hazelnut chocolate pots with orange and rosemary

If I am presented with the dilemma of choosing between a sweet or savoury bite, I’ll select the savoury almost every time. And this includes popcorn – always salty, never sweet - not even a combination of the two (who’s with me?). 

I am almost completely lacking in the often referenced ‘sweet tooth’ – the sugar content in a small bowl of Crunchy Nut is usually more than adequate as a dessert for me (cereal for afters - try it). 

I simply cannot relate to drinking a can of Coca-Cola with limited edition tongue-fur, eating a bag of migraine manifesting Haribo, or snacking on the sugar block kid confectionery that is Dairy Milk clothed in its gaudy wrap – anything above my relatively low sugar threshold and I feel like my teeth are evaporating. 

However, contrary to what seems to be an anti-sugar disposition, I do actually like desserts. I even find that they quite often steal the show of a three course meal if done well. My idea of a good dessert is one that showcases the individual components and ingredients rather than concealing anything that could be half decent with a smothering of something sugar loaded.

I also really like chocolate. 

It’s important to be able to distinguish the difference between confectionery items such as Dairy Milk mentioned above (high in sugar, low on cocoa) and with real chocolate (high in cocoa, lower on sugar) – I’m referring to the latter. 

And so I present to you my humble offering of a small chocolate based dessert a little different from the norm. Chocolate, hazelnuts and orange are familiar friends, but to these I’ve added rosemary infused milk which I think brings a touch of cool and evergreen sophistication to the pots with its pine and floral notes. 

The only sweetness in this dish is from the milk chocolate (also known as plain chocolate) as there is no added sugar – when it comes to this ingredient get something that’s at least a third cocoa. Green and Blacks have a decent offering. 

If you’re even more extreme than I when it comes to the sweet stuff (hats off if so), then feel free to substitute with dark chocolate but be prepared for a bitter finish. Either way, your end result will be light little pots of goodness somewhere between a mousse and a chocolate pot.

This recipe was developed for the GoodFood Channel and can be found on their website here.

Afiyet olsun.

rosemary and garlic focaccia

This weekend has been most pleasant. Partly because of the sunshine, partly because I've been able to fully indulge in my hobbies. A combination of it being the weekend, spring (optimal planting time) and the sun donning its hat has meant an inevitable trip to my local nursery in Merton. I once again spent too much time and money on plants, but few things give me more satisfaction than putting something in the ground and watching it live and transform, attract wildlife, die back into the earth, and return next year. I can, and do, spend hours just observing my garden. There is always something going on, especially at this time of year. Watching fat furry bees heavy and drunk on pollen meandering from one petal platform to the next; pulsating peristaltic worms burrowing into the dark and cool depths of the borders; watching a male robin 'courtship feed' his mate from the sunflower seed feeder, getting her ready for imminent egg-laying. The list goes on. I don't have a large garden, but the life within it and the immense pleasure it gives me is deeply comforting.

So I got to do a lot of digging, lifting, planting, sitting, watching, listening in it today. The wonderful weather called for sustenance to match, and so in between admiring my anemones and pandering over my passionflower, I decided to rustle up a foccacia to have with dinner, thus allowing me to satisfy another slightly more obvious hobby of mine, cooking (and subsequently, eating). A focaccia is a flat oven baked Italian bread, wonderfully savoury and full with the flavour of good olive oil. It can be topped with a variety of typically Mediterranean toppings of your choice and is one of the easiest breads to make. It's also made from ingredients you're likely to already have in stock - a perfect impulse bake.

Rosemary and garlic focaccia

Makes one large focaccia, serves 8-10

500g strong bread flour, plus extra for dusting

1½ tsp salt

Pinch of caster sugar

Extra-virgin olive oil

2 x 7g sachets fast-action dried yeast

Olives (whatever colour you like)

Small handful fresh rosemary leaves

A bulb of garlic

Put the flour into a large bowl, tip the sugar and yeast on one side, and the salt on the opposite side. Make a well in the centre and pour in one tablespoon of the extra-virgin olive oil. Add 300ml of lukewarm water into the well and combine with your hand until it all comes together.

Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for around 10 minutes until it is smooth and elastic. Shape into a round and drag across the surface with your hands cupped around it to make the skin of the dough ball taught. Place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with cling film and leave in warm place until the dough has at least doubled in size, about 45 minutes.

Tip You can incorporate other ingredients into the dough when you knead it if you wish, such as chopped up sun dried tomatoes.

before first prove

doubled in size

Once the dough has risen, tip it out into an oiled large sandwich tin or a shallow baking tray (the former will give you a smaller and thicker focaccia, the latter will make it larger and thinner - I did the latter). Push the dough flat and right into the corners with your fingertips so it fills the space. Cover with cling film and leave in a warm place for its second prove, until it's doubled in size again.

Preheat your oven to 250°C/Gas Mark 10, or as high as it will go. When the bread looks puffed up and airy, use your thumb to poke deep holes across the whole surface, almost to the bottom. Fill these holes with olives and garlic cloves. Drizzle the top generously (but not swimmingly) with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt flakes. Pierce the dough all over with rosemary leaves. 

 

Tip Tilt the tray so the oil covers the whole surface. Also use the back of a teaspoon to ensure the oil has coated the rosemary too.

Bake for about 10 minutes, then turn the oven down to about 200°C/Gas Mark 6 and bake for a further 10 minutes until golden brown.

Focaccia is best eaten warm, but not hot; leave to cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes before serving, or leave to cool completely.

I also managed to fulfil a third hobby today - blog writing. All in, quite a productive and satisfying weekend.

Alfiyet olsun.