Category: Mr Greedy’s Kitchen

 

Snow |Flakes – Bavaria

250g butter, melted

100g icing sugar

A few drops of vanilla essence

100g plain flour

250g cornflour

50g ground almonds

Melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat [ don’t burn it ]. When cool add the vanilla essence. Sift remaining ingredients into a bowl, add butter and mix well. Leave to cool for about 30 mins. Preheat oven to 175C. Shape walnut sized balls from the dough. Place on prepared baking trays. Leave space between the cookies. Inprint stripes on to the balls with a floured folk [optional] Bake for about 20 mins until risen. Dust with icing sugar when cold.

 

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Vanilla Crescents – Germany

100g butter, at room temperature

100g plain flour

25g fine corn meal

65g ground almonds

50g icing sugar

1 large egg yolk

1 vanilla pod

100g white caster sugar

Preheat oven to 180C. Cormbine the butter, flour and corn meal until it resembles breadcrumbs. Add the almonds, icing sugar and egg and mix until it forms a dough. Shape into a log, wrap in cling film and place in the fridge for about an hour. Split the vanilla pod and mix into the caster sugar. Remove the wrap from the dough and cut into 25 pieces. Roll each piece into log shapes, pinch each end and bend into a crescent shape [banana] Place on baking trays and bake for about 15 mins until golden brown. Dust liberally with the vanilla sugar.

 

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Afternoon Pear Cake

3 large eggs

150g granulated sugar

150g plain flour

30g cornflour

1 tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

90g butter, melted

4 – 5 ripe medium pears, peeled, cored, cut into chunks

icing sugar to dust

Preheat oven 180C. Line the base of a 23cm spring form tin with baking parchment. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar until light in colour and fluffy. In a seperate bowl, sift together the flour, cornflour, baking powder and salt. Whisk into the egg mixture, followed by the vinilla and melted butter. Fold in the pears with their juices. Pour the mixture into the tin. Bake for about 45 mins, until golden and a knife inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack, remove the parch-ment and dust the top with icing sugar. Serve on it's own or with double cream.

 

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Pumpkin Cake with Cream |Cheese Frosting

250g plain flour

3 tsp baking powder

2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

pinch of salt

2 tsp ground cinnamon

400g caster sugar

250ml vegetable oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

500g tinned pumpkin puree [see Mr Greedys tip]

4 large eggs

125g chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 180C. Prepare and line the base of a 20 x 30cm cake tin. Sift together the flour, baking powder, bi-carb of soda salt and cinnamon, set aside. In a large bowl, combine the sugar and oil. Blend in vanilla and pumpkin puree, then beat eggs in one at a time. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in nuts. Spread batter into prepared tin.Bake in preheated oven for 30 – 35 mins or until a knife inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool on a

wire rack, remove parchment and cover with the cream cheese frosting.

Cream cheese frosting

50g butter, room temperature,

225g cream cheese,

450g icing sugar,

2 tsp of vanilla extract.

Sift icing sugar into a bowl. In another bowl beat the butter and cream cheese together until smooth and creamy. Add the sifted icing suger and vanilla ex-tract and beat until smooth. Cover cake and enjoy.

 

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Four Spice Lamb Curry

2 tbsp sunflower oil 1 large onion, finely chopped 1 tsp each chilli flakes and ground ginger 2 tsp each ground corriander and cumin 500g lean lamb neck fillet, cubed 1 large red pepper, seeded and cubed 1 large green pepper, seeded and cubed 1 lamb stock cube 3 med tomatoes, cut into wedges 410g chick peas, drained handful of chopped fresh corriander to serve

Heat the oil in a wok, fry the onion until soft. Stir in the spices, reserving 1 tsp of the cumin. Fry for a few seconds more. Toss in the peppers and lamb and stir fry over a high heat until the lamb changes colour. Stir in 200ml of water, crumble in the stock cube, season well. Cook for about 6 mins until the mixture is thicker and the meat is tender. Stir in the tomatoes, chickpeas and the remaining cumin and heat through for about 2 more mins. If the sauce is too thick add a little water to thin. Scatter the corri-ander over to top before serving. Serve with basmati or long grain rice and mango chutney

 

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Pork Tenderloin in Orange Sauce

3 tbsp garlic oil 2 pork tenderloins about 375g each sea salt fresh ground black pepper 1 med onion, very thinly sliced 6 cloves of garlic, minced 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley 1/2 tsp dried thyme 150ml + 5tbsp fresh orange juice 150ml + 5tbsp chicken stock [oxo cube is fine] good pinch of saffron [optional]

Heat oven to 180C. Heat oil in a large pan and brown the meat all over, sprinkle with salt and pep-per as it browns. Remove to a warm plate. Add the garlic and onion to the pan and saute until the onion is softened. Return the meat to the pan and add the parsley, thyme, orange juice, chicken stock and saf-fron, if using. Heat thoroughly [almost boiling point] spoon the sauce over the meat. Cook for about 5 mins, turning meat. Transfer to a pre- heat-ed oven dish, cover and bake for about 50 mins to 1 hr. until tender. When ready, in a small pan heat the remaining orange juice and stock until thick and serve with the meat. Slice the tenderloins about ½inch thick and serve with the cooking sauce and the extra sauce.

Serve with saute potatoes and mediterranean vege-tables.

 

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Removing the outer skin of fresh root ginger. Don't use a peeler or hack it with a knife, use a spoon. Scrape the ginger with the tip of the spoon. No need to cut of any lumps or bumps, no waste.

 

 

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Cod Loins with Fennel, Olives, Capers and Lemon Potatoes

4 good sized cod loins, skinned and boned

2 medium sized fennel bulbs

3 medium shallots

the juice and zest of one large lemon

2 tbsp capers, drained and chopped

2 tbsp black pitted olives, thinly sliced

1 large clove of garlic chopped

1 tbsp fennel seeds

12 cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

250ml dry white wine

good pinch of salt, black pepper and sweet paprika

500g baby new potatoes

good knob of butter

Heat the oven to 180c fan. Lightly roast the fennel seeds in a small frying pan until the aromas begin, crush in a pestle and mortar and set aside. Trim the fennel, remove core and thinly slice. Thinly slice the shallots. Arrange the fennel in the base of an oven dish, arrange the shallots on top. Sprinkle over the salt, pepper and paprika. Arrange the fish on top of the shallots. Scatter the tomatoes around the fish. Drizzle the lemon juice over the fish. Pour the wine into to dish around the fish. In a small bowl mix to-gether the olives, capers, garlic and fennel seeds and spread over the top of the fish. Cover the dish with foil, cut a vent hole in the foil and bake for about 25 – 30 mins until the fish flakes.

Boil the potatoes, drain and return to the pan. Add the butter, swish around to coat the potatoes. Tip into a serving dish and scatter the lemon zest over the top, lightly mix together. Serve with French beans. Boil the potatoes, drain. return to pan, add the butter swish around to coat potatoes. Tip into a serving dish and scatter the lemon zest over the top. Serve with French beans.

 

 

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Coconut Tart

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

4 cardamon pods, shelled and seeds crushed

175g desiccated coconut

225g caster sugar

25g butter, melted

500g block all butter shortcrust pastry

plain flour for dusting

1 large egg beaten

Heat oven to 180c fan. Tip the spices, coconut and sugar into a pan with 150ml of water. Cook over a low heat for about 5 mins, stirring frequently to en-sure the mixture doesn’t catch. Set aside to cool. Roll out the pastry on a floured surface and line a 23cm loose bottomed flan tin. Line with baking parchment and beans and bake for 15 mins on a bak-ing tray. Remove beans and parchment and bake ror a further 5 mins until cooked but not brown. Add the egg to the cooled mixure and spoon into pastry case. Bake for about 25 mins until the pastry is golden and the coconut is pale golden. Serve with a good spoonful of double cream.

 

 

A MR GREEDY TIP:

Cooking flan – Line the flan tin with the pastry but leave excess over the top of the tin. Trim the pastry to the top of the tin after blind baking with a good sharp knife. Pastry shrinks when it's cooked. this will leave a good flush top.

 

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