The Friday Night Dinner Party Project

This weekend has been busy.

Really, really busy.

Highlights include... parents arriving from France, dinner for 12, foraging for fruit, dancing 'til the small hours, manic house tidy, photoshoot for piece in Daily Mail, waving husband off on windsurfing course, collapsing on sofa. And, to top it all off, got at up five this morning to do the business slot on local BBC radio. 

Bit tired. 

And there's more to come as I now need to make something with the fruits of our forage - I'm thinking a little Elderberry Compote could be in order and have been fantasising about individual blackberry crumbles. Made and frozen now - then revealed in a Blue Peter 'here's one I made earlier' fashion later in the autumn.

 

But, let's go back to The Friday Night Dinner Party Project

We knew we'd have very little time on Friday to get things ready for a sit down meal for 12 - so we kept the menu simple. Soup, cheese and torte. Obviously it still ended up taking much longer than expected and I was slapping on mascara five minutes before people arrived but it was such a lovely evening that it was (always is) worth it.

 

For the soup I went for a favourite Leek and rosemary recipe from Moro East. I love that book. And that's why I wanted to share the bare bones of the recipe - hopefully to give enough inspiration to seek out the real deal from the brilliantly talented Sam & Sam Clark (owners of Moro). 

 

The recipe book follows the stories and recipes of the allotments torn asunder to make way for the Olympics and the incredible edibles that the community grew there. In some ways it's terribly sad and in others it's so inspiring it makes me yearn for an allotment of my own - though the reality of that would be weeds as far as the eye could see and stern words from the allotment committee.

 

The marvellous thing about this soup is that you cook it all and then add the stock. The potato is softened, the leeks are sweet and the blue cheese at the end adds a perfect creamy tangy touch.

 

Without giving away the whole recipe...

 

Trim the leeks (roughly one per person) and slice the white/pale green roots into rounds then roughly chop the darker green leaves and blitz them in a food processor - to waste as little as possible. Soften in butter and olive oil with the lid on then add finely sliced potato (roughly one medium potato for every two people), chopped rosemary, garlic and nutmeg and cook for 20 mins or so without the lid, stirring occasionally.

When it's cooked you can give it a quick blitz so it's as smooth as you like or leave it gorgeously chunky. Add hot vegetable stock (roughly 1/3 litre per person) and return to heat before finishing off with fresh flat leaf parsley.

Finally crumble a blue cheese over the individual bowls, Moro recommend Picos de Europa with Silton or Rocquefort as good substitutes but we went for a Yorkshire Blue as a delicious alternative.

Elderberry Compote (also known as jam that hasn't set)

It is Shrove Tuesday 2011 and after twittering to others about how delicious my elderberry compote is on pancakes, I am inspired to put fingers to keys and share the recipe.

Delicious, almost free, long-lasting and SO easy to make! And, unlike my many other attempts at creating the perfect preserve, is always a resounding success. The secret being that it's not meant to set so it can't ever go wrong. I love recipes like that.

Obviously now is completely the wrong time of year to be out gathering elderberries but maybe the recipe below will spark a little thought when you next see those tantalising juicy berries hanging from the trees.

How to make your elderberry compote...

Gather as many berries as you can carry - but always leave some for the birds. I hate to see trees that have been stripped bare of their provinder. And make sure the berries in the bunches are ripe - it's disappointing to get home thinking you've got a great haul only to find that too many of them green and unusable (and it feels awful knowing they're wasted).

Once home, gently prise the berries from the stalks with your fingers. You can use a fork to tease them off but I've found that leads to too many stalks landing in the bowl - though that could just be me. Don't get too precious about the whole thing - it's meant to be easy and relaxed.

Next, give them a rinse and pop them in a heavy bottomed jam pan with approx equal amounts of sugar (or a bit less if you're feeling virtuous). DON'T panic that it looks too dry! The water on the berries will create enough liquid and if you add any more it will be too runny (I've done this several times and always regretted it. Restraint! Restraint!).

Check the temperature with a jam thermometer if you have one, or do the old saucer in the freezer trick (drop a little of the gooey liquid onto a very cold saucer, if it clings to the surface it's probably done). Remember it won't set (mine never has anyway!) but if you follow basic jam making principles it will work. Get it bubbling away with all the sugar disolved and smelling gorgeous. 

Pop it into jars that have been sterilised in the dishwasher (lazy but good option) and then heated through in a low oven so they don't shatter when you add the compote. Seal with wax discs and jar lids and label up.

Gorgeous & delicious!

How to use your elderberry compote...

You can use the compote in very many ways too...

Marbelled through whipped cream and served with homemade meringue is one of my favourites or, of course, today being Shrove Tuesday, served on hot fresh pancakes... mmmmmmmmm.