Beetroot and Blue Cheese Tart

There's a lot of noise about beetroot at the moment, with suggestions that it has significant health benefits. That apart, although some can't abide it, beetroot can be excellent in a cake mix or salad or - as here - for the star ingredient in a vegetarian dish.

Of course it's noble to buy raw beets and boil them for half an hour or more, but I rarely do this as they are easily available ready-cooked and vacuum packed. If they're served in a salad or otherwise not cooked further, maybe the 'in vinegar' version is good, but I prefer plain.

by Annie Mole
via flickr.com

This recipe serves four, and once the pastry is thawed, should take no more than an hour from start to serving. It's fine at room temperature, but best straight from the oven.

As well as the ingredients listed, a lightly-greased flan dish with diameter around 22cm is needed. A floured board and rolling pin are required if you go along with making the pastry a little thinner than it comes. The oven needs to be at 190C (or 175C for fan type).

Beetroot and Blue Cheese Tart

Ingredients

1 sheet ready-rolled puff pastry (Jus-Roll now do a 'lighter' version)

1 tbsp oil

1 large onion (about 200g), peeled and coarsely chopped

1 vacuum-pack of ready-cooked beetroot (500g), drained

1 heaped tbsp soft brown sugar

2 tbsp chopped fresh herbs (rosemary, basil, thyme)

90g blue cheese, crumbled

Method

1  Unless you like the pastry thick, roll it out more thinly on the floured board. Lift and

    place it carefully over the flan dish and, without stretching, ease the sides down so 
    that it sits fully in the angle between base and side. Run a sharp knife around the top 
    of the dish to remove surplus pastry. (This can be used for jam tarts, pasty, tartlet etc.)
    Keep the dish in the fridge while preparing the filling.

2  Heat the oil in a medium pan and fry the onion gently for 8 mins, stirring occasionally.

3  Cut each beetroot into 8 pieces and pat dry with kitchen paper. Add to the pan with
    the sugar and herbs. Fry for a further 6 mins, occasionally stirring gently.

4  Using a slotted spoon (to avoid making the pastry soggy), lift the beetroot mixture out
    of the pan and spread evenly over the pastry base. Sprinkle the cheese over it.

5  Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 20 mins or so, until the cheese is bubbling
    and the pastry is browned.

Serving Suggestions 
Boiled and buttered baby or new potatoes, baked potato, stir-fried mange touts, broccoli. (A red or orange vegetable might clash, and we can't be doing with that.) Another idea is button mushrooms sauteed in butter then mixed with a little double cream and dill seeds.

Thanks for looking at this post, anyway. And if you felt like following and don't already, then that would be most excellent!

Chocolate Vodka - What's Not To Like?

Well it is suitable for vegetarians ... providing the chocolate is.

This drink is rich in taste and calories, but on the plus side a little goes a long way, it's easily and quickly made, and it really is delicious in a Bailey's sort of way.

This quantity would make about six or so shots - about 300ml. The quantities can be altered if a taste suggests it's needed.

Chocolate Vodka

Ingredients
180ml double cream
50g plain chocolate, broken up
90ml vodka

Method
1  Place the cream and chocolate in a small pan on a low heat.
2  Stir gently until the chocolate has melted into the cream, but don't allow to boil.
3  Stir in the vodka.
4  Leave to cool completely and pour into a sealed bottle.

Instead of the plain chocolate, a Mars bar could be sliced and melted into the cream. In this case, the mousse-type layer might not fully melt so the drink may need to be bottled by pouring through a sieve placed over a funnel. Nice though - a hint of caramel. I've tried it.

Haven't tried any additional flavours, but wondering if a splash of orange essence might be good.

Also thinking this would be good in a small, strong black coffee. Or over ice cream for adults, poured into lovely creamed rice, or over peeled and sliced clementines. Etc.

The Two-Pound Diet Rule at Christmas!

For anyone keeping an eye on the scales all year, here's a reminder of ten ways to help ensure that you don't put on more than two pounds over the holiday. This is a very manageable amount for sorting out later, and it's a bit of a mantra of mine.

At Parties

 1  Don't stand close to the food table. Looking at the food stimulates the appetite, and
          watching others helping themselves encourages you to do the same. 'Foodology'.

 2  Alternate alcoholic drinks with soft, a favourite being sparkling mineral water with a dash
          of fruit juice. Or a clear fruit juice such as cranberry.

 3  Don't fill a wine glass more than two-thirds, and don't top up until the glass is empty.

 4  Put a limit on canapes based on puff pastry. Usually great, but very calorific and don't
           fill you up.

by D.L.
via flickr.com

The Great Christmas Lunch (vegetarian type)

 5  Nut roasts are back in favour, as their fat is apparently 'good fat', but it's filling so a
          small helping goes a long way.

 6  Rather than a cream-based sauce, consider onion gravy - fry finely chopped onion in
          just a little olive oil for a few minutes, add a little soft brown sugar and continue to
          cook for another few minutes to caramelise, then add stock (e.g. from Marigold
          low-salt bouillon powder) and a shake of soy sauce and simmer 10 minutes. Mix
          a dessertspoon of cornflour with a little water to a paste, add to pan, and continue
          to heat gently, while stirring, until the gravy thickens.

 7  Instead of pure cream for desserts like pavlova, creme fraiche mixed with thick plain
          yoghurt does well. Same goes for serving with Christmas pudding instead of
          brandy butter.

 8  As a rough guide, 3 chocs from the Quality Street/Roses tin contain 100-130 cals.
          Rather than take one, then another, and so on, take your three favourites straight
          away and eat them slowly. Or four.

 9  If your group takes liqueurs after the lunch, a brandy - or other clear spirit with diet
          mixer - is lighter than one of those gorgeous cream liqueurs. Sadly.

10 Best to avoid the 'Could I manage one more potato?', no matter how others might
          encourage it. A good mantra is, 'Could I manage without it?'.

Of course this isn't meant to be kill-joy - there's plenty of joy around for most of us at Christmas. But so many people weigh themselves after the holiday and feel despondent about the extra weight. Aiming to stick to a max of two pounds extra avoids this without being too much of a wet blanket. It also means that it won't take much effort to lose it afterwards.

Happy Christmas, everyone!

Christmas Celebration Pasties

There are lots of ideas around this year for a 'festive' lunch for vegetarians, and I've tried plenty of them. Still, this is my own recipe for my favourite, and I'll be making it - or versions of it - throughout the year.

The recipe makes 2 pasties, but of course it can be adapted for any number. Ready-prepared but uncooked, they can be frozen without brushing with milk. I've not tried freezing the cooked version, as they just get eaten straight away.

I usually use ready-rolled puff pastry, and after the pasty circles have been cut out, the trimmings could be gathered together and rolled out more thinly than before to make, for example, mince pies or jam tarts. Or spread thinly with Marmite, rolled up, thinly sliced then baked to make Marmite pinwheels. The pastry can be worked on the non-stick paper in which it is already rolled. For the chestnuts, a vacuum-packed type such as Merchant Gourmet, or a tin of whole chestnuts, is a short cut, but if raw, slash the skins and boil in water for 20 minutes or so before removing shell and fuzzy skin.

Preparation takes about half an hour, and baking 20 minutes, so should be about an hour from start to serving.

For neat, uniform pasties it's good to use a pasty maker like this:

In December 2011 Lidl were selling sets of 3 in different sizes. This is the largest; I have the smallest size as well, and it makes lovely two-bite-sized pasties. Helpful - but not vital - are a pastry brush and, for decoration, a suitable biscuit cutter such as Christmas tree, holly leaf or star. Lining the baking sheet with baking parchment ensures the pasties won't stick, otherwise it should be greased.

Christmas Celebration Pasties
Ingredients
1 sheet ready-rolled puff pastry, thawed
1 tbsp vegetable or olive oil
1 medium onion, peeled & finely chopped
Half a small stick of celery, finely chopped (optional)
2 medium mushrooms, trimmed & coarsely chopped
5 cooked chestnuts, coarsely chopped
2 tsp cranberry sauce (optional)
Scant half tsp ground black pepper
3 tsp double cream or soya cream
Half an eggcupful of milk

Oven should be heated to 180C, shelf above the middle.

Method
1  Unroll the pastry and keep flat on the wrapping from around it. Using the underside
       edge of the pasty maker, cut out 2 circles, otherwise use an upturned saucer about
      15cm diameter and cut around it. Leave in the fridge while preparing the filling.
2  Heat the oil in a small pan, then add the onion and celery and fry gently for 5 mins,
       stirring occasionally.  
3  Add the mushrooms and fry for a further 5 mins, again stirring occasionally. Place in
       a small bowl.
4  Add the chestnuts, cranberry sauce and pepper to the bowl, mix well and leave to cool
       for a few mins. Stir in the cream.
5  Place one pastry circle on the opened pasty maker. Brush round the edges with water  
       or milk so that they'll stick together. Spoon half the mixture onto the centre - here's
       how they'll look:

    Then firmly close up the pasty maker. Ease it 
    open and place onto the lined (otherwise 
    greased) baking sheet. Prepare the second 
    pasty in the same way.






6  Pierce the tops of the pasties several times with a knife to allow steam to escape, then
       brush them thinly with milk. Cut out any decorations you want from the pastry
       trimmings, press on the top of the pasties and brush them with milk.
7  Bake for about 20 mins until golden and very puffed up. 

Here are mine, still in their baking tin, with one of the mince pies made with the trimmings and baked with them.

If you make these, I hope you'll love them as much as we do. There are endless variations of course, and if making for adults then a tablespoon of brandy in the filling would be good. Other versions are cheese/onion/potato (verging on the Cornish), or mixed veg such as peas, sweetcorn, chopped broccoli or French beans. Happy baking!

Definitive Two-Bean Chilli - cheap, cheerful and very tasty!

Many of us make this dish, I know, but here is my basic and favourite version.

I've costed it this time, too, working from Tesco's website today - Asda is similar. Assuming there is already a little veg or olive oil and brown sugar in the cupboard (could use white sugar but not so rich), if all other ingredients were bought especially then the following would be left over for use later: most of a bulb of garlic, some chillies, half a can of red kidney beans, a little passata, and plenty of hot chilli powder and ground cumin. Sounds like nearly everything for the next chilli ....

£3.61p! Would be quite a bit less per portion if the quantities were increased, because of 'free leftovers'. For example, around £4.60 for 4 servings and maybe £5.70 for 6. Always was good at maths at school. (Swot)

This recipe serves 2 quite heartily, and should take about 40 minutes from start to serving. It also freezes well.

Two-Bean Chilli

Ingredients
1 tsp vegetable or olive oil
1 large clove of garlic, peeled & finely chopped     (30p for whole bulb)
1 medium onion, peeled & chopped fairly finely     (10p)
1 large fresh red chilli finely snipped or chopped (including seeds)  (60p for pack)
2 tsp ground cumin                                              (57p for jar)
1.5 tsp hot chilli powder                                        (95p for jar)
2 tsp soft dark brown sugar
Half a 400g can value red kidney beans                  (20p for whole can)
1 400g can black-eyed beans                                 (59p)
350g passata (sieved cooked tomatoes)                 (30p for 500g carton)

Method
1  Heat the oil in a medium pan. Add the garlic, onion and fresh chilli and fry gently for
          8-10mins, stirring from time to time.
2  Stir in the cumin and chilli powder and fry for a further 3-4mins, again stirring 
          occasionally.
3  Add the sugar, beans and passata and mix well. Simmer gently for 15-20 minutes,
          adding a little more of the passata if the mixture is getting too thick.

Serve with ...
Tortilla chips (value, of course), or rice - or a soft bread roll that you can use to mop up the sauce at the end. I'd add a full-bodied red wine or lager, or - if it's an alcohol-free day - a carton of red grape juice.

Styles of Cooking & Food Presentation - a Quiz

It's all very well when a restaurant menu states that a dish is served, say, a la bonne femme. But if they don't give an explanation and you're not sure, then your choice is to ignore it, risk it, or ask the staff.

Here's a multiple-choice quiz with ten food prep/presentation descriptions. Answers at the end, should there be any you don't know! And the pictures aren't necessarily clues. The terms are, of course, often applied to meat dishes, but are relevant to vegetables or meat substitutes. 'Nicoise' didn't make it, as it includes anchovies or sometimes tuna.

by Richard North via Flickr.com

 1  Since it's already mentioned, a la bonne femme:
       (a) produced by a female chef
       (b) rustic food served simply
       (c) with asparagus.

 2  Lyonnaise
       (a) prepared or garnished with onions
       (b) with a clear sauce of white wine and parsley
       (c) with a dark sauce containing chervil. 

 3  En Papillote
       (a) snipped to resemble a butterfly
       (b) sealed in foil or parchment and oven-cooked
       (c) encased in breadcrumbs and shallow fried.

by Sebastian Mary
via Flickr.com

4  a la Grecque
       (a) garnished with feta cheese then grilled
       (b) with olives and sundried tomatoes
       (c) vegetables cooked with herbs, olive oil, lemon juice.

5  Chasseur (or cacciatore) 
       (a) cooked in a casserole with capers
       (b) sealed in puff pastry and decorated with relevant pastry shapes
       (c) in a sauce of mushrooms, onions and white wine.

 6 Al Forno
       (a) baked or roasted in an oven
       (b) containing minced meat or meat substitute
       (c) in a rich cheese sauce topped with breadcrumbs.

7  Chevaler (or chevalier)
       (a) with each main ingredient served separately
       (b) served on toast

by Paul Esson
via Flickr.com

       (c) ingredients arranged in an overlapping pattern.    

 8  Meuniere (French: farmer's wife)       
       (a) with a sauce of shallots, tarragon and red wine

       (b) ingredients floured then fried in butter

       (c) deep fried in oil and served with a lemon sauce.

 9  Brunoise
       (a) diced and braised in butter
       (b) with a sauce made from browned/burnt flour, stock and garlic
       (c) in a thick sauce, served in a savoury pancake.

10 Provencale
       (a) a rich stew with crusty bread to mop up juices
       (b) with olive oil, tomatoes and garlic
       (c) a clear sauce, strong on rosemary, thyme and chervil.

Here are the answers:
1 (b)     2 (a)     3 (b)     4 (c)     5 (c)     6 (a)     7 (c)     8 (b)     9 (a)     10 (b)   

If you feel like it, do let me know how you got on by commenting below.

PS  Antonin Careme, in the early 1900s, declared that there are five basic sauces, and that all sauces are based on one of them. They are: Hollandaise - oil/fat and egg yolks, veloute - a thick, blond sauce of flour, stock and butter, bechamel - white sauce of flour, butter and milk, Espagnole - stock with herbs and tomatoes, and vinaigrette usually oil and vinegar. By the way, sorry no accents used with the French vocab - can't get them. Au revoir!

Chestnuts, Roasting or Otherwise - Ten Quick Facts

Wonderful sweet chestnuts are just about to come into season - usually October. They are on offer raw, cooked, candied, vacu-packed or pureed, and are really versatile. The food magazines will no doubt be giving us plenty of ways of using them in the run-up to, er, Christmas.

Here are some facts about them - good for a mention, perhaps, as everyone sits around the festive table looking forward to their nut roast wellington. Or even my lemon-stuffed cashew nut roast en croute somewhere in the history of this blog. Or whatever.

by Pauline Mak
via Flickr.com

 1  There is evidence of the cultivation of chestnuts since about 2,000 BC.

 2  Before potatoes arrived, and where wheat flour was not available, they were an
         important source of carbohydrates and could be milled into flour. The flour could be
        used to make bread, which might stay fresh for up to two weeks.

 3  Sweet chestnut trees are known in the USA as Spanish chestnuts.

 4  They have a hard outer skin, the husk or pericarpus, and a soft inner skin, the pellicle, 
         which sticks to the fruit and follows its grooves.

 5  They are enjoyed by deer, wild boar, squirrels, pigeons, jays - and the chestnut weevil.

 6  The American version weighs somewhere around 5g, and some Japanese varieties
         up to 40g. 

 7  Chestnuts can be roasted or grilled (slashing the husk first to avoid a splatting),
         peeled and deep fried until they float to the surface, boiled, or ground into flour. The
         vacu-packed versions are ready to eat, and tinned puree comes sweetened or not.

 8  They contain about 180 calories per 100g of the nut itself, lower than almonds,
         walnuts and dried fruit. There's no cholesterol or gluten, but some copper and
         vitamin C.

Marrons Glaces by Kate Hopkins
via Flickr.com

 9  Marrons glaces have been made in France since the 16th century, by softening the
         chestnuts then candying in sugar syrup. Those sold for Christmas were actually
         picked the year before. 

10 In Portugal they are traditionally eaten on St Martin's Day, November 11th, and were

         once widely to be considered to be food for the poor.

A favourite way of using these (cooked) is with chunks of mushroom, grated nutmeg and a creamy sauce, ladled over tagliatelle. But if I had an open fire, they'd be roasting by it, whether or not Jack Frost is nipping. Watch out, Merchant Gourmet, I'm after your vacu-packs already.