Season’s eatings Carole’s shortbread mince pies
MAKES 12
INGREDIENTS
• 225g plain flour
• 175g Booths salted butter
• 75g sugar
• 1 jar Booths mincemeat
• Foil baking cases
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas mark 4.Mix the flour, butter and sugar together.
Roll it out to your required thickness (some people like thick “pastry” while other people prefer it thinner). Using two cutters (one larger for the bases and a smaller one for the tops), cut out the bases and the tops.
Place one teaspoon of mincemeat onto a base and cover it with a top. With any leftover shortbread, you could use a snowflake cutter to create a pattern for the tops.
Bake in the oven for 25 minutes. Allow to cool and sprinkle with icing sugar. The shortbread can be very delicate, so take care removing them from the foil cases. Carole says: “I loved being a part of the book last year and loved all the customers giving me feedback on how their caramel shortbread went. I even had one customer who brought me some to try as he had finally mastered it after several attempts. This year my recipe is a delicious twist on the traditional mince pie. I make my mince pies with shortbread instead of pastry. I have converted many a person who has said they don’t like mince pies.”
Anne’s venison casserole
SERVES 6
INGREDIENTS
• 25g L’Aquila dried porcini mushrooms
• 2tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 160g Woodalls smoked bacon lardons
• 900g venison, cubed
• 250g chestnut mushrooms, quartered
• 1tbsp plain flour
• 1 bouquet garni
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 3 bay leaves
• 180g Merchant Gourmet whole chestnuts
• 570ml rich Madeira
• 8 shallots, halved if very large
• Salt and freshly milled black pepper
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 140C/120C fan/gas mark 1.
Break up any large pieces of porcini,
Booths staff have once again shared their favourite festive recipes for the supermarket’s Christmas book.
place in a bowl, cover with 250ml of boiling water and leave to soak for 20 minutes.
Heat 1tbsp olive oil in a large ovenproof casserole dish, add the onion and fry until dark and caramelised at the edges. Add the garlic, fry for one minute and then transfer to a plate.
Add the bacon lardons to the casserole dish and fry until golden, transfer to a plate.
Add 1tbsp of olive oil to the casserole dish and fry batches of venison until browned, remove from the dish and transfer to a plate.
Add more olive oil if required to the casserole dish and fry the quartered chestnut mushrooms.
Return the onions, bacon, venison and mushrooms to the casserole dish, add the flour and stir well, then gradually stir in the Madeira, bay leaves, bouquet garni, rosemary and chestnuts. Season with salt and pepper.
Add the porcini to the casserole together with the strained soaking juices.
Bring the casserole up to simmering, then transfer to the oven for 1 hour 45 minutes.
Just before the end of cooking time, fry the shallots until golden then add to casserole and cook for another 30 minutes.
Serve garnished with freshly chopped flat leaf parsley.
Anne says: “This luxurious casserole is a favourite with our family and when it is cooking in the oven everyone comments that it ‘smells like Christmas’. We have enjoyed this recipe with friends on Christmas Eve many times. Serve with creamy fluffy mashed potato, red cabbage and green beans.”
MAKES 8
INGREDIENTS
For the cupcakes:
• 110g dark brown sugar
• 110g margarine
• 110g self-raising flour
• 2 medium eggs, beaten
• 1tbsp treacle
• 1tbsp golden syrup
• 1tbsp ground ginger
• ½tsp cinnamon
• ½tsp nutmeg
For the buttercream:
• 150g margarine
• 300g icing sugar
• 100g white chocolate
• 3tsp orange essence
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas mark 4. Place eight cupcake cases in a cupcake baking tin.
In a bowl whisk together the margarine and sugar until fluffy. Gradually add the eggs and flour until combined. If the mixture looks as if it’s separating add a little more flour.
Add the ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, treacle and golden syrup and mix together using a wooden spoon until everything is combined.
Spoon the mixture evenly into the cupcake cases, filling them about threequarters full and then bake for 20-25 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Let the cakes cool completely before transferring to a wire rack to decorate.
To make the buttercream, in a bowl whisk the margarine until pale and fluffy. Gradually add the icing sugar.
In a separate bowl, melt the white chocolate and leave it to cool enough before adding it to the buttercream. Add the orange essence and stir until everything is combined.
Place the buttercream in a piping bag and pipe the icing onto each cupcake to form the Christmas tree.
Sprinkle with a little icing sugar and decorate as desired using sprinkles of your choosing.
Dawn says: “I’ve always enjoyed baking and this was the first time I have tried out a recipe of my own. I have always taken part in fundraising bake sales we’ve held in store, which is where this idea originally started.”
Fire cracker rice with tofu, and fried brussels
SERVES 2
INGREDIENTS
• 2tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 red onion, finely diced
• 1 red pepper, finely diced
• 2 cloves garlic, sliced
• Thumb-sized piece of ginger, grated
• 100g cooked basmati rice
• 100g cooked Brussels sprouts, sliced
• 200g tofu, diced
• 25g frozen peas
• 1tsp chilli flakes
• 2tbsp soy sauce
• 1tbsp sesame oil
• 1 fresh lime
• 1 small handful coriander
• Sesame seeds
• 1 green chilli, sliced
METHOD
Stir fry the red onion, red pepper, garlic, peas, ginger and Brussels in hot vegetable oil for two minutes. Then add the basmati rice. Stir well and add the chilli flakes, soy sauce and sesame oil. Gently fold in the tofu and serve in a suitable bowl. Garnish with coriander, sesame seeds, sliced chilli and a wedge of lime.
Chef ’s tip: Add prawns or some shredded leftover turkey for your non-vegan friends. ■ www.booths.co.uk