Abbey meals
Give afternoon tea the Downton touch. MARION McMULLEN finds out how you can plate up some upper-crust treats
THE release of the new Downton Abbey movie is the perfect excuse to put on the kettle and serve up a showstopping afternoon tea.
Downton Abbey: A New Era is transporting cinema audiences back in time to catch up with the aristocratic Crawley family and their household.
But you don’t need a stately home or a summer
INGREDIENTS:
225g plain flour; ¼tsp salt; 85g Trex
15g Trex; 4 spring onions, finely chopped; 100g asparagus spears, sliced; 75g smoked salmon, snipped into pieces; 2 eggs; 100g low-fat soft cheese; 150ml milk; 2tsp chopped fresh dill or parsley; salt and freshly ground black pepper
METHOD: 1.
Sift the flour and salt into a bowl and rub in the Trex with your fingertips until the mixture looks like fine crumbs. Add 3-4 tbsp chilled water and mix it in with a roundbladed knife until the pastry clings together. Use your hands to form the dough into a ball. Wrap and chill for 10 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 200°C/fan oven 180°C/ Gas Mark 6.
Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface
2. 3.
villa to dine like a count or countess. Trex have come up with some delicious recipes that would make Downton’s cook Mrs Patmore proud.
All of the recipes are quick, simple and easy to make, and are perfect for sharing among family and friends whilst binge-watching the show at home or before going to see the new film. and use it to line a 23cm flan ring or dish. Line with crumpled foil or greaseproof paper and baking beans and bake “blind” (without a filling) for 15 minutes.
Take the flan from the oven and remove the foil or paper and baking beans. Reduce the oven temperature to 180°C/fan oven 160°C/Gas Mark 4.
Heat the Trex in a frying pan and fry the spring onions for three to four minutes until soft. Cool, then scatter over the base of the flan with the asparagus and smoked salmon.
Beat together the eggs and soft cheese until smooth, then mix in the milk and herbs. Season. Pour into the flan case, then bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until set.
4. 5. 6. INGREDIENTS:
1 medium egg;
75g caster sugar; 100g Trex, at room temperature, plus a little for greasing; 200g plain flour; pinch of salt;
50g polenta or semolina
227g pot clotted cream; 10 strawberries, halved; icing sugar, for sprinkling
METHOD: 1.
Position the oven shelves towards the top of the oven. Preheat the oven to 200°C/fan oven 180°C/ Gas Mark 6. Lightly grease two baking trays with a little Trex.
Beat the egg and sugar together using a wooden spoon.
Put the Trex in a bowl
2. 3.
with 150g flour and the salt. Beat together until smooth and creamy.
Gradually beat in the egg and sugar mixture. Add the remaining flour and polenta or semolina and mix to a smooth dough.
Turn onto a lightly floured work top and roll out with a floured rolling pin until 5mm thick. Stamp into rounds with a 6cm cutter and transfer to the prepared baking trays.
Bake for 16-18 minutes until light golden brown. Cool for a few minutes on the trays, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
When ready to serve, top the shortcakes with spoonfuls of clotted cream and strawberries, then sprinkle with icing sugar.