A Tropical Pudding for Tropical Weather - Mango, Lime and Coconut Pudding

 

 

Well, tropical might be pushing it a bit but when a northern English summer usually means putting the heating on and watching the drops of rain roll disconsolately down the windows, the revelation that it is possible in June and July to have sun and to remove the thermals is a glorious one. And, despite global warming not giving me the wherewithal to grow mango trees just yet, I can just buy some and then make these lovely puddings.

 

These are great make ahead puddings; a little bit of faffing initially, but once they're all assembled and put into the fridge they are there, ready to serve. Imagine a chilled, creamy custard like texture, with a refreshing hit of mango and then lime. Perfect to whip out after the barbeque that you are bound to have had, taking advantage of the summer sun and the lingering light and residual warmth of a summer night.

 

I found this recipe whilst looking for something to do with frozen mango which, for some reason, I had bought in a "Oh, that looks interesting. I'll buy it and make something with that," moment. That moment was a long time coming. In fact, the mangoes were re-discovered when I transferred them from one freezer to another whilst moving house. Why am I telling you this? Well, there is a reason, which is don't make this with frozen mango, because it creates something that is a bit watery and definitely lacking in oomph. I used my frozen mango and it wasn't an overwhelming success. However, I tried it with ripe fresh mango with an altogether far more satisfying conclusion and if you can find of those amazing Alphonso mangoes, then all the better.

 

Mango, Lime and Coconut Pudding, adapted from Bill Granger's recipe on the 'Waitrose' website

 

Ingredients:

 

3 gelatine leaves, cut into strips

3 tbsp caster sugar

2 ripe mangoes, flesh chopped

240ml coconut milk

2 limes

I also added a pinch of salt, to taste.

 

 

Method:

 

 

 

Soak the gelatine in 3 tbsp cold water for 10 minutes.

 

 

 

Meanwhile, dissolve the sugar in 75ml water in a pan on a very low heat. Whizz the mango in a blender until smooth. Add the gelatine and water to the hot sugar mixture and stir until dissolved. Keep the heat very low - the gelatine must not boil.

 

 

 

Transfer the gelatine mixture to the blender and blitz again with the mango, coconut milk and grated zest of a lime. Taste. If it is lacking in a little sweetness or zing, add a little sugar or a pinch of salt and a squeeze of lime juice and taste again.

 

 

 

Pour into 6 cups or glasses (each about 150ml) and put in the fridge for at least 3 hours. Use the zest of the second lime to decorate the puddings before serving.

 

 

 

 

Something to make ryvita taste good - Smoked Mackerel Pate

 

 

...although, it has to be said that ryvita doesn't resemble the cardboard I remember having when I first tasted it many years ago. But, for me, it does need help and pate is my rescuer of choice. I spent a lot of the summer polishing off the wild mushroom pate I brought back from France with me, and it tasted really good on ryvita crackers which by their very consumption meant that in my own mind I kidded myself I was being virtuous in my choice of 'light lunch'

 

Well, sadly, the mushroom pate is long gone, but I had a whole pack of the aforementioned crackers and nothing left to adorn them with. It was at this point I remembered the recipe for mackerel pate that I had in one of my cookbooks somewhere. For some reason I had convinced myself it was Jill Dupleix, but once I had bought the ingredients (simple shopping list to remember without seeing the recipe - packet of smoked mackerel fillets plus a tub of quark) a trawl through her books revealed nothing, which unhelpfully makes me doubt my sanity. Luckily, a google trawl turned up this Waitrose recipe which you see below. It's not the first time that Waitrose has rescued me gastronomically in my hour of need, though usually it's through the supply of good wine and nice cheese rather than an emergency recipe, but there you go. Life is unpredictable.

 

If you like mackerel (which I do; not least for their stupidity to jump into the back of our boat after 'falling for the bits of silver wrapper on the end of a fishing line' trick, meaning that in the past I have had a good portion of the freezer full of them) then you will like this. It's tasty, creamy but still with the oily density of mackerel. And it's filling too. And it likes ryvita. We're all happy.

 

Smoked Mackerel Pate, taken from the Waitrose website

 

Serves 6 (or Lola and Finn's Mum, snacking or lunching, over a couple of days)

 

Ingredients:

 

One or two smoked mackerel fillets depending on size

Half a 250 g tub of Quark

You will need a blender

 

Method:

Pick out one or two smoked mackerel fillets. (Keep the remainder in the original wrapper, put in a polythene bag, seal, and store in the freezer.)

 

 

 

Peel back the skin from the fillet and discard. Break up the fish as you pop it into a blender, or small bowl or jug if you use a hand blender.

 

 

 

Spoon out about half a tub of Quark into the mackerel. (You can freeze the remainder.)

 

 

 

Blend. You will have to scrape down the sides of the blender until the ingredients mix properly.

 

 

 

Serve on toast, in sandwiches, or on ryvita!

Spice up your life with Sweet Chilli (or chili) Pork Balls

These look suspiciously like meatballs don't they? See, I told you that meatballs would make an appearance again soon, seeing as they bring happiness to us here chez Lola and Finn. These are different in that they have an eastern influence more than a Mediterranean one which is where most of the meatball meals I make find some sort of origin. I like the zinginess of these and the distinct lack of faff, if you have a food processor to whizz up the ingredients in of course. If you don't have one of those big whizzers then one of those dinky little ones is good for blitzing the herbs and spices before you add them to the pork mince and get your hands involved.

This recipe comes courtesy of a recipe card from probably my favourite supermarket, Waitrose (Its challenger being Booths, which I also adore, being a Lancashire lass). As I work near a Waitrose, a sign that my teaching is over for the week is a trip to Waitrose before I go and pick Lola and Finn up and resume 'hands on mum' duties. I could spend hours in there, perusing all the 'hard to get' ingredients, the gorgeous looking cakes, their extensive Rioja collection and sampling the wares of the deli. It is my ideal shopping trip and sadly I derive more enjoyment from filling my trolley there than I would going clothes' shopping, being that I am a slave to cooking rather than a slave to fashion.

I have adapted this recipe by upping the coriander content a little and instead of grilling the meatballs, I like to put them in the oven to cook which takes longer but I have a temperamental grill. I have also upped the amount of chilli sauce as I thought the original was a bit stingy. I have listed the mint as optional in the recipe because I don't always use it.

Chilli pork balls, adapted from Waitrose

• Ingredients

• 2 large shallots, chopped or a medium onion, finely chopped
• 2 spring onions
• 3 garlic cloves
• 2 lemon grass sticks, tough outer layers removed, insides roughly chopped
• 1 tbsp mint, chopped (optional)
• 2 tbsp coriander, leaves and stalks chopped, plus extra for garnish
• 1½ tsp cornflour
• 500g essential Waitrose pork mince
• 3 tbsp fish sauce
• 5 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Put the shallots or onion, spring onions, garlic and lemon grass in a food processor and whiz until very finely chopped. Add the mint, coriander, cornflour, pork, fish sauce and plenty of seasoning and pulse until well combined.

Shape the mixture into balls – wet your hands frequently to stop the mixture sticking. Place the pork balls on a baking sheet lined with baking parchment and drizzle some of the sweet chilli sauce. Then place them in a hot oven, for about 20 - 25 minutes, or until the balls have started to caramelise and the fat is running from the meatballs. Spoon over more of the sweet chilli sauce if you wish.

 

Serve with noodles or rice, and I like lots of pak choi or steamed or briefly stir fried vegetables. I also like to drizzle a little bit extra chilli sauce if you like.