Blackberry and Almond Cake

It's the time of year for picking blackberries, the hedgerows are full to bursting with these sweet and sour black jewels. Plump and piquant they are perfect in cakes, crumbles, preserves, jams and really just for stuffing into your mouth at any time. I often get home with a paltry few to spare, their moreishness too irresistible. This cake is fool proof, super easy to whip up and can be made with any fruit, try raspberries or blueberries or combine them all into a berry bomb. The more fresh fruit you use the longer it will need in the oven to bake through to the centre due to the excess water. If you would like a slightly drier sponge, flash the fruit in a pan with some sugar before gilding the cake. This is a dense almond sponge with just the right amount of sweetness offset by the tartness of the fruit. It makes a great tea time treat and keeps well for a few days. It can be served warm as more of pudding or allow to cool completely for full cake effect, serve plain, with yoghurt or cream. 

Recipe

150g butter, softened

125g castor sugar

150g blackberries

2 large organic eggs

1 tsp baking powder

75g flour

75g ground almonds

2 tbsp flaked almonds

Preheat over to 170 degrees, grease and line the base of a 20cm tin. Cream butter and sugar well with a hand beater or wooden spoon until light and fluffy. Add a tablespoon of the flour and beat into the mixture to stop it from separating. Add the eggs one at a time, beating in well. Lastly fold in flour, baking powder and ground almonds. Scoop out mixture into the tin and spread gently to the edges. Litter the top with blackberries and flaked almonds. Bake for 45-50 minutes until a knife comes out clean. Allow to cool in the tin. 

Hummus Perfection

A mind blowing visit to the Holy Land a couple of months ago has left me with an obsession with hummus.... this is not hard as hummus is actually a religion amongst many there. There are tiny shops dotted around called Hummusaria where the freshest, smoothest, creamiest hummus can be ordered with a variety of toppings. The most significant thing is that the hummus is served as a large portion for one person. You have a whole bowl to yourself! None of this measly pot of shop bought hummus to share. Oh no! A large bowl first thing in the morning for breakfast, served with a raw onion (bit early for us), chilli vinegar, paprika and soft soft pita bread... a revelation! Since returning to London I now make an enormous plate of hummus and we eat it warm and fresh from the pot... we cannot get enough of this heavenly stuff. I used to make hummus with lots of olive oil and lemon, which is great but it has always been illusively unsmooth and creamy. I also enjoyed flavouring it with cumin, roasted red pepper, coriander etc. but it is officially the ultimate when very plain made with tahini, lemon and a little za'atar or sumac sprinkled on top. Za'atar is a Middle Eastern spice mix made from a combination of dried herbs, sesame seeds, sumac and salt. It can be bought or easily home made. 

Now we come to the question of the chickpeas. Hummus is made from these humble versatile little legumes, the earliest cultivated. They remain a staple of the Middle East and now populate tables across the globe. I grew up on them, not least having a Jewish background but because my mum loves a chickpea like no other. The question about chickpeas and hummus is... to peel or not to peel? Chickpeas have tough skins that are usually the cause of textured hummus, you can boil them for hours and still they will not soften adequately. Even tinned chickpeas do not give the desired consistency. I have tried peeling them at different stages in the cooking process and still couldn't get it right. In Israel they definitely didn't spend hours wasted on peeling tiny legumes. Theirs were plump and completely soft. I finally found the secret to heavenly hummus thanks to the brilliant Ottolenghi, it is the addition of bicarbonate of soda to the cooking process. This is an old traditional technique that helps to break down the pectin molecules in the skins and this in turn makes smooth creamy hummus possible. It's important to soak the chickpeas in plenty of water for up to 24 hours before cooking them too. The most amazing thing is that depending on the freshness of the dried chickpeas you can cook them for as little as 20 minutes! They need to be soft but not mushy, easily overdone so keep a beady eye on them. This is hummus perfection, well as close as it gets. Nothing beats the Hummusaria!

Recipe

1 cup dried chickpeas

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

juice of 1-2 lemons

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 quarter to half a cup tahini

ice cold water

1 tsp salt

Soak chickpeas in plenty of cold water for 12-24 hours, rinse and drain. Heat a pot up and when hot place the chickpeas in with the bicarb, stir continuously for a few minutes. The pot will become quite dry. Cover with 3-4 times the amount of water and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes. Drain and allow to cool slightly. Put chickpeas into a food processor and blend until you have a stiff paste. Add garlic, salt and lemon juice and blend well together. While the machine is still running add the tahini, this will make the mixture stiffen up again. Drizzle in a a few tablespoons of ice cold water, this will loosen the mixture and create creamy magic. To make it looser add a bit more water. Blend for 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate and cover with cling film, allow it to rest for 30 minutes or so and then drizzle with some olive oil and sprinkle with sumac, paprika or za'atar. Eat it fresh and slightly warm. If you have refrigerated it, allow it to come up to room temperature before serving or eating.

Super Fiery Slaw

Coleslaw... mmm... it's either love or hate... I am in love! Over the last few months I have been on a mission to emulate a coleslaw that I ate in a tiny American style eatery... tried a variety of different dressings, some of which worked but none had the wow factor. I was out looking for a new book to read and came across the recipe book for Pitt Cu & Co., the very place whose slaw I was so enthralled by! Happy heart indeed! Took some mental notes and vowed to make it immediately. By the time I got home, much was forgotten in memory and shopping except for a few ingredients, definitely got the gist of it anyhow! This recipe is for a magical, scrumptious, serious coleslaw. I have chosen to use red cabbage only and have used much less mayonnaise than I remember being called for. I don't enjoy anything drowning in the stuff as it can be truly overpowering, but it does help to tone down the chilli. This is a sensational side dish and can be eaten immediately or over a couple of days. It is definitely more Asian than American and seems slightly counter intuitive but the flavours work incredibly together. Makes a great side for a summer bbq, perfect with everything else too.

Recipe (adapted from Pitt Cu & Co.)

1 medium red cabbage

1 tbsp crushed garlic

1 tbsp grated ginger

1 tsp brown sugar

2 tbsp mayonnaise

1 tbsp soya sauce

1 medium green chilli

zest and juice of one lime

small bunch coriander

Cut the cabbage in half, remove the hard white piece of stem at the bottom and finely slice the cabbage evenly, starting at the top. Place cabbage into a large mixing bowl. Char grill the chilli over an open flame or in a very hot pan. To make the dressing mix together garlic, ginger, sugar, zest and juice of the lime. Add the chilli and blitz it all together, alternatively hand chop the chilli as finely as possible. Add the soya sauce and mayonnaise. You should have a thickish dressing that is really very fiery. Pour over the cabbage and toss together until thoroughly coated. Lastly add in some chopped coriander.