Recipe

Caramel Almond Bark Recipe

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Ingredients

Pepper
1/2 tb Fresh mint; sliced
275 g Plain flour
1 tb Sunflower oil
1/2 tb Celery leaves; sliced
100 g Smoked speck or smoked streaky bacon; thickly sliced
1 1/2 tb Fresh parsley; sliced
Parmesan cheese & 75g grated Gruyere cheese
100 g Air-dried ham; thickly sliced
100 g Rye flour or buckwheat flour
2 Eggs; lightly beaten
2 pt Ham or beef stock
1 1/4 kg Chard or spinach leaves; about
300F ml Creamy milk or single cream or 75g butter; 40g freshly grated

Directions

Step #1 Sift the flours together & make a well in the middle.
Step #2 Add the eggs, oil & 150ml water.
Step #3 Stir, slowly drawing in the flour & adding more water until you have a batter of thick dropping consistency.
Step #4 Beat hard to get rid of any lumps.
Step #5 Dice the ham & speck & beat into the flour mixture with the herbs & some pepper.
Step #6 The ham & bacon should provide enough salt.
Step #7 Cut out the thick stems from the chard (or snip off the stems of spinach), then drop into a pan of boiling water.
Step #8 Bring back to the boil & drain.
Step #9 Dry the blanched leaves on kitchen paper.
Step #10 If the leaves are large, cut them into quarters, snipping out the central rib.
Step #11 Smaller leaves may be better cut into three or halved.
Step #12 The ideal size for each piece of leaf is about 10cm wide at the base & about 10cm long, probably tapering to a point, but of course few of the leaves are going to be snippable into the ideal.
Step #13 Bear in mind that it doesn't matter if three is the odd tear here or there, or if each little parcel of leaf & filling is not perfectly identical.
Step #14 Place a generous tsp of the batter on the widest end of each piece of leaf & flip over the sides, then roll up to form a little parcel about the size of a cork.
Step #15 Don't worry if a spot of filling threatens to ooze out here or there - it will set as it cooks.
Step #16 To cook, pour a 4cm depth of stock into a wide pan.
Step #17 Bring to the boil & add enough of the leaf parcels to fill the pan in a single payer.
Step #18 Poach for 10-15 mins, until firm & cooked through (bite into one to check).
Step #19 Lift out with a slotted spoon & arrange in a warm dish.
Step #20 Cover & keep warm while you cook the remaining capuns.
Step #21 To serve, add the milk or cream to the stock, then boil down until reduced to about 300ml of milky gravy, Spice up & pour over the capuns.
Step #22 Alternatively dot the capuns generously with the butter, scatter over the freshly grated parmesan & Gruyere, & bake in the oven, preheated to 200C/400F/gas 6 for 15 mins, until lightly browned & sizzling hot.
Step #23 --.
Enjoy the Caramel Almond Bark recipe