CRACKED BLACK PEPPER & FIGGY BREAD

I love searching around the internet for websites that provide great recipes- but I must admit, often there is something wrong with the recipe. I always get the feeling that there is an ingredient missing or the oven temperature wasn't communicated correctly...as if they were trying to hide something from us on purpose! So despite some repeatedly bad experiences with certain cooking websites, I'll still continue visiting them online to drool over the pictures- but I won't try another recipe from that website again. I guess you call that a culinary e-loyalty or something...

However there is one site where it works each and every time: BBC Good Food. Plus it's in metric which is so very convenient for us Europeans! I have the habit of searching through BBC Good Food on a regular basis, and recently I found a great keeper: cracked black pepper & figgy bread. The end result was excellent, the kitchen smelt fabulous for an entire day, and the bread was devoured much quicker then I had imagined! What more could I ask for?

Ready to enjoy on it's own or with goat cheese which might just be the perfect match!

Recipe for Cracked black pepper & figgy bread (from BBC Good Food)

650g strong white flour
2 tsp cracked black pepper
2 tsp salt

7g sachet easy blend yeast
2 tbsp olive oil
425-450ml/¾ pint-16fl oz warm water
350g dried, ready-to-eat figs, roughly chopped

1. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, pepper, salt and yeast. Stir in the olive oil and enough warm water to form a soft dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 mins until smooth and elastic.

2. Put the dough in a lightly oiled, large bowl. Cover with oiled cling film and leave in a warm place for about 1 hr or until doubled in size. Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. When the dough has risen, knead it again to incorporate the figs, by pushing the dough and lightly kneading them in. Don't overwork the dough; it can look quite rough.

3. Shape the dough into a rough oval and put on a lightly floured baking sheet. Using scissors, slash the top of the loaf and sprinkle over a little flour. Leave it to rise again, uncovered, until slightly swelled, about 10-15 mins (if the kitchen is warm). Bake for 40-45 mins until it sounds hollow when you tap it underneath, then cool on a wire rack.

MOM'S FIG JAM WITH WALNUTS & CLOVES

Often with recipes comes leftover ingredients. After my recent fig & violet tart, I had some lovely fresh figs remaining, and I really must share this wonderful jam recipe with you! It's a recipe my mother has been making throughout the years, and is consistently a success amongst family & friends: fig jam with walnuts and cloves. Mmmm...a delicious mixture of fruity goodness coupled with a nutty crunch and a dazzling fragrance that goes so well with the cold season that we are slowly getting into...

Cloves & figs are quite the match made in heaven!

Close-up...
And even closer up....!

Recipe for mom's fig jam with walnut & cloves (makes one standard jam jar):

500gr fresh figs (approx 6-7 figs)

250gr sugar

250gr water

1/2 a lemon, juice of

250gr walnuts, chopped

1gr ground cloves (approx 1/2 teaspoon- but you can reduce this to 1/4 teaspoon if you find it too strong)

Wash figs, dice and place in a pot. Add all the remaining ingredients except for the walnuts and the cloves. Place on high heat, until a first boil. Then reduce to a very low heat until all the water has evaporated and a jam texture is obtained. Add the walnuts and cloves, stir gently, and leave on low heat for 1 minute. Remove from heat and let cool for 24hours. Cover the pot with a cloth only- no glass or plastic material should be used to cover pot. Fill in jars and enjoy!

P.S: You can also use this same recipe for a dessert using full figs and serving it with crème fraiche on the side.

TARTE FIGUE - VIOLETTE

I've realized that a lot of my recent posts have been recollections of my culinary travelling experiences, but I will be back on track with recipes, recipes and more recipes! So I am taking a break from travel-blogging (because I have just one more destination to write about!! bear with me!) with this easy to make sweet treat using the last figs before they are out of season.
Figs are so beautiful- one of the most beautiful fruits in my opinion. From their colour, odour and taste... it's nature's divinity!

On sunny days (and there are not many left here in Paris!), I love making fruit tarts- generously rich in fruit on a crunchy base (I prefer puff pastry over shortcut pastry to be honest with you) and always with a little twist. The twist this time was a floral dimension to the tart- usually I love matching up figs with rose, but for a change I thought it would be great to give violet a try. I find that figs & violet complement each other in a very elegant way and adds a bit of a surprise effect to each bite.

Before going into the oven.... and after, with fragrant sizzling juices coming out of the figs...mmm

Would you like a slice? Or maybe try making it on your own? It takes less then 20 minutes to make!

Recipe for Tarte Figue - Violette

Figs

Violet (whatever form you can find, I used a syrup from the Monin range)

Ground almonds

Puff pastry

Butter (optional)

Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Wash figs, dry and slice. Prepare puff pastry into desired form, poke with a fork and brush over the violet syrup (if you are using another form then introduce as appropriate). Sprinkle a thin layer of ground almonds, and arrange fig slices on top. If you wish, you can add some diced butter on top of the figs. I didn't add sugar as well, but you might want to! Bake for 15mins.

Of course there are always other "interesting" options that go well with figs: rose, violet, red tea, etc...

BEAUTY CAKE!

Alright ladies (and gentlemen!), clear out your beauty shelves, set your skin cream jars & tubes aside, and make some space for this beauty cake! Yes, that’s right: beauty and cake are two words that can be written side by side. And I’m not talking about a “beautiful looking cake” (because clearly, this cake I’m posting about doesn’t score much points in terms of good-lookingness), I am talking about a cake that can make your skin look more beautiful.

So why is it that I’ve given this cake the name of a “beauty cake”? Of course, it all has to do with the ingredients. Take a closer look at this wonderfully scented cake with a melt-in-your-mouth texture which miraculously enough might also be beneficial for your skin.

In general, my cooking rules is try to make everything as healthy as possible without compromising on taste. I am a firm believer in this, and having grown up on a Mediterranean diet, you can imagine that our household consumes an above-average amount of good-for-you ingredients such as olive oil, almonds & Co.

This cake is in line with my culinary beliefs, as it contains no butter (and no, I have not substituted butter with apple sauce or gelatin or what not), no egg yolks, and no sugar (and no, the sugar hasn’t been replaced by aspartame!).
What it contains is this: egg whites, high quality honey, almonds, dried figs (with no sugar added), and sunflower oil (yes, you can bake cakes with sunflower oil).

Now being the research freak that I am (always googling stuff up!), all the ingredients of my beauty cake recipe have been documented about to be skin-friendly (and good for cardiovascular health too! )

Let’s start with the obvious ones: almonds is super packed with Vitamin E- and we all know that Vitamin E is your skin’s best friend. Vitamin E is actually an ingredient that helps keep your skin smooth & supple, that’s why it is so common to find in skincare products (did you ever notice the sheer amount of skin creams that contain vitamin E?) (and these are words coming from someone (me) who has worked on skincare products!)

Sunflower oil has been known for years to help skin retain moisture and is also, like almonds, rich with Vitamin E. Many beauty products actually contain sunflower oil for the softening factor, and some people apply sunflower oil directly on their skin.

Honey has been repeatedly studied to contain antioxidants. Now take a minute and think about what most anti ageing skin creams read… yes indeed, they all stress on the importance of anti oxidants to keep fine lines at bay!

Now interestingly enough, egg whites have been used in home-made masks to treat wrinkles! So egg white goodness does not just stop on it’s protein loaded and virtually fat free content (which makes it a fave for celebs who diet all year long i.e: Victoria Beckham hehe).

Finally, dried figs are packed with beauty nutrients such as potassium, iron, calcium & magnesium which are great for healthy skin and hair.


They say there are always exceptions in life, and this might just be one.

Doesn’t it feel good for once to enjoy a slice of cake without the guilt factor?
Recipe for the Beauty Cake:

4 egg whites
120gr good quality honey
50gr sunflower oil
20gr whole grain flour
100gr ground almonds + some chopped almonds to add in the batter
6-8 dried figs, diced

Preheat oven to 180C/350F/th4. In a bowl, whisk the egg whites until they become fluffy. Then add in the honey and mix. Add the vegetable oil, mix. Follow with the flour & ground almonds, mix well but gently. Finally, add some chopped almonds and the diced figs, mix gently with a wooden spoon or spatula. Transfer batter to mould, bake for 30 mins, check with a knife to see if cake is baked. If not, extend cooking by sequences of 10 mins, checking with a sharp knife after each sequence. Remove cake from oven and let cool.