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This is another recipe from my “Cakes, Pastries and Bread” book, as I work my way through the untried recipes. This time I followed the recipe exactly and the cookies were fantastic – great flavour and a lovely texture. For some reason the kids weren’t very keen on them, but happily, that left more for the grown ups!
Peanut Cookies
100g butter or vegan margarine
50g caster sugar
150g plain flour
Pinch of salt
A little milk (or vegan alternative) for brushing
50g peanuts roughly chopped
Set the oven to 180oC.
Cream the butter or margarine with the sugar until light and fluffy. Sieve in the flour and salt, then mix to a stiff dough. Turn on to a floured surface, knead lightly and roll out to 6mm thick.
Cut into circles with a 5cm cutter and place on greased baking sheets. Brush the biscuits with milk and sprinkle with the chopped nuts.
Bake in the oven for about 12 minutes or until crisp and golden brown. Leave on the sheets for a minute, then remove on to a wire rack to cool.
I’ve long had a collection of cookery books from the St Michael Cookery Library (St Michael was a brand owned by British retailer Marks and Spencer). Some I’ve had for decades, others I’ve found more recently. But one of my go-to recipe books has always been this one, ‘Cakes, Pastries and Bread’, first published in 1977. I remember reading the book and looking at the recipes, and a small selection became favourites that I’ve use a lot.
Recently, I rediscovered the book and have been trying out, for the first time, some of the recipes that I used to only look at. These yummy, squidgy cakes came about as I changed the original recipe to suit the moment. I loved them, especially as they taste of sticky toffee pudding, one of my favourite desserts. However, I still have to go back and follow the original recipe more closely!
Date Cakes
100g butter
1 egg
100g caster sugar
200g stoned dates, chopped
100g self raising flour
Pinch of salt
Heat oven to 180oC and grease an 18cm (7in) square cake tin.
Melt the butter and the dates over a gentle heat until the dates are starting to soften
Beat the sugar and egg together until light and fluffy. Add the butter and dates and mix well.
Sieve in the flour and salt and mix well.
Turn the mixture into the prepared tin and spread evenly.
Put in the over for 30 – 40 minutes, until golden brown and well risen.
Take out of the oven and cool for 10 minutes before cutting into squares. Leave in the tin to go cold and remove.
These are best eaten fresh on the day, but do last a couple of days in a sealed container.
So, on the hottest day ever, or something like that, here’s a truly simple salad to help you through the heat! I always like to keep a melon in the fridge in hot weather, as a slice is like an ice pop and perfect for a cooling afternoon snack! Chilled melon is perfect for this salad, which is delicious as a side salad, a starter or just with fresh crunchy bread if you want something light.
Watercress and Melon Salad with Caraway Seeds
1 handful of watercress, washed
1 handful of lambs lettuce, washed
1 quarter galia melon, chilled
1 tblsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tsp caraway seeds
Peel the melon and cut into small chunks. Add the watercress, lambs lettuce and melon to a bowl. Add the lemon juice and toss the salad. Sprinkle the caraway seeds over the salad and serve cool.
What do you call a dish of a thick gravy stew topped with mashed potato? Cottage Pie or Shepherd’s Pie? Well my mum always called it cottage pie, no matter what the ingredients, and it is the oldest recorded name for the dish having first appeared in 1791, so I’ll stick with it. Besides it seems to make more sense for a vegetarian dish, as ‘Shepherd’s Pie’ has now come to mean a filling of mutton or lamb. I have come across the theory that actually a cottage pie should have sliced potatoes on top to resemble the tiles on a cottage roof, whereas fluffy mashed potato resembles a woolly sheep! But I always think a mashed topping is the real comfort food and it allows you to mash up other veg like swede, parsnip, or, as here, celeriac in with the potato. This is a simple dish, easy to rustle up and open to changes depending what you have in. The celeriac gives the mash a nice fresh flavour. Serve with a green veg or salad.
Cottage Pie
500g/1 lb potatoes, peeled and chopped
225g/8oz celeriac, peeled and chopped
75g/2½oz butter / vegan margarine
2 or 3 tblsp milk/vegan milk (optional)
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 stick celery, chopped
1 can chick peas, drained
1 can tomatoes
1 tblsp passata, or tomato puree mixed with a little water
1 tblsp olive oil
1 tsp dried basil or oregano
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Boil the potatoes and celeriac until soft. Heat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5.
Meanwhile, heat the oil and cook the onion, celery and garlic over a medium heat for around five minutes until soft, but not browned. Add the chick peas, tomatoes, passata, herbs, salt and pepper. Stir and cook for around five minutes, then pour into a baking dish.
When the potatoes and celeriac are cooked, add the butter/margarine and the milk if using, then mash until smooth. Spread the mash over the chick pea mixture in a nice thick layer, then fluff up the top with a fork. Bake in the oven for around 30 minutes until the peaks of the potato have started to brown.
I’m always looking for simple and tasty salads in January, to chase away the post-Christmas sluggishness and help beat the winter blues. This dish really fits the bill. It makes a great side dish or even a lunch with lots of crunchy bread or a jacket potato.
Fennel Salad
1 fennel bulb
1 medium carrot, grated
1/4 cucumber
1 tblsp Roast walnut or sesame oil
1 tblsp Cider vinegar
1 tsp mustard seeds
salt and black pepper to taste
Prepare the fennel by removing any tough outer layers and the base. Then slice as finely as possible. Also finely slice the cucumber (I removed the skin first, but that’s optional). Add the grated carrot.
Dress the salad by pouring on the oil, vinegar, salt and pepper, then sprinkle on the mustard seeds to decorate.
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