ANGLESEY EGGS (Wyau Mon)
Serves 4
Ingredients
450g/1b potatoes, peeled
3 leeks, chopped
50g/2oz. butter
50g/2oz plain flour
600ml/1 pint milk
75g/3 oz. Caerphilly cheese, grated
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 hardboiled, shelled free range eggs
Method
Boil the potatoes in salted water until soft. Cook the leeks in salted water for 10 minutes or add th the potatoes for the last 10 minutes of cooking, drain well and mash them together, season.
Make a cheese sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan, stir in the flour and cook the roux for a minute or so, gradually stir in the milk breaking up any lumps, bring to the boils stirring constantly until it thickens, season well, (I like a grating of nutmeg, ½ tsp freshly ground mace and a pinch of cayenne with salt & pepper), stir in half the cheese.
Brown quickly under a hot grill or heat through in a very hot oven (gas8, 450º F, 230º C) for 10 minutes. Serve at once.
EASTER BISCUITS
This recipe is from a book I discovered in a rambling antique shop in February this year. It’s a delightful book full of love called Through the Kitchen Window by Susan Hill, published in 1984 and is really beautifully illustrated by Angela Barrett. I was thrilled that it only cost me £1.50, what a find!
Ingredients
8oz Plain Flour
Pinch Salt
½ tsp cinnamon
4 oz. cold butter cut into small pieces
3 oz. caster sugar
3 oz. currants
1 beaten egg
A little milk
1 oz. chopped candied peel
Method
Sift flour, salt and cinnamon. Rub in the butter. Stir in sugar, currants and peel. Gently form into a stiff dough with the egg and some milk if necessary. Chill the dough for at least 1 hour. Rollout quite thinly and cut into rounds. Bake on a greased baking sheet at 200º C gas 6 until they are pale beige, (approx. 15-20 minutes). Cool on a tray, brush with a little milk and sprinkle with sugar.
Magic – Bread baked on Good Friday will keep for seven years, a loaf of it hung in the barn will keep rats and mice away.
TARTA DE SANTIAGO
The final recipe is for the famous Spanish dessert Tarta de Santiago. Nobody knows exactly why this tarta was named after the Apostle St. James; it may have been a pilgrim who brought the recipe to Galicia or just a devout individual in a sublime moment dedicating this delicacy to the Patron Saint of Spain. Whatever the reason was, for centuries this tart has been adorned with the cross of the Knights of St. James. Galician confectioners use ornate silver templates to decorate the tarta. You could use a simple template cut from a paper doily or a Palm Sunday cross if you have one. This recipe is from the brothers Sam and Eddie Hart’s book Modern Spanish Cooking, published in 2006
For the sweet pastry:
30g blanched almonds
225g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
100g icing sugar
Pinch of salt
135g unsalted butter (at room temperature) plus extra for greasing
Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 free range egg, beaten
Almond Filling:
200g blanched almonds
Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
Grated zest and juice of 1 orange
35ml amaretto liqueur
200g unsalted butter
100g icing sugar
4 free range eggs
For the quince layer
120g quince jelly
1 tbps water
Squeeze of lemon juice
To finish
Icing sugar for dusting
Method
Finely grind the almonds in a food processor, mix with the flour, icing sugar and salt. Rub the butter into this mixture with your fingertips until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the lemon zest, juice and the egg and mix until you have a smooth soft dough, wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for at least 3 hours.
Make the almond filling by coarsely grinding the almonds. Add the citrus zests and juices with the amaretto and mix briefly, pour into a bowl and set aside. Beat together the butter and icing sugar, add the eggs one by one beating gently to combine with a wooden spoon (the mixture does not need to be smooth). Add this to the almond mixture, stir well and set aside.
Dust a cool surface with plenty of flour and dust your rolling pin well, roll out the pastry thinly into a large round, lightly grease a loose-based tart tin some 25-30 cm in diameter, line with the pastry pressing it into the tin well, trim the top edge to neaten and rest in the fridge for 20 minutes.
Pre-heat the oven to 180º C/Gas 4, line the pastry case with greaseproof paper and baking beans and bake blind for 15 minutes, remove paper and beans and bake for a further 5 minutes. Cool.
Warm the quince jelly with the water and lemon juice in a small saucepan until melted, pour in a thin layer over the base of the tart and spread evenly. Spoon the almond mixture on top and smooth over evenly to the edges. Bake for 40 – 45 minutes until the filling is golden. Leave the tart to cool for 15 minutes in the tin, carefully remove to a large flat plate. Place your cross template middle centre of the tart and dust with sieved icing sugar, remove the cross. Serve this tart with vanilla or almond ice cream and a nice cold glass of dry Oloroso sherry.
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