There was the most wonderful storm the other night, no doubt the first of many, with rain lashing the kitchen roof-lights and wind rattling the door. A proper thunder and lightning job with gusts so fierce they knocked the leaves off the fig tree. Leaves that now lie as deep as a snowdrift. The sort of weather that called for a supper of bright, heartening food.
A mound of herb mash with roasted vegetables was not what I intended to bring to the table, but the weather dictated otherwise. An about-turn from the autumnal tomato and chickpea salad I had planned. This sort of quick thinking is necessary when the weather changes at the drop of a woolly hat. The planned salad of brown lentils and ham may now become a bolstering cold-weather soup-stew and the mozzarella and aubergine can become melanzane alla parmigiana.
The cake tins have come out again. The season’s baking began simply enough with an almond loaf cake, fragrant with orange marmalade and crunchy with poppy seeds – the sort you can serve with the last of the autumn blackberries or maybe a salad of windfall apples and a splash of calvados. I could have made it in two halves, like a classic sponge cake, then sandwich the two together with a marmalade and mascarpone cream, but I tend to keep those sorts of “cake-fork” cakes for days when someone is coming to tea. Nevertheless, there is now a cake in the tin, and that is what matters.
Roast tomatoes with chickpea and thyme mash
Beef tomatoes aside, you can use almost any variety here. Small cherry tomatoes can be left whole. The rest should be cut in half so their juices run and concentrate in the oven. The roasted tomatoes and their juices can be served on thick toast (spread with basil pesto or roasted garlic paste) or used as a rustic sauce for pasta. They are also particularly good with soft mounds of polenta or, as I had them this week, herb-speckled bean purée. Serves 4
For the tomatoes:
tomatoes 1 kg, assorted sizes and varieties
garlic 3 plump cloves
olive oil 4 tbsp
red wine vinegar 2 tbsp
For the chickpeas:
chickpeas 3 x 400g cans
bay leaves 2
thyme leaves 1 tbsp
olive oil 175ml
chickpea cooking water 100ml
lemons 2
Set the oven at 200C/gas mark 6. Remove the stems from the tomatoes, slice each one in half and place them cut side up in a roasting tin. Put the garlic, unpeeled, among the tomatoes. Trickle the oil over them, season with salt and black pepper and toss gently to cover the tomatoes and garlic with the oil and seasoning.
Roast the tomatoes for 40 minutes until they have started to colour and they are surrounded by their juices. Remove the cloves of garlic and peel them. Sprinkle the red wine vinegar over the tomatoes and return to the oven for 5 minutes.
While the tomatoes are roasting, drain the chickpeas and tip them into a pan, pour over enough water to cover them, then add the bay leaves, thyme leaves and bring to the boil. Let them cook for 10 minutes until thoroughly hot.
Drain the chickpeas, reserving 100ml of cooking water, remove the bay leaves and put them in the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth, pouring in the oil in a steady stream, followed by the reserved chickpea water. Check the seasoning, adding more salt or black pepper as you think fit. Squeeze in enough of the lemon juice to give it a light, citrus kick (about 4-5 tbsp is my suggestion).
Spoon the chickpea purée on to a serving dish, then remove the tomatoes from the oven, place them on the purée and spoon over the juices.
Orange and poppy seed cake
A cake that will keep beautifully in an air-tight container, to be sliced as and when you need. The syrup will soak in more effectively if applied within 10 minutes of the cake coming from the oven. Serves 8
butter 225g, softened
golden caster sugar 225g
orange grated zest of 1
lemon grated zest of 1
plain flour 110g
baking powder generous ½ tsp
ground almonds 115g
eggs 4
poppy seeds 20g
To finish:
marmalade 150g
lemon juice of 1
orange juice of 1
You will need a rectangular cake tin, 22cm x 12cm x 7cm deep, lined on the base and sides with baking parchment. Set the oven at 180C/gas mark 4.
Cut the butter into small pieces, put it in the bowl of a food mixer together with the sugar and cream for 5 minutes until soft and fluffy. Finely grate the orange and lemon zest and stir in. In a separate bowl, sieve together the flour and baking powder, then stir in the ground almonds.
Break the eggs into a small bowl, then beat briefly with a fork. Set the food mixer at a moderate speed, then introduce the beaten egg, a little at a time, to the butter and sugar. The mixture may start to curdle, in which case add a spoonful of the flour to bring it together. Continue adding the flour until thoroughly creamed. Mix in the poppy seeds.
Transfer the mixture to the lined cake tin, smoothing the surface. Bake for 45-50 minutes until a skewer, inserted into the cake, comes out without any raw mixture attached. Remove from the oven and leave the cake to cool for 10 minutes.
Leaving the cake in its tin, make about 20 holes over the surface with a skewer. Put the marmalade into a small saucepan. Halve the orange and lemon, squeeze the juice into the marmalade, then bring to the boil. Remove immediately from the heat and spoon over the surface, letting it trickle down the holes and into the crumb of the cake. Leave to cool before slicing.
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