Pumpkin & Maple Ice Cream with Pepita Brittle + Belinda Jeffery's 'The Country Cookbook' Review

I have raved about her on Twitter and I have posted many of her delicious cakes and cookies recipes on my blog, Belinda Jeffery always delivers recipes that make you want to make them over and over again. Her recipes are approachable, have attention to details, are well written with every single step explained with precise instructions and are well tested. She never fails to include a little snippet that introduces the recipe and makes us connect more with the recipe.

Some of her recipes may come across as lengthy, but they are really not. It's more that she explains every single step in detail from how long a simple step will take, what utensil to use, to how the end product will look like. She appears to me to be very nurturing and that makes you feel she is there to guide you through every recipe. This gives confidence to tackle some of the more advanced baking techniques.

Her latest cookbook "The Country Cookbook, Seasonal Jottings and Recipes", which took her three years to complete, is not just about food and cooking. It's also about a year of her life in the idyllic country town of Mullumbimby in Northern New South Wales which she calls home since 2002.

Starting from the month of December, she makes her way through different seasons, from the scorching summer to the blistering cold winter and to see new life starting in spring. Her recipes change with the changing seasons from light salads and easy pastas in warmer days to soul warming soups and hearty stews in the colder months.

Golden Tomato, Yellow capsicum & Fresh Mozzarella Salad

Penne with Spinach, Ricotta, Chilli & Pine Nuts

Split Pea & Ham Soup with Sippets

Slow-Cooked Lamb Shanks with Harissa, Smoked Paprika & Tomatoes

These seasonal recipes make it practical for meal planning. Just flip to the month or the season and you have plenty to choose from.

Although there are plenty of country classics such as jams, scones, cakes, breads, pies and tarts, she has also included a collection of recipes with a touch of city chic and Asian twists.

Rosella Jam

Fluffy Buttermilk Scones

Roasted Pecans, Pumpernickel & Date Soda Bread

My All-Time Favourite Pecan & Maple Pie

Caramelised Onion, Thyme & Goat's Cheese Tart

Orange-scented Baked Ricotta Cheesecake with Summer Fruits

Fragrant Thai Prawn Cakes

From how to make these little pig tails with parsley to tips on what to do with exotic ingredients, there are plenty to cherish.

Roasted Tomatoes with Parsley & Macadamia Pesto

I love stories that accompany the recipes. From reminiscing her short stay with a Scottish family in Sabah, Malaysia while making this classic shortbread to remembering the first fish she caught while making the Spiced Coasted Flathead, she has shared some special moments of her life in this book.

My Classic Shortbread

I took pleasure in following her in discovering the locals, the growers, her musings and her pottering in her sprawling garden that fills up with wonderful home grown vegetables and fruits; the animals and birdlife.

I knew when I set my eyes on this cookbook, with 150 fabulous recipes and 400 pages well written reflections and stunning photography by award-winning photographer Roadney Weidland, it is going to be a well read and well cooked one.

Twilight

Breaking Dawn

I simply can't let October pass by without posting a pumpkin recipe. I have chosen this Pumpkin & Maple Syrup Ice cream with Pepita Brittle from Belinda Jeffery's cookbook which also gives you a glance of a day of her life in the country:

Pumpkin & Maple Ice Cream Recipe
(Adapted from The Country Cookbook, Seasonal Jottings and Recipes by Belinda Jeffery)
Serves 6

Belinda Jeffery - "2nd June - Winter has arrived with a vengeance. there was torrential rain last night, the force so intense that it felt like a giant hand was hurling it at the house; at one stage the wind was so strong I thought the roof was going to take off. However, this morning the rain has abated somewhat to a steady downpour. The poor little birds are looking woefully bedraggled as they sit on the windowsill, trying to get out of the worst of it. Gus, who is the only dog I know who hates getting his paws wet, has just banged on the front door to be let in and given me a real 'you've got to be kidding' look when I told him to come around the back, through the waterlogged garden, for his morning threat!

It may sound a little peculiar in this damp and chilly weather but I'm actually making ice-cream today (any ice-cream aficionado will well understand that the weather has no bearing at all on such things). I always think of this particular ice-cream as a winter one, if there is such a thing, because the flavours are so warm and spicy - pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and maple syrup, topped off with crunchy fingers of pepita brittle.

You may wonder why I'm so specific about using butternut pumpkin for this ice-cream. Basically it's because it tends to be more intensely flavoured than other varieties, and generally the flesh is somewhat drier too after baking - just what you want for this, as watery pumpkin can make the ice-cream a bit icy and hard."

Ingredients

840 ml thickened cream
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground ginger
8 egg yolks
160 ml pure maple syrup
2 cups (800 g) cooked mashed butternut pumpkin (See note below on how to cook pumpkin *)
2 tsp vanilla extract
Pepita brittle, to serve (Recipe follows)

Method

1. Pour the cream into a large, heavy-based saucepan and sit it over low heat. Add the cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger and slowly heat the cream until it is hot, but not boiling (allowing it to boil will give the cream a 'scalded' taste).
2. Meanwhile, put the egg yolks and maple syrup into a large bowl and whisk them together until they're well combined. When the cream is hot, slowly add it to the egg yolk mixture in a thin stream, whisking all the while. Once it's thoroughly combined, pour this mixture back into the saucepan.
3. Return the pan to the stovetop over moderately low heat and cook the custard (for that's what it is), stirring constantly, until it has slightly thickened. Try to stir in a 'figure of eight' movement so you completely cover the bottom of the pan as you go. I use a combination of a flat-based sauce whisk and wooden spoon for this - I find the sauce whisk gets into the corners of the pan, but the spoon is best towards the end of the cooking time as the mixture thickens (ideally use a flat-based wooden spoon too - they're terrific for this sort of thing).
4. The most important thing to remember is that you don't want the custard to boil, or it will curdle. Just take your time and watch it like a hawk once it starts to thicken. It's ready when it seems thicker and leaves a trail when you run your finger through the mixture on the spoon,. It won't be super-thick though, so don't expect it to have at the consistency of a white sauce. I wish I could explain this better, but I'm afraid it's one of those things in cooking where practise makes perfect - the more often you do it, the more confident you become. Once you get the hang of it you can speed things up by increasing the heat a bit, however, I wouldn't do this until you feel good and ready!
5. As soon as the custard is ready, remove it from the heat. Pour it into a bowl and whisk in the cooked pumpkin. Leave the mixture to cool. Stir in the vanilla, then cover the bowl and pop it in the fridge. (by all means make the custard a day ahead - the flavour only improves on sitting.)
6. If you're lucky enough to have an ice-cream churn you can churn the custard in this. If you don't have one, you will need to be just a little more patient. For the non-churn method, pour the mixture into a large stainless steel bowl - the time will vary, depending on your freezer, but it will probably take a few hours. Remove the bowl or hand-held electric beater (you could also scrape it into a food processor and process it until it's smooth, but it makes for a bit more washing up!). Put the bowl back in the freezer, freeze the ice-cream into smaller ones so the texture becomes smoother and creamier each time you do it.)
7. Now pack the ice-cream into a container, cover it tightly and freeze it overnight or until it's firm. Check it a while before you want to eat it: if it seems hard, pop it in the fridge for 40 minutes or so before serving, so it's soft enough to scoop easily.
8. To serve, use an ice-cream scoop or large serving spoon dipped in hot water to scoop the ice-cream into chilled bowls or glasses and finish off with a shard of pepita brittle.

* Cooked Pumpkin: To cook the pumpkin for ice-cream base, line a baking tray with baking paper and preheat your oven to 180C. Split the pumpkin in half lengthways, scoop out the seeds and place each half (or one half only if the pumpkin is very large) on the baking tray, cut-side down. Pop the tray in the oven and bake the pumpkin until it's very soft when pierced in the thickest part with a fine skewer. It usually takes about an hour or so, however the time can vary a bit, depending on the size of the pumpkin. When it's done, remove it from the oven and let it cool, then peel away the skin and scoop the pulp into a container. It keeps well in the fridge for about 5 days. You'll probably end up with more than you need, but you can turn any leftovers into a delicious side dish - just mash it and heat it with a good dob of butter, then season to taste with salt, pepper and nutmeg.

Pepita Brittle Recipe

Belinda Jeffery - "Before we start, I should mention that you really need a sugar thermometer to make this brittle. The process is a bit fiddly, to be honest, as the pepita caramel is pour out onto baking paper, covered with another sheet of paper and rolled out thinly with a rolling pin before being left to set. It's one of those jobs that needs to be done rapidly, so if you feel at all anxious about it, it may be better to start off using the method of pecan praline on page 356 (substituting pepitas for the pecans), then when you get your confidence up have a go at this."

Ingredients

1 cup (220 g) caster sugar
1/2 cup (125 ml) water
Tiny pinch of salt
125 g raw green pepitas

Method

1. Sticky-tape a large sheet of baking paper to a heatproof work surface (a large wooden board works well), to stop it moving about.
2. Put the sugar, water and salt into a medium saucepan and clip a sugar thermometer to the side of the pan. Place the pan over high heat. Stir constantly until the sugar dissolves, then stop stirring and bring the mixture to the boil. As it boils, wash down the sides from time to time with a pastry brush dipped in water to dissolve any sugar crystals that may form. the mixture will slowly change from being quite liquid to more of a thick syrup with lots of lazy bubbles all over the surface. When the sugar thermometer shows it is at the soft ball stage (this is marked on the thermometer), remove the pan from the heat. Stir in the peptitas with a wooden spoon and keep on stirring the mixture until the sugar in the syrup crystallises and it becomes stiff and creamy white - this may take a few minutes.
   

   

3. Return the pan to the heat, and cook the mixture, stirring as best you can, until the sugar melts completely. Don't worry if this takes a while - initially the sugar will become even stiffer and drier before melting again. Continue to cook the mixture until the petitas smell and look toasted and the mixture is a deep caramel colour. This should only take a few minutes.
4. As soon as it's ready, take the pan off the heat and carefully pour the mixture onto the prepared baking paper. As quickly as possible, sit another sheet of baking paper on top and use a rolling pin to press down heavily on the brittle and roll it out as thinly as you can (this is hard work and needs quite a bit of heft). It firms up rapidly, so you need to be fast too! Remove the top sheet of baking paper and leave the brittle to cool and set. When it's ready, peel it off the paper then break it into large shards.
5. To store the brittle, layer the shards in an airtight container between sheets of baking paper or freezer wrap to stop them sticking together, then freeze. When you need some brittle, take out as much as you want and return the rest to the freezer, where it will keep up for 4 months.

* Brittle vs Praline: You may well be wondering what the difference is between this brittle and regular praline when the ingredients are pretty much the identical - and what makes it worth the extra effort. In some ways they are similar, but whereas regular praline is always sparkly and clear (apart from the nuts!), stirring and rolling the mixture as you do for the brittle results in a glossy, opaque sheet. Known as nougatine in pastry work, these rolled sheets can be cut with an oiled knife and formed into shapes or even little bite-size 'tart' shells.

Thank you to Penguin Books for sending me the review copy.

The Country Cookbook: Seasonal Jottings and Recipes
by Belinda Jeffery

"Let The Country Cookbook transport you to a simpler place and time: a place where neighbours leave boxes of surplus vegetables on the doorstep, winter provides an excuse to make a pie with the windfall apples, and there's time for a cup of tea and a slice of homemade cake.

Inspired by the bountiful produce at her local farmers' markets, Belinda Jeffery chronicles the changing seasons and shares the recipes that punctuate her days. Whether you want to make a platter of fragrant Thai prawn cakes to go with drinks, some comforting slow-cooked lamb shanks with harissa or a last-minute Christmas cake, The Country Cookbook will bring a taste of the country into your kitchen – and into your life."

Published: 25 October 2010
Format: Hardback , 476 pages
RRP: AUS$59.95 (available on Fishpond.com.au and Booktopia.com.au)
ISBN-13: 9781920989965
Imprint: Lantern
Publisher: Penguin Aus.
Origin: Australia