Christmas Shopping 2020 - The Strand, London

Christmas shopping in a time of Covid. The Strand, London, Christmas Eve.

Sprouts

I thought coming to love sprouts later in life was one of those taste changes… like falling in love with beer. As a child one generally hates both, but gradually… like a creeping sickness … they take hold of you.

But no….

It would seem that the sprout of my childhood is not the sprout of today. A close relationship certainly, but it’s a bit like a long lost member of the family, who went to live in Australia and now comes to visit once a year sporting a sun tan and a Hawaiian shirt, and talks non-stop about barbecues and parties on the beach.

It would appear that Dutch scientists about 30 years ago, started tinkering with the DNA of a sprout, and discovered what makes them taste bitter, and simply bred it out.

You want facts? I’ll give you facts.

What did the Roman’s ever do for us? They gave us sprouts. They had arrived in northern Europe during the 5th century, and were commonly cultivated in the 13th century near Brussels, which is where they acquired their name. They are Belgium’s gift to the world. Thank you Belgium.

Each stalk can prodice about 3 lbs of sprouts. It is the Dutch however who produce the most. With Germany and the UK not far behind. French settlers took them to Louisiana but the biggest growing areas in the States are now California.

Raw Brussels sprouts are 86% water, 9% carbs and 3% protein and are full of vitamins.

Boiling removes the goodness.

*** Eating too many Brussels sprouts can put you in hospital ***.

They can be boiled, steamed, stir-fried, grilled, roasted or cooked in a slow cooker. Cutting a cross in the base to aid the cooking process doesn’t actually help.

They stink when overcooked because they contain a sulfur compound called Glucosinolate Sinigrin.

10 ways to cook Sprouts

Roasted and served with butter and parmesan.
Roast with balsamic vinegar.
Roast served brown sugar, olive oil and pinch of Salt.
Fried and served with cracked Black Pepper.
Pickled.
Fried with lardons, bacon scraps or chorizo.
Kebabs, with red peppers and mushrooms.
Sautéd with garlic and onion, dash of lemon.
Quartered and added to stir fry.
Steamed, served with feta cheese, salt, pepper and Lemon Juice.
In a Honey Balsamic Glaze.
Sprouts in Blankets - Steamed and wrapped in ham or bacon and roasted in garlic.
Roast and served with aioli dip

I looked to see if you could cover them in chocolate but it’s a non-starter unless you want to frighten children.

RJ

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Festive Gin Soaked Fruity Scones

(Written for the Minhall & Jones Food Blog)

The origins of Scones (definately pronounced to rhyme with Long Johns) is steeped in history. So steeped in fact that it’s not worth worrying about. Let steeping scones lie.

Cheese Scones were a Sunday staple at home. We were never much into fruity scones though.

But having lived in Cornwall for a year, I do like a scone with jam and cream (or is it cream and jam?)

This Festive Gin Soaked Fruity Scone is an amalgum of recipes. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. But whatever you end up with, tastes lovely. Especially with custard.

You have to plan ahead. Steep some mixed fruit in some brandy - although I tried it with Sloe Gin.

350g of Self Raising Flour
50g of Sugar
Pinch of Salt

Mix this lt together, then add 170g of butter cut into chunks. Rub it into the mix. Hurl in the mixed fruit.

Make a well, and pour in some single cream. Enough to make a sticky but moderately solid mix. It’ll be about 250ml.

Plonk it onto a floured board, and flatten it. Try to make a square. Then cut into a lot of little squares. 8 by 8.

Into a heated oven - well spaced apart - until they are looking nicely brown on top, and are cooked through.

Serve hot with butter. Or with custard. Or jam and clotted cream.

RJ

The Minhall and Jones Podcast

Episode 3

DECEMBER 2020

In which we discuss:

Riding the Brussels Christmas Market in a force 10 gale, and tasting our first Caprinhas; the near miss with fighter jets returning from Kazakhstan; the story of Sinterklaas, his non-PC friend and a horse, who retired; feeding the Christmas cake; the joy of veg boxes; and has anyone seen Rudolf?

Listen

Festive Brazilian

(Written for the Minhall & Jones Food Blog)

Recollections of a Brazillian meal in Brussels some years back in the days running up to Christmas, reminded me of a rather engaging cocktail, a Caipirinha.

First time I had ever had it - I think also a first for AMM. Sheltered childhoods clearly. But you always remember your first time. Curiously many of my first times have been with Anne-Marie - Brandy Alexanders, White Russians, and Aperol Spritzers for example.

I am usually very wary of novelty. But I trust AMM, although exactly how far, I am not sure. She has a cackling streak about her sometimes.

But I thank her for the Caipririnha introduction.

You can’t really go wrong with rum, and lime over ice.

The name means ‘Little Countryside Drink’ by the way.

First, procure your Cachaca which is made from fermented sugar cane juice, which is then distilled. It has to be made in Brazil. Rum can be made anywhere, and is made from molasses. There’s also a thing called Rhum Agricole which is a mixture fo the two methods which has its own Appellation Contrôlée given that it’s a product of the French island of Martinique (and therefore the EU.).

Method:

Roughly slice some Limes. Pop them in a glass.

Add about three desert spoons full of sugar (preferably raw Sugar or Sugar Syrup.

Crush some ice. And top up with Cachasa. Stir.

Drink repeatedly.

RJ

Sinterklaas in Brussels 2

(Written for the Minhall & Jones Food Blog)

At the risk of appearing to be obsessed with chocolate and alcohol, oh and Belgium. Here is a post that largely revolves around chocolate, alcohol and Belgium.

I present a quick Q&A - Everything you ever wanted to know about Belgian chocolate but were afraid to ask (and to be honest probably never thought of asking.)

So - Why are you talking about chocolate again?

Sinterklaas - Yay! An opportunity to buy a hollow piece of chocolate in the shape of a patron saint. How often can you do that?

What’s the connection between chocolate and Belgium?

Well you may ask. It’s complicated

Back in the 17th century, when Belgium was still ruled by the Spanish, explorers brought cocoa beans from South America and introduced them to Europe. History notes that Henri Escher, the major of Zurich, was served a cup of hot chocolate when visiting the Grand Place of Brussels in 1697. He promptly took the recipe back to his native Switzerland, now regarded as one of Belgium’s competitors - Epic Fail. The Belgium and chocolate love affair took off when they colonized the Congo. King Leopold the Third then made Belgium the number one trader in cocoa and chocolate. (Note: Belgium’s involvement in Congo turned into a humanitarian disaster.) Jean Neuhaus (ironically, from Switzerland) first put Belgian chocolate on the map when he opened a sweety shop in Brussels in 1857. He created the first ‘Praline’ or soft-centred chocolate in 1912.

What is a Belgian Chocolate? Is it unique?

There are strict rules governing the production of Belgian chocolate. They must be made in the country. The chocolate is ground very finely - to just 15 to 18 microns. It has a high Cocoa content. It contains 100% Cocoa Butter. The beans are high quality and carefully selected.

Is Belgium still the world leader in chocolate?

Hmmm. Debateable. There’s a lot of competition. Most of the big names are Belgian - Godiva, Leonidas, Callebaut, Neuhaus. There are around 2,000 chocolate shops to be found in Belgium with annual exports nigh on two billion euros. However, Germany sells more chocolate abroad. But, there are chocolate museums, walks, and workshops.

Any other interesting facts?

Belgium invented French Fries, obviously.

You would need to eat 700 grams of liqueur chocolates to get drunk.

RJ

Sinterklaas in Brussels 1

(Written for the Minhall & Jones Food Blog)

When we travel, Anne-Marie and I often say very little. And when we do, it’s often in shorthand. A few words that sum up …. oh so much.

‘Kazakhstan’ for example is short for - flying half way round the world for one concert, eating chicken wings, horses bottom, and barely getting our passports back and home safe. Or to put it another way, ‘How do we get into these scrapes?’

‘Shall We?’ is often used standing outside a nice little restaurant or bar during an evening amble, which means - ‘Are you getting the Aperol Spritzers in this time or shall I?’

And then there is ‘The Big Wheel in Brussels.’

So, it was more or less this week in 2006, and we found ourselves in Brussels to soak up some of the atmosphere of a Christmas Market. For me also, a chance to go down memory lane as I’d lived and worked there or thereabouts for a year back in 1982/3.

Brussels was much changed. 30 years earlier the Belgian capital had been down at heel. Permanently facing financial crises. The streets were all dug up to put in the Semi-metro. And I was a student with no money, and too much time on my hands. I had haunts. Mainly around the Grand Place, the Atomium - which I remember served a rather dubious Spaghetti Bolognese - and any street corner where they served Frites with sauces. Oh and brussels North Station - probably not a fantastic idea as it was a red light district at the time, and I was forever being kerb crawled and wolf-whistled - yes, truly. I kid you not.

Anyhow, first evening with AMM (hunting a cash point, of which there were none) it was a wander round town, a nice restaurant meal - Brazillian food as I recall over towards the Antiques Market, we both had our first Caipirinha Cocktails, and then to mooch around the Christmas Market. Hot Gluhwein and Advocaat was beckoning… but then I said … before we do that, why don’t we go on the Big Wheel. Which was a fine idea - panormaic views over Brussels night time skyline.

Maybe not such a fine idea as one of the biggest winter storms in history (I exaggerate, a little) was barrelling in from the Atlantic. Not at its height that evening - that was still to come the next day as I dragged Anne-Marie round my university town - Leuven in a force 10 gale. Home of Stella Beer. But the wind was high enough for it to be ‘bracing.’ But hey - we’ll go round once, then hit the Gluhwein.

Only - The wheel got stuck. It stopped. And showed no signs of moving. I didn’t like to say to AMM at that moment that I thought I’d seen the little man pulling the levers heading into a hostelry on the corner. There were vague screams, especially when the wind rocked our little gondola. Not from us. We are made of sterner stuff… marginally.

After about 20 minutes, and a lot of silent contemplation and I think condemnation … neither of us swear, but AMM mutters terribly under her breath … it jerked back into life. We landed. And fled the scene like we were running from lions. Into the arms of …. Gluhwein and Advocaat - flavoured ones. Yum. And another to steady our nerves. Maybe another.

Photo © Rob Jones

Today (tonight) is Sinterklaas Eve - the Eve of St. Nicholas Day. Patron saint of children. The Dutch and Belgians wisely split their Christmas in two. The family meals happens on our Christmas Eve. The present giving St. Nicholas (Santa Claus) arrives on the 5th of December in a boat from Spain with his non-PC helpers, riding a white horse, which in Belgium is named Slecht Weer Vandaag (Bad Weather Today,)

More on him tomorrow (St. Nicholas, not the horse.).

Meanwhile - Here’s a quick Advocaat or Eggnog Recipe.

Ingredients:
5 egg yolks.
A large glass of Brandy.
150g Sugar.
Vanilla Extract.
Pinch of Cinnamon.
Pinch of Salt.

Method:

Whisk the eggs, salt, sugar, and cinnamon together till it clouds up a bit.

Whisk in the brandy gradually.

Heat up a pan of hot water.

Sit the bowl into the pan, whisking continuously till it’s a bit like a thin custard or Hollandaise sauce.

Remove from heat, and whisk in the vanilla.

Pop it into a glass container and put it into the fridge for about six hours.

It keeps for six month (yeah, like that’s going to happen.)

The tree in the Grand Place after a few Gluhweins - Photo © Rob Jones

RJ

Money Money Money

(Written for the Minhall & Jones Food Blog)

Three memories of Christmas Past…

1. It was a ritual. It was fascinating. I fell for it every time. I was 8. My Uncle Jack miraculously stuck his thumb into the Christmas Pudding - and it emerged with a silver sixtence, wrapped in foil. How was he so lucky? Why did I never find a sixpence in my pudding? Basically - he cheated. I think I knew that one year when he pulled out a Ten Shilling Note. Even at that tender age, I knew it simply was not possible to bake a Ten Shilling Note into a pudding. And if you did, it just wouldn’t servive. And even if it was possible, I did not dare eat it. Such money was riches beyond my imagination. How times change.

2. Waking up on Christmas morning, having been determined the night before to wait up to make absolutely certain that my theory was true that Father Christmas did not exist, and that it was my parents who snuck in at the dead of night and put the pillow cases full of presents at the end of the bed. I never made it. I always fell asleep. So the magic of Christmas was never disproved. There was also a stocking which resolutely contained an orange, mini chocolate bars and a pouch of chocolate money. All snaffled up by sunrise.

3. Watching the now un-PC arrival of Sinterklaas - Saint Nicholas - Santa Claus arrive in Bruges in Belgium. Being told he keeps a little book of whether you’ve been naughty or nice, and if it’s the former, then you are bundled into a sack and dragged off to Spain where Sinterklaas lives. Doesn’t sound so bad now. I’ll elaborate on Friday - the Dutch Christmas, or one of them at least.

RJ

Party Food

(Written for the Minhall & Jones Food Blog)

Will Power is …..

NOT buying Party Snack Collections at the supermarket, even if they are screaming at me to buy them, every time I walk past - pleading to be taken home, using psychological warfare to gain my attention, as I cruise by the fridge they are in several times during a casual shopping trip.

However - Willpower shall fail me the closer we get to Christmas.

Why the obession? It’s always been the case. A fascination in the 70’s with pineapple and cheese chunks on sticks, and …. OK so I can’t think of another seventies party snack. Ah… maybe vol-au-vents? Scotch Eggs?

80’s and 90’s were filled with mini sandwiches and sausage rolls.

Noughties - nachos and crisps and obscure things on other weird things passed around at chic receptions.

But for me it has to be Pigs in Blankets, Indian and Chinese selections boxes.

This evening, under the cover of ‘I’ll cook dinner,’ I snuck some party snacks under the wire.

Tempura King Prawns, Fish Sticks, Black Pudding, Last night’s leftover Cod, Asparagus Strips and Chicken Breast Slices.

50/50 Mix of Plain Flour and Cornflour, mixed with Soda Water, a pinch of Salt, and I added an Egg Yolk. Sloosh up together to make a thick sludge that coats the ingredients generously.

Hot oil… test a coated prawn to see if it sizzlesand floats. Cook each for a couple of minutes and then set onto some kitchen paper to remove the excess grease.

Enjoy with some Sweet Chilli Relish, Chutney or Plum Sauce.

RJ

Festive Fruity Pie

(Written for the Minhall & Jones Food Blog)

It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas … only sadly it’s not :-( . Not for a lot of people at least.

Had a wander through Caernarfon and Bangor today. So sad to see so many shops closed, boarded up or empty of shoppers. Attempts to ‘act normal’ seem surreal. Especially as the latest round of measures to beat Covid in Wales were announced today. The lid being firmly tightened for the forseeable future.

I am not particularly religious, although Anne-Marie usually begs to differ. But I do like symbolism.

Advent is rich in symbolism.

The word comes from the word for ‘Coming’ in Latin. Sounds a lot better that ‘Appropinquanti’ which means approaching. It’s about anticipation. It’s about hope. It’s about preparing for the real spirit of Christmas. It doesn’t matter about the things that we cannot do. Let’s enjoy the things we can do. If not together physically, then certainly in spirit. Food is such a great way to share and care. Let’s make and give. We’ve got some ideas.

Day 1 of our Foody Advent Calendar

OK, so no little windows to open. Just a festive recipe each day. Best enjoyed with friends or strangers.

Advent Calendars have a curious origin. In 19th century Germany, Christians marked 24 chalk lines on a door, and rubbed one off every day in December. The first with 'doors' were made in Germany in the 1920s. They reached the UK in 1956, and included chocolate two years later. The world's largest calendar was made in 2007 at the St Pancras Train Station in London. It was 71 metres tall and 23 metres wide and celebrated the refurbishment of the station. The most expensive advent calendar ever was made in 2010 by a jewellers in Belgium. It was made of 24 glass tubes each containing some diamonds and silver and was said to be worth £2.5 million.

Like many things about Christmas today, maybe losing sight of the real meaning of the season.

My first offering - Festive Fruity Pie

For the Pastry:
250g Butter
50g Lard
350g Plain Flour
50g Icing Sugar
1 Large Egg Yolk
Pinch of Salt
Cold Water.

To the flour and icing sugar, add the butter and lard and work the mixture into a crumble. Add the egg yolk, and water until you get a maluable dough. Pop into Fridge for 30 minutes. Then divide in two, and roll one half out to line a greased pie dish. The other half is for the top.

Photo © Rob Jones

For the filling:
Stew up some Summer Forest Fruits. To be honest I used a bag of ‘ready mix’ from the supermarket. I added some strawberry jam and a dash of port. Plus a knob of butter at the last minute. Plus a little cornflour to thicken.

Put the fruit into the dish. Peel, core and slice some apples and pears. Soften in the microwave with some brown sugar and butter. Place them on top of the fruit mix.

Cover with the rolled out remaining pastry. Crimp the edges. Dab some egg over the top, and sprinkle some sugar over it.

Cook for ten minutes on high, then cover with foil and cook for another 20-30 mins.

Serve with some Crème Fraîche, Cream or Ice Cream.

Photo © Rob Jones

RJ

Yr Eifl from Dinas Dinlle

View of Yr Eifl, from Dinas Dinlle - 29th November 2020

Welsh Tapas - Cregyn Gleision Mewn Marinâd - Mejillones en Escabeche

(Written for the Minhall & Jones Food Blog)

I always cook for one more person than actually exists. It’s an old habit.

Goes back to my childhood I think. It was almost certain that when we were about to sit down to tea, somone would pitch up on the doorstep and there would be an obligation to say ‘come in, why don’t you, have you eaten?’ So it was always prudent to have a pan of something in reserve on the stove just in case.

So … I over-catered on the Moules Marinière the other day, and I really don’t like having seafood lingering on in the fridge, nor do I like waste. So I rustled up a little tapas. (It is safe to cook up left over mussels by the way. So long as it’s well heated.)

There was a bit of Marinière sauce left over too so half the battle was won.

I picked out the orphan Menai Mussels and set them aside.

In a pan, fried off in butter some more garlic, finely sliced carrot, along with some herbs and spices - Smoked Paprika, Bay, Oregano and some ground Cloves.

Into that about 100ml of White Wine. Add the old Marinière sauce and let it bubble a bit, adding the mussels, and some cornichon onions if you have some. I didn’t on this occasion.

I also added some limp Celery cut finely into the initial fry up, just because ….. I don’t like wasting anything.

I sprinkled a bit of Parmesan on top of mine to serve… not authentically Spanish I know, but .. that’s not the object.

Escabeche by the way just means Marinade.

The Mariniere was a stripey top worn by the French Navy in the 19th century, and also by Jean Paul Gaultier.

Educational and tasty!

RJ

Mess Call

(Written for the Minhall & Jones Food Blog)

Temperatures plummeting. Sunny days and clear nights. A full moon. Log burner on the go.

C O M F O R T F O O D

Eton Mess with a twist. Now… I know I am parking my tank on Anne-Marie’s lawn, as the origins of Eton Mess are on the Cricket field. I’ll take the risk.

Actually - no one really knows where this delicious desert came from.

So the popular legend goes, there was a cricket match going on at Eton College (against Harrow) in the 1920’s and an overexcited labrador sat on a basket of food containing a Strawberry Pavlova. The players enjoyed it regardless.

However….

It was already mentioned in documents some thirty years earlier. Albeit still with a cricketing connection.

Why a Mess?

Some say it’s because it looks a mess. Or is it derived from the Latin word ‘Missum’ meaning a portion of food? (nah.) Or because it was served in the military Mess setting. I prefer the Labrador story.

Byron monitors Eton Mess consumption - Photo © Rob Jones

There’s no secret to the recipe. And as usual, no quantities. Add and subtract what you like/don’t like.

Buy some meringues - or make some if you can be bothered. Break them up into a dish. (Get a Labrador to sit on them if you have one available. Pick off the hairs before serving.)

Mix it with some Crème Fraîche. Slice in some tasty Strawberries. That could be it… but ..

My twist…. cook up some Fruits of the Forest mix, add a dash of port, and a couple of spoonsful of Strawberry Jam. Spoon the hot mix over the pudding just before serving.

RJ

Mussels from ... Menai

(Written for the Minhall & Jones Food Blog)

Culinarily speaking, I was a very very late developer.

There’s no comparison to what I ate in my childhod and what I eat today. Maybe one of the reasons why I became such a foody.

Breakfasts were Full English. Snacks were beans on toast. Lunch (which we called dinner) was burgers beans and chips. Dinner (which we called Tea) was poached haddock, or scones. Supper was left overs or bread and jam. Saturday fritters or pancakes.

Sunday lunches were roast chicken, beef, and pork. Salmon only at Easter, and Turkey at Christmas.

Then the Seventies happened. My brother learned to drive, discovered pubs and takeaways. Chinese and Indian food appeared in cartons. Pizzas were a revelation. My Mum tried out all sorts of recipes from a growing number of lifestyle magazines. Quiche Lorraine a popular choice. (Must make one).

I should point out that I was already ‘aware’ of Indian food. My dad was in India for five years during the war, and brought a taste for spices and Camp coffee back with him. But it wasn’t for us kids. To hot. Although we were pacified by being allowed to watch the noodles cooking and curling magically in the hot oil from a Vesta Curry.

I got my first passport in 1980, and flew for the first time - for work, to Amsterdam and Brussels recording pop shows! Then there was no stopping me ….

When living in Belgium, based in Leuven the home of Stella Beer for a year, I explored just about every part of it - inevitably ending up in Ostende, either to travel home on the ferry or just for a day trip to the seaside.

And that’s when I had mussels for the first time… real mussels that is. Never a fan of eating cold out of a tin. Too slimy. I like a big bowl of steaming fresh mussels in a delicious but simple sauce, served with a hunk of gorgeous crusty bread and butter.

Nothing finer than….

Moules Marinière with Cream, Garlic and Parsley

Very lucky to have a mussel supply not 30 minutes away - Menai Oysters and Mussels. (You can buy online).

In a deep pan (which has a lid) fry off some Garlic and Spring Onions in some butter and oil. (I seldom suggest quantities - depends on personal taste. I love garlic.) Add some Dry White Wine. You need juice enough to almost cover the mussels you wish to add.

Well scrub and clean the Mussels and discard any that are already open. Add to the pan and steam the Mussels for five or ten minutes. Give them a stir noisy occasionally so all the Mussels have a chance to bathe in the liquor.

Just before serving, hurl in some Parsley and single cream. Sloosh it about a bit so everyting is all well mixed.

Serve with Granary Bread and Salted Butter.

I miss travelling :-( - Maybe It’s time to do it virtually?

RJ

Crumpets for Tea

(Written for the Minhall & Jones Food Blog)

I am easily influenced. I Confess. And Accept. I am an advertisers dream!

So when I heard someone on the radio the other day eulogising about the joys of Crumpets, it was just a matter of time before a bargain packet would drop into my basket at the supermarket.

And so it came to pass.

It’s something I have always assumed was universal - like pancakes, and faggots. Something everyone knows and eats. But life has shown me that this is not the case.

The oracle of all things - Wikipedia - immediately throws a spanner in the works by linking to a French cartoon series for children called The Crumpets about a family with 142 children, which I found mildly disturbing and entertaining in equal measure. Anyhow, it wasted 30 minutes on a wet day.

Then it flags up the uncertainty whether edible crumpets originated in Wales or were Anglo Saxon.

Then comes the name - I recall as a child, while toasting crumpets on the fire at home, my best friend announced that they were actually called Pikelets! The certainty in my world was crumbling at the edges.

It gets worse - in Welsh, there was a thing called a ‘Bara Pyglyd’ or sticky bread, with a name perilously close to Pikelet. Or does the name come from the Welsh for pancake - Crempog?

You’ll even find some people trying to pass them off as Muffins! don’t go there.

Anyhow it’s a minefield.

When should one eat them? Too bulky for breakfast. To meagre for dinner. It was always a Saturday afternoon in Winter thing in our house, eaten while watching the wrestling and waiting for the classified football results. Always smeared with butter. It’s tempting to add a topping, but why bother.

The key is to butter it several times, so the butter has time to melt and fill up all the holes.

Inevitably have a napkin on hand to wipe your chin and fingers.

Easily made:

In a bowl, stir together 250ml of warm water with 2 1/2 teaspoons of Dried Yeast. Let it stand for a bit. Add a little warm Milk, 50g of Butter, 1 teaspoon of Salt, and 2 teaspoons of Sugar.

Add 450g of plainflour, mix well and leave to stand. You can get it to the right consistency by topping up with warm milk.

Stir in 1/2 teaspoon of Baking Powder, first dissolved in water. Leave for another half an hour.

This is the tricky bit - Get a heavy frying pan, and put over a medium heat.

If you have Crumpet Rings, grease them, and pour the batter in up to about half way. Metal pastry cutters will work, but they need to be deep. Cook until the tops look dry.

Turn them over and cook for another five minutes.

RJ

Comforting Fruit Crumble

(Written for the Minhall & Jones Food Blog)

Further to my hearty vegetable soup … the day didn’t improve weatherwise and so by evening I was climbing the walls with an inner yearning for comfort.

There was only one way forward - Fruit Crumble and Custard.

I always remember at primary school, our teacher Mrs. Francis would pin pictures from the Bible over the blackboard. They were huge so we could all see what was going on. I was usually sat at the back. Then she’d explain what it was all about.

I was always fascinated by anything to do with the Pharaohs. Especially since they were open to any advice on how to finesse budgeting and home economics (along with blood thirsty warfare and mummification.)

One such pictured showed the Pharoah listening to Joseph who counselled that during abundant years excess grain should be stored, which could then be used in the lean years. So preventing famine.

In a small way, the idea has stayed with me, and the freezer is chock full with containers of summer fruits, tomato passata and chopped vegetables. Waiting for their day of glory. My mother and grandmother did the same, only … nothing ever got used. Things stayed in the chest freezer for years, usually until it was no longer certain what it was, especially as the labels fell off.

So - Out comes a block of raspberries, blackberries, red currents and blueberries. Heat them up in a pan with a blob of cherry jam. In a separate pan, I sauteed some diced apple in some butter and some finely chopped ginger - about a teaspoon full. Add the apple mix to the mixed summer fruit and allow to simmer for a bit. Then turf into your baking dish.

For the crumble … 140g of plain flour, 70g of sugar and 70g of butter. Rub together with your fingers till crumbly. I usually place this mix in a thin layer in a baking dish and cook till it’s beginning to go light brown. Then, sprinkle over the fruit mix in the dish and cook for another ten minutes or so.

Leave to cook while you make the custard - 200ml of cream, 700ml of milk in a pan with 1 teaspoon of Vanilla Essence. In a bowl mix 100g of sugar with the yolks of four eggs and 3 tablespoons of Cornflour. Once the milky mix is warmed through, add it gently to the eggy mix, whisking all the time. Clean the saucepan, and pour the mixture back in and heat gently, stirring all the time till it’s nice and thick.

Photo © Rob Jones

Comfort in a dish.

RJ