POTATO CAKES

There are so many methods for these little gems and after much studying of my old Cornish recipe book I am still none the wiser!  Some recommend baking in the oven while others suggest using a griddle or pan - one even says you can use a biscuit tin lid over the open fire!!! But after several efforts I can emphatically tell you they are best when done in a pan or griddle.

It is amazing how a few ingredients can have so many methods! So I am plumping for the most obvious - to me anyway. The flour and fat should be rubbed together, [like shortcrust] before adding to the potato, you are making a “cake”.

Take:

6 medium potatoes, peeled, boiled, then mashed with a little milk or preferably buttermilk.

Seasoning. By now you must know my preference for Sea Salt flakes [Kosher salt] and freshly ground pepper. [I always use a mix of black, red, green and white]

6 oz plain flour

3 oz butter [do not even think of using marg - yuk]

A little seasoning as above.

Allow the potato to cool completely. Rub the fat into the flour. Add finely chopped parsley if you wish.

“Modern me now adds, that a touch of fresh grated Parmesan would be great too!!”

I love herbs!! And so did our forebears. So I am sure they would often have added parsley. Bring everything together and gently roll to about between ¼ and ½ inch thick, on a floured surface, then using a cutter make the cakes. I used a 3 inch cutter and this quantity made 12 cakes. After the first batch, reroll the potato mix and cut once more. Use a slice to lift them from the surface to the pan as they will be a little soft.

Heat a large pan with a little oil and butter mix. Then start cooking the cakes. The pan needs to be hot. I reckon the cakes take about 6 or 7 min each side but turn the heat down if they are too brown. How did they manage this on a biscuit tin lid?

They freeze so well, on a flat tray, then bag them up. Reheat in a medium oven for a 10 - 15 mins. They are so versatile and so tasty.

Figgy 'obbin

Very old Traditional Cornish fare!! Figgys are not figs but raisins and I have yet to hear a plausible reason for why they are called figgys. Once again I worked from my 1920’s recipe book.

“roll out some light pastry, cover with figs and lemon peel, roll up like a swiss roll and make a light pattern on top”

This very simple dish is another example of the Cornish using fruit peel in most dishes!! I was not sure if they meant peel or zest, so I used zest. I also lightly dredged the pastry after rolling, with castor sugar. Not too much, but I remember my mother doing that!!

 Flakey Pastry - recipe below or bought is fine

A little caster sugar

Raisins

Zest of a lemon

Roll out into a rectangle and dust with the sugar, then cover with raisins, leaving an half inch space at the bottom. Cover with the zest of a lemon. [cannot see why it shouldn’t be orange either!]

Starting at the top edge, work your way along, tucking in the pastry to start making the roll. Continue, working evenly and trying to keep it as tight as you can. Seal bottom edge and ends and transfer to a baking sheet. Make slits across the top and I brushed with a little milk.  Bake for 30 mins at 200 deg C

“A notice was seen in a shop window not long since - figgy ‘obbin 4d a lb, more figgier 5d”

Note: ‘obbin is believed to be oven. In ancient times dried fruit was generally used in steamed puddings and such like [more on that soon] but this was cooked in an oven. So easy.

Now - 2 posts in one!! a simple recipe for Homemade Flakey pastry. Have a go, its so easy.

Easy Peasy Puff Pastry

The thought of making Puff Pastry for a Pie Crust/Topping can bring fear to many hearts!! BUT it is so easy if you follow this recipe and a few very simple rules with NO rubbing in, NO rolling out butter between cling film etc.

1] Work in a cold room keeping everything cold. Turn off the CH.
2] Make sure the water is very cold [put ice cubes in it for a bit]

9 oz Plain Flour [all purpose in the US]
pinch salt
6 oz cold butter
few drops of lemon juice
4 oz cold water

Weight the flour into a bowl with the salt. On a floury surface cut and cube the butter, then tip it into the flour, making sure the butter is all covered and separate. Pour in the water then mix together with a knife. When nearly there, change to your hands and bring together, then tip onto a surface. Don’t worry about the lumps, they will be incorporated as you roll. Just very gently kneed for a moment, then roll out into a rough rectangle about 12 x 4 inches. Fold one third into the middle, then the other end over that. Press the edges together and wrap in cling film [saran]. Don’t worry how it looks at this stage. Put in the fridge for 10 - 15 mins. See the photos below for every stage.

Roll out again, always with the “pressed together” edges at the top and bottom facing you, into the same rectangle shape and fold over in the same way. This takes 30 seconds, so you need to be busy with something else while make this Pastry!! Don’t worry either, it will still be lumpy and untidy at this stage. Rewrap, then back in the fridge again for 15 mins and get on making a cake! Repeat this 3 more times. Yes, I know that is more than an hour in total, but you aren’t actually doing anything. No need to be picky either about the timings. If it’s 30 mins, no worries.

Now it is ready to use. A lovely flakey and richly buttery pastry. This will make 2 crusts for small/medium size pies. Cut in half and freeze if you wish. Take out of the freezer the night before you want to use it and defrost in the fridge. Take out of the fridge for 20 mins before using.

YOGURT pot, “all in one” Cake

This cake is so versatile - you can bake it in a shallow square tin or a deeper round one.

I will give you the base recipe, then you can add whatever you want. Fruit, chocolate chips, coffee etc. You can even use a fruit yogurt like raspberry and add the fresh fruit! It is great as a dessert or a lunchbox filler and it is made in less than 5 mins too!! Can’t be bad. My thanks to Kirsten for her fantastic recipe. I used Blueberries in mine.

Prepare and line any tin you prefer. [you do need to line the tin with parchment]

Set your fan oven to 160 Deg C

Take, in a bowl:

A pot of Yogurt.  I used a Yeo Valley Natural Organic Bio LIve Yogurt. 175 grs.

2 pots of Self Raising Flour

1 ½ pots of caster sugar [or light brown if using dried fruit]

¼ pot of sunflower oil or similar

2 eggs.

Mix together. Add whatever you fancy, eg blueberries, then tip into your tin.

Bake for between 35 mins to an hour, depending on how deep is your tin and the size of your cake. I used a 6” round and it took almost the whole hour. Easy Peasey. Yummy.

Note. Lakeland sells brilliant parchment on a roll, about 4 or 5  inches high. Great for sides of tins.

BEETROOT TARTE

The beautiful beetroot is related to swede and turnips and evolved from a type of seaweed!! So it is most appropriate that we add it here as a common veg. Most think of beetroot as a pickled salad veggie in a jar, so if you have never tasted it, in its natural state then you are in for a surprise. In Victorian times they even used it as a base for sweets and cakes and it was widely used for its medicinal benefits. My friend Atty, who is Dutch, boils then grates them with a little finely chopped onion softened in butter, a teaspoon sugar, a little balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper and serves as an accompaniment to just about anything. But for now we are making a tarte. I do hope you try this simple recipe.

A great veggie main course or a great side with gammon or steak. YUM.

A bought pack [you need half] of Puff Pastry is perfect for this. Of course you can make your own…..

A bunch of fresh beetroot, boiled until almost soft. 45 - 60 mins, according to size.

They are generally sold in mixed sizes so use the larger for the outside and smaller working into the middle. But this does not work with very large beetroots. See photo for the ones I used. My pan was 9 inch in diameter. You need a pan that will happily go into a hot oven. My handle comes off for such a job. Very handy.

In a medium pan, melt 2 oz castor sugar, just tip it in and spread, and wait...

then add a teaspoon salt [sea salt of course]

1½ oz butter

a very generous splash of Balsamic vinegar

Keep stirring for a minute or two until lovely and dark but be careful you do not let it burn.

Add a generous squirt of clear honey.

Take the pan off the heat and place your sliced beetroots on top, making circles going inwards.

Season with sea salt and fresh ground pepper, plus a few mixed dried herbs.

You could also use chilli flakes if you like a little kick. My husband does not and loves this tarte.

Roll out your pastry - unless it is ready rolled!!! Cut to roughly fit and place it over the beetroot, tucking it in round the edges. No need to be picky. Its underneath!

Place in a hot preheated oven, 190 deg C for 30 mins approx. Cool for a few minutes then, being very careful, place a plate over the pastry then flip over quickly. If you can see lots of juices then it may be prudent to Carefully angle the pan and drain it off first, then pour it back over the tarte when it is on the plate. I do this job over the sink.

Delicious and two recipes on one post!!!!!

Note: It was very difficult to take a good photo with my little camera. We were eating the tarte for our evening meal and the light was poor. The glistening veg shimmered with the flash!! Sorry.

Cardamon and Balsamic Roasted Turnips.

We Cornish call swedes “turnips”, we call turnips, “turnips” or white turnips. In the US swedes are “rutabaga” and turnips “turnips”. Are you confused yet?

As I have mentioned before I loved veggie recipes and mixing flavours, and here we have swedes and turnips along with the heady flavours of cardamon and gorgeous balsamic.

For 2 generous servings [very easy to double, quadruple etc]

6 oz each of diced swede and white turnips [peeled, diced weight]

Rapeseed oil or a good olive oil

3 or 4 crushed cardamon seeds, shells discarded

1 tablespoon Maple syrup

1 tablespoon Balsamic vinegar

a few crushed red chilli flakes for a little kick

a pinch of nutmeg - always use nutmeg with veggies!!!

Sea Salt [flakes are best] and freshly ground pepper

Quickly blanch the swede in boiling water for 5 mins, add the turnip for the last minute, then drain. Meanwhile heat a baking tray with some oil generously brushed over the bottom. Tip the hot veg onto the tray, toss and bake in a hot oven, about 190 degC for about 20 mins, turning a couple of times.

In a little dish mix all the other ingredients along with another good tablespoon of rapeseed oil and the seasoning. Take the turnips out of the oven and spoon over the mix and put back in the oven for another 15 minutes or thereabouts, turning halfway through. Timing will depend on how small you have cubed your veg.

The smell from the cardamon and balsamic is just amazing and blends perfectly with the turnips. The maple syrup adds just the right touch of sweetness. Don’t forget that swedes take longer to cook than turnips so you need to cook  them for a little longer in the beginning. I could make a meal out of this!

You can easily use all swede or all turnips but I loved the mix of different flavours.

HELSTON PUDDING

As I write, it is Sunday morning my husband is cooking the Roast Pork for lunch and I am prepping the dessert. Helston Pudding is a very old recipe, steeped in the long forgotten past and I am working from my old recipe book, which, for once, has some quantities and timings given!

Butter a pudding basin and prep a saucepan, with folded sheets of kitchen paper in the bottom [to protect the base of the pudding] - that’s not in the book!

2 oz each of:

raisins, currants, suet, sugar, breadcrumbs, ground rice and finally plain flour.

add: 

½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

½ teaspoon of mixed spice

pinch salt

milk to mix.

Clotted cream to serve

I decided to use light muscovado sugar and vegetable Atora. I carefully started to add the milk and reckon it takes about 5 fl oz. I used semi skimmed as I did not have whole milk.

Just mix it all together. Very easy. Then tip into your buttered basin, cover with a lid of parchment and foil and place on the folded paper, then carefully pour in boiling water and set to steam for 2 hours, checking periodically the water levels.

I have seen more modern versions with things like chopped dried apricots in the mix, but find it unlikely that our forebears would have used such a luxury item. Of course they would not have used [or heard of] muscovado either!! Castor sugar, I would imagine.

The pudding was delicious and we all enjoyed it! 

SUCK CREAM

Yes, I agree, a most unfortunate name for this old Cornish dessert from the North Coast, Boscastle area. But who am I to change our heritage by renaming it something else, more acceptable to today’s English? 

I took this recipe straight from my trusty 1920s recipe book. It had few method details and no timings and so when I started prepping, I was winging it!

“Boil half a pint of raw cream” [I used Double Cream]

“add the yolk of an egg, well beaten” [small egg, as the original recipe was 2 x the amount]

“2 spoonfuls of white wine”  I decided to go for it and use large ones of Sauvignon Sec!!

A bird does not fly on one wing, my handsome!!

“sugar and lemon peel to taste” Now did they mean castor? I suppose so - I used a level tablespoonful and I grated the zest of one large lemon with a large grater, making bigger bits. Reserve a quarter for top decoration.

“Stir over a gentle fire until it be as thick as cream” . Well I placed all the ingredients in a small pan and gently brought it to a boil, stirring all the while. Then simmered for 7 or 8 mins and checked, it was definitely getting thicker. I gave it another minute.

I decided that was it and decanted the hot cream mix into 2 crystal glasses. When starting to set I sprinkled over the reserved lemon zest.

“Serve in glasses with long pieces of dry toast” Yuk. Dry Toast?!!  Maybe a nice Shortbread?

It tasted lovely. A simple, lightly set, dessert. My husband loved it!