Pan-Bagnat: A rather extravagant sandwich - 2 hours to prepare, but worth it!

Confession time! I saw this recipe in a magazine and decide I'd embark upon it for lunch. This decision was made at about 11 o'clock. I'm not one for reading recipes from start to finish before I start, and it was only when I started it, I realised it was more likely going to be ready for tea time rather than lunch!!

So, warning for you....should you wish to make this (and I highly recommend it), make it the day before you need it and fridge it until the chosen point!

The recipe is based on a french dish called Pan-Bagnat. It's essentially a hollowed out loaf, filled with roasted vegetables and cheese and pressed in the fridge for several hours. This allows the flavours and juices to be absorbed by the bread and sliced in lovely chunks for a healthy, tasty lunch-time meal.

It's a great picnic dish and I think best served for crowds, this much effort invested in a sandwich deserves to be shared!

The key ingredients here are a decent loaf (I favour a multi-grain one as I think it holds the shape better) and fresh vegetables. Don't follow the ingredients too slavishly - if there is something you don't like just swap it for more of something you do!

....feedahappylife's selection of vegetables....

...preferred bread...

Pan-Bagnat (serves 4)

• 1 red pepper, quartered
• 1 yellow pepper, quartered
• 1 large courgette, sliced
• 2 portabella mushrooms, halved
• 1 aubergine, sliced length ways
• Olive oil
• Red wine vinegar
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• Handful basil leaves, torn
• Large, round, crusty loaf
• 3 tbsp caper puree (or olive tapenade or pesto)
• 125g mozzarella, drained and sliced
• Seasoning

Step 1: Place vegetables in a single layer, pour over a good glug of oil and grill for 10 minutes (turning half way through). You might need to do this a few times to get through all of the vegetables

Step 2: Make the dressing by mixing half the basil, a glug of oil, a glug of vinegar, seasoning and the crushed garlic in a large bowl. Stir together to combine and add the roasted vegetables to the boil and toss gently. Leave vegetables to cool.

Step 3: Slice of the bread 'lid' and remove all of the inner bread (leave a 1 cm shell). I keep the inner bread, shred and freeze for breadcrumbs for other dishes...

Step 4: Cover the inside of your bread with your choice of paste

Step 5: Take the cooled vegetables and squeeze them dry between sheets of kitchen roll (this is really important and will stop your bread going soggy). Slice the mushroom halves and put to one side.

Step 6: Layer up your cooled vegetables and press firmly into the bread. Alternative vegetables with mozzarella slices and torn basil leaves. Leave the mushrooms until last and add to the top.

Step 7: Place the lid back on the bread and wrap tightly in cling film. Place the bread between two plates and weight down with tins for two hours in the fridge

Step 8: Remove cling-film, cut into slices and serve

Hope you enjoy,
Helen x

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Posh Onion and Fig Tart Tatin served with Parmesan Ice-Cream

I got a little bit carried away with this one....

I rather fell in love with the picture of Italian simplicity below and decided to give the recipe a go..

It was as advertisement from Discover the Origin, a campaign to publicise Italian ingredients, and I thought it looked like a nice, indulgent treat. However, it was a bit of a faff..... The Parmesan ice cream had to be made the day before and I had to trudge around Nottingham to buy figs (Sainsbury's & Tesco's both failed me, though I did discover a rather lovely fruit and veg shop that saved the day!).

After all the faffing, I still found the ice cream to be grainy (sometimes happens with homemade ice cream made without a machine), the figs somewhat redundant and the parma ham a slightly odd addition (clearly, I'm a heathen). My partner quite enjoyed it, which is fine because I wont be making the dish again! So why write about it here you may ask??

We'll, I was rather impressed by the onion tatin. Dark, flavoursome onions, enhanced greatly by the addition of Marsala and thyme and finished simply with ready-made puff pastry. For that reason, I've only included the recipe for the onion tatin below (minus the figs) - however, if anyone wants the entire recipe to better my attempt, drop me an e-mail.

Onion and Thyme Tart Tatin (serves 4)

• 1 sheet puff pastry
• 50g butter
• 4 large onions, sliced
• 2 tsp caster sugar
• 2 tsp best balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp thyme leaves, chopped
• 2 tbsp Marsala

Step 1: Preheat oven to 180c

Step 2: Sweat onions in butter until golden and soft (about 15 minutes, don't rush this bit!). Add the Marsala and thyme leaves and stir though until absorbed

Step 3: Using the tart tin you intend to bake with, place upside down on the pastry and cut out circles for the tart base. Leave to one side for now.

Step 4: Add the onions to your greased chosen tart tins (I used individual but you can use a large tin if you want to serve in slices).

Step 5: Cover with your pastry circle and gently tuck down the side of the dish

Step 6: Bake for 20 minutes (small tart) 25 minutes (large tart), until pastry is golden brown.

Step 7: Run a knife round the edge and, using a serving plate over the top, flip out to serve

Step 8: Serve warm with salad or vegetables

Hope you enjoy,
Helen x

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Homemade Pumpkin Ravioli

There are so many factors that come into play when deciding whether to cook a dish or buy a dish ready made....Have I got the time? How much does it cost to buy? How much time will it take me to prepare? Is there really going to be a noticeable difference between the bought and made dish?.....

I think that, when faced with these questions, there are a few core staples that often get the 'buy' rather than 'make' decision. For me, there are:

• Pastry (I'm still not very good at this!)
• Bread (so much kneading and proving and waiting etc...)
• Pasta (so much equipment required and so many nice, ready made choices

However, I have learnt that when you tackle these and take on their challenge, they seem to generate happiness in abundance for you and for others. Part pride and part amazement that you can pull it off, the feeling they generate ensures that the occasional 'make' decision for these pays off.

Pasta has been the one I've avoided for some time, assuming you need so much equipment to do it. So, I bought the equipment (the pasta maker, ravioli mould etc...) and actually found that it worked better when I just used a rolling pin and my fingers! A food mixer with a dough hook will make the kneading stage considerably easier, but it's by no means a requirement. You'll just have to get your arm muscles ready otherwise...

I made pumpkin and sweet potato ravioli (inspired by a Rick Stein recipe), but once you've cracked it, you can play around with the fillings to your hearts delight! I fancy making a goats cheese and pesto filling next time.....

Pumpkin and Sweet Potato Ravioli with Sage Butter (serves 4 as a starter)

Pasta

• 225g plain flour
• ¼ tsp salt
• ½ tsp olive oil
• 2 medium eggs
• 4 medium eggs, yolks only

Filling

• 300g pumpkin and sweet potato mix (I used Sainsbury's prepared bag)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp fennel seeds (grind lightly in pestle and mortar)
• 1 medium egg, yolk only
• 25g Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• 2 amaretti biscuits (crushed)
• 15g fresh white breadcrumbs
• seasoning

Sage Butter

• 75g salted butter
• 20 sage leaves

Step 1: Preheat oven to 200c/GM 6. Spread the pumpkin and sweet potato in a even layer on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and roast for 30 minutes

Step 2: Whilst vegetables are roasting, make the pasta. In a large bowl (or food mixer bowl) add all the pasta ingredients and mix together. Then you'll need to knead. If you have a dough hook, attach to mixer and let it do it's thing for 10 minutes. If you haven't, flour your surface and knead for 10 minutes. Essentially you need to create a pliable, elastic dough.

Step 3: Wrap your pasta dough in cling-film and rest for 20 minutes

Step 4: Remove your roasted vegetables and puree them (either with a blender stick or the back of a fork). Add to the vegetables all of the remaining filling ingredients and stir through to combine

Step 5: If you have a pasta machine, divide your dough into manageable pieces and feed through the machine (you'll need to work it down to setting number 2 for ravioli). If you've not got a machine, don't worry! Just take small pieces of pasta and roll them into a thin disk on a lightly floured surface
Step 6: Cut the pasta into squares (about 8cm squared - but you don't need to be too exact!) and add a tsp of the filling in the middle

Step 7: Fold the pasta over the filling so all the sides meet. Squeeze out any air and press the sides together to seal them (you may need to add a little water to the edge with your finger if it's not sticking). Repeat until all of your filling has been used (should make about 16).

Step 8: Boil a saucepan of salted water and reduce to a simmer. Gently place your ravioli into the water and cook for about 4 minutes

Step 9: Whilst the ravioli is cooking, make your sauce. Melt the butter in a saucepan on a high heat. Add the sage leaves to fry in the butter (the butter should start to foam). Remove from the heat.

Step 10: Drain you ravioli and place on warmed dishes. Pour over your sage butter and serve.

So there you have it. Fresh pasta, straight from your kitchen! Realistically, this takes a least 1 hour to prepare, so I think it's more of a special occasion dish...on week nights I'll revert to the ready made option!

Top Tips

• There are a few tools you can invest in if you want to create less rustic ravioli....

....Lakeland Ravioli Press (around £14)...

...Pastry Wheel (about £22)...

• A pasta maker will be a good investment if you want to make lasagna sheets, spaghetti etc.. You can get manual or automatic ones...Honestly though, I think you need to make pasta quite a lot to justify the investment

Hope you enjoy,
Helen x

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Popeye Pie (or Spinach & Feta Filo pie if you prefer!)

Spinach ends up in my shopping trolley every week. It's cheap, healthy and either served hot or cold it has multiple recipe uses.

It's full of good things to make your body happy! Containing iron, vitamins A and C, thiamin, potassium and folic acid - no wonder it made Popeye grow up big and strong! .

Typically, I serve it wilted with a little butter and nutmeg or in a salad where it's firm leaves can take on warm, spicy chorizo and dense, creamy butter beans. However, I'm sure you can make a spinach salad without my help, so Popeye Pie is a slightly more adventurous way of dealing with it......

This dish is based on the classic Greek recipe Spanakotyropita, however I've taken out the herbs and added onions as I think this improves the final result....(I'm sure a Greek person would chastise me greatly for this..!).

You can serve this in thick wedges, hot or cold, which means it's a great picnic dish or vegetarian main (use vegetarian feta though if you are going down this route). My preference is to serve it as a summery alternative to a Sunday roast, eaten with a pile of basmati rice and crisp green leaves spiked with a lemon dressing. This serves 6, so you can get people round, enjoy the weather, food and their company. Perfect!

Popeye Pie

2 onions (1 red & 1 white)
50g butter
2 cloves crushed garlic (or use puree)
1/2 tsp grated nutmeg (fresh if possible)
200g feta
2 eggs
filo pastry (4 sheets required)
salt/pepper

Step 1: Heat oven to 200c/GM6

Step 2: Slice onions and cook on a medium in about 20g of the butter until soft and golden

Step 3: Add the garlic, cook through for about 2 mins and then add the spinach (you'll need to do this a handful at a time until it wilts before adding the next). Put in a bowl to cool

Step 4: Add to your cooled spinach, crumbled feta, beaten eggs, nutmeg and seasoning (it looks funny but will taste great - promise!)

Step 5: Melt the remaining butter (30 seconds in the microwave normally does it..) and use some of this to butter a springform cake tin (normal 'victoria sponge' size - I used a deep one but I think shallow might be better). Next, add 1 sheet of filo so it covers the bottom of the tin but leaves pastry hanging over the side. Butter the filo sheet and turn the tin 90 degrees. Repeat with each remaining sheet (not as complicated as it might read...)

Step 6: Press the spinach filling into the tin and gently pull the sheets over the top to cover it up*. Brush with the remaining butter

Step 7: Bake for 25 - 30 minutes until the top is golden. Remove and leave to cool for 5 minutes if serving hot or until fully cold and chill for eating later.

Top Tips

• *Worst case scenario...you may find a gap in the top where the pastry hasn't quite covered the filling. Don't panic! Just get 1 more sheet of filo, scrunch it up, apply to the top and brush with melted butter. Solved!
• Bacon/Pancetta make a great addition to this recipe. Pan fry first and then add to the mix before pressing into the tin.
• You can experiment quite a lot with the fillings too. I've tried pumpkin (roasted, pureed and mixed with 1 egg yolk, Parmesan, nutmeg and fresh white breadcrumbs) and roasted vegetables. Both taste great hot or cold.

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Sexy Sides!

Some may say that writing an entry tenuously linking food and, ahem, sex is a blatant attempt to get more people to find my page in google....you may be right but go with me a little.....

I think the way people react to food is a very personal thing. Some people get giddy over chocolate, some weep for cheese and some hanker for a nice, juicy steak over all else. I think I'm still finding my true food love but there are certainly some things that fill my head, heart and tummy with happiness.

There are foods that make me smile (soft piles of marshmallows), some that provide comforting warmth (silky, smooth risottos) and some that make me want to feel the sun on my skin, reach for the wine glass and laugh uncontrollably with loved ones. It's this food that I think of as sexy food.

My requirements for sexy food are quite specific:

1. It must promise pleasure on the plate
2. It's flavours must surprise
3. It's textures must interest
4. It must be light in the mouth and light in the tummy
5. It must inspire thoughts of summer
6. It must take very little effort and not detract from all the fun that will ensue

A hard task! However, I'm not prescriptive on what course this applies to. It could as easily be an elderflower granita for dessert as a whole, roasted sea bream for main. So, here I share a few of the side dishes I consider to meet the bill:

• Roasted red pepper, goats cheese, walnut and honey
• Baked fennel, stuffed with orange and feta breadcrumbs

It was only after a little research that I realised there may be a little bit more in the appeal of these dishes than meets the eye! Both fennel and honey are natural aphrodisiacs, popularised by the Egyptians. Well.... if it was good enough for Cleopatra.....

Red Pepper, Goats Cheese Walnut and Honey Salad (serves 2)

2 long red peppers

2 handfuls of large walnuts

100g soft, crumbly goats cheese

2 tablespoons best honery

seasoning

salad leaves (to serve)

Step 1: Halve and deseed peppers

Step 2: Place peppers on a lightly oiled baking tray and bake in the oven (160c) for 10-15 minutes until softening

Step 3: Sprinkle goats cheese and walnuts over the peppers and roast for 10 minutes (careful the walnuts don't burn)

Step 4: Remove from the oven, season lightly and serve warm drizzled with honey

Baked fennel, stuffed with orange and feta breadcrumbs (serves 2)

 
2 fennel bulbs
olive oil
1 orange
50g feta
100g dried breadcrumbs
seasoning
orange slices (to serve - optional)
 
Step 1: Halve the bulbs and remove the core to create a sort of fennel bowl

 

 
Step 2: Drizzle over oil, season, cover with foil and roast for 15 mins (160c)
 
Step 3: Whislt roasting, zest and juice the orange. Mix zest, half the juice, feta, glug of oil and breadcrumbs together to make a fragrant, mouldable stuffing (if it's too dry, add more juice/oil). Season to taste.
 
Step 4: Remove the foil from the fennel and press the stuffing into the bulb cavity. Roast for 15 minutes until the stuffing is golden and crispy.
 
Step 5: Serve with slices of orange
 
I've reverting to type with my next post.... the waist-expanding delights of Pavlova Supernova!
Helen x

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Holiday Memories

Feedahappylife has been on holiday! Not that you'd know it with all the chip & dip posting that's been occuring!

Anyway, I've been off on my travels to Greece, specifically the island of Rhodes, and have returned happy, refreshed and full of lovely memories.

Holidays for me are generally, and perhaps not surprisingly, remembered by the food I indulged in at the time. A childhood trip to France evokes thoughts of beach picnics with sand-covered Boursin and crusty bread. A school trip to Italy brings back unhappy thoughts of over-cooked veal and omelet sandwiches abandoned in a bin in Rome. A trip to Canada remembered by Steamroller Burritos whilst watching the sunset. You get the idea!

During my last few holidays, I've tried to get a little deeper into local food culture by walking round food markets and attending cookery classes during my trip. It's such an enjoyable way to get off the tourist trail, meet local residents and take some unique memories home.

A little searching in Rhodes led me to a cookery course at the Melenos Lindos hotel - a mere 10 minute drive from where I was staying.

I arrived for my class with little knowledge of who I was about to meet and what I was about to cook! Upon being ushered into the kitchen I was delighted to realise I had three chefs all to myself for the ninety minute lesson, where I was to cook Tsatziki, Moussaka and Feta Parcels. I also received a tour of their gardens, where the hotel grew so much of their own produce, and saw fat almonds ripening on trees.

I thought I'd share the lovely recipes with you over the next few blog posts, so you can try them too! I've written the recipe for the Feta Filo parcels below, next I'll post the recipe for the amazing Moussaka mid-week and then I'll conclude at the weekend with a selection of my own mezze recipes (great for indulging in whilst the football is on!).

Feta Filo Parcels (recipe courtesy of Melenos Lindos)

Serves 1

                                

3 sheets of filo pastry

1 large cube of feta (200g)

Zest of 1 lime

Water

Sesame seeds (50g plain and 50g black)

Honey

Olive oil (for frying)

Step 1. Lay out 3 sheets of filo on top of each other, place the feta towards 1 end of the filo and top with half of the lime zest.

                                                

Step 2. Apply water to the edges of the filo and fold sides over the feta and roll over to form a parcel.

                                                

                                                

Step 3. Quickly dip/brush water over the parcel and roll in the sesame seeds

Step 4. Heat enough oil in a pan to fry the parcels. Test the heat by dropping a sesame seed into the oil - it needs to be hot enough to sizzle immediately. Carefully place the parcels into the hot oil and turn after 3 minutes. Both sides should be golden brown before removing the parcels to rest briefly on kitchen roll.

Step 5. Plate up the parcel with remaining zest and honey drizzled over. Eat immediately!

The honey really complements the saltiness of the feta and the lime lifts it all with a summery finish. I shared mine, as I found it quite rich, but think it would make a great vegetarian main with a nice salad.

Hope you enjoy - best moussaka recipe ever coming next!

Helen x

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Chip-Chop!

Wow, wow, wow!! Amazing discovery...

You can make chips from polenta! Very exciting....(for me anyway...)

I've had very mixed results with polenta so far and always seem to default to using it as an alternative to mashed potato. However, you have to add an awful lot of ingredients to it to make it taste of anything and it takes on a cold and gloopy texture very quickly. I had yet to find my 'wow' moment.

There are lots of lovely looking cakes with polenta which I keep meaning to try, but for now it's all about the humble chip! These were enough to make my partner go 'wow' and I never would have expected that from polenta, so they pass the boy test. The are oven cooked rather than fried but only just pass the health test given the amount of parmesan and butter in them! Still, a little treat never did anyone any harm!!

Polenta Chips

Serves 4

375g polenta

150g grated fresh parmesan

salt & pepper

90g butter

olive oil

• Boil 1.5ltrs of water in large saucepan
• Reduce heat and gradually pour in polenta, stirring continuously
• After 5 minutes of stirring on a low heat, your polenta should be thick.
• Remove from heat and add cheese, seasoning and butter. Stir thoroughly to combine
• Pour into a shallow square tin (or a round sandwhich tin and be prepared to cut off the edges)
• Leave to cool for 30 minutes
• Preheat the oven to 200c/GM 6 and lightly oil 2 baking trays
• Slice your cooled polenta into chip like pieces and lay on the baking trays
• Oven bake for 30-40 minutes until golden brown
• Remove and eat!

I know I write this all the time, but these are really worth trying!

Hope you like!

Helen x

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Dip-Stick....

The promise of summer has got me thinking about dips.

I love a table laden with crudites, breadsticks, pitta breads and meats. It makes me really happy to have everyone gathering round a table loading plates up with food and chatting. Friends, family, food and happiness - it's what this food blog epitomises for me.

Anyway, such occasions always require dips! Whether creamy or tangy or cheesy, a dip is a essential component of the buffet table spread. Supermarket offerings can be a little depressing....it's either one hundred varieties of hummus or the obligatory four varieties that has been the same for the last ten years...you know the one....

Now, I don't really have an issue with this in it's own right and I'm sure lots of people like it. But once, in a time long ago and a land far away (well, Lincolnshire...), I worked in a food factory in the 'Dips & Deli' division. Having inhaled these products for six weeks day-after-day, I have little desire to consume them now.

I also think after you have made so much effort with other dishes, it's a shame to bring out these when it's easy to make your own. My three favourite dips are Peperonata (a red pepper and tomato salsa like dip), Artichoke and Cumin and Smoky Aubergine. I'll post all these over the next few weeks, but first I'll start with Aubergine (yum, yum!) which comes into season next month.

This Smoky Aubergine dip is very creamy and silky, but I love the kick that the chilli powder adds....

Serves 4

2 aubergines

100ml natural yoghurt

Juice 1/2 lemon

1 garlic clove

1/4 teaspoon chilli powder (or 1 green chilli)

1 tsp ground coriander

olive oil

• Place the aubergines in a very hot oven for 20 mins until they start to collapse
• Halve the aubergines, remove the flesh and place in a bowl to cool (throw away the skin)
• Add the cooled aubergine, yoghurt, lemon juice, garlic, chilli, coriander and a glug of oil to a food processor and blend until smooth
• Season to taste and serve

So easy!! You'll also need some Dip-Sticks to enjoy your homemade efforts. Often I chop grilled pittas into fingers for perfect dipping, however on this occasion I made use of toasted ciabatta, interesting crackers and crispbreads...

These companies do a great range of crackers if you fancy something different (generally available from supermarkets/delis)...

• Mondovino 
• Millers Damsels
• Fudges
• No No

Hope you like.....new Dip recipes will be posted soon!

Helen x

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