![Sticky orange, Kashmiri chilli and vodka cake]()
Preheat oven to 170°C and butter a 20cm springform cake pan.
Beat the butter and caster sugar in a bowl until pale and fluffy. Finely grate the zest of 1 orange, add to sweetened butter, and then gradually beat in egg yolks, followed by 2 tbsp flour and the dessert wine.
Lightly fold in half the ground almonds, followed by half the remaining flour. Fold in the remaining ground almonds, then the last half of the flour.
Whisk egg whites in a clean, dry bowl until they form firm peaks. Quickly and gently fold them into the cake mix in 2 batches, then spoon the mixture into the cake pan and place in the centre of the oven.
Bake for 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Stand in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn out on a wire rack over a deep-rimmed plate.
Meanwhile, using a potato peeler, finely pare the zest of the lemon and the remaining half orange. Put the zest, sugar, chillies and 100ml water into a small saucepan. Place over a low heat to dissolve the sugar, then simmer gently for 5 minutes. Cover, remove from the heat and leave to infuse. Squeeze juice from 1½ oranges and the lemon, and set aside.
As soon as the cake is turned out of its pan, return the syrup to the heat and bring to the boil. Add the fruit juices and vodka, and strain into a jug, reserving chillies.
While cake is warm, prick it all over with a fork, then drip the syrup into the cake until it is completely covered. Decorate with the candied zest and reserved chillies.
* Dried Kashmiri chillies are from Indian food shops and specialty spice shops. Substitute dried red chillies.
As seen in Feast magazine, Issue 10, pg97.
Photography by David Loftus.
Dan dan noodles were originally sold by street vendors who carried their ingredients and stoves in baskets hanging from a dan (bamboo shoulder pole). They would sell a portion of noodles and ladle over each ingredient in the sauce separately, which would then be mixed by the customer. This dish is quite spicy as it is, but if you like it hot, drizzle over extra chilli oil to serve.
Bang bang chicken was traditionally served by street vendors in the Hanyang district who sold cold, cooked chicken drizzled with a spicy sauce as a snack. It was named ‘bang bang’ chicken because of the batons that were used to hammer the cleaver blades that loosened the chicken fibres for shredding.
This Sichuan classic doesn’t actually contain fish. Instead, the origins of the dish’s name derives from the sweet, sour and spicy sauce, which is prepared using the traditional flavourings for Sichuan fish dishes.
This dish is one of the better-known dishes from the Sichuan province. It is traditionally very spicy, but our version is medium in heat.
Using a vegetable peeler, peel cucumbers into ribbons, turning cucumbers when you reach the seeds. Discard seeds.
“This dish is from Zaragoza, my home from age 12 to 25,” says Pablo. At the restaurant, Pablo cooks the potatoes in a separate baking dish, but for convenience, we’ve used one dish to bake everything together.
“One of the greatest things about Spain is that even if you don’t live by the sea, you’re still able to get fish and shellfish of great quality from many of the fishmongers at the markets,” says Pablo. “Hake is the fish of choice, but something like mulloway would also work.”
“This is a dish engraved in my memory as one of the best mussels I have eaten in my life,” says Pablo. “It was in a place called Port de la Selva in the province of Girona during a holiday with my parents. The fact that the mussels were wild ones from the rocky coastline of the Costa Brava and not rope-cultivated, made them extraordinary. It really is a simple dish that is perfect as a light first course with some Spanish cider.”
To work, the milk must have a very high fat content (at least 3.6g per 100ml) – preferably direct from a farm.
Melt the butter in a large pan and add the carrots, garlic, celery, onions and bay leaf. Cook gently on a medium heat until the onions are soft and golden.
You will need a very large saucepan for this very large stew.
Heat the oil in a heavy-based pan over a medium heat. Sprinkle salt and pepper over the chicken pieces, then put them into the hot pan and cook for 8 minutes, turning them until they are nicely browned on all sides. Remove the pan from the heat and transfer chicken to a bowl, leaving the oil in the pan.
Put the prawns into a bowl and season with a pinch of salt. Stir in half the turmeric, then set aside for 15 minutes to marinate.
Preheat oven to 170°C and butter a 20cm springform cake pan.
Place the juice of 1 lemon in a large bowl of cold water. Working with one artichoke at a time, place artichokes on their side and trim the top (about 5cm up from the base), so that the hollow centre is exposed. Using a knife, remove the stalk. Remove and discard the tough end of the stalk, then finely chop the remainder and reserve. Remove and discard tough outer leaves of artichoke, then remove and discard choke. Rub exposed heart with the remaining lemon juice. Place in the bowl of acidulated water to prevent browning, while preparing remaining artichokes.
Place flour and ½ tsp salt in a bowl and make a well in the centre. Pour in beaten eggs and milk, and whisk until smooth. Add 250ml water and whisk until smooth; the batter should be thin enough to just coat your finger; add more water if necessary. Cover with plastic wrap and stand for 30 minutes.
Using a mortar and pestle, grind the juniper berries, peppercorns, thyme and 1 tsp sea salt to a fine powder, then rub into venison. Shape each backstrap into a log, secure with kitchen string and refrigerate for 1 hour. Remove 30 minutes before cooking.
Start this recipe a day ahead.
Beef roulades (zrazy) are a popular Polish dish dating back to the 14th century. It was a favourite dish among the Polish nobility. There are as many varieties of zrazy as there are fillings, all depending on the chef's imagination and ingredients.
Every country claims crème caramel as its own, but for me, there is only one original Dubrova ka rožada and it’s made in Dubrovnik. I still recall my aunt Mare’s rožada. Somehow, every time we visited, she had a slice of this delicious dessert waiting for me. Now, every time I make it, I remember teta Mare and her perfect rožada. You will need 8 dariole moulds for this recipe.