More French Savoury Cake

I have blogged about French Savoury Cake before: Here.

But it is good for a second post! This time I added lots of finely chopped herbs (parsley, mint, basil and spring onions), the little mild citrussy chilies I am growing (see in the picture below), feta and olives,
It made a yummy cake.

FRENCH SAVOURY CAKE
150g SR flour (scant 1 ¼ cups) with salt and pepper sifted in large bowl
100 ml oil or melted butter

125 ml milk
3 eggs
Liquids in 2 cup jug, whisk then fold into flour
Fold in additions corn/olives/cheese/capsicum/sorrel/herbs etc

In oiled, lined white loaf pan
210C oven for 10 minutes then 180C 30 minutes

I used a mixture of yoghurt and milk instead of all milk, it is my favourite for anything containing baking powder because it has that bit extra acid to help the process, and the taste!
And I use a mixture of butter and oil: and a bit less than given in the recipe.

This is such a treat. I often have it as an accompaniment to soup, but I enjoyed a couple of slices of this with my afternoon cup of tea! (You can see the bite I had to have before I took the photo. VERY yummy!)

Here are the ingredients. Look at those lovely farm eggs! So golden.

Perfect for a 70's Retro Dinner!

Broccoli Roulade

Just before I begin: a thankyou to the regular followers of my blog, and thankyou for the lovely Christmas messages. I'm working out how I want to do my blog in the future, and it is taking a lot of thinking!
So this post is just floating into the vacuum made by my indecision!

I made this dish for my mum about thirty years ago. We both really enjoyed it, and I remember that it was simpler to make than I expected, and a lovely, special dish.
My mum moved into a Pritikin diet and my tastes went to the Middle East and Asia, but I always had it in the back of my mind to try again, I kept the recipe.

Today was the day!

The kitchen was clean, my health was good, the broccoli fresh, I bought the swiss cheese yesterday.

Now, I need to be frank. This dish consists of a sponge made of butter, flour, milk and eggs, filled with a sauce made of butter, flour, milk and cheese. Thank goodness for the broccoli!

The sponge starts with a white sauce that has the beaten egg yolks mixed in, and then the whipped eggwhites (hard peaks) folded in. It is basically a souffle! But it goes into the oven in a swiss roll tray

When it comes out it is topped with the cooked broccoli pieces and the cheese sauce, rolled up like a swissroll, and finished with more cheese sauce on top.

Making this I used most of my eggs, every last drop of my milk, and all my butter. I also ended up with every surface of the kitchen covered with bowls, tray, saucepan, utensils and stray blobs of cheese sauce all over the place.

I'm sure if I made it again I would make it prettier, but then, I don't think I will ever make it again. Too rich! Too much stirring! And needing a supermarket shop once done!
However I would recommend it for a 70's Retro Dinner Party (but maybe use half the sauce).

Here's the recipe just in case you have a Retro Dinner party coming up!

Broccoli Roulade
Makes 6 servings

Ingredients
4 tbsp butter
1/2 cup plain flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups milk
4 eggs, separated


Prepare a 37x25x2cm swiss roll tin

Melt the butter in a saucepan, blend in the flour and salt.
Stir for a few minutes, until the flour stops smelling raw.
Remove from the heat and stir in the milk a little at a time until you have a thick paste.
Boil for a minute, still stirring!. Take off the heat.
Beat the egg whites until stiff. Beat the egg yolks until creamy.
Mix the egg yolks into the sauce, then fold in the egg whites until incorporated.
The mixture will have bulked up!
Pour into the tin and cook in a moderate oven (180C) for 45 minutes until golden and springs back when touched.

While it is baking, cook the broccoli, 280g of florets (about 2/3s of a good sized head)and make the cheese sauce.

Sauce Ingredients
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup plain flour
1/2 tsp salt and pinch of pepper
90g swiss cheese (or cheddar) grated

Melt the butter in a saucepan, blend in the flour and salt.
Stir for a few minutes, until the flour stops smelling raw.
Remove from the heat and stir in the milk a little at a time until you have a thick paste.
Boil for a minute, still stirring!.
Stir in the grated cheese and stir until it has melted. Take off the heat.

Have another 90g of grated cheese ready (or half that amount!)

When the sponge comes out of the oven, turn it carefully out of the tin and peel off the paper.
Place the broccoli over it and sprinkle with 3/4s of the cheese.
Pour half the cheese sauce over the top and roll up swiss roll fashion.
Place on a serving plate, pour the remaining sauce over and finish with the last of the cheese.
Cut the roll into thick slices to serve.

Enjoy!

Ful Bit Tewm - Broad Beans in Garlic

Broad beans belong to a list of foods that I hated as a child, but that my mum loved. When I came to love the taste I felt truly grown up! (Coffee and mushrooms are on that list too.)

An extra treat that came with liking the taste of broad beans was the delight of growing them! They grow so quickly, and have such pretty flowers, and then such cute little pods! They were often my first harvest after winter, and especially loved for that. And that soft velvet inside the pods! So lovely!
They are one of the really seasonal foods for me. 

I do eat them smaller than my mum prefers them, she would let them get huge and blue grey. I like them small and tender, but I don't mind that earthy metallic taste of their skins. To me, that is what the flavour of broadbeans is all about.

Since living in my little flat I haven't been able to grow them, but my local greengrocer will sometimes have them fresh and crisp (I don't buy them otherwise) and it is with great pleasure I then make Ful Bit Tewm.

This is a recipe I found so long ago I have no idea of the book it was in, except that I remember it being the first recipe book I read that contained recipes from around the world unanglicised.... or not very much!

FUL BIT TEWM
900g fresh broad beans
4 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tbsp finely chopped parsley (or coriander)
1 1/2 tsp of lemonjuice
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
300ml water

Place all the ingredients into a sacuepan.
Mix well.
Bring to the boil.
Simmer until the beans are tender.

How easy is that!

This is my favourite way of eating broadbeans, the flavours come together perfectly.
I have written the recipe as I copied it originally, but I don't follow the quantities any more! I start with however many beans I have and add the lemon, garlic and parsley according to my fancy! It always works!

Ofcourse you could take the skins off the beans for a sweeter flavour and a greener look!

This makes a wonderful side dish, but  I ate them as a light lunch with cous cous and a little chopped salad with tomato and preserved lemon.
I thought it might be my only taste of them this year, but my sister just rang and said they are picking them in their veggie garden, so I just might get another dish of Ful Bit Tewm this year!