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Lime Syrup Cake with Stoneground Cornmeal and Almonds

Spring has arrived in Georgia with the sun shining, temperatures soaring and trees bursting into blossom. However, the handful of farmers markets that open year round are still dominated by root vegetables and winter greens, and it will be a few weeks until our CSA box starts again, so our day to day eating is still heavily influenced by produce we preserved last summer and whatever is to hand in our store cupboard.

Two things we are never short of are grits and cornmeal, which are regular features in our CSA box. Stone ground at the farm from their own organically grown corn they are great but we sometimes need to find innovative ways to work our way through them. This moist, delicious cake came about after we had picked up a huge bag of limes for just $2.99 at Buford Highway Farmers Market, and is inspired by this citrus and polenta cake recipe from the wonderful Nigel Slater.

Lime Syrup Cake with Stoneground Cornmeal and Almonds

8oz unsalted butter

8oz cane sugar crystals (or granulated sugar)

4oz blanched almonds

3 eggs

4oz ground almonds

5oz cornmeal

1 tsp baking powder

Zest and juice of 2 limes

For the syrup:-

Zest and juice of 2 limes

4oz cane sugar crystals (or granulated sugar)

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Beat together the butter and the sugar.

Lightly beat the eggs, and then slowly mix with the creamed butter and sugar.

Chop the blanched almonds finely and then add those and the ground almonds to the mixture.

Stir the cornmeal and baking powder together and add those to the mixture, then stir in the lime zest and juice.

Spoon the mixture into an 8″ loose bottomed cake tin lined with baking parchment. As some of my cakes were destined to be given away I used three 7″x2.5″ oven safe paper baking pans.

Bake in the oven for 30 minutes and then reduce the heat to 325F and cook for a further 30 minutes.

For the syrup take the zest and juice of two limes and add water to make it up to 1 cup of liquid. Add the sugar, and then bring to a boil and simmer until it has reduced to around 0.75 of a cup.

Make holes in the cake with a fork or skewer and then pour over the syrup, letting it soak in, then allow the cake to cool before enjoying.

Welsh Cakes for St.David’s Day

Strawberry Liqueur Truffles

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A couple of weeks before Christmas I strained and bottled the strawberry liqueur that I had started in the spring, much of it being given away to friends.

I was left with a pile of alcohol infused strawberry pulp that I was reluctant to waste. As it is not the most visually appealing of ingredients I have always thought that using it to make chocolate truffles is ideal as the pallid appearance is disguised by copious amounts of chocolate, but previous attempts to do this have proved difficult as the alcohol content prevented the chocolate mix from firming up sufficiently to roll into truffles.

Last time this happened I turned the sloppy mix into a dessert but this time I was determined to come up with a ratio of chocolate to fruit that I could work with to roll into truffles but still had good strawberry flavour and a pleasant hint of alcohol. It took a number of attempts but I eventually got there.

Strawberry Liqueur Truffles

8oz white chocolate

2oz strawberry liqueur pulp (leftover from making strawberry liqueur: recipe here)

Pinch of salt

4oz chocolate of your choice for coating (I used Ghirardelli semi sweet)

Melt the white chocolate over medium heat in a double boiler or a glass bowl over a pan of water. Once melted, stir in the strawberry pulp and a pinch of salt.

Allow to cool and then put in the fridge until the mixture is firm. Taking a teaspoon full of the mixture at a time roll it into balls to form the centre of the truffles. This recipe should yield around a dozen. Return to the fridge to firm up again.

Melt the chocolate for coating the truffles in a double boiler. I went for a semi sweet coating which I found contrasted well with the white chocolate centre but you could opt for a darker covering or more white chocolate if you wish. Dip the centres in the chocolate to coat and place on baking parchment to set before enjoying.

Samphire

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Growing up in England in the 1960s and 70s I was not really exposed to much in the way of exotic food. The supermarkets and grocery stores of the day did not carry the dazzling array of products that you can find today. The food I enjoyed as a child was good and wholesome but relatively plain.

There was one thing that featured on my childhood menu that I later came to realise was fairly unusual for the time and that was samphire. In recent years this edible plant found all around the British coast has become something of a trendy ingredient, popping up in smart restaurants and featuring in food magazines and TV shows. But when I was a kid it was a regular seasonal treat.

Across the street from the house I grew up in was an old fashioned corner shop. There is still a shop there today but whereas the 21^st century incarnation is a typical modern convenience store, when I was young it was a slightly dark and dingy space that hadn’t changed much since the 50s. It was an off licence and it sold tobacco and sweets and basic grocery items. As a young kid I always thought the owner, Norman Scott, was something of a grumpy old man and was always a bit apprehensive if my Mum sent me across the street to pick something up.

Photo courtesy of peterboroughimages.co.uk

In the summer, when samphire was in season, Norman would regularly drive to Norfolk and pick samphire in the muddy marshes by the coast and bring it back to sell in his shop. As a kid this seemed totally normal to me but looking back it was slightly strange to get freshly foraged marsh samphire in a humble corner shop over fifty miles from the sea.

When we did get our hands on samphire we ate it simply: lightly boiled and served hot with melted butter, which would run down our fingers as we ate the soft fleshy fronds.

Sadly it has been quite a few years since I last tasted samphire. On this side of the Atlantic it is known as sea beans and I have occasionally spotted it in Whole Foods but just haven’t been able to bring myself to pay the eye-watering price. I shall have to make sure my next trip to England coincides with the samphire season and include a jaunt to the coast on my itinerary.

Boozy Chocolate Truffles

Bonfire Night Fare: Chocolate Sea Salt Caramel Apple Bites and White Bean & Stilton Soup

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November 5th is an important date in the English calendar, namely Guy Fawkes Night.

Guy Fawkes was one of a group of plotters who were caught trying to blow up parliament on November 5th 1605. Celebrations that the plot had been foiled included the lighting of bonfires around London and thus was born a tradition that endures to this day.

When I was young you still occasionally encountered kids making crude effigies of Guy Fawkes and wheeling them around begging for “pennies for the guy” with which to buy fireworks, but that tradition is fairly rare these days.

Modern day events around November 5^th revolve around fireworks and food. Many towns hold large organized firework displays but it is also a good excuse for a back yard party with suitably warm, comforting seasonal food. Bowls of spicy chili, hearty soups, sausages, baked potatoes and toffee apples are all firm favourites.

For November 5^th this year I opted for a twist on the traditional toffee apple and a creamy soup to combat any chills in the air.

Food on a stick is always fun at an al fresco gathering but rather than a full size apple coated in caramel I cut bite sized pieces of apple with a melon baller and dipped them in dark chocolate before sprinkling them with homemade toffee pieces.

The soup combined creamy cannellini beans with the classic English blue cheese of Stilton. Simple to make with just a few ingredients it is a warming and comforting soup to drink from a mug on a cold evening.

Chocolate Sea Salt Caramel Apple Bites

8oz Dark chocolate

Apples

Toffee pieces: you can buy them or make them yourself. I used this simple recipe, adding a generous pinch of flaky sea salt: http://www.zestuous.com/2012/01/homemade-toffee-bits/

Melt the dark chocolate over medium heat in a double boiler (or put a glass bowl over a pan of hot water)

Using a melon baller cut balls from the apple and place on a skewer or stick.

Dip the apple pieces in the melted chocolate, and before the chocolate has totally set sprinkle with the toffee pieces. Put in the fridge until the chocolate is fully set.

For a variation on the toffee theme you could of course sprinkle the apple pieces with crushed nuts, sprinkles, or whatever else takes your fancy.

White Bean and Stilton Soup

1 tbs butter

0.5 cup of diced onion

2 cups Vegetable stock

14oz can of cannellini beans

4oz Stilton cheese, crumbled or coarsely chopped

Melt the butter over medium heat. Add the diced onions and cook until they soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.

Pour in the vegetable stock and add the drained beans. Bring to a boil over medium high heat and then turn down to simmer for 5 minutes.

Add the crumbled Stilton to the pan and cook for a further 5 minutes until the cheese is melted.

Season to taste with freshly ground pepper.

Blend to a creamy and smooth consistency in a blender or food processor, or using a stick blender. Double check the seasoning before enjoying.

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A Southern Classic with an Italian Twist: pan fried okra with fennel and Parmigiano Reggiano

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Back in Britain I would occasionally encounter okra, usually on the menu of Indian restaurants, but it certainly wasn’t as popular as it is here in the American South.

It crops up with great regularity in our CSA box so I have learned to love it over the years and discovered it is a versatile vegetable, working well when roasted, baked or steamed.

The classic southern preparation is fried, with little nuggets of okra encased in a crisp cornmeal shell. This is a great recipe for experimentation: by tweaking the seasoning in your cornmeal mix you can turn up the spice or add interesting layers of flavour.

On this occasion I went in an Italian direction, throwing crushed fennel seeds and grated Parmigiano Reggiano into the mix.

Pan Fried Okra with Fennel and Parmigiano Reggiano

0.5 lb Okra

0.5 cup cornmeal

0.5 tsp salt

0.5 tsp freshly ground black pepper

0.5 tsp freshly crushed fennel seed

1 tsp grated Parmigiano Reggiano

4 tbs olive oil

Wash the okra and slice it into half inch pieces.

Mix together the cornmeal, salt, pepper, crushed fennel seeds and Parmigiano Reggiano.

Give the okra a quick rinse in a colander. I find this helps to get rid of some of the gloop and also helps the cornmeal mix stick. After draining the okra add it to the cornmeal mix and make sure it is well coated.

Heat the olive oil over medium high heat and then add the okra pieces. Fry, stirring regularly, until it is gold and crispy, about 6 to 7 minutes.

Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon, place briefly on paper towel to soak up any excess oil and then enjoy while hot.

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Strawberry Bourbon Chocolate Pots

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This is not the recipe I originally intended to write about.

Instead it is the tale of how I achieved a very satisfying result despite one of my kitchen experiments not going to plan.

I set out to make truffles. Strawberry bourbon cream truffles to be exact. I still hope to make them but that particular recipe needs a bit more tweaking and trial and error in the kitchen before it comes to fruition.

It all started with a slushy pile of bourbon infused strawberry pulp that I was left with after straining and bottling a batch of strawberry bourbon a couple of months ago. I’m not a fan of food waste and try to make the most of all the ingredients that pass through my kitchen.

It was not the most appealing thing to look at but smelt wonderful and it would be a crime to waste all that bourbon and strawberry goodness. The obvious solution was to whip up a batch of truffles to make the most of the glorious taste but hide the slightly unattractive appearance with copious amounts of chocolate.

Over the years I’ve made all sorts of boozy truffles so I had high hopes for this variation on the theme.

I started by whizzing the pulp to a smooth puree in a food processor while I melted white chocolate. I then added the pulp to the melted chocolate along with a pinch of salt and a little heavy cream.

The next step would be to chill this mixture until it sets, roll it into balls to form the truffle centres and then coat those in yet more chocolate. Just one problem: this mixture wouldn’t set. The alcohol content was simply too high. I tried freezing it and although it firmed up nicely as a result, as soon as I tried to handle it the mix just reverted to a sloppy mess.

I would clearly have to revisit the truffle recipe, but what to do with my batch of pink gloop?

Inspired by the French pots de creme I decided to turn my truffle faux pas into an elegant little dessert.

Strawberry Bourbon Chocolate Pots

1 cup strawberry bourbon chocolate mix (which I made by melting 8oz white chocolate and stirring in 4oz of pureed bourbon infused strawberry pulp, 3 tbs heavy cream and a pinch of sea salt)

0.5 cup whole milk

0.5 cup heavy cream

3 egg yolks

2 tbs sugar

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Gently warm the milk and cream over medium heat.

Whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until they become pale and thickened.

Gently stir the strawberry bourbon chocolate mix into the milk and cream.

Remove from the heat and slowly add the whisked eggs to the mixture.

If you are the proud owner of a set of little pots de creme cups you can pour the mixture into those, or alternatively you could use small ramekins or 4oz mason jars as I did.

Cook in a water bath: I used a large roasting pan with hot water added to come about halfway up the sides of the jars.

Cook for about an hour until the mixture is set but still slightly wobbly. Allow to cool and then chill in the refrigerator for at least a couple of hours before enjoying.

Field Pea and Tomato Curry (with homemade curry spice blend)

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I wouldn’t exactly say that I grew up eating Indian food, but it has been an integral part of the British culinary landscape for at least 200 years. Every British town of any reasonable size will have a curry house or two and I lived for many years in both Birmingham and London, which boast many Indian dining spots, ranging from the cheap and cheerful to expensive fine dining.

Predominantly operated by Bangladeshis most of them offer a pretty similar set of dishes, many of them created for or heavily tweaked to suit the British palate and unrecognizable from dishes that would actually be found in India, which boasts a rich and varied tapestry of regional cuisine. Luckily, in recent years many new restaurants have emerged that tap into this regional treasure trove as well as taking inspiration from Indian street food.

When I first moved to the American South it was hard to track down Indian food but as the Indian immigrant community has steadily grown so has the choice of restaurants and grocery stores to find great Indian dishes and ingredients.

I make no claims of authenticity when it comes to playing with Indian ingredients in my own kitchen but I do enjoy experimenting with interesting and sometimes obscure spices, or snacking on street food like panipuri and chaat.

Field Pea and Tomato Curry (with homemade curry spice blend) from britinthesouth.com

I just love a grocery store that also sells cricket bats

Hence my recent expedition to stock up on ingredients, including an array of spices from which to blend my own curry mix. Grinding and blending your own curry spice mix is not only fun, but you get to control the heat levels and flavor profile, accentuating the things you like and avoiding the fillers you can find in supermarket curry powders. It just takes a bit of experimentation to come up with a blend you’ll love. It also makes your kitchen smell great.

I particularly like the aniseed notes of fennel seeds, as well as the distinctive aroma of fenugreek so these feature strongly in my mix.

Curry Spice Blend

2 tablespoons coriander seeds

1.5 tablespoons cumin seeds

1 tablespoon fennel seeds

2 teaspoons fenugreek seeds

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon black peppercorns

1 teaspoon yellow mustard powder

0.5 teaspoon red pepper flakes

0.5 teaspoon cayenne

Put the coriander seeds, cumin and fennel seeds in a pan and toast over medium heat, stirring regularly, until fragrant, about 5 minutes. Keep a close eye on the pan to make sure the spices don’t burn.

Add the toasted spices to all the other ingredients and grind to a powder. An old coffee grinder will do a good job or if you have the stamina you can use a pestle and mortar.

Store the blend in a jar or airtight container.

This is a versatile blend that can be used in any recipes featuring curry powder. I used it to create a quick midweek dinner featuring two local products currently in abundant supply: field peas and tomatoes.

Field peas were a new phenomenon to me when I first moved here. Where I come from peas are small and green, but I soon discovered the delights of crowder peas and pinkeyes.

Field Pea and Tomato Curry

1 medium onion, diced

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 tablespoons curry powder

3 medium tomatoes, roughly chopped

0.5 cup vegetable stock

2 cups cooked field peas

Heat the oil over medium high heat. Add the onions and curry powder. Cook until the onions are softened, about 5 minutes.

Add the tomatoes and stock and simmer for 15 minutes until the tomatoes soften and the sauce thickens. Add the field peas and cook for another 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Serve over rice.

Buttered Pecans & Strawberry Bourbon

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After gathering a bumper harvest of strawberries in the spring I turned to a handful of tried and tested jam and drink recipes to process the bulk of them, but I also had a go at something new: strawberry infused bourbon.

Most of the fruit infused liqueurs I make include some sugar but this time I simply filled a couple of jars with strawberries, added bourbon until the jar was full and then forgot about them for a couple of months.

By the time I came to strain them the strawberries had imparted a beautiful rosy pink hue and although the aroma was still unmistakably that of bourbon, my nose couldn’t help but detect a subtle fragrance of fresh strawberries as well. On the palate it was smooth and delicious with the delicate hint of strawberries balancing well with the bourbon base. I wouldn’t recommend using an expensive small batch artisan bourbon for this but use something half decent and drinkable.

All in all, a fine drink for early summer sipping but it was crying out for a suitable accompaniment. Having just picked up some Georgia pecans at my local farmers market I quickly whipped up a batch of buttered pecans to nibble while enjoying my new fruity tipple.

Buttered Pecans

This recipe is based on a buttered brazil nut recipe from “Sweets Made Simple”, from the wonderful folks at Hope and Greenwood

Ingredients

7oz pecans

8oz soft brown sugar

3oz unsalted butter

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

2 fl oz water

Heat the oven to 350F. Put the pecans in a single layer on a baking sheet and put them in the oven for 10 minutes until toasty and aromatic.

Put the sugar, butter, cream of tartar and water in a heavy bottomed pan and place over a low heat, stirring until the sugar has dissolved.

Put a candy thermometer in the pan and bring the mixture to a boil without stirring and leave it cooking until the temperature hits 266F. Remove the pan from the heat.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Dip each pecan in the hot sugar mix to coat and then put on the baking sheet to cool. Leave for at least an hour before enjoying. If you don’t devour them immediately they will last at least a week in a cool place.

Brit In The South

A Blog from the Deep South with a British Twist