Tag Archives: Nigella Lawson

Madeleines au citron

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Madeleines au citron

Recently, I was given an antique French madeleine baking tray. I wish I knew its story, where in France it came from and who cooked with it. It’s marked with years of culinary love and attention and has clearly made many batches over the years. This tray doesn’t sit in the cupboard with the other trays and tins, it sits in my bookcase of cookbooks with a rightful reign of authority.

Madeleines are light delicious buttery sponge cakes that are always baked in a madeleine tray to give them their synonymous scalloped edge and shell-like shape. More often than not they are citrus or vanilla flavoured.

My recipe is based on Ginette Mathiot’s ‘the Art of French Baking’. Ginette was the Nigella Lawson of French home cooking. Writing her first cookbook in the 1930s, she went on to publish volumes of cookbooks that are still used today. Her recipes are simple and accessible which sets her aside from many of her counterparts.

In my recipe, I add lemon glaze to the scalloped edge of the madeleines, but you can dust them with icing sugar if you prefer. You can also replace the lemon zest with orange, lime or you can use vanilla seeds.

125g butter
125g caster sugar
150g plain flour
2 eggs
1 lemon zest
pinch sea salt

Melt the butter and set it aside for 10 minutes to cool.

Whisk the eggs for at least 5 minutes until they triple in volume and are a very pale yellow colour. Continue to whisk on a high setting and add the castor sugar in a slow steady stream. Finally add the lemon zest.

Sift the flour over the egg and slowly drizzle the butter down the side of the bowl and add the sea salt. Fold the mixture through until the batter is smooth.

Cover the bowl with cling film and place it in the fridge for 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 200°C.

Half to three quarters fill the madeleine tins with the batter.

Place the trays in the oven and cook for 8-10 minutes. The cakes should be evenly golden. Remove the madeleines from the oven and the tray and place them on a cake rack to cool.

For the glaze, which is optional, combine the juice of a lemon with about 4 tablespoons of icing sugar until it is smooth. Use a pastry brush to lightly brush the glaze over each scalloped edge.

Macaron au Caramel de Sel

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Flavours seemingly at odds with each other can often make for a sublimely perfect marriage. Salt and sweet is one such partnership. Despite the oxymoron, salted caramel has become the flavour of the moment.

Like so many other culinary and gastronomical pleasures, we have the French to thank for salted caramel. Arguably a signature from Brittany; it is here in the north-west peninsula of France, where individual salted caramel treats are bountiful and the source for much inspiration. Take the world-famous pâtisserier de Pierre Hermé. Pierre Hermé is thought to be the masterful creator of the macaron au caramel de sel.

It has been said that the salted caramel macaron is the favoured flavour of the irrepressible Nigella Lawson; notwithstanding, yours truly. If you are in our around Melbourne, for a wondrous experience of the salted macaron at its absolute finest, be sure to visit luxbite. Unless of course you are in Paris and can call into Pierre Hermé.

140g almond meal
140g pure icing sugar
140g castor sugar
100g egg white
3 tblsp water
brown and yellow food colouring

Préparation
Line two baking trays with two layers of baking paper or a silicon baking mat. Prepare all the ingredients by measuring them out and setting them aside ready for use. Split the egg whites into two batches placing 50g in a clean small bowl and 50g in a very clean mixing bowl.

Blitz the almond meal and icing sugar together in a food processor for a few minutes until it resembles a fine powder. Sift the mixture over a clean large mixing bowl, discarding any lumps of icing sugar or almond meal that do not pass through the sieve. Set the dry ingredients aside.

La meringue italienne.
Whisk the first half of the egg whites in the mixing bowl until firm peaks form. Leave the egg whites in the mixer for the moment. Place the castor sugar and water in a small saucepan and place it over medium heat. Use a food thermometer to measure the temperature of the sugar syrup – when it reaches 118°C, remove it from the heat. Turn the speed of the mixer to slow and very gently and carefully, pour the sugar syrup down the side of the mixing bowl incorporating the syrup into the egg whites. Turn the speed of the mixer to high and continue to beat for a around 10 minutes. The steam from the sugar syrup will evaporate away and the temperature of the meringue will reduce, at which point the bowl should be near room temperature. If it is not, continue beating until the the bowl cools. Stop the mixer and lift the whisk out. The meringue should be shiny, glossy and form a stable peak on the whisk.

Tant pour tant & Macaronage
Use a spatula to incorporate the remaining egg whites in to the dry ingredients to make a smooth paste. Add the food colouring and ensure it is blended well and evenly.

Fold a third of the meringue into the almond paste. Then add the remaining meringue using a folding motion to ensue the mixture is evenly incorporated. The resulting mixture should be smooth, glossy and ooze like ‘lava’.

Fill a piping bag (with a size 11 nozzle) with the macaron mixture and pipe approximately 4cm sized macarons onto the baking trays.

Croûtage
Macarons must be allowed to dry their outer shell before baking in the oven – this is the step that gives them their crisp, smooth outer shell. Drying time is difficult to accurately predict, but should take a minimum of 30 minutes. The temperature of the room and more importantly, the humidity have considerable impact on drying times. The more humid, the longer the drying time. Indeed, if the weather or the room is too humid, the shells will not dry and will significantly impact on the macaron.

You can test for a dry shell by very gently brushing the tip of your finger across the side of one shell – your finger should wipe away clean and leave the shell intact. Once this point is reached, they are ready of the oven. Pre-heat a fan forced oven to 150C. When the oven thermometer has reached 150C, wait another 5 minutes before opening the door.

Place the trays in the oven quickly, so as to not leave the door open too long, reducing the temperature of the oven. Bake the macarons for 14 minutes. Remove the trays from the oven and leave the macaron’s to cool slightly on the oven tray. The macaron’s should slide on the baking paper and be ready for filling.

Take a few minutes to match the sizes and turn half the shells on their top.

Caramel de Sel
50ml cream
150g castor sugar
75g salted butter, diced into small cubes and chillled

Over a slow heat, gently melt the sugar in a small saucepan, taking care not to let it burn. When the sugar has reached a rich caramel colour and all the crystals have disolved completely, remove the saucepan from the heat. Pour the cream in to the melted sugar, taking great care with the inevitable splutter as the cream hits the heat. Stir quickly.

Add a small cube of butter, mixing well to enusre an even texture. Continue adding a cube of butter after the previous has disolved completely until all the butter is incorporated. Pour the caramel into a bowl and set it aside until it has cooled completely.

When the caramel de sel has cooled completely, spoon it into a piping bag with a small piping nozzle. Pipe the caramel onto half the shells, taking it no further than two thirds of the shell.

Place the remaining half of the shell on top and very gently squeeze the two shells together unit the caramel moves to the edge.

Macarons can store in a dry container and in the fridge for about 5 days. They can also be frozen for up to three months. Allow them to thaw in the fridge before serving.

Côte de Bœuf and Roasted Kipfler Potatoes

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Cote de boeuf with kipfler potatoes (Feb 2011) Adam Dowell [All rights reserved]

For years, the perfect roast potato eluded me. I have tried everything from pre-heating oil in the oven, peeling the potatoes, and par-boiling the potatoes. Nothing seemed to give me the potato I was looking for. Until I learned a sultry lesson from gorgeous, Nigella Lawson. Nigella’s tip is to par-boil the potato and toss them in semolina. And by tossing, I don’t mean gently to ensure they don’t break. Indeed, quite the opposite. Don’t be afraid to smash the potatoes up a little bit.

My suggestion is to take the potatoes beyond the par boil point to a stage that is more like cooking them right through. I have found it gives the potatoes a much fluffier texture once they are roasted. Season well with sea salt, and you can even add fresh herbs such as thyme and rosemary for a different flavour.

Don’t use olive oil for the potatoes or the steaks. Both need to be cooked at high temperatures and olive oil, no matter the quality, simply can not take the heat. It will begin to smoke and turn the oil rancid lending an unpalatable flavour to your food. Use oils that can take high heat such as rice bran or peanut oil.

2 x 250g rib eye steaks
100g butter, softened to room temperature
1 clove garlic
Sea salt and cracked black pepper
4 tbspn rice bran or peanut oil
500g kipfler potatoes
2 tbspn semolina

Garlic Butter
Using a fine grater, such as a microplane, grate a clove of garlic. Add this to a small bowl with the softened butter and mix the two ingredients evenly with a fork. When they are well combined, place the butter onto a layer of cling wrap. Roll the butter into a log, tying off the ends of the cling film and place it in the fridge to cool.

Roast Potatoes
Peel the potatoes and place them in a pot of water. Add salt and bring them to a boil. Continue to simmer the potatoes for a further 20 minutes and then remove them from the heat and drain the water. Allow the potatoes to sit in the colander to dry off any steam or excess moisture while you pre-heat the oven to 220°C.

Return the potatoes to the pot and add the semolina. Briskly toss the potatoes in the semolina ensuring they are evenly coated. Place them in a baking tray and add about 2 tblspns of the oil. Toss them once more in the oil to given them a glossy coat. Sprinkle liberally with sea salt (and add herbs of your liking) and place them in the oven. Roast them for about 30-40 minutes, or until they are golden brown.

Rib Eye Steak – Medium Rare
Remove the rib eye steaks from the fridge and bring them to room temperature for around 30 minutes. This step is crucial to ensure the steak is evenly cooked without a cool uncooked centre.

Coat the steaks in the remaining oil and season with plenty of cracked pepper.

Place a heavy based griddle pan on a high heat for at least 10 minutes. Don’t add any oil to the pan. When the pan is searingly white hot, place the steaks on the pan. Season with sea salt and leave them to cook for 4 minutes on one side. Turn the steaks over, season them with a little more sea salt, and continue to cook for a further 4 minutes. Finally, turn the steaks a quarter turn and continue to cook for a further 2 minutes. Remove the steaks from the pan and leave them to sit on a wooden board for 5 minutes.

Serve the steaks with the roasted potatoes, a small slice of the garlic butter and a fresh green salad on the side.

Pea and Mozzarella Soup

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This is one of my favourite soups, simply because it has one of my most adored ingredients – buffalo mozzarella. There are many things that can be done with mozzarella and this one of the most comforting. I have adapted this soup from and dutifully acknowledge the gorgeous Nigella Lawson. It is taken from Feast and is called Slime Soup. I think the name is misleading, but the result is still the same – yumminess in a bowl.

1 ball of Buffalo Mozzarella, plus the water from the container
500g baby peas, fresh or frozen
500 ml good quality chicken stock
1 shallot, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
2 spring onions, chopped
1 tbsp fresh oregano, chopped
1 tbsp vegetable oil
Sea Salt and Pepper

Gentle sauté the shallot and garlic in a saucepan then add the oregano and spring onions. When you can smell the aromatics of the oregano, add the peas and chicken stock. Bring the pot to boiling point and then reduce the heat to simmer for 15-20 minutes.

Remove the pot from the heat and blend the soup with a hand-whiz or blender until you have smooth consistency. Tear the mozzarella ball roughly into teaspoon sized chunks and pop them into the soup together with the water from the mozzarella container. Blend again until the soup is even and smooth.