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CAULIFLOWER AND WALNUT CREAM

Serves 4

1 medium cauliflower
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
450mls. / 3/4 pint chicken or vegetable stock
450mls. / 3/4 pint milk
45ms. / 3 tbsps. walnut pieces
salt and pepper
paprika and chopped walnuts to garnish

1. Trim the cauliflower of outer leaves and break into small florets. Place the cauliflower, onion and stock in a large saucepan.

2. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes. Add the milk and walnut pieces, then puree in a blender or food processor until smooth.

3. Season the soup to taste with salt and pepper, then reheat. Serve sprinkled with a dusting of paprika and chopped walnuts.

MARMALADE QUEEN OF PUDDINGS

Serves 4 – 6

10g. butter, plus extra for greasing
565mls. full fat milk
100g. breadcrumbs
zest of 1 lemon
50g. caster sugar
3 medium eggs
2 generous tbsps. thick cut marmalade

1.Heat the oven to 150 C/ gas mark 2. Butter a medium baking dish. Heat the milk until it just reaches the boil. Remove from the heat and add the butter, breadcrumbs, lemon zest and 25g. of the sugar. Thoroughly mix so that the butter really melts.

2. Set this aside for 15 minutes to swell and melge. When it is a little cooler separate the eggs and add the yolks to the custard. Use a small hand whisk to amalgamate. Pour this mixture into the buttered dish and place in the oven for about 30 – 35 minutes until just set.

3. Meanwhile melt the marmalade in a saucepan and spoon over the baked custard base.

4, Beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks. Whisk in the remaining sugar and spoon this on top of the pudding. Return to the oven for a further 15 minutes or until the soft meringue is beginning to turn golden. Wait for about 15 minutes before eating.

TIPS

1. You will always get a smoother soup with a blender than with a food processor.

2. You can make Queen of Puddings with a jam rather than marmalade. I have used this recipe as it is the marmalade making season. I used brioche bread to make my breadcrumbs and cut it into slices the night before, spreading it on a rack so that it was stale by the time I used it. Do not use ready made breadcrumbs.

3. We ate the leftovers cold and still liked it. If you try heating meringue in a microwave it will disintegrate. I used to volunteer in a Lunch Club for older people and would watch them asking for lemon meringue pie to be heated in the microwave, The meringue would virtually disappear.

CHICKEN AND BACON PUCHERO – Serves 4

1 tbsp. oil plus a little extra
1 yellow pepper, deseeded and cut into bite size chunks
2 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
200g. baby potatoes, halved or quartered
2 onions, chopped
1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
700g. skinless and boneless chicken thigs cut into bite size pieces
200g. back bacon rashers, visible fat removed and sliced
900mls. boiling chicken stock
2 bay leaves
1 tsp. mild or medium curry powder
1 tbsp. white wine vinegar
4 tomatoes, deseeded and roughly chopped
400g. can chickpeas, drained
200g. green cabbage leaves, roughly chopped

1. In a lidded non stick pan heat 1 tbsp. oil.  Add the pepper, carrots and potatoes and fry for 6 – 8 minutes, until lightly browned.  Transfer to a plate.

2. Add a little more oil and the onions, chilli and garlic and stir fry for 6 – 8 minutes until softened.  Add the chicken and bacon, season to taste and stir fry for 10 – 15 minutes.

3. Pour in the stock and add the bay leaves, curry powder and vinegar.  Bring to a simmer and let it cook for 12 – 15 minutes, then add the tomatoes, cover and cook for a further 10 minutes.

4. Stir in the pepper, carrots and potatoes, chickpeas and cabbage.  Cover and cook for 10 – 12 minutes or until the cabbage has wilted and the other vegetables are tender.  Serve hot in bowls with rice if you prefer.

TIPS

This is a Spanish slow-cooked stew (the name means stewpot) and it can be found with different ingredients and spices throughout the Spanish speaking world.  This is a version from the Philippines and the curry replaces smoked paprika.

There is quite a lot of liquid with this dish. When I made it I did not bother with rice as I didn’t think it needed it. 

SPICED BEETROOT AND CARROT CURRY – Serves 4

1 tbsp. oil
1 tsp. black mustard seeds
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 green chillies, deseeded and chopped
1 tsp. curry powder
2 tsps. cumin seeds
1 cinnamon stick
400g. beetroot, peeled and cut into batons
2 potatoes, peeled and cut into batons
2 carrots, peeled and cut into batons
2 tomatoes, roughly chopped
600mls. boiling vegetable stock
100mls. reduced fat coconut milk
juice of 1 lime
chopped fresh coriander to serve

1. In a wide non stick frying pan heat the oil and add the mustard seeds and as soon as they begin to pop, add the onion, garlic and chillies and stir fry for 3 – 4 minutes or until the onion has started to soften.
2. Add the curry powder, cumin seeds, cinnamon stick, beetroot, potatoes and carrots and stir fry for 2 – 3 minutes.  Add the tomatoes and stock and season to taste.  Turn the heat to low and simmer for 15 – 20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally.
3. Stir in the coconut milk and let the curry bubble nicely for another 5 – 6 minutes or until the sauce has thickened slightly.  Remove from the heat, stir in the lime juice and check the seasoning.  Scatter over the coriander and serve hot with rice.

TIPS

1. This dish too has quite a bit of liquid.  You could try reducing the amount of stock used in both recipes by at least 100 mls.
2. Do wear thin rubber gloves when chopping the chillies and beetroot, or make sure you do not touch your eyes, or any part of your face after touching the chillies.
3. Both these recipes come from a Slimming World book so are good if you have over indulged at Christmas.  You could always use full fat coconut milk if you are not worried about calories.  Give the tin a good shake before using.  Handley Organics do a very good range of spices upstairs.
4. Any leftover coconut milk can be used when making a rice pudding or cooking rice.

Happy New Year,

STOLLEN TRAYBAKE

Makes 24 squares

175g. golden marzipan
125g. mixed dried fruit
275g. self raising flour
225g. soft unsalted butter
125g. caster sugar
100g. light brown sugar
zest of 1 orange, plus 1 tbsp. juice
75g. ground almonds
2 tsps. baking powder
seeds from 8 cardamom pods, ground
1 1/2 tsps. gd. mixed spice
1/2 tsp. gd. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. fine sea salt
5 large eggs
30g. flaked almonds
icing sugar to dust

1. Chop the marzipan into small dice then spread out on a plate and put in the freezer to chill – this stops it melting in the oven when baked.
2. Preheat the oven to 180C, fan 160C, gas 4.  Grease a 20 x 30cm. traybake tin and line with baking parchment.
3. Toss the mixed fruit in 1 tbsp. of the flour and set it aside.  This helps to prevent the fruit sinking through the cake batter.
4. Place the remaining ingredients, except for the flakes and icing sugar, in a large bowl.  Beat for 2 – 3 minutes until combined.
5. Add the cold diced marzipan to the bowl of mixed dried fruit and toss to combine before folding it all into the cake mixture.  Spoon into the prepared tin, level it out and scatter with the flaked almonds.  
6. Bake for 35 – 40 minutes until golden brown and springy to the touch.  Leave to cool completely in the tin.  Carefully remove, dust with icing sugar and cut into squares.  

CHEESE AND PARSNIP ROULADE

For the roulade:

40g. butter
25g. plain flour
275mls. cold milk
110g. Sage Derby cheese, grated or alternative cheese
49g. hazelnuts, chopped and toasted
1 tbsp. Parmesan cheese, grated
3 large eggs, separated
salt and pepper

For the stuffing:

225g. onions, chopped
40g. butter
3 level tsps. dried sage
1 tbsps. chopped fresh parsley
75g. white breadcrumbs
salt and pepper

For the filling:

350g. parsnips (prepared weight)
25g. butter
2 tbsps. double cream
freshly grated nutmeg
salt and pepper

You will need a Swiss roll tin 32 x 23 cm. lined with baking parchment

1. First make the stuffing by melting the butter in a pan, adding the onions and cooking them for about 6 minutes or until transparent.  Add the herbs, breadcrumbs and seasoning, stir well to combine then sprinkle evenly over the silicone lined tin.
2. Now for the roulade, place the butter, flour and milk in a saucepan and whisk together over a medium heat until thickened.  Season well and leave to cook over the gentlest possible heat for 3 minutes.  Draw the pan off the heat to cool slightly, add the egg yolks, whisking them really well in.  Add the grated Sage Derby, or alternative, and check seasoning.
3. In a large bowl and with a spanking clean whisk beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks.  Gently fold one spoonful into the mixture to loosen it then spoon a little at a time into cheese mixture.  Now spread the whole lot evenly over the stuffing mixture in the tin and bake on the top shelf for 20 – 25 minutes until it feels springy and firm in the centre.
4. Meanwhile cook the parsnips in a steamer for 10 – 15 minutes until they are soft, then cream them together with the butter, double cream and seasoning.  A food processor is easiest for this.  Keep them warm.  Lay a sheet of baking parchment (slightly larger than the roulade) on a work surface and sprinkle the hazelnuts all over.
5. Turn out the roulade on to the hazelnuts and carefully peel off the base paper.  Spread the creamed parsnip evenly over the sage and onion stuffing.  Roll up the roulade along the longest side, using the baking parchment to help you pull it into a round.  Transfer to a serving plate and sprinkle with a dusting of grated Parmesan.

TIPS

With the traybake you can chop and freeze the marzipan the night before to save time if necessary.

The roulade recipe is an old one of Delia Smith’s, hence the Sage Derby.  You can still sometimes buy this but it is not easy to get hold of.  You could try the cheese man in the Saturday market.  I think Cheddar would be a quite acceptable alternative but you could always seek advice from someone who knows about cheese.

The first time you make a roulade is quite daunting but it usually works well, give it a go!!