#53 Sweet Moments
Not much natter from me still (so sorry). Life is still pretty tricky, I had a WILD meltdown over spaghetti the week before last - apologies to my Mum, uncle & Aunt who bore the brunt of that outburst.
Anyways, just a few recipes and a whole heap of love from me today, hope we’re all doing ok! Sending HUGE hugs to each and every one of you, you’re all rockstars!
Thinks I’m loving
- Tinned Sardines – niche but why am I so late to the sardine party? YUM!
- Prunes soaked in Earl Grey tea (also niche, don’t judge) – Ravneet Gill has a recipe in her book, ‘The pastry chefs guide’ – highly recommend you try them!
- Lucy & Yak aprons – I really want one, although I will never be able to decide what colour soooo I will probably just long for one instead!
- Remarkable places to Eat - a soothing hour with Fred Sirieix. The second episode of the latest series on C4, featuring Ravneet Gill, was based in Marjorca which is one of my favourite countries to visit. Besides the beautiful scenery and sunshine, (which I just LOVE to watch), the food they discovered left me drooling! Defo worth a watch.
- Books… all.books - non-fiction, food/biography… any interesting topic (broad and entirely subjective I know but I’m currently a book hoarder).
- Sunshine - I know, it’s an obvious one but given how rubbish the weather has been in the UK this summer, I’m appreciating every ray of sunshine when it appears.
- This mischievous face -
- Delicious things…
- Sport- The world athletics championships that started yesterday… and of course the football today… I’m not sure I’ll be able to watch… too many nerves!
- My Mum… I say it all the time but she’s the best.
OK, recipe time… (if you’re looking for the ‘Twickers’ recipe I posted on Instagram during the week, you can find it here). ENJOY!!
Chocolate covered, tahini & coconut stuffed dates
I actually made these the week before last but failed to write up the recipe… this week I’ve been a bit more organised – they don’t sound like much, but gawd they’re addictive and a great little sweet treat to enjoy… well, whenever!!!
The peanut butter stuffed, chocolate covered date phenomenon has been around a while, but this switch-up, utilising tahini and toasted desiccated coconut is a real level up. I highly recommend using the ‘HU’ cashew chocolate because it’s wildly creamy and oh-so-good, but plain or milk chocolate would also work.
Ingredients
4 Medjool Dates pitted
15g Tahini
10g desiccated coconut toasted
45g Dark chocolate Hu cashew dark chocolate is NEXT level good here
1 tsp coconut oil
Method
Combine the toasted coconut and tahini in a bowl. Mix to form a paste. Use a knife to slit the dates in half if necessary, leaving a hinge around one edge. Spoon around ¼ of the coconut tahini mixture into the centre of each date, then squish it closed. Meanwhile, combine the chocolate and oil in a bowl, place over a pan of gently simmering water and heat until melted.
Drop one of the stuffed dates into the chocolate and spoon over some of the melted chocolate to fully coat, use a fork to extract it from the bowl and carefully transfer to a clean plate. Repeat with the remaining dates. Top with a pinch of Maldon salt and freeze for 5-10 minutes until the chocolate is set. Enjoy. (I keep mine refrigerated because I enjoy them cold!)
Ultra-short & crumbly Shortbread fingers
Having baked my Twickers bars earlier in the week (recipe over on TCC+), I wanted to subtly tweak the shortbread element so baked a second batch the following day – this one really hit the spot and I thought you needed to try it - it’s a simple affair; quick to prep, chunky, ultra-short and melt-in-the-mouth tender!
Ingredients
80g Caster sugar
175g Unsalted butter
200g Plain flour
50g Corn flour
¼ tsp sea salt
Caster sugar (you can use Demerara for a bit of extra crunch) for sprinkling
Method
Grease and line the base and sides of an 8 - inch square tin. Preheat the oven to 170C/150C fan.
Beat the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer until creamy – a couple of minutes. Meanwhile sift the flour, cornflour, and salt into a large bowl, then briefly whisk to combine. Add the dry ingredients to the creamed butter/sugar mixture and mix on the lowest speed until just combined. Roughly bring the dough together with your hand, then spread evenly into the base of the lined tin – for a uniform layer, place a clean sheet of parchment over the shortbread dough and, use a flat-bottomed glass to gently press evenly into the base of the tin. Dock all over with a fork, then chill in the freezer for 10 minutes or fridge for 30 minutes.
Once chilled, bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes or until golden and just starting to shrink a little from the sides. Remove from the oven, using a sharp knife, immediately score the top of the dough into 12 evenly sized fingers. Scatter over the sugar and leave to cool for 20 minutes in the tin. After 20 minutes, cut into the 12 portions and carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
*find my ‘Twickers’ recipe which includes this buttery shortbread over on TCC+
Roasted courgette & ricotta pasta
You know I’m a pasta FAN so it’s no surprise that I’m chucking another one your way. This is the perfect balance of creamy comfort, punchy flavour, and super simple to prep, it’s also fairly packed with nutrients which is always a winner!!
Serves 2
Ingredients
200g Courgette
½ Garlic bulb end chopped off
Olive oil for roasting
150g Wholewheat fusilli pasta (any shape will do)
100g Ricotta
20g Grated Parmesan plus extra for sprinkling
Zest of half a lemon + squeeze of juice
Pinch of Maldon salt
Pinch of ground black pepper
Handful of pine nuts toasted
Basil leaves to serve
Method
Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan, slice the courgette into thin rounds and add to a roasting tray with a drizzle of olive oil (I line my roasting tray with parchment to prevent the veg from sticking but not entirely necessary). Drizzle the exposed end of the garlic bulb with olive oil and wrap in foil. Pop on the tray with the courgettes. Roast in the oven for around 30 minutes or until golden.
When the courgettes have around 5-10 minutes to go, bring a pan of salted water to the boil. Add the pasta and cook according to the packet instructions. Reserve a mugful of the cooking water, then once cooked drain the pasta and add back to the pan.
Once the courgettes/garlic are cooked, remove the roasting tray from the oven, carefully unwrap the garlic from the foil and squeeze the sticky cloves out of their skins. Add the courgettes and garlic to the pan of drained pasta along with the ricotta, grated parmesan, lemon zest/juice, pepper, a pinch of salt, and a healthy splash of the pasta water. Stir until everything is well combined and you have a nice creamy sauce - add more water if necessary. Portion into bowls, then scatter over a handful of toasted pine nuts, extra grated parmesan, and a few roughly chopped basil leaves.
So much love and hugs as always!
Steph x x x
Greetings Steph, I have to say the Delicious Things look and sound off the scale for scrumminess this week, I think you have excelled yourself! Feeling sooo hungry looking at that lot! Must catch the Mallorca food programme as it’s where I’ve just been on holiday and unlike Chester it’s 30+ degrees every day with wall to wall sun and blue skies. My last 3 holidays have been Mallorca so it must be a favourite of mine too. Maybe you’ll get back to Illetes one day 🏖️. I hope you have a good week ahead and look forward to your next instalment - just don’t overdo it! 😎
Thanks for the update!. Nothing wrong about short and sweet. Best Wishes. Scott