RECIPES

RECIPE: Yummy apple Tarte Tatin

June 16th, 2010 — kim maxwell | 0 comments

Don’t you love being in South Africa now? dsc_0014.jpg Living within a long-range kick of Green Point stadium has massive advantages when you’re attending a live game. But visiting overseas friends and locally-based family think so too, which means I’ve been making a lot of warm soup and quick meals to feed the departing hordes. In between there is the serious business of watching games on TV, and occasionally remembering to do some paying work…

But I have to pass on a delicious recipe before the apple season finishes. You might want to give it a bash - the wetter Cape weather and sport-based gatherings mean more home entertaining. This recipe is my version cobbled from the recipe for one large tart in Rick Stein’s French Odyssey, and Pete Goffe-Wood’s individual tatins in his Kitchen Cowboys cookbook.

A lovely collective gift from long-time friends was the inspiration: my Le Creuset cast iron 30cm skillet pan goes from the stovetop into the oven. Stein says you can use a tarte tatin dish but I’m not convinced you’ll get the same results.
dsc_0001.jpg Anyway it’s delicious and oozily gooey - so worth the effort to make!

APPLE TART TATIN
serves 8 or 10

400 - 500g puff pastry (Woolworths makes an extra-butter version)
250g softened butter, diced
750ml (3 cups) castor sugar
9 firm apples (I used Cripps Pink because it has good acidity)
lemon zest for serving
vanilla ice cream for serving

  1. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface without handling it much. Cut a rough circle a little larger than your skillet pan and transfer the pastry carefully to a large baking sheet. Chill for minimum 20 minutes.
  2. Make the apple filling by peeling, coring and halving each apple. Sprinkle the diced butter evenly over the skillet surface. Pour the castor sugar over and then pack the apples tightly on top, rounded side down.
  3. Heat the skillet to medium (use a wide, even flame if using gas) and cook the apple and sugar mixture for 20 – 25 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally until the sugar and butter mix with the juices to produce a thickish, toffee-toned sauce. The apples should be tender but not falling apart. Don’t allow the butter and sugar to burn in the process.
  4. In an oven preheated to 200 degrees C, lift the pastry carefully over the cooked apples. Tuck the edges inside the pan. Prick a few times with a sharp knife.
  5. Bake for 5 minutes then reduce the heat to 190 degrees C for 15 – 20 minutes until the pastry is puffed, crisp and golden. Use a baking tray on a lower shelf to catch any sugar spillage.
  6. Remove the skillet from the oven and rest for 5 minutes. Grab a strong man and ask him to invert the pastry into a large round serving bowl. dsc_0006.jpg Garnish with lemon zest and serve slices with vanilla ice cream.

TIP: I’ve previously used Granny Smith apples for tartness, but remembered pastry chef Vanessa Quellac telling me that pink apples tend to make firmer baking partners so I gave them a whirl. Very happy with the pink results.

RECIPE Ramsay the Beagle braaied peppered fillet

September 22nd, 2009 — kim maxwell | 4 comments

Some of you may be on the mailing list of the Main Ingredient newsletter from John and Lynne Ford’s gourmet-goodies-one-stop-shop in Sea Point. I loved hearing about their kitten Hamish the Greedy Guts Gourmet, who had allegedly “sampled (and, mostly, enjoyed) mange tout, wasabi, sushi ginger, broccoli, pork crackling, Laksa coconut soup, a corner of the Cape Times, smoked salmon trimmings, roast potato and some tomato”. They reported that he wasn’t - yet - keen on wasabi.

Recently pet-sitting two Terriers (one tall, one short) and a somewhat grumpy cat, I was delighted to make the acquaintance of the neighbour’s puppies. A Weimaraner called Chilli, and my favourite – a Beagle called Ramsay! I never asked what inspired the latter puppy’s name, but its owner lived in London so I’m assuming that a certain foul-mouthed Michelin-starred chef had something to do with it.

Ramsay is at that wonderful puppy stage of all paws. I noted on her frequent inquisitive visits into the kitchen that like some chefs I know, there is always tummy space for a little something extra. Chefs I know don’t have ears that drape into the food bowl though…

Our impromptu pet-sitting braai recipe for peppered fillet has been dedicated to the ever-expectant appetite of Ramsay the Beagle.

dsc_0026.jpg

RECIPE RAMSAY PEPPERED FILLET
serves 5 or 6

1.2kg beef fillet, trimmed
olive oil
black peppercorns, coarsely crushed in a pestle and mortar
freshly ground salt
7 fresh rosemary sprigs

1.Rub the fillet with olive oil on all sides. Sprinkle with crushed peppercorns and salt. Using toothpicks, fasten rosemary sprigs into any folds, securing them in place with toothpicks.
2.Cook the fillet on a braai grid over hot coals (wood and charcoal mixed) for 20 minutes. Cover with foil in a warm place off direct heat while the meat rests. Serve slices of rare meat.

MUSHROOM SAUCE
½ packet of 20g dried chanterelle mushrooms
Approximately 250ml boiling water
⅓ cup butter for frying
1 pack portabellini mushrooms, sliced
a splash of white wine
250ml cream

1.Hydrate the dried mushrooms in a cup of boiling water. Strain and reserve the water.
2.In a saucepan, melt the butter and sauté the sliced fresh mushrooms for about 10 minutes. Add the drained mushrooms and strained water. Cook at high heat to reduce the liquid. Add a splash of wine while doing so.
3.Add the cream and keep reducing the liquid while stirring. The sauce should thicken slightly after about five minutes.
4.Serve warm with the peppered fillet.

RECIPE Have another piece of chocolate cake

September 1st, 2009 — kim maxwell | 8 comments

I have that old Crowded House song in my head. “Can I have another piece of chocolate cake?” The rest of the lyrics deal with buying cheap Picasso fakes and Andy Warhol laughing in his grave. No idea what it’s really about but I’m happy because my weekend chocolate cake attempt was fantastic!

Let’s say I’m a fairly decent cook. I throw savoury things together hurriedly and the flavours work; when I set my mind and time to recipes they mostly perform on cue. I’ve never been great at pastry but I used to be pretty good at baking when growing up. British cooking wiz Delia Smith says baking is the one area where you have to stick to precise measurements and she’s right.

So I’ve found it incredibly annoying that after spending years in Asia where stirfry-orientated stovetops are standard in rented kitchens but ovens are not, I was finally armed with baking tools again. A reliable Defy oven, and a coveted Kitchen Aid artisanal mixer, the latter a collective wedding gift from generous family. Yet I still had baking flops.

Was it the recipe, the oven or me? The lightbulb moment was when somebody told me conventional fan-assisted ovens should be reduced by 10 degrees, the baking time shortened by five minutes or so.

dsc_0014.jpg

I’ve edited enough chefs’ recipes and found crucial steps omitted to not even attempt some of them. I was in search of a rich and gooey chocolate cake recipe, ditching plainer versions from the very user-friendly cookbooks of Ainsley Harriott, Tessa Kiros, Rick Stein, Pete Goffe-Wood and Lannice Snyman in my collection. Then in a worn copy of Donna Hay’s Flavours I found an entire chapter devoted to chocolate recipes. A layered chocolate fudge cake sounded perfect, the synergy with Donna’s cookbook name only sinking in later.

The result? Reducing the oven temperature and baking time meant the recipe worked like a dream. Quality Nomu cocoa powder for the sponge, double layers halved and filled with chocolate cream.

A word of caution. This was no budget or diet-friendly version; three packs of melted Lindt 70% chocolate later, blended with butter and cream… But it was delicious and the sugar-free fudge frosting kept it bittersweet and not overly rich. A splash of Frangelico liqueur even kept it decent on day three. Three rugby-watching boys on Saturday afternoon were extremely happy to supplement their beer and biltong with a coffee and chocolate break. And most importantly, it seems I’m finally getting my baking groove back!

Contact me via email if you want to try Donna Hay’s delicious recipe, with my modifications. I’m reducing the fudge quantities as there was a heap left over.