Camembert and tomato chutney pithivier

Gourmandize have been in touch again regarding the run up to christmas on their website. They will be doing a '24 days of christmas' campaign featuring christmas recipes from their favourite bloggers. I have been asked to contribute to this countdown. I have no idea as yet what number I'll be. I'm guessing it won't be number one, as this is likely to be a carniverous delights.


What I have opted to share with the Gourmandize readers is my really simple but tasty individual camembert and tomato chutney pithiviers. I say pithiviers, because calling these beasts a cheese pie sounds too gluttenous, but that is exactly what they are. 


These pithiviers can be enjoyed by everyone as they can be a starter before christmas dinner, and also the vegetarian main option - a real indulgent treat with garlic and rosemary roasted potatoes, parsnips and sprouts.


What you will need
1 135g individual camembert
1 320g packet of ready rolled puff pastry


Tomato chutney
2 medium tomatoes
1/2 a red onion
2 cloves garlic
1/2 tea spoon chilli flakes
2 tea spoons balsamic vinegar
1 tea spoon fresh lemon thyme


Start by making the very easy chutney as you will want it to cool before filling it in the pastry - you don't want a 'soggy bottom'!


Quarter, then eight the tomatoes. Slice the onions finely and chop the garlic. Season and soften the tomatoes, onions and garlic in a tea spoon of olive oil. Cook on a low heat for 10-15 minutes to remove as much of the juices and possible. Add the balsamic vinegar and chilli flakes and reduce/cook this off for another 5 minutes. Add the fresh thyme and leave the chutney to cool.

Roll out the puff pastry (even the best chefs don't make their own puff pastry!). It is is a fair width already, but to accomodate the camembert, roll it out a tiny bit thinner. Cut the sheet of pastry into quarters. I leave my pastry on the non-stick backing to prevent it sticking.


Keep the camembert chilled. When ready, take the camembert and slice it into two along it's middle/equator.

Top two of the pastry quarters each with half of the chutney and then each half of the camembert, rind down. Next use your finger to wet the rim of the bottom half of pastry. Top each base quarter with the quarters that are left, pushing down to remove and air and making sure the top and bottom pastry sheets are stuck together. 

Next, cut away the extra pastry around the camembert, leaving half a centimetre. You can create a scalloped edge by pressing the pastry between thumb and finger. No need to be delicate, this can look rustic!


Poke a tiny steam hole in the top and gently score patterns over the surface. Place the pithiviers back in the fridge for a minimum of 30 minutes or overnight.

When ready to bake, brush with an egg and bake on a tray in the oven for 30-35 minutes at at 200 degrees until crisped and browned.

Serve hot with a crisp peppery salad such as rocket and watercress or let the oozy gooey cheese inside the pithivier dress your roasties and veg.

Tortilla (spanish omelette)

I woke upon Sunday to a sneezing fit. In order not to wake Gipsy Spread, I got out of bed and began to attend to the day. We were at Mother in law Spread's house, along with Sister and Brother in law Spread. I decided it might be nice to have some breakfast ready for everyone for when they woke up. As it was the five of us, I decided on a large tortilla that we could carve up and complement with the delicious organic sourdough bread and bacon for the carnivores.


What you will need
200g new potatoes
1 large onion
6 eggs
100ml milk
1 table spoon english mustard
2-3 cloves garlic
60g cheddar
A handful of fresh parsly
A handful of fresh chives


Firstly, slice the new potatoes in half and put on to boil for 10-15 minutes untilcooked through.


Meanwhile, slice the onion very thinly and soften in a tablespoon of oil in a frying pan with the chopped garlic.


Whisk together the eggs, milk and mustard and season again with plenty of salt and pepper.


When the potatoes are cooked, drain and add to the frying pan with the softened onions and garlic.


Add the chopped fresh herbs and grated cheddar to the egg mix and pour over the potatoes. Cook on a medium heat for 5-10 minutes until the underside has cooked and browned.


Finish the top under the grill for 5 minutes until browned.

Serve with some toasted fresh bread. I also had this with some balsamic tomatoes and red onions. This can also be served cold for lunch with a nice crisp salad and is perfect for picnics!

The Old Drum, Petersfield

The Shires can prove difficult sometimes for securing a good quality meal in warm and inviting surroundings. Think of poor 'Withnail and I' when they venture out of London. I don't think Petersfield has necessarily been known for its culinary offerings, perhaps for selling local organic produce, but definitely not for any gastronomical eateries.


So it was with suprise and glee that Gipsy Spread I had popped into the Old Drum for a quick afternoon libation whilst visiting Mother in law Spread this summer. I had been very taken with the local Champagne Cyder and we had noted that the menu looked interesting. It was with this in mind that we returned this Saturday to take Mother in law Spread out for her birthday meal.


We arrived at the Old Drum having shared a couple of bottles of Champagne at the house and having done the exchanging of the gifts for Mother in law Spread and Brother in law Spread, who's birthday it had also been this week. We arrived in a merry mood to find the table reservation as planned in my name. We sat down and took in the real fire and cosy atmosphere of the space. It all started really well. 


Mother in law Spread was keen to order as she normally eats much earlier than 8pm. When we asked for the food menu and said we'd order the drinks at the same time, we were told that as our table was booked for 8pm, we could not order before then. However, we were also told this twice after it had turn 8pm (we were only 5-10 minutes early).

 



The menu is extensive enough if you are not vegetarian. I had thought there might be a couple of vegetarian starter options I could supplement with sides if I didn't fancy the vegetarian main. The starters were just starters really. So, I was left with the main of... you guessed it, a risotto. My pet hate as at best it shows that the chef is complacent about vegetarianism and at worst lazy or indignant. On this occassion however, I opted for this as it was a pearl barley risotto supplemented with chevre fritters and a beetroot fondant.


Before the main courses, the extensive and generous bread basket arrived with rapeseed oil. This was tasty enough, however the bread was all quite heavy and dense and the flavours were not always distinguishable between the breads.

We nibbled on regardless until the arrival of the mains. First up was mine, I was happily surprised on this occassion with my risotto. This might be though because I was starting with particularly low expectations. It was the chevres fritter and beetroot fondant that intially drew me that were the most delicious and were excellently supplemented with nutty pistachios and chanterelle mushrooms. It has to be said, that without a doubt, the food looked beautiful. Brother in law Spread said it was the best looking 'Masterchef' type plate of food he'd eaten in a while.

 

Brother in law Spread (the advocate of raw food and vegetarianism) opted for the pork on this occassion. He was thoroughly happy with his choice and I observed Gipsy Spread sampling the pork that he sliced through like butter.

Gipsy Spread had the lamb with dauphinois potatoes, which included lamb breast(?). Yes, this was enquired after. He did enjoy his lamb, however, as can be seen from the photo below, the lamb was almost too rare, looking like it should be slicedmore thinly and served as a carpaccio.

Mother in law and Sister in law Spread both opted for the brill and monkfish stew. This was a £17.50 dish which proved a disappointment to those sampling it. In particular, the plate was cold and therefore the stew became cold very quickly, possibly on it's way from the pass. The pub was very busy and a spoon was not provided to sample the flavours in the stew until it was cold (and requested by us) and therefore the flavours had been lacking. Never one to hold back, Mother in law Spread mentioned this to the staff. She was offered a coffee from the house. Not being a coffee drinker, she suggested they might give her a small glass of wine on the house.

The glass of wine arrived and was split between the fish stew takers. There were also only two of the party who wanted dessert (yes, you guessed it, Gipsy Spread was one). These were ordered as we were having a good time and I think we all thought that was the end of 'fish gate'.

Gipsy Spread opted for the pistachio tiramasu (with a little encouragement from me) and Sister in law Spread went for the chocolate fondant. I'm not going to spend too much time on these, other than to say, the fondant was better than the tiramasu. The deconstruction did not work for us.

 

Well, all in all, we had enjoyed the company and the space was warm and quaint. The food was hit and miss in reality, but we could almost forgive the cold fish stew on a busy Saturday evening. We were ready to head out into the cold brisk Petersfield evening and walk back home. We asked for the bill and received that pretty swiftly!

 

 

I was the first to look at it and checked that everything we had ordered was indeed on the bill (and nothing else). However, I was surprised that for the five of us it was £250. We had only had one bottle of wine between us and we didn't all have two courses. Regardless, being a Londoner, £50 a head is often a bargain. So we were all preparing to pay this when Brother in law Spread took a closer look at the prices and identified a MASSIVE error. My main course which should have been billed at £12.50, had been added to the bill as £125!? How does this even happen when tills are electronic these days?

 

 

We notified the staff who quickly resolved this, but we were all however taken aback and still reeling that we could have quite easily overpaid an extra £112.50 on our bill.

 

 

The Old Drum, tries to deliver a fine dining menu in lovely surroundings - the usual gastropub model. Unfortunately for us, on Saturday night when we arrived, it had promised a lot on which it did not deliver. This was very disappointing, especially for Mother in law Spread as it was meant to be her birthday treat. 

 

 





Welsh rarebit

It's the weekend again and that's when I can eat one of my favourite all time meals - brunch! Gipsy Spread and I are off to spend the weekend with Mother in law Spread for her birthday. I have bought some lovely gifts including some surprisingly flavoured hand made chocolates from Borough market, but I also made her some of my now perfected macarons filled with her very own apricot jam.


I had used egg whites for the macarons and we are going out for dinner tonight at the Old Drum in Petersfield, so I made us some welsh rarebit inspired brunch with the leftover egg yolks!


What you will need
2 eggs yolks(or 1 egg)
Four slices of bread
80g mature cheddar cheese
2 table spoons creme fraiche
1 tea spoon english mustard
Fresh chives
Marmite (optional)


Firstly, mix together the egg yolks with the grated cheddar, creme fraiche, mustard, chopped chives and season well with salt and pepper. Set aside and toast the bread lightly on both sides. When toasted, spread with a layer of butter, them marmite. If you really are not sure, try one slice with marmite and one without?


Quarter the egg and cheese filling and smother over the marmite.

Spread the topping to the edges of the bread and place back under a medium grill until the egg has cooked and the cheese has melted and browned. Serve immediately with either some real or fake bacon.

Chaat masala

Chaat masala is fantastic to have around the house in case you want to knock up a nice and easy Indian salad or chaat dish. It is also always much better taste-wise, to make your own than to buy a packet mix. You can make a large batch of this and store in a dry space.


What you will need
1 table spoons cumin seeds

1 table spoons coriander seeds

1 and a 1/2 table spoons fennel seeds

4 table spoons amchur (mango) powder

3 table spoons black salt 


1 and a 1/2 table spoons freshly ground black pepper 


1/4 table spoons  asafetida powder

1 and a 1/2 table spoons  ginger powder

1 table spoons dried, powdered mint

1 and a 1/2 table spoons  carom seeds

 

Fry the the cumin, coriander and fennel seeds in a hot dry frying pan until the seeds begin to turn a little darker and start to give off their aromas. Stir often while roasting, to prevent the seeds from burning.


When the seeds have roasted, take them off from the pan and spread on a plate to cool.

When cool, mix the seeds with all the other ingredients in a pestle and mortar or food processor and grind till you get a fine, smooth powder. The Chaat Masala is now ready to be used, for example in a chana chaat.

Chana chaat/chickpea salad

I had already whipped up some green (coriander) chutney and was really craving a delicious, but healthy chickpea chaat for dinner tonight (it has been a mad week for treats at work). I didn’t have chaat masala, but it’s relatively simple to knock up an easy chaat mix and is really the only effortful part of this delicious meal. A Chaat masala is mostly used as a garnish on salads, Chaats (a generic name for hot, tangy, sweet nibbles), drinks (like Indian lemonade!), curries and daals etc.  This dish can also be made with the addition of boiled potatoes to make an aloo chana chaat.


What you will need
1 tin of chickpeas
1 tomato

1/2 onion

2-3 table spoons yogurt

Fresh coriander 

Coriander chutney
1 tea spoon chaat masala

1 table spoon pomegranite pearls
1/2 a fresh lemon
Sev (shop bought is fine)

The imli chutney
1 tea spoon tamarind concentrate
50ml hot water
1-2 tea spoon sugar
1/2 tea spoon chilli powder

Firstly, set about making this easy to knock out imli (tamarind chutney). I didn’t have time to soak the seeds and then pass through a sieve, so I opted for the tamarind paste option. The chaat masala is also full of the complex spices, so this chutney didn't need to be. Mix all the imli chutney ingredients together in the hot water with a pinch of salt. Allow this to cool. If you want it a little bit thicker, you can reduce it in a pan on the hob.

Next, drain and empty the tin of chickpeas into a bowl. Add the chopped onion, tomato and coriander and season with salt. Next, stir through the chaat powder and squeeze in the juice of half a lemon.

Finally and when ready to serve, top with a spoonful of plain yoghurt and a spoonful of each of the green chutney and the tamarind chutney. Garnish with a small handful of sev (a spicy, fried gram flour snack) and pomegranate pearls.

This such a delicious and fresh meal which is part of India’s culinary street food history. It can be served cold or warm. Gipsy Spread and I had this as a starter at out wedding.

Gujerati spiced noodles

My previous blog post attests to my very big lunch today at the Menier Chocolate Factory. I didn't fancy much for dinner, which also meant I didn't want to spend ages cooking. Gipsy Spread had only had a take away sandwich for lunch, so clearly needed feeding. I decided upon the quick, simple, but fiery and fierce Gujerati vegetable noodles for dinner.


We had yoghurt for a lovely coriander and chilli raita to accompany Gipsy Spread's noodles (alongside his sausages). Yes, this really is a meal!


What you will need
1 onion
150g sweetcorn
150g green peas
4 green chillis
200g vermicelli
1 tea spoon mustard seeds
1/2 tea spoon asoefetida
1 1/2 tea spoons tumeric
1/2 tea spoon chilli powder
1/2 tea spoon garam masala
Fresh coriander
1 fresh lemon
1 table spoon pomegranite pearls (optional)
1 tablespoon cashew nuts (optional)


To start the dish, place a table spoon of oil on to heat. When warmed through, add the mustard seeds and the asoefetida. Cook for a minute or two before adding the onion, finely chopped. Soften for 5 minutes, then add the chopped green chillies for a minute.


Meanwhile, make sure the sweetcorn and green peas are cooked and slightly soften the vermicelli in the boiling water for 3-4 minutes. Drain everything very well.

Add the tumeric and chilli powder to the onion and chilli mix and top with the noodles and vegetables. Stir everything very well and coat in the spices. Add the garam masala and season with plenty of salt. Finally add the lemon juice and cahsew nuts. Stir everything through, taste and add more of what you fancy.

Serve with a garnish of fresh coariander and pearls of pomegranite.

Menier Chocolate Factory

I have become the new social secretary at work for the team. This has included organising a week of events the last week in the office before Christmas, but also an impromptu spot of lunch in the name of team bonding. We’re a fairly new team in the current configuration. So in the spirit of forging ties and networking I arranged a lovely sit down meal at the Menier Chocolate Factory restaurant which is just around the corner from the office. I had walked past the other day and spotted the sandwich board which advertised a lunch menu for £7.

 

It was with anticipation that we all arrived at the eclectic warehouse with high ceilings, metal beams and large windows, which also has a small theatre space at the back. I have been here before, both for dinner and a show and I thoroughly enjoyed both. This was some time ago however, and not a £7 lunch.

 

We sat down and reviewed the short but diverse menu of lunch options. Everyone managed to pick something that tantalised them in theory, if not yet in practice. When the food arrived, it is was better than expected. The portions were huge by anyone’s standards and the chunky chips (which formed the basis of many round the table’s choice) could not have been chunkier if designed to be the building blocks of houses.

 

I went for the pasta option and having not known what ‘ziti’ pasta was pleasantly surprised with my deliciously long, thick and twisty tubes of pasta smothered in a light but spicy sauce, with the tanginess of sundried tomatoes and the nutty texture and flavour of the pine nuts. My colleagues went for the steak and beef and chicken caesar sandwich. One colleague ordered the halloumi burger (apologies no photo) from the main menu (£9) that was stacked high with crisp onion rings.

 
 

Suffice to say we all came away extremely satisfied with both the quality and quantity of their offering, needing both a sleep and reason to visit again. I’m hoping the menu does change regularly and that we can continue to visit and find seasonally varied plates for a bargain lunch.

Huevos rancheros

So, it was Sunday brunch time again and having been out for a late lunch yesterday, we'd skipped dinner. Eggs were definitely on the agenda, however I also francied a robust brunch with strong flavours. The store cupbaord was at hand and Gipsy Spread had come home with again with a bag of fresh green chillies for me from Whitechapel market, so huevos rancheros it was.


What you will need

1/2 onion

2 small green chillies
1 clove of garlic
1/2 tea spoon chilli powder
1/2 tea spoon ground cumin

1 tin of chopped tomatoes

1 tablespoon of jalapenos

4 eggs (2 eggs per person)

To serve
Toast or tortillas
1 avocado
Fresh coriander

Finely chop the the onion, garlic and chillies. Soften these for about 5 minutes in some olive oil in a frying pan. When softened, add the ground cumin and chilli powder and fry off for 1 minute before adding the chopped tomatoes. Cook the mixture for about 5 minutes on a medium heat to reduce. When ready, empty half of the mix into a bowl. Make a well in the middle of the mix that is left in the frying pan, add a little bit more olive oil to heat through and add crack two eggs into the middle of the well.

 

Keep on the heat until the eggs have cooked through, you might want to place the pan under the grill for a couple of minutes to finish off. Repeat the process with the other half of the mix and two more eggs.

Serve with a side of fresh avocado, on either the traditional tortilla or toast garnished with fresh coriander.

Lorenzo's Crystal Palace

So, Foxtons has arrived at the Crystal Palace triangle and I really hope that this does not spell the beginning of the end the small village feel of the area, with it's independent shops, bars and restaurants. One of my favourite lunch time venues on a Saturday is Lorenzo's in Crystal Palace. I don't think that you can get such a fabulous sit down Italian meal for less than £5 anywhere else. The prices have recently gone up slightly, but the food is worth every penny.

Lorenzo's is a family run Italian restaurant, which also has a fantastic selection of specials on a regular basis. These are advertised on the chalkboard. Today they included a variety of moules and involtini di melanzane (rolled aubergines stuffed with goats cheese and baked in a tomato sauce). You can really imagine the mama mia behind the scenes here giving instructions and tapping away intruding hands from her sauce with the back of a wooden spoon.

 

The decor is also fairly simple, with the walls lined with fabulous pictures of the amalfi coast from the seventies.

We went straight in for the £4.95 lunch options. Mine was the delicious crespoline vegetariana, which is pancakes filled with spinach, ricotta and mushrooms, baked in a tangy tomato sauce, then served with fresh parmesan. Gipsy Spread had the Capriciosa pizza which included ham, onions, peppers and artichoke hearts. Not bad for a fiver!

The lunch set menu is available Monday-Saturday until 5pm. It is a real treat and can be supplemented with a side of garlic bread or salad for an extra £1.

Lorenzo's is a fantastic local gem and I wanted to mention it on my blog as the first of my favourite eateries around the triangle. Long may it continue to do business.