14/12/2011 by D.

2 x 70cl bottles vodka (make sure they are a pretty shape)
12 unwaxed lemons
250g fructose

Bottles of Limoncello make excellent homemade Christmas gifts (or are lovely to chill and serve guests as a post prandial digestif).

Grate the rind off the lemons, taking care not to grate off any pith.  I use a small holed grater (like a parmesan grater) which gives small curls rather than large gratings or dust.  You can also carefully cut off the peel by hand, remove any pith and then cut into strips (this is how I used to do it in my uni days, when I had more time).

Roll the lemons gently on a hard surface, then juice.  Add the juice and fructose to a pan and heat gently to disolve the sugar.  Add in the lemon rind and leave to cool and infuse.

Measure the amount of lemon juice/rind mix you have, and pour the same amount of vodka into another bottle/jar.  Mix the remaining vodka from the two bottles with the juice and rind, then decant back into the bottles.

Voila.  Ideally let the flavours devlop for a week or two, but it can be drunk or gifted immediately.

These bottles can be tarted up by printing your own labels, or decorating the neck with a gift tag and ribbon.

Posted in Vodka, Lemon, Recipe | Print | No Comments »

08/02/2011 by D.

These sweet little potato cakes from Saxony in Germany can be eaten as either a filling pudding, supper or brunch.  NB this recipe makes quite a lot, you may want to halve it for the first go!

1kg potatoes
150g flour
1 tsp baking powder
500g quark
2 Eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp grated lemon peel
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
100g raisins
butter to fry

Peel, chop and boil the potatoes until tender.  Push through a fine sieve, potato ricer, or mash extremely well and leave to cool.

Stir the flour and baking powder into the potatoes, then mix in the quark.  Whisk the eggs with the salt, nutmeg, lemon peel, sugar, vanilla extract and raisins. 

Add the egg mixture to the potato mixture and knead the mixture to ensure everything is thoroughly combined, but don’t overwork it.

Flour your hands and the work surface, then shape the dough into a 6cm thick roll.  Cut off 1.5cm pieces and flatten each one slightly.

Heat a frying pan to a good heat, then turn down a little.  Melt 2 tsp butter in the pan and fry the little cakes for about 2 mins on each side until golden brown.  You will need to do more than one batch.  Adjust the amount of butter accordingly so they don’t stick.

Serve warm with cinnamon sugar and some fruit compote (stewed apples, pears, cranberries, apricots or bottled cherries).

These freeze well and make great quick breakfasts!

Posted in Supper, Butter, Raisins, Flour, Quark, Pudding, Brunch, Potato, Vegetarian, Lemon, Eggs, Recipe | Print | No Comments »

23/12/2010 by D.

1 onion
2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp olive oil
3 cups lentils (I use a mixture of white urid dal, orange dal and puy lentils)
1 tin chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
1 litre chicken (or veg) stock
15 dried apricots (chopped)
juice 1/2 lemon
1 tsp honey
2 tsp Ras El Hanout (Morrocan spice mix)
1 tsp salt

Chop onion and crush garlic.  Fry them in a big pot with a the olive oil for a minute or two.  Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to boil.

Boil for around an hour until everything is tender, adding more stock or water as necessary.  It should be a fairly thick soup.  Check the seasoning before serving with hunks of buttered, crusty bread.

Posted in Urid dal, Soup, Dried Apricot, Chickpeas, Ras El Hanout, Garlic, Lemon, Recipe, Onion, Lentil, Vegetarian, Organic Box | Print | No Comments »

22/12/2010 by D.

Now the kids have broken up from school and nursery, it’s handy to have some easy suppers to keep them (and you) happy!  This one from Nigella Express is definitely a winner.

12 pork spare ribs
12 chicken thighs
250ml apple juice
1/2 lemon, juiced
4 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 star anise
1 cinnamon stick, halved
6 garlic cloves, unpeeled
4 sweet potatoes

Mix all the ingredients apart from the potatoes in a large dish or freezer bag.  Mix really well. Leave to marinate in fridge overnight or up to two days.

To cook, preheat the oven to 200c.  Spread the ingredients over two trays, making sure the chicken is skin side up and cook for an hour and a quarter (or until everything is sticky and browned).   Cut the sweet potatoes longwise into quarters and add to the roasting tins half an hour before the end.

Posted in Supper, Maple Syrup, Chicken, Ribs, Star anise, Soy sauce, Garlic, Cinnamon, Sweet potato, Lemon | Print | No Comments »