Due to very popular demand further to Carina’s recent appearance on The Lost Supper, screened on ITV on 04 May 2015, here are the recipes included her fabulous culinary trip down memory lane with BillPaterson. Such a superprogramme butdon’t worry if you missed it, you can catch up on the STVplayer here
HAM & LENTIL SOUP
Ham and lentil soup with the secret Dunoon ingredient a gratedturnip!
SERVES 6-8
1 smoked ham end
2 litres cold water
salt
4 – 6 carrots, chopped
1 small turnip, grated
2 onions, chopped
200g red lentils
freshly ground white pepper
Rinse the ham end and place it in a large pan with the cold water.Add just a pinch of salt to help clarify the water while the ham iscooking. Don’t over-salt the water as the ham is salt-cured and can
make the stock very salty. Bring the water to the boil, then reducethe heat to a simmer and carefully skim off any scum until thebroth is clear.Check the seasoning and add a little extra salt if required. Add thecarrots, turnip, onions and lentils. Simmer for 1 1⁄2 hours until theham is falling off the bone. Remove from the heat. Remove theham end from the pan and set it aside.If you like the soup smooth, transfer the soup to a blender or foodprocessor and blend it until it is smooth. Season to taste with saltand pepper. Cut the tender ham off the bone. Carefully reheat thesoup in a clean pan, taking care not to let it stick to the pan. Servewith the cooked ham to take you back to Aunty Polly’s GuestHouse in Dunoon.
STEAK PIE (WITHOUT THE OFFAL)
SERVES 4
1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil or 100g of beef dripping
1 large onion, finely chopped
1kg best-quality stewing steak, diced
2 tbsp. plain flour, plus extra for dusting
400ml homemade beef stock
3 sprigs of thyme (optional)
salt and freshly ground white pepper
500g ready-made all-butter puff pastry
full-fat milk, for brushing
egg wash made from 1 egg, beaten (optional)
Preheat the oven to 160oC/325oF/Gas 3.
Heat the oil in a flameproof casserole dish over a medium heat.When it is hot, add the onion and fry gently until soft but not brown.Remove the onion. Meanwhile, lightly coat the steak with the flour.This will help to thicken the gravy in the pie. Increase the heatunder the casserole dish and add the meat. Fry, stirringcontinuously so the meat doesn’t stick. Cook until the meat isbrowned all over. Add the onion then add just enough stock tocover the meat without drowning it. Season with the thyme, salt and pepper. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and bake in the preheatedoven for about 2 hours.
Remove from the oven and check that the steak is tender. If it isnot, cook for 30 minutes more. Add a little more water if the stew islooking dry.Meanwhile, remove the pastry from the fridge so it can sit for 1hour before use. Remove the casserole dish from the oven andleave to cool.
Increase the oven temperature to 200oC/400oF/Gas 6.Choose a 1kg deep ashet pie dish with a rim. Roll the pastry outon a floured surface until it is about 2.5cm bigger all round than thepie dish. Place the pie dish upside-down on top of the pastry andcut around the dish to make a dish-shaped piece of pastry. Fill thepie dish to the rim with stew. Do not over-fill it or the stew will leakout. Dip a pastry brush in a little milk and use to wet the rim of thedish. Use the leftover pastry to make a strip and press it onto thewetted rim.
Brush the pastry strip with a little milk.Gently place the cut-out pastry on top of the stew and press itsedge firmly with your thumb and fingers to the pastry strip. Trim offany untidy bits of pastry. Use the flat edge of a knife to press theedges of the pastry strip and the pastry lid together. This will makea nice pattern and help to seal the pie. Then, with the edge of yourknife, use a cutting action vertically around the edge of the pastry.This will help to make the pastry light and to rise. Score the top ofthe pastry and make one slit in the top to let the air escape.Brush with milk or an egg wash and bake in the preheated oven for10 minutes until the pastry is golden brown and has risen. Reducethe oven temperature to 160oC/325oF/Gas 3 for 15-20 minutesuntil the filling is piping hot.
ITALIAN ICE CREAM
This recipe is almost 100 years old. Handed down by threegenerations of Italian Scots.
1/2 pint cream
1/2 pint milk
3 whole eggs
4 oz. caster sugar
1 vanilla pod
Warm the cream and milk with the vanilla pod but don’t let it cometo the boil.In a bowl beat the egg yolks and sugar until they have changedcolour and are thick and creamy.Sieve the warm cream into the eggs and mix well. Add the seedsfrom the vanilla pod to give extra flavour.Strain this mixture back into a clean pan and bring back to theheat. Again you don’t want this to boil, you just want it to thickenslightly so it coast the back of a spoon.
Strain into a clean glass bowl or jug and allow to cool.Once cool, transfer to an ice cream machine and churn untilfrozen. There are many small domestic ice cream machinesavailable for about £30.00. They don’t have the same power as anice cream shop machine so the mixture won’t beat as well so theremay be a slight icy grain but the flavour will be rich, creamy and asgood as The Ritz Café in Millport!
Enjoy!
