Bramley Apple, Bacon & Black Pudding Risotto - it's Bramley Apple Week!

Yes folks, the next week has been dedicated to the lovely Bramley Apple.  Seems a bit of an odd time, if you ask me, as it's not the beginning of the season for Bramleys but instead coming to the end of their season - but then, they're available in the shops any old time of year if you're prepared to accept Bramleys from abroad.

Good old English Bramleys are still available in the shops now, though, so make the most of them while you can buy British!

Knowing that Bramley Apple Week was rolling towards us, I was having a bit of a brainstorm with hubby about what we could cook to honour our lovely Bramley.  We went through all the usual Apple Cake, Apple Muffins and Pork with Apples ideas but they all seemed so predictable.  Nice, but predictable.  We wanted something different.

So, we started thinking along the lines of what flavours go particularly well with apples.  The first one is the obvious pork.  So, what types of pork are there?  Loads of types of pork, loads of types of bacon, loads of types of side products from pork.  Hmmn.  That's not helping much.  Okay, so what sort of recipe don't you see very often, that includes pork products and apple?  Casseroles?  Loads.  "In sauce"?  Loads.  "Chinese?".  Quite a few.  Italian?  Hmmn, not so many.  Risotto?  ~thinks~  Nope, can't remember seeing any.  ~goes to internet to ask Google~  Nope, just one from Jamie Oliver.  Aha!

So, risotto.  Well, we know that bacon goes well with risotto, so that's a given.  What about the apple, though.  Hubby was warming to the theme by this time and came up with the ruse that if the apple was diced and pan fried to begin with, then included at the last minute to ensure that it didn't disintegrate, it could work.  But what else to put with the bacon and apple?  Sage?  Well yes, but he didn't want it to go along too herby a route.  (Hubby is the Chief Risotto Maker, so the end decision as to the recipe was his).  I began to think along sausagey routes and remembered the Black Pudding I'd used for the English Farmhouse Breakfast recently.  Done similarly, I felt sure it would stand up to a risotto. Hubby liked the idea and the Bramley Apple, Bacon & Black Pudding Risotto was born.

Now I really, really like risotto - and I really, really like hubby's risottos, as they're always very creamy (without the use of cream), moist and unctuous with some quite complex flavours.  This risotto, however, knocked them all into a cocked hat (as we say in the U.K.).

The first forkful immediately gives you that salty hit of the bacon with the background hint of sage.  Then, with something of a double-act, the Bramley apple comes in.  First sweet, then sour, it gets the music pumping and the stage set for the Black Pudding, whose earthy spiciness just gets that party going on your tongue.  And that's just the first forkful.

If you've never experienced black pudding before and have been cautious about doing so, this is the perfect recipe for you.  Because of the accompanying flavours, your tongue is allowed to taste the black pudding without it becoming dominant (as it so often can).

Do, please, try this recipe.  It really is completely gorgeous.

BRAMLEY APPLE, BACON & BLACK PUDDING RISOTTO  (serves 3)

Ingredients :

300g Arborio (or another risotto type) rice
30g unsalted butter
125ml white wine
1.2l vegetable or ham stock
30g Parmesan, very finely grated
8 rashers smoked back bacon, cut into small squares
1 large Bramley Apple, skinned, cored and cut into ½cm cubes
4" (yes, four inches) Black Pudding, skinned and cut into ½cm cubes
1 large Banana shallot (or 2 small), very finely chopped
1 tsp fresh Sage, finely chopped.

Method :

1.  In a large frying pan, fry the bacon pieces until crispy.  Set bacon aside on a plate and pour any bacon fat into a large saucepan.

2.  Add half of the butter (15g) to the frying pan, turn the heat to high and then fry the apple cubes for no longer than two minutes or until slightly coloured.  It is vital to not allow the apples to cook through and dissolve.  Remove from the pan and reserve.

3.  Immediately - and without cleaning the pan, toss the black pudding cubes into the frying pan and fry for two minutes.  Set the black pudding cubes aside and pour any remaining juices from the frying pan into the large saucepan.

4.  Add the remaining 15g of butter to the saucepan and gently saute the shallot until soft but not coloured.

5.  Turn the heat to high and then add the rice, toasting it in the butter and oils until each grain is well coated and hot.

6.  Pour the wine into the pan and stir.  Turn the heat down and continue gently stirring until the rice has absorbed the wine.

7.  Add the sage and the cooked bacon pieces before pouring a ladleful of stock over the rice.  Stir gently until the stock is almost absorbed and then add another ladle of stock.

8.  Continue adding the stock, a ladleful at a time until the rice is tender and 'oozy'. Remember to allow the rice to absorb each ladle of stock before adding the next.  This requires patience, but a true risotto cannot be made without following this rule.

9.  Once the rice is tender, add the parmesan and the cooked black pudding and continue to cook for another minute or so.

10.  Finally, gently stir in the apple cubes and then remove the pan from the heat immediately.

11.  Place a lid on the pan and leave it, off of the heat for a couple of minutes, to relax and to allow the flavours to  mingle.

12.  Serve onto hot plates.


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A new risotto through to meatballs and Yorkshire Pudding day - the meal plan

I have made a new resolution.

Yes, I know it's not the right day for new resolutions, but I figure it's better late than never.

My new resolution is to knuckle down to telling you all about what's on the menu plan for the coming week, on a Tuesday - the beginning of that week.  Now obviously, it's not going to happen that way every week, because my life just doesn't allow things to be that organised.  However, the intention is there - and it's a good place to start.

So, here's what's on the list :

Tues : Pizza (spot the cop-out!)

Weds : Bramley apple, black pudding & bacon risotto

Thurs : Turkey & chorizo meatballs with pesto spaghetti

Fri : Minced beef, mashed potato & vegetables

Sat : Spicy chicken wraps, mexican hash browns & coleslaw

Sun : Toad in the hole with vegetables

Mon : Chilli-con-healthy with soda bread rolls.

Yes, tonight's dinner of Pizza is a total cop-out - but sometimes you just want to have a break from all the preparation and the washing up.  As much as I enjoy creating dishes, cooking them and most importantly, eating them, sometimes you just have to have a day off.

We're back in harness again on Wednesday, or more to the point, hubby is back in harness.  He's cooking a new risotto, one which we dreamt up in honour of Bramley Apple Week.  We devised the ingredients and contemplated the cooking method and after a bit of to-ing and fro-ing, came up with this recipe for Bramley apple, black pudding & bacon risotto.  I think it sounds completely delicious, but you'll just have to wait for the blog post to find out whether it was or not!

Thursday is another of our dreamt up recipes, which evolved from wondering what to do with two chicken breasts - and wound up with turkey mince and two chorizo sausages that are lurking in the fridge.  The obvious answer was to make them into meatballs and serve them with pesto coated spaghetti.  Simple - except we've still got the two chicken breasts hiding out in the freezer.

Now I do try to schedule in at least a couple of meals that son & heir is guaranteed to like, per week.  Poor soul, as a bit of a picky teenager (one of the worst times for food likes & dislikes, I think), he is often faced with his worst nightmare where food is concerned but will generally give it a go.  This is why I try to schedule in a couple of his favourites.  This week, the first of these is good old minced beef, mashed potato and vegetables.  He would, of course, prefer to abandon the vegetables part of the meal altogether, but my insistence on his not being 99% carnivorous, 1% mashed potato-ist, ensures that at least a few veggies disappear down his gullet occasionally.

The next son & heir friendly meal is the Spicy Chicken Wraps.  These consist of shop-bought chicken in a spicy coating which is oven baked then sliced and put in a wrap along with some lettuce, salsa and sour cream.  Hubby has had an idea where the current favourite of hash browns are concerned and is intending on Mexican-ing them up with the addition of a sprinkling of chilli powder, cumin and salt.  I shall be abstaining from this delicacy and going for the coleslaw option.

Sunday, believe it or not, is Yorkshire Pudding Day.  Now I'm not guaranteeing that we stay with this plan, but currently we're intending on having a Toad in the Hole, which hubby has agreed to make as his Yorkshire is a whole lot more reliable than ever mine has been.  There is an outside possibility that we might flip this to one side in favour of a different incarnation of Yorkshire Pudding meal, but at the moment, the Toad is a goer.

Monday brings the re-submission of the Chilli con healthy from last week.  Because of a sudden yearning for a Doner Kebab, this got bumped from last week's menu list - but not before I'd bought all the ingredients for it.  I'm looking forward to it, as although it has an anxiety inducing name, the method is exactly how we'd produce a chilli - except the spicing is slightly different.  Should not only be interesting, but nice!

I've a number of extra cooking projects in mind, too.  Because of Bramley Apple Week, I'm intending on making an apple cake - maybe the Dorset Apple Slab, which I've been intending to make ever since we arrived in Dorset and found out about it!  I've also got a recipe for Maple Apple Muffins formulating in the back of my head.  We'll see whether it makes it to daylight or not!

National Dairy Week is supposed to kick off on the 3rd February (Friday).  Currently, I can't see that anyone (the Dairy Council, National Cheese Board - always makes me smile, that one) is doing very much in relation to that, but I've got ideas for a Greek Yoghurt and Passion Fruit dessert, plus some yummy Cheese Scones, at the very least!

Oh - and don't forget, Valentine's Day is trotting into view!  I've got some recipes up my sleeve with this in mind, but maybe it's too early to reveal, just yet.

I just have to share something, before I go, which is that Sainsbury's (following on from their featuring Rhubarb & Ginger on their Family Finance Blog) have invited me to be a member of the Sainsbury’s Finance Family Blogger Network!

 

The network is an informal network of family friendly bloggers that they think share Sainsbury’s values.  Apparently, this will mean I'll have an entry to their Best Family Blog Award and an opportunity to guest blog on their Finance blog, Money Matters.

I'm currently quite ridiculously excited by this - and am very much looking forward to finding out more!

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Soda bread with tomato, bacon, black pudding & an egg - breakfast of champions!

Well, if it isn't the breakfast of champions, then it jolly well ought to be!

I was invited to participate in the Breakfasts of the World Challenge from VeryGoodRecipes.com - you can see what it's all about on the challenge page there.

Naturally, my thoughts about making soda bread got roped in at the same time, along with the fact that it is, after all, Farmhouse Breakfast Week.  You can also find the original recipe for the soda bread on BakingMad.com. 

I was pondering on what would comprise a great Farmhouse Breakfast in England - and immediately the ubiquitous Full English Breakfast came to mind.  It would have been too easy to have gone down that route though, so I contemplated how I could use those ingredients to create a breakfast that both represented the current trends in both presentation and creation, whilst still channelling Ma Larkin from the t.v. programme "The Darling Buds of May" (who is quintessentially "farmhouse kitchen", to me).

I pondered on omelettes, and wraps, and maybe even pancakes - but nothing really spoke to me until I considered the Italian Bruschetta.

Bingo!

So here, for your undoubted delight, is an English breakfast on Irish bread, after the style of the Italian.

Hmmmn .. ~scratches head~ .. well, it tastes pretty darned good, so who cares where it came from - it's my contribution to the Breakfasts of the World!

The soda bread is toasted, which helps to bring out the nutty butteriness of it and makes it rather more robustly able to support its toppings.

The cherry tomatoes are sliced twice and then fried in olive oil (with ever an eye to health).  Make sure to leave them alone - don't keep poking them and moving them about, or they won't take on the lovely caramelisation that you're looking for, to maximise the flavour.

The bacon is grilled (again, with an eye to health and to maximise the crispiness of the fat) and cut into small strips.

The black pudding, as you can see, is cut into small squares which take just seconds in the frying pan, to crisp up and become deliciously savoury and flavoursome.

Fry the egg gently in extra virgin olive oil, which adds that touch of luxury and singular flavour that the olive oil brings.

With a pinch of freshly ground black pepper, another of sea salt and a sprinkling of chopped parsley for colour, you'll be wanting to take a photograph of it just so that you can eat it again with your eyes.

I resolved, approximately two forkfuls into this masterpiece, that if ever I achieved a restaurant or cafe of my own, this would be on the menu.  Ooooh yes.

Edited to say : this recipe achieved third place in the Breakfasts of the World Challenge!  Yay!  ~does happy dance~

SODA BREAD WITH TOMATO, BACON, BLACK PUDDING & AN EGG  (serves 1)

Ingredients :

2 rashers of smoked back bacon

1 tbsp olive oil
5 cherry tomatoes, each sliced twice
1 slice of soda bread
a 1-2" piece of black pudding, diced small
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
an egg
sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
a pinch of chopped parsley.


Method :


1.  Place a suitably sized plate to warm up under the grill, or in an oven.


2.  Grill the bacon rashers until the fat has rendered and is golden and crispy.  Using a sharp knife or some scissors, cut into small strips, then reserve and keep warm.


3.  Heat the olive oil in a frying pan on a medium heat and add the tomatoes.  Do not move them until they have taken on a good colour underneath, whereupon you should flip them over and cook the other side in the same way.  When they're all done, carefully reserve onto a warmed plate, to keep warm.


4.  In the meantime, once the bacon is done, grill the soda bread until toasted on both sides and reserve to keep warm.


5.  Using the pan the tomatoes have come out of, cook the black pudding - just seconds - until it has darkened and become crispy on the outside.


6.  Heat the extra virgin olive oil in a small frying pan and add the egg.  Cook on a low to medium heat until the white is solidified yet the yolk is still runny.


7.  It is now time to assemble the dish.  Take the warmed plate and place the soda bread onto it.


8.  Lay on the tomato slices until the bread is completely covered, then sprinkle on the slices of bacon.  Next, place the black pudding cubes across the surface of the bacon and carefully lay the egg over the top.


9.  All that's left is to add a pinch of freshly ground black pepper, a pinch of sea salt (not too much - don't forget the bacon might be salty) and a light sprinkle of parsley.


10.  Stand back and admire, whilst your hand blindly reaches for the nearest knife and fork.


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Cumberland & Black Pudding, Sausage Rolls

Ever since Christmas, when we had some frozen cocktail sized sausage rolls that were completely ghastly and about as removed from a sausage roll as it was possible to get, I've been craving "proper" sausage rolls.

Now, I made some sausage rolls around 5 or 6 years ago which were treated with such derision by the family, that I've never tried again.  True, it may have had something to do with the pastry - as my pastry has, historically, been random in its results - and I prefer shortcrust, whereas hubby prefers puff.  Either way, it resulted in my resolving to never try to make the blooming things again.

However, my yearning for a sausage roll that actually contains sausagemeat instead of moist cardboard has turned the tide and in the spirit of compromise, I made some - using shop bought puff pastry.

The next problem was the sausage meat - what sort of sausage would hubby prefer?  I was determined not to fail, you see.  After some negotiation, we were agreed on some of Spring Fields Cumberland sausages, stripped of their skins and (as a final flourish from hubby's imagination) with a little black pudding crumbled in.

Gosh, but they were good.  We had them for tea last night and they were just the job - and again for lunch today.  There's still four or five left, so we're sorted for another lunch too.  Not bad value, considering the whole lot probably cost £5 (ingredients, not counting the cost of baking them) and you certainly wouldn't find sausage rolls of this quality in the supermarket.

CUMBERLAND & BLACK PUDDING SAUSAGE ROLLS  (makes 12 rolls)

Ingredients :

8 chunky Cumberland sausages, skins removed
50-100g black pudding
Ready-rolled puff pastry
an egg

Method :

1.  Pre-heat your oven to 180deg C.  Lay out the pastry and roll it gently to flatten and reduce the thickness, taking care to maintain the rectangular shape.

2.  Divide each piece into two rectangular halves.

3.  Along each half, place the sausage meat in an even roll - stretching it to thin it out a little, if you're lucky enough to have really chunky sausages.

4. Slice enough black pudding (to taste : I used around 75g) and chop it into small pieces.  Sprinkle a quarter along the sausage meat, pressing it in slightly.

5.  Break the egg into a cup and whisk lightly.  Then, brush a little onto the clear side of the pastry.

6.  Roll the pastry with the sausage meat on it, towards the egg washed side, taking care to roll in a straight line, so that both sides meet - preferably with a little overlap.

7.  Sit the roll down on to the join and press lightly to secure it.

8.  Cut the roll into three and place each roll onto a non-stick baking sheet.

9.  Once all are assembled, egg wash each roll and place into the oven to bake for some 25-30 minutes, or until golden and crispy.

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The black pudding experience continues!

Bacon, black pudding, mushrooms, poached egg and
sausages all served with hubby's perfect bread.
Now that's what I call lunch!

We found ourselves on the Ashley Road in Poole today and, while I went to the Library (bringing home Silvana Rowe's "Feasts" and Adam Byatt's "How to eat in"), Hubby managed to pick up some mushrooms, sausages and more black pudding - this time from the butcher's.

With the bacon that was surplus to requirements and in the fridge already, this all equated to a superlative lunch!

Oh, and I am filled with poached egg success, having produced two perfectly poached little beauties. 

It was Son's first go at Black Pudding (coming to the stuff rather more quickly than either his father or myself) and he declared it - after quiet consideration whilst chewing thoughtfully - as "nice!".  He said it was rather like the sausage from a bought sausage roll, except without the pepper - which I think describes it rather well.

Of course, he'd be rather better able to converse, if he wouldn't put quite so much in his mouth at one time - and maybe wearing a t-shirt to the table would be a good idea?  *sigh*  Kids, eh ....

Today has been a "taste revelation"

Today, started out being a fairly ordinary Friday.  Being Friday, it meant we would be doing the shopping for the weekend - which involves getting all the fresh vegetables and such items as we forgot on Tuesday, or such items which might have gone off by the weekend - such as cream.

We try to maximise our route, in order to minimise the petrol expended - not because of any green intentions (although they would be there, if our first priority were different) - but because of cost.  It's unfortunate that we have a lovely car, but can't afford to take it anywhere except those places that are absolutely necessary.

Ordinarily, we would have done the shopping list last night and having dropped son at school would have fought our way through the rush hour traffic to the supermarket.  However, as we lay our heads down last night it dawned on us that we were shopping list-less, which is a calamity of momentous proportions.  We just cannnot shop without a shopping list, because a) we'd never remember everything and b) we'd wind up with loads of superfluous shopping that'd cost a fortune.  As neither of us could bear the idea of putting the light back on and getting the notebook out, we had to return home following dropping son off at school.

There is a bright side to doing that, as it means we get to eat breakfast before shopping - which is a very good thing both from the aforesaid superfluous shopping point of view and the point of view that hubby is a diabetic.  Ordinarily he wolfs a banana on the way to the Supermarket, but I can't help thinking that's not the best way!

Not my photograph, I was too keen to eat it!

We had planned to go to the butchers' first, then the doctors' (to drop off a repeat prescription for me) and onwards to Asda in Bournemouth.  All these places were en route, so it was fine in that we'd done our best to maximise the extra petrol.  However, just as we were getting into the car, it dawned on me as to how we were going to pay for the Black Pudding we were planning to get from the butcher.  Hubby had the princely sum of 60p cash on him and I had the debit card.  It didn't seem right to ask the butcher to take payment from a debit card for less than £1-worth of Black Pudding, so we abandoned thoughts of the butcher and continued on.  You see, taking £10 out of the hole-in-the-wall just meant we'd spend the remaining £9 on fripperies such as sweets, which we can't afford to do either in calories or in cash, so we were stuck.

Neither of us had ever sampled Black Pudding and I was particularly keen to have a go at it.  You see, it annoyed the heck out of me when (for instance) I'd see it used on programmes like MasterChef and I'd be unable to place the flavour in my mind.  The scallop, yes, pea puree, yep, black pudding - ~shrug~ - no idea.  So annoying!  Hubby was rather less keen, as indeed I was up until around six months ago, as he was still put off by it's ingredients.  However, he was quite prepared to have a taste of mine - so that was why we were on the trail of it today.

We're regular customers in Asda these days and because I have to stop and pick up an electric buggy for the disabled, we've got to know the security staff, the Greeters and some of the checkout ladies so it's always quite nice and friendly there.

Part-way round, we're in the sausage aisle when suddenly hubby comes over all thoughtful and says "hang on a minute" and disappears, leaving me (sat in an electric buggy) with the trolley, in one of the busiest aisles of the shop - taking up all the space.  Cue the next couple of minutes (which felt like about a week) while people took it in turns to swerve around me and - thank goodness - nobody wanted to get to the sausages I was blocking access to.  He came back, looking pleased with himself and clutching a piece of Black Pudding which he'd found on the Deli counter.  LOL  Bless!

So when we got home, as it was lunchtime, it seemed only right to sample the hard-won wares.

Not my photograph - but it looked like these, honest!

I made some toast, cooked the black pudding and a vine tomato.  I then had a brainwave and decided to add an egg to the dish.  After some consideration as to what type of method of cooking for the egg, I decided to go all out and try poaching the egg in water (as opposed to in a poaching pan).  Now this I had never tried before, either.  However we'd just bought some white wine vinegar, so never had the time been more ripe!

Honest guv, that egg came out perfectly.  Hubby reckons it's all the years of stored up knowledge from watching it being done so often on the t.v., meant I had no difficulty with it.  For me, I reckoned that if Monica (Michel Roux's right hand woman) can do it, so can I.  *chuckle*

As for the Black Pudding, well, it was truly delicious.  My only stumbling block with it was the texture, as it was softer than I'd thought it would be.  However, perhaps I didn't try the best example of the type - and I'm still quite keen to try some from our local butcher.  When and if I've got a £1 coin.  *grin*