Food & Drink
Cooking...
with Mrs Simkins
Broccoli Bake Actually, that’s not quite right! As any gardener knows, the large round green heads sold as broccoli in the shops, are a fair-weather cousin of true broccoli, known as calabrese. True broccoli is the slow maturing purple (or white) sprouting version with loose florets, harvested from November to March. Calabrese has a large, round, deep green head, a slightly milder taste, and is harvested from mid-summer to midautumn. Cook calabrese briefly: break into florets and steam or stirfry for around three minutes or until just tender, bright green, sweet and nutty. This lovely way with broccoli (I mean calabrese!) makes a delicious light dish for summer on its own with crusty bread. It’s also a wonderful accompaniment for roast chicken: roast a few potatoes, cut into chunks and scattered with herbs, while
Handful of herbs such as thyme, parsley, and oregano, finely chopped
you’re at it, and you’re all set for a perfect summer Sunday roast. Serves 2 as a light lunch or 4 as a side dish 1 small-medium onion, diced 125g closed cap or button mushrooms, sliced 1-2 tablespoons oil 300g calabrese, broken into florets Plus 300g tub full-fat crème
Mum’s Kitchen... Apricot and Coconut Bars Ingredients: 175g (6oz) dried apricots 3 tablespoons orange juice 175g (6oz) butter 2 tablespoons golden syrup 80g (3oz) plain flour 1 ¼ teaspoons bicarb 80g (3oz) desiccated coconut 115g (4oz) jumbo oats 175 (6oz) demerara sugar Grated zest of 1 orange Method: Preheat the oven to 190C/fan oven 170C. Grease and line a 20cm (8in) square tin. Place apricots and orange juice in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat 34
and leave to cool. Puree the apricots in a blender or processor. In a saucepan, melt the butter and syrup together. Remove from the heat and stir in the flour, bicarbonate of soda, coconut, oats, sugar and orange zest, mixing well. Spoon half the mixture onto the prepared tin. Spread the apricot puree over and smooth with a palette knife, then top with the remaining coconut mixture. Smooth the top with a palette knife. Bake for 30-40 minutes until set and golden brown. Mark into bars, and cut and lift from the tin when cold. Store in an airtight tin.
fraiche 2 rounded tablespoons mayonnaise 1 generous teaspoon Dijon mustard Garlic puree to taste Generous pinch of chilli flakes (optional) Freshly ground black and ground white pepper to taste Plus 25g dry breadcrumbs Around 15g mature Cheddar cheese, grated
Steam the calabrese for around three minutes or until bright green and just tender. Set aside. Fry the onion gently in the oil until soft but barely covered. Add the mushrooms halfway. Spread the onions and mushrooms over the bottom of the dish and arrange the calabrese on top. Blend the crème fraiche, mayonnaise, mustard, garlic puree black pepper, and chilli flakes (if using) in the empty pan, heat gently and pour over the vegetables in the dish. Combine the breadcrumbs, cheese and herbs and scatter thickly on top. Bake for 10-15 minutes until piping hot and bubbling. MrsSimkins.co.uk twitter.com/MrsSimkinsCooks email: info@MrsSimkins.co.uk
with Diana Holman
