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here they are, double egg washed, edged
and sprinkled, ready to bake or chill if you prefer
note the “dessert fork” edging
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fresh from the oven!
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bagged and tagged – you can give them away
if you want to show off – or may be keep and eat?
It's good to have recipes up your sleeve for a rainy day – you can never have enough!
This recipe might be a tad late for the holidays – I include it because these dainties really are yummy - perfect for a snack or part of a “picky bits” supper any time!
Three Cheese dainties
100g mature Cheddar, 75g Red Leicester
and 75g Gruyere, grated
1 large onion, finely chopped
drop of rapeseed oil
2 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley
celery salt and black pepper
1tbsp of Dijon mustard
1 x 320g puff pastry sheet
1 egg, beaten
1 tbsp Nigella seeds
Pre-heat oven 180fan/200c/Gas 6
Use a medium sized saucepan, heat the oil and then add the onion and sweat on a low heat for 5 minutes until softened. This element can be prepped ahead, cooled, boxed and fridged until required.
Unroll your pastry sheet on a board or work surface – don't remove the pastry from the paper liner – it's perfect for your baking sheet for cutting out, filling and then lifting on to your tray and baking. No mess! The sheet will give you 15 circles using an 8cms/3” cutter. You may need to re-roll the pastry for the final 3.
Add the cheeses, seasoning, mustard and parsley to the onion. Place a teaspoon of filling in the centre of each circle, edge half the circle with the beaten egg, then fold to create your dainty, use a dessert fork to edge the dainty then egg wash. Use two teaspoons to form the filling, it helps to keep it firm and easy to place. Make a mental note where you begin to egg wash, leave for a couple of minutes, then repeat. Place the tray of dainties in the fridge until required.
Sprinkle with Nigella seeds and then bake for 20 minutes – check after 15, until golden brown.
A word of warning … it's very difficult not to consume these when taken out of the oven – you might want to plan another batch!
If you want to make ahead, having double egg washed and fridged, you can then freeze them on the tray until frozen and then bag, ready for when required. At least that way you won't be able to eat them all!
Here's a photo or three ...
I was able to get preserving sugar, which was
a surprise
dice the red onion as finely as you can manage
it makes for a more refined texture – if that makes
any sort of sense!
I used good quality cranberries – the American variety
if you can get them – plumptious
Here's the finished relish – delish
A choice of jars – those mentioned above
and a small kilner jar
Perfect with the cheese scones or with Christmas turkey, ham or a little of the veggie roast for a fab sandwich later in the day or Christmas supper – if you've any room left! Personally I always prefer the sandwich and there's very little washing up.
Enjoy!
I think I prefer a relish to a chutney – I like the combination of fruit and a vegetable, letting the remainder of the ingredients do their thing. The other huge plus is that it doesn't take long. A chutney is fruit with additional spices and aromatics – usually taking at least an hour to cook and you have to live with the aroma in your kitchen for quite a while.
Here goes :
Cranberry and red onion relish
300g dried cranberries
3 medium red onions, finely diced
3 tbsp olive oil
7 fl oz of Balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp of preserving sugar
celery salt and black pepper
6 jars – my discovered stash, they
are 7 sided and measure 5cms/1¾” in diameter
x 7cms/2¾” high
Sweat the onion in the olive oil. Add the cranberries, vinegar and sugar and simmer gently for 25/30 minutes until sticky and reduced, season with celery salt and black pepper.
This recipe will give you 780g of relish – I filled seven jars as per the photos that follow.
If you can't get hold the preserving sugar you can use granulated.
Easy peasy!
Here come the festive fotos ...
The Chowder originates from long journeys by ship – they used ingredients that would survive and the soup was thickened with hardtack. Hardtack we know as a “ships biscuit” - it was inexpensive and long lasting – perfect for long sea voyages. It arrived in North America from England and France. Probably the most famous version, certainly in the USA, is clam chowder but there are many variations. It is principally a soup with cream or milk, although you can use stock, adding potatoes, sweetcorn and other veggies or add fish and seafood if that's your bag. I suppose you have to like sweetcorn but, by its nature, it's quite popular with the kids.
Here's my version :
Sweetcorn Chowder
Serves 2 large or 4 smaller portions
300g/10½oz Charlotte potatoes, peeled and finely diced
1 medium carrot, finely diced
1 medium onion, finely diced
90g/3½oz Two small red sweet baby peppers, finely diced
50g/2oz of unsalted butter
175g/6oz sweetcorn or two cobs, stripped
1 tbsp plain flour
2 pints of milk – I use semi-skimmed
(568ml or 1.2 litres)
celery salt and pepper – white or black
chopped flat leaf parsley to sprinkle
Sweat the carrot, onion and peppers gently in the butter for 10 minutes, covered. Add the flour and the celery salt and pepper of your choice. Add the milk gradually – I use a whisk - this will prevent lumps. Add the diced potato and sweetcorn and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring frequently. Taste and adjust the seasoning to suit. Check the thickness of the soup – if it's not thick enough, again to suit you, blend a ladle or two and add it back to enrich.
You don't have to use celery salt, you can use sea salt if you prefer. I love the extra oomph it gives – a fab flavour, especially in soups. I also mention a choice of white or black pepper – it's entirely a matter of choice, either is fine. If you're not fond of black flecks from black pepper then white is right!
Coming up … the Chowder bits and pieces
What about a Cheese and Onion Muffin Loaf – a thick slice, toasted – topped with a poached egg and then the world really is your lobster – bacon on the side – sausage too. For a veggie idea mushrooms are always a winner with me!
Cheese and Onion Muffin Loaf
170ml vegetable oil
1 large egg
284ml buttermilk
70ml milk
500g self raising flour
1 tsp English mustard powder
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1 tsp salt
150 mature cheddar cheese, grated
bunch of spring onions – or 6 if you want to be precise
200g Crumbly Lancashire cheese, crumbled
or Lancashire Tasty if you can get hold of it
Kit required
You have a choice – one x 900g loaf tin for one loaf
or
two x 450g for two loaves
You can either grease your tin with oil and then
line with baking paper overlapping so that it's easy
to remove
or
You can use cake liners instead
Pre-heat your oven 160fan/180c/Gas 4.
Mix together the wet ingredients – vegetable oil, egg, buttermilk and milk – ideally in a large jug.
Mix together the dry ingredients in a large bowl – flour, mustard powder, cayenne and salt and then add the grated cheddar (reserve a handful to sprinkle over the top of the loaves) and spring onions.
Add the wet to the dry together with the Crumbly Lancashire taking care not to overwork the mixture – divide into the two loaf tins and top with the reserved grated cheddar. Bake for 65/70 minutes until golden on the top. Push a skewer through the middle – it should be clean when removed. You can cover with foil once golden. Leave to cool for 15 minutes and then remove from the tins and place on a wire rack to cool completely.
Hold that thought ...
Editor's note: I am extremely privileged and honoured to have sampled this recipe, and do brag about that given the chance - for those who aren't so lucky I implore you to try the Asian spiced salmon. Now more than ever, the post title rings true as some of us in limbo - "Mostly working from home" - to "Why was I dragged into an office, it could have been an email" - this is a fantastic, tasty and above all fast idea for an evening meal!
Fast food for the working week …
Here are three ideas for your protein choice. First is a recipe I've used gazillions of times – it's just as good hot or cold.
Asian Spiced Salmon
Serves 2
2 x 4oz Salmon fillets
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp powdered star anise or one star anise
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
Mix together the marinade and - using an ovenproof dish – pour it over the salmon fillets, turning to coat thoroughly, cover and leave in fridge for an hour or so.
Bake in a pre-heated oven 160fan/180c/Gas 4 for 15 minutes.
If you're using whole star anise then remove before serving. The salmon has a charred look when cooked which is aromatic and delicious with the raw slaw and particularly with the pomegranate dressing.
For a chicken option :
Miso Maple Glazed Chicken
Serves 4
4 chicken breasts
1 tbsp baking powder*
4 fl oz/½ cup maple syrup*
2 fl oz/¼ cup white miso paste*
Mix * together, add the chicken breasts and
marinate for 24 hrs
Sprinkle with chopped spring onions
Bake in a pre-heated oven 180 fan/200c/Gas 6
for 35 minutes
Takes no time at all and, if you marinate the chicken in a foil tray, it can go straight from the fridge, into the oven – no washing up!
Now for the vegetarian option – that old faithful halloumi – cubed, coated in a seasoning and sealed in a drop of rapeseed oil in a non-stick frying pan. I know I've mentioned this recipe recently but it is excellent and tasty with the slaw together with a dressing of your choice!
250g Halloumi cheese
50g plain flour
1 tbsp seasoning of your choice
check out Halloumi Seasonings and dips to
go with 3rd March 2018 or a ready made option!
Definitely food for thought!
Editor's note: You really can't beat beetroot. I do struggle for ideas with it though, I only seem to eat it on a sandwich or having a jacket potato. Hurrah! - An idea from the archives gives me inspiration - frittata with beetroot relish! You will find the recipe for the relish and the serving suggestion below - Enjoy!
Bazzin' beetroot relish
I'm continuing with “bazzin'” since the relish is just that. It's definitely a relish and not a chutney since it contains vegetables and fruit - chutney is made from fruit and additional spices et al.
It may not be the most sophisticated relish but then it doesn't mean to be – it's your own and really quick and easy to make.
Bazzin' beetroot relish
300g vac pack of organic cooked beetroot
drained and cut into small cubes
1 sharp eating apple, peeled, cored and cut
into small cubes
1 medium onion, finely chopped
75g soft dark brown sugar
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and black pepper
Don't forget to use gloves when prepping your beetroot!
Mix well and place all the ingredients in a medium saucepan – 16cms in diameter. Simmer on a low heat, uncovered, for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally until all the liquid has been absorbed.
Take the pan off the heat and allow to cool. Box up and fridge until ready to use.
This is an important element of my burger construction – I sampled the relish with supper – I should not be saying it was bazzin' but, in the interests of quality control, someone has to do the job and it was!
What I loved about this recipe is its usefulness – anywhere you want a relish it fits the bill - as a side with baked salmon or honey glazed gammon to plain and simple with bread and cheese.
Finally here's the supper with the frittata sat on sautéed veggies and topped with the bazzin' beetroot relish. Give it a go, you won't be sorry!
Editor's note: Once more I refer you to "a picture paints a thousand words", skip ahead to the serving suggestion for enjoying your versatile sauce. Don't forget to skip back for more hints and tips on how best to prepare and make use of the sauce. Can't say fairer than that!
More about the sauce
The curry sauce takes more time than I'd advocate during your MTM stuff – it'll take an hour and all I can say is you won't regret it. You need to bear in mind that you can't walk away, the sauce needs your stirring attention. I sat at my hob with paperwork long overdue – you could equally do food prep that's on your list – any job that doesn't take you away – use your timer! It's still multitasking just in a different way.
The sauce freezes well and I'd suggest you might want to do so in portions that you know will suit you best. Remember, you can always take out more than one portion, infinitely better than wasting part of a larger box.
Here's what I did with my fridged curry sauce. I tipped it into a medium saucepan and warmed it through. I added 160ml of coconut cream and stirred until thoroughly absorbed. You'll have a curry sauce that is thick and delicious.
The list of uses for this sauce is endless, from leftover meat and poultry to veggies too. You can make the sauce vegetarian by using vegetable stock instead of chicken, if that's your bag.
A chicken curry and the photos are up next but before I go I have not forgotten that I mentioned two LSG sauces – a tomato sauce is another valuable asset, this time perfect for Mediterranean flavours and recipes.
Editor's further note: Check these photos out for a fab serving suggestion!
Editor's note: You can't beat a good sauce. Doubly so if that sauce is a make-it-yourself take on a classic - chip shop curry sauce! I get pangs for the chippy but these days the good ones are hard to find in some places, and even then only open every second Monday after Whitsun. What could be better than taking a bit of time having a go at this and adding it to one of your staples - chicken, fish or pork. Should take care of the takeaway cravings and guaranteed to impress!
Lip Smackingly Good (LSG) Sauces
Before we carry on with the remaining working week suppers I think the time is right for two more LSG sauces.
I do love a useful sauce, especially one that can be used in different ways. The following is a curry sauce – in particular meant to resemble what I'd call a “chip shop curry”. To explain, the chip shop curry is not as strong as traditional curries. For those who eat curries, to give you an idea of “heat” and “spice” I'd say it's not as hot and spicy as a rendang and not as mild as a korma, so middle for diddle, suitable for everyone.
Here's the recipe :
Curry Sauce
50g unsalted butter
2 large onions, finely sliced and chopped
1 tsp of ginger paste
4 roasted garlic cloves
3 tbsp mild curry powder
3 tbsp malt vinegar
½ tsp star anise powder
500ml of the slow cooked star anise chicken stock
2 tbsp slaked cornflour
2 tbsp lemon juice
160ml coconut cream
Using a large saucepan melt the butter and add the onions, garlic and ginger. Fry gently until soft – about 15 minutes, make sure there's no colour. Add the curry powder, star anise powder and vinegar, fry for another minute. Add the chicken stock, bring to the boil and simmer gently for 25 minutes, stir occasionally, you don't want it to stick.
Add two tbsp of water to the cornflour, mix and pour into the sauce. Simmer for another 5 minutes, stir until you've got a silky, thickened sauce. Blitz with a hand blender until smooth, add the lemon juice.
At this point, decant into boxes. You will get approximately 630g of curry sauce and I divided between two. I froze one box and fridged the other.
I was using one for this evenings meal.
Hold that thought ...
Editor's note: There's a few times when I've been selecting my personal highlights that I've been taken aback by how good the photos look (not biased of course!) but this one definitely falls into that category. DIY bread is obviously still big following the lockdown boon, but this post was originally from 2015 so a little ahead of that curve. Why not give it a go - what's not to love about cheese bread!
The alternative lunch
As with most of my posts, nothing is set in stone - if I trigger an idea of your own or inspire you to tweak, then my work here is done. The following menu could be taken as a vegetarian alternative or, give you choices that you may like to include as part of your own lunch.
Bread and Butter or
Cheese & Pecan Loaf with Butter
The Pie
Roasties
Maple glazed beetroot
Stir fried sprouts
Judy's Jars
I promised in the post The Method in my Madness – The Creaking Table that the Cheese & Pecan Loaf was on its way, here it is – have a glance at the photos – scrummy. Who doesn't like bread and butter – if you wanted to you could serve the bread and butter with the winter coleslaw – add cheesey, nutty and crunchy to the scrummy – you could even kid yourself it's healthy – NOT!
The Pie ticks the vegetarian box if you need to cater, alternatively you could serve it as part of your turkey roast – just add a sprout or six!
The roasties can be made ahead and frozen. I've always used Nigella's roast potato recipe and on the basis if it ain't broke I have no intention of fixing it.
Maple glazed beetroot – sweet and colourful.
Stir fried sprouts – sprouts are like Marmite you either love 'em or hate 'em. This suggestion would firmly squash the idea that contrary to popular belief they do not need to be cooking on the hob in October to serve on Christmas Day!
Judy's Jars is my bit of fun – created for my friend's birthday in December, it's a sharing pud – there's nothing quite like a fight to get to the last crumb!
Cheese & Pecan loaf
60g Parmesan cheese, grated
350g plain flour
1 tbsp baking powder
pinch cayenne pepper
125g mature cheddar cheese, cut
into small cubes
60g chopped pecan nuts (or walnuts
if preferred)
4 spring onions, trimmed and chopped
250ml full fat milk
1 large egg
170ml tub of sour cream
salt and black pepper
900g (2lb) loaf tin, well buttered and
lined
Pre-heat your oven 180c/160fan/Gas 4
Sprinkle half the grated Parmesan cheese into the loaf tin to coat the base and sides.
Mix the flour, baking powder, cayenne pepper, 1 tsp salt and lots of black pepper into a large bowl. Mix in the cheddar cubes, nuts and spring onions.
In a separate bowl whisk the milk, egg and cream together then fold into the dry ingredients.
Spoon in the loaf tin, smooth the top and sprinkle with the remaining grated Parmesan cheese.
Bake for 50/55 minutes until golden brown – skewer test i.e. insert skewer into loaf, on removal should be clean. Cool in the tin for 5 minutes, turn out and transfer to a rack to cool.
Serve warm with lots of butter.
I shouldn't be blowing my own trumpet but having a savoury tooth rather than a sweet one, this is my kinda food.
You can freeze this – defrost thoroughly before you want to use it – slice thickly, wrap in foil and pop into a warm oven for ten minutes before serving.
It's easy but I would suggest that you do your mise en place – in other words, weigh out all the ingredients, ahead, it's just a bit time consuming so if all the boring stuff is done you don't even notice.
here they are, double egg washed, edged
and sprinkled, ready to bake or chill if you prefer
note the “dessert fork” edging
fresh from the oven!
bagged and tagged – ready for the Christmas
Box
The final packaging ...
This is the latest of my cheese and onion variations on a theme and perfect for a snack or part of a “picky bits” supper during the festive season and the last recipe in this Brown paper packages … Christmas Box series.
3 Cheese dainties
100g mature Cheddar, 75g Red Leicester
and 75g Gruyere, grated
1 large onion, finely chopped
drop of rapeseed oil
2 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley
celery salt and black pepper
1tbsp of Dijon mustard
1 x 320g puff pastry sheet
1 egg, beaten
1 tbsp Nigella seeds
Pre-heat oven 180fan/200c/Gas 6
Use a medium sized saucepan, heat the oil and then add the onion and sweat on a low heat for 5 minutes until softened. This element can be prepped ahead, cooled, boxed and fridged until required.
Unroll your pastry sheet on a board or work surface – don't remove the pastry from the paper liner – it's perfect for your baking sheet for cutting out, filling and then lifting on to your tray and baking. No mess! The sheet will give you 15 circles using an 8cms/3” cutter. You may need to re-roll the pastry for the final 3.
Add the cheeses, seasoning, mustard and parsley to the onion. Place a teaspoon of filling in the centre of each circle, edge half the circle with the beaten egg, then fold to create your dainty, use a dessert fork to edge the dainty then egg wash. Use two teaspoons to form the filling, it helps to keep it firm and easy to place. Make a mental note where you begin to egg wash, leave for a couple of minutes, then repeat. Place the tray of dainties in the fridge until required.
Sprinkle with Nigella seeds and then bake for 20 minutes – check after 15, until golden brown.
A word of warning … it's very difficult not to consume these when taken out of the oven – you might want to plan another batch!
If you want to make ahead, having double egg washed and fridged, you can then freeze them on the tray until frozen and then bag, ready for when required. At least that way you won't be able to eat them all!
Here's a photo or two …
