Buttered Swede with Bacon

Rich, orange fleshed swede has an amazing nutty, fresh taste that is just the thing with roasted meats.

This was always a popular vegetable dish at The Whitewell Hotel, Lodge Hill Estate, and Kimber Cottage.

we mainly served it with roast lamb or beef but we think this dish goes really well with roast turkey and often have it with roast pheasant and pigeon.

Sometimes we substitute the bacon with thinly sliced salami, pepperoni, or chorizo and grill until crisp just like the bacon.

I especially like it served as a light lunch or supper, served with a softly poached duck egg on top.

Serves / Makes:         6 servings

Prep-Time:                 12 minutes

Cook-Time:                20 minutes

You Will Need

1 medium sized swede

4 rashers, streaky bacon, you could use smoked and when we have it we use American bacon or pancetta

50 grams, butter

1 bunch fresh chives or spring onions, these are optional

Sea salt flakes and coarsely ground or cracked black pepper

Method

Peel the swede and cut into large dice, to small and they will absorb too much water put into a pan of lightly salted boiling water and cook, uncovered, until very tender about 20 minutes.

At the same time as the swede is cooking grill or fry the bacon until very crisp leave to cool a little then chop quite roughly.

Snip the chives or if using spring onions finely chop them drain the swede and mash with the butter, any fat from the bacon, and pepper until almost smooth Serve and Enjoy with the crispy bacon and chives or spring onions scattered on top.

Notes

Bigger than the turnip and with a rough skin that is partly tan and partly purple, the Swede’s dull exterior gives the lie to its fine texture and distinctive, sweet tasting flesh.

In Scotland, the swede is famous as neeps and is served mashed alongside The Haggis as part of the traditional supper on Burns Night and in America, they are known as Rutabaga.

John & Maureen Glen Tags: food, recipe, vegetables, swede, turnip, neeps, bacon, rutabaga, Burns Night

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Mango Ice Cream

This sumptuous tropical fruit makes a refreshing ice cream and when served with tequila sauce is simply outstanding

When I posted on Facebook that I was making a mango ice cream there were a few comments about having some to taste, so I thought I would post the recipe on the blog. making ice cream is very simple even without a machine but as ice cream machines are becoming so affordable now surly it must be better to make your own and get the children involved they will love it.

One of the most fun and cheapest machines is available from Amazon and is the Pink Ice Cream Ball and the best recipe book is Ice Cream Made Easy

Anyway back to the recipe for mango ice cream, This was a popular ice cream when we made it at “Norwood West” especially when we served it with a tequila sauce, I can remember Roger Moore with this ice cream He frequently had a second helping.

I will always remember the first time my mother had a mango it was when we were at Lodge Hill Estate working for Mr. Finken. We had been to the market in Aylesbury and bought some Alphonse mangos when we got back home mother said she would try one and the look on her face as she ate it was a picture as was the sight of sweet mango juice running down her face, didn’t get a picture though.

Serves / Makes:    6 servings, Prep-Time: 15 minutes, Cook-Time:  2 to 3 hours or 40 minutes in a machine

You Will Need;

1. 2 large, ripe mangoes2 tablespoons, fresh lime juice
2. ¼ cup, corn syrup, you can buy this at Sainsbury’s, Ocado, Waitrose, and Partridges in London or substitute it with golden syrup for this recipe on Saturday we used golden syrup
3. ¼ teaspoon, salt
4. ¾ cup, caster sugar
5. 2, large egg yolks
   1 cup, milk
6. 1 cup, double cream
7. 1 tablespoon, cornflour

Method;
Peel the mangoes and cut away as much flesh from the stones as you can blend the chopped mangoes, limejuice, corn syrup and salt in a food processor, blend until smooth, stopping the machine to scrape down the sides once or twice.
Pour the purée through a strainer to remove any fibrous bits of mango, you should be left with about 1 ¾ cups of purée, set to one side. In a medium bowl, beat the sugar into the egg yolks until thickened and pale yellow beat in the cornflour and set aside. Bring the milk to a simmer in a heavy, medium saucepan and slowly beat the hot milk into the eggs and sugar.
Pour the mixture back into the pan and place over a low heat and stirring constantly with a wooden spoon cook until the custard thickens slightly (Be careful not to let it boil or the eggs will scramble).
Remove from the heat and pour the custard through a strainer into a large, clean bowl, let the custard cool slightly, then stir in the mango purée and double cream, cover and leave in the fridge until cold, we leave it overnight. Stir the chilled custard, and then freeze in one or two batches in your ice cream machine according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Garnish if you want with a handful of mint sprigs as garnish Serve and Enjoy!

Notes:

When finished, the ice cream will be soft for a firmer ice cream, transfer to a container and freeze for at least 2 hours. Now here come the cheats for those who don’t want to make a custard buy a carton of fresh custard from the supermarket, don’t use tinned as it contains too many additives

Technorati Tags: Recipes,Cooking,Desserts,Puddings,Sweets,Ice Cream,Mango,Norwood West,Palm Springs,Roger Moore,Tequila,Ice Cream Machine

Chicken and Asparagus with Gruyere Cheese

For this delightful dish, boneless chicken breast and asparagus are coated in a sumptuous white wine sauce with a abundant measure of melted Gruyère cheese, tarragon and lemon give a boost to a mouth-watering flavour that is just right with asparagus.

Serves / Makes: Four

Prep-Time: 5 minutes

Cook-Time: 30 minutes

The Glens Tags: Chicken Recipes, Asparagus, Gruyère, Easy

You Will Need;

• 8 ounces asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2/3 cup, chicken stock
• 2 teaspoons plus ¼ cup plain flour, divided
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (1-1 ¼ pounds), trimmed
• ¼ teaspoon, salt
• ½ teaspoon, freshly ground white pepper
• 1 tablespoon, olive oil
• 1 shallot, thinly sliced
• ½ cup white wine
• 1/3 cup low fat sour cream
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 2/3 cup grated Gruyère cheese

Method:

1. Cook the asparagus in boiling water until just tender, remove from the heat drain, and set to one side.
2. Whisk the stock and 2 teaspoons of the flour in a small bowl until smooth, set aside.
3. Place the remaining ¼ cup of flour in a shallow dish, sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper, and dredge both sides in the flour, shaking off any excess.
4. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat; add the chicken and cook until golden brown, about 3 to 4 minutes each side, adjusting the heat as needed to prevent scorching.
5. Transfer to a plate and cover to keep warm.
6. Add the shallots, wine and the reserved stock mixture to the pan and cook over a medium heat, stirring, until thickened, about 2 minutes, reduce the heat to medium low; stir in the sour cream, tarragon, lemon juice and the reserved asparagus until combined.
7. Return the chicken to the pan and turn to coat with the sauce, sprinkle the cheese on top of each piece of chicken, cover, and continue cooking until the cheese is melted, about 2 minutes.

The Superlative Cajun Shrimp

LiveJournal Tags: Cajun,Shrimp,Tasty

We fell in love with Cajun Cuisine in 1990 and we were so lucky that in 1991 in Palm Springs Chef Paul Prudhomme came for a visit and let us into a few of his tips and tricks. This is an effortless yet lovely appetizer for everyday celebrations we always served this in a nice glass bowl served on a bed of crushed ice just before dinner along with drinks something like canapés

Serves: 12 for a dinner party

Time: from start to finish including marinating time 4hours 10 minutes

You Will Need

• ½ a lemon
• 1/3 cup of water
• 1 small onion, chopped (1/3 cup)
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon cooking oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 ½ pounds fresh or frozen peeled medium shrimp (about 2 pounds in the shell)
• ½ cup chopped green or red sweet pepper
• Lettuce leaves

Method:

1. Combine the lemon peel, water, onion, lemon juice, cooking oil, garlic, Cajun seasoning, and salt in a large frying pan/skillet; heat to boiling.
2. Add the shrimp stirring to coat, return to boiling, reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for about 4 minutes or until the shrimp are opaque, stirring twice.
3. Stir in the green or red pepper, transfer the mixture to a glass bowl, cover, and marinate in the refrigerator for 4 hours, stirring the mixture occasionally.
4. At serving time, drain the mixture well.
5. Serve in a bowl lined with lettuce and make sure you have plenty of serving picks.

Baked Potato Skins

Crisp, tasty, and plentiful, these nibbles are often called for by everyone, there are plenty of different recipes and fillings you can use, but this was always very popular as nibbles before a dinner party at Norwood West.

Serves / Makes: 4

Prep-Time: 5 minutes

Cook-Time: 10 minutes

LiveJournal Tags: Potatoes,Baked,Cheese,Quick,Easy,Favourite Recipes

You Will Need;

1. 4 large baking potatoes, baked
2. 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
3. 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
4. ½-teaspoon salt
5. ¼-teaspoon garlic powder
6. ¼-teaspoon paprika
7. ⅛-teaspoon pepper
8. Eight bacon rashers/strips, cooked crisp and crumbled
9. 1½ cups grated Cheddar cheese
10. 4 spring onions, sliced
11. ½-cup sour cream

Method:

Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise; scoop out pulp, leaving a ¼-inch shell (save pulp for another use). Place potatoes skins on a greased baking sheet. Combine the oil, Parmesan cheese, salt, garlic powder, paprika, and pepper; brush over both sides of skins.

Bake at 475 degrees f / 240 degrees C for 7 minutes; turn, bake until crisp, about 7 minutes more. Sprinkle the bacon and cheddar cheese inside the skins and bake 2 minutes longer or until the cheese is melted. Top with sour cream and onions. Serve immediately.

Cucumber Raita

Raita (also spelled raitha) or pachadi is a South Asian/Indian condiment based on yogurt (dahi) and used as a sauce or dip.

While Lord Hanson didn’t truly like curries, Lady Hanson did enjoy a few mild curries with a few ingredients taken out though, but here I have left them in as in my opinion they are integral to the dish. This particular recipe is, as her Ladyship liked it though.

You Will Need

1 cucumber
Salt to taste
5 fluid ounces of plain yoghurt

Method:

Peel the cucumber and shred on a coarse grater, sprinkle lightly with salt and leave for 1 hour. Gently press off the liquid from the cucumber, mix in the yoghurt season to taste. Chill and serve with hot curries.

Tomato Sambal

This is a basic tomato sambal, sambal is the name known as the Southeast Asian and Indian name for pickles or side dishes. It is effortless to prepare, but relies on the best fresh ingredients, and serves as a superb garnish for most curries.

While Lord Hanson didn’t truly like curries, Lady Hanson did enjoy a few mild curries with a few ingredients taken out though, but here I have left them in as in my opinion they are integral to the dish. This particular recipe is, as her Ladyship liked it though.

You Will Need

3 tomatoes, skinned and chopped
1 medium size onion, finely chopped
2-3 coriander leaves, chopped
1 tablespoon, lemon juice
Pinch of sugar
Pinch of salt

Mix all the ingredients, together adding salt to taste.

10-minute pasta with leek and bacon

• This is a very quick and easy dish just right for a quick supper after a nice relaxing night out.
  

Serves: 1
Time: 10 minutes of course


You Will Need:

• Two ½ ounces dried pasta
• 2 rashers bacon
• 1 leek washed and chopped
• Parmesan to serve
• ½-tablespoon olive oil
• Salt and pepper to season
  

Method:
Cut the bacon into small pieces and fry in a little oil on a medium to high heat. Once the bacon begins to brown, add the leeks and allow them to soften.
Meanwhile begin cooking the pasta in slightly salted boiling water.
Once the pasta is cooked drain and return to the pan, season the bacon, and leek to taste and combine with the pasta.
Drizzle a little extra virgin olive oil over the pasta to moisten.
Finally grate the parmesan cheese over the dish and serve.

If you would prefer a creamy sauce, add cream instead of olive oil.

Did you know, Leeks are a great of Vitamin C, iron and fibre and that 1 cup of chopped raw leeks contains only 57 calories?

Pan Fried Chicken with Tomatoes

Pan Fried Chicken with Tomatoes
A nice quick and tasty dish ideal for those with a busy life style

Serves: 2

Time: 15 minutes

You Will Need
2 breasts of chicken
2 tomatoes
4 black olives, pitted
1 crushed garlic clove
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
Basil leaves

Method:
Lay the chicken breasts on a clean work surface. Cover with cling film and gently beat with a rolling pin or meat mallet until 1cm (0.75in) thick.
Deseed and finely chop the tomatoes into a bowl, chop the olives into the bowl, add the crushed garlic, seasoning, a few drops of lemon juice and most of the basil leaves, torn up (saving a few for garnish).
Heat a large non-stick frying pan. Add a little oil and gently fry the chicken breasts for just under two minutes each side or until just done. To check for doneness take a thin slice off one side of a breast. If the flesh is white, it is cooked. Take care not to overcook, top with the tomato mixture and serve
Serve with potatoes or rice or salad and your choice of fresh vegetables