Sometimes, it is good to have something all to yourself. An individual dish of something delicious that is all your own. I broke the habit of a lifetime this week, bringing dinner to the table in small pots or dishes, one per person, rather than putting a large pot on the table for everyone to tuck in. It felt strangely special, as if it was everyone’s birthday.
An individual dish of smoked fish and cream threaded with emerald green spinach, its surface bronzed and bubbling, was a recipe so simple it was barely called cooking and yet delighted everyone. I put hot brown toast on the table, too, with which to mop up the sauce, and a crisp salad to balance the creamy notes of the fish. Rather than making a classic cream sauce, the smoked fish was mixed with cream, parsley and a little smooth, mild mustard then spooned into the individual dishes. I used hot-smoked salmon for their thick fillets and deep, smoky notes, but could have just as easily used smoked haddock or even kipper fillets.
This week’s baking got the same treatment. Rather than a slice of cake, I made the easiest one-per-person cakes (although I remember most of us taking two or three). They were chocolatey muffins with a toffee-flavoured cream. The speed at which they cooked made a change from waiting for a large cake to be ready and they kept well for a day or two. Tiny cakes in paper cases, they reminded me of the very first baking I did — the batch of butterfly cakes of which, I was, at 9 years old, so incredibly proud.
Salmon and spinach gratin
A little pot of salmon, silky spinach and smoky cream. A piece of crisp brown toast on the side, either to pile your gratin on or to dunk in the bubbling cream. Either way, it feels essential. The sauce is rich and something for a cool day. A small, crisp salad would be welcome, too; frisee or watercress and cucumber springs to mind, dressed with a little white wine vinegar.
Dense and cocoa-rich, these dark chocolate cakes are served with a swirl of caramel cream. As their cooking time approaches, check them by pressing gently with your finger, they should be sticky to touch; the insides should be soft and moist but not fondant, which is a different sort of thing altogether and to my taste, a little cloying. The yoghurt keeps the little cakes from being too sweet. They may sink a little on cooling, but no matter.
Serves 2. Ready in 40 minutes
250ml cream
2 Tbsp tarragon leaves
3 Tbsp chopped parsley
2 tsp dijon mustard
150g spinach
350-400g hot-smoked salmon
a little butter for the dishes
4 Tbsp finely grated cheddar cheese
You will need 2 small shallow baking dishes.
Pour the cream into a jug and season lightly with salt and black pepper. Finely chop the tarragon leaves and add them to the cream together with the chopped parsley and dijon mustard.
Wash the spinach leaves then, still wet, put them in a deep saucepan and place over a moderate heat, cover tightly with a lid and let the spinach steam for a couple of minutes. Cool the wilted leaves very quickly under cold running water, then squeeze gently dry.
Pour the cream into a bowl. Break or tear the hot-smoked salmon into small pieces, about the size of a postage stamp, removing the skin as you go. Check for any bones and carefully remove them, dropping the flesh into the seasoned cream. Add the spinach to the fish.
Lightly butter the gratin dishes and place them on a tray then fill them with the salmon, spinach and cream mixture. Sprinkle with the grated cheese and bake at 200°C for 20 minutes till bubbling.
Dark chocolate muffins
Dense and cocoa-rich, these dark chocolate cakes are served with a swirl of caramel cream. As their cooking time approaches, check them by pressing gently with your finger, they should be sticky to touch; the insides should be soft and moist but not fondant, which is a different sort of thing altogether and to my taste, a little cloying. The yoghurt keeps the little cakes from being too sweet. They may sink a little on cooling, but no matter.
Makes 9. Ready in 45-50 minutes.
120g butter
85g ground almonds
150g light brown sugar
60g cocoa powder
75g plain flour
1 level tsp baking powder
100g dark chocolate
2 eggs
175g natural yoghurt
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp milk
For the cream:
250ml double
2 Tbsp dulce de leche or caramel sauce
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line 9 holes of a muffin tin with baking paper or tall paper cases.
Melt the butter in a saucepan, but do not let it boil.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a flat paddle attachment, mix together the ground almonds, light brown sugar, cocoa powder, flour and baking powder.
Chop the chocolate into small pieces, roughly 5mm in size, but there is no need to be too accurate. Break the eggs into a small bowl or cup, beat them lightly with a fork to mix the yolks and whites then stir into the flour-sugar mix with the yoghurt, vanilla, chopped chocolate and the butter. Lastly, mix in the milk.
Mix gently, taking care to ensure there are no streaks of flour, but also being careful not to overmix, which would make them heavy. Divide between the 9 paper cake cases and bake for about 30 minutes. Press the top of one with your finger — it should feel light and slightly springy to the touch.
Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 10 minutes before unwrapping.
To finish, pour the cream into a cold mixing bowl and beat till it forms soft folds (not thick enough to stand in peaks) then stir in the dulce de leche or caramel sauce. Don’t overmix, the cream just needs a ripple of the sweet caramel sauce running through it. — The Observer
