Soufflés are not just for special occasions. And don’t be intimidated by their reputation… they are really quite easy to make.
Follow me (and the twins!) in this short video as I make the Ham Soufflé recipe in the Dairy Diary 2011, page 107.
Delicious and very morish. I promise it will be an instant favourite.
Recipe taken from the Dairy Diary 2011.
This recipe makes enough sauce for 2 separate dishes – such as the Stir Fry Pork and Plum Semi-Freddo below – and can be frozen until required.
Time 25 minutes
Suitable for vegetarians, depending on usage
Suitable for freezing
Red plums 600g (1lb 6oz), halved, stoned and quartered
Ground cinnamon ¼–½ tsp
Golden caster sugar 75g (3oz)
Orange juice 3–6 tbsp
1 Tip the plums into a large heavy based pan with all the other ingredients (the amount of orange juice you use will depend on how ripe the plums are) and mix well.
2 Cook over a gentle heat for 8–10 minutes, stirring often. It is important to keep the heat very low or the cinnamon will burn and taste bitter.Cook for a further 5 minutes if necessary. The exact cooking time will depend on the ripeness of the plums – you want the mix to be tender but not mushy.
3 Then remove the pan from the heat and leave to cool.When cold, transfer the mixture into two freezer-proof containers, cover, label and freeze for up to 1 month.
Time 15 minutes plus thawing time
Calories per portion 713 Kcal
Fat per portion 16g
of which saturated 2.7g
Serves 3
Spiced plums 1 portion, thawed at room temperature for 3–4 hours or overnight in the fridge
Red wine vinegar 1–2 tbsp
Pork loin steaks 2, trimmed and cut into thin slices
Sesame oil 1 tbsp
Fresh egg noodles 385g packet
Oriental stir-fry mix 270g packet
1 Stir together the plum sauce and vinegar and then add the strips of pork.
2 Heat the sesame oil in a large wok and add the pork and plum sauce – watch out, it will sizzle a bit! Stir-fry for 5–7 minutes or until the liquid from the plums has almost evaporated.
3 Add the remaining ingredients and stir-fry for a further 3–5 minutes or until the vegetables have wilted and the pork is cooked through. Serve at once with soy sauce, if wished.
You can easily buy sesame oil in supermarkets – it adds a lovely flavour.
Time 10 minutes
Calories per portion 250 Kcal
Fat per portion 20g
of which saturated 11.3g
Serves 4
Suitable for vegetarians
Spiced plums 1 portion, still frozen
Double cream 150ml (¼ pint), lightly whipped
1 Take the plums from the freezer and remove the lid from the storage container. Microwave on high for about 10 seconds just so that you can get the plum mix out of the container.
2 Break the sauce into chunks and pop in a food processor. Then use the pulse button to cut the sauce into chunks.
3 Quickly add the chunks of sauce to the whipped cream and mix gently. Serve immediately in glasses with dessert biscuits.
You can also use the Plum Semi-Freddo as a filling for four meringue nests.
Recipes taken from Good Food, Fast: Dairy Cookbook
Time 25 minutes
Calories per portion 99 Kcal
Fat per portion 1gof which saturated 0.1g
Serves 3
Suitable for vegetarians
Suitable for freezing without the yogurt
Carrot 1 large, peeled and cut into small pieces
Celeriac, ¼ bulb, peeled and flesh cut into small pieces
Onion 1, peeled and chopped
Vegetable stock 600ml (1 pint)
Eating apples 2
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Grated nutmeg a pinch
Low fat natural yogurt 2–3 tbsp
Ready made croutons to serve
1 Put the vegetables in a medium saucepan and pour over the vegetable stock and bring to the boil. Then reduce the heat, cover the pan and simmer the soup for 5 minutes.
2 Meanwhile, peel, core and chop the apples. Stir into the vegetables and continue to simmer for a further 5 minutes until tender.
3 Remove the pan from the heat and blend the soup using a hand-held electric wand or in a food processor or blender until the vegetables are finely chopped. Return to the pan, if necessary, season to taste and add the nutmeg.
4 Stir in the yogurt and heat through very gently for 1–2 minutes without boiling, until piping hot. Ladle into warm bowls and top each with a handful of croutons and a grinding of black pepper.
Celeriac is a knobbly root vegetable related to celery. If unavailable, use 2 sticks chopped celery instead.
Recipe taken from Good Food, Fast: Dairy Cookbook.
Serves 4
Time 1 hour 10 mins
125 calories per portion
6G fat of which 0.4G is saturated
Suitable for vegetarians
Suitable for freezing
Red peppers 2 large
Light olive oil 1 tbsp
Onion 1 large, peeled and chopped
Tomatoes 450g (1lb), roughly chopped
Sun-dried tomato paste 2 tbsp
Vegetable stock 600ml (1 pint)
Dried oregano 1⁄2 tsp
Green pesto for drizzling, optional
1 Preheat grill to high. Place peppers on rack in a grill pan and cook, turning frequently, until the skin is lightly charred all over. Then put into a bowl, cover with cling film and leave to cool.
2 Place a sieve over a bowl (to catch juices) and then, holding peppers over sieve, remove skin and seeds. Roughly chop peppers.
3 In a large saucepan, heat oil, add onion and cook until slightly softened, but not browned.
4 Add peppers, tomatoes, tomato paste, stock and oregano. Bring up to boil, then reduce the heat, cover pan and cook for 40–45 minutes until tomatoes and peppers are soft. Allow soup to cool.
5 In batches, pour soup into a blender and blend until smooth. Strain through a sieve into a bowl, season to taste and serve with a drizzle of pesto, if using. To freeze, allow to cool, pour into containers and freeze. Thaw and reheat when required.
A Dairy Diary recipe.
Time 30 minutes
Calories per portion 554
KcalFat per portion 32.9gof which saturated 1.5g
Serves 2
Suitable for vegetarians
Suitable for freezing
Sliced bread 4 slices, crusts removed
Butter 25g (1oz)
Tomatoes 2, sliced
Mature Cheddar cheese 75g (3oz), grated
Eggs 2
Milk 150ml (¼ pint)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 Preheat the oven to 200°C/Gas 6 and place a baking sheet in the oven to heat up.
2 Cut the slices of bread in half diagonally, spread with butter on one side and arrange them, overlapping, in a small gratin dish. Insert the slices of tomato between the bread and then scatter over the cheese, lifting up some of the bread slices so that some cheese goes under the bread.
3 Use a fork to beat the eggs into the milk and season with salt and pepper. Pour the milk over the bread.
4 Place the dish on the heated baking sheet and bake in the centre of the oven for about 25 minutes, until the top is a light golden colour and it feels firm when lightly pressed in the centre.
5 Remove from the oven and serve immediately.
This recipe is particularly good for using up bread that has gone slightly stale in the bread bin.
Recipe taken from Good Food, Fast Dairy Cookbook.
Serves 4
Time 35 mins
Calories 171 per portion
Fat 9g of which
4.2g is saturated
Suitable for freezing
Butter 15g (1/2oz)
Carrot 1, peeled and chopped
Onion 1, peeled and chopped
Potato 175g (6oz), peeled and diced
Smoked streaky bacon 4 rashers, chopped
Korma curry paste 2 tsp
Chicken stock 450ml (3/4 pint)
Milk 300ml (1/2 pint)
Chopped coriander 3tbsp
1 Melt butter in a large pan and gently sauté carrot, onion, potato and bacon for 10 minutes.
2 Stir in the curry paste, cook 1 minute then add stock and season with salt and pepper. Bring up to boil, stirring, then cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
3 Pureée with a stick blender or in a food processor. Add milk and coriander and reheat.
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