Tag Archives: Cooking

Apple and blackberry tartlets

Preparation time 30 minutes
Cooking time 45 minutes
Calories per tartlet 727 Kcal
Fat per tartlet 34g
of which saturated 20.1g
Makes 4 tartlets
Suitable for vegetarians + freezing
For the filling
Bramley cooking apples 500g (1lb 2oz), peeled, cored and sliced
Caster sugar 150g (5oz)
Lemon 1, finely pared zest and juice
Blackberries 150g (5oz), hulled
For the pastry
Plain flour 250g (9oz)
Salt a pinch
Butter 150g (5oz)
Caster sugar 1½ tbsp, plus extra for sifting
Egg 1 large, beaten with 2 tbsp water
1 To make the filling, put the apples in a saucepan, add the sugar, lemon zest and juice and 2 tablespoons of cold water. Cover the pan and cook gently until the apples are softened. Remove from the heat, add the blackberries and set aside to cool.
2 To make the pastry, sift the flour and a pinch of salt into a bowl. Add the butter and rub it into the flour until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs, then add the sugar. Finally, add the egg and mix to make a soft dough.
3 Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface and roll it out to 3mm (1⁄8in) thick. Using a 12.5cm (5in) diameter cutter, cut out four rounds from the pastry and set aside.
4 Preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F/Gas 7. Line a four-hole Yorkshire pudding tray with the pastry rounds and fill with the apple and blackberry mixture. Bring the pastry sides in and over the filling.
5 Cover the tartlets loosely with foil and bake in the oven for 35–40 minutes, until golden brown, removing the foil after 20 minutes. Sift a little caster sugar over the tartlets and serve.
Cook’s tip
Open freeze at the end of step 4, then individually wrap in foil and freeze for up to 9 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight and then cook as described.
Shopper’s tip
Bramley cooking apples are best for this recipe. Choose those that are unblemished.
Apple & Blackberry Tartlets

Apple & Blackberry Tartlets

Perfect for an afternoon treat – go on, spoil yourself.

Preparation time 30 minutes
Cooking time  45 minutes
Calories per tartlet  727 Kcal
Fat per tartlet  34g
of which saturated  20.1g
Makes  4 tartlets
Suitable for vegetarians + freezing

For the filling
Bramley cooking apples 500g (1lb 2oz), peeled, cored and sliced
Caster sugar 150g (5oz)
Lemon 1, finely pared zest and juice
Blackberries 150g (5oz), hulled

For the pastry
Plain flour 250g (9oz)
Salt a pinch
Butter 150g (5oz)
Caster sugar 1½ tbsp, plus extra for sifting
Egg 1 large, beaten with 2 tbsp water

1 To make the filling, put the apples in a saucepan, add the sugar, lemon zest and juice and 2 tablespoons of cold water. Cover the pan and cook gently until the apples are softened. Remove from the heat, add the blackberries and set aside to cool.

2 To make the pastry, sift the flour and a pinch of salt into a bowl. Add the butter and rub it into the flour until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs, then add the sugar. Finally, add the egg and mix to make a soft dough.

3 Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface and roll it out to 3mm (1⁄8in) thick. Using a 12.5cm (5in) diameter cutter, cut out four rounds from the pastry and set aside.

4 Preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F/Gas 7. Line a four-hole Yorkshire pudding tray with the pastry rounds and fill with the apple and blackberry mixture. Bring the pastry sides in and over the filling.

5 Cover the tartlets loosely with foil and bake in the oven for 35–40 minutes, until golden brown, removing the foil after 20 minutes. Sift a little caster sugar over the tartlets and serve.

Cook’s tip
Open freeze at the end of step 4, then individually wrap in foil and freeze for up to 9 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight and then cook as described.

Shopper’s tip
Bramley cooking apples are best for this recipe. Choose those that are unblemished.

Recipe taken from Clever Cooking for One or Two, Dairy Cookbook.

Cover story

It’s been an exciting week this week as Karen (our designer) and I have been commissioning illustrators to create cover ideas for the 2011 Dairy Diary.

There are so many talented people out there is was very difficult to narrow it down to just five, who will create rough designs for our research groups at the end of this month.

Dairy Diary covers have changed radically over the last three decades, with subject matter varying from tennis rackets to teapots. We have decided to go full circle and take inspiration from the very first edition – 1982, choosing butterflies and flowers as the subject matter. Obviously the style will be radically different to the 1982 diary, with a soft and feminine feel but contemporary design.

Photography has featured on the covers of the diary in recent years, so we felt it was time for a change and illustration was the right route to take. I can‘t wait to see the designs that the illustrators create for us!

Dairy Diary Chat launch competition winners

This week’s other exciting news – we have drawn our competition winners!

Congratulations to Maisie, Christina, Clara, Gillian, Coral, Wendy, Doreen, Mike, Eve, Natalie, Janet, Aurora, Kate, Emma, Alison, Maureen, L Rose, Angie, Jackie and L Robbins. Just One Pot Dairy cookbooks are on their way to you. I hope you all enjoy the new recipes and let us know how you get on. Happy cooking!

For a taste of what Just One Pot has to offer try this delicious Onion, Mushroom & Goats’ Cheese Pizza.

Onion, mushroom & goats’ cheese pizza

Tangy goats’ cheese contrasting with velvety mushrooms.
Thin and crispy pizza base 1
Organic onion relish 2–3 tbsp
Tomatoes 2, thinly sliced
Baby mushrooms 50g (2oz), wiped and sliced
Goats’ cheese 110g (4oz), sliced and broken into chunks
Green pesto sauce about 1 tbsp (optional)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Wild rocket about 15g (½oz)
Preheat the oven to 220ºC/425ºF/Gas 7.
Put the pizza base onto a baking sheet. Spread the onion relish on the top to make a thin layer. Scatter the tomatoes and mushrooms on top. Add the goats’ cheese and bake for 10–12 minutes or until the pizza is golden and cooked.
Quickly spread green pesto sauce over the top of the pizza, if using. Season to taste and serve with a handful of rocket in the centre.
COOK’S TIP
Don’t go mad with the onion relish – it is strong and quite sweet but cuts through the richness of the goats’ cheese beautifully.

Tangy goats’ cheese contrasting with velvety mushrooms.

Onion, mushroom & goats' cheese pizza

Onion, mushroom & goats' cheese pizza

Thin and crispy pizza base 1
Organic onion relish 2–3 tbsp
Tomatoes 2, thinly sliced
Baby mushrooms 50g (2oz), wiped and sliced
Goats’ cheese 110g (4oz), sliced and broken into chunks
Green pesto sauce about 1 tbsp (optional)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Wild rocket about 15g (½oz)

1 Preheat the oven to 220ºC/425ºF/Gas 7.

2 Put the pizza base onto a baking sheet. Spread the onion relish on the top to make a thin layer. Scatter the tomatoes and mushrooms on top. Add the goats’ cheese and bake for 10–12 minutes or until the pizza is golden and cooked.

3 Quickly spread green pesto sauce over the top of the pizza, if using. Season to taste and serve with a handful of rocket in the centre.

Cook’s tip
Don’t go mad with the onion relish – it is strong and quite sweet but cuts through the richness of the goats’ cheese beautifully.

Recipe taken from the new Just One Pot, Dairy Cookbook. Available now.

Luxury Florentines

Luxury florentines
Devine delights. And they look so fabulous too!
Time 50 mins
110 calories per Florentine
6G fat of which 2.8G is saturated
Suitable for vegetarians
Makes 20
Unsalted butter 50g (2oz)
Single cream 90ml (3fl oz)
Soft dark brown sugar 75g (3oz)
Orange 1 small, finely grated zest and 1 tbsp juice
Plain flour 50g (2oz)
Flaked almonds 50g (2oz)
Mixed cut peel 50g (2oz)
Glacé cherries 50g (2oz), quartered
Glacé pineapple or crystallised
stem ginger 25–40g (1–11⁄2oz), chopped
Angelica 25–40g (1–11⁄2oz), chopped
Dark chocolate 100g packet, broken into pieces
1 Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas 4. Line 3–4 baking trays with baking paper.
2 Put butter, cream, sugar, orange zest and juice into a large saucepan and stir over a moderate heat until melted and smooth.
3 Add flour, almonds, peel, cherries, pineapple and angelica to pan and mix well. Allow mixture to cool a little.
4 Put teaspoonfuls of mixture onto prepared trays, spacing well apart. Bake in batches for 10–12 minutes until spread out thinly and lightly browned.
5 Allow florentines to cool until cold on baking trays. When quite cold, melt chocolate (see page 93) and spread evenly over the smooth underside of each florentine. Allow chocolate to set and store in an airtight
container, interleaved with nonstick foil or baking paper.

Divine delights. And they look so fabulous too! Could you resist one?

Luxury Florentines from the Dairy Diary 2010

Luxury Florentines from the Dairy Diary 2010

Time 50 mins
110 calories per Florentine
6G fat of which 2.8G is saturated
Suitable for vegetarians
Makes 20

Unsalted butter 50g (2oz)
Single cream 90ml (3fl oz)
Soft dark brown sugar 75g (3oz)
Orange 1 small, finely grated zest and 1 tbsp juice
Plain flour 50g (2oz)
Flaked almonds 50g (2oz)
Mixed cut peel 50g (2oz)
Glacé cherries 50g (2oz), quartered
Glacé pineapple or crystallised stem ginger 25–40g (1–11⁄2oz), chopped
Angelica 25–40g (1–11⁄2oz), chopped
Dark chocolate 100g packet, broken into pieces

1 Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas 4. Line 3–4 baking trays with baking paper.

2 Put butter, cream, sugar, orange zest and juice into a large saucepan and stir over a moderate heat until melted and smooth.

3 Add flour, almonds, peel, cherries, pineapple and angelica to pan and mix well. Allow mixture to cool a little.

4 Put teaspoonfuls of mixture onto prepared trays, spacing well apart. Bake in batches for 10–12 minutes until spread out thinly and lightly browned.

5 Allow florentines to cool until cold on baking trays. When quite cold, melt chocolate (see page 93) and spread evenly over the smooth underside of each florentine. Allow chocolate to set and store in an airtight container, interleaved with nonstick foil or baking paper.

A Dairy Diary 2010 recipe.

National days

Who on earth creates and legislates (if they are?) these ‘National Something Ridiculous’ Days?

Recently on Twitter I have seen National Tapioca Pudding Day, National Blueberry Muffin Day and National Piña Colada Day!

Surely, these must have been made up by some over zealous (or desperate) marketing agency?

Believe it or not the humble ploughman’s lunch was also created in the sixties by an advertising agency to promote the traditional pub lunch! I certainly don’t take exception to this though, as there’s nothing nicer on a warm summer’s day than sitting in the beer garden of a country pub enjoying a delicious wedge of cheese with pickle and a hunk of bread – washed down with a cold half pint!

Have a go at this gorgeous Chutney – no ploughman’s lunch is complete without it. It’s well worth the effort. Let me know how you get on.

Ploughman’s Lunch Chutney

No Ploughman’s Lunch is complete without this great Chutney.

Ploughman's Lunch

Ploughman's Lunch

Preparation time: 1 hour
Cooking time 3-3½  hours
Makes approximately 2.3kg  (5lb)

Cooking apples 1.8kg (4lb) peeled, cored and roughly chopped
Onions 900g (2lb) peeled, halved and thickly sliced lengthways
Dry cider 500ml (16fl oz)
Sultanas 175g (6oz)
Seedless raisins 175g (6oz)
Salt 25g (1oz)
Ground ginger 15g (½oz)
Sweet paprika 1 tbsp
Clear honey 225g (8oz)
Soft dark brown sugar 110g (4oz)
Distilled malt vinegar 900ml (1½pints)
Clean jars and acid resistant lids

1 Place the apples and onions in a large, heavy-based preserving pan. Add the cider and cook over a moderate heat for 20 minutes, until the apples and onions start to soften.

2 Add the sultanas, raisins, salt, ginger, paprika, honey and sugar to the pan. Pour in half of the vinegar, stir well and cook for 20 minutes.

3 Stir in the remaining vinegar and bring to the boil, stirring occasionally. Then, reduce the heat and allow the chutney to cook at a gentle bubble until reduced by approximately two-thirds, or until when a spoon drawn through the centre leaves a gap that is slow to close up. Stir the chutney frequently to prevent it burning.

4 Remove the pan from the heat and allow the chutney to cool until cold, then spoon into clean jars. Using a clean skewer, work the skewer backwards and forwards through the chutney to remove any air bubbles.

5 Wipe the tops of the jars clean, and then cover with acid-proof lids. Store in a cool, dark, dry and airy cupboard. Preferably, allow the chutney to mature for 2-3 months before using.

Recipe taken from the Around Britain Dairy Cookbook.

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