Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Prawns & camera questions

Before I talk about this weeks challenge, I have a question for all of you food bloggers out there.  I am ready for a new camera (see photo above for why!), I really want to up the quality of my photos and the current camera just does not do the job.  I realize I need to spend more time on food styling too but lets face it with screaming kids at my heels half the time I'm lucky I get any photos at all.  So the first question is should I go digital slr or stick with a plain old compact digital.  As well as taking photos of food (yes I do have a life outside of cooking!), I love taking photos of people, my garden & holiday snaps too.  I believe an SLR gives a better photo though it's been 20 years since I have picked one up so dont know how much time I could devote to learning how to use one all over again, might just use the auto setting forever.  Also after a couple of questions it seems that SLR's do not have a macro function & I would need to buy another lens, starting at $500.00 thats more than I want to put out on top of the cost of a new camera.  What does everyone out there use, would love some advice on this one before I take the plunge & buy my next camera, thanks?

Back onto food, this weeks challenge was seafood, I had a hankering for prawns and wanted to find a nice comforting wintery way to cook them, George Calombaris' recipe in Greek Cookery from the Hellenic Heart seemed to be just what I was after.  The sauce the prawns were cooked in was delicious though I didnt get my pan close enough to the grill for the feta to brown up, I dont think this made much of an difference apart from in appearance.  Loved the sauce & the prawns were nice too yet I didnt really love the dish & didnt think the prawns went that well with the sauce even though the 2 elements on their own were great.  All in all an okay meal but one I wouldnt bother making again, a bit of a disappointment really considering all of the options I could have gone with for such a wonderful theme.

Prawn Saganaki (Baked prawns, tomato and feta) - George Calombaris - Greek Cookery from the Hellenic Heart.

600g whole green prawns
4 brown onions sliced
250g extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, sliced
1 tablespoon thyme, chopped
2 cups crushed tomatoes
1 cup water
1/2 bunch shredded parsley
100g feta, crumbled

In a heavy based saucepan, saute prawns in olive oil for 3 minutes.  Add onions and continue to cook for further 3 minutes.  Add the garlic and thyme, cook for 2 minutes, then add crushed tomatoes and 1 cup water and simmer for 5 minutes.  Season to taste.  Stir in shredded parsley, spoon into serving dish and sprinkle with feta.  Grill until golden and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil to serve.

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Soup and Spanish Potato Week


Potatoes would have to be one of my favourite foods yet I was a little uninspired when it came to potato week in the challenge.  I guess mostly my love of potatoes is as a side, smooth and creamy mash, crispy roast potatoes, the humble chip done really well for example and not a star though they do star in some fabulous dishes all alone, one of favourites being the potato pancake/rosti/hash brown - whatever you choose to call it.  
I also found it funny that I chose a Spanish dish and a soup dish which after seafood week next week are the 2 themes for week 34 and 35, must be sub-consciously thinking ahead!  My soup dish wasn't actually meant to be for the challenge, I was just wanting a very quick meal to throw together for Friday night dinner & was looking through Nigella Express for inspiration where I found the recipe.  I wouldn't even call it a recipe, its more just a couple of ingredients thrown into a pot & cooked for a while then whizzed up.  That's what I love about soups really, the simplicity of some fresh ingredients cooked in the one pot, maybe a fresh slice of bread on the side & you have a fabulous warming winter meal.  This sweet potato and pumpkin soup was no exception, sweet and creamy with a lovely tang thanks to the sour cream I added at the end & everyone had a smile on their face.

Note the recipe calls for buttermilk which I substituted with sour cream as I love it in soups and I had some in the fridge just calling out to be stirred through.  Nigella also suggests buying pre-chopped veggies, I didn't go that far, really it's not that difficult to slice up some pumpkin and potato is it?

Butternut and sweet potato Soup - Nigella Lawson - Nigella Express

350g diced butternut pumpkin and sweet potato from a packet.  (I used one large sweet potato and half a pumpkin)
750ml hot chicken or vegetable stock ( I used 1 litre to make up for the extra veg I put in)
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground mace
Freshly ground black pepper
4 teaspoons buttermilk

Put the diced veggies and hot stock in a large saucepan with the stock and spices.  Bring to the boil and simmer for approx 15 minutes or until the veggies are tender.  Add some pepper to taste.

Puree the soup with a stick mixer or blender, stir through buttermilk (or sour cream) to serve.


For my second dish firstly I would like to apologize for the photo, it wasn't a pretty dish, which combined with the lack of good light & my poor food styling does not make it look very appetizing at all.  This was a quick spanish dinner from The Hungry Girls Cookbook Volume 2.  If you haven't heard of the book, it's a small collection (12) of recipes put together by 3 local girls, you can read all about it here.

Some typical Spanish ingredients such as , potatoes, capsicums, smoked paprika, chorizo all done in a bit of a fry up was perfect for me to knock up after work one night for the in laws, that's right, I am back working.  At this stage only 2 days a week from home so you wouldnt think it would be too much different to my old ways but those 2 days throw me about.  Josh is very clingy so when I finish at 5 he really bawls for me so even this quick meal is difficult, it breaks your heart when all they want is you & you cant go to them, he really is a mummy's boy which Chloe never was (girl that is!).  I think from now on on work nights I will try & cook the night before so all I have to do is reheat.  Anyway back to the dish, nothing spectacular but a nice comforting dinner all the same.  You really have to watch the salt & get your flavours balanced right, I found the potatoes needed lots of salt yet the chorizo didn't so it was hard to get it perfect.

Note that the recipe feeds 3-4 so I adjusted the quantities to feed more, extra spuds & chorizo

Quick Spanish dinner - The Hungry Girls Cookbook - Volume 2

4 medium potatoes (about 800g)
2 large red capsicums
1 medium onion
1 small semi-dried chorizo (about 125g)
2 garlic cloves
Big handful parsley leaves
2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 heaped teaspoon smoked paprika
3/4 teaspoon salt

Bring a pot of water to the boil and cook the potatoes in their skins until just soft.

Meanwhile, get everything else ready, halve and seed the capsicums and cut the strips in half widthwise.  Finely slice the onion.  Cut the chorizo in half lengthwise then thinly slice it.  Finely chop the garlic and roughly chop the parsley.

When the potatoes are half cooked, heat a frying pan over high heat and add the oil and capsicums.  Cook for 5 minutes, stirring regularly, until the capsicum skins are starting to wrinkle.  Turn the heat back a little, add the inion and continue cooking for 8-10 minutes, until the onion and capsicum are collapsed and browning at the edges.  meanwhile, drain the potatoes and cut into bite sized chunks.

Add the chorizo, garlic and paprika to the pan and fry for another few minutes, until the chorizo has browned slightly.  Add the potatoes and salt and stir gently until the potatoes are covered in the rust coloured juices.  Stir in the parsley.  Taste & adjust the seasoning as required.

Sunday, June 20, 2010

French feasting, Rick Stein Style

Week 31 of the Cookbook Challenge was French week which had me very excited.  Firstly I Loooovvvvee French food and secondly I have Rick Stein's French Odyssey sitting on my bookshelf being badly neglected.   Michael was very sweet and bought it for me after I fell in love with the food watching the tv series that went along with the book.  It has lots of great recipes though a lot of them are somewhat intimidating.  This week I had no excuses and I was determined to try out some recipes that were a bit out of my comfort zone.  Having said that I picked some fairly safe options, an apple tarte tatin which was actually very simple, Some duck that though a bit fiddly was pretty straightforward and a Pissaladiere, a dish I have seen made many times and loved the look of though was a bit hesitant over whether I would like these flavours or not.

To start with the Duck, the recipe for which was called, Vetou's magret de canard with red wine sauce and Sauteed potatoes on the side, basically duck breast with prunes and a red wine sauce.  This was absolutely fantastic, the duck was moist & tender, the sauce was rich & velvety smooth with a lovely taste & texture that had a lot to do with the small amount of chocolate added in at the end I suspect and the potatoes were lovely, nice and crunchy on the outside and smooth and soft on the inside.   Love duck & this is definitely a make again winner.

Notes.  I couldnt find dried Agen prunes so used the ordinary supermarket variety and also I forgot to pre-soak them so just soaked them in boiling water from the time I started the dish until they were needed in the sauce.  Also, having no French wine on my rack I used a Shiraz which in my opinion worked a treat.  Also I was prepared for huge leaping flames in my pan, sadly, I only managed a flutter before they died down so the fire is nothing to be scared of (which I was personally!)

Vetou's magret de canard with red wine sauce - Rick Stein's French Odyssey

Serves 4

8 dried Agen prunes
4 duck breasts
150g carrots, roughly chopped
1 onion, roughly chopped
3 shallots, roughly chopped
5 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
600ml red wine, such as a Languedoc or Corbieres
3 cloves
Large srig thyme and 2 bay leaves
15g plain chocolate
Salt & freshly ground pepper

Put the prunes into a bowl and cover with cold water.  Leave to soak for 1-2 hours.

Season the duck breasts on both sides with salt and pepper.  Heat a large, heavy based frying pan over a high heat.  Add the duck breasts, skin side down, lower the heat slightly and fry for 2 minutes until the skin is nicely browned.  Turn over and brown them on the other side for 2 minutes, then lift onto a plate and set aside.

Add the carrots, onions, shallots and garlic to the duck fat left in the pan and fry over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring now and then, until soft and golden brown.  Add the wine, bring to a rapid boil, then light with a match and shake the pan for a few seconds until the flames have died down.  This burns off the alcohol.  Then lower the heat, add the cloves, thyme and bay leaves, and leave the sauce to simmer gently for 10 minutes.

Return the duck breasts to the pan, skin side down, cover and simmer for 2 minutes.  Turn the duck breasts over, recover and cook for a further 2-3 minutes.  This will give you duck that is still pink in the middle, if you prefer it better cooked, cook for up to 1 minute more on each side.

Lift the duck out of the sauce onto a plate, cover with foil and leave it to rest in a low oven (about 100c) while you finish the sauce.  Add the chocolate to the sauce and simmer for 2-3 minutes more.  Then pass through a fine sieve into a small pan, pressing out as much liquid as you can with the back of a ladle.  Drain the prunes, add them to the pan, and simmer over a medium heat until they have heated through and the sauce is nicely reduced and well flavoured.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

To serve, lift the duck onto a board and carve, on the diagonal, into long thin slices.  Lift each onto a plate and spoon 2 of the prunes alongside.  Spoon some of the sauce over and around the duck and serve with sauteed potatoes or mash.

Sauteed potatoes

Cut 750g peeled floury potatoes into 4cm pieces.  Put them into a pan of well salted water, bring to the boil and simmer until tender, about 7 minutes.  Drain well and leave until the steam has died down.  Heat 40g butter and 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large, heavy based frying pan.  Add the potatoes and fry them over a medium heat for about 10 minutes, turning them over as they brown, until they are crisp, golden brown & sandy - the outside of the potatoes should break off a little as you saute them, giving them a nice crumbly, crunchy crust.  Season with salt & pepper.


Next on the menu was a fabulous Tarte tatin.  For something so simple to put together this is one amazing dessert, apples fried in butter and sugar, topped with puff pastry & popped in the oven, who would have thought the magic that this would create?  I made this one day for no reason other than I wanted to, Jane was over for lunch the next day & was lucky there were some leftovers so she got to share the joy.

Note that I used ready rolled puff pastry and therefore made it even easier by eliminating one step, ie rolling out pastry and chilling for 20 minutes.

Tarte Tatin - Rick Stein's French Odyssey

250g puff pastry
75g softened butter
175g caster sugar
750g (about 5) large firm dessert apples (I used Granny Smith's)
Vanilla ice cream or creme fraiche, to serve

Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface and cut out a 26cm disc, slightly larger than the top of a 20cm tarte tatin dish or relaiably non-stick cast iron frying pan.  Transfer to a baking sheet and chill for at least 20 minutes.

Spread the butter over the base of the tarte tatin dish or frying pan, and sprinkle over the sugar in a thick, even layer.

Peel, core and halve the apples, trimming them very slightly if necessary to fit but keeping their nicely rounded shape, and then tightly pack them, rounded side down, on top of the sugar.  Place the pan over a medium heat and cook for 20-25 minutes, gently shaking the pan now and then, until the butter and sugar have amalgamated with the apple juices to produce a rich toffee coloured sauce and the apples are just tender.  Take care that the butter and sugar are not allowed to burn.

Preheat oven to 190c.  Lift the pastry on top of the apples and tuck in the edges down inside the pan.  Prick the pastry 5 or 6 times with the tip of a small knife.  Transfer to the oven and bake for 25 minutes or until the pastry is puffed, crisp and golden.

Remove the tart from the oven and leave it to rest for 5 minutes.  Then run a knife around the edges and invert it onto a round, flat serving plate.  Serve warm with ice cream or creme fraiche.


Last on my French menu for the week was a Pissaladiere (Nicoise onion tart).  I'm not a huge anchovy fan so I was a bit hesitant about this dish though it always looks so good anytime I see it cooked on tv so I thought what the hell, this is the perfect time to try it out.  As you can see it is a bit overcooked as Josh was having a mummy's boy mood & it was difficult to get to the oven to check on the cooking.  Despite the appearance it didnt really taste burned which was a good thing.  I liked the flavours though it was very intenese.  I think the onion mixture would have been a bit better spread a little thinner & it may have been a bit better balanced between the soft, chewy base, sweet onions & salty anchoves & olives.  Overall glad I tried this dish & enjoyed it but cant see it on the repeat menu anytime soon

Pissaladiere (Nicoise onion tart) - Rick Stein's French Odyssey

275g strong plain white flour
2 teaspoons easy-blend yeast
1 teaspoon salt
250ml hand-hot water
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

Topping:
50ml extra virgin olive oil
1.5kg onions, halved and thinly sliced
A large bouquet of parsley, thyme, bay leaves, rosemary and oregani
2 teaspoons anchovy paste
6-8 anchovy fillers in oil, drained & halved lengthways
Handful of small, black Nicoise olives (I used kalamata as they're my faves)
Sea Salt & freshly ground black pepper

For the base, sift the flour, yeast and salt into a large bowl and make a well in the centre.  Add the warm water and olive oil and mix together into a soft dough.  Knead for 5 minutes on a lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic.  Return to the bowl, cover with clingfilm & leave in a warm place for approx 1 hour or until doubled in size.

meanwhile, for the topping, heat the oil in a large pan over low heat.  Add the onions, bouquet garni and some seasoning, cover and cook gently for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Then uncover, increase the heat a little and continue to cook for 20 minutes or until all the moisture from the onions has evaporated and they are thick and pale brown.

Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface, knock out the air and knead briefly once more.  Then roll it out into a rectangle and lift onto an oiled 30 x 37.5 cm baking sheet.  (I actually made a round one & used a pizza stone).  Reshape with your fingers, then carefully spread with a thin layer of the anchovy paste.  Spread the onion mixture evenly over the top, leaving a 2.5cm border free around the edge.  Criss cross the top with the anchovies and dot with olives.  Season lightly & leave somewhere warm to rise for 10-15 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 240c.  bake for 15-20 minutes or until the crust has browned and the edges of the onions are starting to caramelize.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Happy 1st Birthday Josh

 A big Happy Birthday to my little man Joshua, cant believe he has turned 1 now!  To celebrate we had a big bash on the weekend as well as some cake on his birthday during the week.  Luckily it was baked theme for the Cookbook challenge this week as both ovens were working overtime.  I managed a couple of snaps of the cakes but didnt get any of the savoury dishes.  I had an Italian themed party & made huge trays of lasagna, cheese & spinach cannelloni, osso bucco & chicken cacciatore, with some salads & potatoes on the side including a yummy panzanella.   Desserts at the party were the big chocolate birthday cake plus some cup cakes, caramel slice & a lovely boozy tiramasu for the adults.


Cake number one on Joshie's actual birthday was a classic Victoria Sponge, I didnt want anything too rich as I knew how much chocolate would be going around at the party.  I used Nigella's recipe from Domestic Goddess, as always it was incredibly simplified, everything is pretty much bunged into the food processor before being baked.  The sponges are sandwiched with jam & berries, I chose strawberries & then they are glued together with lashings of whipped cream.  I used light cooking cream which despite the promise on the jar just would not whip properly, next time I will go the real deal.  The cake was lovely though I dont think it was as light as a sponge should be, this may have been the processor method's fault or it could have been mine, I will have to try another recipe & see what the difference is.

Victoria Sponge - Nigella Lawson - How to be a domestic goddess

Cake:
225g unsalted butter, very soft
225g caster sugar
1 tspn vanilla extract
4 large eggs
200g self raising flour
25g cornflour
1 tspn baking powder
3-4 tablespoons milk

2 x 21cm sandwich tins (about 5cm deep), buttered

Filling:
2-4 tablespoons raspberry or other berry jam, depending on the berries
1 punnet raspberries or berries of choice
125ml double cream

Topping:
1-2 tablespoons caster sugar (I used icing sugar instead)

Preheat the oven to 180c.  If the tins are loose-bottomed you dont have to lone them, otherwise do.

Put all ingredients apart from the  milk into a food processor & pulse until you have a smooth batter.  Then pulse, pouring the milk gradually through the funnel till your cake mixture's a smooth, soft, dropping consistency.  Pour the batter into the 2 tins evenly and bake for about 25 minutes, until the cakes are beginning to come away at the edges, are springy to touch on top and a cake tester comes out clean.  Leave to cool in the tins on a wire rack for 10 minutes before turning out to cool completely.

When you'r ready to eat, put one layer on a plate, spread with jam and scatter the fruit on top.  Whip the cream til it's thickened but still soft, spread over the jammy fruit.  Put the other cake on top & sprinkle with the sugar of your choice.



Here is a photo of the cupcakes I made.  I used Jamie Oliver's Tea party fairy cake recipe from Cook with Jamie.  The recipe is pretty basic so I wont bother giving it, I then iced them with chocolate icing, lots of colored sprinkles & some minty green & jaffa orange m and m's. After having kids for 3 years now I have worked out this is what they want, cupcakes, chocolate icing & bright decorations, doesnt need to get any more fancy than that.  Although Chloe seemed to not care too much about the actual cake, she was just burying her face in the icing & coming up black refusing to eat any of the cake, was very funny!


And for the sing a long I made this cute chocolate cake with chocolate icing, again lots of sprinkles, some writing icing to help with the name & colored m and m's.  I thought it looked really cute.  The cake itself was light, fluffy & not too sweet with lovely choc-butter icing, I could have done with seconds however it didnt stretch quite that far.  I will give the recipe for this one as it was similar to Nigella's methods though everything was thrown into the trusty kitchen aid this time, no creaming, whipping, etc & I was really pleased with the result.  It also makes quite a large cake which is good for parties.

Never Fail Birthday chocolate Cake with Chocolate Icing - Bill Granger - Holiday

Serves 16

250g unsalted butter, softened
440g/2 cups sugar
4 eggs
250ml/1 cup milk
310g/2 1/2 cups plain flour
5 tspns baking powder
4 tblspsns cocoa
1 tspn vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 180c.  Grease and line a 20 x 30 cm cake tin.

Beat the butter, sugar, eggs, milk, flour, baking powder, cocoa and vanilla with electric beaters for 8-10 minutes until the mixture is pale and well combined.  Pour into the tin and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a skewer poked in the middle comes out clean.  Leave to cool for 10 minutes in the tin, before turning out and transferring to a wire rack.  Ice with chocolate icing when completley cool.

Chocolate icing

300g Icing sugar
4 tblspns cocoa
2 tblspns softened unsalted butter

Sift together the icing sugar and cocoa.  Add the butter and 3-4 tablespoons of warm water and beat until smooth and fluffy, adding more water if neccessary.

Tuesday, June 01, 2010

A kinda blue week

When I first read of this weeks theme 'blue' I was really stumped and asked Michael for advice.  He quickly pointed out all of the obvious choices which I cant believe I didnt think of myself, blueberries - cant get much bluer, blue eye fish, blue grenadier, blue fin tuna, blue cocktails, and the list goes on.

With such a choice I decided I would do a savoury & a sweet, the savoury is the sensational blue-eye dish above which is only kinda blue as the fish monger had no blue eye and I had to settle for snapper instead, oh well it was all in the right spirit & anyway I love snapper so it was no problem for me to change.  This is a Curtis Stone recipe from 'Relaxed Cooking With Curtis Stone', even though everyone absolutely loved it, I know why & I will not be making it again.  The amount of butter & cream used was enough to cause a heart attack on the spot & I even reduced the quantities as I couldnt make myself use the full lot.  I know when you go out heaps is used but it's easier to turn a blind eye when out & pretend you dont know.  When you are actually cooking yourself & have to physically add the butter & cream, for me anyway I get scared & try to avoid dishes with these vast quantities.  Suprisingly the red wine reduction was probably the healthiest thing on the plate as it was simply pure red wine & isnt a glass or 2 supposed to be good for the old heart too?  Anyway, here is the recipe for those brave enough to take it on....By the way, the recipe is called 'oven roasted...' & the oven is not used at all so think the recipe may have changed somewhere along the way.

Oven roasted blue-eye with garlic mashed potatoes and pinot noir reduction - Curtis Stone - Relaxed cooking with Curtis Stone

Serves 4

One 750ml bottle Pinot Noir
2 large russet potatoes (abt 1 kg), peeled
6 large garlic cloves, unpeeled
2/3 cup milk
1/4 cup cream
150g butter
Sea Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
Four 185-220g blu-eye trevalla fillets (preferably the thick end of the fillets)
Juice of 1/2 lemon

Pour the wine into a medium-sized heavy saucepan and bring to a boil.  Simmer over medium-high heat for 40 minutes or until reduced to 1/3 cup and slightly thick.

Meanwhile, cut the potatoes into 5cm chunks, and place them in a large saucepan of salted water.  Bring to a boil and cook for about 15 minutes, or until tender.

While the potatoes are cooking, cook the garlic in a small saucepan of boiling water for 1 minute, then remove & dunk in a bowl of cold water.  Repeat this process 2 more times.  Peel off the skins and mash the garlic in a mortar and pestle.

Drain the potatoes well then return them to the pan and mash.  Mix the garlic into the potatoes.

Bring the milk to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium high heat, then slowly stir it into the mashed potatoes.  Slowly stir in the cream to make a nice, velvety smooth puree.  Cook over medium-low heat for 5 minutes, and gradually beat in 75g of the butter.  Season the potatoes with salt & pepper to taste.  Cover with cling film & keep warm.

Heat the oil in a heavy frying pan over medium-high heat.  Sprinkle the fish with salt & pepper.  Place the fish in the pan & cook for about 8 minutes on one side, turn, add the lemon juice & remaining butter to the pan.  Continue cooking, spooning the lemon-butter over the fish as it cooks, for about 4 minutes, until just cooked through.

Place some potato puree on each plate, top with fish & drizzle over the red wine reduction.



My second blue dish was a blueberry torta from Jamie Oliver's Italy.  I've had this book for ages and have hardly cooked any of the dishes even though every time I flick through there are tons of recipes I really want to try out.  The cake uses 600g of blueberries so it really packs in the fruit which is something I love, it's funny really, give me straight chocolate in any form & I'm in heaven yet with cakes/desserts I prefer fruity concoctions over chocolate.  It also contains olive oil & is mixed with melted butter rather than the more traditional creaming method, the result is a lovely moist, berry laden cake with a lovely crisp shell if you are lucky enough to get an edge piece.  Also it makes a huge cake, I used a 25cm square tin & it was still quite high so one for the crowds.  Perfect with a nice cup of afternoon tea!

Torta di nada / nada's cake - Jamie Oliver - Jamie's Italy

Serves 10 (very generously)

butter for preparing the cake tin
4 large eggs, at room temperature
270g sugar
180g unsalted butter, melted
115ml extra virgin olive oil
155ml milk
1 vanilla pod, sees removed or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
400g unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tspns baking powder
a good pinch of sea salt
zest of 2 lemons, grated
zest of 2 oranges, grated
600g fresh blueberries or small sweet red grapes such as muscat or fragola

Preheat the oven to 175c.  Generously butter a 25cm cake tine, line the base with greaseproof paper and set aside.  Either by hand or in an electric mixer, beat the eggs and sugar for about 3 minutes until thick & pale yellow, then add the butter, oil, milk & vanilla.  Mix well, then sift in the flour, baking powder & salt. Add the lemon & orange zest & stir with a wooden spoon until thoroughly blended.  Set aside for 10 minutes to allow the flour to absorb the liquid.

Stir about a quarter of the berries into the batter, spoon it into your prepared tin and smooth out the top.  Bake for 15 minutes then remove from the oven, scatter the remaining berries on top & gently push them down.  Return to the oven for another 30-40 minutes until the top is a deep golden brown and the cake feels quite firm.  Put the tin on a rack to cool.  After 10 minutes run a knife along the sides of the pan and turn out your cake.