Wild garlic and cheese scones

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I love a scone, cream and jam, or jam and cream I care not, just hand them over. Here though is a thing I like at this time of year – a savoury scone seasoned with, well, the season.

Pre heat your ESSE top oven, steam vent closed to start with to 190 C

Ingredients

  • 150g cold butter
  • 100g wholemeal flour
  • 200g self-raising flour
  • A pinch of salt
  • Around 50g finely chopped wild garlic
  • 75g grated strong cheddar
  • A little milk (a few tablespoons approx. 150g), and a little more for glazing the scones

Method

  1. Dice the butter into small chunks and place it in your kitchen food processor with the flour and half the cheese. Add a pinch of salt. Pulse this to make a loose breadcrumb mixture. Now add the chopped wild garlic and pulse again. Now, drizzle in a few tablespoons of cold milk to bring the dough together whilst still pulsing the machine. Don’t make it too wet – or too dry – just moist enough that you can easily bring it together into an “almost” dough.
  2. Now, time to move fast – tip the dough out into a lightly floured surface and finish bringing it together – do not over work it! – it wants to remain not quite mixed all together.
  3. Roll roughly out to around 2cm thickness and then use a knife or scone cutters to cut to your preferred size.
  4. Space these out on your ESSE non-stick baking tray, brush them with a little milk and sprinkle over the last of the cheese – bake at 190 for 5 mins with the steam vent closed, then open it and give them another 20 – 25 mins until golden brown on top, and hopefully nicely risen.
  5. Remove them from the oven and allow them to cool (if you can!) for a few minutes on a wire rack before serving.

Recipe created by Tim Maddams. Tim is a chef, food writer and cookery teacher who produces seasonal recipes for ESSE at his home in Inverness using ingredients grown in his kitchen garden. ESSE first met Tim over ten years ago when he regularly co-featured in the hit TV series River Cottage. During his time as head chef at River Cottage Tim pioneered ethical, local, seasonal produce and became a key spokesperson in the area of responsibly-sourced food.

Tim’s aim is to show off the “tremendous versatility” of the ESSE 600 X electric range cooker. The new 600 X has ESSE’s classic heat storage construction, patented ovens, beautiful colour finishes and the reassuring ‘solidity’ with modern, electric controllability and responsiveness.

Sausage Rolls

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Whenever I’m baking I’m often ignoring the cake tins and focussing on the savoury side of life.

Shop bought puff pastry has become the norm, even in the majority of restaurants and bakeries a “bought in” puff pastry solution is very much the order of play – which I always think is a shame – not only because of some of the more dubious ingredients contained within the vast majority of said products but because making your own “rough puff” takes minutes, is super easy and the results are epic – less “fully puffed” than the full on puff pastry but really easy to work with, pretty much impossible to get wrong and much, much tastier. So, really this is a simple recipe for rough puff pastry, but I’ve also included another seasonal ingredient – Venison, as it’s such a tasty and sustainable option, it can be a little lean but with the buttery pastry I hardly think you will notice.

Because I also like some spice – I have made these more along the lines of a chorizo in terms of seasoning too, the results are somewhat addictive – if you have a handy supply of pheasant you can substitute minced pheasant in or of course get yourself to the local butcher for some quality coarse minced pork and stay traditional – it is totally up to you.

Makes: 6 med sausage rolls
Prep time 1 hour
Cooking time 30 mins

For the pastry

  • 175g strong white bread flour
  • 150g cold butter, diced small
  • A good pinch of salt
  • A little ice cold water

Place everything except the water in the food processor. Pulse the machine a few times to begin to break up the butter, but not too much! We need lumps of butter in there, start drizzling in some water as you keep pulsing the machine, you should quickly find you have a very lumpy buttery dough, in short it will look like it’s gone horribly wrong.

Tip this out onto a lightly floured surface and bring the dough together a little using your hands. Now, with a rolling pin roll out the dough till its half its original width, then fold the top into the middle and repeat with the bottom so you have effectively created a 3 layer scenario. Repeat that process twice more, what we are doing here is gently adding a few layers to you pastry, which will add lift, character and joy – then set the dough aside and leave it to chill in the fridge for 30 mins before removing it and allowing it to come up towards room temperature again before you make the sausage rolls.

For the filling

  • 30g olive oil
  • 350g minced venison
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • 2 table spoons red wine
  • 1 pinch chilli flakes
  • 30g smoked paprika
  • A good pinch of mixed dried herbs
  • A few rasps of lemon zest
  • ½ teaspoon fennel seeds, lightly crushed
  • 5g salt

Crush then finely chop your garlic, add this to everything else and mix it well.

You can store this mix in the fridge until needed – it should keep in a tub very well for 4 or 5 days.

Making the rolls and baking them

Set your ESSE oven to 190 degrees and open the steam vent.

You will need

  • 1 egg, beaten
  • A pastry brush
  • A little flaky salt and a few fennel seeds
  • Flour for dusting

Roll out your pastry on a lightly floured surface – you are aiming for a long oblong shape about the thickness of a 50p piece, so don’t worry too much, but do you best to make it long and it wants to be roughly three times the width that the sausage meat will be – I like a thick sausage roll so I tend to aim for 15 – 20 cm roughly.

Shape the sausage meat filling onto the pastry more or less in the middle of the pastry. Brush a little beaten egg onto the front edge of the roll and then put the top edge over the filling and “glue” it to the egg washed strip.

Prick holes in the pastry along the top of the roll and then egg wash that too – sprinkling with salt and a few fennel seeds afterwards, all that remains is to slice the long roll into the sizes you want. Then place these on a non-stick baking sheet or one lines with non-stick parchment.

Depending on the size of your sausage, they will cooking in between 20 and 40 mins, you want them golden brown on the top and crisp on the bottom – and it is worth turning the tray round half way though. Once you are satisfied that they are nicely cooked move the tray from the oven. Using a palette knife or some trusty tongs move to a cooling rack for 10 mins before you get carried away and eat them all.

There you go, a super simple recipe that will show off your baking skills and your oven beautifully – enjoy.

Recipe created by Tim Maddams. Tim is a chef, food writer and cookery teacher who produces seasonal recipes for ESSE at his home in Inverness using ingredients grown in his kitchen garden. ESSE first met Tim over ten years ago when he regularly co-featured in the hit TV series River Cottage. During his time as head chef at River Cottage Tim pioneered ethical, local, seasonal produce and became a key spokesperson in the area of responsibly-sourced food.

Tim’s aim is to show off the “tremendous versatility” of the ESSE 600 X electric range cooker. The new 600 X has ESSE’s classic heat storage construction, patented ovens, beautiful colour finishes and the reassuring ‘solidity’ with modern, electric controllability and responsiveness.

Gill Meller’s Pork & Stilton Sausage Rolls

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How do you improve on the great British sausage roll? Add a crumbling of Stilton!

Makes: 8

  • 1kg finely minced pork, ideally a mixture of shoulder and belly
  • 75g fresh white breadcrumbs
  • About a 150 g of good Stilton cheese crumbled into chunks.
  • 2 tsp fine sea salt
  • 2 Tsp of thyme leaves roughly chopped
  • Freshly ground black pepper

For the rough puff pastry

  • 175g unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small cubes
  • 350g plain flour
  • A good pinch of salt
  • About 150ml of iced water
  • Egg wash (beaten egg mixed with a splash of milk), to glaze
  • Fennel seeds and flaky sea salt to finish
  • A chunk of stilton for grating (optional)

Method

  1. Mix together the pork, breadcrumbs, thyme, 2/3rds of the cheese, salt and pepper.
  2. Combine the butter cubes in a bowl with the flour and salt. Add just enough water to bring the dough together.
  3. On a well- floured surface, roll out the dough in one direction, away from you, to a rectangle about 1cm thick.
  4. Fold the two short ends into the middle so they overlap. Give the pastry a quarter-turn, and repeat the rolling and folding process five more times.
  5. Wrap the pastry then rest it in the fridge for 30 minutes–1 hour.
  6. Roll out the pastry on a floured surface to an oblong, about 45 x 12cm and 4mm thick.
  7. Lay the sausage meat along one long side of the pastry, about 3cm in from the edge.
  8. Scatter over the remaining stilton cheese.
  9. Brush this pastry edge with egg wash and fold the other side of the pastry over the top of the filling to enclose it. Crimp the edges together well to seal.
  10. Lightly brush the pastry with a little more egg wash, then scatter over the fennel seeds and a light sprinkling of flaky salt.
  11. Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas mark 4/ESSE dial guide top end of moderate.
  12. Using a serrated knife, cut the sausage roll into 8 lengths and place on a baking tray lined with baking parchment.
  13. Bake in the oven for 20 mins, remove and grate over some extra stilton and a sprinkling of fennel seeds then return the tray to the oven and cook for a further 15 – 20 mins, until golden brown.
  14. Remove the sausage rolls from the tray to a wire rack to cool. Eat warm or leave to cool before serving. They can be kept in the fridge for a day or two.

This delicious recipe was issued with the compliments of Gill Meller to commemorate the coronation of King Charles and Queen Camilla.
Gill Meller is a chef, award-winning food writer, food stylist and cookery teacher. Known for sharing the stage with Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall at River Cottage, Gill has partnered with the ESSE product development and testing team for approaching twenty years.

Protein Wraps

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A quick and easy nourishing lunch or super when you have no idea what to cook.

Method

  1. Take a soft tortilla wrap and cover with your favourite grated cheese.
  2. In a bowl mix a can of drained cooked tuna in brine with freshly chopped cucumber, red onion, red pepper, celery and seasoning… maybe add some smoked paprika and mayonnaise.
  3. Pile it in the centre of the tortilla and wrap it up like a parcel, closing the ends and rolling it.
  4. In a frying pan, add just a little olive oil and with the ESSE large induction hob plate on 5/6 fry, turning frequently for about 8 minutes until golden. Cut the wrap in half and enjoy! (I put some smoked paprika on the outside too!).

This recipe was created and prepared using an ESSE Electric Range Cooker  by Georgina Revill of Vivaldi Catering. Georgie runs a bespoke cookery school called The Cook Shack on the Isle of Man.

Summer berries and coconut traybake

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This is a simple cake perfect to take on a picnic and works so well with gluten free flour and oats too.  It is a cross between a flapjack and a cake with a delicious crumble topping.  You will need a square 23cm cake tin, lined with parchment paper.

Ingredients

  • 200g self-rising flour or GF flour
  • 100g rolled oats
  • 75g desiccated coconut
  • 225g soft brown sugar
  • 200g butter
  • 2 large eggs, beaten
  • 500g summer berries

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 170C (ESSE dial guide MODERATE).
  2. Mix the flour, oats, coconut & sugar into a bowl.
  3. Cut the butter into small chunks and rub it into the dry ingredients with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. (use a food processor for quickness).
  4. Weigh 200g of this mixture and set aside as this is the crumble topping.
  5. Then mix the other mixture with the beaten eggs to make a cake dough.
  6. Press this into the prepared cake tin and top with the summer berries.
  7. Sprinkle over the reserved mixture and bake in the oven for about 45 minutes or until it is cooked.
  8. Let the cake cool in the tin and then cut into squares.

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

 

Boned chicken stuffed with a coriander pesto

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This is a great dish for summer entertaining and stuffing the chicken with a coriander pesto gives the moist cold chicken a delicious summer fragrance. This dish is designed to be served cold and sliced, perfect with summer salads or in sandwiches for a picnic. This ‘pesto’ is thicker than a normal pesto as it has the addition of ricotta cheese which will make it easier to stuff the chicken with. This dish makes the most of buying a whole chicken but ask your local butcher to completely bone out the chicken. (Ask to keep the bones for making homemade chicken stock, which you can do easily in the ESSE).

Ingredients

  • 1 free-range chicken about 2 kg, boned
  • Olive oil
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Coriander pesto ingredients:

  • 1 large bunch of fresh coriander leaves
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 85g walnuts, roasted
  • 150g Parmesan style cheese
  • 1 pot of ricotta cheese
  • 2 tablespoon olive oil
  • Freshly ground black pepper

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 200C (ESSE dial guide HOT).
  2. Make the ‘pesto’ by putting all the ingredients except the ricotta into a food processor and whizz until all the ingredients are evenly mixed, then add the ricotta cheese and plenty of fresh ground black pepper and mix to incorporate.  Taste for seasoning.  (Go easy on the salt as the cheese will provide salt)
  3. Lay out chicken, skin side down and spread over all the stuffing to fill the boned chicken, season the chicken and roll up neatly.  Tie up with string.
  4. Place the chicken in a roasting tin, drizzle with olive oil and season well.
  5. Roast for about 1 ½ hours or until cooked (use a temperature probe).
  6. Leave to cool and refrigerate overnight or slice and eat straight away!

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

A savoury summer cake

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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

  1. 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.
  2. Fry the red pepper, spring onions and garlic in the olive oil for a few minutes.  Allow to cool.
  3. Put the flour, ground almonds, polenta into a bowl.
  4. 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.
  5. Then add the beaten eggs and all the vegetables, olives & herbs and cheese.
  6. Season with a little salt (as the olives and cheese will provide salt) and plenty of freshly ground black pepper.
  7. Mix well and spoon into the prepared tin.
  8. Decorate with some extra podded broad beans if you wish.
  9. 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.

Beetroot, goat’s cheese & dill tart

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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

  1. 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).
  2. When the beetroot is almost tender, allow to cool a little and then slip the skins off with your fingers.
  3. While the beetroot is cooking make the pastry as you would for shortcrust and line a 24cm loose-based flan tin.
  4. 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.
  5. Set aside to cool and then place in the pastry case.
  6. 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.
  7. Put the cream and eggs into a bowl and mix together, add the chopped dill and season with salt and pepper.
  8. Pour the mixture into the pastry case.
  9. Scatter over the goat’s cheese and quarter the rest of the beetroot and carefully place on top of the tart.
  10. 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.

Mini Sausage Wraps With Crispy Onions

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Wraps, filled with sticky sausages and onions, make great party fare. Children will love these as they are sweet and easy to eat. For a more adult party try other speciality and spicy sausages and perhaps add some tongue[1]tingling mustard or chilli relish to the wraps.

Makes: 6

Ingredients

  • 12 pork chipolata sausages
  • 2 red onions, cut into wedges
  • 1 tbsp sunflower or vegetable oil
  • 2 tbsp tomato ketchup
  • 1 tbsp clear honey
  • 1 tbsp dark brown muscovado sugar
  • 1 tbsp ordinary dark or Indonesian sweet soy sauce
  • 6 plain or seeded tortilla wraps

Method

  1. Preheat the oven if necessary to 220°C/ ESSE Dial Guide HOT. (Aim for the dial reading to be at the top end of HOT).
  2. Line a roasting tin or baking tray with baking parchment or easy glide. Place the sausages and onion wedges on top.
  3. In a small bowl, mix the oil with the tomato ketchup, honey, sugar and soy sauce. Drizzle over the sausages and onion wedges and toss to coat well. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the sausages are thoroughly cooked and have browned without burning, and the onion wedges are starting to crisp.
  4. To serve, place 2 of the sausages and some onion wedges on each wrap and fold up to enclose. Allow to cool a little then serve with napkins.

Tip

Vegetarians can still be catered for with this recipe, simply replace the traditional meat sausages with Quorn sausages or Quorn fajita style strips (cooked according to the pack instructions).

Spiced chicken with mango salsa

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This zingy spiced chicken with fruity but cooling salsa is delicious both hot and cold. I like to serve it cold as a picnic dish with a rocket leaf salad and plain or herby couscous, Toss the salad in a lemon or lime-based dressing for a memorable meal.

Serves 6

Ingredients

  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 ½ tbsp Jerk seasoning
  • 12 chicken thigh fillets

Salsa:

  • 2 ripe mangoes, peeled and chopped
  • 200g natural yogurt
  • 1 red onion, very finely chopped
  • 10g chopped fresh coriander

Method

  1. Place the lemon juice, oil and Jerk seasoning in a large bowl, Add the chicken fillets and stir to coat. Cover and chill for at least 1 hour or ideally overnight to allow the flavours to develop.
  2. When ready to cook preheat the oven if necessary to 200°C/Esse Dial Guide HOT (Aim for the dial reading to be in the middle of HOT).
  3. Place the chicken on a rack over a roasting tin and cook in the oven for 30 minutes, until tender and cooked through. To check, pierce the chicken flesh, the juices should run clear.
  4. Meanwhile, make the salsa by mixing the mango with the yogurt, red onion and coriander.
  5. Serve the chicken hot or cold with the mango salsa.

Variation

The spicy chicken can be served with an avocado salsa instead. Simply mix the flesh of 1 ripe chopped avocado with half a small chopped red onion, 2 chopped tomatoes, the juice of half a lime and salt and pepper to taste. Serve sprinkled with chopped coriander if liked.

Green pesto turkey salad

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This salad looks and tastes stunning, yet takes no time to prepare at all. When the sun decides to shine this is perfect for an informal picnic lunch with friends and family.

Serves 4

Ingredients

  • 600ml chicken stock
  • 400g fresh turkey strips
  • 1 small iceberg lettuce, roughly chopped
  • 10 cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 25g toasted pine nuts

Dressing

  • 150ml mayonnaise
  • 3 tbsp ready-made green pesto
  • 2 tsp snipped chives
  • 2 tsp chopped fresh parsley
  • 4 spring onions, chopped
  • 15g grated Parmesan cheese
  • 3 tbsp white wine vinegar
  • 2 tbsp cold water
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

  1. Bring the stock to a boil in a pan. Add the turkey strips and simmer for 8-10 minutes, or until thoroughly cooked. Drain, allow to cool and cut any large strips into bite-sized pieces.
  2. Toss the cooled turkey with the peppers, lettuce, tomatoes and pine nuts in a serving bowl or transportable dish.
  3. Meanwhile, to make the dressing, place the mayonnaise in a jug with the pesto, chives, parsley, spring onions and half of the Parmesan, Whisk in the vinegar and water to make a loose dressing. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
  4. Drizzle the turkey mixture with the dressing and sprinkle with the remaining cheese to serve. This is delicious served with crusty bread.

Variation

Coronation Turkey Salad:

Prepare the turkey as above but mix with a light curried dressing. Prepare by mixing 75ml mayonnaise with 75ml natural yogurt, 2 tsp curry paste, grated zest and juice of 1 orange, 1 tsp grated root ginger, 1 tsp chopped red chilli and salt and pepper to taste.

Shallot dartois

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This is the vegetarian equivalent of the traditional sausage roll… where the usual sausage meat has been replaced with a deeply-satisfying shallot mixture. Meat lovers could add a little very finely chopped ham or chicken to the shallot mixture.

Serves 4

Ingredients

  • 100g butter
  • 24 echalion (banana) shallots, peeled and finely sliced lengthways
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 bottle red wine
  • 10g chopped fresh thyme
  • 50g caster sugar
  • 320g pack pre-rolled puff pastry
  • beaten egg, to glaze

Method

  1. Preheat the oven if necessary to 200˚C/ Esse Dial Guide HOT. (Aim for the dial reading to be in the middle of HOT).
  2. Melt the butter in a heavy-based pan until sizzling. Add the shallots with seasoning to taste and cook for about 10 minutes.
  3. Add the wine, thyme and sugar and continue to cook until all the liquid has evaporated. You should be left with a rich, deep, dark red shallot mixture. Allow to cool.
  4. Cut the sheet of pastry lengthways in half and, with a rolling pin, carefully roll to make each rectangle a little wider. Spoon half the filling along each in a sausage shape, leaving a small margin. Brush with egg and fold the pastry over to enclose the filling, pressing down firmly. Brush with egg and chill for 30 minutes.
  5. To cook, cut each dartois into 5cm slices and place on a non-stick baking tray or conventional one lined with easy glide. Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden. Serve warm or cold.

Get Ahead!

The shallot mixture can be made up to 2 days in advance. Chill until required.

Parma Ham Pitta Pizzas

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I enjoy a meal prepared for me at home. My own children came up with this real winner a couple of years ago… a pizza made with a ready-made base but imaginative topping that can be on the table I next to no time. They used naan bread instead of pitta for theirs but both work fabulously well.

Serves 4

Ingredients

  • 8 tsp regular or sun-dried tomato puree
  • 8 mini or 4 large white or wholemeal pitta breads
  • 4 medium tomatoes, sliced
  • 2 tsp dried Italian mixed herbs
  • 100g mozzarella cheese, grated
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 8 black or green olives
  • 8 slices Parma ham
  • basil leaves, to garnish

Method

  1. Preheat the grill to medium/hot or the oven if necessary to 190°C/Esse Dial Guide HOT. (Aim for the dial reading to be at the low end of HOT).
  2. Divide and spread the tomato puree evenly over one side of each pitta bread. Arrange on the grill rack or on a baking tray and top with the sliced tomatoes. Sprinkle with the mixed herbs, grated mozzarella and pepper to taste.
  3. Grill for 3-4 minutes or bake in the oven for 6-8 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbling. Top with olives and Parma ham. Scatter over a few basil leaves and serve at once.

Variation

Parma Ham and Pesto Pitta Pizzas: Prepare as above but replace the tomato puree with red or green pesto and omit the dried Italian mixed herbs.

Humble Homity Pie

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Serves

6 people

Ingredients

Shortcrust Pastry made with wholemeal flour

  • 180g / 6oz flour
  • 90g / 3oz butter
  • 1 tablespoon water.

Pastry needs to be rolled and chilled in the tin.

Then bake blind at 180 for 10 minutes and without the baking beans for another 5 minutes. I am a great believer in baking blind even if it doesn’t mention it in a recipe. I hate soggy bottoms.

Filling

  • 3 potatoes, peeled, halved and boiled
  • 30g butter
  • 3-4 tbsp milk or cream (I used 2 tbsp crème fraiche and 2 tablespoons milk)
  • 450g / 1lb onions finely chopped
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 2 tbsp chopped parsley or mix parsley, chives and thyme (I scattered thyme on top of the tomatoes)
  • 120g of hard cheese – I mixed Cheddar, Comte and Gruyere
  • Salt, pepper and two ripe tomatoes sliced for top of tart

Method

  1. Roll pastry thinly and line large tart case or 6 small ones. Bake Blind for 10 mins, then another 5 mins without beans.
  2. Finely chop the onions and garlic and sauté in the olive oil slowly in a frying pan on a low heat. If they need a little water towards the end to keep softening add a tablespoon.
  3. Boil the potatoes until cooked. Drain and leave to steam for a little.
  4. Mash them with the butter and milk / crème fraiche. Add the onions and herbs and half of the grated cheese to the mashed potatoes. Season well.
  5. Leave to mash to cool to tepid. Pop into the tart case and smooth.
  6. Sprinkle on the remainder of the cheese. Top with the sliced tomatoes and thyme.
  7. Bake for 20 minutes until gratinéed and bubbling.
  8. Leave to cool and serve with a green salad or wrap and take on your picnic.

Recipe by Miranda Shearer, Sandpits Heating Centre.

Cheesy Picnic Bread with Pepperoni and Tomatoes

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Cheesy Picnic Bread with Pepperoni and Tomatoes By Carol Bowen Ball

Featured in the ESSE Four Seasons Cookbook
Bored with your summer meal routine? Sometimes all you need is a change of scene (literally). Take advantage of the warm weather and enjoy a delicious al fresco meal in your garden or at the park or beach with family and friends. From crunchy vegetables and juicy fruits to cheeses, sandwich meats, summery salads, and whole-grain breads – a super-fast picnic is easy to organize and pack. With a little more time and notice then plan ahead and make a shallot dartois or cheesy picnic bread the night before or early on the day of travel (especially if you want to eat it whilst still warm).

It’s essential to keep perishable foods cold, so be sure to pack items like veggies, cheese or other dairy products, lean meats, and soups and salads at the bottom of your cooler for safe travel, and the nonperishable foods like fruits, nuts, and crackers at the top or in a separate picnic basket.

This moreish picnic bread is great served warm with dips like hummous or guacamole. Keep warm wrapped in foil and a tea towel for transporting.

Makes: 12 slices

For the bread
Ingredients

  • 300ml tepid water
  • 1 tbsp dried yeast
  • 500g strong plain bread flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 tbsp finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes in oil
  • 2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

For the filling
Ingredients

  • 125g mozzarella – roughly torn
  • 70g sliced pepperoni
  • 100g baby plum tomatoes – halved and deseeded
  • 15g fresh basil leaves – roughly torn

Method

  1. Preheat the oven if necessary to 220°C/Fan 200°C/ ESSE Dial Guide HOT (Aim for the dial reading to be at the top end of HOT).
  2. Place half the water in a bowl, sprinkle over the yeast and leave to stand for 15 minutes.
  3. Mix the flour with the salt, yeast mixture, tomatoes, Parmesan and remaining water and mix to a soft dough. Knead for 5 minutes, cover and prove in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
  4. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 2 minutes. Roll out to a 30 x 40cm oblong then cut in half lengthways. Scatter the mozzarella pieces, pepperoni, tomatoes and basil over both halves. Working from the longest side, tightly roll up each piece of dough. Place on lightly greased baking trays, cover with cling film and leave in a warm place for 40 minutes until doubled in size.
  5. Bake for 30-35 minutes until well-risen, golden and cooked. Allow to cool slightly before slicing to serve.

Home-made Scotch Eggs

by

This is how Scotch Eggs should be.

Serves

Four people

Ingredients

  • 5 large eggs
  • 500g organic pork sausage meat
  • A few sage leaves, very finely chopped
  • A good pinch of ground mace
  • A pinch of cayenne pepper
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 3 tbsp plain flour
  • 100g day-old white breadcrumbs groundnut oil, for frying

Method

Make sure the eggs are at room temperature. Bring a large pan of water to the boil, lower in four eggs, then simmer for seven minutes. Transfer the pan to the sink and run the cold tap into the pan to stop the cooking. When the eggs are cool enough to handle, peel them.

Meanwhile, add the sage, mace and cayenne to the sausage meat, along with plenty of salt and pepper, and mix well with your hands. Divide the meat into eight equal pieces and shape each piece into a flat patty.

Take two patties of sausage meat and use to encase one egg, moulding the meat smoothly around the egg and making sure it’s completely sealed. Repeat with all the others.

Pour groundnut oil into a deep fat fryer or deep, heavy-based pan to a depth of at least 7cm and bring up to 170C, or until a cube of white bread dropped in turns light golden brown in about one minute.

Meanwhile, spread the flour on a plate, beat the final egg and put in a shallow dish, and spread the breadcrumbs on another plate.

When the oil is up to temperature, dust each sausage meat encased egg in a little flour, then dip it in beaten egg, then roll in breadcrumbs. Lower into the hot oil and fry for 8-10 minutes, turning them over in the oil from time to time, until deep golden brown all over. Drain on kitchen paper and serve hot, for once. Or cold, later. My favourite accompaniment is creamed spinach.

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