Veganuary 25th- Burns Night

I confess that in previous 'Dry Januaries' I have conceded defeat on the 25th. After all, Burns Night wouldn't be the same without a wee dram to toast the Baird, would it?
But with Veganuary- now, there's an easier challenge.
As, whilst some hae meat- you don't need to!

Burns Cottage in Alloway

My relationship with Rabbie is a complicated one- going back many years- to 1973 in fact, when I got my first summer job as a tour guide in his birthplace in Alloway.
Although I didn't appreciate him then, in my later years I have come to acknowledge the genius of this working class hero and champion of the Auld Scots language and folklore.
So, every 25th January I serve a traditional meal of haggis, neeps and tatties- and say the Selkirk Grace.

Well, when I say traditional.....

It's 2018, it's Veganuary- and we're having Clapshot Soup with Buckwheat and Dill Scones, Veggie Haggis Kofte with Neep and Tattie Falafel and Chilli Jelly followed by Whisky Shortbread. Ha! But a meal's a meal for a' that...

Clapshot Soup with Haggis Samosas
http://lizsleftovers.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/clapshot

The Clapshot Soup I have made many times before on this blog- with any leftover roast root veg fried up with a tablespoon of curry paste and blitzed with a litre of strong vegetable stock to make a warming and spicy starter. You can make it a more substantial main the next day by adding some haggis samosas ( made from your leftover haggis ).

The Buckwheat and Dill Scones have a blini-like flavour (whch goes well with smoked salmon for non-veggies or with cream cheese -like AlproSoya)

Buckwheat and Dill Scones

120g plain flour

100g buckwheat flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp chopped dill

2 tsp mustard

150 ml soy milk approx (or natural yoghurt for non-vegans)

60g veg marge

1. Sift together the flours, salt and baking powder.

2. Rub the marge into the flour and add the chopped dill

3. Mix in the soy milk and mustard gradually with a knife, until you begin to have a soft dough

4. Bring the dough together on a floured board and roll out to about 3 cm thick

5. Cut out with a pastry cutter of your choice

6. Place on a well greased baking tray and bake at 180 degrees for 10-15 minutes until risen and golden.

Now for the main event- Haggis Kofte

Vegan haggis

MacSweens do a vegetarian haggis which they say is suitable for vegans too. I often make my own- but it is not vegan as it contains an egg: 

(recipe here http://lizsleftovers.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/vegetarian%20haggis)

Go with whichever one you want.

Haggis Kofte
(Photo courtesy of Macsweens)

 You will need:

1 veggie haggis or 300g homemade haggis

1 finely chopped red chilli

100g fresh breadcrumbs

50g onion finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic - crushed and chopped

1 tbsp fresh chopped parsley or coriander

1 tbsp sweet chilli sauce

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp coriander

1/2 tsp turmeric

salt and pepper and oil

1. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and shape into 6 sausages. Set aside in the fridge to firm up.

2. Soak 6 bamboo skewers in water and then thread the patties on to them.

3. Brush with oil and grill- or bake on baking paper at 175 degrees- until brown and sizzling.

Neep and Tattie Falafel

I make falafel with all sorts of veg- butternut squash, pumpkin, carrot- so why not neeps and tatties?

1. Roast 500g of  chopped swede (neeps), 100g cubed potatoes, 2 red onions (quartered) and 3 garlic cloves in a hot oven in a tbsp of veg oil, 1 tbsp coarse grain mustard and some salt and pepper until the veg are soft and caramelized.

Roasted root veg

2. Blitz to a puree 1 tin of chickpeas (drained) with 1 tbsp chopped parsley or coriander, the juice of a lemon and 2 tbsp olive oil.

3. Add the roasted garlic cloves and onion and pulse.

4. Mash the neeps and tatties or pass them through a ricer

5. In a bowl, combine the veg and chickpeas with 1 heaped tbsp flour, 2 tsp baking powder 1 tsp each of powdered cumin, coriander and cinnamon and 1/2 tsp turmeric

Neeps, tatties and spices ready to mix

6. Add plenty of salt and pepper to taste

7. Roll the falafel into balls or spoon onto a baking tray lined with baking paper

Neep Falafel ready for baking

8. Brush with oil and bake at 170 degrees until browned and beginning to crisp.

If they spread (like these have)- allow to cool briefly and then gently reshape.

(I sometimes like to cook these the day before and then give them a short second burst in the oven just before serving to make them even darker and firmer).

Wee sleekit falafel

I serve these with toasted pitta breads, hummus and chilli jelly.

Chilli Jelly

I use mild chillis - but you can up the heat and flavour by using hotter ones or more of them.
You will need 6-7 sterilised jars ( passed through a hot wash in the dishwasher and then placed to dry at 50 degrees in the oven until you need them.)
750g red, yellow and orange peppers
100g chilli peppers
50g fresh root ginger
350ml cider vinegar
1 kg sugar
juice of 1 lime
1 tsp salt
2 sachets vegegel or agar agar

1. Wash, deseed and roughly chop your peppers

Use a selection of peppers

2. Blitz in a food processor along with the root ginger
3. Bring to the boil in a large pan with the vinegar and lime juice
4. Add the sugar and simmer until dissolved

A colourful panful simmering

5. Bring to the boil for 6-7 minutes ( watching it carefully ) in case it boils over
6. Mix the vegegel or agar agar with a little cold water
7. Allow the mixture to cool slightly and then whisk in the gel
8. Pot immediately into the hot jars, seal and label.

Chilli Jelly- perfect with haggis and neeps

Now for pud.

Whisky Shortbread is an easy accompaniment to whatever pud you choose. I usually make it with butter- but it is good made with vegetable margarine too for vegans.

Whisky Shortbread

The best shortbread is made with a ratio of 3:2:1 (eg. 300g flour, 200g butter or vegetable marge, 100g sugar). I like to replace 1 tbsp of the flour with cornflour to lighten it a little.
Just put all the ingredients in a food processor and pulse until fine. Add two caps of whisky and pulse until it comes together in a soft dough.
Turn out into a greased baking tin, press evenly to fill the space and bake at 150 degrees for 15 minutes or so until lightly golden. (Keep an eye on it, as you don't want it to overcook).
Once out of the oven, prick with a fork all over and mark into slices.
Sprinkle with vanilla sugar et voilà!

Time for that wee dram and a toast!

Some hate meat and girn and weep
Resisting all coercion
So bless the tatties, bless the neeps
And the vegetarian version

Then filled with fruits o' field and vine
And feelin' fairlie frisky
The One who water turned to wine
We'd ask to bless the whisky*

Cheers Rabbie!

*Veggie Selkirk Grace- extra verses by Richard Medrington

Savoury Cakes, Muffins, Scones and Tartlets

Scones, butter and a cup of tea...it all helps.

It's been a sad week for me and I haven't felt much like communicating. But friends have said to me that at times like this it is important to do a few 'normal' things and normal for me is cooking and blogging, so I've conjured up this blog from the archives.








There are certain recipes on my blog which have proved much more popular than the rest: a recipe for courgette tart has been shared most often on Pinterest, my recipe for mushy peas (extraordinarily) caused the most controversy and comments on the Guardian website, several other recipes have appeared on other people's blogs - but by far and away the most clicked-on recipe on this blog remains the one for olive cakes.

Olive Cakes

This recipe was given to me by French friends after I'd eaten these delectable savoury muffins at an al fresco lunch in the South of France.

The lunch that launched 1000 clicks

Since then I've made it again and again - as a dinner party starter, smaller versions for a canape at a buffet, or just as a supper meal in its own right.

I've also made lots of variations on a theme and that is what I would like to share with you today on the blog.

First of all, of course- the olive cakes themselves.

Ingredients: (to make a dozen medium muffins)

160 g olives (green or black according to your preference) chopped coarsely

100 g self raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

2 large eggs

1 pot of natural yogurt or 100ml of milk

80 ml olive oil

100g grated emmental or cheddar

1. Sift the flour and baking powder together

2. Mix in the olives and cheese

3. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix until you have a thick batter

4. Spoon or pour into silicone (or paper) muffin moulds

5. Bake at 200 degrees for 20-25 minutes until risen and golden

6. Serve warm or cold with a green salad.

Now that you have the basic mix, there are lots of ways to vary it- experimenting with different flavours: sweetcorn and cheddar, red and green peppers, aubergine 'mud pies' (so called because of their beigy-brown colour!) made with aubergine puree added to the mix,  and here black pudding, apple and cider.

Black Pudding and Apple Muffins

The mix works well incidentally with a variety of different cheeses- so if you are lactose intolerant, you can use goat's cheese or Pecorino, (or indeed not bother with cheese if you don't like it- the other flavours are strong enough to carry the little cakes whatever).
If you are gluten intolerant, then substitute lentil or chickpea flour for a nuttier but equally tasty version (and achieve a similar effect with wholemeal or buckwheat flour too, if you like a denser cake.)

You can also bake the mix as a loaf and slice it to serve. Here I've made Courgette and Pesto Cake which I urge you to try as it was scrumptious!

Ingredients:

150g self raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

2 courgettes

2 tbsp green pesto

juice of half a lemon

2 eggs

200ml natural yoghurt

100ml olive oil

100g grated Parmesan or Pecorino

1 tsp each salt and ground pepper

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees

2. Sift together the flour and the baking powder and salt

3. Add the eggs, yoghurt and olive oil and beat well

4. Wash and grate the courgettes using a coarse grater or food processor.

5. Wrap in a clean J cloth or tea towel and squeeze hard to remove all excess liquid

Squeeze out the moisture

6. Add the courgettes, lemon, pesto and cheese to the cake mix and beat well.

7. Pour into a buttered and lined loaf tin and bake for 45 minutes until golden and when a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. (Cover with aluminium foil for the last 10 minutes if it is browning too quickly.)

8. Cool on a wire rack and serve warm.

Mix and pour into the mould

Bake until golden

Courgette and Pesto Cake

You are probably thinking of other flavour combinations now to try. Here's a few ideas (which I haven't tried yet- but why not beat me to it!): chorizo and black olive, smoked salmon and dill, bacon and cheese, ham and mushroom, 3 cheese or pine nut and sun dried tomato.

The same principle applies to scones: once you have your basic savoury scone mix (as below) then any of the above flavour combinations will enliven them.

Savoury scones

Cheese Scones:

225g oz plain flour

60 g butter

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

125g grated cheese

1 tsp mustard

150ml milk (approx)

1. Sift the flour, salt and baking powder into a bowl

2. Rub the fat into the flour

3. Mix in the cheese and mustard

4. Add the milk until you have a soft dough

5. Roll out to 3cm thickness and cut out scone shapes

6. Place on a greased baking tray, brush with milk and bake at 180 degrees for 10-15 minutes until golden.

Vary it any way you choose.

 I like spring onion and cheddar, but am also partial to marmite and cheese scones too.

On a cookery course, I took part in a Scon-athon- all of us baking our signature scones and there were so many variations it was like the Galapagos Islands of Baked Goods. (I'm the one hiding in the blue stripey apron. I made sure my scones were at the back).

Zoom in for some scone ideas

Finally, I just want to share some scrumptious tartlet ideas with you.

As an experiment, instead of shortcrust pastry, I used puff pastry (as I had some to use up) as the base for some smoked salmon and asparagus tartlets- and was very pleased with the result.

Salmon andAspargus Tartlets

Here is the recipe:

For 4-5 tartlets

1 roll of ready-rolled puff pastry
10 asparagus spears (steamed till tender)
50g smoked salmon trimmings
2 eggs
100ml milk
salt
pepper






1. Cut tartlet shapes from the pastry, place in tartlet tins and bake blind for 10 minutes or so
2. Lay the asparagus spears and the snipped up salmon equally in the tart cases
3. Mix the eggs, milk and seasoning together in a jug and carefully pour into the cases
4. Bake at 180 degrees for 15 minutes or so until risen, firm and golden.



Again, once you've got the idea then try some variations- smoked haddock and sweetcorn for little chowder pies, or anchovy, onion and olive for Pissaladiere tartlets

Pissaladiere Tart
http://lizsleftovers.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/onion%20tart

- are two that spring to mind.

All of these are great for using up leftovers- just look in the fridge, see what's there and let the ingredients guide you to success.

Sorry it's a short blog today. I hope I'll be back on form soon.

Week 45- Beyond Boxing Day

So, Christmas has been and gone. The over-shopping that preceded the Big Day- and the overeating that characterized it- have given away to the over-full fridge, bursting with leftovers.

Boxing Day uses up loads of these- we always have cold cuts, baked jacket potatoes and salads the day after Christmas- but what to do with all the rest?



It's not just a question of avoiding waste- it's also about having a variety of dishes and menus to tempt the tastebuds after so many rich flavours.

Did your Christmas dinner leftovers look something like this?

If so, I have some menu ideas to use things up economically - and also tastily too.

I'm guessing you've got plenty of turkey, cold roast potatoes, parsnips, sprouts, cranberry sauce, bread sauce, gravy, mincemeat, cream, cheeses from the cheeseboard and enough chocolates to bury a brontosaurus.

So- how about clear turkey broth with turkey and bacon ravioli followed by Bubble and Squeak cakes with a poached egg and crispy bacon and mince pies 4 different ways ( served with creme fraiche.)

There's also cranberry and wensleydale scones and chocolate wonton parcels for snacks ( it is still the festive season after all).

Chow Phan

The first thing to do - if you haven't done it already- is to strip every last bit of meat from your turkey carcass. I save the best bits of breast and drumsticks for Boxing Day cold cuts, and put the rest of the turkey meat back in the fridge for making Chow Phan (recipe in the cloud at the top of the page) and Turkey and Ham Pie (recipe coming soon. This uses up bread sauce too.) You can freeze this cooked meat in a sealed container if you prefer, as long as it was well -cooked, cooled and refrigerated soon after cooling.

Take the carcass, break it up into bits and put it, any drumstick bones, skin etc into a slow cooker or large saucepan. Add two bay leaves, a handful of parsley or a teaspoon of dried herbs, a chopped onion, a sprig of rosemary and a teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Pour over 2 litres of cold water and either leave to simmer in the saucepan for a couple of hours or in the slow cooker for 8 hours or so.

Making stock

When this is complete, strain the liquid from the bones and keep it warm. Let the carcass cool for a few minutes, then carefully pick through what is in the sieve, taking off every last little bit of soft meat. I ended up with a good 150g or so in a pot.

(This soft meat is perfect for making into filling for ravioli- just blitz with some cooked bacon, garlic and soft cheese et voila!). However, if you are going to all the trouble of making this deep, rich turkey broth from scratch, you can treat yourself to some shop bought ravioli to float in it, as the Italian fresh ones are really very good. (Still make the filling and freeze it for another time however.)

Turkey broth with ravioli

Taste the broth and adjust the seasoning- you can make it richer by adding some leftover turkey gravy to the mix.
Bring a pan of salted water to the boil and cook the ravioli with a handful of frozen peas and a sliced spring onion if you have it.

Bubble and Squeak cakes

Ladle the broth into bowls, spoon in some drained ravioli and peas/onions- scrumptious and the perfect antidote to lots of roast meat and sauces.



Bubble and Squeak has featured often on the blog- as it is such a delicious and cheap way of using up vegetables. No apologies for featuring it again- this time made from mashed potato, parsnips, sprouts and a bit of spinach (leek or cabbage or kale would be good too). Mix everything together in a bowl and season well. Take a potato masher and squish everything together some more. Wet your hands and shape the mixture into patties. Fry in vegetable oil until golden and crispy on each side. (Keep warm).

Meanwhile, grill some bacon, pancetta or prosciuttio until really crispy. Drain on kitchen paper.

Poach an egg in boiling salted water for 2  minutes or so and lay on top of the Bubble and Squeak cake, topped with some bacon. Mmmm...

Bubble and Squeak with poached egg and bacon

I've had posh versions of this in restaurants too.

Posh Bubble and Squeak

For pudding, take some of that jar of mincemeat that you have in the larder or fridge, and some spring roll wrappers or vol aux vent cases from the freezer. (Avid blog followers are likely to have these lurking somewhere - or at the very least some filo pastry.)
Experiment with wrapping up the mincemeat different ways- spring roll style, samosas, cigars, parcels or mille-feuilles. For instructions, see the cloud at the top of the page or copy the illustrations here.

Mincemeat vol aux vents

Roll up your mincemeat cigars

Mince pie variations

Serve with creme fraiche or ice cream.

Mincemeat cigars

Mincemeat mille feuilles

Now for some treats- firstly chocolate wontons.

I was given lots of chocolates this year for Christmas- colleagues, family, friends. Thank you all. They will be eaten judiciously over the lean months between now and the summer. (Actually, probably not particulary lean if I'm scoffing chocs.)

But what to do with the cheap and cheerful 'After Dinner Mints' I bought to grace the Christmas table myself ?

Here is an idea from Donna Hay.

Take a wonton wrapper or square of filo pastry, brush the edges with water. Slice a  mint chocolate square in half, or place a whole round mint on the wonton. Fold over to encase the chocolate, brush with melted butter or Flora and bake in a medium oven (180 degrees), until the wonton starts to slightly brown. The chocolate will be melted inside and yummy. Like a sweet spring roll.

Chocolate wontons

Finally, what to do with all the leftover bits from the cheese board.

Firstly put all your bits of hard cheese into the goblet of your food processor and blitz. (I had cheddar and wensleydale with cranberries- but any 'speciality' cheddars, red leicesters,  parmesan bits etc will do fine.)

You need about 100g- but if you have more, freeze it once grated.

Take 200g of self raising flour, 50 g of rolled oats, 2 tsp baking powder, 75g of marge, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper and blitz in the same goblet of the food processor (no need to wash it). Mix the cheese back in with 2-3 tablespoons of yoghurt and a good dessertspoon of mustard. As the dough comes together, add some milk if you need to. You need a soft dough that can be easily rolled- so not too sticky or wet. (These make quite a dense scone- leave out the oats if you prefer something daintier)

Turn out on a floured board, shape into a round about 3 cm thick and cut out scone shapes. Place on a greased baking tray, brush with milk and sprinkle with fleur de sel or sea salt and bake at 190 degrees until just golden on top.

Brush scones with milk

Serve spread with cream cheese (leftover Boursin, Dolce Latte,  Le roule, etc) or cranberry sauce.

Wensleydale scones

Another Christmas done and dusted- time for a well earned cup of tea!

If I can get past all these Santas!

Week 19- Afternoon Tea for Two

Afternoon tea for two

Around here, June is the month for garden parties, church flower festivals, weddings and village fetes. The bunting is out, the bands are playing and the flower arrangers,  jam makers and cake bakers are working flat out. What better time to think about sitting down to a civilized afternoon tea for two?

This week's blog looks at the traditional tiffin- three dainty courses, but served elegantly on the lawn or in the parlour.




A traditional afternoon tea has three elements: the savoury course (made up of dainty sandwiches and small savoury treats), the sweet course ( tiny cakes and meringues) and the cream tea (scones, with cream, and jam or fruit and a pot of tea.)

My version features smoked salmon sandwiches along with cucumber and dill squares and cakes aux olives for the savoury course. Followed by a trio of fairy cakes - a mini Victoria sponge, a butterfly cake and an iced fairy cake- along with meringues with fruit and cream. Plus of course the scones!

Sandwiches, cakes and meringues

The sandwiches should have the crusts removed and the bread cut into shapes (triangles and squares for example). The cucumber and dill filling is delightful- spread the bread with herby cream cheese into which you have mixed some chopped dill, then add layers of peeled and finely sliced cucumber.

Don't waste those crusts though- I cut mine into cubes and froze them in a container to use as croutons in salads and soups.

Future croutons!

The olive cakes have featured before on the blog- but it is my most popular recipe -so no apologies for featuring it again.

Ingredients- 160g of olives, 100g of self raising flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 3 eggs, 1 pot natural yoghurt or 100 ml of skimmed milk, 80 ml of olive oil and 100g of grated cheese.

Roughly chop the olives, beat the eggs into the milk and then combine all the ingredients in a large mixing jug. Pour into silicone muffin moulds and bake at 200 degrees for 15-20 minutes until firm and golden.

Cakes aux olives

For the fairy cakes- make up a plain cake batter using 125g of self raising flour, 125g of butter and 125g of caster sugar, 1 tsp of vanilla essence and 2 beaten eggs.Pour into paper cases and bake at 200 degrees for 15 minutes until lightly golden.

When cool, split some of the cakes in two and spread with jam and cream, sandwich back together and sprinkle with icing sugar ( to make mini Victoria sponges ), slice the tops off others, fill with cream and then replace the top cut into two 'wings' to make butterfly cakes. Ice the remainder with toppings of your choice- cream and fruit, icing and sprinkles, buttercream icing etc

The meringues are simplicity itself (if you buy shop meringue nests). Just top with creme fraiche and berries.

Scones are next. I always follow a recipe from my mum's old school cookery book circa 1946!

The ratio of ingredients should be 1/8 fat to flour, 1/8 sugar, 1/8 other ingredient eg. fruit

So for 250g of  flour and 2 tsp of baking powder, rub in 60-70g of margarine, add same quantity of fruit and sugar and mix to a stiff dough with approximately 100 ml of milk.
Turn out onto a floured board and shape into a round about 4cm thick.
Use cutters to shape your scones or cut into triangles (for savoury scones).
Place them on a greased baking tray, brush with milk and place in a hot oven (210 degrees) for 4 minutes and then reduce the heat to 190 degrees and cook for a further 10-15 minutes until golden.

Scones can be varied endlessly- why not try mixing in fresh fruit such as rhubarb :

Rhubarb scones

Or cheese, olives, pepper or spring onion for savoury scones:

Cheese scones

But what of the leftovers? Well, cucumber is very good cooked. I made a cucumber and scallion soup- which was tasty warm (but would do nicely chilled in shot glasses as part of a buffet). Just peel and slice the remaining cucumber,slice some spring onions and add them all to some vegetable stock. simmer for 20 minutes or so, then blitz with a little skimmed milk. Season to taste and decorate with chopped herbs.

Olive cakes freeze really well, and I often have one or two with a salad as part of my packed lunch.

So there you have it: afternoon tea for two and a few extra meals besides.

I will leave you with some images of the church
fete so you can conjure up the right ambiance!

A quintessentially British summer event! (With tea and cakes.)