All posts by Steph Clarke

Chocolate Truffles

This year for Christmas I handmade chocolate truffles as gifts for my friends, They are really simple to make and incredibly tasty.

Chocolate Truffles

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For one batch

150g chocolate
75ml double cream
2 shortbread fingers

Break the chocolate into chunks and set aside in a bowl.

Warm the cream until just below boiling, pour over the chocolate. This will start the chocolate melting.

Put the bowl with the cream and chocolate over a saucepan of simmering water (make sure the bottom of the bowl isn’t touching the water) and melt the chocolate stirring into the cream until smooth.

Crumble the shortbread and mix well into the chocolate cream mix.

If you want plain truffles set the mix aside at this point to set, if you want it flavoured add the extra ingredients now stirring through well and then set aside…

Different chocolate takes slightly different lengths of time to set so they could need to be left anything between 2-4 hours what you’re looking for is something quiet solid that holds its shape when rolled into balls.

Once it’s at that consistency use a heaped teaspoon of mix and roll to shape between your hands. It can be quite messy and the warmth of your hands can begin to soften the mix again.

Once all the mix is used roll in icing sugar, coconut, cocoa or chocolate flakes to finish dependent on flavour.

These store really well in an air tight container.

Flavour combinations I’ve used are…

White chocolate and glace cherry rolled in icing sugar.
White chocolate and dried apricot rolled in icing sugar
Milk chocolate and ameretto finished with chocolate flakes
Dark chocolate and dried cranberry rolled in cocoa.

If adding fruit use dried fruit, 25g is about enough per batch.

If adding spirits add a cap full only at a time and taste. A little goes a long way in this mix.

Vegetable Pastry Slice

Last night I had my friend Catherine over for dinner and it gave me the opportunity to try out a variation of a recipe I’d read online a while ago.

I hadn’t got all the veg in the house that I remember was in the original but I had enough that I thought it would work.

Here’s what I made

Vegetable Pastry Slice
(Makes 4 slices)

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One pack of pre rolled puff pastry
2 red onions
1 red peppers
8-12 Cherry tomatoes
Some  Mushrooms
Roasted red pepper pesto
Mozzarella
Cheddar

Take the pastry out of the fridge before you start, that way it will have warmed slightly be less cold before you’re ready for it and is less likely to crack when you unroll from the pack.

Pre heat oven to Gas mark 6 (or whatever that equates to in °c/°f)

Peel and quarter the onions and separate the layers and slice the peppers.

Chop mushrooms into quarters.

Heat some olive oil in a heavy bottomed pan and throw in the veg, after a couple of minutes throw in the mushrooms and either 2 or 3 cherry tomatoes per slice (dependant on taste). Remove pan from the heat when the veg is starting to look charred and the tomatoes soft.

Unroll the pastry, lie flat and cut into quarters.

Now take a sharp knife and score a line all the way around the rectangle about 1cm in from the edge being sure not to cut all the way through. (Don’t worry if you do a little in parts turn the pastry and smooth with your finger to rejoin the edges), and place on a baking tray.

Using the score lines as a guide spread the pesto over the inside of the slice.

Now spoon the vegetable mix equally on top of the pesto.

Milk or egg wash the visible pastry and put on the top shelf of the oven.

Cook for approx 10 mins or until the pastry is starting to puff.

Remove from the oven and crumble the mozzarella and as much grated cheddar as you like over the veg.

Season with black pepper and return to the oven for 5 minutes, or until the pastry has browned and the cheese melted.

Finish with a couple of leaves of fresh basil.

I served these with rocket, cherry tomatoes and olives with a balsamic dressing.

Variations, I think this would work with roast vegetables too and I’m planning on trying a similar method with ham, asparagus and cheese. In fact I think you could use this method to top the pastry with just about anything!

With thanks to our friend Jez Turner for the mozzarella, made with his fair hand.

Crunchy Chilli Potatoes

Last year was the 366 project that I migrated to Instagram. This year I’ve decided to start documenting some of the things I throw together in the kitchen.

I rarely follow a complete recipe often substituting things, or changing them to suit what we have in, or the tastes of the household. I then usually forget what I’ve done the next time I come to make it. I’m hoping this will be my memory of sorts.

Here’s the first:

Crunchy Chilli Potatoes

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Cut potatoes into approx 2cm chucks.
Boil until just cooked through, try not to over cook, they need to be soft but not falling apart and drain, leave to steam in the colander while you heat some olive oil and butter in a flat griddle or heavy bottomed frying pan.

Once the oil is hot tip in the potatoes and squish with a fork… you don’t want to mash them, just flatten and break them up a bit.

Leave for a few minutes until starting to brown and crisp up before turning them over.

Don’t worry if the potatoes break up a bit while your doing this, it just means more crispy bits.

Now they’re flipped over, add the spice.

I had one of those Jamie Oliver grinders with Szechuan, chilli and ginger salt so I used that, but you could use sea salt, black pepper and chilli flakes. Whatever you have to add a bit of kick in the pantry.

Shuffle the pan about a bit and once the potatoes are nice and crisp serve.

We had them as an alternative to chips with a piece of fish, but I could see them working with most things.

4amProject 25.11.12

Another trip out at 4am, this time to Lichfield  – Getting there was an adventure in itself as we nearly ended up in the middle of one flooded road but thankfully Dave’s driving skills (and brand new car) got us out of there only to be diverted by another -flood  we gave one more route one last go and got there.

This time we were to be joined by a few more people from the Walsall Photography Collective – all of whom were new to the 4am experience, and all who, despite, or maybe in spite of the relentless rain enjoyed the walk.

Previous trips out include:
Wolverhampton (and how it all started)  4th April 2010
Wednesfield 17th October 2010
Walsall 15th April 2012
You can see there’s a gap in 2011 because the date was the end of March and I was on a plane somewhere over the Middle East en-route to New Zealand – I tweeted a pic to partake from Dubai airport but there we no photowalk for me that year.

 

4amProject 15.04.12

Another 4am project photowalk – this time in Walsall. Just me and Dave again but another fun one!

Previous trips out include:
Wolverhampton (and how it all started)  4th April 2010
Wednesfield 17th October 2010

You can see there’s a gap in 2011 because the date was the end of March and I was on a plane somewhere over the Middle East en-route to New Zealand – I tweeted a pic to partake from Dubai airport but there we no photowalk for me that year.