Zürich, 28/2/2011: Pumpkin and sage risotto

This turned out to be pretty minimalist, but fantastic. I think because Anouk cooked the rice to perfection - still slightly gritty in the middle of the grain - it didn't fulfil its potential to turn into bland mush. Instead, the pumpkin and sage balanced each other very nicely and it was great!

So: dice pumpkin and roast until soft and starting to crisp at the corners; fry onion in lots of butter until translucent; add garlic together with the risotto rice (we have ribe in our cupboard) and fry until rice starts to change colour; add a slug or two of vin santo (because we had no white wine); once that's absorbed, do the usual risotto thang with stock; shortly before the rice is done, stir in the pumkpin, a hefty handful of finely chopped fresh sage, and a couple of spoons of parmesan.

If you are in Zurich, where you can get loads of fantastic cress at the market, you could, as we did, do a salad of watercress and fairly finely chopped iceberg, with a mustardy-balsamicy dressing and a halved boiled egg. Mmm.

M

Supper for one on a cold winter's night

I woke up this morning wondering what I could make for a cold winter's night in. Something to have in a bowl, and eat with a spoon in front of some not-too-demanding telly.

I had some dried Great Northern Beans in the cupboard, some onions in the fridge, some left over white wine and a few sage leaves. Time for something Italian.

I bought some sweet italian sausages from a very good butcher down the road and some romaine hearts for a crispy side salad.

Soak the beans overnight (some beans can be soaked in hot water for a shorter period, which is what what I did - check the packet).

Go for a good cycle ride to work up the appetite.

Boil the beans until tender. Put to one side

Cook the onions until they are very soft (I like to add a small splash of wine at this point, but I'm not sure why). Add the crumbled sausage and some crushed garlic, cook for another ten minutes

Add the beans, chopped sage and a splash of white wine (a large splash this time).

Add salt and pepper and cook until the beans have started to go mushy (about 30 minutes at a low-medium heat). If the mix goes dry, add another splash of wine.

Serve the salad with a lemon and olive oil dressing.

This was my first attempt at this dish. With hindsight I should have boiled the beans for a bit longer to make them mushier.

I forgot to say that I had the above with a baked potato - it is winter after all.

Back to Delia....Cold Aston 17/02/11

Had some girl friends for supper on Thursday so of course turned to Delia for inspiration: Chicken Basque hit the spot - lovely fragrant mixture of chicken, brown rice, paprika (smoked kind is my preference), garlic, chorizo, red peppers, wine, stock and sundried tomatoes, all cooked slowly in one pot. Perfect and a real blast from the past; well, the early 90s when we all cooked this all of the time!

Zürich, 18/2/11: Aromatic (no, really) saffron rice bread

This is the bread of the moment. It is soft but resilient, with a saffron flavour that isn't too overpowering but can stand up to stronger flavours (cheese, jam, home made chocolate spread etc.). It's also beautifully easy to make (come on you reluctant home bakers), and a good excuse to cook too much rice.

It came about after a 'cuurrey noight' for which I made a load of saffron basmati rice (important to soak the saffron for a good 20 minutes before adding to the rice cooking water). The next day, we needed some bread for a last-minute soup, bread and cheese supper, and I stuck with the theme, using the great saffron I got for Christmas (thanks, Mum).

This recipe is adapted from Dan Lepard's rice bread in The Handmade Loaf:

WET:
10 strands saffron, soaked for 20 mins in 25g hot water
125g milk (from the fridge)
40g honey
1 tsp fresh yeast
150g left over saffron rice

DRY:
250g strong white flour
1 tsp fine sea salt

Whisk the wet ingredients together in a big bowl, making sure the yeast dissolves.

Add the flour and salt, and mix well. Leave it resting, covered with a cloth, for 10 mins.

Lightly oil the table and your hands, and knead briefly (about 10 thrusts). Return to the bowl and cover. Leave for 10 mins.

Knead briefly again, return to the bowl, then leave to rise in a warm place (simply on the kitchen table is the kitchen isn't cold) for 1 hour.

Grease a loaf tin. Lightly flour the tabletop, put the dough on it and knock a bit of gas out with your fist. Shape into a batard (follow link and watch video 4) and drop, seam side down, into the tin. Cover and leave for another hour to prove.

Make a perdendicular cut (about 2cm deep) down the middle of the loaf, bake for 15 mins at 220°C, then for 25 mins at 190°C, and watch it bloom.