Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

A tutorial for Millie, Emmeline, Gabby and Rachel!

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Twenty-three, I’ve decided, is the new twenty-one.

I know a surprising number of 23 year olds (including our own Big Boy) and they all seem to have found their groove – they’re confident, mature and comfortable in their own skins. Any early 20s angst has subsided, their opinions are considered and sophisticated, and they’re a joy to spend time with. This is their world now.

Last weekend, I took my filled focaccia to a neighbourhood get-together, and was describing the recipe to lovely Emmeline (23), who was keen to try a vegetarian version.

On Monday, Millie (23) came to help us with the garden, and I made a slab for lunch. She too was interested in the recipe, so I sent her home with a bag of bread flour and some yeast. The brilliant girl made a vegan version that evening, filled with olives, sundried tomatoes, artichokes, figs, apricots and nutritional yeast (a parmesan cheese substitute)…

It then occurred to me that this was the perfect first bread recipe to teach Big Boy (23). He certainly loves eating it, and the ingredients are always on hand!

Let him show you how easy it is…

Step 1: scoop 500g bakers (bread) flour into a large mixing bowl. That’s about 3½ cups, but it’s much more accurate if you use a set of scales. Add 10g (or one sachet) of dried yeast…

Step 2: add 7g (1 level teaspoon) of fine sea salt…

Step 3: Stir all the ingredients together…

Step 4: chop or tear up filling ingredients. Big Boy chose to use 150g ham offcuts…

…four dried figs, stems removed, cut up…

…and 100g Dorset cheddar…

Step 5: Add the filling ingredients to the flour. Then add in 320g (or 320ml, or 1 and 1/3 cups, but weighing is more accurate) of cool tap water…

…and 50ml (10 teaspoons) of olive oil (or 50g, whichever is easier)..

Step 6: mix all the ingredients together, either with a spatula or a clean hand. Mix until all the dry flour is incorporated…

Step 7: cover the bowl with a shower cap or cling film and let it rest for 30 minutes.

Step 8: uncover the bowl, and using a clean hand, knead the dough very briefly, for less than a minute. It will be sticky at this stage. Then cover the bowl again with the shower cap and let it rest until puffy and doubled in size, about an hour.

This is what the risen dough will look like after an hour or so proving time…

Step 9: Preheat the oven to 230C with fan. Line a baking tray with parchment paper (Glad Bake or similar). Scrape the dough into the middle of the tray…

Step 10: pour a little oil onto your hands and gently work the dough into a flat rectangular shape. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Try not to squish too much air out of the dough – you want it to be about 3cm thick when you’re finished.

Step 11: pour a good drizzle of olive oil over the top and sprinkle with a bit more salt…

Step 12: rub the oil over the top of the dough and then stick your fingertips in to make dimples. Push right through to the bottom of the tray (don’t worry, the dough will expand and fill up the holes as it bakes)…

I think Big Boy did a very good job on his first attempt!

Step 13: allow the dough to rest for another 10 minutes or so (it will puff up a tiny bit more). Once the oven is hot, pop the dough in and turn the heat down to 220C with fan. Set the timer for 15 minutes. When the timer goes off, carefully rotate the tray in the oven, then bake for a further 5 – 10 minutes until golden (in our big oven, it only needs 20 minutes in total).

Step 14: tah-dah! Take many, many photos for Instagram! Allow the focaccia to cool on a wire rack for half an hour or so before scoffing (if you can).

This simple recipe can be made plain, filled, vegetarian, vegan or meat-packed. It’s perfect for lunches, snacks and parties, and it’s a great way to use up leftover antipasti in the fridge. Ok all you 23 year olds, it’s time to get baking!

This is the comfort food of my childhood – almost.

The English word for this rice soup is congee, but there are a couple of different forms it can take. Teochews and Hokkiens (my family) make moy – where the rice grains are cooked until they’re split but not disintegrating. The Cantonese version is called jook, and it usually involves long, slow cooking with just a little rice to a large quantity of water. The end result is a starchy soup where the rice grains have broken up completely.

I grew up eating moy, but as an adult, I crave jook.

I don’t, however, have hours to watch a pot on the stove. Nor do I have a clever rice cooker with a congee setting. So I was delighted when Maude gave me her pressure cooker recipe – it works really well and can produce jook in under an hour.

The ratio she uses is one part short (or medium) grain rice to six parts liquid. I was using risotto rice (because that’s what I had in the pantry), so I increased the liquid to seven parts, as I knew the rice would absorb a bit more. I use this ratio with sushi rice as well. In my large pressure cooker, I use a cup of rice, which produces enough jook to feed three to four people.

Cooking with water will result in a plain, unflavoured congee which works well as an accompaniment to other dishes. Using stock and leftover meat will produce a stand alone meal, commonly eaten at breakfast or lunch.

Into the pressure cooker, put the well rinsed rice, liquid and any additions. Cover and bring to pressure and hold it there for 30 minutes (I reduce the heat to minimum once my pot is fully pressurised and keep an eye on it for the cooking time). Allow the pressure to release naturally. If you’re in a rush, take the cooker to the sink and gently run cold water over the lid – it will depressurise very quickly that way.

For the jook in the photo above, I used chicken stock and leftover poached chicken (shredded) as well as a knob of ginger and a few black peppercorns. The batch in the photo below was made with leftover shredded (cooked) lap ap, combined with ginger and defrosted duck stock. Both were topped with spring onions and a drizzle of sesame oil.

Congee isn’t the most photogenic dish, but it’s incredibly soothing. It’s commonly eaten for breakfast, but it’s also the chicken soup of the Chinese world, served up whenever anyone is feeling unwell or in need of a gentle meal. Best of all, it’s a perfect way to use up leftovers!