Staple foods: 3. Milk

An appreciation of milk in infographics

Words: LAURA ROWE Illustrations: VICKI TURNER

MORE THAN SIX BILLION of us around the world enjoy milk, whether in its purest form – drunk by the glass or softening our cereal – or transformed into cream, butter, cheese or yoghurt. Dairy is big business.

The majority of the milk we drink is derived from cattle but other animals can be successfully milked, too – from the more familiar sheep and goat to (perhaps surprisingly) horses and even camels. And while the nutritional content of each varies, fresh milk is undeniably a worthwhile addition to our diet. Cow’s milk, in particular, is a great source of protein, calcium and a whole host of vitamins. 

Extracted from Taste: The Infographic Book of Food by Laura Rowe, illustrated by Vicki Turner (Aurum Press)

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Staple foods: 2. Sugar

Quite literally the icing on the cake, sugar, in all its varied forms, is a tempting treat

Words: LAURA ROWE Illustrations: VICKI TURNER

For something with little flavour and no vitamins, minerals or proteins, it’s a wonder that sugar plays such an important part in our daily diets. But thanks to its effectiveness as a sweetener, flavour enhancer and energy source, and its relative cheapness, it’s hard to imagine living without it. Spooned into coffee, sprinkled on fruit or whipped into fluffy meringues, there are so many ways we consume it.

While historically we turned to honey, our main source of sugar now comes from sugar cane, which was originally grown in the East before commercial agriculture began in the tropics, fuelling a burgeoning slave trade.

Sugar cane and sugar beet compete as our top sources of sugar. Cane can be served at various stages of refinement, while beet can only produce refined white sugar.

The cane is filled with a sweet pulp – the liquid is extracted and refined in stages, finally producing white sugar. Sugar beet, a relative of beetroot, which can be grown in more temperate climates, is our second biggest source of the stuff.

Wherever its origins, though, highly refined sugar has become the new bad boy of the food world, with nutritionists in their masses calling for avoidance and substitution. It’s in part thanks to the rise in consumption of processed foods and fizzy soft drinks, packed with hidden sugars (such as corn syrup) and artificial sweeteners, that many are now turning to alternatives. But if you can’t resist a spoonful or two of the white stuff (and who of us can?), then make sure you look out for the Fairtrade symbol to ensure your sugar has been grown and harvested in an ethical way.

Extracted from Taste: The Infographic Book of Food by Laura Rowe, illustrated by Vicki Turner (Aurum Press)

 

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From the April issue

Taste infographics

Recipe: Rhubarb and rosewater tart

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Recipe: Rhubarb and rosewater tart with cardamom and honey cream

A delicious frangipane that balances sweet and sharp flavours, this rhubarb and rosewater tart is the triumphant finale to our supper club menu on page 24 of April’s The Simple Things. 

Rhubarb and rosewater tart with cardamom and honey cream

Serves 10
For the pastry
225g plain flour
100g chilled, salted butter, cubed
50g caster sugar
1 large egg
1⁄4 tsp rosewater
2 tbsp chilled water

For the filling
175g butter
175g caster sugar
4 large eggs
175g ground almonds
1 tsp almond extract
1⁄4 tsp rosewater
110g rhubarb cut into 2-inch pieces
2 tbsp slivered almonds

1 To make the pastry, put the flour and butter into a food processor and pulse until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add the sugar and whizz again, then add the egg, rosewater and water and pulse until the mixture starts to come together a little. Tip it into a large bowl and bring together with your hands, kneading briefly until it is a soft ball. Slightly flatten it with one hand, wrap in cling film, and chill for 30 minutes.
2 Roll the pastry out on a floured surface and use it to carefully line a 28cm loose-bottomed flan tin, pushing it gently into all of the corners but leaving the extra hanging over the edge. Prick the base all over using a fork and then chill again for ten minutes.
3 Preheat oven to 190C/Fan 170/375F and place a flat baking tray on the oven’s middle shelf. Take a large piece of kitchen foil, scrunch it up to soften it, then spread it out and use it to cover the pastry. Tip in baking beads to cover the surface well (use rice if you don’t have beads), then place this carefully onto the heated tray and cook for 15 minutes. Remove foil and beads and bake for a further 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and carefully trim off the excess pastry, using a serrated knife drawn in small movements horizontally across the edges.
4 Make the filling by blending the butter and sugar in a food processor or with a handheld electric whisk (or even a wooden spoon and elbow grease) until fluffy. Add the eggs, ground almonds, almond extract and rosewater and blend again. Tip into the pastry base and scatter over the rhubarb pieces and the almonds. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until the filling is set. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.

This fragrant rhubarb and rosewater tart combines with a punchy cream and sweet syrup to make a memorable finale

Rhubarb syrup
250g rhubarb
300ml water
sugar

1 Chop the rhubarb into 2-inch pieces and put it into a small saucepan with the water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes or until the colour has leached out of the rhubarb, staining the water pink.
2 Strain the liquid into a measuring jug and discard the fruit pieces. Note the level of the liquid and then pour it back into the (washed) saucepan, and wash and dry the measuring jug before measuring out double the volume of sugar.
3 Tip this into the rhubarb liquid and heat slowly, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is dissolved. Then simmer gently for about 10 minutes until the syrup starts to thicken. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

Honey and cardamom cream
6 cardamom pods
300ml crème fraîche
1 tbsp runny honey

With a pestle and mortar, lightly bash at the cardamom pods to release the seeds, fish out the seed cases, and grind the seeds to a fine powder. Put the crème fraîche, honey and cardamom into a bowl and mix well.

Come to The Simple Things Supper Club!

Want to see how it’s done, or just enjoy an evening out with other readers and The Simple Things team? We are co-hosting events in Dorset, Brighton, London and Manchester in May #supperclubsaturday, thanks to support from Neptune. Book now.
British brand, Neptune, is renowned for its hand-crafted furniture, gorgeous textiles and home accessories. They curate the finest designs for every room of the home, indoors and out. 

Want to run your own supper club?

Download our free supper club stationery. There are three designs to choose from, including menus, invitations, place cards and a donations envelope.

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From the April issue

Rhubarb recipes

Gathering menus

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Cake recipe: Cardamom banana bread

A twist on a baking classic, this moist and moreish banana cake contains cardamom, which enhances the fruit’s subtle sweetness

CARDAMOM BANANA CAKE
Serves 8

170g softened butter, plus extra for greasing
5 cardamom pods
4 ripe bananas, mashed
170g caster sugar
3 eggs
115g chopped walnuts
350g plain flour
1⁄4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
23⁄4 tsp baking powder
1⁄2 tsp salt
icing sugar to serve (optional)

1 Preheat the oven to 180C/Fan 160/350F and grease a nonstick 25cm square cake tin.
2 Crush the cardamom pods, removing the seeds and discarding the pods. Crush the seeds to release their flavour, add them to the mashed bananas, and set aside.
3 Combine the butter and sugar in a large bowl and beat with an electric handheld mixer until pale and creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and continue to beat.
4 Next, add the chopped walnuts and mashed banana and fold in. Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder and salt over the mixture and gently fold all the ingredients together.
5 Spoon the batter into the buttered cake tin and use the back of a spoon to smooth the surface evenly. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes then turn out and let cool completely on a wire rack. Dust with icing sugar.

Recipe from The Middle Eastern Vegetarian Cookbook by Salma Hage (Phaidon). Photography by Liz and Max Haarala Hamilton

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From the April issue

Cake recipes

Middle Eastern recipes

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Recipe: Muhammara and an easy flatbread recipe

Want to be wiser? Eating a handful of walnuts a day can improve your memory, concentration and cognitive function, according to a recent study. Swap hummus or baba ganoush for this walnut pepper dip and, as well as treating your tastebuds, you’ll be recharging your brainpower.
Turn to page 128 of April's The Simple Things for a Muhammara recipe.

Want to make your own flatbread? We're trying Nigel Slater's recipe, as it reignited his passion for pita. Try it here.

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From the April issue

Middle Eastern recipes

Bread recipes

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Welcome to The Simple Things Supper Club!

A cross between a dinner party and a restaurant, holding your own supper club is a thoroughly modern way to gather food-loving friends and strangers round your own kitchen table for a home-cooked meal. So spread the word, plan a menu and rearrange the furniture – guests are coming for dinner...

Come to The Simple Things Supper Club!

Want to see how it’s done? Or just enjoy an evening out with other readers and The Simple Things team? Click here to book a place and find out more.

Run your own supper club

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Each pack has a sheet of 4 invitations, 12 placecards, 2 menu cards and 2 cut-and-fold donation envelopes. You can print them on an A4 printer and we recommend printing them on 150gsm weight paper.

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Recipe: Almond, honey and cinnamon fig rolls

The tip for steaming the still-warm rolls in an airtight container after baking comes from pastry chef Stella Parks’ Brave Tart blog (bravetart.com), and it keeps them wonderfully soft

Almond, honey and cinnamon fig rolls

Makes about 24 rolls
For the pastry
125g butter, softened
75g light muscovado sugar
1 egg yolk
seeds of 1⁄2 vanilla pod
75g plain white flour, plus extra for dusting
75g wholemeal flour
50g ground almonds
pinch of ground cinnamon
pinch of salt

For the filling
220g soft dried figs, any hard stalks removed
1⁄2 small eating apple, skin on, grated
1 heaped tbsp honey
1 tsp finely grated orange zest
2 tsp orange juice
pinch of ground cinnamon pinch of salt

1 To make the pastry, cream together the butter and sugar in a large bowl, or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, until pale. Beat in the egg yolk. Add the vanilla, flours, ground almonds, cinnamon and salt and gently mix to form a soft ball of dough. Flatten into a disc, wrap in cling film and chill for 15 mins.

2 In a food processor, blitz the figs, apple, honey, orange zest and juice, cinnamon and salt to form a sticky paste.

3 Preheat the oven to 170C/Fan 150C/335F. Line two baking trays with baking parchment. Remove the chilled dough from the fridge, place between two pieces of cling film and roll out to a large rectangle about 3mm thick. The dough will be quite fragile and sticky.

4 Cut the dough lengthways into three long strips. Spoon or pipe a third of the fig mixture down the centre of one strip and use a palette knife to help you gently fold one side on top, followed by the other, to create a long, enclosed tube. Press the edges of the pastry together to seal, then repeat with the remaining two strips.

5 Use a sharp knife to cut each length of pastry into 5cm-wide rolls, then place each one, seam-side down, onto the prepared trays.

6 Bake for 20 mins or until lightly golden and slightly puffed. Then carefully transfer to a plastic container with a lid to cool completely. This steaming gives them their characteristic cake-like texture. The rolls will keep in an airtight container for 3–4 days.

Recipes from Homemade Memories by Kate Doran. Photography by Helen Cathcart (Orion Books) 

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From the March issue

Biscuit recipes

Cake recipes

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Recipe: Chicken Balmoral Pie

A pie is a great crowd pleaser and this won ‘Best chicken pie’ in the British Pie Awards 2015

400g puff pastry
75ml oil
25g butter
2 x 150g chicken fillets, boneless and skinless
50g finely chopped shallots
1 clove garlic, crushed
50g sliced white button mushrooms
25g smoked bacon, finely chopped
150ml white wine
25g plain flour for dusting
300ml fresh double cream
Chopped fresh parsley
100g thinly sliced haggis (optional)
1 medium egg
7-inch foil dish
Salt and white pepper

1 Preheat your oven to 180C/Fan 160/350F. Lightly dust the countertop with the flour and roll out the pastry to 3mm thick, cut to size, lay in a pie dish and rest in the fridge for 30 mins. Leave enough pastry spare for the lid and trimmings.
2 Warm oil in a frying pan, then add butter. Put the chicken fillets into pan and cook 8 mins on each side, then lay on a tray to cool.
3 Add chopped onion and garlic for approx 4 mins before adding the mushrooms and smoked bacon. Cook for a further 4 mins. 
4 Add the white wine and reduce by half, then add double cream and reduce until the sauce thickens for 5 mins. Stir in parsley then leave to cool.
5 When chicken and sauce are cool, remove pastry from
fridge and place 2 tbsp of sauce on the base of pastry. Slice the chicken fillets and arrange slices of chicken on base of pie.
6 Add 2 more tbsp of sauce and sprinkle over a small handful of chopped parsley, then arrange haggis, if using, on top.
7 Egg-wash the bottom of the pastry lid and place on top of the pie to seal it in place. Use the trimmings to decorate the top.
8 Egg-wash the pie and leave in fridge to rest for 15 mins. Make three small holes on top to let steam escape. Bake for 35-40 mins until golden brown.

Pie made by Boghall Butchers in Scotland. The British Pie Awards takes place today, 9 March 2015 in British Pie Week (7-13 March). britishpieawards.co.uk

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From the March issue

Fish pie recipe

Chicken recipes

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Recipe: Lemon, hazelnut and rhubarb cake

This crowd-pleaser of a cake is delicious served with cream for dessert and (if there’s any left!) with an afternoon cuppa the next day

Lemon, hazelnut and rhubarb cake

Serves 8–10

115g hazelnuts
225g white spelt flour
2 tsp baking powder
260g unsalted butter, really soft
4 large free-range eggs
130g honey (or golden caster sugar) 
130g maple syrup
finely grated zest of 1 large unwaxed lemon

For the filling and topping
250g caster sugar
1 bunch of pink rhubarb (approx 400g)
350ml double cream
2-3 tbsp honey
fresh flowers to decorate (optional)

1 Preheat the oven to 180C/Fan 160C/350F. Grease and flour two 20cm loose-bottomed sandwich tins.

2 Start by toasting the hazelnuts in the oven for 5-7 minutes; check after 5 minutes as they can burn easily. Once they are starting to change colour and release their lovely nutty aroma, remove them from the oven and leave to cool for a minute or two before rubbing off most of the skins. Whizz the nuts in a food processor into a fine meal.

3 To make the cake, sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl and beat in all the other ingredients using an electric hand mixer. Be careful not to over mix – you want a light cake. Scrape the mixture into your tins and level the tops with the back of a spoon or a palette knife. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the cakes are golden and risen and a skewer inserted into the centres comes out clean. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 5 minutes before carefully taking them out of their tins and placing on a cooling rack to cool completely. If making ahead of time, the sponges can be double-wrapped in foil and frozen. Be sure to defrost thoroughly before filling.

4 To make the rhubarb topping, mix the caster sugar with 250ml of water in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Meanwhile, cut the rhubarb into batons of approx 4cm. Add the batons to the boiling sugar syrup, then immediately remove the pan from the heat. Leave the rhubarb batons in the syrup as it cools. Use a slotted spoon to remove the batons from the syrup. Reserve approx half for the top of the cake and purée the remainder with a hand-held blender, adding a splash of water to loosen. Chill the poached and puréed rhubarb until you’re ready to assemble the cake. If making ahead of time, the rhubarb can sit covered in the fridge for 24 hours.

5 When you are ready to fill and assemble your cake, prepare the honey cream filling by lightly whipping the cream until very soft peaks form. Drizzle in the honey and whisk again until incorporated.

6 If your cakes are very peaked, you may wish to trim the tops for a nice flat surface to decorate. Carefully place one cake on your cake plate, spoon over two thirds of the honey cream, marbling through 1-2 tbsp of the rhubarb purée, and place the second cake on top. Spread the remaining third of honey cream on the top of the second cake, then top with the poached rhubarb and a few seasonal flowers, if you wish.

For the full Easter Gathering menu and projects - Fish pie with crunchy salmon and leek topping, Lemon, hazelnut and rhubarb cake, Felt bunny ears, Dip-dyed place-names - turn to page 24 of the March issue of The Simple Things.

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From the March issue

Gathering recipes

Cake recipes

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Recipe: Eggs en cocotte with sorrel

Eggs are a symbol of new life and, eaten with handfuls of bright green sorrel, bring a little colour and sustenance to early spring days

Sharp and lemony sorrel is plentiful now, and it is wonderful in egg dishes. Try it in Lia Leendertz's Eggs en cocotte recipe.

Serves 2
butter, for greasing
75g crème fraîche
4 sorrel leaves, washed and finely sliced across
2 large eggs
salt and pepper

1 Preheat the oven to 180C/Fan 160/350F.
2 Lightly butter four ramekins, then put a spoonful of crème fraîche in the bottom of each, with a pinch of salt and pepper and the sorrel, making a ‘nest’ to hold the egg.
3 Crack an egg into each ramekin, then place another spoonful of crème fraîche in, and add another sprinkling of salt and pepper.
4 Place the ramekins into a deep baking dish and pour in enough boiling water to come about half way up their sides. Bake for about 15 mins. 
5 Serve with toasted soldiers for dipping.

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From the March issue

Seed to Stove recipes

More egg posts

Plenty more delicious recipes in the March issue of The Simple Things, out now - buy, download or subscribe

Staple foods: 1. Eggs

Baked, boiled, poached, fried or scrambled, this healthy favourite is an everyday treasure, as sure as eggs is eggs

Words: LAURA ROWE 

The humble hen’s egg is one of the most readily available, cheap and endlessly versatile food stuffs around, but did you know that it is also one of the most ancient? Us humans have been eating all things ovoid since the Neolithic period, chomping our way through varieties of fowl egg from chickens, geese, quail, pheasant, plovers and guinea fowl, to ostriches, emu, pelican, pigeon and gull (the latter is without a fishy taste, apparently, contrary to rumour).

It’s little wonder, really. The egg is nature’s perfectly packaged hand-held, bite- size snack. It’s packed with vitamins (A, B, D and E) minerals (iodine, phosphorous, selenium, zinc and iron) and it’s a ‘complete’ protein, meaning that it has all of the essential amino acids that our bodies need. Eggs are also a cook’s friend – delicious in sweet or savoury dishes, whole or separated, on their own or as a component ingredient to bind, set, leaven, thicken, enrich, emulsify, glaze or clarify.

They can be boiled (older eggs are best here, as they are easier to peel), scrambled with butter (slow and low), poached (whisk the water to create a vortex before you crack in a fresh egg) or fried (butter and oil are good but bacon fat is better). They can also be baked (see page 43), or ‘shirred’, as the Americans call it, with cream and topped with cheese and breadcrumbs.

Whatever you do to them, they are best approached at room temperature, particularly in baking. You can check just how fresh they are, too, by placing them carefully in a glass of water. If they sink to the bottom they are good to go, while a floater can be discarded, that is unless you’re in China. Thousand-year-eggs are a delicacy here. Preserved in a combination of salt, lime and ashes, the egg is left for 45 to 100 days, whereupon the white turns yellow, firm and raw, presumably eaten with noses firmly pinched thanks to the strong smell of ammonia.

That’s far from the most unusual way to eat eggs, though. Head to South East Asia, specifically the Philippines or Vietnam, and you might stumble across a balut – a boiled, fertilised 17-20 day-old duck egg.

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From the March issue

Taste infographics

Recipe: Goose egg lemon curd

Plenty more delicious recipes in the March issue of The Simple Things, out now - buy, download or subscribe

Extract from Taste: The Infographic Book of Food by Laura Rowe, illustrations by Vicki Turner by Aurum Press, £20. Buy your copy here.

Recipe: Allium broth

This delicious broth has many uses. Use it instead of water for cooking pulses and beans and it brings them to life immediately. Add some diced or shredded green vegetables and simmer until they soften for a nutrient-rich soup or simply stir in some green pesto and lemon juice and pour into a mug for a light lunch on the go.

Allium broth

Makes 1.2 litres
2 large white onions, skins on, sliced
2 leeks, green ends included, sliced
1 bunch spring onions, sliced vertically
4-6 garlic cloves, rolled and smashed, skins on
4 small shallots, skin on, sliced into rounds
2.25 litres water
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
4 cloves
2 bay leaves
1 tsp black peppercorns

1 Combine all the ingredients in a large pan. Cover with a lid and bring to the boil.
2 Lower the heat to a simmer, and continue cooking for 2 hours until all the allium vegetables have softened, become totally transparent and are almost reduced to a pulp.
3 Strain the broth through a sieve, pushing through the finer vegetables with a wooden spoon. Set aside to cool.
4 Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to five days, or freeze for up to three months.

Recipe from Broth by Vicki Edgson and Heather Thomas. Photography by Lisa Linder (Jacqui Small Publishing).

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From the February issue

Soup recipes

Supper on the sofa

February's The Simple Things is out now - buy, download or subscribe. 

Recipe: Beetroot and caraway seed loaf cake

Based on a traditional seed cake, this is quick to make and is a sweet way to use up leftover roots*, especially beetroot, which gives it a cheery colour

BEETROOT AND CARAWAY SEED LOAF CAKE

100g cooked beetroot**
2–4 tbsp milk
50g ground almonds
11⁄2 tsp caraway seeds
150g butter, softened, plus extra to grease the tin
150g caster sugar
3 large eggs, lightly beaten 150g self raising flour, sifted
2 tbsp pearl or demerara sugar, to finish

1 Preheat the oven to 160C/Fan 140C/310F. Lightly grease a 1.5-litre loaf tin and line with baking parchment, then butter the parchment.
2 In a bowl, mash the beetroot with some of the milk until smooth. You can do this in a food processor or with a stick blender
if you like. Mix in the ground almonds and caraway seeds.
3 Using a hand-held electric whisk or mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs a little at a time, beating well after each addition.
4 Gently fold in the flour, followed by the beetroot mixture, until just combined.
5 Spoon the mixture into the prepared loaf tin and gently smooth the surface. Sprinkle the pearl or demerara sugar over the top and bake for 55–60 mins, until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
6 Leave in the tin for 10 mins, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. This cake keeps well; if anything, it’s better after a couple of days stored in an airtight tin.

Recipe from Love Your Leftovers by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. Photography by Simon Wheeler (Bloomsbury).

* You can replace the beetroot with roast carrots or parsnips. You can use mashed or puréed veg too.
** These can be roasted (or boiled) with salt and pepper, even with some bay and/or thyme, but don’t use any roasted with garlic.

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From the February issue

Cake in the house recipes

Winter dauphinoise recipe

February's The Simple Things is out now - buy, download or subscribe.

Supper on the sofa with The Stuff of Life

Home Truths, our monthly magazine series on what really goes on inside a home, discusses ‘Suppers on the Sofa’ in our January issue. As the long month draws to an end we can think of nothing better than curling up on the sofa, a tray on our lap and our favourite box set at the ready.  

Our shopkeeper, Louise Gorrod, has selected some must-have products from The Stuff of Life for those wishing to treat themselves to an evening supper away from the dining table.

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Images from top, left to right: Navy & White Tray by Home Address, £15.00 | Dipped Bowl by Home Address, £15.00 | Gold Cutlery by Home Address, £30.00 | Dot Linen Napkin by The Linen Works, £13.50 | Solid Birch Stool by Stuff of Dreams, £149.00 | Deco Sofa by Archer + Co, £2,300.00 | Sherbert Blue Blanket by Mourne Textiles, £96.00 | Groove Lamp by Stuff of Dreams, £155.00 | Comet Moth Rectangular Cushion by Kith & Kin, £56.00.

Top image by ciaodesserts

Chinese New Year recipe: Braised belly pork

At this time of year the Chinese choose dishes that are symbolic of prosperity, longevity and a fresh start. So tuck in!

What February needs is something to liven things up, to add a splash of colour and a bit of energy to the dog-end of winter. Lucky then that we can adopt the vibrant annual celebration of Chinese New Year* (In 2017 it falls on 28 January and marks the start of the Year of the Rooster). 

Jenny Linford always takes time to celebrate it: “I spent part of my childhood living in Singapore and my memories from that time revolve around food: from eating satay, freshly cooked over charcoal, to family outings with my cousins to dine on tasty Hainanese chicken rice.
Chinese New Year is huge in Singapore. As a child, I loved collecting the ‘ang pow’ (envelopes of money) given to me by family and friends, as is traditional, and feeling very rich! Though I live in London, I still mark the day by cooking a Chinese-inspired meal for family and friends. Bringing together loved ones to feast and talk is always meaningful – and convivial.”

Braised belly pork

A homely stew with a kick is always a welcome sight. Fluffy rice will mop up the juices nicely

Serves 6
1kg belly pork, skin on, boned, cut into 2.5cm chunks
1 tbsp oil
1 onion, peeled and chopped
2 leeks, trimmed and chopped
2.5cm piece of root ginger, peeled and sliced
2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
2 star anise
1 tsp Chinese five-spice powder
3 tbsp Chinese rice wine or Amontillado sherry
1 tbsp tomato purée
600ml chicken stock, preferably fresh
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
salt, to taste
chopped green spring onion, to garnish

1 Heat a large, heavy frying pan. Put in the belly pork, skin side down, and cook over a medium heat for 5-10 mins until the skin crisps and browns, then turn over and fry briefly until the flesh whitens.
2 Heat the oil in a large casserole dish. Fry the onion, leeks, ginger and garlic, stirring to prevent browning, until softened.
3 Add the fried pork belly and star anise to the casserole dish and sprinkle over the five-spice powder, mixing well. Add the rice wine and fry, stirring for 2–3 mins.
4 Mix in the tomato purée and add the stock, soy sauce and sugar. Bring to the boil, cover, reduce the heat and simmer for 30 mins. Season to taste with salt.
5 Uncover and simmer for 30 mins to reduce the liquid, stirring now and then. Cover, cool and chill until required, then heat through thoroughly. Garnish with chopped green spring onion and serve.

This recipe is taken from issue 44 of The Simple Things (February 2016). Back issues are available from our shop, but as this one has sold out you can find a PDF of the full menu here. 

More Gathering posts:

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Food from Afar: Som Tam

‘Salad’. It’s a wimpy word for such a vivacious dish. But that is what this Thai street- food staple usually becomes in translation – green papaya salad. Its native name is far more appropriate to a dish that assaults the lips and tongue with its combo of sweet-sour zing and fiery heat: ‘som’ and ‘tam’ could be the percussive thwacks of a comic-book hero, punching you in the mouth.

The true translation of Som Tam isn’t a million miles away: tam means ‘to pound’ (while som is ‘sour’). Traditionally it is made using a pestle and mortar, the green (unripe) papaya – which is mildly savoury and slightly crunchy – grated or hand-sliced into matchsticks* before being gently crushed with garlic, bird’s-eye chillies, toasted peanuts, dried shrimps, cherry tomatoes and green beans. It’s then dressed with lime juice, fish sauce, tamarind water and palm sugar – preferably enough to leave a slurpable puddle at the bottom of the dish to be soaked up by the sticky rice that’s usually served in a bowl alongside it.

Wouldn’t we all love to be scoffing this at a beach café right now? It’s a gap year in a bowl. And if you’re inspired to shine some south-east Asian sun over your own midwinter table, you don’t need to scour the exotic produce aisles for a green papaya. Som Tam dressing is so pungent that it works with any crunchy salad or edible raw root: kohlrabi, cabbage, peeled and deseeded cucumber, courgette, carrot, celariac, beetroot – even that unloved swede that’s loitering in your veg box. As a sinus- busting (and soul-enriching) winter cold remedy, it beats anything you could get out of a lemon-flavoured sachet.

TUCK IN: Som Tam is one of the signature dishes at Sukhothai, which has four branches in Leeds and Harrogate (sukhothai.co.uk).

* It’s what your spiralizer has been waiting for

Inspired to make your own? Head to our Food from afar Pinterest board for recipe ideas:


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From the January issue

Food from afar

How to combat a common cold

January's The Simple Things is out now - buy, download or subscribe.

Nest: Winter cabin style and a Swiss fondue recipe

You don't have to have a cosy snow-topped cabin to sample Alpine comfort food or enjoy candlelit rustic style. 

January's The Simple Things contains two features built for winter dreaming. Turn to page 24 for six winter cabin cooking recipes, or page 96 for a look around the cabin of our winter dreams, deep in the snow of a Norwegian mountainside - order your copy now.

Meanwhile, here's a classic recipe for traditional cheese fondue.

Traditional cheese fondue

What could be more comforting – or delicious – than a melange of warm, oozing Alpine cheeses? Traditionally they are melted with white wine and grappa or kirsch; this version, with beer, is a little more subtle. A true Swiss fondue is a mixture of Gruyère and Vacherin Fribourgeois – a semi-hard cheese with a lovely nutty flavour. A fondue pot* gives the best results, as it sits above a flame that keeps the cheese melted and gently bubbling. 

Serves 6–8
1 fat garlic clove, halved
2 tsp cornflour
400ml hoppy lager beer
800g grated mixture of Swiss or French Alpine cheeses, such as Gruyère or Comté, Vacherin Fribourgeois, good-quality Emmenthal and Beaufort (choose two or three)
1–2 tsp whisky, to taste
1 large loaf of slightly stale country white bread, cut into cubes
gherkins, pickled silverskin onions and charcuterie, to serve

1. Rub the garlic all over the inside of a fondue pot. Mix the cornflour with a little of the beer to make a smooth paste, then add this and the rest of the beer to the pot.
2. Put over a low heat, add the cheese and stir until it is melted and steaming but not boiling. If it is too thick you can add a little more beer. Add the whisky and then transfer to the fondue stand and light the burner.
3. Dip the slightly stale bread into the melting cheese and serve with lots of pickles and charcuterie.

*If you don’t have one, these are easy to pick up second-hand

Recipe taken from Winter Cabin Cooking by Lizzie Kamenetzky. Photography by Nassima Rothacker. Published by Ryland Peters & Small.
Readers of The Simple Things can buy Winter Cabin Cooking for the special price of £13.99 including postage and packaging (RRP £19.99) by calling 01256 302 699 and quoting the reference GLR EB6.

Want to set the scene? Eva Gill's snowy hillside home may be a world away from your own abode, but touches of rustic cabin chic are well within reach. Here are Eva's stylish tips for cabin fever:

Don't stint on candles

Because there is no electricity in the cabin, Eva keeps the lighting moody and atmospheric with plenty of candles, tea lights and oil lamps.

Smother furniture with sheepskin

Nothing is as cosy as sinking into fleecy warmth as the snow falls outside.

Fall in love with wood

There's no need to decorate a timber building when the colours and texture of wood are so lovely. Eva also chooses wooden kitchen accessories, mugs - even toothbrushes.

Keep fabrics neutral

Bright colours and patterns don't suit a cabin. Eva prefers natural fibres - linen, cotton - and simple stripes or subdued tartans.

Get inspired by beautiful wintry cabins on our Nest Pinterest board or head over to The Simple Things shop for a browse of our simple and stylish picks.

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From the January issue

Nest posts

Winter recipes

January's The Simple Things is out now - buy, download or subscribe.

Recipe: Soda ale bread

Still ploughing through the remains of your new-year bash? This loaf neatly absorbs those half-bottles of beer or cider you find hanging around after a party. The brew gives the bread a distinctive, deliciously yeasty character, great with soup or cheese

butter or oil, for greasing
350g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
250g wholemeal flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp light brown sugar or honey
1 tsp salt
dash of rapeseed or olive oil
300ml buttermilk or thin yogurt
200ml beer or cider

1 Preheat the oven to 220C/Fan 200/425F. Lightly grease a baking sheet and dust with a little flour.
2 In a large mixing bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients. Make a well in the middle and quickly stir in the oil, buttermilk or yoghurt and beer or cider with a knife, working just enough to bring the dough together into a rough ball. The quicker you work, the better the texture will be. If it seems dry, add a dash more beer or water – the dough should feel quite soft but not be too sticky.
3 With floured hands, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead it very briefly – just enough to bring it together into a rough round, about 7cm high.
4 Transfer to a baking sheet, sprinkle generously with flour and use a sharp knife to cut a deep cross in the middle of the loaf.
5 Bake for 15 mins, then lower the oven setting to 200C/Fan 180/400F and bake the loaf for a further 20–25 mins, until it sounds hollow when tapped on the base. It’s best eaten warm, with plenty of butter, but it’s also good toasted the next day.

Recipe from Love Your Leftovers by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, photography by Simon Wheeler (Bloomsbury Publishing)
 

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From the January issue

Wisdom: Allegra McEvedy

Bread recipes

January's The Simple Things is out now - buy, download or subscribe.

Recipe: Christmas Breakfast

Easier and lighter than a full English, these cute bacon and egg toasts look really impressive and don’t take much effort. A good one for hungover guests

Christmas Breakfast

3 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
6 medium slices white or brown bread
6 rashers smoked streaky bacon
4 spring onions, thinly sliced
6 eggs
salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 Portobello mushrooms, grilled, to serve
vine tomatoes, roasted, to serve

1 Preheat the oven to 190C/Fan 170/375F) and grease a muffin tin with the melted butter. 
2 Flatten the slices of bread by rolling over each one a few times with a rolling pin. Use a 10cm round biscuit cutter to cut a circle out of each slice of bread. If you don’t have one, you can use a pair of kitchen scissors to cut the circle instead. 
3 Cut one of the circles in half and push one half down into a mould in the muffin tin, with the curved edge at the top, so the edges of the bread stick up out of the mould. 
4 Then push the other half in the mould so that the two halves overlap slightly and completely line the mould. If you find you have some gaps, just use some of the bread you cut off to fill them in. Brush the bread with the remaining butter. 
5 In a heavy-based frying pan, fry the bacon on one side over a medium heat for four mins. 
6 Lay a piece of bacon, cooked side down, into each muffin cup. Sprinkle some spring onion over the bacon, then crack an egg into each muffin cup. 
7 Season and bake in the oven for 20 mins. 
8 Run a small knife around the bread, which will now be toasted, and pop out each muffin from the tin. 
9 Serve immediately with a large grilled mushroom and some roasted vine tomatoes to make a complete dish. Otherwise they’re great on their own for a little ‘elevenses’.

Recipe from Breakfast Morning, Noon & Night by Fern Green (Hardie Grant)

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From the December issue

Christmas posts

Breakfast recipes

December's The Simple Things is full of festive makes and bakes, wreaths of hawthorn and bay, and twinkly lights a-plenty. Buy, download or subscribe now.

Recipe: Edible baubles

Giving the odd couples on Strictly Come Dancing’s Christmas special a run for their money is this recipe’s unlikely pairing: fruit cakes and Polo mints. 

These mini mincemeat-laced sponges are marzipaned and iced to rival the classiest of tree decorations. But will they hang? The real question is whether anything this tasty will even make it onto the tree... 

Edible baubles

Makes 24

For the fairy cakes:

140g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp mixed spice
1/2 tsp salt
175g unsalted butter, soft, diced
175g muscavado sugar
3 eggs, lightly beaten
60g ground almonds
150g mincemeat

To ice and decorate: 

4 tbsp apricot jam
500g marzipan
Icing sugar, to dust
1 tbsp sherry or cooled, boiled water
750g white sugarpaste
Packet of Polo mints
60g bag white royal icing, no.1 nozzle
30-50g red sugarpaste
60g bag red royal icing, no.1 nozzle

You will need:

24 red paper cases
6.5cm round cutter
7cm round cutter
Selection of tiny cutters
Lengths of 5mm-wide ribbon

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/Fan 160C/ 350F. Line two fairy cake tins with paper cases. Sift first 5 ingredients into a bowl; add butter, sugar, eggs and nuts. Beat with an electric whisk. Fold in mincemeat. Divide batter between cases and bake for 15–18 mins, or until springy. Leave cakes tins for 2 mins, then cool on a rack. 
2. Warm the jam slightly, push it through a sieve, then brush it lightly over each cake. 
3. Roll marzipan out to 4–5mm thick on a worktop dusted with icing sugar. Using the smaller cutter, stamp out discs of marzipan to top each cake. Brush lightly with sherry or water. Use larger cutter to create white sugarpaste discs (the same size as the top of the cases) and smooth over the cake edges. Press a mint into each to make a ring, attaching with royal icing if needed. Leave overnight.
4. To decorate, roll out to 2–3mm thick on a board dusted with icing sugar. To make buttons, cut out tiny rounds, indent the edge with a smaller cutter and make two holes with a cocktail stick. Attach all the sugarpaste decorations with royal icing. Pipe details with the white and red royal icing. Thread the mints with ribbon.

Tip: Sugarpaste decorations can be made in advance and stored in a box (not in an airtight container or the fridge).

RECIPE AND IMAGE TAKEN FROM SEASONAL BAKING BY FIONA CAIRNS (WEIDENFELD & NICOLSON, £25). PHOTOGRAPHY DAN JONES

December's The Simple Things is on sale. Buy, download or subscribe now.