Fantasy Veggie Dinner Guest - RUPERT BROOKE

In honour of Remembrance Day, Rupert Brooke receives the latest invitation to eat at Zelda's table. 

It is more of an afternoon tea than a dinner, in keeping with the idea of Brooke sitting in his pyjamas in the fields around Grantchester.

Many lost their lives in the terrible conflict which tore Europe apart between 1914 and 1918. Many brilliant people wrote about it, fought in it and died in it, but popular culture continually nominates two poets as the ultimate symbols of that poignant loss of youth (and life). Wilfred Owen is considered the realist, the one who experienced guns, mud and shellshock. Rupert Brooke is the idealist, the one who died before he knew the horror of war.

  

Described in contemporary accounts as an 'Adonis', he was intellectually gifted, but in the years leading up to World War I, his biggest concerns seemed to be love-related.

Brooke was not unique for willingly giving up the life of a relaxed intellectual (because so may did) but, his early death from sepsis on the way to Gallipoli - though spared the battle - made him an almost mythical figure.

One patriotic sonnet is most associated with his thoughts on going to war before the horrors of war were fully recognised: 

Yet, let's invite him to enjoy something which references one of his best-loved poems, The Old Vicarage, Grantchester, written before anyone knew of what was to come, in 1912. 

 

And is there honey still for tea? 

 

Yes, there is...

Zelda has chosen two tea-time treats: Honey Flapjacks and Poppy Seed Rolls.

 

The first uses this much-loved ingredient:

HONEY FLAPJACKS 

225g butter, cut into chunks
75gcaster sugar
4tbsp honey
350g porridge oats

Place the oats in a large bowl. 

Grease and line the tin. 

Place the butter, sugar and honey in a pan.

Melt all together over a low heat, stirring gently until you have a smooth mixture. 

Add the butter mixture to the oats and stir to combine. 

Pour into the tin and use a palette knife or spatula to make it level. 

Cook at 180˚C/ Gas 6 for about 20 minutes until lightly golden. 

Allow to cool in the tin for a while, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Cut into 12 pieces.

Will keep for about three days in a sealed container.

The second can be spread with honey but is also topped with poppy seeds, a poignant symbol of which Brooke would have been blessedly unaware:

 

POPPY SEED ROLLS 

300g strong white flour
1tsp salt
1tsp dried yeast
15g butter, cut into small chunks
40ml milk
160ml lukewarm water

1tbsp milk
1tsp sugar
2tbsp black poppy seeds

Place the flour, salt and yeast in a large bowl.
Add the butter and rub it in with fingertips until it resembles breadcrumbs.
Warm the milk.

Add to the water.
Pour into the bowl and mix all together well to make a soft dough.
Turn out onto a floured work surface and knead until smooth. 

Place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover and leave for about an hour until it doubles in size. 

Knockback, knead again and divide in four.
Place each piece on an oiled baking tray and leave for another hour until doubled in size again. 

Bake at 220˚C/ Gas 7 for 10-15 minutes until golden. 

Mix the extra milk with the sugar. 

Take rolls from the oven. Brush with the glaze and sprinkle the poppy seeds over the top. 

Replace in oven for an extra 5 minutes, the place on rack to cool.

Serve with butter and, of course, honey.

Fantasy Veggie Dinner Guest - BELA LUGOSI

This meal is inspired by two events.

The first, of course, is 31st October, Halloween. 

The second is the publication of a wonderful new book, written by Zelda's very talented brother.

To celebrate both, Zelda's latest dinner invitation will be going to Bela Lugosi, born Béla Ferenc Dezső Blaskó in Hungary, a versatile and talented actor who is best known for his portrayal of the title character in the 1931 film adaptation of Dracula.

Tonight, Zelda will be serving a vegetarian adaptation of a very Hungarian meal, with a bit of Halloween fun thrown in. 

Menu

Goulash
Pepper Potatoes
Cheesy Bats

GOULASH  (2 ways)

2tbsp olive oil
300g quorn chicken-style pieces, defrosted if frozen

1 large onion, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves
2tbsp Hungarian paprika*
1tsp cumin seeds
2tsp carraway seeds
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
1tbsp tomato puree
½tsp caster sugar
1 red pepper, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1tbsp red wine vinegar
300ml vegetable stock
sour cream 

*Do use Hungarian paprika if you can. It is worth the effort of sourcing some.

Grind the carraway seeds and cumin seeds together using a pestle and mortar. 
Heat the oil in a large heavy pan and fry the quorn pieces until slightly brown. Remove the quorn.
Add a bit more oil if needed and fry the onions and peppers.
When almost soft, crush the garlic (splendid gadget optional). 

Add it to the pan and cook for a minute more.
Return the quorn to the pan.
Add the mixed seeds and paprika, Stir so that everything is coated. 

Pour in the chopped tomatoes, tomato puree, red wine vinegar and stock. 

Season and bring to the boil.
Then put the lid on and simmer for 1 about half an hour.

This will give you the traditional 'soup' version.

Serve with some crusty bread and pretend you are in a wayside inn where the locals are suspicious of you and the landlord's wife tries to give you a crucifix before you continue on your journey.

To make the second 'casserole/ stew' version, take the lid off and allow to cook down for a further 30 minutes or so until fairly thick, adding a bit more tomato puree if needed.

(See end of post for serving suggestion.)

PEPPER POTATOES 

750g potatoes, peeled and cut into two-bite size pieces
2tbsp olive oil 

1tbsp flour
2tsp thyme leaves
1tsp cumin seeds
½tsp ground ginger
salt 

1tsp black peppercorns

Heat oven to 200˚C/ Gas 6
Put potatoes in a large pan and cover with cold water. 

Bring to the boil and then simmer for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, put the thyme leaves, cumin seeds ground ginger and black peppercorns in a pestle. Grind all together until it resembles the floor of a Transylvanian wood. 

Put the oil in a large tray and place in the oven about 5 minutes before the potatoes are ready.
Drain the potatoes in a colander and shake well to ‘chuff up’. 

Return to the pan and add the herb/ spice mix. Stir until well-coated. 

Add to the hot oil.

Roast for about an hour, turning every 20 minutes. 

Take out of the oil with a slotted spoon and dry on kitchen paper, sprinkling with salt. 

Transfer to a serving dish.

CHEESY BATS

puff pastry sheet
100g grated cheddar
milk for glazing
poppy seeds to dust

You will also need a shaped cutter or be good at doing it freehand.

Unroll pastry sheet.
Sprinkle most of the cheese over the top.
Make into a ball and cut into four (to make it easier to roll out).

Place each piece back inside the brown paper, sprinkling with a little flour if needed and roll out.

Cut out shapes, retaining left-over pieces to combine and re-roll. 

Place them on a sheet of baking paper on a tray.

Brush with milk and top with the rest of the cheese. Then, sprinkle poppy seeds over the top.

Cook at Gas 6/ 200C for 12 -15 minutes.

Can be served as a sharing starter...

...or in individual servings.

Can also be an accompaniment to the main meal. 

Or as it might have looked in 1931: