Kitchen Q&A (or, Ask Anorak about cooking and stuff)

[caramarydaisy]

roughly what sort of quantity/ratios do you use??

[Colin]

roughly what sort of quantity/ratios do you use??

Sorry to hijack your question, but that reminds me – does anyone here make their own humous? What kind of ratios of chickpeas/tahini/garlic/lemon juice/olive oil/salt do you use?

I’ve made it about a dozen times now and it never seems quite right. The first time I was using a recipe that said I should put in five tablespoons of tahini to one can chickpeas. That seemed a bit OTT so I put in three tablespoons, which was still too much. Nowadays I just put one in, but that ends up being a bit bland.

The supermarket humous I used to buy had a kind of enjoyable tang to it that mine never does. Maybe that’s just the tang of evil chemicals and real humous isn’t supposed to taste like that.

[Uncle Ants]

You put it in "to taste". It looks like you want two from here ;)

[roundbitsofplastic]

roughly what sort of quantity/ratios do you use??

I remembered that last time I made chapatis I used approx 30g flour per chapati for the dough (though you'll need flour for yr rolling pin and dusting yr board and stuff),I just added water til it looked like a dough, really.

I thoughtoftwo tipsalso: 1) makesure the doaughis pliable,but not too moist, cos it'll stick to thepan and burn, 2) try to shakeoff excess flou aslittle bitsof flour onthe surfaceof thechapati will burnvery quickly, a little bit of char gives a nice flavour to thebread, but you don't want it to taste like spent matches :)

[caramarydaisy]

thanks for the tips! i might have a practice run at the weekend!

note to self: buy rolling pin!

[roundbitsofplastic]

thanks for the tips! i might have a practice run at the weekend!

note to self: buy rolling pin!

It's really not so difficult, a bit of practice and you'll stop caring about measurements n stuff.

A rolling pin is best, but if you forget/can't be arsed to get one it's okay to use a glass for rolling, just be sure not to push down too hard (it is easier with a rolling pin, but desperate times call for desperate measures).

[caramarydaisy]

i have been meaning to treat myself to a rolling pin for a while, along with other baking type goods. i think a trip to wilkos/john lewis will be in order this weekend!

[humblebee]

Hey Anorak. I have some puff pastry and I want to make some tart type things with it, filled with aubergine and red pepper and goat's cheese. Should I shape the pastry into cases and bake them empty, and cook the filling things separately and just put them in the pastry right at the end? Also, is there anything I need to know about goat's cheese, cos I've never cooked with it before? Do you grill it or what?

[caramarydaisy]

Hey Anorak. I have some puff pastry and I want to make some tart type things with it, filled with aubergine and red pepper and goat's cheese. Should I shape the pastry into cases and bake them empty, and cook the filling things separately and just put them in the pastry right at the end? Also, is there anything I need to know about goat's cheese, cos I've never cooked with it before? Do you grill it or what?

i dont think you need to blind bake puff pastry at all, just cut it into shapes.. id probably part cook the veg filling a bit first, maybe roast and then add to the cases and add the cheese as it is, it will all just bake together really nicely.

[susanb]

I've made puff pastry tarts with roast vegetables and goats cheese like that before and it worked really well. Make sure the roasted veg isn't too wet when you add it on top off the pastry or else the base can go a little soggy (that happened to mee the first time I made them).

You can make a dead easy dessert in the same way: spread nutella or sprinkle grated chocolate (and chopped nuts, maybe almonds, could probably be nice too) over a sheet of rolled out puff pastry, leaving about an inch round the side, then place slices of pears over the top. Scatter a little brown sugar over the top of the pears and bake it until the pastry round the sides is puffed up and golden. It's really tasty but it's best eaten quickly.

Does anyone here make their own puff pastry? I always use bought stuff because I'm pretty rubbish at making pastry and the instructions in the bero book I've got make it sound like quite a bit of effort.

Cara, did you get a rolling pin? I saw some really cool glass ones at the weekend at the World of Glass in St Helens. I only got a rolling pin last Christmas, for years I just used to use a straight wine bottle filled with water. It worked pretty well but I like not having to look in the recycling bag for a bottle (and having to scrub the label off) each time I need a rolling pin now.

[caramarydaisy]

I've made puff pastry tarts with roast vegetables and goats cheese like that before and it worked really well. Make sure the roasted veg isn't too wet when you add it on top off the pastry or else the base can go a little soggy (that happened to mee the first time I made them).

You can make a dead easy dessert in the same way: spread nutella or sprinkle grated chocolate (and chopped nuts, maybe almonds, could probably be nice too) over a sheet of rolled out puff pastry, leaving about an inch round the side, then place slices of pears over the top. Scatter a little brown sugar over the top of the pears and bake it until the pastry round the sides is puffed up and golden. It's really tasty but it's best eaten quickly.

Does anyone here make their own puff pastry? I always use bought stuff because I'm pretty rubbish at making pastry and the instructions in the bero book I've got make it sound like quite a bit of effort.

Cara, did you get a rolling pin? I saw some really cool glass ones at the weekend at the World of Glass in St Helens. I only got a rolling pin last Christmas, for years I just used to use a straight wine bottle filled with water. It worked pretty well but I like not having to look in the recycling bag for a bottle (and having to scrub the label off) each time I need a rolling pin now.

those deserts sound yum!

ive never made my own puff pastry before, no. but yes, i did treat myself to a rolling pin! its just a plain wooden one but is definitely easier than using wine bottles, ive done that in the past too!

[Silver Girl]

You can do something similar by scrunching up filo pastry, brushing it with butter and throwing chocolate chunks, dried fruit and nuts etc at it. Rather simple.
I always wanted a glass rolling pin you could fill with cold water for hardcore shortcrust pastry. But I'm too clumsy to have such a thing in the house...

[humblebee]

Ta for the tips, everyone - I tried it last night and it went pretty well. Had to fill it out with tomato, red onion and courgette cos the aubergine and red pepper didn't go far enough. The goat's cheese was good. I want to try dog's cheese next.

[humblebee]

Any tips for pearl barley, people?

[Uncle Ants]

put it in soup, cook for about an hour.

Sorry that's probably a really boring use for pearl barley isn't it?

[humblebee]

put it in soup, cook for about an hour.

Sorry that's probably a really boring use for pearl barley isn't it?

Thanks. Well, I get the idea it's mostly to add richness to soups and stews, and that's what was thinking when I bought it. And soups and stews are never boring, if I have anything to do with it. I just wondered if anyone might know anything specific that pearl barley goes well with, sort of thing.

[Uncle Ants]

When I use it, it's usually in a hearty winter veg soup of some sort.

[humblebee]

Does it go sort of soft and melty, like yellow split peas or something?

[Uncle Ants]

No it goes soft but holds itself together - they don't fall apart. It has a bit of bite to it, a bit of chew. It's nice, though some people hate it.

[humblebee]

Would you cook it separately from the soup and then stir it in, or put it in the soup with everything else?

Ta for all this, btw.