FOOD:Crabcakes and a favourite cheesecake – perfect for summer entertaining, writes DOMINI KEMP
WE ALL HAVE those days where everything goes wrong. This one started quietly enough. A busy week, followed by trying to jam too many things into the schedule. I trudged off to get the grub for the photo shoot and decided on an early-morning rise to get a head start. I was feeling confident, plucky even, and was looking forward to cooking up a storm. But smooth sailing it wasn’t meant to be.
The problem is my ability to “burn the impossible”, which my other half says would make a great title for my next cookbook. I was boiling some ham to test out a lovely-looking recipe when I noticed the smell of burning. I was burning boiling ham. How ridiculous is that? There was plenty of water in the pan, yet big burn marks all over the ham. That recipe was promptly ditched on the grounds it was going to be too ugly to photograph.
Then, I smashed a brand new litre bottle of good olive oil. Shards of oily glass covered the kitchen floor, turning it into a slithery death rink and double-glazing my favourite Christmas slippers. It was at this stage I thought I might lie down and sob on the floor until someone took pity on me and helped me clean it up. Alas, no one was coming and 45 minutes later the near-death experience of walking across the kitchen came to an end. I rang our exec chef, Neil Shirt, to garner some sympathy. He thought the vision of smashed olive oil and chef in tracksuit and slippers, sobbing at the camera, would make a lovely cover shot. I got off the phone.
Finally it was time to buck up and get on with the cooking. So what if I’d killed the ham, smashed all the olive oil and ruined my slippers? I had just 45 minutes to get six dishes finished, and thank goodness, all of them behaved themselves and worked out okay. One of the recipes was for this luscious cheesecake, that my sister’s best pals (posh UK caterers) used to serve to their clients during Wimbledon. The nice part is that it couldn’t be easier and is one of my favourite cheesecake recipes, so I was very grateful they passed it on. The other one is for crab cakes, adapted from an Annie Bell recipe. Both are delicious treats for when you’re feeling particularly incapable of cooking, but need to produce something special.
Crab cakes with caper and lemon salsa (serves four to six)
Buy frozen crabmeat and let it thaw in the fridge overnight if you can’t get fresh stuff.
450g crabmeat
50g Carrs crackers
1 egg, beaten
2 tbsp mayonnaise
2 tsp Dijon
Splash Worcestershire sauce
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
Good few splashes of Tabasco
Bunch flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Sunflower oil
Chuck the crabmeat into a large stainless steel or glass bowl and pick through it, ensuring there are no bits of shell. (Even with fresh, picked crab meat there are often remnants of shell.) Crush the crackers in a cup, using one end of a rolling pin, or crush them in a plastic bag, or use a food processor. Add all the ingredients (except the sunflower oil) and mix really well. Don’t worry if texture feels a bit wet. They will be okay. Make golf-ball shapes out of the crabmeat. If you happen to squeeze out a bit of juice, that is fine. Line them up on a plate or baking tray and then refrigerate for at least an hour. I covered them loosely, as I wanted the fridge to dry them out slightly. When you are ready to cook them, pre-heat oven to 170 degrees. Heat up some sunflower oil in a non-stick frying pan. Have a plate or tray ready with paper towel on it. Fry a few cakes at a time, using a fork and spoon to gently turn them over when they are golden-brown on one side.
Let them get colour before you try to turn them over, and do this gently, as they will fall apart if you manhandle them. When you have good colour on them, you can let them drain on the paper-towel plate. You may have to change the oil if it starts getting too many bits of burnt crumb in it.
When they are all done, you can put them on a clean baking tray and heat them up in an oven for 10-15 minutes, while you get ready to plate up. I find this handy, as it buys you some time, but you can always serve them straight from the pan with some salsa, lemon wedges and mixed leaves if you fancy.
Lemon and caper salsa
2 bunches spring onions, finely chopped
4 tbsp baby capers
Juice of 1 lemon
100ml olive oil
2 tsp honey
Black pepper
Mix together and serve.
Angela and Nicky’s lemon cheesecake (feeds 10-12)
I used a 28cm tart tin with removable base – but the recipe would probably squeeze into something a tad smaller.
1 x 300g pack Hob Nobs or digestives
100g melted butter
2 x 225g packs of cream cheese
1 tin sweetened condensed milk
Juice and zest of 2 lemons
Crush the biscuits in a food processor and then mix with the melted butter. Paste the crumb into the base of the tin and then chill the base for an hour or so. Using an electric beater, mix the cream cheese, condensed milk, lemon juice and zest. Smooth onto the top of the biscuit base with a spatula – but do this carefully or you’ll end up mixing the base in with the cream cheese. Respect the layers. Chill for another few hours or overnight and serve with some berries.
dkemp@irishtimes.com
See also www.itsa.ie