I’m in mid preparations for a trip off the rock. Later today we’re going to Canada for two weeks, a whistlestop tour of Whistler (geddit) and more in British Columbia. Hence I’ve been doing an awful lot of leftovers which aren’t too interesting or bloggable. But here are the best of the rest:
- Gooey chocolate stack
I made this for Mr. Reasonable’s birthday cake, similar to one that he’d eaten growing up in Turin. Even though my meringue discs were far bigger than envisioned (they expand, ladies and gents, in the oven) and my creme patisserie was lumpy and threatened to split (entirely my fault due to forgetting the flour until the last moment – sigh), the finished result was absolutely delicious. I also covered the top with a chocolate ganache as I didn’t use cocoa or chocolate for the creme patisserie. The chocolate meringues were an absolute hit – just the right amount of cocoa to impart taste without overwhelming. - Un bel casino di mirtilli, or blueberry Eton mess
And what to do with a left over chocolate meringue disc? Whip some cream with a little caster sugar, fold in the end of a tub of creme fraiche and roughly crumble in the meringue. Spoon over a bowl of chilled blueberry compote and top with chopped toasted hazelnuts. Just shoot me now, it doesn’t get better than this… - Pasta with asparagus pesto
Separate the stalks from the tips of a bunch of asparagus. Cook the stalks until tender and blend with grated parmesan and a handful of pinenuts until you get a smooth green paste, adding olive oil to loosen if necessary. (I also added a half onion and a lone courgette that were hanging around, chopped and sauteed, but they’re not essential). Spoon the mixture into a pan and warm gently. If you boiled the asparagus, try to remember to keep the hot water to cook the pasta in. You can also use a little of this water to slacken the pesto if you find it’s too dense or the cheese is catching, but be careful not to make it watery – it shouldn’t slop around the pan at all. I used about 170g penne for two people. Chuck in the asparagus tips 1 minute before the cooking time is up (and remember for al dente pasta to knock off at least 2 minutes from the printed cooking time in the UK and USA!). Drain the pasta and asparagus tips, return to the cooking pot and scrape in the pesto sauce. Mix well and serve with extra parmesan and olive oil.
