London, Helen Goh & 365's Roasted Squash Salad
The clouds hung low over London - as usual - yet as soon as our plane plopped through the thick layer of foggy mist, millions of sparkling lights danced underneath us and made me giggle like a child. There's a picturesque, an almost innocent cuteness about this city that reminds me of a fairy tale. Colorful doors in sturdy brick houses, smoking chimneys and neatly cut boxwoods. If I had painted my dream city as a child, it would have been London.
So I was back, just for a few days, with a new cookbook in my bag and the unsettled excitement of a nervous author. London was the third stop on my 365 book tour and I asked a very special woman if she'd join me to talk about my new book on the big day, a woman whose work I have admired for years and whose creations I enjoy every time I'm in town: Helen Goh, co-author of Sweet, also responsible for some of the best sweet creations piled up at the Ottolenghi temples' temptingly luscious displays. When Helen said "Yes," I felt like a groupie who got handed a backstage pass. The first thing she said when we met before the guests arrived was "lets have a glass of wine and sit down." She saw that I was nervous. I looked into her eyes and immediately felt calm. And contrary to my usual habit of not having a single drop before a talk, I had a glass of Meridiana Wine Estate's dark red Melqart. It neither harmed nor increased my chattiness but it reminded me of the fact that all this is fun. To meet people all over the world and talk about food is one of the greatest gifts that my cookbooks - and this blog - have given me. (You can watch some snippets from our conversation here on my Instagram Stories.)
We had a fantastic evening, chatting, discussing, and laughing, enjoying more of Meridiana's wines and food from the book; bruschetta, quiche, and brownies, and the Roasted Squash, Shallot, and Radicchio Salad with Stilton - recipe no. 289 in 365 - a beautifully vibrant recipe that I share with you below. This salad is a spectacular, and easy to prepare starter during the festive season, but also a wonderfully light lunch or dinner when December's feasting becomes a little too excessive.
When I wrote about my Berlin book launch, I mentioned that this tour is only possible because I have amazing friends at my side. People who I've been working with for years and who've been solid rocks in their support for my adventures. The night I arrived in London, I jumped into a taxi that took me straight to my favorite hotel in town. We celebrated the launch of 365 at the magical Corinthia London, and to come back to the fairy tale, I was also lucky to sleep there and this definitely made me feel like a princess. Laying in the coziest cloudy bed, framed by more puffy pillows than one really needs (but it feels so good), and room service delivering the best fish and chips at midnight. I don't think life could possibly get any better than this. But then breakfast comes, and the spa, and then lunch, and dinner - and the fairy tale continues. It's a grown up princess dream come true. Thank you.
Roasted Squash, Shallot, and Radicchio Salad with Stilton
from ‘365 – A Year of Everyday Cooking & Baking’ (Prestel, 2019)
Serves 2 to 4
For the salad
¾ pound (340 g) seeded squash, preferably peeled butternut or Hokkaido with skin, cut into 1-inch (2.5cm) wedges
8 shallots, unpeeled, cut in half lengthwise
1/3 cup (75 ml) olive oil
Flaky sea salt
Finely ground pepper
5 ounces (140 g)radicchio, soft leaves only, torn into pieces
1 large, firm pear, cored and cut into thin wedges
2 ounces (60 g)Stilton, crumbled
1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
For the dressing
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp white balsamicvinegar
1 tsp honey
Fine sea salt
Finely ground pepper
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
For the salad, spread the squash on one side of a large baking dish andthe shallots on the other side. Drizzle with the olive oil and toss tocombine, keeping the squash and shallots separate. Season generously with flakysea salt and pepper and roast for 15 minutes. Flip the squash and shallots overand continue roasting for 10 to 15 or until golden and tender. Transfer thesquash to a plate. Let the shallots cool for a few minutes then peel and addto the squash.
For the dressing, whisk together the olive oil, both vinegars, and thehoney and season to taste with fine sea salt and pepper.
Divide the radicchio, pear, squash, and shallots among plates, arrangingthem in overlapping layers. Sprinkle with the Stilton and thyme, drizzle withthe dressing, and serve immediately.
Grilled Raclette with Rosemary Kumquats, Coriander Apple & Star Anise Pear
The light dimmed, tall candles casting flickering shadows on the ceiling, the room filled with the dry heat from the crackling fireplace and the smell of burnt wood and cheese lying in the air like a heavy cloud. When it's time for Raclette at my mother's house in the countryside, it's a celebration of everything that I connect with coziness. Surrounded by family and friends, everybody gathers around the sizzling Raclette grill to watch the magic happen: aromatic cheese melting and dripping, golden bubbles bursting and splashing as they touch the glowing grill, and the rind turning into smokey charred bites.
When you eat Raclette at a snow covered hut in the mountains, you would most likely enjoy it the classic way, with boiled potatoes, raw spring onions, pickled vegetables like gherkins (cornichons) and pearl onions, and lots of crushed or coarsely ground black peppercorns. The cheese needs added acidity, which can come from the pickles but it can also come from fruit.
So here's the fruity way to enjoy the fragrant melted cheese on a crusty baguette: I skip the pickles and go for Raclette with rosemary kumquats, coriander apple, and star anise pear. Kumquats cooked with honey and fresh rosemary turn the tiny citrus fruits into soft and caramelized bites. Pear wedges seared in star anise butter taste like Christmas and apple wedges softened in coriander butter are sweet, aromatic, and slightly sour. That's the colorful trio to complete my rustic Raclette table but you could also add roasted grapes or plums, or juicy persimmons. Whatever fruit you would normally eat with cheese will fit; it can only become better with a little heat, either in the pan on the hob or under the grill. The heat softens the fruit's texture and makes the flavor even more concentrated. I would keep the side dish simple, you can serve the grilled Raclette with a quick green salad.
My mother always uses a very old Swiss made grill that's rather large. It can hold half a wheel of Raclette, melting the surface where the cheese is cut in half, and then you scrape the melted layer right off the wheel onto your plate. It's a lot of fun, but it's heavy, you need a lot of people to eat up half a wheel of cheese, and you can only feed the hungry crowd in batches - around two people every time you scrape the top layer off, then the half-wheel needs to go under the grill again. This is not necessarily a bad thing seeing as we're talking about a meal that's rather rich and filling. A break once in a while doesn't harm the hungry cheese lover, but if I want to throw a cozy Raclette party just for two (or maybe a couple friends), I go for my more practical tabletop grill with single Raclette dishes instead. Then I opt for sliced cheese and grab Le Rustique's Raclette l'Originale. It's aromatic yet not overpowering and melts like butter. When I use sliced cheese I remove the rind, and if you're after that smokey burnt touch you can just leave the Raclette on a little longer until the charred bubbles burst under the grill.
Thanks to Le Rustique for sponsoring this post and reminding me of the coziest celebration of cheese: watching - and eating - bubbling and crackling Raclette.
Grilled Raclette with Rosemary Kumquats, Coriander Apple and Star Anise Pear
You'll need a Raclette grill for this recipe.
Serves 3 to 4
For the fruit
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary needles (whole needles, not chopped)
12 fresh organic kumquats (or canned kumquats, drained), cut in half lengthwise and seeds removed
4 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
Unsalted butter, to cook the pear and apple
3 star anise
1 large, firm pear, cored and cut into thin wedges
2 teaspoons coriander seeds, crushed with a mortar and pestle
1 large baking apple, cored and cut into thin wedges
For serving
About 500-600g (18-21 ounces) sliced Raclette cheese (for a tabletop grill with single Raclette dishes), rind removed
1-2 crunchy baguettes, sliced
Crushed or coarsely ground black peppercorns
Optional
2 large handfuls mixed small leaf lettuce (young spinach and chard, mâche or corn lettuce)
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Fine sea salt
Finely ground pepper
For the kumquats, in a small, heavy pan, heat the honey over high heat until bubbling. Add the rosemary, kumquats, and orange juice and cook, turning once, for 3-4 minutes or until golden brown and soft - mind that the kumquats don't burn. Set the pan aside and keep warm.
For the pear, in a medium, heavy pan, heat 2 tablespoons of butter and the star anise over medium-high heat until sizzling. Add the pear wedges and sauté, turning once, for about 3-4 minutes or until golden brown and tender. Set the pan aside and keep warm.
For the apple, in a medium, heavy pan, heat 2 tablespoons of butter and the coriander seeds over medium-high heat until sizzling. Add the apple wedges and sauté, turning once, for about 3-4 minutes or until golden brown and tender. Set the pan aside and keep warm.
Melt the cheese, one slice at a time, under the Raclette grill until bubbly then scrape onto a slice of baguette, top with kumquats, apple wedges, or pear wedges and season with crushed black pepper.
You can serve the grilled Raclette with a simple green salad on the side: Divide the mixed lettuce leaves among the plates, drizzle with a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Enjoy!
Camembert, Pear and Thyme Challah
A lot of cracking and aching was going on in the oven while I watched my camembert, pear, and thyme challah bake. At one point I got worried that my braided bread was going to explode. It rose and expanded on all sides, it looked more like a challah pancake than the elegant breaded loaf I had in mind. Maybe I filled the single yeast dough strings a bit too generously with ripe - and stinky - cheese and chopped crisp fruit, but I had a feeling that the recipe needed it. So I trusted, which is always the only sensible thing a baker can do when the object of attention doesn't perform as expected.
To my surprise, it worked out in the end and the shape still reminded me of a Hefezopf - the German name for challah. I used my classic plain challah recipe and replaced the sugar with honey. It's common in Germany to use butter and milk for this kind of bread, instead of water and vegetable oil, which you usually find in traditional challah recipes. I like the added richness coming from the dairy products, I find it tastier. Seeing as the fruit and cheese bring in even more juice and moistness, I could have made the dough a bit drier, added more flour to help it keep its shape. But the final texture was so nice, soft and spongy, that I'd rather accept the pancake-look than ending up with a dry Hefezopf.
If you don't feel like camembert, you can also go for any other aromatic cheese that melts well. I already have a raclette challah in mind, next time. And I'm sure that apricots or peaches would also do a pretty good job instead of the pear. So feel free to experiment, but keep in mind, the juicier the fruit, the more it'll soften your dough.
This challah is a perfect picnic, brunch, or Saturday lunch treat, preferably accompanied by fresh fruits, wine, and a selection of cheese and prosciutto. A green salad with juicy tomatoes also goes very well with it.
Camembert, Pear and Thyme Challah
When I baked my challah, it was a very hot day. So the butter in the dough literarily melted in my hands and turned braiding into a fiddly task. The single braids stretched quicker than I reacted, I was too slow. If you also happen to go for this recipe on a day with high temperatures, to avoid stress and frustration, try to work quickly when you braid the loaf. Keep the braids a bit shorter to begin with, due to the filling they'll expand in length.
Makes 1 large challah
honey 2 tablespoons
butter, melted, 100g / 1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons
milk, lukewarm, 150ml / 2/3 cup
organic eggs 2
plain flour 520-550g / 4 cups - 4 cups plus 4 tablespoons
fast-acting yeast 1 sachet (7g / 1/4 ounce)
fine sea salt 1 teaspoon
For the filling
aged camembert, cooled and cut into thin strips (it'll be a mess if it's too soft), 250g / 9 ounces
medium to large firm pear, cored and cut into tiny cubes, 1
fresh thyme and a little rosemary (the needles, chopped), a large handful
For the glaze
organic egg yolk 1
water 1 tablespoon
Stir the honey into the hot melted butter and whisk until combined, let it cool until it's lukewarm. Add the milk and eggs and whisk, the mixture should be lukewarm.
In a large bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the hook attachment, combine the flour, yeast, and salt. Add the milk-butter mixture to the flour mixture and mix for about 5 minutes or until well combined and smooth. If it's too soft and sticky, add a little (!) more flour. Continue kneading and punching with your hands for about 3-5 minutes or until you have a soft and silky ball of dough. Place the dough back in the bowl, cover with a tea towel, and let rise in a warm place, or preferably in a 35°C (100°F) warm oven, for 60-70 minutes or until almost doubled in size. If it's a hot summer day, you can let the dough rise at room temperature (that's what I did this time).
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
When the dough is puffy and almost doubled in size, punch it down, take it out of the bowl, and knead for about 30 seconds. Divide into 3 parts and roll them into longish, but not too thin sausage sausage shapes (see picture above). Flatten each piece of dough until it's roughly 7.5 cm / 3" wide. Divide the camembert, pear, and herbs between the 3 pieces of dough and spread, leaving a little rim all around the filling. Fold over each piece of dough, roll it gently, and seal the overlapping side and ends well. The filling should be completely wrapped inside the dough.
To braid the bread, work quickly, as the dough stretches. Lay the ends of the dough rolls on top of each other at one end and braid them tightly. If they become too long and thin, squeeze them together a little. Bend both ends of the bread under the loaf and quickly transfer to the lined baking sheet. Cover with a tea towel and let rise in a warm place for about 40-50 minutes or until fluffy.
Preheat the oven to 190°C / 375°F (conventional setting).
For the glaze, whisk the egg yolk and water and brush the top of the challah. Bake for about 25-30 minutes or until golden brown and spongy. When you knock on the challah's bottom, it should sound hollow. Let it cool for a few minutes before cutting the bread into thick slices.The challah tastes best on the 1st day.
Pear and Blue Cheese Tart from my cookbook and a picnic in Valletta
Malta, October 2016:
The sky was blue and October's sun still hot, it was a glorious Saturday morning when I met my friends in Msida. The air was filled with the usual chatting and laughing before we hopped into our cars to drive up to Valletta. We brought along the obligatory guitar and our picnic baskets packed with sandwiches, fruits, and a buttery pear and Stilton tart sprinkled with rosemary - a popular recipe from my Eat In My Kitchen book. And off we went to Malta's capital.
We had planned this day trip weeks in advance: to have a picnic in Valletta, high up on the bastions opposite The Three Cities, to park Michelangelo's beautiful Volkswagen beetle in the shade of one of the old olive trees, and set up a little table right next to this cute blue beauty on wheels. It was a luscious brunch in the most stunning surroundings and to bake a savory tart was the best choice for this occasion. You can prepare it in advance, it's delicious even when it's cold, and it fits perfectly to chilled sparkling wine. The topping is minimal, but the combination of baked pear, melted Stilton, and roasted rosemary is so good that it became one of my favorite recipes this year. The creation almost didn't make it into my book. I had a different tart in mind but I couldn't find a certain vegetable on the day of the shoot and spontaneously decided that I could also just fill the pastry with fruit, cheese, and herbs. It was a wise choice that I don't regret.
The setting was as spectacular as our nibbles. If you ever visit Valletta, you have to go to the St. Barbara Bastion and enjoy the breathtaking view overlooking the Grand Harbour and The Three Cities, Vittoriosa, Cospicua and Senglea. Then walk down to the Valletta Waterfront and take one of the little ferries to Cospicua. It only takes a few minutes and it allows you to enjoy two of the most stunning places in Malta, on land and from the sea: the golden beauty Valletta and the three fortified cities.
Pear and Blue Cheese Tart with Rosemary
From my first cookbook, Eat In My Kitchen
Serves 4 to 8
For the pastry
2 cups (260 g) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
½ cup plus 1 tablespoon (130 g) unsalted butter, cold
1 large egg
For the topping
2 large, firm pears, cut into thin wedges
3 ounces (85 g) aromatic blue cheese, such as Stilton, Roquefort, Fourme d'Ambert or Gorgonzola, crumbled
3 medium sprigs fresh rosemary, needles only
3 tablespoons olive oil
Flaky sea salt
A few black peppercorns, crushed with a mortar and pestle
For the pastry, combine the flour and salt in a large bowl. Add the butter and use a knife to cut it into the flour until there are just small pieces left. Quickly rub the butter into the flour with your fingers until combined. Add the egg and mix with the dough hooks of an electric mixer until crumbly. Form the dough into a thick disc, wrap it in plastic wrap, and freeze for 10 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
On a table or countertop, place the dough between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and use a rolling pin to roll out into a disc, large enough to line the bottom and sides of a 12-inch (30 cm) quiche dish. Fit the dough into the quiche dish, pushing it into the dish, especially along the edges. Let the dough hang over the rim a little or cut it off with a knife. Use a fork to prick the dough all over. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until golden. If the dough bubbles up, push it down with a fork. (If you blind bake the pastry under parchment paper and dried legumes, remove the paper and legumes after 15 minutes and bake uncovered for a few more minutes until golden.)
Arrange the pear wedges in overlapping circles on top of the warm, pre-baked pastry, sprinkle with the cheese and most of the rosemary, drizzle with the olive oil, and season to taste with flaky sea salt and crushed peppercorns. Bake for 15 minutes or until the cheese has melted and the pastry is crisp. Sprinkle with the remaining rosemary and enjoy warm or cold.
Roast Potato, Onion and Pear Wedges with Grapes and Rosemary
The smell of autumn is finally back in the city! The strong aroma of moist soil lies heavily in the air as I pass another one of Berlin's countless parks. The leaves are still green and dense, but I can see the little gold and brown patches poking through here and there. The soft hint of a chill blowing through our open bedroom window early in the morning leaves no doubt - summer has come to an end.
At dinner time, it's already so dark that we decided to move back to our long wooden table on the other side of our flat. As long as it's warm and bright outside we love to eat at our small kitchen table, with windows thrown open to see the clear blue sky turn pitch black but now that September is welcoming the new season I gladly indulge in the heartier treats of the year served on rustic wood.
We enjoyed a pickled knuckle of pork (the famous German Eisbein) the other day, cooked in broth with a bottle of fruity Federweisser (young German wine) to go with it. It was a cozy feast that put us into the right mood for dishes such as beer roast, Alsatian Zwiebelkuchen (onion and bacon pie) and sweet cinnamon plum dumplings. You only need the right food to enjoy each season to the fullest. Inspired by my Moscato grape chicken legs, I came up with a dish of oven roasted potato, onion and pear wedges coated in lemon maple syrup oil, topped with juicy grapes and rosemary. Although I pre-cooked the potatoes, they still needed almost an hour in the oven to turn into golden bites; but I did't mind, the smell of the roasting herb and fruit was beautiful, almost as good as the taste of our sweet and juicy dinner.
Roasted Potatoes, Onions and Pear with Grapes and Rosemary
For 2-3 for lunch or 4 as a side dish
medium, waxy potatoes, scrubbed, cut into 6 wedges each, 750g / 26 1/2 ounces
medium onions, cut into 10 wedges each, 2
large, firm pear, cored and cut into 8 wedges, 1
green grapes, on the vine, 350g / 12 ounces
fresh rosemary, a small handful
olive oil 3 tablespoons
white wine 1 tablespoon
freshly squeezed lemon juice 1 tablespoon
maple syrup 1 tablespoon
black peppercorns, crushed in a mortar
flaky sea salt
Cook the potato wedges for 8 minutes in salted, boiling water. Drain and rinse them with cold water and let them dry on a wire rack for at least 20 minutes (a few hours would be even better).
Set the oven to 220°C / 430°F (top / bottom heat).
Spread the potatoes, onions, pear, grapes and rosemary (leave out a few needles) in a baking dish. Whisk the olive oil, wine, lemon juice, maple syrup and pepper and pour over the potatoes and fruits, mix with your fingers until they are evenly coated. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt and cook in the oven for about 55 minutes or until golden brown. Garnish with fresh rosemary needles and season with salt and pepper to taste.
A Salad of Rucola, Plum and Pear with Orange Blossom Water
Here's another one of the kitchen leftover mash-ups I mentioned yesterday: There were 3 bunches of rucola (rocket) on the window sill, Italian plums which started to look a bit sad and ripe pears, ready to be eaten just before they get soft and mushy. I tossed everything together in a bowl and mixed it with my new favourite summer salad dressing: olive oil whisked with freshly squeezed orange juice and a little orange blossom water. It's fantastic, the citrus' fruitiness merges wonderfully with the orange blossom's flowery aroma and the warm olive oil.
Citrus and olive oil is a delicious combination. One of my favourite recipes on eat in my kitchen features this glorious treat, it's a very simple yet absolutely delicious Sicilian salad. The first time I ate it was at a farm in Noto where we stayed a few years ago. The lady of the house would make it for us for breakfast. She used the ripest oranges from the farm, cut them into fillets and sprinkled them with a little olive oil and dried oregano. It was a heavenly and eye-opening experience for me. I had never really thought of this combination before, mixing fruit with olive oil was quite new for me at that point and this morning treat influenced many of my recipes over the years. It taught me to be open minded and experimental, to combine various flavours, to mix what seems far away in taste but trust that it will lead to a satisfying result (which it often does).
However, the combination of fruit and olive oil needs a strong partner, either a herb or spicy rucola leaves as I chose. You could replace the plums and pears with any other sweet fruit you have at hand in your kitchen: strawberries, nectarines, figs or oranges. As long as they have honey sweet juices to add to the salad, they will be a good choice!
A Salad of Rucola, Plum and Pear with Orange Blossom Water
For a quick lunch for 2 you need
rucola (arugula) leaves, 2 handful
pear, quartered, cored and sliced, 1 (or an equal amount of another sweet fruit)
large plum, cut in half and sliced, 1 (or an equal amount of another sweet fruit)
For the dressing
olive oil 3 tablespoons
freshly squeezed orange juice 2 tablespoons
quality orange blossom water (preferably organic) 1-2 teaspoons, to taste
salt and pepper
Arrange the rucola and fruit in a bowl. Whisk the ingredients for the dressing, season to taste and sprinkle over the salad, serve immediately.
Chicory Boats with Pear Dressing and Pink Peppercorns
Last week I bought some pink peppercorns, the first ones in years. I forgot about them after I used them the last time, I just emptied the jar and it never got refilled. Although the pink berry is the fruit of the Peruvian Pepper Tree it's not related to common pepper, it's just a berry. Nevertheless, I used to love them, on steak, in creamy sauces, and even on desserts. That's actually the reason why I bought them again, in the next few months I want to try out a few sweet combinations. They taste mild, with a flowery aroma, and offer lots of culinary possibilities but first I have to think about a few ideas. For now I'll start with a simple savory dish.
I have some finger food in mind, an easy in between nibble. I take the big leaves of 3 chicory (also known as Belgian endive) and dollop a little of a fruity dressing on top. It's made of 4 heaped tablespoons of yoghurt mixed with 3 teaspoons of tomato paste and 1 crunchy pear, grated without peel and stirred in as well. I season it with salt and black pepper and my pink peppercorns, crushed and sprinkled on top. The pink berries had a tasty return to my kitchen!
Sweet Pear and Bitter Chicory Salad
This was my favourite salad during my university years! When I was too busy to cook or my fridge didn't have much to offer, this was always an option (besides spaghetti with tomato sauce). A crunchy sweet and bitter combination which I always love but here especially together with the walnuts. In winter I make sure I have these three in stock, pear and walnuts as a quick snack and chicory is one of my quick emergency dinners. If I'm running out of time, I cut 2 chicories in half, fry them in butter, golden brown on each side and season them with salt and pepper - done.
For my salad I need 2 chicories and 1 pear, both sliced in strips, enough to feed 2-4 people. At lunch time people have different eating habits so it's hard to estimate the exact amounts. At a dinner party this is definitely enough for a a side dish for 4. I make a light dressing with 3 tablespoons of olive oil mixed with 2 tablespoons of white Balsamico (I can't live without this vinegar in winter!), seasoned with salt and pepper. You could also add some fresh lemon juice. Some walnuts on top and I'm back in my student years!
Pear and Stilton - the perfect Sandwich Combination
Ripe Stilton and crisp Abate pear are the perfect match for my sandwich. I layer thin slices of the juicy fruit and crumbs of the blue cheese on thick white bread and put it in under the grill (broiler), just until the cheese starts to bubble and the bread is slightly roasted. The spiciness of the creamy English cheese and the sweetness of the pear are a heavenly combination.
I once used this duo as a topping for my Quiche and everybody loved it but I must say, it's just as good on my sandwich and quicker to prepare. All you need is a loaf of white bread (I use fresh spelt Ciabatta), a crisp pear like Abate and around 100g / 3.5 ounces of ripe, spicy Stilton (or any other blue cheese). Prepare your sandwich, finish under the grill (broiler) and sprinkle with some walnuts and black pepper. You can treat 2-4 people to this wonderful snack, at lunch or as a starter at a dinner party and you can be sure you will make them very happy!
