Stuffed Mushrooms

It is time I posted a savoury dish or two!!  I just love different and inventive veggie sides and if you have followed me for years you will know how many I have posted. Here is a new one I was serving this summer, although you can vary the ingredients to suit your fridge contents!

For 4 portions

You will need 4 large Portobello mushrooms - or large field ones are great if you ever see them. Use a small spoon to scrape out the brown gills and remove the centre stalk. Be careful not to go through the mushroom itself. Very sparingly brush the outside of the mushroom with a little olive or rapeseed oil. I prefer the latter.

½ a finely chopped red onion

3 large sun dried tomatoes, in oil, finely chopped

Chopped garlic OR [very handy] garlic granules to taste

Sea salt and fresh ground pepper

two tablespoonfuls of stale breadcrumbs 

the scraped out brown gills

In a medium bowl, mix the above together. This the base recipe. You can then add whatever else you fancy….

a little chopped left over chicken, ham or bacon

parsley or chives - or both

½ chopped pepper

chopped courgette

chopped chilli for a kick

whatever…..

Add some grated fresh parmesan and mix it all together along with one egg to bind.

Divide between the hollowed out mushrooms then sprinkle over a little more parmesan and bake in your fan oven at 170C for about 20 mins. Sprinkle over some more parley to serve.

Enjoy! Absolutely scrummy. Trust me. A  great side dish, yes, but is also good as a starter or for a light lunch with a salad.

Lemon Delicious

A favourite Australian dessert from the 1960s!

Handed to me by my cousin Jan, from Melbourne, when she saw I was having a blitz on lemon recipes. No picture can rightly show how delish and light this dish is! Thank you once again Jan. She tells me her mother used to make it and so does she.

You will need to butter an oblong baking dish and pre heat your oven to 160C. I used a pyrex approx 9 x 6 inches. Serves about 4.

3 eggs, separated

4 oz softened butter

4 oz caster sugar

the juice of 3 lemons and half of the zest

a heaped tablespoon of lemon marmalade [optional]

2 tablespoonfuls of self raising flour

1 tablespoonful milk

In a medium bowl, cream the butter and sugar then add the yolks one at a time. Combine with the SR flour then add the juice, rind and marmalade, slowly.

In another bowl, whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks, then slowly add about a third of the whites until well combined then add the remainder.

Pour the mixture into your baking dish and set in a deep sided water bath. [I used a roasting tin]

Bake for about 40 mins until golden then serve dusted with icing sugar, cream and/or ice cream.

Can be eaten chilled but warm in winter is DELICIOUS! Oh my!

 

Lemon Mousse Sponge Flan

Well, you all know how I love old fashioned recipes and this comes from the old Farmers Weekly collections and was actually submitted by a Mrs Marris of Tregony. You do need a 8” sponge flan tin and I dug deep in the back of a cupboard to find mine. I never threw it out when I had my new kitchen and I cannot recall the last time I used it. Lucky!

Generously butter the tin and sprinkle over some caster sugar, tossing it around then discard the excess in your sink. Pre heat your fan oven to 200C

Sponge

2 eggs

2 oz caster sugar

2 oz plain flour

In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar together until really thick and creamy. Sieve the flour over the mix and gently fold in. Tip into your prepared tin and bake for 10 mins. Cool in the tin for a short while then invert onto a rack when cooling.

Filling

2 medium eggs

the grated zest and juice of a lemon

1 tablespoonful caster sugar

scant ½ oz of powdered gelatine

2 tablespoonfuls hot water

Separate the eggs, adding the zest to the yolks and whisk until light and creamy., then add the juice. Whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks.

Dissolve the gelatine in the water and cool then stir into the lemon mix. Fold in the whites until evenly combined then pour into the flan. Leave to set.

To decorate or not to decorate?…. decisions decisions. Or just serve with a generous dollop of clotted cream. Or ice cream even.

A super easy, delish make ahead dessert. Yes, it is very 1960s but nothing wrong with that!