FLOWER POT KITCHEN: FOOL PROOF YORKSHIRE PUDDINGS

3 Apr 2015

FOOL PROOF YORKSHIRE PUDDINGS

Such an easy recipe, the real key to success every time is in the method! This batter likes to be made around an hour before it is needed and left resting at room temperature, I have tried so many various methods with hit and miss results and since I found this one it has never let me down, I use this recipe for yorkshire puddings, toad in the hole and as a base for pancakes.

Prep time 5 minutes / Resting time 40 minutes / Cooking time 20 minutes

Ingredients

(makes 10)

200g free range organic eggs

200g plain whisked flour

200g room temperature full fat milk

pinch of sea salt and white pepper

10 tsp dripping

Take the eggs and with a balloon whisk beat in a large jug, add the whisked flour, whisked saves you having to sieve, it does the same job without the mess, whisk until you have a thick smooth mixture, add the milk, salt and pepper and gently whisk until completely incorporated, if you want to ensure no lumps at this stage you can strain through a sieve. Leave to rest on the side at room temperature for around 40 minutes.

about twenty minutes before you are ready to cook the yorkshires, pre-heat your oven to 200-220 degrees, when you are ready place a tsp of dripping in each batter tin and place in the oven to get really hot, now the next part is very important to ensure successfully high risen light and crispy yorkshire puddings.

When you are ready to add the batter to the tin, have the batter jug ready to hand, remove the batter tin from the oven as fast and safely as possible, remember hot fat, close the oven door quickly keeping all the heat in, pour in the batter in to the yorkshire tin again as fast as you can and gently without bashing the batter tin pop it back in the oven closing the door gently! Phew!

Under no circumstances can you open the oven door! If you do your yorkshire puddings will drop and become heavy batter puddings. If you have cranked your oven up to 220 degrees, after 5 minutes turn the heat to 200 degrees no lower, these gorgeous light crispy yorkshire puddings should be ready around 18-20 minutes later, you can tell without opening the oven door, you are looking for a medium light brown even colouring all over and twice the height of the tin.

You can use these as an alternative to bread, tear one open and layer in some medium rare beef and drizzle over some horseradish mixed with creme fraiche and some crispy fried onions.

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LIFE MY PASSION

Welcome to my daily life of cooking, one winters day many years ago my family and I were all inspired by a back to back rainy day of River Cottage this got us to stop talking about and start actually doing, suddenly three weeks later eight vegetable beds were dug, greenhouse erected and our first vegetables were propagating, this was the start to raising and growing our own food, our fabulous son Oscar changed our path in life which lead us to sell our small thriving restaurant of 10 yrs and to start our new life (Terrifying!) a life of the self sufficient in touch with nature and seasons, taking a step back and looking forward to a slower change of pace and making the most of every moment.

My passion for cooking was stronger than ever and having time at home with Oscar I found I had a new direction and I was no longer striving for perfection, I was suddenly very passionate for the enjoyment of the other side of food, something I had not realised, being the Chef/Cook and every other duty of your own small restaurant made me see that I never actually took time to cook what I wanted!

So there I was muddy boots and hands digging deep in more than one sense and I found myself transported back in time to where everyone grew some of their own food, it is a wonderful world with a real sense of achievement and loss, Slugs Snails and Caterpillars! But thats another story! Childhood memories of summers when I lived with my grand parents reminded me of so much that I had learnt about the make do and mend generation that I had forgotten.

Now as a family we love our free wild food days where we gather what nature has provided, have gone from being mini mini garden urban small holders, who did raised pigs at home because we could not wait to find land and supporting ourselves from our garden to now owning a very small farm that allows us to grow more vegetables for the whole of our family and neighbours, raise our own gorgeous Gloucestershire Old Spot pigs, (Sausages!) and pets! Dorset Down sheep, chickens for eggs and pet goats! Suddenly having large quantities of produce started to wake up the Cook in me!

The Cook was awake that part of me that wants to cook for the masses and I found myself setting up Flowerpot Kitchen, a Farmers Market Stall, I wanted to use our honest raised meats and make old fashioned pork pies, rabbit pies and game pies from the local game keeper along with old fashioned techniques and the best hot water crust pastry. This in turn grew to a small cottage industry from home weekly supplying three farm shops and a deli along with also attending three farmers markets A few years later there came a time when my son Oscar's health changed and it was an easy decision to stop.

I still hold the occasional pop up 40 seater restaurant or gourmet lunch which we do for local charities for the love of sharing food and to remind that Cook in me why I love our go slower self sufficient life!

So here I am sitting amoung the vegetables watching the chickens loving that every season nature teaches me something new and that nature is in charge! She has taught me to just go with it and grow. Give it a try from a tray of salad on your windowsill to a few tomato plants it all counts.