Soul food for the bleak mid winter

Osso Bucco on Saffron Risotto with Gremolata

Blueberry and Lemon Friands

Sometimes I find that the more beautiful a cookbook, the less I will use it - Nigel Slater's homage to vegetables, Tender, is such a wonderfully bound tomb I rarely take it off the shelf rather than for a flick but cookbooks from Jamie, Nigella, Delia....whilst also being no doubt fine looking but average in the world of cookbooks, appear dog-eared and splattered with gravy from their devout usage. So the other day I decided to cook something from Jane Lawson's Snowflakes and Schnapps, a beautifully photographed and bound book that had not moved from the coffee table since it was received. The recipe I chose was the Osso Bucco with saffron risotto - risotto is actually one of the very few things I don't like as I find it a bit heavy and dry (and 20mins of continuously stirring irks me!), but the idea of the tender veal with all its flavorsome juices combining with the risotto sounded (and was!) delicious. The recipe was fairly long winded but not at all complicated and looks very fetching too. 

I also made some Blueberry and Lemon Friands which I have made countless times as they are so light and moist that I barely count them as a treat but a prerequisite with coffee! Originally a small French cake, apparently they are very fashionable in Australian coffee shops...hopefully they'll catch on here as they're much nicer than muffins and less naughty than cakes as ground almonds take the place of the majority of the flour and only the white of the egg is used. 

• Blueberry and Lemon Friands
  • Preheat the oven to fan 180C/conventional 200C/gas 6. Generously butter six non-stick friand or muffin tins. Melt 100g Butter and set aside to cool.
  • Sift 125g Icing Sugar and 25g Plain Flour into a bowl. Add 85g Ground Almonds and mix everything between your fingers.
  • Whisk 3 Medium Egg Whites in another bowl until they form a light, floppy foam. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, tip in the egg whites and the Grated Rind of 1 Lemon, then lightly stir in the butter to form a soft batter.
  • Divide the batter among the tins, a large serving spoon is perfect for this job. Sprinkle a handful of Blueberries (about 85g) over each cake and bake for 15-20 minutes until just firm to the touch and golden brown.
  • Cool in the tins for 5 minutes, then turn out and cool on a wire rack. To serve, dust lightly with Icing Sugar.
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