high tea - part 3 - broad bean puree with herbed oil and toast

This recipe, along with the previous two, were all swimming around in my head while we were away on our break. I'd been reading an article about Stephanie Alexander who was talking about Broad beans and how she liked to have the first few of the season, fresh. She made them sound sooooo moreish. So, not knowing a lot about them, I thought I'd have a play around.....and I still am really!

On the day of the high tea, everyone said that they really liked the puree (unless they were all being very kind!) There was something about the flavour I wasn't too sure about (I'd also forgotten to take off the 2nd layer of the bean which made the puree a little grainy - as Caroline's husband said, "It's like pesto") So I've re-jigged the recipe a little. In the original I added parsley to the puree but don't think it was necessary and also added a little too much oil. Hold back on those two and the true flavour of the broad bean really shines through. See what you think....

ingredients

serves 4

500g broad beans (pod them the night before. You'll need about a cup)
1 tablespoon salted butter
salt and pepper
1-2 teaspoons fresh ricotta
extra virgin olive oil
1 thyme sprig per person plus 2 extra
bread of your choice to serve

how to make your broad bean puree with herbed oil and toast

Put 1/2 cup of the olive oil into a bowl and add the 2 extra thyme sprigs. set aside. Just before serving discard thyme sprigs.

Pop oven on to 200C. Grab your bread and cut into rough slices (or however you like) Place them on a baking tray lined with baking paper and drizzle with some extra virgin olive oil. Pop in the oven for 10 -15 minutes, or until crisp.

Pop a saucepan of water on the stove. When boiling add the broad bean and boil for about 2 minutes. Drain. When you can touch them without burning yourself, take off the outer layer of each bean and discard. Now you are left with a soft and juicy green thing that looks like a large slightly morphed pea!
Pop them in your blender and add the butter and ricotta. Blend to a puree. Spoon into a bowl and add salt and pepper. Stir and check seasonings.
I thought these looked cute served individually but you can do one large dish, of course. Dollop puree into serving dish, drizzle with a little of the oil and then top with a sprig of thyme. Serve with the toast. Enjoy!

high tea - part 2 - spring pea morsels with dill and lemon creme fraiche

Whenever my Mother-in-law pops over for dinner I always do a roast of some description and she always brings along fresh peas.I don't know how that started but it's become a little tradition of ours. The roast and veggies go in the oven while we sit around, shell peas (and eat the occasional one too) and share stories.
The taste of fresh peas at the moment are out of this world!! It is Spring after all!.So that's really how this recipe came about. I wanted to use fresh peas and not too many other ingredients to make something yummy and simple. You don't have to serve them with the creme fraiche as it is a little expensive, I know. You could use sour cream if you prefer, or I've even popped these in pita bread with tomato sauce sauce for the kids and BBQ sauce for us - delish!!

ingredients

makes approx 15 - 20. Depending on how big or small you make them.

180g - 200g fresh peas, bit more than a cup of peas (you'll need approx 500g before podding)
1 large potato, cooked (Do this this the night before and keep it in the fridge until you're ready)
1/2 clove garlic, crushed
approx teaspoon of fresh chives, finely chopped
1 tsp baking powder
1 tablespoon of plain flour, plus a little extra flour for rolling morsels in
salt and pepper


about 125g creme fraiche (You could make double the amount of morsels and use the whole container of creme fraiche)
a few sprigs dill
about a teaspoon of lemon juice

Mix through the creme friache and the lemon juice and top with the dill sprigs. Make this just before serving. (I forgot to take a photo of the creme fraiche on the day so sorry you can't see the two together but it looks really pretty with the dill sprigs. Not to mention the lovely fragrance and the delicious taste!)


how to make your spring pea morsels

Shell the peas the night before so you won't have to worry about them on the day as it can be a little time consuming. (but sooooo worth it).Get the whole family involved!

On the day: Blanch the peas in boiling water for a minute or so. Drain and place in a blender (I use a stick blender which I LOVE!) add the garlic and give it a quick wizz. Now get out your potato and give it a good mash. Add the puree to it, along with the baking powder, flour and chives. Add salt and pepper to taste and give it a good mix.

Get out your fry pan pop in a good slosh of olive oil and set to a medium heat. Roll each morsel in flour lightly and set aside on a plate. When the oil has heated enough drop in the little morsels and fry. Try and pop them in all together so you'll have a similar cooking time for all of them. When lightly browned, flip over (Careful, it is a wet mixture and turn down to low so that they cook through but don't burn. Mine look just slightly overdone but they were still yummy!) When ready, drain on absorbent paper (if you like) and then pop on your serving platter with the dill and lemon creme fraiche on the side.

Don't forget the toothpicks so your guests can get at those morsels and woof them down! YUM-YUM.

high tea - part 1 - herbed mushroom and ricotta vol-au-vents

While we were away we spent a couple of nights in Kiama either side of our break to stay with family. We decided to eat at a restaurant that had been around since I was little and I hadn't been there in years. It was time to have a taste of "Chachi's".

Hubby ordered the pasta with chorizo and the kids got pizza and ice cream (a winning combination in our household)and I had the crostini. Which reminds me of another story...... Some of the girls in my mothers group branched out a few years ago and created a book club. A recent book was, "The Road Home" by Rose Tremain. The main character Lev works in a fancy restaurant in London where the head chef makes the staff his famous crostini each night before their big night ahead.......I really had to have that crostini.

It was perfect. Delicious crusty bread, slightly salty ricotta, mushrooms tossed with garlic and fresh, fresh rocket leaves. So simple and so delicious. Here's my version in a vol-au-vent!

ingredients

makes approx 12 medium sized vol-au-vents(I used Erica's kitchen brand which had 6 in a pack but you could always use smaller ones if you are feeding more people or use a different brand - buy the best you can afford)

2 tablespoons butter
approx 12 button mushrooms, sliced finely
1/2 clove garlic, crushed
small mix of finely chopped fresh parsley and Fresh thyme
salt and pepper

fresh ricotta from the deli, about 150g

rocket sprigs, 1 per vol-au-vent

how to make your herbed mushroom and ricotta vol-au-vents

If you have the time, warm the vol-au-vent cases very slightly in the oven.
Heat butter in a saucepan over a high heat. Quickly fry mushrooms with the garlic, herbs and a little salt and pepper. When cooked through, adjust seasoning if needed and set aside. Dollop ricotta into the base of each vol-au-vent case. Top with mushroom mix and then add a sprig of rocket.

Serve as part of a high tea, afternoon tea, brunch or even a lovely light dinner. enjoy!