Almond and Apricot Amaretti

Every time I look in the fridge, I always seem to find egg whites that need using up. They seem to stare reproachfully at me from their cling-film covered bowl. I know that macarons are a great way of using them up and I do make these from time to time but to be honest, I find them a bit of a faff, what with having to use a piping bag and all that. The other common option is to make meringue but as I'm the only one at home who really likes meringue, it falls to me to eat them all, not the best idea when they're basically pure sugar mixed with egg white.  

These then, are what I came up with in my latest attempt at not wasting egg whites. The inspiration comes from an Ottolenghi recipe, and although I've called them amaretti, as he does, they're not really like classic Italian ones. These are sweet, soft and moist, with a pronounced almond flavour, perfect for serving with coffee after dinner or as a pick-me-up for that afternoon slump.

I'm sending these to Treat Petite hosted alternately by Stuart from Cakeyboi  and Kat (this month's host) from the Baking Explorer.

As I'm using up egg whites in this recipe, I'm also sending it over to the fantastic No Waste Food Challenge hosted by Elizabeth's Kitchen Diary. This is  a great challenge and I'm so glad to see it back.









The theme is eggs, so I’m also taking part in this month's Tea Time Treats, hosted alternate months by Karen from Lavender and Lovage, Manjiri from Travels for Taste (this month's host) and Jo from Jo’s Kitchen.

  

 RECIPE

100g caster sugar
180g ground almonds
grated zest of one orange
pinch of salt
2 drops almond extract
2 egg whites
2 teaspoons honey
50g dried apricots, chopped fairly small
icing sugar

a large baking tray lined with baking parchment

Pre-heat the oven to 170°C

Put the sugar, almonds, orange zest, salt and almond extract in a large bowl and mix well with your fingers, making sure that the almond extract and orange zest are evenly distributed.

Add the chopped apricots.

Beat the egg whites (preferably with an electric whisk) and honey until they reach a soft meringue consistency. Then gently fold this into the almond and sugar mixture. What you should have is a very sticky, soft paste.

Form the mixture into rough shapes, you should get about 20 out of this recipe. They're meant to look irregular and rustic so don't spend time shaping them into perfect little balls. Roll them in icing sugar and place them on the lined baking tray.

Bake for about 12-14 minutes, until very lightly golden on the outside but still pale inside.

Leave to cool completely, then store in a sealed jar. They keep very well for about 5 days.

Vanilla Panna Cotta with fresh blueberry sauce

Panna Cotta is my go-to dessert for entertaining gluten-free friends. It doesn't require any tinkering because it's already naturally gluten-free and as it can all be prepared the day before, it makes for a very easy pudding. 

I've talked before about how I never choose panna cotta in restaurants because I find them all too solid and rubbery. This recipe is different however; I use just enough gelatine to allow it to set, but it still has a glorious wobble. I find the all-cream versions too heavy; the perfect ratio for me is half milk (full-fat of course) and half double cream. However, if you prefer a creamier version, just up the cream to 300 ml and reduce the milk to 200 ml. See the recipe for a note about the sugar too.

The crowning glory is the blueberry sauce. Heating the fruit with a little water, sugar and lemon juice so that it releases those wonderful, purple juices transforms what is quite a bland fruit into a beautifully flavoured sauce that complements the creamy panna cotta perfectly.

RECIPE

250ml double cream
250ml full-fat milk
60-70g caster sugar (I use 60g as I don't like it too sweet but you can increase the amount of sugar if you prefer)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4g gelatine leaves

For the blueberry sauce

100g blueberries

2 teaspoons sugar
juice of half a lemon
grated lemon zest

1 tablespoon water

Put the gelatine sheets in cold water to soak.

Put the milk, cream, vanilla and sugar in a saucepan and heat gently, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. When it's just about to boil, remove from the heat and stir in the squeezed-out gelatine. 

Pour into small moulds and leave to set in the fridge overnight. 

The blueberry sauce can be made the day before too. Just put all the ingredients (blueberries, water, lemon juice and zest, sugar) in a saucepan and heat gently for about 10 minutes until the blueberries are soft. Strain through a sieve, squashing the fruit so the pulp goes into the sauce, leaving just the skins behind. 

To serve, run a knife around the panna cotta before inverting onto a plate. Serve with the sauce and a few fresh blueberries if you like.

Pasta with Walnut Sauce

Autumn has arrived so I thought I'd mark the occasion with this wonderful pasta dish. Walnut sauce (salsa di noci) originates from Liguria and is traditionally prepared in autumn when the nuts are harvested. It has a delicate taste but is rich and filling at the same time, perfect for colder evenings, with the added benefit of being full of healthy omega-3.

Every village and town has a slightly different way of making the sauce but all recipes include bread and milk. I've used the sauce with penne here but you can use any pasta you want really; in Liguria, it's usually served with filled pasta. 

As it's a great way of using up leftover bread and milk, I'm sending this over to Foodie Quine, this month's host of No Waste Food Challenge, overseen by Elizabeth at Elizabeth's Kitchen.

                         

I'm also entering it into Credit Crunch Munch, co-hosted by Camilla At Fab Food 4 All and Helen over at Fuss Free Flavours. 

RECIPE

30g bread, without crusts (you can use white, wholemeal, or whatever you happen to have)

160ml whole milk

160g shelled walnuts

1 clove garlic

20g pine nuts

30g parmesan, grated

4g marjoram

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Start by roughly tearing up the bread and place in a bowl with the milk, leaving it to soak.

Put all the other ingredients (walnuts, garlic, pine nuts, parmesan, marjoram and oil) in a food processor and whizz together until smooth. 

Remove the bread from the milk, squeezing out any excess and add to the food processor. Pulse to mix everything together. 

Add salt to taste and thin it down with the leftover milk if you think it's too thick.

Serve with any kind of cooked pasta. It's also nice spread on toasted bread.

Broad Bean, Mint and Ricotta Bruschetta

Broad beans (sometimes known as fava beans) have only a short season (end of May to mid-July) so it makes sense to use these sweet, creamy beans whenever you can. The inspiration for this recipe came from a holiday in Puglia when we ate raw, just-picked broad beans with some ricotta that we had got freshly made from a local farmer, so fresh in fact that it was still warm when we got it home. It was a memorable lunch. 

These long summer days lend themselves to this kind of food, a simple bruschetta with gorgeously fresh broad beans, creamy ricotta, finished with mint and some sea salt. It's quick to prepare, satisfying, with flavours that sing of summer. Oh, and to do it full justice, it really needs to be eaten outdoors, in the garden, on a sunny afternoon. Summer perfection. 

I'm sending this over to Karen from the wonderful Lavender and Lovage for her Cooking with Herbs challenge, which consistently showcases delicious recipes featuring a whole array of herbs. 

RECIPE

I'm not giving weights and quantities here as they're very much up to you but what you need are:

ricotta 

fresh broad beans

fresh mint

extra virgin olive oil

bread

First, prepare the broad beans. Remove the beans from their pods and boil in non-salted water (the salt makes them tough) for about 2 minutes. Drain and place in a bowl of cold water. I double pod the beans for this bruschetta but it's up to you. I quite enjoy doing it, using my nail to slit the skin and then squeezing out the bright green bean inside. 

Lightly toast whatever bread you are using under the grill and leave to cool slightly before spreading with some ricotta. Tumble over the broad beans and scatter with roughly chopped mint. Add a drizzle of olive oil and finish with some sea salt.

Penne with Asparagus and Ricotta

A surfeit of meat whilst on holiday in Austria last week and some sunny weather have left me longing for light, summery dishes. Asparagus fits the bill perfectly and is still in season so I decided to try to come up with a pasta dish, rather than the usual asparagus risotto that is frequently seen at this time of year.

There are basically only three ingredients - asparagus, ricotta and a shallot and yet it worked beautifully as a pasta sauce. The delicate flavour of the asparagus wasn't overpowered by the ricotta and the shallot just added a gentle kick. Add a sprinkling of parsley and a generous grating of parmesan and you've got a wonderfully quick, fresh, delicious supper. 

I'm sending this over to Jaqueline's (from Tinned Tomatoes) monthly challenge, Pasta Please, hosted this month by Lucy over at BakingQueen74. 

RECIPE
200g green asparagus
100g ricotta
1 shallot
handful of fresh parsley
4 tablespoons olive oil

300-400g pasta, any shape you want

Wash the asparagus, then cut off the tips and set them aside. Boil the spears in lightly salted water for about 5-7 minutes - they need to be much softer than when eating them on their own as they are going to be blended with the ricotta. 

Place the asparagus spears in a food processor with some salt, pepper, the ricotta and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Blend until smooth.

Blanch the asparagus tips for about 1 minute in boiling water (I usually just throw them into the water I've got boiling for the pasta), then fish them out and leave to drain. 

Cook the pasta in boiling salted water.

In the meantime, finely chop the shallot and cook gently in a frying pan with the rest of the olive oil until softened.

Add the asparagus and ricotta sauce, the blanched asparagus tips and mix everything gently together, leaving on the heat for a few minutes to warm through. Chop the parsley roughly and add it to the sauce. If it looks too thick, add some of the pasta water to thin it slightly. 

When the pasta is al dente, drain and mix everything together well.

Serve with freshly grated parmesan.

Gorgonzola and Leek Risotto

The garden is covered with golden brown leaves, the wind is whistling through every crack and crevice in the house and I can finally get back to wearing my beloved boots, hats and gloves - yes, it's autumn and I love it. It also means that I can start making risotto again; I know there are summery risotto recipes out there but really, for me, it's a cold weather dish.

This one, creamy with gorgonzola, is perfect for these increasingly dark evenings. Make it when you've got the kitchen to yourself - then switch on the lights, pour yourself a glass of wine and watch the wild weather outside from your warm, cosy haven, whilst stirring the risotto and contemplating life.

I am sending this to Speedy Suppers, the blog challenge hosted by Sarah at Maison Cupcake and Katie at Feeding Boys, as the theme this month is cheese.

I am also entering my risotto (with extra leeks) into Extra Veg, a blog challenge run by Helen from Fuss Free Flavours and Michelle (Utterly Scrummy) and hosted this month by Emily from A Mummy Too. 

RECIPE

Serves 2 generously

2 leeks

50g butter

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 glass dry white wine

1 litre hot vegetable stock

250g carnaroli or arborio rice

120g Gorgonzola

10g parmesan, grated

Chop the leeks very finely. Melt the butter with the oil in a wide saucepan, add the leeks and cook gently until softened, being careful not to colour them as leeks can turn very bitter if they start to brown.

When the leeks are soft, tip in the rice and stir well so that all the grains are coated in the buttery juices. Turn up the heat to medium and pour in the wine. Keep stirring until it is absorbed.

Start adding the stock, a ladleful at a time, making sure it is all absorbed before adding the next, stirring all the while to make sure the rice doesn't start to stick.

The rice should be cooked after about 18 minutes (it should still have a slight 'bite' to it). You might not need all the stock or you may need a little more (you could just add boiling water).

Add the blue cheese, roughly crumbling it in and stirring so that it melts into the risotto. You can also beat in the parmesan at this point or you can sprinkle it over just before eating if you prefer.