A humble supper for a cold night. That was all I asked, all I needed. There were onions in the house, pearl barley in the cupboard and the usual mustard, garlic and a bunch of thyme. There were also a few vegetables that needing using up: a brown paper bag of mushrooms and a carton of cream (bought for soup which was never made) and a leek left over from heaven knows when, but which seemed fit enough. A challenge, then. I enjoy making something from almost nothing. Frugal, unplanned meals born of an almost empty larder.
The idea of coming home on a near freezing night to a dish of glowing onions, filled to the gills with well-seasoned grain and mushrooms beat off any thoughts of a pearl barley risotto or soup. The few bits and pieces left over from Christmas, a piece of panettone, a lump of marzipan, ended up in a fragrant Italianate filling for a dish of baked apples. (I put the remaining mincemeat into the filling of an apple crumble.)
There is plenty of interest in the food shops right now, and yet I rather enjoy deliberately not shopping, forcing myself to make the most of what there is. I also like the prospect of using things up, ignoring the fact that a fruit or vegetable is far from perfect, what you could generously describe as salvageable. Yes, it means thinking on your feet, which I enjoy and no, it isn’t the perfect way to put a meal on the table, but such cooking is always deeply satisfying. And never more so than on a cold night in late January.
Onions with barley and mustard cream sauce
Very large onions can take an age to come to tenderness in boiling water. It will be quicker to use 8 smaller ones if time is an issue. They are ready to drain and bake once their layers are translucent and they can be easily pierced right through with a skewer. To be good, the onions must be soft and totally tender. If the centre layers of the onion refuse to squash down to make room for the filling, then scoop a little of the flesh out with a teaspoon. Serves 4.
onions 4, large
vegetable stock 400ml
pearl barley 100g
button mushrooms 200g
leek 1, medium sized
garlic 3 cloves
olive oil 3 tbsp
butter 40g
thyme sprigs 10
salt and black pepper
For the sauce:
double cream 250ml
grain mustard 2 tbsp
parsley 3 tbsp, chopped
Peel the onions and trim their roots. Bring a deep saucepan of water to the boil, lower in the onions and let them simmer for 40 minutes or so, until they are thoroughly tender. Drain and place in a roasting tin or baking dish. Set the oven at 200C/gas mark 6.
While the onions are simmering, warm the stock in a deep saucepan, then add the pearl barley, turn down to rolling boil, then leave to cook for about 30 minutes until tender but not soft. Drain and set aside.
Thinly slice the mushrooms. Trim, halve then finely dice the leek. Peel and thinly slice the garlic. Melt the butter with the oil in a pan, add the leeks, mushrooms and garlic and cook, stirring regularly over a medium heat, until they are soft and sweet. Season as you go with salt, black pepper and the leaves from the thyme sprigs.
Put the onions in a roasting tin, split from root to tip on one side then press the inside down with a spoon to make room for the stuffing. Divide the filling between the onions. If there is any left over, spoon it around the onions. Warm the cream in a small pan, stir in the mustard, a little salt and pepper and the parsley, then pour over the onions. Bake for 25 minutes until the onions are pale gold.
Apples with marzipan and pine nuts
If you have too much filling for the apples, I suggest you scatter it over the base of the tin, where it will melt and crisp delectably. The dish requires no accompaniment, but a jug of double cream wouldn’t be out of the question. Serves 4.
apples 6, medium sized
panettone 75g
marzipan 100g
pine nuts 2 tbsp
apricot jam 5 heaped tbsp
Core the apples, leaving them whole. If you are using an apple corer, make the hollow at least twice as big as the funnel of the corer, to allow plenty of room for the stuffing. Tear the panettone into small pieces, about 1cm, dropping them into a bowl. Cut the marzipan into similar size pieces and combine with the panettone.
In a dry pan, toast the pine nuts until they are golden, tossing them regularly to avoid burning. Add the pine nuts to the crumbs, then stir in the jam.
Place the apples in a roasting tin, a little way apart, then fill their hollows with the stuffing. Cover the dish loosely with foil and bake in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes, remove the foil then bake for a further 15 minutes until the filling is golden.
Email Nigel at nigel.slater@observer.co.uk or follow him on Twitter @NigelSlater
