The best recipe ever for Piccalilli

We love pickles, chutneys, salsas and spicy sauces as accompaniments with a wide variety of foods. Amongst our favourite is Piccalilli however, it has to be home-made. So far I have not found a shop bought version that can come anywhere near the recipe handed down from my great grandmother and probably even earlier.

September views from La Pasera

Each year in September we look forward to harvesting a variety of green vegetables that form the basis of our piccalilli: cucumber, celery, green tomatoes, cauliflower, courgette, onion and anything else that blends in with the mix. The key to a good mix is the fine chopping of the ingredients to ensure that everything is approximately of similar size. The other key components are a specific brand of dry mustard powder (Colman's) and good quality Turmeric.

This is the basic recipe that is tweaked each year to accommodate the vegetables we have available. We usually double these quantities.

Piccalilli

1 cauliflower

1 cucumber

3-4 courgettes

2 lb of shallots or onion

2 lb of green tomatoes

1 head of celery

About 6 lb of vegetable in total. Chop all the vegetables into small pieces. The cauliflower should be broken into small sized florets and if small enough, the shallots left whole. Soak overnight in a brine solution made with 8 pints of water and 1/2 lb of salt.

The following day, drain and rinse well, leave to drain and pat dry with a large clean towel whilst you make the sauce.

4 oz of mustard powder
1/2 oz of Turmeric
1 lb sugar (can be reduced if necessary)
2 1/2 pints of vinegar
1 cup of plain flour

Make a sauce with all the ingredients, thicken with the flour and gently bring to the boil to cook out the flour. Be careful not to burn the sauce, stir constantly. Add the dry vegetables and bring to the boil and immediately remove from the heat. Cover and leave to cool. Bottle and seal in sterilised jars the following day and label.

The piccalilli is best left to mature for at least 3 months but it will keep for over a year if kept in a cool dark place and if your bottles/jars are  sterile on bottling. Hide from everyone except your best friends....

Soap Wars - Episode 2

The scent of lemongrass is divine. It's a while since we made soap but we had all the ingredients in stock and a bottle of lemongrass oil waiting to be used so, soap making was on the cards. We first made soap in 2012 and it was great but together with soap we had been given, bought and had in stock, we've had no real need to make it since. The good news is we are running low and the opportunity to make our own cannot be missed.

The recipe was pretty much as before but with amounts adjusted to create a perfect balance of hardness, bubbles, persistence, cleanliness and conditioning. We used an online calculator which gives you the values for each depending on your mix of ingredients. We also added some white clay which helps with the texture of the soap. The whole process of creating the right blend is know as a Saponification Calculation.

The soap was poured into a large wooden mold and a cupcake tin where it was allowed to cool and set overnight. The large block was cut into presentable slices and the whole soap will be left to cure for several weeks: it is caustic to the skin until it cures.

Home made soap is truly lovely and you can sure that it contains no unnecessary chemicals, micro beads or palm oil. If you do fancy having a go and making some it really is quite easy but special care is needed as you are dealing with chemical processes that can burn and injure unless handled with extreme care.

We used a processed lemongrass oil for the soap but we are also growing lemongrass in a pot. We hoped we would be able to harvest the bulbous part of the grass when it matured and infuse it with olive oil but last year it didn't reach such maturity. We'll just have to be content with the lovely fresh lemon smell it gives off as you brush past it. The cats love to eat lemongrass and can often be found grazing on the fresh green shoots.

Lemongrass

Here is Soap Wars from 2012 if you missed it the first time around. Click here

Preserving, pickling and storing

The effort and hard work that goes into growing our own food is worth it on so many levels. We can be confident that no harmful chemicals, including pesticides and fungicides, were used, we know that the work we put into maintaining good quality soil will reap benefits in relation to plant disease and infestation resistance and, that the final produce is full of micro-nutrients and bursting with flavour.

Typically, we often have a glut of produce at certain times of the year. Whether it be a beetroot, courgettes, soft fruit or root crops, we can always find a way of preserving this valuable resource for use later in the year.

Our main methods of preservation are  pickling, making jams and chutneys, dehydrating, freezing, vacuum storage, air-drying, bain marie and cool storage.

This year we have pickled chili peppers and green walnuts. We will pickle figs and beetroot later in the season.

Our freezer contents include diced root vegetables, soft fruit not yet made into jams, beaten eggs, cooked aubergine, tomatoes, blanched vegetables, various vegetable soups, sliced peppers, various herbs and peas.

We have dehydrated pears, piesco (wild peach), apple, beetroot and figs. These are then vacuum packed and used as energy foods for when we are out walking or trekking.

Chutney and pickle features high on our menus as it is a really useful way of using fresh vegetables. So far we have made Piccalilli, Pear Chutney and Tango Pickle.

Jams either made or to make are piesco, raspberry, fig, orange and mixed fruit. We will also be making membrillo (quince jelly) from fruit given to us by Luis' sister.

We are increasing the number of vegetables we preserve using a bain marie method and so far we have had success with leeks, green beans and peppers. We would love to try more so any suggestions please drop us a line in the comments.

Air-drying includes herbs, nuts, beans and chili.

Our cool storage includes potatoes, squash, marrow, apples and onions. We find that is there is a efficient, dry circulation of air, these crops will last form many months into spring and beyond next year.

We are lucky in so much that we have plenty of storage space and we are able to grow vegetables and some salad crops all year round which reduces the need to preserve foods, never-the-less it is great to be able to scan our storage shelves for ingredients and enjoy the fruits of our labour throughout the year.

Those of you who are involved in your own food production will know only too well the amount of time and effort it takes, many hours spent not only in the vegetable garden but also in the kitchen preparing and processing, but it really is worth it and you can taste the difference when freshness is preserved. A few years ago we wrote about experiences for living a simpler life and how we prepare our own food etc. It has proved to be one of the most viewed and read pieces on our blog with over 800 views. If you want to read it you can find it here:  Downsizing: less is more

What do you preserve, pickle or store? Any tips?

Foraging for the wild peach

We always look forward to September in Asturias. The weather is warm, not too hot, gentle winds, not too strong, and misty dew-fresh mornings. The walnuts trees are laden with fruit, the hazelnuts begin to shed their fruit, the brambles offer up an abundance of blackberries and the wild Asturian peach (Piesco) is ready for harvesting.

The wild peach is small, the skin is slightly tougher than commercial peaches and the sweetness is not guaranteed however the intense peach flavour more than makes up for any other shortfalls. The peaches grow on small trees on the edges of fields and tracks around Asturias and most of them fruit well but are rarely harvested by locals these days as it is easier to go to the local supermarket and buy bigger and standardised fruit. We prefer, where possible, the wild and superior tasting Asturian Peach.

This year we have gathered enough to make a large batch of peach jam and enough to dehydrate for snacks. The flavour is intensified in both processes and is has just enough tang to get the taste buds tingling. The jam is made using our standard recipe of half the amount of sugar to that of fruit. It really is delicious on toast or as a sweet relish with cheese.

The dried peaches will be vacuum packed and will accompany us on walks into the mountains. They are packed with energy and will boost flagging stamina as we explore Asturias and the Picos de Europa in all its glory.

Making pear chutney - we love a pickle

We love pickles, chutneys and spicy salsas, and most years we will make several types depending on what fruit we have available. This year we had a very poor gooseberry harvest so one of our favourite pickles was out of the question however, we did have a healthy pear harvest.

As with most recipes we adapt them to suit our own tastes and usually reduce sugar and maybe add some extra spices or heat. This particular recipe comes from a set of cards issued by a vinegar company many years ago: Sarson's. We have used this recipe before and found that the vinegar content is way too much, especially given the juices given up by ripe tomatoes and pears so we reduced it and it worked. We used our own onions, pears, garlic and tomatoes for this recipe.

Pear Chutney

3 kg pears, peeled and chopped
1.5 kg onions finely chopped
900 g or ripe tomatoes skinned and chopped
4 red peppers finely diced
900 g of dark cane sugar
2 tablespoons salt
8 cloves of garlic, crushed
1.1 Litres of malted vinegar (or similar)

Put all the ingredients into a large pan, mix well, bring to the boil and then simmer for about 1 hour until the fruit breaks down and the chutney thickens. Put into sterilised jars and seal.

This particular chutney isn't too acidic as the sweetness of the pears helps to neutralise it. We normally store chutneys and pickles for at least three months before consuming but I'm not sure we'll be able to wait that long as supplies are running low.

Too late... Char-grilled aubergine, sweet potato and onion layered with goats cheese and herbs. Served with salad and fresh walnut bread and, a large spoon of pear chutney - delicious.

This was a new goats cheese we bought at a local fair and we have to say it is one of the best cheeses ever. Here is the Queso de Cabra - Hircus link, we now need to find a local supplier.

What is your favourite pickle, provide us with a link if you can. We're always up for trying something new. Thanks.

Time to make a luscious tea loaf

The tea loaf is quintessentially British or to be more specific, Yorkshire in origin. No doubt some of you will be screaming "that's not true" at the screen as you read this, but it is, I should know being a Yorkshire man...

There is nothing more luscious, in my opinion, than a slice of tea loaf spread thick with butter served in the shade of a sunny terrace with a cup of strong tea or lemon verbena infusion. Luscious because it has scent is to die for with the aroma of cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg permeating the air as you raise a slice to your mouth and take a bite of the moist, fruit-laden loaf.

It is quite difficult to get dried fruit here in Spain and when you come across it, more often than not it is in small 100gm bags. I usually stock up with dried fruit in the UK and periodically use it to make this lovely afternoon tea treat.

The recipe we use has been adapted to suit our taste and with the reduced sugar, additional spices and earl-grey tea, it has proved very popular with our neighbours and friends who happen to to be around when tea loaf is on offer.

Tea Loaf

These quantities will make three loaves but they freeze well so you don't have to eat them all at once...

225g raisins
225g sultanas
225g currants
50g mixed peel
900ml of tepid Earl Grey tea
250g brown sugar
750g self-raising flour
3 eggs
3 tsp cinnamon
3 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp ginger

Soak the fruit overnight in in the tea. Next day add the flour, sugar, beaten egg and spices, mix well. Spoon into greased or lined loaf tins and transfer to a pre-heated oven 175c /Gas 3 for 60-75 minutes until an inserted skewer comes out clean. Cool and serve with butter and jam to taste.

A true Yorkshire treat made with the finest Yorkshire ingredients... ;-)

Go on spoil yourself...

Making the most scrumptious Tiramisu

It's fiesta time again in Spain. Luis' birth village is having one of it's annual gatherings to celebrate San Pedrin. There will be a large family gathering, a large domed wood oven will be lit in one of the outbuildings, lots of home reared meat will be roasted, and tables will be laid for a weekend of feasting.

No matter how much seafood and roast meats you eat, there is always room for a pudding. Luis decided to make Tiramisu for 16. He's taken it with him for the past few years and despite offering to make other puddings they always want Tiramisu...

The recipe we use is a classic Tiramisu recipe but with additional vanilla seeds mixed into the cream.
Here is the recipe we use but there are many more around with various combinations of liqueur, cream and coffee.

Tiramisu

(Serves 4)

250g Mascarpone cheese
3 tablespoon of Liqueur (Tia Maria, Brandy, Marsala...or whatever you fancy)
1 teaspoon of vanilla/seeds or essence
150 ml of strong coffee or espresso
150 ml of single cream
4 tablespoons of icing sugar
16 sponge fingers
Chocolate/cocoa powder

Whisk the mascarpone, vanilla, liqueur,and 50 ml coffee mixing well. Whisk cream and icing sugar until smooth then fold into mascarpone mixture.

lightly dip the sponge fingers in the remaining coffee and line the bottom of a dish with half of them, spoon over half of the mixture, repeat and refrigerate. It will set in an hour or so. When ready for serving, lightly cover the top with cocoa powder or grated chocolate.

It really is calorie heavy but as a special treat once a year you might as well go the whole hog and use generous amounts of ingredients. Here you go, I'll let you have a taste of my sampler...for quality control purposes you understand.

Easy apple and walnut sponge cake

We still have mountains of apples in cool storage and although they are beginning to look a little wrinkled, they taste sweet and tangy. Rather than letting them deteriorate we will use them in cakes, peeled for eating and for dehydrating as snack to use for when we are out walking.

This recipe for an apple and walnut sponge cake is one of the easiest cake recipes I have ever come across and never fails. The basic recipe can be adapted to use fruit, nuts, flavoured yogurt and chocolate.

Easy apple and walnut sponge cake

This recipe is used widely across Spain and in known as bizcocho de yogur.

4 medium eggs
250 g plain flour
180g sugar (we reduce this to 130g when using sweet fruit)
1 natural yogurt (or flavoured for a twist)
1 yogurt container of vegetable oil
15g baking powder

Walnut pieces and sliced apple

Beat all the liquids together, add flour, sugar and baking powder, mix well. Add walnut pieces.
Spoon half into greased or lined baking tin, add sliced apple, spoon over remainder of mixture, top with sliced apple. Bake at 160 Celsius for 45 mins. Cool on rack.

We are still using last year's walnuts but not for much longer as it was a depressingly poor season for walnuts due to Spring storms damaging young shoots and buds.

Meanwhile back in the kitchen, whilst the oven is on we made a batch of rye and mixed seed bread. Once baked, this will be frozen and used over the coming couple of weeks.
   

Oatcakes and ginger biscuits

With the rain teaming down outside, Luis in the studio working on his new mosaic Prometheus and the cats tucked up in their bed, I decided it would be a good day to make biscuits.

Oatcakes are one of my favourite biscuits for savoury snacks. We had made some two days before for as an appetiser when friends came to dinner, served with black olive tapenade and guacamole but they had disappeared long ago so I decided to make another batch.

Really simple to make they are just like the Scottish oat cakes I remember from the UK.

Oatcakes:

225g Oats lightly milled
60g Rye flour
60g butter or margarine
half a teaspoon each of bicarbonate of soda, dark brown sugar and salt
80 mls of hot water

Combine dry ingredients, rub in fat, add hot water and bring together. Roll out on floured surface to desired thickness (3-5mm), put on greased trays and bake in hot oven for 15 or so minutes until light brown, cool on rack. 170 Celsius.

Whilst making the oatcakes we received a call from friends who were planning to pop in later in the day so whilst I was in biscuit mode I decided to make a batch of ginger biscuits to have with an afternoon infusion.

Ginger biscuits:

170gm Self-raising flour
115gm soft brown sugar
30gm margarine
25gm cream cheese
1 dessert spoon of golden syrup
1 egg
2 teaspoons ground ginger (according to taste)
half a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda

Mix all dry ingredients, rub in fat, add syrup and egg, bring together into stiff paste. Form into small balls and place on greased trays leaving room to spread. Bake at 175 Celsius until golden brown (15 mins) cool on trays until fully set, transfer to cooing tray.

Meanwhile, here's another track by me to accompany your tea and biscuits: Ride the greenway