ROYAL PLATINUM JUBILEE CELEBRATIONS 2022

The Spread

Coronation chicken, mango jelly French hand raised pie, Yorkshire puddings with rare steak and horseradish cream, creamy coronation chicken, local hot smoked salmon dill and Dijon mayonnaise, egg mayo and Oscar’s home grown cress little gem cups, classic scotch eggs, macaroons, Oscar’s raspberry trifle, strawberries and cream and mango blueberry jelly and Bakewell tart 

A wonderful spread for our Queen’s 70th celebration of service to our country and commonwealths, family, dedication, loyalty, the future and fun!  Loved Paddington Bear and the Queen having tea and marmalade sandwiches at Buckingham Palace, who knew the Queen keeps her marmalade sandwich in her handbag!

Our family Jubilee table

A table of family history in food along with crockery, tea cups and old glasses from grandparents past, so the family was all there celebrating this wonderful event.

Homemade bunting Oscar our son asked me to make in his favourite colours with union and jack trimming.

A Showstopper Pie

 I love my old French pie tin usually this would be a French game pie but I use this pie tin for pork pies, turkey pies and now Coronation chicken. 

Ingredients 

(serves 6)

Hot Water Crust Pastry

600g strong plain flour

2 beaten eggs

7g Himalayan sea salt 

5g white pepper

1 tsp fresh chopped thyme

110g lard

110g butter

240ml water

Coronation Chicken Filling

1 kg chicken breast 1” diced pieces

2 tsp madras curry powder (recipe below if you want to make your own)

1/2 tsp turmeric

1 tsp Garam masala

1 red chilli diced

1/2 cup sultana's

3 tbsp mango chutney

2 tbsp fresh rough chopped coriander

A good pinch of sea salt and black pepper 

The Mango Jelly

500ml mango juice

6 gelatine leaves

Mix all the filling ingredients together and leave to marinate while you make the hot water crust.

The Pastry

To make the hot water crust is really simple place the lard, butter and water in a saucepan and melt without allowing a simmer, in a large mixing bowl place the flour, salt and ribbon through the beaten eggs, make a well in the centre and pour in the hot lard and butter mix, using a spoon gently bring together until just combined, using your hand knead the mix for a minute until smooth ish, form into a ball.

Setting The Pastry in the Tin
Grease your french pie tin or tin you are using with butter, divide one third of the pastry for the lid and decoration then either chill for 30 minutes, roll out your pastry to about the thickness of two pound coins and lay into the the tin and push the pastry into all the folds of the mould, OR you can form a ball, keep back 1/3 for the lid, then with the just made hot water crust, place in the centre of the tin and then push the pastry flat on the bottom which will make the pastry rise up the sides, push this into and up the sides of the mould until the pie tin is lined with the warm pastry.

Roll out the lid, place the tin on the pastry and cut round the base for the lid and make any decorations 

Fill your pie with the coronation chicken right to the top and press down to squeeze all the filling in, egg wash the rim of pastry and place the lid on crimping the edges, don’t go over the rim, if you do once the pie is cooked the crust will break off when you remove from the tin.  Make a hole in the center of the lid, this is so you can pour the mango jelly in.  Decorate and egg was the top of the pie.

Place the jubilee pie in a pre heated oven 200 C for half an hour, then lower the heat to 160 C for one hour, if the top is browning up too much cover with foil, remove the pie from the oven and as these French pie tins they are comprised of 3 pieces held together with clips, remove the clips and the two sides of the pie tin carefully, then glaze the whole pie with egg wash and place back in the oven to cook for a further 10-15 minutes.  Remove the pie from the oven and allow to cool, then place in the fridge until completely cold or overnight.

Mango Jelly

Place the gelatine leaves in a bowl of water to soften for 10 minutes, heat the mango juice until warm but don’t simmer, take off the heat add the gelatine leaves and stir until dissolved.  To fill the pie with your homemade jelly use a large syringe or tiny funnel and jug and pour the jelly in the hole at the center of the pie until it reaches the top of the hole then store in the fridge overnight to set the jelly, then your good to go, enjoy this glorious pork pie it is a outstanding pie.

Fabulous Yorkshire puddings with rare fillet steak and a creamy horseradish and crème fraich sauce.

Ingredients

(makes 10)

200g plain sieved flour

200g beaten eggs

200g full fat cold milk

1 tsp salt

6 tsp lard or beef drippings

1 tbsp salt

1 tbsp fresh ground black pepper

1 kg center cut fillet steak

1 jar horseradish 

1 tub crème fraiche

Watercress or micro greens for decoration

Beat the eggs into the flour and salt until a paste is formed, add the milk a third at a time whisking until no lumps.  Leave to rest in a cool place, ie by a open window on the side covered for at least 30 minutes and up to a couple of hours, alternatively you can keep in the fridge 24 hours before needed.

Heat your oven to 220 C / 430 F, place your Yorkshire pudding tin in the oven to heat up very hot, remove the tin once hot then as quickly as is safe remove the tin place half a teaspoon of fat in each well and place back in the oven to get super hot, around 5 minutes, meanwhile give the batter a whisk, remove the tin from the oven and super fast pour the batter two thirds of the way up the tin and get back in the oven as fast as possible, gently close the oven door and set your timer for 18 - 20 minutes, DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR, at 18 minutes when they look really raised and a lovely golden brown just open the door every so slightly, this is to let the steam out for the last 2 minutes so they remain tall and crispy, remove and place on a cooling rack if not serving immediately.

Sear the fillet steak all over in a pan with olive oil and a tbsp of butter, then pop the steak and pan in the oven, using a food probe cook until 48 C / 120 F for rare, leave to rest until cool before slicing.  Mix the horseradish and creme fraiche, then pop some in the Yorkshire pudding, top with the steak and a little more sauce then finish with some watercress.

The best most gorgeous old fashioned suet crust slow braised steak and Guinness mini pies.

These are my Piece de resistance at any party fabulous one bite slow braised chuck steak and ale pies encased in a light crumbly suet crust pastry awith a steak gravy chewy crust where the gravy bursts out while baking adding another level of flavour, there is never any of these little pies left over!

Ingredients 

(makes 36)

FOR THE BEST EVER LARD CRUST PASTRY

(This also makes 2 pie top crusts)

330g supreme self raising flour

100g cold butter grated

130g lard

Water as needed (150ml+)

1 tsp salt and white pepper 

2 eggs beaten for egg wash

Nan's Braised Steak

2 kg chuck steak cut 2" square chunks

 1 onion finely chopped

1 stick celery fine chopped

1 carrots finely chopped

2 clove garlic chopped

1 glug of ooil

50g butter

1 ltr rich beef stock

(homemade recipe below)

3 cans of Guinness 

2 tbsp mustard powder

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp curry powder

1 bay leaf 

1 tsp Himalayan sea salt 

1 tsp black pepper

1 tbsp butter

Pre heat your oven to 160 C, in a large casserole dish add the olive oil and butter, on a medium heat add the onions and soften for ten minutes, then add the garlic, carrot and celery and soften for a further five minutes, crank up the heat and add the diced rump steak and let the steak catch a little browning off ever so slightly and catching the bottom of the pan creating more flavour, add the Guinness, stock, mustard, cayenne, curry powder and bay leaf, top up with water if needed to cover the meat by a inch, pop on a lid and place in the oven to slowly cook for 3-4 hrs, when your chuck steak will fall apart when gently squeezed it's done.  Remove from the oven add the salt, pepper and butter.  Leave to cool before filling your pies.

The pastry will need to rest in the fridge for at half an hour before rolling.  Place all the ingredients except the water in a large bowl and very gently mix so that the ingredients are incorporated evenly, you do not want to over work the mix as this will make it tough in texture and this pastry is the best ever because it is light and crispy with a flakey texture finished off with a hint of almost dumpling flathat soaks up the gorgeous braise stake gravy.  Add the water probably 150ml ish and gently bring the pastry mix together to form a ball, wrap in baking paper and rest in the fridge for half an hour.

Cut 1/3 off your pastry ball, this is for the pie lids, roll out the larger piece of pastry on a lightly floured work top to as thin as you dare, using a standard scone cutter cut 36 circles, roll out the remaining pastry using a half size smaller cutter again cut 36 lids.  Taking your trays and butter each mini pie hole, place the base circles in the pie moulds, brush all the pastry edges with egg wash, fill with a couple of teaspoons of your cold braised steak and press on the pastry lid.  Egg wash the tops of the pies and bake in the oven for 40 minutes, once cooked leave to cool in the tins for a couple of minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool or enjoy hot and fresh.

Homemade Roasted Beef Bone Stock

3 kg beef bones and marrow bones from butchers

2 carrots roughly chopped

2 onions quarterd skin on

6 cloves garlic bashed

1 stick celery bashed

10 whole peppercorns

1 tsp Himalayan sea salt 

1 bay leaf

3 sprigs fresh thyme

Water to cover the bones approx 4-6 ltrs

Either left over Sunday roasted beef bones or roast all the bones from the butchers for a hour or so then place in a large casserole dish, add the rest of the ingredients and cover with water, simmer very gently not a excitable bubble for around 4 hours, leave to cool slightly then strain and make sure to spoon out all the bone marrow jelly from the bones in to the strained stock, return to the pan and reduce down to about 1ltr this is a glorious abundance of flavour to add to your braised steak.

Coronation Chicken

Known as Reine Elizabeth in Buckingham Palace this dish was created for the Queens Coronation QE 11 in 1953 by Cordon Bleu chef and teacher Rosemary Hume and florist Constance Spry.  A Regal treat, in 1953 chicken was the most expensive meat and suitably short on supply as rationing was still in place.  The inclusion of sultanas was a decedent treat in 1953.

My recipe has a little more Va Va Voom with more spice but still keeping this light and fresh but packed full of flavour.

Ingredients

(serves 8)

4 chicken breasts diced

100ml mango juice

1 mango diced finely

1 small onion finely chopped

1 garlic finely chopped

1 glug olive oil

1 tsp butter

100g mayonnaise

100g mango jelly

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1 tsp garam masala

1 tbsp madras curry powder

1/2 cup chopped fresh coriander

1/2 lime juiced

30g toasted sliced almonds

1/2 cup sultanas 

Sea salt and black pepper

1 spring onion finely chopped

1 red chilli optional

Place the butter and olive oil in a pan and soften the onion and garlic for five minutes, add the mango and cook for a further five minutes, add the chicken and cook half way then add the mango juice and finish cooking the chicken, remove the chicken from the saucepan and reserve to one side, turn up the heat a little and reduce to a thick sauce, take off the heat and add the chicken back to the saucepan.

Add the rest of the ingredients and combine, taste and adjust the seasoning to taste.

Egg and Cress Mayonnaise

Ingredients

(serves 8)

6 boiled eggs 

4-6 tbsp mayonnaise

1 flat tsp Dijon mustard

Sea salt and white pepper

Cress

Little gems lettuce leaves

Bring a pan of water to a boil, pop your eggs in and time exactly 6 minutes seconds, as soon as the timer goes off drain the eggs and fill the pan with cold water a couple of times, peel and mash with a fork, add the mayonnaise, mustard and season with salt and pepper to taste, fill the little gems with the egg mayonnaise and top with cress.

Local Oak Smoked Salmon

Our local fisheries has a hot smoker and their salmon is divine, served on a dill cream cheese and little gem lettuce leaf.

Ingredients

500g local hot smoked salmon

100g mayonnaise

2 sprigs of dill frongs

1 little gem lettuce

Mix the mayo and dill frongs, place a generous spoon full in the lettuce cup, place the salmon on top and garnish with a dill frong.

A Classic Bakewell Tart in a Tea Cup

LOVELY MOIST SOFT ALMOND CAKE LAYERED WITH MARZIPAN & JAM

Ingredients

(makes 3 teacups)

115g butter melted
115g caster sugar
2 eggs
2 egg yolks

90g plain flour

115g ground almonds
toasted flaked almonds
1 tsp almond essence
6 tbsp raspberry jam
100g marzipan rolled out

200g icing sugar

3 red cherries

Pre-heat your oven to 200 degrees/fan 180, beat the eggs, egg yolks and sugar together until thick, creamy and light in colour, slowly pour in the melted butter and fold in the ground almonds, flour and almond essence.

Grease your teacups with butter, place 2 tbsp of jam in the bottom followed by a disk of marzipan then top most of the way with the almond batter.  Bake in a pre heated oven 180 C / 356 F for 30 minutes until light and springy to touch, remove from the oven and allow to cool.

To ice the top mix a little cold water with the icing to a thick paste and pour on top and finish with a cherry in the centre.

Scotch Eggs

Ingredients 

(makes 4)

800g herby sausages

1 box panko breadcrumbs

4 eggs boiled

1/2 tsp Himalayan sea salt 

1/2 tsp black pepper

2 ltr oil for frying

Take the herby sausages out of the skins so you have the sausage meat, season with the salt and pepper then divide into 4 equal ball shape portions.  Meanwhile bring a pan of water to a rolling simmer and gentle put the eggs in to boil, set your timer for 6 minutes.  It is important that when the timer goes off you immediately remove the eggs and plunge in to cold water, this will ensure the eggs stop cooking and you will have a soft almost set yolk.

Peel the eggs once cooled, take a ball of sausage meat and pressing your thumb in to the centre push the meat out into a pattie in the palm of your hand, place a egg in the centre and form the meat up and around the egg encasing the egg completely.  

In two separate dishes place egg wash and bread crumbs.  Roll your sausage ball in the egg then the breadcrumbs.  If you are deep frying bring your oil up to 180 degrees C and fry the scotch eggs for around 5 minutes until golden, remove from the oil and leave to rest on some kitchen paper before serving.  If your oven baking, heat your oven to 180 C, place the scotch eggs on the baking tray drizzle with the olive oil and bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes.