Baked Black Figs Ratafia Hot Gluten-free Dessert Appetiser

Juicy and delicious, served hot or cold, here I'm using a medium size fresh black fig, the variety is Col de Dame Noir. The fig is named for the fashionable high lace collars, in this case black (but there is a white and grey version too), which were being when this fig was first raised. There is a baby fig variety called Ronde de Bordeaux and if you choose these you can obviously make twice as many appetisers from the same amount of topping. I created this simple recipe a few years back in late Summer, when a friend turned up with a huge bag full of black figs from his garden. We ate many of them fresh but when the remainder became very ripe, we found they were even more delicious with the addition of another contrasting but complimentary flavour. Cut in half and topped with ratafia mixture they are easy to handle as a finger food and you can serve them just as they are or add a paper case.

...or you can serve when just warm and top with a little cream and an almond.

INGREDIENTS

Makes 20

10 figs (halved)

20 whole almonds or 10 if you want just to use halves! They actually look well on the plate as a mixture.

Cream (optional)
Paper cake cases (optional)

For the ratafia mix:

2oz (60g) Blanched Almonds
2oz raw cane sugar (60g) (rapadura)
¼ teaspoon of rose water
1 egg white

TEMPERATURES

Preheat the oven to 190°C or 375°F

METHOD

Pound the almonds with the rosewater. (Or you can buy ready-to-use powdered almonds aka almond meal).

Stir in the sugar.

Whisk the egg white until stiff and add it slowly to the almonds and sugar.

Keep folding in the egg white until you are sure it is  thoroughly mixed.


Place the figs on a lightly buttered dish.

Using a teaspoon, cooled in ice-cold water, drop a little amount of mixture onto the centre of each fig. Make it heaped towards the middle and away from the edges as this will allow room for expansion during cooking. At this point add the almonds to those you are intending to serve hot.

Place in oven on the middle shelf and cook for around 10-20 minutes or until the ratafia feels slightly firm to the touch. Check them at 5, 10 and 15 minutes to see how they are progressing! It will depend on how juicy the figs are as to how quickly they will cook.

Serve hot fresh from the oven, as they are or in a paper case.

As mentioned above, I also like to serve them cold with a little raw cream and an almond.

Enjoy!

All that needs to be said now is Bon Appėtit!

Hope to see you here again for another recipe from my 100 Gluten-Free Organic Party Foods Challenge!

All the best,

Sue

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©  Sue Cross 2017 

Smoked salmon roulade with fromage de brebis and oven-dried tomatoes Gluten-free

I made two versions of this roulade, firstly using my favourite local organic goats' cheese, which is covered in cornflower petals and herbes de Provence. It was really tasty and rolled well into a classic roulade shape but it looked rather insignificant on the plate. I then made this second version, which is a lot more succulent, has even greater depth of flavour and more contrasting textures. The second version is thus much more substantial and therefore the individual canapés look good when plated. The only element I've lost is the classic roulade 'roll-up', as the salmon slices I used were only wide enough to wrap around the outside of the filling rather than be completely rolled up in it.  However, for overall taste and aesthetic, the latter version wins hands down.

I incorporated four layers, four different textures and four contrasting flavours by using the following:

INGREDIENTS

Makes 14 to 18 individual canapés/appetisers dependent upon slicing widths

60g (2oz) (2 slices) of Organic Smoked Salmon or if you are lucky enough to be able to get it, wild salmon!

50g (1¾oz) Fromage de brebis/ewes' milk cheese or similar well-flavoured soft cheese

Nasturtium leaves (for crunch and a peppery taste)
Oven-dried tomatoes*

For decoration - Lemon balm leaves

* I have an article on how to make these, link at bottom of page. For this dish I used the large Beefheart  variety and sliced them to a thickness of 1 cm (½") before oven-drying them. That way they were an ideal size and had great texture for this roulade.

ASSEMBLY

Lay a sheet of unbleached baking paper onto a flat surface, I'm using a bread board and place a slice of chilled smoke salmon upon it.

As you will observe, fish come in irregular shapes, so it may be necessary for you to exert 'Cook's Privilege'  and eat the final one of each slice! I did.

Break up the cheese with a fork and gently smooth it over the fish.

Add a layer of nasturtium leaves.

 

Place sections of oven-dried tomatoes on the top of the leaves.

Using the paper as a guide, roll up the roulade from the longer edge.

Press gently but firmly to join the two ends of the salmon together.

Remove the paper and using the sharpest knife you have, slice into canapés. You may need to wipe the knife between cuts. Even if an individual appetiser comes slightly adrift (usually the first one) it is very easy to smooth it back into shape. 

Don't worry if the filling 'overflows' at the ends, it is easily remedied. This actually indicates that the edges are well sealed.

Cut slivers of lemon balm leaf so that the decorative edges of the leaf are used to advantage.

Serve immediately. If you are making this for serving later then I would store the uncut roulade in a fridge or similar and then cut it just before taking it to the table.

Enjoy!

All that needs to be said now is Bon Appėtit!

Hope to see you here again for another recipe from my 100 Gluten-Free Organic Party Foods Challenge!

All the best,

Sue

RELATED ARTICLE

How to freeze tomatoes for Winter salads and hot dishes - Oven-dried tomato recipe GLUTEN-FREE

This method is particularly useful for those rather tasteless tomatoes, which are full of water and not much else...read more

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Cranachan Cream Crowdie With Rum - Traditional Scottish Recipe with a Hint of the Caribbean - Gluten-Free

Cranachan from the Gaelic crannachan meaning churn and crowdie from Lowland Scots, meaning porridge-like, is a celebration sweet eaten at Harvest Home. It showcases the good things of the land, reflecting some of Scotland's finest produce: oats, raspberries, honey, cream and of course whisky! However, for this gluten-free* recipe I'm using rum. This is not so heretical as you might think. The doyenne of Scottish cookery and celebrated Orcadian folklorist, F. Marian McNeill is reported to have used it in her 1929 version of Cranachan. It is also mentioned as an alternative in the recipe book my mother sent me from Scotland.

* Gluten-free Alcohol

The distillation process removes any gluten protein from the alcohol. However, from reading around the subject it seems that people with gluten intolerance have specific individual reactions to grain-based spirits. Furthermore, some companies add malt etc., to give flavour to the spirit. If you are gluten-intolerant you should also check on additives and/or ingredients used in ready-made drinks combinations, such as punches and cocktails.

A Foreword on Guten-free Oats

Oats do not contain gluten, however it is best not to buy them, if you are gluten intolerant, unless they are labelled as certified gluten-free. In countries where oats are not a traditional crop, fields can be contaminated by stray plants when other cereal crops are grown in close proximity. Here in France, for example, where there were no dedicated oat-growing areas, we used to find it impossible to buy certified organic gluten-free oats. However due to the ever increasing popularity of gluten-free foods and international cuisine, we are now seeing certified oats on the shelves. It is also worth noting that post harvest, certified gluten-free oats are processed in dedicated mills where they can not be contaminated with other grains. This is why people often get confused about why all oats are not labelled as suitable for those allergic to gluten.

INGREDIENTS

(makes 16 to 20 depending on size of shot glasses)

300 ml (10 floz) of cream (I use raw straight form the churn or rather cream separator)

75g (3oz) toasted rolled, pinhead or steel cut gluten-free oats (here I've used rolled)
1 tablespoon of raw honey
1 tablespoon of rum

A couple of handfuls of raspberries
You can also use blackberries or a mix of both.

METHOD

In a frying pan and with quite a high heat, toast the oats until they smell nutty (a few minutes) move them around the pan so they get an even toasting. Leave to cool.

Whip up the cream and stir in the honey, oats and rum. I inadvertently stirred my oats in whilst they were still warm but I just whisked the whole lot up together and everything was fine!

If the raspberries are over-ripe like the ones I have here, then cook them up into a purée with a little sugar, otherwise they may run completely into the cream crowdie and spoil the 'look'!

Add layers of the cream mixture and raspberries to a tot glass aka shot glass finishing with a layer of cranachan and decorating with a berry fruit and/or a scented geranium, campanula rapunculus, borage or similar edible flower (optional).

Enjoy!

All that needs to be said now is Bon Appėtit!

Hope to see you here again for another recipe from an old farmhouse in Normandie,

All the best, Sue

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©  Sue Cross 2017