Sample Recipes
Tomato tart with basil and garlic
By Jacoba Oldham - Serves 6 as a starter
| 500g/1lb puff pastry
450g/15oz (preferably large) tomatoes – taste
is all important, so get the best you can 2 teaspoons of pesto 1 garlic clove, very finely chopped 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil Fresh basil leaves Salt and pepper |
Roll out the pastry and cut out a single circle or
individual smaller circles. Place on a greased baking
sheet and prick the surface with a fork, leaving the
edge free. Chill for 25 minutes. Bake in a preheated
oven at 200ºC/gas mark 6 for 20 minutes and then
remove from the oven and allow the pastry to sink. Dot the pastry with the pesto. Thinly slice the tomatoes and avoiding the top and bottom slices layer, slightly overlapping, on top of the pastry and pesto. Sprinkle with the garlic, salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Bake for 5 minutes and then remove from the oven and sprinkle with torn basil leaves before returning to the oven for 5 minutes more until the tomatoes are cooked. Serve warm as a starter. |
Egg and bacon pie
by Kathleen Read - Serves 3-4
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For the shortcrust pastry: 170g/6oz self-raising flour 55g/2oz plain flour 70g /2½ oz margarine or butter 55g/2oz lard Pinch of salt Or 1 packet of readymade shortcrust pastry
For the Filling: |
If you are making your own pastry: sieve the flour
and salt together into a bowl. Add the fat, cut into
small pieces, and rub into the flour with your
fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
Add just enough water to create a dough. Knead
lightly until free from cracks and allow to chill for 20
minutes before rolling out. Line a flan dish with half the pastry and place half the cut bacon on the pastry base. Break the eggs on top of the bacon singly and try to keep them whole. Gently spread the remaining bacon over the eggs and season with black pepper. Roll out the remaining pastry and make a lid for the pie, crimping the edges together well. Decorate with pastry leaves if desired. Make a small slit in the centre and brush with beaten egg before baking until nicely brown in a preheated oven at 190º C/gas mark 5 for about 40 minutes. Best served warm and great for a picnic type lunch. |
Josephine Henderson’s lemon curd
by Ian Gilbert
“My maternal grandmother raised a family through wartime rationing and post-war austerity, and the thought of buying preserves would have been anathema – on grounds of taste and cost.
As I became more adventurous in the kitchen, cooking became a shared interest for us. She passed on this recipe after marveling at photos of the lemon tree in our back garden when I lived in Australia. Make this once and you’ll never again look at shop-bought lemon curd. It’s dead easy – just remember to stir regularly or you’ll get lemon scrambled eggs. Spread on your weekday toast or weekend croissants.”|
6 medium eggs 300g/10oz sugar 150g/5oz butter Juice and grated rind of 3 large, juicy lemons (unwaxed if you can get them) |
Lightly beat the eggs and place in an earthenware
jug. Add the sugar, butter, lemon juice and rind and
stand the jug in a saucepan of simmering water over
a low heat. Cook, stirring regularly, until the curd thickens to about the consistency of custard (it will thicken as it cools). Pour into jars and allow to cool thoroughly before adding lids. Keep refrigerated and use within two weeks. |
Fork biscuits
by Christine Maddy - Makes about 10-12
“I got this recipe from a friend of mine. Once we had both had children, we gradually lost touch but I always thought of her whenever I ate these biscuits. Sending in this recipe spurred me onto finding her, which I did via the internet. I guess it must be ten years since we have spoken or seen each other but the fork biscuits, being Debbie’s recipe, have brought us back together again.”
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140g/5oz self-raising flour 115g/4oz margarine (not butter) 55g/2oz caster sugar Vanilla extract (optional) |
Preheat the oven to 175ºC/ gas mark 3. Soften the margarine and add in the caster sugar. Beat together until smooth and add the vanilla extract if desired. Add in flour and gradually work together. Form into balls about the size of a walnut and press down on a baking tray with the back of a fork. Bake for 15-20mins until golden brown. When ready, the biscuits can also be dusted with icing sugar for better presentation. These biscuits always fly off the plate, so you may want to double the quantities. |