They may not look like prize winners (Kirsty) but they taste GOOD!
Written by Claire
It takes about 10 days to cure a decent bit of salt beef. Curing salts and spices can be sourced from sausagemaking.org who have an online shop. Add a few juniper berries, cloves and bay leaves for even more flavour. The silverside came for F.L Edge, a great butchers shop in East Harling. Ok, it is in Norfolk, but only just. This piece will be ready for my daughters 21st birthday party on Dec 17th.
And jolly nice it was too.
I have always wanted an ice cream maker but I thought they were far too expensive for me at about £250 plus, but I had a look at Lakeland, the 'home of creative kitchenware' where I saw a Cuisinart one for £69.99 and decided to buy it. You just have to freeze the bowl overnight but that didn't seem too difficult to me. Thirty minutes later you have a litre of the most fab ice cream. They say 'it's noisy' - but I say 'don't stand in the kitchen then...' I have made two lots - mulberry, and rum and raisin, and I am going to have to put it away now because if I don't I'm going to need to buy their Fat Trapper as well.
Life is hectic and yesterday when I was exhausted from gardening I had a sudden urge to go inside and make drop scones. I just love that moment when the batter creates bubbles as it cooks. I think if they could talk they would be saying "turn me over now". Here is the recipe:
A day back at school for me, doing a Caribbean cookery session. Five lessons, eighty-five children, loud reggae and chicken with rice and peas.
Granola - a toasted muesli, nice with fresh fruit and yoghurt for a vegetarian breakfast, this is a very adaptable recipe using any grains, seeds and nuts that you fancy.
Ingredients
- 12 oz / 300g rolled oats, wheat flakes, rolled barley or any other rolled grains
- 4oz / 100g chopped hazelnuts, pecans, almonds or any other nuts
- 2oz/50g pumpkin, flax, sunflower seeds or seeds of your choice
- 2oz/50g desiccated coconut
- 4 fl oz Hill Farm rapeseed oil or sunflower oil
- 4 fl oz Suffolk honey
- 6oz/150g raisins or sultanas
Method
Preheat the oven to 130c/Gas 2 ( a cool setting)
Place the rolled oats in a bowl and mix in the nuts, seeds and coconut. ( not the raisins yet!) Stir well.
Warm the honey and oil together in a small pan and pour onto the dry mixture.
Coat all the nuts, oats, seeds etc in the honey and oil.
Spread the mixture onto a baking tin and place in the oven for 40 mins. You will need to move the granola around a little from time to time to ensure that it crisps all over.
Remove from the oven and mix in the raisins. Leave to cool and store in an airtight container. where it will keep for several weeks.
If I presented sweet potato soup and fennel quiche and then ripped open my shirt to show off my Masterchef tattoo would I stay in the competition?
Vanilla and Orange Mascarpone Cheesecake with Rhubarb Compote
Written by Claire
Vanilla, Orange and Mascarpone Cheesecake
Makes a 7in/18cm cheesecake to serve 8
For the base
- 50g/2oz butter
- 175g/7oz digestive biscuits
- Half a tablespoon honey
Melt the butter and honey over a very low heat.
Crush the digestive biscuits and stir into the melted butter until well mixed.
Press the rubble-like mixture in a loose bottomed 7in/18cm tin and place in the fridge to chill.
For the cheesecake topping
- 200g/8oz cream cheese
- 200g/8oz mascarpone
- 75g/3oz caster sugar
- Rind and juice of 1 orange
- 200ml/8floz double cream ( whipped into soft peaks)
- 1 vanilla pod or a drop of vanilla essence
Beat the cream cheese, mascarpone, sugar, orange rind and juice together in a bowl.
Fold in the whipped cream and the seeds scraped from the vanilla pod. Mix well.
Spread the cheesecake mixture onto the biscuit base and chill.
Serve with the Roasted Rhubarb and Orange compote.
This recipe can be easily adapted - if you add lime or lemon to the mixture instead of orange, and it can be served in summer with a raspberry coulis.
Roasted rhubarb and orange compote
- 700g/1.5lb rhubarb
- 150g/5oz caster sugar
- Juice and zest of one orange
Wash and chop the rhubarb into 2in/5cm lengths and place in an ovenproof dish with the sugar, orange zest and juice.
Bake in a preheated oven 375F/190C Gas 5 for about 25 minutes or until soft. Stir gently to release the juices, trying not to lose the shape of the rhubarb. Cool and serve.
Wholemeal crunchy ginger shortbread - a shortbread type ginger biscuit to bake in a tray and that I couldn't resist with my cup of tea today. The wholemeal flour makes it healthy doesn't it?
More...
We used our Pakenham flour to make ginger crunch - and they are so delicious. If, like HRH, you want to pay the water mill a visit, they have workshops and open days and their own tea -room, and someone has been milling there for a thousand years! www.pakenhamwatermill.co.uk
...and they are on our Spring Recipe pages.
Crespolini - pancakes stuffed with spinach and ricotta
Written by Claire
Crespolini
(Italian Spinach and Ricotta stuffed, vegetarian pancakes)
Make up a batch of pancakes, either plain or Buckwheat, using the pancake batter recipe
For the filling:
- 500g/1lb ( raw weight) of spinach leaves
- 500g/ 1lb Ricotta cheese
- Salt and pepper to taste
Steam the spinach until tender (microwaving in a cling filmed container works very well for spinach, don’t add water)
Drain any excess liquid from the spinach and add the Ricotta cheese, salt and pepper to taste, mix well.
Divide the mixture between the cooked pancakes and roll up. Place the pancakes in a single layer in an ovenproof dish.
For the Béchamel sauce
- 600ml/1.5 pints milk
- 1 onion
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 cloves
- 6 black peppercorns
- 50g/2oz butter
- 50g/2oz plain flour
- Pinch grated nutmeg (optional)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 100g/4oz Parmesan Cheese
(for those of you in a real hurry, forget the onion, cloves, bay leaf and peppercorns and just go ahead making the sauce with the butter, flour and milk)
Impale the onion with the cloves and place in a saucepan with the bay leaves, peppercorns and milk.
Bring to a simmer and then leave to stand
Melt the butter in a pan and stir in the flour, cook over a low heat for a couple of minutes
Strain the milk into the flour and butter and stir well (a whisk is best to avoid lumps)
Cook for a few minutes and add the grated nutmeg if using.
Pour the sauce over the pancakes and sprinkle over the Parmesan cheese.
Bake in a preheated oven 190C/380C Gas 4 for 30 – 40 minutes, or microwave, and grill the top.
Flippin' good pancakes for breakfast this morning. We ate them simply with a squeeze of lemon and a sprinling of suger. Pancake batter recipe here.