0 SPICY DAMSON PLUM ROLY-POLY

"Summer fades; the first cold, Northern air
Sweeps, like hatred, through still days -
The August heat now gone elsewhere,
To Southern, bird-filled coasts and bays;
Amid constricting vales of cloud,
A pale and liquid Autumn sun
That once beat down on an empty plain
And may again. And may again."
- Trever Howard, Autum

Recently, I have been in a very nostalgic and morose state of mind. No matter how much I love autumn and look forward to cooler weather, seasonal mood swings always tend to affect me strongly every year when the summer ends. I guess it is something natural/biologic which each of us experience to a certain degree. This time though, blahs hit me a little harder than usual and I guess this is partly beacause last week, on the 13th of September, my English grandmother would have celebrated her 85th birthday, that is if she had not passed away last March...

Usually, on that occasion I reached for the telephone, lifted up the receiver, composed her number, wished her a wonderful day and had a pleasant chat with her. Instead, there was no one to call and my day was rather eerie. A strange sensation of emptiness filled me. It is terrible how the deceased leave a void in our lives and hearts. An entire chapter of our existence gets closed forever and it is impossible to press the rewind button. By disappearing our loved ones take many information, memories and secrets to the grave.

" Loss is nothing else but change, and change is Nature's delight."
- Marc Aurelius

As we grow older, we learn to face the harsh reality of life. We are forced to see our heart get shattered in thousand pieces, make extremely difficult decisions, stand for ourselves, accept the fact that our dreams might never come true, start being more cynical and stop fantacizing too much, otherwise the sad and distressing events that we have to face as adults would just annihilate us if we were not a little prepared to suffer or get deceived. This is why we'd better be resilient and accept things as they are.

Well, eventhough I have embraced the fact that not everything in our existence if fair, acceptable or wanted, my first biggest regret as a grownup is to not have been able to go to visit granny for the last 13 years, to really have had the opportunity to get to know her better and get to pierce her carapace, to share some quality time together as equals and to show her the woman I have become (the last time we met, I was still living at home and had just stepped out of my adolescence).

Lack of bonding, money issues, weak kinship and limited communication made it very difficult for me to travel all the way to Derbyshire. My grandmother always asked me when I was going to come over to England, yet when I explained her that I was jobless and didn't have one dime in order to buy a plane ticket, I never got a response or reaction from her. Not one single answer, just silence. Eloquent silence that was worth a thousand words...

Anyway, even if I doubt she loved me as much as I loved her or cared for me as much as I cared for her, I nonetheless was extremely fond of my granny and revered her extraordinary culinary talents. Yet, never would I be capable of nourishing any form of resentment towards her as I am quite aware that people who were born at the beginning of the last century were brought up in an austere fashion and are not accustomed to exteriorizing their sentiments as well as emotions. It was quite taboo then, hence they are just sentimentally handicapped. This is what leads me to believe that somewhere deep inside of her, she had a well-hidden soft spot for me. So, to make peace with the past and to come to terms with my afflictions, I forgive her for having been imperfect relationship-wise and for not having given me the love I craved/needed.

Having been missing my second country, Great Britain, and Nana a lot lately, I decided to bake a "Jam Roly-Poly" to soothe my aching soul. During our stay in this land of rich history, ancient cities, captivating legends, green landscapes, ethereal atmospheres and homey food, my grandma rarely failed to regale us with this humble and comforting speciality. It is the reason why I invariably associate this treat with this beautiful country and this branch of my family.

"Jam Roly-Poly" (also less glamorously called "Dead Man's Arm", "Dead Man's Leg" or "Shirt Sleeve Pudding") is a traditional British pudding which was invented in the 1800's and which is composed of suet pastry and jam (generally raspberry or strawberry jam). It is a kind of rustic, flattish and ugly version of "Swiss Roll". Originally, it was steamed, but nowadays it is mostly baked.

Suet pastry is one of the most English of all pastries. As a matter of fact, it is used in a large variety of dishes such as puddings, dumplings and pies. As it is made with the rendered fat of either lamb, beef or pork, suet-based doughs are definitely not suitable for vegetarians. Since this sort of fat imparts an incomparably amazing and "meaty" flavor to baked goods, it is unfortunately quite difficult to find many animal-free substitutes for it. Coconut butter is the only one I can think of...

So, instead of making a straight-forward "Jam Roly-Poly" I opted for preparing a spicy version of that good old-fashioned pud. To the pastry, I incorporated cardamom powder and I replaced the usual cloying raspberry/strawberry jam (I love those berries, but dislike them when they are transformed into jam), by damson plum (or Italian plum) compote (less sweet and boring) that I flavored with orange peel. Those additions give some dimension and modernity to this dessert, thus bringing it forth into the 21st century.

My "Spicy Damson Plum Roly-Poly" might not be the prettiest or most photogenic (I had problems shooting it and nearly lost my temper trying to make it look presentable - I am definitely not a prop artist) of puddings, but it doesn't really matter as what counts is its taste which is simply certainly not devoid of oomph. The pastry is crisp and flaky on the outside and smooth, fluffy as well as slightly moist on the inside. The compote adds an extra welcome wetness to the goodie and the spices confer a divinely heady fragrance to the whole.

~ Spicy Damson Plum Roly-Poly ~
Recipe by Rosa Mayland, September 2011.

Serves 4.

Ingredients:
250g Flour, plus extra for dusting
1 1/2 Tsp Baking powder
60g Castor sugar
A pinch sea salt
1/2 Tsp Ground cardamom
115g Suet (Pork), very cold
120ml Full fat milk
6 Tbs (90g) Damson compote (or jam)
6g Orange zest
Custard sauce, to serve (recipe here)

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 180° C (350° F).
2. Cover a baking pan with baking paper.
3. In a medium bowl, mix the flour together with the baking powder, sugar, salt and cardamom.
4. Add the suet and cut it into the flour mixture.
5. Then, bind with the milk in order to obtain a soft, but not sticky pastry. Gather together into a ball, but don't overwork otherwise it will get tough.

6. On a lightly floured work surface, roll the dough into a rectangle about 23cm x 32cm.
7. Spread with the damson compote, making sure you leave a 2cm border all around the edge and sprinkle with the orange zest.
8. Moisten the borders with either cold water or milk.
9. Roll into a tightish cylinder or sausage shape, starting with one short end (23cm).
10. Pinch the ends to seal in the jam.
11. Lay the roll in the centre of the baking paper, making sure the seal is underneath.
12. Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until the roly-poly is golden brown.
13. Let it rest for about 5 minutes before serving.

Comments:
If you don't want to use pork suet, then you can either replace it by coconut butter (vegetarian), cold beef or duck fat (kosher/halal).
By letting the roly-poly rest for 5 minutes, you ensure the jam to not come oozing out of the roll when you cut it.

Serving suggestions:
Eat warm with a dollop of warm custard sauce.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~ Roly-Poly Epicé A La Compote De Quetsches ~

Recette par Rosa Mayland, Septembre 2011.

Pour 4 personnes.

Ingrédients:
250g de Farine. plus un peu pour saupoudrer le plan de travail
1 1/2 CC de Poudre à lever
60g de Sucre cristallisé
1 Pincée de Sel de mer fin
1/2 de CC de Cardamome en poudre
115g de Saindoux, très froid
120ml de Lait entier
6 CS (90g) de Compote de quetsches (ou de confiture)
6g de Zeste d'orange
Crème anglaise/custard, pour servir (recette ici)

Méthode:
1. Préchauffer le four à 180° C.
2. Recouvrir une plaque de cuisson avec du papier sulfurisé.
3. Dans un bol moyen, mélanger la farine avec la poudre à lever, le sucre, le sel et la cardamome.
4. Ajouter le saindoux. Frotter la farine et le beurre entre les doigts afin d'obtenir un mélange qui ait la texture sabloneuse.
5. Incorporer le lait afin d'obtenir une pâte souple, mais pas collante. Ne pas trop pétrir autrement votre pâte sera dure. Former une boule.

6. Sur une surface enfarinée, rouler la pâte en un rectangle de 23cm x 32cm.
7. Etaler la compote de quetsches en laissant 2cm de pâte non couverte sur tout le pourtour et saupouder avec le zeste d'orange.
8. Humidifier les bords non-recouverts avec de l'eau ou du lait.
9. Rouler la pâte (en commençant par l'un des côtés étroits - 23cm) afin d'obtenir un rouleau assez serré (pas trop tout de même).
10. Pincer les bouts afin de les refermer.
11. Poser le roulé au centre de votre plaque en faisant attention à ce que le joint soit en-dessous.
12. Cuire pendant 45-50 minutes, jusqu'à ce que le roly-poly soit légèrement doré.
13. Laisser refroidir pendant 5 minutes avant de servir.

Remarques:
Le saindoux peut-être remplacé par du beurre de noix de coco (version végétarienne), de la graisse de boeuf ou canard (froide/dure - version kosher ou halal)
Si vous laissez le roly-poly reposer pendant 5 minutes, la compote ne coulera pas hors du roulé lorsque vous le couperez.

Idées de présentation:
Servir chaud avec de la crème anglaise.

0 ENGLISH MINCEMEAT

 

Christmas (or Yule-tide) is getting closer everyday and although this year it falls on a Saturday meaning that some of us might not have a longer weekend, most people will want to celebrate this day in a very festive way. No matter if you are not Christian or if the commercial misuse of this event disgust you or puts you off, I guess that like me, you'll nonetheless want to cook or bake something fine for the occasion and will want to do some extreme cocooning...

As I miss England and feel awfully nostalgic when thinking about my second country (I am lucky and proud to have dual nationality and beserker ancestors - Swiss and English) I thought that it would be a great idea to make it a british Xmas this year and eat foods that would remind me of my beloved roots. So in 2010, I will be serving turkey with stuffing (sage & onion) and it's accompaniment (Brussel sprouts with chestnuts & bacon, buttery mashed tatties and gravy). To make it even the more British than it is already, we'll have "Mince Pies" for dessert - an exquisite treat that I have alaways loved as a kid and have been craving since a while.

After having received my Christmas issues of Delicious, Good Food and Jamie Magazine there was no reason I was not going to make my own "Mincemeat". All three magazines offer wonderful recipes for this amazing speciality which originates from Great Britain and can be traced back to the end of Middle Ages (circa the 15th century).

During this epoch finding a method of storing food was of the highest importance and many ways had been developped (pickling, jarring, curing, spicing, etc...). So, initially "Mincemeat" began as a way to preserve food therefore that paste-like mixture can be kept for quite a while (1 month and depending on the kind of fat used, for up to a year).

This brown colored, fruity (apple, raisins, currants, sultanas, candied peel, oranges & lemons), richly spiced ( mixed spice, cinnamon, ginger & nutmeg), boozy (rum) filling enriched with fat (lard, suet or butter) is used in the confection of "Mince Pies" that are traditionally baked for Christmas or Easter (eaten all year long too).

It is very interesting to note that our modern era "Mincemeat" is quite different from the one which was prepared until the 19th century. The original preparation was made with beef, lamb, venison or heart which was finely minced and mixed to suet, dried fruits, citrus peel, alcohol and spices, hence the name it carries. Although this version is now unusual and quite rare to find, some families still perpetuate the tradition.

Although I've eaten my share of "Mince Pies" in the past, this is my first homemade "Mincemeat" and I must say that the result surpasses my expectations by far. Without trying to boast too much, I must recognize that mine is exactly the way it should be and tastes perfect. It has a fresh, tangy, frangrant, fruity, heady, delicately nutty, divinely spicy, well-balanced flavor and isn't too sweet nor sickly. Very Xmassy and so festive.

~Mincemeat ~
Recipe adapted from "Delicious" magazine, December 2010.

Enough to fill 4 jam jars.

Ingredients:
Finely grated zest and juice of 2 large organic lemons
Finely grated zest and juice of 2 large organic oranges
1 Large (about 300g) Boskoop apple (or Bramley apple)
80g Unsalted butter
20g Lard
70ml Dark rum
200g Raisins
150g Sultanas
150g Currants
100g Candied Orange peel, chopped
50g Candied lemon peel, chopped
1 1/2 Tsp Ground cinnamon
1 Tsp Ground ginger
1/2 Tsp Freshly grated nutmeg
3/4 Tsp Mixed spice
175g Light muscovado sugar
60g Lightly toasted almonds, chopped

Method:
1. Put the orange and lemon zest and juices into a biggish pan.
2. Peel, quarter and core the apple. Grate it and add it to the pan. Stir into the juices so that it doesn’t discolour.
3. Add the butter, lard, rum, dried fruits, candied peels and spices. Cook over a low heat, stirring frequently, for 1 hour until the apple has broken down, the dried fruits are plump and all the liquid has evaporated.
4. Let cool, then add the sugar and the toasted almonds. Mix well.
5. Spoon into cool, sterilised jam jars, press a waxed disc firmly onto the surface of the mixture and seal.
6. Put in the refrigerator and use within 1 month.

Remarks:
Instead of using dark rum, you can use calvados, sherry, brandy or whisky.
You can replace the almonds by hazelnuts or any other roasted nut of your choice (not traditional but ok).
Mincemeat flavors develop over time, so make in several weeks in advance of the holidays.
If you want you mincemeat to have a longer shelf life, then omit the butter and stir in 100g shredded suet at the end (don't add 20g lard at the beginning), along with the sugar and almonds. In that way your mincemeat will keep for up to a year in a cool dark place.
It freezes well too – for up to 6 months.

Serving suggestions:
Make "Mince Pies" using your homemade "Mincemeat".

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~Mincemeat ~
Recette adaptée du magazine "Delicious", Décembre 2010.

Pour 4 pots à confiture.

Ingrédients:
Le zeste et jus de 2 citrons bio
Le zeste et jus de 2 oranges bio
1 Grosse (300g) Pomme boskoop (pomme goûteuse pour compote)
80g de Beurre non-salé
20g de Saindoux
70ml de Rhum foncé
200g de Raisins
150g de Sultanines
150g de Raisins blonds
100g d'Orangeat en cube
100g de Citronnat en cubes
1 1/2 CC de Cannelle en poudre
1 CC de Gingembre en poudre
1/2 CC de Noix de muscade fraîchement moulue
3/4 CC de Mixed spice (voir remarques pour recette)
175g de Sucre "muscovado"
60g d'Amandes torréfiées et hachées

Méthode:
1. Mettre les zestes et jus d'orange et de citron dans une assez grande casserole.
2. Peler, nettoyer et couper en quartiers la pomme, puis la râper et la mélanger au jus dans la casserole.
3. Ajouter le beurre, le saindoux, le rhum, les fruits secs, l'orangeat, le citronnat et les épices, puis cuire (avec couvercle) endant 1 heure à basse température en mélangeant régulièrement jusqu'à ce que la pomme se soit désintégrée, que les raisins soient imbibés et que le jus se soit évaporé.
4. Laisser refroidir, puis ajouter les amandes et le sucre.
5. Remplir des pots à confiture stérilisés et recouvrir le mincemeat avec un rond de papier sulfurisé. Fermer les pots.
6. Conserver le mincemeat au frigo pendant 1 mois maximum.

Remarques:
Au lieu d'utiliser du rhum, vous pouvez prendre du calvados, du whisky, du sherry ou du brandy.
Les amandes peuvent être remplacées par des noisettes ou les noix de votre choix - au préalable torréfiées (pas traditionnel mais ok).
Le mincemeat développe toute sa saveur avec le temps, alors prenez bien soin de le confectionner quelques semaines avant les fêtes.
Si vous voulez garder votre mincemeat encore plus longtemps, alors omettez le beurre et remplacez-le par du saindoux râpé que vous ajouterez à la fin avec le sucre et les amandes. De cette manière vous pourrez le conserver une année au frais et dans un lieu sombre.
Il se congèle aussi très bien – 6 mois maximum.
Pour obtenir le mélange d'épices "Mixed Spice", mélanger ensemble 1 CS de tout épice en poudre, 1 CS de cannellle en poudre 1 CS de noix de muscade moulue,
2 CC de macis en poudre, 1 CC de clous de girofles moulus, 1 CC de Coriandre en poudre et 1 CC de gingembre en poudre.

Idées de présentation:
Confectionner des "Mince Pies" avec votre "Mincemeat".

0 SUET PUDDING - THE DARING BAKERS

For all of us Daring Bakers, the 27th of each month is a very special date. This day, marks the publishing of our blog posts related to the latest Daring Bakers' challenge. All of us are always very impatient for that day to come and very excited about the event as we then can share our successes and/or tribulations with the whole world and we are finally able to see what our international colleagues have created...

The April 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Esther of "The Lilac Kitchen". She challenged everyone to make a traditional British pudding using, if possible, a very traditional British ingredient: suet.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The word "Pudding" is believed to come from the French boudin, originally from the Latin botellus, meaning "small sausage", referring to encased meats used in Medieval European puddings. In fact, the term "Pudding" often refers to a dessert, but may also refer to a savory dish. It also has other definitions, though. In order to clear any confusion regarding this term, you have to understand that it is used to describe four different things:

• Black or white pudding which are both sausages. Black pudding is made with blood (English version of "Boudin"). White pudding is very similar to black pudding, but it does not include blood (English version of "Boudin Blanc").
• A generic word for dessert.
• Any sweet or savory dish cooked in a pudding bowl or pudding cloth and steamed, boiled or sometimes baked.
• An endearment i.e., "How are you today my pudding?".

For this very challenge we have used the th ird meaning - a dish cooked in a pudding bowl or cloth.

English puddings have had a great reputation since the 17th century. One French visitor, the protestant exile François Maximilien Mission who came to England at the end of the 17th century wrote a very interesting description in his memoirs in which he was very lyrical about the unexpectedness and variety of English puddings (" Mémoires et observations faites par un voyageur en Angleterre" published in 1698). "They bake them in an oven, they boil them with meat, they make them fifty several ways: BL ESSED BE THAT WHO INVENTED PUDDING, for it is a manna that hits the palates of all sorts of people."

There are many different sweet or savory puddings (the possibilities are nearly endless), but all are made with the same basic ingredients such as flour, milk, eggs, butter or suet (mostly suet), sugar and fresh or dried fruits (if it is the sweet version) and meat or marrow (if it is the savory version). This comforting and homely dish adapts itself perfectly to the seasons and is extremely versatile. That's surely the reason why it has b een cherished by legions of people over the centuries.

Unfortunately, this gorgeous speciality has also become the first victim of mass catering and manufacture. It's reputation has suffered from the bad image given by the unappetizing, bad quality and industrially made puddings which have been commercialized in mass in supermarkets and served in chain restaurants since decades (that's how British food got most of it's bad reputation.). It is very saddening to see th at it's reputation has been dragged through mud and that it is rare nowadays to fin d somebody who actually makes that treat from scratch. Real puddings are so unique as well as delightful and have nothing to do with the bland, stuffy and extremely unhealthy versions that you can find in stores. Nothing compares to a luscious homemade pudding. Not only is it made with love, but also with a great deal of respect for the culinary traditions of Britain!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Since I have officially become one of the biggest procrastinator (well, I'm also a chicken and "stress bag" LOL) on the planet, it is now in my habit to wait until the very last minute to gather up enough strength, courage and energy in order to get my sorry ass off my chair and into the kitchen! That is why you'll never fi nd my Daring Bakers' post up one minute after midnight anymore, but rather more than 20h hours after the official release date...

Anyway, when I had decided that it was about time for me to get started and once I could not have a lame excuse not to raise hell in the kitchen a ny longer, things got rolling and moving fast. My "Suet Pudding" dough was made in a zip and placed in it's personal "sweat lodge" for a few hours!Did you know that I had been meaning to make pudding since a very long time, but for no real reason the steaming process always daunted me a little? Not that I never steamed any food in my life, though. It was just one of th ose scares that had no reason for being. I mean, I have an electric steamer and a Chinese steamer which I very much use, but have not been able to make pudding until now. Go find out why... Yes, even the most daring of us bakers can have doubts and fear!

As we were free to choose the recipe that we w ere going to make, I decided to make the "My Fair Lady Pudding" which is a sponge type suet pudding containing lemon rind. I added some rhubarb (mixed with light brown sugar and a dash cinnamon) at the bottom and served it with "Custard Sauce".

This "Suet Pudding" is easy as Sunday morning and require no other skills than being incredibly patient (it has to get steamed for about 3 hours) and, although it might look not too attractive (and photogenic), boy, this dessert is to die for. The texture of that pudding is so smooth, fluffy and moist. Taste-wise it is really pleasant as it has a refreshing lemony aroma, an interesting nutty flavor (thanks to the suet used) and is not overly sweet. I really recommend you to serve it with custard sauce as it adds a dimension more to the pudding (it goes from delicious to lipsmackingly scrumptious). Heaven in a bowl!

I wish to thanks Esther for having chosen that great British treat and for making me realize there's no reason to fear pudding. I will certainly make this goodie on a regular basis now!

~ Suet Pudding ~

Equipment required:
• 2 pint (1 litre) pudding bowl or steam-able containers to contain a similar amount they should be higher rather than wide and lowTraditional pudding bowl
• Steamer or large pan, ideally with a steaming stand, upturned plate or crumpled up piece of kitchen foil
• Mixing bowl
• Spoon
• Measuring cups or scales
• Foil or grease proof paper to cover the bowl
• String

Ingredients:
100g (4 Oz) All-purpose flour
1/4 Tsp Sea salt
1.5 Tsp Baking powder
100g (4Oz) Breadcrumbs
75g (3 Oz) Caster sugar
75g (3 Oz) Shredded suet or suet substitute (i.e., Vegetable Suet, Crisco, Lard)
1 Large egg
6 to 8 Tbs Cold milk

Method:
1. Sift flour, salt and baking powder into bowl.
2. Add breadcrumbs, sugar and suet.
3. Mix to a soft batter with beaten egg and milk.
4. Turn into a buttered 1 litre (2 pints) pudding basin and cover securely with buttered greaseproof paper or aluminum foil.
5. Steam steadily for 2.5 to 3 hours.
6. Turn out onto warm plate.

Variants:

Spotted Dick
Add 75g/ 3oz currants and 25g/1 oz of mixed chopped peel with the sugar.
Syrup or Treacle or Marmelade Pudding
Put 2 Tablespoons of golden syrup, treacle or marmalade at the bottom of the bowl before adding pudding mix.
My Fair Lady Pudding
Add finely grated rind of 1 medium orange or lemon with the sugar.
Ginger Pudding
Replace the sugar with 100g/4oz of treacle, and add 1/2 tsp ground ginger.

Serving suggestions:
Serve with sweet sauce to taste such as custard, caramel or a sweetened fruit sauce.

Remarks:
The easiest way to steam a pudding is in a dedicated steamer as the water is kept away from the pudding so it can’t boil over. If, however, you don’t have a steamer use a pan large enough to easily fit the bowl you are cooking.
Don’t fill the water more than about a third of the way up the bowl or it may boil over and into the bowl. Keep an eye and top up as needed with boiling water.
You need to lift the bowl off the bottom of the pan. This can be done with a steamer stand, an upturned plate or even crumpled up kitchen foil — anything that can stand being in boiling water and lifts the bowl off the bottom of the pan will work.
Make sure you have a well-fitted lid on the pan as you want the steam to cook the pudding not to boil off.

Make sure you put a pleat in the foil or paper you cover the bowl with to allow for expansion and then tie down tightly with string. This is a bowl ready for the steamer, note the handle made from the string that also ties it together around the top (this makes it very much easier to lift out when hot and is well worth doing).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Etant donné la longueur du texte original, je n'ai malheureusement pas pu faire une traduction française de ce billet et je m'en excuse auprès de tous mes amis lecteurs et blogueurs francophones!

C'est pourquoi je vous suggère de vous rendre sur le blog mentionné ci-dessous. Vous y trouverez cette recette en version française.

Chez Isa de "Les Gourmandises d'Isa" (Canada)
Chez Vibi de "La Casserole Carrée" (Canada)