Fantasy Veggie Dinner Guests – THE MARSAUD FAMILY

This should be a blast from the past for anyone who learnt French in the 1980s when the phrase ‘écoutez et répetez’ would be heard in classrooms throughout the land, as we followed the adventures of Monsieur and Madame Marsaud, along with their offspring Jean-Paul, Claudette and Marie-France.

It must have taken them ages to do anything as they had to keep stopping to tell us what they were up to and then had to wait while we repeated it back to them.

And all this was done without the benefit of an interactive whiteboard, a CD player or even a cassette recorder. Teachers would wheel a large contraption into the classroom and play each lesson on a reel to reel tape player. Accompanying textbooks were provided with pictures of the family and handy vocabulary reminders.

So, as a thank you to them for getting so many of my generation through their French O’ level exams, I would cook them these lovely French-inspired pastries. The recipe serves 2 so for all six of us I would multiply it by ‘trois’.

PITHIVIERS

Serves 2

1 pre-rolled puff pastry sheet

1 medium potato, peeled and diced

1 leek, sliced thinly

75g cheddar cheese, grated

25g butter

75ml double cream

salt and pepper

1 egg yolk or milk to brush

Boil the potato until just soft.In a different pan cook the leek in the butter and add the cheese. Add the cooked potato.Stir in the cream and season with salt and pepper. Allow to cool.

Meanwhile cut 2 large circles and 2 slightly smaller ones from the puff pastry (I made the large ones with a cereal bowl).Place the small circles on a baking tray and top with as much of the filling as you can, leaving a border. Then cover with the second pastry circle. Crimp the edges.Score the top with a spiral pattern and chill.

When you are ready to cook, heat the oven to 180C/ Gas 6.Brush with the egg yolk mixed with a little water or with milk. Then cook for 30-35 minutes until crisp and golden.

LOVELY LAYERED SALAD

I love the modern way of serving salads where you toss everything together and add a dressing but there are times, especially when serving to older or more traditional people where such a bowl can almost inspire fear, so I always keep this one on standby. I provide a dressing too, but pour that over when it is on the plate so that it can be an optional extra.

I would not usually serve iceberg lettuce in a fresh salad but here it fits the bill. 

LOVELY LAYERED SALAD

1 iceberg lettuce

½ cucumber

1 carrot

2 tomatoes

2 spring onions

handful of cress

Remove the outer leaves from the lettuce, then chop and slice, rinse and spin dry, and place in the bottom of a large salad bowl.

Slice the cucumber thinly and line the outer edge of the bowl, placing the remainder in the middle.

Slice the tomato and intersperse with the cucumber.

Wash the spring onions, and chop. Spread around the ring.

Grate the carrot and sprinkle over the top,

Wash the cress and sprinkle on top of the carrot.

Serve with a dressing of your choice on the side.

CAULIFLOWER CHEESE

This is a real veggie staple. It can be a quick snack or a side.
Here is a fool-proof method for a delicious dish.

1 cauliflower cut into florets

500ml milk

4tbsp flour

50g butter

150g cheddar, grated

Boil water and add the cauliflower florets. 

Cook for about 10m and then test to make sure cooked but not too soft.

Drain and place in bowl.

Heat butter in a saucepan and add flour. Mix together and cook for 1minute.

Add splash of milk and mix again. Keep adding milk and stirring until sauce thickens.

Add most of cheese.

Pour cheese sauce over cauliflower.

Cook at Gas 7 for about 20m.
Sprinkle remaining cheese over the top. Then place under the grill.

When the cheese bubbles, it is ready to serve.

Nothing else to do but get a big spoon and dive in!

Fantasy Veggie Dinner Guest - RUMPOLE OF THE BAILEY

Rumpole is a man who speaks his mind; in the books and screenplays by John Mortimer he makes a living by speaking his mind, but this is also the reason why he only makes a meagre living in the law, and is never promoted to Head of Chambers or made a QC.
His battles in court are legendary but pale in comparison with the way he spars at home with Hilda (“She Who Must Be Obeyed”).
Rumpole is known for his plain tastes – in ‘Rumpole a la Carte’ he demands ‘steak and kidney pud’ in a posh restaurant – so I think that good old Toad in the Hole might appeal to him.
This is a veggie version, but it’s hard to tell. 

TOAD IN THE HOLE

Serves 2 – 3

6 Quorn sausages

100g plain flour

2 medium eggs

280ml skimmed milk

2tbsp olive oil

Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 200C/ Gas 6

Grill or fry sausages until brown but not cooked through.

Sift flour into a bowl and add eggs and milk. Whisk to a smooth batter and season well.

Place dish in oven with olive oil and heat until hot.

Place sausages in dish and pour in the batter.

Cook for 30-35 minutes.

Serve with mashed potatoes and caramelised red onions (and a glass of 'Chateau Fleet Street', of course!)

CUMIN FATBREADS

If you think you can't make bread, think again... 

This recipe uses a basic recipe for flatbreads:

200g self raising flour + extra for dusting

1 tsp cumin powder

150ml natural yogurt

But just makes them thicker and cooks them under the grill.

Sift flour into a bowl.

Sprinkle in the cumin.

Add the yogurt with enough water to form a soft dough.

Divide the dough into about 4 equal pieces and shape into ovals.

Lightly dust a baking sheet.

Place the flatbreads on it and sprinkle over a little more flour.

Cook under the grill for 3 – 5 minutes.

Then turn and grill the other side.

For flatbreads, see Zelda's recipe.

A Meal for... VALENTINE'S DAY (And now for a romantic interlude)

Valentine’s Day Lunch

Dave remembered seeing Rick Stein cook this pizza on television (and it only appearing to take five minutes) so he offered to make me it for me for a Valentine’s Day lunch with his own fair hands. (It actually took over an hour and a half!)

Making the dough and failing to appreciate the importance of sieving the flour.

“It’s a palaver this cooking thing.”

Kneading the dough

I must admit I was wondering how this would turn out.

(NB we also had to sterilise the work surface first after removing the cat who had climbed up to try to get her tub of treats down from the shelf.)

Making the sauce

Dave: “Do you think Morrison’s sell finely chopped onions?”

Me: “I’m sure they do but probably at double the price.”

Dave: “I’ll keep chopping."

With the dough in a warm place to (hopefully) rise and the sauce simmering  nicely, the chef takes a break.

I have to say that the dough didn’t rise to twice its original size, as it should have, but he persevered.

 

A bit more kneading, then another rest.

Then, the fun part. 

Preparing the pizza

I did advise that maybe, with the bases a bit smaller than we were expecting, it would be a good idea to refrain from using the entire topping. Apparently, however, if you have gone to the trouble of making it, every little bit must be used.

After about 20 minutes in the oven the pizzas were finally ready.

And yes, he did admit that he had overloaded the topping.

A few final touches...

and they were ready to serve.

They were very tasty, although Dave’s final verdict was that the basil plant cost more than an entire pizza from Aldi!

This is the original recipe:

RICK STEIN’S MARGHERITA PIZZA

Makes two

2tbsp olive oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, crushed

227g can chopped tomatoes

1tsp red wine vinegar

1tsp caster sugar

Pinch of dried oregano, plus extra for sprinkling

2 x 125g mozzarella balls, sliced

Fresh basil leaves to serve

For the dough

225g strong plain flour, plus extra for dusting

1½tsp salt

1tsp sugar

2tsp dried yeast

2tsp olive oil, plus extra for greasing

150ml tepid water

First make the dough

Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl; add the sugar and yeast.

Make a well in the centre and pour in the oil and a little of the water.

Lightly oil your hands and use them to gradually incorporate the flour into the liquid, adding more water until it comes together. (You may not need all the water.)

Dust the work surface with flour

Tip out the dough, scraping out any that sticks.

Knead for 5 – 10 minutes until smooth and soft.

Put in a lightly oiled bowl and leave in a warm place for about an hour until it doubles in size.

Meanwhile, make the topping.

Heat the oil in a deep frying pan and gently fry the onion for about 5 minutes over a low heat. Add the garlic and fry for a few minutes more until onions are soft.

Add the tomatoes, vinegar, sugar and oregano and season.

Simmer for 15-20 minutes until thick. Then set aside.

Knock back the risen dough and knead briefly.

Divide into two portions, roll each into a ball, place on a lightly floured work surface and cover with a damp cloth. Rest for 10-20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to its maximum setting and place two baking sheets inside.

Stretch and shape each dough ball with your hands and a rolling pin until you have 2 x 20-25cm diameter pizza bases.

Spread each with the tomato sauce. The top with the mozzarella, sprinkle with oregano and season.

Bake for 10-12 minutes until the bases are crisp.

Garnish with basil leaves and serve.

FATBREAD PIZZA

Serves 1 -2

1 fatbread

1tbsp tomato puree

2tsp olive oil

1tsp mixed herbs

handful grated cheese

NB You can either use ready-made fatbreads or cook your own (see Zelda’s recipe). Yes - it is FATbreads, not flatbreads!

Cut flatbread in half and place on a baking tray.

Mix the tomato puree with the olive oil and the mixed herbs.

Spread this over each half.

Then cover with the grated cheese.

Place under a hot grill for about 3-4 minutes until the cheese bubbles.

Sprinkle with black pepper to serve.

CHEESE AND PICKLE TOASTED TRIANGLES

Serves 1 as a light lunch or 2 as a snack, starter or as part of a plate of party food.

2 slices bread
100g grated cheese
2-3 tbsp pickle
2tsp mixed herbs

Toast the bread on one side.

Turn it over and spread with the pickle. Then sprinkle the herbs over the top.

Cover with grated cheese.

Return to the grill.

Cut into triangles. 

(If this is for a starter or party food, you may want to cut off the crusts or even up the sides first to make the shapes more uniform.)