Wild Flowers - St George's Day Thoughts

I had an hour or so spare while Frankie was working and as there was water nearby I was drawn inexorably towards it as all fishermen everywhere always are. We are the men you see standing suspiciously on bridges staring myopically into the sun glazed water looking hard for the sign of movement; a drifting fish, a lazy glide or weed fronds waving in the current. 

Finchale Abbey lies on the River Wear not far from Durham and very near the Frankland Prison which holds the infamous Soham Murderer Ian Huntly, but I gave that man little or no thought as I drove towards the water. 

Set right on the banks of Durham's famous river, the Priory oversees a small woodland area which, on the morning I found it, was carpeted with a large array of wild flowers, carpets, chinks and surprises of petal'd packages to be found all over the small wooded area - and it wasn't really Spring yet - not this far North anyway.   

On the drive through the North East we had been struck by the huge beds of dandelion that lined the roadsides and fields. Not just the scattering of these ubiquitous plants that one normally sees around St George's Day, but almost acres of them, which will soon be scattering their unwanted seeds miles and miles, if this chilly Easterly wind keeps up for much longer, and upsetting gardeners everywhere. 

In the woods, the first flowers I came across were the anemones, barely opening their petals in the lackadaisical sun. Nestling against the trunks of oak and beech their bright green leaves and ever so slightly pink flowers brought a smile to my face, they just look so cheerful when they open up and I love seeing these little flowers scattered among the trees. And, of course, they only open up fully in direct sunlight and the sun always cheers us up. 

Anyone who reads my blogs regularly will know I love wild garlic, the scent often reaches the nose before the sight meets the eyes, but not only do their almost plastic spear-like leaves and spiked white flowers look good, they taste good too. I was chatting to another walker I discovered on the bridge trying hopelessly to capture a photograph of the wheeling, acrobatic house martins that effortlessly fed on the spring ephemera launching off the idling river. He is a chef and was extolling the virtues of wild garlic until he discovered I shared his enthusiasm, so we shared a few recipes and ideas and talked about the abundance of bird life and flaura before heading our separate ways. 

Discovering beds of wild garlic is always a delight for me, Spring is near, Summer just around the corner and longer days filled with walks and warmth beckon. Whilst I enjoy all the Seasons, there is certainly a promise given with Spring that lifts the heart.

I came across comfrey, cow- parsley, tiny dog violets nestling like lilac gems in the grass and footpaths and lady smock peering through the undergrowth. Wild cherry blossom drooped from the trees and smiling daisies spotted the lawns around the Abbey. Everywhere I turned there was colour splashed around as if by accident - as if God's paint palette had been thrown across the countryside

Making Jellies

Jellies - not the wobbly ones we had when we were kids - and what happened to them anyway? Do children these days still have jelly? What about Blancmange? Perhaps the jellies are still going, but as an adult I have moved on....lots of things are like that. Pogo sticks, roller skates and other dangerously innocuous children's toys that didn't hurt me when I was younger... I also heard that jellies aren't as nice as they used to be because of all the preservatives and other additions they are now laced with - sherbet lemons aren't the same either - The best jellies are those made with real fruit and not much else....

Anyway, I digress - how easy it is to go off on a tangent and allow ones thoughts to wander into areas not contemplated at the outset - oh oh.....

Jellies - not the wobbly ones but the preserves - are jams without the bits. This can be incredibly useful for quick preserving or for retaining the integrity of the taste without the texture which may not be required. Sometimes too, the fruit can be overly tough skinned (some plums, damsons, apples, gooseberries, currants), over pipped (raspberries, gooseberries) or stoned (apricots, peaches, plums etc.)

Jellies are also incredibly easy to produce.

This is a general recipe, for which only two real items of equipment are required - a large, good, robust pan and a jelly bag or muslin cloth. Jelly bags and stands are relatively cheap and available at most kitchen stores....like THIS ONE

There is also one absolutely useful tip that should not be ignored - but that comes later dear reader, so you must read on...

Another great thing about making jelly is that it happens in three distinct stages thereby not taking up a whole half day if you don't want to do it all in one - you can spread it over a day or two. You could even freeze the results after the second stage if you absolutely have to, if time constraints make finishing it all off difficult.

Stage One

Choosing your fruit needs to take into account the amount of pectin that fruit contains - it is the pectin that enables the jam to reach a setting point. Apples contain pectin and are therefore used in many jelly recipes - especially with soft fruits like blackberries, but any search on the net will determine the fruits which are high in pectin and those which are not, for example, orange flesh is low in pectin but the skin, pith and pips are high, so when we make marmalade we use the pips and pith during part of the process to extract the pectin required to give the jam its lovely jammy consistency.

Pectin added sugars are available and, of course, I use this in my Kelly's Chili Jelly recipe HERE This enables you to make pure fruit jams and jellies if you want to.

However, once you have chosen your fruit just chop it up roughly (if necessary) and put it all in your large pan with around 600 mils of water per kilogramme of fruit and boil it all until it is soft.

Stage Two

Set up your jelly bag or muslin sheet and put all the fruit into it  and allow it all to drip into a container large enough to take it about a litre and a half of liquid.

Now here is the one tip you must NOT ignore:

Do NOT squeeze the fruit, allow it to drip slowly, at its own pace. This way you will make a clear jelly, any pressure will result in a cloudy finished product. What we want is a sparklingly clean and clear final result so allow it to drip over night if possible. 

Using the jelly bag...

Stage Three

Measure your clean, clear liquid and then pour it into your large pan again. Once it has begun to warm up add three quarters of the amount of your measured liquid and stir in until dissolved. So if you had one litre of fluid, add 750 grams of sugar. Liquid weights and solid weights are the same here so weight equals volume. If you have an odd amount add a little liquid to bring it up to an easy calculation. Simple. 

Now bring it all to a rollicking, rolling boil and keep this going until setting point. 

I have written about this before HERE. 

Once it has set, pour it into sterilised jars as HERE 

you can make jellies from most things but this time of year with so many apples around I make Herby apple jelly with Bramley apples and either rosemary, sage or thyme chopped very very finely and added late in the boling process. Having added a lot of the herb during stage one, the flavour is mostly there anyway, this final addition looks nice and adds some last minute flavour hits. Try it with any meat dish, in casseroles, curries,  with mackerel and with cheese it's delicious.

Alternatively take a kilo of chopped apples, a kilo of blackberries and use the entire process above to make a wonderfully tangy jelly suitable for toast, sandwiches and scones....it is fun and it helps preserve summer for use in the winter....what could be better than a taste of summer days on a cold, wet January teatime?

Setting Point

I often talk about this when making jams and jellies, so I thought I would post it separately to ease the finding of it for everyone.

Take out the dish from the freezer and drop some liquid from the pot onto it. Push the liquid with your finger. If it wrinkles, setting point is reached and you can remove the pan from the heat.

You will get some notice; the liquid becomes gloopier, thicker and has a different smell, but keep your eyes on it, it can catch quickly and burn on the bottom of the pan, spoiling the taste. If not reached boil for a few more minutes and test again.

Once setting point is achieved, remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool down for 10 - 15 minutes. This is to allow the peel to be evenly distributed throughout the mix. If not allowed to cool it will all float to the top of the jars - aesthetically unpleasing...

Jar it up and seal the jars as detailed previously HERE.

Bramble Vodka (Blackberry Vodka)

As I mentioned in my previous post and in an item from last year (HERE), Blackberry time is a good time. This year the berries seem much larger, the fruit sweeter and more abundant. Everywhere I look bramble branches are bowed under the weight of fruit, almost like apple boughs in autumn rather than blackberry bushes. So let's make the most of it and use it in pies, jams and Bramble Vodka!

..bowed under the weight of fruit

You will need......

Blackberries

Sugar

Vodka

So, that's the easy bit, now comes the really easy bit.....put them all together in a demijohn or large Kilner jar....

Oh alright - you want a bit more instruction otherwise it's too easy to be called a recipe isn't it?

For every bottle of vodka you will need about 100 grams of sugar and about 200 grams of blackberries.

Put it all together in a container as mentioned above and shake the concoction once a day until all the sugar is dissolved.

Leave for a month.

Taste.

Is it too sweet? Add more vodka

Not sweet enough? Add more sugar

Leave a month.

Taste.

Adjust as above.

Leave a month.

Adjust taste if necessary - but it shouldn't be by now.

Remove the fruit though a sieve or preferably a muslin cloth - this latter produces an absolutely clear drink if you do it twice over two days...

Drink...or give away if you absolutely must...

Vodka seems to suit the sweet taste of blackberries just as Gin suits the sour taste of sloes.

Try it, but drink slowly....it's nicely potent.

Christmas is coming.....

Courgettes

Grown in pots....

Courgettes are an easy vegetable to grow and they're quite versatile with regard to their environment too.  From my point of view the only problem is I'm not keen on their taste, but many people love them - besides, I can always make chutney. 

Courgettes can be grown in pots, or in the ground and whilst all vegetables like the sun any bright warm place out of the wind will do for these.

Baby courgettes are growing...

The other great thing about these ants are the double whammy you can get with regard to the flowers. The male flower doesn't grow into a courgette, so it can be covered in a nice tempura batter and deep fried. Now that I do like.  

As with other veggies and especially those grown in pots, just feed them regularly, keep the snails away and water them as often as required. Enjoy some this summer - it's not too late. 

Cooking Rabbit

Rabbit Pie - ready to bake

I promised in an earlier blog to look at this wonderfully versatile , cheap  and healthy meat and I would like to share my all around approach to cooking it. Rabbit can be quite dry and the amazing reason for this is that the animals are so lean they are relatively fat free. That makes it a healthy and efficacious meat but can also make it difficult to keep moist through the cooking process. So I cook all my rabbit in a way that gives you many options concerning the final result but ensures that the meat stays juicy and moist while it's being cooked

Rabbit, jointed

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So here is the way I tackle my rabbit cooking and in this instance I made a couple of pies from the cooked meat. 

Ingredients

At least a couple of rabbits, jointed

A couple of finely chopped onions

two or three cloves of garlic finely chopped.

Some bacon chopped finely - about four slices

A sprinkling of plain flour

a glass of red wine

a couple of springs of fresh thyme

two bay leaves

a nob of butter

a couple of tablespoons of olive oil

A good tablespoon of plum/blackcurrant/redcurrant jam or similar

chicken stock to cover the meat in the pot (or just water/vegetable stock)

Salt and pepper

To Turn the rabbit into a pie

A sheet of puff pastry

an egg lightly whisked

a couple of chopped carrots

a couple of potatoes chopped to about a couple of cms square

You'll need quite a large pot that can go on the hob and in the oven (set at about 180 degrees)

Melt the butter in the pan with the olive oil and sear the meat until it is lightly brown. Put to one side.

Add some more oil if needed, then add the bacon and the onions and saute these until they are translucent   and soft and the bacon slightly coloured. The bacon adds more fat to the rabbit. Now add the garlic and after a minute or so add back the rabbit, sprinkle with flour and stir in until all these lovely ingredients are amalgamated.

Now add the red wine and the stock to cover all the meat and top off with a good sprinkling of salt and pepper, the thyme sprigs and the bay leaves. leave to simmer away for 5 or ten minutes and then put the pot in the pre-heated oven for an hour or so.

You'll notice that my instructions are not exactly precise, but I think feel and taste is much more preferable than exact measurements and timings...

Now when the meat is cooked, take the joints out of the pan, leaving the sauce and put them on a separate plate. Also remove the thyme and bay leaves.

Here's the clever bit:

You can now:

 Put the rabbit away in the fridge (when it has cooled) to use later

Serve with chips and vegetables of your choice and some of the sauce on top

Cover the joints (when they have cooled) in egg floured breadcrumbs and shallow fry until golden

Or shred the meat from the bone and ......

Add back to the sauce with the carrots, potatoes and some peas and make a casserole, or top with mashed potato to make a Poacher's Pie or cook further until most of the sauce has been reduced to make a pie with a flaky topping.

A rich, unctuous casserole

For the latter, once the potatoes and carrots are cooked, but not mushy, (this is why I add them later) pour the contents into a pie dish and ALLOW TO COOL. This prevents a soggy pastry. 

Roll out you pastry until it is large enough to cover the pie dish and place on top AFTER you have egg washed the edge of the dish. Cut around the tin, removing the excess pastry and crimp the pie to the dish using your finger and thumb. Using a fork, make a couple of holes in the top to allow the steam to escape, egg wash the whole lot really well and put in a 180 degree oven until the pastry is cooked a nice golden brown.

That's it - a way of cooking rabbit to keep it moist and then the choice to do as you wish with it after. This recipe also works with pheasant.........and squirrel!

Potatoes

An assortment of potato growing recepticles....

Everybody likes potatoes don’t they? And they are rather an adaptable vegetable that can be eaten as a side dish, main dish, starter or dessert.

Yes, dessert…you heard.

Anyway, I’m not going to talk about cooking with these wonderfully versatile tubers – I’m going to look at how easy they are to grow.

Most of our potatoes are turned into that mainstay of modern gastronomy – the chip, French fry or wedge…but, they are so adaptable, such an all round, flexible vegetable that the uses of it are far too numerous to explore.

So why don’t we grow our own more?

Because they are cheap?

Because they are difficult to grow?

Because we don’t have space?

I don’t know, but I think that the first answer is probably the most correct. Why bother growing your own when they are relatively inexpensive to buy? Well, bread can be cheap, but until you’ve tasted a loaf from the oven – sliced within minutes of being baked, warm enough to melt the butter spread upon it and experienced the taste and smell of really fresh bread – you can’t really understand why home-grown vegetables taste better than shop bought ones, why just picked raspberries are more succulent, more alive with flavour than supermarket fruits. Or why fresh potatoes – of a variety that you chose, chitted, planted and harvested yourself – taste much better than the run of the mill, limited variety potato from the Supermarket. Washing, peeling and cooking a spud just minutes from the earth is a whole different experience than using a potato that has been scrubbed and denuded of all the goodness from its skin, packed in a plastic bag, and hauled miles through heavy traffic to your shop – but maybe the real reason they taste so very different is that you grew it yourself!

And yes, that can make a real difference.

So how easy is it to grow your own?

Well, try this:

Find a large-ish pot.

Start to fill it with earth from somewhere until it’s two thirds full.

Place 3 – 6 old potatoes on top

Fill it with more earth

Water it occasionally

Wait

Once the greenery has flowered, wait three more weeks, longer if you can

Empty the pot

Eat all the potatoes within, at your leisure, in any way you wish.

It really is that easy, some magazines sell kits of seed potatoes, bags and earth – DO NOT BUY THESE KITS! They are a rip off, seed potatoes are just potatoes gone to seed…

You can also plant potatoes in the ground if you have the space….No, really.

Three or four potatoes planted could easily produce a couple of kilos of spuds within a couple of months.

There are over 4000 varieties of potato, so which one to choose?

Well, Pink Fir Apple is fun, tasty and waxy, Charlotte is large and multi functional, Anyas are great, but why not try a few different ones? Supermarkets sell Red Roosters – a popular line now -  and I have found these to be easy to grow, high yielding and tasty. Experiment, try various types that you like...

Have a go at growing your own potatoes – they are easy and great for kids to get involved with – all kids love potatoes – but so do most adults…

.

Chips, jackets, mash, sautéed, dauphinoise, creamed, rosti, roasted, boiled, curried, crushed, Boulangere...just to start with. They’re fun to cook with too..

Reclaimed woodland - with potatoes coming up...

Enriched Doughs the Easy Way...

Completed cinnamon rolls...

Enriched doughs are normal bread doughs but with the additional ingredients of melted butter and sugar. These doughs are used to make bakes such as Belgian buns, Chelsea buns, pastries, danishes and cinnamon rolls...

Making these doughs the easy way is to use a bread machine on its dough setting to mix the ingredients and give them their initial proving. It takes the time element required to mix and kneed the dough away and, as most people have a machine but seldom use the dough setting, it might help make more use of a semi redundant machine and your time. 

By using a bread machine you can bypass much of the work, especially the kneading, by pouring the ingredients in a specific order into the machines pan.  This order ensures that the mix is not jeopardised by having the yeast and salt too close together and also ensures that the dough is well kneaded and given its initial rising in a safe and warm environment

Covered for the second proving..

You can then decide what to make,  a decision which don't I have used it to make a perfect cinnamon buns with a additional cinnamon and sugar added to the rolled out pastry here on the list of ingredients

Ingredients

150 mls semi skimmed milk
3 medium eggs beaten
75 grams butter, melted
450 grams strong white bread flour
2 tsp salt
50  grams caster sugar
1 sachet of fast yeast or 7 - 10 gms
100 grams of sultanas or raisins
50 grams of fine soft brown sugar
cinnamon powder to sprinkle over
Icing sugar and water to make glacé icing or use fondant icing

Ok, the ingredients go into the bread pan in this order:

The milk, the whisked eggs, the melted butter, allowed to cool slightly, then half the flour.

Now add the sugar, the salt and the rest of the flour. Top of with the yeast and start the machine.

When the dough program has finished, remove the proved dough and knock it back before rolling it out on a lightly (bread) floured surface. roll it out gradually until it's about 1 cm thick and forms a nice rectangular shape - you are going to roll it swiss roll stylee later - and sprinkle it all over with the sultanas, sugar and cinnamon - you can be as frugal or as extravagant as you wish with this part.

Roll the dough up and cut the roll into sections - about 10 large buns to about 15 or 16 small ones.

Place on a tray and cover with oiled cling film and leave to rise until they are light and fluffy and sticking together.

Place into a pre-heated oven (190 - 200 degrees) and bake for about 20-25 minutes until they are well baked and a lovely golden brown colour.

Mix your icing sugar with just enough water to allow it to be barely drizzled over all the buns, thickly. Or warm up the fondant icing and pipe over the buns.

Enjoy. 

Veggie Jobs For June

Adding straw to strawberries helps protect the fruit

Well the unsettled weather looks to be settled in for June (!) according to the Forecasters, it's unfortunate that we can't seem to put together a string of sunny days that would allow the plants to gather up the warmth and convert it into growth, everything still seems a little spindly and undernourished.

There are jobs that need doing though and one that is often overlooked is to keep the area around your precious crops well hoed and weeded. There is a good reason for this - the nutrients in the soil are for your plants and if you share that goodness with a whole variety of unwanted weeds then the goodness is dissipated among them all. Keeping the areas well weeded, and dug over ensures that the soil is light and well drained. Ideally, in a perfect world, you should be able to bury your hand up to the wrist in it without digging- it should be that well tilled.

Broad Beans are in flower...

Earthing up potatoes is useful. As the first shoots of greenery come through, pile on more earth, this encourages the production of more potatoes and enhances the crop. You will see the old hands at the allotments leave soil piled up alongside the potato runs to facilitate this. 

Tumbling toms can be grown in hanging baskets

Tomatoes should be fed while they're in flower and remember to remove the shoots growing between the stem and the main leaves. Tumbling toms can be grown in hanging baskets but they will definitely need more water and feed. 

I planted my leek seeds in an old length of plastic guttering and just last week transplanted them into the outside vegetable bed. As they grow I will thin them out, but not until they are mini leeks and edible, much like a spring onion.  Lovely in salads as well as casseroles. 

Strawberries should have straw placed under the flowering plants to keep the drooping berries from the damp earth, keeping them clean and dry.

My beans are slow, but remember peas and beans always establish deep roots so while it may seem that not much is happening above the surface, the work is advancing underneath to set the foundations for good plants. Patience is required. 

Courgettes and sweet corn have been translocated from the poly tunnel into the outside beds - in full sun, if possible - but most vegetables want as much sun as they can get.  Give courgettes a go if you can, they are easy to grow and can be put in large pots. They don't need much work and pretty much look after themselves. Courgettes are always useful - and if you have any spare - well you could add them to a chutney...HERE

Remember to Keep your beds clear and clean - your vegetables will be much better for it. Just five minutes a day can keep all your beds weed free throughout the season.

Simple veggies like radishes should give early start to home grown salads

Hoisin Belly Pork and Noodles

Belly Pork slices....

This is one of my favourites. I love belly pork if it's cooked right and, for me, the wonderful Chinese flavours of this dish means I cook it regularly. 

Hoisin sauce can be bought in a jar or packet and enhanced, or it can be made from scratch. I do both and sometimes I just use the jar with no enhancements but I do look for a ready made sauce with no silly ingredients like MSG or E numbers. That's not as easy as it sounds but I'm going to assume that you'll be using a bought sauce with perhaps a few extras:

Other Hoisin sauces are available - but not as good!

INGREDIENTS

Sliced Belly Pork (enough for however many people you are feeding)

A jar or packet of hoisin sauce

Medium Egg Noodles. Enough for the serving

Sweet or normal soy sauce

Chopped spring onions

Chopped chili

Chopped garlic

Chopped coriander

Star anise (one or two pieces) 

First, I like to cook the belly pork on its own for about half an hour or so in a low oven - 150 degrees or so, covered, on an oven proof dish. This allows you to pour off some of the excess fat, which can spoil the dish if not removed. 

Then I add the hoisin sauce, completely emptying the jar by swilling a splash of water around, and completely pasting it onto the pork. Add your extras if you wish at   this stage and then re-cover and place in the oven for another hour or so. That's it for the pork, except that I uncover it for the last 10 minutes, which allows it to crisp up a little. 

Put the noodles into boiling water with plenty of salt until they are soft and then drain them thoroughly before serving on a dish.  At this stage I add a dash of sweet soy sauce, but you can use a normal one if you wish. The pork is served on top but I often stir in some cooked peas too, to give a little colour and freshness.

I hope you like this one as much as I do.

Serve on a bed of noodles..

Trout Fishing - The Recipes - Trout en Croute

The disadvantage of catching lots of trout lies in the search for interesting ways of preparing them other than the standard recipes. I thought I might share some of those that I come across and hope that you may find them tasty, interesting and adaptable.

Not everyone likes trout, not all of us catch them, but it's a lovely, firm fleshed fish that can be caught or bought almost everywhere. It's worth looking for it in the Fishmongers as it is usually a farmed fish and therefore relatively inexpensive.

This dish sounds difficult but is, in fact pretty straightforward. Here are the ingredients:

Two fillets of trout if quite large or 4 medium ones

A packet of ready rolled puff pastry

200 mls double cream

A large double handful (football sized) of fresh baby spinach, blanched in boiling water for a minute and refreshed in ice cold water, then squeezed dry in a clean cloth and finely chopped.

A handful of chopped chives

One free range egg, beaten

First the trout: Half will be used as whole fillets and half will be "moussed" by blending it with the double cream, chives, salt and pepper. Add the double cream until a paté like consistency has been achieved. Skin the remaining fillet/s and make sure there are no bones in situ.

Add some light flour to a surface and lightly dust your rolling pin just to roll out the puff pastry to the thickness of a pound coin. Remembering that the pastry has to cover all the fish and its toppings, place a layer of cold, dry spinach onto it, the the fillet/s of trout with a seasoning of salt and pepper, then coating of the mousse and add another layer of spinach on top of that before folding the puff pastry over and crimping all the edges. You can do this so that it resembles a large Cornish Pasty or you can cut the puff pastry so that it has a base and a cover as I have done in the photo above. Now brush the beaten egg all over and place the whole thing on a baking tray covered with parchment paper or a silicon sheet and place in a pre-heated medium oven (170-180) for about 30 minutes or until the pastry is a lovely golden brown.

You can then serve it hot with vegetables of your choice or cold like a pie or pasty

Wild Garlic Chicken Kiev

Spring's arrival starts for me with Wild Garlic

For the last couple of years I have been banging on about Wild Garlic and the wonderful things you can do with it and as Spring wades through streams of excess rainfall in an effort to arrive, like a soggy cousin from hotter regions unaccustomed to the British climate, I thought I might share a recipe that has been naturally adapted by me but widely recognised as a Classic.

First, though, you may wish to read my previous ramblings about this wonderfully evocative spring plant, found widely and usually discovered by its smell rather than by the sight of its verdant green leaves.

They are HERE and HERE. It is the botanical precursor to the bounty that each year brings, the start of the foraging year 'proper'.

An iconic 70's dish, along with Scampi in a Basket and Black Forest Gateaux, Chicken Kiev is, I suppose, usually bought already packaged and ready to cook or re-heat. Making one from scratch allows a certain amount of latitude to experiment, enhance and improve on the original recipe and the use of foraged wild garlic certainly changes the dynamic of this dish in a dramatic way.

Ingredients

Two skinless chicken breasts

Half a dozen or so wild garlic leaves

Breadcrumbs

1 large egg

50 grams plain flour

50 grams butter

Salt and Pepper

I lemon

Make pockets in the breasts

First you will need to make pockets in the chicken breasts with a knife. Finely chop the wild garlic, mix it with the butter, some salt and pepper and a squeez of lemon and push half of this mixture into each chicken pocket.

Chop the garlic

Dip the breasts in well seasoned flour, then the egg - and then do that again - flour then egg, and coat them with the  breadcrumbs nice and thickly! This double coating of flour and egg helps prevent the butter leaking during cooking, and seals in the flavours and moisture, and is quite important. You might even find that you need two eggs. Remember too to make your own breadcrumbs - don't buy them!

I then put the coated breasts into the fridge for half an hour or so or until needed later in the day. This sets the covering. Gently shallow fry the breasts on all sides in a light oil until both are a lovely golden brown colour and then place on an oven proof dish in a medium oven for 20 - 25 minutes, until cooked right through. Serve with vegetables of your choice.

Basic Apple Chutney

Unctuous and fun...

If you're going to start making chutneys then a basic recipe for a classic all rounder seems a sensible place to start. This recipe is popular, easy to make and pretty much eponymous. It's what chutneys are all about. You could just make apple chutneys for ever, varying the recipe, changing the spices extending the variations from a near Apple Sauce to a spicy, hot Indian pickle with plenty of chilies, mustard seed and even curry powder. It can be thick and unctuous, gloopy and sticky; it can be great with cheese, pork chops, mackerel and could even be used as a sweet pie filling.

My jolly useful apple peeler and corer...from Lakeland

Producing, peeled and cored apples by the dozen

So the thing about chutney is that it doesn't just use sugar to preserve it, it also uses vinegar and this adds oodles to the flavour too. My best tip for the actual cooking of the ingredients is to cook fast. The sooner you can turn the component parts into an unctuous, thick chutney, the more flavours will remain in the sauce. I use a pan that gets hot quick and stays hot, holding the heat well, then fast boil AND KEEP STIRRING.  Do not let it burn on the bottom of the pan as the burnt taste will permeate the chutney, spoiling it. Once your wooden spoon can be drawn across the bottom of the pan and the sauce stays apart for a moment, like the red sea just after Moses had made it across, but before the Egyptians arrived, it's ready for jarring, (see HERE for sterilising jars) and it's better eaten after it has been allowed to mature for a month or so, although often I can't wait that long....

So, ingredients:

Apples (Obviously) about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 kilos, peeled, cored and chopped not quite roughly but not too finely either!
Cider Vinegar 500 mls
Onions about 600 grams finely chopped
Sugar 400 grams
(Here's where it gets interesting: try different sugars. Lighter sugar produces a lighter chutney, dark molasses sugar produces darker, richer, caramelly chutney - then there's everything in between!!)
1 Tspn Salt
juice of 1 lemon and some zest too.
Sultanas 300grams

DO NOT ADD WATER, you will only have to cook it out and this will take longer.

That's it, if you like. It will be bland, but it will keep and it will go well with pork etc, and depending on how fast you cook it, you should get 4 or 5 jars from this amount.

However, here's where it becomes interesting. In MY basic recipe I also add:

1 heaped dessert spoon of ground ginger
1 heaped dessert spoon of ground cinnamon
a couple of finely chopped garlic cloves

BUT you could add:
Cloves - ground up as finely as you can
Chili
Allspice
Cumin
Turmeric
Mustard Seeds
Garlic
Raisins
Currants
Dried Apricots
....and anything else that takes your fancy....

....and you can of course, experiment with the amounts to suit your own taste, but beware the stronger spices....

This is a fun recipe to learn about mixing sugar with vinegar and fruit, combining your own flavours and suiting your own tastes and needs. Apples are cheapish, so it won't cost the earth if it all goes horribly wrong, but the even better option is to wait until apples are free - then it's really fun....