vegetables more than fruit.... but you get the idea
Last year I was able to freeze blackberries, raspberries, black currants, red currants, rhubarb and and gooseberries. I also grow apples (Bramley and Crab) and Japonica quince (which seem to be edible), and last year I picked a few teeny tiny bunches of grapes - my first harvest! I probably should have left them for longer, but I wanted to get the first crop before any birds found them.
So the Proper Pudding this month was Rhubarb and Ginger "cheese"cake - Rhubarb can be colourful and goes so well with ginger, and on a cold winter's day the combination is quite warming, even on when served chilled. I used a combination of adapted recipes and experimentation. The result was tasty and had good comments from people who tried it.
This is all that was left of it!
Next time I make it I'll use a smaller pan, less polenta base and more rhubarb, so this recipe is what I think it should be, so if you'd like to try this recipe please be aware that this particular experiment continues!
Ingredients
For the base
A cup of polenta (corn meal)
A cup of water
3 teaspoons dried ginger powder
For the "cheese"cake
250g tofu block, or silken tofu (usually found in the vegetarian chiller cabinet in the supermarket)
4 pieces of preserved ginger, finely chopped
2 teaspoons of agave nectar
1 teaspoon dried ginger powder
1 to 2 teaspoons of turmeric powder (to give it a bit of colour)
For the topping
6 sticks of rhubarb - the redder the better
4 pieces of preserved ginger, finely chopped
1 teaspoon dried ginger powder
1 dessert spoon of cornflour
Method
- Line and grease an 8 inch loose-bottomed spring-sided pan (or use a baking sheet and a flan ring)
- Set the oven to 180C (350F) or about 170C if fan assisted
- In a small saucepan, heat up the polenta and water, and simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring all the time. You might need to add a bit more water. Or a bit more polenta.
- When it is thick enough to form a soft ball, take it off the heat and leave it to cool.
- Drain the water off the tofu, and mix it with the other "cheese"cake ingredients in a food processor (or with a whizzer)
- Spread the polenta mix evenly over the base of the pan and press it down - about 50mm is probably deep enough
- Spread the "cheese"cake mix evenly over the polenta base
- Bake in the centre of the oven for 45 to 60 minutes, until it is solid and slightly brown
- While it is baking, make the topping: gently heat up the rhubarb until it is soft. Add the preserved ginger and the ginger powder.
- Mix the cornflour with a little water and gradually stir it into the rhubarb mix, and gently cook for a few minutes to let it thicken.
- When the cheesecake is cooked, take it out and let it cool before spreading the topping evenly over it.
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