Sunday 26 February 2017

Pancakes: not fluffy or fancy - just the best ones to have on pancake day

I love Shrove Tuesday because I love pancakes and I can cook them, which seems to impress people more than it should. Below is the recipe I use every year, and a few times in between, and some tips on getting them right every time. For example, the first pancake is supposed to be a disaster; it means the rest will turn out perfect. 

The recipe I use these days is from old favourite the Good Housekeeping Cookery Book, first published in 1948. My edition was published in 1998 and was a 21st birthday present. But I've been making pancakes for more than 20 years (and eating them for close to 40), so it's not surprising that the pancake recipe is the most well thumbed page in my very first cookbook, How to Boil an Egg, a gift from my Grandpa in 1993.


I relied on this pancake recipe all through university, and it's exactly the same except the measures are less accurate - 4 tablespoons rather than 125g of flour etc - as we didn't have much equipment even in an all girls college kitchen. Surviving in these bleak conditions does mean that I can now tell when the batter is just right, so well worth the hardship.

As for the toppings, for me nothing beats golden syrup with a squirt of lemon juice and a sprinkling of sugar, but I usually have something different on the first pancake just to check...

Ingredients
(makes 6 medium sized pancakes, or 2 people in our house)

125g plain flour
Pinch of salt
1 egg
300ml milk


Vegetable oil for frying (not olive oil or butter as they don't get hot enough).

Toppings: sugar and lemon, golden syrup, Nutella, banana, nuts, chocolate sauce, ice cream, Greek yogurt, dulce de leche, jam, fruit, cream... whatever you're giving up for Lent (I'm thinking lemon juice?)


Method

1. Mix the flour and salt together, make a well in the centre and crack in the egg.


2. Whisk in the egg then gradually add the milk, whisking continuously until the batter is smooth and lump free. Leave to rest for at least 30 minutes.  


3. Heat two teaspoons of oil in a medium sized non-stick frying pan until very hot. Add a ladle full of batter and quickly swirl the pan to coat the bottom with a thin layer. 


4. After a couple of minutes, start lifting the edges of the pancake with a flat spatula or fish slice, easing it up from the bottom until the underside is browned and the pancake lifts off easily.


5.  Flip the pancake over and cook on the other side for about 2 minutes, or until nicely browned.
NB the first pancake is always a mess! Adjust the heat of the pan and try again, it'll probably be fine. If not try adjusting the thickness of the batter with flour (if too thin) or milk (if too thick). For subsequent pancakes you should only need a teaspoon of oil for each. 


6. Eat the pancakes as soon as you can - I prefer to cook one, eat one so they're hot straight from the pan. Add you filling, roll up into a cigar and enjoy!






Saturday 11 February 2017

Ricotta and hazelnut ravioli: another tip from grandma

When the Bearded Argentinian was a young clean-shaven Porteño, he spent most Sundays at his Grandma's house, preparing dinner with the rest of the family. As children, they were allowed to help make the fresh pasta, filing ravioli, cutting the shapes and sealing them with little fingers or a fork. Using her book to make empanadas last week reminded me that fresh pasta ravioli is another classic to share. And, unlike the elusive empanada pastries, absolutely everything in this recipe is easy to get hold of...

The pasta dough recipe is adapted from Grandma's book La Cocina de Lorenzo Taberna (on the right in the photo below) with some help from Antonio Carluccio's Vegetables (on the left). The filling is mainly from memory, with some help from Google.


You can double up the quantities below and freeze the ravioli once constructed but before cooking.

Ingredients
(Serves 2) 

For the pasta dough
200g Italian 00 flour
2 large eggs
Pinch of salt

For the filling
250g ricotta
125g Parmesan, finely grated
1 tbsp flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
1 spring onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup walnuts, very finely chopped, or blitzed to breadcrumb size
1 large egg
Salt, pepper and a grating of nutmeg


Method

1. To make the pasta dough, sift the flour into a mound on the worktop and mix in the salt. Make a well in the flour and crack in the eggs. Mix together with your hands into a thick paste, then bring together into a dough, adding a little water if needed. 

 
2. Knead the dough for 10-15 minutes until smooth and elastic. Wrap in cling film and chill for 30 minutes.


3. Make the filling my combining all the ingredients, adding the egg last and beating in. Season to taste.


4. Divide the pasta dough in two, and roll each piece out on a lightly floured surface as thin as possible, aiming for about 5mm thick. If you have a pasta machine, lucky you, otherwise just keep rolling in different directions to get an even thickness.


5. Place a teaspoon of filling at regular intervals along the dough, leaving about 1cm border around each lump, and brush this border with water. Complete a row, then cover with a strip of pasta dough and press the dough together around each filling, squeezing any air out. NB Children can help with these filling, shaping and sealing steps as demonstrated below by the Bearded Argentinian (in case you thought my hands suddenly got very hairy):



If you have some filling leftover, freeze for next time.

6. Cut the pasta into raviolis using a serrated pasta cutter if you have one (I used a pizza wheel...)


6. Press the edges together - using a fork makes a good seal and looks pretty if you don't have a serrated cutter. Leave the ravioli to rest for 10-15 minutes under a clean tea towel.


7. Cook the ravioli in boiling water for 5 minutes, until the sealed edges are al dente 


These little parcels are so tasty that I don't think you need a sauce. We drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkled with grated parmesan, snipped chives and a few chilli flakes.


Buenisimo! 



Sunday 5 February 2017

Empanadas: Classic Argentinian deliciousness

This week's recipe is from a cookbook that belonged to the Bearded Argentinian's Grandma in Buenos Aires. La Cocina de Lorenzo Taberna, was published in 1961 and is so well used that the cover has completely faded. As with many 60s cookbooks there are no photos, only a few drawings, and in this edition the dishes are organised in alphabetical order. I have to admit, I needed a bit of help with the translating!




Empanadas look like mini Cornish pasties but are much lighter and more flavoursome. They're most commonly filled with a beef mixture, but can also contain ham, tuna, chicken, cheese, spinach and/or onion. Empanadas with different fillings are finished with a different pattern, so you can identify them without biting in (thus spoiling the fun of "accidentally" biting into several before finding the one you wanted...).

The recipe in Grandma's book includes making the pastry, but it's quite fiddly thin pastry and you can get hold of pre-prepared empanada sheets online or in Garcia's Spanish deli in Notting Hill. Empanadas can be baked or fried, so make sure you pick the right pastry sheets. All the other ingredients are easy to get hold of so get a couple of packs of pastries and freeze one!

And for the recipe skippers, it's worth getting to the end of this one for the hugely appropriate serving board... 

Ingredients
(Makes 16 empanadas)

2 onions, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
400g beef mince
2 tsp dried oregano
3 tsp paprika (and chilli flakes or Tabasco if you like extra spice)
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 hard boiled eggs, chopped
2 tbsp green olives
1 packet of empanada pastries (Horno = suitable for oven cooking)



Method

1. To make the filling, sautée the onions in a little olive oil until soft, then add the chopped pepper and cook for a few more minutes.


2. Add the mince and brown.


3. Mix in the herbs and spices, garlic and olives and cook for about 10 minutes, then add the eggs. If it seems a bit dry, add some passata - it should be a little juicy but not watery. Leave to cool.


4. To make the pastries, put 2-3 teaspoons of filling onto one half of an empanada pastry sheet and fold over to form a semi circle. Moisten the edges with water and press together, then twist the edge inwards, using your thumb to fold the edge up, to make a rope pattern and seal in the filling (I let the Bearded Argentinian do this bit and didn't get a good photo...)


5. Arrange in a baking sheet and glaze with beaten egg. Cook at 180C for 20-25 minutes until the empanadas are golden brown.


Enjoy hot or cold, as a starter or a snack. They go really well with chimichurri, a garlic, parsley and chilli sauce, and a cold beer. The meat filling with the tang of olives and crunch of peppers also makes a great pasta sauce or an interesting alternative cottage pie base.