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Treats for us stay-at-homes
Here are two great recipes. A simple supper dish and a delicious dessert
A GREAT many people have flown their nests for August but for the ones of us left here it is a glorious time as London becomes our own. The traffic is less, the parking much easier and there is a lovely local feel. It is always my choice to stay around and appreciate the space.
For this month I am going to give you some foreign aromas and flavours and produce recipes from the places you may have gone on holiday if you weren’t reading this paper! So this week it is France – and not a frog’s leg in sight.
Gougere
This is a cheese flavoured choux puff which can either be cut up and served with a glass of Burgundy wine or served as a starter for a dinner party with perhaps fresh crab in the middle or just for a simple supper dish with perhaps a dressed tomato salad.
It is rather a forgotten dish and it is about time it was put firmly back on the menu.
Serves 4
Ingredients
250ml of water;
100g of butter;
Pinch of salt;
150g flour;
Four eggs, beaten;
60g Gruyere cheese grated;
450g tiny cubes; Gruyere cheese;
Freshly grated nutmeg.
Method
Preheat oven 220C 425F Gas 7
Bring the water, butter and salt to the boil. Remove from the pan from the heat and immediately tip in all the flour at once and stir and then beat until the mixture leaves the sides of the pan. Then gradually beat in the eggs. You may not need all the egg mix so stop when the mixture is still just holding its shape. Beat in the grated cheese and then the cubes. Season with pepper and nutmeg. Line a baking tray, about 25cm wide, with parchment paper and brush with butter. Put in tablespoons of the mixture in a large circle a little apart.
They spread together when baking. Cook for about 30-35 minutes or until golden brown and well risen. Serve hot or warm.
Strawberry Lemon Tart
I have just invented this today using the bottom of my lemon meringue pie recipe and topping it with wonderful plump red English strawberries. Hope you like it.
Ingredients
For the pastry:
125g of softened butter.
Two dessertspoons of caster sugar.
125g of plain flour.
50g of ground almonds.
For the filling:
One heaped dessertspoon of cornflour;
300 ml of milk;
Three heaped dessertspoons of sugar;
Grated rind and juice of one large lemon;
five egg yolks.
One egg white;
225g of ripe strawberries, hulled.
Method
Preheat oven 190C 375F Gas 5. To make the pastry, rub the butter into the mixed dry ingredients or put everything in a blender and blend until the pastry forms a ball. Press out with your fingertips into a 20cm flan ring, dusting the pastry with a little flour to prevent your fingers sticking to the pastry and making sure to bring the pastry evenly up the sides.
Prick the base with a fork and bake for about 25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven. Turn oven down to 150C 300F Gas 2.
To make the filling, put the cornflour and a little of the milk in a cup and blend to a smooth liquid.
Heat the remaining milk in a saucepan with the lemon rind and when it starts to simmer, remove from the heat.
Add the cornflour mixture, stirring continuously with a whisk, then return it to a low heat until thick. Stir in the sugar and lemon juice, remove from the heat, then stir in the egg yolks.
Whisk the egg white and when stiff, fold into the mixture. Pour into the pastry case and smooth over.
Cook in the oven for about 10 minutes or until mixture is slightly firm.
Leave to cool and then chill.
When ready to serve, cut the strawberries in half and arrange over the tart.
Sprinkle with icing sugar to decorate if you wish and serve. |
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