Coffee with gusto
I’m a tea drinker through and through. It’s impossible to start the day until I’ve had my first cuppa and I would prefer someone to bring me a cup of tea in bed than give me a diamond ring (honestly!). My childhood family memories are punctuated with cups of tea and the only coffee we had in our house was a jar of instant. As an avid listener of The Archers, something rankles with the amount of coffee they seem to drink. I can understand that Brian and Jennifer might have a pot on but Pat and Tony would be tea drinkers, as would Jill Archer. (Sorry if I just lost you there). Call it my heritage, my background, my up-bringing, my nationality (British) but I gave up tea for a day once and decided that life was far too short for such a sacrifice.
Coffee is not central to my life (pause for the shouts of coffee addicts to die down) but when Nescafe asked me if I’d like to test a Dolce Gusto coffee machine I said ‘maybe’, then ‘yes’ about 5 seconds later.
This Custard Pie space of mine is solely to pursue my fascination with food and drink and I do not earn any money from it. I turn down a lot of invites, it’s easy to be tempted to dinners, lunches, product launches and the like, just because they are free; but if there isn’t a genuine food interest there, it’ll be really boring to write about (and read). However with my marketing communications hat on (my profession), there was something that intrigued me about this coffee machine launch. Nestle was getting ‘digital influencers’ involved which is quite unusual in the region, so I wanted to know how they would do it.
A large box was delivered with my name on the outside proclaiming ‘digital influencer’. The box of the Nescafé Dolce Gusto was personalised with my Twitter profile, name, image and some of my tweets. The individual coffee boxes mentioned people I converse with on Twitter. To borrow a phrase from my teens, I was well-impressed. They, however, thought it was creepy!
The instruction manual was of the Swedish school. I bristled; I like words not pictures (and with a spell-check!). I did finally work it all out and the machine was actually really easy to use. The Grande Intenso tasted pretty good, strong and smooth, the cappuccino (where you have to use two capsules) a slight improvement on packet mixes (which I loathe), Chococino (hot chocolate) was ok, and Espresso strong (if slightly bitter). The Cappuccino Ice remains untasted. All the coffee is 100% Arabica.
The marketing materials were brilliant – shame about the manual.
The main advantages are the compact size of the machine, the speed of making coffee, the lack of mess and the ease of cleaning. It looks Italian and funky and suits our light coffee drinking household perfectly. If we were heavy users I would be very uncomfortable about throwing a plastic capsule away every time (very wasteful and unsustainable). Nescafé didn’t supply the retail price of the machine or the capsules which is available from 1st March 2012.
All this coffee drinking made me yearn for the taste in an another form.
Coffee walnut cake (cake adapted from a recipe by Annie Bell combined with buttercream)
Ingredients
225g self-raising flour
225g soft light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
225ml vegetable oil (I used sunflower)
4 medium eggs, separated
50ml strong espresso coffee
50ml milk
75g walnuts, roughly chopped
Ingredients for buttercream
350g icing sugar, sifted
150g unsalted butter, softened
2 tablespoons espresso
Butter and line a 22cm loaf tin. Sift the flour into a large bowl and add the sugar, salt, oil, egg yolks, espresso and milk. Beat with a wooden spoon until smooth. Whisk the egg whites until stiff (I used my Kitchenaid). Gently but firmly fold half the egg whites into the mixture; then fold in the other half and then the walnuts. Spoon the mixture into the tin and give it a knock on the work surface to distribute. Put on the centre shelf in an oven preheated to 190 C. Bake for 50-55 minutes (check after 40 minutes and if the cake is browning too quickly place a piece of greaseproof paper over the top). Remove from the tin and cool on a wire rack. Make the buttercream: Beat the butter in a bowl with a wooden spoon until light and fluffy. Stir in the icing sugar and coffee until light and smooth. Cut the cake in half horizontally and spread half the buttercream in the middle and the rest over the top.
I made coffee glacé icing for the one in the picture but it was too sweet, so have doubled the buttercream in the recipe.
So are you a tea or coffee person?
Sexy bagels
Writing about the things you cook often leads to a mini-voyage of discovery. This time it was it was to enter the world of the bagel and, if like me, you just thought it was a bun with a hole in it, I may have some surprises in store. Peter Reinhart‘s book says that it originated in Poland and was made in the shape of a stirrup to commemorate the victory of Poland’s King Jan III Sobieski over the Ottoman Turks in the Battle of Vienna in 1683, but apparently this isn’t true; it was first made long before this and was given to women in childbirth and may have been a sexual symbol. Oo-er. One thing is for sure, they are a jolly handy shape for threading on a rope or a piece of wood so you can hawk them round the streets. Wikipedia is ridicuously thorough on the topic if you want to know more. However, if you have bought bagels from the supermarket and are (again like me) wondering frankly what the fuss is all about, you might like to read Oliver Thring’s excellent account about the deterioration of the proper thing.
Fresh From the Oven, the monthly baking challenge I’ve been part of for a couple of years, has changed the way it works. Instead of logging onto a secret site for the recipe, keeping mum about it all month and then announcing in a big reveal, now it’s all out in the open and you can write about the theme any time during the subsequent month. So I followed the recipe for bagels provided by Purely Food (althought I dissolved my dried yeast in the liquid before use) and also added these steps recommended by Claire at Things We Make (whose bagels are a thing of extraordinary beauty), i.e.
- I added 3 tablespoons of sugar and 1 tablespoon of bicarb of soda to the poaching water
- I baked half of them on baking parchment sprinkled with polenta, which worked a treat
- I let them prove longer in their shaped state as this helps fill out the shape
- Made the holes 3 times bigger than they should be as they close up…lots
The neat bagel (unswirled) is at the front
There are two methods to make the hole in the middle, either by rolling the dough into a sausage shape and sealing the ends togther or by rolling into a ball, piercing and swinging it around on your fingers. I tried both methods – the former is much neater than the latter but far less fun. I sprinkled a few with sesame seeds and a few with sea salt – and made 8 (because I wasn’t up to dividing the dough evenly into an odd number).
Ever since an unmitigated disaster of a loaf sticking fast to a baking tray, I generally always use baking parchment. A good sprinkle of polenta over one tray was fine (a la Claire) but the bagels took a bit of shifting from the greased version. When I turned the little devils over they went face down onto paper.
Making the hole in a bagel with the 'swirling' method
Hungry teens waited impatiently for these golden rings to emerge from the oven and I watched them disappear rapidly, warm from the oven with butter. I had mine for breakfast with scrambled eggs.
Anyone know why mine aren’t very rounded on top? What could have caused the flat-top? Never mind, they tasted fine.
I’ll be making them again.
The new regime over at Fresh From the Oven is explained here and the bagel round up will appear on Purely Food at the end of February (along with the challenge for March). P.S. I hate to think what the title of the this post will do to my spam intake!
What’s your favourite thing to eat with bagels?
The heart of the image
Some images taken and styled by Meeta K Wolff
Next year is the centenary of Robert Scott’s ill-fated journey through Antarctica, where on reaching the South Pole he discovered that he had been beaten to his prize by the Norwegian team led by Roald Admunsen and he and his five companions perished on the return journey. The Heart of the Great Alone is an exhibition of polar photography at The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace taken, in the main, by Henry Ponting. They document the team’s journey through this spectacular landscape but the images of the men themselves are strangely cold in a way that has nothing to do with the sub-zero temperatures. Ponting annoyed the team immensely as he made them hold a pose rigidly for minutes at a time. They invented a verb for it – ‘to Pont’. In contrast, the few photographs taken by Henry Bowers capture the utter dejection of the men as they encounter the Norwegian tent at the pole and then gather as a thwarted team.
This is a dramatic example of how, despite similar equipment and technology, photographs record the subject for a fragment of time but also the personality and character of the person taking it adds something, often intangible, to the image. Developing a unique style of one’s own as a photographer is often elusive but has as much to being true to your own interpretation as learning the technical craft.
I first ‘met’ Meeta Wolff on Twitter and we soon established that she had a Middle East connection (she grew up in Qatar and has family in Dubai). As author of the hugely popular blog, What’s For Lunch, Honey?, her friendly tone and enthusiasm for life comes across not just in her words and the alchemy of the ingredients in her recipes but also in the images that bring it all to life. Meeta has developed a very unique style of her own, impossible to describe, but the appeal for me is that she tells a story within them. Nothing is superfluous to the shot; the balance is just right and there is a warmth to them that draws you in – more than just food gawking! I’m delighted that our exchange that started so long ago has culminated in Meeta hosting a two-day intensive food photography and styling workshop this April, here in Dubai.
Food photography needs lots of natural light, which we have in so much abundance here in the UAE that buildings are usually designed to lessen its impact. This was a real challenge when looking for a venue, but Nasimi Beach at Atlantis has provided a stunning location. Light streams into the shore-side restaurant which adjoins a shady terrace overlooking the sea. Chef Ricky will provide the gourmet side of the equation, including a live cookery demonstration so that everyone can get experience of shooting and styling a range of fabulous food and ingredients in a range of settings.
The bread pic was from my first ever post, the pasta taken recently
When I started My Custard Pie, I was taking photographs on a Sony ‘point and shoot’ but soon found it too limiting so invested in a DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex) camera and took a basic photography course. My personal aim is to be able to communicate as well as I’d like to, in pictures as well a words, here on this forum. In short, to find my own style. Learning from Meeta will be an exhilarating next step on the journey.
By the response we’ve received, I know that many people feel the same as I do and places are filling fast for the workshop.
So see you at Atlantis? I hope you’ll join me in person or here on My Custard Pie.
Through the looking glass
Many working Mothers with children would recognise the structure and routine of my day and the calendar of our family life. Days revolve around school, homework, meals, activities and on weekends we might have supper at a friend’s house or we might stay in.
But sometimes the curtain draws back and there is a glimpse into another world. It’s every bit as tantalising as entering Narnia through the back of the wardrobe or suddenly falling down a rabbit hole. An invitation to the Cavalli Club was one of these occasions.
Perma-tanned, silver-haired, raven-clad Roberto Cavalli the fashion designer lends his name to this venue at the Fairmont Dubai. Pictures in the press show him with a fat cigar in hand or a willowy model on his arm, always wearing sunglasses. He sports that brand of Italian chic which really ought not to work, but even aged grannies in Rome seem to carry off. I challenge you to find leopard-print and designer sunglasses in old peoples’ homes in Britain. Benidorm more like. So lashings of high-end, designer bling was what I expected and exactly what I got.
Entering the lobby escaping from unseasonably cold Dubai temperatures into Antarctic conditions, I ran shivering into the fur-lined lift which had elements of Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge. Thank goodness Scott’s expedition wasn’t replicated in the club, just oceans of dripping Swarovski crystals formed into gigantic chandelier, tables with elegant candelabra, twinkling lights, some neon and yes, quite a bit of animal print.
I was there, by invitation, to the first Cavalli Connoisseurs wine dinner with the winemaker – none other than Tomassi Cavalli, next in line in the Cavalli dynasty who has chosen viticulture, over haute couture.
After being primed with a medicinal Red Carpet (a Campari and cranberry cocktail) and some elegant canapé at the bar (surrounded by groups of women in sparkly mini dresses) we moved to the dinner table which was slightly raised giving us a great view through the spangly curtains of crystal of the cavernous interior, (these cast very odd bruise-like shadows on flesh which is why there are no close-ups of people in these pictures!).
The number of staff in attendance was bewildering and I lost track of how many came to our table, especially as they were all wearing red and white striped tops for the Italian-themed evening. Each course was served by an army bearing white cloche-covered plates, dishes revealed simultaneously in a theatrical flourish.
Some of the menu descriptions were a bit odd, ‘Crisp potatoes’ looked just like chips to me and ‘earth salad’ finely chopped carrot. The starter of seared scallops wrapped in smoked duck were soft and plump and the main course Mesquite smoked Black Angus was beautifully cooked. I think I’ve been watching too much Masterchef The Professionals as I expected some smoke to appear when I lifted the glass lid of the little dish of smoked tomato cream that accompanied it; this would have been completely in keeping with the theatre of the surroundings. Dessert was a dark chocolate moelleux with heart of caramel (sadly served in a ramekin so it didn’t ooze out onto the plate).
A very accomplished singer, who looked like a china doll, emerged twice during dinner to entertain with arias from Italian opera. The crystal curtains are very clever as you can see the whole room but they give an illusion of privacy – you see everything through shifting twinkling prisms.
The wines for the evening were from Tenuta Degli Dei, an exquisitely beautiful Tuscan estate owned by the Cavallis. Tomassi, having first dedicated his life to breeding horses, turned to wine-making; the vines were planted from scratch in 2000 with traditional Bordeaux black grape varieties. We tasted Le Redini 2009 first which was made primarily with Merlot; then Tenuta Degli Dei 2007 with the main course followed by a limited edition from the Cavalli Collection which came in a very heavy, encrusted bottle and I believe was Tenuta Degli Dei 2005, both blends of Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot and Cabernet Franc. The Merlot was an odd pairing with the scallops, but the other two wines were great with the beef, especially the 2005 which had the most complexity and some very forward tannins meaning this wine will probably improve. All were well-balanced wines, with layers of flavour and I was glad when Tomassi joined our table for questions.
As he had been given a blank slate of a vineyard at the start of the millennium, I was very interested to hear about why he decided to take the route of exclusively Bordelais vines and winemaking styles (like Tenuta San Guido Sassicaia and Tenuta Dell’Ornellaia Masseto before him) rather than use Italian grapes of the region but he didn’t really answer my question apart from saying he wanted to be a bit different from his neighbours and “Most wines you want to drink a glass but this wine you want to finish the bottle.” Beyond this he seemed happiest to talk about ‘being in the fields’ and ‘with the horses’ and then left the table rather abruptly. Ah well, perhaps it was rather late in the evening for intense wine conversations. I’d asked Chris, the friendly sommelier from Macedonia earlier in the night, why I would want to drink a Bordeaux-style wine made in Italy and he answered, “With the Italian wine, the wine is singing; it’s softer, more elegant and stylish.” Both answers were quite vague but Chris was by far the most enthusiastic!
We were given a bottle of the encrusted Cavalli collection in leopard-print leather box to take home. Sadly it was empty!
Wine-nerdiness wasn’t the order of the evening and the Cavallis clearly know their market. They offer a little bit of their designer lifestyle in everything they do, from the exclusive wines made to high standards (hand-selected grapes from a boutique vineyard), to premium vodka in sculptured bottles, to the dinner club concept of the venue; and it works – I certainly felt like glitterati (not fooderati) that evening.
The tempo of the evening altered by degrees throughout the night starting with dim lighting and lounge for the cocktails. At around midnight, the lights got slightly brighter, the music pulsed and the atmosphere changed from that of a dining club to a party vibe. Eschewing the Nonino Moscato Grappa (this was a Wednesday night after all) I emerged from this parallel universe back out into the real world, blinking a little and marvelling at the line of people who were just at the start of their evening.
Can you see our table reflected in the chandelier?
This special Italian set menu is available throughout February and if you book for the 8th, 9th or 10th they’ll be another Italian-themed evening with cooking demos overseen by Chef Rolando Lolli and Italian wine producers, Cevico, to chat to. The set menu is priced at 250 AED (plus an additional 250 AED if the wines are included – with the exception of the Cavalli Collection limited edition which is available from the wine list at 890 AED per bottle). There are more ‘Cavalli Connoisseurs’, culinary evenings to come including Spanish and Japenese themes.
Thanks to The Hedonsita and Life in the Food Lane for being great company (click their names to read their reviews of the evening).
Disclosure: I enjoyed this complimentary evening as a guest of the Cavalli Club.
P.S. Part of my wine nerdiness was inspired by my Wines and Spirits Education Trust 3 exam which I was revising for then and have now taken. I’ll know whether I’ve passed in about eight weeks but I’ve loved every minute of it.
It’s rye bread – but not as we know it
How thrilling to be introduced to a bread making technique that I’ve never ever heard of and with an exotic Japanese name to boot. And no surprise that it should be ace bread-baking duo Sylvia and Ivan from Mushitza who not only shared the recipe but added their own bread baking experience and ideas for inspirational shapes for the loaf. They say ‘it’s the fluffiest bread we’ve ever made’.
However, I’m still in January healthy resolutions, hair-shirt mode and a fluffy, white loaf is way down the list of what I want to bake and eat. Would this method make a rye loaf fluffy (and therefore appealing to fussy, white-bread loving teens)? Only one way to find out.
The extra stage of making the tangzhong is not arduous at all. It’s a bit cold in Dubai at the moment and the rye gluten is not very strong so it took quite a long time to rise each time (in fact I shoved it in the fridge overnight for the first one). The result was a really tasty, great textured loaf. I bunged a few raisins in one of the swirls which went well with the sweet taste of the rye. I’m thinking apricots and rosemary in an all rye version next time. Oh yes, they’ll definitely be a next time.
Great with some strawberry conserve and butter. Excellent with paté and cornichons. Will it stay moist and fresh for a few days as claimed? It passed the teen test so I don’t think it will be around that long to find out.
If you have a stand-mixer with a dough hook, make this today. Trust me.
Tangzhong Rye Bread – Original from Christine’s Recipes, adapted by Mushitza, further adapted by me.
Printable version here.
Ingredients for the tangzhong
30 g strong bread flour
150 g (ml) cold water
Ingredients for the dough
200 g strong bread flour
150 g rye flour
5 g dried active yeast
55 g light brown sugar
5 g sea salt
1 egg
125 g (ml) milk
120 g tangzhong
30 g butter, melted and cooled
First prepare the tangzhong. Whisk together the cold water and flour (there should be no lumps) and cook over low heat (stirring all the time) until the temperature reaches 65ºC or until the spoon you’re stirring with leaves a trace. The mixture should have the consistency of something between crème anglaise and pastry cream. Leave to cool down to room temperature.
To prepare the dough, warm the milk to blood temperature (20 seconds on high heat in the microwave works for me) and stir in the yeast until it’s dissolved. Combine the strong bread and rye flours, sugar and salt, then add the milk and yeast mixture, most of the tangzhong (120 g – leave the rest for glazing) and egg. Use your hand or stand mixer equipped with a dough hook to mix all the ingredients into a soft dough then add in the butter. Knead in the mixer for 15 – 20 minutes. The dough is ready when you can stretch it to a very thin membrane before it tears (try this with a small piece). Cover the bowl and leave it to double in size (this took about 2 hours in my cold house).
Knock the dough back on a lightly floured surface, give it a quick knead just to let the gas escape, then shape it as you like ( a loaf or small buns). The images show how to make it into a three-part loaf. Transfer to buttered loaf tin or a baking tray lined with baking paper if making rolls or a free-form loaf. Cover with plastic wrap and let it double in bulk again (another 2 hours for me).
Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Brush with milk (as I did) or the rest of the tangzhong and bake for around 30 – 35 minutes until nicely golden.
Click on an image to enlarge and scroll through the gallery.
-
- Weigh the flour for the tangzhong (in the pan saves washing up)
-
- Add the water and whisk out any lumps
-
- Cook the tangzhong until your spoon leaves a trace
-
- Weigh the rye and strong flours
-
- Add the sugar and salt
-
- Next add an egg, the tangzhong and the yeast mixture. Combine using the dough hook on slow, then add the butter
-
- Knead for 15 – 20 minutes until a smooth dough is reached
-
- Gently knock back the dough after rising and roll into three flat ovals
-
- Fold the ends over each other
-
- Each oval of dough will be a third of the size
-
- Use a rolling pin to flatten each piece to a long strip. You can add a flavour at this point too.
-
- Roll up each piece of dough
-
- Place the pieces, seam-side down, into a buttered loaf tin
-
- Leave to prove until doubled in size
-
- Ready for the oven
This was a Fresh From the Oven challenge so you can see how everyone else got on with tangzhong if you pop over there. It’s the very last round-up on the site but we’ll still be baking every month. I’ll let you know the details next time.
Have I tempted you to try tangzhong?
Goulash soup – warm and comforting
I’m feeling so cold. I want to be wrapped from head to toe in a soft, cashmere scarf that smells faintly of lavender. This weekend I walked on Dartmoor with the cold wind in my face, the bracken rusty and broken, tree branches exposed.
My return to Dubai was greeted by exceptionally cold weather that seems to chill you to the bone as there is nowhere to go to get warm.
And I need warmth. A close member of the family shuffled off this mortal coil. He achieved a lot in his life and I hope he’s now in peace. My sadness is made deeper by witnessing the intense grief of people around me.
It’s a time to look back on golden memories and feel the glow from the closeness of family and friends.
Goulash soup – adapted from a recipe by Caroline Barty
If you were in a hurry you could pulse all the vegetables in a food processor but chopping by hand gives a more uniform texture (and I find repetitive tasks in the kitchen very soothing) especially using this method to chop the peppers.
Ingredients
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 onions, peeled and chopped finely
2 sticks of celery, chopped finely
2 red peppers, seeds and membranes removed, chopped finely
1 green pepper, seeds and membranes removed, chopped finely
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
400g stewing beef (cut into cubes of about 1cm)
2 tablespoons paprika
1 teaspoon caraway seeds (optional)
1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
1.5 litres beef stock
2 tablespoons tomato puree
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
sour cream
flat-leaved parsley, chopped roughly
Method
In a large saucepan, soften the onion, celery, red and green peppers and garlic in the oil over a medium heat for about 15 minutes (do not brown).
Add the beef, paprika and caraway seeds (if using) and stir for about 2 minutes to warm the spices. Next, add the tomatoes puree and cook for a further 2 minutes (just to cook away the slightly tinny taste it can give). Add the tomatoes, stock, salt and pepper and bring to the boil. Once bubbling, lower the heat, cover the pan and simmer very gently for 1 1/2 hours (until the beef is tender).
Use a stick blender to puree the soup, but don’t make it too smooth as you want to retain some texture. Alternatively, leave to cool a little and pulse in a liquidiser. Warm gently if required to heat through. Serve garnished with sour cream, parsley and accompanied with lots of crusty bread.
Cooking salmon in the sink…in my kitchen
In my kitchen this month is….drum-roll…a new sink! Gleaming and shiny; I can’t help a little smile of glee whenever I see it. Over the top reaction you might think, but as a tenant (as expats we rent our house) I have little say about the fixtures and fittings. The final straw came when our old, white, chipped sink sprang a leak; it’s incredible what a difference this sleek, stainless replacement makes to the appearance of the whole kitchen.
For such a pivotal piece of equipment in the kitchen the importance of the sink doesn’t get mentioned very often. I’ve been reading about decluttering recently (a bit of a New Year, turn-over-a-new-leaf activity probably shared with many) and found a popular website aiming to get people to sort out their messy lives by starting with a clean sink. It’s a fact that everyone always ends up in the kitchen at parties but if there’s a couple or more of you working together, the sink becomes the hub and people find their own role in the washing up hierarchy.
Speaking of washing up, David Lebovitz recently published a very entertaining article about it and Nigel Slater dedicated a whole chapter to this essential activity in his book Appetite extolling the virtues of this comforting ritual (not sure I’d agree).
So how about cooking in a sink? Due to concerns about the chemical content (even in organic farmed fish) I have eaten much less salmon in the last few years. But I found this video the other day ab0ut ‘sous-vide’ at home and just had to try it. ‘Sous-vide’ (meaning under vacuum) uses sealed bags in a water bath – in this case it means in a plastic bag in the sink. The video is very precise but I was being distracted by my husband and daughter and cooking something else at the same time, so I just put the salmon in a bag, poured in some olive oil and put it in a sink full of hot water from the tap. About 15 minutes later I had a look. It was like magic. The salmon was cooked perfectly. It was different in texture to traditional poached salmon, a bit less flaky and a little bit firmer. I would reduce the amount of oil next time as farmed salmon is an oily fish anyway (do you need oil at all?). Maybe I’d add some herbs, like dill, in the bag too.
Before and after
Five things to do with salmon cooked in the sink:
- Serve it cold with mayonnaise, iceberg lettuce, a generous squeeze of fresh lemon juice and freshly ground black pepper
- As an open sandwich on rye bread with sour cream and dill (or on blinis).
- Flake and combine with mashed potatoes, shape into rounds, dip in beaten egg and breadcrumbs and shallow fry as fish cakes.
- Pan fry for a few moments with finely chopped hazelnuts, sesame seeds, ginger and butter to warm through and add flavour.
- Add to spiced rice and semi-soft hard boiled eggs for an excellent kedgeree.
Instructions (this can hardly be called a recipe!):
- Put your boneless salmon steak in a ziplock plastic bag with a drizzle of oil (if serving warm you can use a little melted butter).
- Smooth upwards to remove as much air as possible and seal the bag
- Place into a sink filled with freshly drawn water from the hot tap only.
- Check after 10- 15 minutes (depending on the size of your salmon). If it is opaque all the way through it is cooked (or use a probe if you have one). Remove the skin (it will peel away easily) and serve hot or cold.
You can’t cook a whole salmon in a plastic bag, but it’s easy to poach if you have a fish kettle or large roasting tin just a little bit bigger than the fish. Cover the fish with cold water, add salt, bring to the boil, turn off the heat and leave, covered (with a lid or foil), until it has cooked. Whatever its size, the fish will be perfectly cooked (unless the pan is much too big for the fish, or too small so the fish is fitted in too tightly meaning there isn’t enough water).
I’ve heard you can cook a whole salmon in a sink and in a dishwasher too.
What’s in your kitchen in January? Pop over to Fig Jam and Lime Cordial to peep into Celia’s lovely kitchen and others around the world.
Have you ever cooked in the sink? Or ‘sous-vide’? Do you love or loathe washing up? And do you always end up in the kitchen at parties?
What’s hot and what’s not – food and drink in the UAE in 2012
Image by livingonimpulse
In the spirit of looking forward, I thought it would be fun to do a bit of crystal ball gazing about the food and drink scene in the United Arab Emirates. There have been a few articles online about global trends but is it different in a place eager to cement its place as the trading hub of the Middle East? Here’s the view from some movers and shakers (or should I say tipplers and tasters?) plus my own Mystic Meg contribution.
First a bit of background if you are not so familiar with this part of the world – click here to get straight to the forecasts.
View from the Burj Khalifa, Dubai
The U.A.E.’s rapid expansion has been well-documented. Dubai has grown from a sleepy town on the edge of the creek, that I encountered when I arrived in 2000, to a buzzing metropolis complete with state of the art infrastructure, crazy off-shore developments and the tallest building in the world. Abu Dhabi has its share of incredible projects too from the carbon-neutral city of Masdar to Saadiyat Island.
As the U.A.E. population is dominated by expatriates of all nationalities and income levels and with the economy partly fuelled by the tourist trade, the food and drink scene reflects this, from what you find on the supermarket shelves to the huge variety of eating out venues (there are almost 900 restaurants listed on Time Out Dubai). As a desert country with five days of rain a year, most food-stuffs are imported and ‘local’ produce can mean anywhere in the GCC (not just from the UAE).
Eating out ranges from some of the most stunning locations in the world, celebrity chef endorsements to shawarma stands and every fast food chain you care to mention (to the detriment of the health of the Emirati population). You can drink alcohol if you are a non-muslim and hold an alcohol license and, if outside the home if it’s a licensed premises. As licenses are given to hotels and clubs, the cheap eateries tend to be dry. One thing’s for sure, it’s a vibrant and changing food scene with new restaurants opening every week, food and cookery events every month of the year, new food magazines being launched and more than 90 food bloggers in the UAE. The world recession hasn’t slowed it down – although food prices have definitely seen a hike.
I asked Food and Travel writer James Brennan, the force behind Lafayette Gourmet’s events Harriet Bardsley, writer and wine expert Sarah Walton, Mahiki marketeer Harry Santa-Olalla, restaurant reviewer supremo Samantha Wood (aka Foodiva), MMI’s Head of Wine Tony Dodds and cheap eats champion Arva Ahmed which food and drink trends will be ascending faster than the lift in the Burj Khalifa in the UAE in 2012 and what will be resigned to the culinary doldrums.
What’s hot in 2012?
James Brennan: Could we be moving into a new phase for homegrown restaurants in the UAE? Dubai’s Okku now has more awards than pulsating purple jellyfish. Wild Peeta is another Dubai start-up conceived and driven by locals. And Table9 is proving that you don’t need a world-famous celebrity chef’s name above the door to win plaudits.
Okku, Wild Peeta, Scott and Nick fromTable 9
Harriet Bardsley: Getting really good value for money will continue to influence customer behaviour in 2012 but people still want to have fun and eat great food. Simple classics from earlier eras will be a big thing, especially 80’s-style traditional dishes like lasagna, prawn cocktail and kedgeree…and large portions too.
Learning to cook is having a massive resurgence so people can eat good food at home and feed their children healthily. Cookery classes will be the new ‘going-out’ in 2012 (Lafayette Gourmet is holding some soon) as well as staying in for a special home-cooked meal (cheaper and more romantic than a fancy restaurant).
Picnics and hampers will be big in 2012 – not only stylish and economical but healthy too – get out more and enjoy the ‘ outside’! Healthy eating will be even more of a focus this year. There’s also a spirit of ‘seize the moment’ as who knows what the future will bring. Getting to know new cultures through food in this country of 147 different nationalities is on many people’s ‘bucket lists’ – and that includes experiencing traditional Emirati cuisine.
I can see technology influencing and the way people eat and order evolving – ipad menu anyone?! It’s only a matter of time.
Lasagna, picnics and Emirati food
Harry Santa-Olalla: 2011 saw the start of an influx of London-based food and beverage brands into Dubai including Mahiki, Embassy, Gaucho and Siddharta Lounge and I see this trend continuing in 2012 including the launch of Mo*Vida. Londoners have come to expect a new level of added-value service, for instance Mahiki takes the experience to a whole new level with our mad shows, highly trained theatrical bar staff and standard of service. The juices for our cocktails are freshly squeezed that day from the best fruit e.g. whole pineapples. It’s the exact opposite of just having an ordinary experience with a cocktail served to you on a tray.
Good ingredients and attention to detail will be under the spotlight in 2012. The sharing concept will also continue to rise in popularity – it’s the sociable experience of sharing platters and cocktails.
Pina Colada
Samantha Wood: I’m predicting an increased demand and supply of locally sourced produce mainly vegetables and fruit, and in some cases organic, fuelled by the growth in farmers markets.
Also they’ll be more and more home-based artisan producers whether cakes, chutney or chocolate.
Home-grown cafe concepts have been abundant in the UAE for a while, but we are now seeing more locally developed fine dining restaurant concepts take form with the likes of Table 9 at Hilton Dubai Creek. Having said that, the celebrity chef trend will still continue fuelled by a primarily expat population. Gary Rhodes is opening at St Regis Abu Dhabi Corniche this year (Rhodes 44) fusing Arabic influences into his cuisine, and five chefs from Michelin-star restaurants in the US and Europe (total of 12 stars) will descend on Dubai for a gala dinner at Sofitel Dubai Jumeirah in April.
They’ll be more ‘chefs for hire’ setting up businesses in the U.A.E. to meet demand for home entertainment.
And we’re going to see more technology-driven restaurant experiences from online restaurant reservations to i-pad menus.
The growth of the UAE food blogging/ social media scene is giving consumers increased access to impartial online reviews.
Artisan chutney, local vegetables, ipad menus
Sarah Walton: On one hand, this place is still too new to discover its own direction, and is still aping other markets. Saying that, I see a rise in better quality Middle-Eastern food, particularly old-fashioned U.A.E. cuisine. The world movement taking people back to their natural roots will eventually catch on here, and so food that is geographically and historically relevant will be on the rise, particularly in the home. Organic and local will continue in growth, as it should. If any other cuisine sees a distinct rise in popularity, I would expect it to be the fresh and lively (and also healthy) flavours of countries like Vietnam – seafood, aromatic herbs, citrus etc.
Drinks will follow this trend – light, traditional cocktails, simpler than previous years, and light, aromatic wines – moving towards a drier and more neutral finish.
Vietnamese food, local organic produce and lighter wines
Tony Dodds: I can’t see customers’ enthusiasm for Sauvignon Blanc slowing down in 2012 – it was the most popular varietal in 2011, but perhaps the ABC (anything but Chardonnay) trend will finally slow down with people turning more towards unoaked-styles. In red wine, Malbec and Merlot are the grapes gaining more popularityand both Malbec and Torrontes from Argentina are ‘hot’ varieties here at the moment. Argentina will be the place to watch in wine-making terms, there are a lot of exceptionally good wines coming from there right now. However, don’t underestimate the appeal of France; in these times of uncertainty perhaps people are harking back to a gentler age through their wine choices. On the other hand we expect the 2011 growth in sparkling wine and champagne to continue so someone’s celebrating!
Dom Perignon Champagne
Arva Ahmed: Wholesome falafel joints that have spread their tahini all over the city. The usual Lebanese suspects like Al Mallah and Al Hallab make the list, but in addition, more yuppie quick-lunch joints, namely Just Falafel and Dukkan Falafel, are starting to attack the mainstream appetite by invading petrol pumps and other hot spots all over Dubai.
There’s there’s also a trend into Pakistani kabab fast food joints which looks set to continue in 2012.
Falafel
Sally – My Custard Pie: The organic and local produce scene has flourished in 2011 and things are only going to get better. Ripe and the Souk al Bahar organic farmer’s market are now permanent fixtures with a loyal following. Consumer demand will influence the choice of what’s on offer, for example kale has been grown locally for the first time this year. Farmers will start to experiment with new varieties and a bigger range of locally grown fruit and vegetables.
New artisan food producers seem to appear every week – who could have predicted that even two years ago (when it was just Toffee Princess and LilyBakes)? I’m loving food made with passion like the Italian Dairy Company and the proliferation of really good bakers. Talking of bread – the choice is now enormous; I’m looking forward to new flavours and shapes from places like Baker & Spice, Crumbs and Le Succes in 2012 – and home delivery will increase…who can resist someone arriving with fresh bread? The cheese scene is exciting too with Jones the Grocer setting the standard but Lafayette Gourmet hot on their heels and a gorgeous range of French cheese available at Finer Things (Umm Al Qwain). Maybe someone will start making some really good local camel-milk cheese?
As far as eating out goes, breakfast is the new brunch if the throngs of diners at Baker & Spice, Lime Tree Cafe and Jones the Grocer on a Friday morning are anything to go by. Simple food done exceptionally well is the key – try the Baker & Spice shakshuka, Jones the Grocer’s home-made yoghurt and fruit or their creamy porridge. And unlicensed cheap eats with simple food, especially if in a quirky location will do extremely well (see Bu Qtair, Aappa Kadai and don’t forget good old Ravis of course).
I agree with Harriet that cooking classes are in – they will proliferate in 2012 but please no cheffy stuff…good home cooking is what’s in demand (Dima’s kitchen for instance).
While I think supermarket price wars in the UK are incredibly damaging due to the power the big four wield, it would be good to see a bit more competition here in the UAE. With Carrefour’s expansion, perhaps prices of some of the basics will at least stabilise.
Artisan bread, shakshuka at Baker & Spice, locally made and imported cheese
What’s not in 2012?
James Brennan: So, if homegrown concepts are in, perhaps the UAE will stop trying to validate its food offering with watered-down big-name franchises from abroad in 2012?
Harriet Bardsley: Expensive, lavish and over-the-top eating out…plus the demise of the cupcake? Hello cake pops…!
Harry Santa-Olalla: The added-value drive from Europe is having an impact and outlets won’t be able to keep giving standard service at over-the-top prices.
Samantha Wood: They’ll be a move away from traditional, rich cuisine whether that’s a roast carvery or heavy sauces to simpler food, sharing plates, tapas-style….
Sarah Walton: Heavy food…and for drink, sweet and heavy will be out!
Tony Dodds: Dessert wine and sherry – where have all the sweet tooths gone?!
Arva Ahmed: Cupcakeries that disguise subpar cupcakes with ambitious names and exotic flavours…with each monotonously iced cupcake costing you more than buying a trusty shawarma. Let this year be one where no extravagantly-named dry, red, velvet cupcake with slimy, vanilla frosting (as opposed to the cream cheese gospel) crosses our paths.
Sally – My Custard Pie: Reuseable and biodegradable bags have caught on finally. A hope rather than a prediction for 2012 is that food providers will reduce their packaging. Even the market traders use cling wrap onto polystyrene trays. Retailers will no longer be able to sell tired, tasteless fruit and vegetables and charge a premium price due to the organic sticker on it (ditto unhealthy snacks and junk cereal).
Standard service, heavy food, buffets, cloying cupcakes, dessert wine and wasteful packaging - not hot in 2012
Contributors:
James Brennan is a food and travel writer, blogger, guzzler, renaissance man, muhammara addict, kebab king and currently eating his way round the Middle East on Never Mind the Boreks (see also The Dubai Guzzler).
Harriet Bardsley is Sales and Events Manager, Lafayette Gourmet within Galleries Lafayette, Dubai Mall, dedicated to gourmet foods with tasting bars, restaurants and deli counters plus home deliveries and outside catering.
Harry Santa-Olalla is Head of Marketing for Mahiki Dubai – the flamboyant, tropical cocktails and island grill.
Samantha Wood, food blogger, journalist and PR consultant – founder of restaurant review and foodie resource FooDiva recently voted no 2 Best Blog in Dubai.
Sarah Walton – travel and food writer, wine expert and blogger as alter-ego The Hedonista.
Tony Dodds is Head of Group Agency Wine for MMI Dubai a liquor retailer with the largest wine portfolio in the Gulf.
Arva Ahmed shares her passion for street food and cheap eateries on her brilliant blog I Live In a Frying Pan – named as one of the UAE’s best food blogs by The National.
So have you got anything to add to this? Do you agree with these forecasts for the U.A.E. food and drink scene and what would you like to see more (or less) of? What’s the big thing in food and drink for 2012 where you live?
Highs and lows, hopes and dreams
Looking back on the year and then making resolutions is such a cliché isn’t it? Then I started to look through everyone else’s and enjoyed them so much. Would you like to see mine?
2011 was extraordinarily special because of the new friends and connections that came into my life, on and off-line. There are too many lovely food bloggers to mention – but you know who you are. Highlights of my foodie year in a nutshell:
January – I dived into the year by taking a virtual culinary tour around the world with the dynamic Joan from Foodalogue. We visited Panama, Alaska, Turkey, Japan, Thailand, Egypt and Nigeria.
In February I celebrated the first birthday of My Custard Pie and made a stand for a food blogger in Kuwait who was being prosecuted.
March brought food heroes and I was lucky enough to meet Madhur Jaffrey at a very amusing cookery demo and Gary Rhodes at Taste of Dubai.
The highlight in April was a huge picnic in the park with our rapidly expanding UAE food blogger group Fooderati Arabia.
May was blissful as every Saturday lunchtime brought a new host and a new menu when five of us held Come Dine With Me Dubai.
In June I faced several fears…eating okra (a hated slimy vegetable) and sitting my Wines and Spirits Education Trust exam (I passed with distinction – phew!).
The summer months were spent in the UK away from the searing heat of Dubai. Not much cooking went on but there was a lot of eating including food at festivals, Tavistock Real Cheese Fair, Sharpham Vineyard and the pursuit of the perfect cream tea. Food Blogger Connect was in August – a really fantastic experience – bringing learning, new friends and a massive boost of inspiration.
The return to steamy Dubai was welcomed by the pomegranate season in September. My pulse was racing in October as Giorgio Locatelli returned to Atlantis for the truffle season and I savoured every last mouthful of his egg raviolo and perfectly cooked risotto laced with white truffles. Chef Sam Leong taught me some secrets of Asian cooking including how to eat crab and I spent two hours in the Jones the Grocer cheese room (heaven). World Food Day and Blog Action Day brought contemplation about food sources and famine.
The world turned yellow in November in the form of the Custard Mingle which I was honoured to host for Meeta from What’s For Lunch Honey?
Having lived in the United Arab Emirates for almost twelve years and never having tasted its cuisine, December brought a thrilling experience when a group of Fooderati Arabia were treated like royalty and welcomed into the kitchen of La Mere Culinaire for an Emirati cooking class. Visiting the Burj Al Arab was pretty special too and my festive wreath post received the most ever visits to my blog; a lovely end to the year.
Away from the page, Fooderati Arabia has grown to over 90 UAE-based food bloggers and they are an inspiring, supportive, generous, diverse and talented bunch (which you can like here). In July I was surprised and delighted to be included in The Independent’s 50 Best Food Websites and I contributed to The Foodie Bugle and the first issue of Ahlan Gourmet among other things. I’ve met many food heroes like Anissa Helou and Tim Hayward, in person, and online (Tweeting with Dan Lepard and Sheila Dillon). What a wonderful year it’s been.
It’s the first time that I looked back on my resolutions for 2011 in months but did I achieve them?
- Make a custard tart – I’ve had some disasters and triumphs and the best is yet to come!
- Take better pictures – Still on a massive learning curve but my photography course paid off (plus using a tripod and lots of practise) and Foodgawker, Tastespotting, Tasteologie and Pinterest all put a spring in my step.
- Not miss a single Fresh From the Oven post – Only July eluded me, I hosted in August with courgette cluster bread and have become a much better bread baker because of this monthly challenge.
- Share my recipe for preserved lemons – I made them often, and gave them away as gifts. I promise to share this in 2012.
- To find the perfect Cornish pasty recipe for my pasty-obsessed husband – Still on the hunt. Does the perfect pasty actually exist?!
- To cook as much as I can using simple, fresh ingredients – The new Ripe market and the Souk al Bahar organic farmers market have made this more achievable. It’s top of my list in again in 2012 aided by the expanding and exciting fresh, local and organic scene in Dubai.
- Cook and eat more fish – Visits to the fish market and the purchase of a gas barbecue made this a reality. Bravo to everything that Hugh’s Fish Fight has achieved this year in Europe too. I hope the ‘Choose wisely‘ campaign has such an impact here.
- Sharing some of my husband’s family recipes, passed down by his Grandmother – Must try harder with this one. I have so many delicious secrets to share.
- Attempt to make macarons – If 2011 taught me one thing it’s to be true to myself. I don’t really like macarons – they are too sweet and fiddly for me. My 13-year-old daughter made them and did a good job. 2012 is the year I master sour dough!
- To explore other cuisines – My journey with Foodalogue started the year, an Emirati feast ended it. The Fooderati Arabia crew provided so much in between (thank you especially to Abigail for introducing me to wonders of ube!)
Many of these resolutions are ongoing and will be carried over into 2012. Inspired by Jaden Hair this summer, I’ve decided on a life motto:
Explore every minute, enjoy every moment
I do take delight in the little things and have an enquiring mind but sometimes I get a bit gloomy so this is a reminder to enjoy the sunrise, my teens smiles (yes, teenage girls do smile), my husband’s jokes, the wind on my face, the dogs curled in my lap…to not get too bogged down with the trials of life. And I’m going to add one more resolution – be true to yourself and your interests; it’s really easy to become distracted by event, fads and other people’s agendas.
I’m going to keep and break that rule simultaneously right now. I was delighted to be tagged in Tripbase project by Jeanne from Cook sister! who asked me to look back on some of my pages. I’ve decided to decline as I had already done this in a fashion in February but urge you to read hers and also this one from Eggs on the Roof.
Chef Jae was championed by my teens in the Great British Bake Off this year and they boycotted the programme when he was excluded from the final. His great blog Preheat the Oven demonstrates that this didn’t stop his passion for baking and he tagged me in a Food Blogger’s Unplugged Q and A. This is, categorically, the last one I’ll answer in line with my new resolution (and in case I bore you all to death!)
What or who inspired you to start your blog?
Lost in the Larder, 101 Cookbooks and Ms Marmite Lover were the main catalysts (and continue to inspire).
Who is your foodie inspiration?
My Mum – although she’d fall off her chair if she read this! She brought us up with fresh vegetables from the garden and economical, tasty home cooking.
Your greasiest most batter splattered cook book is?
I have so many…Tamasin Day Lewis’s Art of the Tart has the most grease marks.
The best thing you have ever eaten in another country, where was it and what was it?
It started with pears with a Roquefort sauce, cooked by an ex-monk, in Santa Thomas Menorca on my first trip abroad as a wayward teenager.
Another Food Blogger’s table you would like to eat at?
Apart from Ms Marmite Lover’s Underground Restaurant, I’d love to eat some Polish food cooked by Ren Behan.
What one kitchen gadget would you like Santa to bring you? (money no object)
I have all the gadgets I need but an Aga and a country kitchen one day please!
Who taught you how to cook?
Leith’s Cookery School book – I read it from cover to cover and thought I’d cracked it! Then the real journey began…and still continues.
I’m coming to you for dinner, what is your signature dish?
Simple, comfort food – Spaghetti Carbonara and a glass of whatever white wine I used in it.
What is your guilty food pleasure?
Crisps – especially Kettle sea salt and vinegar.
Reveal something about yourself that others would be surprised to learn?
I don’t know…since I started blogging, my soul has been laid bare! What would surprise you dear readers? My ambivalence to cats, fear of injections, that I used to dance on tables now and again…? My sister reads my blog…maybe she’ll have a better idea.
Tag five other food bloggers to answer these questions
No obligation, but I’d love to hear what you five reveal:
Celia – Fig Jam and Lime Cordial
Stephanie – The Triangle Plate
Farwin – Love and other spices
Dima – Dima’s Kitchen
Nick – Lost in the Larder
Wishing you all a fabulous 2012 and, really, thanks for visiting. Is there anything you’d like to see more of on this page (or less of)? What did 2011 bring and what are you looking forward to in 2012?
Christmas pudding gratin
Part of the immense pleasure of festive celebratory meals is eating the left overs. Rather than something to get through, personally I regard them as good as the main event. A turkey sandwich with some shreds of lettuce, a wedge of stuffing and luscious layer of cranberry sauce; turkey and ham folded into a creamy white sauce and baked in a pie; Stilton with piquant cranberry on rye crackers; Christmas cake with Cheddar (honestly it works); Bubble and Squeak made with roast veg and sprouts topped with a poached egg – and pickles with everything.
The pinnacle of the after-feast for me is this gratin that actually surpasses the original incarnation. Much love, care, attention (and booze) is lavished on my Christmas pudding for a couple of months prior to the 25th. I revel in the spectacle of the blue flames as I light the brandy, but while digging a spoon into the moist, crumbly pudding with brandy butter and rum cream I’m already eyeing up the leftovers.
The genius of this gratin combines the fruity pud with a light, cloak of creamy, bourbon-laced custard. Simple to make, exquisite to eat.
The recipe is from Annie Bell and adapted only in the fact that I used Woodford Reserve Bourbon instead of rum or whisky with great success. In My Kitchen is one of my most well-thumbed recipe books especially at Christmas. I made three puddings this year – large, medium and small – just in case. Nigella‘s pudding recipe has been my favourite for the last few years (without the Pedro Ximenez as no-one stocks it here – importers please take note) although tempted to make this one next year as it uses ale and starts steeping in August.
There were no leftovers of the Buche de Noel
Looking back during this left-over part of the year, the high points for me have been the experiences and friendships I’ve made through My Custard Pie. Huge thanks to everyone who kept coming back, reading and commenting in 2011; it’s been a real pleasure getting to know you. I’m so excited about the potential that 2012 will bring, new friends, old friends, new experiences and familiar ones. I hope you’ll join me for the journey – wishing you all a spectacular New Year.
Christmas Pudding Gratin – printable version here
Ingredients
900 g Christmas pudding, cut into slices about 1 cm thick
350 ml full-cream milk
300 g crème fraîche
100 g vanilla caster sugar
45 ml bourbon (or dark rum or whisky)*
3 medium eggs
icing sugar for dusting
Method
Preheat the oven to 170°C (150°C fan oven) gas mark 4.
Cut the slices of pudding in half and lay them in overlapping rows in a 30cm x 20cm gratin dish, or equivalent, which will hold them snugly.
Whisk the milk, crème fraîche, sugar, bourbon and eggs in a jug until well combined. You can make the pudding in advance up to this point. Just before you are going to bake the gratin, pour the egg and milk mixture into the dish, making sure you coat the whole of the surface of the pudding. There should be small crags peeking out, but not too much otherwise it will burn. *If you avoid alcohol, use a generous teaspoon of vanilla extract instead of the bourbon (and a non-alcoholic Christmas pud).
Place the pudding in the oven and bake for 45-50 minutes until the custard has set and the surface is lightly golden in colour. Leave it to cool for 15 minutes if you can. Dust with the icing sugar before serving.
You could also use Christmas cake for this recipe – remove the icing and marzipan first. The gratin is best eaten light and freshly risen from the oven but also reheats quite well – the perfect leftover, leftovers!
What are your favourite left-over combinations or reincarnations?
My Custard Pie 