Hotplate Archives - Page 3 of 10

5th October 2022 by Dan

The wonderfully fragant smell of onions and spices cooking at the beginning of this recipe will entice Bonfire Night revellers into the kitchen. It’s a good basic recipe using quick or easy-cook basmati rice. For meat eaters I often add cooked chicken and chorizo and for vegetarians crumbled feta, grilled halloumi cheese or extra roasted vegetables.

Serves 6

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp butter
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp fennel seeds
1 tsp black onion seeds
400g quick or easy-cook basmati rice
400g diced pumpkin
800ml hot vegetable stock
salt and freshly ground black pepper
125g thick Greek yogurt
100g radishes, sliced
100g roasted almonds, crushed
small bunch fresh mint and coriander, coarsely chopped
1 chilli, seeded and finely sliced

Method

Heat the oil and butter in a large, heavy-based pan (with tight-fitting lid). Add the onion, garlic, cumin, fennel and black onion seeds and cook for 3 minutes.
Add the rice and cook for 2 minutes. Add the pumpkin and stock. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat to a simmer, add salt and pepper to taste, cover and cook, without stirring, for 10 minutes, or until all the stock has been absorbed. (if you’re using regular rice then this may take up to 20-25 minutes cooking time). At this point add any meat or vegetarian extras, remove from the heat, re-cover and leave to stand for 5 minutes to finish cooking.
Remove the lid and give the pilaf a gentle stir. Top with the yogurt, scatter with the radishes and almonds then sprinkle with the mint, coriander and chilli to serve.

Tip

Younger members of the family may not appreciate the fiery taste or heat of the chillies added at the end of this recipe. Serve them first, then add the chillies for more mature tastes to keep everyone happy.

5th October 2022 by Dan

This poached pear dessert is so simple to make, yet it tastes utterly divine! The secret is that it’s not too sweet and the Parmigiano-Reggiano and ricotta filling complements the pears perfectly.

Serves: 4

Ingredients

150g Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
150g ricotta cheese
6 pears (not too ripe), peeled, halved and cored
600ml medium white wine
50g caster sugar
strip of lemon zest
generous pinch of saffron
2 star anise

Method

Grate the Parmigiano-Reggiano very finely. Add the ricotta, mix well then cover and set aside until ready to serve.
Put the pears, wine and sugar in a large pan with the lemon zest, saffron and star anise. Heat and simmer very gently for about 20 minutes, until the pears are tender. Remove from the heat and cool until barely warm.
Divide the pears, with some of the flavoured syrup, between 4 serving bowls. Spoon the cheese mixture onto the pears and serve.

Get Ahead

The pears can be made up to 3 days in advance, then covered and chilled until required. Warm them slightly before serving to enjoy them at their best.

3rd February 2020 by Dan

This simple but deep flavoured salad works well with larger white potatoes as well.

Serves

Six People

Ingredients

1 kg new potatoes well scrubbed
350 good organic streaky bacon or pancetta
2 large onions peeled and thinly sliced from tip to root
2 cloves of garlic peeled and slivered
1 massive handful of fresh coarsely chopped flat leaf parsley leaves
Salt and pepper
1 Tbls of olive oil

Method

Par boil the potatoes until just tender but not completely.

Heat a very large frying pan over the hot plate. Add the olive oil followed by the bacon fry until just starting to colour (2 mins max) add the onions and turn down the heat or move to the lower plate.

Sauté for 5 – 6 mins throw in the potatoes and cook for 10 – 20 more minutes.

Season well to taste.

Throw in the parsley, toss well and bring to the table.

Eat with bread, a little olive oil and some fresh tomatoes.

20th July 2023 by Dan

This is a type of cornbread that can be made successfully gluten free and by adding some summer vegetables and store cupboard ingredients it makes a simple & delicious savoury cake. Try adding sweet potato instead of broad beans or what you have available. Perfect for taking on picnics and a nutritious snack too! You will need a 20cm spring-form cake tin, lined with parchment paper, or you can make it in a lined loaf tin.

Ingredients

110g self-raising flour or gluten free SR flour
110g polenta
50g ground almonds
110g butter, chilled
4 eggs, beaten
50g Parmesan or strong cheddar, grated
A handful of podded broad beans or peas
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ a red pepper, diced
3 – 5 sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
10 black olives, chopped
4 spring onions, chopped
80g canned sweetcorn
A handful of fresh herbs, ie basil, parsley, thyme
Salt and freshly black pepper

Method

If using broad beans, blanch them in boiling water for a minute. Drain and cool down quickly (to retain their emerald green colour) and skin them. Reserve a few for decoration if you wish.
Fry the red pepper, spring onions and garlic in the olive oil for a few minutes. Allow to cool.
Put the flour, ground almonds, polenta into a bowl.
Cut the butter into small chunks and rub it into the dry ingredients with your fingertips (or you can use a food processor) until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs.
Then add the beaten eggs and all the vegetables, olives & herbs and cheese.
Season with a little salt (as the olives and cheese will provide salt) and plenty of freshly ground black pepper.
Mix well and spoon into the prepared tin.
Decorate with some extra podded broad beans if you wish.
Bake in the oven 180C (ESSE dial guide low end of HOT) for about 1 hour or until it is cooked and just starting to colour.

Recipe prepared by Philippa Vine using the ESSE 1000 X Electric Range Cooker at Bluebell Farmhouse Kitchen & Cookery School, East Sussex.

20th July 2023 by Dan

Cooking the whole unpeeled beetroot in the ESSE slowly until just cooked, is nutritious and gives the beetroot a rich and sweet flavour too. No need to bake the pastry blind as you cook it direct on the base of the oven. I like to add a few of the beetroot leaves, chopped to the filling, making the most of this delicious earthy vegetable!

Ingredients

For the shortcrust pastry:

225g plain flour, I use half wholemeal spelt and half plain flour
140g butter, chilled
1 large egg

For the filling:

4 beetroots, plus a few leaves, chopped
2 red onions, thinly sliced
Olive oil
100g soft goat’s cheese
3 eggs, beaten
200ml single cream
A small handful of fresh dill, chopped
Balsamic vinegar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Wash the beetroot and cut off the tops (save a few leaves for the filling) and roast them in the ESSE for about 1 ½ hours (depending on the size and freshness of the beetroot).
When the beetroot is almost tender, allow to cool a little and then slip the skins off with your fingers.
While the beetroot is cooking make the pastry as you would for shortcrust and line a 24cm loose-based flan tin.
Fry the onions in a little olive oil until they begin to colour then add a splash of balsamic vinegar and seasoning. Reduce the heat and continue to cook until the onions soften a little more.
Set aside to cool and then place in the pastry case.
Dice up a couple of the cooked and peeled beetroots and scatter over the onions and add some of the green beetroot leaves if you wish.
Put the cream and eggs into a bowl and mix together, add the chopped dill and season with salt and pepper.
Pour the mixture into the pastry case.
Scatter over the goat’s cheese and quarter the rest of the beetroot and carefully place on top of the tart.
Place on the base of the oven at 170C (ESSE dial guide MODERATE) and cook for about 40 minutes or until the filling has set and just starting to colour. Allow to cool slightly in the tin before serving.

Recipe prepared by Philippa Vine using the ESSE 1000 X Electric Range Cooker at Bluebell Farmhouse Kitchen & Cookery School, East Sussex.

16th June 2017 by Dan

Serves

Four people

Ingredients

50g butter
50g plain flour
Whole milk
1 kilo mussels
2 Tbls of white wine
2 Tbls water
300 fresh chard washed and courser stalks removed
4 shallots sliced
1 fat clove of garlic finely chopped
Fresh white bread crumbs
Half a lemon
Grated parmesan (optional)
Olive oil

Method

Set a medium sized pan over the hotter of the plates; (make sure it has a lid that fits it snugly). Add the wine, water and bring to the simmer. Throw in the scrubbed mussels. Toss them around the pan and replace the lid. They should open within a minute.

When the mussels are just opening remove them from the pan and set aside until they are cool enough for you to pick the meat from the shell.

Set a medium sized pan over the hotter plate. Add a splash of olive oil followed by the sliced garlic and sauté, just as it’s starting to colour throw in the washed chard and wilt it with the garlic for 2- 3 mins.

To make the Béchamel – melt the butter in a medium sized pan.

When it’s foaming add the flour and stir well. Combine the cooking liquor from the mussels with enough milk to give you 500 ml of liquid. Warm this in a pan and pour over the roux mixing all the time until it is smooth and creamy. Cook the béchamel for 4- 5 mins before removing from the heat.

Fry the shallots in a little olive oil over a medium heat until soft and golden.

Fold the shallots, picked mussels and cooked roughly chopped chard in to the béchamel.

Season with freshly ground black pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice.

Divide the mixture between 4 shallow oven proof dishes. Top with bread crumbs and cheese if you like and trickle over a little olive oil. Bake in the middle of the top oven reading middle of very hot, for 10 – 12 mins or until golden and bubbling.

Serve with crusty bread and butter.

29th March 2023 by Dan

This recipe is great for using up left-over jacket potatoes or just a delicious one pot potato dish. It is adaptable to whatever ingredients you have in your fridge, and it goes so well with roast chicken at this time of year when you have cooked enough roast potatoes over the winter months!

Ingredients

3 – 5 cooked large potatoes with skins, diced up
3 red onions, thinly sliced
260g chorizo sausage, skin removed and thinly sliced
100g pancetta, optional
A handful of wild garlic or parsley
Olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper

Method

Fry the onions, chorizo and pancetta (if you are using) in a little oil in a large oven proof pan over a medium heat until everything starts to colour, and the onions are softened.
Add the chopped potatoes and wild garlic, a little ground black pepper and cook for 5 minutes more. Taste for seasoning.
Give it a good stir and if you like a crispier topping pop it under the grill for a few minutes until its golden brown.

29th March 2023 by Dan

This recipe is a classic and easy to cook in your ESSE cooker, gently baked in the bottom oven with the steam vent closed to retain the moisture. It’s a great gluten free dessert and can be bake ahead of time.

Serves

10 approximately

Ingredients

For the base:

250g ginger nut biscuits or gluten free biscuits
125g butter plus a little extra for the tin

For the filling:

6 tablespoons caster sugar
20g cornflour
2 large tubs of Philadelphia full fat cream cheese
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 eggs
200ml double cream

For the topping:

Rhubarb, poached gently and sweetened with a squeeze of fresh orange zest and juice, plus a drizzle of honey

Method

Heat the oven to 150C. Butter generously a 20cm springform cake tin.
For the base, melt 125g of butter. Put the biscuits into a strong plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin, or whiz in a food processor. Tip into the melted butter and give it a good stir and press into your prepared tin.
Then beat together the cream cheese, sugar, eggs, cornflour, cream and vanilla essence.
Pour the mixture over the biscuit base and bake in the oven for about 45 minutes or until the topping has just set, there should be a slight wobble as it will set completely in the fridge.
Leave to cool in the tin, then chill in the fridge before carefully unmoulding. Then decorate with poached rhubarb.

29th March 2023 by Dan

This quick (and utterly delicious!) chocolate pud, which I’ve been making for years to delight my family, occupies a space somewhere between a brownie, a soufflé and a cake. I think you’ll agree that’s not a bad place to be. It can be whipped up easily (and on demand!) from store-cupboard ingredients. Briefly baked until set on the outside but still gooey in the middle, it is excellent served with some fruit to cut the richness. It’s gluten-free too.

Serves 4

Ingredients

100g dark chocolate, broken into pieces
100g butter, cut into pieces, plus extra to grease the dish
3 medium eggs
50g soft light brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
75g ground almonds
A pinch of salt

To serve

Raspberries or other berries, or plum compote
Yoghurt or cream (optional)

Method

Put the chocolate and butter into a saucepan and melt gently over a very low heat, watching all the time and stirring often so that the chocolate doesn’t get too hot. Set aside to cool a little. Preheat the oven to 190°C/ESSE Dial Guide HOT. (Aim for the dial reading to be at the low end of HOT). Butter a small oven dish.
In a large bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk the eggs, brown sugar and vanilla extract together until pale, thick and mousse-like. Using a stand mixer or hand-held electric whisk on full speed, this should only take a few minutes, but whisking by hand with a rotary or balloon whisk will take a lot longer! The mix should be significantly paler, thicker and increased in volume.
Turn the mixer down to a low speed and, with the motor running, slowly pour in the tepid melted chocolate and butter mixture (or whisk it gently by hand). Use a rubber spatula to scrape the last drops of chocolate into the mix, and then to fold the mixture fully together.
Combine the ground almonds and salt. Add to the chocolate mixture and fold in carefully, using the spatula.
Turn the mixture into the prepared oven dish and shake the dish a little to spread it out. Bake in the oven for 12–15 minutes until the pudding is set on top and firm at the edges, but still wobbly and gooey in the middle.
Serve straight away, with fresh raspberries or plum compote, and a spoonful of yoghurt or a trickle of cream if you like.

A best-loved favourite recipe made better by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall from the River Cottage good comfort cook book. Recipe prepared using his ESSE Range Cooker.

10th January 2023 by Dan

This simple but stylish salad starter is bursting with freshness and flavour and just the thing to start a Valentine’s Day meal. I think it is delicious with a little crusty ciabatta bread to soak up the juices.

Serves 2

Ingredients

100g Tenderstem broccoli
2 medium peaches, stoned and quartered
1 ½ tsp olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
50g baby spinach leaves
75g goat’s cheese log (I used Kidderton Ash), cut into thin slices
Few fresh basil leaves, torn into pieces

Dressing:

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Method

Preheat a griddle pan until smoking hot…this may take up to10 minutes.
In a medium bowl, toss the Tenderstem broccoli and peach quarters in the olive oil with salt and pepper to taste.
Add the peach and broccoli mixture to the griddle and cook for about 5 minutes, turning a few times, until they are just tender and marked with griddle-lines.
Arrange the spinach leaves on a serving plate and top with the cooked peach and broccoli mixture. Add the goat’s cheese and sprinkle with the basil leaves.
Beat the extra virgin olive oil with the balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper to taste to make a dressing. Drizzle over the salad and serve at once.

Tip

When available replace the peaches in this salad with 2 fresh, ripe nectarines or 4-6 fresh, ripe apricots… they are equally as delicious.

19th December 2022 by Dan

You will need a 22cm pie plate/tin.

This traditional minced beef and onion pie has the base of my staple selection of colourful vegetables to give it a real depth of flavour. The addition of dried porcini mushrooms (a wonderful winter store cupboard ingredient) gives it an extra savoury seasoning and means you don’t need to make any stock for this pie.

Ingredients

500g beef mince
1 large red onion, finely chopped
2 sticks of celery, finely chopped
2 carrots, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 teaspoons of tomato puree
1 heaped tablespoon dried porcini mushrooms, optional or 200ml beef stock
Freshly ground black pepper or 2 teaspoons of savoury spice mix (see below)
Salt
2 tablespoon olive oil or rapeseed oil

For the pastry

350g spelt or plain flour
200g butter
2 eggs, beaten plus 1 egg yolk plus a teaspoon of water for the egg wash

For the savoury spice mix

This will make more than you need for this pie but store what you don’t use in a clean jam jar for another winter casserole or pie. It adds a delicious and interesting savoury note!

1 tablespoon juniper berries
1 tablespoon whole coriander seeds
1 tablespoon whole black pepper
Grind the spices together

Method

Set your electric ESSE on the economical setting, using the top right oven for the filling. If you are using the Ironheart heat the oven for the gauge to read moderate/hot.
If using the dried mushrooms soak them in 200ml boiling water.
To make the pastry, rub the butter into the flour until it resembles crumble.
Add the eggs and work the mixture to a firm dough with a little gentle kneading. Add a splash of water if too dry. (You can use a food processor to speed up the process)
Wrap and chill in the fridge while you make the filling for the pie.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan on a high heat, add the mince and brown or until it loses its raw look, breaking it up with a table fork. Season with a good sprinkle of salt. Then add the celery, carrots, onions, garlic and cook, stirring for few minutes. Drain the mushrooms, keeping the liquid. Chop them and add to the mince mixture. Then stir in the flour and cook for 2 -3 minutes more. Add the mushroom liquid/stock, tomato puree, savoury spice mix or a good sprinkle of ground black pepper. Bring to the boil and cook in the ESSE for about 30 minutes until thickened. Add a splash more stock/water if too dry. Leave to cool while you roll out the pastry.
Increase the oven temperature to 200C or hot/very hot on the Ironheart.
Roll out two thirds of the pastry on a lightly floured surface to form a circle, then use it to line the base and sides of the dish. Roll out the remaining pastry to form the lid. Spoon in the cooled filling. Brush round the edge of the pastry with a little egg wash then lay the pastry lid over the filling, pressing to seal. Trim off any excess pastry and you can cut out shapes to use for decoration if you wish. Brush the pie with egg wash and cook on the base of the ESSE and bake for about 35 – 40 minutes until the pastry is golden brown.

Recipe baked in the ESSE Electric Range Cooker by Philippa Vine of Bluebell Farmhouse Kitchen, Arlington.

Philippa is a professional cook and cookery writer and delights visitors with her creative and wholesome food. She shares her passion for locally grown and sourced quality ingredients. Philippa runs several themed ESSE cookery courses and demonstrations every year in her delightful country kitchen.

2nd December 2022 by Dan

This lovely Chilean bean, corn and squash stew proved one of the most popular recipes in River Cottage Veg Everyday. I’ve enjoyed playing with the dish since then, adding creamy beans, fresh tomatoes and basil (included in some Chilean versions), along with not-so traditional celery, which adds a savoury note. I also ring the changes with courgettes in place of the squash. You can use whichever you prefer, or go half and half. It’s an easy dish… and very more-ish.

Serves 6

Ingredients

About 500g small–medium courgettes or peeled, deseeded squash, such as butternut, Crown Prince or onion squash
2 tbsp vegetable or olive oil
1 medium onion, sliced
2 celery sticks, sliced
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tsp sweet smoked paprika
A handful of oregano leaves, roughly chopped (or you can use thyme)
1 litre vegetable stock
1 bay leaf
200g green beans, trimmed and cut into 2cm pieces
400g tin beans, such as kidney, borlotti or butter beans, drained and rinsed
About 200g sweetcorn kernels (you should get this from 2 medium cobs, but frozen is also fine)
300g tomatoes, roughly chopped
6–8 basil leaves, torn
Sea salt and black pepper
Dried chilli flakes, to finish (optional)

Method

If using courgettes, cut them into 1cm slices (first quartering them lengthways if they are very large). If you’re using squash, cut it into 2cm chunks.
Heat the oil in a large saucepan or flameproof casserole over a medium heat. Add the onion, celery and garlic and sauté gently for 10–12 minutes. Add the paprika and chopped oregano (or thyme). Cook, stirring, for another minute.
Add the squash and/or courgettes, vegetable stock and bay leaf and bring to a simmer. Cook for 10–15 minutes until all the veg are almost tender.
Add the green beans, tinned beans, sweetcorn and tomatoes and simmer for 5 minutes or until all the veg are tender. Stir in the basil and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Serve the stew in warmed bowls, adding a pinch of chilli flakes for those who like a bit of heat.

A best-loved favourite recipe made better by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall from the River Cottage good comfort cook book. Recipe prepared using his ESSE Range Cooker.

1st December 2022 by Dan

I learned to make (and to love) a French onion tart from the recipe in Elizabeth David’s classic French Provincial Cooking. This tart remains faithful to the spirit of that recipe, based as it is on lots of sweet, soft onion, but I’ve added greens, used my half-wholemeal shortcrust pastry and gone for a lighter custard based on half milk, half cream (and whole eggs, so there are no spare whites leftover for you to deal with). It’s still gorgeous. And this is an endlessly adaptable tart template.

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

1 quantity half-wholemeal shortcrust pastry, chilled
Flour, to dust

Filling

1 tbsp olive or vegetable oil
A large knob of butter
About 600g onions (red, brown or a combination), finely sliced
Nutmeg, for grating
200–250g cavolo nero, tough stalks removed, or about 300g spinach, very well rinsed
150ml double cream
150ml whole milk
3 medium eggs
50g mature Cheddar or Parmesan, grated
Sea salt and black pepper

Method

Use the chilled shortcrust pastry to line a 24cm tart tin and bake blind as per the instructions on page 143. Trim the edges. Preheat the oven to 180°C/ESSE Dial Guide MODERATE (Aim for the dial reading to be at the top end of MODERATE or very low end of HOT).
To make the filling, heat the oil and butter together in a large frying pan over a medium-low heat. Add the sliced onions with some salt and pepper. Cook gently, stirring regularly, for about 30 minutes until soft, golden and tender. Grate over some fresh nutmeg, stir in and leave to cool a little.
While the onions are cooking, blanch the greens: bring a pan of water to the boil and add the cavolo nero or spinach. Return to a simmer then immediately tip the greens into a colander to drain and run under the cold tap to cool them quickly.
Now squeeze out as much moisture from the greens as you can, then chop coarsely and combine with the cooked onion. Beat the cream, milk and eggs together in a bowl and season well with salt and pepper.
Arrange the onion and greens mix in the prepared tart case and carefully pour the beaten egg mixture over them. Scatter the grated cheese over the surface.
Bake in the oven for about 30–35 minutes until the filling is just set and golden. Leave the tart to cool, at least a little, before serving warm or at room temperature.

A best-loved favourite recipe made better by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall from the River Cottage good comfort cook book. Recipes prepared using his ESSE Range Cooker

19th December 2022 by Dan

Prep Time: 10 minutes plus resting time

Cook Time: 16 minutes

Yield: Approx 10 – 15

Ingredients:

198g Icing Sugar
113g Ground Almonds
113g Manx egg whites
A pinch of Cream of Tartar
100g Caster Sugar

For the filling:

75g IOM Creamery butter, softened
150g icing sugar
Flavouring (mango, raspberry, cocoa powder)

Method:

This is the basic recipe for macarons. You can make coloured macarons by (sparingly) using a food colouring paste/gel/powder rather than liquid food colouring. The colour should be added to the egg whites just before whisking with the sugar.

Macarons need a steady, low-ish temperature to cook properly, too high and they easily burn, too low and they don’t cook through. These temperatures are a guideline, adjust to suit your oven.

Preheat the oven to 160°C / ESSE dial guide MODERATE (aim for the dial reading to be at the low to middle end of MODERATE).

Sieve the icing sugar, followed by the ground almonds, into a large mixing bowl and carefully mix together.
In a separate bowl whisk the egg whites and cream of tartar until they form soft peaks. Add the colour (gel or powder) followed by the caster sugar, a little at a time and continue to whisk until the whites are very thick and glossy (ideally, you should be able to hold the bowl upside down without the whites falling out. Gently stir in the icing sugar and almond mix. Around the bowl and down the middle of the mixture. This is called macaronage (great word for scrabble). The mixture will lose some air and become quite loose, don’t worry, this is the way it should be.
Using a piping bag with a 1cm / 1/3″ nozzle, fill with the macaron mixture. Place the silicon mat or baking parchment onto a baking sheet. Pipe small blobs onto the sheet remembering that less is more at this stage because the mixture will settle and form into the allotted spaces.
Gently tap the baking sheet a few times on the work surface to help the macaron mixture to settle and to break any air bubbles, then leave to dry for at least 20 minutes – the surface of the macaron will go from shiny to matt.
Bake the macarons in the preheated oven for 7 – 8 minutes, open the door to release any steam, close the oven door and cook for a further 7 – 8 minutes. The macarons are cooked when they feel firm and are slightly risen.
Slide the mat or greaseproof paper onto a wire cooling rack and leave to cool completely. Do not be tempted to remove the macarons from the mat until they are cold or you will break them.
Fill with your favourite flavour 😊

Top Tip:

Close all windows and don’t boil a kettle. Macarons do not like any moisture in the air!

Georgie Revill creates recipes using her ESSE Electric Range Cooker. Georgie is the proprietor of The Cook Shack in beautiful Bride on the north coast of the Isle of Man.

The Cook Shack is a cookery school/experience where everyone is welcome with open arms. The emphasis is on having a really good time together whilst cooking delicious dishes and consuming the delights.

The Cook Shack achieved Special Recognition at the Isle of Man Food, Farming & Fishing Awards for the promotion of all things local.

16th June 2017 by Dan

Enjoy the best of British food with ESSE range recipes with the help of River Cottage head chef, Gill Meller.

Here, Gill Meller takes us through a step-by-step demonstration recipe, cooking his favourite Winter Soup with beans and winter veg – cooked on an ESSE flued Gas range.

29th November 2022 by Dan

For the turkey

Place the turkey in the large roasting tin.
Stuff the neck cavity only – I tend to cook any stuffing separately, we have more than once forgotten that the stuffing was in the bird until too late! If not putting stuffing into the bird, peel and cut up an onion and push that into the cavities, with a little butter. Weigh the turkey after it has been stuffed to calculate the cooking time.
Smear the bird with some butter, then cover it tightly with foil.

Slow roasting the turkey:

If your turkey weighs more than 16 lb (7 kg), put it into a hot oven for an hour, then transfer to a simmering temperature oven overnight.
For turkeys under 16 lb (7 kg), just put into the ESSE’s main oven at 120 (thermo dial at about 20 to the hour) and let the cooker do the rest!

As a rough guide:

8 – 10 lb (3 – 4½ kg) Turkeys will take about 8 – 10 hours
10 – 16 lb (4½ – 7 kg) Turkeys will take about 9 – 12 hours
16 – 22 lb (7 – 10 kg) Turkeys will take about 10 – 14 hours

Next day, check the turkey mid-morning, it should be almost cooked. Pierce the thigh with a skewer and if the juices run clear from the hole, it is cooked.

If it is completely cooked at 11am and you plan to eat at 3pm, DON’T PANIC! Re-cover with the foil then lay a large bath towel, folded into quarters, or a cot duvet or your fleece jacket, or all three, over it and place it beside the ESSE and just leave it. It has taken about 12 hours to get really hot and cooked through; it won’t cool down in any sort of hurry!

If it is not cooked through, re-cover and return it to the simmering oven. Check it again in an hour.

Fast roasting the turkey:

Put the foil-covered turkey into the ESSE at 210 (thermo dial at about 25 past the hour) and cook it.

Timing:

8 – 10 lb (3 – 4½kg) Turkeys will take about 2 hours
10 – 16 lb (4½ – 7kg) Turkeys will take about 2 ½ to 3 hours
16 – 22 lb (7 – 10kg) Turkeys will take about 3 to 3 ½ hours

Finishing the turkey, both methods:

When you and the turkey are ready, pour off the juices – this is easiest if you have a second, clean roasting tin and just transfer the bird from one tin to the other, leaving the juices in the first. Put the turkey into the ESSE main oven at 210 (thermo dial at about 25 past the hour), uncovered, for half an hour to brown the breast, while you make the gravy. Once the breast is browned, transfer to a serving plate and allow to rest for 15 minutes before carving.

For the gravy

Serves 6 – 8

1 pint (550ml) Turkey stock or giblet stock or stock mixed with wine or water and a stock cube
2 tbsp Plain flour
1 tbsp Turkey fat or the juices from the roasted bird
Salt and pepper

Oven: ESSE 210 (thermo dial at about 25 past the hour)
Prepare ahead: Yes
Freeze: Yes

When the turkey has cooked, pour off the juices from the roasting tin. This is easiest if you have a second, clean roasting tin and just transfer the bird from one tin to the other, leaving the juices in the first. Cover the bird with foil and allow it to rest while you make the gravy and dish up all the vegetables.
Pour the juices into a jug, leaving a tablespoonful or two in the bottom of the pan. Stir in the flour, then gradually blend in the stock and seasoning.
Put the tin onto the floor of the roasting oven to boil. Stir after about 5 minutes, then return to the oven for a further 5 minutes until boiling and thickened. Strain and serve.

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