World Cup, Playoff and Final

World Cup, Playoff and Final

Day 24 & 25

It's over. The spectacular 2014 World Cup has come to an end after a month of somethimes great, sometimes not so great football. It's been great to see so many unfancied teams do so well but I think it's fair to say that the best team won.

It's been a similar story in my challenge. The nations whose cuisines I hadn't previously paid much attention to were the ones that impressed me the most. The South American countries in particular took me by surprise and I'll be ensuring that I take plenty of inspiration from more of their dishes. For the 3rd/4th place playoff I decided to celebrate dutch cuisine as I had somehow managed to neglect them for the entirety of the tournament so far.

World Cup, Day 24 - The Netherlands

Old Style Chicken

I have never spent much time delving into Dutch cuisine, you don't really hear too much about it. I spent quite a bit of time researching recipes and dishes when I came across this one. It really jumped out at me, I was salivating just reading the ingredients list! It was a resounding success, I would actually consider this my favourite chicken recipe now, give it a try! It's important to cook the legs on a wire rack over a baking tray, it means that the skin will crisp up evenly and excess fat can drip off. This recipe is an adaption of Karin Engelbrecht's Chicken From The Golden Age. I served this with Sweet Potato Chips; cut a few sweet potatoes into chips and put them on a baking tray in a single layer. Add a good glug of oil with some salt and pepper. Mix well and put into the oven with the chicken. They should cook in the same amount of time.

Serves 4

8 Free-Range Chicken Drumsticks
2 Streaky Rashers
50g Butter
1 tbsp White Wine Vinegar
1 tsp Dried Rosemary
1 tsp Dried Marjoram
1 tsp Dried Basil
1/4 tsp Ground Ginger
1/4 tsp Sea Salt
1/4 tsp Pepper
2 Cloves

Sweet Potato Chips to serve

1. Put everything except the chicken into a food processor and blend until smooth. Push your fingers underneath the skin of the chicken creating little tunnels. Fill these with the bacon butter and rub whatever is left onto the skin of the chicken. Put on a wire rack over a baking tray and into a 200 degree oven for 25-30 minutes until cooked through. Check that they are cooked by inserting a thermometer and ensuring the reading is over 73 degrees celsius. Be sure that the thermometer isn't touching the bone when making the reading. Serve with Sweet Potato Chips.

World Cup, Day 25 - Germany

Apple and Caramel Tart

The final. The last day of The World Cup Challenge! For the final I needed to cook a dessert as we were invited to a friends house for dinner so I said I'd make dessert. I took inspiration from the most famous of German desserts, the Apple Strudel. I have never been a fan of any type of apple tart (rolled or not!) so I knew I would have to drastically change things to suit my tastes. I came to the conclusion that there is nothing in the World that doesn't benefit from the addition of caramel and so the concept was born. I had to buy Carnation Caramel as I was under serious time pressure but there is no reason you couldn't make your own (either by boiling a can of condensed milk or by using a recipe like this)

I like to use the shortcrust pastry recipe that can be found here. I just replace the salt with a pinch of sugar for a sweet tart/pie.

Serves 6-8

1 Quantity of Shortcrust Pastry (see above, rested in the fridge for at least 30 minutes)
800g Bramley Cooking Apples (peeled, cored and roughly chopped)
2 heaped tbsp + pinch of Sugar
1 Tin (397g) Carnation Caramel
1 Egg (beaten)
Pinch of Ground Cinnamon 

1. Put the apples and 2 tbsp of sugar into a pot over a medium-low heat and stir well. Cover and let stew until completely broken down. Stir in the Caramel and heat through for a couple of minutes. Set aside.

2. Butter a 28cm cake tin and roll out the pastry into a circle about 10cm bigger than the base of the tin. Line the bottom of the tin with the pastry ensuring to patch any tears. Keep the sides of the pastry up and pour in the apple and caramel filling. Spread it evenly with the back of a spoon. Allow the sides of the pastry to fold over the filling a little giving a lovely rustic look. Brush the top of the pastry with the egg and sprinkle over a pinch of sugar and cinnamon.

3. Bake in a 200 degree oven for 25-35 minutes until the pastry is golden and cooked through. Allow to rest for 10 minutes before turning out of the tin. and allowing to cool completely on a wire rack.