A recipe today from the man that I both adore and torture in equal measure. We ate this soup for lunch, and it's sooo good, it should be upgraded to Emperor of a small planet or two.
* 1 500g packet large basque white beans (mine are Garcia's own brand, labelled as alubias). Do not try cooking this in a white basque with normal beans; you'll look silly, the recipe won't work, and you may have trouble stirring the pans...
* 1/4 pint double cream
* 20 basil leaves, coarsely chopped
* 6 shallots, finely chopped
* 6 rashers smoked back bacon
* Pepper
* At least 4 or 5 vigorous shakes of malt vinegar
Soak the beans overnight.
Put the beans onto a gentle simmer.
Put the cream into a bowl. Add the basil leaves and shallots. Set to one side.
Put the bacon under a grill. When done, cut into largish pieces, add them to the cream. Season the cream mixture with the pepper and vinegar; stir, and set to one side again.
When the beans are done, add some of the bean water to the cream. Drain and rinse the beans, then put them into the cream mixture, and serve.
Sunday 16 December 2007
Sunday 9 December 2007
Midwest Cuisine (sic)
Having spent a week eating Midwestern cuisine, I have only one thing to say. Don't eat the meat. It may be cow country, but go vegetarian: trust me, it's safer. And you really don't want to know what the Navajo can do to a taco.
Sunday 28 October 2007
White chocolate, cardamon and ginger cheesecake
Take 4 ginger biscuits (McVities are good); grind to bits with a pestle and mortar. Add 1/2 oz butter to the biscuit mix; crumble butter and biscuits together to maek a cheesecake base. Put base into 1 muffin mould, and press down flat.
Make up a normal baked cheesecake mix: take 200g soft cheese (slipcote is good), and beat with wooded spoon until smooth. Add 2 large eggs (1 at a time), and beat until mixture mixed and smooth. Fold 150ml soured cream into the mix and whisk until little bubbles form on top.
Take 25g white chocolate (swiss is good) and melt in microwave; 2 times 30 seconds should do this okay. Fold enough of the cheesecake mixture into the chocolate to fill the muffin mould to the top. Mix together. Take 3 green cardamon pods, and use pestle and mortar to separate seeds from the pods; remove pods, then grind seeds. Fold ground seeds into the cheesecake mixture, then place mixture into the muffin tin. Use rest of cheesecake mixture with 150g assorted chocolates (85% dark and milk are both good) and other ingredients (crushed pink peppercorns or chilli flakes or finely-chopped ginger) with a traditional digestive biscuit-and-4 oz butter base, also placed into muffin tins.
Put in 170 degree celsius oven for 25 minutes (small muffin tins), or 35-40 minutes (large muffin tins) until cheesecakes have done the souffle thing and risen above the muffin trays for 5 minutes.
Remove from oven and either eat as a delightfully untidy hot dessert or leave to cool (and keep their structure).
Make up a normal baked cheesecake mix: take 200g soft cheese (slipcote is good), and beat with wooded spoon until smooth. Add 2 large eggs (1 at a time), and beat until mixture mixed and smooth. Fold 150ml soured cream into the mix and whisk until little bubbles form on top.
Take 25g white chocolate (swiss is good) and melt in microwave; 2 times 30 seconds should do this okay. Fold enough of the cheesecake mixture into the chocolate to fill the muffin mould to the top. Mix together. Take 3 green cardamon pods, and use pestle and mortar to separate seeds from the pods; remove pods, then grind seeds. Fold ground seeds into the cheesecake mixture, then place mixture into the muffin tin. Use rest of cheesecake mixture with 150g assorted chocolates (85% dark and milk are both good) and other ingredients (crushed pink peppercorns or chilli flakes or finely-chopped ginger) with a traditional digestive biscuit-and-4 oz butter base, also placed into muffin tins.
Put in 170 degree celsius oven for 25 minutes (small muffin tins), or 35-40 minutes (large muffin tins) until cheesecakes have done the souffle thing and risen above the muffin trays for 5 minutes.
Remove from oven and either eat as a delightfully untidy hot dessert or leave to cool (and keep their structure).
Friday 26 October 2007
Why are so many Indian restaurants named Gaylord?
This one's for the man who asked the question...
So many Gaylord's indian restaurants: * * * * * * * *. And they all start with one restaurant in New Delhi. The original Gaylord was opened by Iqbal Ghai and Peshori Lal Lamba in New Delhi in 1946; they then expanded Gaylord franchises to other Indian cities (Bombay), and then in 1957 to London, then Hong Kong, Japan (Kobe), and across the USA (Chicago, NY, SF, LA, Vegas). There's a potted history on the SF Gaylord's website. I couldn't find a website for Gaylord Delhi, but I did find one for the company that owns it (Kwality Group), possibly proving that follow the money also works for restaurants. Somehow comfortingly, the restaurant is still run by a Mr (Mangat) Lamba, and Kwality still has ambitions to expand further abroad. And the name? The name of the restaurant chain comes from the names of the original restaurant's founders. Some Gaylords (e.g. Kauai) are named after people. The proliferation of other Gaylords probably comes from the Gaylord's reputation as an original, quality and well-known Indian restaurant at the time when other restaurants were being created in the UK.
Well, that's the restaurant name sewn up, but not only restaurants are called Gaylord. There's the city, named after an apparently likeable Mr Gaylord. There's a pair of gymnastics moves named after another Mr Gaylord (front giant or back giant then 1.5 salto; basically spin round a bar then do a somersault and grab the bar again, which sounds terrifying), and there's a slang term for a pallet-sized cardboard box, named after a company named after a city, named after another Mr Gaylord.
This set of Mr Gaylords got me thinking that maybe the restaurant name too was triggered by someone's surname. Gaylord is an anglicised version of the Hugenot surname Gaillard (which fittingly means lively, high-spirited). The 1890s distribution of UK Gaylords show them clustered around the ports (London, Liverpool, Bristol) which supports this; I used to live in a former Hugenot area in London, and they took a while to move out from there.
And Mr Gaylord has yet one more surprise for us: according to one site writing about the restaurant, it's the British name given to Lord Krishna. Although I haven't found any independent confirmation of that yet, so it should be treated as most unconfirmed Internet information; maybe true, maybe legend, maybe someone being a little amusing with the truth. Enough; there are bigger questions out there (possibly involving yet more vegetables). And I won't even mention the 1970s Indian cigarette slogan of "Go gay with Gaylord". Oh no. Or that Claude Shannon was born in one of the Gaylord cities (I fear I may be wandering very far from his information limits by adding that to this post). And what do young Indians prefer on a night out? Why Italian and Thai, of course.
So many Gaylord's indian restaurants: * * * * * * * *. And they all start with one restaurant in New Delhi. The original Gaylord was opened by Iqbal Ghai and Peshori Lal Lamba in New Delhi in 1946; they then expanded Gaylord franchises to other Indian cities (Bombay), and then in 1957 to London, then Hong Kong, Japan (Kobe), and across the USA (Chicago, NY, SF, LA, Vegas). There's a potted history on the SF Gaylord's website. I couldn't find a website for Gaylord Delhi, but I did find one for the company that owns it (Kwality Group), possibly proving that follow the money also works for restaurants. Somehow comfortingly, the restaurant is still run by a Mr (Mangat) Lamba, and Kwality still has ambitions to expand further abroad. And the name? The name of the restaurant chain comes from the names of the original restaurant's founders. Some Gaylords (e.g. Kauai) are named after people. The proliferation of other Gaylords probably comes from the Gaylord's reputation as an original, quality and well-known Indian restaurant at the time when other restaurants were being created in the UK.
Well, that's the restaurant name sewn up, but not only restaurants are called Gaylord. There's the city, named after an apparently likeable Mr Gaylord. There's a pair of gymnastics moves named after another Mr Gaylord (front giant or back giant then 1.5 salto; basically spin round a bar then do a somersault and grab the bar again, which sounds terrifying), and there's a slang term for a pallet-sized cardboard box, named after a company named after a city, named after another Mr Gaylord.
This set of Mr Gaylords got me thinking that maybe the restaurant name too was triggered by someone's surname. Gaylord is an anglicised version of the Hugenot surname Gaillard (which fittingly means lively, high-spirited). The 1890s distribution of UK Gaylords show them clustered around the ports (London, Liverpool, Bristol) which supports this; I used to live in a former Hugenot area in London, and they took a while to move out from there.
And Mr Gaylord has yet one more surprise for us: according to one site writing about the restaurant, it's the British name given to Lord Krishna. Although I haven't found any independent confirmation of that yet, so it should be treated as most unconfirmed Internet information; maybe true, maybe legend, maybe someone being a little amusing with the truth. Enough; there are bigger questions out there (possibly involving yet more vegetables). And I won't even mention the 1970s Indian cigarette slogan of "Go gay with Gaylord". Oh no. Or that Claude Shannon was born in one of the Gaylord cities (I fear I may be wandering very far from his information limits by adding that to this post). And what do young Indians prefer on a night out? Why Italian and Thai, of course.
Saturday 20 October 2007
A brief history of carrot colours
Today I mentioned that carrots weren't always orange. I thought they were originally red, but thought I'd best check if that was true. And I have found some lovely sites about carrots, including the Carrot Museum (yes, really!) and Hungry Monster websites, to help me answer this question.
The first recorded users, Egyptians, had purple carrots. Or at least, they drew purple carrots; who knows, maybe they fancied a more exciting colour scheme than they found in their veg patches? The root colour may have been a little academic, as the Egyptians only ate the flowers and leaves of the carrot. Later, Roman carrots were purple or white (the same colour as wild carrots). The Greeks, whose carrot colour isn't recorded, used carrots as an aphrodisiac: this may yet explain the fecundity of rabbits. Asian (Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran) carrots were mainly purple.
The Romans, Moors and Arab traders brought carrots to the rest of Europe, including the UK. Early European carrots were mainly purple, white and yellow, although black, red and green were known too. The orange carrots that we know and love now were actually an extreme act of patriotism, when Dutch growers bred orange carrots from yellow ones, to match their national colours. These gradually replaced the yellow and red carrots that were popular in 16th century England (this may be the origin of my misconception about early carrots being red).
Carrots may not always have been used as food; early carrots were medicinal rather than food crops, and used in the Middle Ages for everything from syphilis to dog and snake bites. Ironically, purple carrots are heavier in anthocyanins, may therefore be more healthy than orange carrots, and are currently experiencing a popular (though not yet in our local Tescos) comeback. They have however made it to Sainsbury's, possibly as a result of that well-known Roman carrot-eater Russell Crowe working as a veg buyer (yes, really! again) there.
The first recorded users, Egyptians, had purple carrots. Or at least, they drew purple carrots; who knows, maybe they fancied a more exciting colour scheme than they found in their veg patches? The root colour may have been a little academic, as the Egyptians only ate the flowers and leaves of the carrot. Later, Roman carrots were purple or white (the same colour as wild carrots). The Greeks, whose carrot colour isn't recorded, used carrots as an aphrodisiac: this may yet explain the fecundity of rabbits. Asian (Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran) carrots were mainly purple.
The Romans, Moors and Arab traders brought carrots to the rest of Europe, including the UK. Early European carrots were mainly purple, white and yellow, although black, red and green were known too. The orange carrots that we know and love now were actually an extreme act of patriotism, when Dutch growers bred orange carrots from yellow ones, to match their national colours. These gradually replaced the yellow and red carrots that were popular in 16th century England (this may be the origin of my misconception about early carrots being red).
Carrots may not always have been used as food; early carrots were medicinal rather than food crops, and used in the Middle Ages for everything from syphilis to dog and snake bites. Ironically, purple carrots are heavier in anthocyanins, may therefore be more healthy than orange carrots, and are currently experiencing a popular (though not yet in our local Tescos) comeback. They have however made it to Sainsbury's, possibly as a result of that well-known Roman carrot-eater Russell Crowe working as a veg buyer (yes, really! again) there.
Friday 19 October 2007
More black vegetables
I like to learn one thing every day. Today, it's that I can't edit my blogs once I post them. Meanwhile, I've found some more black vegetables to track down and grow:
Anthrocyaninecarrots. Cavalo Nero cabbage. Black, Black Cherry and Black from Tula tomatoes. Purple Delight and Royal Black peppers. Futsu and Yokohama squashes. Black Spanish radish. January King cabbage. Nero di Toscana kale.
I should also think about some black fruits and herbs (e.g. Dark Opal basil) to keep the vegetables company. There may be more on the International Black Plant Society pages.
Anthrocyaninecarrots. Cavalo Nero cabbage. Black, Black Cherry and Black from Tula tomatoes. Purple Delight and Royal Black peppers. Futsu and Yokohama squashes. Black Spanish radish. January King cabbage. Nero di Toscana kale.
I should also think about some black fruits and herbs (e.g. Dark Opal basil) to keep the vegetables company. There may be more on the International Black Plant Society pages.
Black Vegetables
Next year, I plan to grow some black vegetables in the veg patch and allotment. I'm usually much more fussy about taste than looks, but this is quite a fun sideproject for me. I've grown yellow and red cropsets before, but I suspect black may be a little more difficult to achieve, so this won't be in the main veg set. Now, I spend much time in February browsing through the Thomson & Morgan seed stands in my local garden centre, and these are some of the candidates I've found so far. Of course, a true black is very rare, so often these stray into purple, but dark will definitely be the order of the days.
- Aubergines: mostly black anyway. I've not had much success with these in the past (too fussy about light), so a nice safe one like T+M's Black Enorma F1 or Moneymaker will do.
- Climbing beans: okay, I'll cheact a bit and go purple on this: T+M's Blauhilde looks good.
- Dwarf french beans: Purple Teepee? Apparently purple beans have a extra 'zing' over other less dark types; it will be worth investigating this.
- Carrots: Purple Haze F1 Hybrid
- Cauliflower: Graffiti F1 Hybrid
- Chilli peppers: Black Pearl
- Lettuce: Revolution
- Sweet pepper: Sweet Chocolate
- Tomatoes: Black Cherry or Black Russian
Lighter purple crops that may suit this colour scheme include scorzonera, Falstaff sprouts, scarlet or black tuscany kale, beetroots, kalibos or red jewel cabbage, red baron or lilia onions, giant red mustard, rudolph or redhead calabrese, red strawberry popcorn, purple f1 hybrid pak choi, treviso chard, mantanghong radish, healthmaster carrots and purple broccolis. It's also tempting to toss in some Bright Lights or Rhubarb chard to provide some bright contrast colours.
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