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Quick Recipe
Chocolate Truffle Torte This decadent torte is deliciously smooth, yet practically fool-proof (the only thing to be careful of is to not overheat the chocolate)! It’s also quite flexible, so feel free to add a couple of teaspoons of instant espresso coffee, or substitute a bit of the double cream for Bailey’s to give it a bit of a twist. Being so rich, this recipe will provide twelve servings, and is incredibly good served with a drizzle of double cream.
Ingredients 250g dark chocolate 2 tbsp golden syrup 2 cartons Elmlea double cream Cocoa powder for dusting
Method • Line an 8 inch cake tin with cling film • Break chocolate into small pieces and put in a heatproof bowl, along with the syrup and around a quarter of the cream • Stand over a pan of hot water and stir until the chocolate is nearly melted. Take of the heat and continue stirring until the chocolate is completely melted and the mixture is combined. Leave to cool until nearly room temperature, but don’t allow to set • Pour the rest of the cream into a bowl and whisk until thickened – this should take less than a minute • Fold the cooled chocolate into the cream in a figure of eight motion until completely combined • Pour the mix into the lined cake tin and put into the fridge to set. This can take roughly three hours but is best left overnight • When the torte is set, place a plate other the top of the cake tin and turn upside down in one smooth motion. Peel off the cling film and dust with cocoa. Voila!
Quick Recipe
Northern Lights shine on Nordic cuisine Natalie Wolfe Is the prospect of a furniture shop in IKEA ever made that much more enticing by the prospect of tucking into a plate of those succulent Swedish meatballs? Well if your answer is a resounding ‘YES’, you may want to think about expanding Nordic your taste buds’ to other possibilities offered by the expansion of Scandinavian cuisine. Already enjoying acclaim in foodie circles ,what with Copenhagen’s twostar Michelin restaurant Noma named best restaurant in the world of 2011, the popularity of our Nordic neighbours’ culinary tendencies are quickly catching on. The Scandinavian Kitchen in Marylebone and The Nordic Bakery in Soho, already provide a little homey hub of Scandinavian delicacies for the reported 150 000 Scandinavians residing in London, with a ready
Have You Tried... Chicken & Bacon Pasta This pasta is extremely tasty, yet surprisingly simple and cheap. This recipe will serve four but can be made in bulk and stored in the fridge – perfect reheated for a quick, hot meal or served cold as a pasta salad
array of specialities. Tartine-style open top sandwiches piled with pickled beetroot, pates and cured meats, just to include a few, and home baked cakes, with daily-changing menu varied with the ‘World’s Best Norwegian Meringue Cake’; Kladdkaka – a sticky Swedish chocolate cake and the Swedish Princess cake – a layered sponge, cream and jam cake covered in marzipan, never fail to attract customers. Aside from the hearty meatballs already famed by IKEA restaurants, Scandinavian cuisine offers a plenitude of choice for the health conscious eater with fresh flavours incorporated into dishes of produce consisting of ingredients just plucked from the ground or the sea. Fuss-free recipes make for a dish which allows the natural flavours of the ingredients shine through in fussfree creations such as mackerel, pickled herring and rye breadperhaps more familiar to most consumers.
Egg Cafe 16-18 Newington, L1 4ED
Ingredients 400g pasta 250g mushroom, thinly sliced 8 rashers streaky bacon, squared 4 tbsp green pesto 200ml crème frâiche 1 large red onion, chopped
But what are the other specialities on offer? Recent years has seen Gravadlax soaring in popularity as word of mouth has spread about this alternative to Scottish smoked salmon with the Scandinavian classic instead typically cured with salt, sugar and dill. Berries also have a part to play in
Menu Favourites Swedish Meatballs £2.95 Butterbean Balti: £3.25 Najad Salmon £3.25
both savoury and sweet dishes with two in particular, the first being the Lingonberry, a bitter berry akin to cranberries which features heavily in jams and savoury sauces to accompany meat and then the Cloudberry, relative to the raspberry but golden in colour and enjoyed in jams, juices and the star of the famous Finnish cloudberry liqueur.
TriBeCa 15 Berry St,
True, the northern climes may not appeal to some as much as the cuisine of the area, but it is thanks to its wintry conditions, vegetables such as cabbage, Brussels sprouts and kale provide an excellent source of vitamin K, vital for blood coagulation. Berries and brassica contain some of the highest levels of antioxidants too, believed to lower the risk of cancer and heart disease. Frequently used rapeseed oil, also native to Britain and readily available from supermarket shelves contains more omega-3 fatty acids than olive oil, as well as providing a dose of vitamin E, essential for healthy skin. Game meat also enjoys popularity with dishes of venison, reindeer, grouse and elk often complimented by potatoes and a berry jelly of conserve such as Lingonberry jam. The health benefits of these sources of protein with lower saturated fat content than farmed meat shine through and added to this, the meat is a lot more flavoursome which further heightens the attraction of these typical Nordic alternative. And it has its fair share of flavoursome seasonings with refreshing and crisp chives, parsley, dill, fennel and juniper berries featuring among the popular choices of spices and herbs. And the popularity for such ingredients means you can now find a great deal in your local supermarket. Not to be outdone on the desert front, the tradition of Danish pastries and desert soups lie with Scandinavians. Recommended by Danish restaurant KRO owner, Mark Ruby, is Rod Grod med Flode, a cold berry stew soup with a dash of cream and Othello cake, a creation filled with berries and custard finished with a chocolate and cream glaze. We have even the possibility of a rival to the humble British hot cross bun in the form of a new more seductive option in the form of cinnamon buns. Something of an obsession to the Scandinavians, each country has a unique version to themselves. So, will you be opting for the Scandinavian sweet whirl of choice come Good Friday?
il Forno 22 Duke St. L1 5AG
L1 9DF
Method • Cook pasta in salted boiling water according to pack instructions • Drain the pasta and leave to cool • While the pasta is cooling, fry the onion, bacon and mushrooms • Put the pasta back into the pan
• stir in the pesto and crème frâiche on a low heat. • Add the mushrooms, onion and bacon and combine • Serve in a bowl with a drop of Red • Enjoy!