Hot Lemon Curd Soufflés

Fluffy and light, these hot lemon curd soufflés are simple to make and bake, for a fresh dessert the whole family will love!

Time again for a few confessions.  The first one is that I own and use an old lady pullcart.  I got it for Christmas and I couldn’t have been happier.  (See below for evidence!)  And bless my daughters for giving it to me, despite their mortification when I use it!  You know what I’m talking about, right?

It's the kind with wheels that old ladies use to do their shopping in the city when they are on foot. Trundling around ahead of you, in their scratchy cardigans, even in the summer, and impeding your passage when they stop to talk to other old ladies about the weather? That’s me, except I just have the cart, and mine is flowered, not plaid, and I tend to walk at a reasonable clip.

Happy camper on Christmas Day!

After all, and this is the second confession, I use mine to scoot between charity shops, looking for used cookbooks while I am visiting the Channel Island of Jersey.  (Which happens as often as I can get there!)  And if I get to the shops before you, I am going to buy ALL the good cookbooks. Which are very heavy. Which is where the cart comes in. It's a necessity, folks, as well as a fashion accessory. Among the treasures I found on a trip a number of years ago, was the whole How To Cook series, books One – Three, by Delia Smith for only £1 each.  Score!

Which brings me to confession number three: I have a lot of cookbooks. When I get a new one, I go through it, carefully bookmarking all the recipes I want to try first.  The problem is that I often get several new ones at a time, and I don’t get around to making all the things I want to make before yet another new cookbook arrives and the old bookmarks get sadly curly and mashed as the cookbook is put into the shelf and, while not exactly forgotten, it’s no longer on the front burner, so to speak. Can anybody relate?

This week I am delighted to join Sunday Supper, a fabulous group of bloggers dedicated to getting everyone around the family table once more.  The current theme is all about trying something new, something that’s been on your bucket list but that you have yet to tackle.  These Hot Lemon Curd Soufflés were bookmarked at least five years ago so they totally qualify!  And now I am kicking myself for waiting so long.  Because they were delicious. And so easy.

Ingredients
3 large eggs
1 medium lemon
1/4 cup or 50g golden caster sugar
Plus 2 1/2 teaspoons golden caster sugar (White sugar can be substituted for both.)
2/3 cup or 155ml room temperature lemon curd (Store-bought or half of this recipe here http://www.foodlustpeoplelove.com/2013/01/quick-lemon-curd.html – eat the other half with a spoon!)
Butter for greasing your four ramekins

Optional for serving: a sprinkle of powdered or icing sugar

Method
Lightly butter your four ramekins and preheat your oven to 325°F or 170°C.
Separate your eggs and put the whites in a large clean, dry, grease-free bowl.  Put your yolks in a medium-size bowl.

Grate your lemon zest and juice your lemon.  Set aside.  You will need two tablespoons of the juice.  I used a zester for my lemon and the pieces were too big.  You definitely want to use a small grater or Microplane, if you have one.

Using either an electric mixer or a balloon whisk, beat the whites until stiff peaks form.  You’ll get much stiffer peaks with an electric mixer but mine is out of commission right now.  I was surprised by how quickly I was able to get stiff peaks with just a balloon whisk so if that’s all you have, don’t be discouraged.

Now add the 2 1/2 teaspoons of sugar to the whites and beat again.

To the yolk bowl, add the grated lemon zest and two tablespoons of juice, along with the remaining sugar and mix them together thoroughly.

See that zest?  Way too big. Another reminder to use a grater. 

Fold a good spoonful of the fluffy whites into the yolk mixture to loosen it.

Add the yolk mixture to the whites and gently, very gently, fold it in so that as much air and fluffiness as possible remains.

Divide your lemon curd between the buttered ramekins.

Place the ramekins on a cookie sheet or baking pan.  Spoon the mixture on top of the lemon curd and run your finger around the inside edge of each to clean it a little, if necessary.

Bake in your preheated oven for 15 – 20 minutes or until the tops are golden.  Allow the hot curd to cool for a few minutes, then sprinkle with a little powdered sugar, if desired.  Place the whole hot ramekin on a small saucer to serve.

These will sink a little bit as time goes on but will still taste delicious and light, if not served immediately.

Enjoy!


Sunday Supper Specialty Breads:

• Alton Brown’s Soft Pretzels by Hezzi-D’s Book and Cooks
• Belgian Waffles by Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
• Braided Challah by The Girl in the Little Red Kitchen
• Brioche by Gotta Get Baked
• Cinnamon Sugar Pretzel Bites by In the Kitchen with Audrey and Maurene
• Gluten-free Bread by Happy Baking Days
• Homemade Bagels with Mimosa Spread by Daily Dish Recipes
• Homemade Tortillas by Supper for a Steal
• Monkey Bread by Vintage Kitchen Notes
  
  

Sunday Supper Main Dishes:

• Bagna Cauda and Potatoes by Shockingly Delicious
• Beef Wellington by Family Foodie
• Braised Short Ribs by The Messy Baker blog
• Butternut Squash Gnocchi by Peanut Butter and Peppers
• Chinese Dumplings by My Cute Bride
• Falafel by Small Wallet Big Appetite
• French Onion Soup by The Weekend Gourmet
• Fresh Ravioli with Ricotta by Comfy Cuisine
• Fried Polenta with Spicy Tomato Relish by Mama Mommy Mom
• Gluten Free Ravioli by No One Likes Crumbley Cookies
• Japanese-Style Prosperity Pockets & Goat Cheese En Croute by Ninja Baking
• Julia Child’s Boeuf Bourguignon by Hip Foodie Mom
• Leaping Frog Chicken by The Urban Mrs.
• Lightened Up Slow Cooker Butter Chicken by The Meltaways
• Mushroom Ragout over Creamy Polenta by Noshing with the Nolands
• Ropa Vieja by Magnolia Days
• San Antonio Puffy Tacos by Sustainable Dad
• Savory Spinach-Filled Crepe Cake with Cheddar Sauce by Webicurean
• Stuffed Artichokes by The Roxx Box
• Tah-Dig (Persian Rice) by The Little Ferraro Kitchen

Sunday Supper Desserts and Snacks:

• Chocolate Meringue Cake (gluten free) by Dinners, Dishes and Desserts
• Creamy Lemon Fudge by Chocolate Moosey
• Divinity by Juanita’s Cocina
• Faux Ice Cream with Bananas by Country Girl in the Village
• French Macarons by I Run for Wine
• Gluten-Free Golden Fudge Cake by Cupcakes & Kale Chips
• Granola Bars with Dried Fruit by The Wimpy Vegetarian
• Homemade Seafoam Candy by All Roads Lead to the Kitchen
• Jamaican Blue Drawers by Lovely Pantry
• Mini Classic Key Lime Pies  by In the Kitchen with KP
• Nut and Seed Nougat by What Smells So Good?
• Peanut Sesame Honey Brittle by Sue’s Nutrition Buzz
• Popcorn with truffle oil and Asiago cheese by Ruffles & Truffles
• Pumpkin Mocha Cupcakes with Whipped Cream Frosting and Dulce de Leche Drizzle by Damn Delicious
• Zebra Cake by That Skinny Chick Can Bake

Grouper with Roasted Tomatoes and Garlic Lemon Crème Fraîche

Hello from Dubai!

You know that song that goes, walking on sunshine, whoa oh?  That’s me.  Despite working on a sleep deficit, yesterday went like a dream.  We arrived in Dubai and fell into the hotel bed with time enough for just two hours of sleep before waking up to meet the real estate agent at the house for the Great Key Handover.  Lordy, mercy, there are a lot of keys for our new house!  Then the airfreight arrived and I was reunited with my Kenwood mixer.  And then the rental furniture was delivered so as soon as we buy and get a stove and refrigerator installed, we can move in!

But the best part was my trip to what will be MY GROCERY STORE.  It’s right near the house and I walked through like the bumpkin from the country just arriving in the big, bright city for the first time.  It is part of the Géant chain, which has ties to the hypermarket Casino in France and is gorgeously laid out with most everything a person could hope to want.  The first thing I spied were some baby tomatoes on the vine and my brain said, “Roast them and set them on top of something like fish or chicken.”  So I went off in search of fresh fish and found some lovely grouper filets.  At which point my brain said, “You need crème fraîche and lemons and garlic.”  And low and behold, all those things could be mine.  I rounded off the menu with some rocket or arugula tossed in a simple lemon vinaigrette.   I am cooking in the small kitchen in my hotel apartment so the photos aren’t the best, but this was one delicious and easy meal.

Ingredients
Small piece of fresh lemon
1 clove garlic
Olive oil
2 heaping tablespoons crème fraîche or mild sour cream
1 branch on-the-vine tomatoes per every two fish filets
1 Grouper or other white fish filet per person
Flakey sea salt  (I use Maldon’s.)
Crushed red pepper
Black pepper (I didn’t have any but you should definitely use some.)

Method
Preheat your oven to 400°F or 200°C.

Finely mince your garlic and put it in a small bowl with the crème fraîche and a healthy pinch of salt.

Cut the end off of the lemon and squeeze the juice into the garlic/crème fraîche bowl.

Add just a little olive oil, perhaps a half a teaspoon, and give it a good stir.  Refrigerate until needed.

Cut your leftover lemon peel into thin slices.

Put the tomatoes in a heatproof dish that will be big enough for your fish filets later.  Drizzle with olive oil and then sprinkle with salt and crushed red pepper.  Top with the slices of lemon peel.

Roast the tomatoes in the preheated oven for about 10-15 minutes.

Meanwhile, season both sides of your fish filets with salt and black pepper (if you are fortunate enough to have remembered to buy some) and drizzle them with olive oil.

Remove the tomatoes from the oven and carefully transfer them to another dish.

Place the fish filets in the baking dish and top with the tomatoes.

Put it back in the oven and bake until the fish is opaque and cooked through, about 10-15 minutes depending on the thickness of your filets.

Serve each filet with half of the tomatoes and a generous dollop of the garlic lemon crème fraîche.  If you’d like, a side green salad rounds out the meal.

Enjoy!

Lemon Mint Juice

When I arrived to live in Egypt eight months ago, it was cold!  Much colder than I expected.  The heater in our house didn’t work properly and I baked just to keep the oven on to warm the kitchen.  I drank a lot of tea and coffee to warm myself from the inside and I wore my new Marks & Spencer cardigan every single day, with fuzzy slippers inside and shoes with socks when I went outside.  It was quite the fashion statement.  As the year wore on, winter gradually disappeared and summer took its place.  Our evenings are still pleasant but during the daytime, a refreshing drink hits all the right spots.  If it’s summer in your part of the world right now, you will enjoy Egypt’s traditional drink made with lemon and fresh mint.  It’s one of my favorite things and is so easy to make. 

Ingredients for two refreshing glasses

1 large lemon

Handful of fresh mint (or more if you prefer)


1/4 cup or 60ml simple syrup 

Ice for blending and serving

Method

Pick the leaves off of your bunch of mint and rinse well in a salad spinner.  Spin to dry.  Put your mint in a blender.

Peel the lemon and use a sharp knife to cut it into chunks, making sure to leave behind the white parts that separate the pegs of lemon.  Add the lemon chunks to the blender.

Add in your simple syrup and another 1/4 cup or 60ml of water. 

Put in a few cubes of ice.  Blend until completely liquid. 

Serve over more ice.

Enjoy!

Butterflied Chicken with Rosemary and Lemon

As I mentioned back when I wrote the post about Rosemary Lemon Chicken Stroganoff, this is one of my favorite meals to make for guests.  This is also one of my favorite meals to make when it’s just us.  My original post didn’t include photos of the first recipe since the focus was what to do with the leftovers, so I thought I would document making the rosemary lemon chicken itself as I made it the other night.  Two chickens so we would have leftovers again!  You should do the same.

Ingredients  

2 whole chickens, cleaned and trimmed of extra fat

6 long sprigs fresh rosemary or more to taste. 

2 lemons

2 purple onions

Olive oil

Maldon or other flakey sea salt

Black pepper

Method

Using a sharp knife or kitchen scissors, cut along the backbone of each chicken.

Turn the chicken over and press down on the breast to spread it flat.

Put the chickens into a large freezer bag.

The 2 1/2 gallon Hefty bags work great. (The link says 2.5 Qt. mistakenly.
The jumbo bags are really 2.5 Gallon.  Get your act together, Hefty!) 

Pull the needles off of the sprigs of rosemary and throw them in the bag with the chicken.

Cut your lemons in quarters and pop them into the bag.  Squeeze them from outside so the rinds and juice stay in the bag. 

Cut your purple onions in quarters and add them to the bag.

Sprinkle in the sea salt and black pepper.  Pour in olive oil and then close up the Ziploc and give the whole bag a good mix around.

Try to distribute the lemons and onions farily around and then open the zipper just a little and squeeze out as much air as possible, before closing the zipper again.

Marinate chicken for a couple of hours in the refrigerator, or overnight—even a couple of days.  (Or freeze it.  Just make sure to thaw and bring the chicken to room temperature before roasting.)

Preheat oven to 425°F or 220°C.  Once the chicken is at room temperature, dump the whole bag out into a baking pan which has been drizzled with a little olive oil.

Redistribute the lemon and onions pieces around the chicken and put some of the rosemary on top.  Drizzle the chicken liberally with more olive oil.

Roast for 45 minutes.  Serve with bits of onion and even lemon, if your fellow eaters are willing.  My mother-in-law is the only person I know who will eat the roasted lemons but there are surely more people in the world who would and I just haven’t met them.  Anyhow, they look pretty on the plate. 

I serve this with couscous and use all the lovely lemony drippings off the chicken to further moisten the couscous on the plate. 

Enjoy!

N.B. This recipe was created by Nigella Lawson. The original can be found in this book and you should buy one because it is full of wonderful recipes, written by one of my food heroes.