Category: pastry

Categories
apples food pastry

fenn country apple cake

I’m not a religious person, but when travelling I often visit a church. Through time churches in the UK formed the centre of the town or village, geographically and politically. As such they contain a great deal of history & character of the area and tells me a lot about the community. This is true in Godshill on the Isle of Wight. Clearly you have clocked that name and understood just how key the church is to this village!

Most people visit Godshill for the model village which I thoroughly recommend. As with most model villages it is incredibly cute and gives you the sensation of being a kaiju walking through downtown Tokyo Ventnor. It depicts scenes from around the Island with a 1950s lens.

Note the actual church at the back, followed by the model of the church just right of centre, plus the model of the model in the bottom left… we found out later apparently there is another church smaller still in front of that!

Just a short walk up the… hill… from the model village is All Saints’ church itself. True to form the church sits proudly atop the hill, looking down over the entire (real) village. The exact founding of the church is unclear but has been a religious site for over 1,000 years.

In the corner of the church are two old bookshelves. There was a treasure trove of books here with an honesty box. I gravitated towards the cookbooks of course and found lots of gems – I must have spent twenty minutes flicking through the old books. And then I spotted something I just had to have.

I’d travelled over a hundred miles to visit the island and I’d found a cookbook from my area, encompassing Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex. I duly donated my 30p and took it home.

Having a proper flick through I was pleased to note I now have two recipes for roast swan, many methods for eels, and a whole chapter on dumplings. I learned a lot about the husbandry of the region: our lands supported pigs very well (no laughing please) and many households kept one hence this book has many recipes using lard, chitterlings and hams. Plus being a coastal region great roads from Lynn, Norwich, Ipswich and Colchester serviced London with shellfish and fish. Turkey always flourished here since Tudor times, a tradition still served by the KellyBronze, the best in the world. Rabbit and hare too have always been rife in the area and are represented well here. And being a fantastic area for growing wheat and corn many cakes and biscuits arise from the three counties.

One cake in particular caught my eye: Fenn Country Apple Cake. The Fenns (“Fens”) or Fenlands are a marshy area of Eastern England running roughly from North West Suffolk, through Norfolk and cutting past Cambridge, up past Peterborough and ending around Lincoln. And why am I interested? “Fenn” is my surname so I just had to give it a go. I’ve done a little research into my ancestry and as far back as I’ve found so far my family have literally never left the three counties: I have a strong family connection to Norwich and Norfolk going back generations.

 

It’s a fairly standard apple pie (though it is called a cake here) with rich lard-based pastry, and the addition of treacle is a pleasing layer of bittersweetness that provides enjoyable contrast. And the old school usage of semolina to thicken and bind gives a little texture in the puree.

A fascinating slice of history and one oddly personal to me.

I’ve found it referenced in The Farmhouse Cookbook, another compilation by the same author Mary Norwak.

Want more apple cakes? Norwegian apple cake is a family favourite.

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fenn country apple cake

A recipe I found from the 19th century.
Course Dessert
Cuisine English
Keyword apples, pudding
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Servings 8 people

Ingredients

For the pastry:

  • 7 oz plain flour
  • 2 oz butter
  • 2 oz lard
  • 1 egg

For the filling:

  • 1½ lb cooking apples
  • juice of half a lemon
  • 1 oz butter
  • 2 oz caster sugar
  • 2 rounded tablespoons semolina
  • 1 oz currants
  • 3 tablespoons black treacle

Instructions

  • For the pastry, rub the flour together with the fats and a pinch of salt until it resembles breadcrumbs. Beat in most of the egg (reserving a teaspoon or so for glazing) and add a splash of water or milk until it comes together into a soft dough. Cover and refrigerate until needed, but make sure you leave it at least half an hour. I guess if we're being authentic, leave it in a cool place.
  • Peel, core and slice the apples. Put apples, lemon juice and butter in a pan, cover and simmer slowly to pulp. Add sugar and semolina, and bring slowly to the boil. Cook gently for 5 minutes or until the mixture has thickened. Remove from the heat and leave until completely cold.
  • Preheat the oven to 425°F / 220°C / gas mark 7 (note: I used 200°C in my modern oven - 220 in a 21st century oven would no doubt blacken it before it was cooked).
  • Roll out the pastry into two circles and line an eight-inch pie plate with one piece. Spread half the apple in the pastry case. Sprinkle with currants and put in treacle. Add the remaining apple filling. Moisten the edges of the second piece of pastry and cover the pie. Press edges together well and brush top with the reserved egg or a little milk. Bake for 30 minutes.

Notes

Although I always prefer metric measurements, I've presented the ingredients as per the book I used in Imperial. I've added my own pastry recipe as none was given but lard is the right choice here I feel. Excellent eaten hot, just as good cold the next day.
Categories
lentils mushroom pastry

vegetarian wellington

I’ve been trying to have less meat this year. Less meat of better quality, and generally two or three meatless dinners a week. I’ve discovered some great recipes that have been really enjoyable and helped me expand my vegetarian repertoire.

One thing I’d certainly never tried is a vegetarian wellington. Making a fillet steak version I would usually make a duxelle of mushroom and onion, deglaze with red wine and coat with Dijon mustard, so why not keep all those elements? I packed it with mushrooms, onion, lentils and spinach so it had a big, bold flavour. I was really happy with how it turned out.

The key to Wellingtons is to ensure ingredients are not too moist, not too hot when assembled to ensure the pastry gets a chance to crisp up and not get sodden with liquid.

And it’s timed perfectly. Cauldron Foods have polled for the festive vegetarian favourites. And vegetarian wellington came up on top!

Cauldron Foods have been championing vegetarian and vegan foods for years. I’ve been a fan of their falafel for years! To celebrate Christmas they’ve polled people to find out what alternatives are preferred at festive celebrations.

Read more about Cauldron’s poll here. The link also has recipe inspiration, ways to make your Christmas party go with a bang, plus a great competition. You could be in with a chance of winning £500 gift voucher or a Belazu hamper so go to the link to find out more!

If you want to ring the changes this Christmas, why not try my vegetarian wellington recipe. You could make it vegan if you use a suitable puff pastry, and glaze with a little oil instead.

This post was sponsored by Cauldron Foods.

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vegetarian wellington

Course Main Dish
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Servings 6 people
Author Gary @ BigSpud

Ingredients

  • 1 roll puff pastry (320g) or make your own
  • 200 g red lentils
  • 250 g chestnut mushrooms
  • 1 sprig thyme
  • 1 red onion
  • 100 ml red wine
  • 40 g dried mushrooms
  • 125 g spinach
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 egg beaten

Instructions

  • Put your oven on 220C to heat up, and get a kettle full of water on to boil. Get your pastry out of the fridge. Put a frying pan over a medium heat.
  • Put the dried mushrooms in a mug or bowl and cover with boiling water. leave to steep while you do everything else. Finely chop the chestnut mushrooms, and peel and finely chop the red onion (or use a food processor).
  • Put the lentils in a pan of boiling water and simmer for fifteen minutes or until tender. Drain really well in a sieve, rinsing with cold water to get the temperature right down. Once cool, squish with your hands to squeeze out as much liquid as possible.
  • Add a little olive oil to the frying pan and add the mushrooms and onions. Pick the leaves off the thyme and add to the pan. Season with salt and pepper. Fry gently for four to five minutes until softened, then turn up the heat and add the wine to deglaze the pan. Fry off until all the moisture has gone, then tip on to a cold plate to cool as quickly as possible.
  • Wipe out the pan and add the spinach leaves. In a minute or two they will have wilted down. Transfer to a chopping board, roughly chop and mix the spinach through the lentils.
  • Roll out your pastry sheet on baking paper on a metal baking sheet. You should have it portrait style in front of you. You will only need to work with the top half, as the bottom half will roll over the filling to make the complete sausage shape. As you add filling in the next step, leave a 1cm gap above the mixture to seal.
  • Brush the top half with Dijon mustard. Spoon over your mushroom and onion duxelle and flatten with the back of a spoon. Drain your dried mushrooms and scatter over the duxelle. Now add your lentil mix, making a rough sausage shape.
  • Brush the spare 1cm you left with a little water to provide a seal. Gently pull the pastry over the filling and press together to seal. Using a sharp knife make several slits over the top, just piercing the pastry to allow steam to escape. Brush with beaten egg, sprinkle with sea salt and bake. Cook for 25 minutes or until the pastry is completely risen and golden brown. Cut in thick slices and serve with mashed potatoes and gravy (a gravy sweetened with redcurrant jelly works really well with this).
Categories
black pudding pastry sausages

black pudding sausage rolls

I’m a huge fan of black pudding. I rarely have it but when I do I revel in the spiced, oaty meaty flavour. Lightly crisp from the grill, with a slick of brown sauce it’s perfection.

Clonakilty sent some of their product to try. Their bacon was thin cut and full of flavour. Their sausages were plump and juicy. The black pudding was really good, but different to what I’d had before. Scanning the packaging I realised what; their black pudding is beef. Pretty sure I’d only ever had pork before. What a rich, meaty taste it gives.

Picture courtesy of Clonakilty

How better to show them off than putting them into a sausage roll. Black pudding by itself could be pretty heavy going, so I’ve mixed it with regular pork sausagemeat to calm it down. The addition of a sweet-sharp onion chutney is a great way to balance out the flavours.

I used Clonakilty Ispini sausages, but you could use pork chipolatas if you can’t get these.

Cut them large or small as required to suit your party. I made mine on the large side to go in lunchboxes, but you could make yours more dainty to serve as a canape. Serve large or small, the choice is yours!

Thanks to Clonakilty for the samples.

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black pudding sausage rolls

Course Snack
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings 6 people
Author Gary @ BigSpud

Ingredients

  • 400 g pork sausages I used Clonakilty Ispini
  • 200 g black pudding I used Clonakilty beef black pudding
  • 2 tablespoons red onion chutney
  • 1 roll puff pastry (320g)
  • 1 egg beaten

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 200C.
  • Roll out your puff pastry sheet and cut to size. Arrange on baking paper on a metal baking sheet. Brush the pastry evenly with chutney.
  • Squeeze the sausagemeat out of it's skins into a bowl. Roughly chop the black pudding and mix with the sausage. Divide into your pastry, roll over and seal. Slash the tops to allow steam to escape and brush with egg wash. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes, until the pastry is risen and golden brown.
Categories
lamb leftovers pastry pie swede

lamb and veg pie

Sainsbury’s are currently pushing us to make more of your leftovers. Growing up, we always had a roast on a Sunday and leftovers for the next day or two afterwards. As often as I can, I like to do the same. I think it’s well worth spending a little more, buying a larger joint with the assumption there will be 3, 4 or possibly 5 dinners out of the one roasting joint! That’s the case with this lamb and veg pie, made from succulent lamb leftovers. Leftovers also went into my L & P, lamb boulangere.

If you’re not convinced you’re going to use the meat in the next day or two, slice the meat and freeze in portions. I tend to measure out about 250g roast meat as this a good size to scale up or down. Then you only need to bring out a bit at a time.

As well as this lamb leftovers bonanza, I also sliced up some roast pork. I made a pork rendang, based on this great beef rendang recipe. And here’s pork meatballs, blitzed up with a few going off cream crackers and a handful of chopped herbs, served with linguine and tomato courgette sauce.

So it doesn’t have to be just ham egg and chips or sandwiches – although there’s nothing wrong with either of those! – but wherever you’d use meat in a recipe, you can probably use roasted meat instead. You’ll be able to make it much quicker as most of the cooking is already done.

Here’s a great selection of recipes from Sainsbury’s for making the most of your leftovers.

Want more leftover recipes? Try a potato pancake stuffed with goodies, a risotto made with stock from the carcass, or follow Sainsburys #foodgofurther hashtag on Twitter.

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lamb and veg pie

Author Gary @ BigSpud

Ingredients

  • 200 g flour
  • 50 g butter cubed
  • 50 g lard cubed
  • 250 g leftover lamb
  • 1 swede peeled and diced
  • 2 carrots peeled and diced
  • 1 onion diced
  • 1 teaspoon mixed herbs
  • 1 teaspoon English mustard
  • 400 ml chicken stock

Instructions

  • First make the pastry. Rub the fats into the flour until it's all crumbly, then add a little water until it comes together into a smooth dough. Leave to rest in the fridge until needed.
  • Preheat the oven to 180C. Pop the lamb, veg, mustard, herbs and stock into a baking dish. Roll the pastry to the thickness of a pound coin and cover the pie. Slash the lid to allow the steam to escape, and brush with an egg or milk wash if you have some spare. If you've got some, a little sprinkle of coarse sea salt on top will be a great flavour punch. Pop in the oven and bake for 30 mins until golden and risen. Serve with greens and gravy.
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