Lamb and lemon recipes are for some reason both associated with the Easter period.  I feel that I have supplied you with a lot of savoury recipes in the past and so am giving you a dessert / cake recipe which includes lemons.  Please buy the unwaxed ones if possible, or if you do get the waxed ones make sure you scrub the skins well as they have been sprayed.

Two tips, one = you get more juice from fruit if you roll it gently first with the palm of your hand, it breaks down the internal fibres and does work I promise!  The Chef at Croydon Catering College taught me that one, or zap it briefly in the  microwave he said.  Continue reading “April Recipe: Lemon Ricotta Cake”

The pulses for this recipe you will be able to obtain from Handley Organics. Root vegetables are, of course, very much in season at this time of year, but such small quantities are required that you might want to leave out celeriac and double the quantity of carrots. You could mix the potatoes and use some sweet ones if desired. Continue reading “March Recipe: Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie with Goat’s Cheese Mash”

The Bechamel sauce mentioned in the recipe is made in the usual way for making white sauce. However, you may not know that you can now buy something called ‘sauce flour’ to which you do not need to add any butter.  You just mix the flour with the milk and keep whisking until it comes to the boil, then allow it to simmer for a couple of minutes to cook out the raw flour taste.  You can also make a white sauce, using butter, the all in one way, by just mixing the butter, flour and milk and again whisking until it comes to the boil and then simmering for a couple of minutes. Continue reading “February Recipe: Cod, Fennel and Smoked Bacon Pie”