Green Tomato Chutney

Ingredients
2.25kg Tomatoes (green are best and you need to cut them into 8 wedges)
600ml Malt Vinegar
5 Large Onions (finely chopped)
225g Raisins
450g Sultanas
350g Demerara Sugar
25g Salt
4 Teaspoons Mixed Spice
4 Teaspoons Ground Cinnamon
2 Teaspoons Ground Ginger

Equipment
1 SHARP Knife
1 Chopping Board
1 Large Pan
Sterile Jars

The Good Bit

1. put your tomatoes and vinegar in the pan and simmer over a low heat for 30 minutes, then add the onions, raisins and sultanas and continue simmering for another 30 minutes.
2. Now add the sugar, salt and spices and keep on a low simmer for a further 1 1/2 hours until you have a nice thick chutney. Leave to cool slightly before putting in sterile jars

Makes 1.5 kg

Simnel Cake

Ingredients
175g Light Brown Sugar
175g Butter
175g Self Raising Flour
3 Eggs
25g Ground Almonds
2 Tablespoon Milk
100g Sultanas
100g Cherries (quartered, washed and dried)
100g Dried Apricots (chopped into small pieces)
100g Fresh Ginger (finely chopped)
1 Teaspoon Mixed Spice
2 Teaspoon Ground Ginger
450g Golden Marzipan
3 Tablespoons Apricot Jam
1 Egg (beaten)

Equipment
Greaseproof Paper
1 Round Cake Tin 20cm
1 Wire Rack
1 Rolling Pin
1 SHARP Knife

The Good Bit

1. Preheat your oven to 160c 320f gas 3. Grease and line the base and sides of an 20cm/8in deep, round cake tin with baking parchment, measure all the cake ingredients into a large mixing bowl and beat well until thoroughly blended. Place half the mixture into the prepared tin and level the surface.
2. Take one third of the marzipan and roll into a circle the same size as the cake tin, place the circle on top of the cake mixture. Spoon the remaining mixture on top of the marzipan and level the surface and cook for about one and three-quarter hours or until golden brown and firm in the middle. If toward the end of the cooking time the cake is getting too brown, loosely cover with a piece of foil. Allow the cake to cool in the tin before turning onto a cooling rack.
3. When the cake is cool. Brush the top with a little warmed apricot jam. Roll out half the remaining marzipan to the size of the cake and sit it on the top. Crimp the edges of the marzipan and make a lattice pattern in the centre of the marzipan using a sharp knife. Make 11 even sized balls from the remaining marzipan and arrange around the edge
4. Brush with beaten egg and glaze under a hot grill for about five minutes, turning the cake round so it browns evenly, so the marzipan is tinged brown all over.
   
   

Rock Cakes

Ingredients
225g Plain Flour
1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
90g Butter (cut into chunks)
90g Granulated Sugar (plus extra for sprinkling)
60g Sultanas
30g Chopped Mixed Peel
1 Egg (beaten)
2 Tablespoons Milk

Equipment
1 Mixing Bowl
1 Sieve
1 Baking Tray (greased)
1 Knife (blunt dinner knife will do)
1 Dessert Spoon
1 Wire Rack

The Good Bit

1. Pre heat your oven too 200c 400f gas 6. Sieve the flour and baking powder into your bowl and add in the butter, rub between your fingers until all the butter is well mixed in and resembles fine breadcrumbs then stir in the mixed peel and sultanas.
2. Make a well in the centre and drop in the egg and milk and with the knife (unless you want to end up incredibly messy) combine all the ingredients until you have a stiff dough. Now using the spoon, spoon out individual dollops of the mixture on to your baking tray leaving room for them to spread a little.
3. Bake for 10-15 minutes until they look golden and have risen well, transfer them to your wire rack and sprinkle a little sugar on top of each and allow to cool. I love these whilst they are still warm and moist so get them eaten quickly!

Makes about 12

Spicey Roast Lamb

Ingredients
1.5Kg Leg of Lamb
1 Teaspoon Each Chilli Powder, Garlic (crushed), Coriander, Cumin, Salt
1 Tablespoon Breadcrumbs
2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
2 Tablespoons Sultanas
3 Tablespoons Natural Yoghurt
Oil
Salad Leaves, Cherry Tomatoes, Lemon Wedges, Chopped Fresh Coriander and Grated Carrot to serve

Equipment
1 Mixing Bowl
1 Blender
Tin Foil
1 SHARP Knife

The Good Bit

1. Pre heat your oven too 180c 350f gas mark 4, trim any fat that you can from the leg of lamb, rinse it, then pat dry and set on a sheet of tin foil that will be large enough to cover it.
2. Mix all the teaspoons of spices together in the mixing bowl, the rest of the ingredients (breadcrumbs, yoghurt, lemon juice, sultanas and a splash of oil) should be blended until you have a smooth paste, combine this then with the spice mixture and mix well.
3. Pour your spice mixture over your lamb and rub it in well then cover with the tin foil, cook in the oven for 1 hour 30 minutes, remove and with the juices in the tin foil baste the leg again, you may need to use a spoon here, this time whack the lamb in the oven uncovered to brown off for 45 minutes.
4. Serve on a bed of salad leaves, chopped cherry tomatoes and fresh coriander and maybe some grated carrot and lemon wedges.
   

Serves 6

Christmas Cake

Ingredients
125g Self Raising Flour
200g Plain Flour
250g Butter
250g Brown Sugar
250g Currants
250g Raisins
250g Sultanas
75g Mixed Peel (chopped)
75g Glace Cherries
50g Ground Almonds
5 Eggs
1 Tablespoon Treacle
1 Teaspoon Mixed Spice
1/2 Teaspoon Cinnamon
1/2 Teaspoon Nutmeg
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
1 1/2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
50ml Sherry
1 Lemon (zested)
4 Tablespoons Brandy

Equipment
1 Large Mixing Bowl
2 Wooden Spoons
1 9inch Round Baking Tin (or 8inch square tin) (greased)
Greaseproof Paper
1 Sieve
2 Mixing Bowl
1 Airtight Tin

The Good Bit

1. Pre heat your oven too 140c 275f gas 1. Line the baking tin with a double thickness of grease proof paper and leave a good 5 cm sticking out above the rim of the tin.
2. Start by sieving the flours into the large mixing bowl, add the salt and spices and give a little stir, in an other bowl cream the butter and sugar together until you have a light mixture then add the treacle and mix well, in the other mixing bowl, drop in the eggs, vanilla and sherry and beat gently together.
3. Now what you need to do is, beat half the egg mixture into the creamed mixture then fold in 1/3rd of the flour, then add 1/2 the egg mixture again and fold, then add 1/2 the remaining flour and fold, finally add the last bit of egg, fold, and then the flour and fold again.
4. Now add in all the other ingredients (except the brandy) and fold in well then pour the mixture into your cake tin and flatten out the top. Now chuck this in the oven for 4-4 1/2 hours)
5. If the cake begins to brown too much you can cover it with a double layer of greaseproof paper, check to see if it is done by sticking it in the centre with a skewer, if the skewer comes out clean it's done, if it comes out sticky then leave it in. Turn the cake out on to a wire rack and allow it to cool completely then finally prick the top all over and drizzle over 4 tablespoons of brandy, leave it to mature for 3 months in an airtight tin (adding brand 1-2 tablespoons every couple of weeks)
   

Chocolate Risotto

Ingredients
50g Hazelnuts (or any you like)
50g Raisins or Sultanas
600ml/1 Pint Milk
25g Sugar
50g Butter
125g Pudding Rice (yes pudding, long grain wont do for this)
Brandy (optional but bloody good!)
125g CHOCOLATE (i find cooking chocolate awful, there are several brands i love which are great for this and i cant get them over here in france so i'm having to wade through block after block of chocolate to find one i really like, IT'S A HARD LIFE)

Equipment
1 Small Frying Pan
1 Small Sauce Pan
1 Large Pan
1 Grater
1 Ladle
1 Wooden Spoon

The Good Bit

1. Toast your nuts in the small frying pan (insert joke) with no oil then leave them to cool before chopping to bits, grate your chocolate.
   
2. Heat the milk and sugar in the small pan until just at simmering point.
3. Melt the butter in the large pan and add the rice and stir well coating all the rice, add a ladle of milk and wait for it to be absorbed by the rice then add another, keep this up until all the milk has gone.
4. Now whack in your nuts, raisins and stir well then finally add the grated chocolate but only give a little stir as this will then give a lovely marbled effect, Serve. (in case you were wondering add the brandy at the same stage as the nuts and raisins if you are using it)
   

Serves 4