FIG SUNDAY, an April Palm Sunday Tradition

Palm Sunday falls on April 14th, 2019.

This is hearty fare, be warned! You might need to go on a long country walk after eating this figgy delight.

TO MAKE FIG PUDDING

Ingredients

1/2 lb breadcrumbs made from stale crusty white bread

1/2 lb dried figs

1/2 lb of soft light brown sugar

6 oz suet

1/2 a nutmeg grated

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

2 eggs, well beaten

Lashings of cream

1. Mince the figs very small

2. Mince the suet likewise.

3. Mix the bread crumbs, figs, sugar, suet, vanilla and nutmeg very well together

4. Moisten with eggs

5. When well mixed place in a clean, floured muslin cloth and tie tightly.

6. Drop into a pan of boiling water and leave at a low simmer for 4 hours.

7. Remove from the pan and hang to drain and cool for 5 minute, unwrap the figgy cannon ball from the cloth and place on a plate.

Serve with cream, and a cold glass of white wine.

Venison Mince Meat

Venison mince recipe

450g of venison mince or very lean steak mince

500g seedless raisins

750g currants

500g beef suet

500g dark brown sugar

90g mixed candied peel

750g apples weighed after peeling and coring

zest of one lemon

juice of half lemon

300m ½ pint brandy

1/2tsp salt

1/2tsp all spice

½ tsp cinnamon

½ nutmeg grated

1 tsp ground black pepper

Method

Coarsely grate (or chop finely) the peeled apple pieces.

Mix everything (except the brandy) together with your hands in a big bowl. Add the liquor and mix again.

Pack the mincemeat into sterilised jars, seal with greaseproof paper and tight-fitting lids. I made 10 jam jars full. Store in a cool place – if you have the time, let the mincemeat mature for 2-3 weeks before using it for mince pies. The meat is preserved by the sugar and brandy and I’ve kept jars for a year to no ill effect, then it is ‘cooked’ in the mince pies but I have to add a health warning – this recipe is to be made at your own risk. Many of the products described on this website involve significant risks, and you should not enter into any recipe or cooking action unless you have fully understood all such risks and have independently determined that they are appropriate for you. Well, that’s been said so….

Traditional Mince Pies – let’s make them. 

 

To make 12 mince pies –

11⁄4 lb (560 g) mincemeat

12 oz (350 g) plain flour

3 oz (75 g) lard (beef fat)

3 oz (75 g) butter

pinch of salt

Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 6, 400°F (200°C).

Make up the pastry by sifting the flour and salt into a mixing bowl and rubbing the fats into it until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Then add just enough cold water to mix to a dough that leaves the bowl clean. I needed 140ml of water but each dough may differ, just don’t add it all at once but be cautious and add little at a time until it comes together.

Leave the pastry to rest in a polythene bag in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes, then roll half of it out as thinly as possible and cut it into two dozen 3 inch (7.5 cm) rounds (I use a cup), gathering up the scraps and re-rolling. Then do the same with the other half of the pastry, this time using the 2 1⁄2 inch (6 cm) cutter (and a smaller drinking glass).

Now grease the patty tins lightly and line them with the larger rounds. Fill these with mincemeat to the level of the edges of the pastry. Dampen the edges of the smaller rounds of pastry with water and press them lightly into position to form lids, sealing the edges. Brush each one with milk or beaten egg and make three snips in the tops with a pair of scissors. (you will have enough pastry left over to make twelve more on another day). Bake near the top of the oven for 25-30 minutes until light golden brown. Cool on a wire tray and sprinkle with icing sugar. EAT THEM WHILE WARM!

If you manage not to eat them all, and we never do, store the pies in an airtight container in the fridge.

Enjoy.Mrs Beeton’s extremely boozy beef tongue mincemeat recipe below, if you fancy trying it, tell me how you got on?

 

Devon Crab

Devon Brown Crab (Cancer Pagurus) is stupendously good and arguably the best in the world!  The people of Salcombe in South Devon celebrate this fact each year in May at the Salcombe Crab Festival and it’s all in aid of charity. This year it’s on the Sunday the 6th and we’re going so I’ll update this blog on Sunday and give you a taste. Can’t wait!

There’s nothing more enjoyable than sitting by the Devon coast leisurely eating a whole Devon crab with a glass of crisp white wine and all the time in the world – it’s the essence of slow food. These days, the crab sandwich has become hugely popular but I favour the crab savoury. Savouries were little treats served as a final course at dinner to ‘cleanse the palate’ before the bottle of port and the sojourn to the card tables, so popular in the 19th century. I like to surprise my family with savouries before dinner and they go mad for them. Crab toasts are one of the best – a simple dish but a perfect one that allows the crab to shine.

Crab Savouries

Take some good white bread, sliced very thin. Cut off the crusts and cut each slice diagonally to create triangles. Toast until golden brown and crisp  (the best way to do this evenly is on a grill tray in the oven). Butter generously while hot so the butter soaks into the toasted bread. Spread thinly with brown crab meat, then pile generously with white crab meat. Season with salt, pepper and a grate of fresh nutmeg. Serve immediately while the toast is still warm.

Crab fishing has always been a specialty of Devon. In the past families would make their own ‘inkwell’ pots in the winter from willow grown locally along the coast. The pots were baited with fresh fish secured with a wooden skewer and lasted about a year. The men would go out to sea and the women would help sell the catch. The pots are no longer hand-made from willow but the industry is still run by small family businesses who fish sustainably, so go get some crab!

Crab Linguine – add a few fennel seeds and chilli for a bit of kick.

Kitchenalia Cartoons can also be seen in Devon Life Magazine –  the Devon county magazine (UK) offering hundreds of pages of articles and superb photography every month.

 

Mr Percy Parsnip and his Parsnip Pup

Mr Percy Parsnip and his parsnip pup.

To a palate un-jaded by refined sugar, a parsnip, simply roasted, can be as honeyed as a lollipop, and that is how it was often used in the past – in sweet dishes, fritters and cakes but this native root really is born to be the constant companion of roast beef and is an essential part of ‘all the trimmings’. The parsnip caramelises with salty savour in a way the usurping potato can never hope to achieve.  I think they’re so good I often make parsnips chips as a savoury appetiser before supper. They all go, and pretty darn quick.

Parsnip chips

Salt is essential to parsnips so don’t skimp.  They must be salty enough to counterbalance the caramelised sweetness of the root and thin enough to be crisp. Once cooked, I like to sprinkle them with thyme but it depends on my mood, other complimentary sprinklings that I find good are cumin, nutmeg, garam masala, crushed bay leaves or paprika, all of which go down go down a treat. Add some prosciutto dressed with a squeeze of lemon on the side and you have a starter.

Directions: Peel 6 parsnips and boil them for a few minutes so they soften but remain firm. When done, slice the parsnips lengthways into 8 pieces each so they resemble chips. Dry them in a cloth and then shake them up with some flour, seasoned with plenty of salt and pepper. This will give them a crisp coating. Meanwhile heat a large pan (so they lay separately) to smoking with sunflower oil, if you don’t have a big enough pan cook them in batches. Fry them until golden which takes about 5-10 minutes, turning them occasionally with a pair of tongs. Sprinkle with fresh thyme, taste and add more salt if needed. Serve hot.

Other tasty ways with parsnips

Parsnip and shallot tart tatin with ready roll puff pastry

Mashed parsnip cakes coated with egg and Panko crumbs

Parsnip, puy lentil and watercress salad

Curried parsnip and apple soup

Parsnip and parmesan soufflé