Cranberry and Orange Meringue Pie

I said I was cranberry obsessed didn’t I!!  This is another in my repertoire of cranberry and orange dishes and uses the same base as my compote and, indeed, my cranberry sauce! 

I just made a small one, as it is for two of us and we really are trying to keep the calories down in the run up to Christmas.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For two of us, in a 7" diameter quiche dish I used :

300g (10 to 12oz) of fresh cranberries

Juice and zest of a large orange

½ tsp of caster sugar (or more, to taste)

 

2 egg whites

2tb caster sugar

 

½ pack of shortcrust pastry

 

 

Firstly, pop a 300g (10/12oz) bag of cranberries into a saucepan with the zest and juice of an orange and ½ tsp of sugar (or more if you don’t like things as tart as I do!) and leave to simmer quietly until the cranberries pop and cook down. 

Line your dish with shortcrust pastry and bake blind for 25/30 minutes, until the pastry is cooked. * 

As soon as the pastry is cooked, add the cranberry compote to the dish. 

Beat two egg whites until they are stiff, add  2tb of caster sugar, 1tb at a time, until the egg whites are stiff and glossy.  Spoon onto the compote. 

Bake at 200^oC (400^oF / gas mark 6) for approximately 10 minutes, until the meringue is nicely browned.

 

 

 

I cant recommend ceramic baking beans enough here!  Over the years I have had many baking blind failures thanks to advice such as “use out of date dried beans, or rice”, so they are a sound investment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cranberry and Orange Compote

I had the inspiration for this from one of the lovely recipes I made over and over last summer, Summer Fruit Compote from Delia’s Summer Collection.  In truth, I owe my whole love affair with the cranberry to Delia!  The Winter Collection, published back in 1995 introduced me to the delights of Cranberry and Orange, and I haven’t looked back.  At the time, Delia was crowned the Cranberry Queen, but I think I could safely challenge her!  From the time the red berries appear in the supermarket, towards the end of November, until they disappear, around the end of December, I am obsessed!  My favourite way with them is simply to puree them in the blender with orange juice and enjoy them as a drink!  I think this is possibly an even better way of using them! 

In all honesty, this recipe is my cranberry sauce recipe, I simply added a dollop of cream and served it as a sweet course!  As simple as it is, I felt I had to share it with you all!  As always, you can increase the quantities to your needs and tastes.  I haven’t got much of a sweet tooth, and really enjoy the crisp tartness of cranberries so I have been very meagre with the sugar, do increase this if you don’t want to wince as you eat! 

For two people I used : 

10 to 12oz of fresh cranberries

Juice and zest of a large orange

½ tsp of caster sugar (or more, to taste)

Simply add all the ingredients to a small pan and cook over a low heat for a few minutes, until the cranberries pop and cook down. 

Leave to cool for 10 minutes or so, and then serve with either a dollop of cream, or thick Greek yoghurt.  

I found a lovely Mandarin and Valencia Orange extra thick cream with Grand Marnier at Sainsbury’s and this was perfect with the compote!

 

 

 

 

Roast Lamb Chops with Diced Potatoes, Garlic and Rosemary

This is a lovely all-in-one dish, very quick to prepare and full of flavour!  All the pictures below show one serve, because my hubby won’t eat lamb!  Sometimes a girl’s got to do what a girl’s got to do and I had this while he had something he likes!! 

I can’t claim any credit for the potatoes, they are an old favourite of mine from Delia’s Summer Collection, I simply cooked the lamb chops in the tin with the potatoes!!

 

For two people you need :

 

2 large potatoes

2 cloves of garlic

1 generous sprig of rosemary 

4 lamb chops

1 clove of garlic

2 anchovies 

Appx 1tb olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste 

Firstly, lay your lamb chops on a chopping board and stab in several places with a good sharp knife.  Push slivers of garlic and pieces of anchovy into the stab holes.  Season on both sides with salt and pepper. 

Dice the potatoes and wrap in a tea-towel.  Dice the cloves of garlic and the rosemary. 

Heat 1tb of olive oil in a roasting pan on the hob, when the oil is hot sear the lamb chops on both sides and then add the diced potatoes, turn over and over in the hot oil.  Add the garlic and rosemary to the tin and toss around so that both the potatoes and lamb chops get a good share. 

Cook in a hot oven, I cooked mine at 200^oC (400^oF / gas mark 6) for 30 minutes.  The actual cooking time will vary and depend on your oven, the thickness of your chops, how you like them cooked (rare, well done etc), and the size of your potato dice! 

 

This can be quite a rich meal, with the meat juices cooking into the potatoes, so you might want to serve a nice crunchy green salad alongside, or a nice sharp fruit salad afterwards!

Sausage, Bacon and Black Pudding Terrine

I came up with this idea for those of us who love an occasional treat of a Full English breakfast, but who just can’t face all the cooking and frying on a Sunday morning, not to mention all the washing up afterwards! 

Just prepare and cook this terrine on a Saturday afternoon, leave to cool and slice up ready for the morning.  Leftovers can be frozen and simply need defrosting before reheating on a griddle when you want a good breakfast. 

All you need with this are some grilled tomatoes, maybe a fried or scrambled egg and a piece of toast. 

I used : 

1 ½ x 450g packs of Cumberland sausages

250g whole black sausage (cut to fit your tin)

10 medium thickness rashers of bacon 

2lb loaf tin

 

Firstly line your loaf tin with the rashers (slices) of bacon, overlapping one another and overhanging the sides of the loaf tin. 

Skin the sausages and place in a basin, season to taste with a little salt and black pepper (and some fresh sage if you have some to hand), and then mix to form a large ball of sausage meat. 

Take half of the sausage meat and layer in the bottom of the loaf tin, on top of the bacon.  Cut the black pudding to fit your loaf tin and place that on top of the bottom layer of sausage meat.  Take the remainder of the sausage meat and form it around, and on top of the black pudding, encasing it completely. 

Finally, fold over the overhanging bacon to cover the sausage meat. 

Bake at 190^oC  / 375^oF  /  gas mark 5 for 45 minutes.  Turn out of the loaf tin and place on an oven proof plate or tray and pop back into the oven to brown the sides and (now) top of the terrine.

 

You can eat it straight away, or you can leave to cool and slice up, reheating in a griddle pan, under the grill or in the oven when you are ready.

 

Stifado

Another of my Greek favourites!  We used to order this lovely stew in Corfu, and I have some very happy memories of that holiday so I had to recreate it at home. 

This is another simple assembly job on these hot summer days. 

 

If weather is more favourable to standing at the hob then by all means brown the shallots and beef before continuing.  

For two of us I used : 

1 ½ lb diced casserole beef

7 or 8 medium shallots

4 large cloves of garlic

1tb olive oil

1 generous sprig of rosemary, and the same of fresh oregano or marjoram

2 bay leaves

1 x 450g tin chopped plum tomatoes

1tb tomato puree

½ bottle of red wine

Salt and pepper to taste 

Simply add the olive oil to a medium casserole, peel the shallots and garlic cloves and add whole to the pan, add the diced beef and chopped herbs.  Give everything a stir and then add the tomatoes, tomato puree and red wine, season to taste and pop a lid on the pan. 

Pop into the oven and leave to cook quietly.  I cooked mine at 150^oC / 275 ^o F / gas mark 2 for 3 hours.

 

Serve with chips (French fries) or sauté potatoes,with a Greek salad on the side.  Some crusty bread for mopping up the lovely sauce wouldn’t go amiss either!

 

 

 

* if you have some black olives to hand, a few of those added before cooking makes a nice addition too.

 

Kleftiko

Continuing the Greek theme, and because it’s simply too hot to be cooking at the moment I thought I’d share this little beauty with you. 

It does need two and a half hours in the oven, but you aren’t required to spend any time at the hob before it goes in!  This is nothing more than an assembly job. 

The recipe given below will serve two, with lots of crusty bread on the side, but you can very easily adjust the quantities to serve more.  You could replace the diced lamb with lamb chops, lamb steaks, lamb shanks or even a whole leg or shoulder depending on the numbers you want to feed.  It’s perfect one pot cooking and will happily cook away quietly leaving you to enjoy the sunshine and the company! 

For two of us I used : 

1tb diced lamb

8 baby new potatoes (two large ones would do too)

4 cloves of garlic

Sprigs of mint, marjoram and rosemary

¼ pint of lamb stock

½ lemon

Salt and pepper to taste

1tb olive oil

In a medium casserole add the olive oil, lamb, baby potatoes and whole peeled garlic cloves.  Season to taste with salt and pepper. 

Either finely chop the rosemary and mint or, pop the large mint leaves and rosemary in a muslin square and tie into a little package.  Bruise the little parcel before adding it to the pan if you do this.  Add the leaves of marjoram and the small mint leaves. 

Halve the lemon and gently squeeze some of the juice from one half over the meat mixture, quarter it and add to the casserole.  Pour over the stock and stir well to combine. 

Cover with a lid and pop into the oven and leave to cook quietly until the lamb is cooked and falling apart.  I cooked mine at 150^oC / 275 ^o F / gas mark 2 for 2 ½ hours, uncovering for the last half an hour.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

note : the lemon flavour is quite strong so omit the quarters if you prefer a less lemony flavour.  There will be pips in the finished dish, so take care when eating.

 

Tzatziki

The recent hot spell, and swim in the sea has reminded me of happy holidays taken in the Med many years ago (when weather like this was commonplace!); and in particular two very happy holidays spent in Greece.  Sidari in Corfu, and Hanioti in Halkidiki specifically! 

For lunch we would take off for the shops and pick up a loaf of fresh bread, a lump of Feta cheese and a big pot of tzatziki.  The four of us would then tear into the bread and cheese and slather it with tzatziki. 

For a recent beach visit I couldn’t resist whipping up a batch of tzatziki for our picnic! 

For two to four people : 

200g Greek yoghurt (I like Total best)

2tb  extra virgin olive oil

1tsp white wine vinegar

2 cloves of garlic, very finely chopped

1” of cucumber, deseeded and diced small

Generous sprig of mint, chopped

Black pepper to taste 

This really couldn’t be simpler, simply whisk the oil and vinegar into the yoghurt, season to taste with black pepper, add the garlic, cucumber, mint and stir well together.  Set aside for half an hour or so for the flavours to develop. 

Serve with warm crusty bread for dipping, and feta cheese on the side. 

Best enjoyed in glorious sunshine, with maybe a bottle of Retsina on the side!