Pavlova wreath

I alway make a pavlova at Christmas, it’s one of the few desserts I can make and it’s best made ahead of time as you need to leave it in the oven to cool. You can make this a few days in advance and store in an airtight container so all you have to do on the big day is top it. 

This year I was inspired by Mary Berry who’s recipe you can find here.
Ingredients 

Pavlova is one of them desserts everyone has their on recipe for, mine is simple, 4 fresh egg whites and 200g caster sugar. Nothing else. It just works for me. 
Method 

Before you start preheat the oven to 160°C fan and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper. Draw round a plate and cup to get you outlines for your wreath and weigh out your sugar. 

I alway use a clean stainless steel bowl, and whisk the egg whites until stiff peaks. Be careful not to overwisk, if your pavlova alway ends up seeping syrup this is probably the cause. 

Slowly add the sugar while mixing until the eggs are silky smooth and glossy and back to forming stiff peaks, you will be able to turn the bowl upside down without it falling out!

Spoon into a piping bag and pipe between the lines on the greaseproof paper creating texture to form your wreath shape. I found lots of small blobs gave a good effect rather than the smoother, flatter surface you would get if you piped it in one fluid motion. 

Pop it into the oven and immediately turn down to 100°C fan and cook for 1½ hours then turn it off and leave it in until completely cooled. Do not open the door at any time. Its the sudden drop in temperature that makes pavlova crack and then sink. 

I’ve topped this with cream and tinned fruit i found at the back of the cupboard but I want something  more elaborate for Christmas, I’ll have to get onto Pinterest 😉
Let me know if you try this recipe, I’d love to hear how it turns out and what your favourite toppings are? 

Laura x

Homemade chicken stock

Soup season is well and truly on us and i make a few pots of soup a week. I normally use stock pots when making soup, but I found myself with none in the larder and a stripped rotisserie chicken carcass so I decided to make my own stock for a change, and do you know what? It was far nicer, cheaper, used up leftovers, and I made enough for two big pots of soup.

Ingredients 

Stripped chicken carcass 

2 carrots 

1 onion 

2 sticks celery 

Bay leaves

Peppercorns

Water

Method 

Heat chicken bones in a large pot then add roughly chop vegetables, no need to peel, just give them a wash, cover with water, add Bay leaves, peppercorns & simmer for 90minutes

Pass through a fine sieve and your done! You can now use this stock to make your favourite soup. 

Why don’t you check out some of my soup recipes over on my instagram feed 

I don’t know why I’ve never made my own stock before? But I’ll definitely be making stock this way again as I roast a chicken every week. 

Laura x

​Goats Cheese, Tomato & Spinach Crustless Quiche

Ingredients 

6 eggs

3 tomatoes sliced 

2 spring onions finely chopped 

Handful spinach chopped 

Handful rocket chopped 

6 basil leaves torn

6mint leaves torn 

Goats cheese 

Chilli & tomato chutney (Lidl do a great one.!) 

Method 

Seperate 6eggs and whish the whites until fluffy. 

Mix the yolks with a little milk, spring onion, spinach, tomato & rocket and fold into the egg whites. 

Pour into a cake tin and top with goats cheese and tomato & chilli chutney. 

Pop in a preheated oven at 180° for 15-20mins until the egg is cooked through.

 

*we great the tomatoes, spinach, rocket, basil & mint and I served this with a salad of our own mixed lettuce, tomatoes, spring onions and cucumber

**this is also great served cold and is a firm favourite for picnics. Just add a bit of kitchen paper to your tupperwear to absorb stem if storing it whilst still warm. Picnics aren’t just for the summer! And don’t have to be sandwiches!

***try alternative fillings; bacon pieces with mushroom, Red Leicester & Brown Sauce. Ham & Cheddar. Smoked salmon, spring onion,  peas & horseradish. Caramelised onion, bacon & brie. 

How’d you like them apples…

There is nothing as nice as being able to pick an apple straight off a tree for a snack when working in the garden.

Whether you grow your own,  have a neighbour with an apple tree or find your always throwing the last few out of your fruit bowl as they’ve gone soft before they were eaten, Here are a few of my favourite recipes with apples…. 

 

Apple Sauce

French trim pork loin, freshly dug potatoes and homemade apple sauce

Perfect accompaniment to pork, a roast or loin chop, you can’t go wrong with Apple sauce. Peeled chopped and stewed for a few minutes to soften in a pan and finished with a knob of butter

When I have a glut of apples I make up a large batch and put in jam jars to used over winter.

Apple & Blackberry Crumble

Peel & chop apples and soften in a pan with a little water and sprinkle of sugar for a few minutes then add handful of blackberries.  Put in an oven proof dish and top with crumble mix of 6oz flour, 3oz butter &  3oz demerara sugar rubbed between fingers until a fine crumb has formed. I sprinkle with a teaspoon of cinnamon and 2 tablespoons oats too for extra crunch.

Warm crumble straight out of the oven & ice-cream

Apple &  apricot stuffing

Stuffed rolled pork loin with Apple & Apricot stuffing

I freeze the heals of bread as they are never eaten in our house for making stuffing and take them out as needed.  Using my mini food processor I wizz up the heals with an onion,  bunch of parsley,  grated apples and dried apricots (or cranberries) for sweetness along with a knob of butter and salt &  pepper. Great for a whole stuffed chicken,  individual stuffed chicken breasts, stuffed bacon rolls (a quick midweek dinner) or for stuffing pork loin or fillet.

Apple Salad

We serve this as an accompliment to bbqs and it always goes down a treat. Leaving the skin on I mix diced red and green apples, sliced grapes, walnuts, finely sliced white cabbage, grated carrot, and some tinned orange segments with some mayo, pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice.

I also like to grate an apple into a mixed leave salad for added sweetness

 

I plan to use some of my apples as Christmas tree decorations this year,  but they need to grow a bit more first!  Check back to see how I get on!

Laura x