Winter Rice Pudding with Dried Fruit Recipe

Because it's Christmas, and this will be my last post over the festive season, today there is a bonus Chinese-inspired dessert dish for you to enjoy. I've also added a seasonal twist as a way of using up left-over Christmas pudding.

Winter Rice Pudding with Dried Fruit Recipe

Serves: 6–8

Ingredients

1 tsp peanuts

1 tbsp pine kernels

1 tbsp lotus seeds

225g (1/2 lb) mixed dried fruit (eg raisins, kumquats, prunes, dates, prunes, pineapple etc)

4 water chestnuts, diced

50g (2 oz) dried cranberries (for a Christmas version)

50g (2 oz) dried blueberries (for a Christmas version)

1l (4 cups) water

115g (1/4 lb) sugar

225g (1/2 lb) glutinous (sticky) rice

Method:

Wash the rice, place in a large bowl, cover with water and set aside to soak for at least 2 hours.

Wash the peanuts, pine kernels, lotus seeds and pineapple (if using) place in a bowl, cover with plenty of water and set aside to soak for 1 hour. Soak the remaining dried fruit in warm water for at least 20 minutes, or until plumped.

Pour the 1l (4 cups) water into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the sugar and stir until dissolved. Drain the rice, nuts and mixed fruit and add to the pan. Bring back to a boil, cover and simmer over very gentle heat for 1 hour, stirring the mixture frequently.

About 20 minutes before the end of cooking add the water chestnuts. The rice should be sticky but not gloopy and the fruit and nuts should be soft.

Ladle into warmed dessert bowls and serve.

As a seasonal twist, if you have any left-over Christmas pudding, crumble this over the top before serving. 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all the blog's readers. Have a good holiday, and I hope the cooking goes well.

Below are some other classic Chinese recipes on this blog that you can use in conjunction with this recipe to produce a complete Chinese meal or banquet:

Soups and Starters

Chicken Steamboat Soup

Wonton Soup

Main Dishes

Spicy Szechuan Pork (Meat)

Xinjiang Lamb Casserole

Fish and Seafood Dishes:

Deep-fried River Fish with Chilli Bean Sauce
Stir-fried Scallops with Asparagus

Vegetarian Dishes:
Chinese Vegetable and Coconut Curry

Szechuan Fried Aubergine (Vegetarian)

Noodle Dishes:

Sour and Spicy Pork with Noodles

Seafood Chow Mein (Seafood)

Accompaniments:

Perfect Steamed Rice

Egg Fried Rice

Desserts

Rice Pudding with Dried Fruit

Turkey Curry with Peas Recipe

If you want something different to make with your Christmas leftovers, then why not try this curry inspired by the Cape Malay cookery of South Africa? A traditional beef mince curry has been adapted here to be prepared with leftover turkey, yielding a dish that can either be served by itself with rice or rotis, or is used as a filling for rotis.

Turkey Curry with Peas Recipe

Serves:4–6

Ingredients:

500g (1 lb) leftover turkey meat, minced

2 tbsp oil

2 large onions, sliced

1 large tomato, finely grated

2 tsp fresh ginger, crushed

1 tsp garlic, crushed

3 cinnamon sticks

5 cardamom pods, lightly crushed

3 whole cloves

2 tsp toasted masala

1 tsp ground turmeric

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander seeds

2 potatoes, peeled and quartered

250ml (1 cup) frozen peas

Method:

Heat the oil, add the onions and fry for about 5 minutes, or until transparent. Add the tomatoes and cook for 10 minutes more, or until they begin to break down. 

Scatter over the spices and stir to combine then bring to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes more before covering and cooking gently for 20 minutes. At this point add the potatoes, re-cover the pan and cook for about 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are almost tender. Stir in the frozen peas and the turkey meat re-cover and cook for 10 minutes more.

Serve hot, accompanied by rotis, boiled rice and chutneys.

For hundreds more Christmas recipes, and a look at the foods of Christmas past, why not visit the Celtnet Christmas Recipes home page.

For many hundreds of traditional South African recipes, see the Celtnet South African Recipes home page.

For more African recipes from this blog see the blog's African Recipes Collection page.

Biscuits de Noël (Christmas Cookies) Recipe

With Christmas only a week away, today's recipe is a classic French one for a a classic Christmas biscuit or cookie that is used for decoration and as gifts for children, particularly on Christmas eve. These traditional festive treats and gifts are very easy to prepare.

Biscuits de Noël (Christmas Cookies) Recipe

Ingredients:

175g (9 oz) butter, softened

100g (1/2 cup) granulated sugar
1 egg yolk (medium sized)
250g (10 oz) plain flour

Royal Icing for decorating
Silver decorations (sugar sprinkles, for example)

Method:

In a bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the egg yolk and beat thoroughly to combine then add the flour and bring the ingredients together as a dough. Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead well until smooth and elastic.

Cover the dough in clingfilm (plastic wrap) then chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. After this time, unwrap the dough then roll out to flatten. Place between two sheets of parchment paper and roll out to 2.5mm (1/10 in) thick.

Remove the top sheet of parchment paper and using festive cookie cutters cut out various shapes that evoke the spirit of Christmas. Arrange these on baking trays lined with parchment paper, ensuring that you leave a little space between each biscuit (cookie).

When all the dough has been used up (you can gather the scraps together, re-roll and cut out more shapes), transfer to an oven pre-heated to 180ºC and bake for about 15 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly coloured and firm to the touch.

Allow to cool on the baking tray for 10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Once cool you can decorate them as you fancy with plain and coloured royal icing. Sprinkle over the silver decorations then set aside for the icing (frosting) to dry and harden completely before storing in an air-tight tin or serving.

If you cut holes in the corners of the cookies before baking they can be hung on the Christmas tree and make an edible treat come Christmas morning. They are also ideal served on Christmas Eve with mulled wine.

For hundreds more Christmas recipes, and a look at the foods of Christmas past, why not visit the Celtnet Christmas Recipes home page.

For many hundreds of traditional French recipes, see the Celtnet French Recipes home page.

Mixed Wild Sorrel Soup Recipe

The weather has been glorious, so I have taken the opportunity for a few walks and to update my collection of wild food images, ready to have a go at writing my book.

What struck me was the range of wild food available, even in the midst of December. The wild carrots and sorrel were doing particularly well. Within a very short distance I had plenty of sheep's sorrel (Rumex acetosella), common sorrel (Rumex acetosa) and wood sorrel (Oxalis acetosella).

Image showing sheep's sorrel, left (with the arrow shaped leaves) and common sorrel, tight with the more rounded leaves.

Though I only had my rucksack and my camera with me, I was able to collect several handfuls of sorrel leaves and I had a debate as to whether to make sorrel soup or sorrel tarts. The cold weather eventually made the decision for me and I made sorrel soup, predominantly with common sorrel, but with a little sheep's sorrel thrown in for good measure.

Though the soup made here was prepared with wild sorrel, it works just as well made with garden sorrel.

Mixed Wild Sorrel Soup Recipe

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

2 generous handfuls of common sorrel leaves
1/2 handful of sheep's sorrel leaves
1 onion, finely chopped (or the equivalent of leeks)
1 leafy celery stick, finely diced
1 potato, peeled and cubed
500ml good meat or vegetable stock
oil or butter for frying
salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste

Method:

Heat the oil or butter in a pan, add the onion and celery and sweat down gently for about 10 minutes, or until beginning to brown.

Add the potatoes and fry for a few minutes more then add the stock. Cover and cook gently for about 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are almost tender.

In the meantime pick over and wash the sorrel leaves and shred finely. Reserve about 1 tbsp of the shredded common sorrel leaves for garnish.

Add the sorrel leaves and simmer gently for about 10 minutes more. Take the soup off the heat and allow to cool slightly then turn into a blender and process until smooth.

Turn back into the pan and add a little water or milk if it's too thick. Adjust the seasonings to taste, allow to heat through then divide between two warmed soup bowls.

Garnish with the reserved shredded sorrel and serve accompanied by plenty of crusty bread.


For more wild food recipes on this blog, see the Wild Food Recipes page.

If you are interested in wild foods and preparing them, then the Celtnet Recipes site has over a thousand recipes for wild foods of every kind on their Wild Food Recipes pages.

Cornish Clotted Cream Fudge Recipe

Of all the various confections made, clotted cream fudge has to be the one most closely connected with Cornwall. This recipe is for the basic plain fudge, which makes an excellent Christmas gift for anyone.

Traditional Cornish Clotted Cream Fudge Recipe

Ingredients

275g (11 oz) unrefined caster sugar
100g (4 oz) golden syrup (corn syrup)
225g (9 oz) Cornish clotted cream
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Method

Combine all the ingredients in a large saucepan. Heat gently, stirring constantly, until the sugar dissolves then bring the mixture to a boil, cover with a lid and continue cooking for 3 minutes. Take the lid off and continue boiling the mixture until it reaches the soft ball stage (116ºC [241ºF]), when a drop of the mixture placed in a cup of water forms a soft ball that you can squeeze between thumb and forefinger.

Take the cream fudge off the heat at this stage and beat with a wooden spoon until the mixture becomes thick and a little grainy (it can take up to 10 minutes continuous beating to reach this stage). When ready pour into a greased 20cm tin lined with greaseproof (waxed) paper.

Mark the fudge into squares with a sharp knife then set aside until completely set. At this point, divide into pieces then store in an air-tight container.

For many more Christmas gift recipes, and a look at the foods of Christmas past, why not visit the Celtnet Christmas Recipes home page.

For more traditional Cornish recipes, see the Celtnet Cornish Recipes collection, with over 320 traditional Scottish recipes.

For all the British recipes on this blog, see the British Recipes collection page.

UPDATE! The Cornish Recipes book has been published!
This recipe and over 250 other traditional Cornish recipes are found in my new eBook, Classic Cornish Recipes, which can be purchased via Amazon using the link on the left.

The book also contains information on both classic traditional and modern Cornish recipes. There is an entire chapter on Cornish Pasties (many kinds) that also compares the traditional Cornish pasty with other British pasties and pasties from around the globe. Wild Cornish foods and Cornish seafoods are showcased, along with some of the best of modern Cornish cookery.

The most comprehensive collection of Cornish recipes available anywhere!

Rich Christmas Cake

Today's recipe is for the traditional rich Christmas cake. I give the traditional recipe here,  which you can just about make before Christmas. But at the end I give a cheat method where you can turn this cake into a Quick Cake that you can even make the week before Christmas.

So if you have not made your traditional Christmas Cake yet, don't despair, you still have a little time.

Rich Christmas Cake Recipe

Ingredients:

450g (1 lb) butter
450g (1 lb) brown sugar
450g (1 lb) plain flour
1 tsp mixed spice (pumpkin spice)
8 eggs, beaten
450g (1 lb) currants
450g (1 lb) sultanas
450g (1 lb) seedless raisins, chopped
225g (1/2 lb) mixed peel, chopped
225g (1/2 lb) glacé cherries
50g (2 oz) blanched almonds
finely-grated zest of 1 lemon
1 tbsp rose water
5 tbsp brandy or sherry
Method
Cream together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Sift together the flour, spices and salt into a bowl. Beat together the eggs in another bowl.

Add the flour mixture alternately with the beaten eggs in another bowl. Stir in all the remaining ingredients and beat until you have a smooth batter.

Line a 25cm (10 in) diameter springform cake tin with three thicknesses of greaseproof (waxed) paper. Scrape the cake mixture into the prepared tin then transfer to an oven pre-heated to 150ºC (300ºF, Gas Mark 5) and bake for 5 hours.

After 3 1/2 hours check the cake. If the top is colouring too quickly cover with a sheet of baking parchment.

When done (a skewer inserted into the centre will emerge cleanly), remove from the oven and allow to cool almost completely in the tin. Carefully turn out onto a wire rack and allow to cool completely.

Cover with parchment paper and then foil and store in an air-tight tin to mature for between 2 and 3 weeks before decorating.

This is a classic rich Christmas cake that is best covered with marmalade or apricot jam, marzipan (almond paste) and white icing (frosting).

Cheat's Method:

If you have not made your Christmas cake yet, but still want a traditional Christmas cake don't despair. Simply replace 500g (1 lb) of the fruit mixture in the recipe above with 500g (1 lb) of shop-bought mincemeat (any mincemeat with suet). This will make the cake slightly richer, but it will also mean that the cake will mature in a few days rather than a few weeks.

With this simple change you can make your cake just 3 days before Christmas day and it will still be ready to be iced.

For hundreds more Christmas recipes, and a look at the foods of Christmas past, why not visit the Celtnet Christmas Recipes home page.

Cornish Crab Pasty Recipe

As part of my culinary tour of the British Isles, I've been working on and editing recipes from the various regions. The next region to be tackled will be Cornwall. I have been collecting recipes from Cornwall for my next book in the Classic British Recipes book series that I'm writing.

Most of the recipes are traditional, but this happens to be a modern twist on the classic Cornish pasty that uses a crab meat filling rather than the more typical beef, potatoes, turnips and onions.

Cornish Crab Pasties Recipe

Serves: 6

This is a classic modern Cornish recipe for a pasty filled with Cornish crab meat. This works equally well with either brown crab meat, or that other Cornish speciality, the spider crab. Spider crabs are more fiddly to handle, but the meat is sweeter.

I've used a very traditional recipe for the pasty pastry here. The recipe being based on that printed in the 1929 volume of traditional Cornish recipes: Cornish Recipes, Ancient and Modern, Edith Martin, Truro, 1929. Learn more about the book and about Cornish pasties on the Celtnet Pastry for Pasties page.

Ingredients:

For the Pastry:

350g (2 1/2 cups) plain flour
160g (5 oz) lard, diced

160g (5 oz) shredded suet
1/2 tsp sea salt
cold water to bind

For the Filling:

50g (2 oz) unsalted butter
4 spring onions, finely chopped
100g (4 oz) firm, white, fish fillet, finely chopped
200g (2 cups) crab meat (mix of white and dark)
finely-grated zest of 1 lime
juice of 1 lime
1 tsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
1/2 tsp fresh thyme,finely chopped
pinch of cayenne pepper
salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
1 egg, beaten with 2 tbsp water to seal and glaze

Method:

For the pastry: Sift the flour and salt into a bowl. Dice the lard and suet into the bowl with the flour and rub into the flour with your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Add enough water to bring the mixture together as a stiff, slightly friable dough. Form into a ball, cover with clingfilm (plastic wrap) and set aside in the refrigerator to chill).

For the Filling: Melt the butter in a pan, add the spring onions and fry for about 4 minutes, or until soft. Turn into a bowl and combine with all the other filling ingredients. Season to taste.

Take the pastry from the refrigerator, turn out onto a lightly-floured works surface and roll out to about 2.5mm thick. Take a 15cm plate and use this as a template to cut out 6 circles from the pastry.

Divide the filling evenly between the pastry rounds, mounding it up in the centre. Brush the edges of the pastry with milk or beaten egg, then bring the edges together over the filling. Firmly pinch the edges together then crimp the edges to form a scalloped crest over the top.

Use a sharp knife to make two small holes in the top of the pastries (this allows steam to escape) then brush over the top with the beaten egg to glaze.

Carefully transfer the pasties to a greased baking tray then set in an oven pre-heated to 200ºC and bake for about 20 minutes. After this time, reduce the oven temperature to 180ºC and bake for a further 20 minutes, or until the pastries are golden brown.

Serve either hot or cold.

For more traditional Cornish recipes, see the Celtnet Cornish Recipes collection, with over 320 traditional Scottish recipes.

For all the British recipes on this blog, see the British Recipes collection page.

UPDATE! The Cornish Recipes book has been published!
This recipe and over 250 other traditional Cornish recipes are found in my new eBook, Classic Cornish Recipes, which can be purchased via Amazon using the link on the left.

The book also contains information on both classic traditional and modern Cornish recipes. There is an entire chapter on Cornish Pasties (many kinds) that also compares the traditional Cornish pasty with other British pasties and pasties from around the globe. Wild Cornish foods and Cornish seafoods are showcased, along with some of the best of modern Cornish cookery.

The most comprehensive collection of Cornish recipes available anywhere!

Scottish Borders Tart Recipe

I know, there has not been a post for a while now. But I've been busy working on my book of Scottish recipes.

As an example of the content, here is a recipe for a traditional fruit tart from the Scottish borders that is derived from the book:

Scottish Borders Tart Recipe

Ingredients:

For the Tart:

60g (2 oz) butter
60g (2 oz) soft dark brown sugar
240g (8 oz) sweet shortcrust pastry
1 egg, beaten
150g (3 oz) mixed, dried, fruit
60g (2 oz) mixed candied peel, chopped
30g (1 oz) walnuts, chopped
30g (1 oz) glacé cherries, chopped

For the Topping:

120g (4 oz) icing sugar
1 tbsp water
1 tsp lemon juice

Method:

Combine the butter and sugar in a small pan. Heat gently until the butter has melted then stir until the sugar has dissolved and take off the heat. Set aside to cool.

Turn the pastry onto a floured work surface and roll out until large enough to cover the base and sides of a 16cm (7 in) round flan tin. Trim the pastry and set aside.

Mix together the fruit in a bowl, adding the walnuts and the chopped glacé cherries. Stir in the beaten egg then turn into the prepared flan tin. Transfer to an oven pre-heated to 180ºC (360ºF) and bake for about 25 minutes, or until the pastry is lightly golden brown. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.

When the tart has cooled completely, mix together the icing sugar, water and lemon juice in a bowl. Spread this over the top of the tart and set aside to set before serving.

For all the British recipes on this blog, see the British Recipes collection page.

For more traditional Scottish recipes, see the Celtnet Scottish Recipes collection, with over 320 traditional Scottish recipes.


Update: the Scottish Recipes book is now available:

Over 500 other traditional Scottish recipes have been collected together and are now to be found in my new eBook: Classic Scottish Recipes, which can be purchased via Amazon using the link on the left.

The book also contains information on Hogmanay (Scottish New Year) and Burns Night, including the full order of service for a Burns Supper. In addition there are cocktail recipes for Hogmanay and extra recipes for Hogmanay so that you can host a classic dinner or party.

The most comprehensive collection of Scottish recipes available anywhere!

Sottish Buttermilk Sodabread Recipe

When most people think of sodabread they immediately think 'Irish'. However, almost every region of the British Isles has its own twist on soda bread (after all, these breads only evolved after the invention of baking powder in the 1820s) and the recipe presented here today is for a traditional Scottish version of the bread.

Buttermilk Bread Recipe

Ingredients:

500g (1 lb) plain flour
1 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
30g (1 oz) butter
500ml buttermilk (if you do not have buttermilk, make sour milk by mixing 2 tbsp lemon juice or wine vinegar into 500ml whole milk)

Method:

Combine the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, salt and sugar in a bowl. Dice the butter, add to the dry ingredients and lightly rub in with your fingertips.

Add the buttermilk and mix to a light, soft, dough. Divide the dough in half and shape both into rounds on a lightly-floured work surface.

Arrange on a greased baking tray, transfer to an oven pre-heated to 210ºC (425ºF) and bake for about 20 minutes, or until the loaf is golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped on the base.

Serve warm, sliced and spread with butter.

To me, the bread as it is is a little bland (I have given the traditional version above) so I add a handful of rolled oats (a very Scottish addition).

To use as little buns to serve with soup, add 1 tbsp milk curry powder to the dough mixture, divide into 6 buns and bake for about 15 minutes.

This really is a very versatile basic mixture and you can do a lot with it.

For more traditional Scottish recipes, see the Celtnet Scottish Recipes collection, with over 320 traditional Scottish recipes.

For all the British recipes on this blog, see the British Recipes collection page.

I'm currently working on a number of books of classic British cookery from all the regions of the British Isles and the first of these will be on Sottish cookery. It's expected that the book will be available in eBook format by the end of next week and in paperback by the first week of December. Look out for more announcements on this Blog!

UPDATE! The book has been published!
This recipe and over 500 other traditional Scottish recipes are found in my new eBook, Classic Scottish Recipes, which can be purchased via Amazon using the link on the left.

The book also contains information on Hogmanay (Scottish New Year) and Burns Night, including the full order of service for a Burns Supper. In addition there are cocktail recipes for Hogmanay and extra recipes for Hogmanay so that you can host a classic dinner or party.

The most comprehensive collection of Scottish recipes available anywhere!

Eggless Rich Chocolate Cake Recipe

Any regular reader of this blog knows that on Wednesday I bake. This weekend I have a friend coming over who really does not like eggs, but he loves cakes and sweet dishes. His wife is Japanese, so he gets little enough baking at home.

As an experiment I decided to try a recipe for an eggless chocolate cake. The original recipe was for a chocolate sponge pudding intended to be steamed. But I tweaked it a little to transform into an eggless sponge cake. The recipe follows:

Eggless Rich Chocolate Cake Recipe

Ingredients:

For the Cake:

90g (3 oz) butter
2 tbsp golden syrup (corn syrup)
300ml (1 1/4 cups) boiling water
1 tbsp vanilla extract
300g (2/3 lb) self-raising flour
100g (3 1/2 oz) caster sugar
25g dark cocoa powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
For the Chocolate Glaze:
100g dark chocolate, chopped
3 tbsp golden syrup (corn syrup)

Method:

Combine the butter and golden syrup in a small heat-proof jug or bowl. Pour over the 300ml boiling water and stir until the butter has dissolved.

Sift together the four, sugar and baking powder in a large mixing bowl. Form a well in the centre, add the butter mix and stir until you have a smooth batter.

Turn the batter into a greased 20cm (8 in) diameter cake tin. Transfer to an oven pre-heated to 150°C and bake for about 45 minutes, or until the cake is well risen, springy to the touch, and a skewer inserted into the centre emerges cleanly.

Allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

When the cake is cold, combine the chocolate and syrup in a heat-proof bowl and add 3 tbsp water. Place in a microwave and cook on full power for 30 seconds or until the chocolate has melted.

Set aside to cool slightly then pour over the cake and serve.

Chocolate buttercream icing also works well for this cake. The cake is also rich enough to be serve as a pudding.

Honey-roasted Turkey Recipe

With both Thanksgiving and Christmas just around the horizon, today I am reviving a classic Victorian recipe from the 1860s for a turkey roasted with a honey glaze.

In Britain it was Charles Dickens who helped popularize turkey rather than the more traditional goose as the centrepiece of the Christmas table. This recipe keeps the bird moist and gives it a delicious crust. 

This is a Victorian method of roasting a turkey that has fallen out of fashion. However, the honey gives the meat a truly delicious flavour and adds a rich, dark, crust to the bird. This is a method of cooking that really deserves to be more widely known and will give your Christmas (or Thanksgiving) bird that added 'wow' factor.

Honey-roasted Turkey Recipe

Ingredients:

1 oven-ready turkey (about 4.5kg [10 lbs])
1 small apple, peeled
1 small onion, peeled
1 small potato, peeled
1 thick slice of lemon
75g (3 oz) butter
160ml (2/3 up) thick honey
salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste

Method:

Season the turkey liberally inside and out with salt and black pepper. Sit the apple, onion and potato inside the body cavity (these help flavour the bird and keep it moist). Arrange the bird, breast uppermost, in a roasting tin then rub the skin of the bird all over with the lemon slice.

Combine the butter and honey in a small pan, season lightly then eat gently until the butter melts and the honey is runny then pour the mixture all over the turkey, taking care that all parts of the bird are coated. Set aside to stand for 40 minutes, spooning the honey mixture over the bird from time to time. 

After this time, transfer the bird to an oven pre-heated to 200ºC (400ºF) and roast for 30 minutes, basting occasionally. Reduce the oven temperature to 175ºC (350ºF) and roast for a further 30 minutes, again basting occasionally.

At this point, cover the bird with kitchen foil and continue cooking for about 2 hours more, or until the juices run clear when the thickest part of the thigh is pierced with a skewer. Remove the foil for the final 15 minutes of cooking to ensure that the skin is crisp.
Remove from the oven and allow the bird to rest for 15 minutes before carving and serving.

For more information on how to roast your bird to perfection, see the Celtnet Roasting guide.

For more Christmas recipes, see the Celtnet Christmas Recipes collection page and for more Thanksgiving recipes see the Celtnet Thanksgiving Recipes collection page.

There are more traditional and historic recipes on the Traditional and Historic recipes page of this blog.

Custard Raspberry Fool Recipe

Today's recipe is a classic Scottish dessert, using that most Scottish of fruit, the raspberry.

Fools, as blends of fruit and whipped cream date back to the 1590s, though this is a more modern version made with an egg custard base.

Why a Scottish recipe? Because I'm currently working on a book of  traditional Scottish recipes that will include Burns Night and Hogmanay dishes as well. Look out for the book in the next couple of weeks.

Custard Raspberry Fool Recipe

Ingredients:

For the Egg Custard:

1 egg

300ml (1 1/4 cups) milk

1 dessert spoon sugar

For the Fruit:

750ml (3 cups) raspberries

60ml (1/4 cup) water

sugar, to taste

Method:

Combine the raspberries and water in a pan. Cover and stew gently for about 15 minutes, or until the fruit have broken down. Take off the heat and pass through a fine-meshed sieve, pressing down with the back of a spoon to extract as much fruit pulp as possible. Sweeten to taste with sugar.

In the meantime prepare the custard. Beat the egg in a heat-proof bowl then whisk in the milk. Place the bowl in a pan of barely-simmering water and cook, stirring constantly, until the custard thickens. Sweeten to taste with sugar.

Combine 600ml of the redcurrant pulp with 300ml of the custard and set aside to cool. Spoon into dessert glasses and allow to cool completely. Chill for at least 2 hours in the refrigerator before serving.

For more Scottish recipes (over 350) see the Celtnet Scottish recipes pages.

For all the British recipes on this blog see the recipes from the British Isles page.

Pudim de Banana (Baked Banana Pudding) Recipe from Mozambique

Today we have a classic banana pudding recipe from Mozambique. This is a dish of boiled and mashed bananas blended with a milk, flour and egg custard that's baked in the oven to set before serving.

Pudim de Banana Recipe

Baked Banana Pudding

Origin: Mozambique

Serves: 6–8

Ingredients:

500g bananas, peeled

180g sugar

500ml milk

60g plain flour

30g sugar

2 egg yolks

1 egg

Method:

Chop the bananas and combine in a pan with the 180g sugar and 100ml water. Bring to a simmer and cook until the bananas are soft. Take off the heat and pass through a fine-meshed sieve into a bowl. Set aside to cool.

Heat the milk in a pan and bring to a boil. Take off the heat and whisk a little of the milk with the flour to form a smooth paste. Whisk this mixture back into the milk and work in the 30g sugar until dissolved.

Whisk together the egg yolks and egg. Beat in two ladlesful of the milk mixture to temper then pour this back into the pan and beat to combine.

Put the custard back on the heat and cook gently until well thickened. Take off the heat and beat in the banana purée.

Turn the mixture into a springform cake tin or a silicone mould. Transfer to an oven pre-heated to 180ºC and bake for 30 minutes, or until set. Allow to cool then turn out.

Serve chilled.

This can also be made with plantians, sweet potatoes, pineapple and papaya, as well as native fruit such as Maphilwa, Vangueria infausta, known in English as the African Medlar.

If you want to learn more about Mozambican cuisine and food, see the Celtnet recipes from Mozambique page.

For more African recipes from this blog, see the African Recipes links page.

Arabian Coffee Recipe for Diwali

I've added a number of Diwali recipes to this blog over the past few days. I was thinking about it, and one thing was missing, something to drink with those sweetmeats, so here is a recipe for a classic Arabian-style coffee flavoured with cardamon. The combination is very distinctive and makes an excellent accompaniment to Diwali sweetmeats.

Arabian Coffee Recipe

Ingredients:

500ml (about 1 pint) water
3 tbsp dark-roast, ground coffee
3 tbsp (or more) sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon Cardamom
1 teaspoon vanilla sugar

Method:

Mix all ingredients in a small saucepan and heat until foam gathers on top. Whatever you do, do not pass through a filter.

Stir it up before you serve it and pour into small cups.

Use as an accompaniment to sweetmeats either as a snack or at the very end of a meal.

If you would like recipes for accompaniments to this coffee, then below are links to Diwali sweetmeats that you can find on this blog:


Apple Peda Sweetmeat
Almond Katli with Pistachios
Ragi Rava Ladoo
Mawa Gujiya Fritters

For more information on Diwali, see the Celtnet Diwali Recipes and Information page.

Fried Fish with Sea Lettuce Oatmeal Crust Recipe

I'm being nice today and providing a second recipe. This time it's a traditional recipe from Cornwall in England for a dish of fried fish that has an oatmeal and sea lettuce coating before frying.

Fried Fish with Sea Lettuce Oatmeal Crust Recipe

Cornwall
serves: 4

Sea lettuce is a seaweed (sea vegetable) that is very easy to identify and pick. But you can also buy it dried from healthfood stores.

Ingredients:

4 fish fillets, pin bones removed
1 egg, beaten
4 tbsp dried sea lettuce, finely crumbled
100g pinhead oatmeal
plain flour for dusting
oil for frying (traditionally these were fried in lard)

Method:

Mix together the pinhead oatmeal and sea lettuce on a plate. Scatter plain flour on another plate

Heat the oil in a frying pan. Beat the egg in a bowl, dip the fish in the plain flour to coat. Shake off any excess then dip the fish first in the egg and then back in the oatmeal and sea lettuce mix to make a thick and even coating.

Add the floured fish to the hot oil and fry for about 6 minutes per side, or until the cassava flour coating is a rich golden brown and the fish is cooked through.

Serve hot.


For a large collection of Cornish recipes see the Celtnet Recipes from Cornwall page.

For all the British recipes on this blog, see the British Recipes page.
For all the Wild Food recipes on this blog, see the Wild Food Recipes page.

Mawa Gujiya Fritters Recipe

With Diwali only a day away, here is the last in my series of classic Indian sweetmeat recipes to help you celebrate  the Festival of Lights.

These little pastries are very tasty and easy to prepare. They are basically pastry circles filled with a sweet lemony milk solid filling that are then folded into half moons (rather like mini Cornish pasties), deep fried to cook, dipped in sugar syrup and garnished with nuts before serving

Mawa Gujiya Fritters Recipe

Ingredients:

For the Dough:
140g refined flour (maida)
1 tbsp fine semolina (sooji)
2 tbsp oil
120ml water

For the Filling:
200g lemon khoya/mawa, grated
2 tbsp desiccated coconut
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp green cardamom powder
60g chopped mixed nuts (almonds, pistachios, husked melon seeds, raisins, chironji)

oil for deep frying

To Garnish:
200g sugar
120ml water
2 tbsp finely-sliced almonds and pistachios

Method:

Begin with the filling. Mash the lemon khoya, turn into a pan and start cooking on medium heat until it begins to soften. Add the sugar, nuts, ground cardamom and desiccated coconut. Continue cooking, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens enough to begin leaving the sides of the pan. Take off the heat and set aside to cool.

For the dough, combine the flour, semolina and oil in a bowl. Mix well then work in enough of the water to form a soft dough. Turn the dough onto a floured work surface and knead for 3 minutes until it is soft and elastic. Shape the dough into a ball, cover with a damp cloth and set aside to rest for 10 minutes.

After this time knead the dough once ore then divide into 20 portions and roll these into small balls. Divide the filling into 20 equal portions as well and roll each portion of the filling between the palms of your hands into balls.

Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough into 10cm (4 in) diameter rounds. Moisten the edge of a round with a little water then place the ball of filling on one side. Fold the other half of the dough over to form a half-moon. Crimp the edges and press down to distribute the filling evenly.

Repeat this process with the remaining dough and filling mixture. Heat oil in a wok to a depth of 5cm. When the oil is hot (to dest, drip in a piece of the dough; if the oil is hot enough, it will immediately sizzle and will float up to the surface of the dough) add the gujiyas one by one (fry only about 4 at a time and do not over-crowd the pan).

Continue cooking over medium heat, and as the gujiyas flat to the top of the oil, turn them over gently to ensure that they fry evenly. Continue cooking until evenly golden brown all over then remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper.

As the gujiyas are frying, prepare the garnish. Boil together the sugar and water in a pan over medium heat until the syrup is thick. Turn off the heat, then dip the gujiyas in the sugar syrup when they have drained. Allow to sit in the syrup for a few minutes then remove immediately with a slotted spoon. Sit on a wire rack to allow the excess syrup to drain away.

Garnish with the sliced almonds and pistachio whilst still warm and stick. Allow to cool and solidify and serve. They can be stored in an air-tight tin for up to 15 days.

You can also serve the gujiyas as soon as they are fried, without dipping them in the sugar syrup.

Accompany with Arabian Coffee.

For more information on Diwali, see the Celtnet Diwali Recipes and Information page.
For more classic recipes from the Indian sub-Continent, see the Celtnet Indian sub-Continent recipes page.

Ragi Rava Ladoo Recipe

With Diwali only two days away, here is another classic Indian sweetmeat recipe to help you celebrate  the Festival of Lights.

These little sweetmeats are very tasty and easy to prepare. Traditionally they are made with ravi, or finger millet Eleusine coracana. This plant originated in the Ethiopian highlands it is grown throughout Africa and South Asia. You can substitute any large-grained millet or coarsely ground rice

Ragi Rava Ladoo Recipe

Ingredients:

75g ragi
50g fresh coconut, chopped into pieces
175g grated jaggery (palm sugar)
1 tbsp eleachi (ground green cardamon)
1 tsp butter

Method:

Ravi grains are very hard. It is best to toast then lightly in a dry non-stick frying pan so that they soften (you only need to toast for a few seconds) then turn into a coffee grinder and render to a coarse powder (think semolina).

Grind the coconut in a food processor and set aside.

Melt the butter in a pan, add the coarse-ground ragi and fry for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.

Turn the ragi mixture into a bowl and mix in the coconut. jaggery and ground cardamom. The liquid from the coconut will be enough to hold everything together.

Shape into balls (about pingpong size), arrange in a serving dish, garnish with a few chopped pieces of coconut and serve.

As variants you can add chopped raisins and hopped almonds or chopped pistachios to the mix.

Accompany with Arabian Coffee.

For more information on Diwali, see the Celtnet Diwali Recipes and Information page.
For more classic recipes from the Indian sub-Continent, see the Celtnet Indian sub-Continent recipes page.

Almond Katli with Pistachios Recipe

With Diwali only three days away, here is another classic Indian sweetmeat recipe to help you celebrate  the Festival of Lights.

These little sweetmeats are very tasty and easy to prepare.

Almond Katli with Pistachios Recipe

Ingredients:

120g blanched almonds
100g sugar
1 tsp ghee
2 tsp liquid glucose
pinch of saffron
chopped pistachios, to garnish

Method:

First you need to make almond powder from the blanched almonds. Mix the almonds with 250ml water. Stir to combine then place in your microwave and cook on full power for 3 minutes. Drain the almonds, spread out on a plate then return to the microwave and cook on full power for 2 minutes.

Set aside to cool, transfer to a food processor and pulse to chop. Once the almonds are coarsely chopped continue pulsing until you have a fine powder (if you do not pulse, you will end up with a sticky mass).

Weigh out 100g of the almond powder and set aside.

Place the sugar in a pan with 50ml water. Heat until the sugar dissolves then bring to a simmer and cook until you have a thick syrup. Take off the heat, stir in the almond powder and all the other ingredients (apart from the pistachio nuts).

Spread the mixture out on greased waxed paper. Level the top, allow to cool then cut into pieces.

Before the katli dry out sprinkle over the almonds and press into the top. Allow to dry and serve to your guests with tea.

Accompany with Arabian Coffee.

For more information on Diwali, see the Celtnet Diwali Recipes and Information page.

Apple Peda Sweetmeat Recipe for Diwali

With Diwali less than a week away (13th November), I'm going to present a classic modern Indian sweetmeat that is typically made for the Diwali festivities.

This is a no-bake recipe for a milk solids desert that can be moulded into a variety of shapes (typically apples) and coloured as you wish, so you can match the colour of these sweetmeats to match the clothes you will be wearing for Diwali!

Making these is easy, once you have the basic ingredients, but this can take a while if you are going to cook from scratch, making the khoya and paneer cheese yourself.

Apple Peda Recipe

Ingredients:

100g khoya (also known as khoa)
100g grated paneer cheese
100g milk powder
3 tsp icing sugar
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
food colouring
whole cloves

Method:

Grate the paneer and mix in a bowl with the khya (this can be sweetened or not, depending on choice), milk powder, icing sugar and ground cardamom. Bring all the ingredients together to form a stiff dough and colour as desired with your choice of food colouring (you can either make them garish or natural).

Take apple-sized pieces of the mixture and shape. Place in paper cases and set an inverted clove in the top to form a stalk. Leave out over night for the surface to dry then store in an air-tight container until needed.


Accompany with Arabian Coffee.

For more information on Diwali, see the Celtnet Diwali Recipes and Information page.

Brown Bread Ice Cream

This recipe may sound slightly odd, but it's a truly delicious ice cream that can be frozen without stirring. The original original recipe is British and comes form the 1860s, where it really was an ice cream, made from brown breadcrumbs, sugar syrup and cream.

This version has been adapted to be enriched with egg yolks and lightened with whipped egg whites, ini the French style of making desserts.

These kinds of ice creams briefly came back in vogue during the 1970s due to the more ready availability of artisan breads then and then they died out again, which is a shame. This is an excellent way of using up slightly stale bread and it really is delicious.

I often make this for New Year with whisky (the alcohol keeps it lighter) but you could equally use rum or something like calvados (it will work without the alcohol though).

Brown Bread Ice Cream Recipe

Ingredients:

175g (6 oz) wholemeal (whole-wheat) brown bread, crusts removed
300ml (1 1/4 cups) double (heavy) cream
300ml (1 1/4 cups) single cream
125g (4 oz) light brown sugar or icing (confectioner's) sugar
2 eggs, separated
1 tbsp whisky, rum or calvados

Method:

In a food processor, crumb the bread then spread on a baking tray and place in an oven pre-heated to 150ºC (290ºF) to toast fro about 10 to 15 minutes, or until crisp and lightly browned. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.

In a bowl, beat together the creams and sugar until the sugar has dissolved. In a separate bowl, beat together the egg yolks and whisky (or rum), if used. Beat the egg yolk mix into the cream mixture.

When the breadcrumbs have cooled, add to the cream and egg yolks mix. Stir to combine and distribute evenly then set aside.

Add the egg whites to a clean and dry bowl and beat until stiff and glossy then fold into the cream mixture.

Turn into a freezer-proof container, place in a freezer at the lowest setting and allow to freeze over night before serving.

For more ice cream and sorbet recipes, see the Celtnet Ice Cream and Sorbet recipes pages.


Find more British recipes on the Recipes from the British Isles page of this blog.

Chocolate Gooseberry Pudding Recipe

I'm still on my chocolate kick at the moment, and today's recipe is a modern Welsh recipe for a chocolate gooseberry pudding. I've been using up some of my summer fruit and gooseberries are one of my all-time favourites. In Welsh it's called: Pwdin Eirin Mair Siocled

Chocolate Gooseberry Pudding Recipe

Pwdin Eirin Mair Siocled

Ingredients:

175g (6 oz) butter, softened
175g (6 oz) caster sugar
3 eggs
175g (6 oz) self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
50g (2 oz) ground almonds
25g (1 oz) cocoa powder
a few drops of almond essence
400g (1 lb) gooseberry compote

Method:

Cream together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy then add the eggs, one at a time, beating thoroughly to combine after each addition.

Sift the flour into a clean bowl then fold in the butter and egg mix before mixing in the cocoa powder with a metal spoon. Finally, work in the almonds and almond essence.

Turn half the batter into a well-greased 20cm diameter cake tin then top with the gooseberry compote before topping with the remaining chocolate batter mix.

Transfer to an oven pre-heated to 180ºC and bake for about 40 minutes, or until cooked through. Serve hot, accompanied by custard.

Find more British recipes on the Recipes from the British Isles page of this blog.

Stuart Period Veal or Beef Olives (1660)

Beef or veal olives were furst made in Elizabethan times. They are slices of meat stuffed and then rolled so that they look rather like stuffed olives.

This recipe comes from Hannah Woolley's Stuart period book, the Queen-like Closet of 1660. Hannah Woolley being the first well know female food writer.

Original recipe:


To make Olives of Veal.

      Take thin ſlices of a Leg of Veal, and have ready ſome Suet finely ſhred, ſome Currans, beaten Spice, ſweet herbs, and hard yolks of Eggs, and a little ſalt mixed well together, then ſtrew it upon the inſides of your ſlices of Meat, and roul them up hard, and make them faſt with a ſcure, ſo ſpit them and roſte them, baſte them with Butter, and ſerve them in with Vinegar, Butter and Sugar.

Modern Redaction

Beef or Veal Olives Recipe

Ingredients:

300g rosé veal or beef, cut into thin slices
60g shredded suet
100g currants
1/4 tsp freshly-grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground mace
4 tbsp sweet herbs, minced
6 hard-boiled egg yolks, mashed
salt, to taste
100g butter, melted

For the sauce
100g butter
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tbsp brown sugar

Method:

In a bowl, mix together the suet, currants, nutmeg, mace, herbs and egg yolks. Season with slat then spread this mixture over one side of each slice of meat.

Roll the meat slices up tightly and secure with toothpicks. Arrange in a roasting tin, drizzle over half the butter then transfer to an oven pre-heated to 180ºC and roast for about 20 minutes, basting with the remaining butter.

When the meat is nicely browned and cooked through remove from the oven, cover with foil and set aside to rest for 5 minutes.

For the sauce, melt the butter in a pan, stir in the butter and cook until melted then whisk in the vinegar. Allow to heat through then arrange the meat on a serving dish, drizzle over the sauce and serve.

You can see the complete text of Hannah Woolley's Queen-like Closet on the Celtnet Queen-like Closet original text pages. This is part of the site's Stuart Recipes collection.

There are more traditional and historic recipes on the Traditional and Historic recipes page of this blog.

Butterless Banana Chocolate Cake Recipe

I love yoghurt, but am not a big fan of butter or milk. I had a basic recipe for a butterless yoghurt cake with banana tucked away and this afternoon I dug it out, tweaked it a bit and did some baking. The batter was a little too much for my standard cake tin, so I baked a cake and a half dozen cupcakes from the batch. They turned out so well that I took pictures and wrote the recipe down.

Now, almost literally warm from the oven, I am presenting the recipe here.

Butterless Banana Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

350g (2 1/2 cups) plain (all-purpose) flour
200g (1 cup) sugar
400g (2 cups) mashed bananas (best done with a hand blender)
85g (2/3 cup) walnuts, finely chopped (optional)
180ml (2/3 cup) plain yoghurt or vanilla yoghurt
3 tbsp cocoa powder
finely-grated zest of 1 lemon
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 tsp vanilla extract

Method:

Making this cake is simplicity itself. Combine all the ingredients except the walnuts in a bowl and beat with an electric mixer until the batter is smooth. Add the walnuts and beat once more to combine.

Pour the batter into a greased and floured springform cake tin (about 22cm [9 in] round) then transfer to an oven pre-heated to 170ºC (350ºF) and bake for about 40 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake emerges cleanly.

Note that this is a very moist type of cake and it will not form a hard crust.

Remove from the oven and cool in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely. This is excellent with a cream cheese icing (frosting).

This batter also makes excellent cupcakes, just cook for 15 minutes instead of 40.

Hannah Glasse's Veal in White Sauce from the 1740s

Today is a classic leftovers dish, intended to be served as a supper dish that comes from Hannah Glasse's recipe book of 1745.

Hannah Glasse (1708–1770) is probably the most important cookery writer that no one knows about. Her book, The Art of Cookery was published in 1745 and includes many important recipes, including the first recipe for curry published in English.

There are many recipes in the book and it shows a transition from the previous Elizabethan cookery to what we would consider modern food.

The recipe presented here comes from Hannah Glasse's book and is a frugal recipe for making use of left-over white meat so that it can be served as a supper dish.

The original recipe, as written in The Art of Cookery is:


To toſs up cold veal white

CUT the veal into little thin bits, put milk enough to it for ſauce, grate in a little nutmeg, a very little ſalt, a little piece of butter rolled in flour ; to half a pint of milk, the yolks of two eggs well beat, a ſpoonful of muſhroom-pickle, ſtir all together till it is thick ; then pour it into your diſh, and garniſh with lemon.
     Cold fowl ſkinned, and done this way, eats well ; or the beſt end of a cold breaſt of veal ; firſt fry it, drain it from the fat, then pour this ſauce to it.

The modern redaction can be given as:

To Toss up Cold Veal in White Sauce

Ingredients:

500g left-over cold veal or pork or chicken (any white meat)

400ml milk

1/4 tsp freshly-grated nutmeg

salt, to taste

2 tsp butter mixed to a paste in 2 tbsp butter

2 egg yolks

1 tbsp mushroom pickle

1 lemon, sliced into thin rings to garnish

Method:

Cut the veal into bite-sized pieces and place in a pan with the milk and the nutmeg. Season to taste and bring to a gentle simmer (but do not boil). Cook gently for 5 minutes, or until the meat is heated through then drain the milk and set the meat aside to keep warm.

Place the milk back in a pan and whisk in the butter and flour mix. Beat the egg yolks in a bowl, beat in two ladlesful of the hot milk mixture to temper then whisk this mixture back into the milk.

Heat gently, without boiling, until the custard thickens slightly then return the meat to the pot. Add the mushroom pickle and heat gently for about 5 minutes (do not boil) until the ingredients are heated through.

Turn into a warmed serving dish, garnish with the lemon slices and serve.

This recipe is based on the Celtnet recipe for: how to toss up cold veal white. If this recipe piqued your interest and you would like to read more of Hannah Glasse's recipe you can see the Complete text of Hannah Glasse's Art of Cookery, 1745, here.

Find more more Traditional Georgian Period Recipes Here.

There are more traditional and historic recipes on the Traditional and Historic recipes page of this blog.

To stew capons in white broth Tudor Recipe

This is a traditional Elizabethan recipe for a classic dish of chicken and prunes stewed in a white stock made from beef bones. The recipe is derived from the Proper Newe Booke of Cookerye, 1557 edition (first published in 1545), which is one of the first recipe books printed in England.

Here is the original recipe from the Book:

To stewe capons in whyte brothe
Take foure or fyue biefe bones to make youre brothe, then take them oute when they are ſodden and ſtreyne the brothe into another potte, then putte in youre capons hole wyth roſemarye and putte them into the pot, and let them ſtewe, and after they haue boyled a whyle, putte in hole Mace bounde in a whyte clothe, and a handefull or twayne of hole perſely and hole prunes , and lette them boyle well, and at the takyng vp put to a lyttle vergis, and ſalte, and ſo ſtrawe them vpon ſoppes and the marybones aboute and the marrow layde hole aboue them, and ſo serue them forth.

In the original above, I have kept the long-s 'ſ' from the original text rather than rendering as the modern 's'

For the Modern Redaction:

To stew capons in white broth Recipe

Ingredients:

4 beef marrowbones
1  whole, oven-ready chicken
1 sprig of rosemary, tied together
2 onions, sliced into rings
2 blades mace
100g pitted prunes
1 handful flat-leaf parsley
60ml verjuice (or white wine vinegar)
thin white bread, toasted

Method:

Begin with the beef stock. Place the marrowbones in a large pot and cover with 4l of water . Bring to a simmer and skim off all scum and fat from the surface. Now bring to a boil and continue boiling for about 2 hours, or until the liquid has reduced in volume to about 1.5l. Take off the heat and strain the stock into a bowl.

Arrange a layer of sliced onion in the base of a large stockpot or casserole dish. Sit the chicken on top then add the remaining onions and the rosemary. Add in enough of your stock to come half way up the sides of the chicken then add the mace. Bring the mixture to a simmer. Cover and cook for about 40 minutes then add the parsley, verjuice and prunes.

Season to taste with salt the continue boiling for about 10 minutes more, uncovered, or until the prunes are tender. Arrange the toasted bread on a serving dish. Remove the chicken from the pot and cut into serving pieces. Arrange these on top of the toasted bread pieces. Remove the prunes from the stock and use to garnish the birds.

Pour over a couple of ladlefuls of the stock and serve.

Find more more Traditional Tudor/Elizabethan Recipes Here.

There are more traditional and historic recipes on the Traditional and Historic recipes page of this blog.

If this recipe has piqued your interest, then the complete text of the book is now available from Amazon, with all the original text, a translation into modern English and redactions of all the recipes so that you can actually cook them at home. For the first time, the full Tudor book is available for purchase, all for around $5 (£2.60).

Dongo-dongo — Beef Gumbo from the Congo

Today we have a classic recipe from the Congo, Central Africa for a stew of beef in a tomato and okra sauce base.

Dongo-dongo (Beef Gumbo) Recipe

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1kg beef, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 onions, chopped
6 young okra, very finely chopped
1 small tin of tomato purée
1 hot chilli
oil for frying
salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste

Method:

Place the meat in a pan, season with a little salt and cook gently for about 20 minutes so that the meat steams in its own juices.

Heat a little oil in a pan, add the onions and fry for about 6 minutes or until the onions are lightly browned. Drain the beef, add to the pan and fry until browned then stir in the tomato purée and fry for 2 minutes, stirring constantly, then add 100ml water.

Bring to a simmer and add the okra. Cover the pan and cook for 30 minutes.

Serve hot with rice, cassava or yams.

For more African recipes from this blog, see the African Recipes page.

Num Tirk Doung (Coconut Pound Cake) Recipe

Today we have a rather unusual cake recipe from Cambodia for a moist cake with coconut milk and shredded coconut with vanilla that's leavened with baking powder. This cake demonstrates the French influence in Southeast Asia.

Num Tirk Doung (Coconut Pound Cake) Recipe

Origin: Cambodia

Serves: 10–12

This is a classic moist coconut-based pound cake from Chau Doc province in Cambodia that is typically served as an offering on religious holidays.

Ingredients:

100g (1/2 cup) butter, melted
300g (2/3 lb) sugar
4 eggs
280g (2 cups) plain flour
120ml (1/2 cup) coconut milk
4 tbsp fresh, shredded, coconut
2 tbsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Method:

Cream together the sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating thoroughly to combine after each addition.

Now add the vanilla extract, baking powder, salt and coconut milk. Stir thoroughly to combine. In a separate bowl mix together the plain flour and the shredded coconut. Add this to the sugar, egg and coconut milk batter, mixing until the batter is smooth.

Grease and flour a springform cake tin. Turn the batter into this then transfer to an oven pre-heated to 160°C and bake for about 90 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake emerges cleanly.

Allow to cool in the tin then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Serve accompanied by tea or coffee.

Robert May's Recipe for Grand Sallet, 1660

Today's recipe is from the Stuart Period 1603–1714 and is interesting as it's one of the first recipes in a major cookery book to feature 'Virginia Potatoes' (ie potatoes) in the recipe.

The recipe itself is derived from Robert May's Accomplisht Cook.

The full original recipe is given below:

To make a grand Sallet of divers Compounds.

TAke a cold roast capon and cut it into thin slices square and small, (or any other roast meat as chicken, mutton, veal, or neats tongue) mingle with it a little minced taragon and an onion, then mince lettice as small as the capon, mingle all together, and lay it in the middle of a clean scoured dish. Then lay capers by themselves, olives by themselves, samphire by it self, broom buds, pickled mushrooms, pickled oysters, lemon, orange, raisins, almonds, blue-figs, Virginia Potato, caperons, crucifix pease, and the like, more or less, as occasion serves, lay them by themselves in the dish round the meat in partitions. Then garnish the dish sides with quarters of oranges, or lemons, or in slices, oyl and vinegar beaten together, and poured on it over all.

        On fish days, a roast, broil’d, or boil’d pike boned, and being cold, slice it as abovesaid.

The 'Grand Sallet' is what we would call today a 'great salad' and a modern redaction of this recipe can be given as:

Stuart-style Great Salad Recipe

Ingredients:
500g chicken meat, finely diced
2 tbsp tarragon, finely minced
1 red onion, finely diced
2 loose-leaf lettuces, finely diced
2 tbsp capers, drained
2 tbsp black olives
2 tbsp green olives
4 tbsp pickled samphire
2 tbsp pickled broom buds
4 tbsp pickled button mushrooms
12 pickled oysters
2 tbsp raisins, plumped by soaking in warm water
2 tbsp slivered almonds
6 black figs
12 baby new potatoes, boiled until tender
2 tbsp baby peas, boiled until tender
wedges of lemon and orange
salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste



Method:
In a bowl, mix together the chicken, tarragon, onion and lettuce. Toss well to combine then season to taste and pile this mixture in the centre of a serving dish.

Garnish around the chicken mixture with the fruit, pickles, oysters, fruit, potatoes and vegetables so that you have an attractive border. Serve immediately.

See the Historic Recipes page on this blog for more historic recipes.

You can read the entire text from Robert May's cookbook on the Celtnet Accomplisht Cook pages.