Wild rocket, pear and cheese soup

This term Eddie is studying ancient Rome at school. We talked about foods they ate in the Roman empire, and I mentioned that rocket was one of the edible leaves they favoured.
While checking out the Sunday bargains at Waitrose earlier today, I've spotted a bag of wild rocket reduced to 25p and decided to cook soup for dinner. It is by no means a Roman recipe, especially that I use a potato in this soup, which obviously wasn't known in Europe until the 16th century.
But wild rocket would have been widely used by the Romans in salads, soups and stews.

I had a good rummage in the fridge to see which other greens and other veg I can find, and got half an onion from the day before when I fried potatoes with mushrooms, a few celery stalks, half a bag of spinach, and a handful of baby courgettes which were slightly past their best.
I also had a small chunk of cheese (Petite Basque, I think).

It reminded me of Three men in a boat and how they cooked an Irish stew, when they were putting all kinds of odds and ends together. This used to be one of my favourite books in early teens, though I haven't re-read it since then.

Wild rocket, pear and cheese soup
Ingredients:
1/2 medium white onion
2tbsp olive oil
1 clove of garlic
1 medium potato, peeled and chopped
1 long celery stalk, chopped
about 80g of courgette
1 pear, peeled and chopped (I used a Conference pear)
1 bag of wild rocket (90g)
1/2 bag of baby spinach (about 60g)
a small chunk of cheese (about 50g)
1 cube of vegetable stock
sea salt

Finely chop half an onion, and fry it with olive oil for about 5 minutes, until golden brown. Add a finely chopped garlic and fry for another minute. Peel and chop one potato, and put in a pan with a stock cube, add the celery, courgette and pear, as well as onions and garlic, and pour enough water to cover all the vegetables. Cook for about 20 minutes, add rocket and spinach and grated cheese and cook for another 5 minutes. You might want to add more water if the soup is too thick.
Once cooked, blitz the soup with a hand blender and serve hot, with a spoonful of single cream, Greek style yogurt or soured cream (optional).
This is a tasty vegetarian soup.
For a vegan version, skip the cheese and any other dairy.

Adding this recipe to #KitchenClearout linky hosted by Cheryl at Madhouse Family Reviews, since like George from Three men in a boat I've added all sorts of odds and ends to this soup.

Pear and chocolate cake (Gennaro Contaldo's torta di pere)

Our weekend mornings are not a rushed affair. Even if the kids get up early (argghhh, on a Saturday!!!), at least we are not in a hurry to get out of the house and do the school run. Most weekends we have pancakes for breakfast. For some reason nobody ever gets bored with pancakes, but a slice of cake for breakfast with a big cup of tea is another lovely treat for a leisurely hour with a newspaper.

Recently I was asked to mention a Be a Star, Bake a cake fundraiser on my blog, with a selection of delicious recipes to try.

Bowel Cancer UK is encouraging the nation to join celebrity chefs to bake their favourite cake for their families, friends and colleagues to raise money for the charity for Bowel Cancer Awareness Month.

Celebrity chefs - Rick Stein, Tom Kitchin, Brian Turner, Eric Lanlard, Tom Aikens, the Hairy Bikers, Gennaro Contaldo, Deliciously Ella, Mark Greenway - whipped up their favourite bakes in order to inspire the Brits to bake their favourite cake for Be a Star, Bake a Cake.

"This year Bowel Cancer UK, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary, is oping more people than ever will hold a bake sale during Bowel Cancer Awareness Month in April and raise as much money as possible to help fund vital research and lifesaving work to stop bowel cancer.
More than 44 people die from bowel cancer every day in the UK, it's the nation's second biggest cancer killer. However, it shouldn't be. It's treatable and curable, especially if diagnosed early"

Steph Mills, Community Fundraising Manager at Bowel Cancer UK says: "Whether you're a whiz in the kitchen or if baking sends you into a tiz, our celebrity chef supporters have a recipe for you. Test your souffle skills with a delicious Chocolate Orange Souffle by the Hairy Bikers, make your chocolate brownies less devilish with Deliciously Ella's sweet potato borwnies or if you're after indulgence, Tom Aikens' chocolate cake will satisfy your sweet tooth. Then hold a cake stall, coffee morning or afternoon tea and invite your friends and colleagues to make a donation and sample the delicious treats".
Your bake will make a real difference - sign up here - Be a Star, Bake a Cake.

All the recipes looked delightful. I have tried the recipe for mini carrot cakes with cream cheese topping (recipe by Tom Kitchin), and they were delicious.
I have also bookmarked Gennaro Contaldo's pear and chocolate cake (torta di pere). I baked it yesterday, having adapted the original recipe. It was a great success.

Gennaro Contaldo says: "Fresh fruit is often added to cakes in Italy and I remember my grandma making a similar cake to this one using apples. It's a great way of adding more fruit to your diet especially for children. Pear and dark chocolate go really well together and this makes a lovely cake for afternoon tea.

In Russia we have a similar cake called sharlotka, usually made with fresh apples.

Gennaro Contaldo's pear & chocolate cake: image by Dan Jones

Pear & chocolate cake by Gennaro Contaldo (recipe taken from Gennaro's Italian Bakery (Pavillion) and reproduced here with kind permission from Be a Star, Bake a Cake)
Ingredients (makes 6-8 servings)
3 eggs
150g caster sugar
85g unsalted butter, softened
300g self-raising flour, sifted
seeds of 1 vanilla pod
3 pears, peeled, cored and cut into chunks
75g dark chocolate, roughly broken into small chunks
zest of 1 small unwaxed lemon
a little sifted icing sugar
1 round cake tin 20cm in diameter with a loose bottom if you have one, greased with a little butter and lined with greaseproof paper.

For decoration
100g caster (superfine) sugar
1tbsp unsalted butter
2 pears, sliced very thinly
a little sifted icing sugar (optional)

Method:
Preheat the oven to 180C. In a bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the softened butter and continue to whisk until well amalgamated. Fold in the flour, vanilla, lemon zest, pears and chocolate.
Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake in the preheated oven for about 45 minutes - insert a wooden skewer, if it comes clean, the cake is ready. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Then loosen, place on a serving plate and decorate with sifted icing sugar if desired.
To decorate, heat the sugar in a wide saute pan over a medium heat. Do not stir, just gently agitate the pan from time to time until the sugar starts to melt; this will take about 5 minutes.
Continue to cook, gently stirring with a wooden spoon for about 10 minutes, until a dark caramel forms. Stir the butter through and add the thinly sliced pears, turning to coat in the caramel.
Cook for 3-4 minutes, until golden. Arrange on top of the cake. Decorate with sifted icing sugar, if liked.

That's Gennaro's full recipe, and this is how I made it.

First of all, I used only two pears inside the cake, three might have made a soggy cake. It took almost an hour for the cake to be cooked, it was still raw inside after 45 minutes. I added orange zest instead of the lemon, as I think chocolate goes better with orange. I also used milk chocolate rather than dark, as I didn't have dark cooking chocolate.
For the decoration, I used a simple chocolate icing made of 50g of milk chocolate, 2tbsp chocolate syrup and 1tsp of butter. Melt it in a bowl above hot water, then drizzle on top of the cake.
It takes less time than making caramel sauce and pear decorations. Of course, the pear decoration adds more of a glamour, but I also wonder if caramel would make the cake sweeter than it is.

It is a delicious cake, which we all enjoyed.

Grilled chicken salad

Jack Daniel's as a brand doesn't need an introduction, it is well known and much appreciated.
It has recently launched the latest addition to their range of BBQ glazes - a brand new Tennessee Honey Barbecue Glaze.

Image credits: Jack Daniel's

All of these BBQ products are made with an authentic Jack Daniel's Tennessee whiskey and show the distinctive smoothness of Jack Daniel's. They transform your meals into tasty dishes, and are also vegetarian and vegan friendly.
Being asked which flavours I would like to try and test, I have chosen two milder flavours.
Jack Daniel's Smokey Sweet Barbecue Glaze includes soy sauce, sugar, salt, wheatflour, concentrated pineapple juice, cider vinegar, molasses concentrated orange juice, garlic and onion puree, chilli powder and more. It is a delicious glaze for meat or fish, and can also be used as a dip for wings and drumsticks, or potato wedges.

Grilled chicken salad
Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts
3tbsp Jack Daniel's Smokey Sweet Barbecue Glaze
1tbsp lime juice
1tsp + 2tbsp olive oil for the grilled chicken and butternut squash
200g butternut squash and sweet potato, diced
1 pear, quartered, cored and sliced
a handful of mixed salad (rocket, spinach and fennel tips)
balsamic vinegar and olive oil for dressing

First of all, spread 2tbsp of the glaze over the chicken breasts, squeeze 1tbsp of lime juice over and let them marinade for about half an hour. Roast the butternut squash and sweet potato cubes with 2tbsp of olive oil.
Heat your grill (I used Tefal Optigrill) and add a little amount of oil.

Once the chicken is cooked, slice it into smaller pieces.
 Cook a quartered and sliced pear in a small frying pan with 1tbsp of olive oil and 1tbsp of Jack Daniel's glaze for about 3-4 minutes. The pear slices should be soft but still hold shape.
Assemble your salad: first mixed salad leaves, roasted squash and sweet potato, chicken pieces and pear pieces. Drizzle a bit of balsamic vinegar and whatever sauce is leftover in the pan.

If you liked this recipe, you might be interested in reading my Tefal Optigrill post.

Disclosure: I received two bottles of JD's glazes for the purposes of testing and reviewing. All opinions are mine.

Pear, almond and cinnamon tart (#ReadCookEat)

I don't often read supernatural stories but do enjoy a good ghost tale. I was browsing in the library, when I came across This House is Haunted by John Boyne. I knew him as the author of The boy in striped pyjamas, but haven't read any other novel by him. The cover and the teaser looked promising, and I took it out. The novel is set in 1867.
Eliza Caine, a plain looking young woman from London is grieving the sudden death of her beloved father and takes up a position of a governess in a remote manor house in Norfolk, called Gaudlin Hall.
She is nearly killed at the train station, pushed by the invisible hands in the path of the train, being rescued by the vigilant doctor.
When Eliza arrives on a dark and chilling evening to the house, she is greeted by two children. The absence of parents or any other responsible adults is not explained by the children, Isabella and Eustace. That same night, as she goes to bed, the invisible pair of hands grabs her by the ankles and terrifies her. This malign presence in the house seems to follow every step she takes. But the children seem to be unperturbed by it.
I won't spoil the plot and tell you how it ends. I will only say that this is a true page turner and a gripping story. There are inevitable comparisons with The Turn of the Screw and even Jane Eyre, there are some stereotypes when it comes to the haunted desolate mansion's paraphernalia, but overall it is an entertaining creepy story with some unexpected twists.
I loved all the literary references to the 19c writers. Even Mr Dickens makes an appearance in the novel. The style of writing is intelligent and perceptive.
Eliza is an endearing character, with an insightful mind. If you enjoy old-fashioned Gothic stories, this is a well written tale.

Mid-way through the novel, Eliza is taking tea with a new found friend Mrs Toxley, who brings a small gift with her.
"I was touched by such an unexpected kindness and opened it. Immediately an explosion of powerful odours emerged from the box. Mrs Toxley had brought pear cakes infused with cinnamon, and I felt a weakness overtake me." The smell of cinnamon reminded Eliza of her father's favourite tobacco, flavoured with cinnamon.

I was planning to cook pear cakes with cinnamon, but couldn't find the small sized tart cake tins anywhere in the kitchen, so instead I baked one big pear, almond and cinnamon tart.

Pear, almond and cinnamon tart
Ingredients:
1 pack of Jus-Rol shortcrust pastry
3 pears
2 medium eggs
125g caster sugar
100g ground almonds
1tsp ground cinnamon
1tsp vanilla essence

Oil the round pie baking dish with the cake release spray or just oil a bit. Roll out the pastry and cut the corners to make it fit the round dish.
Prepare the filling. Grate one pear on coarse, mix with the ground almonds, cinnamon, vanilla, caster sugar and eggs.
Slice two more pears (skin on) thinly.
Pour the filling into the pastry case (still uncooked). Then place the pear slices around the edges, leaving the middle open.
Place the dish in the oven preheated to 180C and cook for 25+ minutes until the pastry is golden brown.

This is a lovely tart, great with cream or ice cream if you eat it hot. It is not bad cold either.
You can make this cake with apples, in fact I have a recipe for Belgian Apple tart which I adapted for pears.

This week I've been reading One Summer in Venice by Nicky Pellegrino, and it is brimming with food references and delightful meals. I know what I am going to cook for the next #ReadCookEat challenge.

Pear, blueberry and polenta cake

I have baked this cake over two weeks ago, when we invited friends over for an afternoon tea. It was the day after my birthday, and I wanted to bake something special. One of our friends is on a gluten free diet, and he's been a trusted guinea pig experimental tester for my gluten free bakes for years. I dug out a copy of Seriously Good Gluten-Free Baking by Phil Vickery, and picked a few possible bakes. I loved the sound of soft pine nut cookies, but when I started rummaging through my supplies, I realised I didn't have any rice flour. But I had all the ingredients for Pear, blueberry & polenta cake.

I have tried to find this recipe online but couldn't, so here's a photo from the book in case you are interested how to bake it.

I didn't fancy doing a frosting for the sponge, and served it with a Haagen Dazs Vanilla ice cream.

To be honest, I wasn't thrilled with the recipe. The cake tasted too oily to my taste, and I think 3tsp of baking powder for this cake is way too much. I only used 2tsp, and even at that amount I could taste it. Our guests though liked it and it was quickly polished. Not sure if that's because they were kind and polite, or whether they really liked it, because I didn't. I might try to adapt the recipe and maybe use half/half of polenta and gluten-free flour, and also reduce the amount of oil and sugar too. The combination of pears and blueberries was a good one though.

Have you tried any recipes from Phil Vickery's book? Which ones would you recommend for me to try?

As I have bookmarked a few recipes from this book, adding my post to Bookmarked Recipes  linky on Tinned Tomatoes blog written by Jacqueline.

Pork with pears, wild plums and lavender

We have a little wild plum tree in the garden, and this year it has a decent amount of very tart fruit. These plums are small in size, and there is not enough for making jam. Once roasted, they are transformed into mini sweet and sour treasures. I had some lean pork steaks in the fridge, and fancied something a little different. Having a walk in the garden, I came back in the kitchen with a handful of wild plums and some lavender sprigs, plus I bought some hard blush pears which I wanted to use with pork. I do love the fruit and meat combinations, and this dish was delicious served with gigli pasta.

Pork with pears, wild plums and lavender (serves 6)
Ingredients:
6 pork loin steaks
2tbsp olive oil
2 pears, quartered
about 10 wild plums
12 grapes
zest of 1 lemon
lavender flowers
sea salt with thyme
1/2+ cup of vegetable stock or wine
to serve with the gigli pasta

Place the pork loin steaks on the oiled grill pan and cook for about 5 minutes on each side. Season with sea salt. Remove the steaks from the pan and put them in a deep ceramic tray or roasting dish, add the juices collected in the grill pan. Slightly grill the quartered pear slices, and later arrange them around the pork. Add the wild plums and zest of one lemon. Scatter the grapes and lavender flowers (depending on how aromatic you want it, one or two sprigs). Pour the stock over the pork, and place the tray in the oven preheated to 180C. Cook for about 45 minutes. You might need to add a bit more stock to prevent the pork from drying (I used lean steaks with hardy any fat).

Cook the gigli pasta in the salted boiling water until al dente, mix with roasted cubed squash and a bit of grated cheddar cheese.

Lavender added a wonderful aroma to the dish. The smells wafting from the kitchen were just beautiful.
If you don't fancy any lavender, then thyme might be a good substitute. Wild plums could be swapped for "normal" plums. Roasted grapes are also very tasty with meat, if you haven't tried it yet, you're in for a treat.

Adding my recipe to splendid Karen's from Lavender and Lovage linky Cooking with Herbs, as the theme for August is Summer Herbs and Flowers.

Also adding my recipe to Shop Local linky on lovely Elizabeth's Kitchen Diary blog, since the pork was purchased at the local butcher's, and the plums and lavender were picked in our own garden, couldn't be more local than that.

Alberta's dessert: pears in orange juice

La Mamma is a national institution. Mamma knows best, especially when it comes to cooking. Of course, every Italian man is convinced that his Mamma is the best cook in the world, and hers is the only way of cooking. I am joking and exaggerating, but only a bit. It is hard to compete with perfection (and I hope when my guys grow up they will also think of my cooking skills as superior).
In 17 years of my marriage I have acquired a good amount of tasty recipes from my mother-in-law. This recipe is one of them, on our last visit to Italy we were enjoying Pears in orange juice. The recipe is very easy and simple.

Pears in orange juice
Ingredients:
4 pears
2 oranges

That's the ratio, 1 orange for every 2 pears. Juice the oranges and remove the peel. Slice it into small thin strips.
Peel the pears and slice them into smallish chunks. Put the pear chunks in a medium pan and pour the orange juice over, add the pieces of the peel. Cook covered with a lid until the pears are soft, but not too soft, you don't want them go mushy.
If the oranges are sweet, you don't need any sugar. If they aren't over sweet, you might want to add a bit of sugar.
This dish is best eaten cold.

What did I say? Very easy but immensely tasty.

This recipe also works well with the apples. Buon Appetito!

Peaches and pears with Prosciutto di San Daniele and Grana Padano

I have quite often heard from foodies and TV chefs that Grana Padano is the poor man's Parmesan. But in fact this hard Italian cheese is great in its own right. My Italian mother-in-law always has a block of grana in the fridge for pasta and risotto. It might be less nutty or salty than Parmigiano, but it works beautifully in many Italian dishes or served as part of a platter.
For a light dinner or lunch serve this lovely selection of fruit, cheese and prosciutto. A glass of wine wouldn't go amiss too.



Peaches and pears with Prosciutto di San Daniele and Grana Padano Cheese
Pesche e pere con Prosciutto di San Daniele e Grana Padano

Serves 4

Ingredients:
6 Peaches, sliced
6 Pears, halved and core removed
200g Prosciutto di San Daniele, thinly sliced
150g Grana Padano Cheese
Good-quality runny honey

Method:
Cut each slice of Prosciutto di San Daniele into three equal parts
Alternate a slice of peach and a piece of prosciutto, placing them on the side of a serving plate
Cut and fan the pears and place on the opposite side of the plate
Crumble the Grana Padano Cheese over the pear, and drizzle the honey over it before serving.


For more information and suggestions on how to enjoy Prosciutto di San Daniele and Grana Padano Cheese, including recipes from the renowned chef, Giancarlo Caldesi, visit
"http://www.prosciuttosandaniele.it" www.prosciuttosandaniele.it  
"http://www.granapadano.it" www.granapadano.it .

Prosciutto di San Daniele is available in Tesco, Partridges, Harrods, Harvey Nichols, Fortnum & Mason, John Lewis, Waitrose, Sainsbury’s and Selfridges. For more information about Prosciutto di San Daniele, please visit: "http://www.prosciuttosandaniele.it" www.prosciuttosandaniele.it

Grana Padano Cheese is available in Waitrose, Marks and Spencer, Harvey Nichols, John Lewis, Sainsbury’s and Tesco, as well as various independent delis. For more information about Grana Padano Cheese, please visit: "http://www.granapadano.it" www.granapadano.it




This recipe was created by Giancarlo Caldesi to promote Italian Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) products.

Blooming scrummy Pear salad with strawberries and primroses

The other day my husband was at some posh college dinner (I was invited as well but I don't "do" dinners any longer). My boys had their meals, and I fancied something light, meat-free and different. I had a look around the kitchen, and thus this Pear salad with strawberries and primroses was created.

Primroses in my garden grow like weeds. They have an irresistible charm, I love their sunny personality and the lack of pomposity. They are smiley, simple and proclaim spring to me more than any other flowers in the garden.
I've been reading that eating flowers was very popular in the 16th and 17th C but later went out of fashion apart from crystallising them to use as the cake decorations. Primroses certainly transform the dish like a salad, they might not have much of a taste themselves, but they give a pretty look to it. Plus they give you a natural health boost.

Pear salad with strawberries and primroses
Ingredients:
1 sweet juicy pear, sliced
4 strawberries, halved
a handful of toasted sunflower seeds
a small bunch of baby salad leaves
about 12 primrose flowers
1/2 medium courgette, sliced
2 tbsp plain Greek yogurt
2 tbsp of crumbled blue cheese (I used Stilton)

All the quantities are approximate, as I wasn't measuring anything, just slicing and assembling the salad with whatever ingredients I fancied at the time, so on top of the scattered baby salad I put the slices of a juicy pear, courgette and strawberry halves which I mixed with the Greek yogurt and crumbled Stilton cheese. Add the sunflower seeds for a bit of texture and decorate with the primroses which you should soak first a bit in the water, just in case there are some tiny insects hiding there. I do appreciate that they are a source of protein but I'd rather skip that part of the possible meal.

And that was it: my blooming scrummy pear salad.