Blackberry Jam Crumble Tart

You might have to be quick to catch the last of the blackberries this year, but there are still some around. I think they came early this year, but while it is still 18 degrees outside I kind of forgot it was meant to be autumn...

I've been climbing around in bushes in the Ouseburn to gather what I can. I've made a little stock of jam, which is delicious with some toast in Cook House of a morning, but I also discovered a blackberry jam tart with a crumble topping...

It came about by accident as I needed something sweet for the menu at Cook House but had run out of eggs, cakes without eggs wasn't filling me with ideas or inspiration. A simple jam tart seemed the answer, then came the thought of crumble... it's so good... Unfortunately it uses a whole jar of jam each time I make one, so I'll have to get back out and find some more blackberries...

For the jam I started with a small batch, so you can scale up if you have more. These amounts made one large jar of jam. Take 300g of blackberries and wash them thoroughly, I came across some of the biggest spiders I've ever seen picking these guys... Put them in a pan with 20ml of water, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and a piece of lemon rind and simmer very gently for 15 minutes until the fruit is really soft. Then add 300g of caster sugar, dissolve it slowly, then turn up the heat and boil for about 10 minutes, until it reaches 105°C. Turn off the heat and let it sit for 10 minutes, then fill sterilised jars and label.

For the tart I made a small batch of shortcrust pastry, 125g of plain flour, 55g of cold butter cubed, blitzed in the food processor to a fine crumb, then drizzle in a tiny amount of very cold water until it comes together. It often turns out better if you make double this amount however, then you get two tarts for your money, or you can freeze or refridgerate the other half...

Roll the pastry out and line a shallow tart tin, then spread a thin layer of the jam over the base of the pastry. To make the crumble topping melt 60g of butter in a pan, then add 5 tablespoons of oats, 4 tablespoons of caster sugar, 5 tablespoons of self raising flour and 2 tablespoons of ground almonds. Mix with a fork until you get a crumbly mix then sprinkle over the top of the jam.

 

Finally bake the lovely tart at 200°C for 15-20 minutes. It is a delicious autumnal jam tart that has me constantly making more jam so I can eat it again at the moment...

Pear Frangipane at Rochelle Canteen

So I found myself in London a couple of months ago walking over the Thames to work. What began as a slightly farfetched idea for a spot of kitchen experience had become reality and here I was about to start a week’s work at Rochelle Canteen, a lovely little place just off Arnold Circus, E2. It’s a canteen, open for breakfast and lunch, based in the old bike shed of a former Victorian school, now home to Shoreditch creative types. They also cater for events large and small, with an often high end client list, and are owned and run by Margot Henderson, whose husband Fergus is responsible for St John group and her business partner Melanie Arnold. The pair have been part of the London culinary scene for 20 years and more, initially starting out above The French House in Soho, one of my favourite spots for a glass of wine...

I arrived to some confusion, but once everyone realised who everyone was, I was given uniform and set to work. Washing nettles being the first task, but a good one to begin with as I could settle down and survey my surroundings. A simple, open, bright white shed space that is half kitchen, half dining room, with a lean to open air kitchen prep area out the back. They have their own little garden of raised beds growing salad and herbs and with the sun shining, the breeze blowing through and plants growing around you it was a lovely place to work. I was pretty happy standing there washing the nettles and smiled to myself that I was actually doing this.

Standing in Rochelle Canteen kitchen surrounded by their team of chefs it was easy to feel that I knew very little at all. I was there to learn though, how they did everything, even simple tasks like making mayonnaise or dressings. Everyone has their own method and I wanted to see how other people work. How they organised themselves (very well), how long they kept things, when they ordered stuff, how they reused leftovers, recipes, ideas, presentation; I wanted to know everything. So I set to it... Cut, chop, prep, observe, clean, watch, learn...

Anna Tobias is the head chef at Rochelle Canteen, she runs a tight little ship there, confidently and efficiently sending out tasty, interesting dishes everyday as well as catering for events. While I was there, there was a day long feeding of some fashion folk - which had an afternoon tea, picnic feel, all prawn cocktail, quails eggs, sausage rolls, poached chicken and cucumber sandwiches - and an elegant birthday party for thirty.

My first day’s work over, we all sat down for staff lunch, which included leftover rabbit faggots, (so good) mash, salad, lemony roast chicken, followed by some leftover blood orange sorbet and golden syrup biscotti. Well you don’t get much better than that in my books. I was (nervously) having a wonderful time.

The following days brought scone making, mango chutney to go with ham or kedgeree, pickled prunes, a ham and parsley terrine, a delicious deep onion, thyme and Lancashire cheese quiche and sausage rolls. I learnt new things with all of my jobs; techniques, recipes and new ideas.

One day a delicious looking roast chicken with crème fraiche and tarragon stuffed under its skin, roast to golden wonderfulness, a rib of amazing pink beef with horseradish and beetroot salad the next. They have a friendly, interesting and enthusiastic team, who were always chatting away about how they did things, no steadfast rules and always keen to hear each other’s ideas. They had collectively worked in some pretty prestigious kitchens around London from The River Cafe to Quo Vadis and St John.

Each day I left and found an interesting spot to write about my day. My memory is definitely not the best so it was important to note it all down before it slipped away. We were usually done by about 4.30pm and it was lovely to sit in the sun with a glass of wine or a coffee. I frequented all the Shoreditch spots, Allpress Coffee one day, Albion Cafe another and the Ace Hotel the next. I was the only one without a macbook in the Ace Hotel, I wrote with a pen in a book and people looked at me; but on my way out of the super cool lobby looking over their shoulders I realised they were all just on Facebook anyway...

The kitchen turned out some delicious food over the week, a rich black cuttlefish stew, a lovely chicken salad with lovage, capers and soft leeks; witch sole with a tartar sauce that is better than any tartar sauce I’ve ever had... full of tarragon, capers, chopped eggs, rich homemade mayo; and this lovely pear frangipane tart which I’ve had a go at myself...

Make your own pastry to start, it is very simple and so much tastier... In a food processor blitz 175g of plain flour with 115g of cold butter cut into cubes until you get a fine breadcrumb, then add 50g of icing sugar, 2 egg yolks and a pinch of salt and blend until it comes together in a ball, it’ll only be a few seconds, be careful not to overwork it. Then form it into a ball, wrap in cling film and put it in the fridge to rest. This might be more pastry than you need for one tart, but it will keep for a week in the fridge and also freezes well.

Peel two pears, something firm like a conference pear, and add them to a pan with 100g of caster sugar and 750ml water and simmer for about 20 minutes until soft. Leave them to cool in the syrup. Keep this and use it in cocktails! Delicious...

For the tart itself heat your oven to 220°C. Roll out your pastry, and gently line your tart tin, pressing the pastry into the edges. Leave it to rest in the fridge for half an hour, then line with baking paper and blind bake for 20 minutes, remove the beans (I use dried chickpeas) and leave to cool.

Using a food processor cream 250g of softened butter with 250g of caster sugar until light and fluffy, then add 250g of ground almonds, I like to grind these myself so you can keep some a bit chunkier, keep a handful back if you’re doing this to add texture. Then add 5 eggs one at a time, incorporating each one before you add the next so you don’t curdle, then add 50g of plain flour and mix thoroughly, adding in the courser almonds at the end. Fill the pastry case with the frangipane mixture. Then core the pears and cut into quarters, arranging them evenly over the mixture, so every slice gets a bit... Bake for 40 minutes at 180°C until golden and firm to touch.

I have tried a few different versions of this, some are very cake like and light, others use more of a dense almond paste, this recipe was the most consistent for me, but I’m still experimenting. It is delicious and almondy with sweet pears and buttery pastry, serve with crème fraiche...

Apple and Cardamom Tart and a Pop-up Feast

I'm really excited to be starting a new project, a pop-up feast, that will hopefully become a regular feature. It will be at Ouse Street Arts Club, a new artist led venue that I have been working on as part of my day job with xsite architecture, our very own venue to host all kinds of events...

The Ouse Street Arts Club (click for a link) is two converted ISO shipping containers situated in the lower Ouseburn Valley, on Ouse Street, immediately behind Hotel du Vin. We have been working hard for months, could be years, to get them ready and they are finally nearly there, painted, lined out, electricity, doors, windows, water... It's taken a long time but has come together in a perfect little space that I love going to, hopefully you will too!

My first pop-up will be a Joe Beef inspired bonfire night speakeasy type affair on Saturday November 3^rd. Think smorgesbords full of Grazer made salami, pickled herrings, beer cheese, pickles, toasts, gin cured salmon; followed by pulled pork, apple chips, secret beans and a scattering of pudding pots. For more details or to book a place please email annahedworth@hotmail.com subject 'The Grazer's Joe Beef inspired bonfire pop up'.

Over in allotment land, my apple tree is laden with apples, more than ever before, I'm going to be using them as much as possible at my pop up feast for apple chips and pickles, but these were the first two fellas to be ready this year. What better way to use them than an apple tart, buttery pastry, sugar, apples, what's not to love... This is an Elizabeth David recipe for a basic apple tart that I have adapted into this spiced cardamom version, that adds perfume and spice to a traditional tart recipe.

I made my own pastry, buy it if you want, I often do, but this shortcrust is pretty simple and delicious. Mix 225g of plain flour with 120g of soft butter until it is like fine breadcrumbs, then add a beaten egg, a pinch of salt and a splash of water, about a tablespoon and bring it all together into a ball, knead it a little then leave to rest while you deal with the filling.

Finely crush the seeds of 3 cardamom pods and mix with 100g of caster sugar. Peel 2 large cooking apples, keeping the peel, and slice into thin segments. Then roll out the pastry and line a tart tin about 30cm wide. Arrange the apples in neat concentric circles and sprinkle over the cardamom sugar evenly. Then bake it in the oven at 160°C for 30 minutes.

Finally I made a glaze that you brush over the finished tart, melt 2-3 tablespoons of caster sugar in a small pan with all the left over apple peel and a piece of lemon rind, until you get a sugary syrup. Use a brush to paint it over the top of the tart when it is ready and cooled.

The home made pastry is rich and buttery and warm, soft sweet apples in thick sugary syrup perfumed with deep cardamom spice. I can't think of anything better for pudding on a cold autumnal day, just add a dollop of cream...

Asparagus, Pesto and Mozzarella Tart

I don't know why my guests found it so funny that my dining room window sill was full of chitting potatoes the other night. I haven’t planted them for so long that they have just become part of the furniture to me... There was much laughter, they seemed to think that when you come for supper at mine you don't know if this kind of thing is decoration, a project or a starter!

Gaga is a vegetarian so I made a delicious asparagus tart, she loves asparagus, and the others just like a good laugh at my expense, I should have fed them the shrivelled potatoes and sent them on their way! I've had quite a few recipe requests since I tweeted a photo of the tart, so I thought I best share it. It really is very simple and delicious, perfect when you need something quick...

You can make your own rough puff pastry, which is much simpler that making actual puff pastry, but for this I cheated and bought a ready made roll. After being at work all day there was a very short window of time to prepare food before people arrived, so menu planning had to be very strategic.

Unroll the pastry into a baking tray and spread about 5 heaped teaspoons of pesto over the whole sheet so there is an even layer, I used this home-made Wild Garlic Pesto which was delicious. Leave a 2/3 centimetre gap round the edge to allow the pastry to puff up. Then line up spears of uncooked asparagus all the way along (remember to snap the ends off) you will probably need about 20 spears.

Tear up a ball of mozzarella and scatter over the top. I added a little grating of Parmesan too, for saltiness, a little drizzle of olive oil and some black pepper. Then bake in the oven, at 180°C for about 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown round the edge.

Lovely buttery pastry with asparagus, melted cheese and aromatic pesto, I'll definitely make it again. I served it with this cold Roasted Ratatouille, a simple green salad and some fresh bread. When the guests had calmed down from the hilarity of the potatoes we all had a lovely and delicious evening...

Tax Free Pasties

Shortcrust Spiced Lamb and Pine nut Pasties and Filo Roast Sweet Potato, Garlic and Feta Pasties

This weekend saw a spot of topical cooking, I made mini pasties, although my 'freshly baked goods' didn’t come with an extra 20% VAT and were perhaps a little bit better for you than a trip to Greggs... I did heat them for the customer, so should have charged extra according to Mr. Osborne... But served them in various states of cooling, so perhaps not according to Greggs chief exec, Mr. Ken McMeiKan. It's a complicated business these days all to do with ambient temperatures. So in winter a warm pasty would be chargeable but last week in our little heat wave when its boiling outside it wouldn’t be...

Thankfully The Blonde and her fella, Boozer and the other characters didn’t have to stump up any cash and everyone tucked in to piles of steaming pasties... There was a modest supply of flat breads to accompany the little hot pasties, along with smoky aubergine dip, toasted cumin hummus, spicy tomato sauce, tzatziki to start... Followed by slow cooked Moroccan lamb, couscous, apricot jam and garlic green beans... and perhaps too much wine...

The limited supply of flat breads was due to a little fire incident as I tried to speedily make my own. I had pre rolled them and left them between layers of grease proof paper, thinking I was being super organised... It turned out that they didn’t really want to come off the grease proof paper and as I faffed around peeling paper and getting stressed I managed to stick some of the said greaseproof paper under the hob that was in use! Thankfully the back door was already open so as the flames leapt up I had to throw the whole lot out of the back door... So we were a few flat breads short on starting, but everyone still had a fine time... It all added to the excitement.

There were two types of pasty, Spiced Lamb and Pine nut in shortcrust pastry and Roast Sweet Potato, Garlic and Feta in filo pastry. The sweet potato ones were so simple. Peel and chop into inch sized chunks 2 sweet potatoes, add to a roasting tin with salt and olive oil and put them in the oven at 200°C, roast for 30 minutes, adding 5 or 6 cloves of garlic still in their skins after 15 minutes. When they are done take them out of the oven to cool, squeeze the garlic out of their skins and mush everything with a fork. Test for seasoning and add some salt and pepper if needed, then crumble in about half a pack of feta cheese. I also added a few cheeky bits of manchego.

I used filo pastry, brushed with melted butter and folded them into little triangles, I made about 20 of them in total, they were voted the favourites by the visitors. But at that point they had survived a kitchen fire and had quite a bit of wine so who knows...

The lamb pasties were a little bit more effort but by no means complicated... Chop an onion and cook in olive oil with a little salt until soft and golden, add ½ teaspoon of allspice, ½ teaspoon of cinnamon and 1 teaspoon of sumac. I brought my sumac back from a holiday in Turkey, you can get hold of it here, but it would also be fine to leave it out if you can't find any. Cook the onion and spices for a few minutes. Add 300g of lamb mince and cook until it is browned all over, then stir in 1 tablespoon of tomato purée, add 2 chopped vine tomatoes and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated. Mine dried out more than I expected in the oven so don’t cook it away entirely. Finally season and add a handful of toasted pine nuts and a handful of chopped mint, and leave to cool to room temperature.

I then used shortcrust pasty cut into circles and folded over into little crescents with a teaspoon of lamb mixture inside, sealed with a fork and brushed with egg wash. I baked both types of pasties at 200°C for 20 minutes, keep checking them though as they may brown at different rates depending on your oven and you don't want burnt pasties! The spiced lamb ones were lovely with the spicy tomato sauce, and the sweet potato even more delicious with buttery crisp pastry, mellow garlic, sweet potato and tangy melted cheese...

I'm thinking about trying out ones with roast apple and black pudding next perhaps or creamy chicken, capers and bacon...

Berry and Mascarpone Lemon Pastry Tartlets

I like Valentine's Day... I know it is tacky and naff, but I like a little romance, over planned, over hyped, over commercialised or not... I also just like an excuse to plan a menu, a menu that includes cute little berry tarts. Little tartlets of love! Ha!

I suppose I like certain elements of Valentine's Day... I liked the little chocolate hearts scattered over the table when I had guests at mine for supper last night, they looked really pretty... I like the section in Fenwick's with towers of tiny heart shaped boxes of truffles and bumper boxes of Love-Hearts, what's not to love about a sickly sweet candy with a naff message of love printed on it? I didn't like trying to choose a card for TLI surrounded by men in suits looking uncomfortable, nervous and a bit clammy. I don't like Valentine's cards I've realised, they are all naff, every single one... I watched the uncomfortable men pick up tiny heart shaped plates with 'love' written on them, they looked confused, was this what they were meant to be doing? I left the uncomfortable men to it, it was making me squirm...

These little tarts are very easy once you have made the sweet lemon pastry and that isn’t very difficult either... I found the recipe in one of the Ottolenghi books. This will make 18 little tartlets, the pastry will keep in the fridge for a week, or in the freezer for a month. Get a big bowl and add 330g of plain flour, 100g of icing sugar, the zest of half a lemon and quarter of a teaspoon of salt. Add 180g of cold unsalted butter cut into tiny cubes and rub it into the flour, mix it with your hands until it is a bread crumb like consistency. Add an egg yolk and 2 tablespoons of cold water and mix until you have a firm dough. Take the dough out of the bowl and knead it on the counter lightly for a few seconds, then wrap it in cling film and chill it until you need it.

Take your tart tins, or I used a muffin tin, and brush them with a thin layer of melted butter, then put them in the fridge to set. Sprinkle some flour on your work surface and roll out the pastry to about 3mm thick, cut out circles using a cutter or a mug and line your tins with pastry. Pop in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Pre heat the oven to 150°C and add some cling film or grease proof paper and baking beans to the middle of each tartlet. I use dried chickpeas as my baking beans, it stops the pastry from rising up when you bake it, make sure you put the cling film or grease proof paper in or the beans will stick in your pastry. Then put them in the oven to bake for 25 minutes until they are golden brown.

Remove the baking beans and paper and leave the tartlet cases to cool. When they are cool fill them with fresh mascarpone, topped with lots of berries and some chopped mint. Serve the little 'tartlets of love' straight away. The buttery lemony pastry is delicious with creamy mascarpone and sharp sweet berries.

I should have told the confused men in Fenwick's just to make some of these instead of puzzling over strange miniature crockery and bad cards...

Onion and Gruyere Tart

My stall at Autumn Graze was full of tarts... I don't mean my sister and the Blonde... more onion, gruyere, chorizo, spinach, apple and lemon ones... I sold every single slice thankfully and they were pretty delicious, especially the lemon, and the onion and gruyere, oh and the chorizo and red pepper... I even had emails from people saying how much they had loved them, and about them bringing back childhood memories... this is high praise indeed so I thought I would share the recipe...

The savoury ones are all based on an Elizabeth David recipe for Tarte a l'Oignon. It is a pretty simple recipe, delicious with just onion and gruyere, but you can add anything really. Some left over cooked ham went into this one, or try some fried up bacon, wilted buttery spinach, sliced chorizo, chopped herbs or roasted red peppers...

Grease a tart tin and roll out your shortcrust pastry to about a centimetre thick, you can make it yourself or buy it, I bought it this time I admit... But it is pretty easy to make. Then line the tin with the pastry, pressing it into the corners with your knuckles and trimming it to a neat edge around the top, it does shrink a little so leave a slight overhang.

Next thinly slice 4 or 5 onions and melt a tablespoon of butter in a large pan, then add the onions and a pinch of salt. Cook them slowly on a low heat with a lid on for half an hour. Stir them every now and them, they will become very soft and translucent and buttery... and smell amazing... When they are ready stir in 2 beaten eggs, 100g of grated gruyere and a pinch of salt and pepper.

Finally fill your pastry lined tart tin with the onion mixture and bake in the oven at 170°C for half an hour, until it is golden and beautiful! It is delicious hot or cold, better than any quiche type thing I've ever bought in a shop and is pretty simple, especially if you buy the pastry... It is quite simply a treat... A delicious cheesy, buttery onion treat...

Sausage rolls with sage and apricots

The beach between Embleton and Newton was windy and cold but beautiful this weekend, especially with all my close friends... I went on a hen do, but not an awful one, a lovely one in a pretty little Hall, in the wilds of Northumberland near Newton by the Sea. We went for long walks by the sea, a tour of Bamburgh Castle and pub lunches. There was also dancing round the hall in bad bridesmaid dresses till the early hours of the morning, lots of wine, lovely food and general all round hilarity.

I had planned a picnic for lunch at the exact time that a cold wind started, a bit of rain and black menacing clouds rolled in. So we had to improvise by picnicking indoors... Everyone had made different delicious things, my contribution were these sausage rolls...

Finely chop a small red onion and start to cook it gently in a bit of olive oil and a pinch of salt until it is really soft. Finely dice a handful of dried apricots and add these to the onion and cook for a few more minutes.

While these are cooking finely chop six or so sage leaves and the leaves of a few sprigs of thyme. All these amounts are pretty rough as you are just adding as little or as much flavour to the sausage meat as you choose. Add the herbs, onion and apricots to about 450g of sausage meat with some salt and pepper and mix it all together with your hands.

Roll out some puff pastry, I used one sheet of the shop bought frozen stuff as time was of the essence... I had a drive North to get on with. Cut the sheet into two long strips and put sausage meat all down the centre of each. Finally roll the pastry over the sausage and squidge the edges down with a fork. Cut into whatever size you would like them to be.

I brushed the top of each of them with a beaten egg and put them in the oven for 25 minutes at 200 degrees Celsius. Keep checking them as you would be devastated if they burnt...