GUEST BLOG: Mexican rave

By guest blogger TRACEY

We were dining Mexican style this Monday morning at the Approved Premises. There may have been a shortage of tequila, but the guys shot through the abundance of fresh chillies, onions and garlic with competence, speed and ease. This was the penultimate session in a block of six and it's great to see how their skills, confidence and knowledge have improved, to the point where one minute they're talking football, the next... the amount of onion and garlic they like in their dishes – now that's inspiring stuff!

It was unfortunate that the ‘bargain-priced avocados’ were rock hard! Rob had researched methods of softening them, one being, placing them in a brown paper bag with a banana - this would have been great had it worked. But we had to result to using the microwave to soften them, which took a good while. While they were softening, Rob explained that growing these pears in Mexico is the equivalent of growing apples in the UK. The then artificially ripened avocados were mashed and combined with chopped tomatoes, chillies, onions, lemon juice, seasoning, coriander and olive oil. The result was guacamole and we were each given the option of spicing it up with smoky chipotle.

The Mexican session is the one that really tests the opinion that ‘you eat with your eyes’ as the appearance and visual textures of the dishes can be a completely new experience and challenge! However, I was delighted that the initial reluctance and scepticism towards some of the ingredients were met with a curiosity to try the new tastes and textures - the re-fried beans shocked most and won over many!

Bread, baking powder, salt and warm water were used to make the tortillas, highlighting that these basic ingredients are so versatile, making so many different bread dishes across the continents, such as nan, pizza bases and dumplings. Such a great mix to complete the carbohydrate element of the eat well plate. To cook them, the guys rolled them flat, then dry fried them in a hot frying pan as the grated butter in the dough provided the fat.

I think the cumin-spiced salsa won everyone over this week - the tomatoes, onions, garlic and chilli powder were reduced down to create a slightly sweet and fresh-tasting sauce once the freshly chopped coriander was added. This was a great session, topped off by planning for next week’s store-cupboard session - the guys have chosen to finish with a four-course menu of lentil, carrot and noodle soup with turmeric and coriander, for the main, we’ll have a chicken Christmas dinner, then pancakes and/or!! carrot cake for pudding... Wow, Christmas really has come early!

There is a selection of photos from this session on the CGF Facebook page.

GUEST BLOG: Talking Italian

By guest blogger SIOBHAN

Monday 3 December saw Cracking Good Food bring together six residents of the Approved Premises for an Italian cooking session, making two pasta sauces: carbonara and puttanesca.

The session began with a short talk about the ingredients that would be used today and a little history about the origins of these dishes. First off, capers: if the caper bud is not picked, it flowers and produces a fruit called a caper berry. The fruit can be pickled and then served as a Greek mezze or used in recipes such as pasta puttanesca. Unripe nasturtium seeds can be substituted for capers; they have a very similar texture and flavour when pickled.

For the carbonara sauce (pictured top), we fried sliced bacon and garlic and chopped mushrooms. These were then added to our creamy sauce, made by adding grated cheese to a roux base (flour was mixed into melted butter to make a paste, then hot milk was added gradually to make a sauce). Puttanesca (pictured bottom) is an Italian hot tomato sauce consisting of: tins of tomatoes, onions, olives, capers, anchovies, chopped parsley, chillies.

Halfway through the session the group split into pairs to work together in completing the dishes, so everyone got to see how both meal was put together, then, once the table was set, it was time to sample the meal. And what a delight it was: rich, tasty, colourful and filling. It was difficult to stop dishing out more helpings - I must confess to having three platefuls, it was so delicious!

Well done to the group, who worked so well as a team today prepping and cooking and helping to clear and wash up.

More photographs from this session can be seen on the Cracking Good Food Facebook page.

GUEST BLOG: What a curry on!

By guest blogger TRACEY

Rob began the second of his latest sessions at the Approved Premises by reminding the group that the six lessons will introduce them to cuisines from different countries - and this week we were jetting off to sample the culinary delights of India. The importance of having a balanced diet was stressed and Rob explained the nutritional value of the foods we were using: naan bread for carbohydrate, lentils have fibre and chicken was the protein. The guys set to work by sprinkling the chicken thighs with salt and oil, then placing them in the oven to roast. 

Next, the production line for creating the jalfrezi began - lots of red and yellow peppers were sliced, along with four Italian palmero peppers for sweetness. Garlic and ginger were sliced julienne style and lots and lots of red onions were sliced then sautéed. The remaining ingredients were added once the onions had softened. Both Rob and I were impressed with the slick skill and ease displayed while chopping these vegetables - they've obviously being watching Rob very closely! The black mustard seeds, cumin and fenugreek seeds were lightly fried until the seeds started to splatter, then the turmeric and garam masala were added. The mixture was then stirred into the vegetables and left to simmer. Meanwhile, the lentils were weighed and left to cook in water, oil and turmeric for 30 minutes and once they had softened, the same spice mix was added. A coconut block was sliced and added then, just before the dish was served, some chopped coriander was stirred into the lentils. Both changed the appearance and enhanced the taste of one of my favourite dishes! 

The guys were visibly challenged at the thought of making naan bread, but once Rob talked them through the recipe and ingredients, they realised a tandor oven wasn’t needed with his infamous naan in the pan recipe! The delicious aroma of the spices and freshly made bread brought many to the kitchen and all left satisfied with the feast they came to share - and all for £1.70 per head!

More photographs from this session can be seen on the Cracking Good Food Facebook page.

GUEST BLOG: Brith easy

By guest blogger KIM IRWIN

On 17 November, Rob was back, this time showing a group of aspiring bakers the art of festive breadmaking. With the room temperature cranked high and all windows shut, we were ready to start the session. Rob donned his trademark neckerchief and began his fascinating introduction to bread, sharing knowledge gleaned from a keen interest which he said has spanned over 30 years! He doesn't look old enough!  

Soon our participants were weighing out flour, adding yeast and dipping hands in jugs of water to gauge the correct temperature needed for the dough. Once the dough was kneaded, damp teatowels were placed over the top and it was left to rise while we moved on to the traditional Bara Brith… mmmmmmm.  

Rob had pre-soaked a huge bowl of dried fruit and candied peel in rum the night before to save time, and oh my, it certainly smelt like Christmas. The technique for the Welsh teacake was pretty much the same as before so everyone cracked on with weighing and kneading, and before long the xmassy dough was also left to one side to rise.

And rise the dough certainly did. The temperature of the room aided the fast rising of both the dough batches and as soon as they were shaped and in the oven, we were able to open the windows and get some air circulating…

The wonderful aroma of fresh bread soon filled the room and we waited expectantly for the loaves to bake. We weren't disappointed, and the warm slices of Bara Brith with melted butter oozing down fingers was a well-deserved treat. It's definitely a recipe I'll be trying out myself at home. Well done, everyone, and Rob - another Cracking Good Food success.

For more photographs from this session, please visit our Facebook page.

Treasure hunt

The foraging session with Jesper on Saturday was great. Another smashing group and top notch support from the assistants. We cooked up a selection of six wild mushrooms in butter with wild three cornered leek, and, once crispy, we added an egg and milk mixture to make a tasty wild mushroom fritata. Everyone even went home with some mushrooms to cook up later... we wonder what they made - risotto, pasta, garlic mushrooms on toast? Whatever, with our fabulous foraging finds, we bet it was gorgeous!

GUEST BLOG: All the pies

By guest blogger TRACEY

It’s not surprising the guys at the Approved Premises left with full bellies on Monday 19 November - they cooked up a right feast of beef and vegetable bean stew, roast potatoes, and beef and seasonal vegetable pie. The production line commenced with the peeling and chopping of the beef shoulder, turnips, beetroots, butternut squash, onions, garlic, swede, parsnips and carrots. A large baking tray was used for the ‘roast potatoes in jackets’ and sprinkled with salt and lightly covered with oil. The guys then sweated the diced onions, while the meat, carrots, beetroot and herbs were put in the pressure cooker to tenderise and be infused with the flavours and fragrance of the thyme and rosemary. The remaining ‘softer’ veg were put on a low heat in the casserole. The veg and meat were mixed together and the black eyed peas and bay leaves were added, then left to simmer for around an hour. Once cooked, the veg and meat mix was split, and a tin of tomatoes was added to the half which was being used for the pie. Rob then shared the magical formula to get perfect pastry - half the amount of butter to flour - so the required amounts of flour, butter, suet, baking powder and water were measured out to make the dumplings and crust pastry lid. Two types of dumplings were made, herby and plain, and the dough was perfect so with the formula proved, both types of dumplings were placed in the stew to cook. The pie lid was rolled out and thumbed into the pie dish, then slit twice for the air to be released. Both the pie and stew had a lovely rustic appearance and a warm and hearty fill perfect for the cold and blustery weather we had to face in the afternoon.

There are more photographs from this event on the official Cracking Good Food Facebook page.

GUEST BLOG: Totally souper!

By guest blogger CHRIS YOUNG

The was a lot of interest for our session at the Eddie Coleman Kitchen at the Salford Student Village at Salford University last Wednesday, with one team filming and another team conducting radio interviews, so we were off to a good start! Cracking Good Food partnered up with Greater Manchester Waste Disposal team (GMWD) and their Love Food Hate Waste campaign, and Rebecca from GMWD was with us for the evening.

  

We had students in every nook and cranny of the room watching the tomato soup cooking demonstration where we made one spicy and one herby tomato soup. Eight volunteers helped us prepare the tomatoes, garlic, carrots, onions, celery and herbs. Cracking Cook Kim Irwin showed everyone how to safely chop vegetables and, throughout the cooking, she made sure that everyone could follow what she was doing and ensured that everyone was involved by asking questions. Many of the students didn’t know how to cook but felt comfortable asking us questions and there was a great buzz throughout the cooking demonstration.

One student who was new to university life and had never cooked before got stuck in helping Kim make the soups, and he loved it so much he will now start cooking instead of ordering takeout! He may even continue to help us as by being a CGF volunteer - and as you learn so many new things at each cooking demonstration, maybe we have a new chef in the making?

At the end of the tomato soup demonstration, Rebecca administrated a Love Food Hate Waste quiz where Jess and Emelie won two food baskets each!

You can see some more photos from the session in Salford on our Facebook page.