Category Archives: recipe

Don’t Fear the Crust! Puff pastry Edition.

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Puff pastry

Once upon a time, puff pastry seemed like one of those foods that is so mysterious and complex that you have to buy it ready-made. Well, that’s not quite true. Once you’ve made it once or twice, you’ll see how easy it can be. It is time-consuming, but it’s not really labor-intensive. And it’s not actually all that complicated. If you have a day that you’re going to be around the house anyway, doing other things, or in-and-out… that’s the day to make puff pastry. To be completely honest, the pasté brisée recipe I’ve mentioned, with the frozen, grated butter, makes pastry almost as flaky, and takes a lot less time. There’s something about puff pastry, though…it’s like a dragon to be tamed and befriended. Personally, I think it works best for smaller things that you don’t mold the heck out of. It’s very versatile, though!!

Here’s Broken Social Scene with Puff the Magic Dragon, because there is something magical about puff pastry.
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Jane Austen’s (vegetarian) White Soup

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cauliflower and white bean soup

As everybody knows, Mr. Bingley! (his name has to be followed by an exclamation mark – by law!) couldn’t hold a ball at Netherfield until his cook had made enough white soup. I’ve always been mildly curious about the nature of white soup. After a bit of research, I was excited to discover that this white soup is not dissimilar to a tarator sauce, comprised, as it is, of nuts and bread soaked in water. This one has almonds in it, which help to give it the lovely ivory color. The original version also had capon or gamon or something, but obviously I’m having none of that! I decided to use cauliflower, because it’s white, and it makes such a tasty puree. And I decided to use white beans. Can you guess why? That’s right! They’re white! And delicious.

I had read that white soup was traditionally garnished with pomegranate seeds and pistachio kernals. Red and green! On a beautiful, creamy pale soup! It’s the perfect Christmas dinner starter!

I have to admit that I was mostly playing around with this recipe. But it turned out to be exceptionally good to eat, too! It’s creamy and smooth, but there isn’t a jot of cream in it. In fact, if you omit the dollop of butter it would be vegan. And how did it taste? Mrs Bennet is quoted as saying, “Mr Bingley! This soup is mother-flipping delicious!!”

Here’s Nina Simone’s amazing performance of Little Liza Jane, which takes care of two Bennet sisters in one song title.
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Chocolate cayenne cutout cookies

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Chocolate cayenne cutout cookies


As I was making these, I said to myself, “Claire, you’re crazy!” Why? Because I made nearly the same cookie less than a week ago! And wrote about it here! Those were my spicy-hot dark chocolate cookies. As I mentioned at the time, they were like little cakes. Diabolical little cakes. Because they were a bit soft and had jam in the middle. I lay awake one night thinking these would also make good cookies to roll out and cut in cool shapes. And then coat with melted bittersweet chocolate. So I came up with this alternative recipe. The taste is very nearly the same – chocolate-y chocolate-i-ness with a spicy cayenne-ginger bite that sneaks up on you. But they’re a little harder and crunchier. And they hold the shape of your cookie cutters.

Here’s MF DOOM with Cayenne Pepper.
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Non-sausage rolls with chard and olives

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chard rolls

We had a party the other night, and I made these chard “non-sausage” rolls. They’re substantial enough that you could have a few with a good salad or some soup and it would make a meal. But…because they’re cut into small pieces they make good snacking food. They’re easy to make as well, because you don’t shape each individual one – you just cut them apart.

I combined swiss chard with a sort of deconstructed version of my tapenade. Kalamata olives, hazelnuts, capers, rosemary, thyme and garlic. Lovely flavors together – earthy, salty and very satisfying.

See also non-sausage rolls with butternut squash and goat cheese.

Here’s another reggae christmas song, because I’m obsessed with them at the moment. This one is completely brilliant…Eek-a-Mouse with The Night Before Christmas (not a creature was stirring, only an Eek-a-Mouse
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Cracker cups

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paprika cracker cups with membrillo and manchego


When speaking of my quince obsession the other day, I told you about membrillo, a delicious Spanish quince paste. Due to the miracle of quince’s high pectin content, when cooked for a long time at a slow temperature, it makes this lovely firm jelly, that is as pretty as it is tasty.

In Spain they eat it with manchego cheese, a dry, salty sheep’s cheese. The combination is uncommonly good! I decided to make some little cups out of cracker dough, and put a small piece of membrillo and a small piece of manchego in each one. It looks fancy, but it’s also nice because you get the full experience in one bite – sweet & soft, salty, and crispy crunchy. I made these with smoked Spanish paprika. Because 1)I make everything with smoked spanish paprika (I swear, I have to stop myself, sometimes!) 2) It’s Spanish, like the cheese and the quince paste 3) it makes the dough a beautiful pinkish salmon color that goes so nicely with the lovely pinkish amber membrillo!

I simply made a quick cracker dough, and rolled it into little discs that I pressed into a mini muffin tin. I didn’t want them to be too neat and orderly, they look more like little flowers if you just press them quickly together and crimp them randomly with your fingers.

You could use any kind of cracker dough, and put any number of things inside (food-type things, preferably!) Tapenade and fresh mozzarella would be good. Or goat cheese and a little sprig of arugula, or some capers. Whatever you like!

Here’s Bob Marley’s beautiful My Cup to listen to while you make your little cracker cups.
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Roasted Root veg and walnut bisque

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roasted root veg soup

I like the idea of walnuts and root vegetables combined in a soup – all this earthy nutty sweetness called to mind a meal you could make after foraging for nuts and roots on an autumn day. I could imagine Peter Rabbit’s mother making this soup, or maybe Mole of Mole end.

This is a smooth, tawny soup. It’s flavored with caraway seeds and thyme, which is a delicious and mysterious combination – they combine to make something quite different from their familiar, individual tastes. I made a rich flavorful broth, with french lentils, mushrooms, tomato paste, tamari and marmite, but you could use any vegetable broth you like. And the same goes for the root vegetables…I used quite a variety – turnips, parsnips, potatoes, sweet potatoes and carrots… but you could narrow it down to a few favorites if you like.

Serve with shavings of good sharp cheddar, which goes well with caraway seeds and walnuts, and contrasts nicely with the sweetness of the vegetables.

Here’s Jimmy Smith’s killer Root Down (and get it). Guess who sampled this?
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Empanadas with chipotle and butternut squash

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Red bean and butternut squash empanadas

These empanadas are like an evening in autumn – the leaves are all golden, red, and orange, and the smoke from somebody’s fireplace fills the air. Made with yellow corn, red beans, roasted butternut squash, and smoky paprika and chipotle puree, they’re pretty and delicious. They go well with artichoke heart salsa, which brings coolness to their smoky warmth. I baked mine, but you could fry them if you wanted.

Here’s Red Beans by Coleman Hawkins with the Red Garland Trio
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Artichoke Heart Salsa

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Artichoke heart salsa


Or further adventures in my search for the perfect tart/sweet/salty/spicy food. This combines the briny saltiness of artichoke hearts (from a can, I’m afraid, but there’s nowt wrong with canned artichokes, lad!), the tartness of lime, the sweetness of tomatoes and honey, and the peppery bite of cayenne. It’s very quick to make, and it goes well with emapanadas, chips, crackers…my son liked it so much he pulled the whole bowl over and practically ate it with a spoon.

Here’s Salsa by Johnny Pacheco.
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Supreme cinnamon buns with bittersweet chocolate

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Best cinnamon buns EVER

I LOVE cinnamon buns. Love and love and love them. Is there anything more fun to eat than a pastry that you can unfold to find more and more cinnamon-y goodness the farther you go?

But I have to tell you, I frequently find myself disappointed by the bun part of the cinnamon bun. Often it’s just white bread dough. It’s the thing you set aside to get to the tasty insides.

So I decided to make a cinnamon bun with a pastry element you’d like to eat by itself. And I decided to add bittersweet chocolate chips, because everything is better with chocolate chips. Especially on a cold and rainy day, such as we’ve had lately.

The sugar and cinnamon and chocolate got all melty together in the best possible way.

The reviews are in…little Isaac said he felt like it was so good that he would ask for another as soon as he had finished the first one. And my husband said that we could be nailed into our house the whole winter as long as we had supplies of these cinnamon buns. Malcolm liked them so much he helped me name them.

For the record, I think these would be good with some orange zest in the crust, but I haven’t tried that…yet.

Here’s the Stone Roses with Sally Cinnamon
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French Lentil Soup topped with caramelized mushrooms & shallots & sharp cheddar crisps

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French lentil soup

Mushrooms and shallots and crisps, oh my!

Beautiful, tasty french lentils don’t get mushy. If you cook them properly they retain a little crunch, so this isn’t the porridge-y lentil soup that you might expect. The lentils, carrots and potatoes float in a delicious, herb-infused broth. And I love mushrooms, especially in combination with french lentils, but I don’t love the way they get a bit slimy in soup – I like them crispy and flavorful. So I decided to roast them with shallots until they’re very crispy, and use them as a garnish. And to top it all off, I made little lacy crisps of sharp cheddar, which melt into your soup. Eat it with a good loaf of ciabatta and you’re all set!

Here’s the Rudies with Devil’s Lead Soup
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