Almond Amandines

These make such a tasty treat. They are quite sweet so you only need a small square although the problem is that they’re rather moreish! The recipe, from Claudia Roden’s ‘Med: A Cookbook’ is super simple. The recipe calls for a shallow baking tin around 30 x 30cm, I didn’t have a tin but used a pyrex square dish and they came out fine!

6 eggs

400g caster sugar

500g ground almonds

200ml whole milk

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

5 drops almond extract

100g pine nuts

150ml apricot jam, to glaze

*You will need a baking tin about 30x30cm (or dish – see my note above), lined with baking parchment

1. Using a fork, lightly beat the eggs with the sugar then add the ground almonds, milk, vanilla and almond extracts and mix thoroughly. Pour into the prepared tin. Sprinkle the pine nuts on top and bake in a preheated oven, 160’c fan, for 1 hour or until the top is brown and the cake feels firm. If it is browning too early cover the tin with foil.
2. While the cake is still warm, melt the apricot jelly with 1-2 tablespoons of water and brush it over the top. Leave to cool.
3. To serve cut into small squares and lift out the amandines from the tin one by one.

I particularly love winter food so although I’m a lover of the sun, the food that I cook in my kitchen over the winter months makes winter more palatable! We’ve been rather spoilt this year as the summer weather lasted well into our autumn days, therefore I’ve been a bit slow in embracing ‘winter-warming’ recipes but with the advent of November and the chill it will no doubt be bringing that is about to change!..

…I’d like to think I’ve chosen recipes to suit almost everyone this month. There’s pork chops for the meat lovers, a tasty cod and chorizo recipe for fish lovers and finally an ‘almost’ vegetarian recipe (there’s a touch of anchovy in it!) for those of us who are trying to be good. They’re all recipes with a robust, tasty edge so they’re rather warming. Menu One is a real ‘crowd pleaser’ from Diana Henry’s cook book, ‘Pure Simple Cooking’; as the name of the book promises, this recipe is effortless but with plenty of flavour! Menu Two is ‘Roast Cod with White Bean & Chorizo Mash’, it’s one of those recipes which sings with flavour despite being a quick- throw-together recipe. I particularly like the idea of mashed cannellini beans rather than traditional potato as it’s so much quicker to prepare, and, with the chorizo is super tasty. Finally, Menu Three, ‘Penne with Braised Courgette, Broccoli & Cauliflower’ is simply a combination of braised vegetables with anchovies, garlic and chillies, however, by slow-cooking the vegetables you create a wonderfully rich sauce. Unfortunately the vegetables do lose their lovely fresh green colour through cooking but all is forgiven when you taste the sauce!..

Enjoy!.. See you next Tuesday for my ‘sweet treat’!..

Menu One

Pork Chops with Plum and Chinese Spices (Serves 4)

This is a real ‘crowd pleaser’ from Diana Henry’s cook book, ‘Pure Simple Cooking’; as the name of the book promises, this recipe is effortless but with plenty of flavour. All you need to accompany it is some rice and greens – I particularly like a watercress salad or tenderstem broccoli.

450g (about 8) plums, preferably crimson-fleshed ones

4 pork chops, bone in and partly trimmed of fat

5 tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder

1 teaspoon ginger

1 medium fresh red chilli, seeded and finely chopped

4 cloves garlic, crushed

Juice of ½ orange

1 teaspoon white wine vinegar

Salt and pepper

1. Halve and pit the plums and if they are quite large cut them into quarters. Lay the chops in a shallow ovenproof dish and tuck the plums in around them where they can lie in a single layer without overlapping.
2. Mix together the honey, five-spice powder, ginger, chilli, garlic, orange juice, vinegar, salt and pepper. Pour over the chops, turning everything to make sure they are well coated. Bake for 45 minutes in a preheated oven, 190’c fan, until cooked through.

Menu Two

Roast Cod with White Bean & Chorizo Mash (Serves 4)

This is one of those recipes which sings with flavour despite being a quick- throw-together recipe. I particularly like the idea of mashed cannellini beans rather than traditional potato as it’s so much quicker to prepare, and, with the chorizo is super tasty.

4 x 175g thick cod fillets with skin (or another white meaty fish)

2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra to oil the fish

Salt and black pepper

2 x 400g tins cannellini beans, strained (retain the liquid)

2 sprigs of fresh rosemary, leaves stripped and chopped

125g chorizo, quartered lengthways and sliced

2 cloves garlic, crushed

4 tablespoons white wine or dry sherry

1 tablespoon chopped parsley leaves

Lemon wedges and parsley sprigs to serve

1. Rub the cod with a little olive oil, season with salt and pepper and set aside.
2. In a small saucepan warm the olive oil, then add the rosemary, chorizo and garlic and cook gently until softened but not browned.
3. Mash the beans and season, add the white wine or sherry and a few tablespoons of the reserved liquid from the tins to create a soft mash.
4. Pour off some of the chorizo oil and reserve then add the contents of the chorizo pan and the parsley to the mash, mix and gently heat through.
5. Meanwhile cook the cod skin side up on a hot (almost smoking) ovenproof frying pan until golden underneath, then turn the fish over and place the pan in a preheated oven, 220’c fan, for 4-8minutes until just cooked through.
6. Place a dollop of the bean mash on a plate, top with a piece of cod and drizzle with the reserved chorizo oil. Serve with a leafy green salad.

Menu Three

Penne with Braised Courgette, Broccoli & Cauliflower (Serves 4)

This sauce is simply a combination of braised vegetables with anchovies, garlic and chillies, however, by slow-cooking the vegetables you create a wonderfully rich sauce. Unfortunately the vegetables do lose their lovely fresh green colour through cooking but all is forgiven when you taste the sauce!..

400g penne pasta (gluten free if required)

4 large courgettes

100ml olive oil, plus extra

12 anchovies

5 garlic cloves, sliced

½ teaspoon chilli flakes

200g tenderstem broccoli, cut into 3cm lengths

125g small cauliflower florets

Parmesan cheese

Sea salt and black pepper

1. Grate the courgette and reserve.
2. In a large frying pan, heat the olive oil and add the anchovies, garlic, chilli flakes and a pinch of sea salt. Fry for 3 minutes, stirring continuously, until the anchovies start to melt into the oil. Add the courgette, broccoli and cauliflower and a dash more oil. Cover the pan and braise the vegetables slowly for about 20-30 minutes, or until the vegetables are well cooked and soft.
3. Meanwhile cook the penne until al dente, according to the packet instructions. Drain and toss the pasta through the sauce and cook for a further minute. Serve with lots of Parmesan grated over the top.

Fig Leaf Martini (Serves 1)

Earlier this year we celebrated Nick’s birthday at a wonderful restaurant, Aulis (see my review here!). It was a wonderful gastronomic experience, I took home many good memories and one of those was this cocktail! It has a fresher, sweeter flavour than a ‘straight’ martini and is dangerously moreish! At Aulis they infuse their gin with fresh fig leaves, it was such a good martini that I was tempted to find some fig leaves and do the same. However, fortunately, I discovered Fig Leaf Liqueur. It’s a great liqueur not only for making this martini but also it’s pretty good with tonic or simply neat over ice. I’ve tried a couple of brands and I particularly like ‘Gibsons Organic Fig Leaf Liqueur‘.

50ml Gin

15ml Fig Leaf Liqueur (See note above)

5ml Dry Vermouth

A handful of ice

Lime peel to garnish

1. Add all the ingredients to a cocktail shaker. Shake until the mixture is well chilled, 15-20 seconds.
2. Strain into a chilled glass and garnish with the lime peel.

Salmon Teriyaki, Cucumber Pickle and Rocket & Radish Salad with Japanese Dressing (Serves 4)

This is a recipe that I first shared back in June 2021. It’s a year-round favourite in my house, but I feel that October evenings deserve this recipe; with the arrival of autumn, the cheerful sweet and salty flavours of this dish are instantly comforting. There are many recipes for Salmon Teriyaki, but this one from Blanche Vaughan (food editor of House & Garden Magazine) is definitely the best that I have come across. It’s not overly sweet, it has just the right balance of flavours, I like to think that it is quite authentic. The ‘Cucumber Pickle’ and the ‘Rocket & Radish Salad with Japanese Dressing’, complete this meal – together with some Japanese rice they make a healthy, fulfilling meal. All the ingredients for the sauce can be kept for ages in your cupboard, so it makes a great last-minute supper (I use the small bottles of cooking sake).

Salmon Teriyaki

4 salmon fillets

1 tablespoon grapeseed oil

10g caster sugar

100ml sake

50ml mirin

50ml soy sauce (gluten free if required)

Sea salt

1. Put the caster sugar, mirin, sake and soy sauce in a small frying pan and bring to the boil. Let the sauce bubble gently and reduce by almost half, until it becomes syrupy. You can do this ahead of time and it will keep, covered, in the fridge for a week or so.
2. To cook the salmon, heat the oil in a frying pan. Sprinkle the salmon with salt and fry for a minute on each side to brown the skin and flesh, then add the teriyaki sauce and continue to cook until the salmon fillets are no longer translucent, basting them with the sauce.
3. Remove the salmon to a plate and pour over the sauce. Serve with Japanese rice, Cucumber Pickle and Rocket & Radish Salad (recipes below).

Cucumber Pickle

1 cucumber, peeled, halved and seeds scraped out

2 tablespoons soy sauce (gluten free if required)

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

1-2 teaspoons sugar

3cm knob ginger, peeled and cut into thin matchsticks

Sea salt

1. Slice the cucumber into half-moon slices, toss together with a large pinch of salt.
2. Mix the other ingredients together and add the cucumber. Leave to marinate for half an hour before serving.

Rocket & Radish Salad with Japanese Dressing

100g rocket

150g radishes, halved

1 tablespoon rice vinegar

1 tablespoon soy sauce (gluten free if required)

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

1. Place the rocket and radishes in a serving bowl.
2. Whisk the rice vinegar, soy sauce and toasted sesame oil together and, just before serving, pour over the salad and toss to combine.

Sweet and Salty Crunch Nut Bars

This is the type of sweet treat that every fridge deserves! Having a slice of its chocolatey deliciousness at hand is dangerously indulgent but fantastically fortifying. It’s childlike in its simplicity to make yet with a mix of dark chocolate and salt, it’s a very grown-up treat. We have Nigella Lawson to thank for creating such a wicked recipe – as she herself says it’s all about moderation…(?!)…

200g dark chocolate

100g milk chocolate

125g unsalted butter

3 tablespoons golden syrup

250g salted peanuts

4 x 40g Crunchie bars

*You will need a 25cm springform round tin lined with foil (or you could use a foil tray)

1. Break up your chocolate into pieces and put in a heavy-based saucepan with the butter and syrup. Put on a low heat and melt gently together.
2. Crush the Crunchie bars with your hands into a bowl and add the peanuts. Add the melted chocolate mixture and gently mix until fully incorporated.
3. Tip into the foil lined cake tin. Smooth the top of the mixture as much as you can, gently pressing down with a silicone spatula.
4. Put into the fridge for about 4 hours and, once set, cut into slices. Keep refrigerated until serving.