Recipes of the Week - Rhubarb Jelly and Ginger Ice-cream

Recipes of the Week

Rhubarb Jelly

About 6 good sized stems of rhubarb [washed and trimmed] – enough to give about 1lb [½ Kg]

¼ pint [ 5fl oz. 150ml] water

1 good Tblsp sugar – or to taste [ as the season progresses the rhubarb becomes tougher and less sweet you may then wish to add a bit more sugar]

4 leaves of gelatine [ follow the instructions on the packet]

Method

·         Cut the washed rhubarb into pieces about 1inch [2cm] long.

·         Put in a saucepan with the water and cook gently until soft.

·         Put the rhubarb into a food processor and whizz until smooth [ or use a handheld blender].

·         To give a smoother jelly you may wish to put it through a sieve or to give a clear jelly use a little more fruit and strain it through a jelly bag [measure the amount of liquid and use the required amount of gelatine specified on the packet

·         Add the sugar and stir until dissolved.

·         Pour in the prepared gelatine and stir in well as you are pouring.

·         Put the mixture into serving dishes and put into the fridge to set.

·         Serve with cream or  ginger ice-cream.

If you are planning to serve this on its own you may wish to add a little crystallised ginger or some orange zest and juice to the rhubarb while it is cooking

Ginger Ice – Cream

4 large egg yolks

30g [1 oz] icing sugar

2 x ½ pint [ 10fl oz, 275ml ] tubs double cream [ or close to this quantity]

About half of a [150g] jar of stem ginger chunks in syrup – chunks and syrup.

Pinch salt

Method

·         Set your freezer onto its fast freeze setting.

·         Chop the ginger chunks into small pieces and put into the portion of syrup.

·         Whisk one of the tubs of cream until it is whisked but not too stiff.

·         Put the egg yolks, sugar and pinch of salt into a bowl and whisk until it is pale coloured and creamy.

·         Heat the other tub of cream in a saucepan but, do not allow it to boil.

·         Add the ginger, with the syrup into the egg mixture and place the bowl over a saucepan of boiling water and whish continuously as you pour the cream into it in a thin stream.

·         Continue to whisk over the hot water until the custard starts to thicken – this method will prevent the custard curdling or ‘splitting’.

·         Transfer the bowl to a cold bath and continue to whisk until the bowl and custard are cold.

·         Add the remaining cream and carefully mix in.

·         Put the custard into a suitable lidded container and put in the freezer.

·         Every hour or so, take the custard from the freezer and stir well then return to the freezer, until the ice-cream has set.

 

The Merry Month of May - the end of

End of May

 I do love this time of year. My garden is looking at its best. Different varieties of roses and honey suckle are blooming and perfuming the early morning and evening air wonderfully. I bought some new bearded irises this spring and one of them has come into flower. Of non perfumed flowers they must be my favourite. It is a pity their season is so short.

I picked my first strawberry this morning.

No, this isn’t it, these ones are for tomorrow. I ate it as soon as I found it. The strawberries are definitely late this year but, it has been so cold. The last couple of days seem to have been the warmest we have had so far and how lovely it has been.

I cleared some of the debris from my strawberry patch this morning so that the ripening strawberries won’t be sitting in mud and I put some little groups of slug pellets down as I do hate finding my ripe strawberries full of slug holes with the woodlice moving in for their share.

Now the question is – should I put netting over my strawberry bed?  I don’t like trapping blackbirds underneath and I really don’t mind sharing a couple but I do object when they eat the ripe half out of all the red strawberries on the patch. Perhaps I will net but lift it up well and leave a few escape holes.

My herbs are looking particularly good this year and I can now dump last year’s stumpy plants and start eating this year’s. I have two different lots growing in tubs at home – moss curled and Italian flat leaf.

Like the strawberries, my potatoes are also a bit slow. They are growing nicely but I really don’t think I will be harvesting my 1^st Earlies for a few weeks yet.

Recipe of the Week - Asparagus and Cheese Tartlets

Recipe of the week - Asparagus and Cheese Tartlets

Of course, as it is still May and the middle of the 'lean period' there is little to be had from our plots to make a meal - except for herbs and asparagus and of course, rhubarb. A recipe for rhubarb next week.

Lots of vegetables and fruit are growing on well and it is clear that there should be a good harvest in the coming month [ all being well]. Strawberries have lots of green berries as do all the currant bushes [ already netted to keep the birds off. Broad beans have developing pods - a a week or so these will be pickable to eat as 'green beans' and early potatoes are well up, some with flower buds on.

However, again, I am looking for interesting ways to use asparagus.

Try this recipe:

Asparagus and Cheese Tartlets

For the pastry cases – will make about 4

Short Crust Pastry

175gm [6oz] plain flour

125gm [4½ oz] butter

Pinch salt

A little water to mix

Method

• Sieve the salt and flour into a bowl and rub in the butter using finger tips until it is like fine breadcrumbs.
• Add cold water to mix – approx 1 tsp for each 1 oz of flour. The mixture should start to bind together when it forms small lumps when pressed.
• Draw the mixture together to form a stiff dough – it should not be sticky.
• Mould the pastry, gently into a flat round shape on a lightly floured table then, using a floured rolling pin roll out the pastry until it is ¼ -½cm thick
• Using small tartlets tins use a cutter which is about 1cm larger all round than the top edge of the tins.
• Grease the tins well then ease the pastry carefully into each tin and into the edges - making sure there are no holes in the pastry.
• Trim the pastry at the top edge. Place small sheets of greaseproof paper in the bottom of eachand put baking beans on top to stop the pastry rising.
• Bake in a hot oven 200°C No 6 gas for about 15 minutes or until the pastry has set and is partially cooked but, not brown. Remove the beans and paper.

For the filling

1 medium bunch asparagus [fresh]

A good bunch of chives

3 large eggs

 3 Tblsp milk

100gm [4oz] Gruyere or cheddar cheese - grated

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

• Wash the asparagus and remove the tough lower ends of the spears.
• Cut the asparagus into lengths about 2-3cm long [1inch] – leaving aside 4 tips to decorate the top.
• Using a pair of kitchen scissors cut the washed chives into 2cm [1inch] pieces. Put the chives and asparagus pieces into each flan case.
• In a bowl, lightly beat the eggs and mix in with about half of the cheese and milk and season well.
• Pour this mixture over the cases. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese over the top and place a piece of asparagus tip on each.
• Bake in a moderately hot oven 190°C or No 5 gas for 25 – 30 minutes. Take care to not allow the pastry to burn.
• Serve hot or cold. Excellent  a lunch dish with a mixed salad.