A Cook's Diary

[drmoss_ca]

Made some samosas and pakoras today. It takes quite a long time but is worth the effort.







Far better than bought!

[drmoss_ca]

Baked some brioche stuffed with spinach and cheese:

IMG_1039.JPG (2.54 MiB) Viewed 1728 times

[Sam]

Yummy Chris. Love brioche bread and Challah

[drmoss_ca]

Having a pair of eggplants and some leeks to use up, I imagined this:

Eggplant Terrine

Two bread tins
Two large globe eggplants
7-8 medium potatoes
One medium onion
Two tins flaked tuna
or
Equivalent amount of smoked salmon

Grease the bread tins with oil.
Slice eggplants into </=5mm disks
Line bread tins with eggplant disks, forming them into shape



Spray or brush inside surface of eggplants with oil
Line the interior of the eggplant with aluminum foil and weight into place with your life savings



Bake at 425ºF for 15 minutes
Pour out the hot coins and remove aluminum foil, carefully
Return the eggplant-lined tins to the oven for twenty minutes more



Peel, chop and boil potatoes for 15 minutes.
Finely chop the onion and add to the drained potatoes.
Mash with butter and milk
Add tuna or salmon, mix well.

Fill eggplant-lined bread tins, bake another twenty minutes, then remove and allow to cool.



When cold, turn out carefully, loosening the eggplant from the sides with a spatula.



Bake another twenty minutes before serving, and cut into slices with a sharp knife.

I'm serving the slices with braised (in vegetable stock) leeks. It occurs to me that pouring a cheese sauce on top of the sliced terrine would be the "icing on the cake", but I can't be bothered!

[CMur12]

Quite the production, Chris!

I'm surprised that this dish is served cold. Why is that?

(To solidify it?)

- Murray

[drmoss_ca]

Yes, and no, Murray. You let it cool to firm it up so you can cut it and have it hold together. But having cooled, you warm it up to serving temperature and then cut it: it doesn't fall apart again after re-warming. Same process applies to moussaka and lasagne.

C.

[CMur12]

Good to know. Thanks for the explanation, Chris.

- Murray

[drmoss_ca]

Made Chelsea Buns yesterday:



Recipe:
For the dough
• 260g strong white bread flour
• 30g caster sugar
• 4g instant dried yeast
• ½ tsp mixed spice
• ¼ tsp fine salt
• 150ml whole milk
• 1 small egg
• ½ lemon, zested
• 45g soft butter
For the filling
• 40g melted butter
• 75g currants
• 45g dark brown sugar
For the glaze
• 60g dark brown sugar
• 60ml water
1. Stir together the dry ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer, then add the milk, egg and lemon zest, and bring it together into a shaggy dough using a dough hook. Add the softened butter in three additions, and then knead until the dough is smooth and pliable. It may be tacky but shouldn’t be desperately sticky. You can do this by hand, too, but the kneading will take you five or ten minutes. Cover and leave to prove for an hour or two in a warm place until doubled in size.
2. Lightly flour a work surface, and roll out the proved dough to approximately 30 x 20cm. Mix together the melted butter and sugar and brush it evenly across the rolled dough; then sprinkle over the currants. Roll the dough up from the long side, and then using a very sharp knife, cut the dough sausage into nine equal pieces. Place these in rows of three in a square high-sided tin, approximately 20 or 25cm on each side. Cover the top loosely with clingfilm, and leave to prove for another hour, until the buns are risen, soft, and puffy.
3. Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan, and bake the buns for 30 minutes, until the buns are golden brown. Meanwhile, make the bun wash: bring the sugar and water together in a small pan, without stirring, until the sugar dissolves and the syrup reaches a boil. Immediately remove from the heat.
4. When the buns come from the oven, paint them liberally with the bun wash. Leave the buns for half an hour, then carefully remove them from the tin, and leave to cool completely before enjoying.

And if you cannot buy mixed spice, use this recipe for making your own:

• 1 tablespoon quality ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons ground allspice
• 2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoons ground coriander
• 3/4 teaspoon ground mace

BTW, if you are a fan of tea masala, this is a better mixture for spiced tea. Use a pinch (1/8 tsp) in a mug of strong black tea with a little sugar and whole milk. Drink enough of it and the whites of your eyes will turn blue......

Chris

[drmoss_ca]

And hot cross buns, a practice run for Easter: