Christmas Cake - a bit more festive

Well, here we have the finished article for this year.

In truth it doesn’t look much different from the one I usually do although the cake itself, under the topping, is entirely different as you will have seen from the post below. I seem to have hit on a winning formula for the topping of the cake a few years ago; it works for us and if it ain’t broke I won’t fix it.

There’s a very good chance that it’ll be cut into quite soon, since Mr S-V keeps giving it the eye every time he opens the pantry door! As he quite rightly points out, though, there’s no sense in keeping everything back to eat at Christmas because it’s just not humanly possible to have a taste of all the goodies in one day. You can’t deny his logic…

1 18cm square rich fruit cake
white marzipan
a little icing sugar
3 tbsp apricot jam
1 tbsp brandy
soft dried apricots
whole brazils
whole pecans or walnuts

ribbon







Make the glaze by heating the jam and brandy gently in a small pan until the jam melts, then rub the mixture through a sieve with the back of a spoon.

Using a pastry brush, paint the top of your cake generously with the glaze; roll out the marzipan to a depth of about 0.5cm on a surface lightly dusted with icing sugar and cut to size using the base of your cake tin as a guide. Lay the marzipan on top of the cake and brush with more glaze.

Arrange the fruit and nuts on the marzipan, pressing them in lightly, then brush generously with the rest of the glaze.

Tie the ribbon round the side of the cake.

Store in an airtight tin in a cool place.

Update: 22.12.14

Cake has been cut and sampled - a resounding success. Really fruity with a moist texture. Oh, my poor expanding waistline... Many thanks to Russell at Flatford for a brilliant recipe.

This Year's Christmas Cake

Well here we are in the first week of November and I’m already getting ready for Christmas. If I’m not careful I’ll be getting ahead of myself!

Over the weekend the house smelt like Christmas had already arrived; I made our Christmas pudding on Saturday and on Sunday I made this years’ cake. I used a recipe by Russell Clement, Catering Manager at Flatford, one of the National Trust’s properties. The recipe was on the back of our latest newsletter and I was intrigued by it – I’ve never seen a recipe where some of the fruit was blitzed and then mixed in, but it sounded so good I just had to give it a try. Obviously I haven’t tasted the cake yet but if the taste of the mixture (when I ran my finger round the empty bowl!) is anything to go by it’s definitely a winner.

 

It looks pretty damn fine to me as it is, but I’ll top it with marzipan and a pattern of glazed nuts and fruit to prettify it a bit. Can’t wait to have a slice with a cuppa a bit nearer the big day!

 

I emailed Flatford to ask them if I could use Russell’s recipe on the blog and they very kindly agreed, so here it is in its entirety… The only thing I changed was the baking time, although that may be my oven; I ended up cooking it for exactly 3 hours.

 

Fruit-packed Christmas Cake

 

100g dried pears, finely chopped
100g dried apple, finely chopped
150g raisins
300g sultanas
50g dried sour cherries
100g dried cranberries
50g best quality candied peel, finely chopped
40g candied stem ginger, finely chopped
¼ tsp ground cloves
2 bay leaves
2 clementines, zest and juice
150ml liqueur e.g. Cointreau, Kirsch, Cassis or Framboise
50g hazelnuts, blanched (or skins removed)
50g almonds, blanched
200g butter, unsalted
175g dark brown muscovado sugar
4 free-range eggs at room temp, beaten
250g SR flour

 

1.The night before you bake the cake, place all the prepared dry fruit, ginger, ground cloves, bay leaves, zest and juice of the clementines and the booze into a large non-reactive bowl and mix well. Take a big sniff (it's heady stuff and smells wonderful!) then cover and leave to steep overnight in a cool place.

 

2.Grease and line a 20cm cake tin. (I used an 18cm square tin) Leave the parchment protruding around the edge of the tin, standing about 5-6cm proud of the edge to protect the cake during the long cooking.  Pre-heat the oven to 125C (fan) or 150C (conventional).

 

3.Toast the nuts until golden brown, place them in a processor and pulse until they are finely chopped. Add the nuts to the fruit mixture, remove the bay leaves, mix well and put 350g of the fruit and nut mixture back into the processor. Blend to a thick paste.

 

4.Beat the sugar and butter together until the sugar has dissolved then slowly combine the eggs, beating well after each addition. Fold in the flour, then stir in the paste and the rest of the fruit and nut mixture.

 

5.Spoon the mix into the tin and level the surface well. Bake in the pre-heated oven for 2-2½ hours. Check the cake by inserting a skewer or knife into the centre and see that it comes away clean.

 

 

6.Leave the cake in the tin to cool then remove, leaving the parchment in place, and wrap tightly in foil until the big day.

 

7.This cake is very versatile, it will take any kind of finish you like from a simple glaze to draping in fondant so let your imagination guide you!

Foie Gras...it's a matter of choice

OK, I’m a fool to myself and I’ll probably wish I’d kept my mouth shut but here goes…

I saw a link to this news item from the Vegetarian Society on Twitter today and it really made me angry. It illustrates why I sometimes hate being labelled ‘a vegetarian’ and why I could never be a member of the Veg Soc. I just can’t stand their preaching and I really don’t want to be associated with it. Is it any wonder that omnivores complain about veggies always being so 'holier than thou' about not eating meat? 

 

Take this simplistic, naïve statement from the Veg Soc in the piece above, for example “The production of foie gras is unnecessary”. On the contrary, foie gras is entirely necessary for someone who wants to eat it. In these days of food being transported around the world, with strawberries and asparagus available in December, ‘necessity’ is beside the point – it’s about freedom and personal choice. Right now… do I ‘need’ a piece of coffee and walnut cake? No, of course not, but I’d damn well like some! Others may feel the same about foie gras.

I am obviously not in favour of animal cruelty but I’m also not afraid to face the unpalatable fact of life that animals are still seen as less important and more expendable than humans…this isn't going to change, ’twas ever thus. Animal cruelty will never be eradicated as long as there are living humans on this planet. While there is money to be made from selling an animal related item there will be people willing to buy said item. 

I can’t stop every instance of animal exploitation – I can only do what is right for me; but what I won't do is preach to others or tell them how to behave. If someone wants to eat a steak or foie gras or sea bass…go ahead, I hope you enjoy it. Just don’t ask me to join in.

'School Dinner' Jam and Coconut Sponge

Mr Simply Veg and I were talking about school dinners the other day; I don’t know how we got on to the subject – I can only say when you get to our age you start to ramble a bit.

I loved school dinners mainly because they were so much nicer than the meals I had at home. Sadly I can honestly state, without any fear of contradiction, that my mother never managed to serve up an edible meal in her life; you know the sort of thing…if the veg are still recognisable they haven’t been boiled for long enough. Gravy…? One lump or two?

Anyway, Mr S-V said his school dinners weren’t particularly memorable but then he went all dewy eyed about a jam and coconut sponge he used to have for pudding. I was tasked with recreating this culinary masterpiece and by all accounts I did a pretty good job. *polishes halo*

Himself is a very happy chappie and I am now officially a domestic goddess. As I’ve said before…he’s easily pleased.

170g unsalted butter
170g caster sugar
3 eggs
170g self-raising flour
1 tsp vanilla extract

3 tbsp strawberry jam
50g desiccated coconut

Line a 16cm x 24cm baking tin with baking parchment. Turn the oven on to 180C.

Cream the butter and sugar together with a hand-held mixer until light and fluffy then beat in the eggs, one at a time. Fold in the flour and the vanilla extract. Scoop into the lined tin, level the top, and bake for 25 to 30 minutes.

When cooked, remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes then turn out onto a cooling rack.

When the cake is completely cool spread with the jam, going right up to the edges, then sprinkle over the desiccated coconut.

Cut into squares and serve with custard. Lots of custard. Also good served as cake with a decent cuppa.

Creamy Mushroom Tagliatelle

I saw a discussion on a food board recently along the lines of ‘If you could only have three vegetables’. It really set me thinking – I’m just not sure I could whittle it down to three.

Well, there’s mushrooms, onions and tomatoes, (yes, I know, tomatoes are technically a fruit but you wouldn’t want one in your fruit salad!) but how could I live without broccoli, butternut squash, sprouts or peppers; and then there’s asparagus and aubergines and green beans not to mention celery and carrots….oooh, and beetroot! I could go on...!

Let’s face it, there’s no way on this earth I could keep to only three veg, which is why I’m glad vegetables are one of the main elements of our meals rather than just an add-on or a side dish.

Mushrooms are one of my absolute favourites - this is a bit of a variation on Mushroom Stroganoff, which we love, plus pasta. What's not to like?

1 tbsp olive oil
knob of butter
2 shallots
300g mushrooms
1 clove of garlic
50ml white wine
200g crème fraiche
1 tbsp chopped parsley
black pepper

150g tagliatelle


Thinly slice the shallots and sauté until translucent in the oil and butter. Thickly slice the mushrooms and add to the onions; cook until all the water from the mushrooms has evaporated then add the garlic and cook for another minute.

Season with black pepper and add the wine; allow to bubble for a minute or two then stir in the crème fraiche and chopped parsley.

Cook the tagliatelle in a large pan of boiling water until al dente. Drain and add to the creamy mushrooms; mix carefully and serve immediately with plenty of grated parmesan-style cheese.

Serves 2

Stuffed Portabella Mushrooms

I know Shirley Conran said some years back “Life is too short to stuff a mushroom”, but I thought it was about time I proved her wrong. Well, I’m definitely no Superwoman and I could be about forty years too late, but better late than never.


We had these nutty, veggie stuffed mushrooms for dinner on Monday, really needing something to cheer us up; it was a Bank Holiday here and it absolutely poured with rain the entire day. I felt so sorry for all those people who had outdoor plans for their day off. Great British weather…don’t you just love it?

Having decided to make these lovely mush I hit a bit of a brick wall over what to serve them with – I ummed and ahhed about creamy mashed potato but I finally came down on the side of lemony herb couscous. Nothing new there, I’d happily eat couscous every day.

Incidentally, I always thought these mushrooms were called Portobello, but it seems they’re now called ‘Portabella’. Amazing…you learn something new every day.

1 medium red onion, peeled and diced
1 red pepper, cored and diced
olive oil
6 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, chopped
50g pine nuts
½ tsp dried oregano
1 crushed clove of garlic
125g grated mozzarella
1 thick slice wholemeal bread, blitzed into crumbs
4 large Portabella mushrooms
1 tbsp pesto

Remove the stalks from the mushrooms and chop finely; sauté the stalks together with the onion and red pepper in a tablespoon of olive oil until lightly coloured; add the sun-dried tomatoes, pine nuts, oregano and garlic and cook for another minute then scoop into a large bowl and mix in the breadcrumbs and half the cheese.

Turn the oven on to 180C.

Brush the outside of the mushrooms liberally with olive oil and smear the pesto over the insides; place on a baking tray lined with baking parchment and, using your hands, (it’s easier than a spoon - trust me!) put a quarter of the stuffing into each mushroom.

 

Drizzle with olive oil and bake for 25 minutes then take them out of the oven and sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Return to the oven for another 10 minutes until golden.

Serves 2

Beetroot and Ginger Chutney

This is a great time of year in the garden and it’s been such a good year for growing.

Our carrots are doing really well and the onions and shallots have been pulled and are all lying out in the sun to dry for a day or two. The plum tree is laden with fruit which is ripening nicely, but sadly the damson hasn’t been so lucky – some beasties have been munching on the fruit and it’s looking a bit sorry for itself. Plenty of fruit on the tomatoes, though, after a slow start; we’re just waiting for them to turn red.

And last but not least, I give you….drum roll please....beetroot! This is the fabulous bunch of little beauties I pulled on Friday – how gorgeous are they?

I'm chuffed to little mint balls with them - they’re the best we’ve ever grown and there are plenty more to come. I think I can feel lots of lovely beetroot, feta and walnut salads coming on.

Given that we’re so well endowed with beetroot I started looking for a chutney recipe to play around with, although I could quite happily eat the entire crop in salads. I based this Beetroot and Ginger chutney on Nigella's but I changed the proportions a little and added a couple of extras in the way of spicing as well as a splash of balsamic to perk things up a bit. It’s a stunning colour and sort of sweet but sharp; I think it'll make a great addition to a toasted cheese sarnie when it’s had time to mature for a few weeks.

Looks like chutney-making season has started early this year – I’m now on a quest for carrot chutney. Wish me luck.

600g beetroot
300g red onions
600g Bramley apples
25g fresh root ginger
60g preserved ginger
250g soft brown sugar
375ml red wine vinegar
25ml balsamic vinegar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp mixed spice
⅛ tsp ground cloves
½ tsp ground ginger

Turn the oven on to 200C. Wrap the beetroots individually in foil, place directly on the oven rack and roast for 30-40 minutes until tender then set aside to cool.

Peel and chop the onions and the cooking apples, place in a deep wide pan or preserving pan. Finely dice the cooled beetroot and add to the pan. Blitz both the gingers with a couple of tablespoons of red wine vinegar then add to the pan along with all the other ingredients. Give everything a really good stir, bring to the boil then turn down the heat a bit and allow to bubble for about an hour or so, stirring occasionally, until it's nicely thick.

Draw a wooden spoon across the bottom of the pan and if it doesn’t fill up with liquid you can pot up your chutney into hot sterilised jars. Cook for a little longer if it's still too runny.

Makes seven 190g jars.

Three Bean and Asparagus Salad

Sorry about the slightly iffy picture of this Three Bean and Asparagus salad; I made it last weekend when DS, DDIL and Gorgeous Granddaughter came round for lunch; everything else was already on the table so I didn’t have time to faff about. I was originally planning to do a cold lunch because I was expecting it to be warm and sunny – proper summer weather; needless to say it was cool and showery…grrr!

Anyway, we had the salad along with a Nut Roast Wellington and some of our crop of new potatoes from the garden cooked with olive oil and rosemary. Our potatoes have done really well this year – I think they enjoyed all the rain we had in May and June, unlike my tomatoes, poor things, which are looking as sick as a pig. Heigh-ho…you can’t have everything.

We’re having a heatwave for the next few days, apparently; it's about 4pm and I’m sitting here in the gloom with the shutters and windows closed to keep the heat out. It’s 29°C – ghastly! I might have to put my thinking cap on and come up with a few more salads to keep us cool.

150g fine green beans
125g fine asparagus
125g edamame beans
150g baby broad beans
100g feta
40g hazelnuts

1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp runny honey
1 tbsp sherry vinegar
2 tbsp walnut oil
1 tsp lemon juice
ground black pepper

Roast the hazelnuts in the oven at 200C for five minutes then set aside to cool.

Put all the dressing ingredients into a small jam jar and shake like billy-o until emulsified.

Cook the green beans and asparagus together in boiling water for 1 minute; drain and run under cold water then drain well.

Cook the edamame beans and broad beans together for three minutes; drain and refresh in cold water then drain well.

Arrange the green beans and asparagus on a shallow serving dish followed by the edamame and broad beans.

Crumble the feta over the top and sprinkle with the chopped hazelnuts.

Drizzle over the dressing and serve immediately.

Serves 4 as a side dish.

Rhubarb, Orange and Vanilla Trifles

I’m sure you’ve noticed I’m not great at puddings; to be honest I never will be because they don’t really appeal to me. I’m prepared to spend time on starters and mains but by the time I get to thinking about pudding I tend to run out of steam and enthusiasm. However, I was inspired to have a go after seeing Gino D’Acampo on TV doing a lemony mascarpone trifle type thing (you can tell I wasn’t really listening, can’t you?) which sowed the seed of an idea.

Rhubarb is one of my favourite fruits and we’ve had a fabulous crop in the garden this year so, shamelessly following Gino’s lead, I added some to a mix of mascarpone and custard, added a smidge of orange juice and alcohol and, even though I say it myself, it was pretty damn good and well worth doing again. It was as easy as pie and it also looked quite pretty. If you happen to grow strawberries or raspberries it could also be adapted to utilise some of those.

(We’ve had three strawberries from our plants so far this year - I won’t get the jam pan out just yet…!)

400g rhubarb, topped and tailed
grated zest and juice of half an orange
75g white sugar
125g mascarpone
200g tub custard
seeds from half a vanilla pod
8 sponge fingers (boudoir biscuits)
juice of half an orange
2 tbsp Cointreau
2 tbsp toasted hazlenuts, chopped

Chop the washed rhubarb into 3cm pieces and place in a pan with the orange zest, juice and sugar. Cook over a gentle heat until the rhubarb is just tender. Set aside to cool.

Stir the mascarpone, custard and vanilla seeds together until completely combined.

Mix the orange juice and Cointreau together.

Break the sponge fingers in half and place four halves in the bottom of four serving glasses. Sprinkle over the mixed orange juice and Cointreau, then spoon over half the rhubarb divided between the four glasses; cover this with half the custard and mascarpone, then repeat. Sprinkle over the toasted chopped hazelnuts.

Best served immediately but it can be kept covered in the fridge for an hour or two.

Serves 4

Halal Meat

Well, I’m just about to commit a social solecism – I’m going to talk about religion and politics (as well as food, although somewhat obliquely).

Let me say first off… religion is not my thing; I prefer to think for myself and live in the real world rather than follow arbitrary rules laid down by a sky-fairy in a book of fiction. However I’m quite happy for anyone to worship any deity they choose, whenever and wherever they like (you can feel a ‘but’ coming here, can’t you, and you’re quite right)…BUT their chosen belief should not give them any special dispensations or allowances. It is only a belief after all; there's no factual foundation to it despite what its adherents may say.
 
This is what's getting me hot under the collar – my blood pressure went into orbit this morning. What the hell is our Government doing in allowing special rules for halal and kosher meat in this country? Why are they faffing about discussing meat labelling, for crying out loud? Can’t they see the bigger picture?

If I was to slit the throat of any conscious animal I would, quite rightly, have the full force of the RSPCA and the laws of the land thrown at me; so why are Muslims (and Jews) allowed to flout those same laws with impunity just because of their belief? Should religious beliefs allow people to ignore animal welfare?

There is something deeply wrong with this country when the Government panders to religious minorities and allows their brainless beliefs to trump the welfare of sentient beings. Sadly we are governed by hand-wringing, weak-kneed, weary willies who are too frightened of the religious lobby to speak up and say NO. How exactly do they find this barbarism acceptable?

There’s nowhere to go with this, nowhere to take it; there isn’t a politician in the whole bloody country who will say anything against this – they’re all too frightened of the mouthy Muslims (the Jews are saying nothing, they've been getting away with it quietly for years) and too interested in keeping their seat at the next election.

Well, I am not frightened of Muslims or any other religious group nor am I trying to hang onto my job. I can’t do anything to stop this awful practice but I can at least say it stinks and so do the politicians who allow it to continue. It has no place in a civilised society and neither do the appalling people who practice it and defend it.

Asparagus and Cheese Tart

I’m not someone who slavishly buys and eats ‘locally’ and ‘seasonally’; if something is in the shops, and I like the look of it, I really don’t care if it’s been flown from Timbuktu or from the Moon, quite frankly.

There are a few things though, that are so much better when they’re grown in season in the UK: strawberries and asparagus spring immediately to mind, closely followed by Victoria plums. I’ll have to wait a while yet for the strawbs and plums, but I found the first of this year’s English asparagus available at the end of last week. Yum.

The timing was brilliant because we had DS, DDIL and Gorgeous Granddaughter coming for lunch on Sunday, so I made this Asparagus and Cheese Tart served with new potatoes and a mixed salad; I have to say it went down very well. It must have done - we ate the entire thing!

I used a 14” x 5” rectangular tin (which I bought years ago in a fit of baking enthusiasm, but had only used once!) but there’s no reason why you shouldn’t use an 8” round tart tin – the amounts would be roughly the same, give or take.

I'd planned to use soft goat's cheese in this recipe but I couldn’t lay my hands on a vegetarian one for love nor money; yes, I know, you wouldn’t think it’d be too difficult but there you go… however, if you’re luckier than me I think goat’s cheese would work really well. I used a mature cheddar but any well-flavoured cheese would be fine.

Apologies for the slightly iffy pic…it was the result of a lethal combination of a new camera and being in a hurry.

500g block of ready-made shortcrust pastry
300g asparagus, trimmed
100g mature cheddar (or goat’s cheese)
3 eggs, beaten
250ml milk
a few grinds of black pepper
1 tbsp snipped chives

Turn the oven on to 180C.

Roll out the pastry to fit your tin, line the pastry case with baking parchment weighed down with baking beans or uncooked rice and bake for 15 minutes.

Take off the paper and beans then brush the surface of the pastry with a little of the beaten egg. Return the pastry case to the oven for 5 minutes.

Mix the remaining egg with the milk and a few grinds of pepper. Lay the asparagus spears in the tin, cutting to fit if necessary; sprinkle with the grated cheese and chopped chives then strain the egg mixture carefully over the top.

Bake for about 30 minutes until the filling is puffy and golden.

Transfer to a wire rack and cool for 15-20 minutes before serving.

5-a-day? 7-a-day? 10-a-day?

Who knows? Who cares?

You must have seen it – it’s been all over the news today. 7-a-day fruit and veg 'saves lives'. Saves lives, eh? I’ll believe that when I see it. The fact is we will all die at some point so the best we can do is extend life, not save it, otherwise the world would be full of decrepit people living forever!

I really feel these stupid pseudo-research projects should be consigned to the dustbin; they come up so often… eat this, don’t eat that, eat more of this, eat less of that. God, it’s tiresome; we’ve heard it all before and we all know the ‘researchers’ are just putting out this rubbish to make sure they get another research grant for next year.

 

These people would have us believe their ‘research’ is vitally important when, actually, we're bored rigid and we don't believe a word of it anyway. They can't even get their stories straight; some countries say 4-a-day, some go as far as 10-a-day. So which is it? Do you suppose our Grandmothers were told what to eat in such a prescriptive way? Furthermore, do you suppose they would have taken any notice?

Some days I have barely any fruit and veg, some days I have so much of the stuff it’s a wonder I don’t explode. I’m too old to live my life by arbitrary rules made up by people who just want to keep their job, so I’ll stick with what works for me and they can stick their research papers where the sun don’t shine.

 

Just a thought... I wonder if I could get a grant to prove that the main cause of death is life?

Potato, Red Pepper and Spinach Pithivier

I feel as though I’ve been AWOL for ages! We’ve certainly been eating but I haven’t cooked anything new for a while. To be honest I got into a bit of a rut and just couldn’t be bothered, so I fell back on old favourites and things I could cook almost with my eyes shut.

I’m still not firing on all cylinders yet, but I did drag myself into the kitchen at the weekend to cook this rather fetching Potato, Red Pepper and Spinach Pithivier. It was inspired by a recipe I saw on the BBC pages from the Great British Bake Off.

I have a confession to make here: I have never watched Bake Off! Yes, I know…shocking, isn’t it? I realise Mary Berry is supposedly a national treasure but she irritates the life out of me and, frankly, I think Paul Hollywood is just creepy. I don’t like cookery programmes much at all, really, and I very rarely watch them; I just don’t see cooking as a spectator sport. It’s OK if you think I’m odd – I don’t mind!

Anyway…. having never seen the programme I have no idea whether my modified effort would pass muster or not, nor do I care, but I think it was pretty good and we enjoyed it. There’s nothing very tricky about it and no fancy ingredients, but the flavours seemed to go together really well and, as a bonus, it was just as good cold the next day.

In making this I'm sure you won’t be surprised to see I’ve used ready-made pastry – I’m making no apologies; life’s too short and I’m far too old to faff about making puff pastry.

250g new potatoes
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely sliced
1 red pepper, sliced
1 garlic clove, crushed
150g chestnut mushrooms, sliced
1 tsp thyme leaves
150g baby leaf spinach
1 large egg
100g feta
500g puff pastry

Boil or steam the potatoes until tender, allow to cool, then cut into 5mm thick slices.

Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil and fry the onion and pepper until softened and starting to colour; add the garlic and fry for a minute more. Remove from the pan and set aside to cool.

Add the other tablespoon of oil to the same pan along with the thyme leaves and fry the mushrooms until golden; take the pan off the heat and add the spinach leaves. Stir the spinach around in the hot pan until wilted. Set aside.

Roll out the pastry to the thickness of a £1 coin and cut out two circles – one of 20cm and one of 25cm – I cut around a saucepan lid and a plate.

Turn the oven on to 220C.

Put the smaller circle of pastry on a baking tray lined with bakewell paper; place the potato slices in overlapping circles on the pastry, leaving a border all round of about 2cm, then cover the potatoes with the onion and pepper mixture.

Beat the egg in a small bowl and add most of it (keep a tablespoon back to use as egg-wash) to the mushrooms and spinach; stir well then pile this mixture on top of the onions and pepper.

Crumble the feta on top then brush the border of the pastry with a little of the reserved egg; cover with the larger pastry circle, smooth down, and press the edges together to seal. Crimp the edges of the pastry with a fork or the handle of a spoon.

Make a small hole in the centre of the pithivier to allow the steam to escape, and poke a few extra holes around the sides, then brush all over with the reserved beaten egg. Make a sunburst pattern radiating from the central hole by lightly scoring the pastry with a sharp knife but DON'T cut all the way through, for goodness sake, or you'll find all the filling on the baking tray!

Bake at 220C for 10 minutes, then turn the oven down to 200C and bake for another 15 minutes or so until a deep golden brown.

Place on a wire rack to cool a bit and serve warm.

Serves 4.

A Pat on the Back

I just thought I’d give a pat on the back to Linda McCartney Foods for some excellent customer service.

I emailed them last year when their vegemince disappeared off the shelves, explaining that I really missed it and Quorn mince wasn’t a patch on theirs. (I actually said I wouldn’t give it to a dog!) They replied promptly; apparently there was some sort of a manufacturing problem which they hoped to get sorted by Christmas.

Lo and behold, just before Christmas they emailed again to say their vegemince was back in the shops and they’d like to send a small token of their appreciation for my patience. I was astonished to receive a very nice shopping voucher!

I like to give credit where it’s due, so “Well Done” Linda McCartney Foods from a very satisfied customer.