Gloucestershire Squab Pie

Following our theme of trying to cook local fayre we are having Gloucestershire Squab Pie for dinner tonight. Bizarrely there is no pigeon in this pie, just lamb, apple and onion. Traditionally the lamb would have been a tougher cut but I have used leg because it cooks quicker, which suits me tonight. When I found this dish there was contrasting recipes with either a pastry top or swede mash so I've gone for pastry and served with swede mash and mint oil, along with some carrots, beans and sweet peppers. This one is dead easy but really very tasty, Mrs Larry loved it!

Ingredients:

Lamb, we used 400g of leg steaks chopped up with the fat removed
1x Onion, peeled and sliced
1x Bramley apple
5x Sage leaves, chopped
1x Chicken stock cube
Flour
1x Packet of puff pastry roll
1x Swede
1x Potato
A handful of grated cheese, Double-Gloucester of course!
15x Mint leaves
Nice oil, we used extra virgin rapeseed
Balsamic vinegar
2x Carrots, peeled and sliced
1x Sweet yellow pepper, sliced
French beans, trimmed and cut in half
Butter


Method:

1. Finely chop the mint leaves and mix with a spoon of oil and balsamic vinegar. Allow them to infuse for as long as possible.
2. Cook the onions in a frying pan in a little oil until translucent then pour them into a separate pie dish.
3. Season the meat and dust with flour then brown in the frying pan and add to your pie dish.
4. Peel, core and chop the apple into about 1-2cm chunks and add to the pie dish with the chopped sage leaves.
5. Deglaze the frying pan with about 500ml of water and add to it the stock cube. Pour enough into the pie dish to just about cover everything.
6. Cover the pie dish with the puff pastry, trim and place a couple of cuts in the top. Brush with a little milk.
7. Place pie in the oven on gas 6 for about half an hour or until the pastry is nicely browned and done.
8. Peel and chop the potato and swede and bring the boil in a pan. Simmer until soft, drain, add a big knob of butter and the grated cheese and mash until smooth with a fork. Season with salt and pepper.
9. Pour in a frying pan half a cup of water and add the carrots with a knob of butter, a teaspoon of sugar, salt and pepper. Simmer for about 10 minutes then add the peppers and beans. Cook for a further 3 minutes, the liquid should have evaporated leaving the veg coated in a sweet shiny glaze.
11. Plate up! Not forgetting to drizzle the minty oil over the mash.

Bacon and Black Pudding Porridge with Egg and Chia Seeds and Maple Syrup

As part of the #PerfectPorridge campaign it was great to receive a porridge parcel from the nice people at Flahavans containing some interesting ingredients, one of them being chia seeds. I'd never heard of them before but they went nicely with the egg and are full of nutrients. Now the egg is raw in this but as soon as you mix it through the hot porridge it cooks and adds to the delicious consistency of those lovely big oats. I used Mabel Pearmans eggs because the yolks are lovely and orange but if you can get local fresh eggs more the better.

Ingredients:

Porridge
Milk
Bacon
Black pudding
Egg
Chia seeds
Maple syrup


Method:

1. In a frying pan cook your bacon and black pudding.
2. Remove from the heat and pour the fat into your uncooked porridge.
3. Cook the porridge as per the pack instructions. I microwave for 2-3 minutes if only cooking for one but use a saucepan for more people. I used milk as Mrs Larry prefers it but you can use water.
4. Chop up the bacon and black pudding and sprinkle over the cooked porridge.
5. Make a small well in the top of the porridge. Separate an egg yolk from the white and pour the yolk into the well.
6. Sprinkle on the chia seeds and drizzle with maple syrup.


Update:

Since finding Chia seeds I have been trying to introduce them more and more into our daily diet as they are so very healthy and good for you. This interesting article from Cooking Detective explains it all: 17 Benefits Of Chia Seeds: Plus 13 Ways To Add Chia To Your Diet-With Recipes

Broccoli and Stilton Spaghetti With Red Onion Marmalade

For the May Bank Holiday weekend we have come with friends to the excellent Ferry Meadows country park in Peterborough. The village of Stilton is just down the road and as we are in Cambridgeshire my local dish has to include the controversial Stilton cheese. "Why controversial?" I hear you ask! Well Stilton cheese apparently does originate from the village of Stilton in Cambridgeshire but an EU trademark rules that it can only be produced in the three Counties of Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire. You can read all about here on stilton.org.

The beauty of this vegetarian dish is that it only takes as long as the pasta cooking time to complete. It is quick, easy, yet the taste is a million times more rewarding than the effort put into it.

Ingredients:
(serves 2)

1x Broccoli
2x Celery sticks, finely sliced
2x Red Onions, finely sliced
Spaghetti, about 200g
Stilton cheese, about 250g crumbled
Double cream, 1 pot
Cheddar cheese, about a handful grated
White wine vinegar
Walnuts, crushed
Rocket
Nice oil, I used extra virgin rapeseed
Red wine, a glass
Red wine vinegar
Brown sugar, 2 tbsp
Bay leaf
Chili, optional


Method:

1. Fill up a saucepan with cold salted water and bring to the boil for the spaghetti.
2. In a small frying pan on medium-low heat add a splash of oil and the onions. Stir frequently.
3. Now is a good time to slice your celery, grate and crumble cheese, floret the broccoli.
4. When the water is boiling add the spaghetti and cook per packet instructions.
5. To the onions add the sugar and stir through then add the red wine, a splash of red wine vinegar, the bay and the chili if using. Keep stirring and top up with wine if it gets dry.
6. In a small saucepan pour in the cream and gently warm through.
7. Add the handful of grated Cheddar and half the crumbled Stilton. Stir until completely melted.
8. Add a splash of white wine vinegar to the cheese sauce, taste and season, cover and switch off the gas.
9. With 3 minutes left of cooking time for the spaghetti add the broccoli florets to the pan.
10. Drain the spaghetti and add it to the cheese sauce.
11. Plate up with a big dollop of spaghetti in the centre of the plate, surrounded by the broccoli florets. Top with the remaining crumbled Stilton, crushed walnuts, sliced celery and your red onion marmalade. Finish off with a handful of rocket, a good drizzle of nice oil and some black pepper.