Lemon Ice Cream

This recipe re-printed in the Times recently, comes from Kitty Waddell, who persuaded her aunt to part with her secret recipe for lemon ice-cream. She always served it in a large crystal bowl, and advised transferring it from freezer to fridge before sitting down to dinner, so that it softens a little. She promises that it ” is quite simply the smoothest ice cream I’ve ever tasted . . . and the easiest to make”.

Ingredients

(serves eight)

4 egg whites
7oz caster sugar
4 egg yolks
5oz lemon juice
pinch salt
1 pint double cream
3½oz caster sugar
2 dessertspoons grated lemon rind

Method

Have ready three bowls.
Bowl number 1 Beat egg whites until fluffy. Add the 7oz sugar gradually and beat until very stiff. Set aside.
Bowl number 2 Beat egg yolks with lemon juice and salt. Set aside.
Bowl number 3 Whip the cream until quite stiff. Add the 3½oz sugar.
Fold the 3 mixtures together and add the grated lemon rind. Freeze until firm.

Quick mango and apple chutney

I have long wanted to make my own chutney to serve with curries and this recipe looks like it fits the bill. Quick and easy to make with very simple ingredients, I will definitely be giving this a try very soon. The beauty of it is that it can be made and served the same day.

Put the flesh from 1 under-ripe mango into a food processor with 1 small apple, peeled, cored and chopped, a small handful of fresh mint leaves, 1 teaspoon mild chilli powder, 1 teaspoon soft brown sugar and 100ml water. Whizz until very finely chopped.

That’s it, simple as can be. And it sounds perfect to serve with the sticky mango chicken recipe I will feature in my next post.

Warm Chicken Salad with Cashew Nuts and Mango Dressing

Ingredients

4 chicken breasts, cooked and sliced
Handful salad leaves per person
1 mango, sliced
Handful seedless black grapes
50g cashew nuts

Dressing

1 mango, peeled and chopped
3-4 scallions, chopped
Handful of basil leaves
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
4 tablespoon olive oil
Salt, black pepper and a pinch of sugar

Method

The absolutely best way is to roast a whole chicken with lots of garlic cloves, a few sprigs of rosemary, lemon wedges stuffed into the cavity and seasoned with salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper.

Cook until the juices run clear.

Then an hour or two later, take the meat off the bone and make the salad.

If you haven’t time to roast a chicken then you can just grill a few chicken breasts, slice them up and make the salad.

Dressing

Put all the dressing ingredients in the processor, give it a quick whiz and taste for seasoning.

Coat the salad leaves in a little of the dressing, arrange the leaves on individual plates or in one large bowl.

Add the sliced mango, grapes, nuts and chicken.

Drizzle over the dressing and serve with some nice bread.

 Source: Bord Bia via RTE website

Hot Cross Buns

A traditional Easter treat, particularly associated with Good Friday.

Ingredients

Dough:

• 14g active dry yeast
• 100ml water
• 200ml milk 
• 100g sugar 
• 57g softened butter or margarine
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp freshly ground nutmeg 
• 830-895g all-purpose flour
• 4 eggs 
• 75g sultanas 
• 75g raisins

Glaze:

• 2 tbsp water
• 1 egg yolk

 

Icing:

• 128g icing sugar
• 4 tsps water
• pinch salt (if desired)
• ¼ tsp vanilla essence  

Method

1. Warm the water and milk in a microwave or saucepan. It should be warm to touch, not hot – water that is too hot will kill the yeast cultures instead of activating them.
2. In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water and milk.
3. Add in sugar, butter, vanilla, salt, nutmeg, and half the flour.
4. Beat on low speed with an electric mixer or by hand until smooth. Mix eggs by hand in a separate bowl then add them into the blend.
5. Stir in the currants and sultanas and enough of the remaining flour to make the dough soft.
6. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead for about six to eight minutes, until the dough is smooth. Place in a greased bowl and flip the dough over once to grease both the top and bottom.
7. Cover with a damp towel or plastic wrap and leave to rise in a warm place for about an hour or until doubled in size.
8. Knead the dough down and shape into 30 balls. Place on lightly greased baking sheets.
9. Cover and leave to rise for another 30 minutes or until doubled. Using a sharp knife, score a cross on the top of each roll.
10. Beat the water and egg yolk together and brush over the rolls. Discard any unused egg glaze.
11. Bake at 190°C for 12 to 15 minutes.

Icing

Method

1. Combine the icing ingredients in a medium-sized bowl.
2. Stir until smooth, adjusting sugar and water to form a smooth consistency that flows easily. When the rolls are baked, cool on wire racks for about 15 to 20 minutes.
3. Drizzle icing over the top of each roll, following along the lines of the cut cross.

This recipe taken from Safe Food

Creamy Rice Pudding

Ingredients

120g pudding rice

750ml milk

 60g sugar

2tsp vanilla essence

1 large can evaporated milk

15g butter

Jam, to serve

Method

1. Place the rice and sugar in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Stir frequently until the sugar has dissolved and the rice is slightly swollen.

2 Add the evaporated milk and vanilla essence and give it a good stir. Then pour into a buttered baking dish.

3 Cook in a 150C oven for about an hour and a half until golden but still slightly wobbly.

4 My favourite way to serve is with a blog of strawberry jam.

You can also add some raisins to the pudding mix before baking and recently when in the US watching the Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten cook rice pudding, she added the raisins and a dash of rum.

Recessionista Chicken Stew

This chicken stew is nutritious and tasty and best of all cheap and easy to make. I cook it all in one pot on the hob but you can also cook it in the oven at 180C/350F/Gas 4.

Ingredients

• 1 pkt chicken pieces – I use chicken thighs or chicken wings
• 3 carrots
• 2 onions
• 2 sticks celery 
• Aprox 750 ml chicken stock ( I make mine with marigold bouillon)
• 2 pieces streaky bacon
• Sprig of rosemary or thyme

You will need:

• Large heavy frying or saute pan
• Large heavy saucepan or casserole dish

Method

Cut the rind off the bacon and cut into pieces. I blanch the bacon first to remove the salt,  and then dry on kitchen paper. Fry off the bacon for a few minutes. Remove from the pan and either place in the large saucepan or casserole.

Now saute the chicken pieces in the frying  pan until golden and again remove from the pan and place in large saucepan or casserole. Next saute the onion, celery and carrot and add to the rest of the ingredients.

Degrease the frying/saute pan and deglaze with the stock, bringing to the boil. Pour this over the chicken and other ingredients. Season with salt and pepper and add a sprig of rosemary or thyme, if you have it. Bring it all to simmering point on the top of the cooker and either continue to cook this way, or place the casserole in the oven. Cooking time will vary depending on the length of time the chicken pieces were sauteed, but it should take between 35 to 50 minutes.

Sweet Potato

The sweet potato,  is a particularly popular food in the southern United States. Nutritionally, sweet potatoes are an excellent source of vitamin A and a good source of potassium and vitamin C, B6, riboflavin, copper, pantothetic acid and folic acid.

Overthrow the tyranny of the recipe

Interesting piece by Matthew Fort in his Guardian food blog:

A reader wrote in the other day asking whether or not she could leave celery out of recipes as she couldn’t abide the stuff…..

Grilled steak, red wine lentils and salsa verde

Fabulous recipe in today’s Guardian:

Grilled steak, red wine lentils and salsa verde

February 17: Festival of Fornax, Roman Goddess of Bread-Making

Today, I discover is the Festival of Fornax,  Roman Goddess of Bread-Making. Nothing else is known about her, except that her festival was held on February 17.  I decided to honour this festival by making a simple Irish soda bread.  It is a bread that can be made in minutes and because it contains no yeast requires no ‘proving’ time  it can be prepared and baked quickly. It is such a simple traditional recipe and tastes delicious warm from the oven with a slather of real butter. I like it plain but you could also add some raisins or sultanas.  Or you could make soda scones with the mixture instead or even turn it into focaccia with the addition of sundried tomatoes, rosemary and olives. This recipe is from Rachel Allen’s Bake series.

• Olive Oil
• 450 g Plain Flour
• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 400 ml Buttermilk

• Preheat an oven to 230c.
• Brush a swiss roll tin or baking tray generously with olive oil.
• Sieve the plain flour and the bread soda into a big bowl.
• Add the salt and mix with your hands.
• Make a well in the centre, pour in most of the buttermilk, and with one hand stiff and your fingers spread out like a claw, start mixing in a full circle once the buttermilk has gone in.
• Keep mixing like this until you have a soft dough
• Do not knead it but work it very gently to bring it together.
• Transfer to a floured surface and roll it out to about 35x20cms (14x8inches), and transfer it to the oiled tray.
• Put it in the oven and cook for 18-25 mins, depending on how thick it is.
• Turn the oven down to 200c after 10 mins.
• When cooked, it should feel firm in the centre and be gorgeous and golden brown.
• Transfer it to a wire rack and cool for a couple of mins, then cut it into squares and serve!!