Great Kitchen

Strawberry Cake Pie Ingredients: 190g caster sugar ( 1 cup, fine granulated sugar) 140g plain flour (1 cup) 1/4 tsp salt 120g butter, melted (1/2 cup) 2 large free range eggs 1 tsp of vanilla extract 1/2 tsp almond extract 350g  quartered fresh strawberries, divided (2 1/4 cups) 2 TBS granulated sugar icing sugar to dust vanilla ice cream or softly whipped cream to serve Instructions: Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4.  Spray a 9-inch glass pie dish with some cooking oil spray.  Set aside. Whisk together the melted butter, eggs and extracts in a beaker. Whisk the flour, sugar and salt together in a bowl.  Add the wet ingredients and whisk together to combine thoroughly.   Carefully fold in all but 45g (1/4 cup) of the berries.  Spread in the prepared pie dish.  Arrange the remaining berries on top decoratively. Sprinkle with the regular granulated sugar. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes.  (Start checking at 35.) ...

   Skillet Roasted Lemon Chicken Ingredients: 2 tsp fresh thyme leaves 1 tsp whole fennel seed fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 80ml extra virgin olive oil (1/3 cup) 1 whole lemon, plus the juice of one lemon 1 onion, peeled and then sliced into half moons 2 large cloves of garlic, minced 1 (4-pound) roasting chicken, backborn removed, and spatchcocked 120ml dry white wine (1/2 cup) (Pinot Grigio recommended) Instructions: Preheat the oven to 230*C/450*F/ gas mark 7.  Have ready a  deep oven proof skillet (or baking dish), large enough to hold everything. (I used my 10-inch cast iron skillet.) Place the fresh thyme leaves, fennel seed, 1 TBS of salt and 1 teaspoon of black pepper into a mini food processor or spice grinder.    Process until ground. I did mine very fine. You can leave it a bit coarser if you want.  Measure out the olive oil and then stir the herb mixture into it. Slice the whole lemon in half from top to bottom.  ...

Easy Jam Tarts Ingredients: For the pastry: 140g all purpose flour (1 cup) 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 1/2 TBS butter 2 1/2 TBS lard 3 to 4 tablespoons of ice water You will also need: jam to fill them (I used apricot, cherry, plum and strawberry) Instructions: First make the pastry. Mix flour with salt, and cut in butter and lard, until you have pieces of fat in the flour about the size of peas. Add ice water, one TBS at a time, tossing it in with a fork until pastry comes together. Form in to a ball, flatten, wrap in cling film and chill in the refrigerator for about half an hour. Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6.  Have ready some tart tins. I sprayed mine with some canola cooking spray to keep anything from sticking.  As I was using individual tins, I placed them onto a baking sheet. Roll your pastry out, using a floured rolling pin, and on a lightly floured surface to 1/8 inch thickness.  Using a 2 inch cutter (I used a flower shaped one) stamp our rounds and use t...

INGREDIENTS 250g flour (strong bread, plain or self-raising all fine) 50ml lukewarm water  100ml lukewarm milk 2 tbsp yoghurt  1 tbsp oil (olive or vegetable based fine) 1/2 tsp baking powder (4g) 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda (4g) 1/4 tsp sugar 1/4 tsp salt  To serve: 25g softened butter METHOD 1. Dissolve the salt and sugar in the warm water then mix together all of the wet ingredients in a jug.  2. Sift the flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda into a bowl, make a well known the centre, and slowly add the liquid ingredients to the dry, stirring with a large spoon as you do. Stir everything together for a couple of minutes with a big spoon until it’s all fully amalgamated.  3. The dough will be quite wet - that’s fine. Cover the bowl with cling film or a tea towel and leave to one side for 2 hours. It won’t rise much but the raising agents will still start to work.  4. After 2 hours, lightly flour your surface. Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces, s...

Kıymalı Çökertme Kebabı (Tomatoey Beef Mince, Homestyle Chips and Yoghurt). Super simple cheats’ version of such a humbling and delicious dish, used 250g of my homemade yoghurt (but you can used any natural yoghurt you like really) and gave it a stir through with 1/4 tap grated / crushed garlic and a pinch of salt, and I made the meaty sauce as follows: INGREDIENTS 2 tsp oil of choice 500g beef / lamb mince 2 onions, finely chopped 1 tomato, peeled and grated 1 tsp Turkish red pepper paste (tatlı) 1 tbsp tomato purée (you can just use tomato purée if you don’t have the red pepper paste 1 tsp dried oregano OR thyme 1/2 tsp pul biber / red pepper flakes (add more if you like spice) 1/2 tsp paprika 2 tsp finely chopped fresh parsley 1/2 tsp black pepper 1/2 tsp salt (more to taste if you think it requires it) METHOD Add the oil to a non-stick pan and sauté the meat on a medium to high heat until browned, 8-10 mins. Add the onion to the meat and cook until fully softened, again 8-10 mins o...

Oven Roasted Applesauce Ingredients: 2 1/2 pounds apples, peeled and sliced (I used a mix of tart and sweet) 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon 1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg 50g caster sugar (1/4 cup) pinch of salt butter to dot on top, about 2 TBS (optional) Instructions: Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4.  Butter a deep baking dish large enough to hold the apples. Toss the sliced apples together in a bowl with the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and a pinch of salt.  Pour them into the prepared baking dish and dot with butter if using. Cover tightly with foil. Roast in the preheated oven for 45 to 50 minutes, stirring them halfway through the cook time, until they are soft and just beginning to caramelise.  Remove from the oven and mash well with a fork. Taste and adjust sweetness with some extra sugar if need be. We prefer ours a bit on the tart side, and of course a lot depends on the sweetness of the apples you use.  Spoon into a serving bowl and serve warm with pork, or...

Tuna Pot Pie Ingredients: For the pastry: 140g all purpose flour (1 cup)   1/2 teaspoon salt 2 1/2 TBS butter 2 1/2 TBS lard   3 to 4 tablespoons of ice water For the sauce: 2 TBS  butter 2 TBS plain flour 240ml  whole milk (2 cups) 1 small onion, peeled and chopped salt and pepper to taste a splash of hot sauce a squeeze of fresh lemon juice 1/2 tsp dill weed You will also need: 240g jar of albacore tuna in spring water drained (8 ounces) 1 cup each cubed carrot and frozen peas, cooked Instructions: To make the pastry, mix flour with salt, and cut in butter and lard, until you have pieces of fat in the flour about the size of peas. Add ice water, one TBS at a time, tossing it in with a fork until pastry comes together. Form in to a ball, flatten, wrap in cling film and chill.  Melt the butter in a saucepan for the sauce. Add the onion and cook over medium heat, without colouring, until the onion is softened.  Whisk in the flour. Cook for a minute, then slo...