Cookin'

“I’ve gone back to basics – the classic recipes we all love, cooked simply.” So says Mary Berry in the introduction to one of her latest books (Berry, M (2013), Mary Berry’s Cookery Course, London: Dorling Kindersley Limited).

Since I too have gone back to basics, this is not the place to be churlish about whether “classic” means “recycled”. However, one observation I have about many a book masquerading as a ‘cookery course’ is that they are usually just a selection of recipes with some added ‘how to’ inserts. Mary Berry’s does however go so far as to include a compendium of techniques cross-referenced to the recipes in which they are used. That is better than most, but I am resigned to the idea that working through this book is not like undergoing a course of instruction: it is more about prompts to my learning.

The next few posts in this blog are therefore a sort of ‘learning journal’ in which to reflect on what I have picked up, practised, and pondered. Although I intend to follow every recipe and technique in the book, I don’t want to make soups for a week, become egg-bound the next, and so on. I will skip on to recipes that help vary our family diet and fit with our activities and the actual availability of ingredients: which brings us to Mango Passion.

Mango Passion is a simple pudding, and since our Abel and Cole box contained a mango the week before last, I thought it expedient to use. Unbelievably, it still wasn’t ripe enough: the flesh was quite firm and unblemished and when I cut into it, it wasn’t that deep – the ‘stone’ being quite large and impenetrable. That perhaps is why it didn’t taste of much, and perhaps next time I make such a simple pudding, I’ll use something else.

The fruit layer has a sprinkling of sugar, and the whole pudding is topped off with quite a bit too. I used dark instead of light Muscavado sugar in order to avoid a 24km round trip grocery expedition. It seems to me that Muscavado either doesn’t contain anti-caking agents, or the molasses in it are hygroscopic: either way, the bag was a solid lump. Breaking off the right amount and then using a blender I ended up with something akin to icing sugar. A search on the web indicates the ‘bricking’ is due to a loss of moisture, and that among the remedies are to put a slice of apple of moist bread in the bag for a day or so before use. Another contribution suggested using a grater, which I think more immediately practical.

On the topic of equipment, this pudding would probably look better in a dish that is slightly taller than it is wide. The shallow glass bowls I used made the pudding look a bit ‘lumpy’: simple can also look elegant!

The essence of the recipe is fruit, sugared as necessary, covered in a yoghurt and crème fraîche mix, topped off with brown sugar which absorbs moisture and hence makes the top look like a crème brulée. It can be made hours in advance, refrigerated, and brought back to room temperature before serving.