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a squeeze of lemon juice
TO SERVE
a little soured cream or crème fraîche
a sprinkling of paprika
sprigs of flat-leaf parsley
Rinse the porcini mushrooms thoroughly to get rid of any grit. Put them in a small bowl, cover with boiling water and leave to soak for 1 hour. Drain and reserve the liquid.
Put the soaked mushrooms and their liquid into a food processor with the ordinary mushrooms, the garlic and the parsley and whiz until everything is finely chopped. Alternatively, roughly slice the mushrooms, then put all the ingredients into a deep bowl and use an electric hand blender.
Heat the butter or oil in a large saucepan and add the mushroom mixture. Stir, then cook, uncovered, for 15–20 minutes or until all liquid has boiled away. Remove the pan from the heat and season with salt, pepper and lemon juice. Leave to cool. Serve on individual plates with a heaped teaspoon of soured cream or crème fraîche, a sprinkling of paprika and a sprig of parsley on each.
Stilton pâté with walnuts and port
This easy-to-make recipe is perfect at Christmas. Serve it as a starter on individual plates with watercress and a few fresh walnuts, or pile it into a bowl and serve with crackers. Note that the only type of port that is vegetarian is ‘crusted’, a very small category, named because of the ‘crust’ of sediment that forms in the bottle. It is intended to be a more economical alternative to Vintage or Late-bottled Vintage and is made from a blend of several harvests. The date on the label refers to when it was bottled.
SERVES 6
225g (8oz) Stilton cheese
350g (12oz) cream cheese
75g (3oz) butter, softened
3 tbsp ‘crusted’ port
50g (2oz) shelled walnuts, chopped
watercress, to garnish (optional)
crackers or breadsticks, to serve
Grate or crumble the Stilton, place in a bowl with the cream cheese and butter and mix well to a creamy consistency. Stir in the walnuts.
Either spoon the mixture into a small dish and smooth the top, or press it into a fat sausage shape and wrap it in a piece of foil, twisting the two ends like a cracker. Chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
Cut the roll into slices to serve, garnished with watercress, or serve from the bowl, with crackers or breadsticks.
Tapenade v
This can be served as part of a selection of starters or dips, or as part of a tapas platter, perhaps with some crunchy salted almonds, celery sticks, radishes and spring onions. The better the olives, the better the flavour. You can use pitted ones if they look good, or buy them intact and pit them yourself (if you don’t have an olive pitter this is an arduous task, however).
SERVES 4–6
300g (11oz) green or black whole olives, or 225g (8oz) pitted olives
3 tbsp capers, drained, or rinsed and drained if preserved in salt
3 garlic cloves, crushed
3 sprigs of flat-leaf parsley, stalks removed
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
a squeeze of lemon juice, to taste
a dash of Tabasco sauce (optional)
If using whole olives, remove the pits then purée with capers, garlic and parsley together with an electric hand blender or in a food processor.
Add the oil and blend well again to make a beautiful, thick mixture. Sharpen with a squeeze or two of lemon juice and perhaps a little dash of Tabasco for an extra kick, if you like.
Tzatziki
Creamy yet light and refreshing, this is great as a dip with pieces of pitta bread as part of a tapas selection, along with juicy black olives, stuffed vine leaves (#ulink_7ffb713f-3c1b-558e-8d82-cf9da5968423) (see page xxx), some cherry tomatoes and any anything else you fancy.
SERVES 2–4
cucumber
salt
250g (9oz) thick full-fat Greek yoghurt
1 small garlic clove, crushed
freshly ground black pepper
tsp red or white wine vinegar
1 tbsp chopped fresh mint or chives
Peel the cucumber and grate it coarsely. Put the grated cucumber into a sieve, mix with a pinch or two of salt, then cover with a small plate with a weight on top and leave over a bowl to drain for 30 minutes to draw out the extra liquid. Pat dry on kitchen paper.
Mix the yoghurt, cucumber and garlic together in a bowl, then season to taste with salt and pepper. Put into a serving bowl and scatter with chopped mint or chives. Serve chilled.
Spicy vegetable and nut pâté with yoghurt sauce
Another easy one to make, this pâté consists of crunchy vegetables and nuts, flavoured with curry and garlic.
SERVES 6
25g (1oz) butter
1 onion, finely chopped
1 carrot (about 50g (2oz)), finely chopped
1 stick of celery, chopped
green pepper (about 50g (2oz)), de-seeded and chopped
red pepper (about 50g (2oz)), de-seeded and chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tbsp mild curry powder
125g (4oz) hazel nuts, roasted (#litres_trial_promo) and chopped
225g (8oz) ricotta cheese
salt and freshly ground black pepper
FOR THE SAUCE
5cm (2in) cucumber
200ml (7fl oz) natural yoghurt
3 tbsp finely chopped fresh mint
Line a 450g (1lb) loaf tin with a strip of non-stick baking parchment to cover the base and come up the two narrow sides.
Melt the butter in a large saucepan and fry all the vegetables for 2–3 minutes; they should soften a little, but still be very crunchy.
Add the garlic and curry powder and cook for 1 further minute. Remove from the heat and stir in the rest of the ingredients. Season with salt and pepper.
Spoon the mixture into the prepared loaf tin – it won’t fill it – and smooth the top. Cover with foil and chill in the fridge for several hours.
Meanwhile make the sauce. Peel and finely chop the cucumber and mix with the yoghurt and mint. Season with salt and pepper.
To serve, slip a knife round the edges of the pâté to loosen it, then turn it out of the tin and cut into slices. Place one slice on each plate with some of the sauce on the side.
Bruschetta v
Bruschette are easy to do and make a great snack, starter or canapé. The bases can be made in advance – they will keep for a week wrapped in foil or in an airtight container – and topped just before serving, so that they stay crisp. Choose up to four of the suggested toppings opposite.
FOR THE BASES
1 baguette, cut diagonally into 1cm (in) slices
olive oil, for brushing
Pre-heat the oven to 150°C (300°F), gas mark 2.
Brush the bread on each side with olive oil, place on a baking sheet and bake for about 20 minutes or until crisp. Alternatively, you can grill the bread on both sides, or toast it in a toaster first and then brush it with the oil.
Unless I’m just making one or two for a quick snack, I prefer to do them in the oven because it’s easier and they become really crisp and dry. This also means that you can make them in advance as described above.
VARIATION
Garlic bruschetta v
Rub both sides of the grilled or toasted bread with the cut surface of a garlic clove.
Herb bruschetta v
Use rosemary (or other herb) bread to make the bruschetta; or, if you’re using a plain baguette, sprinkle each piece on both sides with a good pinch of crushed rosemary or dried thyme. Cook as described.
Barbecue bruschetta v
Bruschette are great cooked over the barbecue: lay the bread on the grid, cook until crisp and striped with black, then turn the slices over and cook the other side. Have toppings and garnishes laid out ready for people to help themselves.
Crostini v
These are really just smaller, thinner versions of bruschetta with more delicate toppings. Use the slimmest baguette you can find. I usually cut this straight, into circles, rather than diagonally.
Toppings for bruschetta and crostini
Remember that people will be eating these with their fingers, so make sure that the toppings aren’t too runny, and that there is something on top of the base for the pieces to stick to, so they don’t fall off.
Butter bean dip (#ulink_a1fffb2c-a8a2-5554-b381-b17732979ed7) v or drained cannellini beans mashed with garlic and vinaigrette (#ulink_668243aa-364f-55ee-9fe8-d7ad8740f5c4) and garnished with black olives.
Tapenade (#ulink_f28c1287-a098-5c43-a917-83cc38555e01) v, bought or homemade garnished with flat-leaf parsley.
Hummus (#ulink_7f6f74d4-d9db-55bc-b9d6-ea5bee9d66f9) v, bought or homemade, cooked asparagus tips and sesame seeds.
Aubergine and sesame pâté v or baba ganoush (#ulink_fe907291-79d7-5039-90c1-9106e6c53552) garnished with black olives.
Smooth goat’s cheese topped with red onion marmalade (#ulink_107da103-73a9-5fd0-a179-7e99ca0bfad1).
Mashed blue cheese, cubes of beetroot and sprigs of dill.
Cooked chestnuts (canned or vacuum-packed) mashed to a coarse paste with butter, garlic, lemon juice and salt and pepper, then topped with caperberries.
Finely chopped tomato and torn basil leaves v mixed with olive oil, crushed garlic, salt and pepper.
Garlic and herb cream cheese with chargrilled artichoke hearts (from the deli or a jar).
Lentil and mushroom pâté (#ulink_0725094e-3d86-5cb2-aa83-938ce0ee2d39) v topped with grilled red and yellow pepper strips and thyme leaves.
Hummus (#ulink_7f6f74d4-d9db-55bc-b9d6-ea5bee9d66f9), bought or homemade, rocket, small cubes of feta cheese, sun-blush (semi-dried) tomatoes and a few pine nuts.
Sandwiches and wraps
