2012-05-31

From street parties to sit down dinners, these delicious recipe suggestions will help you and your friends celebrate the Queens Diamond Jubilee in style

Dean Edwards’ Roasted British Asparagus with Chilli and Lime Butter

The quintessential British vegetable, British asparagus is a must-have at such a patriotic occasion.

A zesty butter with a spicy kick, so simple to make, chill in the fridge until needed, then mop up the melted butter with the asparagus spears for a light summer lunch.

Cooking time: 8 minutes

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Serves: 4

You’ll need:

100g butter

1 red chilli, deseeded and finely diced

2 tbs fresh coriander, finely chopped

½ tsp cumin seeds, roughly ground

juice ½ lime

2 bundles British asparagus

Salt and pepper for seasoning

1 lime for garnish

What to do:

Bring the butter to room temperature then mix in the chilli, coriander, ground cumin and lime juice, add a good twist of black pepper then place onto a sheet of clingfilm. Roll into a sausage shape then chill in the fridge.

Trim the ends of the asparagus and place on a roasting tray, drizzle with some oil, season and roast in an oven set at 200°c / 180°c fan for 6-8 minutes.

Place the asparagus spears onto serving plates and top with a slice of the butter, serve with a wedge of lime.

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James Ramsden’s Warm Salad of Tenderstem with Quail Eggs and Bacon

Why not push the boat out and brunch in style over the bank holiday with this quick and simple recipe that’s on the table in ten minutes. If you can’t find quails eggs then good old-fashioned hens eggs will do just as well.

James says: “I’ve always found that Tenderstem broccoli and eggs go particularly well together. There’s something about the golden yolk oozing over the fresh green shoots that is irresistible. If you can’t find quail eggs then a couple of hens’ eggs will do the trick.”

Serves: 2

Prep time: 2 minutes

Cooking time: 6-8 minutes

You will need:

1 tsp olive oil

100g smoked lardons

½ tsp Dijon mustard

2 tsp white wine vinegar

4 tsp olive oil

6 quail eggs

200g Tenderstem broccoli

A handful of salad leaves

Parmesan shavings

Salt and pepper

What to do:

Put a pan of water on to boil. Get a non-stick frying pan over a medium-high heat and add a drop of olive oil. Add the lardons and fry for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until crisp.

Meanwhile, make the dressing by whisking together the mustard, vinegar, and olive oil with a pinch of salt and pepper. Set aside. To the pan of now boiling water, carefully drop in the eggs and boil for 2 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and put in a bowl of cold water.

Add a pinch of salt to the same pan and simmer the broccoli for 2 minutes until tender. Meanwhile carefully peel the eggs.

Drain the broccoli well and arrange on a plate. Scatter over the lardons, and top with quail eggs, artfully cutting in half if you like. Finish with salad leaves, parmesan, and the dressing.

www.tenderstem.co.uk

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Summer garden salad of traditional beetroot, radish, celery, leaves, spring onions, with smoked trout fillets. Horseradish cream dressing.

This summer garden salad takes less than 10 minutes to prepare and will be the perfect Jubilee food come rain or shine!

Serves: 4

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: none

What you need:

For the horseradish cream dressing:

3 tbsp creme fraiche

3 tbsp greek yogurt

1-2 tbsp horseradish sauce, to taste

1 tbsp white wine vinegar

Small bunch chives, snipped

Salt & freshly ground black pepper

For the salad:

3 generous handfuls of mixed salad leaves

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 packs traditional cooked beetroot, sliced

A bunch of radishes, sliced finely

½ head of celery, sliced finely

A small bunch spring onions, finely chopped

4 smoked trout fillets

What to do:

Make the horseradish cream dressing by mixing everything in a small bowl. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Set aside.

Toss the salad leaves in a little extra virgin olive oil and divide between four dishes. Scatter over the beetroot, radishes, celery and spring onions. Finally, top each with a trout fillet and a generous dollop of dressing. Serve immediately.

www.lovebeetroot.co.uk

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Valentine Warner’s British Asparagus with Soft Egg & Anchovy Dressing

This would make a perfect starter for dinner or a very respectable summer lunch when the weather is hot & you don’t want to sit down to anything more substantial.

Cooking time: 6-8 minutes

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Serves: 6

You’ll need:

1 clove of good garlic (no green shoots)

1 small spring rosemary

1 egg yolk

70g white anchovies (vinegared in oil, not the brown salted ones)

50ml Whole Milk

60ml olive oil

A splash of double cream (optional)

3 whole eggs

4 bundles of British asparagus, washed & trimmed

Salt and pepper for seasoning

What to do:

Finely chop the garlic, the sprig of rosemary and put in a small bowl with the egg yolk and anchovies.

In a small pan warm the milk taking it off just before it simmers. Pour over the anchovies and blitz with a stick blender. Pour in the olive oil very slowly until you have a nice creamy dressing. This sauce can be finished with a little double cream (50mls)

Place eggs in pan of cold water. Bring water up to the boil and then boil for 4 ½ minutes, drain and cool quickly in cold water.

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WARM NEW POTATO, BROAD BEAN AND CHORIZO SALAD, WITH GARLIC MAYONNAISE

Make the most of fresh British broad beans in this versatile salad that can also be served in single portions – perfect for that street party nibble!

Serves 4 as a main course or 8 as a starter

Preparation time: 25 minutes

Cooking time:  25 minutes

Approximate cost per lunch serving: £1.95

Approximate cost per starter serving: 98p

You’ll need:

800g new potatoes

300g podded broad beans (approx 600g unpodded)

1 Chorizo sausage ring or 200g cubed raw chorizo

2 little gem lettuces

Handful of black olives

1 tablespoon flat leaf parsley, chopped

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Garlic Mayonnaise:

4 generous tablespoons of good quality mayonnaise

1-2 cloves garlic, crushed

What to do:

1. Cut the potatoes into 1cm cubes and bring to the boil in a pan of salted water. Cook for 10-15 minutes or until tender, drain and set aside.

2. Cook the broad beans in a pan of boiling water until tender (approx 4-5 minutes). Unless your broad beans are very young it’s worth removing the outer shell of each bean by squeezing gently.

3. Fry the chorizo in a dry pan (the sausage will release enough of its own oil to fry it in) until golden and crispy.

4. Add the cooked potatoes to the pan along with the broad beans and toss to coat in the spicy sausage oil.

5. Line a big bowl with little gem leaves and pile the potato mixture on top, finish off with the olives and a scattering of parsley. Serve with the garlic mayonnaise.

6. Alternatively for a starter, place 2 salad leaves on a plate and add a generous spoonful to each leaf, topped with olives and parsley and a dollop of the mayo.

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Xanthe Clay’s Radish and Pea salad

This is such a simple, fresh and seasonal salad, perfect as a side dish, a quick healthy snack or a light meal in its own right. It’s so healthy but looks so good, you’ll be inspiring all your guests to re-create this one at home.

Serves: 2-3

Preparation time: 10 minutes

You’ll need:

1 teacupful of fresh peas

10 radishes, thinly sliced

1 spring onion, thinly sliced

3 tbsp crème fraiche

milk

A punnet of cress

black pepper

What to do:

Lightly cook the peas in boiling water, then drain and cool under the tap.

Scatter them over a plate with the thinly sliced radishes and spring onion.

Thin the crème fraiche to single cream consistency with a little milk and trickle it over the salad.

Snip over the cress and season with freshly ground black pepper and serve.

www.loveradish.co.uk

 

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Herby BBQ Shallots

 

Rise to the occasion and upgrade your fried onions and ketchup to herby BBQ shallots and shallot, tomato and herb dressing.

Chef Paul Collins says: ‘Herby BBQ Shallots’

We say:  ‘Shallots Baked in Foil on the BBQ’

 

Serves: 4

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 20-30 minutes

 

You’ll need:

20 medium sized shallots

4 cloves of garlic

20g thyme

100ml olive oil

What to do:

Peel the shallots. Take a piece of tin foil A3 in size and fold in half.

Place the shallots, garlic and thyme on the foil and season with salt and pepper.  Pour over the olive oil and close up all the sides of the foil.

Cook for 25-30 minutes on the edge of the BBQ grill turning once after 10-15 minutes.

Recipe devised by Chef Paul Collins

www.UKshallot.com

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Shallot Dartois

Chef Paul Collins says: ‘Shallot Dartois’

We say:  ‘Shallot ‘Sausage’ Roll’

This mini-pastry rolls are a great alternative to sausage rolls and with a bottle of red wine in the mixture are a great way to get the party started!

Serves: 4

Preparation time: 35 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

You’ll need:

16 echalion (banana) shallots

100g butter

1 bottle of red wine

10g thyme

50g caster sugar

200g puff pastry

What to do:

Peel and finely slice the shallots lengthways.

In a heavy bottomed pan add the butter and allow to sizzle.  Now add all of the sliced shallots, season with salt and pepper and allow to cook down for about 10 minutes.

Once the shallots start to lose their volume in the pan, add the wine, thyme and sugar and continue to cook until all of the liquid has evaporated. Once this has been achieved remove from the heat, you should be left with a rich, deep, dark red shallot mixture that sticks together.  Allow to cool.

Roll out the puff pastry until it is 3 to 5 mm thick.  Brush with an egg yolk and place a ‘sausage’ of the cold shallot mixture 1 inch away from the edge nearest you.  Roll up as you would if making a sausage roll.  Brush with the egg mix and allow to set in the fridge.

When required place on a non-stick tray and bake at 200c for 12–15 minutes.

Recipe devised by Chef Paul Collins

www.UKshallot.com

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Cheese and Beetroot Ploughman’s

In this modern twist on the traditional classic, the versatility of pre-cooked beetroot is used to perfection instead of the pickled onion. This is a quick and easy dish to prepare and put out for guests and can look beautiful in its simplicity.

You’ll need:

1 pack of traditional or flavoured cooked beetroot depending on taste

1 or 2 large chunks of your favorite cheese – we used Gorwydd Caerphilly and Stichelton

1 crunchy Pink Lady apple

A few sticks of celery, cucumber or radish depending on preference

Your favourite bread & butter – we prefer a wholemeal or sourdough loaf with a good texture to stand up to the cheese and beetroot.

A small pot of piccalilli or your own choice of chutney

What to do:

Place all ingredients on one large board, platter or slate and let your guests help themselves

Drinks suggestions:

Serve with a light hoppy ale, lager, cider or apple juice

www.lovebeetroot.co.uk

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Sweet Eve Strawberry, Prosecco, Campari, Elderflower and Mint Cocktail

This cocktail is a delicious and beautiful drink to get the party started. The flavours of summer – strawberry, elderflower and mint – add sweetness and colour to fizzy, dry Prosecco and the slight bitterness of Campari. Serve this cocktail in chilled champagne flutes, with fresh strawberries to decorate, and a bowl of fresh olives and oven warm bread: it’s the perfect way to greet guests.

Serves: 6 people

Preparation time: 10 minutes

You’ll need:

300g Sweet Eve strawberries

6 sugar cubes (optional)

3 shots of elderflower cordial

3 shots of Campari

1 bottle of Prosecco

What to do:

Take 6 large champagne flutes and chill in the refrigerator. Hull all the strawberries and chop and blend half of them. Strain the strawberry puree into a jug through a sieve, to eliminate the seeds.

When you are ready to serve the cocktail place a cube of sugar at the bottom of each glass, (if you prefer your cocktails less sweet then you can leave the sugar out). Pour half a shot of elderflower into each glass, followed by half a shot of Campari and half a shot of strained strawberry puree.

Open the Prosecco bottle and top each flute with fizzy wine. Mix with a cocktail stirrer and serve with the remaining Sweet Eve strawberries.

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Sweet Eve Strawberry Cream Victoria Sponge Cake

Named after Queen Victoria herself, there are few cakes that can beat this all-time classic recipe. You can spread strawberry jam (turning it into a jam sponge) or whipped vanilla cream on the base of one sponge cake as a filling, or both.

Serves: 4 people

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Baking time: 20 minutes

You’ll need:

175g butter, soft

175g caster sugar

3 fresh eggs

175g self-raising flour

250ml double cream

1 tsp vanilla bean paste, or vanilla extract

1 tbsp icing sugar and extra for sifting

400g Sweet Eve Strawberries

4 tbsp strawberry jam (optional)

What to do:

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C. Butter and line two 18 cm sandwich tins with baking parchment.

Beat the butter and the sugar till pale and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well. Fold in the flour, one spoon at a time.

Divide the mixture evenly between the tins and level with a knife. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes until the sponge cakes are well risen, golden brown and firm to the touch.

Cool the sponge cakes on a wire rack. Hull the strawberries and slice them in half. Whip the cream till quite stiff, mix in the icing sugar and the vanilla.

When the cakes are cool, spread the jam on one of the sponge cakes (if using) and spread half of the whipped cream on top. Place half of the strawberries on top of the cream. Place the other sponge cake on top and spread with the remaining whipped cream. Arrange the remaining strawberries in a spiral round the cake.

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Pink Lady Apple, Elderflower & Almond Pie

A traditional British dessert with an classy twist for the big day

Serves 8

You’ll need:

7 Pink Lady apples

340g plain flour

225g butter

4 tbsp caster sugar

1 egg yolk

250ml elderflower cordial

100ml water

Finely grated zest of 1 lemon

25g ground almonds

115g white marzipan

Flaked almonds

Icing sugar for dusting

What to do:

1. Put the flour and butter into a food processor fitted with a plastic blade and whiz until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the caster sugar and whiz again. Now add the yolk and whiz again until your pastry comes together into a ball. Wrap in cling film and leave to rest in the fridge for 45 minutes or so.

2. Quarter the apples and remove the core from each piece. I don’t peel the apples as I love the pink colour of the skin but peel them if you prefer. Cut each quarter into slices, about 3 mm thick at the thickest part. Put them into a saucepan with the cordial and water, cover and simmer the apples very gently until they are just beginning to get tender on the outside. Strain off the liquid and measure how much you have. If it is more than about 75ml then put it into a small saucepan and boil to reduce it to 75 ml. Stir in the zest, pour the liquid over the apples and leave to cool. Preheat the oven to 190 C and put a metal baking sheet into it.

3. Roll out 2/3 of the pastry and line a pie dish (measuring 25cm in diameter, 5-6 cm deep) with it. Sprinkle the ground almonds on the bottom of the pie. Break the marzipan up into little chunks. Spoon the apples (with the elderflower syrup) into the case, scattering the chunks of marzipan as you go. Roll out the rest of the pastry and make 6 strips with which to form a lattice on the top. Moisten each end of the pastry strips and lay them across the top of the pie. Press down to seal. Put this into the oven on top of the baking sheet and cook until golden.

4. It will take about 30 minutes. About 8 minutes before the end of cooking time, scatter a handful of flaked almonds on top and return to the oven – the almonds will toast in the final stage of baking. Dust the pie lightly with icing sugar before serving.

www.pinkladyapples.co.uk

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Sweet Eve Strawberry Almond Pavlova

A mainstay of a Great British tea table, this quintessentially summer recipe can be prepared in advance and put together at the last minute to really impress guests

The great joy of this pudding is that you can make the meringue base days beforehand and store them in an airtight container. You can assemble the pavlova just minutes before serving, so that you feel relaxed and stress-free when bringing them to the table. In order for meringues to be successful they need to be completely dry, light, crisp on the outside and soft on the inside.

Serves: 4 people

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 2 hours

You’ll need:

3 egg whites

175g caster sugar

250 ml double cream

1 tbsp icing sugar

1 tsp vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract

250g Sweet Eve strawberries

100g toasted almond flakes

What to do:

Pre-heat the oven to 140°C. Grease and line a baking tray with baking parchment.

Whisk the egg whites in a very clean bowl till stiff. Add the sugar, very slowly, until it is fully mixed in.

Pipe the meringue mixture either in a large circle or two heart shapes on the baking tray. Bake in the oven for approximately one hour, then switch the oven off and leave the meringue in the oven till cool.

Whip the double cream with the icing sugar and the vanilla. Hull the strawberries and slice them into small pieces.

Serve the pavlova on a round platter with the cream on top and decorate with the strawberry pieces and the toasted almond flakes. If you have made two heart shapes you can divide the whipped cream and strawberries into two portions, using one to sandwich the hearts together and the remaining portion on top. Decorate with toasted almond flakes.

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Sweet Eve Strawberry and Lavender Eton Mess

The addition of aromatic, fresh lavender flower heads to Sweet Eve strawberries and fresh cream, mixed with meringues, is the perfect taste of summer. Once you’ve made the meringues, this pudding is so quick to assemble and children can join in too. You can create the pudding hours before your guests arrive, then whip them out of the fridge just before serving.

Serves: 4 people

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 1 hour (for the meringue)

You’ll need:

3 egg whites

175g caster sugar

500 ml double cream

2 tbsp icing sugar

4 lavender flower heads, and a few extra for decoration

400g Sweet Eve strawberries

What to do:

Pre-heat the oven to 140°C. Grease and line a baking tray with baking parchment.

Whisk the egg whites in a very clean bowl till stiff. Add the sugar, very slowly, until it is fully mixed in.

Pipe the meringue mixture either in a large circle or two heart shapes on the baking tray. Bake in the oven for approximately one hour, then switch the oven off and leave the meringue in the oven till cool.

In a bowl whisk the cream till stiff and fold in the icing sugar. Finely chop the lavender flower heads and fold into the cream. Chill the mixture in the fridge.

Hull and finely chop all the strawberries and place half of them in a blender. Blend until completely pureed and pass through a sieve in order to remove the seeds.

Break the meringues into small pieces and place in a bowl. Add all the other elements and mix together. Spoon into bowls or vintage tea cups to serve, decorated with extra lavender flowers.

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Forest Fruit and Pink Lady Apple Lollies

Guarantee you can hear the ceremony and keep the kids happy with this delicious ice lollies

Makes 400ml (6-8 lollies)

Preparation time 20 minutes, plus cooling and freezing

You’ll need:

2 Pink Lady apples

450g fresh or frozen mixed forest fruits such as strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, blackcurrants

75g caster sugar

What to do:

1. Peel, core and dice the apples and put them in a pan with 4 tablespoons of water. Cook for 4 minutes, then add the berries and cook for 3 minutes.

2. Remove from the heat and stir in the sugar until dissolved. Taste the fruit and add a little more sugar if it is too sharp (this will depend on how ripe the berries are).

3. Purée the fruit, sieve to remove the seeds, then cool. Pour into lolly moulds and freeze overnight.

www.pinkladyapples.co.uk

For more information please visit:

British Asparagus – www.british-asparagus.co.uk

Love Beetroot – www.lovebeetroot.co.uk

British Beans & Peas – www.tastesofsummer.co.uk

Pink Lady – www.pinkladyapples.co.uk

Shallots – www.ukshallot.com

Sweet Eve – www.sweetevestrawberry.co.uk

Tenderstem – www.tenderstem.co.uk

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