Marzipan Pouffies

There’s no marzipan and they’re not hugely poufy, but still, that’s what they are. Good emergency I-Need-Something-Sweet-Now item from store cupboard. You need:



Two frozen sheets of puff pastry

1 cup almond meal

0.5 cup icing sugar

A few slurps of Amaretto or almond essence (optional)

1 egg

A few dried apricots (optional)

Lay one of the sheets flat on a greased baking tray. Combine the almond meal, sugar, and the white of the egg (keep the yolk) with just enough Amaretto or almond essence and water to make it into a thick paste. If you’re using the apricots, chop them up and add too. Spread on the bottom sheets, cover with the other, seal round the edges. Combine the yolk with either more amaretto and a bit of sugar or just water and brush over the top, bake on high until it’s done (golden and… poufy).

 You can serve this warm with ice cream over the top in squares, but it’s a little hard to cut the bottom layer in a bowl. I think the sick-cut method when they’re a bit cooler (making them delectable finger food) is preferable.

Chocoholic's First Aid

If you've a chocoholic who needs urgent resuscitation, this could be the recipe to grab. You’ll require (per one patient):

 

A large mug or oversize ramekin

4 tablespoons of flour (add baking powder if plain)

2 melted tablespoons of butter

2.5 tablespoons of sugar

1 tablespoon cocoa

1 egg

A few chocolate drops

 

Mix all the dry ingredients in the ramekin, add the butter and egg, mix, add choc drops. Microwave until it stops rising. Administer to your chocoholic with action-pump squirty cream accompaniment. They will soon lose that mad look and relax, and you can get on with your evening.

Fried Fish with Pilaf

Not much to say about this one other than the title.

• Make the pilaf by sauteeing onions with the basmatic rice, and cooking it with some stock and chopped garlic. Add slivered almonds, lemon juice and chopped parsley after it's finished cooking.

• Fry whatever fish you're serving - probably white fish for this sort of accompaniment.

We served this with:

• sliced cucumber salad (just dressed in salt, olive oil, and balsamic)
• mixed cauliflower and broccoli florettes (also dressed just in salt and oil). If you're cooking these two brassicas in the same pot remember cauliflower takes longer than broccoli so start it off first. The broccoli only needs a minute or so.

All fairly healthy stuff to eat up and enjoy!

Galette des Rois (Crown of the King)

As it's nearly the 6th of January, I thought it was a good time to make this traditional French dessert for Epiphany. (Proof that some good things DO come out of religion... though one suspects the French would have made it at some point anyway without the added stimulus.) It's a frangipani and puff pastry tart. Traditionally they hide a little porcelain figurine of Mary or one of the kings in there, just to stimulate trade for dentists. I skipped this step. I also added apple, which I saw in one recipe and it was rather nice.

• Two sheets of puff pastry (it's meant to be round but I just left it square - why bother)
• 100g butter
• 100g sugar
• 100g almond meal
• two eggs
• vanilla
• a couple of apples (nice sharp ones)
• 50g of sugar and an egg (or part of one) for glazing

Cream the butter and sugar, add the vanilla, eggs, and almond meal. Spread over one sheet of the pastry. Peel and slice the apples into dainty little wedges and lay them on top of the almond paste. Cover up with the remaining pastry sheet and tuck the corners up to make a little hat-brimmed sort of pie. pattern the top with the edge of a knife in whatever decorative shapes you like - geometric seems to be popular. Combine the egg and sugar and coat the top. Bake at about 180 until the top is nice and golden.

I find this pleasant consumed hot or cold, with or without ice cream. Possibly not even on the 6th of January. Shock.