Pug's Kitchen

Telling the stories while sharing the recipes

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Editor, picture person and all-round good egg with a keen eye, a sharp wit and dubious taste in shirts. Keen cook and creator of this site
  • Quarter century cacio e pepe

    Quarter century cacio e pepe

    I recreated this dish after trying it on a trip to Rome with friends I’ve know for 25 years. As a group we’ve lost loved ones, lost body parts and lost swathes of our memories through over indulgence of booze. Equally, we have helped each other through each of these episodes.

    Our family are our nearest but our friends, those we choose to have in our lives, are our dearest. Here are mine…

    Lucy

    I met Lucy while I was a student in Avignon 25 years ago – she had the best flat with the best balcony which is where we all hung out, playing pinochle, drinking wine and smoking way, way, way too much. She’s been my constant over this quarter century and we’ve shared the best holidays across Europe.

    lucy_blue_lagoon
    Lucy and me at the Blue Lagoon, Iceland – washing off the eggy-sulphur smell

    Through Lucy I met…

    Stuart

    Lucy and Stuart have known each other since early childhood and I met him first in Avignon and then in London where we’d be the first in G-A-Y to ensure we got the prime spot on the speaker or the podium.

    The general motto for our 1990s was ‘Life’s too short to queue for a cloakroom when there’s disco to be danced to’.

    stuart
    Stuart and me – I had hair, he had rhythm

    Stuart was my plus one at one of the best weddings I have been to which was held in Chinchon in Spain. The wedding was memorable, the reception boozy and the hangover was particularly epic.

    It was during this hangover that Stuart’s husband, his truly significant other, entered the circle.

    It’s time to meet…

    Simon

    Simon entered my life in a whirlwind of romance – not with me but with Stuart. He’s smart, funny, determined and soon became a good friend who takes none of the crap I have a tendency to fling around.

    He’s also a quantity surveyor, part of the profession my organisation represents. As a friendship, Simon brings us all full circle.

    simon_2
    Stuart, Simon, Me in Rome, late at night, the worse for wear but still fabulous

    As a quartet, we travel well. Really well. Our last trip was an epic adventre in Rome which included visits to the Sistine Chapel (where we sneaked a naughty selfie), St Peter’s Basilica (where I got told of for photobombing) and some great restaurants.

    group
    Lucy (as a blur), me (photobombing), Stuart (looking sharp) and Simon (smouldering) in St Peter’s, Rome

    This dish is typical of Rome, is easy to prepare and following the tenet of this post, serves four. It has no fancy creamy, buttery ingredients it’s simple, elegant, yet robust and tasty tasty tasty.

    Music to listen to while preparing this dish: ‘Tu Vuò Fa’ L’Americano’ by Renato Carosone

    Ingredients

    • 400g Spaghetti
    • 250g Grated Pecorino Romano cheese (don’t be tempted by Parmesan, it just doesn’t work)
    • Freshly ground black pepper to taste, you’ll need a good peppery spread through the pasta to get the kick you want
    • Maldon salt

    Method

    1. Cook the spaghetti in a pan of rolling, boiling salted water and cook until al dente.
    2. While cooking, boil a kettle and put the boiling water in a separate bowl to heat the bowl.
    3. Once the pasta is cooked, put a few cups of the pasta water to one side – this starchy water is what you’ll use to get a ‘creamy’ sauce. Once done, then drain the pasta.
    4. Once drained add the pasta to your warm/heated bowl and slowly add the cheese and water.
    5. Keep doing this, all the while robustly tossing the pasta, until you get a creamy sauce.
    6. If the sauce gets too wet, add more cheese, if it’s too dry, add a little water.
    7. Once you are happy add your black pepper, toss and serve with pride at a job well done.

    Serve with Inama Vigneti di Foscarino Soave Classico 

  • Wild mushroom and black pepper chicken winter warmer

    Wild mushroom and black pepper chicken winter warmer

    I date an Australian, I’m surrounded by Australians, I love Australians. Except in winter. The moaning about the wet, the wind, the cold and the dark never ends. To help the long winter nights fly a little faster, I throw good intentions out the window and embrace indulgence with reckless abandon. This dish helps me do all this in under an hour.

    pepper_mushroom_chicken
    You can tell it’s ready when the sauce is thick, the mushrooms are soft and your tummy is rumbling

    The key to making this one-pot warmer a success is reducing the mushroom liquor till it’s thick and pungent. The crème fraîche smooths out the harsher edges and survives a reheat should there be any leftovers.

    Music to listen to while preparing this dish: ‘I can’t help myself’ by The Four Tops 

    Ingredients

    • 30g dried wild mushrooms
    • 12 skinned chicken thighs or 4 skinned chicken quarters
    • Salt
    • Black pepper
    • 1 clove of garlic, finely grated
    • 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped rosemary
    • 3 tablespoons full fat crème fraîche (4 for a richer, more luxurious finish)

    Method

    1. Soak the mushrooms in about 300ml of boiled water and let them steep for half an hour. Do not throw away the liquor.
    2. While the mushrooms are cooling, brown the chicken in a little olive oil in a heavy bottomed pan – this is the pan you will be serving the dish in so make sure it can hold all the chicken. While browning, sprinkle with salt on one side and cover in a lot of black pepper on both. This dish can take a lot of pepper, so don’t be shy.
    3. Once, browned, remove the chicken and add the garlic to the pan and cook through for a minute.
    4. While the pan is on the heat, add some of the mushroom liquor to deglaze any of the tasty bits from the bottom of the pan. Dig deep and get all the bits off, the dish and your Aussie guest if you have one will thank you for it.
    5. Once deglazed, pop the chicken back in the pan, sprinkle over the rosemary and pour in the mushrooms with the remaining liquor.
    6. Cover and simmer for 15 mins. After this time, remove the lid and reduce the liquor, this should take another 15 mins. Once the liquid is reduced by half, is thick and syrupy in texture, add the crème fraîche and mix into the sauce.
    7. Reduce this for another 10-15 mins until thickened (don’t worry, crème fraîche never splits no matter what heat you subject it to) and serve with onion fried rice. You can find the recipe for that in Noel’s cinnamon lemon chicken.

    Serve this with a Palacio de Fefiñanes Albariño to cut through the rich creaminess

  • Mum’s roast potatoes

    Mum’s roast potatoes

    Mum, my Bermondsey Belle, was a titan of a woman who made an impression wherever she went – tall, glamorous, tough and never afraid to voice an opinion. Duchess loved her food and never let a diet, a fad or a whim stop her from indulging in a good meal.

    Mum on her twin-engine Triumph in Bermondsey in the 1960s.Mum on her twin-engine Triumph in Bermondsey in the 1960s.

    Growing up, my best friends were twins and we did everything together and mum always kept the house open to welcome them with a cheap but tasty meal. One day things got a little out of hand and we started to a food fight in the new dining room, mum’s pride and joy. When she walked in we were terrified of her reaction – she was fiery and tempestuous and you never knew what to expect.

    There we were expecting a torrent of abuse (mum loved a good expletive) but what we got was something else. She strode in, surveyed the scene, walked to the table, scooped up a handful of dessert (jelly made with milk) and flung it at the twins. The food fight lasted another ten minutes, the communal clean up much, much longer.

    I miss my Bermondsey Belle.

    I’ve tinkered with this recipe for years in an effort to get it right. Potatoes are personal, this is my favourite with tips and tricks pulled from decades of practice. Simple, effortless and tried-and-tested. Feel free to monkey around, but I know this recipe works.

    Music to listen to while preparing this dish: ‘You don’t own me’ by Dusty Springfield

    Ingredients

    • 1 large red-skinned potato per person, plus one for the pot
    • Vegetable oil
    • Salt
    • 75g Kalamata olives or three sprigs of rosemary (these are optional but measurements are for four people)

    Method

    1. Peel the potatoes and cut into three. The best cut is to cut a triangle in the middle. With two cuts, you get three potatoes with a flat surface. The flat surface is important.
    2. Place in a large pan of cold salted water and bring to the boil and simmer for 4 mins
    3. Drain and cool in a pan of fresh, cold water. After a few minutes, drain and let cool right down.
    4. In a hot oven (180C to 200C it depends on your oven but it needs to be hot), heat a roasting tin with a thin film of vegetable oil – no more than 0.25cm).
      I’ve tried duck fat, goose fat etc and I really don’t like the taste. It’s a personal choice, but vegetable oil heats smoothly and really does the job. The potatoes should enhance your dish not dominate it.Also don’t be tempted to add too much oil, doing so will drown the spuds and they won’t crisp.
    5. While the oil is heating, gently bash the potatoes in a pan to get the edges a little fluffy.
    6. After 15 minutes, put an apron on (you’ll need it), take the roasting tin out (it is going to be smoking hot) and throw in the potatoes.
    7. While they are making a ruckus, coat in the oil and then place smooth side down, shake the tin , sprinkle with salt and put them on the top shelf of the oven.
    8. After half an hour, turn the potatoes.
    9. After a further 20 mins check the potatoes, depending on your oven they might need another 10 or 20 minutes.
    10. Serve

    These go really well with Red box roast chicken and on the rare occasion you have some left over, you should use them to add some oomph to George’s bubble and squeak.

    The olives and rosemary

    If you’re serving this with a plain roast, add the olives and rosemary five minutes before cooking time is up. Adding them this late keeps the intensity of the rosemary and the juiciness of the olives.

    Look & Listen: The final results

  • Wild mushroom and chicken risotto for Ruby

    Wild mushroom and chicken risotto for Ruby

    This dish was created for Ruby during a trip we all took to Chamonix earlier this year. While they all went ski-ing, I stayed with my feet firmly planted on the ground and went hiking along the Grand and Petit Balcons – beautiful Alpine walks through woods and over steep drops.

    Hiking
    Hiking through the sunny Alps

    As with all four year olds, Ruby is defined and determined in what she will and will not eat – and the theme for the day was mushrooms. And only mushrooms.

    I made this dish from the scraps and bones from a roast chicken but have recreated it here using shredded chicken thighs and pre-bought stock.

    Music to listen to while preparing this dish: ‘JJ Sneed’ by Dolly Parton

    Ingredients

    • 6 chicken thighs – boned and skinless
    • Olive oil for frying
    • Salt and pepper
    • I large onion, finely chopped
    • 2 large cloves of garlic, crushed
    • 30g wild mushrooms
    • 500ml chicken stock
    • 500g Riso Gallo risotto rice Carnaroli (this really is the best)
    • 2 tablespoons crème fraîche
    • 80g grated parmesan

    Method

    1. Place the wild mushrooms in a small bowl and cover, liberally, with boiling water – at least 350ml. These need to steep for at least 20 mins.
    2. In a thick-based and wide pan, fry off and cook the chicken in a few good glugs of the olive oil. Season these well at this point, on both sides with salt and pepper. Feel free to be heavy handed on the pepper as the mushrooms can take it.
    3. Once cooked (and golden) remove from the pan and rest to one side.
    4.  In the pan, gently fry off the garlic for a few minutes. Once sweated down, add the onions and cook down for a good ten minutes without browning them.
    5. While the onions are sweating down, strain the mushrooms but keep the liquor.
    6. Once sweated down, add the strained mushrooms to the onions and mix well. While these are cooking, pull the chicken apart in to good sized chunks and add to the combo in the pan.
    7. Once the chicken is in and mixed, add the rice, all of it in one go, and mix with the onion/mushroom/chicken combo.
    8. After a few minutes, you start building up your risotto. First pour in small amounts of the mushroom liquor, stirring all the while. You add more fluid once the rice has absorbed the all the liquid you’ve just added.
    9. Once all of mushroom liquor has been absorbed, then start on the chicken stock. Remember risotto needs constant attention so keep stirring…
    10. You’ll know your risotto is done when the rice has some bite but isn’t crunchy. You’re looking for the al dente texture.
    11. Let the risotto cool for a few minutes (it will still need stirring) and add the crème fraiche and stir well.
    12. Finally stir through the parmesan and then serve immediately. I always put the pan in the middle of the table and let guests serve themselves.

    Serve with a Grillo Parlante to cut through the richness.

  • Claudie’s classic French vinaigrette

    Claudie’s classic French vinaigrette

    This staple comes from Claudie, my landlady while I was a student in Avignon. While my friends were struggling in social housing, I’d managed to land a top floor flat of a second Empire house in the centre of Avignon with a family who genuinely cared for each other – and me the interloper.

    This was taken just outside Avignon with my friends Nigel, Michael and Harriet. That's me with the asymmetrical hair...
    This was taken just outside Avignon with my friends Nigel, Michael and Harriet. That’s me with the asymmetrical hair…

    One of the conditions of me staying with Claudie and her family was to have dinner with them every Thursday. This is where I learned to speak French, laugh in French and properly wash up. Claudie also delighted in showing me around Provence and we took regular trips to the smaller, less well-known corners to shop, to eat and to laugh.

    As well as looking after her family and running that beautiful house, Claudie is Vice President of L’Association Française de l’Ataxie de Friedreich. Friedreich’s ataxia is recessive inherited disease that causes progressive damage to the nervous system. It affects 1 in 50,000 people and it’s the humanity of people like Claudie who help raise awareness of it.

    I’ve lost touch with Claudie, but after writing this, I’m writing her a postcard to get back in touch.

    Make this in a big batch and keep for a week.

    Music to listen to while preparing this: ‘Souvenirs de l’Est’ by Patricia Kaas

    Ingredients

    • 300ml Vegetable or rapeseed oil
    • 100ml White wine vinegar (don’t monkey around with balsamic it’s a different beast)
    • 35g Dijon mustard (not wholegrain, not English)
    • Sea salt

    Method

    1. Put the oil, vinegar and mustard in a jar and shake till mixed. The results should be a matte yellow emulsion – not greasy or over sharp. If it’s not quite right, redress the balance with more vinegar/oil as necessary.
    2. Pour over your salad and toss.
    3. Sprinkle your salad with the salt.

    This is great on a simple lamb’s lettuce and radish salad (chop the radish in tiny cubes) and served with steak. I also use this over mixed warm greens (runners, broad beans broccoli etc).

  • Torrijas for Caleb via Milagros

    Torrijas for Caleb via Milagros

    I’d not cooked torrijas (luxury French toast, but from Spain) for nearly a quarter of a century but was reminded of them at a recent dinner to celebrate a friend’s birthday. I was taught how to make them by Milagros, my little old lady neighbour from Calle Cervantes in Zaragoza, northern Spain – a kindly dueña who took a shine to her rowdy English student neighbours.

    caleb_stand
    Yogi Caleb, exercising more balance in an instant than I have in a lifetime

    Caleb is like my partner Jarod – his job is to bring out the best in people and both do so with amazing results from their studio in West London. These pics show Caleb in his new guise as yogi master, bringing inner peace to chaotic Londoners.

    Let’s be frank, two pics of Caleb as he is now are better than two of me from the early ’90s. If you go no further with this recipe and get hooked on the images… I fully understand. Enjoy whichever path you take…

    Music to listen to while preparing this dish: ‘Elegibo’ (Uma història de ifà)”- Relight Orchestra & DJ Andrea

    Ingredients

    • 1 milk loaf (this is a loaf like a shrunken bloomer – you can use other loaves but this loaf’s size and all-round crust helps it keep shape)
    • 750ml full fat milk
    • 1 cinnamon stick
    • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
    • 3 tablespoons honey
    • 4 eggs, beaten
    • Vegetable oil

    Topping

    • Mix together 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon and 2 dessertspoons caster sugar

    Method

    1. Trim the ends of the loaf, and cut into inch-thick slices and arrange in a dish.
    2. Heat the milk, honey, cinnamon stick and teaspoon of ground cinnamon till boiling point. Remove from heat, cover and let the flavours steep for 15 mins.
    3. Remove the stick, pour the liquid over the bread, cover and leave for one hour.
    4. Beat your eggs in a plate.
    5. In a large pan, heat a half centimetre of your vegetable oil over a medium heat – these toasts catch easily so don’t be tempted to whack up the heat.
    6. Once hot, coat the slices of the milk-soaked bread in egg and then fry for 3-4 mins on each side. The bread is going to be soggy and susceptible to breaking so the best way to transfer from dish to egg to pan is with a wide-edged spatula.
    7. Fry in batches of 2-3, depending on the size of your pan.
    8. Once golden brown on both sides transfer to a wire cooling rack topped with kitchen paper to soak up the excess grease.
    9. Serve warm or cold (never straight from the pan) sprinkled with some of your cinnamon sugar.

    Serve with dark and unctuous Solera 1847, Oloroso Dulce

    Torrijas in 3 images

    milk_torrijas
    Milk mix on the heat and sliced milk loaf ready to be soaked. You can see the size and thickness of the bread you’ll need
    frying_torrijas
    Torrijas frying after the first flip – see the amount of oil – not too much
    finished_torrijas
    Drained, cooled and ready to sprinkle with the cinnamon sugar – you can drizzle with syrup (maple or golden) if sugar isn’t your thing
  • Toby’s treats

    Toby’s treats

    Why is there a dog recipe on a food blog for humans? Simple, if you are making Lucy’s liver and onions then make this. Your dog will love you even more for it.

    Toby was a good dog, he travelled around Europe with us, in the back of the car across several countries. He wasn’t the most well behaved dog around town, but he was a lot of fun and people loved him, the eye patch helped, his cheeky demeanour more so.

    We often walked him up Devil’s Dyke, Brighton and he used to love running out of sight and coming back in his own good time or when we had one of these treats to hand. Once, he’d been gone a long time, so we whistled for him… no response. Meanwhile a group of women were at the edge of the Dyke with a jar, which contained the ashes of their friend who they were scattering that day. At the moment they threw the ashes, Toby came lolloping over, through the ash cloud and to us.

    Toby, the Tibetan Terrier

    I was mortified, the women were howling with laughter and the dog couldn’t stop sneezing. We were banging dust out of the dog’s coat for days.

    These treats are really easy to make, keep for a good few weeks in an air tight jar and make your dog’s recall the envy of the puppy park.

    Music to prepare this dish to: ‘The first cut is the deepest’ by Rod Stewart

    Ingredients

    • 500g liver – which kind depends on how good your dog has been

    Method

    1. Cut the liver in to large cubes.
    2. Cook the liver in a large pan of boiling water for 5 mins.
    3. Strain in a colander and then spread out on two layers of kitchen roll to dry them out.
    4. While the cubes are cooling put your oven to the lowest setting possible.
    5. Once the cubes are cool, cut each in to slices (you decide on how thick).
    6. Scatter the slices over baking tray(s) lined with baking paper and cook for 1.5 hours.
    7. When the time is up, switch the oven off but leave the treats inside to finish cooking off in the residual heat.
    8. Once oven is cooled and the treats are room temperature, decant to a kilner jar

    Your dog will never leave your side….

  • Grandma’s lamb with cinnamon gravy

    Grandma’s lamb with cinnamon gravy

    My Grandmother was a genteel woman. I grew up in the northern home counties so a trip to the Sussex coast was always a highlight – sea, sun when it graced our presence and the promise of great food. Mabs was typical of her generation, born at the beginning of the 20th Century and lived through two wars; one as a child, the other as a grown up. Her approach to food was honest, and for her age, daring.

    Grandma (Mabs) on her honeymoon in the 1930s

    She was the queen of the cupcakes and lemon drizzle (more of that later). The cakes were always kept in an ancient biscuit tin, on top of the fridge freezer, well out of the way of my mucky paws. She had a larder, something I am envious of to this day, which was filled with all the essentials that she would use to turn the ordinary into something a little less so.

    My fondest memory of my grandmother is when she came to visit me while I was a student at Avignon University. We went to a wine cave where she sampled a little too much young wine and proceeded to put her coat on the wrong way and stagger down the road. Her spirit of adventure was running high and she decided she wanted to try Vietnamese food which she devoured.

    The following day we decided to visit La Fontaine de Vaucluse which includes a mile long slow climb to one of the most beautiful areas of Haute Provence. My parents and I were hung over, she looked at us, winked and started off, beating us to the top by five minutes. Not bad for a woman then in her 80s.

    One of the recipes that shows her spirit is lamb with special gravy, the name we called it, or lamb with tomato and cinnamon gravy. The rich smell of cinnamon would be present while we played bowls in her extra long corridor, would be there when we came back from the beach and would intensify the nearer we got to dinner time. I remember always being hungry when waiting for this dish to be served, the last half hour being particular agony as I couldn’t quite reach the cake tin on top of the fridge.

    I’ve amended her recipe to make the sauce a little richer and I’ve doubled the portions (to serve 8) because if you don’t eat it all, the meat, with a little of the sauce mixed in, makes a great sandwich filler.

    Music to listen to while preparing this dish: ‘Moon River’ by Audrey Hepburn

    Ingredients

    • 2 shoulders of lamb weighing no more than 7kg
    • 3-5 tablespoons ground cinnamon
    • 2-3 cans chopped tomatoes
    • 3 onions peeled
    • 2 litres chicken or lamb stock
    • Salt & pepper

    The lamb

    1. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
    2. Rub the shoulders with the cinnamon, both sides and generously. Don’t be afraid, you’re going to cook this for a long time.
    3. Place in a high-sided roasting tin and cover with two cans of the chopped tomatoes. If it’s looking a little sparse, open the third and pour some more over.
    4. Add the stock to the the tin and cover with thick aluminium foil.
    5. Put in the oven and drop the temperature to 170°C and cook for 4.5 hours
    6. After 3.5 hours, put the onions inside a thick foil package with some olive oil, salt and pepper, close the package and put on the lower shelf.
    7. When your time is up remove the lamb and the onion package. The lamb will need to rest for one hour in the tin.

    This is the perfect time to crank up the heat on the oven and roast some potatoes (mum’s must-have recipe is as easy as it is smashing).

    The gravy

    1. Scrape all the tomato and cinnamon scraps off both shoulders into the roasting tin. Set the lamb aside ready for carving (or my preferred method, pulling apart).
    2. Place the roasting tin over a low heat and reduce the liquid to 2/3s.
    3. Make sure you get all the bits off the bottom, this is where the flavour hides.
    4. At this point add the onions to the tin and mash with a fork. This is your thickener.
    5. Add more stock if necessary and keep stirring/reducing over the heat till you reach your preferred pouring consistency. I like mine thick and gloopy.
    6. Season to taste

    Enjoy.

  • Easy-yet-no-way-authentic saltimbocca

    Easy-yet-no-way-authentic saltimbocca

    This recipe applies the adage I use for dogs but for humans – if you want people to love it, wrap it in bacon.

    jarod_toby

    Jarod and Toby, his not-so-glamorous and not-so-helpful assistant

    This is a go-to staple of mine and while it’s inspired by saltimbocca it really isn’t one. I cook this a lot because Jarod and I eat a lot of fish… a lot; this is an equally healthy and easy alternative and cooks in the same amount of time.

    Traditional saltimbocca (all Romana) uses veal, parma ham, sage and a splash of wine and butter. My one uses chicken (you can use veal if you want) and I’ve given you a few options for flavouring.

    This serves two (including the wine)

    Music to listen to while preparing this dish: ‘When I’m good and ready’ by Sybil

    Ingredients

    • 2 chicken breasts or veal escalopes
    • 6 slices Parma ham at room temperature (like people, parma ham is easier to handle when it’s warm)
    • Juice half a lemon or equivalent of dry white wine

    Flavourings

    • Option one – 6 leaves of fresh sage and zest of one lemon
    • Option two – zest of one orange and leaves of large sprig fresh time
    • Option three – zest of one large lemon, 1/2 teaspoon flaked nori, two large pinches black pepper
    • Option four – I’m open to suggestions, hit me up

    Method

    1. First things first, you need to make your escalope. To do this, put a sheet of cling film over a chopping board and put your chicken/veal on that. Cover with another layer of film and bash, gently, with a rolling pin or empty bottle until they are about a centimetre thick. The end result should be slightly bigger than a large man’s hand… See pic below.
    2. Take off the top layer of film and sprinkle your flavouring of choice over the top.
    3. Lay the slices of ham over the top of the flavouring ensuring that the slices overlap each other and hang over the edge of the escalope.
    4. Now tuck the ham under the escalope.
    5. Add a splash of olive oil to a large pan and heat over a medium high flame. Once hot, fry both escalopes, flour side down, for 3-4 mins.
    6. Once cooked and browned, flip and cook the underside for 2-3 mins.
    7. Remove from the pan and set to one side. Take the pan off the heat and deglaze with the lemon juice/wine (this should take seconds). This is your gravy.
    8. You can serve this with anything, but it’s also very good in a thickly buttered and very crunchy baguette.

    Serve with a Mas d’en Compte Blanc – it’s a great wine that can handle everything you decide to throw at it

    Saltimbocca in four photos

    saltimbocca_flavour2
    1) Flattened and sprinkled with sage, lemon zest and pepper (you won’t need salt)
    saltimbocca_wrap
    2) Wrapped in Parma ham, tucked up and ready for the pan
    saltimbocca_sizzle
    3) Sizzling away… you fry them flavour side down first. When you flip they should look something like this
    saltimbocca_serve
    4) Ready to serve, crispy, salty, and tangy with the lemon juice
  • Amara’s resurrection of Cleopatra’s pudding

    Amara’s resurrection of Cleopatra’s pudding

    I’ve met Amara a few times at a mutual friend’s book launches and birthday party. Amara has an ease of elegance, a great wit and a relaxed demeanour and she’s also one of the smartest cookies I’ve met; she’s a post-doc researching the history of archaeology.

    And it’s fascinating, the real life stuff Indiana Jones is made of.

    Amara striking a thoroughly modern Cleopatra pose

    Amara striking a thoroughly modern Cleopatra pose

    This recipe is the result of one of Amara’s pieces of research. I’ve condensed and tweaked it for here, but I really encourage you to read ‘A book, a pudding and a party’ on Amara’s blog readingroomnotes.com

    The resurrection of Cleopatra pudding starts with a book called ‘Days in Attica’, published in 1914. The author is Ellen Sophia Bosanquet and it details her travels and daily life in Athens. It’s here where Amara came across a passing reference to ‘Cleopatra Pudding’.

    Bosanquet uses the pud to trumpet the spirit of innovation her Athenian cook uses in the face of (understandable) ignorance of British cuisine.

    If I order ‘Cleopatra pudding’ the cook will set to work to make what he imagines ‘Cleopatra pudding’ ought to be rather than confess he has never met with it.

    Amara became determined to find out what ‘Cleopatra pudding’ was and to resurrect it for a party she was hosting in its honour.

    The internet came up trumps with ‘The Week’s Best Recipe prize winners’ on page 36 of the Australian Women’s Weekly for 12 January 1935. One of the recipes submitted, awarded a consolation prize of 2/6, was for Cleopatra pudding.

    Here’s the six-serving recipe, courtesy of Miss M Reynolds of New South Wales (1935) with Amara’s suggestion incorporated.

    Music to listen to while preparing this dish: ‘Justified and ancient’ by The KLF featuring Tammy Wynette

    Ingredients

    • 1 cup desiccated coconut (Amara suggests adding another 2-3 tablespoons)
    • 1.5 cups of McVitie’s Digestive biccies, crumbed (try to make large crumbs rather than small)
    • 1 pint full milk
    • 1.5 cups stewed apples, not too moist (stew to your own preference). The recipe suggests stewed peaches or apricots as alternatives.
    • 2-3 eggs, separated
    • 1 teaspoon butter
    • 2 tablespoons caster sugar

    Method

    1. Preheat your oven to 180C
    2. Mix together your coconut, biscuit crumbs and sugar.
    3. Warm your milk and add your butter to it and add to your crumb mix.
    4. Beat the egg yolks and add to your crumb mix.
    5. In a buttered pie dish pour half the crumb mix, then layer the apple on top, then layer the remainder of the crumb mix over the stewed fruit.
    6. Bake for about one hour.
    7. Whip the egg whites with the caster sugar till you get stiff peaks and place on top of the pudding.
    8. Return to the oven un the topping is a golden brown.

    If you have leftovers, eat while delving deeper into Amara’s blog. There’s treasure in it and these are a few of the entries I love:

    In detail: the page from Australian Women’s Weekly from 1935 that shows the recipe for Cleopatra pudding.

    In detail: the page from Australian Women’s Weekly from 1935 that shows the recipe for Cleopatra pudding.