Stasha also includes tips on love, marriage, and enjoying life. Celebrity Chef, Marco Pierre White, writes that the book is “the sexist cookery book I have ever cast my eyes over. A book in my opinion, constructed by a proper woman who knows how to capture her man’s imagination.” AND, its just really adorable.
One of my Mother’s creations… honestly never
seen it fail to please. Serve with meat,
chicken or fish.
Just wonderful.
Handful of vine tomatoes (though you can use any
tomatoes really, so long as they are sweet and fresh)
tomatoes really, so long as they are sweet and fresh)
Couple of ripe avocados
Dijon mustard
Good Balsamic Vinegar
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Halve or quarter the tomatoes depending on their size, and put in a largish bowl. Next, halve the avos, take the stone out, (bang the knife into the stone and gently twist), then holding the avocado in your hand take a spoon and scoop it out into the bowl with the tomatoes…
Easy peasy.
Now the dressing is also really easy, and you make it in the
bowl with the avos and tomatoes. Simply take a large salad server and place it in
the bowl so that the spoon is facing you (because in this spoon is where you‘ll be making your dressing), and into the spoon put lots of salt and pepper, a nice dollop of mustard, and then pour in the Balsamic. It’s hard to be exact about measurements here, so I really strongly suggest you taste the vinegar BEFORE you add it so you have an idea as to how sweet or sharp it is. A good Balsamic is sweet, and this salad can take quite a bit. So, pour the vinegar into the spoon, not worrying if some escapes into the salad, and then using a fork, give the mustard and vinegar a little mix in the large salad spoon.
bowl with the avos and tomatoes. Simply take a large salad server and place it in
the bowl so that the spoon is facing you (because in this spoon is where you‘ll be making your dressing), and into the spoon put lots of salt and pepper, a nice dollop of mustard, and then pour in the Balsamic. It’s hard to be exact about measurements here, so I really strongly suggest you taste the vinegar BEFORE you add it so you have an idea as to how sweet or sharp it is. A good Balsamic is sweet, and this salad can take quite a bit. So, pour the vinegar into the spoon, not worrying if some escapes into the salad, and then using a fork, give the mustard and vinegar a little mix in the large salad spoon.
Next pour some lovely olive oil into the spoon, tip it into the salad once, twice, and once more, then give the whole thing a good mix. Now TASTE! It may well be that you need a little more salt or Balsamic in which case add it…
Don’t worry if the avos mush slightly round the edges, this is what you want. Also, unlike most salads, this can be made a little in advance. Nothing wilts, it just gets tastier, just give it another toss before you serve it. x
Strawberry Pavlova
Created for prima ballerina Anna Pavlova…
Delicate, light as a feather, and oh so beautiful to look at.
I think this was one of the first things I ever made. It looks
so impressive, but unlike being a ballerina, it’s really quite easy.
Serves 6
4 large egg whites
8oz caster sugar
½ lemon
Rock salt
2 Punnets of large strawberries
Large tub, about 200 fluid oz double cream
Mint leaves
Pre heat the oven to 150ºC/300ºF/Gas Mark 2
Line a baking sheet with grease-proof paper. Get some kitchen roll and rub some soft butter all over the paper to be extra sure there’s no sticking.
Now take a large bowl and sprinkle in some rock salt. Get your half lemon and rub the salt around the bowl with it. This totally gets rid of any grease, which egg whites absolutely detest! So make sure that bowl is squeaky clean!
Rinse the bowl in cold water, and dry. You should be left with a bowl that looks like it’s come straight out of an advert. Weigh out the sugar and place a dish cloth under the mixing bowl so it doesn’t slide around.
OK, you’re ready to start. Break your egg whites into the bowl, being careful not to break the yolks after all that cleaning. It’s really annoying if you do, so if you don’t feel too confident about it, break the eggs into a separate bowl then just pour in the whites. Start beating your whites (I use electric beaters because it’s quicker, but a large hand whisk is groovy too). You’ll see they start to turn white and lots of wonderful bubbles start to appear. Keep beating till when you turn off the beater, you can form a sort of soft peak. Then, little by little, start to add the sugar – the mixture should end up very white and beautifully glossy. Apparently if you’ve done this right, you should be able to turn the bowl upside-down and the mixture should stay there… Do ya feel lucky? Well, do ya…?
Take a spatula and pour the mixture onto the oven tray, but don’t spread it too thinly; it should be roughly 8 inches wide and a couple of inches high.
Carefully put it in the oven, and cook for about an hour, checking after about 45 minutes. It should be slightly cracked, and sound ‘dry’ when you tap it. Delia leaves her pavlova to dry out completely in the oven, but I’m far too impatient to do that, but do be careful when you transfer it to a serving plate – a nice big one – use a pallet knife to help you. Don’t worry too much if you get a few more cracks, it gives it a lovely homemade look, and anyway, you’re going to hide the middle cracks with the cream.
Prepare the strawberries by cutting off the top, then standing them on the side you’ve just cut off and slice top to bottom. You should get about 4 or 5 slices per strawberry depending on how big they are. Beat the cream till it just holds its shape – and I mean just – then again using your spatula, carefully spread the cream on the cooled pavlova, taking it to just about the edge. Take the sliced strawberries and start placing them at the edge of the cream. Keep going all the way round. Once you’ve done one circle, keep going till you’ve covered the whole pavlova. Sounds laborious I know, but it really doesn’t take that long, and the results are well worth it!
Artistically place a few mint leaves here and there, and there you have
it – a beautiful Strawberry Pavlova!
it – a beautiful Strawberry Pavlova!
PS. You don’t have to use strawberries; raspberries are lovely too, or any kind of summer fruit really.
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