Tea: Loubet-inspired asparagus & aubergines

I loved yesterday’s OFM. Maybe it’s just the long-weekend mood I was in, but everything seemed interesting and delicious – from Rachel Cooke daring to tell it like it is about task-obsessed men in the kitchen to Jay Rayner’s piece about Bruno Loubet’s swerve towards vegetables, following in the foodsteps of Passard the Great & Robuchon the Tagalong.

Bruno’s recipes seemed utterly doable, and as I have miso paste I needed  to finish I went off to the market to pick up aubergines and asparagus to make recipe no 5 here.

My miso paste wasn’t sweet, so I added some cooked apples I had to hand. I didn’t want to faff about with chopping and deep frying onion rings so I added a tiny clove of fresh garlic before blitzing everything and roasted the asparagus to ensure a crispy texture. A squeeze of lime finished it off perfectly and the children approved. A keeper.

Sharepost (French) Gâteau Indémoulable, So Oh Cliché.

Link to blog here.

Une histoire de gâteau indémoulable

Il y a quelques jours, j’ai eu une révélation… Oui, rien que ça ! En effet, je vous ai déjà parlé ici d’un de mes livres de cuisine préféré, Je veux du chocolat ! de Trish Deseine. Eh bien, une de mes recettes favorites à l’intérieur de l’ouvrage est le diabolique “Gâteau indémoulable”. Seulement, fidèle à son patronyme, il se déguste à la bonne franquette, chacun sa cuillère (ou alors toute seule les jours de grosse déprime ). Pas forcément pratique…

SharePost: my white chocolate soup on Design Sponge.

IN THE KITCHEN WITH: TRISH DESEINE’S WHITE CHOCOLATE SOUP

Photos & words by Kristina Gill. Full post here.White Chocolate Soup400g (1 can) coconut milk200g Passionfruit nectar/juice400g (1 can) coconut milk200g White chocolate

1 stalk of lemongrass (optional)

Break the chocolate into 2cm pieces and place in a bowl large enough to contain the liquid. Mix the coconut milk and passionfruit nectar in a small saucepan, and heat. (If you are using lemongrass, allow it to steep some in the hot coconut milk mixture). Pour the hot liquid over the white chocolate pieces and allow to sit for 3-4 minutes before stirring.

Serve warm.

(Photography by Kristina Gill; dipping bowls, medium pebble bowl, espresso cups, and square by mud australia)

SharePost: my caramel camembert.

 

 

 

 

 

Done in 2 minutes, gluten free, serve with fresh fruit on the side & it replaces dessert.

Post & (gorgeous) photo from Delicious Travels through Flavour Country. 

 

This recipe, from the cookbook Caramel, by Trish Deseine, is almost too good to be true. It’s simple to prepare, but best of all, it’s makes a stunning presentation. It’s also gluten-free. I will definitely be making this recipe again… and again.

The trickiest part is getting the caramel to the right consistency. In a small sauce pan mix together a 1/2 cup minus 1 Tbsp granulated sugar and 2 Tbsp water. Stir them together, then bring the mixture to a simmer and watch it closely until it turns a light golden brown. If you have a candy thermometer try and achieve the soft ball stage (116 °C or 240 °F).

In the meantime, place a round of camembert in the centre of a serving dish and dress up the top and sides with a healthy mix of nuts and dried fruits. I used a combination of almonds, cashews, peanuts, dried cranberries and dried bluberries. The first time I made the caramel I completely burnt it since I wasn’t watching closely. Be warned, once it starts to change colour, it changes very fast. Once the caramel reaches the desired colour and consistency pour it gracefully over the arranged cheese. Let it cool for at least a few minutes before serving. The caramelized suger will be extremely hot at first.

Tips: Place the cheese either on parchment paper on a plate or on a wooden cutting board. That will make it easier to cut through tough caramel chunks, if necessary. Brie is a good substitute for camembert if you can’t find it at the store.

Sharepost: a nod to January good intentions, my chocolate granola.

Photo from The Muesli Lover. Makes 3 big bowls

Preparation – 5 minutes
Cooking – 5 minutes

Ingredients

125g chocolate chips or chopped dark chocolate
40g rolled oat flakes
1 tbsp pistachios
1 tbsp almond flakes
1 tbsp pecans (or hazelnuts, almonds, macademia nuts)
1 tbsp coconut flakes
1 tbsp pine nuts
1 tbsp runny honey

Turn the oven to 180 C

Mix all the ingredients together. Spread out over a baking tray and grill for 5 to 7 minutes until the mixture turns a beautiful golden colour.

Give the tray a shake half way through cooking so the mixture doesn’t stick together too much, although you’ll want little caramelised clumps here and there. Leave to cool.

Serve in a bowl with milk or yoghurt and maybe some fresh fruit.