Peanut butter comes to the rescue. If I am craving something sweet, then a thick mound of the crunchy toast-coloured spread will sort it out. If the need is more salty then peanut butter will press that button, too. A culinary cure-all.
Peanut butter piled on to oatcakes. Yes. Peanut butter spread into the hollow of a rib of celery. Again, yes. Peanut butter spread on to toast, or, in a moment of desperation, spooned straight from the jar. Yes, yes, yes.
Yet this healing ointment of peanuts and salt is rarely used in my kitchen. Come to think of it, neither is the peanut. A matter I put to rights this week by using crushed, roasted nuts as a thickening for a vegetable stew and peanut butter in a gooey, soft-textured cheesecake.
The peanut butter I prefer is the one whose ingredient list contains two words. Peanuts. Salt. Anything else doesn't get a place in my shopping basket. (I actually keep mine in the fridge because I like to spread it, fudge like, over my oatcakes.) Ignore any brand containing palm oil and I won't get into the crunchy versus smooth debate. It is, in the house at least, as much a medicine as an ingredient. Something to iron out life's little ups and downs.
Root vegetable and peanut stew
I used roasted, salted nuts for this. They are plump and have a great flavour but it does mean that you need to be very careful when it comes to seasoning. Taste as you go. If you are unsure, then use unsalted nuts and toast them in a non-stick pan with only the thinnest film of oil. Keep the heat low. Serves 4.
carrots 200g
parsnip 300g
swede 200g
Jerusalem artichokes 200g
celeriac 300g
groundnut oil 2 tbsp
chicken stock 1 ltr
roast, salted peanuts 200g
for the croûtes:
preserved lemons 3
parsley 2 handfuls
coriander I handful
olive oil 3 tbsp
thick slices of baguette 8
Set the oven at 200C/gas mark 6. Scrub the carrots and cut into large chunks. Peel the parsnips, swedes, celeriac and artichokes then roughly chop into pieces of a similar size to the carrot. Tip the vegetables into a roasting tin, pour over the oil, season with salt and pepper and toss. Roast for about 40 minutes till golden brown.
Put the stock into a large saucepan and bring to the boil. Grind most of the peanuts to a fine powder then whisk into the hot stock. As it boils, the liquid will thicken slightly.
Transfer the vegetables, drained of oil, to the stock, stir gently and simmer, partially covered, for about 25 minutes. Stir the vegetables from time to time, add the reserved whole peanuts then check the seasoning, taking care not to over-salt.
Halve the preserved lemons, remove and discard the flesh then put the empty shells into a food processor with the parsley, coriander and olive oil. Grind in a little black pepper, no salt, and process to a thick paste.
Toast the slices of baguette, then spread with the lemon and parsley paste. Ladle the vegetable stew into bowls and float a couple of toasts on to each.
Chocolate peanut butter cheesecake
This is a very softly set, gooey cheesecake, so don't expect to get neat slices from it. It is possibly the richest thing you could ever eat, so serve it in small amounts. It is essential to keep this in the fridge overnight, so start the day before. Serves 8.
For the base:
butter 75g
dark chocolate digestives 175g
salted roasted peanuts 100g
for the filling:
full-fat cream cheese 450g
eggs 4
an extra yolk
caster sugar 120g
vanilla extract a tsp
melted chocolate 100g
crunchy peanut butter 100g
Melt the butter in a small pan. Blitz the digestive biscuits in a food processor or bash them in a plastic bag with a rolling pin to large crumbs. Tip the crumbs into the melted butter. Process the peanuts to a coarse powder in the food processor then stir into the mixture.
Tip the mixture into a 20cm springform cake tin and smooth flat, but without compacting the crumbs. Place in the fridge to set.
Set the oven at 160C/gas mark 3. Break the chocolate into small pieces, then melt in a bowl over a pan of simmering water. Do not stir but push any unmelted chocolate down into the liquid chocolate with a spoon. The less you stir, the less likely it is to "seize". Put the cream cheese, eggs, egg yolk, caster sugar and vanilla in the bowl of a food mixer and beat slowly till thoroughly mixed.
Wrap the base of the cake tin in two layers of kitchen foil so no water gets in as it cooks. Pour the cream cheese filling on to the biscuit base. Pour the melted chocolate on next, then spoonfuls of peanut butter at regular intervals. Using a skewer or the handle of a spoon, swirl the chocolate and peanut butter throughout the cream cheese mixture.
Put the cake tin in a roasting tin and pour in hot water to half way up the sides of the tin. Bake in the oven for 55-60 minutes. The cake should still wobble in the centre. Leave in a little longer if necessary, covering with foil to stop the top colouring.
Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool in the tin of water. Transfer to the fridge and leave overnight or for at least 7 hours.
