Manchester Tart

I know what your thinking and no it's not that drunken lass falling out of the Ritz on a Saturady night, well maybe!

A staple on school dinner menus until the mid 1980s, the original Manchester Tart is a variation on an earlier recipe, the Manchester Pudding, which was first recorded by the Victorian cookery writer, Mrs Beeton.

The Manchester tart is a traditional English baked tart, which consists of a short crust pastry shell, spread with raspberry jam, covered with a custard filling and topped with flakes of coconut and a Maraschino cherry. One variation of the original recipe includes slices of banana underneath the custard with the jam.

Manchester Tart

600ml (1 pint) Milk
110g (4oz) Shortcrust Pastry
3 tbsp Raspberry Jam
3 tbsp Custard Powder
2-3 tbsp Desiccated Coconut
2 tbsp Sugar

Pre-heat oven to 200°C; 400°F: Gas 6.
Roll out the dough and line a baking dish.
Blind bake (prick with fork and place a piece of greaseproof paper with some baking beans on pastry).
Bake for 15 minutes.
Allow to cool.
Spread the jam over the pastry base, sprinkle with coconut.
Boil the milk and whisk into the sugar and custard powder (follow manufacturers instructions).
Pour into the pastry case.
Sprinkle with coconut or a little sugar, to prevent a skin forming.
Allow to cool before serving.

Serves 4

Restaurant Review

Puccini’s Swinton, Manchester:

‘Puccini’s never disappoints’, – This ‘very genuine & friendly Italian’ gem has been a favourite with ‘discerning local foodies & football stars alike Gray Neville & Ryan Giggs even have pasta dish’s named after them’. Much of Puccini’s success is down to the ‘blessed presence’ of proprietor Michele Pucci and his friendly staff that know their way around the menu, & are happy to give chapter & verse on the ingredients. Pasta is always a good shout – Fettuccine Raimondo, noodles with egg yolk, mushrooms & ham in a tomato & cream sauce. Or try the Risotto Alla Fiorentina, rice sautéed with fresh peppers, onions, ham & tomato sauce are great choices as is the entire menu.  The Italian wine list, rich in glass & carafe choices, is a great accompaniment to the fabulous food and a warm and welcoming atmosphere.

Heirloom Tomatoes

Heirloom tomatoes are becoming more and more popular, so what are heirloom tomatoes? This little YouTube film should give you a taster!

You Tube Clip form Expertvillage

Winter Tomatoes

Winters fast approaching and UK Tomatoes are all but finished. So where do your tomatoes come from for the winter period?
Well the main country we import Tomatoes from in the winter is Spain, but North Africa & Morocco in particular is becoming more popular with the UK retailers & consumers. Moroccan tomato growers are mainly managed by French companies.
I spent 4 days visiting Moroccan tomato growers exploring how they compared to our Spanish growers & was impressed at the quality and varieties they where growing and can say that they were comparable to Spanish tomatoes. The only disadvantage is an extra 12-24 hours in the supply chain. I feel we will see increased volumes of Moroccan tomatoes over the coming years especially Plum, Cherry and Vine tomatoes.

Halloween is only a few weeks away so I thought I’d post a favourite Halloween recipe.

Halloween is only a few weeks away so I thought I’d post a favourite Halloween recipe.

We’ve all cooked or ate Pumpkin soup so I’ve looked for something different and found this recipe on fellow blogger Bron Marshall’s (http://bronmarshall.com) site “take a look it’s great”

Pumpkin and Chorizo Spanish Tagine

• ¼ cup of olive oil
• 1 large onion, roughly chopped or sliced
• 2 chorizo sausages, approximately 250 grams, sliced
• 400 grams of pumpkin, peeled and diced
• 2 potatoes, peeled and diced
• 2 teaspoons of smoked paprika
• 400 ml / grams of chopped peeled tomatoes, or passata
• 1 cup of vegetable or chicken stock
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 to 6 cloves of garlic, crushed - to taste
• freshly ground salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Heat a large cast iron or earthen ware casserole dish on the hob; add the olive oil, onion and chorizo and sauté until very fragrant and golden.

Add the pumpkin, potato cubes and smoked paprika and stir through to coat.

Continue to cook for a couple of minutes, and then just cover the vegetables with enough of the tomatoes and stock.

Stir through the bay leaf, garlic and some freshly ground pepper and salt.

Cover and place into the preheated oven for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the pumpkin and potatoes are tender.

Remove the bay leaf, taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary.

Serve along side some fluffy rice, couscous or simply a crusty baguette.

I’ve tried it and it’s great! Do you have any Halloween Recipes you want to share?

Whats in season October

October
This is the main season for apples and pears. The first bramleys are in season. Also available are sweetcorn, marrrow, mushrooms, beetroots, squash, watercress, onions, and leeks. The Jerusalem artichoke season begins, while cauliflowers are at their peak, as are main crop potatoes and carrots, sprouts, and broccoli. Lettuce is running out by the middle of the month, and courgettes finish towards the end.

Christmas is coming fast (I've seen Christmas cards in the shops already!) but whats your favourite Christmas food?

Christmas is coming but what do you like or dislike about Christmas dinner?

My Christmas food hate is Brussels sprouts. I think this goes back to my school days when they were always over cooked & presented almost as a green/yellow mush. This resulted in something that tasted acrid & had the texture of mushy peas.It's weird as I do like cabbage which I’m told tastes like Brussels sprouts.

In recent years retailers have been selling Brussels sprouts on the stem, this is way of charging a premium for what is actually easier to harvest and cheaper to process, they look nice though!

Brussels Sprout Fact: Brussels sprouts, as with broccoli and other brassicas, contains sulforaphane, a chemical believed to have potent anti-cancer properties. Although boiling reduces the level of the anti-cancer compounds, steaming,, microwaving,, and stir frying does not result in significant loss

Well thats my first ever blog posting I hope you enjoy it and will join in.