November 2016

Hi Everyone!

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Cheers for now, and happy eating!

Simon

SIMON'S FOOD SCHOOL:

Stuff You Didn't Know You Didn't Know About Food

The History of Yorkshire Pudding

I have been thinking about Yorkshire Puddings a lot lately. Sad, but true.

I think it has been in my head since my dear pal and fellow Cutthroat Kitchen judge, Jet Tila, posted on Facebook about them being one of the few things he struggles to make well. All chefs, even top chefs like Jet, have a weak link. For the record, I make the world’s lousiest omelettes.

Since then, I have been thinking about the perfect recipe and their association with Yorkshire, the English county in which I was raised.

Although they bear the name of Yorkshire, “Batter puddings” were a common addition to the menu across the north of England and only attained their appellation in 1747 when the very first recipe for them appeared in Hannah Glasse’s “The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy”:

“A quart of milk, five eggs and a pinch of salt, beaten into the flour to make a smooth batter.”

Traditionally, these puddings were made by placing a metal baking tray under a joint of meat roasting against a hot fire to catch all of the drippings. The batter mix was added to that tray once the fat was piping hot and then cooked under the meat until it began to brown. Unlike the more recent variety of Yorkshire Puddings, more similar to an American popover, these puddings were a flatter, more stodgy affair whose main purpose was to fill up the family so they did not need to eat much of the more expensive meat component of the meal. The joint of meat was very expensive and would have to be made to last all the way through the week, being turned into stews and soups as the week progressed.

Even in my younger days in Yorkshire, the puddings were often served as a first course to our traditional Sunday lunch, usually smothered in a rich hot gravy made from the roasted meat drippings and were often also served as dessert with a spoonful of jam and English custard. They may have been meant as filler against the star joint of lamb, beef or pork, but they were always my favorite part of the meal. I would always request that my mother made extra so I could eat them again the next day for supper, and I would frequently request that she made a “Toad in The Hole” for me when I returned home from school on a chilly northern winter’s night.

As cooking methods changed, so too did the methods of preparing the Yorkshire puddings, which are now more commonly made in muffin tin baking sheets and are much more light than their 18th Century companions. They may have changed over the centuries, but no great British Sunday lunch would be the same without one.

So, Jet, if you are reading, I shall do a deal with you. You teach me how to make a decent bloody omelette and I’ll share my recipe for the perfect Yorkshire Pudding.

Ingredients

• 1 Cup AP Flour
• 3 Beaten Eggs
• ½ Cup Milk
• ½ Cup Water
• Salt & Pepper
• ¼ Cup Beef Dripping (you can use oil, but beef dripping gives the best results)

Instructions

1. Sift the flour into a bowl and add a pinch of salt and pepper.
2. Beat up the eggs and add to the bowlCombine the water and the milk and add slowly to the dry mixture, whisking until you have a smooth batter like consistency.
3. Allow the batter to rest for at least 30 mins. I find this helps the glutens develop which helps the structure of the puddings.
4. Add a teaspoon of beef drippings (or about two tablespoons of oil) to each well of a muffin tray.
5. Heat the tray in an oven pre-heated to 475oF until the oil or dripping is smoking.
6. Pour in the batter gently and cook at the same temperature for about 20 minutes or until the puddings have puffed up. DO NOT open the door of the oven until they have risen or your puddings are doomed.
7. Once they are cooked they should pop out of the tray easily, ready to be served with roast beef, lots of hot dripping gravy and, of course some nose clearingly hot horseradish sauce.

THE BOOK ZONE

As well as all the culinary offers we bring you each month, I also want to point you in the direction of some of the best food books I encounter each month. These could be enticing cook books, food journals or great travelogues that will inspire you to get in the kitchen or pack a bag for the road.

So, where better to start than with the eagerly anticipated new tome from my good pal, Mr. Alton Brown?

YOUR "FIRST LOOK" RECIPE:

Bouillabaisse

This seafood soup hails from the Provence region of France, and in particular the port city of Marseilles. It has always been a melting pot of a town and this classic, which combines local fish with white wine and saffron, is the perfect example of its varied cuisine. I once had a chef from Marseille tell me “if you serve bouillabaisse without croutons topped with rouille, then an angel in Marseille dies, that is if you can find one.” So, not being anti-angel, I have also included a recipe for the garlicky and fiery accompaniment. 

Instructions

For the Soup

1. Add the olive oil to a deep sided pan over a medium heat.
2. When it comes to temperature, add the onions, garlic and a pinch of salt.
3. Cook the onions for three minutes and then add the fennel and carrots.
4. Cook for another three minutes and add the chopped tomatoes.
5. Add a crack of black pepper and cook until the chopped tomatoes begin to break down and release their juices.
6. Sprinkle in the saffron stems and their water and combine well.
7. Add the white wine and the stock and stir well.
8. Simmer over a gentle heat for 15-20 Minutes or until the smell of raw wine disappears.
9. Strain the broth through a sieve lined with cheesecloth. Discard the debris of the vegetables etc.
10. Return the broth to a clean pan and bring to a gentle simmer.
11. Add the clams and cook for four minutes.
12. Add the strips of the white fish and cook for two minutes.
13. Add the shrimp and cook until they turn pink.
14. Remove from the heat and sprinkle in most of the parsley.
15. Check for seasoning.
16. Place two clams, two shrimp and two strips of fish in a soup bowl.
17. Ladle the broth gently around the seafood, sprinkle with the remaining parsley and drizzle with a tiny bit of good olive oil.
18. Top with a rouille crouton (see below) 

For the Rouille Croutons

1. Slice the baguette.
2. Toss each slice in a little olive oil and lay on a baking sheet.
3. Toast in a low oven until crunchy.
4. The rouille can be made in a mortar and pestle or a food processor. I like the rougher texture of the former, but if you want to make it more like a mayonnaise, then a processor is the best bet.
5. Add the saffron stems to the hot water and allow them to sit for five minutes.
6. Blend the garlic to a paste.
7. Add the saffron water to the breadcrumbs and then add them to the garlic.
8. Add the cayenne pepper, the black pepper and the salt.
9. Blend the mixture and gradually add in the olive oil in a slow stream until it forms a thick paste.
10. Spread a little on the top of each crouton and place on top of the seafood in the soup bowl.