Chocolate and cherry roulade

To celebrate Chocolate Week here's one of my favourite recipes for a chocolate and cherry roulade which comes from my book An Appetite for Ale. Unusually it contains two different types of beer! You can obviously leave one of them out though a cherry beer is the perfect pairing with it.

Making a roulade might sound daunting but is actually no more difficult than making a chocolate mousse providing you have the right kit (see below)

For the roulade

175g Belgian dark luxury chocolate*

2 tbsp stout, porter or black coffee

5 large eggs, separated

125g caster sugar

For the filling

350g pitted morello cherries or stoned fresh, black cherries

2 tbsp Kriek or other cherry beer or cherry juice

1 tbsp kirsch (optional)

284ml carton double cream

1-2 tbsp caster sugar

To assemble

Icing sugar

You will need a 33cm x 23cm shallow rectangular ‘swiss roll’ tin, some non-stick baking parchment, several large bowls and an electric hand whisk

Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/Gas 5. Lightly grease the baking tin and line with a piece of non-stick baking parchment.

Break up the chocolate and put it in a bowl with the stout, porter or coffee. Set the bowl over a pan of simmering water, making sure the base of the pan doesn’t touch the water. Leave to melt, stir once to amalgamate and take off the heat.

Put the eggs and sugar in another bowl and whisk together for a couple of minutes until light and moussey. Fold in the chocolate mixture with a large spoon.

In another bowl - and a clean whisk - whisk the egg whites until they just hold their shape. Add a couple of tablespoons of the egg whites to the chocolate mixture to lighten it then fold in the rest of the egg whites lightly without overmixing.

Tip the chocolate mixture gently into the baking tin and lightly and evenly spread it over the base of the tin. Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes until the top is risen and firm to the touch.

Leave the roulade in the tin, cover with another sheet of baking parchment and lay a damp teatowel over the top. Leave for at least 3 hours. Meanwhile drain the cherries, if bottled or stone them if fresh, halving or quartering them if they’re particularly large. Put them in a bowl, with the kriek and a few drops of kirsch and refrigerate.

To assemble the roulade lay a large piece of baking parchment on your work surface and dust it with sifted icing sugar. Carefully tip the roulade onto the paper. Peel away the baking parchment off the base of the roulade and trim the edges.

Strain the cherries, reserving the juice. Lightly whip the cream until just holding its shape, fold in the kriek or cherry juice and sweeten to taste. Spread the cream over the roulade leaving a space round the edges and scatter the cherries on top. Using the paper roll the roulade up like a Swiss roll (don’t worry if it cracks), carefully transfer to a serving plate and sift over a little extra icing sugar.

* you don’t want chocolate that is too high in cocoa solids for this recipe. Choose one of about 55-60% cocoa solids (available in the baking section of supermarkets)

What to drink: As I said this was originally intended to go with cherry beer but a chocolate stout or a sweet red wine like a Recioto della Valpolicella would work well too. Serve the cherry beer in a champagne flute - it looks amazing!

Photos © Vanessa Courtier

Andhra Curry-leaf Chicken

When I met Christine Manfield a while ago I gave her the impossible task of picking one recipe out of her stunning book Tasting India. This was the one she chose.

It comes from the southern state of Karnataka, the former state of Mysore and is typical of the surprising straightforwardness of the recipes in the book.

Andhra Curry-leaf Chicken
For me, this is one of the enduring tastes of Karnataka. I never imagined I would come across something so completely delicious served unadorned on a small plate as a pub snack – this recipe comes from Bangalore’s Windsor Pub.

SERVES 4
1.2 kg chicken thigh fillets, cut into 4 cm chunks
4 tablespoons cashew paste*
2 large dried red chillies
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons shredded curry leaves
2 tablespoons fried curry leaves **

MARINADE
1 teaspoon chilli powder
1 large dried red chilli, broken into small pieces
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste ***
3 tomatoes, chopped
150g thick plain yoghurt

To make the marinade, combine all the ingredients. Add the chicken and mix to coat. Marinate for 10 minutes.

Tip the chicken and its marinade into a large frying pan and bring to a simmer. Cook gently for 10 minutes. It should not be too wet?–?the marinade should have reduced and coated the chicken. Add the cashew paste, chillies, salt and shredded curry leaves and stir. Cook for another few minutes. Remove from the heat and sprinkle over the fried curry leaves to serve.

* To make the cashew paste blend raw cashews with an equal volume of water in a food processor to make a thick paste

** To fry curry leaves heat some vegetable oil to 170°C and fry fresh curry leaves in small batches for 20 seconds until their colour darkens. Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towel. Store in an airtight container

*** To make Garlic Ginger Paste blend 10 large roughly chopped garlic cloves in a food processor with a roughly chopped 8-10cm piece of ginger (equivalent to 3 tbsp chopped ginger) and a little water or pound with a mortar and pestle until you have a smooth paste

Tasting India by Christine Manfield is published by Conran Octopus at £40

What to drink: I haven't yet made this but can tell it's going to be quite hot and spicy, a challenging dish to pair with wine. I think I'd probably go for a strong dry(ish) ros from Portugal or Chile. A lager would also be an option but I'm not sure that I don't fancy one of the delicious non-alcoholic drinks that Christine has in the book such as Ginger Lime Soda which is made like a mojito with ginger. Or just a straight mojito, come to that.

Sticky blackcurrant shallots

A really easy, delicious preserve using red wine and cassis from Sybil Kapoor's recently released The Great British Vegetable Cookbook - a great present for anyone who has an allotment.

Sybil says "This ultra-sticky shallot confit will keep for several weeks covered in the fridge. It tastes amazing in blue cheese sandwiches or as an accompaniment to roast venison or steak.

SERVES 6–8

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

450g/1lb smallish shallots, peeled

salt and freshly ground black pepper

150ml/5fl oz full-bodied red wine

150ml/5fl oz crème de cassis

1½ tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 Set a wide sauté pan over a low heat. Add the oil and, once warm, mix in the peeled shallots. Season lightly and fry gently, stirring regularly, for 10 minutes, until they start to colour, then cover the pan with some dampened crumpled greaseproof paper and a lid. Cook gently over a low heat for 20 minutes, or until very soft, remembering to give the pan the odd shake.

2 Remove the lid and paper. Add the wine, crème de cassis and vinegar. Return to the boil, then simmer gently for 30–35 minutes, or until the liquid has evaporated into a sticky juice and the shallots are dark and soft. Season to taste and transfer to a clean container. Once cool, cover and chill until needed. Gently reheat to serve.

Sybil Kapoor’s The Great British Vegetable Cookbook is published by National Trust Books. Recipe photography is by Karen Thomas.

Oktoberfest potato salad

The key element to this typically Bavarian recipe, which comes from my book An Appetite for Ale, is the addition of hot stock which gives it a consistency half way between a conventional potato salad and mashed potato. It also has the most delicious sweet-sour flavour.

Serves 4-6

1 kg of waxy new potatoes, peeled and cut into even-sized pieces
1 tsp vegetable bouillon powder
4 tbsp white malt vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp caster sugar
1/4 tsp white pepper
2 tbsp sunflower or grapeseed oil
1 medium-sized mild or sweet onion, peeled and finely chopped
40g butter
Fresh chives or dill

Put the potatoes in a pan, cover with cold water and bring to the boil. Simmer until tender - about 12-15 minutes. Drain, reserving the cooking water. Pour 150ml of the cooking water over the vegetable bouillon powder and stir. When the potatoes are cool enough to handle (about 5 minutes), slice them roughly into a bowl.

Put the vinegar in a small saucepan. Add the salt, caster sugar and pepper and stir to dissolve. Add the oil and the onion, bring to the boil then pour the hot dressing over the sliced potatoes and stir vigorously.

Melt the butter, add to the salad and stir again. Add a little more of the potato cooking water to give you a slightly sloppy consistency, a bit like lumpy mashed potato. Leave to cool and stand for about 2 hours for the flavours to develop. Sprinkle with snipped chives or finely chopped dill and serve with cold sliced sausage and ham, frankfurters or grilled bratwrst

* Sometimes the locals add cucumber. Take half a cucumber, peel it, halve it and scoop out the seeds with the tip of a teaspoon. Cut into slices, put in a shallow plate, sprinkle with salt and put another weighted plate on the top. Leave for about 20 minutes then rinse the cucumber and pat dry. Dress with a little white vinegar seasoned with salt and sugar and a splash of sunflower oil and mix in with the potato. (Or you could serve it on its own sprinkled with a little fresh dill)

What to drink: Given this is a typical Munich salad you should drink an authentic Munchener helles or Marzen lager with it - or a Czech golden lager, at a pinch.