Ribollita - chick pea and fennel stew V

A great rich, filling vegetarian stew, based on ancient Tuscan recipes via Ottolenghi's Plenty.  Like many of the best recipes, it originated as a way of using up leftovers.

For 4 as a main course or 6+ as a starter. Ottolenghi's recipe has more liquid and is more soup like, which may be better as a starter.
Serve with bread rolls or boiled or baked new potatoes.

• olive oil
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 1 medium fennl bulb, sliced
• 1 large carrot, cut lengthways and then across
• 2 celery sticks, ditto
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• 200ml white wine
• 200g can chopped tomatoes
• 1 dstsp each: oregano, parsley and thyme (fresh or dried)
• 3 bay leaves
• 500ml mushroom stock (or veg stock)
• 150g sourdough bread (can be stale)
• 400g can chickpeas, drained and lightly mashed, leaving some of them whole.
• 2 tbsp basil pesto
• salt and pepper
• basil leaves for dressing (optional)

1. Saute the onion and fennel in 3 tbsp olive oil for 4 minutes.
2. Add the carrot and celery and continue to cook for 4 minutes.
3. Stir in the tomato puree and continue to stir for 1 minute.
4. Add the wine and simmer for 2 minutes.
5. Add the canned tomatoes, herbs and vegetable stock, plus salt and pepper to taste.
6. Simmer for 20 minutes on the stove.
7. While this is happening, switch the oven on to 180C.
8. Toss the bread, broken into rough chunks, in olive oil - enough to coat it - and some salt.
9. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes or until starting to brown.
10. After the 20 minutes is up on the stove, add the chickpeas and continue to simmer for 10 minutes.
11. Taste and adjust salt and pepper.
12. Add the bread from the oven, just before serving. 
13. Ladle into bowls for serving.  Add a spoonful of pesto and a little olive oil plus basil if used.

chocolate guinness cake

from Nigella Lawson via Gail: the Guinness makes this a very good most, rich cake, but without the obvious flavour of stout

• 250 millilitres guinness
• 250 grams unsalted butter
• 75 grams cocoa powder
• 400 grams caster sugar
• 142 millilitres sour cream
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 275 grams plain flour
• 2½ teaspoons bicarbonate of soda

topping:

• 300 grams cream cheese
• 150 grams icing sugar
• 125 millilitres double cream (or whipping cream)

1. Preheat the oven to gas mark 4/180°C/350ºF, and butter and line a 23cm / 9 inch springform tin.
2. Pour the Guinness into a large wide saucepan, add the butter - in spoons or slices - and heat until the butter's melted, at which time you should whisk in the cocoa and sugar. Beat the sour cream with the eggs and vanilla and then pour into the brown, buttery, beery pan and finally whisk in the flour and bicarb.
3. Pour the cake batter into the greased and lined tin and bake for 45 minutes to an hour. Leave to cool completely in the tin on a cooling rack, as it is quite a damp cake.
4. When the cake's cold, sit it on a flat platter or cake stand and get on with the icing. Lightly whip the cream cheese until smooth, sieve over the icing sugar and then beat them both together. Or do this in a processor, putting the unsieved icing sugar in first and blitz to remove lumps before adding the cheese.
5. Add the cream and beat again until it makes a spreadable consistency. Ice the top of the black cake so that it resembles the frothy top of the famous pint

hummus

Bill's recipe

• 1 x 400g can chickpeas, drained but keep the liquid for now
• 1 lemon, juice of
• 1 dessertsp light tahini
• 1 clove garlic
• salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

to finish:

• more olive oil
• chilli powder

Mix all ingredients in first list together and use a hand zapper to mix to a paste.  NB consistency to your taste, some like it to have some roughness, some like it very smooth.
If the mixture seemes too dry add a little of the chicpea liquid.
Put the mixture in a container slightly bigger, sprinkle with chilli powder and pour over a little more olive oil to seal.

bigalan de pommes de terre

a picardy speciality we found in St-Valéry-sur-Somme: a very tasty, simple potato pie

for about 4

• 2 packs shop-bought flaky pastry 
• 500g potato 
• 2 onions 
• 150g smoked bacon (lardons or cut up small)
• salt 
• pepper
• crème fraiche

1. Divide the dough into two portions: 2/3 and 1/3. 
2. Line a pie dish with the 2/3 portion.
3. Cut the onions into thin slices and fry in a little butter until caramelized.
4. Peel the potatoes and cut into very thin slices.
5. Place successive layers of potatoes, then onions and lardons, seasoning each layer. 
6. Place the remaining pastry over the top, moisten the edges and firmly crimp the two pastry layers together. Prick the top of the pastry.
7. Bake for 1 hour at 180C. If pastry browns too quickly, cover with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
8. Before serving, cut an opening on the lid and pour in the cream.