Lemon and lime ice cream pavlova

Here is another recipe adapted from Evelyn Rose, this time from ‘New Jewish Cuisine’ – new as in written in 1988.  She is a bit like the ‘Delia Smith of Jewish cooking’ not necessarily all that interesting, but the recipes always work. One of my earliest posts is one of her recipes – A chicken pie to unify and lead the Jewish people, and I wrote then that I didn’t get on with her writing style and found the recipe difficult to follow. This time I definitely found it easier – maybe I have leant more about cooking and following recipes in the two years since that post, or maybe I am just more intuitively tuned to desserts. Probably a bit of both to be honest.

As long as I can remember, this dessert (originally known as lemon shaum) has been on of the ultimate special occasion desserts, made by both my Mum and Grandmother, and loved by all. As I have said previously, I am so blessed and privileged to come from such a rich food heritage: most of my earliest memories are of the dishes cooked by my grandmothers and great-grandparents – roasted duck, fried fish, split pea soup, chicken soup with kneidelach, lemon meringue pie, apple pie, and the best chocolate mousse on the planet. So when the family came together to celebrate my maternal grandparents’ diamond wedding anniversary, I really wanted to make them a special dessert.

I’m the one in the top right hand corner flashing their knickers – as my Mum said ‘see, even then you were an exhibitionist.’

The pavlova is incredibly light, with an almost foamy or marshmallowy texture in the middle. Originally this recipe is just with lemon, but we tried it with lime too once, and never looked back.

It is very sweet, but the lemon and lime cut through it and make it incredibly refreshing and not stodgy at all. It is great dish for any kind of dinner party as it can be made well in advance, and its rectangular shape means that it is easier to slice and portion than a traditional round pavlova.

If you are celebrating Rosh Hashanna (Jewish New Year) this week, this would make an ideal dessert at a festive meal, especially due to the hot weather forecasted.

Special thanks go to my Mum, both for teaching me how to cook, and for helping me with this dessert and providing the freezer space.

Ingredients

For the meringue:

4 egg whites

¼ tsp cream of tartar

225g (1 cup) caster sugar

2 level tsp cornflour (mix the cornflour into the caster sugar)

(I know this seems like a high number of ingredients for a meringue, but don’t skip any out. The meringue needs to be really sturdy to survive the freezer intact)

For the ice cream:

4 egg yolks

125g (½ cup) caster sugar

3 tbsp fresh lemon juice

3 tbsp fresh lime juice

Grated zest of 1 lemon

Grated zest of 1 lime

275ml (½ pint) double cream or 225ml non-dairy cream

Method

I don’t mean to sound like a GSCE exam invigilator, but really do read all the steps before getting started. Be aware that you will need a lot of freezer space, and it is probably a massive pain in the arse to make if you don’t have access to a freestanding mixer. Sorry about the quality of the photos.

Preheat the oven to 150 c with fan. Line 2 baking trays with grease-proof/baking paper, each piece marked on the reverse with a rectangle drawn 28cm long and 12cm wide. This may seem tedious, but this is a centrepiece dessert, and so really worth making sure that the layers are the same size.

To make the meringue layers:

Whisk the egg whites, sprinkled with the cream of tartar, until they hold stiff, glossy peaks.

Mix together the caster sugar and the cornflour and then add it to the egg white mix, 1 tablespoonful at a time, whisking until stiff again after every addition.

Use a tiny amount of the meringue to 'stick' the baking paper onto the baking tray. Spoon the meringue equally into the two rectangles, and use a fork to even it out.

Put the meringues in the oven, and reduce the temperature to 140c and bake for an hour until the meringues are crisp to the touch and will lift off the paper easily (be very careful when you do this, it is fragile).

To make the ice cream filling:

Start this as soon as the meringue goes into the oven.

Put the yolks and sugar into a saucepan – stir until creamy, and then add the citrus juices and zest. Cook over a gentle heat, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens. Take it off the heat and stir for a further minute, and then pour it into a bowl and refrigerate until completely cool. This will take about half an hour.

Whisk the cream until it stands in soft peaks, and then beat in the cold lemon custard/curd, one tablespoon at a time until completely amalgamated into the cream.

On a tray, spread out a piece of foil large enough to cover the entire pavlova. Place one rectangle of meringue on it, spread the filling evenly over the whole thing, and then lay the second meringue on top. Freeze uncovered until solid, and then wrap carefully in foil and keep in the freezer.

Take it out of the freezer about 20 minutes before serving – it should be served semi-frozen, so that the lemon-lime filling has the texture of soft ice cream. You can keep it in the freezer for up to 1 month.

A chicken pie to unify and lead the Jewish people

My first foray into the world of Evelyn Rose

I was going to write something quite negative about Evelyn’s style of writing, but apparently I could get sued for that kind of thing.  Needless to say, it was not an enjoyable experience for me.  Her books seem to be a bible for a whole generation, so maybe I shouldn’t s**t all over them.  I think ill stick to Claudia Roden...or Nigella.

ANYWAY, this is an excellent way of using up leftover cooked chicken.  One of my least favourite things is reheated cooked chicken, served the same way.  Of course you cant really beat an overstuffed chicken sandwich or chicken salad, but there is something so nostalgic and comforting about a pie.  During the aforementioned trip to Morocco, I phoned home to check in and my mum asked me what I wanted for dinner when I returned home, and this chicken pie is what I requested.  I am 25 and as this blog hopefully shows, pretty self-sufficient, but there is still this omnipresent sense of ‘eat bubala’ whenever I come home.  And I definitely make the most of it. 

When I was little and in the tiny tots service at our synagogue every Saturday, we used to sing ‘david melech yisroel chai chai chicken pie.’ I have no idea why we sung chicken pie instead of vekayam, it doesn’t even rhyme.  The song means ‘David king of Israel lives and exists’ somehow in our 2-4 year old minds, chicken pie was an inherent part of remembering this famous king of Israel, known not so much as a philosopher or scholar, but as a musician, lover and fighter; one can only assume that must have enjoyed his food too.  And according to legend he was a ginger.  If the famous King of Israel could unite the Jewish people, maybe there is more to this chicken pie??

This recipe is adapted from Evelyn Rose’s Complete International Jewish Cookbook.  This is not a book I own, but the kind I will need to buy for myself one day.  According to my mum she is like the Jewish Delia (boring but essential and foolproof).  Well I must be a fool.  Reading through the recipe I found it incredibly confusing.  It may just be my own snobbery regarding cookbooks from the 70s and 80s, but it is very hard to follow.  And of course, back in the day it might have been ok to fry with however many ounces of chicken fat, but its really not now.  Also newer cookbooks tend not to refer to the oil/butter/margarine as fat, maybe its just a nation in denial.  Sorry folks.

I have to admit that I didn’t actually cook this.  It was my intention to, but I have had such a bad cold I thought it probably wasn’t the best idea, I’m sure that our dinner guests were very grateful.  I did however observe very closely and was allowed to stir occasionally.

Time: prep 20 mins, cooking 20 mins, ease: 3/5 taste: 5/5 you will need a shallow pie dish, like the size of a large dinner plate.

Ingredients:

For the filling -

1 onion, finely diced

Mushrooms, chopped up – about a heaped handful

Handful chopped parsley (I cook a lot with fresh herbs, and try to avoid using dried ones at all costs. The best places to buy them are asda, or from your local greengrocer, you can buy big bunches very cheaply.  Parsley freezes very well, just make sure you wash it first).

Heaped tbsp plain flour

200ml stock or chicken gravy equivalent – you can always add more liquid later is it looks a bit too dry.  We used the solidified goo left over from roasting the chicken.  What’s good is that the fat rises to the top and hardens, and can be scraped off and thrown away.  Essentially its like fat-free essence of chicken, and can be frozen! As the chicken in question was cooked in a red, herby sauce, the finished sauce had a lovely reddish colour.

Cooked chicken, cut into bite sized pieces – approx. ½ a chicken.

For the pastry - (The recipe called for ready-made puff pastry, but the version my mum makes uses the ‘quick flaky pastry’ recipe instead.

82g firm margarine

160g plain flour

50mls boiling water

First make the pastry.  Cut the butter into small pieces and put into bowl.  Pour over boiling water and stir until the butter is melted and amalgamated – you may need to give it a blast in the microwave.  Add the flour, mix into a dough and chill, covered in clingfilm, for at least half an hour.  Yes it really is that simple.  When the dough is made and covered in the clingfilm, it will feel warm and soft, kind of like a hamster.  After it has been in the fridge it will harden up considerably.

Preheat the oven to 230 c.

Fry the onions in cooking oil/olive oil in a large frying pan, and when mostly done (10 mins or so) add the mushrooms.  When done add the flour, and stir until all the veggies are coated – don’t worry it will look quite dry.

Add the stock/gravy, bring to the boil, and then simmer for a few minutes until it thickens, stirring all the time.  Add the chicken and season with salt and pepper – Evelyn also adds in a bit of nutmeg, but this would depend on what kind of flavouring you had already added – some dried sage might be nice too.  Turn the heat off and allow to go cold, and empty into the pie dish.

Here is a fantastic tip for rolling pastry – instead of flouring the board and rolling pin (or empty wine 

bottle) put the dough between 2 pieces of clingfilm.  Incredibly easy, and stops the dough getting too floury. Roll out to cover the dish with a small amount of overhang.  Don’t worry about it looking perfect, it should be crinkly and rustic, allowing for little bits of the sauce to bubble up the sides and crisp up.  Score some lines into the pasty to allow for the steam to escape, and bake for 20 minutes.

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