Parkin (Ginger Cake)

Ingredients 

1½ cups steel cut oats (pulsed in food processor) 

¾ cup all purpose/plain flour 

1½ tsp baking powder 

2 tsp ginger powder 

1 tsp all spice 

¼ tsp nutmeg 

¼ tsp salt 

¼ cup golden syrup or corn syrup 

⅔ cup black treacle or molasses 

¾ cup brown sugar 

½ cup butter 

¼ cup crystallized ginger, finely chopped 

1 egg, lightly beaten 

2 Tbsp milk 

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 300°F (150°C). Grease an 8” x 8” baking tin. 
2. Measure out the steel cut oats and put through a food processor to break down. The oats should not be a flour and some chunks should remain. 
3. Add all the dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl and combine: flour, oats, ginger, nutmeg, all spice, salt, and baking powder. 
4. In a small saucepan add in butter, brown sugar, black treacle/molasses, golden syrup/corn syrup. Stir until the butter and sugar have melted, making sure not to boil. Then remove from the heat and allow to cool for 5 minutes. 
5. Pour the warm sugar mixture into the dry ingredients, and stir until combined. Then stir in the crystallized ginger pieces, the egg, and milk. 
6. Pour the batter into the baking tin and bake in the oven for approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes. Use a toothpick to check if it is fully baked - it is ready if it comes out clean. Allow the Parkin to cool in the baking tin for a few minutes. 
7. Then turn it face down onto a cutting board, slide the baking tin out, and remove the parchment paper. 
8. Allow the parkin to cool for 10-15 minutes before cutting into equal sized squares. Store in an airtight container and ALLOW IT TO REST FOR 2-3 DAYS. It takes this time for the flavor and sticky texture to fully develop...it WILL be worth the wait so be patient!

Recipe from Susu's Cookbook

Mulligatawny Soup (Thermomix)

Difficulty : easy

Preparation time : 5 min
Total time : 35 min
Serving size : 6 portions

Ingredients

3 garlic cloves
30 g olive oil
150 g onions, quartered
150 g carrots, cut in pieces
150 g sweet potatoes, cut in pieces
210 g dessert apples, diced (1 cm)
2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp paprika
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground turmeric
15 g tomato purée
100 g red split lentils
900 g vegetable stock
2 pinches fine sea salt, or to taste
1 pinch ground black pepper, or to taste
sour cream, to serve

Preparation

1. Place garlic, oil, onions, carrots and sweet potatoes in mixing bowl then chop 4 sec/speed 5. Scrape down sides of mixing bowl with spatula then sauté 5 min/120°C/speed 1.
2. Add diced apples, curry powder, cumin, paprika, cinnamon and turmeric then cook 2 min/100°C/speed 0.5.
3. Add tomato purée, lentils and stock then cook 20 min/100°C/Reverse Spin/speed 1.
4. Taste and season as desired then serve in soup bowls with a spoonful of sour cream.

Steak & Kidney Pie

Ingredients:

For the braised oxtail
Groundnut oil
75g sliced celery
175g leeks, washed and sliced
175g carrots, peeled and sliced
200g mushrooms, sliced
300g onions, peeled and finely chopped
1 star anise
2.5kg oxtail, jointed
250ml red wine
100ml brandy
250g tomatoes, halved
1 bay leaf
2 sprigs thyme
10 black peppercorns
750g chicken stock
750g beef stock

For the kidney
1 veal kidney, cleaned and chopped into approx. 1 cm pieces

For the suet pastry
500g self-raising flour
250g shredded suet
1 tsp salt
15g baking powder
Egg wash
Butter and plain flour to line 6 plastic ¼ pint pudding basins

Method:

1. Place a pressure cooker over medium heat and add enough oil to coat the bottom. Sweat the celery, leeks and carrots, approximately 10 min. Once soft, remove from the pan and set aside.
2. Return the pan to the heat and add a bit more oil, cook the mushrooms for approximately 10 minutes until caramelized. Set aside.
3. Place the pan back on the heat, add more oil and cook the onions and star anise. Cook for 10-15 minutes or until soft and caramelized. Add all of the cooked vegetables back in the pan and cook for an additional 5 minutes, remove from the pan.
4. Add a splash of water to deglaze the bottom of the pan. Add the liquid to the cooked vegetables.
5. To braise the oxtail, place a deep pan over a medium-high heat. Once smoking hot, add enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan and brown the oxtail, in batches if necessary.
6. Once the oxtail pieces are well browned, tip any excess fat out of the pan, return to the heat and deglaze by adding the red wine and brandy. Flame off the alcohol by setting fire to the fumes carefully with a match.
7. Once the flames have died, add the tomatoes, thyme, bay leaf, cooked vegetables as well as the browned oxtail, peppercorns and both chicken and beef stocks. Bring the pressure cooker to full pressure, reduce the heat and cook for 2 hours.
8. To make the pastry, mix the flour, suet, salt and baking powder together in a bowl. Sprinkle 300ml ice cold water over the mixture and, with clean hands, work into a smooth dough. Knead lightly and place in the fridge to rest for 10–15 minutes.
9. Divide the pastry into 6 x 100g portions and roll out circles that are approximately 3mm in thickness. Grease the pudding basins with a little butter and line with the pastry circles.
10. After 2 hours, place the pressure cooker in a sink of iced water to cool completely before removing the lid. Once cool, remove the oxtails from the liquid and pick the meat from the bones. Strain and discard the vegetables and return the liquid to the pan. Place over a high heat to reduce by two-thirds or until a thick glaze is formed, removing any scum that comes to the surface with a ladle.
11. Remove the pan from the heat and save some sauce aside to pour over the pudding or inject just before serving. Add the picked meat, kidney pieces and some of the sauce and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Stir together before spooning into each pudding basin until they are full of meat.
12. With the remaining pastry, roll out lids to cover the basins (approximately 6mm in thickness). Brush the edges with egg wash and press down firmly to seal, trim off the excess dough.
13. Place a small square of parchment paper on top of each pudding and secure with an elastic band. Place the puddings in a wide saucepan with enough water to come ¾ of the way up the sides of the basins. Allow the water to come to a simmer and cook for 35 minutes. Carefully remove the puddings from the moulds.
14. Take some of the warm sauce and using a syringe inject into the pudding. Serve immediately.

Recipe by Heston Blumenthal