RASPBERRY TRIFLE THE BEST EVER

You just cannot beat good old fashioned food, there is a reason it is iconic, saying that this recipe has been returned back to days gone by where each layer is made to the highest level of flavour, not like the trifle we got as kids from packets of jelly, powdered birds custard, tinned fruit and processed sponge fingers, this trifle will give you the most glorious sumptuous eating pleasure of each layer individually or all together and boy does it just do that!

Prep & Cooking Time 1 hour

Ingredients

(serves 6-8)

For The Sponge Base

250g caster sugar

8 egg yolks

250g self raising flour

60g butter melted

Raspberry Jelly

500g water

500g caster sugar

1 kg raspberries

10 gelatine leaves

Madeira Custard

1 ltr double cream

120g caster sugar

200g egg yolks

100ml Madeira or Bristol cream

10 gelatine leaves

Chantilly Cream

300g double cream

50g icing sugar

Garnish

hundreds and thousands

baby mint leaves

First make the sponge base, put the egg yolks and sugar in to your mixer or bowl and electric mixer and whisk for 12 minutes until light and fluffy and ribbons trial, in a shallow grease proof lined tin pour in the batter to a depth of one inch thick, place in a pre heated oven 180 degrees for 8 minutes, remove and place on a cooling rack, repeat with any left over cake batter.  Once cooled trim the sponge to fit the base of your mould tightly.

Next to make the jelly put the gelatine leaves in cold water and reserve to one side, next place the sugar and water in a pan and bring to a gentle simmer, add the raspberries reserving the amount you will need to stand in rows in your mould.  Simmer for ten minutes then drain the liquid through a sieve and press through as much of the raspberries as possible back in to the pan and place back on the heat, add the soaked gelatine leaves, whisk in, take off the heat and transfer to your cold bowl from the fridge and leave to start to set, when this is still only just pourable stand the raspberries on the sponge base in your mould and pour over the jelly 3/4 of the way up the raspberries, pop in the fridge to set further.

Now to make the custard, place the gelatine in a bowl of cold water, then place the egg yolks and sugar in your mixer and whisk until light and fluffy, meanwhile place the double cream in a saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer, add the Madeira or Bristol cream then while whisking all the time pour the double cream over the eggs and sugar then pour back in to your saucepan and place back on a low heat and cook for a couple of minutes, add the gelatine leaves and whisk in, then pass the custard through a sieve and place in the fridge to start cooling.  When your custard is starting to set and is still only just pourable pour over the jelly layer in your mould and leave to set.

Finally make the Chantilly cream by whisking the icing sugar in to the cream and then whisking the cream until thick, scoop in to a piping bag and pop in the fridge to firm up.  Once your custard has set pipe on the cream and finish with a generous sprinkling of hundreds and thousands and the pretty little mint leaves for decoration pop back in the fridge to set for at lease one hour and enjoy.

BREAST OF LAMB ROASTED

HOME RAISED AND GROWN SELF SUFFICIENT DINNERS

This has to be one of our top favourite dinners of all time, the crispy lamb crackling is just divine and the old fashioned meat flavour of slow grown organic outdoor reared rare breed lamb really is outstanding, this is not seen as a prime cut of the lamb, but it really should be even more so that there is only two portions per lamb making this a rare treat.

Prep time 10 minutes / Cooking time 45 minutes

Ingredients

(serves 2)

1 breast of lamb on or off the bone

4 King Edward potatoes peeled and halved in water

1 tbsp lamb dripping or any fat

4 carrots peeled and rough chopped

1 bunch spinach

1 bunch nero kale

Roasting Juices Pan Gravy

200ml port

30g butter

1 tsp red current jelly

roasting pan juices

Pre heat your oven to 200 degrees F / 390 C, place the pan of water with the potatoes in to boil and simmer for 10 minutes, remove the potatoes from the water and turn off the heat keeping the water in the pan, add the carrots and leave until later, place the roasting pan with the lamb fat in to the oven for five minutes to melt and heat the pan, add the potatoes to the pan and turn over so they are coated in the fat, pop in the oven to roast for 45 minutes, turning half way through.  

Meanwhile open out your breast of lamb, season with sea salt and place on a wire rack, place this wire rack on top of your roasting tin in the oven, this is so that all the lamb fat and juices that are rendered down during cooking with baste the potatoes giving you extra flavour.

When cooking time is up take the breast of lamb out and leave to rest for five minutes before serving, this is when you can make the gravy and finish cooking the carrots and greens by turning the heat up to high on the carrot saucepan and just before serving add the greens and turn off the heat these are now ready to serve.

Place the port, butter and red current jelly in a saucepan and bring to a simmer, drain off all the fat and juices from the roasting pan in to a bowl spoon off any excess fat in to another bowl and reserve this for next time you roast something, add the left cooking juices to the port and stir in, serve up the potatoes and then pour the port gravy in to the roasting pan, using a spatula scrape all the lovely caramelised bits off the bottom of the pan in to the gravy, pour in to a serving jug.

Enjoy...

OREGANO AND MINT LAMB KOFTE KEBAB

HOME GROWN AND RAISED

Fabulous little number, our own organic loved pampered and raised lamb mince seasoned with fresh oregano and garden mint, salt and pepper is all it takes for a lip smacking gorgeous face stuffing kebab, served topped with shredded carrots, spring onions and leeks from the garden and beetroot relish and pickled chillies from the canning cupboard, wrapped in a oregano, mint and turmeric unleven flat bread and finished off with a drizzle of homemade speedy made in just one minute cold pressed olive oil mayonnaise, another great self sufficient dinner.

Prep Time 10 minutes / Flat Breads Proving 1 hr / Cooking Time 7 minutes

Ingredients

(serves 4)

The Kebab

500g organic lamb mince

2 tbsp fresh garden mint torn

1 tbsp fresh oregano chopped

Sea salt

Fresh ground black pepper

For The Kebab Toppings

2 carrots shredded

2 spring onions sliced

1 leek sliced

4 tbsp beetroot relish

(quick recipe below)

8 pickled kebab chillies

Speedy Mayonnaise

1 egg yolk

1tsp white wine vinegar

200ml cold pressed olive oil

sea salt

white pepper

1 tsp Dijon mustard

For The Flat Bread

500g organic 00 flour

50ml cold pressed olive oil

320g filtered water

10g sea salt

1 tbsp fresh oregano

1 tbsp fresh mint

1/2 tsp fresh grated turmeric

First make the flat bread dough by placing all the ingredients in a large bowl if making by hand or in your mixers bowl and using a dough hook or your hands mix for 7 minutes until you have a elastic dough ball, then cover with a tea towel and leave to prove for 1 hour.

Place the minced lamb in a large bowl and add the sea salt, black pepper, mint and oregano, mix well with your hands and divide in to four equal portions, shape each portion in to a long sausage and place in the fridge until needed.  

To cook pan fry on a medium hot heat and sear each side then turn the heat down to medium and turn every minute, add 50ml of water to the frying pan and pop a lid on or a plate and leave to finish cooking for another minute, take off the heat and leave to rest for a couple of minutes while you cook the flat breads.

Take the flat bread dough and divide in to 8 balls, toss in a little flour and at this point I freeze 4 ready to use another time, all you have to do is defrost and leave the dough to come up to room temperature and then as you are now roll out each dough ball to the size of a dinner plate, heat a dry frying pan to a hot heat and place the flat bread in the pan, turn after one minute and cook the other side for a further minute, wrap the cooked breads in a warm tea towel while you cook the remaining breads.

To make the speedy mayonnaise place the egg yolk and white wine vinegar in a glass jug and add a very very slow constant drizzle of oil and start whisking, don't stop whisking and keep adding the oil once your egg yolk has started to thicken you can add the oil at a faster pace, once all the oil is incorporated add the Dijon mustard and season with the sea salt and white pepper.  Store in the fridge until needed, any left over mayo will keep for a week in the fridge.

I like to serve these kebabs family style with a stack of flat breads and lamb koftes on the table and bowls of shredded carrot, onion, leek, beetroot relish, mayonnaise and chillies and let the great family memories be made over great food.

Quick Beetroot Relish

1 cooked peeled grated beetroot

1 tbsp white wine vinegar

1 tsp sugar

Heat the vinegar and sugar for just a moment to dissolve the sugar, take off the heat and add the grated beetroot, stir to combine and leave to one side to infuse, that's it.