Easy chocolate brownies

I love chocolate. I love brownies. And I’ve used the same tried and tested recipe for as long as I can remember. Dating from when my mum had to test it for a cookery book years ago, ‘Best Ever Chocolate Brownies’ is a recipe that is lovingly scribbled on a piece of A4 paper in my eight-year-old handwriting, smeared with the chocolatey remains of numerous baking sessions over the years, and lives folded in half inside at old Mrs Beeton at my parents’ house.

Now I’m a big bad grown up with my own kitchen. When I wanted to whizz up a batch of brownies to take round to some friends, I couldn’t remember the exact details of that sacred recipe. So, in the interests of trying new things for this blog, I googled around, pinched ideas from various recipes I found and combined them to produce this quick, simple, one-pot (almost) batch of brownies.

They’re so easy to make, and completely delicious – no photo could do justice to their squidgy, dark, chocolatey joy. Served warm they ooze outwards, bulging and baring their barely cooked centres. Cooled they transform to pack a more intense fudgy punch.

Easy chocolate brownies
250g salted butter
200g dark cooking chocolate
100g white chocolate chips
80g cocoa
65g flour
350g soft brown sugar
4 large free range eggs, beaten

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C/350 degrees F
Grease and line a 24cm sq. tin
Melt the butter and sugar together over a bain marie. Leave to cool
Sift together cocoa, flour and baking powder then stir in the sugar and cooled chocolate and butter mixture
Add the beaten egg and stir all ingredients to combine
Bake in the oven for about 25 mins. You want them to stay fudgey and gorgeous, so take them out earlier rather than later, and before an inserted skewer comes out clean.

Enjoy 🙂

7Mar2011

Trullo Restaurant, and a recipe for Spritz

Aperol Sprtiz in the Italian sunshine

The first time I ever tasted Spritz was in a crumbling Venetian square, soaking up the last rays of afternoon sun and nibbling on salty cicchetti. Chilled and bubbly, cut with the tang of bittersweet Aperol, it’s now one of my favourite drinks, and never fails to conjure up the hazy warmth of an Italian summer evening.

The ability to recreate that feeling on a bitter February lunchtime in North London is no mean feat and Trullo rose to the challenge. Trullo is a little taste of Italy served up in a clean, bustling shop front a stone’s throw from Highbury and Islington tube. With Tim Siadatan, one of Jamie Oliver’s original Fifteen recruits, in the kitchen, and ex-River Cafe Jordan Frieda front of house, it promises things on paper before you even open your mouth. And when you do, it sings to you.

Trullo restaurant

My brother recently moved into a flat just round the corner, and as a family of restaurant lovers, we needed no more excuse to book in for Sunday lunch. Sunday lunchtime is a no-nonsense affair at Trullo, with a great value 3 course menu on offer for £30 (not including drinks). When an enquiry was made about substituting a course from the no-option menu for a fussier member of our party (ok, yes, it was me) it was met with a resolute no. They don’t do substitutions. Not even for vegetarians (or fussy eaters). A little miltant when you consider how accommodating most Italians tend to be, but once you taste the food, you begin to understand why they can afford to be . . .

We kicked off with octopus carpaccio. Delicate slices of soft, translucent flesh dressed in tarragon, peppery olive oil and potato so tender and light it acted more as a thick sauce than a main component of the dish. Clean and simple, this surprising combination of flavours and textures was an absolute winner. Mopped up with homemade sourdough, starters don’t come much better.

After the interlude of a single rabbit raviolo (a perfect pillow that left me in no doubt that I’d have to return and order a full pasta dish a la carte), it was time for the meaty main I’d attempted to have substituted. An ex-vegetarian of eight years, I’m a little nervous about anything towards the gamier, bonier end of the meat spectrum, but luckily Trullo refused to pander to my fussiness and broadened my foodie horizons.

Nestled on an bed of buttery white polenta studded with nuggets of parmesan, my plump little wood pigeon was succulent and strong with earthy understones. Rich, red blood oozed from chargrilled breasts which tasted not unlike fillet steak, contrasting completely with the palate cleansing starter to smack my tastebuds into life. All this accompanied by wine from an enticing list of Italian favourites which includes a good selection from Sicily and the south. Whilst not cheap, the list is fairly priced, and several wines can be ordered by the carafe.

Not everything was perfect. One of the octopus starters was so meagre compared to its companions we felt the need to say something, and the plates of wood pigeon varied between bleeding rare and more well done. The blood orange curd dessert, though sharp and sweet, was not something I’ll remember for years to come. But the meal is. The charming staff were quick to jump on any issues, and the busy, bustling restaurant provided the perfect backdrop for a family meal. This, combined with an inventive menu and top notch ingredients puts Trullo up there with, for my money, some of the best value Italian restaurants in London. And they make a mean Spritz.

The perfect Spritz

The perfect Aperol Spritz (a richer take on the Venetian classic)
Fill half a large wine glass with ice and a slice of lemon. Pour in one part Aperol to two parts chilled Prosecco. Serve and enjoy!

Classic Venetian Spritz
Fill glass with ice and lemon as above. Pour in one part Aperol to three parts white wine and top with one part soda water.

2Mar2011

Chocolate Pecan Pie

A slice of gooey chocolate joy!

We recently visited the Big Easy on the Kings Road for the first time. Self-styled as ‘deluxe crab-shack dining’ this local institution transports you to another time and place, serving up lip-smacking, rib-sticking dishes; the perfect spot if you want a buzzing atmosphere and a big feed.

After polishing off platters of crab claws dripping in sweet drawn butter, smokey seafood, sticky ribs and piles of fries, our thoughts turned to dessert. Nine times out of ten I’ll choose a pudding based on its chocolate content, but if there’s pecan pie on the menu then the chocolate takes a back seat. It’s my ultimate indulgent Amercian pudding – nuggets of crumbly pecan set in a syrup so sweet it almost makes your teeth itch, all encased in warm, flakey pastry and served with a dollop of cold vanilla ice cream.

A week later a friend asked me to make dessert for a girly dinner, and my thoughts returned to pecan pie. Flicking through my recipe books, I found the following from my trusty Green & Blacks book. As you may have guessed, it’s got chocolate in. In fact the chocolate plays such a vital part it’s a cross between a pecan pie and a truffle torte. And that’s no bad thing. It’s still sweet, nutty and delicious, but slightly less cloying than a traditional pecan pie, and the ultimate addition to any baker’s repertoire. It’s also really simple to make – the pastry is whizzed up in a blender and the filling mixed in one other bowl.

Quick. Delicious. Easy as pie.

Delicious, and easy as pie . . .

Chocolate Pecan Pie (adapted from the Green & Blacks Chocolate Recipe Book)

Pastry
275g plain flour
75g icing sugar
150g cold unsalted butter, cubed
2 large egg yolks

Sift flour and icing sugar together then blend in a food processor with the butter. Add egg yolks at the end and bind into a pastry. Roll the pastry out thin, about 2mm, then roll round your rolling pin and drop onto a 28cm loose-based tart tin. Fill in any gaps with excess pastry and leave a slight edge – the pastry will shrink slightly while cooking.

Chill for 30 mins, then fill the case with baking beans, or uncooked rice, and bake for 15 mins at 180 degrees centigrade. Remove the baking beans then cook for 10 more minutes til a pale golden brown.

Remove from oven and reduce to 160 degrees centigrade.

Filling
275g dark chocolate
200g chopped shelled pecans (100g chopped, 100g reserved for decorating)
3 large beaten eggs
225g light soft brown sugar
250ml evaporated milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
50g melted butter

Melt the chocolate and butter together. Combine all the other filling ingredients (minus 100g whole pecan nuts), then add the chocolate and butter mixture.

Pour into pastry case and decorate with remaining pecan halves. Cook for an hour, covering with foil towards the end if necessary to present pastry from burning.

Whole Chocolate Pecan Pie

23Feb2011

Malty wholemeal loaf

*Looking back at my recipe archives, while I love my enthusiasm, but there’s now a much better wholemeal loaf recipe (and photos!) here*

Remember the scene in About a Boy where Marcus accidentally kills a duck with his mum’s loaf of ‘healthy’ bread? My very first foray into the world of breadmaking wasn’t a million miles off. After purchasing my brand new copy of The River Cottage Bread Handbook, covering the kitchen in a blanket of flour and lovingly kneading a sticky, unresponsive dough, I ended up with just over a kilo of flour, water and salt, condensed into a heavy loaf the size of a small brick. The kind of thing Tony Soprano would be more likely to tie to the ankle of a recently deceased victim than eat for breakfast. With a mother’s love for her first born child, I duly munched my way through the whole thing, telling anyone who listened that it was a million miles nicer than the air-filled rubbish you can buy in the supermarket. It wasn’t.

But this didn’t deter me. The River Cottage bread book is a wonderful thing. With page after page dedicated to mixing, folding, kneading and coating, it’s the ultimate bread-lover’s companion, and I knew that with a little perseverance this little loaf could produce a larger loaf she was proud of. And could actually eat.

So here it is. My very first properly delicious loaf of bread. Crusty and textured on the outside, with a springy, slightly doughy crumb and a delicious nutty taste. Daniel Stevens, River Cottage bread guru, advises not to cut bread intended for slicing until it’s cooled. I defy anyone not to carve off a slab fresh from the oven, slather in butter, and eat whilst still warm. Yum!

Delicious malty wholemeal loaf

Malted grain bread (adapted from The River Cottage Bread Handbook)

Makes 2 loaves of 12 small rolls

750g malted grain flour
7g powdered dried yeast
10g fine salt
420ml warm water
1tbsp olive oil

Mix a rough dough, combining flour, yeast, salt and water. Adjust the consistency if you need to, to make a soft, easily kneadable, sticky dough. Turn onto a work surface and clean your hands.

Knead the dough until smooth and satiny. This should take about 10 minutes (see step by step instructions in The River Cafe Handbook for beautiful results!).

Shape the dough into a round, flour the surface and put back into the wiped out mixing bowl. Wrap in a black plastic bag and leave in a warm place until doubled in size. This should take 45 mins – 1 1/2 hours, depending on how warm it is.

Risen Dough

Deflate the dough by pressing all over with your fingertips, then form into a round. Leave to rise again. You can do this up to 4 times, but I found twice was perfect (and I’m not that patient!).

Now prepare for baking. Pre-heat oven to 250 degrees C/Gas Mark 10 with a baking tray or stone inside. Shape your dough into loaves or rolls and rest, covered in a black plastic bag, for 10 minutes til doubled in size.

Risen bread

Transfer loaves to hot baking tray/stone. Slash tops if you wish and put in oven.

Turn the heat down after 10 minutes: 200 degrees C/Gas Mark 6 if crust is burning, 180 degrees C/Gas Mark 4 if noticeably browning, and 170 degrees/Gas Mark 3 otherwise. Bake until loaf/rolls are browned and crusty and feel hollow if you tap them – about 10-20 mins for rolls, around 40 mins for loaves.

Fresh out the oven

Leave to cool on a wire rack (if you can bear to wait!).

Nutty, malty loaf – delicious!

Enjoy.