Cheap Seasonal Recipes
HERITAGE - CHEAP SEASONAL RECIPES
ANZAC BISCUITS
It is said that these were made by British housewives for the Australia and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZACs) who were fighting in the 1st World War in Gallipoli. They travel and keep well and the recipe has remained popular to the present day.
POTATO PASTRY VEG TARTLETS
Makes about 30 mini ones, but you can alter the sizes or make one great big one
PORK AND BEAN CASSEROLE (Serves 4 - 6, cooking time 40-45 mins.)
NETTLE AND HONEY CAKE - “If you can’t beat ‘em, eat ‘em!”
Instead of cursing the abundance of nettles at this time of year, why not make use of them? My constant quest for new flavours and recipes, especially money-saving ideas, inspired me to experiment baking with nettles this week and the result was a resounding success. The colour of the cake is interesting but the flavour is lovely (not too sweet), the cake is very moist and it must be good for you!
If you want to top or sandwich together the cakes, why not try lemon buttercream or cream cheese icing?
It is said that these were made by British housewives for the Australia and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZACs) who were fighting in the 1st World War in Gallipoli. They travel and keep well and the recipe has remained popular to the present day.
- 85g porridge oats
- 85g desiccated coconut
- 100g plain flour
- 100g sugar (white or light soft brown)
- 100g butter or margarine, plus extra for greasing baking trays
- 1 tbsp golden syrup or honey
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- Heat the oven to 180C or fan 160C or gas 4. Put the oats, coconut, flour and sugar in a bowl.
- Melt the butter in a small pan and stir in the golden syrup or honey. Add the bicarbonate of soda to 2 tbsp boiling water, then stir into the golden syrup and butter mixture.
- Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and pour in the butter and golden syrup mixture. Stir gently to incorporate the dry ingredients.
- Put walnut-sized balls of the mixture, well-spaced, on to greased baking trays and flatten slightly. Bake for 10-12 mins until golden brown. Transfer the biscuits to a wire rack to cool.
POTATO PASTRY VEG TARTLETS
Makes about 30 mini ones, but you can alter the sizes or make one great big one
- 250g (8 oz) mashed potato
- 250g (8 oz) flour (any kind, plain, s.r. wholemeal, rice flour or spelt)
- 60g (2 oz) marge/butter/lard (during WW1 it was probably lard)
- Pinch of salt and a little mustard (optional)
- A little milk or water if needed
- 500g various veg you like eg onion, celery, courgettes, peppers, tomatoes, leeks and a clove of garlic. I feel onion, celery & garlic are essential but follow your own tastes. Aubergine would add a Mediterranean feel.
- A little seasoning & herbs
- 2Tbsp cooking oil or marge for frying.
- Several tomatoes to make little slices for topping (Different coloured cherry tomatoes are very nice for this)
- 200g grated/crumbled cheese - any or a mixture of what’s in the fridge or keep the cheeses separate for variety. (blue cheese is fantastic)
- Rub the fat into the flour to resemble breadcrumbs.
- Add the mashed potato and mix well to form a firm dough adding a little milk or water if necessary. (If the mashed potato contained milk it may not need any liquid.) Leave to chill in the fridge at least 20 minutes.
- Chop all the veg (apart from tomatoes for topping) and fry gently in the marge or oil until soft but not mushy.
- Roll out the pastry to about thickness of a pound coin and cut out to line tartlet tins.
- Pile in the filling (mini tartlets take about a heaped teaspoonful).
- Slice the whole tomatoes and arrange on top pressing down slightly, then sprinkle on the cheese.
- Bake at gas mk 6/400F/200C for 20-25 minutes for little ones, a bit longer for larger.
PORK AND BEAN CASSEROLE (Serves 4 - 6, cooking time 40-45 mins.)
- 12 oz. belly of pork
- 1 head celery
- 1 large onion
- large can baked beans in tomato sauce
- 3 oz. breadcrumbs
- 1 oz. butter
- Dice the pork and fry until golden coloured and nearly tender. Put in a shallow dish with diced celery.
- Chop the onion finely and fry in the pork fat remaining in the pan until nearly tender. Spread over the pork and celery.
- Top with baked beans and then the breadcrumbs mixed with melted butter.
- Bake for about 30 mins. at 375 degrees until the topping is crisp and golden.
NETTLE AND HONEY CAKE - “If you can’t beat ‘em, eat ‘em!”
Instead of cursing the abundance of nettles at this time of year, why not make use of them? My constant quest for new flavours and recipes, especially money-saving ideas, inspired me to experiment baking with nettles this week and the result was a resounding success. The colour of the cake is interesting but the flavour is lovely (not too sweet), the cake is very moist and it must be good for you!
- Wear thick gloves to pick and handle the raw nettles – they lose their sting once boiled or steamed. Only pick the tender top leaves and don’t include any flowers.
- 1-2 (gloved) handfuls of raw nettles
- 75g butter or margarine
- 30g dark muscovado sugar
- 160g clear honey
- 2 large eggs beaten
- Vanilla paste or essence
- 200g self-raising flour
- Preheat the oven to 160C, 140C Fan or Gas mark 2. Grease and line a 20cm diameter cake tin (or 2 sandwich tins) with greaseproof paper.
- Using gloves, wash the nettles and steam or simmer in a minimal amount of water for 5 minutes. Remove excess liquid (through a sieve or squeezing with a wooden spoon) and blend with a food blender. Then squeeze a little more liquid out, though not so much that you remove all the flavour.
- Melt the butter/margarine, sugar & honey over a low heat. Add the pureed nettles and leave to cool for about 15 minutes.
- Beat the eggs and vanilla paste/essence into the butter/nettle mixture, then gently stir in the flour. Pour into the cake tin(s) & bake for about 1 hour 15 minutes (or less if in 2 shallow tins), until golden brown and the cake springs back when pressed and/or a skewer pushed into the middle comes out clean.
If you want to top or sandwich together the cakes, why not try lemon buttercream or cream cheese icing?