Pickled Melon

This is a useful recipe to have in your back pocket for when your melon refuses to ripen. If money is tight this works very well with just the rind, making it an economical luxury.

Method

Wash the fruit, peeling if preferred, and cut into 1" cubes. Soak in salt water in the refrigerator. Add more melon and/or rind to this mix during the next few days until you have accumulated several pounds of flesh. When you have sufficient to begin the pickling process drain the fruit, rinse well, then dry.

Day 1

Cook fruit in fresh, salted water for 15 minutes. Cool and return to the refrigerator in the cooking water.

Day 2

Rinse and repeat Day 1 process.

Day 3

Prepare a mix of 1 part vinegar, 2 parts sugar and some whole spices (cloves, cinnamon stick, root ginger). Cook the melon for 15 minutes in this. Cool and refrigerate.

The melon will last for a week. If you want to keep it longer, sterilize some jars and fill to the brim with the melon and spiced vinegar.

Squash Pudding

Here's a good dish to serve if you have company of the vegetarian kind for dinner. Add a mixed salad of arugula, English cucumber and palm hearts with a simple oil and vinegar dressing. This 'pudding' is really a souffle, but don't be alarmed. I would not break my promise of providing recipes that won't tax the novice chef. Go on, give it a go!

Ingredients

2-3 cups crumbled/grated cheese (a mix of goat's cheese, Cheddar and Parmesan works well)
3 eggs, separated
3 tablespoons flour
3 cups squash, mashed to a purée with a little butter and heavy cream
1 clove garlic, crushed
Chilli flakes, salt and pepper to taste

Method

Beat egg whites until they show the mark of the whip. Combine the other ingredients taking care to avoid lumps when incorporating the flour. Fold the egg whites into the mixture. Pour the mixture into a well buttered soufflé dish and bake at 375F for 1 hour without opening the oven (or you risk a collapsed soufflé).

Cassoulet

Mid Winter is the time to serve one of France's most spectacular dishes, cassoulet. There are many variations of this regional specialty of south west France, and many great chefs have an opinion on it (Julia Child, Elisabeth Luard, Richard Olney, Raymond Blanc, Paula Wolfert et al). I would like to propose a less taxing but no less authentic version for you to try. The several hours of preparation will reap rich rewards, I promise you.

Serves 6-8

1 1/2 lbs haricot beans, soaked in cold water overnight
1 large onion, peeled
1 head of garlic, unpeeled, plus 4 cloves, peeled and chopped
2 sprigs of thyme
1 bay leaf
1 small, unsmoked ham hock, skin on
2 confit duck legs and their fat
1 lb pork belly or lamb breast, cubed
4 garlicky Toulouse sausages
1 tbsp sun-dried tomato paste
1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs

Drain the beans and put them in a large casserole dish. Add the onion, whole head of garlic, herbs and ham hock. Cover completely with cold water. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for about two hours, until the beans are tender but not disintegrating.

Fry the duck, pork belly or lamb breast, and sausages separately in plenty of duck fat until crisp and golden. When cool, cut the sausages into large chunks and strip the meat from the duck in large pieces.

Remove the herbs from the beans and discard. Remove the ham hock and, when cool enough, strip the meat from it. Squeeze the cooked garlic cloves from their skins and mash to a paste with the onion. Stir this into the beans along with the raw garlic and sun-dried tomato paste. Preheat the oven to 275F.

Drain the beans, reserving the liquid. Grease the bottom of the casserole with a little of the duck fat mix, then tip in the beans, the rest of the duck fat and the pieces of meat and sausage. Mix well, then top with just enough liquid to cover. Season with a little black pepper.

Fry the breadcrumbs very briefly in one tablespoon of duck fat, then top the cassoulet with a thin layer of them. Bake for an hour until a crust has formed; stir this back into the cassoulet, and top with some more of the breadcrumbs. Continue cooking for another hour by which time another crust will have formed, and the cassoulet is ready to serve - with a green salad and a few bottles of red wine, preferably French.

Chermoula

Envious though I am of David Lebovitz's life, writing about food from his Paris apartment, I do love his recipes, and this one is no exception.

David points out that just a dab of this sauce is all that’s needed to enliven a dish, so I like to keep a pot of it in the refrigerator. He claims it will last a few days, but I think the flavor is still fresh a week later.

Makes about 3/4 cup, enough for 4–6 servings

1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/3 cup (15g) coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/3 cup (15g) coarsely chopped cilantro leaves and tender stems
3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1-2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
6 to 8 tablespoons (90 to 125ml) olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon chili paste (or 1/2 to 1 fresh chile, seeded and chopped)

Sprinkle the cumin seeds in a skillet and toast them over medium to high heat, stirring, until they smell fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Set aside.

In the bowl of a mini-chopper or food processor (or in a mortar and pestle), place the parsley, cilantro, garlic, smoked paprika, 1 teaspoon of lemon juice, 6 tablespoons (90ml) olive oil, salt, chili paste, and toasted cumin. Grind until smooth. (You'll see from the photograph that my Vitamix is a speedy alternative to chopping!)

Taste and add the additional teaspoon of lemon juice and the rest of the olive oil (or more), if necessary, so the sauce is a loose paste.

Almond Biscotti

The term 'biscotti' means twice cooked, and that's the secret to making these delicious Italian cookies for dipping in coffee. The cooking-drying process means they keep well too.

Ingredients

3 eggs
1 stick butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla essence
2 tsp almond extract
1/2 cup amaretto
1/2 cup whole almonds
2 cups sliced almonds
4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Method

Combine egg, butter, essences, amaretto and almonds. Combine flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. Add egg mixture to dry ingredients and mix to obtain a smooth dough, adding s little more  flour if sticky.

Shape dough into 4 equal, log-shaped piece. Flatten slightly and place on cookie sheets lined with baking arch net. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 F for 20-25 minutes until edges are golden. Remove and cool completely, then slice into biscotti. place upright on cookie sheets and bake again at 350 F for another 15-20 minutes until the tops turn golden. (The longer they are baked the crisper and harder they will be.) Cool on racks.

Happy Holidays

Wishing all my readers a delicious holiday season and a new year filled with millions of culinary delights.

Bread & Butter Pudding

Don't go making a face and leaving the page now. This is not the damp, tasteless bread & butter pudding you were given as a child. This is a great dinner party dessert, and I am serving it as part of my Christmas meal because it is not only full of flavor, but also the least taxing of puddings!

The great Swiss chef, Anton Mosimann first showed me how great this dish could be. Here is my version, using a special ingredient appropriate to the holiday season: panettone.

Ingredients

1/2 pint milk
1/2 pint heavy cream
5 oz sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla essence
a quarter of a panettone, sliced thinly
1 oz sweet butter, softened
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
a little powdered sugar

Method

Bring milk, cream and salt slowly to boil Beat eggs and sugar together until creamy, then beat in hot liquid. Butter a baking dish, then butter the panettone thinly and arrange in dish. Pour the custard through a sieve over the dish. Leave to stand for 20-30 minutes. Set the oven to 325 degrees. Place the baking dish in a larger ovetnproof tray containing enough hot water to come halfway up the sides of your dish (a bain marie) and bake for 30-40 minutes, until the custard has just set. If the top is not browned at this point place it under a hot broiler for a few minutes, taking care not to overcook or singe. Serve warm, dusted with powdered sugar and a jug of cream.