Chanterelle pappardelle

chanterelle papparadelle

Life has been very busy recently. I’ve been so caught up with seeing friends I’ve barely had time to sit, think and just be still. It’s been fantastic but by Sunday we both needed to slow it down. Mushroom hunting was the order of the day. We drove away from the city, listening to radio 4 and munching on lemon sherbet sweeties. It was nice just getting to spend a bit of time together.

On reaching the wood we pushed our way through a thicket of nettles and wild raspberries. Once inside it was truly beautiful. Natural, untouched silver birch, pillows of deep sphagnum moss and little shafts of light coming through to hit the forest floor. It was the perfect terroir. It wasn’t the long before we spotted our first chanterelles half hidden away under moss and branches. The ruse of the fallen silver birch leaves often catching us out.

lovely looking chanterelles

We only spent about an hour in the wood but that hour was so restorative. For me there can me few simple pleasures as wonderful as finding your own food especially when it is as tasty as chanterelles. Maybe my enjoyment of foraging is some throwback to some primal instinct but that little bit of time out helped me put a few things in perspective. I felt better.

All our lovely "chanties"

Chanterelle pappardelle – serves 2

150g pappardelle

teaspoon of oil

6 strips of streaky bacon or pancetta

100-300g chanterelles, trimmed and cleaned with the largest ones quartered

2 cloves of garlic, paper like skin still left on

3 sprigs of thyme

30g butter

100ml double cream

handful of chopped flat leaf parsley

½ lemon

sea salt and pepper

Add the oil and bacon to a skillet pan.

Cook until brown and crispy on a moderately high heat.

Remove from the pan and set aside on kitchen paper.

Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the packet with plenty of salted water.

You may need to drain some of the oil from the pan. You will only need about 1 tablespoon worth of oil.

Add the chanterelles in small batches to the pan, making sure there is plenty of space between them so that they don’t stew.

Add the garlic and some of the thyme.

If the pan gets too dry add a knob of butter.

Cook the mushrooms until they are pleasantly soft but coloured. This takes a few minutes.

Season with sea salt to taste.

Once each batch is cooked remove the chanterelles from the pan and squeeze a little lemon juice over them and set aside till later.

Once all the mushrooms are cooked add the cream to the pan, give it a good stir to get the flavour-filled bits off the bottom of the pan.

Allow the cream to boil and reduce down so that it thickens enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon.

Remove the garlic and thyme.

Add the bacon and chanterelles to the pan for 1 minute then stir in the parsley and drained pasta.

Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Enjoy.

Roast peaches with Sauternes and lavender

Peaches, Sauternes and lavender - all ready for the oven

Sometime you get it right, sometimes you don’t. I’ve cooked a few blah recipes recently. Namely a disappointing almond sponge cake and a creamy rabbit, leek and mustard stew which frankly freaked me out. I managed to convince myself that it tasted “funny” and couldn't eat it. I think this is due to my nostalgic memories of my childhood pet bunny Shadow (whaaaa). Another culinary low light of late was a full on 3 hour recipe for an authentic Bolognese (made with 3 different types of meat and all). Despite all the effort the boyfriend’s verdict on it was “tastes like mince, as in mince and tatties”. Humph. Just when I was about to hang up my metaphorical apron and go sob into a packet of biscuits I pulled this little number out the bag/oven and all in the world was good again.

Flat peaches

Granted this is a very girly dessert but, without wanting to blow my trumpet, it is pretty interesting. Succulent white peaches, rich, sticky Sauternes syrup and the delicate perfume of the lavender. I think this would go lovely with some goat’s milk ice cream. If you don’t have any lavender you could substitute rosemary or thyme. I nicked the lavender from the flowerbed at the end of my street. My take on the English riots/rampage.

Lavender

Roast peaches with Sauternes and lavender

Oven set to 175 degrees celsius

Serves 2-4 depending on greediness and volume of ice cream consumed

6 flat peaches or 4 round peaches

20g butter finely chopped

2 tsp of demerara sugar

a glug of Sauternes, (75-100ml)

2 – 3 springs of lavender (ideally use the sprigs that are just beginning to open up)

Half the peaches and remove the stone, add the pieces to an ovenproof dish so that they fit snugly together.

Scatter over the butter and sugar.

Add a glug of the Sauternes so that the peaches are sitting in a Sauternes bath about 1cm deep.

Add the lavender to the Sauternes.

Pop in the oven for about 50 minutes until the peaches are wonderfully soft and the edges are sweet and crispy.

Enjoy.

Hello festival/hello lemon, ricotta and poppy seed cake

Lemon, ricotta and poppy seed cake

Well, what can I say; it’s festival time here in Edinburgh again. The world’s largest arts festival is on my doorstep, literally, Boy don’t I know it. The price of a pint has doubled and walking down the road seems busier and more touristy than the face painting stall at Disney Land. The poncho brigade is out in force.

Despite all my dour negativity I am actually hugely excited about this year’s festival mainly owing to the fact that some of my very closest friends back in the city for a little while. It’s nice just to know they are about and not hundreds of miles away in different cities and countries. I feel so lucky to have such awesome pals. It is making me smile just thinking about them and the things we have planned over the next few weeks.

Another benefit of the festival is that in amongst the dross there are some real gem performances out there. Here is a list of the events I’m going to, my Edinburgh Festival 2011 recommendations if you will.

Ben Howard – folksy, finger picky guitar on communion records (08.08.11 – been and gone)

The Animals and Children Took to the Street – 1927 Theatre Company (19.08.11 – 28.08.11). Eerie animation come cabaret come awesomeness. Stylistically and thematically impressive. The guardian describes it as “restrained malevolent tastefulness”.

The World According to Bertie – Andy Jordan Productions (11.08.11 - 29.08.11). This play is adapted from an Alexander McCall Smith book. I know it is going to be amazing as it has one of my amazingly talented friends in it.

Sold – (12.08.11 – 29.08.11). Devised theater based around human trafficking. It is supported by and features the smart graduates from Central School of Speech and Drama where Laurence Olivier and Judy Dench studied.

Andy Parsons - (20.08.11-28.8.11) Comedian with a funny voice.

Part of living in Edinburgh is finding your self extremely popular during the month of August. We have been hosting A LOT this week and have wheeled this cake out on a couple of occasions. This is the best lemon and poppy seed cake recipe I have ever tried. Hand on heart. This cake is wonderfully light, rich but still tart.

Lemon, ricotta and poppy seed cake (adapted from the Hummingbird Bakery Cake Days)

For the sponge -

190g caster sugar

190g butter, at room temperature

3 large eggs

190g plain flour plus extra for dusting

1 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt

4 tbsp poppy seeds

zest of 2 lemons

25 ml milk

80g ricotta

For the lemony syrup –

juice of 1 lemon

50g caster sugar

Preset the oven to 170 degrees C.

Grease a loaf tin with butter and dust with flour.

With an electric whisk cream the sugar and butter together for a few minutes.

Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each one.

In a separate bowl add the flour, salt and baking powder together.

Add a 1/3^rd of the flour mixture to the egg mixture and stir in.

Add a further 1/3^rd of the flour to the mixture and stir in.

Add in the milk and stir.

Add the remaining flour and into the mixture and stir.

Add in the zest and ricotta and mix well.

Pour the mixture into the greased loaf tin and cook for about 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the sponge comes out clean.

While the cake is cooking you can get started on the lemony syrup.

Add the sugar, lemon juice and 100ml of water to a small pan.

On a medium heat bring to the boil and remove from the heat when the syrup has reduced by half.

When the cake is cooked, leave to stand for a good 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cook completely.

Add the syrup whilst the cake is still hot.

Enjoy.