Summer finally arrives

On Bank Holiday Monday we got out of the city and went and spend some time outside. So we went for a walk up Ben A'an. It was so hot and there were some great views on the top. Before we left I got some bacon out of the freezer in preparation for purple sprouting broccoli pasta. However, on the way back we passed Gartartan Farm Shop. So we went and bought some beef, more specifically steak.

I only had one recipe in mind. It was Jamie's again, seared carpaccio of beef with roasted beets, creamed horseradish, watercress and Parmesan. It meant that I could use some of beetroots from the veg box.


This salad is great and means I can use my Le Creuset griddle pan, which makes me happy. We had it with ciabatta that I made the other day. It may not have been what was planned but it was wonderful.

Even more bread!

On Saturday night I made yet another ferment for bread. This time I was making some for when we have cheese. So I decided to make pain de campagne, as it was described in my bread book as sourdough's little brother.

Sunday afternoon was spent making the actual bread after making the dough, I left it to rise for an hour and a half. I then reshaped it and left it for another hour. It was then divided into 4 to make Serena and Andrew sized breads.

Before they were baked, I cut round the top. I really like making bread but I need to stop as the freezer is getting full. Maybe I should change a profession and become a baker.

Thanks to Jamie and Hugh

I have to say that I love Jamie Oliver, I have most of his books. There is actually one missing from my collection which I am sure with be remedied at some point. When we went to the Farmer's Market I bought some lamb neck fillet, which was only destined for one recipe: Jamie's grilled lamb kofta kebabs from Jamie at Home. I have made this quite a few times now and its lovely. So thats what was for dinner on Sunday.

There was a difference this time as I also made my own tortilla breads for the kebabs. I used a recipe from Hugh's River Cottage Year. He says its basically a pizza base recipe. I left it to rise for an hour before dividing the dough into 8. I then rolled them into what should have been round flatbreads but they were a bit mis-shapen or rustic. All you do is cook them in a dry frying pan for 2-3 mins the first side, popping any air bubbles and for 1 min the other side.


The kebabs are served with salad, onion which has been seasoned and slighty "pickled" in lemon juice. It was served with homemade chips and washed down with a nice red. Thank you Hugh and Jamie.

A nice healthy lunch!

On Saturday I went to the lab to do some work in the morning. For lunch we had Nigella's Hot Mushroom Sandwich, which is actually found in Nigel Slater's Real Food. When we first discovered this recipe we ate it quite a lot. Which is probably not a good thing as it isn't the healthiest meal, oh well. I remember when I worked for Sainsbury's during my summer break from University and some of the friendlier customers used to ask me what I was studying. So I told them that I was doing a degree in nutrition and they would reply "well don't look to closely at whats in our trolley". Little did they know that as nutrition student I knew what was healthy and what wasn't but that didn't mean that I always ate the good stuff. Everything in moderation if you ask me.

Anyway, all you do for the sandwich is make a garlic and parsley butter, put it on top of the mushrooms and cook in an oven until they are soft. We then put a generous coating of Dijon mustard on the bottom of a soft roll, then put the mushroom on top, squeeze on some lemon. Finally you mop up the buttery mushroom juices with the top of the roll. Delicious.


For dinner Andrew cooked Hugh-FW's leek rarebit, which was very yummy as well.

Ciabatta

It's always nice to have some bread with a meal. So as well as my soda bread rolls I also make ciabatta. I have used this recipe a couple of times. On Tuesday I made the ferment, a mix of flour, yeast and water that would need to be left covered for 17-24 hours.

Wednesday night I finished making my ciabattas. Next I had to make the dough which consists of flour, yeast, salt, olive oil, water and the ferment.

This is dough after it has proved for 1 and a half hours:

Then after it has proved I shaped it. I decided to make two loaves that are big enough for me and Andrew to share. I also made some rolls which should be enough for 1 person. After shaping I left them to rest on floured tea towels for 30 mins.

I part-baked them and then wrapped them up ready for the freezer. This means I can cook them from frozen, which takes about 15 mins.


The rolls look huge, but I am sure that Andrew won't mind. Andrew loves bread it's his favourite carb. Personally I couldn't choose but Andrew loves his bread.

I have to say its very rewarding making your own bread. The recipe I used comes from one of my favourite books: Dough by Richard Bertinet. The recipes tend to make a lot of bread but its handy if you don't have time to make bread everyday. I am sure that I will have many more posts of bread that I have made from this book.