Sunday 3 May 2020

Unleavened Flatbread Cooked Over Charcoal



One of my all-time favourites. I first posted this recipe way back in 2008 after a camping trip in Wales (Unleavened Bread). I promised my son a video, so here it is.

Flour, water, oil and salt, that's it. No kneading, no proving, just a bit of waiting and a lot of fun.

They can also be made with wholemeal or chapatti flour, using the same basic quantities.

MAKES 8 SMALL FLATBREADS

200g plain flour
120ml hot water
1 teaspoon of salt
1 tablespoon of olive oil

For how to make it, step by step, check out the video.

Enjoy!


Monday 30 March 2020

Home Made Ginger Beer

NATURALLY FERMENTED, SUGAR FREE, ALCOHOL FREE* AND A SUPER LONG SHELF LIFE



Last summer marked the beginning of my obsession with fermentation. Having decided to quit alcohol I was in desperate need of a practical distraction with the added benefit of providing something decent to drink. Forty-two batches and nine months later, here I am, locked down thanks to  a global pandemic, and rekindling this neglected blog with some useful content. Even if only for the many friends I've been promising the recipe.

I've tried it all, had the explosions, tried raw vs cooked ginger, every sweetener under the sun, infused it with lemongrass, cardamom, galangal, green peppercorns, juniper and even tamarind. Eventually, being the puritan that I am, I landed in a happy place. A few simple, high quality ingredients and a fail-safe method that guaranties consistency. Ginger, limes, yeast, sugar, sweeteners and water.

* With yeast and sugar, there must be alcohol. This method however, ensures a maximum of 0.5% ABV which in my books is negligible. It would take 10 pints of ginger beer to equal one pint of lager. I got myself a refractometer to measure the specific gravity before and after as I was developing the recipe. The consistency across batches was so close that I now don't bother measuring.

Rather than clogging this up with loads of background, I've saved that for the end, just in case you may be interested.



KIT ESSENTIALS:

- Electronic scales
- Electronic probe thermometer
- Muslin/fine cheesecloth
- Large sieve or strainer
- Large saucepan (5l)
- Large bowl (5l)
- Jug for pouring
- Funnel
- Screw-cap plastic bottles (500mm sparkling water bottles are ideal but any size will work) OR
- glass bottles and caps intended for beer brewing



INGREDIENTS (MAKES 8 LITRES OR 16 500ml BOTTLES)

I buy ginger from the market in 10kg boxes. Using the slicing attachment on my food processor I prepare 1kg batches and freeze them. I also buy limes in bulk and freeze the strained juice in plastic containers.

- 1 kg fresh ginger, washed, unpeeled, finely sliced
- Fresh limes (10-15 depending on size) for 600g of strained lime juice
- 90g granulated sugar
- Sweetener (either 40 'Sweetex' tabs or 120 Stevia tabs)
- 1/3 teaspoon active dried yeast



METHOD

1. Make the ginger infusion

Put the sliced ginger with 3 litres of water in a large saucepan, bring to the boil, simmer for 10-20 minutes and let cool to 30 deg C or lower. If you're in a hurry you could encourage it with ice cubes, or leave it overnight with a lid on.

2. Make the strained lime juice

Place the strainer over a bowl, line the strainer with the muslin and juice the limes with an electric citrus juicer or citrus press. Squeeze all of the juice out of the muslin and discard the pulp.
You are aiming for 600ml of strained lime juice (see video below).

3. Strain the ginger infusion

Place the strainer lined with muslin over a large bowl and strain the ginger infusion, discard the sliced ginger.

4. Add the sugar and sweeteners

Put the sugar and sweeteners in a small jug, add enough boiling water until fully dissolved. Add to the bowl.

5. Add the strained lime juice

If frozen, it will help cool the brew for the next step.

6. Pitch the yeast

Check the temperature, it must be between 20 and 30 deg C. Add the yeast and whisk until cleared

The brew is now ready for bottling.

7. Weigh the brew

Weigh the brew in another large bowl or saucepan. Make it up to 4 litres with water. This will make 16 bottles.

8. Bottling

Using a jug and funnel, fill each 500ml bottle on the scales with 250g of the mix. Top with water and seal (see video below). Make sure there is a reasonable air gap, I fill mine to the bottom of the neck.

9. Fermentation

Store the bottles somewhere dark and at room temperature. Feel a bottle daily and you will notice it getting firmer as the carbon dioxide is produced. They should be ready in just 3 or 4 days at 20-25 deg C.

10. Sediment - Clear or cloudy?

Even though the ginger and lime have been strained through muslin, a small amount of sediment will settle at the bottom of the bottle. If you like a clear drink, first pour the entire bottle into a jug, being careful to leave the sediment behind. This is what I do, then I swig the dregs from the bottle for massive ginger and lime hit. For a cloudy drink, gently turn the bottle (don't shake it!) to mix the sediment before pouring directly into glasses.

11. Storage

Once all of the sugars have been consumed by the yeast, fermentation will stop, hence the cap on the 0.5% alcohol content. This means your nicely carbonated ginger beer can be stored safely in a cool dark place for months. I found a stray from batch 21 in my garage the other day. It had been there for 6 months and was a real treat.

Good luck and let me know how it goes!



FOR THE GEEKS

Recipe development:

As with all good obsessions, I've kept a detailed log of each batch on a spreadsheet. Early batches followed some rather gung-ho recipes I found on line; loads of sugar and erratic fermentation. Desperate to find the best way with the most control, I eventually recalled earlier beer making experiences were brews were partly bottle fermented. I remembered that if 1/2 teaspoon of sugar was added to a 500ml bottle at the bottling stage, the alcohol content would increase by 0.5% and the beer would carbonate. Perfect. So in this recipe, the sugar is measured to be the equivalent, just enough to carbonate the drink whilst limiting the alcohol content.

Ginger type and content:

Earlier batches used 1kg of ginger for 6 litres (12 bottles). It worked for me but my family found it too much. I increased the batch size to 8 litres for 1 kg and now I have to share it.

The best ginger I have found comes from Brazil. It's firm, shiny and dry. I put an order in with our local veg market and he grabs me a box from New Covent Garden when I need one.

Sweeteners:

I started with 'Sweetex', which is readily available and inexpensive. Then I started looking into natural alternatives and came across stevia, a leaf grown in South America. First I tried dried leaf powder but the brew was very cloudy and finished with a hint of cut grass. Stevia also comes in granules and tabs. I prefer the tabs as it is easier to control the finished sweetness. Keep in mind that for the same level of sweetness, 3 time the number of tabs are needed when compared with Sweetex.

Yeast:

I use active dried yeast, but I've done it with bread baking yeast, and some swear by brewers yeast.

Flavourings:

I've tried most things, and all were disappointing. Whilst infusing, the aromas where good, but once brewed very little of it carried through. One thing I've not tried is adding aromatics at the bottling stage, much in the same way that kombucha is flavoured. Please experiment and let me know how it goes.

I prefer limes but lemons or a combination of both can be used in the same quantities.

Bottles:

I started using 500ml screw cap sparkling water bottles, but then as I got more serious found some great ones on line, made for Coopers Brewery in Australia for the home brew market. I haven't worn one out yet, and they come with a few spare caps as they tend to disappear. My son however put one in the dishwasher once and it's never been the same shape since.

Shelf life:

Lime is a natural preservative which helps. I've tried it after 6 months, and I wouldn't say it had improved, but it was still good. Normally it's not around long enough the test this.

Enjoy!













Thursday 27 December 2018

2018 Christmas Chilli

JUST THE BASICS



For the benefit of family members desperate to DIY my little jars of chilli, here it is; a simple, step by step 'how to' guide.

I started making this with my dad as a teenager in relatively small quantities. We would add loads of dried spices however over the years I have puritanically stripped it right back to just a small number of ingredients and it has become an addictive and versatile condiment. The look of joy when I pass a jar or two on to our (now grown up) kids makes it so worthwhile. So, for those who have the obsessive patience, this is a log of the batch made a month or so ago.

Fresh is best. We have a twice weekly market nearby in Witney, so when I need them, I go on a Thursday and order them for the Saturday. The fruit and veg traders make a early daily visit to the wholesalers at New Covent Garden in London. My instructions are simple. All I want is fresh. Straight off the plane, none of those boxes that may have been sitting around. Only fresh.

This box came from Bangladesh, and apparently (although they are unlikely to admit it), they are the preference of Indian restaurants around the country. Firm, verdant and intense.

INGREDIENTS:

- 1 box of fresh chillies (2.4 kg untrimmed weight)
- 400g garlic, (unpeeled weight)
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/3 cup white wine vinegar
- 1 heaped tablespoon of salt
- approx 1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil to finish

EQUIPMENT:

- Disposable latex gloves
- Food processor
- Large pot
- Jars with lids

METHOD:

Now the fun begins...

1. Don those essential gloves

2. Wash the chillies in a colander in batches

3. Trim the stalks off each chilli with a knife or scissors.

(Over the years I have honed the efficiency of this step down to a fine art: Three at a time with a knife. This batch of 660 chillies took me a robotic and therapeutic 30 minutes)



4. Peel and finely chop the garlic in the food processor and put in the pot

5. Chop the washed trimmed chillies in the food processor and put in the pot.

6. Add the oil, vinegar and salt, and mix thoroughly



By now it should look like this. Notice that I'm doing the cooking bit outside. The kitchen was barely habitable just from the processing of the raw ingredients. Had I added heat, we'd have had to move out.

7. Heat the chillies until just 'sweated'. They need to be hot and steaming but not fully cooked or soft.

8. Place the jars in a shallow bath of boiling water, spoon the hot chilli into the jars, add olive oil to cover the chilli, and when properly hot, remove the jars from the water bath and seal them.

(They will be very hot, so I use 2 or 3 tea towels to handle them with)



As the jars cool the lids should pop down if sealed properly. In the jars they will last for years. Once opened, add more olive oil to keep them moist and keep them in the fridge.

Here's the deal: You make them, you send me a jar or two.




Friday 15 December 2017

Christmas Turkey in the Weber



The big day fast approaches. And for us it will be a very big day. The first time in many years that all of our kids will be home for Christmas.

The big bird has been ordered (a fifteen pounder), quality lumpwood charcoal soon to be delivered, and a guest bedroom almost ready to be christened.

It will be the usual, tried and tested recipe, with loads of leftovers for pies, lasagne and cold cuts. I really can't wait. The full method with photos can be found here.

The photo above is a little taster of the English winter countryside. We had some heavy snow a few days back, and I managed to capture some icicles, that lasted half a day at the most. So will Christmas be white or green this year? Either way works for me.

Sunday 4 December 2016

Little Balls of Woodshavings Bound Together With Wax

Every good fire needs good tinder, and these bad boys do a proper job.



Back to basics, there are three elements to any good fire; tinder (small bits to get it going), kindling (bigger bits) and then finally the 'fuel'... the really big bits that will burn long and slow.

The outdoor cooking season is over so no outdoor fires for a while... but only just a couple of weeks ago we commissioned our indoor open fireplace in the old house we moved into in the spring. So what a perfect time to test these little things out. Not much to be said really, the pictures say it all.

Create an enclosure of 'fuel', place an 'Ignite' natural firelighter in the enclosure, put a match to it, and then build up a pile of kindling above it before laying down a few pieces of fuel over the now nicely developed flames.

What's not to like? No petro-chemicals, no weird smells, and they simply work.



Sunday 2 October 2016

Cheese Toasties Over a Real Fire



Keep it simple I say. It was one of those late August evenings, nice enough to be outside, but cool enough to need a fire. I just felt like a cheese toastie. Then I mentioned it and not surprisingly there were no objections.

Making toast over an open fire is a bit of an art in itself, too hot and it will be a disaster, and not hot enough and you will just waste your time. It had to be embers, and in the later stage of their life.

From my arsenal of open fire cooking accessories, it then had to be the braai tool; risk management at its best. If the embers are too hot, just hold the tool higher and you can easily flip it to check the toastie's progress. The way the tool clamps together is also perfect.

For me, the fundamental ingredients are cheese and chilli. Ham and or tomato comes next on the list, but there is no point in overloading the poor things.

This was easy and fun, but it did cool down a bit waiting for the embers to die down enough. The moment the toasties were on our plates, a pile of wood went in the brazier so we could enjoy our toasties in the warmth of the fire.


Warming the plates


Friday 23 September 2016

Simply Cooking Outdoors



A fairly dramatic lifestyle change has taken place, we have moved, after 15 years, and into what began as a 400 year old rural cottage in Oxfordshire. Call us brave, but then we knew what we were getting ourselves into. The house will be worked on eternally but for now, it's livable, we have a garden and I even have my own woodpile and a new chainsaw that I bought for myself for my birthday.

The transition was not far off hell, but the the saving grace was that is was summer and mostly we cooked and ate outside out of necessity. Firefoodie heaven as compensation.

In the past four months I've cut down three trees, cooked countless meals on an open fire, entertained plenty and spent hours and hours on the tools. It won't end, but it sure is fun.

Originally named Stone Place, we renamed the house Ammonite Cottage, after some delightful fossils that were built into the first walls all those years ago. Found locally, treasured, and now there for all to enjoy. There is even a well in the kitchen.

So a few photos of food, house and garden, just to keep this poor little blog alive.



The remnants of a conifer, seasoning for the winter fires


Breakfast with Sue and Geoff Wier
S

Our first garden party for neighbours and friends





Our Welsh pony neighbours, loving the apples we collect from the ground

Cheese toasties in the braai tool


Snoopy keeping warm under the fire

Lolly nesting in the drop sheets
and the ammonite fossil, two halves split from one stone

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