I have been very lucky to be sent the fabulous new cookery book - Recipes from my Mother for my Daughter by Lisa Faulkner, winner of Celebrity Masterchef 2011.
First impressions of the book were excellent, beautiful lifestyle photography with well laid out recipes. Lisa's mother passed away when she was just 16 and the recipes include ones that her mother used to cook when Lisa was growing up plus other family favourites. Each recipe includes an introduction from Lisa including what the recipe means to her and her family. A really lovely book that was enjoyable to read with recipes that you would want to cook everyday, not just for special occasions.
To test out the recipes, I decided to select three recipes to cook for my mum and dad on Mothers Day (plus my hubby and three kids!). I chose the Hot-Smoked Salmon Fishcakes with Watercress Sauce as a starter, the Coq au Vin for main course (I wanted something I could just prepare and leave in oven) and the Pavlova as dessert.
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| Mum and Dad with Daisy |
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| Very tired looking Dylan |
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| Hubby & Jasmine |
The fishcakes were very easy to make, even in my kitchen - the smallest kitchen in the world! Looking back now, I should have prepared them Sunday morning as they would keep very easily in the fridge until you are ready to deep-fry them. My eldest daughter (age 7) helped me cook the sauce, which again was quite straight-forward.
Here is the recipe:
Serves 8 as a starter or 4 as a main
600g (1lb 2oz) potatoes, peeled and chopped
400g (13oz) lightly smoked salmon fillets
25g (1oz) butter
1 tbsp freshly snipped chives
flour, for rolling
2 eggs, beaten
100g (31/2oz) breadcrumbs (fresh or dried)
Vegetable or sunflower oil, for deep frying
salt and freshly ground black pepper
salad, to serve
For the sauce
25g (1oz) butter
1 shallot, finely chopped
125ml (4fl oz) white wine
200ml (7fl oz) double cream
100g (31/2oz) watercress
juice of 1 lemon
Method
Preheat the oven to 180C (350F), gas mark 4. Place the potatoes in a saucepan of water, bring to the boil and simmer for 15-20 minutes until tender.
Meanwhile, place the salmon fillets on a large sheet of foil, dot with butter and wrap the foil over the top so that they are completely enclosed. Bake in the preheated oven for about 15-18 minutes until cooked through.
Drain and mash the potatoes, using the butter from the foil-wrapped salmon. Flake the salmon into the potatoes and mix in - try to keep the salmon chunky. Add the chives and season, then shape into 8 balls (or you could shape into patties).
Put the flour, egg and breadcrumbs in 3 separate shallow bowls. Roll each fishcake in the flour, then the egg, then the breadcrumbs. Dip in the egg again and finish with another layer of breadcrumbs.
Transfer to the fridge for about 20-30 minutes.
Heat the oil to about 180C (350F) - to test that the oil is ready, drop a cube of bread into the oil and if it floats and sizzles, turning golden brown after 20-30 seconds, then the oil is ready. Deep-fry the fish balls for about 5 minutes until golden. (If you are using patties, fry in a little oil for about 6 minutes on each side).
To make the sauce, melt the butter in a frying pan and fry the shallot until softened. Add the wine, chicken stock and cream and boil to reduce the liquid by half. Blanch the watercress, squeeze out the water and blitz in a food processor or blender until it is just broken up. Stir into the sauce and then add the lemon juice, salt and pepper. Serve with the fishcakes or patties and salad.
I'm not usually a huge fan of fishcakes as I find them quite dry, but these were delicious. They had a delicate flavour and the sauce was outstanding, so fresh with the lemon and watercress flavour really coming through. Everyone round the table gave them 10/10 which was a great start. My daughter was very proud of her sauce too!
The Coq au Vin was again a very straight-forward easy-to-follow recipe, I managed to prep it all in advance and put in the oven.
Serves 4-5
8-10 chicken portions (legs, thighs or a mixture of both)
125g (4oz) butter
12-15 shallots, peeled and halved at the root
150g (5oz) pancetta, cubed
4 garlic cloves
2-3 sprigs of fresh thyme
10 Chantenay carrots
150g (5oz) button mushrooms
1 x 750ml (11/4 pint) bottle full-bodied red wine
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Mashed potato and green vegetables to serve
Preheat the oven to 160C (325F), gas mark 3 and season the chicken pieces.
In a large casserole, melt the butter and brown the chicken pieces. Add the shallots and pancetta and fry for a few minutes. Add the garlic, thyme, carrots and mushrooms and stir well. Add the wine and bring to the boil.
Season, cover and transfer to the preheated oven to cook for about 11/2 hours. Trust your instinct here and cook for as long as you like - longer if you like the chicken meat falling off the bone, for example.
Serve with mashed potato and green vegetables.
I actually left this dish in the oven for about 2-21/2 hours (until footie had finished!) and it was perfect. The chicken fell off the bone and the flavours again were delicious.
I felt it used quite a lot of butter and when I cook again will certainly reduce this. Lisa does mention in her intro it uses a lot of butter and this could be reduced so have made a note for next time.
I served with a choice of mashed or roast potatoes and would only do mash next time, plus carrots, broccoli and Spring greens.
It was another hit with the family and Mum has even asked for a copy of the recipe so she can cook at home. Dad picked out all the shallots (he's not an onion lover) but both him and hubby thought it was delicious and hubby had the leftovers for lunch the next day.
Was very impressed with the cost of this dish too, not an expensive dish to recreate at home so a winner all round.
So far so good, 2 out of 3 of Lisas recipes were a success with the family. How would dessert fare?
Pavlova
Serves 6
3 egg whites
a pinch of salt
250g (8oz) caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp malt vinegar (or any you have to hand)
300ml (1/2 pint) double cream
1 x 400g tin raspberries in syrup or juice (optional)
250g (8oz) strawberries, hulled and sliced
250g (8oz) raspberries
Method
Preheat the oven to 140C (275F), gas mark 1.
Draw a 23cm (9 inch) circle on non-stick baking paper as a guide and place on a baking try.
Whisk the egg whites with the salt in a large clean bowl, either by hand or with a hand-held electric mixer, until very stiff, then gradually whisk in the sugar. Whisk until it forms stiff peaks, this takes about 3-4 minutes. Fold in the vanilla extract and vinegar. Spread the meringue mixture over the circle on the non-stick paper and bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour until firm.
Turn off the oven and leave the merinque in with the door closed for another half an hour. Leave the meringue to cool and peel off the baking paper from the bottom with care. Place the pavlova on a serving plate.
Whip the cream until stiff, pile on top of the meringue and decorate with the fruit. Strain the tinned raspberries and pile them in the centre, then arrange the rest of the fruit on the top. Of course, you can use whatever fruit is in season.
We didn't bother with the tinned raspberries, or fresh raspberries so just used strawberries. We were all pretty full from the previous two courses but managed a small portion (or 2!) and again another winner. An easy-to-follow, well laid out recipe that tasted delicious.
Conclusion
Really impressed with this wonderful recipe book by Lisa Faulkner,it has such a fantastic array of recipes that I would certainly cook. Other delicious sounding recipes include Salmon marinated in soy sauce, Toria's crispy marinated chicken, Slow cooked chilli con carne and Mummys Toad in the hole are a few that jump out instantly and ones I know my family would enjoy. There is also a great selection of desserts and cakes including Summer berry mille feuille and hazelnut meringues which I will definitely be recreating at home.
Would definitely recommend you buy a copy for your kitchen, it has been published by Simon & Schuster and prices range from £9-£15 depending on where you buy. Happy Cooking x
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