Bakewell Tarts

Diana Green
Great picnic snack. Delicious with ice cream.
Cook Time 15 mins
Course Dessert
Cuisine British
Servings 12 Tarts

Ingredients
  

  • 1 Egg
  • 55 g Butter
  • 55 g Caster Sugar
  • 55 g Ground Almonds

Pastry

  • 100 g SR Flour
  • 50 g Butter
  • Cold Water
  • 1 Jar Jam Any Red Berry Jam

Instructions
 

Pastry

  • Rub butter into flour until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs and add enough cold water to bind
  • Roll out pastry, cut into rounds and place in greased tart tray
  • Bake in oven gas 4 (180°) for about 10 mins until pastry has browned

Filling

  • Cream butter and sugar together until soft and pale in colour. Make sure that butter is soft and at room temperature to make mixing easier
  • Add ground almonds and egg and mix well
  • Place approx 1 tsp of jam into each baked pastry case
  • Place heaped tsp of filling on top of jam. No need to spread as the mix will spread by itself in the oven
  • Put in oven, gas mark 3 (160 °) and bake for approx 15 mins until browned

Notes

Try making your own jam for your tarts.

Samosas

Diana Green
Popular Indian Snack. Hot or Cold
Prep Time 1 hr
Cook Time 30 mins
Course Snack
Cuisine Indian
Servings 25 Samosas

Equipment

  • Deep Fat Fryer Or deep saucepan for frying

Ingredients
  

Samosa Pastry

  • 500 g SR Flour extra flour for rolling
  • 60 ml Olive Oil
  • pinch Salt
  • Water to bind

Samosa Filling

  • 500 g New Potatoes
  • 4 Carrots
  • 300 g Green Beans
  • 1 Onion
  • 1 tsp Cumin Seeds
  • 1 tsp Mustard Seeds
  • 1 tblsp Grated Root Ginger
  • 4 cloves Garlic
  • 20 Curry Leaves
  • 1 tsp Grated Fresh Turmeric
  • 1 Chilli
  • 1 tblsp Garam Masala
  • 400 ml Coconut Milk

Instructions
 

Samosa Pastry

  • Mix olive oil into flour
  • Add salt
  • Add enough cold water to form a stiff dough
  • Knead pastry for a few minutes
  • Cover with T towel and leave to rest for approx 10 mins
  • Cut into small balls of approx 35 g
  • Roll each ball into a round and cut in half
  • Moisten long edge of pastry and fold into a cone
  • Fill cone with samosa mixture and seal
  • Fry in hot oil for approx 6 mins

Samosa Filling

  • Chop potatoes and carrots into small chunks
  • Chop onion finely
  • Chop chilli finely
  • Crush garlic
  • Chop green beans into small pieces
  • Grate ginger and turmeric
  • Add oil to pan and fry mustard and cumin seeds until popping
  • Add onion, garlic, ginger, turmeric, chilli and curry leaves
  • When onion has softened add potato and carrot and continue to fry for about 5 mins
  • Add coconut milk and garam masala and simmer until potatoes are soft
  • Boil beans in water until soft and add to mix when cooked
  • Leave samosa mix to cool

Notes

Leave out the chilli if you wish.
Try using frozen peas if no green beans available
Curry leaves and fresh turmeric can be purchased from Asian stores and kept in the freezer
Keyword Vegetarian

Beetroot Bhaji

Diana Green
Indian Snack
Prep Time 15 mins
Cook Time 4 mins
Course Snack
Cuisine Indian
Servings 6 People

Equipment

  • 1 Deep Fat Fryer Or deep pan for frying

Ingredients
  

  • 2 White Onions
  • 400 g Beetroot
  • 200 g Gram Flour
  • 1 tsp Baking Powder
  • 1 tsp Salt
  • 1 tblsp Garam Masala
  • 1 tsp Cumin Seeds

Instructions
 

  • Slice Onions
  • Grate Beetroot
  • Add flour, baking powder, spices and salt
  • Add enough cold water to make a very thick batter
  • Drop tsp of the mix into hot oil and fry for approx 4 mins

Notes

Add cold water little by little so that the mix doesn’t become too runny. The batter should be thick enough to only just drop off a spoon
Don’t make the bhajis too big or they will not cook all the way through
Keyword Vegetarian

Raspberry & Blackberry Jam

Diana Green
Great for tarts and cakes
Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 15 mins
Course Dessert
Cuisine British
Servings 4 Jars

Equipment

  • 1 Wide Based Pan

Ingredients
  

  • 1 kg Raspberries & Blackberries Any mix of berries
  • 750 g Granulated Sugar
  • 1 Lemon

Instructions
 

  • Prepare Berries
  • Add to pan
  • Add sugar
  • Heat very gently until sugar melts
  • Turn up heat and add lemon juice
  • Simmer for approx 10 mins until setting point is reached
  • Test for setting by putting some jam on a chilled saucer in fridge
  • After a few mins the cold jam should form a skin when your finger is pushed across the surface
  • Put into sterilised jars while still warm

Notes

Use any quantity of berries. Weight of sugar is 75% weight of berries.
Avoid washing berries if possible to keep fruit intact
When heating gently until sugar dissolves don’t stir so as not to break up berries
Test for setting when jam forms extended droplets when falling from spoon
Be careful not to overcook, better to test sooner and continue to cook if not set sufficiently
Keyword Jam

Lavender & Honey Ice Cream

Diana Green
Lovely mauve colour
Prep Time 14 mins
Cook Time 1 hr
Servings 8 people

Equipment

  • 1 Ice Cream Maker Or bowl for beating and freezing

Ingredients
  

  • 4 Egg Yolks
  • 500 ml Full Fat Milk
  • 300 ml Double Cream
  • 2 tblsp Lavender Flowers
  • 75 g Caster Sugar
  • 2 tblsp Honey

Instructions
 

  • Put lavender flowers in pan with milk and simmer on low heat for about 5 mins
  • Leave milk for lavender to infuse for about 15 mins
  • Strain lavender from milk and measure out 300 ml – add more milk if quantity has reduced by too much
  • Beat egg yolks with sugar until thick and pale
  • Reheat strained milk until just boiling and pour into egg mix and beat
  • Add honey and cream
  • Pour into ice cream maker and churn for approx 1 hour

Notes

To make without an ice cream maker put mix into a shallow bowl and place in freezer. Depending on the speed of freezing  you will need to remove from the freezer several times and stir to prevent large ice crystals forming
Use this recipe (omitting honey) to create other flavours. For lemon & lime simmer the milk with the zest of 3 limes and 3 lemons and strain. Add the lemon & lime juice to the ice cream mix and churn