Hamaggedon...... Buckwheat Galettes for a change?

And so it begins. Fridges up and down the country are filled with vast chunks of pork, some in fancy ham bags, others , like mine, in a old pillowcase doused liberally in vinegar. Chilled jenga, bottles balanced precariously on top of each other to make space for the porcine invader, hello Christmas Ham!
Last summer I declared it a personal challenge, could I get to the end of the ham, before a) we hated the sight of it, and b) it went off. 
I am pleased to say Hamaggedon was a success, so I thought I'd share an excellent hammy recipe for when one more ham & salad meal might push you over the edge......

Note: unless you are a true devotee, maybe limit your ham consumption to once a day? If ham & eggs is breakfast, don't flog the horse with ham sarnies for lunch.........you might get away with it once or twice, but revolt will surely follow.


So I've made a traditional Breton pancake, a galette, made in a non traditional way. If you do have a proper crepe maker by all means, but I have a large fry pan and that works just fine to. Buckwheat flour is available in most supermarkets, it has a lovely nutty flavour which makes the galettes much more interesting than a crepe made with all white flour. Buckwheat flour is also a key ingredient in blini, a light fluffy yet substantial type of pikelet (in the New Zealand not Yorkshire sense) which is perfect for a party (New Years drinks anyone?), I'll be sharing the recipe later this week.


Buckwheat Galettes     (based on a Rick Stein recipe)
makes 4 (enough for 2 people, easily scaled up)

50 gr buckwheat flour
25 gr plain flour
Pinch of salt
75 ml milk
75 ml water
1 egg
15 gr butter, melted
butter for frying

Topping

Ham, chopped into thin strips
Cheese, grated (Gruyere is lovely, but any cheddar style is good to)
1 egg per galette
Parsley, chopped

Put the flours and salt into a bowl , then whisk in the milk and water until the batter is smooth. Beat the egg with the melted butter, and beat into the flour mixture to combine. Leave the mixture to sit for at least 30 mins (you could pop into the fridge overnight for breakfast the next day if you wanted to)

When you are ready to eat , heat a large frying pan (non stick is best if you have one) over medium high heat. Your batter should be the consistency of double cream, so stir in a wee bit more milk or water if nessesary. Melt a knob of butter then add the batter, you want enough to make a thin coating over the whole pan. Cook for 1-2 minutes until the bottom is set and slightly browned

Flip over, and sprinkle on your ham and cheese. Break the egg into the middle of the galette , some people like the egg left whole, but if you prefer spread it out, try both and see what you like. Fold each edge of the galette into the middle, I use a spatula for this. 
The galette is usually flipped at this point, but I find it much easier to just pop a lid on the fry pan and let the egg set, it will be ready to go in just 1-2 minutes

Slide onto a plate, sprinkle on the parsley and serve. Crispy pancake, creamy egg, salty ham, melted cheese.......yes, really.
These are pretty filling, so unless you are feeding a big eater I find one or two is enough, perfect with a sharply dressed crispy green salad and a glass of Chardonnay.
All hail the pig!

N.B While NOT gluten free, buckwheat is often ok for those with a gluten intolerance (but still no good for those with coeliac disease), in which case I would just use all buckwheat flour, the result will be slightly heavier, but still delicious.

For the non ham aficionados among us, sauteed mushrooms are a great substitute, let them get quite brown and crispy over a high heat, maybe with a tickle of garlic? Ditto char grilled asparagus, with a squeeze of lemon. Egg, cheese and asparagus being a match made in heaven.....

Call me a Jammy one then....

Apologies at once for the title, but Mr PK has assured me we really will win the lotto this week ( of course he may have said that once or twice before....). My aunt used to call anyone lucky "jammy" as in "he's a jammy bugger that one" or something similar. I have no idea why, or indeed why I have even brought it up, except that this recipe worked first time, so that probably qualifies as jammy....... Shall we progress on to a recipe then? I cant guarantee you any especial luck making this, but it tastes rather lovely.......

I made Strawberry Jam last year, this year I wanted something a bit less sweet. When a lovely work colleague suggest Strawberry & Rhubarb I figured we were onto a winner. This is the result, sweet but tangy yet with a definite hit of strawberry. The rhubarb mostly dissolves, but leaves a bit of texture and a hint of flavour.
I made a few jars for a table my friend was hosting at a craft market so needed to somehow decorate them fast. I finally found a use for the pinking shears I have had in my sewing box for years, trimming the edge of the linen jar covers..........naturally when I came to cut them out I couldn't actually find my pinking shears, what a wasted opportunity  No doubt they will turn up right when I dont need them........

Strawberry & Rhubarb Jam

makes 7 x 250ml jars

500 gr rhubarb
1 kg jam sugar (really useful when cooking low pectin fruit like strawberries & rhubarb)
1 kg strawberries
500 gr plain white sugar
150 ml lemon juice (about 4 lemons worth)
Small knob of butter

Wash & chop your rhubarb into chunks about one-two cm thick. Pop into a large preserving pan with 500 gr of the jam sugar and 80 mls of the lemon juice. Stir and leave to sit for about an hour. The juices will start to run out of the fruit and dissolve the jam.
While this is happening, trim your strawberries, and cut any large ones in half or into quarters (depends how chunky you like your jam really....)
When the rhubarb has sat for an hour or so, add the strawberries  remaining sugar and the rest of the lemon juice & stir everything together. Put the pan onto the cooker and heat gently over a low heat, until the fruit is warmed and juicy and the sugar has dissolved.

Now turn the heat to med-high and bring everything to a rolling boil. Using a large spoon skim off any foam that rises to the surface.  It will take 10-15 minutes, put a saucer into the freezer, and when you think the jam has had long enough put a teaspoonful onto your frozen saucer. It will rapidly cool the jam, and you will be able to see how set it is. If it is still very running keep boiling & re-test. If you can pull your finger through the puddle of cool jam and leave a gap where your finger has been, you are good to go. Add your knob of butter & stir, this will disperse any remaining foam in the pan

Take the jam off the heat and sit for a couple of minutes before bottling, this gives the fruit a chance to settle so it spreads evenly throughout the jar
Pot up into sterilised jar ( I find a jam funnel incredibly helpful for this bit),to sterilise  place clean jars & lids in a oven set at 120C for 10 minutes. 

Perfect as a wee Xmas treat for friends or collogues, it looks very festive and everyone loves a sweet treat. You could even whip a sponge to go with.....

I will leave you with some pics of my first hanging baskets, the woven baskets themselves are from Kings, filled with flowers under instruction from my Mother, she will make a gardener of me yet.....

A perfect salad for a party, and some Xmas ideas...

In a moment of weakness I ended up treasurer of the Social Club at work, my duties seem to mainly involve hassling people for money, but I am also required to produce something edible for the annual children's Christmas Party. The sweet selection was already well covered, so I thought this salad would be ideal. It comes from River Cottage Everyday Veg, which I can highly recommend as a brilliant Xmas gift for anyone interested in good food. Hugh F-W is perhaps more known for his use of meat but this book is packed with excellent recipes. We have at least a night or two a week of meatless dinners, so it is great to get new ideas.....

The original recipe used beans, but as asparagus is in season at the moment I substituted those. Grilled eggplant would also be perfect instead of the courgettes and some roasted beetroot would also be a delicious addition.

Courgette & Asparagus salad with Tahini dressing

Salad
2 tbsp olive oil
3 courgettes (zucchini) sliced into rounds about 2mm thick
Juice 1/2 lemon
1/2 red chilli chopped (or use chilli flakes)
1 bunch asparagus (about 150gr)
3-4 handfuls salad leaves
Handful semi-dried tomatoes
Handful of fresh mint

Tahini dressing
1 garlic clove, peeled & crushed (I peel & grate mine on a microplane)
2 tbsp tahini paste
Grated zest & juice of 1/2 a lemon
Juice 1/2 orange
1/2 tsp honey
2 tbsp olive oil
Sea salad & fresh ground pepper

For the dressing mix the crushed garlic, tahini, lemon zest & juice, orange juice & honey together in a small bowl. Add salt & pepper, and the olive oil. The dressing will be very thick, so add enough water to this to dressing consistency. I pop everything into a jar and keep in the fridge while I make the salad.

For the salad heat the olive oil in a medium frying pan, and fry the courgette rounds in one layer until tender & golden on both side. You might need to do this in two batches depending on the size of your pan. Pop onto a plate when cooked, and sprinkle with the lemon juice & chopped chilli.

Bring a saucepan of water to the boil and add the asparagus, boiling for just 2 minutes. Drain & immediately dunk in cold water to stop them cooking. Drain really well, then slice into spear into 3 pieces.
On a platter spread out your salad leaves. Sprinkle on the courgette slices, asparagus & tomatoes, then the top with mind, chopped if the leaves are very large. Drizzle over your dressing if serving immediately, otherwise cover with clingfilm & take to your party, not forgetting the dressing in the fridge.......

The dressing is also delish for dunking raw veg into, or maybe asparagus that has been blanched as above, then grilled for a couple of minutes on the BBQ , yum!

Every year I bang on about being organised for Christmas, I have added incentive this year as I am hosting my family for the day at our place. So I have already sent off my UK presents (Tiffany actually asked if everything was ok, I mean, my Xmas presents normally arrive in time for New Year....if I'm lucky) and I am well into the family gift list.
One site I particularly love is Mapua Country Trading  Even if your family are not big gardeners, there is something for everyone, all NZ made & all really rather lovely ( I brought my Mum the Apple House Bird Feeder last year)

Homemade gifts are always a treat, this Strawberry & Vanilla Jam would be perfect with so many strawberries around at the moment. I will be whipping up some Apple & Walnut Chutney in the next week or so & will share the recipe, also a perfect stocking filler....

It is raining in Auckland today, Mr PK is very pleased, he wants the lawn perfect for Christmas day, what is it with men & lawns??

New Year in Italy.......

No, Santa didn't leave a plane ticket to Rome in my Christmas stocking, which wasn't a complete surprise (I'm an optimist, but not delusional...) He did however, leave a pasta making attachment for my Kitchanaid, bellisimo!
After spending a couple of hours wrestling with my magazine mountain, and boxing up about a decade worth of Cuisines for the Hospice shop I was knackered and decided pasta making had to be easier. Unfortunately despite the pouring rain (serves me right for being moaning Mary about the heat) the humidity in still in the 90's, which I think may have affected my pasta. Still, I was pretty happy with a first attempt. I am doing my spring holiday clean room by room, so after tackling the kitchen (wish me luck!) I will need fortifying with a glass of bubbles and fresh pasta and pesto, yum!

The pumpkin and walnut sauce came about after seeing an open pumpkin ravioli on Trish's Paris Kitchen. She used wild mushrooms, but I could only find fresh buttons at the grocer. I added walnuts and sage, my sage plant has made a miraculous recovery from being near dead, so I wanted to use some..... The pumpkin I over-brought for Christmas day, it was a really yummy sauce for my fresh pasta, but would work just was well over dried fettuccine or even penne.

Fresh Pasta with Pumpkin, Mushroom and Walnut sauce

First make your pasta. I used the proportions from Jamie's Italy, that is six eggs to 600 grams of flour. This makes a lot of dough, I still have half in the fridge, it made about 950 grams of dough, I used 450 grams and made more than enough pasta for four people.

I used Tipo 00 flour, as I got some in my Xmas box, it felt lovely and fine in my fingers. I put all the flour on my table, broke the eggs into the middle, and started working it all together with my fingers, imagining I was sitting in a pretty frock in sunny Umbria, while my cherubic olive skinned children played outside in the grapevines, watching their impossibly handsome father chop wood or do something manly and Italian.........in reality Mr PK was beating the crap out of the wall trying to hang a picture while my pretty frock was actually badly creased linen pants covered in flour and a very sweaty T shirt..as for cherubic children, does a pissy cat suffering in the heat and collapsing under my feet count?

I read somewhere once the dough should be as smooth as a baby's bottom........my baby has a touch of cellulite, but after about eight minutes of kneading I was sweaty Betty and out of energy. It was pretty smooth, and bounced back when pressed the dough with my finger......

I cut the dough into smaller portions, and ran them through the pasta machine roller, getting gradually thinner with each roll. I look like I have made stockings.......!

 Changing attachments, I made fettuccine noodles , tossing them in flour to prevent sticking. In reality my kitchen was probably a little to humid, but they were ok, only a few sticking together in the cooking water.

While the water came to the boil, I made the sauce.

Pumpkin mushroom and walnut sauce

1/2 Pumpkin-peeled and diced into small cubes
Splash of oil and a knob of butter
Handful of mushrooms - any kind you like, sliced
Tbsp chopped sage
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped fine
1/4 cup of chopped walnuts
Splash white wine
1/2 cup of cream
Seasoning
Pasta cooking water
Parmesan cheese to sprinkle on top

Heat the oil over med heat and add the pumpkin. Fry for about 10 minutes until soft and beginning to colour. Take out of the pan and leave to one side. Add a splash more oil to the pan and a small knob of butter. Toss in the mushrooms and fry until browned. Stir the sage and garlic in, and cook for another minute or so.
Add the wine, picking up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan, then add the pumpkin back to the pan, with the walnuts and cream. Stir the whole thing together until bubbling, check the seasoning then thin as necessary with some of the water you cooked the pasta in.
Pour over your cooked pasta, and sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese, yummo.

I am looking forward to more fun with my pasta machine, and my other Christmas goodies. A vintage fondue maker will make an appearance when the weather cools down, and I have the wonderful Tender Vol 2 by Nigel Slater to read. Each year my younger sister and her partner make me up a box of food goodies, this year I have a few of may favs such as Chardonnay vinegar and goose fat, and some new treats including squid ink, truffle pasta, and a rather divine concoction made from Vincotto and cocoa, so many things to play with....!

I hope you had a lovely holiday, and are looking forward to a new year with anticipation. I am not sure what mine holds, happily Dad was out of hospital and home for Christmas day, and we hope things will improve in the coming weeks. I have decided to just be thankful for every good thing that comes my way, big or small. Sometimes we get so caught up in the big picture we forget the small stuff that makes up a life actually lived.
 As John Lennon famously said, "Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans".......

Off to have another shower, than a My Skied episode of Midsomer Murders, ( Joy, I think it is one I have not seen!) and a cheeky glass of wine, now that sounds like a fun plan.........

Festive Cranberry & White Chocolate Brownie of fabulousness....

Mr PK has many wonderful qualities, indeed there have been occasions when I'm convinced his saintliness deserves a big up from Rome at least. But every so often he drops clangers like "maybe you could whip me up some mince pies for work morning tea?" This uttered to his much less saintly wife as she wrestled a newly free of cat vomit king sized duvet cover back onto the bed in 30 degrees with ambient humidity of about 98 percent. Every Aucklander will be nodding as they read this, not too vigorously lest they get sweaty drops on the keyboard........
The reply "pastry in this heat, are you freakin kidding me?????" was perhaps a tad harsh, but it did get me thinking. It is nice to acknowledge work colleagues, friends etc with something homemade, but not everyone finds baking easy, and even I find jam and preserve making in this weather a bit of a challenge.

The answer? A brownie, full of festive tangy cranberries, rich dark chocolate , and white chocolate bits. These require no fancy baking equipment bar a wooden spoon and small sauce whisk . At a push you could use a fork. Melt, whisk, stir, pour, bake. ANYONE can make these, and they are divine.
I know that sounds ott, but believe me. We attended Christmas drinks recently at our old neighbours house. One of the guests commented he remembered me bringing the most amazing brownies to Marc and Anna's old place (and had I brought some this time??). I could tell it was a while as he had an additional child since the last time I saw him. I chose to be flattered he enjoyed my baking....even if my conversation isn't that memorable.......

Festive Brownies of Fabulousness

200 grams dark chocolate - I use Whittaker's 70% dark
200 grams unsalted butter
pinch salt
3 eggs
250 grams sugar
1 tsp vanilla paste
125 grams plain flour
1 tbsp dark cocoa powder
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 180C
Melt together the butter and chocolate over a very gentle heat, and add the pinch of salt. Often recipes call for a double boiler to melt chocolate, I don't bother, instead using a heavy cast iron saucepan and low heat. But if you prefer to use a double boiler go ahead.
When the chocolate and butter are melted together take off the heat. Let cool for a couple of minutes while you beat together the eggs & sugar with the vanilla paste. You are simply beating to combine, so a small whisk or even a fork is fine, just make sure all the egg and sugar are well mixed together.

Pour the whole lot into the chocolate butter mix and stir with a wooden spoon. Add the flour and cocoa, I do this by holding a whisk over the saucepan and tipping in the flour & cocoa, then shaking it into the pan. Mix with your spoon until no bits of flour can be seen, and there are no lumps.

Stir in your cranberries & white chocolate chips, the pour the whole lot into a greased cake/brownie tin, lined with parchment paper. I have doubled this mix before and cooked it in a roasting tin also if you are feeding a crowd.

Bake for about 30 mins, depending on your oven. What you are aiming for is a slightly dry cracked top, but still a bit wet in the middle, so if you put your knife into the centre you will have a wee bit of wet mix on it. This will set up as the brownie cools, but still stay slightly moist. This is a good brownie.

Add variations at will, walnuts are fab, as are fresh raspberries, but be careful with nuts if you are sending a batch off to eaters unknown. Making an allergic colleague violently ill probably isn't conducive to good workplace relations, and it certainly isn't in the spirit of Christmas........

The icing sugar sprinkled on top isn't essential, but along with fresh berries it makes the whole plate look really pretty, and takes all of two minutes to achieve. No icing, rolling, piping or anything else, easy.