Fennel Gratin

Photo courtesy of Photography by Sadiq

My friend Sadiq has started taking new images for my blog and he's also started his own food photography blog which will feature a lovely preview of what's to come in Redjar Cooking. Simply click on the link, Or even better you can follow Food Photography on the following link http://foodphotographybysadiq.blogspot.co.uk/.

This is an older recipe of mine and like most things I make they evolve over time. The adjustments include the addition of mustard and thyme, making this tart ideal for winter. One of my favorites and probably the tart recipe I get asked for the most, so here it is in all its evolved glory.


PASTRY:
175g plain flour
75g cold butter cubed
75g cheddar, grated
1 egg, beaten
60ml cold water
pinch of sea salt

FILLING:
2 medium sized fennel weighing around 250g each
1 small onion or banana shallot
50ml double cream
1 tablespoon olive oil
50g grated parmesan
1 tablespoon dijon or pommery mustard
4 sprigs thyme
Sea salt and cracked pepper to taste

METHOD:
To make the pastry place flour, butter, cheddar and salt in a large mixing bowl and rub together until the butter has incorporated into the flour, doesn't matter if the mixture is a bit lumpy. Add water and half the egg, roughly knead together to form a dough, try not to over mix as this will give the pastry a better flake. Wrap pastry in cling film and place in the fridge to rest for at least 1 hour.

Grease a 22cm fluted tart baking dish with removable base and set the oven to 200oC.
Once the pastry has rested roll out on floured surface until about 4-5mm thick, line the tart dish with pastry, press down on the corners, trim and pinch at the edges to get a neat finish. Place the pastry case back in the fridge to rest for 30 minutes.

Start on the filling, place a small pot of water over a high heat and bring to the boil. Slice the fennel down the middle and cut out the core and remove the stalk on top. Finely slice the fennel and onion, place into the pot of water with a good pinch of salt cook for around 7-10 minutes until tender, drain then tip the fennel back into pot and season well with salt and pepper and stir in the olive oil, parmesan, mustard and leaves from the thyme.

With a fork prick the base of the pastry 10 times then line with grease proof paper and pour some rice or dried legumes onto the grease proof and blind bake pastry for 12 minutes. After the 12 minutes carefully remove the grease proof paper with legumes and bake the pastry for a further 6 minutes till golden brown.

When the pastry has cooked evenly spread out the fennel round the casing and sprinkle with cracked pepper. Using a small jug pour a slow thin stream of cream into the center of the tart and work your way round in a spiral till all the cream has been added. Bake the tart in the oven set at 180oC for 30 minutes. Once cooked you can either eat it hot or cold.

Sage, Mushroom, Cider and Cheddar Muffins

I have a small confession, I cant stomach mushrooms! I know its a terrible statement coming from a chef but mushrooms honestly make me ill. Usually twice a year I'll attempt to eat them in some dish but the end result is me getting intimate with stomach acids.
However I do love cooking mushrooms and love the musty smell they give off (odd I know).
I'm pretty good at pairing mushrooms with complementary flavours such as these muffin's sage, mustard and cider all work perfectly. Tried and tested on customers and co-workers, no complaints just praise.

450g plain flour
2 eggs
100ml buttermilk
50ml milk
100ml cider
150g grated mature cheddar
2 tablespoons pommery mustard
100g butter
200g button mushrooms
6 sage leaves
2 teaspoons baking powder
Sea salt and cracked pepper

METHOD:
Slice the mushrooms and roughly chop sage then place a fry pan over a medium heat and melt the butter. Once butter has melted add mushrooms, sage and season with a pinch of salt and a good cracking of pepper. Cook the mushroom till they start to turn golden brown and remove from heat.
In a large mixing bowl add flour, baking powder, cheese, pinch of salt, crack of pepper and stir together till evenly combined. In a separate bowl beat eggs, buttermilk, milk, mustard and cider together, pour the wet mixture in to the dry and add mushrooms. Using a butter knife cut through both the wet and dry combining together till just under mixed. Grease a 12 hold muffin pan with either butter or spray oil and evenly distribute batter into the muffin pan. Bake in a pre-heated oven set at 180oC for 25 minutes. Once cooked leave to cool for 10 minutes before removing from the pan.