Lemon and cardamom shortbread biscuits

I always used to think that shortbread was as simple as 1, 2, 3.
1 measure of sugar, 2 of butter, 3 of plain flour. 
But recently I have been experimenting.
"Testing, testing, 1,2,1,2 testing" not a sound check, but an adaptation of the above formula.
And for these shortbread thins, I have come up with a new variation.  I stick to the old one for thicker shortbread fingers, but these are a crisper, whisper thin version.
Oh yes, I have added a little flavouring too.

The quantities given here will make about 30 biscuits, but as long as you stick to the ratio, you can use ounces, grams, cans of beans or sacks of potatoes depending on how many biscuits you want to make.

Heat the oven to 170ºC

2oz sugar
4oz butter, cubed
2oz cornflour
4oz plain flour
Grated rind of a lemon
Crushed seeds from 6 green cardamom pods

I cannot stand the feel of cornflour, it sets my teeth on edge, so I make these in the food processor.  Simply chuck everything in and mix together until combined to a stiff dough.
Alternatively, rub the butter into the flours until it all resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Then knead into a ball of dough.

Roll out to a thickness of 2mm on a floured surface and cut into rounds (I used a 5½cm cutter and made 30 biscuits). 
Spread them out evenly on a baking sheet and place in the oven.
They will be ready in 15 - 20 minutes, but please, please keep an eye on them.  Although they will be pale in colour and feel soft to the touch, they WILL be cooked.
Remove from the oven at the first sign that they are browning!
Transfer to a cooling rack and they will crisp up beautifully as they cool.

Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2020 ©

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk

Cheese and onion pie

Cheese pie - in our opinion, the ultimate comfort food.
We always have pack of emergency puff pastry in freezer and the rest of this can generally be rustled up from the contents of the veg box and the fridge.
Feel free to play around - use any odds and ends of cheese you can find; swap out the onions for those limp leeks that have seen perkier days; if you haven't got any potatoes, try celeriac or squash or forego the root veg altogether and use a couple of handfuls of breadcrumbs.
Apparently we have fairies in the bottom of our garden and we express our appreciation of their presence by using the trimmings of their thyme hedge to flavour our pies - hedge clippings never tasted so good.
None of these measures are crucial, just guidelines.

1 pack puff pastry, we use JusRol all butter puff pastry
3 medium potatoes, peeled
3 onions, peeled and thinly sliced
1 tblsp spoon oil
25g butter
6 sprigs fresh thyme (or a teaspoon of dried thyme if you don't have fresh 
270g cheese, I used a mature Cheddar, but use up whatever you can find in the fridge
1 egg, beaten
Mustard (optional)

Slice the potatoes to the thickness of around ¼" (½ cm) and boil until just cooked - be careful that you don't end up with a pan full of potato soup!

Drain and set aside to cool.

Heat the oven to 200ºC

Put the oil and butter into a frying pan and heat gently until the butter foams. Chuck in the sliced onions and thyme.  Cook for 20 - 30 minutes over a low heat until meltingly soft and starting to caramelise.

Grate the cheese.

Now it is simply an assembly job.

Roll out just under half of the pastry, mine was a 9" x 7" rectangle, but squares or circles are equally acceptable, and lay it on a baking sheet.

If you fancy, apply a thin spreading of mustard, Dijon or grain, to the pastry.

Then start with the potatoes, the onions and finally the cheese, spreading each layer evenly over the pastry leaving a half inch (1¼cm rim) around the edge).

Roll out the rest of the pastry slightly bigger than the bottom piece (it needs to cover the filling).

Brush the edges of the base with beaten egg and then lay the second sheet of pastry over the top.  Crimp the edges to make sure they are sealed.

Brush the top with beaten egg and place in the oven.

Cook for around 20 - 25 minutes until golden brown.

Serve immediately, but do be careful, the insides are like molten lava!!

We enjoyed this one with chilli dusted sweet potato wedges and red, yellow and green peppers cooked in a rich tomato sauce.

Serves 6 -8 people, depending on hunger levels and what you serve on the side.

Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2020 ©

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk

Lime and ginger chicken

The Netherton freezer is accumulating pack ice faster than the Arctic is losing it and is in serious need of a de-frost.  We have been waiting for a cold spell, so we can store the contents outside the back door while the freezer sheds more tears than a love struck teenager.

But that seems unlikely, so we are eating our way through the contents.

This can lead to surprises, when unlabelled packages are unearthed and "oh I'd forgotten all about that" boxes resurface.

The latest plundering gave us a pack of chicken thighs and drumsticks, which were enlivened with one of our favourite cocktail combinations  - ginger and lime....... a Dark and Stormy, anyone?

Check out our recipe for lime and ginger in cake form too 

1 kg chicken pieces

2 tblsp lime marmalade

1 tblsp soy sauce

2½cm root ginger, peeled and grated

1 tsp crushed fennel seed

Salt and pepper

Mix all of the marinade ingredients and place in a dish.  Add the chicken pieces and ensure they are all well coated.  Leave to marinade for about an hour, turning from time to time.

Heat the oven to 190ºC.

Tip the chicken and the marinade into a prospector pan ( I used a 10" one) and place in the oven.

Cook for 30 minutes, checking to ensure that the juices run clear.

Serve with rice, to soak up all the lovely sauce and a forest of greens.

Netherton Foundry Shropshire © 2020

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk

Chocolate and chestnut log

When the junior Nethertons were "studying" food technology in their early years of secondary education, (don't get me started, we could be here for hours), come the end of the first term, it was time to make the Yule log.

And this meant taking in a chocolate Swiss roll and the ingredients for chocolate buttercream - hardly challenging, was it?  Cruel parent that I am, I made them bake their own Swiss rolls, rather than taking in a supermarket one, but at least the "learning experience" was enhanced.

This year we eschewed the traditional log, giving them respite from Swiss roll duties, but as we are all fond of the chocolate and chestnut combination, I created this dessert alternative.

Please note it is VERY rich and this will easily feed 10 people, although it will keep in the fridge for up to 4 days, if you want to make it last!

1 pack/tin unsweetened chestnut purée

100g dark chocolate

170g cream cheese

Icing sugar to taste

1 tablespoon rum or brandy (optional)

2 crumbled meringues (optional)

Melt the chocolate in a bowl, suspended over hot, not boiling, water.

Whisk the cream cheese and chestnut purée together until smooth.  Add a tablespoon of icing sugar and taste, gradually add more icing sugar until it suits your palate.

Stir in the chocolate and optional extras, if using.

Line a 1lb loaf tin with baking parchment, leaving a collar overlap. (You could use clingfilm, but we are doing what we can to cut down on single use plastic.)

Spoon the mixture into the tin and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Lift out of the tin, using the paper collar and invert on to a serving dish.  peel off the paper and decorate/embellish however you wish.

On day one, we had a simple scattering of crushed meringues, but on day two, we smothered the leftovers in espresso enhanced Chantilly cream and a few chocolate shavings. 

Netherton Foundry Shropshire © 2020

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk