BOOK/A TABLE - Marmalade Bread & Butter Pudding

It could well be that marmalade was created by one of the nurses attending Mary, Queen of Scots when her lady fell ill. The nurse is purported to have prepared a soothing concoction of sugar and oranges for Mary saying, in French, “Marie est malade...” Marmalade!

However, the idea of making this Marmalade Bread & Butter Pudding came from Blaming by one of my British authoress idols, Elizabeth Taylor. When Amy is left widowed on holiday in Istanbul, another woman comforts her and returns home to England with her, but Amy finds it difficult to maintain their unusual relationship afterward and naturally, complications ensue.  

I adore this book, like all the others in Taylor’s canon, but it was the mention of this pudding that I found particularly inspiring. Can you blame me? 

The character of James is trying to cut down on sweet things, but his resolve weakens at the discovery of this pudding that Amy made. 

“What kind?” he asked cautiously.
“That marmalade bread and butter one that your father liked so much. You did, too.”
“Bread and butter...yes, oh yes, I remember...I think I do remember.” He had forgotten until now all the delicious English puddings.

Serve your pudding warm after cooling completely and reheating—you want it to set completely. It’s also fantastic ice cold from the fridge the next day. It is “super easy” to make, as Jamie Oliver states, but you still have to crack and separate nine eggs.

Do enjoy! 

Marmalade Bread & Butter Pudding
Adapted from Jamie Oliver

Ingredients
For the flavoured butter
100g (7 TB) unsalted butter, softened
a large pinch of ground nutmeg
a large pinch of ground cinnamon
zest of 1 large orange

8 x 1cm (about ½”) slices of good-quality bread
9 large free-range or organic eggs

140g (2/3 cup) caster sugar
500ml (2 cups) semi-skimmed milk
565ml (2 1/3 cups) single cream
1 vanilla pod, scored lengthways and seeds removed
4 tablespoons good-quality fine-cut marmalade

Method
Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4.

First make your flavoured butter by mixing the butter with the nutmeg, cinnamon and orange zest. Use a little of it to butter a medium-sized shallow, ovenproof dish.

Butter the bread using the flavoured butter, then cut each slice in half diagonally. Put the slices in your buttered dish.

Now separate the eggs, reserving all 9 yolks but just 1 egg white. Whisk together the egg yolks and egg white with the sugar, then gently heat the milk and cream in a saucepan with the vanilla seeds and pod. Pour into the eggs, stirring all the time. Remove the vanilla pod then pour the mixture over the bread and leave to soak for at least 20 minutes.

Put the dish in a roasting tray and pour in enough boiling water to come halfway up the side of the dish. Then put it in the preheated oven for about 45 minutes, or until the custard has just set.

Meanwhile, gently warm the marmalade in a saucepan, then remove the dish from the oven and brush the marmalade over the top of the bread. Pop the dish back into the oven for another 5 to 10 minutes. Allow it to cool and firm up slightly before serving.

 

 

 

A Few of My Favorite Summer Things

                                                        Art by Pete

While I’m on vacation, enjoy these dishes that have become my must-makes over many summers now. For your consideration—a soup, salad, and an entree!

Take your pick of the best tomatoes and put them in this Gazpacho Andaluz.  

A sumptuous Summer Salad is beautifully made with the bounty of the season. 

Trenette col Pesto Genovese (that’s pasta with pesto, bliss potatoes, and green beans to you and me, bub) is a wonderful classic Italian dish, highly suitable for this time of year. 

I hope you are enjoying your summer!

Duck with Peaches and Blueberry Jam

 

Today I present another adventure in Freezer Diving! And it’s a good one. I found duck breasts in our freezer along with a bag of frozen peaches. I then turned to the fruit-forward cookbook Fruitful for ideas. I ended up with a riff on a duck recipe that called for honeyed gooseberries. As I didn’t have gooseberries at the ready, I subbed in peaches and blueberry jam, and it all turned out to be, well...rather fruitful! 

If you already have some juicy stone fruits waiting on the counter, by all means use those. Freezer Diving is a game of invention played with ingredients you already have on hand, and this time, frozen peaches worked for me (as well as the jar of Stonewall Kitchen blueberry jam lurking in the fridge). I sometimes like to think of recipes as blueprints for meal-building; scaffolding to be altered according to what flavors you like together—or simply what needs to be smartly used up before it goes to waste.  

This duck is not difficult to make, but your delighted guests need never know. So, throw open your cupboards, root through your freezer, and let the games begin!

Duck with Peaches and Blueberry Jam
Adapted from Fruitful by Brian Nicholson and Sarah Huck
Makes 2 servings

Ingredients  
Duck
One 1 lb Moulard Magret duck breast, split for two portions, excess fat trimmed from edges
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons fennel seeds, crushed
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves (or one teaspoon dried)
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

Peach-Blueberry Sauce
One pint frozen peaches
3 tablespoons blueberry jam
Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions
Score the duck breast skin in a crosshatch pattern, making the slices as deep as possible without cutting into the meat. Season with salt and pepper on each side.

In a small bowl combine the fennel, thyme, and olive oil. Rub the mixture over the duck breast. Let the seasoned duck stand at room temperature, loosely covered with plastic wrap, for one hour.

Heat a large skillet over high heat until very hot. Place the duck, skin side down, in the skillet. Reduce heat to medium high and cook for about 8 minutes (keep a careful eye when skin achieves a deep golden brown), continuously draining or spooning off the rendered fat. Turn the duck and cook it to your desired doneness, 4 to 5 minutes longer for medium rare. Transfer the breasts to a platter and cover them with foil to keep warm. Reserve one tablespoon of fat from the pan; use the rest for something else.

For the peaches, return the skillet to medium high heat. Add the peaches and 2 tablespoons of blueberry jam. Simmer until peaches soften, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in the remaining tablespoon of jam, and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Slice the duck breast thinly against the grain arrange the slices on the serving plates, spoon the peach-blueberry sauce over the top and serve immediately.