New Year's Borscht

In our house, new year would not be new year without soup. It brings us luck.  We are going away tomorrow so have decided to bring our good luck a day early. This is a New York recipe so the measures are American. I haven’t translated them as I think you can be fairly flexible with soup.

2lb beef shin, on the bone

6 cups water

1 onion, peeled and halved

2 carrots

3 beetroots

6tbsp tomato puree

4 garlic cloves, crushed

½ lb red cabbage, shredded

2 medium tomatoes, roughly cut up

1 bay leaf

2tbsp red wine vinegar

3tbsp sugar

1lb waxy potatoes

2tsp flaky salt

1/3 cup chopped dill

Freshly ground black pepper

Garnish

Sour Cream – at least a tablespoon each

Chopped dill

This takes all afternoon but it’s worth it.

Put the potatoes on to boil. When just cooked, but still firm, set them aside. The boy can dice them when they are cool.

Cut one carrot into quarters and get the boy to grate the other one. Put Mozart’s Prague Symphonies on the CD player. Put the quartered carrot, the halved onion and the beef in a large pot. The beef can go in whole. Bring to the boil and skim off all the fat or scum that comes to the surface. Lower the heat to a bare simmer and give it 1 and a half hours. You will run out of Mozart. The boy has chosen to move on to what might or might not be The Killers.

Strain it through a sieve and when it’s cool enough, fish out the beef (still whole). Put the stock back in the pan, with the saved beef and the beetroot. The boy has scrubbed off all the dirt first. Bring it back up to the boil and simmer for another 30 minutes.

There is a lot of stop start with this recipe. Luckily The Killers CD has finished. Bach’s Art of Fugue now.

Once it is cool rub the beetroot skin off with your fingers and grate it coarsely. Put the grated beetroot back in the soup.

Dissolve the tomato paste in ½  a cup of water – this is pretty much a tube full so use the best brand you can find – I prefer Cirio. Stir this in. Add the grated carrot, garlic, bay leaf and cabbage. I’m giving the cabbage an extra chop as the boy has done it very coarsely. Add the tomatoes, sugar and vinegar and simmer for another hour and a half. I appreciate this is almost 4 hours plus all the chopping time, but it will be worth it.

Remove the beef and strip the meat from the bones. Slice or shred it – it will be so soft it will be a combination of both. The boy’s little black cat is asking prettily so he gets a scrap or two.

Add the cooked potato and beef back to the soup, along with the dill and salt & pepper and warm it through. At least 3 minutes as this is a lot of dill. Get the boy to check the seasoning. It’s winter so he wants more of both.

Ladle into bowls and serve with a big spoonful of sour cream and chopped dill.

I would serve with a light salad but the boy points out that it has enough veg in it already.

Harissa & Preserved Lemon Butter

I’m a big believer that a steak is improved with the addition of a thick disc of flavoured butter, after serving. This one makes up in advance. Surprisingly the boy likes it – I guess a steak is robust enough to stand up to it.

A third of a pack of salted butter - about 8 tbsp

1 tbsp harissa

1 preserved lemon

1 clove garlic, chopped

1 tbsp flat leaf parsley, finely chopped

There are recipes for harissa and preserved lemons on this blog. I have preserved lemons in the cupboard from the summer and as this only uses a little harissa, I’m using shop bought. As always I favour the Phare Du Cape Bon brand.

Cut the flesh away from the preserved lemon and discard it. Finely chop the skin.

Put the butter in a food processor to break it up a bit and add the lemon peel, harissa, garlic and parsley. Whizz it until it is basically all butter again.

Spoon it out onto a piece of greaseproof paper and roll it up into a sausage, twisting the ends. Chill in the fridge until you are ready for it.

When it goes on the steak, I like to sprinkle on just a few caraway seeds to accent the harissa - and besides, it looks pretty. 

The boy thinks this would be great over barbecued chicken. I can see he is looking wistfully at the frost covered garden – I fear it is many months before he will get to try it.

Hot & Sour Prawn Soup

It’s Christmas week. The boy is only working a half day today so I want to make him a lunch that is both light and warming.

1tbsp oil

3tbsp Thai red curry paste

750ml chicken stock

1tsp grated lime zest

1tbsp shredded ginger

1 head pak choy, quartered

500g raw king prawns, peeled

3tbsp lime juice

1tbsp Nam Pla (fish sauce)

1 red chilli, thinly sliced

Coriander leaves to garnish

Jasmine rice to serve

It’s a dark grey day, so I’m putting on some misattributed Haydn string quartets to lighten the mood. This recipe is so quick, that I should barely get through one quartet.

The boy usually needs filling up so I’m serving this with rice on the side. I’m not rinsing it, so that it remains sticky. It just goes in the rice cooker (aka the kitchen god).

 Start by gently frying off the curry paste in the oil, to release the aroma. A decent brand, will be thick and almost dryish. Add the stock, lime zest and ginger.  If the prawns were whole and unpeeled I would add some heads and shells too. Bring to the boil and simmer for just a few minutes. If you have been lucky enough to use prawn heads and shells, fish them out.

Add the pak choy, chilli and raw prawns and cook until the prawns are pink – just another few minutes. Season with the fish sauce and lime juice. I’m not as keen on fish sauce as the boy is, though I do like Worcestershire sauce, which surely has the same derivation.  Taste and adjust to suit. Sometimes a little sugar will rebalance it. Sprinkle with coriander.

The boy is happy to have a two bowl lunch – one of the soup and one of rice. He has found an oily garlic pickle to have with the rice. We have grown our own this year – far too much and it has put me in mind of trying to pickle some of it Asian style….. 

Home Made Marzipan

The boy adores marzipan and has been known to just nibble it straight out of the packet. Frankly, Christmas cake is just an excuse to have marzipan.  He has no concept of being able to make it, or how easy it is.

500g blanched almonds

100g icing sugar + more for dusting

50ml water

A couple of drops of rosewater (optional)

You can use almonds with the skin still on, but I think this gives it a flecky look and the boy will be more impressed if it looks like what comes out of a packet. I never feel this is a good yardstick for food quality, but it is his treat. The almonds should be fairly fresh as they will have more oil in them – pick the ones with the most distant sell-by date.

You need a food processor for this. Put the almonds in until they become a paste. That is the oil working. Pour in the icing sugar and whizz again. Add the water (and rosewater if using – but don’t overdo it), and whizz again. If it feels too sticky to work, add more icing sugar.

Dust your surface with yet more icing sugar and knead it like bread dough for a few minutes . It won’t take on the elasticity of dough but it should start to feel like a big firm lump of marzipan. After this it is ready to go.

I’ve pinched a big cube off for the boy to nibble but the rest is going in the fridge for the Christmas cake. It will keep for 2 weeks .

Constance Spry offers a version that contains beaten eggs, sherry and orange flower water but I’m not convinced that it needs them, or about trying to keep something that uses raw eggs. I’m sticking with this version.

Incidentally, if you don’t like Christmas cake, it is probably because you haven’t had it with Wensleydale cheese!

Grilled Cucumber & Walnut Salad / Cucumber Slush

I’m including both of these recipes because I crave fresh tasting foods in cold weather, almost as much as I do, warm and hearty ones. I wouldn’t include these in the same meal, but am showcasing cucumbers as the boy thinks they are only for salads. I got both of these recipes from the Guardian and found them fascinating.

Chargrilled Cucumber with Walnuts

1 cucumber – a long thin one would be best

25ml white wine vinegar

25g Dijon mustard

5g salt

100ml extra virgin olive oil

30g walnut halves

I always think, that with so few ingredients, you should go for the best you can get. Get a ridged griddle pan really hot.  Peel the cucumber and then cut it into four roughly equal cylinders.

Toast the walnut halves  in the oven at 180 for five minute. If you have a two skillets you could do it that way. Chop them roughly.

Put them in the griddle pan and slowly roll them around so that they get lovely black char marks all over them. Use tongs to up end them so they get char grilled all over. You’re not looking to cook them through. Set them aside until cool enough to handle.

Cut them into coins, appropriately about pound coin thickness (5mm) or so. Whisk the oil, vinegar, salt and mustard together. And stir in the walnuts. Pour this over the cucumber, give it a quick mix to coat and just let it all socialise for 10 minutes.

I’m letting the boy taste for extra salt as it can often take it.

Frozen Cucumber Slush

The boy is making this as puddings are more his thing than mine, though I’m reading him the recipe.

2 cucumbers

Caster sugar (see below for volume)

Lemon juice, to taste

So a lot of discretion here, Freezing mutes flavours so again I’d go organic if you can so that the cucumber taste more of cucumber than water. Oh and you need a juicer.

Juice the cucumbers. If you don’t have a juicer, peel them, blend them and wring as much juice out of them by wringing the results out in a clean tea towel.

Next, weigh the cucumber juice – odd instruction I know! Add 10% by weight of caster sugar. Ours weigh 220g, so it needs 22g of sugar so we have  a net weight of 242g. The boy is doing the maths, not me!

Stir until the sugar dissolves. Squeeze in the lemon juice to taste, remembering that the flavours will tone right down after freezing.  We’re using half a lemon.

Pour into a plastic tub and put it in the freezer. The tedious part is that every half an hour I have to prod the boy to whisk it with a fork until it is frozen and grainy. You've got time to listen to the whole of Meistersingers while this freezes. Make the most of it.

When you sere it you can make it extra special by pouring a tablespoon of liqueur over the top. I don’t add it to the mix as the alcohol just inhibits the freezing. My two recommendations would be  Gordon’s Cucumber Gin, or St Germain which is an elderflower liqueur. Anything goes really but I think delicate flavours would work best.

Lebanese Chick Peas with Chard

This is properly a mezze, but it makes a really good side dish. Swiss chard is one of the best things about the colder months.

800g canned chickpeas (probably 2 tins)

3tsp harissa paste

2tbsp oil

1 red onion, thinly sliced

8 cherry tomatoes

1 bunch Swiss chard

Juice of 1 lemon

Small handful parsley, chopped

No idea what size of bunch the chard should be, so I’m just going with what I have got. Remove the leaves and shred them. I’m keeping a few of the stems and slicing them very finely, as they will take longer to cook and it seems a shame to waste them.

I really favour the Harissa brand called Le Phare du Cape Bon. The boy told me it translates as The Good Hope Lighthouse. No idea what that has to do with anything. Anyway its packaging is iconic, though I think it needs loosening down with a little olive oil if you’re using it as a condiment.

Onwards! Drain the chick peas and warm them through in the oil with the harissa paste. Add the onions and tomatoes and cook for another few minutes, until the tomatoes start to blister and split. Add the Swiss chard leaves and let them cook for a further 3 minutes until just starting to wilt.

Squeeze in the lemon juice and sprinkle with parsley – ideally flat leaf.

The boy is cooking the steaks, that this will accompany. His cat is wrapping himself around his legs. Good luck kitty! I think a big spoonful of thick set yoghurt would also not go amiss. I’m having a little more harissa for dipping. The boy decidedly isn’t.

Polish Pot Roast with Sour Cream

Amongst all the winter stodge I crave a hint of sharpness and freshness, and thought this would fit the bill. It’s from a book called The Old Warsaw Cook Book. I have kept the measurements as they are in the book.

3-4lb chuck or rump steak

3tbsp butter

1 bay leaf

½ cup beef stock

2 onions, cut

2 carrot, cut

Flour

Salt & Pepper

1 large dill pickle

2 cups sour cream

The boy doesn’t much like dill pickles, but as these will cook with the meat, they will mellow. I’m cutting it into very small dice. I sought his opinion as to how fine the “cut” vegetables should be and reckons very coarsely, as otherwise they will disintegrate during cooking. Very wise.

Get a large flame proof casserole and brown the beef all over in the butter. Add the bay leaf, carrots, onions and salt and pepper. Once it’s all coated with the melted butter, add the dill pickle.  Cook over a low heat for about 3 hours, basting with water from time to time so it doesn’t burn. This gives me plenty of this Sunday afternoon to enjoy with the boy. We’re making Christmas wreathes out of dried orange slices, dried chillies and cinnamon sticks. Very foodie! I have to admit his is better than mine, so we will keep my one and give his to his Mum.

So keep basting and 30 minutes before it is done, sprinkle the beef on all sides with the flour. Add the stock, to make a sauce.  Once it is bubbling away. Mix a tbsp. of flour with the sour cream and whisk it well so it is smooth. Pour this in and stir it in as well as you can. Cook for the final 30 minutes so the flour cooks through and it all combines and thickens.

We are having this with boiled, buttered potatoes and green beans. The boy is agonising over red wine for the beef or white for the cream sauce. He goes for an unstructured Chilean Chardonnay.

It’s good – it chases out the winter chill, but still has a fresh taste. I’d like to try a version of this in a Crock pot/Slow Cooker some time. I also think a little chopped dill sprinkled over when serving would be good, but I don't have any.

Asian Virgin/Bloody Mary

My search for the perfect Virgin Mary/Bloody Mary recipe continues. The boy spotted this on in The Guardian and thought we should give it a go. Our local supermarket isn’t quite cosmopolitan enough for Wasabi powder, but we did find it an Asian grocer. If we hadn’t found it, the boy had sweetly offered to go into Chinatown.

750ml tomato juice

1tsp Wasabi powder

Juice of 1 lime

1tsp chilli garlic sauce

1tbsp Worcester sauce

A few drops light soy sauce

1 Jalapeno, very finely chopped

Pinch of celery salt

A big pinch of finely ground black pepper

4 spring onions to garnish

Cucumber to garnish

We are using Libby’s tomato juice, as it’s got more flavour than Del Monte, which is insipid, but less salty than Princes. I do love Princes, but I want to give the seasoning more chance to stand out. The chilli garlic sauce is Maggi.

The boy thinks this should be made by the jug full and I agree.

Mix the wasabi powder with the lime juice until it’s smooth and add to the jug with the other ingredients and some ice cubes.  Give it a good stir.

For the garnish, trim the spring onions and make a slits in the green part and curl them over the back of a knife, like you would do with ribbon, for gift wrap.  Ours are not perfect but it’s the garnish, not the main event. Add a strip of cucumber. You’ll need to judge the depth of your glasses to know how long the cucumber and spring onions need to be.

The boy is having his with vodka.,which surprises nobody. I will definitely be toasting the Chinese year of the sheep (or ram, or goat, depending on who you ask), with this.

Meanwhile, my search continues