Category Archives: Recipes

Welsh Cakes for St.David’s Day

Strawberry Liqueur Truffles

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.

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.

The Accidental Fruit Farm: Mulberry & Blackberry Shrub

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I often dream about growing more of our own food. We have a few modest raised beds in our back yard and plant a selection of vegetables every year but usually with limited success. I’m not sure if this is down to my limited gardening expertise or the voracious squirrels we share our garden with.

Our house is on a corner lot, and as well as decent sized front and back yards features a steep L-shaped bank at the front and side that was already planted with a selection of plants, trees and shrubs when we moved in. As they have matured they have become a constant maintenance challenge, with much pruning, trimming and in some cases uprooting needed to stop them from taking the place over. What little time I have to spend in the garden is often dedicated to this rather than nurturing edible crops.

Luckily, mother nature has intervened this year to give me something to eat and drink that doesn’t rely on my limited horticultural skills.

At the back of our garden are a few nondescript young trees that for years we paid little attention to. They gradually got bigger and last year for the first time we noticed a handful of berries on the trees. A quick bit of online research revealed that we were in fact the proud owners of five mulberry trees. Last year’s crop was small and we were beaten to the fruit by birds and squirrels. This year is a different matter, and the trees are dripping with loads of berries.

It is still a challenge to get the fruit before the critters do, and as the berries seem to ripen unevenly I have been venturing out each evening to collect all the ripe berries I can and then freezing them on a baking sheet until I got a big enough batch to experiment with.

Luckily, to augment the mulberry harvest I also have a fine crop of wild blackberries. Most years I get a pitiful crop from the cultivated blackberries that I planted myself but the brambles on a neglected piece of land at the back of my yard positively flourish.

With my modest mulberry harvest and the first of the year’s blackberries I made a small batch of shrub, a sweetened vinegar / fruit mix that makes a good base for both soft drinks and cocktails.

I used a 50/50 mix of mulberries and blackberries, mixed in a jar and then lightly crushed in distilled white vinegar.

This mixture is left to infuse for a few days and then strained. The resulting liquid then has sugar added and is gently heated to yield a thick, sweet, sour, fruity concentrate that makes a refreshing drink when diluted with water or can be used to add a burst of vibrant fruit flavor to a cocktail.

Mulberry and Blackberry Shrub

Ingredients

8oz fresh mulberries

8oz fresh blackberries

1 cup distilled white vinegar

Granulated sugar

Place the berries in a glass or ceramic jar, crush lightly and add the vinegar.

Leave to steep for 4 days, stirring or shaking daily.

After 4 days strain the fruit. Then add the sugar: I use a 2:1 liquid to sugar ratio but you can adjust to your personal taste. After straining I had around 2 cups of liquid so I added a cup of sugar to it and then gently heated it in a pan over medium heat, stirring regularly until the sugar is dissolved.

Once the shrub is cool, bottle it and store in the fridge.

The First C.S.A. Box Of The Year

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This is the 8th year that we have participated in the C.S.A. program of Riverview Farms, a beautiful spot around an hour’s drive north of Atlanta. As well as growing the veg that we enjoy from May to December they produce superb heritage breed pork and grass fed beef.

C.S.A. boxes are not for everyone. You have no choice over what you get, just a box of whatever is in season and ready to pick that week. At the height of summer that can mean 18 ears of corn, or as autumn arrives, huge bunches of collards that won’t fit in the fridge. Luckily, we enjoy the challenge of working out what to do with this abundance of vegetables, eating seasonally and preserving the surplus to reduce our reliance on supermarkets through the winter months.

The first few boxes of the year tend to be a little lighter until the crops really get going in the summer months, but that doesn’t diminish the excitement of getting that first box of the year after the long winter hiatus.

When we get a summer glut we often retire to our neighborhood coffee shop with a few well thumbed cookbooks to give us inspiration and plan some menus but this first box of the year needed little menu planning: we started our evening meal nibbling the radishes with butter and sea salt, the green onions and eggs would go into an onion and Parmigiano frittata accompanied by a salad made with the lettuce, cucumber and local feta cheese, and to finish we enjoyed the fresh strawberries with ice cream. A simple meal but a deeply satisfying one.

Green Onion and Parmigiano Frittata

Prep time: 10 mins

Cooking time: 20 mins

Serves: 4

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 green onion, stalk thinly sliced and bulb finely diced

6 eggs, beaten

¼ cup of of grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Preheat your broiler.

Heat the oil in an ovenproof skillet over medium heat.

Add the onions and sauté for 10 minutes until soft.

Season the beaten eggs with salt and black pepper, add to the pan and cook until the frittata begins to set at the edge.

Sprinkle the grated Parmigiano cheese over the top of the frittata and then place under the broiler until the eggs are set and the top of the frittata is golden brown.

Enjoy warm or at room temperature.

Brit In The South

A Blog from the Deep South with a British Twist

Category Archives: Recipes

Welsh Cakes for St.David’s Day

Strawberry Liqueur Truffles

Boozy Chocolate Truffles

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

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

Strawberry Bourbon Chocolate Pots

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

Buttered Pecans & Strawberry Bourbon

The Accidental Fruit Farm: Mulberry & Blackberry Shrub

The First C.S.A. Box Of The Year