Blog

Category: Dessert

Area: French

Ingredients:

• 320g Puff Pastry
• 4 tbs Dark Brown Soft Sugar
• 3 Braeburn Apples
• 4 tbs Red Wine Jelly
• 100ml Creme Fraiche
• 1 tbs Icing Sugar
• 3 Cardamom

Instructions:

To make the red wine jelly, put the red wine, jam sugar, star anise, clove, cinnamon stick, allspice, split vanilla pod and seeds in a medium saucepan. Stir together, then heat gently to dissolve the sugar. Turn up the heat and boil for 20 mins until reduced and syrupy. Strain into a small, sterilised jam jar and leave to cool completely. Will keep in the fridge for up to 1 month.

Take the pastry out of the fridge and leave at room temperature for 10 mins, then unroll. Heat the grill to high and heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Cut out 2 x 13cm circles of pastry, using a plate as a guide, and place on a non-stick baking sheet. Sprinkle each circle with 1 tbsp sugar and grill for 5 mins to caramelise, watching carefully so that the sugar doesn’t burn. Remove from the grill. Can be done a few hours ahead, and left, covered, out of the fridge.

Peel, quarter and core the apples, cut into 2mm-thin slices and arrange on top of the pastry. Sprinkle over the remaining sugar and pop in the oven for 20-25 mins until the pastry is cooked through and golden, and the apples are softened. Remove and allow to cool slightly. Warm 3 tbsp of the red wine jelly in a small pan over a low heat with 1 tsp water to make it a little more runny, then brush over the top of the tarts.

Tip the crème fraîche into a bowl, sift over the icing sugar and cardamom, and mix together. Carefully lift the warm tarts onto serving plates and serve with the cardamom crème fraîche.

Category: Pork

Area: Chinese

Ingredients:

• 200g Pork
• 1 Egg
• Dash Water
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp Sugar
• 10g Soy Sauce
• 10g Starch
• 30g Tomato Puree
• 10g Vinegar
• Dash Coriander

Instructions:

Preparation
1. Crack the egg into a bowl. Separate the egg white and yolk.

Sweet and Sour Pork
2. Slice the pork tenderloin into strips.

3. Prepare the marinade using a pinch of salt, one teaspoon of starch, two teaspoons of light soy sauce, and an egg white.

4. Marinade the pork strips for about 20 minutes.

5. Put the remaining starch in a bowl. Add some water and vinegar to make a starchy sauce.

Sweet and Sour Pork
Cooking Instructions
1. Pour the cooking oil into a wok and heat to 190°C (375°F). Add the marinated pork strips and fry them until they turn brown. Remove the cooked pork from the wok and place on a plate.

2. Leave some oil in the wok. Put the tomato sauce and white sugar into the wok, and heat until the oil and sauce are fully combined.

3. Add some water to the wok and thoroughly heat the sweet and sour sauce before adding the pork strips to it.

4. Pour in the starchy sauce. Stir-fry all the ingredients until the pork and sauce are thoroughly mixed together.

5. Serve on a plate and add some coriander for decoration.

Category: Dessert

Area: British

Ingredients:

• 200g Butter
• 1 large Egg
• 4 tbs Milk
• 200g Golden Syrup
• 85g Black Treacle
• 85g Brown Sugar
• 100g Oatmeal
• 250g Self-raising Flour
• 1 tbs Ground Ginger

Instructions:

Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Grease a deep 22cm/9in square cake tin and line with baking parchment. Beat the egg and milk together with a fork.

Gently melt the syrup, treacle, sugar and butter together in a large pan until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat. Mix together the oatmeal, flour and ginger and stir into the syrup mixture, followed by the egg and milk.

Pour the mixture into the tin and bake for 50 mins – 1 hr until the cake feels firm and a little crusty on top. Cool in the tin then wrap in more parchment and foil and keep for 3-5 days before eating if you can – it’ll become softer and stickier the longer you leave it, up to 2 weeks.

Category: Breakfast

Area: American

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 oz Cream Cheese
• 1 1/4 cup Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• Flour
• 2 Puff Pastry
• Strawberries
• Raspberries
• Blackberries

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400ºF (200ºC), and prepare two cookie sheets with parchment paper. In a bowl, mix cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla until fully combined. Lightly flour the surface and roll out puff pastry on top to flatten. Cut each sheet of puff pastry into 9 equal squares. On the top right and bottom left of the pastry, cut an L shape approximately ½ inch (1 cm) from the edge.
NOTE: This L shape should reach all the way down and across the square, however both L shapes should not meet at the ends. Your pastry should look like a picture frame with two corners still intact.
Take the upper right corner and fold down towards the inner bottom corner. You will now have a diamond shape.
Place 1 to 2 teaspoons of the cream cheese filling in the middle, then place berries on top.
Repeat with the remaining pastry squares and place them onto the parchment covered baking sheet.
Bake for 15-20 minutes or until pastry is golden brown and puffed.
Enjoy!

Category: Pork

Area: Dutch

Ingredients:

• 1.5kg Potatoes
• 2 leaves Bay Leaf
• 2 Shallots
• 3 tbs Butter
• 750g Kale
• 2 Sausages
• 500ml Milk
• Grated Nutmeg
• Pinch Salt
• Pinch Pepper

Instructions:

Wash and peel the potatoes and cut into similarly sized pieces for even cooking.

In a large soup pot, boil the potatoes and the bay leaves in salted water for 20 minutes. Discard the bay leaves.

If you're not using a bag of ready-cut curly kale, wash the bunches thoroughly under cool running water to get rid of all soil—you wouldn't want that gritty texture in your finished dish. Trim any coarse stems and discard any brown leaves. With a sharp knife, cut the curly kale into thin strips.

Peel and chop the shallots.

In a frying pan or skillet, melt 1 tbsp. of butter and saute the shallots for a few minutes before adding the curly kale and 2 tbsp. of water. Season and cook for about 10 minutes, or until tender.

Warm the milk on the stove or in the microwave.

Drain, shake and dry the potatoes with kitchen towels before mashing with a potato masher or ricer. Working quickly, add the warm milk and the remaining butter. Season to taste with nutmeg, salt, and pepper.

Mix the cooked curly kale through the cooked mashed potato mixture.

Top with slices of the smoked sausage and serve hot with your favorite mustard or gravy.

Serve and enjoy!

Category: Side

Area: Irish

Ingredients:

• 1kg Potatoes
• 200ml Milk
• 50g Butter
• 2 tbs Mustard
• Bunch Spring Onions
• Bunch Spring Onions

Instructions:

STEP 1
Boil the potatoes for 15 mins or until tender. Drain, then mash.

STEP 2
Heat the milk and half the butter in the corner of the pan, then beat into the mash, along with the wholegrain mustard.

STEP 3
Gently fry the spring onions in the remaining butter for 2 mins until just soft but still a perky green. Fold into the mash and serve. Great with gammon or to top a fish pie.

Category: Vegetarian

Area: British

Ingredients:

• 1 Rapeseed Oil
• 1 Onion
• 3 cloves Garlic
• 1 tsp Paprika
• ½ tsp Cumin
• 1 tblsp Thyme
• 3 Medium Carrots
• 2 small stalks Celery
• 1 Red Pepper
• 1 Yellow Pepper
• 2 x 400g tins Tomato
• 250ml Vegetable Stock Cube
• 2 sliced Courgettes
• 2 sprigs Thyme
• 250g Lentils

Instructions:

Heat the oil in a large, heavy-based pan. Add the onions and cook gently for 5 – 10 mins until softened.
Add the garlic, spices, dried thyme, carrots, celery and peppers and cook for 5 minutes.
Add the tomatoes, stock, courgettes and fresh thyme and cook for 20 – 25 minutes.
Take out the thyme sprigs. Stir in the lentils and bring back to a simmer. Serve with wild and white basmati rice, mash or quinoa.

Category: Goat

Area: Kenyan

Ingredients:

• 1 kg Goat Meat
• 1 kg Corn Flour
• 2 Tomatoes
• Pinch Salt
• 1 Onion
• 1 Green Chilli
• 1 bunch Coriander Leaves

Instructions:

1. Steps for the Meat:
Roast meat over medium heat for 50 minutes and salt it as you turn it.

2. Steps for Ugali:
Bring the water and salt to a boil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Stir in the cornmeal slowly, letting it fall through the fingers of your hand.

3. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue stirring regularly, smashing any lumps with a spoon, until the mush pulls away from the sides of the pot and becomes very thick, about 10 minutes.

4.Remove from heat and allow to cool.

5. Place the ugali into a large serving bowl. Wet your hands with water, form a ball and serve.

6. Steps for Kachumbari: Mix the tomatoes, onions, chili and coriander leaves in a bowl.

7. Serve and enjoy!

Category: Chicken

Area: Thai

Ingredients:

• 6oz/180g rice stick noodles
• 2 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 2 tbsp oyster sauce
• 2 tsp soy sauce
• 2 tsp white vinegar
• 2 tsp sugar
• 2 tbsp water
• 2 tbsp peanut oil
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 cup Chicken
• 1 Egg
• 4 cups Chinese broccoli

Instructions:

Mix Sauce in small bowl.
Mince garlic into wok with oil. Place over high heat, when hot, add chicken and Chinese broccoli stems, cook until chicken is light golden.
Push to the side of the wok, crack egg in and scramble. Don't worry if it sticks to the bottom of the wok – it will char and which adds authentic flavour.
Add noodles, Chinese broccoli leaves and sauce. Gently mix together until the noodles are stained dark and leaves are wilted. Serve immediately!

Category: Side

Area: French

Ingredients:

• 2 finely chopped Onions
• sprigs of fresh Thyme
• 2 tbs Olive Oil
• 1.5kg Potatoes
• 425g Vegetable Stock

Instructions:

Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Fry the onions and thyme sprigs in the oil until softened and lightly coloured (about 5 mins).
Spread a layer of potatoes over the base of a 1.5-litre oiled gratin dish. Sprinkle over a few onions (see picture, above) and continue layering, finishing with a layer of potatoes. Pour over the stock and bake for 50-60 mins until the potatoes are cooked and the top is golden and crisp.