I'm in that Wednesday vortex again.. I've blinked and transported myself to the middle of the week. I have no idea how that happens. If it's true that time seems to speed up the older you get which, in my experience, seems to be the case, what the hell happens when you're in your 80's? I'm not sure I'll live that long to find out (which is a whole new and rather deep and dark conversation that I'm not prepared to get into here) but I would like to think that after you retire, life slows again to the same pace it was when you were young. I don't know but I do know that right now I can rarely account for weekdays as they go past in such a blur.. weekends too for that matter although at least I can lie in on those days and take the daylight hours at a steady pace.
Last weekend we had some friends over for supper. I love cooking for other people and can think of nothing better on an autumnal Saturday than spending the day cooking. We've had a supply of beef come in, in the shop, from Oaktracks Smallholding which is rather special. With this meat you know that the animals have had the best life and therefore the meat is going to taste great. It's more expensive than your mass produced, I grant you, so it's best saved for special occasions or when you feel like treating yourself, just like now. So with the supply of beef I cook Daube de Beuf. It's basically a beef casserole in it's most simplistic of forms but done well tastes like nothing else. I marinade the beef in a whole bottle of red wine, some garlic, bay leaves and thyme overnight, drain and sear it the next morning then tip the whole lot into a big casserole dish, put an obscene amount of chopped smoked streaky bacon on top and cook for hours in the oven. By the end, it falls apart and tastes silky and rich.
However, whilst the beef was a success, it is the pud I am most chuffed with. This was a recipe I got from the marvellous Pru Leith and it was surprisingly easy and even more surprisingly delicious.
Normandy Apple Tart
Ingredients:
Pastry:
225g plain flour
140g unsalted butter
1 large free range egg (we only do free range in the shop)
50g caster sugar
Almond Filling:
170g unsalted butter
170g caster sugar
225g ground almonds
2 large free range eggs (did I mention we only do free range in the shop?)
1 tblspn rum
A few drops of almond essence (we don't stock almond essence so I used vanilla essence instead)
Topping:
170g smooth apricot jam
2 - 3 eating apples
1. Heat the oven to 180 degree fan/gas 6 and put a metal baking sheet inside to heat up. Whizz all the pastry ingredients together in a food processor briefly until the mixture just forms a dough. Roll the dough out between 2 sheets of baking parchment until big enough to line the tin then chill for 30 mins on a baking sheet.
2. Whizz the almond filling ingredients in the food processor (no need to clean it after making the pastry). Line the tart tin with the chilled pastry, letting the excess drop over the edge of the tin and trim as necessary. Spread the filling over the base.
3. For the topping, warm the jam with a splash of water to give a thick syrup. Core and thinly slice the apples and arrange on top of the filling.
4. Bake the tart on the middle shelf of the oven on the preheated baking sheet for 15 minutes, then remove and brush with the jam syrup. Reduce the oven temperature to 180 degrees/160 degrees fan/gas 4. Return the tart to the oven and bake for 1 hour. Remove from the oven and add another layer of syrup.
5. Serve tepid or at room temperature with cream, creme fraishe or ice cream.
Last weekend we had some friends over for supper. I love cooking for other people and can think of nothing better on an autumnal Saturday than spending the day cooking. We've had a supply of beef come in, in the shop, from Oaktracks Smallholding which is rather special. With this meat you know that the animals have had the best life and therefore the meat is going to taste great. It's more expensive than your mass produced, I grant you, so it's best saved for special occasions or when you feel like treating yourself, just like now. So with the supply of beef I cook Daube de Beuf. It's basically a beef casserole in it's most simplistic of forms but done well tastes like nothing else. I marinade the beef in a whole bottle of red wine, some garlic, bay leaves and thyme overnight, drain and sear it the next morning then tip the whole lot into a big casserole dish, put an obscene amount of chopped smoked streaky bacon on top and cook for hours in the oven. By the end, it falls apart and tastes silky and rich.
However, whilst the beef was a success, it is the pud I am most chuffed with. This was a recipe I got from the marvellous Pru Leith and it was surprisingly easy and even more surprisingly delicious.
 |
| I know!! Looks good, right? I was pretty chuffed, I can tell you! |
Normandy Apple Tart
Ingredients:
Pastry:
225g plain flour
140g unsalted butter
1 large free range egg (we only do free range in the shop)
50g caster sugar
Almond Filling:
170g unsalted butter
170g caster sugar
225g ground almonds
2 large free range eggs (did I mention we only do free range in the shop?)
1 tblspn rum
A few drops of almond essence (we don't stock almond essence so I used vanilla essence instead)
Topping:
170g smooth apricot jam
2 - 3 eating apples
1. Heat the oven to 180 degree fan/gas 6 and put a metal baking sheet inside to heat up. Whizz all the pastry ingredients together in a food processor briefly until the mixture just forms a dough. Roll the dough out between 2 sheets of baking parchment until big enough to line the tin then chill for 30 mins on a baking sheet.
2. Whizz the almond filling ingredients in the food processor (no need to clean it after making the pastry). Line the tart tin with the chilled pastry, letting the excess drop over the edge of the tin and trim as necessary. Spread the filling over the base.
3. For the topping, warm the jam with a splash of water to give a thick syrup. Core and thinly slice the apples and arrange on top of the filling.
4. Bake the tart on the middle shelf of the oven on the preheated baking sheet for 15 minutes, then remove and brush with the jam syrup. Reduce the oven temperature to 180 degrees/160 degrees fan/gas 4. Return the tart to the oven and bake for 1 hour. Remove from the oven and add another layer of syrup.
5. Serve tepid or at room temperature with cream, creme fraishe or ice cream.
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