Yorkshire Puddings

It's Sunday, so that means one thing... Sunday Roast Dinner! A real British tradition this one, with oven roasted meat, potatoes, vegetables and gravy. Whether it be roast beef, chicken, lamb, pork or even game meats like venison or pheasant (can't say I've attempted these last two!), the traditional Sunday Roast is a great culinary delight. Its a real shame that in this fast paced, modern world, a combination of convenience food, time constraints and increased working hours means that fewer families are enjoying this traditional family meal, There is a lot to be said about the whole family sitting down together for a nice long meal with several food courses, wine and conversation. The bonding that this simple event brings has been said to bring families closer together. Sitting in front of a TV with a plate on your lap does not make for great emotional connection in the same way that sitting together round the dinner table for a few hours does.

But anyway, I digress. One of the great things about traditional Sunday dinners are the accompaniments that go with the roast meat dishes. Think of chicken with stuffing, pork with apple sauce, roast potatoes with parsnips, brussel sprouts with lardons (OK, this one is not that traditional, but its one that my kids absolutely love!!!). One of the best-loved of these accompanying dishes are Yorkshire puddings. These little beauties are most commonly eaten with roast beef and gravy, but once you've tried them, you'll be forgiven for adding them as a staple to ALL roast dinners! They are actually very simple to make, and if you remember the Golden Rule of Yorkshire puddings (more on that later), then you will have delicious, golden discs of eating pleasure every time.

This recipe is similar to James Martin's on the BBC Food website, although he uses vegetable oil instead of sunflower oil. As its from a true Yorkshireman, you can't really go wrong with it. 

Ingredients

200g plain flour

300g cold milk

3 eggs

2 Tablespoons of sunflower oil

You will also need a muffin or Yorkshire pudding tin with 12 holes.

Method

Sieve the flour into a large bowl. Make a well in the middle and add the cold milk, mixing as you go. Keep mixing until all lumps are gone. Crack the 3 eggs into the bowl and mix these in as well. Its best to use a wire whisk to remove any unwanted lumps of flour, but if you don't have one of these, a fork will do if you are diligent enough! The result should be a smooth batter resembling thin pancake batter. If time permits, place the bowl into the fridge for at least 30 minutes, until you are ready to use.

Heat the oven to 220 C (although if you are cooking a Sunday Roast, the oven will most likely already be on!) The Yorkshire puddings take approximately 30 minutes to cook, so you should time it well, so that they will be ready just before you are about to serve. 

Carefully put the sunflower oil into the bottoms of the muffin trays and then use a basting brush or your (clean) finger to work the oil around the edges of the muffin trays, so that they are completely covered. The muffin tray should go into the oven for at least 5 minutes so that the oil is sizzling when you put the batter in.

Remove the muffin tray from the oven and carefully ladle the batter into the individual holes, until about two thirds full. Place the muffin tray back in the centre of the oven and cook for 30 minutes.

The Golden Rule of Yorkshire Puddings - DO NOT open the oven door to check on your Yorkshire puddings before time, as this will lead to them deflating quicker than an England fan at the end of a World cup penalty shoot-out (sorry, couldn't resist!!!)

After 30 minutes cooking, the Yorkshires should be golden brown, slightly crispy and with a light, fluffy centre.

Serve immediately with your roast meat, potatoes and veg. Don't forget a generous helping of thick gravy! Delicious!

Enjoy!

DID YOU KNOW???

According to legend, Yorkshire puddings came about as a cheap method of filling your guests, while stretching the more expensive ingredients for a second day. This would be a fitting example of typical Yorkshire thriftiness! 

but

DID YOU KNOW???

The origins of Yorkshire puddings are in dispute, as it has been argued that the recipe originates in Burgundy. Just don't tell that to a Yorkshireman!

Shredded Chicken Quesadillas

Quesadillas are just another of the seemingly endless variations of dishes that can be made using tortillas (either flour or corn varieties). Although authentic Mexican quesadillas are usually made from corn tortillas, in the Tex-Mex variation and also in Northern Mexico, flour tortillas are much more common.

The concept is very simple - place the ingredients of your choice in one half of a tortilla and heat in a frying pan or on a comal - a Mexican cast-iron griddle pan. Then fold over and cut into wedges and eat! In Tex-Mex cuisine, 2 tortillas are often used instead of 1. In Mexico this would be called a sincronizada (synchronised) rather than a quesadilla. Confused?!?!

Macaroni Schotel - Macaroni Dutch style

This is a typically Dutch hybrid dish; and as with many Dutch classics, it combines the basic structure of international dishes with traditional Dutch ingredients. The Dutch are very adept at taking international favourites and giving them a quintessential Hollands twist. Often the flavours are mellowed for the blander Dutch palate, and it can sometimes be the case that little of the taste of the original dish is noticeable in the finished result. But sometimes, as with this macaroni dish, the combination of ingredients work so well together and bring something totally different. And this particular dish is a veritable meat feast, or more specifically a pork feast! It should come as no surprise that the Netherlands is one of the top pork exporters in Europe, (rivalled only by Germany), and that over half of all meat consumed in the Netherlands is pork. Its safe to say that Dutch people love eating pork!

Ingredients

500g half and half mince (50% pork, 50% beef)

200g smoked speck or lardons

1 red onion

2 cloves of garlic

1 packet of soup vegetables (finely sliced leek, carrot, shredded cabbage and celery leaves)

1 Tb tomato puree
1 tsp paprika powder
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp turmeric
1 400g tin chopped tomatoes
500g macaroni
1 pork smoked sausage*
1 tin of pork hotdogs
a sprig of fresh parsley for garnish

* smoked sausage or rookworst is a favourite of many Dutch dishes, from stamppot and hutspot to brown bean soup and erwtensoep. It comes pre-cooked and vacuum packed.