Fungal feast

Wandering around the corner, there it was.  Nestling in a nettle bed was a two-foot diameter giant.  Excitement turned to disappointment as I approached.  The exploded side revealed a grey interior presumably spitting out some of its reputed 7,000,000,000,000 spores.  But there was another, and another, and then, there it was, a glistening white head-sized globe of funginess.

Now to stop the world being swamped with another 7,000,000,000,000 Giant Puffballs, I decided it was my duty to eat the monster.  A bit of hollowing-out, some onion and garlic fried up with a decent dark Suffolk bacon, toss in some mixed chopped mushrooms and parsley, a bit of Dolchelatte and re-fill.  Two hours of gentle oven baking and I had the most fungilicious feast.

Tarte Tatin

Last weekend saw the final barbecue of the season and featured a fantastic rib of beef supplied by Riverside Beef.  That beast had probably been trampling wader nests all spring but it tasted great.  And then, with the apples safely down from the tree and stored, it was time for the first Tarte Tatin of the autumn.  Should be enough apples for Tarte Tatins all winter and a surplus to feed the Fieldfares.

250g puff pastry

75g butter

175g caster sugar

5 apples

Splash of calvados

Firm eating apples may look best in this as they don’t cook down so much, but I prefer to use the ‘cookers’ off our tree in the garden, despite the fact they mush down more.  They produce a wonderfully sharp appley flavour contrasting with the sweet caramel.   A heavy non-stick c20cm frying pan, transferable to the oven, and constant watching, are the other essentials.

Spread the butter over the base of the pan, then sprinkle the sugar over in an even layer.  Peel, halve and core the apples and place rounded side down on the sugar.  Place the pan over a moderate heat to melt the sugar and butter, gently shaking to amalgamate, until they caramelise to a mid-brown colour (about 20 minutes, but judge by eye).  Roll out the pastry to slightly larger than the pan size.

When the juices are caramelised, take off the heat.  I like to add a splash of calvados into each apple centre.  Then place the pastry over, tuck down the sides and pierce half-a-dozen times with a knife.  Quickly transfer to a pre-heated oven at 190 degrees.  Bake for about 25-30 minutes until puffed-up and brown.

Now for the tricky bit.  Remove from oven and rest for a few minutes. Loosen edges with knife before turning carefully over onto plate.  Best to avoid dripping hot caramel onto hand I find.  Get vanilla ice cream out of freezer to rest on burnt hand while tart cools.

Wild plum frangipane

There seems to be a bewildering array of ‘wild plums’ to be found in our hedgerows.  Fruits of differing sizes and ranging in colour from yellow and red through to purple.  The plum is thought to be the result of hybridization and selection between the Sloe Prunus spinosa and the Cherry Plum Prunus cerasifera.  Such hybrids and an array of back-crosses fall under the Wild Plum Prunus domestica heading, with various forms or subspecies. 

Older texts suggest these plums are shy fruiters and are usually sour.  However, in recent years they seem to be abundant in the local hedgerows, is this another sign of climate change?   The ripe luscious fruits may be small but they are packed with flavour.  Some trees are better than others though, when you find a good one, keep it to yourself.

These plums make an excellent jam when collected in abundance;  just a few will be perfect for this Wild plum frangipane:

Pastry:

250 g plain flour

50 g icing sugar

125 g cubed cold butter

Zest of orange

1 egg, plus a splash of milk

Frangipane:

100 g unsalted butter

100 g caster sugar

1 egg

100g ground almonds

For the tart filling – dozen or so wild plums depending on size, stones removed.  

For the pastry, sieve the flour and sugar into a mixing bowl. Tip the cubed butter into the bowl and rub the butter and the flour between your thumb and fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add zest, egg and milk. Slowly bring the ingredients together to form a dough.  Knead the dough lightly on a floured work surface, then wrap it in cling film and refrigerate until firm, at least 30 minutes.

For the frangipane, beat the butter and sugar together in a bowl until light and fluffy.  Add the egg and beat well. Add the ground almonds and mix well until combined.

Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas 4. Roll the chilled dough out thinly and line one large 25cm/10in tart dish. Trim away any excess.  Spoon the frangipane into the tart case so that it comes about halfway up the sides. Smooth over the surface and cover the frangipane evenly with the plums, pressing in slightly.

Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until the pastry is crisp and golden-brown and the fruit is tender. Dust with icing sugar and serve warm with whipped cream or crème fraîche.

Pickled walnuts

Okay, so a brief diversion to another great passion of mine - food, especially if it’s obtained free of charge whilst out in the countryside.  On a visit to darkest Essex a month back, there was little to do other than stare up into a walnut tree pondering the unripe green nuts and wondering why the visit hadn’t been arranged for later in the year.  “You could pickle them” said Jon.

By the time I arrived home, I had stopped at three random walnut trees and gathered a bucketful.  Now I have 20 years supply of pickled walnuts, probably the best thing about Christmas.

 

Recipe:

2 kg freshly picked walnuts.

220 g salt

For pickling syrup:

1 litre malt vinegar

400 g molasses sugar

1 tsp of allspice

1 tbsp of cloves

2 cinnamon sticks

2 tbsp freshly grated ginger

2 chillies

2 star anise

Pick the walnuts at the end of June before the hard nut forms inside the green case. Wearing rubber gloves, spike each walnut a couple of times with a fork.  Watch out for the juice this produces.  This stains a dark brown, appearing the day after as random brown blobs all over your wooden work surface, the origin of which you will have to deny all knowledge of to ‘her indoors’.

Cover the walnuts with water and add salt.  Leave for a week, then drain and renew with fresh salt solution for another week.  Next, lay the walnuts out on trays in a dry, airy place. In a couple of days they will turn black.

Combine all pickling ingredients in a saucepan. Bring syrup mix to the boil, then add the walnuts and simmer for 10 minutes.  Cool, spoon the walnuts into jars and cover with syrup.