One of the things I have been thinking about is the question of what to do with part pots of ingredients in the fridge, which sometimes are forgotten about until.......and it is time to bin them!
The solution is to take the weight of the pot of the main ingredient and scale up or down the recipe so as to use up the whole pot. One desert which is much loved here at home is Tiramisu. Lovely after an Italian Style Meal, and requires no 'cooking', being home made there are none of those unnecessary added ingredients. I make it mainly in the summer time, but it makes an excellent desert any time of the year. It ought to be made well ahead, that is in the morning for an evening meal, and keeps well refrigerated till the next day too. Mascapone the main ingredient comes in a 250g tub, so I have devised a recipe to use the whole tub up.
Talking about tubs and pots etc., I really wonder when we are going to get food manufacturers to use same type of plastic in all their containers or bottles or ideally lightweight glass which can be easily recycled. My personal ideal would be to have many fresh ingredients available to buy loose and for people take their own containers to fill.......how likely is that when I see so many people who can't even be bothered to remember to take their own shopping bags to the shops? This may be a dream, but it does happen in Italy!
Several years ago, I came across these vintage pressed glass dishes whilst on holiday in Norfolk. They are not quite as large as the modern very large individual dishes, but look at old black and white photographs, and compare the waistlines to modern ones, and maybe there is a correlation between the size of portions now and our waistlines.......
Anyway here is my recipe for Tiramisu using 250g tub mascapone
250g Mascapone, this size is available in Sainsbury's
2 eggs
20g sugar from the jar which you store vanilla pods, and the scratching from half a pod, otherwise 1/2 tsp real vanilla essence
200g strong black coffee, espresso preferably, mixed with Kahlua or brandy, about half and half, or less liqueur/brandy depending on taste
10 sponge boudoir biscuits or the proper Italian sponge fingers, broken into halves.
Method
Separate the eggs, and whisk the egg whites till stiff.
In another bowl, use the same whisk to mix the eggs yolks, mascapnone, and sugar, till creamy and pale.
Fold into the cheese mixture about a third of the egg whites, then carefully fold in the rest. I ought to post a warning that as the eggs are raw, people with compromised immune systems ought to avoid this if they are on a no raw eggs regime.
Put a little of the mixture into the base of four small serving dishes. Then carefully dip the biscuits into the coffee mixture, then place carefully on the cheese base, five halves in each dish.
Top with the remaining cheese mixture, and smooth carefully. Chill, and remove from the fridge about fifteen minutes before eating, and dredge with good quality cocoa powder.
Thanks for this recipe, I shall give it a go. Mr R is rather fond of a pudding! I'm beginning to get used to catering for two now that all my 'treasures' have flown the nest.
ReplyDelete"My personal ideal would be to have many fresh ingredients available to buy loose and for people take their own containers to fill.......how likely is that when I see so many people who can't even be bothered to remember to take their own shopping bags to the shops?"
ReplyDeleteSometimes I forget my bags too, sometimes I travel from work to the supermarket in my lunch break, I won't return home to get some bags first as that would cost more in terms of environmental impact. We then use those 'throw-away' bags until destruction, often for dirty things which I would not want to place in any other kinds of (food) bag.
I suspect the majority of throw away bag users are doing just that of course (throwing them away), but the story is not always clear cut.
How about a deposit system? Shops supply standard containers which cost £0.50 each. You pay for them but get a refund when you return them. This avoids the problems of people having to remember their pots/bags etc. Of course I cannot think about all the 'health-and-safety' problems that Britain seems hell bent on introducing - or should I perhaps say hiding behind?
The domestos 99.9% generation will take years to accept that fruit and veg which generally grows outside of sealed plastic bags, could be any where near safe to eat if sold outside of sealed plastic bags!