Grilled scallops, rocket and lemon confit/Vieiras grelhadas, rúcula e limão confitado.

It has been a while since the last time I have posted a recipe in here! Life’s been super busy, although this weekend I decided to pay some attention into my own blog and readers. As the scallop season is upon us, I decided to cook 12 of these delicious creatures. Their sweetness goes amazingly well with the pepperness of the rocket and the sharpness of the lemon preserve I quickly assembled on my stove. Delicious for a spring lunch!

Grilled scallops, rocket and lemon confit

Serves 3

12 fresh scallops (cleaned but with I leave them with the roe, as I think it adds flavour and texture)
1 tbsp of olive oil
salt & pepper
150 gr of young rocket

Dressing
1 tsp of dijon mustard
1 tbsp of olive oil

Lemon preserve

1 lemon (thinly sliced)
1 tbsp of sugar
2 tbsp of water

Preparation

Firstly prepare the lemon preserve. Place the slices of lemon with the sugar on top and water in a pan. Slowly simmer till the water evaporated and you end up with a thick consistency jam-like preserve. Set aside to cool down.

Place the rocket in a serving bowl. Mix the mustard with the olive oil and dress it.

Fry for two minutes each side of the scallops, on a very hot and oiled pan. Serve the scallops on top of the rocket with a spoonful of lemon preserve.

Sherry Christmas Cake/Bolo de Natal Ingles com Xerez

 

Every year I face a culinary conundrum when I see the festive season approaching quickly: What to bake that will not only showcase my baking skills but also gloriously be the centre piece of my Christmas dessert table? Would it be one of the many egg induced creations which compose the vast repertoire of my Portuguese cooking heritage? Or a polite, fruity and yet potent pudding from England, the country which I now call home?  This month the answer came in a form of a wicker hamper. Intrigued, upon its arrival, I slowly started to unwrap the crisp cellophane which blurred the sight of a mix of dried fruit packs, a beautiful blue bowl, a pewter coloured spring form and an indigo blue bottle which, together with a note, gave away the sender’s provenance: John Harvey’s & Sons. I soon realised that this assemblage of oddments, composed almost all the ingredients and instruments required to produce an English Christmas cake. In this austere times, when we all going back to fundamental principles, what a brilliant idea from this well established wine merchant and producer to get us baking using this so well known home brand of sherry Harvey’s Bristol Cream. I must confess I favour Port, because I come from the city which produces it, and I grew up seeing it served on special occasions. Nevertheless, I am not indifferent to the smoothness of a glass of sherry or for example in how effective this drink can be in adding flavour to a creamy risotto. I also love the stories of friends who tell me it is a sign of Christmas when, this iconic blue bottle comes out of the cupboard, to be opened cheekily for elevenses with a couple of crusty mince pies. I got going with all the ingredients supplied and started soaking the fruit in some tablespoons of Bristol Cream, which after one day, soaked it all up and produced an almost caramel trail which coated the blue bowl supplied. Then, with a glass of this sherry as a companion to savour when inbetween steps, I followed all stages from a traditional Christmas cake recipe, and place it in the oven. Baking it slowly for 4 hours in the high sided pewter spring form which was wrapped in some sheets of old news and tied tight with rough string to avoid burning the cake. When ready and cooled, I started the still ongoing process of feeding the cake with tablespoons of sherry, which will continue for some weeks before completing it with a veil of golden marzipan and crisp white sugar icing.  The cake is now kept within an old biscuit tin which is place at the back of my wardrobe. Not quite Narnia, I know, but a but a jewel that is maturing, perfecting and filling me with wafts of deep fruity alcohol which feed my Christmas anticipation when I open it at the weekends. Harvey’s Bristol cream is part of the mainstream range of this producers wine catalogue, although I found it pleasant and so efficacious in producing the well drunk fruit which composed the foundation of my Christmas cake. It also made my baking experience even more relaxing, because together with some orange peel and ice cubes, provided a delicious drink for the afternoon when I baked this year’s chosen festive dessert.

English Christmas cake

Serves 12 people

Ingredients

700 gr of mix dry fruit
50 gr of glace cherries
50 gr of orange peel
100 ml of sherry or brandy
3 eggs
200 gr of plain flour
200 gr of sugar
200 gr of unsalted soft butter
1 tbsp of molasses
1 tsp of ground ginger
1 tsp of cinnamon powder
1 tsp of nutmeg
pinch of salt
Zest of 1 orange

Sherry to feed the cake when ready
Flaked almonds to decorate

Preparation

Pre-heat the oven at 80 ºC.

Soak the mixed dried fruit in the sherry overnight.

In a bowl whisk the butter with the sugar till it resembles a fluffy paste. Add the eggs one by one and beat well. Place in the dried mixed fruit, the orange peel and the cherries. Add the molasses and the spices, the salt and the orange zest. Mix everything very well. Fold in the flour and set aside.

Grease a deep spring form with butter and line it with parchment paper. Place in the cake batter and cover it with a disk of parchment paper of the same diameter. Wrap the outside of the spring form with newspaper and tight it with a string. Place in the oven and bake slowly for 4 hours.

Remove from the oven and let it cool down completely. Sprinkle the top with a tbsp of sherry and place the cake within a biscuit tin, Repeat this operation for a couple of weeks. It will be ready and matured for Christmas. Decorate with the flake almonds and a festive ribbon.

Quince Strudel/Strudel de Marmelo

Today, on my early morning errands through my local lebanese greengrocers, I have found quince. Not the one which is too manicured and  is now fashionably placed in the trendy delis of Marylebone and Mayfair. I discovered the less attractive type, smaller in size but a champion when it comes to flavour. Very similar to the fruit my grandfather used to grow in his orchards of northern Portugal. I have decided to used it in a strudel which can be served warm and with a dollop of creme fraiche. I know I haven’t rolled it as in the traditional recipe  but I usually like to put my own stamp into things. Truly delicious for a cold yet sunny Sunday.

Quince Strudel/Strudel de Marmelo

4 quince fruit

juice of 1 orange

juice of half lemon

150 gr of sugar

50 ml of water

1 star anise

1 tsp of ground mixed spice

1 tsp o cinammon

50 gr of sultanas

12 sheets of filo pastry

unsalted sof butter to brush

Preparation

Pre-heat the oven at 190 °C.

Peel, core and chop the quince into small small cubes. Place in a small pan with the juies of the orange and lemon, the sugar, water and spices. Let it simmer until it becomes soft and the liquid thickens as in syrup. Fold in the sultanas.

Remove from the heat and set aside.

Brush with the butter a pan with a metal handle (so it can go to the oven). Line the base of the pan with 6 sheets of filo, one by one, brushed with butter. Place in the quince in syrup and covered with the remain filo sheets, each one again brushed with butter.

Bake in the oven until it becomes golden, around 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve with some cream or creme fraiche.

“Pão-de-Ló” orders! Encomendas de “Pão-de-Ló”

As Christmas is around the corner, I have decided that this year I will be taking orders for my favourite Portuguese cake of all time — Pão-de-Ló. This gorgeous sponge cake with hints of lemon and Port,  is served as a Christmas cake all around Portugal. It is baked in a traditional terracotta pot, perfect as a dessert with cheese or toasted for Christmas morning breakfast. Light as a feather and so scrummy.

One cake serves generously 12 people. (26 cm diameter)

Homemade

Price is £20 per cake (includes one London delivery address).

For the rest of the UK, postage rates apply.

Payment by Paypal.

Pear, blackberry & chocolate crumble/Crumble de pera, amora e chocolate

The summer berries are slowly disappearing from the greengrocers; raspberries, blackberries and blueberries are now becoming more sparse in shops and the ones we will see during winter months, are flown in from warmer countries and not, for this reason, seasonal.  This week I got given a huge bag of delicious pears with which I decided to make a crumble, combining some plump blackberries and chocolate. Great combination of flavours in a dessert, perfect for the first Autumn days.

Pear, blackberry & chocolate crumble/Crumble de pera, amora e chocolate

Ingredients

6 medium pears (peeled, seeded and cut in quarters)
6-8 blackcberries
1 tbsp of caster sugar

For the topping

25 gr of dark chocolate (t with with 70% of cocoa solids)
1 tbsp of oat flakes
2 tbsp of white flour
50 gr of unsalted cold butter
1 tbsp of caster sugar

Preparation

Pre-heat the oven at 190 °C.

Place the pears and the blackberries on a baking dish and sprinkle with the sugar.

Put all the ingredients for the topping in your food processor and whizz until it becomes well combined and with a sand like consistency. Sprinkle on top of the fruit and bake in the oven for at least 15-20 minutes.

Remove from oven, let it cool down but serve warm with a dollop of vanilla icecream or a splash of cream.

Passionfruit brûlée/Brûlée de maracujá

This weekend I have decided t revisit some of the recipes I have included on my recipe book back in 2009. I adore this simple créme brûlée, which becomes even more special when passion fruit pulp is added. This made me realise another book is due! Watch this space!

Passion Fruit brûlée/Brûlée de Maracujá

Ingredients

300 ml of double cream
3 egg yolks
2 passion fruits (only the pulp)
3 tbsp of caster sugar

Preparation

Pre-heat the oven at 180 °C.  Prepare a bain-marie by filling a tray halfway with hot water.

Place the cream with the vanilla pod in a pan and let it simmer till little bubbles start to appear on the sides. Remove from the heat ahd let it cool down. Remove the vanilla pod and scrape de seeds off it. Meanhwhile, whisk the eggs with the sugar, the passionfruit pulp and the vanilla pod seeds. Mix in the cream and sift the mixture into a jug. Pour into ramekins and place them in the bain-marie. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and let them cool completely before place in the fridge overnight. Before serving, sprinkle with caster sugar and using a blowtorch, caramelise the top. Serve.

Pastéis de Grão/Chickpea pastries

A dessert inspired by the traditional Christmas “Azevias”, the egg and chickpea filled parcels which originate from  the Alentejo region. By using shortcrust pastry and some ground almonds, I have transformed this classic into a tea time favorite! Enjoy!

Pastéis de Grão/Chickpea pastries

Makes 8 pastries

300 gr of good quality shortcrust pastry

250 gr of chickpeas (from a can and drained)
150 gr of sugar
2 eggs
125 gr of ground almonds
Grinf of 1 lemon
1 tsp of cinnamon powder
1 tbsp of orange blossom water

A 6 muffin case tray
Icing sugar and some ground ginger

Preparation

Pre-heat the oven at 180 °C.

In a food processor, whizz the chickpeas into a purée. Set aside.

Whisk the eggs with the sugar until it resembles a fluffy and white paste. Add the chickpea purée and the ground almonds and mix well. Fold in the lemon grind, the cinnamon powder and the orange blossom water. Set aside.

Roll out the shortcrust pastry onto a clean and slightly floured flat surface. Using a pasty cutter, cut circles that would fit the base of each individual muffin tray case. Stretch the pastry so it fill each case wall. Place 1 tbsp and a half of cake mixture into each compartment and bake in the oven for 25 minutes, until it is golden and the pastries have risen. Remove from the oven and let them cool down completely, before dust them with icing sugar and a tiny bit of ground ginger.