Kitchen Scents: Using lavender in cooking

I love relaxing in the garden listening to the buzzing sound of bees bobbing about on the lavender while the sun releases the wonderful soothing scent in to the air. Although the lavender has finally finished flowering I can still enjoy it between now and next summer, as I have dried some bunches and crumbled the aroma packed blooms into jars to be used around the home and in the kitchen.

The mediterranean plant has long been utilised for its health and wellbeing qualities and is the essential oil is used by aromatherapists to promote relaxation. It is an antiseptic and also has anti-inflammatory properties and was even used to disinfect hospital floors during the First World War. A little of the oil applied to your temples will soothe a headache and I can certainly vouch for its ability to aid sleep and relieve anxiety.

Historically lavender can be traced as far back as ancient Egypt where it was used for embalming and cosmetics. The ancient Greeks fully appreciated its scent and the Romans fully made use of its healing attributes. In fact it has been used throughout history to the present day from medicine through to insect repellent to perfume.

When I’m out in my garden tending to the fruit bushes, vegetable plants, and herbs I often ponder how I could use flowers in my cooking, lavender being no exception. It is a strong flavour and should be used sparingly but lends itself to both sweet and savoury dishes.

A couple of sprigs of the flowers tucked into a jar full of caster sugar gently infuses to give you a wonderful ingredient for baking, the subtle fragrance is good in cakes and biscuits. It is also an unusual but interesting addition to rubs and marinades, perfectly complementing lamb or even chicken. A few of the dried flower buds can be dropped into milk or cream, gently warmed and left to allow their flavours to permeate to make a base for custard or ice cream.

I know there a few people who don’t like the smell of lavender as they associated it with elderly aunts’ handbags, but I would urge them to try it in cooking as it really is a different story. Just take care not to use too much and it can transform a dish in a subtle yet surprising way.

Lavender, Chilli & Rosemary Focaccia
Focaccia originates from Italy and is enriched with olive oil, which gives the bread a soft texture. It can be topped with a variety of things, but rosemary and sea salt is the most common. I chose to take that a step further and used chilli flakes and some dried lavender flowers taking the flavour into another dimension.

Ingredients
118ml pint hand hot water
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp dry active yeast
500g strong white flour
2 tsp salt
6 tbsp olive oil plus extra
225 ml tepid water (more may be needed)
sea salt flakes for sprinkling
a couple good pinches dried chilli flakes
a couple of pinches of dried lavender flowers
a few sprigs of fresh rosemary
some semolina or polenta for dusting

Method
In large jug mix yeast and sugar into 118ml pint hand hot water, stir to dissolve. Set aside for about 10 minutes until the liquid turns frothy.

In a large bowl mix together the flour and salt. Stir in the olive oil.
Add the yeast liquid and the water and use you hand to mix into a soft dough. The dough should be quite moist and sticky at first.

Turn out on to a well floured surface and knead the dough for about 10 to 15 minutes until the it no longer sticks to your hands and becomes elastic and springy to the touch.
It is important to work the dough really well, making sure you stretch it and fold it back in on itself. This works the gluten from the flour so the dough rises.

Pour a couple of tablespoons of olive oil into a bowl and smear around, drop the dough ball in and cover with a damp tea towel and place in a warm place to rise, for around 11⁄2 hours. After this time the dough should have doubled in size.

Slip the dough out the bowl on to a floured surface, knock back (knead vigorously) to remove air bubbles – you should be able to hear and feel the air puffing out – and knead again for 5 minutes. Then roll it out in to a flat oval shape. Not thin but slightly less thick than you want it to be when it’s baked.

Place on an oiled baking sheet dusted with polenta or semolina, cover with a damp tea towel and place somewhere warm for about 30 minutes until it has risen and doubled again.
While it is rising, preheat the oven to 200C, Gas 6.

When the dough has risen, make indentations in it using your fingertips. Drizzle with olive oil and a little water. Sprinkle with sea salt to give an even and light coverage. Do the same again with the chilli flakes. Sprinkle over the pinch of lavender flowers, but be quite sparing as they have a strong flavour. Then pull of a few leaves at a time off the rosemary and push into the dough.

Bake for approximately 20 minutes until golden brown and the loaf moves freely on the baking sheet. Slip on to a wire rack to cool.
Photos: ©childsdesign 2011

Making Real Mexican Tortillas

I recently discovered that there's nothing better than an authentic Mexican tortilla. After taking part in a Mexican cooking night with Thomasina Miers, last year, nothing else seems to taste the same.

Wheat tortillas are widely available but they don't have that depth of flavour that you get from a corn tortilla. Occasionally I buy the wrap style ones from the supermarket but invariably I make my own, using just white flour, but now I wanted to have the real thing.

It is not easy to obtain the ground corn (masa harina) for making tortillas, where I live, but I found a company on Borough Market called cool chile co. that specialise in all things Mexican. I bought a bag of masa harina from them, and with some initial trepidation set about with some tortilla making.

I've had a metal tortilla press sitting on the kitchen rack, waiting for some action, since buying it on eBay some months ago. It was inexpensive and definitely essential. A simple tool that allows you to clamp your ball of dough between two metal plates, creating the perfect disc of the correct thickness. Well I say perfect, as my first attempts were perhaps a little wonky, but the process got better as I went along.

They were very easy to make, and the smell is just wonderful. I suppose I could describe it as faintly scented, sweet and nutty. The whole process is very therapeutic too, so I'll be making a lot more in the future.

Ingredients

250g masa harina

330ml warm water

Method

Tip the masa harina into a large bowl and mix in the warm water. Leave to stand for 15 minutes. Knead in more water if necessary. The mixture should feel like soft clay but not sticky.

Divide into 10-12 pieces and roll into balls using your hands. Press or roll into circles, about 3mm thick, between two sheets of plastic wrap.

Heat a heavy frying pan and place one tortilla gently into the pan and cook for about 15 seconds. Turn and cook for a further 30 seconds. Turn again and wait for the tortilla to puff.

Remove from the pan and keep warm in a cloth while making the others.

Photo: ©childsdesign 2010

Focaccia: Variations on a Theme

I have a bit of a thing for making focaccia, firstly because it is very easy to make and secondly, because I'm always thinking of different things to put on it.

The top picture is the very traditional rosemary one, but I had a little brainwave when I made the one in the picture below. Inspired by the Italians' use of fennel seeds in their sausages, I thought why not sprinkle some on top of a focaccia? I also used some chilli flakes which give a lovely spike.

I served them with a simple salad of sliced tomatoes, torn mozzarella and fresh basil leaves. Along side was a bowl of good extra virgin olive oil mixed with balsamic vinegar, either for drizzling or dunking.

For a recipe on how to make focaccia, see a previous post here.

Photos: ©childsdesign 2010

Rosemary & Raisin Bread and Cheese & Black Pepper Bread

Sometimes I like to make my bread a little more interesting by adding some extras. For these loaves I used fresh rosemary and raisins and also strong cheddar cheese with crushed black peppercorns.

My bread recipe is rich in flavour which comes from the rye flour, but is surprisingly light in texture. I like to include white as well as wholemeal flour as this gives a more airy result rather than brick-like and heavy.

I should say that if you don't have a lot of time or patience then this recipe probably isn't for you as the bread requires lots of proving time and kneading to develop the flavour and texture, but I promise you that it is well worth devoting time to using this method.

The beauty of this flavoured bread is that you don't have to put the herbs etc. in at the dry stage, so you can make a big batch of dough, divide it up at the final kneading stage and then add whatever you want, giving you endless options but with any easy approach.

I just chopped some rosemary leaves to add to the dough along with a few handfuls of raisins. Then finished the top of the loaf with some rosemary sprigs and a dash of sea salt flakes.

Cheese is easy to add, just grate some over your flattened piece of dough along with some crushed black peppercorns and knead in. Finish the loaf with some more grated cheese before baking.

My Rustic Bread Dough Recipe

Ingredients

1 tablespoon dried active yeast

500ml luke warm water

1 tablespoon honey

250g white bread flour

200g wholemeal bread flour

200g rye flour

100ml sunflower oil

1 teaspoon salt

Method

In a large jug, dissolve the yeast and honey in the water and then leave to stand for about 10-15 minutes until the liquid froths up.

In a large bowl mix together the white, wholemeal and rye flour with the salt. Tip in the oil and mix well.

Make a well in the centre and tip in the yeast liquid and mix well with a spoon.

Liberally flour your work surface and tip out the dough on to it. The dough will be sticky, but this good. Using more flour on top start kneading the dough with your hands, stretching and folding over in to the middle, over and over again. Do this for 10 minutes until the dough becomes silky and elastic.

Oil the bowl and drop in the dough and cover with some cling film. Put into a warm place (the airing cupboard is good) and leave to rise for at least an hour or until the dough has doubled in size.

Remove the dough on to your floured work surface and knock back and knead again for 5 minutes. You should feel and hear air escaping as you do this. Pop it back into the bowl, cover and leave to rise again for another hour.

Repeat the process of kneading and then form the dough into two loaf shapes.

NOTE: If you want to add any flavourings, this can be done at this kneading stage. Divide the dough in half. Flatten each half out and sprinkle with your herbs, fruit, cheese or whatever you fancy and then roll up inside the dough and knead well to mix in.

Place the loaves on oiled baking sheets, cover with some oiled cling film and leave to rise in a warm place until well risen and almost doubled in size.

Brush with water and make a slash in the top using a very sharp knife.

NOTE: At this stage you can sprinkle with sea salt crystals, spices or herbs.

Place in a preheated oven 200C / 450F / Gas Mark 7 for 30-35 minutes until brown. The loaf should sound hollow when tapped on the bottom, then you'll know it's done.

Photos: ©childsdesign 2010

Knäkebröd (Rye Flatbread)

After becoming bored with the choice of crackers in the shops I decided to make some of my own. I remembered seeing a recipe in Trina Hanemann's Scandinavian Cookbook that was for some authentic Nordic crispy flatbreads.
I adapted the recipe a little as I didn't have aniseeds and used caraway seeds instead, which worked perfectly well.
The recipe was very easy to make and although my initial thoughts were perhaps there were too many oats that could have made the dough potentially on the rough side, I was proved wrong as they just disappeared into the mixture.

Be prepared for a session of batch baking unless you have an oven of industrial proportions, as it will take several tray loads to complete. I made rather more than than stated so they were slightly smaller. The important thing is to roll them thin.
I found the recipe's timings rather academic (no two ovens are the same) and had to make sure I kept an eye – and my nose – on them to know when they were ready.

They turned beautifully crisp and were rather moreish with a selection of good cheeses and chutneys.

Makes 10
Ingredients
50g fresh yeast
500ml lukewarm water
1 tsp salt
2 tsp caraway seeds
1 tbsp honey
100ml sunflower oil
200g rye flour
200g rolled oats
250g plain white flour

Method
Dissolve the yeast in the warm water, then add the salt, caraway seeds, honey and oil and mix well.
Add the rye four, oats and half the white flour and mix for 5 minutes if using an electric mixer, or for 10 minutes if making the dough by hand. Sprinkle the rest of the the white flour over the dough and leave to rise for 15 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 220C (Gas 7) and line a baking sheet with baking paper. Knead the dough on a floured work surface, then divide it into ten equal pieces (I made more) and roll each one into a very thin disc. Lay the flatbreads on the baking paper and bake for 5-8 minutes until crisp.

Photo: ©childsdesign 2010

Focaccia with Rosemary, Chilli and Lavender

Lately I’ve been having urges to make bread. They are good urges as the results are for me, deeply satisfying.
For reasons that I won’t go into here, I now have more time on my hands and what better way to occupy those hands with the kneading of a big ball of dough. The action of working that dough also seems to relieve all the stresses and strains of life as I pummel and stretch the mixture, which will go on to yield a fulfilling and edible result.

Focaccia originates from Italy and is enriched with olive oil, which gives the bread a soft texture. It can be topped with a variety of things, but rosemary and sea salt is the most common. I chose to take that a step further and used chilli flakes and some dried lavender flowers taking the flavour into another dimension.

Ingredients
1/4 pint hand hot water
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp dry active yeast
500g strong white flour
2 tsp salt
6 tblspn olive oil plus extra
225 ml tepid water (more may be needed)
sea salt flakes for sprinkling
a couple good pinches dried chilli flakes
a couple of pinches of dried lavender flowers
a few sprigs of fresh rosemary
some semolina or polenta for dusting

Method
In large jug mix yeast and sugar into 1/4 pint hand hot water, stir to dissolve. Set aside for about 10 minutes until the liquid develops a froth on top.

In a large bowl mix together the flour and salt. Stir in the olive oil.
Add the yeast liquid and the water and use you hand to mix into a soft dough. The dough should be quite moist and sticky at first.
Turn out on to a well floured surface and knead the dough for about 10 to 15 minutes until the dough no longer sticks to you hands and it becomes elastic and springy to the touch.
It is important to work the dough really well, making sure you stretch it and fold it back in on itself. This works the gluten from the flour so that the dough rises.

Pour a couple of tablespoons of olive oil into a bowl and smear around, drop the dough ball in and cover with a damp tea towel and place in a warm place to rise, for around 1 1/2 hours. After this time the dough should have doubled in size.
Slip the dough out the bowl on to a floured surface, knock back to remove air bubbles – you should be able to hear and feel the air puffing out – and knead again for 5 minutes. Then roll it out in to a flat oval shape. Not thin but slightly less thick than you want it to be when it’s baked.
Place on to an oiled baking sheet that has been dusted with polenta or semolina, cover with a damp tea towel and place somewhere warm for about 30 minutes until it has risen and doubled again.

While it is rising, preheat the oven to 200C, Gas 6.

When the dough has risen, make indentations in it using your fingertips. Drizzle with olive oil and a little water. Sprinkle with sea salt to give an even and light coverage. Do the same again with the chilli flakes. Sprinkle over the pinch of lavender flowers, but be quite sparing as they have a strong flavour. Then pull of a few leaves at a time off the rosemary and push into the dough.

Bake for approximately 20 minutes until golden brown and the loaf moves freely on the baking sheet. Slip on to a wire rack to cool.

Better Bread

I’m not convinced that my bread machine makes a very good job of making a decent loaf. I agree that by automating the process it might make the job a little bit easier. All you have to do is fill the machine with ingredients, close the lid, press a button and “bleep, bleep” it’s finished in an hour or so. The only problem is that you end up with small square loaves with a hole in the bottom left buy the mixing paddle. I also find that the texture is not as open as I’d like it to be. The mixing paddles are by no means equipped to really pull and stretch the dough enough to allow decent size air pockets. The result can often be quite spongy for white bread and too dense for brown.

It is possible to just use the machine for the kneading process and then remove the dough to be shaped by hand for more rustic style loaves, but there’s still that problem with the texture.

The machine is largely redundant now, as I’ve rediscovered the joys of making bread completely by hand. Don’t ever look at it as a chore as the whole process is very therapeutic and doesn’t take up all of your time. For the most part, the dough happily sits unattended, for long periods while it is rising, leaving you to other things.

Make kneading the dough a pleasure, all that pummelling can certainly help you take out any frustrations and gives your arms a good work out, plus it’s also good fun getting messy and covered in flour!

I made a nice big batch of dough using a combination of wholesome spelt and brown flours, mixed together with some white for lightness. My loaves weren’t strictly traditional or rustic as I used fast acting dried yeast rather than fresh, but the end result certainly looked and tasted the part.

I’ll try to work out the recipe properly at a later date, as I had to improvise from one I found that used fresh yeast. Also, as I used a mixture of different flours, that affected the quantity of liquid that I needed.