This is the ultimate coleslaw recipe - perfection on a plate that could not be simpler to throw together.
The exact quantities really don't matter that much - you want lots of cabbage (your base), then a bunch of carrots , next comes apples - they absolutely must be grannies - nothing else gives it the right kind of zing, then a small amount of red onion, and finally avocado and pomegranate - I'll come to those in a bit.
The trick is to prepare each ingredient differently so that the final product is 'not' a homogeneous mess,
Cabbage: finely shredded (half a small cabbage)
Carrots: grated - largest size hole (4-5 carrots)
Onion: finely chopped (1 small onion)
Apples: cubed (1-2 apples depending on the size)
Avocado: big cubes (1-2 avocados or whatever you have in the house)
Pomegranate: seeds and juice (1 large pomegranate)
Mayonnaise (Hellman's is best - home-made is not so good for this recipe)
You can use the food processor for the first three/key ingredients or do it the old-fashioned way.
Peel and core and cube the apples - small cubes - and add them to the mix.
At this point I add the mayonnaise and get everything mixed really well.
The mayonnaise will go further than you think - about 3 huge tablespoonfuls is good to start with.
Taste and mix again, add more mayonnaise if it's not creamy enough.
Remember that the vegetables will sweat a little so don't worry if it seems 'dry'.
Peel the avocado and make big (1/4" - 1/2" cubes)
Tip onto the coleslaw gently.
Get the seeds out of the Pomegranate: cut it in half and hold one half over a clean bowl and whack the side of the pomegranate with the handle of a big knife turning it and whacking it until the seeds start falling out then whack it all over the top. Pick over the seeds - removing any skin that fell in and tip the seeds (and any juice from that half) into the salad. Fold the avocado cubes and pomegranate seeds/juice super gently into the coleslaw and clean up the bowl - or tip the salad into the serving bowl.
Now 'whack' the seeds out of the second half of the pomegranate and pick out any bits of skin.
Finish the salad off by sprinkling the seeds only (keep the juice back - cook's treat) over the top of the salad.
I promise - this is the tastiest, healthiest coleslaw in the world! The 'sharp and sweet notes' of the pomegranate combined with the crunchiness of the seeds is a fantabulous.
You can use Mango instead of pomegranate - slightly unripe or nearly ripe mango is best - you don't get the fabulous texture contrast - but it makes the coleslaw divinely tropical. You can sprinkle some toasted coconut on top to complete the tropical theme.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Bread and Butter Pudding√
Bread Pudding is an abomination. There. I've said it. It's heavy, stodgy and bad for you. I don't know who decided to make it without the butter but it really is a crime to make it without. My friend John taught me to butter both sides of the bread (the Italian way) rather than just one side (the British way). This elevates it to something divine.
Day old bread - white is best - or a mixture of white and brown - heavy brown bread does not make the best pudding
Butter - unsalted, at room temp or soft enough for easy spreading
Sugar
Maple syrup
Milk
Eggs
Vanilla essence
Optional extras: Chocolate chips or raisins or apricots etc.
I never measure anything for this recipe - I put in what feels right - adding a bit of this or that - making sure there are about 1 egg per cup of milk
Slice the bread - remove the crusts and butter on both sides
Butter a ceramic or glass baking dish
Layer the bread with a few dried fruits or chocolate chips in between each layer
Whisk milk, eggs, brown sugar, maple syrup, vanilla essence
Pour over the top until the bread is all covered
Cover and leave in the fridge for a few hours (so the bread soaks up the juices) or overnight
Sprinkle with extra sugar and grated nutmeg or cinnamon
Bake at 300-325 degrees for a good 45 minutes or longer if you have a big dish
It should be golden brown - all puffed up - and smelling like heaven
Make sure you have an audience for when you pull it out of the oven as it tends to fall fairly quickly.
Day old bread - white is best - or a mixture of white and brown - heavy brown bread does not make the best pudding
Butter - unsalted, at room temp or soft enough for easy spreading
Sugar
Maple syrup
Milk
Eggs
Vanilla essence
Optional extras: Chocolate chips or raisins or apricots etc.
I never measure anything for this recipe - I put in what feels right - adding a bit of this or that - making sure there are about 1 egg per cup of milk
Slice the bread - remove the crusts and butter on both sides
Butter a ceramic or glass baking dish
Layer the bread with a few dried fruits or chocolate chips in between each layer
Whisk milk, eggs, brown sugar, maple syrup, vanilla essence
Pour over the top until the bread is all covered
Cover and leave in the fridge for a few hours (so the bread soaks up the juices) or overnight
Sprinkle with extra sugar and grated nutmeg or cinnamon
Bake at 300-325 degrees for a good 45 minutes or longer if you have a big dish
It should be golden brown - all puffed up - and smelling like heaven
Make sure you have an audience for when you pull it out of the oven as it tends to fall fairly quickly.
Moroccan Chicken√
The chicken involved some serious showing off. I happened to have a couple of jars of Moroccan Preserved Lemons in the fridge - that I made with lemons I picked at Susie Lyons' dad's citrus orchard. Preserved lemons are an edible revelation. They transform simple salads, fish and chicken dishes into something absolutely spectacular. They couldn't be easier to make.
Moroccan Preserved Lemons
Scrub a bunch of lemons
Cut 3/4 of the way through a lemon in one direction lengthwise, turn upside down and make a 1/4 turn and cut the other way 3/4 through to the bottom
Pack the cuts with kosher salt and jam the lemons in a glass jar
Add a bit more salt and some lemon juice to cover and refridgerate
They are ready to use in a month and will last 6 months in the fridge
Chicken with Preserved Lemons & Saffron
Take a good free-range chicken
Stuff with a couple of preserved (or fresh) lemons
Place in a pan and cover (just cover) the chicken with water
Add 1 VERY finely chopped large onionAdd 1 tsp. saffron fronds
Simmer VERY slowly for a couple of hours turning the chicken every 1/2 hour or so (until the meat falls off the bones)
Pull the chicken out and let it cool a bitTake the meat off the bones and keep covered and warm.
Add some cubed (large-ish cubes), root vegetables to the stock - my favorites are turnips (any large turnip), rutabaga (swede), and celeriac and simmer uncovered for half an hour or so. The stock will concentrate and reduce.
While the roots are cooking make the couscous - the recipe on the packet works fine with a couple of extra steps at the end to make it perfect.
Bring water and oil to the boil and take off the heat.
Add the couscous and the lid of the pan.
After 10 minutes or so fluff the couscous up with a fork and place a doubled kitchen towel over the top of the pan and jam the lid down as tight as possible.
After another 10 minutes or so fluff the couscous again and 'wash' it with your fingers i.e. rub it lightly between the fingers of both hands to get rid of all lumps.
Add salt and one or more finely chopped preserved lemons to the stock i.e. until it tastes perfect
You can add other seasoning at this point (or earlier in the cooking process if you'd like).
You can also boil it vigorously to reduce it further.
Claudia Roden adds ginger and cinnamon but I never want to.
She also adds a bunch of finely chopped coriander and a bunch of chopped parsley at the beginning of the cooking process but I like to add those to the couscous just before serving - and I add either coriander or parsley rather than both.
You can serve this pretty much any way you'd like: either in separate bowls and let people help themselves or you can make up one big plate/bowl with a pile of couscous, the chicken on top, the roots all around and the stock poured around the edges.
Serve with harrissa - a moroccan hot sauce that can be found in tubes in specialty stores.
Moroccan Preserved Lemons
Scrub a bunch of lemons
Cut 3/4 of the way through a lemon in one direction lengthwise, turn upside down and make a 1/4 turn and cut the other way 3/4 through to the bottom
Pack the cuts with kosher salt and jam the lemons in a glass jar
Add a bit more salt and some lemon juice to cover and refridgerate
They are ready to use in a month and will last 6 months in the fridge
Chicken with Preserved Lemons & Saffron
Take a good free-range chicken
Stuff with a couple of preserved (or fresh) lemons
Place in a pan and cover (just cover) the chicken with water
Add 1 VERY finely chopped large onionAdd 1 tsp. saffron fronds
Simmer VERY slowly for a couple of hours turning the chicken every 1/2 hour or so (until the meat falls off the bones)
Pull the chicken out and let it cool a bitTake the meat off the bones and keep covered and warm.
Add some cubed (large-ish cubes), root vegetables to the stock - my favorites are turnips (any large turnip), rutabaga (swede), and celeriac and simmer uncovered for half an hour or so. The stock will concentrate and reduce.
While the roots are cooking make the couscous - the recipe on the packet works fine with a couple of extra steps at the end to make it perfect.
Bring water and oil to the boil and take off the heat.
Add the couscous and the lid of the pan.
After 10 minutes or so fluff the couscous up with a fork and place a doubled kitchen towel over the top of the pan and jam the lid down as tight as possible.
After another 10 minutes or so fluff the couscous again and 'wash' it with your fingers i.e. rub it lightly between the fingers of both hands to get rid of all lumps.
Add salt and one or more finely chopped preserved lemons to the stock i.e. until it tastes perfect
You can add other seasoning at this point (or earlier in the cooking process if you'd like).
You can also boil it vigorously to reduce it further.
Claudia Roden adds ginger and cinnamon but I never want to.
She also adds a bunch of finely chopped coriander and a bunch of chopped parsley at the beginning of the cooking process but I like to add those to the couscous just before serving - and I add either coriander or parsley rather than both.
You can serve this pretty much any way you'd like: either in separate bowls and let people help themselves or you can make up one big plate/bowl with a pile of couscous, the chicken on top, the roots all around and the stock poured around the edges.
Serve with harrissa - a moroccan hot sauce that can be found in tubes in specialty stores.
Frenzied Musings√
November 2007 - A Sweet Honey Frenzy
Ellen and I went with a bunch of friends last night to hear Sweet Honey in the Rock * (see more at the end of this post) and I invited everyone over for some soup and salad beforehand. I really did intend to make something simple but a delightful frenzy took over and I ended up making a couple of soups, a huge chopped salad, some lebne and TWO deserts. I made everything at breakneck speed - cooking two or three things at once and ending up with a clean kitchen and a bunch of yummy stuff in less than 2 hours!! It was a wonderful evening - fabulous friends, great grub, and marvellous music!
If you don't know Sweet Honey you might want to check them out - they are a spectacular acapella group who've been singing their hearts out since the mid 1980s. They weave spiritual and political and social threads into their beautiful, intriguing, magical songs.
As a child I studied music at high school but any time we had to sing I was singled out to keep my mouth shut. Although I could hear music what came out of my mouth didn't work so well.
As an adult I questioned many received wisdoms and this was one of them. I loved music so much and could hear it and play it so well it didn't make sense that I couldn't sing it.
Ysaye Barnwell, one of the founding members of Sweet Honey, gave a singing workshop in London in the late 80s and I signed up. By the end of that weekend I was not only singing, I was singing every damn part from soprano all the way down to bass. And so was every single other person in that group.
It was wonderful to hear her live and feel the love and gratitude I have towards her for helping me to find my singing voice. It was a transformative experience that literally changed my life. I joined a choir a few years after that workshop and have never looked back. I'm not a good singer but the thing is this, singing massages my soul - it nourishes the parts that other activities simply do not reach - and so I've become a bit of a singing slut - always on the lookout to singing my little heart out, wherever and whenever that may be!
http://www.sweethoney.com
March 7, 2008: A Small Rainy Day Frenzy
Debra came to visit this week and we had a fabulously theatrical time. We saw a Tennessee Williams play at the Hippodrome Theater - Suddenly Last Summer - and Rosenkranz & Guildenstern are Dead by Tom Stoppard at the Across Town Repertory Theater. We loved them both.
Today it rained cats and dogs as well alligators and bobcats. It was relentless - dark, and very, very wet. A small kitchen frenzy came upon me and I made a divine little vegetarian soup and a scrumptious (not vegetarian) chicken with preserved lemons and saffron. We had Roasted Roots and Couscous with the chicken and Bread AND Butter pudding for 'afters'.
August 18, 2007 Not Just A Breadmaking Frenzy
The Breadman breadmaking machine arrived yesterday. My whole life I have yearned to bake bread. And failed. It never rises. It always tastes like crap. My first loaf in the breadmaker was almost perfect. This morning I made fresh (organic) butter in it. Yup you read correctly. I put in some cream in the BREADMAKER and churned half a pound of butter. What a crazy and wonderful world we live in!
Breakfast - everything home-made - everything organic! Wholewheat bread slathered with butter, topped with Butia (Pindo) Palm Fruit Jelly. Incroyable!
This evening I made another loaf - this time with just a teaspoon of honey instead of 2 tablespoons of barley malt (the malt gave it a rather strong but not altogether unpleasant taste) - and half wholewheat and half white wholewheat (whatever that is) flours instead of all wholewheat. I timed it so that Ellen - who has been out of town since just before the breadmaker arrived - stepped in the door as the cooking cycle came to a close and the whole house smelled of freshly baked bread. This loaf is closer to perfect. Life couldn't be gooder. OK maybe I could be thinner (which isn't happening any time soon now).
We had bread and butter with one of my favorite, soups: Watercress. It's has a delightfully delicate taste and looks so pretty served in a white cup or bowl.
The next day I had an Iron Chef Evening in the kitchen - making lots of 'dishes' none of which I had made before, all of which I made up as I went along!
I started with fish - Grouper. It isn't a fish I know well and I marinaded it in lime juice, soy and olive oil which I had blended with basil and lemongrass from the garden. It was meatier than we like - I like fish to melt in my mouth and this one needed a lot of chewing.
I made three accompaniments (each of which would stand brilliantly on their own as a divine little vegetarian dinner): mashed cauliflower and peas, a squash souffle and an eggplant and tomato stack.
The were all absolutely delicious.
There was Butia (Pindo) Palm Fruit Sorbet for desert but we are too stuffed to even contemplate it. Go to the Edible Plant Project Website for full details!
And so to bed!!!
This morning I had Peach Kuchen and Chocolate Pudding for breakfast ... leftovers from last night's feastlet. It reminded me of when I was maybe 8 or 9 - my brother and I would creep downstairs after one of my parent's parties and eat cold, leftovers - macaroni and cheese and chocolate cake with the dregs from the wine glasses - the red and the white - mixed into a delightful, pink Sunday morning cocktail.
Ellen and I went with a bunch of friends last night to hear Sweet Honey in the Rock * (see more at the end of this post) and I invited everyone over for some soup and salad beforehand. I really did intend to make something simple but a delightful frenzy took over and I ended up making a couple of soups, a huge chopped salad, some lebne and TWO deserts. I made everything at breakneck speed - cooking two or three things at once and ending up with a clean kitchen and a bunch of yummy stuff in less than 2 hours!! It was a wonderful evening - fabulous friends, great grub, and marvellous music!
If you don't know Sweet Honey you might want to check them out - they are a spectacular acapella group who've been singing their hearts out since the mid 1980s. They weave spiritual and political and social threads into their beautiful, intriguing, magical songs.
As a child I studied music at high school but any time we had to sing I was singled out to keep my mouth shut. Although I could hear music what came out of my mouth didn't work so well.
As an adult I questioned many received wisdoms and this was one of them. I loved music so much and could hear it and play it so well it didn't make sense that I couldn't sing it.
Ysaye Barnwell, one of the founding members of Sweet Honey, gave a singing workshop in London in the late 80s and I signed up. By the end of that weekend I was not only singing, I was singing every damn part from soprano all the way down to bass. And so was every single other person in that group.
It was wonderful to hear her live and feel the love and gratitude I have towards her for helping me to find my singing voice. It was a transformative experience that literally changed my life. I joined a choir a few years after that workshop and have never looked back. I'm not a good singer but the thing is this, singing massages my soul - it nourishes the parts that other activities simply do not reach - and so I've become a bit of a singing slut - always on the lookout to singing my little heart out, wherever and whenever that may be!
http://www.sweethoney.com
March 7, 2008: A Small Rainy Day Frenzy
Debra came to visit this week and we had a fabulously theatrical time. We saw a Tennessee Williams play at the Hippodrome Theater - Suddenly Last Summer - and Rosenkranz & Guildenstern are Dead by Tom Stoppard at the Across Town Repertory Theater. We loved them both.
Today it rained cats and dogs as well alligators and bobcats. It was relentless - dark, and very, very wet. A small kitchen frenzy came upon me and I made a divine little vegetarian soup and a scrumptious (not vegetarian) chicken with preserved lemons and saffron. We had Roasted Roots and Couscous with the chicken and Bread AND Butter pudding for 'afters'.
August 18, 2007 Not Just A Breadmaking Frenzy
The Breadman breadmaking machine arrived yesterday. My whole life I have yearned to bake bread. And failed. It never rises. It always tastes like crap. My first loaf in the breadmaker was almost perfect. This morning I made fresh (organic) butter in it. Yup you read correctly. I put in some cream in the BREADMAKER and churned half a pound of butter. What a crazy and wonderful world we live in!
Breakfast - everything home-made - everything organic! Wholewheat bread slathered with butter, topped with Butia (Pindo) Palm Fruit Jelly. Incroyable!
This evening I made another loaf - this time with just a teaspoon of honey instead of 2 tablespoons of barley malt (the malt gave it a rather strong but not altogether unpleasant taste) - and half wholewheat and half white wholewheat (whatever that is) flours instead of all wholewheat. I timed it so that Ellen - who has been out of town since just before the breadmaker arrived - stepped in the door as the cooking cycle came to a close and the whole house smelled of freshly baked bread. This loaf is closer to perfect. Life couldn't be gooder. OK maybe I could be thinner (which isn't happening any time soon now).
We had bread and butter with one of my favorite, soups: Watercress. It's has a delightfully delicate taste and looks so pretty served in a white cup or bowl.
The next day I had an Iron Chef Evening in the kitchen - making lots of 'dishes' none of which I had made before, all of which I made up as I went along!
I started with fish - Grouper. It isn't a fish I know well and I marinaded it in lime juice, soy and olive oil which I had blended with basil and lemongrass from the garden. It was meatier than we like - I like fish to melt in my mouth and this one needed a lot of chewing.
I made three accompaniments (each of which would stand brilliantly on their own as a divine little vegetarian dinner): mashed cauliflower and peas, a squash souffle and an eggplant and tomato stack.
The were all absolutely delicious.
There was Butia (Pindo) Palm Fruit Sorbet for desert but we are too stuffed to even contemplate it. Go to the Edible Plant Project Website for full details!
And so to bed!!!
This morning I had Peach Kuchen and Chocolate Pudding for breakfast ... leftovers from last night's feastlet. It reminded me of when I was maybe 8 or 9 - my brother and I would creep downstairs after one of my parent's parties and eat cold, leftovers - macaroni and cheese and chocolate cake with the dregs from the wine glasses - the red and the white - mixed into a delightful, pink Sunday morning cocktail.
Lebne√
This is a middle eastern soft cheese made from yoghurt that is absolutely delicious. It is both bright and clean and positively sings in your mouth. It couldn't be easier to make but you do need a muslin or a cheesecloth or super-thin t-towel of some sort. I have a yard of cheesecloth that I keep in a drawer in my kitchen for making this cheese or straining fruits for making jellies.
1. Line a colander with the muslin (a double layer is good).
2. Tip in a big pot of plain yoghurt made from whole milk.
3. Sprinkle a teaspoon of salt on top and leave in the fridge for overnight. An astonishing amount of 'liquid' will drain out of it. The longer you leave it the creamier and cheesier it will become.
4. Scrape the cheese into a bowl (using a knife) and add chopped herbs to taste. You shouldn't have to add more salt ...
I frequently make it with garlic chives as the big mound outside my kitchen door thrive year round despite my benign neglect, but you could make this with absolutely anything. Here are some ideas to get you started:
Garlic & lemon thyme
Parsley & olives
Fresh chopped coriander & the zest of half a lemon or half a lime
Caraway seeds & paprika
Eat it as you would any soft cheese - on fresh bread, crackers or as a dip with crudites.
Chocolate Pudding√
November 1, 2008 - Important Update!
Here's my new improved foolproof chocolate pudding recipe. I made a huge bowlful in about 10-15 minutes while Ellen did the washing up. It's a grown up pudding - very chocolatey and not too sweet. I preferred it hot.
9 oz chocolate: 4 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips and 4 oz of 60% bittersweet chocolate chips and 1 oz cocoa powder (you can play with the quantities according to what you have in your pantry and your taste preferences of course - more or less chocolate or more or less bittersweet etc.)
3 eggs
5 cups milk
1 cup half and half
6 oz sugar
2 tbsp and 1 tsp cornstarch
pinch salt
Whisk the eggs into the milk and strain into a saucepan.
Turn on low to start gently heating the milk.
Add the sugar and salt and whisk.
Add the chocolate chips and stir from time to time while you attend to measuring and whisking the cornstarch and cocoa powder into the half and half. Once the chocolate chips have completely melted strain the cornstarch mixture into the pan.
Now step up to the pan and stay there until the pudding is done, stirring continuously so it doesn't stick or burn. You can increase the heat to speed up the process but do so very carefully and don't let it 'boil.' You can whisk it from time to time if it gets a bit lumpy.
Pour it into a beautiful bowl and serve warm with whipped cream.
Or let it cool - cover the bowl with a kitchen towel while it cools otherwise a skin forms within minutes and if you cover the bowel with a plate or clingfilm the condensation will drip back down onto it.
You can also chop bananas into it and sprinkle it with raspberries if you want to make it a bit healthier!
Scaled down quantities for just a couple of people (or one very greedy person):
1 1/2 cups milk
1 egg
2 oz sugar
small pinch salt
3 oz chocolate chips
1/2 oz cocoa powder
3 tsp cornstarch
1/2 cup half and half
Chocolate pudding isn't really an English thing or rather it isn't something I'd ever come across until I came across to the States. A few months ago I felt like making a pudding - a chocolatey treat. I decided to have a go at making a chocolate pudding - I was in too much of hurry to look up a recipe, thinking also 'how difficult could it be ... isn't it just a thick, chocolate-flavored custard?' So I threw a custard together and chucked in a whole bunch of dark chocolate, then added more milk, more sugar and a bit more corn starch until it had a good texture and a great taste. Afterwards I checked the recipes and was enchanted to find that mine wasn't so very different!
I got into a lot of trouble doubling up the recipe below to make enough for 10-12 people. I didn't have 8 ounces of chocolate so used 4 oz. of dark chocolate and 4 oz. of cocoa. I forgot that cocoa acts like flour and ended up having to add a ton more milk to thin it and some more sugar (don't ask how much) until it tasted just perfect (sweet but not too sweet). I ran out of milk and had to use some half and half.
I ended up with an obscene amount of pudding - it filled a big bowl right to the top. By the end of the evening we were eating it straight out of the bowl and there was only a little left for my morning indulgence.
4 oz. 60-70% chocolate + 1/4 cup of water - melt in a double boiler - stirring continuously.
Beat 1 large egg into 2 cups milk (or 1 1/2 cups milk and 1/2 cup half and half or cream)
Strain into the double boiler and mix into the chocolate
Add 2 oz. soft brown sugar, a pinch of salt and 1 tsp. of good vanilla
Mix 3 teaspoons of cornstarch into a little cold water and add to the mix
Stir until it thickens
Here's what - if you turn your back on it for even a minute lumps form and you'll have to whisk it in a panic. Here's really what - I always get completely bored with the whole double boiler thing and end up pouring it into a pan and then I bring it to a quick and little simmer, whisking like a mad woman all the while. People in a kitchen frenzy do not stand over a double boiler for 30 minutes waiting for their puddings to thicken.
Once it's nice and puddingy the cook has to eat a warm bowlful straight from the pan. Those are the rules.
A lot of recipes use a mix of cocoa powder and semi-sweet chocolate. I prefer the more intense and grown up taste of a dark chocolate pudding.
Postscript!
I happened upon a Chocolate Pudding being cooked up on TV late last night and saw it being treated with great reverence. Apparently you must ALWAYS cook chocolate very gently in a double boiler and you must NEVER whisk it else you will ruin it completely. Guess what. I simmered it in the pan. Then it got a bit lumpy so I whisked it. Repeatedly. Nobody complained.
Here's my new improved foolproof chocolate pudding recipe. I made a huge bowlful in about 10-15 minutes while Ellen did the washing up. It's a grown up pudding - very chocolatey and not too sweet. I preferred it hot.
9 oz chocolate: 4 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips and 4 oz of 60% bittersweet chocolate chips and 1 oz cocoa powder (you can play with the quantities according to what you have in your pantry and your taste preferences of course - more or less chocolate or more or less bittersweet etc.)
3 eggs
5 cups milk
1 cup half and half
6 oz sugar
2 tbsp and 1 tsp cornstarch
pinch salt
Whisk the eggs into the milk and strain into a saucepan.
Turn on low to start gently heating the milk.
Add the sugar and salt and whisk.
Add the chocolate chips and stir from time to time while you attend to measuring and whisking the cornstarch and cocoa powder into the half and half. Once the chocolate chips have completely melted strain the cornstarch mixture into the pan.
Now step up to the pan and stay there until the pudding is done, stirring continuously so it doesn't stick or burn. You can increase the heat to speed up the process but do so very carefully and don't let it 'boil.' You can whisk it from time to time if it gets a bit lumpy.
Pour it into a beautiful bowl and serve warm with whipped cream.
Or let it cool - cover the bowl with a kitchen towel while it cools otherwise a skin forms within minutes and if you cover the bowel with a plate or clingfilm the condensation will drip back down onto it.
You can also chop bananas into it and sprinkle it with raspberries if you want to make it a bit healthier!
Scaled down quantities for just a couple of people (or one very greedy person):
1 1/2 cups milk
1 egg
2 oz sugar
small pinch salt
3 oz chocolate chips
1/2 oz cocoa powder
3 tsp cornstarch
1/2 cup half and half
Chocolate pudding isn't really an English thing or rather it isn't something I'd ever come across until I came across to the States. A few months ago I felt like making a pudding - a chocolatey treat. I decided to have a go at making a chocolate pudding - I was in too much of hurry to look up a recipe, thinking also 'how difficult could it be ... isn't it just a thick, chocolate-flavored custard?' So I threw a custard together and chucked in a whole bunch of dark chocolate, then added more milk, more sugar and a bit more corn starch until it had a good texture and a great taste. Afterwards I checked the recipes and was enchanted to find that mine wasn't so very different!
I got into a lot of trouble doubling up the recipe below to make enough for 10-12 people. I didn't have 8 ounces of chocolate so used 4 oz. of dark chocolate and 4 oz. of cocoa. I forgot that cocoa acts like flour and ended up having to add a ton more milk to thin it and some more sugar (don't ask how much) until it tasted just perfect (sweet but not too sweet). I ran out of milk and had to use some half and half.
I ended up with an obscene amount of pudding - it filled a big bowl right to the top. By the end of the evening we were eating it straight out of the bowl and there was only a little left for my morning indulgence.
4 oz. 60-70% chocolate + 1/4 cup of water - melt in a double boiler - stirring continuously.
Beat 1 large egg into 2 cups milk (or 1 1/2 cups milk and 1/2 cup half and half or cream)
Strain into the double boiler and mix into the chocolate
Add 2 oz. soft brown sugar, a pinch of salt and 1 tsp. of good vanilla
Mix 3 teaspoons of cornstarch into a little cold water and add to the mix
Stir until it thickens
Here's what - if you turn your back on it for even a minute lumps form and you'll have to whisk it in a panic. Here's really what - I always get completely bored with the whole double boiler thing and end up pouring it into a pan and then I bring it to a quick and little simmer, whisking like a mad woman all the while. People in a kitchen frenzy do not stand over a double boiler for 30 minutes waiting for their puddings to thicken.
Once it's nice and puddingy the cook has to eat a warm bowlful straight from the pan. Those are the rules.
A lot of recipes use a mix of cocoa powder and semi-sweet chocolate. I prefer the more intense and grown up taste of a dark chocolate pudding.
Postscript!
I happened upon a Chocolate Pudding being cooked up on TV late last night and saw it being treated with great reverence. Apparently you must ALWAYS cook chocolate very gently in a double boiler and you must NEVER whisk it else you will ruin it completely. Guess what. I simmered it in the pan. Then it got a bit lumpy so I whisked it. Repeatedly. Nobody complained.
Austrian Fruit Kuchen√
Hannah Waldbaum gave me this recipe and it works every time. I am a Very Bad Baker because I don't like to cook the same thing twice and I love to fiddle with recipes. Baked goods do not respond well to this approach. Their recipes don't like being messed with. Chemistry is involved and even small changes in quantities cause big changes in results. Nearly all my kitchen tantrums have been over sunken cakes or breads that failed to rise.
This recipe is super quick to throw together and for some reason it is so straightforward it has repeatedly resisted my best efforts to ruin it. You don't need a math degree to transpose the ingredients to make a smaller or large cake.
8 oz. butter (room temp)
8 oz. soft brown sugar
8 oz. flour (half wholewheat pastry flour, half white unbleached)
4 large eggs (room temp)
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
Fruit (depending on the size: 3-4 peaches, 6-10 apricots, 2-3 apples or 6-10 plums etc.)
Turn the oven on to 400 degrees.
Prep the fruit. Skin and quarter the peaches (or quarter them first and then skin them - easier, or if you are short on time don't bother skinning them - easier still), halve or quarter and pit the plums or apricots, skin and slice the apples into eighths etc.
Throw soft-ish butter into the food processor with the sugar and blend until pale.
With the blender on add the eggs one at a time leaving a few seconds between each egg.
Take the top off and throw in the flour, baking powder and salt.
Put the top back on and pulse just a few times to mix.
Pour into a buttered and floured pan (12 x 8)
Arrange the fruit gently and quickly on top.
Do NOT press it into the mixture - it will sink into the cake and can ruin it.
Throw into the oven for 20 - 25 minutes.
It will be golden brown and fill the kitchen with the best smell in the world. OK OK - there are others: bread baking, garlic sauteing, lemon zesting, bacon frying ... but it's right up there.
Update ... Wednesday 19th June
I remembered at 4 o'clock that I was bringing a cake to choir so I threw myself into a serious kitchen frenzy using 12 ounces of flour/butter/sugar, 6 fresh eggs from our chicklets, 2 teaspoons of baking powder, 1/8 tsp of salt and 2 big teaspoons of vanilla essence - for a bigger slab of cake! Everything organic from the Citizen's Co-op including the plums. The plums were a pain - I couldn't halve them - I had to quarter them which ended up being just fine. I used a 16 x 12 pan.
I had a few plums left over and some cherries that needed eating in the fridge so I pitted them all and made a quick fruit compote by simmering them with a little water for 15 minutes or so. No sugar. The fruit had just the right degree of tartness to complement the sweet (but not too sweet!) of the cake.
The cake, compote and washing up were all done and dusted by 5 pm.
Ellen's eyes got really big. "Are you taking that whole cake to choir?" she asked pointedly as it came out the oven. A little later she said "Can I have some?" and a shorter while later "When can I have some?" and then "Can I have some now?" A Chinese water torture of carefully graded questions.
There was something really good about this cake. I used more white flour than usual (8 oz white to 4 oz wholewheat). I used a cane sugar that is a very pale brown. The eggs all had orange yokes. The result was a yellow cake that was light and very tasty.
It got SisterSong's seal of approval - we even sang a happy cake song which was a little weird and very funny.
Ellen had 2 pieces before choir and 1 piece from the paltry left overs after I got home.
This recipe is super quick to throw together and for some reason it is so straightforward it has repeatedly resisted my best efforts to ruin it. You don't need a math degree to transpose the ingredients to make a smaller or large cake.
8 oz. butter (room temp)
8 oz. soft brown sugar
8 oz. flour (half wholewheat pastry flour, half white unbleached)
4 large eggs (room temp)
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
Fruit (depending on the size: 3-4 peaches, 6-10 apricots, 2-3 apples or 6-10 plums etc.)
Turn the oven on to 400 degrees.
Prep the fruit. Skin and quarter the peaches (or quarter them first and then skin them - easier, or if you are short on time don't bother skinning them - easier still), halve or quarter and pit the plums or apricots, skin and slice the apples into eighths etc.
Throw soft-ish butter into the food processor with the sugar and blend until pale.
With the blender on add the eggs one at a time leaving a few seconds between each egg.
Take the top off and throw in the flour, baking powder and salt.
Put the top back on and pulse just a few times to mix.
Pour into a buttered and floured pan (12 x 8)
Arrange the fruit gently and quickly on top.
Do NOT press it into the mixture - it will sink into the cake and can ruin it.
Throw into the oven for 20 - 25 minutes.
It will be golden brown and fill the kitchen with the best smell in the world. OK OK - there are others: bread baking, garlic sauteing, lemon zesting, bacon frying ... but it's right up there.
Update ... Wednesday 19th June
I remembered at 4 o'clock that I was bringing a cake to choir so I threw myself into a serious kitchen frenzy using 12 ounces of flour/butter/sugar, 6 fresh eggs from our chicklets, 2 teaspoons of baking powder, 1/8 tsp of salt and 2 big teaspoons of vanilla essence - for a bigger slab of cake! Everything organic from the Citizen's Co-op including the plums. The plums were a pain - I couldn't halve them - I had to quarter them which ended up being just fine. I used a 16 x 12 pan.
I had a few plums left over and some cherries that needed eating in the fridge so I pitted them all and made a quick fruit compote by simmering them with a little water for 15 minutes or so. No sugar. The fruit had just the right degree of tartness to complement the sweet (but not too sweet!) of the cake.
The cake, compote and washing up were all done and dusted by 5 pm.
Ellen's eyes got really big. "Are you taking that whole cake to choir?" she asked pointedly as it came out the oven. A little later she said "Can I have some?" and a shorter while later "When can I have some?" and then "Can I have some now?" A Chinese water torture of carefully graded questions.
There was something really good about this cake. I used more white flour than usual (8 oz white to 4 oz wholewheat). I used a cane sugar that is a very pale brown. The eggs all had orange yokes. The result was a yellow cake that was light and very tasty.
It got SisterSong's seal of approval - we even sang a happy cake song which was a little weird and very funny.
Ellen had 2 pieces before choir and 1 piece from the paltry left overs after I got home.
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