Out & About Winter 2018

Recipes Ashampsted-based baker and founder of Blackberry Cottage Kate Saunders’ new cookbook Secret Ingredients from Aubergine to Zucchini uses vegetables as one of the main ingredients in a variety of cakes, tarts and ice creams. Below are two recipes from the book, which are guaranteed to get your tastebuds tingling and provide tasty treats over the winter season FOOD & DRINK

Sweet potato mince pies

Sweet potato short crust pastry 120g sweet potato 250g plain flour 100g unsalted butter (at room temperature) 20g caster sugar

Carrot mincemeat 60g carrot 100g apple 100g sultanas 100g raisins 50g cranberries 100g currants Wash and peel both the carrot and apple, then finely grate the carrot and coarsely grate the apple. In a separate bowl, mix all of the dried ingredients. Add the sugar, suet and spice, and mix well. Finally, add the orange juice and zest, Cointreau and grated carrot and apple. Combine altogether until thoroughly mixed. Cover with a tea towel and leave in a cool dry place for at least 24 hours. Ready to use or to keep, spoon into clean sterilised jars, packing the mix down with the back of a teaspoon. This will keep for up to six months in a cool, dry place, such as a pantry, larder or even under the stairs. 50g dark brown sugar 80g vegetable suet 1 tsp mixed spice 1 unwaxed orange – juice & zest 50ml Cointreau Place 1-2 teaspoons of mincemeat into each pastry case. Place the lids on top and press down lightly around the edge. Brush the top with some milk, then make a couple of small holes in each lid for any steam to escape. Pop into the middle of the preheated oven to bake for 15-18 minutes, until golden brown. Place on a cooling rack for a few minsutes, while still in the tin, then carefully transfer your pies to a wire rack to finish cooling. If you’re feeling in the mood, why not try some different types of pastry top, perhaps latticed, strips, or added decorative pastry holly leaves, stars, unicorns… let your imagination run riot.

Peel and steam the sweet potato, then puree it with a food processor or hand blender until it’s nice and smooth (it’s a good idea to do this the day before and keep it in the fridge so it’s cold – it makes it easier to use and gives better results). In a food processor, pulse the sweet potato puree, butter, flour and sugar, until it looks like crumbs. You can do this by hand, rubbing the ingredients together with your fingertips, but it can take a while and your hands need to be cold. Tip the crumbs onto your work surface, then use palms of your hands to press the mix until it forms a firm ball of dough, handling the pastry as little as possible. Wrap it in cling film and place in the fridge for an hour. Mince pies - Makes 24 pies (cover picture) batch sweet potato pastry batch mincemeat 2 tbsp milk flour to dust the board Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4. Lightly grease, with a little butter, a 12-hole tart tin. Cookie cutter to match the size of your tart tin, 8cm is fairly typical. Dust your work surface with a little flour, unwrap and roll out the chilled pastry so it’s no more than 0.5cm thick. Using a round cutter, cut out 12 circles big enough to line the holes of the tin, then cut out 12 lids, you might want to use a smaller cutter for this.

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