Open Table

YORKSHIRE PUDDINGS

Rich has been away with work this week so we thought we would have a big sunday lunch.  We had a family conference and voted for Roast Chicken.

We bumped into some great friends in church and invited them to join us with their three children.  It was wonderfully chaotic, with five children under five.

I love noisy sunday lunches, there is nothing more fun than sitting down with the children to enjoy a roast with lots of trimmings.  Our families favorite trimming, which we tend to have with every roast we cook, is yorkshire pudding. 

I tend to cook more chicken then needed as I love making Coronation Chicken sandwiches with the left overs for a quick dinner on a sunday evening ... before I go and make the sandwiches, here is my Yorkshire recipe:

YORKSHIRE PUDDINGS - Makes 24

Ingredients

150g Plain flour, 300ml Whole milk, 2 Eggs, 1 Teaspoon of salt, Olive oil

Equipment

2 x 12 hole muffin trays

• Mix the flour, milk, eggs and salt together and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.  
• Turn the oven to 200
• Place half a teaspoon of olive oil into each of the 24 holes of the muffin tray.  Place the trays in the oven for five minutes until the oil is boiling.  
• After five minutes carefully remove the trays from the oven and add the batter on top of the oil, the batter should fill three quarters of the muffin hole. 
• Return the pan to the middle of the oven for 15-20 minutes till the batter is golden and has puffed up
• Once ready serve with your roast

Cooking notes

The secret to well risen yorkshire pudding is to have very hot oil and keep the door closed while cooking.  Be aware that the hot oil may spit when you add the batter to the roasting dish.  

You leave the batter to rest to allow the gluten in the flour to relax, this makes the batter tender.  If you don’t allow the batter to relax the yorkshire pudding will be slightly tough and rubbery.

I tend to make quite a few yorkshire puddings as my family love them.  If you only want 12 then use half the ingredients.  If your eggs are very large you may have a little batter left over, if this happens you can make a couple of extra ones to have with seconds. 

Adapting

If you want to add a bit of a kick to the batter add a tablespoon of whole grain mustard.

 

 

 

RED ONION AND GOATS CHEESE TART

I had a very exciting morning this morning.  I bumped into my friend Gemma and her beautiful baby girl.  

She made my day telling me she had not only subscribed to Open Table but baked Banana Cake ... and Beef Curry was on the menu for tonight.  

It was so exciting to hear she had tried and enjoyed a recipe.  So ... a big thank you Gemma.

And a request to anyone else reading or using Open Table ... if you have any comments ... good or constructive ... I would love to hear them.  There is a comments tab at the bottom of each recipe.

... to celebrate I bought the ingredients for one of my favorite recipes ... and Thea and I seem to have eaten almost half of it writing this post ... ops!

I serve it with a dressed green salad.  (My dressing recipe can be found under sauces & dressings in the categories section ...)

RED ONION AND GOATS CHEESE TART - Serves 4

Ingredients

320g Pre-rolled puff pastry, 2 Medium red onions, 100g Goats Cheese, 50g Gruyere, Olive oil, Salt and Pepper

• Slice the onions and place in a frying pan on a low heat with a generous slug of olive oil.  
• Stirring every couple of minutes, cook the onions on a low heat for about 20-25 minutes until they are soft and taste sweet.  Five minutes before the end of the cooking time season the onions with salt and pepper
• Preheat the oven to 200
• Place some reusable baking paper on to a baking sheet and unroll the pastry on to the baking paper
• You now want to create the side for your tart.  To do this score a line all the way round the pastry, 2cm in from the edge, you will create a 2cm frame in the pastry.  When you score you just want to cut a couple of millimeters into the pastry, do not cut through it.
• You now fill the tart.  Making sure you do not put ingredients on the 2cm frame, spread out the onions inside the frame of the tart, crumble the goats cheese over the onions and then sprinkle finely grated Gruyere over the top of both
• Place the tart in the oven for about 20 minutes.  Once the pastry has puffed up and turned golden and crisp, remove from the oven and serve

Cooking notes

I tend to use jusrol puff pastry for this as it is stocked in my local shop.  Their piece of ready rolled puff is 23cm x 36cm.  If you are using another brand or making your own then these are the dimensions to work to.

If you have a very hot oven turn it down slightly.  If you cook the tart to quickly you can end up with the pastry on the top of the tart cooked and the pastry under the toppings raw and soggy.

Adapting

If you don’t have Gruyere use Parmesan.

 

PANCAKES

We have a busy day ahead of us so a good breakfast was needed.  Pancakes are one of our favorite breakfast time treats, we all love them and the children love mixing the batter. 

PANCAKES - Makes 6

Ingredients 

100g Plain Flour, 2 Eggs, 300 ml Full fat milk, Orange, Caster sugar, Olive oil, Nutella (optional) 

• In a mixing bowl mix the flour, salt and 1 teaspoon of sugar
• In a jug beat the eggs and milk together
• Pour the milk into the flour and mix well.  Transfer the mixture back to the jug and store in the fridge for half an hour ... or as long as the children will cope with!
• When you are ready to cook add the rind and juice from half the orange into the mixture
• Put a frying pan on a medium heat, pour in some oil and spread it round the pan with a piece of kitchen towel (this removes excess oil from the pan)
• When the pan is really hot put a sixth of the mixture into the pan, tilt the pan quickly from side to side so the batter thins out, cook for about 1 minute till most of the mixture has changed from the batter colour to a slightly darker shade.  Once the pancake is almost all a shade darker flip and cook for about another minute till golden.  I normally sprinkle sugar on the pancake just after I flip it so it can melt slightly
• Transfer pancake to a plate and drizzle with the left over orange and more sugar if you have a sweet tooth ... or spread with Nutella

Cooking notes

Don’t be put off if the first pancake does not look very good and falls apart a bit ... they get better as you go on.

You leave the batter to rest to allow the gluten in the flour to relax, this makes the pancakes tender.  If you don’t allow the batter to relax the pancakes will be slightly tough and rubbery.

Adapting

If you are not keen on these toppings put what ever you fancy on them.  Here are some suggestions: maple syrup, blueberries, strawberries, wipped cream and bananas, toffee sauce ...