Recipes

For our next recipe we decided to go with an ingredient that we all love, that’s cheap, comes in oodles of varieties, and can be found anywhere around the world – may we present Sir Onion, that undoubtedly will make you cry.

Onions tend to be the unassuming ingredient. Always there, hardly the center of attention but they do make a huge difference in lots of dishes. It’s also one of those wonders of nature with its gorgeous construction in fine layers of yumminess and delicate translucent skin.

We chose to share a basic recipe that you can twist and tweak to your liking and that will keep for a while, our delicious Onion Jam.

We always have a few jars of it sitting in our cupboards to enjoy with bread, meats, to spice up a sandwich or as a gift for visiting friends.

Every batch we make is a little different but here is the essential recipe that you can pimp up with our tips and tricks.

FOR WHISKY LOVERS

Replace a good half – if not more – of the wine with a bourbon.

FOR SPICE LOVERS

Ground coriander, bays, cumin,

LIKE IT HOT?

Chop up some chilies, whatever kind grows in your region and add them to the chopped onions – quantity to taste… some like it hot.

Easy peasy and cheap, yields around 3 pots of 200g each, preparation will take you around 20 minutes and cooking time will take you around an hour

WHAT YOU WILL NEED

800 g onions
150 ml white wine vinegar
50 ml red wine vinegar
50 ml balsamic vinegar
200 ml dry white wine
100 g sugar
100 g honey
50 ml olive oil
50 g butter
Salt
Pepper

Goggles at the ready, set go !

METHOD

Step 1

Peel the onions and mince them.
Heat a pan on low heat and add butter and olive oil.
Add the onions and cook them on low heat in the butter / olive oil mix during 20 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Tip for spice lovers and those who like it hot

If you’re into spices, now is the time to add some, ground coriander, cumin, bays, anything goes.

Step 2

Whilst onions are cooking, mix 50 ml of water and the sugar in a pan. Cook until you get a gorgeous light caramel.
Mix white and red wine vinegar to the honey. When the caramel is ready, pour the mix on it, bring it back to a light boil for a few minutes.

Tip for whisky lovers

Replace a good half – if not more – of the wine with a bourbon.

Step 3

Pour the mix onto the onions and cook on low heat for 40 minutes.
Add the balsamic vinegar and let it boil for an extra 2 to 3 minutes and the divine jam is ready.
Pour it in sterilized pots whilst it is still hot. Close the jars, turn them upside down and let them cool down.

Keep in the fridge once opened.
Divine with bread, meat, sandwiches, brunch, foie gras, tartines…

Just in time for the holiday season, today is a start of something new on our journal. We launch a new inspirational column involving cooking, styling and eating. Yum! Making and designing ceramic dinnerware for our brand and for our lovely customers, we’re bound to love eating and cooking. Every piece of table and serving ware we design is tested for size and presentation before it goes into production. So naturally we cook and we try out our products at home. We don’t claim to be chefs, but we do love to share a good meal with friends, cooked with love and attention and we sure love to present it in style with nicely designed wares be it our own or some we’ve collected along the years. So get your aprons ready and enjoy our very first recipe.

Much love,
Julie & Jesse

Whilst Jesse has a sweet tooth and loves candies, we’re both savouries lovers. We don’t often bake or prepare desserts at home – only for our guests or to learn the chemistry involved in baking which is much like making ceramics. But we do have a soft spot for berries and this large financier is one of our favourite secret weapon to finish off a good dinner. It’s a piece of cake to prepare, it’s light, moist, yet a little crispy, and trust us, even if you’re full, you won’t be able to keep your hands off it.

The secret to a good financier is in the browning of the butter which gives it a delightful nutty flavour. Another tip is to begin cooking the cake in a very hot oven to make the crust and then reduce the temperature to keep the cake moist. The traditional financier comes plain but we’re sure you’ll love this berry-packed one.

Usually financiers are prepared as small rectangular loaves which resemble a bar of gold which is one of the many stories behind the name of the cake. We prefer to make large ones to share with friends and family. So today we decided to share our recipe with you along with images captured during our afternoon of dinner preparation.

FOR BERRY LOVERS

Any berry goes. Stuff the financier with those you love the most or a mix. Raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, currants will do just fine.

FOR GREEN TEA LOVERS

Scrap the berries and add around 60g of matcha green tea powder in the mix. It’ll be delicious served with berry ice cream or lemon jam on the side.

This recipe yields one large financier for about 6-8 portions. The preparation will take you around 20 minutes and the cooking time will be around twenty five minutes to half an hour depending on your oven. Use a, round, square or rectangular mould large enough so that when you pour your mixture in, it’s not higher then about 2.5 cm.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED

200g of butter
4 egg whites
160g of icing sugar
60g of flour
80g of ground almonds
150-200 g of raspberries, blackberries or whichever you fancy

Alternatively you can even leave the berries and make it with green tea powder.

METHOD

Preheat the oven at 170°C

On very low heat, melt the butter in a pan until you get a “beurre noisette” or brown butter – amber color, smell of hazelnut, but don’t let it burn…

Lightly whisk the egg whites.

Mix the flour, icing sugar and ground almonds and then pour the mix onto the egg whites whilst continuing to whisk.

TIP

If you’re making the green tea version add the tea powder to the flour, sugar and almond mix.

Slowly stir in the melted butter and mix until all ingredients are well combined.

Transfer the mixture to a mould that you will have previously buttered, and then place your berries into the mixture.

Cook in the oven for 30 minutes or until the financier is golden brown.

TIP

Stick a knife in the cake; if it comes out moist and with dough on it then it’s not ready to take out of the oven. The knife needs to come out clean of any uncooked mixture.

Remove from the oven and leave the baked financier in the mould to cool.

Once cool turn the financier out on a wire rack and lightly dust it with sifted icing sugar.

We hope you’ll enjoy our very first recipe.