Capsicum Jam

Are you a chilli person or not? I like it hot and fiery but leaving enough to taste whatever it's in. Past life I made a lot of Chilli Jam but I was getting a little bored with it and as I had a delicious dollop of Capsicum Jam on a plate the other day, I thought it time to investigate making my own.

I've looked at a lot of ingredients and I've settled on making something that is fiery but not too sickly. I want a big chilli hit without the sweetness and a richness in colour, chunky and full of body; I've been experimenting to get the right taste for me. OK, so I did add a bit of sugar, but not too much.

Are you brave enough to try it? 

It only takes a few ingredients.

Don't think you would want to eat it straight from the jar.

But with this cheese and fruit platter - it made a great addition to lunch.

Here is the recipe - give it your best shot!

CAPSICUM JAM - WITH CHILLI

2 red onions diced
2 red capsicums diced
3 long red chillies sliced, leave seeds in
100g caster sugar
2 tablespoons olive oil
200g cherry tomatoes

In a large heavy saucepan heat oil ver low heat. Gently sauté capsicum, onion and chilli until they begin to soften. 

Add tomatoes and cook until they are soft and mushy.

Add sugar and stir until dissolved, then simmer for 30 - 40 minutes until the mixture has thickened.

While this is cooking, wash and rinse jars and sterilise. 

When the jam is nice and thick, ladle into hot jars and seal.

Once opened, keep in the fridge, otherwise it should keep in your pantry for up to 12 months.

Pizza or Pissaladière?

I am sitting, quietly thinking, enjoying the last weeks of warm weather. As the trees turn their autumn colours, leaves slowly drifting off their branches and hurried along by wind gusts, its hard to imagine that summer is over so soon. I will welcome the winter this year because we have had so little rain. Gardens are dying and animals have no feed in their paddocks. Cattle and sheep are being fed on hay, a big expense for farmers, but what is the alternative?

It has been dry enough to send brown snakes up to the house and Blue Tongue lizards out from their shrubbery: koalas drinking water from containers put out by caring neighbours, it is the driest period in 38 years.

Early mornings have the autumn air and soon there will be heaters and sweaters and wooly hats and thick soups to take the chill off any outdoor pursuits. But until then lets enjoy what mother nature provides, the warmth of the sun and the colours of a rainbow.

I've just been looking at photographs taken a couple of years ago in France and the gardens are so beautiful and the countryside is so green; I 'm reminded of Brie and French Onion Soup and truffles, so tonight I am going to settle on a French dish!

Do you know the difference between a Pizza and a Pissaladière? If you are not sure then here is a simple explanation. Pissaladière is the French equivalent of an Italian pizza without cheese.

If you drop in to any bakery in the Provence region of France, you are sure to find a version of this. A Pissaladière is full of creamy onions, anchovies and olives. While it is a simple dish the onions must be slowly cooked in butter so they do not brown but become deliciously soft and buttery and melt in the mouth.

Here's a recipe for you to try, loosely based on a recipe of Marie Claire.

While I was hunting around at French Language Courses, I stumbled upon this blog.http://www.frenchmoments.eu/category/blog.

There are some beautiful photographs of France and especially Paris. It is worth taking a look and I am excited to think that I will be visiting Paris later in the year. 

Pissaladière

DOUGH

2 cups plain flour - I use 00 flour
1 teaspoon  dried yeast
3/4 cup warm water
pinch sugar
1/4 cup olive oil

FILLING

1 kilo brown onions finely sliced
125 grams butter
anchovies
black olives
fresh thyme
salt and pepper

Starting with the dough - place the flour, sugar, yeast into a bowl. Add oil to the water and mix then add to the dry ingredients. Bring the dough together. Knead for a few minutes until the dough becomes soft and smooth. Cover and leave in a warm place until it doubles in size.

To make the filling. Slice the onions finely. Add butter to a frypan and add the onions and fresh thyme. Cook on a very low heat for around 1 - 1.5 hours until the onions are transparent and very very soft. Do not allow them to brown. Season with salt and pepper and set aside to cool.

Once the pastry has risen, roll out to a rectangle on to some parchment paper about 40 cm x 30 cms . Place on a baking tray. Brush the pastry with a little olive oil and add all of the onions spreading over the entire surface. Next add the anchovies, which have been cut in half lengthways, in a cross pattern. (see picture) Add black olives. Set aside and allow to stand for another 20 - 30 minutes.

Heat oven to 220º degrees C/200 fan forced and cook the Pissaaladiere for 15 - 20 minutes, until the dough is crisp and brown and the onions have some colour. Turn onto a cutting board and cut into pieces. Enjoy with a green salad and a glass of red wine.

France! Mon Dieu!

Someone asked me why I called this Blog 'Postcards to France'?  How do I explain one of the little mysteries of my life?

A few years ago I lived in France, worked in France, laughed, loved and lost in France and cried a lot in France too! 

But, I love France, love French food, love French clothing and the 'savoir faire' of the french. I like to speak French (when I get the opportunity), I adore the French countryside, and would love to live in France again. In fact I actually feel at home in France! How weird is that!!!!

The other strange thing,   One of the other  strange things about me is that I collect postcards. I probably have over 600 of them, many from and to France and other parts of the world. To me a postcard allows you to write just a little message, but not tell all. You save that for another time, or maybe you never tell. Keeping those special moments safe from prying eyes and write them in your self published memoirs.

So there you go - you now know the reason behind the name! 

In celebration, today is all about France!

Dress like this; How to be a French woman

Read; One Evening in Paris by Nicolas Barreau  2012 - I loved this book! 

Watch ; 'Midnight in Paris'? - Written and directed by Woody Allen who also makes a cameo appearance - great film!

Visit;
In Adelaide; 
Bakery - Boulangerie 113, Goodwood Road, Goodwood, SA
Restaurant - Le Carpe Diem, Grenfell Street, Adelaide, SA
Cafe - L'atelier Gourmand Bistro, , Wayville, SA

Sing;  La Marsellaise - French National Anthem

Cook;Here is a spine tingling French Ratatouille you can eat hot or cold depending on the season.

Ratatouille

Ingredients

Herbs: 2 bay leaves (dried or fresh), sprigs of parsley, thyme, oregano, sage

chopped together.

1/4 cup olive oil

4 cloves garlic, peeled and squashed

1 medium eggplant chopped into 5cm pieces

2 zucchinis chopped into 5 cm pieces

2 brown onions cut into 8ths

1 red capsicum, seeds removed, chopped

1 yellow capsicum seeds removed and chopped

1 400g tin whole tomatoes and juice

extra chopped parsley and fresh basil

pinch salt and black pepper

Turn your oven on to 180º fan forced.

• In a large pan (suitable to use in the oven and on the cook top) add oil. When hot add bay leaves and rest of herbs and cook slowly for 6 minutes.
• Add onions, pinch salt, garlic. Cover and cook on a low heat for 10 minutes until the onion has softened. Keep checking that it is cooking slowly and not burning.
• Add eggplant, zucchini, both peppers, tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper and cook  covered, on high for 5 minutes.
• Transfer to oven and cook for 1.5 hrs. Stir every 30 minutes and check that there is enough fluid to stop it burning. If it looks a little dry add 1/2 cup of water.
• Add chopped parsley and basil and serve either hot or cold. 

Ideal for a spring lunch with some crusty bread.