Poppy Cracker Sandwich with Pickled figs and Reblochon

Photo provided by Sadiq Food Photography Blog (Click here)

This is a great, little fancy snack to serve for afternoon tea: home-made poppy crackers sandwiched together with soft musky french cheese, cranberry sauce and pickled figs. This also makes ideal picnic food with a big glass of sauvignon blanc, however the weather conditions may not be ideal for this time of year, unless you're reading this from the southern hemisphere.

Crackers:
350g plain flour
200g salted butter
50g grated mature cheddar
2 tablespoon poppy seeds
1 tablespoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
1 egg
50ml cold water

Pickled figs:
12 dried figs
50ml red wine vinegar
1 clove garlic
2 bay leaves
100g sugar
1 tablespoon sea salt
500ml water

Cranberry Sauce:
200g fresh or frozen cranberries
100g sugar
50ml water

200g reblochon de savoie, at room temperature
30g wild rocket leaves

Method:
First make the cracker dough. Place a small pan over medium heat and add mustard and coriander seeds, move around the pan until lightly toasted and fragrant. Put seeds in a mortar and pestle, roughly ground into a powder. In a large bowl add the flour, cheddar, baking powder, salt, pepper and ground spices, and stir together. Cube butter, add to dry mixture and rub together until butter is incorporated into flour, add egg and water, knead into a rough dough. Wrap the cracker dough with a cling film and place in the fridge to rest for an hour.

Next pickle the figs by placing all ingredients into a pot and placing over high heat, bring to a boil and cook for 10 minutes until figs are tender. Remove from heat and transfer into container to cool.

For the cranberry sauce, place all ingredients in a small sauce pan and place over medium heat. Once simmering stir for 2-3 minutes to help break down the cranberries, then transfer into a food processor and blend until smooth. Place in a small container and leave to cool.

Once the cracker dough has rested roll out on a lightly floured surface until 5mm thick, using 10cm in diameter round cutter, cut out the crackers. Lay crackers on several baking trays lined with parchment paper, prick each one with a fork several times. You can press and roll the off cuts of dough to create more crackers if you wish. Place crackers in oven set at 180ºC for 12-14 minutes until golden and crisp. Leave the cracks to cool completely before using.

To make the cracker sandwiches, lay a few rocket leaves over the desired amount of crackers followed by a fig torn in half. Tear a knob of reblochon and place on top of the fig then garnish with a small teaspoon of cranberry sauce. Lastly sandwich together with another cracker, you should get about 12 cracker sandwiches from this recipe, with a few extra crackers to spare

Apricots, Spiced Ewes Dressing and Ginger Rye Crackers Salad

Literally all stone fruit at this very moment is stunning! I'm not sure what the science is but I've noticed every second year stone fruit is better than the last. This year just happens to be the year for exceptional peaches, apricots and necterines. Make the most of their supperior juicey sweetness because you're going to have to wait another 2 years to get it this good.
I've incorperated apricots into a new tasty salad with sharp and sweet blue ewe's milk cheese and decorated in ginger rye crackers, fresh chilli and spring onions. Simply summer on a plate.

 4 apricots
1 bunch spring onion
1 large red chilli
100g washed baby spinach

Dressing:
100g blue ewes milk cheese
2 tablespoons cream cheese
150ml buttermilk
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 dried red chilli
1 clove garlic
Pinch sea salt

Ginger Rye Crackers:
350g rye flour
200g butter
100g grated cheddar
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon sea salt
90 tablespoon cold water

METHOD:
Start with the crackers, place rye, cheddar, ginger, and salt in mixing bowl. Cube butter and add to the dry ingredients, using a fork press the butter into the dry ingredients till roughly combined. Add half the water and stir, add the remainder water and gently knead into a ball, wrap in cling film and leave to rest in fridge for 1 hour.
Once cracker dough has rested roll out into a rough rectangle 40x30cm on a floured surface, grease and line baking tray with parchment paper. Carefully wrap cracker dough round the rolling pin, then unwind dough over baking tray. Using your fingers poke bumps into the cracker dough surface to give texture. Bake cracker in oven preheated at 180oC for 15 minutes. Once cooked leave to cool completely.
For the dressing place a fry pan over medium/high heat and add the cumin and dried chilli broken into smaller pieces. Toast till the seeds and chilli become very fragrant and remove from heat. Put cumin and chilli in pestle and mortar and ground into a rough powder. Place all dressing ingredients into food processor and blend together for one minute.
Cut apricots in half and remove the stone, slice each half into 4 wedges. Trim spring onion and finely slice, cut chilli in half lengthways then thinly slice into semicircles.
To construct the salad you can either make 4 individual serves or one large platter. First lay down baby spinach followed by wedges of apricots. Sprinkle over desired amount of spring onion and chilli. Then break rye cracker into smaller bite sized chucks and scatter over salad, lastly drizzle over dressing and serve.

Cheese, Wine and Cracker Salad

A carry on from the previous recipe of Cheddar and Mustard Crackers, I've combined all the elements of a late Friday afternoon celebration into a salad that can be eaten anytime (almost). Of course you don't have to make my cracker recipe and to save time you can buy luxury savoury crackers from Waitros or M&S. However making your own fresh batch of crackers is slightly more therapeutic and rewarding.

2 firm pears
100g cheddar and mustard crackers
70g gorgonzola
70g baby red chard washed

DRESSING:
250ml white wine
1 dried red chilli
1 garlic clove
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon salt

METHOD:
First make the dressing buy finely slicing garlic and placing in sauce pan with wine, chilli, mustard seeds, bay and salt. Put sauce pan over high heat and bring to the boil and reduce by half, then remove from heat and leave to cool.
Core and thinly slice the pears, now you're ready to construct the salad, you can either make individual salads or one large platter. First lay down some baby red chard followed by slices of pear, then crumble the gorgonzola and crackers over top of salad. Lastly break up the dried chilli in the reduced wine and stir, then spoon dressing over salad and serve as soon as possible.

Cheddar and Mustard Crackers

Here's a recipe you don't see very often? Crackers! Its one of those items you only ever think to buy in the supermarket or deli. However crackers made fresh are amazing and look really tasty, because they are damn tasty! Eat on their own or with cheese and chutney either way you'll be greatly satisfied with the knowledge of cracker making. 
I must once again thanks Etienne (Birthday Boy) for these wonderful fresh batch of amazing photo's. xx

350g plain flour
200g butter
100g grated mature cheddar
6 tablespoons cold water
1 tablespoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper

METHOD:
Place a small fry pan over medium heat and add mustard seeds, shake the seeds round pan till they start to pop. Remove from heat and roughly ground in pestle and mortar then place in large mixing bowl with flour, cheddar, salt and pepper. Cut butter into 1cm piece's and add to the dry mixture, using a folk press butter into the dry till well combined with flour and resembles bread crumbs. Add half the water and stir till the mixture starts to form a dough then add the remainder of water and mix till a rough dough ball forms. Cling film the cracker dough and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Once rested roll dough out on a lightly floured surface till 5mm thick, using a 8cm round cutter start cutting out crackers. With the off cuts of dough roll into a ball and roll out once more and cut extra crackers. Place crackers on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and bake in oven pre-heated at 175oC for 15 minutes or till golden and dried out. Leave to cool completely before storing or eating.