Starter Archives - Page 2 of 2

7th May 2020 by Dan

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

Roll pastry thinly and line large tart case or 6 small ones. Bake Blind for 10 mins, then another 5 mins without beans.
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.
Boil the potatoes until cooked. Drain and leave to steam for a little.
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.
Leave to mash to cool to tepid. Pop into the tart case and smooth.
Sprinkle on the remainder of the cheese. Top with the sliced tomatoes and thyme.
Bake for 20 minutes until gratinéed and bubbling.
Leave to cool and serve with a green salad or wrap and take on your picnic.

Recipe by Miranda Shearer, Sandpits Heating Centre.

16th June 2017 by Dan

Broken Broad Beans and Fennel Seed Gluten Free Crackers
Second May recipe prepared by Tim Maddams and the ESSE demo team

For the crackers
Ingredients

100g gluten free flour
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
100ml water – check and test

Method

To make the crackers, heat your oven to 180 degrees c, or aim for the dial reading to be at the top end of moderate or very low end of hot, and line a baking sheet with non stick parchment.

Drizzle a little oil onto the parchment. Mix all the ingredients together to make a flowing batter. Pour the batter onto the baking sheet and place the sheet in the oven for around 15 minutes, once crisp and golden turn the oven off or remove to a cooler oven to thoroughly crisp up the cracker. Break into pieces for serving.

For the broken beans
Ingredients

200g podded broad beans
A few thyme leaves
2 lemons, juiced
200ml good olive oil
Fresh oregano
Salt, pepper
1 clove of garlic chopped
100g mature cheddar cheese, grated

Method

For the broken beans, we are aiming for a nearly pesto come hummus type thing but very much more chunky with plenty of bean like bits to add texture and flavour peaks to this dish that makes an excellent starter or snack course. Begin by blanching the beans in a little salted water very briefly, just for a minute perhaps and then remove them to cold water to rapidly cool them so you can then remove their little bitter outer skins. If the beans are very young and small, you can skip that step but as the beans get bigger the skins will toughen up and become bitter.

Pop the beans in a blender with half the oil and half the cheese along with all the rest of the ingredients except the fresh oregano. Blend on pulse until a coarse paste is formed and remove from the mixer. Add a little more oil and the oregano and season to taste.

Serve up with the remaining cheese sprinkled over and the crackers on the side.

16th June 2017 by Dan

Grilled asparagus and spring onions with spiced yoghurt prepared by Tim Maddams of Green Sauce

Last Thursday, Tim Maddams joined the ESSE sales team at the Hearth & Cook showroom near Exeter, UK. Tim highlighted the benefits of the ESSE Ranges by demonstrating May’s recipes

May is all about the emergence of the new season, spring has sprung and the farms and gardens of this island are beginning to bring fourth their bounty, time to get stuck in!

Ingredients

1 bunch English asparagus and 1 bunch organic spring onions
A little rape seed oil
Salt and chilli flakes
1/2 a lemon

For the yoghurt

Ingredients

1 small pot of organic natural yoghurt
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon each cumin and coriander seeds
1 clove of garlic, finely grated

Method

Wash trim and slice the asparagus and onions in half lengthways. Dry on a little kitchen roll then dress with a little oil and salt. These can then be grilled till just tender wether on a griddle, on the stove top, directly on the stove top or even better roasted in the Fire Stone. What we are looking for here is tender but crisp veg, with a fair amount of charring to lift the whole thing up and make it feel nicely spring like.

Toast the spice seeds, crush them and add them to the yoghurt along with the paprika and grated garlic.

Once cooked, arrange on a platter and squeeze over the lemon and dress with the spiced yoghurt. Additional items such as lentils or crunchy croutons and fresh herbs can be added to beef things up a bit if you like. Chilli flakes are an option too, which I highly recommend.

For the yoghurt

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