Oh Amazon, thou art a wicked temptress!
“Free shipping!” said the email and I, unable to resist a bargain, went cookbook shopping. It wasn’t really an impulse purchase – I’d had my eye on the latest River Cottage book for quite a while.
I’m a big fan of the series, but when my dear friend Joanna raved about the book, I knew it had to be a winner.
It has a very approachable feel to it, reminiscent of some of the early Jamie Oliver cookbooks – simple, wholesome food which we really could eat every day.
The book arrived less than a week ago and I’ve already made several recipes from it – a good indication that this will be a well-used resource in our kitchen. Here are a couple of dishes that have gone down particularly well with the tribe!
. . . . .
Tupperware Mexican Chorizo
This is a genius recipe.
The basic idea is to make a seasoned mince, which is left to mature in the fridge, and dipped into periodically to create various meals. Definitely the sort of thing that appeals to me, although I didn’t have the nerve to store it in the fridge for two weeks as HFW suggests! My variation is listed below, with the original ingredients in brackets:
- 750g coarsely minced pork shoulder, preferably free-range
- 1 tablespoon sweet paprika (1 tablespoon smoked sweet paprika)
- 2 teaspoons smoked sweet paprika (2 teaspoons hot smoked paprika)
- 1 teaspoon chipotle chilli powder (¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper)
- 1½ teaspoons fennel seeds
- 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
- 10g /2 teaspoons fine sea salt
- 50ml red wine
- freshly ground black pepper
Put all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and squelch everything together with your hands until evenly combined. Hugh suggests frying a little of the mix in oil to taste for seasoning – we did this by microwaving a tiny patty for just a few seconds until it was cooked.
The mix starts off quite salty to begin with, but as it matures, the flavours mellow out and integrate. Remember though that the salt is necessary to preserve the meat, and Hugh suggests covering the mixture and storing it in the fridge for at least 24 hours to begin with, and for up to two weeks in total.
Edit: I asked Lee, who is a food chemist, whether or not he would be happy with keeping the raw chorizo mince for two weeks, and this was his reply:
No, I wouldn’t be happy with it. The only protection is temperature. The salt will not be enough, the spices may have some protective effect but I wouldn’t rely on them. The meat is diced/chopped so plenty of opportunity to get ‘seeded’ with bacteria. The saving grace is that all recipes cook the meat well.
Please use your discretion – I know that on Lee’s advice, I now won’t be keeping the mixture for more than a few days, and I might start making half batches from now on.
Over the course of the next four days, we turned this 750g mixture into…
…mini meatballs, and served them in our roasted tomato passata, tapas-style…
…five plates of Migas, each topped with a freshly laid egg and Picasso sheeps’ cheese…
…and the ultimate meatlover’s pizza!
There was something fabulous about having a container of raw savoury mince in the fridge, waiting to be turned into an instant meal. This is a recipe we’ll be making regularly!
. . . . .
Easy Rich Chocolate Cake
This was the recipe that convinced me to buy the book, after Joanna posted about it on her blog!
- 250g (8.8oz) dark chocolate (70% cocoa – I used Callebaut callets)
- 250g (1 cup) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- 4 medium free-range eggs, separated
- 150g (5.3oz) caster (superfine) sugar and 50g (1.75oz) light brown sugar (or use 200g/7oz ordinary caster sugar)
- 50g (1.75oz) plain (AP) flour
- 50g (1.75oz) ground almonds
1. Grease a 20cm/8″ springform cake tin and line the base with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 170C/340F or 160C/320F with fan.
2. In a large pyrex bowl, melt together the chocolate and butter in the microwave using short bursts, being careful not to scorch the chocolate. Stir until smooth and combined.
3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and sugar to form a paste, then stir in the melted chocolate and butter. Carefully fold in the flour and almonds.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff. Stir a large spoonful into the chocolate mixture to lighten it, then carefully fold the remaining egg white in with a large spatula or metal spoon, trying to keep as much of the air in the mixture as possible.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake for 35 minutes, until just set. The original recipe specified a 23cm/9″ tin and 30 minutes baking time, but I found my smaller tin (and therefore taller cake) needed a few more minutes to set. The cake will still be a little wibbly in the middle – resist the urge to bake it until solid. Allow to cool in the tin for about 15 minutes on a wire rack before opening the springform.
I’ve made this recipe twice in the last week, and both times it’s been demolished within 24 hours by family and visiting friends.
River Cottage Everyday – definitely a cookbook that suits how we like to eat, every day!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
This is one of my favourite cookbooks and I make the tupperware chorizo often …as you say – genius.
I make the cheat’s sour dough (I know you make real sour dough) and digestive biscuits often.
The little illustrations over the top of the images are really sweet.
I’ve never made the chocolate cake though – to be rectified.
Oooh, thanks Sally, I’ll check those recipes out too! I love the little line drawings as well, they’re very cute. One question, have you kept the chorizo mix for two weeks? Was it ok for that long?
I’m completely fascinated by the chorizo mixture and keeping it in the fridge for weeks…love the meals you made! And I, too, was pulled in by Joanna’s post on the chocolate cake…tried and loved!
Abby, this is a really nice cookbook, although I should warn you and other US friends that it’s all in metric. Jo had us all hooked with that chocolate cake post! :)
There is nothing wrong with keeping something in the fridge for 2 weeks if (a) it is well cooked and (b) you don’t ‘seed’ it with bacteria by sampling with dirty spoons etc. Bacteria do not appear spontaneously and do not grow particularly well at fridge temperatures. Moulds will grow but still need to get into the food after cooking.
But having said that, nothing survives in my fridge for two weeks.
Lee, there’s nothing like having a food chemist to advise at times like this – do you think the flavoured raw mince would last in the fridge for two weeks? It’s all mixed together by (clean) hand, and it’s quite heavily salted. Thanks! :)
No, I wouldn’t be happy with it. The only protection is temperature. The salt will not be enough, the spices may have some protective effect but I wouldn’t rely on them. The meat is diced/chopped so plenty of opportunity to get ‘seeded’ with bacteria. The saving grace is that all recipes cook the meat well.
Ah, ok. Thanks Lee, I’ll take that advice onboard and have edited the post accordingly.
Ah yes, the chocolate cake, I don’t think I’ve made one since then… I’d better go and rectify that toute suite! And somewhere along the line I’ve completely missed seeing this chorizo mince thing…. will go and investigate.
I read cook books and then, ahem, I tend to forget them and their contents and I think I forget what I’ve blogged too… how kind of you to remind me and thanks for the links.
Did you know more people visit me from your blog than anywhere else in the known universe… thank you Celia and Celia’s friends!
I might have to buy this one Celia (you’re such an enabler ;-)). How does the chocolate cake compare to your recipe (the slab cake)? I make that all the time (thanks!) and it’s mine, and everyone else’s, favourite chocolate cake recipe.
Hope you had a good weekend.
I am addicted to River Cottage! All his shows and his cookbooks are regular features in my life; I like to live vicariously until I can do the real thing! I have just acquired the tv series based on this cook book and am loving it! Highly recommended :)
The tupperware chorizo looks divine, I am super keen to give it a go.
Damn you Celia, now there is another book I have to get! ;-) That chorizo mix looks like a great idea.
I’ve been overwhelmed by cooking programmes on nearly every channel, I’ve yet to see – Hugh in action but his book seems very interesting. The chocolate cake looks and sounds delicious that homemade chorizo with added fennel seeds and a good ground of black pepper is really close to our Italian homemade mix for sausages. I know it wouldn’t last a week in my fridge either! x
I must have missed the “free Shipping” email from Amazon – bugger! Although, I fairly sure The Husband would be relieved.
Love the idea of that mince, though!
It is the sign of a good cookbook if you have used it within a few days of getting it…and made a few things from it.
That chorizo mince sounds great. I will have to try it out. We make a similar (but totally different!) thing for a goan sausage meat but that is heavily salted and has a lot of vinegar. It also has tons of spices which also have a preservative effect. The goan version can supposedly last in a glass jar (not plastic because of the vinegar) for months in the fridge. I am always a bit wary about using it after a few weeks though. I guess so long as it is well cooked it should be ok. Most of the potential nasties are killed by heat.
I can recommend that chocolate cake. I luckily timed my last catch up with Celia on a day that cake was made and got to take home a rather large piece of it. Really, really nice. Strong chocolate flavour, light and just slightly nutty. Yum! Apologies to those who don’t live close enough to Celia to get a take away option. Maybe you can make a bid on the online auction we are threatening to hold where we auction off Celia and her cooking for a day…? (ha haha ha)
It was a great recco, Jo, thank you! :)
Meaghan, David, is it my fault if you’re suggestible? ;-) Really though, this is a great book. Meags, I personally don’t think it’s as good as the slab cake (which is my all-time favourite too), but it’s very nice for a change, and a bit more elegant in appearance than the huge slab smothered in icing…hehe
Amy, how fabulous is River Cottage? We’re all hooked here as well!
Yvette, the book has some very simple recipes in it, many of which suit our lifestyle and what grows in our garden. I’m a big Hugh fan, so it’s hard to go wrong in my opinion! :)
Amanda, no, no, it’s on until mid-May, run now to amazon.co.uk. The proviso is that you need to spend UKP25 or more and it doesn’t cover things from the Amazon marketplace.
SG, the goan sausage sounds intriguing! Glad you liked the cake – it’s almost gf! :)
Drooling, the mini meatballs look so good. AND, I swear Amazon consumes a quarter of my yearly wage. LOL.
A must get book, love the recipes…I cannot wait to do this chorizo….
I love HFW too. Did you know you can do some of his ‘courses’ on line? I’m tempted, just to get his certificate!
I’m so impressed with this post Celia. What a wonderful idea. Last week I used up three bags of beef mince and made my own version of beef pie, sausage rolls and last night spag bol. I have another bag left and I’m feeling a little stuck so your timing is perfect. Love the pizza idea, but the problem with pizza is it needs to be consumed right away. I have four people arriving at different times this evening so it’s just not practical. I was thinking of open burgers.
I shall give your recipe a try with the next lot of mince. I’m very fortunate to have local valley grass fed beef, so there is always lots of mince in the freezer. And I know how the beast was raised!
I must say the cake does sound rich. All that chocolate and butter – it is quite a bit really. And not much flour content. I imagine its nice though.
OK do you mind if I show up the next time that you make this? :P
I’ve heard of Mr. Fearnley-Whittingstall but never knew much about his recipes. I’ll check him out. Currently on my wish list is Plenty: Vibrant Recipes from London’s Ottolenghi.
It’s a toss up, the mencats are carnivores and I’m a veg. I’d make more points if I got Hugh’s book. :-)
Maz.
Ooh, Maz, that’s a tough call. The Plenty book is sensational – I wrote about it here – but all the recipes from it are available online. Mind you, it’s pretty fab in book form too and in my opinion, the ultimate vegetarian cookbook.
Anna, Amazon does make a lot of money from all of us…hahaha
Norma, the chorizo was just lovely, and so versatile! There was a tiny bit leftover which I fried and added to a leaf salad – just perfect!
Becca, which course were you thinking of? That’s an interesting idea…
Mariana, it must be very comforting to have access to great meat AND know how the animal lived!
Lorraine, you know you’re welcome to show up at any time! :)
Aah, how I adore Hugh! What a fab looking book, Celia and what fun you must be having trying and testing! That chorizo looks very tempting indeed :)
Dang, these recommendations come too late! I just put in an order to Amazon UK (only 3 things – very restrained!). One was the Bread book you always talk about…am hoping that perhaps the husband will like it for his birthday and be inspired to try sourdough baking instead of the rock-hard loaf of his forebears. (Which, having said that, is quite delicious, but the kids won’t eat it. Actually, one won’t eat sourdough either. OK, I admit, the book is for both of us. Cruel irony that my good-bread-loving husband works for GF, the huge bread manufacturer in Oz/NZ. At least it keeps said child in sliced supermarket bread…)
I may just have to buy the entire River Cottage series as I have never seen one episode.
And then the cookbooks….
I LOVE amazon too and foolishly have taught the children how to add things to the basket.
Now I felt like I really have to have this book! It sounds so amazing right now :) The chorizo looks super delicious :)
Now it’s your turn to be the wicked temptress…seriously considering asking DP to pick this up on his swing through the UK next week! That chorizo mixture alone sounds brilliant…to say nothing of the chocolate cake!
More and more I’m drawn to cook books that are about every day cooking. Healthy, accessible, budget friendly recipes that you can switch around a few ingredients to suit what’s in your pantry. Mr HFW I think fits the bill just nicely.
I think if I had raw mince in my fridge for 2 weeks, I would be dancing around the fridge door nervously checking it all the time!
But you’re the chocolate cake queen. I don’t believe you needed any advise from Mr Whittingstall ;-) It does look most delicious though.
Chris, we’d all love to spend time with Hugh – wouldn’t it be great to be able to visit RC in person? Sigh. I’m too old to sound like a groupie. :)
Vix, sorry about that! The free shipping is until May though…hehehe
Anna, there’s irony in that, because I only discovered River Cottage because of your brother Pete! He kept insisting that we watch it! :)
Tes, the chorizo really was delicious, I’m hoping to make another batch today!
Nancy, I think you’d really like this book. It’s full of things that appeal to me – simple things like rubbing and squishing a ripe tomato on sourdough toast to make breakfast…
Brydie, I have to say, I was a bit nervy even at the four day mark, let alone two weeks. I’m the sort of person who’s loathe to keep mince even overnight, so this was a big leap of faith for me! :)
Choc, you’re kind, but I always need advice from Mr FW, and I especially always need advice from Joanna! :)
Good buy I reckon. I like Huge FW and he is rather entertaining on the telly. After your comment about his choc cake I must make it! It might be just the ticket for a certain birthday coming up soon :-)
We are SO making that chorizo, maybe this weekend. Sounds absolutely divine. I like your hotter version, too. As always, you’re a genius.
Oh I love good cookbook recommendations. I still have so many books on my wishlist though. I love chocolate cakes with not much flour too. Delicious!
Gill, it’s a very nice, simple cake, and quite dark in flavour – I think you’d love it. :)
Mark, thank you dear man, and congratulations again! (Mark and Bruce have been nominated for a James Beard award!! More here: http://www.realfoodhascurves.com/food-blog/2011/3/21/red-cooking-ham.html)
Susan, collecting cookbooks is a bit addictive, but I’m getting fussier in my old age.. :)
love the chocolate cake – looks totally fabulous!
I am a bit worried about the mince in fridge plan, but only because I am a wimp about these things and fear I’d just use it all in two days to avoid contamination!! but I’m sure it’s okay. he is a real character though – HFW- some of the things he cooks are TOO earthy for me, but I admire his principles and dedication for using produce and animals to the fullest extent. just wish I wasn’t such a coward about some foods. . .
luckily, chocolate is exempt from these concerns and I reckon the cake looks gorgeous.
Anne, I’m a bit of a chicken too – I couldn’t bring myself to keep the mince more than four days. But it was very nice to have it on standby all that time! :)
I also love Hugh’s recipes alot & this book looks like a real winner!
I love the recipes you have made from it & I will be on the lookout for it too! The chocolate cake looks utterly tasty & I could swap gf flour for the flour in this small amount.
All of these tasty dishes look irresistable too!
Sophie, my friend the Spice Girl is gluten-free too, and she thought the same thing – that the little bit of regular flour could be substituted for gf! It’s a nice cake, I think you’d like it! :)
[…] Australia made my purchase of this book a fait accompli. You can read about her views on the book here Interestingly, she was also put onto it by a friend – pass it […]
[…] at Fig Jam and Lime Cordial has made this too and said it was excellent and found lots of ways to use this delicious seasoned […]