Pimp my flapjack... Apple Flapjacks

 

 

It's not like I have a box of apples anywhere or anything - you can decide, if you like, whether that is likely by reading my last blog post about scrumping and apple vodka, but putting grated apple into flapjacks is seriously tasty, especially if they are slightly tart like the apples from the scrumping mission. They act as an acidic foil to all that golden syrup that goes into making flapjacks. And on the subject of golden syrup, and sugar, and butter, I don't think I will ever tire of the gooey unctuousness that flapjacks are, especially if they are crispy and brittle at the edges. I know you can get allsorts of fancy tray bakes now, but this is the number one. Low faff, maximum impact. And somehow, as the nights get longer, it's these type of cakes that I like to turn to. I mean, something light and fluffy is fine and all, but I find myself craving more ballast with a cup of tea when there is a nip in the air and the leaves have started to turn...

 

Apple Flapjacks, adapted from Cegin Bryn by Bryn Williams (and it's in his book 'Bryn's Kitchen' too. Yes, by the way, I do know that 'Cegin Bryn' is Welsh for 'Bryn's Kitchen'. I am in touch with my Welsh roots....)

 

Makes 12

 

Ingredients:

 

150g butter

50g light brown sugar

3 heaped tbsp. golden syrup

100g peeled apple, grated

220g porridge oats

 

 

Method:

 

Pre heat the oven to 160c

 

 

 

Melt the butter in a heavy bottomed saucepan. Add the sugar and the golden syrup.

 

 

Add the apple and the oats. Stir the mixture until evenly combined.

 

 

 

Place the mixture into a greased baking tray that has greaseproof paper in the base.  Mine was 12 by 30cm.

 

Spread the mixture evenly, then bake until golden, probably about 15 minutes but keep checking.

 

 

 

Take out of the oven and allow to cool. Whilst still warm, cut the flapjacks into squares or rectangles. Then leave to cool completely.

 

 

 

In the midst of a two course meal, there is little better than a make ahead dessert - Buttermilk Panna Cotta with Rhubarb and Ginger

 

 

 

It's that point where you have been running around bringing everything together for a dinner and you sit down to eat, finally, and have a quiet smile to yourself, knowing that dessert is already done. And panna cotta is a wonderfully simple thing to make ahead, as long as you ensure all the gelatine has dissolved and that you only use enough of that gelatine to set it to a sensuous wobble rather than something hard enough to break a window with. And that you allow it long enough to set. And you can get it out of the mould. I did say this was simple, didn't I?

 

Well, it is if you use the recipe below. This is from Bryn Williams' excellent book 'Bryn's Kitchen'. This was such a wonderful dessert. The creamy panna cotta, complete with its beautiful wobble, was a joy in itself, but when put with the rhubarb and ginger, it was simply amazing. I have to confess I could have eaten a bowl of that rhubarb and ginger compote alone, such was its all round amazingness!

 

The sharp eyed amongst you will notice that the side of the mould I pictured in the method is not the same size as the panna cotta that I chose to photograph when I had plated it all up. There are two reasons for this: Number 1, I forgot. Number 2: I doubled the recipe I had below so I would have enough for everyone and some left over. I used smaller moulds initially and then finished off with ramekins. And I decided to plate up the ramekin size, because if I am having panna cotta, then I am having panna cotta, if you catch my drift.

 

Lola and Finn loved this. And so did I. Please make this; it's wonderful!

 

Buttermilk Panna Cotta with Rhubarb and Ginger Compote, taken from Bryn's Kitchen by Bryn Williams (also from S4C's 'Cegin Bryn')

 

Serves Lola, Finn, Mum and Dad

 

3 leaves of gelatine

250ml double cream

100g caster sugar

1 vanilla pod, split in half, with the seeds scraped out

250ml buttermilk

200ml ginger wine

75g soft light brown sugar

strip of orange zest

250g rhubarb, trimmed and cut into 2cm batons

 

 

Method:

 

 

 

Soak the gelatine leaves in cold water until soft. Set aside.

 

 

 

In a large, heavy-based saucepan bring the double cream, caster sugar and vanilla pod and seeds to the boil.

 

As soon as it boils, remove the pan from the heat.

 

Scoop out the vanilla pod.

 

Add the softened gelatine to the hot liquid and stir well until dissolved.

 

 

 

Pour the liquid onto the cold buttermilk and whisk together until combined.

 

Pass the mixture through a fine sieve, (I'll be honest, I didn't - I risked it and got away with it!!)  then pour into four heatproof glasses or ramekins. Place in the fridge to set. This should take about 2 hours.

 

 

 

While the panna cotta is setting, gently heat the ginger wine with the light brown sugar and the orange zest in a large, shallow pan until the sugar has dissolved.

 

 

 

Add the rhubarb batons and poach gently for 4-6 minutes, or until just soft. Remove from the heat, leaving the rhubarb to cool in the liquid.

 

 

 

To serve, spoon the rhubarb on top of each chilled panna cotta, (after you have unmoulded the panna cotta of course - I did this by running a knife around the edges and then dipping the two thirds of the mould briefly in a bowl of boiling water before easing it out onto the plate) and drizzle with the rhubarb and ginger sauce.

A meal designed for the depths of Winter - Braised Chicken with Onion and Bacon

 

 

Much as I like to try all kinds of different recipes and experience foods of different cultures, there is something soothing about the familiar and seeing as it is so cold outside just now, the idea of unpretentious, comforting food really appeals. You know the stuff I mean, simple ingredients, cooked with a bit of care and (if you're me) accompanied by mashed potato. I had this recipe in mind for a while, it having first caught my attention when the weather was rather warmer and it just wasn't the right time. The time is most definitely now.

 

I remember watching 'Great British Menu', the first series, heavily pregnant with Lola (though this isn't a crucial detail as it happens, unless she just made me more hungry than usual) and I remember this chef competing to cook for the Queen. The name? Bryn Williams. He associated himself with a place I know extremely well and am very fond of (North Wales) and because of that connection he stuck in my mind. It was therefore inevitable (and my being a bit of a cookbook magpie) that as soon as he released a cookbook that I would just have to buy it. I had no other option. And, so I did. And what a good move it was, because it contains the recipes I love - honest, simple, mouthwatering, and like touchstones linking you back to the food of your childhood, or your home. It resonated with me.

 

I have cooked several recipes from this book with success, and this is the latest. I wanted to take familiar ingredients (and at that, ingredients which weren't too pricey) and create something to warm your bones, and the recipe for braised chicken with bacon and onion fitted the bill.

 

Organic or free range chicken is pricey; it's true. That is why when we have chicken I usually buy thighs which allow me to buy good quality chicken (that tastes of chicken) at a price that I can afford. Unfortunately, some of us here are not keen on bones and at least with the braising of this recipe it is easy enough to take the meat from the bones if you want to. It doesn't look as pretty, but there you go.

 

This is a recipe for legs, so plenty of wonderful tasting meat for a reasonable cost. Then there is the red wine, but, you know, you put in what you need and you slosh some into a glass. Cook's perks, if you ask me.

 

So, if you're cold, and want something to warm you up a little, here is one recipe you could try:

 

Braised Chicken Legs with Bacon and Onion, taken from 'Bryn's Kitchen' by Bryn Williams.

 

My adaptions in red

 

Serves Lola, Finn, Mum and Dad plus one other

 

Ingredients

 

4 large chicken leg portions, cut in half with the thigh and drumstick separate

A pinch of  salt and pepper

3 tbsp vegetable oil, plus extra for seasoning

16 Baby onions, peeled ( I didn't have any so used shallots)

50 g  smoked bacon,cubed, or lardons

100 g small button mushrooms (I used chestnut mushrooms, quartered)

2 sprigs of thyme

250 ml red wine

750 ml chicken Stock

 

Preheat the oven to 160ºC/325ºF/gas mark 3.

 

Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper.

 

 

 

 Heat a heavy flameproof casserole over a medium heat. Pour in the vegetable oil and, once it is hot, seal the chicken pieces by turning them over once or twice in the casserole, until golden brown all over. Remove from the casserole and set aside.

 

 

 

Reduce the heat, add the baby onions and cook, stirring gently, for 4–6 minutes, until they start to colour.

 

 

 

Add the bacon, mushrooms and thyme, and cook for a further 5 minutes. Add the red wine, allow it to bubble, and reduce the liquid by half.

 

 

 

Reintroduce the chicken to the dish and pour over some of the chicken stock to cover three-quarters of the way up – some of the skin should stay clear of the liquid to brown.

 

Place in the oven for 40 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. Test the pieces with a skewer – the juices will run clear when the chicken is cooked.

 

 

 

If the sauce seems a little thin, remove the chicken and set it aside. Bring the sauce to the boil and let it reduce until it has a thicker consistency. (I did need to do this - I reduced it for about 10 minutes) Check for seasoning. Then pop the chicken back in the sauce to keep warm.

 

 

 

To serve, place each drumstick and thigh piece on a plate and surround with the sauce. And, if you're me, a mountain of mashed potato! Then dig in!