Rhubarb Apple Crumble

Ingredients

3 cooking apples, peeled, quartered and cored
1 cup water
20 sticks rhubarb
½ cup sugar
1 teaspoon finely grated orange rind
100g butter, chopped
½ cup self raising flour
½ cup lightly packed brown sugar
½ cup rolled oats

Method

1 Preheat oven to 180 C.

2 Cut apples into thick slices and place in a saucepan with water. Simmer for 10 minutes. Meanwhile wash rhubarb and chop into 5 cm lengths. Add rhubarb, sugar and orange rind to apple, return to the boil and simmer for 3 minutes. 

3 Pour mixture into a shallow oven proof dish. Make the crumble by rubbing the butter into the flour, mix in brown sugar, and rolled oats. Sprinkle crumble evenly over the apple and rhubarb and bake for 30 minutes. Serve with icecream, cream or custard.

Quick and Easy Chicken and Leek Pie

 Ingredients
Flaky Puff Pastry ( shop-bought is fine)

Filling

• 1.8 kg chicken (free-range preferably)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 leeks, white part and a little into the green
• 1 medium onion finely chopped
• 50g butter
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 3 tablespoons cream
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
• 1 egg, beaten and mixed with 1 tablespoon milk to glaze the pie.

Method 

1 Simmer the chicken with salt, freshly ground black pepper and bay leaf in a large saucepan of water for 1 hour or until cooked. When cool enough to handle remove flesh from chicken and discard skin and bones.

2 Strain the stock and skim fat as it rises to the surface.

3 Preheat the oven to 210 C 
4 Wash and slice the leeks and sauté in butter with the onion until tender, stir in the flour and gradually add 3 cups of the chicken stock while constantly stirring until sauce boils and thickens. Add the chicken and the cream parsley and chives.
5 Pour the filling in to the pastry shell and cover with pastry, pressing the edges together. Glaze the pastry with the egg mixture and make a few steam holes.

6 Bake in the oven until the pastry is crisp and golden, about 35 minutes.

Spanish Romesco Sauce

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 1-inch thick slice of crusty bread, torn into pieces
• 1/2 cup blanched almonds, chopped or slivered (can substitute hazelnuts, peeled)
• 5-6 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 425g can of crushed tomatoes, or canned whole tomatoes (including the juice) that have been de-seeded, (you can use fresh tomatoes when in season)
•  200g roasted red bell peppers, (drained if using from a jar)
• 1/2 Tbsp smoked paprika (preferred) or sweet paprika
• 2-3 Tbsp sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar

Method

1 Preheat the oven to 180°C. Heat the olive oil in a medium sauté pan over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, sauté the bread and almonds, stirring often, until they just begin to brown. Add the garlic and sauté another 1-2 minutes, stirring once or twice.
2 Place the contents of the sauté pan into a food processor with the remaining ingredients—salt, tomatoes, roasted bell peppers, smoked paprika, vinegar. Purée until smooth. Spread the sauce out on a baking sheet in a pan and bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes, or until the edges begin to caramelize. Allow to cool and scrape into a container to store.
To use romesco sauce, mix with pasta, shrimp, chicken or vegetables either before or after they are cooked, much like you would a pesto. I prefer it best with chicken skewers
Kept in a sealed container, Romesco sauce will last for a week or more in the fridge. It freezes well, too.


Yield: Makes about 1 1/2 cups

Julia Child's Chicken Liver Pate

Julia Child’s Chicken Liver Mousse
Adapted from Mastering the Art of French Cooking

Ingredients
2 cups chicken livers
2 Tbsp minced shallots
2 Tbsp butter
1/3 cup cognac or brandy
1/4 cup  cream
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. allspice
1/8 tsp. pepper
Pinch of fresh thyme
1/2 cup melted butter
 Salt and pepper

Method
1. Remove any greenish or blackish spots from the livers, as well as any sinew. Cut the livers into 1 cm pieces.
2. Melt butter over medium heat in a sauté pan until foam has subsided. Sauté livers with the shallots in butter for 2 to 3 minutes, until the livers are just stiffened, but still rosy inside. Scrape into the blender jar.
3. Pour the wine or cognac into the pan and boil it down rapidly until it has reduced to 3 tablespoons. Scrape it into the blender jar.
4. Add the cream and seasonings to the blender jar. Cover and blend at top speed for several seconds until the liver is a smooth paste.
5. Add the melted butter and blend several seconds more. Adjust seasoning.
6. Optional: press through a sieve to get rid of any chunky bits.
7. Pack into the bowl or jar and chill for 2 to 3 hours.During this process you can seal it with some melted butter.