Teesdale Mercury Recipes

These are the recipes which appeared in this week's Teesdale Mercury Magazine. I have been contributing recipes to the magazine, which comes out every two months, for the past two or three years. When I get time, I will trawl through some of my archived recipes and pop them up on here as well.
This first one, using the gooseberries grown on our allotment is proving to be popular, so give it a go.

Gooseberry & Date crumble

This year has seen another bumper crop of gooseberries, so I made a crumble using dates to add natural sweetness (a suggestion made by my mom in law). The result was a moreish sweet & sour dessert we enjoyed with ice cream.

Serves 2
Prep & cooking time: 1 ½ hours

Ingredients
2 cups gooseberries topped and tailed
1 cup pitted dates chopped
1 tsp dark brown sugar
2 tbsp lemon juice
½ cup orange juice

Crumble Mix
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp ground almonds
1 tsp granulated sugar
3 tbsp plain flour

1 tbsp granulated sugar to sprinkle on top (optional)

Method
Preheat oven to 200*C
Make the crumble mix by rubbing all the dry ingredients into butter until it resembles breadcrumbs.
Put gooseberries, dates, lemon juice and brown sugar in a medium sized ceramic dish and mix together.
Pour over the orange juice and sprinkle crumble mix on top.
Sprinkle with granulated sugar (optional) for added sweetness – this will give the top a caramelised look.
Bake in oven 30-45 minutes or until crumble topping is cooked and mix bubbling.

Raspberry & Chocolate dessert

Quick and easy desserts are my favourite way to end the day. Raspberries were picked fresh on the day from the allotment. This is definitely a cheat’s way to enjoy a chocolate fix!

Makes 8 cups or one large bowl

Make jelly according to packet instructions.
Put raspberries in individual bowls or one large bowl and pour jelly mix and fill half the cups/bowl
Whisk cream cheese and readymade chocolate sauce until light and creamy. Pour over set jelly.
Finish with a dollop of natural yoghurt and top with more raspberries.
Refrigerate for a couple hours and enjoy with a nice cup of coffee

Pickling made easy!

Raw Pickle

I used baby carrots, radishes & herbs from the garden along with red onion to preserve the sweetness of these mini morsels. They taste divine! You can use any vegetable you want/like as long as they are chopped to bite size chunks as they are pickled raw.

The most stress-free way to make a pickle is to get pickling vinegar. This way there is no need to boil vinegar & sugars together to make a preservative. All I did was ensure the jars were sterilised by washing in hot soapy water and drying in an oven at low heat (100*C). Once slightly cool I put in washed & dried vegetables with herbs (sage, rosemary sprigs & lemon thyme) & peppercorns and then filled to the top with pickling vinegar. They were in the fridge for 3 weeks before I opened them. They will stay in the fridge for at least 6 months if not more unless they get eaten much before that!

Pickled Beetroot

After picking all the beetroot from the allotment (we tried an Italian beetroot, chioegia, along with the traditional one), they were cooked, peeled and chopped into chunks. I then put them in sterilised jars with herbs & spices filling them with pickling vinegar. The result – juicy, sweet & sour tasting beetroot!

Roasted Garlic & Herb potato cake

The first lot of potatoes from our allotment was roasted for Sunday dinner. I turned the left overs into a potato cake to have with a crispy salad. Yummy! This can be made with boiled potatoes as well.

I added roasted onions & garlic along with freshly chopped mixed herbs and lemon juice. Season with salt & pepper & roll the potato mix into a ball. Dip in egg and roll in porridge oats. Spray with oil & bake in oven (200*C) for 20-30 minutes. Eat warm with a nice crispy salad.

Herb & Caramelised onion pancakes

I have a wheelbarrow filled with herbs that are spreading like wildfire. To stop them from going to seed I trim them on a regular basis. I made myself these pancakes as a lighter substitute to bread.

Makes enough for 2 people (approx. 8 pancakes)
Prep & cooking time 30-45 minutes

Make pancake batter by mixing 1 cup of plain flour, 2 eggs and 1 cup milk. Season with salt & pepper and add ½ cup freshly chopped herbs (any combination) and 1 tsp chilli flakes and 2 tablespoon caramelised onions.
Whisk well - it should coat the back of a spoon. If the batter is too thick add a little more milk until you get the right consistency.
It shouldn’t be runny so add a little more flour if too runny.
Heat a teaspoon of vegetable oil in a frying pan and make sure frying pan is coated evenly with oil.
Pour a ladle of batter.
Cook on medium heat for 1 to 1 ½ minutes then flip over to the other side.
Cook for another minute and press gently to check pancake is cooked through.
Put filling of your liking and have with mint yoghurt dip. I had mine with quorn mince and plain yoghurt.

Note: I like to use strong herbs like rosemary, thyme and sage and balance with sweet herbs like parsley & mint. You can use dried herbs however I find fresh ones get the best results!