lovely, tick. Oversized red stockings are on order and Amazon assures me they’re coming, tick. So far so good. However, the Christmas cheer isn’t spreading through me so much as I’m going through the motions… So last Sunday I went shopping in Manchester city centre. I wish I hadn’t, I thought the high street was dying, that no one shopped in stores anymore, that the consumer had moved online! Who were all these people?! Breathing became a challenge in one retailer such were the swarms, there was no stopping to enjoy beautiful lights; it was all elbows and rush, rush, rush. My friends and I managed a couple of hours before giving up and going home.
Which leads me nicely to this recipe: more tinkering per se rather than cooking. Please feel free to use shop bought puff or even shortcrust pastry if you’re not inclined to bring out the heavy machinery. Making mince pies is as close as I get to the spirit of the holidays and that is quite alright.

Tiramisu | Book of Elsa

Five ingredients make a light as air coffee dessert by the name of Tiramisu. Beware though: it has to be made the day before you need it but I find that useful. Also it helps the texture of the finished dish if all the ingredients are at room temprature before you begin. 

Meatballs in Spiced Tomato Sauce | Book of Elsa

There's a terrible misconception about curries: they need to be hot; or even very spicy. This is not the case, a curry can be gentle and spiced without blowing mouths. Here we have just the thing for a week night meal served with plain rice and maybe some naan. 
Also the recipe below specifies a lot wich is the whole point: Leftovers taste even better. You can thank me later.

Meatballs:
500g mince beef
100g breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 onion minced
3 garlic cloves minced
pepper to taste

For the Sauce:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground tumeric
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 can coconut milk
1 teaspoon of sugar

Method:
Mix all the meatball ingredients and form into golf sized balls < I get around 16 > put in the fridge to rest whilst you get on with the sauce.

In a wide pan with a lid heat the oil over low heat and add the chopped onion and salt. 
Soften for about 10 minutes then add the ground cumin, coriander and turmeric. 
Fry the spices for a couple of minutes then add the tomatoes, coconut milk and sugar bring the heat to medium and the sauce to the boil and drop in the meatballs.
Once the sauce is simmering, lower the heat and partly cover. 
Cook for 20 minutes, check the sauce for seasoning and serve.

Fish Cakes | Book of Elsa

Like most people, I work very long hours and there is no way I get home after a 12 hour day and begin peeling anything except my clothes. But, we still need to eat and eat well at that, so here is what I do: At the weekend preferably a saturday afternoon after all other chores I've been ignoring are done I prepare part of meals that can either keep in the fridge or freezer.

1. Such as couscous salad that can be eaten cold or at room temperature.
2.  Fish cakes that are frozen ready to fry/oven bake at a moments notice.

If all else fails it is ok to put some pasta on to boil <again> and open a jar of pesto; 

Life is way too short to worry about it, just take off your coat, eat, relax and move on sister.

Book of Elsa 

About 1kg of potatoes mashed with some butter and a little milk. 

Pizza | Book of Elsa

Okay so the premise is this: I cannot make bread.

Long ago I accepted that combining flour, water, yeast and salt just wasnt meant to be. I have wasted kilos of flour trying to make bread and everytime it has fallen flat <literally> until today!

The recipe below is WORKS. Just try it and you will not be disappointed.

Obviously any toppings you like will do, I used:

Pesto, cooked sausage, cheese and sweetcorn

Apple Turnover | Book of Elsa

<Large> Apple and Blackberry Turnover

The large is in brackets because I was lazy and couldn't be bothered to make a couple more reasonable sized ones which would be the normal thing to do here. 

Place a baking sheet in the oven and preheat at 200℃

Peel and roughly chop a couple of eating apples, I used cox but I mean please use whatever variety you want.

Add a few blackberries

Some lemon zest

2 Tablespoons of caster sugar

2 Tablespoon of ground almonds

1 Teaspoon of cornflour

Whisk a golden egg 

Roll out puff pastry into a rough circle

Pile the dry mixture on the left side of pastry; this amount is too much I took off about half, bagged it and am freezing it for next time. 

Brush the edges with the beaten egg

 Bring the right edge to the left making a half moon. 

Crimp edges with a fork 😼

Brush the top with more beaten egg, refrigerated for 30mins

Bake for 25mins.

Eat with lashes of cream or custard.