Little Chicken Tarts

I love little savoury tarts, so handy for snacks, party food and suchlike, especially now that Christmas is almost here. I also love chicken, maybe thinking of that old 60s favourite Vol au Vents and just re inventing them with a modern taste and twist. Anyway, I hope you like these and will try them over the festivities! This is my last post until mid January, I have too much baking to do for other things! Plus it will be good to have a break, while my husband munches away at the Christmas Cake. But have no fear. I will be back before you can snap your fingers. A very Happy Christmas to everyone and a healthy, prosperous New Year. Laurie xx

Shortcrust pastry. Of course you can buy some, [all butter, of course], but if you have a food processor, it takes a minute and is so easy. I use this base recipe for everything. You can add some caster sugar for mincemeat tarts, or a little fresh grated parmesan, mustard, herbs, whatever.

The quantities below makes 12, with some pastry left over.

8 oz plain flour

pinch salt

5 oz cold cubed butter

1 large egg yolk

1 tablespoon cold water

In your food processor, blitz the butter in the flour for a few seconds, add the yolk and water, until it starts too bind together. [I added half a teaspoon dry mustard].  Tip onto your lightly floured surface and bring together, lightly kneading until the dough is smooth. Place in a poly bag to chill for at least 20 mins. If you leave it longer, take it out of the fridge for 5 mins before using.

Using a suitable cutter, line your shallow bun tins. Pre heat your fan oven to 190C

Make the filling: Best to do this beforehand, allowing time for it to cool.

1 oz butter

1 oz plain flour

1 teaspoon mild [or hotter if you like] curry powder

6 fl oz food chicken stock

1 fl oz milk

½ tablespoon lemon juice

½ tablespoon redcurrant jelly

8-9 oz cooked chicken, shredded or chopped

Seasoning - sea salt, fresh ground pepper, a little chopped parsley

A little grated parmesan to sprinkle over and some smoked sweet paprika too if you wish.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan, stir in the flour and curry powder to make a paste, gradually adding the stock, lemon juice and redcurrant jelly. Stirring all the while, bring the sauce slowly to the boil and cook for a couple of mins. Season to taste. Add your prepared chopped chicken. Cool for ten mins then tip into your pastry cases until they are full. I sprinkled over some grated parmesan and paprika, but breadcrumbs are good too. Bake for 20 mins.

Just delicious and so easy and quick. Use left over chicken,  or grill some breast meat or even buy a cooked chicken.

Chocolate Spice Cake

This recipe comes from an old, post war recipe booklet, given away with the new and modern “SR Flour” ! So I am guessing about 65 - 70 years old. I will give it to you, exactly as printed in the booklet, although I do not know exactly what “pudding spice” is, but I presume mixed spice.

I made it in a tray bake tin, but the original recipe used an ordinary tin [don’t think tray bake tins were out then!]. After baking, I took it along to a Bridge afternoon and without exception everyone said how unusual and utterly delicious it was. The wonderful spicy chocolate flavour lingered on your taste buds. Wow. Just a wonderful cake. Trust me, make it over Xmas!

Butter an 8” square, or similar, shallow tin. Mine was 10” x 7”. Preheat your oven to 350F - I have worked this out to be 160C for fan ovens.

6 oz SR Flour

4 oz butter [recipe states margarine - NO WAY!]

7 oz sugar [caster?]

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon pudding spice

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

2 large eggs [yolks and whites separated]

2 oz plain chocolate

2 teaspoonfuls very finely chopped candied peel

8 tablespoons milk [I used buttermilk]

Cream the sugar and butter until fluffy. Blend in the melted chocolate and the two yolks. Mix the salt and slices with the flour and stir in alternately with the milk. Fold in the stiffly beaten egg whites and the candied peel.

Bake in a moderate oven for about 35 mins. Cool and spread with icing [of your choice?]

I decide to use a simple water icing infused with a little cinnamon and some finely chopped stem ginger that needed using up, grating over a little more more plain chocolate too. Cut into squares and enjoy.

Really good, with a very different combination of flavours that work beautifully 

STAR GAZY PIE

The iconic, traditional recipe from the West of Cornwall, around Mousehole, celebrating Tom Bawcock’s Eve on December 23rd. He was supposedly a fisherman of the 16thC but in reality there is little evidence that he existed. But it makes a good story none the less, and the dish is steeped in history and legend. It is generally accepted that the original Pies used herring, but then moved to any of 7 fish, including pilchards, sardines, mackerel, herring etc, keeping in line with the legend! Probably it was whatever was available, depending on the weather and season.

I have read and researched recipes for some weeks and think I will adapt a mix of many of those I have read about, into something that seems about right to me and tasty by today’s standards. I have never made it before, or eaten it. I took lots of photos along the way and they are on my Blog. To serve, just remove the head and tails sticking out and you have the most delicious pie. Serve with a green veg. 

Basic ingredients:-

Fish [assorted], stock, mustard, hard boiled eggs, potato, cream, cider or wine. Cider surely? Wine would have been costlier for our forebears. Seasoning, especially Sea Salt.

Parsley? Maybe, but I will not use it.

Make some Rough Puff Pastry. 8 oz Plain Flour, salt, 2 oz lard or Cookeen, 2 oz butter. Rub in roughly then mix with a little very cold water. Rest in the fridge for at least an hour. 

I intend to fillet a selection of fish. Sardines, Mackerel, Herring. Then clean some of the heads and tails for the decoration, discarding them before serving.  I have 3 large sardines, several herring and 2 mackerel. All cleaned and filleted and rolled or cut into large bite size pieces. I am prepping for a medium size pie. My pie dish is 9” in dia and 7 “ at the base. 2” deep.

Hard boil 2 or 3 eggs and when cold, chop. Chip [or dice?] two or three medium potatoes and par boil for 2 or 3 mins. I decide to dice for a change!

Make a sauce.

1 finely chopped shallot 

scant tablespoon plain flour

1  heaped teaspoon of English mustard

Sea Salt and fresh ground pepper

1 oz butter

¼ pint fish stock [stock pot is fine]

¼ pint cider

¼ pint cream

In a small saucepan, quickly fry off the shallot in the melted butter, then add the flour and mix to a smooth paste, off the heat. Very gradually add the stock, whisking all the while. Add the remaining ingredients then replace back on the heat and bring slowly to the boil, continuing to whisk. Cook off for a minute.

Place the chunks of fish in the pie dish, and tuck between them the potato and chopped egg. Sprinkle over some chopped parsley, if using. Pour over the sauce and carefully fork through so everything is evenly distributed. Seasoned well. Allow to cool for 15 mins. Take the pastry out of the fridge and roll out to fit the pie dish. Brush the edge with a little egg and place the pastry on the top. Cut little slits for the heads and slip the heads into them with their head looking towards the stars, with opposite slits for the tails. [see photos] Brush the top with beaten egg.

Bake for 45 mins at 210 Deg C. Turning down to 200 after 20  mins. Remove the heads from the crust before eating.

It was a lot of work, I admit. From starting it, to popping it into the oven was close to 2 hours!!! A bit mucky at times too!! But the finished result is stunning and it was absolutely delicious. I am quite pleased with myself!!!!

ENSAIMADA

After the Pastissets, I bring you the second post of Menorcan baking, showing off the island’s other favourite sweet dish. More specifically, all the Balearic islands love Ensaimadas. 

Anyone who has visited these islands will have eaten one of these light and delicious sweet breads over breakfast or with a morning cup of coffee, after an hour’s shopping in Mao or Cuitadella. The recipe origins go back several hundred years, when pork fat was used instead of butter. The recipe below is easily doubled for one huge one, or divide the dough after the first rise for little individual Ensaimadas.

At airports you will see large Ensaimadas in hexagonal boxes piled up for folk to take back. So, instead of that, I set about working out how to make it myself.

It does take time to make, but very little actual hands on. Mostly you are waiting for it to rise! Get on with some shopping or gardening! The final rise is for several hours, so start in the morning.

In a jug place:

2 teaspoons active dried yeast

4 fl oz warm milk, preferably whole

Leave until it starts working, meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl or the bowl of your mixer, with a dough hook, place:

12 oz strong plain flour

large pinch salt

3 oz caster sugar

combine well, then add the warm and frothy milky yeast mix. Then add:

1 large beaten egg

3 oz very soft butter

Knead well until soft and smooth, then cover the bowl [I like using a shower cap!] and put to rise in a warm spot until double in size. This will take well over an hour because of the high fat content. The dough is pretty wet, so if kneading by hand you might need to add a tad more flour.

Knock back on a well floured surface then, by stretching and using a rolling pin, roll the dough out as thinly as possible into a large rectangle [see photo on my Blog]. Don’t worry, it does not have to be too perfect.

Brush the entire surface with very soft, but not melted butter [probably about 2-3 oz]. Roll the dough into a long sausage shape, trying to keep it fairly tight, lightly cover with a tea towel then leave to rise for another hour.

Roll the dough up into a loose coil and place onto a large round baking sheet as you go. Leave a small amount of room between the rounds for the rise though. Cover the coil with an upside down large mixing bowl, making sure it is big enough so that the dough will not touch it. 

Leave to rise for a third time for 2 - 3 hours in a warm spot.

Pre heat your fan oven to 175C and bake for about 30-35 mins. When it comes out of the oven, quickly brush a little more very soft butter across the top, cool for a bit, then dredge with icing sugar. If you like, add some vanilla seeds to the icing sugar the day before to take the flavour to another level.

Yes, it does have a very high butter content!! Just absolutely wonderful.

Note: Ensaimadas can also be sparingly filled with a light custard, or similar before rolling up. Equally delicious.

PASTISSETS

With this post, [and the next] I leave Cornwall, as I do every summer, for the wonderful island of Menorca, which is our most favourite part of the world AFTER Cornwall! You see these delicious biscuits made in the shape of a flower everywhere on the island. [cutters easily available on Amazon] We often have them as a welcoming gift in our hotel room, a little stack tied up with cellophane and a ribbon. As with Ensaimada, the other favourite Balearic sweet, they are dusted with a generous amount of icing sugar. Traditionally they were only eaten at Xmas, but these days, all year round. They also used to be made with lard and they do make a wonderful gift.

Just 5 simple ingredients that taste wonderful!

Pre heat your fan oven to 180C and very lightly butter baking sheets. I used a small 2” cutter, making about 60 biscuits. Easily halved, or you can make larger ones. But you may have to slightly adjust the timings.

In a medium mixing bowl, place:

14 oz plain flour

7 oz very soft butter [but not melted]

7 oz caster sugar

3 egg yolks

zest of two lemons

Make a ‘volcano” of the flour, then add the other ingredients, kneading the whole until you have a smooth dough. Tip onto your floured surface, then cut in half, making it easier to handle.  Roll out to thicker than a £1 coin [maybe a scant third of an inch]]. Cut them with your flower cutter and bake for approx 13-15 mins. The mix is quite delicate and I use a small spatula to lift from the worktop to the baking sheet.

When just cold, generously dust with icing sugar.

Just lovely.

Of course, you do not have to use a flower cutter! I do, to bring a touch of Menorcan authenticity.

Simply scrumptious biscuits.

LEEK AND BACON FLAN

A real old Cornish favourite, easy to make and if you wish, these days you can use bought pastry. Our ancestors did love leeks and used them so much. I do too and they are one of my favourite veggies. This is not a “new fangled quiche”, it is a real old fashioned flan and this old method was conceived long before we had ever heard of them.

I quickly knocked up some rough puff pastry, the same as for pasties.  I used an 8”, but a 7” flan tin would be good.

For this tart you will need:

6 oz plain flour, 1½ oz butter, 1½ lard or Cookeen [my new fave], seasoning and a little cold water to bind after you have roughly rubbed in the fats. Chill for half an hour or so.

approx 1lb of the white part of leeks

2 oz butter

5 - 6 oz chopped bacon

about 6 sliced mushrooms, I used chestnut

1 oz plain flour

½ pint whole milk

1 large egg

1 heaped tablespoon grated cheese

plenty of seasonings of your choice - being Cornish I always use parsley!

a little nutmeg

Line your tin with pastry, rolling it as thinly as you can, then pop it into the fridge while you assemble the filling. I quickly blind baked it at 180C for 10 mins when really chilled. But the old recipe did not suggest this [I do not want a soggy bottom] Turn up your fan oven to 190C.

Slice the leeks and cut up the bacon. Melt the butter in a medium fry pan then add the bacon and fry without colouring, add the leeks, stir together and gently cook for about 15 mins until nice and soft. Add the mushrooms and cook for about 2 mins more. Sprinkle in the flour and stir well.

In a saucepan bring the milk to the boil and pour quickly over the leeky mix. Season well, not forgetting the nutmeg. Place back over a very low heat and cook for a further 10 mins or so, gently stirring now and then to stop it burning. Remove from the heat to cool a little then stir in the beaten egg. Pour into the pastry case, dot over a little more butter and sprinkle over the cheese.

Bake for about 30 - 40 mins  mins.

A real old fashioned method to cook this classic dish. We found it absolutely delicious and far better than any quiche I have ever had. It is equally good hot or cold. It came from the WI ladies, of the 1960s.

Pam’s Granny’s Baked Bread Pudding.

Another recipe that was given to me by my friend Pam, who lives in Joppa near Hayle. It has been in her family for generations and she calls it Granny’s Baked Bread Pudding.  Her grandmother came from just outside the town of Looe in East Cornwall, so I am guessing this recipes hails from that area. Pam uses it for special occasions, especially Xmas.   It is very easy to make and delicious! My husband absolutely loved it! Thank you, Pam. It will be on my dessert menus from now on.

Take:

¾ lb stale white bread, cut into large cubes - no crusts

Soak for a few hours, then squeeze out the water. [This is easier in smaller amounts]

Beat until smooth ish.

Then just add all the other ingredients:

6 oz mixed dried fruit

2 oz each of dried chopped dates, glace cherries and dried apricots

4 ½ oz light soft brown sugar

3 oz melted butter

2 medium eggs

Grated lemon rind, mixed spice, cinnamon and nutmeg - all to taste

Optional extras - marmalade or golden syrup. I plumped for the syrup and put in a large dash. In fact I added it when I beat the bread.

Mix well. That’s it. Easy peasey.

Tip into a buttered baking dish and bake for 1 hour at 190 deg C

Note: Leftovers can be frozen in portions to take out and nuke.