Parma Ham, Cheese and Pea Tarts

Following a post-Christmas 'fridge audit' we discovered some Parma Ham that needed to be used up.  We also had double cream and yogurt that were nearing their use by dates.

The ingredients we needed to use were -
2 large eggs, beaten
50g Parmesan cheese, grated
One red onion, diced and lightly cooked
200ml live, natural yogurt
100ml double cream
6 slices Parma ham
Seasoning

Also - 100g frozen peas (could be replaced by asparagus spears or brocolli florets)

The onions were being lightly cooked in some sunflower oil until they became transparent.

Taking a muffin tin, each slice of ham was cut in half and used to line the tin.  This would form the 'case' for the tart/quiche filling.

Having mixed the yogurt, cream and beaten eggs, the Parmesan cheese was added and mixed through.






A dessertspoonful of the mix was added to the bottom of the 'case' and then some fried-off onions were laid on top.  Next, another layer of the mix was added until the 'cases' were filled.

Finally, a few frozen peas were added to each case.  The tarts were then ready to be cooked, at 170ºC (fan oven) for about 15 minutes.

We also cooked a 'large' pastryless tart/quiche by oiling a pyrex dish, and layering the mix, onions, mix in the same way.  This, larger, dish also had extra grated Parmesan sprinkled over the top before the frozen peas were added.  This was cooked for about 30 minutes, until it was lightly firm when the dish was moved.

The Parma Ham tarts were used, cold, for lunch on a day out before New Year's Eve with friends - they were much admired by our gluten-eating foodie pals.










We ate the large pastryless, vegetarian, quiche warm with chilli potatoes and a green salad.  It made a lovely change from the 'excesses' of the Festive Season.

Pasta Royale

When there's not much time and/or we're short on supplies there's a 'dish' we all like.  Amongst other things it is very quick to make as well. (Apologies to the easily terrified amongst you - Sous Chef J was making use of his newly found werewolf gloves and thought they added something to the above pic!)

So how did we make this simple dish?  Easy! We gathered together pasta (today we used Salute Gluten free spaghetti), frozen peas, frozen sweetcorn (or you can use drained corn from a tin), grated cheese, a knob of butter and some tomato ketchup.  Cooked the pasta per instructions... and 4 minutes before the boiling time was done, added the peas and sweetcorn (you can add both/one or none of these depending on supplies/likes). Brought the pan back to boil and then cooked for remaining pasta cooking time.


Once we drained the pasta/veg mix (we used a sieve) we added the butter to the cooking pan and swirled it around a bit to melt it before adding the now drained pasta/veg.  Then we mixed the melted butter through, added a handful of grated cheese (we used mature cheddar but parmesan works well too), a dollop of ketchup and some freshly ground black pepper.  Combined it all together and served.

This can be made dairy free by omitting the butter and cheese - in this case, use a little oil and some chopped and sweated garlic in place of them. 

Indian Vegetable Fritters

   

 

 Having finally got around to looking through a cookery book that was a Christmas gift, we spotted a recipe that caught our eye. 

As usual, we gathered all the ingredients together - although we substituted frozen chopped parsley for the chopped coriander the recipe lists.

We used:-

150g Gram Flour
1 large carrot, grated
1 medium brown onion, sliced thinly
60g frozen peas
1 clove garlic, crushed
½ teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon garam masala
⅛ teaspoon ground turmeric
¼ teaspoon baking powder (gluten free - we used Dove's Farm)
⅙ cup chopped parsley
30ml water
vegetable oil for frying

The gram flour was weighed into a medium bowl and the carrot was grated into it.  Then the sliced onion, spices, peas, parsley, crushed garlic, baking powder and water were added to the bowl.

During this time, some vegetable oil was being heated in a small frying pan ready to cook the fritters a little later.

It was then a case of getting the mixture to combine fully.  This is quite a messy, hands on job, which Sous Chef J was happy to leave to me.

Once the mix had been encouraged to combine,  small amounts (about dessertspoonfuls) were formed into a patty and added to the ready-heated frying oil.

Having fried the fritters until were browned and cooked through they were drained on some kitchen paper.












Finally the fritters were ready to serve.  We ate this batch with a chicken tikka curry, mini poppadums and mango chutney.

Hearty Vegetable Soup

A firm favourite for colder weather is our hearty vegetable soup.  It's a simple dish to make as it uses one pot and can be made with whatever vegetables you have around.

We start by gathering all the vegetables we are going to use as the base - usually crushed garlic, onions, carrots, leeks, swede, potatoes and sometimes including celery.  These are then chopped/sliced into similar sized pieces by Sous Chef J.  Whilst he is doing this the garlic and onion is sweated in a good dollop of butter (you can use dairy free alternative if you need to) in a heavy based, large pan.  Then about 2 Tablespoons of tomato puree is added to this and cooked off on a low heat and incorporated fully.  Next, the base vegetables are stirred into the tomato/onion mix and a good amount of ground pepper is added.  These are warmed through for about five minutes and then at least two pints of vegetable stock are poured in (we often use Marigold Vegetable Swiss Bouillon gluten free powder to make up the stock.)  The amount of stock used depends on how many veg are in the soup mix.

The soup is then covered and brought to the boil before being simmered for about 20 minutes.  At this point, the peas (we use frozen) and chopped white cabbage can be added for about 4 minutes to cook through before serving.  We top with grated cheese and serve.

If you are not going to eat all of the soup at one sitting (we rarely do), the amount required for eating can be ladled into another, smaller pan, where the peas and/or cabbage are added.... this means that the peas retain their lovely green colour and the soup looks fresh and appetising when it's served.  The remainder of the soup can be cooled and stored in the fridge for a couple of days or frozen.  It's a great way to use up root veg and is a welcome burst of colour on a dreary day!