Home Made Tomato Ketchup

If you have some surplus tomatoes then this is delicious.

Ingredients

1kg of ripe tomatoes (roughly chopped)

1 carrot (chopped)

1 small onion (chopped)

1 celery stick (chopped)

Pinch of ground cloves

1 bay leaf

2 mace blades

150ml red wine vinegar

60g light soft brown sugar

Method

1. Put all the ingredients except the sugar in a heavy-based pan. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and cook for another 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2. Discard the mace and bay leaf. Puree the mixture and then rub through a nylon sieve back into the rinsed-out pan.

3. Stir in the sugar, bring back to the boil and boil for 5 minutes, stirring all the time, until the mixture has the thickness of thick cream.

4. Pour into warm, steralized jars with vinegar-proof lids but first cover with a waxed disc, then seal up and cool.

The ketchup can be kept in a dark, cool place for about 3 months. Once opened it should be kept in the fridge and be used within 2 weeks. Shake before use.

Huevos Rancheros

I do like the occasional cooked breakfast, especially if I feel I need a bit of a kick to get me going. This is a delicious Mexican dish that can be eaten at any time. It's just that I've had it for breakfast and it was lovely.

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion (chopped)

1 green pepper (deseeded and sliced)

1 garlic clove (sliced)

½ tsp crushed chilli flakes

2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes

salt and black pepper

6 eggs

100g feta cheese or Greek-style cheese (crumbled)

Method

1. Heat a wide, heavy-based pan over a medium heat. Add the olive oil and, once hot, gently fry the onion with a pinch of salt until softened and translucent. Add the green pepper, cover with a lid and gently fry for further five minutes, or until soft.

2. Once the pepper is softened, add the garlic. Cook for two minutes, then sprinkle in the chilli flakes and add the chopped tomatoes. Season with a little salt and pepper and cook over a medium-low heat for 10-15 minutes, or until the sauce is rich and flavoursome. Taste and adjust the seasoning as necessary.

3. Make six wells in the tomato mixture and break an egg into each. Cover the pan and cook gently over a low heat for 3-4 minutes, or until the whites are set (cook for a further 2-3 minutes if you like your yolks set).

4. Sprinkle with cheese and serve. 

This dish goes well with flatbreads like pitta bread or Naans.

Lemon Barley Water

We're lucky enough to have a herb and spice stall on Norwich market that sells all sorts of things that are normally quite hard to come by. Vanilla pods, dried peaches, just about every nut you can think of...and big bags of barley at a very cheap price. I bought some a few years ago and since then I've made this on a pretty regular basis.

Ingredients

2 unwaxed lemons

50g caster sugar

125g pearl barley

1.2 litres boiling water

Method

1. Finely grate the zest of the lemons and place in a large bowl with the sugar. 

2. Thoroughly rinse the barley and add to the bowl with the boiling water. Stir well and leave to cool.

3. Squeeze the juice from the lemons into the cooled barley water. Strain through a sieve into a jug and chill in the fridge.

4. Serve with ice and maybe some sprigs of mint.

Turnip 'Risotto' (serves 4 as main course)

I've often thought that the turnip gets a bit a raw deal. This dish comes from Simple Italian Cooking by Mario Batali and turns this neglected vegetable into the star of the show.

Ingredients

500ml vegetable stock

90ml olive oil

1 medium red onion (finely diced)

700g turnips (peeled and diced into 4-5mm pieces)

30g unsalted butter

20g Parmesan (grated)

Small handful of parsley leaves

Seasoning

Method

1. Heat the stock to a simmer and keep hot. Warm the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed frying pan. Toss in the onion and heat for about 10 minutes.

2. Add the turnips and cook for 2 minutes.

3. Ladle in some of the stock and cook until absorbed, stirring occasionally. Continue until the stock added (about 10-15 minutes).

4. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the butter and Parmesan. 

5. Remove from heat, scatter with chopped parsley leaves and serve.

God's Kitchels

This is a recipe that goes back to the 14th century and has it's origins in Suffolk (although there is an equivalent in Coventry called God Cakes). It's a very simple recipe and was traditionally made by children for their parents either at Easter or the New Year. They are triangles of puff pastry with a mincemeat filling. The corners are supposed to represent the Holy Trinity.

 

It's a good way to use up any spare mincemeat you have.

Ingredients

225g puff pastry

110g mincemeat

1 egg white (beaten)

2 tsp rum or brandy (optional)

Caster sugar

Method

1. Pre-heat oven to 220°C.

2. Thinly roll out the pastry thinly on a lightly floured surface.

3. Cut into 10cm squares, cut each square in half on the diagonal to produce two triangles.

4. Mix the mincemeat with the rum or brandy (if used).

5. Place a spoonful of mincemeat on one half of the triangles.

6. Cover each with another triangle, moisten the edges with a little water and pressing firmly down to seal.

7. Brush with the beaten egg white, cut three small slits in each with a very sharp knife and sprinkle with caster sugar.

8. Place on a greased baking sheet.

9. Bake for 15 minutes or until well risen and golden.

10. Cool on a wire rack and eat as fresh as possible.

Eve's Pudding (serves 4)

There was a time when my daughter was continually bringing friends for tea. Many of them requested this pudding and I remember making this many times for groups of enthusiastic kids. Serve with custard or cream.

Ingredients

For the filling

500g cooking apples

1 tbsp of lemon juice

2 tbsp of water

20g butter

2 tbsp caster sugar

For the topping

75g butter

100g caster sugar

100g self-raising flour

2 eggs (lightly beaten)

1 tbsp boiling water

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C.

2. Peel, core and chop the apples

3. Add the apples, lemon juice and water to saucepan. Stir and cook briskly for 5 minutes until apples are soft.

4. Add butter, caster sugar and stir.

5. Transfer to a gratin dish (900ml capacity one) and leave to cool.

6. For the topping, cream together butter and caster sugar.

7. Fold in the flour and egg in alternate spoonfuls. Be careful just to fold in rather than stirring.

8. Add spoonful of boiling water to the mix.

9. Spoon the mixture over the apples. Cook in over for about 30-35 minutes.

White Bean and Tomato Soup (Serves 4)

This is a delicious soup and very easy (and cheap) to make. Some grated Parmesan cheese and posh bread just rounds it off nicely.

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil

1 onion (sliced)

1 garlic clove (crushed

800g tinned chopped tomatoes

2x420g tins cannellini beans

1 tbsp tomato puree

600ml vegetable stock

15g fresh basil leaves (torn into bits)

1 tsp caster sugar

Method

1. Heat the oil in a large pan. Fry the onions and garlic for about 8-10 minutes.

2. Stir in the tomatoes, puree and stock. Stir and simmer for 10 minutes.

3. Add the cannellini beans and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the basil and sugar. Add seasoning to taste.