Veggischmooze Goes Guardian Ripe Challenge

 

Hi lovely followers. Wow not only did we come up with some stupendous recipes but also we made the Guardian Cook page with the Chilli Cheese Beignets. Please try them they are glorious.

But also try the simplest recipe in the world and Ruth invented it after a glut of brown turkey figs – clever green fingered husband!

So the first is

Boozy Baked Ripe Turkey Figs with Blackberries

But other figs will substitute easily.

And rather than offering banana bread to use up ripe bananas and seemed maybe a little wintry, I created,

2) Banana, Blueberry and Lemon Curd Muffins which tasted of summer flavours but still used a couple of lovely ripe bananas and turned out soo moist and luscious..

3) Chilli Cheese Beignets        

This recipe was inspired by a luscious piece of runny ripe Brie sitting in the fridge which I combined with the gentle heat from a ripe chilli in the garden. The beignets were fluffy and light and my husband so enjoyed them. Please try them.  

I do hope I can tempt you to one of these recipes. Monday now is Guardian Monday and a lovely cooking day.

Love and hugs

 

             Boozy Baked Ripe Turkey Figs with Blackberries

 

Serves 4 people

Please try this recipe. The figs taste lusciously decadent with their winey baking and the blackberries meld to make a rich dark juice.

 

Heat the oven 180C, Gas Mark 4

 

8 plump ripe figs

200g ripe blackberries

50ml fortified wine or port

Grated zest ½ orange

1 tablespoon of dark strong marmalade – preferably homemade

1 tablespoon agave syrup.

 

Cut the figs in half and lay in an oven to table dish. Sprinkle over the blackberries. Mix the wine with the grated zest and the marmalade and pour over the figs. Drizzle the agave syrup over the lot and bake for 1- ½ hours or until the figs are really tender and succulent. 

Serve hot with custard or ice cream or freeze for later.   

 

 

     

 Banana, Blueberry and Lemon Curd Muffins Makes 12 moist, lemony muffins

I was loath to make a banana loaf which sounded so wintry when we are still blessed with summer sunshine. So I invented this muffin with a hint of summer but still uses two lovely ripe bananas and it worked a dream. The processor makes a creamier mixture which mixes in really well.

 

Set the oven on 180 C, Gas mark 4 and line 12 muffin tins( whoops or fairy cake tins like me) with paper cases

  

250g plain flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

½ teaspoon salt    

2 medium bananas

150g punnet of ripe blueberries

Zest of 1 organic lemon and the juice of ½

140g fair-trade light muscovado sugar

10g vanilla sugar

70g melted butter or margarine

1 medium free-range organic egg

12 teaspoons or 85g lemon curd

 

Into a large bowl, sieve the flour with the salt, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda. If you have a processor process the bananas with the egg, lemon zest, the two sugars and the melted butter or margarine. When this mixture is smooth add the blueberries and fold into the flour mixture, quickly adding the lemon juice at the very end as this will increase the chemical reaction and start the cakes bubbling in the cases. Quickly drop teaspoons of lemon curd onto the top of the muffins and place them in the centre of the pre-warmed oven.

Bake for 30minutes and enjoy hot or cold with a hot cuppa and plenty of good chat.            

 

 

Chilli Cheese Beignets

Makes 24 approximately and luscious with salad or doubled up to serve at a party

I was thrilled to combine the inspiration of a ripe brie sitting in the fridge with half a ripe chilli from the garden. I am so chuffed with these. Please enjoy. Xx

        

225ml water

110g butter

140g plain flour

Pinch salt

4 free range organic eggs

½ red chilli medium heat de-seeded and finely chopped or 1/8^th teaspoon cayenne pepper

100g grated brie – the soft skin is fine grated (mozzarella is also delicious) 

100g grated parmesan or another strong cheese

 

Oil for deep frying

 

Place the water in a saucepan with the butter and bring them to the boil. Remove from the heat and add all the flour in one go, stirring continuously until the mixture comes away from the sides of the pan. Place the pan back on the heat and keep stirring for another five minutes.

Leave to cool – I spread it out in a tin to cool quicker. Then either transfer the mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer or easier, place in the processor. When the mixture is cool add the beaten eggs one at a time. Then add or wiz in the cheese and the chopped chillies.

In a deep pan or chip pan heat the oil until it is quite hot 190C and carefully drop teaspoons of the cheesy chilli mixture into the pot. Turn them over with a slotted spoon so they brown on both sides. Drain on kitchen roll and serve hot as a snack or with salad as a light lunch.   

 

 

 

Variations

 

25g chopped basil added to the processor add a little freshness to the mix

 

               

 

                             Veggischmooze are smokin’ good

 

 

This lovely idea brought back such incredible memories of childhood with family members long gone; now locked in sepia frames.

So the first and luscious recipe is Liptauer Cheese made by Hungarians, Austrians, and certainly our family. Goodness when Ruth made it, the taste was childhood. Pure nostalgia!!

Then she looked at the Sephardi branch of the family and made Nahit – oven baked chickpeas cooked until slightly crisp and flavoured with a smoky, spicy, and totally irresistible coating. They have that once you start you can’t stop thing ahh.

And to make them even more irresistible she added some mixed nuts to the mixture. Utterly moorish with that hint of smoke.

Please try them we are so delighted with the recipes      

 

Love and hugs

 

Ruth and Sarah xxxx

 

 

Veggischmooze.blogspot.com

 

As usual Sarah is my wonderful photographer – please enjoy

 

 

                        Ruth’s Liptauer Cheese – an old family recipe

 

Serves 3-4 for a delicious snack or starter

 

200g full fat cheese

1 tablespoon caraway seeds

1½ tablespoons sesame seeds

1 fat clove garlic finely crushed

½ tablespoon paprika

½ teaspoon smoked sweet pimenton

30g dill pickle finely grated

½ teaspoon white balsamic vinegar

Black pepper to taste if needed

 

Process the caraway seeds and sesame seeds in a spice mill. Pour into a bowl. Crush the garlic as finely as possible so that it is a smooth fluffy paste. Add the remaining spices. Grate the pickle and combine all the flavours with a spoon or fork.

 

Serve with slices of pumpernickel bread, crudités, more pickles and lemon tea. Delicious

Next time I’ll make double!

 

 

 

Nahit  - Spicy Smoky Chickpeas

Serves 2-3  

 

The Sephardi branch of my family or at least my husband’s family love to serve this

 

economical treat at Jewish festivals as a nash or nosh. To make it even more special I

 

have added a bag of mixed nuts to give it a luxurious flavour – enjoy folks.

 

1 x 400g can chickpeas in salt rinsed

1 tablespoon corn or light olive oil

½ teaspoon smoked paprika – sweet pimenton

½ teaspoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon ground paprika

2 teaspoons golden syrup or honey

1 teaspoon dried thyme

125g mixed nuts

 

Heat the oven to 170 C gas mark 3

 

Rinse the chickpeas. Combine the oil with the spices, syrup or honey. Add the chickpeas and the nuts and shake or stir well until all the surfaces are covered with the sweet, spicy, smoky flavouring. Bake for ¾ hour which seems a long time and ovens may vary, but stir after 20 minutes and check – the chickpeas should be slightly crisp and the nuts brown and luscious. Taste and see if you can stop!  

 

          

    

 

       

        Veggischmooze Goodness can it be September?          

 

Dear lovely followers. Firstly huge apologies for the gap in submissions recently. Ahh our Sarah, the clever technical one that mixes the copy and the photos and subs to the internet has been frolicking at festivals with wellies and garlands of flowers and enjoying other lovely holidays. But we’ll put it all right now with wonderful entries. But Ruth has still been submitting to the Guardian with brilliant results. So please keep watching our pages   

Now our news, our lovely girls, Jasmine age 12 and Phoebe age 9, were thrilled when their delicious Choc Chip biscuits made it to the Kids’ Pages and we all celebrated. Try the recipe it works and that’s always a bonus.

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/jul/29/readers-recipe-swap-kids-recipes-felicity-cloake

And then although we didn’t achieve page fame in the Sticky section, all these recipes are tried and tested and work like a dream.

We wanted to offer something a little different so try our   

 

                             Posh Lemon and Coconut Syrup Tart –oooh!!

 

 

We’ve called it posh as we’ve bothered to make Paté Sucrée instead of shortcrust as we wanted a super crispy pastry with a buttery finish. We think it’s worth the ‘potch’ as they say in Wales and we have added masses of lemon juice and rind, plus vanilla seeds to counteract the sweetness of the syrup.    

Grease and flour a swiss roll tin 18cms x 28cms

Set oven on 170C, Gas mark 3    

Pastry

 90g butter or margarine 

60g soft brown sugar – we prefer the taste

10g vanilla sugar

3 free range organic egg yolks

200g plain flour + a little for rolling out

Grated zest ½ lemon

Cream the butter and the sugars in the processor. Slowly incorporate the egg yolks, and wiz the flour just until a soft ball of dough is formed. Flatten into a long rectangular shape, cover with cling film on both sides and chill for at least ½ hour.

Filling

300g golden syrup

150g desiccated coconut

100g homemade breadcrumbs made from a white loaf and processed

zest of 2 lemons+ juice of 1½

flaked coconut for topping as decoration

3 free-range- organic eggs

 

Roll out pastry and line tin pricking the mixture with a fork to prevent it rising. Line the tin with crumpled paper and baking beans. Bake for approximately 10 - 12 minutes or until it starts to look slightly gilded.

Remove the paper and beans. Mix the filling ingredients together and pour into the pastry case topping with a little flaked coconut for texture.

Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes until gloriously golden and fragrant. Becomes sticky as it cools. And the inside is gorgeously gooey and sticky. Serve with masses of thick custard and lovely chats.

 

 

Then try our glorious Powerhouse Flapjacks – makes 24 delicious squares

 

These delicious flapjacks are made in an instant and will satisfy the hungriest child coming out from school or indeed a starving adult with a need for a healthier snack .With their toasted oat-rich contents and luscious nutty flavour, they will beat any so-called healthy granola bar. We found that these fabulous easy-to-make squares were brilliant fun to make with my grandchildren, as they are all mixed in one saucepan and have to be pressed or squidged into a lined tin and then sticky fingers licked. Enjoy.

Set the oven on 180C, Gas 4. Line a rectangle tin 29x19cms with baking parchment

Powerhouse Flapjacks – makes 24 delicious squares

 

350g jumbo or quick oats – not the ground variety

50g plain flour

175g luxury mixed dried fruit

70g pistachios

30g walnuts

150g light olive oil

160g golden syrup or honey

grated zest 1 orange

zest and juice ½ lemon

3 medium free range eggs

Pinch salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

200g glace cherries roughly chopped

55g desiccated coconut

 

Toast oats in a large roasting tin for 10 minutes or until slightly golden. Leave to cool slightly. Measure oil and golden syrup or honey in a large saucepan and heat slightly or until syrup or honey melts. Remove from heat. Leave to cool. Roughly chop nuts and cherries. Add to cooled pan with remaining ingredients and spread onto tin. Bake for 40 – 45 minutes or until slightly golden. Cut into 5 cm squares approximately when warm. Leave to cool before removing from the tin.               

 

Enjoy!!

 

 

              

Finally our

Sticky Toffee Honey Nectarine and Apple Pudding

is a true winner and keeps like a dream. Warm and delectable this recipe was originally created by Ruth to serve on the Jewish New Year as its original contained apples and honey. But for the sticky challenge she decided to add one nectarine and half a cooking apple for tartness plus extra gooey stem ginger and half a tablespoon of black molasses.

 And ooh what a combo – soo chuffed – please try it. It’s sweet, spicy and ultra sticky and the stickiness grows if it’s left! Ha            

Serves 8-10

 

225g plain flour

¾ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

½ teaspoon mixed spice

3 cardamom seeds ground and husks discarded

¼ teaspoon allspice

¼ teaspoon ground ginger

120g fair-trade dark muscovado sugar

120g margarine or butter

150ml honey or golden syrup

1 scant tablespoon black molasses or treacle

2 organic free-range eggs

4 tablespoons soya or whole milk

1 nectarine

½ cooking apple with skin

Juice and grated zest ½ lemon

100g dates stoned and finely chopped

2 pieces stem ginger finely sliced plus 1 tablespoon syrup for topping

 

Preheat the oven to 170C, gas mark 3 and line a 22cm round loose-bottomed cake tin with parchment paper.

Sift the flour with the bicarbonate of soda and mixed spice, ground ginger and allspice into a bowl. Melt the margarine /butter with the muscovado sugar, and honey or golden syrup and molasses in a pan. Set aside to cool.

Beat the eggs with the milk in a large mixing bowl. Grate the nectarine and apple and mix with the lemon juice and zest. Combine with the egg mixture and stir in the dates. Pour in the melted golden syrup/honey mixture and combine thoroughly. Quickly fold in the flour and spices and spoon into the prepared tin.

Bake in the oven for 1 hour or until the pudding is gloriously fragrant, golden brown and risen. It will feel firm on top. In a small dish combine 1 tablespoon golden syrup + 1 tablespoon syrup from a jar of stem ginger. Glaze the top of the warm pudding. It is rather gilding the lily but goodness it’s luscious.  

 Serve hot or cold with ice cream and enjoy

 

 

 

Please keep following for another lovely chat next week. Cheers folks.