The Magic Bag of GORP

Off tomorrow to walk over some hills in north Wales for a few days. And - of course - it is the food that most concerns me!

Apparently this Expedition means that I ought to have been eating nothing but pasta, potatoes and bread since Tuesday. If only there were still hot cross buns to be had in the shops I might have had more luck with the Carb Loading. (Damn that delicious pollack and fennel supper! The yogurt! The pigeon soup!)

Well, I have failed on the Carb Loading front. So I am making amends by taking seriously the suggestions about snacking en route...

My contribution to the Excuse To Snack (sorry, Expedition):

- Half dozen boiled eggs (with a twist of Maldon salt and freshly ground black pepper)

- A bag of carrots

- A few crisp, red apples

- The Magic Bag of GORP!

Apparently GORP stands for "Good Old Raisins and Peanuts". Hmmm. Well. I have taken that theme and run with it. So, The Magic Bag of GORP actually contains: almonds; Brazil nuts; mini chocolate flapjack pieces; broken up chunks of good white chocolate; ditto of Green & Blacks 70% dark chocolate. A veritable powerhouse. But possibly not enough salt to replace what we will lose. Deeply tempted to add some Bombay mix, for that salted caramel effect.

Anyway, when we get back I will let you know whether The Magic Bag of GORP was enough to see us through. It's either going to be that or pretending that our poles are light sabres!

A Mere Trifle

I made this as a birthday present for my father, and it was a total hit. (Even with my mother, who usually hates puddings.) It turns out that you can make a Trifle that is not claggy, not just creamy, not just sweet. This is a sophisticated pudding. And it's open to adaptations: cherry and chocolate? Seville orange and Grand Marnier? The only rules are Cake - Custard - Fruit - Cream. I would encourage the Trifle-Sceptics among you to give Trifle a try.

THE CAKE
2 oz butter
2 oz caster sugar
1 egg
2 oz self raising flour

A week beforehand make the cake. (If you don't have this sort of time, skip this stage and bulk up on the amaretti biscuits.) Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Fold in the beaten egg and flour, a bit at a time. Cook in a 6 inch sandwich tin, 180 C/ Gas 4 for 25-30 minutes, when it will be golden. Leave to go stale. (And switch to metric measurements!)


THE REST OF IT
8 or so amaretti biscuits
240 ml fino or amontillado sherry (ie. not super sweet)
300ml milk
600ml Jersey cream (or at least double cream)
2 eggs and 2 extra yolks
1 tblsp sifted cornflour
2-4 tblsp caster sugar
2-4 tblsp vanilla extract (not essence)
160g blackberries (if you have frozen them, defrost gently in a pan and tip off any juice)
160g very good blackcurrant jam
1 lemon (and possibly a little extra juice)
2-4 tblsp icing sugar
100g slivered almonds

Assemble the Trifle the day before you want to eat him. Tear the stale cake into chunks at the bottom of a large bowl - ideally cut glass and very charity shop. (A 15-20cm diameter bowl would be ideal.) Crumble over the amaretti biscuits. Pour over them the first 140 ml of the sherry. Inhale deeply and smile.

In a separate bowl, sieve the cornflour onto the eggs and egg yolks. Mix a bit. In quite a large pan bring the milk and the first 300ml of cream to scalding point (ie. just below boiling), and pour over the egg mixture. Return to the pan and whisk over a low/medium heat, until it has thickened - about 5 or 10 minutes. (The cornflour means you can be a bit more gung-ho about the heat that with a usual custard.) Add the sugar and vanilla extract until it tastes right. Put the base of the pan into a sink of cold water to cool it down for a little bit, then pour it over the cake rubble.

Mix the fruit and the jam. It might need a little lemon juice if it is too sweet-tasting. Dollop over the cooled custard. You want a complete layer to the edge of the bowl.

Into yet another bowl go the juice of one lemon (NB. you may want to zest it before juicing, in which case wrap in plastic/cover it up until tomorrow or the zest will be horribly dry and toenail-y), the second 120ml of sherry and the icing sugar. Stir to dissolve the sugar. Add the second 300ml of cream. Whisk until thickened, but not stiff peaks. Dollop over the fruit layer. Leave in a fridge overnight for all the flavours to get friendly.

On Trifle Day, take the Trifle out of the fridge while you toast the flaked almonds (about 5 minutes in a hot oven, but watch them like a hawk). Leave the almonds to cool. Cover the top of the Trifle with the grated lemon zest. Then scatter the cooled almonds.

Eat up!

Stock-less Soup: Part 1

Now, we all know that a Good Soup starts with a Good Stock. And we all know that the Good Stock Cupboard is sometimes bare. The answer: stock-less soup. Truly. Some soups don't need stock.

DUCK NOODLE SOUP

While you bring 1 pint water to the boil, add the following to it:

1 tsp duck fat (from cooking your duck breast)

1 tsp sesame oil

1 wine glass sweet white wine (eg. Vouvray, Gewurztraminer)

3 or 4 star anise

1 tsp toasted fennel seeds

1-3 chopped spring onions (NB. You will need another one later)

3 0r 4 fat cloves of garlic, sliced

1/4-1/2 lemon, zest and juice

1/4 tsp harissa paste (or a few drops of Tabasco)

1-2 tblsp soy sauce

Boil like hell, to reduce the liquid by about a half. Meanwhile, slice your duck breast and your extra spring onion. When the liquid is nearly done, cook your noodles. (I chose buckwheat, but brown rice would also work well.) Strain the liquid into a deep bowl. Drop in the noodles, duck and spring onions. Eat with chopsticks and a spoon. Serves one hungry person. Takes 20 minutes, tops.