By Lyn Potter
Thanks to her clever op shopping Julie Le Clerk’s Made by Hand is a very stylish book to look at. Over the years she has collected lots of charming old table ware, kitchen utensils, pre loved tablecloths and napkins and has used them to great effect in her food styling. But in my mind there has to be more to a recipe book than good looks! So how would I rate it?
My idea of the perfect recipe book to give as a Christmas gift this year is one that some-one will treasure and use a lot, rather than one which lingers on the shelf gathering dust. I speak from experience. As an insatiable cookery book collector I have fallen too often for good looks rather than great or achievable recipes.
Here’s what I’ll be looking for:
- New on the market so the receiver is unlikely to have it (ask for an exchange card just in case!)
- Uses ingredients which are mainly locally grown and easily available so a New Zealand book is good
- Has recipes which are not too complicated but show a creative flair, fresh ideas and taste good
- Is written by a chef/good cook who adds a personal touch, rather than just an anonymous collection of recipes
- Takes a reasonably healthy approach to cooking but includes some special treats.
I leafed through Julie’s book and found she was on a serious mission to "Encourage everyone to reject highly processed, take-away and unhealthy snack foods and embrace deliciously natural foods made by hand". But she insists that just because her food is natural, wholesome or gluten free this will not make it boring or tasteless. She promises us food that will also taste good.
I decided to put her recipes to the test for the day. For breakfast I whizzed some of her healthy peach berry and yoghurt smoothies, sweetened with honey. A tablespoon of LSA (a nutritious blend of flax seeds, sunflower seeds and whole almonds ground together) made it more nutritious and some cranberry juice added some zing. Healthy but also yummy as promised.
For morning tea I baked the hot apricot scones in which the fruit puree is replaced with milk, and oil rather than butter is used. Spelt flour is suggested as it is more digestible but I don’t have any so ordinary flour had to do. The scones rose well and were crusty. Nice with lashings of jam. A very easy and useful recipe especially for some-one who has an intolerance to dairy, or for those times when you have inadvertently run out of milk.
The Pumpkin, Pine Nut and Thyme Self-crusting quiche was served for lunch. No pastry so less calories! This will become one of our standbys as it’s so quick to put together and the caramel flavour of the pumpkin did complement the salty creaminess of the feta nicely.
I made the pesto which is served alongside this quiche with a mixture of spinach, mint, parsley and roasted unsalted cashew nuts. It made a nice change from the traditional pine nuts and basil. A small rocket salad and a loaf of crusty bread were all that were needed to complete a tasty meal.
For dinner the summertime Fish Cooked in Paper appealed. It’s a classical method of cooking food in a paper parcel known as en papilotte. As Julie says: “Cooking food in packages is always fun, as opening the packet almost feels like unwrapping a present.” It did.
I served the Spring Asparagus with Parmesan Dressing as the side dish. For this the asparagus was tossed in some garlic, balsamic and oil and then char grilled for two minutes on each side. A flavoursome Parmesan dressing enriched with low fat sour cream was spooned over it. Best served warm so the cheese melts and mingles with the flavour of the asparagus. It was delicious!
Should we /or shouldn’t we have one of her tempting desserts? She calls them pure puddings or guilt free delights and assures us that as they are made with lots of fresh fruit and natural ingredients having them occasionally should not make us feel guilty. I added a scoop of ice cream and it went down a treat.
As well as her recipes Julie gives hints on how to shop smart, recycle and re-use, how to start a basic kitchen garden , how to be organic savvy , and on eco cleaning . The kind of mumsy advice we should have put into practice ourselves and passed on to our kids, but we were often too busy having careers to get round to it. Good to think about slowing down and getting back to doing things by hand.
At the end of the day I gave Made by Hand the thumbs up. Her healthy recipes tasted good, were creative and not difficult to make. And yes, the good looks are a bonus if it’s to be a gift! Worth putting on that Christmas shopping list for some-one who loves to cook.
Made by Hand by Julie Le Clerc is Published by Penguin Group (NZ) RRP $52.00 Available at all good booksellers nationwide.
Berry Chiffon Pudding Cakes
Makes 6
2 egg whites
1/3 cup caster sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 tbsp light olive oil
½ cup low-fat plain unsweetened yoghurt
1½ cups mixed berries (fresh or frozen)
1 cup plain flour
¾ tsp baking soda
icing sugar, to dust
1. Preheat oven to 180degC.
2. Lightly spray six ¾-cup capacity cake or muffin tins with olive oil.
3. In a clean bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks hold their shape. Fold in sugar and vanilla and then the oil, yoghurt and half the berries. Sift flour and baking soda into bowl and stir just enough to combine.
4. Spoon mixture into prepared tins and scatter with remaining berries. Bake for 25–30 minutes, or until firm and golden brown.
5. Serve warm, dusted with icing sugar and with extra yoghurt on the side, if desired.
Reprinted with permission from Made By Hand, published by Penguin Group NZ, RRP$52.00. Copyright © Julie Le Clerc 2010