Warm salad with prosciutto

I have finally remembered to start enjoying the Homes & Gardens magazines I found at the flea market a few months ago. Not all at once of course but one issue for every two days or so. There is so much going on at our place these days that even this pace feels like a luxury.

The other day I noticed a delicious-looking recipe and left the magazine open on the table hoping I might remember to buy the few missing ingredients to try it. And I actually managed to bring home some asparagus, which is essential to this dish. I was still lacking some makings but simply replaced them with something of the same sort.

Salade tiède au jambon de Parme

(adapted from Maille Dijon mustard company’s recipe Salade tiède au boeuf given in the brackets)

1 kg of new potatoes                            cook in a steamer for 20 min

1 bunch of asparagus                          cook in a steamer for 15 min

10 slices of dry-cured ham                cut into pieces

(0r 350 g of roast beef                        chop into chunks and dry-fry)

1 onion (or 3 salad onions)                chopped     

Parsley according to taste                chopped

1 tablespoon of capers

1 garlic clove                                         chopped

Dressing:

3 tablespoons of olive oil

1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon of Maille (Wholegrain or) Honey mustard

Pepper to taste

As we are still waiting for the hot July days to reach our corner of the world, we served the salad warm with a generous grinding of pepper on top. It was delicious and would without fail also serve as an excellent cold lunch with a piece of freshly baked bread and an ice-cold drink. I wish...

PS. We had the leftovers straight from the fridge the following day. Délicieux !

Some brandy does it

There is one pastry I love to see on my Christmas coffee table. The dough itself is so tasty that I always hope no one is near when I’m making it so I can scrape the remains from the bowl straight to my own mouth.

This favourite of mine is, unsurprisingly, a fruit cake but not the dark and heavy loaf-shaped one traditional in many parts of the world. It is a light-coloured fruity and nutty ring cake with traces of brandy that may be more than just a suggestion if your taste buds are sensitive.

Fruit cake with brandy

250 g  (8 fl oz)  butter or margarine

200 ml                (cane) sugar

4                           eggs

100 ml                dried apricots (chopped)

100 ml                candied cherries

100 ml                hazelnuts

100 ml                currants

500 ml                plain flour

2 teaspoons      baking powder

50 ml                  brandy

Cream butter or margarine and sugar together, beat in the eggs, stir in the fruit and nuts. Stir together the baking powder and the flour and stir the mixture and the brandy in the cream. Spoon in a prepared ring tin and bake in 175°C (350°F) for 45-50 min. 

Some people are not very keen on dried fruit in a cake, which is all the better for those who are. And if the ingredients include something you don’t like you can always replace it with the same amount of something similar. (For example, I don’t like raisins in any baked or cooked food so I’m using currants instead.) 

A slice or two of this cake will be perfect with a cup of tea or coffee on a cold winter afternoon or with a class of sherry or port as a dessert after a lengthy dinner. 

The cake will keep for several weeks. In fact, the flavours will be richer and the nuts a bit softer if you bake it a couple of weeks before you are planning to serve it. You can enjoy slices of the cake all through the holiday season – or even further if you are lucky enough to keep it safe from the gourmands of your company. 

Teresa Maria