RECIPES FOR A CAULIFLOWER GLUT

A glut of cauliflower hit UK supermarkets earlier this spring and everyone was looking for unusual but delicious ways of cooking it

Cauliflower (Stock Photo)

Cauliflower is a brassica like broccoli or cabbage but milder in flavour.  Like all veg, it's good for you.  What won't be good is overcooking it -- it could end top soggy and it won't smell nice. At all. 

67 loves cauliflower, lightly streamed till al dente (with a bit of a bite in the middle) and served simply with lemon juice, pepper & salt.

But it's also great dressed up in various disguises: Asian or Italian or Indian or even good old English doused in a creamy cheese sauce.  67 is not a fan of ersatz uses of cauliflower (cauli rice or pizza bases, no thanks!).

These two recently posted recipes, however, do bear repeating.  They're wonderful!

Stir-fried cauliflower with mange tout, bell peppers & pork or chicken is a delicious melange of crisp and soft veg with tender, juicy meat.  It takes only minutes to prepare.  And it's great for slimmers - filling, low carb and low-fat.

This cauliflower dish is unusual in that it has a tomato sauce, not a cream one.  But my goodness it is delicious.  And if there are kidults in the household who've taken against veg, the Cauliflower & Tomato Casserole even tastes like pasta.

For more Vegetable dishes go to Recipes on the Nav Bar 

                        

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These recipes have been developed by B  Lee/ Bright Sun Enterprises and may not be reproduced, in any form, without the author's written permission.     

MOTHER'S DAY: SLOW-ROASTED ONE- STOP PORK DINNER

Beautifully tender one-stop pork dinner with all the trimmings that basically cooks itself... 

   Pork roast in one pan
Pork shoulder is well & good but belly pork makes a great roast, too

What a treat it is to have a roast dinner with all the trimmings. What a joy if the meat is a less expensive but delicious cut.  And what bliss if all it basically involves is turning the oven on and wrapping a few veg.

With pork belly roasts on special at M&S for about £7 and shjoulder roasts a tenner, Mothers Day may be the time to test this easy roast dinner.  

Exquisite crackling requires a bit of fiddly prep (well worth it!!) but the one-stop method of roasting makes life easy.  The meat and several veg are ready at the same time and saves on fuel costs.

The prep starts the day before serving.  

Ingred:
    1 kilo/2lb belly pork (with scored crackling)
    salt
    water or stock
    up to 1/4 cup/60 ml armagnac/apple cider/apple juice (opt)

    2 med onion
    2 sticks celery
    
    2 small eating apples, unpeeled but cored & cut into 8ths
    butter
    cinnamon

    Vegetables - all wrapped individually in foil with a couple of tablespoon water (not potatoes): 

    potatoes
    carrots
    cabbage (opt)   
    broccoli (opt)
    peas (opt)
    corn (opt)

Equipment: one roasting tray with baking rack, foil or parchment paper, a small oven tray

Method:

The day before:

1. If the crackling hasn't been scored, take a very sharp knife and draw parallel lines in the fat down to, but not into, the flesh.  The lines should be 1/2 inch/1 cm apart.
2. Boil a kettle.  Place the pork on a rack in a tray and pour boiling water over the crackling layer.  Discard the water; remove tray and turn the pork upside down so the crackling layer rests on the bottom. Pour in sufficient boiling water to cover the fat layer but not the flesh; leave 20 mins. (Bear with here; these are butchers' instructions and worth the effort).  Drain.
3. Refrigerate overnight crackling side up, uncovered 

On the day:

1. Preheat oven to 160C/320F
2. Rub crackling with light layer salt, pushing it into the cracks; lightly pepper & salt the flesh; cut onions in thin wedges, add with celery in the bottom of the baking pan
3. Place the joint on a rack crackling side up; pour in 1/2 cup/125  ml water with a generous slug armagnac, white wine, apple cider or apple juice
4. Roast 3-4 hours;  do not baste.  If top looks in danger of burning, cover with foil.
5. 1.5 hours before end of cooking, place potatoes next to meat
6. Wrap apples in a piece of foil or greaseproof with a tablespoon of butter and a couple of pinches of cinnamon; place alongside meat or on oven floor 
7. Wrap vegetables in individual packets of foil or greaseproof paper. Place root veg alongside meat, or if not enough room, on oven floor 
8. 45 mins before the end of cooking, place broccoli corn/peas on oven floor 
9. When the roast is done pull away the crackling.  Cover meat with foil; rest 10-15 mins. Turn off oven, leaving veg inside.
10. Break or cut crackling into bite size pieces; place in separate serving dish
11. Remove as much fat as possible from the the juices in the pan; place over med heat; add a bit of water and scrape away at the bits on the bottom.  Strain, mashing onions & celery to maximise flavour; keep warm.  (For a thicker gravy, add a slurry of 2 tbsp cornflour mixed with 2 tbsp cold water, stirring until blended)
12. Serve apple in wedges or as mashed applesauce
13. Arrange meat, veg, fruit & crackling on a large platter

Tips:

• For a pork shoulder of 2 kilos, double cooking time but check 3/4 of the way through.  The meat should be tender but still sliceable
• This method of one-pan roasting will also work with a chicken or joint of beef but  the cooking time will be much reduced.

                           

                   More Meat on Nav Bar: Recipes II ...

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This reipe has been developed by B  Lee/ Bright Sun Enterprises and may not be reproduced, in any form, without the author's written permission.  

MOTHER'S DAY: ULTRA EASY DOUBLE DIPPED FRENCH TOAST

So easy the kids can make it; perfect for breakfast on a tray 

(from the archive)

Double-Dipped Crunchy French Toast

This breakfast is so simple, kids can make it.

It's a twist on the family favorite 'eggy bread' but double dipped for crunchiness and flavour.  

All that's needed is bread & egg, and a bit of vanilla, sugar and cinnamon.  An extra slice will definitely not break the bank.

Cost: 50 pence
Makes: 2 slices

Ingredients:
   2 slices thick day-old wholemeal bread or a split croissant, baguette or torpedo roll
   1 large egg
   1 tbsp milk
   1/2-1 tbsp brown sugar
   1/2 tsp vanilla extract

   1 mug breadcrumbs, either home-made OR the best Panko crumbs you can afford
   1/2 to 1 tbsp brown sugar
   1/2 tsp cinnamon
   pinch nutmeg (opt)

   Butter 
   Icing sugar (opt)

Method:

1. Put a non-stick frypan on to medium high heat
2. In a flat bowl, beat together egg, milk, sugar and vanilla
3. On a separate tray, mix breadcrumbs with sugar and cinnamon
4. When pan is ready, turn down heat to medium; add a generous tablespoon butter 
5. Dip bread in egg on both sides; allow to soak up the liquid without getting soggy
6. Using a fish slice, drop the bread in the breadcrumbs; pressing crumbs on until both sides are evenly coated
7. Place in the frying pan; after 4 mins, the bread should be crisp and golden 
8. Add a touch more butter; flip the bread; cook 2-3 mins
9. If the frying pan is big enough, fry both slices together;  otherwise keep first slice warm while cooking the second
10. Serve sprinkled with icing sugar (opt) with a side of jam, honey or maple syrup and/or fresh berries

Tip:

• For an even crunchier finish, replace breadcrumbs with bashed breakfast cereal 
• if you liked this, you'll like 67's Bread & Butter Puddings in the Baking section of Recipes on the Nav Bar

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This recipe has been developed by B M Lee/ Bright Sun Enterprises.  It may not be reproduced without the author's written permission.  

MOTHER'S DAY: DAIRY & YOLK FREE DARK CHOCOLATE MOUSSE, Low-fat

Perfect for women everywhere, at any time: Deeply, darkly chocolate but low-fat & dairy free

(first posted 2016)

 Dark Chcocolate Mousse (adapted from Hotel Chocolat)

'Gorgeous!  Beautiful!  Tasted better for lack of cream and egg yolks.  There was no way I was sharing this with anyone else!' 

This light, lovely chocolate mousse is a boon on Mother's Day - extremely delicious and healthier than most.  It is also one of the few vegetarian desserts that 67 carnivores adore.

The recipe comes from Hotel Chocolate, a British chocolatier and cocoa grower; it  has no diary or egg yolks and only a small amount of added sugar.   

That doesn't mean it's healthy -- there's too much chocolate for that -- but it does mean you get great taste and texture for fewer than usual of the bad things.  If you're used to mousses with the richness of double cream and egg yolks, a couple of tablespoons of liqueur, expresso or concentrated frozen orange juice peps it up no end.

67's budget allowed for Lindt's 70% dark chocolate; the cost conscious can use Bourneville. 

Cost: around £2.50; more if using artisan chocolate  
Feeds: 4-5

Ingred:
   
    150gm 70% (preferred) dark chocolate
     
     6 egg whites (keep yolks for another recipe; they will freeze)
     pinch of salt
     1/4 tsp lemon juice

     35g caster sugar
     1 tsp vanilla extract
      
      Flavouring: 1-2 tbsp brandy, orange liqueur, expresso or concentrated frozen orange juice

      Garnish:  shaved chocolate (about 30 gms)

Method

1. Melt chocolate in a large bowl over simmering water; stir.  Take off heat; if adding flavour, do it here; keep chocolate warm. 
2. In another large bowl, beat egg whites, salt & lemon juice with hand or stand electric beaters until the whites form soft peaks - maybe 5 mins?.  Add vanilla, then - a tablespoon at a time - sugar, beating after each addition until the whites form moderately stiff peaks (ie they hold their shape and won't fall out of the bowl if the bowl tips) 
3. Chocolate should be warm but not hot; add one third of  egg whites to the chocolate; gently hand whisk until blended.
4. Add the rest of the egg whites to the chocolate and fold, (cutting down the centre with a spatula and up the sides, turning the bowl continually to the right as you go.) You are aiming to keep the air in while making sure there are no white streaks.
5. Fold in shaved chocolate (opt) or use it to decorate the edges as in photo
6. If dairy isn't a problem, serve with whipped cream with a half teaspoon vanilla stirred through

                                              
Hotel Chocolat chocolate is considered one of the top UK chocolate producers and has its own plantation on St Lucia.