Recipes
1. Charmoula Sauce
2. Lamb and Mushroom Curry
3. Santiago Almond Torte with Lemon Syrup Torte
4. Hazelnut Meringue
5. Olive Tapenade
1. Charmoula Sauce – Out of Africa
If you are looking for a change for a fish dish, then try this for bringing out the flavours. They have been using charmoula for years in Morocco, but it hasn’t yet gained much of a foothold here. Ideally marinade the fish in it first, but you can just spread it on before cooking. It’s a versatile sauce – it will go equally well with chicken or a pasta dish or as a dressing for salad. You can sometimes find this in shops but this recipe is far better. The ingredients are as follows:
- ½ cup of parsley leaves
- ½ cup of fresh coriander leaves
- ¾ teaspoon of cummin
- 3 cloves of garlic – cut up fine
- 2 teaspoons of paprika
- 1 teaspoon of tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons of fresh lime or lemon juice
- 4 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1 touch of red pepper
- ½ teaspoon of fresh ginger – chopped or grated
- Ground black pepper to taste
- Touch of salt
Put all the ingredients into a blender – there’s one in the kitchen at The Larches – and turn it on for 10 – 15 seconds to get them well mixed and a smoothish paste. Once the sauce is prepared pour it over the fish – fresh haddock or cod from Keswick market are ideal. Do the same with a chicken or vegetarian meal. If you’re using it as a salad dressing, add a little more olive oil to make it easier to pour.
2. Lamb and Mushroom Curry – Ideal for the Hi-tec Haybox!
The haybox allows the meat to cook slowly and absorb the spices. Shoulder meat lamb is best. If you’re lucky, the butcher will take off the meat from the bone for you and remove some of the fatty sections. But some fat is good as it helps in the cooking and it disappears in the cooking process. Leg of lamb is a good alternative but it is more expensive and not quite so tasty for this curry. The ingredients are as follows:
- 1 kilo of lamb shoulder meat
- 1½ large onions – cut up into small pieces
- 4 cloves of garlic – chopped finely
- ½ kilo of mushrooms – cut into quarters
- 4 or 5 peppers – preferably of different colours for variety
- 3 cms square piece of fresh ginger, cut into very small pieces
- ½ cup of fresh coriander leaves
- ¾ tin of chopped tomatoes
- juice of ½ lemon
- 5 dessert spoons of coriander powder
- 1½ teaspoons of cummin
- 1½ teaspoons of turmeric (haldi)
- 1-1½ teaspoons of chili powder (according to taste)
- 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
- 8 cardomon seeds (slightly cracked open)
- 6 -7 tablespoons of vegetable oil
- sprinkling of pepper
- salt to taste
Put 3-4 tablespoons of oil in a pan and slowly cook the chopped onions, garlic and ginger until soft, adding the cardomon seeds towards the end. Then add the coriander powder, cummin, turmeric, cinnamon, chili powder and additional oil to ensure that the spices can very gently cook to remove their ‘edge’. Stir occasionally to ensure they do not stick.
In the meantime take the meat, chopped up into pieces and brown it in the vegetable oil in a frying pan and reserve with any juices. Similarly brown the mushrooms for a short while and reserve. Once the spices are ready, empty the meat into the pan with the spices and turn to ensure they are well mixed; and do likewise with the mushrooms. Add the chopped tomatoes & juice, half the coriander leaves, lemon, salt and the peppers (chopped in pieces).
Place the contents into the blue Le Creuset 2 litre dish – which is normally stored in the haybox for the next meal to be made. You will need to add some water or stock to ensure the contents are covered. The level should come up to ½ inch from the top. Do not overfill. Place the dish into the oven and bring to a bubbling boil. You are now ready to transfer the dish to the haybox, where it should be left for 7-8 hours before eating. Add the remaining coriander leaves shortly before serving.
NOTE Please do not use the Le Creuset dish for frying the spices or meat as the heat may crack the enamel and ruin the dish.
3. Santiago Almond Torte with Lemon Syrup
This delicious dessert was brought to The Larches in a rucksack by Mary Purcell who was travelling by train from London to Penrith for a long weekend stay. It was in superb condition and its combination of almond and lemon made it a firm favourite of everyone. It’s particularly good after a tasty Haybox casserole.
Full details of this recipe are provided here courtesy of Waitrose Recipes.
4. Hazel Meringue
This is a delicious dessert provided for us by Sue Loudon. For this you will need:
- 4 egg whites
- 275g caster sugar
- A few drops of vanilla essence
- 1 teaspoon vinegar
- 125g ground hazelnuts, toasted
For the filling you will require:
- 284-ml double cream whipped
- 1 tablespoon caster sugar
- 250g raspberries
Lay the hazelnuts on a tin and roast for about 10 minutes in an oven at 185 C, then place in a processor for a few seconds. Whisk the egg whites with the vanilla essence and vinegar until stiff, then whisk in sugar, a tablespoon at a time until the meringue is very stiff and holds its shape. Carefully fold in the hazelnuts. Divide the mixture between two lined and greased 20-cm sandwich tins and spread evenly.
Bake in a preheated moderate oven 180c [350f] for 40 to 45 minutes. Then loosen from the tin with a sharp knife and turn onto a wire rack to cool.
To make the filling mix the cream with the sugar and raspberries, sandwich the meringue rounds together with the filling and dust the top with icing sugar.
4. Tapenade
This is an easy to make sauce which is tasty and versatile. The recipe was provided for us by Gary Winters. For this you will need:
- 300g green olives stuffed with almonds
- 2 cloves of garlic
- a small bunch of parsley
- 5 liberal tablespoons of olive oil
Place all the ingredients in a food processor and blitz to preferred coarseness.
Serve on crackers or warm bread; or use as a generous dollop in a white bean soup.