Quite simply Cheese and Nut Balls!

Cheese and Nut Balls I hear you cry? Don't let the rather inelegant  name for this recipe detract from it's tastiness as either a vegetarian main course or as I've adapted it, as a stylish starter. It comes from a book I've had sitting on my shelf for a number of years that I purchased as part of a whole box of cookery books  at an auction in Aylsham circa 2001! The book, Leith's Vegetarian Cookery (1993) by Prue Leith and Caroline Waldegrave http://www.amazon.co.uk/Leiths-Vegetarian-Cookery-Prue-Leith/dp/0747512337/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1348310949&sr=8-1(wife of the former Conservative MP William Waldegrave, remember him?), certainly does have a rather dated look to it, well it would if it was published nearly twenty years ago wouldn't it?!

A tasty starter served on a bed of leaves with figs and walnut drizzle dressing

The book, published in 1993

However, once you start reading through it you notice there are some recipes which are definitely worthy of reproduction and many of them seem straightforward and fairly low on the faff factor. I must confess this is another book I've never cooked from before, but after doing said balls I think I will be reaching for it again. The Cauliflower and Stilton Pudding looks rather delicious on page 41 as does the Courgette Souffle page 39. On page 84 the Wild Mushrooms in a Cage looks like an ideal dinner party dish for vegetarian guests and meat eaters alike.


Cheese and Nut Balls (Copyright 1993 by Prue Leith and Caroline Waldegrave)

Serves 6
110g fresh brown breadcrumbs
85g chopped mixed nuts, toasted
1 tbsp chopped mixed herbs e.g. parsley, mint thyme
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 tsp tomato puree
110g Cheddar cheese, grated
1 egg lightly beaten
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Seasoned flour
oil for frying

1. Mix together all the ingredients except the flour. Season with salt and pepper.

Ingredients prepared and weighed out

Mixing everything together

2.   Using wet hands shape the mixture into balls the size of a ping pong ball, roll in seasoned flour and deep-fry in oil until brown.

The balls rolled in flour

Deep frying in my wok - I used sunflower oil

I quickly made up a dressing for the leaves with 4tbsp of walnut oil, 2 tbsp olive oil, 2 tbsp red wine vinegar and a teaspoon of Dijon mustard and some seasoning. Also, instead of cheddar I used Parmesan which gave it a slightly more grown-up feel and a bit more glamour to serve as a starter.

Walnut drizzle dressing. Just chuck it all together in a jar and shake!

I sliced up a couple of figs and placed them on the plates to complement the walnuts and Parmesan, which I think they did well.

So overall, great as a starter and can be made as a main course - just serve with a nice bottle of light red!

Next time: Another vegetarian recipe that I've got up my sleeve plus more kid's cooking and  then hopefully something with blackberries and apples...

Surprisingly scrumptious custard creams

After doing a mini road trip around the Midlands, North Wales and parts of northern England for our hols and getting settled back in to school, I've finally got back to cooking  and as promised have made some rather lovely custard cream biscuits with the help of my delightful son (well, he was behaving particularly delightful on this occasion anyway!)

This recipe is from Kate Shirazi's Baking Magic (2010) page 198 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Baking-Magic-Kate-Shirazi/dp/186205889X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1347786492&sr=1-1 which was mentioned in my last post. My sister also happens to own a copy of this book and has enjoyed making a number of the cup cake recipes for various parties and dos. In fact it was tasting some of the Lemonylicious cupcakes on page 32 that inspired me to get my own copy of this book - gorgeous little cakes filled with lemon curd and creme fraiche. Other recipes I have tried are the Chocolate Maltesers cupcakes page 35 (always a winner with the children),  Lemon and almond crumbles page 128 (moreish and irresistible) and the Carrot cupcakes with honey orange cream cheese frosting page 30 (satisfying morsels of subtle carrot and cream cheese).

Homemade custard creams

Custard Creams (Copyright Kate Shirazi, 2010, Susannah Blake 2009)

Makes about 15 -18 biscuits
175g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
3 tbsp proper custard powder

Weighing out the ingredients

1 tsp baking powder
60g white vegetable fat (eg. Trex)
60g butter 
3 tbsp icing sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp milk

Filling:
50g butter, softened
1 tbsp custard powder
100g icing sugar, sifted

Chopped butter and vegetable fat

Rubbing in the fats

Having fun mixing it all up!

Ready for the oven

Creaming the butter and icing sugar

Sandwiching together the biscuits

1. Preheat the oven to 190 degrees and line a couple of baking sheets.
2. Place the flour, custard powder and baking powder into a large bowl.
3. Chop the butter and vegetable fat in to little pieces and rub in to the mixture until you have a consistency of sand.
4. Add the sugar and milk until well combined.
5. In another bowl, beat eggs and milk together lightly and then pour on to the flour mixture and get your hands in to form it in to a ball.
6. Wrap the dough in cling film and leave to chill in fridge for at least 30 minutes or freeze it at this stage to use another day.
7. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface until its about 3mm thick. Cut the sheet of dough into long strips about 3cm wide and 4cm in length. Lay on baking tray and bake for 15 minutes.
8. Transfer the biscuits to a rack to cool and then make the filling.
9. Cream the butter, custard powder and sugar together in a large bowl until light and fluffy, adding a few drops of hot water if the mixture seems stiff and not quite the consistency you would like.
10. Sandwich two biscuits together and try not to eat the whole batch in one afternoon!

Out of the two types of biscuits we made we actually thought these were the best in terms of taste and moreishness! Next time we would try and find a pattern we could imprint on the biscuits to give them that extra flair but overall a recipe that's great to do with the kids.

Next time: I'm going to be scouring the books for something nice and veggie