Fantasy Veggie Dinner Guest – JACK KEROUAC

On the Road, is Jack Kerouac's 1957 account of a road trip (or maybe  more than one) across the USA, so I'm guessing that he's not going to want to stay around for long. 
Probably, as soon as Zelda's bottle of Pinot Grigio has been exhausted, he will bemoan the lack of 'hard liquor' and be on his way. 

Maybe, therefore, the best that I can hope for is to slip this into his rucksack and hope that he enjoys it. 

CHEESE, CHIVE AND TOMATO QUICHE

Serves 4 - 6

200g/8oz plain flour

pinch salt

100g/4oz butter

30ml/2tbsp cold water

4 eggs, beaten plus 1 additional egg yolk

450ml/ ¾pt single cream

100g/4oz cheese

handful of cut chives

2 tomatoes.

Mix the flour and salt, then rub in the butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. I often make life easy and use a food processor, although using your hands is good, too. 

Add the water gradually until the mixture forms a pastry which comes away from the sides of the bowl.

Make into a ball and cover with film. Refrigerate for about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, grease and flour a 20cm/ 8inch flan dish

Roll out the pastry and line the dish. Prick the base all over with a fork.

Refrigerate again for 20 minutes. 

Use a sharp knife to trim the sides.

Then line with baking parchment and fill with baking beans.

Cook for about 10 minutes at Gas 7/ 220C/ 425F.

Remove the beans and parchment. 

Mix an egg yolk with a little water and brush over the pastry to seal it. Cook for about 5 minutes more until pastry feels dry. Allow to cool.

Now prepare the filling:

You need about 8 slices from the tomatoes; remove pulpy centre and chop the rest. 

Place on kitchen roll to dry.

Wash the chives and snip them into 2cm pieces.

Grate the cheese.

Whisk the eggs and the cream together.

Make a layer of the chopped tomatoes and sprinkle over the chives and cheese.

Pour the cream mixture over the top.

Bake in a pre-heated oven at 200C/ Gas 6/ 400F for about 10 mins. 

Then add slices of tomato to the top and bake for 10-15 minutes more.

Serve with accompaniments such as salad and potatoes.

Any uneaten slices can be chilled and used for lunch the next day.

GOOSEBERRY MESS

Next up: Gooseberry Mess. I was a bit dubious and considered it as an experiment but it was lovely!

Ingredients

150g gooseberries, topped and tailed

2tbsp caster sugar

300ml whipping cream

3 meringues

Serves 3-4

Method

Rinse the gooseberries well and put them in a saucepan with the caster sugar.

Heat gently on a low heat until they become soft and pulpy. Stir regularly so that the sugar doesn’t burn.

Set aside to cool and then refrigerate.

Whip the cream until it forms soft peaks and then refrigerate.

When ready to serve, swirl the gooseberry mixture into the cream.

Break the meringues into a bowl...

...and mix everything together.

RED GOOSEBERRY FOOL

My next way to use the gooseberries was to make some gooseberry fool - or Red Gooseberry Fool as I was using the red fruit.

Ingredients

50g/ 1lb red gooseberries

75g/ 3oz caster sugar

500g tub fresh custard, chilled (or make your own in advance)

150ml double cream

Method

Wash gooseberries and then place them in a large pan with the caster sugar.

Heat until sugar dissolves and gooseberries are soft and pulpy.

Whizz in a blender until you have a mushy liquid.

Pass this through a sieve. Discard pips, stalks, etc. You should be left with a lovely smooth sauce.

Allow to cool thoroughly and then chill.

Mix chilled gooseberry sauce with the custard, swirling both together. Then chill again.

Whip cream and re-chill.

Add a small amount of gooseberry mixture to the cream to loosen it. 


Then mix all together, folding the cream in to keep it light.

Either serve in one large bowl or spoon into glasses and serve with biscuits.

Fantasy Veggie Dinner Guest - GRAM PARSONS

Gram Parsons: Legendary country singer and songwriter, both as a solo artist and also as a member of The Byrds, The International Submarine Band, The Flying Burrito Brothers and The Fallen Angels. 
Check out How Much I’ve Lied, Hot Burrito #1 and A Song for You. 
He died in 1973, aged only 26, of a drug overdose in a hotel in the Joshua Tree National Park, California. 
His friend Phil Kaufman, acting in accordance with his wishes, and in official reports “unencumbered by sobriety", 'diverted' his corpse from the airport and attempted to cremate it in the desert. (Watch the film ‘Grand Theft Parsons’ for a great - if slightly fictionalised - version of these events.)
Incidentally, unencumbered by sobriety has now become a well-used phrase, brought into service when I want to tell Dave that he really doesn't need another beer! 

So if Gram were a vegetarian he may have called his band the ‘Veggie Burrito Brothers’. I would like to think so, anyway…
And there would really be only one thing I could serve him.

VEGGIE BURRITOS

Makes 4

150g quorn chicken-style pieces, defrosted if frozen

1tbsp paprika

1tbsp ground cumin

1tbsp olive oil

2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed or chopped finely

handful of coriander leaves, chopped

1 large tin black beans, drained and rinsed

200g cooked white rice

½ lime

3-4tbsp mild chilli sauce

150ml sour cream

shredded lettuce

4 tortilla wraps

Heat oil in a large pan and begin to brown the quorn pieces. When almost done, add the garlic and stir until golden.

Add the spices and make sure everything is well coated.

Pour in the beans and rice.

Grate zest from the lime and add, along with a spritz of the juice.

Use chilli sauce to bind everything together.

Keep warm until ready to serve.

Warm tortilla wraps in microwave or pan.

You can assemble everything now or take individual elements to the table, as I have done here.

To assemble:

Place a tortilla wrap on the plate.

Spoon a quarter of the filling along the middle.

Top with the shredded lettuce and a dollop or two of sour cream.

Wrap up and tuck in.

And here's some very rare footage of the man himself.

Fantasy Veggie Dinner Guest – KAREN CARPENTER

I don’t mean to be ironic. Perhaps a meal for Karen Carpenter might not be seen as being in good taste, but this is a fantasy world; a world where a beautiful, talented lady can eat her fill and forget her troubles.

 The song Jambalaya was actually written by Hank Williams but I have lovely memories of hearing it sung by The Carpenters when I was a child, so that is how it will stay with me.

Jambalaya is a traditional Cajun dish, particularly popular in Louisiana. It is a mixture of meat (especially sausage), fish and rice. This vegetarian version is not for purists because of the quick cooking time but it showcases the same flavours.

JAMBALAYA

Serves 2

Ingredients

2tbsp olive oil

1 large onion, chopped,

1 red pepper, chopped

300g dried rice

3tsp Cajun seasoning

400g tin chopped tomatoes

100ml red wine

4 Quorn sausages, defrosted if frozen

150g Quorn chicken style pieces, defrosted if frozen

1tbsp chopped herbs.

Method

First, cook the rice

Rinse the rice and put in a pan with double the amount of water and a little salt.

Bring to the boil and then turn heat right down low.

Cook for about 15 mins. Drain off any additional water and then fluff up with a fork.

Set aside until needed.

While the rice is cooking

Take two shallow/ frying pans. Heat 1tsp oil in each.

Fry the onion and pepper gently in one.

Cut the sausages into chunks and fry them in the other with the quorn pieces.

When the onions and peppers have softened, add the tomatoes and red wine.

Add the browned sausages and chicken-style pieces to the tomato mixture.

Sprinkle in the Cajun seasoning and the herbs, and stir well. Adjust to taste and add more if needed.

Add rice and stir through.





If it is a bit dry, mix 1tbsp ketchup with half a cup of hot water and stir this in.

Make sure that everything is piping hot.

Serve in individual bowls.

GOOSEBERRY, LIME AND ALMOND CRUMBLE

We have a new crop of gooseberries in the garden.

Each year I pick them, top and tail them and freeze them. Then, more often than not, I forget to do anything with them.

So, this year, I am using them when they are freshly picked. Most are red.

First up: 

GOOSEBERRY, LIME AND ALMOND CRUMBLE

For the filling

300g gooseberries, topped, tailed and rinsed

50g caster sugar

zest of ½ lime

For the topping

100g plain flour

60g chilled butter, in small cubes

50g caster sugar

40g flaked almonds

Serves 3-4

Method

Put the gooseberries in the bottom of a suitable dish (they should not go more than half way up).

Sprinkle over the caster sugar and the zest from the lime.

Put the flour, sugar and butter into a food processor and whizz until it is the consistency of slightly lumpy breadcrumbs.

Chop the almonds roughly.

Add them to the mixture.

Spoon the topping over the gooseberries and place the dish on a baking tray.

Cook in oven at 200°C/ Gas 6 for about 25 minutes until browned and bubbling.

Serve in bowls. Add ice cream or cream if you wish.