Pumpkin,Walnut, (among other cosas ricas) Gratin

They say here in the mountains that you can fell a change in the weather after the fiesta major (the big yearly village fiesta)and I can feel it coming and even though theres a pang of clinging to the love of hot summer days ...I like Autumn.I like golden leaves,pumpkins,the promise of vast amounts of wild mushrooms or at least the anticipation,fires,chestnuts and supreme comfort foods like this recipe...theres a earthly gorgousness of walnuts ,chard combined with the sweet spicey pumpkin and crispy potatoes on top...Its my welcome recipe for autumn.

The quantities of ingredients depend on the size of oven dish...try even amounts of chard and pumpkin mixture...

About 6 shallots (or 3 sweet onions).
Chard leaves (a decent amount).
One garlic clove.
Roasted pumpkin.
Boiled potatoes.
Coconut milk.
Powdered ginger.
Powdered nutmeg.
Curry powder.
Olive oil.
Salt and pepper.

Start off with a few shallots cut into quarters and saute until soft.
Next some chard...always treat it like two vegetables the crunchy stalk and soft spinach like leaves....cut the stalks length ways then into small dices and boil in just enough water to cover them until they soften slightly(honor the crunch folks),drain and use the same saucepan for the leaves...roll up them up together as tightly as possible and slice finely .Put a drop of oil with some garlic and fry until almost golden(do not burn,I,m against burnt garlic)then add the chopped leaves,salt and just a slash of water(use the chard cooking water...save the rest for stock) and wilt until wilted.
The pumpkin I removed from the freezer-god or goddess bless you freezer!
It(the pumpkin)was roasted in the oven until soft ....it really intensifies the flavour.
I prefer not puting any salt and let the natural flavour shine until I know if I,m going to use it for a sweet or savouring plate.
In a saucepan heat a teaspoon of curry powder,a pinch of nutmeg and a half teaspoon of dried ginger(I,m sure fresh would be better or different at least but heh there was nowt to be found in my pueblo),then add the soft roasted pumpkin with a dessertspoon of marigold bouillon powder(absolutely not nessesary if you have a beautifully sweet flavourful pumpkin ,mine was not and to be honest the poor crater(Irish for divil or scamp or soul) was a bit dull tasting,so a bit of organic dried stock powder was called for)
Mash well together with a splash of coconut milk,salt and pepper and a nob of butter if it takes your fancy.
Toast a handfull of walnuts and place in an oiled ovenproof glass dish .
Place shallots and chard on top.
Next the spiced pumpkin purree.
Lastly decorate the top with sliced cooked potatoes brushed with olive oil.
Bake in the oven about 180 or 200 degrees until goldenbrown on top and bubbling slightly in the layers below.
A word or two on the photo ..It was taken the next day.Day light is always the best .It doesnt show exact layers of vegetables because it was deplated various times and does not do justice to my gratin.But please try it as I,m very happy with this one people.

Whiskey leek rolls...with a walnut ,apple,potato salad and goats yoghurt dressing

We went to visit friends the other day in their Masia(Catalan gorgeous stone farmhouses)and when leaving we were given a pressie of two fat leeks and loads of asparagus.The asparagus was grilled and eaten with alioli...and this is what happened to the leeks ....

Cut the green part of the leeks and bottom part .
There before you ,you,ll have two white rolls of leeks.
Insert a sharp knife in one end and rotate and twist ...do the same at the other end until you have a hollow in the centre.

Now for the filling...
Saute finely diced green peppers,red peppers,a wee bit of courgettes,a wee bit of onion and garlic and black olives(all choped small) in olive oil until soft.
Add a sprinkle of fresh thyme.
At the end of cooking put up the heat and add a gurgle of whiskey .
The heat evaporates the alcohol but leaves that lovely flavour.

Wrap the leek rolls in tin foil with some stock and olive oil inside.
Place on a baking tray and cook in the oven (180c)until soft.

The salad...
Wash and chop...lettuce greens and apple.
Add diced cooked and cooled potatoes.
And walnuts(freshly shelled).
Mix a good few dollops of organic goats yoghurt with a few splashes of white wine vinegar.
Salt and pepper it.
Scatter with chopped chives.

Leek,rocafort,walnut and pear pizza and Focaccia Bread

First things first..The base..for a good base you need good flour...I used white organic stoneground flour.

THE BASE:
8oog white organic flour
400ml warm water
2 teaspoons salt
3 teaspoons dry active yeast
2 teaspoons sugar
100ml olive oil

Mix a cupful of the flour,the yeast and sugar together in a big bowl.Stir in the warm water and leave for a few minutes.
Add in the rest of the flour,the salt and the olive oil.Mix well and start to knead the dough in the bowl or on a table.
Ten minutes of kneading should do it.(no less...you knead to knead...v important)
Brush the inside of the bowl with olive oil,put the dough in and cover with a plastic bag.
turn on the oven 180c for one minute, then turn off ,and pop the covered bowl inside.leave for 30 minutes or so until it doubles in size.Remove from the oven and punch the dough in the middle to knock it back.(***** for focaccias see below)
Divide in three pieces,roll out as thinly as possible, or not ;depending on how you like your pizza,(remember it should double in sizeagain).
Place on greased baking trays and cover with large plastic bags.Do the oven trick again:turn on for one minute,turn off and pop the
trays in.Leave for another 30 minutes.Take out trays.Then heat oven to 200c.

Meanwhile prepare the topping:
homemade tomato sauce(see entry Jan27 2009)
sauted leeks
crumbled rocafort cheese
pears sliced thinly
walnuts

Place a wee bit of the tomato sauce on top of pizzas and prebake for 5 to 10 minutes.
Take out of oven.(I let 2 cool down and then froze them for another day).Then pile on
the sauted leeks,walnuts,rocafort and pear slices and bake for 10 minutes or so...depending
on the thickness of pizza.
enjoy with a few drops of chilli oil and black pepper if you so wish...

If you want to make focaccias...its basically the same recipe (see brackets above)
After beating the dough down add some chopped fresh rosemary.divide in two pieces and roll
out a lot thicker..Place on greased trays..Brush top with oil..Place sliced onions and tomatoes on top.
Do the oven trick:turn on 180c for one minute.Turn off.Place the focaccias covered with a large plastic bag in the warm oven for 30 minutes to double in size.Take out.heat oven to 180c and bake for 12 to 15 minutes.

This is really a bread recipe .For those who think its hard, try it,its not...making bread is easy..good flour..knead well..start off with easy recipes...try it I dare ya!

will I write?..WRITE, I WILL!

Hello...
Am writing as always with anouk(my almost 8 month old girl)breastfeeding("plugged in"as I like to call it)Her moods,tooth aches etc, rule my days.Like yesterday..no great photos were made..no imaginitive food..but heh in my tired mums way I,ve never been so happy in my life.
What I did make is a delicious,no two delicious cakes-chocolate,whiskey and walnut cake..devoured in two days..half calculated recipes but if anyone wants it I can whip it up-no seriously I intend to write it in the future..it is bejond my control.