Caponata

The Festive Cake was pretty good, if you like that sort of thing. We do, but we still have quite enough to be going on with, thank you.

So, although I have no pictures because it was all consumed without any concern for blogging, I thought I'd share the recipe for Caponata that was made for 25th December.

There was one problem, when I went to buy aubergines the shops were devoid of the plump purple fruits, not one to be found anywhere (well, anywhere I chose to go) so I forked out for some hothouse courgettes and substituted, and do you know, it wasn't at all bad. As you might guess, the following recipe is pretty much variable to taste. If you can get aubergines they are traditional. Make sure they are really well cooked in plenty of oil or it will be nasty.

For enough caponata for at least eight take three courgettes (the 15cm sort), 1 large onion, 2 red peppers, 1 yellow pepper, 1 green pepper, 4 celery stalks, about 150g baby tomatoes (cherry or plum), 100g pine kernels, 1 tbsp. raisins (plumped in hot water), 2 tbsp. capers (rinsed and dried), olives; black and green to taste, stones removed, 4 tbsp. vinegar (I used 3 of cider and 1 of balsamic), salt and pepper. Lots and lots of olive oil.

Toast the pine kernels in a hot pan until delicious and set to one side to cool.

Slice the peeled onion in half through the root and then slice from root to stalk end to make long narrow strips. Fry until softened and very slightly coloured in a good splash of oil. Remove to a large mixing bowl.

String your celery (this is important) Divide the stalks longways if they are large and cut into small pieces, about 1cm long. Gently fry in the same pan you used for the onions with a little more oil if necessary until heated through but still quite crisp and green. Remove to the mixing bowl.

Cut your courgettes into neat slices. I used a ridged griddle to cook these because I love the patterns it makes but you can just use the frying pan again. Remove cooked courgette (it should still be a little firm) to the mixing bowl.

Cut the peppers away from the seeds and divide the flesh into squares, about 1.5 cm each side. Or whatever you fancy. I tried griddling these but they took a long time. The frying pan is your friend.

Finally, quickly fry off your halved baby tomatoes and before they soften too much add them to the bowl.

When all the vegetables are in the mixing pan (don't forget the aubergine) then add the pine nuts, the raisins, capers, olives, vinegar and freshly ground black pepper. Add a little salt, the capers and olives will be salty already. Stir well to combine.

This is better for being made the day before it is needed to allow the flavours to meld. In fact, it will keep for a week in the fridge and leftovers are great for topping pizza if it lasts that long.

Allow to come to room temperature before serving with some crusty bread.

Hope you all had a good holiday. My NY's resolution is to start blogging regularly again, but we'll just have to see how that goes.

Candice Cake

This cake comes in many names, No-Bake Cake, Refridgerator Cake, even Tiffin, but because my very dear friend once made one for my birthday we always call it Candice Cake in this house. It would have been Candice's birthday last Friday and we made this cake in her honour.



I think Candice based her cake on the version found at Vegan Family but this is how we make it now.

200g rich tea biscuits (Co-op are suitable for vegans)
75g mixed nuts, roughly crushed
150g brandy soaked raisins (or plump your raisins in some hot water, dry well and add a tsp. of almond or vanilla flavouring for a non-alcohol version)

75g marg. (I used Pure)
50g golden syrup (a couple of dessertspoons full)
100g plain 70% chocolate

100ml soya cream
100g plain 70% chocolate
Cherries to decorate

Grease a 20cm (or so) loose bottomed tin.

Crush the biscuits in a deep bowl with the end of a rolling pin or what have you. Mix in the nuts and raisins.

Put marg., syrup and broken up chocolate into a glass bowl and microwave on high for about 1.5 minutes checking every 30 seconds. The chocolate won't be completely melted but if you stir it, it should dissolve down nicely into the hot syrup and fat to make a lovely smooth gloop.

Tip the gloop into the biscuit mixture, mix well and press down into the bottom of the tin. Pack it down hard.

Put the second 100g of chocolate into the glass bowl and pop it back into the microwave for about a minute, checking regularly, until it melts. Mix the soy cream into the melted chocolate to make a fudgy topping and use it to cover the base already in the tin. Decorate at will.

Chill for a couple of hours (up to a couple of days, wrapped) before eating.

If you're not happy with microwaving chocolate then use a bowl over hot water for the melting exercises.

Yule

I'm working up to the festive season very very slowly.

These are mince pies. I've been craving them.



Not difficult to make if you take the usual short cuts. The mincemeat was Co-op brand, suitable for vegetarians and vegans. The pastry I did make myself, part of a policy to renew old skills. It turned out o.k. and my secret - at the moment I'm inhibiting my snobbery and using plain solid white fat, pure vegetable oil, the non-hydrogenated variety. Works like a dream but of course it has a very bad press. Still, that's what the commercial producers use. At least this way I can make sure it's fresh when it hits the flour.

More soon I hope. I'm cooking for eight this year. Should be a laugh.

Loaf Burger Thing

I'm sorry, I just can't think of a better title than that. We had this tofu legume loaf for dinner last night and it was o.k. but the leftovers in a bun were much more fun.



To make a loaf that will serve 4 or 5 people, or enough to make 6 slices for using in sandwiches and panini you need this recipe.

240g firm tofu, crumbled
240g split mung beans, after cooking (I used 125g dry and had a few spare)
85g fresh wholemeal breadcrumbs
1 onion, peeled and chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced or grated
Thumbsized piece of fresh ginger root, grated
A splash of olive oil
1 big tbsp. peanut butter (or tahini, I was out)
Soy sauce and black pepper to taste.
30g or so of sesame seeds.

Fry the onion until it starts to colour in the olive oil. Add the grated garlic and ginger and stir around for a couple of minutes more. Don't let the garlic burn.

Add the fried mixture to your tofu, mung beans and breadcrumbs. Mix thoroughly with the peanut butter, soy sauce and black pepper. Press the mixture into a 20cm square pan and sprinkle the sesame seeds on top. I lined my pan with a bit of parchment paper but you'd probably be o.k. in a non stick tin without it.

Bake at 180C for about 40 minutes until firm and lightly coloured.

You can then serve it with vegetables and a vegan gravy, let it cool and serve with salad or next day, quickly sear a portion on both sides and serve in a bun with pickles and ketchup. Your choice.

Hard Italian Biscuits

Cavalucci di Siena are a speciality of Tuscany; traditional festive fare named for the little horses of the Palio, the famous horse race of Siena. Stripey Cats are supporters of the Snails although the race itself is not something that vegans should ever support.

I'd never made these before and I think I may have left them in the oven just a touch too long. They are very hard, more like biscotti than cookies but the flavour is wonderful.

Ingredients.

350 grams of plain flour
two teaspoons baking powder
100 grams roughly chopped walnuts (I used mixed nuts)
50 grams of candied peel (use a good quality)
two teaspoons of ground aniseed
two teaspoons of ground cinnamon
300 grams of sugar (I used some muscovado in the mix, delicious but the colour was misleading.)
185 mls of water

Preheat the oven to 150C

Sieve the flour and baking powder together, add the peel, nuts and spices and mix up.

Put the sugar and water into a heavy bottomed pan, bring to the boil, turn the heat to medium and cook for five minutes or so to make a pale syrup. Remove from heat.

Add the dry mix and stir with a wooden spoon to form a soft dough.

Line two trays with parchment paper, greased greaseproof or rice paper.

Place small tablespoons of dough, about 5 cm in diameter with a little room between them for expansion. The mixture is hot but cools quickly. I portioned the dough out and then went back and gently shaped the biscuits with my hands although I have seen recipes that suggest using a rolling pin and cutters. Don't make them too big, you should get at least 16 from this quantity.

Bake for 40-45 minutes or until they are lightly golden, slightly firm, and a bit puffed up. Don't over bake, they will be terribly hard. If you've made many more than 16 reduce the cooking time to allow for the smaller volume of your cavalucci.

Store in an airtight tin for up to a week. You'll need to dip them in coffee or wine to eat, although they can be softened a bit by warming them in an oven for a few minutes.