Seville Orange Jelly Marmalade

I wait anxiously all year for the Seville Oranges to make this treat. This year I made 12 pounds of it. My kitchen was like a jam factory but it smelled heavenly. Just as I screwed the last lid in place I found out Seville Oranges can be frozen. Oh well I will remember  next year.
There is nothing quite like the tang of marmalade made with these bitter oranges. I am not fond of thick cut marmalade so I strain it and add a some finely cut peel to give it a little texture. It is a great job on dark January days when the weather keeps you indoors. So obliging of these fruits to be in season at such a time. It's a three day event but so worth it.

Makes About 2 Kilos/4 1/2 lbs

450gms/1lb Seville oranges
1.75litres/3pints/7 1/2 cups water
1.3kgs/3lbs/81/2 cups preserving or granulated sugar
60mls/4tablespoons lemon juice

DAY 1

Wash and dry the oranges using a soft brush to get into all the wee dimples on the skin.
If you want some fine peel through your jelly thinly pare off the skin and finely shred the rind from 2-3 of the oranges. A zester is good for this. Place it in a muslin square and  make a little bag tying off with a long piece of string.
Squeeze the juice from the oranges and place the juice and pips into a large pan.
Chop up the remaining orange skins including the pith and add it to the pan.
Add the bag of shredded peel tying the string to the handle so you can fish it out easily later.
Cover with the water and leave to soak overnight.

DAY 2
Bring the mixture to the boil,reduce the heat and simmer for 1 1/2 hours
Remove the bag of peel and set to the side for later.
Put the kettle on
Line a large strainer with a double layer of muslin.
Now pour some boiling water through the muslin to scald it.(or you can use a scalded jelly bag if you have one)
Place the strainer over a large bowl and leave to strain overnight.
Don't be tempted to squeeze or push the fruit pulp as it will make the resulting jelly cloudy.

DAY 3
Heat your oven to 150.C/300.F and pop your clean jam jars on a baking tray and set inside the oven to sterilise and heat.
Pour the strained juice into a large saucepan discarding the pulp.
Add the sugar, lemon juice and rind .
Stir over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved then bring to the boil and boil rapidly for about  twenty minutes or so until setting point is reached(105.C/220F) Sometimes this can take longer so don't be alarmed. A lot depends on the amount of juice and the vigour of the boil.
If you don't have a sugar thermometer use a chilled plate. Drop a little jam onto it and wait for a few minutes and if the surface wrinkles when gently pushed with your index finger it is done.
Remove the scum with a slotted spoon.
Leave to cool for a while then pot up into your nice warm jars.
Put the lids or covers on and leave to set.
Enjoy

Lamb,Pear and Cranberry Pie (without the pie)

On Violet's Pantry, our members had the privilege of testing some of Lotte Duncan's recipes for her new book Lotte's Country Kitchen which was published last year. The recipes we helped with were wonderful and it was great fun trying them out. I am the proud owner of her book and it is so pretty I am afraid to get a splat of goo on it. It is one of the best cookery books I own.. It does not stop at beautifully laid out pages and stunning photographs. The recipes are seasonal and the chapters laid out monthly so it is very easy to find something that suits the time of year. All are very homely recipes.No complexity involved but Lotte has managed to capture what every home cook wants, lots of flavour and beautiful presentation but as well s being homely everyday fare for the family her dishes would grace a dinner party table perfectly indeed the quantities are mostly for 6-8 people but easily adjusted for smaller amounts. This recipe was for a pie but I just couldn't be bothered making the pastry. The mix of fruit meat and veg is perfect with just the right amount of sweetness and sharpness. A real keeper. If you have a few cranberries still lying around I would recommend this dish. I served it with fluffy creamed potatoes. Delicious.

• Preparation time 30 mins
• Cooking time 120 mins
• Serves 6 people

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp Rapeseed oil
• 900 g (31.7oz) Leg of lamb, diced and trimmed of fat
• 25 g (0.9oz) Butter
• 1 Large onion, roughly chopped
• 3 Large carrots, cut into 2.5cm/1inch chunks
• 1 tbsp Soft brown sugar
• 2.5 tbsp Plain flour
• 570 ml (20.1fl oz) Lamb or beef stock
• 150 ml (5.3fl oz) Red wine
• 2 tbsp Chopped fresh parsley
• 0.5 tsp Dried thyme
• 1 Fresh bay leaf
• 1 Small sprig of rosemary
• 2 Large pears, peeled, cored and cut into chunks the same size as the lamb
• 110 g (3.9oz) Fresh cranberries
• 1 Small orange – grated zest and juice
• 0.5 tbsp Clear honey or quince jelly
• 1 tbsp Chopped fresh mint
• 1 Pinch of salt
• 1 Pinch of ground black pepper
• 225 g (7.9oz) Self-raising flour - For the Suet crust pastry
• 2 tsp Dried thyme - For the Suet crust pastry
• 2 tsp English mustard powder - For the Suet crust pastry
• 110 g (3.9oz) Shredded suet flour for dusting - For the Suet crust pastry
• 1 Egg, beaten - For the Suet crust pastry 

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C fan oven, 140°C gas mark 3. Aga 4/3-door grid shelf on floor of baking oven Aga 2- door Grid shelf on floor of roasting oven with cold plain shelf on third runners.
2. Heat 1 table spoon of oil in a large flameproof casserole dish and brown the pieces of lamb a few at a time. When each piece of meat is sufficiently browned, remove it using a slotted spoon and transfer to a plate. You might need to add another tablespoon of oil to brown all the meat.
3. Now add the butter, onion, carrots and brown sugar to the dish and fry them gently until they are beginning to soften and caramelise due to the sugar. You don’t want the sugar to burn, so keep the heat low. It just makes the vegetables sweeter and gives a lovely colour to the final dish.
4. Stir in the flour and pour over the stock and wine. Bring up to boiling point, return the lamb to the dish with the parsley, thyme, bay leaf and rosemary. Season with a little salt and pepper.
5. Cook in the oven for 45 minutes. Remove and then add the pears, cranberries and orange zest and juice. Cook for another 15 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Add the honey or quince jelly.
6. Now pour into 1.4 litre/ 2½ pint pie dish and set aside to cool a little.
7. Increase the oven temperature to 190°C fan oven, 170°C/ gas mark 5. Aga 4/3-door Top of baking oven. Aga 2-door Grid shelf on floor of roasting oven.
8. Make the pastry just before you need it because just like dumplings, when you add a liquid to self-raising flour it starts the rising process and you need to cook it straight away to keep the pastry light. If you leave the pastry hanging around, it will be heavy and tough. Sieve the flour into a medium mixing bowl and add the thyme, mustard powder and a pinch of salt. Stir in the suet and mix with approximately 150ml/5fl oz cold water to make a soft dough. Turn onto a floured board and knead until smooth.
9. Now roll out the pastry, bid enough to cover your pie dish with a little overhang. Moisten the rim of the dish with some water and position the pastry on the top and press it over the edge of the dish, and tuck it slightly under. It doesn’t matter if the edges are thick and pleated, this is a very rustic pie and the rougher the better!
10. Make a slit in the middle to let the steam escape during cooking and brush all over with the beaten Egg to give a rich colour to the cooking pastry. Stand the pie on the baking sheet and bake until the Pastry is crisp and golden brown.
11. Slice the pie and serve with steamed runner beans, tossed in butter and plenty of seasoning. 

Cranberry and Orange Jam

Oh the weather outside is frightful

But inside it's so delightful

Since we've no place to go

Let it Snow Let it Snow Let it Snow

 

 Well it has certainly been doing that this past while. What better way to spend incarceration than in a warm kitchen cooking up festive goodies
 Last year I made Nigella Lawson's cranberry jam. It was grand but I felt it was a bit stodgy. I like to use it with the turkey, cold meats and cheese as well as on my toast and prefer a softer texture. I also wanted the addition of orange. I always like the flavour of oranges at Christmas so I conjured this up in my kitchen. Nice soft  texture and lovely flavour. A little sharpness against the sweetness and a lovely hint of orange. I am looking forward to serving this on my table come Christmas day. Incredibly easy to make and perfect for beginners as cranberries are packed full of pectin so setting is never a problem. Give it a go. It can't fail and it is much much nicer than shop bought cranberry sauces for Christmas. Makes lovely gifts too.


Ingredients

1 kilo /2.2lbs cranberries fresh or frozen
1 kilo/2.2 lbs  sugar
Grated rind and juice of two oranges (approx 250mls/1 cup)
500mls /2 cups water

Large heavy based pan

5-6 450gm/1lb jars sterilised in a warm oven

Method

For a smooth jam, place the cranberries in the saucepan with the orange juice and water.
Heat gently until the cranberries just start to soften.
Whizz the mixture in the food processor.
Return to the pot and add the sugar and orange peel.
Heat gently stirring all the time until the sugar dissolves, that is to say when it no longer feels gritty.
Bring the mix to a fast rolling boil for about twenty minutes.
leave to cool slighlty then pot into your warm jars.
You can test for a set by dropping some jam onto a cold plate, leave for a few minutes and push gently with your finger. If it wrinkles it is done. Really you will find you don't need to worry as this will set perfectly due to the pectin content of the cranberries.
If you want whole pieces of fruit just put everything into the saucepan and boil.
Simplicity itself.

Chocolate Orange Cake

I was finishing off  Sally's Lemon Butter Cake when it occurred to me, if it tasted so good and had such a lovely texture, it might make a rather nice chocolate cake. Then the next wave of an idea hit me. Why not orange as well? Nothing for it. I grabbed my wooden spoon so to speak and off I went. I love messing around and experimenting in the kitchen but things don't always work out. I tell myself it's a learning curve. I didn't need to worry this time. The marriage of chocolate and orange was sheer ambrosia. The texture of the cake was light but moist. Intensely chocolatey. Perfect. I know I know, self praise is no recommendation but my resident eating machine agreed completely and as he is my fiercest critic who was I to argue. I hope you'll try it. I think you'll find it worth the short time it takes to throw this cake together.

Chocolate Orange Cake


Ingredients

250g /9 oz Butter or Margarine

250g /9oz Dark brown sugar

200g /7oz S.R Flour plus 1 teaspoon of baking powder or plain flour with 2 teaspoons of baking powder (sifted)

50 g / 2oz cocoa powder

3 Eggs (beaten)

2 large tablespoons marmalade

Rind of two oranges and juice of one

Icing

2-3 tablespoons orange juice
2oz icing sugar

A few squares of chocolate melted with a little oil or butter (optional)



Method....

Pre Heat your oven to 180.C/160.C Fan/400.F/Gas 6

Grease and line a shallow baking tray 24 cms x 33 cms/ 13 inches x 9 1/2 inches.

Leave an over hang lengthwise of your lining paper so the cake can be removed from the tin easily.

Melt butter and marmalade in microwave on 50% power or in a large saucepan on the hob.


Stir in sugar, then the flour and cocoa powder, add the eggs, orange zest and juice from the oranges (reserving about three tablespoons of juice for drizzle icing.) stirring well. A whisk is good.

Pour into your prepared tin and bake for approx 20 - 30 minutes until the cake is springy to touch.


Leave in the tin until cold before removing


Sieve the icing sugar and mix with the juice giving a fairly runny icing.
Drizzle over the cake

Melt the chocolate and oil if using and drizzle over.

Cut into squares/fingers

Thank you Sally for setting of this chain of events. x

 

Raspberry Jam

Lucie has a lovely Blog, Cooking at Marystow. which I visit quite a lot. She had a post about jam the other day which used frozen fruit which I thought was a great idea. I wanted to make raspberry jam but the fresh raspberries are lovely just now but much too nice and too pricey to make jam. It's a very easy jam to make and quick. The rule of thumb is 1 lb (450g) of fruit to 1lb (450g) of sugar so it is very easy to calculate whatever the amount of fruit you have. It is just lovely on a freshly baked scone. I don't think it's a good idea to make vast quantities of jam at once as it takes longer to boil. This makes the sugar caramelise and you get a very dark jam. This is great news if you want dark marmalade but not so for fresh fruit jam. A Kilo of fruit will give you about four 12 oz/350g jars of jam. I like to push the raspberries through a sieve to take out some of the seeds but if they don't worry you there is no need to bother. Remember to use a very big pan as the fruit and sugar need room to boil. Raspberries, like most soft fruits, are low in pectin so I use jam sugar to reach a set. It makes life a lot easier.


Equipment

Large heavy based saucepan/stock pot/preserving pan
Warm sterilised jam jars (Pop them in the oven while you are making the jam this does both jobs)
Sieve if required
Wooden spoon or spatula for stirring.
Large jug
Sugar Thermometer if you have one or place a small saucer in the fridge

Ingredients

I Kilo of raspberries frozen or fresh (get the cheapest frozen you can find)
1 Kilo of jam or preserving sugar
Juice of a lemon


Method

Reducing seeds

Place the raspberries in the pan and heat until the juices run.
Push fruit through a wide gauge sieve.
This will remove most but not all of the seeds.
You need to keep scraping it back and forth with a spatula to get all the pulp through..
Now place the juice in a pan with the sugar and lemon juice.

You can skip this bit and just put the fruit in the pan with the sugar and lemon juice.
Keep stirring over a low heat until the sugar dissolves. (This is but a few minutes)
Turn up the heat and bring to a rolling boil for about 4 -5 minutes until a set is reached.
If you are using a jam thermometer a set is 102.C/220.F
If you aren't using a thermometer place about a teasp of the jam on a cold saucer and leave for a few moments. Push it gently with your finger. if it wrinkles it has reached a set.
Using your jug decant into the warm jars.
Wait for it to cool and enjoy

Mini Chocolate Cranberry Christmas Cakes

I was given these little cardboard cake cases by a very dear friend. They were a perfect size for little Christmas gifts. It was my intention to use Nigella Lawson's chocolate fruit cake recipe but the raisins I had looked a bit iffy and I dislike currants. I did have plenty of sultanas and dried cranberries and as I love the festive red of cranberries I decided the colour would be perfect in Christmas cake. It is essentially a boiled cake which makes it very easy to make. No need to soak fruit for days on end a quick boil does it. The result is a rich moist cake which is much nicer than some of the dry crumbly cakes I have tasted in the past. With apologies to Nigella here is my version.

Chocolate Cranberry Fruit Cake

Ingredients

350g/12¼oz dried soft prunes, chopped

2oo g/7oz dried cranberries

200g/7oz sultanas

175g/6¼oz unsalted butter, softened

175g/6¼oz dark brown sugar

175ml/6¼fl oz honey

125ml/4½fl oz rum (It should really be coffee liqueur but I didn't have any)

2 oranges, juice and zest

1 tsp mixed spice

2 tbsp good quality cocoa

3 eggs, beaten

150g/5¼oz self raising flour

1/2 teasp bicarbonate of soda

75g/2½oz ground almonds

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 150C/300F/Gas 2.

2. Line the sides and bottom of a 20cm/8in, 9cm/3½in deep, round loose-bottomed cake tin with a layer of baking parchment. When lining the tin with the parchment, cut the material into strips that are twice as high as the tin itself (it is easier to use two shorter strips of parchment, than one long strip); the height of the strips protects the cake from catching on the outside of the cake tin.
Also cut a disc of baking parchment to fit the diameter of the tin. When the cake has set you can pop this little hat on the top to help stop any scorching.

3. Place the fruit, butter, sugar, honey, rum, orange juice and zest, mixed spice and cocoa into a large wide saucepan. Heat the mixture until it reaches a gentle boil, stirring the mixture as the butter melts. Let the mixture simmer for ten minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat and leave to stand for 30 minutes.

4. After 30 minutes, the mixture will have cooled a little. Add the eggs, flour, ground almonds, and bicarbonate soda, and mix well with a wooden spoon or spatula until the ingredients have combined.

5. Carefully pour the fruitcake mixture into the lined cake tin. Transfer the cake tin to the oven and bake for 1¾-2 hours, or until the top of the cake is firm but will has a shiny and sticky look. At this point, if you insert a skewer into the middle of the cake, the tip should be slightly sticky .

6. Place the cake on a cooling rack. Once the cake has cooled, remove it from the tin.

To make individual cakes as I have done. I used 6cm x 8cm cases. This made approximately twelve. There is no need to line the cases and they take approximately 1 hour 20 minutes to bake. Test them after an hour.
I decorated by cutting out stars of fondant icing.

Orange Panna Cotta

I have heard much of this very simple dessert. I didn't know however that it was so simple or I would have made it ages ago. For some reason I had it in my head that this was a very exotic and complex dish. I was a great fan of jelly whip as a child. Oldies will remember the strawberry jelly with evaporated milk whipped in at the point of set. Oh I loved that. Even ordinary jelly with evaporated milk poured over sets my heart a flutter. I am very easily pleased. Panna cotta has shot to the top of my favourites list on finding out just how simple it is to make. It's just exotic jelly really. A perfect dessert as it tastes wonderful and is oh so easy to prepare. Looks lovely too so it could happily grace any table before the cheese and port. Endless variations too. It would be lovely sitting in a little pool of fruit coulis or perhaps a chocolate or caramel sauce. This particular one is lovely. Just a little hint of orange. Perfect. Thank you to Kerry who gave me the recipe.

Orange Panna Cotta

Ingredients

Vegetable oil, to grease
600ml thickened cream
150ml milk
2 teaspoons finely grated orange rind
100g /4oz caster sugar
2 tablespoons boiling water
3 teaspoons gelatine powder

Method

Brush six 125ml (1/2 cup) capacity dariole moulds with oil to lightly grease.
Place the cream, milk, orange rind and sugar in a small saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for 10 minutes or until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is heated through. Strain the cream mixture through a fine sieve into a heatproof jug.
Place the water in a small jug. Sprinkle withthe gelatine. Whisk with a fork to dissolve. combine the gelatine mixture and cream mixture.
Pour the mixture evenly among the moulds. Place the moulds on a tray. Place in the frige for 4 hours or until set.
To serve, invert 1 dariole mould onto a serving plate. Cover with a hot, damp cloth and, holding the mould to the plate, shake to remove panna cotta.

Jessie Tweddles Tea Loaf

This is an old recipe of my Mother's. I have not a notion who Jessie Tweddle was but when having a cup of tea at my Mother's the statement 'You'll be having a piece of Jessie Tweddles tea loaf' was always made. I gave the recipe to a friend on Vi's pantry and it really kicked off. This easy to make little loaf has quite a following now. It is quite simply delicious. If you can, leave it for a few days before eating as it is much the better for it. Enjoy a slice with butter.

Jessie Tweddles Tea Loaf

4 oz/100gms marg/butter
4oz/100gms brown sugar
8 oz /200gms dried mixed fruit
1 Teacup cold tea
1 level teaspoon Bicarbonate of soda
8 oz /200gms Self Raising Flour
1 teasp mixed spice
1 egg

Simmer marg/butter, sugar,fruit, tea,soda bic. for 20 mins.
Allow to cool add egg flour and spice.

Bake in a loaf tin at 350.F/180.C/Gas 4 until skewer comes out clean.

Cherries and nuts can be added if desired.

Notes

You can use any combination of fruit you like or just one
I added strong coffee instead of tea and replaced a tablespoon of flour with a tablespoon of cocoa and it was delicious.