Remembrance Stroganoff

I remember the first time I ever tried Stroganoff, my Mum’s sister had arrived to visit us in Auckland and had informed us she had got a special recipe for Stroganoff and would make it for us. You might wonder why an Italian would have a recipe for a classic Russian dish.... the reason was my Aunt’s husband was in the foreign office and their current posting was Moscow. Auntie had badgered the cook (apparently the cook’s mother had been a cook in the Tsar’s palace) to show her how they made Stroganoff in imperial times and decided she would make it for us as a treat. I was young at the time and didn’t take a great deal of it in, apart from the fact that the meat had to marinate overnight and much to my father’s concern a vast amount of brandy found its way into the dish whilst a similar quantity of sweet sherry found its way into my Aunt.  We ended up with a very rich dish that was served with flat noodles and was delicious but took so long to create it was never actually made again and the recipe was lost. My Auntie passed away recently and I thought as a celebration of her impact on my life I would cook a stroganoff and would share the recipe with you here.

Meatball Stroganoff

I pack of Waitrose Duchy beef meatballs

(you could use a good cut of beef – rump or sirloin or diced pork loin but I had the meatballs in the freezer)

I onion diced

25g butter

(if using pork loin of beef steak you will need another 25g butter)

2tbsp Worcestershire sauce

2 tsp mustard powder

2tbsp tomato puree

1 tub of full fat crème fraiche

(you could use ½ fat but it will take longer to thicken or sour cream is equally acceptable)

600g finely sliced mushrooms including stalks

300ml brandy

Salt to taste

Fry the onion in the butter until softened and starting to brown (about 15 minutes).  Add the meatballs (or whatever meat you are using) and brown then remove from the pan but leave the onions in.  If using pork loin or beef steak add the extra 25g of butter to the cooked onions in the pan and add the Worcester sauce and mustard powder, then add the sliced mushrooms making sure they get coated in the juices and let them cook through. Then add the tomato puree and meat back into the pan and add the brandy. Cook over a high heat for 2 minutes before adding the crème fraiche and cook until the sauce is thickened to the consistency you want and serve with rice or noodles.

Cherry Cherry...........

What a dismal day it is with the rain pouring down and the wind whipping through the branches of the trees, who would believe it was June, however it is Wimbledon fortnight so I suppose the weather is only to be expected. Yesterday though in the market all the fruit stalls were selling big, fat, luscious cherries and actually finding English cherries for sale I bought some. So today, even though it’s grim outside, inside I’m surrounded by these fragrant red hearts and enjoying a thoroughly relaxing time stoning them prior to cooking. I just don’t understand why this lovely fruit is in decline, I know it’s only a short season especially for the UK varieties but they are so versatile and really conjour up a sense of summer for me.  Food Lovers of Great Britain have designated July 16^th National Cherry Day, a day in which to cook and eat cherries and so even though I'm jumping the gun a bit I thought I’d get on the band wagon. I’m going to turn my cherries into compote as it gives you so many options including spooning it over ice cream, put a crumble topping on it and baking it. However  I have friends coming for lunch on Sunday and for dessert plan to serve an almond cake with the cherry compote and some vanilla mascarpone cream.... yummmmeee!!

Cherry Compote Recipe

500g of stoned cherries (you can use a sharp fruit knife or buy a cherry stoner)

180g caster sugar

4tbsp lemon juice

2 tbsp of cointreau or orange juice

150ml water

Place the liquid and sugar in saucepan over low heat and stir until sugar has completely dissolved. Add the stoned cherries and cook over a gentle heat for 10-12 mins until the fruit is soft but still retains it’s shape. Remove the fruit with a slotted spoon and boil the liquid until it thickens slightly and then take off the heat and leave to cool. Add the cherries back and store somewhere cool until ready to use.

What am I doing.............

Goodness me, what made a food and drink marketer and keen amateur cook decide to write a blog?? Well I guess the answer to that is I love eating and drinking, I love trying new things and I love telling people about them. So rather than having to remember who I’ve told what to and boring friends and family with the same story if I “blog it” anybody who’s interested can read it!

I think my love of food stems back to my childhood and my mother who was Italian and a superb cook of both traditional Italian food and good old fashioned English favourites. Her apple pie was legendary and the requests for her pizza or stuffed Lasagne were eternal. It really stimulated my interest in Italian cooking and it wasn’t until the mid 90’s when I was diagnosed as a Coeliac that I turned my attention to ingredients and cooking of other cultures especially those that were more coeliac friendly. Since then my sister in law, a trained chef with her own catering business has been a real inspiration to me and a great help with educating me on some of the more complicated process’s such as making a chicken ballotine. The other big inspiration in my cooking is my friend and gluten free restaurateur Julia Zardetto who with her partner Danielli owns the famous gluten free restaurant, Bruschetta in Kingston upon Thames. Thanks to Julia for the first time since being diagnosed a coeliac I can eat gnocchi just like my Mum made. 

So the purpose of this blog is to share some of the success’s and maybe some of the “kinks” from my kitchen, share information on exciting eating places and recommend beverages that I’ve enjoyed, maybe recommend kitchen products and gadgets and cookbooks I really like.  Ultimately it will be a journey to reconnect with my love of cooking and eating and I hope you enjoy accompanying me on it.