Tag Archives: eggs

Suji (Semolina) Cake 2

19 Nov

HappySo, I was thinking about the suji cake I made earlier this month. It was quite delectable, and very rustic. Nubbly bits of almonds gave it texture and a deliciously different crumb. It was the suji cake of my memory and my childhood… But there were a few things about it that annoyed. First and foremost, you really had to make this cake with forethought. No popping a few ingredients together, and quickly baking in the oven. The butter and suji had to be left for a while to get acquainted, which is fine if you have the time, but if you really want suji cake right here, right now, could be a bit frustrating.

There was another suji cake of my memory that was slightly smoother, more pudding-y, with the same gorgeous scent, and since I havent been well, and have not had much to do, I decided to try and see if I could come close to making it. I succeeded quite well with this cake, and it took about 20 minutes to put together, and a further 20 – 30 minutes in a hot oven to bake. Easy and quick, this is a different suji cake, but just as comforting, just as golden, and just as open to interpretation – may be even more so.

I used vanilla to scent this cake, but you could certainly go with cinnamon, some almond essence, the grated rind of an orange or lemon… Go with what comforts you, and get semolina that is as fine as possible… and yet, not floury. You want the texture and the bite of the semolina in this cake. Its a big part of what makes it so unique.

If the previous cake was a bit intimidating, start with this one. Its a pleasure to make, and a joy to smell baking in the oven. Its a fantastic little cake to offer friends who are dropping by for tea. It creates happy happy memories, even when you might be struggling with a cold, or tiredness, or just the regular woes of the world. A little sifted icing sugar, or a simple glaze, or a smear of buttercream elevates this cake, but its so good it doesnt really need it. As you can tell from the photo – I was so greedy for a taste, I sliced it straight out of the pan, without waiting to sift any icing sugar on my bit.

This little golden cake seems to say, for that one glorious instant, its OK. Just have some cake, and be happy.

Makes 1 9-inch cake

  • 1 3/4 stick (12 tbsp) butter, slightly softened
  • 3/4 cup icing (powdered) sugar plus an additional / optional 1/4 cup for sifting over cake if you wish
  • 5 eggs separated – 5 yolks plus 4 whites (the extra white can be discarded or saved for a future use)
  • 1 tbsp sour cream
  • 1 tbsp vanilla essence (or 1 vanilla bean scraped – or in fact, and flavouring that seems to catch your fancy)
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 cup fine semolina
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 cup ground almonds

Preheat your oven to 175C (350F). Butter a 9-inch cake tin, and line with baking paper. Butter that too, and set the cake tin aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter until soft and slightly fluffy. Add 3/4 cup icing sugar, and cream well. It will look like the beginning of buttercream. I decided to use icing sugar in this recipe because I wanted the softness of the cake to be highlighted. The fineness of the icing sugar really helped.

Add the 5 egg yolks, one at a time, beating on low speed after each addition until fully incorporated, before you add the next. This cake, while quite quick and easy, also relies on a slow and gentle process of addition of each ingredient. I used a stand mixer, and as I added each egg yolk only after I separated it from its white. This gave the batter a period of slow steady incorporation of each yolk before the next was added.

Once all five yolks have been added, you should have a gloriously golden batter. Add the sour cream and vanilla essence, pausing to combine after each addition.

In a measuring cup, combine the salt, semolina and baking powder, and stir with a fork to combine. Add to the egg-butter-sugar mixture in a slow steady stream, beating with a stand mixer or electric beaters all the while, on medium low. Keep beating for about a minute, and then add the ground almonds in a steady stream, beating all the while.

Once the mixture has been well combined, set it aside for at least ten minutes or so.

Clean your beaters, and in a clean bowl, whisk the 4 egg whites until they hold firm peaks. If you turn the bowl upside down, and the egg whites stay, then they are ready – though I would not suggest you do this unless youre sure, or you have extra egg whites to work with!

Once the batter has sat for the requisite time, fold in the beaten egg whites, in three batches, combining extremely well. You need to make sure the batter is fully incorporated. The egg whites will lighten the colour and texture of the mixture. You shouldnt beat them into the batter, but you dont need to be timid about mixing them in firmly with a spatula.

Turn out the batter into your prepared tin, and bake for 20 – 30 minutes, or until the cake is firm to the touch, and a tester inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Let cool for five minutes in the pan, and then turn out onto a cake rack, and turn right side up again. Cover with sifted icing sugar if you like.

A warm slice of this cake will ease just about anything that ails you 🙂 Enjoy.

 

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Vanilla White Chocolate Pudding

31 Oct

This week has been a week of baking, cookies and cakes… I havent posted for days, and I am feeling a little bit out of sorts – still adjusting to being home, seeing old friends, re-establishing ties. And the sweet week of readjustment (accompanied by 3 major bundt cakes and cookies) is about to end – tomorrow comes meetings, work and the usual immersion in daily life. Bills to pay, people to see…

So tonight, I decided, after a lovely dinner with Pingaling, to treat myself. This pudding is so luscious, so creamy and smooth, so soft and silken and unctuous, that you can spread it all over yourself and bathe in it. It is like being enveloped in love and hugs and vanilla and sugar and sweetness. Its easy to make (about 20 minutes or less in terms of actual work time) and it is amazingly adaptable – brilliant either warm or cold.

It would be a phenomenal base for a white chocolate ice cream (just cool in the fridge overnight, and pop into your ice cream maker!). It makes a brilliant accompaniment to any manner of cake, pie, pastry or crumble. It would be stunning as the filling for a deep dark chocolate cake or ginger cake (that could be iced with whipped cream!). Served with fruits (particularly berries), this is a dream. And thinned out with a little more milk or cream, its a surprising and delightful custard.

But somehow, tonight, all I wanted was a bowl of this pudding, and a few of Adi’s crisp haunting vanilla cookies. The worries and pressures of tomorrow can wait. Tonight is a good night 🙂

Makes about 3 1/2 cups

  • 2 1/2 cups whole milk (though you can make it with low fat milk, it loses a bit in the richness – and of course you could add some cream but that is going just a tad overboard!)
  • 1 vanilla pod, split and scraped and/or 1 tbsp (or to taste) vanilla essence
  • 2 eggs
  • 4 egg yolks
  • Pinch of salt (I use Maldon or fleur de sel because I love the sudden pops of salty in all that sugary smoothness)
  • 1/2 cup light brown sugar
  • 1/4 – 1/2 cup (a few good ounces) white chocolate, chopped
  • 2 tbsp butter

Pour the milk into a medium saucepan, and split the vanilla pod. Scrape the beans into the milk, and pop the pod in there too.

Heat the milk over your lowest heat, until it just starts to steam and bubble around the edges. This might take a while, so be patient, and busy yourself with other things while it is happening.

Once the milk is just at the point of boiling, take off heat, and cover for 5 minutes to let the vanilla bean steep. If you are not using vanilla bean, allow the milk to cool down for about five minutes while you prepare the eggs.

Crack the eggs into a medium bowl and add the egg yolks. Set the whites aside for another use. Add the salt and sugar, and begin to whisk. Let me just take a moment and state that I use light brown sugar in this recipe because I adore the slight caramel tones that the light brown brings to the flavour profile. However, if you prefer a very pristine pale pudding, without the caramel-y notes, feel free to use white caster sugar.

Whisk until the sugar has completely dissolved into the eggs.

Once the milk has cooled for 5 minutes or so, fish out the vanilla pod (if using), and whisk in the white chocolate. Whisk well to ensure that all the chocolate is completely melted (it should do this relatively quickly). Add a tablespoon or so of vanilla essence at this point and taste. You should have very strong vanilla and white chocolate notes. They should complement each other, but also be distinct. Adjust if you like.

Whisk about a third of the hot milk into the eggs, and continually whisking, add the egg-milk mixture back into the saucepan.

Put the pudding over very low heat and whisk constantly until it begins to thicken and steam and tiny bubbles begin to pop onto the surface. Whisk in the butter.

You need to keep your nerve here. Too long, and you get sweet, expensive, useless scrambled eggs. Too soon, and it doesnt thicken enough. Do remember though, that pudding does thicken substantially as it cools down. Its a balancing act, but I rather take off too soon than too late! You can always give it a little more heat if it does not set up as you would like it to.

Hopefully, you will have rinsed the bowl you whisked the eggs and sugar in. Place a sieve over this bowl, and pour the pudding through, to ensure a beautiful smoothness.

You now have a difficult choice. You could eat some pudding immediately (who am I kidding, I always do! Cook’s treat) … or place greaseproof paper over the surface of the pudding and refrigerate for about 2 hours or so until it has cooled and thickened completely.

Enjoy in a myriad of ways… and be comforted 🙂

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Spinach Frittata

30 Sep

FrittataToday was a long day … loads of running about, and I woke up late, so it was like playing catch up! Had lunch with my oldest friend who was here on a visit from the west coast. Some people you can just pick up the threads where you left off, as if you had seen each other yesterday rather than decades ago. When it came time for dinner, I realised I had about half an hour before we sat down to eat. And the cupboard wasnt exactly full to bursting!

So a frittata it was, with spinach, a few cherry tomatoes thrown in for colour, and seasoned with Asian spices – soy, toasted sesame oil, sesame seeds, some salty dried seaweed. Served on dark brown toast, it was delicious, easy, quick and warm. And for dessert? Ahh well, that was a wonderful crepe made by Jules – bursting with strawberry jam and covered in snow white icing sugar. A glass of milk is traditional with it, and who am I to buck tradition? All in all, a wonderful meal, made even better by eating with family and loved ones, in a safe warm space, while it is cold and rainy outside.

This frittata will serve 4 people. It can easily be doubled to to accommodate more, or halved for just a few. Just remember to add eggs equal to the number of people you are serving, plus one.

  • 1 tbsp olive oil + 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
  • 1 small onion, minced
  • 1 tbsp + 1 tsp soy plus more to taste
  • 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds plus more to taste
  • 2 – 3 tbsp roasted seaweed, crumbled, plus more to taste
  • 2 – 3 cups fresh baby spinach, washed and chopped fine
  • 1/2 cup sliced cherry tomatoes
  • 5 eggs
  • 2 – 3 tbsp milk or cream
  • 1/2 tsp wasabi or dijon mustard
  • Buttered toast to serve

In a medium non stick frying pan, over medium high heat, saute the onions in the olive oil and sesame oil. Let the onions get soft and glossy, and then season with 1 tbsp soy sauce and the sesame seeds and roasted seaweed.

Add all the spinach, and stir well to combine. You want the spinach to just wilt. Taste for seasonings, and adjust. I love roasted seaweed, so I usually add some more here, and if its not salty enough, you can drizzle over a bit more soy – though remember, you will be adding 1 tsp of soy to the eggs.

Add the cherry tomatoes to the pan, and mix well. Lower heat.

In a small bowl. whisk together the eggs, milk, 1 tsp soy sauce and wasabi. Pour over the spinach mixture, and let cook, disturbing the mixture only to poke little holes in it to allow the uncooked egg to get to the bottom of the pan. The entire cooking process may take anywhere up to 5 minutes. You will have a crusty bottom, and a creamy centre. Keep the heat low, and if the top is not cooking to your liking, cover to let it steam for only a few seconds. You can also finish this in the broiler oven, but only if your pan is oven proof!

Serve with hot buttered toast on the side for a quick, delectable dinner 😉

And if you happen to know any Austrians, try and have this sublime crepe with strawberries and powdered sugar for dessert!

With Strawberry Jam!

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Rice + Greens + Omelette

16 Sep

Greens OmeletteWe went to the food mecca, Whole Foods, the other day and I saw some gorgeous broccoli rabe or rapini. Its kind of like kang kung, bok choi or kai lan back home, but it has these lovely little broccoli like florets hiding in the deep green leaves. Its also incredibly bitter, which can be a nicely astringent flavour, but it needs to be managed carefully, and juxtaposed against creamy, sweet and salty in order to truly shine.

Tonight, I was looking for a really simple Asian inspired meal, because we have been eating rather richly of late. I wanted something clean, and yet rather toothsome. I decided to saute the rapini with sesame seeds, and a sweet salty sauce. But in order to manage its bitterness, I simmered the rapini in water for a few minutes before draining it and running under cold water. This fixed its colour and flavour, and allowed the rest of the saute to happen in minutes. It also mitigated that deep bitterness that some people find too pungent.

With it, I served plain jasmine rice, which to me is food of the heavens. I love rice, and I cook it how my mother taught my sister, and my sister taught me. That is, without measurements, but by eye and rule of thumb. And I made a very simplified omelette which I cut into strips and served on the side. If you are vegan, just saute some tofu instead. Its all good, and makes for a light, quick, easy meal… with enough leftovers, hopefully, to make fried rice the next day!

This recipe will feed 4 – 6 people depending on amounts, which are totally up to you, as you will see!

Jasmine rice

Everyone has a different way of making rice. Usually at home, I make it in a rice cooker, but my sister believes in old school.

Take 1 medium saucepan, and pour in some rice. I usually try and cover the bottom of the pan, up to about halfway up the pad of my thumb, may be an inch or so of rice… This should serve 4 people, but if you want leftovers, add more. Rinse the rice in the pot with cold water, draining the water out from the rice to get rid of a bit of starch. Do this at least three times, or until the water runs clear.

Make sure the rice is in an even layer at the bottom of the saucepan. Pour in enough water so that if your thumb is resting against the top of the rice layer, the water comes up to the first joint fold of your thumb. I swear this works for just about anyone….

Put in a pinch of salt, and bring the entire thing to the boil. Once it has boiled, reduce to simmer, and cover with a tight fitting lid. Allow to simmer until the rice is done, about 15 – 20 minutes. Once the rice is completely cooked, fluff with a fork and serve.

Its that simple, and that difficult … it is a matter of getting a feel of the rice, a feel for your own hands and measurements, and a feel for the timing of the thing. But it does work, and it is really easy once you get the hang of it!

Rapini with Sesame Seeds

  • 2 – 3 cups rapini (about 1 head)
  • Water
  • 1/4 cup sesame seeds
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 1 tbsp oil – olive, canola, vegetable or sesame, your choice

For the sauce:

  • 1 tsp honey or agave syrup if you are vegan
  • 1 tsp rice wine vinegar
  • 1 – 2 tsp sesame oil
  • 1 tbsp soy
  • 1 tsp minced garlic
  • 1 tsp minced ginger
  • 1 tbsp chili sauce (I used Lingam’s from home)

Prepare the rapini: cut off the bottom of the stems, and chop the rapini in small 1 inch chunks.

Fill a large frying pan with water, and bring it to the boil. Tip the rapini in and boil for about 2 – 3 minutes.

The rapini will turn a deep emerald green. This is good. Once it has boiled for a few minutes, tip it into a sieve and run cold water over to stop the cooking process. Set aside.

Make the sauce. In a teacup or small bowl, combine all the ingredients, whisk with a fork, and taste. Adjust so it is sweet and nutty and salty and hot all at the same time. Add or subtract to your liking. Set aside.

In the same frying pan, toast the sesame seeds. Once they turn light brown, and give off that distinctive sesame scent, add the oil and chopped onion. Saute for a minute or two until the onion has become soft.

Add all the rapini, and cook for a few seconds, mixing in the sesame seeds and onion with the rapini.

Pour the sauce over, and allow to bubble a bit.

Taste and adjust seasoning.

Serve in a bowl, with a spoon to scoop up the sauce and pour over the rice.

Asian omelette

This serves 4 people – I always use 1 less egg than the number of people I am serving. Adjust accordingly. Also, I use a spice mixture I got at a Japanese grocery. It has seaweed, nuggets of wasabi and sesame seeds. If you cannot find this, add some crumbled dried seaweed strips (usually coated with soy or teriyaki) or just add some sesame seeds and may be half a teaspoon of mustard.

  • 3 eggs
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • 1 tbsp Japanese spice mix or as in note
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1/2 tsp oil

Whisk together the eggs, sesame oil, spice mix and soy sauce in a small bowl, and set aside.

Heat the small amount of oil in the same frying pan as you cooked the rapini until it just shimmers.

Pour in the egg mixture and lower the heat to medium low. Allow the omelette to cook through, shaking the pan every so often, and using a spatula to encourage the uncooked egg to go to the bottom of the pan.

Once the omelette has cooked through, use your spatula to segment the omelette into quarters. Place on a cutting board or a plate and slice finely into thin strips.

Serve with rice and rapini for a beautiful juxtaposed light meal.

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Spinach Pie

20 Aug

Today, around 11am, I realised I had a houseful of hungry women to feed – me, my sister, our mother, and the Au-Pair Nation (3 in total, though in M’s house it seems to be in constant flux!)… So went to the fridge to have a mosey about to figure out what I could cook. The quickest, easiest, and freshest thing seemed to be a spinach pie, with basil from the garden, and a ripe tomato to add colour, prettiness, and sweetness. I love cooking on the fly like this. I love checking out whats fresh, what looks delicious, and thinking up creative ways to cook it. This kind of meal is my favourite – unplanned, and yet with a certain urgency to it.

We sat down to eat at around 1230 or so – and the cooking was really a series of pottering about, mixing, tasting, stirring, sauteeing… It was very organic (as were the ingredients), and even baby Z got into the equation when she went to the garden to help Essia pick the basil! This pie will serve 6 – 8 people for lunch, and is wonderful on a hot summer’s day as it really does taste wonderful lukewarm, or even cold. You can try it with lots of different toppings (sauteed onions or mushrooms come to mind), and you can choose to add or subtract cheese, as is your wish. I used some sour cream and a little milk with the eggs, but if all you have is condensed milk, water, cream – use that. Its a very forgiving dish, and will really adapt to what you have.

Its also best, in my opinion, looking very rustic. This is not fancy restaurant fare. This is healthy, delectable home cooking, and it shouldnt pretend to (or try to) look polished and refined. There is a certain lustiness to this kind of cooking and food that people really respond well to.

I baked this in a medium sized Corningware dish, but if you want to bake it in a pie pan, go right ahead. Its easy peasy, and so delicious. Plus, I find people love pie. It feels like you have done a huge amount of work, when you really havent – and they feel like you have treated them to something magical.

For the crust

  • 1 1/2 cups unbleached organic flour plus extra for rolling out
  • 3/4 stick (6 tbsp) frozen butter, grated
  • 1/3 – 1/2 cup cheddar cheese (or parmesan, pecorino, goats cheese, whatever you like)
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 1 egg

Preheat the oven to 170C

Measure the flour into a small bowl, and grate the butter over. Use your fingers to mix the butter in well, until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle the cheddar cheese and salt and pepper in, and using your fingers again, mix well.

Break the egg into the flour mixture, and mix well, until a dough forms. Knead this dough, using the heel of your palm, until it feels very soft and elastic.

Let it sit for about 10 minutes in the fridge, and then roll it out, very thin, flouring your rolling surface and pin first.

Transfer the dough to your baking pan, ensuring that its even, and goes up the sides of the pan, and prick all over with a fork, remembering to prick along the sides as well.

Bake for about 20 minutes or until the crust has browned nicely. Remove from oven, and allow to cool, though if you are cooking the filling whilst baking the crust, its fine to assemble immediately upon removing the crust from the oven. Dont mind the sizzle 😉

Filling + Assembly

  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 (Vidalia) onion, chopped well
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 tsp dried basil
  • 1/3 cup white wine
  • 4 – 5 cups fresh baby spinach, chopped fine
  • 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
  • 1 large tomato, sliced into 6 even slices
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 tbsp sour cream
  • 1/3 cup milk, cream or half and half
  • 2 + 1 tbsp grated parmesan
  • A few rough chunks of goats or sheep cheese, roughly chopped (optional)

In a large frying pan, over medium heat, saute the chopped onion in the olive oil, and season well with salt, pepper and dried basil. Once the onion has become soft and glossy, add the white wine, and allow to simmer until the wine has almost completely reduced.

Add the chopped spinach all at once, and saute until wilted. Remove from heat, and let cool for a few minutes.

Chop the basil leaves fine, reserving 6 for the top of the pie, and mix the rest into the cooled spinach. Cut a large tomato into six equal slices, and set aside.

In a separate bowl, beat together the ggs, sour cream, milk and 2 tbsp parmesan.

Mix the egg mixture into the spinach mixture, and taste for seasoning. Adjust if needed.

Pour the spinach-egg mixture into the pre-baked crust. Lay the reserved tomato slices on top, and top them with the six reserved basil slices. Strew a few chunks of goat’s cheese into the pie, if you feel like it (I kind of poked them into the filling), and sprinkle about 1 tbsp parmesan over all.

Bake for about 40 minutes in a 170 C oven, and allow to cool for at least 5 – 10 minutes before serving.

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Frittata!

18 Aug

Ahhhhh… here I am in my “other” home, with my beloved M + Z + B + the AuPairNation of Essia + Julia. And of course, the King, Raai. Its wonderful to be back, and I am blissfully babied out. It was a 24 hour journey to get here, so I let myself off one day of blogging. But today, I cooked and so I thought it would be a good idea to start to blog again … I find that if I let anything go for more than a day, it becomes a habit NOT to do it!

I love cooking in my sister’s kitchen. Its large, airy, comfortable. Everything is so well organised, and its totally open plan. I love her knives, her pots and pans, and particularly, I love the contents of her fridge! There is always something interesting in there that will challenge me to create something delicious. Today, I was cooking for 6 people for lunch, so I decided on a frittata. Its a really simple open omelette, with the fillings added before the eggs. Its fluffy, and is finished in the oven, so that the cheese melts and browns a bit. Delicious – and it can contract and expand to take on whatever is in the fridge! Plus, its wonderfully easy to feed a hoard of people.

Along with the frittata, I made an apple berry crumble, and for dinner a very simple vegetarian curry with brown rice. The remains of the frittata were delicious sliced with dinner. Meals at my sisters are like this… I cook, and we always find ways to incorporate the previous meal into the current one. Simple food, cooked with organic and local ingredients. So much joy … And she has a huge basil plant, her own tomatoes, and a fig tree that is positively laden with swollen purple fruit. I think I am going to have fun here!

I am giving you the approximate ingredients for my frittata today. Use what you have in the fridge – and be experimental. But make sure you use your own judgement about what you mix together into the frittata. I wouldnt add blue cheese, but feta makes a wonderfully salty counterpoint to just about anything. Onions, peas and carrots go well with lots of things, but olives are quite a specific taste and might not meld well with parmesan, for example. Think about what youre putting together into the frittata, and then give yourself permission to experiment! Also be logical. I used 3 different kinds of cheeses because my sister had that in the fridge – but if you only have one cheese, then use that and dont go out and buy extra!

This is a wonderful dish to serve for lunch or breakfast, and its as tasty cold as it is hot, so its fantastic to serve at a picnic or in hot weather 🙂

This will serve six

  • 2 – 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 red onion, sliced thinly
  • 2 – 3 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1/2 tsp oregano
  • 1/2 tsp basil
  • salt and pepper
  • splash of balsamic vinegar
  • splash of port wine
  • 1/4 cup water (about)
  • 1/2 cup peas
  • 2 small carrots, sliced
  • 1/2 cup artichoke hearts, sliced
  • 1 cup mixed baby tomatoes (roma and plum), sliced
  • 4 vegetarian sausages, crumbled
  • 8 eggs
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 1/4 cup parmesan, grated
  • 1/4 cup feta, grated
  • 4 tbsp hummus (optional, but it added lots of protein and it was delicious!)
  • 1/4 cup cheddar, grated

In a large, oven proof frying pan, heat the olive oil, over medium heat, and fry the onions and garlic until glossy and soft. Season with herbs and salt and pepper. Add a splash of vinegar and wine, and let the onions colour and burn just a little bit. Pour a bit of water into the pan, and scrape up the juices and burnt bits if any.

Add the vegetables, and stir to combine. Taste for seasoning. You dont want it too salty as the cheeses will add salt too. Crumble in the sausages and stir well.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, parmesan and feta. When the vegetables and vegetarian sausage have been combined to your liking, arrange them evenly over the bottom of the frying pan. Lower the heat, and pour over the egg mixture. Using a wooden spoon, move the egg mixture around gently in the pan to encourage it to cook about half way through. DONT mix it though – you just want to kind of poke holes in the bottom that will be filled by uncooked eggs!

Spoon the hummus over, if using. Switch the oven broiler on, and sprinkle over the cheddar.

Slide the frittata in the oven for maximum 5 minutes. It will cook through, puff up a little, and the cheese on top will melt and brown a bit.

Serve immediately with fresh brown bread. Or wait a while, till its cooled, refrigerate and serve it sliced, for a summer meal that it light, and delicious.

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Creamy Eggs

2 Aug

Creamy EggsEggs are humble things, but they taste spectacular, and they add their special golden glow and richness to lots of different dishes. They therefore should be treated with great honour and respect. I love making things with eggs – custards, quiches, cakes, ice creams. But sometimes, what I really want is the perfect egg in all its glorious eggy-ness. When that happens, I turn to this recipe for creamy eggs. Well, in all honesty, these eggs are scrambled, but the methodology and the finished product are just so different from the regular garden variety scrambled eggs that we started to call them differently. They deserve it.

These eggs are creamy to the point of custard, but still most definitely not. They are scrambled, and yet silky, unctuous, rich and light in a way that eggs whipped in a pan could never be. The secret is in the preparation, and because of that, these creamy eggs are really a gift of love. They take a while to make – may be 15 minutes – may be half an hour. It all depends on your heat source, on how well you cushion your eggs from the heat, and how many people (and thus how many eggs) you are feeding. As a result, I would not make this for more than 4 people – but I prefer making it for just 2. Or even, as a gift to myself, for just one. For breakfast or a light supper, these eggs are perfect.

These eggs are also really good for someone who isnt feeling very well. They are so easy to eat. They slip down the throat, and fill the belly. Their golden colour, and tantalising scent perk up even the most jaded or weary of appetites…

Remember though, as a cook, this is a meditative dish. The constant stirring, the thoughtfulness about thickness and balance, the tasting… you have to be in the present when you make these eggs, and what you put into them is what you get out of them. Make sure that you are happy and loving when you make this dish, because if you arent, you will surely taste it in the eggs.

You can serve these eggs with lots of things. For non-vegetarians, snippets of silky smoked salmon layered atop the eggs seems like silk on velvet. For the rest of us – the sharpness of basil or another herb, snipped fine, might be a perfect contrast to the sublime richness of the eggs. To be honest though, I serve them with nothing but a crack of black pepper and a silver spoon, nestled in a pretty bowl like golden curds. Sometimes toast might get a look in – just for that crunchy contrast, but honestly, you need nothing but these eggs to bring sunshine and smiles to those you love… incluing yourself!

For each person, you will need:

  • 2 fresh organic eggs (preferably at room temperature)
  • 1/2 tsp sour cream or creme fraiche
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/2 tsp cold butter cut into tiny slivers
  • Bain marie – double boiler set up

A bain marie or double boiler can easily be made by putting a metal bowl over a saucepan of boiling water. Just make sure the bowl doesnt touch the water, and have a kettle of boiled water standing by in case you need to replenish the water at a critical moment. Start off by filling the saucepan about 1/4 full with water, and setting over low heat to come to the boil.

Meanwhile, break the two eggs into a bowl, and very gently, mix in the sour cream or creme fraiche with a fork. Try not to beat the eggs or whip them or form too many bubbles in the mixture. Water and air are the enemy of creamy eggs – they form steam which help puff up the eggs as they cook. You want something much deeper and darker and sensual. Fluffy eggs have their place – but not here!

Crack some black pepper and a pinch of salt over. You can adjust later. You just want a tad right now.

Once the water is boiling, put the metal bowl on top of the saucepan, and slide your eggs in. No butter, no oil. Just eggs and a little sour cream. With a spatula, start stirring the eggs…. Find a pace and rhythm that works for you. Figure eights usually do it for me. Watch the eggs carefully, and just keep stirring and stirring. Slow and even, no sudden movements, just a gentle silky pattern. You will see the cream slowly dissolve into the eggs, and the mixture go from slightly glossy and transparent to thick and yellow and opaque.

Keep stirring. (Thats the basic recipe. Eggs and stir!) Your eggs will go through quite a few stages. They will start gaining thickness, and will look like golden oatmeal porridge. Basically, what you are doing is cooking the water out of the eggs, and encouraging the proteins to thicken and cream. This takes time and gentleness – in heat and in touch. Go fast, and your eggs will respond and go rubbery.

When they look like thick oatmeal porridge, you can add a little bit of cold butter for silkiness and smoothness and creamy taste. But you dont have to if you dont want to. What you should do at this point is taste for salt and pepper and adjust accordingly.

Keep stirring. 🙂 When the eggs look like a firm cottage cheese or ricotta, take them off the heat immediately.

Serve atop crisp toast, or in a bowl with a silver spoon.

Taste the love.

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Spinach + Blue Cheese Bread Pudding (Unplanned)

25 Jun

AngelKitten + N came over tonight to watch the Brasilians and the Portuguese play a very boring final match of their group stage, and I had promised them beans on toast! One of my favourite easy dishes that you dont really have to think about. I thought of jazzing it up with a poached egg on top. Going all out! Well, when I checked my cupboard, all those cans sitting so certainly in the cupboard were soup – no beans! Oh no! What to do?! From this moment of panic, delicious dishes are born. I did a quick once over of what I had in the fridge and freezer, and decided to make a savoury bread pudding. I had eggs, milk, cream, blue cheese, onions, garlic, old good bread, and a packet of flash frozen spinach. It took about 10 minutes to assemble, 30 minutes to bake, and it was REALLY good. Much better then the second half that we watched!

This dish can serve about 6 greedy or 8 polite people. I baked it in a cake tin, so you could cut it like a quiche (or cake!) and it was perfection.

  • 1/2 cup half and half (or 1/4 cup milk + 1/4 cup cream, which is what I used)
  • 5 eggs
  • 12 – 16 slices days old bread
  • Blue Cheese (I used that Irish classic Cashel Blue – rich, creamy and sublter than most blues)
  • Packet of frozen spinach
  • Tiny bit of butter + small glugg of olive oil
  • 3 cloves garlic, sliced thin
  • 1 white onion, finely diced
  • Oregano
  • Salt + pepper
  • Cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 180C.

In a shallow bowl or container, beat half and half with eggs, and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Toast your bread, if you can. I didnt and it made a very unctuous bread pudding, but if you like the deeper flavours of toasted bread, and if you have the time (I was trying to get it done quick quick), then by all means toast away!

Make some blue cheese sandwiches: divide your bread in half, and lay one set on your working surface. Finely slice the blue cheese (I tried to get the creamier bits as I didnt want to be overwhelmed with the blue flavour, but do as you like best) and layer sparingly over one set of bread. Cover with second set, and trim off the crusts. Poke fine holes in the sandwiches with the tip of your knife, and lay them in the cream and egg mixture. Set aside to soak up.

Defrost your spinach. I dont believe in microwave ovens, so I dont have one, and obviously, if you can get fresh spinach, this would be best, but hey, I was working on instinct here! I used a large frying pan, and about 1/2 cup of water, and slowly defrosted over medium heat. When the spinach is fully defrosted, drain, saving the water. It will be spinach-y and delicious.

Use a little bit of butter and olive oil in the same pan, and over low heat slowly soften the onions and garlic. Season with oregano and salt and pepper. Once the onions and garlic are glossy, add the spinach, just to heat through.

Butter or spray olive oil in a large cake tin. Using your hands, take the eggy sandwiches, and tear about half of them into smaller chunks, lining the bottom of the tin. Layer about half of the spinach mixture on top, and repeat, ending with spinach. Pour about 1/4 cup of the spinach water into the remainder of the egg and half and half mixture, and pour all over the top of your bread pudding. Grate a bit of cheddar cheese (or other browning/melting cheese like parmesan) over the top, and pop in the oven for about half an hour. The bread pudding should puff up and get brown and golden on top.

Serve immediately, though Ezril tells me its delicious cold too!

Enjoy!

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The Lodge Egg Sandwiches

20 Jun

When I was a child, we used to visit The Lodge on our way up to Fraser’s Hill, a resort just outside Kuala Lumpur. I used to obsess about the egg sandwiches at The Lodge – they were the highlight of our trip! I thought about them for ages, and finally decided to make them one night when we were watching the World Cup. So easy and quick, but totally satisfying.

This recipe makes 4 sandwiches

  • 8 slices white bread, toasted on the lowest setting
  • Soft butter
  • 5 eggs
  • 1 egg yolk
  • Salt and pepper
  • Dash of milk or cream

Toast the bread very lightly – you basically just want to warm it and get a crisp exterior going. As soon as its been toasted, butter well.

Meanwhile, beat eggs, egg yolk, salt and pepper and a dash of milk or cream together. Use a fork, and don’t beat too crazily – you just want it combined gently.

Over medium heat, add a bit of butter to a non-stick pan, and add the eggs. Use a rubber spatula, and mix very gently. The eggs will be golden colored and very creamy because of the extra yolk. It should take only a few minutes before you have very gently scrambled eggs. Divide between four pieces of bread, top with a buttered slice of bread and press down well. Cut into half and serve immediately to grateful and hungry hoards.


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