Post Category - EatEat - Post Category - Eating InEating In
Mamas – Halloween is the perfect time for a family gathering or feast with friends. Create a little Halloween magic in the kitchen with Fiona Archibold’s frighteningly fantastic recipes. While the kids tuck into homemade sassy sausages with monster mash and meringue ghosts on sticks (followed of course by the obligatory binge on trick-or-treat candy), the grown-ups can feast on Autumnal raw slaw and an earthy mushroom, gorgonzola and walnut tart – perfect for a ghoulishly good time!
Open Mushroom, Walnut, Gorgonzola Tart (serves 6)
INGREDIENTS
For the base:
- 1 sheet defrosted, ready-rolled puff pastry
For the topping:
- 100g crème fraiche
- 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
- 1 tsp chopped garlic
- 100g red onions thinly sliced into half-moon shapes
- 300g mixed mushrooms
- 100g gorgonzola cheese sliced into thin triangles
- A pinch of ground black pepper
- A pinch of Maldon sea salt
- 50g chopped walnuts
METHOD
- Preheat the oven with fan to 200C.
- Unroll the puff pastry sheet onto a baking sheet lined with non-stick parchment.
- Spread the sour cream evenly over the pastry base.
- Add the thyme leaves, garlic, onions, and mushrooms.
- Top with a sprinkling of black pepper and sea salt.
- Finally tuck the gorgonzola slices between the ingredients evenly over the tart.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes until the base is crisp and the topping has melted.
- Garnish with a sprig of thyme and serve.
Homemade Sausages (makes 30 – 40 sausages)
INGREDIENTS
- 500g minced lamb or chicken 1 clove garlic, finely chopped 100g finely chopped onion
- 1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
- 1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary 1 egg, beaten
- 100g breadcrumbs
- Salt and pepper
- 2 tbsp olive oil for cooking
METHOD
- Place all ingredients into a large bowl.
- Using your hands, mix all the ingredients together.
- Season well with salt and pepper.
- To test for seasoning roll 1 tsp of the mixture into a tiny sausage shape.
- Warm the olive oil in a pan and sizzle the test sausage until cooked.
- Cool and taste adding more salt and pepper as required. Once the seasoning is correct use your hands to roll the remaining mixture into sausage shapes approximately 4cm long x 1.5cm in diameter.
- Sizzle in batches in a frying pan set over a medium heat, turning sausages gently to ensure an even golden colour. This should take approximately 10 minutes. Serve with monster mash decorated with cress hair, carrot eyes, olive teeth and eyebrows.
Perfect Mashed Potatoes (serves 6)
INGREDIENTS
- 1kg Saudi or Lebanese potatoes, washed, peeled and quartered 250ml milk
- 50g butter
- 1 tsp Maldon salt 1⁄2 tsp black pepper
METHOD
- Fill a large pan with water and bring to a rolling boil.
- Add 1 tsp salt and the potato quarters.
- Once potatoes are bubbling nicely, lower the heat to medium, cover and cook until potatoes are very tender, as in almost falling apart. Do not stir or move potatoes.
- Gently drain all the water from the potatoes in the pan.
- Place the potatoes back onto a medium heat, cover with a lid, shake and allow potato quarters to steam for 2 minutes. This ensures they are thoroughly cooked fluffy, dry and lump free.
- Keeping the potatoes on the heat, add in the milk, butter, salt and pepper.
- Warm until the milk reaches boiling point and the butter has melted.
- Remove from the heat and mash the potatoes thoroughly for about 5 minutes using an electric food mixer or a potato masher.
- Scrape down the sides from time to time to ensure that all potato has been evenly mashed, and is lump free.
- Test for seasoning adding extra salt or pepper as required.
- Ensure potatoes are fluffy, white and lump free before serving.
- Transfer to a pre-warmed bowl. Potatoes stay hot and fluffy if kept in a warm oven around 70C for at least 1 hour.
- If you are serving from cold, reheat for 3-4 minutes in microwave.
Autumnal Raw Slaw & Green Caesar Dressing (serves 4-6)
INGREDIENTS
For the Salad
- 250g red cabbage shredded finely on a mandolin
- 200g grated carrot
- 100g raw beetroot sliced finely on a mandolin
- 100g grated raw celeria
- 50g mung bean sprouts
- 50g spring onions finely sliced
- A handful of alfalfa sprouts
For the Green Caesar Dressing
- 1 egg boiled for 3 minutes, cooled and peeled
- 4 anchovy fillets, mashed 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp finely chopped capers (try and use the small salted ones, rinsed and dried)
- 1 tbsp parsley leaves
- The juice of 1⁄2 a lemon
- 1⁄2 tsp salt
- 1⁄2 tsp white pepper 100ml canola oil
- 2 tbsp freshly grated parmesan
- 4 tbsp cold water
METHOD
- Take a large, shallow serving plate.
- Randomly layer the red cabbage, carrot, beetroot, celeriac, bean sprouts and spring onions.
- Reserve a few slices of beetroot as a final garnish. Set aside.
- Place all ingredients for the Ceasar dressing into a blender.
- Blend until the dressing is smooth and amalgamated. Transfer to sealable jar or bottle. Keep in fridge until required.
- Just before serving, strew the alfalfa sprouts over the salad adding the reserved beetroot slices.
- Drizzle generously with half of the dressing, serving the remainder in a jug.
Meringue Ghosts (makes 12-15)
INGREDIENTS
- 200g icing sugar
- Egg whites at room temperature
To Decorate:
- Raisins
- Lollipop sticks
METHOD
- Preheat oven to 130C with fan assistance.
- Place the icing sugar and egg whites into the bowl of a stand mixer.
- Mix on high for approximately 3-5 minutes until thick and glossy.
- The whisk should leave a soft trail and should be the texture of whipped cream.
- Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a plain nozzle.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment.
- Pipe ghost shapes by swirling the meringue gently, leaving 1cm space between each meringue.
- Slot a lollypop stick underneath each piped meringue. Add two raisins to each meringue for the eyes.
- Place the meringues into the oven, and immediately reduce the heat to 120C and switch off the fan.
- Refrain from opening the oven during the cooking time.
- For soft and chewy meringues bake for 30-40 minutes.
- For dry and crispy meringues bake for 1 hour.
- Allow meringues to cool on the tray before very gently removing.
EAT & ENJOY MAMAS! x
Fiona is a Chef, creative, food stylist, inveterate foodologist and fabulous mama to 2 gorgeous kids. Her expertise and experience are phenomenal; from catering and cooking for the Ferrari Formula 1 team at the height of its glory, to cooking as a private Chef to VIPs and media celebrities, teaching Masterclass food styling seminars and workshops, and writing regular columns and features in Dubai’s Good Housekeeping and Spinneys Food Magazine.
