Author: Notnick

Chana Dahl

200g green lentils
2 onions, fine dice
1’thumb’ ginger fine dice or grated
2 cloves garlic paste
3 tomatoes, chopped
1tsp cumin
1tsp turmeric
1tsp garam masala
1tsp red chilli powder
salt to taste + green chillis (dealers choice)
handful of rough chopped coriander leaf

sweat the onions, add ginger, garlic, tomatoes, cumin & turmeric. Add the lentils and enough water to just cover them. cook for c30 minutes until the lentils are cooked (timing depends on the type of lentil).  You will need to add some water as you go, making sure the dahl doesn’t stick or burn.

when cooked, add salt to taste, maybe a splash of lemon/lime juice if needed. Once off the heat, stir in garam masala, coriander and green chillis – split length-wise.

Bread Sauce

  • 800g  stale white loaf (crumbed)
  • 1 l milk
  • 1 onion, studded with 4-6 cloves
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 10 whole peppercorns
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground mace
  • 30 grams butter
  • fresh nutmeg

Heat the milk with the herbs, spices and onion in nearly to a boil. Leave to steep for 20 mins until cool. Sieve the milk. Add the bread (rough lumps) and heat and whip  when you’re ready to serve.

Sables

200g plain flour
80g icing sugar
pinch salt
3 egg yolks
130g unsalted butter, cold & diced
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 egg beaten, to glaze

Mix the flour, sugar and butter to a ‘fine sand’ then add the egg yolks to make a firm dough. chill for 15 mins in the fridge.

Roll out to 5mm thick, and cut to rounds with a fluted cutter. place on a baking sheet and brush with egg. chill for 15 mins. brush again and nake at 180˚c for12 mins

Brandy snaps

Makes 12

50g butter
50g caster sugar
30ml golden syrup
50g plain flour
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1tsp brandy
150ml double cream – whipped for filling

Preheat the oven to 180˚c + line 2-3 baking sheets (ptfe sheets are best – these things can get sticky)

Heat the butter, sugar and syrup in a pan until mixed. Remove from the heat and stir in the flour and ginger.

put small spoonfuls of the mix onto baking sheets, 10cm apart (they spread). Bake for 7 mins until bubbling. Take them out of the oven, and roll the soft disc around a wooden spoon handle to make the tubes. Once they’re a little firmer, slide off the spoon and onto a cooling rack.

Fill with the whipped cream when they’re cool. yum.

Sloe Gin (with a slider to finish)

Makes 720ml

450g ripe sloes
175g granulated sugar
725ml gin (cheap, rough, any old)

wash and de-stalk the sloes, and puncture all over with a fork – and/or freeze overnight.

Seal the sloes in a kilner jar with the sugar and gin, and leave for 3 months. Shake occasionally. Make sure the sloes are covered. Decant into a bottle when you’re good and ready..

And finally – add the leftover sloes to a litre of cider/scrumpy to make a ‘Slider’ – (back in the kilner jar for 2 weeks then bottle)

Scones – Best Cheese

Cheese scones are a family recipe. mum always made them, and this is the closest I can get…

Ingredients makes 6 scones
225g self raising flour
1/2 tsp Pinch salt
1 tsp English mustard powder
handful of finely chopped parsley (optional, makes them green!)
1 tsp baking powder
55g butter
130g cheddar cheese plus some extra for sprinkling on top
1 egg plus enough buttermilk to make up 80-90 ml,  plus extra for glazing

Method
Preheat oven with the baking tray inside to 180.C. In a bowl mix the flour, salt, mustard and baking powder.
Rub the butter into the dry ingredients. Sprinkle the grated cheese into the breadcrumb mixture and fold in Try not to mix too much as the heat from your hands may start to melt the cheese.
Make a well in the centre of the mixture mix in the butter milk to make a soft dough.
Lightly flour a surface and roll out the dough to approximately 2cm thick. Cut out the scones with a medium cutter and then place on the hot oven tray. Glaze the tops with the extra milk and sprinkle a little cheese on the top of each scone before putting in the oven.
Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through.