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Your Basic Guide to Summer Succession Planting

Lindsay Campbell — Thu, 21 Jul 2022 12:00:54 +0000

The savviest, most dedicated gardeners hold onto little tips and tricks to keep as many crops growing in the soil for as long as possible. One of those techniques is known as succession planting, which involves strategically planting a new crop where one has just been harvested. This helps maximize yield without needing to farm extra acres.

You can follow succession planting by staggering your planting periods every week to 30 days. You can also opt for an approach that involves planting a new crop with a maturation period that fits into what you have left in your growing season.

If you’d like to stagger your crops according to precise, varied time intervals, we suggest referring to this helpful chart from Johnny’s Selected Seeds. Otherwise, if you want to opt for a basic overview of succession planting in July and August, we’ve crafted a guide for you with some variety recommendations and timing directives.

The Case for Cool-Season Crops

If you’re planting in the early or mid days of summer, you’re going to want to opt for cool-season crops. They grow best when temperatures are in the 50-60°F range. You’ll find specific examples below. The only time you’d want to opt for warm-season crops if you know the weather is going to stay in the 70-80°F range throughout the fall.

Some Initial Tips

Summer brings heat waves, heavy sun and, depending on where you live, sometimes, periods of drought. This can make it difficult for seeds to germinate, as they need soil that will be consistently moist. There are, however, a few things you can do to curb any challenges to ensure your soil doesn’t dry out and your future food source is provided with the conditions needed.

Before planting, to ensure the soil is better able to retain moisture, work in a half-inch layer of compost. Below, we will point out if your crop is lower or higher maintenance. We also suggest waiting to plant until a cloudy or rainy day or in the evening when the sun is less strong.

You’ll also want to keep newly seeded or transplanted crops watered about one to two times a day, but you can help prevent the soil from drying out so quickly by adding some mulch to the top layer of your soil. Again, you will find more specific recommendations below.

Lastly, make sure there is enough time for your succession crops to germinate and mature before the cold weather arrives. We’ve provided some general guidelines below on recommended varieties and prevalence of planting based on cold-weather timelines.

What to Plant in July

Bush beans. Photo by Markus_272, Shutterstock.

Bush beans

Otherwise known as snap beans, bush beans can be planted every two to three weeks throughout the summer until mid- to late July. A good indicator of knowing when to sow new seeds is when your previously planted crop gets a second set of true leaves. (For those new to the term true leaves, they’re tiny miniature versions of your full-grown plant leaves. If you have “one set of true leaves,” that’s two leaves. If you have “two sets of true leaves” that’s two pairs of leaves or four leaves.)

On average, most varieties need 50 to 55 days to produce.

Variety recommendations: Astrel French Filet (55 to 60 days); Derby Green (55 days); Goldcrop Yellow Wax (54 days); Jade Green Pod (56 days); Provider (50 days); Cosmos (51-60 days); and Mascotte (50 days).

Cold hardiness: Bush beans will be killed by frost. Use a row cover when you’re coming up close to your first frost date.

Broccoli. Photo by barmalini, Shutterstock.

Broccoli

Most gardeners prefer to transplant their broccoli rather than planting from seed. Starting them indoors under grow lights gives the young plants four to five weeks of ideal growing conditions and prevents damage from pests such as slugs and cabbage worms.

If you opt to sow seeds in the soil, be sure to keep newly seeded garden beds well watered. Make sure the seeds are planted approximately half an inch deep and 12 to 24 inches apart. If you are planting more than one row, try to leave 36 inches in between each row.

We suggest fertilizing the soil three weeks after planting and mulching with straw or shredded leaves right after if you’ve moved transplants into your bed. This will hold the moisture and reduce any stress on the seedlings.

On average, it takes broccoli anywhere between 80 and 100 days to grow from seed. When transplanting them, the growth time is around 55 to 85 days.

Variety recommendations: Packman Hybrid (60 days); Green Goliath (55 days), Green Comet Hybrid (40 days); Green Magic (60 days); and Aspabroc Broccolini (50 days).

Cold hardiness: Broccoli can survive light frost, so you can plant it up to 85 days before your first frost.

Cabbage heads. Photo by dourleak, Shutterstock.

Cabbage

For a fall cabbage harvest, plant the seeds directly in the soil in July—just keep that soil well watered and mulched up, as recommended with broccoli. If you’re worried about the soil being too dry, you can also start cabbage seeds indoors. We recommend supplementing your garden with plenty of well-aged compost dug in prior to planting. When you do plant, leave 1.5 to two inches between each crop and two inches between each row.

On average, it can take cabbage 50-90 days to mature.

Variety recommendations: Dynamo Hybrid (70 days); Early Golden Acre Year (60 days); Early Stonehead Hybrid (65 days); Taiwan Cabbage (55 days); and Consul (67 days).

Cold hardiness: Cabbage can survive light frost, but it will be damaged by hard freezes.

Young cucumber on the vine. Photo by LedyX, Shutterstock.

Cucumbers

Cucumbers absolutely thrive in the summer heat. They do best when the soil warms up to 60-70°F. If you’re short on space, you can grow vining cucumbers vertically on trellises and tunnels. Plant the seeds any time in July or every 21 days. They’ll need regular daily watering to keep fruit from becoming bitter or misshapen.

We suggest mixing in two to three cups of compost around each area where you plan to plant your seeds. One little trick to speed up germination would be to soak your cucumber seeds in water overnight before you plant them.

Most cucumber varieties require 55 to 70 days to mature.

Variety recommendations: Marketmore (60 days); Spacemaster (58 days); Olympic Thunder (55 days); Ashley (66 -75 days); Bush Champion (55 days); Fanfare (63 days); and Long Green Improved (50-70 days).

Cold hardiness: Cucumber plants will not survive frost. Protect them with row covers or frost blankets if you’re coming up close to your first frost before harvest.

Ripe snap peas. Photo by Trygve Finkelsen, Shutterstock.

Peas

Summer-planted peas are typically ready to pick in early to mid-September. Like cucumbers, seeds can also be soaked in water overnight to speed up germination. Plant your seeds directly in the garden approximately one inch apart from each other. Rows should be 18-36 inches apart.

When your seedlings sprout up, shade them from the sun during the hottest part of the day and mulch your soil to help reduce soil temperature and keep moisture in. We also suggest cutting back on regular fertilizer inputs, or at least avoid fertilizer with high nitrogen. It will also be important to keep plants well watered.

Pea varieties typically take 60 to 80 days to mature. (Although we’ve included some speedy bloomers below.)

Variety recommendations: Early Crop Maestro (61 days); Early Crop Progress No. 9 (63 days); Sugar Snap Edible Podded (68 days); Sugar Snap (58 days); Knight (56 days); and Laxton’s Progress (55-60 days).

Cold hardiness: Peas can survive light frost, but they will be damaged by hard freezes. Temperatures lower than 28°F will kill them.

Green zucchini. Photo by eugenehill, Shutterstock.

Zucchini

Zucchini is known for being a fast-growing, heat-loving vegetable. You can plant new seeds every four to six weeks—all the way up until the last harvest reaches your first expected frost date.

Directly sow seeds in level ground two to three inches apart and thoroughly water after planting. Add a layer of mulch and/or compost to lock in soil moisture.

Insect pests are generally the worst for these crops during the hottest months, but you can keep the plants covered with row covers until their flowers begin to open. Typically, by the time you uncover the plants to allow for pollination, the weather will have cooled off and pests won’t be as prevalent.

Varieties take on average 45 to 55 days to reach maturity.

Recommended varieties: Z’Oro (45 days); Crookneck (43-45 days); Straightneck (50 days); and Zephyr (54 days).

Cold hardiness: Generally, frost will kill zucchini or, at the very least, damage it.

What to Plant in August

Beets and their greens. Photo by Alie04, Shutterstock.

Beets

Seeds can be planted every 14 days up until six to eight weeks before the first average fall frost. Like many root vegetables, beets don’t tolerate transplanting very well. Your best bet is to sow seeds in the garden. For a better rate of germination, soak beet seeds in water for 24 hours before planting.

Once the seedlings have grown to about four to five inches high, add mulch in between the rows to help retain moisture and keep weeds down. Thin the seedlings to ensure there are two to three inches of space between them once they are growing well.

Beets take an average of 50-60 days to mature.

Recommended varieties: Big Red Hybrid (55 days); Burpees Golden (55 days); and Ruby Queen (55 days).

Cold hardiness: Can withstand light frosts and survive down to around 29°F if unprotected.

A bunch of fresh carrots. Photo by Uryupina Nadezhda, Shutterstock.

Carrots

We suggest planting your carrots in early August, every three weeks. Carrots need consistent moisture to germinate, so regular watering is key. You can also cover your beds with a shade cloth or row cover to keep moisture locked in. Plant them in the soil three to four inches apart. Once the seedlings sprout up and are a few inches tall, thin them so there are at least two inches of space between each one. Include fertilizer in your rotation after five weeks.

On average, carrots take around 70 to 85 days to mature.

Variety recommendations: Napoli (55 days); Bolero (75 days); Babette (57 days); Little Finger (65 days); Thumbelina (60 days); and Yaya (65-70 days).

Cold hardiness: Carrots are relatively hardy and survive temperatures as low as 20˚F before dying off. But even when the tops of carrots are killed by cold, the roots will remain in good condition if they are mulched over with a layer of insulating material such as hay or leaves.

Fresh lettuces. Photo by Skrypnykov Dmytro, Shutterstock.

Lettuce

Plant your lettuce in mid- to late August, every two to three weeks, up until your first fall frost. Lettuce seed doesn’t germinate well when the temperature is high and the chances of germination substantially decrease when soil temperature exceeds 80-85°F. Water regularly, but not too often, as lettuce is vulnerable to root rot.

If you anticipate an exceptionally hot late summer, start your seeds indoors under grow lights. When you plant them in soil, plant each seed or seedling two inches apart, with the rows six yo eight inches apart.

Most lettuce varieties take 45 to 65 days to reach maturity.

Variety recommendations: Buttercrunch (67 days); Salanova (55 days); May Queen (45-60 days); Vulcan (50 days); Jericho (60-65); Bibb-type ‘Buttercrunch’ (68 days); Red Sails (43 days); Simpson Elite (48 days); and Black Seeded Simpson (45 days).

Cold hardiness: Lettuces can survive light frosts, but heavy frosts will leave considerable damage. If you’re planting into the fall, use a row cover. If it’s light enough, you can lay this directly on top of your plants or make use of a wire hoop and drape your protective material over that.

Ripe radishes. Photo by Digihelion, Shutterstock.

Radishes

Plant radish seeds every two weeks, continuing until four to six weeks out from the first fall frost. Choose a spot where there is a lot of sun and plant each seed about one inch apart. Make sure the soil drains well and is consistently moist.

Mulching the radishes with compost that has wood ashes will not only help retain moisture in dry conditions but also keep pests such as root maggots away. We suggest avoiding fresh manure or fertilizers high in nitrogen. Once the seedlings are two inches tall or about a week old, it’s important to thin radishes so you have spacing of three inches between each one.

On average, most radishes take 30 to 60 days to reach maturity.

Recommended varieties: Sparkler (25 days); Cherry Belle (22 days); Early Scarlet Globe (23 days); and Easter Egg II Blend (30 days).

Cold hardiness: Radishes can tolerate frost and temperatures down to mid 20˚F, but they have the potential to be damaged or killed by a sustained hard freeze. Add a layer of hay or leaves mulch over the top layer of soil for additional protection to the cold.

Green onions. Photo by Seneline, Shutterstock.

Bunching onions

Starting in August, you can plant your onions directly from seed every three to four weeks, no later than 60 days before the first expected frost in your area.

Look for a spot in your garden with a lot of sun and plant your seeds about four inches apart. They thrive in loose, well-drained soil. Seeds are sensitive to drought, so the soil must remain moist after the first watering until the seedlings emerge, which takes about 10 to 20 days.

We also suggest fertilizing regularly up until the bulbs have emerged above the soil. Fertilizer that’s high in nitrogen, such as fish emulsion, is best.

On average, bunching onions reach maturity in 60 to 70 days.

Variety recommendations: Evergreen Hardy White (65 days); Guardsman (50 days); Deep purple (60 days); White Spear (65 days); and Tokyo Long White (75 days).

Cold hardiness: Varieties are tolerant to temperatures as low as 20°F, and they can survive light frosts. We suggest adding a layer of mulch that is about two inches deep when cold and freezing temperatures are expected. Straw, pine needles, grass clippings or other natural mulches will be effective.

Young spinach. Photo by Julia Cherk, Shutterstock.

Spinach

In late August, plant your spinach every two weeks. You can sow seeds until mid-September or eight weeks before your first frost. Pick a shaded spot for your summer sown seeds and keep them well watered. We suggest planting more seeds than you think you’ll need, as warm soil tends to reduce the germination process. Plant the seeds from half an inch to a full inch deep and about one inch apart in each row.

On average, it takes about 35-45 days for spinach to reach maturity.

Recommended varieties: Bloomsdale Long Standing (45 days); Olympia Hybrid (42 days); New Zealand (55-65 days); Imperial Green (45 days); Bloomsdale (40- 48 days); Seaside (20-25 days); and Malabar (55-75 days).

Cold hardiness: Survives light frost, but may overwinter. We suggest using cloche protection as cold weather with temperatures lower than 15ºF begin to approach.

Turnips. Photo by Elena Koromyslova, Shutterstock.

Turnips

Plant the turnips every two to three weeks, all the way up to eight weeks before your last frost. They typically don’t transplant well, so direct seeding is the way to go.

Fun fact: Turnips are also a spring crop, but one that is sown in late summer is usually sweeter and more tender. You’ll also have less of a problem with pests when planting in the summer. Before planting, mix in an organic fertilizer about 12 inches into the soil. Plant your seeds two inches apart and rows 18 inches apart. Once seedlings are about four inches high, thin them so you have spacing of about four to six inches apart.

On average, it takes 30 to 60 days for turnips to be ready to harvest.

Recommended varieties: Market Express Baby Turnip (30-40 days); Purple Top White Globe (55 days); Hakurei (38 days); All Seasons’ (28 days); and White Red Top (35 days).

Cold hardiness: Turnips will survive light frost and can tolerate temperatures as low as 20˚F, but they should be harvested before the ground freezes.

The post Your Basic Guide to Summer Succession Planting appeared first on Modern Farmer.

Smokable Plants You Can Grow That Aren’t Marijuana Part 2

Lindsay Campbell — Sun, 18 Apr 2021 13:00:56 +0000

If you’ve started a garden over the past year, you may have fed your family with the produce you’ve grown. But have you smoked any of it?

About three years ago, we compiled a list of seven smokable plants you can grow that aren’t marijuana. Earlier this month, New York became the 15th state to legalize recreational marijuana, but there are still plenty of parts of the country where it isn’t legal. It also remains illegal on the federal level.

In the meantime, we’re bringing you six more smokable plants that you can grow in your backyard.

Photo by Gurcharan Singh/Shutterstock

Lion’s Tail (Leonotis leonurus)

Herbal history: Lion’s Tail is a popular alternative to tobacco that is said to have anti-inflammatory properties.

Smoking qualities: This plant has been compared to a toned-down version of cannabis. When its petals are smoked, it produces a mild, calming, euphoric effect.

Plant profile: Lion’s Tail is a perennial plant, native to South Africa, identified by its coils of bright, spiky orange flowers along the stalk. It grows up to 5 feet in height.

Grow tips: Grow this one from the seed, as finding a full-grown plant from a nursery is typically challenging. Start your seeds indoors and ensure that when it is time to plant that the temperatures are higher than 20°F. This plant prefers full sun and sandy soil.

Photo by photosoft/Shutterstock.

Roman Chamomile (Chamaemelum nobile)

Herbal history: Though we know this plant more commonly for its use in tea to calm nerves, soothe digestive tracts and put us to sleep, you can also smoke it! Chamomile has traditionally been used as an anti-inflammatory.

Smoking qualities: Chamomile has a mild, fruity body when smoked. It provides an anti-spasmodic and sedative effect, which will relax your mind and reduce tension.

Plant profile: This is a perennial plant, native to Europe with a summer-fall growing season. It has daisy-like flowers with ascending stems. It can grow about three to six inches tall and 10 to 12 inches wide.

Grow tips: This plant prefers full sun, but it can grow in partial shade. It thrives in light, compost-rich soil that is moist and well drained. However, it’s recommended that you allow your plants to dry out each time you decide to water. Ideal temperature is 60-68°F.

Photo by Gloria V Moeller/Shutterstock

Rabbit Tobacco (Pseudognaphalium obtusifolium)

Herbal history: Historically, the Native American population has used this plant to treat everything from asthma, colds, coughs, flu, pneumonia, bronchitis, diarrhea and insomnia. It’s also been smoked as an alternative to tobacco.

Smoking qualities: Rabbit tobacco is said to have a mild sedating effect and provides some relief to symptoms of asthma and similar respiratory ailments. It has a maple-like smell, but it has been described to have a sharp, bitter taste when smoked.

Plant profile: This is a summer annual or biennial plant that can reach one to 2.5 feet in height. It has narrow elliptical leaves and stiff silvery stems. It produces clusters of small white flowers that quickly become brown.

Grow tips: Despite being a wild flower that grows in heavy clay soils and dry areas, you can purchase the seeds from this plant. It prefers sandy, well-drained soil and full sun.

Photo by oraziopuccio/Shutterstock.

Passion Flower (Passiflora incarnata)

Herbal history: Indigenous people in North and South America historically used passion flowers as a sedative. Today, it is commonly used to treat anxiety, restlessness, insomnia and various forms of pain. Passion flower has been thought to have compounds that increase serotonin levels in the body and a recent study compared this herb to a drug similar to Valium, finding it was equally as effective.

Smoking qualities: When smoked, passion flower tastes smooth, earthy and clove-like. It produces a mildly sedating, calming effect.

Plant profile: This vibrant plant is a perennial with curly petals. Though typically recognized by its purple flower, it can bloom in shades of red and yellow. Because it is a vine plant, it can grow up to 30 feet long.

Grow tips: The ideal growing temperature for this flower is between 60°F and 90°F, but it will not tolerate anything below 55°F very well. It needs full sun and well-drained soil. You can give it two applications of fertilizer each year: one at the start of planting and one in the middle of summer. Because they are a vine flower, we suggest growing them along a trellis.

Photo by OHishiapply/Shutterstock.

Lavender (Lavandula)

Herbal history: Lavender has been used for more than 2,000 years in everything from mummification, repelling insects, treating insomnia, aching backs and insanity. Regarded for antiseptic and antibiotic properties, this plant was also applied to bacterial infections, burns, wounds, bites and stings. Today, it’s most commonly known as a key plant in aromatherapy for its calming, mood balancing effects.

Smoking qualities: When smoked, this plant provides a smooth, floral punch. Due to a compound in this plant called linalool, which is known for sending signals to your brain to tell your body to relax, it will ease stress, anxiety, induce sleep and lower your blood pressure.

Plant profile: Lavender is native to the Mediterranean. It is a drought-tolerant perennial plant with thin leaves that can grow to be one to three feet tall. Its spiky purple flowers alone can grow up to 16 inches. It blooms in the summer.

Grow tips: This plant prefers full sun. It will thrive in dry to medium soil that is sandy and well drained. Keep this purple plant away from wet, moist areas, as it is susceptible to root rot. The ideal temperature is 45-70°F.

Photo by Maslov Dmitry/Shutterstock

St. John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum)

Herbal history: St. John’s Wort’s medicinal uses date back to ancient Greece, where it was used to treat various nervous disorders. Recent European studies have shown its effectiveness for treating mild to moderate depression, and other tiny pilot studies have shown it could be effective for premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), psoriasis and atopic dermatitis.

Smoking qualities: If smoked, this plant acts as a mood-elevating sedative, easing tension throughout the body. The taste is slightly sweet and bitter.

Plant profile: This is a shrubby perennial plant, notably distinguished by its vibrant yellow flowers that grow on their own or in clusters. It can grow one to three feet tall and has dense upright branches with red to purple bark.

Grow tips: If you have a shorter growing season, feel free to start your seeds indoors as St. John’s Wort transplants well. It thrives in full sun and likes sandy, rocky soil. When you are first trying to grow it, it’s important to keep the soil moist and well watered. Once it matures it is quite drought tolerant.

Warning: Smoking is bad for your health and can cause cancer. Grow and smoke with caution.

The post Smokable Plants You Can Grow That Aren’t Marijuana Part 2 appeared first on Modern Farmer.

COOK THIS: Batch Cooking by Keda Black

Wendy Underwood — Sun, 22 Dec 2019 12:00:07 +0000

Is 2020 the year you’re finally going to get organized, eat properly and save money by cooking at home all week? Most of the many cookbooks promising to simplify weeknight dinners rely on snowballing leftovers, or cooking huge batches of soup and jam-packing your freezer. Batch Cooking (Hardie Grant; $24.99) by Keda Black is a little different: Invest two hours on Sunday prepping ingredients and making basic recipes, with the promise of spending just 10 minutes each night putting together dinner. The book includes 13 seasonal menus of five dinners plus one “special treat” (usually a dessert) for four people. This is a superbly designed book with a visual shopping guide for the week, illustrated step-by-step Sunday prep instructions, and directions for assembling dinner Monday through Friday. The menus minimize leftover ingredients: lemongrass in Tuesday’s Thai noodles is used in the soup on Thursday. The book contains vegetarian substitutions, and it even tells you how many storage containers you’ll need.

Batch Cooking doesn’t include recipes in the traditional sense, because you’ll prep a sauce or a stock that’s then divided up and used in multiple meals. Therefore, I had to test out an entire week’s menu. I opted for a fall menu that included baked eggs with mushrooms, roasted vegetables with mozzarella, spaghetti with meatballs, a pizza with cabbage and fennel, a cabbage and split pea soup with meatballs, and a bread pudding. Overall, the system works beautifully, but you have to stick to the instructions to the letter and in the order given. It quickly became confusing when I tried to adjust things to make a half portion of one dish, or skip ahead—instructions such as “add the remaining sliced shallots” don’t make a lot of sense if you haven’t used any shallots yet. The resulting meals were great if not spectacular; perfectly acceptable weeknight dinners that really were delivered in the promised 10 minutes.

This book is not the answer for our family of two people who often have evening commitments. But I can see it being an absolute boon for busy families of four that just want someone to tell them what to cook and how to get there with minimum fuss. For them, Batch Cooking is a highly practical (if a little inflexible) prescription for getting a wholesome, home-cooked meal on the table five nights a week.

Wendy Underwood tests out cookbooks weekly on Instagram at @kitchenvscookbook.

The post COOK THIS: Batch Cooking by Keda Black appeared first on Modern Farmer.

COOK THIS: Christmas Feasts and Treats by Donna Hay

Wendy Underwood — Mon, 16 Dec 2019 12:00:46 +0000

Most of us have our go-to recipes for the holidays, from turkey and gravy to what we’re making for the annual cookie swap. So the question is, “Do we need a Christmas cookbook?” Australian author Donna Hay makes a fairly convincing argument for the genre with her new book, Christmas Feasts and Treats (Fourth Estate; $29.99). This is a beautiful book, full of the charming, modern photography for which Hay has become known. Just flicking through it will get you in the holiday mood. And then there are the recipes. The book is not surprisingly divided into “feasts”—the savory stuff that includes snacks for your holiday party as well as Christmas dinner—and “treats,” which covers everything from dessert on the big day to edible decorations and candies to give as gifts. She offers instructive, traditional recipes for your turkey (or ham, roast pork or lobster), but also some creative options and some that will work for smaller Christmas crowds.

While you might not want to take a chance with a new turkey preparation method, the side dishes are often open to a bit more creativity. I tried the honey and almond hasselback pumpkin with butternut squash (known as butternut pumpkin in Australia). You make ¼ inch slices through your peeled half squash, stopping just short of the bottom, so that it all holds together. Roast this until it’s tender and golden, and then pour over a syrup made of honey, vinegar and bay leaves, wedging the leaves between the slices, and roast a little longer. To serve, sprinkle with toasted almonds. This was delicious, and it also offers a lot of visual appeal for little effort.

This is an Australian book, so there are some cultural differences: There’s a lot of seafood, and dessert pies are replaced with trifle and pavlovas. But much of it is very relevant to the average North American holiday celebrations. If you’re stuck in a holiday rut, hosting for the first time this year, or just looking for ideas that stretch through the whole of the holidays and not just Dec. 25, Christmas Feasts and Treats will provide a lot of festive inspiration.

Wendy Underwood tests out cookbooks weekly on Instagram at @kitchenvscookbook.

Honey and Almond Hasselback Pumpkin

1 x 1.8kg butternut pumpkin (squash), halved lengthways, peeled and seeds removed
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
½ cup (180g) honey
2 tablespoons malt vinegar
14 bay leaves
½ cup (80g) almonds, toasted and chopped
sea salt and cracked black pepper

Preheat oven to 220°C (425°F). Line a large baking tray with non-stick baking paper. Place half the pumpkin, cut-side down, on a chopping board. Place a chopstick, lengthways, on each side of the pumpkin. Using a very sharp knife, carefully slice through the pumpkin to the chopsticks at 5mm intervals. Repeat with the remaining pumpkin half.

Place the pumpkin on the tray, cut-side down, and drizzle with the oil. Cover tightly with aluminium foil and roast for 1 hour. Uncover and roast for a further 20 minutes or until golden.

Place the honey, vinegar and bay leaves in a small saucepan over high heat. Bring to the boil and cook for 4–5 minutes or until slightly reduced. Spoon half the honey glaze over the pumpkin and place the bay leaves in the incisions. Roast the pumpkin for a further 5–10 minutes or until tender and golden. Sprinkle with the almonds, salt and pepper and drizzle with the remaining honey glaze to serve. Serves 6

Chewy Caramels with Salted Peanuts

3 cups (420g) salted peanuts
1.1kg white (granulated) sugar
1.125 litres single (pouring) cream
1 cup (350g) golden syrup
100g unsalted butter, chopped

Line a 20cm x 30cm slice tin with non-stick baking paper. Sprinkle the base with half the peanuts and set aside.

Place the sugar, cream, golden syrup and butter in a large saucepan over high heat and stir with a metal spoon until the butter and sugar have melted. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring, for 20–25 minutes or until the temperature reaches 122°C (251°F) on a sugar (candy) thermometer. Working quickly, pour the caramel into the tin and carefully sprinkle with the remaining 1½ cups (210g) of peanuts. Allow to cool completely at room temperature for 3–4 hours. Refrigerate for 25–30 minutes or until firm.

Turn the caramel out onto a board and, using a large sharp knife, cut into pieces+. Wrap each caramel in brown wax paper, twisting the ends to seal. Keep refrigerated and bring to room temperature to serve. Makes 50

+ If the caramel becomes too soft to cut, simply return it to the refrigerator for 5 minutes.

Tip: Store caramels, wrapped in paper, in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Prosecco Brined Turkey Breast with Brussels Sprouts and Speck

¼ cup (75g) rock salt
¼ cup (45g) light brown sugar
2 sprigs tarragon
2 bunches thyme (about 12 sprigs)
1 lemon, thinly sliced
1.25 litres water
3 cups (750ml) prosecco
2 x 1.5kg turkey breast fillets, skin on
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
sea salt and cracked black pepper
350g speck or bacon, chopped
500g Brussels sprouts, halved
1 bunch thyme (about 6 sprigs), extra

lemon garlic butter
100g unsalted butter, softened
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon rind

Place the salt, sugar, tarragon, thyme, lemon and 2 cups (500ml) of the water in a medium saucepan over high heat. Bring to the boil and cook for 4 minutes, stirring to dissolve the salt. Allow to cool slightly. Pour the brining liquid into a large (5-litre-capacity) non-reactive container+. Add the prosecco and another 2 cups (500ml) of the water. Using your hands, carefully loosen the skin from the flesh of the turkey breasts. Lower the turkey, skin-side down, into the brine. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours (but no longer).

To make the lemon garlic butter, place the butter, garlic and lemon rind in a small bowl and mix to combine.

Remove the turkey from the container, discarding the brine, and pat dry with absorbent kitchen paper. Using your hands, spread the lemon garlic butter under the skin.

Place the oil in a large heavy-based frying pan over medium heat. Sprinkle the turkey with salt and pepper. Add 1 turkey breast to the pan, skin-side down. Cook for 4 minutes each side or until golden brown. Remove from the pan and repeat with the remaining turkey. Return both turkey breasts to the pan, skin-side up. Add the remaining 1 cup (250ml) of water, cover with a tight-fitting lid and cook for 20 minutes or until golden and cooked through. Remove the turkey from the pan, loosely cover with aluminium foil and reserve the cooking liquid.

Wipe the pan out and return to medium heat. Add the speck and cook, stirring, for 4 minutes or until crispy. Remove and set aside. Increase the heat to high, add the Brussels sprouts and cook, stirring, for 1 minute or until lightly charred. Add the extra thyme and reserved liquid and cook for 2 minutes.

Serve turkey with the sprouts and crispy speck. Serves 4–6

Non-reactive materials include glass, plastic and stainless steel.

The post COOK THIS: Christmas Feasts and Treats by Donna Hay appeared first on Modern Farmer.

5 Fun and Healthy Holiday Party Platters

Brian Barth — Mon, 16 Dec 2019 12:00:40 +0000

At Modern Farmer, we like to have fun with our food. This is why we scoured the internet (and also so that you don’t have to) for easy, wacky, weird, beautiful, edible holiday-themed creations. These five were too kitschy to resist.

Strawberry-Banana Santas (and More)
Because they don’t require cooking and provide the perfect red-and-white color combo, bananas and strawberries offer endless opportunities for the creative, time-strapped holiday chef. Check out the strawberry-banana Santa treats from mykidslickthebowl.com (they could also pass as elves) and the strawberry-banana snowmen pops from onehandedcooks.com. Delish.com has an adult version involving Jell-o and vodka.

Egg (and Eggplant) Penguins
For a protein platter, eggs offer a wintry look and plenty of calories around which to base a platter. Roxyskitchen.com has a creative take in which the black skin of eggplant is used to create the black head and wings of penguins made with an egg body. Carefully cut carrots supply the feet.

Cheese-and-Cracker Santas
This one is super-quick and super-fun: round crackers with a red Santa cap made from sun-dried tomato; black currants for eyes; and a beard and mustache made from white cheese. See catchmyparty.com for the full instructions.

Edible Wreaths
This is a no-brainer: Arrange vegetables on a circular platter with a bowl of dip in the middle. You can do the same with cheese, crackers and meat, or with fruit, using whipped cream or chocolate sauce for dipping. The key is to get creative with the design so it doesn’t look like any old dip platter. Plan your color combinations carefully (red, green, and white) and consider adding little accents (herbs, candy sprinkles, flowers, cherry tomatoes) that call to mind ornaments and Christmas lights. Looking for inspiration? Check out 10 edible wreath ideas at thedailymeal.com.

Fruit Tree
Now for the centerpiece. There are many ways to go about this, but Fully Raw Christina, a raw food YouTube sensation, has a great technique, which she demonstrates in a video that’s sure to make you smile. You sculpt a pineapple into a sturdy base, to the top of which you pin a pear with toothpicks (the two fruits should form a roughly pyramidal shape). Then you use more toothpicks to pin smaller pieces of fruit as decorations for the edible Christmas “tree.”

The post 5 Fun and Healthy Holiday Party Platters appeared first on Modern Farmer.

COOK THIS: Pastry Love by Joanne Chang

Wendy Underwood — Mon, 25 Nov 2019 12:00:23 +0000

For many, the act of having someone bake for us is the very definition of “pastry love.” But for Joanne Chang, the woman behind Boston’s beloved Flour Bakery, the term has a different definition: to tend lovingly to a display of baked goods to make sure each of them is as enticing as possible. As the title of her new book, Pastry Love (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; $40), the term does double duty, bringing together a collection of well-loved recipes to share with those around you.

“Pastry” covers everything that a pastry chef might make, from a humble muffin (including some gluten-free options) through to dinner party showpiece desserts, caramels, and a whole section on bread. It opens with an exceedingly helpful “master techniques” section, and it ends with a chapter of Chang’s master recipes (for various doughs, pastry cream, ganache, etc.). The book is almost a journal with thoughtful notes before each recipe. What pulls it out of textbook territory are enticing recipes such as Eggnog Cheesecake with Gingerbread People, and Apple Cider-Miso Caramels.

I am easily seduced by a breakfast cookie, so I attempted Chang’s Nutty Seedy Breakfast Cookies. Melted butter (quite a lot of it), maple syrup, vanilla, eggs and mashed banana are whisked together in one bowl. In another, pepitas, coconut, sunflower seeds, flax seeds and millet are combined, with some set aside. Walnuts, dried cherries and cranberries, whole wheat flour, baking soda and spices are added, along with the wet ingredients. The dough is rested, rolled into balls, dunked in the reserved seed mixture, and baked in a medium oven. The result was definitely not healthy, but it was delicious and lighter than the usual hockey puck-like breakfast cookie.

Pastry Love is thorough in the way that baking books really need to be, but it’s also kind, comforting and, most of all, approachable. Those new to baking will appreciate Chang’s encouraging and rock-steady voice, while experienced bakers will love getting their hands on her tried-and-true creative recipes.

Wendy Underwood tests out cookbooks weekly on Instagram at @kitchenvscookbook.

Nutty Seedy Breakfast Cookies
MAKES 18 TO 20 COOKIES

Eating cookies for breakfast might seem like a ruse your kids try to pull on you to get out of eating their Wheaties. But when we created this recipe, we made sure it was full of whole grains and seeds and fruits and nuts and that it was wholesome enough for you to feel good about how you were starting off your morning. Don’t be daunted by the number of ingredients. While it most likely will require a trip to the grocery store, you’ll end up with a pantry nicely stocked with useful staples to encourage your whole grain baking even further. This cookie has become one of my favorite ways to start the morning, and I think it will become one of yours, too.

3/4 cup/90 grams walnuts, roughly chopped
1 cup/2 sticks/225 grams unsalted butter
1/2 cup/170 grams maple syrup
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 large eggs (about 150 grams), at room temperature
1 ripe banana, thoroughly mashed (about 1/3 cup/100 grams)
3/4 cup/100 grams raw unsalted pepitas (shelled pumpkin seeds)
3/4 cup/40 grams unsweetened flaked coconut
1/2 cup/45 grams raw shelled sunflower seeds
1/2 cup/50 grams flaxseeds
1/4 cup/50 grams millet
11/2 cups/150 grams rolled oats
1 cup/120 grams dried cranberries
2/3 cup/100 grams whole wheat flour
1/2 cup/100 grams dried cherries
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 350°F and place a rack in the center of the oven. Place the walnuts on a baking sheet and toast for 6 to 8 minutes, until they are light golden brown and fragrant. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.

Melt the butter, then place it in a medium bowl. Whisk in the maple syrup and vanilla until well combined. Whisk in the eggs and banana until the mixture is totally homogeneous. (The banana needs to be completely mashed so it whisks in smoothly.)

In a large bowl, stir together the pepitas, coconut, sunflower seeds, flaxseeds, and millet. Remove 1/2 cup/about 50 grams of the mixture and set it aside for topping the cookies. Add the walnuts, oats, cranberries, flour, cherries, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg to the bowl and stir well to combine. Make a well in the center and pour in the butter mixture. Stir well to combine — the dough will be more like a soft batter than a stiff cookie dough. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to overnight, to allow the grains to absorb the liquid and firm up the batter.

When ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or butter it.

Wet your hands and use them to scoop about 1/4 cup of the dough from the bowl. Roll the dough into a rough ball, dip the top of the ball into the reserved seed mixture, and plop it seed side up on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat to form the remaining dough. Press the cookies down with the palm of your hand to make them flat. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes, rotating the baking sheet midway through the baking time, until the cookies are golden brown on the edges and firm when you press them in the middle.

Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking sheet on a wire rack.

Cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.

Orange-Almond Pudding Cake with Chocolate Ganache
MAKES ONE 8-INCH CAKE, TO SERVE 8 TO 10

I first fell in love with this cake while spending an unforgettable weekend in the Ottolenghi pastry kitchens in London with two of my pastry chefs. Yotam Ottolenghi’s talented army of pastry cooks churned out endless platters of stunning pastries, each of which looked more delectable than the last. This supremely moist and orangey cake was sitting on a counter half eaten, and Paula, one of the pastry chefs, saw me eyeing it. “Oh my, eat it, eat it all!” She grabbed a few forks for me and my team, we descended on this cake, and it disappeared in seconds. Not only is this cake gluten-free, but it’s also made without any butter or oil. Yotam generously shared his recipe; I dress it up by double-glazing it with an orange-infused chocolate ganache to create a shiny mirrored surface.

Candied Oranges (page 318)
5 large eggs (about 250 grams), at room temperature
1 cup/200 grams sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
21/4 cups/225 grams almond flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Chocolate-Orange Ganache (page 318), melted and cooled but still pourable

Make and drain the candied oranges. Set aside 2 or 3 pretty slices for garnish on the cake. Finely chop the rest and set aside separately.

Preheat the oven to 300°F and place a rack in the center of the oven. Line the bottom of an 8-inch cake pan with a parchment paper circle (see page 23), or butter the pan liberally. Set it aside.

In a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip the eggs and sugar on medium-high speed until frothy, about 2 minutes. Add the chopped candied oranges and vanilla and whip to combine. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl, as well as the whisk. Whip again for a few seconds. Add the almond flour, baking powder, and salt and whip on low to combine. Stop the mixer and scrape again. Continue to mix until the batter is homogeneous.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour 20 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes, rotating the cake pan midway through the baking time, until the cake springs back when you poke it in the middle and is firm to the touch, and a cake tester inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and place the pan on a wire rack to cool.

While the cake is baking, make the ganache and set it aside to cool.

When the cake is entirely cool, run a knife around the edges of the cake, pop the cake out of the pan onto a flat plate, and remove the parchment. Turn the cake right side up on a wire rack placed over a baking sheet. Pour about half the ganache over the entire cake, using an offset spatula to coat the sides evenly. Place the cake in the fridge, still on the wire rack, to allow the ganache t set for at least 15 minutes.

Pour a second coat of ganache over the cake. Let the ganache set for at least 30 minutes. Place the cake on a serving platter. Cut into the orange slices and twist them into spirals; decorate the center of the cake with them. Serve.

The cake can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Candied Oranges
MAKES ABOUT 1½ CUPS/340 GRAMS
2 navel oranges
3 cups/600 grams sugar

Slice the ends off the oranges, then slice the oranges crosswise about 1/4 inch thick.

In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar and 4 cups/960 grams water and bring to a boil. Add the orange slices to the sugar syrup and reduce the heat to very low.

Let the oranges simmer in the syrup for 2 to 3 hours, until they are translucent and the syrup has the consistency of maple syrup, gently stirring occasionally to move the top slices to the bottom of the syrup. Test for doneness by removing an orange slice from the syrup and biting into it; careful — it will be hot! The rind should be completely soft and sweet and the syrup should be very thick. Remove the saucepan from the heat and let the oranges cool completely in their syrup.

The oranges can be stored in their syrup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Drain before using.

Chocolate-Orange Ganache
MAKES ABOUT 1¼ CUPS
3/4 cup/180 grams heavy cream
1 tablespoon grated orange zest (about 1 large orange)
6 ounces /170 grams semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped

In a small saucepan, heat the cream and orange zest over medium-high heat until just before it comes to a boil, when small bubbles collect along the sides of the pan. Turn off the heat and let the cream sit for 30 minutes to allow the orange to infuse into it.

Place the chocolate in a medium metal or heatproof glass bowl. Return the cream to just under a boil, then strain it through a fine-mesh strainer directly over the chocolate. Let it stand for 30 seconds. Slowly whisk the chocolate and cream together until the chocolate is completely melted and the ganache is smooth.

The ganache can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Cranberry-Pecan Bread
MAKES 2 LOAVES

For ten months of the year we make a barely sweet raisin-pecan bread that is an homage to the nutty, hearty raisin-pecan bread from Amy’s Bread in New York City. I spent a very short time at Amy’s early in my career, learning the very basics of mixing, shaping, proofing, and baking bread. The owner, Amy Scherber, was — and still is — an inspiration to me, not only because of her fabulous bread that is beloved across New York, but also because she is kind, gracious, direct, and as generous a person as you’ll ever meet. When I’m in New York I always stop by one of her bakeries to get a few loaves to bring back to Boston. During the winter holidays we change up our standard raisin-pecan for a cranberry-pecan to celebrate the arrival of cranberry season. We knead dried cranberries into the dough and also throw in a generous handful of fresh cranberries. The combination of the sweet chewy dried with the tart juicy fresh makes this a loaf we look forward to all year long.

Note that this takes two days to make, so be sure to plan ahead.

Sponge for Cranberry-Pecan Bread (page 148), at room temperature

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons/270 grams water, at body temperature (when you stick your finger in it, it does not register as either warm or cold)
2 cups/280 grams all-purpose flour
11/2 cups/225 grams high-gluten bread flour
1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
1/4 cup/85 grams honey
21/4 teaspoons kosher salt
1 cup/100 grams pecan halves, toasted (see page 29)
3/4 cup/90 grams dried cranberries
1 cup/100 grams fresh cranberries, roughly chopped
1/4 to 1/2 cup cornmeal, for the baking sheet

The day before you will be making this bread, make the sponge. Two hours before making the bread, remove the sponge from the fridge.

In a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment or by hand in a large bowl with a wooden spoon, mix the water, all-purpose flour, bread flour, yeast, and sponge for about 2 minutes, until all the ingredients are combined and you have a shaggy, stiff dough. (To prevent the flour from flying out of the mixer bowl, turn the mixer on and off several times until the flour is mixed into the liquid and then keep it on low speed.) Cover the bowl with a piece of plastic wrap and let sit for about 10 minutes. (This is called an autolyse; it allows the water to hydrate the flour, which makes for better mixing down the road.)

Add the honey and salt to the dough and mix on medium-low for 6 to 8 minutes, until the dough is smooth. If it does not come together, let it sit for a few minutes to allow the flour to be absorbed into the dough more, then mix again for a few minutes. The dough should be somewhat sticky but still smooth, and have the texture of an earlobe (as strange as that sounds). If it’s stiffer than this, add a few tablespoons water, or if it’s looser than this add a few tablespoons all purpose flour, and mix until incorporated. Don’t add more flour unless it’s really soupy. If you’re mixing by hand this process will take at least 15 minutes of active kneading. Constantly knead, push, and fold the dough over itself, picking it up from time to time and slapping it onto the counter to incorporate all the ingredients and help develop the dough’s structure.

Add the pecans, dried cranberries, and fresh cranberries and mix on low for another 3 to 4 minutes, until the nuts and cranberries are all completely and evenly distributed within the dough. You may need to stop the mixer a few times to pull off any dough that has gathered around the hook or on the sides of the bowl. If you are mixing and kneading by hand, it will take at least 10 minutes to incorporate these ingredients.

Lightly oil a clean large bowl, remove the dough from the mixer bowl, and place it in the oiled bowl.

Cover it with an oiled piece of plastic wrap or a damp lint-free towel. Place it in a draft-free warm place (78° to 82°F is ideal; an area near the stove or an oven with only the pilot light on is good) for 2 to 3 hours. The dough will rise a little bit but not a lot, and will feel a little loose and relaxed and somewhat sticky.

Generously flour your hands and work surface and turn the dough out of the bowl. Divide the dough in half with a sharp chef’s knife or bench scraper. Shape each half into a rough square. Working with one half at a time, bring the upper right and left corners of the dough to the center of the square and then fold over the top of the dough to meet the corners in the center. Now hold the top part of the dough in both hands, cradling the folded-over part with your fingers, and line up your thumbs in the center of the dough along the seams in the middle. Push at the center of the dough at the seam, nudging away from you with your thumbs to create a taut surface at the outside of the dough. Cup the outer part of the dough in your fingers again and bring your thumbs against the seam again as you nudge the dough away from you. Roll your hands toward you to create more surface tension on the dough as you roll it down to the bottom of the square. Continue nudging and rolling until you have a long loaf that is fat in the middle and tapered at the ends like a football. (At this point you can store the shaped loaves on a baking sheet or flat plate, covered lightly with plastic or a lint-free towel, in the fridge overnight. Remove the next day and proceed as directed.)

Generously sprinkle a baking sheet with cornmeal to keep the loaves from sticking to it. Place the shaped loaves seam side down on the baking sheet, at least 3 inches apart. Cover them loosely and completely with plastic wrap or a lint-free towel and let them sit at room temperature for 2 to 3 hours, until the dough has loosened up and seems relaxed. It won’t pouf up too much but it will seem much softer.

Preheat the oven to 400°F and place racks in the center and bottom third of the oven. (It’s very important to make sure the oven comes to temperature before you place the bread inside! The heat from the oven ensures that your loaves will get enough oomph to rise and grow.) Sprinkle the tops of the loaves with 2 to 3 tablespoons flour. Slash the loaves on top with a knife, lame, or razor blade (see page 27) and place the baking sheet on the center rack. Place a rimmed baking sheet or shallow baking pan filled with about 2 cups water on the rack underneath the bread. (The steam from the water will create a nice moist atmosphere, allowing your bread to grow.) Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, rotating the baking sheet with the bread midway through the baking time, until the bread is dark golden brown on top and makes a hollow sound when you thump it on the bottom.

Let cool for at least 1 hour, directly on a wire rack.

The bread can be stored in a paper bag at room temperature for 2 to 3 days. (Plastic seals the air out and keeps the bread from breathing, so it can get too soft.)

Sponge for Cranberry-Pecan Bread

MAKES ABOUT 11/4 CUPS/380 GRAMS

1 cup/140 grams all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon active dry yeast

Stir together the flour, 1 cup/240 grams room temperature water, and the yeast until well mixed and sloshy. Cover and leave out at room temperature for at least 4 hours or up to 8 hours.

Stir the sponge, cover, and refrigerate overnight. Pull it out of the fridge 2 hours before using to bring it back to room temperature.

The post COOK THIS: Pastry Love by Joanne Chang appeared first on Modern Farmer.

COOK THIS: Sour by Mark Diacono

Wendy Underwood — Sat, 09 Nov 2019 12:00:51 +0000

From drinking vinegar to heritage sourdough and spicy kimchi, you might have noticed that sour food is hot right now. A sour flavor (or acidity) is usually instrumental in bringing balance to your dish, perhaps in the form of a squeeze of lemon or a splash of wine. Sourness also plays a role in preserving, tenderizing, or “cooking” (as in ceviche), and it is a result of the fermentation process. Mark Diacono’s new book, Sour/the magical element that will transform your cooking (Quadrille; $35) takes on this complex characteristic, starting with a more scientific look at what constitutes sourness (anything under a pH of seven, which ranges from milk to lemon juice), before delving into fermentation-derived sourness versus naturally sour ingredients—mainly fruit. The book is then divided into two main sections: souring skills, with basic recipes for making things like sourdough starter, sour cream, sauerkraut and kombucha, as well as recipes that use both fermented and naturally sour ingredients.

The recipe for Cranberry Jewelled Rice caught my eye; it’s listed as a main course, but it would actually make a very festive side dish. Onions and carrots are cooked in butter until soft, before being joined by cardamom, cinnamon and nuts. Basmati rice and dried cranberries are added, along with hot water and orange blossom water that has had saffron soaking in it. It’s cooked for about 15 minutes, and briefly blasted with heat at the end to develop a crust on the bottom. This was delicious—delicately spiced with the bright acidity of the cranberries bringing everything together.

Sour offers the best of both worlds, with easy projects to get you started on some home fermenting, but also offering some very creative, exciting dishes for indulging your sour tooth. Unlike many books that include fermentation, the recipes themselves are very straightforward, and dare I say, a treasure trove of homemade gifts for the holidays as well.

Wendy Underwood tests out cookbooks weekly on Instagram at @kitchenvscookbook.

CRANBERRY JEWELLED RICE
Serves 4

Saffron is a funny thing. Mostly it reminds me of that time I sucked the end of the fountain pen I used for all of a fortnight at school, only to find it was leaking its turquoise (classy) Quink all over my mouth. Happy days. Saffron gives me hope that perhaps there is nothing to which a delicious end cannot be found. Here, its generous nasal bitterness is what creates the alchemy. Sour fruit and nuts are so fine together too, and I think this shows that happy alliance at its best. I’m as likely to eat this as it is – a joyously satisfying bowlful, fork pecking away – as I am to bother with a bright salad to accompany.

300g (10oz) basmati rice large pinch of saffron (or use ground turmeric)
50ml (2fl oz) orange blossom water
3 tbsp butter, ghee or olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
½ tsp ground cardamom
1 cinnamon stick
100g (3½oz) shelled pistachios (or use flaked almonds or pine nuts, or a mix)
100g (3½oz) dried cranberries (or use dried sour cherries)
sea salt and freshly ground
black pepper

Wash the rice thoroughly and drain well. Soak the saffron in the orange blossom water.

Heat the butter, ghee or oil in a large pan, add the onion and carrots and cook over a medium heat until soft – this will take 10–15 minutes or so. Add the spices, nuts and 1 teaspoon of salt and cook for 1 minute more.

Add the drained rice and cranberries and cook for a minute to toast the rice, then add the orange blossom saffron water plus another 400ml (14fl oz) hot water and cover. Turn the heat down to low and continue cooking for 15 minutes until all the liquid has evaporated and the rice is tender. Turn the heat up to medium and cook for 5 minutes to develop a crust at the base.

Turn off the heat. Place a clean tea towel between the pan and its lid and let the pan sit and rest for 5 minutes in about 3cm (1¼in) cold water in the sink to help loosen the crust.

Turn the rice out on to a large platter to serve.

TAMARIND PORK RIBS
Serves 2–3 (or just me watching a game)

It’s 8.07am and I’m writing about tamarind ribs and now all I want for second breakfast is tamarind ribs. And all I’ll want for lunch and dinner is tamarind ribs. They may take a while in the oven, but the only attention you need to pay here is in softening the onions slowly: after that, you just have to come back in a couple of hours with an appetite.

The sauce is hugely adaptable: when I couldn’t get good pork ribs, I tried it with a rack of lamb – cooked hard at 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6 for 15 minutes, before being slathered on the sauce and cooked for another 25 minutes at 160°C/325°F/gas mark 3 – and it was extraordinary.

4 tbsp olive oil
2 onions, finely diced
10 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
15g (½oz) fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1½ tsp fennel seeds
1 star anise
1½ tsp Aleppo pepper
5 tbsp dark soy sauce
3 tbsp tomato ketchup
3 tbsp maple syrup
60g (2¼oz) soft dark brown sugar
5 tbsp tamarind paste (ideally made from tamarind block, see page 18)
1kg (2lb 4oz) pork ribs
sea salt and freshly ground
black pepper

Preheat the oven to 150°C/300°F/gas mark 2.

Warm the oil in a frying pan over low-medium heat, add the onions and fry slowly, stirring often – we are after sweet softness, without burning, so expect it to take 15–25 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for a few minutes more. Add the spices, stir and cook for a couple of minutes. Add the soy sauce, ketchup, maple syrup, sugar and tamarind paste and stir to incorporate thoroughly. Season with salt and pepper. Cook just for a minute or two.

Place the ribs into a roasting tray large enough to accommodate them in a single layer, close-ish but not jammed in. Spoon the spicy paste over the ribs.

Cover the tray in foil and cook for 2 hours. Turn the heat up to 180°C/350°F/ gas mark 4. Uncover the ribs and taste the paste, seasoning more if needed. Spoon some of the paste from the tin over the ribs. Replace the foil, and return to the oven for 20 minutes more – be careful; you are after dark and sweet– sour gooey rather than black and burnt.

Remove from the oven and allow the ribs to cool a little, before serving with pea shoots and a sharp dressing, or just a cold beer.

Tamarind
I’ve come to tamarind rather too recently, and it is one of those flavours that can make you enter a slightly daydreamy state, imagining how it might suit this or complement that. Once you start cooking with tamarind, it is as if you have discovered a special music or favourite author previously unknown to you. The weeks following may easily be lost in enthusiastic exploration, and that ‘what else can I do with this?’ feeling never quite leaves you when it comes to tamarind.

Tamarind comes from a tropical tree of the same name, likely to originate from Madagascar. Its brown pods look not unlike broad beans after a long weekend and in need of a shower and a glass of water; they contain a dark sour pulp that is extracted from the desiccated pods when ripe and squeezed into blocks, or strained of seeds to make a paste. In either form, it is used in curries, stews, drinks, chutneys and more throughout the Middle East and Asia, as well as Worcestershire sauce and brown sauce in the UK. As much as it is used for its distinctive and complex flavour – perfectly described by Niki Segnit in Lateral Cooking as ‘like a lemon that’s sucked a date’ – tamarind brings a distinctly characterful souring that just works in so many dishes.

The concentrated paste is pretty good and widely available; the block version is superb and available online and from Asian food shops. Tamarind block involves the tiny faff of adding a little boiling water and encouraging it to dissolve, for which – as is usual for a little culinary effort – you are more than proportionately rewarded in flavour.

Although tamarind adds a unique spicy-sour tone, if you are without, then use vinegar or lime juice in a similar quantity (and then amend to taste) to add the required sourness.

MANGO SALAD
Serves 4

If ever I tire of the home-worker’s high-carb, quick-grab lunches and crave a cold shower of freshness, this is one I turn to. It’s a waltz, a cha cha cha and a tango in the mouth, all at once. I tend to leave the herbs large-leaved and barely shredded, to give a big hit of independent flavour from each, and I use red (rather than green) chillies for looks, but the recipe is really a blueprint to play with as you like. The mango should be unripe and sour, but if yours has sweetened, consider upping the lime for balance. And, if you can find them, small green mangoes are perfect here.

2 bird’s-eye chillies, deseeded and finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
juice of 2 limes
50ml (2fl oz) fish sauce
2 tbsp sesame oil
2–3 tsp soft light brown sugar
1 unripe mango, peeled and julienned
2–3 shallots, thinly sliced
60g (2¼oz) unsalted peanuts, roughly chopped
small handful of coriander leaves, barely chopped
small handful of mint leaves, barely chopped
3 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
sea salt and freshly ground
black pepper

Stir together the chillies, garlic, lime juice, fish sauce, sesame oil, sugar and plenty of black pepper – this dressing should be a jumble of flavours more than a complete amalgamation.

Combine the mango, shallots, two-thirds of the peanuts, coriander, mint, sesame seeds and the dressing in a large bowl, season with salt to taste and serve immediately with more nuts to the side and a cold beer.

The post COOK THIS: Sour by Mark Diacono appeared first on Modern Farmer.

COOK THIS: Nothing Fancy by Alison Roman

Wendy Underwood — Sat, 02 Nov 2019 11:00:56 +0000

Whatever you do, don’t call Alison Roman’s latest volume an “entertaining cookbook.” It’s just a book full of recipes for when you “have people over.” One brings about anxiety dreams of undercooked chicken, while the other is just good ol’ Saturday night fun. To wit, Nothing Fancy (Clarkson Potter; $32.50) doesn’t include a section on canapés or hors d’oeuvres, but instead there’s a chapter on “snacks”—these are things that you plonk on the kitchen island for your friends to nibble on while you finish getting dinner ready, and they might include tricked-up dips, fancy canned fish on crackers, marinated olives, and breadsticks. Roman’s approach could be described as “low-barrier”: The recipes in here are straightforward, most ingredients will be available at your local supermarket, prep time is kept to a minimum, and many components can be made ahead. But rest assured, with dishes such as Crispy Haloumi with Honey and Pistachios, or Hibiscus-Roasted Peaches with Brown-Sugar Bread Crumbs, your guests will still be impressed.

A spontaneous Saturday night with friends was the perfect opportunity to try out Roman’s Spicy Pork Meatballs in Brothy Tomatoes and Toasted Fennel. The meatballs are made from ground pork (I also used some turkey), garlic, fresh herbs, Greek yogurt, fennel seeds, smoked paprika and red pepper flakes. They’re browned before being simmered in a broth of fresh tomatoes and shallots spiked with a little vinegar. We served the lot over some steamed kale and mopped up all of that delicious broth with chunks of baguette. These were simple, tender and so satisfying!

We’re coming to a time of year full of opportunities (and expectations) for “having people over,” and most of us could do with some inspiration. Flipping through Roman’s book, I was hard-pressed to find something I didn’t want to make, although it is a little short on vegetarian main course options. Her breezy, encouraging and no-apologies-required approach paired with creative recipes makes Nothing Fancy a winner.

Wendy Underwood tests out cookbooks weekly on Instagram at @kitchenvscookbook.

Reprinted from Nothing Fancy. Copyright © 2019 by Alison Roman. Photographs copyright © 2019 by Michael Graydon and Nikole Herriott Published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of Penguin Random House, LLC.

Creamy Sesame Turmeric Dip
makes about 2 cups

8 ounces cream cheese or ricotta, preferably room temperature
¾ cup sour cream or labne
¼ cup tahini
2 tablespoons water
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
¼ cup olive oil
2 tablespoons white sesame seeds
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
Flaky sea salt

1. Combine the cream cheese, sour cream, tahini, and water in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until well blended and creamy (alternatively, use a fork or spoon; there might just be a few lumps, which is actually fine). Season with salt and pepper.

2. Heat the olive oil and sesame seeds in a small skillet or pot over medium heat. Cook, swirling occasionally, until the sesame seeds are toasted and fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the turmeric and remove from heat.

3. Transfer the cream cheese mixture to a cute serving bowl and top with the sesame-turmeric oil. Finish with flaky salt and more pepper before serving.

Spicy Pork Meatballs in Brothy Tomatoes and Toasted Fennel
Serves 4 to 6

6 garlic cloves (2 grated, 4 thinly sliced)
½ cup finely chopped fresh chives
½ cup finely chopped fresh parsley, tender leaves and stems, plus more for garnish
½ cup full-fat Greek yogurt
2 teaspoons fennel seeds, plus more for garnish
2 teaspoons hot smoked paprika
1½ teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, plus more for serving
1½ pounds ground pork, lamb, beef, and/or turkey (feel free to mix!)
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 large shallot, thinly sliced
2 pints Sungold or cherry tomatoes (about 1½ pounds), halved
¼ cup distilled white vinegar or white wine vinegar
3 cups water
1 cup fresh mint leaves
Piece of pecorino or parmesan, for grating
Toast or crusty bread, for serving

1. Place the grated garlic in a medium bowl along with the chives, parsley, yogurt, fennel seeds, paprika, salt, and crushed red pepper flakes. Mix until well combined.

2. Add the meat, season with pepper, and, using your hands, mix until well combined. Roll the mixture into balls about 1½ inches in diameter (about the size of a plum; I like these meatballs on the smaller side). Place on a baking sheet or large plate.

3. Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add a few meatballs at a time, taking care not to crowd the pot. Cook, using tongs or a spatula to occasionally gently rotate them, until they are all golden brown all over (they may not hold their perfectly round shape, but that is more than okay), 8 to 10 minutes. As the meatballs are browned, transfer them to a large serving platter or plate. Leave the remaining bits and fat in the pot.

4. Add the shallot and sliced garlic to the pot and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the shallot is tender and the garlic starts to brown a bit, 2 to 3 minutes.

5. Add the tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until they burst and start to become all saucy and caramelize a bit on the bottom of the pot, 5 to 8 minutes. Add the vinegar and water, scraping up any bits along the bottom. Bring to a strong simmer and reduce the sauce by about one-fourth, just until it thickens slightly (it should still be relatively brothy), 5 to 7 minutes.

6. Return the meatballs to the pot and reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer until the meatballs are cooked through and the flavors have melded, 10 to 15 minutes.

7. Remove from the heat. To serve, top the meatballs (either in individual bowls or right in the pot) with the mint and more crushed red pepper flakes and fennel seeds, if you like. Drizzle with some olive oil and serve with the cheese for grating and some toast for dipping.

DO AHEAD
The meatball mixture can be made up to 1 day ahead (either kept in a bowl or shaped into meatballs), wrapped, and refrigerated (or up to 1 month in the freezer). The whole dish can be made up to 2 days ahead, covered, and refrigerated.

NOTE
These meatballs and their tomato-y broth really want something to dip in, like simple crusty bread, or perhaps very good garlic bread. They also want some bitter green, which can actually be eaten out of the same bowl, the leaves taking a brief dip in the broth to soften slightly—wow, yes please.

tiny, salty, chocolatey cookies
I am not a chocolate person, but there are some occasions when I want a lightly sweet, definitely salty, chocolatey little something. In those moments, there is nothing better than this something, which I can best describe as the edges of a chewy brownie but in cookie form. No special equipment, fancy techniques, or chilling time are needed, which means that even if you only bake cookies once a year, you can still make these. Perfect for the end of a meal, when you, too, have decided you’ve just got to have a chocolatey little something.

makes 24 cookies

6 tablespoons (¾ stick) unsalted butter
2½ cups confectioners’ sugar
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder (see Note)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 large egg whites
1 large egg
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate (at least 67% cacao), chopped
½ cup finely chopped hazelnuts, almonds, pistachios, pecans, or walnuts (optional)
Flaky sea salt, such as Maldon or Jacobsen

NOTE
This is the time to invest in some high-quality unsweetened cocoa powder, since that’s mostly what you’ll be tasting here (that, and browned butter).

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment.

2. Melt the butter in a small pot over medium heat, swirling, until starting to foam and brown, 3 to 4 minutes (whisk the butter from time to time so that the solids don’t stick to the bottom of the pot). Let cool.

3. Whisk the confectioners’ sugar, cocoa powder, and salt in a medium bowl, ridding it of as many lumps as possible (if you really want to, feel free to sift everything).

4. Using a spatula, mix in the egg whites, whole egg, and browned butter, stirring until you’ve got a good, smoothish mixture (any small lumps will take care of themselves), followed by the chocolate and any nuts you may want to add.

5. Using a spoon, drop quarter-sized blobs of dough (the texture is really somewhere between a dough and a batter), spacing about 2 inches apart on the baking sheet (they spread a lot). Sprinkle with flaky salt and bake until the cookies have flattened considerably and look baked through and a little wrinkled, 6 to 8 minutes. Let cool before eating so they can firm up.

DO AHEAD
Cookies can be baked up to 2 days ahead, wrapped tightly, and stored at room temperature.

The post COOK THIS: Nothing Fancy by Alison Roman appeared first on Modern Farmer.

COOK THIS: Greenfeast: autumn, winter by Nigel Slater

Wendy Underwood — Sat, 26 Oct 2019 11:00:05 +0000

British food writer Nigel Slater has made a career out of convincing us that cooking and eating well don’t have to involve a big fuss. Grab what you picked up at the market, a few quality pantry staples, and sit down to a satisfying dinner. His latest book, Greenfeast: autumn, winter (4th Estate; $36.99) is full of the same casual, off-the-cuff dishes, focusing on seasonal, veggie-forward eating. Recipes are no more than a small page with an average of ten ingredients, and most can be on the table in around 30 minutes. While the book’s sister volume, Greenfeast: spring, summer (released earlier this year) celebrated the more glamorous warm-weather produce, this book makes the most of hardier vegetables, grains and dried beans. That’s not to say that the recipes are austere—dishes such as Red Cabbage, Carrots, Smoked Almonds or Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes, Cream could easily grace a holiday table.

The need for a quick and tasty Sunday dinner before heading out seemed like a good excuse to try Slater’s recipe for Mushrooms, Chickpeas, Tahini—stuffed and baked Portobello mushroom caps. The filling is made by grinding together garlic, chickpeas, olive oil, salt, lemon juice and sumac, then stirring through tahini, thyme and sesame seeds. The caps are filled with this, topped with more chickpeas and sesame seeds and baked for 30 minutes. My mushrooms deflated, leading to some of the filling cascading onto the tray around it, but there’s no denying that this was a delicious, low-effort dinner.

On the face of it, Slater’s “handful-of-this, bake-’til-golden” style is best suited to sure-footed cooks with experience to make those judgment calls in the kitchen, but this casualness also takes the pressure off a new cook to get everything perfect. But perhaps the best reason to get Greenfeast: autumn, winter is that it might actually get you excited for our cold-weather harvest.

Wendy Underwood tests out cookbooks weekly on Instagram at @kitchenvscookbook.

MUSHROOMS, CHICKPEAS, TAHINI
A mushroom as thick as beefsteak. A silky puree.

Serves 2

large ‘portobello’ mushrooms 2
olive oil 8 tablespoons
garlic 2 cloves, peeled
ground sumac 2 teaspoons
juice of half a lemon
chickpeas x 400g can
tahini 2 tablespoons
thyme leaves tablespoon
black sesame seeds tablespoon
white sesame seeds tablespoon

Set the oven at 200°C/Gas 6. Cut out the stalks from the mushrooms, then place the mushrooms gill side up on a baking tray. Score the inside of each mushroom with the tip of a knife—it will allow the oil to penetrate—then pour one tablespoon of olive oil into each.

Use a pestle and mortar to crush the garlic, then pound in four tablespoons of the olive oil, the sumac, lemon juice and a little salt. Drain the chickpeas, then mash half into the oil and garlic paste. Stir in the tahini, thyme leaves and half of both the sesame seeds.

Fill the mushrooms with the chickpea paste, then cover each with the reserved whole chickpeas. Finally, trickle over the last of the olive oil and scatter with the reserved sesame seeds. Bake for about 30 minutes.

The best mushrooms for these are the very large portobello mushrooms with upturned edges to hold the filling.

RED CABBAGE, CARROTS, SMOKED ALMONDS
Crisp, crunchy, sour and smoky. A cabbage salad for a winter’s day.

Serves 4

a red onion
malt vinegar 50ml
cider vinegar 75ml
yellow mustard seeds teaspoon
red cabbage 450g
carrots 250g
a pear
smoked almonds a handful or two

For the dressing:
soured cream 150ml
pickling liquor from the onion 4 tablespoons
Dijon mustard teaspoon
grain mustard teaspoon
poppy seeds tablespoon

Peel the onion and finely slice into rings. Warm the vinegars, 120ml of water and the mustard seeds in a small saucepan, add half a teaspoon of salt and the onion. Bring to the boil, then remove from the heat, cover and leave for 35 minutes.

Finely shred the red cabbage. Peel the carrots, then slice them into long shavings with a vegetable peeler. Halve, core and slice the pear. Toss the cabbage, carrots and pear with a little of the onion pickling liquid.

Make the dressing: Lightly beat the soured cream, onion pickling liquor, mustards and poppy seeds. Fold the dressing into the shredded cabbage, carrots and pear. Finally, add the smoked almonds and the pickled onions, drained of their remaining pickling liquor.

Should smoked almonds prove elusive, make your own by mixing smoked salt with a little paprika and groundnut oil, then toast in a dry pan, before adding the whole almonds.

PEARL BARLEY, KALE, GOAT’S CHEESE
Nutty grains, melting cheese, tender greens.

Serves 2

vegetable stock 800ml
pearl barley 200g
smoked garlic head
curly kale 150g
olive oil 4 tablespoons
goat’s cheese 200g

Heat the stock in a deep pan and tip in the pearl barley. Cut the smoked garlic in half horizontally, slicing through the skin and cloves, drop into the stock and simmer for 35 minutes until the barley is tender.

Cut the stems from the kale, setting the leaves aside. Roughly chop the stems. Pile the leaves on top of each other and finely shred into ribbons. Remove the smoked garlic, scoop out the flesh with a knife and crush to a paste. Discard the skins. (Any cloves that have fallen in the barley during cooking can be left in.)

Heat the olive oil in a large, shallow pan, add the chopped kale stems and cook for a few minutes until tender and bright. Stir in the crushed smoked garlic, then add the shredded kale leaves. Sizzle for a couple of minutes, then fold into the pearl barley, together with crumbled goat’s cheese.

I have suggested kale because of its stridency against the soft, smoky grain, but almost any brassica is applicable here.

Mozzarella would add strings of cheesy joy to the barley, as would Fontina.

I like the nutty quality of pearl barley, but this recipe could also be made with orzo pasta for a softer consistency.

The post COOK THIS: Greenfeast: autumn, winter by Nigel Slater appeared first on Modern Farmer.

COOK THIS: The Whole Fish Cookbook by Josh Niland

Wendy Underwood — Sat, 28 Sep 2019 20:43:24 +0000

These days we’re pretty familiar with the idea of nose-to-tail eating when it comes to our meat: you don’t get to eat filet mignon without also finding a use for the shin and the liver. With The Whole Fish Cookbook (Hardie Grant; $40), Australian chef Josh Niland wants you to think about fish the same way as you think about meat, both in terms of what you eat and how you eat it. As the owner of Sydney’s Saint Peter restaurant and the next door Fish Butchery, not only is Niland suggesting milt mortadella and fish blood pudding, he’s also a proponent of dry-aging your fish to maximize flavor and texture. This book starts with a thorough section addressing issues around cooking fish (“fishues” as he calls them); how to shop for and store fish; and in-depth fish butchery instructions. The recipes that follow include parts most of us are used to cooking (that would be fillets), as well those less common, like collars, livers and ribs. Niland has helpfully included alternative fish species ensuring that the book is still relevant for North Americans.

Eager to try a lighter, fishier twist on one of my childhood favourites, I whipped up a batch of Niland’s fish sausage rolls. The filling was made from trout, scallops and white fish whizzed in a food processor, then combined with grated onion, chopped parsley, white pepper, salt, fennel seeds and nutmeg. This filling was wrapped in puff pastry and generously egg-washed before baking. Served hot or eaten cold the next day, not only were they delicious and easy, but a great way of using up smaller scraps of fish.

In his introduction, Niland mentions that he has written this book for his fellow culinary professionals as well as home cooks, and there are definitely points where I felt I was in over my head. But if you’re an adventurous fish lover ready to take your appreciation to the next level, The Whole Fish Cookbook will open up a whole new pescatarian world for you.

Wendy Underwood tests out cookbooks weekly on Instagram at @kitchenvscookbook.

Fish Sausage Roll
MAKES 8

The public school I attended in East Maitland had a memorable sausage roll, and one that I can remember had just the right amount of seasoning, fat and crispness from the pastry. I’m not 100 per cent sure of what was in it, but I wanted to try to replicate it by producing this version with fish. In the restaurant we serve this with a tomato sauce made from native bush tomato, but it’s delicious with anything.

4 square sheets puff pastry plain (all-purpose) flour, for dusting

Filling
375 g (13 oz) ocean trout or sea trout belly
75 g (2¾ oz) fresh scallop meat
500 g (1 lb 2 oz oz) white fish, such as bream, flathead or whiting
1 onion, grated on a box grater
1 tablespoon salt
13/4 teaspoons ground white pepper
13/4 teaspoons ground fennel seeds
freshly grated nutmeg, to taste
15 g (½ oz/½ cup) chopped flat-leaf (Italian) parsley

Egg wash
2 whole eggs
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon white sesame seeds sea salt flakes

ALTERNATIVE FISH:
Arctic char
Hake
Salmon

Before starting, chill all the parts of a food processor capable of blending fish to a puree. Have a bowl of ice ready. Once the food processor is chilled, blend the trout, scallop meat and white fish separately into smooth pastes. Combine the fish purees together and season with all the remaining ingredients. Keep this fish puree chilled over the bowl of ice.

Mix all the egg wash ingredients together in a bowl. Arrange the puff pastry sheets on a lightly floured work surface and arrange large spoonfuls of the fish mix on the pastry in the shape of a log. Using egg wash, brush the surrounding pastry liberally, then roll into the shape of a sausage roll. Either fold up the ends of the pastry to seal or cut to expose the ends. Brush the sausage roll with egg wash and chill for 30 minutes until set.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F). Brush the sausage roll with more egg wash, then season with sea salt and bake for 15 minutes, or until the pastry is golden and the filling, when checked with a skewer, is hot to the touch. Serve with a generous spoonful of ketchup.

BBQ Red Mullet, Corn & Kelp Butter
SERVES 4

The intoxicating aroma of red mullet cooking over a charcoal grill is enough to get anyone excited about this fish. I always refer to red mullet as poor man’s lobster due to its distinct shellfish-like flavor, but this is a delicious dish that is rich, full of umami and sweetness from the corn as well as the skin of the fish.

2 liters (68 fl oz / 8 cups) water
100 g (3½ oz / 1/3 cup) fine salt
4 ears of corn
90 ml (3 fl oz/ 1/3 cup) extra-virgin
olive oil
sea salt flakes and freshly cracked black pepper
200 g (7 oz) butter, softened
2 tablespoons ground dried kelp (or use nori or wakame)
100 ml (3½ fl oz) Brown Fish Stock (see page 67)
lemon juice, to taste
4 boneless butterflied red mullet, about 200 g (7 oz) each, skin on, head and tail on

For the charcoal grill, make sure the grill is hot and the charcoal has cooked down to hot embers that have levelled out so the heat is even.

Bring the water and fine salt to the boil in a large saucepan over a high heat. Add the corn, cover and cook for 4 minutes, or until tender. Cool completely, then strip the husk from the corn, brush the kernels with 30 ml (1 fl oz) of the olive oil and season with sea salt.

Make sure the heat of the grill is even and you know where the hot spots of the grill are. Grill the corn on the grill rack for 4 minutes, or until lightly blackened and charred all over. Remove from the grill and strip the kernels from the cob. Set aside.

Whisk the butter in a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment until pale and doubled in volume. Add the ground kelp and mix until it is incorporated.

Heat the stock and corn kernels in a saucepan until the stock is reduced by half. Dice the kelp butter and add it piece by piece to the stock, swirling the pot over a low heat until the butter is emulsified. The sauce should be thick and shiny. Season with lemon juice, pepper and a little salt. Keep warm.

Brush the fish with the remaining olive oil and season the skin liberally with salt. Place the fish, skin side down, on the grill rack, add a fish weight on top of the flesh closest to the head and grill for 2 minutes. Reposition the weight to the centre of the fish and cook for a further minute.

When the fish is 70 per cent cooked, remove it from the grill. Divide the corn and kelp butter sauce between plates and lay over the fish to serve.

Brown Fish Stock
SERVES 4
I am purposefully writing this recipe just as a method because the stocks I make are derived from the ingredients we have to hand. This is not to say that a stock should ever be used as a compost bin to discard mishandled ingredients.

To produce a great brown fish stock, work with the same species of fish and not a mixture. It’s important not to wash your fish bones; soaking a fish frame (the skeleton) in water to ‘purge off the blood’ or wash away impurities is backward logic to me as it only dilutes any qualities that the fish frame has.

Fish frames that have been allowed to dry slightly overnight in a refrigerator will take on better colour – giving you greater flavor – and will not stick to the pan when browning. I have always been told to cut the eyes from the head as they bring cloudiness and imperfection to the final result, but it is that imperfection and cloudiness that brings viscosity, flavor and character to the stock. There are times, however, when a clear stock is required and the omission of eyes could be considered. Chopping the fish frame into four or five pieces will maximize the opportunity to caramelize the surface during browning.

Gills will always bring bitterness to a stock and should be discarded. The congealed blood that resides in the spine of the fish just below the head can be easily removed with a pair of fish pliers or tweezers and then rubbed with paper towel.

Heat enough ghee or neutral-flavored oil in a wide, heavy-based pot over a high heat and wait until there is a light haze over the pan. Carefully distribute the fish frame (80 per cent) pieces around the base, don’t overlap or overcrowd the pan. Work in batches if necessary. Once all the fish is browned, about 5 minutes, remove and set aside.

Keep the heat high, add the vegetables (15 per cent), such as shallots, garlic and celery and coat well with all the fish fat and caramelized scratchings from the base of the pan. Add any hard herbs and toasted aromatics, such as fennel seed, star anise or coriander.

Once the vegetables have coloured slightly and are beginning to soften, return the fish frames to the pan. Add enough cold water to just cover the ingredients.

Cook for 25–30 minutes over a medium–high heat without skimming until the stock has reduced by half and the liquid is thicker in texture and carries a beautiful tan colour. (This lack of skimming may go against what you are always instructed, but the impurities that rise to the surface have a lot of flavor and I prefer a less clear, more viscous and richly flavored stock to one with less taste.)

Pass through a sieve for traditional stock requirements or through a mouli and give it a quick pulse in a food processor to bring more richness and density to the finished stock. You could also emulsify a knob of butter in the stock with a little lemon juice – it’ll only need a warm piece of sourdough to take it to even greater heights.

Fried Scales – Sweet & Savoury

Fish scales are wonderful little vehicles for flavour. On the opening menu at Saint Peter we fried red mullet scales and seasoned them with vinegar powder and ground fennel seeds, then sprinkled them over the top of a salt-roasted pumpkin. Texture is so important with softer ingredients like this and fish scales, if used in a considered way, can be a creative, delicious way to provide it.

Scale a smaller fish that has smaller scales, such as whiting, bream, red mullet or flathead. Place the scales in a small saucepan of cold water to cover and bring to the boil. Repeat this process 5 times, each time with new cold water. This will not only clean the scales but make them slightly more tender in the final product.

Meanwhile, pour 2 liters (68 fl oz/8 cups) canola (rapeseed) oil into a saucepan set over a medium– high heat. While this is coming up to the desired temperature of 185°C (365°F), make sure that the blanched scales are completely dry. Dust them very lightly in rice flour.

When the oil has reached a light haze and is 185°C (365°F), carefully add the scales and deep-fry for about 5 seconds, until crisp but without too much colour. Using a sieve, drain and set on paper towel to dry out. Season liberally with fine salt and set aside in a dry place ready for serving. You can add other flavours here too, such as ground fennel, togarashi, ground seaweed, etc.

When considering fish scales for sweet applications, at the point of boiling the scales in water 5 times, on the fifth time trade the water for a 60:40 sugar:water solution. This will give the scales a thin sugar coating that, when fried, will caramelize and have the potential for sweet applications.

The post COOK THIS: The Whole Fish Cookbook by Josh Niland appeared first on Modern Farmer.