Wednesday 18 July 2012

Orange, Polenta and Honey Cake

It is way past my bedtime. 
My eyes are sore and my legs are throbbing, the old terracotta floor tiles are unforgiving in this kitchen. But I love working in a kitchen like this. I love cooking for a large group from a small space, producing cake after cake from one little oven, I like multitasking, washing leaves for dinner in the sink, cooling fresh lemon curd on the draining board, while tortillas hiss on the stove. The heat has been problematic and I've been having to ice a cake and then shove it in the freezer to set, peaches ripen and go soft in the same day and it can make stirring big steamy pots a tad exhausting but it's all worth it when you can run to the pool, jump in and splash about like nobodies business.
I've written on here before about what makes Spain special to me, but in terms of cooking so much has to be said for going to the market and having only the choice of what is in season and local. I also love how although our village is changing all the time, there will be snapshots, moments of when I feel like the place hasn't changed in a hundred years. The other day we had a festival through the streets and families bring their chairs outside their front doors to watch the processions in the street. I took this photo on my I phone a couple of weeks ago and I love it so much, the grandmother with her fan, her granddaughter waiting patiently for the procession to reach her street.
To think all this family has essentially come from this woman. I hope when I'm a Grandmother there's someone in the family who will want to hear my stories and try my recipes. For now though, I will pass you on one of my favourite recipes from good old Mr Slater.
A moist cardamom and orange-scented cake with a nutty texture that works both as a cake for tea and as a dessert. You will need a non-stick, loose-bottomed cake tin about 20cm in diameter. Incidentally, the cake is gluten-free.
Orange and honey polenta cake
Serves 8
220g butter
220g unrefined caster sugar
150g almonds
150g ground almonds
3 large eggs
150g polenta
1 level tsp baking powder, finely grated zest and juice of a large orange
12 green cardamom pods
For the syrup: Juice of 2 lemons, juice of 2 oranges, 4 tbsp honey
Line the base of the cake tin with a piece of baking parchment. Set the oven at 180C/Gas 4. Beat the butter and sugar in a food mixer till light and fluffy. Put the almonds in a heat-proof bowl and pour boiling water over them. Remove a few at a time with a draining spoon and pop them out of their skins. Discard the skins. Blitz the almonds in a food processor till they are finely chopped, then add them, together with the ground almonds, to the cake mixture. Break the eggs into a small bowl and beat them lightly with a fork, then stir into the mixture. Mix the polenta and baking powder, then fold into the mixture, together with the grated orange zest and juice. Crush the cardamom pods and extract the little black seeds, grinding them to a fine powder. Add the spice to the cake mixture. Transfer the cake mixture to the lined tin and smooth the top level. Bake for 30 minutes, turn down the heat to 160C/gas 3 for a further 25 -30 minutes or until the cake is firm. To make the syrup, squeeze the lemon and orange juice into a stainless steel saucepan, bring to the boil and dissolve in the honey. Keep the liquid boiling until it has formed a thin syrup (4-5 minutes). Spike holes into the top of the cake (still warm and in its tin)with a skewer then spoon over the hot citrus syrup. Leave to almost cool, then lift out of the tin. Serve in thick slices with thinly sliced fresh oranges and - if you want something more decadent - a little natural yogurt.

Friday 13 July 2012

Iced coffee with coffee cubes!

I was thinking today of that scene in Sexy Beast...
"People say, "Don't you miss it, Gal?" I say, "What, England? Nah. Fucking place. It's a dump. Don't make me laugh. Grey, grimy, sooty. What a shit hole. What a toilet. Every cunt with a long face shuffling about, moaning, all worried. No thanks, not for me." They say, "What's it like, then, Spain?" And I'll say, "It's hot. Hot. Oh, it's fucking hot. Too hot? Not for me, I love it." 

Well Gal, I need coping strategies. I need Iced coffee.
Everyone has been moaning about the weather back home, it sounds kind of grim. I feel slightly guilty that the weather is glorious in Spain. Thing is, when it's a scorcher and you've got hundreds of mouths to feed the sun is haaaarrrd work and for food prep it is not your friend. The best quick fix is Iced Coffee. I made 3 trays of ice and whilst I was filling them I had a thought. Maybe I could make a tray of milk cubes, a tray of cafe con leche, a tray of espresso...so I did and not only does it look cute, when they melt you get a second round of Joe.

Thursday 12 July 2012

Dessert Bar

It has been quiet round this blog recently eh? I've been caught up in wedding mania at my parent's here in Spain. We hosted 3 wonderful weddings in 3 whirlwind weeks and how many pictures of the food did we take? Hmmm, I was a little preoccupied with cooking it all to take pics!! There is one. Taken at 2am in the morning so, like me it's a little hazy but it's something and I'm hoping the photographers at the weddings will share the foodie pics soon. Cupcake tower, wedding cake, chocolate tortes, kirsch cherries and cream.
Thankfully we managed to squeeze in a few pics pre-food so if you have visited Rancho Del Ingles and can't imagine it as a wedding venue or you would just like to see some happy pics in the sunshine then scroll on down. All 3 brides were beautiful and each wedding so different and magical, it has been really hard work for weeks on end in really hot weather for all of 'Team Ranch' but I for one, have loved every second of it. When you see first hand how all your planning and efforts has made someones wedding day the happiest of their lives it's easy to get emotional..and when the dinner turns to dancing and the bride is ordering you Jagermesiters, you know you've done a good job and that drink couldn't have come quick enough!

Kate waiting to walk down the aisle!
Maribel and Diego sharing a kiss in the Gazebo
Guests at 'cocktail hour' I love the two ladies dancing in this shot!
Tables laid for 170 guests
Amy's wedding bouquet, beautiful peonies.
The bride running around attending all her guests
Lesa and I positioned all the signs in the trees

Mum nailed these ones to an old crate with some big old rusty nails, it was very fitted.

The Gardens were looking beautiful, my favourite, the agapanthus.
Amy and Alex in their ceremony
The walk to dinner
Seating plan
Head table
Table numbers
Time to head into the bar and let loose!

Tuesday 3 July 2012

BBQ Aubergines

Back from the beach with sand between my toes and a belly full of a frozen mango yogurt milkshake thingy, bliss. Day off never felt so good. Here's a quick idea for aubergine, I made this whole meal in about 10 minutes, it's a winnnner. Cut up your aubergine and sear in a hot pan with a touch of oil. After 5 mins of tossing it about add all the ingredients below. When I say Korean BBQ sauce, it's hot. You can just add chilli paste or similar, a smokey one.
1tbsp Korean BBQ sauce
1tbsp BBQ sauce
1tbsp rice vinegar
1tbsp soy sauce
1tbsp of cream/creme fraiche
1tbsp mirin
Dash of sesame oil
Sprinkle with coriander and black sesame seeds. This would go with rice/potatoes/noodles, you name it.