Summer Pudding

Summer pudding is a deceptively simple traditional British dessert. It's very quick to prepare, but does need a bit of planning as it needs to chill overnight in the fridge. Most recipes I checked called for more sugar than I added, but I like a slight tartness in the fruit. I used cheap white sliced supermarket bread, despite one recipe claiming that it produces a slimy result. We didn't find the pudding at all slimy; in fact it was pretty near perfection. But next time I might just use a fancier loaf, maybe even homemade, to test out whether it is indeed better. The mix of fruit can vary according to your likes and what is available. It can be fresh or frozen. I used frozen packs of summer fruits and Black Forest fruits along with fresh strawberries and cherries plus some frozen blackberries that we picked last Autumn.

1.25kg soft fruits (mixture of raspberries, strawberries, blackcurrants,blueberry, blackberries, cherries)

about 100g sugar (try adding a bit less, then taste for sweetness and adjust)

About 8 slices white bread, sliced, with crusts removed 

fresh cream (single, double, clotted - your choice) to serve

1. Rinse the fresh fruit, keeping the strawberries separate 

2. Stone and halve the cherries and halve the strawberries 

3. Reserve some nice pieces of fruit to garnish the pudding, then, keeping the strawberries out, put the fruit in a pan with the sugar and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 3 minutes then add the strawberries and continue to simmer for another 2 or 3 minutes until the fruit is just softening. Leave to cool slightly.

4. Line a 2 pint/1 litre pudding basin with cling film. (You could also make mini puds by lining tea cups).

5. Cut one slice of bread into a rough circle to fit the base of the basin.

6. Strain off about a cup of juice from the fruit.

7. Dip one side of the circle of bread into the juice, then place it juice side down into the basin. Cut the rest of the bread into triangles, then, dipping each one into he juice, place them juice side down around the sides of the basin, alternating them pointy or broad end first, pushing them together to get rid of any gaps. 

8. Using a slotted spoon to avoid getting too much of the juice (some is fine - see picture below), spoon some of the fruit into the bread lined basin, to fill it about halfway up. Next cover the fruit with a layer of bread.

9. Top this layer of bread with more of the fruit, filling the basin almost to the top.

Cut some more pieces of bread, dip them in the juice and arrange juice side up on top of the fruit, being careful to plug any gaps.

Cover with a layer of cling film, put a plate that just rests on the pud on top, then weight it down and leave in the fridge overnight.

When ready to serve, remove the cling film from the top, turn the pudding out onto a plate, pour some of the juice over the top and garnish with the reserved fruit.

Serve with cream.

Beurre Blanc Sauce

A French classic - perfect with fish. It's really easy to prepare. It's similar in flavour to a hollandaise, but thinner and not quite as deliciously rich because it doesn't have eggs. This makes it less temperamental than a hollandaise, which will turn to scrambled egg with a Gallic pout and shrug if you are not very careful with the heat. You can whip it up really quickly if you need a classy sauce to lift a meal.

Yesterday I served it with salmon pie and it was great. I added a bit of tarragon; you could add other herbs according to your fancy.

2 shallots, finely chopped (I ended up using half a small onion because the shallots I thought were left in the fridge had disappeared)
60ml white wine vinegar
60ml white wine
60ml water
125g butter, cubed

Put the shallots, vinegar, wine and water in a small pan and heat until reduced by about half or two thirds. Sieve to remove shallots and return the vinegar reduction to the pan. Over a low heat, gradually whisk in the cubes of butter to form an emulsion.

Bobotie

This is an old favourite from our days in South Africa back in the nineties. Bobotie is a South African dish from the Cape Malay community, said to have originated in Indonesia. It's a baked layered dish of minced meat cooked with spices and topped with a layer of savoury egg custard. It also includes a sweet element from dried fruits, apricot jam and chutney. It is usually served with rice - traditionally yellow rice with turmeric in South Africa, although I cooked coconut rice last time, which complemented it very well.

Ingredients (serves 4 - 6):

sunflower oil

600g minced meat (a mixture of pork and beef is good)

1 large onion finely chopped

large clove garlic, minced

1cm piece of fresh ginger, minced

2 - 3 tsp curry paste (I used Patak's Madras) or more to taste

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp coriander

1 tbsp chutney ( I used a mixture of onion chutney and some apple, sage and chili jelly)

(if you don't have chutney, use a bit more jam and add a tablespoon of cider or wine vinegar for the acidity)

1 tbsp apricot or apple jam (I used apple and ginger made by my dad)

2oz dried apricots, chopped

2 slices white bread, soaked in about 200ml milk

bay leaves

2 to 3 large eggs (depends how deep you like your custard layer - I like quite a lot!)

300 ml milk

salt and pepper

handful of cashew and/or almonds, roughly chopped

handful of slivered or flaked almonds to top

1. Roughly tear up and soak the bread in the milk and set aside for about 15 minutes or so for the milk to have time to absorb.
2. Preheat the oven to 180 C
3. Fry the onion, garlic, ginger and spices in sunflower oil gently until the onion is soft and slightly brown.
4.  Add the meat and cook for a couple of minutes before adding the chutney, jam, a bayleaf and apricots.
5. Gently squeeze the bread and tip the excess milk out, reserving it to add to the custard, then mash the bread and stir it into the meat mixture.
6. Continue to cook until the meat is just about done - not too much, as it will be baked in the oven. 
7. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
8. Tip into an ovenproof dish (I used a 28cm square dish) and spread evenly, pressing it down slightly. The meat layer should be a 3- 4 cm deep.
9. Beat together the eggs and milk with a little seasoning (a bit of turmeric is good too)
10. Pour the egg mixture over the meat and stick a few bay leaves into it (lemon leaves are more authentic, but they don't grow here).
11. Sprinkle some slivered almonds over the top.
12. Bake for around 45 minutes until the custard is set and slightly browned.
13. Serve with rice and steamed veggies.