My new paraphilia…
Wild garlic flower salad with walnut oil and dijon mustard dressing
From the sublime to the ridiculous… this week I used two new pieces of equipment:
- A kitchenaid mixer, which costs between £300-£350.
- An icecream maker I bought at a car boot sale for £1.
I’ve been lusting after a Kitchenaid mixer for a decade at least. They look great with both retro and modern kitchens; all that enamel, chrome and curvy lines, reminiscent of 30s – 50s American style, the Frigidaire, the Cadillac, diners, Hollywood and the American dream.
I dusted off the icecream maker. It didn’t have any instructions… but the box said if you put your icecream mixture into it, it’s all done in 15 minutes.
For my maiden voyage into ice cream I chose a passionfruit recipe from Nigel Slater. Easy.
- Make a syrup of 100g sugar and 125ml water. Strain the juice of 10 passionfruits, discard the seeds. Add 400ml of creme fraiche to the syrup (I put 600ml). Add the juice. Then scoop out the pulp from another 10 passionfruits into the mix, so you have some seeds but not too many.
I put it in the ice cream maker. I checked after 15 minutes. Nothing happened. I put the whole thing into the freezer and decide, hey what a genius, to google the instructions on the internet. Oops I was supposed to have frozen the icecream maker for 12 hours previously! I leave the icecream in the freezer overnight and hope for the best.
In the morning I checked, and it was lovely. Passionfruit is one of my favourite fruit, with the creme fraiche you have sour, sweet and creamy at the same time.
I accompanied the icecream with some lemon and almond biscotti, inspired by a post on Mat Follas’ blog and an Alice Waters recipe. Very easy again.. But I would probably add more sugar next time.
3 1/4 cups unbleached flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/2 cups sugar
100g unsalted butter
3 large eggs
Zest of 2 lemons
1 cup whole almonds, toasted, coarsely chopped almonds (I did some roasted, then added some raw)
Mix it all together, make 2 ‘loaves’. Bake for 15 minutes at 300 degrees (baking oven of the Aga). Cut into slices, then bake quickly (5 mins) in hot oven 350 degrees.
Dust with icing sugar.
The pizza mix, aided by the Kitchenaid mixer, took minutes to prepare. I can see I am going to develop bingo wings from lack of kneading. I don’t care!
It was so efficient, the pizza rose more than I expected. Must work on getting a thinner crust, although a thick crust from the Aga is also good. I experimented too with a spelt flour pizza.
Spelt dough
For starters I griddled red peppers, thinly sliced courgettes and aubergines, basting them with an olive oil, salt, garlic and oregano mix. I dressed the grilled vegetables with a balsamic, pomegranate and maple syrup glaze.
Should have had a picture of the final dish but a certain person hid the camera in her room.
Wild Garlic Pesto on top of the pizza:
I blanched the leaves for 20 seconds then dried them. In the Kitchenaid food processor, I put a handful of pine kernels, some parmesan cheese, the wild garlic leaves and a squeeze of lemon juice. Mat Follas suggests doing a pesto with just the flowers and the stalks when the leaves become too grassy.
I added the flowers to a mache salad.
After dessert people had a choice of coffee or the most delicious rose petal tea ‘lendemain de fetes’ from Marseille, given to me by and available at Fred of Galvinatwindows. It is rosehip pink and fragrant.
Would love a Kitchenaid Mixer myself, have to start saving those pennies I think.
Cracked me up with the ice cream maker re: put in freezer for 12 hours prior, not sure I would have had the good sense to google instructions. Probably would have had a hissy fit and chucked it.
Hubby gave me my KA for my birthday last year and I have to say it has transformed how I cook in the kitchen. I bloomin’ love it.
Dare I tell you that you can buy a ice-cream attachment for the KA 😉
I love the sound of the passionfruit icecream and may have to try that next.
I want a Kitchenaid mixer so much. Will have to wait my turn like everyone else though. Or win the lottery.
Another delicious sounding meal, will have to give passion fruit ice cream a go.
I have a lovely bright red kitchenaid and it’s fab.
I love how you went to the effort of linking the phrase ‘bingo wings’ 🙂
I have a lovely bright red kitchenaid and it’s fab.
I love how you went to the effort of linking the phrase ‘bingo wings’ 🙂
That passionfruit ice-cream sounds lush – I used to have an ice-cream maker but it kind of went rusty when i left it in our garage by mistake for too long… maybe I can make it without it… Never heard of a kitchenaid – what do you use it for apart from pizza dough?
Food Urchin, every London food blogger is now asking for Wild Garlic from you…thank you so much for giving it to me…a whole new world.
Jules: your husband is clearly a wonderful man.
Icecream attachment? Will google.
Jenny: yes it’s expensive but a worthwhile investment.
Neil: I try to cater for international readers who may be unaware of the precise meaning of bingo wings or of bingo for that matter. Actually googling a link for that was fun, I was tempted to put up images of serious bingo wingage plus the operation you can have to rectify it.
CuriousCat:I am yet to discover all the fab things one can do with a Kitchen Aid but mixing cakes and dough is a doddle now. It so reminds me of my childhood;pleading with my mum to lick the paddle of the mixer.
I was looking at this today. Then this evening I watched a TV programme on ITV and IMMEDIATELY clocked the scalloped-edged shelves.
I came on just to check – knew it! I am clearly supposed to be a detective.