Ratatouille

1 aubergine, same weight of courgette, half that weight of bell pepper, twice the weight of tomatoes, skinned (I use tinned), 1 large clove of garlic per 1/4lb of aubergine, olive oil, salt.

Cover the base of a saucepan with olive oil to about 1/8 inch (you're not frying the vegetables). Put on a medium heat. The vegetables cook at a different rate, so start with the courgettes: slice thinly and put in pan, turning them to cover with oil. Chop the garlic and add, then the pepper, sliced, then the aubergine, halved or quartered lengthways and thinly sliced. Cook until soft (add more oil if necessary). Stir in the tomatoes, cook until soft if fresh, heat through if tinned. Season to taste.
The flavours come out best at room temperature.

I first had this at the Hauvettes in Clermont-Ferrand. It is very moreish - I'll be having it for my tea tonight with the crusts of the loaf I've just baked!
The reason I use tinned tomatoes is because I once made some for Mum and Dad and can still see Mum carefully removing bits of tomato skin from her mouth - I never made it for her again!

Malt Loaf or ‘Harvo +’

This was an attempt to replicate shop bought ‘Harvo’ malt bread, nowadays it’s hard to find. I (modestly) think this is much better. It’s my own creation based on several malted loaf recipes but with a much more malt and syrup. The yummy but unhealthily large amount of malt extract and black treacle means there’s too much sugar for the yeast to survive so it’s based on baking powder and bicarbonate of soda, which means it’s a doddle to make - just mix and bake. You’ll end up with a deep brown very a rich, sticky bread (arguably a cake) that keeps well. Thin slices are lovely with butter.

10oz / 310g malt extract (available from chemists, ensure it’s without cod liver oil).
2¼ fl oz / 65ml black treacle
1 oz / 25g melted butter (a very brief nuke in the microwave is good for this).
1½ tea sp / 7.5ml dried milk powder or replace 75ml / 2½ fl oz of water with milk.
8 fl oz / 250ml water
13 oz / 400 g strong brown bread flour (NOT stone-ground or standard brown flour).
1 tea sp / 5ml salt
2 tea sp / 10ml caster sugar
9 oz / 250g sultanas
½ tea sp / 2.5 ml bicarbonate of soda
1½ tea sp / 7.5ml baking powder

Conventional oven Mix the above well. Place in either a non stick or greased loaf tin. Bake in a pre-heated oven for about 50 minutes in a moderate oven, gas mark 4 or 350°F / 175°C. Cool on a wire rack.

Bread machine (amounts are for a machine with a 1.5 lb capacity)
Chuck in all the ingredients minus the sultanas in the order listed above. Set the machine to standard wholemeal loaf.

Chocolate truffle mix

2 bars of quality but not too fancy dark chocolate (Green & Blacks, Mora Mora)
handful of caster sugar/icing sugar - golden and vanilla'd
1/4 pint of double cream (Longley Farm)
2 handfulls of ground, skin on almonds (put your hands together and fill them!)
1/2 to 1 tsp ground cinnamon
30 - 50 ml bourbon or other sweet booze (brandy, rum, sweet whisky)

Grind your nuts and mix in the cinnamon
Melt chocolate together with sugar in a bowl over a pan of simmering water (bain marie)
Pour the nut mix into the bain marie
Mix it alltogether now and turn the heat off
Fold in the cream
Pour in the booze and fold that in too
Pour the mix out onto a sheet of baking parchment on a marble slab to cool in a big flat piece
When cooled, roll the sheet of stuff into a log - your mix is ready

You can take slices off the end of the log and roll them into balls and roll in cocoa to dust the outsides.

I'm thinking of trying to mix egg yolk with the cream to make a custard and adding this to see how this works. Also an idea of making almond praline and grinding this up to see what happens.

Walnut Pate en Croute

(Source: Rose Elliot – Gourmet Vegetarian Cooking, 1982)

(feeds 12)

flaky pastry
1oz butter
1 large onion, chopped
1 stick celery, chopped
2 large cloves garlic
4oz walnuts
12oz cashews
8oz chestnut puree
4oz cheddar cheese
2 eggs
2 tbsp brandy
½ tsp paprika
½ tsp dried thyme
salt & pepper
8oz button mushrooms
beaten egg to glaze

Fry onion and celery in butter for 10 min. until soft. Remove from heat and stir in garlic, nuts, cheese, eggs, brandy, paprika, thyme and seasoning.
Set oven to 425º F / gas 7. Roll pastry rectangle 12” x 16”. Put pate in centre and mushrooms on top. Brush edges of pastry with cold water then fold over to encase pate and mushrooms (not too tightly to allow for pate to expand). Place pastry parcel seam side down on baking sheet. Garnish with pastry leaves, cut steam vents, brush with beaten egg and cook at top of oven for 30 min. then lower to 375º / gas 5 for further 25 – 30 mins.

Sauce: I usually make one with onion, garlic, celery &/or fennel, carrot and other root veg. caramelised in butter (just cook chopped veg until brown). Add a little flour and cook for another minute before adding chopped tomatoes, red wine, bay leaf and other herbs to taste (eg. thyme, parsley, basil, oregano). Let sauce simmer, add salt and black pepper. Sieve for a smooth gravy.

Vegetarian Moussaka

(Source: Liz M original)

makes 8-10 portions)

Base (meat substitute):
4oz green lentils
1 onion, chopped
1lb mushrooms, chopped
tbsp tomato puree
tbsp allspice
salt & black pepper
olive oil

2 aubergines
garlic
basil
potatoes
black olives and paprika to garnish

Sauce: butter, flour, 1pint milk, curd cheese, egg, nutmeg, salt & pepper

Base: Cover lentils with water and cook until soft and most of water absorbed. Soften onion in olive oil; add chopped mushrooms, cooked lentils, tomato puree and allspice. Season. Put mixture in ovenproof dish.
Add layer of sliced aubergines, fried in (mainly olive) oil with garlic and basil
Add layer of cooked sliced potatoes
White sauce: Make roux (cook butter and flour together). Gradually add milk, stirring over heat until boiling and thickened. Add salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste. Stir in curd cheese and beaten egg.
Top moussaka with white sauce. Decorate with black olives and paprika. Cook in low to medium oven until sauce begins to brown.

Toulouse Cassoulet

(Source: Judy K)

2 lb shoulder of lamb
1lb pork skin or rind
1lb dried white beans
sprig thyme
2 bay leaves
3oz lard or goose fat
1 can tomato paste
2½ tbsp Cognac
12oz Toulouse sausages
2oz soft breadcrumbs

Cut lamb (bones included) into 12 pieces. Boil rind 5 mins. to remove excess salt.
Cut pork skin in pieces and day before cooking cassoulet put rind in deep pan. Add 4 pints water. Cover and simmer 3 hrs. Remove and cool to jelly.
Soak beans overnight in cold water.
Next day, heat pork jelly and when melted add beans, thyme, bay leaves, salt and pepper.
Heat lard and sauté lamb pieces, browning them lightly on all sides. Reduce heat, cover and cook 30 mins.
Add meat to beans and stir in tomato paste and Cognac.
Simmer 30 mins.
Brown sausage lightly in skillet. Cut in 5 pieces and add to beans. Pour cassoulet into casserole. Sprinkle with some of breadcrumbs and bake 15 mins. in hot oven (400º F). Remove from oven, stir with fork, sprinkle again with breadcrumbs and return to oven for 15 mins. again. Repeat process 5 times in all.

Sponge Pudding

(Source:Granny Keeling 1950/60's)

4oz sugar
4oz butter or marg
8oz self raising flour
2 eggs
milk

Cream sugar and butter. Add milk and eggs, already beaten. Add flour.
Bake in fairly warm oven for about ½ hour or steam 1½ hours.

Variations: lemon sponge, syrup sponge, chocolate sponge, fruit sponge, ginger sponge (urgh – Liz)
(Actually, I think Granny used to just rub in ingredients before adding milk and eggs – quicker than creaming sugar and butter. This method doesn’t work for Victoria sponge though when you would use only 4oz flour - Liz).

Spicy Apple Cake

(Source: Ruth Iveson, Wales 1970s)

½ lb apples
6oz brown sugar
6oz margarine
6oz flour (plain, I think)
1tsp bicarbonate of soda
½ tsp salt
1 egg
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp cinnamon
2oz chopped walnuts
3oz seedless raisins

Chop apples finely and add sugar. Melt margarine and add to beaten egg. Sift flour with salt, bicarb. and spices. Mix margarine with apples, add flour, etc. and walnuts and raisins.
Put in greased tin and bake for 50 – 55 mins at Reg. 3.
[I use butter instead of margarine]

Pumpkin Pie

Pastry:
6oz plain flour
½ tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp baking powder
3oz unsalted butter, very cold
1 egg yolk
3-4 tbsp double cream

Filling:
1lb pumpkin pulp
2 large or 3 small eggs
3oz soft brown sugar
4 tbsp golden syrup
8 fl. oz whipping or double cream
1½ tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp ground cloves
½ tsp salt


Make pastry dough. Leave in fridge 30 min. +. Bake blind 400º F / Gas Mark 6 15 min.
Combine all ingredients for filling and mix together until just blended. Pour into pie case and return to oven 375º F / Gas Mark 5 for 40 min. until filling set. Place pie dish on hot baking sheet in oven to keep bottom pastry crisp.

Savoyard Leek & Sausage Flan

(Source: Robert Carrier’s Home Cooking, pub. Daily Telegraph Magazine, 1968)

Serves 4 - 6
Pastry:
8oz flour
½ level tsp salt
1 level tbsp icing sugar
6oz butter
1 egg yolk, beaten with 1 tbsp water

Leek and sausage flan:
8” – 9” pastry shell
1 medium sized onion
1oz cooked ham
4 button mushrooms
butter
1 tbsp flour
8 fluid oz milk
salt
freshly ground black pepper
freshly grated nutmeg
1 egg yolk
2 tbsp double cream
4 small pork sausages
3 leeks
grated cheese

Pastry:
Rub butter into flour and icing sugar with tips of fingers until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add egg yolk and water mixture gradually until crumbs adhere when pressed.
Shape dough lightly in a ball; wrap in a clean towel or foil and put in fridge for at least ½ hr.
Roll out dough and press into tin. Bake blind. [You can do this by covering bottom of pastry shell with foil and filling with dried beans. Cook at 450º F / Gas 7 for 10 – 15 min. Remove foil and beans].

Leek and sausage flan:
Chop onion, ham and mushrooms fine. Put in saucepan with salt, pepper and 2 tbsp butter. Saute gently until onion is transparent. Allow to cool then spread on bottom of baked pastry case.
Make a roux with 2 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp flour (cook together without letting flour take on colour). Gradually pour in milk and cook, stirring until sauce becomes smooth and thick. Season to taste with salt, pepper and a little grated nutmeg. Remove from heat and stir in egg yolk with wire whisk. Add cream.
Saute the sausages in a little butter and olive oil until golden and cooked through. Steam leeks (or simmer in a little water which you can then use instead of all milk for the sauce).
Place leeks and sausages alternately on ham, onion and mushroom mixture; pour over the sauce and sprinkle with grated cheese.
Return to a slow oven (350º F / Gas 2) and bake for 30 – 40 min. until custard is firm and golden brown. Serve very hot.

Roshan's Curry

(Source: Roshan Seth, Newcastle on Tyne, 1968/9)

for 1lb meat
2 tbsp oil
3 medium onions
3 tomatoes
1 bay leaf
1 tsp coriander (dhanya)
½ tsp turmeric (haldi)
⅛ tsp garlic (1 fresh clove)
1½ tsp cumin seed (gira)
¼ tsp ginger (few pieces if fresh)
salt, black pepper, chilli to taste
garam masala: 2 cloves, 2 – 3 black cardamoms, ¼ tsp cinnamon

Chop onion fine and fry until pale yellow. Add coriander, turmeric, garlic, ginger, chilli, cumin and bay leaf. Fry together until all becomes a deep brown. Add tomato, chopped.
If mixture sticks to bottom of pan add minute quantities of water. Keep frying and adding water until mixture becomes a paste. You can tell when this happens because the oil begins to bubble on the surface (generally takes 15 min.).
Add meat, salt & pepper and garam masala. Fry together until meat is braised. Add water (this will depend on how much gravy is required, bearing in mind that too much water will also dilute the sauce). Simmer until meat is cooked (30 – 40 min.).
Serve with rice and salad.

NB. Above is how I got the recipe but I would now brown the meat first and cook for longer. Also increase quantities of spices. Nice with home made chappatis.

Chappatis (Peter Thornton, Wales 1970's)
Make dough with chappati flour, water and a little salt. Leave in fridge overnight. Roll out chappatis, seal both sides in hot pan, cook directly over gas flame (I use a grill rack) so that chappati puffs up (don’t cook too long or will become hard). Serve.

Also nice with yogurt flavoured with garlic and chopped spearmint or ginger and chilli

Real Italian Lasagne

(Source: Forgotten her name, Wales, 1970's)

Sauce:
2 tins tomatoes
¾ lb stewing steak, all fat removed, minced
4 chicken livers, fried
finely chopped garlic
1 tsp wine vinegar
1 tsp sugar
salt & pepper
basil

Pass tomatoes through mouli, add seasoning and simmer partially covered until slightly reduced. Add meat, continue to simmer, stirring occasionally. When sauce thick add chicken livers. Adjust seasoning.

Pasta:
6oz unbleached flour
salt
1 large egg

Mix salt and flour, stir in egg and add a little water if necessary to make kneadable dough. Knead. Roll out to thickness of cloth. Cut in squares. Boil in salted water for 5 min. before use.

½ - ¾ lb Mozzarella
Parmesan
nutmeg

Oil dish. Layer with sauce, then thinly sliced cheese. Grate over nutmeg (not too much) then overlap pasta. Repeat, ending with pasta.
Sprinkle Parmesan thickly over top.
Bake in fairly hot oven (400º F) 20 – 25 min.

Toffee - Caramel or Treacle

based on Margaret Powell - Sweetmaking for Children

Sugar (caster or granulated)         12oz / 300g
Butter                                                     3 1/2oz / 90g
Milk                                                          1/4 breakfast cup / 70ml
Golden Syrup or Treacle                 1/4 breakfast cup / 70ml
Vanilla essence                                   few drops (I don't bother)
Heavy bottomed pan
Greased tin
Jam thermometer is useful.

alternatively, replace milk and syrup with 1/2 breakfast cup / 140ml of sweetened condensed milk.
(may be worth trying molasses and seeing if it works better than treacle - I haven't tried tho)

Put everything except the vanilla essence in a heavy bottomed pan.

Make sure the sugar has dissolved fully at low heat.

Bring to boil, then cook(simmer) slowly for 25-30 minutes. DON'T STIR ONCE BOILING (if the base burns slightly, you stand some chance of rescue if unstirred, I was also told the mix tends to form crystals and become fudge-like or gritty if stirred/ whisked)

When temperature reaches Hard Ball (forms a glassy hard lump when you drop some of the mix into cold water,) - a temperature dangerously close to burning the toffee - add vanilla essence (or don't) and pour the mix into the greased tin.
IT IS VERY HOT AT THIS POINT. DON'T POKE IT WITH YOUR FINGERS.
For softer toffee, take to a slightly lower temperature (Soft Ball).
I'm guessing if you heat even lower and whisk hard (ideally electric) you'll get fudge, but that's a guess, so I can only say this works as toffee.

Once the mix is cooled a bit, mark into squares with a knife.
Then discover that the marking makes little difference once cold and end up with jagged edge pieces of toffee anyway.

Ideally, you should end up with something resembling a piece of glass, which is slightly chewable once you've had it in your mouth a while, but will remove fillings.

Jerusalem Artichoke or Salsify Soup

Theodora Fitzgibbon 'Traditional Scottish Cookery'

Measurements are all approximate. Serves 6
1 1/2 lbs (700g) Jerusalem artichokes or salsify
2 medium onions
2 oz (50g) butter
1 pint (600ml) water
1 pint (600ml) milk
1 level tablespoonful flour
salt and pepper
chopped chives or parsley for garnish

Wash, peel and slice artichokes (salsify) and put into water with a teaspoon of vinegar or lemon juice to prevent discoloration. Slice onions.
Melt butter in pan, add onions. Then add drained and dried artichokes (salsify). Cook over a low heat until thay start to soften. Sprinkle over flour, making sure that it's well blended in. Add water, stir, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Add milk and bring to the boil. Taste for seasoning and blend until smooth. Garnish.

Cullen Skink

I never measure ingredients in things like soup. This recipe comes from Theodora Fitzgibbon's 'Traditional Scottish Cookery'. Serves 4

1 large smoked haddock, about 2lbs (1 kilo)
water to cover
1 medium onion, finely sliced
1 1/2 pints (900ml) milk
8 oz (225g) mashed potato (or uncooked, diced or sliced)
seasoning and butter

Put haddock in shallow pan, skin side down, cover with water, bring to the boil and simmer for 4 to 5 minutes (with potato if necessary). Take from the pan, remove skin and bones, flake it and return to stock with onion. Simmer for 15 minutes.. Add the milk and bring to boiling point, then add enough mashed potato to make it the consistency you like. Season with salt and pepper, blend if you want a smooth soup. Cut butter into very small pieces and sprinkle on top. Serve with triangles of dry toast.

Seville Orange Marmalade

Recipe from the shippers, Rowlett & Co, as used by Granny Keeling (and Grandpa once!).
Seville oranges are only available for about a month from the middle/end of January.

Wash 4lbs (2kilos) of Seville oranges in cold water. Cut the fruit across and squeeze out the juice, carefully removing the pips and placing them in a separate small basin.
Slice the oranges, fine or coarse as preferred, place in a preserving pan, add the juice and 12 pints (6.5 litres) cold water. Add 2 pints (1 litre) of boiling water to the pips.
Leave all to stand for 24 hours.
Next day, strain the liquid and jelly from the pips and add it to the pulp in the preserving pan. Cook gently until the peel is tender (about 1 1/2 hours). Remove from heat and leave to stand for a further 24 hours.
3rd day: To each measured pint (1/2 litre) of the pulp, add 1lb (400g) best cane preserving sugar (granulated is fine). Heat gently till sugar is dissolved, then raise heat and cook fast until ready to set. This may be tested by dropping a very small amount onto a saucer, where it should form a stiff jelly as it cools.
When it reaches this stage, remove from heat, stand for five minutes, pour into clean, hot jars, cover and seal.
Approximately 20 to 22 lbs (10 kilos) of marmalade should result from the above quantities

Nut Roast

(Source: Granny Keeling)

3 large onions
3oz margarine (or butter)
8oz mixed nuts (almonds, pine nuts, walnuts, hazel nuts, cashews)
4 – 5oz brown bread crumbs
1 dessert spoon Marmite
1 tsp mixed herbs or fresh herbs to taste
1 egg
Pepper & salt

Mince onions. Fry in marge until soft. Dissolve Marmite in hot onion mixture. Mince nuts and add with rest of ingredients. Put in greased baking dish. Bake at 400 F for 30 mins. Serve with vegetarian sauce.

Sauce: Fry chopped onion until golden, then mushrooms (and other veg. eg. carrots). Add a little flour, cook, then 1 tsp Marmite, chopped tomatoes, bay leaf, and water/stock as required. Salt & pepper to taste.
[See Walnut Pate en Croute for rich vegetarian gravy].

Mushroom Stroganoff

(Source: Peter Otley, ‘Olivers’, Ironbridge)

Add ingredients in the following order:

1. Olive oil
2. Celery
Red Pepper
Onion
Garlic
[Fry until hot]
3. Handful button mushrooms
[Fry until hot]
4. White wine
[Let it bubble]
5. Whipping cream (NB single cream will separate when cooked)
Paprika (touch)
Sea salt
Black pepper (touch)
[Reduce]

Serve immediately (with rice)

Mohr in Hemd

(Source: Granny Keeling – ‘Definitely Different’ Daily Telegraph cookbook)

2½ oz butter
2½ oz caster sugar
4 eggs
2½ oz unblanched almonds (ground)
2½ oz dark chocolate (melted)

Whipped cream
Hot chocolate sauce

Prepare a pudding basin by buttering it and sprinkling it lightly with sugar.
Cream butter and sugar, separate the eggs, beat in the yolks one by one. Whip egg whites until stiff, fold into the creamed mixture and add the almonds alternately with the chocolate. Turn into the basin. Steam for ¾ hour.
Turn pudding on to a hot plate, top with chilled whipped cream and pour hot chocolate sauce over it. (Also nice served cold).

Chocolate sauce can be made with cocoa, sugar and water. Mix together with enough water to make a thin liquid. (Test for sweetness, don't overdo the sugar). Bring to boil, simmer and reduce to required thickness (ie. a syrup).

Clear Chicken Soup

1. (Source: Mel)

Chicken carcass
Onion
Carrot
Celery
Water
Salt & Pepper

Bring to boil and simmer for about 2 hrs (not too long or soup will be bone flavoured). Remove carcass, etc. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with noodles (vermicelli) and/or matzo meal dumplings (kneidlech, alkies).

Dumplings (for clear chicken soup) (Source: Auntie Dora? or Rakusens) -

1 breakfast cup medium Matzo meal (contains wheat)
1 breakfast cup boiling water
1 egg
1 tsp parsley
2 tbsp chicken fat
salt & pepper
nutmeg & ginger (ground)

Pour boiling water over the meal and stir well until blended.
Add egg, fat parsley, and seasoning.
Mix thoroughly and put in fridge for at least 1hr
With hands dipped in cold water roll into tiny balls.
Drop in boiling soup and simmer gently for 15 min. with saucepan uncovered

TanyaK's modified (eggless can be vegan) matzo balls:
Don't use egg.
Can swap out chook fat for olive oil or other fat
Can also add garlic salt
Can use a bit of bouillon in the water to replace the missing chook flavour.

Bake the balls at 275F / 150C for 15-20 min, DO NOT BROWN
Drop cooked balls into soup, simmer.