10 Top Ways to use Marmalade

Although it’s National Mamalade Week, this zesty preserve isn’t just for toast.  Tolani shares her top ten tasty tips for taking marmalade away from the breakfast table and making into a star of other meals. 

Photo by Robert Walster

I can always remember marmalade being an essential ingredient in my house growing up. It was my mums’ favourite spread and she was adamant that it became ours too, which had her spreading dollops onto our toast or into our porridge bowls right before school. So it was with great sorrow this year that I read it no longer ranks amongst the nation’s favourites, owing its decline to modern spreads such as Marmite, peanut butter or hazelnut chocolate spread; Paddington bear would surely not be pleased.

A fad I say, as no other holds as much history or confidence of variations, practically any ingredient can be made into marmalade; onions, citrus fruits, prunes, cherries, apricots, pears, the list is just endless and the best truly is homemade which allows as much creative license as you could imagine.

With Marmalade Week (2nd  – 9th March), we wanted to bring you our Top 10  tips on how to include marmalade into your much loved recipes during the festivities, not only to take it out of the breakfast arena but to prove its yummy goodness and reign as champion.

 1.    Hot Turkey and caramelised `onion tart

Why not try this quick and easy recipe by Adam Gray, which uses onion marmalade? You can swap the turkey if you want for another meat or simply leave it out all together

 2.    In omelettes:

Add a twist by including a spoonful of orange marmalade and bit of zest from an orange into your mixture

 3.    Marmalade and Whisky punch

To serve four friends: start by mixing 2 large spoonful’s of orange marmalade, the juice of two small lemons and four glasses of gin into a shaker. Shake well and serve into glasses, finish with a squeeze of an orange rind.  

 4.    Yorkshire tea brack with marmalade, chocolate and caramel

Or how about this fantastic dessert by Frances Atkins that’s sure to leave your guests smiling. 

5.     Marmalade Tofu:

As a glaze over tofu, combine 3 ½ table spoons of marmalade with ½ a table spoon each of chilli flakes, black pepper, ginger and fresh lemon juice with a dash of soy sauce. Spread liberally over your pieces of tofu and bake at 400 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes, flipping them halfway so that they cook evenly.

6.    As a glaze:

Derbyshire Marmalade Tea Loaf by Claire Sutton

I recommend carrot or banana cake, just pop half a cup of marmalade into the microwave first for optimum results. You can also add three tablespoons to a loaf mixture to jazz up a much loved bread recipe.

Marmalade Glazed Gammon

For meats, try this recipe for a spicy chilli sauce. The recipe can be substituted with any meat cut so use it as much as you like. Mix together half a cup of sweet orange marmalade a spoon of chilli sauce with 25ml of orange juice and a dash of chilli flakes for extra spice. Pour over your selected meat and place into the oven for approximately 50 minutes. Once ready serve with a side of your choice for a sticky yet yummy meal. 

8.    Jaffa Cakes

Everyone loves a Jaffa cake, and with Marcus Wareing’s flavoursome recipe you can create your own unlimited batch involving  a touch of marmalade garnish and ground almonds in the mix. 

8.    In savoury soups like Butternut squash

Butternut Squash collection

Before bringing the pieces of squash to boil, first bake in a marinade of butter, marmalade, cinnamon and nutmeg for 10 minutes to truly bring some extra taste to this winter warmer.

9.    In a breakfast smoothie:

Put a spoon of marmalade, a banana, ice and some almond milk into a food processor and blend until smooth for a tasty yet healthy start to the day.

10.    One dish wonder

Bring to boil a pot of rice and season with ground almonds and 2 equal tablespoons of ginger, garlic and black pepper with salt to taste. 10 minutes before the rice has cooked, add a spoon of marmalade with a spoon of lemon zest. Add a serving of king prawns, peas and sweet corn and leave till the prawns are cooked.

And lastly one more for good luck, a recipe from Vivien Lloyd on how to make your own homemade marmalade: 

Photo by Robert Walster

Have you ever tried making your own marmalade and what are your tips? Let us know which other recipes you have used marmalade in? 

Scottish Comfort Food

We’re still celebrating Scottish Food Fortnight here at Great British Chefs, and what better way than to explore some Scottish comfort food. Food writer Victoria Glass, proprietor of Victoria’s Cake Boutique and author of Boutique Wedding Cakes, shares a couple of cosy recipes to keep on hand as we look towards the cooler weather the rest of the year will bring

Blog post by Victoria Glass, author of Boutique Wedding Cakes

Traditional Scottish food tends to be uncomplicated: fresh ingredients, locally sourced and simply prepared, but always tasty. Unfussy weeknight grub sounds like just the ticket right now. I don’t know if I’m coming or going with the unpredictable weather we’ve been having. The other night I was shivering under a 10 tog duvet and today the sunshine is pouring through the window, casting a warming glow on my sleeveless arm. When you’ve spent all week wrestling with your coat – on, off, on, off – it’s comforting, simple grub that you want to come home to. 

We eat stovies regularly in my gaff. It’s a meat and potato one-pot wonder that is perfect for using up leftover meat from your Sunday roast. It’s a Scottish variant of Irish stew, Lancashire hotpot or shepherds pie – one of those heartening dishes that turn leftover scraps into a tummy-warming feast.

This weekend I made a 12 hour lamb shoulder with a ras el hanout crust, spiced aubergines and couscous, but there wasn’t a gram of meat left to be used, and if there had been, it might have been a touch too fragrant for stovies. Instead, I used minced beef (as I often do), but if you’re less greedy than I am on a Sunday, and find yourself with a fridge full of leftovers, simply cut your cold meat into chunks before adding it to the pot. This really is a minimal effort for maximum reward style supper.

When my boyfriend lived in Johnshaven, Aberdeenshire, he would always be given oatcakes and pickled beetroot on the side, so we often eat it that way now – frankly, any excuse for eating pickled beetroot is fine by me.

I also made Forfar bridies over the weekend. Bridies are Scottish meat pastries that are often made with flaky pastry, but traditionally use simple shortcrust. Bridies are similar to Cornish pasties but without the addition of potato or swede. They’re eaten hot, sometimes with vegetables as a main meal, or on their own as a hand pie. 

Come rain or shine this week, you always know where you are with these no-nonsense Scottish dishes, perfect for celebrating Scottish Food Fortnight in comforting style. 

Stovies 

To serve 4

• 500g minced beef or leftover roast beef/lamb cut into chunks
• A couple of large onions, roughly chopped
• Beef dripping (or oil, if that’s all you’ve got)
• 4 large potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
• 1 pint of fresh beef stock
• Salt and pepper

Fry off the onions in the melted dripping until golden and then add the meat. Let the meat brown slightly before adding the potatoes and stock. Generously season and cook until the potatoes are soft to the point of almost breaking up.

Bridies

Makes 2 large or 4 small pies

Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan)

Shortcrust pastry

• 150g plain flour
• 75g butter, cubed
• Pinch of salt
• 3-4 tbsp cold water

Sift together the flour and salt before adding the butter and rubbing it together with your fingertips until it resembles breadcrumbs. Use a flat knife to stir in enough cold water to bind the dough together. Don’t overwork it though or your pastry will become chewy. Wrap in cling film and pop in the fridge for 10 – 15 minutes before rolling out. 

Filling

• 500g minced beef
• 30g beef suet
• 1 large onion, finely chopped or grated
• Salt and pepper

Simply mix together all the filling ingredients together before rolling the pastry into ovals (either two or four). Place a generous amount of meat in the middle and fold over the pastry, sticking each side together with a brush of water, into a half moon shape. Crimp the pastry together with your fingers, prick the top with a fork and brush with a little milk.

Blog post by Victoria Glass, author of Boutique Wedding Cakes

Have you been enjoying Scottish Food Fortnight so far? What are some of your favourite comfort foods? The conversation continues on the Great British Chefs blog.

The Forecast is… Messy! Weathering the British Summer

As we’re nearing the end of the summer season, food writer & blogger Miriam Nice reflects on the recent months we’ve had of, erm, variable weather in delicious ways—through the lens of a definitive dessert for the British Summer Season: Eton Mess

Blog post & photography by Miriam Nice

Eton Mess (or Clare College Mush) is a classic British summer dessert. It’s simple, delicious and perfect for a bright summer day… but what if your summer day isn’t bright, or summery?  

This Summer I think the weather has been particularly changeable. Is it still classed as “changeable” or “unpredictable” if it happens every year? Perhaps; it’s more plausible that in Britain it is never consistently sunny in summer, nor is there really any of that fluffy snow on Christmas Day (as all my favourite Richard Curtis movies would have me believe). 

With this in mind I have taken the decision to face up to my high expectations for British weather conditions and adapt to the reality. This year I have gotten used to carrying an extra jumper, an umbrella and a pair of sunglasses with me everywhere I go and I intend to apply the same logic to some classic cooking and be a bit more flexible.

The basic Eton Mess recipe involves strawberries and meringue folded into softly whipped double cream, but I can think of few things more depressing than to eat this dish, in mid July or August, sat indoors looking out of the kitchen window at the rain soaked garden furniture. Conversely (and possibly controversially) I don’t find cream particularly desirable on a very very hot day (with the exception of a little clotted cream of course!) I’d pick yoghurt over cream or sorbet over ice cream every time. 

With all this in mind I have created 6 variations on the classic Eton Mess, each to match a different summer forecast, so make sure you find out what Carol Kirkwood has to say before you hit the shops for ingredients. 

Basic Meringue Recipe

Each recipe involves meringue, which you can make yourself but all these recipes will work fine with a shop bought version. If you are going to make your own; for the most part don’t worry if they crack, that’s fine, you’re going to be breaking them up anyway) This recipe makes 8 medium sized meringues or 12 mini ones. 

• 2 large egg whites
• 100g of caster sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 140°C and line a baking tray with a piece of greaseproof paper. 
2. Whisk up your egg whites until they form stiff peaks
3. Add the sugar gradually, a spoonful at a time, whisking thoroughly after each addition. The mixture should look thick and shiny
4. Put heaped dessertspoonfuls of the mixture onto the prepared baking tray and bake for 30-40 minutes
5. Remove from the oven and leave to cool if you are making the dessert that day or, if you have time; leave in the oven (switched off) to cool in there overnight.

Bright Sunshine

Serves 4

If it’s very hot this is lovely! 

1. Take 1 punnet of strawberries and remove the stalks. Slice your strawberries very thinly and arrange on each plate. If you’re being really neat you can put a saucer over the top and trim the arrangement with a sharp knife to get a perfect circle. 
2. Add a scoop of strawberry or raspberry sorbet on one side of the plates and a heaped teaspoon of clotted cream on the other side. 
3. Garnish the sorbet with fresh mint leaves and the clotted cream with some crumbled meringue (you will only need half the quantity of the recipe above). 

Serve in the sun. 

Sunny with Cloudy Spells

Serves 4

Perhaps my ideal summer weather conditions; warm but not stifling with a cool breeze. 

1. Take a punnet of strawberries, remove the leaves and cut into quarters. 
2. Add 100ml of elderflower cordial to the fruit, stir and set aside
3. Meanwhile softly whip 300ml of double cream and add the seeds from a vanilla pod and 1 tablespoon of icing sugar
4. Make a batch of meringues (as per the recipe above) but use golden caster sugar instead of white
5. Break the meringue into pieces and fold into the cream
6. Serve the cream and meringue mixture alongside the strawberries and drizzle any remaining elderflower syrup (which by now will be stained pink) over the dessert
7. Dust with a little icing sugar and garnish with edible flowers like nasturtiums or lavender

Cloudy

Serves 4

At least it isn’t raining. Well if we can’t have any sunshine outside we can attempt to put some on the plate. 

1. Make a batch of meringues (as per the recipe above) but make them small and as round as you can, they should be heaped teaspoon size. 
2. Finely dice a punnet of strawberries. Place them in a bowl with the juice of half a lemon, 6 shredded basil leaves and a few twists of freshly ground black pepper. Set aside until you’re ready to serve
3. Put a layer of the strawberry mixture at the bottom of each dish
4. Add a couple of spoonfuls of greek yoghurt and then add the mini meringues
5. Finish with a garnish of passionfruit and a basil leaf

Cloudy with light showers

Serves 4 

I think that distinctive smell of summer rain is rather nice and surprisingly the combination of Cointreau, orange zest and dark chocolate in this recipe brings out a similar fragrance.

1. Prepare a punnet of strawberries by removing the stalks and cut each one in half. 
2. Place the strawberries in a bowl and add 50ml of Cointreau (or another orange liqueur, if you’re prefer not to use alcohol try using the same quantity of freshly squeezed orange juice) leave to marinate for 30 minutes
3. Meanwhile mix 250g of mascarpone with the zest of 1 large orange and a teaspoon of icing sugar and place in the fridge
4. Melt 100g of dark chocolate in a bowl over a pan of simmering water
5. Place a meringue or large pieces of meringue on each plate and top with the mascarpone mixture. Pile the strawberries on top and drizzle the whole thing with the melted chocolate
6. Garnish with more orange zest and serve

Heavy Showers

Serves 4

This recipe is similar to cranachan so change out of those soaked shoes, wrap a towel round your hair and pretend you live in a magnificent Scottish castle; then who cares if it’s raining! 

1. Toast 50g of rolled oats in a non-stick pan. You don’t want to heat them for too long; just warm them through until they start to smell like flapjack
2. Tip the oats into a bowl and add 50ml of whiskey and a tablespoon of honey. If you don’t want to use whiskey omit the oats to and use your favourite granola instead and skip step 1)
3. Remove the stalks from a half a punnet of strawberries and arrange whole on dishes (cut side down) with a punnet of raspberries. 
4. Whip double cream until thick (careful not to over do it) and fold in 1 quantity of meringue (see recipe above) broken into pieces. 
5. Then add the oat mixture to the cream, don’t fully mix it in, you want to get a marbled effect and then add this to the fruit. 
6. Drizzle with some extra honey and serve. 

Thunder Storms

Serves 4

This is supposed to be summer! What’s going on?! Never fear, seek comfort in a bowl of rice pudding…and a little brandy

1. Make a batch of meringues (as per the recipe above) and break into shards.
2. Heat 100g of short grain/pudding rice or Arborio rice in a pan over a medium heat with 600ml milk, the seeds of a vanilla pod and 1 tablespoon of sugar, stir regularly until the rice is soft and creamy. 
3. Take a punnet of strawberries and remove the stalks and cut each one in half. 
4. Place the strawberries in a pan with 100ml of brandy, (reserve 1 or 2 strawberries uncooked for decoration) heat gently until the strawberries are soft and the liquid is red. Take of the heat, taste and add a little caster sugar and/or more brandy if needed
5. To serve, place a large spoonful of the rice pudding in the centre of the plate, top with the meringue and then strawberry compote allowing the brandy syrup to flow into the rice pudding. Finish with a fresh strawberry and serve.

Have a look at Miriam Nice’s Flickr account for all the photos from her Eton Mess project. What has been your favourite summer dessert this season?

Gluten Free Chestnut & Vanilla Cake by Victoria Glass

Did you know it’s National Coeliac Awareness Week and also this weekend the Allergy and Free From Show is on at London Olympia?  Both events show an ever growing demand for gluten free food in the UK.  Victoria Glass - new guest blogger to Great British Chefs is here to show that “gluten dodging” doesn’t have to lead to heavy or dull food and shares her recipe for a delicious gluten free Chestnut & Vanilla Cake:

Blog post and photography by Victoria Glass - @victoria_glass

It’s National Coeliac Awareness Week and I’m here to prove that gluten-dodging doesn’t need to be boring. Coeliac disease affects 1 in 100 people in the UK, with women two to three times more likely to suffer*.

This ever-growing demand for GF foods has led to a revolution in supermarket aisles. No longer confined to half a shelf in a dark, poky corner, I found Genius bread lumped in with the wheat at my local Co-op. Free-from foods are spilling into the mainstream. They’re easier to find and the quality is getting better all the time. This is all excellent news, of course, but it doesn’t always come cheap. A 600g gluten free loaf comes in at just under £3, while you can get an 800g wheat loaf for under a quid. Although diagnosed coeliacs are entitled to GF food on prescription, it’s only free if you already qualify for free prescriptions. With a suspected 500,000 undiagnosed coeliacs in the UK alone, perhaps it’s time to curb our reliance on gluten as a staple.

“Coeliac disease is not a food allergy or an intolerance, it is an autoimmune disease. In coeliac disease, eating gluten causes the lining of the small intestine to become damaged. Other parts of the body may be affected.”  www.coeliac.org.uk

I live with a gluten dodger and, as a result, I’ve had to change my baking habits. It’s second nature to most to reach for the plain flour when making pancakes, but lately, I’d rather have a savoury socca any day of the week. They’re incredibly quick and simple to make. For two pancakes, sift 100g of gram flour (chickpea flour), and stir in cold water until the batter is the consistency of single cream, season, fry in a hot oiled pan and tuck in. This cheap southern French street food is also delicious with the addition of almost any herb or spice. Another more recent addition to my new gluten light lifestyle is chestnut flour.

I am currently in the midst of a true and meaningful love affair with this nutty purveyor of all things delicious. Available in specialist shops and online from Shipton Mill, it makes a delicious alternative to wheat flour in gnocchi, and creates stunningly light, moist and moreish cakes. A gluten-free lifestyle might sound like a drag, but thinking outside the Weetos box makes for many exciting new discoveries. My recipe for chestnut and vanilla cake is delicious served with poached pears and will make you wonder, “why aren’t more of us voluntarily leaving the wheat in the cupboard?”

Chestnut and Vanilla cake

Preheat the oven to 160°C (140°C fan)/320°F/Gas mark 3 and grease and line two 6” sandwich tins.

For the cake

100g runny honey

4 large eggs, separated

40g unsalted butter, melted

75g chestnut flour

25g ground almonds or hazelnuts

A pinch of salt

A splash of vanilla extract

For the filling

125g full fat Mascarpone

250g Sweet Chestnut Puree (I used Clement Faugier “Creme de Marrons”)

250ml double cream, softly whipped

A splash of vanilla extract

Icing sugar, sifted and added to taste

Method

For the cake

·      Whisk the sugar, honey and egg yolks together to the ribbon stage – pale, thick and creamy. This will take a good few minutes with an electric whisk, so be patient.

·      Mix in the melted butter, before folding in the ground almonds/hazelnuts and chestnut flour.

·      In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites with the salt until soft peaks form.

·      Use a large metal spoon to fold in the egg whites – be careful not to knock out the air in the batter.

·      Divide the mixture between the two tins and bake for 35 – 40 minutes or until an inserted skewer comes out clean.

·      Once baked, pop the cakes, still in their tins, on a cooling rack for 10 minutes before turning out to cool completely. Slice each cake horizontally in half.

For the filling

·      Simply mix together all the ingredients with a fork. Don’t be tempted to get your electric whisk out here or your Mascarpone will become unusably runny.

·      Layer your cake up with generous spreadings of the chestnut Mascarpone

·      You can add a sprinkling of toasted flaked almonds or a dusting of cocoa for an extra touch of glamour, if you fancy.

* All information on coeliac disease taken from the NHS website and Coeliac UK.

Blog post, photography & recipe by  Victoria Glass who has her first book Boutique Wedding Cakes coming out Autumn 2012

Is there anyone in your family who follows a gluten free diet?  What are some of their favourite dishes? What are your favourite wheat free dishes? Let us know over on Great British Chefs Facebook page.

New Year’s Eve Party Recipes

Many of you will be having friends & family around to see in the New Year and at Great British Chefs we have put together a collection of New Year’s Eve party recipes to help you celebrate in style.

Lightly curried chicken with mango mayonnaise by Galton Blackiston

Here Galton Blackiston fuses well-loved flavours in a simple and elegant way.

Cornish crab with pink grapefruit mayonnaise on wholemeal toasts by Adam Gray

These cute little toasts are ideal for serving as drinks party nibbles. The quantities are easily increased for larger numbers but go easy on the cayenne pepper! Trendy micro pea shoots are used as a garnish.

Kalonji Jhinga by Alfred Prasad

Grilled jumbo tiger prawns marinated with yoghurt, ginger, paprika, ground spices and toasted nigella seeds make for a delicious, fresh combination. Chaat masala is available from Indian grocery stores.

Red Pepper Puree with Goats Cheese & Fennel and Parmesan biscuits by Kevin Mangeolles

These little mouthfuls of silky smooth red pepper and goat’s cheese are even more stunning when served with Kevin Mangeolles’ fennel and Parmesan biscuits.  These delicious little crackers are the perfect accompaniment to any cheese board.

Jaffa Cakes by Marcus Wareing

Forget packets of Jaffa Cakes, these lovely individual orange chocolate cakes have never tasted so good - the homemade touch will impress visitors no end.

These are just a few of our party recipes and we’d love to hear your favourite canapés and party foods. Share your tips & ideas for great finger food on our Great British Chefs Facebook page.

Trish Scott’s Homemade Vegetable Soup & Soda Bread

Another one of our Great British Chefs’ Facebook Fans great displays of baking and cookery.  We ask our fans to share what they have made & send photos and recipes so we can share our favourites with you all.

After excesses of big meals we love the simplicity of Trish Scott’s vegetable soup which she served with homemade soda bread.  Considering this was the first time she’d made soda bread we think it’s come out very well.

Trish made the soup with: “the last of my tomatoes, leeks, peppers and chillies cooked with a few lentils, fresh herbs and stock and blitzed. Served with soda bread - yummy on a cold November day!

Here’s how she made the soda bread:

“I based it on a James Martin recipe which was 6oz self raising Wholemeal flour; 6oz plain flour; 1/2 pint buttermilk; 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda; but as I didn’t have any buttermilk I used an idea from someone else and added 1 tbsp of lemon juice to warmed ordinary milk and it seemed to work fine.”

We think it has too!

Bryan Webb from our Great British Chefs site also has a recipe for Soda Bread that you might like to try.  It’s not pictured here, but he serves it with Pig’s Trotters & Beetroot Chutney

Thanks again to Trish Scott for sharing her lovely recipes and for taking the pictures of her dishes too.

If you have any recipes and photos from your  weekend Baking, please let us know by emailing infoATgreatbritishchefs.com and we will feature our favourites on the blog and our Great British Chefs Facebook Page.

What Austerity or “Wartime” Foods have you eaten?

Photo of Bryan Webb’s  Pigs’ Trotters with beetroot chutney & salad leaves from Great British Chefs

As Remembrance Day and Veterans’ Day events take place this weekend, we wanted to look back to times when food wasn’t in such great supply.

This case shows the weekly food ration for one person in 1940 - Imperial War Museum.

In wartime in the UK, food was being rationed & people ate cheap cuts of food. There’s now a move back to “austerity” cooking, as we discover inventive ways to make offal or little used cuts of meat really tasty. We love Bryan Webb’s version of Pigs’ Trotters 

Slow cooking helps to turn cheaper cuts of meat into things of beauty.  Pork Belly is on the menu at most gourmet restaurants now, but there was a time when pork belly was considered a “rough meat” and it was featured in The Imperial War Museum’s “Ministry of Food” exhibition.

Robert Thompson’s slow cooked Island pork belly is cheap enough for you to blow out on the lobster it’s served with.

Our, CEO, Ollie is a big fan of cooking odd cuts of meat. At Great British Chefs our stomachs collectively churned when he excitedly put a message on Facebook saying that he’d bought a load of pigs’ ears and was going to cook them the next day. They were enormous but only 50p an ear! Following Pascal Aussignac’s recipe he boiled them in salted water & then cut them into strips.

On Facebook our fans were incredulous and said “you’re not seriously going to eat these”.  But once they were deep fried in batches, they were absolutely delicious and tasted like crackling!  Opinions from fans on Facebook were divided but the general opinion was “don’t knock it until you’ve tried it”.

Spam was popular in wartime and even today, spam fritters make a tasty supper.

From a 1940’s Woman’s Day magazine by Wandering Magpie

Best bit about this photo isn’t the banana/spam combination (anyone tried it?) but the fact that the Spam in the picture on the tin is blue! Nice. Imperial War Museum

Moving on from savoury dishes, don’t forget that even yummy treats like carrot cakes originated from when fruit was in low supply.

Dishes such as Lardy Cake (great post & recipe below from our strategic advisor & guest blogger Matthew Fort), Bread Pudding, Gingerbread, Suet Pudding and Treacle Tart all came about when butter, sugar and eggs were in short supply.

Lardy cake

2 oz lard; 2 oz currants; 12 oz white bread dough, risen; 2 oz caster sugar; pinch of nutmeg; drizzle of honey

Roll out the dough to an oblong. Spread on lard and sprinkle with sugar, nutmeg and currants. Roll up like a swiss roll and place in a greased shallow baking tin. Cover and leave to rise for about 15 minutes. Brush lightly with honey and bake at gas mark five, 190C (375F) for 35 to 40 minutes. Serve hot with butter.

Matthew added: “Just warm a piece of lardy cake (yes, even in the microwave) and load it with a compote of blackberries and a dollop of clotted cream, and tell me you don’t feel nearer to heaven than with a spoonful of pannacotta or tiramisu”.

Shaun Rankin’s - Treacle Tart from Great British Chefs

Josh Eggleton’s - Caramel Panna cotta with homemade Gingerbread - from Great British Chefs

We hope this look at austerity cooking has given you some ideas for inexpensive but delicious meals to try.  What “wartime” dishes have you eaten or cooked? We’re discussing this over on the Great British Chefs Facebook page.

Milk Chocolate & Hazelnut Flapjacks from Josh Eggleton

With our celebration of Chocolate Week, we uploaded a picture onto Foodspotting of Josh Eggleton’s wonderful flapjacks from his Michelin starred pub The Pony & Trap.  You got very excited about them on Facebook and demanded the recipe faster than we can actually get it onto our site at Great British Chefs (we have BIG changes approaching on how you can access our chefs’ recipes and we are nearly there!)

However, Josh is an avid blogger and reads our Facebook page too, so he was kind enough to send in the recipe for us to share with you all.  It’s super easy and quick to make.

For 60 portions

Oven Temperature: 180 C

Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

455g Butter

455g Brown Sugar

680g Oats

142.5ml Golden Syrup

125g Chopped Hazelnuts

250g Milk Chocolate

Method:

-Melt the butter, sugar and syrup in a bowl.

-Add the oats, chocolate and hazelnuts and mix well

-Put into tins and cook, chill, slice, serve

Thanks Josh for responding to our Facebook fans and sending this in so quickly. 

We hope you will all try the recipe and let us know how it turned out.  

Gemma’s Fideuà (Noodle Paella) Recipe

We had so many people who loved Gemma’s post on fideuà on Facebook and lots of you asking for the recipe.  So Gemma kindly shared the recipe here for you all to enjoy.

Serves 6

1 bulb of garlic
2 big onions
3 soaked nyores (dried peppers)
5 beef tomatoes (grated)
100g prawns (unpeeled, heads on)
100g calamari
100g mussels
100g clams
400g cod
1 litres of stock
250g of fideus (short noodles)
olive oil
salt
pepper 

First, you start by making a ‘sofregit’ which means you fry on a very, very low heat all the cloves in a bulb of garlic, two big onions and three ‘nyores’ which are essentially dried peppers - not chillies. This must be pre-soaked in hot water and then scrape the meat inside with the back of a knife. Obviously, use quite a lot of really good olive oil.

Once the onion is translucent, throw in 5 beef tomatoes, grated. And you leave for 30-45 minutes in a very low heat, uncovered.

Meanwhile you fry the prawns in olive oil until cooked. Then take them out of the oil (leave the oil to cool), peel them and put them to one side.

Rinse the pan where you cooked the prawns with a little bit of the stock and pour the oil and stock through a colander and in the ‘sofregit’.

Next put all the prawn shells in the colander and get all the goodness out of those heads with a pestle.

Then put the mussels and clams in a pot and steam them up to open them. You can then choose to take the mussels and clams off their shells or not. Either way, reserve for later with your prawns.

Pour 3/4 of the remaining stock in the ‘sofregit’ and bring it to the boil.

Leave to simmer until the sauce thickens a bit. Cut the cod in bite size chunks and add to the pan.

When cooked add all the seafood. Salt and pepper to taste at this point.

Throw in the noodles and let them absorb all the liquid. If you need more liquid throw it in. Do not stir. At this point, some people add the pan to the oven to brown the fideuà. 

Serve with aioli / allioli and enjoy with white wine.

Thanks Gemma.  If you try the recipe out for yourself please come back and tell us how it turned out.

Michelin style Fish n Chips by Nathan Outlaw

The lovely people at Love UK introduced us to their Facebook fans last week and said of the brilliant chefs in our app: “These chefs are reinventing everything from fish and chips to Scotch eggs, Eton Mess and curry but what is YOUR favourite UK food? Let us know and we’ll get one of the chefs to give us their recipe!”

Hundreds of Love UK’s fans answered and Fish and chips was the most popular UK food, closely followed by a Sunday Roast with Yorkshire Pudding.  So we had a little search around our app and found that Nathan Outlaw had wonderful version of Fish and Chips - Turbot with tartare sauce ‘my way’. This is normally exclusive to our app, but we’re pleased to share it today.  Plus as we are in a sharing mood, to celebrate our 2 month anniversary, for one day only, you can get our iPhone or iPad app for half price!  

In the meantime enjoy Nathan’s take on Fish & Chips

The unusual tartare sauce for this signature dish includes sliced
lettuce, potato cubes, seasonal garnishes and herbs and is a perfect accompaniment for highly prized turbot

Ingredients:

4 x 100g portions of turbot
50g plain flour
1 egg
salt
150g panko breadcrumbs
vegetable oil to deep fry
1 egg
1 tsp English mustard
1 tsp white wine vinegar
250ml olive oil
salt
50ml double cream
100ml fish stock
100g Maris Piper potatoes
1 baby gem lettuce
1 tsp chopped fresh tarragon
1 tsp chopped fresh chives
1 tsp chopped fresh chervil
1 tsp chopped fresh parsley
2 gherkins
pepper
100g purple sprouting broccoli
50ml lemon oil
50g capers

Method:

1. To make the tartare sauce, separate the egg and place the egg yolk,
vinegar and mustard into a bowl

2. Whisk for 1 minute, then slowly add the olive oil in a steady
stream, taking care not to split the mixture. Season with salt

3. Add the double cream and mix thoroughly, then whisk the hot fish
stock in gradually until the mixture coats the back of a spoon

4. Dice the potatoes into 1cm cubes and cook in a pan of salted
boiling water. Once tender, add to the tartare sauce along with the
sliced lettuce

5. Stir for 2 minutes and then roughly chop the herbs and add along
with the finely diced gherkin to the sauce. Season to taste and put
aside

6. To prepare the fish, dredge in flour. Separate the egg and dip the
fish in the whisked egg yolk, then roll through the seasoned
breadcrumbs

7. Heat some oil in a non-stick pan and when it is hot, add the fish.
Cook gently until the fish has a light golden edge, which should take
approximately 15 minutes

8. Carefully flip the fish and remove from the heat. This will allow
the gentle residual heat to finish the cooking process. Cook the
purple sprouting broccoli. Heat the lemon oil in a small pan, add the
drained capers and fry until browned and frizzled. Lift out with
slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper

9. Place the tartare sauce in the centre of the bowls. Place the fish
on top and garnish with the capers and lemon oil. Serve with purple
sprouting broccoli

This recipe is normally exclusive to our app. For a one day only the Great British Chefs iPhone and iPad apps can be downloaded for 50% off.

The apps contain 180 exclusive recipes from 12 of the UK’s greatest chefs. There’s sumptuous photography, dozens of video techniques and much more to enjoy too!  Download today.

Beer Can Chicken by Kathi Brandt

Photo Credit: BBQ Junkie

Over on Facebook we were discussing what food to have for a BBQ.  Ollie, our CEO, was talking to us about “Beer Can Chicken” over a team lunch on Monday and many of us thought he was making the concept up!  Mentioning this on Facebook, it turned out that Kathi Brandt also loves Beer Can Chicken.  So much so, that she took the time to send in & share her wonderful recipe for barbecued chicken using cans of beer.  Beer, in cans, and chicken!  What could be more amazing?

Beer Can Chicken by Kathi Brandt

Things you will need:

12oz can of beer of your liking

3lb Chicken

2 cloves of garlic minced

2 green onions sliced

1tsp liquid smoke (optional - I really like it, when cooking in the oven)

For the Rub

Dash cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. oregano

1/2 tsp. black pepper

3/4 tsp. kosher salt

1 tsp. chili powder

1/2 tbs. paprika

1/2 tbs. brown sugar

Method

1. Open beer can & drink half :) (we like this bit)

2. Preheat conventional oven to 375*F or a convection oven to 325*F

If using the grill, grill indirectly over medium heat (approx. 350*F)

3. Combine the seasonings and sugar to make the rub and set aside

4. Clean out bird, removing excess fat. Rinse and dry with a paper towel. Sprinkle several teaspoons inside the cavity of the bird. Rub another Tbs. or more if needed on the outside skin.

5. Remove the pull-tab from the beer can and open another large hole with a church key. Pour the remaining rub into the can. Add the garlic and onions and liquid smoke.

6. Slide the beer can up into the chicken body cavity, keeping the body upright. Pull the chicken’s legs forward until it can stand on its own two feet (plus the can) Tuck the wing tips of the wings behind the chicken’s back.

7. Stand the chicken up in a foil lined pie dish, in the oven. Cook until brown and cooked through, about 1 hour in a convection oven at 325*F or 1 1/2 hours in a conventional oven at 375*F. Using a thermometer make sure the legs and thighs have reached 165*F.

Remove from oven and let rest 5 minutes. Carefully slide the chicken off the can (extremely hot) and serve.

8. If grilling outdoors, put the bird and can directly on the heated grill. Heat the grill on high until it smokes then turn down to Medium heat. Use a drip pan under the bird. Cover with lid, being very careful not to knock over the bird. Let cook until crispy and dark brown. Approx 1 1/2 hours.

We have a little stand that helps to stabilize the bird and helps greatly. I have included a link to a company there in the UK that sells them. 

Kathi thank you so much for sharing your fantastic recipe with us.  It’s certainly one we will be giving a try back at GBC soon - so look out for it on our Great British Chefs Team Lunches Flickr Group or on Facebook.

Nicolette’s “Rainy Day Chicken & Mushroom Pie”

So many people asked for the recipe of our lovely Great British Chefs Team Lunch yesterday.  As the recipe was passed onto Nicolette by friends and is just something she cooks by memory, she’s very kindly produced the recipe below for you all to enjoy.

Ingredients: (serves 4)

1 Ready Roll Puff Pastry

4 Skinless Chicken Breasts cut into large pieces

200g Chopped Smoked Bacon 

2 medium onions chopped

1 chopped garlic clove

250g small button mushrooms (or quartered cup mushrooms)

1 pack of instant soup (mushroom flavour works well)

250ml cream

200ml water

1 egg, beaten

Method:

Saute the garlic and onion in little olive oil

Add chopped bacon until cooked, then add mushrooms

Add chicken pieces and fry until they are just cooked on the outside

Now add water and the instant soup (I used Ainsley Harriott’s Chicken and Leek yesterday) and turn the heat down

Cover with lid and let simmer for about 45mins, then remove lid and add cream

Boil until liquid is reduced (increase heat at this point)

Add salt and pepper to taste

Heat oven to 180°C

Spoon pie mix into baking dish, then cover with pastry

Cover pastry with egg using a basting brush, then put into heated oven for 20 mins, or until pastry is an even brown

Thanks Nicolette. You can see all of the Great British Chefs team lunches we have cooked at our Flickr set.