Shakshuka

Todays recipe is the first in a four part series in which I have paired up with WeightWatchers to bring four new healthy recipes. There will be a couple dinner ideas, a brunch dish and a fabulous dessert, perfect for a valentines day treat. The first recipe is something I make all the time, especially when I want something quick and easy but full of flavour. I generally serve this Shaksuka as a breakfast dish along with a little sourdough break to dunk into the runny egg yolks and of course a big coffee to get the started off right. 

All the recipes in this new series are designed to fit into the new WeightWatchers Flex programme, and if you are following the programme you will be happy to know these dishes are fairly low in points per portion so super easy to fit into the programme. Along with the written recipe we also filmed them all so make sure you are subscribed to my channel for lots of new recipes each and every week. 

Shakshuka 

1 large onion, peeled and sliced
1 red pepper, cut into slices
1 red chilli, sliced (seeds optional)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
2 tbsp tomato puree
400g chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp roughly chopped parsley, plus extra for garnish
1-2 tsp red wine vinegar
4 large eggs
40g light feta cheese, crumbled

Spray a non-stick frying pan with a little cooking spray and set over a medium heat, cook the onion and peppers for about 10 minutes until the onion is translucent. Add the red chilli and garlic and cook for a few minutes more.

Add the spices and cook for a minute before adding the chopped tomatoes and puree. Fill the can with water and add this to the pan too. Cook for 10-15 minutes or until the mixture has reduced to a thick saucy consistency, then reduce the heat to low.

Add the parsley and red wine vinegar, to taste, brightening the sauce a little. Make four wells in the sauce and crack an egg into each one. Place a lid on the pan and cook the eggs for about 6-7 minutes or until the whites have just set.  Remove and serve immediately, sprinkling with a little extra parsley and feta.

This post is sponsored by WeightWatchers

French Lemon Tarts

What does it take for a brit to get his hands on some meyer lemons? Turns out it’s a simple matter of one transatlantic flight, a garden in Alabama, and an editor willing to carry some in his hand luggage on another flight across America! Simple really. On a trip to NYC, at the end of last year, I was determined to get my hands on some meyer lemons, the less sour, sweeter and more perfumed cousin to the classic lemon we all know and love. Maybe its because living in the cold winter tundra of London the idea of those lemons, grown in warmer environs, warms my heart or maybe its simply I like the idea of using something I cant normally get my hands on, either way I was excited to see what all the fuss is about. Enter my editors at Bake From Scratch, Brian and Brooke, who conspired to get a bag of lemons to me, grown in a garden in Alabama and hand delivered to me in NYC, if thats not friendship I'm not sure what is. Edit: I should say Brian didn't fly to NYC just to deliver me some lemons, that would be crazy, he was already coming to town!

I was determined to use them in something where the lemon flavour would shine and not be beaten into submission by sugar, or overpowered by countless other ingredients. A lemon tart seemed the perfect test subject. Now, while there is absolutely nothing wrong with a classic baked lemon tart my preference is the french lemon cream tart (me make a french dish, how unsurprising!). The texture of the cream is a silky, buttery dream but starts off in the same way as any traditional lemon curd. You cook the lemon together with sugar and eggs until thickened, then off the heat add the butter. So far so familiar, but it’s the exact method that makes this all so special. Firstly the amount of butter is increased, isn't everything better when there is more butter, and secondly it’s the way it is incorporated into the curd that makes the world of difference. With a traditional curd you either cook the butter and lemon mixture together, which in my mind is the worst method, or it is added immediately after the egg mixture is cooked. Both of these methods melt the butter fully, giving a greasier fattier end product. By waiting for the egg mixture to cool slightly and then slowly emulsifying the butter in a bit by bit you end up with something that is somewhere between a traditional curd and a french buttercream made with egg yolks, beautifully silky and the perfect tart filling. 

I cannot say with any accuracy or confidence who invented this style of cream but the first place I encountered it was in the pages of one of the Pierre Herme books written by the wonderful Dorie Greenspan, and it is her basic method I have used ever since (although the ratio of ingredients in my version is different to suit my tastes). Over the years this style has become incredibly popular and if you visit the patisseries of Paris these days your lemon tart is more likely to be made with this method than the traditional baked method. If you want a different version you can use any citrus to make the cream, adjusting the sugar to fit the sharpness of the fruit. As I was using meyer lemons I knocked the sugar down just a tad, but the recipe below is for regular lemons.

Lemon Cream Tarts
Makes 6

Lemon Cream
150ml lemon juice
zest of 3 lemons
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
150g caster sugar
225g unsalted butter, diced and at room temperature

Pate Sucree
recipe here

Start with the lemon cream as it needs ample chilling time before it is ready to use. Add the lemon juice, lemon zest, eggs, egg yolks and caster sugar into a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water and cook, stirring regularly until the mixture reaches 80c on an instant read thermometer. The temperature is key because it needs to be fully cooked like a custard so the finished cream holds the correct texture. I have said here to do this stage in a bain marie but half of the time I just place the ingredients directly into a saucepan and do this over a low heat stirring constantly. It is quicker than the bain marie method but it is also more prone to catching and overcooking so if you decide to do it this way be very careful and keep the heat down low. 

Once the custard is cooked pour it into a large jug, through a fine sieve to remove any cooked egg bits, allowing to cool for 15 minutes, when it should be about 60c. Using some form of blender (traditional jug style or stick blender both work great) blend in the butter a couple piece at a time. If using a stick blender do this in the jug you cooled the curd, the depth of the jug means you wont end up incorporating too much air which you're trying to avoid (the same reason it is best not to use a food processor). Once all of the butter has been incorporated pour the cream into a container, press a sheet of clingfilm onto the surface of the custard and refrigerate for at least fours hours, until the mixture thickens up. 

Remove the chilled pastry from the fridge and cut into six equal sized pieces and working with one at a time roll out, on a lightly floured worksurface, until 2-3mm thick. Use to line either six 10cm loose bottomed tart tins or as I do use tart rings, which give a more modern style. Trim off the excess and set onto a parchment lined baking tray. Line each tart with a piece of crumpled parchment paper and fill with rice (I prefer rice to baking beans as they are lighter and smaller so less likely to damage the delicate pastry but mainly they are smaller so fit into the corners of the pastry better so you get a better finish, plus rice is much cheaper). 

Blind bake the tart shells at 190c for about 15/20 minutes before removing the rice and parchment  and baking for a further 10 minutes or until the inside is nice and golden. Once baked set aside to cool. Once ready to serve remove the cream from the fridge and fill the tart shells. Set back in the fridge for about 30 minutes before serving to firm up again. For this version I have topped with a little bit of swiss meringue, blowtorching to give a lemon meringue tart vibe. 

The cream can be made a few days in advance but once the tart shells are filled with the cream they are best eaten the same day.

Triple Ginger Bundt Cake

GIngerbread is a big deal in my family, a really big deal. My grandmother, Nanna, had a version that was made once a week, a firm family favourite, it is one of those recipes that I will cherish and bake forever. Even though she passed away when I was little I have her handwritten recipe and make it often. It helps that it is incredibly easy to make, a simple wet into dry, muffin style method, and I do love a recipe that massively exceeds in taste the effort required to make it. Whilst I have a lot of loyalty to that recipe for this gingerbread I wanted a slightly different tone, something darker, more intense, something similar to my other favourite gingerbread recipe; the legendary ginger stout cake from Claudia Fleming, a recipe she developed whilst the pastry chef at The Gramercy Tavern. The recipe appears in her out of print of book The Last Course, a copy of which I am lucky to own (it is currently being sold on amazon for £138!). Similarly to Flemings recipe mine is oil based and uses a stout to give extra depth, instead of the usual go-to guinness I went with a chocolate stout. To give a darker, richer flavour I switched my recipe from golden syrup to black treacle and upped the spicing, using a trifecta of ginger in the form of ground, fresh and candied, I wanted this to be a properly fiery gingerbread. 

Triple Ginger Bundt Cake
Serves 12-16

340g plain flour
2 tbsp ground ginger
1 tsp mixed spice
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
1/4 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
1 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
175g vegetable oil
150g light brown sugar
2 tbsp freshly grated ginger
4 tbsp roughly chopped candied ginger
340g black treacle (or molasses)
200ml stout (I used chocolate stout but any stout will work) 
2 large eggs

Making this cake really couldn't be easier, simply preheat the oven to 180C (160C fan) and take a a 10-cup bundt pan, I used Nordicware's Kougelhopf pan, and lightly grease, making sure to cover the entire pan right into all of the crevices of the pan. Lightly dust the inside of the pan with a little flour, tapping out any excess.  

In a large bowl mix together all of the dry goods. Add the remaining ingredients, except the eggs, into a saucepan and heat over medium heat cooking until the sugar has melted and everything is evenly combined. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly before whisking in the eggs. Pour the liquid goods over the flour mixture and whisk briefly until smoothly combined. Pour into the prepared bundt pan and place onto a baking tray, baking in the preheated oven for about 45-50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely. If you fancy you can glaze or frost the cake but personally I think a simple dusting of icing sugar works perfectly. 

As with all gingerbread recipes this actually improves after a couple days, the flavour gets better and the cake gets stickier. 

Cranberry Meringue Roulade with Orange Mascarpone

During the Christmas festivities we put a lot of pressure on ourselves to make elaborate meals with fancy desserts that take time and effort to make. Nothing wrong with that but per se but sometimes that effort and time means less time spent with family and friends, to enjoy the holiday. This dessert is perfect for those of us that want something delicious but also something that is quick and simple to prepare. If you've never made a meringue roulade before don't fret, they are fairly forgiving and as they are prone to the occasional crack, embrace them and forget about perfection, rustic is the name of the game with this recipe.

Cranberry Compote

200g cranberries, fresh or frozen

75g caster sugar

juice of 1 lemon

Roulade

4 large eggs

225g caster sugar

a few drops of lemon juice

1 tsp almond extract

1 tsp cornflour

4 tbsp flaked almonds

Orange Mascarpone Cream

250ml double cream

225g mascarpone

zest of 1 large orange

Preheat the oven to 180C (160C fan).

To make the compote place the cranberries into medium sized saucepan along with the sugar and lemon juice. Cook over a medium/high heat until the cranberries have released a lot of juice and it has reduced to a syrupy consistency, roughly 5-10 minutes. Remove from the heat, pour into a small container, cover, and refrigerate until needed. This compote is sharp from the cranberries and lemon juice but don't be tempted to add more sugar, the sweetness of the meringue and the creaminess of the mascarpone balance this out beautifully.

To make the roulade, lightly grease a 37x26cm rimmed baking tray (the exact size is not crucial but if you you go much smaller the meringue will be very thick and hard to roll and much bigger the meringue will be thin and will crack more than expected) and line with a piece of parchment paper allowing a little excess to go up the sides of the tray, the meringue will rise a little as it bakes and you don’t want to end up with the roulade glued to the rim of the tray. To make the roulade, place the egg whites into a large bowl and mix with an electric whisk on high speed until the egg white is foamy. Slowly add the sugar, a tablespoon at a time, whisking until the meringue holds stiff peaks. Add the almond extract and cornflour and whisk briefly to combine. Spread the meringue evenly over the prepared baking tray and sprinkle with the flaked almonds. Bake in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes or until the meringue is lightly browned and feels firm to the touch, don't worry the meringue will be soft and pillowy underneath meaning it will be easy to roll.

Remove the roulade from the oven and immediately turn it out onto another sheet of parchment paper, peeling off what was the original lining. Allow the meringue to cool.

For the mascarpone filling, add the mascarpone and orange zest to a large bowl and beat together until the mascarpone is soft. In a separate bowl whisk the cream until it barely holds it shape. Fold the cream into the mascarpone in two or three additions, as you add the cream and mix it together the mixture should become a little stiffer, you want a soft cloud like mixture, that perfect light whipped cream consistency.

To assemble the roulade spread the cream evenly over the meringue and top with dollops of the compote, lightly swirling to combine. Gently roll the roulade into a tight spiral, using the parchment to help tease the meringue into shape. Don’t worry that the outside will crack a little, its part of the charm of a meringue roulade and perfection is overrated anyway.

To finish dust with a little icing sugar or top with a few extra cranberries. Serve on the day made, refrigerating until needed if not serving straight away.