ESB's Restaurant brings us some treats to prepare in the New Year
Family treats for a tasty start to 2008
Shepherd’s pie
Serves 5-6
2 Pounds of premium ground
minced beef
3 large carrots peeled and diced in
small chunks
1 large onion finely diced
6 large potatoes peeled washed and
set aside for boiling
8 o/z Gravy mix
2 o/z Olive oil to fry onions
Dash of red wine
Seasoning pinch salt, pepper,
parsley and thyme chopped finely
1 Clove of Garlic chopped
3 o/z Grated cheddar cheese to mix into mash potato
Dash of milk and teaspoon of butter for mash
(Peas optional addition)
- Pre heat Oven to 200 gas mark 6
- In large deep pot, sauté chopped onions, garlic in olive oil on a medium heat.
- Meanwhile, boil carrots and potatoes until tender. Drain and set aside.
- Add ground mince beef to the onions and cook till brown, 10 minutes on medium heat Optional – add frozen peas to meat mixture at this stage and cook for 4 minutes.
- Add a dash of red wine, stir, and leave to cook for 2 minutes.
- Add seasoning, salt and pepper, fresh parsley and thyme; keep mixture warm on a low heat until needed.
When potatoes are boiled, soft and water drained off, using a potato masher break up all the potatoes add in the milk, butter, salt and pepper to taste until fluffy. In the large meat pot, stir in gravy until all ingrediance are coated, then transfer into large bake ware dish, spoon potatoes over mixture (for a nice effect use a piping bag for the potatoes) making sure to get into the edges then spread grated cheddar cheese over potatoes. Put the dish under a hot grill or into a preheated oven until cheese has melted and mash turns golden brown all over.
Helpful tip
Baked potatoes make the best mashed potatoes, smooth rich and creamy, with a few adjustments can also be quite low in fat. just substitute the milk for skimmed milk and the butter for vegetable stock.
Mango and Kiwi Pavlova
Topped with Minted
Strawberries and Passion
fruit
Serves 10
6 egg whites
10oz / 170g Caster Sugar
To make caramel meringues use the
same amount demera sugar instead of caster.
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 teaspoon vinegar
2 level teaspoons Cornflour
1 pint of whipping cream
1 Fresh Mango 2 kiwi and 2 passion
fruits, strawberries sliced
- Preheat oven 140°C / °572F / Gas mark 1-2 (depending on individual ovens)
- Draw an 8” circle on a piece of oiled greaseproof paper and place this on a baking sheet.
- Whisk the egg whites stiffly, add half the sugar and whisk until stiff again, fold in the remaining sugar gently.
- Add the essence, vinegar and cornflour. Spread the meringue over the circle and pile the mixture round the edges to form a case.
- Bake in the centre of the oven for approx. 1 hour, until firm, leave aside to cool. Carefully remove the paper and leave the meringue on a flat serving plate.
- Wash the mango first, dry and slice into 1 inch chunks, peel and slice the kiwi, cut the passion fruit in half and scoop out the contents and transfer into a small dish. Arrange some of the fruit in the meringue case, whip the cream in the usual way, spread the cream on top of the fruit and decorate with the remaining fruit and passion fruit. It’s best not to fill the meringue case with the fruit until you are ready to serve.
This meringue can be filled with any other fresh fruits which has the juice drained, ie. pineapple, peaches, or apricots. (Tip: When whisking egg whites make sure that the bowl and whisk are spotlessly clean and there is not a trace of egg yolk, otherwise the egg whites will not whisk properly).
