The Joys of Vintage Cookbooks

Recently, while browsing the ‘for sale’ shelf of my local library, I happened upon an old cookbook by the grand dame of home baking, Mary Berry. The book was first published back in 1983 and includes a host of recipes from her various television series.

I was delighted by this discovery for three reasons.  Firstly, the aptly titled Mary Berry’s Complete Television Cookbook, despite being in excellent condition, was marked at the knock-down price of 50p  – and like most people in these straitened times, I do loves me a bargain.  (Incidentally, the same book is listed on Amazon as ‘collectible’ and priced from £9.99 to £35.00, depending on the seller.)

Secondly, while many recipes in vintage cookbooks stand the test of time, some of the writing, unfortunately, does not – and this can sometimes make for hilarious reading. This particular offering from Ms Berry contained many nuggets of wisdom which all but cracked me up. 

For example, in the ‘planning your kitchen’ section, Ms Berry advises the reader to use gloss paint on the walls because “it is easily washed, but make sure you have no condensation – it looks particularly unattractive on gloss paint.”  And on the subject of white goods, she states that “the dishwasher is still considered a luxury but they are worth the money if you have a large family and little time or inclination to be up to your elbows in suds all day”, while microwave ovens are “marvellously useful”.

The Unwitting Feminist

Hmmm – I wonder if Mary realised at the time that she was writing such a ground-breaking feminist manifesto?  Somehow, I think not …

But, giggles aside, the third and most important reason I take such delight in old-school cookbooks is the fact that they are a veritable treasure throve of genuinely classic recipes. 

In this, the era of the celebrity chef, hardly a month goes by which doesn’t see the publication of yet another tome by Oliver, Ramsey et al – and in order to differentiate themselves in this overcrowded market, I have noticed that these chefs/cookery writers are increasingly focusing on fancy-schmancy recipes that claim to be a new take on the classics.  And while all this is well and good – food writing does indeed need to evolve in order  to survive – sometimes one craves the simplicity of a classic recipe, without all the attendant bells and whistles.

And so, on that note, I give you ….

Mary Berry’s Chocolate Éclairs

Prep Time: 20 mins

Cook Time: 30 mins approx + 10 mins cooling

Decorating Time: 10 mins

Ingredients:

CHOUX PASTRY
50g butter

150ml water

60g plain flour

2 eggs, beaten

FILLING

300ml whipping cream

ICING

40g butter

25g cocoa powder

100g icing sugar, sieved

3-4 tablespoons milk

You will also need a piping bag fitted with ½ nozzle, and two greased baking trays.

1. Preheat oven to 200C / 400F / Gas 6.

2. Put the butter and water in a saucepan and bring to the boil slowly.  Keep stirring until butter has melt completely.

3. Remove from heat and add the flour all at once.  Beat to form a ball.

4. Gradually beat in the eggs, a little at a time, to make a smooth paste.

5. Put the mixture in the piping bag and pipe the mixture into 8cm lengths.

6. Bake for 10 minutes, before reducing the heat to 170C-180C / 350F / Gas 4, and bake for a further 15 to 20 minutes, until the éclairs have risen, crisp and golden-brown.

7. Remove from over, place on a wire tray.

8. Slit each éclair down one side to allow steam to escape.

9. Allow to cool.

10. Meanwhile, whip the cream until it is thick and has formed into soft peaks.

11. Fill the éclairs' cavity with the whipped cream.

11. Make the icing by melting the butter in a small saucepan before adding the cocoa and cook for a minute, stirring constantly.

12. Remove from the heat and stir in the icing sugar and milk and beat until starting to thicken.

13. Coat the icing over the éclairs and allow to set.

Here's some I made earlier ...

Sophie Dahl's Banana Bread

Normally, when it comes to trying new recipes, I tend to abide by the old adage “never trust a skinny cook”.

Indeed, this little nugget of wisdom is particularly apt when applied to that new breed of celebrity chef – the actress/model-turned-food guru. I mean, there is no way anyone is going to convince me that a Gwyneth Paltrow recipe, however nutritious it might be, is going to taste like anything other than recycled cardboard.

However, I am prepared to make an exception for Sophie Dahl (grand-daughter of Roald Dahl and former supermodel) for two reasons:

1) Prior to becoming a skinny-minny, Ms Dahl was, in her own words, “as round as a Reubens” (i.e. a bit of a fatty)

and

2) She has often described herself as ‘greedy’ – not a word which would be used by anyone who does not genuinely love their food.

Thus, when I happened upon her recipe for banana bread in an old foodie magazine, I threw caution to the wind and decided to give it a go (although, I have to admit that my resolve wavered slightly when confronted with a list of ingredients which included desiccated coconut and a pot of crème fraiche).

But for once, my recklessness was rewarded - the resulting loaf (pictured below) was the most mouthwateringly delicious banana bread I have ever tasted. The addition of the crème fraiche ensured a moistness I have never before experienced in a banana bread (which can often be a bit on the dry side), and the coconut gave it an usual depth of flavour.

And so, while I still hold the majority of actress/model-turned-celebrity-chefs in contempt (I will forever worship at the alter of Nigella), there will always be room on my bookshelf for a Sophie Dahl cookbook.

Banana Bread with Coconut and Crème Fraiche

Prep Time: 20 mins

Cook Time: 55 mins - 1 hour

Serves 10

Ingredients:

110ml sunflower oil

200g light muscovado sugar

2 eggs, lightly beaten

50g desiccated coconut (orignal recipe calls for 75g but I prefer to add a little less)

400g mashed banana (about 4 medium bananas

200ml crème fraiche

1 tsp vanilla extract

170g spelt flour

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

½ tsp salt

You will also need a 2kg loaf tin, lined and/or greased

1. Preheat oven to 180C / 350F / Gas 4

2. Beat together the oil and sugar.

3. Add the eggs, coconut, mashed bananas, crème fraiche and vanilla extract

4. Gently sift in the flour, bicarb of soda and salt, stirring until the dry ingredients are combined with the wet ingredients.

5. Pour mixture into prepared tin and bake for 55 mins - 1 hour, or until a cake tester comes out clean.

6. Serve warm with butter.



When is a Risotto not a Risotto?

This dish is, for all intents and purposes, a risotto.  Except it can’t be called a risotto because the technique is slightly different.  Instead of laboriously stirring ladleful after ladleful of stock into the rice, with this recipe you simply dump the rice into the hot stock all at once, and let it slowly absorb as it cooks.  Perfect for when you have neither the time nor the inclination to engage in any culinary heavy-lifting.

Arroz con Gambas y Chorizo

(or Rice with Prawns and Chorizo to you and me!)

Prep Time: 25 mins (or less if you buy pre-prepared prawns)

Cook Time: 35 mins
Serves 4

Ingredients:

Olive Oil

1 large onion, finely chopped

3 gloves of garlic, finely minced

1 red chilli, finely chopped

75g chorizo sausage, sliced thinly

Small bunch of dill, roughly chopped

Small bunch of lemon thyme, roughly chopped and/or a dash of lemon juice

500ml fish stock

Glug of white wine (optional)

440g tin of chopped tomatoes

250g risotto rice (like arborio or carnaroli)

400g prawns, peeled, shelled and lightly seasoned.

1.  In a large, heavy-bottomed pan, warm a gulg of olive oil over a medium heat.

2.  When the oil is hot, add onions and fry with a little salt until they begin to soften. (ALWAYS use salt when frying onions – it brings out their flavour beautifully)

3.  Add the minced garlic, chopped chilli and chorizo. Cook for another couple of minutes until the chorizo has released its lovely oily red colour and paprika flavour.

4.  Add the tinned tomatoes, herbs and the wine, followed by the fish stock.

5.  Season with salt and pepper.

6.  When the stock/tomato mixture is hot, add the rice and stir well.

7.  Reduce the heat, cover and simmer slowly, stirring occasionally, until the rice has absorbed most of the liquid.

8.  Finally, turn up the heat and add the prawns.

9.  Cook for just a few minutes, until prawns are pink and no longer translucent.

Serve immediately.

Easy Homemade Bread

Despite the proliferation of high-quality, reasonably-priced, artisan breads that are now readily available on most supermarket shelves, nothing quite beats the taste of one’s own homemade bread, straight from the oven, served with lashings of melting butter.

However, most people are quite understandably put off by time and effort it takes to prepare a yeast-based bread – considering the busy lives we all lead, all that palaver involved in waiting for the dough to ‘prove’ is simply too much bother.

However, a solution can be found in the old store-cupboard staple that is bicarbonate of soda. A perennial favourite in Irish kitchens, the humble bicarb provides a pleasing alternative to yeast, not least because it does not require any time to ‘rise’, which means the entire process of bread-making is vastly simplified.

Below is a recipe for a fibre-packed, nutty, wholemeal soda bread, with a white version to follow later.

Wholemeal Irish Soda Bread (Serves 4)

Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 50 mins

Ingredients:

180g wholemeal flour
50g plain flour
50g pinhead oatmeal*
25g wheatgerm
1 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
1 teaspoon white sugar
1¼ teaspoons salt
280 ml buttermilk
1 egg, preferably free-range

(* Feel free to mix the pinhead oatmeal with other pre-cooked grains such as rye or pearl barley. If you live in the UK, Waitrose stocks a great four-grain mix of spelt, pearl barley, rye and wholemeal grains in their new ‘love life’ range, which works really well in this recipe.)

You will also need a small (1lb) loaf tin, slicked with a little butter.

1. Preheat oven to 190C / 375F / Gas 5
2. Place all the dry ingredients into a large-ish bowl.
3. Lightly beat the egg into the buttermilk.
4. With a fork, combine the buttermilk and egg mixture with the dry ingredients.
5. Spread the mixture into the greased loaf tin.
6. Cook for 50 minutes, until bread is golden-brown and emits a hollow sound when tapped on the bottom.
7. Allow to cook on a wire tray, while you enjoy the delicious smell of fresh-baked bread that has filled your kitchen!

It really is as simple as that!

Like most homemade breads, this one should be eaten fresh on the same day – but in the unlikely event that there is any leftover, it makes amazing toast for up to 3 days!

Apple, Apples and More Apples

Autumn is finally upon us, which can mean only one thing – APPLES!

In the UK at least, this year’s harvest has been bountiful, with trees laden down with a bumper crop.  And thanks to an unseasonably warm spring, this autumn's offerings have ripened earlier than usual.   So, what better way to take advantage of this seasonal glut than to don the apron and get baking?!

One of my all-time favourite apple recipes is Eve’s Pudding.  This dessert has declined in popularity in recent years, although I have no idea why!  Every time I bake this dish, the beautiful warming aroma transports me back twenty years to my grandmother’s kitchen.  This recipe is worth the effort, if only for the nostalgia it evokes!

Eve’s Pudding, at its most basic is simply stewed apples topped with a light-as-air sponge mixture.  And it is so simple to make, even the most inexperienced cook could tackle it with ease.

My Grandmother’s Eve’s Pudding (Serves 4)

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

For the apple base:

3 - 4 large cooking apples, like Bramley

1 tbsp lemon juice

2 tbsp cold water

2 tbsp caster sugar

20g unsalted butter

Sprinkle of ground cinnamon (optional)

For the topping:

100g self-raising flour

100g caster sugar

75g unsalted butter (at room temperature)

2 large eggs (preferably free range), lightly beaten

Tiniest pinch of salt

You will also need a lightly greased pudding or gratin dish (preferably ceramic or Pyrex), with a capacity of 900ml and 5cm / 2in deep.

1. Preheat oven to 180C / 350F / Gas 4.

2. Peel, core and slice or chop the apples.

3. Put in a heavy-bottomed saucepan with lemon juice, water and cinnamon if using. Cook over a medium-to-high heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until apples soften (but are still retaining their shape).

4. Reduce the heat slightly and the add butter and sugar.  Cook for another minute or two.

5. Pour into pudding dish and spread the mixture around the bottom.  Allow to cool, while you get on with the topping.

6. Cream the butter and sugar, either by hand or with a hand-held mixer, until fluffy and light in colour.
7. With the mixer stilll going, slowly add the eggs.
8. Sift the flour and salt into the mixture and carefully fold in until fully incorporated.

9. If the mixture is very stiff, add a spoonful of hot-to-boiling water.

10. Spread the topping over the apple base and bake for 30-35 minutes until sponge is fluffed up and golden brown.

Serve warm with a sprinkle of icing sugar and a sizeable dollop of vanilla ice-cream.

Enjoy!

By the way, if you were so inclined, you could also include blackberries in this recipe.  Simply stir a handful of ripe berries into the cooked apple mixture, before transferring to the baking dish. (But if you chose this method, it's probably best to leave out the cinnamon).

(With apologies for my poor photography skills!)