New recipes
FEBRUARY! THE MONTH FOR HOT PUDS As the days get longer in February and, if the month lives up to its reputation, it's usually wet and windy, when the kitchen is still one of the warmest places to be.
It's the month for marmalade making, when those knarled skinned Seville oranges make their brief arrival from Spain. The citrus season is coming to an end, lemons are still with us, although they may need an extra squeeze to provide enough juice for your Shrove Tuesday pancakes. February is the month when there isn't much home produced fruit, so it's a good time to cook some of the favourite traditional family puddings, and the sticky puds of our childhood.
Try making your Shrove Tuesday pancakes extra special this year with this month's recipe for a delicious rhubarb compote; make my easy Seville orange marmalade and, for a mid-week treat, make a Banana Surprise Pudding, to round off our month for hot warming and delicious puds.
SHROVE TUESDAY PANCAKES
Shrove Tuesday nearly always falls in February, and it's still customary to remember this day by making and tossing pancakes, but these days with all the variety of fillings around, I tend to make them throughout the year. However, I think the best pancakes are made using the basic ingredients and eaten with a squeeze of lemon juice, and a liberal sprinkling of caster sugar.
Makes about 12.
Ingredients: 10g butter. 300ml milk. 2 tablespoons caster sugar. 110g plain flour. 2 eggs. Juice of 2 lemons. Method: Sieve the flour into a large mixing bowl and make a well in the centre. Beat eggs, milk and sugar together until you have a smooth, creamy batter. Leave to stand for at least an hour. Meanwhile heat an 18cm (7 inch) non-stick frying pan and pour enough pancake batter to coat the bottom. Allow 30 seconds for the pancake to brown on the underside, then turnover and cook until lightly coloured. Carry on cooking the pancakes in this way, serving each one with a sprinkling of caster sugar and squeeze of lemon juice. You can make the pancakes in advance, stack them interleaved with greaseproof paper, then reheat them in a warm oven.
RHUBARB COMPOTE WITH VANILLA CRME FRAICHE
If you prefer something a bit more sophisticated to top your pancakes with, look no further than this delicious, easy rhubarb compote.
Ingredients: 450g rhubarb, cut into 4cm pieces. 85g caster sugar. 3 tbsp honey. Finely grated zest and juice of l lemon. 2 vanilla pods. 3 pieces stem ginger, cut into thin shards. For the vanilla crme frache: 1 tsp icing sugar. 200ml crme frache.
Method: Heat oven to 140C/fan, 120C/gas l. Put rhubarb pieces into a bowl and add the sugar, honey, a squeeze of lemon juice and 3 tbsp water. Mix well, then lay the pieces flat in a roasting tray. Split the vanilla pods in half, then scrape out the seeds and reserve for the vanilla crme frache. Add the vanilla pods to the rhubarb, then bake in the oven for 30 mins. Meanwhile, stir the vanilla seeds and icing sugar into
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the crme frache. When the rhubarb is cooked, drain the juices into a pan, then boil to thicken slightly. Mix the rhubarb with the stem ginger and juices, then spoon over pancakes. Top with a spoonful of vanilla crme frache and a sprinkling of lemon juice.
SEVILLE MARMALADE
The Seville orange season is a short one, so keep a short look out for them in the shops when they start to arrive at the end of January and carry on into the month of February. If you don't want to make a large quantity of marmalade in one go, then it's useful to freeze some oranges and make another batch later on.
Ingredients: 700g Seville oranges. Juice of 1 large lemon. 1 litres (2 pts) water. 1.35kg (3lb preserving sugar). Method: Wash and put the fruit whole and unpeeled into a large saucepan or preserving pan. Pour on 1 (2 pts) boiling water and simmer gently with the lid on until the fruit is tender. When the fruit is cooked and tender cut it in half, remove pips, and finely cut up the fruit, carefully retaining all the juice. Return pips to the water in which the fruit was cooked and boil for 5 mins to extra more pectin. Strain pips from liquid and return the sliced fruit and lemon juice to the preserving pan. Reduce heat, add the sugar and stir until dissolved. Bring to the boil and boil rapidly until setting point is reached, testing a little on a saucer. Pot into warm jars and seal. Yields 2 kg (5lb)
BANANA SURPRISE PUDDING
This pudding has a light and spongy texture, which is a change from the more heavier puddings we associate with winter, and children love it.
Serves 4.
Ingredients: 2 large or 3 small bananas. 2 heaped tablespoons semolina. A little lemon essence. 1 lemon. 600ml milk. 50g caster sugar. A little apricot jam. 1 tablespoon desiccated coconut. Method: Make semolina mixture by taking a little of the milk and mixing cold with semolina and sugar. Bring remainder of the milk to the boil and pour onto the semolina mixture, adding a few drops of lemon essence. Return to the saucepan and cook slowly until it thickens, stirring well to avoid lumps. Line the bottom of an ovenproof dish with apricot jam. Over this spread a layer of prepared semolina. Slice bananas and thinly sprinkle with lemon juice and place on to semolina. Cover with another layer of semolina mixture. Sprinkle lightly with desiccated coconut and bake in a preheated oven 170C, 325F, Gas Mark 3 for 20 minutes until pale golden brown.
Coming in this month:
Early purple sprouting broccoli, Jerusalem artichokes, forced lettuce, forced radish and spinach. Savoy cabbage. By the end of the month watercress may be back.
At their peak: Most root vegetables, including parsnips, Swedes, celeriac and turnips, wonderful floury potatoes – good for mash – Belgian chicory and sweet
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potatoes. Fruit: Forced rhubarb. Not much on the home front by February, but, from abroad, look out for Italian ruby red blood oranges. On the meat front: Look out for Welsh mountain lamb, the flavour and sweetness unbeatable in my view.
Fish: Haddock tails off in February, but most flat fish, notably, lemon and Dover sole, will be in good heart until the end of the month. February also heralds the beginning of the Wild Salmon season, but it may be expensive.
Dates for your diary this month: Shrove Tuesday falls on the 16 February this year, and National Bramley Apple Week is from 7th – 14th February, visit your local farm shop to celebrate this national event and sample tastings of local produce, including the ever popular Bramley Apple Cake.
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Weather for Sudbury
Thursday 24 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 13 C to 25 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 12 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 22 mph
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