A light supper of baked eggs

Serves 6

Ingredients

12 large organic eggs, room temperature
6 slices smoked salmon or parma ham
9 tablespoon cream or creme fraiche
2 large leeks, sliced
handful chives, chopped
handful tarragon, chopped
150g grated parmesan
olive oil & butter for cooking
salt & pepper  

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 200ºC.
Heat some oil in a pan, add the leeks, season with salt and pepper and cook until softened. Set aside.
Butter 6 large ramekins or teacups. Add a tablespoon of cream to each along with some leeks, chopped herbs and sliced smoked salmon.
Gently crack two eggs into each ramekin, taking care not to break the yolks. Season.
Add a little more cream, herbs and top with the parmesan.
Place the ramekins in a deep ovenproof tray and pour in boiling water to come half way up the ramekins.
Carefully place the tray in the oven and bake for 15 minutes. When cooked, remove the ramekins and rest for 3-4 minutes.
Serve with thick slices of crusty bread.

If preferred, replace smoked salmon for parma ham and maybe the tarragon for thyme. 

My Mum's deliciously short Easter biscuits

Makes around 18 - 20 biscuits

Ingredients

150g butter
150g caster sugar
10 drops of oil of cassia or
1 level tsp ground cinnamon
2 egg yolks
250g self raising flour
50g custard powder
100g currants
a splash of milk

You will need a large 9 - 10 cm fluted pastry cutter 

Method

Line two baking sheets with greaseproof paper and set aside. Preheat the oven to 160ºC.
In a bowl, cream the butter and sugar until well mixed. Add the oil of cassia here, if you're using it.
Beat in the egg yolks then work in all the sieved dry ingredients followed by the currants. Add a splash of milk if the mixture is still too dry. 
Leave in a cool place for 30 minutes.
On a floured surface, roll out the mixture to about 4mm thick and cut out approximately 18 rounds with the pastry cutter. Place them on the baking sheets with space between them, and bake for about 15 minutes until golden brown.
 

Beef in Guinness with Herb Dumblings

Makes a hearty meal for 4

Ingredients

for the stew:

1kg braising steak, cut into 4cm cubes
2x 440ml cans Guinness
large handful of fresh thyme
2 fresh bay leaves

150g butter
1 tablespoon sunflower oil
6 shallots, peeled & quartered
3 medium carrots, cut into thick rounds
1/2 celeriac, cubed
1 clove garlic
1 heaped tablespoon tomato puree
2 tablespoons flour
600ml beef stock
salt & pepper

for the dumplings:

knob of butter
1 small onion, finely diced
thyme
60g breadcrumbs
100g self raising flour
60g shredded beef suet

Method

Marinate the beef in the Guinness with the thyme and bay leaves for 24 hours. 
The following day, drain the Guinness and set aside. Preheat the oven to 180ºC.
Heat the butter and oil in a large ovenproof casserole, season the meat and brown it on all sides,with the thyme. Do this in two batches to give the meat room in the pan.
Add the shallots, carrots and celeriac and the first batch of meat. Cook gently with the lid on for about 15 minutes. 
Stir in the garlic & tomato puree and cook for a further 5 minutes. Sprinkle over the flour and stir through.
Now pour over the reserved Guinness marinade. Let it cook gently until reduced by a quarter, scraping all the bits from the bottom of the pan.
Add the beef stock and 500ml of water and bring to a simmer. Put the casserole in the oven for around 1 1/2 hours with the lid on.

Meanwhile, make the dumplings.
Fry the onions in a knob of butter with some thyme until softened. Season, and mix with the breadcrumbs, flour and suet.
Bind the mixture with a little water to make a dough. Divide into 8 and roll into balls.
After the initial cooking time, check the seasoning, add the dumplings to the stew and cook for a further 30 - 40 minutes, spooning some of the gravy over the dumplings once or twice.
There you have it! A complete meal in a bowl.

Classic Rhubarb Crumble

Serves 6

Ingredients

for the filling:

800g  rhubarb
150g  caster sugar
3 tablespoons water
   
for the crumble:

350g plain flour
200g butter, cubed
100g caster sugar

Method

Preheat the oven to 180ºC.
Cut the rhubarb into 4cm batons. Place in a 2 litre ovenproof dish and sprinkle over the sugar and water.
Now make the crumble. In a large bowl, rub the butter into the flour. Add the sugar and continue to rub in until you have the texture of coarse breadcrumbs.
Spoon the mixture over the rhubarb and bake for 40-45 minutes, until the top is golden brown.
Serve hot with double cream.

French Onion Soup

Serves 6 - 8

 

Ingredients

2kg large white onions
25g butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 teaspoon sugar
2 tied bunches thyme
300ml dry white wine
2 litres good beef stock, heated
salt & black pepper
2-3 tablespoons Cognac (optional)

16 slices baguette
2 garlic cloves
olive oil
3oog Gruyere cheese, grated

Method

Peel and thinly slice the onions. Place the butter and oil in a large heavy based pan over a high heat. Add half the onions and the garlic. Cook for 5-10 minutes until the volume reduces. Add the remaining onions with the sugar. Cook on a high heat stirring occasionally for 10 minutes. By this time the onions will be wilted and beginning to brown at the edges of the pan. Turn the heat to the lowest setting. Add the thyme and cook uncovered for an hour, turning the onions about every 20 minutes. Don't move the onions around too much. The full intense flavour comes from the slowly browned caramelised onions. After 1 hour you will be left with a rich brown unctuous heap. Turn up the heat and pour over the white wine. 
To deglaze, use a wooden spoon to stir the sticky residue from the bottom of the pan and mix with the onions. Add the beef stock and season. Simmer over a low heat for 30-40 minutes with the lid on. Add the Cognac halfway through. This soup would really benefit from resting overnight. To make the croutons, preheat the oven to 180°C. Halve the garlic cloves and rub them over the baguette slices. Place these on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Cook in the oven for 15-20 minutes until golden brown and crunchy. Set aside. To serve, preheat the grill to high. Ladle the soup into warmed ovenproof soup bowls and top each bowl with two croutons. Sprinkle the Gruyere generously over each crouton. Place the bowls under the grill and heat until the cheese is melted and bubbling. Serve immediately.

Chicken with Wild Mushrooms

serves 4

Ingredients

500ml medium dry cider
4 boneless chicken breasts
A knob of butter
A slug of olive oil
250g smoked bacon lardons
4 medium shallots, diced
2 garlic cloves, diced
A handful of fresh thyme
400g mushrooms
If using wild mushrooms, a mixture of cepes, morelles and chanterelles give a good contrast of texture
Alternatively, a selection of sliced flat, chestnut and small button mushrooms
Salt & black pepper
2 - 3 tablespoon double cream

Method

In a shallow pan, gently simmer the chicken breasts in the cider for 15 - 20 minutes Heat the butter and oil in a large sauté pan. Cook the lardons with the shallots, garlic and thyme over a gentle heat for 5 minutes.
Turn up the heat, add the mushrooms and continue to cook for 3 - 4 minutes, season with salt and black pepper. Remove the chicken breasts from the liquid and keep warm. Add the cider to the mushrooms and cook rapidly for 3 - 4 minutes until the liquid is reduced by half.
Lower the heat, add the cream and simmer for a further 2 minutes. Cut the chicken breasts diagonally into thick slices and arrange on four warmed plates. Spoon over the mushroom mixture and the thickened sauce. Serve with crushed roast potatoes and green beans.

Ultimate Blackberry Muffins

Makes 24 muffins

 

Ingredients

4 large eggs
400g caster sugar
225ml vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
500g plain flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
500ml soured cream
400g blackberries

 

Method

Preheat the oven to 200˚C.
Grease or line, 2x 12 cup muffin tins with muffin cases. In a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar.
Continue beating while slowly adding the oil.
Stir in the vanilla. In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, salt and bicarbonate.
Add the dry ingredients and the soured cream alternately to the egg mixture.
When all the ingredients are mixed, gently fold in the blackberries. Divide the mixture between the prepared muffin cases.

Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.

Mozzarella Salsa Salad

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 150g buffalo mozzarella balls
2 ripe plum tomatoes, finely diced
1 fresh red chilli, de-seeded & finely diced
a handful of pitted black olives, finely dice half
and leave the rest whole
3-4 tbsp of extra virgin oil
the juice & zest of one unwaxed lemon
a large handful of torn basil leaves
1 ciabatta loaf, sliced
1 garlic clove, halved

Method

Tear the mozzarella unevenly & put in a shallow bowl.
In a separate bowl, combine the tomato, chilli, olives, lemon juice & zest, & the olive oil.
Season with black pepper.
Spoon the salsa over the mozzarella & toss the basil leaves on top.
Heat a griddle pan until smoking hot & griddle each side of the ciabatta for a couple of minutes until charred.
Rub each ciabatta with the halved garlic clove & drizzle over a little extra virgin olive oil.
Serve with the mozzarella salsa salad.