Steamed pudding with caramel topping

This is Malcolm’s speciality, I prefer to serve this with double cream, he prefers custard. We have a special pan for steamed puddings, big enough to support a well-wrapped pudding bowl on a trivet in the boiling water. 

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 can condensed milk caramel
  • 120g butter
  • 120g caster sugar
  • 120g self-raising flour
  • 2 eggs, beaten

METHOD:

  • Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy
  • Sift in the flour and add the beaten egg, a little at a time, and beating well between additions. 
  • Use a buttered 1.1 litre pudding bowl. Put the condensed milk caramel at the bottom of the bowl, and then add the sponge mixture carefully over the top.
  • Cover securely (Malcolm uses tin foil and string) and then steam for 1.5 to 2 hours. 
  • Turn the hot pudding out onto a plate. The caramel should pour down the sides in a slow sticky sort of way. 

We served with a choice of cream or custard, but a lemon sauce might be quite good here as well. 

Hungarian potato and sausage soup

I have a lot of potatoes this year, so I have been hunting about for innovative ways of cooking with them. I found this online, but adapted it for the UK. I sourced the smoked sausage online. It served six. 

INGREDIENTS:

  • 50g butter
  • 200g smoked Hungarian sausage, sliced
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 3 tbsp plain flour
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 2 tsp sweet unsmoked paprika
  • 1.2 litres chicken stock
  • 1/2 cabbage, chopped (to fill a 1/2 litre jug)
  • 700g potatoes, peeled and diced (I used charlotte potatoes)
  • black pepper
  • a pinch of cayenne pepper
  • 2 bayleaves
  • 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
  • 100ml sour cream
  • 2 tbsp chopped spring onion or chives

METHOD:

  • In a large soup pan, melt the butter and cook the sliced sausage over a medium heat, around 3 minutes, and then remove the sausage from the pan using a slotted spoon. 
  • Next, fry the onion in the butter for around 5 minutes, until it is beginning to colour, and then add the garlic. After a couple of minutes, add the flour and paprika and cook for another couple of minutes.
  • Add 1.2 litres of chicken stock, stir to mix in well, and turn the heat up high to bring to a boil. Stir in the cabbage and sommer for a couple of minutes and then add the potatoes, black pepper, cayenne pepper and bayleaf. 
  • Simmer on a low heat for around 30 minutes, stirring occasionally to ensure it is not sticking. It is ready for the next step if the potatoes are tender. You can adjust the consistency of the soup by adding more stock. (I think I added around another 300ml in the end).
  • Add the sausage and vinegar, and simmer for another 10 minutes, and adjust the seasoning to taste. 
  • Serve in bowls with a swirl of sour cream and a garnish of chopped spring onions or other fresh herbs. 

I think this recipe would lend itself to a little adaptation. For example, you could use any smoked sausage, or oil instead of butter at the start. I was wondering about using kale as that would hold up better than cabbage to the long cooking time. It was pretty good though. 

Spiced apple butter

I’ve managed to get a good crop of apples this year, but I also got a good crop of windfalls and fruit with blemishes. I made spiced apple butter, and it was delicious. It is, effectively, apple jam that has had the fruit sieved. The sugar to fruit ratio is in favour of the fruit, so it won’t last as well as jam, but it is too sweet any other way. It is a good way to use up less-than-perfect eating apples. 

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1kg apples, chopped roughly, no need to core and peel but easier if you do. 
  • 500ml dry cider
  • Sugar
  • Powdered cinnamon
  • Ground cloves
  • (you can also add mulled wine spices in a muslin bag, as an alternative)

METHOD:

  • Chop the apples and stew in a large pan with the cider, for around 30 minutes, until the fruit is all soft. If you are using whole spices, they should be added at the start in a muslin bag.
  • Remove the muslin bag and then put the stewed fruit through a coarse sieve or mouli. 
  • Weigh the pulp. For each 500g of pulp add 360g sugar, 1/2 tsp powdered cinnamon and 1/2 tsp ground cloves. I put my jam pan on the scales, and measured the pulp into it. When I got the final weight, I divided that by 500 and then multiplied by 360 to get the weight of sugar. 
  • Bring back to a simmer. Once it is thick and at jam temperature, put it into warmed clean jars. Remember to stir regularly, otherwise the bottom of the pan reaches a very high temperature and when you try to stir it, it spatters. 

 

Beetroot and lime

This is a delicious side dish to serve with pork sausages, pork chops, ham or with a vegetarian burger. It is tangy and sweet and earthy. 

INGREDIENTS:

  • Around 450g beetroot, unpeeled
  • salted water
  • 1 lime
  • 1 level tbsp sugar
  • 1 level tbsp butter

METHOD:

  •  Boil the beetroot, skin on, for around an hour, until tender. Remove the beetroot from the hot water, and when it is cook enough to handle, peel away the skin, and chop the beetroot into bite-size pieces. 
  • In a small saucepan, heat the juice of the lime with the sugar and butter until sizzling, then add the diced beetroot and heat through. 
  • Serve in a small warmed dish. 

Rabbit paella

I’ve been itching to make rabbit paella since the spring, when we went on holiday to Madrid, and I realised that rabbit paella is a thing. Paella can combine many ingredients, it is essentially a one pot mixture based on what is available. I’ve had a couple of rabbits in the freezer, and once I had access to some fresh garden vegetables, I defrosted one, and this is what I did:

INGREDIENTS:

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1 small rabbit, jointed
  • 2 chicken thighs, boned and chopped
  • 2 tsp smoked sweet paprika
  • 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
  • 100g artichoke hearts (in oil, or fresh, optional)
  • 100g broad beans or green beans
  • 100g runner beans, sliced
  • 1 can of chopped tomatoes, pureed
  • a couple of generous pinches of saffron
  • 1 litre or so of chicken or rabbit stock
  • 400g paella rice
  • 1 tsp dried rosemary
  • A squeeze of lemon juice

METHOD:

  • Add the oil to a large pan, such as a wok, shallow casserole dish or paella pan, at least 25cm across, and deep enough for all of the ingredients to cook together. Heat it up and fry the rabbit for around 3 minutes, then add the chicken and fry for another 5 minutes, seasoning the meat with salt. Cook until the meat is browned. 
  • Add the paprika and one pinch of saffron and keep cooking for another 5minutes, before adding the garlic, broad beans, runner beans, artichoke hearts, dried rosemary and pureed tomatoes. Continue to stir and cook together for a further 5 minutes. 
  • Meanwhile, heat the stock in another pan and add the rest of the saffron, leaving it to steep. 
  • Add 2 cups of the stock to the fried rabbit and chicken and let it simmer for around 20 minutes. 
  • Add the rice – traditionally in an x shape to ensure it cooks evenly through the cooked ingredients. Add any remaining stock. 
  • Cover the paella with a lid and leave to cook on low for another 20 minutes. Check at around 10 and 15 minutes to ensure that it is not cooking too dry, you may need to add a little more water or stock
  • At the end of cooking, let the paella rest for around 5 minutes before serving with a squeeze of lemon.

Dried Apricot and Angelica Jam

I made this in a large quantity the first time, which was a mistake. When making jam, smaller quantities are easier to manage. This was the outcome of round 2. I also used local angelica, which has a strange and pungeant smell on its own, but divine in apricot jam. The wild angelica locally is Angelica sylvestris, and you need to be sure of your plant identification. It is very common locally. 

INGREDIENTS:

  • 500g dried apricots, chopped
  • 1.9 litres water
  • 3 stems of angelica, finely chopped
  • 2 lemons
  • 1.5 kg sugar

METHOD:

  • Chop the angelica and apricots, and cover with the water in the jam pan. Leave to soak for 48 to 72 hours
  • Simmer for around 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the apricots are soft. 
  • Add the sugar and lemon juice and stir until dissolved, then boil rapidly to setting point. Pour into warmed clean jam jars. 

Salmon fishcakes

This is a relatively straightforward recipe with local ingredients. It was a bit of a breakthrough for me, as I finally got to grips with poaching salmon in the microwave. The original recipe includes details of a super-fancy sauce that I might post later. The sauce is a bit of work, TBH but it was tasty. 

Anyway, on to the fishcakes. 

INGREDIENTS:

  • 300g raw salmon
  • 1/2 small onion, finely chopped
  • Squeeze of lemon juice
  • water
  • 350g cooked potatoes, masked
  • 1 egg white
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 tbsp chopped parsley
  • plain flour
  • 1 egg yolk and 1 egg, beaten together
  • breadcrumbs (I used panko breadcrumbs)

METHOD:

  • Poach the salmon. If you are doing this in a saucepan, put the salmon and onion and the lemon juice in the pan, just cover with water and then simmer for a few minutes until just cooked. Remove the fish from the pan, and allow to cool. Strain and reserve the stock. This can be used to make a fancy sauce (separate recipe).
  • If you are poaching the salmon in the microwave, put the salmon in a shallow dish with the onion and lemon juice, and 150ml boiling water. Cover and microwave on high for three minutes. Remove the salmon from the water and set aside to cool. 
  • When cool skin the salmon and remove any bones. Flake the flesh into a bowl, and add the potatoes, egg white, seasoning and parsley. Mix well. 
  • Divide the mixture into around 18 cakes. I made mine about the size of a pingpong ball, and then flattened them slightly. 
  • Dip each fish cake in flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs. Chill until required. 
  • When you are ready, fry the fishcakes in hot oil. These are good with a green salad and a little tartare sauce. 

Cheese scones

Out of bread? I made these quickly tonight while my soup was heating up, and they were delicious with cream cheese spread on them while they were still warm. One of the secrets of good scones is to make them quickly and don’t handle the dough very much. 

INGREDIENTS:

  • 225g plain flour
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 4 tsp  baking powder
  • 50g butter
  • 50g grated parmesan (or other cheese)
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 1 tsp mustard
  • 150ml milk

METHOD

  • Set the oven to heat at 220C
  • Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl. Add the butter and rub it into the flour with your finger tips. 
  • Add the grated cheese and mix in well. 
  • Beat the egg and mustard with around 100ml milk, then stir it quickly into the dry ingredients. 
  • As soon as the mixture starts to form a dough, bring it together with your fingers, and turn out onto a floured table. Use your hands to make it around 1.5cm thick. You can cut out round scones with a cutter, but I just cut the dough up into pieces. 
  • Put the scones onto a baking sheet, and bake in the hot oven for 15 minutes. Once cooked, put them on a wire tray to cool. But of course they are best eaten while they are still warm. 

Chanterelles with garlic and potatoes

I have been given some delicious foraged chanterelles from the mainland, and it is not an ingredient I get too often. I tried this very simple Italian recipe. 

INGREDIENTS:

  • Approx 125g chanterelles, cleaned and sliced
  • 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 clover of garlic, peeled and chopped
  • 1 tbsp chopped parsley
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • salt and pepper
  • approx 250g cooked salad potatoes, chopped
  • 15g butter

METHOD:

  • Heat the oil in a large pan, and add the garlic and the parsley, and cook gently for a couple of minutes
  • Turn the heat up a bit and add the sliced chanterelles, and cook for around five minutes. Remove them from the pan using a slotted spoon, and mix in the lemon juice.
  • Add the butter to the pan, and then add the potatoes. Cook them on a high heat until they are getting crispy, and then return the chanterelles to the pan and season with salt and pepper. Serve once the mushrooms are warmed through. 
  • You could garnish with chive flowers, or chopped parsley. 

 

Uist beetroot soup

This year, I have grown some great beetroot, and I made this soup with it. I supplemented the ingredient list with a neep and some carrots purchased from Tagsa gardens. It is really tasty, and I was pleased to find some Polish soured cream in the local shops. 

INGREDIENTS:

  • 2 medium onions, sliced
  • 50g butter
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 1.8 litres beef stock (or vegetable stock if you want to make a vegetarian version)
  • 1 large beetroot, around 500g, peeled and diced
  • 1 swede/turnip/neep around 500g, peeled and diced
  • 2 large carrots, peeled and chopped
  • 1 large potato, peeled and grated
  • 2 bayleaves
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • juice of half a lemon
  • Soured cream or plain yoghurt, to serve

METHOD:

  • In a very large pot, melt the butter and cook the onions over a low heat until soft. This will take around ten minutes. Add the garlic for the last couple of minutes of cooking. 
  • Pour in the stock, and raise the heat. Add all of the chopped and grated vegetables, and the herbs, and bring to a simmer, and season with around 1 tsp salt and a good grating of black pepper. Simmer for an hour or so. 
  • Stir in the lemon juice, remove the bayleaves, and adjust the seasoning to taste. 
  • Serve with each bowl containing a spoonful of soured cream or yoghurt. 
  • This is lovely with plain or cheese scones.