WILD GARLIC PIN WHEELS

WILD GARLIC PIN WHEELS

This is a fun little recipe but tastes great.

Start with making your pastry, I use ruff tuff because it's fast and I love it.

Ruff tuff pastry

500g plain flour

500g cold butter, cut into cubes

1tsp salt

250ml cold water 

1. Put the flour in a big bowl and make a well. Put in the butter and salt and work them together with the fingertips of one hand, gradually drawing the flour into the centre with the other hand.
2. When the cubes of butter have become small pieces and the dough is grainy, gradually add the water and mix until it is all incorporated, but don't overwork the dough. Roll it into a ball, wrap in baking paper and refrigerate for 20 minutes.
3. Flour the work surface and roll out the pastry into a 40 x 20cm rectangle. Fold one of the ends into the middle the the other end over the top of the first fold, Roll the block of pastry into a 40 x 20cm rectangle as before and repeat the folds. These are the first 2 turns. Wrap the block in baking paper  and refrigerate it for 30 minutes.
4. Give the chilled pastry another 2 turns, rolling and folding as before. This makes a total of 4 turns, and the pastry is now ready. Wrap it in cling film and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before using.

Now while your waiting make your pesto.

Wild garlic pesto

• 100g mixed chopped nuts 
• 60g wild garlic (ramsons) 
• 150ml olive oil
• Juice from half a lemon 
• 30g Grated Parmesan or veggie Parmesan from Bookhams or Waitrose    
• salt and pepper to taste 

First cut the stalks off the end of the wild garlic leaves, then just go over all of the leaves with a knife, rough chop and put in your kitchen blender.

Add the grated Parmesan, olive oil, lemon juice and mixed chopped nuts to the blender and pulse in short blasts until it is a good consistency. season with salt and pepper and put to one side.  Easy!

Now roll out the pastry till it's about 3mm thick spread the pesto all over leaving a 1cm gap this is where you will seal the pin wheel .

On the end where the pesto goes right to the edge roll it up on its self like a Swiss roll and seal the edge keep it tight this will help hold it together when cooking.

Cling film the whole tube and put it in the fridge for 20mins.

Cut the tube into 1cm thick slices and place on a a backing tray with partcment paper.

Pre heat the oven to 170c and bake for 14 minutes till golden brown and leave to cool on a wire rack.

Enjoy !

Check out my Twitter to see what I'm up to @foodfor3

Soulshine cafe

Soulshine cafe Bridport 

 

This is where I've been spending most of my time an amazing little cafe of Bridport high street.

This cafe opened last year and after speaking to one of the owners, Chris, and having a little look at what they had been creating behind the white-washed windows I just had to be part of it.

Lisa and Chris, the two owners, started building and created what was in their heads and I can't be the only one that thinks they have done somthing amazing in Bridport; fresh juices, very good coffee and very tasty food using as many organic and locally souced ingredients as possible. Not only is most of the menu locally sourced but all of the building work and the furniture was done or made by the talented people of Bridport .

There is an amazing area to let your kids draw on the walls or play with toys while you sit down and enjoy a cup of the finest coffee, you can sit by the log burner or in the garden full of flowers and little birds that live in the bushes.

Check us out at www.soulshinecafe.co.uk 

I'm back and blogging

So it's 2015 I've not blogged for a very long time but I'm back I've got new ideas , new plans and a real good job and I want to share it all with you .

I have new recipes for you so keep reading and please ask if there's any think you want to know 

West Country wonder

This cocktail is so easy to make but the ingredients do all the work.

Makes two or one big one drink

Ingredients 

Allington hill apple juice 33cl bottle

50ml of black cow vodka 

Zest of half an orange 

1/2 cinnamon stick broken up

Before you do any think put the vodka in a shaker with the cinnamon and zest to let it infuse or stick a hole cinnamon stick in the black cow vodka a week before.

Prepare a glass with crushed ice.

Now add to the shaker a handful of ice 200ml of apple juice and shake shake up for 1min and pour over the ice sit back and enjoy 

RHUBARB & VANILLA JAM

RHUBARB & VANILLA JAM

Rhubarb... It has been a very wet and cold start to spring so things are not growing there best but if you can manage to get any rhubarb from your garden make this amazing jam.


500g Rhubarb
500g Jam sugar
1 vanilla pod
1/2 sachet of pectin

• First things First put a saucer in the fridge, you will need this later!

• Cut of the leaves and chop your rhubarb in to 5mm slices but in a heavy based pan with a splash of water and cook for 5mins stirring lots so it does not go to mush.

• Cut the vanilla pod in half length ways and run a knife down the open side scraping up the vanilla seeds, do this to both sides and add the pod and seeds to the pad with the rhubarb. (here is a video i found for you if you don't under stand)

• Add the sugar & pectin, bring the heat up to no more then 104°C stir till the sugar has melted.

•  Turn down to a steady/gentle boil (slowly bubbles popping to the top) cook for 15mins then do the plate test.

• To test the setting point, remove the pan from the heat. Take your saucer from the fridge and place a drop of jam onto the cold plate. After a few seconds push the jam with your finger.
   
   

• If the jam surface wrinkles then it has reached setting point and is ready. If it slides about as a liquid, then it hasn't reached setting point and should be returned to the heat and boiled for a few more minutes before testing again. 

• now pour the jam in to some sterilized jars cover with a wax disk made from some baking parchment paper, close the lid when still warm label and store in a dark place for up to 1 year

WILD GARLIC PESTO RAREBIT

  

WILD GARLIC PESTO RAREBIT

Today I cooked this at a pop up dinner at the Bridport arts centere, page to screen festival

100g butter
100g flour
50g milk
1bottle of nice pale ale
20g of mustard
300g mild cheddar

2 yolks (free range)
Worcestershire sauce
tabasco
salt and pepper

Melt the butter in a pan add the flour and cook out the roux.

Add milk and ale keep mixing it with a wooden spoon so it does not catch
now add the mustard, Tabasco,Worcestershire sauce and the cheddar keep mixing till all the cheese has melted. 

now whisk in the yolks and take off the heat.

Take a nice slice of bread and rub with tomato sauce or chopped toms then cover with wild garlic pesto and spread the rarebit over the top and cook at 200c till the top starts going golden...

Phoenix bakery

WHAT HAVE I BEEN DOING

Time is getting on and I have had some ups and downs but I am back on track now no thanks to a certain Restaurant In Bridport I wont say names. I am now getting excited about starting full time at the phoenix bakery in the up stairs kitchen cooking tasty lunches. 

I have been working in the Olive Tree in Bridport and weekends at Phoenix in Weymouth baking, learning the breads, cleaning and soon to be cooking upstairs. I was very happy when Aidan asked me if I wanted a job its amazing to see and work with some one who has so much passion for what they do. let alone work some where that makes the most tasty breads and cakes!

If you don't all ready fellow me on Twitter foodfor3

A BIG THANKS TO ANY ONE WHO HAS HELPED ME OUT OVER THE WINTER LET THE SUMMER BE BETTER FOR US ALL.