Tag Archives: Sunday lunch

Rhubarb and Raspberry Crumble with Oats and Hazelnuts

Another crumble recipe? Really?  Well, yes!    I just couldn’t resist the wonderful combination of the first of the forced pink rhubarb and some of the last of the frozen autumn raspberries.  That and a topping of an oaty and nutty biscuity crumble, well, who could resist?
I am a recent convert to crumble as too often I find the topping a bit too claggy and the fruit underneath sparse.

With a husband who simply loves crumble it took years for me to get the balance right so we could both enjoy what seems like the quintessential classic British pudding.
What’s more this is an adaptable recipe.  It can be vegan by using a butter replacement (I used the vegan flora) and there are such good vegan cream/custard/icecream available that no one need miss out.  If you have someone who has a nut allergy up the flour and oats to replace that 100g of hazelnuts or add some mixed seeds instead.  Gluten free flour can be easily substituted for those with an intolerance or coeliac.  Everyone gets a look in.

Cut rhubarb

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Slow Cooked Shoulder of Lamb with Potatoes, Thyme and Garlic

I love a roast on a Sunday.  I love a long dog walk on a Sunday.   Or catching up on all the things I’d promised myself I would do during the week – like pottering in the garden or reading the Sunday newspapers with a large cup of coffee.   Unfortunately producing a roast and doing any of these things usually doesn’t make for a relaxing day.  Enter the solution – Slow Cooked Shoulder of Lamb.  Particularly appropriate this St David’s Day weekend but delicious any time.   The lamb sits on a layer of garlicky potatoes and onions (though you could substitute thickly sliced leeks if you want to go all out for the Welsh theme) which absorb all the lambs cooking juice and fill the house with the most amazing appetising smells. It cooks for 4-5 hours leaving you plenty of time to do other things (see all of the above) whilst it gently cooks in your oven.   It’s a dish that looks after itself, is flexible if your walk takes an hour longer than you thought (or you diverted by the pub) and any leftovers can be turned into dishes for the week ahead – for example Monday Pie.  The meat ends up so soft when it finishes cooking you can pull the bones out with your hands!  It’s practically the lamb equivalent of pulled pork!

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Chocolate Pear Pudding

I was reading in the newspapers today about something called “coorie”.   In many ways this is the Scottish version of hygge.  To “coorie in” means to snuggle up and applies to everything from log fires and sheepskins to food, exploring the outdoors – in fact everything that gives a sense of well-being.

 

Chocolate Pear Pudding is a great coorie dish. I love it as a Sunday lunch pudding. I can imagine it as an old fashioned nursery pudding in a story book like Peter Pan or Mary Poppins.  Homely, comforting, easy to make and involves chocolate – what more could you want?  I certainly would have no problem in snuggling/coorie in to  it with its soft chocolatey sponge and unctuous, juicy pears.  If you are a chocoholic serve it with more chocolate in the form of a sauce (homemade or your favourite bought one),  although it does make a little sauce of its own where the pears juice mixes with the chocolate sauce at the bottom, or try it with cream or icecream and while you are at it why not both?  Can you ever have too much coorie after all?

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Rhubarb and Ginger Queen of Puddings

It’s hard to think of a better pudding to have for Sunday Lunch.  Unashamedly old fashioned, Queen of Puddings here is given a seasonal twist by using fresh rhubarb and syrupy stem ginger instead of jam   There is something intensively satisfying about soft, creamy custard thickened with crumbs topped with rhubarb and ginger and finished off with toasty meringue  It has some of the best elements of favourite puddings – creme brûlée, iles flotantes, lemon meringue pie and rhubarb and custard  it’s a real winner

There seems to be various stories around how this pudding got its name. Perhaps it was because Queen Victoria remarked on it on a trip to Manchester (it was previously called Manchester pudding apparently). Maybe it’s because the meringue looked like a crown when piped on top. Nobody seems to know for sure so you can choose! Continue reading →

Lemon Meringue Pie

Soft billowing meringue tops the zesty lemon filling. An old fashioned Lemon Meringue Pie is a thing of beauty.  Soft, billowing meringue sits on top of a tangy, zesty lemon filling all held in place by a short, buttery pastry.  It speaks of the best of times gone by yet is ideally suited to today’s light and fresh tastes.  Best of all worlds.  I don’t know why I don’t make it more frequently

There is a recipe for easy shortcrust pastry that you make in the food processor on the site. Shortcrust Pastry    If you don’t want to make pastry you can use a bought, baked shortcrust pastry case or use ready made pastry both of which cut down on preparation time considerably.

The pie itself is not difficult to make though there are tricks to making a good one. The meringue seems to be the main concern with bakers.  It needs not to weep or slide off the lemon layer.  These two problems are usually due to the sugar in the meringue not being dissolved thoroughly into the eggwhite and the filling being too cold for the meringue and filling to meld together.   I find that if you start making the meringue before the lemon filling this solves any problems. I also think it’s important to spread the meringue right to the edges so there are no gaps.   My final tip is how to keep the pastry crisp. I like to sprinkle the cooked shell with a dusting of ground almonds (or semolina for those with nut allergies) as this really seems to help.

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