Lorraine Pascale's Blog, page 2

The sweetest way to kick off spring

It's time for America's top bakers to take on springtime treats as they show off their superb baking skills in a spring special of Baking Championship - the sweetest way to kick off spring!

From Mother’s Day brunches and family picnics to birthday parties and weddings, there is a lot of spring baking to do. To survive the challenges from week to week, the bakers must prove their abilities in front of the show's returning judges Lorraine, Duff Goldman and Nancy Fuller.

Series Premiere Sunday, April 26th on Food Network (U.S).

#BakingChampionship

Whole Roast Thai Green Curry Chicken

From How To Be A Better Cook.

How many times have I eaten Thai chicken curry? Too many to remember, but never a whole Thai chicken!

I was sitting in my kitchen staring at the large bird that I had just taken out of the fridge, thinking how can I make this chicken something different?

A rummage in the bottom of the fridge produced a pot of green curry paste and the rest, as they say, is history!

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

65tbsp Thai green curry paste

2tspT hai fish sauce 1tsp soft light brown sugar Finely grated zest and juice of 1 large lime

1.8kg whole chicken 1tsp sunflower or vegetable oil

400ml tin of coconut milk

Large handful of fresh coriander leaves, roughly chopped

Flaked sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

METHOD

Mix together the green curry paste, fish sauce, sugar and lime zest and juice in a large, deep bowl. Using a sharp knife, carefully slash the chicken a few times through the thickest parts of the breast and legs. Pop the left over lime halves into the chicken cavity. Holding the chicken over the bowl, slather the marinade all over the breasts and legs. Then place it, breast side down, into the bowl, cover and leave to marinate in the fridge for at least one hour, but up to six preferably.

When ready to cook the chicken, preheat the oven to 200°C, (fan 180°C), 400°F, Gas Mark 6. Take the chicken out of the marinade and place it, breast side up, in a roasting tin. Drizzle over any remaining marinade from the bowl, season with salt and pepper and cover tightly with tin foil. Roast in the oven for 1½ hours, basting every so often and removing the foil after an hour.

Once the chicken has had its time, remove it from the oven and test to see if it is cooked by inserting a small sharp knife into the thickest part of the bird. I do it around the groin area of the chicken and then press down a bit - the juices should run clear. if the juices are not running clear, then return to the oven, testing it every five minutes or so, until fully cooked. Once cooked, remove the chicken from the tin onto a carving board, cover with tin foil and leave to rest for 15 minutes. This will make the bird much more succulent and juicy and allows the temperature of the bird to even out.

Place the roasting tin over a low heat and spoon off any fat that rises to the surface of the juices. Tilting the pan to pool the liquid will make this easier. Stir in the coconut milk, scraping any sticky bits from the bottom of the tin. Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer and allow to bubble away for 2-3 minutes until thickened slightly. Pour any juices from the resting chicken in, stir in the coriander and season to taste with salt and pepper. Then pour the sauce into a gravy boat.

Once rested, serve the chicken with the sauce. You can accompany it with traditional roasties or some plain rice, along with a simple salad or stir-fried vegetables, if preferred.

Lorraine discovers The Nation's Favourite Food for BBC2

Ever wondered what the Nation’s Top Ten evening meals are? Is our favourite all time dish a curry, a steak, a roast – or a pizza, pie or stew?

Lorraine - joined by the cooking duo The Hairy Bikers will reveal all in a one hour special, coming soon to BBC2.

Cooking The Nation's Favourite Foods is a one-hour special that sets out the state of the nation through the food we love to eat. By looking closer at our favourite dishes we can show the trends rippling through Britain and how our tastes are changing, which might reveal some surprises!

Across the hour, the chefs will scour the four corners of the UK as they reveal Britain’s top 10 favourite dishes and discover why people love certain recipes so much. Each chef will then offer their own different views on our loved recipes and set out to create their own fresh versions of the nation’s favourite dishes.

They'll show us the best ways to cook our favourite meals by breathing new life into our weekly menu and empowering us to make our dinners as simple, cheap and tasty as possible.

From spice shops in Scotland, apple orchards in Kent, Thai kitchens, fish and chippies and farms, the show is packed full of top tips and interesting culinary observations – setting out the state of the nation through the food we love to eat.

The programme is part of BBC2's Food Season, putting food on the menu for a special season of programmes which look at what the nation eats in more detail than ever before.

Presented by a range of BBC Two talent, including Lorraine, Raymond Blanc, Kate Humble, Giles Coren, Alice Roberts, Tom Kerridge and the Hairy Bikers, the programmes will look back over 50 years of food history as well as look ahead to what we could all be eating in the future.

Tuesday 17th March at 7pm on BBC2.

Vanilla and White Chocolate Cake with Almond Flowers

This is always a winner if you want to impress. You can use blackberries for this cake and, of course, redcurrants, blueberries or even sneak in some chocolate chips!

Vanilla and White Chocolate Cake with Almond Flowers



Serves 10

Equipment

2 x 20cm sandwich tins, food

Processor

Sponge

Spray oil

125g soft light brown sugar

100g unsalted butter, softened

100g low-fat crème fraîche

2 eggs, lightly beaten

250g self-raising flour

1 egg white

2 tsp baking powder

Seeds of 1 vanilla pod or 1 tsp vanilla extract

Finely grated zest of 1 unwaxed lemon

Icing

75g white chocolate

300g low-fat cream cheese, at room temperature

2 tbsp icing sugar, sifted

Seeds of 1 vanilla pod or 1 tsp vanilla extract

Sugar syrup

2 tbsp caster sugar

Decoration

250g raspberries

About 50g flaked almonds (unbroken flakes, preferably), toasted (you will need about 210 flakes in total

Preheat the oven to 180°C, (Fan 160°C), 350°F, Gas Mark 4 with the middle shelf at the ready.

Grease two 20cm sandwich tins with spray oil, line the base of each with baking parchment and set aside on a baking sheet.

To make the cake, beat the sugar, butter and crème fraîche in a large bowl until smooth and uniform. Then add two-thirds of the beaten egg and half of the flour and beat together again. Add the remaining egg and flour, the egg white (whisked until light and frothy), baking powder, vanilla seeds or extract and lemon zest and stir everything together well. Divide the mixture evenly between the two tins, levelling the tops with the back of a spoon. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until the cakes feels spongy to the touch and a skewerinserted in the centre comes out clean.

Meanwhile, prepare the icing. Tip the chocolate into a small heatproof bowl. I like to melt chocolate in a microwave in 30-second blasts, stirring between each blast. Alternatively, melt the chocolate in a bowl that just sits on top of a medium pan with a little bit of boiling water. Just make sure the bowl doesn’t touch the water as this could make the chocolate grainy. Leave the chocolate to sit until it melts, then put aside to cool to room temperature but not set.

Meanwhile, beat the cream cheese, icing sugar and vanilla seeds or extract in a large bowl until smooth. Add a little bit of the cream cheese mixture to the cool melted chocolate and stir together gently. Then fold this white chocolate mixture into the cream cheese mix. I do it this way so that the white chocolate mix does not seize or go all grainy and firm. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Prepare the sugar syrup about 5 minutes before the cake is ready. Simply put the sugar into a mug, add 2 tablespoons of boiling water and stir until dissolved. As soon as the two halves of the cake are out of the oven, brush them liberally with the sugar syrup and then leave them to cool in the tin.

This will keep them nice and moist. Once cool, remove them from the tin and put one half on a serving plate.

Dollop about a quarter of the filling on the cake half and spread the icing evenly over it. Pick out about 30 of the smallest raspberries and reserve them for the flower decorations. Then scatter the remaining raspberries over the icing and pop the other cake half on top. Spread the remaining icing all over the cake sides and top to give a smoothish finish. Spread it around so that the edges are kind of straight and flat.

To decorate, put one of the reserved raspberries on the cake and place about seven flaked almonds around it so that the flakes stick up and out like ‘petals’ (rather than flat on the cake) and as if you have put an actual flower on the cake. Repeat this with the fruit and almonds to make flowers all over the cake, spaced apart on the top and sides. Then serve! Keep this in the fridge if not serving straight away.

From A Lighter Way To Bake.

Beef, Guinness & Porcini puff pie

From A Lighter Way To Bake.

I have a fish pie recipe in my Baking Made Easy book – a traditional affair with the ubiquitous eggs, white fish and other usual suspects. Although fish pie is a British favourite, my family simply would not eat it.

I love fish, I really do, and I love pie, so I had to come up with something that the whole family could enjoy. Coconut milk and Thai green curry paste lift this subtle-tasting pie into the realms of something rather special. This anglo-Asian dish is not to be I had a request from my family to include a puff pie.

‘A puff pie,’ I yelled, ‘in a lighter baking book?’

‘Yes,’ they yelled back, with equal force, ‘and don’t go putting that filo on the top of it either!’

So I attempted my idea of a lower-fat puff. I tried, I tried and I cried, and I kept pulling flat pieces of dry stiff pastry out of the oven. Then, during one of my loiters in the chilled aisle of the supermarket, I noticed that a little miracle tightly wrapped in plastic lay right there between the croissant dough and the shortcrust. Light ready-rolled puff pastry!

There you go, my family, here is your puff pie – with bells on!

INGREDIENTS

Filling

Spray oil

1kg lean beef (stewing steak pieces)

4 tbsp plain flour

2 medium onions, quartered, with root left intact

500ml beef stock

330ml Guinness

2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

Leaves from 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary, finely chopped

2 bay leaves

2 large carrots, cut into chunks

25g dried porcini mushrooms

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Pastry

320g sheet of light ready-rolled puff pastry, defrosted

1 egg yolk

1 tbsp semi-skimmed milk

To serve

Garden peas

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C, (Fan 150°C), 325°F, Gas Mark 3. Line a large baking sheet with baking parchment and set aside.

2. Spritz a large non-stick casserole pot with spray oil and set over a high heat. Toss the beef in a large bowl with the flour and season. Then, working in three batches, brown the meat well in the pan to get some good colour on it. This will add lots of extra flavour to the finished stew. Scoop the meat out into a bowl as you go and spray a little more oil between batches if necessary.

3. Once all the beef has been browned and removed, fry the onion wedges over a medium heat for 4–5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until just turning golden. Return the meat to the casserole pot, add the stock, Guinness, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, rosemary, bay leaves and season. Bring to the boil, then pop the lid on and place in the oven for 3 hours.

4. Stir the carrots and porcini mushrooms into the casserole for the last halfhour. At this point don’t put the lid back on, and also turn the heat up to 180°C, (Fan 160°C), 350°F, Gas Mark 4.

5. As soon as you have put the casserole back into the oven, mix the egg yolk and milk together in a small bowl and brush this over the puff pastry pieces. Then, bake the pastry in the oven with the casserole for the final 30 minutes of cooking.

6. Once cooked, the pastry should be puffed and golden. To check that the meat is tender, you should be able to literally cut it with a spoon. Check seasoning and adjust if necessary. To serve, remove the bay leaves from the casserole then divide it between six plates or wide bowls. Put a puff pastry square on top and serve with some peas.

Quickish Thai Fish Pie

From A Lighter Way To Bake.

I have a fish pie recipe in my Baking Made Easy book – a traditional affair with the ubiquitous eggs, white fish and other usual suspects. Although fish pie is a British favourite, my family simply would not eat it. I love fish, I really do, and I love pie, so I had to come up with something that the whole family could enjoy. Coconut milk and Thai green curry paste lift this subtle-tasting pie into the realms of something rather special. This anglo-Asian dish is not to be sniffed at and has now made it into the top ten dinners on the LP wall of fame – no mean feat with all the demanding mouths around my table! If you want to make it ahead of time, just make the fish filling and pop it in the fridge. Leave the filo or until you are ready to bake it so the pastry retains its crispness. There’s a touch more salt in my recipe than the comparison recipe: this comes from the curry paste, but the increase is small and worthwhile for the speed advantage!

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS & EQUIPMENT

4 ramekins or hot pot dishes

Filling

500g skinless, boneless sustainably caught fish (I use salmon and haddock) cut into big bite-sized chunks

16 raw, peeled tiger prawns (about 175g)

100g fresh or frozen peas

400ml tin of low-fat coconut milk

4 tbsp Thai green curry paste

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2cm piece of ginger, finely chopped

1 red chilli, finely chopped

Juice of 1⁄2 lime

A large handful of basil leaves

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Topping

2 sheets of filo pastry, defrosted

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C, (Fan 160°C), 350°F, Gas Mark 4.

2. Toss the fish, prawns, peas and a little salt and pepper together in a medium bowl and then divide the mixture evenly between four ramekins or hot pot dishes. Mine measure about 10cm wide, 6cm high and are 450ml in volume. Arrange them on a baking sheet and set aside.

3. Put the coconut milk, curry paste, garlic, ginger and chilli into a wide pan. Stir them together well to combine and set over a high heat to bring to the boil. Reduce to simmer for 2–3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until reduced and thickened a little. Stir the lime juice and basil through and season to taste if necessary.

4. Divide the curry sauce mixture between the four ramekins or dishes. Rip the filo pastry into pieces, lightly scrunch them up and place them on top of the filling to cover. Pop into the oven to bake for 15–20 minutes or until the fish is cooked through and the pastry is crisp and golden brown.

Lorraine discovers The Nation's Favourite Food for BBC2

Ever wondered what the Nation’s Top Ten evening meals are? Is our favourite all time dish a curry, a steak, a roast – or a pizza, pie or stew?

Lorraine - joined by the cooking duo The Hairy Bikers will reveal all in a one hour special, coming soon to BBC2.

Cooking The Nation's Favourite Foods is a one-hour special that sets out the state of the nation through the food we love to eat. By looking closer at our favourite dishes we can show the trends rippling through Britain and how our tastes are changing, which might reveal some surprises!

Across the hour, the chefs will scour the four corners of the UK as they reveal Britain’s top 10 favourite dishes and discover why people love certain recipes so much. Each chef will then offer their own different views on our loved recipes and set out to create their own fresh versions of the nation’s favourite dishes.

They'll show us the best ways to cook our favourite meals by breathing new life into our weekly menu and empowering us to make our dinners as simple, cheap and tasty as possible.

From spice shops in Scotland, apple orchards in Kent, Thai kitchens, fish and chippies and farms, the show is packed full of top tips and interesting culinary observations – setting out the state of the nation through the food we love to eat.

The programme is part of BBC2's Food Season, putting food on the menu for a special season of programmes which look at what the nation eats in more detail than ever before.

Presented by a range of BBC Two talent, including Lorraine, Raymond Blanc, Kate Humble, Giles Coren, Alice Roberts, Tom Kerridge and the Hairy Bikers, the programmes will look back over 50 years of food history as well as look ahead to what we could all be eating in the future.

Coming soon to BBC2.

Lorraine discovers The Nation's Favourite Food for BBC2

Ever wondered what the Nation’s Top Ten evening meals are? Is our favourite all time dish a curry, a steak, a roast – or a pizza, pie or stew?

Lorraine - joined by the cooking duo The Hairy Bikers will reveal all in a one hour special, coming soon to BBC2.

Cooking The Nation's Favourite Foods is a one-hour special that sets out the state of the nation through the food we love to eat. By looking closer at our favourite dishes we can show the trends rippling through Britain and how our tastes are changing, which might reveal some surprises!

Across the hour, the chefs will scour the four corners of the UK as they reveal Britain’s top 10 favourite dishes and discover why people love certain recipes so much. Each chef will then offer their own different views on our loved recipes and set out to create their own fresh versions of the nation’s favourite dishes.

They'll show us the best ways to cook our favourite meals by breathing new life into our weekly menu and empowering us to make our dinners as simple, cheap and tasty as possible.

From spice shops in Scotland, apple orchards in Kent, Thai kitchens, fish and chippies and farms, the show is packed full of top tips and interesting culinary observations – setting out the state of the nation through the food we love to eat.

The programme is part of BBC2's Food Season, putting food on the menu for a special season of programmes which look at what the nation eats in more detail than ever before.

Presented by a range of BBC Two talent, including Lorraine, Raymond Blanc, Kate Humble, Giles Coren, Alice Roberts, Tom Kerridge and the Hairy Bikers, the programmes will look back over 50 years of food history as well as look ahead to what we could all be eating in the future.

Chinese Char Siu Style Pork

Serves 8-10

I have named this char siu style pork as I am aware that traditionally this pork is barbecued and usually contains other exotic ingredients, such as rice wine and bean curd. However, in the name of keeping things simple and not having to search the internet endlessly for a Chinese supermarket within your reach, I have written the recipe in char siu-style, offering a gentle nod to the Cantonese classic. You will need a large slow cooker to make this in, and the char siu-style pork is particularly delicious served with some Asian greens if you fancy it.

EQUIPMENT & INGREDIENTS

150g hoisin sauce

75ml soy sauce

4 tsp sesame oil

2 tsp five spice powder

5 garlic cloves, finely chopped

5 cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated

3 kg boneless pork shoulder, rind removed

250 ml cold vegetable or chicken stock

To serve

Rice, to serve (optional)

Freshly ground black pepper

Equipment

Slow cooker

METHOD

1. If, and only if, you have time, marinate the pork first of all. Mix the hoisin sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil, five spice, garlic and ginger together in a large bowl, baking dish or food storage bag. Add the pork in, tossing and massaging to coat. Cover and store in the fridge for a few hours or overnight. If you are like the large majority of us, not blessed with noodles of time or patience to marinate and then slow cook, then just begin with the slow cook stage.

2. Put the marinade ingredients into the slow cooker with a good amount of pepper. Toss the pork in the marinade if you haven't already done so earlier and then pour the stock over. Pop the slow cooked lid on and cook on the low setting for 7-8 hours until cooked through and very tender.

3. After this time, remove the pork from the slow cooker onto a place to keep warm and then pour the juices into a large, wide pan over a high heat. Let the mixture bubble away for 10-15 minutes or so until it reduces and thickens a little.

4. Whilst this is happening, now is a good time to cook some rice, if you fancy your pork with it. Once the sauce is thickened, season to taste if necessary and serve with pork slices and the rice.

Delish.

Ginger and cinnamon protein powder pancakes

Makes approx 8, 8cm diameter pancakes.

INGREDIENTS

40g of oats (blitzed to a powder)

pinch of salt (optional)

3 large eggs

1 scoop of protein powder (optional)

2 tsp of ground cinnamon

1 tsp of ground ginger

oil for cooking

I put my oats in my spice grinder to grind them up but you can put them in the food processor. Blitz until they are almost like a powder and then tip this in to a jug. Add the salt the eggs and the protein powder if using and mix everything together with a fork. I like to beat it hard but I am fine if some lumps remain. Add the cinnamon and the ginger, mix again and set aside.

If you are using protein powder your mixture will be thicker and may need a tbsp of water to make the mixture a little thinner.

Get a frying pan nice of hot and add 1tsp of oil. Once the oil is nice and hot pour in enough pancake batter to make a pancake about 7-8cm in diameter. You know the pan is hot enough as the pancakes will begin to cook straight away and will not continue to spread in the pan. Repeat with the mixture, pouring in more pancake batter (leaving a 1cm or 2 space around the pancakes) until there is no more room left in your pan.

I managed to fit 5 pancakes in one go. Then after about 1 minute, flip the pancakes over using a spatula (the pancakes should look golden brown and toasty if cooked enough) and then cook again on the other side for 1 min. Once cooked remove to the serving plate. Repeat with the rest of the batter.

I like to stack these up on a plate and serve them with a handful of fresh blueberries and a drizzle of maple syrup. They are equal delicious with other fruits such as mango and caramelised apples and a big dollop of greek yogurt.

Fat: 22g

Carbs: 33g

Protein: 44g

Cals: 515