This is so easy and an absolute family favourite. Served with mashed potato and baked beans it is utter comfort food!
INGREDIENTS
Shortcrust Pastry
In whatever quantity is needed for the amount of pies you're making. I would tend to make it with 8oz flour, 4oz fat and 2oz water, as per my recipe, to line a standard pie dish that would serve 4 people.
Filling
1 Sliced Onion
Grated Strong Cheddar Cheese - approx 8oz
English Mustard Powder - 1 teaspoon
1 Beaten Egg
Sea Salt & White Pepper
Note: I never weigh the cheese as I just do it by eye, grating enough until it looks like it will fill my pie dish, 8oz is a complete guess!
METHOD
Line your chosen pie dish with shortcrust pastry. Don't use a pie dish that is too deep.
Cut the onion in half and then slice. Place in a microwaveable dish with a drizzle of water. Cover with cling film and cook in the microwave until they are soft. It will only take a couple of minutes.
Mix all the remaining ingredients with the onion, putting a small amount of the beaten egg to one side to glaze the pastry later. Place the mixture inside the pastry lined pie dish. Top with a pastry lid, flute the edges using your finger and thumb or even just a fork. Make an incision in the middle of the pie with a knife to let the steam escape and then glaze with the retained beaten egg.
Bake in a preheated oven at about 190c for about 30 / 40 minutes until the pastry is golden brown.
SHORTCRUST PASTRY
Mrs. Robinson, my Domestic Science teacher at school, used to despair at my efforts to make pastry. It was never very successful as I have warm hands and when you're making pastry everything has to be cold. Then I discovered that I could make pastry in my Kenwood Mixer with the K-beater attachment and along with a marble rolling pin the problem was solved! Then my Mother-in-Law shared her secret with me and I have never used shop bought pastry since. It takes under 5 minutes to make and it's perfect every time.
INGREDIENTS
Plain Flour
Butter (at room temperature)
Water
My Mother-in-Law's secret is to use the following formula:
Half fat to flour
Half water to fat
So if you want to make some pastry to line a flan dish use 6oz flour, 3oz fat and 1½oz water. It doesn't matter how much pastry you're making it is always the same. Weigh the water and it's always turns out perfectly.
Another tip from my Mother-in-Law is to replace half the butter with pure lard which creates pastry with perfect texture and taste. Or if you're looking to reduce the fat content of the pastry use half butter and half Trex which is a vegetable fat sold here in the UK.
See http://www.trex.co.uk
METHOD
Weigh all the ingredients. Place the flour and butter in a Kenwood mixer with the K-blade attached, or in a food processor with the mixing blade. Mix until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs and with the motor still running add the weighed water. The mixture will very quickly come together into a ball. Remove the pastry ball, cover in cling film and place in the fridge for 20 mins to rest before using.
VARIATION - Sweet Shortcrust Pastry
This is Paul Hollywood's recipe. Use the same method as above, mixing the flour and icing sugar together, adding the butter, then the egg and lemon juice:
7oz plain flour, plus extra for dusting
2 tbsp icing sugar
3½oz unsalted butter, chilled, cut into 1cm/½in cubes
1 free-range egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp lemon juice
INGREDIENTS
Plain Flour
Butter (at room temperature)
Water
My Mother-in-Law's secret is to use the following formula:
Half fat to flour
Half water to fat
So if you want to make some pastry to line a flan dish use 6oz flour, 3oz fat and 1½oz water. It doesn't matter how much pastry you're making it is always the same. Weigh the water and it's always turns out perfectly.
Another tip from my Mother-in-Law is to replace half the butter with pure lard which creates pastry with perfect texture and taste. Or if you're looking to reduce the fat content of the pastry use half butter and half Trex which is a vegetable fat sold here in the UK.
See http://www.trex.co.uk
METHOD
Weigh all the ingredients. Place the flour and butter in a Kenwood mixer with the K-blade attached, or in a food processor with the mixing blade. Mix until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs and with the motor still running add the weighed water. The mixture will very quickly come together into a ball. Remove the pastry ball, cover in cling film and place in the fridge for 20 mins to rest before using.
VARIATION - Sweet Shortcrust Pastry
This is Paul Hollywood's recipe. Use the same method as above, mixing the flour and icing sugar together, adding the butter, then the egg and lemon juice:
7oz plain flour, plus extra for dusting
2 tbsp icing sugar
3½oz unsalted butter, chilled, cut into 1cm/½in cubes
1 free-range egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp lemon juice
PANCAKES
Pancakes are so easy to make and Jamie Oliver's way of measuring the ingredients make it even easier. Most of us usually have eggs and milk in the fridge so you just need to make sure that you always have a bag of plain flour in the cupboard and you can knock some up in just a few minutes. You can have them at any time of day with any number of fillings…
Have them with a squeeze of fresh lemon and a dusting of sugar, a spoon of nutella, drizzle with syrup or fill them with fruit and top with yoghurt. Fill them cheese and ham and serve with a side salad and you've got a lunchtime dish or light supper. Fill them with bolognese meat sauce, top with grated cheese and you've a quick cannelloni.
If you don't use all of the mixture just store it in the fridge, it will last for a good few days before the milk turns sour. A great way to store it is in an old squeezy ketchup bottle or something similar, makes it easy to dispense into the pan.
The one thing I will say is go out and invest in a proper crêpe pan, non stick and about the size of a dessert plate. I have had mine for 30 years and it will probably last another 30. It really is worth buying one as the shallow sides make it so much easier to flip the pancake. Also it is a dedicated pan that you only ever use it for pancakes and you don't wash it, you just wipe it out with some kitchen roll so it becomes well seasoned over time.
INGREDIENTS
1 mug of Plain Flour
1 mug of Milk
1 Egg
Pinch of Salt
Note: A mug is an English term for a large cup used for hot drinks. I'm not sure what it is called in other countries but this wikipedia entry might help you!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mug
This recipe makes thin pancakes, or crêpes.
METHOD
Put all the ingredients into a jug and mix with a small hand whisk until all the ingredients are thoroughly combined and there are no lumps.
Put the pan onto a high heat, when it is hot add a small knob of butter or a little oil and swirl around the pan so that the base is covered. Add some pancake batter into the centre of the pan and immediately swirl around so that all the base of the pan is covered in batter. If there isn't quite enough mixture quickly add a little more and swirl around to fill in the gaps. Practice makes perfect and you'll soon be able to gauge the right amount of batter to add. Cook the pancake until the base is cooked. You'll see that the mixture will start to lift from the base of the pan but you can sneak a peak by lifting an edge. Make sure the pancake is loose by giving the pan a shake. If it isn't loose just loosen the edges with a plastic spatula (you don't want to scratch your non-stick pan). Then tip the pancake to the edge of the pan and flip! Cook the other side then serve with a filling or topping of your choice.
Fillings
If you're going to fill them with an ingredient that needs warming up, i.e. cheese and ham or nutella, as soon as you've flipped the pancake the first time place the filling on the top so that is heats through whilst the underside is cooking. You can then either roll the pancake up or fold it in half and then half again to serve. If you are using the pancakes to make a quick cannelloni I would heat the meat bolognese separately so that you know it is heated through thoroughly, fill the pancakes off the heat, roll them up and top with grated cheese. You could also grill them lightly before serving.
You can also make a pancake pizza. When you have flipped the pancake the first time take it off the heat, spread some tomato passata or my fresh tomato sauce over the whole of the pancake. Add some chopped up ham, mushrooms, whatever topping you like finishing with some grated cheese and pop it under the grill for a few minutes until the cheese is bubbling.
Have them with a squeeze of fresh lemon and a dusting of sugar, a spoon of nutella, drizzle with syrup or fill them with fruit and top with yoghurt. Fill them cheese and ham and serve with a side salad and you've got a lunchtime dish or light supper. Fill them with bolognese meat sauce, top with grated cheese and you've a quick cannelloni.
If you don't use all of the mixture just store it in the fridge, it will last for a good few days before the milk turns sour. A great way to store it is in an old squeezy ketchup bottle or something similar, makes it easy to dispense into the pan.
The one thing I will say is go out and invest in a proper crêpe pan, non stick and about the size of a dessert plate. I have had mine for 30 years and it will probably last another 30. It really is worth buying one as the shallow sides make it so much easier to flip the pancake. Also it is a dedicated pan that you only ever use it for pancakes and you don't wash it, you just wipe it out with some kitchen roll so it becomes well seasoned over time.
INGREDIENTS
1 mug of Plain Flour
1 mug of Milk
1 Egg
Pinch of Salt
Note: A mug is an English term for a large cup used for hot drinks. I'm not sure what it is called in other countries but this wikipedia entry might help you!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mug
This recipe makes thin pancakes, or crêpes.
METHOD
Put all the ingredients into a jug and mix with a small hand whisk until all the ingredients are thoroughly combined and there are no lumps.
Put the pan onto a high heat, when it is hot add a small knob of butter or a little oil and swirl around the pan so that the base is covered. Add some pancake batter into the centre of the pan and immediately swirl around so that all the base of the pan is covered in batter. If there isn't quite enough mixture quickly add a little more and swirl around to fill in the gaps. Practice makes perfect and you'll soon be able to gauge the right amount of batter to add. Cook the pancake until the base is cooked. You'll see that the mixture will start to lift from the base of the pan but you can sneak a peak by lifting an edge. Make sure the pancake is loose by giving the pan a shake. If it isn't loose just loosen the edges with a plastic spatula (you don't want to scratch your non-stick pan). Then tip the pancake to the edge of the pan and flip! Cook the other side then serve with a filling or topping of your choice.
Fillings
If you're going to fill them with an ingredient that needs warming up, i.e. cheese and ham or nutella, as soon as you've flipped the pancake the first time place the filling on the top so that is heats through whilst the underside is cooking. You can then either roll the pancake up or fold it in half and then half again to serve. If you are using the pancakes to make a quick cannelloni I would heat the meat bolognese separately so that you know it is heated through thoroughly, fill the pancakes off the heat, roll them up and top with grated cheese. You could also grill them lightly before serving.
You can also make a pancake pizza. When you have flipped the pancake the first time take it off the heat, spread some tomato passata or my fresh tomato sauce over the whole of the pancake. Add some chopped up ham, mushrooms, whatever topping you like finishing with some grated cheese and pop it under the grill for a few minutes until the cheese is bubbling.
CHICKEN & VEGETABLE SOUP
This is really a 2 day process but it's worth it! You can skip the first step by buying a cooked chicken but I really recommend you still take the time to make some stock from the carcass, it makes all the difference. If not, you can always use some chicken bouillon powder instead but it's not quite the same. The stock created by boiling chicken bones contains the anti-inflammatory properties that make chicken soup not only good for the soul but good for the body too. It's not called Jewish Penicillin for nothing! If anyone has a cold, get plenty of hot chicken soup down them and they'll soon be on the road to recovery.
INGREDIENTS
For the stock:
1 Chicken (approx 3lb) (no giblets)
2 Garlic Cloves
1 Bay Leaf
Sea Salt
Peppercorns
For the soup:
Onion
Carrots
Celery
Dried Mixed Herbs
Fresh Parsley
Olive Oil
Ground Sea Salt
Ground Black Pepper
Chicken Bouillon Powder
There's no hard and fast rules here with regard to quantities, just do it by eye. You can also add some other vegetables, leeks would make a good addition or any root vegetable. Soup is a great way to use up odd vegetables that you have left over. I often add cubed potatoes too which makes it a meal in bowl.
METHOD
1) Cook the chicken by poaching which also produces some fantastic golden liquor for the soup. Place the chicken in a big pan, cover with cold water, add the garlic cloves, bay leaf, sea salt and peppercorns. Bring to the boil and then turn it down a little. A foamy scum will start to float. Use a slotted spoon to remove it. Repeat this until you don't see any more coming up. Now put the lid on and turn the heat down so that it continues to simmer for 1½ hrs. You'll know the chicken is cooked when all you have to do is touch the skin with your spoon and the skin breaks. Remove the chicken and set aside in a dish to cool, pouring back into the pan any liquid that escaped. Strain the liquid and set aside to cool, preferably overnight.
2) When the chicken is cool enough to handle remove all the meat from the carcass and set aside. Place all the bones, skin and any other waste into a pan and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil then turn down the heat and simmer for at least one hour, preferably two. Keep an eye on it to make sure that it doesn't boil dry and add more water as necessary.
3) Whilst the stock is simmering prepare all your vegetables, adding all the vegetable peelings and waste to the stock pot (pan with the bones in). Chop all the vegetables quite small. I use a food processor and the pulse function so that they are not over chopped. Place all the vegetables in a pan along with a little oil, salt and dried herbs and on a medium heat sweat for about 5 minutes until they start to soften. Add water, just enough to cover the vegetables, bring to the boil and simmer for about 10 minutes or until they are cooked and a lot of the liquid has evaporated. Set aside to cool.
4) Time to turn your attention to the meat that you have set aside. I usually save the breast meat and use that to make another meal. It can be used for a quick curry, a pie filling, a salad etc. The remainder of the meat I shred into reasonably small pieces and reserve some of that for sandwiches, the rest for the soup. One chicken can provide you with quite a few meals.
5) Now to the stock pan. Place a colander over another pan and tip the contents of the stock pan into it to strain the liquid from the carcass etc. Discard the waste and set liquid aside to cool, preferably overnight.
Note: The reason I say to let the stock cool overnight is because as it cools any fat and scum sits in a layer on the top making it very easy to remove. The stock from boiling the bones will cool and form a jelly, again with a top layer of fat and scum which is easy to remove with a spoon. Any small bits of bone will have sunk to the bottom too and so are easy to discard. If you start the cooking process in the morning then there should be enough time for the stocks to cool and you can serve the soup in the evening. At this point you should have all the components of the soup set aside ready for assembly later..
Poaching liquor
Stock
Cooked chicken
Cooked vegetables
6) Take your cooled cooking liquor and stock and remove the top layer of fat / scum that has formed. Put the cooking liquor, stock jelly and softened vegetables into a pan and bring to the boil. It is important that it boils. Add more water if necessary so that the soup has the desired consistency. Add bouillon powder and seasoning to taste.
7) Finally add the shredded chicken and freshly chopped parsley and simmer for a few minutes to make sure the chicken is thoroughly reheated. Serve and enjoy!
NB: To make this quickly using bouillon powder and cooked chicken prepare and cook the vegetables as above. Then just add water until you get the desired consistency and add stock powder and seasoning to taste. Finally adding the cooked chicken and parsley. If you use stock cubes instead of bouillon powder buy Knorr stock cubes or similar. Don't use Oxo chicken cubes, they are better for chicken gravy.
TIP: This is a great soup if you're on a diet. There's very little fat, just lots of vegetables and protein and it is very filling.
VARIATIONS
NB: To make this quickly using bouillon powder and cooked chicken prepare and cook the vegetables as above. Then just add water until you get the desired consistency and add stock powder and seasoning to taste. Finally adding the cooked chicken and parsley. If you use stock cubes instead of bouillon powder buy Knorr stock cubes or similar. Don't use Oxo chicken cubes, they are better for chicken gravy.
TIP: This is a great soup if you're on a diet. There's very little fat, just lots of vegetables and protein and it is very filling.
VARIATIONS
You can make this a Cream of Chicken & Vegetable Soup by turning down the heat at the end and adding a tub of cream.
You can also make Cream of Chicken Soup by leaving out all the vegetables apart from the onion. Just make sure the onions are chopped extremely finely or when cooked blitz them into the stock using a hand blender directly in the pan. Then add the cooked chicken and heat through, then turn down the heat and add a tub of cream and fresh parsley. For Creme of Chicken and Mushroom Soup add some chopped mushrooms before adding the cooked chicken and cook for a few minutes, then add the cooked chicken, cream and parsley.
You can also make Cream of Chicken Soup by leaving out all the vegetables apart from the onion. Just make sure the onions are chopped extremely finely or when cooked blitz them into the stock using a hand blender directly in the pan. Then add the cooked chicken and heat through, then turn down the heat and add a tub of cream and fresh parsley. For Creme of Chicken and Mushroom Soup add some chopped mushrooms before adding the cooked chicken and cook for a few minutes, then add the cooked chicken, cream and parsley.