mushrooms – Pofta de Dulce

Squash soup with Parmesan croutons

admin — Thu, 23 Jul 2015 21:02:33 +0000

This fantastic soup is best made with varieties of squash that have dense, orange flesh, such as butternut or onion squash. It’s important to use good chicken stock and season the soup well to bring out the nutty, sweet flavour of the squash. Once you’ve mastered this recipe, you can take the soup in different ways by adding pearl barley, dried pasta, or some chopped smoked bacon. Even the smallest amount of dried porcini. PS I made this in my pressure cooker the other day, with really great results – it’s so quick!

Put a very large saucepan on a medium heat and pour in a couple of lugs of olive oil. Add the sage leaves and fry for around 30 seconds or until dark green and crisp. Quickly remove them with a slotted spoon to a bowl lined with kitchen paper – you’ll use these for sprinkling over at the end. In the pan you’ll be left with a beautifully flavoured oil, so put it back on the heat and throw in your onion, celery, carrot, garlic, rosemary leaves, chilli and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Cook gently for about 10 minutes until the vegetables are sweet and soft. Add the squash and the stock to the pan, bring to the boil and simmer for around half an hour.

New York vanilla cheesecake with blueberries

admin — Fri, 17 Jul 2015 21:19:14 +0000

Grease and line a 24cm springform cake tin and preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4.

Prepare the base. Mix the biscuits and butter in a bowl, press into the base of the tin and cook for 10 minutes. Cool on a rack.

Turn the oven to 200°C/400ºF/gas 6. Combine the sugar and cornflour in a bowl. Add the cream cheese and beat with an electric whisk until creamy. Add the eggs and beat well. Gradually add the cream, beating until smooth, then beat in the vanilla and zest.

Tip the mixture into the tin, level the surface and sit on a baking sheet and place in the centre of the oven. Bake for 40–45 minutes until the top is browned and the filling set around the edges. A piece of foil over the top will stop it browning too much. Let the cheesecake cool, then put in the fridge for 3 hours or overnight.

Put the blueberries in a pan, sprinkle over the sugar and add a splash of water. Put on a low-medium heat to simmer gently for 10 minutes. Cool and serve with the cheesecake.

Smoked salmon rolls with basil sause

admin — Wed, 01 Jul 2015 20:27:22 +0000

These are a kind of sushi-style take on a classic combination of smoked salmon and crème frache inside a pancake. You can make them up the day before, keep them in the fridge wrapped in cling film, then slice them up at the last minute. They look great if you serve them up-ended, like sushi-rolls, on a rectangular or square plate with the dip in a little bowl. You could use mustard mayo or even horseradish sauce instead of the vinaigrette dip if you like.

Roasted chicken breast

admin — Fri, 26 Jun 2015 22:35:26 +0000

Make this recipe for one in a snug-fitting baking dish or to save on washing-up, a little tin foil tray.

Preheat the oven to 200°C and put 1 chicken breast, skin removed, in a bowl. Trim and wash a large leek, remove the outer leaves, then slice it into 0.5cm/¼ inch pieces. Add these to the bowl with the leaves of a few sprigs of fresh thyme, a good lug of olive oil, a pinch of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and a small swig of white wine and toss together. Place your leek and flavorings from the bowl into the tray, then wrap the chicken breast in 4 slices of pancetta. This will not only flavor the chicken but also protect it while it cooks. Try and bend the sides of the tray in towards the chicken so the leeks don’t burn during cooking. Drizzle with olive oil, place a couple of whole thyme sprigs on top and cook in the middle of the oven for 25 to 35 minutes.