Rachel Allen’s Spaghetti with Anchovies, Garlic and Chilli #Ballymaloe

rache-allen-anchovy_1

 

Fill a large saucepan with water, add a teaspoon of salt and bring to the boil. Add the spaghetti, linguine or tagliatelle, whichever you are using, and cook for 10-12 minutes, or according to the instructions on the packet, until al dente.

As the pasta is cooking, place another large saucepan on a medium heat. Add the olive oil, followed by the sliced garlic and fry for two minutes, then stir in the chopped anchovies and the chilli flakes, and cook for a further minute.

Drain the spaghetti, reserving some of the liquid, then add the spaghetti to the anchovy mixture with a few tablespoons of the liquid. Tip in the chopped parsley and the squeeze of lemon juice and stir to mix. Taste, adding some more lemon juice if you like. Grind over some black pepper and serve immediately.

 Anchovy Recipes:

http://rachelallen.com/post/spaghetti-anchovies-garlic-and-chilli

Rachel Allen’s Irish Gingerbread @RTEfood

 
 
 
 

There’s no better accompaniment for a hot pot of tea than this gingerbread from Rachel Allen.

Ingredients

  • 60 g (2½oz) butter
  • 75 g (3oz) treacle
  • 50 g (2oz) golden syrup
  • 140 g (4¾oz) plain flour
  • 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 0.5 tsp baking powder
  • 2 tsp ground ginger
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
  • 100 g (3½oz) caster sugar
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 egg
  • 125 ml (4½fl oz) milk
  • for the syrup
  • 75 g (3oz) caster sugar
  • 2 tsp finely grated root ginger, or finely chopped crystallised ginger

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 170°C (325°F), Gas mark 3. Line the base and sides of a 900g (2lb) loaf tin with baking parchment.
  2. Melt the butter, treacle and golden syrup in a small saucepan on a low heat, then set aside.
  3. Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda and baking powder into a bowl and stir in the spices, sugar and salt. In another bowl, whisk the egg, then add the milk and the melted butter mixture and pour into the dry ingredients. Mix until smooth – it will have a wet sloppy consistency.
  4. Pour into the prepared loaf tin and bake in the oven for 50–55 minutes until risen and firm to the touch and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. (Wait for at least 45 minutes before opening the oven to check whether the gingerbread has cooked, otherwise it can collapse in the centre.)
  5. While the gingerbread is cooking, make the syrup. Place the sugar and ginger in a small saucepan with 75ml (3fl oz) water, bring to the boil over a medium heat and boil, uncovered, for 5 minutes or until slightly thickened and syrupy.
  6. Once the gingerbread is cooked, take it out of the oven and, leaving it in the tin, pierce it all over the top with a fine skewer, then pour the syrup over and leave to cool completely.
  7. When the gingerbread is cold, take it out of the tin and serve.

A Pancake Extravaganza by Rachel Allen

rachel pancakes

Tuesday is pancake time. In all their shapes and forms, they are a real favourite in our household. It isn’t just our children who get excited – I adore pancakes and love an excuse to make a real feast of them. There’s something so pleasingly simple, so supremely comforting about a perfectly browned pancake, unchallenging and uncomplicated, but always delicious.
We’ll make all different sorts of pancakes on different years, and often on the same day. I love thin pancakes – they’re called crepes in France, where they’re usually made with some buckwheat flour. I like to eat them rolled up with lemon and sugar, or the perennial favourite, Nutella! We like to make thin pancakes as a savoury treat too, omitting the sugar and making a creamy mushroom filling with bacon and perhaps some Gruyere cheese.
If you’d like to make your pancakes a little more elaborate than just a squeeze of lemon and sugar, you can try this divine orange butter recipe, opposite, that we often make at the cookery school.
At other times, we like to make big, fluffy American pancakes, served with rashers and plenty of maple syrup. I’ve written recipes for blueberry and lemon pancakes in these pages before, as well as in a number of my cookbooks.
The Italian recipe here is a totally different take on pancakes that I’ve made on Pancake Tuesday in previous years. It was inspired by a conversation I had with the great Italian chef, Aldo Zilli. He told me a wonderful story about his mother using light pancakes as an alternative to pasta in certain dishes, and I’ve discovered that they work wonderfully with rich tomato sauces. The Italian baked pancakes with tomato sauce recipe, opposite, uses the pancakes in place of lasagne sheets, which adds a fluffiness to the dish. It’s a perfect family dish and would make a great centrepiece to a Shrove Tuesday dinner table.
Tip
Adding melted butter to the pancake batter will make a real difference to the pancakes’ flavour and texture. It also makes it possible to cook them without having to grease the pan every time.

Pancake Recipes:

 

Rachel Allen’s Baked Mushroom Risotto #Ballymaloe

rach mush ris mar 16

 Directions

In a heatproof bowl, combine the dried porcini mushrooms and boiling water. Soak for 20 minutes or until soft.

Preheat the oven to 180°C, 350°F, Gas 3. Place the chicken or vegetable stock, whichever you are using, in a saucepan over a medium-low heat and bring to just under a simmer.

Add the butter to a large saucepan or casserole dish with a lid, and place on a medium heat. Add the chopped onion and the chopped garlic and cook for 6-8 minutes until soft.

As the onion is cooking, drain the porcinis but reserve the soaking liquid. Roughly chop the porcinis and set aside, then strain the soaking liquid and add to the simmering stock. Season this liquid with salt and pepper.

Add the chopped porcinis to the onion and cook, stirring frequently, for 1-2 minutes. Next, stir in the risotto rice and cook for two minutes, stirring gently. Add in the white wine, stir and cook for 2-3 minutes until it has evaporated. Pour in the simmering stock, stir to combine, place a lid on top and put it into the oven. Cook for 10-12 minutes until just al dente.

Remove the risotto from the oven, add the grated Parmesan and cubes of butter, then use a wooden spoon to beat everything together. Stir in the marjoram or parsley, whichever you are using, lemon juice and mascarpone, if using.

Serve immediately with grated Parmesan on top.

http://www.rachelallen.com/post/baked-mushroom-risotto

 

Rachel’s Banana Butterscotch Pudding @kerrygoldusa

ban butterscotch pudding 15816

I absolutely adore this pudding from Bill’s book, Simply Bill. He made this when I appeared with him on Great Food Live, and as soon as I tasted it I was hooked. I have adapted the recipe slightly to fit the pie dish that I have. To make this for 12 people, double this recipe and cook in a 10-inch square gratin dish for 55 minutes.

Ingredients:

FOR THE PUDDING:

1 cup (4 oz) all-purpose flour

3 tbsp baking powder

1/2 cup (4 oz) superfine sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 banana, mashed

1 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

6 tbsp (3/4 stick) Kerrygold Butter, melted

FOR THE TOPPING:

1/2 cup (4 oz) light brown sugar

2 tbsp corn syrup

2/3 cup boiling water

Softly whipped cream or vanilla ice cream

Directions:

TO SERVE:

Preheat the oven 350°F (180°C). Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl. Add the sugar. Mix together the beaten egg, mashed banana, milk, vanilla extract and melted butter. Pour mixture into the dry ingredients and stir until combined. Pour this wet dough into a 9-inch pie dish and place the dish on a baking sheet.

To make the topping, put the brown sugar, corn syrup and boiling water in a saucepan. Bring to the boil and then drizzle over the pudding. Bake for 30–40 minutes, or until it feels slightly firm in the center. Serve with softly whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. If you’re not going to serve the pudding immediately, keep it somewhere warm until you are ready—it sits quite happily.

Rory O’Connell’s Summer spinach with garlic, chilli and lemon with thanks to Rachel Allen

 rachel summer spinach 5616

Directions

Wash the destalked spinach in several changes of cold water, then allow it to drain in order to remove as much of the water as possible.

Place a wide, low-sided, heavy saucepan or frying pan on the heat and add the olive oil. Immediately add the peeled thinly sliced garlic, and cook gently until the olive oil gets hot and the garlic colours slightly. Add the crushed dried chilli or the chilli flakes, whichever you are using, and cook for a few seconds – the garlic should now be golden.

Increase the heat and add the drained spinach, being careful because it will hiss and spit a bit. Cook the spinach, turning it constantly, then season with a little salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Add the lemon juice and zest, and stir them in. Pull the pan off the heat and taste. Correct the seasoning and serve the spinach immediately in a hot dish. The spinach can also be removed from the pan when it is cooked, spread out flat to cool, and served later at room temperature.

Garlic Recipes: