Rocket (Arugula) Pesto

ROCKET (ARUGULA) PESTO

Peppery rocket pesto is a nice alternative to basil.

Now I love basil pesto just as much as the next person, but every once and a while it’s nice to have  a change. Instead of basil leaves and pine nuts I like to use rocket (arugula) and pecans. The strong peppery taste of rocket with the mellowing effect of the slightly sweet pecans works perfectly together

When you think rocket, the first thing that generally comes to mind is salad. Don’t limit yourself, break free, break free I tell you!

This rocket pecan pesto is great with pasta, meat, fish even rice. Why not use it in a sandwich instead of mayonnaise or mustard.

See the link ‘‘rocket pesto” below for recipe:

ROCKET PECAN PESTO :  ERIKA ALLISTON – Sweet Pea Blog

• 50g rocket (arugula)
• 140mL olive oil
• 1/4 clove crushed garlic
• 30g grated parmesan
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 2 squeezes of lemon juice
• 70g whole pecans

1. In a blender, combine the rocket & olive oil and pulse till chopped.
2. Add the galic, parmesan, salt & lemon juice, pulse again
3. Add pecans, blend till pesto of desired texture forms

NOTE: if you find the texture of the pesto too thick add a little extra olive oil

Baked Apples

Baked Apples seemed to be an appropriate welcome back, New Years resolution, apple desert recipe.  What better way to satisfy your sweet tooth while watching your waist line. Plus baked apples are a cinch to make… core, stuff, bake. That’s it. No fuss no muss.

Olivier’s parents have an apple orchard in France and this year they were overwhelmed with the yield. There were enough apples for the Russian army I tell you. So each week we receive a top up, which means I continuously have a bag of these golden red globes in my fridge. I would be complaining except that they are absolutely delicious and make wonderful apple sauce, pies, cakes, muffins not to mention baked apples.

RECIPE :  Erika Alliston – Sweet Pea Blog, BAKED APPLES

• 6 cooking apples
• 1 handful whole almonds
• 1 handful raisins
• a pinch ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 15g melted unsalted butter

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C (355°F) convection heat.
2. Coarsely chop the almonds, set aside
3. Melt the butter.
4. Add the chopped almonds, raisins, spices and brown sugar to the butter, stir well, set aside.
5. Prepare the apples; remove the core. Using a sharp knife draw a line around the middle of each apple (see picture). Stuff with the nut/spice mixture till it reaches the top of each apple.
6. Cook for 45 -60 minutes (depending on the size of your cooking apples), until apples are very tender when poked with a knife.
7. Serve immediately

Almond Butter

ALMOND BUTTER : Every once and a while I get a hankering for peanut butter. But I normally put it aside when faced with the astronomical price of Sfr 5 (~$5) for a small 250g jar. In Switzerland peanut butter does not rank amongst the basic, inexpensive food staples  -  it is an imported oddity, that many Swiss people, like my husband, have never tried. The whole idea of peanut butter & jam sandwiches, not to mention banana left him cold. That was of course until he tried it and like the rest of us, fell hopelessly in love with this sticky nutty spread. It makes me think of the film Meet Jo Black when the butler asks him what he would like, ‘just the butter & a spoon?’.

There is another perversity in this whole peanut butter loving situation and that is that it normally gives me a stomach ache. I think it has something to do with the oils they use to make it. Which got me to thinking about making nut butters in general and people with peanut allergies. It must be especially hard on children not being able to eat certain foods and helpful for mothers to have tasty alternatives. Coincidence would have it that I had two packages of whole almonds and a little free time, so I set about making my own almond butter.

Rave reviews is all I have to say. Absolutely delicious! The only issue I ran into was the desire to further reduce the amount of oil used, however the choice was between that and ruining my new blender, so I decided not to risk it. However if you do try this recipe with less oil please let me know how it turns out. I also recommend substituting a little almond oil instead of sunflower, it adds to the almond butter taste, which has a slight sweetness with a hint of sea salt to compliment.

RECIPE : SWEET PEA Blog

• 250gr whole almonds
• 1/2 cup sunflower oil (you can substitute a few tablespoons of almond oil)
• 1 tablespoon fine white sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1. First put the oil into the blender.
2. Add half the almonds & blend
3. Gradually add the rest of the almonds
4. Finally add the sugar & salt

FESENJAN : Persian lamb recipe

Don’t you just love  how life has little culinary surprises in store for you…

This year we spent New Years Eve in a quaint Swiss chalet, nestled in the mountains of Eastern Switzerland. It was here that I had the good fortune of meeting Roswit & her daughter Lilly, in the kitchen…. We got to talking about cooking (funny that!) and it turns out that Roswit’s husband is Iranian and she’s learned to make several Persian dishes over the years. This explained why the chalet was filled with the delicious smells & fragrant spices during the holidays.

To my delight we exchanged details and one week later I opened my emails to find her wonderful Fesenjan recipe. This is a traditional Persian dish of duck, in a walnuts & pomegranate sauce. Roswit’s version uses lamb meatballs in a thick walnut, tomato & pomegranate sauce. It is not just the delicious scent of this dish that will capture your heart, not to mention your appetite, but the sumptuous flavour combinations. The lamb with cinnamon, garlic & a hint of sweet/sour pomegranate, with the unctuous nutty sauce that almost tastes creamy without the use of actual cream.

In the future I will try this recipe with chicken or duck and perhaps decorate the top with pomegranate seeds. I also recommend using fresh whole grain / whole wheat bread instead of white bread or bread crumbs as it keeps the meat very moist & juicy. I also used a slightly larger quantity of lamb (280 grams total), as I prefer this meat to onion ratio. This dish is excellent served on a bed of basmati onion rice (** see recipe at end of post).

FESENJAN

Walnut/Pomegranate sauce:

• 2 cups shelled walnuts
• 1 can peeled whole tomatoes (400g net weight can)
• 2 tablespoons pomegranate juice*
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1 1/4 cups cold water

*For the pomegranate juice, cut a whole pomegranate in 1/2 and juice it. If you cannot find pomegranets use cranberry juice as a substitute.

• 280 gr mince lamb (I asked the butcher for a piece of the shoulder, fat removed & minced)
• 1 egg
• 4 slices fresh wholegrain bread
• 1/2 bunch parsley (you can add more if you like)
• 2  small white onion
• 2 garlic cloves, freshly pressed
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• salt & pepper
• 1 tablespoon vegetable (not olive) oil for frying meat balls

1. Sauce preparation: In a blender, combine walnuts, tomatoes, pomegranate juice, sugar & water until you have a creamy homogeneous mixture.
2. Pour sauce into a pot, cover & cook on low heat for 2 hours. Stir regularly. The colour will naturally darken. NOTE: if you are pressed for time, this recipe still works if you only cook the sauce for 30 minutes.
3. Meat preparation: I use the blender for all the chopping. 1st finely chop the onions. Cook till translucent with a little olive oil – they are easier to digest. Next finely chop the bread & parsley.
4. In a large bowl combine cooked onions, chopped bread & parsley, pressed garlic, cinnamon, salt & pepper, egg & minced lamb.
5. From the meatballs into ping-pong sized balls, set on a plat.
6. In a non stick frying pan on high heat, add vegetable oil & quickly fry the meatballs  for 2 minutes to brown the outsides. Turn regularly to avoid burning. DO NOT OVER COOK or they will dry out.
7. Now gently add the fried meatballs to the sauce. Turn of stove OFF & let sit for 15 minutes.

BASMATI ONION RICE Recipe:

• 200 grams basmati rice
• 600 mL cold water
• 3 whole cardamon pods
• 3 whole cloves
• 2 laurel (bay) leaves
• 4 pepper corns (any colour)
• 4 whole coriander seeds
• 1 whole cinnamon stick
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons butter (1 for the onions, 2 for the rice at the end)
• 1 medium white onion

1. Wash the rice in cold water.
2. In a large saucepan add water, rice, spices & salt.
3. Cover & bring almost to a boil. Reduce heat to med/low and let cook for 20 mins or until water is absorbed. NO STIRRING NECESSARY. Watch that it does not bubble over at the beginning when you have just reduced the heat.
4. Finely chop onion and fry on a low heat with 1 tablespoon butter, until a light golden colour. Do not overcook as you want the onions to remain soft.
5. Once rice is cooked, remove from heat, add butter & fried onions, stir well, recover and set aside for 5-10 minutes before serving.  You can add a few flecks of saffron for colour!

Healthier rice : omit the fried onions & use little or no added butter

HONEY ALMOND COOKIES

Leafing through my cookbooks in preparation for Christmas baking, I realised that cookie making really falls into three main categories:

1. drop cookies
2. cut-out cookies
3. cylinder cookies

DROP COOKIES: are those that require just a finger and a spoon, to drop small quantities of dough onto cookies sheets. This is the no fuss no muss method, especially handy when baking with children.

CUT-OUT COOKIES: the pretty though time consuming cousin… involving the chilling & rolling out of dough, to make lovely shapes, that can be iced and decorated.

CYLINDER COOKIES:are made by rolling the dough into a cylindrical form & then slicing it into rounds. Often used to make shortbread cookies (sablés).

My recipe for honey almond cookies falls into the first category, for though I love making pretty cut-out cookies, and will soon be doing so for the holiday season, I often need a quick baking solution after work.

So where is the ‘click & sniff’ button when you really need it – there is a button for just about everything else now a days, and it would definately be worth while, as the scent of toasted almonds with caramelising honey, will leave you fainting from felicity.

RECIPE – SWEET PEA Blog

If the number of cookies eaten by one man in an hour was the benchmark for success, the I would say these cookies are at the top of the list. Olivier ate not 1 nor 2 but 10, and this is no joke …. every time he came back from the kitchen it was with another cookie. Thank goodness he has a fast metabolism otherwise, at this rate … I would have one chubby chipmunk on my hands.

COOKIE SHEET: best to use a flat sheet with only one side, to let the hot air best circulate around the cookies.

• 110 gr (1/2 cup) butter (room temperature)
• 100 gr (1/2 cup) white sugar
• 50 gr (1/4 cup) packed brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 egg
• 170 gr (1  1/4cup) flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 120 grams (1 cup) slivered almonds
• 2 tablespoons honey (I use a strong thyme honey)

First prepare the almonds:

1. Line a cooling rack with baking paper
2. In a large non-stick pan toast the almonds
3. When slightly golden add the honey
4. Mix well so all almonds are covered with honey and cook until golden brown
5. Spread the honey almonds onto the baking paper as evenly & far apart as possible. It may be difficult as they like to stick together.
6. Leave to cool, prepare the dough while waiting.
7. When completely cooled break the honey almonds into small pieces

Cookie dough preparation:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C convection heat
2. In a large bowl combine the flour, salt & baking powder, set aside
3. Make sure your butter is softened to room temperature. Cream butter, white & brown sugar together.
4. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until light and fluffy
5. Now gradually add the flour mixture
6. Using a spatula, fold the broken honey almond pieces into the dough
7. Place heaping teaspoons of dough onto a lined cookie sheet* (leave space for spreading)
8. Cook for 6 minutes
9. Remove from oven and let sit on the cookie sheet for 1 minutes before transferring to the cooling rack – this avoids cookies breaking

NOTE:  makes approx. 2 douzen cookies

Almond Cake

ALMOND CAKE {GATEAU AUX AMANDES}: I think my pantry has been learning old tricks from the washing machine – you put two socks in and only one comes out…. you place a packet of almonds in the pantry and they vanish – coincidence I THINK NOT!

To avoid ’the hunt of humiliation’ the only logical solution was to get their 1st – buy the almonds and use them right away. Which in my case in not difficult as I am a big fan of this nut.

The original recipe for this cake comes from Thomas Keller’s cookbook ’Bouchon’, and uses almond paste and amaretto. I first tried this recipe using 2 substitutions : almond essence & ’masse d’amande’ – a very thick French almond butter made with ground almonds, soya beans and sugar.

My cake turned out wonderfully moist & flavourful – which got me to thinking. If others wanted the same results & didn’t have access to this almond paste, it would be useful to know how to make it from scratch. Thus I have created a homemade recipe, which makes a little extra almond paste that you can keep in the fridge and use as a spread on toast – delicious dear diary!

See link ‘Almond cake‘ below for the recipe:

ALMOND CAKE RECIPE – ERIKA ALLISTON Sweet Pea Blog

• 200g (7oz) almond paste*** (see my recipe below) or use ‘masse d’amande’
• 55g (1/4 cup) white sugar
• 110g (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon almond essence
• 45g (1/3 cup) white flour
• pinch of salt
• 40g sliced sweet almonds for decoration
• icing sugar for dusting the cake

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C / 350°F
2. Grease & flour an 24 cm (11 inch) round baking pan.
3. Cut butter  into small pieces and let come to room temperature.
4. Combine the almond paste and sugar - beat for 2 minutes.
5. Now add the softened butter and mix for an additional good 5 minutes.
6. Next add the honey, then the eggs ONE BY ONE, and finally the almond essence, mix well.
7. In a separate bowl combine the flour &  salt. Gradually add to the almond mixture. DO NOT OVER MIX at this point.
8. Bake in the oven for approx. 25 minutes or until the top is a nice golden brown and a tooth pick come out clean when you poke the cake.

TOASTED ALMOND DECORATION : while the cake is in the oven, using a large non-stick frying pan, gently toast / brown the sliced almonds. Be CAREFUL not to BURN them!  Set aside to cool.

Remove the cake from the oven, let sit to cool for at least 5 minutes. Remove from the cake pan and set on a cooling rack. When the cake is cool place on a serving plate, sprinkle the top with the toasted almonds, and using a small sieve, dust the top with a thin layer of icing sugar.

*** Homemade ALMOND PASTE Recipe***

• 175g (1 generous cup) whole almonds
• 12 tablespoons slightly warm water
• 6 tablespoons oil (almond oil or vegetable oil)
• 2 tablespoons sugar

Put the water into the blender 1st, then the whole almonds and mix. Next gradually add the oil and finally the sugar. You will need a powerful blenderf to make this very thick smooth butter. My recipe makes approx. 330g of almond butter in total, of which you will need 200g for this recipe.

NOTES:

Do not store this cake in an air tight container! If air cannot circulate around the cake the almonds will go soft -  and we don’t want that!!! It is a fine line between not letting your cake dry out and letting it become too moist.

CHESTNUT YOGURT CAKE

It seems as though every culture has their own, good oldfashioned, mother’s milk cake - the Chinese have their pound cake, the English their victoria sponge, the French love a moist ‘quatre quart’ as do the Swiss, and I was recently introduced to the wonderful world of ‘yoghurt / yogurt cake’ which has become a staple in my kitchen.

What makes this cake so perfect is that it is uncomplicated, yet versatile - to be served alone or with jam & butter, to accompany coffee, tea or milk as is your preference (or your age)  – speaking of which doesn’t appear to influence the love for this cake amongst children and adults alike. It is perfect for tea time, the gouter (aka snack) or just when you feel like something a little bit sweet.

I often come home at the end of the day with a hankering to bake but an aversion to spending hours doing so. The yoghurt cake is a great soulution, as it can be made using two bowls, in less than 10 minutes, with endless flavours and to really bring the selling point home it is as good as any cake can be for your waist line as it uses more yoghurt than butter. I have taken to making it on it’s own or with lemon zest, coco powder, vanilla bean and most recently purée de marron AKA chestnut purée.

RECIPE – SWEET PEA Blog

Classic Yoghurt Cake

• 225g white flour
• 200g white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 150g plain fullfat (2%) yoghurt
• 2 eggs
• 70g butter (melted)

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F)
2. Line a loaf tin or small shaped baking tins, with parchment paper (or use butter then flour)
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine the yoghurt and white sugar. Next beat in the 2 eggs.
4. In a seperate mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients : flour, sugar, and baking powder. Mix well.
5. Now combine the yogurt mixture with the dry ingredients and mix until you have a very smooth batter.
6. Finally melt the butter (see NOTES) and gently mix it into the batter.
7. Fill the tin(s) – make sure the small tins are only filled halfway or they will overflow, and bake for 40-50 mintes for a loaf and 20-25 minutes for small cakes. I air on a shorter cooking time as my oven is powerful, and test the cakes with a tooth pick to see if they are cook.

Tooth pick test – gently poke the toothpick into the cake in various place (especially the very centre which takes the longest time to cook) and if the it comes out CLEAN the cake is ready. The top of the cake should also spring back slightly when you lightly press the top with your fingers.

***YOGHURT CHESTNUT VERSION***

Note: if the chestnut purée that you buy is very sweet to taste (with added sugar) I would reduce the sugar quantity in the recipe to 160-170g

• 225g white flour
• 200g white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 150g plain fullfat (2%) yoghurt
• 150g chestnut purée ( made of chestnut & sugar – I buy the bio / healthfood variety with less sugar)
• 2 eggs
• 70g butter
• 2 tablespoons warm water

Follow the baking instruction above for the CLASSIC cake, only add the chesnut purée to the yoghurt/sugar mix before adding the eggs, and add the water at the very end after the butter. The chestnut purée makes the batter a little thicker, but the extra baking powder and water help with this.

NOTES: if you don’t have or want to use a microwave to melt the butter, I boil a kettle of water, then chop the butter into cubes, which I place in the small thin metal measuring cup from Ikea. I then place the metal measuring cup in a small bowl which I fill halfway with boiling water, which heats the metal and melts the butter!

GRANOLA: To be or not to be a breakfast person, that is the question …

I for one used to fall into the latter category… a category reserved for those of us who don’t do mornings… rush out the door like mad women (as if there was time for toast let alone breakfast) and find themselves sitting at their desk before the sun has even risen, sipping on a cup of coffee. Healthy you say…. I think not!!!

It took moving to Geneva and living with my other half – a breakfast fiend, tartine nut, jam addict and general muesli fan… to make me turn over a new leaf or should I say grain.

With breakfast becoming an increasingly important meal of my day, I started paying more attention to the ingredients I was eating…. and was shocked to discover the amount of salt, white sugar & hydrogenated oils that most granola brands add. Something had to be done! So I set to work on making my own healthy recipe.

The great thing about this recipe is that you can personalise it… I use the rolled oats as a base and then add and subtract the nuts, seeds & dried fruits I feel like.

GRANOLA RECIPE - ERIKA ALLISTON – Sweet Pea Blog

• 200 grams rolled oats (approx. 2 cups)
• 2 or 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (or nutmeg as you like)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 180 grams of a mixture of seeds, nuts, & dried fruit ie raisins that you like (for this post I combined sunflower, pumpkin & linseeds, with whole almonds & pecans)
• 2 tablespoon sunflower oil
• 1 egg

1. Preheat the oven to 150°C (320°F).
2. Cover a large baking sheet with baking paper.
3. In a large bowl, combine the rolled oats, borwn sugar, cinnamon, salt & seed/nut mix.
4. Beat the egg & oil, add to the dry mixture
5. Next, evenly spread the granola on the baking sheet, and bake at 150°C for 30 mins. Then REDUCE the heat and cook for 1 hour at 120°C.
6. Turn off  the oven and let the granola cool COMPLETELY inside before storing in a dry sealed container.

NOTE: technically MUESLI and GRANOLA are different. While they are both rolled oat breakfast cereals, muesli is the Swiss / German version normally served uncooked or soaked in water, while granola is the US /UK version, which is baked and crunchy. As the names have become interchanged I have used both in the title of this post. I also plan on trying a maple syrop & pecan version.

{BLINIS AU CAVIAR DE POIVRON ROUGE ET NOIX} With my recent engagement, and hence the beginning stages of wedding planning (wonderful but ever time consuming!) I have been MIA from Sweet Pea for the past 2 weeks. I thought what better for a welcome back than a recipe inspired from the night Olivier proposed to me. 

It was a warm mid August evening - we were in Monaco, at Alain Ducasse’s restaurant the ‘Bar & Boeuf’, at a table over looking the sea…. the dinner was exquisite, every detail perfect, including the lovely apératif they served us with a delicious red pepper coulis. As first impressions go – this coulis made a great one, and so when I passed the pile of plump garden peppers in the market this past weekend – there was only one thing that came to mind!

As I was having guests over that night and am always on the look out for a sumptuous while simple to prepare amuse bouche (meaning amuse your mouth, aka canapé or hors d’oeuvre), I decide to create a recipe inspired by the red pepper coulis I had in Monaco with a thicker consistency and the addition of the blinis. Topped with a drop of ricotta cream and sprinkled with sumac, these bit sized canapés were a welcomed treat.

RECIPE - SWEET PEA Blog

IMPORTANT :you can make the red pepper caviar & the blinis ahead of time, but only put the final canapé (hors d’oeuvres) together just before severing, so that the blinis do not become moist (see NOTES below)

Red Pepper Caviar preparation:

• 3 large red bell peppers (capsicum)
• 1 spring onion (white part only)
• 4 teaspoons ground almonds
• 4 teaspoons ground hazelnuts
• 1/2 a small garlic clove
• salt & black pepper to taste

For the garnish (topping): 

• 3 tablespoons ricotta cheese
• 1 teaspoon cream
• sumac

1. Preheat the oven to 230°C (446°F)
2. Wash the whole peppers and place them in a baking dish. Cook for 30 minutes, turning the peppers occasionally so that they cook evenly. The skins can burn a little but not too much or they will affect the taste of the pepper.
3. Remove from the oven and immediately place in a heat proof bowl and tightly cover with plastic wrap. Leave to sit for at least 20 minutes. I use this time to prepare the blini batter.
4. Once the 20 minutes is up, remove the plastic wrap, and prepare the peppers, by removing all the skin, tops and seeds. Gently dry the peppers with a paper towel to remove excess water and place in the blender.
5. Now chop the white part of the spring onion and add to the blender along with the ground almonds, hazelnuts, garlic, salt and black pepper. Blend well, until you obtain a very smooth consistency.
6. Set in the fridge to chill for at least 1 hour.

Blini preparation:

• 100g white flour
• 50g buckwheat flour (farine de sarrasin)
• 1 egg
• 25cl (1 cup) milk
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil (ie sunflower)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

1. In a large mixing bowl combine the white + buckwheat (sarrasin) flour and salt. In a separate bowl, beat the egg, and combine with the milk and vegetable oil. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix well until you have a smooth uniform batter.
2. Place a non-stick frying pan (skillet) on medium heat. Once the pan is hot, add small tablespoons of batter, using the reverse side of the spoon to spread the batter into a circle. I usually make the blinis about 4 cm (2 inches) wide and quite thin.
3. Let the blinis cook until the center of the side facing up is just a little bit wet with dry edges, and then flip them. Set on a cooling rack when done.

Final stage:

Finally, once the blinis are cooled, place a teaspoon of the red pepper caviar onto the center of each blini and finish with a drop of ricotta cream and a sprinkle of sumac

NOTES: drying the red peppers to remove excess water and then chilling the caviar is important to obtain the right consistency. If you want the caviar to be a little thicker add more ground almonds and hazelnuts. For more information on buckwheat(sarrasin)