Our Best Mince Pies

Exquisite light sweet, sharp, scrumptious mince pies with all the flavours of Christmas an absolute delight and indulgence I like my mince pies with a little custard sometimes as an extra special treat.

We must have made thousands of these little beauties from the Whitewell Hotel, The Willow Tree Restaurant, The Great Tree Hotel and on and on, now we just make a couple of dozen, but we think that they are still the best especially if you make your own mincemeat.

Serves / Makes:           12 pies

Prep-Time:                   12 minutes

Cook-Time:                 20 minutes

You Will Need

350 grams, mincemeat, preferably homemade

200 grams, plain flour, sifted

40 grams, golden caster sugar, plus extra for sprinkling

75 grams, ground almonds

125 grams, unsalted butter, diced

1 large egg, beaten

2 tablespoons, milk, to glaze

Method;

Lightly butter a 12-hole pie or bun tin, place the mincemeat into a bowl and stir so that any liquid is uniformly dispersed.

Place the flour, sugar, almonds and butter into a food processor and process for a moment until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs, then slowly add the egg through the feeder tube. (Otherwise, do it the old-fashioned way and rub the butter into the dry ingredients by hand and stir in the egg.)

Bring the mixture together with your hands, wrap in cling film, and chill for an hour or so.

Roll out the pastry on a floured surface, roll it quite thin, and cut out 12 circles with a fluted pastry cutter, large enough to fill the base of the prepared tin press them gently into each hole, then fill with the mincemeat.

Cut out another 12 slightly smaller discs and use to cover the mincemeat press the edges together to seal.

Make a small slit in the top of each, and then using a pastry brush, gently brush a layer of milk or egg white over the tops of the pies and sprinkle around a quarter of a teaspoon of caster sugar over the top of each pie to glaze them, chill for about 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 200° c, 400° f, and Gas mark 6 and bake the pies for 20 minutes until golden brown. Remove to a wire rack and Serve and Enjoy!

Notes

A mince pie (occasionally also minced, minced meat or mincemeat pie) is a British festive sweet pastry, traditionally eaten during the Christmas and New Year period. Mince pies as a rule have a pastry top, but adaptations may also be found without the top in which case they are known as mince tarts. Mince pies are filled with mincemeat; a preserve characteristically containing apple, dried fruits such as raisins and sultanas, spices, and either suet or vegetable shortening.

Modern mince pies typically do not contain any meat, but because suet is raw beef or mutton fat, mince pies made with suet are not suitable for vegetarians, although you can now buy a vegetarian suet.

Individual mince pies are usually 6 to 7.5 cm (2½ to 3 inches) in diameter, although larger mince pies, suitable for slicing, may also be baked.

Did You Know?

• Centuries ago, mince pies were large dishes filled with various meats, mixed with fruits, peels, and sugar.
• In the 17th century, Oliver Cromwell made the eating of mince pies on Christmas day illegal. This was voted the 4th most ridiculous British law in 2007
• It's considered good luck to eat 12 mince pies in 12 different houses over the 12 days of Christmas, even luckier to eat each one in a different home
• English tradition demands that the mincemeat mixture should only be stirred in a clockwise direction. To stir it anticlockwise is to bring bad luck for the coming year
• Mince pies should always be eaten in silence
• The most expensive mince pie is the 'ultimate' £100 (€149) being offered by London bar, Dion, which includes organic cranberries, stem ginger, orange blossom water and Hennessy cognac.
• The humble mince pie has been subjected to many makeovers in the name of improvement.

John & Maureen Glen Tags: food, recipe, Christmas, Cooking for Christmas, Sweet, Pies, Puddings, Tarts, Quiches, Mince Pies, Holidays, Festive Food, Whitewell Hotel, The Great Tree Hotel

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• M&S to sell mince pies all year (thesun.co.uk)

Scalloped Potatoes with Goats Cheese and Herbes de Provence

Buzz

A wonderful complement to a beef or lamb roast, the mix of dried herbs known as Herbes de Provence usually consists of basil, thyme, rosemary, and oregano. On occasion we also include lavender, which adds a flavour that is the most reminiscent of Provence. I’m not sure, where this recipe came from, I have a sneaking suspicion that it might have been in Gourmet magazine sometime about 1992 and Lady Hanson cut it out for me to try at the next dinner party, I always had to adapt recipes for Lord and Lady Hanson as they didn’t want garlic and only wanted the flavour from onion not texture. I can recall that we first served it with a Prime Rib Roast for a dinner party on the run up to Christmas which included Lord and Lady Hanson, Bill Creasy, Jimmy Ross, Sir Evelyn de Rothschild, Kirk and Anne Douglas plus a couple more probably The Michael Caine’s and The Roger Moore's, what I do remember is that it was as popular as the beef.

Serves / Makes: 8 servings
Prep-Time: 10 minutes
Cook-Time: 60 minutes

You Will Need

1½ cups, whipping cream

1½ cups, chicken stock

1 cup, dry white wine

½ cup, minced shallots

1 tablespoon, minced garlic

4 teaspoons, Herbes de Provence (Provençal herbs), see my recipe on MyDish

¾-teaspoon sea salt

285 grams, soft fresh goat’s cheese, crumbled

1 ¾ kilos, potatoes, peeled, thinly sliced

Method

Preheat the oven to 400°F / 190°C / Gasmark 7. Butter a 13 x 9 x 2-inch glass-baking dish, mix the first 7 ingredients in large pan, and bring to simmer over a medium to high heat. Add half of the cheese, whisk until smooth. Chill the remaining cheese.

Add the potatoes to the pan and bring back to a simmer, transfer the potato mixture to the prepared dish, spreading evenly, cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes. Uncover and bake until the potatoes are very tender and the liquid bubbles thickly, about 40 minutes. Dot the potatoes with the remaining cheese and bake until the cheese softens, about 5 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving Serve and Enjoy!

Notes

The Mediterranean flavour of these herbs is essential to many meat, poultry, and game, and vegetable dishes, particularly tomato-based and grilled dishes. Provençal cuisine has by tradition used many herbs, which were often considered collectively as "Herbes de Provence,” but not in any exacting recipes, and not sold as a blend. Herbes de Provence can be different in content and quantity; more often than not, the blend will comprise thyme, bay leaf, rosemary, savory, and basil you can prepare your own blend using these herbs alongside with other quantities of aromatic herbs as lavender, fennel seeds and sage all depending on your personal taste, I personally like a little lavender added to the blend.

Pommes de Terre Anna (Anna Potatoes)

Crispy golden outside and rich buttery and creamy on the inside Anna potatoes are a classic French dish.

We used to make and serve dozens of portions everyday at The Whitewell Hotel in the 1970’s and in the 1980’s they became a daily addition to the menu at the Great Tree Hotel. And when I first served them to Lord and Lady Hanson they became really passionate about them for dinner parties.

We just love this dish but have to limit ourselves to only cooking them 2 or 3 times a year now because of all the butter, I have tried other fats but none come near to that intense buttery flavour.

Serves / Makes:         6 servings

Prep-Time:                 10 to 15 minutes

Cook-Time:                30 to 40 minutes

You Will Need

900 grams, potatoes, I like to use a Charlotte or Nicola as they are a nice small waxy varieties

340 grams, butter

1 pinch, Salt to taste

1 pinch, pepper to taste

Method

Peel the potatoes and cut them into thin round slices, wash them thoroughly in cold water to take out the starch and dry them with a cloth and make sure that they are well dried.

Put some butter into a casserole or sauté pan and arrange the potatoes in layers overlapping each other, reversing the overlapping with each layer, when at the Whitewell Hotel we used to serve them in individual pots turned out onto the plate.

Dot each layer with butter and sprinkle with salt, cover, and cook in a hot oven 425°F/220°C/Gasmark 8. For between 30 and 40 minutes until the potatoes are tender.

Pour off the excess butter before serving, I like to turn the potatoes onto a platter for serving the potatoes ought to be rich, golden, and crisp on the outside with a creamy buttery centre.

Serve and Enjoy!

Notes

Pommes de Terre Anna or Anna potatoes is made up of sliced, layered potatoes cooked in melted butter. The recipe calls for firm-fleshed potatoes, butter, salt, and pepper and only, and I only add the pepper after cooking pepper does tend to go a little bitter when cooked.

Small pudding basins like these are great for individual portions

Related articles

• 5 Christmas Side Dish Recipes (mademan.com)
• Simple Potato Dish (mamasbagoftricks.blogspot.com)
• 5 Healthy Side Dish Recipes For Christmas (mademan.com)

John & Maureen Glen Tags: food, recipe, Christmas, Cooking, Whitewell Hotel, the Great Tree Hotel, Lord Hanson, Lady Hanson, French Classics

Guinea Fowl Normandé

This exquisite, classic dish isn't as rich and fattening as it sounds and it is terrifically yummy, we get our guinea fowl from Sainsbury’s when they have them on special offer at less than £5 per bird.

Waitrose also have some very nice guinea fowl on their meat counter, more expensive but theirs is free range from the Loire valley. Your local butcher should be able to get guinea fowl for you and there are lots of on-line suppliers of game birds.

This was always a popular item on the menu at the Great Tree Hotel we used to get our Guinea fowl from a local supplier and my young chefs were always please that he always brought them to us dressed, I suppose all young commis chefs dislike the job of dressing birds I know I did.

In later years Lord Hanson, Nigel Lawson and William Waldegrave, and many others also liked this dish.

Serves / Makes:      2 servings

Prep-Time:               10 minutes

Cook-Time:              60 minutes

You Will Need

2 guinea fowl weighing 800 grams (1 and 3/4 lbs.) each

1-teaspoon salt

1 pinch white pepper

3 tablespoons oil

½ cup shelled walnuts

½-teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

1 cup, cider

1 cup, soured cream

6 tablespoon Calvados

2 thin rashers streaky bacon

450 grams, Bramley apples

3 tablespoons, butter

1-teaspoon sugar

Method

Preheat oven to 400°F/200°C/Gasmark 6.

Wash and dry the guinea fowl, then rub well with salt and pepper, brown quickly in oil in a flameproof casserole, and remove from the pan and pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the oil.

Put the walnuts and thyme into the pan and fry, stirring, for 1 minute before slowly adding the cider, soured cream, and Calvados, you can let the calvados flame its only the alcohol that burns off.

Lay the guinea fowl in the sauce, covering the breasts with 1 bacon rasher each, cover, and put in the oven for 45 minutes.

Peel, core and slice the apples, melt the butter, and fry the apple slices gently for 10 minutes, then sprinkle with sugar.

Brown the guinea fowl on a oven tray in the oven for 10 minutes, and reduce the sauce, cut the guinea fowl in halves (we always remove the breastbone, back bone), serve with the sauce, garnished with apple slices and enjoy!

Notes

The domestic Guinea Fowl is still found in the wild where it forages in large flocks and is considered a fine game bird. It is mainly kept for food, as its eggs and meat are very good to eat. Sometimes called Pintade, Guinea Fowl are a family of birds originating from Africa, related to other game birds such as the pheasants, turkeys and partridges, and having a long history of domestication, mainly involving the Helmeted Guinea fowl?

Here in the UK, they were usually known as "Gleanies” the young (called "keets") are very small at birth and are kept in a brooder box inside the house until about six weeks of age, before being moved into a proper coop or enclosure the cooked flesh of guinea fowl resembles chicken in texture, with a flavour somewhere between chicken and turkey it makes a great alternative to chicken for a warming dinner on an autumn night, with a lovely flavour that is slightly gamey but very subtle much less gamier than pheasant or grouse, it can be magnificent when cooked simply. Guinea fowl meat is high in protein and low in cholesterol. It is a good source of vitamin B6, selenium, and niacin.

Guinea fowl are an important food throughout much of Africa, south of the Sahara, and are found in every region of the world. France, Belgium, and Italy are amongst the largest producers in Europe they are hardy birds that forage for food and so are often farmed in free range or semi wild facilities where they perform a valuable pest control function. They have an acute awareness of predators and so are valued for their role as a 'watchdog', alerting farmers to any henhouse intrusions. It is reported that they have the ability to distinguish between farmers' family members and strangers.

Buying Guinea Fowl;

Available all year round

The Best Season Is; September, October, November, December, January, February

Look for free-range guinea fowl, rather than the intensively reared birds, many butchers sell free-range guinea fowl imported from France and if you ever see them the eggs are excellent and worth buying.

Storing Guinea Fowl 

With giblets removed, a whole guinea fowl will keep in the fridge for 3 or 4 days.

Preparing And Cooking Guinea Fowl

Guinea fowl is prepared in much the same way as chicken as it is generally a smaller bird, cooking methods that help retain moistness are recommended, pot roasting or casseroling.

Barding or regular basting is prudent when roasting guinea fowl, legs and wings are also excellent if marinated for a few hours before grilling.

Related articles

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John & Maureen Glen Tags: food, recipe, Christmas, Poultry, Game, Guinea Fowl, Normandy, Normandé

Rack of Lamb with a Herbes de Provence and Pinot Noir Sauce

It’s nearly springtime According to the US Naval oceanography Portal; the spring equinox will begin on the 20th March 2009 at 11.44am and I am really looking forward to the new season foods especially the spring lamb and vegetables.

Our local butcher is already getting in the new season Welsh lamb the taste is milder than summer or autumn lamb and it is deliciously tender.

Here in the United Kingdom British spring lamb is especially hard to beat and you have the luxury of eating it with local spring vegetables so I use baby spring vegetables such as carrots, purple sprouting broccoli and calabrese broccoli from Lincolnshire and other regions of Britain, chicory, garlic, leeks, mint, onions, parsley, parsnips, radishes, seakale, sorrel and spring greens will be in season.

Later on about mid April you will find spring cabbage, carrots, dandelion, wild garlic, kale, leeks, wild mushrooms, Jersey Royal potatoes, radishes, wild sorrel, spinach and watercress. Broad beans, peas, asparagus and caulis (cauliflowers) will be fresh in season towards the end of British springtime.

This is a recipe that Lady H got from the editor of Bon Appétit magazine when out in Palm Springs probably about 1993; I think the Hanson’s went to the editor’s house for dinner. I had to change it of course for Lord & Lady Hanson by removing the garlic, but here I have put it back in.

The first time we served this the regular gang was there, Lord and Lady H, Mr and Mrs Green, Mr and Mrs Scott Barrett, Jimmy Ross and Bill Creasey, I think we finished the meal off with fresh pineapples flown in that day from Hawaii.

Rack of Lamb with a Herbes de Provence and Pinot Noir Sauce

This mouth-watering rack of lamb is effortless to make, served with a tasty Pinot Noir sauce, this makes it an impressive recipe for that exclusive dinner.

Serves / Makes: 8 servings

Prep-Time: 1 ½ hours

Cook-Time: 20 minutes

You Will Need For the Sauce

1 tablespoon, olive oil

1 kilo 350 grams, neck of lamb or stewing lamb

450 grams, onions, coarsely chopped

1 large carrot, chopped

4 large garlic cloves, chopped

1 tablespoon, Herbes de Provence

4½ cups, Pinot Noir or other dry red wine, a good Gamay is great for this recipe though I have made it with a Nuits-St-Georges

3 cups, good strong chicken stock

1-tablespoon butter, room temperature

2 teaspoons, plain flour

For The Lamb

1 cup, finely chopped fresh Italian parsley

¼ cup, finely chopped fresh thyme

¼ cup, finely chopped fresh rosemary

¼ cup, finely chopped fresh sage

1 tablespoon, ground black pepper

5 tablespoons olive oil, divided

3 by 650 grams, well-trimmed 8-rib racks of lamb, preferably frenched (see note)

Method;

The Sauce;

Heat the oil in heavy large pan over medium to high heat. Add the lamb and sauté until a nice deep brown, turning occasionally, about 8 minutes. Using tongs, transfer the lamb to a bowl. Add the onions, carrot, garlic, and Herbes de Provence to the pan and sauté until the vegetables are deep brown, about 8 minutes. Add wine and stock to the pan; return the lamb and any accumulated juices to the pan.

Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer uncovered for 1½ hours.

Strain into large bowl, pressing on the solids in strainer to release all the stock. Spoon off any fat from the surface of the stock and return the stock to the same large pan. Simmer until reduced to 1 and 1/3 cups, about 15 minutes.

Mix the butter and flour in small bowl to smooth paste and then whisk the paste into the stock. Simmer the sauce until slightly thickened and smooth, whisking constantly, about 1 minute longer.

Season with salt and pepper (The sauce can be prepared 1 day ahead). Transfer to a small saucepan, cover, and chill. Re-warm before using.

For The lamb

Stir the fresh herbs and pepper in a medium bowl to blend, add 2 tablespoons of oil and mix until the herbs are sticking together.

Sprinkle the lamb racks with salt; firmly press 1/3 of the herb mixture over the rounded side of each rack to cover. (This can be prepared 1 day ahead).

Place on large rimmed baking sheet. Cover and chill.

Preheat the oven to 350°F / 180°C / Gasmark 4.

Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in large non-stick frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add 1 lamb rack to the frying pan, herbed side down.

Sauté until browned, about 4 minutes. Turn the rack over and sauté until browned, about 3 minutes. Place rack, herbed side up, on rimmed baking sheet Repeat, fitting the remaining racks on the same sheet.

Roast the lamb until a meat thermometer inserted into the centre registers 135°F for medium-rare, about 25 minutes. Let the lamb rest on the sheet 15 to 20 minutes.

Cut the lamb between the bones into individual chops, and arrange 3 chops on each plate, drizzle with the sauce Serve and Enjoy!

Notes:

A butcher will French the racks for you, but it is easy and fun to do this yourself.

Simply cut along the back of the rack, just above where the meaty part of the lamb is. Turning the knife upwards, scrape the gristly meat off to expose the rib bones. Cut between each of the ribs, taking out the tiny amount of meat found there. Scrape away the bones until they are clean and white. Lay the rack down, back uppermost, and make shallow criss-cross incisions in the fat.

Technorati Tags: Recipes,Cooking,Lamb,Mutton,Bon Appétit magazine,Lord Hanson,Lady Hanson,Herbes De Provence,Pinot Noir,Mr and Mrs Green,Mr and Mrs Scott Barrett,Jimmy Ross,Bill Creasey

Lamb Cutlets Reform

One of the very first dishes I learnt to make as a 15-year-old boy in the Army Catering Corps, this was at Clayton Barracks, Aldershot, and the occasion was for a dinner for the officer’s mess. Since then I have cooked it for countless people and it became a very popular lunchtime meal for Lord Hanson and some of his business friends including Eddie George, the governor of the bank of England.
Alexis Soyer invented this dish at the Reform Club, London in the 1830’s when the late entrance of a difficult and hungry club member and a resourceful chef who had to make the most of what he had in his kitchen may clarify the invention of this rather extraordinary recipe. Reform sauce is piquant and deliciously seasoned with herbs and spices and is one of Soyer's most famous recipes. The recipe has been changed over time but this is as close to the original as I can make it.
The club is still open with Lamb Cutlets Reform a popular item on the menu

Serves/Makes: 4
Prep-Time: 12 to 15 minutes
Cook-Time: 10 to 12 minutes

You Will Need;
8, lamb cutlets, each weighing about 4 ounces each
2 ounces, cooked ham, very finely chopped
1 tablespoon, chopped parsley
3 ounces, fresh white breadcrumbs
2 eggs, beaten
Vegetable oil for frying
A good knob of butter
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For The Sauce
2 large shallots, peeled and finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, peeled and crushed
A generous pinch of cayenne pepper
2 ounces of butter
2 teaspoons, plain flour
½-teaspoon tomato purée
2 tablespoons tarragon vinegar
1-tablespoon redcurrant jelly
½ a pint, of a good strong beef stock, I now use a Knorr beef stockpot (you know the jellied stock)
1 ounce of sliced Ox tongue
1 small cooked beetroot weighing about 3 ounces, peeled and cut into strips like the tongue
2 large gherkins cut into strips like the tongue
White of 1 large hard boiled egg, shredded into strips the same size as the tongue

Method:
To make the sauce gently cook the shallots, garlic, and cayenne pepper in half of the butter for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the flour and tomato purée and stir well, add the vinegar and redcurrant jelly and simmer for about one minute, then add the stock, bring to a boil, and simmer gently for 15 minutes season to taste, and whisk in the remaining butter.
Trim the cutlets to remove most of the surrounding fat this is known as French trimmed. Scrape the bone absolutely clean to within 1 inch of the 'eye' of the meat.
Mix the chopped ham, chopped parsley and breadcrumbs together. Season the lamb cutlets and coat with the beaten egg and then cover with the ham and breadcrumb mixture. Cover and chill until required.
Heat a couple of tablespoons of the vegetable oil in a frying pan on a medium heat and cook the cutlets for 3-4 minutes on each side until golden, adding the butter towards the end.
Arrange the cutlets on a warmed serving dish and garnish each one with a cutlet frill.
To serve, combine the julienne of tongue, beetroot, gherkin, and egg white in a serving dish, pour the sauce into a sauceboat and serve separately.

We love these served with Pommes Anna and sliced runner beans

The Glens Tags: Lamb and Mutton, Lamb Cutlets, Reform Sauce, Reform Club, Alexis Soyer, Army Catering Corps, Clayton Barracks, Wilton Lodge, Lord Hanson, Bank of England, Eddie George

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.

Avocado Mousse with Shrimp/Prawns

This promptly became a firm favourite with guests at Norwood West even though Lord Hanson wasn’t fond of it he would sometimes have the mousse if it was served with lobster instead of shrimp/prawns.

Serves / Makes: 8

Prep-Time: 12 minutes

Cook-Time: 20 minutes plus chilling time

You Will Need;

• 2 avocados, ripe
• 5 fluid ounces hot stock
• 1/2 ounce gelatine powder
• 1/2 lemon, juice only
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 5 fluid ounces Greek yoghurt
• 5 fluid ounces mayonnaise
• 1 lb large shrimp, in shell
• Walnut salad dressing
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method:

Peel the shrimp and place the shells into 10 fluid ounces of water and boil for 20 minutes, strain then reduce the liquid to 5 fluid ounces this is the Hot Stock.

Lightly oil 8 small ramekins.

Put 3 tablespoons of the stock and the gelatine into a bowl and stand it in a pan of simmering water, stir until the gelatine has dissolved, then pour it into the bowl of a food processor or blender with the rest of the stock.

Peel and stone the avocados and roughly chop the flesh, add to stock in the processor along with the lemon juice and garlic, blend until smooth.

Put the mixture into a bowl and stir in the yoghurt and mayonnaise, mix thoroughly and season to taste. Spoon the mixture into the oiled ramekins, cover with cling film and chill until set.

When you are ready to serve, slide a palette knife around the edge of each ramekin and ease the mousse away from the sides. Turn the mousses out onto serving plates and top each one with some of the shelled shrimp and drizzle some of the walnut dressing over each mousse.

Serve with crusty bread and a few salad leaves.

LiveJournal Tags: Appetizers,Canapés,Starters,Shellfish

Anchovy Butter, Traditional Recipe

This is a traditional recipe with fresh anchovies making a milder flavoured butter, perfect with pan fried lamb chops/steaks.

Serves: 6
Yields: 1 cup
Time: 10 minutes

12 Fresh Anchovies
¾ Pound Butter
1 Pinch Cayenne pepper
¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground mace

Scrape the skin from the anchovies, take the flesh from the bones, pound it smooth in a mortar; rub through a fine sieve, put the anchovies into the mortar with the butter, cayenne, grated nutmeg and mace, beat together until thoroughly blended.
If you are going to serve it cold, mould the butter in small shapes, and turn it out.
To keep for later, press the butter into jars, and keep cool.

Crab and Leek Tart

Crab and Leek Tart

A rich indulgent quiche/tart flavoured with herbs and saffron. This was a great hit at the Bowd Inn with summer visitors to Sidmouth and Devon. We always made it with seasonal crab that was caught locally our supplier was Stan Bagwell and I believe he is still supplying fresh fish and seafood to everyone. Now when we want the best of West Country seafood and fish we get it nice and fresh (the crab and lobster is live) online from Martins Seafresh (http://wzey1.ask.com/r?t=p&d=syneu&s=bvw&c=bvw1&l=dir&o=0&sv=0a5c4314&ip=51975e5c&id=587BCD3EE559FC3C83FF108EAF14DF6C&q=Fishmongers+Online&p=1&qs=121&ac=7&g=7039OEsNXceVOp&en=te&io=4&b=alg&tp=d&ec=10&pt=Fresh+Fish+and+Lobsters+from+Martins+Seafresh&ex=&url=&u=http://www.martins-seafresh.co.uk/)

Serves: 4 to 6 depends on who is a gannet

Time: You have all the time you need

You Will Need

FOR THE PASTRY

200 grams, plain flour

¼ teaspoon, sea salt

¼ teaspoon, cayenne pepper

50 grams unsalted, butter

50 grams, lard (this helps to make the pastry very elastic essential for a good savoury pie)

25 grams, mature cheddar cheese, grated

1, egg yolk

FOR THE FILLING

25 grams, unsalted butter

225 grams, leeks, cleaned and thinly sliced

¼ teaspoon, saffron strands

300 grams white crab meat

3 whole, free-range eggs

2 teaspoons, lemon juice

1 or 2 dashes, of Worcestershire sauce

125 mls, double cream

Small handful snipped chives

Salt & freshly ground black pepper

Method:

For the pastry, sift the flour, salt, and cayenne pepper into a mixing bowl, rub in the butter and lard until the mixture is crumbly, mix in the cheese, then bind the pastry with the egg yolk and little cold water.

Leave the pastry to rest for 30 minutes roll out and line a non-stick baking tin

Preheat the oven to 190c gas mark 5, Line the pastry case with greaseproof paper and fill with baking peas or some dried pulses if you haven’t got the ceramic peas.

Bake in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes, remove the paper and peas, and return to the oven for a further 5 to 10 minutes or until golden brown.

Now prepare the filling, melt the butter in a frying pan/skillet and sauté the leeks for 5 minutes until they are softened but not browned.

Stir in the saffron and allow to cool and then turn into a mixing bowl, fold in the remaining filling ingredients and season well.

Spoon into the cooked pastry case and bake in the hot oven for 25 to 30 minutes.

We serve this hot or cold, crusty bread and a mixed salad dressed with a Sherry Vinegar డ్రెస్సింగ్

Sherry Vinegar Dressing

Just a superb dressing, need I say anything more

Serves: a couple of nice friends

Time: as long as it takes

You Will Need

1 tablespoon, sherry vinegar

1 tablespoon, walnut oil

1 tablespoon, garlic flavoured olive oil

The juice from half a lemon, about 2 tablespoons

½ teaspoon, sugar

A pinch of sea salt

Freshly grated black pepper

Method:

Whisk all the ingredients in a bowl until they thicken slightly

Drizzle over your salad and serve