Apple and cinnamon crumble cake

It is apple season and I am overwhelmed with apples at the moment after inheriting a huge tree in my new garden. It left me craving apple cake but I have to admit that I did not have a famous, family recipe handed down for generations. I was determined it should be perfect. So, where to start?  No cookbooks of mine sprang to mind, so I scoured the internet and as I have found before, this is a dangerous pastime. There are literally thousands of recipes to choose from and no real guarantee that any of them are any good or even going to work. In the past I have stuck to safe bets such as Jamie Oliver, BBC Good Food or allrecipes.co.uk. Large corporations, such as Jamie Oliver have testing kitchens which try out all the recipes, so they tend to be more likely to work. Other websites such as allrecipes have ratings so you can try and get an idea on the feedback. So after sifting through at least half a dozen recipes I decided on one by Nigella Lawson which had been tested and had good ratings. I am very disappointed to say it really was not very good. More of a pudding than a cake, it just was not special at all. I was quite irritated to say the least. I had made it and photographed it for this blog, which had taken quite some time and now I was at a bit of a quandary as to whether I should just write it up anyway, and say it was OK or start again. 

The cake sat there uneaten. It was the kind of cake which was just not worth sacrificing your waistline for. I wanted a cake that made you say “to hell with the calories, this is too good.” I decided I just had to try harder. Back to the drawing board.  I thought about what I really wanted from an apple cake. Apply, crumbly, not too sweet and a hint of Cinnamon. I wanted a cake that it didn’t matter exactly how many apples you used or what type of apple they were, it would still deliver on texture and taste. I finally found a recipe and I am proud to say that it is nothing short of perfect. Irresistibly good and every bit worth the calories.

Apple and cinnamon crumble cake

For the crumble topping:
125g plain flour
2 tsp ground cinnamon (depending on how much you like cinnamon)
50g slightly salted butter, cold, cubed
125g demerara or light brown sugar
50g roasted chopped hazelnuts or almonds

For the cake:
250g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
125g slightly salted butter, softened
150g golden caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
100ml milk
2 large organic free range Eggs
6 Cox or Braiburn apples or 4 Bramleys
Juice 1 lemon

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C, gas mark 4. Grease and line a 22cm round cake tin with baking parchment. For the crumble topping, place the flour, cinnamon and cold butter into a large bowl or and rub together with your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar and nuts then transfer to the fridge. (Alternatively put the whole lot in a food processor and pulse until you have breadcrumbs)

2. For the cake, sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl and set aside. Using a mixer or electric handheld whisk, cream the butter, sugar and vanilla until pale and fluffy. In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk and eggs. Gradually beat a little flour into the butter mixture, followed by a little of the milk and eggs, alternating until they’re all mixed in. Spoon the cake mixture into the prepared tin and level with the back of a spoon. (This can all be done in a food processor too.)

3. Peel, core and halve the apples, then slice thinly and toss in the lemon juice. Arrange on top of the cake mixture then sprinkle the chilled crumble over the top.

4. Bake for 1 hour or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. You can see when it is done as the cake rises in the middle and the apples begin to poke out. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Great with vanilla ice-cream, whipped cream or clotted cream.

Barbecued Sweetcorn with Burnt Lime & Sea Salt

I hate to say it but there is distinctly a hint of Autumn creeping into the my Riverford vegbox so I am desperate to give you some recipes this week which really soak up the last of the summer sun. Use the BBQ as much as possible until it is too late! This is a fabulous way of cooking corn on the cob. The husks protect the kernels as they steam, whilst being infused with a fabulous smoky flavour.

The burnt lime adds a delicious sweet and sour twist. Definitely a taste of summer, no matter what the weather!

Barbecued Sweetcorn with Burnt Lime & Sea Salt

If the weather isn’t good enough, or you don’t have a barbecue, use a cast-iron griddle or heavy-bottomed frying pan and fry the corn in their husks, with no oil. Leave them until the husks cook to a dark brown/black colour, then turn every few minutes so the whole husk is coloured, about 15 minutes in total.

4 sweetcorn cobs with the husk still on

2 limes

pinch of brown sugar

butter

flaky or coarse sea salt

Fire up the barbecue (or see above). Soak the sweetcorn cobs in cold water for 20 minutes. Throw the cobs on the barbecue and cook for about 15 minutes, turning frequently. The husks will burn but you should be left with perfect smoky corn underneath.

Cut the limes in half, sprinkle the cut side with a little sugar and rub it in with your thumb until dissolved. Press the lime on to the bars of the barbecue until lightly caramelised. Strip the corn from the husk, slather over some butter, squeeze and rub the lime over the corn and sprinkle with salt.

Nutty Super-food Salad

It is so much easier to eat healthily in the Summer I find. I actually crave salad, whereas in the Winter I crave stodge. Occasionally I pick up lunch on my way home from work, before I pick up the kids. Unfortunately, in my line of work, your job is to cook other people lunch, not cook or eat your own! Marks and Spencer is probably best for ready-made salads. Although I know that Waitrose also do quite and extensive range. Most of the ones I have tried, may sound nice, but are usually disgusting. They always seem to try just a bit too hard, chucking in any combination of trendy ingredients – black quinoa seeds, Camargue red rice, cranberries, amaranth leaf, black barley -  and the dressings are always really nasty – too much Japanese rice vinegar and Yuzu!. 

The other day I bought a selection of two different salads, both which unannounced contained seaweed!  Surely if you are going to add seaweed to your salad, you would mention it in the name, not just hidden in a long list of ingredients which are far too small to read with human eyes. Well my eyes anyway. I couldn’t work out what this slimy, sort "off-fishy" taste was in my salad. Narrowed it down to the Wakame which was eventually mentioned in the list of 30 ingredients, now that I had been forced to put my reading glasses on. I even like seaweed, on say nori rolls, where it is meant to be, but this was disgusting and both pots of salad ended up in the bin. 

However, I am pleased to say, after much trial and error, I finally found a ready-made salad that I really liked. Marks and Spencer Nutty Superfood Salad. Featuring green beans, peas, broccoli, carrots, black-eyed beans and quinoa plus peanuts, almonds and pistachios, it is absolutely packed with delicious ingredients. It comes two ways, either on its own or served alongside a dollop of cannellini bean hummus and with a soy and ginger dressing. 

It may seem like a lot of ingredients, but it is super easy. Make up a large batch and dress it as required. What is so fab about making it yourself, is you don’t have to skimp on your favourite expensive ingredients, which inevitably the supermarkets always do!

Nutty Super-food Salad

To serve 4

2 Broccoli florets, shredded

1 Handful of peas

100g French beans, cut into 1 inch pieces

1 large carrot, finely chopped

100g spelt (wheatberries, barley or farro) you can buy ready cooked

100g soya beans

200g cooked black eye beans (or another type of bean – haricot, cannallini)

50g quinoa (You can buy ready cooked)

1 tsp. poppy seeds

1 handful pumpkin seeds

1 handful peanuts

1 handful pistachios

1 handful almonds

A little freshly chopped coriander

For the dressing, mix together:

2 tbsp. soy

1 tsp grated ginger

1 tsp sesame

1 tsp honey

Juice ½ lime

½ tsp. chilli paste

Put three pans of water on to boil. In the first add the quinoa. Cook 12-15 minutes until all the quinoa has gone squiggly. Drain well. In the second add the farro, cook for 20-30 minutes until tender. Drain well. In the third pan, add a pinch of salt and then the green beans. When cooked, add the shredded broccoli, bring back to the boil and add the peas and soya beans. Bring back to the boil and drain. Drain well.

Combine the salad ingredients.

Mix the dressing ingredients together and drizzle over each portion or alternatively, toss through the entire lot in a large bowl.

Under the Weather

As I said, I have been really ill. I had a serious bronchial, chesty cough and felt really under the weather. I really do believe that you crave what is good for you. Along with my desperate craving for chocolate, I had a yearning for Thai Spicy Sweet Potato Soup.

I know that it is fairly obvious to long for something hot and warming when are ill and we all know that chillies are great for colds. They are known to act as a decongestant, expectorant and pain reliever all at once. But I think it was the Galangal or Ginger, in my homemade red curry paste, along with the mix of fresh and vibrant other herbs and spices, that I was really craving. I could not believe it when I looked up its health benefits, and along with many other great things, Galangal and Ginger are proven to reduce respiratory problems. They are a natural expectorant, are effective in removing mucus from the throat and lungs and combating various respiratory problems such as colds, coughs, flu, bronchitis, asthma, and shortness of breath.



As for sweet potatoes – super high in vitamins C and A as well as B6, magnesium and potassium they also are packed with anti-oxidants and act as a powerful anti-inflammatory.
So once again, I have effectively self-medicated myself,  with nothing more than a delicious bowl of soup.



Spicy Thai Red Curry Sweet Potato and Coconut Soup This red curry paste is really delicious and you will probably have quite a bit left over. If you love fresh coriander like I do, it may not be so much red, as green. The paste will keep in the fridge for about a week, or freeze it in an ice cube tray and use it as you need.
1-2 tbsp coconut oil
2 medium onions, peeled and roughly chopped
750g (2 medium sized) sweet potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped

Red Curry paste
2 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
4 red birds eye chillies, roughly chopped
2 sticks lemon grass, roughly chopped
6 fresh Kaffir lime leaves, roughly chopped
Large chunk of galangal (or ginger), peeled and roughly chopped
4 garlic clove, peeled
1 tsp. salt
Small bunch fresh coriander, roughly chopped
2 tbsp. Naam Pla (fish sauce)
1 small can 400ml coconut cream
1 tbsp. coconut oil
1 lime

Heat the coconut oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion and cook gently for 5-10 minutes until soft and translucent. Add the sweet potatoes and cook for another 10 minutes or so. Meanwhile put all the ingredients for the red curry paste in a beaker and blend with a hand blender until smooth. Add a little coconut water from the tin of coconut milk to help achieve a smooth paste consistency. Add a large tablespoon of the curry paste to your saucepan and fry for a few minutes. Just cover the sweet potatoes with water and add a large teaspoon of salt. Simmer for about 30 minutes until the sweet potato is completely soft. Remove from the heat and whiz up the soup with the hand-blender. Check seasoning and add more curry paste if required and cook for a minute more.  Add the coconut milk and re-heat. Do not re-boil as it will kill the taste of the coconut milk. Add a squeeze of lime if you like.

Spicy Sweet Potato & Black Bean Burgers with Avocado

 

When I was an art student I was. quite predictably some may say, a vegetarian for a few years. I loved cooking huge stir-fries and lentil dishes which were cheap and filling. We had a couple of the first vegetarian cafes in Brighton as well, but I have to admit, my favourite treat was a Spicy Bean Burger from Wimpy. In those days we even had an old fashioned eat-in Wimpy restaurant in Brighton, with waitress service, so you could make quite an outing of it.

I wanted to recreate my own, but I still have a glut of sweet potato so I decided to add them too. I used my adobo sauce from my Spicy Chipotle Maple Roast Sweet Potato and Brussel Sprout Grain Bowls in the mix and also made a Chipotle mayonnaise to go in my burger, balanced out with some cool avocado and I dare say, it was probably a damn sight better than the Wimpy one I so fondly remember.



Spicy Sweet Potato & Black Bean Burgers with Avocado Makes 4
500g / 2 sweet potatoes
350g drained black beans
1 red onion, finely diced
1 tbsp homemade Adobo sauce
1 small bunch fresh coriander, chopped
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
High quality vegetable oil or coconut oil
4 hamburger buns (optional)
2 avocados
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tsp homemade Adobo sauce
Polenta flour
Optional other fillings – lettuce, tomato etc

Roast the sweet potatoes: Preheat the oven to 200C. Slice the sweet potatoes down the centre lengthwise. Place the sweet potatoes cut side up on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper and roast until they yield to a gentle squeeze, 30 to 40 minutes or longer. Once the sweet potatoes are cool enough to handle, remove the skin (it should pull off easily).

Meanwhile fry the onion in a little oil until translucent. Add a big tablespoon of Adobo sauce and fry for a minute more. Add the black beans and salt to taste, and mash with a potato masher. Add the chopped coriander and check seasoning. You can now chill the mix or carry straight on, it is up to you. Shape the mix into 4 patties. You can use polenta flour to help if you like.

Pan fry the burgers: (If you chilled the mix, turn on your oven to 180C) Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large heavy bottomed frying pan over medium heat. When it’s hot, place the burgers in the pan, leaving enough room to flip them. Cook for 4-5 minutes until browned on the bottom and flip. If your mix is cold, put the frying pan in the oven and cook for 15 minutes or so until hot all the way through. I you did not chill the mix, then just turn the hob heat right down and cook gently for 10 minutes or so.
Meanwhile stir the mayonnaise in with the Adobo sauce and serve a big dollop on each burger.

(Toast the buns (optional): Place the buns on a baking sheet, cut sides up, and bake until lightly toasted, about 2 to 3 minutes)
Serve with your favourite fillings – avocado, lettuce, tomato etc

Spicy Chipotle Maple Roast Sweet Potato and Brussel Sprout Grain Bowls

Do you know what a “Grain Bowl” is? No, neither did I. Turns out it is a quick and easy, one-dish meal, which contains among other things, one or a variety of grains. In England I guess this is just called “Lunch” but in America, where they simply have to invent a name for everything, they are very big, as part of a healthy, well-balanced diet .

The basic idea is you pick a grain – brown rice, Freekeh, quinoa, Farro or couscous.

Add salad or leafy greens – anything from raw kale, spinach, rocket, radicchio or salad leaves. (Not too much apparently, as then it is a salad and not a grain bowl!)

Add cooked seasonal vegetables– roast beetroot, squash, sweet potato, cauliflower, broccoli or Brussel sprouts for example.

Add protein – fish, chicken, beans, chickpeas, edamame or an egg, poached, fried or hard boiled.

Add dressing or a sauce – a basic vinaigrette or a themed dressing such as Asian, Moroccan or Thai. Use ingredients such as Harissa, curry pastes stirred into yogurt or mayonnaise, coconut milk, miso and lots of herbs and spices.

Add garnishes – toasted nuts, seeds, crumbled cheese, avocado, broad beans or crispy bacon.

So as you can see, the possibilities are endless. My fridge though is packed with sweet potatoes and Brussel sprouts from my weekly veg box, so this seemed a good place to start.

My choice of grain was cous cous although I am a great fan of Farro too. I am off quinoa ever since I discovered that it comes with a heavy environmental footprint. Due to the huge rise in demand, Bolivians can no longer afford to buy Quinoa, as its price is now so over inflated, and as a result they are starving. The demand has also resulted in decreased soil fertility and erosion due to over farming. I don’t know all the ins and outs, but quite frankly I can survive without it. For those who require a gluten free option, try the less popular, and therefore less destructive, Amaranth. But for now Quinoa, along with unsustainable Palm Oil, which is threatening the future of Orangutans, has joined my list of avoided products.

My sauce is based on the Spanish Adobo sauce. It turns up all over the Americas too, in various guises. I opted for a smoked Chipotle chilli, which is my favourite and ready available, and I was really pleased with the outcome. The combination of chilli, garlic, ginger and cumin is one that I use so often, that I know that I will be using this recipe all the time. In fact, I used it again this week in my Spicy Sweet Potato and Bean Burgers.



I have never tried roasting Brussel sprouts before. I never thought they would work, but I was wrong. The combination of the Brussel sprouts roast with sweet potato, maple syrup and my home made Adobo sauce was enough to convince me that I will be making this again too.

Finally, my garnish was Crispy Roast Chickpeas. They are an old favourite, though I have never used them in a "Grain Bowl" before. Up until now I just put them on a salad!

Adobe Sauce
4 or 5 Smoked Chipotle Chillies (soaked in water)
Large knob of ginger
2 cloves garlic (peeled)
2 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp salt
2-3 tbsp olive oil
Peel the ginger by scrapping off the skin with a teaspoon, roughly chop and put together with all the other ingredients. Whiz up with a hand blender. Add a little water if necessary to get a smooth paste.



Spicy Chipotle Maple Roast Sweet Potato and Brussel Sprout Grain Bowls.
200g Brussel sprouts, stems trimmed and cut in half
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 teaspoon Adobo sauce (more if you like it spicy)
½ small sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1 cms chunks
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon coconut oil
100g whole wheat couscous
Wild Rocket
½ lemon
Extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp Mayonnaise (leave out for vegans)
1 tsp Adobo sauce
 Crispy Roast Chickpeas

Preheat the oven 200C. Line a baking sheets with parchment paper. Toss the Brussel Sprouts and sweet potato with the maple syrup, Adobo, a little salt and pepper and coconut oil. (If you keep your coconut oil in the fridge like I do you might want to melt it in the microwave for a minute or two.) Spread on the sheet. You can add your chickpeas (see recipe below) at the same time. Check the veg and chickpeas regularly and move round the trays if necessary to ensure even cooking. The Brussel sprouts are done when they are turning golden brown and beginning to caramelise.

Meanwhile put your cous cous in a bowl with a little salt and olive oil. Mix well and cover with boiling water. Leave to sit for 15 minutes.

Make a dressing from the juice from the lemon, some olive oil and a pinch of salt. Whisk well. Dress your salad leaves with the lemon dressing and put in the bottom of your bowl. Next fluff up your cous cous with a fork and add the roast vegetables. Check seasoning and pile on top of the rocket, finally scatter the roasted chickpeas on top. Mix the mayonnaise with a little more Adobo sauce and let it down with water until you have the consistency of single cream. Drizzle over the salad.