Pickled apples

Curious about apple pickling, since I had a suitable large jar from S's lupins, and obviously lots of apples. I liked the sound of the spices in this recipe.

700 g apples (approx. 4 med-large apples)
500 ml white wine or cider vinegar
120 g caster sugar
1 tsp salt
10 cm Carolina allspice bark or cinnamon stick (used cinnamon
1 tsp fennel seeds
3 whole cloves
½ tsp Szechuan peppercorns or black peppercorns (used black pepper)
1 star anise
Few sprigs of lemon thyme (used dried bayleaves)

Dissolve the sugar and salt in the vinegar in a pan over a medium heat. Add the spices, simmer for 15 min, then turn off the heat. Core, peel and thinly slice two apples as the pickling liquid cools. Place the slices in a large lidded jar and just cover the apples with spicy vinegar. Repeat with the rest of the apples. Eat within 10 days or so, or longer if the apples retain a good texture.

Aromatic coconut and udon soup

S has rediscovered udon noodles in a big way - currently, they are (almost, besides gorgonzola pasta) his favourite thing. Times have changed from when he bought a packet and they lay unused for almost a year... Last night I was heading home before him and asked for dinner suggestions. He said udon (naturally), and followed up with coconut (inspired, I think, by a soup we had at the Thai place at the end of our road the other night). I started thinking about all the lovely aromatics we had squirreled in the freezer (lemongrass, galangal, ginger...) and the tin of coconut milk I had left over from my abandoned kefir experiments, and realised it was a brilliant idea!

1 star anise
~2 tbsp chopped lemongrass
2 inch piece galangal, peeled and sliced
2 inch piece ginger, peeled and chopped into matchsticks
2 dried red chillies
1-2 lime leaves (optional)
good handful of fresh coriander, chopped (stalky parts and leafy parts separated)
1 tin coconut milk
~1-2 tbsp light soy sauce
juice of 1 lime
water
hot chilli sauce
2 (single serving) packets of udon
1 small onion, peeled and sliced lengthways into bitesize pieces
2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced into coins
1/2 a pack of extra firm tofu, drained and chopped into ~2 x 2 x 1 cm chunks
3 large-ish button mushrooms, trimmed and chopped into sixths lengthwise
3 smallish tomatoes, cut into sixths (or use cherry tomatoes)

Put the star anise, lemongrass, galangal, ginger, dried chillies, lime leaves (if using) and the stalky bits of coriander into a saucepan and add the coconut milk, soy sauce, and lime juice. Add ~1-2 cups of water and bring gently to a simmer. Taste for saltiness, acid, thickness/intensity of coconut milk, and add more soy sauce, lime juice or boiling water accordingly. Put in the udon, onion, carrots and tofu and bring back up to a simmer. Turn off and let sit for 10 minutes or so before checking the flavour balance again. Adjust as before, also add a few drops of hot sauce if you think it needs to be spicier. A few minutes before serving, add the mushrooms, tomatoes, and the leafy parts of the coriander. Bring back up to simmering point, check all the vegetables and the udon are cooked, turn off the heat and serve the soup. Avoid eating the star anise, the big pieces of galangal, and the dried chillies.


Really good. Quick (veg preparation the most time consuming step), and super easy / minimal washing up - just one board, one knife and one big pan (besides bowls and spoon+forks). Most of the stuff is either always in the storecupboard or basic veg and herbs. Veg could be varied (brassicas nice); as could noodles / it could be served with rice on the side instead. Lovely, warming, filling, aromatic and comforting for a cold, cold, end-of-year day.

Pickled quinces

The last blast of the harvesting season came via M from LUrC. L was kind enough to collect ~15 lb of quinces for her and me to share. She arrived at my place last night with a backpack rammed with quinces. As soon as she walked past me into the apartment I got a waft of their wonderful smell. We spent the evening chopping, chatting, listening to the radio, eating yellow potatoes and pickled green tomatoes, and making beautiful quince preserves. We made half of them into membrillo, and sliced half of what was left thinly to make quinces in syrup and the rest in chunks to make these pickled quinces. The pickled quince recipe we used is here - L looked it up and said she didn't find anything on American sites (perhaps quinces are not common / not commonly used here?), and she consequently got a bit confused about metric measurements...

(we doubled the recipe below to get four large jars)

250 ml cider vinegar
750 ml water
200 g sugar
4 strips lemon zest
6 cloves
1 tsp black peppercorns
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 cinnamon stick
3 bay leaves
1 star anise
2 (or 350g) quince, peeled, cut into eighths

Put all the ingredients except the quince into a large saucepan, bring to a simmer, then add the peeled, cored, halved and eighthed quinces, then turn down to a gentle heat and leave to cook for 20-25 minutes until tender.

Gently lift the quince pieces out of the liquid with a slotted spoon and put them into sterilised jars. Pour over the liquor, seal and cool. They will keep for a few weeks.

Spiced quince in syrup

Another thing I'd had hanging around in the fridge for too long was a couple of quinces. I love quinces, but it always takes a bit of activation energy to get through the prep: those cores are HARD. Worth it though. I noticed this recipe and it was simple enough to spur me to put those quinces into syrup (I accidentally made it even simpler, to no ill effect).

2 quinces
300 ml water
125 g brown sugar (or white)
5 green cardamom pods
1 clove
small piece of star anise (1/6 of a star)
1 cinnamon stick
2-3 strips of lemon rind
2 tbsp honey

Peel and core the quinces, and slice thinly. I had ~250 g quince when prepped. Put the quince slices in a pan with all the other ingredients, bring to the boil and simmer for ~20 min, until the quinces are softened but not falling apart. Remove spices if you like (if not then be careful not to crunch them by accident when eating the quince), transfer quince slices and liquid into a sterile, wide-mouthed jar, cover and let cool. Keep in the fridge (unless you feel like water bath processing them) for 2-3 weeks at least (if they last that long).


These are really delicious - the quince taste, spices and brown sugar balance out really beautifully to make a very fragrant, lovely snack... yup, I have been snacking these straight out of the jar with a teaspoon.

Ruby grapefruit and star anise marmalade

I bought four ruby grapefruit weeks ago, with marmalade in mind. Then I got home and looked in my preserve cupboard and realized how crazy full it was. So I spent those weeks wracked with indecision about whether to make it or just eat them. In the end I made it. My basic marmalade method is this one, and the increase in citric acid was according to the grapefruit marmalade recipe in the AFRC Home Preservation book. The star anise just seemed like it might marry really well with grapefruit (perhaps because of this recipe), as well as being the single prettiest spice to add to a jar. I sometimes find its liquoricey-ness overpowering so I wasn't sure...

(makes about 7 medium sized jars)

4 ruby grapefruit ()
1 1/2 tsp citric acid
1.3 litres water
2 kg sugar
2-3 whole star anise (or pieces adding up to that)

Wash the grapefruit thoroughly. Chop into quarters. Cut out the pulp. Squeeze the juice into the pan. Put the remaining pulp and seeds into a muslin square in a colander over a bowl. Repeat for all the quarters of all the grapefruit. Then thinly slice the rind pieces (do not remove pith) and add them to the pan. Tie up the muslin with all the pulp and seeds in it into a tight bundle, then add it to the pan. Add the water and citric acid. Bring to the boil and simmer, covered, for 2 hours or until the rind pieces are soft.

Remove the muslin bag and squeeze it between two plates to get as much liquid back into the pan as you can, then discard the contents. Add the sugar and star anise and stir while dissolving / coming to the boil. Boil hard (taking care to check it is not sticking to the bottom of the pan) until setting point is reached.

Let stand for ~30 min before putting in sterilised jars.


...so I actually split the batch (just before adding the sugar), making one half simply grapefruit and adding star anise to the other half. I loved how it turned out with the star anise - the anise flavour comes through just enough, and its thick, heady sweetness plays off the tangy grapefruit beautifully. Only sad thing was that the ruby red of the grapefruit didn't really come through in the marmalade colour - it is a similar colour to orange marmalade, slightly lighter.

Roasted brussels sprouts with grapefruit

Thought of roasting brussels sprouts, and of trying something different.  Had pretty much all the ingredients for this, and was intrigued.

600g brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
250g shallots, peeled  (used a white onion instead, chopped into large chunks)
75ml olive oil
Salt and black pepper
100g sugar
100ml water
2 cinnamon sticks
5 star anise
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 large pomelo (300g after peeling and segmenting) (used a pink grapefruit instead)
10g coriander leaves

Heat the oven to 200C / 400F.  Toss the sprouts and onion with 3 tbsp of the oil, a half-tsp salt and some black pepper. Spread out on a baking tray and roast for 20 minutes, until the sprouts are al dente and golden-brown. Leave to cool.

Meanwhile, heat the sugar, water, cinnamon and star anise in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer. Cook for a minute, remove from the heat and add a tablespoon of lemon juice. Set aside to cool.

Peel the grapefruit and divide into segments, releasing the flesh from the membrane. Break into bite-size pieces and put in a shallow bowl – don't get any of the bitter white membrane into this. Once the syrup has cooled a little, pour it over the grapefruit and leave to marinate for at least an hour, stirring occasionally.

Before assembling the salad, strain the grapefruit and keep the juices. Just before serving, put the sprouts, shallots, grapefruit and coriander in a large bowl. Add the remaining oil, lemon juice and a tablespoon of the grapefruit marinade juices. Gently mix, check the seasoning and serve.


Interesting and very more-ish. Full of ingredients I like and seem to go well together, so hard to go wrong...

Beetroot and orange relish

Got lots of beetroot - was really in the mood for it.  I made this relish once, a while ago, and I remember it being really good - the recipe is on a scrap of paper, thought it would be good to write it down before I lose it.

1 lb beetroot
1 lb onions, chopped
2 oranges, grated rind and juice
1 tsp salt
6 star anise
1 tsp fennel seeds
350g / 3/4 lb sugar
570ml / 1 pint pickling vinegar

1) Put beetroot in large pan and cover with cold water.  Simmer until tender.  Drain, peel and chop roughly into small pieces.

2) Put all other ingredients into a large pan and bring slowly to the boil.  Simmer until it reaches a good consistency.  Test for seasoning.  Pour into sterilised jars.


Edit: yummmm, this is just as good as I remembered - the beet/anise/orange/sweet/acid combination is a party in the mouth...  The colour was different than I remembered - I think I must have used some fancy vinegar when I made it before - this version was very very pink and looks like jewels or sweeties.  Made a fantastic sandwich with Romaine lettuce, tahini and dry tofu, on olive and sesame bread.

Baking produce

I have this thing where if I have the oven on I need to try and use it for a bunch of stuff to justify heating it up in the first place.  Sometimes this works, and sometimes it leads to hours in the kitchen...

Last night it worked.  I wanted simple, summery food - veggies / fruits and herbs / spices.

Baked courgette with rosemary and lemon

2 courgettes (super fresh from the farmers market), sliced into thick (~1in) rounds
olive oil
~6 cloves garlic, peeled but not chopped
salt+pepper
rosemary
lemon juice

Heat oven to 375F.  Rub the base of an oven dish with olive oil, then lay out the courgettes, cut sides down/up.  Slip the garlic cloves into spaces between the courgettes.  Sprinkle with a little more olive oil, salt+pepper and roughly chopped rosemary (fresh would be better, but I only had dried).  Put in the oven for about 45min, turning the courgette pieces about halfway through.  Take out and squeeze a little lemon juice over the top then serve.



Baked tomatoes with onion and basil

1 small tub cherry plum tomatoes
~4 cloves garlic, roughly sliced
1 onion, roughly sliced
handful fresh basil leaves, washed and roughly torn
salt and pepper
olive oil
balsamic vinegar (optional)

Heat oven to 375F.  Put all the veggies and basil in an oven tray, add salt and pepper and olive oil to taste and shake to coat everything with olive oil.  Put in the oven for ~45min, shaking about halfway through to keep things cooking evenly.  Add a little balsamic vinegar when you take it out if you like - it complements the tastes pretty well.



Baked, spiced plum and blueberry compote

3 large black plums
handful blueberries (fresh or frozen)
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 a star anise (optional)
sprinkling of sugar

Heat oven to 375F. Chop the plums into ~eighths and arrange in a baking tray.  Add the blueberries, a sprinkling of sugar and the cinnamon stick (and anise if using... a rosemary sprig also a good option).  Put in the oven for ~ 30min.  Careful to avoid eating the spice / herb bits.


Ate the veggies with some cous cous.  All tasty and simple, and pretty quick.  Wasn't that sure about the anise but S said he liked it.

Baked quince with anise

Saw some quinces at the market so of course had to buy them... then figure out what to do with them.  They didn't ripen up very well and I had to cut off quite a lot of brown, but there was some good flesh there and Google led me to this Nigel Slater / Guardian recipe, full of sweetness and aromatics.

4 heaped tbsp sugar
500ml water
4 cloves
2 star anise
4 smallish quinces
½ a lemon
4 tbsp maple syrup

Put the sugar and water into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Add the cloves and star anise. Peel and halve the quinces and rub them with lemon to stop them browning.

Lower the quinces into the sugar syrup and let them simmer till tender. They may be ready in 25 minutes or perhaps take a little longer, depending on their size and ripeness.

Set the oven at 180C/350F/gas mark 5. When they are tender to the point of a knife, lift the quinces out and put them in a shallow baking dish or roasting tin. Take 150ml of the cooking liquid, add the maple syrup and, together with the aromatics, pour over the quinces.

Bake for 30 minute or so till very soft and tender. Serve with their cooking juices.