#11. A Bit of a chaotic week

Oh wow, this week has been a marathon! My sleep has definitely taken a pasting and I’m F-LAGGING!

I’ll be honest, even I (warm weather lover) struggled a bit with that heat earlier in the week - iced products became an absolute necessity.

I have also suffered some ‘World Athletics Championships related insomnia’ - any athletics fans will probably feel my pain here. The champs are in Oregon, therefore all of the events are running through the middle of the night, and some things have been too good to miss. As an ex-athlete, I still feel part of the sport in some way, secretly I wish I was there (competing) but I still just love watching it all, so it’s been my own little viewing marathon.

Meanwhile, I was down in London on Thursday for a hospital appointment which got me really nervous, I did, however, manage to have a nice day with Mum wandering around for a couple of hours prior to the appointment. We rocked up in Selfridges for a bit, which I always love; I rarely purchase anything, but it’s a little bit of magic in there, I think. We also nipped to Ottolenghi Marylebone - I could literally have bought everything in there; they had tasters of this humble little tahini biscuit that was super crumbly and short and just divine, the salads and baked goods also looked phenomenal, and I could quite happily have spent a small fortune on spices, condiments, granolas and nuts which were all incredibly enticing. Regretfully, I showed some restraint, but I need to return with a large shopping bag (suitcase) and do some serious foodie shopping… I’m also due a trip to one of Ottolenghi’s restaurants (I’ve never been) preferably with David -he too is a massive fan!

Then on Friday I went out for a lovely meal with my best friend and some of her close family and friends for a little pre-wedding celebration - she gets married in 2 weeks and I’m a bridesmaid - which I have been telling everyone because I’m beyond excited.

Now we are on Sunday and I feel like I’m finally taking a breath! In the midst of what has been a bit of a particularly chaotic week, I have managed to fathom a little cooking/baking energy, but I’ll be honest, my motivation hasn’t been at it’s peak, so I apologies if this article doesn’t quite deliver in terms of content, I’ll try to bring my A-game back next week. Having said that - there are a few recipes below which I RATE so give them a go if you fancy and let me know what you think!

FLUFFY, CREAMY, HEAVENLY HUMMUS

Ok so you’ve probably seen hummus recipes replicated all over the place, but here is my version. It’s a hybrid of many of the best recipes from people who know their stuff when it comes to hummus. For ease and (in my opinion hummus superiority) I use my FAVE Queen Chickpeas from Bold Bean Co - they’re so supremely creamy which is obv a perfect basis for epically velvety hummus, but also less faffy than having to soak and cook dried chickpeas, which is often recommended.

I warm the chickpeas in their ‘jar juices’ and add the customary garlic, tahini and lemon, a pinch of ground cumin and seasoning - it really is that simple. I also adopt the strategy of adding a little ice (yes ice) for extra fluffiness - as suggested by Ottolenghi - and drizzle with Olive oil and a sprinkle of Za’atar (optional).

Ingredients

240g (Drained weight) of Bold Bean Co Queen chickpeas (approx half the jar) reserve the liquid from the jar.
60g Light Tahini
1/2 Fat clove of garlic grated
10ml lemon juice
Pinch of ground cumin
Pinch of salt
10g ice cube
approx 50ml reserved chickpea liquid - see above

Method

In a medium sized saucepan, combine the chickpeas and enough of the liquid from the jar to just cover. Gently heat- bringing to a gentle simmer.

Once warm, remove from the heat, drain the chickpeas - reserving the warm liquid for later- and transfer to a food processor. Add a pinch of ground cumin, a good pinch of salt, followed by the lemon juice, garlic, tahini and ice cube. Blitz on a medium high speed drizzling in the reserved warm chickpea liquid - don’t add all the liquid at once, judge according to texture, stop the mixer occasionally and scrape down the sides, continue to blitz, incrementally adding more liquid to achieve the desired consistency. Once the hummus is super smooth, transfer to a dish, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with Za’atar. Serve with my wholemeal pittas and veggies - roasted or raw, whatever takes your fancy!

ROASTED COURGETTE PESTO PASTA

Another pasta recipe, another pesto recipe, another courgette recipe - ok you may think I have exhausted courgettes, pesto and pasta this summer, but I disagree - this is another rendition and it’s a goodie.

Serves 2

Ingredients

250g Courgette
2 tbsp Olive oil plus extra for roasting
Pinch of salt
25g Almonds lightly toasted
25g grated parmesan
25g Spinach
1 garlic clove
1 tbsp lemon juice
15g Basil leaves
5g Mint

150g Pasta I like wholewheat spaghetti, but you do you!

Method

Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan. Line a baking tray with parchment. Trim the ends of the courgettes and cut into discs, then hemispheres. Drizzle with oil and sprinkle with salt, roast in the oven for around 20 minutes flipping half way, or until golden. Once roasted, allow to cool.

Once cooled, add the courgette to a high speed blender with 2 tbsp olive oil, the spinach, toasted almonds, grated parmesan, garlic, lemon juice, basil and mint. Add 1.5 tbsp water and blitz to a paste - add up to another 1/2 tbsp of water if it’s a bit thick and not blitzed enough. Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate until read to use.

Cook the pasta, reserving a little pasta water, drain and stir through the pesto - loosen with a dash of water as desired. Serve with extra grated parmesan.

The tale of a very Autumnal cake… and a use for leftovers

This week I had to write my OCTOBER (yes October - I’m shivering at the thought despite currently being sat in 30+ degree heat) Cheshire Life article/recipe.

I’m always incredibly indecisive when it comes to settling on recipes - I get excited by the endless possibilities, my imagination goes a bit wild and even once I have decided on a theme, I find myself flip flopping between the elements and how they should come together. Ultimately I’m seeking to refine each aspect of a bake, add my own flair, balance things according to my palate and obviously achieve perfection!

One thing that remains the same though is that I like traditional flavours - call me boring but there is a reason they have been done so many times before, they just WORK, they’re also accessible - don’t get me wrong, ‘Tonka bean’ probably tastes phenomenal (and when I try it, I may well use it in everything - but, lets face it, it isn’t in Waitrose and even if it was, I’d probably need a mortgage to buy it).

For this recipe, I went for a ginger and toffee apple crumble cake with a cream cheese/cream frosting- I managed to prepare all of the elements early morning to avoid melting in the heat, slapped it all together, snapped some photos and was particularly chuffed with the outcome - let me be clear, I’m not always chuffed, sometimes it takes many attempts and quite a lot of frustration!

Unfortunately, I can’t share this recipe with you just now, you’ll have to hang on until October, BUT part of the reason I’m banging on about it is… I ended up with odds and ends of various ingredients left over and I HATE waste* - the outcome of my specific leftovers was a Panna cotta with raspberry compote and almond crumble. Full disclosure, I’ve never been a MASSIVE Panna cotta fan but largely I think that’s down to texture - I’m just not here for the rubbery vibe - I also have found it particularly rich when I’ve experienced it at restaurants in the past. Here, I paired some leftover double cream with a portion of yoghurt, I paired back the sugar a touch and went for the least gelatine I could without it being… soup - if you like a more sturdy panna cotta, this may not be up your street. Admittedly it’s still quite rich, but worth it, I like it best with a sharp fruit - I went for raspberries - and topped with a sprinkle of almond crumble from the cake, which worked a dream; it’s low effort summery vibes, a bit of a dinner party showstopper in my opinion and defo worth a try.

Below you have the recipe for the Panna Cotta, raspberries, AND I’m giving you that crumble recipe - because you NEED it - you can use it to top almost anything - yoghurt, fruit, ice cream - snack on it, freeze it, fall in love with it!

*Don’t panic - no cake was wasted either - I made a series of local deliveries!

Vanilla Panna Cotta, raspberry compote and almond crumb

Serves 3

Ingredients

Panna Cotta

200ml Double cream
1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste
25g Caster sugar
1 sheet of gelatine.
100g Natural Yoghurt

Raspberry sauce

150g Raspberries
1 tsp lemon juice
15g Caster sugar

Almond Crumble this makes a lot but can be used to top almost anything (Slight exaggeration)

40g Plain flour
20g Jumbo oats
30g melted butter
30g Soft light brown sugar
25g demerara sugar
10g Flaked almonds
optional - drop of almond extract
pinch of salt

3 ramekins

Method

Cover your gelatine leaf with cold water and leave to soak for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, combine the double cream, sugar and vanilla in a saucepan and slowly bring to a simmer - stir continuously to evenly distribute the heat and prevent the vanilla from accumulating at the bottom. Once just simmering, take off the heat. Remove the gelatine from the water and squeeze out the excess water add to the cream mixture and stir well to combine. Leave to cool for 10 minutes stirring periodically to help distribute the vanilla. Once cooled, stir in the yoghurt then pass the mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a jug before pouring into 3 ramekins. Leave to set in the fridge overnight.

For the raspberry compote. Combine the raspberries, lemon juice and caster sugar in saucepan. Place over a medium heat, bring to a simmer and cook for around 5 minutes or until slightly reduced and thicker. Set aside to cool - you can pass through a sieve to remove the seeds if you want a seedless raspberry sauce.

For the almond crumble, preheat the oven to 190C/170C fan. Line a baking tray with parchment. Combine the flour, oats, sugars, flaked almonds, pinch of salt and optional almond extract in a bowl. Pour over the melted butter and stir to fully combine. Spread onto a lined baking tray and bake for 10 minutes or until golden. Allow to cool and crisp up further on the tray.

To serve, turn each ramekin upside-down onto a serving plate. If the panna cotta won't drop out, carefully dip the ramekin in a bowl of warm water to loosen it - it sometimes takes a bit of teasing out. Serve with 1/3 of the raspberry compote and a sprinkle of almond crumb.

EXTRAS

• Mob kitchen’s marinated tomato ricotta Casarecce - GUYS THIS WAS ANOTHER CORKER - I left the tomatoes to marinade for a little longer than suggested and also added some roasted courgette because if you hadn’t gathered I’m a little courgette obsessed at the moment. I only had some chickpea Casarecce kicking around in the cupboard so I used that - a random purchase from M&S a while back, not sure if they still sell it. This was a ridiculously simple dish to prepare and a wonderfully satisfying summer dish.

• Banana iced mocha - whipped up was a little bit of magic earlier in the week and I highly recommend it, in a high speed blender blitz together: 2 shots of cooled espresso, 20g Manilife cocoa peanut butter (I know this is specific and a little pricey but gosh its worth it, there are alternatives out there, hazelnut cocoa butters are good alternative) 3 ice cubes, 100ml oat or nut milk, 50g frozen banana, 1 tsp maple syrup. Enjoy served over more ice if you like it super chilled.

• Iced mint & lime tea - I had an iced tea drink when I was in London and it was so delightfully refreshing that I had to try to replicate it myself when I got home. Quick note - for the best flavour use good quality tea leaves/tea bags.

  Ingredients: 10g Loose leaf peppermint tea (or 5 tea bags), 15ml lime juice, 30g good quality honey or agave syrup, handful of fresh mint leaves, lime wedges (optional). Method: Add the peppermint tea leaves to a large jug and pour over 800ml boiling water, leave to steep for 10 minutes. Strain the mint leaf liquid tea - pass the brewed tea through a fine mesh sieve or tea strainer, discard the tea leaves. Add the honey/agave and lime juice to the strained tea and stir to combine. Allow to cool to room temperature then transfer to the fridge to chill. When chilled, add a good handful of fresh mint leaves and a couple of wedges of lime, serve in 4 glasses with lots of ice.

• Finally, a little quote that I am taking into next week, after what feels like a bit of a Marathon few days:

  ‘All great changes are preceded by chaos’

  Which means that next week needs to be a good one for us all.. please and thank you!

Right - I need a nap, hope you are all well. Sending my love to everyone and wishing you all a fabulously positive week ahead.

Steph XXX