Theories about coffee consumption would leave you feeling a little dizzy

In the past this would have been followed with numerous more caffeine hits but I now stick at the one. The theories about coffee consumption would leave you feeling dizzy. One report will tell you it’s full of antioxidants, life enhancing nutrients and will prolong your life. Another will tell you it’s toxic and should be avoided. I’ve cut down on the coffee and cut out reading the theories.

Whatever the health benefits are or aren’t coffee is a great tasting drink and also enhances many dishes. One of the simplest desserts is an affogato, where you pour a hot espresso over a scoop of ice cream. You could add a touch of liqueur to the mix but the heady combination of bitter drink and sweet ice cream is delicious as it is. The iconic coffee dessert is Tiramisu, translated as “pick me up” from the Italian. It’s layers of coffee and liqueur soaked sponge with a sabayon and mascarpone mixture. When made well it’s one of the nicest desserts. In the recipe this week I’ve taken the trifle vibe from the Tiramisu and applied it to a pear based pudding. Coffee and cardamom go really well together and here the pears are roasted with the pods plus cinnamon, ginger and some black pepper. Dark brown sugar and a splash of brandy is added to the mix and they’re roasted in the oven. A coffee cream is made with the dark elixir combined with white chocolate, mascarpone and cream. The whole confection is layers of coffee and liqueur dipped sponge fingers, the pears, the coffee cream, some whipped cream and a final adornment of grated chocolate.

Coffee also works well in savoury dishes. It’s slight bitterness will balance out the sweetness of a barbecue sauce or you can add it to gravies to go with game. The cowboys used to add coffee to the pan they cooked their bacon or steaks in and called it red-eye gravy. In the recipe here coffee is combined with spices and sugar to rub over steak. It gives the beef a good crust and flavours it beautifully. The coffee rub is also used to flavour some parsnips. Parsnips are great at the moment. Buy them with the dirt on, give them a scrub to expose golden skin and cut in half. Boil them until just done then finish in the pan with butter and the coffee rub. The coffee cuts through the sweetness and seasons the vegetable.

In Coffee Week let your imagination run riot and don’t confine the great flavour to a mug.