Pom Rum - Pomegranate Rum Recipe

Pomegranates are a fruit, so you can drink pomegranate rum and lemonade safe in the knowledge you're getting 1 of your 5 a day!

I became obsessed with pomegranate seeds after falling in love with the Ottolenghi Jerusalem book. On salads, on slow cooked shoulder of lamb, mixed through cous cous, in kachumber, made into a salsa, scattered over starters.

What's not to love about pomegranates? They're full of vitamin A, C and E, Iron and anti oxidants. They're healthy living, taste great, make a great garnish and they're also helping Afghan farmers to switch from growing opium poppies as the demand for pomegranates is getting a great price for farmers.

This pomegranate rum came about on a Monday - after clearing up weekend returns from dinner parties. What to do with the leftover pomegranate seeds? That is before I could found out you can freeze pomegranate seeds.

After my raspberry whisky, blackberry vodka and blueberry gin this seemed like a good combination. There was always rum lying around in the store from making raspberry mojito sorbet.

This mixes very well with lemonade as a long drink with a little ice - refreshing on a summer's night. Crunch the seeds as you drink.

Pomegranate Rum Recipe

750ml Rum - spiced
200g Pomegranate seeds (see how to remove in the cordial recipe below)
100g White caster sugar

Put these 3 things in a large enough jar or plastic container. Seal the top well, then shake to combine the sugar. Place in the fridge and shake again every day. After 7 days it should be ready.
You need to keep this in the fridge as the pomegranate seeds will start to ferment otherwise (as I once found out). Will last in the fridge for months, theoretically, but it's so nice there's not much chance of that.

Careful how much you drink! This is the morning after the night before at a charity ball - looks like someone took the tablecloth with them!

Another guest at the same event as above had clearly had a few and modified a napkin into a hat. 

For a non alcoholic version you can make a pomegranate cordial by dropping the pomegranate seeds in hot sugar syrup.

Non Alcoholic Pommegranate Cordial 

After trying the soft Korean drinks which have bits of rice or jelly in, I'm a fan of drinks with bits. That's what I was going for with the pomegranate cordial below - you crunch the seeds as you drink. You probably want ice in there too (didn't have any that day - the freezer was full of food instead).

Non alcoholic pomegranate cordial

Pomegranate Cordial Recipe

250ml Water

250ml White sugar - caster or granulated

2 Pomegranates

1. Pummel your pomegranates and cut them in half. Bash the base with a large metal cooking spoon and the seeds drop out. Wear an apron, unless you want to wear some pomegranate juice. 
2. Remove pith from the seeds. 
3. Place the sugar and water in a pan with the pomegranate seeds. Heat gently till the sugar dissolves. Keep on a low simmer for 10 minutes. The water should reduce slightly and some of the pomegranate seeds should burst to release their juice. 
4. You need to keep this in the fridge as the pomegranate seeds will start to ferment otherwise (as I once found out). Will last in the fridge for 2 weeks, theoretically, but it's so nice there's not much chance of that.
5. To serve dilute like squash with water, sparkling water, lemonade or tonic water

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Nutella Delice for World Nutella Day

This year's humble offering (better late than never) is based on a idea from visiting Pasteleria Kruss in Cartagena. It's about layers. Nutella sponge, creme patisserie, Nutella chocolate ganache and hazelnut buttercream finished with hazelnut praline on top.

Here's an interesting thing - Ferrero use 25% of the world's supply of hazelnuts. There was that time a few years ago when the hazelnut harvest went down due to the frost. A little fluctuation in the price of hazelnuts must cost multi millions. It made the stock of Nutella go down for sure - that's never a good thing!  

If you can't find ground hazelnuts for the sponge you can grind your own in the Vitamix like I did - comes out with a great texture! 

This would ideally be fridged for a few hours to set before slicing. I gave up waiting - it's been a long day, so the creme pat was a bit soft. Patience eh?

Hazelnut sponge

3 Egg whites

150g Icing sugar

3 eggs

150g Ground hazelnuts 

50g Plain flour

25g Unsalted butter

• Whisk the egg whites and 50g icing sugar to stiff peaks. 
• In a separate bowl mix 100g icing sugar and 3 eggs till thick and creamy
• Fold in ground hazelnuts, flour and butter
• Fold the hazelnut flour mix and egg white mix together. 

I forgot and added all the icing sugar to the egg whites, then whisked the whole eggs on their own. Still turned out fine. 

Line a large baking sheet with greaseproof paper. Spread the sponge mix on to the paper lined tray so it is a thin layer. I made 2 baking trays worth.
Bake at 160 oC for about 6 - 8  minutes till just set. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.   

Chocolate and Nutella Ganache

50g Plain chocolate

125ml Double cream

75g Nutella

Heat cream and chocolate, then pour over nutella and blend together. 

Vanilla Creme Patisserie

250ml Milk

3 Egg yolks

Vanilla

50g Sugar

1 1/2 tbsp Plain flour

Heat the milk till just off the boil. 

In a separate bowl whisk the egg yolks, flour, vanilla and sugar. 

Add a little of the milk to the egg yolk and sugar mix and whisk in.

Return to the pan and allow to thicken, stirring frequently. 

Place a greaseproof cartouche on top of the creme pat to stop a skin forming. Allow to cool. 

Hazelnut Cream

75g Unsalted butter, softened

Vanilla 

150g Icing sugar

50g Nutella

50g Hazelnuts blitzed down to a paste

Cream the softened butter and icing sugar till thick. Fold in the hazelnut paste and Nutella. You may need a little warm water to loosen it. 

Candied hazelnuts - whole/ praline and pulled sugar spikes

The candied hazelnuts really finish this off well.

150g Caster sugar
2 tbsp Water
Hazelnuts

Hard core chefs just use sugar, no water. I like to make life easy and add water.

1. Caramel likes medium heat. Brush around the edges of the pan with a pastry brush dipped in water every so often - this stops the sugar crystallising. Caramel doesn't like being stirred - that makes it crystallise too. Sugar needs a bit of respect.
2. When you're at caramel colour drop the hazelnuts in. Make sure they are evenly coated. Keep them moving in the caramel for 1 minute, then take them out with a fork on to a tray with greaseproof paper to cool. 
3. Now take the caramel pan off the heat and dip it in cold water to stop it cooking. Wait till it cools and thickens just enough so it's like the consistency of golden syrup. 
4. Make a clear piece of work surface where you can hang the hazelnuts. Put newspaper or tin foil on the floor below so the caramel drips on to that rather than the floor. Then you can fold it up afterwards and bin it - nice easy clear up. 
5. Stick the hazelnuts onto cocktail sticks, through the side, not the middle or they fall apart. Dip into the caramel and hang over the edge of the work surface using jars, tins or mugs as weights to hold the skewer in place.
6. If it cools down too much you can put the caramel back on the heat, then go back to stage 3. 

Once they are set they are delicate and best left in position until needed.


Layering up

Line a 1 lb/ 500g loaf tin with greaseproof paper. Now have fun layering them up!

Trim the sponge using a ruler so it fits the size of the loaf tin. Divide the hazelnut cream, creme pat and ganache in half. Make 2 layers of each with a layer of sponge in between each. A spoon dipped in hot water is most useful in smoothing the hazelnut cream, creme pat and ganache layers. 

Alternatively, you could consider making it a single layer of each so it's more of a tea cake style thing.  

Cover and refrigerate to help set it before slicing. 

Best served at room temperature. I let it set, then sliced it, then let it come up to room temperature. 

Previous Nutella Day recipes:

Pear and Almond Tart with Nutella Ice Cream

Espresso, Nutella and Hazelnut Brioche Crown

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7 Course Tasting Menu in Chipping Campden

What better thing than to come away to the Cotswolds for your birthday weekend and be cooked a seven course tasting menu in your holiday house?

We have done many of them now - it's great for people who enjoy their food & wine. Some have friends who match wines to the menu, or know a sommelier who comes along for the evening as well with their selection of matching wines - you have to do these things in style.

I introduce each course to the guests at the table as we go along - highlighting where the ingredients come from, or sometimes preparation methods/ techniques. They also get to ask questions as we go along - it's quite fun & interactive!

 Tasting of Evesham Asparagus - Roast spears, asparagus puree and raw asparagus carpaccio (which went on the plate after this photo). With rosemary flowers picked outside another venue I had dropped food off on the way & flowering sprout leaves.  

Bit blurry picture - but the first course is always the most stressy. Once you're a few down you've got more space on the kitchen work surfaces.

 Although the asparagus season is strictly mid April to mid June, and this was March, you can still find asparagus around here grown locally. This was from Evesham - home of asparagus growing in the UK. If you've been in this area long enough, and know where to go, you can get asparagus long before the official season starts and ends - it's limited supply, so it tends to stay local.

 Home Cured Bresaola with Pink Grapefruit and Celeriac Carpaccio

Had this maturing in my friend's Cotswold cellar - keeps it cool. It's approximately 10,000 times better than anything you can buy in a deli or supermarket - but so is anything homemade really. 

Underneath is lemon dressed raw Jerusalem artichoke. So often we spoil vegetables by cooking them, in this dish they're all raw. 

 Roulade of Bibury Trout poached in Elderflower

Raw veg features in this dish too - crudites wrapped in courgette carpaccio with pea shoots grown on my windowsills.

There's grilled leek on the trout, pea puree brushed on with sprouting lentils & herbs dotted on top. Beetroot coulis dots finish the array of flavours. 

This was followed by our Cotswold Gin and Cucumber Sorbet - it's so popular each time we serve it. I give them the gin bottle on the table to pour on a bit so they get the gin hit. Last time I forgot the bottle, had to go back the next day for it, and the hosts found it on their bookshelf hidden behind a book. Lol. The time before that, one guest liked it so much they brought the rest of the bottle from me.

Free-Range Duck with Nettle Gnudi and Rhubarb Compote

served with;

Fondant Potatoes

Roast Carrot Ribbons with Cumin Seeds

French Beans wrapped in Pancetta

But why is it called gnudi? Well that was the story for this dish. Picked the nettles by the river Severn here in Gloucester that morning (further up the river than the duck live) - couldn't be much fresher.

There's also orange powder over the duck - with the rhubarb they both give it a little tartness. 

 Lemon and Blueberry Tart

First time try out with the deco spoons - takes a bit more practice.....

Cerney Ash Goats cheese with honey and walnuts
No pic for this one - rush, rush. You know how this cooking malarkey is......

Plating plan needed for tasting menus so it runs smoothly. 

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Afternoon Tea Catering in Hardwicke, Gloucester

Forget the evening meal, the best thing next to a brunch menu has to be afternoon tea, surely?

Feedback from a recent wedding 😀

It's always good to know a chef! These guests that we know were having family over for afternoon tea, so we volunteered out services, if we could photograph the food we were serving.

They say less is more, but on this day it proved that actually, more is more.......

 Afternoon tea is all about the best sandwiches, but simple works best, as you don't want to confuse the taste of the tea too much. 

Here we have ham & watercress, Smoked salmon & chive marscapone, beef & rocket, cucumber & cream cheese and everyone's favourite egg & cress

Savoury style homemade crumpets with parma ham and lemon chutney

We normally serve  a couple of savoury items along with the sandwiches, scones and cakes - it's the way my Grandmother used to do it, so I kind of keep the family tradition going!

Homemade lattice sausage rolls - everyone's favourite when they go out slightly warm from the oven!

Melty chorizo and gruyère cheese danish. 

Last year I went on a croissant & danish pastry making day course. Making your own is time consuming, but infinitely better quality and taste. Plus you get to choose your fillings!

  

 Fondant fancies. 

Blue food!

 Chocolate eclairs - you can't beat them!

 Double chocolate torte - dark & milk chocolate

Chelsea buns. Tear them apart at the table.  

 Fruit tartlets

 Jammy dodgers

These should actually come with a warning label - HIGHLY ADDICTIVE! I finished off the spares in one go that night......

Recipe comes from Ms Marmitelovers Afternoon Tea book.

 Rose and lemon flavoured macarons

Individual lemon meringue pies

 Pecan pie

 Ubiquitous scones with clotted cream and strawberry jam. 

At the end of the day the simple things are often the best, and you can't beat a good scone, right?

Vanilla, blackberry and pistachio danish. 

Also great to eat on the go. Just saying........

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Seven Course Tasting Menu near Cirencester

Pavé of Halibut with Oxtail

In case you haven't heard La Belle Assiette is at the forefront of changing the English perception of private chefs. As staying in becomes the new going out, more chefs are giving up the restaurant kitchen stove and taking the restaurant out to people's homes instead. Kind of what I've been doing for the last 10 1/2 years, though now, on occasions, I also do them for La Belle Assiette clients, as I was on this evening.
As I always say to the clients at the events I do - it's much more interesting cooking in a different place each time than being stuck in the same underground kitchen of a hotel or restaurant. And there's also a much better client - chef interaction, none more so than when you are doing a tasting menu.

This was for a joint 30th birthday in early November - so both husband and wife had a decision on the menu. I gave them 4 choices per course to choose from - this is what they chose. I talked about each dish with the guests just before plating it up.

Pork Cheek, Celariac and Watercress

Also making an appearance - romanesco which you burn with a blow torch (gives it a nice barbecue style flavour), toasted pine nuts, pickled butternut squash ribbon, beetroot coulis - all the flavours!

We do quite a lot of hog roasts through the year, and there are always some guests who are in the know and ask for the pig's cheeks & ears - they're the tastiest parts! Slow cook the pigs cheeks and they are meltingly soft. 

Roast Guinea Fowl with Samphire, Gremolata and a Honey and Lemon Dressing

I love samphire with chicken & guineau fowl - the saltiness really seems to work, Samphire has life beyond fish dishes! There was also black pudding, orange, pickled cucumber and crackling. The honey & lemon is a nice light touch to the guineau fowl - you don't want too many heavy things I've found at the begining of a tasting menu. 

The honey & lemon dressing with Guineau Fowl was something I put together once on holiday in Venice - I even cook on holiday!

The red plates were a new find earlier that week. It was love at first sight!

Pavé of Halibut with Oxtail

Fish and meat.... together? For some this might seem an odd combination, but it's really an old French classic pairing. Maybe more like a marriage made in heaven - like the couple celebrating their 30th birthdays!

Also possibly my favourite dish I've done this year! The splat is the new swoosh, but, man it's so much more fun to do! 

It was butternut squash puree in case you're wondering. With a few sprouting lentils dotted around the place. 

Hendricks Gin and Tonic Sorbet

So the birthday girl is an absolute fan of Hendrick's gin and had seen the Hendrick's Gin and Tonic sorbet I had made for another party - so this just had to go on their menu somewhere. Sorbets can seem like a cop out on tasting menus I know, but it sure went down well, and at the end of the day, I'm all about giving people what they like!

Whole Fillet of Beef Wrapped in Wild Mushrooms and Rosemary

Rosemary Roast Whole Fillet of Beef, Rainbow Chard, Wild Mushrooms, Roast Garlic and Oxtail Jus

Luckily it was just the end of pumpkin season. Well, the sale season anyway. People are so fickle - they only seem to buy pumpkins around Hallowe'en time. Then all suppliers stop stocking them because noone wants to buy them. Don't they know how good they are?

These baby pumpkins were filled with rainbow chard - also in season at that time. and there are a few shallots and baby turnips there too. Taste city!

Cotswold Organic Brie baked in Brioche

Using Simon Weaver's Cotswold Brie - I've been to the farm where they make it. You have to dress up in a white coat & hat to go in. So I put some inside the brioche buns, but also a slice on the side - can never have enough brie!

To go with it there were some caramelised oranges I made, pickled figs and pickled cherries that I picked up from Upton Smokery a few days before, and just before I left for this party I found some barberries in the local Turkish shop - their acidity works really well with the brie I found.

Hmm, cheese course or dessert course first? The French would have the cheese first, the English would have the dessert first. On the night we actually went for the English way. 

Pressed Apple with Pistachio Crumble and Blackberry Sorbet

 Like apple and blackberry crumble, but lighter. Served with creme anglaise on the side. The apples are cooked in caramel like you do for tarte tatin and the crumble sprinkled on top. Gotta roll with the times!

Rose Flavoured Macarons

After coffee and rose macarons, it was just a matter of clearing up the kitchen. Really need to work on that self-cleaning kitchen invention.........

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