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We’re five days into May and the British asparagus season is in full swing – hurrah!
I adore asparagus. It’s so tender, and its delicate flavour lends itself to many recipes, though it’s also wonderful on its own, lightly steamed and sprinkled with sea salt.
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This week I would like to share with you my favourite spring recipes.
These snacks, meals and bakes use gorgeous seasonal ingredients, are simple to create and taste delicious.
Which will become your favourite?
#tripletested
A classic pud with a deliciously modern twist. This recipe steams slowly on the hob while you have fun!
Time 1¾ hrs
Serves 6
Calories 442
Fat 19 of which 8.9g is saturated
Suitable for vegetarians
Self-raising flour 250g (9oz)
Ground cinnamon ¼ tsp
Shredded suet 125g (4½oz)
Orange 1, grated rind only
Milk 175ml-200ml (6-7fl oz)
Dried cranberries 75g (3oz)
Raisins 75g (3oz)
Caster sugar 75g (3oz)
Custard or cream to serve
1 Stir together flour, cinnamon, suet and orange rind in a bowl. Pour in milk, starting with 175ml (6fl oz), and adding a little more at a time until you have a moist but firm dough.
2 On a lightly floured surface roll dough out to a rectangle 20x28cm (8x11in). Mix together remaining ingredients and scatter over dough. Roll up as if making a Swiss roll from narrow end. Push any fruit that falls out back into the ends. Wrap in greaseproof paper and foil, making a pleat in each, twisting the ends to form a seal (like a cracker) and tie with string.
3 Cook in a large steamer set over a pan of boiling water for 1½ hours. Check water level.
4 Allow to cool slightly before unwrapping. Serve in thick slices with custard or cream.
A Dairy Diary recipe
#recipeoftheweek #spotteddick
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Enjoy a lovely long weekend, and gather with friends or family to celebrate Easter.
Treat your loved ones to a delicious lunch, it’s simple to prepare and can be left to cook while you socialise.
This surprising combination of ingredients, work beautifully together to create a light soup with subtle flavour.
Broccoli is an often forgotten vegetable, but this fab Broccoli & Apple Soup recipe revives it into something scrumptious. A Dairy Diary recipe. For more delicious recipes visit the Dairy Diary Recipe Collection.
Perfect for a social occasion, everything is cooked in the oven giving you time to enjoy with your guests.
Serves 6
Time 2½–3 hrs plus resting
Calories 625
Fat 34g of which 13g is saturated
Half leg of lamb weighing about 1.8kg (4lb)
Garlic 4 cloves, peeled and chopped
Fresh rosemary 4 sprigs, leaves plucked and chopped
Olive oil 6 tbsp
Small new potatoes 750g (1lb 10oz), scrubbed
Chantenay carrots 500g (1lb 2oz), trimmed and scrubbed
Asparagus 2 bundles weighing about 500g (1lb 2oz), trimmed
1 Preheat oven to 190ºC/Gas 5. Place lamb in a roasting tin. Mix together garlic, rosemary and 2 tablespoons of olive oil with freshly ground black pepper. Spread all over lamb. Roast for 2–2½ hours, depending on how you like your meat cooked.
2 When lamb has an hour left to cook, bring potatoes (cut any big ones in half) and carrots up to boil in pan of water and simmer for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, put remaining oil in a roasting tin in the oven above lamb to heat up. Drain vegetables, add to hot oil and roast for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and add asparagus. Stir well and cook for a further 15 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
3 Leave lamb to rest for 10 minutes before carving. Serve with gravy made from juices.
A classic pud with a deliciously modern twist. This recipe steams slowly on the hob while you have fun!
Time 1¾ hrs
Serves 6
Calories 442
Fat 19 of which 8.9g is saturated
Suitable for vegetarians
Self-raising flour 250g (9oz)
Ground cinnamon ¼ tsp
Shredded suet 125g (4½oz)
Orange 1, grated rind only
Milk 175ml-200ml (6-7fl oz)
Dried cranberries 75g (3oz)
Raisins 75g (3oz)
Caster sugar 75g (3oz)
Custard or cream to serve
1 Stir together flour, cinnamon, suet and orange rind in a bowl. Pour in milk, starting with 175ml (6fl oz), and adding a little more at a time until you have a moist but firm dough.
2 On a lightly floured surface roll dough out to a rectangle 20x28cm (8x11in). Mix together remaining ingredients and scatter over dough. Roll up as if making a Swiss roll from narrow end. Push any fruit that falls out back into the ends. Wrap in greaseproof paper and foil, making a pleat in each, twisting the ends to form a seal (like a cracker) and tie with string.
3 Cook in a large steamer set over a pan of boiling water for 1½ hours. Check water level.
4 Allow to cool slightly before unwrapping. Serve in thick slices with custard or cream.
WIN A SET OF GORGEOUS DENBY MUGSIf you’re entertaining with a motley collection of mismatching mugs, why not enter our prize draw to win a set of gorgeous Denby china?
Happy Easter everyone!
#easterrecipes #win
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I discovered this recipe on a recent trip to London (after a rather over-indulgent night out!) and I have been hankering after it ever since.
Shrove Tuesday has given me to perfect opportunity to try it at home and share it with the rest of the family.
Be warned, it’s naughty,
but very VERY nice!
Serves 4
Time 30 mins
Plain flour 110g (4oz)
Baking powder 2 tsp
Bicarbonate of soda ½ tsp
Caster sugar 1 tbsp
Salt ½ tsp
Eggs 2 large, beaten
Buttermilk 284/300ml tub
Butter 25g (1oz), melted, plus extra for frying
Streaky bacon 8 rashers
Maple syrup to serve
1 Sift flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda into a bowl. Stir in sugar and salt.
2 Whisk in eggs, buttermilk and butter, taking care not to over-whisk.
3 Heat a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat and add a tiny amount of butter. Pour in 2-3 spoonfuls of batter and cook for 1-2 minutes until bubbles appear and edges start to turn dry. Flip and cook for 1 minute more, until golden underneath. Keep warm.
4 Repeat until batter is used up.
5 Place bacon rashers side-by-side in a large non-stick frying pan. Fry over a medium heat for 4-5 minutes, turning halfway through, until crisp. Drain on kitchen paper.
6 Serve pancakes topped with bacon and drizzled with maple syrup.
Enjoy!
#pancakeday
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The whole point of Valentine’s Day is to enjoy time with your other half. So if you choose to eat at home rather than visit a restaurant (who may well inflate their prices for the privilege of dining with them on February 14th!), you will want a menu that gives you maximum time together rather than hours slaving in the kitchen.
These delicious recipes deliver maximum
flavour but allow you to prepare ahead, so
that you can enjoy each other’s company.
This speedy salad takes only 5 minutes to prepare yet tastes divine. The mix of textures and the contrast between the sweet pears and the salty Stilton works beautifully.
Time required 5 mins.
Per portion: 493 Kcal, 39g fat (11.4g saturated)
Suitable for vegetarians
Serves 2
Mixed leaf salad 50g (2oz)
Chicory 1 head, halved, leaves separated and torn into large pieces
Conference pears 2, cored and sliced
Stilton cheese 75g (3oz), crumbled
Walnut pieces 25g (1oz)
Walnut oil 1 tbsp
Extra virgin olive oil 2 tbsp
Lime 1, juice only
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Par-baked rolls 2, warmed, to serve, optional
1 Put the prepared salad and chicory leaves in a bowl. Add the pears to the bowl with the Stilton followed by the walnut pieces. Drizzle with the oil and lime juice, mix gently and season with salt and pepper.
2 Arrange the salad neatly in the centre of two large plates and serve at once with a warmed par-baked roll per person.
Recipe taken from Clever One Pot cookbook.
Cod loin is a really meaty fish, which works brilliantly with Pancetta. The veg is cooked in the oven with it, so all you need to do is heat a pre-prepared packet of rice or mixed grains and your whole meal is done.
Time required 30 mins.
Per portion: 358 Kcal, 23g fat (4.8g saturated)
Serves 2
Cod loin 2 pieces, 150–175g (5–6oz) each
Smoked sliced pancetta 8–10 slices, weighing about 50g (2oz)
Olive oil 2 tbsp
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Asparagus tips 125g (4½oz), trimmed
Ready-to-eat mixed grains 250g packet (found in the couscous/rice aisle of the supermarket) to serve, optional
Light mayonnaise 2–3 tbsp
Lime ½–1, juice only
1 Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/Gas 6. Generously wrap the cod loins in pancetta. Drizzle a little oil in a roasting tin and pop the cod loins on top of the oil. Drizzle the loins with a little more oil, season with pepper and roast in the oven for 10 minutes.
2 Meanwhile, tip the remaining oil into a plastic food bag. Add the asparagus tips and season with salt and pepper. Shake gently so the asparagus is lightly coated in oil.
3 Remove the cod loins from the oven, baste the pancetta with the juices in the pan and add the asparagus spears, making sure they are in a single layer. Roast for a further 8–10 minutes until the cod loins are cooked through and the asparagus is tender.
4 Heat the mixed grains (if using) in the microwave according to the packet’s instructions. Flavour the mayonnaise with lime juice, adding it gradually so it doesn’t split the mayonnaise, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
5 To serve, set a spoonful of mixed grains on each plate, pop the cod loin on top and arrange the asparagus spears neatly to the side. Serve at once with the lime mayonnaise.
Recipe taken from Clever One Pot cookbook
Make ahead and chill until you’re ready to pop it into the oven and then take time to saviour this decadent treat, served warm with a good drizzle of ready-made custard.
Time 45 minutes.
Per portion: 574 Kcal, 25g fat (13g saturated)
Suitable for freezing
Suitable for vegetarians
Serves 2
White bread 6 slices, crusts removed
Butter 40g (1½oz), softened
Marmalade 2 tbsp
Caster sugar 2 tbsp
Sultanas 2 tbsp
Eggs 2
Milk 200ml (7fl oz)
1 Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/Gas 5 and lightly butter a 600ml (1 pint) pie dish.
2 Spread the bread with butter and then with the marmalade and then cut each slice of bread into four triangles. Arrange the triangles in the prepared dish, sprinkling the layers with sugar and sultanas.
3 Beat the eggs and milk together in a jug, then pour into the dish. Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes until golden brown and set. Serve warm.
Recipe taken from Fantastic Food For Less cookbook.
Have a Happy Valentine’s Day.
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