I noticed the abundance of rosehip from my garden and I got to thinking if I could do something with them. My husband suggested a rosehip syrup that he remembers fondly from his childhood. The syrup was sweet-tasting and bursting with goodness of Vitamin C, just the drink, hot or cold, during the autumn season.
Anyway here is a recipe from Hugh Feanley-Whittingstall
Rosehip syrup
Rosehip syrup is dripping with vitamin C and has long had a reputation for keeping colds at bay all winter. Far from being austere, though, it has a surprisingly tropical tang, with notes of lychee and mango. Diluted with about five parts cold water, it makes a delicious cordial drink, which kids will love, and a fantastic autumn cocktail for grown-ups. It’s also an indulgent alternative to maple syrup on ice cream, waffles and pancakes.
You will also need a jelly bag (or a clean cotton cloth and a big sieve)
Put two litres of water in a large pan and bring to the boil. Throw in the chopped rosehips, bring back to the boil, then remove from the heat, cover and leave to infuse for half an hour, stirring from time to time.
Strain the mixture through a jelly bag. (Alternatively, line a colander with a couple of layers of muslin and place over a large bowl. Tip in the rosehip mixture, and leave suspended over the bowl.)
Set the strained juice aside and transfer the rosehip pulp back to the saucepan, along with another litre of boiling water. Bring to the boil, remove from the heat, infuse for another half an hour and strain as before. Discard the pulp and combine the two lots of strained juice in a clean pan. Bring to the boil, and boil until the volume has decreased by half. Remove from the heat.
Add the sugar and stir until dissolved. Return to the stove, bring to the boil and boil hard for five minutes. Pour into warmed, sterilised jars or bottles and seal.
We had a really yummy mushroom stroganoff at the Equinox Ball last night. I thought then that I would try to cook it at home as my husband and I both adore mushrooms. I googled the recipe and found this on the BBC food website. Seem the recipe is good and really straightforward. I shall try this recipe and post some of my own photos soon, meanwhile, the BBC recipe is as follows:
Mushroom Stroganoff
Ingredients
2 tsp olive oil
1 onion , finely chopped
1 tbsp paprika
2 garlic cloves , crushed
300g mixed mushrooms , chopped
150 ml beef or vegetable stock (2 cubes of beef or vegetable bouillon cubes dissolved in 3 cups of hot water)
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
3 tbsp half-fat soured cream
small bunch parsley , roughly chopped
Procedure:
Heat the oil in a large non-stick casserole pan and fry the onion until soften, this may take about 5 mins under fairly low heat.
Add the garlic and paprika and cook for a minute.
Turn up the heat to medium to high and add mushrooms, stir frying for 5 minutes.
Pour in the stock and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to the boil.
Turn down the heat and allow to simmer for 5 minutes or until the sauce had thicken.
Turn off the heat, stir in the sour cream, ensure that the pan is not of the heat as the cream will curdle if heated.
We had a wonderful meal of chicken paella whilst on holiday in Barcelona.
The dish was so sumptuous that I still think about it today. LOL I have tried to make my own version and I found Jamie Oliver’s version is a good starting point for a truly delicious Spanish paella.
Below is a Jamie Oliver recipe:
Chicken Paella Recipe
ingredients
• 6 boneless chicken breasts or thighs, preferably free-range or organic, skin on, each quartered
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• plain flour, for dusting
• olive oil
• 100g chorizo, sliced
• 6 slices pancetta or streaky bacon
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 2 litres hot chicken stock, preferably organic
• 2 large pinches of saffron
• 1 heaped teaspoon smoked paprika
• 500g paella rice
• small bunch flat leaf parsley, leaves picked and chopped, stalks chopped
• 2 handfuls peas, fresh or frozen
• 10 king prawns
optional: 500g mussels, scrubbed
• optional: 2 small squid, halved and scored
method
Preheat the oven to 190ºC/375ºF/gas 5. Season the chicken pieces and dust with flour. Heat a little olive oil in a large deep pan and fry the chicken until golden brown on both sides. Place the pieces on a baking tray and into the oven for 30 minutes.
Put the pan back on the heat. Add the sliced chorizo and pancetta or bacon and fry until browned and crispy. Then add the onion and garlic and cook until soft. Meanwhile infuse half the hot chicken stock with the saffron. Add the smoked paprika, rice and infused stock and leave to cook on a medium heat, stirring from time to time.
After 20 minutes the rice should be nearly cooked. At this point, pour in the rest of the stock along with the peas, prawns, and the mussels and squid if you are using them. Place a lid on the pan and cook for 10 minutes more.
Finally, add the cooked chicken and serve sprinkled with chopped parsley and a wedge of lemon.
This recipe is a lovely Friday night supper which everyone will enjoy.
It is easy and quick to do. Delicious with some steamed green beans.
Fisherman’s pie
Fisherman’s Pie Recipe
Ingredients
450g mixed fish such as cod, haddock, salmon
170g cooked prawns, peeled
4 hard-boiled eggs, shelled and cut lengthways into quarters
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
110g frozen peas, defrosted
150ml dry white wine
450g mashed potato
30g butter
175g baby mushrooms, sliced
40g plain flour
125ml double cream
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5.
Put the fish in a roasting tin and cook in the oven for about 10-12 minutes until opaque and starting to flake. When cool enough to handle, take off the skin, remove any bones and flake the fish into large chunks.
Mix with the eggs, prawns, mushroom, parsley and peas. Put this in a deep oven proof dish.
Heat 30ml of butter in a pan over a medium heat. Stir in the flour and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and gradually add the wine while stirring continuously until thickened. Add the cream and season with salt and pepper to taste. Add this mixture to the fish and give it a quick stir.
Spread the mashed potato on top and dot the butter all over.
Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes until golden brown and piping hot.
