Spinach Bouillabaisse

The license to call this nourishing one-dish meal a bouillabaisse comes with the generous pinch of saffron that is added to the broth. It is one of many humble, filling and comforting vegetable soups from Provence that are given that lofty title.

INGREDIENTS
2 pounds spinach, stemmed and washed in 2 changes of water, or 1 pound baby spinach, rinsed
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 leeks, white and light green parts only, cut in half lengthwise and rinsed of all grit, then sliced thin
 Salt to taste
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound Yukon gold potatoes, peeled if desired and cut in thin slices
 A bouquet garni made with a bay leaf and a couple of sprigs each thyme and parsley (and if you have it, a fennel sprig)
 Generous pinch of saffron
 Freshly ground pepper
6 eggs
1 ½ ounces Gruyere cheese, grated (6 tablespoons)
12 thin slices baguette, toasted (optional)

PREPARATION
Bring a large pot of water to a boil while you prepare the spinach. When the water comes to a boil, salt generously and add the spinach. Blanch for 30 seconds and transfer to a bowl of cold water without draining the water from the pot. Measure out 2 quarts of the boiling water and set aside. Drain the spinach, squeeze out excess water and chop coarsely. Set aside.
Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy soup pot or Dutch oven and add the onion and leek. Cook, stirring often, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add a generous pinch of salt and the garlic, stir over medium heat until the garlic smells fragrant, no more than a minute, and stir in the broth from the spinach, the potatoes, bouquet garni and salt to taste. Bring to a boil, add the saffron, and turn the heat to low. Cover and simmer 20 to 30 minutes, until the potatoes are tender but still intact and the broth is fragrant.
Stir in the spinach, cover and continue to simmer for another 10 minutes. Add pepper, remove the bouquet garni, taste and adjust seasonings.
Keep the soup at a bare simmer. Break each egg into the soup (I prefer to first break the egg into a teacup and then tip it into the soup). Cover and continue to simmer until the eggs are set, about 5 minutes.
Serve the soup in wide bowls with an egg in each one. Sprinkle gruyere over each egg, and garnish if desired with toasted rounds of baguette or whole-wheat bread rubbed with garlic.

Apple Pie

In 2013, at least, one of the great pie makers in New York City was Kierin Baldwin, the pastry chef at The Dutch in the SoHo neighborhood. This recipe is adapted from hers, for a plain apple pie. It benefits from heeding her advice to pre-cook the filling before baking. “Apple pies that have crunchy, raw apples in them are a pet peeve of mine,” Ms. Baldwin said. Peel and core the fruit, cut it into slices, then macerate them in a plume of sugar. Cook these soft with a splash of acid (like lemon juice or cider vinegar) and a hint of cinnamon and allspice, then add some starch to thicken the whole. Allow the mixture to cool completely before using it in the pie. (For everything you need to know to make the perfect pie crust, visit our pie guide.)

INGREDIENTS
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 ½ pounds apples, peeled and cored, then cut into wedges (5 large honeycrisps will do it)
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
¾ cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 recipe all-purpose pie dough
1 egg, lightly beaten

PREPARATION

Melt butter in a large saute pan set over medium-high heat and add apples to the pan. Stir to coat fruit with butter and cook, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, whisk together the spices, salt and .75 cup sugar, and sprinkle this over the pan, stirring to combine. Lower heat and cook until apples have started to soften, approximately 5 to 7 minutes. Sprinkle the flour and cornstarch over the apples and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, another 3 to 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat, add cider vinegar, stir and scrape fruit mixture into a bowl and allow to cool completely. (The fruit mixture will cool faster if spread out on a rimmed baking sheet.)

Place a large baking sheet on the middle rack of oven and preheat to 425. Remove one disc of dough from the refrigerator and, using a pin, roll it out on a lightly floured surface until it is roughly 12 inches in diameter. Fit this crust into a 9-inch pie plate, trimming it to leave a .5-inch overhang. Place this plate, with the dough, in the freezer.
Roll out the remaining dough on a lightly floured surface until it is roughly 10 or 11 inches in diameter.

Remove pie crust from freezer and put the cooled pie filling into it. Cover with remaining dough. Press the edges together, trim the excess, then crimp the edges with the tines of a fork. Using a sharp knife, cut three or four steam vents in the top of the crust. Lightly brush the top of the pie with egg wash and sprinkle with remaining tablespoon of sugar.
Place pie in oven and bake on hot baking sheet for 20 minutes, then reduce temperature to 375. Continue to cook until the interior is bubbling and the crust is golden brown, about 30 to 40 minutes more. Remove and allow to cool on a windowsill or kitchen rack, about two hours.

Garlic Bread Toasts--Cooking Books

Garlic bread toasts

Ingredients

2 ciabatta loaves
140g butter, softened
4-6 garlic cloves, crushed
handful parsley, chopped
2 tbsp finely grated Parmesan (or vegetarian alternative)

Method

Slice the bread in half lengthwise. Toast the crust side for 2 mins until really crispy. Mix together butter, garlic and parsley in a bowl. Spread over the cut bread halves. Sprinkle over the Parmesan. Just before serving place on a baking sheet, then cook under a hot grill for 5 mins until toasty and lightly golden. Let it cool for 1 min before cutting into thick slices.

Tomato Soup--Cooking Books

Tomato soup

Ingredients

1-1¼kg/2lb 4oz-2lb 12oz ripe tomatoes
1 medium onion
1 small carrot
1 celery
 stick
2 tbsp olive oil
2 squirts of tomato purée (about 2 tsp)
a good pinch of sugar
2 bay leaf
1.2 litres/ 2 pints hot vegetable stock (made with boiling water and 4 rounded tsp bouillon powder or 2 stock cubes)

Method

1. Firstly, prepare your vegetables. You need 1-1.25kg/2lb 4oz-2lb 12oz ripe tomatoes. If the tomatoes are on their vines, pull them off. The green stalky bits should come off at the same time, but if they don't, just pull or twist them off afterwards. Throw the vines and green bits away and wash the tomatoes. Now cut each tomato into quarters and slice off any hard cores (they don't soften during cooking and you'd get hard bits in the soup at the end). Peel 1 medium onion and 1 small carrot and chop them into small pieces. Chop 1 celery stick roughly the same size.

2. Spoon 2 tbsp olive oil into a large heavy-based pan and heat it over a low heat. Hold your hand over the pan until you can feel the heat rising from the oil, then tip in the onion, carrot and celery and mix them together with a wooden spoon. Still with the heat low, cook the vegetables until they're soft and faintly coloured. This should take about 10 minutes and you should stir them two or three times so they cook evenly and don’t stick to the bottom of the pan.

3. Holding the tube over the pan, squirt in about 2 tsp of tomato purée, then stir it around so it turns the vegetables red. Shoot the tomatoes in off the chopping board, sprinkle in a good pinch of sugar and grind in a little black pepper. Tear 2 bay leaves into a few pieces and throw them into the pan. Stir to mix everything together, put the lid on the pan and let the tomatoes stew over a low heat for 10 minutes until they shrink down in the pan and their juices flow nicely. From time to time, give the pan a good shake – this will keep everything well mixed.

4. Slowly pour in the 1.2 litres/ 2 pints of hot stock (made with boiling water and 4 rounded tsp bouillon powder or 2 stock cubes), stirring at the same time to mix it with the vegetables. Turn up the heat as high as it will go and wait until everything is bubbling, then turn the heat down to low again and put the lid back on the pan. Cook gently for 25 minutes, stirring a couple of times. At the end of cooking the tomatoes will have broken down and be very slushy looking.

5. Remove the pan from the heat, take the lid off and stand back for a few seconds or so while the steam escapes, then fish out the pieces of bay leaf and throw them away. Ladle the soup into your blender until it’s about three-quarters full, fit the lid on tightly and turn the machine on full. Blitz until the soup’s smooth (stop the machine and lift the lid to check after about 30 seconds), then pour the puréed soup into a large bowl. Repeat with the soup that’s left in the pan. (The soup may now be frozen for up to 3 months. Defrost before reheating.)

6. Pour the puréed soup back into the pan and reheat it over a medium heat for a few minutes, stirring occasionally until you can see bubbles breaking gently on the surface. Taste a spoonful and add a pinch or two of salt if you think the soup needs it, plus more pepper and sugar if you like. If the colour’s not a deep enough red for you, plop in another teaspoon of tomato purée and stir until it dissolves. Ladle into bowls and serve. Or sieve and serve chilled with some cream swirled in. For other serving suggestions, see opposite.

Stuffing Baubles--Cooking

Stuffing Baubles

Ingredients

drizzle of vegetable oil, plus extra for greasing

6 small or medium red onions

250g sausagemeat

50g dried cranberries

small bunch thyme, leaves picked

50g fresh or dried breadcrumbs

12 rashers pancetta

Method

1. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and grease a large baking tray. Halve the onions through the root and peel off the papery skin. Cut off any stringy roots but leave the base of the root intact. Slice a little off the rounded side of each onion half, so they will sit on the tray. Cut away the centre of the onions, reserving the offcuts, to leave a hollow – once you’ve cut away a little, you can use your fingers to pull out the layers until you’re left with a shell of 2 or 3 layers. Arrange the halves on a baking tray, season and bake for 10 mins until just softened. Set aside to cool.

2. Weigh the onion offcuts and place 140g/5oz in a food processor (save any remaining onions for another recipe). Blitz until finely chopped but still with a little texture – or finely chop by hand. Heat a drizzle of oil in a frying pan and add the onions. Cook for 5 mins until softened, then set aside to cool.

3. Tip the sausagemeat, cranberries, thyme and breadcrumbs into a bowl. Add the fried onions and a little seasoning. Mix well. Roll the stuffing mixture into 12 balls and use to fill the onion halves. Wrap a slice of pancetta around each ‘bauble’, ensuring the ends meet underneath the onions. Can now be covered with cling film and chilled for up to 2 days or frozen for up to a month.

4. Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Unwrap the stuffing baubles (if chilled) and bake for 25 mins until cooked through and the bacon is starting to crisp. If you’re cooking from frozen, bake for 35 mins. (If you have a full oven, it may be too steamy to crisp up the bacon, so finish with a blast under a hot grill until nicely browned and crispy.)

The ultimate makeover: Risotto with squash & sage--Cooking Books

The ultimate makeover: Risotto with squash & sage

Ingredients

700g piece of butternut squash
2l low-salt vegetable stock (I used Kallo)
4 slices dried porcini mushroom
2½ tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic clove, finely chopped
6 sage
 leaves, finely chopped (plus extra leaves to garnish)
2 thyme
 sprigs
350g carnaroli rice (or arborio rice)
100ml dry white wine
handful flatleaf parsley, chopped
50g Parmesan
 (or vegetarian alternative), grated
2 tbsp light mascarpone

Method

1. Halve the squash lengthways, then scoop out the seeds. Peel, then cut the flesh into about 2.5cm pieces. Pour the stock into a pan, add the porcini, then bring to a gentle simmer.

2.Heat 2 tbsp of the oil in a heavy, wide pan. Add the onion, garlic, sage, thyme and squash, then gently fry for about 10 mins until the squash is almost tender, stirring occasionally, so it doesn’t stick or burn. With the heat on medium, tip the rice into the squash. Keep stirring for 3-4 mins to toast it without colouring. Pour in the wine and stir everything for 1 min.

3. Start to add the hot stock (leaving the porcini behind) – this process should take 18-20 mins, so put a timer on if it helps. Stir in 1½ ladles and adjust the heat so it simmers. Keep stirring and scraping down the sides. Once the first lot of stock has been absorbed, add another ladleful, continuing to stir to keep the risotto creamy. Continue adding and stirring in a ladleful of stock as each previous one is absorbed (it’s ready for more when you drag the spoon across the bottom of the pan and it leaves a clear line).

4. As the last of the stock goes in (keep a little back) check if the rice is ready – it should be soft with a bit of chew in the middle – and the consistency fluid. Season with pepper.
Take the pan off the heat. Add a splash of the stock to keep the risotto moist, scatter over the parsley and half the Parmesan, then spoon on the mascarpone. With the lid on, let the risotto sit for 3-4 mins to rest.

5. Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil in a small frying pan. Add the sage leaves, then fry for a few secs until starting to colour. Transfer to kitchen paper with a slotted spoon to drain. Spoon the risotto into bowls, then scatter over the rest of the Parmesan and the crisp sage leaves.

Classic Victoria Sandwich--Cooking Books

Classic Victoria Sandwich

Ingredients

For the cake

200g caster sugar

200g softened butter

4 egg, beaten

200g self-raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

2 tbsp milk

For the filling

100g butter, softened

140g icing sugar, sifted

drop vanilla extract (optional)

half a 340g jar good-quality strawberry jam (we used Tiptree Little Scarlet)

icing sugar, to decorate

Method

1. Heat oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Butter two 20cm sandwich tins and line with non-stick baking paper. In a large bowl, beat all the cake ingredients together until you have a smooth, soft batter.

2. Divide the mixture between the tins, smooth the surface with a spatula or the back of a spoon, then bake for about 20 mins until golden and the cake springs back when pressed. Turn onto a cooling rack and leave to cool completely.

3.To make the filling, beat the butter until smooth and creamy, then gradually beat in icing sugar. 

4. Beat in vanilla extract if you’re using it. Spread the butter cream over the bottom of one of the sponges, top it with jam and sandwich the second sponge on top. Dust with a little icing sugar before serving. Keep in an airtight container and eat within 2 days.