A souped up supper

Borscht is an Eastern European beetroot soup which incorporates a fickle range of seasonal root vegetables, according to what's available.  I ate a lot of borscht travelling in Ukraine and Russia as it's often the sole vegetarian option on an otherwise meat-filled menu, so it's a testament to the deliciousness of this soup that I still like to eat it.

Beetroot and cabbage are the only regulars in this whimsical mix, both of which are uber-healthy and mercifully affordable at this time of year.  But the prosaic ingredients belie the unusual flavours of this dish, with the sweetness of the broth tempered by the sourness of the cream and lemon, and all scented with the heady fragrance of fresh dill.  It's good with a hunk of crusty sourdough bread to turn crimson as you dunk it in.

Borscht with sour cream and dill
Serves 4

2 cloves garlic, sliced
1 onion, finely sliced
500g cooked beetroot, diced
2 small carrots, finely diced
¼ red cabbage, diced
2 sticks celery, diced
2 tomatoes, diced
1300ml vegetable stock
a bay leaf
1 tbsp olive oil
1 lemon
sour cream
chopped fresh dill
salt and pepper

1) Heat the olive oil in a large pan and sautée the onions for a couple of minutes over a medium heat. Add the garlic and fry for another minutes or two before adding the beetroot, carrots, cabbage, celery, tomatoes, stock and bay leaf. Leave to simmer for 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are cooked through.

2) Season the soup to taste, and serve with a healthy dollop of sour cream and a scattering of fragrant chopped dill.

Just the two of us

I have to admit that only half of my ruminations over the internet are for other people's gifts.  A sizeable part of my activities are done with me in mind - but I'm feeling rather divided over my Christmas wish list.

~  Should I plump for the beautiful Noma: Time and Place in Nordic Cuisine, with its complex, artful dishes or David Thompson's Thai Street Food, which I actually stand a chance of cooking from?

~  Lip Tease or Drip Tease? Both would be lovely to sup my morning coffee from.  I'm leaning slightly towards the gilded lip...

~  I love old-fashioned florals so it's difficult to choose between rose or violet dark chocs from Rococo.

At least Rob Ryan's His 'n' Her Mugs give no room for equivocation - they're a perfect pair.  Ryan always manages to weave touching messages into his work that should be a little nauseating but somehow melt your heart instead.  And it's sweet that these two only spell out their message when they're together; what better way to tell a loved one that without you, I'm nothing?

Lunch on the run

I've been ramping up the Christmas shopping this past week so quick grab-and-run dishes are the order of the day.

I unsuspectingly went to Oxford Street on Saturday and found that one half was magical with lights and twinkly Christmas displays while the other half was a scene from a Hieronymus Bosch painting. Truly frightening and heart warming, all at once.

This is a sort of Egyptian take on a classic English pasty, a self-contained parcel of tasty veggies and feta all wrapped up in flaky pastry with a sprinkling of spice to warm the cockles.

Sweet potato, feta and rocket puffs
Makes 9

450g sweet potato
200g feta
50g rocket, finely chopped
pepper
3 tsp dukkah (optional)
1 egg, whisked
500g pre-made puff pastry

1) Bake the sweet potatoes in a moderate oven (about 400f/300c/gas mark 6) until soft, then scoop the orange flesh into a bowl.  Crumble in the feta and stir in with the rocket and a little freshly ground black pepper (and dukkah, if using).

2) Roll out the pastry into a 45cm x 45cm square, then divide into nine equal squares.  Divide the sweet potato mixture into nine balls, then place a ball on each of the pastry squares.  Squash the ball down a little, towards one corner of the square, then brush some of the eggwash all over the rest of the pastry, and fold one corner over to meet the opposite corner.  Press down the edges with a fork to seal, make a slit or two on top of each and brush the tops with more eggwash.

3) Bake at 400f/200f/gas mark 6 for 20 minutes, until golden brown.

A superfood supper

This is what I’d call a properly healthy dinner, covering all the nutritional bases and tasty to boot.  It’s high in fibre and has slow release carbs and good fats.  I like to sprinkle over some hazelnut-rich dukkah to add a complex spiciness and an element of crunch to the mix.

Sweet potatoes are having a bit of a moment right now as the wholesome option over the poor maligned white spud.  All I know is that they taste delicious and bring a sunny splash of much-needed colour to my plate, and that’s good enough for me.

Baked sweet potatoes with hummus and dukkah

Serves 2

2 large sweet potatoes

3 tsp olive oil

1 large red onion

2 tbsp dukkah

2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce

green salad, to serve

~for the hummus

1 can of chickpeas, with 3 tbsp of the juice

the juice of ½ lemon

1 pinch of salt

½ clove garlic, finely grated

1 tbsp tahini

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1) Peel the onions and cut each into 8 wedges, leaving most of the base stem intact (this prevents the wedges falling apart while cooking).  Score a deep cut lengthways across each sweet potato, then drizzle the oil and salt over the veg and toss to cover. 

2) Bake the sweet potatoes at 400f/200c/gas mark 6 for about 40 minutes (depending on the size of your potato) or until soft in the centre.  Add the onions to the oven for the last 20 minutes of cooking, or when the centre of the potatoes are still firm but the outside has softened.

3) To make the hummus: blend all the ingredients together until smooth and creamy then season to taste.  Serve the sweet potatoes and roasted onion with a big dollop of hummus and salad on the side, and topped with a sprinkling of sweet chilli sauce and dukkah. 

Soft vanilla fudge

Be warned, I made a batch of this and - after eating all the spare pieces - broke into an already bagged and be-ribboned parcel that I had intended to give away as a hostess gift this week.

Vanilla fudge
Makes about 30 pieces

300ml whole milk
150 ml double cream
475g caster sugar
150g butter
3 tsp vanilla extract
a large pinch of salt

1) Place all the ingredients except the vanilla into a large heavy bottomed pan, and add a sugar thermometer. Bring everything to the boil, stirring constantly, then allow to bubble for about 15-20 minutes, until the mixture reaches 115c.

2) Remove from the heat and carefully whisk use an electric hand whisk to beat the mixture until it thickens to a heavy cake batter consistency and has lost its glossiness.  Whisk in the vanilla extract.

3) Pour into an oiled loose bottomed cake tin and allow to cool at room temperature for several hours until set. Cut or break into small pieces and try not to eat it all yourself before anyone else can get to it.

Garden's last gasp

I'm rather glad that I took the time to collect seeds from my expiring rocket plants last week.

They now seem to be rocking the snow-afro look, and while I appreciate a new 'do as much as the next person, I am interpreting this as the death rattle for all my summer planting. So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, adieu...

Sticky ginger and chocolate cake

I have very good memories of eating warm McVitie's Jamaica Ginger Cake with custard when I was little, and this recipe is based on recapturing that particular dense, sticky texture and subtle spicing.

There's something a bit school dinners about this type of comforting, slightly stodgy cake which I'm rather fond of. It's something I actively seek out when it's cold and inhospitable outside. We had 4 inches of snow in London yesterday - it's time to bring out the big guns!

STICKY GINGER AND CHOCOLATE CAKE
(custard optional)

150ml cold water
80g butter, at room temperature
2 large eggs
265g granulated sugar
100g dark chocolate, melted
160g plain flour
4 tsp ground ginger
¾ tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp baking powder
pinch salt
80ml plain yoghurt

1) Whisk together the butter, sugar and eggs until light and fluffy. Stir in the melted chocolate, water and yoghurt, then fold the flour, bicarb, baking powder, ground ginger and salt.

2) Pour into a greased and lined 25cm square springform tin, and bake at 350f/180c/gas mark 4 for 40-50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out with only a few crumbs attached.

3) Leave to cool and dust with icing sugar before cutting into squares. Serve with a chat and a nice strong cup of tea.

Keeping cosy in the cold

Hand made tea cosy by Arounna Khounnoraj, £35 from Leaf Shop

Hand knitted tea cosy by Paul Smith, £45

Tea cosy by Posh Pinnies, £25

Moose tea cosy by Nordic Elements, £49.95

Bird fabric tea cosy by Kalla, £23.73 from Etsy

Toile tea cosy from the Highgrove Shop, £12.95

Silk screen printed tea cosy by Lucie Pritchard, £30 

Owl tea cosy by Samantha Stas, from Notonthehighstreet.com, £25

Yes, I am a walking cliche when it comes to tea. Really, nothing quite hits the spot like a nice cup of tea and a sit down, especially when it's rotten outside (or even snowy and magical but blooming cold).

I'm not sure if exploring the world of tea cosies under the pretence of looking for Christmas presents counts as geek chic or just geek. Either way, there are some very stylish bobbles out there for keeping your cuppa warm.