Two new cookbooks this week, one arrived on my desk by snail mail which I love.
I still greatly enjoy the excitement of opening my post and there it was, provocatively entitled Hot Fat.
The other, more whimsically named Breadsong was written by father and daughter duo Kitty and Al Tait.
On our recent UK adventure, I detoured over 100 miles to buy this book at source…and to get it signed by the indomitable Kitty…
It’s the story of the Orange Bakery in Watlington, reputedly England’s smallest town with a market building dating to the 15th century.
Watlington has a famous history that goes right back to the 6th century but this sleepy little town is more well-known nowadays for the tiny Orange Bakery on the High Street.
If you arrive before 10.30 a.m. you will most likely see a queue snaking up along the street.
Arrive as we did by 11.10AM and you would be lucky to find anything to buy…We were fortunate to get one croissant, one cinnamon bun and half a loaf of porridge bread…and delicious they were…
I accidently came across the Orange Bakery on Instagram, loved the bread but was also intrigued by the story of this 14-year-old, red-haired baker…A bit of backstory – Kitty was bouncing with the joys of life until she became totally overwhelmed with anxiety and depression. She gradually withdrew from the world – every parent’s worst nightmare.
One thing led to another and after a few whirlwind months, Kitty and her Dad opened the tiny Orange bakery which among other things helped to feed the local community during the pandemic.
Breadsong is an enchanting book, a cross between a cookbook that celebrates the magic of baking and a brave, intimate, courageous memoir which for me was ‘unputdownable’.
I quote – ‘‘If you told me at 14, when I couldn’t even get out of bed with depression and anxiety that 3 years later, I would have written a book, I would never have believed you. But here it is –the story of the Orange Bakery. How I went from bed to bread and how my dad went from being a teacher to a baker. You reading it means everything to me’’ Kitty Tait.
Bread making worked its magic and for us it was a joy to meet Kitty and her Dad and their whole joyful team whom Watlington has taken to their hearts. I have invited them to come to Ballymaloe Cookery School to teach a bread class in the future so I will keep you posted…
This is the very best kind of book to get an enthusiastic
amateur started because Kitty and Al learned from scratch, gradually honing and
perfecting their bread making skills by constantly testing and retesting the
recipes.
They also take the mystery out of making your
very own sourdough starter and share the magic of bread making…
Breadsong is published by Bloomsbury Publishing – www.bloomsbury.com
The other book Hot Fat is the second in a series of small books from Ireland’s newest publisher, 9 Bean Row Books.
This one is co-written by Russell Alford and Patrick Hanlon (fried-food aficionados) aka The GastroGays.
They are absolutely obsessed with anything that can be put in a deep fryer or a pot of dripping and aren’t we all…It’s a fantastic little book but in the words of Oscar Wilde‘ Everything in moderation including moderation’.
Sounds counter intuitive considering the devastating impact we know that too much greasy fried food has on our health and waistlines. But fried food doesn’t have to be greasy or unhealthy. So much better to cook your own hand cut potato chips in top quality oil or fat than opt for the easy alternative… A couple of potatoes will also make a ton of delicious crisps at a fraction of the cost…
Russell and Patrick answer all the pertinent questions re types of frying fats, changing the oil, how to get the crispiest crust, best batter…
How about Ginger beer onion rings, black pudding scotch eggs, fish fillet burgers and a brilliant version of Ireland No. 1 favourite takeaway, the Spice bag. It’s all there + donuts and deep-fried ice cream and much, much more besides in this deliciously irreverent but deadly serious little book that packs quite a punch. Love the funky design and Nicky Hooper’s illustrations also…
Hot Fat is published by Blasta Books – www.blastabooks.com
Tempura Oysters
From Hot Fat is published by Blasta Books
That shatteringly crisp tempura is truly something special when it comes to frying. The key here is using something carbonated and keeping it freezing cold, so we opt for sparkling water and keep it in the fridge for at least an hour before using.
*Yuzu is an East Asian citrus fruit that’s something like a cross between a lemon, a grapefruit and a mandarin. Stirring the juice into a standard mayonnaise adds a whole other dimension, especially good when paired with seafood.
Serves 4-6 as a snack
sunflower or vegetable oil, for deep-frying
40g (1 1/2oz) plain flour
40g (1 1/2oz) rice flour
40g (1 1/2oz) cornflour, plus 30g (1 1/4oz) extra for dredging
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt (the oysters have a natural salty-sweet flavour, so you don’t need much)
1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper
12 oysters, shucked and flesh patted dry
150ml (5fl oz) fridge-cold sparkling water
To Serve
lemon
wedges
yuzu
mayonnaise* (see intro)
Heat the
oil in your deep-fryer to 180˚C/350˚F.
Whisk
together the plain flour, rice flour and 40g (1 1/2oz) of cornflour in a mixing
bowl with the salt and white pepper.
Put the
simmering 30g (1 1/4oz) of cornflour in a small bowl and dredge the oyster meat
through it to completely coat, shaking off the excess.
Whisk the
cold sparkling water into the mixing bowl until just combined into a thin
batter, like a crêpe batter. Don’t over mix the batter – in fact, some small lumps
are positively encouraged. Working quickly, cover the oysters one by one in the
batter, then place gently into the hot oil.
Cooking in
batches of four or five oysters, fry for 60-90 seconds before lifting the
basket to drain, then further draining on a wire rack set over a baking tray
lined with kitchen paper.
Enjoy
immediately with a squeeze of lemon juice or dipped into yuzu mayonnaise.
Korean Fried Chicken
From Hot Fat is published by Blasta Books
What makes Korean Fried Chicken different? A couple of things: crucially, a
blend of flours and starches and it’s double fried, the combination of which
results in a shatteringly crisp coating that is then smothered in a fiery,
punchy, sticky, crimson-coloured sauce that still retains its crisp as you eat.
Talk about finger-lickin’ good! This is next level – napkins at the ready.
Serves a greedy 2
6-8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
300ml (10fl oz) buttermilk
2 teaspoons gochugaru or paprika
sunflower or vegetable oil, for deep-frying
Coating
60g (scant 2 1/2oz)plain flour
60g (scant 2 1/2oz) rice flour
60g (scant 2 1/2oz) potato starch or cornflour
1 teaspoon baking powder
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Sauce
4 tablespoons rice wine vinegar or Shaoxing rice wine
2 tablespoons gochujang
2 tablespoons sriracha
2 tablespoons tomato ketchup
2 tablespoons caster sugar
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon aekjeot or nam pla fish sauce
1 tablespoon gochugaru
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon butter
Garnish
sesame seeds
spring onions, sliced into thin lengths or at an angle
thinly sliced or chopped fresh red or green chilli
Cut each chicken thigh into two or three pieces to make bite-sized chunks and
season with salt. Whisk the buttermilk and gochugaru or paprika together in a
large bowl or baking dish. Submerge all the chicken in the buttermilk, cover
and marinate in the fridge for a good 4-6 hours (leaving it overnight is fine
too).
When it’s time to cook, remove the buttermilk-brined chicken from the fridge
about 30 minutes before frying.
Heat the oil in your deep-fryer to 150˚C/300˚F.
Combine all the coating ingredients in one bowl. (If you’ve run out of baking powder, use 60g (scant 2 1/2oz) self-raising flour instead of the plain flour.
Working quickly and without shaking off too much of the buttermilk, dredge the chicken pieces in the flour mix, ensuring a generous and even coating. Working in batches, add each piece directly into the fryer and cook for about 5 minutes, until cooked through and light golden. Remove from the fryer and set aside on a wire rack set over a baking tray lined with kitchen paper while you cook the rest of the chicken.
When all the pieces have had their first fry and have been drained, crank up the temperature of the oil to 190˚C/375˚F.
Meanwhile, put all the sauce ingredients in a saucepan set over a medium heat and bring to the boil, then drop down to the lowest heat setting and give it a stir every so often just to keep it warm and pourable.
Fry all the chicken for a second time for 90 seconds to 2 minutes, until it looks incredibly crisp and has darkened in colour. Depending on the size of your fryer basket, you may need to do this in two batches.
Place the chicken into a large heatproof bowl and pour over all the sauce, tossing to coat each piece. The chicken will soak up the sauce but still retain its crispness.
Plate up with a generous sprinkle of sesame seeds, sliced spring onions and fresh chilli on top. Alternatively, serve in a steamed bao or as a burger. Kimchi or some sharp pickles are the ideal supporting side act or you can go all out on the whole banchan experience of a table laden with small side dishes.
Corn Dogs
From Hot Fat is published by Blasta Books
A fairground favourite in the States, the corn dog consists of a hot dog speared on a stick, dipped in a thick cornmeal batter and fried until golden with a signature fluffy interior beneath its crisp jacket.
Makes 6 large or 12 small corn dogs
sunflower or vegetable oil, for deep-frying
120g (scant 4 1/2oz) fine cornmeal
80g (3 1/4oz) plain flour
1 large egg
175ml (6fl oz) buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoon caster sugar
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder (optional)
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
6-8 large skinny frankfurter-style sausages and 6-8 skewers
a small dish of cornflour (cornstarch), to coat
To Serve
ketchup
yellow mustard
Heat the oil in your deep-fryer to 180˚C/350˚F.
Prepare your batter by adding the cornmeal, flour, egg, buttermilk, salt, sugar, paprika, white pepper, garlic powder (if using) and baking soda into a mixing bowl and whisking vigorously to combine, then transfer to a tall glass, measuring jug or NutriBullet beaker, any of which provide the height that enables enviably easy dippage to completely coat the dogs.
Pat the dogs dry on kitchen paper. If making small corn dogs, cut each one in half to make two, but if making large ones, just keep them whole. Skewer each one with a wooden or bamboo skewer three-quarters of the way up through the centre, taking care not to veer off and tear through the side.
Put the cornflour in a wide, shallow dish or tray, then dredge each of the sausages through it, coating completely and shaking off any excess – this helps the cornmeal batter to stick. Set aside on a plate, ready for dipping.
When ready to dip and coat, holding the wooden skewer, submerge each sausage head-first into the batter, twisting gently to coax the batter to stick, then gently and slowly twisting as you pull the skewer up and out of the glass or jug to reveal a completely coated corn dog.
Working quickly, gently lower the battered corn dog head first into the hot oil (rather than into the fryer basket, which should already be submerged), hovering the top in the oil for a little bit to get it accustomed and then lowering it in. At this point, give the submerged basket a rigorous shake to ensure the corn dog doesn’t stick to the bottom.
Repeat this process as you fry in batches of two to four, depending on the size of your fryer, for 3-4 minutes in total. About two-thirds of the way through the cooking time, you may want to use tongs to turn the corn dogs gently to ensure they colour evenly.
When the corn dogs are an even golden colour, you’ll know they’re done, so lift them out one by one or together in the basket, drip-draining any excess oil. Allow to further drain and cool on a wire rack set over a baking tray lined with kitchen paper as you continue with the next ones.
Enjoy immediately with ketchup and yellow mustard, your choice of condiments or just as is.
Variation
If you’d prefer to make hush puppies (and please your vegetarian pals!), we
suggest upping the quantity of both cornmeal and flour by 50g (2oz) each and
stirring a small 200g (7oz) tin of sweet corn (drained) through the batter for
extra texture. A very finely chopped spring onion wouldn’t go amiss in that
mixture too for a little allium kick if you don’t mind the green speckles
though these gorgeous blond bites. Drop generous tablespoons of the batter into
the hot oil (at 180˚C/350˚F) and fry until lightly golden, turning once during
frying.
Miracle Overnight White Loaf
From Breadsong published by Bloomsbury Publishing
This was
the first bread recipe I learnt to bake, and how the simple ingredients
transform into a loaf still feels like magic. All you need to make a loaf twice
as fast as anything on the supermarket shelf, with a crunchy crust and pillowy
crumb, is a casserole dish with a lid and an oven that can get up to 230˚C/450˚F/Gas
Mark 8. If you make only a single recipe from this entire book, this one will
probably give you the biggest thrill. It’s truly a miracle.
Makes 1
loaf
500g (18oz)
strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting
10g (scant
1/2oz) fine sea salt
3g (scant
1/8oz) instant dried yeast (1 teaspoon or slightly less than half a 7g (1/4oz)
sachet)
330ml (11
1/4fl oz) lukewarm water
Sift the
flour into a large mixing bowl and add the salt and yeast. Stir everything
together using either a sturdy spoon or your hands. Bit by bit, gently mix in
the lukewarm water until a shaggy dough forms. We call this the Scooby dough in
homage to Scooby-Doo.
Place a
damp tea towel over the rim of the bowl and leave in a cosy (draught-free)
place to prove for 12-16 hours, overnight is best. Time transforms your
scrappy, dull dough into a bubbly, live creature of its own.
Once your
dough has risen and is bubbling away, tip it out onto a lightly floured work
surface. Remember, it’s alive, so the greater respect you show the dough with
gently handling, the more it will reward you and the better your loaf will come
out. Gently shape the dough into a ball (a well-floured plastic dough scraper
really helps here), making sure there is a light coating of flour all over.
Place the
shaped dough on a sheet of parchment paper, cover with a damp tea towel and set
aside in a warm, cosy place to rest for 1 hour.
Halfway
through the resting time, preheat the oven to 230˚C/450˚F/Gas Mark 8 (or as
high as it will go). Put a large cast-iron casserole dish with a lid and a
heatproof handle into the hot oven for 30 minutes to heat up.
Once the
casserole dish is good and hot, carefully take it out of the oven and lift off
the lid. Uncover the dough and using the parchment paper, lift and then lower
the dough into the heated casserole dish. Using a sharp knife, razor blade or
scissors; score the top of the dough with slashes in any pattern you like – one
long slash, a cross, a square or even a smiley face.
Pour a
couple of tablespoons of water inside the casserole around the dough, replace
the lid and put the dish back in the hot oven. Bake for 30 minutes with the lid
on. Remove the lid to reveal your magnificent loaf and then continue to bake
uncovered for a further 10 minutes to get a nice, golden crust or 15 minutes if
you like your loaf a bit darker.
Place the
loaf on a wire rack and leave to cool for at least 30 minutes. This is the
hardest part, but it’s also the most important as the bread keeps cooking after
you take it out of the oven.
*For
variations on above, please refer to the book.
Vegan Nut Butter and Banana Cookies
From Breadsong published by Bloomsbury Publishing
Makes 15 cookies
125g (4 1/2oz) mashed banana (1 large banana or 2 small)
125g (4 1/2oz) crunchy peanut butter
125g (4 1/2oz) soft light brown sugar
125g (4 1/2oz) plain flour
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
80g (3 1/4oz) vegan dark chocolate chips (optional)
a pinch of coarse sea salt flakes
In a large mixing bowl, beat together the banana and peanut butter until creamy. You can use either a handheld electric mixer or the paddle attachment on a stand mixer. Stir in the sugar and mix again until all combined.
In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, bicarb, baking powder and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the banana-peanut butter mixture and mix well. Throw in the chocolate chips, if using. Gently roll the dough into a ball, cover in parchment paper and put it in the fridge to chill for 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 190˚C/375˚F/Gas Mark 5 and line two baking trays with parchment paper.
Scoop the cookie dough into 15 even-sized balls and place at least 5cm (2 inch) apart in the baking trays. Using the tines of a fork, flatten each cookie by making a crisscross pattern on the top. Sprinkle over coarse sea salt flakes and bake in the hot oven for 10-15 minutes or until the edges go crispy but the middle is still gooey. Let cool for a few minutes then eat.