Mushroom Pate wrapped up in Egg Cakes.

Alan's Challenge but he is too busy to write.

Mushroom Pate:

500 g mushrooms (we used shiitake, chestnut and oyster)
1/2 onion
2 cloves garlic
knob butter
pinch of fresh sage
small handful chopped parsley
veg stock
Salt and Pepper

1.fry onions, mushrooms, onion, garlic and little bit of sage in butter and then add tablespoon of stock

2. Allow the mixture to cool and then add 1 tub of cream cheese and handful chopped parsley.  Combine the mixture.

3. Allow to sat for about five hours

Egg Cakes

3x beaten eggs
1/4 pint milk
salt and pepper

1. Add milk to beaten eggs
2. Heat oil in a pattern, pour egg mixture in to make thin pancake

3. Cook on each side until golden

4. Spread mushroom pate onto the egg cake and then wrap.

Marking Category	Hannah	Alan
Presentation	4	4.5
Innovation	4.5	4
Quality of egg	1	2
Taste	3.5	3
Total	13	13.5

Comments

Hannah- The egg cakes were burnt as they were put in the oven to keep warm.  We have pictured the only non burnt one.  The recipe felt quite retro, a bit 70's.  The taste was rich but maybe three egg pancakes was too many, I maybe should have stuck to one.  Chopped up in smaller pieces this would be good as party food.  The mushroom pate was divine, such a rich creamy flavour, but, i'm sad to say, more suited to being spread on toast.

Alan- Bit rich!

Shakshuka

Shakshuka is an Israeli egg dish.  I decided to make this because according to our statistics someone from Israel has viewed our blog (yes, dear readers we have gone global).  I meant to make this recipe last week to mark Chanukah the Jewish festival of lights. Also, I used to eat this recipe all the time when I was in India (there are many Israeli people backpacking in India) and I loved it and have not eaten it since.

There has been much work related stresses this week and we have therefore taken a long time to welcome the world this morning.  I have practically had to drag Alan out of bed at two thirty in the afternoon. We are, therefore, eating a very late breakfast. Shakshuka is a strong, bold, spicy recipe to kick start one into the day when feeling a little melancholy.

Ingredients

1x tin cherry tomatoes
6 cloves of garlic
1x onion
1/2 tea spoon cumin
1/2 tea spoon paprika
pinch sugar
handful chopped parsley
pinch of fresh sage
4x eggs
salt and pepper

N.B I decided to use cherry tomatoes because whilst watching Nigella Lawson on I Player this week she described them as the strappy high heels of tinned tomatoes and I was curious to try, and yes Nigella I agree they are indeed the strappy high heels of tinned tomatoes.

1. soften onions before adding garlic and then after a few minutes add the spices and cook for another few minutes before adding the tomatoes.

2.  Add half cup of water and some tomato puree and simmer for 1/2 hour

3. After half hour take from heat and add the parsley before transferring the mixture into for small ramekins and crack an egg onto each ramekin.

4. Pour boiling water into an oven dish enough to cover the bottom and transfer the ramekins into the oven tray and bake for about twenty minutes on a medium heat.

Marking Category	Hannah	Alan
Presentation	4	4
Innovation	3.5	2.5
Quality of egg	1	1
Taste	3.5	3
Total	12	10.5

Comment's

Hannah-I loved this recipe. Unfortunately, due to getting distracted I left the eggs in the oven for too long, thus, compromising the quality of eggs.  The yolks were tough like bullets! This, however, did not ruin the dish for me because it brought back such fond memories, of a time when deciding where to have breakfast each morning constituted a pretty big decision, a time where one could spend two hours over breakfast.  In India I used to eat a little pot of humus with this dish.  The use of tinned cherry tomatoes provided a lovely sweet flavour against the earthy spiciness of the other flavours.  There are many different versions of this reciepe.  You can even scramble the egg against the tomatoes.  I made this reciepe just using ingredients that I had at home (apart from the cherry tomatoes which I purchased especially).

Alan- Super Idea, but, unfortunately the eggs were a bit too hard.

Lastly I would like to say a big thank you to Jeeves and Bertie Woorster who have helped make a stressful week more bearable.  What supportive chaps.

Tally Ho Chums

A day at the beach

Snow brought disruption to Brighton. But with disruption arrives opportunity, the opportunity to start the weekend early.   Dear readers, I am enjoying a four day weekend due to snow disruption.  After an afternoon at the beach I decided to use up lots of ingredients from my fridge that need eating and make a Moroccan inspired one pot dish with boiled eggs.

Hannah's Challenge 

Ingredients:
1x onion
8 cloves of garlic
tablespoon grated ginger
1x red chilli
2x tomatoes
tomato puree
2x teaspoons cumin
1x teaspoon harissa paste
1x tablespoon of apple and walnut chutney (this chutney is horrible, far to sweet to eat alone)
cinnamon stick
4x cardamom pods
handful olives
2x carrots
broccoli
cabbage
tin borlotti beans
2x eggs hard boiled
handful coriander 

1.Soften the onions in oil, add salt so that they don't fry but soften.  Then add garlic, grated ginger and chilli. Cook for two minutes before adding cumin, fry for 1 min more and then add harissa paste and chutney.

2. Peel the tomatoes (place them in boiling water to do this)  Add the tomatoes and tomato puree to the mixture and 1/4 pint of veg stock. (I left this to simmer for about 1 hour) Add olives, cinnamon stick and cardamom.

3. Add the carrots and cook for 15 minutes and then add other vegetables and more stock if needed.

4. Boil eggs for about six minutes, peel and cut in half

5. Add beans and eggs to the vegetables cook for further 20 minutes.

6. Sprinkle with coriander and serve

I served this with couscous flavoured with saffron and argon oil (both from Morocco) and we drank a lovely glass of mulled cider. Happy times.

Marking Category	Hannah	Alan
Presentation	1.5	2
Innovation	3.5	3
Quality of egg	2	4
Taste	3.5	3.75
Total	10.5	12.75

Comments:

Hannah- I did not get the eggs right.  They were supposed to be hard boiled but they were still a little soft. I felt that the eggs seemed like a bit of an add on rather than being in harmony with the rest of the dish.  If I was to make this again I would crack the eggs into the pan and poach them on top of the stew or place it all into the oven to bake like a traditional tajine.  I feel that this would make the eggs feel like more of a cohesive part of the recipe.  This was a lovely warming recipe perfect food for a snow day.

Alan- I was not disappointed with the quality of the egg.  I thought it was a lovely soft boiled egg.  I thought that the flavour of the egg complimented the sweet, spicy, aromatic flavours of the tajine