Rhubarb

©eleanorwright

With spring on the way, I got inspired! With forced rhubarb in season at the moment, I decided it was going to be the theme for this week’s blog post.

I have loved rhubarb since, well I can’t remember, my gran grew it in her garden and would make rhubarb jam and make other delights as well. Forced rhubarb has it’s own tale, sweeter in taste, forced to grow in the dark and picked by candle light.

Normally I blog one sweet and one savoury recipe but this week I have decided to treat you all to two sweet recipes (because this month, I have given up chocolate for lent so I’m craving sweet things). So the first recipe this week is a rhubarb cheesecake, to me this recipe screams spring with it’s refreshing taste.

©eleanorwright

Rhubarb Cheesecake

Ingredients:

• 200g digestive biscuits
• 100g unsalted butter
• 400g full-fat soft cheese
• 50g icing sugar
• juice ½ lemon
• 100g Greek yogurt
• roasted rhubarb, for the topping

Method:

1. Crush the digestive biscuits in a sealed bag until you get fine crumbs.
2. Gently melt the butter, then mix into the crumbs.
3. Press evenly into a 20cm loosebottomed round cake tin. Chill in the fridge while you make the filling.
4. Put the remaining ingredients into a bowl and mix together until smooth. Spread over the base, then smooth the top with a knife.
5. Leave in the fridge overnight to set.
6. Meanwhile, trim 400g rhubarb into 2.5cm pieces. Place in a roasting dish.
7. Sprinkle with zest and juice of 1 orange and 3 tbsp caster sugar.
8. Cook for 10-15 mins in a 220C/fan 200C/ gas 7 oven until just soft. Leave to cool.
9. Remove the cake from the tin and top with roasted rhubarb.

This is a delicious, light and refreshing recipe, the essence of spring to me!

©eleanorwright

Now this recipe is a little bit more long winded than the last one, but if you are a fan of rhubarb and custard then this is a recipe for you!

Rhubarb and Custard Tart

Ingredients:

For Pastry:

• 225g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• 3 tbsp icing sugar
• 140g unsalted butter
• 1 medium egg yolk, plus 1 medium egg yolk beaten, for glazing

For Vanilla Custard:

• ½ vanilla pod
• 250ml whole milk
• 1 large egg, plus 2 large egg yolks
• 100g golden caster sugar
• 25g cornflour
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter

For Roasted Rhubarb:

• 700g thin forced rhubarb (about 5 stalks), trimmed, rinsed and cut into 9cm long pieces
• 175g golden caster sugar

Method:

1. Put the flour, icing sugar and a pinch of salt in a large bowl and mix together. Add the butter and rub together until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add 1 egg yolk, and 1 tbsp cold water, and mix together until it just starts to come together as a dough.
2. Tip the mixture onto a clean work surface, knead together, then wrap the pastry in cling film and chill for at least 1 hr before rolling out.
3. Put the vanilla beans scraped from the pod in a pan over a medium heat, add the milk and bring to the boil.
4. Meanwhile, tip the egg, yolks, sugar and cornflour into a bowl and whisk together until smooth.
5. Pour the milk over the egg mixture, whisking to combine. Pour the custard back into the pan and cook, whisking constantly, for 2-3 mins until thickened.
6. Scrape into a bowl and add the butter, mixing until melted and combine, then chill for 3hrs.
7. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry into a large rectangle big enough to line a 30 x 20cm rectangular tart tin. Carefully drape the pastry into the tin, pressing into the corners and edges, then cut off the remaining edges. Chill for 30 mins or until the pastry is firm.
8. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Line the tart with a piece of crumpled baking parchment and fill with baking beans. Bake for about 30 mins, then remove the parchment and the beans, and return to the oven for another 5 mins or until the base is golden brown. Brush the inside of the tart with the remaining beaten egg yolk and return to the oven for 1 min to set (this creates a seal, meaning the pastry won’t become soggy, hopefully). Set aside to cool.
9. Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Put the rhubarb in a small roasting tin and sprinkle over the sugar    . Roast for 15-20 mins, or until the rhubarb has softened. Remove from the oven, and allow to cool.
10. Remove the custard from the fridge, beat to loosen, then pour over the pastry and smooth with a spatula and then top with the roasted rhubarb. Best eaten on the day its made.

A Bunch of Carrots

©eleanorwright

This weeks post is all about carrots! I’m a big fan of using seasonal food and I’m a huge supporter of knowing the provenance of your food (and without trying to reel off my whole dissertation), I believe  in supporting the smaller producers whether locally or globally (got to love the fair-trade bananas!)

My ingredients this week mainly came from my local fruit and veg shop which is supplied by local produces whenever possible. Of course some ingredients have come from supermarkets (because come on who can’t shop there!) It’s all about moderation, I try to know the provenance of my food, preferably the who, the where and the ethics but realistically I find it is impossible to know where everything in my cupboard comes from.

Anyway enough on ethics for one blog post and back to carrots! So once more I have done two recipes this week, one savoury, one sweet. I really enjoyed making and shooting the recipes this week, really missed it, so enjoy!

©eleanorwright

My first recipe this week is a delicious veggie burger.

Carrot and Chickpea Burger:

Serves: 8   Prep: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 750g carrots
• 410g can chickpeas
• 1 small onion
• 2 tsp curry paste
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 egg
• 200g breadcrumbs (optional extra for coating the burgers)

Method:

1. Put a third of the grated carrot in a food processor with the chickpeas, onion (roughly chop), curry paste, 1 tsp cumin and egg. Whizz to a thick paste, then scrape into a large bowl.
2. Heat a little oil in your largest frying pan, tip in the remaining carrot with 1tsp of cumin and some salt and pepper and cook for 8-10 mins, until the carrot is softened – it will become more golden.
3. Add the cooked carrot to the whizzed paste with 100g breadcrumbs. Add seasoning, then mix together well with your hands.
4. Divide the mixture into 6, then using floured hands shape into burgers and as an optional extra dip in the remaining breadcrumbs.
5. Heat a little oil in a frying pan. Cook the burgers for 5 mins on each side, until golden and crisp.
6. Meanwhile prepare the buns, whether you wanted them toasted or not. When the burgers are ready, top each bun with some rocket, add the burger then add the topping of your choice, I went for raw onion but you may prefer to caramelise the onion instead (just as tasty!).

©eleanorwright

My next recipe is from The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook and is the best carrot cake recipe I have found! My housemates at uni loved it, one in particular couldn’t get enough of it!

Carrot Cake:

Serves: 8-10   Prep: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

• 300g soft light brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• 300ml sunflower oil
• 300g plain flour
• 1tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1tsp baking powder
• 1tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 300g carrots

Cream Cheese Icing:

• 500g icing sugar
• 85g butter
• 200g soft cheese

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 170C (325F) Gas 3
2. Beat together the sugar, eggs and oil until all the ingredients are well incorporated (don’t worry if the mixture looks split, it’s meant to!)
3. Slowly add the flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, salt and extract and continue to beat until it’s well mixed together.
4. Grate the carrots and stir in until they are all evenly dispersed (if you wish you can add some chopped up walnuts for an extra crunch).
5. Pour the mixture into the prepared cake tins (mine fitted into 3). Bake in the preheated oven for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown and spongy.
6. Leave the cakes to fully cool before icing.
7. For the icing, beat together the icing sugar and butter (I found separating the butter with your fingers first helps). Once it resembles a crumble mix add the cream cheese and beat until it is completely incorporated and is light and fluffy.
8. Then ice the cake a layer at a time, then serve.

 

So that’s carrot week! Do try the carrot cake. It is to die for!