BRUSSELS SPROUTS & WASABI

Brussels sprouts in wasabi tempura batter

Recipe by Nigel Slater for the Observer

Sorry to appear insistent, but I must have my trinkets.  

This is the last chance. 

BLACKBERRY & WHISKY

Blackberry breakfast Cranachan (Serves 2)

* 40g barley oats

* 1tbsp flaked almonds

* 2 tbsp honey

* 2 tbsp whisky

* Natural yogurt

* 2 handfuls of blackberries

Toast the oats & almonds till slightly browning

Mix the honey, whisky & yogurt & gently fold everything together

I'll meet you by the statue before midnight.

CLEMENTINE & BLACK PEPPER

Clementine dipped in black pepper chocolate

Melt dark chocolate in a bain-marie and stir in some cracked black pepper & a pinch of salt

Dip the clementine segments & allow to dry

The relationship was built on the “ask no questions” basis.

BRUSSELS SPROUTS & HORSERADISH

Raw Brussels sprouts, bacon & pecans with a horseradish dressing  (Serves 2)

4 rashers bacon, grilled & chopped

200g brussels sprouts, trimmed & shredded
1 shallot, finely sliced

Small handful pecans, toasted

Dressing:

1½tbsp sour cream

1½tbsp natural yogurt

1tsp horseradish

½ lemon, juice

Celery salt & black pepper

She would sit & attack the modern shopping culture for having sacrificed the old values of personal service 

BANANA & SESAME

Toasted banana bread with tahini & honeycomb

* 50ml rapeseed oil

* 80g walnuts

* 2 mashed bananas

* 1 whole banana, cut into small chucks

* 100g soft brown sugar

* 2 eggs

* 100ml milk

* 190g wholemeal spelt flour

* ½tsp bicarbonate soda

* 1tsp baking powder

* 1tsp cinnamon

To serve

* 4tbsp tahini & 8tbsp natural yogurt mixed together

* Honeycomb

Preheat the oven 150°C. Grease a loaf tin.

Toast the walnuts in the oven.

Beat together the mashed banana, sugar & eggs

Drizzle in the oil & milk while beating

Sift in the dry ingredients & fold in the banana chunks & nuts

Pour into the tin & bake 1hour 20mins

Serve thick slices toasted with the tahini & honey

Kenneth More's name came up. Kenneth more was not an obvious choice. As an actor & a man he had a very conservative image.

Alan Bennett; Writing Home

PLUM & ALMOND

Plummy almond crumble mince pies (24-30 mini mince pies)

Mincemeat:

400g plums

100ml orange juice & zest 2 oranges

1 Bramley apple, 1cm cubes

100g chopped figs

200g raisins

100g sultanas

50g mixed peel

50g marmalade

100g Demerara sugar

½tsp ground ginger

1tsp cinnamon

¼ grated nutmeg

¼tsp ground cloves

25ml ginger wine

50g chopped almonds

30ml amaretto

Cook the plums & juice gently 20mins

Mix all except the amaretto

Leave 12 hours

110°C bake 2½ hours

Stir in the amaretto

Pastry:

200g spelt flour

100g cold butter

50g unrefined icing sugar

2 egg yolks

1tbsp amaretto

Rub the butter & flour together to make breadcrumbs, add the sugar, yolks & amaretto.

Roll into a flat ball & chill for 1 hour

Crumble:

60g spelt flour

40g butter

10g Demerara sugar

40g amaretti biscuits, crushed

25g flaked almonds

Rub the butter & flour to a crumble texture stir all together

Bake the mince pies 15mins at 180°C

There I go again!  Can't keep a story going in a straight line, can I?  Drunk in charge of a narrative.
Where was I?
There I was, one of the crowd, among the fairies, goblins, spirits
Angela Carter; Wild Children

SATSUMA & WINTER SAVORY

Satsuma, winter savory & caramelised almond salad 

* Vegetable oil

* 2 sprigs winter savory

* 2 satsumas, peeled & sliced horizontal

* 10 almonds

* 1tsp soy sauce

* 1tsp honey

* Pinch of ground ginger

* Pinch of chilli flakes

* Sea salt

* Olive oil

Heat the Vegetable oil till it is bubbling, fry the savory for 15 seconds & drain on kitchen paper.

Toast the almonds in pan then add the soy, honey & spice to caramelise. Chop in half when cool.

Lay out the satsuma slices, add the almonds, sprinkle over the savory, salt & a drizzle of olive oil

Historically what was once a three-dimensional object was now but a flat impression

CRANBERRY & CARDAMOM

Cranberry & cardamom sauce

250g cranberries

1 clementine, zest & juice

70g light Muscavado sugar

1tbsp port

3 cardamom pods, crushed

Simmer all for 10-15 mins

Served in a ham sandwich

You've changed, you have grown up, it's not just the lipstick & new fragrance.

CLEMENTINE & CARDAMOM

Baked Clementines with cardamom (Serves 2)

3 clementines, peeled halved

1 clementine, juiced

¼ vanilla pod

2 cardamom pods, crushed

1tbsp stem ginger syrup

1tbsp honey

Crushed biscotti / oat biscuit

Mix the clementine juice with honey & spices

Pour it over the clementines into a heatproof dish & bake 200°C for 10 mins, add the crushed biscuit & bake a further 5 mins.

Over the festive season bell ringing was the the preferred way to keep warm in that neck of the woods.

QUINCE & STAR ANISE

Star anise quince cheese

2 Quince

1 lemon

250ml water

2 star anise

360g caster sugar (450g sugar for every 500ml juice)

Wash & chop the quince, boil all except the sugar in a covered saucepan for 3 hours

Stir occasionally

Press through a sieve to extract the juice

Put the juice back in a pan with the sugar & boil till the mixture is thick enough to see the bottom of the pan when a spoon is stirred through

Pour in to moulds

Serve with cheese, terrines & pate

“Norwegian brown cheese; it’s like yellow cheese but in context” Fredricke

KALE & CHAMPAGNE

Kale, juniper & champagne (Adapted from Eat by Nigel Slater)

In some bacon fat or olive oil fry a sliced shallot with 2 crushed juniper berries.  Add a sprig of thyme, ½ glass sparkling wine & a handful of shredded kale & simmer covered 10 mins.  Season with with salt & pepper & serve with pork.

It would have been bitter cold, no stars, still pitch-dark. A cart went past with a load of kale; he got a lift a mile or two.

Wise Children, Angela Carter