Home-made Piccalilli

The start of Christmas :)

6 lb Vegetables cut into chunks

Cucumber, Marrow (no skin or seeds), Cauliflower, Small Onions, courgettes (no skin), carrots

6 pints water to 6 tbsp Salt

2 pint white vinegar

4 tsp mustard

4 tsp ginger 

8 tbsp Plain Flour

2 tsp turmeric

1.     Leave vegetables to soak overnight > 18-24 hours in salted water

2.     Mix mustard, ginger and some vinegar to smooth paste

3.     Rinse vegetables and place in large pan with paste and most of the remaining vinegar

4.     Mix flour, turmeric and remaining vinegar to smooth paste

5.     Bring vegetables to the boil and add flour paste mix

6.     Boil until sauce thickens (about 5-8 minutes)

7.     Place in clean jars

Beef Pastitsio

This is a Greek version of lasagna so made 1/2 of this for 3 of us with a Greek salad - would use cheddar next time and maybe add a touch of worcester sauce

360 g pasta shapes - I used spirals
500 g lean mince
1 onion chopped
1 courgette chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
1 cal or olive oil for frying if needed
Jar Pasta Sauce
2 pkt Cheese Sauce Mix (make up with 1 pint milk)
tsp cinnamon
tbsp mixed herbs
2 tbsp red wine
150 g grated cheese - I used mozzarella

Oven Gas 4 Fan 160
Put pasta on to boil till al dente
Add herbs, salt & pepper to mince and fry till brown, drain and set aside
Fry onion, garlic, courgette and cinnamon till slightly brown
Add back mince, wine and pasta sauce and mix well
Make up cheese sauce
Drain pasta and mix with 1/3 of the sauce, place in a dish
Top with mince mixture and press down well
Layer rest of sauce on top and sprinkle with cheese and a pinch of paprika
Cook in the oven for 20-25 minutes

Coq A la Biere

I used Becks beer and cooked in a slow cooker for 6 hours - If I cook in the slow cooker again I would add the mushrooms about an hour before serving as they went quite soft.

Flour or thickener

4 skinless chicken breasts, cut into 6 or 8 pieces

Oil to fry

1 onion, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

340 g white button mushrooms, halved

1 bottle 341 ml lager beer

2 cups (500 ml) chicken broth

3 tsps Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon (5 ml) dried thyme

1 bay leaf

Salt and pepper

1.     Preheat the oven to 190 °C (375 °F). Brown the chicken in half the oil. Remove and set aside. In the same pan, sauté the vegetables in the remaining oil.

2.     Deglaze with the beer over high heat. Add the remaining ingredients. Return the chicken to the pan. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to boil and bake uncovered for about 1 hour. Thicken if sauce is too thin. Serve with rice, mash or jacket potatoes.

Rhubarb Jam

I used up 4 sticks of Rhubarb from the garden and adjusted amounts from this recipe as the rhubarb weighed about 8oz and made just over 1 jar. I did use the whole juice from 1 orange and probably boiled for about 20 minutes to get a nice jam.

Makes 5 x 340g jars:

1kg (2lb 2oz) rhubarb (untrimmed weight)

900g jam sugar with added pectin

100ml freshly squeezed Seville or sweet orange juice

pinch of red food colouring

Wipe and trim the rhubarb and cut into 2–2.5cm chunks. Pour a layer of sugar into the bottom of a preserving pan, then add a layer of rhubarb. Repeat, continuing until all the sugar and rhubarb are used, finishing with a layer of sugar. Pour the orange juice over the top.

Cover and leave for at least an hour or two – preferably overnight. This draws the juice from the rhubarb and keeps it moist.

Gently bring the mixture to the boil, stirring carefully and boil rapidly for 5–6 minutes, then test for setting point. Remove from the heat and rest for 5 minutes before pouring into warm, sterilised jars.

Seal immediately, use within 12 months.

Greek Yogurt Scones

Ready to eat in 15 minutes - makes 12 so I just did half the amount

2 cups (300g) plain flour

2 teaspoons sugar

3 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup (250g) sweetened Greek yoghurt + extra to serve

½ cup (125ml) milk

Preheat oven to 200°C/180°C fan / Gas 6. 

Line a rimmed baking tray with baking paper. 

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. 

Add the yoghurt and the milk and stir with a wooden spoon until dough comes together.

Transfer to a lightly floured bench. 

Knead a few times, until dough is smooth (it will be fairly sticky).

Shape into 12 scones and place on the baking tray. 

Bake 15 minutes or until golden brown. 

Serve warm with a dollop of yoghurt and jam, honey or berry compote.

River Cottage Blackberry soaked cake

The recipe said you will think there is too much sauce and by golly there was :)
I thickened some with arrowroot and used as a glaze with fresh blackberries on top

125 g butter, softened, plus extra for greasing          

100 g caster sugar

2 large free-range eggs

200 self-raising flour

A splash of milk (no more than 50ml)

For the blackberry syrup:

500 g blackberries

A good squeeze of lemon juice

25–50g caster sugar

Preheat the oven to 180oC/Gas 4. Butter a suitable dish.

Beat the butter and sugar together for several minutes until very light and fluffy, ideally in a mixer or with a handheld electric whisk.

Beat in the eggs, one at a time, adding a spoonful of the flour with each if the mixture looks like it is splitting.

Add the rest of the flour and fold in lightly with a large metal spoon, adding a splash of milk towards the end to obtain a good dropping consistency.

Spread the mixture in the prepared dish. Bake for about 25 minutes until golden; a skewer inserted into the centre should come out clean.

Meanwhile, put the blackberries in a saucepan with the lemon juice and 2–3 tablespoons water and 25g of the sugar.

Bring to a simmer and cook gently for about 5 minutes until the fruit is soft and has released lots of juice. Tip into a sieve over a bowl and stir and press the blackberries to extract as much juice as possible.

Taste: it should be lightly sweetened but with a pleasant tartness (as the sponge is also sweet). Add more sugar only if needed. As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, make lots of deep holes all over the surface with a fine skewer.

Carefully pour on the blackberry syrup, covering the whole cake and letting it seep down the sides.

It may seem too much syrup but don’t worry – it will all be soaked up!

Leave for at least 20 minutes to allow the juices to seep in.

You can serve the cake while it’s still warm, or wait until it is cold. 

Homemade Tomato Soup

I will add some milk or yogurt when I serve to make it more creamy.

1 lb ripe tomatoes chopped
1 onion
1 carrot
1 celery stick
1 pint vegetable stock
2 tsp Basil
Salt & Pepper

1. Fry the onion, carrot and celery
2. Add the tomatoes
3. Cook for a few minutes then add stock salt, pepper and basil - season to your taste
4. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes until everything is tender
5. Allow to cool and liquidize in batches

Makes enough for 2-3 servings